Return to the Blue Lagoon - a Brunei HttT AAR

[Eino_Day]

Return to the Blue Lagoon - Brunei HttT AAR

There is a rustle of curtains and sound of tiny leather-claden feet on smooth marble as the little boy sprints across the massive hall. A rumble is still echoing in the room as the boy reaches a window, raises himself to his toes and peeks outside. In the bay below, a mighty ship with unfurled banners is covered in smoke. Boy gazes at the mighty vessel, his eyes wide with amazement as a sound from a second explosion rocks the palace windows.

“Father, what is that?”

“That, my son, is the new ship of our nation. It’s using an invention called the cannon, it has been designed by the Koreans and the Chinese. They shoot metal balls across a great distance. Is it not a grand sight, my son?"

“And the cannons, they hurt… people?”

“Yes, my son. They hurt people.”

For a moment there is silence as the child seems to be engaged in deep thoughts. Finally he speaks.

“I don’t think I like cannons. Do we have to live in a world with cannons?”

The father shook his head, stepping further away from the window. “I don’t know how we could avoid it. Even if we would not use them, others would.”

“But father, if I won them over? Even everyone across the deep blue sea? Could we then live without cannons?”

Wearily, the father nodded. “My son, if you’d do that, then you could live in a world without cannons.”



Goals or rules:
- World conquest
- Difficulty very hard
- No lucky nations
- EU HttT 4.1b.

Note: this is not easy. This is perhaps the fourth game which actually succeeded to some degree. The initial attempts failed because I

a) attacked the Majapahit and Makassar. They spawn huge rebel blobs that are just too difficult to beat.
b) never managed to westernize by repeatedly getting rulers with ADM of less than 6.

Thus, the current AAR is a result of repeated trials and errors.

As to why make a Brunei AAR – first of all, there is only one in the library and even that one was abandoned due to the loss of save game file. The second thing is that in most of my games, they seem to become the superpower of Southeast Asia and I wanted to see how and why. Besides, I very rarely play any countries from the Chinese tech group, although I do have some experience with Indian minors.

Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road! Any comments will be appreciated.

Links to the chapters:
Chapter 1: The road ahead, 1399 -1499
Chapter 2: Progress or death, 1499 - 1554
Chapter 3: Generation Kill, 1554 -1600
Chapter 4: Stepping on European toes, 1600 -1622
Chapter 5: Welcome to the big boys clug, 1622 - 1646
Chapter 6: Pro as f***, 1646 - 1669
Chapter 7: True blue, 1669 - 1696
Chapter 8: It's like that, 1696 - 1709
Chapter 9: It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum... and I'm all outta gum. 1709-1723
Chapter 10: Swift victory, 1723-1752

[Eino_Day]

Chapter 1: The road ahead, 1399-1499.

The mighty sultanate of Brunei begins in 1399 with the largest fleet of the Southeast Asia, 8 big ships and 4 cogs. The army quickly swells to encompass 4000 men. The Malayan/Sulawesi culture group is quite small, consisting of four nations in addition of Brunei: Aceh, Makassar, Majapahit (who are hindu) and Malacca. In the north, two provinces under Champa are also of the same culture, as are two provinces north of Malacca, under Auytthaya’s banner.

First goal of the Sultan is of course to unite our cultural brethren under one banner: attacking Makassar is not a good idea as the tiny nation has a huge manpower and spawns many rebels - besides, Makassar is like a little brother who always gets into trouble at school since he's small and others like to beat him up. Majapahit also spawn massive rebel blobs and is also of the wrong religion. Aceh is a bit too large and has no tempting target; meanwhile, Malacca is small enough and owns the only COT in the Southeast Asia. The path is then clear, however, the Brunei’s cartographers haven’t really been able to travel around their island…



While recruiting troops, I form royal marriages with Makassar, Aceh and Bengal. The first task is to raise stability and then government tech for a new idea. Also, the sheikh-ul-Islam –office is established.

In April 1402 the Brunei fleet finally manages to sail around their island and discover the straits of Johor. I need to blockade the strait so that Aceh cannot help Malacca in their war with me. As Malacca conveniently has decided to embargo my merchants, I declare war:



While the battle rages on the Malaccan soil, Aceh sends its fleet to Brunei and lands troops. Aceh, however, loses their fleet in two consecutive engagements on the coast of Brunei. In December 1402 the Malaccan army is crushed in battle of Johor.





Despite my efforts, the Acehian troops manage to capture Brunei, thus I need to send troops there to crush them. In October 1403 they are routed and crushed few months later. Malacca becomes an OPM in the same month.



Aceh still needs to be dealt with. I lure the Acheian troops to Riau, a small island near the Aceh mainland, then blockade the strait and march to capture the country. Aceh is vassalized in April 1406. Now the goal is to mint and built forts in former Malaccan territory.



After the two victories, my infamy is rising quite fast. I then recruit infamy-reducing advisors. It’s a good idea to start early, I don’t want too much infamy while I’m merely trying to get our culture under one banner.

In October 1408 the truce with Malacca has expired and it is time to attack, since the trade of Malacca is vital for my future well-being. Unless I have some sort of an advantage, I will get too far behind in the tech race. By November 1409 Malacca has fallen, their fleet crushed and the country annexed. My two allies, Makassar and Aceh, happily help me to victory.



In the years that follow, Brunei is consolidating its gains until suddenly the peace is broken: Majapahit declares war on Makassar in February 1414. The goal is to keep Makassar free, of course.

Majapahit has a large fleet but is no match for Brunei and Makassar. After a few engagements, Majapahit have lost their fleet and Bali-Lombok is under siege. In March 1416 Majapahit cedes Bali-Lombok and 100 ducats for peace.



Majapahit are not keen on giving up, though. They rebuild and declare war on Makassar in 1422…



and in 1429…

and yet again in 1435…



In 1422, they lose their fleet and thus, lose their interest. I’m not particularly keen on invading and taking the provinces on their island as I cannot really hold them. In 1429 the loss of their fleet stops their plans completely, just as it did in 1422. However, in 1435, I decided that this pattern must stop, recruit mercenaries and decide to finish the war for good. After landing troops on Majapahit mainland they lose the battle of Blambangan, which shortly leads to their destruction. In November 1437 Majapahit are vassalized.

Finally there is peace in the Southeast. In 1458 Makassar forms a personal union with me and in 1460 Aceh accepts my demand of annexation. In 1471, in a goal to complete my quest of unifying the Malayan culture, I declare war on Auytthaya, who still hold two provinces of our culture. They are at war with Ming, who have been fervently pushing towards the southeast. With their troops either busy with Ming or routed, Auytthaya is easy pickings. In June 1473 I vassalize Auyttahya.



Meanwhile, the wise men of Brunei are desperately trying to improve our trade technology.



In January 1488 the dream becomes reality as I discover trade tech 7, giving me access to Quest for the New World. In January 1490 an explorer is ready to take to the seas in order to discover a fabled naval route to Europe, a land of riches that resides on the other end of the famous Silk Road. Very soon after that I inherit Makassar and lose the king with ADM 6, who I needed for westernization. However, at least the heir of the current king is ADM 6.



After our explorer brought news from distant shores, I quickly decided to attack Ethiopia – even though the tales of the mighty Ethiopian warriors crushing everything in their path, including great warriors such as the French, had spread even to our island. However, after a declaration of war is made in January 1493, Ethiopia is quickly overrun, ceding Massawa and becoming a vassal in 1494. Massawa would be much fought over in the future…



In May 1497, I ally with Yemen, giving me a first new ally in the Arabian Peninsula. Soon afterwards, a new alliance is made with Oman.

In February 1499 a new king ascends to the Brunei’s throne, immediately westernizing the country…



World map from 1507. (Sorry, I forgot to take one from 1499 – this is the closest one to 1499 I could get. Stupid me.) The black line in France is there to mark the border between GB and Burgundy. The colors are just too similar otherwise.



To be continued.

[theconfusedone]

Another Indonesian Archipelago AAR
The historical inaccuracy is such a big advantage

Did you have QFTNW?

[sprites]

ai! some expansionnist neighbor AAR

[Eino_Day]

theconfusedone: I took national bank first, to kill off the inflation I acquired after the war with Malacca. But I swapped it afterwards, once I got trade tech 7 so I could search for a muslim/eastern/latin country to neighbour.

sprites: yeah. Sorry about taking your nation here, but you know, this is how things work. I've read your AAR though, so I guess we're even now - I took your nation and you took mine.

[JDMS]

I really liked the opening scene, it set the stage well.
How high is your BB at this point? Also who is that sprawling across nothern Africa?

[Eino_Day]

JDMS: Thanks.

I quess I had BB of 17 after I annexed Malacca and had vassalized Aceh. After that, it's been going down steadily. The last screenshot shows my infamy at 5.1, but of course it's been going down when I've been just westernizing and not fighting wars.

...and thats Castille sprawling across Africa. They are bloating a lot right now, if you look closely you'll notice that they have also taken parts of Anatolia and the Balkans. In the next few chapters you'll be seeing a massive Castille - even now, they are easily the largest and most powerful nation in the world.

[Eino_Day]

Chapter 2: progress or death, 1499-1553

Rebuilding stability is a slow process, but luckily for Brunei, the entire territory consists of Sunni provinces of the same culture group. In 1509 stability has been rebuilt and while our nation is still getting used to Muslim influences, a search begins for a new target to attack and westernize further. Our new friends, the Castilians, happily grant Brunei military access through their lands to ancient city on the Mediterranean, Tunis. In November 1509 troops from Brunei swarm to Tunis.



Tunis is annexed in November 1509. The other Muslim nations, including my former allies, are not particularly enthusiastic about the annexation of Tunis but eventually agree to white peace in March 1511. Meanwhile, I westernize again, this time joining the Eastern tech group. I also gain cores in the former provinces of Aceh, increasing my income substantially.

All good things come to an end in June 1511, as the unthinkable happens: my heir (with ADM 7), who I was hoping to modernize my military, dies in a hunting accident. Not that I really expected anything else, to be honest.

Nevertheless, show must go on. In April 1515 Brunei finally joins the latin countries and westernizes for the last time. Meanwhile, some aggressive natives are… relocated… to make room for Brunei colonists.





In September 1519 the country is again stable and ready to take on the world. However, there are few details to take care of: first of all, I swap QftNW back to national bank and prepare to modernize the military. However, for the military modernization, I’d need an ADM 7 ruler, which I do not have anymore.

In the meantime, I take military drill as a new idea to offset the morale bonus of the AI. In January 1527 I start building workshops everywhere to increase my income and in 1531 I decided that enough is enough – the time of kingdoms is long gone and we need more enlightened rule, that of a noble republic. There are several reasons why to do this: first of all, I gain some extra tolerance, meaning more taxes and less revolts. Second, I can cycle my rulers in 8 year intervals if I get stuck with a crappy one – this is especially handy now when I need a specific ruler with good ADM skills. Third, it gets rid of the nasty legitimacy mechanic, I really don’t want to be stuck with a ruler who has low legitimacy and I’ll never get royal marriages once I start conquering nations left and right. Poor legitimacy will just increase my stability costs and revolt risks, something I definetely do not want.





The first ruler turns out to be exactly what I wanted! However…

Westernization does not come without disadvantages: not only is there the western influences modifier (+50% stability cost) but it also triggers the provinces/nobles/godknowswho resist westernization –events. The provinces resist westernization –event is the most horrible one as it either gives you the 10 year-long modifier during which you cannot modernize the military or you decentralize, which is even worse as you need max centralization in order to modernize the military. I still have the modifier active, so I cannot modernize yet. Thus, I wait.

In the meantime, I adopt church attendance duty. Stability bonus will be handy later on.

In July 1531, I’m at -4 centralization. Ten years left…

I would modernize my military in 1542 when I would get the next slider move, but in 1540 I get hit by yet another Provinces resist westernization –event. Again, not that I expected anything else!

Argh! It’s either waiting for 10 years and hoping that my ADM 9 ruler stays alive or losing centralization and waiting even longer and still hoping that the ruler stays alive. So I wait only for 10 years more. Meanwhile, I decide to focus my attention on details, such as formalizing the scales, weights and measures. The unit for ruler frustration will be called “goddamntossers” and the ruler of Brunei currently has ruler frustration level over 9000 goddamntossers.



In 1542 the country is completely centralized. In February 1550 I finally manage to modernize my military. However, the provinces are not happy about this and my minimum revolt risk is currently 7.5% in provinces surrounding my national focue. Uh-oh.





To improve the situation, I had recruited a few artists to calm down the populace and I even decentralize a bit. By July 1553 revolt risk is down and I’m finally ready to take on the world! Below is the world map from 1554. Again, the black line in France is there to mark the border between GB and Burgundy.



Next up: Generation Kill.

[JDMS]

So now the conquest can begin! Good luck!

[theconfusedone]

Castille and Golden Horde are scary
But it's okay, Brunei WILL be scarier!!!

[Devilmay]

Thats not GH, its Muscowy

Awesome aar tho

[Eino_Day]

Chapter 3 – Generation Kill, 1553 – 1600.

Note: A lot happens. I’m sorry if I cannot show screenshots of everything due to 20-screenshots-per-post –rule, but I’ll do my best. Ask for specifics if you feel left out of some details.

April 1554 and the western-style army composed of offensive Asian infantry and Asian steppe cavalry are ready to take on the world. However, it’s good to start small, thus I declare war on Mutapa. They have plenty of gold-producing provinces which will fund my wars for quite a while once I get cores on them. The modern armies are making the process a cakewalk and Mutapa is finally annexed in 1557.



Meanwhile, I adopt divine supremacy. I need missionaries to convert the provinces I capture and also the holy war casus belli on all infidels is rather useful. I have no idea if that casus belli disappears after 1650, but I suppose I’ll see then.

In December 1557, the next target appears: Pegu, Khmer, Taungu and the odd Mongol Khanate. My goal is to take everything Ming has not already taken. Again, the advanced troop types make this war very easy. In December 1558 I reach land tech 18, giving me access to Maurician and free shooter infantry. It’s all over for the Asians.



Pegu capitulates in January 1560, ceding 5 provinces for peace. I immediately go over the infamy limit and I’m quite sure I’ll never get a chance to lower my infamy again. Of course, Castille smells blood and promptly declares war a month later. I was more or less expecting this and frankly, I could not really care less. I have no intention of fighting Castile and their 200000-man strong army and I don’t really need my African/Mediterranean possessions anymore. However, my 5000-strong garrison of Tunis keeps the Castilians at bay until September 1562, when my army is finally decimated to the last man in the battle of Gafsa.

In August 1560, Wu declares war. Even though they outnumber me by a great deal, their main army is crushed in September 1562 in the battle of Changsha while their fleet is sunk by the navy of Brunei. The provinces of Wu are slowly but surely attacked by Brunei’s modern armies, then assaulted and captured. The second large army of Wu suffers a similar fate in February 1564 in Shandong Bandao.



In April 1563 Champa declares war but are decimated in the battle of Champassak and reduced to an OPM in June 1564. Wu cedes Macao, Jiangmen and Guanxi – Macao has a COT, so it is very valuable.



It’s again time to get serious. The current generation of Brunei’s young men have been at war for ten years and I see no reason to change that. In June 1565 I declare war on Pegu, Taungu, Khmer, Japan and Mongol Khanate. Japan has a large fleet, so the war might not end completely in my favour.

Of course, Persia declares war in December 1565.



Japan loses their fleet near the Philippines and hunted down to the last ship. Elsewhere, Pegu gets annexed by Manipur in a war of indepence in October 1566, thus I need to be satisfied in vassalizing Taungu and annexing Khmer. While I’m engaged in multiple wars, Swahili decides to declare war as well, bringing along Delhi, Syria and the Timurids. In March 1568 Swahili lose their entire army and accept white peace. In Japanese territory, I mercilessly hunt down the Japanese armies to rack up warscore.



By 1570 Japanese have been defeated and they cede Hizen, Bungo and Satsuma. In March Persia, with -2 warscore, accepts peace worth 52 warscore: they cede Barwe, a former Mutapa province, and convert to Sunni. I have no idea what just happened but they were having insane amounts of war exhaustion from being in war with Muscowy and basically everyone. Perhaps that allowed them to accept such an outrageous peace deal?



In Africa, Castille and I still have some unfinished business. In order to dislodge myself from the war, I release Ethiopia to make peace with Castille. I also release Tunisia as a vassal, since I cannot really defend it if it is attacked. In 1573 I attack Madurai, Deva Bengal and Manipur, who annexed Pegu right when I was about to conquer them myself.



Immediately afterwards, in April, Swahili declares war again. In November Wu follows suit, as does Champa in January 1574. However, these wars end very quickly as Manipur cedes 5 provinces in January 1574 and Champa is annexed in 1574. Wu cedes two provinces, some money and plenty of cores. And if it comes as a surprise, I’m now overextended – after taking over 20 provinces in last few years.



Japan decides that 1575 is a good year for a payback and declares war in January. However, they lose most of their troops in battles of Bungo and Satsuma. By 1576 the whole country is more or less overrun. In 1575 Ethiopia attacks me as well.



I’m more or less at war with practically everyone who can reach me – except Ming. If it’s not obvious who I’m at war with at times, it’s good to assume that I’m at war with everyone. I find myself wishing that I would have already reached the equilibrium point at which I would have practically infinite money and manpower so I could just go on a conquering spree (a real one, not the little low-intensity conflict I’m now having). However, I’m not there yet and I haven’t even got any cores on the new provinces, the first ones appear sometime after 1600.

I use the lull in the fighting to tidy some loose ends. I vassalize Swahili as Majapahit had courteously captured Zanzibar for me. Ethiopia accepts white peace as well, even though they captured Massawa. Go figure. Japan also accept peace, ceding four provinces, including Settsu with a COT.

Currently the impressive coalition of the willing supporting Brunei’s world domination consists of superpowers such as Swahili (African tribes, fear them), Tunisia (nice tourist resort on the Mediterranean, I’ve never seen them have either troops or ships), Taungu (burned-down three province minor), Majapahit (the guys who actually are remotely competent) and Auytthaya (an actual nation, unthinkable). Go team Brunei!

After the current wars end, my infamy passes the drastic limit and my vassals start breaking their alliances with me. First to abandon the boat are Auytthaya and Taungu. Not that it matters, of course – they all will be assimilated eventually.

In March 1579 it’s time to continue on my merry way and declare some new wars. Madurai, Deva Bengal and Manipur are next on the list. Wars are really short: Manipur becomes an OPM in July 1579, Taungu declares war and becomes an OPM in July 1580, Assam and Manipur declare war in February 1581, Assam gets annexed in September. Japan declares war as well, as does Ethiopia. Ethiopia again accepts white peace few months later, this time without even capturing Massawa. By 1583 everything has been cleared, Madurai cedes 5 provinces in India, Japan cedes 6 more and the British land in India!



Five years later, in 1584, Ming seems to be in disarray. I have very few options left: if I want to keep conquering the South-East Asia, I need to take on Ming now. As they have lots of issues with rebels and are at -2 stability, this seems to be a perfect moment to do it.



Of course, some of my “friends” see this as a perfect opportunity to attack me. Majapahit declares war immediately, as does Swahili. I don’t break a stride and simply march over Manipur and Majapahit: Manipur is annexed in December 1584, Majapahit becomes a vassal - again - in March 1585.

I have no trouble winning battles but I just have too few troops. By the end of 1585 I make peace with Wu for 375 ducats because I want one front less.





Probably the largest battle of Asia takes place in Kham in August 1586, where Ming gathers 57 regiments against my 20. Of course they lose and are later chased to their demise. Meanwhile, Taungu declares war yet again and are annexed few months later. In October 1587 Ming is done for and they cede, uh, some provinces…





After that I attempt the age-old tactic of getting a new war with Ming by declaring war on one of its allies. However, they seem to have wisened up and they do not join Korea in their war against me. Korea and Wu lose very quickly, Wu cedes 4 provinces for peace in September 1584.

Meanwhile, Castille declared war. I could not care less.

I’m currently alternating on fighting wars against Ming, Japan, Asian minors and Indian minors. On occasion I attack several at the same time. Whenever I have a chance, I build more troops so I can spread more. But the issue is, my income is increasing so slowly in comparison to the amount of provinces I gain that I get into trouble all the time.

In May 1589 I do some cleaning up and declare war on Deva Bengal, Arakan, Madurai and Ceylon. By the end of the year, all of them have become OPMs. After that I decide to annex Auytthaya before they declare war on me. Auytthaya, we’ve been buddies since forever but we both knew that we had to part ways some day. .. I declare war in January 1590 and Auytthaya becomes an OPM in August. Meanwhile, Ethiopia declares war, again.

With my forces spread very thin, I try to take provinces where I don’t actually need more troops to guard them. This means Japan. In March 1591 I attack Japan, Korea, Ming and Wu. The war is really nothing but a leisure stroll across the Chinese countryside but I just lack the troops to be everywhere at once! Still, I make good progress and reduce Japan to OPM status (releasing Ryukyu), get the few annoying provinces from Wu with all their cores, while Ming cedes 3 provinces and a massive number of cores.

Elsewhere, Britain collapses and goes bankrupt, releasing Mysore in India. Thanks, Britain!



I start looking forward to fighting Mysore when they decide to comply with my wishes and declare war themselves in August 1593! Two months later Khandesh declares war, and Swahili follows suit in February 1594.

Nothing much takes place. I just march and capture provinces with impunity. Mysore becomes an OPM in June 1594, Ceylon declares war and is quickly annexed, Sind becomes an OPM in 1595, Khandesh cedes 4 provinces to end the war. I also do some cleaning up elsewhere, annexing Madurai, Arakan and Auytthaya.

In the end of 1595, Orissa and Nepal declare war. As both are muslim nations, the wars are godsend. I quickly march around, taking provinces wherever I can. I also finally finish the war with Swahili, reducing them to OPM status. After which, Adal immediately declares war. Sigh. I should not really complain if Muslims declare war on me, since it means getting provinces without stability hits.

Nepal eventually gives me 5 provinces and Orissa becomes an OPM, linking my Indian holdings with the rest of my territory.

In December 1596 Ethiopia declares war, I lost count how many times this has already happened.

I still want some more provinces before the turn of the century, so I declare war on OPM Japan, Wu and Korea in March 1597. At the same time, Gujarat and Khandesh declare war. As a result, Japan is annexed, Wu accepts white peace, Khandesh cedes 5 more provinces and Gujarat is annexed. Suddenly, Gakwar, an Muslim OPM, declares war and is immediately annexed.

In April 1598 I declare war on Ming, who have again massive problems with rebels and Manchu. Eventually Ming is defeated and cede plenty of provinces in February 1600.

Elsewhere, Adal becomes an OPM and I’m attacked by Baluchistan, a large Muslim state between India and Persia. Baluchistan lose a large battle in Panipat, costing them over 15000 men in casualties to my 59 dead. In November 1600 Baluchistan is done for and they cede 6 provinces for peace. Conquering the Arabian Peninsula is getting closer now…



Just to clean things up, I also annex Orissa and finally reduce Ethiopia to an OPM.

In October 1600, there is peace again, first time in years! I'm just advancing too slowly, I need to pick up speed. But I'm going to be in trouble soon, as I won't have a CB against those Muslim countries on the Arabian Peninsula - I'll need to grab the Bill of rights NI next to get that.

Just to recap:
- Between 1570 and 1597, Japan turned from the mighty empire in the east into an nonexistent empire.
- From 1553 to 1600, Brunei spread from Indonesian archipelago to encompass most of India and most of the Chinese mainland
- Conquest of India started in 1574 and is almost complete in 1600.
- I really want to capture Jerusalem and Rome for some extra missionaries…

The current world map is below. Again, the black line in France marks the border between GB and Burgundy. The next update might take a while as I actually need to play the game in order to get there...

[Rabid]

I'm surprised you didn't take out those silly little Hindus in your back garden, are the rebels really that much of a problem for you now?

[theconfusedone]

Noooooo not Mutapa!

See told you Brunei would get almost as scary
Is that Lithuania in Arabia?

[Eino_Day]

Rabid: I didn't take out the Majapahit because I haven't got many troops to spare. I could either use 10 regiments to garrison 3 provinces or use 3 regiments to garrison 10. Simple arithmetic, really. But I'll take them later on.

And if that did not explain it, yes, rebels are an issue. I get patriot/nationalist sentiments every now and then (maybe every two months - at least it feels like it). The problem with those is that I need to leave garrisons behind, even though there would be no revolt risk otherwise. That, with the overextended modifier, limits my expansion a bit too much. And like I said, I really need to pick up speed.

theconfusedone: Yes, that's Lithuania in Arabia. The game is pretty weird in that sense, there's no France or Austria, Castille is massive (I've never seen Castille that big in any of the games I've played), Muscowy is crushing everything... A very blobby game in general. Lithuania has lost plenty of provinces to Muscowy, however. I'm happy that they are taking the arabian provinces, less stab hits for me. Oh, and sorry about taking your nation too. If it helps any, Persia took them first, but they revolted.

Thanks for reading.

[History_Buff]

Taking down Castile is going to be REAL fun.

[JDMS]

Wow. That was. . . a lot of war. I guess you need that for a WC.
Castille's a monster! History_Buff is right, fighting them is going to be fun.

[History_Buff]

Europe is starting to look blobby. Conquering it is going to be difficult

[blsteen]

Blobby is right, nice that you have to distinguish between burgandy and gb because there is (almost) no France
bwwwwwwwwhhhhhaaaaaa!

[Eino_Day]

Chapter 4: Stepping on European toes, 1600 – 1622

This update more or less concerns tidying up some loose ends. The goal is to occupy the Arabian Peninsula by 1650 and then steamroll Europe. We’ll see.

In 1600 I have a truce with most of my neighbors, thus it doesn’t make much sense to declare wars right now. I happily build constables in core provinces to increase my income – I’m still pretty poor and my yearly income is around 200 ducats due to huge military maintenance.

However, it’s a good moment to tidy up some loose ends. In January I dec Ryukyu, Korea and Wu, to do some cleaning up and I also want less competition in my COTs. After some straightforward conquering, Ryukyu is annexed in May 1602 while Korea and Wu become OPMs in January 1604. I also straighten up things with Mysore by attacking and annexing them in 1605.

Thanks to my massive Infamy, I get attacked by Muscowy and Poland. I have no idea how they were planning on reaching me, though. At least the next two attackers, Ethiophia and Adal, have a very good way of reaching me – just keep walking in one direction and you’ll end up in Brunei anyway. Both Ethiopia and Adal are annexed in 1605. However, when I declare war on Baluchistan (and Nepal, Astrakhan, Oman and Kazakh), Muscowy eventually finds a way to fight with me – they share a border with one Baluchistan province and after I take it, Muscowy can march in.

Before that, I grab plenty of provinces from Nepal, leaving them with 3, and reduce Oman to 2PM.



The first battle the army of Brunei has with a remotely competent power takes place in Sistan with Muscowy. Muscowy loses the initial engagement and soon thereafter they lose 20 regiments. After that I make peace with Muscowy and Baluchistan, Baluchistan cedes 3 provinces for peace. I have a core on their capital from a border dispute, so I have free CB’s on them as long as they happen to exist.



I was considering pushing further into Muscowy in hopes of increasing RR enough that they would splinter but decided against it. I can then, instead, focus on Persia or the Arabian Peninsula.

In the meantime, I notice that thanks to massive infamy, it would take more than 30 years to gain one level of stability; I decide not to even bother. Instead I take the Bill of rights, recruit more RR-reducing advisors and establish Ibadat Khana (-1RR, +6% stability cost). I’d also establish the Islamic Centre of Scholarly, but I do not have a university in Brunei yet.



I suppose the Brunei Bill of Right reads that every man, woman and child has the right to be part of the Brunei empire, whether they want it or not.

Meanwhile, in the east, Ming and Manchu are locked in battle – Ming’s capital is surrounded by my provinces while Manchu conquer rest of their provinces. With their capital still safe, they were not willing to make peace. The war would continue until 1615 or some such.

In April 1609 I was planning on attacking Persia but Khandesh insults me – giving me a free CB against a Muslim state. Khandesh is supported by powerhouses such as Swahili and Malwa. After the war in August 1609 Khandesh becomes an OPM and rest of the states are annexed. Also, Burgundy has shown up and taken the COT in Kutch.



With the focus on cleaning up, I declare wars on Wu, Manchu, Korea, Mongol Khanate and Kashmir. The war is short and uneventful, as all Asian land wars are now: Korea and Wu are annexed, Manchu is left with 3 provinces and Mongol Khanate becomes an OPM.



After the capitulation of Oman, I now have a pile of provinces I can use to capture the rest of the peninsula. Thus, I declare war on Persia, Haasa and Hedjaz in August 1610. "Liberation", yeah right.

Haasa is quickly crushed and becomes an OPM in November 1610, but in February 1611 Brunei suffers their first defeat in the hands of a foreign power: Persia defeats one of my 10-regiment stacks in the battle of Jabal Shammar. However, their victory is short-lived and by August 1611 the Persian military might has been decimated. Thank you and good night.



In July 1612 Persia cedes 10 provinces for peace, which is nice. However, the vultures are already gathering…



In August 1613 Persia is still in shambles and attacked by Lithuania. Of course the noble Noble Republic of Brunei comes to Persia’s salvation and declares war on Lithuania. Or to be precise, the war is declared on Riga, as I don’t want to trigger the Castillian guarantee of Lithuania. Aragon, Burgundy, Thuringia and Holland join in on the Lithuanian side. On the following day, Majapahit declares war – I wanted their provinces anyway, so it’s all good.

Burgundy has a decent number of troops stationed in Kutch, but they are quickly crushed. Meanwhile, Lithuanian forces in Arabia are crushed in the battle of Sharizor.



After the Lithuanians have been defeated, the war turns into taking some provinces and waiting. Majapahit becomes an OPM in 1614, Burgundy has had enough in 1615, ceding Kutch and 375 ducats. Aragon and Holland accept white peace. However, I can’t take Lithuanian possessions in Arabia because I cannot get enough warscore against them without taking their European provinces and I cannot really get there since no nation will ever give me military access. Thus, a plan is formed.



Sup, Europe?

After making peace with everyone but Lithuania, I shove 10 regiments onto ships and sail them around Africa into the Mediterranean. I was supposed to find a naval route into Europe, right? Once I get to the Black Sea, I can then transport troops from my provinces there to Lithuania proper. However, Lithuania still has 50 regiments of troops in Europe, so I need to make sure their troops are up north before ferrying 30 regiments to their mainland. Infiltrating the administration sure is handy.



After the battles of Bessarabia, Podolia and Kiev the Lithuanian army is crushed. The country accepts peace in December 1618, ceding all the Arabian provinces save Georgia. First European power humiliated, however, they were merely an eastern nation.

Too keep with the goal of cleaning up; I make things straight with Baluchistan, Persia, Astrakhan, Oman, Syria and the Timurids. I’m trying to carve a path from India to my holdings in the Arabian Peninsula but there’s Persia in the way. The war starts in April 1619, In June Syria is annexed, Oman becomes an OPM, Haasa (who declared war as well), is annexed in January 1620, as is Khandesh (ally of Haasa), and finally Astrakhan becomes an OPM too.



The war with Persia and Baluchistan lasts a bit longer but in February 1620 Baluchistan becomes an OPM and Persia cedes 5 provinces for peace. After gaining some provinces from Baluchistan, I now share a border with Muscowy. I’m not sure if I like it.

Doing some more cleaning up, I declare war on Nepal, Delhi and Georgia in July 1620, with the claim of liberating some scum from the yoke of Nepal. Few months later Georgia cedes Alania, a gold-producing province and both Nepal and Delhi become OPMs. But I did actually force Nepal to release Delhi from vassalage, so I sort of did stay true to my casus belli (it will not happen again, I promise).



Cue to October, 1622. After the war with Persia I noticed Castille having very high RR in many provinces. On further investigation and some spying I noticed that they are suffering from huge WE from their war with Sweden, Poland and others. I began recruiting troops and ferrying them towards Castilian provinces in the Mediterranean. Anatolia is almost overrun by rebels, I have 50 regiments on the border and the only Castillian doomstack of 80 regiments is suffering from massive attrition running up and down the western coast of Africa.





(Whoops, you might notice from the second image that I took it after I actually started the war. But hey, can't complain if I provide glimpses into the future...)

I won’t get a better chance than this. The only thing I’m a bit worried about is Muscowy, who might actually declare war immediately as I now share a border with them. I really should not have taken that Georgian province, giving me a second border with them…

The plan is quite simple: take African provinces in the Mediterranean. Or Anatolia, whatever. I have no idea how I’m going to get to Iberia, but I’ll worry about that later. I can’t let Anatolia declare independence as they are Sunni and declaring war on them would be quite problematic. However, Castille have converted most of the northern Africa, so I can try to make those provinces revolt and declare independence, then attack them individually as they will form catholic nations.

As I still have some room for screenshots, I’ll use it to show some comparisons between different nations. Enjoy the pies, even though everyone knows that cake > pie.



Below is the world map for 1622. Again, I’ve defined both the border between GB and Burgundy and Muscowy & Persia. The one province between Black Sea and Caspian Sea is actually Golder Horde whom I forced Astrakhan to release.



Next time, some Castillian bashing.