It's the mid 12th century, I'm playing as House Morgan, who have been the ruling family of the Kingdom of Wales since 1090 or so. It's going pretty good; I'm still not a major power by any means, but I've secured all of Wales, a few small Crusader states, and I'm plotting my bid for England one or two generations down the line- the Saxon Kingdom's been a constant battlefield ever since the start of the game, and now England consists of four more or less independent duchies and one "kingdom" that bounces back in forth between the Danes, the Normans, and two feuding branches of angry Norwegians.
Anyway, something interesting has come up in France, and I wanted some opinions- YOUR opinions- on what I should do. Read and consider and give me your honest advice, but for GODS SAKE DON'T TELL THE POPE I'M PLOTTING ANY OF THIS. The basic background is this:
My current king, Madoc, had a younger brother named Meurig. When it came time to marry Meurig, our father had a stroke of brilliance: the French Duchess of Aquitaine (and Gascony, and Poitou!) was unmarried, underage, and totally family-less. He set up a betrothal between the strapping Prince Meurig and this fantastically wealthy teenage Duchess, and, before the marriage could be sealed, granted Meurig a fiefdom in the crusader state of Tangiers, and a Ducal title to go with it- thereby ensuring that Meurig would remain a loyal subject of the Welsh crown, instead of moving off to France to live with his wife. (this technique is awesome and works wonders, BTW!)
The two got married, and quickly had a son- Cadwaladr or some stupid Welsh name like that. Now Cadwalddrgy- err, Caddie, had a staggering laundry list of inheritances, including Ducal claims on Tangiers and nearly a third of France, counties and all. In fact, he had more land coming to him than the rest of my Kingdom combined! Needless to say, his every move became a VERY high priority.
At first, I thought, oh. Oh. OOOOOH. Maybe I can be REALLY sneaky? REALLY cruel and downright despicable. Let's say, hypothetically, that Meurig was to die. Young, and in his prime, just keels over dead, from some accident or something. Then, little Caddie would inherit Meurig's lands in Tangiers, and most importantly, his father's Ducal title; this title would keep him pinned to the Crown of Wales, if and when his mother was to kick off too. Now, if Mom kicked off first, he'd probably go join up with the Frenchies and then I'd be minus a couple provinces in Africa, but if Meurig died first, and THEN Mom? Almost all of southern France goes to Wales, and since Caddie's still but a wee lad, it's only natural that his nice uncle King Madoc would take care of them until he's old enough to play with them...
But I couldn't do it, at least, not then. I kind of liked my brother Meurig; we'd had a really good conversation at one of my feasts, and I felt like I was starting to get to know the guy. Besides, his wife was kinda cute and I rather hoped I could bonk her one of these days. So a few years passed, and Meurig had a few more kids, all of whom inherited claims on his wife's titles. Caddie kept the main ones, of course, but his brothers snatched up a few of the France-specific titles.
And then, Meurig tried to have me excommunicated.
I'm not sure WHY he did it, but he did, the ungrateful bastard! And after I'd decided NOT to kill him yet! As soon as that happened, I knew it was GAME ON. Within a week, Meurig was killed by "Muslim rebel terrorist sympathizers", and a few days after that, his wife met a similarly grizzly fate. I had nothing to do with any of this, of course.
So now, Caddie's inherited all of Aquitaine, and a band of counties stretching clear across France to the edge of the HRE. He's still a tween, and his kind old uncle is keeping him close by, educating him personally at court. Sadly, though, Caddie's two younger brothers have also inherited land, the Duchies of Gascony and Poitou, respectively. They're part of my dynasty, but they're living in France, and owe loyalty to the Capets. But being little boys, and having no sons or daughters of their own yet, the primary benefactor of their wills is... little Caddie.
Eh? Eh?
So you can see my dilemma. I've got a rather good hand as it is; snatching up eight counties out from under the fat French king's nose without a single arrow being fired is no mean accomplishment. However, I could double this gain with a couple well-executed plots (well-executed kids?). Sure, once he grows up Caddie will be a pain in my butt (or rather my son's butt, since King Madoc is getting old) but I'd rather have to imprison him later than have two duchies slip out of my reach for good. Or would I? After all, neither of Meurig's other two sons are my vassal, but they're still dukes, and they're still Morgans. Who knows? Maybe one day, one of them will rise to become King of France- while it won't help my immediate family one bit, it might benefit the clan in the long run.
So, do I kill the two upstarts and make Caddie (and, by extension, me) a Duke four times over (seven if you count titles I can create with the land)? Or do I let his brothers go free, to strike off on their own and find their fortune in the savage hills of France?
Anyway, something interesting has come up in France, and I wanted some opinions- YOUR opinions- on what I should do. Read and consider and give me your honest advice, but for GODS SAKE DON'T TELL THE POPE I'M PLOTTING ANY OF THIS. The basic background is this:
My current king, Madoc, had a younger brother named Meurig. When it came time to marry Meurig, our father had a stroke of brilliance: the French Duchess of Aquitaine (and Gascony, and Poitou!) was unmarried, underage, and totally family-less. He set up a betrothal between the strapping Prince Meurig and this fantastically wealthy teenage Duchess, and, before the marriage could be sealed, granted Meurig a fiefdom in the crusader state of Tangiers, and a Ducal title to go with it- thereby ensuring that Meurig would remain a loyal subject of the Welsh crown, instead of moving off to France to live with his wife. (this technique is awesome and works wonders, BTW!)
The two got married, and quickly had a son- Cadwaladr or some stupid Welsh name like that. Now Cadwalddrgy- err, Caddie, had a staggering laundry list of inheritances, including Ducal claims on Tangiers and nearly a third of France, counties and all. In fact, he had more land coming to him than the rest of my Kingdom combined! Needless to say, his every move became a VERY high priority.
At first, I thought, oh. Oh. OOOOOH. Maybe I can be REALLY sneaky? REALLY cruel and downright despicable. Let's say, hypothetically, that Meurig was to die. Young, and in his prime, just keels over dead, from some accident or something. Then, little Caddie would inherit Meurig's lands in Tangiers, and most importantly, his father's Ducal title; this title would keep him pinned to the Crown of Wales, if and when his mother was to kick off too. Now, if Mom kicked off first, he'd probably go join up with the Frenchies and then I'd be minus a couple provinces in Africa, but if Meurig died first, and THEN Mom? Almost all of southern France goes to Wales, and since Caddie's still but a wee lad, it's only natural that his nice uncle King Madoc would take care of them until he's old enough to play with them...
But I couldn't do it, at least, not then. I kind of liked my brother Meurig; we'd had a really good conversation at one of my feasts, and I felt like I was starting to get to know the guy. Besides, his wife was kinda cute and I rather hoped I could bonk her one of these days. So a few years passed, and Meurig had a few more kids, all of whom inherited claims on his wife's titles. Caddie kept the main ones, of course, but his brothers snatched up a few of the France-specific titles.
And then, Meurig tried to have me excommunicated.
I'm not sure WHY he did it, but he did, the ungrateful bastard! And after I'd decided NOT to kill him yet! As soon as that happened, I knew it was GAME ON. Within a week, Meurig was killed by "Muslim rebel terrorist sympathizers", and a few days after that, his wife met a similarly grizzly fate. I had nothing to do with any of this, of course.
So now, Caddie's inherited all of Aquitaine, and a band of counties stretching clear across France to the edge of the HRE. He's still a tween, and his kind old uncle is keeping him close by, educating him personally at court. Sadly, though, Caddie's two younger brothers have also inherited land, the Duchies of Gascony and Poitou, respectively. They're part of my dynasty, but they're living in France, and owe loyalty to the Capets. But being little boys, and having no sons or daughters of their own yet, the primary benefactor of their wills is... little Caddie.
Eh? Eh?
So you can see my dilemma. I've got a rather good hand as it is; snatching up eight counties out from under the fat French king's nose without a single arrow being fired is no mean accomplishment. However, I could double this gain with a couple well-executed plots (well-executed kids?). Sure, once he grows up Caddie will be a pain in my butt (or rather my son's butt, since King Madoc is getting old) but I'd rather have to imprison him later than have two duchies slip out of my reach for good. Or would I? After all, neither of Meurig's other two sons are my vassal, but they're still dukes, and they're still Morgans. Who knows? Maybe one day, one of them will rise to become King of France- while it won't help my immediate family one bit, it might benefit the clan in the long run.
So, do I kill the two upstarts and make Caddie (and, by extension, me) a Duke four times over (seven if you count titles I can create with the land)? Or do I let his brothers go free, to strike off on their own and find their fortune in the savage hills of France?