Writing in Gunpowder

[Eclipse4449]

GPS to Nighthawk

 

[Nighthawk419]

Yes, Knoedel, you did. But then you might be able to beat me to Liberalism, so... no dice.

Not much to report except we have heard the dastardly Portuguese to our west have completed the Museum of Mausselos... ggrrrr. Oh well, fail gold is fine too I guess

 

[Hawklord]

Surely you meant industrious Portuguese.

We did tell you that the gods favour Portugal they leant strength to the builders arms allowing the construction of a great monument.

gps

 

[Eclipse4449]

GPS to Nighthawk

 

[Nighthawk419]

Not much to report this turn.

 

[Hawklord]

gps

not a lot happening

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Oh come on! Did Cathy seriously just build the Shwedagon Paya in the one city of hers I planned on razing? Gaaaaaaaaah I hate the AI and their stupid city placements so much!

 

[Nighthawk419]

Whats so wrong with Novograd? Doesnt seem like a bad location at all... 2 food resources, plenty of river, and its on a defensive hill...

In other news, the city of Salamanca was founded along the Portuguese border. The settlers there were devout worshippers of the Queen. The city is on tundra and isn't a very hospitable location, but it was necessary in order to create a solid border with the Portuguese and prevent them from easily moving onto the ice behind us for a sneak attack at our core. In order words, a strategic location.

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

But it's on a Copper hill! I would rather see it on one of the neighboring plains hills with the copper itself mined.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Ah ok - I can't see that there is copper on that hill for some reason. My intelligence betrayed me! haha

 

[Hawklord]

We have no interest in the Spanish huts or the lands surrounding them. Just make sure your peasants come no further West and we will be happy.

gps

 

[Eclipse4449]

GPS to Nighthawk

 

[Hawklord]

gps

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Its construction took decades, sometimes the building process was interrupted by other more urgent needs, but finally it was finished: The Great Lighthouse of Hamburg shall forever be known as King Frederick VI's greatest achievement. It facilitated trade in the Gulf of Colog and made its home city, which was already an important center of the Taoist faith, even more famous, even rivaling Berlin in its glory. The beginning of the 6th century AD marked a golden age for German engineering, culture and science. However, it was not to last: Finally Frederick VI's reign had to end, and while his rule was a time of stability and prosperity, the following years after his death turned Germany into a land drawn apart by strife, disorder and civil war. All his potential heirs kept dying under mysterious circumstances, so that when he finally departed from the world of the living the only candidate remaining was his grand nephew, Frederick VII. Unfortunately he was still but a child when he took the throne, and wholly unprepared for the scheming and intrigue of the aristocrats. The nobles fell all over themselves in their attempts to manipulate the young boy, and quickly turned on each other as their petty squabbles escalated into all out fighting.

Soon it was every city for themselves, with barely anyone still loyal to the crown in Berlin. It was a disunity not seen in over 600 years, before King Deutsch I united the country. Truly it was a dark time for Germany. That all changed when the young Frederick VII had a vision on his 16th birthday: In his dreams he was visited by his uncle, Deutsch I and even Tao himself! When he woke up he was filled with a vigor unlike anything he had ever felt before, and knew that it was his destiny to reunite Germany under the teachings of Tao yet again. Gone was the insecure youth held on a leash by this or that group of nobles, for now he was on a holy mission! He practically turned into a whole new person overnight, one with charisma and brilliance not seen since our founding father.

In a few years he marched from city to city, gathering new allies on the way and blowing away the masses with his speeches, though he wasn't above resorting to violence when the situation called for it. Finally, in Cologne, he had gathered representatives of all German cities and had them swear their loyalty to him and the teachings of Tao. He was surprisingly merciful to the nobles he defeated, leaving most of them in their positions and even extending their rights, which led to Germany being a lot more decentralized and feudal than it was before the civil war. To still ensure order and stability he made up for it with increased religious zeal, extending the influence of the Taoist teachings into every corner of daily life. Followers of other religions could no longer serve in official positions in any capacity and now had to pay extra taxes if they didn't want to renounce their faith. While there were some forced conversions, most people got left alone if they didn't draw attention to themselves, as Frederick VII wasn't foolish enough to needlessly antagonize the Dutch, English and Spanish crowns as they no doubt would frown upon him persecuting followers of their respective faiths, especially Queen Isabella whose name was synonymous with Islam.

One group however was not afforded such protection: The Jews. Due to their close association with the Russian empire they were treated like dirt and humiliated at every opportunity. Their temples were vandalized, their children spat upon and their rituals routinely disturbed by Taoist zealots, all with the knowledge and even tacit approval of the crown. Rumors spread like wildfire that the civil war was originally caused by a Jewish conspiracy with Russian and Greek backing. Needless to say relations with these countries were at an all time low, Frederick VII taking every opportunity to insult and belittle them, at one time even making a Greek delegation storm out of an audience by literally spitting in their faces. His successor Frederick VIII was if anything even more zealous and condescending.

While the German crown was openly a Taoist theocracy it still retained its voting right in the Islamic council due to the sizable Muslim minorities in Munich and Frankfurt, so when the council discussed cutting off all trade with the Russian infidels the German delegation voted with an enthusiastic yes. Unfortunately they were the only ones to do so, as perplexedly even the Spanish delegation who put this suggestion to vote in the first place voted against it, and the Portuguese outright threatened to leave the council if this embargo was implemented.

After the meeting had concluded the German ambassador went to talk to the Portuguese delegation in private, initially to insult them for their apparent loyalty to the dirty Jewish infidels, but things quickly turned around when the Portuguese made some very attractive trade offers. The German delegation was clever enough to put their fanaticism aside for more pragmatic concerns, and secured the crown with a steady supply of ghastly beasts known as elephants. While many of those animals live in the jungle to the south almost all of them are under Russian control, and the Czar wasn't willing at all to share any of them. The military advantage of possessing elephants can not be underestimated, and the king was more than happy with how things turned out. Soon, very soon, the Russian scum will pay for their crimes against Germany and Tao...

(OOC: Golly gee, an antisemitic Germany about to invade Russia? Imperator Knoedel once again breaks the bounds of artistic inventiveness and creativity!)

 

[Eclipse4449]

GPS to Nighthawk

Wow France has One Million souls

Congrats on the Great Lighthouse

 

[Nighthawk419]

LOL... What a write-up, I loved it! And I started laughing loudly when I saw the anti-semitic Germans were close to invading Russia.

I don't exactly remember, but I'm guessing I picked that option only because there were no GOOD options for my AP use, so I just picked something that I knew would never pass, especially if I voted against it

In other news, the Queen has decided to reach out to our west in hopes of signing an open borders agreement with Portugal which may open up other new trading opportunities. For too long have the Spanish and Portuguese lived in fear of one another. Now that we are entering a new enlightened age, we hope we can begin to speak to one another and begin trading.

 

[Hawklord]

The Portuguese do not trust the Spanish words, they who have stationed troops in the hills overlooking and coveting our lands for centuries. We will not let Spanish spies wander our lands at will looking for places to invade.

gps

 

[Eclipse4449]

GPS to Nighthawk

 

[Nighthawk419]

The Queen was infuriated to hear the response coming from the Portuguese. She ranted and raved in her palace. Some bits of it are as follows:

"They do not trust us?!???!!!! We have done NOTHING to instigate them!!! We simply have defended our lands! Putting a watch on our border, ONE SMALL GARRISON is not enough to stop an invasion! It is there to warn US of impending attacks so we may take preparations!!!! And INVADE??? Since when have we invaded ANYONE other than the barbarians in our south???? We have been peaceful with the entire world since its existence!!! How DARE they stand up to me! I run the most powerful kingdom IN THE WORLD! And that makes me the most powerful PERSON in the world!!! They think we are stationing troops overlooking their lands???? Well NOW they will see what stationing troops looks like!!!!"

With that, she ordered multiple garrisons from all over her lands to move to the west into Fort Aleza.

In other news, Spain is the religious center of the known world. Some people from the peaceful city of Seville have founded the religion known as Hinduism. Once again, the Queen will continue to have tolerance for other religions and allow them to practice their faith in her lands. However the crown still is and will always remain Islam. To work in a government position requires being Islam. And Islamic practices and traditions will always take priority under Spanish law.

 

[Hawklord]

Our patrols report that the Spanish are moving troops into the hills to our East. The mad queen thinks she can scare us into letting her spies wander our lands unopposed.

The Hawklords have ordered our generals to match any Spanish force gathered on our borders.

We will not be bullied by the thuggish Spanish soldiers.

gps