In the EU4 country history file for your country if you mod your first character's birthdate into their unit you can set their actual age.
1417.11.4 = {
monarch = {
name = "Bernhard I"
dynasty = "von Nordheim"
adm = 6
dip = 3
mil = 4
birth_date = 1417.2.14
}
}
1417.11.4 = {
monarch = {
name = "Bernhard I"
dynasty = "von Nordheim"
adm = 6
dip = 3
mil = 4
}
}
Hmm yeah, adding a birth date did the trick. I wonder if I should add a death date as well...
Haha that is true I suppose! I'd post it out of sheer meanness just kidding, as I said I think it will be really interesting seeing your Francia in EUIV I imagine it will be able to be a colonial behemoth!!!
I'd like to colonize North America as it's a historical period I'm somewhat familiar with. Would make interesting historical material for my EU4 report.
Chapter 35
The Angevin Revolt (1208-1210)
One big drawback of marrying purely for land is that you potentially lose control over the education and marriage of your possible heirs, which may lead to future revolts... Richard II was my "spare" turned into heir, so I lost control over Richard III until I got to play as him. Everything has a price. It's another sort of challenge to limit mindless blobbing, I guess. Now that I'm more experienced playing CK2, I would do things slightly differently were I to replay this campaign.
Richard III in declining health
While Richard III continued his campaign against the Republic of Genoa, one of his vassals, Alar, the duke of Brittany, also had plans of his own. The duke declared war against King Alan of Scotland to reclaim the county of Rennes. This campaign would take many years to see it successful. Now that England entered the fray, the emperor didn’t take any chances. An army was raised to bolster the Paladins’ regiment. At the same time, rumours spread concerning Richard III. To be more precise, rumours concerning his health. While the emperor wasn’t elderly yet, for Middle Ages’ standards, he was already old, since he was now in his late 40s. Worse, Richard III’s health effectively declined as the rumours said. A weakened emperor attracted the vultures in search of a fresh carcass to devour. Ambitious and scheming nobles quickened their nefarious plans to usurp the emperor’s throne before the marriage between Richard IV and Zoltànà was sealed. An alliance with Hungary would make the Anscarids the most powerful force in Europe...
Vassals saw this as an opportunity to get rid of Richard by appointing Gaucelin, his uncle, as emperor. Disloyal vassals possibly thought Gaucelin in his advanced age would be easy to manipulate or perhaps their intentions were purely malicious towards Richard. Should the emperor succeed in his ambitious plan to integrate Hungary into the realm with a marriage between his son and their eldest princess, Francia would easily trample over the rest of the known world. Such a scenario sounded terrifying, but it was also an idea shared by Denmark. After all, King Nàndor still had unmarried daughters and the first one who could give birth to a son would be crowned heir to Hungary, according to the male preference succession law.
Battle of Cuixà
Still, Richard III fought on. The Paladins swiftly attack Genoa at the battle of Vabres, where they gained a crushing victory. With a large army at his disposal, the Peers proceeded to get rid of the English invaders. Led by Bérenger Premyslid, the imperial army marched south, where they engaged the English at the battle of Cuixà.
Victory with a small bonus
At the battle of Cuixà, Francia defeated England decisively. Afterwards, a pursuit was launched to decimate the remaining English troops. It was there that King Osulf was slain in personal combat. With their king dead, the English soon followed their monarch into death. Now, Genoa stood alone against the empire. With no options left, the republic ceded Empuries to Richard III, ending the Frankish invasion. Proud in victory, the emperor married his third son Guichard to Theodora Doukas, duchess of Armenia, concluding a new alliance between Francia and Armenia.
+16,000 jackals/vultures!
Despite his victory, the emperor’s health remained poor. Ultimately, the time to strike against Richard III felt opportune. As such, an ultimatum was sent to the emperor, demanding he relinquished the crown to his uncle Gaucelin. However, the disloyal nobles greatly underestimated Richard III: not only did he refuse, but he also challenged them to rebel against him. Should they persevere, they would receive no quarters from the emperor’s wrath. In October 1209, Anjou, Berry, Gascogne, Flanders, Toulouse and Holland went into open revolt, triggering the Angevin revolt against the emperor.
The Angevin Revolt of 1208
“This is another test sent to me by the Heavens. Both grandfather and father faced revolts when they sat on the throne I now rest upon. The only way forward is to win, there is no other alternative. They must have felt the same back then. Everything is going according to the Divine Will.”
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia
The north
Jackals and vultures, eager to partake in the coming blood bath, joined Bertrand in his mad quest to depose the emperor. Unimpressed, Richard III requested aid from the smaller kingdom of Aragon. Felipe IV was happy to pay his honour debt to his kinsman. The situation became tense for the imperial family; much was at stake in this war. Empress Cecilie, who was known to suffer violent mood swings, became more and more irascible as her husband now orchestrated the coordination of his troops’ movement. She never forgot that in a moment of weakness, her husband slept in another warm bed. To add more salt to the injury, his mistress Giedre was a few years older than him! It didn’t help either that Foulques, Richard’s bastard, looked very similar to his father... Still, the capital proved relatively safe for the time being, but the main rebel army gathered in Anjou, mere weeks away from Paris. It would take time to gather the imperial armies from across the remaining loyal provinces. Meanwhile, the Paladins were returning from their campaign in Iberia.
The south
A first skirmish was fought in Toulouse at Lavaur, where the small imperial forces were joined with the knights. They managed to defeat the rebels, although the southern territories were mostly hostile. On the northern front, the main rebel army led by Bertrand attempted to rush the divided imperials, but were unable to force a decisive encounter. Bertrand’s army was now stuck between the north-eastern imperial forces and the loyal Breton army. By November, Bertrand decided to camp in Évreux, where he watched how Richard III would move his pawns. Eventually, André gathered the northern army under his command and prepared to move against Bertrand.
On the far western front, the rebels were much weaker in Andalusia. A small skirmish happened between the Angevins and the imperials at Almansa. Duke Emich managed to scatter the rebels, where they hopelessly fled to Almeria, only to be slaughtered in an ambush by Angelbert de Cholet. Andalusia was practically won back.
Battlefield overview
December 1209 marked the end of the stalemate at Lavaur with the timely arrival of the Paladins. With the rebels swiftly beaten, Bérenger de Crepon gathered the remaining southern levies and now marched north through Limousin, hoping to join the main imperial army. At the same time, André pressed on; at the battle of Évreux, the rebel rear guard was massacred by the loyal Peer. While the emperor held a slight numerical advantage with his current forces, he chose to send reinforcements from Poland, along with a sealed letter containing some earth bits.
“The rebellion lasted long enough. I ordered my commanders to administrate the earthly punishment: all who oppose the empire will return to the earth, to die face in the mud, dirty as a beggar, shamed like a disloyal dog, forgotten like a false memory.”
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia
André vs Archambaut
The instructions were clear: the Peers were not to stop until every single last rebel laid face against dirt. For the time being, André moved the host to Maine. As of January 1210, there were two significant Angevin armies in the north: the main host led by Bertrand and a secondary force commanded by his vassal Count Archambaut of Bourbon. A skeleton force from Berry roamed the north-east, but proved to be more of a nuisance than a real threat. Seeking to destroy the 2nd army, André pursued Archambaut’s meager forces all the way to Anjou, the main rebel stronghold. Astonishingly, Bertrand preferred to sack Maine instead of coming to the aid of his vassal at the battle of Saumur. Without any surprise, Archambaut was defeated against the larger imperial army. Worse, he was imprisoned and escorted back to Paris. Further south, the Paladins entered Thouars, getting ever closer to Anjou.
The jaws of defeat were rapidly closing in on Bertrand, who now commanded the only rebel army able to challenge Richard III. Maine was now under his control, though it would only remain so briefly. Polish reinforcements confronted Berry’s pitiful army at the battle of Beauvais, where Hamelin d’Ivrea, duke of Berry, endured a humiliating debacle. Following Berry’s defeat, the Paladins proceeded to liberate Maine from the Angevins. Bertrand had long retreated to Chartres, although this temporary respite would soon be over: Richard’s armies were now coming for him.
Now, to crush your hopes and dreams...
In the summer of 1210, the last decisive engagement of the Angevin revolt took place. The battle of Dreux saw the imperial army move first against Bertrand, soon followed by the heavy cavalry who flanked the rebels. Richard’s superior numbers and trained cavalry core once more proved their superiority. The last rebel army was nearly slaughtered in a bloody melee. Following a pursuit, Bertrand was finally captured. The rebellion ended in victory for the emperor.
The revolt ends
“I must say, running the empire sounds even more bothersome than I ever expected. It is no surprise that Lord Father is trading his health for the crown’s burden. With the rebellion over, perhaps the library will be calmer now.”
- Richard IV d'Ivrea, Dauphin of Francia
- Richard IV d'Ivrea, Dauphin of Francia
The Dauphin possessed the personality of a very nonchalant man, which is why the emperor insisted that the future Richard IV would remain at his side whenever he was working. While the young man eventually grasped some political experience, he never got rid of his lack of focus, at least, focusing on matters of the empire, because Richard IV’s true love would always remain the occult sciences. When the rebel leaders were brought to Paris to face imperial justice, both Richards were present. The traitors were put to prison for the rest of their lives, never to be free again. The emperor taught an important lesson to his heir, a lesson that he kept repeating for each of his entries in the Will of the Anscarids: “never let your guard down.” Pride was the Dauphin’s weakness, a trait recognized by Richard IV himself. Smart as he may be, the young prince would inherit an immense empire and receive a kingdom as dot from Hungary. Such gifts risked making the Dauphin indulgent and lax. There were still a few years before Richard IV and Zoltànà would be married, but the emperor’s declining health forced him to interest his son in politics posthaste.
“I may have the frail body of an old man. I may be weaker than a boy. However, I do not need to show my valour with a sword. My opponents lived by the sword and it is by the sword that they failed in their enterprise. We remain firmly on the throne, as dictated by God Himself. For there to be another Richard on the throne, I must steer my son in the right direction. Everything is going according to the Divine Will.”
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia
- Richard III "the Great" d'Ivrea, Emperor of Francia