PerfNES I: Ultima Ratio Regum

Orders in at exactly the deadline
 
Ah, that's a shame. I'm sorry to lose you, Panda

The deadline is here. If you still haven't sent orders, you've got maybe five minutes to get them in before I go offline.

In case you're still here, you should probably post who you received orders from in case you missed anyone's. :)
 
Or if the list is shorter, those who have failed to send in a timely manner.
 
Sent orders yesterday with a read receipt that is currently unconfirmed, so I'm among the number who endorse a list.
 
The Basileus Rhomaion Ioannes IX, may he reign forever, guarantees the territorial integrity of the city of Kyiv. Their pious uprising against the forces of paganism, and liberation of Christians from the sinful nobility of darkest Lithuania, is a holy act, and he offers whatever support can be provided to the Metropolitan of Kyiv should the Prince of Lithuania attempt to reassert his rule over the fair city. He is joined in this declaration by Regas Georgios of Volynia, a noble Christian monarch.

Ioannes IX, in Christ the God faithful Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
 
Gonna withdraw from this. Can't do neses atm if I want to play at all with focus.

So instead of having the ability to stomp on me, you guys can stomp on a npc. :p
 
Make that 3.
 
Perfectionist: How much roughly does it cost for a nation to keep up a single company? If by 'almost exclusively soldiers' pay' you mean roughly 75% of my budget in particular, then the average cost per three years to me is 30k Tarifs, or twice the cost of raising a company. Is this correct?
Otoh The Order seems to pay about 5k or less per three years because of their heavily localized support. If we could have a rough list of how upkeep varies according to different conditions I think it'd be very useful for everyone. Also, does raising levies and noble forces mean we have to take on their logistics costs or not?
I would've kept it to a PM, but I'm sure this math will be useful to everyone if you have the time for it ^^ (though what with it varying so much individually (as the minute budgetary detail suggests) maybe a list varying from place to place and time would be too unwieldy).

Anyway I'm pretty sure I couldn't have afforded a full buy, so I'm glad I aksed some of it earlier. Hopefully I've averted losing the peace if we win. :)
 
Sorry about missing orders. I was sort of blanking on anything to do with Provence and it being a midterms week I never quite got the time to do the research I intended to do. On top of that when it actually came to throw some basic spending orders together I had been up for close to thirty hours and ended up accidentally falling asleep. So yeah, I guess I'll officially start this NES next week which is much less busy for me, assuming I am not invaded and annexed anyways. :p
 
I am kind of confused by the high number of my upkeep. The Oirats have twice my army and are centralised, yet they have the same upkeep as my decentralised state and my relatively small army. What gives?
 
Your army is more technologically advanced. Soldiers with boomsticks cost more.
 
Update 1 - 1500-1502

International Events

The Lotharingians and the English have concluded a marriage alliance. The youngest daughter of the English emperor and the second son of the Lotharingian king were married at Aachen in 1501. Though well-received in England, the alliance created a certain amount of controversy in Lotharingia; influential members of the Alemannic faction loudly warned of the dangers of English ambitions, and the need to present a united front with Gascony against any aggression.

(-1 Alemannic Confidence)

The Frisians and Swabians likewise have decided upon a marriage alliance, marrying the Prince's grandson to the Duke's granddaughter.

The Liyunese and the Muwahhidun have at last reached some sort of lasting peace agreement. The Liyunese Emir, judging that his finances could no longer support war, offered half a dozen border fortresses in exchange for peace, and Al-Radi jumped at the chance to relieve the pressure on the Muwahhidun state. This was, of course, unpopular with hawks on both sides; the Malik of Tulaytulah was especially furious.

(+1 Muwahhidun Prestige, +1 Liyunese Prestige, -2 Malikate of Tulaytulah Confidence, +1 Liyunese Gentry Confidence, +1 Maghrebi Berbers Confidence, -1 Dhahabi clergy Confidence)

The Duke of Saxony has become the patron of the well-known artist Conrad von Soest. Attracting von Soest has brought no small luster to the Duke's court, but perhaps the Duke ought to be worrying about more material things? (see below)

(+1 Saxon Prestige)

Thanks to the persistence of the young Prince Aimeric, the Sicilian and Egyptian branches of the Catholic Church agreed to meet in a council to decide the vexed question of who should exercise supremacy over the church. The council, presided over by Aimeric in person, was held on the hastily renovated island of Jerba in 1501. The meeting started with an embarrassment for the Sicilian delegation, when the Egyptians showed up with expensive and exotic gifts that the Sicilians, outfitted by the generosity of merchants, couldn't possibly match, and things only got worse for Aimeric once the talking started. The Egyptians agreed, at great length, on all the main doctrinal points, but consistently avoided the only point the Sicilians were really interested in, that of authority. When at last Aimeric forced a clear discussion of the issue, the Egyptians not only did not agree that the Prince of Sicily should be the head of their church, but produced convincing arguments as to why the position, if it were to be normalized at all, should belong to the Egyptian monarch. The frustrated Sicilians became increasingly acrimonious, and when the council dissolved in failure the general impression amongst observers was that it had all been an unsubtle attempt by Aimeric to gain leverage over Egypt.

(-1 Sicilian Prestige)

One of the more improbable of the many marriage alliances sealed these years was the one between the Hungarians and the Romans. The heir of the Hungarian king was married, in 1502, to the granddaughter of the Roman emperor, to mutual horror on the part of the ecclesiastic communities of the two polities. The Gaborite bishops were partially placated only by royal assurances that the alliance was intended to allow total focus on those damned Papists, while the Roman church was not placated at all. Bad enough to ally with the lunatic Hungarians; nearly intolerable for a member of the imperial family to actually convert to their ridiculous religion.

(+1 Hungarian Prestige, -1 Gaborite synod Confidence, -2 Orthodox Church Confidence)

The Swabians and the Bohemians sealed an alliance, much to the distaste of the eastern faction in Bohemian politics.

(-1 Eastern nobility Confidence)

The Georgian kingdom, surrounded by greater, greedy powers, has long sought a solid protective alliance. Deeming the loose association with the Chobanids insufficient, King Constantine has sealed a defensive alliance with Mamai Khan of the Horde. The Georgian Alans were dismayed, seeing any chance of reclaiming their former territories disappearing, but for the most part the Georgian elites favor the policy. Even if the Horde can't be trusted, at least it might keep Persia off Georgia's back.

(-1 Osi Confidence)

The Chobanids, too, have been trying to make friends. Emissaries bearing gifts were sent to Alexandria and Samarkand. For the former, at least, the Sultan's timing was impeccable; with seemingly clear evidence of Roman hostile intent (see below), sentiment amongst the Egyptian merchantry in favor of a firmer alliance with the Chobanids is on the rise. The delegation to Samarkand was somewhat less successful; the aged engineer Altan of Mosul, sent to build cannons for the khan, unfortunately died along the way, while the khan could hardly be stirred to greet the delegation, when they did arrive in Samarkand.

The Ardabilids have sent a diplomatic and missionary expedition to East Africa. They arrived at Maqadishu in 1501, and have attempted to ingratiate themselves with the locals. Not much has come of it yet, but the Dhahabis have mostly managed to be polite and on the plus side the locals don't seem as opposed to the Dhahabis as most Middle Eastern Muslims.

Zygimantas, the Duke of Lithuania, and the Danish Order have formed an alliance against Algirdas. By the terms of this alliance, the Order was permitted to build two castles within Zygimantas' territory. Despite opposition from the local Lithuanian nobility, this they did.

Vasili of Tver has strengthened the ties between Tver, Yaroslavl and Moscow by marrying his daughter to the Prince of Moscow's brother, and his young son to the younger daughter of the Prince of Yaroslavl. While the explicit triple alliance Vasili hoped for has not materialized, the marriages have reinforced the friendship between the central Russian states.

A number of prominent Horde nobles along the border with Nizhny Novgorod crossed the border and entered the service of the Grand Prince.

(+1 Tatar servicemen Strength)

Domestic Events

Leofric of England has been taking an interest in his southern defenses. The defenses of La Rochelle have been reinforced with half a dozen cannon, although the wisdom of using valuable guns in static fortifications has been questioned by his officers. More generally, steps have been taken to bring the defenses of the southern marches up to snuff, coinciding with a major royal peregrination. Although the funds allocated were too thinly spread to make much more than a cosmetic difference, the general impression of a renewed royal interest in southern affairs has been well received. By the English, anyway; the Gascons have been watching the efforts with some trepidation.

The Gascons have likewise been shoring up their defenses, but to the surprise of both the English and many of the Gascon officers, they have focused on their own southern border. And the Gascon effort has been far more serious than that of the English; the treasury has been nearly emptied, and dozens of forts in the Pyrenees have been repaired and modernized. This effort was coupled with a similarly intensive royal program to improve the road links through the Pyrenees, with a particular focus on the military thoroughfares. This has not been particularly popular with the Gascon elite, who generally feel that they should be focused on the English, not the Muslims.

The aging Forst Ygo of Frisia has been spending lots of time with his favorite alchemist. Rumors fly that he is seeking the philosopher's stone. Ygo's second son was despatched to the Mediterranean at the head of a small, royally subsidized trading fleet accompanied by a couple of royal warship, with the aim of expanding the Frisian commercial presence in the south. The expedition was well received at Liyunese ports and Isbunah, but around Gibraltar they were mistaken for Sicilians and attacked by Muwahhidun corsairs. Having fought off the pirates, the Frisians then encountered the main Sicilian fleet off Oran, and were politely but firmly instructed to turn around. Heigo and the expedition returned to Frisia having failed to achieve their more ambitious aims, but having at least established some moderately useful ties with the Isbunans

(-1 Frisian Ship)

The King of Denmark has spent most of the last three years peregrinating around Norway. This has of course raised royal visibility in Norway, but in certain circles, most notably including the more paranoid Swedes, the renewed royal interest in Scandinavia has been interpreted as shoring up support for an attempt to conquer Sweden.

(+1 Norge Strength)

King Karl of Sweden has constructed a couple of small fortifications on the border with Skane. It's not much, but to the the aforementioned paranoids it's better than nothing.

The Emir of Liyun has contracted a complicated financial arrangement with the League. The upshot is that Liyun's debt costs have dropped considerably, and League commercial privileges within Liyun have increased considerably. This pleased the divan and the gentry, naturally.

(+1 Divan Confidence, +1 Liyunese Gentry Confidence, -100,000 Liyun Revenue)

If the aforementioned Malik of Tulaytulah was angry when Liyun made peace, he was apoplectic when news from Saraqusta arrived early in 1500. It was perhaps fortunate that the Liyunese had already begun demobilizing most of his force, or he might have been inclined to join the war himself, with or without authorization. As it was, he launched a bitter tirade against the Emir, and when he was subsequently relieved of his position he and several of his officers defected to Saraqusta.

(-2 Malikate of Tulaytulah Strength, 1 Liyunese Company to Saraqusta).

The Saraqustan ulema have declared a jihad against the Muwahhidun, condemned Muwahhidun persecution of the Rushdite population, and called on the emirs of Liyun and Saraqusta to end the Muwahhidun domination of southern Andalusia. Emir Faisal was, of course, happy to oblige, to general acclaim from the populace.

(+1 Divan Confidence)

The Isbunans have been busy with various minor patronage efforts: building mosques, prettying up the port of Isbunah, and so on. Nothing much has come of it, but at least the government looks engaged. On a slightly more major note, the government offered a bribe for anyone willing to establish an additional factory in Africa. A Jewish merchant on the way back from the Gold Coast promptly planted the flag at Arguin and claimed the fund. It is unclear what actual value a presence at Arguin has to anyone.

(+Isbunan outpost on Arguin)

In early spring of 1500, the ancient Amir of the Muwahhidun at last expired in Malaqah. There ensued a bitter but brief power struggle between his sons that ended with one poisoned, one hanged, and the youngest, Abu Yusuf, reigning. Real power in the new regime, however, was held by the mastermind of Abu Yusuf's accession, his Andalusian wazir Hakim Al-Radi. By summer of 1500, Al-Radi had consolidated his control of the state apparatus and laid out an ambitious reform program. Events, however, overtook the Muwahhidun before he could put it into action (see below).

The Duke of Swabia has concocted a scheme to better control his nobility, by expanding his judicial oversight of their activities. This, of course, has been generally unpopular amongst the nobility, especially in Bavaria. Additionally, the Duke has encouraged the alpine communes to establish militias to patrol the alpine passes with Italy, and has even provided equipment out of his own pocket. It's not clear how much good the militias would do against a serious Italian invasion, and still less clear why the Duke thinks such an invasion is on the cards, but the communes haven't complained.

(+1 Alpine communes Strength, +1 Alpine communes Confidence, -1 Bavaria Confidence)

Having agreed to an alliance with the Swabians, the Bohemians focused on fortifying their eastern holdings, and invested a great deal of money to strengthening the defenses of the eastern portion of the Polish frontier. They have also begun to take a harder line against the spread of the Gaborism in the east, and with state-backing the Catholic Church has begun taking steps to root out heretics.

(+1 Catholic Church Confidence)

King Jan Olbracht of Poland has commissioned a census of his domains. This has, naturally, been heavily resisted by the nobility and the bughers, who view it, as they view nearly everything, as a step towards despotism, and has additionally been somewhat underfunded to achieve its expansive goals. However, some progress has been made, and some additional money is coming into the royal treasury.

(+6,000 Polish Revenue, -1 Burghers Confidence)

Gaborite missionaries have become increasingly active in southern Poland. While relatively few even among the peasants have yet converted to the heresy, the local Catholic clergy are worried, and have requested that the Polish crown crack down before things goes any further.

(+ Polish Gaborites)

King Stephen of Hungary has been busily spreading his considerable wealth. He has lavishly patronized artists, constructed or repaired half a dozen churches, bought out the private debts of many of his loyal katonak, and has generally been acting exceptionally kingly. It's generally considered an attempt to repair the fallout from the Roman marriage, but who's going to argue with free money? On a perhaps more practical note, the Hungarians established a large, state-owned gun foundry in Esztergom. It's not yet been required to operate at high capacity, but it's a step towards a reliable source of guns.

(+1 Gaborite synod Confidence, +100,000 Hungarian Expenses)

The Roman Emperor Ioannes has likewise built himself a cannon foundry, but his is, of course, bigger, better and more expensive. It's also not yet running at anything close to capacity, and attracting skilled foreigners has proved somewhat challenging, since the best engineers are mostly Italians, Sicilians or Syrians. In a vaguely similar vein, the Romans have launched a massive effort to improve the infrastructure of their provinces in the northern Balkans. Progress has been made, but even the enormous sum so far invested is insufficient to complete the project. There has been much speculation about why precisely the emperor cares so much about the roads in Croatia, particularly as he's apparently not planning to invade Hungary.

(+250,000 Roman Expenses)

In a dramatic step, the Romans have revoked the Egyptian commercial privileges they were forced to grant after the Cycladic War, while pointedly maintaining Sicily's corresponding privileges. While this step has brought a great deal of money into the imperial treasury and has been very popular among the Roman merchantry, it has provoked nothing short of a paroxysm of rage in Alexandria. Egyptian merchants, already feeling the pressure, are demanding some sort of state intervention, while the more cynical captains in the Egyptian fleet are already preparing for a joint Sicilian-Roman onslaught.

(+1 Roman Prestige, +300,000 Roman Revenue, +1 Imperial Bureaucracy Confidence)

Lucrezia, the young Queen of Egypt, having attained her majority, has been cementing her rule. Building projects occupied most of the royal attention. In Damietta, the crown sponsored the construction of the Church of Saint Anastasia of Sirmion, which, particularly in the aftermath of Jerba, strengthened the association between the queen and the Church. More practically, a major expansion of the Red Sea base at Aydhab was undertaken.

(+1 Egyptian Prestige)

There seems to be some sort of chronic illness spreading through the Norman royal families. The young monarchs of both Egypt and Sicily have often been absent from council meetings and confined to their quarters, and when they do appear are usually flushed and out of breath. The best Arab physicians are at a loss to explain it.

As Ethiopian patronage of the Coptic Church in Nubia increases, the Coptic ecclesiastics in Nubia are growing ever more resentful of the Catholic presence. Alwa, too, has been throwing its weight around more in the last couple of years, and the Eparch of el-Adwab seems to be growing closer to his Alwan counterpart.

(-1 Eparch of Alwa Confidence, -1 Eparch of el-Adwab Confidence)

The Ethiopian negus, Asnaf Sagad, has been lavishly patronizing artists, scholars, merchants, churchmen and various other people who need patronage. His court grows more magnificent and imperial all the time.

(+1 Ethiopian Prestige, +1 Coptic Church Confidence)

With his northern border secured, Constantine of Georgia has turned to securing his southern border. A royal initiative to construct fortifications and shore up troop corridors on the southern border has, unfortunately, not amounted to much, as the allotted funds were spread across the whole of the frontier and so no one sector really received a significant improvement.

Taqi ad-Din Husayn, Sultan of the Chobanids, has devoted most of his energy to various domestic activities. Concerned that the sudden mania for recruiting Syrian engineers would deplete his technical base, the Sultan has stepped up royal patronage of the Syrian workshops and tried to organize an academy to train more engineers. Though this last was not especially successful, increased royal patronage has gone some way to preventing many departures. An attempt to improve the irrigation and water management systems in Syria has slightly benefited the local farmers, but the Syrian infrastructure is generally fairly dependable to begin with, and some wonder why such an effort wasn't focused in Mesopotamia, where it would have done more good. Less prosaically, the Sultan has decided to reestablish the old House of Wisdom in Baghdad. As of yet the madrassa has only a fraction of its namesake's glory, but it's definitely a start.

(+1 Chobanid Prestige)

Ismail of the Ardabilid Empire has begun the process of organizing a system of toll roads crisscrossing his domain. The system is only partially completed, and most of the revenue goes to the local authorities, but some revenue is coming in, and it might at least make troop movements easier.

(+7,000 Ardabilid Revenue)

Vasili II, the prince of Veliky Novgorod, has ordered the re-fortification of Novgorod itself, and the construction of a fort at the outlet of the Neva, to guard against any Danish incursions. The fortification of Novgorod has consumed most of the allocated funds, and the fort on the Neva is still incomplete. Lack of funds also plagued his other construction project; monies allocated to the the construction of religious structure were sufficient to build several small churches, but certainly nothing like the grand cathedral Vasili had hoped for.

Prince Algirdas of Lithuania has focused on shoring up his control over his territories, and on properly arming his soldiers. These proved to be wise decisions (see below).

Vasili of Tver has stepped up his patronage activities, and seems to have a particular mania for woodcuts. He has sought out Russian engravers, and commissioned a grand history of his reign from said engravers. His other efforts centered around expanding infrastructure, and encouraging economic development. These were less successful, as the economic life of the principality was somewhat interrupted by Veliky Novgorod's invasion (see below).

Altai, the new Khan of Delhi, opened 1500 with a concerted effort to secure the loyalty of his various subordinates, mostly by bribing them. This was generally successful, allowing Altai to concentrate on his great plan for the destruction of Bengal (see below). With the khan away at the front, the government of the khanate has been mostly managed by his competent chief minister, Garbhasena.

(+1 Zamindar Confidence)

Raja Cankilli of Jaffna has established a navy, and spent great sums of money on constructing shipyards and docks to support. An attempt to establish a school for training sea captains had to be scuttled, however, when naval experts explained to the Raja that one could not expect to learn to handle ships by any means other than experience. On the terrestrial front, the Raja, convinced that his Viceroy was holding out on him, commissioned an audit of Ruhuna, and sent most of his army south to ensure that it was performed properly. Once in Ruhuna, the army was ordered to fight a pretend war, apparently with the hope that this would intimidate the Viceroy. Not really understanding the concept or point of a pretend war, the Raja's soldiers instead started looting local villages, raping women, and on a couple of occasions fighting skirmishes with Viceregal levies organized to stop them. When the army was finally brought back under control, the Viceroy flatly refused to waste time on an audit, reasonably pointing out that he instead needed to repair the damage done by the Raja's soldiers.

(+Jaffna navy, -1 Viceroy of Ruhuna Confidence)

Khatun Mandukhai of Mongolia has decided that further reform of the bureaucracy is needed. To that end, she has commissioned, at great expense, the preparation of a canon of texts to replace the Confucian canon and inculcate proper Yenogretic values in its readers. She has also offered enormous salaries to Jurchen and Korean notables willing to take positions in the Mongol civil service. This initiative has so far attracted far more con men than genuinely interested bureaucrats, but may pay more dividends in the future.

Strife between pro- and anti-Mongol clans has been growing in the Jurchen Confederacy.

(-1 Ula Confidence)

As his neighbors watch warily, the Emperor of the Nanhai has undertaken a truly vast military build-up, more than doubling the size of the state's standing force. And with his vast new army, the emperor has decided...to stay on the defensive on all fronts. While the now-largest army in China sits on its heels, the Nanhai have developed a correspondingly enormous budgetary shortfall, and it remains to be seen how the emperor can possibly pay his army.

Li Qilai, Emperor of the Haishu Dynasty, has refrained from military action for now, deeming it more important to destroy internal threats. To that end, imperial agents attempted, without a great deal of success, to infiltrate Wu Sangui's circle. Nevertheless, they did find evidence of communication with Nanhai, and in the summer of 1501 the emperor resolved to destroy the threat. Unfortunately, while the emperor had been infiltrating Wu's circle, Wu had been infiltrating the imperial government, and consequently got wind of the operation before it could be put into motion. A Wu agent unsuccessfully tried to assassinate the emperor, and Wu Sangui himself and most of his inner circle escaped to Nanhai, where they were greeted as heroes. Still, the less prominent members of the clique were rounded up and executed, and the considerable wealth of Wu and his associates was confiscated by the crown.

(+1 Haishu Prestige, -Wu clique (Haishu), +Wu clique (Nanhai), +750,000 taris to the Haishu treasury)

The Guangzhou Society has been trying to reconcile with the rural gentry in the hinterland, recruiting increased numbers of gentry into the military administration. The move has been resisted by many of the gentry, opposed to serving as military officers, but some have joined up, and increased integration of the gentry into the state apparatus can hardly hurt.

The Emperor of Japan has seen fit to establish an imperial-owned navy, and to construct extensive facilities at Osaka to maintain his new fleet. With little experience, the navy is not yet very effective, but its anti-piracy patrols are beginning to have some impact. An expedition sent to Hokkaido to try and overawe the Ainu chiefs into joining the empire was less successful.

(+Yamato navy, -Yamato diplomats)
 
Military Events

A Swedish attempt to overthrow the government of Visby has backfired. In the summer of 1501, a number of small riots broke out in the city. They were easily put down by the longphort authorities, and the ringleaders revealed that they'd been paid by the Swedish crown to stir up trouble. Hard on the heels of the riots, a thousand Swedish troops landed on the island. Having apparently expected that the longphort would be in chaotic anarchy, they were somewhat nonplussed when five companies of Visby's mercenaries greeted them as they landed. With orders only to restore order, and unwilling to start a war with the League on his authority, the Swedish commander had little choice but to immediately turn his men around, march back onto the ships, and sail back to Sweden.

(-1 Swedish Prestige)

The Isbunans have decided to ramp up their presence in the Canaries, and despatched an expedition of a thousand men to Grand Canary. They have encountered unexpectedly heavy resistance from the locals, but after three years have secured roughly half the island. Casualties among the natives have been appalling; it is likely that new colonists will be required if the island is ever to amount to anything.

(-1 Isbunan Company)

For at least twenty years it has been apparent, even to those on the outside, that the Muwahhidun state is sick, and in 1500 a breaking point was reached. On the inside, the need for reform became sufficiently acute that Al-Radi was able to rise to power, with a plan to cure the state's ills; and on the outside, foreign powers determined to put the Muwahhidun out of their misery once and for all. Sicily and Saraqusta formed an alliance to destroy the Dhahabi state, and launched simultaneous campaigns in Africa and Andalusia.

The Andalusian campaign began in the spring of 1500, as the Saraqustans mustered at Tarragon, where they were joined by the army and fleet of the Sicilian Admiralty of the Baleares, including Ricard himself. After some limited wrangling about precedence, the joint army marched south, under the personal command of Faisal, while Ricard and the fleet shadowed them. The Muwahhidun were not caught entirely off guard, of course. Even before the agreement with the Liyunese was finalized, mercenary companies were being redeployed to the Saraqustan border. Though the process was not finished by the time the Saraqustans crossed the border, enough had reached the east to provide some resistance at Fadrell, the first real obstacle for the Saraqustans. Fadrell was not a particualrly powerful fortification, but it nevertheless stalled the Saraqustans for two precious weeks, as Faisal attempted to negotiate the defection of Muwahhidun mercenaries. He was in this unsuccessful, and ultimately the fortress was stormed, after its walls were pulverized by the Saraqustan cannon. After Fadrell the army advanced on Valencia, its first major objective. To the dismay of the Sicilians the corsairs based out of the city had evacuated further south, and an early attempt to storm the city from the sea was beaten back with heavy losses, but Saraqustan artillery again brought down the walls and the city fell after a short siege. Flush with success, Faisal immediately began to march along the coast towards the important port of Qartayannat.

By the early fall of 1500, Al-Radi had managed to concentrate a significant force in the east, made up of mercenaries, impressed Andalusians, and a few Berbers, and decided to contest Faisal's march. The Muwahhidun and Saraqustan armies met at Alicante, while the Muwahhidun corsairs, nowhere in evidence to this point of the campaign, simultaneously fell on the Sicilian fleet en masse. The result was a scarcely mitigated catastrophe for the Mwuahhidun. The corsair galiots were driven back with heavy losses by the Sicilians, while on land the Andalusians routed, several mercenary companies switched sides, and the Muwahhidun force more or less evaporated. The corsairs fled back to the west in disarray, and Faisal continued his march on Qartayannat, now practically unopposed.

After the disaster at Alicante Muwahhidun control tottered, and it appeared for a moment that the war might be won at a stroke. But newly arrived Berbers brutally suppressed a spectacularly poorly timed Rushdite rebellion in Ixvilla, while Al-Radi barely defeated a coup attempt in Malaqah and commenced systematically purging disloyal elements in the remaining Andalusian forces. Still, against little resistance Faisal secured Murcia over the winter and besieged Qartayannat. With the Sicilian fleet, and more importantly the Sicilian naval artillery, forced into port by winter, the siege went relatively slowly, but the city fell by the beginning of spring 1501. Now feeling that one good strike at the Muwahhidun center would bring the whole edifice down, Faisal resolved after Qartayannat to march directly on Malaqah. He was strenuously opposed on this point by Ricard, but ultimately the emir prevailed and the Saraqustan army began a rapid march on Malaqah in the spring. The march faced little resistance beyond the ever increasing harassment by Berber cavalry, but nevertheless the column's strength continually diminished. Every port the Saraqustans took needed a garrison, even if only a small one. By the summer of 1501, the Saraqustans had a chain of garrisons protecting a supply line more than three hundred miles long and the army numbered less than 20,000. Twenty miles west of Almeria, Al-Radi's trap slammed shut. Mercenaries stormed the overmatched Saraqustan garrison at Almeria while Muwahhidun agents opened the gates, and the Saraqustan supply line was cut. Thirty thousand Berbers, painstakingly assembled from Morocco over the winter, surrounded Faisal's army on the coast, while the corsair fleet reemerged but refused to engage the Sicilians. Faisal managed, barely, to fight his way out of the trap and back to Almeria. There Ricard, having contrived in the interim to defeat the corsairs once more, evacuated him and what was left of his army from the strand before the city, though the rearguard was overrun and most of the artillery was lost. Back in Qartayannat, Faisal, reinforced by elements of the Sicilian army from Africa, spent the rest of 1501 fighting off a Muwahhidun siege. With offensive operations now mostly out of the question, 1502 saw the Saraqustans reinforcing their supply lines and defending against omnipresent Muwahhidun raids, while Al-Radi was busy suppressing revolts in the west and transferring men to the Maghrebi theatre.

(+1 Saraqustan Prestige, +2 Muwahhidun Prestige, -2 Andalusian Strength, +1 Maghrebi Berber Strength, -1 Mercenaries Strength, -1 Mercenaries Confidence, -1 Askaris Confidence, -22 Saraqustan Companies, -9 Saraqustan Levy Companies, -2 Saraqustan Ships, -5 Saraqustan Levy Ships, -3 Sicilian Companies, -1 Sicilian Ship -4 Sicilian Levy Ships, -10 Muwahhidun Companies, -16 Muwahhidun Levy Companies, 4 Muwahhidun Companies to Saraqusta, -3 Muwahhidun Ships, -12 Muwahhidun Levy Ships)

Sicily's campaign in the Maghreb was less ambitious, and proceeded at a far more measured pace. The pseudo-siege of Algiers was broken in early 1500 by overwhelming force, and the Sicilian force marched along the coast towards the corsair base at Oran, shadowed by the Sicilian fleet. Local levies provided little direct resistance, but attacks on the supply lines became increasingly prevalent as the Berbers of the high plains slowly mobilized. By late summer, the Muwahhidun had mustered enough men to risk an attack on the main Sicilian force near Tenes. This failed, and the Muwahhidun withdrew west towards Oran, pursued by the Sicilians. Most of the corsairs had already left for the Spanish theatre by the time the Sicilians arrived at Oran late in 1500, but the remaining corsairs, a core of Muwahhidun regulars, and local levies tenaciously defended the port, forcing the Sicilians to reduce the fortifications surrounding the port one by one. Nevertheless, Oran did fall early in 1501, and the Sicilians turned to consolidating their position, repairing the defenses of Oran and garrisoning strongpoints along the coast, against increasingly intense raids from the Muwahhidun. When Faisal barely escaped from Almeria, elements of the Sicilian African army were rushed to Qartayannat to salvage the situation. In the fall of 1501, the Muwahhidun struck against the weakened Sicilian presence. Berbers striking from the high plains overwhelmed the small garrisons of the middle Tell Atlas passes and recaptured Tenes, cutting the overland link with Algiers. The subsequent mass attack on Oran was driven back by Sicilian discipline and Sicilian cannons, however, and the Sicilians held most of their coastal strongpoints. In 1502 the Muwahhidun focused on gradually reducing the Sicilian presence in the countryside while awaiting reinforcement from Andalusia, while the Sicilians reinforced Oran and their remaining forts and dug in.

(+1 Sicilian Prestige, -18 Sicilian Companies, -5 Muwahhidun Companies, -19 Muwahhidun Levy Companies)

Albrecht of Lotharingia has decided to strengthen his position in northern Germany by the simple expedient of conquering Saxony. Citing old ties between the Welfs and the Saxons, in 1500 he claimed the Saxon throne, raised his levies and invaded the Duchy. Although the Lotharingians badly outnumbered the Saxons, Albrecht took the peculiar step of dividing his forces, and the Saxons took advantage. The Lotharingian column marching through the Weserbergland was attacked by a Saxon army nearly as large, and while the battle was more or less a draw it did force the Lotharingians to halt their march. The second Lotharingian column, under the Duke of Franconia, however, was able to proceed to Celle mostly unopposed. But with only 10,000 men and with the Saxon army marching to the relief of the city, Rudolf had no choice but to abandon the siege and secure his positions further west. With the hope for a quick victory gone, the Lotharingians spent 1501 and 1502 consolidating their position in western Saxony, while the Saxon Duke shored up his defenses and looked desperately for allies.

(+1 Lotharingian Prestige, -3 Lotharingian Companies, -8 Lotharingia Levy Companies, -2 Saxon Companies, -5 Saxon Levy Companies, -40,000 taris from Saxon revenue)

In a change of direction for the Sultanate, Zabid has begun large scale raiding of the Ethiopian coast. The Zabidi navy sacked the unprepared port of Massawa early in 1500, and over the next three years terrorized the Ethiopian coast. The Ethiopian Bahir Negash, previously pro-Zabid, has of course changed his mind, organized a defense and appealed to the Negusa Negast. The Ethiopian levies have so far not been terribly effective against the Zabidi professionals, but have at least prevented any more Massawas.

(-2 Zabidi Ships, +50,000 Zabidi Treasury, -3 Ethiopian Ships, -3 Ethiopian Levy Ships, -1 Bahir Negash Confidence)

Zygimantas has abandoned his long-favored strategy of 'waiting for Algirdas to die' in favor of a more active approach to the reunification of Lithuania. Believing, probably correctly, that he could not alone defeat Algirdas, Zygimantas in early 1500 reached out to his neighbors and attempted to build a coalition against the pagan prince. Tver, the Order and Volynia all responded positively, and in the spring a combined army of Order monks and Zygimantas' retainers, numbering more than 25,000 strong, marched against Minskas, with high hopes that, against such overwhelming force, the war would be quickly over. Unfortunately for Zygimantas, Tver's promised intervention never arrived, as Tver was preoccupied with its own survival, and Volynia was almost suspiciously slow to mobilize, so for the 1500 campaign season Algirdas was able to concentrate entirely on Zygimantas. When Zygimantas arrived at Minskas, he found it undefended and Algirdas gone. The Ducals pillaged the city, burned down the great pagan shrine, and then marched further east, hoping to bring Algirdas to battle. Algirdas, meanwhile, had mustered his own levies, and by the middle summer outnumbered the allied forces. Fifteen miles west of Bobruisk, he decided to engage. Algirdas split his army, and Zygimantas, believing he had numerical superiority, took the bait. Ducal cavalry charges were broken up by Algirdas' new wagon-forts, but Zygimantas' superior infantry ground down their counterparts, and successfully resisted several countercharges by Algirdas' cavalry. It briefly appeared that the battle was won, but then Algirdas appeared on Zygimantas' flank at the head of 10,000 heavy cavalry. The Prince's charge shattered the Duke' army; only the discipline of the Order's monks saved Zygimantas from total disaster. As it was, most of his army managed to escape, and retreated back to Minskas, harried all the way by Algirdas' cavalry. Algirdas briefly besieged Zygimantas in Minskas, but fortunately for Zygimantas the campaigning season ended before he could take the city.

(+1 Duke's Prestige, +1 Prince's Prestige, -1 Royal cult Confidence, -3 Order Companies, -16 Ducal Companies, -13 Ducal Levy Companies, -8 Prince's Companies, -9 Prince's Levy Companies, 30,000 taris to Ducal treasury, -90,000 taris from Prince's revenue)

Meanwhile, the Order troops left to guard Zygimantas' border made themselves thoroughly unpopular, taking it upon themselves to try to enforce conversion in the countryside. After a few skirmishes with enraged peasant mobs, the Order monks began launching missions in force into the countryside, and on two occasions actually fought pitched battles with peasant militias commanded by local nobility. With the Order resembling nothing so much as an occupying force, Zygimantas' nobility began to fiercely protest the alliance. As news of Zygimantas' reverses in the east trickled in, nobles began to cross over to Algirdas, culminating in the defection of the prominent Hurzur Radzila, with all his retainers.

(-1 Nobility Confidence, -1 Hurzurai Confidence, 5 Ducal Levy Companies to Prince's Lithuania)

In 1501 Volynia finally marched against Algirdas, but not with the devastating strike Zygimantas had been hoping for. Instead, the invasion consisted of barely 10,000 men, most of them Tatar levies interested in plunder more than anything else. But the invasion at least forced Algirdas to detach a portion of his army to the south to counter the Volynians, which allowed Zygimantas to break out of Minskas and go back over to offensive operations. The Volynians' operation, after all that buildup, ended in disappointment. Attempts to raise the local Orthodox population failed, Tatar raiding only further alienated the locals, and the attempt to garrison the conquered territory drained off most of the infantry. In summer, Algirdas' army arrived and drove off the Tatars, and after a couple of isolated outposts were overrun the outnumbered Volynians pulled their garrisons out. The reformed Volynian army was sharply defeated on the border, and the Lithuanian launched a brief counter-raid into Volynia itself. In the north, Algirdas and Zygimantas skirmished around Minskas, as Algirdas tried to draw Zygimantas into open battle, and Zygimantas consistently refused to be drawn.

(-3 Volynian Companies, -9 Volynian Levy Companies, -7 Prince's Levy Companies, -2 Duke's Levy Companies)

In 1502, Polotsk, having been pressured hard by envoys from both sides, finally stopped wavering. Fearful of the implications of Zygimantas' alliance with the Order, Polotsk came down on Algirdas' side. A small army pushed into Zygimantas' territory from the Dvina. The Order garrisons were hastily reshuffled to face Polotsk's attack, while Algirdas stepped up the pressure on Zygimantas. Several of Zygimantas' outlying garrisons were retaken, and Minskas was again invested. The siege had to be halted, when Algirdas' great cannon exploded, but the Prince then launched a major raid across the now-undefended border. Joined by more defecting nobility, Algirdas reached nearly to Kaunas, before news of Zygimantas' renewed activity forced him back across the border. While Polotsk slowly drove back the Order, Algirdas contented himself with preventing Zygimantas from retreating to link up with the rest of the Order army.

(+ 1 Prince's Prestige, +1 Lithuanians Confidence, -5 Order Companies, -3 Polotsk Companies, -8 Polotsk Levy Companies, -1 Prince's Company, -3 Prince's Levy Companies, -2 Duke's Companies, -1 Duke's Levy Companies, 2 Duke's Levy Companies to Prince's Lithuania)

Tver had to cancel its planned involvement in the Lithuanian struggle as a result of an invasion from , of all places, Veliky Novogorod. 20,000 men under the personal command of the Prince of Novgorod marched down the Volga as soon as the mud dried. Fortunately for Tver, the army being assembled for war with Lithuania had not yet marched. Though outnumbered, Tver's forces managed to blunt Vasili's drive on Tver, and Vasili was forced to focus on taking fortifications along the Volga one by one, while Tver called on Yaroslavl and Moscow for aid. Moscow refused, fearful of invasion from Nizhny Novgorod, but Yaroslavl answered. In 1501, while Vasili of Tver and Vasili of Novgorod contested on the Volga, a small force from Yaroslavl invaded Novgorod's unprotected northern holdings, and throughout 1501 and 1502 pillaged anything they could find. Tribal levies organized by the baskaci managed to most evict Yaroslavl's force by the end of 1502, but significant damage was still done. Meanwhile, Novgorod's progress towards Tver slowed to a crawl by the end of 1501, as reinforcements from Yaroslavl arrived. In 1502, with both sides running low on manpower, the Vasilis could do little but sit in their fortifications, hope the other made a move, and wait for more resources from the center.

(+1 Veliky Prestige, -1 Baskaci Confidence -4 Veliky Companies, -6 Veliky Levy Companies, -4 Tver Companies, -5 Tver Levy Companies, 1 Yaroslavl Company, -4 Yaroslavl Levy Companies, -10,000 taris from Veliky revenue, -15,000 taris from Tver revenue, +20,000 taris to Yaroslavl's treasury)

After something of a lull, the struggle between Delhi and Bengal has hotted up once again. Altai, the newly ascended Khan of Delhi, resolved, as his first major action, to break the long stalemate with Bengal. Tens of thousands of levies were mustered, millions in tax raised, and the khan personally led a great army against Patna. The Bengalis mustered their own armies, manned their walls, and waited for the onslaught that they'd been preparing for for so long. In mid 1500, Altai appeared at Patna and began yet another siege. Delhi's artillery began reducing the outlying forts one by one, but as the slow-moving Bengali levies poured into Patna it became apparent that, far from being impossibly outnumbered, the Bengalis actually had more men than did Altai. But even as Shams ad-Din realized this and began to push back against Altai's offensive, the reason for the comparative weakness of Altai's army became apparent: Delhi was mustering a second army, larger than the first, on the southern borders of Bengal, under the khan's uncle Arghun. A Bengali army was detached from Patna to oppose the imminent invasion of this second force, though realistically it could only hope to delay long enough to give Shams ad-Din a chance to win at Patna. In early 1501, while Altai and Shams ad-Din slugged it out at Patna, Arghun's force suddenly moved. And in a move that really shouldn't have surprised anyone but that ended up shocking everyone, it did not move north into Bengal, but instead moved south, against Orissa. The hastily raised Orissan levies in the countryside were brushed aside by Delhi's enormous force, and Arghun marched on Bhubaneswar. The Orissans scrambled to call up their levies and recruited anyone who could hold a spear, and by such desperate measures managed to muster nearly 40,000 men by the time Arghun arrived at Bhubaneswar. That still left them outnumbered 2 to 1, of course, and at even greater qualitative disadvantage, and the Orissan force was summarily obliterated. Bhubaneswar itself held for another week after the battle, until an Orissan traitor opened the gates. The Raja was killed in the sack, and the Orissan treasury looted. After thoroughly looting Bhubaneswar, Arghun turned back to the northeast, pillaged his way across the undefended Orissan countryside, and at last invaded Bengal. The Bengali force opposing him, having had time to prepare, refused open battle, and managed to delay Arghun for some time, but in the end the Bengalis were forced to fall back. Delhi's original plan, calling for an invasion of Ganges Delta, had to be abandoned at this point, however, because the situation on the Ganges had become critical. In late 1501, Shams ad-Din had managed to evict Altai from his fortified camp and catch him in a trap from which the khan only barely escaped, and from which much of his army did not. Now badly outnumbered, Altai had no choice but to fall back down the Ganges, pursued by the Bengalis, and Arghun was ordered to march directly on Patna lest the Ganges front collapse entirely. Shams ad-Din was forced to detach forces from the pursuit of Altai to oppose Arghun's advance and strength the garrison of Patna, and with the numerical balance partially restored Altai was able to slow the Bengali advance. Arghun invested Patna late in 1502, but his initial attempt to storm the fortifications was beaten off, and he was forced to settle in for a siege.

(+2 Delhi Prestige, +1,000,000 taris to Delhi's treasury, -500,000 taris from Bengal's revenue, -32 Delhi Companies, -56 Delhi Levy Companies, -27 Bengali Companies, -43 Bengali Levy Companies)

In the aftermath of the sack of Bhubaneswar, central authority in Orissa collapsed. Three separate claimants to the Raja's throne emerged, local nobles claimed authority in the countryside, and peasant rebels ran rampant. By the end of 1502, practically nothing remained that could be called an Orissan state. A few of the feuding nobles who now run the former territories of Orissa have accepted zamindar status from Delhi, but for the most part Orissa is an anarchic mess.

(-Orissa)

The Nanhai despatched a small, newly-formed all-cavalry army into Mongol territory, with orders to raid, organize rebellions, and generally cause mischief. While too small to have a really significant impact, it was annoying enough that in 1502 Mandukhai ordered a few thousand cavalry to hunt it down. While raiding along the Yellow River, the relatively inexperienced Nanhai were ambushed by the larger Mongol detachment and badly mauled.

(-11 Nanhai Companies, -4 Mongol Companies)

Despite anticipating an attack in the south, the Nanhai deployed a relatively small portion of their vast new army to the front with Guangzhou. They were strongly prepared for an attack on the southern bank of the Pearl River. Unfortunately for the Nanhai, Grand Master Gong Li had no intention of attacking the southern bank of the Pearl, being far more concerned with the Nanhai forward positions near Guangzhou itself. In the winter of 1500, a strong Guangzhou force attacked the Nanhai outposts closest to Guangzhou. The badly outnumbered defenders were rapidly overwhelmed, and the Nanhai commander was forced to abandon his fortifications to preserve his force. It briefly appeared that a major breakthrough was imminent, and the Nanhai rapidly transferred regiments from the west to contain the Guangzhou offensive. Contrary to Nanhai fears, however, the aims of the Guangzhou commanders were relatively limited, and having secured their objectives with unexpected ease they turned to digging in, repairing Nanhai fortifications and constructing new ones. A Nanhai counterattack in the winter of 1501 was defeated with heavy losses, and stalemate thereafter ensued, the Nanhai lacking the forces to drive back the Guangzhou, and the Guangzhou lacking the inclination to undertake offensive action. In the west, a minor Guangzhou attack against the weakened Nanhai presence in 1502 gained some territory and a couple of fortresses, before being forced to halt. On a lighter note, both sides have spent considerable time on efforts to deny the passage of the Pearl to the opponents navy, despite neither navy having any inclination to attempt such a passage.

(+1 Guangzhou Prestige, -11 Guangzhou Companies, -17 Nanhai Companies)
 
Special Bonuses

First Orders of the NES: Duke's Lithuania (+1 Prestige)

World Map, AD 1502

Spoiler World Map, AD 1502 :


OOC:

Well, here it is. Shouldn't have taken so long. Hope it's not too much of a disappointment. Let me know if I've forgotten or missed anything. Stats will be up momentarily.

Espoir said:
I am kind of confused by the high number of my upkeep. The Oirats have twice my army and are centralised, yet they have the same upkeep as my decentralised state and my relatively small army. What gives?
What Dachs said, basically. Your soldiers are more expensive.
 
Nice, quick, very well done update. Except... my war orders haven't been followed. I raid NORTH of my operations, and keep my main garrisoning away from the raiding. Also, what happened to a year spent especially for the levies to get some marching experience? And finally, in what why did I call for a majority tartar levy? I called for more professional tartars than normal to join the fight, and then levy on the Boyars and other nobles and accept any other tartars on the outside. Anyway, working on a few stories since we have some PLOT GOIN' ON!

EDIT: Also, on the hind note I really enjoy the more... clingy warfare that is happening. The slower pace does help. You didn't mention a project that I used 55,000 taris on, so I assume that it went well and that it has helped me for the future. You also didn't mention another show of aid for the Orthodoxy.

EDIT2: No more Mr.Nice guy, mr. Noble and mr. Landowner. Face the full levy, not some tax break of some such.

All this is ooc./
 
Excellent update and great timing, old bean! :goodjob:
In a change of direction for the Sultanate, Zabid has begun large scale raiding of the Ethiopian coast. The Zabidi navy sacked the unprepared port of Massawa early in 1500, and over the next three years terrorized the Ethiopian coast. The Ethiopian Bahir Negash, previously pro-Zabid, has of course changed his mind, organized a defense and appealed to the Negusa Negast. The Ethiopian levies have so far not been terribly effective against the Zabidi professionals, but have at least prevented any more Massawas.

(-2 Zabidi Ships, +50,000 Zabidi Treasury, -3 Ethiopian Ships, -3 Ethiopian Levy Ships, -1 Bahir Negash Confidence)
I just started cackling with uncontrollable glee. :evil:
 
Damn that was fast! Well done too.
 
I'm going to have to send in my orders early on Wednesday, as an FYI for any diplo.
 
Hi, great update, would do diplomacy, but mibbit is having problems for me - I can not send messages for some reason. I will try to figure it out as soon as possible.
 
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