The Holy Roman Imperial Army was stretched thin in its war against the Byzantines. Jerusalem was desperately holding out with a few rickety siege engines against the remnants of Justinian's forces. Dyrrachium was secure, but we lacked the manpower to push into Turkey. The tide was turning in the East's favor. But, still, Justinian knew that his production was shattered; he had been reduced from a world power to an also-ran, and he needed to regroup almost as badly as Charlemagne did. It was clearly time for peace:
In the aftermath of the war, Constantinople even traded knowledge of Nationalism in exchange for Printing Press and Economics. Charlemagne's ambassador blustered on about economic development on the Anatolian peninsula, but back home, the new knowledge was put to good use. The draft was instituted, Barracks became symbols of strength and security, and the Taj Mahal began construction in Bremen.
Reinforcements were shuttled through our Apostolic Palace-mandated open borders with Justinian to reinforce Jerusalem and a new offensive force was mustered in Dyrrachium. This new stack even included a long-overdue Great Medic:
Meanwhile, our contact with the far east allowed us to win a few easy gold from China in exchange for Literature. This, along with the consolation prize from losing the race to the Taj Mahal (once again, China, ladies and gentlemen!) would be most helpful in upgrading a few select City Raider Macemen into Riflemen. Qin Shi Huang also traded us exotic resources for the happiness and health of our people. All was not happy news, though. Jerusalem chafed under Charlemagne's rule, casting the city into revolt as the city's elite demanded a return to Byzantium. Mansa Musa once again offered his nation as a vassal state but was once again rejected on the grounds that he would be a diplomatic liability. And Saladin, blustering Saladin, once again demanded that the Holy Roman Empire convert to Islam. I don't think he get's the whole "Holy Roman" part of the equation.
Tubruq was founded to cement our control over the western Mediterranean:
I doubt that it'll amount to much, but it shouldn't cost us much, either. We should at least break even on it.
By 1610, Charlemagne revealed himself once again. In what few Byzantine histories remain, he is known as "Charles Twice-Betrayer."
With Riflemen in our corner, this war would prove much less tedious. That's not to say it did not lack for surprises.
For instance, Justinian's brother in Orthodoxy joined in the fray:
And made a reasonable push for Danzig:
But Peter was quickly beaten back and ended up paying a small sum of gold for the privilege of backing out of the conflict.
The real conflict was on the Bosphorus:
When I say that this second war was less tedious, I don't mean that it was completely eithout tedium. That culture bonus would still take some time to pull down with my undersized force of Trebuchets. And no, that Spanish stack isn't part of our war. Isabella is, once again, at war with the Arabs.
While our troops camped outside the gates of Constantinople, watching as their siege weapons methodically pounded the walls, Bremen's diplomats were busy obtaining Chemistry for a surprisingly reasonable price:
This allowed us to jump right into Steel as our next research target. No more slow Trebuchets!
By 1635, Constantinople (no, never Istanbul) finally fell, guaranteeing our control of the Balkans:
At this point, Justinian recognized that his cause was well and truly lost. He offered to capitulate, swearing fealty in all things. Charlemagne remembered the Jerusalem revolts, though, and hardened his heart. Byzantine culture was a stain upon the map. It was a stain that needed to be purged.
But there was other news in the world. Our friend the Lady Elizabeth pulled us into war with the Arabs (we would have to come to blows with them eventually, anyway) and then, as Pope, she declared a Crusade against the heathen Mali. So we found ourselves in a war on three fronts, but Mansa Musa is no warrior, and Saladin is likely preoccupied with that massive Spanish stack rampaging through his lands. Also, due to our *ahem* incredible luck at being the first to find the one nautical path across the Americas via the Tierra del Fuego, we were also the first to prove that the world is round:
I don't know why I pursue that accomplishment every game, especially when I'm quite content to be a landlocked power. It denies the bonus to the seagoers, I suppose...
By 1660, the Byzantine emperor was clearly in a state of checkmate. His empire, diminished to two Turkish cities, was filled with Charlemagne's Riflemen. He begged for peace, but he had nothing to offer. Charlemagne took little pleasure in crushing his eastern neighbor, but I took quite a bit in it
So there it goes. The civ that I'd meant to choose ended up being the first to truly die.
This seemed, obviously, a good place to end the round and seek direction. Our stranglehold on Rifling is secure:
Not only does nobody else have it, nobody else has Replaceable Parts! So we're clearly in a place of overwhelming strength. How best to leverage it? Do we finally put Saladin out of his misery? Take out Mansa Musa and claim Africa as our own? Go crazy and try to reclaim the crown of Caesar? We can do anything we want at this point, so what sounds like the most fun?
Our army isn't huge at the moment, but we have more than enough Production to make it so if we want:
So there it is. Sorry again for the delay. I'll try to get another round done this weekend to make up for it. Thoughts?
) I think that you should clean Western Europe before they start to go to the Americas, especially France ( really you should had captured Visegard too in t1 
) and Izzy will be relatively easy, especially with rifles (and possible cannons). Then turn on Peter, take his Western Russian cities and capitulate him.
