How are you going to deal with that alternate timeline without confusing the reader? 
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Damn, Castile has a ton of troops near the game start.
I hope in the alternate timeline Aragon swallows up Castile.
Castille is a favorite to form Spain. They don't have the Iberian Wedding, after all. Anything could happen in the alternate timeline so we'll see.
How are you going to deal with that alternate timeline without confusing the reader?
If you look above the chapters, there's a title (Subjugating Aragon for our current chapters). I will name it Special (year) and you will notice a big difference in overall format.
I apologize but I must have forgotten to take a screenshot when the Aragonese main army was annihilated. The next chapter will be without a screenshot.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 10
Pedro I hadn't expected the battle to be so fierce. He had only heard of such battles in books but those stories could never prepare him for the actual battles. With his armor weighing him down, Pedro I fought the best he could against the Aragonese soldiers. His bodyguards did their best cover his flanks so he only had to face the enemy before him. Fighting for several minutes, Pedro I could already feel fatigue settling in while the end of the battle was nowhere in sight.
The battle had lasted several days before Pedro I, growing rather impatient, ordered his cavalry to charge into the midst of the enemy. He hadn't expected the Aragonese soldiers to be ready for his cavalry force with them dismounting him and a number of others which forced them to fight on foot. The battle lasted another hour before the Aragonese soldiers were routing. The Castillian and Portuguese soldiers gave chase and slaughtered the Aragonese soldiers to the last man but the Aragonese king fled back to Barcelona to lick his wounds.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 11
Following a taste of actual combat, Pedro I returned to the capital where he hoped to recover from the experience. He anticipated excitement during the battles but, when surrounded at all sides by enemies who wanted his head, the Castillian king realized just how vulnerable he was. If he got unlucky and an Aragonese soldiers inflicted a mortal wound on him, he would be lying on the battlefield with the other Castillian soldiers who fell in battle.
During his journey back to the capital, an Aragonese army, numbering around two thousand, learned of his plans and were giving chase. The decisive battle might have been lost for Aragon but, if the Castillian king was captured alive and held as hostage, Aragon could basically turn the tide of the war. While the plan was an ambitious one, the Aragonese soldiers were intercepted by Portuguese and Castillian soldiers before they could reach Pedro I and were slaughtered to the last man.
Chapter 11
Following a taste of actual combat, Pedro I returned to the capital where he hoped to recover from the experience. He anticipated excitement during the battles but, when surrounded at all sides by enemies who wanted his head, the Castillian king realized just how vulnerable he was. If he got unlucky and an Aragonese soldiers inflicted a mortal wound on him, he would be lying on the battlefield with the other Castillian soldiers who fell in battle.
During his journey back to the capital, an Aragonese army, numbering around two thousand, learned of his plans and were giving chase. The decisive battle might have been lost for Aragon but, if the Castillian king was captured alive and held as hostage, Aragon could basically turn the tide of the war. While the plan was an ambitious one, the Aragonese soldiers were intercepted by Portuguese and Castillian soldiers before they could reach Pedro I and were slaughtered to the last man.
It doesn't help that much of Aragon is under siege.
You found a good reason for why the AI keeps sending minor stacks.
The AI might be smarter than we give credit. They just lacked the opportunities to capitalize on them.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 12
A small detachment of Castillian soldiers arrived outside Aragon where they began to besiege the city. Pedro I felt confident the two thousand men were plenty to deal with the siege at hand. The defenders were unlikely to venture out of the city so these two thousand men just had to encircle the city and starve out the garrison. The garrison would eventually surrender when they no longer had the food and water to continue their resistance.
Yet, there were Aragonese soldiers outside the city that launched an attack on the Castillian army. While they were half the size of the Castillian army, the Aragoense soldiers were newly recruited so their morale was low and, against the better trained and equipped Castillian soldiers, they stood little chance. They did inflict some casualties on the Castillians but the losses for their enemy did little to lift the siege so the siege continued with the defenders slowly starving away.
Any newly recruited army is at a disadvantage except for a few very rare situations. However, Aragon had basically lost at this point.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 13
A messenger rode to where Pedro I was at. The king, after spending a few days in his court, decided that there was little he could do back home. While the actual battle was much more grueling than he had expected, he still wanted to experience the thrill of watching Castillian soldiers slaughter Aragonese soldiers on the battlefield. Of course, he didn't mind who got slaughtered as long as they were all enemies of Castille.
When he spotted the messenger, the Castillian king hoped the messenger brought some interesting news for him. He was bored as all of Aragon was besieged at the moment. Sieges were long and arduous so he wasn't too keen on participating in one. He was definitely interested when he heard Navarra joined the war alongside Aragon. Given that his army was at the border between the two nations, he didn't need to move much to see more action.
That was a dumb move from Navarra's side. You could had vassalised them peacefully, and now they joined that war making it more difficult for you and putting themselves in a bad position.
So far the start is predictable, taking Aragon as quickly as possible to form Spain is always a good move. Navarra appears to have bitten off far more than she can chew and will probably join Aragon's fate as a Castilian subject soon. I wonder if that will be the sign for the Reconquista to begin anew.
The participation of Navarra isn't a problem since all of Aragon is under siege. Let's just say their participation is a nice bonus.
Reconquista isn't going to happen the way people think it would. Granada is currently a vassal of Castille and, once a certain year is reached, she will be peacefully annexed.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 14
The Navarra soldier laid on the ground bleeding from his mortal wound. He stared up at the dark clouds that covered the entire battlefield. He felt such excitement when he learned his king agreed to answering an alliance with Aragon. This was supposed to be a glorious moment when Navarra finally reclaimed some of her rightful territory from the ever greedy Kingdom of Castille. Instead, he was dying like many of his other brothers in arms.
A three thousand Navarra army was marching from the capital ready to head into Castillian territory. They didn't expect to encounter any fierce resistance along the way as the Castillian soldiers were no doubt busy in Aragon. Thus, they were unprepared when the army under Pedro I descended upon them. The seven thousand Castillian soldiers laid a small ambush just outside the Navarra capital leaving no survivors.
Looks like Navarra has a death wish.
Cannot say no when they offer themselves on a silver platter.
He wouldn't be that bad in Castillian history books.
well, so far for the suicidal bravery of Navarra I guess. Vassalisation time!
Can't say no to more subjects.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 15
Pedro I was quite amused when he heard what his subjects did behind his back. He wasn't furious or anything as this move didn't stop his ambitions in its tracks. If anything, he could ignore it like nothing really happened. However, he didn't like the fact that his subjects made this decision without him agreeing to it. This was a matter authority that he must deal with once he returned to the capital.
Brittany entered the war against Castille alongside Aragon. The Breton nation hardly contributed to the war at all which made them rather invisible in this conflict. A white peace with Brittany didn't change the fact that Castille was winning the war. Still, Pedro I wasn't pleased when his subjects sent a diplomat without his knowledge, especially when the offer was made from his side which made his side look more desperate.
Sending offers behind his back? What were his aims with Brittany in this conflict?
He just didn't like the fact that his side sent the offer.
Special Update
Chapter 16
The special will be mainly focused on Europe. There will be a special emphasis on Castille since she's the star of the show. Other parts of the world will be explored as we enter a new century. Minor changes were made to sliders and the national ideas (only the naval and land ones). Biggest change would be the triggered modifiers I added in which will limit the size of the nations. There won't be large blobs until much later in history (past 1700s) or, if there are any (like France expanding like crazy), they will be maluses that will greatly limit their ability to expand further. Colonial nations will be allowed to grow quite enormously but, being AIs, they might not optimize this configuration. One of the casus belli, Imperialism, has been changed to: 10% infamy, 10% peace cost to promote late game blobbing.
I will be the nation of Tahiti with no interactions with other nations. A decision allows me to see all of the world so I can easily what's happening with popups. Wars will be the main focus since they are the easiest to see from the outside. There will also be personal unions and other various events I could get to show on the popups which might be interesting. Each chapter for the special will cover a single year. Every year ending in 0 or 5 will have a map attached to it. This map will be Europe initially but will eventually expand to other parts of the world. I have already started the game so I can tell you now that Iberia won't be an exciting place to look at. Next special chapter will cover the year 1356. Hope to see you there.
The start might be a bit bumpy since I haven't decided upon the exact style just yet. The specials will also have to wait a bit.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 17
The Navarra king and his subjects could only watch as Castillian soldiers stormed into their court. They had been patiently waiting for this moment when they learned about the defeat of their army just outside the capital. The siege didn't last long at all as the garrison was severely weakened following the annihilation of the Navarra army. Once the city was besieged, it was merely a matter of time before the invaders succeeded in breaking through.
With Castillian soldiers entering the court, the Navarra king admitted his defeat and was ready for whatever fate his enemy had for him. He had led three thousand men out of the city and was the only survivor save a few of his personal bodyguards. It was too late to regret his decision to enter the war with Aragon. He would later learn that he would serve as a Duke of Navarra until his beloved nation was integrated into Castille herself.
Subjugating Aragon
Chapter 18
Pedro I felt quite arrogant as he watched his Aragonese counterpart walk into his court in chains. The Aragonese capital of Barcelona was captured and the king himself was in captivity. The Castillian king ordered his men to bring his counterpart back to Toledo where he could decide on the man's fate. The war was basically won so he only needed to end it formally by forcing the Aragonese king into signing the peace treaty.
The dream of uniting the Spanish region under one leader had finally came to fruition for the Castillian king who always saw himself as the better king. He could finally crush the rumors claiming his Aragonese counterpart was better by finalizing the peace deal. This peace deal would support his claims over all of Aragon making him the king of both nations. This was his first step towards creating a stronger Castille that was close to a very dangerous enemy in the north.
Chapter 18
Pedro I felt quite arrogant as he watched his Aragonese counterpart walk into his court in chains. The Aragonese capital of Barcelona was captured and the king himself was in captivity. The Castillian king ordered his men to bring his counterpart back to Toledo where he could decide on the man's fate. The war was basically won so he only needed to end it formally by forcing the Aragonese king into signing the peace treaty.
The dream of uniting the Spanish region under one leader had finally came to fruition for the Castillian king who always saw himself as the better king. He could finally crush the rumors claiming his Aragonese counterpart was better by finalizing the peace deal. This peace deal would support his claims over all of Aragon making him the king of both nations. This was his first step towards creating a stronger Castille that was close to a very dangerous enemy in the north.