Naval hegemony (in-game) may have different requirements, but Palembang's navy is already very hegemonic.
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Good progress extending the range with the new bases in several coasts.
I'm not familiar with raiding, and I don't know the strategic reasons to not release Scotland as vassal to reconquest her cores, but I trust the Grand Captain's plan.
That ship force limit is impressive, and the Gotland monument, added to the ones in the Caribbean, should give an edge to the pirates soon against the Green Hydra (tm)
All hands on deck and ahoy!
I'm not familiar with raiding, and I don't know the strategic reasons to not release Scotland as vassal to reconquest her cores, but I trust the Grand Captain's plan.
That ship force limit is impressive, and the Gotland monument, added to the ones in the Caribbean, should give an edge to the pirates soon against the Green Hydra (tm)
All hands on deck and ahoy!
I am more than halfway to the in-game requirement, which is 500 ships.
Indeed Palembang does. Land is another story however.
If I gave Shetland to scotland I cannot use it as a coastal raiding base. With raiding you can take the loot (and sailors) of any coastal province that is 2 sea tiles away from a province you own . But you cannot raid a province again until 10 years have passed. I have not kept accurate counts, but I think I am now making about 1,500 ducats from raiding every 10 years . Of course the more provinces I can raid, the more I can loot.
So I actually want others to colonize empty land ( e.g in the Moluccas or Africa's coast) so I can raid it. And when I have released a vassal, I gave them inland provinces that I would not be able to raid anyways. Taking land away from Britain , for example, to feed it to scotland will just deprive me of provinces I can loot ( because I cannot loot my own vassal).
And I also want other nations to produce more money so I can privateer it. I am also hoping Ming stays together so I can later Ming Bank.
This is why my strategy for this run is unusual. I do not need to destroy other nations . I just need to steal their money.
All hands will be on deck in the next chapter. As a teaser, the title will be "The Green Hydra Strikes"
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I wonder: would you make more money raiding 1 big and rich nation in an area or make more money raiding several smaller nations?
It also makes me wonder how big of an effect this constant raiding and privateering will have on the power of those traditionally stronger nations?
For example Great Britain: they're usually safe behind their wooden wall, so they should have no problem getting their provinces to prosperous. But then you come along raiding every 10 years and resetting that counter. And privateering during those 10 years further decreasing their income.
Should be interesting to see this effect.
Let's just hope you don't bankrupt all of the colonizers
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You bring up a good point. I did not think of that effect, but I am seeing less success by Britain than anticipated. So far they have small colonies in USA and Canada ( they stayed catholic). The French are in Colombia. Portuguese are in Brazil and now Mexico. The African coast is still empty. Castile is non-existent as a colonizer due to Aragon kicking their butt.
Chapter 11: The Green Hydra Strikes (1550-1560)
The main thrust of the last chapter was getting more raiding stations all around Europe. One last station was needed to put the northern coast of Iberia, the western coast of France and southern coast of England into raiding range. And that station was finally acquired when Brittany agreed to cede it.
At that point, the Grand Captain turned his attention to the institution of the Printing Press. He granted privileges to the Quartermasters to improve development efficiency.
With the help of the Quartermasters, and thanks to the grassland terrain and the presence of prosperity, the institution was spawned in Tharawal. This was the third province in the Capital Area. And it was next to the other two developed provinces were Renaissance and Colonialism were spawned. SO in a few years , the Printing Press should spread to those provinces which together represented a large portion of Palembang.
The Grand Captain then finalized the status of the Palembang holdings in Morocco. HE kept the coastal provinces of Mellila and Ceuta as trade company provinces for their naval force limit and sailors. He made the province of Talfilat into a state province with its gold mine. And he gave the connecting provinces to Tlemcen, who was turned into a March.
At this point, there was no need for further expansion in Europe as almost all of it was in raiding or privateering range. The two areas for expansion designated next were the Mexico region, for its gold, and the Sulawesi island to activate the Lumaluma cult. Because Palembang did not have a very large army ( around 35 to 40 regiments), and the distances involved were large, this was done piecemeal. First Zia Federation was attacked in the New World
The aim in that war was to gain the province of Xecora , which separated the Palembang province of Totorames from Zacatecas, one of the best gold mines on the planet. This war took some time as the enemy capital was much further north, in what is today Arizona. BUt once their capital was taken, they happily gave up the province. And during that time, the Guamar tribe had moved into Zacatecas. Since that saved Palembang from having to colonize the province, war was declared as soon as more troops arrived to handle the combination of Guamar + Aztec + ZIa confederation (again)
During that war, the Printing Press was adopted (without loans, thanks to raiding).
And also during that war, Aragon further stomped Castile.
Because of this , European colonization was significantly delayed. And as of the writing of this Chapter, the entire coast of South Africa was still uncolonized.
Around that time, Grand Captain Zulkifli passed away, and was replaced by Grand Captain Abdulfatah 1/1/4. The latter immediately adopted the same cult of the Spirits to avoid losing the second missionary, who was near completing the conversion of Kilwa [if I waited a month tick to choose deity, I would have lost the 2nd missionary and with him all progress on the province]
Back in the war, a defeat of the Aztecs and Iximche and then of the Aztecs + Guamaris at Zacatecas sharply turned the war into Palembang's favor.
Those victories were enough to gain the province of Zacatecas to Palembang.
While that province was cored, the Grand Captain activated the other axis of expansion in the East Indies, and declared war on Bone indirectly via their ally Tidore (a direct declaration on Bone would have brought in Banjar and Brunei and required transferring troops from the New World).
The war was going well. Palembang defeated the Bone army a couple of times and chased them to the end of Sulawesi island.
And the Grand Captain was expecting an easy victory when the unexpected happened:
The Green Hydra had struck. They were asking for the province of Dhofar ( which , ironically, they could not core!). A quick parley to see their intentions, brought back a proposal of ceding to them the entirety of pirate holdings in the Mediterranean .
Needless to say, the Grand Captain was not about to lose all the hard work his predecessors had achieved . The forward bases used to raid and privateer the Ottomans were non-negotiable. So the pirate nation girded for a long war .
And the first engagement of that war was the loss of the fleet privateering the Constantinople node, before it could escape to port.
The first decision our Grand Captain had to make was whether to conclude the Bone war immediately or wait till Palembang took Bone city to allow annexation of land. His concern about continuing it was that other nations , seeing Palembang in two wars , would pile on and attack. And while defending against the Ottomans was difficult, it was impossible to defend against an attack by a third nation such as Portugal at the same time . But after much internal debate, he decided to consummate the war with Bone with the capture of their capital city after a 61 day siege, followed by this peace
Palembang took about half of Bone's province, making it easier to annex them fully later on. A couple of months later, Tidore agreed to sign a monetary peace after being put under siege.
Now the Grand Captain could focus on the Ottoman war. ANd the strategy he had to adopt was purely dictated by the relative strength of the two nations. The Ottomans dramatically outnumbered the pirates on land, something in the order of 240 regiments versus 60 . ON water, Palembang had the edge with a fleet of 20 Carrack and over 200 trade ships versus 11 heavies and 47 galleys.
To remedy the land discrepancy, he had the mission "No Purchase, No Pay" declared complete, giving the troops discipline [ I was saving this mission for a time of need]. But that was not enough, according to the rank and file of the pirate crews, who wanted someone younger to lead the nation. And so our 56 year old Grand Captain was replaced by 36 year old Lau-Tsa Mahat 1/1/4 who was strict in character. ANd he adopted the cult of Adroartina, giving another discipline boost to the nation [total 115%] . And he hired an Army Reformer at great cost to help boost their morale [I picked new leader to get the discipline cult. the trait was a lucky bonus].
The first test of the newly improved land army was at Kasdir, a mountain fort in Morocco held by the vassal Tlemcen.
And that first test ended with a victory against the Ottomans. BUt at the same time, the Ottomans took the fort of Damot in Ethiopia. And that was a reflection of the strategy Palembang was forced to adopt: allow the Ottomans to overrun Ethiopia area , while the fleet tried to harass them in their heartland around Constantinople. BUt to allow the fleet to operate in the Mediterranean, the provinces of Mellila and Ceuta had to be preserved ( the Ottomans already occupied the provinces in Lybia as well as Lesbos, so Palembang had no ports to supply the navy inside the Mediterranean). So the victory at Kasdir was welcome as it gave time for the Carracks to arrive from Asia ( where they were participating in the Bone war) along with the troops operating in Asia.
The spirits of Palembang were further lifted by a monetary gift sent by the King of Poland who hated the Ottomans more than he resented the pirates . THe ruler of Malacca did the same a few months later( I guess their rulers agreed with @alonsom13 that the pirates carried the weight of the world on their shoulders)
Those gifts were very welcome , as the pirate treasury was losing money steadily even after firing the expensive inquisitor advisor ( the last Grand Captain was busy converting the Gold Provinces as you may recall).
Once the Carracks arrived from Asia, the entire army attacked the Moroccan capital at Oran. ANd after a barrage and a 142 day siege , took it and forced Morocco out of the war.
BUt that news was tempered by the loss of the Kaffa fort in Ethiopia. And the news of the fall of Kilwa came soon after. It seemed nothing in Africa was safe from teh Ottoman armies, and the nation braced for the loss of the Mutapa gold mines next.
So the Grand Captain played his best card and sent the fleet with the whole army on board deep into the Mediterranean .
The first target was the island of Crete, which was the only island without a strait connection to the mainland. Crete was to serve as the main base for the fleet to repair and redock, and also to hold troops . Then a small marines force of 5,000 men was landed on Lesbos to retake it . That would secure a province in the area with a Palembangan core and therefore the ability to produce more marine units if needed. BUt then the admiral spotted a small Ottoman fleet in Marmara , and he gave chase to it , leaving just one galley to guard the Aegean.
The Ottoman squadron escaped to the black sea where the fleet caught up with it and destroyed it . BUt in that time the main Ottoman fleet of heavies and galleys went after the lone galley protecting the Aegean [ so that acted as bait, although that was not intentional on my part]. The main fleet hurried back to Marmara and caught up with the enemy.
The (first) battle of Marmara was a very important one. Had Palembang lost it , the war would be practically over. But the Grand Captain, directing the battle in person from the Buton's deck, inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy . The pirates captured 23 total ships, including 9 heavies. Palembang clearly ruled the waves.
Following the victory at Marmara, the Grand Captain sent feelers for peace to the Turks. But theirs demands, while better than before, still required the surrender of the pirate bases in the Eastern Mediterranean. So the war had to continue.
THe problem for Palembang was the severe numerical inferiority against the Turks. Even with Ottoman armies occupied in Ethiopia and Morocco, there were still enough troops in and around Constantinople that a marine landing there would be too risky . And so the only harassment of the enemy Palembang could do was to land small 2-regiment marine units in Darnah to distract enemy troops and gain some war score.
The Grand Captain tried to gain more war score by attacking the fortified island of Cyprus, only to discover that Eyalet-i-Misr, vassal of the Ottomans was somehow not in the war. THat was a mixed blessing as it deprived the pirates from an easy target ( Cyprus) , but also meant less enemies to fight.
But bad news continued to arrive as more of Ethiopia was occupied, and the Ottomans managed to take Kasdir in Morocco and were besieging the mountain fort at Tafilalt. And that led a band of mutinous pirates to assassinate our young hero of Marmara, and elevate in his place a relative of the great Azmi ( victor over Portugal)
But the death of Mahat was kept secret from the troops in Morocco, lest they lose their discipline [I did not click the event button]. ANd these troops, thinking they were still led by Mahat, fought bravely and lifted the siege of Tafilalt
It was only after the battle was won that the death of Mahat was announced. And the new Grand Captain did not initially choose a cult, waiting to see what circumstances dictated. But he soon received news of movement of the main Ottoman fleet in Marmara.
Surprised that the weaker Ottoman fleet was sallying out, he remembered that the late Mahat was in personal command of the pirate battle fleet. The turks, seeing the fleet leaderless, sallied out
Our Grand Captain, not apparently known for personal courage, decided to roll the dice and choose another admiral instead of commanding the troops himself. And while he may not be brave, he had a knack for picking good subordinates, and chose Inayat Hasanuddin, a 6-maneuver admiral.
The new admiral was rushed on board a lowly transport to the battle, turning the tide decisively against the Ottomans [naval width went from 44 to 77 !] . The second battle of Marmara saw 16 enemy ships captured, including their flagship the Kerem-i-Bahri. The victory now allowed the pirates to begin blockading enemy coastlines to improve the war score situation . ANd to further help that, the Grand Captain ordered a unit of 2 marine regiments to sneak up to the war goal of Dhofar in Arabia and retake it.
And that action brings us to the tend of the chapter. The Ottomans are still insisting on unacceptable territorial concessions. And the war promises to drag a lot longer . Our Grand Captain is working on recovering some ground, by sending the army to liberate Kilwa region ( where the Ottomans have left few troops), but at the risk of letting the Turks capture the forts in Morocco.
Palembang is prepared for a long war. The budget deficit is manageable, and thanks to continued raiding elsewhere in the World, the treasury is at no risk of needing loans and marines are not in short supply. SO she is well poised for continuing a war of attrition with the Green Hydra.
The main thrust of the last chapter was getting more raiding stations all around Europe. One last station was needed to put the northern coast of Iberia, the western coast of France and southern coast of England into raiding range. And that station was finally acquired when Brittany agreed to cede it.
At that point, the Grand Captain turned his attention to the institution of the Printing Press. He granted privileges to the Quartermasters to improve development efficiency.
With the help of the Quartermasters, and thanks to the grassland terrain and the presence of prosperity, the institution was spawned in Tharawal. This was the third province in the Capital Area. And it was next to the other two developed provinces were Renaissance and Colonialism were spawned. SO in a few years , the Printing Press should spread to those provinces which together represented a large portion of Palembang.
The Grand Captain then finalized the status of the Palembang holdings in Morocco. HE kept the coastal provinces of Mellila and Ceuta as trade company provinces for their naval force limit and sailors. He made the province of Talfilat into a state province with its gold mine. And he gave the connecting provinces to Tlemcen, who was turned into a March.
At this point, there was no need for further expansion in Europe as almost all of it was in raiding or privateering range. The two areas for expansion designated next were the Mexico region, for its gold, and the Sulawesi island to activate the Lumaluma cult. Because Palembang did not have a very large army ( around 35 to 40 regiments), and the distances involved were large, this was done piecemeal. First Zia Federation was attacked in the New World
The aim in that war was to gain the province of Xecora , which separated the Palembang province of Totorames from Zacatecas, one of the best gold mines on the planet. This war took some time as the enemy capital was much further north, in what is today Arizona. BUt once their capital was taken, they happily gave up the province. And during that time, the Guamar tribe had moved into Zacatecas. Since that saved Palembang from having to colonize the province, war was declared as soon as more troops arrived to handle the combination of Guamar + Aztec + ZIa confederation (again)
During that war, the Printing Press was adopted (without loans, thanks to raiding).
And also during that war, Aragon further stomped Castile.
Because of this , European colonization was significantly delayed. And as of the writing of this Chapter, the entire coast of South Africa was still uncolonized.
Around that time, Grand Captain Zulkifli passed away, and was replaced by Grand Captain Abdulfatah 1/1/4. The latter immediately adopted the same cult of the Spirits to avoid losing the second missionary, who was near completing the conversion of Kilwa [if I waited a month tick to choose deity, I would have lost the 2nd missionary and with him all progress on the province]
Back in the war, a defeat of the Aztecs and Iximche and then of the Aztecs + Guamaris at Zacatecas sharply turned the war into Palembang's favor.
Those victories were enough to gain the province of Zacatecas to Palembang.
While that province was cored, the Grand Captain activated the other axis of expansion in the East Indies, and declared war on Bone indirectly via their ally Tidore (a direct declaration on Bone would have brought in Banjar and Brunei and required transferring troops from the New World).
The war was going well. Palembang defeated the Bone army a couple of times and chased them to the end of Sulawesi island.
And the Grand Captain was expecting an easy victory when the unexpected happened:
The Green Hydra had struck. They were asking for the province of Dhofar ( which , ironically, they could not core!). A quick parley to see their intentions, brought back a proposal of ceding to them the entirety of pirate holdings in the Mediterranean .
Needless to say, the Grand Captain was not about to lose all the hard work his predecessors had achieved . The forward bases used to raid and privateer the Ottomans were non-negotiable. So the pirate nation girded for a long war .
And the first engagement of that war was the loss of the fleet privateering the Constantinople node, before it could escape to port.
The first decision our Grand Captain had to make was whether to conclude the Bone war immediately or wait till Palembang took Bone city to allow annexation of land. His concern about continuing it was that other nations , seeing Palembang in two wars , would pile on and attack. And while defending against the Ottomans was difficult, it was impossible to defend against an attack by a third nation such as Portugal at the same time . But after much internal debate, he decided to consummate the war with Bone with the capture of their capital city after a 61 day siege, followed by this peace
Palembang took about half of Bone's province, making it easier to annex them fully later on. A couple of months later, Tidore agreed to sign a monetary peace after being put under siege.
Now the Grand Captain could focus on the Ottoman war. ANd the strategy he had to adopt was purely dictated by the relative strength of the two nations. The Ottomans dramatically outnumbered the pirates on land, something in the order of 240 regiments versus 60 . ON water, Palembang had the edge with a fleet of 20 Carrack and over 200 trade ships versus 11 heavies and 47 galleys.
To remedy the land discrepancy, he had the mission "No Purchase, No Pay" declared complete, giving the troops discipline [ I was saving this mission for a time of need]. But that was not enough, according to the rank and file of the pirate crews, who wanted someone younger to lead the nation. And so our 56 year old Grand Captain was replaced by 36 year old Lau-Tsa Mahat 1/1/4 who was strict in character. ANd he adopted the cult of Adroartina, giving another discipline boost to the nation [total 115%] . And he hired an Army Reformer at great cost to help boost their morale [I picked new leader to get the discipline cult. the trait was a lucky bonus].
The first test of the newly improved land army was at Kasdir, a mountain fort in Morocco held by the vassal Tlemcen.
And that first test ended with a victory against the Ottomans. BUt at the same time, the Ottomans took the fort of Damot in Ethiopia. And that was a reflection of the strategy Palembang was forced to adopt: allow the Ottomans to overrun Ethiopia area , while the fleet tried to harass them in their heartland around Constantinople. BUt to allow the fleet to operate in the Mediterranean, the provinces of Mellila and Ceuta had to be preserved ( the Ottomans already occupied the provinces in Lybia as well as Lesbos, so Palembang had no ports to supply the navy inside the Mediterranean). So the victory at Kasdir was welcome as it gave time for the Carracks to arrive from Asia ( where they were participating in the Bone war) along with the troops operating in Asia.
The spirits of Palembang were further lifted by a monetary gift sent by the King of Poland who hated the Ottomans more than he resented the pirates . THe ruler of Malacca did the same a few months later( I guess their rulers agreed with @alonsom13 that the pirates carried the weight of the world on their shoulders)
Those gifts were very welcome , as the pirate treasury was losing money steadily even after firing the expensive inquisitor advisor ( the last Grand Captain was busy converting the Gold Provinces as you may recall).
Once the Carracks arrived from Asia, the entire army attacked the Moroccan capital at Oran. ANd after a barrage and a 142 day siege , took it and forced Morocco out of the war.
BUt that news was tempered by the loss of the Kaffa fort in Ethiopia. And the news of the fall of Kilwa came soon after. It seemed nothing in Africa was safe from teh Ottoman armies, and the nation braced for the loss of the Mutapa gold mines next.
So the Grand Captain played his best card and sent the fleet with the whole army on board deep into the Mediterranean .
The first target was the island of Crete, which was the only island without a strait connection to the mainland. Crete was to serve as the main base for the fleet to repair and redock, and also to hold troops . Then a small marines force of 5,000 men was landed on Lesbos to retake it . That would secure a province in the area with a Palembangan core and therefore the ability to produce more marine units if needed. BUt then the admiral spotted a small Ottoman fleet in Marmara , and he gave chase to it , leaving just one galley to guard the Aegean.
The Ottoman squadron escaped to the black sea where the fleet caught up with it and destroyed it . BUt in that time the main Ottoman fleet of heavies and galleys went after the lone galley protecting the Aegean [ so that acted as bait, although that was not intentional on my part]. The main fleet hurried back to Marmara and caught up with the enemy.
The (first) battle of Marmara was a very important one. Had Palembang lost it , the war would be practically over. But the Grand Captain, directing the battle in person from the Buton's deck, inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy . The pirates captured 23 total ships, including 9 heavies. Palembang clearly ruled the waves.
Following the victory at Marmara, the Grand Captain sent feelers for peace to the Turks. But theirs demands, while better than before, still required the surrender of the pirate bases in the Eastern Mediterranean. So the war had to continue.
THe problem for Palembang was the severe numerical inferiority against the Turks. Even with Ottoman armies occupied in Ethiopia and Morocco, there were still enough troops in and around Constantinople that a marine landing there would be too risky . And so the only harassment of the enemy Palembang could do was to land small 2-regiment marine units in Darnah to distract enemy troops and gain some war score.
The Grand Captain tried to gain more war score by attacking the fortified island of Cyprus, only to discover that Eyalet-i-Misr, vassal of the Ottomans was somehow not in the war. THat was a mixed blessing as it deprived the pirates from an easy target ( Cyprus) , but also meant less enemies to fight.
But bad news continued to arrive as more of Ethiopia was occupied, and the Ottomans managed to take Kasdir in Morocco and were besieging the mountain fort at Tafilalt. And that led a band of mutinous pirates to assassinate our young hero of Marmara, and elevate in his place a relative of the great Azmi ( victor over Portugal)
But the death of Mahat was kept secret from the troops in Morocco, lest they lose their discipline [I did not click the event button]. ANd these troops, thinking they were still led by Mahat, fought bravely and lifted the siege of Tafilalt
It was only after the battle was won that the death of Mahat was announced. And the new Grand Captain did not initially choose a cult, waiting to see what circumstances dictated. But he soon received news of movement of the main Ottoman fleet in Marmara.
Surprised that the weaker Ottoman fleet was sallying out, he remembered that the late Mahat was in personal command of the pirate battle fleet. The turks, seeing the fleet leaderless, sallied out
Our Grand Captain, not apparently known for personal courage, decided to roll the dice and choose another admiral instead of commanding the troops himself. And while he may not be brave, he had a knack for picking good subordinates, and chose Inayat Hasanuddin, a 6-maneuver admiral.
The new admiral was rushed on board a lowly transport to the battle, turning the tide decisively against the Ottomans [naval width went from 44 to 77 !] . The second battle of Marmara saw 16 enemy ships captured, including their flagship the Kerem-i-Bahri. The victory now allowed the pirates to begin blockading enemy coastlines to improve the war score situation . ANd to further help that, the Grand Captain ordered a unit of 2 marine regiments to sneak up to the war goal of Dhofar in Arabia and retake it.
And that action brings us to the tend of the chapter. The Ottomans are still insisting on unacceptable territorial concessions. And the war promises to drag a lot longer . Our Grand Captain is working on recovering some ground, by sending the army to liberate Kilwa region ( where the Ottomans have left few troops), but at the risk of letting the Turks capture the forts in Morocco.
Palembang is prepared for a long war. The budget deficit is manageable, and thanks to continued raiding elsewhere in the World, the treasury is at no risk of needing loans and marines are not in short supply. SO she is well poised for continuing a war of attrition with the Green Hydra.
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The weight of the world gold on their shoulders, thanks rulers!
So even being at a numbers disparity, the ships (and men commanding) are turning the tide. (ba dum tss)
Attrition is the only way to kill the hydra. Cut a head, burn it, a death of a thousand cuts is a death still.
So even being at a numbers disparity, the ships (and men commanding) are turning the tide. (ba dum tss)
Attrition is the only way to kill the hydra. Cut a head, burn it, a death of a thousand cuts is a death still.
Constantly changing the ruler doesn't seem like a very reliable strategy during a war... (shame that Mahat was assassinated so shortly after taking over)
Now would be a great moment for a strong Austria to declare on the Ottomans.........If they still existed.
Or a strong Russia.......If they hadn't already lost the steppes to them.
Maybe a war by the PLC ........that hasn't formed yet.
Still you can call upon your powerful allies.........that you can't make as pirates.
At least you have your wooden wall, those ships really give you a lot of flexibility to strike where you want. Let's hope you manage to find an opening to snipe Constantinopel.
Or a strong Russia.......If they hadn't already lost the steppes to them.
Maybe a war by the PLC ........that hasn't formed yet.
Still you can call upon your powerful allies.........that you can't make as pirates.
At least you have your wooden wall, those ships really give you a lot of flexibility to strike where you want. Let's hope you manage to find an opening to snipe Constantinopel.
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