Samurai Invasion – Yow Ming! Steam Achievement Guide

The Samurai Invasion of Korea – Playing China (Deity)

China – this ancient nation retained the most important aspects of it’s culture over the span of thousands of years. Unity of the Chinese heartland is a constant given for about one thousand years by now. In 960 the Song dynasty (re-)united China after a short period of sectionalism. In 1271 Kublai Khan, grandson of the legendary Genghis Khan, established the Yuan dynasty few decades after the Mongol conquest of China. Although other Mongol tribes began to see the Yuan more as Chinese than as actual Mongols, the Chinese population, led by the Ming eventually rebelled and overthrew the Yuan.

The Ming dynasty ruled China for 276 years (1368–1644), which by some is referred to as

one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history

Edwin Oldfather Reischauer, John King Fairbank, Albert M. Craig (1960) A history of East Asian civilization, Volume 1

Eventually it had been overthrown by the Manchu, which of course now playing the Ming we will prevent at all costs! Even more: We will conquer Manchuria!!!

German and French names of this Steam Achievement:
DE: Oh Ming!
FR: Yow Ming !

Yow Ming – Strategy

First steps

The most essential first move I only learned in later games on lower levels of difficulty (I started playing China on Deity and only later played China on Emperor and Immortal later for the other achievements). Here you go:

Civilization 5 Samurai Invasion of Korea China Deity Pyongyang
Close call at the gates of Pyongyang

All units east of Beijing move to Korea immediately!!!

This should be 1-2 Chu-Ko-Nus and 1 Cannon. These three units, together with the units Korea has, can defend Seoul if you make it on time and Korea plays well enough. Even if not, you can stop the Japanese Invasion at Haeju, not only at Pyongyang where it stopped in my first game.

Build order and Social Policies

This scenario will be a lot easier, if you manage to build at least Himeji Castle! It provides a +15% combat bonus for units fighting in friendly territory (which includes Korea!). So all initial production in Beijing is directed at this. You can probably get it if you start right from the start, but I also wanted to build the Porcelain Tower. So I optimized production, building

  • Stoneworks
  • Forge
  • Stable

for +1 production each. Also I used all initial workers (some built in cities nearby) to improve Beijing! Focus on the hills next to rivers. These provide 2 food, 2 production, 1 gold and thus are almost as good as special bonus tiles!

In the other cities of the Empire, build a worker first, improve production and Happiness (if still required) and start building units early on.

Unlike Korea, which loses some cities right at the start, and the Manchu, who only start with one city, China has a vast empire right from the start. So especially on Deity you’ll have a Happiness problem. To compensate I applied these policies right at the start:

  • Piety
  • Organized Religion – +1 Happiness from Monuments and Temples
  • Liberty
  • Republic – +production in cities
  • Citizenship – free worker and +25% on building improvements
  • Meritocracy – +1 Happiness for each city connected to the capital
  • Honor

After playing this scenario several more times I realized I could have applied more Honor policies. But either way: Even on Deity, it’s hard to lose this scenario playing as China.

Yow Ming – The easy part: Defending against Japan

The easy part when playing Samurai Invasion of Korea as China (Deity or any difficulty actually) is defending against Japan. After a worker and some basic infrastructure buildings all your cities should build at least 1 unit.

As stated above: All your initial units east of Beijing should move to Korea immediately. You will be able to defend Haeju, and even Seoul, if you’re fast (and Japan slow).

However: Japan won’t only attack Korea, but also directly send units across the sea and attack your cities. Some units will come at Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, but 2-3 Chu-Ko-Nus are enough here. In my Deity game the biggest part of the Japanese attack hit Lianyungang in the south. The units produced in your 4 southernmost cities will be enough to defend the city.

When promoting your Chu-Ko-Nu: Keep in mind not to apply Logistics. Since the Chinese unique unit can already shoot twice, applying Logistics won’t grant you another attack of course.

Yow Ming – The hard part: Defending against the Manchu

Where the scenario is titled “Samurai Invasion of Korea” it might as well be called “Manchu Invasion of China”. The Manchu, played by the AI grow stronger with every turn. Around turn 50 they will have a number of cities to match yours, they will have a strong military and can match your productivity. You have to attack before they shift this balance.

The biggest strategic value is with Liaoyang. The city lies at the one road connecting China and Korea. It must be defended at all costs. Of course, if you push for it, you can finish the game before the Manchu become a threat 😉

Samurai Invasion – China Deity: Duty and Bonus

Your duty: Defeating Japan! Of course I’m ambitious and wanted to conquer as many Japanese cities as possible, before liberating Korea. On Deity I only could manage to conquer Nagasaki. Japans unit-production is just too much to conquer more!

The bonus: Conquering the Manchu! It would be enough to fiercely defend Liaoyang to liberate Korea and win the game. But then again: If you have all those units defending and getting promotions – why not also use them offensively? Since China can’t build more cities, the only way to expand your empire is to conquer the Manchu.

Applying the common tactics, building roads, protecting and evacuating your veterans you’ll be able to push back the Manchu until their capital. Unfortunately you’re playing in one team with Korea. War with Japan is locked – war with Manchuria is not. This is why Korea will make peace with the Manchu every 10 turns. Since you are winning, the Manchu will always accept Joseons offer. Keep that in mind while planning your conquest!

Yow Ming – Conclusion

Too easy. The bottom line of playing the Samurai Invasion of Korea – even on Deity difficulty – as China is: It is too easy. Compared to playing as Japan, with the long way to Beijing, or playing as Manchu, having to split the army, China is too powerful in this game. You can easily help out your Korean buddy and still achieve some personal goals. Naturally I’m also thankful for some less challenging Deity games. Do you agree or disagree? Please share your experience in the comments below!

6 thoughts on “Samurai Invasion – Yow Ming! Steam Achievement Guide”

  1. Don’t know if it matters anything but if you start with the Liberty tree completed you can start the game with a great engineer, giving you Himeji castle bonus from round 2.

    1. Doesn’t this depend on the level of difficulty? On Deity: Can one finish Liberty with the accumulated culture at the start?

    2. It does but you can afford it if you go straight for representation and the reduced culture cost.As China on Diety I could afford the following policies and still have 355/990 culture left:
      Citizenship
      Representation
      Meritocracy
      Republic
      Piety
      Organized religion
      Honor

      But as Korea/Japan/Manchu you can’t get that many policies since they start with less culture.

  2. Hey, Robert,

    Using this guide, I was able to beat my very first game on Deity. I just wanted to say thank you very much! I really appreciate the article!

    Cheers!
    -Erik

    1. Erik, that’s great to know! Always tremendously boosts my motivation to write these guides, knowing they encourage people like this 🙂
      Congratz on your Deity Win!

    2. Kalle is always the numbeR one ^_^ !!!! I staRted playing this scenario some days ago ,so I’m not a beggineR and …suRe ,playng Deity with China is Really too easy, Relly too easy…tRy to compaRe with scramble foR afRica (win with boeRs is Really haRd aarrrrrG not yet got ^_^,and I tRied seveRal times )…no way …

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