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Sounds like a good time. Let us know what you think of ASP.net. I enjoyed my experiences with .net Studio, but as I understand it that joy is only to be found if EVERYTHING is done in it. Doesn't play well with others.

Vann
 
Vann, I agree, that was one of my arguments against using it. However, I do like what they've done to ease programmer's life... except for the fact that any programmer could do a better job building those controls :D

rcduggan, looks like I led you guys on. I tried to do too many things this week, finished a lot and left a lot of projects uncompleted. Did not even have a minute to sit down and fire the game up.

On a positive note. As of late, I have been experimenting with all kinds of wines from southern France and actually got to try armagnac and was really impressed (so all the fuss was not about nothing). I will continue tasting wines from all regions of Aquitaine and, hopefully, it will inspire me to complete another poem or two about the changes that have happened in the next 40 years or so.
 
Thinking hurts. Really.

Good news: I am back from my trip. Tried to get to the top of the Mount Charleston near Las Vegas. Result negative. Got sidetracked and ended up walking off the trail and trying to ascend the mountain anyway. Few hundred yards and couple of hours later we (myself and my brother) were near the top (not sure the top of what), but couldn't proceed any longer. It got to the point where I had to climb the rocks to the side with the rope just to be able to pull the bags up afterwards.

The descend was no less exciting, especially when we had to use our behinds... the snow was too deep and not strong enough to support us walking.

You'd think the walk in Grand Canyon afterwards would be a piece of cake. It wasn't. Three days and two nights later I still do not feel like I've conquered it. One feels humble and proud in the same time, hard to explain if you haven't been there.

My feet still hurt like hell. We've descended on South Kaibab Trail, visited Colorado river, came back to Tonto Trail and ascended two days later up the Grandview Trail. This was my second attempt to ascend using this trail. Bloody feet and heavy bag aside it went really well.

My first attempt was seven months ago. We tried hiking down and up without water. I finally learned what dehydration is all about. This time I was prepared. Even the snow and ice during the last 5% of the trail couldn't ruin it for me.

Las Vegas time, Zion and other camping in the vicinity was just icing on the cake.

Bad news. I am sitting in front of the screen and trying to come up with a piece of acceptable poetry about 2-3 decades of peaceful time in Aquitaine. So far I came up with 4 lines and then had to start all over again. I'll keep trying, of course, but sometimes I feel like I have to skip to more happier... eh... bloodier.... times ahead.

We'll see what happens.

EDIT: Must be the Burgundy... I never get inspiration after drinking it, just the hint of a headache in the morning.
 
Sounds like a fun trip, my friend. I've never gone hiking out in that area (I have been more to the south in New Mexico) but I imagine it's a blast, hurting feet and sore shoulders notwithstanding. Looking forward to an update when your brain gets back to civilization (it's still out in the wilderness, don't you know.) ;)
 
Congrats on the vacation. I, personally, haven't gone hiking in the grand canyon, but I have heard many stories, telling the difficulties of the trail, so your pains are justified.

And don't worry about the poetry, you are very good at it, and whatever you produce will unceasingly amaze me.
 
Work harder....:)
 
coz1, actually, you're 100% right, it is :) I scorn "plain rats" now, can't stand when people waste or walk on water and many other little things. Hard to describe in words.

comagoosie, I will try, of course, but did I mention I also bandged my head against the rock on Mt. Charleston? :) I distinctly remember seeing hundreds of poems flying out of my eyes, I hope there is still something left :D

Amric, you have no idea :D It is like a consiracy - seems that everybody decided to pile up as much work on me as possible - while all I really want to do is to finish a couple of poems and keep on playing further. It seems that EU:Rome will take another couple of patches to be playable, so I foresee sticking to EU3 for the next couple of months.
 
Originally posted by Vann the Red
Welcome back and get cracking. ;-) Greatly enjoying your tale.

Seconded
 
nalivayko said:
It seems that EU:Rome will take another couple of patches to be playable, so I foresee sticking to EU3 for the next couple of months.
Hey, it's Paradox, what do you expect. ;)

Once you finish work, starting writing the update, please. :)
 
The Gold is mightier than the Sword

The Gold is mightier than the Sword,
The Gold, not God, is one’s true Lord,
It wins the Wars and buys the Peace,
Just think of Jason’s Golden Fleece.

The Gold, the Master of us all,
It makes the Kingdoms rise and fall,
The virtuous Maidens turn to Vice,
And honest Men recall their Price.

The Gold, the root of all Mischief
It brings the Joy, it causes Grief,
The Dragon dies guarding his Hoard,
The sight of Gold his sole Reward.

The Princes’ Right to Rule Divine
Will last as long as Gold will shine.

Commentaries: This irregular (we'll let the poets among us figure out why) sonet's origin is rather obscure. Some believe it was written by one of advisors in the court of Louis II of Aquitaine right after the latter's victory over Castille. It is argued that the sonet's purpose was to turn young King's attention to the matters of economy.

There are different opinions, of course, but this one does illuminate certain changes in society of Aquitaine and allows a historian to break the ice with younger audiences before moving on to more boring matters... Such as...

...the Age of Chivalry is passing. The lords and commoners alike place a bit more value into economic well-being rather than such old-fashioned ideas as Honor, Valor and Piety...

...the Reformation is picking up the speed and peope begin to doubt the divine right of princes to rule... Catholic princes that is, for the time being...

...following his victory over Castille King Louis II did turn his attention to economy. During the remainder of his reign various province improvements filled the treasury and bettered the lives of his subjects. Bordeaux became the new center of trade in former French lands with Paris becoming a shade of her former glory...

As a sidenote, King Louis died in 1551 a very, very rich man. By this time the center of trade in Bordeaux controlled all of trade in Aquitaine, Bretagne, Provance, Aragon, Navarre and Lorraine's southern French provinces.
 
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Good to see this is still going on. Looking forward to another war, for a more extensive update (not meaning this isn't a good one, just a small one).
 
Very nice to see another update, nalivayko! And it looks like you are doing well in the wealth department. That CoT surely is a help.
 
Well done...but I am surprised you aren't at war....a nalivayko update without some kind of battle is.....usual. :)
 
Qorten, I was aching to post an update about the following war (easier to write about too), but procedure has to be followed :D I am glad this one is out of the way.

comagoosie, you are right and I always neglect trading aspects of EU3 in my AARs. Mainly, because I don't engage in trade much. Like this time, for example, I've built a COT in Bordeaux and I made sure I have monopoly there, but I don't try to conquer foreign markets, just trying to keep what is mine, while making sure competition is high enough that the COT does not get closed for the lack of it.

coz1, yes, it seems money stops being a problem once you conquer a half of France :) A limited wine monopoly helps too, not too mention a COT.

I'd give more information about it, but it has been almost a month and I decided to dedicate a large part of my memory to the following war instead. Nevertheless, here are some economy facts:

Aquitaine owns 6 wine (Blois, Gascogne, Saintonge, Languedoc, Toulouse, Roussillion), 3 iron (Perigord, Bourbon and Auvergne), 3 wool (Armagnac - shame, should be a brandy province, Bearn - totally justified, and Rourgue), 1 salt (Poitou) and 1 textile (Avignon) provinces. Our COT controls the trade all over Aquitaine and 13 neighboring provinces (two of them, Barcelona and Provence, are wine making ones). Workshops are all over the place and a few markets here and there. I avoid wasting money on temples and other improvements, couple of initial universitites in Toulouse and Bordeaux are my only manufacturies, at least in 1551.
 
Again We March Through Night And Day

Again we march through night and day,
‘Cross rivers, hills and fields of hay.
King Charles picked up a fight with Spain
Again the foes shall be slain.

Again the foes shall be slain,
March on the lions of Aquitaine!
The victory is yours today,
So fear ye not the battle’s fray.

Again we march through day and night,
Tis’ a retreat, but not a flight,
Under the scorching sun and rain,
We leave the boundaries of Spain.

We leave the boundaries of Spain
To conquer back our Aquitaine.
We cross the Pyrenees back and yearn
To see the day when we return.

(somewhat of a tribute to O'er the Hills and Far Away)

Commentaries: Peace cannot last forever. An axiom usually forgotten during peacetime. Kings are mortal and when they die the policy of a given state is bound to change a little. Sometimes more than a little.

Louis II is succeeded by Charles II. He wastes little time in getting himself and country a trouble. Looking for an opportunity to pick up a fight with Castille, which the ballad above states oh so clearly, he guarantees independence of Granada. There are several things wrong in this picture. Let us examine the situation more closely.

A. Castille is allied to Portugal and Aragon. This is a powerful alliance, but it’s power hinges on the unity of all Iberian kingdoms.
B. Aragon is allied both to Castille and Aquitaine. If a war is to break out between these two powers Aragon is less likely to answer the call of the aggressor.
C. When Castille declares war on Granada she would call upon Aragon and Portugal, which would be only happy to oblige and gang up on a small Muslim state in the south of the peninsula.
D. When Granada calls upon Aquitaine to honor her guarantee of independence, Aquitaine is bound to look like an aggressor in Aragon’s eyes.
E. And what of Aquitaine’s other numerous allies? All of them Aquitani vassals, even once independent Bretagne, they constitute a formidable force. Wouldn’t they help Aquitaine out? Of course, not. Aquitaine is not able to call upon them in war since the conflict between Castille and Granada is none of their business.
F. By answering Granada’s call for help, Aquitaine forfeits the chance to fight a war on her own terms. Charles chooses to ignore this fact and plunges his country into chaos.

Was Charles wrong in doing so? Aquitaine’s coffers are full with gold and her manpower resources are high. Her army, soldier per soldier, was the best in Western Europe, no doubt about it. However, years of peace saw the deterioration of military tradition, something the Spaniards would have surely taken advantage of during the first years of conflict. Once again, Charles was adamant about his decision. One may begin to doubt if he was in sane mind. Some troubadours in the south sang of a love story between a king and a noble woman from Spain, locked in a tower in the mountains of Pyrenees. But this is another story altogether.

The conflict finally erupted. From the rocks of Gibraltar to the grape fields of Blois the armies marched to war. Aquitaine’s land forces were once again organized in three armies. The Armee du Sud, led by yet another Wernigerode, was to knock Aragon out of the war by taking Barcelona. The Armee du Nord was to occupy Castille’s Burgundian possessions. The Armee d’Aquitaine, the smallest of the three, was to conduct a guerilla war in Aquitaine proper, delaying the fall of the Aquitaini lands to the onslaught of Iberian armies.

Both southern and northern armies had performed their task admirably. Castille’s two provinces in Burgundy had quickly fallen to Aquitaini soldiers and in Barcelona, the capital of Aragon, was taken after a six months siege. However, Aragonese refused to accept white peace, fighting until a small payment from Aquitaine was secured for the burning of their capital. Still, their insistence to prolong the war for so long was a major headache to King Charles.

The third army’s performance was less than complimentary, but nobody would dare to blame neither the soldiers nor the commanders of the army. It was as if the countryside of Aquitaine was drowned by enemy armies. City after city fell to the invaders, prompting Charles to send letter after a letter to Aragon, trying to hasten the return of the army. Finally, once peace with Aragon was secured, the army crossed the Pyrenees.

At this point at war, Iberian armies still outnumbered Aquitaini forces at least 2 to 1. Ably led and, in Portuguese case, better armed, they were already in control of the entire kingdom of Aquitaine, with the exception of a province or two. The Armee du Nord recent attempt to liberate Avignon had miserably failed and Aquitaine’s successes in Castilian Burgundy were compromised. A return of the army changes nothing, argued King’s advisors, the situation is hopeless and peace should be bought at all costs, while there is still a chance that the costs remain relatively low.

The enemy has made it known that two or three provinces would be enough to end King’s debacle. King’s advisors, echoed by the voices of the entire nation, urged Charles II to accept the terms.