Hahaha, that's a nice BBB you have there, and it's not even the fifteenth century! I think someone is going to be able to go back to the Holy Lands and reclaim the titular King of Jerusalem! 
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Thanks for the research tutorial! Frenchmen in Wales indeed. So, the next couple of years are going to be spent getting rid of vassals?
So, the next couple of years are going to be spent getting rid of vassals?
ThanksHahaha, that's a nice BBB you have there, and it's not even the fifteenth century! I think someone is going to be able to go back to the Holy Lands and reclaim the titular King of Jerusalem!
I plan on invading the Holy Land after forming the Angevin Union - my province capacity is very low so I can't expand much right now.
No prob
I wish.. That's not an option until I get a much higher province capacity by either A) forming the Angevin Union or B) switching to Imperial GovernmentFrenchmen in Wales indeed.
What do you need to form the Angevin Union? Can't wait to see that
I need two more provinces in order to for the Angevin Union you need to control: Caux, Normandie, Armor, Brest, Vannetais, Nantes, Labourd, Gascogne, Armagnac, Bearn, Maine, Anjou, Poitou, Peringord, Limousin, Auvergne, Middlesex, Deheubarth, Gwynedd, Alencon, Tregor, Quimper, Cherbourg and Albert. I marked the provinces I am missing in bold.What do you need to form the Angevin Union? Can't wait to see that
Taking Middlesex will be a bit complicated since it's England's capital and we all know that taking a capital province is only possible if it's isolated..
London? This is going to be quite a jam for you...
EDIT: Never thought I'd say that about the BBB.
This is going to be quite a jam for you...EDIT: Never thought I'd say that about the BBB.
I'm quite optimistic that I will form the Angevin Union in either the next chapter or the chapter after next. If I plan my wars right then it will take me three more wars with England to form the Angevin UnionLondon?
EDIT: Never thought I'd say that about the BBB.
Chapter III - Union Restored
After the Peace of Kobenhavn, the small council advised the King to let the economy recover before declaring another war. Two loans had still to be repaid and manpower was quite low. Charles VI followed the small council's advice and the country stayed at peace but a spy mission was conducted in England to support rebels in the English part of Wales. French spies were well-trained and the mission was fairly safe (0.99% risk of discovery per month).
By January of 1393, all loans were repaired and the King gave orders to build 4 additional regiments of Pot de Fer.
France still had a truce with England but Charles VI knew that declaring war on one of their allies would force the Plantagenets to join the defensive side. Flanders was the perfect target in order to drag the English into war. War was declared on March 4th, 1393. The silly English joined the war just like predicted. England had no army because it was destroyed in their previous war with France and so occupying their cities was a cake walk.
Two and a half years after the declaration of war, Flanders accepted unconditional surrender. The terms for peace were: England had to cede Esse, Sussex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, and Bedford to France. Flanders had to pay war compensations worth 140 ducats. The House of Capet was one step closer at uniting the Angevin lands.
It took the administration between 16 and 18 months to integrate the newly gained provinces.
Lots of countries were upset with the Charles VI's conquests and formed a military coalition against France. Giorgio Chiavari, Doge of Genoa and loyal subject of Charles VI, reminded the small council that Charles VI had promised to reclaim all Genoese lands and pointed out that Sassari was still owned by Sardinia. This was intolerable for the Doge and he asked the small council to retake province immediately. The meeting between the Doge and the small council was interrupted by a Scottish courier who reported that Scotland had declared war on Norway and England! This was the perfect opportunity to conquer more of England so naturally the call to arms was accepted and the Doge was told that Sassari was only a second priority for France.
Oxford, Kent and Somerset were occupied in no time and after the sieges were won 16.000 men led by General de Broglie (siege skill 4!) were transported to Oslo, Norway, where they laid siege.
The Parisian School of Diplomacy hired several foreign diplomats to study the various cultures of Europe. By gaining a better understanding of foreign cultures, annexing vassals became much easier.
In May of 1400, a Norwegian delegation met in Amsterdam with Louis Capet who led the French negotiations. The Norwegians had no choice but to accept the French terms which stated: Control of Salisbury, Kent and Oxford was granted to France. Furthermore, it was agreed that England had to move its capital from London to York once Norway made peace with Scotland
Charles VI had a vision that one more war with the English was going to be enough to form the Angevin Union! He instructed the small council to come up with a plan to declare war on England without actively breaking the truce and without fighting the anti-French coalition.
Almost 15 years had passed since Charles VI was advised for the first time to take a fourth set of ideas. All these years the King couldn't make up his mind until he woke up on a warm August morning, had breakfast with the Queen and his kids and suddendly yelled "Delegative ideas! What's what we need!" Everybody around him had troubles understanding what the King was talking about until he elaborated.
"Delegative ideas allow me to maximize my revenue from my subjects. I love subjects!" This statement was very true: Charles VI had 7 subjects at that given time!
The Parisian School of Diplomacy was very renowned throughout Western Europe and in December of 1400 it opened a branch that focused on espionage. (Espionage I was researched)
Just like the King asked, the members of the small council came up with a plan to drag England into a third war within a matter of years. However, the plan wasn't perfect because it involved a war of aggression against Charles VI's ally Portugal but it was the only reliable way to avoid an eight year long truce. France enjoyed good relations with the Crown of Portugal and only recently a distant cousin of the King married the third-born son of Filipe I (declaring war on Portugal after breaking the alliance would cause a -3 stability drop..). Charles VI was most displeased with the small council's plan and the French conquest of London was put on hold.
One of the leading bureaucrats informed the King that the country had grown too large and that they administration was no longer able to control all owned province. France's province capacity was -1.95. As a first measure to counter low province capacity a number of sheriff's offices were built in provinces of non-accepted cultures.
James II Capet, rightful ruler of Scotland, turned 41 on March 22nd 1402 and shortly after, rumors started spreading that he might be infertile given that he had no children and no legal heir. James II wrote a will saying that the throne of Scotland should pass to France if he dies without a legal heir.
The realm's province capacity issues didn't stop Charles VI from going to war against Sardinia to reclaim Sassari. Sardinia called in powerful allies including Aragon and the Papal States but they had on impact on the war because Sassari fell after less than half a year. Consequently, the city was returned to Genoa. The Doge was satisfied but still not happy: 2 more former Genoese provinces had to be reclaimed: Kafka and Azov - both were owned by the Golden Horde that fielded an army of 63000 - the largest in the known world. In comparison France's army consisted of 33 infantry regiments, 9 regiments of mounted knights and 8 regiments of artillery.
The King of Portugal made a crucial mistake: He got caught supporting Barbary Piracy! All allies but Castile canceled their alliance with Portugal - including England. The small council's plan to take London by declaring war on Portugal was no longer possible.
Wallachia granted France military access and 29.000 men were transported to Wallachian-Golden Horde border. Charles VI was convinced that his troops enjoyed better training, more disciplined and had superior equipment than the army of the Golden Horde. In June of 1404 the operation Reclaim Kafka was launched.
The steppe-warriors of the Golden Horde were fearless and fought very well. Five out of the first eight battles were lost.
April 7th 1406 was a day for the history books: James II Capet of Scotland died without a legal heir and so his kingdom passed to Charles VI Capet, King of France. The Scottish loved their new King right from the start. A proud day for the House of Capet.
Meanwhile, Kafka was occupied and Azov was under siege but the Golden Horde was far from being defeated.
Charles VI led the French siege of Manych and was shot by an enemy horse archer on August 25th. His heir Louis XI was fighting Golden Horde warriors in Chir and was only heard about the monarch's death weeks later. He traveled back to Pariswhere he was crowned King of France and Scotland at the age of 53.
His younger brother Charles became the heir to both thrones. (So many French rulers are either called Charles or Louis...)
Back in Paris, Louis XI restored stability, removed the master of mint from the small council and replaced him with Georges Clausse, an architect that lived for years in Roma where he learned much about the Renaissance style. Louis XI also instructed the small council to hire additional workers to build more sheriff's offices. This provided the realm with extra province capacity. Furthermore, the newly crowned King asked Clausse to make plans to modernize the capital. Six loans were taken in order to provide the architect with enough funds.
The war with the Golden Horde wasn't going exceptionally well and Louis XI really wanted to take London from England. Two brilliant diplomats managed to negotiate a favorable deal for France: Kafka was returned to Genoa. Mission accomplished. Both armies that fought against the Golden Horde were transported to Kent and on a third army was stationed alongside the Flemish-French border.
While the armies were traveling to England, Louis XI dealt with internal matters - two out of six loans were repaid. Architect Clausse reported back that the workers began remodeling fountains and the major market place .
Flanders was an ally of England and not part of the anti-French coalition so war was declared on them with the intention to take London. To make sure that the French troops were going to be victorious, military researchers developed new ways to communicate on the battlefield from which both the infantry as well as the cavalry profited (Battlefield Communications II researched).
After 165 days, the siege of London was won and the main focus of the French armies became Flanders.
On April 18th 1414, the last of the four Flemish provinces was occupied and peace was made. France became the rightful owner of London and Bristol.
Soon after, Louis XI announced to the world the restoration of the Angevin Union!
The Unionist took over as the leading faction and the King decided to change the country's set of national ideas.
To be continued...
What's next?
So I completed my first set of goals in a little over 100 years. They were: 1) Unite the French countries 2) Drive England out of France 3) Form the Angevin Union
Here is what you can except in the future:
Interesting facts:
Here is what you can except in the future:
- Convert Religion (I liked Hussitism in VeF 1.1.3)
- Destroy the English
- Take over Iberia.
- Colonize the Caribbean - depends on whether I decide to choose exploration ideas or expansion ideas (cannot pick both)
- Annex my seven vassals and integrate Scotland
Interesting facts:
- It took me a little over 24 years to conquer the provinces needed to form the Angevin Union.
- I heard that annexing Burgundy is impossible.
- The Angevin Union has a province capacity of 2000 --> no more province capacity problems!
- The factions of the Angevin Union appear to be very stronk -
Is that Northumberland in one of the pics? I laughed at the possibility of Milanese Scotland. :laugh: great job forming the Angevin Union, do you get cores on England, or will you have to destroy them using claims?
Unfortunatly, I got no cores on England - I guess that would be too OP. I will have to claim the provinces and either core them or I "sell" them to Scotland and let the Scottish core them for me - depends on if I have a surplus of ADM points or not. I think Scotland will "buy" English provinces even if they have no claims on them. At least I hope they will but I haven't had the time to continue playing so I don't know for sure. I'm a little worried though that if I feed Scotland too much that they might get overconfident and seek independence..
Milanese Scotland would have been funny indeed
Scotland forced the English to release Northumberland in one of their wars and then the Scottish vassalized Northumberland.
Great job on the Angevin Union delp! Also, I think you should vassalize or personal union England in order to make this a TRUE Angevin Union.
Thanks DKM
I definitely plan on taking over England but that but it won't be easy because the English hate my guts..
just use subsidiaries if you need to keep personal union of people that hate you or unruly vassals. It does wonders to your relation score.
Chapter IV - Jan Hus
(Please note: The Angevin Empire has 3 Factions. From this point on, the Union Angevists faction will simply be called Unionists (Unionists because they support the Angevin Union), the Tudorist will be referred to as English/English faction and La Maison des Francais will be referred to as the French/ French faction.
I dislike the original names of the factions. The Unionists support the interest of the Union, the English faction supports the interests of the English (trade, navy) and the French faction supports the interests of the French (military, conquests))
Shortly after the Angevin Union was restored, Louis XI sent five diplomats to the capital cities of Liege, Cordoba, Trier, Utrecht and Siena to complete the integration process of those subjects. Province capacity was no longer an issue for the administration. Utrecht was the fist vassal that completed integration on December 1st 1414 and Liege was the last one.
Louis XI organised a meeting with leading members of the various factions and quickly noted that the Unionists had more influence within the country than the other two factions. Nobody really cared for the interests of the English faction.
Georges Clausse and his workers completed the last project, a garden in the city heart, at the end of March of 1416. In a matter of years, Paris was turned into one of the prettiest cities of Europe. The modern infrastructure increased the quality of life tremendously. France was admired for its astonishing capital and foreigners moved to Paris which increased the realm's tax income. Louis XI spent lots of time in the new royal gardens just outside of Paris. Clausse received offers from abroad but he stayed loyal to his King and moved back to his hometown Toulouse which he began modernizing as well.
Louis XI planned on expanding into Italy and the Republic of Pisa was singled out as target. The Pisans were allied with Aragon and a bunch of minor powers so new alliances were formed with Bohemia, Venice, Sweden and The Byzantine Empire. 25.000 men were positioned at the Genoese-Pisan border in Lucca and couriers were sent to the Angevin allies to inquiry about their willingness to join the upcoming Angevin war. Some refused while others agreed to support the just Angevin cause.
War was declared and the King of Aragon assumed leadership of the war. He called in The Mamluks who then took control over the defensive forces (Why are Catholic Iberians allied with Sunni Egyptians? ).
The Mamluks fielded a large army but lacked a navy and so their forces had difficulties reaching the battlefield. In a separate peace Modena was annexed - Next to Pisa ,it was the first province that was occupied. Charles Capet, heir to the throne, was slowly making progress with his army that was fighting in Aragon.
Lombards made up a decent amount of the Angevin population and their culture became part of the Angevin heritage. Piedmontese artists were very happy that their culture was now accepted within the realm and created a beautiful statue of Louis XI Capet (Delegative Ideas completed --> Accepted Culture Threshold -50%.
Aragon ceded Alicante in a separate peace, the archbishopric of Alsace became an Angevin vassal and the small council advised Louis XI to replace the Count of Brunswick with a family member. Unfortunately, the peace with Brunswick dragged the Angevin Union into the Oldenburgian Conquest of Hannover. In order to focus all efforts on defeating the Oldenburg, a treaty was signed with the Mamluks in which Pisa became a part of the Union. Lots of European countries were upset with the House of Capet - they complained that the Union had grown too large. Louis XI ignored them and continued his campaign against the Oldenburgians.
In July of 1421, Louis XI and Charles Capet discussed the religious situation in Europe. Both were unhappy with the Pope and consequently the Statue in Restraint of Appeals was declared. Demoting the Pope greatly upset neighboring Catholic countries and decreased the diplomatic reputation of Louis XI. From this day on, Louis XI was the final legal authority in all matters of religion. Most citizens agreed that this was the right decision but just to be sure that the peasants weren't going to revolt, a theologian was hired and the De Heretico Comburendo Act was passed, which slightly increased missionary strength
Religious tensions between the House of Capet and the Catholic Church escalated in mid-December when Pope Innocentius VII threatened Louis XI to excommunicate him if the Statue in Restraint of Appeals was not revoked. As a response, Louis XI introduced church taxes! The Pope was outraged but he did not excommunicate Louis XI just yet.
In November Oldenburg was annexed and the anti-Angevin coalition grew further. Unionists wrote a petition to continue the conquest of England but Louis XI informed them that this was not the right time for a new war.
Left with no choice and inspired by Czech reformer Jan Hus, the entire House of Capet converted to Hussitism in mid-December. Hus taught at the university of Prague and tried to reform the Catholic Church. Only a few months before Louis XI Capet converted to Hussitism, Jan Hus was burned alive.
Missionaries began spreading the word. Only a small minority followed the Hussite faith and lots of work laid ahead. Avignon, former seat of the Papacy, was the first target of the Hussite missionaries.
The small council advised the King to prepare for a religious civil war. Smaller armies were positioned in key provinces to deal more effectivly with religious uprisings.
Some of the Unions closest allies turned on Louis XI after they heard about his religious conversion. Long-time ally, Austria entered into a military coalition against the Union. Hamburg, leader of the Hanseatic trade league, was bribed in order to keep the alliance alive.
To be continued...
Hussites! Gotta love em; do you actually have any Hussite provinces? Aragon was probably allied to the Mamluks for the same reason France was allied to the Turks IOTL.
Nope :ninja:
I hope converting will pay off in the long run. My military will definitely be fighting with a higher moral :happy:
Actually, I found something that the Mamluks and Aragon have a in common: They both hate Naples and Byzantium.. So I assume that this led to this unusual friendship.