Rise of the Songhai: To the Nile (I)

Siam won't be the last Nation to denounce us but there is no turning back now.

My Swordsman in Agadez receives a well-deserved Promotion...

....then we deal with Egyptian Warriors in the vicinity.

There is a target of opportunity to the North as well.

The situation after the dust settles and my statistics....my Approval Rating has taken a hit!

I only have 1 Happiness Point left so I want to avoid city growth like here in Agadez.

I give 500 Gold to Samarkand so that it's now an Ally and I garner 4 Happiness Points from its Porcelain Luxury resource. Maybe we are back in business :) Good, Shaka is still at war with Haile Selassie so they are both pre-occupied....

750 BC: Writing has been researched and Engineering is next. It also allows an extra Trade Route :)

Another Promotion and a captured Worker continues to build a Mine on the Gold hex.

Near Oran I decide to chop down a Forest to speed-up the Courthouse construction and in Benghasi I place my "wounded" Spearman in repair mode...

My nearby Bowman ventures into the outskirts of Thebes and discovers that the City is defended only by a War Chariot. The Bowman withdraws out of range of the defences. I also notice that Thebes has a Luxury resource that I don't have - that gives an extra 4 Happiness Points if I were to capture it giving me 9 points total. Hopefully enough in order to avoid Unhappiness if Thebes were conquered. So, I must temporarily prevent other cities from growing!

740 BC: I denounce the Zulus in order to please Haile Selassie and hopefully maintain his friendship. Shaka doesn't think much of my move but he is Ethiopia's Problem, not mine :)