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Quite a fortunate string of events. First you double in size, then you peacefully seize control of Milan. What are your future plans: more military expansion in France? diplomatic or military expansion in Italy? a peaceful buildup of your economy? Now that I think about it, your stratagems are endless.

Good Luck.
 
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The traditional reward for a job well done is another job. Seems to be holding true here, and well, I am sure Pierre's reputation is useful for Amedee.
 
Things look to be going good for Savoy.
 
Not bad at all - first the exceptional year and then a new vassal. I must say, the early years of Savoy are looking bright. Somehow, I have a feeling they won't remain that way. Wait until Venice hears about this...and the BWB.
 
:rofl:
That Pierre seems more of an asset as a scheming diplomat rather than military commander. Nice touch with the trickery to get Milan as vassals. Question is; now that Amedee has removed Pierre who takes his place as commander, even if the army is not going to be used. Will one more character enter the scene mayhap? Surely Savoy must be ready to have a fighting commander if war breaks out in Italy as it seems Amedee is counting on. Or helping their Austrian allies. Or maybe they even entered the alliance the other wa around; to get Austria to help Savoy against the Italian states?
 
Now what is greatest in Pierre's heart; Greed or loyalty? ;)

Nice to get Milan as a vassal, diplomatic expansion would be for the best right now me thinks. Will you move your capital to Torino later in the game and lose french culture?
 
Duke of Wellington: Amedee has a very good diplomatic rating.

Fulcrumvale: Italy first, I think. Once I gain Milan I can move against the other Italian states.

stnylan: Indeed it is.

anonymous4401: Yeah, it's going well so far.

coz1: Nah, Venice isn't a threat. Pierre was just lying. As for the BWB, if they stay out of Italy then I'm happy. Unfortunately they have vassalised Mantua, hopefully they won't get to diploannex them.

Chief Ragusa: That's the Kingdom of Franco-Italy, actually. ;)

Katapraktoi: The new Marshal is mentioned in the next update. I don't really want Austria getting involved in wars with the Italian states, so when the time comes I will probably jump alliances and possibly get help from Helvetia or Genoa.

SunZyl: Lose French culture? No way, Savoy is both Italian and French. :D
 
Savoy Truffle​

Baby You're A Rich Man

From "A History of Savoy" by J. P. Lerrier

In the latter years of the reign of Amedee VIII le Paisable, Savoy found herself with a very full treasury, with plentiful tolls and levies, as well as tribute from Duke Filippo Visconti of Milan, filling the coffers. Genoa, a hub of local trade and commerce, soon saw many Savoyard merchants wheeling and dealing in the city, bringing in a tidy profit for the Duchy. It was not long before Savoy had more merchants there than any other country (including the Republic of Genoa itself), and so successful had the rise in trade been that merchants were soon flocking to other trade centres, most notably Paris and Venice.

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Savoyard traders in Genoa​

Domestically, Amedee was committed to centralising his realm, decreeing in early 1429 that the Florin would be the sole currency of Savoy, and that other non-standard coins would not be accepted in the Duchy. Certain new laws were also introduced regulating trading conduct, setting a fixed levy on trade income.

Meanwhile the army was gradually increased, having suffered almost 3,000 casualties in a peasants revolt in the region of Lyonnais, which had been put down with force. The remaining army of 7,000 was increased to closer 20,000 under the command of First Marshal Henri d'Aneccy (eldest son of the Comte d'Annecy), and Amedee of course made sure to stress that this larger army was merely to protect Savoy and to deter any would-be invaders, rather than for any potential acts of aggression.

Diplomatically, Amedee worked hard to heal the wounds of Savoy's entry into the Hundred Years War. His eldest daughter Margaret was married to King Charles VI of France's son John, the Duke of Tourraine. This marriage, Amedee hoped, would secure his Duchy against possible French attempts at reconquest, for the time being at least. Another of his daughters, Mary, was in 1427 married to Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan. The Duchy was already under heavy influence from Savoy, and this political marriage helped secured Savoy's future claim to the rich city. Amedee knew that control of Milan would give Savoy a pivotal position in Italy, and so proved himself to be a very shrewd politician.

March 28th 1431
Chateau de Chambery

There was a rap on the door, followed by, "Er, my lord..."

Amedee looked up, woken from his doze. "Yes, yes, enter. What is it, Pierre?"

The former general entered, looking very uncertain. "My lord, there is a...man. He comes in peace, apparently."

"He's not one of those strange people from...the other side, is he?"

Pierre shook his head. "No-o, I don't think so. He claims he's from a distant land, some kind of empire of the east."

"I see. Did he give any more details?"

"No, apart from that he came in peace. Shall I show him in?"

"Why yes, I would be delighted to speak to this fellow in person."

Pierre disappared for a second, and soon came back with a man, but no ordinary man. For one thing he was dressed in skins, had a rather devilish beard and had fierce, oriental eyes. Amedee was taken aback, but noticed that the man looked somewhat startled by his surroundings, and so felt at ease.

"So, does he speak French?" asked Amedee, with some amusement.

"I speak little French," the man replied. "It language of sophisticates. You Khan of Savoy?"

"Khan, how quaint...er, I mean, yes, I am. What can I do for you?"

"I come from, how you say, Yellow Horde, Tatars of the eastern steppes, and I demand military access in the name of the Khan!"

svy21.png

The next morning, Amedee woke up assuming it must have been a dream. Sadly for him, it wasn't. He awoke to find much destruction unleashed upon his castle, and was later told by Pierre that the Tatar had been angry at his refusal to acquiese to his request. Thus, when a French diplomat came the following month also asking for military access, Amedee made sure to have im strip searched, in case he was a Mongol in disguise. The diplomat was so angry that it almost led to war, but Amedee was able to diffuse the situation and military access was eventually granted to the French.

From "A History of Savoy" by J. P. Lerrier

The early 1430s was marked by high politics and dynastic intrigue in Savoy, but the peace was soon shattered, when in September 1433 Austria declared war on Bohemia, angry at Bohemia's expansion in the north against the Elector Margravate of Brandenburg. Austria invoked the alliance, and Savoy reluctantly went to war with Bohemia and their allies Poland and Lithuania.

svy19.png

It was in truth a phoney war, as Savoy made no plans to send any troops, providing moral support more than anything. Peace was made a year later, with nothing changing hands.
 
Mmm, white peace at first opportunity affair by the sounds of it.

I did like the mongol ambassador - just which nation is the yellow horde trying to get to that they require Military access? Oh, and nice touch with that translation.
 
"I speak little French," the man replied. "It language of sophisticates. You Khan of Savoy?"
Click to expand...
Lovley. :rofl:

Keep on spamming those merchants!
 
I must agree that the Golden horde ambassador was a great one. :) I wonder what had happened to the castle if the really had sent a horde of ambassadors. Destroyed most likely...

So the Duke's son is taking over command. Might become interesting, see if he is as willing to keep the peace as his father is. Or if he's a hot-head like Pierre.
 
Isn't it obvious? The french taught the Horde their language telling them how sophisticated they now were. Any schoolboy knows that, in these modern times, Italian is the mark of the true civilised man. The Horde wanted a nice secure base from which to attack France - and who could blame them?
 
Oh I do like the references to the Beatles!
*turns on the White album*
 
stnylan: It is a very strange occurence.

Duke of Wellington: Nah, they're too busy falling apart.

Fulcrumvale: I will!

Katapraktoi: Not the Duke's son, the Comte d'Annecy's son. ;)

Chief Ragusa: Not me, that's for sure. A weak France is ideal for me. :D

noddy102: Thanks.

SunZyl: Well...I didn't. I only noticed when writing that update that Amedee's daughter Mary was in RL married to Filippo Visconti, and realised that was an ideal way to explain a possible future diplo-annex. Of course, I already had a RM with them when I offered vassalisation in the game.
 
Savoy Truffle​

I'll Follow The Sun

From "A History of Savoy" by J. P. Lerrier

Duke Amedee le Paisable was always known as a pious and peaceful man, and so some may find it surprising that in his latter years, after his abdication in 1437 (succeeded as Duke of Savoy by his son Louis), he was to serve as the last ever Anti-Pope at Avignon, taking the name Felix V by the appointment of the Council of Basel. But it should be remembered that in their eyes, he was the Pope, and it was the Pope in Rome who was an imposter and a heretic.

It should be noted that since 1420 the city of Avignon had been completely surrounded by territory of Savoy taken from France (the Dauphine region), and so in the following years the Papacy located at this city had come increasingly under the sway of Savoy as the French influence declined. Of course, Savoy was not a strong power at this time, and so by all accounts the Popes of Avignon were doomed.

However, the Pope in Rome, Eugene IV, strengthened the will of those prelates gathered at Basel by excommunicating them, and they in turn declared Eugene to be a heretic. They proceeded to elect Amedee Anti-Pope in 1439, and he gained some recognition from France and the German Emperor, albeit limited. Eventually, however, peace was made, and Felix V stood down as Anti-Pope and accepted a position as a cardinal.

svy22.png

The new Duke, Louis, was as capable as his father, and had inherited based on his intelligence and his strength. In the early years of his reign he tried to keep Savoy aloof of the struggles going on in Rome and Avignon, and instead concentrated on maintaining good relations with Savoy's neighbours and increasing foreign trade. A royal marriage was entered into with Naples, and various reforms were introduced to reduce the power of the feudal lords and give more influence to the crown.

While the late years of the 1430's were peaceful for Savoy, key events were occuring in the east. On May 1st 1439 the decrepit, dying Empire of Byzantium finally fell to the Ottoman Empire, and the city became the Turk's new capital. The conquest gave the old city a new leash of life, and soon it became a key trade centre in the east, rivalling the mercantine city of Alexandria. Duke Louis considered authorising the sending of merchants to try and bring home some of the wealth, but in the end opted for Flanders, where Savoyard merchants would only find limited success.

The turn of the decade saw some significant improvements to the Army of Savoy. Under the skilled command of Henri Comte d'Annecy (a title held since his father's death two years before), improvements were made in both offensive and defensive tactics. Henri outlined plans for expansion of the fortifications of key cities in Savoy, but lack of funds in the treasury put any kind of fortification efforts on hold.

svy24.png

Over the next few months there were reportedly several incursions into Savoyard territory by the armies of the Duke of Auvergne, and at first this only seemed like it would be a minor issue. However, Louis was eager to expand his realm, and was willing to use a bad excuse to go to war if need be. Savoy had no legitimate reason to go to war in the eyes of most European nations, but in spite of this, Louis wanted to put Henri and his new tactics to the test, and on the 1st of July he declared war on Auvergne, who invoked her alliance with France. In turn, Savoy invoked the alliance with Austria, and thus set off a series of event that would reopen the wounds of the Hundred Years War. Twenty two days later, Burgundy attacked Lorraine, sensing an opportunity for conquest while France was distracted, bringing their allies England and Aragon once again to war with French alliance.

It was an incredibly risky move by Louis, and indicated a clear rejection of his father's approach to diplomacy. The cities of Montpellier and Aurillac were put under siege, and all of Western Europe was once again aflame.

svy25.png
 
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