/clg/ milhis and geography dump, from the anon who has done literally everything else.
Notice that our borders are weird at best, and that the mountain range on our continent's borders do not delineate the frontier between /voms/ and Ayakkayoli well at all--these are not herding and grazing lands for nomads.
To the south, the border WOULD make more sense further down to the north bank of that major river, but they're not there. Why? These plains are hard to defend, and having a randomly placed border is not great for either country. Guess what? We recently modernized our armies as soon as we got flintlock technology, and have been experimenting with breechloading carbines that can fire multiple shots before reloading.
Having recently taken massive territory from /pcg/ in the wake of Queen Pippers' descent into madness, we have seized the majority of the West-Median plains and pushed the border to the sacred city of Phasmollab--hence that salient oddly close to that arc in the river. We intend, shortly, in the aftermath of greater instability, to seek further favorable readjustments and continue pushing the borders ALL THE WAY down.
To the north, the dino-riders of /voms/ were unable to gain a decisive defensive advantage against ring-socket bayonets, lighter cannons, and repeating rifles. Instead of seeking massive concessions there, we elected to focus on taking a strip of territory built around the Spreadbench peninsula, integrating the new conquests into the Theme of Amarikiya and using them as a springboard for trading more intensively with /ccu/. The northern "Magnet" gulf around which their Monoenara Praefecture has been organized is our next target, we intend to push across and take a narrow coastal zone up to the gulf's midpoint.
How has Ayakkayoli increased its territory by a third in the last decade? Our finances are in excellent shape--though the lands taken from /pcg/ were decaying rapidly in administrative sophistication, they were densely populated and had bountiful tracts of excellent farmland. Low-intensity pitchblende, titanium, and lapis lazuli extraction existed in the area as well, far to the west. We have additionally cut down on tariffs and taxes for merchants arriving to the towns on the Spreadbench, and in the empire as a whole--often 30% or more is the damage, Ayakkayoli elects to take 20% and, depending on services rendered, decrease it to even 10%. In this fashion, many more merchants have begun operating in our lands, skilled craftsmen too. We are now net exporters.
Our armies were formerly comprised mostly of heavy infantry, longbowmen, and melee cavalry, armored like knights, with the occasional harquebusier amongst the ranks. Not anymore. Much like the OTL Hullyeon Dogam established by the Joseon, we have consolidated and centralized the process of training and equipping our cavalry and gunpowder troopers. Heavy armor is gone--we have begun mass-producing sleeved brigandine coats. Our melee cavalry now move faster and look much like the AoE3 Hussars, and receive ALL equipment and mounts from government-owned ranches and warehouses. (think 40K Mordians on horseback with sabers, lances, flintlock pistols, and pink uniforms). Our dragoons wear much the same and have been organized into their own regiments with repeating breech-loader carbines and sabers. This has made the army more mobile and professional overall, and increased our knowledge base for making war. Our musketeers are trained to move fast and reload even faster. In particular, Ayakkayoli's musketeers are drilled HARD so they can counter-charge enemy cavalry and skirmishers whilst retaining formation, firing at close range with bayonets fixed. Our cavalry, artillery, and rifle regiments provide screening for these men at the core of the battle line. When needed, our pikes and heavy swordsmen work to clear ffeld fortifications and trenches. Ayakkayoli loves combined arms.
Also, our country is divvied up in some kinda knock-off of the Byzantine theme system--the central government trains and dispatches a regional army of uniform size known as a tagma--all of whom are composed of the same units in the same proportions. Internal trade makes sure that both soldiers from poorer and richer provinces have the same brigandine, the same muskets/rifles/greatswords, etc. Each of these armies is responsible for provincial defense. Each theme, however, must recruit the soldiers for its army, with excess volunteers being rerouted as necessary--in times of peace, each theme fields a single tagma. When going on the defense, reservists are called up--each theme is expected to muster at least a second full reserve tagma, hopefully of equal quality to the first, though this is impractical.
Currently, these four tagmata are the most active: Amarikiyan, Alchemilic, Oumiyan, and Exegentic. They are continuously deployed for frontier defense--their duties make them best used to launch probing/retaliatory raids; they remain, in force, within the Empire's borders at all times (or as often as possible).
On the attack, the Empire noticeably fields smaller, less cumbersome armies--rarely will an invasion force comprise of formations exceeding those of the Utanic, Canichoral, and Momosfikonian tagmata, plus the Imperial Guard units brought along on campaign. Touavgon, Mavrikoukleion, and Satonikon all keep their tagma as, basically, divegrass midfielders. If a MASSIVE push on either defense or offense is needed, we throw them in. they were instrumental in securing and taking the former /pcg/ lands, and it's likely we'll transfer the Satonic Tagma to the frontier once we finish setting the border at the southern river, and carve out Thema Ayania.
I would like to COMPLETELY occupy /voms/, but I need a subject buffer state between us and /tsun/, since we can't just...annihilate those slug-fuckers, Holo(live)domor-style.
Perhaps /pcg/ can finish handing over their northern territories, and we help them take some of the southern lands of /vsj+/? Those are more easily defensible, we both shorten our frontiers at the expense of the regional hegemon.
We further weaken the continent's hegemon, give PCG some better commercial lands and shorten THEIR vsj+ border. The end goal is to carve up /tsun/ into a rump state between /clg/, /indie/, and /ppg/. /pcg/ is totally welcome to swallow up 774 if they so wish.
/voms/ is one big desert with some...inconvenient geography...for them.
That appealing, long coastline with easy access to four specialized generals. We get LOTS of immigrants from /Ñ/, and they have a long, decorated history of service in the Momosfikonian Tagma, we'd love to have more of them. If we take the territory we want from /voms/, our pocketbooks and those of our allies will swell, we will execute colonial ventures more effectively, we of Ayakkayoli will be able to raid the one state fundamentally opposed to our existence with impunity. Some real Hizir Reis shit. Our long-term strategy is to effectively leave a rough equilibrium on the continent in which we and /pcg/ hold moderate advantage over all other parties. If /pcg/ accepts the territorial concessions, we will give their merchants increased privileges on their way to trade with /yah/ plus the holos in the new territories, and favor their chartered companies alongside our own for neo-colonial commercial initiatives/exploitation on the people of /tsun/. They're running out of serfs; in exchange for a fucky northern border, we're happy to begin eating at /voms/, and raid the shores of /tsun/, /pyon/, and /wvt/ for chattel labor.
Would the lads over at /ppg/, /pkg/, and /wactor/ like to have some fun? I would also not be opposed to dismembering somebody further and carving out /sxg/ as an ally or subject.
IMAGES FOR REFERENCE:
Internal Borders: https://files.catbox.moe/lgqclt.png
War Plan Beebs: https://files.catbox.moe/3d6sy8.png
Ayakkayoli Chavliodontai: https://files.catbox.moe/uj2ss4.png
Ayakkayoli Sfyriotai: https://files.catbox.moe/4gcr72.png
Ayakkayoli Kleisouraphylakes: https://files.catbox.moe/5xi1qy.png
Ayakkayoli Hyperpyrores: https://files.catbox.moe/30xdep.png
Ayakkayoli Koursores: https://files.catbox.moe/o8729n.png
Ayakkayoli Youriphoroi: https://files.catbox.moe/jiryil.png