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Part 21: The Rider on the Pale Horse
Several rebellions put down and they still keep coming. While Dhirsingha hasn't taken the throne yet, the Spice Marines are able to operate on their own and bring Farzad in for trial.
Seriously, you can put down dozens of liberation revolts and you'll still have guys trying to liberate their kingdoms. After a while, it's almost impressive that they even try.
From the recently captured city of Tigris, Dhirsingha's regents prepare for an invasion of the Duchy of Baghdad. The duchy contains many rich provinces and it will be a devastating blow to the Ilkhanate should it be lost.
You can see I've added Tigris to my demesne. Tigris is one of the few seven-holding provinces in the game. It's a very nice addition.
The end of the regency comes not a moment too soon, as Dhir's mother steps down.
Dhir now takes the throne. While he is one of the best diplomats in the world, his other skills leave much to be desired. It's a good thing his generals are leading the troops in his war with the Ilkhanate.
Wow, Dhir. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket. To be fair, he has Just, and his learning and stewardship aren't terrible. But seriously, he has zero martial and one intrigue. Ouch. Fortunately, since our empire is so large, low martial isn't that big of a deal, especially since our retinues are doing all the fighting.
Like his father, Dhir chooses Shiva as his patron deity. He'll need all the military help he can get.
We have a lot of Diplomacy and no Martial. Of course we're getting Shiva. Note that while kids inherit their father's school (as far as I can tell), they don't inherit patron deities.
Dhir celebrates the conquest of Baghdad by getting his brother married. If Tigris was a fine city, then Baghdad is a true gem.
Look at those stats. LOOK AT THEM. Why isn't he the heir? I miss J/B succession. And we got Baghdad, one of, if not the largest duchies in the game. Six entire provinces. And Baghdad is a seven holding province.
He also finishes up his bookkeeping.
Did you know that there are three double letter combinations in bookkeeping? Anyways, our stewardship is eight now.
One of Dhir's barons complains about the noveau riche in his city. His complaints fall on deaf ears, as Dhir always has more room for money.
If you were a duke instead of a baron, I might actually listen. But right now I like my money more than I like you. Goodbye.
During a raid on the Ilkhanate, Dhir receives a most unusual gift. One of his dukes has given him a white elephant! Honored, Dhir accepts.
This is one of the new events for Rajas of India, I believe. Since this is a tutorial LP, I'm showing it off. And accepting it means we're friends. Sometimes friends will just give you one. But remember what "white elephant" can also refer to...
It turns out that white elephants are rather expensive to care for. But Dhir, not wanting to appear ungrateful, spares no expense in taking care of it.
Look at that price tag! Choosing the less expensive option means that we'd no longer be friends with the vassal. And having a duke for a friend is nice.
More bad luck with the elephant. Strange cultists have broken in and stolen the dung droppings. Reminding himself not to judge other Hindu beliefs, Dhir gives the droppings as a gift.
If we hadn't already gained Kind, we would have gotten it as a result of option two, which we picked.
Dhir is starting to think the elephant wasn't a gift of goodwill. But he's loaded and repairs the damage.
He's actually relieved to hear news of a rebellion - those are much cheaper.
"Problem?" Dhir says. "You think I hadn't noticed there were a few problems with this elephant? This elephant has been nothing but a problem! Just make sure the horny animal gets its freak on."
Finally, the elephant calms down. Unfortunately, the duke who sent it died, so Dhir is unable to send him that drawing of his extended middle finger like he wanted to.
We won't have any more problems now. So yeah, if you're short on cash, don't accept the elephant.
Dhir is looking over the tax reports and the numbers aren't adding up. Someone is siphoning money from the treasury and Dhir has a strong opinion as to who.
Incredibly, his steward managed to steal three years income from the treasury. Dhir takes back the money and warns his steward of the consequences should it happen again.
Meanwhile, the Spice Marines finish off the rebels.
Khagan Husun is not having a good day. His army has just been defeated by the Byzantines. It seems the days of the invincible Ilkhanate are long gone. He turns to one of his advisers.
"Situation report?" he asks.
"Not good, sir. The Byzantines are likely to attack us again."
"How goes the battle for Egypt?"
"We've never fought an enemy so determined. We've heard reports of soldiers fighting until they run out of blood. Not to mention the Caliph's managed to get a hold of several new armies and he's managed to occupy most of the major provinces."
"Damn, it's been fifteen years and they're still fighting. On top of Indian raiders and these damn Byzantines. It seems the world is out to get us." Husun paces back and forth before speaking again.
"Send a messenger to General Qasar. We're abandoning Egypt. The Caliph can have his homeland back. We need all our troops up here."
Calip Yassir is at the front of his troops. Filled with a holy fire, he and his bodyguards are in the middle of a bloody fight in the streets of Cairo. He brings his sword down on a Mongol soldier, ending his life. All of a sudden a great horn blast echos throughout the city. The Mongols withdraw as fast as they are able to. Many of them will be cut down by vengeful Muslims. The Tengri governors are also dealt with. The lucky ones will be banished to the Ilkhanate's lands. The unlucky ones, well, you don't need to know.
Fifteen years. That's how long it took for the Jihad to succeed. You can't fault the Shia for being determined.
However, due to a bureaucratic mix-up, the Sultanate of Egypt goes not to Yassir but to a relative of his - a female one at that. Sultana Titi is perphaps the first female Muslim ruler in centuries. Unfortunately, she has no army due to the unwilling Tengri population and the new administration settling in.
I have no idea how this happened. Yassir should have gotten the title, but for some reason he didn't. Since all of her land has the "Recently Conquered" penalty, she has no taxes and no army. Ouch.
Dhir falls in love with his wife. 
Husun doesn't mourn his losses for long, as he is assassinated by Dhir. Dhir takes the opportunity to declare war on his successor.
If you're wondering what's up with the Khan's portrait, he's been blinded. By what or who, I don't know.
A year later, the new Khan surrenders in order to deal with a rebellion.
With the destruction of the deathstacks and the Khan's main army, his vassals are getting uppity. Pagan vassals I've noticed are much more likely to fire off independence revolts. And Tengris and Norse have higher "Short Reign" penalties than other religions, even when reformed.
The Khan is unable to control his vassals and they break free. Dhir chuckles to himself. Without the protection of the truce, nothing is stopping him from seizing their land. Meanwhile, Tengri rebels have formed several safe havens for the Egyptian Tengris. The Sultana, unable to raise an effective army, is forced to accept their presence. However, the Abyssinians are looking for an opportunity to expand into Nubian territory. And the Tengris are right next door.
Yet another rebellion breaks out...
...and is crushed. But more disturbing news is afoot.
A horrific plague, unlike anything the world has seen, emerges in Afghanistan. Those afflicted die horribly. Dhir has the entire area quarantined. Should this epidemic break out in the rest of the world, millions could die.
This is the Black Death. Perhaps the most infamous disease of all time, it's been estimated that a third of Europe's population was killed off by the pandemic. However, there was no pop up telling me the plague broke out. It just happened. And look at that health malus: -7. Even a Strong Digambara Jain couldn't survive that.
Many lives are lost, but the disease burns itself out in Persia.
Yeah, the black death killed a bunch of unimportant nobles, then vanished into thin air. Kind of disappointing.
"Guys, I know the last five were brutally crushed, but I swear this time it's going to work."
"Or not."
Dhir looks over his pet republic's trade network. It stretches quite far, all the way to Mecca.
In a series of swift wars, Dhir conquers the newly independent Mongol emirates. The Zurayid emirate is particularly important, as it contains the holy cities of Medina and Mecca.
In honor of the Shia tenacity, he grants the duchy of Medina to a Shia within his borders and grants him independence. For the first time in decades, Muslims control their holy cities. For this act, Dhirsingha will be remembered as a righteous pagan in the eyes of the Shia.
Next Time: Looking East and West