Putting (playing) the ultimate yoke on the Mongols

On turn 40 of the Into the Renaissance scenario the Mongols will spawn near the eastern edge of the map. Their preferred spot is somewhat southeast of Moscow but they will spawn nearby if that spot is blocked. They come with a strong contingent of kesheks and multiple settlers, they also get periodic free reinforcements and are (big surprise) highly aggressive. They automatically adopt Islam and spread it quickly. Preparing for and dealing with them is Russia's main struggle for a good bit of the game.

There are good guides out there already on how to get the achievement. In one of them a couple of failed attempts to block the Mongol spawn were discussed before moving on to a different strategy. I decided to follow up on the blocking idea for the fun of it (that guild can be found here: http://www.kalle-online.net/blog/renaissance-yokes-mongols-steam-achievement-guide/).

To my surprise I found that stopping the Mongols from spawning could be done (on Emporer), but it does leave Russia in a challenging positiion. This is probably not the best nor easiest approach to getting the achievement, it just felt good to deny the Mongols access to my lands.

I think of this as a historical counterfactual "what if". What if the Rus had noticed the growing threat in the east and decided to dedicate themselves to thwarting the unification of the Mongolian tribes? They sent agents to breed inter-tribal strife, assassinate Khans that were getting too powerful, spread rumors of massive horse plagues to the west, etc. Meanwhile they worked on expanding into the lands around them especially to the south to limit Mongol expansion, and to do some unification of their own. After many many years and much effort they succeed -- only to find that the West had eclispsed them and that they had bumped into a large power to the south, both big threats.

In order to stop the Mongols, first I had to understand to what lengths the game would go to find them a starting location. I discovered that the first city is always 4 tiles in from the eastern edge and can be as far north as 2 tiles from the top edge down to the southern mountain down by the Black Sea (yes, it will actually put the city on either of those two moutains). I've marked the possible spawn locations on the two screenshots. I also found it will not honor the 4 tile city separation rule, it will plop a city down within 3 tiles of another city if the land is unclaimed. It will spawn the city as long as there are an available 7 tiles that can hold a base city circle centered anywhere along that 4th column. That means that no more than 2 adjacent rows can have unclaimed tiles along that north-south line (on any particular row, its not necessary to claim column 4, blocking column 3 or 5 works too, depending on whether its an even or odd row).

Using that information I worked out a plan using 4 settlers (including the free one Russia starts with on Emporer), the fast expansion of Russian cities, a cultural focus, and a great general's citadel to exclude the Mongols from my turf.

The 4 cities are placed north-south a bit inward from the eastern edge so that their borders can expand to within 2 tiles of each other by turn 39. This will likely mean buying some tiles on turn 39 (or before to influence direction of expansion). Being as the game limits purchasing land to 3 tiles from the city center that gives us a maximum of 8 tiles in between city centers. As it happens, on the default map its possible to do this with one city northeast of Moscow and three cities south of Moscow along the line, and using a citadel to expand Moscow eastward. There's even a little wiggle room to optimize city placement for resources, production, cash, etc.

There are 2 keys that will minimize the amount of land that will need to be purchased. The first is the Russian special building, the Krepost, a barracks that reduces the culture (and cash) costs of city expansion. The Krepost will also make buying the final bits of land cheaper. The second is cranking up the culture the cities produce.

With the idea of culture focus, needing 3 additional settlers and a great general, I chose the following policies:

1. Tradition: faster border expansion (often overlooked), 3 culture in Moscow (it needs to expand too)
2. Liberty: +1 culture per city
3. Republic: need the production to get things built in time, bonus for buildings, i.e. Kreposts, need it to get Collective Rule
4. Legalism: free culture building in first 4 cities
5. Collective rule: free settler, build settlers faster in Moscow
6. Citizenship: free worker, faster improvements
7. Honor: need for Warrior Code, notification/bonus against barbarians
8. Warrior code: great general, faster unit production

Yes, 8 policies before turn 40* on Emporer. Russia begins with enough culture to pick 3, almost 4 policies and in this scenario, new cities start with population 3, pre-built monument, granary and shrine, so Legalism gives a free Amphitheater -- with its artist slot. The first two cities founded will actually shorten the time to the next policy as the cities are cranking out 9 culture per turn from their founding! As one might imagine, the cities expand quickly, especially after the Krepost is built.

*Actually turn 36-37, a few turns are needed to move the great general into position. If it might be cutting it close, consider using the 2nd worker to build a road for the general. All relevant tiles must be claimed by/on turn 39.

The policies are listed in the order I used, but its not strictly necessary to stick with that order. Its possible to skip or delay Citizenship or to swap Republic and Legalism depending on how things look. Some of my decisions were based on preparing for the game post-turn 40 because to get this done, Russia will be way behind in every way except policies and land area. For example, the free worker allows for faster/more development of luxuries and strategic goods. Its also possible that if cities expand the right way the citadel isn't even necessary (I actually got that lucky), but the Warrior Code policy also gives a boost to unit production and considering the state of Russia's military by turn 40 under this plan, that's not a bad idea. The general is nice to have around if the citadel isn't needed (or can be used to claim additional luxuries/strategic goods).

I'll refer to the city sites as A-D north to south. There is some leeway in city placement, they can be either 3, 4, or 5 tiles in from the eastern edge and they can be shifted north or south by a row, but keep in mind the maximum of 8 tiles in between the southern city centers and the limits on Moscow's expansion eastward, there's only so much the citadel can cover. If one of the southern cities is shifted north or south a row then one or both of the others might have to be shifted the same direction as well. (For example, I put site A on the river, but 1 row further south is the optimal location with regard to border expansion).

For reference to the screenshots, site A is Yaroslavl, B is Novgorod, C is St. Petersburg and D is Rostov. Yaroslavl and Rostov can be swapped, as Rostov will get the last free amphitheater (and artist slot), its a decision to be made as to which site could best use the extra culture to speed expansion and there will only be a few turns to do so. Most often it will be site D that most needs the culture boost, claiming that tile NW of the pass in the mountains is a must.

Site A is 4 rows from the top (5 rows north from Moscow) and will be the destination of the last settler due to its short travel distance (cheers to Russia's fast movement along/across rivers) and A usually has the least need for expansion. Site B is 6 rows south of Moscow and is the 2nd city built using the free settler from the Collective Rule policy. The city needs to do a lot of expanding both north and south. Site C is 8 rows further south and is founded first using the starting settler. It likewise has a lot of expansion to do. The travel time to get there gives Moscow just enough turns to finish a national wonder if desired. Site D is 2 rows north of the mountains and is founded with the first produced (i.e. 3rd) settler. It has a long travel time (~12 turns) and arrives at site D about the same time the last settler hits site A, giving us the option of which of the two cities will be Rostov and thus gets the last free amphitheater with its artist slot.

This placement and settling order gives the central cities the extra time, Krepost, and free amphitheater/artist they need to expand both north and south. The northernmost and southernmost cities have limited expansion needs and mostly in one direction so its pretty easy to buy the tile or two needed to close any gaps.

In the screenshots, the red line is the set of tiles the Mongols may spawn on. Note how there is no place to put a starting city on that red line without overlapping an owned tile, that's the goal. Also notice not all cities are sitting directly on the red line. The brown line is the path of the starting settler.

The area around Moscow is important. Cash flow will be negative most of the time so its necessary to have luxury and/or strategic goods to sell. Moscow needs decent production as well, an ideal setup is iron (stone/marble is good too) on the hill next to Moscow and a forested plantation luxury (e.g. dyes) nearby with additional or extra luxuries available. Happiness will be negative most of the time as well and can hit -10 if not addressed. Relaunch if Moscow has too few resources, they're needed. Deer and/or wheat are necessary to leverage the granary so more citizens can work production tiles, but its uncommon not to get those.

On Emporer level, Russia starts with a swordsman, a worker and a settler. The swordsman will be scouting city sites. The first city, site C is a race between the settler and the swordsman, the swordsman has movement 3 but takes a less direct and more congested route, so there isn't as much leeway in city location for that settler. Delaying the founding of St. Petersburg by a turn or two to get to a better spot is probably fine, but not much more (and at that it might affect policy selection, i.e. skip Citizenship).

Take the first 3 policies, send the swordsman east then down the open terrain lane to scout site B, then work its way to sites C and D. The main focus is seeing what's around the locations to pick the best spot to plant a city within the constraints. The worker I set to chopping a forest and then a second forest (with an eye toward developing a luxury resource without having to move far afterwards which is why a forest plantation luxury like dyes is beneficial). Research is a non-factor in the plan, player's choice but know you'll likely only get 1 tech and close to a 2nd by turn 40 (I did mention this plan leaves Russia well behind, right?)

The starting settler needs to follow a specifc path to get to site C quickly. Start by moving SW 1 tile, then SE onto the forest tile. The next turn move SE then SW. That puts the settler on a nice stretch of open terrain. The default city location can be reached by moving straight SE from there moving on to the spot on turn 7 and building the city on turn 8 (even though the location of various luxuries and strategic goods varies from game to game, the terrain does not. Hills, rivers, forests, etc. are the same every time if using the default map. Barbarians shouldn't spawn for around 30 turns so just move the settler along the indicated path and it'll get where it needs to be on time).

Moscow's production is player's choice until about turn 11 when the Collective Rule policy is taken and then Moscow will spend around 20 turns producing 2 settlers, the 2nd of which has to complete no later than turn 36 but sooner is better (if falling behind, chop more trees!). One of the musts before building settlers is a Scout, you have to meet people to sell them stuff and you'll be running a deficit quite a bit of the time. Sell them iron if available, no use to Russia at the moment, and of course surplus luxury goods (even non-surplus if need be).

Knowing I would be behind on tech, I opted to build the National College in Moscow while I waited on the first settler to arrive at site C. It timed out perfectly (with chopping those 2 forests and maximizing production in Moscow). Other options are certainly viable but it gave me +1 culture and I wasn't certain how tight the policy advancement would be. Might not be necessary to focus quite that intently on culture, not sure. I also scheduled a scout followed by a temple (+2 culture with Orthodoxy).

The 4th policy is turn 4 (perhaps earlier if Legalism is taken ahead of Republic). I wanted to keep max production in Moscow so I didn't lock in the artist until the NC was completed (Don't forget founding a new city while building a national wonder will either increase the cost or cancel it). The artist should be used fairly early though, faster policies, border expansion and the generation of a great artist all help.

After the 2 forests and a luxury good is developed, mine the hill next to Moscow (or develop iron/horses) to bump up production then focus on getting resources to sell and improve happiness. Once the swordsman finishes scouting site D, it needs to head back north. It can take the long way around, mine took a swim in the Black Sea, headed west then north back to Moscow scouting the lands in between. If no other units are available send it NE of Moscow to scout site A and then its scouting days are over, barbarians may start appearing by then.

5th policy is Collective Rule around turn 11, send the free settler to site B. Settler 3 should complete around 21-24 (took a few extra turns to finish the temple) and settler 4 early to mid 30s but not later than 36. S3 goes south to site D (about 12 turns) and S4 goes NE to site A (use those rivers, 3-4 turns). Make sure S3 and S4 will be ready to found a city no later than turn 39, but preferably before that so the cities can expand a tile or two reducing the need to buy land.

St. Petersburg and Novgorod will both build Kreposts first, then player's choice (but keep in mind the need to develop resources to sell and for happiness). Both cities need to lock in the artist for the duration (make sure Moscow stays ahead on great artist points) and maximize production until the Kreposts are built, maximize cash secondarily. The population won't be growing because happiness will be negative, just don't lose population to starvation. These first 2 cities will expand rapidly (as fast as every 1-2 turns) so keep an eye out for opportunites to work new tiles or develop new resources. Even Moscow can expand surprisingly fast, watch for opportunites there as well.

Pick whether A or D will be Rostov (i.e. the 4th city), lock in the artist and settle Yaroslavl later on the same turn if possible. These cities likely won't have time to finish a Krepost but don't really need one for our purposes, production is player's choice.

When Moscow's great artist spawns (turn 30ish) either the landmark or a golden age will boost culture. Which will depend on how things stand and long term vs. short term benefits. Turn 18ish a monastary can be bought with faith in Moscow giving +2 culture (depends on whether/when temple was built).

If the citadel is needed, the Warrior Code policy should be taken no later than turn 36-37. If it doesn't look like that will happen the options are to build roads for the general or to skip Citizenship and go straight for Honor and Warrior Code as policies 6 & 7. If the 6th policy hasn't popped by turn 20-21 that might be the only option unless its possible to increase culture.

On turn 39, check where the borders are, buy up any necessary tiles so there are no more than 2 tiles between borders (don't forget north/south extremes as well) and if needed grab land east of Moscow with the great general. When buying land, start with the cities that don't have a Krepost. Land costs go up after each purchase and the effect is empire wide. Use the Krepost's discount on the most expensive (i.e. later) purchases. Likewise if a tile distance 3 from the city center needs to be purchased (likely) and there's a choice between a Krepost and non-Krepost city, the Krepost city will probably be cheaper. In my game, I only needed to buy 2 tiles, but I opted not to create the citadel, so I bought 2 tiles to cover that area (not always possible).

Turn 40, enjoy a Mongol free world, albeit with Russia in pretty sad shape. Moscow will be a whopping 5 citizens (maybe 6), the other 4 cities still pop 3. The military may well consist of just the starting swordsman, 1 tech (close on 2nd), negative happiness and little or negative cash flow, although possibly a good bit of cash on hand. Russia will be on everyone's target list if they haven't already declared war and the Turks will be very interested in the southern city. Have fun!

Don't forget there will be a big hit to happiness when Rostov and Yaroslavl are founded, 2 cities and 6 additional population in one or two turns will drop you below -9 if not anticipated.
Not much going on here besides selling people stuff for the first 40 turns. Questionable if establishing embassies is a good idea, people are less likely to decalare war if they don't know where Russian cities are and can't prosecute it if they do DOW. However, not doing so could hurt trade negotiations. Selling for GPT early on is OK, but straight cash afterwards. In my game I established embassies all around and by turn 38 every one of those, excluding Byzantium had declared war. Sweden even sent a fair sized army, and a 2nd smaller one but took a southern route (they had been at war with the Netherlands), not arriving for 30-40 turns. My scout spotted them and I met them in the forests SW of Moscow, they never crossed the border and not a one escaped so the threat of war early isn't that bad since the Russian cities are so far east.

For some strange reason, the Turks and Byzantium didn't go to war with each other. Probably should try to bribe them or co-declare if that happens.

I intentionally did not scout further south than the northern Black Sea. With a city that far south, I wanted to delay contact with the Turks* as long as possible and with only 1 real scout, the priority was Europe. The 15 gold from meeting city states was minor but more helpful were the city state quests. Cranking out culture its possible to win those quests and since resources are being developed slowly and late, there will be many quests to connect X resource. There are also the quests to meet X empire. Getting cultural, food or happiness boosts, even as friend for only a few turns can help out, not to mention the odd free unit.

*The Turks plopped a city just south of Rostov and sure enough within a few turns war was declared. Razed their city and held them at the pass, but they kept running settlers around to the west. I kept taking and razing Turkish cities along the north side of the Black Sear for religious war score but they distracted me from Austria who expanded eastward with a vengeance. Getting a Black Sea coastal city might be an early post-turn 40 priority.

With small cities til turn 40 (and until happiness is under control), supply is a real limitation going forward. Spamming cheap units won't work (if that's the preferred playstyle) until happiness is under control and more cities are founded.

City connection roads are long for the first 4 cities and thus costly. Gold continues to be a challenge for a while.

Given the above, one possibility is that after assuring the blockage of the Mongols, sell the southern city to Byzantium for cash/GPT (it doesn't matter who owns those tiles just so long as they're claimed). Helps with happiness, long roads, money and Turkish problems, but hurts supply. It lets the focus be on westward expansion sooner rather than later.

In my game I was doing fairly well but didn't get prepared for Austria fast enough. It might still be winnable (paused play to write this guide), but the challenge will be to take enough larger cities for a winning score. The smaller cities near me take too much time and resources for too little score.

More of a review of the highlights of my first 40 turns than a true walkthrough. This is more to clarify than to say this is exactly how to do it. With different resources and placements, each map will need its own tweaks.