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Turbulent Winds - Edge of Ordos

To the west, in the great loop of the mighty Yellow River, the arid Ordos Desert serves as a less than secure buffer from the troublesome nomads of the Northern Waste. Our clever ruler, Xuan Wang, has devised a simple plan: outposts shall be established in the Ordos region. These shall serve both to warn of barbarian incursions and to exploit the area's resources. Though the land is dry it is not barren. Deposits of salt and copper are present, if not plentiful. Smelt the copper to bronze and fashion weapons.
Wood is scarce, and must be imported, but that is understandable given the conditions. Using irrigation, your farmers should be able to grow enough millet, and hunters catch enough game to feed the population. Settlers venturing into the desert should watch for predators. Scouts report that fearsome bears have ventured south from their home in the Gobi. They are not to be trifled with!
One last thing: The King can spare one company of charioteers or one of infantry, but not both. Choose wisely!

Starts Feb 823 BCE

$13,000 Hard

Requirements:
  • 2000 population
  • 10 racks of weapons in one year
  • 1500 in Elegant Dwelling
Elegant Dwellings hold 52 people each and need
  • Ancestral Shrine
  • Appetizing Food
  • Herbalist
  • Music
  • Hemp
  • Ceramics

If you play the campaigns in chronological order, this will be your first desert mission. Water table is limited to the immediate vicinity of river, grassland has low fertility - make sure you irrigate your farms. No elite housing, no acrobats. Also featuring for the first time Saiga antelopes and Gobi bears. As opposed to Yogi bear, these are dangerous and have the habit of following your hunters over the entire map, right into the city (if that's where you have hunter tents). Hunters shoot at bears and are able to kill them, if more hunters fight the same animal. I built 4 hunter tents, so there were always several hunters walking around and they were quite successful. Guards will kill any bear they meet on the streets, but won't leave the road to fight or look for the animals. They simply have to walk right into one of them to start fighting.

Biggest problem is food - you only can produce millet in large amounts. Game meat production is hampered by bears, they kill both antelopes and hunters. To meet the housing goal, you need appetizing food, so you should produce salt and import wheat. Be ready for a gift of wheat during the first half year, and don't hesitate to ask for more later, if you need it. Another way to improve your city's food situation is to summon Nu Wa and ask her to bless hunters.

Bronze and clay are your main resources. If you take troubles to open trade with Anyi, you can export ceramics - I didn't. This mission is even quicker than the previous one, so I only exported bronzeware (and carved jade to Anyang, as always). I didn't have any problems with money, funds never dropped into red numbers.

I was afraid bears would attack cartpushers bringing salt from salt mines, but it never happened (at least I never saw it happen, and had no problems with sudden loss of production). Probably they don't like to eat salted meat... Well, if you would want to avoid bears altogether, you can try this: open trade with Wu, import salt and 2 kinds of food from them (and sell them weapons, if you need money). Then you don't have to build any hunters or salt mines; enough copper to meet the weapon production goal can be mined in the peaceful southern area. I don't think it is easier, the bears aren't that terrible and you could have problems with money playing this way, but still it's an alternative.

  • Finished July 818 BCE
  • Population 2125
  • 2125 in Elegant Dwellings
  • Best weapon production – 16
  • $10,575
  • Feng Shui: Perfect harmony

Mission briefing mentions several things a governor should do which I have deliberately ignored: I was told to choose wisely between charioteers and infantry, and I was informed that "wood must be imported". It seemed to me that I can finish the mission without military and taxes, so I didn't build Administrative City at all. I don't have any special reason for that decision, I simply wanted to try... and it worked.

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