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Yes. Take Capua and Salerno, and then wipe the floor with the disunited Sicilian sheiks before Robert. Perhaps assasinate the Guiscard so that his realm is weak?
Assassinations? REAL SPARTAN MEN FACE THEIR FOES ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE, NOT SKULKING IN THE COURTS!
SPAAAAARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I should have said this before, but at this time I would like to thank all of the people who have supported this thread so far: Unlike many of the great AAR writers (some of which are people in this thread), i'm not a particularly gifted writer, graphics and/or event modification wiz. The only thing that makes this AAR stand out from just being pages of mildly interesting descriptive text is you! And now what you guys came here for...
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Chapter 2 - The Rise of the Raw Dough that is Napoli
In another universe, things might have been different. Sergios might have held back on his conquest of Capua and chosen to wait for a more profitable target. But then the gains that Napoli made over the next few months might never have materialized...
So the day after the wedding, Sergios gathered up troops from the realm and personally led them on a march out of Napoli and towards Capua. Upon reaching the battlefield where his soldiers were to contest with the Capuans, Sergios is remarked to have given a short, now famous speech:
Of course at the time, this speech had no inspiring effect on his soldiers (who thought of themselves as Byzantines and thus heirs to the Roman Empire rather than a Greek city-state), and in fact left Sergios standing there awkwardly for a few minutes in perfect silence. Nevertheless the number of men in the battle was 5:1 in Napoli's favor anyway, and the troops needed no great moral fortitude to win the day, just to do their jobs. Siege was then set to the city, and the army prepared to wait out the long haul.
Back in Napoli, burghers took the opportunity of temporary economic independence to establish several yearly sailing expeditions, in the hopes of gaining great profit by selling their wares on shores afar. To show that they aren't entirely focused on money, the burghers also procure a supply of longspears for the army, whose design is copied and handed out to every soldier in Capua.
At the end of July, the county of Capua surrenders all its claims to Napoli, as well as the contents of its entire treasury. Sadly, Sergios would never get to see this day: he died in one of the last battles of the siege, and was succeeded by his son in both managing the siege and ruling the realm of Napoli without a proper ceremony.
Things are calm for the next few months, with Sergios (really Sergios Jr., but henceforth referred to as just Sergios) trying to build up a national identity. He is not successful: everyone remains Catholic, the Capuans still see themselves as Italian, and to Sergios' dismay nobody even considers the idea of being Orthodox Spartans. The only thing that actually gets done before the end of the year is the appointment of a certain Nikephoros (a refuge from the Byzantines, who should rightfully be the Count of Kyzikos but was cast from the position by his liege lord and so left) as replacement martial in Sergios' place.
1068 starts out, in what is quickly becoming the style for Sergios, as an economic year. Construction begins on a forestry within the county, and plans are drawn up for a road that will eventually cover all of the land that Napoli owns. Despite all this prosperity, Sergios privately hopes for a war whereby he can prove himself to the populace, but he restrains in the knowledge that Napoli's position is too vulnerable for him to go off crusading like a knight errant.
In February, Sergios announces that his wife has become pregnant. High hopes are placed that the child will be a boy, otherwise the Spartenos line will die out with Sergios (Something that no one wants to see happen... yet.). Also happening is that the King of Croatia approaches Sergios with plans for an alliance: grateful for the support of a relatively powerful monarch, but wary at the king's own designs on Italy, Sergios cautiously agrees.
This alliance could not have come at a better time, as the Duke of Apulia reveals that he plans to proclaim himself King of Sicily once he gathers enough support. To do so, Apulia (and her ally, the Republic of Venice) declares war on the Sheikdom of Trapani. Sergios worries about the possible ramifications if Guiscard succeeds. And after a few months of deliberation, decides that he can not let that happen: war is declared on Trapani in the hopes that Napoli will be able to claim the land first, and the county is nearly bankrupted shipping its soldiers off to Sicily.
Of course, with all of the soldiers gone, the burghers in Capua now have the perfect opportunity to revolt against Napoli rule. Claiming "religious differences", in actually they are looking to completely delegitimize Sergios and gain independence. Unfortunately, since they listed religion as the primary complaint, religion is what the Capuan reserve guard targets in retaliation: the entire province is set to the sword, pillaged, and burned as people in Capua are made to convert to the One True Faith (Orthodoxy). As this solved none of the inherent problems behind the revolts, they continue to rise up nonetheless.
Sergios lands in Trapani in October and smashes the Moslems in a short battle. The city is set to siege, and what feels like an eternity passes by. During the siege, Sergios recieves correspondence from his wife that she gave birth to a son, who she has named Konstantinos. This knowledge comes to the Count like a ray of hope, and convinces him to stay as long as it takes for the sake of the future.
The forestry is completed in Napoli, but no one cares. The countryside of Capua stops burning, but the revolts are still present and attention is focused elsewhere. Finally, on February 14, 1069, Trapani gives way to the invaders who quickly assume control. Several commanders want to sack the heathen city, but Sergios refuses: Napoli is nearly 200 ducats in debt and needs the city to be functioning to have any chance of escaping it. Before the capture of the city, many would have said this was just another way in which Sergios was less of a warrior at heart than his uncle, but no one could argue with results...
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Voting Time!
The subject of today's vote is Roger Guiscard. Or properly put, how to stop him from being a complete jerk. I had to repeat this part several times because Guiscard has claims on all of my land (Napoli and Capua) and thus can arbitrarily curb stomp me into a game over whenever he feels like. Furthermore, the game has it set that he will now declare war on March 14, 1069 (a month from when I ended) no matter how many times I run through it, so hoping he'll go away isn't an option. Neither is assassination because Napoli is "up the creek without a paddle" money-wise. So unless you can provide other options (and I would love other options here), here's what we've got:
I bow my head in submission... until the moment you look away. (Pledge allegiance to Guiscard. This almost certainly guarantees him the Kingdom of Sicily and a prestige drop, but on the other hand we can now try and turn him against the Sheiks of Sicily for our own benefit and wait until the time is right to revolt against him.)
Let the wheel of fate turn. (Accept that we're going to have to keep savescumming until something turns up that allows us to avoid the situation. Since we're different religions, it's perfectly possible to get the "Heathens are Splintered - White Peace" event. Of course, he has enough influence/prestige that he could find a way to get around that and just restart the war, putting us back to square one.)
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Chapter 2 - The Rise of the Raw Dough that is Napoli
In another universe, things might have been different. Sergios might have held back on his conquest of Capua and chosen to wait for a more profitable target. But then the gains that Napoli made over the next few months might never have materialized...
So the day after the wedding, Sergios gathered up troops from the realm and personally led them on a march out of Napoli and towards Capua. Upon reaching the battlefield where his soldiers were to contest with the Capuans, Sergios is remarked to have given a short, now famous speech:
Sergios Spartenos said:
Of course at the time, this speech had no inspiring effect on his soldiers (who thought of themselves as Byzantines and thus heirs to the Roman Empire rather than a Greek city-state), and in fact left Sergios standing there awkwardly for a few minutes in perfect silence. Nevertheless the number of men in the battle was 5:1 in Napoli's favor anyway, and the troops needed no great moral fortitude to win the day, just to do their jobs. Siege was then set to the city, and the army prepared to wait out the long haul.
Back in Napoli, burghers took the opportunity of temporary economic independence to establish several yearly sailing expeditions, in the hopes of gaining great profit by selling their wares on shores afar. To show that they aren't entirely focused on money, the burghers also procure a supply of longspears for the army, whose design is copied and handed out to every soldier in Capua.
At the end of July, the county of Capua surrenders all its claims to Napoli, as well as the contents of its entire treasury. Sadly, Sergios would never get to see this day: he died in one of the last battles of the siege, and was succeeded by his son in both managing the siege and ruling the realm of Napoli without a proper ceremony.
Things are calm for the next few months, with Sergios (really Sergios Jr., but henceforth referred to as just Sergios) trying to build up a national identity. He is not successful: everyone remains Catholic, the Capuans still see themselves as Italian, and to Sergios' dismay nobody even considers the idea of being Orthodox Spartans. The only thing that actually gets done before the end of the year is the appointment of a certain Nikephoros (a refuge from the Byzantines, who should rightfully be the Count of Kyzikos but was cast from the position by his liege lord and so left) as replacement martial in Sergios' place.
1068 starts out, in what is quickly becoming the style for Sergios, as an economic year. Construction begins on a forestry within the county, and plans are drawn up for a road that will eventually cover all of the land that Napoli owns. Despite all this prosperity, Sergios privately hopes for a war whereby he can prove himself to the populace, but he restrains in the knowledge that Napoli's position is too vulnerable for him to go off crusading like a knight errant.
In February, Sergios announces that his wife has become pregnant. High hopes are placed that the child will be a boy, otherwise the Spartenos line will die out with Sergios (Something that no one wants to see happen... yet.). Also happening is that the King of Croatia approaches Sergios with plans for an alliance: grateful for the support of a relatively powerful monarch, but wary at the king's own designs on Italy, Sergios cautiously agrees.
This alliance could not have come at a better time, as the Duke of Apulia reveals that he plans to proclaim himself King of Sicily once he gathers enough support. To do so, Apulia (and her ally, the Republic of Venice) declares war on the Sheikdom of Trapani. Sergios worries about the possible ramifications if Guiscard succeeds. And after a few months of deliberation, decides that he can not let that happen: war is declared on Trapani in the hopes that Napoli will be able to claim the land first, and the county is nearly bankrupted shipping its soldiers off to Sicily.
Of course, with all of the soldiers gone, the burghers in Capua now have the perfect opportunity to revolt against Napoli rule. Claiming "religious differences", in actually they are looking to completely delegitimize Sergios and gain independence. Unfortunately, since they listed religion as the primary complaint, religion is what the Capuan reserve guard targets in retaliation: the entire province is set to the sword, pillaged, and burned as people in Capua are made to convert to the One True Faith (Orthodoxy). As this solved none of the inherent problems behind the revolts, they continue to rise up nonetheless.
Sergios lands in Trapani in October and smashes the Moslems in a short battle. The city is set to siege, and what feels like an eternity passes by. During the siege, Sergios recieves correspondence from his wife that she gave birth to a son, who she has named Konstantinos. This knowledge comes to the Count like a ray of hope, and convinces him to stay as long as it takes for the sake of the future.
The forestry is completed in Napoli, but no one cares. The countryside of Capua stops burning, but the revolts are still present and attention is focused elsewhere. Finally, on February 14, 1069, Trapani gives way to the invaders who quickly assume control. Several commanders want to sack the heathen city, but Sergios refuses: Napoli is nearly 200 ducats in debt and needs the city to be functioning to have any chance of escaping it. Before the capture of the city, many would have said this was just another way in which Sergios was less of a warrior at heart than his uncle, but no one could argue with results...
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Voting Time!
The subject of today's vote is Roger Guiscard. Or properly put, how to stop him from being a complete jerk. I had to repeat this part several times because Guiscard has claims on all of my land (Napoli and Capua) and thus can arbitrarily curb stomp me into a game over whenever he feels like. Furthermore, the game has it set that he will now declare war on March 14, 1069 (a month from when I ended) no matter how many times I run through it, so hoping he'll go away isn't an option. Neither is assassination because Napoli is "up the creek without a paddle" money-wise. So unless you can provide other options (and I would love other options here), here's what we've got:
I bow my head in submission... until the moment you look away. (Pledge allegiance to Guiscard. This almost certainly guarantees him the Kingdom of Sicily and a prestige drop, but on the other hand we can now try and turn him against the Sheiks of Sicily for our own benefit and wait until the time is right to revolt against him.)
Let the wheel of fate turn. (Accept that we're going to have to keep savescumming until something turns up that allows us to avoid the situation. Since we're different religions, it's perfectly possible to get the "Heathens are Splintered - White Peace" event. Of course, he has enough influence/prestige that he could find a way to get around that and just restart the war, putting us back to square one.)
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ASSASINATE! Kill the Guiscard, and the Normans shall be splintered. then, you conquer Sicily.
Alternatively, become vassal of Byzzies or powerful Byzzie prince ( isuggest Alexios Komnenos so he becomes emperor due to amount of vassal lands.)
Alternatively, become vassal of Byzzies or powerful Byzzie prince ( isuggest Alexios Komnenos so he becomes emperor due to amount of vassal lands.)
As mentioned before, we're 200 ducats in the hole: No assassin will even bother showing up in Napoli without payment.
And funnily enough, the idea just came to me to pledge to a liege other than Robert, but I was thinking the Pope: anyone who goes after Napoli then faces excommunication and a large army. But the Pope can't do that to us upon breaking free because we're Orthodox...
And funnily enough, the idea just came to me to pledge to a liege other than Robert, but I was thinking the Pope: anyone who goes after Napoli then faces excommunication and a large army. But the Pope can't do that to us upon breaking free because we're Orthodox...
Well, pledge to the Pope or King of Germans or King of France.
That should stop the fool.
That should stop the fool.
Pledge to the Byzzies, conquer enough land to become Emperor by Rome's elective law.
The results of experimentation:
- The pope will not accept an Orthodox vassal.
- Guiscard won't declare war if I lose prestige either from being vassalized or being rejected from vassalization. Apparently, the whole thing is a result of hidden BB and losing prestige is enough for us to drop off his radar.
- The Byzantine Emperor never actually accepts vassalization fast enough to prevent war from breaking out. On the other hand, Napoli actually has enough land that if we decide to join, Sergios manages to get onto the bottom of the visible list of succession (because he doesn't have a Duke title) as the strongest Count.
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So the new choices (Since the savescumming thing was always meant to be a last resort: Now that we have a valid alternative, i'm not doing it except by extreme popular demand.) are along the lines of...
String the Pope along. (Get the Pope to reject vassalize Napoli as part of a complex plot to throw Guiscard/Apulia off of our trail)
Join a ship and wait out the storm. (Join anyone other than Guiscard. They'll probably accept right after the war starts, and then it's a matter of seeing whether they can bail us out in the nick of time)
I bow my head in submission... for now (Same as before: Join Guiscard or find someone that will accept within the time limit, and use standard manipulative vassal tactics to help ourselves before declaring independence.)
Semi-serious option: I shall unto my lord be true and faithful: to love what he loves, and shun what he shuns. (Join anyone and remain a loyal vassal. After all, there are benefits to serving under another ruler for a long period of time...)
- The pope will not accept an Orthodox vassal.
- Guiscard won't declare war if I lose prestige either from being vassalized or being rejected from vassalization. Apparently, the whole thing is a result of hidden BB and losing prestige is enough for us to drop off his radar.
- The Byzantine Emperor never actually accepts vassalization fast enough to prevent war from breaking out. On the other hand, Napoli actually has enough land that if we decide to join, Sergios manages to get onto the bottom of the visible list of succession (because he doesn't have a Duke title) as the strongest Count.
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So the new choices (Since the savescumming thing was always meant to be a last resort: Now that we have a valid alternative, i'm not doing it except by extreme popular demand.) are along the lines of...
String the Pope along. (Get the Pope to reject vassalize Napoli as part of a complex plot to throw Guiscard/Apulia off of our trail)
Join a ship and wait out the storm. (Join anyone other than Guiscard. They'll probably accept right after the war starts, and then it's a matter of seeing whether they can bail us out in the nick of time)
I bow my head in submission... for now (Same as before: Join Guiscard or find someone that will accept within the time limit, and use standard manipulative vassal tactics to help ourselves before declaring independence.)
Semi-serious option: I shall unto my lord be true and faithful: to love what he loves, and shun what he shuns. (Join anyone and remain a loyal vassal. After all, there are benefits to serving under another ruler for a long period of time...)
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I like that option. It'll suck for a while, but it'll keep you safe. And who knows, maybe our buddy Roger will run into trouble in Sicily, leaving his lands destabilized and ripe for the taking.
Spam Pope with vassalization messages.
This. The Guiscard will decide that he doesn't want anything to do with a pathetic wrech like you.
Nice update. Sergios Jr (or should that be Sergios VI?) doesn't seem to be quite as popular as his father . I like that the neapolitans are completely puzzled at his Sparta references.
I choose Join a ship and wait out the storm. Beg the Emperor for help! It shouldn't be hard to get out of the vassalization at some later point if necessary.
. I like that the neapolitans are completely puzzled at his Sparta references.I choose Join a ship and wait out the storm. Beg the Emperor for help! It shouldn't be hard to get out of the vassalization at some later point if necessary.
Nice update. Sergios Jr (or should that be Sergios VI?) doesn't seem to be quite as popular as his father
I choose Join a ship and wait out the storm. Beg the Emperor for help! It shouldn't be hard to get out of the vassalization at some later point if necessary.
You are correct! The current Sergios is in fact Sergios VI of Napoli, but I decided that based on the way Crusader Kings frames the time period and to avoid viewer confusion that all references would start with Sergios V (which will be a moot point when we finally get up to being a kingdom and all the numbers will move around again but that's besides the point), as a result of him making a conscious break with the path of his forefathers after "The Dream of Sparta" at the beginning of the Napoli part of the thread.
Two more things - Firstly, sometime before the next update, I will reorganize the original post to link to the various posts as chapters in the story and reorganize the later posts to list that they are chapters. Secondly, the current vote count is as follows:
Option A - 2
Option B - 2
Option C - 1
Option D - 0
I'm waiting until sometime tomorrow evening (time permitting) to actually go ahead and play the game, which means you have until then to vote. In the case of a tie, i'll go with the highest voted option that comes closest to fitting the current ruler's personality (which in this case means playing the Pope as it's the option guaranteed to avoid a costly war, which Sergios is desperately trying to avoid until Napoli can build its strength back up).
Join a ship! Wait out the storm!
Spartans! Everyone will know we gave our last breath to defend napoli!
Spartans! Everyone will know we gave our last breath to defend napoli!
More News: So I tried the Pope trick, but it turns out that it only gives a few months reprieve and then the same thing as before happens. So instead, I went with the other option that got 3 votes, pledging loyalty to the Byzantines. Except unlike what several of you were hoping for they actually agreed to a vassalization before a war broke out, so i'm afraid this chapter's going to be a very long, relatively boring rebuilding segment (Although we also find out that Neapolitans love tech upgrades with an intense passion. Who knew?). Update comes sometime within 20 hours, give or take a few.
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Chapter 3 - Italy Holds Her Breath
Unfortunately, despite his recent victory in Trapani, Sergios came to the realization that Napoli had overextended itself, and was capable of falling to the nearby Duchy of Apulia at any moment. Therefore, with a great amount of hesitation, the Count sent a letter to Michael Dukas, Emperor of Byzantium, stating that Sergios formally recognized the position of Napoli as a vassal of the Romans. Technically, this was just reemphasizing a point that had been made many years before, but many nobles throughout the land were angry at how easily Napoli's independent sovereignty had been withdrawn. Especially when they were called forth by the Emperor to assist in his war against the Turks.
But the loss in pride was compensated for with knowledge and spirituality: Several of the more sceptical bishops in Anatolia sent their holy relics to Napoli for safekeeping, in case the Turks should gain the upper hand. In a lucky coincidence, the priests who were sent along with the relics were genuinely good men of the cloth: introducing farming techniques from the Empire to help improve the lot in life of the peasants of the capital, and developing plans for Byzantine style churches in Napoli and Capua. Such began what is widely regarded as the first Neapolitan Year of Development (Actually a misnomer: It began in April 1069, but sources have the period lasting until anywhere from June 1070 to February 1071).
Things largely remained quiet in Napoli for the next few months, although change was acknowledged to be in the air. September, however, marked a return to activity with a Fishing Wharf finishing completion in Trapani (the final commission of the previous Sheik) and Sergios expanding his plans for a royal road to Trapani. November followed up with further increases in farming productivity in the capital through the introduction of poultry domestication to many farms throughout the region, and armorsmiths in Trapani announcing a breakthrough design combining links of small metal rings and leather armor.
By the turning of the new year, Neapolitans were gaining a reputation throughout Italy and the Byzantine Empire as being terrific adapters of technological advances, managing to put them to better use than the people who had originally developed them. This was further cemented as the people of Capua incorporated the practices of the capital both militarily (adopting the longspears that had long since become standard issue in the Royal Army for their own use) and economically (borrowing the recent farming reforms that the Greek priests had help to spread). The people of Trapani, not to be outdone, developed a new, more efficient method of establishing quarries, and immediately began the excavation of high quality marble.
Unfortunately, there was still one little issue that had to be taken care of in Neapolitan Sicily: the Muslim population of Trapani. While the kingdom was insecure and heavily in debt, Sergios had to abide by its existence, but with the region looking fairly stable and Napoli only being a few months away from paying her debts, he felt free to take action. Over the course of March 1070, Sergios took what few troops were not tied up in the eastern wars and personally set the region to flame, as well as forcing many conversions to Orthodoxy by sword point. Of course, this left the Count with a guilty conscience, and upon returning to Napoli he instructed that the priests were to indoctrinate the peasants concerning their loyalty to "G-d's chosen servant, his majesty Sergios Spartenos."
In June, Countess Sophia once again became pregnant. To celebrate this and over a year of successful development, Sergios held a huge party in the countryside and invited all the nobles who weren't tied up leading armies to join him. Towards the end of the party, Sergios gave a speech on the rising prosperity of the state, and that despite the fact that the revolts in Capua hadn't quite been extinguished, things were looking better than they ever had. Much to the Count's surprise, many of the nobles genuinely agreed, and Sergios even managed to get several of them to support the construction of a salt refinery after the party.
Despite the facade of peace, the threat of nearby Apulia still remains large: leatherworkers in the capital are encouraged to prepare material for use in leather armor, and shortbows are introduced to Capua (although ostensibly for use in combat against local brigands and rebels). Furthermore, an alliance is signed with the Princedom of Thrace, although it is recognized that it is mainly a political one.
November 1070 is a month of recovery - Firstly, Trapani has finally returned to full efficiency after being forcibly converted several months ago, but more importantly Napoli is finally debt free for the first time in 2 years. Sergios privately celebrates but avoids making a big deal out of it, so as to avoid sending the budget back into the red.
With the county becoming a big center of trade in the Mediterranean, Sergios sees an opportunity to expand royal authority: All merchants doing business in Napoli are now required to obtain a contract stamped by the king in order for their transactions to be legal. Going through the process of obtaining these documents for each transaction can be avoided, but only if a merchant registers at one of several small merchant houses that Sergios has also set up (Many were curious as to how this system would work out when the Count never devoted any guards to check if people were using the business contracts... until they realized too late that he didn't need to: the guilds would do all the work for him out of their own self interest). Nevertheless, trade continues, and the stonecutting method from the recently revived Trapani spreads to Napoli proper.
A son named Kosmas is born to Sergios, who is taking a bit more time out from his schedule to be a family man and personally raising his firstborn Konstantinos. This doesn't mean that he neglects his appointed duties though: His current project for the month of March being to make up for the incompetence of his Marshal (who embarassed himself in front of the Byzantine commanders by charging headstrong into a battle against one of the rebel princes that were starting to pop up, and got all but the Capuan division sent home in disgrace) by incorporating the best of Byzantine army tactics into the Neapolitan army structure.
In July, Sophia becomes pregnant again and the people of Capua suffer a famine from the lack of farmers being there to till the land. The Count immediately offers aid and is seen throughout the realm as being magnanimous for doing so. But the thought then came to him: Was it really worth being under the Byzantine yoke, when it was causing the people of Napoli to starve? A large number of vassals had just risen up in revolt against the Emperor, so if Sergios wanted to make his move, now was the time...
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Voting Time!
Today's vote concerns whether or not we should break off from the Byzantine Empire.
On the whole, things have been working out rather well for Napoli: The demesne has gone through a period of massive economic growth and increase in stability. But militarily we're not that much better off, since our armies have been constantly campaigning against the Turks and rebellious Greek princes. Furthermore, those princes also provide the perfect distraction for Sergios to break away from Constantinope, leaving us with an opportunity to quickly sue for peace as an independent state. There's just one problem with all that:
Roger Guiscard is staring us down like a hawk.
The Duke of Apulia has done nothing over the past 2-3 years other than make some minor civic improvements and patiently wait for Napoli to become independent so that he can snatch away our mainland Italian territories. I'm well inclined to think that he has a drawing of Apulia with those territories under his pillow and prays to Heaven every night for it to become true. Combined with his alliance with the Sheikdom of Palermo, we could be right back at square one once we leave the Second Rome. So here are your options...
Viva Napoli! (Break free of the Byzantine Empire after waiting a while for our armies to restrengthen. Then maybe we'll have a chance against Guiscard with the help of a more suitable ally.)
Peace in Our Time! (Remain a Byzantine vassal and continue to focus on the economy: Roger and all of his counts are 50 years old, whereas Sergios is 21, so we can just outlive him and his successor might be a bit less of a powerhouse.)
A Dagger in the Dark. (Same as the previous option, but instead of waiting until Guiscard dying of natural causes, we try to take him out. This might not be the best option with the Byzantines, and might work better if we choose to pledge to another lord *see below*)
War, What is it Good For? Land Grabbing. (Remain a Byzantine vassal, but build up our military and invade the last weak, independent Sicilian sheik, the Sheik of Siracusa. Also works well under another king, but a strong lord might try to claim the prize for himself...)
Musical Lieges (Same situation as last time: We break off from the Byzantines, and get the support of a lord who isn't likely to call on us every 20 minutes and can actually support us if Apulia comes calling.)
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Chapter 3 - Italy Holds Her Breath
Unfortunately, despite his recent victory in Trapani, Sergios came to the realization that Napoli had overextended itself, and was capable of falling to the nearby Duchy of Apulia at any moment. Therefore, with a great amount of hesitation, the Count sent a letter to Michael Dukas, Emperor of Byzantium, stating that Sergios formally recognized the position of Napoli as a vassal of the Romans. Technically, this was just reemphasizing a point that had been made many years before, but many nobles throughout the land were angry at how easily Napoli's independent sovereignty had been withdrawn. Especially when they were called forth by the Emperor to assist in his war against the Turks.
But the loss in pride was compensated for with knowledge and spirituality: Several of the more sceptical bishops in Anatolia sent their holy relics to Napoli for safekeeping, in case the Turks should gain the upper hand. In a lucky coincidence, the priests who were sent along with the relics were genuinely good men of the cloth: introducing farming techniques from the Empire to help improve the lot in life of the peasants of the capital, and developing plans for Byzantine style churches in Napoli and Capua. Such began what is widely regarded as the first Neapolitan Year of Development (Actually a misnomer: It began in April 1069, but sources have the period lasting until anywhere from June 1070 to February 1071).
Things largely remained quiet in Napoli for the next few months, although change was acknowledged to be in the air. September, however, marked a return to activity with a Fishing Wharf finishing completion in Trapani (the final commission of the previous Sheik) and Sergios expanding his plans for a royal road to Trapani. November followed up with further increases in farming productivity in the capital through the introduction of poultry domestication to many farms throughout the region, and armorsmiths in Trapani announcing a breakthrough design combining links of small metal rings and leather armor.
By the turning of the new year, Neapolitans were gaining a reputation throughout Italy and the Byzantine Empire as being terrific adapters of technological advances, managing to put them to better use than the people who had originally developed them. This was further cemented as the people of Capua incorporated the practices of the capital both militarily (adopting the longspears that had long since become standard issue in the Royal Army for their own use) and economically (borrowing the recent farming reforms that the Greek priests had help to spread). The people of Trapani, not to be outdone, developed a new, more efficient method of establishing quarries, and immediately began the excavation of high quality marble.
Unfortunately, there was still one little issue that had to be taken care of in Neapolitan Sicily: the Muslim population of Trapani. While the kingdom was insecure and heavily in debt, Sergios had to abide by its existence, but with the region looking fairly stable and Napoli only being a few months away from paying her debts, he felt free to take action. Over the course of March 1070, Sergios took what few troops were not tied up in the eastern wars and personally set the region to flame, as well as forcing many conversions to Orthodoxy by sword point. Of course, this left the Count with a guilty conscience, and upon returning to Napoli he instructed that the priests were to indoctrinate the peasants concerning their loyalty to "G-d's chosen servant, his majesty Sergios Spartenos."
In June, Countess Sophia once again became pregnant. To celebrate this and over a year of successful development, Sergios held a huge party in the countryside and invited all the nobles who weren't tied up leading armies to join him. Towards the end of the party, Sergios gave a speech on the rising prosperity of the state, and that despite the fact that the revolts in Capua hadn't quite been extinguished, things were looking better than they ever had. Much to the Count's surprise, many of the nobles genuinely agreed, and Sergios even managed to get several of them to support the construction of a salt refinery after the party.
Despite the facade of peace, the threat of nearby Apulia still remains large: leatherworkers in the capital are encouraged to prepare material for use in leather armor, and shortbows are introduced to Capua (although ostensibly for use in combat against local brigands and rebels). Furthermore, an alliance is signed with the Princedom of Thrace, although it is recognized that it is mainly a political one.
November 1070 is a month of recovery - Firstly, Trapani has finally returned to full efficiency after being forcibly converted several months ago, but more importantly Napoli is finally debt free for the first time in 2 years. Sergios privately celebrates but avoids making a big deal out of it, so as to avoid sending the budget back into the red.
With the county becoming a big center of trade in the Mediterranean, Sergios sees an opportunity to expand royal authority: All merchants doing business in Napoli are now required to obtain a contract stamped by the king in order for their transactions to be legal. Going through the process of obtaining these documents for each transaction can be avoided, but only if a merchant registers at one of several small merchant houses that Sergios has also set up (Many were curious as to how this system would work out when the Count never devoted any guards to check if people were using the business contracts... until they realized too late that he didn't need to: the guilds would do all the work for him out of their own self interest). Nevertheless, trade continues, and the stonecutting method from the recently revived Trapani spreads to Napoli proper.
A son named Kosmas is born to Sergios, who is taking a bit more time out from his schedule to be a family man and personally raising his firstborn Konstantinos. This doesn't mean that he neglects his appointed duties though: His current project for the month of March being to make up for the incompetence of his Marshal (who embarassed himself in front of the Byzantine commanders by charging headstrong into a battle against one of the rebel princes that were starting to pop up, and got all but the Capuan division sent home in disgrace) by incorporating the best of Byzantine army tactics into the Neapolitan army structure.
In July, Sophia becomes pregnant again and the people of Capua suffer a famine from the lack of farmers being there to till the land. The Count immediately offers aid and is seen throughout the realm as being magnanimous for doing so. But the thought then came to him: Was it really worth being under the Byzantine yoke, when it was causing the people of Napoli to starve? A large number of vassals had just risen up in revolt against the Emperor, so if Sergios wanted to make his move, now was the time...
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Voting Time!
Today's vote concerns whether or not we should break off from the Byzantine Empire.
On the whole, things have been working out rather well for Napoli: The demesne has gone through a period of massive economic growth and increase in stability. But militarily we're not that much better off, since our armies have been constantly campaigning against the Turks and rebellious Greek princes. Furthermore, those princes also provide the perfect distraction for Sergios to break away from Constantinope, leaving us with an opportunity to quickly sue for peace as an independent state. There's just one problem with all that:
Roger Guiscard is staring us down like a hawk.
The Duke of Apulia has done nothing over the past 2-3 years other than make some minor civic improvements and patiently wait for Napoli to become independent so that he can snatch away our mainland Italian territories. I'm well inclined to think that he has a drawing of Apulia with those territories under his pillow and prays to Heaven every night for it to become true. Combined with his alliance with the Sheikdom of Palermo, we could be right back at square one once we leave the Second Rome. So here are your options...
Viva Napoli! (Break free of the Byzantine Empire after waiting a while for our armies to restrengthen. Then maybe we'll have a chance against Guiscard with the help of a more suitable ally.)
Peace in Our Time! (Remain a Byzantine vassal and continue to focus on the economy: Roger and all of his counts are 50 years old, whereas Sergios is 21, so we can just outlive him and his successor might be a bit less of a powerhouse.)
A Dagger in the Dark. (Same as the previous option, but instead of waiting until Guiscard dying of natural causes, we try to take him out. This might not be the best option with the Byzantines, and might work better if we choose to pledge to another lord *see below*)
War, What is it Good For? Land Grabbing. (Remain a Byzantine vassal, but build up our military and invade the last weak, independent Sicilian sheik, the Sheik of Siracusa. Also works well under another king, but a strong lord might try to claim the prize for himself...)
Musical Lieges (Same situation as last time: We break off from the Byzantines, and get the support of a lord who isn't likely to call on us every 20 minutes and can actually support us if Apulia comes calling.)
A very good update. Most AARs don't really mention tech advances at all, but that was a nice read.
I vote for
War, What is it Good For? Land Grabbing. If you can get away with it, definitely try to take Syracuse before the Guiscard does. In the long run, I'd like to see the Byzantines helping you to beat the Normans, but that won't work if they're in a civil war. Somehow you need them to renounce those claims...
I vote for
War, What is it Good For? Land Grabbing. If you can get away with it, definitely try to take Syracuse before the Guiscard does. In the long run, I'd like to see the Byzantines helping you to beat the Normans, but that won't work if they're in a civil war. Somehow you need them to renounce those claims...
Siracusa might be a good option, do you have enough money for the dagger in the dark?