Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
India’s
Revenge ~ The First Crusade
Turn 56
1276
~ 1280 Anno Domini
638 ~ 642 in the year of the Hegira
New for T56
New movement and action rules: I know that they didn’t meet with
overall approval last time around but I will be implementing the proposed
movement/action rules for T57 (see here). Any current player that
takes them up will be given a 2 turn bonus to their credits but they can
continue to use the current method for the time being. All new players will
have to use them. I’d rather stick to the standard rules but there is no way
Lords is sustainable as a long-term game (and I want 24 to be long-term) unless
there is some simplification for the GM.
The areas that cause me
the most processing grief are movement, AP calculation and garrison changes.
New for T53
Restrictions on Royal Marriages: Due to the complications arising
from these rules only K, H or P leaders can benefit from a Royal Marriage.
Members of the Royal Family that have not come into play are not considered
eligible. Also, Primate, Order and Secret Empire positions are not eligible for
marriage bonuses. These are meant to be diplomatic arrangements between sovereign
states.
New for T52
East – West Split: I’m going to try to split the
East and the West parts of the game so that I can process the orders quicker –
don’t know if or how it will work yet but lets see if it’ll happen
New for T51
No Orders: If I don’t get any orders in for a position and the
player doesn’t answer my emails then I’ll put the position back to a NPN and
put aside the players cash (if any) until they pick it or another nation up
again.
New for T50
Request Royal Marriage: Used to ask a NPN nation for a bride for one of
your Princes or a suitor for one of your little Princesses. Cost is 6AP,
Charisma based. The leader doesn’t have to be in the NPNs capital but if he
isn’t then he needs to be in your homeland/capital.
New for T49
Naval Reaction and Blockade: Naval Reactions can only occur
when there is action in a Sea Zone that the fleet is based at. The fleet has to
be based from a port and not the Sea Zone. Also, the Reaction can only occur
when your own lands or those of an ally benefiting from a Defensive Pact
marriage bonus are attacked. It also applies to any merchant fleets you operate
through the Sea Zone in the case of piracy.
Naval Blockade’s only work if your fleet is based in the same Sea Zone
as the target port and you spend all (every single one) of your APs in the
blockade. The fleet must be based from a port and not a Sea Zone.
New for T48
The use of fleets for Reaction and mitigating the effects
of Pirates: My
understanding has now changed since we GMs have had some discussion on the
list. The use of Reaction has been explained on the Wiki and Patrol is no
longer used in the Base Rules.
Reaction
Trade Route Escorts
- This
is specific to Lords 24. Units can be assigned to a trade route to act as
static convoy escort using the G type leader. Note this is not as good as
patrol as the warships assigned will only reduce the effects of piracy,
not capture or destroy the pirates themselves.
Updated NPN and Primacy rules:
Yep, been tinkering again but I feel a almost serene sense of satisfaction with
my latest offering. See what you think.
Added the ability to hire
mercenary captain when there is no mercenary company available: See the mercenary tables
New for T47
Improved cultivation at TL5: If a nation has reached the
dizzy heights of TL5 than it can benefit from improved cultivation. You can
Improve a cultivated homeland region from 2GPv to 3GPv, or any other controlled
cultivated region from 1GPv to 2GPv. This is a level one megalithic
construction.
New for T46
NPNS: I’ve tweaked the NPN and Primacy/Order rules a little to make them
fit better with the 24 game. I’ve also reduced their overall RRV to make
diplomacy easier.
Second Positions in the East: As I’ve not got a lot of players
in the East, I would be willing to allow a second position from existing
players. Let me know if you’re interested.
New for T45
New Rivers: I’ve added in some new possible rivers onto the map.
These are rivers that were once passable by light traffic (remember Cogs cannot
travel on rivers) and have now become silted up. You can dredge a stretch of
the river (along one region border edge) as a 0.5 level project.
Gripes:
Agro as conversion –
this has restrictions (see 2.11.5.3) which I will be enforcing from now on.
Rivers can only support
light ships – as far as I know Cogs cannot travel on rivers. This also includes
Cogs built for trade.
New Primates: We have two new Primate positions this turn. Jumal
Skyfather, which is an Estonian god and the Coptic Church based out of Axum.
New for T44
Minor islands and City States: I’ll be allowing minor islands (Corfu, Jerba, Wight etc) and city states to be used as
locations from T44. Just let me know the rationale behind why you want it
separate and if reasonable I’ll add it in. Once they are created as locations,
they obey all the rules of islands etc. However, their Gpv cannot go above 0.
Flooding: The last few turns have seen a massive increase in the
amount of flooding that has occurred. It appears that the years are getting
warmer and wetter. As a result of this some of the minor rivers on the map are
once again becoming passable to river traffic.
Denmark:
Following on from the Minor Islands stuff, you can see that Denmark is now separated out to Jutland and
Syaland (Zeeland).
Announcements and
items of note
General Stuff: Please use my Paypal account (stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk) for all
Lords’ 24 payments. If you cannot use this facility then please let me know and
I will see what I can do about filtering US funds to my account. I may also
stop using the throneworld email address due to the mass of spam I’m getting!
Order Form: Please use the standard excel
order form from now on. I’ll update the site with a link to it next week when I
get some time. This is important as it helps me process the turn more quickly.
THIS IS NOW MANDATORY.
Non-Payment: some of you still owe me some
cash. Although it may come as surprise that this is not my main source of
income, I see it only polite that you pay for the occasionally night out. So,
if you’re under zero next turn I’ll not process you orders.
Version 6: Lords 24 uses version 6 of the
basic rules
The Map: The map now includes India as well as Europe, Central Asia and Africa. I’ve greyed out repeated areas on the maps to
make my life easier. However, this means some player nations are split across
more than one map. I may increase the size of the main map but I’ll have to
think on this.
Tithes and Tribute: I think these are automatically
updated by the stats program, so no need to declare them in your orders.
Control
of the Papacy and Religious Orders: In Lords 24 we will not always have a player Pope (or
Caliph etc for that matter) and the following rules are used to determine which
player faction controls the Pope’s actions, Papacy
Rules. I’ve also added some stuff about gaining support from their armies
How to make your GM
happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):
Please send any and all Lords24
correspondence to lords24gm@ymail.com
or stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .
LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES
The Lords Twenty-Four homepage is
at:
http://lords.throneworld.com/lote24/index.html
All of the on-line resources, including
order forms, mailing lists and web-sites for Lords of the Earth are summarized
on this page:
http://lords.throneworld.com/?page_id=2
You can subscribe to the Lords 24 mailing
list by pointing your web-browser at:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lote24
…and following the instructions on that
page.
VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES
At the moment the turns cost $5 – please
pay up of you owe
We are using the latest v6.3.5 of the
basic rule book that can be found here
http://lords.throneworld.com/players/loterule/rules.html
The West
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
Eastern Europe
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Svetlana, Queen of the Rus
The
city of Vitebsk
grew in size and was surrounded by newly built walls. In Kiev, nearly four thousand men were raised
for the army. Queen Svetlana of the Rus watched the events to her south with
interest. Although not directly involved in the Crusade, she allowed any
Catholic forces free passage through her lands. Prince Gregori moved into
Atelzuko to counter the Bulgari threat there. However, the Bulgari were content
to fend off the Polish attacks and leave the region to the Russians. Old Prince
Vassily died during these years, protecting the borders from any possible
invasion. .
The Ests
(European Pagan Barbarian Open Empire)
Andrus III, Kings of the Ests
Estonian
colonists started to move into the desolate region of Vologda
and a new port city called Ivanovo was built on
the banks of the Upper Volga in Yaroslav.
Andrus III, ruled his kingdom from Estonia while his nobles spent
these years protecting the borders of his lands.
The Grand Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Ziemowit Poznan III, Grand Duke of Poland
Ziemowit
Poznan III, Duke of Poland
took stock of his lands and people in a great census lasting nearly two years.
His son and heir Mieszko gathered the Polish army seven thousand men and moved
south to confront the Bulgars in Moldavia. Against the Polish army of seven thousand men
stood the Bulgari and their Eflak allies. The horde also numbered around seven
thousand men but had the benefit of vastly superior experience than the Poles.
The Poles were cruelly ambushed as they entered the Bulgari province and were
wiped out almost to a man; Mieszko was lucky to escape with his life. The
Bulgari suffered minimal losses in the battle.
Prince Plast was tasked with
convincing the suspicious rulers of Volhynia and Galich to join with the Duchy;
a task he had little success with. With no direct support for the Pope’s call
to arms, it was left to ordinary Poles to gather in Warsaw for the Crusade.
Scandia and the Out Isles
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Nicholas Larsson, Jarl of Orkney
The
Orkneymen fleet grew in size again as another hundred warships were
commissioned in the dockyards of Kirkval. Some gold and settlers were sent to Oslo to help rebuild the ruined city in Norway. Nicholas Larsson again
travelled to Hordavil to persuade the Norwegians to join with the Orkneyjar. He
was assisted by Jotun, Tordal, Feric and Hildegard. Another dynastic marriage
was proposed between Jotun and a Norwegian princess. After many months of
negotiations, the Orkneyjar delegation gained the full support of the
Norwegians. Prince Erik was convinced by newer forms of thinking and tried to
reduce the sway of the priests of Rome
on his father’s kingdom. Despite not raising any troops himself for the
Crusade, Nicholas did not want to stand in the way of any man that wanted to
travel to Constantinople. Brother Charles and
Harald were tasked with ferrying the thirteen thousand assorted rabble that had
congregated in Kirkval from all over the Highlands and Islands of the Orkneyjar
to Brittany.
From there they could begin their long journey to the East.
Kingdom
of Svear
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Olaf Arnoldson, King of the Svear
No
longer the great power of past years, the Svear retreat to their long halls and
ale.
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Arthwin I, King of England
The
lands of England
were further fortified against any possible attack and the army augmented with
over three thousand men. Much gold was sent to France
and Germany
to help with the crusade. Lord Garroway
was placed under the command of the Bishop Ambrose and they took the English
Crusaders across the Channel and then up the Rhine to Ulm. From there they moved down to Venice where they remained
to protect the city. Despite these commitments to the Papal cause, there were
many that wanted to join the Crusade and gathered in London to tackle the
crossing to the mainland and then onto the East.
Western Europe
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Leopold, Holy Roman Emperor.
Cannes grew in size, as did Hanover
in Saxony. More gold was sent to the Knights
of Malta to aid their endeavours against the Moslems. Over five thousand elite
cavalry were turned over to the Pope’s expedition against the Buwayids. To
assist of hinder these knights, a large rabble also gathered in Saxony. Aldabert von Matrunco was tasked with the defence
of the Empire from Provence
but died in is sleep during these years.
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Raymond, King of France
The
region of Flanders benefited from Raymond’s
treasury as the lands were greatly improved. King Raymond himself ruled from Paris and oversaw the call to arms for the crusade in far Constantinople. Prince Philippe had control of main
French army and was tasked with protecting their borders from Aquitaine. Nerdone became friendly to Paris through the efforts
of Prince Simon and Marc. Robert took control of the cavalry in garrisoned in
Ile De France, numbering over twelve thousand men, and moved east towards Salerno to assist the
Crusaders in their endeavours against the Moslems. At Lombardy
the French joined up with the main army. The Bishop Alberic made some progress
in Hainaut in gaining their support.
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo IV, Prince of Salerno
No
nation had more call to follow the Pope into battle than Salerno. Ricardo IV rallied his men to the
cause and raised a further six thousand men to augment his army. Some success
was achieved in Venice
where Salernese missionaries combated any Moslem inroads. While Ricardo ruled
from Campania, Prince Hector was tasked with
hiring mercenaries in Naples and Pescara. However, the
unfortunate Prince was captured by the Rashidun and dragged away to captivity.
Stefan moved from Sicily
with the victorious army from early battles with the Ayyubids. He transferred
command of the nine thousand men to Bishop Masconi before returning to Sicily to take command
of the remaining garrison there. Simion moved to Savoy where he continued the ongoing
discussions with the Count of that region. He also spent some time in Vincencia
recruiting mercenaries for the Crusade. Mercenaries from Palermo
where recruited by Vincenzo before he moved onto Campania. It was the holy duty of Bishop
Masconi, who along with Petru, to lead the Crusade towards Constantinople.
After gathering the Salernese army in Campania,
the Bishop was joined by armies from the Pope, the Anacletans and the French.
The English arrived but remained in Verona.
The Crusaders then moved towards the Balkans after liberating Verona. Slovenia
and Dalmatia were captured easily as was Epirus
and the port of Corfu. The Rashidun mosque in Epirus was burned to the ground by vengeful
Crusaders before they moved on towards Attica.
At Attica the Crusaders were met by the
desperate Uighurs as they threw together a defence of their hard-gained lands.
The Crusaders numbered twelve thousand Anacletans under Marcos de Aragon and
Ramone, about the same number of French under Robert, six thousand Papal troops
under the command of Cardinal Monicelli and a vast number of Salernese,
thirty-six thousand men, under Bishop Masconi and Petru. The Uighurs were led
by Ediz and numbered around thirteen thousand men. It was the confusion caused
by these vast numbers that caused the command tent of Marcos to be overrun. The
Uighurs warriors managed to get in amongst the Grand Commanders bodyguards,
killing him and badly wounded Bishop Masconi. With it now unclear as to who was
in command the Crusaders withdrew their forces back to Epirus. The withdrawal became a rout
as the French and the Papal troops fled the Uighurs, believing the horde was
far vaster than its actual size. Despite this the Uighurs took the brunt of the
losses due to the Crusaders numbers, nearly eight thousand were killed or lost
against minimal losses to the Crusaders.
The Papal
States
(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious
Order)
Pope Urban III, God’s Voice on Earth
The colour drained from Pope Urban III's
face, he jaw fell open and fear entered his eyes. He stood at the papal throne, clutching a
dispatch from Archbishop Vittore of Venice. He wavered, reaching out a hand to steady
himself, he sat down heavily.
The papal court stood silently and quite
still.
Urban looked again at the hurriedly scrawled
warning and then at the archbishop's ring that accompanied it. The Archbishop had known he could not escape,
his need for such devices was gone.
“...thousands of Islamic forces are in the
city, raping, pillaging and burning. I
have ordered the bells to toll and the people flock to St Hugh's
Cathedral. We shall spend our last hours
in prayer. I shall not test the Lord, by
requesting a miracle, instead we hope for life everlasting..”
A cardinal moved forward, “Your holiness, I
have reports of invaders across Northern Italy.”
“Such boldness and hate,” murmured Urban,
“they must surely intend our end.” He stood clearing his throat and speaking in
a firm and authoritative tone, “The people of Venice are but the first martyrs to
fall. Christendom must be rallied. Rome
defended. The invaders thrown back. Peace must be returned to Europe!”
Turning to the secretary of state, riders
were despatched to all the rulers of Europe
both temporal and spiritual. Europe must
unite, under Mother
Church. A Holy League of Defence, a Holy war to purge
the invaders and to relieve the Islamic yoke from the marches of Eastern Europe.
Its goal the former imperial city of Constantinople. Its great walls once a bulwark against the
invaders, now sadly decayed, fallen from the Christian path and under the sway
of the Buwayids. Apostasy. Such
treachery had opened the door to invasion.
A door that must be closed. A
Christian people that must be saved.
So
in these years the Pope issued his decree that a Crusade should be undertaken
against the Moslems. Across the lands of Christendom, men rallied to Urban’s
call and started the long trek to Constantinople.
Two thousand elite horse were raised in Latium to do the Pope’s bidding as
well as one thousand sappers and engineers. Cardinal Montocelli gathered the
Papal army of over five thousand men and headed north to Lombardy
to meet with the Salerno Princes.
The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Tiroman, Caliph of the Akramids
Peace
reigned in the Iberian kingdom. Tiroman II was blessed with two young children
while he ruled his Caliphate. Old Imran Nazir was assisting the Imam Astroman
in negotiations with the Leonese but sadly died during these years.
The Anacletan Order
(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious
Order)
Conrad de Aragon, Grandmaster of the Anacletan Order, Scourge of Islam
Order
Houses were built in Calabria and Palermo. Fifteen hundred
light horse were raised in Ile de France for Conrado of Aragon. Attempts to
raise the Order’s status in Aragon
were successful. Marcos de Aragon moved across France
and Italy to Verona were he joined up
with the Crusaders. He was accompanied by nearly twelve thousand members of his
Order, salivating at the opportunity to strike a blow for Christ and Anacletus.
The events that unfolded could not be foretold and despite their superior
numbers, the Crusaders suffered a setback in Attica when the Uighurs
successfully halted heir advance and forced them back to Epirus. Sadly, Marcos was killed
and it was left to Conrad to take control of the Order. Conrad had moved to Santa Maria where after
taking control of the Anacletan fleet of over three hundred warships, sailed to
Olbia where he patrolled the Italian coast.
The Middle East and Africa
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Zarife II, Sultan of the Buwayids
Antioch and Al-Kuwait
again grew in size. Elite cavalry were raised in Baghdad
as well as nearly thirty triremes in Antioch.
Buwayid missionaries had some success in Sicily
but failed to convert the remaining Catholics in Antalya. Zarife took command of the new
cavalry in Baghdad
and ruled his mighty Sultanate from the city. Arif was given command of the
navy from Antioch
but was not required to move the fleet out of port. Faris moved out to Illyria where he rendezvoused with Imam Numair. The Imam
had pulled the Buwayid forces out of Venice out
of the crusading army and despite being wounded by unknown assassins led the
army back to Constantinople. Sadly, he died of
his wounds on his return to the city. Sayf of Qom also died on his return to Persia;
handing his men over to his son who remained loyal to the Sultan.
The Ayyubid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Rashid, Sultan of the Ayyubids
The great Ayyubid dynasty comes to end with
the death of the Sultan in 1276. The new Sultan decides to pull his nation into
isolation.
Al-Khulafa'ur
Rashidun
(Sunni Islam Civilized Religious Primate)
Zaahir al Shiraj, Kaliph
The
city of Al’Adana
was expanded and its public works improved. From Baghdad, Zaahir Al Shiraq ruled over the
Caliphate. He ordered the Imam’s out into the Moslem lands to preach the word
of Mohammed. Rashidun zealots managed to kidnap Prince Hector as he slept at
his estates. Their attempts to capture Prince Ricardo were only thwarted by the
Prince’s bodyguards.
The Al’Bahri
(Sunni Islam Civilized Religious Order)
Umar, Sultan of the Ayyubids
The
Sea Lords remained at their estates in Carsk.
Ar Rassid Imamat as
Sa'Na
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Umar
Cultivation of the lands of Aden continued as gold and men poured into
the region.
Sheik
Umar pledged the hand of his young daughter to the rulers of Sennar if they
assisted him in his plans against the Ogaden. His daughter was still very young
but the proposal was met with acceptance by the African kingdom.
Usama-Yoruba Onium of
Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Mahabharata, King of the Ibo
Songhai and Takrur restored to their former glory after
the Adjou Aba invasions of years earlier. Akan, Gao and Timuktu grew in size.
The shipyards of Ibo were fully employed building vessels for the nation’s
trade routes. Mahabharata toyed with the idea of converting to one of the
northern religions but decided against both Christianity and Islam. Judaism
appealed to the Emperor but his scribes could find little information on the
edicts of the faith. Iyha and Plaida were active in the lands of Goroul and Songhai, bringing these regions closer to Empire. Ibana
III moved out across the Sahara and wiped out
any support for the Adjou in Silwa.
The Mwene-Mutapa
Empire
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Nyambo, Emperor of Mapungubwe
The
power of Mwene-Mutapa grew as men were raised for the armies of Nyambo.
Mapungubwe itself was fortified against attack and a new port city called
Qimbara built in the far Cape. Nyambo himself
continued to rule from Mapungubwe while the nobility stood watch over his
lands. Diplomatic efforts continued with the Hindus of Gorongo and the wild men
of the Herero.
Bakongo Kingdom of
Kanem-Bornu
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Zeta, King of Kanem-Bornu
The
new power in Africa never materialised and the
Kanem returned to their herds.
The East
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Rajiv, Raja of Kaunaj
The
army was greatly expanded with four thousand cavalry and over ten thousand
infantry raised in Kaunaj. Kalinga and Rajput were heavily fortified. More of the
treasury was spent on the road from Pundra to Kosapala. Kaunaj assassins almost
killed Darawan of Thaton in Samatata but their efforts were thwarted by the
general’s bodyguards. Fires were started in the headquarters Thatonese
government in an attempt to destroy their assassin capability. However, these
were quickly doused and no damage was done. Rajiv ruled from Kaunaj and was
blessed with three children whilst the heir Mohandas hired a further five
thousand mercenaries in the city. Prince Om was tasked with improving the
relationship with the newly conquered region of Kalinga. He gave his assistance
to Kundeep and Rajiv who brokered marriages to Prince Ram, Prince Mohandas and
the Princess Anishwara. Attempts to raid Assam from Gaur were aborted once Shiram
found that the Dagger had already conquered the region after the Thatonese
attempted to destroy one of their Houses in the region. The Brahmin Nath was
assisted by Shiram and the Raja of Jaunpur as he moved his army of twenty-six
thousand men into Samatata. Shiram also commanded a substantial force of over
thirty thousand men. Opposing the Brahmin was the Thatonese Black Dragon Army
of sixteen thousand men under Darawan Kusa. He was also aided by the mercenary
captains Akradej Rak and Sunan Veerapol. Superior numbers and leadership won
the battle for the Brahmin. His army virtually eliminated the Black Dragon Army
for minimal losses, just over two thousand men. The fleeing Thatonese headed
for Burma
where they took command of the garrison there. Nath pursued the defenders and
set about pacifying Burma.
The fighting was bloody and Shiram was killed by the defenders forcing Nath to
retreat back to Samatata. However, he attacked again and this time the
defenders were destroyed. Akradej Rak was killed and the province taken. The
defenders were pushed back to Ava and finally Pagan as the province was taken.
The Kaunaj army had previously routed Darawan from Mandalay. .
The Western
Dhara
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Pajama, King of the Dhara
The lands of Kaval
and Machilipatnam were improved greatly by the largesse of Pajama, who spent
these years ruling his growing kingdom. Chola was further integrated into the
kingdom by the efforts of Fallija while Pajama III reduced the Ceylonese
control over the region of Pandya. Palcama and Talmanac as well as the Raja of
Belur, were in Pawar with their force of four thousand men when the Tripuri
army attacked to regain the region. Nearly twenty thousand Tripuri attacked the
region, assured of success due to their greater numbers. However, for many
months the able Talmanac was able to out-manoeuvre the attackers and keep
forcing them back to Dahala. Eventually they could take no more losses; more
than half had been killed in the fighting, and remained in their Dahala barracks.
The defenders had also lost over two thousand men but retained control of
Pawar.
The Palas of Bengal
(Hindu Civilised NPN Empire, Friendly to
Kaunaj)
Ran, Palas of Bengal
The Bengali army was
also expanded with four thousand men raised in Gaur. The regions of Gaur and
Maghada were fortified. A further four thousand men were raised for Geeta in
Maghada. Attempts to kill the Thatonese naval commander failed but Bengali
agents found and rescued Prince Sanjay from the Thatonese prison. Harshita
continued to rule in Sanjay’s place from Gaur. Rom took the Bengali fleet of
one-hundred and ninety warships to blockade the Thatonese port of Moulmein.
Despite the efforts of the Thatonese Admiral, Prince Kasem, the port was
successfully blockaded and Thatonese trade suffered. Geeta moved to Bihar where he took command of a further two thousand
men. Moving into Bhutan the great Tibetan
Temple of Bhutan was destroyed and its wealth
looted. The Dali Lama called for an all out was against the defilers but
although there was growing support, the Buddhists did not have enough passion
for a Holy War against the Hindus. His attempts to regain Gtsang were thwarted
by the local chief and he returns to Gaur.
South East Asia and the Islands
The Dai Kingdom
of Annam
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Fer Netcol, King of Annam
The
Annamese were still finding it hard to recover from the Mongol invasions of
years past.
Kambujadesa
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Emperor Surya Din, Emperor of the Khmer
Attempts
to find the rebel Khardam came to nothing even though the forces of Khmer
scoured the lands. Missionaries in Siam had some success in persuading
the Buddhists to convert to Hinduism. Many fishing vessels were purchased by
Vireakboth the Snake as he tried to improve the manpower available to the
Empire. He ruled his recently gained lands from Angor and was blessed with a
child by his elder wife. Heng Huynh oversaw the transport of colonists to
Bakheng where the colonisation of Tengeh continued unabated.
The Kingdom of Thaton
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Ratana Nai-Thim, King of the Thaton
Six
thousand cavalry were raised in Moulmein
for Kukrit Chakri and regions fortified. The great Fortress of Kwee Lay was
built in Manipur but similar Fortresses were not built in Samatata, Burma
and Ava due to the Kaunaj invasion. Gold was sent to the Hindus in Khmer to
invest in their siege capability. Shipping from the captured ports was
re-assigned to fishing fleets out of Moulmein,
Songkhla and Kadaram. Missionaries in Assam
and Gtsang saw some success but failed to sway any Hindus in Pegu. Ratan
Nai-Thim was blessed with a young son as he ruled his Kingdom. Prince Kasem was
tasked with patrolling the Kingdom’s waters from the port of Moulmein
but failed miserably to prevent the Bengali blockade. From Samatata, the
general Darawan Kusa took command of the Black Dragon Army and was tasked with
defending the Kingdom from any invasions. Despite his best efforts the Kaunaj
army successfully took the region along with Burma and Ava, forcing the general
back to Pagan (see Kaunaj). Kukrit Chakri took his newly raised army and after
collecting the troops garrisoned in Manipur, attacked Gtsang. He was the second
force to be thwarted by the Gtsang army and retreated back to Manipur. Akradej
Rak was in command of the mercenary forces in Samatata along with ten thousand
infantry and a large contingent of siege engineers. He was tasked with
besieging Shillong in Assam
and then defending the regions. However, the actions of Sunan Veerapol in
attempting to destroy the Dagger House in Assam brought the full wrath of the
Order. Sunan’s force was destroyed and he fled back to Samatata. Akradej
suffered the same fate and also fled to Samatata. He was later killed in action
against the Kaunaj.
Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Minamoto
Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Eiroku Minamoto, Shogun of the East
Convinced
that he had the Taira beaten, Eiroku Minamoto only raised a small number of men
in Yamato, four thousand in all. The remainder of his treasury was spent on
improving the Shogunate’s lands. Daiei Yasumori was named as Eiroku’s heir,
being the distant cousin of the Shogun. The Shogun then moved to Shimane where
the city of Muro
was attacked and easily taken. After Muro, the Shogun joined Daiei Yasumori in
attacking Yamaguchi. The province only had a few scattered field forts in
defence and the Minamoto forces captured it with ease. The port of Shiminiseki
also fell easily. Kurodo Hanbei continued to explore south to the Marianas and saw some success in his endeavours.
The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Insu, King of Goryeo
The
regions of Mudan and Silla where further improved with extensive irrigation
projects. Goryeon colonists moved into the desolate wilderness of Suifenhe;
they were protected by six thousand men. The King toured his nation from Hsuing
Nu, arranging a marriage for the princess Wang Bayaramaa to the Khan’s son. He
spent the remainder of these years in Anshan
in case of any nomad incursion. Hokkaido was
further garrisoned with three thousand men before the Goryeon fleet moved to Pusan.
The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Dai Ling, Queen of Koueichou
Tai’De
in Ghang’De province grew in size and care was taken to replace its walls in
these troubled times. Five thousand men were raised in Szechwan
to replace the losses against the Chang’Ling in earlier years. The warlord of
Kweichou was granted one thousand horse from Queen Dai Ling’s treasury.
The Empire of the
Western Song
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Zhi Zhen, Emperor of the Western Song
The
city of Houma
was founded in the province that shared its name. Four thousand elite horse
were raised in Chang’An for the able Cao Yan. He then travelled back to Kansu to patrol the borders of the Empire. The Gobi
nomads were converted to Buddhism through the efforts of Song missionaries
working out of Ordos. Zhi Heng spent his time
between the affairs of state and his family. He was blessed with a young son
during these years. Prince Zhi Hu took a wife from Ordos
and gained further support from the province through his efforts.
The Middle Kingdom of
Kaifeng
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Zhou Ming, King of Kaifeng
Zhou
Ming ensured that taking his homeland by force would become extremely difficult
as it became highly fortified. A magnificent citadel called the Fortress of
Hidden Tears was also built in the province. Zhou Ming also set about
establishing new trade routes far and wide and ensuring that the merchants were
fully employed in adding to his treasury. His diplomacy efforts with the Kingdom of Pienching came to nothing when the
Chang’Ning invaded. He was forced to return to Kaifeng with the years wasted
The Kingdom of Chiangning
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Song Wei, King of Chiangning
Song
Wei pulled his nation out of their idleness and raised a mighty army of twenty
thousand men in Chiangning. The fleet was also increased by twenty light
warships. Wei then moved towards Pienching with the prince Song Fai and the
Chiangning army. Wei’s army now numbered over twenty-eight thousand men who
were met by Pienching’s force of fifteen thousand men and a large number of
defensive forts. Despite the defenders advantages, the Song generals had the
upper hand tactically and forced the Pienching back to the Grand
Canal. Song Wei had lost twelve thousand men but had gained the
Pienching surrender after they also lost a similar amount. Pienching was to be
besieged but after meeting with the Wudan Masters, Song Wei abandoned his
attempts on the city. Yue Ho took the Chiangning fleet of sixty light warships
to blockade Pienching but turned back to home after Honan
fell.