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    Default Re: Europa Universalis IV - After Action Report: Tibet

    Part 18: Tiny Tim, crippled again
    4th of August, 1580

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    Prince-Emperor Lhabzang Srong wins an overwhelming victory and is elected for a second term.



    After a brief speech, he almost immediately returns to his army's camp and is about to march out when suddenly interrupted by an urgent message from the Ministry of Defense. They announce that they've managed to develop (or maybe copy) an improved version of the arquebuses currently used by the troops. It works almost exactly the same, from the user's point of view at least, but fires much further and breaks less often. Intrigued, Srong orders them to distribute these new weapons among the troops and delays his attack by a few days to give them time to practice a little.



    They seem very useful. The attack is a success and the rebels are routed, but Tibet's exhausted reserves really couldn't afford any unnecessary losses right now.



    With the malcontents pacified, Srong heads back to the western front. The local terrain is a two-edged sword, as it means he can't really attack head-on either. In earlier wars, the Timurids have beaten themselves into submission by trying to assault well-fortified Tibetan positions. Hopefully that will happen again.

    Tibet's allies are finally arriving, though, and taking great risks by attacking weak positions in the enemy lines.



    Unfortunately, they are defeated by Timurid reinforcements, but the distraction is enough to allow Srong to wipe out the occupiers of Kangra.



    He chooses to stay there for a while, as the area has proven itself very defensible in the past. Attackers are driven away with ease.



    After months on inactivity, Srong finally decides to try and reclaim the occupied area around Delhi and actually manages to fend off another counterattack. However, the jungle simply isn't as effective a wall as the mountains, and he suffers painful losses in the battle.



    Over the next two years, multiple battles are fought for dominance of the Oudhi and Nepalese regions. The war seems to shift back and forth, but Tibet's allies are finally making themselves truly useful, having finally begun to learn their way around the area and stopped walking in circles. By April 1583, the Timurids actually agree to sign a peace and pay war reparations to Tibet. Surely they must be the world's laughing stock by now.



    Hopeful to finally alleviate Tibet's repeating problems with manpower and recruits, Srong spends most of the Crown Bank's on-hand treasury on better bases and new training camps around the nation. It won't do to run out of men in every bigger war they have to fight. The oft-requested improved forts are also commissioned, especially around the capital and the bloody western front. In addition, he promises (to himself; it's thus easier to break) not to go to war during the rest of his reign, both for practical and sentimental reasons. He has already accomplished his stated goals.

    He immediately makes ”an acceptable exception” to his promise by invading and annexing the single-state nation of Mewat, though. They had no defenses or allies, and the correct response to such a situation should basically be written into the Tibetan law books by now.



    Very simplistic, yet allegedly groundbreaking reforms are made to the agricultural system in Tibet.

    Advisor: ”So basically we want to teach them to use scythes, which are much more effective.”
    Srong: ”But haven't they been doing that for centuries already?”
    Advisor: ”Yes, precisely.”
    Srong: ”Well, uh... do what you must.”




    As many of the savvier locals had already predicted, Assam is fully integrated into Tibet with ”full support” from their nobility in 1585. As a voluntary vassal, they have been allowed to keep more independence than the others, but their King is now basically reduced to a merely nominal ruler.



    As a side note, though most attempts at diplomacy from Pegu's envoys have been habitually ignored for some time now, this is finally reconsidered as Pegu no longer even shares a border with Tibet and they have noble ties anyway.

    Tibet as a whole is benefiting from the construction boom, but nothing all that special really happens before it's time for another election in August 1588.



    Prince-Emperor Lhabzang Srong has already served for two terms, won multiple wars and achieved everything – no, more than he promised before his first auguration. He is happy to retire from the position, perhaps to become an army officer. He'd always liked leading from the front anyway, and the two term limit seems to have become convention by now.

    Dön-yö Tashi of the Heaven Electorate believes Tibet should focus on founding another Ministry, and that to do so, they obviously have to work on improving the bureaucracy and infrastructure needed. He doesn't consider himself above conquest, of course, and what remains of Bengal is actually looking rather juicy, but in general he subscribes to the previous Prince-Emperor's agenda of allowing the reserves to recover.

    Ngawang Tsewang of the Ocean Electorate has been traveling around the region and realized how out of date Tibet's once groundbreaking commercial infrastructure truly is, not to even mention the navy. Both of them must be expanded, and new innovations seeked out far more actively. If a new Ministry is to be founded, it too should finally focus on either trade or foreign relations.

    Lhawang Srong of the Earth Electorate, though growing impatient, grudgingly agrees that Tibet's reserves should be allowed to recover, but they've already reached a rather acceptable state. They mustn't give up the momentum they have in comparison to their neighbors! Conquering some more coastline from Orissa would be rather nice. Besides, having personally operated one, he believes that these ”muskets” as they've come to be called are the future of warfare, and is a vocal advocate of their further development and integration into all parts of the military.







    Vote for the next Prince-Emperor here! [CLOSED; click to view results]

    Author's notes
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    See you again soon, Timmy! Seriously though, they're actually sort of pathetic.

    I've noticed a tendency to favor the Earth Electorate and sort of shun the Ocean Electorate, and frankly, I do it myself. A lot. I guess that's pretty close to real life... warfare is much easier to be passionate about than economics. Besides, better ships are pretty much entirely pointless for us, in terms of technology, while better soldiers are critical.

    I often feel like these chapters are sort of too short. Maybe I should try writing more about event pop-ups, after all? I'll just have to try and choose the ones that actually fit into the text.
    Last edited by SilverLeaf167; 2014-09-25 at 10:05 AM.
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