[Abe Sargent]

Failures and Successes


Glad to see each and every one of you reading my dynasty! Now, if we can get back on topic, please?


I’m considering building another 1k troops to prepare for war. I can either do that or keep focusing on the trading thing. I only have around 10 ducats, and each trader costs 1.8 to send out, so I only have so many more shots. If build another 1k troops, then maybe I’ll have the manpower to take out a nearby country. I doubt I can build an army, get its morale up, and more once I’m in a position to DOW on someone.

Let’s do it.

March 2, 1469 – Our 1000 troops are fully equipped and armed, doubling our land power.

April 1, 1469 – We are now losing 0.22 ducats monthly. That translates to almost the full 3 ducats we make annually going to our army’s upkeep. Time for us to use those men.

I decide to make a bold move. I am going to try and bring in Dulkadir’s only province, Adana.

Where and who? Adana is situated in the armpit between the Turkish landmass and the Levant. It’s adjacent to the water and is currently at war with Trebizond and Georgia, so it might be a little busy at the moment. Bad thing, I can only cart my men over 1k at a time with my navy. Even worse thing, Dulkadir is allied with the Ottomans.

My hope is that the Ottomans will be busy with their several current wars and I’ll just slip behind Dulkadir, siege their capital, annex them, and then get peace with the Ottomans before much damage is done. That’s the plan anyways

BTW – Dulkadir is a Sunni state with a Sunni populace – so no hope for Christianity or Catholicism here. It’s merely an attack of opportunity.

May 4, 1469 – My navy is in the Gulf of Cyprus and there does not appear to be any visible troops in Adana. I declare war and launch my troops. We get a stability drop for not having a Casus Belli but it’s not as bad a drop as it would be if we had DOW’d a Catholic. We are still positive in stability, just barely so.

Modena has refused to honor our alliance but Athens has joined the cause. The Ottomans and Candar join the fight against us. Now, quick like a fox, quick like a fox, quick like a fox.

May 23, 1469 – Our 1st 1k in troops arrive to no resistance and begin the siege. I send my navy back for the other 1k.

June 24, 1469 – My other 1k in troops arrive and join the siege. In the meantime, there’s been a lot of cancelled trade agreements and embargoes placed. No battles except that Dulkadir sent my navy out of the Gulf of Cyprus once in a one day battle.

22 July 1469 – Finally some resistance as a large but demoralled Ottoman army engages us. Also today, Georgia was annexed into the Ottoman Empire. That’s bad. Also today, the Turks arrive in Athens and lay siege. I need to win in Adana, then sue for peace relatively quickly.

30 July, 1469 - We win the battle but lost 200 men. With this turn of events, and their attention that was turned elsewhere not resting fully on us, its time for peace. I offer a White Peace and it is accepted. Athens and us are now at peace with Dulkadir, the Ottomans and Candar. It was the right idea, but the wrong place and/or time.

I order my troops returned. This ain’t over yet. Time to push elsewhere.

It’s time to take Morea.

August 15, 1469 – Our stability increases, which is good. We need it to.

September 25, 1469 – My troops are back and I’ve moved them to Athens. I’m about to assault Morea. I declare war on them. Athens joins us. I march my men to battle. Wallachia joined battle against us.

October 12, 1469 – After a seven day battle, we win the Battle of Morea and our men begin the siege.

October 15, 1469 – Wallachia has accepted peace with Transylvania – full annexation. We are now no longer at war with the non-existent Wallachia and Morea stands or falls on her own! More to the point, an annexation by a power we were at war with previously led to us leaving that battle, but this time, it may aid us.

I move my slider towards innovative again. I can do this every sixteen years. I take another stability hit, but it’s easiest to restore stability when you are a one province country.

January 15, 1470 – We win the Siege of Morea. I annex Morea!

I drop my troop maintenance down to the minimum allowable again.

We now have a tarnished reputation. With the stability drop, we now break about even monthly, so we no longer have any monthly maintenance drops. This should improve our investment as our stability rises.

Let’s take a look at both of my provinces:

Naxos – 3434 people work the wineries here in the Duchy. The people here are Greek with Orthodox religion. It makes 2.1 ducats in taxes and produces a little over 10 per year at Thrace – the local center of trade where the wine is valued decently.

Morea – Also a Greek province, which is probably why it is not experiencing any rebel risk right now. We kept it all in the family, so to speak. They are also Orthodox as well. The people here also work the wine trade, making 1.14 ducats in taxes annually and sending around the same in trade to Thrace. There are 5726 people living here. This is a core province of the Ottomans. Ick.

Well, this should certainly change things a bit. I intend to stay clear of wars for a while, annex Athens diplomatically, until I get my reputation back up. We can’t DOW and annex in an aggressive war like this very often – it makes a lot of waves. But we needed the extra province, and I had to strike while the iron was hot after my failed war with Dulkadir and the investment in the military. Luckily, it paid off.