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[Haspen]

008: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Loans

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The curse continues. For fuk's sake, WHY!?

I even stopped using them as military leaders! Why the Mecklenburgs keep dying in their late twenties?? A medieval 27's club or something??



While this is certainly a very interesting thing to happen, I fail to understand how. This game has secrets and refuses to tell me.

Can't wait for incoming Austria vs Ottomans matches, for Byzantium had only Thrace left and its surrounded by everyone's favorite mint blob.

In the meanwhile:



Hochmeister Ulrich, please explain.



Fine with me!

And I just realized something; we're at Government Tech 10, which means we can pass the decision Formalize Scales and Weights. It improves trade and production efficiency, and slightly increases tax.

We just need to accumulate 5 magistrates for that, and we're golden.



Alright! Pomerania calls for help! Time to have some action and score some-



Uh-oh. The Hansa joined the war to protect Mecklenburg in the last moment. After losing the main battle and winning few skirmishes, we retreat to Hesse to build our forces and prepare to relieve the siege of Westfalen.

Unfortunately, for that we have to take 2 loans.



And a third loan to afford services of this guy. He popped up when we pushed the policy slider toward Quality.

12% extra damage this early is nothing to scoff at.



We continue to win the small battles against Hanseatic reinforcements but Siege of Westfalen continues, and we fail two times more. As we await reinforcements of our own, the siege counter ticks up.

We cannot wait any longer and those extra Knights will have to miss on the battle.

Onwards, to save our capital!!



Yes! Victory! Can you hear the chimes of bells of glory? And no, that's not my economy groaning in pain, you're hearing things!

After the Hansa grubs, we will eradicate them at Osnabruck!

There, we defeat them again, and with help of Munster, we drive them to Bremen, Stade and then finally eradicate their forces at Hamburg (who graciously granted us passage rights).



Mecklenburgian forces have been decimated also. Ernst Kasimir decided to split forces across all belligerent territories, to hold them for ransom, and to break apart Hanseatic hold over coastal cities.



After their provinces began to surrender one by one, we disbanded several of our troop, as Hansa is broken; while Verden and Bremen aren't that useful of an ally, we will keep with Holstein. Royal marriages with them all, however!

Mecklenburg was given a relatively free pass; they had to give up their claims to Vorpommern, which was the whole cause for this war.



Look at this man. This is the man that is badass. He and Ernst Kasimir Eder made our victory against Hansa possible.

Now we need to wait few months to deal with our losses and recover our manpower reserves.



...This, however, might take a while longer to recover from.

[Haspen]

009: Imperial Shenanigans

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Free money will help us with the loans, yey!

There's something that I wanted to show, however:



The Electoral Council is very divided at the moment.  Bavaria's sole vote comes from the fact they rule Brandenburg in personal union.

Our two votes come from our vassals, Mainz and Munster. Bohemia votes for itself (of course), and has chummied it up with Saxony and Cologne quite well to get their votes, too...

...and those were taken from Austria which has diplomatically-shitty king at the moment. We ourselves are only few points away from swaying Saxony and/or Palatinate, though.

Considering that I see gifts being sent by Austria and Bohemia around quite often, I can say that next elections will be very heated.



Dangit, we are unable to repay the third loan we've taken during war against the Hansa. We must extend it.

Unfortunately, a slip in my accounting causes us to take another loan on 1st December.



Despite being tied with us and Bohemia at 2 votes each, the Council awarded the Emperorship to Austria, which I believe is tied to total diplomatic skill of a ruler rather than prestige.

Grumble grumble... we were near greatness! We were so close! *this* close!



Cologne, which we were working hard on to vote for us, was annexed by Hesse! This is greatly temporary, for Hesse is suffering war against Trier, Bavaria and others, as well as having a revolt.

But with loss of an Elector, another must take it place. I wonder whom will Austria choose, and I won't be surprised if-



Ferrara? A minor italian kingdom? For reals??

As you can see from the breakdown of electoral points, we're very close to outdo Milan and grab a third vote! Quick, send ALL the gifts!



Third idea time and we will take National Bank; we can now lower amount of money we mint and the Bank will ensure our inflation will *slowly* drip to nothing.



Finally, young Otto ascends to the throne, and his cousin, Bernard, just three years younger than him, is the next heir. Policy of centralization sparked a revolt, but it was easily crushed.

We're doing great, folks. What's the next calamity that will befall von Mecklenburg family of Lippe?



I would say this counts. His service to Lippe will never be forgotten, Requeiscat in Pacem!

[Haspen]

010: Birth of the Lemon Blob

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Once this pops up on the screen, the royal family of Lippe begins working on a plan.

Currently, we have cores on both Hesse and Kassel. The lands that belonged to Cologne, Koln and Trier, are experiecing a nationalist uprising.

Once Cologne is restored, this will leave Hesse with two lands that we can easily annex without incuring infamy or wrath of the Austrian Emperor.



Glorious will Lippe be, indeed! While Oldenburg has a powerful ally that is England, Altmark is not only landlocked but its only ally is Denmark.

This will be a good target practice before we deal with Hesse! Onwards, to war!!



Oldenburg was called into the war and our friend, Pomerania, got punched so hard by Denmark they begged for peace three months into the war.

Holstein and Munster are dealing with Oldenburg forces, and we are soon to annex Altmark. Inevitably however, Denmark will make a landfall via Oldenburgian lands.

On 17th November, Magdeburg is annexed into Lippe.



The Danish landfall never comes; instead, Holsteinian heretics went for Schlesvig, tying up army of Denmark!

We cannot miss this opportunity; while our friends are besieging Oldenburg, we must break the Danes and secure Holsteinian independence.



Mm, dead enemy stack is best enemy stack <3

Holstein unfortunately agrees to white peace with Denmark, so we redelegate our forces to besiege Oldenburg.



Out of nowhere, Hamburg and Luneburg join Oldenburgian side; we teach them a quick and bloody lesson why that was a mistake.

On 6th November, Oldenburg capitulates and agrees to become our vassal; exactly 4 months later, in February, Denmark asks for peace which we accept.

Pomerania asks us to formally join the war against Mecklenburg, which we do, if only to honor the treaty because Pomerania wins the war and annexes Mecklenburg just few weeks later.



It is time to strike! We will have entirety of Hesse-Kassel for ourselves!



_{Shoo away Nuremberg, I'm trying to be dramatic here!}

The war quickly escalated into an affair that has drawn Wurzburg, Milan and Savoy as well.

In initial combat, our army gets defeated and flees for Munster, where Ernst Kasimir Eder dies. He served us well.

After Pomeranian, Oldenburgian and Holsteinian forces arrive in Lippe, however, we make short work out of Hessian and Wurzburgian soldiers.



We annex Hesse as planned and take money from Wurzburg.



Because we had no money or diplomats to recruit another general, Otto II von Mecklenburg had to lead the army himself, presumably causing his premature death shortly after we signed peace with Wurzburg.

Fortunately, Bernard ascends right away, and his 8-years old heir, Simon, is there to continue the line in case the worst happens.

On 10th November 1491, Milan decides to send us an offer of white peace, and we agree to end the hostilities.

Glory to Lippe!

[Haspen]

011: Frankfurt, Reformation and a Rainbow Boy

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We have a mission to vassalize Frankfurt, and the wealthy imperial city will bring us lots of money.

That means we can fight for it soon, once we get some manpower reserves. as you can see, support of our allies, we already have!



Meanwhile, in Pisa, right next to Pope's door, Protestant movement begins.



So many targets, unfortunately Pomerania and Holstein control half of them.



They eaten it, they've got its Electorate. They also inherited Carniola and formed a personal union over Palatinate.

With two votes basically guaranteed to them, they, Bohemia and us are now fighting for Electoral support.



For us, it is time for a war. Frankfurt must be subjugated, and we quickly deal with its urban army.



Either Italians really hate the Pope, or there's witchcraft involved.

Shortly after this 'Calvin' preaches his version of Protestant faith, Frankfurt surrenders and agrees to become our vassal.



Thuringia is humilitated as a present for Simon, who has become of age.



Finally, we can muster stronger forces. Galloglaigh regiments greatly favor offense, as you can see.



In meanwhile, Simon 'enjoys' life a bit more than conservative court of Lippe would prefer him to. A noble girl from Ansbach should be sufficient to distract him.



First Kassel, now this? Our country is slowly falling under influence of the Protestants.



Finally, the stubborness of Switzerlander syndics forced all the parties to sign a white peace.

Few days later, Simon once again proves to be a deviant, as maids report he is 'visiting' places in Lippe at night to behave in most un-christian manner.

That boy is a hedonist and casanova, and that will get him in trouble one day, I just know it.



The pope does not sleep, and quickly begins Counter-Reformation after recent resurgence of Lutheran and Calvinist heresies.



Once again, Pomerania calls for aid in a war, but this time, it is the mighty Sweden.

Of course, Lippe will not shirk from its obligations towards our best ally. To arms!

[Haspen]

012: Age of Reformation

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The scandalous Simon ascends to the throne as his father dies shortly after beginning of the war against Swedes.

Our vassals and ally Holstein join the war, while Sweden calls in Norway and Georgia for help.

In mid-September 1501, Swedish fleet gets pulverized in the Baltic, allowing us to roll out a simple plan:



March to Stockholm, capture it and demand the Sweden to pay for their warmongering!

Fleets of Pomerania and friends are blockading Swedish coasts, their land armies occupying Jutland peninsular.



Another important building unlocked; +25% Production equals more money in a long run. Big provinces with valuable goods tend to have the biggest effect.

As German states produce lots of metal, cloth and salt, they usually can squeeze most of coin from production rather than tax or trade.

Meanwhile, as shown by our amount of money, Lippe forces are running and looting across Sweden, fighting Swedish regiments. Of course, Stockholm is the end of the journey, but why not grab some free ducats while we're at it?



While Sweden is humilitated and Holstein gets some gains, we unfortunately lost the bid for Imperial throne; Ernst II of Bavaria has managed to sway Saxony in the last moment, getting 3rd vote.



Of course, we will fight for the Throne; Simon Knyphausen ought to help us greatly. The moment he starts working, Saxony casts its vote in our favor!



Simon V, being scandalous per usual, updates the old religious policies a bit.

Next day comes confirmation; our Legitimacy ticking up and work of Simon Knyphausen has swayed Modena to our side as well.

With 4 votes out of 7 (Bohemia votes for self, Palatinate for its senior Bavaria, and Hainaut for France, for some reason), we have a solid chance to be elected Emperor of Holy Roman Empire when Ernst II of Bavaria dies.



Finally, the greatness of gunpowder reaches the minds of our strategists, and we can commission artillery units!



Soon afterwards, we get new unit upgrades. What you see on the main map is religious overlay; the dark lemony of Christianity is ridden with blotches of Protestant dark blue. Their current greatest supporter is Vellexon family, the royal house of France.

And yes, Altmark just recently converted to Protestantism. With 3 out of 7 provinces adhering to heretical faith, Simon V is considering... things.



Four provinces are now Protestant; only the heartlands of Lippe remain truly Catholic!



Alas, religious disorder has spread across Lippe, despite our efforts.

We will try to be tolerant, but Protestantism is championed as true faith of German states; even our friends and some of vassals have already embraced it.

Therefore, Simon V is asking his courtiers:



To abandon the teachings of Papal dogmatics, or not??

[Haspen]

013: Glory of Simon V von Mecklenburg!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It took few years, but Ernst of Saxony accepted Simon V as his suzerain!

With Munster, Mainz and Saxony our vassals, we have 3 votes in Electoral Council, permamently, unless we do something really bad.



Furthermore, Simon decided that it's time to accept the tenets of Protestantism. We're not engaged in Curia politics, and our innovativeness and progressivism are not exactly going hand-in-hand with plain old Catholicism.

This of course angers Holstein and Pomerania, our dear allies, who promptly dissolve the alliances. That is alright; Lippe does not need them anymore.



Bavarian royal family inherited Palatinate upon death of Ernst II; this in turn triggered elections in which Simon V of Lippe has been elected!

Long live Simon V von Mecklenburg, King of Lippe, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire!

We might be Protestant and are surrounded by scheming Catholics (Bavarians especially), nonetheless, prestige and glory is upon us!



Amongst religious reforms in Lippe, Simon decided to introduce Suffragan Bishops, and most importantly, grab church property by Dissolving the Monasteries.

With our stability recovering and prestige accumulating thanks to the title of Emperor of Romans, we no longer need a philosopher in our midst.



A-ha! Already a catholic pretender rises to challenge us. Fool! He and his rebels are easily crushed.

As we're heavily Innovative, we need missionaries to convert our provinces, capital of Westfalen especially, otherwise the religious turmoil will continue.

Fortunately an event spawns 2 of them for the cost of 1 stability (as Emperor, we regain that pretty fast)

To pay for their missionary work, the Emperor has to take a loan, unfortunately.



It seems we won't even need missionary work, for people of Osnabruck accepted teachings of Luther on their own. Very good!



Finally, with conversion of Westfalen itself, the instability of the era is now gone.

As you can see in top right corner, we're mustering forces. Our previous allies, Holstein and Pomerania, have some lands that are considered core parts of Lippe, and of course we cannot allow this to continue.



A disaster strikes the royal family of Lippe; Simon, son of Emperor Simon, dies of a fever despite the medicus' best efforts.



Fortunately, just before Simon ventures onto the battlefields of Pomerania, he gets a heir, Simon Heinrich.



Pomeranian lands are besieged by our vassals, while Simon, along with General Woldemar, took the two armies of Lippe against Milanese and Pomeranian forces sieging Oldenburg.

We destroy their forces at Bremen, and then fight at Munster against their other army. Also, Poland offers us an alliance, which we accept.



By end of October, Pomerania surrenders Mecklenburg to us. However, Savoy, Switzerland and Castille are besieging our provinces again.

Milan is the leader of the enemy alliance; maybe, with the beating we gave them earlier, they will accept a white peace now?



After rounds and rounds of refusing a white peace, Milanese agreed for peace if we revoke claims to Bavarian-held Ruppin. Sure thing.

While we took a hit to our legitimacy, Castille had to agree to peace as well, being part, not leader, of the alliance.



Shortly after the war, Simon V dies; his infant son and heir, Simon Heinrich, is elected Holy Roman Emperor, governed by a regency council.

God be with him! Especially that we're working on establishing formal alliance with certain other, Protestant, nation...

[Haspen]

014: Baguette Warbuddies

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ha ha! The French have accepted our alliance, Protestants ought to keep together!



Of course, we accept, for Austria is currently fighting the French alone.

We don't have manpower to go south and do anything, so it's mostly to honor the treaty with France.



However, the General has different idea and, going via Bavaria and Wurzburg, he defeats few Austrian regiments and goes on rampage against Austrian hinterlands.



At Vienna and Ostmark, he decimates Austrian mercenary corps by thousands, then destroys the remainder at Steiermark before looping back to besiege Vienna, Austrian capital.



He got very sad when France decided to end the war early.

Then we got the opportunity to weaken Bavaria; they agreed to release Augsburg as independent state.



Fourth idea unlocked; because we continue policy of Innovativeness but not every Lippe subject is a Protestant yet, we decide that positive amount of missionaries is a must.



France asks for support in another war, and we honor the treaty. All allies but Hainaut - and its overlord Liege - abandon Picardy in her hour of need.



The war ends rather quickly; French get what they want and Liege has to release Luxembourg as a sovereign state, increasing amount of Princes in our Empire in the same time.



We decide to keep Sundgau for ourselves, to weaken both Swiss and Austrian powers.



The Regency is over; Simon Heinrich I von Mecklenburg is of age, and his heir is Leopold, already ten years old himself.

Just three months later, Luxemburg accepts our offer of vassalization.



A short war against Holstein-Gelre ends in victory despite involvement of Castille, Sweden and Prussia on Gelre's side!

France did help us by tying up Castillians in the northern Iberia.

Five years of peace, stability and monotony pass...



The French retaliate by asking us to fight against England, and the Pope himself.

Of course we will!

[Haspen]

015: Too Many Calls to (Fire)Arms

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Not much happens during the war; although we help few times in French Flanders, the largest battle a total victory for our alliance.



And finally, Muslims are repelled from Baltic lands of the Empire by Prussians. About time!



The noble republic of Nevers will probably soon become part of France, but lets give them the prestige and respect they want. The Emperor agrees!



France completes the part of war against Brittany, taking half of it with them. Meanwhile, we fight Alsace; ally of Venice, who went to war against Genoa, part of the Empire.



Finally, we get firearm infantry units. Tercios will do us well at the moment; later we will probably switch to more offensively-minded units.



Brunswick and Verden threw their lot with English and Venetians and Pomeranians!

This will not stand; these two will soon become Lippe vassals!



Pomerania sends an offer of peace I'm willing to accept; because we're merely junior partners in Polish war, we can't negotiate with Brunswick and Verden.



Finally, France succeeds in their war and has retaken English holdings on the continent, and even have them release Sardinia.



Holstein draws us into another war, this time against Sweden (where our forces give the northerners a sound beating); meanwhile we get free cores on Ruppin, Gelre and Breisgau.



The war continues, and Aragon has been drawn in, only to get beaten by Lippe soldiers.

However, some pursue literary arts; it seems Leopold became quite an art critic of sorts. His works will influence the future generations of Lippe artists, for sure.



Finally, after many, many years, there's peace. Holstein however still holds Halland, a Swedish core, so we will probably return to this in about ten years.

Still, it's a good moment for to pauste take a breath! And to note that Leopold von Mecklenburg, heir to the throne of Lippe, is currently 33 years old. Considering family history so far, I believe this goes into Guiness Book of Records.

[EuchreJack]

Obviously, the lesson is to go to college and do your homework, or die an early death.  No wonder Leopold is a literally genius!

[Haspen]

016: Reconquest of Gelre, Collapse of the Cantons

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Why have festivities when you can invest into more money to make people happier later on?



See? Everyone wants to be part of the greater Lippe! Nassau is now our vassal.



Time has come to go on the offensive; as you can see, we will retake Gelre by the ways of conquering Prussian capital in one swift attack through Warmia.

Meanwhile, our allies and vassals will provide smokescreen against anyone who tries to put a wrench in that plan, like the English. If they join the war.



Not only did England join the war, it brought in Scotland and Hungary and Brittany. Simon Heinrich however believes that our victory is assured.



Unfortunately the Emperor himself will not see the end of war, for he died in his sleep shortly after we complete the Siege of Gelre. Long live Leopold II von Mecklenburg, King of Lippe and Holy Roman Emperor!

His heir, Simon, has very high stats and is already seventeen. Here's hoping he will do well, just like his father.



The English under King James Stuart managed to capture Mecklenburg while we were busy against Prussians.

However, after we win the initial battle of Altmark, we chase them through Ruppin into Brandenburg, where the English are utterly destroyed.

While others in the alliance like Hungary or Brittany already asked for peace, Prussia stubbornly refuses to hand over Gelre.



After Samogitia and Wenden, however, they agree to our demands, which we up by 225 ducats as well as renouncing of claims on Plock and Warmia, held by our ally, Poland.

We steel ourselves for more English landings, but they never happen. On 1st April 1559, they agree to white peace, bringing our war to an end.

We will soon annex Frankfurt; it is not an Elector, and as an OPM vassal, they don't do much. They're not a core, but our status as Emperor gives us enough Prestige and our infamy is so low, we can afford the hits.



And that's why you check news often; Switzerland, a blob of the Alps, is assaulted by Bavaria; it's prime opportunity to retake Breisgau, which is considered our core thanks to an event.

More importantly; we will be able to crush their power in the south, maybe have Savoy being released from vassalship, or Burgundy restored. Have the cantons break apart into one-province states?

All's up in the air, and Leopold II will oversee the war.



Switzerland is getting wrecked by us, Bavaria and France in the same time. It's for the best; the Swiss were a giant only in the 1400s, during their initial conquests.

Today, they stand on clay feet, and will soon collapse.



France did put a little wrench in our plans by calling peace early in exchaneg for Franche-Comte. No matter; Bavarians are still fighting their war, and so are we.



Bavaria forced Swiss to release Baden - and thus city of Breisgau - as sovereign nation allied to Bavarians. Our primary goal of fighting the Swiss is no longer valid; we end the war, further curtailing their power.

Leopold II realizes the fact that we need to recover manpower - create perhaps a third stack already, because Leopold II also realizes that during his lifetime, there will be a war with Bavaria - a long, bloody, and costly war.

[Haspen]

017: The Great Bavarian War

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Or maybe Leopold was wrong? He has passed away shortly after his prophetic talk. We have a new King and a new Emperor!

Simon's heir, Simon, has stats only slightly worse than that of his father. Nonetheless, preparations for war against Bavaria will continue.



Time has come; Bavaria is busy against Bohemia and its balkan allies, and our allies think highly enough of us to support us in the war.

Sound the horns of war, now!



Going to war against Baden and Bavaria separately caused the Bavarians to not be in charge of war against Baden - instead, that place was taken by Lithuania. But we already struck down one of Bavarian stacks, at the Netherlands.



Another stack-wipe occurs at Hesse (16k Bavarians killed) and Mainz (13k Bavarians killed), paving a way to run through Bavarian lands and besiege their capital.

However, we must act quickly; Hungary and Lithuania are running rampant through Poland, and once that fron collapses, the eastern enemies will mostly likely strike at Mecklenburg and nearby areas; we must finish the wars before that comes to pass, or, worse yet, France pulls from the wars with spoils.



Baden needs to be annexed, Breisgau and Zurich in total; our infamy rises slightly, but our ability to lower it is very weak. After this war, we will need a diplomat to help diminish our bad reputation; infamy incurs big penalties to HRE elections.



Drat, France has pulled from the war with Bavaria; fortunately, Lithuania decides that, because we annexed Baden, they can go with white peace, which we accept.

Now its us, severely battered Poland, our vassals, against Bavaria and its numerous dependencies.



A grand total of over 100 thousand men fought at Mecklenburg; the battle raged for days but our forces were ultimately victorious.

Unfortunately, shortly after the battle's conclusion, Poland capitulated to Bavaria and its allies, dissolving the alliance with us too.



Tragedy occurs! Simon VI dies during the 2nd most bloody of battles of this war, at Neumark, where almost 90 thousand men, almost equally distributed between Lippe and Bavaria, has fought for victory.

Simon VII ascends the throne, and delegates one of generals to command forces in eastern Empire. It is a pragmatic decision; Simon currently has no heir to the throne of Lippe.



Introduction of Austrians into the mix complicates things, because Austria called upon its allies, Hungary and Silesia... who are fighting against us on behalf of Bavaria.

Bavaria and its allies fight our forces, only to descend into chaos as Bavaria dukes it out against its erstwhile friends. All this with Austria and its valles rampaging through Swabian region on their own.

Remember kids, politics are a mess.



Finally, amidst financial trouble, dynastic uncertainty and deaths of two out of three of Lippe generals, Bavaria settles for our peace offer; province of Ruppin, independence of Brabant and 100 ducats.

Another loan was taken, however, and our military spending must be halted; our interest repayments are now reaching 7.2 ducats per month!



Sacred duty indeed!

She gives birth to Hermann Ludwig, who unfortunately has only Diplomatic rating above average. Still, he will have to do.



Another most important duty will be held by this man.

0.4 ducats a month is his payment, but he cuts our interest repayments from 7.2 ducats to 5.4 ducats a month. Let's see if we can pull from the nosedive of the dreaded loan loop!

[Haspen]

018: Economic Recovery 10-Year Plan

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Somehow, the grateful Brabant agreed to become our vassal.

Von Mecklenburgs are capable of talking a newly-independent country into submission, it seems.



Austrians have forced Bavaria to accept their crushing terms; two provinces, and release of Nuremberg.

Bavarian lands are now split apart in four pieces, with Munich being on its own too, their population is war-weary and their treasury nearly empty. Their days are numbered!



So are ours if we don't repay all those debts!

It has been decided by Simon VI that to recover from this loan swamp, Lippe has to mint triple the amount it did previously. We can always fight the inflation later.



As the shadow of loans - we have to repay over 550 Ducats in 1572 - extends over Lippe which still lacks money required, Simon decided to mint even more ducats.



We deal with the smaller loan, but we were short of funds to repay the second. Two, already extended, loans remain to be repaid.



The people help! 241 ducats is a lot in our situation; we can lower the amount of money minted to about 2/3rds of current value.

Even in the short time of over-minting, inflation in Lippe already rose to 0.7%.



With inflation at 1%, we manage to repay one of the two remaining loans. Even then, we have enough funds to repay the other (due in 1577), as our projections put us at ~80 ducats profit per year.

Simon VII decided to slow down minting further, to begin the slow process of reducing inflation.



Bavaria decides to let Baden go; we will give it back to the locals, it will lower our own infamy.



We ourselves, however, annex Duchy of Nassau into the domains of Lippe.

With our new, 4-star diplomat, Wilhelm Ernst Lippstadt, we can easily maintain infamy at low numbers.



Nuremberg is now a Free Imperial City, as they've sent a petition to Simon VII and we saw no reason to reject it.

Finally, on 1st August 1577, we repay the final, and largest, of debts.

The banker is therefore fired and bound to wander the roads of the Empire in search for a new employer. C'est la vie!



After few years, France calls for help; it attacked Cyprus, which called for help from Lithuania and Hungary.

Obviously we will help - we're again ready to rumble!

[Haspen]

019: One Asskicking for the Visconti Family

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Even when we're stable and peaceful, rebels rise occassionally. A good target practice for the army!



Unfortunately, not much happens in the French war. Lippe soldiers see action at Neumark, and subsequent clean-up at Vorpommern.

Lithuania is already breaking apart from rebels; russian nationalists and protestant zealots are capturing province after province.



Heinrich Ludwig, son of Simon and the patriotic noble lady, is now being introduced to the court.



Milan has been blobbing and their pop-ups became annoying.

Emperor Simon declared preparations to curb Milanese expansion.



Milan proves to be suprisingly strong opponent. However, their allies are faltering, and we soon force St.Gallen to dissolve treaties with them and convert to the teachings of Luther.

Lorraine will be annexed; it would be lousy vassal and we need an elector that will be closer to us.

Some time later, Lithuanians call for peace with France, ending that war; soon France takes Pisa from Milan and ton of ducats, pulling out of our war, too.



We have to deal with Milanese, who launch surprise attack against our Swabian holdings, on our old; we win that fight and soon combined armies of Lippe and others unfold over Milan.



They are broken; no longer having vassals or money, but do not worry, we do not hold Piedmont unlawfully for long. After brief negotiations, Savoyards buy it back for 60 ducats.

As for the new 7th Elector; it is Baden. A Protestant nation with whom we have marital and access treaties, nonetheless it is considered 'unaligned'. Like Hainaut, they vote for us simply because we're best Protestant candidate around.



New lands in the far east are being discovered; some place name Japan, for example, has been recently visited by Castilleans.

This is not of important to us, however.



And finally, we get cavalry upgrade, one that shoots boolets and has better stats overall that the old Knights. Thus, we truly say our farewells to the medieval chivalry and knighthood!

[Haspen]

020: Asskicking Continued (ft.Prussia Boyz and The Bavarians)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Three years of peace and then Liege, out of nowhere, decides to annex Hainaut. The greedy archbishop has taken away one of our electors!

They're replaced on the Electoral Council by Moravia, a vassal duchy of the Bavarians. Curses!



Simon VII decides to vent his frustrations on Prussians; they're not part of the Holy Roman Empire, yet they hold Meissen, a centre of trade and formerly Prince of the Empire.

The declaration draws in Hungary, Lithuania, Muscowy and England into the conflict on the side of Prussians; on ours, our vassals, friends and France join in.



Alsace also gets involved, which allows us to settle a score; the local Archbishop was behind funding of some of Nassau nationalists back in the day. He will be punished with vassalization.



The entry of Poland into the conflict has thrown a wrench into our battleplans; we had military access through their lands to assault Prussia. We will get through this, and siege Warszawa as punishment!



Shortly afterwards, we gain another Idea slot, and it has been decided to increase our war potential by adopting Engineer Corps.

Few days later, capital of Prussia, Konigsberg, falls into our hands, and Prussians agree to give us Meissen, as well as pay 125 ducats and renounce claim to some Rigan territories.



Bavarians pick a perfect moment to decide and invade Nuremberg, a Free Imperial City and our ally.

Unfortunately for them, we're not the ones to abandon our allies, and join the war.



The fighting against Bavarians intensifies practically across entire Empire; Austrians and Bohemians, as well as Wurzburg and Siena has joined against the aggressors.

Just like Moravia, Worms and others joined Bavarian side, too.



Alsace is humilitated and becomes Lippe vassal; Bavaria attempts to offer us peace, but not yet!

It is time that the likes of Brandenburg, Holland, Wurttemberg, Regensburg and others be reborn and carved away from Bavarian empire!



Heinrich dies during a hunting accident... however the next heir, Leopold, has very nice stats.

Simon mourns for Heinrich only for few days.



Almost two years later, Munich finally surrenders and Bavaria accepts peace treaty dictated by us. Even before it, Utrecht and Palatinate were freed by other members of our alliance.

Our authority is all-time high. Now it is a perfect time to consolidate the Imperial Diet - time to vote for the Reichregiment!

Which does NOT pass! Our infamy might've been the cause of this, or mayhaps our bad relations with the Catholic princes of the Empire. Still, Simon VII feels betrayed by the Diet!



Half a year later, he passes away - some say of grief - and Leopold III ascends to the throne.

Long live Leopold III von Mecklenburg, King of Lippe, Emperor of Romans!

[Haspen]

021: The New Spa in Memel

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now what Leopold III does not like is the fact that Switzerland, despite being broken by his predecessors, has retaken Burgundy and the cities in the Alps already, when we were busy.

This cannot stand; the Swiss will need to be beaten again. This time, we will have them release numerous nations and give up claims to other areas.



Their main force was defeated by Leopold III himself, while France is beating up Venice and various other minor nations who joined Swiss in this war.



Remember, kids: in Lippe, the pen is as mighty as the sword!



And so, the Cantons are reduced to the union of Bern-Schwyz; Freiburg, Chur and Sion are now independent states, while Kingdom of Burgundy is alive once again.



Not so long afterwards, the petitions by the Swiss cities arrive; first to become Free Imperial City is Freiburg, and Sion follows suit few weeks later.

Unfortunately, despite all this splendour, glory and restoration of the Princes, the Diet, just as with Leopold's father, refuses to Reform the Reichregiment.



And now for something from the international news:

Naples, after winning war against Sweden and thus obtaining second half of Sicily, has declared creation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Good for them!

Leopold III decided to celebrate the Sicillian union by marrying into the ruling family of Durazzis.



...Apparently the Swedes got jealous and decided to proclaim a new kingdom of their own: Scandinavia.

Good for them, I guess - but Riga holds some of their core territories, and Riga is part of the Empire. That means...



This thing here was pretty much inevitable. Riga might've allied against us in the past, but we simply won't leave Imperial Princes defenseless. To war!

And yes, that grey blob, up in Siberia, is Iraq. Get used to it already.



Prussia is beaten and abandons Scandinavian side in exchange for peace.

And yes, we took Memel; Leopold III captured the city and liked it so much that he decided it will become a Baltic spa town for entirety of von Mecklenburg dynasty.

I mean, we're the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Who will stop us from doing things like this? No one, HAH!



The Emperor's diplomats dictate surrender terms to Scandinavian king in Stockholm; ducats for Imperial treasury and renouncing of claims on Riga-held Kexholm and Viborg.



Also, finally, we have enough money to build an Embassy.

Infamy begone!