A Changing World
1450 proved to be an interesting year. It was not interesting because of events within Naples, but rather outside the kingdom. King Renato had sent out spies throughout Europe to gauge the situation everywhere, only for each one to return one by one with news of various peace agreements. Seven alone returned on the fourth of January. The fact that nations were agreeing to any peace at all either meant that the disease was not as rage-inducing as previously believed or that there were quite a few people out there capable of controlling those infected by the plague. The Archangel Michael insisted it was the second, claiming that there were those capable of manipulating the diseased as would a master his slaves. As to who these people were, he would not elaborate.
((I was literally receiving dozens of these peace pop-ups a month. By the end of the year, I was forced to turn off the notifications for it before I went insane from constantly pausing. I’m guessing the mod doesn’t take into consideration the AI wanting to end a war after 5 years if they haven’t accomplished their goal, which isn’t exactly ideal when the war is declared for them.))
Despite the vast amount of news coming into the capital, Renato tried to keep his ear open for news on some of the nearer and more powerful of the nations in Europe. Thus he paid particular attention to the end of the war between France and England. England handed over only a single province, but still held the entire northern coastline of France. Michael expressed doubt that this peace would last for even a year before they’d be at each other’s throats again.
The cavalry regiment Renato had ordered formed last year was finally organized and sent up to join the siege in Ferrara. So far the siege armies had been left uninterrupted, which suited the king just fine. With the northern border fairly secure, the expansion of the navy could be continued with another galley under construction in Roma.
In May spies sent into Venice reported that the Venetian army was at an all-time low. The decision was made to further divide the army and march on Verona. One cavalry and two infantry regiments from each of the two siege armies would be sent to Verona under the leadership of General Carlo Gori. When the army moved into the area, scouts reported a small Venetian army next door in Austria. On the 26th of May, another small regiment appeared in Brescia, believed to consist of fresh recruits. General Gori immediately took the initiative and ordered an attack on the enemy before they could escape into Austria. The manoeuvre paid off, leaving the army free to return to Verona to recommence the siege.
Back in the capital, King Renato had domestic issues to deal with. With all the new lands acquired by Naples, the king was having difficulty ruling the new lands. Normally he would issue ordinances that the local lords or magistrates would enforce, but the nobles of the new provinces were accustomed to different laws and traditions. Instead of letting them run things the way they were used to, Renato took the extra effort to convince these lords to adopt his plans. It cost him extra time, but would make managing affairs of state more streamlined in the future.
With the northern front relatively quiet for once, with Modena pacified and Venice focusing elsewhere, Renato risked sending scouts further than before. He needed to know exactly what lay beyond his border. What news they brought back worried him. Two large threats resided past Milan and Venice. Both Savoy and Austria were quite large and a possible threat if Naples continued to expand north. He would have to keep a careful eye on those two nations.
Another report came in of Venice’s attempt to recruit more men in Brescia. General Gori soon made the Venetians pay for their recruitment effort. Yet again the Venetians lost an entire regiment. General Gori even managed to lose less men this time, having perfected the method since last time.
Even though years had passed, Aragon continued to block the ports of Calabria with its navy, as well as those in Pisa. While not a serious threat, it was still a nuisance. Naples’ position in Italy would not truly be secure until Sicily was under its control. While the potential of luring the navy away was still there, Renato started to consider an alternative. The Neapolitan navy was roughly two-thirds the size of the fleet outside Calabria. With all the funds flowing into Naples’ treasury, it was entirely possible that the navy could be built up to equal that of Aragon’s. With that in mind, Renato ordered construction of a barque in Calabria to be added to the fleet and a galley in Siena to add to those already in Roma.
After having not seen the Archangel Michael for a few weeks, King Renato made sure to visit him. The archangel intrigued him in more ways than one. Besides the fact that he was one of God’s servants, he spent most of his time either travelling the lands or alone in his quarters. The archangel was unusually reclusive. When Renato visited him in his room, he found Michael leaning over a map he was in the process of drawing. His hand moved impossibly fast, drawing borders with precise detail. At the moment he seemed to be focused on drawing the Balkans.
“How do you know what those nations look like with borders changing so often?” Renato asked.
Michael’s hand stopped moving and he remained silent for a moment. When he turned his head to face Renato, he had a thoughtful expression on his face. “I cannot explain it, at least not in a way that you would understand. Think of it as a gift from God.”
Renato didn’t know what entirely to make of that, but his thoughts were distracted as Michael leaned back to give the king a full view of the map. It seemed that the small kingdoms of the Balkans were starting to thrive at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. Served those heathens right.
When Renato’s gaze drifted elsewhere on the map, he noticed an oddity with Naples. “Modena is not part of our kingdom yet.”
A sly smile spread across Michael’s face. “As far as you know, that may be true.”
As if on cue, a messenger raced by the door but did a double-take when he spotted his king. “My king, I have a message for you from Modena. The province has fallen.”
Renato’s neck stiffened as he glanced at Michael out of the corner of his eye. Michael was merely smirking while he continued to add to his map. Clearly there was much more to the archangel than there appeared.
