Skip to content

Turbulent Winds - Iron and Earth

It is truly a vicious and troubled time that we live in, my lord. States devour other states much as an alligator swallows fish. Weakness means subjugation, and neither can be tolerated. To protect the city of Handan and the Kingdom of Zhao, you must see through to completion a critical portion of the long wall. Once finished you can rest more easily in its shadow. In the meantime -- beware! Violent enemies now ride the wind on fast new steeds, armed with iron weapons! Powerful new engines of war lay siege to unwary cities. If you study carefully 'The Art of War' and learn the ways of Sun Tzu, you will surely be better prepared for the trial you are about to face.
Deposits of iron ore must be shaped into strong weapons for our soldiers. Our farmers will even benefit, with more durable iron plows to better split the earth, increasing their output. Make good use of this new technology. You will find it important both of offence as well as defense.

Starts Feb 353 BCE

$17,000 Hard

Requirements:
  • Produce 10 bars of iron in one year
  • Rule 1 City
  • Complete Earthen Wall

The Great Chinese Wall... almost everybody knows what it is, but few can say "I built it!". If you play and win this mission, you can be one of them. This is not the famous stone wall yet, just an earthen wall which was later used as a foundation for its more famous successor, but what the heck... one should start from the more simple tasks. Not that this one would be too simple, LOL. On the other hand, once you learn the basics (don't spread the camps and artisans along the wall, keep everything central), the construction will proceed sometimes slowly, but all the time.

You shouldn't forget about some defenses. Once your military is strong, rivals won't be too eager to invade you - if you ignore military, you may have to bribe the invaders several times. If you have at least some armies, you should be able to handle all invasions (maybe with the aid of a few towers). I supposed the invasions will come from behind the wall (that's why we are building the wall, isn't it?), but it was the other way round. Soldiers invaded from SE! But that's OK - simply a rival city army was trying to show me who is the master - it wasn't a real enemy invasion.

Production goal (10 iron) is easy to meet, and to rule 1 city? Well, I ruled 2 and had 3 allies before the Wall was finished. At a certain point in game I decided to be more active in military and diplomacy than required, although otherwise I rather tend to ignore hints like "import weapons" or "build a strong army", unless it is vital for victory. If you leave enough troops at home, conquered cities don't rebel. Give them some cash or goods they need, and you'll soon have loyal subjects, sometimes even willing to wage war on your side.

Your greatest task is to build the Wall - you will need to construct three 'levels' to finish it. Each of them requires 90 wood, 90 dirt, and many carpenters and laborers to put the materials into place. Start early. Woodcutters have to go quite far once you start massive production of wood; be sure not to delete any trees in their working area.

About my city... the main part is located near entry point, in SE; only farms, a few industries and monument construction buildings are across the river. Nothing was built in the "enemy area", i.e. behind the Great Wall. Some elite housing will allow you to build more forts; I had 6 Impressive + 2 Humble Compounds in the final stage, and 9 forts - 3 of each available type. Not that I would really need that many, but there is enough place, lots of resources, and I felt that I should train a strong army when I'm supposed to stop barbarian attacks. Since there was enough time while waiting for the Great Wall to be finished, I collected 6 animals in my palace.

  • Finished Sep 341 BCE
  • Pop 3174
  • Best iron production – 25
  • Rule Ying and Ji
  • Allies: Qufu, Anyang, Anyi
  • $105,736
  • Feng Shui: Perfect harmony
BackIndexNext