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Hungary 1564-70

Business as usual with Hungary, the peasants' war, the rampant inflation, rebels... but there is peace and the nation is due to reach stab +1 in 1566.

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Not much to do but wait and see how the Austro-Serbian-Ottoman war develops. Later in the year I get to choose between releasing Corfu or losing -3 stab. Bye bye Corfu!

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Then Austria guarantees our Independence, again, which is always nice.

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And as a positive consequence of letting Corfu go, Stab +1 is reached earlier than expected!

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Hungarian people quickly start enjoying the benefits of positive stability...

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The Austrians end the war with the OE with a white peace, hardly worth waiting for. On the west Burgundy exacts another bunch of provinces from England.

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And the Ottomans insist on asking me for military access... I insist on refusing it.

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Positive stability boosts greatly the national income, so I start building workshops and sending missionaries like there is no tomorrow. Ironically the newly acquired Turkish provinces convert at once, Cherson and Bessarabia keep on rejecting Catholicism.

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Finally in 1569, after more than half a century of misery and rebellions... the Peasants' War ends!! I nearly cry...

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The revolts report looks positively boring now that it doesn't fill half of the screen :)

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However 1569 brings disturbing developments in the west... First Burgundy warns Austria :eek: Then after what seemed a long period of calm for France, Burgundy lays claims to the French throne. France's only ally is England...

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You can guess how all this ends...

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1570, Final year of the turn and I had even managed to save two years of income to try to fabricate claims on a Crimean province... only to see Lithuania attacking Kazan and spoiling my plans... I decide to divert the efforts to Turkish Bulgaria, but the diplomatic skills (read lack of) of the king don't help much. 138 ducats wasted, but I think it was worth the try.

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In March Hungary reaches Government technology 3... as you can see the tech stats leave a lot to be desired.

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After all these years of stagnation I dare making a slider move towards centralization. I would have gone for Innovative to hopefully one day wasternize, but the current level of decentralization is just too shocking. With the stability drop the king dies, his heir being much better altogether. Why oh why didn't he die before I tried to fabricate claims a few months ago?!

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Then the final proof that Hungary has become a regional power, an alliance offer from Gotland! As a self-respecting regional power, I refuse it.

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Positive stability will be reached again in 2 years' time, annual income is comfortable and I have managed to move the minting slider to the left for the first time in... ever. I haven't had the opportunity to snap a province off Crimea or the OE but I think the country is in good enough shape now for the AI to make the most of it.

The war between Kazan and Lithuania continues, the next confrontation in the east will probably be Lithuania-Timurids, that'll be interesting.

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Too bad that you couldn't get the claims on Bulgaria, that would definitely have been useful. :(

The Lithuanian-Timurid war will be interesting to read.

Good updates. :)
 
aldriq said:
Positive stability will be reached again in 2 years' time, annual income is comfortable and I have managed to move the minting sider to the left for the first time in... ever. I haven't had the opportunity to snap a province off Crimea or the OE but I think the country is in good enough shape now for the AI to make the most of it.
Anyone want to bet that the AI will ally you with Gotland and get you into a war with Poland/Lithuania? ;)

Good turn with Hungary. It was about time for one.
 
rcduggan - Thanks. TE-Lithuania should be interesting. I was toying with the idea of attacking Kazan in the next turn, to hopefully annex Crimea (if they haven't been eaten by Poland by then) and get Georgia, but I'm not sure whether sharing border with the Timurids is a good idea without an alliance with Lithuania.

Warpimp - Thanks! Glad you like it.

merrick - Don't even dare say that! You know it's all too likely to happen :eek: Gotland permitting, the next turn should offer a few options for Hungary to expand, either north or south of the Black Sea.
 
Austria 1571-77

1571... peace, healthy economy, healthy army, healthy manpower...

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But then, the devil lies in the detail:

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It seems that animosity between Burgundy and Austria has escalated, so I'll have to tread carefully. I release Genoa -again-, I send warnings to Sicily and Aragon, I'm just about to fabricate claims in Apulia but...

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Crete thought wise to attack the Ottomans knowing I would be supporting. Life is so easy for AI controlled minors! Oh well, I guess Sicily can wait for a few months. I send 15k men to Bulgaria; it falls. Then Thrace; it falls. By May 1572 the OE is willing to sign peace releasing Bulgaria, and of course Crete (they got annexed pretty quickly after DoWing, all that fuss to go to war and they couldn't even hold their own fort!).

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With this annoying little business over, I start weighing the chances of Burgundy DoWing if I attack Sicily... tricky. I check the military stats:

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Too close for comfort I'd say, I have a slightly bigger army but they have more manpower. I decide to wait a bit longer. I send more colonists to Brazil, I build some more level 2 forts, I lavish money on some HRE electors. Sadly the only country larger than one province I can get an alliance with is Modena.

In the east Hungary DoWs Kazan, with Crimea duly joining, finally the AI doing something sensible! Not that it is of much profit in the end, Poland gets the spoils of Crimea and despite Hungary taking Georgia the whole affair ends in a mere exchange of ducats.

In 1573 I gain core in Venezia, finally I can start doing some trade. I see that Sicilians and Aragonese are monopolising the centre, yet another good reason to DoW them. I manage to get 1 merchant, the second never makes it, time maybe to get a trade advisor... none available.

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In August of the same year all hell breaks loose...

Code:
19 August, 1573 Sweden declared war upon Gotland.
20 August, 1573 Sweden has started collecting War Taxes.
20 August, 1573 Gotland has started collecting War Taxes.

No, not that one, although I'm sure Gotland is somehow responsible...

Code:
20 August, 1573 Lithuania declared war upon Muscowy.
20 August, 1573 Burgundy joined Muscowy in a war against Lithuania.
20 August, 1573 Hamburg joined Lithuania in a war against Burgundy, Muscowy.
20 August, 1573 The Papal State joined Lithuania in a war against Burgundy, Muscowy.
20 August, 1573 Novgorod joined Lithuania in a war against Burgundy, Muscowy.
20 August, 1573 Dulkadir joined Lithuania in a war against Burgundy, Muscowy.
21 August, 1573 Sweden joined Muscowy in a war against Lithuania, Hamburg, The Papal State, Novgorod, Dulkadir.
21 August, 1573 Poland joined Lithuania in a war against Burgundy, Muscowy, Sweden.

Of course they ALL start collecting war taxes :eek: For once I'm glad not to be involved in the chain of events. A useless war between Lithuania and Burgundy suits me just fine. I start making preparations to DoW Sicily, I release Sardinia -islands tend to be a liability- but in December I get two calls to arms, one unexpected, one very welcome:

Code:
5 December, 1573 Candar declared war upon Qara Koyunlu.
11 December, 1573 Modena declared war upon Sicily.
12 December, 1573 Aragon joined Sicily in a war against Modena.
13 December, 1573 We joined Candar in a war against Qara Koyunlu.
13 December, 1573 We assumed leadership in the war against Qara Koyunlu.
13 December, 1573 Our stability has dropped.
13 December, 1573 We joined Modena in a war against Aragon, Sicily.
13 December, 1573 We assumed leadership in the war against Aragon, Sicily.

So Candar joins the long tradition of suicidal OPMs. And suddenly having Modena as ally seems to be worthwhile, I have my war with Sicily and Aragon for free! Well, not totally free, I still lose 1 stab due to same religion.

Once passed the initial excitement I waste no time in embargoing the living daylights out of Sicily and Aragon, 9 merchants kicked out of my CoT!

My troops storm Roma, Parma, Napoli, Apulia and Roussillon. Modena takes Mantua and Baleares. I'm surprised to find little opposition from Aragon, particularly on the naval side, I was expecting a much larger fleet.

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In the middle of this glorious war Joseph I dies, his son takes over and the war continues.

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Sicily is eventually persuaded to part with Apulia and release Mantua.

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I keep on fighting Aragon in the hope of getting enough warscore to obtain Roma. Then in Jaunuary 1575 the Shawnee ask for help against the Castillian aggressor. Who says you need to DoW to have fun, when you can just warn half of Europe and wait for the wars to come to you?!

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Another free war with Castille, too good to miss. I accept and start to pursue peace with Aragon. Roma bing 48% warscore, I have to settle for Roussillon, the Baleares for my ally Modena and 25 ducats.

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That peace doesn't come a second too soon, the war with Castille requires all my resources.

Things get a bit messy at first, the Castillians have two very good generals. Joseph II probably dies of the shock (and I didn't even put him in the battlefield!)

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I slowly recover my provinces and chase one of the main Castillian armies all the way to Italy, where I finally get my revenge on Ponce de Leon.

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But like in the previous war with them, the price in manpower is high. After two years I've just managed to get half of their French holdings. 30% warscore is the result.

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I settle for Bearn and Limousine (42%). Evicting the Spaniards from France is hard work.

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At least it leaves me 3 months to do some housekeeping before the end of the turn. A tolerance edict event boosts my stability a bit, which is a nice compensation for the 2 National Declines I got in the last two years.

Then I never expected this, in October:

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Which of course I accept since I'd rather play it safe leaving Austria to the AI for the next 7 years. By the way, the monster war between Burgundy and Lithuania ended with little changes, Burgundy annexed Hamburg but signed a white peace with Lithuania.

So I build more ships, more level 2 forts, send more colonists to Brazil, and I even get 5 merchants in Venice...

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That is, until a merchant of Hesse spoils the fun on December 30 :mad: (reminder for next turn: sign trade agreement with Hesse.)
 
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Nice updates there, while Austria crushes Castille, Hungary should start entering Anatolia :)

They should divide the world and then battle for it :D
 
Austria and Burgundy together? Now there is an unholy alliance if there ever was one. :D
 
<singing, loudly and badly> A-blobbing we shall go! A-blobbing we shall go!</singing>
Though your Austria is more a spider than a blob... Great work, and have fun conquering France.
 
Sweboy, rcduggan - Austria is allowed to marry, or for that matter, bed anyone in Europe, for the greater good of the Habsburgs! If anything I have now more protestant provinces than Burgundy, so I should like to think it is them bedding the devil :D

Capibara - We'll see what we can do with Hungary and Anatolia. As for the endgame, maybe one will inherit the other, that would be a fitting conclusion :)

merrick - Indeed, the blob is turning out quite spiky. I promise to stop blobbing... once I get southern France, and eradicate the Sicilians, and defeat Burgundy. Honest.
 
Just caught up, read everything after your hiatus, great stuff!
 
Hungary 1578-84

Well, that war against Kazan didn't come for free, it did cost 2 stability points. It also needed a loan, apparently. And for some reason the AI thinks the future of Hungary lies in trade, so the trade tech slider is maxed out... no cookie for the AI this turn. I forgot to mention, in the previous turn playing with Austria, the AI still cheated big time. During the war with the OE I saw Ottoman armies crossing through Edirne and Silistria time and time again. I did check both Hungary and OE and there wasn't any military access granted. I hope it was a one-off glitch.

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The reduced tax income for the next 18 years is not welcome either. But Poland and Bohemia are still our stern allies (and no, Gotland is not in the list of allies, thank Heavens!)

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The priority then is to settle and recover stability. I re-adjust the sliders, and re-release Corfu as vassal, which helps bringing stab 0 by the end of 1578.

Some more workshop-building, missionary-sending is the plan for the next couple of years, hoping that Crimea, Kazan or the OE will make a move (they are all warned).

In September 1579 Aragon attacks Mali; Austria makes use of the warning and defends Mali. Sicily, Portugal and Navarra join Aragon (it's a good job that Aragon and Castille are not friends in this game). It doesn't take long for Austria to make some good progress.

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In September 1580 Land tech 10 is reached, the only tech group in which Hungary is not a total laggard. In November Bessarabia finally converts, it's only taken 120 years :(

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All this religious success probably makes the kingdom admired throughout Europe. Proof: Gotland sends a new alliance proposal, swiftly declined. Since nothing exciting happens in my borders I start saving in order to fabricate claims in Georgia.

By February 1581 Austria has already reduced Sicily to a vassal and exacted 3 provinces off Aragon. Later they get Armagnac and Cape Verde from Navarra. I hope they rest the BB off now.

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In April 1581 another monster-truck war between Lithuania and Burgundy erupts. Luckily Austria is not involved.

Code:
7 April, 1581 Lithuania declared war upon Qara Koyunlu.
7 April, 1581 The Papal State joined Lithuania in a war against Qara Koyunlu.
7 April, 1581 Dulkadir joined Lithuania in a war against Qara Koyunlu.
8 April, 1581 Sweden joined Qara Koyunlu in a war against Lithuania, The Papal State, Dulkadir.
8 April, 1581 Poland joined Lithuania in a war against Qara Koyunlu, Sweden.
8 April, 1581 Burgundy joined Qara Koyunlu in a war against Lithuania, The Papal State, Dulkadir, Poland.

Scandinavia becomes the main front, the Swedes being overwhelmed by Lithuania.

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January 1582 arrives, 140 ducats are duly paid to spies and lawyers, but once again the attempts to fabricate territorial claims fail. The king's poor diplomatic skills are probably to blame.

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At least in February Wallachia declares independence from Poland and I get called for duty.

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Waste of time as in the end Lithuania -the alliance leader- settles in white peace before the siege is finished. Presumably they were still too busy with Burgundy to care. However, the outcome of the big war is no great deal either: Sweden loses a few provinces, Burgundy annexes the Papal State in Rhodes and the rest is all white peaces. Disappointing as usual.

Seeing that diplomacy is useless and none of my neighbours is willing to do anything I start making preparations for war in 1583. I'm not going to sit and watch Poland or Lithuania take what is rightfully mine! Stability +1 is reached in September, I immediately DoW Kazan. As expected, Crimea joins Kazan, Poland and Bohemia join Hungary. The war is short and sweet, Georgia doesn't even have a fort, and my biggest concern -Kazan sending extra troops from the northern provinces- never materialises. 5000 Crimeans and 3000 Kazans are chased all the way to Slavonia, and finally routed. Crimea falls in July 1584 and surrenders in August.

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Kazan parts with Georgia and 50 ducats three days later.

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It cost 2 stability points but Hungary is at last master of the Black Sea -the northern part at least-, so I can fully focus on the Ottomans now. Manpower reaches 16K and stability should be back to 0 in a couple of years. BB is 9 after all this aggressive land-grabbing, so I hire a reputation advisor to help a bit. Let's just hope the new neighbours, Qara Koyunlu and the Timurids, will leave Hungary alone for a few years... (yeah right!)

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Nice job! Keep it that way and you'll make the Black Sea an Hungarian Lake :D
 
Wow, both countries are doing pretty well despite being managed by the AI half the time, though Austria is far and away the stronger of the pair. At least the Peasant's War finally ended. :rolleyes:
 
aldriq said:
Malurous - Thanks! I take you started reading the AAR last year.

That is correct.

Nice going at the Black Sea!