Morale and China

[ShadowofGod]

I am playing China, and have reached May 1870. Yes, I read the previous posts on this endeavor, and I'm aware this is something of an "alternate reality 19th Century China" as right now I have built an impressive network of rails when China historically didn't build its first rail line until 1872. I am also industrializing China like it's 1999

Anyway, after playing of military whac-a-mole for years with the Tai-Pings, their units have stopped appearing. However, the Tai Ping Heavenly Kingdom is still listed under "Foreign Ministry - Wars" as a military opponent of mine, and what concerns me is my morale keeps dropping. Right now it's at 78. I am concerned that the game will collapse because my people have become tired of a war that isn't really being fought because my opponent has given up the ghost.

I have no diplomats at the present time, in large part because I settled a war against the Tonkinese and also because the Tongzhi Emperor is an idiot.

[loki100]

I'd script it out to be honest, something on the lines of:

SelectFaction = $CHI
StartEvent = No more Taipings to kill|1|1|NULL|NULL|NULL|NULL

Actions

SelectFaction = $CHI
SettleWhitePeace = ALL

EndEvent

Pop that into your China events file and it'll fire the next turn.

If you have more than one war on the go, replace the 'all' with the faction tag for the Taipings. In my own game, every 5 years or so I review wars that are just dragging out (AI vs AI) and kill them off with this script.

But the fall in contentment may have other causes - check your food and common good supplies (use F4 for this). I'd suspect with China both may well be a struggle.

edit - I presume you mean contentment, not National Morale? If you are not in a war that should revert towards 100 over time in any case, unless there is a Chinese event chain that I've missed (very likely as my knowledge of 19C Chinese history is not far over zero)

[ShadowofGod]

Thank you for your quick response. The populace is giving me a 97% approval rate, according to the Assets Balance. And having built all rice farms save two at this point, among other agricultural developments, everyone in the Middle Kingdom should have plenty to eat.

[ShadowofGod]

- I presume you mean contentment, not National Morale? If you are not in a war that should revert towards 100 over time in any case, unless there is a Chinese event chain that I've missed (very likely as my knowledge of 19C Chinese history is not far over zero)

Yes, I did mean National Morale.

[loki100]

- I presume you mean contentment, not National Morale? If you are not in a war that should revert towards 100 over time in any case, unless there is a Chinese event chain that I've missed (very likely as my knowledge of 19C Chinese history is not far over zero)

Yes, I did mean National Morale.

ah, no idea then. In effect NM should only drop if you are losing battles or to events. If you are under 100, it should slowly default back to 100. If you are over 100, it should drop down to that value (again slowly).

You can get short term boosts by playing the 'medal' card (though if I recall this is tech related and you may not have gained the relevant tech yet).

Not sure why your NM is dipping, looking at the China events file you should be merrily killing off missionaries and have an event due soon that will give you a one-off NM loss, but there is nothing I can see to script you an ongoing malus. Hover the mouse over the NM score and see if that tells you why its changing in a given turn.

[ShadowofGod]

It seems to have done the trick. Thank you!

[ShadowofGod]

I might add that if I wanted to make the simulation REALLY like 19th Century China, I would -increase- dissatisfaction in any province I build a factory or a railroad. Railroads especially faced opposition from peasants, because 1). the spoiled the feng shui of an area, and 2). they broke the rice bowls of legions of porters and bargemen.

[Kensai]

Good idea! I always find the notion of placing your own constrains in AGEOD games quite interesting!

[Christophe.Barot]

do not forget "foreign devil interference", in 19th century, was more tahn a constraint, a major feature/agression

weakness and backwardness of China attracted predators - and China reactions (overestimating their strength and agressively provoking new encroachments to her sovereignty, like supporting Boxers) even made things worse

if interested you can adapt (drop the automatic transfer, change foreign nations priorities, still make coveted Chinese areas conquerable) the carving china events I devised (mainly for an AI China) for far east events thread as "how can China can fend off foreign agressions (force the 8 nations intervention for example)