Nansong
Nansong have the Power of Innovation.
Since then, the Song imperial family, the Zhao, have decamped along with their retainers and whoever else could spare the legwork back across the Yangtze River to Hangzhou over the past 3 decades or so that passed ever since the disastrous Jingkang Incident, yet it will take more before the rump Song state can truly feel safe, short of regaining mastery of all China once more. The army is still poorly trained and equipped - the Imperial family does not trust their military commanders, and even in the court at Hangzhou, differing views over what the emperor Xiaozong - now exhausted and burned out after more than nearly a dozen years of non-stop attempts to stabilise the empire - ought to do, especially with regards to military affairs. Some support the late warlord Yue Fei's insistence on reclaiming Kaifeng, while others call for the emperor to keep the peace with Jin - now in force for almost a dozen years.
Regardless of Nansong's troubles, it is still a major power, albeit one whose near-lack of conventional force - as so demonstrated by the Jin barbarians many decades ago - belies its still considerable economic and technological might. Of all Asian nations, the Song, along with their Ly partners who rule Annam (now called Dai Viet) to the far south, are the most eminent naval powers - and for good reason, only the strength of the Song navy on the Great River, and the treacherous terrain of the old lands of Shu and Yunnan to the far southwest (a formidable defensive anchor indeed) help to maintain the continuation of Song rule over southern China. To this end, fortresses and citadels often dot the landscape of Song China, partially to slow down any enemy incursion, but also to dash any hopes the Jurchens must harbour of annexing more Chinese land.
Equally, Song may be deficient in manpower and pasturelands - a vital resource for cavalry - but one thing Nansong have that few others possess is gunpowder. While simply used as incendiaries for use with siege weapons like catapults, past experiments over the previous few decades have yielded the creation of cheaper and more reliable small rockets - so called huoqiang for their use of spears as launchers - but ever since Jingkang, the Jurchens of Jin have also developed their own gunpowder weapons using captured Song samples. One thing is most certain - no matter the disdain the Celestial Court has for conflict, war is an inevitability, especially in the north, where the Jin still amass vast numbers of men, horses and treasure, all of which can be unleashed upon the rest of China at moment's notice.
Faction overview
- Cultural Capital: Start with an Assembly
- Philosophical Traditions: Assemblies and Civic Centres built 50% cheaper
- Academic Aspirations: Research speed doubled
- Great Minds, Great Power: All Civic Centre research 10% cheaper
Strengths
Strong cultural bonuses and defence capability, passable early game infantry, and superb naval and artillery unit components.
Weaknesses
Poor rushing capability, no good cavalry or elite infantry, pricier navy.
Despite having lost the lordship of the north to the Jurchens of Jin, Nan Song is still very much a major power in Greater China, albeit clearly one depending on three things to stay alive: her naval fleets, her infantry as well as proficiency in gunpowder warfare. Like the Byzantine Romans on the other side of the known world, Nansong represents an empire in decline. But again, like the Romans themselves, Nansong cannot be said to be defenceless.
Although Nansong shares many units in common with other northern Asian counterparts (as well as Dai Viet in the south) what distinguishes Nansong from others are two things - firstly, her expanded navy, and secondly, the plethora of artillery weapons that Nansong has. Not only does Nansong have some superior naval technology, making her vessels some of the strongest in this mod, she also has access to a THIRD option - a "medium" warship in the form of the Lunchuan or "wheel ship" (owing to her pedal-powered paddle wheel propulsion) which functions to bridge the gap in affordability and capability between the Swooper and the War Junk, granting Nansong amphibious superiority on water maps. This is further compounded since Nansong is one of three nations (the others being Dai Viet and Byzantium) who get the Naphtha Vessel, a ship that burns everything down but is susceptible to siege weapons and Fire Vessel attack. A fleet of Naphtha Vessels, unless properly dealt with, can devastate tracts and tracts of coastline simple because very few units or structure are sufficiently fireproof!
On land however it is another matter. The cavalry choices of Nansong are mediocre to say the least, having no good cavalry aside from the costly Palace Gamekeeper units that can't be trained without the help of a Meeting House or Palace, or cheap but weak Heavy Cavalry whose only true virtue is resisting attacks by ranged cavalry. Nansong does have a strong infantry corps, though - Spear Seargents and Conscript Swordsmen (and Urban Militia, if you research Commonwealth at the Meeting House) form a defensive force that can be used to screen and support your ranged units - Repeating Crossbowmen, along with Handgonnes and Fire Lancers. However these pale in comparison with two unique units that Nansong can recruit - Zhanmadao Infantry, a polearms unit with splash damage intended to resist late game cavalry, and the Zhentianlei grenadier corps. This is a slow-moving unit that is susceptible to missile weaponry, but can devastate about almost anything close enough to be within its short missile range - highly effective if used against heavy cavalry.
The upshot however is that Nansong is specialised in the production of Influence, and nothing else. While others can drag in more resources from the get go to fuel an early game rush, the high costs of Nansong's units mean that Nansong is confined to a purely defensive style of play, counting on her propensity to generate Influence faster (and save it) to out-research opponents. Thus an ideal map for Nansong would be one with bodies of water and/or chokepoints to defend - very much the same sort of terrain that characterised the historic territory of Nansong, until her final defeat at the hands of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in the fateful battle of Yamen near Hong Kong in 1279 CE.
Unique units and structures gallery
Repeating Crossbow
A unique Nan Song archer unit that sacrifices range for added attack, rate of fire, as well as an attack bonus versus light melee cavalry.
Zhanmadao Infantry
Unique Nan Song heavy elite halberd infantryman that deals splash damage, and is proficient at taking down enemy cavalry at close range.
Crossbow Cavalry
Unique Nan Song ranged cavalry unit. Has slower rate of fire and and cannot attack while moving, but has better range in comparison to other equivalent horse units, most notably Steppe Nomads and Javelin Cavalry.
Zhentianlei
A unique Nan Song siege infantry unit armed with crude handbombs, intended for destroying most targets at close range. Strong versus buildings and siege weapons, but easy prey for most units with good missile range.
Unique Nan Song light naval vessel. A tough but somewhat costly form of light warship that far surpasses the capabilities of other units of her class, most notably Dromonds and Barques.
Lunchuan
Unique Nan Song medium naval vessel. A prototype paddle-wheel ship, meant to function as medium shipping - it can function as a fast-moving "heavy" vessel that is less susceptible to Fire Vessel attacks than most other warships, but is costlier to build.
Heavy Cavalry
The loss of the northern lands ruled from Kaifeng as well as a military alliance with Xixia has not resulted in the loss of an appreciation for shock cavalry in Nansong. The past thirty years have allowed the Song court at Jiankang to re-establish a new heavy cavalry force but it is still very much inferior if compared to that of more warlike nations.
Citadel
As in The Hellenistic Era, the Citadel (alongside its weaker counterpart, the Guard Tower) continues to be the most powerful form of point defence in this instalment in the Kings & Conquerors family of mods. The Citadel is of vital importance, since it is the only building from which Zhentianlei grenadier corps may be recruited.
Mansion
The weakest of all advanced unit recruitment structures, the Mansion's main draw is that it has the lowest tech requirements, and can be built in each and every large Settlement that you control.
Fortified Barracks
Stronger than a normal Barracks, this building may be weaker than most point defence structures, but it is nevertheless a useful way to quickly set up and reinforce a forward building operation against any enemy counterstrike.
AI leader names
- Zhao Shen
- Zhao Kuo
- Zhao Gou
- Zhao Yun
- General Yue Fei
- General Han Shizhong
- Empress Gongsheng
- Empress Wu
- Chancellor Han Tuozhou
- Empress Li Fengniang
- General Xin Qiji
Settlement names
- Hangzhou
- Chengdu
- Quanzhou
- Guangzhou
- Tanzhou
- Jiangning
- Xuzhou
- Dinghai
- Qingzhou
- Mingzhou
- Huating
- Caizhou
- Fuzhou
- Zhongdu
- Kaifeng
- Mizhou
- Minzhou
- Jizhou
- Fengxiang
- Huining
- Zhending
- Maozhou
- Yingchang
- Chenliu
- Henan
- Hejian
- Xiangzhou
- Kuizhou
- Xingyuan
- Juzhou
- Guizhou
- Ezhou
- Jiangling
- Gongzhou
- Yan'an
- Haizhou
- Zhenjiang
- Yangzhou
- Pingjiang
Other chapters:
Wolf Among Lions [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Rise of the Barbarians [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Imperivm Invictvm [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Hammurabi: [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Other mods:
Rise of Kings: Chronicles [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
New World Empires: Swords of the Prophets [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Warbirth: The Crucible [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
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