Emergency Coalition meeting regarding the Ghorids

[askthepizzaguy]

The message below is one I intend to deliver to the Council unless I receive strong objections.



The Turkish ambassador declares war on the Ghorids, activating the Coalition alliance against this naked aggressor and trespasser into peaceful lands. Since the fate of the Romano-Turkish war seems clear, all Coalition forces are informed that the Ghorids are marked as enemy number one for the Eastern Coalition.

If the member states honour this treaty, they will all also declare a state of war against the Ghorid Sultanate. They are Muslims no more, now distant relations to honourable Islamic states have been disavowed. May they all die in disgrace.

The Coalition of Freedom is now at a State of War with the Ghorid Sultanate. Unless they terminate their assault on the Rajputs and pay reparations, they are to be wiped from the map immediately. As Supreme Commander I now accept the responsibilities of this office granted to me unanimously by the Member States of the Coalition.

[askthepizzaguy]

The strategy of the Coalition:

The Ayyubids, Georgians, Seljuks, Armenians, and Turks are about to force an end to the Roman aggression. Jerusalem will either join the war or not, it doesn't matter. Rome will fall and then Jerusalem will. If the Latins aggress us, the Caliph may join the war on our side.

The Seljuks are waging a war against Khwarezm and they seem to be doing well. No additional coalition support seems necessary here. Good luck, and conquer without mercy.

The Ghazni, Omans, and Rajputs are to do whatever they can to extinguish the Ghorids.

This is Total war. Everyone to their corners, and come out fighting. Crush as many of them as possible. Peace will not happen unless we receive generous concessions now.

[ramsesiicp]

(OOC: Before we started this hotseat I tested the Ghorid's capacity for war so I'd know what I was getting into. I was able to wipe out the Ghazni and Rajputs in five turns. The Ghorid starting position is very strong, and their upkeep costs are dirt cheap. They're one of the strongest factions once you get them rolling.)

My noble allies, I deeply appreciate your support, of course. That being said, I am quite isolated here, and my enemy is quite overwhelmingly powerful. My soldiers can destroy any army the enemy leaves in range of them, but that may not be sufficient given the Ghorid's advantage in production of troops.

It is with this in mind that I inform the Coalition that, despite my enemy having twice broken his own agreements, I will still seek and accept, if offered, a diplomatic solution. I will not make my nation more vulnerable, of course, but I do not believe that there is advantage in drawing out this war.

I have withdrawn most of my soldiers from the front, leaving only elephants there. If the defenses of that city are breached, despite my spy there, then my nation will be essentially defenseless. This is not to say that I won't immediately thereafter pin another terrible defeat on the enemy, but he has the soldiers to absorb those defeats and continue to advance despite them.

As I noted, sometime in the next five turns or so I would be deeply appreciative if one of the member states could offer me a distant territory. I would be happy to make it an exchange, granting a local city for a distant one; no doubt this would frustrate the Ghorids significantly.

[Flax]

As I am fairly useless anyways, I'll gladly help keep the Rajputs alive. Ramses, just tell me which one you would like (you can see all of my cities in the "war effort in Anatolia" thread) and I'll make it happen soon. I also have my diplomat near Baghdad.

Good luck in your fight.

[zim]

I can offer my territory most distant from the Ghorids if you'd like, but if I also lose out against them it might do neither of us any good (on the other hand, he might be reluctant to attack another Muslim if we weren't at war at the time).

I can declare was on him but it may be a bit of a suicide run. Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is a very rich area, and I lack the wealth for hiring troops that you and EF has. To make things worse, a decent portion of my military forces are in position to help out the Seljuks next turn. I could move troops on both fronts.

[ramsesiicp]

Mmm, if anyone wants to switch, I'd propose swapping my town that starts with a 'k' I think for your least developed town. If he takes more than one of my useful cities I'll give up on my backfield and make a run at some of his cities.

In the long term I can train useful troops from a city, but in the short term I'll concentrate on being a good trading partner.

[Flax]

I could give you Dvin or Ani, which ever you prefer. Unless of course you'd rather join up with the Ghaznavids? Anyhow, my offer is open as long as you need it .

[askthepizzaguy]

I would suggest that instead of the Ghaznis or the Georgians, the Seljuks grant you some land. You would be in the safest possible position there, and you will be closer to where the Turks will go if we also fail.

May the force be with us.

[ramsesiicp]

I'd be happy to swap lands with the Seljuks and be close to the new Turkish position. If the Ghorids attack the Seljuks as well it will be one more strike against them. The reason I suggest the K city is because it's got the highest non-avatar order rating of all my lands and I don't think it would rebel. That's something to consider in regards to any offer made.

I also appreciate the support via declarations of war. The Ghorid Sultan deserves this isolation, as he broke both of his sworn diplomatic agreements with me and I cannot imagine he would deal in more faith with any other nation.

[zim]

That's a good idea. There's no way he'd declare war on the Seljuks (probably one of the few factions strong enough to stand up to him in a fair fight, especially as he'll probably need to recover from fighting the Rajputs and me.

I'll look over things this upcoming turn and see what I can send to help.

[ramsesiicp]

I've issued a challenge to EF to decide matters in MP combat. To put it bluntly, I've never played MP for any of the TW games, but I think I have a better chance at that than at having long term success against the Ghorids. If I win, I'll have a nation still. If I lose I'll go into exile by swapping towns with the Seljuks.

If he declines, we'll know he's a coward. ;D

Anyway, hopefully it'll be more fun than just trading AI smackdowns. Note that I've committed the Coalition to nothing in my agreement, so the members would still be able to proceed with a punishing war against the Ghorids even in the event of their victory, as I would still be slowing him down.

[barcamartin]

I don't know what settlement I can offer. You want to be close to the Turks ? Hmm, I'll take a look next turn.

[ramsesiicp]

There's no rush, and I'm offering to trade settlements, not just take one.

We'll sort it out eventually over the next few turns.

[zim]

I'm actually kind of hoping EF accepts the challenge. It would be exciting to have the first PVP battle in a hotseat. ;D

We'll have to see if EF is willing.