(
soundtrack) -83% warscore, over 55 loans, no troops left, only an army of 9 mercenaries so expensive they cost 6 times my monthly income to update. Tlapanec has 14 troops, sieging down my second to last province. I have no choice but to attack: I go bankrupt in 3 months, I will never have more mercs than this, it is now or never. It's a hopeless endeavour, but I shall go down in a blaze of glory. Just before engaging with my 1/0/1/0 general, I decide to reroll in the vague hope of getting something better. The gods bless me, with a 1/4/1/1 descending to lead my army. To our deaths!
But! Lo, the Aztec +2.5% discipline and +10 infantry and +4 shock over come the defender's river bonus and superior numbers. They're beaten back as the Aztecs cling on by the tiniest sliver of morale having rolled a 9 in the final phase of combat. I can't let them have a chance to regroup, but I can't maintain an army of 9: bankruptcy is immediately upon me. I consolidate the troops and push on, chasing Tlapanec back to the capital, where a second very narrow victory pushes them away.
I can't continue like this, though. They hold my capital, and the ticking warscore is only going to get worse, not to mention my war exhaustion. I make the brave decision to split my army of now 5 mercs into two halves, sending 2 troops down to siege the Tlapanec capital. Meanwhile, the other 3 retreat into the wasteland, distracting the Tlapanec 6-stack. Through some ingenious troop management, I delay Tlapanec long enough without actually engaging them to siege their capital.
Once it is sieged, they immediately leave to siege it themselves, and I push on and free my capital, before engaging Tlapanec one last time. I have a mere 3 mercs left now, having to consolidate every month lest the reinforcement costs bankrupt me. After forcing Tlapanec off, I siege one last province of theirs when suddenly Tarascan, the meanest major in Mesoamerica, declares on Tlapanec; sensing the weakness I forced on them.
Tarascan engages Tlapanec's army, and I take the chance to turn maintenance down while sieging. Months pass, and soon I have enought to afford two further troops. Tlapanec is now fully sieged, although one province by Tarascan, and I move on their vassal Colima; meanwhile Tarascan is locked in a bitter battle with Zapotec and Itze, Tlapanec's allies (who, incidentally, I beat last session in a come-back almost as thrilling as this one). Before long, Colima is fully sieged.
I can't sue for peace just yet, because it would drag me into war with Tarascan, who I can't possibly beat. However, calls for peace have started; I'm torn, what do I do? I hold out in a vague hope just a little longer, before noticing that Tarascan's main stack, de-sieging one of their provinces, is now longer reinforcing: their manpower is sunk. After cautiously waiting, I move my troops onto the same province as them, and then vassalize Tlapanec and Colima in one swift swoop, bringing me into war with Tarascan but negating the defense penalties. Once again, my outnumbered Aztec band manage to clutch out a narrow victory against superior numbers.
The end is in sight now. The final process is simply sieging down Tarascan, to be rewarded with 39 ducats, enough to pay off 3 of my loans; the province of Cuoma, so that I can reach Colima in the future, War Reparations, again to help the debt, and enforced Military Access. Now, I am at peace and have five vassals. I quickly sacrifice Tarascan's 6/4/3 leader to make them less of a threat and reduce my Doom enough to hit MIL tech 2, and then pass the first reform: +5% discipline.
The Aztecs have been in one long, continuous period of warfare from 1454-1474; and were losing for the most of it. Through the course of this series of successive wars, with no peace in sight, I managed to fend off: Mixtec (2x), Tarascan (2x), Tlapanec (2x), Colima (1x), Zapotec (3x), Cocomes (1x), Kitche (1x), Totonac (1x), Tlaxcala (1x), Itze (1x), Xiu (2x); and pass a reform. Every other nation in Mesoamerica has come to fear my name. Peace has come to Mesoamerica, and the Aztecs are victorious!
(
concluding video)
