Hey bros, I don’t suppose any of you have input or suggestions for me? There haven’t been as many comments lately, so I’m a bit worried you are getting bored with my LPs.
Over in Europe, another PU forms. The dynasties of the world seem to be having more degenerate sex orgies as of late, which would explain all of this metaphorical dynastic sodomy.
Even the Pope is engaging in a little man on butt action, although in this case he is the tranny. A group of Christian butt-heretics have occupied the Catholic holy city of Roma.
Back home, Andhaira V is continuing the policies of his father. Andhaira IV, God rest his soul, impressed upon the new Shah the necessity of restricting Aristocratic power and privilege. The Aristocracy, the minor Baluchi Khans and Indian princes under the Shah, are still powerful, but they are no longer a threat. They have standing armies, but these are only fit for protecting their lands, not fighting a war.
The Andhairavid Royal Army has become a state tool, and in the end all authority in any sort of Autocracy springs from the ability to maintain control through force. The Aristocracy are still understandably butthurt, so they do what little they can against the Shah. Andhaira’s court philosopher, a Sindhi Hindu, is sodomised and lynched in his chambers. The Shah is unconcerned. An assassination attempt against the Monarch is unthinkable, and there is never a shortage of pretentious intellectuals.
The small Sultanate of Gujarat, based outside of Gujarat proper, has been attacked by Gondwana, Bihar, and Vijayanagar. They are pretty much fucked. As you can see, the main powers in India are of course the Andhairavids, as well as Bihar, Gondwana, and further south Vijayanagar. These three Hindu states are the main obstacles standing in the way of Andhairavid domination in the subcontinent.
At the request of the Guru himself, Andhaira makes the Punjab region into the official homeland and haven of all Sikhs. The Shah agrees to this request, even though it strengthens Sikhism, because it might encourage Sikhs in Delhi and Sindh to migrate to Multan and the surrounding area. Better to have them all concentrated in one area, should they ever become a threat.
For many decades now, the Andhairavid Empire has operated on a rigid hierarchical caste system. If you were the son of a farmer, you would live a life of hard toil. If you were the son of a nobleman, you would live a life of sodomy and fine furniture. If you were a wise and intelligent man, and the son of a blacksmith, you would be a wise and intelligent blacksmith. Social mobility in such a hierarchy is non-existent. This sort of society promotes order and stability, as all know their place. What it does not promote, is innovation and progress. When men are forced to exert themselves to simply maintain their position in society, their creativity is stifled, because they have no time for new techniques or technologies. It is a hostile environment for a genius born outside of the Aristocracy. When men have a degree of prosperity and financial security, new ideas can be embraced and exploited.
Andhaira III, IV, and V have all realised this. Andhaira I was an inscrutable figure, but as he was blessed by God, he undoubtedly understood this too. The restriction of Aristocratic privilege has been an attempt by the Shahs to encourage social mobility amongst the lower orders. If the Empire is to remain competitive with its neighbors, stability must be sacrificed for the sake of genius.
A middle class has developed in the Andhairavid cities. Indian Ocean trade coming in and out of Baroda has lead to the creation of a merchant middle class. The growing bureaucracy requires educated clerks, and a demand for labour has allowed skilled craftsmen to demand more for their work. Reduced Aristocratic privilege means that farmers are no longer legally bound to their land. Ambitious young men can leave for the cities. These factors have created a limited social mobility within the hierarchical ladder. As the Aristocracy becomes less prominent, inter-caste marriage has lost its taboo status, although it is still frowned upon. Men can raise themselves through business, trade, knowledge, or craftsmanship. There is still a caste system, but for men of merit and ambition, there is opportunity to be grabbed.
Here are the related modifiers if you want to read any of this stuff. Even if it’s pretty arbitrary, I do prefer MM’s modernisation mechanics. It represents a developing society much better than the instant, generic modernisation decision vanilla has. The event descriptions are a nice touch. What does Codexia think?
Athank you.
Amongst this developing class of educated men is a bright Punjabi philosopher, very much a student of the Gurus. The Shah takes this man into his employment. He has potential. Perhaps in time his smug intellectualism and bizarre, pretentious ideologies will bring Andhairavid culture to daring new heights.
Alas, the Kashmir line of Andhairavids has died before it was born. Instead, a Mameluke Prince (Anyone know what the prince of a Sultanate is called?) has ascended to the Kashmiri throne. He is friendly enough, but it is a shame that the line of Andhaira is still confined to the Empire of Andhaira I. It would appear Andhaira V, if he wishes to expand his dynasty, must resort to the tried and true methods of his forefathers.
A gifted Shit Muslim offers his services to the crown.
Unfortunately, he is not only a Shit Muslim, but a shit Muslim. He can stew in his heathen juices with the eternally unemployed recruitmasters, until there’s a vacancy.
Hooray for positive discrimination!
Hooray for nonsensical events! This is supposed to be an event for non-Muslim religions in Asia. It eventually gives you the option to convert, I think. The reason I’m getting them is probably because I’m tolerant and have a large Hindu minority. That’s why I have the option to ban trade with myself and outlaw conversion to my state religion.
Well shit. Hopefully this one will fizzle out. If they’re still in a PU when I try and take Goa, the retarded peace mechanics will make it infinitely more difficult. Inheritance isn’t so much of a problem. It would ruin Spain’s AE and force them to overstretch their forces.
A stone’s throw eastwards, ITZ has been averted in the Holy Roman Empire. There have been several minor conflicts, but the main religious struggle has failed to gain sufficient steam on either side. The member states of the Holy Roman Empire have agreed to an uneasy peace. ITZ will have to wait.
Closer to home, the Khans of Persia and Samarkand are having a scrape. The Khan of Samarkand has conquered most of the northern Uzbek tribes, while his Azerbaijani adversary is pushing through Khorasan. Campaigning through steppe and mountain ranges will have its ill effects on the Uzbek Khan’s realm
What.
The Hochmeisters would be ashamed.
Ahmadabad cores, and this is the result. I shouldn’t need to change my culture if I keep getting accepted cultures so easily. I’ll probably stay Baluchi, assuming I ever even get the option to switch cultures. Who knows? A future nationalist conquest of Persia (Baluchi is in the Iranian group with Persian and Pashtun) might not be entirely out of the question, should the Codex will it.
Huh, wouldn’t figure Tibetan Buddhists for oppressive imperialists.
Baroda is a keystone of state infrastructure. The Andhairavid Empire has become dependent on the riches brought in by Indian Ocean trade. Of course, with increased naval trade comes piracy. These sodomites of the sea are more numerous than ever. They are wreaking havoc on Andhairavid coffers. The Shah feels this is such an issue, that he has founded the first Andhairavid naval institution. The Royal Andhairavid Coastal Guard will organise the defense of the Shah’s coastlines and merchants. Along with this new organisation, a string of coastal fortifications are erected from the Indus to Baroda. The expense is enormous, but Andhaira is confident that the project will pay for itself in the long term.
At the urging of his court philosopher, the Shah lifts all restrictions on the importing of foreign books. This is just a part of many similar policies adopted at the advice of the philosopher, Andhaira Basham. Basham, now a trusted adviser to his patron, has put a very strange idea into the Shah’s head. The Shah now firmly believes in the notion that tolerance of religion must be expanded to tolerance of all ideology, if the Andhairavid state is to grow ever more mighty and prosperous. A nonsensical philosophy to be sure. Regardless, Andhaira V has become intent on relaxing the entrenched, conservative values of his general public.
And he is hardly unsuccessful, but this has been an ultimately inevitable process for some time now. Trade with foreigners, particularly Europeans has brought with it marvelous technologies and ideas. Contact with the greater Muslim world has given Andhairavid scholars access to the translated works from all across the Old World. The development of Sikhism has even added a completely new dynamic to Andhairavid culture and philosophy. State relaxation on foreign religion and ideology, and the development of social mobility has created an environment in which all things new can grow and flourish. Of course, this has its downsides. Most immediately, the conservative elements of society are infuriated by their Shah’s apparent lack of concern. In the long run, free, open thinkers will always be antagonistic to an Absolutism of any sort.