[SPOILERS] Chevalier Mal Fet and Marcopolothefraud lead a Soviet Down Under

[marcopolothefraud]

Sorry for the lack of reporting last turn. If you've read the PBEM21 forum, you'll notice I've had a very busy weekend, and I expect some of my responsibilities to continue into the week. (Can any of you proofread a 3000 word history essay? :D)

I think the Renaissance Era starts in 9 turns, but I'm 5 era score short of a Normal Age. Should I just gun for a Dark Age this turn, and try to find a benefit? Off the top of my head I can't think of any good Dark Age policies, except Monasticism, which probably isn't available anymore.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

A Dark Age wouldn't be bad. Off the top of my head, Twilight Valor would give your caravels +5 attack, Isolationism would buff your domestic routes by +2/2 (but no new cities, so you'd have to wait until you'd settled everything), and Letters of Marque grants you +100% towards Privateers (stacks with everything else) at the cost of halving trade route yields. Then you'd land a heroic industrial, with any luck.

how's your income? You won't be able to afford even 3 modern ships with +5 per turn, are there any gold-producing tiles you can work to get it up, or foreign routes (say, to Borodino or something) you can run?

Finally, I'm not an English teacher with a history streak, I literally am a history teacher who sometimes dabbles in teaching English. :D

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Turn 131




Era ends on turn 141, and we should be good for a golden age. 7 points to go, guaranteed at least 6 from my wonder and my splendid Industrial Zone due, and the last point can come from anywhere. So no worries. Notifications - the barb sword pillaged the mine (asshole), sub shot at my frigate (fair), a hurricane is raging near Norway (too bad it didn't hit Norway), and Victor (not Magnus) is established in GAGA. 




Start the turn following the notifications to hit the barb sword. I will need to heal up before heading into the tundra in pursuit (I know of more barbs prowling around down there), and I must think about a builder purchase. I could swap in Liang and get a 4-charge builder, possibly. I would improve, let's see...well, chop the forest (with Magnus, the original reason I brought him here) into the campus, and then I dunno, maybe a farm triangle up near Ushakov to grow it into its harbor. Eh, I must budget the Sakhalin invasion first. I'm up to 3 knights, although I haven't the iron for it. That's my main limiter on land units at the moment. 

Next, my frigate limps home to repair and I reduce Skies' walls:




Note Sub's crossbow upgrade - that's 250 gold out and 1.5 caravels he WON'T be upgrading, in return for slightly inconveniencing my frigates. I really don't understand his attachment to land units in a naval game - he spent over 400 hammers on walls on this island, even though walls can't do anything more than slow down an attack, not stop it. Similarly he keeps spending his Valetta faith on walls and civilian purchases, not jongs, when hulls are what he needs right now. I'm a little sad sub will probably lose monumentality in a few turns, since I'd LOVE for him to keep buying builders and whatnot instead of ships. Alas. 

First Fleet reaches its holding position and will need to maintain itself here for 3 turns. That's a long time to wait, longer than I'd like - maybe I c an keep up the galley raids to keep Indochina's attention distracted?




There's a real danger of discovery here. China is up to 4/5 frigates and many galleys, but neither Roland nor Sub can yet enter deep ocean or upgrade Caravels, and they keep spending their gold on other things. Their niter income is a trickle, too, so once I'm through this wave of upgraded units that should more or less be that as far as naval opposition is concerned. 

The last of my units are on their way:




There will be a 5-turn interruption in ship service while I get out essential infra builds - 2 more lighthouses for +40 gpt courtesy of Woden, and 2 IZs for my designated factory cities. Then we'll do another round of Caravels most likely, while the niter supplies go to the Eastern yards, and then those that need it will do a second round of infra. The attack on Sakhalin will commence as soon as those two frigates are in position to join the bombardment - I want to knock out the walls in a single turn, since sub has a jong in the city and would be able to sink a frigate otherwise. 

Up north at Good Time the Second Squadron keeps sub's attention:




My hope is he'll think my frigate blow is going to fall here and this is where he concentrates his defending ships and wall purchases. We WILL attack, but only a few turns AFTER the attack on Sakhalin starts. It's a rolling offensive to make the best use of all my ships and keep sub's attention divided too many ways. 

Similarly, my Third Squadron creeps into Chinese home waters:




I intend to set course northwest for Mitla and upgrade a caravel or two before commencing my raids, for vision and escort. If I had the gold I'd upgrade all 6, but the First Squadron has dibs. 

Abroad, the Phoenician-English slugfest continues, as Archduke dropped a devastating 500 points last turn, while ljubljana fell 150. He barely has a margin of superiority now, and no Phoenician cities have fallen, so this is probably it for that team. Woden also has pillaged 5 mines, 2 quarries, and a lighthouse for something like 1200 gold and a buttload of faith, science, and even some culture, which is what he SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING AS NORWAY ALL ALONG. Glad he wasn't doing it during the Ancient or Classical Eras, thank God. I DO think there's a slight bias in the score in ljub's favor from my perspective - military scores update at the start of your turn, and so Archdukes' counterstroke, if it exists, hasn't been reflected in Phoenicia's score yet but ljub's latest blow on England has. So I'm hoping it's not quite as one-sided as it appears. 

Anyway, it looks like my game-winning attack will need to fall on Norway/Phoenicia, probably with ironclads and perhaps battleships. We will see if we can make that happen in 30-50 turns. 

Overview of Fuji:




Man, FUCK that barb. Go AWAY - literally ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE TWO TILES YOU HAVE BEEN HAUNTING, JERK. 

Russia:




Printing in next turn. Science will shoot up 12 points over the next 2 turns as I finish 3 more universities, putting me at 140 to my nearest competitor's 115 - and 8 turns after that my two closest competitors will collapse, leaving...China, at 107, closest. My science advantage in raw numbers is nearing China's cultural advantage. 

Speaking of, I think most of that is from the Great Wall at Ryan Kent, Steve Davis, and Glenn Kamara. My frigate assault should knock out the vast majority of China's culture edge. I'm not too worried, although I'm jealous of it and of China's unbreakable hold on Antananarivo, which can't be murdered from the sea as far as I can tell so that's just a cool +15% to him for all time.  

Svalbard:




That campus build time stings a lot. Not sure how to bring it down, though, there's very few good production tiles on that half of the island. The lavra is doing all it can. 

Sakhalin front:




And bonus, every single Norwegian city has now been revealed, I'm going to wrap up defogging his tiles now:




We now know more or less everything that Woden's up to.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Well, so much for that. Ljubljana apparently considers the WC sufficiently complex that he needs to consult Woden on it, so no turn today...or tomorrow, at this rate. 

Marco, here are my thoughts on every possible resolution so you can skip my input and get on with things:


Mercenary Companies

Production favors us, since we have max production in the game but poor gold. Faith is also acceptable, but would benefit Indonesia's shipbuilding, too. 

Luxury Policy

Sea turtles was clutch, do that again!

Trade Policy

We could both benefit from an extra trade route/+4 gpt. Australia needs the gold and could send them to RUssia, or could get the extra trade route and I send to you. Either way.

Governance Doctrine

Never seen this, but promoting Victor right now for the war. 

Policy Treaty

Press Gangs or Conscription seem like a no-brainer, if this comes up. 

Treaty Organization

Nerf Antananarivo, obviously.

Public Relations

Make Ljubljana or someone generate extra grievances, sub totally tanked his favor attacking us. 

Military Advisory

Ranged units (ranged naval) if possible, since frigates vs. cities is what's most important right now. Buffing melee buffs the other teams equally. 

World Religion

Totally irrelevant in multiplayer. Whatever you feel like, honestly, who cares. 

Urban Development Treaty

Harbors would be great - shipyards for me, harbors and lighthouses for Australia's nascent economy. Holy Sites would be cheeky for your new settles but not as useful, I think.

Border Control Treaty

Australian border pops sound good. Or you could nerf an enemy's border expansion - Phoenicia, Norway, or Indochina would be preferred targets. 

Patronage

Either double scientists or no Great admiral points again, hopefully ljubljana learned his lesson last time. 

Sovereignty

Nerf Antananarivo, obviously, Roland has a deathgrip on it and it's buffing his culture to an unhealthy degree.

[marcopolothefraud]

Why does Woden have so many encampments? What use do they *really* have on a water-based map?

Ljubljana seems to be heavily carrying the team here, just like you're also carrying our team...

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Well, the save hasn't made it past Roland, so we're losing TWO days for this wretched World Congress mechanic (I hate how it takes an entire extra turn). In lieu of a turn, a bonus post:

It's May 18, today. That doesn't mean much, to most of you, but it's an important date. Today marks 41 years since the Gwangju Uprising began against the militarist dictatorship ruling South Korea. The rebellion and its bloody suppression served as a rallying point for years for Korean democratic activists, who eventually succeeded in toppling the regime and creating one of the more successful democracies in the world today.

I've been living in Gwangju, the site of the rebellion, and the memorials of it are all around me, but the entire event - bloodier than Tiananmen Square, and more successful - has been mostly forgotten in the West. So, starting today, and for the next few days (weeks?) I want to make some effort posts to bring that story more to light. It's a lot of reading, so stick around if you want, get a cup of tea, and join me in the comments. Thanks for reading.

Part One: The Quiet Cemetery
It’s quiet at the May 18 National Cemetery.

Oh, there’s the sound of running water, from the fountains that line the massive pavilion at the center. You can hear the sound of early spring birds on this bright clear day in April. The wind whispers gently through the trees on the hills looking down on the graves. But otherwise…tranquility.

This is a rare thing, in Korea.

In the United States, I think we take quiet for granted. There are places you can go without the sounds of people filling the streets, with no military jets flying overhead, without the constant buzz of moped delivery drivers racing down the streets and sidewalks. Sometimes, late at night, you don’t hear the engine noise, of the noraebangs and clubs blasting their music into the alleyways. The alarms of garage gates and traffic crossings, the deep rumble of bus engines, and the unending chatter and laughter of thousands of people out and about at all times – well, in the USA you can be free of that.

Not so here. I don’t know about the Korean countryside, but in Gwangju, in Cheomdan, my neighborhood, the city does not sleep. Every hour of every day is filled with the noisy business of human life, as people hurry about their work, about their play, about their lives. You get used to it after a while, but you also forget what quiet sounds like.

Unless you come out here, to the cemetery.

It sits outside the city, this place of martyrs. A few miles from the heart of downtown, in the midst of the encircling mountains about Gwangju, a placid garden of serenity has been carved out of the landscape. It sits in a bowl, with most of the tombstones on the hillside (as is the Korean fashion). A few outbuildings and museums surround a massive central plaza, ringed in fountains that sparkle in the springtime sun. There are gardens, and trees, and flowers – not in bloom yet, but soon they will open up and this place will explode into color.

At the center of the plaza stands a large sculpted tower, twin spires gently compassing a bronze torch one hundred and thirty feet above the ground. To either side of the tower are carved reliefs of human figures – people holding signs, building barricades, gathered around a lone speaker standing atop a massive fountain – and some clutching rifles. Nearby is a statue of a jeep, of all things. Around and on the jeep stand more figures in bronze, young people in ordinary clothing, their fists upraised in defiance, flags and rifles held in their hands. Behind, carved messages in Korean English line a stone wall, proclaiming the story of these martyrs.




Beyond that lies the graves.

There are hundreds of them, small barrows standing in neat lines along the hillside. Row upon row they wind back up the hill. They are covered in neatly trimmed grass, most with fresh flowers lying before them. Every barrow – dolmen, they’re called –  has a small gravestone in front of it. Printed neatly and humbly in Korean characters is a person’s name, and their place, and time of death. The dates are all similar – mid to late May, 1980. Many have crosses carved into them. Some have bowls of incense in front of them, and some of those are even lit. All are lovingly cared for. But the most powerful part, at least for me, are the photos.



In front of nearly every dolmen there is a photo. Black and white, for the most part. Faces of every age and description smile out from them. Here a young college boy, his goofy grin framed by the long, tousled locks that were the style of the day. There a dignified professor sits in his carefully maintained serenity, in his best suit and his too-large glasses. A middle aged woman with a gentle smile and the calm, sensible hairstyle of her time. Every photo a snapshot of a place and time – Korea, in 1980. Every single one there to remind you that behind this tombstone is a person. A person with their own story, their likes and dislikes. Maybe a boy who had scarcely thought about what he would wear for his school photo that day. Here a young woman caught in the act of laughing with her friends – no official photo. Maybe this is the only one of her that survives? The only record of her left in this world, here, in this quiet little cemetery on this quiet little hill outside the big noisy city.

Some of the graves, of course, have no photos at all. Just a name, perhaps a cross and a date.

They are just as well-cared for as the others.

In total, there are 482 people who rest here. This was not their original location – the military dictatorship that murdered them would never allow such a place of honor for those who died battling their regime. No, this place was established in 1993, following the democratization of Korea. As the new government sought to atone for the sins of the past, the bodies of the honored dead were exhumed and brought out here, to be re-entombed and remembered forever. The entire May 18th National Cemetery stands as a memorial and a museum for those who gave their lives in the Gwangju Uprising of 1980. In Gwangju, it is a famous place.

But not outside Korea, curiously enough. This cemetery, which preserves the mortal remains of more people than were killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre, is virtually unknown in the wider world. The West as a whole knows virtually nothing about the Gwangju Uprising – at least, I did not, and if you will permit me a small moment of egotism, I know a fair bit more about world history than the average Westerner.



I’m not sure why that should be so. Korea itself hails the Uprising as the start on the country’s long road to democracy. At the time, reporters from all over the world gathered here to carry the news from the city to the wider world. But it has since been overshadowed by other revolutions – again, the best parallel I can think of is Tiananmen Square, where pro-democracy protestors were crushed by the Chinese regime. The same happened here, but the protestors were more successful – for a while. And more of them ultimately died.

We forget, I think, because it is inconvenient, sometimes, to remember. It’s inconvenient that a US ally murdered hundreds of its own citizens in order to prop up a tinpot regime that seized power in the midst of a military coup. It’s inconvenient that the troops doing the murdering were there with the tacit approval and active complicity of the United States. At the time, it was easier to accept the regime’s narrative of “riots” and Communist agitators than to court a crisis with a key Cold War bastion, at a time when Russians were invading Afghanistan, when Iran had seized our embassy, and the entire country was undergoing a crisis of confidence. So, in the United States, and by proxy the rest of the West, there is almost no popular memory of a week in Gwangju 40 years ago, a sunny, warm May much like this one, when an entire city threw out a modern, well-trained army and kept them out for days.



I had heard of the story when I came, and memories of the uprising are everywhere around the city, but I didn’t know the details. So, one day, to sate my curiosity, I made my way out here. I would learn, and hey, maybe it would make a good blog post one day. It wound up being much more than that.

The first thing I noticed, of course, was the quiet. That was rare, and it instantly impressed upon me a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt in months. Then, of course, you notice the pillars, and the sculpture. This is not the sort of monument you build to a mere riot.

What struck me most, like I said, was the photos. It is easy, I think, to forget that the names in history books – if they make into history books at all, which most do not – are people. Row upon row, their faces gazed out at me across 40 years. Still young, still with those eyes full of hope, the infectious grins that I’ve seen on young people all over the world – I am young, and my whole life is in front of me, and this is a good time to be alive. College students, mostly, mixed in with their professors and other civilians. Going to school, working towards degrees, towards one day jobs, families of their own. The future. Most of them will always be young, now. Growing old – this is not their fate.

And that was what got me. Because most of these people knew the risks they were taking. They knew that to protest the regime meant death, for many. Not even police dogs and firehoses, not tear gas, but actual bullets and grenades. It would be easy to keep your head down, to not join in, to preserve that entire bright shining future and just get on with your life. But the 482 people here, along with many others – the total numbers of the dead are not known, even today. The total numbers who participated in the uprising can never be known – made the choice to place those futures on the line, to stand up, take their chances, for the simple right to govern themselves.

The same basic impulse that drove colonists in Boston and Virginia 250 years ago, the same that would sweep across the communist nations of Europe 10 years after the uprising – just the simple assertion that I will govern my own life, and no others. It’s a cause worth fighting for, to be sure, and these people did, and backed up their principles with their lives.

And we have forgotten them.

In a few days, it will be the 40th anniversary of the May 18th Gwangju Uprising. The city here is being steadily engulfed in the preparations to mark the occasion. Many Koreans are working hard on art projects, on posters and films, on documentaries and essays and poems, to memorialize the dawn of their democratic movement. But I don’t know much of that will exist in English. There’s actually surprisingly little material in English to work with – a few poorly translated books, vague encyclopedia articles, and outdated (and misinformed) news reports from the time.

Well, let this, then, be my small contribution to the history of Gwangju. I stood in front of the rows upon rows of dolmen, and I promised them that I, at least, would learn their story. And do my best to share it with others. For a brief while, perhaps, these happy young college kids and the ordinary people of 41 years ago can live again. And the sacrifice that they made so that others might live freely can – even if only in a small corner of the Internet – be remembered.

[marcopolothefraud]

Thanks for that writeup, CMF. As a kid growing up in the 2010's and 20's, I'm really worried that democracy might be quickly disappearing from the world.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

You do know that bonus only applies to religious combat and maybe warrior monks, right? :P 99% on this.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Why does Woden have so many encampments? What use do they *really* have on a water-based map?

Ljubljana seems to be heavily carrying the team here, just like you're also carrying our team...

I don't know why people invest so much into walls and encampments. You spend a whole bunch of production (hundreds, in some cases) to make your enemy take an extra two turns to capture your city. That same production could go to a unit to defend the city instead. Like, all of sub's island cities have walls, oh darn. Imagine how much worse it'd have been if he'd trained 14 galleys with the production he used on those walls and sent them along with his jongs?

[marcopolothefraud]

You do know that bonus only applies to religious combat and maybe warrior monks, right? :P 99% on this.

Ahh, crap.