CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: War, Unexpectedly (December 1609-August 1618)
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: War, Unexpectedly
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(December 1609-August 1618)
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(December 1609-August 1618)
We start a new play session with some good news. We get a free stab from an event which brings us back up to +3. That’s a good omen.
Morrocco is separate peaced for some money and reparations. Timbuktu cedes all of Fulo’s cores to them, and 2 provinces for ourselves. They’re left with just their capital.
One of the provinces, Do, is fed to Fulo. From the other, we release a new vassal, Segu. Segu has 3 cores inside Songhai.
I also un-ally Naples to keep us below the relations-limit. We’re at 7 right now, with our ally Spain and 6 vassals: Segu, Air, Fulo, Pangasinan, Deli, and Jambi. CNs don’t take up a slot.
After that, England annexes most of Scotland, leaving them with just the Outer Hebrides. Once England finishes coring their conquests, we will see Great Britain form.
More Universities are queued up in Midlands, Kildare, Ulster, and Tyrconnell. Soon all of Ireland will be covered.
Our colony in Leyte completes, letting us move to Wiradjuri in Australia.
Now it is time to prepare. We’ll soon be fighting the largest war of this campaign. France is still far, far in the future. But England will get a large power boost once they form GB. I’d like to attack them now, before that happens.
First, I slacken recruiting standards (Chapters 29 & 32) to both fill up our manpower and lower our Professionalism.
We’re going to need mercs to win against England. And since those will decrease our Professionalism anyway once hired, we might as well get some free manpower out of it beforehand.
Our army from Africa (21/3/10 composition) is shipped to Ireland.
We also start annexing Jambi to free up a slot. What do we need a slot for?
Well, in further preparation for the coming war with England, we attack and force vassalize Scotland. We even capture a heavy ship from them. We now also have access to all their cores.
In the meantime, Spain attacks England on their own. This will be a nice distraction for our soon-to-be enemies. We still have the toggle enacted to not join Spain’s offensive wars and aren’t called in.
Unfortunately, I don’t notice that d’Elbene has attacked Creek. Our CN wins easily and annexes the last native on the East Coast. Our plans for a French or Portuguese CN in the region are foiled. But at least we fooled the Danes.
At this time, I think Al Esperans a Anne is strong enough to take on Portuguese Mexico in a 1v1 (they outnumber the other 2-1). We won’t need their help against England, so I tell them to declare.
We’ll see how this goes.
Our inflation is finally bought down to 0 using 426 admin points. We’re 10 years ahead on admin tech, so can afford to do so. That’s another problem dealt with.
(I was shocked how much the inflation was increasing our expenses by. Glad we've finally dealt with it).
The Ottomans have sacked Vienna. Their advance seems unstoppable. We’re luckily nowhere near them.
After our colony at Cagayan completes, we next claim Zamboanga also in the Philippines.
And before our plans for England come to fruition, Brittany suffers a loss. Richard, our glorious king, is dead.
Long live King Jean the Seventh!
The blanket was lain over the body. The body of a once great man.
The sheet was white, pure. Unlike how the body was in life, Jean thought.
Jean the Seventh was not a young ruler, not as young as his father had been when he took the throne more than fifty years prior, but still he wasn’t ancient…
But still, fifty!
Woe to me should I ever reach that age. Jean paused. When did I become so cynical?
King Richard had not been a bad father, Jean admitted. Nor a bad king. Perhaps, sometimes, he had even been kind.
But he was ambitious. And ambition breeds a special man, a ruler meant for more than idle family matters.
Jean at this time had no children of his own. Not even a wife!
King Richard had left him to take care of that. And now Jean was King. He had the power, the ability to rule as he saw fit, much like his predecessor had done.
The vassals feared father. Feared him so much to not even plot rebellion. But then, they feared the French and English more. As they should.
Will they fear me?
Curse me?
Love me?
The room was empty now, save the new King of Brittany and the sheet that covered his father.
Did he dare tempt a look? A last glance?
Jean knew he had authority, but he had not been crowned yet. All his power came lingeringly from his father’s fingertips. Just as Richard’s power had come from King Henri. And Henri’s from Francois.
And all their powers from God.
Would God grant him strength? Jean knew Richard’s relationship with the Pope had been…less than cordial.
Jean the Seventh knelt beside the sheet under which his father lay. Spying a wrinkle in the fabric, he smoothed it.
It was colder than expected.
Jean shivered. He said a prayer. He stood and walked out of the room.
Before the door closed, he gave a long look.
It was best to let the dead lie, Jean knew. They knew nothing save ashes and dust.
And Jean knew it was time for his rule to begin.
He would forge his own path, and do his best for the proud people of Brittany.
Sensing weakness upon succession, our rivals come a-knocking. Portugal intervenes against Al Esperans a Anne.
Our two spheres have finally, fully come to blows!
We’re the stronger power, but our England war is now delayed. I ferry our small army in Asia to the Portuguese colonies of Aru and Sula. Both are soon occupied.
Our European fleet is merged and moves with an army in tow towards North Africa.
11 months into the war, North Africa is ours. Madeira and the Azores are about to be occupied.
Even though we’re in a major war, that doesn’t mean we forget to expand our holdings in Australia. Woolna is next after our colony in Kurrama is cancelled because of a native migration.
Our army in Asia occupies Wake Island. We’ve also occupied Portuguese South Africa and their province in Angola.
Since we have mil access through Spain, I land our army in Sevilla. Then, I let half the Portuguese army cross into Tangiers. Our army engages the other half in Gibraltar and destroys it. And we attack the Tangiers force afterwards.
(Yes, Portugal is currently unoccupying Tangiers. But as long as our battle in Gibraltar is over quick enough, they won't be able to cross in time).
In the meantime, we’ve started colonies in the Philippines at Samar and Bikol. Zamboanga has finished.
Our Portuguese war has also had a knock-off effect on European diplomacy.
France, seeing Austrian weakness against the Ottomans, attacks the HREmperor. Portugal was allied to Austria but refuses the call. Austria and Portugal were also both allied to the Papal States. Both have similarly refused to defend the Pope against a Venetian attack.
England also loses heavily to Spain. Most of Argentina and some of Brazil is ceded to the victor. Spain also takes Buru and Yamdena in the Moluccas and Tuvalu and Nauru in the South Pacific.
Furthermore, England is unable to defend Sweden from a Russian attack, seeing them lose most of Finland. Denmark attacks as well.
The only upside is that, since England is now at peace, they can form Great Britain. We were too slow with Portugal to prevent that from happening.
(I'm curious. Here's a side-by-side between England's and GB's Ideas. Which do you think is better? Are they equal?)
Speaking of Portugal, the war is going well for us in every theater except North America.
I’ve shipped over a small army and quickly occupied the wargoal of Borrado. With that, the warscore jumps to 23%. We peace out.
(As you can see, things aren't going to well in America. But we have the wargoal now, so none of that matters. We don't need complete victory. We will eat Portugal slow and steady, one bit at a time).
Portuguese Mexico cedes 4 provinces to Esperans a Anne (2 of which are gold provinces). 2 provinces are ceded to Douar-font Dreux (1 of which is gold).
The 2 Portuguese provinces in the East Coast Colonial Region are ceded to d’Elbene.
And Haiti is given to EDB.
(The yellow "G" is a gold province. This increases our own Treasure Fleets and decreases Portugal's).
We seize some Crownland once at peace, bringing us above 50%. This gives some minor boosts to Reform Growth and Max Absolutism. These bonuses will continue to improve as our Crownland increases (at 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100%).
And we’ve reached the end of another part, stronger and (hopefully) ready to attack England barring any distractions.
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