I'm running 1.10 NA, with the 2.3 IGC. Setings are normal/normal, with dynamic missions on, high taxes, all unrest on, Blakanization on, Free Ireland, Free Norway, the Aus/Spa Lowlands option, and active CoTs in Copenhagen and Moscow.
Playable nations are France, Russia, Austria, Spain, Papals, Helvetia, China and Nippon (the last four mainly to prevent their conquest).
Here I shall begin the chronicles of Sheridan, Commander of the Palace Guard, and a valuable advisor to the Most Christian Monarchy of France. They will be presented mainly as summarizations, based on Sheridan's diary. We begin in January 1492, in the court of King Charles VIII.
----------------
Chapter One
Jan, 1492 - May, 1496
"Promotions and Pretentions"
----------------
Jan 1, 1492 - Paris
The Royal Council issues a directive to maintain control over the southern border province of Bearn. Seeing the King's ultimate goal of unifying the ancient lands of France once again, I suggest recruiting Lorraine into our existing alliance with Savoy and the Papals, with a long-range goal of annexing Lorraine. Both the King and the visiting Duke of Lorraine agree that an alliance would be quite beneficial, and Lorraine signs on.
The King also decides to promote his bailiffs in the northeastern and southeastern border provinces, as a first step toward improving our economic infrastructure.
----
May, 1492 - Paris
Over the spring, several couriers have informed us of expanding alliances. Venice has allied with the Russian bloc; Hungary has joined the Austrian-Bohemian bloc; Portugal has joined the Hansebund; and Milan, Naples, The Palatinate, Poland-Lithuania, and Persia are now allied with Spain and England.
As a response to these encircling alliances, the King suggests that we expand our own alliance. We choose the strongest nonaligned nation on our borders - Helvetia. They happily join our alliance, with an agreement that we will not allow them to be conquered - by France as well as by anyone else.
----
July 28, 1492 - Rome
The Papal Curia makes a simple announcement that a new Pope, Alexander VI, has been named. Soon his name is spoken in church services across France, as has always been the custom.
----
September, 1492 - Paris
Word reaches us of Greece joining the Austrian bloc, as well as word of a war breaking out between the Turks and Mameluks. The King is again worried over the size of our alliance, so we dispatch a messenger to the court of Scotland offering an opportunity to join our alliance.
----
January, 1493 - Paris
Word has returned to us that our ambassador was rebuffed in Edinburgh, but after some discussion, managed to arrange a marriage between the daughter of the Lord of the Isles and our Duke of Brittany. The King uses the new year's tax incomes to arrange promotions of bailiffs in five southern and southwestern provinces, and to expand sponsorships for French merchants doing international business in Paris.
----
April, 1493 - Paris
Word reaches us of Brandenburg joining the Hansebund, Wurtemberg joining the Austrian bloc, and Nubia forming an alliance with Aden. A merchant approaches the King with an idea for a business venture in Venice, and the King sponsors his plan.
Once again, the King directs our ambassador in Scotland to request that they sign an alliance, but they refuse.
----
December, 1493 - Paris
A single international courier reaches the court this month, from the court of Denmark. He informs us that Denmark and Norway have declared war on Prussia and the Teutonic Order. The King orders the courier cared for overnight, then dispatched to our allies in Helvetia and Savoy to deliver the news.
----
January, 1494 - Paris
The King continues his policy of promoting bailiffs, this time in the east-central provinces. Navarra is offered an alliance, but refuses. We did not learn why until months later.
Word reaches us, to the King's relief, that some alliances are not as solid as they would first appear. Venice broke from the Russian bloc when Russia led them into war with Kazan, and Sweden has broken from vassalage into war with the Danish alliance.
In order to try to prevent a three-front war with Spain, England and Austria, we send an ambassador to arrange relations with Austria. The ambassador soon sends back word that the Countess of Tyrol has agreed to marry his younger brother, the Baron of Vichy.
----
April, 1494 - Marseilles
While the King is inspecting the Southern Fleet, we recieve word that Venice has allied with the Prussian alliance; Turkey has allied with Sweden; Kleves has allied with Cologne; the Mameluks and the Hafsids have formed an alliance; and most surprising to us, Navarra has joined Austria's alliance! The King, worried that this is a prelude to war, immediately cancels the remainder of his visit to Marseilles, and we ride for Paris the next morning.
----
July, 1494 - Metz
On my much-needed vacation, I visit our ally, the Duke of Lorraine, and advise his palace guards on improvements to their security procedures. While there, we learn that the Spanish-English-Polish bloc has indeed declared war. I immediately ran for the stables, to ride for Paris; it was only by holding the stable door against a mounted French Royal Guard that the Duke's courier managed to tell me that they did not declare war on France, as we had feared, but upon Russia. We later learned that Persia did not join the alliance in this war.
----
January, 1495 - Paris
The King promotes bailiffs in all remaining provinces, except for Bretagne, Armor and Morbihan. Seeing the current war status of Spain and England, both of whom hold provinces we wish to capture, I persuade the King that expanding the army is in his interests. He commissions an expansion of the Northern Army, stationed just outside Paris, to 25,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. In the same decree, he devises a new numbering system for armies. For the time being, the Northern army will be known as the 1st, and the Southern army as the 2nd.
----
April, 1495 - Paris
The King gets anxious about our diplomatic situation again. We offer an alliance to Bavaria, but are refused. Kazan sends a courier, boasting that they've forced Russia's ally, Ryazan, to pay tribute. The King laughs in his face, stating that the war, hundreds of miles east of even our bordering countries, is of no interest to him, and does not even order the barbarian Tatar horseman housed for the night. In fact, he declares that he be sent out in the snowstorm, and directed to ride for Madrid.
The King then calls in the ambassadors of our allied states, Savoy, Lorriane, Helvetia and the Papals, and discusses the current military situation. We agree that we are not ready to wage war against the combined forces of Spain, England, and their allies, who lurk on the borders of all of our allies.
The one useful product of this meeting is that the King gets sidetracked into talking about the Duke of Provence's twin daughters, who have just come of age. By the end of the night, he has arranged marriages for them - one to the Mayor of Geneva, and the other to the son of the Duke of Lorraine.
----
July, 1495 - Orleans
During the King's inspection of one of the royal arsenals, a team of inventors pull him aside and unwrap a gift; the first portable cannon. It can be pulled by a team of horses, and used on the field of battle, much as we already use cannons on our ships and in our fortresses. The King is pleased, and immediately knights all of the inventors and grants them all the newly minted surname La Bombarde. He later intimated to me that this might be the key to defeating Spain's veteran armies.
----
August, 1495 - Lisbon
The French bride of the Duke of Algarve dies. When approached by the Franch ambassador to arrange a new dynastic marriage, the King of Portugal informs the ambassador that it 'will not be necessary' and sends him on his way.
----
October, 1495 - Paris
The Royal Physician informs me that the King has gone slightly mad. He expects, however, that it is due to winter, and the continued news of Polish - and therefore Spanish-allied - victories in Russia. He advises me to keep the King under close watch until it passes, which he expects will happen with the spring thaw.
As Commander of the Palace Guard, I immediately restrict all access to the King, and secretly rule in his name, pledging to him (during a rare moment of lucidity) to rule as I believe he would, and not to start any wars.
----
January, 1496 - Paris
Most of the Court is still unaware of the King's condition, or my position. A moment of crisis comes when the Polish ambassador demands to see the King. I quietly pull him aside and inform him that the King is snowed in for the winter in the mountains of Dauphine, and that I will be happy to take down a letter for him. It turns out that he just wanted to boast that Poland had signed a peace treaty with Russia, on behalf of the Spanish-English alliance, in with Poland gained the Russian province of Tula.
Judging by the King's condition and the distaste he showed for the earlier news of wars in Russia, I choose not to relay any message other than that Spain and England were no longer at war. For this, the King hurls apples at me, demanding to know why, but I calmly catch the apples and make my way from the room.
Ruling as I expected the King would, I authorize the promotion of the last three provincial bailiffs, and an expansion of the 2nd army to 25k/10k, to match the 1st.
----
February, 1496 - Paris
Seeing my lack of experience in economic matters, I consult the King's Treasurer on the mercantile situation. He advises sponsoring any merchants who wish to travel to Venice. We find four such, and pack them off to Marseilles to catch a Venetian trading ship.
----
March, 1496 - Paris
The King is still somewhat mad, but seems to be getting better. He tried to convince the Hungarian ambassador that a marriage would be in order, but the King's madness must have put him off, as he refused. I personally handled negotiations with the aide to the Bohemian ambassador. Lord only knows why Bohemia sent us an ambassador who speaks no French. We finally arrange for the aide's aunt, the Countess of Moravia, to wed the Count of Anjou.
----
May, 1496 - Versailles
The King has recovered, and we go on a celebratory hunting trip to the royal forest in Versailles, just outside Paris. For some odd reason, the Tuscan ambassador is summoned by the King one day, and rides from Paris on a post-horse. Used to the King's madness by now - though even the Royal Physician admits he's better - we tell the Tuscan ambassador that these things often mean the King simply wants to hear news of their land.
To our astonishment, the Tuscan ambassador leaves the meeting beaming with joy. It turns out that the King had heard he was having a romance with the daughter of the Count of Berri, and had arranged for their marriage.
-------
More to come! Please... I encourage responses. I know not much has happened (in France) yet, but it will soon!
- Sheridan, Commander of the Palace Guard
Playable nations are France, Russia, Austria, Spain, Papals, Helvetia, China and Nippon (the last four mainly to prevent their conquest).
Here I shall begin the chronicles of Sheridan, Commander of the Palace Guard, and a valuable advisor to the Most Christian Monarchy of France. They will be presented mainly as summarizations, based on Sheridan's diary. We begin in January 1492, in the court of King Charles VIII.
----------------
Chapter One
Jan, 1492 - May, 1496
"Promotions and Pretentions"
----------------
Jan 1, 1492 - Paris
The Royal Council issues a directive to maintain control over the southern border province of Bearn. Seeing the King's ultimate goal of unifying the ancient lands of France once again, I suggest recruiting Lorraine into our existing alliance with Savoy and the Papals, with a long-range goal of annexing Lorraine. Both the King and the visiting Duke of Lorraine agree that an alliance would be quite beneficial, and Lorraine signs on.
The King also decides to promote his bailiffs in the northeastern and southeastern border provinces, as a first step toward improving our economic infrastructure.
----
May, 1492 - Paris
Over the spring, several couriers have informed us of expanding alliances. Venice has allied with the Russian bloc; Hungary has joined the Austrian-Bohemian bloc; Portugal has joined the Hansebund; and Milan, Naples, The Palatinate, Poland-Lithuania, and Persia are now allied with Spain and England.
As a response to these encircling alliances, the King suggests that we expand our own alliance. We choose the strongest nonaligned nation on our borders - Helvetia. They happily join our alliance, with an agreement that we will not allow them to be conquered - by France as well as by anyone else.
----
July 28, 1492 - Rome
The Papal Curia makes a simple announcement that a new Pope, Alexander VI, has been named. Soon his name is spoken in church services across France, as has always been the custom.
----
September, 1492 - Paris
Word reaches us of Greece joining the Austrian bloc, as well as word of a war breaking out between the Turks and Mameluks. The King is again worried over the size of our alliance, so we dispatch a messenger to the court of Scotland offering an opportunity to join our alliance.
----
January, 1493 - Paris
Word has returned to us that our ambassador was rebuffed in Edinburgh, but after some discussion, managed to arrange a marriage between the daughter of the Lord of the Isles and our Duke of Brittany. The King uses the new year's tax incomes to arrange promotions of bailiffs in five southern and southwestern provinces, and to expand sponsorships for French merchants doing international business in Paris.
----
April, 1493 - Paris
Word reaches us of Brandenburg joining the Hansebund, Wurtemberg joining the Austrian bloc, and Nubia forming an alliance with Aden. A merchant approaches the King with an idea for a business venture in Venice, and the King sponsors his plan.
Once again, the King directs our ambassador in Scotland to request that they sign an alliance, but they refuse.
----
December, 1493 - Paris
A single international courier reaches the court this month, from the court of Denmark. He informs us that Denmark and Norway have declared war on Prussia and the Teutonic Order. The King orders the courier cared for overnight, then dispatched to our allies in Helvetia and Savoy to deliver the news.
----
January, 1494 - Paris
The King continues his policy of promoting bailiffs, this time in the east-central provinces. Navarra is offered an alliance, but refuses. We did not learn why until months later.
Word reaches us, to the King's relief, that some alliances are not as solid as they would first appear. Venice broke from the Russian bloc when Russia led them into war with Kazan, and Sweden has broken from vassalage into war with the Danish alliance.
In order to try to prevent a three-front war with Spain, England and Austria, we send an ambassador to arrange relations with Austria. The ambassador soon sends back word that the Countess of Tyrol has agreed to marry his younger brother, the Baron of Vichy.
----
April, 1494 - Marseilles
While the King is inspecting the Southern Fleet, we recieve word that Venice has allied with the Prussian alliance; Turkey has allied with Sweden; Kleves has allied with Cologne; the Mameluks and the Hafsids have formed an alliance; and most surprising to us, Navarra has joined Austria's alliance! The King, worried that this is a prelude to war, immediately cancels the remainder of his visit to Marseilles, and we ride for Paris the next morning.
----
July, 1494 - Metz
On my much-needed vacation, I visit our ally, the Duke of Lorraine, and advise his palace guards on improvements to their security procedures. While there, we learn that the Spanish-English-Polish bloc has indeed declared war. I immediately ran for the stables, to ride for Paris; it was only by holding the stable door against a mounted French Royal Guard that the Duke's courier managed to tell me that they did not declare war on France, as we had feared, but upon Russia. We later learned that Persia did not join the alliance in this war.
----
January, 1495 - Paris
The King promotes bailiffs in all remaining provinces, except for Bretagne, Armor and Morbihan. Seeing the current war status of Spain and England, both of whom hold provinces we wish to capture, I persuade the King that expanding the army is in his interests. He commissions an expansion of the Northern Army, stationed just outside Paris, to 25,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. In the same decree, he devises a new numbering system for armies. For the time being, the Northern army will be known as the 1st, and the Southern army as the 2nd.
----
April, 1495 - Paris
The King gets anxious about our diplomatic situation again. We offer an alliance to Bavaria, but are refused. Kazan sends a courier, boasting that they've forced Russia's ally, Ryazan, to pay tribute. The King laughs in his face, stating that the war, hundreds of miles east of even our bordering countries, is of no interest to him, and does not even order the barbarian Tatar horseman housed for the night. In fact, he declares that he be sent out in the snowstorm, and directed to ride for Madrid.
The King then calls in the ambassadors of our allied states, Savoy, Lorriane, Helvetia and the Papals, and discusses the current military situation. We agree that we are not ready to wage war against the combined forces of Spain, England, and their allies, who lurk on the borders of all of our allies.
The one useful product of this meeting is that the King gets sidetracked into talking about the Duke of Provence's twin daughters, who have just come of age. By the end of the night, he has arranged marriages for them - one to the Mayor of Geneva, and the other to the son of the Duke of Lorraine.
----
July, 1495 - Orleans
During the King's inspection of one of the royal arsenals, a team of inventors pull him aside and unwrap a gift; the first portable cannon. It can be pulled by a team of horses, and used on the field of battle, much as we already use cannons on our ships and in our fortresses. The King is pleased, and immediately knights all of the inventors and grants them all the newly minted surname La Bombarde. He later intimated to me that this might be the key to defeating Spain's veteran armies.
----
August, 1495 - Lisbon
The French bride of the Duke of Algarve dies. When approached by the Franch ambassador to arrange a new dynastic marriage, the King of Portugal informs the ambassador that it 'will not be necessary' and sends him on his way.
----
October, 1495 - Paris
The Royal Physician informs me that the King has gone slightly mad. He expects, however, that it is due to winter, and the continued news of Polish - and therefore Spanish-allied - victories in Russia. He advises me to keep the King under close watch until it passes, which he expects will happen with the spring thaw.
As Commander of the Palace Guard, I immediately restrict all access to the King, and secretly rule in his name, pledging to him (during a rare moment of lucidity) to rule as I believe he would, and not to start any wars.
----
January, 1496 - Paris
Most of the Court is still unaware of the King's condition, or my position. A moment of crisis comes when the Polish ambassador demands to see the King. I quietly pull him aside and inform him that the King is snowed in for the winter in the mountains of Dauphine, and that I will be happy to take down a letter for him. It turns out that he just wanted to boast that Poland had signed a peace treaty with Russia, on behalf of the Spanish-English alliance, in with Poland gained the Russian province of Tula.
Judging by the King's condition and the distaste he showed for the earlier news of wars in Russia, I choose not to relay any message other than that Spain and England were no longer at war. For this, the King hurls apples at me, demanding to know why, but I calmly catch the apples and make my way from the room.
Ruling as I expected the King would, I authorize the promotion of the last three provincial bailiffs, and an expansion of the 2nd army to 25k/10k, to match the 1st.
----
February, 1496 - Paris
Seeing my lack of experience in economic matters, I consult the King's Treasurer on the mercantile situation. He advises sponsoring any merchants who wish to travel to Venice. We find four such, and pack them off to Marseilles to catch a Venetian trading ship.
----
March, 1496 - Paris
The King is still somewhat mad, but seems to be getting better. He tried to convince the Hungarian ambassador that a marriage would be in order, but the King's madness must have put him off, as he refused. I personally handled negotiations with the aide to the Bohemian ambassador. Lord only knows why Bohemia sent us an ambassador who speaks no French. We finally arrange for the aide's aunt, the Countess of Moravia, to wed the Count of Anjou.
----
May, 1496 - Versailles
The King has recovered, and we go on a celebratory hunting trip to the royal forest in Versailles, just outside Paris. For some odd reason, the Tuscan ambassador is summoned by the King one day, and rides from Paris on a post-horse. Used to the King's madness by now - though even the Royal Physician admits he's better - we tell the Tuscan ambassador that these things often mean the King simply wants to hear news of their land.
To our astonishment, the Tuscan ambassador leaves the meeting beaming with joy. It turns out that the King had heard he was having a romance with the daughter of the Count of Berri, and had arranged for their marriage.
-------
More to come! Please... I encourage responses. I know not much has happened (in France) yet, but it will soon!
- Sheridan, Commander of the Palace Guard
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