Alrighty, then... Here we go again, another day, another AAR.
Ming
1399 Grand Campaign start
EU3 In Nomine v3.2b.
Very Hard difficulty.
Lucky Nations on random.
House rules to be followed:
* China must stay dynastic. No republics; rulers are bestowed by the Mandate of Heaven, not the people - unless they protest wildly with pitchforks, that is.
* No 'foreign' units - the Chinese unit group is where we start, and where we will stay. No conquering Sweden and building Gallop Cavalry. At least, not the latter part.
* We will use quite a few gamey exploits, though. This is my first time on any difficulty setting higher than 'normal', and my first go with lucky nations on in any way. I claim the right to play how the game rules permit, regardless of how the game really shouldn't let me.
Game goals, in increasing difficulty:
* Westernize - achieved
* Secure all of Asia - achieved
* Spread Chihan culture around through the use of animist and shamanist rebels - achieved
* World Conquest - achieved
* World Conversion - achieved
* World Culture Conversion - achieved
[strike]The latter two are probably completely unfeasible given Ming's disadvantageous start with regards to Europe and the lack of religious decisions, but we'll give it a go.[/strike]
So, what are Ming's advantages?
* Ming is the 'France' of Asia, there will be no real competition until well into the 1600s, barring our expansion outside Asia.
* Ming is large and rich from the beginning, and starts with one of the richest Centers of Trade on the planet.
* There are nearby Shamanists and Animists to exploit.
* Relation with the Oirats mission.
...as for the disadvantages...
* Ming is in the Chinese tech and unit groups, meaning poor teching and inferior units, especially in the later game.
* Europe is far away, meaning there's little hope of stopping the colonizers from mapping out the world and spread out.
* Starting with a rich CoT, it is difficult to split off new coastal CoTs for more colonists.
* Ming starts as Confucian, and have next to no religious ideas. Missionaries will be hard to come by. Confucian also applies a nasty tax income penalty, greatly curbing Ming's potential.
As the game turned out, the following eight random nations were awarded the 'Lucky' tag at start:
* Aragon
* Burgundy
* Byzantium
* Castille
* France
* Milan
* Sweden
* Timurid Empire
....well, at least the game didn't pick Japan or Manchu. With luck, perhaps they'll all keep each other in check until I get there.
I believe I'll follow a similar model as my two previous AARs - I will play relatively far ahead of where the published AAR bits are in time, in order to keep the parts coming at a steady rate - barring protests, that is. I know a Ming AAR won't be particularly interesting for most readers, and I won't claim much narrative here either, beyond perhaps the short and silly. If you have any requests regarding this AAR, please let me know - just be aware that I'm decades ahead of the 'published' game dates, more often than not.
2 - Securing Animists
3 - Matters of borders and faith
4 - Protecting the Oirats
5 - Moving Westward
6 - Minor Setbacks
7 - Trouble in Liaodong province
8 - Into Russia, With Loathing
9 - March 1450 - 50 Years of Play Overview
10 - The Sacking of Moscow
11 - Western Intelligence
12 - Animism and You, or How To Make Chihans, The Hard Way
13 - The Parisian Exchange
14 - East, West, and the Middle Kingdom
15 - The Undeclared War
16 - Stalling Castille
17 - More Ming Donation Drives
18 - Overview of Imperial Ming Holdings, March 1480
19 - Dealing with Devils
20 - The Pre-Industrial Revolution
21 - The First Iberian Campaign
22 - Visiting Ireland
23 - The Second Iberian Campaign
24 - State of the Middle Kingdom, February 1500
25 - Imperial Troubles
26 - The Lone Fight
27 - Upgrading the Ming Arsenal
28 - The Scottish Counter-Reformation
29 - Robbing Hoods and the Sheriffs of Jiangsu Forest
30 - The End of an Era
31 - Cores in America
32 - Byzantine Phoenix
33 - 1525 Ming SitRep
34 - Just Another Day in Ming China
35 - Rearranging Africa
36 - Danzig and War
37 - Making Pagans
38 - Iberian Encirclement
39 - The Slow War
40 - Austria Rising
41 - Li'l Drummer Boy
42 - Status of China, 1550
43 - Sunrise, Stalled
44 - War on Wales
45 - Javanimism
46 - Austrian Audacity
47 - The Last Buddhist Stronghold
48 - The State of Ming, 1575
49 - Muscowite Ghosts
50 - When Milan Went To Egypt's Land...
51 - Lithuanian Concerns
52 - Swedish Reforms
53 - Slight Spy Mishaps
54 - Pillaging Anatolia
55 - The Ming Dominion, 1600
56 - The Irish Question
57 - Dealing with dougnut holes
58 - Subsidising Ryukyu
59 - Value for our money
60 - Mayan Victories
61 - Consolidating outside Europe
62 - Chipping at the European Trio of Pain
63 - Austrian Ambivalence
64 - Ming Progress, 1625
65 - Austrian Abandon, French Crusade
66 - The Slow Rout
67 - Gradual Progress
68 - The Decline Begins
69 - Troubles At Home
70 - Onwards to Italy
71 - The Much Belated Conquest of Rome
72 - Pope Adolf
73 - The End of Trier and others
74 - Emperor Erno
75 - Land for Sale, Part I
76 - Reach of Ming, 1650
77 - Land for Sale, part II
78 - Land for Sale, part III
79 - Operation Austria Begins
80 - Grinding Austria
81 - Munching Minors
82 - The Return of Denmark
83 - Sinking Austria's Navy
84 - The Pope, Take Two
85 - Liberating Germany from Poland
86 - Scaring the Iroquois
87 - The End of the Empire
88 - State of the World, January 1700
89 - Boosting Vassals
90 - The Cape Verde Botch-up
91 - Clergy for sale
92 - Pagan Reintegration
93 - Danzig and war
94 - The state of Ming, January 1725
95 - Selling even more land
96 - Not just Cheesy, but Corny
97 - Order at the Court
98 - 'One China', embracing the world
99 - Someone get the Fat Lady on stage!
100 - "We Are The World..."
-end-
Ming
1399 Grand Campaign start
EU3 In Nomine v3.2b.
Very Hard difficulty.
Lucky Nations on random.
House rules to be followed:
* China must stay dynastic. No republics; rulers are bestowed by the Mandate of Heaven, not the people - unless they protest wildly with pitchforks, that is.
* No 'foreign' units - the Chinese unit group is where we start, and where we will stay. No conquering Sweden and building Gallop Cavalry. At least, not the latter part.
* We will use quite a few gamey exploits, though. This is my first time on any difficulty setting higher than 'normal', and my first go with lucky nations on in any way. I claim the right to play how the game rules permit, regardless of how the game really shouldn't let me.
Game goals, in increasing difficulty:
* Westernize - achieved
* Secure all of Asia - achieved
* Spread Chihan culture around through the use of animist and shamanist rebels - achieved
* World Conquest - achieved
* World Conversion - achieved
* World Culture Conversion - achieved
[strike]The latter two are probably completely unfeasible given Ming's disadvantageous start with regards to Europe and the lack of religious decisions, but we'll give it a go.[/strike]
So, what are Ming's advantages?
* Ming is the 'France' of Asia, there will be no real competition until well into the 1600s, barring our expansion outside Asia.
* Ming is large and rich from the beginning, and starts with one of the richest Centers of Trade on the planet.
* There are nearby Shamanists and Animists to exploit.
* Relation with the Oirats mission.
...as for the disadvantages...
* Ming is in the Chinese tech and unit groups, meaning poor teching and inferior units, especially in the later game.
* Europe is far away, meaning there's little hope of stopping the colonizers from mapping out the world and spread out.
* Starting with a rich CoT, it is difficult to split off new coastal CoTs for more colonists.
* Ming starts as Confucian, and have next to no religious ideas. Missionaries will be hard to come by. Confucian also applies a nasty tax income penalty, greatly curbing Ming's potential.
As the game turned out, the following eight random nations were awarded the 'Lucky' tag at start:
* Aragon
* Burgundy
* Byzantium
* Castille
* France
* Milan
* Sweden
* Timurid Empire
....well, at least the game didn't pick Japan or Manchu. With luck, perhaps they'll all keep each other in check until I get there.
I believe I'll follow a similar model as my two previous AARs - I will play relatively far ahead of where the published AAR bits are in time, in order to keep the parts coming at a steady rate - barring protests, that is. I know a Ming AAR won't be particularly interesting for most readers, and I won't claim much narrative here either, beyond perhaps the short and silly. If you have any requests regarding this AAR, please let me know - just be aware that I'm decades ahead of the 'published' game dates, more often than not.
Chapter Index
1 - Starting Gambits2 - Securing Animists
3 - Matters of borders and faith
4 - Protecting the Oirats
5 - Moving Westward
6 - Minor Setbacks
7 - Trouble in Liaodong province
8 - Into Russia, With Loathing
9 - March 1450 - 50 Years of Play Overview
10 - The Sacking of Moscow
11 - Western Intelligence
12 - Animism and You, or How To Make Chihans, The Hard Way
13 - The Parisian Exchange
14 - East, West, and the Middle Kingdom
15 - The Undeclared War
16 - Stalling Castille
17 - More Ming Donation Drives
18 - Overview of Imperial Ming Holdings, March 1480
19 - Dealing with Devils
20 - The Pre-Industrial Revolution
21 - The First Iberian Campaign
22 - Visiting Ireland
23 - The Second Iberian Campaign
24 - State of the Middle Kingdom, February 1500
25 - Imperial Troubles
26 - The Lone Fight
27 - Upgrading the Ming Arsenal
28 - The Scottish Counter-Reformation
29 - Robbing Hoods and the Sheriffs of Jiangsu Forest
30 - The End of an Era
31 - Cores in America
32 - Byzantine Phoenix
33 - 1525 Ming SitRep
34 - Just Another Day in Ming China
35 - Rearranging Africa
36 - Danzig and War
37 - Making Pagans
38 - Iberian Encirclement
39 - The Slow War
40 - Austria Rising
41 - Li'l Drummer Boy
42 - Status of China, 1550
43 - Sunrise, Stalled
44 - War on Wales
45 - Javanimism
46 - Austrian Audacity
47 - The Last Buddhist Stronghold
48 - The State of Ming, 1575
49 - Muscowite Ghosts
50 - When Milan Went To Egypt's Land...
51 - Lithuanian Concerns
52 - Swedish Reforms
53 - Slight Spy Mishaps
54 - Pillaging Anatolia
55 - The Ming Dominion, 1600
56 - The Irish Question
57 - Dealing with dougnut holes
58 - Subsidising Ryukyu
59 - Value for our money
60 - Mayan Victories
61 - Consolidating outside Europe
62 - Chipping at the European Trio of Pain
63 - Austrian Ambivalence
64 - Ming Progress, 1625
65 - Austrian Abandon, French Crusade
66 - The Slow Rout
67 - Gradual Progress
68 - The Decline Begins
69 - Troubles At Home
70 - Onwards to Italy
71 - The Much Belated Conquest of Rome
72 - Pope Adolf
73 - The End of Trier and others
74 - Emperor Erno
75 - Land for Sale, Part I
76 - Reach of Ming, 1650
77 - Land for Sale, part II
78 - Land for Sale, part III
79 - Operation Austria Begins
80 - Grinding Austria
81 - Munching Minors
82 - The Return of Denmark
83 - Sinking Austria's Navy
84 - The Pope, Take Two
85 - Liberating Germany from Poland
86 - Scaring the Iroquois
87 - The End of the Empire
88 - State of the World, January 1700
89 - Boosting Vassals
90 - The Cape Verde Botch-up
91 - Clergy for sale
92 - Pagan Reintegration
93 - Danzig and war
94 - The state of Ming, January 1725
95 - Selling even more land
96 - Not just Cheesy, but Corny
97 - Order at the Court
98 - 'One China', embracing the world
99 - Someone get the Fat Lady on stage!
100 - "We Are The World..."
-end-
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