Thanks to their NI, all is possible! The AI would have done it as well, I think... Just want to know where they end up next 
.
Seems the AI and I have similar goals in mind for Connacht.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Great KhaZar (Part 2)
So, where did I leave? Ah yes, with the heroic admiral Yuriy Kovanski emptying the royal coffers to sail out of port. He must prove his worth. Together with the Bavarians, he breaks the blockade of the peninsula in the Ionian Sea, sinking eight of Changsheng's galleys, before engaging the rest of their fleet in the Gulf of Taranto. Even if he leaves the lead to the Bavarian admiral Hafenbrädl, the rest of the enemy fleet meets the same fate as the first part. They shouldn't have fielded so many galleys anyway, as they've run out of names for them.
Changsheng's resistance is now limited to its cities resisting the sieges. Only Poznan is not under siege, and I resolve to remedy this by getting access through Huron. 4k Zazzauans have fled into Northern Russia, while their country is being looted by the terrible horde. A terrible horde, so efficiently drilled and proud of their aura of invincibility that they all fight until the bitter end. The morale advantage which keeps Russia's armies strong is even greater now.
As the riches of Zazzau and Changsheng flow into Tsaritsyn, the colonial authorities in Beafada find the best way to properly exploit the natives. As fitting to our reputation, they are turned into slaves. A fate that Koltsov-Mosalski spares the Zazzauan army, as he ends their expedition in Veda-Suvar.
The Orthodox are utterly defeated. It is time to decide of the terms. Changsheng has to cede the two 1BT ports along the Black Sea and Sofia, turning the Black Sea into the Russian Sea. Zazzau has to cede their Eastern part, and release Poznan as Mali. Surrounded by stronger neighbours, and devoid of a strong alliance since Manchu ditched them, Zazzau's fate is to be eaten by their enemies, Russia, Huron and Yeren. Revenge is mine! To stay under 100% overextension, I give my vassal Songhai Pskov, resting at 96% OE.
The Manchu decide that rivalling the big horde to the East is futile. Songhai acts as buffer, and their eyes lie on the North of the HRE for now, as they invade Keladi. So they abandon their rivalry. Serbia is quick to fill in their place. Do they think defeating Russia is as easy as beating Ashanti? Or are they still bitter that I abandoned them in their won war? Anyway, my reaction is to add them as third rival, after the two Western hordes. One of my merchants relies on Serbian wares, and so he defects to the enemy. More mercantilism is the answer.
Koltsov-Mosalski dies peacefully at the end of these last wars. As such, I am looking for a fitting replacement, and hire Platon Menshikov (4/2/6/3). But then I decide it is better for Russia to have more generals and remind myself that Kovanski is useless, just creating debts, and replace him with Andrei Baryatiski (4/2/4/4), a general who will be very useful in future sieges.
Now at peace, I take a look outside. My involvement in Sweden has finally convinced them that they can colonize themselves, and they expand into the Brazilian inland. I will leave them alone from now on. The Jalayirids fall into civil war, but I don't think that Mahmud's great army will have a hard time dealing with the rebels. Another country had more difficulties. Sunda, former emperor and conqueror of the Lorrainian Commonwealth (LC from now on), may have survived the coalition war, but it took a heavy toll. Rebels have risen in the whole country, and have torn it apart. All that remains is a fading memory, a renewed RFR and the LC. The de Barrau family has lived on under Sunda, and has retaken the throne while finishing off their old enemy. Well played, Henryk.
Aïr's expedition back into Europe ends in total failure. They didn't manage to get enough troops East, and have finally had enough. Nagpur enforces the return of all of PC's provinces. Aïr should concentrate on their new homeland. Maybe I should have abandoned their old cores in England.
Being at peace is not the way of life for a horde. There is always an enemy that asks for destruction. So my sight falls on Liège. Reduced by the great horde to an OPM in 1BT Oltenia, with no allies, they can't resist long. Pavel shatters their pitiful army, takes Oltenia in 197 days, and then annexes the poor nation, bringing Russia to 100% OE. Along the way, he repays the loan thanks to the spoils of the Zazzauan war.
Restless, Nupe has eagerly looked upon the falling Sundanese, and doesn't wait long to claim their parts. They invade the poor RFR, whose second revolution is deemed to fail even faster then the first one. Who knows, maybe they will find their luck in their oppressive new overlord in the future... Of course, this doesn't influence mighty Russia. It only shows that we have to keep looking for riches outside of our borders. Some factions argue that Alimuly is such a province ripe for the taking. Pueblo, threatened by such a claim, invites Pavel to the Eid al-Fitr to alleviate such dangers.
Before waging the next war, the coffers have to be filled again. A monopoly company is the perfect answer. Richer by 1560 ducats, Pavel protects pilgrims full of piety, and starts annexing Holland, before declaring the next war against Navarra, with whom our truce conveniently just ended, to connect his Anatolian possessions by land. My allies don't help, but one does not need them if one is Russia.
Baryatiski immediately attacks with 20k men, and is reinforced by Pavel's 32k shortly after. The Navarrese resist fiercely, using the full advantage of their muskets against the Russian bows, but have to retreat facing the unshakable morale and the overwhelming numbers of Russia's army.
Palembang makes an even stronger stand in the mountains of Erzurum, dealing Menshikov some severe casualties before breaking into a retreat. But with a reserve of 243k men, those losses do not hurt Russia much. As they flee Eastward into Ashanti territory, Manchu's ambitions in Imperial territory take concrete forms, as they take Bremen from Keladi and push into Lan Na next.
With the full growth of Beafada into a city, the year of 1681 draws to a close. Russia has, unsurprisingly, bested all their enemies, proving their unstoppable might. For now. The battles of Kütahya and Erzurum show that it becomes harder and harder to withstand muskets with bows. By sheer numbers, all their enemies might be vanquished now, but in a full conflict with Manchu or the Jalayirids, or a Venezuela that might reform and westernize off Transylvania, might be hard even for the Russian horde. Either way, this is their current state, at war with Navarra, Palembang and Ashanti.
But I roll a one, and it is time to leave for a less invincible nation. My first roll is Jharkhand: Ruling over the Baleares, Corsica and Sardinia, they are surrounded by much stronger powers and can't really do much. So I overrule this choice, to get Orléans next. Former emperor, one of the few Catholics left in the HRE, on the receiving end of a war. But with some potential if I can save it, as there are a lot of cores around Orléans can try to reclaim.
.Seems the AI and I have similar goals in mind for Connacht.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Great KhaZar (Part 2)
So, where did I leave? Ah yes, with the heroic admiral Yuriy Kovanski emptying the royal coffers to sail out of port. He must prove his worth. Together with the Bavarians, he breaks the blockade of the peninsula in the Ionian Sea, sinking eight of Changsheng's galleys, before engaging the rest of their fleet in the Gulf of Taranto. Even if he leaves the lead to the Bavarian admiral Hafenbrädl, the rest of the enemy fleet meets the same fate as the first part. They shouldn't have fielded so many galleys anyway, as they've run out of names for them.
Changsheng's resistance is now limited to its cities resisting the sieges. Only Poznan is not under siege, and I resolve to remedy this by getting access through Huron. 4k Zazzauans have fled into Northern Russia, while their country is being looted by the terrible horde. A terrible horde, so efficiently drilled and proud of their aura of invincibility that they all fight until the bitter end. The morale advantage which keeps Russia's armies strong is even greater now.
As the riches of Zazzau and Changsheng flow into Tsaritsyn, the colonial authorities in Beafada find the best way to properly exploit the natives. As fitting to our reputation, they are turned into slaves. A fate that Koltsov-Mosalski spares the Zazzauan army, as he ends their expedition in Veda-Suvar.
The Orthodox are utterly defeated. It is time to decide of the terms. Changsheng has to cede the two 1BT ports along the Black Sea and Sofia, turning the Black Sea into the Russian Sea. Zazzau has to cede their Eastern part, and release Poznan as Mali. Surrounded by stronger neighbours, and devoid of a strong alliance since Manchu ditched them, Zazzau's fate is to be eaten by their enemies, Russia, Huron and Yeren. Revenge is mine! To stay under 100% overextension, I give my vassal Songhai Pskov, resting at 96% OE.
The Manchu decide that rivalling the big horde to the East is futile. Songhai acts as buffer, and their eyes lie on the North of the HRE for now, as they invade Keladi. So they abandon their rivalry. Serbia is quick to fill in their place. Do they think defeating Russia is as easy as beating Ashanti? Or are they still bitter that I abandoned them in their won war? Anyway, my reaction is to add them as third rival, after the two Western hordes. One of my merchants relies on Serbian wares, and so he defects to the enemy. More mercantilism is the answer.
Koltsov-Mosalski dies peacefully at the end of these last wars. As such, I am looking for a fitting replacement, and hire Platon Menshikov (4/2/6/3). But then I decide it is better for Russia to have more generals and remind myself that Kovanski is useless, just creating debts, and replace him with Andrei Baryatiski (4/2/4/4), a general who will be very useful in future sieges.
Now at peace, I take a look outside. My involvement in Sweden has finally convinced them that they can colonize themselves, and they expand into the Brazilian inland. I will leave them alone from now on. The Jalayirids fall into civil war, but I don't think that Mahmud's great army will have a hard time dealing with the rebels. Another country had more difficulties. Sunda, former emperor and conqueror of the Lorrainian Commonwealth (LC from now on), may have survived the coalition war, but it took a heavy toll. Rebels have risen in the whole country, and have torn it apart. All that remains is a fading memory, a renewed RFR and the LC. The de Barrau family has lived on under Sunda, and has retaken the throne while finishing off their old enemy. Well played, Henryk.
Aïr's expedition back into Europe ends in total failure. They didn't manage to get enough troops East, and have finally had enough. Nagpur enforces the return of all of PC's provinces. Aïr should concentrate on their new homeland. Maybe I should have abandoned their old cores in England.
Being at peace is not the way of life for a horde. There is always an enemy that asks for destruction. So my sight falls on Liège. Reduced by the great horde to an OPM in 1BT Oltenia, with no allies, they can't resist long. Pavel shatters their pitiful army, takes Oltenia in 197 days, and then annexes the poor nation, bringing Russia to 100% OE. Along the way, he repays the loan thanks to the spoils of the Zazzauan war.
Restless, Nupe has eagerly looked upon the falling Sundanese, and doesn't wait long to claim their parts. They invade the poor RFR, whose second revolution is deemed to fail even faster then the first one. Who knows, maybe they will find their luck in their oppressive new overlord in the future... Of course, this doesn't influence mighty Russia. It only shows that we have to keep looking for riches outside of our borders. Some factions argue that Alimuly is such a province ripe for the taking. Pueblo, threatened by such a claim, invites Pavel to the Eid al-Fitr to alleviate such dangers.
Before waging the next war, the coffers have to be filled again. A monopoly company is the perfect answer. Richer by 1560 ducats, Pavel protects pilgrims full of piety, and starts annexing Holland, before declaring the next war against Navarra, with whom our truce conveniently just ended, to connect his Anatolian possessions by land. My allies don't help, but one does not need them if one is Russia.
Baryatiski immediately attacks with 20k men, and is reinforced by Pavel's 32k shortly after. The Navarrese resist fiercely, using the full advantage of their muskets against the Russian bows, but have to retreat facing the unshakable morale and the overwhelming numbers of Russia's army.
Palembang makes an even stronger stand in the mountains of Erzurum, dealing Menshikov some severe casualties before breaking into a retreat. But with a reserve of 243k men, those losses do not hurt Russia much. As they flee Eastward into Ashanti territory, Manchu's ambitions in Imperial territory take concrete forms, as they take Bremen from Keladi and push into Lan Na next.
With the full growth of Beafada into a city, the year of 1681 draws to a close. Russia has, unsurprisingly, bested all their enemies, proving their unstoppable might. For now. The battles of Kütahya and Erzurum show that it becomes harder and harder to withstand muskets with bows. By sheer numbers, all their enemies might be vanquished now, but in a full conflict with Manchu or the Jalayirids, or a Venezuela that might reform and westernize off Transylvania, might be hard even for the Russian horde. Either way, this is their current state, at war with Navarra, Palembang and Ashanti.
But I roll a one, and it is time to leave for a less invincible nation. My first roll is Jharkhand: Ruling over the Baleares, Corsica and Sardinia, they are surrounded by much stronger powers and can't really do much. So I overrule this choice, to get Orléans next. Former emperor, one of the few Catholics left in the HRE, on the receiving end of a war. But with some potential if I can save it, as there are a lot of cores around Orléans can try to reclaim.
