Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Turn 67
1331
~ 1335 Anno Domini
693 ~ 697 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:
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…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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Throughout the
empire vast sums were spent on improving the German lands. Emperor Hubbert
showed his gratitude to the Knights and the embattled East Romans by shipping
gold to their treasuries. He also decreed that the German influence in the
Knights of Malta would be reduced to allow them to pursue their goals. Prince Jarung was dispatched to the Vienna where he was
able to gain some support from the independent minded burghers of the city
before spending the remainder of these years hunting in the Austrian forests.
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Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Louis, King of France
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King Louis opened
the doors to his treasury and allowed for great improvements to be made to
the lands of Maine and Nivernais. The cities of Tours and Nerdone were also to see the
benefits of his largesse. To the far eastern lands of the East Romans he sent
a fortune in gold to shore up Christendom’s eastern frontier. Louis himself
was content to rule from Paris
and was blessed with three children during these years. The death of
Guillaume in 1335 was preceded by only six months by the death of Gerard.
However, the French lands were enjoying an extended period of peace and no
threats came to threaten Louis’s kingdom. He was able to introduce Prince
Phillipe, son of Charles to the French court during the summer of 1331.
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The Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Ricardo V Durazzo, Prince of Salerno
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Gold
was sent north to the Rus for payment of Kievian grain and to honour the
marriage pact between the two nations.
From Naples to Pescara, the Via Sannita was improved to
carry men and goods through the mountain passes. Duke Carlo Martello Durazzo
spends his time working to solidify the Durazzo family's position in
power. . In 1335, Carlo Martello intercedes in the
merchant guilds affairs to establish trade with Liguria
and Hungary, and to
stabilize trade in the Eastern Mediterranean after the inconvenient civil war
in Egypt.
In Naples, Giovanni di Lara spent several
years attempting to hire more sellswords with Napoli coin, Frustrated with
the lack of landless men, the Conte di Caserta was forced to spend a
fruitless time in Leghorn
with the independent minded Tuscans of the city. Teodoro Palaiologos, the
Marchesse of Monferrato, was tasked with completing the conquest of northern Italy and marched his army of nine thousand
men through the Lombard countryside. Some
resistance met by the overwhelmed Lombards but the Marchesse easily overcame
them to conquer the rich province. The city of Vincencia was without any defence and
willingly opened its gates to the invaders rather than face an assault. While the Salernese army was diverted
elsewhere, the Ligurian Prince Hector pushed south with his army of six
thousand men. Although Obizzo d’Este was occupied with the local dignitaries
of Tuscany, the province was garrisoned by
five thousand men from Napoli as well as a
defensive ring of forts and sconces. Such was the vigour of Prince Hector’s
fist attack that both he and Obizzo were left reeling from the assault and
the Marchesse was to perish from a mortal wound taken on the battlefield.
Despite this, the Ligurian losses were such that Hector had no choice but to
retreat north to Genoa, leaving Tuscany firmly in
Salernese hands. Salernese control over Carinthia and Klagenfurt were strengthened through the
efforts of Prince Luca and the Spaniard Ramon de Cardona.
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The Grand Order of St Denis
(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Order)
Lothaire, Grandmaster.
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A large force was
recruited from the slums of Paris
with the promise of bread and wine. Not all of the sixteen thousand men were
rabble as some of the more able were trained in the art of siege warfare. These
new recruits were given over to the command of Lothaire who moved south to Saragossa to claim the
city from its Olbian supporters. The death of Aric in 1331 saw a smooth
transfer of power to the general as the other Order notables pledged their
support. The Order were active in completing their part of the great Ebro
canal; only a small section through the mountains remained to link up with
the English engineers. Gascon was to
sail to Olbia and attempt to make the old Aragonese nobility pledge their
support to the Order. However, incensed by their attacks on their Iberian
lands and the lack of compensation, the Olbians threw Gascon out of the
palace.
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The Knights of Malta
(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Order
Stephan, Grandmaster
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At last some of
the massive Maltese treasury was spent on improving the city of Valletta. The
Grandmaster had entered into negotiations with the Holy Roman Emperor and was
pleased when Hubbert allowed the Order
to reassert its independence. The Grandmaster and Captain Hans of Alesia were
stationed in Cyprus
in case of retaliation by the Al’Bahri. The Sea Lords remained quiet although
news came to Stephan about the call to arms being sent throughout Egypt.
John of Constantinople was tasked with improving the Knight’s holdings in Italy and oversaw new sites in Lombardy and Venice.
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Western and South Africa
The Mwene-Mutapa
Empire
(African Unkulkulun Civilised Open
Empire)
Ikko Addi, Emperor of Mapungubwe
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Five thousand
fierce warriors were raised in Mapungubwe for the king, doubling his honour
guard. Manekweni grew in size and its walls were rebuilt. Qimbara also grew
in size and in Gorongo the fortress of Chingiri was built to protect the old
Hindu region from any Betis reprisals. More colonists were sent north to Zimbabwe
to claim those lands for the king. In Phalaborwa, the jungle was finally cut
back as it gave way to farmland. Priests ok Unkulukulu were finally able to
oust the Hindu priests from Sofala, converting the city to his glory. King
Ikko ruled from Mapungubwe, pleased
with the new recruits to the Great Panther Army. Defence of the realm was
given to Nayambo III in Zimbabwe
but the young prince was gored by a lion whilst hunting and never recovered
from his wounds.
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Usama-Yoruba Onium of Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Ildayi, Emperor of the Ibo
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Throughput the
Onium, Ildayi oversaw the growth of his nation. The cities of Ibo, Bini,
Mbouda, Akwanga and Ijebu all grew in size and in the majority of cases their
walls were built high and wide. A great fortress was built in Ife and throughout that province as well as Benin,
Oyo and Yoruba a number of smaller forts were built. Duggo was sent to Ife where he was to join
the force commanded by Yabumgo. The generals were commanded to gain control
of Koyanke and Boure and they easily swept through these regions, pushing
aside any local opposition. Meanwhile, the generals Wewagi and Zuni took
control of the province
of Asante for Ildayi.
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North Africa and Moslem Spain
The Empire of Egypt
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Badr al-Mahmud, Sultan of Egypt
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The civil war had
hit the Empire hard and Badr struggled to maintain order.
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The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sameer, Caliph of the Akramids
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Sameer augmented the Seville garrison with five thousand elite
spearmen. A further thousand were raised in Madeira
along with a number of Dhows. Sameer also ordered that the great road be
pushed north-east from Talavera to New Castille. His imams were active throughout
Sardinia and gained a large number of
converts in the Olbian capital. Tiroman, the third of that name, was to take
control of the Caliphate in early 1333 as Sameer never recovered from a harsh
fever. There was no dissent and Tiroman easily gathered the support of the
generals. Striker was tasked with the defence of the Caliphate from Andalusia
while it fell to Rastaman to patrol its coasts from Seville after the untimely death of Masteri
in 1331.
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East Africa
The Sennar continued their push for the sea as they took control of Lamu.
The Ogaden took advantage of the weakness of Aden
by capturing Berbera, Somali and Mogadishu.
They gain the alliance of the Chalbi Horse.
Arabia and the Middle East
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Najib, Sultan of the Buwayids
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Najib improved the
cities of the Sultanate by spending vast sums on parks and sanitation. The
vast slums of Al-Kuwait and Qom
were cleared and replaced with well ordered tenements. Grain was shipped out
east to the vast Karakhanate where famine was becoming part of daily life.
Najib’s attempts to gain knowledge from the West was not as successful as
previous years as his scholars failed to make sense of the various texts and
devices brought back to Baghdad. The Sultan married from the local Baghdadi
nobility and was blessed with two children. His uncle Prince Aalam Quadir was
patrolling the western borders when his heart gave way. His death saw the
border force put under the command of Raheel Rabbani. A delegation led by
Ahmed Jaffari was sent to Bandar to improve relations with the conquered
province.
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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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At Donaldur
Erikson’s bidding, some attempt was made to improve the fertility of the
Icelandic lands. He was to dispatch some gold to the Svear by way of
compensation for the conflict of previous years. Along with Torsten and
Ingrid, King Donaldur abandoned the search for scientific proof and put his
life and that of his kingdom into the hands of God. The piety of the entire
northern kingdom grew and the churches thronged with rapt parishioners. The
death of Pierre of the St Denis Order in 1333
saw his lesser knights and clerics return to Paris. Prince Edvard Jotunson returned to
Kirkval with his Svear bride Agnetha. The couple were blessed with a young
son, although he was a sickly and misshapen thing. After a long trip to Constantinople to make a gift of gold stamped with
Orkneys raven, Prince Frey returned to Kirkval by way of Lienster. The Irish
province accepted Donaldur’s dominion once again. In Stockholm, now back in the hands of the Svear
king Olaf, Prince Bragi spent many months discussing cooperation between the
two northern kingdoms.
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Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ian, King of England
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From the lakes to
the north to the borders with Mercia,
the Lancashire lands were put under the
plough. The great walls of London’s
Tower were expanded and several contingents of siege engineers recruited in
the city. King Ian entered into negotiations with the Order of St Denis about
his proposed extension of the Ebro canal to the Mediterranean.
He joined the nations sending gold to far Constantinople
to fund their defence of eastern Christendom. Gold was also shipped to the
French as the English desired some additions to their Great Library. King Ian
was able to walk into the Olbian province
of Asturias and the beleaguered
island nation had no land force in Iberia. Command of the English forces
in the province were left to Lord Thomas after Ian departed for home and family.
Lord Harrington was left in command of the English in Navarre but succumbed
to illness in late 1332. Brother Eric was to travel to Paris to purchase the books but died after
being robbed on Hampstead Heath.
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Eastern Europe
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Anastasia, Queen of the Rus
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More cavalry were
raised in Kiev
to augment the garrison there and to support Gregori in his defence of the
kingdom. Anastasia ruled from Kiev
and started to show the young Prince Peter the intricacies of state. His
uncle Rasputin was also persuaded to play a greater part in supporting Anastasia’s
rule but died of a fever in 1335 before he had any impact. As part of the
marriage deal hammered out in past years, more grain was shipped south to the
Italian lands. Prince Nicholas was sent with Karl and wagons of gold to the
Cossacks in Cuman. The years they spent with the fierce warriors paid off as
the Khan demanded no new tribute from the Rus while they remained neutral
from his conquests.
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The Grand Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Boleslaw Poznan, Grand Duke of Poland
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Four thousand
lancers were raised in Poland
for Duke Boleslaw and his campaign against the Bulgari. After leaving a small
infantry contingent in Poland,
the Duke gathered another four thousand cavalry to his banner before moving
south to check the Bulgari advance through the south. Facing the Duke were
the four thousand Bulgari, their twenty thousand Romanii allies and some
three thousand Magyars. The Duke had not believed reports that the numbers of
the stinking goatherders had grown so large and despite his martial skill was
hard put to turn the battle. Eventually his new recruits broke and the rout
was ruthlessly exploited by the Bulgari horsemen. The fleeing Polish were cut
down as they ran and few made it back to Volhynia. The Duke himself was
struck and taken prisoner after the battle.
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The Kingdom of Hungary
(Eastern Orthodox Civilised Open Empire)
Ladislaus Hunyadi, King of Hungary
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Tired of the
Bulgar threat, Ladislaus gathered the best Hungarian horsemen under his
banner and set off to Moldavia
to confront the Bulgari and their Magyar allies. His force number nearly ten
thousand while the Khan had nearly twice that. Secure in his martial skill,
Ladislaus charged into the Bulgar host, scattering their lighter ponies aside
and smashing all that stood in his way. But the Bulgar were prepared for the
Hungarians and as they gave way the wings of their army enveloped Ladislaus’s
flanks and poured endless volleys of arrows into the horsemen’s exposed sides.
The slaughter was immense as Ladislaus tried to disengage but could do little
but escape with his life. The cream of Hungarian nobility was cut down by the
Bulgar’s and chased all the way back to Alfold.
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The Kingdom of Estonia
(Jumali Skyfather Civilised Open Empire)
Konrad II, King of the Ests
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The city of Reval grew in size and
its walls moved to accommodate the new population. The priests of Jumali
Skyfather were active in Musa and were able to convert the pagans there to
their cause. Konrad ruled from Estonia but was distraught at the
death of his wife in 1332. Prince Victor spent some time during 1331 ensuring
the Estonian merchants were providing the crown with the best value before
patrolling the lands out of Estonia.
The Jumali priest Tooni was accompanied by Jergen and Sakala to Kymia where
he offered the hand of Prince Victor to Kymia’s daughter; not known for their
looks, the Kymians were a fecund people and Victor would look forward to many
sons. Old Bradick, Thane of Moltha, died of a heart compliant in 1331 but
support was still given by his son.
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The Oriental Roman
Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Andronicus II, Emperor of East Rome
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With the Cossacks
nipping at his northern borders, Andronicus continued to consolidate his
control over the once might Roman Empire. From
throughout Christendom, vast sums of gold poured into his treasury to enable
him to create a buttress against the Moslem and the Turk. In Rhodes, the
ancient city of Nikopolis was rebuilt within
the old city walls after colonists were shipped from Constantinople
to the island by Alexios. New trade routes spring up to Palermo
and Genoa as
the Emperor recognised the Italian city states. In Abasigia, the people had
little time for Roman priests as they sought to hide their wealth and
daughters from the raiding Cossacks. Michael could only watch from Sevastopol’s high walls as the Cossacks took control of
the Crimea by force. He managed to gain some
support from the city’s elders despite their reluctance to anger the Khan.
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The Cuman Cossacks
After
receiving gold and envoys from the Rus and the Khwarzimi, the Cossacks settle
some of their tribesmen in the lands of Kirov
before moving south to Kuban. No gold was
forthcoming from the Romans so the lands of Abasigia were ruthlessly raided,
leaving the peasants with little food to survive the coming winters. The
Bulgari were met by the Khan’s son and persuaded to ally themselves with the
mighty Cossacks although the Bulgari Magyar allies decided to pull their men
back to their western grasslands. Crimea was invested by the horde but they
stopped short at the great walls of Sevastopol;
built many years go by the Egyptians.
Central Asia
Glorious Khwarzim
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Abu I-Ghazi Bahadur, Khan of the Khwarzim
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Despite
almost emptying the Khwarzimi treasury to pay off the Cumans, Abu L-Ghazi
Bahadur was able to complete the cultivation of Khazar. Some more gold was
spent in improving the ravaged lands of the Saksiny. The roads through
Tabaristan and Gurgan were to see some investment as they began to be
improved with new, more permanent stone surfaces. The lands of the Vasi were
converted to Islam but the Khwarzimi priests had little success in converting
the Alan. Throughout his rule, Abu was able to keep a close eye on the
Khwarzimi shipping in the Caspian Sea.
Sadly, his wife Sela died in the winter of 1331 from a fever and the Khan was
left a widow. Dadarshi travelled to Khazar to sing a song of brotherhood,
extolling the virtues of union with the Great Khwarzim. The spinster daughter
of the Khan was still attractive even into her thirties and the offer of
marriage to the Khazar chief as well as the cultivation of his lands paved
the way for his allegiance to Abu. Emir Mofat was not renown for his
diplomatic skill but his efforts and the hints of a future marriage betrothal
to one of the Khan’s daughters saw an alliance gained from the Azeri. Before
his death in 1333, Bilal El-Amin managed to gain the full support of the
Saksiny, highlighting the protection offered by Abu’s treasury from the Cuman
the Khan dithered in his palace, the Cuman or Cossacks as they were sometimes
called ravaged his northern frontier.
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Ilig
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sulam, Khan of the Ilig
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As a reward for
his great service to the Karakhanate, Prince Gaddad was declared as the heir
to Sahir at the same time as Sahir’s young sons, Harun Al-Harun and Bughra
were ordered to attend the Ilig court. Gaddad was never able to claim his new
position as he was to die during his celebration feast in 1331, choking to
death during the main course. The roads were expanded southwards with Khvor
being connected to Zagros. Although Dasht’Kavir and Khurasan both decided to
leave the Karakhanate due to the ongoing famine. The Scythians were also to
withdraw their support for the Khan during these years. Sulam sent a request
to Ghazz for grain to ease his nation’s famine but no reply was received as
the Sultan was troubled by attacks from the Samaaj. Indeed, Sulam had also
decided to attack the Ghazz province
of Firoz Kohi which
could not have helped persuade the Ghazz to send grain north to Samarkhand.
The Iman Ashahi took his force of twelve thousand men into the Ghazz province of Firoz Kohi. The Ghazz were not
expecting the attack and had left the province virtually undefended and it
fell easily to the Iman’s force. Shortly after the attack on Firoz Kohi,
al-Muti the Lynx and Imis the Honeytongued moved into Balkh. Their force of twenty thousand
cavalry overwhelmed the Shadad Kings four thousand men breaking their power
in the region before moving on to Kash, Sistan and finally Shadad. Imis had
taken a wound in the battle for Balkh
and although small it had festered from some unclean Shadadi sword and
brought about his death on the road to Shadad. The Shadadi had a considerable
force of ten thousand men in their homeland but these could also not
withstand Al-Muti’s fury as they were pushed aside and scattered to the
steppe. With the Shadadi power broken in Balkh, the Imam pushed on through Dasht’e
Lute, Shit Kuh and Neyriz. Sharratt the Collector was ordered to accompany
the Imam during his campaign
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India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Guram, Raja of Kaunaj
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The great cities
of the Rajput Kingdom grew in size and their massive
walls rebuilt to encompass the growing tide of humanity within them.
Throughout the kingdom new fortifications were raised to protect Guram’s rich
lands. Always aware of the threat from the Buddhists and the northern hordes,
Guram ordered an extensive building program for the Samaaj Kekataar; Order
Houses were built right across his kingdom at Guram’s expense. Guram’s
motives were not completely altruistic as his largesse saw an increase in his
influence over the order. He was also to send missionaries to the Moslem province of Iran,
gaining some converts from the province
of Sahis. Guram
appointed his son Rajesh as his heir. Prince Suresh was also called to attend
the Rajputi court and was shown how to handle the affairs of state by his
father. With numerous satrapies to govern, Suresh would soon be heading away
from Kaunaj to take control of one of these. The royal highway was extended
to connect Rewa to Ujjayani in Avanti while Shivaji began the task of taking
control of those cities. His death in 1332 did not prevent the general from
investing both Rewa and Ujjayani into the kingdom.
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Samaaj Kekataar
The relationship between the Samaaj and Rajput grew as the rulers of Kaunaj
built several Dagger sites throughout India. Now that Nepal was colonised by faithful
Hindus, the Samaaj allowed the province to govern itself along with the
desolate frontier regions. This gave Ram time to concentrate in bringing the
Ghazz to Vishnu. From Und, the Dagger forces moved into Afghanistan where the Ghazz Sultan
could do nothing but surrender. His army had been badly mauled by the Shadad
before their fall to the Ilig. Some of the outlying Ghazz provinces rebelled
but the core Ghazz provinces remained and were forces to submit to Vishu by the
Samaaj army.
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 cities of
Bakheng and Banjarmasin
grew in size during these years with new walls built against any possible
attack. The stubborn Buddhists of Siam and Surin continued to remain
steadfast in their beliefs and refused to turn to Vishnu. Thao Pen-Pen was then content to fiddle
with his army rosters and other minutiae of court throughout his rule. While
Haomkong kept a watchful eye on his overseas possessions, Cho Tae remained in
command of the Khemer forces based in Champa.
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The Dai Kingdom
of Annam
(Buddhist Seafaring Open Empire)
Bhadramonte, King of Annam
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The postal road
was extended out to Nanling to meet the new
city of Nantou being built there. In Lignan the old
city walls of Lu-Shan were pulled down to make way for the city’s growth.
Bhadramonte despaired that the Wheel monks would ever heed his requests as
his attempts to curry influence with them failed; despite the best efforts of
Dinh Bo. Prince Tarnacanastacala was occupied in assisting the king in ruling
the kingdom but managed to find time to sire three healthy children.
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The Kingdom of Thaton
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Sajja, King of Thaton
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Men and gold were
sent east to Nanchao to improve the lands of Sajja’s ally. His thoughts also
turned to the growing needs of his people and the shortage of clean water in Moulmein. To that end, a
great aquaduct was started to carry fresh water in from the mountains and
ease the strain on Moulmein’s
wells. Sajja himself was blessed with two children who proved to be the only
diversion from his rule during these years of peace. Prince Kaeo continued to
see to the affairs of the Nanchao from Tai’Li whiles Chaiyo was tasked with
defending Sajja’s heartland from Thaton. On his western border, Sajja had
instructed Chao Khun Sa to keep a watchful eye on the Dagger forces in Assam
but the posting was to prove a dull one for the belligerent general as the
Order’s forces were active in the far north-west, well away from Thatonese
lands.
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The Kingdom of Nanchao
Pa Long’s wife was an exceptional beauty and so it was with
more than the usual sense of civic duty that enabled him to sire three children
during these years.
Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Minamoto
Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Kojiro Yasumori, Shogun of the East
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The far lands of Sakhalin were further colonised by Japanese while the wilds
of Takama were cultivated. Throughout the Shogunate’s ports vast numbers of
Ataka Bune warships were commissioned for Kojiro’s navy. Prince Katsu took
command of a new force of over ten thousand men raised in Shimonoseki before moving to Yamaguchi to
patrol that border. He was joined by Ryuu who had spent 1331 gathering the
newly built fleet from throughout the Shogunate. Kojiro named his son Haruo
as his heir. The young prince arrived at court with his brother Fumio;
welcomed by their father. Priests from the Shinto temples were unable to gain
many converts amongst the Aomori,
Saga or Kagoshimans. Old Rejji was to move to Aomori but perished on the road north, some
say due to his advanced age. Before his death in 1334, Haru travelled to the
far Moluccas where he offered the hand of
the Shogun’s eldest daughter in marriage. In Shikoku,
Uki was lucky to escape with his life as his attempts to sway the Taira were
met with scorn. The Shogun’s reach was further extended as Takao and Tuka
explored the seas far from his lands.
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The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Yong, King of Goryeo
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Wang
Yong spent these years in close discussions with his generals and nobles in
the attempt to insure their loyalty. This proved a difficult task for the
uncharismatic king who managed to polarise his supporters. Prince Wang Gyeong
Eop was so insulted by Wang Yong’s attempts to gain his trust that he
withdrew himself from court to Manchou. He was thought to be plotting against
the king but his death from a fall in 1332 ended all speculation. Nam Ye Yu was a fervent supporter of the
king but did not manage to gain any more support from the Hsuing’Nu during
his years in the north. However, Nam Ye Tu was able to gain more support from
the Ch’In before his death in 1334. It was Wen Jiabao that caused Wang Yong
the most concern. He was tasked with escorting the Royal Princess Su Jong to
the Khitan khan for a marriage to cement the relationship between the two
kingdoms when he declared that he would take the princess as his own.
Supposedly, the two had become close during the journey and Wen Jiabao had
plotted to use the princess to legitimise his attempt on the throne. Taking
Parhae for himself, the treacherous Jiabao declared himself king of the north
and made a grab for the Goryeon lands surrounding his new capital. Several of
the outlying provinces seized this opportunity to rebel from Kaiching but
those that remained formed a core of Jiabao’s kingdom. However, ho had not
appreciated the ambition of Yi Geon. Murdering his companion Nam Ye Yu whilst
the later gathered his forces for an attack on Jiabao, Yi Geon took control
of the Goryeon forces in Lia-Tung and moved on Jiabao. Wen Jiabao could not
stop his men from changing sides to Yi Geon and was finally cornered and
captured by Yi Geon’s men. He was dragged before the new king as he had
ensconced himself into his holdings in Liao-Tung. Su Jong was claimed as a
prize by Yi Geon and was forced to watch as her lover was executed in front
of her. The Khitan were unsure how to act but were pleased to keep the Su
Jong’s marriage dowry that arrived during these eventful years. .
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The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Kai Shang, King of Koueichou
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The walls of the
great city of Ghang’De
were expanded further while in the conquered lands of Jianxi several forts
were built to keep the peasants under control. The Szechuan army was
increased by several thousand for the forthcoming attack on Hunan, including several slow moving siege
towers. Kai Sung was to lead the attack on Kienchou with Prince Lo Sung after
leaving the court under the case of his young son Chai Sung. General Rao Ling waited in Jianxi with his
force of forty thousand men and to attack Hunan when the king had completed his
conquest of Kienchou. The Chang’Ling had seen the weakness of the Chang’Sha
and seized the opportunity to move their forty thousand men against the
poorly defended province in early 1331. The Chang’Sha were no match for the
invaders and surrendered to the northerners after several months of conflict.
The Chang’Ling attack had given Kai Sung the advantage in Kienchou as no
defending force arrived to protect the province. Kai Sung then combined his
force with General Ling’s before moving into Hunan. News had reached him of the
Chang’Ling’s opportunism but still the king decided to attempt the conquest
of the valuable heartland of the Chang’Sha. His force was roughly equal that
of the Chang’Ling’s and possibly greater now that the northerners had lost
some men taking the province from the Chang’Sha. Kai Sung took command and
with advice from General Ling was able to turn the Chang’Ling as they
prepared their defences. Over nine thousand of the enemy were cut down for
minimum losses to the Szechuan army and most
of those killed were the Chang’Ling elite guard. The Chang’Ling were forced
out of the province and back to Hwai. Kai Sung wasted little time attacking
the great city of Ch’Ang’Sha,
relying on his superior numbers and the great siege towers assembled outside
the city walls. The city was poorly defended due to the battles against the
Chang’Ling and fell quickly to Kai Sung’s forces. This time Kai Sung would not
leave an enemy behind and took full control of the Chang’Sha government,
looting its treasury and great libraries for the benefit of Koueichou. The
Chang’Sha were finished as a nation, their lands divided between Koueichou in
the north and Annam
in the south
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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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Song missionaries
continued to be active amongst the steppe nomads but prived to have little
success in the lands of the Tunwhang. Zhi Xu continued to rule from Chang’An
throughout these years but found the rigours of court life had begun to tell
as he fell ill in the winter of 1335. Forced to retire to his chambers for
much of the time. The princes Zhi Cao and Zhi Wei also fell with a fever in
1333 but failed to recover. Their loss was felt keenly by Zhi Xu as he had
begun to respect Zhi Wei’s counsel. On the death of the Ta’Tung overlord, his
son sent envoys to the Chang’An court expressing a wish to remain allied
against the Mongols but refused to commit his city a further.
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The Kingdom of Chengshi
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Xiang Lo, King of Chengshi
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The Chengshi fleet
was augmented by twenty Zhan Chu’an, or War Junks,commissioned for He Long. Fujian was cleared of
its last remaining wilderness as new farms were built. Xiang Lo ruled from Chekiang and spent some time during these handling the
affairs of Chengshi’s merchants. Prince Chai Shao accompanied Shong and Panfu
in an attempt to influence the city of Tainan
to join with Xiang Lo’s kingdom. All their diplomacy came to nothing as the
city was an integral part of the Taira Shogunate.
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The Kingdom of Chiang’Ning
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Song Wei, King of Chiang’Ning
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As
the city of Tang-Chou grew in size and its
great walls rebuilt, Song Tao planned the construction of Jinan in Tsainan. Also to grow in size
during these years were the cities of Zangchou and Tai-Pei. Ten thousand
elite guards were raised in Anhui
for Ning Zhou along with a further six thousand regulars. While Song Wei was
left to rule the kingdom, Song Tao gathered his force of over sixty thousand
men and marched north with Song Fei. Song Fei was the better general and Song
Tao was happy to take advice from his brother. The Chiangning force moved to
attack Hopei by way of the bridge over the Yellow River
but found it blocked by the Yen, forcing Song Tao to take to small boats and
other craft to cross the wide river. Yet despite this setback the Chiangning
forces were able to make the crossing due to the overwhelming size of their
force and invaluable help from local fishermen enlisted to the Chiangning
cause by Song Tao’s agent.. The campaign was to take many years as the
heavily fortified province proved difficult to subdue. Losses were heavy on
both sides but the Chiangning could afford to lose the ten thousand men
killed during the action. The same number of losses were incurred by the Yen
but that proved to be most of their force. Victory seemed certain for the
attackers until Song Tao was killed during a foray against the Hopei fortress. Song Fei pulled his forces back to Anhui in what appeared
to be an attempt to claim the throne. However, on meeting with his brother,
Song Wei, the prince decided to respect Song Tao’s wishes and follow his
brother. Despite pulling the forces back from Hopei,
Song Wei was to receive a formal declaration of surrender from the Yen,
pledging tribute to his kingdom..
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North America
The Huron Confederacy
(Open Empire)
Dooyentate, Chief of the Huron
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Dooyentatate
diverted more of the Huron funds into clearing the wilderness for new farms. He
young son Tarhe accompanied him as he journeyed around the Huron lands.
Thodatowon was to mentor young Teata, son of Dooyentatate in the art of war
as he gathered the Hurin warriors together in Ossosane. His desire to attack
and raid the Moundbuilder lands came to nothing as no canoes could be found
to cross the great lake.
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The Iroquois
(Open Empire)
Grey Hawk, Chief of the Iroquois
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Grey Hawk knew
that he was no great warrior but that still left him disappointed that he had
to send Running Bear into the wilds of Wenro to raid the lands of Erie. However, what
should have been an easy foray saw Running Bear lose his sixteen hundred men
to the Moundbuilder’s warriors. Running Bear returned battered and empty
handed to Cayuga.
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The Anasazi
(Open Empire)
Ohkay, Chief of the Anasazi
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Chief Ohkay spent
these years pulling together the lands of the Anasazi. New fields were
irrigated throughout the homeland.
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Elsewhere….
The Cree, Apache and
Paiute tribes all began to settle their ancestral lands.
South America
The Chimu Kingdom
of Chanchan
(Open Empire)
Acahuana, King of the Chimu
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The lands of
Chavin were greatly improved by new irrigation channels and terraces while Acahuana
ruled from Chanchan. Thonapa and Urco to gain an alliance from the Pucara
before their deaths in 18 Uo by the Haab calander. A sudden plague has swept
through the province taking the nobles with it.
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The Mapuche
(Open Empire)
Raiel, Chief of the
Mapuche
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More work was
carried out at the tribute to the Gods in Pichunche. Although not complete,
the edifice was beginning to take shape. People were encouraged to move south
to colonise the lands of the Huilliche, led there by Chief Raiel himself
before he returned to Mapuche to rule his people with his chosen wife.
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Chichen Itze
(Open Empire)
Hunac Ceel, Chief of the Chichen Itze
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Hunac Ceel ruled from
Maya and continued to see the growth of his lands. A great sadness fell when
his wife died giving birth; compounded by the death of the young infant as
well. Hunac Ral and Ronal Huc spent these years gaining the support of
various Yucatec factions.
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Zapotec Mitla
(Open Empire)
Tepuz, Chief of the
Zapotecs
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The mists of
ignorance were lifted from King Tepuz’s eyes as he realised that sacrifice of
slaves to the Gods would not bring him glory. However, his attempts to curtail
the priests’ power proved fruitless and caused a rift between Tepuz and the
nation’s priests. Tepuz was also to realise that the lands of Cuyutec were
scattered with hidden valleys, highly irrigated and providing valuable corn.
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The Carib
(Open Empire)
Motega, Chief of the
Carib, Son of Konae
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Motega, son of
Konae, continued his efforts to unify the Carib people. Returning to Ciguayo
and Cibony he gained valuable alliances from the elders of these islands. In Cibony
news of the alliance was celebrated for more than a week, fuelled by the
potent woku beer from the Cassava plant.
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