World Conquest Online

Shang Yang headed towards the western side of the map room, spreading his arms out wide as he did so. Subutai and Crassus headed towards him, whilst Lucius and Xun Yu stood beside Dom who was now at the south of the map.

"The North is one option, conquering Tongpai Lake. But, we know that even further north is our trade hub that Crassus is founding. We also have the natural barriers of the Lake and the Mountain Pass. So in my opinion this is the worst option and should be discounted. If we can Ally with our Neighbours on the Lake, we have a natural defended border" Shang Yang explained, before turning to Subutai.

"Which leaves three other options, the North West, between the Fork split in the Calm River. It’s unexplored and could hide many dangers. Personally I think this should be an exploration in the future, but not land that we should look to prioritise conquering. It would make our outer border too long and exposed for now. Ideally we can conquer and reclaim any buildings from aggressive settlements." Subutai continued.

"It has always been a problem for expanding Kingdoms." Crassus agreed, "Natural borders are a big help in that regard. As Subutai said we should still explore, the only way we can grow quick is by conquest."

"Natural Borders are great, the other solution is a very big wall." Xun Yu added. "We have several mines, but I doubt we have the manpower for anything grand currently."

"The other two options are the main ones. South West, past the San People and in to the continent below. It is a similar situation to the North West expansion, but when we get to the stage to expand the South will be in a better situation." Subutai explained.

"The best option is to go directly West, past the Valley and the Westwood Fort." Shang Yang finished. "None of this is important for now, but these are all options that we need to take in to consideration. They will impact where we place our next Towns and Military Arrangements."

"If we can deal with both the San, the People of the Cove and clear the ancient Towns within the Red Woods. The South will be secured, similar to the North. This will make it much easier to redeploy our forces along the Western Border, as long as we have a strong Naval presence on the East Coast." Subutai explained.

"Giving us the opportunity to grow internally and continue to grow our forces before we look outwards." Shang Yang agreed.

"So, if we do everything as planned, this is the borders of our new Kingdom?" Dom asked, looking down at the map below him. The whole of the North of the land surrounded by the Calm River through to the Fork that split and towards Tongpai Lake, with the Mountain Pass between the Lake and the Sea as a natural border. The South would be all that was covered by the Sea, through to the San People of the Southern Grasslands, with the Mountain and Valley as a natural western Border, with the Westwood Fort as the deciding line.

It was a lot of land, similar in size to that of a small country. Dom could only calculate it based on the time it took a Legionary to walk, Crassus had explained to Dom that Legionaries could normally march almost thirty kilometres a day when on at a standard march. Based on that Dom had to guess, but the North Continent was close to four days wide and three days long or one hundred and twenty kilometres wide and around ninety high. Whilst the Southern Continent would be even larger, at six days wide and four days long, closer to one hundred and eighty kilometres wide and one hundred and twenty high. The Land wasn’t exactly a rectangle though, with mountains, forests, lakes and natural curves that changed it’s shape.

They currently had three Towns and three Forts, that covered hardly any of the land that they planned to claim. Dom felt that they were being greedy, but if they didn’t claim it then maybe someone else would.

"I do have a worry." Dom said honestly, as the others turned to him. Thinking of other Role Playing or Kingdom Building games that he had played. "Once we declare the Kingdom, what if there is a challenge to defend our lands to prove we are worthy of them. I doubt it, but it is a possibility?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Then we retreat all of our forces to Riverside. Temporarily Abandon all Forts and Towns, and then destroy what ever is the challenge and reclaim everything." Subutai stated seriously, as he looked around the map himself. "We would probably need to invite the San and those in the Cove if we choose to approach them in that way as well. If we knew what or who was attacking, it would be easier to plan."

"This is just a thought and may not happen." Dom replied, putting his hands up to calm the room. "I am just thinking of worst case situations."

"We have been working on renovating the Underground Ancient City in to a useable base, so we shall put more effort in to that as a defensive measure." Lucius added, his tone also serious.

"Let’s continue as planned for now, and see what happens." Dom ordered, realising that he his simple thought had caused some potential unnecessary ripples.

"Our other option for growth, is once we have declared the Kingdom and completed our current objectives. We create a large raiding Army." Subutai explained, "They travel either to the South West or the West, conquering and claiming as much resource, buildings and Civilians as possible. Tomoe, Tomyris, Gan Ning, Liao Hua and Sun Ce are all suitable generals for this. It has worked for me in the past and I believe it would work again."

"It is an important option, otherwise we may stagnate." Lucius agreed, "Keep our Allies closer to our borders, and use them as a natural defence against anyone further. Then we can concentrate on our internal development."

"It makes sense to me." Dom smiled, believing that a plan was now in place. If they claimed all of this land, this would become one large Kingdom Building Game, with his raiding Armies travelling outside of his Map to conquer and claim resources for the internal growth. "Then now that we have agreed our plan, what is on our list Xun Yu."

"I believe, based on everything discussed and priorities, our next steps are as follows: Visit Gan Ning and Tomyris, before exploring the final tile and with that hopefully clearing our North. Whilst there, we also need to agree a plan on the Cave Systems. We have discussed using the Glow Stones from the Underground Ancient City if we choose to explore them, or we could block them in for a longer time. Secondly we need to meet the San people with Liao Hua and agree our approach with them, be that as a long term Ally or new Citizens." Xun Yu replied, explaining the long list of notes he had wrote. "Thirdly, we need to visit the Cove and deal with the Village there, either via land or ship. Fourth, we need to explore the abandoned overgrown Towns in the Red Woods. Then we need to explore the south by ship, the San are now a natural Barrier, but there could be allies beyond. Finally we need to claim the borders and complete that particular part of the quest."

"Is there anything else?" Dom asked as he looked around the room, his list growing and him realising that his time was going to be very busy over the coming weeks.

"We have two Golden Tokens to use, so we should use one of those. There is also the arrival of your friend and his mercenaries." Lucius added as he also contemplated the next steps.

"Ideally, you should also travel north with me. If we can set up a meeting with the Lord there, we could establish some permanent alliances." Crassus stated, "Otherwise I think that is everything."

"Somehow, we also need to establish at least two or three more towns in the North, with watch towers around our borders." Subutai laughed, not at his words but at the amount of work piling up. "As well as build a defensive structure at the Mountain Pass north of Sun Ce’s position."

"We then need to establish multiple Towns in the south, grow and train our military, create alliances and defend the borders." Shang Yang finished, "So only a few things to do then. We need more Domestic Heroes to support managing the internal expansion."

"With that information, I think the plan should be as follows: We will clear the North with Gan Ning and Tomyris first, as this is the most important task. We can not have any potential unknown dangers in our back yard. We also need to fully dominate the Tongpai Lake and meet with the North Tongpai Lake Towns." Dom began.

"Lady Meritamen has had some initial success, but she will need to fill you in on that fully." Crassus interrupted, before allowing Dom to continue.

"Thank you Marcus, I will speak with her when she returns." Dom replied kindly, happy that progress was being made. If he could Ally himself with the Trade City to the North and be on good terms with those in the Tongpai Lake, he could fully focus on the south. "Before we head to the South, we will use one of the Golden Tokens, hopefully this will help bring us in some necessary resources."

"I think that is a great idea, who should we call back for that?" Subutai stated as he looked down at the Map in front of him, walking around the Northern land as he talked.

"Bring back Tomoe as Qin Ming can continue to Monitor the Cove, and he can work with Liao Hua and Huang Xin to solidify the South." Dom replied, "Also bring back Banas and a large amount of the Horse Archers, they are one of our best units and depending on the quest scope, they could be needed."

"I’ll have a messenger sent." Xun Yu added, taking a note on his parchment. "I will request she returns within the next week, as I expect that will be the earliest opportunity for us to use it."

"I agree, thank you Xun Yu." Dom said, before continuing. "We will also recall Gan Ning after we have finished in the North, and Sun Ce. Get them both to bring their best units. Hopefully it is of the scope of the Battle of Kadesh."

"Hua Rong, Tomyris and the Halberd Twins can defend the Northern Borders in their absence. However, you did promise Tomyris you would take her next time." Subutai mentioned.

"I did promise her didn’t I." Dom replied, his mind thinking of solutions. "Recall Tomyris as well, but send Xun Yan to replace her and Gan Ning at Mountview Fort. We will also need to recall Xun You, but I expect he will be on route to join us anyway."

"He wouldn’t want to miss it." Xun Yu agreed, himself wanting to attend if there was a need for his skills.

"After we have completed that quest and used our rewards, we will then deal with the south. We will Deal with the San people first, then the Cove, and then the abandoned Towns last as they are not going to be going anywhere if we leave them a bit longer." Dom laughed, a plan now formed in his head of the next steps. "We can then visit the North Trading City before I head on my Southern Exploration."

"Very well, we have a plan. Let’s get to work planning it." Shang Yang stated seriously, the elderly statesmen trying to end the meeting so the long list of tasks could begin. Dom may have said what he wanted to do, but each task meant a mountain of work with redirecting resources such as Warriors, Food and Equipment.