Hungary 1640-49
The Hungarian court is still celebrating the recent annexation of Thrace and final demise of the Ottomans. However, the king is in Poland... because the king is Polish! The personal union is still in place, relations are back at +200
On top of that the AI chose Humanist Tolerance as third national idea -AI humour I expect, maybe the Polish king thought the Hungarians needed some tolerance to bear with the PU. I start preparing the insults for both Poland and the AI
Bohemia got Olteria and Bulgaria during the previous turn. I'm glad they get something for a change, they've always been helpful allies and never got anything (unlike Poland, who never placed a single useful regiment in any of my wars and yet grabbed half the Balkans).
The beginning of the turn is the usual struggle trying to recover stability, building temples, sending insults and checking the Timurid and Mamluk borders. Not that I need to wait long for some action, do you remember that reckless warning I sent to the Timurids? Well, in November 1641 they attack Muscovy and I get the opportunity to fight them...
The TE has an army double the size of mine, and Muscovy have only 5 provinces. On the other hand Muscovy still has a decent army (just over 20,000) and their border is far enough from mine to create two uncomfortable fronts... this might be my only chance of getting Alania (a gold province) at no stability cost, so I cross my fingers and join Muscovy against TE and Golden Horde.
At first I await within my borders, expecting massive stacks to attack Georgia and Karli's level 2 forts, but it seems the TE is not interested in playing the attrition game with me, they are quite busy overrunning Muscovy. Very well then, I move my cavalry to Timurid lands and easily take the unfortified provinces in my border. I send a 12K infantry stack to siege the only Golden Horde province, their 3K men quickly defeated.
All a bit too easy...
Of course it doesn't last. By July Timurid regiments start appearing, small at first (1-4K), but growing larger and larger. By October a big 30K stack challenges my forces in Astrakhan, the first big battle that I end up winning, only just. And at a huge manpower cost, as I have to consolidate my troops in hostile land, it's after all the TE who plays the attrition game on me
The Muscovite armies seem to be holding, they go in circles recovering whichever province was previously captured by the Timurid stack of doom.
The victory in Astrakhan was painful for the TE but doesn't stop the flow of new regiments. Some cavalry regiments I had started recruiting at the beginning of the year prove life-saving to hold the new wave. A game of ping pong starts.
By May 1643 Timurid war capacity and manpower finally start to falter a bit. Unfortunately Muscovy can't hold any longer, giving up and ceding Ryazan to the TE at the end of the month.
Seeing the spare TE armies coming south and after a couple of successful battles I try my luck and send another peace proposal at 9% warscore asking for Alania (20%). Two previous attempts at 8% and 10% had been rejected, but this one is accepted, I can't believe my luck!
Sure enough, the Timurids took heavy damage... checking the military stats after the war I'm happy to see they've been push right down the list just below Hungary
As consolation prize the TE later attacks and annexes OPM Kazan, but I imagine their days of bullying are counted, now they are sandwiched between Monster Ming, a very respectable Bihar, Lithuania, Hungary and a very successful Mamluk Empire.
Qara Qoyunlu is also reduced to one province by Lithuania. Clearly no room for small players in this continent.
In the west Austria DoWs France (the AI's way to kick the French out of South Africa I guess), France loses two provinces in Europe and three in Brazil.
A few years later Austria DoWs Anhalt (Austrian stability is of course brought down to -3 after this), resulting in Anhalt becoming a vassal, and France (somehow allied to Anhalt) losing another Breton province.
The rest of the turn is quiet, the Mamluks lurk in the border but make no aggressive actions. I continue recovering stability, manpower, building temples and sending missionaries.
The Catholic faith continues its inexorable push into Asia Minor.
Relations with Poland are below 0, but of course the Polish king is strong and healthy. Will I ever break free from this PU?! Stability is at 0, but seeing how the AI invested it with Austria I decide to waste it myself, I push the slider towards innovative. At this pace, who knows? I might be able to westernise in 1819.