It takes three tries to take the rebels out and my cash position is now critical. Genoa annexes Siena. Genoa is going to join Tuscany.
France wants military access. Easy choice. They've been holding all mainland Aragon for ages, but can't finish them off.
Sicily wants military access. Optimists. They've actually taken a French province, don't ask me how.
My merchants fill up Venizia. I start on Lisboa. It's rich. Portugal has been colonising.
I stop and take stock, which is unusual for me. Savoy is allied to Milan. Milan is allied to me. Modena and Mantua are allied to me only. Genoa and Tuscany are allied to each other only. Venice is allied to Sicily (and Ragusa). I have a CB on Savoy (they never got round to ending the embargo from the first war) and Sicily, which might actually be useful if Sicily wasn't allied to Aragon as well as Venice. What I want is a CB on Genoa or Tuscany. I've warned them both, but they're sitting tight.
What in Heaven? I stare at the popup, unable to take it in. Persia has honoured their alliance with Genoa? How, where, why? I check the log and discover that Genoa is somehow at war with the Timurids, Chagatai(!) and Delhi, though there's no announcement in the log of the war actually starting.
I find something else in the log, though. Tuscany has dishonoured the alliance. Tuscany has no allies. I put on my best evil smile and double-check to make sure.
Rats! Toads! Tuscans! Other unclean creatures! Tuscany has been guaranteed by Austria. I weigh the odds in a war against the HRE. They don't look good.
Savoy annexes Switzerland. We're at -46 relations and they refuse my Mil Access offer.
The Teutonic Knights want an alliance. I am not amused.
Corsica is independent. Genoa has also lost Azov and the Timurid war appears to be over. Strange that there was nothing in the log about it starting or ending. If I could get to Liguria, I'd DOW right now.
Then I remember I
can get to Genoa (Milan gave me Mil Access in the last war). I make Hadrianus a general (predictably worthless), and DOW.
Modena supports. Milan dishonours (natch). Mantua dishonours (natch). Anathema on the both of them. But just a moment? Mantua just gave me a CB and
they have no allies? Genoa goes on temporary hold.
My stability is trashed, Mantua is besieging Ferrara and Genoa is besieging Roma. But I have more troops than the pair of them. I chase Genoa around until I can get a siege force into Siena, then march north, retake Ferrara, chase Mantua's army into Milan and settle down to the siege.
In the middle of all this, I miscalculate my money and get hit with an auto-loan. Doesn't matter. Mantua is going down.
Burgundy DOWs Savoy. Good for Burgundy. Last thing I want is Savoy coming over all opportunistic. I note that France has finally made peace with Aragon, taking two provinces.
Siena falls. Mantua falls. I force-vassalise and take 50 ducats for my trouble.
I march into Liguria, defeat the Genoese army and siege. Somehow, my stability is back up to +2. Savoy loses to Burgundy, giving up two provinces and the Canaries, which I never knew they had. Milan dishonoured on them too, I notice. Typical.
Liguria goes down. Vassalising Genoa takes 82 warscore, so I can't do it and take Siena. I settle for Siena and money.
Amazingly, my reputation is still respectable, and my prestige is up to the dizzy heights of -2. My relations with my neighbours, on the other hand...
I check the prospects for alliance: Milan – impossible; Savoy – impossible; Venice – impossible; Austria – impossible, Burgundy – impossible. Guess I won't be disbanding any troops, then.
Utrecht wants an alliance. Why?
Trade 3 is reached. I switch research to Land 2. I feel I may need it.
I spend the money from the peace settlements on two more workshops.
Now it's Naxos wanting an alliance. And Ragusa.
Siena revolts. 12,000 maniacs swat aside my garrison. This could get tricky.
I hit max stability and throw an Artist into the gutter to save 0.3 ducats a month. Yes, I am that cheap.
Good ol' Hadrianus leads the massed armies of the Papacy (all 9,000 of them) into battle with the rebels and is duly killed, becoming the third consecutive Pope to die in battle. Maybe I should remember them as martyrs, but the real person getting martyred was me, to Shock 0 Siege 0 “generals”.
Next up is Clemens VIII. Decent administrator, not so hot elsewhere.
Stability hit, of course. Maybe I shouldn't have fired that Artist.
I tentatively put Clemens junior in charge of the army and he turns out to be Shock 2. Shortly afterwards, the rebels cease to be an issue.
What's this on the popup? Alliance offer from Castile? I can live with that, thanks.
My six-star Trader is renowned throughout the nation. Didn't need the Artist after all.
Now it's Ferrara that's revolting. Clemens deals with it, but the mobilisation costs money and I have to mint briefly so I can pay my loan.
Up to 25 merchants placed (Venizia, Liguria, Thrace, Ile-de-France, Lisboa). You'd think I'd be a tech leader, but I'm just plugging along in the middle.