When China is in an Expansionist phase, one cannot negotiate a peace deal with them, which usually costs a trivial 250 Grace.
However, one can still acquire a peace deal through an Imperial Marriage, at the same cost of 1000 Grace as in other periods of Chinese policy.
In my opinion, this is a loophole, which makes it too easy to avoid being invaded by China.
Getting invaded by China, you see, is a huge problem. It occupies you for several years. It is extremely expensive, as you must likely spend several years' income on Mercenaries, or on losing and becoming a tributary of China, or both.
Getting an Imperial Marriage with China, however, is not a huge problem. It costs me the testicles of one genius court physician, the presumptive virginity of one attractive sister, and the glitter of one Crown of Majesty leftover from smithing a scepter and ceremonial blade to compliment my unique cultural crown.
In this case, I have other candidates for court physician, other presumptively virginal sisters, and other crowns.
The fact that a Peace Deal cannot be obtained directly, during Expansionism, indicates that there was some thought invested into making it so that you cannot squirm out of harm's way so easily, and instead rewarding you for taking precautionary steps to set the stage for good Chinese relations during less threatening stages of policy. However, the unaltered cost for Peace Deal via Imperial Marriage, makes it not the case. The day that the Abbasid Empire surrendered to China and became their first significant tributary, was the first day that I remembered that China existed, and that I needed to have anything to do with them. This was also the last day that I thought about China, since I just shipped them some disposable merchandise, and walked away with 50 years of peace.
It shouldn't be so easy. It isn't rational for a Chinese Emperor to relinquish his ambition for the disgusting quantity of gold, levies and prestige he could potentially extract from me, just because I sent him a bit of surplus material I didn't really need to begin with - and give me one of his daughters, on top of that.
Either Imperial Marriage should be disabled for Expansionist China, just as direct Peace Deals are, or their price should be increased 2x or 3x for Expansionist China, so that they require some preparation or forethought.
However, one can still acquire a peace deal through an Imperial Marriage, at the same cost of 1000 Grace as in other periods of Chinese policy.
In my opinion, this is a loophole, which makes it too easy to avoid being invaded by China.
Getting invaded by China, you see, is a huge problem. It occupies you for several years. It is extremely expensive, as you must likely spend several years' income on Mercenaries, or on losing and becoming a tributary of China, or both.
Getting an Imperial Marriage with China, however, is not a huge problem. It costs me the testicles of one genius court physician, the presumptive virginity of one attractive sister, and the glitter of one Crown of Majesty leftover from smithing a scepter and ceremonial blade to compliment my unique cultural crown.
In this case, I have other candidates for court physician, other presumptively virginal sisters, and other crowns.
The fact that a Peace Deal cannot be obtained directly, during Expansionism, indicates that there was some thought invested into making it so that you cannot squirm out of harm's way so easily, and instead rewarding you for taking precautionary steps to set the stage for good Chinese relations during less threatening stages of policy. However, the unaltered cost for Peace Deal via Imperial Marriage, makes it not the case. The day that the Abbasid Empire surrendered to China and became their first significant tributary, was the first day that I remembered that China existed, and that I needed to have anything to do with them. This was also the last day that I thought about China, since I just shipped them some disposable merchandise, and walked away with 50 years of peace.
It shouldn't be so easy. It isn't rational for a Chinese Emperor to relinquish his ambition for the disgusting quantity of gold, levies and prestige he could potentially extract from me, just because I sent him a bit of surplus material I didn't really need to begin with - and give me one of his daughters, on top of that.
Either Imperial Marriage should be disabled for Expansionist China, just as direct Peace Deals are, or their price should be increased 2x or 3x for Expansionist China, so that they require some preparation or forethought.
Upvote
0