Well when taking Annionverse into account, I think it is a third option
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Didn't Dragoon say he wouldn't be extensively modding the Americas like he did in Annionaverse?
Chapter 8: Colors of the Wind
Chapter 8: Colors of the Wind
England declaring it's intent to conquer this new world as well as to recover from its recent troubles was received with open scepticism by many in public. Silently however England had sparked a scramble for territories wherever they could be found. In Africa the Spanish had already begun to set up trading colonies and naval bases for ships traveling to and from Brazil. In Cathay, Empress Catherine had other ideas.
Liao George, a wealthy merchant and entrepreneur had accepted the Empress' offer to bring conquest and discovery for the crown in exchange for the governorship of any territories built under his oversight. The Merchant family of George had made its money primarily from the Spice trade out of the Mediterranean. With chaos in the East however the Spice trade had dried up, and trade with India and China was a dangerous and risky affair. In America however the main obstacle was open ocean and the dangers of Scurvy, as well as matters more mythical like sea monsters and the like, things that the shrewd Patrician knew well enough not to believe in.
Liao George's expedition would sail for America with three ships, all three Carracks modified to undergo a long ocean voyage, replacing much of their armament and gunpowder reserves with food and also trade items such as Glass from Ventralis. However the Gratiae, Mors and Aerecura were merely a stopgap measure for the first trip, as Liao George has commissioned three new ships with a more modern design like those of the Irish and Spanish, that were expected to be completed by the time he had returned. Liao George would sail north using friendly ports in Northern Ireland as his base, his route would be expected to pass Iceland and reach the ancient Norse colony of Greenland and re-establish Contact, and perhaps offer the colony back to the swedish as token of friendship.
At home Catherine found that despite her fair and prosperous rule unrest had been growing across much of Europe. The German citizenry and nobility were unhappy with recent events, and the French Princes were growing wary of the state of the world. Cathay and Ferrara held all the cards in Western Europe, as Andalusia had collapsed and England had little interest in continental affairs.
However, any efforts at espionage were had pressed to succeed. Sigismund Biberen, A close confident of the queen, and the Royal spymaster had a coin in every purse and an ear in every place of note within the Capital, and the courts of Cathay's enemies. The Germans in particular called Sigismund a Traitor for his loyalty to a Foreign monarch, though this did little. Under Biberen's shadowy rule Cathay found itself more stable than ever.
On matters more civilian, the Kingdom, mainly the Khitan had begun to undergo a cultural enlightenment, the first major cultural advancements since arguably the Julian renaissance. Artists and Historians of Khitan descent, wishing to distinguish themselves from the Spanish and French had dug deeply within the histories to find something culturally distinctive.
It had been hundreds of years after all since Kiran settled the Khitan within the lower Rhineland and in those years the Khitan become more and more european while Ethnically there was little difference between the Khitan and European Ethnicities around it much at all.
The creation and Popularity of Francis Jau's painting 'Eastern Wind' depicting Xiao in an almost messianic central position on horseback looking westward would lead to a fascination and resurgence in artwork depicting the ancient Khitai. A stark difference to the far more classical focused style of the Southern Renaissance.
Such an enlightenment of course had come at a time when the Khitan Empire was in fact looking west Yet again. Wishing to emulate the greats thousands began to pay into Colonial projects to claim a new land. The while the army had after centuries of focusing on heavily armored knights, reformed cavalry doctrine to emphasis speed, implementing Cavalry and outrider tactics well over a millenia old used during the migration, after modernizing them of course.
In matters of Politics, the Crown of Avalon was for the last time, humbled by Cathay. Once the richest province of the Empire and a great power in Europe all itself had fallen far since it's independence. After a defeat from Poitou, Catherine needed to do little more than move in and return the White Lion of Avalon to its rightful place, kneeling to the Black Lion of Ventralis.
in the following Months Liao George had returned to Cathay from his first expedition. The Norse Colony of Greenland had been found, but it was sadly abandoned much to the foreign office's disappointment. The lack of any settlement of Greenland also meant that unless the Irish were willing to provide a base for colonists traveling to the New World, the Northern Route would be impossible without serious innovations in shipbuilding.
Not dissuaded of course, Liao instead sailed the southern Route for America where he planned to sail along the coast after reaching Brazil.
England meanwhile was making good on its intent to unite the British Isles, brutalizing the Kingdom of Caledon in a war and seizing the entire southern half of the Kingdom. Ireland and Wales of course remained under Cathay's protection but at this point barring a massive army appearing from the scottish Highlands, an English reunification of Caledon and Albion was inevitable.
In America the Rush to colonize was in full swing for the Spanish but also for Cathay. Rather than fight for Brazil as the Spanish were doing colonists from Cathay instead settled on the Island of Trinidad safe and separated from the Jungles of South America. However without proper maps things quickly had become disorganized and local officials sent to keep the peace soon found themselves traveling to the continent to retrieve rouge expeditions before them and their supplies were lost to the Jungle.
Ireland as well was getting involved in the Rush, Establishing a Naval base on the western Fringe of Africa. However while the Irish discovered the New world, the intent of their colonial policy was to travel down the coast of Africa in hopes of the continent breaking and thus enabling them to reach India.
With matters settled at home, and the War with Avalon over, Catherine now turned her attention back to Germany. The region of course was still in full collapse and for Cathay to sit idly by while Bavaria and Bohemia gathered up the spoils simply could not be allowed and so once again, Khitan troops marched across the Rhine into German territory
In America, English explorers as well as Liao George had returned with maps of a Northern continent, beyond Greenland and far to the North of Trinidad. The Actual Land discovered by O'shannon, Camelot, or North America as it was being called was temperate and untouched. The problem was of course reaching it. Sweden despite little intent to colonize had declared Greenland a sovereign part of its territory, forbidding the English from trying to take a northern passage. Cathay however had Trinidad as a jumping point but of course had Continental problems.
Catherine quickly identified England, despite its smaller size and isolation as Cathays primary threat now. It would be England with its vast fleet that could threaten Cathay's territories outside of Europe, but also cut her off from Ireland and to some degree Sweden. Catherine Era reforms of the Navy would join the list of the many advances made during Renaissance Era Cathay. It also would be the last, Not becuase innovations were slowing, but becuase a new Era was about to dawn.
New World Crops, Peoples and Riches had brought on a new source of technological and cultural advancement. The Race for America was on, and those that Embraced Colonialism and It's ideals would be destined to become the winners.
Last edited:
A nice thing about the Post Mandate of heaven AI is its more aggressive, unfortunately its not very smart. Ferrara could probably form Italy immediately but it for some reason doesn't want one of the provinces it requires to fire the decision. Sweden also has this problem, as it has every province to form Scandinavia except copenhagen and the Jyland provinces, which are all owned by the same Minor that Sweden could easily beat in a single war. *shrug*
Sorry to disappoint but No special natives or Exiles this time around. Though I will repeat America gets a lot of Colonizers and that statement is not restricted to just the British and Spanish countries
Time to crush England! Rule Cathay! Cathay rule the waves! Britons always will be slaves!
Certainly don't want England to get too secure - better confront sooner rather than later.
Knocking England down a peg or two would definitely slow their colonization efforts, leaving more of the New World for Cathay. Also, an Irish African colony isn't something I expected.
Will be funny if Germany would survive up to HOI part,as in Victoria it will be converted as German Empire...ten times smaller than OTL modern Germany.
England is a threat, but for story reasons thry might perhaps get left alone for some time? So that they can grow I mean.
Chapter 9: War of the Polish Succession
Chapter 9: War of the Polish Succession
Cathay of course was in a perfect position to challenge the Iberians and English for control of the New World on paper. In reality however the chaotic nature of early new world exploration and colonization had made things far less simple. However a far more major reason for Cathay's lack of dominance in early colonization was simply the fact that Cathay had commitments on the continent which were far more pressing.
With the Ferrara-Cathay alliance expected to middling princes of France had become an increasingly relevant issue. The Lords of Southern France saw Cathay as a state as actively working to subjugate France yet again and thus treated it accordingly, this meant the denial of military access to Ferrara. Since the only other passage into Italy was through germany this simply could not be allowed to stand.
Diane wishing to send a message declared war on the most powerful of the French states, the Archduchy of Poitou who had recently taken the Avalonian Capital of Rennes in defiance of Cathay's sphere of influence.
At first Governor Liao George tried to impress the natives into performing sugar cane duties, however disease soon killed this idea, literally as the Island of Trinidad's native populate dropped down to nearly a tenth of its original size due to the spread of smallpox and other illnesses. Without a labor force, Calais turned to indentured servants, and eventually after studying the success of the brazilian colonies of the Iberians, Calais turned to african slaves.
With Trinidad complete the focus for Cathay turned to Bermuda and also the Island of Cuba. The Lack of Cathayan settlement on the mainland was mostly a practical concern, as the Imperial fleet could defend Island colonies far easier than coastal settlements surrounded by wilderness. There was also a distinct lack of support for deploying actual armed forces thousands of miles across the sea and thus leaving the mother country defenseless.
Speaking of the MIlitary, Diane's last great military innovation would be the final implementation of a professional officer corp into the military. Progress to this end was already being made in Cathay since the reign of Uther, but as all traditions were, the landowning nobility were well entrenched. Diane resolved this issue by simply ignoring it, organizing the nobility and their armed forces that still remained from the Imperial Guard.The nobles of Cathay of course were not happy about being sidestepped but were allowed to retain their influence and retinues, even if they were growing smaller and less significant in comparison to the growing Guard.
The Champion of the new Officer corp would be Field Marshall Alan Ellyn. Ellyn was a member of the minor nobility brought into relevant through the military and now was a prominent commander of the Imperial army under Diane II. Favoring quick decisive tactics Ellyn would spend years trying to perfect an army doctrine that could intermix the use of cavalry with cannon, pike and shot. It would not be until Diane II's death that Alan Ellyn became the favorite of House Cathay.
Diane II now well into old age died quietly in her bed and was succeeded by Catherine. The succession however was not simple, Catherine had an older bastard brother by the name of Alfred of Ireland who upon the death of Diane arrived in Brittany with Elite Galloglaigh infantry. Upon hearing news of such an occurrence Ellyn on his own initiative turned north, as all of the Imperial army was currently busy within the Alps or Southern France.
At armor Alfred found himself outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the more experienced General Ellyn and was promptly defeated and captured. Ellyn would deliver alfred to the Imperial Capital and in reward be named supreme commander of the armed forces by Catherine for his loyalty and help preventing a potentially costly civil war.
Victory in France was soon to follow, returning all of Brittany to Cathay as well as the duchy of Berry. Poitou was humbled and the French princes reminded of their place in the world. The Fortress at Berry would be a major reminder of such a war, as now Cathay could easily move into Toulouse directly.
With access restored to the Italians the war over switzerland ended in short order resulting in half of the Duchy of Ivrea to be ceded to Ferrara. The expansion of the Ferraran King north however would have consequences later down the line, as without the Rhine as a natural border, the temptation of controlling the Upper Rhineland would color the foreign police of Ferrara going forward as their Italian and Balkan ambitions were slowly sated.
Of course one commitment would lead to another, as they often tended to do. In Bohemia the Marriage between the Czech and Polish peoples had come undone following a series of tax disputes. Sensing opportunity to find a powerful ally in the Baltic, the Kingdom of Sweden sided with the Poles while Catherine sided with the Bohemians.
Things came to a head when the Polish Sjem, in defiance of Bohemia elected Chiano Wisniowiecki otherwise known as Chiano Wisnik as King. King Wilhelm of Bohemia responded with an immediate declaration of war with intend to abolish the Polish Sjem and arrest and kill the pretender. Sweden responded with its own declaration of war, thus forcing Catherines own hands and soon all of Northern Europe's great powers was prepared to do battle for the fate of Poland.
The first major battle of the war would be not against the Poles but against opportunist rebels within Prague, who took the recent civil war as an opportunity to try and create their own legislative body within Bohemia in the vain of the Polish Sjem. These dreams however were cut short upon the arrival of Cathay's troops, who liberated the Bohemian Capital and worked out terms for how to go about the war.
It was agreed that Cathay would handle the Poles, while Bohemia would contain the Swedes within the northern Elbe, this was done to avoid bad blood in having Bohemian troops march into, pillage and destroy polish towns and lands. Cathay instead would receive the blame, but Cathay was not the rightful ruler of Poland and so, that blame mattered less. Of course this plan could backfire and be seen as King Willhelm inviting a foreign conqueror into Poland to fight his wars for him, but Willhelm sought peace before his own prestige and perhaps rightfully so, as without Poland, Bohemia's influence within europe would be no more than the princes that surrounded it.
During this war the new problems with Diane's system of officers had become quickly apparent. While removing the nobility from the equation, the favoritism of the monarchy would still determine who was assigned roles within the military. General Alan Ellyn was a competent general, but he was not the best general within cathay. Ellyn's inferior, Yanchege Xwedayar was a superior tactician in every way held back by ironically enough by his more Khitan upbringing in the Rural areas of Avalon.
Far from the Latinized and Urbanized Ellyn, Yanchege lived and fought amongst his troops, invited officers from all walks of life to consult with him on strategy and had in fact turned Ellyn's dream of a combined arms doctrine into a reality. None of his achievements however would be valued by the Cathayan aristocracy or crown for most of his career, and while one of the most important wars in recent history waged in poland, Yanchege remained at home, putting down revolts. Only towards the end of the war, would general Xwedayar be summoned into Poland, and only due to Alan Ellyn suffering a case of food poisoning and wishing to return home.
In the Meantime the major battles were won in Poland by Alan Ellyn, defeating the Poles within Bohemia and then outside of it, humbling them at every available opportunity. However, Poland was not some upstart rebellion, and had its own military staff and loyal officers. Losses were high and Ellyn quickly met his match against the Polish pretender Chiano. By the time General Xwedayar would to fight the Polish monarch a year later, poland for the most part had collapsed, the Sjem had been exiled or arrested and what remained of Chiano's army was vastly inferior to Xwedayar's expeditionary force. It would be however Xedayar who would arrest Chiano and bring him to Bohemia to be hanged.
After nearly five years of warfare the War of the Polish succession ended. Cathay's involvement was limited to Poland and Poland Alone, the swedes unwilling to commit anything into Cathay's interior, and the Bohemians having successfully fought the Elbian front to a stalemate. The Polish Sjem was abolished in favor of a unified body of nobles of both monarchies. Polish separatism would still exist for centuries, but defeat in the war of the Polish succession would mark the beginning of further centralization of the Bohemian dual monarchy from a fragile alliance into a world power.
In the West, Progress was being made of course, but the lack of attention had meant that Bermuda and Havana were the only major results of nearly two decades of colonization. Havana of course would quickly displace Trinidad as the most important and rich port within the Americas but with wars holding Catherine's attention, the English finally could establish several of their own footholds, and the Iberians would expand their brazilian territories massively.
Outside of War, Catherine put her talents to work rebuilding the Imperial capital, making the old Gem of Northwestern Europe shine once again. The opening of two new districts and the reconstruction of several major monuments lost during the Western War, as well as the complete reconstruction of the Waterfront of Ventralis would turn one of the major cities of Europe into the largest city in the world under Catherine's reign.
However, such reforms and focuses at come at a cost. Spain after all was still in Crisis, and the Knights had now returned to the continent and had their territories returned to them. The reintroduction of more fundamentalist ideals of the Knights on the syncretised citizenry of Iberia however had an adverse reaction, resulting in much of the local clergy to outright reject the return to some old dogmas, declaring a countrywide protest. A small event for a relatively obscure faith, but the precedent set in Santiago would be the first of many.
There of course was a far more relevant movement about to be inspired by the Spanish, and the Shot was going to be heard around the world.
And Just like that, on December 12th 1517 The Solar Church once one and indivisible under the Caetye, was broken, forever.
Helping allies and stopping civil wars are nice, but it's distracting from the New World. Pesky neighbors.
The fact that it's the Knights going through the Protestant Reformation is too funny to me. Of course, the Sun Church getting divided is far more important. How will this new sect differ once the dust settles?
The fact that it's the Knights going through the Protestant Reformation is too funny to me. Of course, the Sun Church getting divided is far more important. How will this new sect differ once the dust settles?
And the Sun will be split in two. Maybe they will take the Moon to be a holy symbol
Heresy! Obviously it would be a slightly differently drawn sun.