Chapter 27: Guardsman of Europe.
I am 5 minutes into the game, when Austria gets into a bit of trouble. They politely ask if I would be willing to lead the war, so I call in Russia.
While my armies are marching north, my Bordeaux trade fleet gets intercepted by Britain’s trade fleet along the Coast of Brittany. It’s 18 of theirs against 20 of mine, but the Royal Navy has a ton of morale on me, so I send my heavies to save them.
Out of the nowhere, a giant doomstack descends on my poor ships.
The result? Well, check for yourself…
This demands revenge! Obviously, there is no way in hell that I will ever make it to England, so I do the next best thing. For the past 50 years or so, I have had 33 regiments sitting in Outremer. Now, at last, they will see some action. Half of them are send off towards British Mexico, and the other half goes on a rampage in Newfoundland.
Funny thing happened on my way to New york. The war against Spain seems to have finished while I wasn’t looking, and these Newfoundland units (still in exile) were on their way home. Since they will be torn to shreds the moment they enter any home province bordering mine, they decided to stop and watch on the sidelines. I never knew the AI could do that. Very nice to see.
Eventually, they will go through Indian territory and get shredded anyway.
Now, let’s be honest. I couldn’t care less what happens in Europe. I can get my hands on the Hudson Estuary, in Manhattan. That would be more than worth it by itself.
I ravage a small British army of 10 regiments. Vengeance for sinking my ships!
Eventually, the peace deal is signed.
I don’t know how long a province stays inhospitable after a tribe wanders away, but I feel like this might be a bug. I have a possible mission to colonise Connecticut, but I can’t. By the time this chapter ends, 9 years later, it will still be inhospitable. Anybody knows if this is normal?
The king goes crazy, I lose 138 ducats and a pretender rises at the head of 17000 men. Business as usual.
March, 1645. 200 Marriageable women are send to Tuscarora. This impresses Tuscany to the point that they end the coalition against France. Great news, since Tuscany has been reduced to a 2-province minor after a series of wars against Naples and Spain. Unfortunately, they are still a part of the HRE, and I don’t fancy a rerun of my last argument with Austria (one of their current leaders is a 6-6-5-1 general…).
Spain, Portugal, Naples and Austria are all intertwined in an alliance web that makes any kind of grandstanding on my part virtual suicide. I have all but given up on the whole idea of Spanish conquest by now, so I start annexing Aragon.
Mercenary Recruitement is one of the many ideas I like in the Administrative branch. It’s not just the 50% more mercs, but this also raises my normal Land Limit by about 15 regiments.
Feeling safe behind the white-yellow backs of Spain and Austria, Napels thumbs its nose at France and rivals me. Grrrr. If only…
February, 1647. Austria calls me to arms against Bohemia and Sweden. This gives me an idea. Austria can’t go to war against me while on my side in another war, right? There is only one problem. Contrary to the last war, Austria stays warleader this time. I will have to move fast if I want to attack Spain.
I get slowed down by a 30-regiment Swedish army descending on Holland, but start moving my troops into position.
Tuscarora becomes a city, and I send my colonists to Apalachee and Guyana.
Remember how I started integrating Aragon? Well, I didn’t. The integration finishes before I can declare war on Spain. Never mind, I can always call them back into vassalhood (I think) after the war.
I have the opportunity to get Military Tech level 20, so I upgrade my cannons to Swivel Cannons and postpone the war for a week. While I am waiting, I manage to snag Supply Trains (33% reinforce speed bonus), the second-to-last Defensive Idea.
And then, Austria ends the war against Bohemia for a measly few ducats. I am too late.
Hey, isn’t that supposed to be my trade node? Great Britain has 66 (!!) Light Ships patroling Bordeaux. How on earth am I supposed to compete against that?
I could turn things around. In Holland, I have about 42% of all trade power. If I make Antwerpen my trade capital (no more penalty for collecting in a node that is not my capital), switch my merchant around, and forward trade from Bordeaux to Antwerpen, I might be able to start making descend capital again. However, it costs a staggering 300 DP, which is a bit costly right now.
I get Admin Tech level 19 in 1653, and finally get the last Exploration Idea. 25% Bonus to my Naval Force Limit, which goes up to about 130. Almost as much in total as the amount of Light Ships Great Britain has. This realisation makes me feel terribly small. And more than a little jealous. As if I don’t already have a RN-complex from playing Germany in HOI3 so much.
***sigh***
I colonise Sierra Leone in Africa in 1654. Right next to Mali. This could be good. There is still a surprising amount of real-estate for grabs in Africa, and not all of it useless either: according to the ledger, there is at least 1 more province empty with a basetax of 4. Who knows? I might even make it into the Pacific by the end of the game.
So what do you guys think? Should I save up 300 DP to move my Trade Capital to Antwerpen or Holland or is that a fool’s errand?
edited to add: I just checked with the Quick Questions-thread. It seems that stuff like Connecticut is reported bug, due to versions being stuck with old base tax or something like it.
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