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A. The direct economic help from that is something you could use right now.

Nice progress, and a Castille in trouble! :eek:
 
Vote Free trade.
Strong economies win wars.
 
Well, people, currently the voting's at 3-2-3, with centralisation and land tied. I'm not gonna call for a tie breaker, in fact I think a three-way tie would be interesting, but first move to reach 4 votes wins.

Edit: I guess if there's no end to the vote by tomorrow (and it's still a tie between cent. and land) I'll flip a coin.
 
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A nice AAR, congratulations.

Economics is the most important for me

That's a vote for what, because I see economics tied to all three options.

At this point I don't think I'll get an update in tonight even if I get a tie breaker a minute after this post. A shame to let a day pass with no update.

Well actually I think I can have a bonus... Give me a few.
 
Yay big screenshots.

Chapter 5 BONUS
State of the World
21st June, 1378

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WORLD MAP (linking only because damn thing's huge):
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NAPLES AND VASSALS:
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SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA:
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What's been happening here: Sverige did pretty well at start, got a province or two but ended the war having gained Aland and losing Skane (to Sweden). They later got that province in Karelia but the loss of Skane meant they got inherited by Sweden on monarch death I think. gigau can explain how Sverige's survival/inheritance works in detail.

PLACES I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY ENDED UP AS THEY ARE BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE THEM WHILE PLAYING NAPLES:

PERSIAN REGION:
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INDIA AND INDOCHINA:
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CHINA AND JAPAN:
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ARABIA AND ETHIOPIA:
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MESOAMERICA:
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And also...

SPAIN:
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Army compositions are in 4.1b April order: Cavalry/Infantry/Artillery. Also I think I got the naval battle wrong in the bottom left corner, it should actually be 28 Fez galleys vs 6 Dutch cogs (carrying 3 regiments). Which I guess makes things worse for the Dutch, heh. Castille's only hope is that Fez's attrition and WE will destroy them, though with an already high WE of their own, and 3 occupied provinces... I don't think Castille's situation is looking any good. I sorta expect Granada to get all of Castille's Al Andalus provinces when it's all said and done and then promptly get destroyed by Aragon.
 
Chatper 6 (the typo is canon)

After much thinking, and a tie between the votes of her advisors, after much thought and the toss of a coin, Joan decides to even out the structure of the naval and ground forces, and the reforms are met with almost no resistance.

The catholic church, like it had done before in the past, called for a general church council, to discuss church doctrine. Such an event was huge and attended by more or less the entire catholic world. Joan, eager to improve her Kingdom's status, decides to spend the hard cash needed and host the council in Naples. The city of Salerno is picked as the location for the council, about 50 kilometres further down the coastline from the capital.

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A guarantee of independence for Naples from Aragon causes Joan headaches, as it is certain that such a move only means that the Aragonese king is looking to have his own interests in the region served rather than anyone else's.

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But thoughts over such matters are soon put on hold, as preparations are complete, and the church council finally begins!

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Months of discussion and negotiations pass. In July, an agreement is reached, and a payment to the church required of bishops that encouraged them to overtax the peasants in their lands is abolished.

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In the next few months ideas are discussed, closing statements are said, and in September, the council of Salerno, a huge success for Naples and the catholic church, officially ends.

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Returning to the royal capital, Joan is faced by a petition from the city's merchants. Complaining that the balancing of the ground and naval forces has hurt trade by reducing cash flow to shipbuilders, they propose that landowners not descended from noble families be given some rights reserved for aristocrats. Since the move made earlier had, as a consequence, reduced trade income by a full sixth, she agrees to the merchants demands and makes the necessary concessions.

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Napolitan protection over central Greece seems to not be enough to deter the Romans from going after the minors, and war is declared by the Roman Emperor on the despotate of Epirus.

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Joan of course rushes in defence of her vassal, and, after a series of military victories on land and sea, and before even a single Roman castle can fall, manages to achieve a white peace with the Roman emperor.

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The latter, utterly unsatisfied with the result, decides to declare war on a Venetian-supported duchy based on the island of Naxos in the Cyclades islands, that was once part of the mighty empire.

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After much fighting, the war-ravaged Castille manages to get Fez to accept a white peace.

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Their troubles don't end, however, as amidst continuous revolts, Granada takes the opportunity to attack them.

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Back in Italy, despite Joan's concessions, the Napolitan merchants suffer as their kingdom's mercantile policies stifle progress and innovation in the field of trade, and make it hard for merchants to compete in foreign lands. Venice, up to a few years ago filled with merchants from Joan's kingdom, is now devoid of Napolitan presence.

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In Iberia, Castille manages to avoid the worst, but is forced to pay a significant sum to the Granadan Maalik.

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Ever since the war with Naples, Epirus has been a kingdom in disarray, and the Roman attack only made things worse. Because of the instability in the region, Helene's influence had wavered, taxes weren't paid, and the small kingdom suffered greatly.

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Seeing her protection of the small kingdom insufficient in bringing peace and stability, Joan decides more drastic measures are needed and pushes for direct annexation. Helene is reluctant at first, and initially declines Joan's proposal, but she eventually concedes, seeing as her influence in her own kingdom was non-existent. Epirus is now formally part of the Napolitan kingdom.

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Joan decides to call her advisors to her office once more. The time for the Fourth Council of Naples has arrived.

A. Centralisation is once again on the table, based on guidelines to improve the general state of the economy.

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B. With Napolitan trade suffering greatly, Joan feels a review of the kingdom's mercantile policies is of great importance, should Naples ever hope to have a presence in the major trade centres of Europe.

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C. More relevant than never, a move to a more secular kingdom is also being considered, to accommodate for the new, orthodox citizens of Naples following Epirus' annexation, by giving religious minorities protection from public persecution.

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The advisors cast their votes.
 
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Now, I like the Secularism option too, but I'm still going to say A. Centralization. Main reason is that I voted for that last time and it didn't go through. :rofl:

Nice gains, and good to see the council event chain AAR'd.
 
Agreed. A it is :)
 
I should change my vote to B just to annoy the writAAR then :p
Just kidding :)
 
Chapter 7​

The Fourth Council, much unlike the Third, ended overwhelmingly one-sided. There was not a single vote that did not go for centralising the kingdom. And so, Joan made the necessary reforms. Unlike the last time the council voted in favour of such a move, however, there was a widespread sense of worry and panic over the kingdom's future, with some local lords voicing their opposition to this reform, but ultimately unable to muster any real support to their cause.

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These feelings would only subside completely after the populace realised, several months later, that the sky would not, in fact, drop on their heads.

In fact, a surprisingly large amount of the middle and higher classes, inspired by the more centralised administration, took a fancy to a dressing style that was for a period widespread in the capital, and by the end of the year the entire kingdom's landowners were spending large portions of their savings on new garments, producing a greater cash flow to the royal treasury.

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Not a year passed since the kingdom's stability was restored, however, before a very influential clergyman in Napoli spoke against the ideas of Ruggiero Broia, a philosopher in Joan's court. Forced to take a stance as the whole thing was heating up, Joan took the side of the philosopher that she herself had hired. As it became apparent that no action would be taken against Broia, the shock from the whole affair slowly started to subside.

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Finally, the inevitable happens, and the Aragonese crown decides to take on its own hands what the Castillian one had so far failed spectacularly at, declaring was on Granadan Maalik's realm.

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Monitoring the new techniques and technologies that enter the city, the guildmaster of Spoleto, the administrative centre of Umbria, sends a letter to Joan, informing her that it is possible to increase each province's contributions to the treasury by providing the guilds of each province with workshops of certain specifications. These, however, require an initial investment much too large for Naples' limited treasury, and will have to wait for now.

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Castille, having finally afforded the time to recover from the effects of the last wars, jumps in against Granada, as vengeance and to prevent Aragon from making too great a gain on the peninsula.

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The latter, satisfied with its progress in the crusade, takes the province of Malaga and a small amount of ducats in exchange for peace.

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With a growing orthodox population, the success in Council of Salerno, and recent loss of influence by the more radical clergymen, the pressure for converting Kerkyra's population to the Catholic faith has almost completely evaporated and Joan turns her attention elsewhere. The county of Rimini, a small state controlling the coastline to the north of Marche de Anconna had several times disrupted Napolitan work in the region and its leadership spoken badly of many of Joan's reforms. At the same time it had left itself vulnerable, and its only allies were the small merchant republic of Firenze and the long now weakened Papal States. Unwilling to take their abuse, Joan declares war to set an example out of them.

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All of Joan's allies respond to her call for war, whereas Rimini loses its Papal support, which might have otherwise earned it sympathy in Catholic eyes.

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Before the war can start in earnest, Castille ends its own war in a much better shape than it had before. Granada is reduced to its holdings around its capital and the city of Gibraltar.

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The war against Rimini goes predictably enough, and once Joan's goals are reached merchants from the capital visit her in the palace and hand her another petition; with Napolitan trade dead since the previous decade, they ask that the necessary measures are taken for Napolitan merchants to prosper enough to dominate trade as far away from home as Lübeck, the main trade hub of the Hanseatic League.

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In the meantime, Firenze has also been losing to the might of its southern neighbour. After its coastal city of Volterra and their capital fell, they could only agree to whatever harsh terms they would be offered. The Doge of the republic would retain power, but this time as king, and would swear absolute loyalty to the Napolitan crown. In addition, a small sum of money would be paid to Naples to cover its war expenses.

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For the first time with this treaty, Naples is opening yet another diplomatic front, as it is now no mere neighbour to the Holy Roman Empire, one of whose member states has been deprived of independence.

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At the same time, Naples has finally reached the peak in international standing.

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And as other states pull themselves together...

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...and others aggressively expand their borders...

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...Naples too must stand strong.

Anno domini 1399. The Kingdom of Naples has never been as strong as now. It has never exerted as much influence as now. Indisputable controller of The Boot. Bridge between East and West. Host of the Church Council that put an end to simony. Setter of trends. Joan's reign would surely be remembered as the greatest the kingdom has ever had. At 71 years old, reigning as queen for 56 years now.

Some might call it "going senile".

Others might call it a combination of opportunism and Alzheimer's or a good deal of alcohol.

But only one thing is known for sure about January 11th of 1399. When she woke up, Joan saw on her desk three sheets of paper, each outlining the basis of a legislative act. Claiming divine inspiration following a visit from an angel the night before, she says that she is the author of these documents, and calls for an urgent advisory council. These grand ideas are too demanding, and the Napolitan administration lacks the resources needed to put them all into action. In fact, only one of them can be made into actual law at this juncture. Joan passes a copy of all three documents to each of her advisors.


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A. The Act for the Expansion of the Administration
A masterfully crafted restructuring of the state bureaucracy, this would significantly improve the performance of governmental affairs, as well as provide economic advantages. The general populace might have trouble adjusting to the new administrative state. The advantages, however, are vastly superior to this situational setback.


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B. The Establishment of a Unified Merchant Policy
Giving the Kingdom's merchants a set of guidelines to follow concerning trade can vastly improve their coordination, and so performance. This would go a long way towards a flourishing trading tradition, and might even single-handedly enable Napolitan merchants to achieve their goal of dominating Lübecker trade.

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C. The Cultural Heritage Act
A set of laws that would provide much greater incentive for highly skilled Napolitans to follow their artistic pursuits. Should this Act pass, not only would it ensure that the crown would be aided by only the most skilful men the kingdom will ever produce, it will also give Naples a long-lasting guarantee that it will retain its prestigious position through its cultural hegemony.​
 
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