Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Turn 64
1316
~ 1320 Anno Domini
678 ~ 682 in the year of the Hegira
New for T59
Paths to victory:
There are several options open to a player when an NPN has been defeated
- Take
the victory conditions (see NPN rules) available for NPNs and allow the
NPN to go its own way. This is a useful option if you do not want to
increase your imperial size or bother with the NPNs internal affairs.
- Keep
it as either Pacified or Pacified Tributary. You will not get victory
conditions but will get income from the NPNs Homeland/Friendly regions and
cities. Also, as the years from conquest marker goes up it may turn
Friendly or Tributary. Using this option treats the NPN as a super-region.
- Old
school, you will have to take the regions you want and conquer each in
turn. If the capital is taken then some of the NPNs ratings will be added
to yours if higher. The NPN will cease to exist.
Dealing with hordes:
Hordes can be dealt with a number of ways rather than just an outright battle.
These are
- Threaten
them. Hordes respond to a show of strength and may leave you alone if
confronted with enough force.
- Bribe
them. They are looking for gold and lands to settle or pillage so if you
offer them it on a plate they may well go away. They may also just take it
and attack anyway.
- Use
diplomacy. It does work and I suggest chucking in a royal princess or two.
You can also use a combination of the above. If the horde
becomes a FA or A, you can direct its attacks or its path of migration.
New for T57
Non-player rules update: I’ve updated the NPN rules to fit
better with the Lord’s system. Please check them out.
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
Western Europe
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Hubbert, Holy Roman Emperor.
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Germany looks to itself after
years of growth.
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Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Jean, King of France
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The Gascon
wilderness was finally tamed and new farms built throughout the region. King
Charles ruled from Paris
with the support of Bertrand and the Bishop Bernard. He dispatched Guillaume
to purge the Gascon town of Mont-de-Marsan
of any Shadow King influence after finding that the townspeople were being
held in sway by the cultists. In this he was assisted by Gerard and some of France’s
finest warriors. The cultists had
little defence or support amongst the Gascon’s and were rooted out from
amongst the townspeople. Guillaume spent little time assessing their guilt
before hanging the offenders from the gibbet.
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The Papal
States
(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious
Order)
Pope Alexander II, God’s Voice on Earth
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A Massive
onslaught of Papal missionaries sees Sicily
almost completely back to the fold as the large Moslem minority on the island
nearly disappears. After close discussions with the Salernese, the Pope
decided to open his purse to build a postal road spanning the distance from Campania to Tuscany.
The first Catholic Church was built in London,
as the Pope attempted to extend his reach to the island. More influence was
sought and gained with the St Denis and Maltese Orders and Pope Alexander
travelled to Malta
to extract a tithe from the Knights. The Cardinals Bourchier and Nardini
spent these years rebuilding the great Cathedral, St Mark’s Basilica, in Venice. The Cardinals
Straus and Pole in Ulm
die when the Cathedral of St Simon they were helping build collapses due to
poor German engineering. After a period of mourning for the Cardinals, work
continued and the Cathedral was finally completed. The Cardinals bodies were
the first to be buried in the Cathedral’s catacombs.
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The Kingdom of Olbia
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Hector , King of Olbia and lost Aragon
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Sardinia
stubbornly defied losing its independence despite the best efforts of William
the Honest. The Olbian army continued to grow as another two thousand men
were recruited by Hector. Hector declared his younger brother Pedro as his
heir and also appointed young Alexander to the Olbian court.
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The Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Ricardo V Durazzo, Prince of Salerno
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The Via Sannita
was completed over the Apennines, connecting Naples
to Pescara. A
lot of the diplomacy failed due to the complicated web of allegiances around
these regions. Some small success was gained in converting the Epireans away
from the Orthodox Church. Ricardo V devoted his time to ruling from Naples and establishing
the city as the centre of his realm. The young prince Carlo Martello was seen
to accompany Ricardo during his stately duties. Luca Guiscardi struggled to
gain any more support from the Veronans as the tangled web of intrigue in
northern Italy
thwarted his every effort. The death of Filippo di Crimini in 1318 saw him
frustrated in gaining more support from Naples.
Ricardo was saddened to lose his newly appointed “Ammiraglio” after tasking
the Count with commissioning the new fleet of over thirty caravalla. In Campania, the young
Pietro Orsini was tasked with recruiting new condotierri for Il Reggimento
Nero. The fiery Count of Gravina, known widely by the name of “La Tempesta”
spent lavishly from Ricardo’s purse and recruited over three thousand men.
Although exceedingly popular, the Ligurian Duke Hector was no general. The
attack by the mercenary captain Don Juan Ramon de Cardona on Liguria should have
been any easy success but was thwarted by the desperation of the Ligurian
nobility. Fearing for their lives if Naples
once again ruled the north, the Ligurians marshalled their six thousand men
at the Tuscan border and inspired the outnumbered defenders to rout the
invaders. Don Juan was not easily deterred even if his initial attack had
seen a large contingent of the Reggimento slain or routed. His forces
assembled for another attack in the same year but were again repulsed by the
Ligurians. Hector was to fetch a fever during the campaign and died shortly
after returning to Genoa.
His son Hector II had gained renown as an able commander during the recent
campaign, assisting his less able father in his strategy. The recent attacks
on Liguria brought a sharp response from the Holy Roman Empire – desist your
attacks on our allies territory and return those lands taken or we will be
obliged to regain them by force.
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Western and South Africa
The Mwene-Mutapa
Empire
(African Unkulkulun Civilised Open
Empire)
Nyambo II, Emperor of Mapungubwe
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On the Empire’s
western coast, the port city of Lasani
was founded in Herero lands. Cultivation of the lands of the Rozwi and the
Karanga was completed as brush and jungle was cut back for farmland. The
roads from Rozwi and the Cape were improved
to encourage more trade throughput the Empire. Missionaries of Unkulukulu
were active throughout the city of Sofala,
augmenting Gabbo’s attempts to covert the nobility. Nyambo the Emperor was
content to rule from Mwene-Mutapa while Prince Nyambo was dispatched to Nguni
after completing his work in Herero. His efforts to ingratiate himself with
the local tribes and warlords bore fruit as the province became friendly to
the Empire. Albare saw some success in placating the Gorongo local after the
Empire’s attacks of many years ago.
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North Africa and Moslem Spain
The Empire of Egypt
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Zaid, Sultan of Egypt
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In Sevastopol, the city
walls were greatly improved as the Egyptian outpost was protected against any
possible attack. Alexandria
also grew in size and started to rival some of the great cities of the age.
Its mercantile exchange became the centre for all good flowing throughout the
Empire. On the crossroads of the two great highways running through Kassala
the mighty fortress of Badr was built to act as the base for any southern
forces. Egyptian missionaries were active throughout Atbara, Kassala and
Kordofan but had little success on converting the Christians of the Crimea. Zaid was dismayed at the indolence of the
Rashidun clerics and sought to gain greater influence over their policy and
doctrine. He then travelled to Syria with Kamal el-Dine to
persuade the esteemed ally to become part of the Empire. Jel Laddin set sail
from Al’Qadi to explore the trade routes east to India. His fleet of dhows were
able to transverse the Gulf of Mannar to finally reach the Maldives
before returning to Al’Qadi in late 1320. Kafel el Hassan was dispatched to
Suakin where he had managed to gain some military support from the tribes
there before the Aswan
attacked and took control of the province. Kafel was treated with respect as
the Aswan Emir held the Empire in high esteem but any hope of an alliance
with the Suakin disappeared with the Aswan.
Gaining ten thousand cavalry raised during these years in Alexandria, Badr Al-Muhamud moved to
Kassala before giving the troops to the Imam Assam. In return he took command
of twice that number of heavily armoured horse. Collecting colonists from
Funj, he embarked on a bloody onslaught on the Coptics of Axum. The Coptics
that survived his attack were driven from their lands and their churches
destroyed. Their farms and towns were taken up by their Funj neighbours who
sore allegiance to Badr. Travelling
from Danakil, Adil al-Din Kujuk collected a large force of infantry from Fort Axum
before attacking and levelling the city of Axum. It’s treasures were looted and
scattered amongst his men. Prince Badr was not satisfied with Axum alone. Convincing Adil to join him he declared
himself Emperor after stating that Zaid was weak and unfit to rule such a
mighty kingdom. With Axum as his base, he was able to persuade Kassala, Funj
and Alwa to join his cause; although Danakil
and Adulis remained loyal to Zaid.
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The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sameer, Caliph of the Akramids
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Over six thousand elite horde were raised in Elvas while
the fleet in Madeira was augmented by
several dhows and triremes. To further bring the north into the Caliphate,
the road from Portugal was
extended to Santiago
in Galacia. Despite huge efforts to sway the island of Sicily
back to the true faith, the efforts of the Papal missionaries proved too
great and the small Moslem minority was turned away from Allah. After
conferring with the Caliphate’s merchants, Sameer continued to rule over his
prosperous nation. He was blessed with many children from his wives and even
took another bride from the Santiago
nobility. He was joined at court by his heir, the young Prince Tiroman III.
Prince Masud took command of the newly raised cavalry in Elvas and conveyed
them to Andalusia and Sameer. A further six
thousand horse were removed from his command and given to the Caliph. Until
his death in 1318, Masud was commanded to patrol the border with the
Christians. It was here that he heard rumours that the knights of St Denis
were preparing to regain some of the lands they believed lost to
Christianity. The efforts of Prosper and the marriage of Sameer saw Santiago become friendly
to the Caliphate. Masteri was given command of the nation’s fleet with
assistance from Prince Marishmed.
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Arabia and the Middle East
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Najib, Sultan of the Buwayids
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Paphlagonia was colonised
by new settlers from the Sultanate and the lands of Bandar were finally
cleared of the remaining wilderness and farms settled. The road from Bithnia
to Phrygia was completed over the mountains to the gates of Kor. Najib ruled
from Mesopotamia while Prince Aalam was sent
to oversee the colonisation of Paphlagonia. Despite the efforts of Zubair
Raheesh in the city of Qom,
he was unable to shift their stance towards the Sultanate. Yafi Shamsad was
more success in Ahvaz
and managed to gain the full support of the Emir of those lands.
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Ar Rassid Imamat as
Sa'Na
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Saddam
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Quiet
times on the Arabian peninsular..
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Scandia and the Out Isles
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Aegir Nicholson, Jarl of Orkney
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Again the mighty
Orkney fleet grew in size as another twenty warships were built in Kirval
harbour. In far Gronland, Leif, escorted new colonists to found the city of Nordheim. In the
conquered Svear territories, the Orkney clerics attempted to raise new Order
Houses for La Marteau de Dieu. They were successful in Segervik only but
Ingrid was able to raise some support in the city of Uppsala. In Iceland, Njord was also successful
in constructing an Order House with the assistance of Brother Louis. Aegir
took a bride from the Svear province
of Skane after taking
the risk on declaring Dunaldur Erikson his heir, sidestepping the rebel Bragi
Jotunson who was allowed to live as long as he pledged loyalty to Aegir.
Alfred was tasked with bringing home the Skane princess but his attempts to
sway the Svear can to nothing; even with the assistance of Pierre and DeBole.
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Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Harry I, King of England
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In the far west,
the lands of Cornwall were greatly improved
using techniques developed at the Royal Society in London. The fishing fleets of Berwick, Caer
Dyvi, Caer Myrddin and Diva grew in size to feed England’s expanding population.
Wymeswold became an inland port as it was expanded down to the Severn. The Severn had recently been dredged to allow
ships to travel up into Mercia.
To connect England’s
Iberian possessions, a new road was begun from Santander
to Saragossa while at the same time the
dredging of the Ebro was started. Prince
Ian’s diplomacy in Gwynned saw the Welshmen become allies. However, the Earl
of Wessex died in 1319 and his son refused to give anything but minimal
support to Harry. Lord Benjamin gained the full support of the Cornish after
travelling there from Sussex
with the Society academics. Lord Rasin’s death in 1316 saw Harry’s plans to
gain more support from Saragossa and Navarre come
to nothing. Bishop Gallos also passed away these years.
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Eastern Europe
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Anastasia, Queen of the Rus
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The death of Peter
III at such a young age saw unrest throughout the kingdom. It was unclear if the
princes Rasputin, Nicholas and Piotr all possible contenders. But it Peter’s
young daughter’s claim that was finally upheld as she became Queen of the
Rus. To mark such a momentous occasion, the Rus moved from their old clan
ties to one of a more feudal nature. Attempts to increase the support of the
Pechneg lands were hampered by the independent nature of the nomadic tribes
of those lands. However, the port of
Pechnograd was built on the Black Sea and fortified against any possible attack.
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The Grand Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Mieszko Poznan, Grand Duke of Poland
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Danzig
grew in size during these years, the beneficiary of northern trade. While the
Grand Duke ruled from Poland
with the support of Josef Pisudski, his remaining supporters ensured the
safety of the Duchy.
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The Kingdom of Hungary
(Eastern Orthodox Civilised Open Empire)
Ladislaus Hunyadi, King of Hungary
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Cultivation of
Walachia was started and that of Slovakia almost completed.
Ladislaus Hunyadi ruled from Budapest
and was blessed with two young sons and a daughter from his wife Titiana.
Stefan of Vidin was tasked with trying to bring Banat
further into the Kingdom but his death in 1317 saw no progress with the
tribes there.
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The Kingdom of Estonia
(Jumali Skyfather Civilised Open Empire)
Konrad II, King of the Ests
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For his support of
the Skyfather, Konrad received in turn the support of the Jumali priests. Three
thousand men were given to Jaan to assist in the construction of the road
from Latvia
to Daugava. Two thousand knights were rallied to the King’s banner in Estonia to
replace the men sent to build the road
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Central Asia
The Karakhanate of
Ilig
(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Sahir, Khan of Ilig
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The lands of the
great Karakhanate were peaceful and quiet.
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Glorious Khwarzim
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Abu I-Ghazi Bahadur, Khan of the Khwarzim
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No news from the Khwarzim
as the retreat back to their accustomed isolation.
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The Steppe
The
Buryats attempted to move south through the Khitan lands but were met with the
Great Khan’s forty thousand warriors. Despite a valiant effort to break the Khitan,
the Buryats were outnumbered and outfought
and had to flee to the lands of the Mongols. They ended these years in
Datong Shan after passing through the lands of the Gobi, Ghurids, Suzhou and Tarim-Zao. The
Tzin move through the lands of the Ghurids and the Lang Zao, gaining new
warriors for their khan. Four years after fighting off the Buryats, the Khitan
were once again forced to repel invaders as the Tzin moved into Tari-Nor. Yet
despite the size of the horde, now numbering over seventy thousand and being
more than twice the size of the Khitan, they were repulsed from Khitan lands
and into those of the Mongols. The Tzin ended their wanderings in Laio.
India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Guram, Raja of Kaunaj
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Colonists flooded
back into the desolated lands of Uttar Pradesh and Tarain after the Tzin
headed north. Kaunaj and Kalanjara grew in size and were protected by great
walls. Gurdip was to be given the remnants of the Tripuri kingdom as his
personal fief for the years of service provided but before Guram could
announce Gurdip’s reward the Tripurians submitted themselves fully to Rajputi
rule and Guram quickly decided to allow them to govern themselves, much as
the Bengalis had for years. With the security of the great Rajputi kingdom
behind them, the Tripurians attempted to regain their lost territory to the
west. Pawar fell easily to their three thousand warriors but although
Kakatiya was nearly liberated, forces loyal to the Dharans ambushed and
killed the Tripurian king. After his death the Tripurians retreated to
Dahala. The death of Prince Ram meant that Guram would have to find another
prince to govern the Bengalis. Prince Gyan was also to die in YR3 after
spending his last years attempting to gain more support from Jaunpur along
with Rajiv. Missionaries were active in the conquered Iranian territories
with converts being gained in Sahis, Edrosia and Sind.
Influence was gained in the Dagger order as their forces to the north spread
out from Nepal
to conquer Dhera-Dun, Alung Gangi and Nyen’Ch’Hen. Finally, Guram could not
forgive the treacherous Prince Janda and the rebel was tracked to an isolated
village in the Punjab were he had attempted
to escape the King’s Justice. Guram had ordered his agents to execute the
rebel prince and bring his head back to Kaunaj.
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The Western
Dhara
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Pajama IV, King of the Dhara
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Ten thousand
cavalry and three thousand foot were raised during there years with over half
the new infantry being elite guards. The city of Vijyanagar grew in size and the Dharan
prosperity returned. Pajama IV ruled from Satava as his forces spread south
in a bloody swathe of conquest. The rebel lands of Belur, Sangas and Chola
fell to Lilli the Strong’s twenty thousand men. The defenders in Belur had
managed to repulse Lilli for nearly a year before they succumbed to his
overwhelming force. It was not all victory for the Dharans though as the
Tripurians managed to regain their lost lands of Pawar. In Kakatiya, the
Tripurian king was killed and the loss of that province prevented.
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The Palas of Bengal
(Hindu Civilised NPN Empire, Friendly to
Kaunaj)
Hardeep, Palas of Bengal
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The cities of Tamralipti
and Gaur grew in size and their mighty walls replaced to contain the new
citizens. Bemused Bengali engineers completed the road through Thatonese
territory to Bandarban as the forces of the Dagger ranged around them. Agents
of the Bengalis attempted to throw the Wheel further into chaos as they
attacked the Buddhist’s ability to fight back. The Abbot in Tai’li was not
completely unprepared and managed to catch the Bengalis before any damage was
done. Bengali Priests were active in Tz’uk’an and Om’Chu but only gained a
few Hindu converts in Om’Chu. Some influence was gained over the mighty
Dagger Order. Hardeep ruled from Gaur and made inroads into securing his
dynasty with three children. Prince Rajesh was sent to Bhutan with
Dharam and the Brahmin Deeth to continue to smooth over relations with the
Bhutanese.
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South East Asia and the Islands
The Kambujadesa
Empire
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Thao Pen-Pen, Emperor of the Khmer
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The colonisation of
Selatan continued and the last vestiges of jungle were cleared to make way
for more farms. Theo Pen-Pen was still unsatisfied with the amount of rice
produced by his obviously lazy farmers and decided to spend vast sums on a
fishing fleet from Angor. Unfortunately, his clerks had requested the wrong
sort of shipping and found that the Mekong
was not deep enough for their draft. Pich Pho moved to Hmong to continue
improving relations with the mountain province. He was to die of a fever in
1320. With the nobility in Siam
fully converted from their Buddhist ways, Cho Tae moved to Phan Bho to
continue his valuable work.
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The Kingdom of Thaton
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Achara, King of the Thaton
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Prince Jarentho was
presented to the Thatonese court despite his advanced age but it was the
death of the princess Manitho that saw a reduction in trade with Kaunaj as
the old trade pact ended. Work was started on improving the Thatonese road
network from Mytkynia to Nanchao and south to Loikaw. Sajja also sent
emissaries to Bengal to give permission for
the Hindus to build a road to Bandarban. The King was content to rule from
Thaton and expand his dynasty. Burut Prem was dispatched to Kunming and managed to gain some grudging
support from the city. However, it was the events of early 1316 that alarmed
Sajja and the Thatonese, emboldened by the destruction of the Lamas in Tibet, the
forces of the Dagger Order attacked Samatata. It was left to Ditaka Chuan and
the Black Dragon Army of nearly eight thousand men to repel the invaders but
the Dagger forces numbered more than three times the defenders even though a
good third were sappers. Chuan was also outmanoeuvred by the Dagger general
who managed to encircle the Thatonese army as they rushed north. The losses
to the Dagger forces was slight, some two thousand men, but the Black Dragon
army was wiped out; Ditaka Chuan managing to escape and flee to Bandarban
were he rallied the one thousand men garrisoned there. Despite a valiant
defence of the city, the Dagger forces were to take control of Bandarban in
the autumn. Chuan fled back to Mandalay.
With the Black Dragon Army destroyed, there was nothing to stop the Dagger
forces taking Burma and Manipur. Chuan was to
die attempting to defend the fortress in Manipur. By the end of 1318, the
Dagger forces in the east had taken Samatata,
Burma and
Manipur and the cities in those lands. They showed no sign of moving further
into Thatonese territory.
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The Dai Kingdom
of Annam
(Buddhist Seafaring Open Empire)
Bhadravarman II, King of Annam
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The Annamese were
content with their wealth.
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The God Empire of Sri
Vijaya
(Buddhist Seafaring Open Empire)
Singhassari, The God
Emperor
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The lands of the God
Emperor grew in prosperity and saw the great city of Sirivjaya grow in size. New trade routes
were setup throughout the islands from the city. Sirivjayan missionaries were
able to see some converts in Pajajaran but little success was gained in Flores. The God Emperor Singhassari was content to
spend these years in quiet reflection after issuing decrees to his nation’s
merchants. His daughter, Tribhuwana, was at his side to assist in the affairs
of state.
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Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Minamoto
Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Kojiro Yasumori, Shogun of the East
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The island of Hokkaido was finally cultivated with
rice paddies and wheat. The ancient Ainu hunting grounds were ploughed and their
forests burned as they retreated further from the southerners who controlled
the coasts. They Ainu that remained were converted from their animalistic
beliefs to Shinto by priests of the Shogunate. While the Shogun ruled from
Heian, Prince Katsu gathered the scattered garrisons of Toyama,
Kanazawa and Yamato before assigning the
troops to Reiji in Shimonoseki.
Reiji had returned from escorting more colonists to Sakhalin
before collecting the men from Prince Katsu. The Tatyskaya Guba in the far
north was explored by Toru and the passage to Beringa by Masa. Tuka of the
Kazan Retto was to fail like his father before him when he was forced to turn
back from the fabled Moluccas after fierce
summer storms. He was lucky to escape with his life.
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The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Yong, King of Goryeo
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Seven thousand cavalry were raised in Kaiching to augment the Goryeon
defences. From Mantap to Anshan
a road was built to extend the King’s reach. News came from the attacks on Khitan
by the Tzin and Buryats and how the brave allies and repulsed the attackers.
Missionaries to the Dalai Nor, Wudah and Suifenhe were unsuccessful in
gaining more converts. Wang Gyeong Eop’s efforts in Suifenhe came to nothing
as the region still refused to improve its relations with Kaiching. However,
Nam Ye Yu had managed to gain an alliance from the Hsuing Nu. O Min was to
die on his way to Khitan to convert the cities there to Buddhism. A journey
that would have been pointless in an event as they were already adherents of
the Buddhist faith, unlike their more rural cousins.
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Nihon-no-Tenno
(Shinto Civilised Religious Primate)
Fushimi-tennō, Emperor of the Chrysanthemum Throne
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Shinto priests saw
some gains amongst the Kagoshima Daoists. Emperor Fushimi was pleased by the
growth of the Imperial Court,
and the steady expansion of his rule.
In the fifth year of the Enkyo era, Fushimi marked the completion of
the Imperial Road
from Heian to Harima by declaring the end of the Enkyo nengo , and the start
of the Bunpō nengo. Throughout
Bunpō, the Emperor ruled from Heian, and directed his ministers to
expand the court and Shinto to the ends of Honshu. While the Imperial Court preoccupied itself with
strengthening Shinto throughout the land, the Emperor and his Empress,
Shōshi, continued their efforts to expand the Imperial line. Towards the
end of YR5, the Emperor began to show signs of failing health and the winter
of that year took a severe toll. Never a strong man, Fushimi looked soon to
join his ancestors and remained bed-ridden and delirious under the care of
the Empress. The Emperor's Kampaku, Konoe Iemoto - and the Sadaijin,Nitta
Yoshisada - continued their mission to spread the Shinto message. First, Konoe and Nitta entered the city of Kanazawa where they
consecrated a temple. Konoe then
travelled to the lands of Clan Kiyowara and spent a year in the Nigata
province, building a temple there.
Next, in the town of Sakata,
he consecrated a temple; however his attempts to expand it to an abbey
failed. He then returned to Heian to
communicate the results of his efforts to the Emperor. When Konoe left to
expand Shinto in Nigata, Nitta remained behind in Kanazawa to expand the temple into an
abbey. He then travelled to Akita Province
in north-eastern Honshu to consecrate a
temple in the countryside. However, in the town of Aomori, local red tape saw his attempts to
raise a temple fail. Sanjo assigned Koga the holy task of enlightening the
people of the Taira Shogunate. Koga
therefore travelled to the province
of Saga on the island of Kyushu
to begin his work. He toiled among the
common people to raise a temple and bring them truth and wisdom.
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The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Dai Shang, King of Koueichou
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Tai’de grew in
size and some protection was thrown up against any casual invader. In Szechwan, four thousand cavalry were raised for the
King. Other than Dai Shang who was ruling from Szechwan
and his heir Kai Sung, all of the lords of the Koueichou were active in
gaining some more influence with the Greater Wheel. Some progress was made
despite the death of Tai Po in 1319 but the new Dali Lama was not convinced
by mere words, wanting action against the Hindus and a return of the lost
Holy City of Lhasa.
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The Empire of the
Western Song
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Zhi Kuo, Emperor of the Western Song
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Six thousand elite warriors were raise din Chang An to protect
the city and the Emperor. The lands of Yun were greatly improved with new
irrigation channels and rice fields. While Zhi Kuo ruled from Chang An, Zhi
Cao moved to Shensi to keep an eye on the
northern borders. Despite his death in 1317, Tsao Kai managed to gain tribute
from the lands of the Ordos. The lands of
the Tumet became Buddhist through the efforts of the Sung priests.
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The Kingdom of Chengshi
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Tsing Tao, King of Chengshi
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The city of Qingdao was built in
Ganzhou and some walls built to protect against bandits. Cultivation of Fukien was started to improve the nation’s food supply.
Tsing Tao ruled from Chekiang while Prince Fu Zoiy was dispatched to Fujian with the
Princes Xiang Lo and Ye Ting as well
as Shong and Tian to gain further support from those lands. Sadly, Fu was to
take ill in 1319 and died of a fever later in that year. He died before he
saw his efforts rewarded with Fujian giving
its full support to Chekiang. Prince Ye Ting
never managed to leave Fukien as he was
killed by bandits on the road out of the province.
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