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City States of Shang - Valley of Rice

The verdant lands along the humid shores of the Yangzi River are ideally suited for growing great quantities of rice. No doubt you will be able to sell large portions of the grain to the people along the Yellow River who, it seems, have developed quite a taste for the product. In fact, the King of Shang will probably even demand an annual stipend of rice; do not disappoint him! While your farmers wade about in rice paddies, do not neglect your military, as these are unsettled times. Although no overt threats to your city are expected, the King is likely to have use for well trained troops. Skilled acupuncturists are now available to help keep your citizens free from pain. Finally, a Splendid Temple should be constucted so that we can better teach these people of the south the wisdom of the filial ways of the Shang.

Starts Feb 1308 BCE

$7,000 Normal

Requirements:
  • Produce 40 sacks of Rice in one year
  • Splendid Temple
  • 800 in Ornate Apartments
Ornate Apartments hold 63 people and need
  • Water
  • Ancestral Shrine
  • Appetizing Food
  • Herbalist
  • Acupuncturist
  • Music
  • Acrobat
  • Hemp
  • Ceramics

Early on playing Emperor I experimented with a big square block instead of our famous rectangles. This is a largish map with plenty of resources and perfect for trying something new. So I planned for the square block I used in Shang 2. Six by six on the inside roads with room for the Admin City Building in the middle of the block works quite nicely. I didn't see much reason to have Elites or a Military in this episode, but that is up to you.

Since the immigrants and traders enter the map from the Northeast quadrant, I placed my block and trading on the east side of the map. There are some rocks and dirt in the middle of the map that make nice Feng Shui for the trading posts and some industry. You can grow your rice and hemp almost anywhere.

You will get a gift of food very early in the game. Fish and game meat will feed the folks for a long time, just don't forget to place a bridge for the hunters to use to cross the river. It might be a good idea to place the Mill fairly close to the fishing quays to maximize production. I think I sold my first few years' rice crop and just fed the folks Plain food.

Here is the way I laid out my city of Panlongcheng:

After I got my food industry going and the housing set up, I started making and selling Ceramics to anyone who would buy it.

Next came importing a bit of bronze from Baijo to start up a Bronzeware industry. You might try to go slow if money is a problem. You have to sell a LOT of rice and Ceramics to make any money. But, on the other hand, you can't take money with you from city to city, so you just don't want to go broke.

Don't wait too long to start the monument. You can start chopping wood early and storing it in a warehouse near the monument. This monument doesn't have any burial goods to worry about, but I still like to keep the monument disconnected from the city. Otherwise the wood and clay just wanders around and is never where you need it. And someone might need some wood.

Eventually you will have to feed your own people Rice as the third food (Appetizing) but you should be making some money from exporting Bronzeware and even Carved Jade if you have the laborers.

The chance you take with no military is someone always wants troops and you don't have any to send. In my experience, half the time they complain the troops were "too weak" or some such nonsense, so I just don't bother to send any. Of course, the city might get destroyed or captured and you can no longer trade with them. Or worse, you get attacked and you have to pay a big bribe, but that didn't happen here. But if you hurry, you can meet the goals before any long-term damage occurs.

  • Finished October 1303
  • Best Rice Production 47
  • 2383 in Ornate Apartments
  • $13,578
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