Road of Queens - CKII India AAR

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eleven : A Terrible Swift Sword

The Queen’s Serious Face​

The records say that when the Raja Viradeva Shantideva was brought the Queen’s missive declaring De Jure War over Srihatta, on the 16th of February, he was calm and gentle, speaking of meeting her in battle, in defeating ‘The Cruel’ Queen, and protecting his subjects against the threat to peace. No doubt a pre-prepared speech.

He called for his military Commanders and his vassals to rise their levies.

There was no record of his reaction when his informants within the Queen‘s Kingdom, via homing birds and other methods, told him of her doing the same. It was doubtful he was surprised.

And sadly there is also no record of his reactions when sources within his own Kingdom alerted him to the fact that there was a large army already marching into Srihatta. Was he shocked? Outraged? Confused?

The Queen had hired 1,440 sell-swords and started marching towards the Raja, well before the declaration of war. She had timed it so she would be crossing the border by the time the Raja was receiving her letter. She wanted her invasion to be all nice and proper.

He and his court was caught by total surprise. And he was not the only one.

The province which was the reason for this war was assembling 34 soldiers when the Queen’s army came down on them like a load of bricks.

The Battle of Habiganj (also known to some as the First Battle of Srihatta) didn’t last very long.(1)

On the 25th of February The Great King declared a Pala-Ayudha De Jure War over Sasaram. But nobody in either Kingdoms cared. They were too busy with their own conflict.

The Queen quickly moved her army south into Karmanta and in the Battle of Karmanta caught another group of soldiers who were in the middle of marching to join their Raja.

The poor soldiers were wiped out with only one of the Queen’s men killed.

Many military historians point out the men were outnumbered, without proper commanders, and had no defense against the forty war elephants the band of mercenaries had brought with them.

On the 10th of April her own loyal soldiers had finally assembled and had started to march into the enemy Kingdom. Their target was the province of Srihatta. The idea was to siege it while the first army kept the Raja’s men occupied.(2)

Finally, on the 20th of April, at the Second Battle of Karmanta a large army of the Raja attacked the Queen’s hired company.

The fighting was harsh and bitter but on the 2nd of May the enemy’s right flank finally broke and this allowed her left flank, led by Prataparudra, to shift his men to attacking the enemy’s center. Soon the enemy’s left flank collapsed under pressure from soldiers led by Romanos. Without the flanks the center started to crumble and soon the whole army started a general retreat. This retreat turned to a rout when the Queen’s army charged with the cavalry and elephants.(3)

During this battle her second army in the Second Battle of Srihatta had murdered a single soldier answering the call of his liege.

The Second Battle of Karmanta ended in a victory. The war may had continued if it were not for that fact that during the confusion of the massive “retreat” the Queen’s men captured Devabhuti, the Commander of the enemy’s Center, and the Raja himself!

The Raja Viradeva had no choice. It was either give in to her demands or watch the war from one of her dungeon cells. So on the 15th of May he gave the Queen what she wanted. The Province of Srihatta.

The hired soldiers were released from her service and her own levies were told to go home and end a siege they had barely started.

She tried to ransom Commander Devanhuti back to the Raja but he refused to pay for the lowborn failure. Not wishing to pay for the man’s room and board she released him (much to his happiness).

The Queen then sent Makarios, her Court Chaplain, to Sirihatta to help the unbelievers find Buddha.

The war had not gone badly for the Queen. She still had money in the treasury, she had gained much honor, and her army was largely intact. In fact it was bigger than when it had started. Of course she had gained another Count who disliked her but she was use to that.

Poor Raja Viradeva, on the other hand, had lost his spouse, had lost one of his sons, and lost a war all within the time span of a year. He had been defeated and captured in battle by a woman warrior over ten years his senior. This SAME woman had also wiped out a part of his military. It had been too much for him to handle. All records, even from those who were friendly towards the man, showed he had become mentally unstable.

True, his Kingdom was larger and richer, but he cared not. For his mind was gone. Maybe it was the elephants?

Fear The Elephants! Fear Them!​

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Author’s End Notes:

1. Many battles may have more than one name depending on who is writing the history of the conflict. Look at the American Civil War. The First Battle of Bull Run is also known as the First Battle of Manassas.

2. The Queen did NOT call on her vassal's levies. Their numbers were much lower than her own warriors and vassals had a habit of getting upset if their own warriors joined in a long war. While the Queen was planning for a short war she didn't want to chance it.

3. No elephants were killed during the war. Just in case any of you readers were worried about them. Correction : Looks like one was killed in the last battle.

 

[stnylan]

Well, not much of a challenge.

 

[Eurasia]

Well, not much of a challenge.

After all the planning and hard work she did I hope not.

To be honest I think the Raja was having problems much of the game. First he was defeated by the Great King. Then I noticed his troop numbers kept changing - the opinions of his nobles may have not been as strong as I thought. Also, his stats don't make for a very good military leader. You will notice that while he was part of the army he was not in charge of any of the flanks even when they needed somebody for their right flank! His stats are so low that even his own Commanders decided that flank was better without a leader than making HIM the Commander during the final battle. Kind of a insult now that I think of it...

And you know, there was the elephants. Not joking. My side had forty elephants! They are Special Troops in Crusader Kings 2 and have a powerful punch. It also helped we were on the defending side of the final battle. They were attacking a larger army who had all the trimmings when it came to the bonuses.

And cute war elephants.

On the other hand - if he had not been captured - the war could have put her into debt, she would have to dissolve the hired help, and fight only with her levies. And levies are sometimes not the best troops. And no elephants.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Twelve : Aftermath Of The De Jure War Over Srihatta

Back To Business As Usual ​

The Queen came back to her palace, among cheering crowds, and settled into her private rooms. She knew that there was still work to do. Commanders had to be rewarded and some of her Council members needed replacing. Also she realized, to her amusement, that she needed to call off the plot to assassinate the Raja. If the Hindu court wanted a loon for a liege they were welcome to him.

Then she removed Harshapala as her Protostrator and also revoked his title of Master of the Hunt. While this left him very angry at her he was in the end a lowborn with no titles, with no land, with no troops, and with no allies. She would still have to watch him. If he joined a plot he would be dangerous but in the end he, alone, was powerless to hurt her.

Prataparudra, who had done so well in the war, wanted the seat of Protostrator but he was also somewhat cold towards her. And she knew that giving him the seat would work only so long to improve his opinion of her. He was, on paper, the best person for the position, but she knew he was not the most loyal.

Romanos had been wounded in the war but had still carried out his duties in the last battle. He was also still loyal. His opinion of her only increased when he was given the position of her Protostrator and the title of Master of the Hunt.

She sent him to Srihatta, where there were rumors of revolt, to keep the peace.

This left a Commander’s position open and the only person who she could find with skill and a good opinion of her was Pelagios - the Buddhist Monk in charge of Madan Kamdev. She found the idea of a Warrior Monk in her ranks somewhat pleasing. Also, his military skills were not that bad looking when compared to some of the other Commanders.

She then told Kumarapala to stop trying to collect taxes and go back to his regular job of administering of the realm. He was still cold towards her but she felt he was the best for the position (for now)

She decided to keep the Spy Master until she could get a proper replacement. It would be easy to find somebody more loyal. It would be hard to find somebody even CLOSE to his skills. And if she dismissed him and forced him to leave the court he might decide to work for somebody else. Some neighboring lunatic for example.(1)

After those duties she decided to take a small break and started studying the local books and scrolls on warfare in India. By the 17th of May, 774 AD, she had developed a deep understanding on how to inspire men on the battlefield.(2)

She returned to duty on the 20th of May with her attention focused on the Count of Shrihatta. Her network of informants and servants told her that he was not too happy with his new liege. Funny enough, his wife hated him more than the Queen. Due to the whole, his oldest daughter was a bastard from another woman and he had legitimized her, thing.

That kind of thing can piss a woman off. You know, the fooling around with another woman, thing. He didn’t like her right back. Maybe it was the fact that she had given birth to another daughter? Maybe it was because he was honest and she wasn’t? Maybe because he was Hindu and she was a Buddhist? The only vassal the Count had, a Mayor, was the only person who seemed to have a good opinion of the man. Sadly the Count did not feel the same for the Mayor.

She could tell dealing with that Count and his province was going to be a barrel of laughs. The thing she found the most amusing about the Count was that he felt he should be on her Council.

The next war would be in another five years. She was forced to agree to a truce when the Raja gave into her demands. That would give her just enough time to prepare for the next conflict with the Raj.

She needed to increase her funds. She wanted to make sure there was no doubt in the next war when it came to her finances. She wanted a VERY, VERY, big war chest.

The Queen Is Going To Need A Bigger Chest​

On the 30th of May, 774 AD, the Great King made himself another Duchy title. The Queen, wondering how he felt about her and her little war, collected all the information and latest reports she could find on him.

HE HAD MARRIED!

The woman he had selected had good stewardship and was very scholarly for a lowborn. She even seemed to like the Queen. A little. To be honest the Queen was impressed - that was not a bad marriage. They even seemed to like each other. No doubt once she starts pumping out babies the Great King’s opinion of his wife would soar!

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Author's End Notes:

1. From now on, in much of her private papers and messages to friends, she would address the Raja as “that loon”.

2. She had strange ideas about taking a break.

 

[stnylan]

So five more years of enforced pacifism. She is going to be rather frustrated when that time comes to an end I reckon.

 

[JabberJock14]

Given how close run the finances were of the last war, it's probably a good thing she has a little downtime to get her finances back in order. Even if, as stnylan notes, she may be very restless by the end of it.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Thirteen : Court Politics And International Affairs

If Wishes Could Be Beheaded Enemies
​

For the next 12 months the Queen ended up neck deep in secret dealings, court politics, and international affairs.

The first major event was the Raja Nandivarman of Bana Raj offered her a non-aggression pact between them for the next ten years. The Raja was on the other side of the Pala Kingdom and no threat to her. So she said yes.

She wondered WHY he would offer her such a pact. He did seem to be a cheerful kind of liege, a man who enjoyed life and sharing that enjoyment with others.

In November she visited the County of Kamarupanagara, chatted with the elders and passed out some gold coins. The Queen seemed to enjoy talking to the little people - gave her a excuse to take a look around the markets and the condition of the roads.

On the 12th of November another son was born to Makarios Tarmid and Tarma Anktsadtkacer named Suddhodane. She suggested, once again, that he focus on Buddhism and the Greek heritage of his father.

During late November she decided to check on all her enemies. She found the Baron Bhattamahabuhu now had a son. To be honest she had totally forgotten to keep an eye on the family and felt a tad embarrassed.

On the other hand, the child could be slowly worked on to increase his opinion of her over the next few years. He might turn out better than the Father. Or...well, children were easier to kill than adults.

The Queen's own sons were developing quickly. Prince Andronikos was no longer a sickly boy though his younger brother, Prince Basileios, was still ugly. Both of her sons were the same caste. Kshatriya, the caste of warriors and nobles, like their Mother. On the other hand both was following the Theravada path of Buddhism like their Father.(1)

In late December she was told that Pusyamitra, the Count of Srihatta, was thought of as a threat by her own spies. She told her Spy Master to start building a spy network in the County. For she had decided it was time for the grumpy Count to die and a spy network would make such a thing easier.

Out of the Queen’s Court two men were willing to jump right into the plot to kill the Count.

The Doux of Para-Lauhitya, Magistros of Kamarupa, Designated Regent of Kamarupa, Despot of Kamarupa, Balavarnan the Just (in other words her husband) was willing to join.

Also Bhikkhu Anatolios of Hajo (the Buddhist Monk) was willing to also join.

Funny enough, Commander Madan Kamdev, her Warrior Monk, was only willing to join if she gave him a large purse of gold coins. So she didn’t invite him to join.

On the 4th of February, 775 AD, the Count Pusyamitra suggested that the Queen GIVE him the County of Haruppeswara. Her reply was said to “disappoint“ the Count.(2)

Later that month her Spy Master suggested that the Count could be stopped scheming against her with the proper leverage. The Count agreed to disband his faction that had been conspiring against her.

Then she received from the servant network news that the Count had a new lover. Not just any lover. But the pregnant Gayatri, wife to the Thakur Lokhanata of Karmanata. A Count within the Raja’s Court.

The Count was sleeping with somebody’s wife within the enemy’s Court.

It is said the Queen face palmed.

On the 23rd of March, 775 AD, the Spy Master died from fever. The Queen replaced him with her Commander Prataparudra. Their were some who were better at the art of spying but they both hated her. At least her new Spy Master was happy to be the Councilor.

She sent him off to build a spy network in Srihatta. Maybe she could catch the idiot Count doing something else and arrest him. She cancelled the plot against him in the middle of May. He was no longer a threat - as much as she REALLY wanted to kill him. Still, her new Spy Master might find something on him.

To cheer herself up she helped Commander Hippolytos on his understanding on how to inspire his men.

By late June, 775 AD, the Queen had a question that she needed to answer. The question was which province would she take from the Raja next? The next few years she would be preparing her army and her nation for war. She might wish to know WHERE the goal of the war was.

The County of Suvarnagram was under the Raja’s direct control and was right next door. It looked somewhat developed, had room to grow, was Buddhist, and had no Count to have to deal with when taken.

She had found her next victim.

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Author's End Notes:

1. . One of the differences between Theravada and other paths, or schools, of Buddhism was that the Theravada sect had tried to formalize the language of the “Sutra” to insure the correct interpretation of Buddha’s statements. It heavily leaned towards learning from elders and their advice WHILE also including one’s own insight that came from experience and practice. Only then could one find true Nirvana.

2. Many historians believe that Count Pusyamitra didn’t understand politics OR didn’t understand how to deal with a female ruler.

 

[Eurasia]

So five more years of enforced pacifism. She is going to be rather frustrated when that time comes to an end I reckon.

Given how close run the finances were of the last war, it's probably a good thing she has a little downtime to get her finances back in order. Even if, as stnylan notes, she may be very restless by the end of it.

Which means she will have lots of energy when it does happen. Lots of energy....blood-thirsty energy and a way to deal with it.

 

[JabberJock14]

Man some of these counts... not the brightest of folks are they? Or unable to control themselves.

The Queen's own sons were developing quickly. Prince Andronikos was no longer a sickly boy though his younger brother, Prince Basileios, was still ugly.

I admit, I chuckled at that "still ugly" line.

 

[Eurasia]

Man some of these counts... not the brightest of folks are they? Or unable to control themselves.

I admit, I chuckled at that "still ugly" line.

Count Pusyamitra is the reason I love this game. Here is a Hindu Count who, before I even captured his County, married a wife of the wrong religion and of opposite traits, cheated on said wife with somebody else's wife (who had died), ended up with a daughter from that affair, and made her his legit daughter. AFTER he becomes my vassal he started a faction against the Crown, then demanded another County, gets upset when I refuse him, and has to be forced to give up plotting against me. WHILE cheating on his wife, a second time, with a married pregnant Countess in the Raja's Court. And Buddha help him if that kid is his and the husband finds out. And this is just a minor AI character in this game.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Fourteen : A Spiritual Guide And Very Fine Print

Small Buddhist Temple In India​

In late June, in the year 775 AD, the Queen Arminestra of Kamarupa was getting lectured by her husband.

"You really need to think about your soul," he had said for the fourth time over their meal.

She tried not to roll her eyes at the man. She didn't want the servants to start any nasty rumors about her and her husband. But she did feel the need to glare at him silently. He ignored her.

"You need to get the advice of a proper Elder of Buddhism," he continued.

"I need no advice for my path," she stated.

"What is your path?" her husband asked as he picked up some more flatbread.

"My path," she replied and tried a scary smile at him. It also failed.

"You really NEED to think about your soul," he said for the fifth time. "And a good Guru would bring just not guidance but also great honor to the court."

The Queen sighed to herself and said, "Alright. I'll think about it."

But mostly she thought of war. On the 24th of June, Commander Huppolytos reported to her that he had absorbed her lessons fully and was now skilled at inspiration.

​

One day, while talking to her Council members about the war they would be having in five years she received a horrible shock.

“You mean nine years, my wife,” said her husband while the other members exchanged confused looks.

“I meant five years. The treaty...”

“Oh, no, no, no, the treaty is valid till the 15th of May, 784 AD,” he said. He then showed her the very, very small print that added four years to the five years stated in the main body of print for “emotional reasons”.

“The advisers who drew up the terms of the treaty felt the Raja needed more time to recover from his wife’s death,” said her husband with as he smiled at her. “Nice of them, don’t you think?”

At that point the Queen face palmed herself with both hands and screamed into them.

In the end, after more pestering from her husband, and feeling she would need somebody to help keep her rage in check she sent messengers off with the news that she was looking for a Guru. Which cost her 50 gold coins.

"We could of had a two tiger hunts for that much gold," she wrote down in one of her many journals. “That was almost a year’s worth of income! A year‘s worth of INCOME!”

On the 10th of August a Buddhist Guru presented himself to her by the name of Georgios. He was a fifty year old Greek with a wonderfully thick beard and stern eyes like most great Gurus. It was said he was a very learned man.

“Oh Great Queen I am here to help you fight you inner demons,” he said as he bowed to her.

“I have no inner demons,” she replied.

“Oh?” he said with a tilt of his head. “Are you not full of wroth? Are you not greedy? Do you not lust after men?”

“Not all the time,” she responded. “And no to the last two.”

“I see,” he said stroking his own beard in thought. “But do you envy other rulers? Are you proud or slothful?”

“No,” she stated again. “No and no.”

He smiled and said with great joy, “Wonderful! I have never meet such a sin free ruler! I will enjoy being in your court. But I must be honest, my skills are in helping one REMOVE one’s sins. I really can offer you nothing in return for making me your court Guru but my thanks.”

Then it is said he turned to one of the nearby nobles and asked, “Does she always double face palm herself and scream into her own hands like that?”

By the 15th of December the massive war between the Kingdom of Pala and the Kingdom of Ayudha finally came to an end with the Pala Kingdom winning. Same old stuff.

Later that month she was told that the Great King had somebody burned at the stake. That was something NEW which she found somewhat distrubing. She was wondering what was happening in the Kingdom of Pala that a Buddhist Ruler was BURNING people at the stake.

On the 11th of January, 776 AD, she gave Georgios the position of Magistros. She then had him go to Suvarnagram to study the local records and see if there were any loopholes to allow her to have a claim on the County.(1)

In fact while her Guru helped plot the take over of another Ruler’s holding she, herself, ended up becoming the Guru to many of the members of her court. She was really starting to get annoyed by all the Greek freeholders.

On the 19th of April she was told that the County of Srihatta was fully Buddhist. The revolt risk had also gone down to suitable levels - the peasants had come to have a mostly positive opinion of the Queen.(2)

She recalled her Upadhyaya to Kamarupanagara to improve the Kingdom’s relationship with the two high ranking Monks and also recalled her Protostrator so he could work on training her military.

Another Commander improved in his skills much to her happiest. She was determined to have her war in five years and wanted everything to be perfect. Treaty be damned. She would take a hit in her honor if need be.

On the 26th of June she got a report that the Count of Srihatta finally had a male heir. From his own wife even!

And in July the Raja remarried. A lovely couple - he was insane and she was paranoid.

Later that month, during large scale military exercises, the Queen greatly improved in the use of Heavy Foot which made up a large potion of her levies. A very useful skill indeed.

On the 19th of September she was informed that her husband could no longer continue to function as her Regent. It seems that the Doux believed somebody was out to get him so he had gone into hiding. (3)

The Queen just shrugged and selected Georgios as her new Regent. So many things had happened to her that at this point she was not allowing herself to be surprised. Also the Court Physician had told her that her face could not take any more face palming.

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Author’s End Notes:

1. He was, on paper, the best for the job. Also some historians believe she was getting back at her husband for the loss of the 50 gold coins.

2. In fact it was likely ALWAYS fully Buddhist. The idea that it was a Hindu-Buddhist mix was due to being under a Hindu Duke. Once freed of the influence of the Raja it was likely fully Buddhist before her Upadhyaya was even sent there. The members of her Council kept that to themselves so not to get glared at.

3. As the records do not show him to be paranoid or unbalanced we can only assume that he had some evidence of a REAL plot against him.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Fifteen : Outside of India

Eris Must Be Having A Ball​

Welcome readers. You have seen the tiny little local war that the Queen had and have read of some of the events happening in her Kingdom and her nearby neighbors afterwards. But I feel it is time, once again, to expand our stage and fly outwards, to view the rest of the realms. Once again let us visit the powerful nations of the known world, the top seven military powers as of the 19th of September 776 AD!

Of course our first stop is the Middle East! The Arabian Empire is still on top with the Caliph Al-Mansur. Oh my, what's this? One son in another man's dungeon and another having DIED in a dungeon. Not good, not good at all. And look at that decadence!

Still, he seems to be open minded towards other religions and, like all good Muslim Rulers, is fighting a war with the Byzantine Empire. I am sure he will still be on top in the next few years. As long as he does not die from old age.

Byzantine Soldiers VS. Arabian Soldiers​

Now we head north to the Byzantine Empire in which the Baileus Konstantinos, having ended the Civil War for Gavelkind in a White Peace (a draw), is now fighting the Arabs. Looks like somebody has been leading his armies into battle. And he is only a little outnumbered by the Arabian Empire.

As we leave the "Son of Satan" behind we fly to the next military power, which is Andalusia (also known as Umayyad). It looks like the Sultan has earned a nickname - "The Terrible". But what's this? Everybody is held up in their keeps? Oh, Slow Fever is in the Realm. Yes, that explains that.

So, lovely readers, let us flee before we to get ill, and head over to West Francia. King Karl of the Karlngs is back on the list. Now look at that - he has three claims and is fighting over one of them with the Grand Chief Theoderic the Butcher over Saxony. Too bad for the King that it seems, at the moment, the Butcher is slightly winning.

Now we fly back to India and, look, it is our friend the Great King of the Kingdom of Pala (Bengal). With four wars under his belt, a lovely wife, and almost four thousand soldiers there is very few in India who can touch him now. On, but what is this? Headaches? Well, I am sure they are nothing. After all, he is being well looked after. At 23 years of age he has a long future of power, wealth, and pleasure to look forward to.

We don't have to go far to find the sixth in our list of military powers. Behold, the Bhima of the Rashtrakuta Revolt. With just over three thousand soldiers he is, in fact, in TWO wars. One against the Rashtrakuta which he is winning. And one, funny enough, against a Peasant Revolt within his own Kingdom. A revolt within a revolt.

Also, his Kingdom seems to be in two pieces. Wow, Southern India is a tough place to life. And now, for number seven. We must fly to Africa to the Kingdom of Africa.

Poor Sultan Umar. Looks like he could not hold onto Malzuzi and now he has started a fight in the other direction for Fes. And on top of that they call him "The Evil". He seems to also be suffering from stress on top of being paranoid AND in debt to the Jews. Well, at least he has almost four thousand soldiers, is winning the war for Fes, and his family is clean of decadence.

So my readers, we see just how the world is still in chaos. Large parts of it are rocked by never ending warfare, illnesses, and internal strife. Only here and there are there islands of peace and sanity.

So I put down my pen, try to clean my fingers of the black stains of ink, and blew out the stub of my candle. It is time for this chapter to close. Next time we will watch the Queen and follow events closer to home.

 

[stnylan]

Life is going to be rather difficult for such a long period of time.

 

[Eurasia]

Life is going to be rather difficult for such a long period of time.

Yes.

Spoiler: Game Mechanics - Don't look if it will spoil the immersion for you!

If she tries to start a war before the treaty ends she gets a huge prestige hit. Now, to be honest, she had a huge prestige hit when she took over - she was negative 200 plus - so she is used to that handicap. But whenever I check to see how much it will cost to declare war against the Raja the game keeps increasing it above what she has now - just enough to be out of reach. The game is GAMING me because it will not ALLOW me to go into the negative just to fight a war. Peace loving hippie game. I will find a way. I will find a way to start a war! I shall kill HIM! Oh wait, that's DUNE.

Still, lots of do. Keep the vassals in line, make money, get her court into order, train her kids, keep Pala from eating up her Kingdom in one bite, you know, same-old, same-old.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Sixteen : A Feast And A Jester

Rocking It Like It Is 776 AD​

We open this chapter on a scene of most import. The time was early October of the year 776 AD. The stage is the Council's Meeting Room with the large round marble table and comfortable chairs. The characters? The Queen is seated across from the door while her Magistros Georgios, who was visiting her in secret as most public records said he was still in Suvarnagram in dusty libraries and dark archives, paces.

"My Queen," he said, "Please understand. The treaty is a most powerful piece of paper. It is a promise with your seal."

"I will start the war when I am good and ready," The Queen Arminestra said with a calm but commanding voice.

"My Queen," he said, stepping close to her. "I understand your need. You want to build a stronger Kingdom before handing over the throne to your son. To make it stronger and more rich. But there are ways to do so without a premature war."

"I will not let a piece of paper hold me in check!" hissed the Queen. "Once I have enough money the treaty will be broken."

"My Queen," he pleaded, "do not lose a Kingdom to win a war. If you break the treaty EVERY Ruler in INDIA will see you as a oath breaker."

The Queen opened her mouth to respond. She stopped, thought for a few moments, leaned back and sighed.

"It would give him time to recover," she pointed out.

"Or to fall apart," said the older man, stroking his beard with a smile. He knew she was listening to him now. And she knew he was correct. "It will also give us time to do more than just build up the army. We need many things for the Kingdom. You don't wish to make a Kingdom on sand do you? Blood spilled from war will only hold it together for so long."

She sighed and shook her head.

There was a knock on the door. The Queen frowned and demanded, "What IS it?"

"Your Highness," said a voice on the other side of the barred doors, "your husband had decided to come out of hiding."

"Well," she said, looking over at her Magistros, "as we seem to have more time I don't have to be SUCH a miser. Maybe we should work a little on the vassals' opinion of me."

On the 4th of October, 776 AD, the Queen announced a seasonal feast (which was also to celebrate her husbanding coming out of hiding). She invited all her vassals and only two refused.

Her maids explained to her that it was traditional, during the autumn feasts, to offer a gift to her spouse. They suggested either a horse or a cape. She picked a rainproof cape as it was a lot cheaper than a horse.

Soon the Palace was ready and the guests started to arrive. Soon the feast had begun and the time to pass out the gifts had come. It is said that her husband was so genuine happy with his new cape that the couple truly fell in love that day.

On the morning of the 15th of November, as the guests made their way back home, the Queen was truly pleased with herself and how well the feast had turned out.

By early December she also noticed that the amount of money pouring into her coffers had increased, slightly. She checked the records and found that the Buddhists had converted another temple!

Seems a new Buddhist Nun was now in charge of Prithiminagar, and like the rest of the Buddhist Priests, had a positive opinion about the Queen. Which also meant a slight increase in available warriors she could call up in time of war.(1)

Out of the nine vassals she had four of them who liked her. And the rest were, grudgingly, giving her part of the income they were collecting. Maybe the party had helped.

The Queen, remembering her how sick her first son had been at birth, decided to pour a large part of her wealth into something she felt would please Buddha and his followers greatly.

The hospital would take a long time to be completed but she felt it was worth it. Being on the Silk Road meant that more than just money would come her way. Illnesses sometimes followed the trade winds and having a hospital might help fight the ill winds.

During the feast the Queen had noticed the, still, unmarried Greek freeloaders (in her papers she called them professional parasites) were more than happy to eat their fair share of the food and drink their fair share of the booze.(2)

So she decided to make them work for their entertainment by getting the two hitched up.

She invited two single women to the court (one of the women already had small daughter and was pregnant) and married the Greeks to them on the 13th of February, 777 AD.

Her husband walked up to her after the twin weddings and said, “Didn’t one of those chaps already have a wife?”

“Which one?” she asked, looking slightly confused.

“That one called...Dionysis,” said the Despot, pointing at the bearded one.

“I don’t care,” said the Queen. “Two wives, three, as long as he starts making Greek babies.”

On the 21st of February the Queen got a report that the Great King had created himself another title of Raja (Duke). In her papers the Queen was starting to ponder a theory that every time he created a title or promoted somebody or did anything with titles or his vassals that he was, in fact, about to start a war.

On the 31st of March she received a report that one of her Commanders, Balavarman, had improved in his skills with light infantry.

Then of course the Great King started a war months AFTER creating the new title. There went her theory out the window.

We close with another scene. The stage is her throne room. The time was the 31st of May in the year 777 AD. The characters on this stage was the Queen and a unknown lowly page delivering a letter from her Spy Master in Srihatta.

The Queen took the letter and broke the seal. It said:

Oh Great Queen,

I fear I have very little useful news to pass on. The Count is, indeed, having a affair with the Countess in the Raja’s court. He also has a maid servant in his own court who is smart and shapely. She spies for him when they are not having private parties together. I am not sure if the wife knows about either lovers.

Signed,

Prataparuda

She started to laugh. The histories say that she had come to find the Count so amusing that she finally decided to give him a title. Court Jester.

He was less than pleased.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Author’s End Notes:

1. Also helped that all the Buddhist Priests seemed to be Greek.

2. Professional Parasites is also a term used by historians to describe out-of-work poets and actors who cashed parties in ancient Rome and Greece. They always came with the largest napkins to take home any leftovers.

 

[stnylan]

Well, little by little this corner of India will fill up with Greek buddists!

 

[JabberJock14]

I can just imagine the Count at the end, called to Queen's summons. She tells him he's going to get a title - something that he probably felt had been a long time coming... only for that title to be court jester.

No, he would not be pleased.

 

[Nikolai]

I can just imagine the Count at the end, called to Queen's summons. She tells him he's going to get a title - something that he probably felt had been a long time coming... only for that title to be court jester.

No, he would not be pleased.

Haha, indeed. Poor man, eh.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Seventeen : Hardship And Humor

Medieval Hospital​

The Queen realized that sometimes, in life, you needed to bend like a young tree that bends to the storm’s blowing winds. As in this case, to the terms of the treaty, which was like a strong wind that pushed her back from her goal. The Councilor Georgios was correct. Why start a early war if even the victory of such a conflict would damage her honor and endanger her Kingdom? All for one County?

So she decided to take the lemons she was given and make lemonade as we would say in modern days.

The irony was that the treaty did not, in any way, keep the Raja in check. The loon Viradeva could start a war with the Queen if he wished without any problem whatsoever. But his mind, when it was clear enough, was on the Maharaja Dharmapala. There seemed to be a grudge there. It was focused on the County of Nabadwipa. The Raja wanted it back.

The Maharaja Dharmapala was too busy with his own affairs to notice much outside expanding his Kingdom. His interest in the Queen had eroded once he had married and had his own Queen. His ambition at the moment was to groom an heir. How he planned to do that when always at war she had no idea.

She decided, as she could not really do anything about either men, to focus on what she could do NOW.

On the 5th of June she sent her Sakellarios, Kumarapala, to Haruppewara to research the local economy. If she needed to spend money in the future she would prefer to do so on another Trade Post.

On the 19th of July the Queen was sitting in a secret chamber in the Castle/Palace that she has taken from the Ex-King. One of the walls was made out of stone with hundreds of holes. Each hole went all the way through the wall and was designed to allow sound pass through. A perfectly safe place to receive information from a person who wished to remain unknown to the listener.

"Well," she said to the unknown messenger on the other side of the wall. "What does my Spy Master Prataparudra have to report?"

A strange voice came from the other side of the wall, ageless and genderless, it was soft and without any accent.

"He has many things to report," it said. "It seems the Count has a new lover. Even while my Master sent you his last letter the Count had dropped the woman in the Raja's court and is now meeting with Dionysios's new wife. And Dionysios knows it. In fact, everybody does."

"Even Count Pusyamitra's own wife?"

"Yes," said the voice. "He is now a known adulterer. The Greek was so mad at the Count that he has declared himself a rival to your vassal. And the Countess now sees herself a rival to the Greek's wife!"

"Which wife?" asked the Queen.

The voice replied, "The Greek's second wife. The first one died when some food...disagreed with her."

The Queen laughed and slipped a tiny scroll into one of the holes. "This is approval for my Spy Master to pay you for your news."

She returned to her throne room to find another messenger waiting for her. It seems Amritakala, the pregnant woman who she had married to one of the other Greeks, had given birth to a baby girl.

The Queen suggested a education focused on faith for the first six years to make her a proper Buddhist. After that she could learn about Greek culture from one of educated Greeks.

On the 7th of September she was told that one of her Commanders, Salambha, had approved his skills at the use of heavily armored infantry in battle.

On the 5th of October news came to the Court that Count Pusyamitra was now known as “The Lecher”. Later that month news came from the Kingdom of Pala. Another person had burnt at the stake.

In early November the Queen received news that her husband was out of hiding. Again. That same day she also received news that the Rajkumar, young brother of the Maharaja Dharmapala, had been made into a Commander in Pala’s armies.

She approved, to be honest, as the best way to learn how to lead troops was to LEAD troops.

A few days after that she felt a gurgling in her tummy. Oh no, not again!

Makarios Tarmid announced it food poisoning and made the Queen drink salty water to help induce vomiting. By the 15th of Novembers cramps had joined her other ailments. Then shivering and sweating.

On the 15th of December a son was born to Ioannikio and Himu. The Queen ordered, from her sick bed, that the boy be taught about thrift. The boy was Greek and could be taught about Buddhism later, when he turned six.

December 25th was the day the brand new hospital opened to the cheerful populace. It would have cheered her up too if she wasn’t in bed shivering, puking, with painful cramps.

Still, she had a good laugh when a bastard daughter was born between Kakanvati and Count Pusyamitra. Of course she directed the child’s education to focus on faith. The Queen would educate her about Greek culture when she was older, like the rest of the kids.

The Court Physician had several different ideas to help cure the Queen’s sickness. She, once again, explained to him that she wanted him to use only the well known cures. He made her drink urine from a pregnant sow. Yes. Urine from a PREGNANT sow.

While she being treated she received news that Rajkumar had been removed from his position as a Commander in the Pala’s armies. Well, maybe he just wasn’t suited for a life in the military?

By January of 778 AD she was feeling a little better if still ill. She was now fifty years old and her hair was no longer dark brown and her skin was starting to show her age. If her husband could read her mind he would be happy to know that she was thinking more and more about her soul as she watched her own body decay.

After much debating to herself she decided in March to become a Theravada Buddhist, like the rest of the family.

As she received the praise of her husband she pondered her next moves. She felt that her years were running out like sand from a broken hour-glass. If she lived just long enough to complete the second war AND see her oldest son become an adult she felt she would be truly blessed.

 

[Nikolai]

Some change in there at the end of her life. Seems she's becoming slightly more mellow.