VH/VH Mongol campaign

[recentiy03]

Anyone ever try this before? I'm playing with VeryBadAI and BGR 4. RR is on but no limited assimilation (thank God).

It's been challenging, fun and not at all what I expected. I thought I would spam my armies through the steppes and roll through the Cumans and the Kwamezarians, making my way to Baghdad in glorious triumph, although it hasn't quite worked out like that. I made the mistake of splitting my army on the first turn, sending 1/3 to attack the Cumans before they grew too strong, as invariably seems to be the case, and I sent the other 2/3 south to fight the Kwamezarians for savagely killing my envoys 2 years ago under the command of the apparently-not-so-great Ghengis Khan. Why is he not-so-great? Because on the second turn 3 armies went rebel (accounting for about 30% of my stacks)! I couldn't believe it...I thought Ghengis Khan was supposed to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world and he couldn't instill loyalty in his soldiers for more than a single turn. I've since had 4 additional stacks go rebel, including the majority of the wave of reinforcements.

Alas, despite losing a significant chunk of my army, I managed to whittle the Kwamezarians down to 2 nodes while also snatching 2 provinces from the Cumans, who quickly asked for a ceasefire. Things were going well until all of my provinces started to rebel. I am hesitant to exterminate populations, as it's hard to grow them back with high dread generals, and because my pagan religion, my cities south of Gorgan are in a constant state of rioting and upheaval. I've been trying to apply my priests, but after seemingly being on the verge of finishing off the Kwamezarians, they've since been hovering between 4-5 provinces. I'm beginning to wonder if exterminating the Muslim populations was the right move after all. And if I didn't initially split my armies I would've decreased the distance between Ghengis Khan and the would-be rebels.

Anyway, my economy plunged down to -200,000 Florins at its low-point, although we're now sitting around -166,000 with an income of 18,000 and expenses of just 11,000, so it's a slow climb back to 0. TBH it is very difficult to maintain the lands I have since I can't train new troops, I can't repair broken buildings that grant population happiness and I can't afford to leave large what little army I have left in non-border provinces since the Kwamezarians are striking back. I have 1 stack left, under Ghenis's control, of course, and if it dies then it's looking like the campaign will end with it...I had a chance for redemption -- the Kwamezarians asked for a ceasefire a turn ago -- but right now it's all-or-nothing en route to Baghdad or a bust.

[Ichon]

I don't think Mongols are very playable with BGR without disbanding almost all your armies. Luckily you don't need many to win most battles. Many of your generals will start out with low loyalty as well so disbanding them prevents rebellions. Honestly I never completed a Mongol campaign yet... played a few turns several times but it seems too easy. Once you get a solid base you can afford the additional reinforcements every now and then though by the time your lands expand much its simply too expensive to pay them for the amount of time it takes to move them to the front.

When I played Mongols with BGR in 6.2 I only kept a handful of HA and a couple infantry to make rams in case no sally but I don't think I needed that more than once or twice.

[recentiy03]

I don't think Mongols are very playable with BGR without disbanding almost all your armies. Luckily you don't need many to win most battles. Many of your generals will start out with low loyalty as well so disbanding them prevents rebellions. Honestly I never completed a Mongol campaign yet... played a few turns several times but it seems too easy. Once you get a solid base you can afford the additional reinforcements every now and then though by the time your lands expand much its simply too expensive to pay them for the amount of time it takes to move them to the front.

When I played Mongols with BGR in 6.2 I only kept a handful of HA and a couple infantry to make rams in case no sally but I don't think I needed that more than once or twice.

If I had accepted the Kwamezarians ceasefire I could've sat back for about 15 turns until my economy rectified, assuming they didn't break the ceasefire, so I believe refusing it pretty much sealed the campaign's fate, but I'll play it out. If it fails I'm going to try again and just take them out ASAP, ignoring the Cumans, which I know I could've done had I not split my forces.






EDIT: Well, I waited a few turns and after fully considering the situation, I offered the Kwarezarians a ceasefire, so it looks like it's time to get out of the red.

[recentiy03]

The Death of a Leader and the Rise of a Nation


The skies were dark and grey the day the great khan passed on at the age of 68. Aragei of Arulad sat cross-legged, silently praying inside the temple that was really nothing more than the ruins of an old mosque. He knew he had to do something fast. He knew the competing tribes that composed their Golden Horde would not sit around waiting without a powerful leader to hold them together in the wake of such unexpected tragedy. He knew it would not be long before it all fell apart. Such cruel gods, to take him from us so suddenly. What now? What next? Surely the spirits of our forefathers would not have led us this far to die at the hands of Muslims.

True believers were few and far between, he knew. The troops were scattered and weak. The rebels were growing stronger with each moon cycle. He'd heard the whispers and the rumors: "Peace with the Kwamezarians will not last. The dead Khan's rebel brother is waiting to strike. The savage Cumans are gathering troops to launch an attack from the north." Sighing, he opened his eyes and stood up, distracted by noises coming from outside the temple's shattered windows. He heard the voices growing louder and louder before he decided to investigate.

Aragei stepped outside and tasted the dry night air as he gazed out upon what little was left of the city with a calloused face. Through the gaping hole in the wall he saw dune after dune, an endless ocean of sand he now called home. Dark skies for dark times. May the khan rest in peace with Erlik. He made his way through the devastated streets of the provincial city to find the source of the noise. The closer he got, the more hysterical the sounds became.

At the center of the square in Yazd, a fire was burning brightly and the crowd was cheering in a frenzy. Or were they screaming? Soon terrible, high pitched shrieks began to take over the cheering and the fire began to grow brighter and brighter. And then he saw it: the line of prisoners, the turbans on their heads burning, hundreds and hundreds of them, the orange and yellow flames licking the dark sky and the howling of their screams while the inferno slowly consumed their bodies.

When it finally ended and the massacre was complete, Aragei noticed a man on a horse near the town hall. A champion in golden clothing. It was the khan's former heir, Aradai. He began to address the crowd with a booming voice: "Once I was only Aradai the Wrathful, faithful servant to the Horde and our leader, Ghengis Khan. Now I am Aradai Khan. And I say those that do not recognize the power of our clans shall join the corpses in our fires! The Horde shall rise again! But not before we stop fighting ourselves my children. Rebel traitors will be dealt with swiftly. Let the streets flow with the blood of our enemies. We ride at first light." As the people erupted, shouting his name, "Aradai! Aradai! Aradi!" Aragei closed his eyes and saw the future: Baghdad.