Seeing the Elephant

Chapter 8: Consolidation.

King: Hmm I've been having a look at this map and something seems odd.

Adviser: What is it that somehow despite your stupidity you've been able to notice.

King: Well Most of the other small kingdoms have been swallowed by the Regional Mega Powers with a few exceptions but we've left both Tylis and Dacia neither of whom can really do anything alone for like ever. Tylis doesn't even have an army to resist.

Adviser: Well Dacia has been an ally and Tylis... Actually I don't know why we've left Tylis alone for so long.

King: Well even the gods* think attacking Tylis is a good Idea so let's do it then.



(Some Time Later)

King: Well that was eventful.

Adviser: Well we now have almost no stability and our kingdom is falling apart around us but we've completed a divine mission and take a small area of land we don't really care about. Good Job I say.

King: Well We could now break into Asia.

Adviser: Please I think there allied with the Seleucids who despite the recent problems are still a force to be wary of and our tech situation is utterly rubbish how are we going to beat them.



(More time Later)

King: I've been thinking is there anyway we can make our omens more reliable.

Adviser: Well we could try to promote easier to pull of Small scale omens. Since there small we can fairly easily make them work. But this kind of change is unpopular with the People and will crush our slowly improving stab.

King : Yeh but if our omens are more reliable we'll be able to use there power to strengthen our position more often. It could help us catch up with the major powers in terms of population maybe.

Adviser: Fine but if we suffer I know who to blame.



(More Time Later)

King: Hmm we've enough Freedmen providing manpower right.

Adviser: For our size our manpower reserves are plentiful considering how big our army is.

King: But we don't have enough Slaves do we.

Adviser: Maybe not as many as we would like.

King: Well why don't we sell off those Freedmen who have built up unpayable debts. We get more slaves so more money and our manpower will not suffer too much surely.

Adviser: Well That could work. It would help rebalance the Population figures more away from the Freedmen and more towards slaves. But that doesn't ultimately solve the problem of our limited number of citizens. I've heard that it is crippling our technological progress with respect to the other powers.

King: But It's a good more so lets do it.



(Some More time Later)

King: I say we more against Dacia.

Adviser: Hmm Well there of no real use as an ally. And they are also so uncivilized we can say we're simply civilizing Barbarians.

King: It's perfect. We gain land wealth and a stronger grip on the region.

Adviser: Do it then.



(A while Later)

King: That went well.

Adviser: Three sieges and a skirmish against a tiny force and we get two provinces a lump sum of gold and some tribute which is cripplingly to them most likely.

King: Great Work.

Adviser: But any futher expansion will need to be against more powerful regional Power. The Greeks are all linked by alliances with each other and we can't face Rome's might.

King: We need a solution.

Adviser: I like the Flanking maneuver option personally.

King: Go around the Black sea and strike from the North towards Elephants. We can work on it.