Chapter 2: Our first new country
Note: I promised you guys a factory update in this one, but here's the problem -- I have 60+ states and it would have taken 15 screenshots or one mind-blowingly huge one to cover them all (and those are the ones with factories!). I'll find some alternative way of getting them for you next update -- there's a great page in the ledger that lists the most profitable.
July 8, 1840 --We start off this update by destroying the pathetic Danzig army.
Now there is surely nobody who can stop me. NOBODY! (Danzig is the former Teutonic Order, for those who care.)
September 11, 1840 -- Oh, right. It's not just Danzig. It's Mecklenburg (ex-Brandenburg) too.
They've also invaded Oregon. Note to self -- put troops in North America.
October 1, 1840 -- With a new General and some reinforcements, I send Ludendorff running home in the glorious Second Battle of Danzig.
October 9, 1840 -- I decided to find out why Switzerland actually started this war; it turns out Mecklenburg has a hefty chunk of South Africa. The Russian Republic does not desert its allies; if the Swiss want South Africa, South Africa is what they shall have.
October 16, 1840 -- Another glorious victory.
You are all being deprived of my comedic gold by not seeing the brilliant filenames for these JPGs. I called this one "Two-chel" because it's the second time I've fought there. See? Genius!
On second thought, maybe you're better off not seeing them.
November 21, 1840 -- The fall of Portland drives me into a rage. I decide to mobilize the Russian peasantry, not realizing that the reason I'm so outnumbered in Mecklenburg is that they did it on day one. A temporary setback, nothing more.
November 24, 1840 -- I force a bunch of Bulgarians to learn Russian -- the upshot is a short term gain to RPs, a long term loss of 2.0% in RPs, but a long term increase in assimilation rate (5%). If only I could get this event in my Chinese provinces...
December 10, 1840 -- Oh, Rozhestvensky. You should stick to ships.
For those who don't know, Rozhestvensky is the name of a Russian Admiral during the Russo-Japanese war, but his first name isn't Nikita. Obscure history jokes FTW!
January 1, 1841 -- I'm in a position to enact my first political reform.
Now, were I only interested in making Russia the purest democracy on Earth, I'd expand the franchise in some way. But that's not my goal. I want social reforms too.
Compare the two pies; if I expand the electorate, I'll lose liberals in the upper house (most likely). That means no more reforms unless people are really mad. They've evened out at a nice 1.12 MIL -- a simmering boil. I decide to outlaw slavery this time; it increases productivity while simultaneously making some people mad. Oh well, can't win them all.
January 4, 1841 -- Maybe the slaveowners were all in the army; in any event, I lose an entire army (not sure which one) at Stettin.
January 29, 1841 -- Revenge at Deutsch Krone!
February 4, 1841 -- Java annexes Azerbaijan. I love the bizarreness of this world, don't you? (Azerbaijan is somewhere in SE Asia; the real Azerbaijan is it where it belongs; under Russian control).
I also sign a peace with Mecklenburg. The hilarious thing is that my war score hasn't changed this entire update; it's been at 14 for most of the war because Switzerland took the territories from the get-go. The irritating thing is that Mecklenburg never once offered me peace. Oh well. I earn valuable experience, and that's what matters.
July 1, 1841 -- Hungary loses GP status to Latvia. I'm actually surprised Hungary became a GP, since they were my satellite. Can satellites break free by becoming GPs in unconverted Vicky 2? I can't imagine that happens very often.
We are allies though, so that's neat. I also discover something interesting; there will never be an NGF unless somebody takes the NGF cores I hold in East Prussia. So yeah, no Germany in this game, because I'm not about to let that happen. Same thing for Italy, since I control Rome.
Latvia, by the way, is SW France along the Pyrenees. Guyenne, maybe, in EU 3? Auvergne? Something like that.
September 21, 1841 -- A new tech must be chosen, having acquiring Clean Coal.
It's kind of irritating that I don't have the liferating invention from Medicine yet; I could be colonizing Africa right now! Still, I want Nationalism and Imperialism ASAP so I can lock the other powers out of Africa; I've already lost some of the American Midwest and the Canadian Interior to Great Britain and Bizarro Spain (or Liepe-Detmold in this universe).
January 30, 1842 -- A great day in diplomatic history. Poland finally gives me military access so my troops from the Mecklenburg war can go home.
March 6, 1842 -- And they brought the flu with them. Jerks. :angry:
I take the "pay 2000 £" option so it lasts for a shorter time.
May 2, 1842 -- I have two new colonies in Alberta and Idaho; unfortunately, there's only one more place I can colonize, so I start working on literacy by promoting clergy in my largest province.
May 12, 1842 -- My next political reform is Censored Press; this won't affect the electorate at all, but still increases immigrant attraction. Win-win!
August 10, 1842 -- My other Canadian colony is done, so my second biggest province gets the Clergy NF.
I start building forts on my border with Manchukuo; I eventually want to clean up my borders in Asia, and that will only happen if they cooperate, I suspect forcibly. I also finish my ultimate Chinese Army I started a while ago. It's 54 divisions of awesome; 25 infantry, 2 cavalry, and 27 artillery. Sure, it bleeds attrition like it's going out of style, but it's more advanced and powerful than anything they can throw at me.
November 23, 1842 -- I don't like how badly I did against Mecklenburg. It's time to pick on somebody my own size (by which I mean somebody much, much smaller) -- sorry, Egypt, but you're keeping me from having nice neat borders.
I can take everything but Giza and Cairo in this war as colonial concessions. They have too many states to take them as a protectorate, even under N&I rules, so there's no reason to wait.
December 23, 1842 -- Ending the Egyptian army in two easy battles.
My allies show up and help by occupying. How nice of them! Also, Bohemia-Moravia declares war on Poland. Poor Poles.
May 8, 1843 -- This war is boring; it's all occupation. In international news, Great Britain declares war on Scotland (the tip of Ireland in my game), Austria declares war on Bavaria, and Parma loses its place as a GP (in my EU 3 game, they colonized a LOT) to Austria.
October 21, 1843 -- Poland is absorbed by Bohemia-Moravia. In response, I build another super army of 54 divisions that will be stationed on the border with them.
October 24, 1843 -- Our first cultural union! The new Czechoslovakia is actually the #2 GP, so they are worthy of respect.
December 20, 1843 -- Finally, I take out Egypt.
December 30, 1843 -- We now have a Free Press in Russia. :blink: Yeah, nothing at all like the real timeline.
April 3, 1844 -- Switzerland declares war on Austria but doesn't call me; works for me. As a result, Austria is replaced by Parma as a GP.
June 28, 1844 -- New elections are a-coming. I'm virtually assured a Westernizers victory (Liberals) even if I do nothing, since the Jingoism the population once had for my untaken cores has degenerated into Pro-Military sentiment, which is the single biggest issue among voters. (Yes, in Russia, even the liberals are pro-military).
July 13, 1844 -- Latvia loses GP status to Austria.
July 20, 1844 -- Belgium declares war on Spain. Poor Spain.
December 28, 1844 -- By boosting Free Trade, L-F, and Pro Military at every turn, I achieve the desired result, and another update draws to a close.
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If there's a WWI, I think it will be me and Czechoslovakia, so I intend on building more super armies along our border to deter them, or, if need be, beat them into a bloody pulp. I also want to take more land from Manchukuo at some point. Other than that, my intentions are almost entirely peaceful. Almost.