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What about South America? You don't have a colony there.

But it's still impressive.
I believe I said explorations, not settlements. South America is of less importance, at least until the Europeans have naval range to Brazil. :)

Very impressive! Almost discouragingly so, compared to my own efforts with Ming... :p

If the Shamanists won't revolt for you, how did you convert that northernmost Tibetan province? Was that group herded from a shamanist province you did want to convert (IIRC Hovd and Tannu Tuva are redundant)?

What is your plan for your court? Those are not the most useful adviser types, so I assume you're aiming for stability bumps. Are there enough Eastern religion group targets left that it's worth doing this? Seems like you've been picking up boundary disputes on most of the survivors...

Have you had any successful Colonial Company events? I've had surprising luck with that already in my game. Arguably bad luck since supporting multiple colonies shortly after the Hindu conversion is rather bad for cash flow. :) Any reason you haven't colonized Luzon yet? Higher tax and population than Siberia, with generally better goods.

Also, I notice you still haven't taken Ceylon. The sooner you take it, the sooner you can get your tropical, possibly-culture-converting new capital! :D Unless you'd prefer Brunei, of course. Since I don't expect the Ryukyu trick to work and Brunei is a nice high tax province, that seems like a fine choice, actually.
I'm actually not conquering as fast as I could... Making landfall in Europe is perhaps not the best strategy. Ming can build a large enough fleet to make European colonization difficult, if not impossible. With low colonial maintenance, you can 'starve' settlements you capture at zero growth until you're in colonial range (through captured Pagan provinces), and then convert culture and religion with an extra colonist. As long as you have naval superiority nearby, the AI will stay in port during war. All it takes is a European offering you a safe harbor. :)

Shamanists do revolt occasionally, but not on the scale the animists are. Since I occasionally pause the 'wave' to convert provinces back to hinduism, I can then only provoke revolts behind the 'front', and nearly all the shamanist provinces are at the front. Hovd is actually not redundant, as long as I let the Oirats have three provinces. I need them to by-pass Oirat territory and reach Manchuria and Korea, but no luck so far.

That court was the best I could assemble. Prestige is always useful, and I wanted to boost income as best I could. Sure, I'd love a Master of Mint, but there have been absolutely none of them available. When I need theologians, they are usually absent from the pool. I'm in no real need of stability boosts, I just like to keep a high-standard court. :)

Any successful colonial company event will be screenshot'ed. I think I've had two or three, but I don't recall if the AAR has reached that far yet. As for Luzon, the reason is simply a colonist shortage. Europeans won't make it to Indonesia for a long time, especially since I'm killing off any 'stepping stone' pagan or low-tech country they could attack.

I don't really expect Ryukyu to work either, and I've no intention of relocating the capitol. I'm not fond of moving the capitol unless it's a requirement (i.e. Prussia and the 'Brandenburgian' decisions).
 
he has his ryukyu gambit for that purpose ^^
i now have a problem as the SE asia animists are under assam's control and they seem happy to convert them to their culture :/
 
Part 25 - Imperial Troubles


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Great Britain has established colonies in all lands they can reach. This is fast becoming a problem.


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Granada follows the more traditional pattern for cross-religious-group countries. We still guarantee their independence, though.


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Despite Granada's abandonment, Emperor Zhengde I has decided it is time to strike at Great Britain. However, since our French and Crimean allies might not want to fight them directly, a roundabout route is determined. The tiny nation of Gelre, currently excommunicated, is guaranteed by Great Britain and allied to several other nations. There is a good chance Great Britain will not be the leader in such a composite coalition. Our main problem is if a tiny country bordering France is alliance leader; then this war must end quickly. May 25th, 1500, the fighting commences.


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Crimea abandons us, but the French remain staunch allies.


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Brabant becomes alliance leader. Normally, this would not be a problem, but the Holy Roman Emperor is part of this war, allowing France to walk wherever they want. If we're to succeed in gaining land in Europe, we must first kick Pommerania out of this war.


July 12th, 1500 - Jharkand is force-converted to animism.


October 16th, 1500 - Dangla is force-converted to shamanism.


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As soon as the bulk of Pommerania's forces are marching through Germany, our forces land and destroy their newly built regiments. Sieges begin, but as Ming has only cavalry armies in Europe at this time, the sieges are slow.


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One unfortunate side-effect of sending our fleet to the Baltic is that Great Britain dares operate freely in the Atlantic. They invade Madeira, but are pushed back.


December 22nd, 1500 - Gondwana is force-converted to animism.


May 2nd, 1501 - Cuttack is force-converted to animism.


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The Holy Roman Emperor, suffering defeats in France, returns to his domain. Fortunately, his forces are so depleted they cannot overwhelm our invasion force.


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Great Britain's colonial holdings are burned to the ground, the colonists scattered into the wilderness or forced to return to Britain.


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However, Castille is ambitious enough to try to fill the void Ming has just made.


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Majapahit annexes Brunei, leaving with Ming with a grand total of six states to our 'east', one of which is our vassal. Brunei was unfortunately the last of these I can attack without a stability penalty.


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After a great deal of going back and forth, the Pommeranian forces are routed.


April 3rd, 1502 - Kham is force-converted to shamanism.


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Sadly, it is too late. France has steamrolled through the lowlands, including the alliance leader Brabant. To keep the war going is a great risk, and we cannot take it - especially now that the alliance leader awards us 100% warscore...


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It is a good thing we split our forces - cavalry forces that landed in Ireland and Iceland did finish their sieges, and now, we can extort those lands through Brabant. We have nowhere near enough warscore on Great Britain alone for this sort of thing.


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Castille has spread out, and we must now consider further actions against them - after we find all their new colonies, that is. An explorer is sent to investigate the coastline.


September 11th, 1502 - Oudh is force-converted to animism.


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The Timurids are again busy in the west. A spy sent to infiltrate their adminstration reveals several regiments moving westward. The eastern half of their empire is virtually unguarded.


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The Emperor feels this is an opportunity Ming must take advantage of. October 28th, 1502, the war commences.


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Once more, France joins Ming. Emperor Zhenghe I deftly sent a message with hints that Ming might concede Corsica to France, if they joined the fighting, and that apparently sufficed. Of course, we have no intention of letting France gain anything at all, if we can help it.


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Opportunities to expand trade arises in Ireland, and we do so. Our goal here is more colonists.


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Castille's colonies are growing fast.


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The Timurids cease hostilities in the west. This is a problem, as their armies far outnumber our troops in the area.


January 2nd, 1503 - Ayutthaya is force-converted to animism.


May 15th, 1503 - Qamdo is force-converted to shamanism.


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As more and more of the Timurid regiments return east, our ability to fight is greatly reduced. We grab what we can while we can; even a small gain is a solid gain in the cheap lands of the Timurids.


July 27th, 1503 - Gorka is force-converted to animism.


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It feels odd, not to pick the stability option.... I'm so used to being in need of stability, but the Oirat mission renders that need almost void, once Hinduism and Westernization is completed, and most co-religionists are dealt with. I could have taken advantage of this and attacked one of those, but I had no forces ready for this, and no spies to create a casus belli. D'oh.


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However, Ming has accumulated quite a few BadBoy points, and the need to blank our reputation is considerable. For that reason, more noodles are shipped north, and the long starved Oirats are quite contented. Our new mission is to convert Quelimane.


Chinese-Horde Exotic Eateries Soothing Efforts (CHEESE): 26


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Quelimane, however, is our only pagan province in East Africa, and thus indispensable. we cannot perform this mission for a long time yet.


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Once our agents have upset the Oirats suffifiently, we thus cancel that mission in favor of repairing the damage we just caused.


February 19th, 1504 - Ratchaburis is force-converted to animism.


April 8th, 1504 - Katmandu is force-converted to animism.


May 4th, 1504 - Vanga is converted to hinduism.


May 8th, 1504 - Sukthothai is force-converted to animism.


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Advances in science have not yet reached the peasantry, whom we are still wondering whether or not to teach how to read and write, much less celestial mechanics that even scolars at the court are doubtful about.


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Europe is ever the cradle of bad news. This time, an enthusiastic emmisary from France informs us that his majesty King Nicholas I Henri of France has been declared Holy Roman Emperor. Of course, Ming officially offers heartfelt congratulations to our ally for gaining this honor, but Emperor Zhengde I is uneasy with our European ally gaining such a title. The worst side-effect is that we now have very few options for roundabout declarations of war. The many guarantees Great Britain has put out in the lowlands cannot be exploited.

Fortunately, France's grasp on the title is weak, at best. It might not last beyond their current king.
 
Wouldn't it be better to simply seize British colonies, or do you gain less BB burning them than conquering them (according to the wiki the costs are the same, but that's data for 1.3).
EDIT: Oh, right. i forgot that since they're out of the colonial range you couldn't change their culture, my bad.
 
I don't see why you're burning colonies. There's a province decision, "assimilate colony", that lets you change the culture even if it's out of your colonization range (for 1 colonist).
 
only if you are in the right cultures/culture groups , and ming isn't

it's surprising that the timurids signed peace so easily
 
Excellent progress, the BBB makes for one hell of a meatshield!

I don't see why you're burning colonies. There's a province decision, "assimilate colony", that lets you change the culture even if it's out of your colonization range (for 1 colonist).

Only for European culture groups
 
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Wouldn't it be better to simply seize British colonies, or do you gain less BB burning them than conquering them (according to the wiki the costs are the same, but that's data for 1.3).
EDIT: Oh, right. i forgot that since they're out of the colonial range you couldn't change their culture, my bad.
The BadBoy gain should be the same - my main reason for burning the colonies at this point is precisely what you deduced - they are way out of my colonial range at this point, and even though I can 'starve' them with the colonial funding slider, they would still cost me money to keep at 0 growth. Until France joins the colonial race or I gain the colonial range, burning is 'cheaper'. :)

I don't see why you're burning colonies. There's a province decision, "assimilate colony", that lets you change the culture even if it's out of your colonization range (for 1 colonist).
As sprites and PrawnStar point out, that provincial decision does not work for Ming, at least not in 3.2b. It did work in 3.0, I think - which resulted in situations like my England converting small provinces in India using that decision... :)

only if you are in the right cultures/culture groups , and ming isn't

it's surprising that the timurids signed peace so easily
The Timurids sign peaces simply because they already have a vast amount of war exhaustion, something that hurts their vast, multicultural empire considerably. The AI cannot consider 'how large a part of the enemy army is actually a threat to me', like a human could. They only see the total number, which includes animist herders, forces in Africa, America, Europe and so on. So, as long as you get past the 'minimum time for peace', it's easy to nibble at them. :)

Excellent progress, the BBB makes for one hell of a meatshield!



Only for European culture groups
France is a very useful tool in this game. The trouble starts when I can no longer keep them 'junior'. As long as they have a good sum of war exhaustion, they won't declare wars on their own, and I'm trying to take advantage of that - at the risk of the alliance breaking, of course.

Loving this AAR! Nice job dealing with Castille and GB thus far.

I take it Ryukyu haven't even attempted to convert anything thus far.
Thanks. I couldn't have done it without France, though. :)

And no, Ryukyu has not converted anything. I suspect they never will, but some day I'll want to see pagans convert. I know they do in the latest beta patches, so I have hope for this exploit in the future. :)
 
Part 26 - The Lone Fight


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It is time to secure a foothold in South America. The Incas are also likely to have vast gold reserves, and with the Ming budget running an immense deficit, we are badly in need of a wealth influx. September 1st, 1504, the attack begins.


September 17th, 1504 - Allahabad is force-converted to animism.


September 18th, 1504 - U-Tsang is converted to hinduism.


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A colonial company event actually hits a land province, and Ming establishes a new settlement in Siberia.


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The settlers take the route through Oirat territories, and our government pays a solid amount of ducats for their safe passage. However, one of the settler wagons accidentally ran over their leader's favorite dog, and Ming-Oirat relations thus plummet again. In the mean time, our court feels it is time to deal with pirates off the Irish coast.


Chinese-Horde Exotic Eateries Soothing Efforts (CHEESE): 27


December 7th, 1504 - Yunnan is converted to hinduism.


January 18th, 1505 - Chiang Mai is converted to hinduism.


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To our bafflement, Castille declares war on Portugal. We had not thought to guarantee them, and Castille's hardwired hatred of Granada ought to have made them a more likely target. However, Granada has had the wisdom to ally with France, and that must have influended the Castillian decision.


March 31st, 1505 - Dangla is converted to hinduism.


May 17th, 1505 - Orissa is force-converted to animism.


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The war does not last long.


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Castille is not content with this, they charge on toward Candar.


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With the pirates chased away, it is again time to mend our ever-changing relations with the Oirats.


June 5th, 1505 - Toungoo is converted to hinduism.


June 15th, 1505 - Vientiane is force-converted to animism.


June 27th, 1505 - Lucknow is force-converted to animism.


June 29th, 1505 - Katmandu is converted to hinduism.


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Our conquistador seizes two provinces, and maps out the rest. Unfortunately, a series of nationalist revolts in the unfortified, seized provinces suggest that we cut the war short. Thirty years of additional nationalism is quite enough.


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Call a spade for a spade, and suchlike... The Emperor has no problems with this reputation; the entire dynasty has had one thing on their minds - complete world domination. If that is not powermongering, what is?


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Castille must be dealt with, lest their colonies grow too large. Unfortunately, the only nation they guarantee is Granada - and Granada is allied to France. Their allies are also troublesome, and there is no guarantee they'll join their allies. On October 4th, 1505, the war is declared.


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Despite an obvious stability hit for attacking a Catholic, France joins us yet again. Presumably, the chance to fight Brittany proved too elluring.


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The race is on. Castille is our target, everyone else is France's targets.


October 25th, 1505 - Keng Tung is converted to hinduism.


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We start the war by waiting for their forces to attack us, and then send in reinforcements. The grand battle that ensues is a bloody one.


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Victory is ours! Chase is given, short of a small force sent to siege Lisboa.


January 1st, 1506 - Xishuan Banna is converted to hinduism.


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Sadly, our pursuit meets disaster. Even the siege force in Lisboa is forced to retreat.


March 16th, 1506 - Kham is converted to hinduism.


March 20th, 1506 - Quarqan is converted to hinduism.


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Switzerland, mauled by rebels and French forces, gives Ming a solid credit.


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This time, we badly miscalculated the French stomach for war. They make a deal with Castille for the province of Pirineo. This is problematic, but at least their gains were not greater.


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The Emperor no longer sees a need to continue the war with Brittany - with France out of the war with Castille, we need all the men we can muster in Iberia.


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However, a Portuguese rebellion opens up possibilities. Our cavalry forces split up, one small detachment is sent north to harass and destroy newly built regiments. The forces retreating to Lisboa plan a devious escape.


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The forces push on, straight through the battle, heading for the lone regiment sieging Andalucia. Once either side wins in Portugal, the hope is to return and destroy the victor.


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Meanwhile, Denmark is continuing their fast descent into oblivion. As if they did not have enough trouble as it is, they're also hit with the Protestant Reformation. June 23rd, 1506 marks the beginning of a new era in Europe.


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With their home front in an uproar, Denmark concedes to abandon Russia entirely, surrendering Novgorod and the Center of Trade there to Ming.
 
Hahaha, would you look at that. Slesvig is Sunni! :rofl:
 
And Poland appears to be Orthodox, unless somehow Muscovy took over much of NW Poland in the last six years...

Looks like both conversion waves are coming along quite nicely!
 
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Hahaha, would you look at that. Slesvig is Sunni! :rofl:
Yup. The Ottomans pulled a reverse Miklagard (Viking name of Constantinople). The Ottomans also hold Ingermanland and Pskov at this point. They fought Denmark every so often, and this is the result. :)

Slesvig sunni. At least now neither Germany or Denmark can claim that province.
Poor Denmark is all but dead. I'm surprised Sweden has attempted to destroy them yet. :)

And Poland appears to be Orthodox, unless somehow Muscovy took over much of NW Poland in the last six years...

Looks like both conversion waves are coming along quite nicely!
I was wondering if someone would notice that. Yes, Poland has gone Orthodox. I'm presuming that was caused by rebels crossing the border from Lithuania, or something. Poland had a rough time this game, but after they went Orthodox, they've grown steadily.

Conversion is going okay. I could wish for an even faster rate, but I'm content. :)
 
Part 27 - Upgrading the Ming Arsenal


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Castille truly hates us, and tries to spread that hatred amidst Catholics.


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Castille's forces, weakened by fighting Portuguese rebels, are pushed back. They will not survive the pursuit.


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With that army gone, Castille's forces are considerably reduced. The army we detached earlier has been destroying dozens of newly built regiments, and their remaining forces are 'trapped' within their Mediterranean holdings. Other than routing recruits, we now spread out and start sieges.


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Ming has no immediate need for stability, but prestige and more production efficiency is always useful.


January 18th, 1507 - Parlakimidi is force-converted to animism.


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We don't have enough cavalry to siege everywhere at once, as we cannot split our forces so thin that they can't rout the new regiments Castille began buliding before we arrived.


February 23rd, 1507 - Bhutan is converted to hinduism.


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Emperor Zhengde I pushes the country even more towards traditional ways, with the intention of gaining more missionaries and allow the enactment of the last religious decision we'll make. In time, Ming might turn more Innovative again, but that depends on how dire the missionary situation becomes.


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The Third Iberian Campaign is going very well. Credit goes to France and Portuguese rebels for weakening Castille to the point we could swarm them.


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This news was received with ambivalence at the Ming court. It would have been better if the Ottomans could have reclaimed their Center of Trade, but every little bit helps.


October 17th, 1507 - Amdo is converted to hinduism.


December 24th, 1507 - Bangala is converted to hinduism.


February 21st, 1508 - Indravati is force-converted to animism.


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Trinkets raided from the heathen chapels of Iberia are dispatched north. Initially well received, the Oirats become concerned when they learn that the silver crosses are in fact religious artefacts, and relations waver yet again.

We move from O to P, Oirats to Pirats.


Chinese-Horde Exotic Eateries Soothing Efforts (CHEESE): 28


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At long last, Ming advances in Land technology has reached the point where our standard units increase their strength. Our infantry is still inferior to European infantry, but our cavalry will now be superior until they reach Land 22. If Ming can keep up in Land tech, our cavalry should be a contender even beyond that - but only against other cavalry forces. European infantry grows rapidly in strength.


May 14th, 1508 - Jharkhand is converted to hinduism.


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June 11th, 1508, Calvinists seize power in Lüneburg.


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With Ming fully occupying the Castillian mainland, it is time to offer peace. Their lands are expensive, however. For now, we settle for as much coastline as possible, in addition to Beira. Their colonies are already forfeit.


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Curiously enough, we are not awarded the Oirat mission upon dealing with the pirates. Exporers are now sent down the Australian coast.


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Great Britain is again on the move in America, and as of January 1st, 1509, that cannot be tolerated. Sadly, with France as the Holy Roman Emperor, we cannot make Great Britain a junior easily. Moreover, we position ourselves in the hopes of securing Saintonge and Gascogne before the French do. To reduce their warscore is to make sure they stay in the war longer, and with less potential gains.


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France joins us yet again.


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Great Britain has a fair set of allies too.


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Hainaut is quickly overrun, fortunately they are wise enough to offer me a peace, rather than wait for the British to abandon them.


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Bohemia also wants out of the war.

Yes, they hold Artois. They have since the start of the game; they robbed Burgundy of land, and somehow managed to cling to it for a hundred years and counting. I wonder if this and Bohemia's many allies has been part of what has kept France in check for so long.


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With Wadjuk on Ming maps, it is time to placate our ever troublesome shamanist neighbors.


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With the passing of the French king, so does his title pass, to a less bothersome candidate.


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This time, we seize the British colonies, rather than burn them. The reason is simply that France is coming up on their fourth National Idea, and if they pick Conquest of the New World and head overseas, Ming will be in a heap of trouble.


December 19th, 1509 - Thakhek is force-converted to animism.


December 20th, 1509 - Oudh is converted to hinduism.


January 28th, 1510 - Telingana is force-converted to animism.


June 19th, 1510 - Moulmein is converted to hinduism.


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Sweden is gracious enough to surrender their half of Iceland, thus abandoning all colonial aspirations.


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Alas, France manages to wrest Calais from Great Britain, even with limited warscore.


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It is some comfort to learn that France picks National Bank as their fourth National Idea. The strange here, according to their file, is that their first choice of Bureaucracy.
 
yeah, that is strange. Apparently the AI can overrule their initial NI settings if certain triggers aren't available. You won't see a landlocked nation pick QFTNW even if it says so in common/countries/ and I assume something alike is going on here.
I've often seen Castile and England choose national bank as their first NI, and then moving QFTNW a step down the line.

Could it be that the AI refuses to pick national conscripts (France) if it doesn't use half the support limit at the time of picking the idea?
Bill of rights (Eng) if it has no revolt risk, or nothing above a certain threshold
Divine supremacy (Cas) if it has no muslim provinces.

The last one is certainly possible. I like to take Granada from them in the first few years leaving Castile without muslims provinces (it only takes 3 infantry and 3 cogs). And I was puzzled when I saw QFTNW as their second NI in the common/countries/castile.txt - it's always number three in my colonization games.
 
Another good job.

How do you get Ryuku to accept the provinces you are donating to it? I am playing a GC Republican Turkey game (IN 3.2b 2008, deposted the sultan in 1501), and have mostly overrun Europe. I figured I would rescue the poor animists of Ashanti, Oyo and Sokoto from the infidel Castillian & Portugese missionaries, so I made them my vassals and allies.

Then I figured I would export some animists to newly conquered and yet unconverted Christian European territories. My animist vassals refuse any territory I try to donate to them in Europe... What is your secret with Ryuku?
 
...Yup. The Ottomans pulled a reverse Miklagard (Viking name of Constantinople). The Ottomans also hold Ingermanland and Pskov at this point. They fought Denmark every so often, and this is the result. :)...

Now you must be wary of those feared Ottoman mercenaries in the employ of the Danish king, the Timariot Guard.