Children of the Sun - a Cuzco MEIOU AAR

[Enewald]

Don't listen Servant of Anarchy listen me...
You must westernise

Who heck listens to a fish?
I only listen to gayfish.

[FinnishFish]

Who heck listens to a fish?
I only listen to gayfish.

You just listened* me >8)

*Not sure about that word

[Chief Ragusa]

Why don't you stay tribal? The great PrawnStar would wish it so. I expect you'll be hiring a statesman. Just how long before you have a higher adm ruler. You have most of Mesoamerica, now. The Inca must stay home. Destiny demands that these provinces are made into strong Incan -who am I kidding? Natural disasters will soon decimate them. Still, the Inca is above fate.

[Fireaxe888]

Is there a "comet sighted" event in MEIOU?

[Malurous]

Hiya, I'll give feedback & update when this Christmas thing is over, but for now I wish everyone who happens to read this in time:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(and a belated one for everyone else I guess...)

[aldriq]

Merry Christmas! And congratulations on your extended Mesoamerican family Here's to a new year of continental domination and Incan colonisation of Europe!

[morningSIDEr]

Cracking stuff to see the inheritance finally come about, now all of America can eventually be united under your banner, and hopefully alot more besides! Oh and a belated merry Christmas to you too, and I hope you have a very happy new year!

[gabor]

Finally it's yours! Precioussss...
A turning point no doubt, which way to go now?

[Basileus444]

Congratulations on finally expanding outside of South America. How many years did the Tenochtitlan PU last? So beside westernization and modernization, what are your plans for the Incas? I think an Incan Spain would be awesome.

[Malurous]

Well, there goes the consolidation of Central America. I was expecting it to take a bit longer than three screenshots.

I don't know if you can call a region with next to no economy, double digit RR everywhere and zero troops consolidated. But of course I've got a good amount of land there now.

It must feel nice to have your strategy pay off like this. Just a shame your 6/6/6 regency aren't around to westernise with.

Yeah, it's really cool. Of course, colonizing my way elsewhere isn't that far off - that's something I'll have to do anyway - but it's neat to start doing stuff again at this point.

Hopefully I don't have to wait forever for a decent ADM ruler.

Enewald & FinnishFish:

I'll westernize as soon as I get a high ADM ruler - I have everything else required. Other than that, no comment.

Why don't you stay tribal? The great PrawnStar would wish it so. I expect you'll be hiring a statesman. Just how long before you have a higher adm ruler. You have most of Mesoamerica, now. The Inca must stay home. Destiny demands that these provinces are made into strong Incan -who am I kidding? Natural disasters will soon decimate them. Still, the Inca is above fate.

Hehe, of course I could stay tribal, it's actually easier in MEIOU with no TSC's or research penalty. But I wouldn't mind seeing the rebels, tax penalties and small/negative BB limit gone as they aren't the point in this game. Besides, if I don't get high ADM in a timely manner, attempting to get a republic could be worthwhile...

Getting a statesman seems probable, but not just yet. No idea about when I get the required ADM, I'm not that far ahead.

This may seem strange to anyone who's followed this AAR closely, but right now natural disasters are the smallest of my problems in making the region truly Incan.

Is there a "comet sighted" event in MEIOU?

Yeah, but it's made rarer by the fact that you can only get it with ADM under 5 in the mod.

Merry Christmas! And congratulations on your extended Mesoamerican family Here's to a new year of continental domination and Incan colonisation of Europe!

Hehe, thanks!

Cracking stuff to see the inheritance finally come about, now all of America can eventually be united under your banner, and hopefully alot more besides! Oh and a belated merry Christmas to you too, and I hope you have a very happy new year!

Cheers! Yeah, those are the goals and it's nice to get started with them finally.

Finally it's yours! Precioussss...
A turning point no doubt, which way to go now?

Indeed! Let's see what the next couple of decades bring, I still have to be able to westernize in order to get anywhere that requires ships.

Congratulations on finally expanding outside of South America. How many years did the Tenochtitlan PU last? So beside westernization and modernization, what are your plans for the Incas? I think an Incan Spain would be awesome.

Thanks! The PU lasted around 85 years (1455-1540).

Yeah, that certainly would be neat. Japan and China sound fun too in case I have trouble shipping men to Europe at first... Alternatively, some weaker European region as a bridgehead. And of course Portugal needs to be "punished". Lots of stuff to do when I get the opportunity.

[Malurous]

Chapter Twenty-eight
1540-1542

Unsurprisingly, later in the day of inheritance, Mesoamerica looks like this:



The area is large enough that I decide to recruit ordinary soldiers. If it had been just Tenochtitlan, I'd have gone for mercenaries in the beginning, but with so many provinces I trust that I can't lose them all before getting regular troops (in retrospect, I probably should have gone for mercs in the beginning).

Unfortunately, the unit types are whatever the cores of these provinces give me. Most are of similar level as mine, however. When I have some troops in place, I'll disband the bad ones and build only in the high tech provinces.

I also get a new mission:



My force limits say 79/172. This could take a while...

The regency council is A/D/M 3/3/6 and the heir isn't good enough to westernize either, so I'll have to keep my position for a while. To this end, I work the diplomacy game.



There are a couple of reasons for this. First, this gives me a safety net - a really bad one as they're pretty weak and won't take military access to help with rebels, but at least they won't attack me - until I have troops. Second, given their position they shouldn't get me into trouble. Third, when the inevitable war with Portugal starts, they should at least be a nuisance for the Europeans.

And finally, I have nothing to gain by conquering them. I need my new provinces in better shape before I add more. As it stands, none of them give me any taxes thanks to nationalism RR, and only the southeastern half gives me production as the northwest is distant overseas. With no navy or a possibility to build one, tariff efficiency is of course zero. Seeing that probably one, possibly two of Tlacopan's provinces aren't distant overseas, 80-90 % of the country would be completely useless to me for decades while adding the disadvantages for having more provinces.

January 1541 sees the first rebels in Central America - Nahuatlan Nationalists in Tlapan. No wonder, seeing the revolt risks.



That 10.7 is the minimum RR in the region right now.

Some Jesuits are seeking to enter the Zapotek lands. Sure why not, the guy we have in our court has been nice enough after all. Not to mention that angering Portugal right now doesn't sound smart...



We get a lousy Jesuit Missionary advisor. No use for him.

March 1st sees the first Incan troops outside South America - Tikal is the first province to finish a regiment.



This isn't exactly a case of early bird catches the worm as there's an immediate rebellion in the province.



Oh well. I have others finished and/or on the way.

Time to up the land maintenance. And be thankful that my sliders give me leader bonuses so my generals (I need several now) don't suck as bad as my land tradition would suggest.

With more rebels rising up in the coming months, I struggle to assemble armies as new recruits get slaughtered.

Some more Christian missionaries turn up in July.



I reluctantly accept these guys. Granted, they cause RR for a while and could be a problem later, but I'll worry about that when worldly stuff isn't trying to kill me.

In July, we get a Nahuatlan Revolt event. It's embarrassing, but I must negotiate as I can't take another 20 regiment rebel stack.



We get a Gifted Teotl event (similar to the earlier Gifted Pantheist). This results in a six-star Colonial Governor. Sorry dude, you're some decades early.

With most of the men I've been able to recruit so far in the former Maya lands (because there are a couple of large rebel stacks there) the army I sent to take care of the western part is too slow in travel and we lose our first rebel siege in November.



And it's a bad month overall. The Christian missionaries cause heresy in Mitla on the southern coast...



...and days later Tollan-Chohollan in the central part applies for status as a full Inca province with just over 500 earthquake deaths. Sorry, that's a pathetic number by our standards.

Oh and don't worry, I have no idea where most of these provinces are either without using "find province" or "go to" (where applicable).

January 1542, on the other hand, is delightful.



Good old Shipibo! Let's see if it stays self-sustaining.

This also allows me to decrease the colony maintenance to zero. Former Tenochtitlan has some population 10 colony in its northern part (due to a combination of natural disasters and negligence, I suppose) and as it has negative growth at maximum maintenance, I've just been pouring money for nothing there since the inheritance.

I beat the rebels that took Citlatelpec later in the month with some regiments that I detached from my armies for the purpose, and fortunately they escape to Tlacopan lands.

In the end of the month, Castles finish except for Tlapan, which is nearly a year behind schedule thanks to rebel problems. Good - only one unnecessary weakness left when facing sieging rebels.

The western army scores the first elimination in February.



Unfortunately, the army had to chase all the way to the west so it takes several months to have it in action again.

We lose the siege of Mayapan in March.



This is problematic - thanks to repositioning by the rebel army that won the siege and another rebellion, we need to get through a circle of rebel armies around the province in time to free Mayapan. This doesn't get any easier as I lose a half-finished supporting army when the province it's in revolts.

We regain Citlatelpec in late May when the western army reaches the province and assaults.



Fortunately, the western part is still rather peaceful so I can get by with only those 15000 men there. Any further recruits are needed in the east.

By August I've ended the immediate threat as I score a few eliminations during the summer. The rebels still outnumber me in the eastern part with similar units and better leadership, but their numbers are mostly centered in a northern problem province with several rebel stacks (a large revolt coupled with other armies fleeing there). I'll wear them out eventually, especially as I keep recruiting reinforcements. Most importantly, I'm now able to get to Mayapan and start sieging.



So, about two years after inheriting, I have some 50000 men in Central America, none of whom are in particular danger of being wiped out right now. After the initial shock that a combination of high RR and zero troops brought, I'm back in control now. Not strong, but somewhat in control.

Still, this is the calm before the storm. I have something like five or six years before I get a Sapa Inca and all hell breaks loose - I either start getting tribal rebellions or reform the government and end up at -2 stab. I don't like the thought of adding those rebels to what we already have, so I'm going to need a lot of troops fast. Oh, and tea. No way I can do this without tea.

[gabor]

Hmm... the inharitances turned out unpopular there after all; why don't you sail your troops up North? ah yeah you don't know how to build ships Seems you'll need a good few years to stabilise before you can start considering taking down the Portuguese.

[Athalcor]

For a moment I thought that I am reading wrong AAR.

[Chief Ragusa]

Since you have no tea, how do you know you need it?

That colonial governor may have been able to help with the 10 strong colony; create colonists soon.

Now you have some 50000 troops you can keep building some more and protect your own missionaries. Those Jesuits have a nerve. Had you wanted to convert to Catholicism, they'd have given you the perfect in. Those mesoamericans don't know about proper natural disasters, yet. All those rebels, though fortunately not enough to cause breakaways.

I'd still feel happier if the Tlacopan did not exist. They'll at least add to your manpower. I can't see them joining any war against the Portuguese. It's time to take provinces off Portugal.

[Enewald]

Join the first regiment of the first Mesoamerican Incan army, and have the first honours of dying as the first ones for the first rebels!
Disgraceful, that is why no one likes the army.

[TonyJoe]

Someday the entire Western Hemisphere will be yours (though from your perspective it's hardly 'western'). Before you know it you'll be sipping tea in Lisbon.

[PrawnStar]

The emphasis on tea seems right. Vast areas of high rebel activity with long travel times - you need a Death Star. Apart from anything else the Yucatan could definitely double as a forest moon.

Really enjoying this although I confess I'm slightly hazy on some of the mod mechanics even though you've explained them to me! I blame it on the FFH2 AARs I've been reading - and the Ashes induced sleep shortage.

[blsteen]

The emphasis on tea seems right. Vast areas of high rebel activity with long travel times - you need a Death Star. Apart from anything else the Yucatan could definitely double as a forest moon.

I'd say just wait for a few strategic earthquakes but...
how will a civilization that can't build ships that float on the ocean waves aspire to build a gignormous space battlestation. Not to say that they don't need one, they just can't have one. Yet...

[Malerun]

Is there a "comet sighted" event in MEIOU?

Yeah, but it's made rarer by the fact that you can only get it with ADM under 5 in the mod.

Strange choice. I could the malus being dependent on the ruler, but to make comets disappear or the entire populace ignore them is a little OTT.

[naggy]

MOAR EARTHQUAKES!!!

We need to ask Johan to add event-baesd screen shaking for 5.1.