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I would prefer you going more into Italy and Savoy. You seem to have a lot of luck in this update. How far away are you from colonization and a new idea group?
 
I would prefer you going more into Italy and Savoy. You seem to have a lot of luck in this update. How far away are you from colonization and a new idea group?

I need 922 Admin for level 14 and about 250 Diplo for my 1st colonist. Strangely enough, Sierra Leona is still free and about 4 provinces on Brazil's north coast. So I do have options. I'm thinking of saving my diplo to grab Quest For The New World at the same time, if I can.

edit: I have 6 Admin/month with this king, so still about 12 years off, unless i would oblige me to die ASAP.
 
At this point you can probably handle Northern Italy and Spain at your leisure :)

Maybe, especially since the coalition against me is rather big, but they are mostly minors (with a couple of exceptions). At this point, only Spain and Austria pose any serious threat, and Austria is, at the moment, on my side. Not sure how long that is going to last, though, once I start poking into Italy.

I read this straight through in one setting, absolutely fantastic work.

Keep it up man, I'll be following along.

Thank you for the high praise. More than welcome, indeed!
 
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Chapter 19: Building Bridges.


I begin this session with a monumental error. Two messages come in at the same time. One is a call to arms from Austria. The other is telling me that Spain is spending points on my cardinal again. Thinking to click the papal message, I mistakenly dismiss Austria’s message, leaving them to deal with the Ottomans and the Algerian conquest of Sardinia on their own.
Thankfully, they immediately accept a renewed alliance, but the damage is done. -150 relations and -25 prestige. Oh, and of course Sardinia ends up getting annexed.
I blame the game for not pausing when it should have, and try what I can to get into the war.
Neither enforcing peace, nor trying to get a crusade going works. I can’t send the demand for peace and the pope has already launched a crusade against the Aztecs when I wasn’t in control.
I can honestly say that I would have reloaded the game right there if it hadn't been Ironman. oh well, we'll deal with it somehow.

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Then the full religious fury of the protestant movement hits France. My choices were:

1) to take the dissent, in exchange for some prestige and doubling my relations with the pope.
2) Lose another 25 prestige, and 10 years of reduced taxes and missionary strength.
3) lose a stabiilty and 50 relations with the pope, while Hainaut gets turned into protestant.

I had to think long and hard about this. On the one hand, option 3 seemed like the least harmful. On the other, it would set me back at least a year administratively. And it felt a bit like gaming the system. If I had wanted to turn France protestant, I would have chosen that option.
Instead I go for the revolt risk because it seems like the lesser evil.
In between fighting uprisings in Holland, Picardie and Gascogne, I finish laying claim on Liguria.


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I am making 29 ducats per month, so I can easily afford changing my advisors. I go for a +3 Diplomat to help break up the coalition, and an Inquisitor to strengthen my missionary work.

Napels leaves the coalition after only 2 months and Venice enters a military alliance with Savoy.

More rebels. This time, it’s Ghent.


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27 Oktober 1567. The Dutch want independence, but I am not giving up such a juicy province without a fight. 24 nationalists are a lot, and I can see where a lot of lesser nations would be hard-pressed not to give in. All it does, is add to my rebel problems.

Rebels in Ghent and Berry.
Rethel is converted back into the catholic fold.
Rebels in Toulouse. Vlaanderen joins the quest for Dutch independence.

January, 1569. Spain leaves the coalition, which is exactly what I have been waiting for. Trier had left earlier, so that only leaves Venice, Savoy, Tuscany, Genoa, Portugal (allied to Venice) and Baden (who have taken over about half of Switzerland). I should be able to handle that.

Antwerpen revolts while I begin moving my troops in place. Algiers gives me military access, allowing me to station 12,000 men in Sardinia for the invasion of Corsica.

A saint is proclaimed, and I get a free stability, bringing me to +3. Very sweet. This will help with those rebels.

I have 23,000 men set against Baden, 11,000 in Sardinia and 72,000 against the Italians, leaving 12,000 at home to deal with rebels.


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I delay the war for a couple of days, so I can get a new Defensive Idea first.

When the war starts, the king, now in his 60s, quickly takes care of the defenders of Corsica.
While engaging the Germans in Baden, I notice a large group of Savoyard and Venician forces joining up in Ferrarra and move 54 regiments there. If I can crush them there, the war might be all but won.


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You can see the fighting in Ferrarra just below that wonderful random event.
France, Milan and Ferrarra lose about 14,000 in the battle, about equal to the enemy losses. But I can take those losses. They can’t. They shatter all the way to Venice. I can’t get there, but I have the large majority of enemy forces bottled up inside the city.


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I lure them in with a “small” army of 37,000 led by a shock-5 general. They take the bait. The battle will last from 7 May to 20 June. France loses about 6,000. They lose another 15,000. I follow them to Brescia and crush them again.

The Portugese are moving an army of 24 regiments to France, so I enact war taxes and rent a bunch of mercenaries. More victories in Verona and the majority of enemy troops end up back where they started: in Venice.


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They try to engage once again and this time, the defeat is final. I quickly move to siege their mainland holdings in Italy and along the Dalmatian coast.
I fight off a Portugese invasion of Languedoc and they retreat into Spain, where I can’t reach them. Ferrarra does have transit rights through Spain and they foolishly send their 7-regiment-army to die in Aragon. I cannot help but wonder what they had hoped to accomplish there?


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The king is dead. Long live the king.


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At long last, Venice gives in. France gets a landbridge to its Italian vassals and Milan receives 2 provinces in the deal.


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In the aftermath of the war, Navarra is so flush with victory that they gladly sign away their independence.

I will leave you with 1 final screenshot.


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See you next time!
 
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Yes finally! Also how many troops do you have in total?
 
Yes finally! Also how many troops do you have in total?

I know, I took my sweet time getting into the colony game, but let's face it, with France you have enough potential on your plate not to actually need it.

As for my troop count, I think I am at 119 regiments out of a land limit of 128. The Ottomans, Russians and me keep skipping over each other for 1st place.

edit: I have 73 infantry, 20 cavalry and 26 artillery.
 
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Looks like the portuguese kinda have a lead on you :D

One thing for the rebels: I think there was something with them having a crappy tech due to their nation having never existed, is that still the case here, or do I remember somthing from a mod and not vanilla? (if so, that would make the rebels up there a walkover)
 
Looks like the portuguese kinda have a lead on you :D

One thing for the rebels: I think there was something with them having a crappy tech due to their nation having never existed, is that still the case here, or do I remember somthing from a mod and not vanilla? (if so, that would make the rebels up there a walkover)

You mean the Dutch rebels? If so, then I have a bit of a luxury problem. The French army is somewhat better trained than most other armies and they have 2 excellent generals (one has fire-2 and shock-5, the other one has fire-3 and shock-4). I'm not sure if they have crappy tech or if my army is too good for them. I will try to remember getting a screenshot next time I fight one.

As for the Portugese, what did you expect :D
 
To revenge you should invade their american colonies!

I will need to bypass their navy first. Or, even better, turn them into submarines :D

edited to add: next chapter has been written, but I am being too lazy to edit and upload the pics. RL stuff tomorrow morning, so expect it tomorrow afternoon/evening at the earliest. Maybe on saturday.

edit 2: Well, what do you know? 10,000 views. Thank you for the confidence, posters and lurkers alike.
 
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Chapter 20: La Royale.


I am losing money because of the colony, proving that even France’s wealth has its limit. My diplomat has done tremendous work, but he IS a level-3 advisor and is costing me almost as much on his own than my entire army. With pain in my heart, I let him go in exchange for a level-1 statesman. +5 Diplomatic Reputation is not to be sneered at.
Normandie gets converted in 1575. This will take forever, but that’s allright. I have 245 years left on the clock, after all.
I complete the mission to claim Asturias, gaining 5 prestige and 25 Military Power in the process.


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As you can see, Spain is not in the coalition against me and its only allies are not that dangerous. And with Austria backing me up, this should be easy. Time to go to war!
The only Spanish army in their homeland is 30 regiments strong, stationed in Barcelona. I jump them with twice that number, chase them across Spain and begin sieging the Catalan provinces.
About two months into the war, Spain signs an alliance with Russia. No problem. The war has progressed too far already to be of any use to them now.


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Or is it? Suddenly, Russia joins the war against me and they even become warleader! How did this happen? I am fairly certain that the war had been going on for more than 60 days before the alliance was signed. I must have been wrong.
Lucky for me, they stay far away. The last thing I needed, would have been for 140 Russian regiments to descend on Spain.


Oktober 1577. Two years into the war, and all of Spain is being sieged. I don’t plan to take much. Just enough provinces to release Aragon as a vassal and maybe Asturias. I reach Military Tech level 13, meaning that I will have better cannons after the war.
However, the Spanish have put up a bitter resistance, and my Manpower is down to 1,082 in reserve.


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I end the war as soon as Russia will agree to my very reasonable demands. I release Aragon as vassal, leaving me with only Asturias to core, and dropping my overextension to a safe 56%.
The money will be spend on a Fine Arts academy and a bunch of Training Grounds to get my MP back up as quickly as possible.

While I am doing that, I stupidly neglect the Papcy, and Spain seizes the opportunity to take the curia away from me.


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Another mission complete. Two colonies cost a lot when you have only 1 colonist, but I can take it. My next mission is to take back the Papacy.

Since I don’t have any manpower, now is as good a time as any to strengthen my trade fleets. 20 Light Ships are being build simultaneaously all over France. The benefit of having a strong economy coupled with a huge coastline.


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A look at the biggest armies of the world.


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Religious Turmoil is finally over, but the Monetary Reforms means I loose the stability at the same time I gain it. the Lord give it and the Lord take it away, I suppose. I could have gone for the +3% inflation, but that didn’t seem like the smartest thing to do.


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Somebody asked me for the rebel tech levels. Well, they have halbert Infantry and Chevauchee, but they do have cannons.


By december, Spain has finally worked up the courage to join the coalition again. On the plus side, my armies are all full strength again, and I can now begin regenerating my Manpower pool.


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I am ahead in Admin, so I take the Economic Idea of Centralisation. Not the best tech, to put it mildly, but the French Idea is topnotch.


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My new trade ships are finished. I lump all the obsolete ships into a “scrap fleet” and see how to maximise all those wonderful ships. Look at the money coming into the Western Europe Trade Node! I want in on that.
I take my merchant off Genoa (too many people embargoing me there anyway) and send him to transfer power in Western Europe, along with a dozen trade ships to invest our investment. 6 ships will protect trade in Antwerpen, and 5 will protect trade in Bordeaux. My trade income jumps from 16.65 to 18.99 ducats per month.

More training grounds are added and the ancient trade ships are replaced with brand new carravels, who will eventually join protecting trade in Western Europe, causing a further shift in trade income to 22.51 ducats.

Champagne is converted and Liguria is cored.

I get rid of the old Cogs and replace them with Flytes.


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By december 1580, I am making 35 Ducats per month, with only 0.75% inflation.


I also notice that Great Brittain has stopped rivaling me. They have also stopped their embargo. Time to meet them halfway and do the same. Portugal takes their place as a rival instead. In no time, my relations with Great Britain jumps to +40. Sadly enough, they will not accept an alliance or a Royal Marriage. Oh well, I am over my limit anyway. Still, it would have been nice: the biggest navy coupled with the most powerful army.

In 1581, Border Tensions give me a claim on Porto, but I am still recovering from the last war. My Mp pool is only at 42,228 out of a potential 136K. That’s ok. I will wait.

Tucujulandia provides me with a gold mine. More money keeps coming in and the inflation is halted by my Economic Ideas.
Finistère is converted in December. Must have been that Christmas spirit.

I get diplo tech 13 in june 1582. I am running at least 2 levels behind my neighbours, but that’s ok. I have a plan. What’s the use of having such a massive coastline if you’re not going to take full advantage of it?
For starters, I disband my galleys. It’s not like 7 galleys would ever be able to stand up to the likes of Venice or the Ottomans anyway. Instead, I replace them with 8 Carracks, getting my total up to 20.
I begin annexing Navarra because I am over my diplo limit.
Then, I start building drydocks everywhere. I am hoping to follow that up sometime in the future with 20 Naval Yards. Each will give me an extra ship on my Naval Force Limit. That should give me a total limit of 80, only 7 ships behind number 4 on the ledger, Portugal.

September, 1583. Military Tech level 14.
Berry is converted later that year.


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Here is a look at the Navy page of the ledger. Great Britain rules the Atlantic, while the ottomans rule the Mediteranean. The Spanish Armada is shaping up nicely too. But when my plan is completed, I will not only rule the land, but the ocean as well!

In April, I get Admin level 15.


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The king’s son dies in a hunting accident, leaving me without an heir. Fortunately, I have 7 RMs going, and the king is only 28. Time enough to produce a new one.
Asturias is cored.

I get Colonial Ventures. Ships will be more expensive to build, but I don’t plan on building any for the time being. On the plus side, Diplomatic Tech becomes 10% cheaper for the next 10 years. I do some math. To build all those naval Shipyards, I will need about 220 DP. I get 4 per month. That will take about 4 years, leaving 6 to try breaking even again with my neighbours in terms of Diplo Tech. Will that be enough? I don’t know. But I will try.


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In June, a new heir is born. His claim is only average, but his stats more than make up for it.

So it is now July, 1585. My MP pool is finally back up to French standards, standing at 111K and I am ready to start building shipyards all over the place.

Until next time!
 
Good that you recovered. Too reach the french modern-day borders you should defeat Savoy and take the province of Elsass (and while you are at it rename it to Alsace ;) ).
 
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Good that you recovered. Too reach the french modern-day borders you should defeat Savoy and take the province of Elsass (and why you are at it rename it to Alsace ;) ).

That is the plan, but I am a bit unsure: Castile has joined the coalition. If they take over as warleader, they will be able to call their allies, which would include Russia (haven't checked yet). I should also put some people in brazil. Right now, I have only 3 regiments in place.
 
Given that tactics level is the same, the rebels should be on your tech. But you just obliderate the rebels because you have twice the morale. That probably works too :D
 
For those of you who are interested in the state of the coalition against me, I have lined up the most likely suspect for a visit from me.

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I was thinking of DoWing somebody like Mainz, but there is a very real risk of Austria defending them.

Worst thing I could do, seems to be to DoW Savoy. All their allies, plus the coalition, with Austria defending Savoy. Spain becomes warleader and pulls in Hungary and Poland.:D
 
Worst thing I could do, seems to be to DoW Savoy. All their allies, plus the coalition, with Austria defending Savoy. Spain becomes warleader and pulls in Hungary and Poland.:D

In that case, wait until you have butrned of some AE. Maybe you could provocate them to attack you?(without their allies)
 
In that case, wait until you have butrned of some AE. Maybe you could provocate them to attack you?(without their allies)

I have checked the AE I have with them. They all range between -30 and -100 (Tuscany). That last one must be a glitch or a bug, I am sure. I still have that HOI-reflex, where any time not waging or preparing for war is time lost.
One thing is for certain: I don't want to lose the Austrian alliance just yet. They have proven very valuable in protecting my eastern flank.
 
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Chapter 21: Ending Of An Era.


The celebrated general Armand du Valentinois, the man responsible for French victories in 4 wars, dies on 21 June, 1587. His replacement, Gui d’Usson, is a man for the future: fire-5, shock-4, maneuver-4, siege-2. He will undoubtedly lead us to renewed glory some day.
But not any time soon. The situation is too volatile, variables too unpredictable to continue our conquest spree.
We will have to wait for a more beneficial environment.
So France keeps quiet, building shipyards in all its ports, and continues converting heretics back to the True Faith.


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Nationalistic Enthusiasm. With an army of (give or take) 120 regiments, that 10% maintenance bonus adds up significantly.

May, 1589. France is once again Papal Controller. Let’s hope that this time, it sticks.


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Our colonies, situated in an unwelcoming tropical climate, take forever to grow into proper cities. So this event is more than a little welcome, and allows Tujucalandia to become self-sustaining.


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Colonising North America is something I would have done even without this event. The only European nation up there right now is Great Brittain, and they are more interested in growing Newfoundland westward.
The best provinces on the East Coast are still completely untouched. When Gao Para will be finished, I will move my main efforts up north immediately.


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Henri, France’s 5/3/4 hope for the future, dies at a tragically young age, depite my spending over 500 ducats to save his life.

May 1591. Miltary Tech level 15 brings Maurician Infantry, better Tactics and Morale.


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5 September, 1591. The last Valois king has died. In his place, a noble of the house von Habsburg is coronated. If this had been Crusader Kings 2, I would be very suspicious, given all the sudden deaths in the royal family. But this is Europa Universalis 4, and such things are impossible here.

Right?

Thankfully, France, a player-controlled nation, is immune to Personal Unions, but it still gives me quite a shock.
What would have happened if France had been an AI nation? Would Austria have gotten France in a Pu then? The potential consequences for the stability of Europe are unimaginable.
The Habsburg legitimacy on the throne is periliously thin, a mere 8 points, leaving our Diplomatic Reputation a thing of the past.

It's too late to save Navarra, though. Less than a year later, Navarra is incorporated into France. Our diplomatic relations have finally gone back to within limits.


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5 Legitimacy? I will take it, thank you very much. This doubles my Legitimacy :eek:

In the meantime, the Shipyard program has finished, and France’s Naval Limit rises to 83. A frantic shipbuilding program takes place, leaving me with 15 transport ships, 38 Light Ships and 27 Heavy Ships. Finally a force to be reckoned with on the sea as well as on land.


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I never know which option is the most beneficial here. With the kingdom’s expenses, a smaller loan less than ideal, perhaps forcing me to pay more interest. At the same time, a bigger loan might make it difficult to pay back in 5 years. Any advice would be welcome.


September, 1594. Venice has left the coalition. This opens up options, but I am still building up my navy, so it will have to wait.


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In march of the following year, I complete Economic Ideas, ensuring a strong French economy. This is good, because I seem to be lagging just a bit, compared to Spain, in terms of Admin and Diplo tech. The Diplomatic lag was fully expected. All those shipyards come with a price, of course.


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In late June, 1595, I realise that the entire American East Coast is still completely clear of Europeans. I have waited too long already! I let Grao Para fend for their own and send my colonist to Chesapeake. Getting control of the trade node is of prime importance for the future of our colonial endeavors. The Carribean and Brazil trade nodes are fully in spanish and Portugese hands. Competing there would be silly. But if I can get Chesapeake before the English (I should say the British) arrive, I can still pull off a coup.
I pick up 8000 troops and send them to America via the far north.

At the same time, Henri, a new heir, is born. His claim is only average, but it’s better than what I have now. His stats are 5/2/0.


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I don’t make it into the 17th century peacefully after all. The wargoal is Lombardia, and I will have to move fast if I want to prevent the Austrians from getting their hands on it.

Venice is not much of a problem. I let Austria and their allies do most of the fighting and siege as many provinces as I can.


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Defeat and victory in one picture. On the one hand, Milan and France crush a large Portugese trade fleet. On the other, my colonial forces in Tucujulandia suffer a crushing defeat, and only about 1000 men escape alive. There is no way to defeat that army, so I send them deep into Portugese Brazil. Hopefully, the enemy will siege out my colonies first, giving me time to do the same to one of theirs.
I decide not to redirect the troops heading for North America. After all, those Brazilian colonies were only intended to give me a core in the area. Now that I have a colony in the North, I don’t really care all that much.
I take the mission to incorporate Savoy, something which I intended to do anyway.

The combined navies of France, Milan and Modena sink another 10 Portugese heavy and 13 light ships in the Ligurian Sea. I am glad that my efforts pay off so soon. With temporary naval superiority in place, it’s time to start thinking about putting the hurt on Portugal.

In the middle of the war, Spain leaves the coalition. They have been at war with Portugal recently. Maybe that had something to do with it.


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Only 4 provinces left to go. Things are looking up in the religious department as well.

Itamaraca, in Portugese Brazil, is fully sieged, but I move too slowly and their army catches my 4500 troops with their pants down and destroy them. I am just a bit miffed at myself. Let this end!


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I may not be able to put the hurt on Brazil, but I can land 30,000 men in Portugal. A couple of running battles in Algarve and Porto later, I can start carpet sieging.


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I don’t know if I would call that a victory myself. The only upside is the sinking of 13 Portugese transports. I can only hope they were carrying troops at the time. Of course, I have Diplo Tech 13, while Portugal has 15 or 16. Their ships were undoubtedly more advanced.


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The war is over. Venice loses its last oversea holdings and I keep my future shot at Lombardia.


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Spain’s only powerful ally seems to be in a bit of a pickle. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to give Aragon some of their ancestral lands back. Savoy, it seems, will have to wait.

I move the royal court to Versailles while preparing my armies for war. But that will have to wait until next time.

See you then.