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You were going to... *er-hem* "take care" of Portugal?
 
You were going to... *er-hem* "take care" of Portugal?

Oh. I think I get it. Maybe.

Anyway, I found out the next update will have to be broken up into two parts. I already edited the screenshots, and I should probably have Part 1 up tonight!
 
I can't say I get the reference, but maybe somebody else will.

Sorry for the brief delay -- I had to get caught up on some stuff -- but I'm going to update all three AARs this weekend. First Descent, then this, then We, the People.

It's from Family Guy when Stewie and Lois are looking for a babysitter and one of the candidates was Portuguese.
 
It's from Family Guy when Stewie and Lois are looking for a babysitter and one of the candidates was Portuguese.

Oh yeah! I remember that one. That's a good one :D

Update coming soon; don't change that channel!
 
Chapter 55, part 1: The wrath of a woman scorned​

6 November 1744, Palazzo di Farnese, Rome

Ulrike di Farnese neé von Württemburg was something the Empire of Italy had never dealt with before. For the first time in the Empire's history, there was a serious chance of a foreigner inheriting the throne of the Empire. Although her son was still very small, her influence on her husband was not. Chancellor de Neuchâtel and Marshal de Ruyter were meeting with the Empress to discuss the coming war against Portugal.

55war1.jpg


Ulrike smiled, but it was not a pleasant one. She had spent most of her life dealing with being second-best in her household. When her elder brother died, rather than grant even the tiniest possible chance of her inheriting the throne of Württemburg, her father had wanted to marry her off to another German prince. Most of them were disgusting pigs, in her view, and all saw her as little more than a source for new heirs. Ulrike had indeed produced a heir, but not with any German prince. Her decision to marry John III of Italy had been as much practical as pragmatic. She intended to see a bright future for her son. Her view of men in general was unchanged; only the extreme pliability of her husband even elevated beyond common gutter swine.

"Gentlemen, what are we to do in Portugal?"

Marshal de Ruyter nodded. "Empress, here is our intelligence network's latest estimate of enemy forces and our roster of generals."

55tot1.jpg


55generals.jpg


Ulrike studied the information carefully. As she read, Jean-Baptiste cleared his throat. "Empress? Are you certain it is wise for the Emperor to be directly engaged in combat? He has never even fired a musket."

The Empress snapped at her Chancellor. "Do you dare question your Empress? My husband went where he was most needed, and we cannot have you undermining his rule behind his back!"

The Chancellor immediately backed down. While the Empress returned to the information in front of her, the Chancellor and Marshal exchanged a worried glance.

"Okay, Marshal. If I understand this correctly, John will be engaging the Portuguese in Lisboa. What about your other generals?"

"General Contarini is still in Florence, being briefed on the war by Field Marshal de Lafayette. General della Rovere has been placed in charge of Italian forces in Cumbria to combat the Scottish invasion."

Ulrike begrudgingly acknowledged that Constantijn had done his job. Then she began to smile one of her nastiest smiles yet. "Gentlemen, forgive me, but who is in charge of the Empire while my husband is gone?"

Jean-Baptiste knew he had to answer this one. "According to the Decrees of Empire, that would be the Prince, or the Prince's Regent."

"And who is the Prince's regent?"

"You are, Empress, of course."

"I have every right and power my husband does while he is away?"

"Certainly, but I don't know where you're going with --"

"Declare war on Austria."

Constantijn couldn't help himself. He blurted out, "Are you crazy?"

Ulrike, outraged, slapped the Marshal. "Do not dare question my authority! Austria is weak and must be punished for their insolence. I don't care if we are already at war. You have your instructions. Carry them out or I will find someone who will!"

The Marshal, stung both by the physical strike and the words, could do nothing but salute and make haste for Florence. Instead of one fairly quick war, he now had two, and the war against Austria would be no easy matter, collapsed or not.

55war2.jpg

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Later that day, in Florence

As Marshal de Ruyter rode up to his office, he found a new general waiting for, along with General Contadino.

"Brutus? Who is this?"

The new general saluted. "My name is Filippo Cybo, Marshal." The Marshal nodded and took Brutus aside.

55newgeneral.jpg


Brutus Contadino grimaced, but not openly. "Constantijn, Filippo is a Florentine mercenary captain. He was promoted by order of the Empress."

The Marshal reddened. "How could she possibly know who to hire?" Then he answer his own question. "Damn. She planned this war the whole time! Portugal was probably a decoy, to get the Emperor out of Rome."

Chief of the General Staff Contadino shrugged. "You're probably right, Marshal, but in any case, General Cybo has been placed at the head of the Army of Austria."

De Ruyter sputtered. "What about Jean-Louis? He's my bloody Field Marshal!"

"The Empress said she did not want a foreigner in charge of such a politically sensitive operation."

Constantijn took several deep breaths to avoid killing Cybo on the spot, who was largely an innocent bystander. "Brutus, is there any particularly smart Colonel we can stick with this turncoat?"

"Turncoat, sir? He may be a mercenary, but he's always fought for the Empire."

"Then why hasn't he joined the legions?"

"Why not ask the General?"

The Marshal conceded that was fair, and went to speak with the short Florentine mercenary. "Cybo, isn't it?"

The new General straightened and saluted. "Yes, sir."

"What's your experience?"

"I've been an auxiliary with the legions for ten years, sir."

"But you're an Italian citizen! Why not attend the Germanicus Academy?"

Filippo reddened. "I am not of noble birth."

"That's not a crime; Brutus' father was formerly a Marshal and he rose from the son of a farmer."

"Maybe I should clarify. My father was a noble, but is no longer."

The Marshal was confused. "General, you aren't making any sense. Spit it out."

"My father... was one of the di Medici Five."

Both Brutus and the Marshal were stunned. Niccolo di Medici, Ettore's younger brother, was immune only because he was already in the Academy when his older brother committed treason. But Filippo would not have been. Everything made sense, except for one question, asked by Brutus.

"So why have you been given such an important assignment? Even if the Empress isn't Italian, she surely heard of the di Medici affair."

Filippo sighed. "I believe I am expected to die, sirs. Before Ulrike von Württemburg tried to marry the Emperor, I was her target. The son of a disgraced noble, she thought, would have no loyalty to Italy and would surrender his will to her. I made the mistake of disappointing her."

The Marshal immediately smiled and clapped the General on the back. "Any enemy of the Empress is a friend of mine, Filippo. What do we have for the General, Brutus? What's your plan?"

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55austriainvasion.jpg


"Here is our initial deployment, Marshal. I am hoping to call up reserves to plug the holes, but I do not know if the Empress will approve it."

The Marshal's smile vanished. "I am the damned Marshal of the Empire! She can't interfere in every decision I make!"

Brutus's expression informed him that he was very much mistaken. The Marshal had fought the wrong battle and lost, and had forever tarnished his reputation in the eyes of the Empress.
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12 December 1744, office of Field Marshal de Lafayette, Florence

Jean-Louis was normally a very patient and affable man, which was made him so popular among his troops. At that moment, however, he was neither patient nor affable, and neither was his guest, the ex-Marshal de Ruyter. The initial progress of the war had gone very well indeed; the Scottish and Portuguese armies were completely routed, and if not for the Emperor's relative inexperience, both would have been bloodless affairs.

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55lisboa.jpg


While Scotland and Portugal proved to be largely incompetent, Austria and, surprisingly, the Irish, were much more successful, winning great victories both on sea and on land.

55lusitaniansea.jpg


55sopron.jpg


All the Empress had needed to force out the Marshal was a serious debacle, and now she had it. In exchange for going quietly, she'd allowed the Marshal to appoint a personal favorite of his as the Chief of the General Staff, Filippo Maria Paradisi. The grandson of the legendary Field Marshal, Paradisi had been very sickly as a child and adult, although he had a brilliant mind for strategy. In any other army, he would have been laughed out of the ranks. As a staff officer, Filippo had been absolutely brilliant.

55generals2.jpg


Of course, to spite the Marshal one last time, she'd also given him a field command. He was at the bottom of the list of Generals, but if she had a mind to cause trouble, she could most certainly put him in the field. Constantijn took the hint and retired.

"Constantijn, what they are doing to you is unfair!"

The former Marshal grinned. "I agree, Jean-Louis, but at least Brutus has been diplomatic enough to earn the top spot. I'm more upset for you. The Field Marshal is always promoted if the Marshal dies or is removed from office."

Jean-Louis' Gallic shrug suggested exactly what he thought. "Mon ami, I am doing what I love. It burns that I cannot serve in the field, where I am most needed, but at least I can still serve. What will you do?"

Constantijn laughed. "Whatever I want to! In all seriousness, I've got a number of books I've been working on but haven't had the time to write. I'm also a consultant at the De Ruyter Naval Academy, trying to fix the debacle of the Lusitanian Sea."

"Bah. If she'd sent better ships, not 300 year old ones, there might have been a better chance for success."

"You're right at that, my friend. Still, I won't be too far away, and I'll visit from time to time."

"You do that. Give Melissa my love!"

"I will, Jean-Louis. I will."
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25 May 1745, Szolnok, Transdanubia provincia

General Cybo was surprised that he was still alive, let alone one of the greatest heroes of the war against Austria. But he got an unexpected ally when a direct order from Emperor John III, still on campaign in Portugal, ordered Field Marshal de Lafayette to the field, although denying him the opportunity to take credit for the victories he'd won. The battles of Karnten and Krain made sure that, even if the Empress didn't appreciate him, that the Field Marshal couldn't be cut out of the war any longer.

55karnten.jpg


55krainandmap.jpg


Fortresses in Austria crumbled day after day, while the Pacificus Legion, among others, rolled up Portuguese colonies across the Atlantic. Still, the biggest victory came at Szolnok, when General Cybo won the day thanks to his superior marksmanship training.

55szolnok.jpg


Cybo smiled to himself. He was excited about the possibility of redemption for himself and his family. Then his face fell again; without the Emperor at home, the Empress still ran the show and was as vindictive as ever.
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4 July 1746, Palazzo di Farnese, Rome

John III sat on his throne, picking at his leg wound. Although merely a flesh wound, his injury was bad enough to take him from the field. In his place was the Emperor's capable Chief of Staff, General Carlo Emmanuele Melzi. He'd won an impressive battle at Cadiz, forcing Castille to sign a white peace, which left Portugal almost entirely isolated thanks to earlier peace deals with the Irish and Scots.

55cadiz.jpg


General Cybo defeated most of the rest of the Austrian army at Pecs, and Field Marshal de Lafayette seized Vienna on June 6, 1746.

55pec.jpg


The Austrians were begging for peace, but Ulrike told him that they were weak and deserved no mercy. John III knew his wife knew Austria better than he, and so he'd decided to direct the Pacific expedition to seize Austrian colonies. John III hoped to reduce Austria to only a few bits of territory around Vienna, thus controlling the Danube.

Not everything had gone perfectly. Chief of the General Staff Paradisi died in early 1746. The Emperor had asked for some time to consider a new Chief of the General Staff, leaving Marshal Contadino to fill both his existing job and his old one. At least he only had to plan for one war, as Portugal had surrendered just a few hours ago.

55portugalpeace.jpg


He was worried about his wife, who continually insisted that Württemburg needed to be retaken and brought under Italian domination. John III sensibly wanted to finish the wars he was in before pursuing a new one. He found it a little odd that Ulrike seemed to be constantly after him to return to the field without his leg being fully healed. Still, he loved his wife and did everything he could to make her happy, as a husband should.
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The war against Austria will be finished in part 2!
 
Very manipulative wife John has there.
*waits patiently for a murder to happen*
 
Hey Avindian, how did you justify the Austrian war gameplay wise? That looked like a rather nasty coalition. Ah vindictive b***hes can be a royal pain can't they... *gets sniper rifle ready*
 
Who does that woman think she is?! That was my character she's pissing off there!
Maybe I'll just create and assassin for the new one and have her killed off. Or would that be unfair?
 
brave war against that coalition around Austria - or maybe it looked more fearsome than it was really?

s'pose given Ulrike's background, we can expect quite a lot of bashing the Germans from Italy for a while ... just hope the spirit of Varrus doesn't return to haunt the legions
 
Very manipulative wife John has there.
*waits patiently for a murder to happen*

You may be waiting quite a while!

Hey Avindian, how did you justify the Austrian war gameplay wise? That looked like a rather nasty coalition. Ah vindictive b***hes can be a royal pain can't they... *gets sniper rifle ready*

Austria had collapsed, and as usual, I underestimated the cascading alliances. Still, at this point, if the rest of the world united against me, I'd still win :D

Who does that woman think she is?! That was my character she's pissing off there!
Maybe I'll just create and assassin for the new one and have her killed off. Or would that be unfair?

I can't tell you not to create a specific character, but the story I've got in mind requires Ulrike to be around a bit longer.

brave war against that coalition around Austria - or maybe it looked more fearsome than it was really?

s'pose given Ulrike's background, we can expect quite a lot of bashing the Germans from Italy for a while ... just hope the spirit of Varrus doesn't return to haunt the legions

You'd think that, wouldn't you? The coalition around Austria is pretty tough, and the war won't end soon, but it's nothing Italy can't handle.
 
An assassination would be to easy. Ulrike has all the power right now with her mindset, I believe that it will not be long before it goes to her head. She is trying to manuever all of her enemies out of the way and replace them with her friends. Their are two problems with this. First, as a foreigner who is trying to maneuver a foreign born prince onto the throne, she has few friends and she is not likely to make that many more. In fact, she is likely to alienate an increasing number of important people as she goes on. The other problem is, she already has a very low opinion of men. Every success feeds this opinion. She will probably become more and more overconfident with every victory. As she does so, she will let her guard down more and more. She will also probably start making mistakes. Eventually, her overconfidence will hand her enemies the excuse they need to take her down.
 
Create a character that will seduce Ulrike! ^^

An assassination would be to easy. Ulrike has all the power right now with her mindset, I believe that it will not be long before it goes to her head. She is trying to manuever all of her enemies out of the way and replace them with her friends. Their are two problems with this. First, as a foreigner who is trying to maneuver a foreign born prince onto the throne, she has few friends and she is not likely to make that many more. In fact, she is likely to alienate an increasing number of important people as she goes on. The other problem is, she already has a very low opinion of men. Every success feeds this opinion. She will probably become more and more overconfident with every victory. As she does so, she will let her guard down more and more. She will also probably start making mistakes. Eventually, her overconfidence will hand her enemies the excuse they need to take her down.

You have put a lot of thought into this; you aren't exactly right but you're pretty close to what I envision as her ultimate fate.
 
I hope it's soon. I don't what the NRI to fall to the german hordes like that of it's predecessor.
 
I hope it's soon. I don't what the NRI to fall to the german hordes like that of it's predecessor.

I don't think you have anything to worry about.
 
Damn, that empress sure is annoying... :(

I hope the emperor will come to his senses....

You'll have to wait and see :)

I'm going to be doing the next update a little differently than I'd intended; it turns out the Austrian War won't last much longer. Two updates (counting the next one) and I'll need to play some more again.

Expect an update Wednesday at the latest; Sethanon, I need your character ASAP!
 
Nice update, and I totally agree with History_Buff about the long term prospects of her getting outmanouvered.

Thanks for the kind words!

Update should be tonight.