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delpiero1234

WritAAR
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Jun 24, 2012
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L'État, C'est Moi - A France AAR
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Bienvenue and welcome to my second AAR! Some of you might remember me from my previous Savoy AAR called Foedere et Religione Tenemur.
This AAR will be played with the latest version of Veritas et Fortitudo (currently 1.2) as well as with the following DLCs: Conquest of Paradise, Wealth of Nations and Res Publica.


Why France? I held a poll and France was one of two winners.
L'État, C'est Moi will be mostly a narrative of the current events with a few gameplay elements as in I might explain how some features of the mod work.
I have never played a campaign with VeF 1.2 - but I've played many games with previous versions of the mod - so at some point I might make a few mistakes.


House Rules
  • No reloading unless game crashes for whatever reason. This means I will keep multiple save games. I don't want L'État, C'est Moi to end like Foedere et Religione Tenemur.
  • Terra Incognita in lobby (makes for a more interesting game)
  • Lucky Nations Off (don't exist in VeF)
  • Bookmark: January 1st, 1310 (historical start)

Some Goals
  • Unite the French countries
  • Drive England out of France
  • Form the Angevin Union
  • Once I complete these goals I will make new ones


I hope to provide you with an exciting and interesting read. Comments, feedback, suggestions and criticism are always welcome! If you like or dislike something then please tell me :)
 
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Chapter List

Chapter I: Phillip IV Capet

Setting the Stage
Members Only
The Duchy of Aquitaine

Chapter II: Francois I Capet

Cordoba
Glorious Genoa

Chapter III: Charles VI Capet

Take That, England!
Union Restored

Chapter IV: Louis XI Capet

Jan Hus
The Angevin-Iberian War
Land of Opportunity

Chapter V: Mary I Capet

Call to Arms
Egypt
Life is Good
Jihad!
Colonial Competiton

Chapter VI: Henry III Capet

Religious Civil War
Coup d'État

Chapter VII: Edward I Capet

Reclaiming Territory
Castilian Colombian Anti-Reformation War

Chapter VIII: Edward II Capet

Overextension
Take That, Osman!
Integration
India

Chapter IX: Louis XIII Normandie

More Expansion
Painting the World Purple

Chapter X: World Conquest Attempt
Part I October 1668 - October 1716
Part II November 1716 - Janauary 1765
Part III February 1765 - January 1815

Chapter XI: World Conquest!
World Conquest


Veritas et Fortitudo Tips & Tricks

  1. From time to time, I will explain how certain aspects of Veritas et Fortitudo work or how they differ from previous version of the mod
  2. Idea Groups
  3. Research
  4. Delpiero's Expansion Strategy in VeF 1.2
 
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Subbed!
 
Ah, well as long as you retake the isles and don't swarm over all of Europe, I'm in! :p No, just kidding. Although, perhaps you might handicap yourself just to make the 500 years more challenging than stomping the enemy AI into the Industrial Revolution? :cool: The Angevin Union is a great idea and concept to shoot for, but what, I wonder, will be your plans for the rest of Europe once this is inevitably accomplished. You will certainly have an even greater advantage than the BBB has in just uniting the French lands, and with you leading it -- I think the dream of a pan-European state headed by a Frenchman is a very real possibility...

Cheers!
 
Subbed! Always good to see a VeF AAR, and you're playing as France, too! Beat up the English! Send 'em back to their wretched little huts! :D
 
Thanks for subbing guys! Much appreciated :)
First update is coming in a few minutes.

@RyanX: France was one of four countries in my poll. I think I haven't played a proper France game since EU IV 1.4 or so. And you are right, this will probably an easy game.. I think part of the reason why France won my pol was because many people seem like the world painted blue :D
@volksmarschall: I guess a pan-European French state would be a fun goal :ninja: What would you suggest to handicap myself?
 
Chapter I - Setting the Stage​

The Kingdom of France has been ruled by the House of Capet since the late 10th century when Hugh Capet rose to the throne of France. Roughly three hundred years later, Phillip IV became king of France. His predecessors all failed to unite the French lands and the English King Edward II Plantagenet was still Duke of Aquitaine.
In 1310 France was everything but unified - Anjou, Armagnac, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Burgundy, Foix, Orleanais, and Berry had all sworn their allegiance to Phillip IV but it was rumored that the Duke of Burgundy was making plans to eventually break free.
Dauphine had joined the Holy Roman Empire, which was ruled by the Count of Luxembourg. Phillip IV knew that reconquer the Dauphine was only possible by facing the Emperor on the battlefield.

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On New Years' Day of 1310, Phillip IV met with his small council, composed of bureaucrat Joseph de Siroac, diplomat Jules de La Monthe and army reformer Louis Francois de Luynes to discuss the Flemish threat. The small council advised the King to expand the standing army by 4.000 crossbowmen and furthermore, it was agreed to conduct a spy mission in Picardie in order to connect Calais with Caux by direct land connection but since the Flemish were allied with the despised English war was not an option for the moment.
The French Aristocracy was powerful and quite influential and provided the kingdom with better cavalry units. Aristocrats also believed that they were natural leaders (+1 leader without upkeep, +10% cavalry combat ability, -10% cavalry cost, -10% national manpower modifier). Some of the leading noble families had good ties with the crowns of Aragon and Austria, which led to new alliances.

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Francois, Phillip IV's new-born son, was the heir of the throne but because the king was already 41 years old, he made plans for a potential regency and decided that Pierre La Porte, his old friend and archbishop of Reins, should rule in the name of Francois until he comes of age. News spread through Western Europe that Bremen was elected leader of the Hanseatic Union.

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A Scottish courier from Edinburgh arrived in Paris informing the small council that King Robert I of House Bruce had guaranteed the independence of France. The small council was most amused by this and wondered what intentions King Robert I had.

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Plans were made to go to war against Provence/Naples and so two envoys were sent to Barcelona and Wien to enquiry whether they would support the just and noble French cause. The envoys returned home with good news and war was declare in mid February. General de Castaing led the royal army which attacked marched on Marseille and Avignon - the Pope joined the war on the defensive side.

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The influential aristocracy demanded that one of their own should be appointed as judge of Toulouse. Phillip IV was tired of their constant demands and decided it was better to let the people vote, which greatly reduced the aristocratic power in Toulouse. After the siege of Avignon was won, a peace treaty was signed in Firenze with the Pope in exchange for 47 ducats.
The war with Naples was going well - by February of 1313 all of Provence was occupied but the Neapolitan king refused to accept the French terms for peace. In the meantime, Habsburg troops were making progress and laid siege on Napoli after occupying Pescara and L'Aquila. Trinacrian forces were pushing towards Napoli from the south and took Calabria.

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After more than three years of war, peace was made with Naples. Toulon and Marseille were returned to their rightful owner - Anjou.
In a small council meeting, Siorac pointed out that the stability level of certain provinces could be higher and therefore he proposed a new policy which aimed at increase stability (Increase Stability policy was enacted).
de La Mothe published a manual called The Blue Book which explained how to improve relations with foreign countries more efficiently.

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Phillip IV was still upset that his predecessors never reconquered Lyon and so he declared war on Dauphine in the January of 1315. He made an alliance with Castile because he knew that the Holy Roman Emper was going to take over leadership.
And it happened as he had predicted.

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Orleanais and Bourbonnais both sent messengers to Paris to ask the small council that appoint a regional governor in their respective counties.

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The French army occupied most Brittany by 1317 and in a separate peace Armor, Brest and Tregor were incorporated into the Kingdom. General Castaing led an army to Dauphine, which had previously lost its entire army. Soon Lyon, Gap and Bourg were occupied. The siege of Grenoble proved to be much more difficult because the city was located in the Alps. After suffering high attrition for over 750 days, the city watch at last raised the white flag and opened the city gates.

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Henri VII, Holy Roman Emperor, realized that the war was lost and accepted the Phillip IV's demands to return Bourg, Lyon, Grenoble and Gap to France. The country was at peace again and the King was advised to remain at peace for a few years because the people were tired of war (war exhaustion is 4.16 and manpower pool is depleted). News spread from the British Isles that Scotland had conquered most of Ireland.

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Joseph de Siorac hired a cartographer to draw a map of Western Europe and Northern Africa. Once completed, de Siorac gave the map to Philip IV. The King was pleased with the state of the world - only the Austrians were worrying him. Frederich von Habsburg, King of Austria, became also King of Bohemia.

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To be continued...
 
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It's always great to see France so much more decentralized at the VeF start than the base vanilla in EU4! :p

Well, I wouldn't ever impose that way I play for the purposes of AARs on anyone else, but I like to play "semi-historically" whenever I decide upon taking a game and making an AAR out of it. I'll generally seek to recreate historical borders (with some exceptions of course), and then play, as many of the European monarchs did, "maintain the balance of power." I also like handicapping myself by playing like the king based on his stats (or the queen). Like, a 5/2/3 ruler will prefer Administration things than military or diplomacy. Build administration buildings and, if idea groups unlock during his reign, choose an administration idea instead of zerging ideas, etc. A militarist ruler will embroil the nation in more wars than a diplomatic ruler, etc. (When I'm playing and not doing an AAR, like 90% of all my Paradox campaigns I have ongoing, I'll play "gamey" just because I have no reason not too, but for AARs, I like to add a more historical and human element to the game that is missing precisely because it's a game with a human by the screen).

This way, the game and the AAR stays interesting throughout, for, as what often happens with me as a reader, the beginning and middle is great because we see how a player starts. Except for WC with otherwise small 1 or 2 province states, watching someone with the major powers roll over the AI and with the early start in VeF, let's be honest, by the end of the sixteenth century, you could very well be the undisputed master and no one in Europe can challenge you -- and generally, I begin to lose interest as a reader when that happens! :p

Oh well, I'm still looking forward to the recreation of a Franco-English state, and whatever you decide afterwards, I'm sure it'll be to your liking, since, you are the player and author, and I'm just a reader! ;)
 
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Great start! Added to the AAR list!
 
It's always great to see France so much more decentralized at the VeF start than the base vanilla in EU4! :p
I agree! I love the earlier start date because it allows for more different outcomes :)


I like to add a more historical and human element to the game that is missing precisely because it's a game with a human by the screen).
Thanks for the suggestions but I have this feeling that I will probably have reestablished the borders of present-day France by the mid 15th century.. Maybe even earlier. The game ends in the mid 19th century so if I try to play historical accurate then I fear that the AAR might get boring.
For instance, in the upcoming update (probably tomorrow) I have enjoyed the Hanseatic Union - in a historical play through one would never do that (The Hansa doesn't exist in 1310 start :). I like to experiment with countries. VeF is much more sandbox like. It gives you so many options on what you can do.

Oh well, I'm still looking forward to the recreation of a Franco-English state, and whatever you decide afterwards, I'm sure it'll be to your liking, since, you are the player and author, and I'm just a reader! ;)
I hope to make an AAR that you and my other readers will enjoy to read though :)
Forming the Angevin Union will be pretty though - much more difficult than reestablish the borders of present-day France. It's difficult to predict which goals I will set myself after forming the Angevin Union. I'll probably ask my readers for suggestions on what they'd like to see (unless that would be considered "Interactive AAR")


Great start! Added to the AAR list!
Thanks Penguin! France in 1.2 is lots of fun. You guys did an awesome job with 1.2 (at least until now there is nothing/little to complain about)

I have to check the new version out :laugh:
You really should check it out. But beware that it is not save game compatible with any previous version of VeF :ninja:
 
I think you might have misapprehended me when I meant being somewhat historical, as I tend to handicap myself for purposes of an AAR, that would prevent you from becoming otherwise an unstoppable giant, and wars, therefore, with say -- the likelihood of Spain forming or a major player in Germany, would add a flavor to when you go to war, rather than, as it often becomes -- war, what war? It's just a few clicks and marching and its over for all intents and purposes! :p

When in doubt about interactive AARs, you have to ask an ADMIN. I think the rule is, if its input for how you will play (like taking a vote on what to do next), I think (I don't venture into the world of iAARs, ever -- for reading, or in playing) that qualifies it as an interactive AAR. Best to ask an admin... ;)
 
Wow...VeF has changed a lot. :confused:
 
Wow...VeF has changed a lot. :confused:
Yes - many, many aspects of the mod have changed including the map, idea groups, policies, ... t

In my next update I'll highlight how idea groups works in VeF 1.2

I think you might have misapprehended me when I meant being somewhat historical, as I tend to handicap myself for purposes of an AAR, that would prevent you from becoming otherwise an unstoppable giant, and wars, therefore, with say -- the likelihood of Spain forming or a major player in Germany, would add a flavor to when you go to war, rather than, as it often becomes -- war, what war? It's just a few clicks and marching and its over for all intents and purposes! :p

When in doubt about interactive AARs, you have to ask an ADMIN. I think the rule is, if its input for how you will play (like taking a vote on what to do next), I think (I don't venture into the world of iAARs, ever -- for reading, or in playing) that qualifies it as an interactive AAR. Best to ask an admin... ;)
Oh, I think I did misunderstand you then. Sorry..
I never red an IAAR either but I'll make sure to ask an admin if I decide to ask my readers on my possible goals.
 
I totally subbed my sandwich
 
Chapter I - Members Only

After 16 months the three conquered Breton provinces were fully integrated into the realm. Occasional revolts were no match for the French army.
During a small council meeting Jules de La Mothe pointed out that France only had one rival: Milan. For unexplainable reasons, Milan was the only possible rival for France among all countries in Europe.. Phillip IV asked the Pope why God punished France by not allowing him to pick any more rivals but God never answered. For a second the King wondered if God even exists. Maybe it was all just destiny?

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It was carnival time in Europe. Carnival was especially popular in the Germanic countries and in Italy. The inhabitants of Brugge, Flanders, made jokes about the French at their local carnival. The French nobility was not amused about this and pressured the King to declare war on Flanders but Phillip IV explained to them that the country was still in recovery.

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The merchants of France were not making a whole lot of money and to better organize themselves they founded a merchant guild in Toulouse with the King's consent. The leader of the merchant guild was working on new ways of maximizing trade profits. After a few weeks, he had to report back to the small council. "Dear members of the small council, I propose that we improve relations with Hamburg, current leader of the Hanseatic Union. If they like us enough we may be able to join the Hanseatic League. This would provide the kingdom with more merchants and probably increase our income by a good amount." The small council debated for a few hours and came to the conclusion that joining the Hanseatic League would provide the realm with significant trade and diplomacy benefits. A diplomat was sent to Hamburg to negotiate a trade agreement.
It took Sebastien de Lhery almost six month to negotiate the treaty. Phillip IV traveled to Hamburg and signed the treaty, that made France a member of the Hanseatic League, on October 15th 1321 together with Ältermann Siegried Muhl.

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Muhl warned Phillip IV that declaring war on another member of the Hanseatic League was not acceptable unless the leader of the Hanseatic Union joins the war on the aggressor's side. Unfortunately, Flanders was part of the Hanseatic League.
He also offered France to construct a Hansa Kontor in Paris. Phillip IV didn't want to upset the Hanseatic Union and agreed.This, however, was very expensive and two loans were taken to build it.

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France's manpower had recovered and it was time for war again. A claim had been fabricated on Bar, member of the Holy Roman Empire, and so war was declared in the October of 1322. The Holy Roman Emperor refused to defend Bar. This proved to be an easy war. Aachen, Basel and Neuchatel tried to help Bar but they stood no chance.

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Neuchatel was annexed in a separate peace, Aachen paid a compensation of 104 ducats and Basel one of 88 ducats. Bar was annexed on February 19th, 1324. The money was used to repay the two loans that were taken to construct the Hansa Kontor.

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The cardinal of Paris had passed away and a seat in the Papal Conclave was empty. Phillip IV recommended that one of his loyal advisors should be appointed as cardinal. Pope Xystus IV accepted the King's recommendation. He probably feared that decking the request might have upset Phillip IV.

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The Duke of Anjou, Charles I de Valois, put pressure on the French King to finally reconquer Aix-en-Provence for them. Advised by the small, Phillip IV declared war in October of 1324 (quite a connivence that I declared my last three wars in the month of October :D ). Siege was laid on Aix-en-Provenve and Nice immediately after the declaration of war.

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The Duchy of Lorraine enjoyed good relations with France and when given the opportunity Phillip IV made the Duke of Lorraine his vassal.

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French troops were on their way to Sicily to meet the Neapolitans on the battlefield. 12.000 Neapoltian troops had already laid siege on Messina when the French-Trinacrian army arrived. Some of them died because of the high attrition. The other were killed by French troops. Phillip IV led the army himself and gave orders to show no mercy. After defeating the Neapolitan forces, peace was signed in Ancona, Urbino. The Treaty of Ancona granted Anjou ownership of Aix-en-Provence and gave France control over Nice.

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Pope Xystus IV was found dead in his chambers and so the Conclave met in Avignon to elect a new Pope.
Around the same time, the small council informed Phillip IV that the Kingdom should focus on a second set of ideas. The King was advised to focus on either Innovastive, Economic or Quality Ideas. A though choice but after putting some thought into it, it was all decided: "Innovative Ideas it shall be" said Phillip IV to his loyal advisors.

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(Open the spoiler if you want to learn more about Idea Groups in VeF 1.2. If not, you can skip this!)
Idea Groups in VeF 1.2
In VeF 1.2 selecting one idea group blocks other idea groups. This forces the player to make actual choices. Let's take a look at how my possible Idea Groups Screen looks like at the moment.

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For example, if a country chooses Innovative Ideas then it can neither take Religious Ideas nor Economic Ideas in the future.
Taking Quantity disables Quality. Taking Free Trade disables Mercantile Ideas.Taking Grand Fleet disables Galley Expertise...

In this campaign, I chose Innovative Ideas because I feel that taking it early will save me lots of Monarch Points. Expanding in VeF comes at the price of increases technology cost (Imperial Maintenance can severely hurt your country if you don't take counter measures) One of the ideas in the Innovative tree gives a tech discount of -10% and for completing the tree you get -10% idea cost. Yes, the economic tree has very nice ideas, too. For instance a 0.15 yearly inflation reduction but money is less important than monarch points for me.
Religious Ideas are nice, too. One of my favorite aspect of the is that they grant you a permeant casus belli against neighboring heathens and heretics and give triple manpower in religious wars.

In older versions of VeF, I ended up choosing always the same few idea groups. In 1.2 idea groups are, on average, more well-balanced.

Choosing an idea group unlocks new ones.

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Taking either Innovative, Religious or Economic unlocks Cultural Unity Ideas and Expansion Ideas (later on it also unlocks Exploration Ideas). You can only choose one of those three. It also unlocks Centralization Ideas and Delegative Ideas. Taking both is not possible.

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Naples was ruled by the House of Anjou, a cadet of the House of Capet. Decades ago, Sicily used to be part of Naples but the War of the Sicilian Vespers gave ownership of Sicily, which was renamed and to Trinacria, to Fredereick III of House d'Barcelona. The Treaty of Caltabellotta said that Trinacria will be returned to Naples upon the death of Frederick III who was vassal of Aragon. Frederick III died on February 27 1328 and his successor Pedro II d'Barcelona refused to return the land he ruled to Naples.
King Robert I sent a scout to Paris that delivered a letter to Phillip IV. Robert I demanded that France supports the claims of House Anjou on Sicily. In the latter Robert I also wrote that he was the rightful King of Sicily. Phillip IV was outraged - Naples was his bitter rival and he hated King Robert I. Furthermore, Aragon was a loyal ally. Phillip IV instructed the scout to travel back to Napoli and to tell Robert I that any man who must say 'I am the king' is not a true king.

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By turning down Robert I's request, Phillip IV intended to stay out of this matter but Naples declared war on Trinacria/Aragon with the intention to reconquer Sicily. The Aragonese King asked Phillip IV to honor the alliance by joining the war. Just a few months after the Treaty of Ancona, Naples and France were at war again.
Spies reported that the Neapolitan army consisted of merely 6000 troops! The defensive coalition consisted of over 130.000 soldiers that were ready to burn Naples to the ground once again. (Sometimes I don't understand AI logic. Why would Naples declare war in such circumstance? In a thousand times, Naples would never be able to win this war with those odds)

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To be continued...
 
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Nothing like beating up on the little sisters of the poor! :p

Ah, so you allied with Aragon, that's an interesting choice. So I must think you were out to secure your southern flank in anticipation for a long war with England in the north...
 
I totally subbed my sandwich
Thanks for subbing, DKM!

Nothing like beating up on the little sisters of the poor! :p

Ah, so you allied with Aragon, that's an interesting choice. So I must think you were out to secure your southern flank in anticipation for a long war with England in the north...
That's what I had in mind - securing my border. I don't like fighting wars on multiple flanks and sooner or later the Hundred 100 Years War will begin (usually it starts when the French king dies). Who knows how easy/difficult the war against the English will be and in case I have difficulties I don't want to get backstabbed by the Iberians.

At some point, I will have to break the alliance with Aragon in order to reconquer Montpellier but that core won't expire any time soon.
 
Chapter I - The Duchy of Aquitaine


After a couple of months, the Papal Conclave elected the Venetian Clemens VII as Pope. Only half a year after becoming Pope, Clemens VII moved the Papacy from Avignon back to Roma. "Unacceptable!" yelled Phillip IV upon hearing about the latest events conceding the Papacy. He debated with his advisors on what to do.
The small council advised him to ask all French cardinals to elect their own Pope. The French cardinals elected Gregorious XII as Pope and the so-called Anti-Pope had its residence in Avignon. He was 'protected' by armies of loyal to France. The Catholic world was divided and little did Phillip IV knew that setting up the Avignon Papacy would later on become known as Western Schism.

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Phillip IV led the French army to Gaeta, Naples, where he died in combat on a cold October evening. His son Francois I Capet rose to the throne. Francois became father only a few months earlier - his son Charles was the new heir to the throne. A pretender named Sebastien de Castaing raised an army in Barrois and marched for Paris but his plan to overthrow the government failed.
Jane I Plantagenet was Queen of England and Duchess of Aquitaine. Traditions demanded that Jane I had to pay feudal homage to Francois I!

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The English Queen refused to pay homage to Francois I and argued that Francois I was not the legitimate heir to the throne of France. Jane I claimed that she was the rightful Queen of France! Francois I was deeply offended by the English Queen and claimed the title of Duke of Aquitaine for himself. This marked the start of the 100 Years War.
All attention was given to the English threat and a white peace was signed with Naples. Aragon was a bit upset about that but Francois I was worried about other things.

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(One thing that I really like about VeF are their custom Hundred Years War mechanics.)

A military alliance was formed with Hamburg, leader of the Hanseatic Union, to ensure that the France remained a member of the trade league in case war was declared on England - and the air smelled like war.
The Ältermann of Hamburg sized the opportunity and declared war on Lüneburg and of course he had to send a call to arms to France. Well, Francois I accepted because he knew he was going to need the Ältermann for his move against England. Francois I had no intentions though to send any troops to Northern Germany and first Hamburg did do great, losing a good numb rod battle but then the tide was turned and Hamburg managed to occupy all of Lüneburg which then led to peace.

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The conflict with the English over Aquitaine escalated after Jane I refused to step down as Duchess of Aquitaine and war was declared as a reaction. Capets and Habsburgs fought side by side against the evil English. Prior to the declaration of war, an alliance was signed with Scotland. The Scotttish naturally joined the war.

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Invading the English mainland was not an option for Francois I because the English-Portguese-Norwegian navy heavily outnumbered the French-Scottish one and the Habsburgs didn't even know how to build a ship.
Francois I was trained by some of France's best military engineers and so he naturally led the sieges in Aquitaine himself. His generals led an army consisting mostly of Austrians to Flanders. (Francois I has siege skill 3)
While the soldiers were fighting the war, two French painters created magnificent frescoes that were highly desired by the dukes and kings of Europe.

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Aquitaine was quickly occupied but unexpectedly the English were beating the Scottish and so the war continued. Advised by the small council, Francois I sent a diplomat to Antwerpen to negotiate a separate peace treaty with Flanders. The council reminded the King, that his father once planed to connect Calais with the French mainland.

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Jane I sent an envoy to Paris who offered to cede the province of Gascogne to France but Francois I insisted on reclaiming all of Aquitaine. No peace. It became clear that a higher war score was needed. Allied forces were instructed to march on Lisboa, Portugal.
Better news spread from the Duchy of Anjou: The integration process was completed and once the war was over it was possible to make Anjou a part of France.


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The Portuguese army was only ably to hold off the invaders for only so long then city after city was lost, which put Francois I in a better position at the negations table. Pressured by her allies, Jane I agreed to cede the Duchy of Aquitaine to France. The English were driven out of France!

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Jane I wasn't honest though. Not even a month after the peace treaty was signed she formed a military coalition against France. The second member of the coalition became the Holy Roman Emperor.

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France was at peace again and the nobility was getting bored. They wanted to conquer more land but Francois I said 'no'. In order to not upset the aristocrats too much though, he hired an architect to plan a Jeu de Paume Hall for the capital. Jeu de Paume, a ball-and-court game, was very popular throughout Europe. The Aristocracy were so busy playing jeu de paume that they had no time for war anymore. Francois I's move paid off and he could focus on internal politics.

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On April 6th 1338, Anjou was officially integrated into France. A glorious ceremony was held and the nobility drank fine French wine all day long.
The next few months, Francois I was working on integrate his other vassals as well but then the King of Leon interrupted him unexpectedly with a call to arms! Leon was attacked by Castile and Aragon! Leon, Castile and Aragon were all allies of France. Francois I decided that joining the defensive side would be the right decision and so France became war leader of the defensive side and Austria and Hamburg were called in.

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To be continued...
 
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