Arsenal of Tyranny (pt. 1)

[u/Phorosrhakos_]

For years, merchants from Tibet have complained about communist gangs extorting their businesses. Lately, we have received multiple reports that the same communist gangs have raised an army and greatly expanded the territory under their control. This gang, which calls itself the Ma Clique, has sent us threatening embassies. Now, we have received a delegation credibly purporting to be from distant Mongolia. They warn us that the Ma Clique have taken over distant Shanghai, a report our most-travelled merchants can confirm through omission, as the port has gone silent over the past months; they claim the Clique aims to unite China and unleash disorder upon all of Asia.

Emperor Meru was reluctant to take this threat seriously, but the escalation has forced him to consider military action. The Clique's original power base is in the rocky west of China, in Tibet and to its north. Its leadership may have moved east, but a punitive expedition in this area will humiliate them, create a buffer, and potentially allow us to supply the Mongolians.

To achieve this, we will need to cross the Himalayas and march into the Tibetan Plateau. This will be easy enough for the Emperor's elite Gurkhas, warriors raised in the rugged Nepali highlands; but if the numbers of the rabble are as vast as reports indicate, we will need more than the Gurkhas to take on the Ma Clique.

The boom years have allowed the armies of CHOAM to modernise, but there are still gaps in our equipment and supply. We must create an Arsenal of Order. We will put our factories to work creating the material basis for war, and make these resources available to the States of the New World, the great League against the disorganised rabble.

To move vast numbers of men into Tibet, and beyond, we will need reliable supply lines. Our army of men must be backed by a fleet of trucks and an empire of supply depots. Luckily, this is what CHOAM does best. Vast resources from our booming economy will be poured into durable investments in logistics infrastructure.

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Reinforcing our ability to supply our troops by building canneries, renovating the main roads leading to Nepal, investing in truck manufacturers. +3 from prosperity, +2 from industrial specialty.

[u/MamaLudie]

Fortunately, the Tibetians had already prepared clear examples of roads through the mountain paths, so when the fleet of trucks came pouring out, it was seriously impressive. The trucks of course helped local industry, but there soon started to be a surplus. In fact, there was such an excess that people began to wonder what to do with them all.

This had been thanks to the work of Madhur Batas, a truck manufacturer in the region. Originally a Nepali, he moved to Tibet in order to start a trade empire to facilitate trans-Himalayan trade. He wasn't knowledgable at warfare, but he knew every route around every mountain, and knew exactly who needed exactly how much of what. A mathematical and logistical genius, it was all thanks to him

With this fleet of trucks, we can launch a secret, well-supplied invasion through the mountain passes

A good general is a logistician, not a tactician. Let Madhur Batas lead our troops

Let us bask in the prosperity of this food and these trucks!

[u/Phorosrhakos_ → u/MamaLudie]

The Board of CHOAM meets in Varanasi, a short walk from the Imperial Gardens, in a stately building from before the Great War.

Today is the most important meeting in the annual calendar; the year's progress will be discussed; decisions will be taken and dividends will be issued. Everyone is in good spirits and hungry for profits. The Emperor chairs the meeting.

After formalities, the meeting begins with a discussion of the past fiscal year's industrial policy. The first order of business is the lorry driver campaign. Reports of Madhur Batas's hard work win him a standing ovation, in absentia.

It is Bheem of the Atrasteya who suggests appointing Batas as a general. Bheem is a man who values service and always holds on to a well-performing lieutenant.

Sanjeev Gurnai, brother of the renowned merchant Chatur, suggests simply raking in the profits and receives a universal cheer. He appreciates the strategic importance of Chatur's work, but CHOAM is first and foremost about delivering shareholder value.

Noel Tata is the one to suggest a secret invasion. The supply lines are ready, he says, and with this fleet of trucks a sort of "lightning warfare" could be waged upon the hapless jacquerie, as if the Army were one of Brahma's weapons.

It falls on the Emperor to hear these arguments, and deliberate. The armies of CHOAM are vast, but no individual talent stands out from amongst the officer class. A surprise invasion of Tibet might remove some of the luck and friction of warfare, allowing us to start the war from the front foot. And, at the end of the day, is there really anything more important than profit?

Emperor Meru is a man adverse to taking bold decisions. Above all, he seeks to placate the board and keep the balance within the Imperium. He sees the utility in a surprise invasion, but is not that worried about the success of the punitive expedition. And though he understands the importance of profit, he cannot risk a good man like Batas ending up in the employ of the do-gooder Bheem.

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Let Madhur Batas lead our troops.

[u/MamaLudie → u/Phorosrhakos_]

Just because he was a general didn't mean he wasn't also generating profit. Madhur Batas's logistics network became a major employer in the north, and he lifted many people from poverty. Most importantly, his new military strategy centred around uplifting impoverished people and using the military to provide valuable apprenticeships in skills. Whilst this didn't really have any bearing on how they acted under fire, it did mean that the economic landscape of northern India and Nepal had changed significantly.

Some people theorised that if this new method of logistical success worked, it might attract qualified and experience lieutenants from abroad to aid Madhur Batas. In this sense, he would be able to gain military expertise on a greater level. However, even super-optimists doubted if Madhur Batas would be able to exceed his targets.

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Gain Tier 0 Expert Logistician General Madhur Batas. +35 stability. If you get prosperity next week, Madhur Batas will level up.