Welcome to my 2nd Wallachia's playthrought (3rd playthrought, if we take a moment to remember the infamous Knight's who crashed twice, RIP) ! As you can guess, I kinda like this country.
A few months went by since the first I played this nation, and I expect to do better than last time (where I even went bankrupt). My objective was to get the Dracula's Revenge achievement. Done.
Now, we'll look for the bigger picture : driving the Ottomans out of the Balkans, then Anatolia, then wiping out their existence. And then, we'll start to secure the prosperity of christianity by taking control of Rome. And, why not, try to convert as much people as possible ?
This is Wallachia. A beautiful country, quite young (founded in 1330) but with a strong history. It used to be bigger, with a sea access in Bessarabia, but we lost it a few years ago after a defeat against the Ottomans.
Our first move will be to get rid of Mircea Basarab. He's a fool and not much more competent than our actual king, but most importantly : he's not a Draculesti. Mircea might be from the dynasty of Wallachia's founder, but we need the son of the dragon to lead us.
This glorious name is a reminder than Vlad II is a member of the Societas Draconistarum (the Order of the Dragon), a knight order which only aim to defend the christianity, especially against the Ottoman Empire. This is a legacy we can not afford to throw away, especially to some 2/1/2 heir.
And so, our dynasty will prevail. Mircea Basarab accidentally fell on his sword. Sometimes, bad things happens. But this time, it was a lucky accident.
Unfortunately, we do not have an heir. Not even a wife. And so, Vlad II marry a fine woman from Hungary, and improve the relationship between us and Poland in the mean time. One of them might become our major asset against the biggest threat we can imagine : the muslim armies of Mehmet II.
We have a peace treaty against the Ottoman Empire. For now. But they won't stay inactive while time flies by. They are already lurking over Albania, Serbia and what's left of the Byzantium Empire. Not to mention the entire Anatolia. We have to act and get more power before we become interesting in their eyes.
We currently have 3 choices :
- expand into the Balkans, by attacking the Ottomans. Which would be a disaster without proper allies.
- expand into Hungary, which would be a disaster as we are linked by the sacred union of marriage. And also they might crush us.
- expand into Moldavia, vassal of Poland. Again, their army would tear us apart pretty easily.
By the way, by "3 choices", I meant "3 legitimate choices." There's a 4th. Not a glorious one, but we do not seek glory at the moment. We are looking for survival. On the other side of the sea lays our fate : we shall attack one of these small insignificants countries.
The 11th of December 1444, Wallachia is at war against Circassia. An orthodox tribe, alone, waiting to be conquered. And in a few months, it's done. Circassia kneel before Wallachia.
Vlad II receiving the oath of loyalty from the chief Petrezok, leader of Circassia.
This is the first vassal, and a decisive foothold in Caucasus. But there's no time to wait, the Ottomans are already at war against Byzantium.