1706-1710 – Tensions & Tragedies
Disagreement and discord was the sentiment of the court in early 1706. Crown Prince Pere was quite enraged when his proposal failed, while those supporting the annexation of Rome found themselves overpowered by those supporting expansion in the Far East. Even the ministers quarreled. Both the grandmaster and grand admiral proposed naval expansion that benefitted their own ministry, something many viewed as overburdening the navy, but both men refused to budge. Grandmaster Sancho de Burgundy-Ivrea-Orange was quite irate, for this was the second time he had devised a plan and the grand admiral did not account for it. As for Grand Admiral Alexis Cyril de Saint-Pierre, he remained silent on the matter. The conflict was temporarily resolved by Treasurer Andronicus Mandromenos, who declared that the treasury would fund neither plan until an agreement was reached. As such, naval expansion was put on hold for the meantime.
As several of the members of the Council butted heads, Prime Minister and Chancellor Félicien Pierre de Montségur turned his attention overseas. He sent instructions to Nova Hispania to take advantage of Mayan weakness to expand to the east. Upon receiving his instruction, Nova Hispania promptly declared war on Zapotec.
In February, the crown prince pushed a bit too hard against his brother. Letters were found written by Pere to various Catholic heads of state encouraging them to pressure Hispania into restoring the Papal State. While not quite treason, it was clear that the crown prince was working against the emperor. Wanting to avoid further scandal, Joan had his brother dismissed from court and sent back to his estates in Murcia, expending quite a bit of money from the treasury to ensure he stayed there.
Lucca’s war on Switzerland ended in a resounding success as they annexed their enemy. This also left only one small independent nation in Italy to be carved up by Hispania, Austria, and France. Interestingly enough, France’s Italian ambitions had died out after the end of Savoy, with their focus shifted further north and to their colonies. Austria, on the other hand, desired most of Lucca, although lacked the rightful claims to the land. ((It would appear that France not only has no claims, but no longer designates Italy as vital or strategic interests. Austria lost its claim on Mantua, but considers all but Parma vital interests.))
Nova Hispania’s war with Zapotec was a swift one. The native neighbour put up little resistance, allowing the colonial nation to claim Tochtepec. It was a bit of a disappointment that they did not annex the nation, but it was better than nothing. With that done, Nova Hispania was then given instructions to claim land from Kiche as well.
The colonial excursions of Nova Hispania were quite the talk of court. Noblemen and women who had never left Europe were riveted by Nova Hispania’s victory over Kiche’s army at Guatemala, where 9k savages were slaughtered with only 9 men lost. However, the mood changed when Nova Hispania immediately signed a peace, claiming Guatemala and only Guatemala, despite being isolated right in the middle of Kiche. The emperor was greatly displeased that the colonial nation had made such an idiotic decision. With the chancellor already supporting imperial intervention if need be, the emperor expressed his wish that the Exercit Africa should be deployed overseas to finish what Nova Hispania failed to complete.
In Europe, war still raged on in the Holy Roman Empire. Brandenburg, the former emperor, was outmatched by the enemy coalition and found itself annexed by Mainz.
Najd’s earlier gains were soon offset by Persian conquests. Persia had proven the stronger.
Hungary, wanting to take advantage of the weakened Bohemia, declared war claiming they were defending the rights of Catholics within the neighbouring nation. Faced with an already oversized coalition arrayed against them, Bohemia was in little condition to fend of this threat. Shortly after, Aachen declared war on Cologne to take advantage of their current war alongside Bohemia. Whether they could take on the larger nation before Cologne weaseled its way out of war with Austria and France was questionable.
At the start of 1707, the chancellor attempted to reach out to Morocco to hand over Mitidja or face war. What he received was an emphatic no. Not wanting to waste men and time on a war with Morocco, Emperor Joan intervened and called off the attempt to threaten land from the North African state. Perhaps in time, the old strategy would work again. ((Morocco had a huge negative modifier to accepting because we threatened them recently.))
When the Exercit Africa landed in Mexico, a declaration of war was sent with the intent of conquering all of Kiche. No half measures would be accepted this time.
In little under a month after declaring war, Kiche’s army was eliminated, with only three casualties on Hispania’s side.
Back in Europe, Cologne managed to get off easy from Austria, only paying war reparations. Aachen was in trouble now.
Austria’s war against Bohemia finally came to an end in massive success. They greatly crippled their northern neighbour, conquering their heartland and then forcing them to release Silesia to cut them apart and create a buffer with Poland. It seemed likely Bohemia would not recover from this one.
The death of Didac de Alagon saw an opening for an advisor, and the replacement was a shady character, one Garcia de Guimera.
The army saw the completion of a long series of reform. With Hispania flourishing, more investment was placed into the army, this time committed to providing more resources for supplies trains to better supply the soldiers. Each reform had added up, leading to a better supplied and more efficient army. After a review of the armed forces, it was estimated that Hispania could support over a hundred more regiments at this time. ((That +50% land force limit is huge. We now have 151 regiments and a force limit of 273. Probably time to expand that army.
))
Kiche’s capital fell just as Hispania managed to eclipse Lithuania. Relations had normalized over time, seeing as neither had much interest in the other, and open hostilities did little to aid either side.
Crown Prince Pere had not taken his dismissal from court well, but in the end there was little he could do about it. Confined to his estate, he languished in isolation, his fiery attitude dissipating as he found himself defeated. Eventually this spread to his physical health, with the crown prince unable to leave his bed. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Joan hired the finest doctor to care for his ailing brother, but it was not enough. On May 19, the heir to the throne and the emperor’s brother passed away. This left Pere’s son Alfons as heir. At 13, it was already clear that the boy was an incompetent idiot. He had already been caught stealing from his father several times, and was known for being a coward who thought he was a military genius. He also would spend hours alone, refusing to be around others during his “special time”. When Joan requested that the boy come to the capital so he could watch over him, Alfons refused, making wild claims about his health and familial duties. The emperor was miffed, but let it go since the boy’s father had just died. ((For some reason, whenever we get an heir with a zero stat, the game keeps changing it. If anyone knows why, please tell me. It’s kind of annoying.))
Despite the loss of the crown prince, affairs continued on. The Hispanian army proved more efficient than their colonial counterparts, allowing Hispania to completely annex Kiche for Nova Hispania. The colonial nation had grown greatly in size, all thanks to Hispania’s intervention.
With that colonial adventure complete, focus could be placed on Lucca. There was some confusion amongst the allies before the declaration of war. Prime Minister and Chancellor Montségur reached out to France to offer them Novara if they joined the war, since an agreement had been reached years ago for France to claim the former Savoyard land. To his surprise, not only did they reject Novara, but the French emperor gave formal approval for Hispania to claim Parma, which had also been a former territory of Savoy. As for Austria, with their recent conquests in Bohemia, there was some hesitance to promise them land. Montségur had showed a willingness to consider handing over Mantua, but nothing definite. It was decided that nothing would be promised for now. With that out of the way, war was declared.
The Exercit Napoli under General Louis de Soneta engaged Lucca’s army in Mantua, where with superior numbers and a better general, the enemy was outmatched. The whole country was wide open now. The Exercit Napoli focused on Mantua, while the Exercit Provence led by General Timur Shah split up to take the remaining provinces.
A large influx of timber was being shipped in from the colonies. While this lumber was perfect for shipbuilding, the current dispute between the grandmaster and grand admiral made it null.
Aachen’s bold attack on Cologne did not turn out as expected for them. Cologne turned the tide, instead reclaiming one of their old provinces from Aachen instead of the other way around.
The Luccans proved quite resistant to Hispania occupation. During the siege of Mantua, a raid by the defenders saw Louis de Soneta severely wounded. It was not fatal, but the general was out of the war due to a need to recover. ((The game killed him during a siege, but the RNG favoured him, so he lives for now.))
Morocco fended off Mali to the best of their ability, this time only forced to rescind a claim and pay a small indemnity, but otherwise avoiding territorial loss.
Speaking of other bold moves, Tyrone, all that remained of the Irish states, declared war on Great Britain while they fought Hungary. It seemed likely the Irish nation would not come out of this one unscathed.
Some apprentice of a French general showed up at court making wild claims that he arranged the marriage of a previous emperor, although there had never been a Philip V. He was ignored by most notables at court.
Novara fell at the start of 1708, leaving only Lucca’s capital. Austrian and French troops had swarmed the area, with over 200k men rampaging through Italy.
Despite not being in the war theatre, General Marti de Leon found himself relieved of command due to advanced age. He remained marshal for now, but he would not be leading any troops from now on. ((The game killed you off
@zenphoenix, but you weren’t in enemy territory so you lived. He had to be retired for being over 80 though.))
Mainz continued to benefit thanks to their allies’ generosity. Now Hungary allowed them to annex Frankfurt.
By March, France had managed to occupy all of Alsace, Lucca’s only ally. France, although having expressed disinterest in Novara, made it clear that they held great interest in Elsass, considered of vital interest to France. Seeing as France had originally been offered Novara and turned it down, there was no quarrel over granting them Elsass instead, for it surely did not threaten Hispania’s interests.
The peace with Alsace coincided with the fall of Mantua. Peace with Lucca was not destined to be an expedient affair. Almost immediately after the capture of Mantua, Austria made it clear that they saw Novara, Cremona, and Mantua as vital to their nation’s interest. The archduke, Albrecht VIII, stated he would accept nothing less than those three provinces, and their acquisition by Hispania would be seen as a threat to Austrian interests. Any consideration of granting Austria land had been lukewarm to begin with, and although the only province Hispania had openly claimed was Parma, Emperor Joan took offense to Austria making such demands. Only the intervention of Emperor Henri II of France kept the two monarchs from escalating the conflict. He managed to convince the two others to agree to joint occupation of Lucca until a formal peace agreement could be reached that was accepted by all parties.
This conflict happened to coincide with a massive financial reform, leading to new innovations in investment designed to build up finances to better fund the army, navy, and administration. This saw the administration’s resources exhausted, and many speculated that Hispania was in no condition to even govern any land taken from Lucca until the process was complete. This also brought the prime minister and treasurer into conflict, for the former wanted focus to be placed on acquiring these new territories, while the latter thought it best to combat inflation first. ((I researched the next admin tech without thinking that I’d need the admin points for coring. This whole Austria conflict is my excuse for delaying, although it does fit with Austria wanting those provinces. The prime minister-treasurer conflict mostly has to do with the mutual need for admin points.))
Hungary proved a benevolent ally yet again as they forced Utrecht to hand over Holland to Munster.
With Austria stubbornly resisting any attempts at peace that did not see them granted land, Hispania returned to colonial expansion yet again. The Exercit Colonial was transported to Borneo, where it was to attack Brunei for control of the west coast of the island. Some questioned whether it was wise to seek more conquests when it was doubtful Hispania could manage Lucca’s territory. This also meant even more resources diverted away from trying to fight inflation.
Bohemia found itself the victim of Hungary next, forced to hand over what remained of their eastern lands to Hungary and another province to Bavaria. They were a mere shadow of their former self now.
As 1708 neared its end, Empress Helgi passed away. Some speculated it was from grief from losing another child, this time a young daughter born in 1706 who had died a year later.
At the start of 1709, the Exercit Colonial engaged Brunei’s army in Sibu. The Asians proved inferior in all respects, leading to an easy victory. Despite this, Buton, Brunei’s ally, managed to occupy the colony of Makassar. This was a minor loss for Hispania, who then occupied Brunei’s capital.
Hungary lived up to its name, proving hungry for more land. This time they declared war on Silesia, the new state broken away from Bohemia, using the excuse that they needed to help the Catholics there. Less than a month later, Poland pounced on Silesia, claiming that Polish citizens in Silesia needed to be protected. It was clear the two powers were vying for control of Silesia, but only time would tell which one would be victorious.
The Exercit Colonial landed in Kutai in July and dispatched the enemy army stationed there within a day. When the province fell, a hasty peace was signed, for there was no desire to prolong the conflict to seek retribution against Buton. Brunei was forced to give up Sibu and Kuching, their western provinces, thus securing more of Borneo for Hispania.
The HRE continued to be riddled with warfare as Pomerania attacked Lubeck in the name of nationalism.
The colony in Ivory Coast reached completion, with Colonist Sancho Villanova heading back to Australia for the Montségur family. As he arrived, he noticed French ships to the south, carrying settlers to Paredarerme or Tasmania. The French had yet again decided to colonize near Hispanian colonies.
On Christmas day in 1709, the royal family was faced with yet another tragedy. The heir to the throne, Alfons, had gone out into the forests of Murcia on his estate in the hopes of catching a game bird for Christmas dinner. As was his usual behaviour, he went alone. When he did not return by dinner, his family became worried. His horse was found wandering on the edges of the forest, and when approached, it led them to the body. The young heir appeared to have been shot, and had a white cloth draped over him. The state the body was found in screamed foul play, although no evidence pointed to any specific culprit, so the cause of death was stated as a hunting accident. Emperor Joan was not overly distraught by the boy’s death, for he had not been close to him and was for too focused on seeking a resolution with Austria. He did, however, offer Alfons’s brother, Jaume, a place at the palace, for by law he was the new heir. The young boy, only 11, came to live at the palace, where he could be close to his uncle. Two heirs to the throne had died with years of each other, and they could only serve as an example of the mortality of man, something that was surely on Joan’s mind.
While an heir died in Hispania, one was born in Byzantium. The Basileus finally sired a son, Ioannes. Seeing as the Basileus’s brother had passed away some time in 1708, it left the way for a new heir. They were much more fortunate than Sweden. Prince Knut Soop ((yes, that’s a real name)) passed away, leaving the king without an heir. There was speculation that if the Swedish king died, succession would pass through his sister Helgi, the late empress of Hispania, and thus a Trastámara would inherit the throne. ((Seeing as the only Trastámara married to a Soop is Joan III and seeing as it’d pass through the female line and thus females could inherit the Swedish throne, then Joan’s daughters would be the only logical Trastámaras to inherit.))
Even though another heir had been lost, the matter of peace with Lucca had to be decided, despite Austrian protests. Emperor Joan decided the matter would be brought before the court, who could hopefully help decide an appropriate peace. Emperor Henri II of France had already offered to serve as a mediator for negotiations with Archduke Albrecht VIII. The stage was set for an official negotiation.
Presenting His Imperial Highness, Joan III de Trastámara, Emperor of Hispania, Caesar of Rome, and Protector of the Greeks.
I mourn greatly for the loss of my brother, my wife, and my nephew. While my brother and I did not see eye to eye, he was still dear to me and his loss wounds me. It is never a pleasant thing to live longer than your spouse. I feel as though I have lost part of myself. As for my nephew, the loss of anyone so young is a travesty. I can only hope that my nephew Jaume shall not meet such a fate and he shall one day ascend to the throne.
This matter must be resolved. The Austrians have proven a stubborn lot and desire Italy as much as we do. Thank God the French do not have interest in the same region as we do for once. We must resolve this, and I implore the court to assist with negotiations. I do not believe this will deteriorate further, for the French seem to be favouring us after we granted them Elsass, but I’d prefer that we keep on Austria’s good side if we can.
I also beseech our marshal to consider an expansion of the army, although at his advanced age it might be wise to step down to allow someone younger to take up the task. We have reached a point where we can support a much larger force and we should not allow any other nation to surpass us. I would also encourage our grandmaster and grand admiral to reach an agreement on the expansion of the navy. I tolerated this disagreement up until now, but if it is not resolved soon I will be forced to dismiss one or both of you, which I’m certain is a sentiment the prime minister can agree with me on.
((Turns out the work I thought I’d have to do today can be done tomorrow, so I got the update out in time.
Of course the game decides to kill off the two heirs that could have been the most fun to roleplay. Oh well. At least the 1/1/0 heir died, so I can’t complain.
Anyway, the peace with Lucca will be our event this week. We’ll be trying to come up with a peace or agreement that will satisfy Austria. Keep in mind that they consider Novara, Cremona, and Mantua as vital interests, while we have a claim only on Parma. We should also keep in mind our low admin points. It’d take us almost 700 admin points to core all four provinces, while Parma alone is 165. Perhaps we should consider changing our national focus back to admin now that quantity ideas are done.
Other than that, ministers have until
Tuesday at 12AM PST to post their plans, and players may propose laws in that time too. Make note that it says AM not PM, so it's 12 hours earlier than usual. I’m trying to push back to doing updates on Thursdays again, seeing as they work much better for me than Fridays.
Dying:
@zenphoenix
@Raboude))