Polska Universails (First AAR, First time as Poland)

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Part I
First Blood


Allow me to introduce myself. I am Olaf Gundarrson. Once a king in my own right I am now blessed with the salvation of my soul through Christ and a body made immortal by the alchemical arts learned by my wife Aud. I now wander the earth seeking kings in need of counsel. In the year of our Lord 1492 I call upon Jan Olbracht, King of Polska. A strong Poland will provide a bulwark against the Turks, Russians, and Swedes, a worthy vocation for any race. I also long to revive the ancient crusading spirit which I fear will languish when the Spanish complete their Reconquista. I long to see a nation rise up and take the banner of the crusade anew and return Christians to the lands where the faith was born. (Long term goal is Polish control of Judea and Samaria.)

Jan. 1, 1492. When I called upon the king to epxress my wishers for a happy and prosperous New Year for himself and the nation he invited me to stay and discuss policy. I had already decided on the course Poland needed to take in the short term so was happy to oblige. After a long discusssion of the problems and challenges confronting the kingdom I persuaded his majesty to take certain steps immediately. That evening he issued appointments for tax collectors in Masovia, Krakow,, Posen, Lithunia, and Galicia. He also issued orders for the immediate arrest and execution of anyone caught practicing the vile religion of Islam (tolerance set to 0) I advised him to keep troops stationed in Kremejutung as it is certain to revolt. He also ordered the movement of troops from Bessarabia to Kremejetung (7,000, 3,000) from Bessarabia as well as ordering troops from Krakow to that moslem pesthole. (15,000/12,500) Troops were also shifted from Belgorod to Kursk (15,000/12,500) to make their maintanence easier. He heartily endorsed my plans for troops in the year to follow.

We also invited the Saxon ambassodor to dinner where we signed a treaty of alliance. Orders were then issued to raise 6,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry in Poltava.

Subsidies were isuused to a merchant to do business in Danzig.

February 6, 1492 We recieved news that the Turks have declared war on the Mamelukes. I advise the king that Muslims killing Muslims saves us the trouble.

May 1. On the king's authority I issued an order to raise 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry in Belgorod. As I was signing this order a diplomatic courier informed me that a Saxon Prince neededto marry the king's niece. I urged the king the king to see this as an opportunity to forge better relations with an ally. I grudgingly agreed. The episode reminded me that we needed to taking some initiative ourselves in this area.

September 1492 I pried loose three more subsidies for merchants to travel to Venice. I introduced the king's nephew the Austrain ambassador's daughter at a state dinner and was delighted to hear a short time later that yet another royal marriage will be ahem, necessary

December, 1492 On the second day of the month I learned that a travelling merchant had discovered Persia, a land of filthy muslims to be sure, but possibly useful in the future as a foil for Turkey.

January 1493 The year of our grand offensive dawned cold and dreary. Of course all years seem to so dawn. Why not have them dawn a few months later? In any event the king approved the appointment of two more royal tax collectors in Danzifg and Belgorod. he expressed excitement at the prospects for the spring.

March, 1493 We ordered the recruitment of more troops in Chernigov (4k and 2k)

April 1, With the thawing of the earth we enact the first phase of our plan and declare war upon the filthy mongol remnants styling themselves as the Golden Horde. Orders are in place for ttroops to march, occupy and besiege all provinces within a few months. The lead elements are not to assault any fortress until all other troops are past. I want all provinces besieged and incapable of producing more troops. An assault would sure tempt the discipline of the troops marching through...

15,465/12,794 are to march from Belforad to Bogutar and engage the only force of which we know.
12,417/4,989 are to march from Poltava to Saratov
10,163/11,653 are to march from Kursk to Kujbysciev and
10,777/7,456 are to march from Kremjutung to Samara, the crown jewel of the realm

After atking a sampling of public opinion I urge the king to detach half of the Capital garrison and send it to Kiev in Ukraine as public support has dropped and we may face revolts.

April 16-23 The Battle of Bogutar is fought between an all cavlry force of Hordelings and our glorious troops. We prevail and begin the siege of their city. On the 25th the Golden Khan demands our treasury as tribute. The poor king laughed so hard he had a bit of a misfortune. I quietly arranged for a page boy to fectch a dry pair of trousers.

The plan works to near perfection as only one army is delayed enroute, but that one was bound for Samarra. I therefore order an assault on Bogutar on the 19th day of June. The city is ours on te 27th. This frees troops to march on Samarra.

On the 9th of August I order an assault on Kujbyschiev which falls within six days. On the 29th of the next Saratov surrenders after a quick assault. I only order half of our troops to Samarra to join those already investing the city. It may have been a mistake. On the 21st of the next month our troops fail in their first assault! We will now have to maintain a winter siege.

In the meantime I recieved news on the 23rd day of October that the Grand Duchy of Moscow (Russia) declared war on Kazan. I advised his majesty that the Muscovites were brave but inept and would accomplish little. I was wrong.

On the ninth of November there was however welcome news. The Moslems of Kremjetung had seized the opportunity to revolt and locked themselves in the town. Our garrson had quickly defeated the rebels and invested the town. Four months later they surrendered and had lost in excess of 1,000 moslems reducing the town to a population of
exactly 5,000. (Since I have no colonists so what?)

On the 21st of November as we attended a party at the residence of the Bohemian ambassoador I witnessed the king's youngest brother happily ensconsed with the Visiting princess in whose honor the party was offered. I love these necessary marriages!

 

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Part II The Winter of Our Discontent

If the coming of the Lord shall be for another 10,000 years and Aud's magick holds and I live through all of them it would be hard to imagine any being worse than that winter of 1493 into 1494. Well, there was that wound that would have been mortal and the need to leave my beloved Dublin but that was all before I came to embrace the true faith in another age entirely. To begin with there was the starving and dwindling siege force in Samarra. I was advised that the men were demoralized and would not attempt another assault anytime soon. This meant that many of them would die and desert. The only consolation I had was reports that Russians were also so suffering and in greater numbers at Tambow.

Then in December I sent an invitation to Venice to join in our glorious alliance. Their response is as follows:

Our dear King Jan of the house of Olbracht,

While your proposal certainly has much to offer we must respectfully decline. You may be assured that it is for reasons of state and not fear for the virtue of the young women of our fair Republic that we pursue other diplomatic avenues at this time. I must also respectfully decline to attend the party planned for your ambassodorial residence with my daughter. You may rest assured that this declination is made in hopes for her continued chastity.

Yours in Christian piety,

Giovanni di Clemenza
Minister of State

We had 1 ally and a couple of royal marriages and a siege force that was quickly reduced to zero infantry and no assault capability anyway. If there was any consolation it was the realization that our besiegers were literally sitting on a gold mine which would have to be ours eventually.

It was a colder and drearier New Year than the one before. We recieved 154 ducats in taxes and sent comissions to royal tax collectors in Western prussia and Gailicia. After announcing that the rest would be held in reserve for military emergencies the king dismissed us. On the way home Aud commented that he didn't seem happy with us. "But he will be. He will be." I replied with more hope than confidence.

By the 25th of February I knew the worst. We had no infantry left in Samarra. I ordered the recruitment of an additional 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry in Belgorod and hoped that would be enough. It would have to be.

On the 3rd of June I recieved one piece of good news. The finance minister informed me that we were in a deflationary cycle. If only the treasury had money! In July I realized that we needed to subsidize more merchants. I sent one to Novgorod, 2 to Flanders and one to Venice. Then, on the 19th of the month I recieved the most glorious news! Samarra had surrendered before the reinforcements had even arrived!

Once the reinforcemstns arrived I split them and sent half to Bogutar. On the 1st of August they proved the wisdom of this move. While passing through Kujbischeyev they were ambushed by rebels and dispatched them easily.

On the same day an inquiry with the minister of state provided a damper for my elation. Venice had allied with the Mamelukes who now only held a few provinces in Egypt against the Turks. The Veneteians would surely see the wisdom of allying with us now! Sr. Di bartolo did see the wisom of giving his daughter's hand in marriage to yet another royal cousin. Of course this time the marriage wasn't strictly necessary.

In October his majesty signed an alliance with the king of Bavaria.

The year of 1495 dawned full of hope and fear. We had a glorious addition to the kingdom but the Turks and Russians were also poised to claim glorious victories as well. The clerks at the ministry of state had seperate office pools as to when the Mamelukes and Kazars would fall. No bet was for later than this time next year. At our annual meeting the king seemed pleased with 192d in tax revenues and we decided to send tax collectors to Chernigov and Mozyr as well as ordering that 3,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry be recruited in Belgorad. We also signed an alliance with the Hanseatic League, of all our allies by far the most useful.

On the 28th of that same month we had one of the two dread pieces of news. The Mamelukes had submitted to the Turkish yoke. I summoned the Persian ambassodor and we added them to our alliance, hoping that in a war with turkey they will provide a second front. I also urged his majesty to issue a decree of tolerance for our Muslim subjects. this was done with much misgiving. I still expect them to be unhappy but I hope a measure of tolerance (enough to lower revolt risk from 7 to 5) will persuade our Persian allies that we don't hate them.

On April fool's day the Russians annexed Kazan, making our holdings in the east more precarious and necessary. Fortunately they suffered an even more gruelling siege than we did and our forces in the region are comparable. (14k-10k adavantage to Russia) Of course I supsect we have more in reserve than they do. They may be making the same calculation. In any event I will order the construction of a fortress next year, possibly in Tula or Kursk.

On April the 20th the Ventians went to war with Turkey! Venetia carried the Teutonic Order (for all the good they will do!) and Iraq (can you say "A bug waiting to get sqashed"?) Why they don't just cede Ragusa and Illystria I don't know! In any event I am glad that they did not ally with us. We would now be obligated to fight a war for which we are not ready, a war for which we will need to get ready... and quickly!

 

[Pan Zagloba]

Excellent start - going straight for the Horde is an interesting tactic. It cuts off Russia from Siberia, of course, which might make attacks on you more frequent once they have annexed Kazan. The gold mine, though, is worth its weight in ... er ...

If you want my advice - and I'm sure you don't - a good next move would be to DOW Russia while you can, and try for Novgorod. This is particularly relevant in the IGC, where you only have a temporary CB on Russia.

Zagloba

 

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Thanks! I've debated a DoW on Russia but I don't have the IGC *sigh* I've downloaded it but it absolutely will not install. I tried copying the files manually but I kinda lost my place and err... had to completely re-install the game. Twice! I decided to give an AAR a go with a country I haven't played before.

Does Poland have a CB against Russia in the GC? This is my first attempt at playing Poland so I don't know. I don't see any CB shields in Russian territory.

As for the Horde gambit I picked that up from someone else on the board. I looked at it and thought it was an interesting way to play Poland and decided it was worth an AAR.

I'll have some more later on today or certainly by this time tomorrow. The game took a turn for the bizarre!

 

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Nice AAR.
I don't know whether Poland has a free CB against Russia (never played them yet) in the GC but Russia sure's got one against you. You can see it in the diplomatic window where all your (current) alliance, marriages and war(s) are listed.

 

[Pan Zagloba]

In the regular GC, Poland does not have a permanent CB against Russia. However, since it is of a different state religion (Orthodox), you only lose 2 stability levels for DOW-ing. In the IGC, Poland has a temporary CB against Russia for about 40 years at the start of the game, tho' this may have changed in more recent versions (I have 1.7c).

Zagloba

 

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Thanks for the info! I didn't think I had a CB against Russia. As much trouble as Poland has raising stability it makes an offensive war something to think about long and hard if you don't have a CB. Having played the Russkies many times I know they have this delusion that much of "my" realm is theirs. That's part of the appeal of playing Poland, finding out how well I can wrestle the bear. I have since played a bizarre interlude but I don't think it's quite enough to justify another installment. Hopefully later on tonight.

 

[Storey]

As has already been said interesting idea going for the Horde! I'm trying Poland right now and have taken the opposite approach. I've bribed Russia to +200 and made an alliance with her. Keeps by back secure while I try to dominate Europe. The problem is that Turkey has go wild in this game. They have 3/4 of North Africa and all of the Balkans. One moment Hungry was there the next it was part of Turkey. Guess who has become Turkey favorite target. I think I need more allies!! It makes your move east look better and better.



Joe

 

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Thanks all! I don't know, maybe I'm squandering the brilliant opening gambit (which wasn't mine anyway). There hasn't been much action for Poland since I last posted an installment but here goes the next one in the next post.

 

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A strange, then quiet time

The Serene Republic must either be specially blessed by heaven or beloved by men. On the 20th day of May Hungary entered the fray against Turkey as did her ally Bohemia. I recieved the Hungarian ambassador (the king's cousin's father in law) who asked me to join the holy Crusade against the heathen Turks. I tried to keep my eyes from balzing with berseker delight at his choice of words and told him I would take the matter under advisement. Two days later the Persian ambassador came calling and informed me that Persia was declaring war on Turkey and asked that Poland honor her agreeement. I saw in this coalition an opportunity to keep our troops combat ready and improve our diplomatic standing. The actual gains would be minimimal. I persuaded King Jan who spoke before a reluctant Sejm and won narrow agreement. Our allies all defected but I resigned all of them with the exception of Bavaria. We dispatched troops from Ukraine and Chernigov post haste to besiege Bujak.

While the siege of Bujak was in progress we recieved two pieces of startling news. On the 28th of Septemeber Hungary annexed Wallachia and made peace with Turkey a short time later, actually paying turkey tribute. The Magyar fools may as well have paid Turkey to annex their vassal and saved lives in the process. Meanwhile, on the 30th of November we learned that spain and Granda had made peace with Granda paying 250d in tribute! I had expected Spain to annex the heathens and long before now. Spain's status as a great power has to be considered highly suspect.

At the dawning of the New Year of 1496 we ordered the construction of a new fortress around Tula. This should give the bear cause for pause. At least I hope so. Aud also decided to begin a sewing circle for the young noblewomen of the realm. The King thinks nothing of it. I am trying not to.

On the 15th of April we, the king, Aud and I, recieved an embarassed diplomat from Denmark who begged the king's permission for his son to marry a noblewoman from Krakow. The king granted his permission providing the girl's father also agreed. The red faced diplomat assured us that the father insisted upon the marriage. On the ride home I asked Aud the girl was in her sewing circle. "Hmmm... Could be." was all she had to say. I do recall commenting that it was better if these marriages involved young Polish women. I must remember to watch what I think out loud around my wife, the former ghydia.

It was not until the 1st of September that we accepted the surrender of Bujak province. By this time the Persians were in possession of Syria, lebanon and Judea. I advised the King to make a seperate peace before the Turks made a deal with the Persians. When he balked I invoked the ancient saying of my people, "Take the money and run!" We accepted 124 ducats and left. The money was used to improve the fortifications in Belgorad. All in all the war was a wash. The tribute maybe paid for the replacement of the troops lost in the war. of course we also had a five year peace with the Turks which was also worth something. The Persians waged war for several more long years, losing all of their initial gains before finally accepting a peace in which they ceded Kurdistan to the Turks. Despite what the king feared would be seen as treachery or cowardice the Persians gladly exchanged their map of the world for ours two months after we made peace.

Covering the Whipping Boy

Jan, 1 1497 At our annual strategy meeting the king seemed eager for action. I informed him that the kingdom's position was that of a whipping boy braced for duty. When he asked me to explain the metaphor I said, 'Sire no matter what it does the kingdom will always have an exposed rear and more ominously someone waiting to give a few swats. We can try to cover that exposed rear diplomatically or militarily. If we try to raise the forces to cover the whole kingdom we will go bankrupt as everyone will try to match our military builds. Russia will always have a greater military potential anyway since they are willing to use cheap peasant infantry. If we try to cover the inactive front diplomatically we will have to be sure we can trust whoever is in our rear. At present that isn't the case. The Hungarians do not like us despite a royal marriage. The Turks loathe us. The Russians do not believe we have a right to exist! Furthermore we only have legitimate casus belli against the Turks with whom we are at peace, the Hansa with whom we are allied Courland who is the vassal of the teutonic Order and the Ordenstaat (TO) itself. If we go to war without a proper casus belli all of our investment in pacifying the nobles will be blown away with the wind. We will then have an exposed rear and an exposed heart as we will be chasing down even more renbellions than we do now. We need to consolidate and rebuild our armies for the next war which may not be in your reign."

His majesty seemed peeved by the blunt metaphor then reluctantly agreed. We sent out orders to appoint tax collectors in Wllikei and Poltava and to begin raising forces on the border with the Teutonic Knights. Despite the fact that we had good generals I thought it best not to get involved in any wars until we had the force and diplomatic standing to safely wage them. The following years would be quiet for Poland but not for the rest of Europe. Our years of investment in covering the whipping boy and building the forces necessary to wage war would be turbulent ones indded as all of the major powers would see war and many minors as well.

On March 20th we amused the king by playing out possible war scenarios when we were interrupted by a squire who breathlessly informed us that pirates had been sited in the Persian Gulf. I nodded sagely and told him this news would need to be carried to General Giminski in Samarra and deputized him to carry it. The squire nodded with equal sagacity and prepared for the journey. When he had left the King asked what general Giminski would do about it. "He will do nothing about it as will we since we have no fleet and no access to the Persian Gulf even if we did. Maybe the damn fool squire will figure out why he found it necessary to inform us while he is on the way there or back though." A short while later a page boy brought a dry pair of trousers for the king, who was beginning to look old, amused but old.

On the 4th of August Russia declared war on Sweden and was joined by her allies Denmark and Pskov. Since Sweden was Denmark's vassal this war was doubly painful. It sickened me to watch the shameful behavior of my homeland in attacking a sworn vassal at the behest of a barbarous ally. It was doubly painful since our spies reported that Sweden fought well, taking Skane and Gotland in the Baltic before agreeing to a peace that meant the loss of Slavaks on July 8th of 1500. It was difficult to stay out of the war since I was also aware that the bear was bleeding a few thousand men at a time to the desolate north. It was so tempting to intervene but we had little chance of assembling sufficient force to do more than waste away in winter sieges.

In February of 1498 a member of the Ukranian nobility sent a bottle of the finest Vodka I have ever tasted to the king with a note that indicated he could produce it in quantity if the king could finance the refinery (infrastucture 2). Regrettfully that project will have to wait and we will have to content ourselves with the limited supply he is able to produce.

In September of the next year my interior spies informed me that the mood of the people seemed much improved (stab +2)

 

[Martinus]

Great AAR! I can't wait to see Polish troops entering Jerusalem on the Crusade!!!

Actually, Polish were never quite fond of that idea. When the Emperor Frederick wanted the Polish King for the Crusade (I think it was the 3rd one), the Polish replied that there is no mead (which was then Polish speciality) in the Holy Land, only wine and beer, so they can not go. Clever, aren't they? .

 

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*LOL*

Actually I think it does show great sense for the Poles to decline to crusade with Germans. Had they done anything else I suspect the returning Germans would have returned to announce that, due to the destruction of the Polish nobility they would now assume the duty of governing the Polish peasantry.

 

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Also during this time period as we were busy putting down the occaisonal revolt in Kremjetug province and the former lands of the Golden Horde, building forces opposite the Teutonic Order and investing in the consolodation of the realm the first Franco-English war erupted on December 22, 1498 as France and her allies Savoy, the Papacy, Navarre and Scotland declared war upon England whose allies in the war included Milan and Naples. Spain dishonored their alliance and themselves. I flirted with the idea of adding Spain to our alliance structure but dismissed the idea as they are proving themselves to be weak and cowardly. They like us well enough but I find them to be unreliable and inefficent militarily. This war appears to have laid the foundation for the ultimate extinction of the English Kingdom (major power status disabled for all) as England's ultimate price was the cession of Lancashire and Yorkshire to Scotland, as well as Meath and Calais to France along with healthy indemnities to both. On Novemeber 10th, 1499 Spain continued her treachery by declaring war upon England, ultimately wresting Connaught in Ireland. This provided the spectacle of yet another supposedly great power fighting a war against a loyal vassal as Naples did the right and honorable thing and declared with England. In the end both Naples and Milan survived but were sorely pressed finacially as everyone seemed to want reparations from them.

Long Live the King

In the year of our Lord 1500 King Jan Olbracht went to his eternal reward. May he be remembered among men as a good king, not a great one but certainly a good one. He will recieve credit in ages to come for the annexation of Samarra and the lands of the Golden Horde as well as a small scale victory over the hated the Turks. All in all he was what the English would call a "steady Eddie", a king as solid and dependable as the people from whom he came.

He was succeeded by Alexander Jagiellowlysk with whom I met on New Year's Day 1501. We talked for most of the day about the course I had charted for Poland with King Jan Olbracht at the end of which time I offered my resignation if he should wish it. He declined, stating that he would have never thought to block Russian expansion by removing the Golden Horde. He expressed satisfaction with the course charted thus far in all areas and asked that I stay on and continue. We decided to continue our build up in the provinces bordering Kurland and the Ordenstaat. I noted that intelligence reports indicated that the Teutonic Knights were also recruiting in response to our builds and suggested that we might want to conduct some recruitment in provinces which did not directly border them such as Masovia and Ukraine. The King agreed and urged me to continue with the work of building up our forces. I pointed out that it would be a diplomatic nightmare to embroil ourselves in a war with anyone currently at war with the Turks even if their belligerent status was a formality. He agreed and we decided that no declaration of war would be made until the war between the Venetian alliance and Turkey was concluded. I considered the possibility of a "Kurland exception" but decided even that might be a bit of a diplomatic risk. I do not ever want to be a co-belligerent with the Turks!

 

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Status Update

I've played over 20 more years into the game and will have alot to post. Unfortunately my notes are getting unwieldy and desperately need to be organized. I think if you like it so far the best is yet to come though events, and one ally in particular, have taken me in a direction I did not anticipate. I'm not complaining though I think one major power might be.

 

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Go to www.systemvoid.com/eu to upload your screenshots without hassle of finding webspace. Within 24 hours of upload you screen shots will be placed into a nice HTML file. Also if you want to add any comments then zip your sceenshots, include a text file with your comments and upload it.

Btw, great AAR.

 

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Thanks! I'll do that. Do you know where I can go to find out how to do a screenshot? I'd love to include some.

 

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In the year of our Lord 1501 the Anglo-Franco War continued to wind down as the minor powers agreed to terms. We continued to suffer the occaisional revolt in the lands formerly belonging to the Golden Horde though they seem to be getting less frequent as the inhabitants actually come to think of themselves as subjects of his majesty. In July one of "Aud's girls" succeeded in making a marriage to the Crown prince of Hessen necessary. At first I had qualms about Aud's methods but in all honesty it is good to know as much as we do. Very little happens in Europe that we don't know about. Aud looks at her work as helping young noblewomen to find the husband of her choice.

The year of our Lord 1502 began with another of Aud's girl's getting married to a Thuringian prince. The bride had good cause to blush. This time her "condition" was obvious. We simply must start arranging for these marriages to happen in a more timely manner! On the 11th of February Persia ceded Kurdistan to the Turks while England made her peace with France on the 22nd of the same month. On the 25th of April Naples paid off the Pope with 57d. On the 5th of May the late King's granddaughter was married to a young Duke from Wurtemberg. At least this time no one in the Church snickered at her condition. On September first we recieved a delegation led by one Stanislaus Wolodyoski who was inspired by the rumors of great wealth to be found in the west and offered to lead 1,000 good men on an exploratory expedition there. After I explained that we didn't have a navy he informed me that he and his men would await the construction of a navy in Kiev. I smiled and told him that I would be sure to notify him just as soon as ship construction was complete. He will no doubt die of old age before we build a single ship but he also commands the loyalty of 100 would be colonists who will be dispatched internally just as soon as an opportunity presents itself!

On the first of January 1503 we met with the king and celebrated yet another year of peace. Our forces are almost ready to reclaim our Baltic estates from the Ordenstaat though I fear that a war between Venice and Turkey grows ever more likely. I am also loathe to be caught on opposite sides of any war with Venice. Something tells me that our future is tied to that of Venice in the ongoing struggle with the heathen Turk. We allocated the 211d of tax revenue and hoped that when the time was right we would be ready. That time would be postponed as Venice and her allies Iraq and the Teutonic Order declared war on the Turks and Tripoli.

New Year's day 1504 saw Samarra in revolt and the war in the Balkans continuing. We now have the forces to fight a war in the Baltic but I absolutely refuse to be co-belligerent with the heathen Turks against Christians. The revolt in Samarra was crushed on the 10th but the timing of the revolt put a dent in our tax revenues, reducing them to 194d. On the 13th of the January the Neapolitan ambassador requested that future diplomatic correspondence between our countries no longer be forwarded to Spain as they had cancelled their vassilization with Spain. I did not bother to hide my smile and agreed. Four days later another of Aud's girl's was married to a Neapolitan prince. Talk about your basic whirlwind romances! Aud also saw two more proteges married off that year, one on August 17th to the heir of a Genoese magnate and another on November 1 to a young Tuscan noble.

On the New Year's day 1505 the king seemed depressed. He lamented the lack of great deeds during his reign and feared he would not live long enough to oversee any. We took in 212 ducats in taxes and ordered more troops recruited. In August we attended another wedding, this time between one of Aud's girls and a Navarran prince. then in October came the news we had been waiting for! Venice had annexed Kosovo province and made peace with Turkey. One month later I ordered General Ostrogski to make march post haste to Belarus with a few thousand men from the Kremjtug garrison. Sadly King Aleksander proved right. He did not live to see the campaign which would unfold during the nest year.

We met with a New King Sygmunt I Stary on New Year's day 1506. He expressed satisfaction with our service to his predecessors and retained our service. We decided to declare war on Kurland and let the chips fall where they may in terms of the Ordenstaat and or venetian involvement. I should have known. When we declared war on March 2 the Ordenstaat did not even lodge a protest. We won the battle near Riga on April 16th and recieved a demand for 78d in tribute. I tossed the envoy making this demand out of my office without a word. By the 28th of April it was all over. We annexed Courland, accquired a fleet of one warship and two transports and suffered months of diplomatic protests from Catholic countries. It was probably worth it. To tell the truth I couldn't care less what Ferdinand and Isabella think. Kurland is a rich enough province to more than justify hearing their ambassador tell me that Poland is odious. On the 23rd of September Spain declared war on the Aztec Empire only to seetle for a white peace. I would rather them tell me I am odious than be as inept as they appear to be. Despite the diplomatic controversy one of "Aud's girls" was married to a Sforoza from Milan on November 1st. In the meantime we decided not to follow up the occupation of Kurland with a war on the Ordenstaat as the occupation of Kurland revealed a hitherto unknown army in Memel which gave the Knights the advantage of numbers on that front.

On New Year's day 1507 we took in 208d and attended the wedding of the King's nephew to a lovely young noblewoman from Savoy. I had to bite my tongue to keep from commenting about how refreshing it was to attend a weedding where the bride's condition wasn't an issue. On the 25th of May Russia declared war on Sweden and this time Denmark dishonored her alliance with the bear, depsite the fact that Sweden was no longer a vassal. Denmark had another strategy which would prove far more effective in the long run. Pskove kept the alliance and furnished troops for no apparent gain to themselves.

1508 came and went rather quietly. We took in 208d. We had one rebellion in Kremjtug province in which the rebels seized the towns. I ordered that the siege be long and gruelling and that the assault come only when it looked like the rebels were about to surrender (This fortress will probably surrender in 3 months) The process reduced the population once again to exactly 5,000! On August 23 Hungary ceded Wallachia and Serbia to the turks. The Turks would need to be taken down and soon!

In 1509 we took in 214d and arranged marriages with Helvetia and the Palitinate. Sweden paid 101d to Pskov and ceded Nyland and Tavastad to Russia on July 5 two days after paying Pskov. Sweden's foreign minister is a dolt!

1510 saw us begin the year continuing to seek to gain the upper hand in the quest for numbers in the Baltic. It would end with accquisitions on another front entirely. We took in 221d in taxes and recruited more troops in the Baltic as well as sending letters and small gifts for modest diplomatic gains with Austria. On the first of March we attended manuevers in the Baltic where General Konstantin Ostrogski demontrated new techniques for using artillery in the field to support infantry (land tech 4). I congratulated him on the innovation and expressed the hope he would be able to put the technique to good use. On the 19th of March Aud beamed through a double wedding. Her girl's had snared a nephew of the Cardinal Elector of Cologne and diplomat from Kleves. On the 21st of June Persia declared war on Turkey. All of our allies honored the alliance. Seeing the chance for lasting gains in the Balkans I agreed. Turkey was alreay at war with Moldavia and would annex them before we could even get there on the 16th of July. We peeled and spliced and thinned our baltic forces as much as we dared and arrived in Bujak on August 14th. Not wanting to actually own the province we legally claim and thereby surrender our own casus belli on the turk we lifted that siege and marched to Moldavia. General Ostrogski then began another gruelling siege.

1511 dawned with no prospect for a quick resolution of the issue in Moldavia although we did have enough money saved to build a refinery in Ukraine. On February 1 King Sygmunt gave me the title of count and added to my estate, granted by Jan Olbracht in Western Prussia. That year also saw Venice declare war on Turkey as well as the Swedes agreeing to abide by the terms of the Union of Kalmar (diploannexation or royal inheritance of Sweden by Denmark). On October 15th Moldavia surrendered. We were helped by troops from the Hnaseatic League who traipsed across Poland in pathetic little contigents of 2 and 3,000. On the 3rd of December we invested Dobrudja.

On New years day 1512 we added 256d to the royal coffers and ordered more troops recruited in Bessarabia. We captured Dobrudja onAugust 16th and made a seperate peace with Turkey for the cession of Moldavia. Persia made peace on December 21st and paid 121d in reparations.

1513 was a year of consoladation. We took in 250d and spent little. I had in mind the building of another refinery.

At our meeting on New year's day 1514 we were discussing finances (263d) when Aud got a faraway look in her eyes and in an eery high-pitched voice she said:

"A sword is laid on Europa's heart,
Cutting her in twain,
Men shall take the sword and hurl the dart,
Their hopes for reunion all in vain"

The king looked at her strangely and nervously moved on. On the way home Aud asked, "I did it again didn't I?" I told her she had. "When was the last time I did that?"

"The start of the 100 years war." She shuddered, then I shuddered. She's never been wrong.

The year passed quietly. There was literally nowhere in Europe where we didn't have a Polish princess if we wanted to have one there. Then, on the 1st of October we got two pieces of news. One would rock the world and prove that Aud still had the gift. The other would change my strategic plans completely. The first came from the Cardinal of Krakow who informed us that a German monk by the name of Luther or Ludder or some such had posted heresies on a church door in Wittenberg and that his heresy was spreading like wildfire. He went on to say that the Pope insisted that this heresy be stamped out. I suggested to the King that since the Lutheran heresy was popular among loyal subjects on our German estates we should grant them full tolerance. The King agreed. The truth of the matter is that I find the Lutheran "heresy" preferable to a church headed often as not by a rapacious Italian Prince indistinguishable from any other Italian prince. The other piece of news came from the Venetian ambassador who proudly informed us that Venice had signed a peace treaty with the Turks in which Venice recieved Syria.

"Syria?!?!?" I asked. The ambassador simply smiled and nodded.

These two pieces of news would give me much to think about and take into consideration as I plotted Poland's course. Clearly, Venice was already well along the way to waging a new round of crusades. Also quiet clearly the Reformation would make possible new accquistions on the Baltic as Lutheranism became the state religion. We could use this quite profitably if we were lucky and played our cards right......

 

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Pressing F11 within the game will save a screenshot in the root EU folder. Then just go to the site and read the instructions.

 

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Excellent! That's alot easier than I thought! Had I known that I'd have taken a screenshot of Polish Troops torching Constantinople.

(The preceding was a preview of coming attractions)

 

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Yes, that would've been quite a site.