Bay 12 Games Forum

Well then, I guess-

Oh wait, they come from Novgorod, so there's no Tsar to fear!

They have so many claims to retake from us, its better we get on their good side.



The war dragged on for a long while before Ethiopians and Moroccans agreed on a peace.



A loan we had to take during the preivous war is repaid.



Less than a year until Konstantinos reaches adulthood and this regent dares raise against him.

To the salt mines with him!



Even Castille has recovered from the dumps and Enrique VII sits on the throne.



And finally, Konstantinos XV ascends onto the throne of Byzantium!

His cousin Zoe seems to be our heir.

Konstantinos first order of priority will be finish the modernization of the nation and adopt Western military schematics.



And finally, we modernize the Army!

An icon to Virgin Mary is commissioned to help us recover and weather the instability and reactionaries that might show up.

We finish expanding our Themas with infantry, and a new war of conquest will be waged against Hedjaz.



Saves us over eight ducats monthly!

That's slightly under a 100 per year.



The war against Hedjaz draws in Persia, so we call upon our vassals, Castille and Georgia to come over and help.



The main Persian army has been defeated.

Our capture of Hedjaz lands is proceeding just as smoothly!



Hedjaz is annexed, but Emperor Konstantinos wants more.

The peace with Persia will come only when they agree to transfer Basra, a great city of spices, into Byzantine ownership!

We also go after Sultanate of Makassar to take control of them and their trade.



Shortly after introduction of Zoe into the court, terrible news arrive from Fars!

Emperor Konstantinos has been killed during the siege. Zoe is now Empress of Byzantium, and she swore to continue the war.

Courtiers doubt her skill, and are further unsure of the future for there's no Kantakouzenos heir to replace her in need be.



She accepts the hand of one of the sons of Duke George I Kotromanic of Wallachia.

Andreas is the fruit of that particular martial union.

While the dynasty is scheduled to end, the continuation of Byzantine monarchy is not.



Basra is ours! Persians have been soundly defeated and Makassar now pays handsome tribute to us as a vassal.

Empress Zoe is praised for her victory, but her work has only begun.



Castille calls for aid, and we shall answer!

FOR GOD AND CASTILLE!

...Now that sounds a little weird, heh.

The fighting at Horn of Africa is intense; our troops suffer from attrition while the Japanese are sending new ones in bulk.



But there is a plan in motion; Admiral Constans Botaianates has declared that he will sail to Japanese archipelago and blockade their ports.

Byzantine courtiers complain that this is madness, but, with our colonies in East Indies and English Ceylon having its ports open, Admiral Botaianates is sure he can accomplish the mission.



Report comes from the far east - apparently, Admiral Botaianates has put a choking grip on the commerce of Japan.

Meanwhile, our troops, unable to cross the Red Sea due to Japanese naval presence, are marching through southern Nubia to help Ethiopian forces.



Our successes with naval blockade and destroying of Minamoto forces caused Japan to sign white peace with Ethiopia.

That is not satisfactory for us, and we will punish the Japanese for leaving their little archipelago.



I am impressed. I'm truly impressed.

The fake that is Holy Roman Empire has seriously stepped upon the road to unification into one single state.

And under the banner of Hessians, no less!



The five Cathedrals - in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome - have been completed.

In total, they provide +0.25 Missionary yearly and +50 Stability investments per month.



We won't hold on those provinces for long; they will be sold for symbolic amounts of cash back to the Ethiopian royals.

Meanwhile, a core and a mission give us two valid reasons to fight Iraq.

Emperor Andronikos sees no reason not to do just that!



As preparations for the war near completion, we commission the icon of St.Nicholas.

It will boost our diplomatic skill and help reduce infamy.



In the meanwhile, we also send help to Castille. They're family after all!

They receive the most lucky outcome, boosting their Stability by whooping 3 points!



The war against Iraq has drawn in both Yemen and Hedjaz.

We will try to capitalize on this situation, and try to steal a strip of provinces from Van all the way to Mocha at the southern corner of Arabian peninsula!



The first of many crippling treaties is applied - Yemen has to give up Asir province.

By the way the Arabian Muslims are fighting against us, Emperor Andronikos assumes that the war will be over very soon.



What has been planned, has been achieved!

Our infamy is extremely high, however, prompting a construction of an Embassy and employment of a Diplomat.

Hopefully, we can recover from the image of brutal warmongerer.

The new trade centre at Adrianople will be created to give more work to our merchants.

That wrestled some previously Lubeck or Novgorod aligned provinces, routing their trade to Adrianople.

Alexandria's worth diminished, but is still at near 300 ducats (Adrianople rates at about 650).



While we join Castille's colonial war against France, the heir to the throne of Byzantium, Andronikos, is hailed as a great writer.

It's first time one of Byzantine heirs gets this!



Novgorod lost its grip over the Steppes once again, and Kazan Khanate now threatens our borders.

We could colonize their lands, but having them close gives us a Colonist bonus.



The what.

And they have how many troops??

We must send our troops to save our vassal from immediate destruction!



I think Ioannes XIII was barely into his forties when this happened.

Long live Emperor Andronikos VII! May his reign be peaceful and prosperous just like his predecessor's.

Little Ioannes, heir to the throne, has quite nice stats.



Timurids are beaten and we roll out new type of troops.

Petrine Infantry is on more defensive-side, and has less pips.



Emperor Andronikos VII seizes another island for Orthodox faith!

Unfortunately, both Castille and Persia have started showing up on islands in the area.

We might not be able to claim entirety of the archipelago for ourselves, alas.



I could swear that we had a Master of the Mint event already? We're under 2% inflation...

Oh well, its a godsend anyway! +2 Stability after series of negative events is nothing to scoff at!



Except for passing-by of Captain Batatzes decades ago, we haven't had much contact with Xin.

Until now; the Xin Empire is also fighting Kazan nomads, and currently the few steppe provinces Kazan own is all that separates the Chinese moloch and our Orthodox domain!

Funny how small the world is, eh?



Sarai becomes a civilized land, letting us seek a peace treaty with Kazan nomads.

Meanwhile, the island of Timor, in East Indies, will be colonized as well.



As we go to war against Japan to protect Ethiopia again, Croatia becomes another Byzantine vassal!



The Imperial administration is outdated and dysfunctional, Emperor Andronikos says.

He decided to exchange his purple coat for a new red one, and no longer is Emperor, but King.

King who is absolute ruler of Byzantium, now and forever!