Dreams of Frisian Freedom

[Midnite Duke]

The AI loves to dogpile and can smell weakness from a league away. Thanks for the look and this Brandenburg badly needed King @Rensslaer taking a loan and hiring mercenaries.

 

[Rensslaer]

I feel like I'm always at least 1/2 episode/update behind. I'll try to read and comment on today's update today.

In answer to your question to @jak7139 about reducing inflation with monarch points, I'm sure it depends on your reliance on loans. If I didn't/hadn't done that in Rex Germania I'd be at 20% inflation or worse!

Ha! You're past 1700 and just now considering mercenaries. I suppose the mercs and loans and inflation all go together. I started off bad with Brandenburg and am paying for it.

Somehow when I noticed your Brandenburg went away I didn't notice how huge your Bohemia had gotten. That must distort the German politics plenty.

Great work in Borneo and the East Indies!

You're at 6th in that update (the previous). Curious to see if you can get 4th or 5th as the game closes. Or more?

Rensslaer

 

[Rensslaer]

Mini Episode: A (Very) Short History of Brandenburg



So ended the brief history of Brandenburg during the Age of Discovery: it lasted barely 20 years before being torn asunder by enemies abroad and at home.

Wow!

That was quite a dogpile alright. That kind of happened to Poland in my game, but it took lots longer than that for it to completely disappear. Amazing!

Thanks for that mini episode! I'm glad I'm doing better as Brandenburg than that.

Rensslaer

 

[jak7139]

Is there a way to add them all up without laboriously going through each province?

There's nowhere that says, "You have X number of buildings." I wasn't looking for a specific number. I was more just wanting to know if you had been building them throughout your provinces.

100k max manpower is a good amount for a great power. If war comes to Friesland, you want a good reserve.

Someone else who's actually played a bit may have to advise re parties/factions.

Unfortunately. there are no parties. You'll just have to rp. Merchant republics get the Factions mechanic which are sort of like parties, but they don't really affect anything.

In answer to your question to @jak7139 about reducing inflation with monarch points, I'm sure it depends on your reliance on loans. If I didn't/hadn't done that in Rex Germania I'd be at 20% inflation or worse!

Yes. Since your Brandenburg is heavily reliant on loans, reducing inflation might be a better investment. It all depends on your economy.

This Brandenburg won't have to worry about that (since they're dead). And, yes, if the AI senses weakness it will dogpile. Thank you for the mini-update!

 

[Bullfilter]

More comment feedback before I post the next full chapter:

The AI loves to dogpile and can smell weakness from a league away. Thanks for the look and this Brandenburg badly needed King @Rensslaer taking a loan and hiring mercenaries.

Pretty fair behaviour really, both historical and the way human players would normally do it. Fair enough - unless you're the target! Yes, might get some mercs if needed - but hat will have to wait until the end of the next chapter (second half of last session).

I feel like I'm always at least 1/2 episode/update behind. I'll try to read and comment on today's update today.

In answer to your question to @jak7139 about reducing inflation with monarch points, I'm sure it depends on your reliance on loans. If I didn't/hadn't done that in Rex Germania I'd be at 20% inflation or worse!

Ha! You're past 1700 and just now considering mercenaries. I suppose the mercs and loans and inflation all go together. I started off bad with Brandenburg and am paying for it.

Somehow when I noticed your Brandenburg went away I didn't notice how huge your Bohemia had gotten. That must distort the German politics plenty.

Great work in Borneo and the East Indies!

You're at 6th in that update (the previous). Curious to see if you can get 4th or 5th as the game closes. Or more?

Rensslaer

Hadn't really seemed to need mercs much and have been saving lots of money. But probably could have used some in that big Granada-Morocco-Tunis war and sent them off to Africa as EFs rather than burning through all that extra manpower. Got briefly higher (about 4th iirc) recently before other countries started adopting the enlightenment and will try again as things go on. Need some of the big colonial monoliths (especially Portugal, France and Castile) to start breaking up a bit whilst avoiding it myself!

Wow!

That was quite a dogpile alright. That kind of happened to Poland in my game, but it took lots longer than that for it to completely disappear. Amazing!

Thanks for that mini episode! I'm glad I'm doing better as Brandenburg than that.

Rensslaer

Yes, it was a quick end when it came. The vultures sure moved in quickly.

There's nowhere that says, "You have X number of buildings." I wasn't looking for a specific number. I was more just wanting to know if you had been building them throughout your provinces.

100k max manpower is a good amount for a great power. If war comes to Friesland, you want a good reserve.

Right, I have been building/upgrading quite a few of them as something of a priority.

Unfortunately. there are no parties. You'll just have to rp. Merchant republics get the Factions mechanic which are sort of like parties, but they don't really affect anything.

A pity. Is that something that comes in in Vicky 2/3, I wonder?

Yes. Since your Brandenburg is heavily reliant on loans, reducing inflation might be a better investment. It all depends on your economy.

This Brandenburg won't have to worry about that (since they're dead). And, yes, if the AI senses weakness it will dogpile. Thank you for the mini-update!

You're welcome!

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter 44: Land Wars in Asia (1712-14)

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The Siege of Pontianak. [Playground AI]​

War and Peace in Asia, July 1712 to June 1713

In July 1712 Friesland remained at war with Lanfang and its ally Sunda in its quest to expand its holdings in south-west Borneo. Elsewhere in Asia, on 2 July Friesland’s ally Malacca made a white peace in its war with Ayutthaya: this was a small piece of good news for Frisian interests in the FEI. Ayutthaya continued its de-escalations by concluding an additional white peace with Bengal a few weeks later.

In eastern Java, Malang fell to Friesland on 19 July, following their small skirmish victory there the month before, pushing along the war score with Sunda.

​

In September, the 2nd Army standing watch in Flores had three regiments detached for transport to Borneo to bolster the long-running and slow-moving siege of Lanfang’s capital of Pontianak.

​

Castile’s siege to the north indicated their concurrent war against them had also turned heavily in the European power’s favour.

In the small islands to the east of Sulawesi, a couple of small wars came to an end as the year was coming to an end. First, Bone (southern Sulawesi) managed to wrest Buru from the minor Scottish expatriate state. Then soon after Brunei annexed Tidore, just to its north.

​

However, Brunei was given little time to enjoy their small victory: rumours first emerged of a French threat in early January 1713, so no one was surprised when an imperialist war was declared three months later. France had some minor colonies in the region but may find it hard to project their power against the successful local state.

​

By early February, Friesland did not quite have enough leverage over Sunda to demand the Javan province of Kediri in a separate peace deal – so a little more would need to be done to persuade them to yield. The main Sundanese army still skulked over in occupied Castilian East Timor, with the 2nd Army keeping guard in Flores.

​

It was therefore decided that a cross-strait attack on East Timor would have to be risked, with Albrecht Barents’ 2nd Army making the crossing from Flores and attacking the Sundanese King on 23 April 1713. After just ten days, the short campaign was over.

​

Superior morale and a heavy advantage in artillery saw the Sundanese monarch defeated and his entire army either killed or surrendered, for just under 2,000 Frisian casualties.

Over in Borneo, during this battle the general leading the siege in Pontianak died and could not be immediately replaced as the army was on foreign territory. A cavalry regiment was hived off and sent to Katapang to pick up a new commander, but this process would be badly delayed due to mismanagement in the FEI headquarters.

After its victory in East Timor, 2nd Army headed straight back to Flores, arriving there on 27 May. They were sent straight away to Lombok, where they would begin a new siege on 1 July.

​

Also on 27 May, a siege specialist [3 pips] was transferred from Europe to Katapang but would kick his heels up there for months before actually being sent to Pontianak [Duh!].

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Domestic and World Issues, July 1712 to June 1713

As the grubby colonial war puttered along in Indonesia, the massive Ottoman Empire was making news where the ‘main game’ was being played. On 13 June 1712, a surprise announcement was made by their Vizier stating that they had embraced Abolitionism and banned slavery within their great empire. Some speculated this would see other nations emulate them and lead to a sharp decline in the transatlantic slave trade.

Spoiler: Slavery in-game

I’ve seen no evidence of slavery or slave trading so far in the game, this is the first mention of it in any pop up or event. Though I haven’t been looking for it. Does it subsist out of sight? Or is it a commodity (yuk) in various provinces? Might my traders have been involved in it without my direct knowledge?

In mid-July, the efficiency of the government was being lauded by all and sundry. Rather than cashing in on this (the treasury was overflowing at this stage), the Potestaat decided to bask in the glory and prestige instead.

​

Despite Friesland’s best efforts, the Ottoman economy was simply too large and powerful to be rivalled: in October 1712, they were hailed as the world’s economic hegemon. As if they didn’t have enough advantages and power already!

​

Provincial bailiffs had sometimes been a problem requiring harsh solutions but later that month the official in Brügge showed himself to be a most skilful administrator.

​

On the diplomatic front, the relationship with allied Scandinavia was as good as it could be made, so Ambassador Galama was recalled from Copenhagen in February 1713 to be ready for another mission.

The truces with Granada and Tunis ended in June: that war now seemed a world away and not rematch was anticipated. And in north Asia, the Russians began an imperialist war against the small mountain nation of Chagatai, just east of Transoxiana.

As those projects were being commenced, Frisian naval designers came up with a new class of heavy ship: the threedecker. As soon as this had been achieved, the entire heavy ship fleet in Europe began an upgrade at a cost of over 1,200 ducats – around just 10% of the current treasury holding.

​

New builds were also begun in the FEI to improve military infrastructure around this time: five grand shipyard upgrades, plus three new on one upgraded conscription centre. The total cost of all these projects was around 1,500 ducats – easily affordable with 11,000 in the treasury after the fleet upgrade!

With no imminent perceived threat in Europe, fort maintenance was again reduced across the board in mid-June to save some more ducats, with a monthly surplus of just over 190 ducats. Trade remained by far the largest source of Frisian income and military maintenance the biggest expenditure.

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Asia, July 1713 to April 1714

While the Lanfang war dragged on into the second half of 1713, the Shu continued their campaign to unify China, fully annexing Yue and claiming eight provinces from Bengal in early August. Bengal was now a much-reduced regional player.

​

The siege of Pontianak – now almost 28 months old – only made slow progress. Meanwhile, Castile had occupied the rest of Lanfang around the capital. By 11 September the new general had not yet been deployed and no blockade was in place [Note: I only twigged to the blockade aspect later, after this session was completed].

​

But Lombok was occupied two weeks later and by 11 October, the Sundanese approached the Frisian Governor-General in the FEI offering terms. These were deemed acceptable: two provinces were ceded and Sunda renounced many cores in Java and paid reparations. The separate peace was agreed.

​

Of course, this now meant most of the leverage in the Lanfang war had been sacrificed, but that was always primarily going to come from gaining territory in Borneo anyway. The siege of Pontianak was the key – that and waiting for Castile to make their peace with Lanfang to allow Friesland free rein in the south-west of Borneo.

​

In November 1713 the Shu unification project saw it embark next on war with the rump Wu kingdom, their predecessors as the Imperial Chinese dynasty.

​

And slow but steady progress was being made in Pontianak, where the new siege commander had finally arrived to add considerable weight to the besiegers.

​

The positive trend continued, with more progress in the next two months.

​

There was positive news (for the immediate war, anyway, if not strategically) towards the end of February as Castile finally won its long war to annex Kutai and its ally Lanfang. The Castilian presence in eastern Borneo was expanded but it meant Lanfang itself could now be more fully engaged by Friesland.

​

In a less agreeable development, Malacca was forced to abandon their alliance with Friesland by the perfidious Portuguese at the end of March in a peace treaty. Oh, those port-swilling rapscallions must pay for their impudence one day!

​

And that day came, in part, just a month later when their war against Aceh was forced to a humiliating close! A first instalment of justice – even if at someone else’s hands.

​

Meanwhile, Frisian Australia’s expeditionary army was trying to besiege Kundian in Lanfang, though with little prospect of meaningful progress without some additional Frisian support.

​

As it approached the three-year mark, the siege in Pontianak had made no further progress since January – and disease had again ravaged Frisian numbers, in addition to the usual attrition. A blockade would soon be initiated as the Frisians leaned more about the fine points of siege warfare – and perhaps some ships could be sent to support the Australian siege of Kundian as well as perhaps a few more troops.

​

For now, Lanfang’s continued control of Pontianak outweighed the preponderance of battles won by Friesland so far in the war. This should change significantly once the enemy capital was taken, of course. If it ever was!

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Domestic and World Issues, July 1713 to April 1714

Another example of a son behaving poorly cropped up in July 1713, with the still relatively new Potestaat Koenraad Gauma’s eldest being caught with his fingers in the till. Gauma was not going to see him left to the wolves, choosing increased power at the cost of republican tradition and increased corruption.

​

Tariffs on the fur trade out of New Friesland were increased in August, as the rapacious Frisian burghers sought to squeeze all they could out of the colonials in America.

​

Gauma’s short term as Potestaat ended on 11 October 1713 as he went to dream the Everlasting Dream of Freedom – from this mortal world. As he sung with the Choir Invisible, the election of his successor was carried out. Of the three candidates, one (Kamstra) was a good military leader but too old. Another (Bergsma) was far younger but woefully incompetent. Fokke Galama was however a good all-rounder and ‘just right’. Fortunately the lottery came up with the candidate preferred by most neutral observers.

​

One of his first decisions on 8 November 1713 was to complete the upgrade of all 22 heavy ships of the FEI-based fleet to be upgraded to threedeckers at a cost of 1,100 ducats. This would take them offline for some time, but there remained enough light ships and galleys to sustain any further missions, such as blockading and trade promotion.

Just a few days later, Osnabrück demanded a new seat be given it in the Landtag, based on sound economic and Republican arguments. The demand was granted, bringing the number of seats up to 10. And perhaps some more support might be gained for the proposed Officer Commissions reform law. And Galama was wary of increasing corruption further by bribing the delegate from Groningen!

​

On the diplomatic front, while one mission had recently been sent to improve relations with allied Franconia, Ernst Kiestra finished his embassy to the less warm neighbour Brunswick in January 1714 and was sent for the long voyage to the powerful Deccan Empire to see if the relationship could be improved – and perhaps remove them as a rival at some point.

​

While at home, Willem Jousma’s invention of the Spinning Jenny in Utrecht would boost efficiency in the important Frisian weaving trades; even if displaced workers in Utrecht objected!

​

Hot on the heals of that invention, Utrecht was again at the forefront of Frisian innovation when canals and turnpikes were introduced. But the cost of improving the tax base in Utrecht extending the program throughout the state of Holland for another five years seemed somewhat excessive, even for the huge Frisian treasury. [Unless my guess here can be disproved with game knowledge and maths that’s beyond a quick and easy solution for me!]

The raft of grand shipyards and conscription centres commission the year before in the FEI were completed in mid-April 1713, further expanding the capacity of the Republic Navy and Leger. And as April was ending, both Osnabrück and Groningen had been assuaged in the Landtag; Galama decided a little more corruption for the greater good was justified after all!

​

He was reluctant though to buy off one of the last four remaining holdouts on the Officer Commissions proposal: none of the three demands being made looked very palatable. But to clinch the vote, perhaps one more concession would have to be made: but which? He sought advice from his ministers. [Any ideas on the least-worst of these to concede?]

“The Age of Remuneration” had begun in Friesland, as some commentators were soon noting rather acerbically. As cartoonists of the day observed, the ducats and other favours were soon flowing freely to some Landtag delegates to get the first new law enacted.​

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, Brandenburg's fate was unkind. I guess they flew too close to the sun when they angered Bohemia?

Is Frisia mad at France for intervening in the East Indies, a region that they have a lot of colonial interest in?

 

[Midnite Duke]

On slaves, some African provinces produce slaves as their trade good. There is a triangular trade event that changes prices of slaves, sugar/rum and an European good. Also, sometimes the OPM Habsan will appear on India's west coast. Habsan is ruled by former slaves who overthrew their Indian masters. It has Ethiopian culture.

I would use navy tradition bribe. I greatly prized mercantilism, but this was several years ago and many changes.

I noticed that you had a better morale on Sunda but inferior discipline (? below morale). Any idea why discipline is below an East Indian?

Thanks

 

[filcat]

Lifting the self-embargo, despite still feeling uneasy to comment on anything but;

Any idea why discipline is below an East Indian?

+15% discipline is easily achievable by any tag, by any combination of ideas (quality- and off-sets, plus eco-quality policy weapon quality standards), ruler traits, advisers, events, national ideas, religion mechanics (hindu and goddess shakti, sikh and guru hargobind, fetishism and mwari cult, totemist and ancestor unlocking, buddhist and low karma, tengri syncretic with shinto, nahuatl and warrior ranks reform, coptics unlocking will of martrys, protestants enabling holy sacraments, orthodox with st. michael icon, etc.), tag specific mechanics (maratha estate privilege, prussia-tag militarisation, some monuments, horde unity, sending officers mechanic for marches, banner units, rajput units with purbias register reform, jannisary units with events), and absolutism.

Hovering over the number (either on battle screen else in ledger, military quality tab) will give the exact list of sources for any tag.

Not seeing the surprise for an East Indian to have higher discipline, though, not in game terms nor in reality that the game tries to simulate.

 

[jak7139]

A pity. Is that something that comes in in Vicky 2/3, I wonder?

There are parties in Vic2. I've never played the sequel, but from what I've seen it does also have interest groups.

It was therefore decided that a cross-strait attack on East Timor would have to be risked, with Albrecht Barents’ 2nd Army making the crossing from Flores and attacking the Sundanese King on 23 April 1713. After just ten days, the short campaign was over.

There's a neat trick you can do when battling armies on straits. If you blockade the strait, the enemy army won't be able to retreat from the battle and will be destroyed. Not sure if that was the case here, or if your army was just that good.

I’ve seen no evidence of slavery or slave trading so far in the game, this is the first mention of it in any pop up or event. Though I haven’t been looking for it. Does it subsist out of sight? Or is it a commodity (yuk) in various provinces? Might my traders have been involved in it without my direct knowledge?

Slaves are a trade good much like cloth, spices, gold, and gems. Abolishing slavery changes all owned slave provinces in that nation to produce something else.

There's no actual slavery system or mechanic. Probably for the best, since handling it with any kind of tact would be an immense challenge.

Despite Friesland best efforts, the Ottoman economy was simply to large and powerful to be rivalled: in October 1712, they were hailed as the world’s economic hegemon. As it they didn’t have enough advantages and power already!

Being a Hegemon gives some good bonuses, especially the economic one. But, it also gives some penalties. Hegemons get -50 opinion with every other non-subject nation. They also can't have any Hegemon allies. If a Hegemon loses a war or drops out of GP, they lose their status.

the Sundanese approached the Frisian Governor-General in the FEI offering terms. These were deemed acceptable: two provinces were ceded and Sunda renounced many cores in Java and paid reparations. The separate peace was agreed.

Could you have taken more land from Sunda, or were they too large?

As it approached the three-year mark, the siege in Pontianak had made no further progress since January – and disease had again ravaged Frisian numbers, in addition to the usual attrition. A blockade would soon be initiated as the Frisians leaned more about the fine points of siege warfare

More artillery would also help with the siege. High level forts are a pain. I'm not sure what your plans are for the peacedeal, but I'd take everything in Borneo just to not have to deal with those forts again.

And perhaps some more support might be gained for the proposed Officer Commissions reform law. And Galama was wary of increasing corruption further by bribing the delegate from Groningen!

Corruption, I find, is one of the easier ones to fulfill, since it goes down so quickly (and with your large economy you can afford to buy it down). You just want to make sure not to stack too much of it.

[Unless my guess here can be disproved with game knowledge and maths that’s beyond a quick and easy solution for me!]

Not sure about the math. But, I usually have nothing better to spend my money on as these late-game events fire. So why not?

[Any ideas on the least-worst of these to concede?]

Naval Tradition, Prestige, Corruption, and Estate Influence are all the easiest ones to do. Generally, with a Parliament, you want to click enough buttons to get the issue to 100%, and just repeat that every 10 years when a new issue comes around. But that's not as fun rp-wise.

 

[Rensslaer]

Excellent work in the East Indies! Are you anticipating another European war? You mentioned Brunswick. How are your relations with enormous Bohemia?

Did you check the cost for upgrading your ships? I noticed yesterday it was going to charge me the full cost of building a new ship just to upgrade it. I figured I might as well build new ones and keep the old ones until I could build more to replace them.

Rensslaer

 

[diskoerekto]

And that day came, in part, just a month later when their war against Aceh was forced to a humiliating close! A first instalment of justice – even if it someone else’s hands.

Vur Ha!

Gauma’s short term as Potestaat ended on 11 October 1713 as he went to dream the Everlasting Dream of Freedom – form this mortal world. As he sung with the Choir Invisible, the election of his successor was carried out. Of the three candidates, one (Kamstra) was a good military leader but too old. Another (Bergsma) was far younger but woefully incompetent. Fokke Galama was however a good all-rounder and ‘just right’ and fortunately the lottery came up with the candidate preferred by most neutral observers.

Another good roll! According to the hover tip it says due to sortition 1 will be added to all attributes and a random one will get one more increase. Is the final 3/5/4 reflecting this, or did the increases come on top of the 3/5/4?

I've been on vacation so only now been able to read this. Thanks for the update!

 

[Bullfilter]

Well, Brandenburg's fate was unkind. I guess they flew too close to the sun when they angered Bohemia?

Something like that. Once they were down, the rest scavenged them.

Is Frisia mad at France for intervening in the East Indies, a region that they have a lot of colonial interest in?

A bit, but they are too huge and well-connected both in North America and on our doorstep to do anything about it. They hate us because we have lots of land they want in the Low Countries. Waiting for them to get embroiled in some huge war at some point. Too big for us to take on for now.

On slaves, some African provinces produce slaves as their trade good. There is a triangular trade event that changes prices of slaves, sugar/rum and an European good. Also, sometimes the OPM Habsan will appear on India's west coast. Habsan is ruled by former slaves who overthrew their Indian masters. It has Ethiopian culture.

Slaves are a trade good much like cloth, spices, gold, and gems. Abolishing slavery changes all owned slave provinces in that nation to produce something else.

There's no actual slavery system or mechanic. Probably for the best, since handling it with any kind of tact would be an immense challenge.

Interesting, thanks. Glad I haven't had to tangle with it in-game.

I would use navy tradition bribe. I greatly prized mercantilism, but this was several years ago and many changes.

I forgot about this when I restarted, then realised eventually More on the Landtag in the next chapter.

I noticed that you had a better morale on Sunda but inferior discipline (? below morale). Any idea why discipline is below an East Indian?

Lifting the self-embargo, despite still feeling uneasy to comment on anything but;
+15% discipline is easily achievable by any tag, by any combination of ideas (quality- and off-sets, plus eco-quality policy weapon quality standards), ruler traits, advisers, events, national ideas, religion mechanics (hindu and goddess shakti, sikh and guru hargobind, fetishism and mwari cult, totemist and ancestor unlocking, buddhist and low karma, tengri syncretic with shinto, nahuatl and warrior ranks reform, coptics unlocking will of martrys, protestants enabling holy sacraments, orthodox with st. michael icon, etc.), tag specific mechanics (maratha estate privilege, prussia-tag militarisation, some monuments, horde unity, sending officers mechanic for marches, banner units, rajput units with purbias register reform, jannisary units with events), and absolutism.

Hovering over the number (either on battle screen else in ledger, military quality tab) will give the exact list of sources for any tag.

Not seeing the surprise for an East Indian to have higher discipline, though, not in game terms nor in reality that the game tries to simulate.

Intervention always welcomed and thanks for answering this one.

There are parties in Vic2. I've never played the sequel, but from what I've seen it does also have interest groups.

Right, thanks. Didn't think EU4 had them.

There's a neat trick you can do when battling armies on straits. If you blockade the strait, the enemy army won't be able to retreat from the battle and will be destroyed. Not sure if that was the case here, or if your army was just that good.

Yes, I've been doing the straits patrol thing in such situations to ensure I can cross and they can't, one way or the other.

Being a Hegemon gives some good bonuses, especially the economic one. But, it also gives some penalties. Hegemons get -50 opinion with every other non-subject nation. They also can't have any Hegemon allies. If a Hegemon loses a war or drops out of GP, they lose their status.

Let's hope this alienates enough Otto opponents to eventually stop the Juggernaut. Though they are currently too big to have rivals!

Could you have taken more land from Sunda, or were they too large?

I don't think so. Two provinces was pretty fair and they were just an ally of the target: mainly wanted them out of the way.

More artillery would also help with the siege. High level forts are a pain. I'm not sure what your plans are for the peacedeal, but I'd take everything in Borneo just to not have to deal with those forts again.

You will see how that works out in the next episode. I'll just say we were out to get as much as possible - as always!

Corruption, I find, is one of the easier ones to fulfill, since it goes down so quickly (and with your large economy you can afford to buy it down). You just want to make sure not to stack too much of it.

I do try to keep both corruption and inflation down as much as possible on general principles. Debt/interest too.

Not sure about the math. But, I usually have nothing better to spend my money on as these late-game events fire. So why not?

That's what I thought. And we do have plenty of cash, being such an economically/trade based power.

Naval Tradition, Prestige, Corruption, and Estate Influence are all the easiest ones to do. Generally, with a Parliament, you want to click enough buttons to get the issue to 100%, and just repeat that every 10 years when a new issue comes around. But that's not as fun rp-wise.

I don't know about RP, but a bit of player absent-mindedness also helps the story along

Excellent work in the East Indies! Are you anticipating another European war? You mentioned Brunswick. How are your relations with enormous Bohemia?

Thanks. No immediate hints of a major European war - certainly not one involving Friesland. Though always trying to be prepared. Looking for a big one that takes France down a bit, to the extent that we can try to liberate the rest of the Low Countries without losing New Friesland (or our own necks in Belgium-Holland). They hate us to the max anyway, so a bit more ill feeling won't make much difference there! Not our rivals/enemies as yet, though.

Did you check the cost for upgrading your ships? I noticed yesterday it was going to charge me the full cost of building a new ship just to upgrade it. I figured I might as well build new ones and keep the old ones until I could build more to replace them.

Not this time. We're already at the max force limit anyway, so as we have so much spare cash (usually 10-11k ducats at this point) I like to keep them all as modern as possible.

Vur Ha!

Vur ha!

Another good roll! According to the hover tip it says due to sortition 1 will be added to all attributes and a random one will get one more increase. Is the final 3/5/4 reflecting this, or did the increases come on top of the 3/5/4?

The increase came on top, so he ended up as a 4/6/5 which I was very pleased with. A good all-rounder.

I've been on vacation so only now been able to read this. Thanks for the update!

Welcome back - hope it was a good one. Back to Türkiye?

To All: thanks for your support as ever: next chapter out soon.

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter 45: Expansion (1714-16)

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The Lanfang War in Borneo

The war in south-west Borneo against Lanfang had begun in May 1711. A separate peace had been concluded with Sunda in October 1713 but the long siege of Lanfang’s great fortress of Pontianak continued in April 1714 as it approached its third year.

After neglecting this aspect of siege warfare for many a long month, Friesland finally despatched blockade fleets to both Pontianak and Kundian (where Frisian Australia had landed an army in support of their colonial masters) in late April 1714. The third fleet – consisting of heavy ships and galleys – was split in two for the purpose.

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Once established, the effect of the blockades was immediate; both on the chances of success and Lanfang’s resistance (as measured by the warscore).

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Siege progress at Pontianak improved rapidly through June (49%) and July (64%). This precipitated a desperate offer of peace from Lanfang in mid-August but the terms – financial reparations only – were entirely unacceptable to the Frisian invaders. The terms were rejected outright.

Lanfang attempted to buy their way out of surrender even as the walls of Pontianak were being breached and their fall was imminent.​

The reasons for the rejection were made plain barely a week later: after well over three years, the siege was over and Pontianak fell into Frisian hands. The sudden change in the balance of the war was enormous – it was all but over, bar the mopping up.

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Leger van Surabaya was ordered to take Meliau next, where it arrived on 21 September to begin a short occupation. It would fall a month later, on the same day Frisian Australia finally took the fort at Kundian. The occupation of Lanfang was complete; all that was needed was for Gerulf Galama to be withdrawn from Franconia and the diplomatic effort turned to enforcing Friesland’s harsh terms. They would have their loot and all of Lanfang’s lands.

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The vast majority of casualties for Friesland and its allies had come from siege attrition, while the field battle casualties had weighed heavily on Sunda before they had been forced out of the war the years before.

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In the aftermath, Frisian holdings in south-west Borneo had been significantly expanded. Measures were taken immediately to core the three newly acquired provinces there which, with the two taken from Sunda in 1713, meant Friesland was considerably overextended until that work was completed.

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World Events

The inexorable march of the Shu kingdom to reunite China continued with the final liquidation of their former Imperial rivals the Wu completed with their full annexation in July 1714.

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Similarly, Da Viet expanded further in south-east Asia, though in October 1714 they were satisfied with pillaging Luang Prabang [In modern day Laos. I actually visited there once for work!] and demanding reparations and treaty annulments from its owner, Muang Phuan.

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The next attempt at European expansion in Asia came from Castile in November 1714, when they declared a nationalist war on Aceh and their allies Malacca and Pahang. Given the power of this local alliance, it was unclear whether Castile would be able to apply sufficient force to achieve victory on Sumatra. Friesland certainly hoped they wouldn’t but was not willing to intervene directly in support of Aceh.

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Da Viet’s main expansion effort had been directed against their regional power rivals Ayutthaya and the smaller Lan Na. The territorial gains from their victory in December 1714 were significant in what must have been a nasty blow to Ayutthayan prestige and power.

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Aceh asked Friesland for military access in its war against Castile in March 1715, which they were happy enough to grant – for what good it would do them. In November, Brunei sought and was granted the same rights.

As 1715 was coming to an end, a combination of Frisian expansion and increased development and the failure as yet of Russia and the Deccan Empire to embrace the Enlightenment saw Friesland recognised as the fourth most prominent power in the world [and now 6th in overall victory points].

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And Russia expanded further in Asia by liquidating the small country of Chagatai a couple of days later. This region had seen considerable consolidation into larger realms in recent decades.

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Domestic and Diplomatic Affairs

In July 1714, the Potestaat took a cautious approach when apply production technology improvements. He did not wish to jeopardise the long battle with inflation, which was now being won.

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The end of the Lanfang War on 21 October 1714 caused Frisian ambitions to be directed closer to home again. Liege controlled two provinces that rightly belonged in the Low Countries region that Friesland aspired to include within its Republic of Freedom. But truces with it and five other local German minor powers prevented any immediate action on that front. And manpower reserves, still sitting at just a little over 35,000 (out of a maximum of 126,000), needed some more time to recover.

But with over 11,000 ducats in the treasury, three upgrades from trade depots to stock exchanges were begun in European Friesland the day the war ended. And more expansion of the military was undertaken with space available again under the army and navy force limits. Eight new artillery regiments were commenced in Frisian regions across their home and colonial empire, while a mix of heavy ships, transports and galleys began construction.

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Frisian administrative power was boosted in November 1714 when the works of a famous artist were put on national display – rather than being sent abroad.

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A decision was made on Liege around the same time. One faction in the government wanted to consider developing their mildly positive opinion of Friesland [+2], using that to form an alliance (which they would likely accept right now), then sending a diplomat to ‘sweet talk’ them with a view to eventually making them a vassal.

The other argument was that this would never be enough to make them agree to such an arrangement (for decades, anyway) and, even if they did, this may not be considered enough to count Liege’s two provinces to be under Frisian control sufficiently to qualify as Low Country control (ie for the purposes of the relevant mission).

In the end, the latter view prevailed. On 13 November Gerulf Galama was sent to Liege to establish a spy network and eventually generate claims to support a Frisian land grab there. It would be done ‘the old-fashioned way’.

Mildly worry news was received later that month that Aragon may be reconsidering their alliance with Friesland, given the conflicting arrangements of both sides.

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But within a month this warning had passed and would not be heard again, at least up to mid-1716.

By the start of 1715, Friesland was at peace across the board and not anticipating any imminent warfare. All five of the six main Frisian armies that had commanding generals were by that time drilling their men relentlessly and would do for the foreseeable future. And it helped with the skills of some of the commanders, too.

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The French view of Friesland remained dire at this time, though it counted Britain, Austria and the Deccan Empire as its principal rivals. The British relationship with Friesland remained strong but no formal approach to King George to make this formal was contemplated. The armies of both powers had grown considerably in recent years.

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For reasons that remained a little unclear to the Frisian government, their army force limit had decreased a little in recent months. To try to remedy this, six new conscription centre upgrades were ordered in the south-west Pacific colonies in late February 1715.

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A few weeks later, the same was done in Java for naval shipbuilding capacity.

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By August 1715 the Aragon alliance remained in place, trust was high (100%) and each side owed other many diplomatic favours (100 each). Friesland’s manpower recovery, dented by the earlier training of eight new regiment, was now progressing steadily but slowly (38,378/126,000). Looking for something to kick it along, Friesland contemplated exchanging some favours for manpower, but with only 19,000 in reserve themselves, the pickings with Aragon looked a bit slim.

Instead, the Potestaat turned to their largest and longest-standing ally, Scandinavia. They boasted an army of 295,000 with a manpower reserve of 56,000: not huge, but enough for Frisian purposes. The deal was done and over 6,600 Scandinavian trainees took up employment with the Republic.

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A nice ploy, however lawyers in Leeuwarden advised it could not be used again for another five years with any ally.

The three previously ordered stock exchanges were completed in Ostfriesland, Den Haag and Verden on 23 August 1715, with the hope they would provide a long-term boost for these important trading provinces.

With French hostility now a constant background noise, in was decided that a spy network there might one day become useful. But the initial assessment showed that they were likely to make little headway!

[Question: So, judging by this screen, this looks like a waste of time. And re-checking the latest save just now, no progress had been made after a couple of months. Unless there’s something obvious I can do to improve the number, I guess I should use the diplomat elsewhere.]​

The settler agents, now being used for development of home provinces, met with success in Meppen and Cleve in October 1715, while the latest treasure fleet from Australia made in home with only minimal losses to piracy along the way.

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Soon after, the long-serving Army advisor Thiadulf Riemersma died and was replaced by Willem Friso – a recruiting specialist. He was less effective as a military administrator but was cheaper to hire and pay. His efforts would increase the manpower reserve maximum, though not the rate of accrual [which is what I’d really like].

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The withdrawal of support by Osnabrück reminded the Potestaat that he had neglected to pay attention to the Landtag for the last year and a half. The last two delegates needed were granted their requests and the law to extend officer commissions was passed immediately in December 1715. It would remain in force for the next ten years. And the parliament could go back to sleep again!

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The six new conscription centres were completed just before the end of the year. But instead of raising the army force limit they seemed to have decreased it. The Frisian government was nonplussed and sought expert advice on what might be happening (and whether their construction may have worsened things or arrested an even steeper decline).

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A few weeks later the six new grand shipyards were completed in Java: with the expected increase in naval maintenance capacity. Six new transports were begun in the European ports to boost the ferrying capacity of the Home Seas Fleet. Mainly in case troops needed to be sent to or from Africa.

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In any case, not waiting for an answer and on the assumption [per the earlier manpower screen] that an increase in recruiting capacity in Frisian Australia would also assist general Frisian manpower] five more conscription centres were started there in March 1716.

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The economic expansion and prosperity of Friesland was widely recognised in April 1716, with tax receipts expected to rise significantly over the next year.

[Guesstimate used here to go for the longer-term approach, as we hardly needed the extra cash up front.]

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The Way Ahead

On 2 June 1716, the Potestaat convened his cabinet to consider Friesland’s next steps and their timing. The ending of a swathe of truces with minor German states, including Liege, that day meant more immediate options were available, should they wish to further expand Frisian Freedom in the Low Countries.

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Either a nationalist or imperialist war could be declared on Liege, for example, though no claim for either of their two provinces had yet been contrived. There would be little likelihood that any Frisian ally would be required to assist, as the three European legers now numbered over 100,000 men in total and their artillery proportion had been substantially increased in recent years. The war hawks in the Cabinet favoured ‘going for the lot’ in an imperialist land grab.

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But even if this was favoured, some lead time would be needed to position forces and switch from peacetime training to operational readiness. The manpower reserves were now up over 56,000 and if necessary the huge Frisian treasury could be used to supplement forces with mercenaries to help minimise the impact on the slowly recovering reserve (in case it was needed for a larger future war). [Any comments and/or suggestions for the next step happily accepted.]

Potestaat Fokke Galama’s government remained strong and stable and the estates well in hand. He also wondered whether the Public Land proportion was appropriate for the circumstances – and whether even more should be acquired, if possible.

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The economy had never been stronger and as always Frisian trade was its main income driver. On the research front, Friesland remained on par with its main advanced competitors and ahead of the wider range of nations. There was a strong push on to entrench the separation of powers, which would unleash another range of national ideas.

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Overextension remained at 35.2% after the recent conquests in the Frisian East Indies, with Kediri, Meliau, Sambas and Pontianak (17.28% on its own, as the most developed) yet to be ‘cored into’ the benefits of Frisian Freedom. This should soon be rectified and its ill effects negated.

Recent years had seen considerable consolidation of realms in Asia into larger nations, with European and regional powers (including Friesland itself) continuing to consume smaller countries. The same had also happened in West Africa to a lesser extent. Europe had been rather quiet of late, as had the Ottoman Empire.

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The same trend had been at play in the Americas too, with most of the few remaining native nations being incorporated into the European colonial regimes but no major conflict between those big colonial powers (France, Portugal, Castile, Britain and to a lesser extent Friesland) for many years.

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Even without having taken on the Enlightenment yet, recent Russian expansion had seen them climb just above Friesland in the international pecking order, but the Republic still ranked fifth among the world’s leading powers.

 

[Steckie]

[Any comments and/or suggestions for the next step happily accepted.]

Keeping Liege and Loon out of French hands is a good idea, but have you checked some of the other alliances around you to see if there's an other way to do this and maybe get something more?
Looking at the screenshot i think you're planning to kick out Lorraine and The Palatinate and take Liege, Loon and perhaps Munster from Berg for yourself?

But are there options where you can maybe also take Julich on the French border? Or Dortmund with the center of trade? Aachen maybe?
Dismantle Cologne together with Franconia?
There could be some interesting options hidden behind the co-belligerent box.

I don't know about your AE situation though, so could be what i'm suggesting will guarantee you a coalition.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Congratulations on your recent victories. Thank you for the update.

 

[diskoerekto]

Welcome back - hope it was a good one. Back to Türkiye?

It was a relaxing one mostly, back to Turkiye to families. Among work, real life and healthcare; we can only find time to schedule and buy flights to hometowns and not able to arrange a holiday somewhere else.

Leger van Surabaya was ordered to take Meliau next, where in arrived on 21 September to begin a short occupation. It would fall a month later, on the same day Frisian Australia finally took the fort at Kundian. The occupation of Lanfang was complete; all that was needed was for Gerulf Galama to be withdrawn from Franconia and the diplomatic effort turned to enforcing Friesland’s harsh terms. They would have their loot and all of Lanfang’s lands.

Great result! And a very teaching moment about the importance of naval blockades

In the end, the latter view prevailed. On 13 November Gerulf Galama was sent to Liege to establish a spy network and eventually generate claims to support a Frisian land grab there. It would be done ‘the old-fashioned way’.

thumbs up

His efforts would increase the manpower reserve maximum, though not the rate of accrual [which is what I’d really like].

I don't know about EU4 but in earlier Paradox titles the rate of accrual was tied to the difference between actual and maximum, so increasing the maximum also kind of increases the rate of accrual

The war hawks in the Cabinet favoured ‘going for the lot’ in an imperialist land grab.

I know nothing about the implications but I like the sound of this approach

big colonial powers (France, Portugal, Castile, Britain

what are the relations between these 4?

 

[Rensslaer]

Congratulations on 4th in the world, briefly. You'll get back there and beyond I'm sure.

Are you at all concerned with the growing power of Dai Viet or Shu?

Great work in Borneo.

Is that enormous land power next to you in Europe Wurzburg? The green guy to your southeast? Color seems like maybe Cologne but I see Wurzburg armies I think. I've never expected them to do so well. Cologne either, for that matter.

Rensslaer

 

[jak7139]

They would have their loot and all of Lanfang’s lands.

The exact kind of treaty that's needed after a long and frustrating war.

Castile in November 1714, when they declared a nationalist war on Aceh and their allies Malacca and Pahang.

Castille declared a Nationalist war against someone not of their culture group? I don't know what's going on there.

saw Friesland recognised as the fourth most prominent power in the world [and now 6th in overall victory points].

Huzzah !

and, even if they did, this may not be considered enough to count Liege’s two provinces to be under Frisian control sufficiently to qualify as Low Country control (ie for the purposes of the relevant mission).

The mission should use the phrase "owned by Friesland or its non-tributary subjects" under the requirements. If it does, a vassalized Liege would count (you can click on the requirements as well to highlight the provinces in question).

Mildly worry news was received later that month that Aragon may be reconsidering their alliance with Friesland, given the conflicting arrangements of both sides.

It could be worth using your favors to increase your trust with Aragon and also break their alliances with Portugal and Castille.

The deal was done and over 6,600 Scandinavian trainees took up employment with the Republic.

Same advice here with Scandinavia. I noticed they are allied to France.

[Question: So, judging by this screen, this looks like a waste of time. And re-checking the latest save just now, no progress had been made after a couple of months. Unless there’s something obvious I can do to improve the number, I guess I should use the diplomat elsewhere.]​

I've never seen it be 0. I assumed there was a minimum cap. Yes, a waste of time in this case. Does France have Espionage ideas?

His efforts would increase the manpower reserve maximum, though not the rate of accrual [which is what I’d really like].

The maximum also increases the rate of gain, so still a good hire.

But instead of raising the army force limit they seemed to have decreased it. The Frisian government was nonplussed and sought expert advice on what might be happening (and whether their construction may have worsened things or arrested an even steeper decline).

Hmmm. It could be you had some temporary modifier from an event or something affecting your forcelimit. Or maybe your autonomy somehow grew in your provinces. How is your autonomy looking by the way?

[Any comments and/or suggestions for the next step happily accepted.

If you park your European armies on Liege's border, you should be able to overwhelm their army quickly with a stackwipe. This looks like an easy war for you to win and take much. I also agree with @Steckie . The co-belligerent checkbox could be your friend if you don't mind fighting a few more people. Taking land from non-cobelligerents costs more AE.

He also wondered whether the Public Land proportion was appropriate for the circumstances – and whether even more should be acquired, if possible.

More Crownland is always good. It would give you more Absolutism and Reform Progress Growth if you get a larger share.

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats on expanding Frisian colonies!

Liege's days are numbered.

Over in Asia, is it possible that Shu and Dai Viet might go to war after Shu unifies China and Dai Viet expands a bit more in Southeast Asia? That could be interesting...