After humbling the Russians in two great wars, I had gotten enough techs from Catherine to achieve a parity of sorts. Foremost among those techs that I picked up had been Map Making, which had allowed me to whip out a galley and go to meet my neighbors to the south. Expecting to meet the Germans due to the blue border that I had seen, I instead found myself confronted by... Korea?!
How embarasing! Expecting to find Bismarck, I instead found myself face to face with Wang Kong. Well, it was still a new contact regardless. I made a series of deals with Korea to pull myself into contact with the rest of the world. Wang Kon had contact with England, France, and Scandanavia, all civs that lay far to the east of my humble continent. I noticed that England was in the lead out of these four civs - decidedly so. Elizabeth was to remain the most powerful of the AI civs throughout the game, due mostly to the Great Lighthouse that England had cascaded to when France built the Pyramids. On this archipelago map, the Lighthouse was actually far more valuable than the Pyramids, as England was able to trade for luxuries with everyone else across sea lanes while the trade of all other civs was stunted until the advent of Astronomy. The large numbers of entertainers in the other capital cities that I noticed when founding embassies testified to that. Of course it didn't hurt that the Lighthouse had triggered England's golden age either. It will be interesting to see if any players built the Lighthouse in this game and used that to their advantage.
In any case, I now had contact with five other civilizations. But that meant that two of them were still hiding in the fog, and from the maps I traded with the other civs I was able to determine the rough location of the other ones. It was a miracle that France and Germany had not found each other, as their continents were only two tiles apart. England actually found Germany first in 130AD. I traded away dyes for contact with Bismarck, and then proceeded to relieve Bis of all 388g that he possessed by selling him outdated techs. This started a pattern that would continue throughout the game; due to my monopoly on dyes and gems, I was able to get techs essentially for free by sending my luxuries away to other civs. And it also prevented them from declaring war on me when I didn't want them to, as breaking the luxury deals would result in massive unhappiness throughout their civs. Until I got Astronomy though, the only civs that I could trade with at all were Korea (across coastal water) and England (Lighthouse). Here is the map of my island in 130AD, with the rest of the world revealed on the minimap.
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I noticed that out of all of the civs in the game, only I had had to share a continent with someone else. Everyone else started on their own continent. And even now that I had reduced the Russians to a pitiful two cities, I was still surrounded on all sides by more potential enemies. Temujin is a paranoid guy; he would have to do something about that to make sure the continent remained safe... Did I mention that all civs that I contacted hated me from the start and never became polite, ever? Maybe I shouldn't have traded them contact with the Russians, heh. Their attitudes didn't really matter though as long as they were willing to trade with me, which they were.
In the above picture, notice that I had just founded the city of Erdenet on the uninhabited northern island. If you look very closely, you can see a barbarian camp right next to the city as well. That camp erupted in 130AD with a massive uprising - and I didn't exactly have any defenders there to stop them. This was bad; my huge treasury of almost 600g was going to be toast if I didn't do something with it right away. But I didn't have enough money to trade for a tech with one of the other civs, and I was still in Despotism so I couldn't use it to rush improvements in my cities. I couldn't even dump it into embassies, which I had already founded with all civs. It was time for something crazy; why lose the money to barbs when I could try to STEAL a tech from one of the other civs? At worst, I would face a phoney war against a civ that couldn't even reach me. I only had enough for an "immediate" steal, not with a spy but with an embassy. Surely my luck couldn't be THAT good, could it?
Woohoo! Insert the CivFanatics dancing smileys here! :) That's a great picture in and of itself, showing the huge force about to descend on poor Erdenet. I wisely chose The Republic as my pilfered tech and revolted immediately. Instead of carrying off huge sums of gold, the barbarians took but 1g each. What a great "steal" for me, if I do say so. The only downside was the 7 turns of anarchy that I drew, and the new Mongol Republic was not formed until 270AD.
Following the same timeline as before, I again declared war on Russia as soon as the twenty turns of peace were up in 310AD with the intent of finishing them off. Cathy only had two cities left, so this didn't look to be too difficult a task. But first, I had spotted another border in the fog and sent out a galley to investigate. It was time to meet the last civ, the Iroquois.
Hiawatha was even more backwards than Otto had been, and I used the opportunity to relieve him of several hundred gold as well for outdated ancient age techs. Then I sold contact with the Iroquois to some of the other civs for more money and a tech or two. It's good to be the one to make first contact with a new civ. I also was fighting a war at the same time too, though most of my civ barely noticed the effort against the weak Russians. Minsk was taken in 330AD, and I razed Novgorod easily on the next turn. The Russians mounted a final charge in 350AD, landing forces on the northern island in position to take Vladivostok on the next turn. With no chance to defend the city, I abandoned it with plans to rebuild it soon (should have put more than a warrior up there). In any case, their glorious final effort notwithstanding, the Russians were decisively crushed and their final city captured in 360AD. That prompted this message:
Temujin's only comment: "Good riddance." After I destroyed Russia, nothing happened for quite some time. Nothing of interest anyway. I traded for some more techs, developed my cities, cut down lots of jungle with my workers, blah blah blah. Nothing exciting in any case, as I took no notes between 360 and 560AD. Mostly what I did was build up a large quantity of gold for military purposes, something that a republic is very useful for doing. What would Temujin do if he had lots of gold saved up for military use? Well, he might trade for Chivalry with France for 25gpt and do something like this:
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I had been trading peacefully with Korea for quite some time, getting their furs in exchange for some of my techs in return. In fact, I had an ongoing deal with them at this very moment, whereby they sent me furs in exchange for a tech that I had sent to them. But Wang Kon had made a mistake. He had settled a city on my continent, and NO ONE touches my island but the Mongols. This meant war! (Please note that Epics rules do not rule out declaring war on a civ with which you have an ongoing deal, only declaring war when you have received a tangible good in return for peace. Since Wang Kon was supplying ME with a luxury for peace, this was a "dastardly" but not exploitative action.) It was time to send those shiny new Keshiks into action and see what they could do. The result, as I had expected, was this message:
My unique unit victory triggered a golden age, and the next great age of war was upon the Mongols. Hordes of keshiks were about to descend upon the Korean island - all for the greater glory of Mongolia!
"He told you what?" exclaimed Wang Kon, leaping to his feet in surprise.
"The esteemed Mongol ambassador told me to pass on a message to you stating that his nation has just declared war on Korea," replied his aide in a small voice, eyes downcast to the tiled floor.
"Get Ogodei in here immediately!" Wang Kon all but snarled at his aide, who bowed his way out of the chamber. Declaring war now, of all times! This had to be some kind of a mistake. With a sudden thought, Wang Kon called to the departing man. "No wait; don't bring him to my study. I'll receive him in the imperial hall instead."
As the other man bowed again and continued on his way down the hall, Wang Kon hurried to his desk to lock away the reports that he had been working on when the unpleasant news reached him. With his mind focused on the Mongol ambassador, he paid no attention to the desk itself, made of the finest cedar and decorated with gold leaf made of real gold, or the fine wall tapestries depicting the great triumphs of the Korean nation. The tall marble fireplace large enough for a man to walk into held no warm for the Korean ruler at the moment, despite the rosy blaze merrily dancing in it.
Locking his personal safebox with a small golden key that he always kept discreetly about his person, Wang Kon rushed out of his small study and headed for the great reception hall near the entrance to his palace. The two guards outside the door snapped to attention in surprise as he passed and had to hurry to keep up with the man they were pledged to protect. Wang sent one of them away with orders to bring his formal robes and the elaborate crown that signified rulership of Korea. The man bounded away down the hall as fast his legs could carry him, heading for the royal appartments where the trappings of state were kept. Wang continued on at his steady pace, with the remaining guard trailing a step or two behind him. As he passed through the halls of polished limestone and colorfully tiled floors occasionally embellished with fanciful ceiling paintings, Wang let his thoughts range back to his past dealings with the unpredictable Mongols.
A number of years ago they had simply appeared out of nowhere in the storm-tossed seas to the north of Ulsan. The crew of a galley out to sea that snowy night had reported seeing a ghostly figure cutting through the wind and fog in the distance, but had thought it some trick of the mist and moonlight. Nevertheless, the next morning the battered ship had docked at the port's harbor and within a few days their captain was sitting in Seoul chatting with Wang himself. It had not been long before Temujin had founded a formal embassy in Korea and sent Ogodei as his ambassador. Ogodei was of course one of the khan's sons, but Wang was not supposed to know that and they both pretended he did not.
The Mongols had quite a story to tell, about how they had worked together peacefully with the Russians for ages only to be the victims of a brutal sneak attack when they least expected it. Fortunately for them, Temujin had been able to rally his people and defeat the Russians soundly in battle. He had then gone on the offensive to make sure that the Russians could never threaten his people again, reducing the Russians to the status of a tiny dependancy of Mongolia. Wang Kon didn't believe the full story, as it had too much of a feel of a legendary tale, but it seemed likely that there was at least a grain of truth to it. Since meeting Wang Kon the Mongols had been nothing but the finest of neighbors, trading extensively (and paying handsomely) for the fine furs of Korea. Why, Wang had even introduced them to the three eastern civs of England, France, and Scandanavia. In return, Temujin had sent to him emissaries from the Germans and Iroquois upon finding their primitive civilizations. The relations between their civilizations had never been anything but friendly, at least on the surface. And yet...
Yet there was clearly a dark side of sorts to the Mongols as well. The Russian ruler had sent her own emissary to the Korean court with a completely different story. The little one-handed man had told a frightening tale of losing his hand to a sword wielded by Temujin himself - surely a ridiculous story, as no ruler would actually do anything of the sort. The Russians claimed that the Mongols had attacked them without warning and driven them across their continent, razing and slaughtering everything in their path. Ogodei had simply laughed when confronted with the Russian view of history and suggested that those who were defeated in battle would come up with anything to justify their failed aggression. Since the Russian emissary refused even to be in the same room as Ogodei, Wang was inclined to believe the Mongols, who had done nothing to suggest that they were the horrible monsters the Russians claimed. But then a few years ago Temujin had suddenly ordered the destruction of the Russians, and they were defeated in the blink of an eye. That had raised eyebrows in every capital around the world, and relations in Seoul had distinctly cooled towards their neighbor to the north. Now with this announcement out of the blue, Wang didn't know what to believe anymore. Maybe he should have listened to that sniveling little Russian after all.
With a sudden start, Wang realized that he had already reached the imperial hall. It was an imposing room, stretching for almost thirty paces from end to end and possessing a ceiling almost half that height. The hall was built on a gradual incline, sloping up to a raised floor at one end on which sat the massive throne of the Korean nation. Two rows of imposing marble columns ran down the hall, supporting the roof that lay so high above it was lost in shadows. The imperial hall was designed to showcase the power of Korea to foreign dignitaries, and no one could leave its presence without being suitably impressed. Usually he met with Ogodei informally in his private study, but today Wang wanted the Mongol to feel as intimidated as possible. He noticed that the guard he had sent away was standing next to the throne with a robe outstretched in his hands; the royal crown sat on the chair's velvet cushion. The guard was breathing heavily; to make it here so fast he must have run the whole way. Wang allowed one of the servants present to help him into his formal robes and placed the golden circlet on his brow. It was time to meet with his visitor.
Ogodei was already waiting outside, and he sauntered into the hall as soon as the heralds announced his presence. As always, the Mongol was wearing a uniform made from tough leathers and had a sword belted at his hip. He lacked only formal armor to go charging into battle at any moment. Ogodei looked quite a bit like his father, except that he had let his facial hair grow out into an unruly beard. It made him look even more like the savage that he was, Wang thought absently. Several guards planted themselves firmly in his path as he approached the throne; Ogodei stopped in front of them but affected not to notice their existance, keeping his eyes locked firmly on Wang's face. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, each unwilling to make the first move, as tension filled the hall to an even greater extent. Finally, Wang opened his mouth and spoke.
"Why?" he said simply. "That's the reason why I called you here today. I want an answer to that question, and I want it now. Why attack us? What have we ever done to you?"
Ogodei smiled back in return, as he had obviously expected some kind of question along those lines. At least he had better teeth than Temujin. "It's not anything that you have done, my lord, but rather a question of trade. You see, Korea possesses a great number of furs that we in Mongolia would like to enjoy in the cold months of the year. We have gone to war with your nation to secure a supply of those furs for ourselves." He concluded with a brief, respectful nod of his head.
Wang was stunned. This was a preposterous claim! "Furs?" he said angrily, his face tightening into a glare. "We are already supplying you with furs! And we would be more than happy to continue doing so for as long as you could want them, so long as we receieve something back in return. What you have just stated is absolutely ridiculous! Now tell me Temujin's real reason for declaring war."
"You don't understand the way that we Mongols trade," shot back Ogodei hotly. "We are not interested in exchanging one good for another of like value. No, we are not interested in 'trade' at all; we simply see what we want and take it! And Temujin has informed me that he wants your furs, so we will be taking them for ourselves." He continued to meet Wang stare for stare, completely unaware or uncaring of the spears leveled at him by the Korean guards.
"No, I think it is you who does not understand the situation," said Wang, rising to his feet in anger. "Korea is a large and powerful nation. Do you actually think that you can invade this land and simply carry off anything you want? It will not be that easy for you, I'm afraid. If you want war, we are more than prepared to defend ourselves against aggression. I suspect you will find crossing the seas and invading another nation's homeland will not be as easy as threatening and bullying in negotiations." Wang Kon was absolutely furious; he had just seen what must be their true intent. The Mongols weren't serious at all about war; they were just trying to bluff concessions out of him! Well, he would call their bluff right here and now. "If you have anything else to say, speak up now or get out of my sight."
"I do have one more thing to say," replied the Mongol emissary calmly. He appeared to have regained control over his temper. "You should not have settled on our continent. That was a serious mistake."
"Settle on your continent?" said Wang confusedly. He must mean the town of Kaesong, a small village they had founded across the sea some time ago. Where was Ogodei going with this? "That town was founded in neutral territory that was unclaimed at the time. We had every right to settle there, and we will fight to maintain what is rightfully ours."
"Oh, I hope that you do," he replied. Why did he seem to find that so amusing? "But I thought you should know that Temujin saw that as the other main reason for warfare. He explicitly instructed me to tell you that no foreigners are ever to set foot on the soil of Mongolia, understand? I guess I'll be seeing you in a few months during the peace negotiations. Until then, take care Wang." With that, Ogodei turned and headed out of the chamber.
Wang was besides himself with rage. Had he just been dismissed in his own hall? He could call back the arrogant ambassador, but that would only concede the point to Ogodei. For that matter, he could have the foreigner killed and no one would object, but unlike the Mongols Wang Kon was not a savage. "Make sure that he leaves the palace and is on the first ship back to Mongolia," were his instructions to one of his aides, who nodded and departed from the room. Now what should he do? The Mongols had to be bluffing about an invasion of mainland Korea - that was impossible, given the problems of organizing a fleet to transport entire armies overseas in nothing more than galleys - but some of Korea's colonies could be in danger. He would have to organize relief forces for any that came under siege, and for that matter it probably wouldn't hurt to find some more recruits for the home forces as well. They had been focusing a lot on building cultural monuments lately and had perhaps been neglecting their military a bit. Before he could begin to draft preliminary orders for his armed forces, a young messenger dashed into the great hall, excited and out of breath. Wang studied him for a second - he was little more than a boy and clearly overwhelmed at being in the presence of his king - before asking the messenger to speak up with whatever news he brought.
"My Lord, word has just come from the north! It's... it's about Kaesong. Rumor has it that the city," he swallowed and was clearly hesitant to go on, "the city has fallen to Mongol attackers. And a new type of Mongol forces, riding on horses and striking from afar with bows and arrows. Everyone says that they," he swallowed again and lowered his voice, "they say that all of the people in the city were killed."
"Damn it!" The words were out of Wang's mouth before he even realized he had said them. Whether true or not, if this boy knew the story it meant that everyone in Seoul would be talking about it before the day was done. Once a story about the Mongols got loose, rumor would turn into into ten thousand fierce warriors about to attack the city at any moment, and that would do nothing to improve morale. If the story was true then things were even worse; it also would mean that the Mongols had attacked before officially declaring war, knowing that it would take time for word to spread across the sea. For that matter, Wang realized with an icy chill, the Mongols could be on their way here in ships already. But there was no way that they could invade the Korean mainland he reassured himself, ignoring the trickle of sweat that rolled down his back. No way that they could pull off something like that.
"Don't worry my boy," he said reassuringly to the messenger. "They can't hurt us here in Seoul. We'll be just fine; they're just primitive savages after all." No way that they could pull off something like that. Please let it be so, prayed Wang Kon.
