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Refilling the Coffers

For forty years, the battles of the Three Kingdoms raged on. At last, in 263 CE, your father led the troops of the Wei emperor Yuandi to victory over the kingdom of Shu. Only the kingdom of Wu in southern China now stands between you and a reunited China.
However, Emperor Yuandi was too weak to finish the job. It requires a strong leader like yourself, Sima Yuan. You have therefore "inherited" the leadership of Wei ("usurp" is such an ugly word). Your first job is to rebuild the Imperial treasury, which has been shattered by the years of warfare. Only 5000 cash remain. Our capital city of Luoyang can produce fine silk, and with the help of imported lacquer from our vassal at Chengdu, lacquerware as well. Use these luxurious goods to help refill the coffers of the Wei treasury.
Once we have a healthy economy, we can turn south and begin the final conquest of Wu. Save plenty of space in your city, Sima Yuan, we want to have room to enlarge it when we return from the south.

City - Luoyang
Starts Feb 265 CE
5000 starting cash at Normal

Requirements:
  • Population of 2000
  • Splendid Temple must be built
  • 1000 people in Ornate Apartment or better
  • Treasury of 20000




Housing Limit : Ornate Apartment (no tea), Impressive Compound (no tea or drama)
Food : Soybean (bean curd), Cabbage, Millet, Wheat
Resources : Hemp, Raw Silk, Clay, Iron
Products : Steel, Ceramics, Lacquerware, Silk, Paper, Carved Jade, Mint, Weapons

Before starting the mission, there are several things to think about. 1) The starting fund is much smaller than most other missions, making a profit an early priority. 2) You will be returning to the city in the third mission, where the goals will require careful layout to fit everything in. 3) You have a vassal (Chengdu), which means having a fort or two in the first few game years or risk rebellion. 4) You will have to import wood, for monument construction, lacquerware making, and firing the steel furnaces.

With those in mind, let's look at the map. Immigrants and traders will enter at the main road to the north and exit to the west. There are already walls, gatehouses and towers. Since money is tight, I decided to work with the existing roads and walls as much as possible. I placed my housing blocks (common and later elite) within the walls. The area to the northeast of these, near the entrance, and to the northwest of the main road, I saved for the third mission goals. The area to the south west of the walls and near the exit point is a good area for silkworm sheds, industries and trading posts. South of the river is a large area with plenty of ideal cropland for your food and hemp farms.

You start this mission with all the trade partners you need already opened. Don't bother with Jiankang (your enemy) or the Xiongnu. Both are displeased. Neither one has nor wants anything that you can't get or sell to someone else with less trouble. Later on, when you have money, send spies to sabotage the military of both. Your trade partners can sell you wood, lacquer, weapons and jade, and will buy silk, lacquerware, and carved jade.

Since the starting funds are so low, I approached this mission differently than I normally would. In the first year, I concentrated on using my first workers for moneymaking industries rather than producing food. I imported rice for my housing and placed 2 silkworm sheds instead of using the labor for a farm. At the time of the first harvest of raw silk, I placed 2 weavers, trying for 4 total by the last harvest. Try to get your hemp farm going this first year. You'll need some soon for housing. Add a paper maker if you have the extra labor. Paper will be needed soon enough for taxes and makes a good homage for the Ancestors. Cash permitting, you can also import jade and sell the finished carvings for a nice profit. At the start of the second year, you can start farming (2 may be needed by now) and once your first harvest comes in you can stop importing rice.

Now that there is some money coming in, its time to think about the military. You have 2 choices. You can import weapons or you can make them. There is iron ore south of the river, but it has salamanders nearby and needs imported wood for the furnace. A tower would take care of the former, but that also means manning the 2 gatehouses and 3 towers that already exist. If you do make steel, I would suggest keeping it separate from the rest of your city with a warehouse set to get wood and an accepting warehouse in the main city. Based on the above, I decided to buy weapons instead. To cover the cost, I built 4 lacquerware makers and imported lacquer and wood. Next, I placed my Admin City and began my first infantry fort. At the end of the second year, with a fort well on the way you can think about planting more mulberry trees to sell more silk, starting the monument and upgrading housing. Although not required by the mission, it's a good idea to place some elite housing to make tax income and allow more forts.

As far as events, Chengdu is a very needy vassal, requesting money in the third year and weapons in the fourth. The Xiongnu will demand silk in the third year and every 3 years thereafter. I gave them what they wanted, but if you want to test your army, refuse their demands.

  • Finished : Aug CE 273 (8-½ years)
  • Population : 2262 in 34 Ornate Apts. and 6 Impressive Compounds
  • Monument : Splendid Temple with 2 labor camps, 1 carpenter and 1 ceramist
  • Treasury : 69006 cash
  • Military : 2 infantry, 2 cavalry
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