Poland: the Puppetmaster

[comagoosie]

I have never seen ukraine form.

*crosses off number 12 on 99 things I want to see before I die*

But good job handling that huge war.

 

[Zlovie]

Good luck with those tests

And poor Lithuania... ready to be taken by you... :

Watch out or Moscow will form Russiya!

Thanks, but if moscow does, I will just conquer them and let Pskov reform russia.

 

[Capibara]

You re doing a good progress, I really like your goal, keep it up! I'll be following

 

[Zlovie]

Lithuania's rebel problems seem to be to much for Lithuania, their manpower is being drained,
and rebels keep popping up.

Polotsk has also declared independence from Lithuania, and it really starts to look like Lithuania is
gonna get real small real soon.

All of Lithuania's territory are taken by either Ukraine or Polotsk, and here the last small Lithuanian army
is attacking a larger Polotsk Army. The army keeps getting defeated, and never gets reinforcements. In the end
450 men seek refuge on Polish soil.

My King dies and I get a new one, he's not very good, especially in diplomacy. That's the thing I need the most.
He does get elected emperor with the votes from anhalt and Austria.

Mazovia becomes a core and I now have the options of getting Warsaw (mazovia) as my new capital.
This decision gives one extra base tax some manpower and 10 prestige, so I take it.

We also get cores on Ratibor and Breslau, after this spree of cores, my yearly income is at 120 ducats.

I get the chance to hire a lvl 6 manpower advisor, but I don't really need him. However there are no better advisors
available, and the great advisor event is never bad to get. Later this event also fires and I get prestige and 10% more
manpower.

I wait until my badboy is just below twelve (It was at 23) and I dow Saxony. This also gets Thuringia and Hungary in a war with me.
This allows quite some land to be taken: I can take two provinces for anhalt and possibly 5 or 6 from hungary.

our armies succeed to get to all the provinces quicker than the Austrians, except to the capital. But they can't get that one in a peace deal.
The only sizable Hungarian army is defeated in the battle of Transylvania.

The war in Germany is just a walkover, and we quickly annex Saxony. WE can't make a deal with Thuringia yet, as they are the alliance leader.

 

[Zlovie]

Right after we annexed Saxony, they revolt. I quickly destroy their army.

During the Lithuanian independence wars, Podlasia is taken by Polish Patriots. Nobody does anything
about it, so it seems it will probably defect to us.

Hungary is defeated, so I take six of their provinces. Slavonia, Bosnia and Hum will be sold to Croatia.
I also take Thuringia from Thuringen (or the other way around), and sell this province and saxony to anhalt.

Then Podlasia does indeed defect to us, and the rebels that fought for this cause get a place in our army.
One of their infantry groups will have the honour of keeping the honorary titel of 1st freedom fighters.

My rep has reached a new high, and it isn't decreasing really much.

This decision makes your king the guy that handles all the church stuff. the most important thing is
that it increases your prestige by 1% every year/month. I'm not sure but it's the same as always. Together with
my Emperor title, and maybe a future patron of the arts, I will be able to get a prestige that never declines.

I have some money to spare, and my fleet limit is only 7 ships, so I build seven big ships.

I get a total crap king, but he is chosen emperor. I don't understand why people would want such an emperor.

I temporarily hire a theologian to make two religious decisions, one that increases tax by 8%,
and the other increases missionary chance, which might come in handy if the reformation and stuff comes.
After this I fire him.

After a very long stalemate at the Lithuanian front, the ukraine gets attacked by another country and makes a white peace with Lithuania.
Then Polotsk takes Lithuania and annexes them. (in independence wars, countries can get annexed, no matter how many provinces they have.

 

[Zlovie]

I declare war on the netherland, who are allies to Polotsk. My badboy has dropped to 22, so I might
be able to take 4 provinces from Polotsk.

Polotsk barely has an army, and Flanders beats the dutch army. So I take Grodno, Lithuania, Troki
and Kholm. This pushes my badboy to the limit. The Ukraine quickly moves in to take a big bite out of Polotsk.

Untill now, Poland has only invested in land technology. However to reach the requirements for westernization,
we have to have a more advanced government. Also we want to become a republic, so that rulers with good diplomatic skill
will be chosen.

I notice there are two diplomats for hire, and I hire them, doubling the decrease of my reputation.

The cultural assimilation event fires for Ruthenia, a nice thing, cause otherwise I would have sold to Pskov.

To end this update, after exactly hundred years of play, an overview of me and my vassals:

The core of the polish kingdom, with not much revolt risk.

The economical situation, and to the right my army. I have 26k cavalry and 27k infantry.
with techs I'm only in the top in land, which is pretty logical.

This is Anhalt, they've got eight provinces and 6 of them are cores. They are over the slider limits
which gives them +5 revolt risk, but I can't do anything about that. Their army has 8k infantry.

Croatia has seven provinces, of which 5 are cores. Their army has 7k infantry and 2k cavalry.

Pskov has seven provinces, of which 3 cores. Their army has got 5k inf and 4k cav. But they're not at full strength.
A lot of revolts have drained their manpower. They are ahead in production, and are already building workshops.

 

[Enewald]

wow... you are doing rather well!

Pskov is soon bigger than you... what would happen would a vassal decide to revolt?

 

[comagoosie]

I pity lithuania, how degrading!

And Croatia is a pretty decent size!

 

[Zlovie]

Pressburg and Ersekjuvar now belong to the core of the Polish Kingdom. Therefore, we have gained
Hungarian as an accepted culture.

Denmark declared war on Novgorod, and it has turned into quite a big war. Austria, Sweden en Muscovy have joined Denmark,
Hungary and the Byzantines have joined Novgorod. In the end, Denmark, takes three Novgorod provinces. But they all revolt
and get back to Novgorod.

When my reputation is down to 20, I decide that the lands of Bohemia will look very good if they would be pink. (no I'm not gay)
So I declare war on Würtemberg, which brings me in a small war against Würtemberg, Bohemia and Würzburg.
Bohemia is the only opponent with a decent army (about 10k inf and 4k cav).

A picture of the heaviest casualties I have inflicted, during one shock phase Polish Cavalry destroyed
over 6500 enemies.

In this battle, the last decent part of their army was killed.

We accept peace with Würtemberg for a few ducats, and we accept the peace below with Würzburg.
When all of their territory has been taken, we accept peace with Bohemia, they give us Ober- and niederlausitz,
Moravia, Erz and Sudety. (they can only keep Meissen en Bohemia)

We get a new king (he's not very good, but at least 5 dip is more than 3). But he doesn't get elected emperor.
Austria now votes for great Britain, and also anhalt has stopped voting for us. This made our budget a little worse,
since my army is now over the force limit, (limit=48, army=58).

Budjak was first owned by the Byzantines, but now it's ours. In time, it will be given to Croatia.

France and Austria get into the Gelren Succession war, and Europe get's really messy. My main enemy is Denmark.
I defeated this army in the baltics, and then took all their baltic cities. Austria however signed peace with them
for releasing Pommerania.

I can finally (after 110 years of play) choose my second idea. I take military drill (I hadn't noticed my army was to big yet).

 

[Zlovie]

Anhalt switched religion, and get quite some rebellions. They are still our vassal, so we help them with
everything they can't deal by themselves.

I also get hit by the reformation, but I don't have any missionaries to get rid of them. I am to innovative
to get them. This was because i want to westernize (but I still can't go to centralization enough to do this)
I might choose my next idea Divine Supremacy. And I will probably go for the counter reformation.

This event fired and I chose the bottom one, the other one would have given me extra badboy and I'm preparing
for a war against the Byzantines.

Trebizond is guaranteed by the east-roman empire and since my stab cost is getting higher, I decide to use fabricate claims.
As you can see, it didn't work. All five spies failed, and four were discovered (+4bb).

I decide to declare war anyway, and am prepared to invade. There is only one problem. The Byzantines are so afraid of me,
that they don't join trebizond in a war (this is the first time I have seen the ai do this). I start invading the two ottomans around me,
but I can't take much.

I get this offer from alliance leader Georgia, and I decide to accept it. There's nothing to gain in this war. Grrr, 4bb and -3 stab for nothing.

As a last picture, this second reformation event, Lublin is now also reformed.

 

[comagoosie]

I hate it too, when a war costs a lot and the only thing you get is a white peace. But at least you didn't have to give up anything

 

[Enewald]

poor greeks, afraid of poles.... the world is quite different it seems... Anhalt converted?