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The Silk Road Opens

Welcome back to Chang-an, humble administrator. You will soon be assuming the duties of a new post recently created by our Emperor Wu Di -- Commissioner of Trade. You see, it was many years ago that our emperor dispatched an envoy, Zhang Qian to make an alliance with the Yuezhi tribe against the troublesome Xiongnu. The envoy was not heard of for over 10 years, and feared dead. Just recently however, he has returned, and the stories he has of distant lands are quite incredible.
Soon after departing, he was captured by the Xiongnu. After a few years he escaped their clutches and, being a loyal servant, attempted to complete his mission. His quest to locate the Yuezhi tribe took him far to the west, to the distant land of Ferghana, and the Pamir Mountains. It was there he discovered that these people prized Chinese goods, which had somehow found their way into those lands. In fact, their passion for our fine silk is particularly keen. This exciting news has delighted our Emperor, who wisely foresees that much profit can be made by government control of this trade. In return for Chinese silk, the distant city of Kashgar offers jade and savory new spices.
Meanwhile, in Chang-an, lovely flowering trees can be planted to further beautify the city's streets and wards. The Emperor also requests that a Grand Tumulus -- his imperial mausoleum -- be prepared for his eventual use. It will be your honor to find a beneficial location for it and to oversee its construction. To the north, however, rumblings from the Gobi Desert grow ever louder and more incessant. The Xiongnu problem remains unsolved ...

City - Chang-an
Starts Feb 126 BCE
Starting cash is what you carry over from Episode 1

Requirements:
  • Grand Tumulus must be built
  • Treasury of 150 000
  • 7 Menagerie Animal Types Required
  • Population of 4500




Food : Cabbage, Millet, Wheat, Fish
Resources : Hemp, Raw Silk, Clay, Wood, Iron
Products : Ceramics, Lacquerware, Silk, Carved Jade, Weapons

Housing Limits: Ornate Apt (no tea), Impressive Compounds (no drama or tea)

Well here we are, back in Chang-an. You will need to expand you population somewhat, build the Grand Tumulus and do a lot of trading in this mission. The Grand Tumulus needs laborers from the Labor Camp and Carpenters with wood from the Carpenter's Guild. The Grand Tumulus also needs "burial provisions". You should set aside a warehouse near the construction site set to get the various provisions. Those provisions are 11 Lacquerware, 10 Silk, 9 Ceramics, 7 Weapons, and 4 Carved Jade. The Grand Tumulus has a footprint of 12x12 with 4 2x2 access areas.

I started by calling the Daoist hero, Xi Wang Mu. You will have to have at least one working Daoist Temple in the city before you can pay homage to a Daoist hero, a shrine isn't enough. Xi Wang Mu speeds up monument construction and blesses Jade Carvers Studios by filling them with Jade. For this whole episode, I was exporting up to 36 carved jade a year and didn't import a single piece of raw jade. Just having Xi Wang Mu in your city will also speed up the construction of the Tumulus, and you definitely want to try to speed that up. I did take a short break in order to call Confucius, who not only helps with tax income, but he will supply one of the burial goods for the tumulus.

Besides the construction of the tumulus, you have to do a lot of trading in this mission to meet the treasury and menagerie goals. I opened all the trade routes and was selling just about everything I could. Silk, Carved Jade, and Weapons are great exports. I was also selling some extra food, ceramics and iron. I imported lacquer to make Lacquerware some of which went to the elite houses and the rest was traded for profit. Since I was still making tons of ceramics, I used them for the homage to keep the hero in my city. Xi Wang Mu also hunts animals for your menagerie so you should gather what you have in your city and begin trading for the other animals.

Sample Events

  • Mar 126 BCE Jiaozhou becomes a Vassal
  • Mar 126 BCE Hero Arrived
  • Mar 124 BCE Peasants demand pay increase
  • Nov 124 BCE Gift of Wood from Fuzhou (16 wood)
  • Jun 122 BCE Price increase for Silk
  • Oct 119 BCE Request for one animal from Fuzhou

Sample Industry Status 6 Fish, 7 Farms, 11 Wood, 6 Raw Silk, 6 Iron, 5 Clay, 2 Hemp, 8 Weapons, 3 Lacquerware Makers, 12 Weavers, 11 Ceramics, and 6 Carved Jade

Trade
CityBuysSells
Xiongnu12 Silk
12 Millet		12 Jade
Guangzhou24 Iron
12 Carved Jade
12 Wheat
24 Beancurd		24 Salt
12 Rice
12 Weapons
Chengdu24 Wheat
24 Weapons
12 Salt		36 Rice
12 Lacquerware
12 Silk
24 Wood
Yin24 Lacquerware
12 Ceramics		24 Beancurd
36 Millet
12 Hemp
Fuzhou24 Silk
24 Iron
12 Lacquerware
12 Weapons		24 Rice
12 Salt
24 Wood
Nanyue12 Fish
12 Weapons		12 Rice
12 Wood
12 Jade
Jiaozhou12 Millet
12 Wheat
12 Carved Jade
12 Weapons		12 Lacquer
12 Rice
12 Game meat
12 Hemp
Kashgar24 Silk
12 Salt
12 Lacquerware
12 Carved Jade		12 Spices
24 Jade
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