GM
NOTES TURN 14 - Next Turn Due November 20th.
If
something happens you do not understand email me I keep very good turn-by-turn
notes and I can probably tell you why something happened.
Turns Sheets: Please
work diligently to make these clean. Clean
orders get processed faster and more efficiently.
If you can use the Turn sheet with the embedded excel please do so.
I really like the movement section on those a lot.
Turn Sheets to you: Please check your stat sheets
when you get them rather than at the last minute.
Yes, I realize they should be perfect but sometimes it doesn’t happen
that way. If you check ahead
of time it give time for things to get fixed rather than being in a rush.
SE’s and Hordes:
Be
warned …… They can start popping now.
I will say this about both, I do not expect that I will have an overly
active Horde world, things seem to be active without there being one Horde
active at all times. I am not
inclined to have freaky SE’s but historical ones yes.
I will set SE goals be warned.
Don’t Forget
(I know this is hard to get used to) You can contact NPN’s and they
just might be helpful. NPN’s like
making deals especially when it nets them money.
Islands & Colonization and
Building Cities:
You must
colonize an island to zero before building a city on it.
This represents the very basic regional infrastructure necessary to
assist the city in functioning.
When Visiting
provinces for diplomatic purposes I will generally send you home before the end
of the turn especially in the case of a nation. Staying longer than the current turn is viewed as over
staying your welcome.
Women Rulers:
Women can rule but the first time this happens there is a risk if you
have Feudal Allies, SFA’s, EA’s or Allied provinces they will bail on you.
There are some variables on this based on the Queen’s stats.
Whenever a female takes the throne after the first time there is a small
chance of problems once again stats of the Queen help determine the results.
Multiple Wives:
Yes you can have them. Two
weaknesses of this, makes the possibility of a DF greater and eliminates the
effectiveness of a political marriage.
ARMY BREAKDOWNS:
Ground troops:
1 Unit = 200 Men
Field Forts:
1 Unit = 1 Field Fort ****
NOTE CHANGE ******
Naval
Units:
1 Unit = 2 Ships
1065 - 1069:
Rise of the Hordes
Mercenary Pool:
If a leader is listed you must hire
the leader and his troops, leaders minimum is 5GP plus the minimum of .5gp for
regular and 1gp for elite troops unit.
Northern Europe:
Johan Olavsen
855
1HI, 10I
Independent
10W, 10XW
Mediterranean (Catholic)
Zulicini
749
5HC, 5C
(Catholic)
Barceli
II
973
10EW
Non-Islamic
Alicius
A44
1HEI, 5EI Independent
5HW, 15W
France, Spain, Italy,
Germany & Independents
10I, 20XI
England, Scotland, Eire
Independent
3C, 5XC
Any Nation on the Red Sea
Horgan’s Free Co.
767
5HEI, 10EI, 5S
Or East Africa
Egypt, Morocco & Cordoba:
Taureg Clan
833
3XEC, 30XC
Independents
10XC, 10XI
Hungary,
Serbia, Russia, Poland
G. D’Kolner
769
6HEC, 10EC
REE
3XEC
Hungary, Serbia, Russia, Poland
Independents
3HI, 7I, 15XI
Independents
5C, 10XC
Buhwayids, Egyptians, Yemen
& Shiraz
Independents
(Moslem) 7C, 15XC
Central Asia
Buddhist & Lamanist Nations
Monk Kaing
A27
10HEI
India
Proper
Deccan Raiders
824
13XEC
Independents
5I, 5XEI
Independents
5XEC
Asia (naval)
Independents
10XW
SE Asia & So. China
ZuKhan
875
6EC, 3XC
Independent
5C, 10XC
N.China, Korea, Japan
Ju Jin
A55
8EC, 10XEC
Africa:
Shia:
Not
near as wealthy as the hated Sunni the Shia still managed to construct some
facilities and help provide an uplift for the city of Alexandria which the
Egyptian king greatly appreciated.
Egypt:
Benghazi and Alexandria +1CL, Sicily (F)
Al-Hakim
was growing concerned about family matters so he sent couriers to Thebes to go
collect Al-Hakim’s nephews. Nadra
sent her 3 sons to aid her brother. How
these Coptic nephews would be accepted in the court was of much question but
they arrived at court with some fanfare and things seemed to go pretty smoothly.
The Fatimid fleet was consolidated and patrolled the Eastern Med.
vigilantly. Nobody really is too
concerned about Egyptians affairs and so they are left to their own devices.
The
King married off one of his daughters to the Jordanian Prince this cycle in a
quiet little ceremony held on the palace grounds.
Al-Hakim was having no success having children so it was hoped one of his
daughters could help the bloodline be carried on. Well the match seemed like a good one as it
produced a son in 1068 sadly in 1069 the princess died so no more children could
be added by this pair.
Ghana:
+1CL Kwame, Royal Road to Boure from Ghana, Boure (A)
King
Kanissa’ai was not even middle aged by most standards but his health began to
steadily decline from 1065 to 1068. No
one was sure what was really going on, witch doctors pumped the young king full
of all kinds of concoctions that contained Rhino horn, lion hearts, strange
herbs pretty much anything you can imagine the king took.
It did not stop the once fit and healthy Kanissa’ai from becoming an
invalid and dying tragically. The
nation breathed a sigh of relief after the kings death.
The recent rampages in the neighboring provinces had caused stress to the
economies of the Ghanan villages on the kingdoms borders and the additions of
slaves to the economy while a short-term benefit did not seem to have changed
things dramatically. Ghana tried a
little different way of dealing with their neighbors this cycle they
….parleyed! Shocking but true
Lord Botwe and Lord Karisa traveled to the province of Boure and initiated
negotiations. Botwe had to do a
great deal of reassuring to convince the locals that an army was not on the way
to cart them all off to some pet project of the king.
He was successful though not quite as successful as he would have liked
but close, a little money gifted here would have made a big difference but there
is always next cycle.
Morocco:
Port City of Sidi Ifni in Arguin, +1 CL Idjil City
Sunni Church:
The Sunni church decided the best way
to mend the fences with the Buhwayid was to do them a great service.
The people of Lebanon were the beneficiaries of this gift.
Several large facilities were built in Spain.
Algeria:
+1CL Algiers
Tunisia:
+1 CL Annaba and Mahida
Tunisians
continued to go about their business ships watched the sealanes and the army was
always on alert. Prosperity was not
breeding slothfulness in Tunisia.
Hausa:
Ivory Coast SFA, Ja built in Oyo
The
tribal kingdom put forth a great effort to woo the Gold Coast states.
The Gold Coasters liked the idea of someone offering to aid them if the
Ghanans came to kill them. While
General Askari’s military was nothing to sneeze at for a sleepy little African
kingdom any assistance is good assistance.
It was hoped that the Ghanan’s would be persuaded to look elsewhere if
the Gold Coast tied themselves to the Hausa host.
The Hausa did show more life than they had in recent years as they built
a sister city to Abu in Oyo. A
project was started to connect the capital with the Niger River as well it was
about half completed by the end of the cycle.
The King died on his triumph return home from the Gold Coast so his son
assumed the throne.
Kanem:
Port City of Umbata built in Kafin, Kafin (A), Benin (NE), Kwarafara (NE)
The leaders of Kanem were pleased to
see Umbata rewarded for his years of dedicated work by having the new port town
in the province of Kafin. Diplomatic
efforts south of Kafin were attempted but the distance from the interior African
capital was too much to overcome and so the river province remained independent.
The big news of the cycle was the
extended stay of Patriarch Timeon of the Coptic Church
Zagwe:
Road Funj to Gezira
The lands remained quiet.
The lands of the Upper Nile continued to slowly develop and prosper on
the Matriarchs of the Zagwe Kingdom. Mera
II, much like Mera, has been guiding the lands into prosperity.
A road was ordered built between the capital of the Zagwean state and the
ever growing city of New Alexandria this was completed due to the heavy
expenditure by Mera and the Coptic Church.
Yekuno Amlak was sent to Ethiopia to rebuild relations.
He was a wily diplomat but the Ethiopians were content with their place
in the world.
Ethiopia: City
of Gore’ in Walaga
Ethiopians are back to minding their
own business and living the peaceful life on the plateau. All of the Ethiopian cities received walls this turn.
Coptic
Church:
The
Coptic Church put their people and resources to work.
A road was started that would run from New Alexandria to Soba.
The Archbishop of Ethiopia died but his successor David took over and
oversaw the beautification project in New Alexandria.
New Alexandria is quite likely the largest purely religious city in the
world. Lamanist would argue that
the Tibetan capital is the largest religious city in the world but since it is
the Tibetan capital most think it is just Lamanist arrogance. A vast majority of the population are monks and nuns (if nuns
are inappropriate for the time period or religion the GM apologizes for his
ignorance) of the Coptic faith. Patriarch
Timeon managed to journey through the vast tribal lands and into Kanem.
The Patriarch opened the conversation of conversion with the Chieftain of
the Kanem tribes.
Kilwa:
Prince
Kenan manages to kill two wives but has no luck being blessed with children this
cycle. The good news is however the
Prince Kenan becomes King Kenan without incident and that is not a bad thing.
Prince Mafune got shipped off to Nyasa a nice place to visit but
wouldn’t want to live there. In
Nyasa, were he couldn’t cause any trouble, Mafune found himself a wife,
what’s a guy to do when sitting around for 5 years the lovely pair had a
daughter by the end of the cycle. Little
else happened in this fair nation. The
people of the Comoros were pleasantly surprised to see boatloads of material
brought to their islands so they could have al the luxaries that the people on
the mainland enjoyed.
Zanzibar:
Pleased that the Ceylonese had not
forgotten about them.
Zimbabwe:
Both the King and his son stayed in
the capital to take care of ruling the country and work on expanding the royal
family. A great cultivation was
initiated in Kafue this cycle as the project was nearly half way complete by the
end of the cycle. The only other
thing of note to occur in this region was the rise of some controversy between
the Nobles and the religious caste. Apparently
African paganism/shamanism is coming under some scrutiny, which is causing some
unrest.
Zulu Nation:
Sharik +1CL
Europe:
Bolgars:
Built lots of troops.
Kiev:
Torki and Levedia (NE), Atelzuko (FA)
The
peaceful kingdom of Kiev continued to pursue diplomacy as a means of attaining
what they wanted. Diplomatic
efforts were launched in the south. Vachko,
Ivan IV and Pytor all traveled south to the lands of the nomads.
While the diplomatic efforts of the Rus were taking place in Levedia and
Torki, the Scythians came with fire and sword and the Rus, having no
alternative, attempted to flee. Vlachko was not successful in getting away and was put to the
sword. In times of trouble the
cream rises to the top and the venerable Pachenko took over Vlachko’s duties
and returned to the capital with the news of the Scythians arrival.
There was uproar in the court. The
peace loving Rus were no match for the Scythians and their tremendous army,
messengers were immediately sent south to Constantinople in hopes that the
Patriarch would help solve this problem.
Novgorod:
GM Moved Novgorod to the Baltic because he didn’t like it on the Lake,
+1CL Novgorod, Kymia (C), Yaroslave (A)!
The King who was entering his early
sixties decided his kingdom would probably be best served if he stayed at home
and ruled so he returned to his city by the sea and ruled over his country.
He of course chased his children out of the palace because they were
driving him crazy. Princess
Katerina was given some governmental duties which was pretty surprising
considering the reason for the split with the Rus was blamed on them naming a
Queen as ruler. Katerina was
exceptional though and so the King felt justified in his decision, he also did
not name her the heir.
Ivan III and General Feodor made a
brief trip to the lands of Kymia and discovered that only a few Lapp tribals
ever called the area home so the Heir laid claim to the region in the name of
Ivan II. Princess Katerina
had a much tougher task she was sent to Yaroslav to secure her father a blushing
bride and to land as good of a political arrangement as possible with the
leaders of the region. Yarosloav
had broken with Novgorod many years ago over some dispute no one even remembered
anymore, fortunately for Katerina. Katerina
was especially wily when dealing with the boyars of Yaroslav so she somehow
managed to persuade the most powerful Boyar that her father needed a bride and
he agreed to send his daughter to Novgorod.
After that she showered the leader with some gifts and may have seduced
his son though no one is saying anything. Anyway
when she left everyone was very happy and the province was economically allied
to her father. Shortly thereafter
the Yaroslav Boyar died and his son took over which elevated relations a bit
more.
Ivan II was ecstatic with the results
of the cycle and his new bride. A
peace agreement was secured with the Kievian Empire that is to last no less than
15 years. So far so good.
Galica:
+1GPV Galica
The Galican’s ecstactic over having
successfully cultivating their home province immediately initiated a land grant
program to give the citizens who had been toiling in the rough terrain of Galica
homesteads. The Church helped
sponsor this expansion by providing the materials and the gold for new
homesteads and farming equipment.
England:
Dyffed and Cornwall (F)
The
King spread the wealth as he allocated funds to improve numerous provinces.
The people were happy for a change.
This is England of course so you couldn’t really tell they were happy
though. Athelstan Black Tongue died
of old age in July 7th 1066.
Athlestan’s legacy rightly or wrongly will forever be connected with
his betrayal of the Welsh. To those in the core areas of England Athlestan was known as
“The Conqueror” for smashing the foul Welshmen’s kingdom to bits.
Either way you view the lengthy rule of Athelstan he should be regarded
as a man who ruled all of England and Wales, which is no mean feat.
Molly
assumes the throne! There is a good
deal of disgruntlement over the ascension of a Queen to the throne.
There is urban unrest in Caernarvon and in Lancaster and York’s
northern areas but these did not amount to enough of a problem to be a great
concern. The Caste society of the
English saved the kingdom from exploding into a full-fledged revolt.
Athelstan
and Molly’s daughter Edwina died in pregnancy.
Percy assumed the role of Prince. Business
went on as usual and many leaders swarmed into the regions of Dyffed and
Cornwall and the provinces finally
relented and became friendly.
Celtic
Church:
A
lot of builds and support for the loyal followers of the Celtic church.
Ireland:
Port City of Dublin +1 CL, Trondhiem (F)
While
most of the leaders of the Kingdom tended to the standard affairs of state the
Earl of Ulster, ummm second Earl of Ulster, the first Earl died very early in
1065, traveled with some troops to Lienster to check out the goings on.
The influx of Welshmen 15 years ago or so had not been monitored very
well but since they hadn’t caused any trouble it was not a great concern.
The Irish and the Welsh had never gotten along well but the Irish were
somewhat sympathetic to the Welsh because they had been chased from their lands
by the foul……well now that Molly Ryn was on the throne not so foul
Englishmen. What was
truly amazing is that when the Earl arrived on the coast he found that the
Welshmen had so inundated the area that where the once small fishing village of
Dublin had been their now resided a small port.
Stunned by this development the Earl immediately sent a message to the
king. The Earl took the citizens
that had agreed to move into the region from the surrounding counties into the
city and met with the local mayor a hearty middle-aged warrior Finnaughen who
claimed to be the King of Wales. The
Earl of Ulster tried to act amused but he was quickly becoming very concerned.
Finnaughen invited all the settlers to join the community however and was
as hospitable as one could possibly be.
The
Earl was given a nice home with stables and his men were fed well while he was a
guest in Dublin. The new citizens
seemed to not be an intrusion and quickly settled into the area as the city
expanded. The goods and gold that
were to be applied to the construction of a full sized city were instead applied
to the construction of public infrastructure, which was woefully lacking in the
city. The King sent word to the
Earl several months later, probably shortly after he recovered from his shock
the King sent a Message to the Earl and the “King of Wales”
Good
King Finnaughen
It
has come to my attention that your people are enjoying and prospering in my
lands and I applaud you and the citizens of Dublin for attaining such a presence
in the tiny hamlet of Dublin. Since
I know you only have the best interest of the Kingdom of Ireland in mind I would
like to thank you for your peoples faithful service. Your father when he sent you and your brother to my lands
assured me you would handle yourself like gentleman and that you would aid my
nations prosperity. You have
exceeded expectations I must say. Due
to your good works I will assign you the Title of the Earl of Lienster effective
immediately and brother Lwellyn will be assigned the title of the Mayor of
Dublin. If you would like to trade
these titles you can the Earl of Ulster will make the Decree in the town square
when you decide who is to be what. Please
feel free to make the Earl aware of your military contingent as soon as possible
as well.
King
Ryn
Patrick
Ryn the Lord Ryn’s younger son died this cycle in a riding accident.
He had enjoyed a good life so it was only tragic in the sense that he was
still reasonably young.
Norway:
Iceland Colonized, Norway Cultivated
Having
not done much in the last couple of cycles the Norwiegns got off their duffs.
Orkney/Scotland:
End to Slavery!
The nobles and jarls of Scotland
decided to agree with the king and give up their slaves.
There was a big sigh of relief in the court as the laws abolishing
slavery were accepted by all. Walter
II who is the heir to the throne was happy to find out his new bride was quite
fertile. He was now the proud
father of three daughters and a son, Walter III?
The children all seemed very hearty, at least their lungs were because
they could all wail loud enough to make the castle shake or so it was said.
In order to celebrate the peaceful transition from a slave society
Edinburgh was beautified with a park complex.
Poland:
Port City of Szczecin in Odobia, Odobia
(A), Pomerania (NE)
Continued
effort was put toward becoming more faithful in Poland and this effort netted
some rewards this cycle. It helped
a great deal that the Roman Catholic Church had made a great effort to support
the Polish people including assist to those living in the rural areas of
Kauyavia this cycle.
Krzysztof
III traveled to Obodria and picked up his new bride. She was a pagan but it was assumed that with the religious
zeal that embodied the Polish state during this era that it was only a matter of
time till she threw off the old ways and embraced the true faith.
This did help the diplomatic efforts in the province but not nearly as
much as the brand spanking new city did. Conversion
efforts continued to some effect in Pomerainia and Obodria as there populations
were slowly lulled into believing that their salvation lie in the hands of only
one God as opposed to many.
Baltic
Pagans: Economic
Development
Baltic
Trade Coalition: Port City of
Helsinki in Turku
The
BTC continues to grow and prosper on the Baltic.
HRE:
Fortress Franconia, City of Antwerp in Holland, City of Mainz in Hesse,
Road from Bremen to Hamburg,
+1CL Ostend, Bremen, Viborg, Ulm
& Koln
The Queen continued to rule with an
iron hand. Behind the scenes she
pulled the strings as well. Even at
65 she had all her facilities and controlled nearly every aspect of the
government. Most of the rest of the
drones, I mean leaders, went about doing the things that Elizabeth told them to
do. Otto III returned from Italy
just in time to get the Army and his wife Athena to Swabia before he died.
Athena took control of the army and waited for the Queen to send a
general to take it over. The tension was building over this development because now
the very capable Athena who had recently had to relinquish the Tuscan throne to
her nephew was in charge of a large army of Germany and actually had a nominal
claim to the throne that she could press if Elizabeth was out of the way.
That would have to wait for next cycle however.
Carinthia:
New City of Klagen
The Carinthians built the new city of
Klagen in the shadow of the ancestral castle.
Kingdom of Italy: Rome (F)
Athena
was very concerned about the viability of her empire. She was south to Rome, she laid claim to that city as the
Pope finally divested himself of the last of his material possessions (GM failed
to take care of this last turn). The
army grew a great deal as a result of the concern over a potential invasion and
everyone was put on alert.
Bohemia:
Economic Development
Bavaria:
The
Bavarians concerned about how things were developing in Europe decided it would
only be appropriate to bolster their army and increase the effectiveness of
their defenses.
Pope:
Cathedral in Romagna
The
Popes realm remained peaceful. The
Orthodox missionaries seemed to have retreated from Southern Italy and there was
a good deal of relief over this. The
Kingdom of Naples still existed but the rest of the south was in the hands of
good Catholics. The Pope did many
good works in support of his loyal Catholics and everyone was happy.
One thing was becoming a problem for the Pope.
Catholic missionaries lacked the religious zeal of days gone by; the Pope
knew he would have to address this issue soon because it was affecting the
abilities of his bishops and missionaries to convert the masses.
Branist:
The
Branist deployed into southern Italy. The
tension between the Orthodox and Catholics could
be
cut with a knife and the Branist had agreed to step in and try to defuse the
situation because
the
Pope had notified them of Pietro had confessed his sins, prior to his death, to
the Pope. The
Elder
Gregor Jacobson had not asked the Pope for any details from the confession when
he
passed
through Rome though he did stop to visit the Holy City for a short time to
determine what
the
Pope’s policy was on the provinces of Southern Italy. The Branist arrival in Southern Italy
seems
to have had a good effect on the stability of the region, well that or the fact
that no was
paying
to the region this cycle it was tough to tell.
France:
The French conducted a great deal of
economic development and the people rejoiced.
The most impressive thing about the French progression is the devotion of
the French ruling class to developing their urban areas.
In 1068 King Michael died of the cough that was going around.
This did cause a brief bit of nervousness because no heir had been named
but Michael’s sister took control of the situation and assigned Michael II as
King and his younger brother as prince. Things
continue on the whole to be quiet in the lands of France.
Gascony:
Urban Development
Aquitaine:
Rural Improvement in Limousin
Leon:
+1CL Leon
Tragedy struck as Francis III heir to
the throne was pitched from a horse while riding and was killed.
This could have caused a little bit of a problem but the King is pretty
healthy and Thomas II Francis II ‘s cousin and prince is hearty and hale and
ready to assume the throne if needed.
Gold arrived from the French, which helped bolster the coffers of Leon.
Funding was allocated to the recruitment of a 1000 horsemen to bolster
the army of Leon incase trouble came from the south.
Some defensive structures were put in place as well.
Thomas II married and sired a son in 1068 his wife died shortly after the
birth tragically. The Matriarch of the family Queen Corianna died at the age of
82.
Cordoba:
+1 CL Palina and Valencia
The
80 year old Mohamed finally died in 1066, which actually made him 81.
Someday someone will write a book about the two lives of Mohamed.
At 20 he was considered the military hero who was going to lead the
armies of Islam to the conquest of all of Spain.
He failed because of the Catholic unification of the north. His fathers dream shattered his life became endangered.
His father conspired to put the Moroccan Prince on the throne over
Mohammed because of his failures but his father was unsuccessful in his
attempted unification with Morocco and Mohammed assumed the throne peacefully on
his father’s death. Mohammed
turned to God and supported the huge amount of religious construction in his
lands by the Sunni church. He also
devoted himself to the betterment of the lands of Cordoba.
This he carried out with great zeal.
The cities grew a great deal roads were built to connect the cities,
infrastructure was put in place to make peoples lives easier even in rural areas
irrigation projects, schools and other services were provided for the betterment
of the people. Mohammed dies a
happy man and possibly has gone from the peak as general of the great Cordovan
armies to the pit as the goat that could not defeat the Catholics back to the
peak again as the great builder.
The
passing of Mohammed went peacefully and Abdul who had been waiting patiently for
the opportunity to take the throne finally did.
He followed the guidelines his father had set and been so successful
with. Some troops were raised since
there were concerns over a peaceful Europe full of large Catholic powers.
Urbanization continued in a few cities and some economic development
occurred as well. Everything was
quiet.
Hungary:
A
large effort was made to make Pecs as beautiful as it could be.
Once that was done a couple of political marriages were enacted one with
Bulgaria and one with Galica. While
marrying between religions at this time in history was risky Hungary was
seemingly exempt from the strife that was tearing apart Southern Italy.
Hungary had always maintained good relations with its Orthodox neighbors
and in the southern reaches of the Hungarian realm house a good many Orthodox
constituents. Mathais died in 1067
but his brother assumed the throne quite peacefully.
Serbia:
Postal Road to Dalmatia, Royal Road to Thessaly, Ragusa
The
Serbian King Mikhail II decided staying ay home and enjoying the company of his
wife and the big comfy chair (the throne to you and me). Mikhail was blessed with two daughters and a son during
this cycle. Prince Zarko
Mikhail’s nephew was named heir and then immediately shipped to Aleppo too
take control of the Army of the East. Zarko
was very capable of handling an army and relished the opportunity to take the
helm. The Buhwayids did not
threaten the security of the Byzantines Eastern frontier.
Greece:
Merger with Montenegro
Kingdom
of Trebizond: Port
City of Oblia in Polovotsy
Trebizond
laid down a city on the Dnepr River to take advantage of the opportunities in
the North. The Kingdom of Trebizond
moved it’s capital to Kherson since it is quickly becoming the most important
city in the kingdom. The arrival of
the Scythians forced Trebezond to close the ferry to Taman.
Bulgaria:
Waiting and watching.
Byzantines:
Antioch Fortified
The
Byzantines were very busy on many projects within their realm.
Idle hands are the devils workshop was the motto of the good Emperor
Jovian. Public works projects in
many rural areas helped boost the confidence of the local magistrates.
Walls were erected around the city of Attilia.
Antioch’s valuable port was given a facelift, which included some tall
towers and a very heavy chain across the mouth of the port that could be raised
should the alarm be sounded. In
Vaspurakhan the Armenians were shown the generosity of the Byzantines…hmmmm….
well they seemed nice enough, as a cultivation project was started in the
province. Naysayers said the only
reason it was done is so the locals could be taxed more heavily but what are the
peasants going to do they are nothing more than serfs so they do as they are
told. The Emperor Jovian also
struck on a great scheme he would alter the economic model so that the middle
classes could make more money. That
would pave the way for much greater taxes being collected so he set about
remodeling his economy, it would be a lengthy process.
The
Armenians generally do not hold a great deal of ill will toward their Orthodox
brethren however the Armenians had enough of the diplomatic overtures of their
people and the mucking around of missionaries.
The Armenians rose up! While
the mountain villages were small because of a visit by the Turks barely a
generation ago the Armenians were a hearty lot and the mobilized and army of
about 6000 mixed infantry. The
killed visitors in Armenia and Lazikus and those not killed were lucky to make
it out alive. They then moved on
Cappadocia where the put a great many of the Orthodox faith to the sword.
Those not put to the sword decided declaring that the Coptic faith was
superior to that of the Orthodox faith was a good idea.
The news reached Aleppo along with Parthenius who had been part of a
diplomatic effort in Armenia proper. The
King died at about the time Cappadocia was being ripped apart and so the armies
in Aleppo sat idle and waited. By
the end of 1068 the Heir to the throne had died leaving just Constantine left
since his other brother had died in Lazica allegedly.
The Empire held together remarkably well through all that turmoil and the
commander of the Eastern Armies, Quo Validar assumed control of the army of
Aleppo and prepared the defense incase the Armenians came over the mountains.
The Armenians were not as foolish as some might think however they were
well aware of the large military contingent that resided in Aleppo to defend the
Byzantines from the Buhwayids. They
decided to raid Edessa and Psidia instead.
The Byzantines could not respond quick enough to stop the actions from
being successful. At the end of the
cycle the foul Armenians had retreated back into their mountain hideaways and
the Byzantines began plotting ways to deal with the wretched Coptics.
Patriarch:
The
Patriarch has learned from his predecessor follies. The Archbishop of Athens newly appointed to the post of
Patriarch handled things in a very controlled and methodical manner.
He concentrated on the things that made the religion strong, it’s
people. He knew the faithful
regardless of where they were would remain faithful and while the efforts of the
Catholics had some effect the Orthodoxy was having similar successes elsewhere
and great successes on the Steppe. Churches
were built and the people flocked to them.
Public works a calling card of the Orthodox faith continued at a break
neck pace as well. All was good at
least until the Scythians showed up. The
Patriarch sighed and began counting the coin it was going to take to persuade
the Scythians to go elsewhere.
Mercenary League:
There
is always work to be had for the Mercenary league, more money flows into their
coffers from Europe.
Scythians:
Khirgiz (A), Turk (F) & Caucus (A)
The
Scythians seemed to have recovered from their life under the Turk.
While a fair master the defeat at the hands of the Mongols left quite a
bad taste in the Scythian’s mouth. There
is an old Scythian adage the goes “ I wouldn’t send my mother on a trek to
the east” well the Turks paid when they ignored that age old warning and the
Scythian Khan Rusik II was not about to follow the bad Turk example.
To the West the Scythians went flying the banners and blowing the horns
of war. The Kirghiz were the first
to hear the call to battle. The
Khirgiz had been sometimes friends and sometimes enemies. The Horde Mistress Briana took a liking to Rusik and so she
and her host befriended the Scythians. The
Scythian force seemed to double over night and Rusik thanked Allah for this
surprisingly large infusion of manpower, even if the vast Kirgizian host was
only an ally. The Turk and the
Caucus followed suit as the force traveled westward to the promised land?
Once the vast host of 80,000 plus
reached Patzinak the settled in and began raiding neighboring provinces.
Taman was hit most hard by this assault as they had the most to lose.
The Kingdom of Trebizond cut the ferry route in order to stop the
lightning fast steppe nomads from getting across the straits before the call to
arms could be struck. Leveda and
Torki were also victimized though there was not much of a haul.
Middle
East:
Buhwayids:
Road from Mesopotamia to Media completed
The
Buhwayids prepared for the possibility of invasion. None came and the King was happy. Another 5000 more men were added to the active rosters of the
king’s army in support of the defensive posture that the Buhwayids were
taking. Aside from that all was
pretty quiet.
Persia:
Persia Colonized
Persians
waited for more assaults by the foul Buhwayids they did not come so the former
homeland was resettled.
Azerbaijan:
City of Baku
in Shirvan
While
it has often been peaceful in this mountain kingdom the peoples of this region
were shocked when a group of unsavory Shia’s were caught trying to gain
influence among some of the lesser nobility.
These undesirables were rounded up and eliminated.
Yemen:
The Chalukyan city of Raas Zuufaan is
the bane of Yemense existence and will continue to be for another five years.
King Ali had the right idea. He
built 20 large warships to bolster his fleet.
The sailed out of port with his fleet now numbering nearly what the
Chalukyan fleet numbered last turn. Thirty-Four
ships mostly heavies moved into Mandab where they immediately put the city under
siege. The Chalukyan fleet arrived
about a month after the seaside siege began.
King Ali – 22 Heavy Warships, 8
Regular Warships and 4 Light Warships also a small contingent of marines
numbering 400.
Vs
King Chalu – 10 Heavy Elite
Warships, 20 Regular Warships and 20 Light Warships, 1000 Elite Marines and 1000
Light Spearmen
Ali kept all his ships close
together. The heavy ships would
need protection from the much more numerous lighter ships of the Chalukyans.
The Chalukyans grouped the Heaviest ships together in a fairly tight
formation and used the Regulars and lights on the wings.
INITIAL DEPLOYMENT:
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FIRST STAGES: Chalukyan light ships engage
the Yemenese warships who closed faster than the Chalukyans expected.
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Second Stage:
Battle heats up as the Yemenese Warships enter the fray.
Chalukyan warships swarm on the right trying to overwhelm the defending
Yemense flank purposely left weak in hopes that the left flank could be swung
against the Chalukyans. The
Chalukyan heavy warships are still not engaged and the Yemense are very thankful
for that since they hold battle hardened heavily trained soldiers.
The Yemenese did have to deal with a fair amount of light bow and
spearmen that were loaded on the Chalukyan Warships.
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Stage Three:
Bloody Results occur when the Chalukyan swordsmen rolled over the rails
and engage the Yemenese sailors. While
the second stage went much in the way the Yemenese wanted the third and final
stage really did not. The
impressive heavy ships of the Chalukyan Navy hit the Yemenese heavies in the
center hard. The expert crews and
the well-trained marines boarded the Yemenese ships, which did have small marine
contingents, and torn the defenders apart many a Yemenese maiden became a widow
on this day.
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Final Closing: Ali saw the snakes tail wrapping around behind his back and
he knew if he did not break the engagement in the center all would be lost so
the trumpets were sounded and the Yemenese began to extract themselves as best
as possible.
The Chalukyans gobbled up a couple of the heavies in the center but Ali
because of his superior ship designs was able to extract a good amount of what
remained.
The Chalukyans docked the damaged
vessels in their African port and sailed north to Al Mokha and parked in the
straits Aden. Now rather than block
all shipping, which might have been appropriate, the Chulukyans sent an emissary
ashore with a message for the Sultan of Yemen.
Sultan Ali,
You do us a great disservice by
waging war on us. We have done
nothing to draw you ire yet you persist. We
will offer this token show of peaceful intent by returning your captured
sailors. We will also refrain this
one time from turning your merchant fleet into a large pile of kindling.
Please reciprocate by removing your troops from the Berbera province and
let us call a truce. Then we can negotiate a lasting settlement in the upcoming
years.
Raj Chalu
When the messenger returned the
captured Yemenese sailors where sent ashore in small groups and then the
Chalukyan fleet sailed off.
Ghazi:
Fortress Transoxnia
Many
lesser leaders died this cycle but it did not lessen the effectiveness of the
Ghazi government. Omar who provided
a couple of heirs for the Ghazi royal family provided the most important action
of the cycle. The rest of the
Empire really busied themselves with things like making sure that the government
held together and that no one messed with them.
Reactionary armies were stationed around the nation to stop intruders.
A fortress was constructed in hopes that the Kingdom would not have to
experience the same misfortune they had at the hands of the Seljuks.
Troops were stationed in the north to watch the Persian border as well.
There was a great deal of concern that the religious fervor would spill
into the Ghazi lands and Wadi wanted nothing to do with religious fanaticism.
Chorasmia:
Chorasmia already possessing a very
large army decided to build some roads to connect up the cities in the empire.
India:
Tibet:
The
Tibetan Army could not pass on and opportunity to help the Bengals…..or
themselves. The launched a serious
invasion against the provinces of Guar and Palas. They helped facilitate the destruction of the Lamdu faith by
their actions as well.
Lamanist Tibet:
Port City of Tanahbala on Nais
Everything went very well for the
Lamanist this cycle except their missionary work in the lands north of the Kano
tribes. Missionaries disappeared
without a trace in Tsaidam and returned from Tsinghai after ineffective efforts.
In Kilwa and Charchan however efforts of the missionaries was very
successful. Continuing their close association with Ceylon and their
other Lamanist constituents the church built public works and other facilities
to aid their loyal followers.
Punjab:
Nothin
much
Shiva Church of Kashmir:
Facilities and investment in Punjab
Kucha:
Beshbalik (F), +1CL Kuqa, Turfan (A)
“See Tartars”
The
85-year-old Matriarch of the Kuchan people continued to rule even though her
grandson came of age this cycle, no reason to rush her out the door.
There was a great deal of anticipation in the realm as three large hordes
occupying the Steppe. These were dangerous times so the army was increased in size.
Seljuks who had for quite a while been friendly toward the Kuchans
settled in Kuchan territory with the assistance of the Manichaean church.
Manichaeans:
The
Manichean priest visited with the Seljuks, what remained of them at least and
persuaded them to settle on Loulan Viji. The
city of Toksun was founded by the Manichaeans to support the Seljuk settlement
in the province.
Paramara
Alliance: Tarain (F)
Mrigai
II decided his brother the Bengals needed a little help against the Usurper king
so they sent ships down the Ganges to aid with the passive siege.
At home the only concern the king had was bringing the wayward province
of Tarain back into the fold. This
effort was very successful.
Bengal:
Life
in the Bengal lands pretty much stunk. The
declared Raj, Ekak II, decided to conduct a passive siege of the Bihar capital.
Some folks were startled by this decision until about 20 Paramara ships
showed up outside Bihar and began blockading river trade.
Things then got a little tense in the capital.
Not long after that things got a little tense throughout Maghada as well
when news came that the Tibetans had moved against Guar.
The Tibetans rolled across the border with nearly twenty thousand men who
were very well trained, well equipped and well lead.
Guar fell quickly and panic set in among the Hindu Kingdom of Palas (Bengals).
Ekak
II had a tough choice to make. He
could try to oppose the Tibetans in Guar with his nearly 16,000 men or he could
wrap up the siege and hope the Tibetans headed into Palas.
He chose to complete the siege.
1066
rolled in the Tibetans moved against Palas.
When this happened the Lamdu Bengals who had been seduced somewhat by
agents of the Bengal throne decided to offer to surrender.
The Lamdu Bengal “Raj” was captured trying to flee down river in the
middle of the night and his successor who feared all of the Rajdom of the
Bengals would fall to the foul Tibetans decided that it was time to end the
insurrection. Since the Lamdu
“Raj” was safely disposed of the wise Ekak accepted the surrender and the
Bengal army was nearly whole again.
The
Tibetans rolled into Palas and chased the Lamdu Bengal General from the region.
He wisely fled to Maghada. Where
his army was incorporated into the reformed Bengal military.
In Palas the Tibetan King moved on the city of Tamarapilti.
The City had very high walls and the Tibetan King knew this would be
tough but he had a VERY large contingent of highly trained infantry and a pretty
good grouping on siege engineers also. On
to the walls the Tibetans went in force. August 3rd, 1066, the city
fell in the brutal onslaught but the Tibetan king died in the assault so the
cost was high.
1067
rolled around and Raj Ekak died early in the year so no campaign was initiated
against the Tibetans. For a change
the ascension of the Bengal Leadership actually went smoothly so there was a
very minor positive. The Cycle
ended with the New Bengali leader in Maghada with the Kalia firmly in charge of
the military but looking across the border at Guar and Palas and wondering what
to do about the Tibetan threat.
Brahmin
Hindu Church:
Busied
them destroying the Lamdu Church. And
building a few facilities.
W. Chalukya:
At home, improvements continued on
the capital. A good many lightly
armed spearmen were added to the army and a good number of light lancers were
added to the land forces at home. King
Chalu led his fleet once again to Africa to do battle with Yemen.
This time the Yemenese decided to sail out of port with their newly
construct heavy draft ships and do battle.
The battle looked to be pretty even
“SEE YEMEN”
Chola:
+1CL Matwada, Tanjore, Vihilla
The Cholans continue to mind their
own business and develop. Several
Projects were initiated to make life better for the people of the Cholan Empire.
Both Slavery and the Caste society were coming under scrutiny.
These archaic forms were thought to be holding back the further economic
development of the nation, thus they needed to be removed.
In the end nothing bad happened and that was good as Southern India
continues to prosper under the benevolent and wise rule of Raj Tamahla.
Sri
Lanka: Scebelli (NE)
The
aged King Siberut made sure Tanahbala was built then he set sail out into the
open ocean after reprovisioning. He
returned battered and beaten along with what remained of his fleet he told tales
of great sea monsters that could wrap their bodies completely around whole ships
and crush their hulls. Other great
creatures that seemed to have hundreds of arms and would pluck up ten sailors in
one grab and drag them into the sea. Loyal
commander Race was killed on the expedition.
Lord Quest journeyed to Africa and disappeared into the lands never to be
seen again.
Tripuri
& Uttar Pradesh
Uttar
Pradesh won the Mercenary bidding this cycle and parked a vast majority of their
armed forces in the bitterly disputed land of Vasta.
Shortly after the beginning of the cycle the king was found dead in his
tent. He was 63 so it is the
subject of some debate what happened to him though, some nefarious characters
had been apprehended recently trying to infiltrate the camp so it was possible
that an assassin might have played a part in the king’s death.
This was not investigated because Dwijesh decided now that he had control
of the entire army he should be King!
On
to Matura! Dwijesh took the Army
across the river and into the Homeland were he quickly subdued the region and
the capital as the Raj fled into the lands of the Paramara Princes.
Dwujesh installed himself on the throne and placed various family members
in position of Authority. Admiral
Sanjiv decided that there was no reason to oppose Dwijesh.
Dwijesh finding the admiral loyal then moved against Rajput and subdued
it as well.
While
Dwijesh was busy securing his right to rule the Tripuri decided to seize the
opportunity
When
the Tripuri got word of the calamity striking the Raj of Uttar Pradesh the moved
on the province of Vasta with their very large cavalry force of about 13,000
men. Unfortunately for the Tripuri
the numerous fortified towns in the region still existed.
More unfortunately for the Tripuri they had no siege engineers.
Dyupati slowly and methodically attempted to reduce the forts in Vasta.
He was effective in reducing some of the positions but eventually Dwijesh
came back across the river into Vasta with his 17,000 men. Dyupati broke off his attempts against the fortified towns
and turned his force to face Dwijesh and the Deccan commander.
Dwijesh
was not near the commander Dyupati was but his force was more skilled and
remarkably more flexible with the addition of the Deccan Raiders.
Dyupati thought he would be best served meeting his opponent is a field
battle so the forces met outside the city of Gwailor.
Per usual the UP army was anchored in the center by the Royal Guard, 1600
Infantry with heavy scimitars, long spears, and shields as well as chain.
They were backed by 3600 short bowmen
The Tripuri were incapable of breaking up that center core so the
attempted feints and manuevers to draw out the Cavalry forces of the UP army.
This worked to some effect as the Dwijesh ordered his 4400 heavily
lancers out to engage nearly 7000 light lancers of the Tripuri.
The UP troops did not make as much of an impact as they had hoped but
they did push back the Tripuri. Both
sides unleashed the horse archers to harass each other’s main forces.
The light forces then split off and began engaging each other.
The battle broke off pretty early as Dyupati knew his light lancers could
not be allowed to engage the royal guards of the UP.
With
all the defensive positions in the province and the imposing skill of the UP
forces Dyupati was forced to give up on the attempted conquest of Vasta.
In 1069 the Tupuri Raj Vishnar died of old age and Dyupati was relieved
he was not entangled in Vasta still as he had to return to the capital and make
sure his brothers did not try anything stupid.
Unlike the rest of the Indian kingdoms who have been racked with dynastic
failure after dynastic failure the Tripuri change of leadership went smoothly.
S.E.Asia:
Burma:
Yezagyo
died when traveling back from Samatata and panic spread throughout the kingdom.
Fortunately for all concerned the kingdom held together.
Nothing much happening here besides some economic development.
The Kingdom is peaceful and the people are happy.
A close eye is on the developments in the Tibetan and Bengal lands as a
conflict is breaking out there hot on the tail of the dynastic failure of the
former Bengali regime.
Khmer:
Angkor Wat +1 CL
Jayavarman VII died at the age of 36
leaving the kingdom in the hands of his 15year old son. Fortunately Jayavarman VIII was one of the best leaders the
throne had seen in the better part of a century and so the realm remained
stable. Diplomatic efforts in the
former Champan capital were curtailed somewhat because of the death of the King
but they had some effect.
Vishnu of SE Asia: MW Aceh & Utara also some facilities
The
Vishnu dove into their work and benefited from their newfound enthusiasm.
Support was given to all the loyal followers of the faith and this was a
good thing. The big win was in Java
were the leadership there had been somewhat reluctant to open the door all the
way to the enlightened Vishnu Church. Now
after much hard effort the Illuminated one had won over the Ruler of the Isles
and full cooperation was at hand.
The only misfortune to befall the
Vishnu occurred in Sula Wesi where apparently no one had bothered to inform the
locals that religious figures are not to be eaten.
The locals did not really like the Hand of Vishnu’s message so they ate
him.
Malay
Confederation:
Singapore Fortified
Java:
Bangka Colonized, +1 CL Singhisari and Sunda, Mindinao (Very Angry),
Jambi (NE) & Sula Wesi (A)
Java
continued its pursuit of an aggressive diplomatic policy.
While the plans for diplomatic endeavors seemed well thought out things
just did not go well at all. The
fates seemed to have decreed that this cycle was a poor cycle for pursuing
diplomatic relations and so only one such action bore any fruit at all.
In Mindinao the Cannibal King became so enraged at the overtures of
Kawashutri and Patali that Kawashurti ended up in the cook pot and Patali barely
escaped a similar fate.
Asia:
Mongols:
Ah
gold it is a wonderful thing. The
Mongols march off to China to waylay one of their former Steppe brothers.
“See Liao”
Tartars:
Ulani Hostile
Baltajin
took all his men and their families and decided it was time for the clan to
move. Long had his people been a
neighbor of the Ulani so he thought it would be a good idea to visit them before
heading out to the Khitan lands. Baltajin
being from the great lake region apparently did not know that the Jaguar were
especially mean to the “people of the valley” as the Ulani were called.
When Baltajin arrived in the forested reaches of Ugria the Ulani were
there to meet him in force. Baltajin
opened up with a parley but sadly Baltajin was not much of a diplomat as he was
used to having the great number of troops that traveled with him intimidate
those he was negotiating with. This
while often effective did not have the effect on the Ulani Baltajin had hoped.
The Ulani leader Arigh was a man of some note in the Ulani tribes who
were on the verge of mobilizing themselves.
Baltajin
and others with his 80,000 horse archers met Arigh with his 12,000 horse archers
and 40,000 spearmen. Baltajin
though he had numerical superiority had a problem because he was in rough
terrain, not conducive to the steppe tactics of cavalry armies. Baltajin met with his war council. It was decided that a defensive stance would be taken and
that the paths out of the mountains would be guarded by Quara Arlsan.
The
fires burned high in the province of Ugria all through the night of June 24th
as the two forces planned their moves. Arigh
was a crack tactician on the same level as Baltajin.
He held back his limited number of horse archers and used them just to
counter probing actions by the Tartars. The
morning of the 25th the forces deployed in a wide expanse near the
village of Kyzyl. The battle was
met on a wide front and was essentially a large number of small battles across a
broad front. The Tartar while
having a nearly two to one advantage had difficulty bringing their strength to
bear in lands full of trees as well as steppe hills and valleys especially when
those lands were unfamiliar. The
Tartars fought valiantly but chose to withdraw rather than disk a drawn out
battle with the Ulani which Baltajin after the first encounter, which was
effectively a draw.
Into
the lands of the Kuchans & Seljuk. The
Seljuk, well at least what remained of them had been absorbed into the Kingdom
of Kucha. Sulieman and his clan had
taken up residence Turfan and a city was being built in the province by the
tribe and Manicheans. First to be
hit was Tuhrnwang. The Tartar made
hay here terrorizing the civilians and taking everything of value.
The then rolled into the province of Turfan and had to face a foe
prepared to meet them though only half their size.
Baltajin
and his 65 thousand or so horse nomads engaged the Seljuks under Sulieman and
the Kuchans under the tough Tien Shen Lord.
The Defenders had some very impressive heavy cavalry with armor and
shields as well as lances and swords their armor glistened in the sun; this was
Seligman’s royal guard of 4000 men. The
Kuchan commander 6000 heavy lancers and 7000 light lancers to boot.
The combined Seljuk and Kuchan army also had nearly 20,000 horse archers.
Apparently the men of the steppe did not underestimate to greatly their
northern neighbors.
The
Tartars moved along the prosperous silk road up into Turfan picking off small
caravans as they went, the men laughed about the wealth that was just laying
around to be picked up in civilized lands.
Loulan Viji was the merchant stop over in Turfan and the Tartar assumed
that was where a good amount of the population could be found for their slave
raid. They were right they rolled
around the north end of the Lop Nur and began crossing the Korqi toward what
looked to be a large settlement the flags flying were green with a down turned
sword of white indicative of the Seljuk disgrace.
On the opposite bank was Suliemen but Baltajin and his compatriots were
not worried they saw only 16,000 men awaiting them and the river this time of
year was generally passable so with out a care they streamed across the river
and up the low rise on the other side to engage directly the Seljuks.
Baltajin’s forces tried no sly maneuvers and did not attempt to subdue
their opponent with a rain of missile fire they simply drew their shortswords
and charged. Sulieman waited
patiently and his horse archers got in several volleys on the enemy till the gap
was closed. Sulieman leading his
knights of the steppe charged down the slope and headlong into the fray.
The Tartars swarmed but the Seljuk heavy lancers exacted a tremendous
toll on the poorly armed and armored opponents at least four Tartars fell for
every one Seljuk Heavy lancer.
The
Khan’s heir/brother Dsaluu and his cousin Al Jebei seeing the host swarm
decided to seek a little glory for themselves, since they were severely lacking
in moral fortitude, among the defenseless tribals and the civilized folks in the
village of Loulan Viji. They both
were sure that the Khan and Quara Arslan could deal with the enemy.
Ahead they rode. This was either a very good thing or a very bad thing
depending on your perspective as a Tartar.
Dsaluu and Jebei, as they closed in on the village and it’s surrounding
“defenses”, which amounted to pickets and a variety of young and old
defending with short bows, all of the sudden were assaulted by a very large and
angry force of Kuchan’s who had been hoping the greed of the steppe nomads
would lead some of them into this ambush. The
trap was sprung, the hapless gentlemen, Dsaluu and Jebei had gotten to close and
the Kuchan heavy lances caught them unaware.
The battle was soon met by the Kuchan light lancers and horse archers who
all fell on the Tartars and slaughtered a good many of them before they could
escape. Dslauu was captured in the
ruckus but Al Jebei escaped and warned the Khan at the river.
The Khan was having a tough time trying to wipe out the Seljuks and when
he heard the news of an approaching Kuchan army he sounded the retreat
immediately.
It
had been a very bitter cycle for the Tartars who attained almost nothing from
their exploits and lost a great deal of men in the process. The young khan had learned much from his first foray into the
lands outside the Tartar realm. He
returned to the ancestral lands to lick his wounds. News came from the East that yet another of his kin the
Manchu had risen up and was ready to move with their vast host.
It was a dangerous time to live on the steppe and an even more dangerous
time to live next to it.
Sung
Imperial Domains: Many Small
Facilities
War
with the Hsia “See Liao”
Bandit
Kingdoms of Hunan:
No
one is really sure what is going on here but they are bandits, thieves and cut
throats so be certain they are up to no good.
Shanan
– Zhou:
+1 City Level Chaing-Ling, Tangchou colonized
The
Emperor ascends, Zou-cho-ma the young, is now the ruler of the mighty Zhou.
Following the direction of his father Zou and the royal family, what
there was of it. The populace was
for the most part unconcerned about this development.
While there was growing hostility in the North the conflict was one
between barbarians not Lamanist and Buddhist.
Jaingnan:
Defensive
structures built just to be on the safe side.
Clan Iiachi:
The Tiger returned to their peaceful
ways, not that they did anything violent last turn but they were prepared too,
sending ships up to the Huang to guarantee the security of the holy city, well
keep it from being passive sieged at least.
Back at home the king ruled and the lands prospered under his benevolent
leadership. He was not over
confident that the outbreak of peace in the south would be lasting so he built
walls around Shaoguan and Hepu to make sure nothing bad happened to those
cities.
Buddhist Primacy: Cathedral in Hangchou, Monastery in Lu’an
The
Buddhist Primacy stayed out of the fray for a change choosing to only supply
troops for defensive purposes. Monk
Jaing and some financial assistance were sent to Kansu where it was happily
received. They in turn defended
their ground against the possibility of vicious attacks from the foul Hsia who
they knew would show up at any moment, they of course never did for obvious
reasons, “see the Liao”. Ju
Jinn was sent with a very large detachment of mercenaries who would have
probably been very helpful in attacking the Hsia to the Liao capital.
It might not have been a bad move since during this cycle the Manchu
tribes began to pull up stakes and consider their options.
A good deal of effort was put into building facilities this cycle and the
results were very mixed. It seems
if there is a bit of a black cloud hanging over the Primacy.
Nanchao:
Tz’uk’an (F), Lanchou (NE), Chinling Colonized fully
Looking
to extend the royal authority of Han further to the north Han ordered Chinling
settled.
After a decade of war and death
in Northern China, and both sides punch-drunk and spent from the struggle, Han
sent messages to the leaders of Liao, Hsi Hsia, and the Buddhist Primacy,
offering his services as a mediator and peace envoy.
Each leader expressed reservations about the chances of a successful
outcome, but agreed to at least try. After
an extended period of shuttle diplomacy, it was with a great sense of relief and
thanks to the Gods that Han announced the agreement of all three parties to the
terms of the Treaty of Huang Ho. Despite the wrongs that each party felt they'd endured,
wisdom and foresight was exercised by each leader in accepting key compromises.
Only time will tell if the peace can hold, but at least a start has been
made.
The other major initiative by Han
was the supply of personnel and resources to restore the province of Chinling to
its former levels of production and habitability.
Representatives from Nan Chao embraced and nurtured the people of
Chinling who survived the bloody pillage 15 years earlier, and sought to provide
them with security and reassurance in this new age of peace amongst the Chinese.
In a short speech, Han declared "These people have suffered enough, and I
have decided it is time to put things right here.
For 15 years these people have lived in constant fear and poverty, well
no more I say! It is time for them
to resume some semblance of a normal life, without fear of abuse or oppression,
and Nan Chao is proud to sponsor this rehabilitation in Chinling."
When asked whether Nan Chao would
do the same for Funiu and Tangcho, "Nan Chao will bring hope and prosperity
to the common people wherever we can, however, in Chinling we are merely copying
the excellent humanitarian work undertaken by the Jaingnanese in Taiping an
Anhui. We pray to the Gods that the nations neighbouring Funiu and Tangcho will
consider rendering aid and respite to these poorest of people, for it is not a
matter of resources, it is a matter of resolve and compassion.
If they fail to act, then yes, I will consider doing so."
Sadly Han for all his hopes failed in securing the peace
of Northern China. The Liao &
Sung apparently lacked the courage to honor an agreement that the ruthless Hsia
was happy to comply with. The Liao
have twice now proven they have no honor.
The Nanchao continued a flurry of diplomatic efforts, which finally saw
the assimilation of the sparsely populated Tzukhan lands.
This effort should guarantee the free flow of trade with India.
His Hsia:
The untrustworthy Liao and their
lackeys shot the attempt at peace to hell.
“See Liao”
Korea:
With
all the trouble in Northern China and the rise of the hordes on the Steppe the
Korean King thought it would be wise to make a substantial investment in
fortifications in the capital province. Many
of the local villages where invested with walls and the people were happy.
The mountains to the north and south of the capital province had long
been enough of a barrier against nomadic intrusion but times were changing and a
war was raging in China. If the
Chinese came then the mountains would not be enough of a deterrent.
The lands on whole were peaceful this cycle and the people rejoiced.
The people in Xing Tao and Hongwon rejoiced more than others because many
of them now had running water now that the aqueduct projects were completed.
Japan:
Road Aichi
Economic Development
Shinto: Tumin (NT)
Supported Japans Economic Development
Liao:
All
the dead piled up in the home province after the assault by the brilliant Ming
festered and were feed on by the carrion. The
Liao disposed of the bodies as quickly as possible but there was an out break of
the plague that spread throughout the Liao lands.
The Army was devastated by this outbreak and an astonishing number of
soldiers died tragically as did the King. The
civilian population fortunately suffered very lightly.
Kam-Thong who was put in charge of the military chose not to revolt and
headed off to war.
In
the Hsia capital there was the feeling of joy as the wars had finally ended they
had documents signed by the Buddhist they hated indicating a cessation of
hostilities after nearly two decades of war.
Sadly the Hsia would find no peace this cycle only more death and
destruction. For a second time in
two decades the Liao had gone against their word and shown to the world the
blackness of their soul. Fortunately
for the Hsia they figured out something was up. First assassins fell on the king on two occasions and were
stopped dead in their tracks. The
Liao was apparently responsible for one of the failed attempts.
Ming heard about the Mongols traveling peacefully through Liao lands and
figured that some ill must be a foot so he summoned his allied leaders to Shensi
and waited. Just because you are paranoid it doesn’t mean people
aren’t out to get you.
The
armies came. A very large Sung
contingent lead by Chin Tzn Kai the best-allied leader.
He brought with him 8000 Heavy Lancers, 5000 Royal guardsmen in full
armor and carrying shields and heavy swords and lastly the siege train composed
of nearly 5000 engineers. Apparently the Sung were serious about moving against Chang
An if given the opportunity. The
Mongols lead by Otagi brought approximately 40000 horse archers and mounted
short swordsmen (all XC’s). Lastly
the Liao arrived with there army of some 10,000 mostly Heavy Lancers.
Ming
was reasonably prepared for what he saw. While
not excited about his prospects because of all the steppe nomads he was
reasonably confident that his overall skill and large number of Royal Lancers
and Heavy lancers, 13,000 approx, would make the Mongols think twice about their
actions should they chose to engage the Hsia and the 10,0000 or so horse archers
the Hsia had could act as a good screening force if need be.
Outnumbering
the enemy nearly three to one the allied army took the initiative, or was given
it, and sent the Mongols out to locate the Hsia. The rest of the army marched on Chang An.
The plan was to have the Mongols find the enemy and then the much slower
moving allies would move toward the enemy once they were located.
While the Mongols were very capable of netting the slippery Ming, their
slow moving allies hindered them. Ming
lured the Mongols to Zouneishi up against the mountains and the Great Wall.
The town had lost most of its luster with the fall of the Han but it
would be the site of a very bloody battle in 1066.
Ming knew he had to strike the Mongols hard and fast before the Liao and
the slow moving Sung could deploy. Ming
led the Mongols and their allies to the Wall and then maneuvered in such a way
that the Mongols actually had their backs to the Wall.
Now the tactics changed a little bit.
Ming as pretty sure the Mongols could be goaded into charging away from
the slower moving heavy horse of the Liao and the Sung so that is what he did.
Otagi did not like the feeling of being boxed in and so he did exactly
what Ming had hoped.
Ming
saw what was coming and he drew his ranks in close and counter charged with his
lancers. The Mongols were none to
pleased with this turn of events but they were a horde and hordes love to fight
so the relished the opportunity to engage in a really bloody conflict.
The battle lines crashed together there was no missile fire on this day.
The Hsia ripped right on through the light cavalry of the Mongols.
While the Mongols are very skilled on a horse the complete lack of armor
and light sword did little to aid them against the lance carrying heavily
armored Hsia. Thousands and
thousands of Mongols died in the carnage. The
Liao and Sung Heavy horse waited for lanes to clear so the might be able to
charge the Hsia but the Mongols kept swarming and dying in droves, then they
broke!
The
first battle of Shensi was over fairly quickly. The Mongols were sucking wind after getting really beat up.
The Mongol withdraw from the field shook up the Liao leadership and while
the Sung where prepared to fight the Liao weren’t.
Now thing got a little hairy. The
Sung had a real problem withdrawing with their big siege train and lots of
heavily armored infantry. The Hsia
rested briefly and watched. Ming
noticed there was some definite dissention on the part of the allied armies. It was late in the day but he decided to take a run at the
Sung and catch everyone off guard since the Mongols were out of the picture and
the Liao were in the process of a controlled withdrawal.
Down
about four thousand men maybe the Hsia charged. They wisely did not charge the heart of the Sung Guard
Infantry the hit their cavalry. The
Sung were just not the horsemen that the Hsia were that is for certain and the
Hsia were on them before they knew what hit them.
Once again this was a bloody mess. The
Liao after gaining their wits about them dived into the mess as well and all
hell broke loose. The Hsia and the
Liao had no love for each other so retreating was not an option.
The battle got especially brutal and the Sung leader was killed just as
he entered the fray to try to rally his Heavy lancers.
When that happened the royal guards grabbed his body and began an orderly
withdrawal immediately. Sun was
beginning to set on the day and the Liao and the Hsia had no choice but to break
off their engagement as well.
When
the tallies were taken of the dead the result was horrific.
The Sung, Liao and Mongols had suffered mightily at the hands of the Hsia.
The allied armies withdrew to Houma and liked their wounds the Hsia left
them alone once the Mongols regrouped since the Mongols were very capable of
laying a fine screen. The Sung
promoted the commander of the Royal Guards to the position of overall commander
since he had shown the wisdom to break off the attack and managed to protect the
army from a complete rout when the former commander died.
The Sung forces were still pretty healthy except for about 4000 heavy
cavalry that lay dead on the fields of Shensi.
The Liao head was heavy nearly all that remained of their cavalry army
was 3000 Royal Guards. The Mongols
had about half the men they once had and had looted nothing which made them none
to happy. The Hsia forces were
unknown and while the affair was bloody for them they were still a force to be
reckoned with.
PACIFIC RIM
Australia:
Slept
New Zealand:
Slept
Shark
God Cult: Eha-Rana & Ayr (CA)
The
great Shark was happy the tribute had been paid and the strength of the cult was
growing. Education of the priest in
the ways of the world became a priority as well and schools of religious
learning popped up around the countryside.
All of the very devout had their children attend these schools rather
than the regular Australian schools. Bishop
Onobah assumes primacy and relinquishes his name in a small ceremony preceding
the consecration of the new cathedral in Eha-rana. Prince Kahumanu discovers a
talent for music and spends the 5 years doing nothing but writing new religious
chants and songs. Church officials are just happy he’s found something he can
do without screwing it up.