There Will Be Animism: A Ryukyu World Conquest AAR

[tofkas]

Double Claims on Our Rivals? Smooth.

Good luck. I think it was worked out that pagans don't get enough Missionaries to do a Chinese Cheese, though, sadly.

Quadruple actually. One of the events fired and gave me... no extra cores. Still got the 10 prestige but I was so whaaaaa I didn't screenshot it. Another one got me the other core in Champa that I didn't screenshot and something else I forget.

But yeah with the REQUIRED innovative sliders you get at best like 0.3 missionaries a year. 200 missionaries isn't enough. It's enough to get a huge chunk of south eastern asia done though, which I think might be required if I don't want to spend 2 centures fighting rebels.

[Memento Mori]

@ Sihulm

That's why they are meant to use pagan rebels

And one more thing: there is a national idea which gives +1 missionary/year, and also he is required to hold the innovative slider only untill westernisation So it's perfectly doable - although of course, this is not the main goal of this aar.
______________

By the way, can you show us the 'empire' of Ming, so we could see from which countries you plan to build The Great Wall of Vassals?

[Concrete]

Looking pretty good, those cores that early are pretty nice.

[tofkas]

By the way, can you show us the 'empire' of Ming, so we could see from which countries you plan to build The Great Wall of Vassals?

Ming really hasn't captured a single territory or gained any vassals in my game so far - the only chance at expanding they've had was in my wars and I got the peace deals in first. They're crippled by the factions system and have a regency council right now anyway.

The names in Green are all my vassals and form the Great Wall right now. The purple nation is Sukhothai and is also my vassal, but I'll probably annex them as I have a core and they aren't needed. I'd show you ALL of Ming but honestly just look at any picture of a 1399 start nothing has exchanged hands between anyone (maybe one or two provinces from Manchu to Korea that's about it), and the wall is 'complete' once I vassalise Taungu. I could make a Great Wall around the entirety of Ming but tbh if I get that powerful I'll probably be at a stage to BB war Ming to death.

[Graspiloot]

After you westernised maybe its a good idea to go narrowminded, as narrowminded gives great bonuses for large empires. By the way I really love defensive. The -0.10 morale seems a small price to pay, especially later in the game. Also when you go free trade your still competitive in your own CoTs I think, its just harder. But mercantilism is good for later as well.

So many things to do and so few slider moves! :P

I didnt like the other Ryuukyuu AARs because they cheat by converting to muslim or something, so therefore I'm really psyched about following yours! Needless to say I subscribed

One last question though: How are you going to do WC if you can't annex your vassals? Aren't they heathens to you? And you cant RM heathens

[tofkas]

After you westernised maybe its a good idea to go narrowminded, as narrowminded gives great bonuses for large empires. By the way I really love defensive. The -0.10 morale seems a small price to pay, especially later in the game. Also when you go free trade your still competitive in your own CoTs I think, its just harder. But mercantilism is good for later as well.

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking that about narrowmind too, only problem is westernising through almost every tech group will put me at -5. Ideally I'd want the following sliders:
-5 Centralisation
+5 Plutocracy
+5 Free Subjects
-5 Innovative then switching to +5 Narrowminded
-5/+5 Trade (whichever I go for)
0 Off/Def, optionally switching to +5 Defensive
* Land/Naval - whatever
-5 Quality

Checking my current sliders that's 39 moves without counting Land/Naval or Trade. With a policy switch every 13.7 years I'm going to have to be VERY lucky with events to achieve that.

And you cant RM heathens

The time will come when vassal blood has to be shed. (spoiler for next chapter: I already forceannexed one vassal)

[Derdiedas]

wouldn't be better to abadon the idea of having missionaries at all? You are pagan, thus you have no religious decisions to increase the missionary gain and IRRC you won't get any bonus from Rome/jerusalem/Mecca. Going for tolerance would be better, IMHO.

[poloport]

Very interesting!

Best of luck! You'll need it

[PrawnStar]

Back in IN I only mananged to convert North America back to Shamanism in my Iroquois AAR - just not enough missionaries. However, I did run out of diplomats so should have really spent sllider moves going Aristo rather than trying to get back to narrowminded after westernising.

Conversions are great, they do lovely things for tax, revolt risk and stability but Derdiedas could well be right - no matter what you do you'll end up with lots of other religion provinces.

[tofkas]

CHAPTER 4: With Peace comes War

1431.02.18



Uh oh. This is usually the point most people lose as Ryukyu. Whilst they weren't active in wars anymore the THREAT of them joining is usually enough to prevent most people declaring war on you. Note Brunei just won't stay quiet.

1433.08.09



NATIONAL IDEA!!!!!!!!

Only took me 34 years. I hired a 5 star statesman for a few years to get it in the end.
Ended up taking National Bank as inflation was the only thing that I couldn't really control right now - Divine Supremacy would've got my missionaries/year to a pathetic 0.1

1435.01.12

Aceh declared war on me, citing Colonial Conquest. Looks like that difficult road is beginning. Whilst they're not strong none of us have a land route to them and their capital is on an island, so it's gonna be difficult to attack. I still can't afford a navy. ;(



Also my leader decided the middle of a war was a good time to DIE and left me with a regency council.. with 7 military skill. Haha! That might help with killing a little.

That might look like I'm getting destroyed but it's really just a couple of 1k stacks running around provinces without forts. Will be easy to mop up the savages when I'm finished doing... whatever I was doing here I can't remember. Knowing the game so far probably killing Brunei rebels.

1436.06.04



A funny thing happened in the last couple of years. I accidentally cancelled my alliance with Sukhothai, accidentally cancelled military access, accidentally cancelled my vassalisation and then accidentally declared war on them. Whoops! And somehow after all those mistakes I then accidentally annexed them. I guess without a leader I lost a bit of sanity.

I also squeezed 3 provinces out of Pegu for a large slice of badboy. I've almost got a land route to India now, and I have no idea what's going on over there yet (I'm not peeking in the save!) Hopefully they haven't united.

Another 3 stability loss events in quick succession too, uwaaaa.

I need to find a way to get cheaper land though. Another problem with Ryukyu is pagans don't seem to get any infidel style CBs on people, and they're all heathens so you can't even Unam Sanctum it up. I'm probably going to try and capture a province in the middle of India and drop my National Focus on it, then use border friction to gain a huge chunk of India for half the cost.

1439.11.26



All Hail Sho Kimpuku I Satto, he of the Earth Mother.

Right, lets not waste anymore time. There's a couple of stray Animist provinces in Taungu and Bhutan. Religious Liberation CB gives you 25% infamy for Conquest of Animist states.... or Full Annexation. > : D It's still 100% cost though, but if I leave the animist states around hopefully I can get a cheap-as-chips annexation, though that borders Ming so I'd probably sell Kachin to Shan (ironically the only province with Animism!

Oh btw Korea warned me again. Could be interesting.

1442.04.18



Taungu is too large to fully annex at this stage. Our ancestral lands shall have to hold out a little longer without us to protect them. I secured a portion of the land bridge to India, and the provinces of Chin and Naga are Animist so they shall soon fall into our hands. Pegu keeps insulting our mighty empire. Do they want to be destroyed? Very well, they shall have their dues - we will march to their capital and burn down their libraries and enslave their women and children. When the people of Pegu seek documents showing their claims to the land they shall only find ash. Ash and blood.

1442.06.01



It is done. They belong to the Three Mountains now.

Korea is still at war with me. These wayward spawn are proving to be quite problematic; I may have to divert attention to... cutting out this parasite from my affairs soon.

1442.09.30



This land belongs to the Three Mountains. We shall reclaim it promptly.

As a sidenote I think there's a few bugs regarding this triggering when it shouldn't. During this chapter I had this event 3 more times than I mention, but all of the additional times it Had a list of countries (including KOREA) but not any provinces for any of them. Still got the prestige gain. It's pretty common for it to wag out like that and always disappointing. You see the event and you're like YESSSSSSS then you hover over the button and it's just nothing arrrrgghhhh.



And our people are safe once more. Now it is time to turn out gaze back upon Aceh and Northern Raiders invading our capital.



A new heir to the throne. 3 8 8. Ei Satto takes after the Emperor well.

1445.01.18

The only thing that has saved Ryukyu on this day is that Koreans get bored easily. Having conquered most of Brunei and a few of my vassals lands, as well as my capital, they offer a white peace and wander off back home. Curious people.

Unfortunately the heir died. On the plus side the huge rebel armies roaming indochina forced Aceh into a white peace with us.

1449.07.27



A new heir to the throne! Kei Satto is 4 6 8 - not as good as Ei Satto but hopefully he won't have an untimely death this time. Brunei rebelled AGAIN and I'm embroiled in a million colonial wars on the continent - but things are going well. I may have intentionally cropped the infamy figure out of this screenshot.

1451.07.26



Our claims to these lands are no longer being challenged. They are our lands and shall always be, for Bunei Sato has made it so. Why do people dispute our divine right to rule? Do they not learn the lessons of their defeated and broken neighbours?



Ummmmmm? Hahahaha! Maybe not.

1454.09.01



The long and drawn out war with Bhutan, Bengal and Deva Bengal is over. Their full annexation was saved only by my men being unable to find a route through the harsh wastelands to the rest of their lands. I will forgive them for now, they serve Ryukyu well and have fought many overwhelming odds to bring us here.

The Great Wall of Vassals has a breach; the province of Kachin is held by my people, and I see the hungry eyes of the Chinese Warlords vying for my lands. I must have faith; Kachin is a safe haven for the Animist peoples and I cannot bring myself to give the land away to a lesser sovereign. I will have to make preparations.

It is now unavoidable. We have grown too powerful and too many people want us now. I offer kindness to the people of this land and they refuse, they answer with insults and declarations of war. There is no hope for these savages, they know war and only war.

We will answer with steel. It is time for Ming to die.

[KyrionMyrthar]

Ooh, Ming is going down.

[Memento Mori]

The Pig hath spoken!

Where temples of men hath pierced the sky
The sky, which is my husband divine
Shall only pierced corpses of these men lie
Under regrown jungle will the ruins shine

Children of the Earth, take your sling
And march behind the Ryukyu king
Never be chaste
But march in haste
As it's the time for destruction of Ming!


The Gods of the Earth have spoken! Fulfil your destiny or perish!

Edit: Sorry, I guess I had one drink too much before I wrote this

[TonyJoe]

This is really fun. I'm looking forward to the war with Ming.

[ViperhawkZ]

Looks good, subscribing. Bash those Chinamen!

[tofkas]

CHAPTER 5: To take down a giant...

1455.03.24

I've heard tales of these Nomadic tribes from the north. They march into their neighbour's lands, steal their crops, raid their treasuries and demand protection money to prevent future hostilities.



I like this strategy. I wonder if they will like it when they're on the receiving end?

1455.10.02



Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is one of the only people who remembers the day that Ryukyu began to reclaim the world. He has stuck with the grand nation since the beginning, but he is of great age and our people fear his time is not much longer for this world. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu surprised us all this day though - he named his protégé, whom he had been training in the ways of diplomacy since he was a wee babe. He says this prodigy knows all his skill and is ready to take over his role. He will be missed.

1456.05.07



Aceh is destroyed. They are unable to resist the surge of our troops through their lands, and their armies are reduced to nothing. I show them apparent mercy and take but a single province from them, not even the Center of Trade. This curious decision will show its genius in time.

1456.10.10



THIS CAN NOT BE EMPHASISED ENOUGH.



LOOK! Look at that beautiful beautiful yearly income. I am NOT minting anything and still making a yearly profit - albeit with the land maintenance slider about 25% of the way across, but shutup this is good. This is the first point in the game where Ryukyu is now self-sufficient. That inflation is burning through at 0.22/year, thanks to the bank and a 6 star Master of Mint.



1457.05.21

On this day 10000 brave soldiers of our Empire stood before the Chinese War Machine. The enemy outnumber us more than 4 to 1. Our scouts estimate a reserve fighting force of over 100000 loyal men waiting to sink their blades into enemy flesh. Our men are tired from 5 decades of constant, bloody warfare.

The men leave the tents of the garrison one by one, beginning the slow march towards the harsh northern mountains and the nomadic tribes. They do not cower, nor flee, nor approach the enemy commandant waving white flags of surrender. They march wielding fire and sword. They march under the banner of the mighty Empire of Ryukyu; the banner of War.

It is time. Ming does not exist in the future of Ryukyu.

It is the 21st of May in the 1457th year of our Earth Mother. This day will be remembered.



For on this day a god will die.

INTERLUDE





END INTERLUDE

1458.12.06

The war was bloody and merciless. There can be no mercy for these savages, for they show none to us. Our men fought hard and valiantly against overwhelming odds - 80,000 from the War Machine were sighted on the battlefield at times, and Ryukyu had only managed to field 10,000 men (with a further 10,000 reinforcements later from the south).



Many brave souls gave their lives for the cause. They will be honoured.

1460.09.07



At first the war went pretty much as expected - as soon as we declared our intentions all our neighbours jumped on us like ravenous vultures. They sensed that a nation was going to break, and they sought to try and steal the lands of Ryukyu before the so called celestial empire could lay claim to them. Our men did not falter, this would be a war of attrition and they had been planning for this for 50 years. Our farms and villages were burned to the ground by our own hands, and the people scattered. A harsh, cruel tactic - but a necessary one.

When the machine comes to Ryukyu it finds no bread, no water, no life. It finds only death.

1460.11.16



There shall be no retreat, only victory or death. Our dying soldiers pursued fleeing savages into the heart of the beast.

7 nations saw an Empire was going to fall in the long winter, and they were right. The fighting could not last forever. One nation had to fall.

1462.05.31

It is the 31st of May in the 1462nd year of our Earth Mother. This day will be remembered.




RYUKYU LIVES!

[TonyJoe]

Death by a thousand cuts for Ming?

[gela1212]

Good job! The best I ever did as animist Ryukyu was take the Philippines. My goal had been to colonize Siberia until I met Russia and westernized, but then all the indian minors war dec'd me.

And you, you just brought down the Empire! Amazing!

[Rivus]

An island with lofty ambitions. I like.

BTW excellent prose.

[Gordreg]

Mmm. The new Xia-shield should allow for munching up most of the Vassel-wall... I think only Dai Vet has a border with Ming now?

[Memento Mori]

Grats about the Ming

By the way, did you take just one middle Aceh province so you will get "border frictions" on the rest?

And why didn't you take the province you ave a core on from Ming? Too low war score? Or you want a cassus belli against Xia?

Edit: Yeath, you got your core. I guess I didn't look carefully enough