Chapter 2: Western Adriatic
I was quite pleased with our position. The Urbino War and the War of the League of Sienna had left us in control of the Papal States and Milan, two of our more powerful neighbours. There were a few remaining outposts of hostility in the region, but with luck I would be able to snap them up fairly quickly. As my expansion continued, however, I would begin to come up against more dangerous forces - France, Austria and Aragon.
As we sat back and enjoyed the fruits of victory, I took a look at the rest of Europe.
France had handily won the Hundred Years War, though the English had managed to hold on to some of their lands on the continent. Burgundy had launched a war of conquest, taking a number of provinces, but were then crushed in turn by the coalition that formed to oppose them. Hungary foolishly declared war on Austria and lost two provinces as a result. The Swedes had failed to win their independence from Denmark and remained in the Kalmar Union. The Byzantines were no more - the Ottomans Empire sat to our east, an ever-present threat.
Castile and Venice were in the middle of a war with Aragon, Portugal, Hungary, Genoa and Naples. I watched this conflict with some interest, given the importance of all of the countries involved to my own plans. While I waited for the results of that war, I put down a noble rebellion that rose up in Ancona. Given an almost 2:1 advantage in my favour, the outcome was never really in any doubt.
The Venetians withdrew from the war, but Castile still emerged victorious, taking two provinces from Aragon. More importantly, however, was that somehow Naples was no longer under a personal union with Aragon. Not entirely sure what happened there... Now that they were independent, they proceeded to declare Aragon and Tuscany as their rivals. So, no new allies to the south. On the other hand, taking provinces from Naples would be lot easier than Aragon... if it wasn't for the fact that they very quickly secured an alliance with France.
Having the Papal States as a vassal paid off, as it helped me to seize control of the curia. Plenty of little bonuses to avail of.
I was somewhat concerned by the Franco-Neapolitan alliance. If Naples chose to declare war on me and the French joined them I would be doomed. But I hit on a fairly simple counter to this problem -
I allied France. This not only countered the threat from Naples, but quite obviously would allow me to crush any other targets I might have beneath a horde of French troops.
I continued to engage in some diplomatic wrangling, eventually winning an alliance with Austria as well. With both France and Austria in my pocket, I wouldn't need Venice anymore, so...
It was time to take my next target, the mighty city-state of Ferrara! In August of 1474, I declared war. Of course, Ferrara was both a member of the coalition arrayed against me and had plentiful allies. Soon I was at war with Ferrara, Castile, Burgundy, Venice, Genoa and Savoy! Austria, thankfully, joined in my war effort, but unfortunately the French were not inclined to help.
The combined forces of the League of Ferrara outnumbered our own. We still had the advantage, however. The enemy's forces were divided, with most of their troops in Castile or Burgundy. It would take time for them to reach our lines, allowing us to destroy the Italian forces first. I had also just brought up our military technology to 6, making it as good or better than that of our enemies.
Ferrara and Savoy were soon overrun. The Burgundian army arrived in Piedmont, only to be driven north again with heavy casualties. The Venetian army remained in the capital, eventually emerging to relieve Treviso, only to be defeated by a combined force of Tuscans and Austrians. The Burgundian army returned, this time attacking Austria, only to be driven off once more.
More and more Venetian cities fell, when shocking news reached us - Duke Charles of Burgundy had fallen in battle! His lands were immediately divided between the Emperor and the King of France.
With that, the war was soon over. Venice surrendered Brescia to Milan, while Tuscany took Ferrara. The Venetians, of course, immediately joined the coalition against us, but as we were allied to both France and Austria, I wasn't too worried about an attack.
With the seizure of Ferrara, I felt it was time to start concentrating a bit more on trade. I moved my Trade Port to the city, allowing me to better avail of the Venetian trade node. I also began to build a number of light ships and sent them to the Adriatic. With the extra income, I would be able to construct more buildings.
Amusingly, the Venetians dropped out of the coalition a few years after the war. Perhaps they hoped our alliance could be renewed? If so, their hopes were in vain - they would be my primary targets for expansion for some time.
With the integration of Milan, the number of provinces under our direct control almost doubled. When combined with our vassals, Sienna and the Papal States, we were starting to become a real power.
As for the 'tall' part of my strategy, so far I had it pretty easy. Many of my provinces had level 1 or even level 2 buildings already completed by the time I took them, leaving few slots for me to fill myself. I would soon be able to construct level 2 buildings, which would require more resources and careful consideration.
I finished the Plutocratic idea group, just before increasing my Admin tech to 7 and selecting a second group. This time I went for Innovative. A good all-round group, it also contained yet another reduction to technology costs, which was the main reason I picked it up. It would also reduce the cost of employing mercenaries, which would combined with the Condottieri and Tradition of Payment ideas would mean my mercenaries would be cheap and plentiful.
My plans were disrupted when Trier decided to try to take Aachen. I was faced with an awkward choice, as this pitted my two allies, France and Austria, against each other. After considering my options, I decided to accept the French call to arms. With luck, I would be able to patch things up with Austria after the war.
Our forces fought in just one battle in the Trier War, the critical Battle of Luxemburg. We then withdrew, having no interest in spending more manpower in a war that was already won. France annexed Liege and Trier, adding to their already substantial holdings. Their growing strength was a concern, but for the moment all I could do was take advantage of it.
We quickly sorted things out with Austria and reestablished our alliance. Keeping both France and Austria as allies was clearly not a viable long-term proposition, but for now I would use them both to further my own ends.
Over the next few years, I continued to take more Innovative ideas, while constructing the odd building and bringing up my military technology. Elsewhere, civil war wracked Scotland, while Austria conquered a swath of Bavarian territory, cutting the duchy in half. Denmark had integrated Norway, securing their control over half of Scandinavia. We unfortunately lost control of the Curia, but it was nice while it lasted. Alessandro Tonelli was elected Gonfaloniere, the latest in a long string of leaders, none of whom had served more than one term. Finally, in 1490, we were ready to go to war again.
Taking Verona would strengthen my control of the Venetian trade node and weaken my Venetian rival. Equally valuable, however, was the fact that Naples and Venice were allies. Once Naples joined the war I would be able to attack them without angering the French.
Just like the War of the League of Ferrara, the list of force arrayed against us grew quickly. Castile took charge of the enemy's war effort again, leading Portugal, Scotland, Naples, the Knights and Venice. This time, however, we had the vast armed forces of France on our side, not to mention the fact that our own military was much bigger than it had been 16 years previously.
The army of Naples was quickly destroyed. Leaving a few regiments behind to secure our southern flank and occupy their cities, I marched the rest of my troops north. The Venetian army was caught between our troops and those of France and was quickly defeated. Our position in Italy was secure.
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The arrival of Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli would prove rather beneficial (a bit of free stability is always nice), but the Church, concerned by the influence this schemer might come to have, decided to curry favour by canonizing Gonfaloniere Tolleni's great-grandfather.
The focus of the war now moved to southern France, where our allies were struggling to turn back an invasion of Castillian and Portuguese troops. The arrival of our army tipped the balance, and the Iberians were driven back across the mountains.
A Portuguese army did manage to make it to Verona, only to be attacked by a Turkish army. The arrival of the Ottomans came as something as a surprise, but they marched right past our forces to engage the enemy - a welcome development. Our victory was assured.
Naples surrendered, ceding Abruzzi. Fighting continued in southern France, but a year later we came to terms with Castile.
The western coast of the Adriatic from Abruzzi to Verona was now under our control. Ferrara was gone, Aragon no longer controlled southern Italy and Venice was much weakened.
Now, if I can just stay out of trouble long enough for my manpower to recover.