Paradox Interactive Forums - The Man who defied the World (Wallachian aar p1 /with historical elements and screen

This is an Improved Grand Campaign game/ normal difficulty/normal aggression.also- Wallachia now has historical leaders and I have removed the major status from all other countries in order to be able to annex the lot...sorry but I just want my greedy hands on Constantinople. Some things I will say/do during this campaign will be historical(as I know Wallachian history quite well) and I will also use historical anecdotes when possible. Of course my conquering actions will be fiction and so will be some of my other workings :)
Still I have tried to add true historical happenings here and there. This aar is written from the viewpoint of the monarchs and it is roleplayed.On with the story...

Part I - The Man who defied the World.

Radu cel Mare
1492
Gone are the days of yore when Basarab I was humbling the Hungarians at Posada...Gone is Mircea the Elder, Bane of the Turks, victor of Rovine, and gone is Vlad Tepes, the spiteful merchants of Brasov called the Impaler...Gone is the glory of our land, as the leaves in an autumn wind, yet after a long winter comes spring, and us the proud heirs of Rome will rise again.
At my father's dying bed I swore to strive for our freedom, and as he rejoined our ancestors I remembered the olden days. It is said that during Vlad Dracula's reign golden cups were left near springs so the thirsty could drink, and it is said that the thieves feared Dracula so that no cup would be stolen. It is said that the day he died, one could know for the golden cups were gone.
They called him the Devil, and proclaimed him a drinker of blood, yet for me he was my old uncle. A proud man, wise in old age, with eyes that still held the brilliance of youth.
As I became ruler of Tara Romaneasca, I swore to prove myself worthy of my ancestors, and of the name of Basarab.

The throne of any country can be a delight but it is also a burden. Tara Romaneasca is now seen by some as a mere servant of the mighty Ottomans. Yet what some do not see is that we are just part of Al'ahd the House of Oath not part of House of Islam as are our Christian brothers the Serbs. We, the last of the Latins in the Balkans could never accept to become a mere pashalik. We bend our knee but we do not submit. Our rulers are our own, what matters if we pay tribute to the infidels? Their time will come.

The country is in a dire economical situation with only 99 ducats in the treasury. A huge 52 thousand strong Ottoman host looks at us with coveting eyes from across the border in Serbia. We shall not anger the lion. The path of the willow is our way. We shall bend and twist till we are strong enough for victory. 10 thousand troops under our command are insuficient for a campaign against the infidel Turks.

The only avenue of expansion left open to us leads to Moldova. Pope Sixtus IV calls Stefan 'The Athlete of Christ' yet this briliant man is a misguided ruler. Always on the defensive, his ambitions are too limited to achieve true greatness. Almost invincible general, yet not an expansionist. History will prove that expansion is the way of greatness. We shall build up our forces, and when the time comes march and unite our Moldavian brothers under the banner of the Basarabs. If Stefan yields I shall offer him his life as I would be proud to call him brother. It is one of life's ironies that Vlad Dracula put Stefan on his throne in Moldova, while I his nephew will remove him.

june 1 The dogs of war are loose. We declare war on Moldova and I personaly lead 22 thousands troops North into Moldova. We meet Stefan's army in the field at Vaslui. The cavalry of the House of Aron, Stefan's awoved enemies lead the charge. The Moldavian ranks falter, and their center is smashed. The boyars of Neamt on his left flank change sides, and the Moldavians crumble. The Eagle is triumphant over the Boar. House Basarab defeats House Musat yet in my moment of victory I feel a terrible loss. Stefan The Great, The Athlete of Christ is no more as he died on the field refusing to surrender. I order his body to be buried at Putna with all the honors of a ruler.

august 3, After a desperate resistence the last Moldovian boyars surrender at Suceava, as they know their fate is sealed. The proud Eagle banners of Basarab now wave triumphantly over the towers of Suceava citadel. The Boar is but a memory.

sept1 We officialy annex Moldova, and the Ottomans recognize our conquest. After all, they gain another tribute paying province. 20 thousand troops remain under my command, both Moldavians and Wallachians, brothers reunited after 1200 years of waiting. I feel it is my destiny to reunite what was once Dacia, then the land the Romans, our forefathers called Dacia Felix under the Basarab banner. The proud eagle of Rome, symbol of House Basarab shall once again wave in victory over the lands where over a millenium ago Trajan and Decebal did battle.

december 18 Poland declares war on the Ottomans. Some boyars, led by Petru Aron counsel me to strike at the Turks, and all the Moldavian advisors seem to favor this path. Yet, I see the time is not yet upon us. If we are to strike the Turks we must strike when they are weakened. We shall be their closest friends, and strike when their back is turned, in the moment of their weakness. Only a fool charges a waiting lion, a leader of men must use cunning to prevail.

1493
The Turks and Poles do battle in Bassarabia,yet another land rightfully belonging to us, yet I can do nothing about it. 122 thousand Poles then march on Bujak and I am humbled. How can one resist such an army, or the innumerable thousands of Ottoman soldiers marching North? They are like the grass in spring covering the Earth, without ending. We are so few. Yet the Venetians merchants have decided to loan us the necesary funds to rise a more powerful army. We have assured them, we shall fight the Infidels. Those gulible Italians...

July 26 We declare war on Hungary,as the time has come to liberate our Transylvanian brothers from the Magyar opression. I silently thank God for Venetian stupidity as this war is funded with their money. If Hungary falls the Doge should seriously blame himself. Our armies are poised to strike at Maros, as I again take to the field.
Russia wages war against Kazan, and their allies escalate this needless conflict, yet my mind is far away from those events as I focus on my war against Hungary. I know the path to succes is a terrible one, yet I shall emulate Basarab I's victorious methods. The crops shall burn, and the villages will hold no food for the Hungarian armies. Hunger against the Hungarian, a delightful concept. I shall let attrition do its job on their army if they invade our lands. Let them eat their horses, that way we shall not have to withstand a cavalry charge.

Hungarian armies arrive in Wallachia, and they commence to siege Targoviste and Bucuresti. Let them, die of famine hopelessly denied by our walls. Our strategy for this war is simple. We shall evade their armies, and deny them a battle in the field. Let them waste themselves against our fortifications, while we take their cities one by one.

september 24 We take Maros and march into Banat to liberate our brothers there, and on november 7 we take Banat. The time has come to liberate our Transylvanian brothers.

1494
On January 16th the Eagle banners are raised over Alba Iulia as Transylvania is at last ours. Our Romanian brothers here opened the gates for us, and we are now prepared to expand further into the heart of Hungary.
After tremendous losses the starving Hungarians have abandoned their siege of Bucuresti and have moved North to take on Suceava. They will find no food, or quarter in the Moldavian lands.

January 21- These are hard times, and hard times need evil solutions. One should ally even with the devil if no one else is to be found, for an alliance is always temporary. We are now official allies of the Sublime Porte. The Ottoman Empire might be the devil's kingdom, as some of my priests assure me, but one must use even the devil in times like these. The sultan sees us as his favorite pet but even dogs do bite.

February 25 - We take Magyar, and word reaches me of another great war. England declares war on Scotland, and their allies use this as an excuse for more bloodshed. Meanwhile, Hungarians siege Transylvania, yet our defenders remain steadfast.

April brings even more news of war from the West as France declares war on Spain.

May 2 - Pest falls to our troops, and on the 22nd of June we take Croatia. We are greeted with enthusiasm by the Croats and promise them greater autonomy than the Hungarians granted them.
A Hungarian assault fails in Transylvania, as our defenders make them taste the bitter aroma of defeat.

November brings yet another Hungarian assault inTransylvania, and the Hungarians are yet again denied their prize. Our garrison in Alba Iulia, under my brother Vladut still holds. We continue to siege Carpathia, without much success.

December 24th - On Christmas Eve God grants us victory as we take Carpathia. Hymns are sung, as we thank Him for his mercy. We pray that he shall make us strong, and let us endure on the path of victory.

1495
The birth of the new year sees Europe consumed by the flames of war. Battles are fought all over the continent, and our struggle against Hungary seems a tiny speck of dust compared to the battles in the West. Several skirmishes, are fought against Hungarian forces, as our army sieges Ruthenia.
Hungarians siege Carpathia without much success, and the war between the Turks and the Poles ends, as both sides acomplish nothing besides great slaughter and thousands of lives lost on both sides. It never ceases to amaze me how men die needlessly in wars without a purpose.

July 3, God is with us. Ruthenia falls, and Hungary is humbled, my only regret is I can not see the expresion on the Hungarian king's face as he is dead by now, poisoned by one of the traitors seeking my favor. Ulazlo II is gone, now and I am in the position to inherit his kingdom. A weak king, who lived in Matthias Corvinus's shadow. Most of his subjects are glad to be rid of him.

July 4 - We officialy annex Hungary. As the people of Pest look on, the triumphant effigia of House Basarab is raised over the Royal Palace. I welcome the Hungarian nobles, as they vow eternal loyalty to House Basarab, yet I can see through their deception. While a few could be relied upon, the majority of them are as unthrustworthy as Armenian merchants. They'd sell us all for 12 silver pieces if they could. Yet, some of the young Bathorys show promise. I hope I shall not be forced to execute them. We are 400 ducats in debt, and surrounded by enemies yet the future looks bright. I know that while the nobles can not be trusted I can have the loyalty of the peasantry as I reinstated the reforms of Mathias Corvinus, reforms Ulazlo abolished. If one can not rely on the few, one must rely on the many.

Radu Magnus, of House Basarab, Rex Romanum