When to rebuff the rebels?

[stormbind]

See attached image

This is the situation. My military is weak, my nation is small, but we have culture and technology. Unfortuately, China has the Great Library. I don't really want a war at this time...

As you can see from the image, the Chinese village (top left) is on the verge of deposing it's overlords. It has nothing I want... not unless there is oil under it

I presume it costs China more to keep the place running that it will ever get out of it - so, maybe it will do China more harm than good to keep the village?

I've already taken one town from them using culture. It had a luxury, so there was good reason.

I don't want to upset the relatively powerful Chinese at the moment, so should I rebuff the rebels or ... what would you do?

Should I expect another chance to win them over with culture, perhaps when China doesn't look so big and scarey?

 

[stormbind]

I have been advised... the village has overthrown it's oppressors. Took longer than expected, I was starting to think it would never happen

I cannot save the game until I give my answer. Got a suggestion?

My reason for not wanting war is... I have no barracks, no Iron, and cannot build longbowmen yet. I'm also outnumbered. I have a head start on Art of War, but that's a long way from completion.

Oh, and I'm aiming for non-militaristic Education, so I can give China a good deal on it before they get too much out of their Great Library... this means I have no short-medium term plans to acquire gunpowder.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Refusing culture flips does improve the attitude that the AI has of you by a little bit. Accepting cities hurts a little bit. It isn't much, but if the city has really no use for you, you could rebuff the rebels evertime they try and get China to really like you.

Personally, I like taking cities by flips, even if I have to disband it (although abandoning cities that have 50%+ foreigners in it will hurt the AI attitude towards you). I sometimes like to use the culture flipped city as a worker/settler factory for awhile, before I get rid of it.

 

[wilbill]

I don't think I've ever turned down the offer of a culture flip. I suppose the situation could arise when I might, but it hasn't yet. I've noticed that very often the kind of city you're dealing with in this situation - poor location, little growth potential - turns out to be sitting on a very useful resource later in the game. The AI doesn't plant all those cities in desert and tundra for nothing.

 

[thedirk]

I tend to take culture flips when I can. If nothing else, they can provide me with some workers

 

[Beanzy]

I always take it. Sometimes I keep it, but often I'll use it for whatever I can (some workers or something) and then dump it. Hopefully, by razing it, the borders of my fringe cities will expand to take up some of the space that city was in; that way, even though I destroyed the city, my borders expanded a bit and I may have gotten a worker or something. Besides, the AI always hates me in the game, so I've got nothing to lose.

 

[stormbind]

I have refused a town once and found the Gracious AI later returned the compliment... but, today I took the town (it never grew beyond 5 and had no resourse ).

China never forgot and eventually declared war on poor little England...

When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rules the waves
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves... *ahem*

Sorry