Mission 2: The Invasion of China

Welcome, Khan, to the heart of the Jin Dynasty! This mission marks a significant escalation in your campaign, demanding mastery of large-scale combat, siege warfare, and sustained economic management. Your objective is clear: conquer the Jin Dynasty by destroying their key strongholds. Prepare for a multi-stage assault against well-fortified positions and a formidable enemy.

Mission Objectives & Overview

Your primary goal is to systematically dismantle the Jin Dynasty's defenses. This involves destroying specific landmarks and military structures within their territory. The mission unfolds in several phases, each requiring a tailored approach:

Phase 1: Establish Your Foothold & Initial Raids. Secure your starting position and begin harassing enemy resource lines.
Phase 2: Siege Preparations. Build up your economy and military, focusing on siege weaponry.
Phase 3: Breaking the Outer Defenses. Use your siege engines to breach the first layers of Jin fortifications.
Phase 4: Assaulting the Inner City. Push into the heart of the Jin capital, eliminating key structures.

Recommended Build Order & Unit Composition

A strong economy is paramount for sustaining your war machine. As the Mongols, your early game is incredibly potent. Focus on:

Early Game (First 10-15 minutes)

Villagers: Continuously produce Villagers from your Town Center. Aim for 80-100 Villagers by the mid-game.
Food: Prioritize Sheep and Deer. Once those are depleted, transition to Farms.
Wood: Essential for buildings and siege engines. Assign 15-20 Villagers to Wood.
Gold: Crucial for Mangudai and upgrades. Secure a nearby Gold Vein early.
Stone: Needed for Outposts and later for Keeps if you choose.
Military Buildings:
- Ger: Your primary housing and research building.
- Stable: Start producing Mangudai as soon as possible. These are your bread and butter.
- Archery Range: Supplement with Cavalry Archers for additional ranged damage.
- Blacksmith: Research ranged attack and armor upgrades.
Early Army Composition: Aim for 15-20 Mangudai and 10-15 Cavalry Archers. Use these for early harassment.

Mid-Game (15-30 minutes)

Economy: Continue expanding your Villager count and resource collection. Establish trade routes if possible (though less critical in this mission than pure resource gathering).
Military Buildings:
- Siege Workshop: This is critical. Build 2-3 of these.
- Monastery (optional): For healing units and researching religious technologies.
Key Units:
- Mangudai & Cavalry Archers: Maintain a core force of these for flanking and dealing with enemy ranged units.
- Trebuchets: Your primary long-range siege weapon. Build 4-6. These are essential for destroying walls and towers from a safe distance.
- Bombards: Once you reach Imperial Age, replace or supplement Trebuchets with Bombards for even greater destructive power against buildings and Keeps.
- Spearmen/Lancers: A small contingent (5-10) of Spearmen can protect your siege engines from enemy cavalry. Lancers can be used for flanking attacks on enemy archers.
Mid-Game Army Composition: 20-30 Mangudai/Cavalry Archers, 4-6 Trebuchets, 5-10 Spearmen/Lancers.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Phase 1: Establish Your Foothold & Initial Raids

Initial Setup: You start with a Town Center, a few Villagers, and some starting military units. Immediately assign Villagers to gather Food (Sheep) and Wood. Build a Ger and a Stable.
Scout Aggressively: Use your starting cavalry to scout the immediate area. Locate nearby Gold Veins, Stone Deposits, and potential enemy outposts. You'll find a few small Jin outposts to the east and south.
Early Harassment (Optional but Recommended): Once you have 5-7 Mangudai, send them to harass enemy Villagers at nearby resource nodes. Look for isolated Woodlines or Gold Mines. This slows their economy and forces them to react.
Expand Your Economy: Continue building Villagers and expanding your resource collection. Aim for a steady income of all resources.

Phase 2: Siege Preparations

Age Up: Advance to the Feudal Age as quickly as possible, then to the Castle Age. Focus on economic technologies first, then military upgrades.
Secure Resources: The Jin Dynasty will have fortified resource nodes. Send small groups of Mangudai to clear out any light resistance around new Gold or Stone deposits you wish to exploit.
Build Siege Workshops: Once in the Castle Age, immediately construct 2-3 Siege Workshops. Start training Trebuchets. These are your priority.
Fortify Your Base (Optional): While the Jin will primarily attack your main army, consider building a few Outposts around your resource lines for early warning and defense against raids.

Phase 3: Breaking the Outer Defenses

The Jin Dynasty's outer defenses consist of strong Stone Walls, Watch Towers, and occasionally Keeps. Your primary target in this phase is the Western Gate and the Southern Wall Segment.

Form Your Main Army: Group your Mangudai, Cavalry Archers, and Trebuchets. Assign hotkeys for efficient control. Keep your Spearmen near your siege engines.
Approach the Western Gate (Location: West of your starting position):
- Move your army cautiously towards the Western Gate. Expect resistance from Jin Spearmen and Archers stationed on walls and in towers.
- Position your Trebuchets out of range of enemy towers, but within range of the walls. Use their "Attack Ground" ability to focus fire on a single wall segment or the gate itself.
- Use your Mangudai and Cavalry Archers to draw out and eliminate any enemy units that sally forth from the gate. Focus fire on enemy archers.
- Once the wall is breached, push a small force of cavalry through to scout and eliminate any immediate threats, but do not overextend.
Destroy the Southern Wall Segment (Location: South-west of the Jin capital):
- After breaching the Western Gate, reposition your Trebuchets to target the Southern Wall. This often provides a less defended entry point.
- Repeat the process: use Trebuchets to destroy the wall, while your cavalry protects them and engages any approaching Jin forces.
- Objective Update: Destroying these initial fortifications will often trigger a new objective to destroy a specific Jin landmark within the outer city.

Phase 4: Assaulting the Inner City

With the outer defenses breached, you can now push into the Jin capital. The inner city is heavily defended with Keeps, Barracks, and Archery Ranges. Your primary targets will be the Jin Imperial Palace and the Grand Temple.

Consolidate & Reinforce: Before pushing deep, bring up any reinforcements from your base. Ensure your Trebuchets are fully repaired.
Advance Cautiously: The Jin will have strong counter-attacks. Keep your army together.
Target Keeps First: Jin Keeps are powerful defensive structures that garrison many units and fire arrows. Use your Trebuchets/Bombards to prioritize their destruction. Position your ranged cavalry to pick off any units garrisoned inside as they emerge.
Destroy the Jin Imperial Palace (Location: Central-north of the Jin capital):
- This is a heavily fortified landmark. Expect multiple Keeps, Barracks, and Archery Ranges surrounding it.
- Clear out the surrounding military buildings first to reduce enemy unit production.
- Once the path is relatively clear, focus all your siege weapon fire on the Imperial Palace.
- Common Pitfall: Don't send your cavalry directly into a cluster of Keeps. Use their mobility to draw out enemy units and pick them off, then bring your siege engines to destroy the Keeps.
Destroy the Grand Temple (Location: Central-south of the Jin capital):
- Similar to the Imperial Palace, the Grand Temple will be well-defended.
- Repeat the strategy: clear surrounding military structures, then focus siege fire on the Temple.
- Enemy Composition: Expect a mix of Spearmen, Crossbowmen, and occasionally Lancers. Your Mangudai are excellent against Crossbowmen, while your Spearmen can protect against Lancers.
Final Push: Once the key landmarks are destroyed, the remaining Jin forces will be demoralized. Mop up any remaining resistance to secure victory.

Specific Map Features & Choke Points

Central River: A river often bisects the map, with a few bridges. These bridges are natural choke points that the Jin will heavily defend. Consider using Trebuchets to destroy sections of the wall near the river to create new crossing points, bypassing heavily fortified bridges.
Forests: Use dense forests for ambushes with your Mangudai. Their mobility allows them to quickly retreat into the trees, breaking line of sight and forcing enemy units to chase.
Resource Clusters: The Jin will have several clusters of farms and mining camps. Raiding these with small groups of Mangudai can severely cripple their economy and prevent them from reinforcing effectively.

Common Pitfalls & Solutions

Losing Siege Engines: Trebuchets and Bombards are slow and vulnerable. Always keep them protected by a screen of melee units (Spearmen) and ranged cavalry (Mangudai). If enemy cavalry approaches, immediately pull your siege engines back and engage with your protective units.
Overextending Cavalry: While Mangudai are powerful, sending them alone into a heavily fortified area with multiple Keeps will result in heavy losses. Use them for hit-and-run tactics and to pick off isolated units.
Neglecting Economy: Even with a strong army, if your resource income dwindles, you won't be able to replace losses or research crucial upgrades. Continuously build Villagers and secure new resource nodes.
Ignoring Upgrades: research military upgrades at the Blacksmith (ranged attack, ranged armor) and economic upgrades at your Town Center/Ger. These provide significant advantages.
Underestimating Jin Defenses: The Jin Dynasty has strong defensive structures. Don't try to brute force through walls with just units; use your siege engines.

Rewards for Completion

Upon successfully conquering the Jin Dynasty, you will receive:

Experience Points: Significant XP for your campaign progression.
Dynasty Points: Contribution to unlocking new Mongol Dynasty bonuses.
Unlocks: Access to the next campaign mission.

Good luck, Khan! The Jin Dynasty will fall before the might of the Golden Horde!