Part 38: 1560-1579, The Calm before the Storm.

We have to pull our troops off the colonies, and things go badly for the colonists almost immediately.



We are able to form a decent size army and strike back at the Romans.



Our fleet is forced into the open water when their port is taken, the Byzantine Navy sets on them almost immediately.







We cannot go on fighting three enemies at once, the Byzantines can have Alexandria. For Now.







The Abyssininans, not being able to take any usable territory off the Abbasids, peace out. The Golden Horde has begun to attack the latter, so they have been forced to pull their troops out of our lands.



This is quickly followed by a white peace from the Abbasids. They cannot fight to massive Empires at once, and we are racking up debt far to rapidly. We agree. This will not be forgotten however.



The next few years are spent trying to replenish the armys, put down revolts, and pay off the over 800 Dongs we owe to the money lenders. We do set up some replacement colonies.







We finally get our own matchlock muskets. These kills so many true sons of the Snake, and now we can think about replaying the favour. We still have numerous revolts however.



The people are beginning to return to the army though, we always have excess sons needing a way to make their own way. But we think long term – we don't have the manpower for rapid recruitment.



Things could be worse however. At least the Ghanans are unified.



Peace brings technological advancement.



We always need more pictures of handsome rulers. Not Kukuray of course, he tends to drool to much.



We start spending out excess money on building up our military support infrastructure. I try not to build to many, as it will slow down our research.







The colonies are doing well.



The elephants, not so well.



We are also learning to farm better. Apparently having tonnes of snakes hanging around keeps rats down! Who would have known!



We are now the number one exporter in Ivory.







Andalusia is attacked by Portugal. We are still rebuilding the army and have not even started on the fleet – we cannot face Portugal AND Italy. Our cousins are on their own – really, it is is their own fault for not expanding during the several hundred years since we created them, in a time when Iberia was a patchwork of smaller countries. Now they pay the price of history.



We do order ten more galleys though.



Whydah is self sufficient, time to find new lands to conquer.



Unfortunately, the lands south of Cameroon have not been explored enough, so we have to fill in a gap.







Finally the idiot Emperor dies. His Empress takes the throne, and she is a wild person – useless at diplomacy, she has watched her fathers mismanagement for to long, and she is burning to rebuild the army.



The results are immediate.



She also oversees a massive defensive project in Faiyum.







We are not sure who these Spanish are, but their squares seem effective.



Andalusia is shattered, one more war and they are done.



Here is how the current trade routes look like.




And this is how the merchants are working.



Ghana is battered, but remains.