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Part 11 - Peace and Consolidation​

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1458

Early in the year a tax collector was promoted in Awadh province, and a royal marriage was entered into with Jodhpur and Oman.

1459

Another royal marriage, this time with Gujarat.

1461

A tax collector in Gondwana and a royal marriage with Mataram.

1462

"Good evening, my Emperor, what can I-"

"You! Hurry up and barracade the palace, they're coming!"

"Uh, what?"

"Are you deaf, man? Come on, they're not much time. They'll be here soon."

"But-"

"Don't just stand their dithering, you fool! We need to be prepared for when they come."

"For when what come?!" Devesh screamed. The Emperor looked at him as if he was a simpleton.

"The cabbages, of course. They're everywhere, they can hear me think, you know!"

"O-kay."

Thankfully, the monarch's insanity was only to last for a year exactly.

1462

In July there was a revolt in Tirhut, amazingly the first since Devesh had arrived back in 1419. The ringleader was a Muslim cleric whose zealotry inciting rebellion among the provinces Muslim populace. The army was sent in, and in mid-August the revolt was crushed with the capture and execution of the cleric.

1464

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1465

Early in the year the Mallikarjuna fell ill with fever, and quickly passed away. He was without sons, and so instead the throne fell to his nephew Virupaksha, the second of that name.

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Virupaksha II's first act as Emperor was to send the army south to crush the natives of Madurai and Trivandrum.

1466

In January a tax collector was promoted in Raipur, and in April a boundary dispute with neighbouring Arakan was brought to Virupaksha's attention.

"We should declare war immediately! Is it not true that Arakan has Hinud subjects under their tyrannical heel?"

"Yes, but-"

"And is it not true that by taking land from Arakan we could connect Calcutta with the rest of the country."

"Indeed, but-"

"So what's stopping you, Devesh? Why aren't we at war. I want to go to war!"

"My emperor, we currently have rebellious peasants and nobles being assassinated in the streets of the City of Victory to deal with, a war would only make the situation even more unstable. This issue with Arakan isn't going to go away. I advise we wait."

"Hmm, well, all right," Virupaksha II mumbled.

1467

In January cantonments were established in the City of Victory, and in March the last areas in the south were finally colonised.

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In April a new alliance was created with Orissa, after the previous one expired.

1468

"My lord, I have good news. You remember the feud between the Pakshma and Gaujani families?"

"Ah yes, because at a gathering their Jodha Pakshma said that Kiran Gaujani looked fat, which was overheard by Kiran's brother Deepak, who then punched Jodha in the mouth, which caused everyone on both sides of the family to stop speaking to one another."

Devesh nodded, slightly stunned. "Um, yeah, that. How do you know all that?"

"Oh, I love following the antics of our dear nobles families. It's often more interesting than politics!"

"Um yeah, well, apparently the feud has been resolved."

"Ooh, excellent, let's send them a gift!"

Devesh frowned. "But my Emperor, the treasury is empty-"

"Which part of "send them a gift" did you fail to comprehend, Devesh?" Virupaksha II responded, menacingly.

"Uh, fine."

And thus, Vijayanangar was forced to take out a loan.

1470

In February Malwa joined the alliance, and only four months later Delhi delcared war on them, bringing along their ally the Sultanate of Bengal. Vijayanagar sprung to her vassal's defence, and immediately attacked into Delhi's territory. Bundelkhand was put under siege in early October, and later in the month Delhi was too. Bengal attacked into Koch, while Delhi concentrated their efforts on Malwa.

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1472

In April Delhi attacked and relieved the siege of their capital, and later in the year captured Malwa.

1473

This was not a war that Vijayanangar had particularly wanted, and after a year and a half was a stalemate. In January they offered Delhi a white peace, which was accepted. Meanwhile, another war had been taking place in the east. Some time before the Timurid Empire had attacked Gujarat, and not long after Jodhpur also invaded. The result was the Gujarat lost their two western provinces to the Timurids, but were able to defeat and annex Jodhpur.

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This greatly worried Devesh. He knew that it would not be long before the Mughal Empire emerged from Afghanistan, and feared that a strong Timurid Empire would lead to a strengthened Mughal Empire when the time came. But there was still several decades before any of that would come to pass.

The year of 1473 saw a bumper harvest due to favourable climate conditions, and later in the year the loan was repayed. The excess cash was spent on raising more cavalry.
 
Yes, the Mughals could be tough opponents, particularly if the Timurids manage to hold together even partially.
 
ah... Vijayanagar

Played one MP campaign with them... their history (and the history of hinduism in general) is really quite fascinating.... And not something you'll likely hear of in these parts.. (ie. the "western world")
 
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Looks like troubled times ahead with those future enemies!
 
woo hoo the south is yours! since i dont play eu2 and judging by these comments youre gonna have a hard time...in that case good luck!
 
You've done quite well consolidating both with colonization and warfare. Keep it up.

And the beginning set up was great! Very original. :cool:
 
Yep, everything seems to be going smoothly. I meant to ask you, is there any possibility of force-conversion, especially of Bengal for example? Even Delhi. Do you generally need 100% WS for that? Should be possible with Bengal anyway. Then diplo-annexation. Anyway, I'm sure Devesh is doing the right thing - with divine guidance how can you go wrong? ;)
 
Farquharson said:
I meant to ask you, is there any possibility of force-conversion, especially of Bengal for example? Even Delhi. Do you generally need 100% WS for that? Should be possible with Bengal anyway. Then diplo-annexation.

AFAIK, you can only force a country to convert within the same type of religion, ofr instance catholic-protestant-reformed (not sure about orthodox) or sunni-shia.


And that Timurid Empire looks too big to me, if they stay that way until Babur, the future wil be grim indeed
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stnylan: Which they seem to be doing at the moment. :eek:

Duke of Wellington: I'm pretty sure they will be strong, unless they get really messed up by the Persian revolts. But after my experiences with Bahlûl Ludi I'm not feeling too worried about Babur.

ForzaA: Yes, it's very interesting. Thans for reading. :)

J. Passepartout: Or hopefully the AI will assign him to a 1,000 man army that gets wiped out immediately. I've seen it happen before... ;)

Lord J. Roxton: The updates are coming so fast because I'm having such a great time playing the game!

anonymous4401: It's going to be difficult, but Vijayanagar is not called the City of Victory for nothing.

lifeless: All depends on whether the AI can utilise Babur in the best way, which, knowing the AI, it will not. But even a 10,000 man strong army led by him is something to be feared.

coz1: Thanks for reading. :)

Farquharson: There's no need to force-convert, as you will see in this next update. ;)

Kelvin: I may try and ally with my old friends the Uzbeks and Persia (if they exist) and really take the fight to the Mughals.
 
Part 12 - Victory By Name...

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Stone chariot, dedicated to Vittala, an aspect of Vishnu

1474

It had been a quiet year in the City of Victory. Devesh looked no older than thirty, which would have aroused interest and suspicion if it were not for him subtly suggesting to people, through various means, that it would be best not to inquire. He made his way through the bustling city, marvelling at how much it had changed and grown since he had arrived. He knew that somewhere amid the masses of people were, living everyday, normal lives, his grandparents, and in recent years it had been playing on his mind. Of course, he understood that he was in effect an aspect of Vishnu, being his son, but he was also human. He went to the gardens, where he was met by Krishna and his cow.

"Devesh, you look troubled," said Krishna. Devesh nodded, and explained his thought about his family. Krishna smiled benevolently.

"Of course, but you must remember they are NOT your grandparents, for they have been dead for aeons. And," he added, "if you are thinking that sometime within the next few decades they're children will give birth to someone identical to you, then that is not true. The universe has ways of avoiding these paradoxes, Almighty Brahman does not allow such severe disruptions to the order."

Devesh nodded, frowning. "I understand. But what of the Asuras?" he said, changing the subject.

"In the aether the fight goes on. But I must warn, soon they will use the earthly power they possess, and attack the City of Victory, no doubt with vast legions of unbelievers led by Varuna himself. The nearer we get to the time when Kalikota should have occured, the more frantic they will become. But do not fear, for they are weak, and through wisdom and the knowledge that the ideals of conciousness and universal soul transcend this and all realities they can be beaten. And remember, it is from delight we come into existence, in delight we grow and in delight we retire."

Devesh smiled. "The Upanishads." Krishna nodded.

But elsewhere, Devesh had to focus on more earthly concerns. There was still the Arakan problem. Vijayanagar claimed that a strip of land connecting Ganges province with Koch province belonged to them, a fact disputed strongly by Arakan. The Sultan of Arakan refused to back down after numerous threats, and in October the City of Victory declared war.

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The invasion force

Intelligence indicated that Arakan had about 6,000 troops near the border, and once Vijayanagar had established themselves in the siege of Santal scouts came back with great news; that was their entire army, although new troops were being raised. Another 11,000 man strong army was sent to Chin, and after a long siege the two provinces fell.

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1476

The year continued much as the previous, waiting for the Arakanese capital to fall in Tarakan province. The city finally surrendered in October, and Arakan agreed to cede Santal for peace, a marshy, boggy but largely Hindu region. Vijayanagar at last had her land connection for Calcutta.

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Also, in September of this year the Indonesian nation of Mataram agreed to share maps with the City of Victory, which greatly increased her knowledge of South East Asia, China and the South Seas.

1477

In early February the Emperor allowed the sale of offices in Madras, greatly increasing the state coffers. Devesh advised Virupaksha that the money should be spent bolstering the army, a decision which proved somewhat fortuitous when, a couple of months later, news arrived at Virupaksha's court; Malwa had been invaded by Delhi again, bringing along their ally and vassal Bengal.

The call to war was eagerly accepted by both Orissa and Vijayanagar, and Delhi was immediately invaded by two moderately sized armies, winning great victories against the Delhian armies despite them being led by the skillful general Sultan Bahlûl Ludi. In the face of defeat his army instead moved south, defeated a defending force in Malwa. Meanwhile, in Bengal the province of Howrah was put under siege by the Santal garrison, while Orissa attacked the capital. Bengali armies laid siege to Koch and, briefly Raipur.

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In November Delhi once again was captured by Hindu armies, and Virupaksha ordered the sacking of the great palace of the Sultan, bring home many treasures that rightfully belonged in the hands of Hindus. The armies then split and made their ways to Bikaner and Jodhpur, taken by Delhi from Gujarat in a recent war between the two nations.

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1479

Bengal's armies had generally fared badly against the Hindus, and so it was with some relief they accepted a white peace from Vijayanagar, so that they could concentrate on knocking down Delhi without distractions. The year saw successes on all fronts, with Bundelkhand and Bikaner falling before May. However, Malwa fell to Delhi, and Bahlûl Ludi moved on to besiege the rich city of Lucknow, in Awadh province, a siege that was broken by the heavy elephant superiority of the eastern army that had been besieging Howrah. Although defeated again, Bahlûl Ludi spotted an opportunity and then truned his attentions towards recapturing Delhi.

1480

Early in the year the two regions of the Punjab fell in quick succession, and in July Vijayanagar rescued Malwa by retaking it. The two armies in the north launched a joint attack on Bahlûl Ludi's army, inflicting a crushing defeat on the last remnants of the Delhian army, which fled to Bikaner with the Hindu armies quick on their heels. Not long after he found himself surrounded, and his entire force was slaughtered to a man. The Sultan himself was captured, and when Jodhpur fell he had no choice but to submit to Virupaksha, becoming his vassal. To add insult to injury, Vijayanagar gained Bundelkhand and Jodhpur, as well as 75 rupees to be divided three ways between the allies.

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The new provinces

1483

Three peaceful years passed, with Virupaksha enjoying the tributes from Delhi greatly. It was generally agreed by Devesh and the Emperor that in order to protect Malwa it should be incorporated into the Empire, and so sent a delegation to the Sultan, who was ultimately not given much choice but to surrender the reigns of power, "for his own protection".

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"See, my Emperor, did I not say that sometimes diplomacy can bring as many rewards as war?"

"Indeed, you did, Devesh, but I see that Orissa still refuse to become our vassals."

"Um, well, it's not perfect, obviously..."
 
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You gotta love elephant superiority! Though what you really need are wlaks! :D

Smooth diplomacy at the end there, though I am thinking Orissa might not get off that easy.
 
You're reaching a size where all will have to fear you, even the
Mughals! :eek: I think Delhi's days are numbered. ;)

Joe
 
Finally, the land connection!

I feel like playing EU2 now...
 
anonymous4401 said:
Finally, the land connection!
Hear, hear :D


I feel like playing EU2 now...
So do I, and I think Vijayanagar is a serious candidate for my next game, if it is not broken on MyMap :)
 
The reconquest of India continues apace I see. Tell me, east or west? You move against Arakan suggests east, for the moment anyway.