In the 10 year 'lull' I had contemplated many possible uses for this time. Force a PU or 2. Find a way to jump into someone elses war someplace and vassalize someone. The possibilities were open it seemed, but none of those would happen. I considered these options while letting some WE bleed off, and letting my manpower replenish.
I was feeling quite smug and content, and even started sending out merchants, knowing my high prestige and market share would give them a good chance at success.
Reaction. For every action, there is one. My bad decision in the last war was now going to cost me, big time. When I drew TO into my last war, they had to release Pskov and Gotland. Thier timer was up, and they wanted to get that core back on Gotland. My timer however was not, since I only made peace with them when Novgorod signed away their freedom.
I had to man up on this one. I'd put myself in this position, so there was no backing out. Denmark I knew would join the war, and with them would likely come Sweden. With Sweden would come the conquest mission for all of Finland. With a grunt and a sigh, I pressed the 'accept' button, and watched WE jump up 5 points or so instantly, while stability dropped 5.
Enter revolt mapmode.
Now my bad luck was on a steak. For reasons unknown, Denmark never did call in Sweden, and I never did get my mission for Finland. Yet. Just as I was digging my way out, It came time for a slider shift, and I lost another point of stability.
The high revolt risk wrecked my income, and I was minting with armies at 10% maintenance, and my troops were getting beat up by rebel stacks. Pictures not shown due to shame. My mighty army was kicked around by peasants! WE now danger close to my limit was going down very slowly because I was at war. I've always said "Ignore WE as Rusia, it's just part of life as Russia!" but combine WE with negative stability, and they form a vortex of suck. Stability rises very very slowly at high WE. My old King couldn't bear it and died.
But!!! His son is about as good as it gets for a monarch. I hope he lives for a very very long time, because his son is pretty much the opposite in stats.
TO waged war for several years against Denmark, largely ignoring the original target of Gotland, who got a white peace. Go figure. Soon after this war was over, Mazovia, recently un-vassalized from Poland and then guarenteed by me, gives the call.
Largely recovered from my earlier 'troubles', I accept without hesitation. I ramped up military readiness, and waited for one day. Like clockwork, Lithuania joined the war. I sent my armies racing across the border with my 2 shock 4 maneuver general to crush the Lithuanian army while they were at low morale, and moved on towards Poland, my true goal.
Poland had been a hardcase since taking Mil Drill. They beat down most of the invading armies from a massive pile of nations that all had a stake in Mazovia. TO peaced out after their 15k stack was wiped out, and Castile, an ally of Poland, started landing stacks on TO turf. Bohemia, the HRE himself, peaced out for a few coin after assaulting one province, both of his stacks in red morale and in retreat. Mozavia was annexed. My armies arrived and got beat up pretty badly. Mil dril combined with a 6 shock general and 25k troops is no joke. He's also had a tech advantage of 1. I threw my entire force against his lsat big stack, using a rotating army tactic to wear him down. One army would hit and fight while a second is inbound. The first army withdrew with a third inbound. Last time I had to do this was playing an Indian nation against Portugal with a 10 level tech gap.
Finally, as my first army was comming back in on it's second trip, his morale broke, and he was driven back. I already wiped out his smaller 2 stacks, so this was his last stand. Once his army wiped, I sieged most of Poland, and sent my most battered stack back to recover, and my healthiest stack to go chase down the rebuilt Lithuanian army. Eventually I get what I came for. Force religion and release Mazovia, the guy I was protecting in the first place.
I recalled TO back into the war by the very end of it, and they somehow got into a war with Bohemia, which they are losing, and I'm hoping that they call me in at the time I'm posting this.