So to recap the session from the Persian perspective; I moved in as long-term sub for Persia. At a glance there is much to worry about;
Pre-game offers of friendship with the Asians are rebuffed in various ways, cries of DEATH TO PERSIA being the more common.
Persia is Shiite which means -20% tax, (but +0,5 morale). Leaving me behind economically and forcing me to rely on vastly less cavalry to make ends meet. My divisions are 10/2 inf/cav, as opposed to most my neighbours 7/6 divisions. However, my Shia morale bonus, + national drill mean I will win almost any battle, regardless of casualties.
Persia's perm is notoriously quiet, so I find a nation isolated. In addition most my neighbours are part of continental-spanning alliance blocks/non-aggression pacts/plotting circles. Even better Persia sits in between all of them! So far this game Persia has gotten it hard from Punjab, and a Russia vengeful over Persias attempts to destroy it in CK.
The national focus is placed strangely, meaning I wont be able to get it back to the capital to enact the all important 'weights and measures' until next session!
Despite having 2 trade ideas, 3+stab and no infamy I cant seem to get trading going, I normally suck hard at it in sp, but in mp I'm just screwed. No money for poor Persia, we are 12th in income. Croatia makes 4 times what we do!
Realizing we are isolated we start sending out alliance proposals. The ever-reliable Catalonians gracefully agree. Russia does not respond, Punjab rejects it.
Persia goes into an army building frenzy. Generals are recruited, terrain % surveyed, marching distances calculated.
Persian generals draw a collective sigh of relief as the Russian sub has to go and Russia is brain-dead.
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I fail at trading some more.
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Treacherous Asians save me from more bean-counting, Punjab, Mongols, Qin and India declare war!
Massively outnumbered, with no real tech lead, and with substantial Catalonian aid far away we notice one great mistake in Asian planning: Their armies have not been concentrated on our border! This leaves a brief window where the Punjabis are unsupported by their allies!
Contingency plans are put into effect: the one prov border with Mongols are guarded by 3 caucasian divisions with the Calipha at the helm, 4 anatolian and caucasian divisions are sent to the Punjabi theatre.
Of the 3 divisions in the Persian mountains 1 withdraws.
Punjab plunges in with 6 divisions, they are allowed to spread out and siege.
The mongols are allowed to advance into a burned Astrakhan, Persian divisions watch from the mountains. Mongols withdraw leaving one division to siege.
With the Gujaratis only provinces away the Punjabi theatre swells to 7 divisions, 2 front and 5 reserve hidden in the fog. The front divisions are given our best leader and sent against the southernmost Punjabi division. Punjab dutifully diverts all neighbouring divisions to support, but divisions not immediately adjacent continue siegeing. From out of the fog of war appears the Persian reserve, lead by my best maneuver leaders. Before Punjab realizes what has happened the battle is won by superior Persian morale modifiers! The stack is hunted down and whiped by 2 reserve divisions, the other 5 assault the Punjabi rescue forces.
The Caucasian divisions pounce on the Mongols, who are swiftly driven out. The Gujaratis vanguard throws itself upon Persians entrenched in the mountains and are dutifully repelled.
Punjab accepts peace at the cost of 1 province.
A Qin army is found besieging a Persian vassal in Arabia, and are dutifully informed that there is no war any more. They looked sad.
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I fail at trading some more
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Later there was a war over Indian trade ports. After much surrendering and un-surrendering Persia joined its allies to put pressure on the Asians to surrender. Punjabs 2 border divisions were swiftly wiped, and swift occupation began.
Up north the Mongols, likewise ill positioned to support each other, were defeated by superior Shia morale and hunted down. However due to terra incognita Persian armies were unable to properly pursue the last of the wily pony lovers, and were forced to retreat before the Siberian winter attrition.
The dastardly Croats, having already stolen Judea and Cyprus in a recent war, now demanded all of Anatolia in exchange for 4000 gold and help eating Punjab. With the peninsula obviously worth far more, and Persian generals quite confident of their own ability to handle the Asians, had the Croatian messengers flogged with ferrets.
Something that proved not entirely to the Croat kings liking, and there was war to enforce the offer. With the Croat economy 4 times the size of the Persian, and their armies equal in number, with superior units, and half cavalry. Not to mention their mp was full while mine was decidedly not.
Oh, and none of my allies came to help, being to tied up in India fighting Qin. Yay!
Mercs were raised all over Anatolia, scorching the dirt out of it. 7 armies are directed there, less than he has, 3 are left to hold the mongols. Army-less Punjab is left to rebels and vassals. After much maneuvering battle is joined where I wanted it, Shia morale once again wins the day at horrible loss in life and Croatia is run out of Anatolia, all but one of their divisions get away.
We entrench ourselves. One division is scraped due to mp shortage. The session ends.
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With a vengeful vR about to return to Russia a strategic decision is made; Persia sells the steppes and Caucasus to Russia in exchange for friendship and alliance. The monetary and opportunity cost of having to repeatedly fight and plot against Russia over that land exceeded the income by far in my view. People may argue that I sold of a defensible border, but what is the whole point of keeping said land to protect against Russian aggression if Russian aggression is caused by Persia's occupation of said land in the first place? (Persia took it from Russia in CK) Much better then to hand it back, as Russia has a long history of not wanting to go south of the Caucasus even when he could have. Good relations are a better defence than borders in my mind.
After much wrangling the Asians agree to surrender 5 provs, 4 Punjabi and 1 Mongol, as well as release Oman.
This leaves Croatia and Persia staring menacingly at each other from across the straits....