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Great Qing is one of the most rewarding countries for skilled players inVictoria 3. Managing China’s massive population while navigating dangerous in-game events is no easy task, but if played correctly Great Qing (or its successor) is the most powerful nation in the game by a wide margin.
Related:Victoria 3: United States Strategy Guide
If you’re planning to lead China to claim a place among the Great Powers, you’ll have to adapt your usual strategy. This guide focuses on the weaknesses of Great Qing’s starting position and how to overcome them. Once you’re fully modernized, nobody will be able to stand up to your might!
Chinese Economy In Victoria 3
China has by far thelargest starting population in the game, but most of them are Peasants in 1836. If you manage your population correctly, you’ll never want for workers, but the downside of having so many people is that you need an enormous bureaucracy to keep track of them all.
Almost every state in Great Qing starts the game far in excess of its taxation capacity, leading tonearly one million pounds in unrealized taxes! Therefore, a good opening strategy is toexpand your lumber and paper productionand build more Government Administration buildings in large cities like Beijing.
It’s effectively impossible to get your taxation capacity under control without forcing your industries into stagnation. When you play as Great Qing, you’ll have to accept some loss of tax revenue throughout the campaign.
Once you’ve shored up some of your income, you can start expanding your plantations in Southern China to get more exports.Silk in particular has a high foreign demand, so be sure to secure export routes for it.
China is most efficient if you divide your industries according to the strengths of each region. The south is best forexports and luxuries;Silk, Dyes, Opium, Tobacco, and Tea. The large cities in the east should be yourcenters of manufacturing, farming and trade, while the interior is best formining and livestock.
Notable Chinese States
Be sure to pay attention to the following states, as they have important traits:
How To Research Technologies Faster As Great Qing
Great Qing begins the game far behind the Great Powers in terms of technology, and will need to catch up quickly if you hope to be recognized as one of them. After expanding your paper industry, put it to use bybuilding Universities. Twenty to twenty-five levels' worth, divided between two or three large cities, should be enough to reach your Innovation capacity.
In general, Chinese interest groups don’t prioritize education, so you’ll have a hard time instituting any laws that will increase your overall literacy. Having an active Education Institution will alsoadd several thousand points to your Bureaucracy expenditure. If you can afford to do so and the opportunity arises, you should take it, but in most campaigns you’ll need to find other ways to enhance your research.
The best strategy is toenact Right Of Assembly. This will be met with resistance from your established interest groups, but you can usually get support for the law from the Rural Folk (whose Clout will quickly increase as you expand agriculture and mining) and the Literati (who will gain Clout from Universities and Government Administration).
Once Right Of Assembly is in place, yourtechnology spread will increase, speeding up your ability to absorb research from other countries.
Related:Victoria 3: Russia Strategy Guide
Chinese Military In Victoria 3
China starts with a large but technologically inferior army in 1836, and a weak navy. Getting your land forces up to par with the rest of the world will make Great Qing a defensive powerhouse - your only real threat on land is from Russia in the north, but the Tsar typically prefers to trade rather than fight.
Your first major military reform should beswitching from Peasant Levies to Professional Army.This lets you expand your standing battalions and weakens the political strength of the Scholar-Officials, paving the way for more reforms down the road.
While China can field hundreds upon hundreds of conscript battalions, this shouldonly be done as a last resort.Arming that many soldiers with modern weaponry can quickly bankrupt you!
If you’re looking for early expansion targets, consider moving into Central Asia.Kashmir, held by the Sikh Empire, starts the games with Arms Industries (which you don’t have) and the Great Powers don’t usually intervene in the region.Burma, Dai Nam, and Siamare also good targets.
The Opium Wars
Your first major conflict will likely be the Opium Wars. Great Qing starts the game with an addiction epidemic among the population; until you ban the opium trade (done via theDecisions Tabin the Journal), you’ll periodically receive events thatincrease the mortality of a random statefor five years. This will add up to tens of thousands of deaths or more if left unchecked.
If you ban the Opium Trade, Great Britain will receive an event allowing them to start a Diplomatic Play against you. They’ll usually demand a Treaty Port, free trade, and reparations. Despite your numbers advantage, youwon’t be able to stand up to Britain’s advanced weaponryat the start of the game.
The safest route is toavoid the Opium Wars altogether. Export high volumes of Silk, Tea, and other luxuries to Britain - this will make them reluctant to jeopardize their supply. If you ban opium while Britain is already at war with another Great Power, they might decline to start another conflict.
If you plan to engage Britain, you need to be ready.Expanding and modernizing your navyis a must, as you’ll face a naval invasion sooner or later. attempt to get a Defensive Pact with France or Russia before enacting the ban - their help will be invaluable in the war. Once Britain initiates the Diplomatic Play, your first demand should berecognition as a Great Power.Your second should beindependence for India, which grants you a strong potential ally in Asia and deals an enormous blow to Britain’s economy for the rest of the game.
