Chapter 29: Republican Affairs.
No, don’t worry, I haven’t turned revolutionary just yet. The title is just to signify that I installed EU4’s latest expansion, Res Publica, and patch 1.7 before starting this session, and I must say, there have been quite a few changes. Most of them seem the be on the “good” side of the scale.
Here, I will show you some of the changes where they concern France in 1666.
While I let time tick by to get to the end of the month, the Ottomans rivaled me. Not a huge surprise there. In fact, I was surprised they waited until now. And it has nothing to do with Res Publica.
On the 1st of June, my Diplomatic Tech upgrades along with the game. I am finally able to build Wargalleons. Of course, by now, everyone else has tech 21 to my only 19. What’s most important about this level is that I can build an Admiralty. Provided I can ever assemble 800 ducats, that it.
What’s that? Oh, yeah, the new patch.
This is a pretty significant one. PI has dialed back the relations hit for nations wanting your provinces, which means that all of a sudden, even with all those penalties, I find myself at +5 relations with Austria. Brabant, however, is the biggest difference. Now they have only -18 for wanting most of my northern provinces, instead of -100. That alliance, RM and potential PU could have been saved under these new circumstances. Much, much better.
Here’s another nice one. You can now see the ratio of potential rivals’ armies and navies, relative to yours. As you can see, Austria’s army is barely over half the size of mine.
Money-wise, I don’t know if it is part of the patch, but I suddenly find myself making 16 ducats per month again.
I took a look at the new idea groups. Check out that Humanist Idea. Ten years less nationalism. How awesome is that?
So, overall, I think this expansion does a pretty good job at rebalancing everything again. Good job, PI. Thank you, and this time without being cynical about it.
Ok, after this little intro, on with the show, shall we?
Those of you hoping to see me duke it out with the rest of Europe after the smack-down I gave Spain last chapter, are in for a bit of a disappointment. I am in a very peaceful mood, and, besides, it is over 32°C while I play. For a country that habitually gets about 20-25°C in a good summer, that is too much to make any kind of effort.
I belatedly remember my mission to build a fort in Dauphiné, so I get that going.
My Power Projection of 84 means I get a nice boost in morale, trade power and an extra leader to boot. So, yeah, I should go to war against my rivals more often. Then again, at least 1 of them has the biggest navy in the world. If I ever hope to land anyone in England, I should lay some ground work first.
First, I am going to build a ton of Light Ships. These will boost my trade power and, thus, my monthly income, which will pay for the rest of the improvements I am planning.
After a random event gives me a total Army Tradition of 98.9, I grab a general with 5-5-6-1 stats. Nobody will mess with France now!
I see that Mali has westernised. I start making plans to grab some of their gold provinces, but Portugal gets there first. Oh, well. I will just have to take them from Portugal instead, someday.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention another change of the new patch. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present to you the newest resident in Europe: Scandinavia! They are big, they have a reasonable navy, and, what’s even better, they don’t hate France. I send a diplomat to Stockholm immediately to start sucking up to them, since they are allied to Russia. Of course, that means I can’t become their ally as well, but as long as I keep them friendly enough, I won’t have to worry too much about them.
Portugal renews their alliance with Spain and promptly enters the coalition against me. I am not sure how they think that is going to save them, but whatever. It’s their funeral.
While the Ottomans and Crimeans go to war against Genoa, Baden, Lithuania, Venice and the Papal State, unhappiness among the artisans lands me with a choice of stability -1 or losing 708 ducats. I don’t want to take the stab hit, so I take out a loan and pay the money.
Greece is annexed by Venice, but somehow I have a feeling that won’t save their bacon. I barely fight back the urge to DoW them and make a grab for Lombardia myself. I don’t go through with it, since all that warfare means less Admin and Diplo for teching up and building cool stuff. Events will prove me right. By the end of this chapter, Venice consists of Venice and Lombardia
With my trade ships ready, I abandon the idea of ever competing in the Western Europe Trade Node in any profitable fashion, instead choosing to focus on transfering trade from Genoa. The result is a sudden increase in my trade income of almost 20 ducats! Why didn’t I think of doing this sooner, with both Provence AND Liguria under my control? Better late than never, right?
By september, 1667, I get enough Admin together to raise my stability to +1. It is not enough to get that missionary in Paris off his lazy bum, but it’s a start.
Scandinavia, Russia and Bohemia go to war against the Hansa, Livonian Order and Riga. I would not want to be in their shoes.
The palace of Versailles is ready to be unveiled. A Prestige and Legitimacy bonus for the rest of the game is more than welcome, considering the “strength” of the Habsburg claim on France’s throne. Even after all this time, my legitimacy is only up to 84 and my heir has a weak claim. So this is more than welcome.
It is almost as if old Louis had been waiting to see it finished, because within weeks, he draws his last breath.
François I is a rather special king: a weak claim, but 4-4-4 stats. The pretender is quickly put down. Considering the now-bombed-out Legitimacy of 29, if François had gotten bad stats, I would have considered giving in to the Pretender.
Great Britain conquers some Indian country in North America. Their ally, the Creek, doesn’t have an army. All I have to do is Dow them and march my troops in. Not a single shot gets fired. My very first “Cold War” Achievement. I would have prefered to get that against Austria or Spain, but I’m not complaining.
My next mission will be to build a Grand Fleet. But 30 Heavy Ships are not cheap to build or maintain. This will be a long-term plan.
Sardinia, which had previously been part of Algiers, defects to the Ottomans. I check. They are no longer allies. If it hadn’t been for those damnable Berber Traditions, I might have considered make a case along the African coast. All of a sudden, the Ottomans have an island right off my coast! I don’t like it.
Spain, of course, is not deterred by the double coring costs of Algiers, and declares war in April, 1670.
And what am I doing, you ask? Well, I am building forts along my borders. I am improving my trade infrastructure all over the place (some of my Italian provinces didn’t even have a market place!). I am laying the groundwork for better and bigger ports (like drydocks in every single coastal province I own in Europe, plus docks in Africa). Canals in Zeeland? Yes, please. A Naval Base in Poitou? Why not.
Thousands of ducats are spend in a 9-year shopping spree, in order to make more ducats and to increase French security. By the end of this chapter, I am making a net 40 ducats profit per month. That is an increase from +15, or about 150 % improvement!
I grab Military Tech 22 in March, 1671. This means better cannons and, as Napoleon could attest, better cannons make victory a lot easier.
Another thing I do is fake some claims. On Sardinia, just because I want something to hit the Ottomans with in case of war. Another one on Portugal In Africa. But mostly, against Great Britain. Claims for Wessex, Cornwall and Kent, along with Gold Coast (in Africa) and a colony in South-America.
By september of that same year, I finally get my stability up to +3. I don’t usually go for the +3, because it is ridiculously expensive, but in this case, I make an exception. After closing his eyes to the continual heresy in our own capital for almost a decade, my missionary finally straightens himself out and gets back to converting everyone else around him.
Diplo Tech 20 in 1672. Only 2 Tech levels behind my neighbours. I lost a lot of time with all the building, but I think I can ease off now, and let my tech levels become a priority again.
Grain Coast becomes self-sufficient and I send him to Whydah. I set up a trade company, the Cosmopolitain West Africa Trading Company, that starts making 4.85 ducats, just from 2 African companies. Can you imagine what immense wealth one could procure by going for India and the island chains?
Scandinavia and Russia finally end their war with a resounding victory.
24 September 1673. A most glorious day. Let us thank the Lord in our prayers for delivering our fellow citizens from the Devil’s temptations. Île De France is catholic again, after about 150 years of Protestantism!!! Now only Loire, Holland and Grao Paro remain to be converted.
Benin accepts our offer to become our protectorate in 1675, after a few months of improving relations with them. This gives us a direct landbridge to Spain’s protectorate and Portugal’s colonies further south, without firing a single shot.
See you next time!