InTveresting Times: An AfTver Action Report

@ Rabid: Indeed. Keeping the populace happy? Useful. Keeping your cartographers happy? Essential!

@ Extreme Unction: Yes, I suppose he is literally head and shoulders above him...

@ Vrael_1492: He's only a 5, actually. I had assumed that a ruler's General stats were based on his MIL, but he has better stats than Aleksander II even though he was a MIL 7 - my Army Tradition is much higher now than it was then, though. Maybe it doesn't affect it at all, or adds a pip or two somewhere? Anyone who knows feel free to tell me/us

@ Omen: Aye, I'm hoping for a 'It's A Fyregecko' option in the next expansion. And when I see your username the Prodigy song starts in my head. 'Oh, a comment by Omen-men-men-menDURR'

@ RGB: Indeed. An unconventional way of raising funds, but it worked. As his father would have said, it's a results business.

@ loki100: I'm hoping that Konstantin and his brother stay alive for a while. I think they could be quite good fun (depending on your definition of 'fun')

@ morningSIDEr: As you know, these countries can't be trusted to look after themselves. They'll be grateful for our assiastance on day (specifically when 'Nationalism' wears off...)

@ Urza: Thanks Both for comment and for taking time to read this nonsense!

@ GoldenKhan: It's not easy being your Avatar But 'abused'? The abuse is now over, my friend! The people of Qasim Khanate have a world of new opportunities ahead of them, as citizens of the Glorious Tverviet Union

(besides, they'll probably reappear at least one more time: they have Cores all over the bloody place).

@ DeutschKirby: Sadly not. I'm too popular, it seems! It was fine yesterday But I've given them some cash and it should hopefully be working fine soon / now. At the moment, I can see about 2/3rds of the Images, but the ones on the most recent updates (typical) are still obscured - can anyone give me an update?

And donations are being accepted for the 'Fyregecko Upgraded to Pro' fund - as my compatriots can attest, to a Scot, every transaction is like driving a dagger into one's spleen. Every penny would receive a state funeral, if state funerals weren't so expensive

Edit: Noticed a typo in the post that might not have been obvious to everyone: Dobczyński's middle name is 'Arkadiusz'.

@ Memento Mori: Thankfully for the treasury, the Dobczyńskis are from Płock, and Seamus Arkadiusz's mother is from Aberdeenshire. If his ancestors were from Kraków and Edinburgh (Twinned cities - why am I not surprised?), most of the Principality's tax revenue would probably find its way into his cellar, there to remain unused until Judgement Day.

And my partner (Wrocławian) told me that one, though it was the other way round - Cracovians being exiled Edinburgh folk

Episode XVI: Fortes Tvertuna Adiuvat

The integration of Qasim Khanate was a great victory for the Principality. Not only did it strengthen their military position, it created a greater expanse of land between the Horde controlled lands and the city of Tver herself, leaving the capital city less vulnerable to attack.

The Tverian generals, though, saw an opportunity. With the Horde’s armies distracted in Dagestan and the Baltic, the way into former Muscovite and Ryazanian territory was clear, at least for the moment. Dobczyński’s set objective had been to take Yaroslavl from the Horde, but after its capitulation to Qasim Khanate, a great deal of time, money and manpower had been saved, giving a chance to acquire further spoils before the Horde responded with overwhelming force.



The king approved of the plan: Vladimir was a rich prize which would enhance the Tverian treasury, and its iron deposits would be invaluable in the creation of weapons. That, and its acquisition was a matter of honour: the Horde had seized it from his great grandfather. It would provide a great boost not only to income, but to morale.



Fortune continues to smile on Konstantin: Vladimir was poorly defended, the garrison demoralised low on provisions. The sight of Konstantin parading up and down in front of the city, one hand on hip, a haughty eyebrow raised in scorn, made them question their very manliness.

Seeing the sorrow of the defenders, Konstantin gave the order to attack: it was the least violent assault in the history of warfare. Siege ladders were raised, Tverian soldiers poured onto the city’s battlements: and then gave consoling huge to the Horde troops. For to be forced to compare oneself to Konstantin was a harsh punishment (to this day, spending two hours in the presence of his portrait is an alternative to a six-week jail sentence in some parts of Russia).



Vladimirov, having been paid recently, was operating at maximum efficiency, and put his colonial plans into action. Relocating hundreds of families was expensive business, but the prize was well worth the expense.



Unlike the last time, they met no Horde interference. Columns of settlers streamed from the crowded Tverian heartland to new lives in Vladimir and the surrounding regions. Soon, the new Mayor of Vladimir was able to announce that the city, and the surrounding lands, were completely under the control of the Principality of Tver.



In Tver, Prince Aleksandr heard of his brother’s success, and sent a great celebration gift: a set of ‘west-Asian ornamental juggling knives’. Juggling with these knives, their ‘very safe’ serrated blades ‘oiled with a completely non-poisonous substance’, required ‘no training or supervision’ to use. Konstantin was very grateful to his brother, and keen to try them out, but was disappointed to find that they had gone missing when he had headed for a bath. Dobczyński – who seemed to have put on weight in the last few minutes, strangely box-shaped weight at that – blamed the servants.

The city of Ryazan was their next target and, like Vladimir, the city soon capitulated.



Sadly, as with many things, Vladimirov’s enthusiasm got the better of him. He had arranged for great wagon trains to be sent from Tver and Rzhev to carry supplies and building materials to Ryazan, but forgot that they should also be carrying people.



Vladimirov’s incompetence had cost the Principality time and money. Even now, Horde armies were making their way into Tver’s south-western territories. Dobczyński proposed a bold counter-attack: Ryazan was safe for the moment, and with the full might of their army they had a chance to push the Horde into retreat (a much needed boost to the army’s morale). Konstantin agreed, and the Tverian army marched to Vyazma, engaging the Tartars who were laying siege to the city.



The enemy faltered at the sight of the Prince of Tver riding in front of his army. That look of scorn – what were they? Who were they? They were as beetles before the mighty Steppe Badger to this incarnation of manhood. Such chest hair. Such an eyebrow. Their fighting sprit left them, and the Tverian troops cut them down in their droves.



The time bought by this might victory was critical to Tver’s success: the supplied and people of Vladimirov’s next expensively-assembled expedition was loaded into carts and ready for the off. Only then did the leader realise that they did not have wheels.



Vladimirov decried the leader as a ‘monkey’ who was part of a conspiracy to bring him down. Whether or not he was (he wasn’t), Vladimirov’s colonisation projects were stretching the Principality’s finances to the limit. He assured Konstantin that all would be well: he knew a man who knew a man, after all. More he did not say.




The Tverian army had moved back to Ryazan upon the failure of Vladimirov’s colonisation efforts, to make sure that the Horde would not be able to ruin their efforts. This, however, left the south-west open to attack, and a larger Tartar force returned to Vyazma, and seized control of the city.



A Tartar force was moving towards Tver herself. This, Konstantin would not allow to happen. Leaving a small force behind to guard Ryazan, he took the army to Tver and, before the city perimeter, routed the Horde’s raiding force. The battle won, he moved to try and re-take Vyazma.



The enemy had shifted their attentions, however, and Polotsk fell to their armies shortly afterwards.



Konstantin moved his troops to Ryazan, engaging an enemy force threatening to retake the city. Dobczyński was busy liaising with Vladimirov to try and make his colonial projects work. His retainer elsewhere, Konstantin was delighted to accept a new gift from his beloved brother: a bottle of fine wine! The label was rather untidy, looking indeed almost like a forgery, but surely it had been damaged in the journey. He was sharing a glass with his sergeant-at-arms when, both men having taken a small sip, the grizzled soldier’s beard caught fire, and he fell to the floor, clutching at his throat. Seconds later, Konstantin dropped to the floor, his larynx feeling like it was on fire and steam rising from his mouth. Both men survived, thankfully, and Konstantin would hear none of Dobczyński’s nonsense talk of poison. It was hot weather, and clearly both men had simultaneously caught the whooping flamecough, a common ailment in those times.




Dobczyński took command of the army, and the Horde raiders were expunged. Fighting on three fronts – not to mention dozens of rebellions in eastern Europe – was taking its toll on the Horde’s war effort. They made peace with the Ottomans, releasing the Duchy of Murom from their vassalage (though they immediately declared war on them).



Then, the day came that Konstantin had been waiting for. Vladimirov’s colonisation projects, combined with his personal interventions in enhancing local population growth, allowed his forces to consolidate control of the city of Persław-Zaleski. Former capital of the Principality of Ryazan, the city, and the surrounding Ryazan region, was now a leading county of the Principality of Tver.



With Ryazan firmly in Tverian hands, Konstantin sent a messenger to the Horde’s Khan, asking for a cessation of hostilities. Embattled, surrounded by enemies, the Khan accepted Konstantin’s offer.



It was time for celebration. Tver’s reputation was enhanced, and great swathes of land had been taken from the heathen. There was still a great deal of work to be done in these new regions: most of their people had been force-converted to Islam, and some still harboured ideas of having their own city. For now, though, Konstantin’s realm and reputation had been greatly enhanced. Tver was firmly in the ascendant.