! written by u/Ludovico on 2013-09-11

Today was a dark day for Greece. It has been 30 years since the Korean War, and since leading my people to victory against the aggressors from the east my people have been happy, and have prospered. In that war two cities were liberated from oppressive Korean rule, and now flourish with the culture and intellectual pursuits that all free Greeks enjoy. Unfortunately it seems that victory through force can have ill effects on the mind, and we grew greedy with our success.

The Chinese to the south were a quiet people, that kept mostly to themselves. We share a close border to the south of Knosos, and it wasn't long after that city was founded that a huge wall spanning the entire Chinese boarder was erected. The civilization on the other side of that wall was prosperous, even by Greek standards. Before the wall was up we witnessed three Chinese settlements grow into burgeoning cities, busy at work making money, and pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. Their dedication to the sciences was second to none, and thanks to their vast cotton fields, gold mines, and stone quarries their coffers would never deplete.

The Greek people became jealous of the success of their Chinese neighbors, and it wasn't long before my people were questioning why the Chinese were doing so well as Greece slowly fell behind. Then came my chance, my spies confirmed that behind her Great Wall, China was almost completely defenseless. Besides a few of their renowned cho-ko-nu crossbowmen, and a small infantry force the Chinese were ripe for domination. It seemed they knew not how to protect their people, or their expanding empire of gold, and intellectualism.

We were wrong.

I thought my hoplites, bowman, and catapults would make quick work of the Chinese. We outnumbered them 4 to 1. I wasted no time once I saw my opportunity and I declared war for the betterment of all Greeks, and soon we would use the resources of the Chinese to usher in a new era of peace through scientific advancement like the world has never seen.

Our first mistake was the wall. We had scaled walls in Korea but nothing there prepared us for China's Great Wall. Our units were slowed nearly to a halt, and China did not let this mistake go unpunished. By the time my army was inside the wall their military had more than doubled in size. Their seemingly endless supply of gold bought more cho-ko-nu, and their fresh supply of iron was crafted into strong swords and armor for their infantry. My hoplites fought bravely, but no army could withstand the deadly barrage of crossbow bolts that rained upon us every painstaking step into their boarders. As we began to get closer to their cities the casualties rose at a terrifying rate, and before we even had a chance to begin the siege our forces were decimated and left scattered. As my troops attempted to escape to fight another day they were greeted once again by that ominous wall. As the troops struggled to make it past the wall we lost almost every soldier to the bolts from their cho-ko-nu.

They did not retaliate. We mustered at our cities ready for an assault, but none came.

Greece has learned a valuable lesson today, and perhaps we can learn to live in peace as the Chinese have. I offered them a sizable amount of gold to make certain they know we won't be coming back.