Principia Moderni IV (Map Game)

With the Ming Dynasty ruling over the vast lands of China; the Hundred Years War are still raging on between England and France. Europe is still stuck in the old ways of feudalism and chivalry, while the notion of a New World are considered figments of imagination. We welcome you to the long awaited fourth expansion of that immortal series, welcome to Principia Moderni IV! Starting in 1400 AD, this is the dawn of the modern world and the tail end of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance is just kicking off in Europe, while the nations in the western side of the continent are locked in the last gasp of the Hundred Years War. The Muslim world is still reeling from the invasions of Turks and Mongols, with the Caliphate resting in the collapsing Mamluk Egypt and the Ottomans on the rise in Anatolia. The Aztec and Inca Empires are on the rise in America. It's a time for old endings and new beginnings. Make it count.

The first game was the most successful on the wiki, leading all the way to the modern day with mostly plausible posts and little controversy. The second game reached almost to the modern day, but failed due to a plethora of ASB events and moderator bias. The third game was much more worthy of the first, almost running into implausibility but climbing back into a shining glory by the end. Riding on the latest reforms of map games since the end of PMIII, this is the most logical next step in that evolution. Remember above all other rules — have fun.



The Map
1400 AD

Moderators
If you wish to be a moderator, contact Scraw.
 * Scraw
 * Edgeofnight
 * ForsakenPear
 * JoshTheRoman
 * Monster Pumpkin
 * Nathan1123
 * Reximus55
 * SkyGreen24
 * Lictor (Checks the mods) - CourageousLife

Guidelines

 * Nations in bold are reserved for users of plausible reputation.
 * If you want to be a tribal nation, add the name tribe into their respective region.
 * Personal Union - A monarch rules over two nations. If this is the case, these nations are in an alliance, but are not played by the same player. They are not a vassal unless stated otherwise.
 * Dynastic Union - Two nations have a monarch of the same dynasty. If this is the case, these nations are not in alliance and are not played by the same player. They are not a vassal unless stated otherwise. However, if the cadet branch of the dynasty dies out, the main branch can inherit. However, if the main dynasty dies out, the cadet branch cannot inherit.
 * Vassal/Client Nations - Is automatically played by controlling nation unless stated otherwise.
 * When posting as your nation, make sure you use the name of your nation that is directly on the nation list or something similiar to it.

British Isles

 * Kingdom of England -  SwankyJ   The Italian    Stallion   _
 * Principality of Wales - AH28
 * Kingdom of Scotland - —Bfoxius (talk)

France

 * Kingdom of France / Valois - NicDonalds
 * Marquisate of Saluzzo - NicDonalds
 * Count of Provence - NicDonalds
 * Duchy of Burgundy (Dynastic Union with Valois) - I am that guy (talk)
 * County of Burgundy (Personal Union under the Duchy of Burgundy) - I am that guy (talk)
 * Flanders (Personal Union with Burgundy) - I am that guy (talk)
 * Duchy of Orléans (Dynastic Union with Valois) -
 * Blois (Personal Union under Orléans) -
 * Dunois (Personal Union under Orléans) -
 * Périgord (Personal Union under Orléans) -
 * Parthenay -
 * Duchy of Brittany -
 * Avignon (Residence of the ) -

Iberian Peninsula

 * Crown of Aragon — WikiBuilder1147
 * Sicily — WikiBuilder1147
 * Sardinia — WikiBuilder1147
 * Crown of Castile -
 * Emirate of Granada -
 * Kingdom of Navarre (Dynastic Union with France) -
 * Kingdom of Portugal - PortugueseFlag1385.svg João I de Portugal (King of Portugal and the Algarve)

Italy

 * Duchy of Ferrara -
 * Republic of Florence -
 * Republic of Genoa -
 * Bosporus - Oct
 * Corsica - Oct
 * Crimea - Oct
 * Marquisate of Mantua -
 * Duchy of Milan - Rex
 * Montefeltro - Rex
 * Perugia - Rex
 * Duchy of Modena -
 * Marquisate of Monferrat (Dynastic Union with the Roman Empire) -
 * Kingdom of Naples - Pyradox (talk)
 * The Papal States  - "This is not your grave  but you are welcome in it. "
 * Ancona - "This is not your grave  but you are welcome in it. "
 * Bologna - "This is not your grave  but you are welcome in it. "
 * Piombino -
 * Elba -
 * Duchy of Savoy -
 * Republic of Venice - Person67
 * Crete - Person67
 * Stato de Mar - Person67
 * Duchy of Athens - Person67
 * Corfu - Person67
 * Ionia - Person67

Balkans

 * Roman Empire - Epic
 * Lemnos - Epic
 * Peloponnese - Epic
 * Chios - Epic
 * Epirus - Epic
 * Duchy of Naxos -
 * Ottoman Empire - Bozistanball
 * Serbia -  Bozistanball
 * Wallachia -  Bozistanball
 * Dulkadir -  Bozistanball
 * Knights of St. John (Rhodes) - Callumthered (talk)
 * Zeta -

Scandinavia

 * Kingdom of Denmark - KawaiiKame (talk)
 * Greenland - KawaiiKame (talk)
 * Holstein -KawaiiKame (talk)
 * Kingdom of Norway (In Personal Union with Denmark) - Belial
 * Kingdom of Sweden (In Personal Union with Denmark) - ~AM

Russia

 * Republic of Novgorod - Crim de la Kremlin - "Seizing the means of production and making sweet love. That's the stuff of life." - Karl Marx 19:18, July 18, 2016 (UTC)
 * Republic of Pskov - Supergamer1

Baltic

 * Teutonic Order - EiplecOco

Holy Roman Empire
(Underline indicates Prince-Electors)

Alpine

 * Swiss Confederacy - Patriot40

Bohemia

 * Kingdom of Bohemia - Blocky858 (talk)

Low Countries

 * County of Holland - Scarlet Outlaw
 * County of Hainut (Personal Union under Holland) -
 * Duchy of Lorraine -

German

 * Margraviate of Brandenburg (Personal Union under Moravia)  - With Blood and Iron (talk)
 * Duchy of Luxembourg (Personal Union under Moravia) - With Blood and Iron (talk)
 * Moravia (Dynastic Union with Bohemia) - With Blood and Iron (talk) 21:08, July 20, 2016 (UTC)
 * Cologne (Archbishopric)  -  NonsensicalJourney  ( talk
 * Essen - NonsensicalJourney (talk)
 * Free City of Hamburg - Redbaran45 (talk)
 * Landgraviate of Hesse - Sladather
 * Duchy of Jülich - Willster22 (User talk:Willster22)
 * Geldern - Willster22 (User talk:Willster22)
 * Berg (Dynastic Union with Jülich) -
 * Bavaria-Munich -
 * Duchy of Thuringen -
 * Archbisphoric of Colonge  -
 * Mainz -
 * Bremen -
 * Duchy of Saxony - User:KingSepron
 * Prince-bisphoric of Trier -
 * Oldenburg - Newalle
 * Duchy of Austria -Lx (leave me a message)Azarath Flag.png
 * County of Gorizia -Lx (leave me a message)Azarath Flag.png

Eastern Europe

 * Hungary - I don't have a template
 * Croatia (personal union with Hungary) - Lieutenant113
 * Cilli (Vassal of Hungary) Lieutenant113
 * Republic of Ragusa/Dubrovnik - SkyGreen24
 * Lithuania - Indiana Bones
 * Poland (Personal Union with Lithuania) - Sat(Talk to me!)
 * Moldavia (Vassal of Poland) - Sat (Talk to me!)

Middle East

 * Cyprus - Kaiserwilhelm3  -
 * Georgia -
 * Oman - FP Now 10% edgier!!!
 * Ramasan -
 * Timurid Empire -
 * Trebizond -
 * Yemen -

North and East Africa

 * Alwah -
 * Mamluks - Oh, I didn't mean to push that button! † Oh, well leave a message I guess
 * Ethiopia - Tharpe
 * Ifat -
 * Mogadishu -Fallacyman (talk)
 * Morocco - Daxus the Harbinger of Lameness (talk)
 * Tlemeen -
 * Tripoli -
 * Tunis -  SPQR Emblem Transparent.png Consul Ioshua   #Beware!  TSPTF_Badge.svg

West Africa

 * Bamoun -
 * Empire of Benin - Flag of the Xanian Empire.svg Flag of Xyon.svg Vivaporius: "I don't need a slogan"
 * Biram -
 * Bornu -
 * Daura -
 * Gobir -
 * Gurma -
 * Ife -
 * Kano -
 * Katsina -
 * Mali Empire - Th3Shad0wSlayer
 * Wagadugu -
 * Wolof -
 * Zamfara -
 * Zaria -
 * Oba Empire -

Sub-Saharan Africa

 * Kingdom of Buganda -
 * Kingdom of Kongo -
 * Kingdom of Rwanda -
 * City of Zanzibar -
 * Kingdom of Zimbabwe - Nlenhardt

South Asia

 * Andhra -
 * Bahmanis - The Guardian of Forever (talk)
 * Bengal - Scraw
 * Delhi Sultanate -
 * Jaunpur -
 * Kalinga -
 * Kashmir -
 * Khandesh -
 * Mithila -
 * Nepal -
 * Sindh -
 * Vijayanagar Empire -  -Nova
 * Warangal -

Southeast Asia

 * Assam - LordMarlborough
 * Ava -
 * Ayuthia -
 * Champa -
 * Chieng Mai -
 * Kedah -
 * Khmer Empire - FOR THE GLORY OF THE PARTY!
 * Lan Xang -
 * Pegu -
 * Sukhothai -
 * Toungoo -
 * Vietnam -

Asian Islands

 * Banggai -
 * Becan -
 * Berau -
 * Brunei -
 * Bungku -
 * Buol -
 * Igorot  -
 * Jailolo -
 * Kutei -
 * Laiwu -
 * Ma-i -
 * Majapahit Empire -
 * Pangasinan -
 * Sulu -
 * Ternate -
 * Tidore -
 * Tondo - Erizium (talk)

East and Central Asia

 * China (Ming Dynasty) - Her Majesty,    Empress of China and Japan,  Queen of Burma and Malaya,   Sora  
 * Japan (Ashikaga Shogunate) - Feudalplague (talk)
 * Korea (Yi dynasty)
 * Kingdom ofTibet - Claus the Mighty (talk)
 * Oirat Khanate -
 * Mongolia - Triumph is at handtalk
 * Chagatai Khanate -
 * Golden Horde - Emperor Romanus
 * Moscow - Tao64
 * Chernigov -
 * Rostov -
 * Ryazan -
 * Rzhev -
 * Suzdel -
 * Tver -
 * Yaroslav -
 * Sakha - Shikata ga nai!

South America

 * Chimu  -
 * Qosqo - Revolution 9
 * Aymara -
 * Wanka -
 * Chancay -
 * Sican -
 * Nazca -
 * Chiribaya -
 * Mapuche -

Mesoamerica

 * Tlacopan (Triple Alliance) -
 * Texcoco (Triple Alliance) -
 * Tenochtitlan (Triple Alliance) - THIS... IS...  TENOCHTITLAN!
 * Alotepec -
 * Astatlan  -
 * Ayutitlan  -
 * Azmola  -
 * Chalca  -
 * Chametian  -
 * Cholula  -
 * Coaiztlahuacan  -
 * Coatzacualco  -
 * Coinan  -
 * Colimotl  -
 * Cuitzeo  -
 * Culican  -
 * Guaspaltepec  -
 * Huaxyacac  -
 * Huetzcotzingo  -
 * Huextla  -
 * Hueyacocotlan  -
 * Icpatepec  -
 * Itzyocan  -
 * Matlatzinco  -
 * Mazahuacan  -
 * Metztitlan  -
 * Miahuatlan  -
 * Michoacan  -
 * Mixtlan  -
 * Nuuntoo  -
 * Oztoman  -
 * Quetzalapan  -
 * Quetzaltepec  -
 * Teloloapan  -
 * Tlaollan  -
 * Tlaxcalan  -
 * Tochpan  -
 * Tollan  -
 * Tollantzinco  -
 * Tolocan  -
 * Tonallan  -
 * Tototepec  -
 * Ualtepec  -
 * Xaltepec  -
 * Xilotan  -
 * Xiuhcoac  -
 * Xiuhtepec  -
 * Xiquipilco  -
 * Zapotec -

Yucatan

 * Mayapan League - Cour *talk*
 * Acalan
 * Chactemal
 * Chiapan
 * Chilapa
 * Chicomuceltec
 * Chiya
 * Comitan
 * Copanahuastla
 * Cuscatlan
 * Iximche
 * Mapachtepec
 * Mazanahau
 * Potonchan
 * Tayasal
 * Totoncalco
 * Uatlan
 * Yahualulco
 * Xicallanco

Wall of Shame
All users currently on the wiki may play unless otherwise noted.

Plausibility Strikes
'''Three strikes, and you're out! Each strike resets after 30 years of the most recent strike.'''
 * Redbaran - I (1400)
 * Kawaii - I (1400)
 * Candies - I (1400)

1400
''' And so we begin! Here is the lay of the land of the world in 1400, as we begin the fourth adventure through the modern era... '''

 FOR EUROPEAN PLAYERS: Please go here and copypaste the template, fill it out with the adequate info and post it there, we have a special bonus feature for PMIV and help is appreciated.-sky 

''' The Epiphany Uprising is crushed in England and its leaders are executed. The deposed Richard II, the cause of the revolt, dies soon after under questionable circumstances. '''

''' English forces occupy Edinburgh but fail to take its castle. '''

Owain Glyndŵr is proclaimed Prince of Wales and launches a revolt against the English crown.

Geoffry Chaucer, one of the most well known English authors up to this point, dies.

''' Wenceslaus is deposed as King of the Romans by his fellow German princes. Rupert of the Palatinate is voted to succeed him as King and candidate for Holy Roman Emperor. '''

''' The Medici family begins to accumulate power and wealth in the city of Florence, rapidly becoming one of the more influencial families present. '''

''' Manuel II becomes the first Roman (Byzantine) Emperor to visit England during his travels to find support against the Ottomans. '''

''' Wallachia resists an incusion by the Ottomans. '''

''' Timur captures the city of Damascus and sacks it. His army puts most of the population to the sword. '''

''' Timur also defeats the Black Sheep Turks and forces their leaders to flee into Ottoman lands for protection. '''

''' King Jeonjong of Korea abdicates and is succeeded by his brother Taejong. '''

''' The Maori are believed to have eaten or killed all the Moa and Haast's Eagle in the OTL New Zealand islands by this time. '''

''' The Mississippian Culture begins to enter a period of decline. '''

'''As an advisory note before we begin, please be aware of edit conflicts. In order to best prevent these damages, please copy your posts before you submit them, so that way you don't have to type the entire essay all over again. '''

All users are encouraged to edit in source mode.
 * The Kingdom of England: After sending troops to occupy the Edinburgh, King Henry IV offers a chance to the Kingdom of Scotland to negotiate terms. King Henry IV sends ambassadors to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Castile, Aragon,  Portugal , Genoa, and Florence (mod reaction needed); offering trading rights and pacts. The Kingdom of England increase their Naval power and their military, hoping to intimidate and push off the Scottish, and hopes to crush the rebellion with Wales, hoping they once again join and fight under the Crown of England. King Henry IV looks to The Kingdom of France, working on terms for land occupancies and military redoubt and struggle. The King offers gold coffers to the Pope, hoping to favor his graces within the Church. As the centralization and rebuilding of lands continues in Northern Ireland. Controlled territories (yet to be named) in Southern France bolster their defenses and military due to being surrounded by French controlled lands, and Iberian influences to the south. The fort (yet to be named) in Northern France is prepping its navy, as well as increasing their military, in hopes of a growing British expansion. Garrison forts are posted along the border of Wales, the largest of the forts being named Fort William, and being quarter walled with duct trenches and heavy palisades defending the reinforced stone that lay behind it. Fort William being a new focal point of standing war with the Welsh Rebels.
 * Danish Diplomacy: We accept the offer of trade from the Kingdom of England. Queen Margrete of Denmark offers her hand in marriage to King Henry IV where the Kalmar Union and the Kingdom of England will enter into a dynastic union, with Queen Margrete contiuining to be the monarch of the Kalmar Union and King Henry IV continuing to be the monarch of England.
 * Genoa Dip: Genoan merchants accept.
 * Scottish Diplomacy: We propose an end to the war and a border between Scotland and England established along the old-Solway-Tweed line (OTL Anglo-Scottish border, with a Scottish Berwick) that has defined our border for centuries.
 * i swer on me nan m8 Anglo-Portuguese alliance is ancient. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance Do some research.
 * Kalmar Union
 * Norway: Under the Queen Margaret we begin to prosper with trade increasing with many countries. The Norse Nobility begin to see a need for more lands to use to sustain our people and to discover more about our surroundings so we sponsor an atlantic Expedition. For the first couple months the Expedition finds minor islands until winter forces them to return to a port on Iceland and settle there sending back word of their exploration and findings. At home to open our trade and to get money in our pockets we produce 15 ships. We also create 25 merchant ships for trade. Inside of Norway Infrastructure is expanded. Oslo is growing with 15,000 people in it. We begin to promote trade with the Hanseatic league. With Novogorod being the Easternmost point of the Hanseatic League we propose a trade deal with them, similar trade deals are offered to other members of the Hanseatic League Mod Response and Hamburg. Knowing that the Norse People's biggest strength is their Naval past we begin to set up fishing ports and on southern points trade ports to enrich us.
 * Mod Response, 1-5 is no, 6-10 is yes, 10, the other cities say yes. -MP
 * Hamburg Diplomacy: We accept the trade agreement and ask permission to build a Hanse in the city of Oslo. 
 * Norwegian Diplomacy: We are willing to do so and allow a Hanse to be built in Oslo
 * Danish Diplomacy: We offer the city of Hamburg membership into the Kalmar Union. As a Kalmar Union member Hamburg will remain an autonomous city with its own government. If Hamburg decides to become a KU member we guarantee Hamburg's protection in the event of a foreign invasion and Hamburg will also enjoy the expansive and lucrative trade of the Kalmar Union, as well access to its trade network. We will also try to elevate Hamburg to an magriavate.
 * Novgorodian Diplomacy: We accept the deal.
 * Hamburg Diplomacy: After much debate we decide to accept the Danish offer and offically join the Kalmar Union. 
 * Danish Diplomacy: We are elated at the acceptance of Hamburg and we embrace them as members of the Kalmar Union.
 * This isn't how the Kalmar Union works, folks. It is a personal union, meaning that it is united by a common monarch (in this case, Margaret). There is no way Hamburg would willingly agree for Margaret to become the monarch. Plausbility strike for Hamburg and Denmark. -Rexmod
 * (Would an offer and acceptance of Kalmar vassalage be acceptable?)
 * Sweden: As we begin to expand our infrastructure at home, we begin expanding our trade network, as we ask the Teutonic Order, Novogorod and Hamburg for trade deals. We cherish our time with Queen Margaret as our monarch. We begin expanding our army and modernizing it. We begin expanding in the tribal territories.
 * Teutonic Order Dip: We accept the trade deal offer.
 * Queen Margrete Valdemarsdatter of Denmark: The Earth enters 1400 Anno Domini, the 1400th Year in our Lord, the soft white snow falls from the sky, the Aurora Borelias dances in the Heavens, the fjords flow, and I orchestrate a lavish celebration in the Copenhagen castle in order to celebrate the 3rd year where I, Queen Margrete of Denmark, unified the nations of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway into one nation-the Kalmar Union. The Grand Nordic Celebration is also orchestrated by me to celebrate the birth of a new century, the dawn of a new era. The celebration is amazing, I have united the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian nobles in celebration and there is beautiful music, violins, cellos, violas, pianos, singing and dancing alongside with an amazing dinner. With the birth of the new era, the 1400s I am determined to make the Kalmar Union the greatest nation in Europe and all of Christendom. In order to accomplish this ambitious goal I am convinced that to form a great nation one must build a great city, thus I declare Copenhagen to be the capital of both Denmark and the Kalmar Union, and my seat of power shall be in the very castle and palace I orchestrated my amazing celebration in. I shall make Copenhagen the administrative, financial, trading, and cultural centre of Northern Europe and using the outpouring of wealth we received from the massive expansion of Baltic trade with our neighbors Hamburg, the Teutonic Knights, Holland, and Novograd I order the build up of Copenhagen, specifically her ports and dockyards, for that is the source of wealth, the bloodline of Copenhagen. Geographically, Copenhagen is  the centre of  Northern Europe, the bridge between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, thus I open up and construct ports and ship dockyards to open the floodgates of trade ships into Copenhagen. With trade being the bloodline of Copenhagen I reform the currency, replacing the old copper coins with valueable silver coins.This rapid increase of trade in Copenhagen herself allows me to also order the construction of a massive fleet of 100 ships in order to expand the wealth and influence of the Kalmar Union.   To celebrate this I order the construction of the University of Copenhagen in order to make Copenhagen the center of education. With the privy councils from each nation at the Grand Nordic Celebration, I, Queen Margrete, declare that the privy councils shall craft the domestic policies of each nation while I dictate the foreign policy of the Kalmar Union. I shall also craft the domestic policy in Europe, especially in Copenhagen. The colonies of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands shall be a part of my lands but be primarily administered by Norwegian nobles while Danish nobles shall administer the ports of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. The military shall also be under my control and I order a small fleet of the Danish navy to join the Norwegian colonial expedition and help with the exploration. Along the way the expedition checks on the population status of the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland and I receive news that Greenland is severely depopulated thus I order and encourage Danish colonists to settle Greenland and populate it. The colonial expedition reminds me of the Norse sagas of Vinland and I make plans to resettle that new land, the virgin world. I also order the creation of a band of fierce Norwegian-Danish raiders under my personal command. To Sweden, I give the Swedish privy council permission to expand into Karelia and the rest of unsettled Kalmar lands in the Peninsula. With these grants of autonomy and territory it is my hope that the Kalmar Union shall be eternal and its glory shall last forever. These Nordic Sagas of exploration, conquest, and Vinland reminds me of the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great and I am inspired to make the Kalmar Union an even greater nation and to restore the North Sea Empire . Seeing warfare as an unwise decision, I decide to marry Henry IV instead, which will create a dynastic union between Kalmar and England. I also conduct a census of Denmark, and the population stands at 1,000,000 people.
 * ​No Vinland. As an aside, you do not have enough resources to perform all of these actions at once and the war is highly suspect. I'll let it slide for now because I want to hear from other mods, but I would strongly advise you to prioritize your objectives. I'm also gonna cross out the war thus far for the simple reason that a more legitimate cause of war than sagas and a military defeat almost four hundred years ago. -MP
 * The Teutonic Order: At the beginning of the 15th century, the State of the Teutonic Order stands at the height of its power under Hochmeister Konrad von Jungingen. The Teutonic navy rules the immediate Baltic Sea from bases in Prussia and Gotland, and the Prussian cities provided tax revenues sufficient to maintain a significant standing force composed of Teutonic Knights proper, their retinues, Prussian peasant levies, and German mercenaries. Maritime trade with Eastern and Western Europe provides enough to fill Teutonic coffers, with cities like Marienburg having a monopoly in Teutonic grain export, Konigsburg having a monopoly in amber exports, etc. The efficiency of Teutonic trade is mainly due to standing agreements with Hanse traders, as well as the organized nature of the Orders hierarchy. This hierarchy has a specific posts for "chief sales and buying officers" called Großschäffers. These officers are also in charge of the considerable commerce, import, export, crediting, real estate investment etc., which the Order carries out, using networks of bailiwicks and agencies spread over much of Central, Western and Southern Europe. As the Teutonic Knights take vows of chastity, they cannot procreate. For this reason, recruiters are common in many parts of Europe, especially Central Europe, trying to convince specifically young German nobles to take vows for the Order. And additional detachment of knights and their retinues are dispatched to the Teutonic province of Samogitien due to persistent fears of native pagan backlash over the recent Order takeover of their lands.
 * Danish Diplomacy: We offer a trade agreement with The Teutonic Order. 
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: We accept. 
 * Moscow: We start a buildup of military might and develop Moscow. We start meeting with Yuan diplomats . We try to improve relations with Novogorod and begin the process of breaking away from the Golden Horde.
 * Nope, too far away. -MP
 * Japan: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu now technically retired as the Shogun in favor if his son Yoshimochi (who is young currently) Yoshimitsu is not entirely retired. He has just recently united the two courts of Japan from the north and south ending a years long civil war, and had rebuilt Japan into a golden era of the Ashikaga Shogunate. While a few small revolts are under way, the Shogun under the watchful eye of a mostly powerless Emperor. In an bid to keep the rising power of the Daimyo in check expands the court life in kyoto which requires these Daimyo, still considered provincial governors at this point to spend every other year in Kyoto. While this is done mostly for the Shogun to keep a much more watchful eye on these Samurai Lords, it also allows Yoshimitsu to more effectively calculate which one is becomming the largest threat at any given point. While technically weak, the Ashikaga family maintained a large amount of prestige and good-will with many of his friends and other Daimyo and in this year managed to extend his personal holdings particularly with multiple key marriages with certain clans and some promises of investment from the royal court in Kyoto into the lands of these Daimyo. His son Yoshimochi is promised to the daughter of one of the more powerful Daimyo in Japan in an attempt to solidify an alliance as well as secure a much more powerful base for Yoshimochi to rule from and prevent the Daimyo from acting much more unruly. Paired with this Yoshimitsu raises a unified army of roughly 25,000 to move on Mutsu expecting to take roungly 2-3 years to fully put down this rebellion. The Shogun himself sends pretigious former Shogun Yoshimitsu to China to discuss opening further relations between Japan and China. With the settlement of Hokkaido also underway, the further expansion of outposts in Hokkaido pushes the frontiers further bringing in a few hundred settlers and merchants as Japanese control over Hokkaido expands. Japan begins to expand its trade in Korea as well as China. The Shogun begins to spur forth the expansion of the Steel and Iron development in Japan as well mostly in an attempt to begin developing the Shoguns personal military forces.
 * Mongolian Dip: We offer a trade agreement to Japan.
 * Benin: The Oba of Benin, Orobiru, declares his son Prince Ogun heir to his throne, believing him to be more sound of mind and body than his brother, Uwaifaikon. Ogun is sent to handle trade with the Mali Empire, whom the Oba seeks to attain additional riches for his treasury. Growth of the nation's steel production capabilities is made a priority by the Oba, who wishes to expand the number of goods his people trade with the northern kingdoms. The Oba orders a tally of all fighting age men belonging to the ighele (all men between 30 and 50), to see how many troops he could realistically call upon during a conflict. Excluding the 12,000 troops of the Royal Regiment, the Iyase of Benin informs the Oba that the empire has a total of 180,000 warriors capable of fighting with sword, shield, and bow. Pleased with this information, the military forces of Benin are ordered to train themselves for the planned military parades Oba Orobiru plans to hold in the future. Economic growth under the Oba's new edicts are spurred on by the prospects of new trading agreements with the neighboring lands. With nothing but free time on his hands, Prince Uwaifaikon seeks the Oba's permission to leave the empire for a time to explore the neighboring lands to find new treasures and kingdoms to trade with, permission which he receive. The expedition is planned for the next year, during which time Uwaifaikon shall assemble the needed war canoes, volunteers, food and weapons for the trip. The Uzama doubt the expedition will provide anything of particular use for the empire, though the Oba overrules them, believing that there may be something of worth in looking beyond the lands of Benin and West Africa for once. Also, he believes that it will keep his son busy and his mind off of the issues of state passed on to his more capable brother. Elsewhere, after hearing of the difficulties of trade between Edo and the city of Enugu during the rainy season, the Oba orders his stonemasons to lay down stones to see if that will help the merchants travelling between the cities.
 * Cologne: Friedrich III von Saarwerden, archbishop of Cologne, is responsible for paying off a majority of Cologne’s debt from previous archbishops and has already significantly paid this off using personal connections. Nevertheless, Cologne is conveniently located on the Rhine river and begins to strengthen its trade routes along the Rhine in an attempt to bolster the economy. Further, Friedrich III worries that he may not retain the lucrative cities of Cologne and spends the latter half of the year consulting with his Chapter about how he can remedy his predecessors’ mistakes and placate the population’s dissatisfaction with the regime in order to make the 15th century particularly prosperous and unified for Cologne. The Chapter do not yet come to a conclusion about what Friedrich III should do, and in the meantime the archbishop makes a speech reiterating Cologne’s support for the Roman Pope.
 * Essen: Princess-Abbess Elisabeth III of Nassau insists that 12 unique silver coins be minted to commemorate the first century in which the princess-abbesses have had mining rights. The people of Essen do not appreciate this gesture and the rift between the city and abbey widens. Near the end of the year, however, Elisabeth III falls ill and is advised that she should resign and allow a new abbess to be elected.
 * Hungary: We build up our military and develop more of our economy and infrastructure. We also begin to deploy soldiers at the Hungarian-Ottoman border at fortified, strategic positions to prepare for attack. The same is done at the Hungarian-Venetian border and the Polish border. We also send diplomats to the Ottoman Empire with the goal of discussing trade.
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: Hochmeister von Jungingen requests the opportunity to establish Teutonic commandries in the Kingdom of Hungary to recruit from their local population, offering safe havens to traveler, and generally extending goodwill to the Kingdom of Hungary.
 * France (Valois): At the turn of century, with Charles’s paranoid schizophrenia continuing to become more of a problem, a regency council is established by lords and nobles close to the king, gathering some support from counts and dukes. Selected to be part of the regency council are two individuals: Queen Consort Isabeau and Bishop Nicolas du Bosc (also Généralité, President of Court of Finances, Keeper of the Seals of France). Nicolas is also a former marmouset and close friend to Charles’s father. The regency also gains support from most of the Estates-General and is recognized and blessed by Pope Boniface IX. The power of the regency is still not firmly cemented, and the regents focus on gaining more support. As power struggle and rivalry continues between Duke of Orleans, Louis and Duke of Burgundy, Philip continues the regents try to gain their support and reconcile the two parties. Charles still holds the title, King of France, but mainly acts as an advisor to the regents. The regents also encourage unity among the French people against foreign influences and aggressors. The antipope continues to have low support among the French peoples, and the marshal's brother, Geoffrey Boucicaut, continues to run a quasi military campaign in Avignon, with siege of the (anti-)papal palace. As England runs a quasi-war in Scotland, Frances continues to maintain the alliance and sends supplies and ships under the Scottish flag. With struggles and tensions continuing even in peace of the recent wars with the English, the regents begin to established a small and maintained standing army of dedicated knights (alongside the large feudal French army). In terms of foreign relations, a formal alliance is maintained with Scotland. France requests a betrothal between Dauphin and heir to the French throne, Louis (3 Years Old) and Maria, the newborn daughter of King Henry III of Spain. This would cement a royal alliance, as France helped Spain before in the Portuguese Interregnum War. John V of Brittany and Joan of France get married (as they did OTL), causing more peace and stability in Brittany.


 * Sakha: Thousands of Vajryana Buddhist monks have lost the patronage of the Yuan rulers which they previously enjoyed; although they could return to Tibet, the centre of their branch of Buddhism, they prefer to try to spread their religion by influencing new states. Several dozen monks, led by one Wei Touliuni, travel north into Siberia, eventually encountering the chiefdom of Sakha, ruled by Oyus, a Yakut chieftain, who is eager to expand his power and particularly seeks to emulate Genghis Khan (although his ambitions extend no farther than uniting the Yakuts). Seeing in these monks an opportunity to acquire the wealth and power of southern rulers, he offers them official patronage and support in return for their aid to expand his rule. They willingly agree; soon the chiefdom is deluged with monks, who found several new monasteries at Oyus’ capital (a small village and stockade) of Cohuskay and along the Lena. Although Yakut shamans are initially angered by this influx, most are readily coopted by the new religion when they see the much greater wealth and power religious figures enjoy under the new doctrines; Oyus brokers an agreement whereby shamans will be admitted as monks and help spread the new religion to the Sakha people, although a hardline minority refuses. The people of Sakha, who generally have fairly little interest in religion, accept the new status quo readily, particularly as the translation of Buddhist principles into Yakut involves the substitution of the names of Yakut religious ideas for analogous Buddhist concepts; in their view, little changes, except that the new monks bring valuable medicinal skills and technologies. Oyus uses the skills of several monks with knowledge of masonry to begin constructing new curtain walls of stone for his capital; he also starts construction on several such forts in more far-flung areas. Meanwhile, Sakha expands the maximum amount eastwards down the Lena River, toward the coast.
 * Mongolian Dip: We made contact with Sakha offering them a trade agreement and to help them to unite the Yakut people if they agree to become our vassal.
 * Yi Bang-won is crowned as the King of the Yi Dynasty, succeeding Yi Bang-gwa (as they are not dead their posthumous names shall not be used). The new King hopes to foster closer ties with China and lead Korea into an age of prosperity and power. Yi Jeonju initiates some key reforms; establishing a more flexible social order which allows people of lower castes to enter higher ones and perform as civil servants. He also establishes Neo–Confucianism as the official state religion at the cost of Buddhism and Korean shamanism; this begins the entrenchment of neo–Confucian ideals and work ethic into Korean culture. Yi Jeonju, dissatisfied with the gap between Chinese and Korean economic development, initiates a modernisation program that aims to catch-up with China within a period of thirty to fifty years. Korea adopts more modern Chinese agricultural policies to heighten agricultural productivity and to encourage population growth. Bituminous coke is adopted in place of charcoal, and large-scale mining activities begin in mineral-rich North Korea. He orders the construction of hydraulically-powered blast furnaces that will melt wrought and cast iron together to create steel, with the construction of these blast furnaces being concentrated in Hanseong, Busan, Pyeongyang, and Ulsan, which are set to become Korea's main industrial centres. This steel will be used for construction and to reinforce weaponry. The expansion of Korean steel and iron industries begin. Accompanying this is some urbanisation, and the construction of paved roads and canals to ease the flow of commerce. Thinking that the Koreans lack knowledge required for such program, he sends a hundred scholars (regardless of caste) to China to study Chinese ways, then when they come back, they shall be appointed as the minister of a subject they majored in. To facilitate education for the yangban, he begins the construction of academies, universities, and schools while promoting literacy through the creation of more text and movable types. Lastly, fearing an attack from the Northern Jurchens and Japanese pirates, the construction of three arsenals (in Hanseong, Busan, and Pyeongyang) begin. The production of turtleships, gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons, Korean cannons, hwacha, fire arrows, mortars, arquebuses, and muskets, accelerates.
 * They are not that advanced yet. Wait a bit. -MP
 * Mongolian Dip: We offer a trade agreement to Korea.
 * Korea agrees to the offer.
 * You cannot have blast furnaces or printing presses yet. They'll be coming later, and will be part of a technology algorithim. Next turn, run any technology ideas by a couple of moderators, or you'll end up on probation. -Rexmod
 * Sorry for the misunderstanding, what I meant by a printing press is a movable type. And as for the blast-furnace, Korean adoption of blast-furnaces from China is not really that far-fetched.
 * Ottoman Empire: With the lost to the Timurids, we give up our vassals in Anatolia to Timur, this causes some of the Sultan sons to see him as a seller of Ottoman lands. The army begins to work on reciting people into the army mostly by getting peasants to join.
 * Serbia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more mosques mostly in the South.
 * Wallachia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more mosques mostly in the South, and reciting peasants for the army. 
 * Naples: Throughout the late 14th and early 15th century in the Kingdom of Naples, two members of the Angevin dynasty battled and contested each other's control of the Neapolitan crown: Ladislaus, the son of the previous king Charles III, and Louis II, the Duke of Anjou and the Count of Provence. By 1400, Ladislaus has regained a majority of control over the Neapolitan-controlled peninsula that was previously controlled by Louis and only has to deal with little more than scattered rebellion across the country as of this point. In this year in particular, Ladislaus begins to subdue the rebellious count of Fondi, Onorato Caetani, and sends out his best generals to destroy the last rebellions occuring in the provinces of Abruzzo and Apulia. In order to further quell any chance for future rebellion across his nation, Ladislaus decides to cut taxes on basic food supplies such as grain and fish in his personal domain and highly encourages his vassals to do the same in their lands. In terms of foreign relations, we propose multiple trade agreements with Castile, Portugal, Milan, and Genoa. We also propose to arrange a marriage between King Ladislaus of Naples and Valentina Visconti, the daughter of the Duke of Milan.  We propose a marriage between King Ladislaus of Naples and Battista Malatesta, the daughter of the Duke of Urbino. The ambitious Neapolitan king dreams of conquering or vassalizing the entirety of the Italian peninsula under the banner of Naples, and wishes to begin his relationship with Italy by starting with Milan.
 * She's been married for eleven years now. -MP
 * Genoa: Doge Marco Visconti accepts.
 * Hamburg: The city continues to prosper as trade in the North Sea and Baltic continues to expand. Recongnizing the importance of this trade to the city the Senate orders the navy, which stands at 20 ships, to patrol the trade routes and hunt down smugglers and pirates.  They also enforce a small toll on all river traffic on the Elbe. This toll is used to construct 10 new warships and improve the defenses of the city.  Stone walls are built around the city and the city guard is expanded to 1,000 men.  The city also begins to look for new nations to trade with.
 * Mongolia: Gün Temür Khan of the Northern Yuan dynasty makes major reforms, aimed to strengthen the state and keep it on par with its neighbours, he attempts to solidify his rule and increase his control over Mongolia. Population stands at 500.000 people. Tengriism remains the official religion although we enforce religious tolerance, like our Great ancestor Genghis Khan did. We start rebuilding our two decimated former capitals of Karakorum and Shangdu, as well as building ten blast-furnaces in special industry quarters of the cities, with Ming help. We focus on expanding towards the East and the North, as well as into the West side of lake Baygal nuur, settling/subjugating vast areas. Tensions start to escalate with the Oirot Khaganate. Field guns, hand cannons are constructed by our small industry to be used by the army, but due to our small capabilities production is limited. We create a standing army consisted by 10.000 Mongolian horsemen. We made contact with Sakha offering them a trade agreement and to help them to unite the Yakut people if they agree to become our vassal. Trade agreements are send into the Ming China, Japan and Korea as the treasury is very depleted. We also try to increase our relationship with China, Japan and Korea. We secretly offer to China to become a tributary state and to renounce the (Northern) Yuan claims on China, if they shall assist us with rebuilding the cities and lands they decimated, that is Karakorum and Shangdu and many others, recognize Gün Temür Khan as Emperor of Mongolia, as well as station some troops in our lands to keep control and deal with unhappy mobs and nobles that will resist this deal and supply our army with field guns and hand cannons as well as other weapons needed.
 * Ming Diplomacy: The Emperor agrees to recognize Khan as the Emperor of Mongolia, we send troops into the Mongolia and help rebuild the cities. Muskets are sent to the Mongolians.
 * Sakha diplomacy: while Sakha is already tributary to China, Khan Oyus willingly swears allegiance to the Mongol Emperor, as the heir of Genghis, whom he idolizes, and offers tribute; he also requests that a trade agreement be established between Sakha and Mongolia.
 * Mongolian Dip: Yekhe Khagan agrees to establish a trade agreement with the Sakha people, is also very pleased from his vassal Khan Oyus that he sends weapons and tech such as a limited supply of field guns and hand cannons and one blast-furnace, as well as 1.000 raised troops to assist him to unite the Yakut people.
 * Holland: The Friso-Hallandic wars go like they did on OTL. (Friso-Hollandic Wars) Count Albert builds 25 ships for trade with other nations around the area. The military of the nation builds another 25 ships for war. Around the capital city a brick wall is being build to stop intruders. About a thousand guards watch the city for safty reasons. The troop count is now standing at 8,000 troops. Agriculture goes well in our nation with many farms going into surplus this year. On all major rivers have a toll stop at each city.
 * Danish Diplomacy: We offer a trade agreement with Holland. 
 * Holland Dip: We accept the agreement
 * Novgorod Republic: Settlers move east in the hopes of capturing the untamed wealth of the area. The economy, which thrives on furs, salt, and meats from both land and sea, sees marked improvement. Trade routes through Karelia to Swedish-controlled Finland are established, siphoning wealth from the newfound Kalmar Union into the Republic. Relations with Muscovy are improved. As there is a mutual wish for higher relations, Novgorod offers a 25-year Non-Agression pact to Muscovy. They send covert diplomats to converse with Muskovian leaders regarding Muscovian independence from the Golden Horde. Novgorod hopes to break Mongolian influence on not only Moscow, but all of the Russian areas. They begin vassalization attempts on Great Perm, establishing new trade routes and promises of protection from its neighbors. In addition, alliance offers are sent to Perm. To the west, Novgorod wishes to improve relations with both the Teutonic Order and Poland-Lithuania. While military assistance from either state would be greatly appreciated, Novgorod's military is a mighty powerhouse, with many men being trained this year. Orders from forges across Novgorod are placed en masse, bolstering the Novgorodian supplies. Lastly, trade deals are sent to Pskov, in addition to a 25-year non-aggression pact.
 * Danish Diplomacy: We offer Novgorod expanded mutual trade along our ports in the Baltic Sea and we intend to foster positive diplomatic relations between our two nations.
 * Novgorodian Diplomacy: We accept
 * Moscow dip: We accept the offer.
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: We offer several trade deals and to open many of our largest ports to commerce as well as naval movements to the Novgorod Republic.
 * Novgorodian Diplomacy: We accept
 * Ming Dynasty:  The Emperor initiates a 5 step military and naval improvement project, involving the further implementation of riflemen into the ranks of the Great Ming Army. Scientists are to further study the uses of gunpowder and develop new weapons from any material possible. With Mongolia now a tributary state of the Ming, the Emperor requests a tribute of 50 girls and 30 boys every 2 years. The Imperial Navy begins training exercises in the East Sea (OTL Sea of Japan). Soldiers begin training in Manchuria and Western China due to the large, flat areas that are great for training. Blast furnaces are introduced to Korea.
 * Korean diplomacy: Uninterested with dealing with foreign affairs and seeking to focus solely on self-modernisation, Yi Bang-won sends ten ambassadors to the Ming court in Beijing to send them an offer to further subjugate Korea as a protectorate (instead of being a tributary); while Korea will maintain autonomy in internal affairs, it will be under the suzerainty of China and China may handle Korea's foreign affairs.
 * Korean diplomacy: We thank the Ming for introducing blast-furnaces to Korea.
 * Ming diplomacy:  The Emperor happily accepts and sends ten thousand troops into the Korean capital (of Hanseong) and subjugates Korea as a protectorate.
 * Mongolian Diplomacy: We agree to the tribute and pay the tribute. To spice things up a different nationality would be chosen to take the tributes from each year, this time its the Oirats. We request that the Ming introduce us to blast-furnaces as they did in Korea.
 * Ming Diplomacy: blast-furnaces are sent to Mongolia. An Imperial University in Karakorum begins construction.
 * Sakha diplomacy: a tribute of two tons of Siberian furs is brought to the Ming, and Sakha asks leave to become a tributary state of China. In return, it asks that it be granted some military and bureaucratic advisors to help it stabilize.
 * Tondo Diplomacy: We would humbly request the removal of trade restrictions between the Ming Dynasty and the Kingdom of Tondo, and would like to continue the trade that benefits both of our nations. We would like to ask for the secrets of the blast furnaces
 * Ming diplomacy:blast-furnaces are sent to Tondo and trade restrictions are lifted
 * Note: The Tondo and the Ming share very good trading relations, preferring Tagalog merchants to those of other neighbouring polities (for example, Japan got to trade every decade while Tondo and China traded every two years).
 * Japanese Dip: The Shogun of Japan wishes to open up further relations with China.
 * Ming Diplomacy:The Emperor agrees to opening further relations with the Japanese.
 * Genoa: Marco Visconti is elected Doge of Genoa by the nobles, in order to clear the area from the influence of the French. The unity of the nobles is remarkable, but brings about a new stability in Genoa. In order to bring himself closer to his ancestral house a alliance is requested of Milan. Support is pledged to Antonio I Acciaioli in Athens in order to rid Venetian influence from the region under the condition that he will become a autonomous vassal to Genoa and Genovese merchants will have exclusive trading rights. Mod Response. Genovese troops continue to push forward in Corsica hoping to rid the region of its influence of Aragon. In other news the city of Genoa itself experiences a revival with the introduction of the Genovese Arsenal and the Bank of St. George. The Bank of St. George is founded by members of the House of Grimaldi and is owned by them and other families of nobility. It is unique for its time because of its incorporation of Jewish agents. The Bank of St. George in order to expands its coffers begins working more with the Gold trade in Granada. It also request that franchises be opened in any willing country. The Genovese Arsenal is modeled after the Venetian one, using the usage of a assembly line in order to construct ships. It is placed on the Ligurian coast just outside of the city of Genoa. In order to expand Genovese trade a trade deal is requested of the Ottoman Empire.
 * It is far too early to begin sending out franchises of banks. -Rexmod
 * The Medici bank which I am using as my blue print was originally opened with one in Rome and in Tuscany maybe I should change it to Italian states~Oct
 * Milan, under Duke Gian Galeazzo, accepts the offer of alliance with his cousin.
 * Mod Response: Acciaioli is willing for increased cooperation with the Genoese but is not willing to be a vassal when he just fought to remove Venetian influence. 
 * Genoa Dip: Genoa agrees to this proposal but request that in the event of his victory Vouliagmeni be put under Genovese control.
 * He accepts. 
 * Māori Conglomeration: Large tribes begin to unite the Islands leaving 5 main chiefs in control of the islands. Across the islands dissent ripples with the disappearance of the moa. Everywhere hunting parties search in hope of finding moa, however intend to capture the moa in order to allow the population to grow (Mod Response). In the meantime tribes begin to encourage farming of yams and sweet potatoes, along with fishing.


 * I'm not sure you could just out of the blue unite 5 tribes. As for the moa, since they didn't go extinct till 1440s I guess approved? I'm not quite sure what you're requesting here. -Sky
 * The five tribes aren't united. As for the moa, I was going off the mod event. I was asking if the hunters were successful in finding and capturing 2 moa and/or moa eggs of opposite gender. - Kaiser
 * The Moa are gone per the mod event, unfortunately. Also, even uniting the fractious Maori into 5 tribes is implausible at this point in time. I would advise you look at this map and the Wikipedia page: . Then pick an iwi and begin to go from there. -Rexmod
 * Could you cross this out so I can restart as the Ngāi Tahu iwi? - Kaiser
 * Done. - Josh
 * Austria: The Archduke of Austria[1], Albert IV, concerned about his legacy and knowing that the end of his life draws near, sets out to buy as many books that are possible, especially those works translated about the Roman Empire, the one that came before Holy Rome, which the Europeans had obtained after the sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. Albert is curious as to how an empire so large had governed itself, and thus sets out a path for Austria to become more efficient in its inner workings. The First such book he was able to acquire, still in its latin script, is called Epitoma de Re Militari written by Flavius Vegetius, amongst other books about Roman history. Another book, seemingly a biography of the Roman leader Gaius Marius also crosses his desk. He orders all books in Latin or Greek translated into German by Austrian Monks, and set upon his desk by the end of next year. Seeking to extend Austrian influence, Albert sends an emissary out to Genoa and Milan  in order to enter negotiations for trade and perhaps other relations, including a standardized currency  and to resurrect the old Austrio-Genoan Alliance of old, and perhaps gain recognition of the Archducal title and the Privilegium Maius outside the borders of the Austrian State. Sensing the taxation system in dire need of reform, the Archduke[1] forms a secret committee of his most trusted advisors to investigate how taxes are collected, and whether or not tax collectors cheat the people or lie to the government, in essence, rooting out corruption. Albert Also secures a sizable loan from Jewish merchants in order to bribe Rupert of palatinate to recognize the Privilegium Maius. A small flotilla of river boats is commssioned to help increase trade along the danube, offering safe passage into austrain territory for all merchants, for a "small" tarif, of course, increasing Austrain trade along that river. EDIT: After Recieving the pope's letter, Albert begins borrowing money from Jewish merchants in order to finance the building of Churches, the irony of which sometimes makes him giggle.  [1] The Archducal title is based on the documents called the Privilegium Maius, and it was not untill 1453 that it, along with the privilegium was officialy recognized. It is should therefore be advise that in order to stay in-character other nations should refer to the Austrain ruler as "Duke" unless they are prepared to recognize the title and Privilegium in an official capacity so long as this footnote remains.
 * You are still not an Archduchy. Austria is generally unimportant at this time -Natemod
 * ​the Post of Austria, as well as any other country, is done primarily from that country's point of view. The Ruler of Austria titles himself "Archduke", a title they say they are entitled to according to the Privilegium Maius, allegedly a set of documents dating back to Julius Caesar, which people suspect but cannot prove is a forgery until the 1800s. Meanwhile the Rulers of Austria have used the Archducal title all the same since 1358 while prohibiting any questioning of the Privilegium Maius' authenticity while inside Austrain territory, and it makes perfect sense and is in character   for the Austrian post to refer to their leaders as "Archdukes", while also in character  at the moment for outside nations to refer to the Austrain Ruler as "Duke".
 * Austria is a archduchy according to itself. ~ Oct
 * You may call yourself an archduchy but don't expect others to recognize it. SS.
 * Lithuania: After Vitaytas was defeated at VorsklA River he starts rebuilding army. As most of have his feudal vasals died in battle he starts voivodisation(principalities in Lithuania replace with Voivodeships ruled by voivods which subordinate to Grand Duke). In addition Vytautas starts building regular army. aristocracy which serves military service is given land without the right to inheritance.
 * Order of Knights Hospitaller: On the first day of this, the fifteenth century of Our Lord: Philibert de Naillac, Grand Master of the Order of St John and Prince of Rhodes, surveys the present state of his Order and the lands entrusted to it. The Order consists of: Brother-Knights, noble knights who have taken vows of celibacy; Brother-Chaplains, priest and bishop members who minister to the Order and to the Catholics in its territories; and Brother-Servants, lay men-at-arms from non-noble ancestry. These are divided into eight Langues (tongues) headed by a Baili. In its posession the Order can boast commandries in every nation of Europe, providing a steady source of income and novices to the headquarters in Rhodes. The island itself is the sovereign posession of the Order and its base in the constant battle to stem the tide of Islamic Ottoman encroachment into Christendom. The Order has seen Jerusalem and Acre fall to the infidels, and its members will fight to the death to stop the same fate from befalling the cities of Europe. Looking eastwards from his battlements, Philibert knows that it will only be a matter of time before the Ottomans try their luck at forcing their way westwards. In his next Chapter meeting, the Grand Master orders the construction of three new galleys to bolster the already sizeable Hospitaller navy. Cruises by the brave knights continue to help curb the scourge of infidel pirates taking Christian slaves, in addition to bringing in a handsome income for the Order to continue its vital task. Noting the continuation of the Schism within the Church, the Grand Master writes to both the Roman and Avignon claimants, urging them to end the sinful scandal that is dividing the Holy Church. Grand Master Philibert, keeping in mind the fact that the Order's properties are scattered across both pro-Rome and pro-Avignon territories, is careful not to explicitly pledge support for either claimant, making clear that the Order's duty is to protect all of Christndom and all of the Holy and Catholic Church. Grand Master Philibert also writes to his counterpart in the Teutonic Order Konrad von Jungingen, expressing his hope that the two orders can work together at both borders of Christendom, and share resources wherever possible (mainly in the commandries spread throughout Europe).
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: Hochmeister von Jungingen accepts the Order of Knights Hospitaller proposal, allowing mutual free lodging for any Hospitaller knight, as well as any resource we can provide to further the efforts of Christendom and our knightly brothers.
 * Mogadishu: Our Sultan Umar commands the merchants to create a nautical map of all trade routes of the Indian Ocean, with a reward of the average earnings of an successful trade run. After obtaining the naval maps, we refit half of our naval fleets into the Sultan's Trade Fleet, with a small decrease in its combat capabilities, but the added ability to carry cargo. Our Trade Fleet begins trade runs with major merchants in the area. We ask for trade deals with Timurids, Egypt and Indian States with our position as a gateway to the goods of Africa. Seeing our cities importance as a trade hub, the Sultan invests in ware and fabric manufactories, as well as commanding wisemen of the court to develop better techniques, incentivising them with money. Our Sultan begins to round up the poor, the unemployed, the lawless and local tribesmen to build hydraulic devices under Royal engineers in the Jubba and Shebelle Rivers. As a result, we expand towards the Jubba River. Our army begins to change to having training in naval landing, fighting on ships and maneuvering boats.
 * Kingdom of Tondo: Rajah Gambang, sovereign of the Kingdom of Tondo, moves his court to Maynila to personally oversee the trade hub developing in the city. After years of trade with the Ming in the North, the merchants of Tondo wish to expand their trade network in the region, and send envoys to the courts of Majapahit and Brunei to express our desires of increased trade in the realm of foodstuffs, weapons, and precious metals. (mod response please). Seeking to increase Tondo's influence in the region, Rajah Gambang assembles an 'army' of 5,000 men to train against each other using non-lethal weapons to garner experience, as Gambang has personally stated his desire to expand the Tondo realm.Gambang orders the acquisition of the nearby islands of Tablas, Romblon, Masbate, and Burias, with 20 military men and 70 citizens given incentives to relocate to these islands (mod response please). 
 * I'm not sure you can takeover 4 islands with 90 people. Try to expand one by one rather. -Sky
 * ​Very well. For now, Tondo lays claims only to Romblon, and relocates all afformentioned civilians and military men there
 * Republic of Ragusa: With last year's addition of the area between Ragusa and the Pelješac peninsula the nation has more land to use for its development. Ragusan trade with the Hungarian kingdom fairs well, as does the trade with the Bosnian lands. Several new members of the Grand Council are administered, while, as per tradition, a new Knez is elected monthly. The Grand Court (lat. Curia maior) is established to handle judicial affairs and consists of members of the Small Council. The Gučetić family gain an important marriage via the daughter of Mato Držić from the Držić casta. The Gundulić and Bobaljević families are frowned upon after rising influence of pro-hungarian families due to their pro-venetian attitude. An envoy is sent to the pope in order to discuss Ragusa's potential trade with non-Catholic states, specifically the Ottoman empire. Talks begin among a group of patricians in the grand council to reorganize the government more efficiently. During the last four months of 1400, this specific interest groups begins putting its plans into work.
 * The Timurid Empire: Timur returns to Samarkand after sacking Damascus and Aleppo. He begins the Invasion of the Golden Horde. Meanwhile, we take over Ottoman vassals in Asia, and the Mamluk Hatay territory. Finally, Timur designates Shahrukh Mirza as his successor. A poorly written turn for which I apologize because I am busy.
 * Romans: We upgrade our military. Emperor Manuel continues travelling around Europe getting support against the Ottomans.
 * Chios - Nothing of note
 * Epirus - The Despot amps up military.Hopes to be of note in the fight against Ottomans
 * Morea - The Despot amps up military.Continues to help against Ottomans.
 * Lemnos - Nothing of note
 * Roman Dip:We request the Timurids an alliance against the Ottomans
 * Roman Dip to Europe: We request the Christian Nations of Europe help us fight the Ottoman Heathen and blockade.
 * This is an example of a bad post.
 * Bohemia: Wenceslaus IV is extremely disgruntled by him being deposed as Holy Roman Emperor. We offer an alliance to Poland, and to our cousin in Brandenburg. Wenceslaus, now concerned about how he is going to regain power, sends emissaries to the nearby Palatinate and Saxony to improve relations with the countries and to gain influence with the electors.
 * Saxony:  King David the first ascends to the Saxon throne thanks to the mysterious death of the first three claimants. King David elects Christian, Prince of Lower Saxony and head of the defence of southern Saxony, as his heir, he also decides to back Wencelaus IV as the head of the empire, with himself as his deputy and head adviser of course.
 * What king David, Wenceslaus IV? Christian? First of all you can't bring back Wenceslaus as Emperor, nobody has such power in the HRE and you can't remove Rudolf III so easily from the throne. Try again-Sky
 * Polish Diplomacy: Wladyslaw II accepts the alliance offer and offers to hold a banquet in Krakow for the Easter of next year.
 * Papal States: His Holiness Pope Boniface IX continues to solidify his power in Rome even as he remains at the summer palaces outside the city while his troops man foritifications and clear the streets of commune remnants. With Rome becoming increasingly under his control, the Pope begins to set his sights on the four papal states that continue to elude his authority. Tactful and savy yet illiterate, Boniface IX begins to consider how he might sway those states back over to the Papal fold. In the bigger picture, the Pope is pleased to hear that the siege of Avignon, the seat of his rival Antipopes, continues unabated and lends his support to the new French regency. With the Antipope increasingly isolated, Boniface IX writes, though a scribe, to the nations of Castile, Aragon, and Scotland to cease their support for the heretic and return to the forgiving fold of the Roman Papacy. He also sends letters to other loyal states in Europe, asking for financial aid to help restore the seat of God on Earth to its rightful glory. In other church related matters, his Holiness meets with representatives of Ragusa and ponders who to nominate to fill his former spot on the College of Cardinals before he was elected to serve.
 * Austrian Diplomacy: Austrian Archduke[1] Albert IV once again re-iterates its recognition of the papacy in Rome as the one true  Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church and vicar of christ, pledging to fund the construction and refirbrishment of ten new churches in the Papal States and the Archduchy. He also pledges to send a force of no less than 1000 men to aid in the siege of Avignon to rid the world of the Heretic Antipope Benedict XIII. May he burn in eternal fire if he does not recognize the true church for what it is.
 * ​Genoa Dip: The House of Grimaldi and the Bank of St. George sends monies to the pope in order for for a member of the House of Grimaldi be created Cardinal of Genoa.
 * Venice dip: We create a one off tax raise to support the Pope and this money is sent to the Roman Pope.
 * Norwegian dip:Feeling that as good christians we should answer the bishop of rome's calls for money. We send 20,000 rigsdals in good will to his holiness in rome with the approval of the norwegian privy council and the good will of her grace Queen Margaret I.
 * Poland-Lithuania
 * Poland: The nation of Poland sets their focuses on consolidating the interior of the nation. After the sudden deaths of both Queen Jadwiga and the newborn Princess Elizabeth Bonifascia in late 1399, King Wladyslaw II Jagiello decides that he must remarry to secure the Gediminid reign over Poland, which is extremely shaky at best. A minor rebellion rises up outside of Radom, claiming that Duke Janusz of Mazovia should be King of Poland. Meanwhile, a few nobles of Greater Poland are trying to assert their own claims. To put an end to all arguments over the rightful King of Poland, Wladyslaw II marries Anastasia Griffin, daughter of Bogislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin. Meanwhile, Wladyslaw contacts Vytautas and arranges a meeting in Kiev to organize the future of the union between Poland and Lithuania. The economy grows as traders carrying Persian rugs begin to invest in producing rugs in Poland itself, notably in the city of Krakow which wields about as much economic power as Prague or Vienna. Hungary is asked firmly to stop increasing military presence on their border to ease already tough tensions between the two powers. A fortification begins to be consturcted outside of Krakow to increase the security of the royal court. An alliance with Sweden and Venice is requested.
 * Moldavia (Polish Vassal): The Principality of Moldavia sets it's focus becoming closer to the royal court in Krakow. During a grand banquet, Prince Lugu becomes extremely drunk. One of his advisors described him as "A delinquent fool". During this episode, he starts vommiting, and chokes on his own spew. Petru eventually dies later that night. With the passing of Lugu, the nobility decides to give the control of Moldavia to Duke Janusz, with it being compensation for him unable to rule Poland.
 * Swedish diplomacy: We accept the alliance.
 * Venice dip: We accept.
 * Lithuania: After Vitaytas was defeated at VorsklA River he starts rebuilding army. As most of have his feudal vasals died in battle he starts voivodisation(principalities in Lithuania replace with Voivodeships ruled by voivods which subordinate to Grand Duke). In addition Vytautas starts building regular army. aristocracy which serves military service is given land without the right to inheritance.
 * Ayuthia: Economy, infrastructure and military improves. Under the current king Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat and its ruling Uthong dynasty, he continues to make Thailand great again by building/upgrading roads and cities, and more cities are grown in skyrocket. He continue the whole nation trading with other Southeastern Asian nations, India and China by land and sea. Of the navy's totally 25 ships, two of which are sent to patrol the trade routes and to hunt down pirates. 5 new light ships are meant to be built in one year.
 * Venice: With Genoa aggression against us in the Duchy of Athens a new duke of Athens is appointed one of the cities most powerful Athenian nobles but a much more cautious character and more moderate on relations with Venice. We send envoys to Timur of the Timurid Empire to ask for exclusive trading rights among the Italian maritime republics in exchange for supporting the Timurid in a war against the Ottomans if attacked by them. In Venice itself in an attempt to increase the number of craftsmen is done by paying the guilds for every apprentice they take in and checks are placed in to ensure all craftsmen are sufficiently trained in their skills. Gunpowder based artillery is constructed in large numbers in the Venitean Arsenal. The navy is expanded with an additional 10 galleys under construction in the Arsenal while in an attempt to encourage merchants from neighbouring cities to emigrate more legal protection is given to merchants in Venice with those registering for a charter from the Doge while agreeing to obey the law are also protected from unlawful seizure of property and the right to be represented in the new Merchants council which is established and shares power with Major council and the Doge. Janus of Cyprus is informed that if he rebels against Genoa, Venice would support an independent Cyprus.
 * ​Cyprus isn't owned by Genoa m8. ~Oct
 * Calm down, I mean if they get rid of Genoa influence. Genoa does have a lot of control so a war to get rid of them is plausible since it hapens later in OTL.
 * Scotland: The firstborn son of King Robert III, David, Duke of Rothesay, dies under suspicious circumstances on a hunting trip. The king falls into a deep depression and retires to his western holdings, tired of the perpetually violent and bloody nature of Scottish politics. His brother, Robert, Duke of Albany becomes the sole regent in his place. Resistance to Robert's de facto rule is strong, with the motley patchwork of Scottish earls such as the Douglasses and MacDougals acting violent and conniving as usual. Robert wishes to consolidate his holdings in Scotland and make it into a more centralized power, but the Stewart Dynasty remains weak and divided, and Robert remains a regent and, as such, is somewhat limited in his diplomatic options. Until then, Robert looks to his brother's last son James as his last barrier to becoming King. With Scotland divided in the south, the emerging Gaelic lords remain a threat in the north, with a poor and decentralized monarchy unable to manage them. In the economic realm, growing cottage industries begin to develop, such as iron working and wool trading in the burgoning burghs, and animal husbandry/fishing continues to displace grain farming. Traders in the coastal burghs begin to reach Military-wise, the pendulum continues to swing in favor of more quality troops rather than the mass levies popular before the Plague, with men at-arms emerging to support the pikemen. Robert becomes interested in artillery to crush the power of the nobles. We continue to maintain our alliance with France, and send professional bowmen to supplement their military. The perennial border conflict in Scotland continues and we push back with our efforts focused on Lothian and the area surrounding Edinburgh. We support Glyndwr's revolt in Wales to the best of our abilities, though internal affairs hampers this. Scottish privateers are sent to hamper English ships around Wales, and the Welsh sent a couple pieces of proto-artillery to aid in the revolt. Scotland remains pro-Avignon to spite the pro-Roman English.
 * In the Duchy of Milan, the bloodthirsty campaigns of Gian Galeazzo continue. From his winter acampment in Siena, the Duke and his condottiero forces move forward to seize control of the convulsing, failing state of Perugia in early January ((same as in OTL)). In the meanwhile, condottiero Jacopo del Verme conquers Montefeltro from Antonio II and reaffirms his allegiance to the House Visconti. From there, Gian Galeazzo sends an envoy to Rome to seek an audience with the Pope. With the audience granted, the Duke pledges his continued allegiance to the Roman pope Bonfiace IX. Visconti then marches his forces back to Milan, where he plans his next moves. In the meanwhile, he orders an embargo on all Florentine goods and threatens war with any other nation should they not comply with the boycott. Furthermore, the Duke begins to create a system of federalism with the prominent Italian city-states retaining a semblance of internal republican control within the overarching Duchy. This allows the local patricians in Pisa, Lucca, and Siena to continue to develop their own domestic policies and continue to entertain inter-family politics. Within the city of Milan, construction on the grand Duomo continues.
 * Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo): Once upon the time, many centuries ago in the land of Egypt, there was a Kingdom ruled loosely under the family of Burjid. Now these nobles in Egypt were Mamlukes, that is, white slaves from the Turkish people who took over the land a generation ago, but lived in a state of oppulence and decedance, uncaring for the welfare of the state and allowing warlords of Mamlukes to roam the countryside. After the sacks of Tamerlane laid waste to the city of Damascus, the Kingdom has been reduced to a state of anarchy. Nasir al-Din Faraj, only fourteen years old, has been Sultan one year so far. The Vizier Izz Abdul Aziz, concerned about the Sultan's saftey as a boy, consulted a Dervish as to how the King will die. The Devish responded with a prophesy that both Sultan and his successor will die by the offspring of a dog. In response to this, the Vizier ordered that all dogs be forbade from the palace at Cairo indefinitely. The Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, residing in Cairo, disaproved of this use of divination, and in general dispised the apostasy of the Mamluks. While this was going on, the rougeish warlord Ahmad Al-Ankabut swept over the land of Syria with his gang of riders, looting the Mamluk treasuries in Syria and distributing it to the impoverished Arabs. Due to the anarchy in Cairo, the Sultan was unable to arrest Al-Ankabut at this time, and so the land of Syria fell into almost autonomy. The Emir of Hatay, fearing being cut off from the Sultan, completely surrenders himself to the mercy of Timur. Back in Cairo, the Sultan began plans to build back the military and treasury lost after Tamerlane's pilages.
 * Trade is opened up with Mogandishu, offering them gold and ivory for anything they have to offer
 * The statesman Mahmud ibn Tulun offfers an alliance with the Ottoman Sultan
 * The ruling council of the great city of Mayapan recognizes that their territory, and the region itself, has begun to decline. The council decides to elect the first Emperor-King in many years. They choose Iktan, who has ties to ancient Mayan nobility, as well as the drive and ambition to improve the failing state. The first thing that Iktan does is to organize settler parties to retake abandoned cities in the southern highlands region. Some of these settler parties also venture south of the border to create settlements in new territory. The council seeks to improve commerce and communication between the many settlements of the Yucatan by constructing and maintaining roads between them. Emperor-King Iktan also orders some of the best craftsmen in the nation to come to his residence to discuss how to reverse the decline facing the nation,
 * Hasfid Sultanate (Tunis): It has only been six years since Sultan Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II took over the throne of Tunis. With the Mamluks in chaos and disarray, and our Muslim brethren in al-Andalus being slaughtered, these days look hopeless and grim. We put faith in our sultan to keep the Hasfid Sultanate safe and well, among wolves. With the royal treasury depleted, the Sultan looks to trade with the People of the Book in Italy and al-Andalus. Behind closed doors, the Sultan fiances numerous parties of cutthroat Barbary pirates to raid important coastal cities in al-Andalus, Italy, Malta, Corsica, and Sardinia. Awaiting the promised money back from these privateers, the Sultan is forced to sit idly in Tunis, the once great city, albeit a thousand years ago.
 * Oldenburg: We institute a tax on all goods being transported down the Hunte River, similar to the tax being instituted on the Elbe. Although smaller than similar taxes elsewhere in Europe, the tax helps to increase money going into the nation's treasury. Count Christian V of Oldenburg receives word that the Wursten Frisian population along the Weser River begin to divert traffic away from Oldenburg to avoid the tax, in exchange for a portion of trade profits from the North Sea. It becomes clear that the Frisians, with no central authority, feudal lord, or proper administration, are allowing piracy and violence, and as such the Count of Oldenburg requests permission from the Holy Roman Emperor to subdue the lawless Frisians. The county begins its first military trials in preparation for potential resistance. Likewise, the count's elder brother, Conrad II, begins training a personal retinue of the household guard. Numbering 500, this guard begins training for the upcoming conflict in Frisia. Additionally this force seizes the mouth of the Wesel (near OTL Bremerhaven), and founds a small fort there to ensure trade along the river is not halted, called Konradshaven.
 * Crown of Castile: ​King Henry III continues to rule at 21 years of age. King Henry continues to consolidate he power of the crown, undermining the power of the aristocrats and restoring the might of the crown. The Castilian navy returns from victory against Pirates in North Morocco (OTL event), and the navy is further expanded in an effort to grow Castilian might. Castile begins heavy investments into the gold trade, the secret purpose behind the action is to undermine Genoan dominance in Granada's economy. The nation of Granada remains a Tributary State of Castile, although it maintains a large degree of autonomy. In secret, Henry III prepares a campaign against Granada in an attempt to "liberate" more territory from the Muslim occupants (OTL Campaign was staged in 1405-1406, so this isn't a major stretch). The economy of Castile continues to grow at a slow, but steady rate. We accept the English trade deal in an attempt to further develop the economy of Castile (MP gave me permission to post.)

1401
'''For those that survived the first turn, good job! Not all were so lucky.'''

''' Rupert of the Palatinate is crowned King of the Romans. He still needs Papal support before he can become Emperor. '''

''' By command of the Archbishop of Canterbury and King Henry IV, the Lollards are deemed as heretics, with the first one being burned at the stake later this same year. (Swanky, feel free to change this if you so choose) '''

''' The Samogitians revolt against the Teutonic Knights, burning a small castle to the ground. Another one would have fallen prey if not for the extra troops the Knights had provided to the region. '''

'''The Milanese are successful at turning some states against the Florentines, weakening their chain of allies. Combined with the taxes of the war and the ongoing plague, the nobles are significantly weakened. The Medicis take their chance and effectively control the city.'''

Norwegian efforts to explore north of Iceland are mostly fruitless as Captain Erik Jarlsgard is forced to turn back after facing disruptive weather and threats of mutiny.

A civil war breaks out in Majapahit.

The Sultan of Delhi is returned to his throne.

Mongolia experiences a rebellion after welcoming the Chinese into their nation, with many accusing the Khan of abandoning his claim to the Mandate of Heaven.

The anonymous Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is published.

As Moscovy revolts against Golden Horde rule as the Timurids invade from the South, every vassal of the Golden Horde follow the Moscovites into their revolt.

'''The new war algo should be ready by tonight, for those people who wanted to dive in causing trouble. '''


 * Duchy of Burgundy: Philip, Duke of Burgundy, Count Palatine of Burgundy, Count of Flanders, Artois, and Rethel, cultivates his possessions on the coast, eager to build up a strong merchant fleet. Relations with his relative, the King of France, are maintained, but arrangements with other powers are sought. For that purpose, an alliance with Brandenburg and Austria is requested.


 * The Kingdom of England:  With new troops occupying Edinburgh, and more being reinforced into the city, we begin to prepare for siege incase the castle must be brought down. King Henry IV offers terms to the Kingdom of Denmark: In marrying Queen Margarete to King Henry IV, it will be declared, no matter of children (if they come, although Margarete is like 50 lmao,) Henry V is the direct heir to the throne of England. Also, an Alliance will then be established between the Kalmar Union and The Kingdoms of England and Portugal. (Portugal please confirm you accept this as well, if not, the alliance continues and you stand neutral with KU) In return for uniting these nations together in matrimony, The Crown of England would request economic support and miliarisitic forces from Denmark and the other nations of the Kalmar Union to destroy the rebellion of Wales and have them seated under English rule once again. As well as reinforcing a garrison of troops within Edinburgh, due to Scottish resilience. These are the final drawn out terms, with more in the makings. England will offer support to the Kalmar Union and the Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the near future. Meanwhile, King Henry IV, agrees to marry Queen Margarete, if the terms are agreed upon. England increases relations with Portugal, sending small coffers of gold, to simply bolster their own nation. The Kingdom of England moves more troops from Nottingham to Fort William on the Welsh border. And regarrisons the northern city of York. England increases its military and navy, the navy restocks the northern coast of France, where the English currently maintain, and defenses are reinforced in southern France. England sends its ambassadors in Castile, Aragon, and the Italian provinces (Genoa, Papal States, and Florence) to improve relations with these budding European nations. England thanks Castile, Aragon and the Italian provinces for their trade negotiations. England calls upon the Kingdom of Portugal to send naval assistance of blockading Wales. King Henry IV continues to purge the Lollards, burning them at the stake as heretics, looking to keep good favor with the Pope and the Papal States.
 * Kalmar Diplomacy:  Queen Margrethe I agrees to King Henry IV's terms of marriage, and she has a term of her own, that Eric of Pomerania is the direct heir to the throne of Kalmar. The Queen looks forward to uniting our two dynasties.
 * English Diplomacy: King Henry IV accepts, suggesting Princess Philippa of England marries Eric of Pomerania, and Prince Henry V takes the English throne, and asks that the Kalmar Union will support England immediately with crushing the Welsh rebellion.
 * Kalmar Diplomacy: Queen Margrethe sends 1,000 troops to help crush the Welsh rebellion and sends 1,000 troops to Edinburgh to help hold back Scottish forces, both forces are from Denmark. Queen Margrethe suggests a double marriage, Princess Phillipa of England shall marry Eric of Pomerania, and Eric's sister, Katarzyna of Pomerania. shall marry Prince Henry V.,
 * Scottish Diplomacy: Duke Robert of Albany, regent of Scotland reminds the English that they previously opened negotiations for peace and that any further troop buildups in occupied Edinbugh will lead to a resumption of a largescale border conflict and backing for the Welsh rebels.
 * English Diplomacy: King Henry IV: "We will not back down. We offered a chance to negotiate terms, not of peace, but your surrender. Edinburgh will remain under English control." King Henry IV calls upon Norway and Sweden to send troops to the Anglo-Welsh Border as well as the Anglo-Scot Border. In order to maintain a heavy line of defense. We accept the double marriage from The Kalmar Union, in return for Norweigan and Svedish support in England.
 * Scottish Diplomacy: Robert of Albany and King Robert III remain defiant and confident that the English and their newfound allies will be defeated in their latest military adventure in our lands.
 * Kalmar Diplomacy: We offer the Kingdom of Scotland terms of surrender, we will make peace with Scotland if Scotland recognizes Queen Margrethe as their monarch. If Scotland does so, they will join the Kalmar Union and Scotland will be spared the wrath of the joint English-Nordic armies. Scotland shall retain autonomous status if they accept.
 * English Diplomacy: We the Kingdom of England, would like to remind The Kalmar Union, that Scotland will not be under Nordic control. If anything will be a bi-partisan state under English dominance.
 * Timurid Empire:  Emperor Timur continued his glorious reign over his Empire, and had designated his son Shahrukh Mirza as his heir. The latter had immediately set out to work as he imposed a tax system upon the local people which he referred to as the mansabdari system. This allowed the Empire to harvest and cultivate a much larger surplus of wheat and other crops which in turn made it much less liker of the Sultanate facing any food shortage. The military was primarily composed of medium-to-heavy cavalry, composite bow, lance, mace, and sword. Heavy cavalrymen wore plated chain mail or metal lamellar armor, with their horses also wearing leather or metal lamellar barding. The infantry was equipped with daggers and swords to be utilised in close combat against the enemy and elephants as well as carts were used for the transportation of supplies. Meanwhile, thousands of men were conscripted into the military from Persia and the surrounding regions to properly engage in combat, and to annihilate the opponents of Timur's realm.  With Timur marching his army against the Golden Horde, Shahrukh Mirza was temporarily appointed as regent, commanding the vast Empire in his stead. If Timur managed to encounter Lithuania, he would invade them. One of his initial actions as the 'ruler' included assimilating the Ottoman vassal territories, and the former Mamluk province of Hatay into the Jalayirid Empire. As far as diplomatic matters were concerned, Shahrukh Mirza rejected the trade offer from Mogadishu, considering the African Kingdom of no importance. However, keen on opening up to Europe, Shahrukh accepted the offer from Venice, granting them trading rights and creating a defense pact against the Ottomans; particularly alarmed by the alliance between the Ottoman and Mamluk Empires. Yet, showing some form of favouritism, Shahrukh declined the alliance offer from the Roman Empire and Bahamani. 
 * ​Jalayirid Sultanate: Sultan Ahmad Jalayir continued his reign over the Sultanate. Acting as a vassal to the Timurid Sultanate, he was now directly answerable to Timur and his temporary regent, Shahrukh Mirza. The military has designed along the same lines as the Timurid military, and men were conscripted to aid in Timur's war against the Golden Horde. Meanwhile, the Mamluk province of Hatay and the Ottoman vassals were integrated into the Jalayirid Sultanate. The Sultan himself made sure to wipe out all remanents and supports of the Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Qoyunlu.
 * Oldenburg: With permission from the King of the Romans, the County of Oldenburg begins its invasion of the Frisians (according to Scraw I don't need an algorithm for this, but I will be describing it in my turns). With the eastern border of Oldenburg secured along either side of the Weser River, the nation turns its attention west. Conrad II, in command of the county's retinue of 500 soldiers and knights, moves east to seize the town of Jever, the first major stronghold in Frisia. During this time Christian V raises the county's levies, and also begins contracting mercenaries if necessary. The Likedeelers, successors of the Victual Brothers, an organization of pirates operating in Frisia, begins to harass Oldenburger soldiers. In order to aid in the invasion Oldenburg's small fleet seizes the island of Heligoland in the North Sea, to act as a base from which to guard against pirate attacks. One notorious pirate leader, Klaus Störtebeker, an ally of the powerful tom Brok clan of Brokmerland is arrested and executed. Oldenburger forces begin to advance on his stronghold at Marienhafe.
 * Holland Dip: When ever you want we can have the marrage of Victor and Dorathe. Alos thank you for the getting into a war with Friesland and making it easier to get the land I need.
 * Kalmar Union
 * Norway: Support for the explorations begin to wane slightly as the failure of Captain Erik Jarisgard expedition the Norwegian privy council feeling that the north isn't the answer to our problems feels that the expeditions should be sent westward through the calmer waters in attempt to plot a basic sea route between iceland and greenland so that colonists can move through the waters safely. A small port is established on the southern part of iceland in the more "Hospitable" areas. The port is intended to be used a fishing port and port for the expeditions of the atlantic waters. The Faroes are begining to be settled with small fishing ports appearing on them. The current primary export is fish to Iceland to feed colonists. With a second expedition/goods transger more southern this time heading for greenland off of iceland we hope it makes there safely. After a hard journey it lands on the danish settlement there but no contact is made with Mainland due to staying the winter out there. Back at home the hansa is built in Oslo with enriching trade flowing in from the members of the Hanseatic League Oslo grown from 5,000 to 7,000 . Oslo also grows as a Port with many ships being docked there. In oslo a Catholic Monastry is founded called Scientia Dei (Knowledge of God) this monastry is very small and contains mostly scriptures but begins to collect Norse tales such as folklore legends and historical documents. Many Nobles take an interest in this and begin funding the collection of this scriptures. By the year's end the sagas a copy of beowulf and various other scripts have been collected, Wishing to make norway into a great trading power we build 45 merchant ships and 30 galleons along with 20 exploration ships. We ask the Hanseatic cities along with hamburg and Novogorod for allowance of Diplomats in their cities to promote closer ties with eachother (Mod response for the cities). For the sake of peaceful relations with the people we share land with we begin to build up relations with swedes. Margaret I rule has begun an area of peace for us across the lands of norway with more farms and fishing post being settled. We ask of Margaret I for an official grant to colonize parts of Greenland (KK).  The trade with the Hanseatic Cities have enriched us and are filling our treasuries we can only hope this glorious trade between us continues.
 * Danish Diplomacy: Queen Margrete grants Norway to colonize parts of Greenland in exchange for Icelandic ports being transferred to Danish control.
 * Norwegian Diplomacy: We agree to give Danish control of our second most busiest port in Iceland and a few minor strategic ports (like 3 or 4 ports total) in exchange for colonizing rights however we also most stipulate if a colony is impossible we will have to withdraw on this deal
 * Danish Diplomacy: We agree to this deal, and we suggest for Norway to establish a colony near Denmark's in Greenland.
 * Sweden: We continue expanding our infrastructure and modernizing our army. We continue the colonization of the Northern lands with grant from Queen Margaret. We ask the Hansa members for trade deals and offer to open up a kontor in Stockholm. We begin expanding our navy as well, and start Christianizing the pagan Finns in our territory. We begin the expanding of Stockholm, promoting art and architecture and knowledge. We promote the University of Uppsala as an outstanding place of education. We continue our trade deals with the Teutonic Order.
 * Queen Magrethe of Denmark: I have married King Henry IV of England and now we are united in holy matrimony. This marriage elates me to no end! I am overjoyed that the great nations of the Kalmar Union and the Kingdom of England have joined in a dynastic union. My heir, Eric of Pomerania has also married Philippa of England, daughter of King Henry IV and Eric's sister, Catherine of Pomerania has married Prince Henry V, the eldest son of King Henry IV and the heir to the Kingdom of England. This year, 1401 Anno Domoni is dominated by these events and there are massive weddings and celebrations to celebrate this grand dynastic union, which fills me with joy. Now, however, I must expand the power of my husband, King Henry IV, thus I land 1,000 Danish troops in Cardiff to assist the English to crush the Welsh rebellion and land another 1,000 Danish troops in Edinburgh to assist the English Army to hold the city against the Scottish. Meanwhile I continue to develop the capital city of Copenhagen into a great city using our great funds from trading by building roads, canals, ports, ship docks, as well as continuing the construction of the University of Copenhagen. The 100 ships from last year are completed and I also order the construction of another 100 ships.
 * Naples: Ladislaus is married to the Duke of Urbino's daughter on New Years' Day of this year, signifying a new beginning for the war-stricken Kingdom of Naples. The king continues to attempt to quell any last rebellions in support of the former pretender king Louis II, and in an effort to re-establish control Angevin control over the Kingdom of Hungary Ladislaus attempts to poison King Sigismund (RNG NEEDED). Ladislaus also offers an alliance to the Papal States as a way to re-assert diplomatic relations with the country that previously favored Louis II over Ladislaus in terms of the Neapolitan crown. Onorato Caetani, the rebellious count of Fondi from the previous year is swiftly executed by Ladislaus and has his lands integrated into the king's personal domain. His wife becomes pregnant by the end of the year.
 * For better relations between players, we're not going to have players be assassinated. You can attempt to assassinate NPC nations, in which case a mod will determine the possibility of succes. -MP
 * Thanks for informing me, great to know ~Pyra
 * Castile accepts the 1400 trade offer.
 * Moscow: With Novogorod support, Muscovy rebels against the Golden Horde. our forces are mobilized in case of attack by the horde We are still wary of Novogorod, and we continue developing Moscow and building the army.
 * Benin: While in Mali, Prince Ogun is fascinated by the many cultures and religions mingling in the city of Timbuktu. Of considerable note are the records of white men to the far north of the Mali Empire. While these stories fascinate the prince, Ogun opts rather to focus on the trade delegation he was placed over by his father. Ever observant, Ogun notices the extensive usage of gold dust as a method exchange, but finds that its use is very fickle and often difficult to manages. However, he notes the use of coinage by Arab traders, and believes this would be more suitable for his people as a replacement for their barter system. Upon returning from his trade mission to Mali, Prince Ogun impresses upon his father the importance of having a coin currency as a method of superior trade of goods rather than the inferior bartering system his people currently use. After a lengthy display of the importance of minted coins, the Oba relents and agrees to his son's proposal. Addressing the people of Edo, Oba Orobiru announces the introduction of two currencies known as the Zuruoke with 3.383 grams of gold and the Mpempe with 25.984 grams of silver. These coins shall replace the barter system of his nation, and his Royal Regiment in Edo shall be paid at a fixed rate for their service as bodyguards and warriors even beyond war. The currencies are readily accepted by the people, and their new role comes to invigorate the economy of Benin by elevating the worth of goods produced in the nation, helping to create a new class of wealthy merchants who now have the capital to trade with other nations beyond Mali with coin. Prince Ogun requests that he be sent back to Mali, as he wishes to study the land in more detail though without having to deal with the affairs of state at the same time. The Oba consents, and Ogun begins plans for his return the next year with a small party of followers and bodyguards. Of great note is the knowledge of the success of the paved road between Edo and Enugu, which the traders have told the Oba has made travel much easier for themselves and their caravans. With this knowledge, the Oba orders similar roads built throughout the empire to connect major cities and villages to the capital and surrounding lands, so they too may benefit from the superior accessibility provided. The military of Benin continues its training drills and disciplinary instruction, seeking to hone themselves as a warriors. Elsewhere, Prince Uwaifiokun assembles his exploration party for an expedition to the south. Seeking riches and glory, Uwaifiokun and his band of warriors are labelled Ndi Meriri, or "conquerors", by their people. Bidding their families farewell, the force of 200 heavily-armed warriors set off in four deep war canoes with sails (before you say anything West African states did use sails on canoes according to the Journal of African History), and toward the lands beyond the Bight of Biafra travelling along the coastline. Though he trusts in his son's abilities, the Oba secretly assembles a number of rescue parties to follow the expedition of his son from a distance in case anything were to happen. The Oba also instructs them to record all activities in the new region, for his once absent interest in the foreign lands has now been sparked.
 * Hungary- As we fortified our borders, we force peasants into our military to bolster numbers. We move some troops away from the Ottoman border and place them at the Venetian border. We accept the Teutonic Orders offer but only allow them to send a few commandries to our kingdom. Our emissaries continue to discuss with the Ottoman Sultan about trade. We also send emissaries to Austria and the Papal States in order to talk to both about an alliance with Hungary. Population is growing right now at 3 million plus vassal and Croatia make it 3 million plus 50 thousand. Our military size is around 70 thousand.
 * ​Austria: Archduke Albert greets the Hungarian Ambassadors with a large feast in the capital of vienna. Trade is discussed and Hungary, being a bordering nation, is offered lowered trade tarifs if they are reciprocated  in order to maintain good relations with neighbours. Offers of alliance are accepted, with the hopes that this will alleviate presence of troops on the border.
 * Croatia (union with Hungary)- Croatia begins to recruit citizens out of its streets to join the military from volunteers to drafts. The nation also begins to build fortifications along the borders.
 * Cilli (vassal of Hungary)- The Vassal begins to build itself up and draft soldiers to the military. Fortifications are built along the borders.
 * Romans:We campaign for support against the Ottomans. (I'm going on chat if you have questions).We request an alliance with Timur.
 * Papal Diplomacy: The Papal States could provide limited aid, but also inquire into how Constantinople would view efforts to unite the Church once again.
 * Roman Dip:We will try,but request the Patriach retain his position but become the 2nd most powerful figure.
 * Genoa Dip: Support is sent to the Romans under the condition that exclusive trading rights to Genoa be honored.
 * Roman Dip:Ok
 * Envoys from last year return to Sakha from Mongolia and China, both awed and faintly terrified at the vastly greater wealth and power of these countries. Oyus becomes increasingly determined to empower Sakha to match these nations (although the envoys privately consider this impossible). He enlists the aid of the newly arrived monks (who continue to immigrate rapidly) to achieve this. They encourage him to bring in more southerners, who have the necessary knowledge. Consequently, when several Nestorians and Manichaeans arrive, hearing from the Vajryana monks that Sakha is relatively tolerant, Oyus agrees to allow them to immigrate as well and grants official tolerance; several thousand arrive by year’s end. Meanwhile, several monks realize that increased use of settled agriculture could end the semi-starvation of Sakha every winter; Siberian-adapted tree crops such as the Siberian pea shrub, Siberian crabapple, juniper, elderberry, siberian pine, mulberry, cherry prinsepia, and sea berry, along with barley, rye, beets and cabbages, are already somewhat cultivated. The monks suggest to Oyus that he replace the current system of communal pastoralism with one where individuals are granted plots of land to replant with these crops. Oyus orders such a system implemented; it proves highly successful, particularly as the same piece of land can now be used as pasture, farmland and forest habitat for fur mammals simultaneously, and mass replantings of forest rapidly begin. He also orders the cultivation of ginseng, and silk using mulberry trees, for trade. Construction of stone fortifications around Cohuskay and to secure the borders continues. With trade and travel along the Lena increasing, hundreds of entrepreneurially-minded Yakuts hire several monks with knowledge of ship-building to construct sampan-like river vessels; these vastly facilitate trade, travel, and the immigration of Vajryana Buddhists, Nestorians, and Manichaeans. Expansion eastwards down the Lena the maximum amount possible continues; an expedition eastwards encounters the ocean. Oyus hopes to acquire a port to enable large-scale seaborne trade. New envoys are sent south to further open trade ties, and also to purchase several thousand Bactrian camels, for which demand has exploded since their arrival with immigrants last year. In Cohuskay, Oyus’ court grows in wealth and grandiosity, with him bringing numerous Nestorian, Manichaean and Buddhist figures into it (not coincidentally, this also allows them to act as tacit hostages); he, along with most Yakuts, seems increasingly influenced by Buddhism himself, although unlike most Yakuts he does not yet convert.
 * Cologne: The Cologne Chapter, in consultation with the University of Cologne, speak to Friedrich III in April and provide two main pieces of advice on placating dissatisfaction in the city. Firstly, the Chapter suggest that Friedrich III overcome Cologne’s debt problems, which he continues to do by encouraging entrepreneurial trade along the Rhine. This chiefly includes improving upon the main river port to make it longer and more accessible. Secondly, the Chapter suggest that Friedrich III begin work on changing the public perception of the Catholic Church to one that is less indifferent to the lower class and less perceived to be “corrupt”. Friedrich III acknowledges that this change will be difficult, so he establishes a small commission of leaders and relevant stakeholders (representatives of heads of Orders, Deans of the Cathedral and Deans of the Archdiocese, the Abbess of Essen, and theologians from the University) that meets in December. Friedrich III eagerly awaits the outcome of these discussions.
 * Essen: Essen’s secular canonesses elect a new abbess, Adelphina I of Nassau, who has strikingly different views to Elisabeth III, in the hope that they can reconnect the abbey with the city. Adelphina is very adept at local politics and thus sends an envoy of some of her most learned and charismatic secular canonesses as her representatives to Friedrich’s commission in December. She notices that the Archbishop is encountering similar problems and instructs her travelling canonesses to put forward a seemingly-radical plan, at least in respect of abbeys: to phase in canonesses regular, who are often involved in social services like nursing and teaching. The secular canonesses doubt her plans, questioning why Adelphina would involve those who are not royals like herself, but Adelphina is insistent that she has been given divine direction: this is for the benefit of the people she serves, and this is her calling. Adelphina makes it clear that the integration process will be slow, and is confident that other abbeys will see this as a step towards solving dissatisfaction in their cities.
 * Papal States: By now most of Rome has been cleansed of commune filth and his Holiness is once again able to traverse much of the city as he pleases, although some sections are still being cleared by his soldiers. He notices the ongoing campaign in Italy and is privately pleased that the Bolognese, who have resisted Papal efforts to restore control, are struggling to resist the Milanese onslaught. With tensions high and the situation in the city unstable, the Pope puts his tact and political savy to action. Loyal Papal agents assassinate the current leading Pepoli within Bologna in late March, setting the stage for Giovanni Bentivoglio, known for his opposition to the war with Milan, to come to power as Lord of Bologna. His Holiness swiftly recognizes Lord Bentivoglio and also begins supporting him with some of the money received by generous and loyal Catholic monarchs across Europe. Lord Bentivoglio, grateful for these actions, pledges his allegiance to the Holy Father. More broadly, Pope Boniface IX still continues his literary campaign to Scotland, Aragon, and Castile, beseeching them to abandon their support for the Antipope who still cowers in Avignon and support the true Vicar of Christ. The Pope continues to meet with Ragusan merchants to discuss trade with "less than ideal heathens" and also with the Hungarians to discuss closer relations, although nothing is solidified yet. The Pope is also supposedly considering who to replace his seat as Cardinal, although officials close to his Holiness report that he has not yet made a decision.
 * Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo): The Mamluke trade with Mogandishu and the Sultan's reforms help to slowly recover the nation, in spite of  contiual corruption and mismanagment of the Turkish nobles. Warlords feud petty wars amongst each other in Upper Egypt, and the Emirates of Mecca and Medina break off ans semi-independent. This year the Coptic Pope Matthew rose to prominence as leader of a charitable community in Alexandria, preaching the evangel to the Arabs of the city. This greatly upset Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in Cairo, to hear of this Nazerene heresy in Egypt. While this was going on, the Sultan was traveling in the city and discovered a small dog whose mother had died. The vizier, fearful of the prophesy twelve months ago, quickly distained the idea of taking a dog into the palace, but the Sultan insisted "surely a creature I raise as my own son can never hurt me", and so it was permitted. In Syria, Al-Ankabut looted the citidel of Aleppo for money which he then distributed to the poor as usual, but among the captives in the citidel was a Kurdish lady named Noora, who Al-Ankabut greatly fell in love with, and took as his own wife.
 * The statesman Mahmud ibn Tulun offfers an alliance with the Ottoman Sultan
 * Ottoman Empire: With the lost to the Timurids, we give up our vassals in Anatolia to Timur, this causes some of the Sultan sons to see him as a seller of Ottoman lands. The army begins to work on reciting people into the army mostly by getting peasants to join. We accept the alliance with Cairo. and we begin to trade with Cairo and would like to trade with Mogadishu. the number of the army rises up to 20,000. 
 * Serbia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more mosques mostly in the South. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population Troops are trained in Serbia rising the army to 1,000
 * Wallachia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more mosques mostly in the South, and reciting peasants for the army. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population. the army is rised to 800.
 * Mongolia: Great Khagan Gün Temür of the Northern Yuan dynasty solidifies his rule and increase his control over Mongolia. Population stands at 500.000 people. Tengriism remains the official religion although we enforce religious tolerance, like our Great ancestor Genghis Khan did. We continue rebuilding our two decimated former capitals of Karakorum and Shangdu, as well as building ten blast-furnaces in special industry quarters of the cities, with Ming help. New residents begin to move in the reconstructed parts of the two cities. Mongolia under the context of reclaiming lost lands kept by the Mongolian Empire and to pacify various tribes surrounding the realm, continue expanding towards the East and the North, as well as into the West side of lake Baygal nuur, settling/subjugating vast areas. Relationships worsen with the Oirot Khaganate. Field guns, hand cannons are constructed by our small industry to be used by the army, but due to our small capabilities production is limited. Our 10.000 proffesional Mongolian horsemen begin a campaign against the rebels, along with 40.000 raised horsemen. With the help of 10.000 Chinese troops stationed here we easily quell any unrest in the two biggest cities that are being reconstructed. Great Khagan Gün Temür personally leads his army winning the battle of Chuluut river, against a coalition of rebel armies, due to superior tech and numbers, as well as being a competent commander, having drawn up a good battle plan, hids the majority of his troops nearby, so they are not spotted by the rebels, executs a couple of nobles that are relatives of the rebel commanders, while tricking them into crossing the river with fury to take revenge, that results into a decisive victory, with the scattered remnants of the rebels being pursued and most of them either captured of killed. The whole army then proceeds to eliminate any last pockets of resistance throughout the nation, crushing various rebellious tribes and nobles such as Buryat, Khalka, Oirats and many other smaller tribes, that were not present in the battle of Chuluut river. The defeated troops that are captured are offered amnesty, shall they swear allegiance to their Khagan (MOD RESPONSE), although the nobles and the officers are kept as captives for now. We ask China that they send troops to help us crush the rebels located in Inner Mongolia as it was agreed when we entered tributary status for China.
 * ​Some troops accept, others don't. Assume a more or less even split. -MP
 * Bohemia: We accept the Polish request for a banquet. We offer an alliance again to our cousin in Brandenburg. Wenceslaus IV continues to improve relations with the Count of the Palatine of the Rhine. Wenceslaus IV has a son with his wife, Sophia of Bavaria. He is named Wenceslaus V. Wenceslaus continues to try to find ways to take back the throne of the HRE, and begins to read old Roman scripts about the administration of the Empire, although most of the manuscripts that were once available have been taken by Austria. We ask for an alliance with both Hungary and Saxony.
 * Venice dip We offer an alliance to Bohemia.
 * Bohemian Dip: We accept the alliance.
 * Empire of Japan: The ruling Shogun Yoshimochi, with heavy advisement from his fater Yoshimitsu sees the death of the leader and only male of the Hatekayama clan with clear clame, Motokuni. With a marriage in line between Yoshimochi and a daughter of the Hatekayama clan (which itself is a Ashikaga decendant branch and major ally of the Ashikaga) sees the core territories of the Hatekayama revert to Ashikaga control. Yoshimitsu in an attempt to curry favor with another powerful Daimyo maintains the tradition of Kanrei alternating between the Hatekayama, Hosokawa, and Shiba clans. A non Shogun member of the Ashikaga Clan is predicted to claim the title of Kanrei when the time comes keeping to the tradition (this could be some time from now). Now with the lands of Yamashiro, Kii, Kawachi, Etchū, Noto under Ashikaga control Yoshimitsu advising his son begins strengthening their hold on the territory by taking inventory of the new lands figuring they can raise significant personal forces from these territories being the Shogun. Its estimated that on top of the forces able to be raised from the Kyoto areas (roughly 10,000) that another 25,000 troops an be raised from the newly acquired lands. Without stepping on to many toes the new lords of these lands keep much of the existing aristocracy in place and in other cases promote multiple samurai lords with the expressed intent of having these men honorbound and loyal to the shogun and in position to further develop the lands under the watchful eye of the Ashikaga familiy. Some pretenders to the Hatekayama do attempt to retake the ancestral seat in Yamashiro but only show with a paltry 4000 men meeting the unified Armies of the Hosokawa, Shiba, and Ashikaga numbering nearly 18,000 which deter the soldiers and force the turn over of the 2 Hatekayama pretenders one of which is killed when he tries to escape the other is imprisoned as being part of a branch family and a traitor hence being unable to inherit. The Ashikaga centralization over its new possessions is expected to take a few years as the Family is not relatively used to running large tracts of territory. The Japanese settlement and establishment of outposts in Hokkaido continues with further northern advancement starting to push into the heart of the island (this is not outright colonization just exploration and light settlement along OTL lines). In an attempt to combat some of the rampant Piracy the Shogunate personally pays for and contructs new ships, incorporating some of the more powerful theories of shipbuilding into the Japanese ship building. This sees the launching of nearly 20 ships as they are joined by local fleets of Daimyo which join in a united effort to combat piracy specifically off the southern coast of Japan near Tanegashima. As a result of the movement the fleet does encounter the of Wokou pirates (which did not always raid Korea or China they raided Japan too) off the coast of the island of Tangegashima. While a victory multiple ships are destroyed or wrecked and a few settlements are built up on Tanegashima as naval outposts for traders and opporunist explorers. The Tanegashima clan begins to assert its claims of the Ryuku island chain and sends one of the first expeditions in years consisting of roughly 300 men landing in the Amami islands and establishing well connected fort/outpost. The Japanese diplomats and observers now in China bring back designs for a Blast Furnace
 * Japan has an Emperor, but he is reduced to a mere figurehead. Japan is better described as a shogunate.
 * 1. Sign your post, 2. Do not edit the name of my Turn, figurehead emperor or not its still an Empire with the shogun essentially acting as a militarized prime minister position with all authority concentrated there and i will consider it as such. Please do not edit my turn on a simple technicality that is essentially up to me to decide. -Feud
 * Korea (protectorate of China): With Yi Bang-won and the imperial court approving the ability of commoners to now be included within national civil service (e.g., scientists, astronomers, inventors), a task once limited to the yangban families, the number of civil servants surges, ushering Korea into a renaissance of development and ideas. To prepare Korea for upcoming radical reforms, he initiates the massive centralisation of power through the purge of political dissent among the administration and yangban; making him both widely hated and feared among rival factions and nobility who oppose him. Following the footsteps of the Ming dynasty, the government-encouraged entrenchment of Confucian customs and work ethic into Korean customs persists, though at the cost of native shamanic and Buddhist beliefs while education is heavily encouraged for those within national civil service program and those of yangban (e.g., the elite, government officials, and civil servants) heritage. Seeking to emulate the industrial prowess and success of the Chinese, the Yi Bang-won continues his modernisation model, starting with the construction of five blast-furnaces in Hanseong and Busan, with the yield being used in the creation of armour and the reinforcement of weaponry ( Note to mods, blast-furnaces were introduced from China last turn ). Other measures to industrial prowess of the Chinese are the construction of paved roads and canals, which ease trade and commerce, and the continuation of mining activities in mineral-rich North Korea. Noticing a lack of industrial labourers, the imperial court decides to establish a policy that allows the sangmin (e.g., commoners, though they one class above the cheomin or outcasts) to be not only subject to military service and peasantry, but also may serve as workers in industrial complexes and mining posts, promising to provide financial incentives to those who do so. The Korean military begins to mass-borrow and replace obsolete and inefficient Korean weaponry with Chinese equivalents, a move seen as a preemptive measure in case of Manchu or Japanese aggression. The construction of three arsenals–in Hanseong, Busan, and Pyeongyang–continue, expected to be completed in within three years. The production of turtleships, gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons, Korean cannons, hwacha, and fire arrows accelerates under government encouragement, and the number of military personnel grows to 60,000 people. Recent Japanese patrols in the Korea strait prompt the government to increase maritime patrols in the area, especially near the island of Tsushima, and to keep on constructing turtle-ships (equipped iron spikes, cannons, and ironclad roofs) to repel both trespassers and pirates. Control over the Liancourt rocks (or the Dokdo islands) is further strengthened. Korea, under the context of reclaiming lost lands kept by the Balhae kingdom and to pacify the Jurchens, as well as to widen trading routes between China and Korea, expands north.
 * Archduke[1] Albert IV of Austria, after receiving a translated biography of Gaius Marius an Re Militari, becomes intrigued in the ideas that they contain. One thousand troops are sent to Avignon as a matter of support for the papacy, and Austria continues the funding of churches. In an attempt to try and finance his endeavours himself, instead of relying on filthy Jewish gold, Albert sends out prospectors into the mountains of each Austria territory, which hopefuly will come out with great results, although his hopes are low and wishes to reform taxation take priority. Albert begins to read the first translated books which were translated. The Ideas of a standing army have long been forgotten by the mainland of Europe, a fact that he is eager to take advantage of. The man is elated, and orders the creation of an Archducal Guard, consisting in total of 10 000 men, divided into three subunits, the Archducal Legion (infantry), Archducal Equius (Cavalry) and Archducal Tormenta (Siege weaponry and engineers). The plan is aimed to get going in the near future, and the best blacksmiths in Austria are ordered to Vienna to begin work on the unified armarments of the Guardsmen. Albert's reforms are unprecedented in Austrian history. Not wanting to remove the divide between nobles and pesants, however, officer positions are reserved almost exclusively for the nobility and knights, with a mandate that every officer commanding more than 50 men must have the honours of an anointed knight or higher. The first recruits are gathered from the homeless of the cities, and some knights are sent to train them in the use of a sword and shield. This Imperial guard would take some time, but the first batch of recruits, the first six hundred, would become the Sergeants for the remaining troops, and train them themselves instead of the knights. IN any case, albert, pleased with the progress of his ventures, begins being seen more and more often disappearing to speak with his advisors in secret and behind closed doors, making queer inquiries more often of late about his father-in-law’s health. He sends one of his servants over to aid him on his nameday. Letters to his cousins Ernst, William and Leopold cease almost nonstop, while they are ordered to be burned at the first sign of bandits. Albert begins reading more of Roman History and the fall of the Empire, ordering the purchase and translation of further tomes of philosophy, making Re Militari a required reading for all potential commanders. IN the meanwhile, more emissaries are sent to Milan and Genoa and Hungary to discuss a potential currency standardization to combat the increasing influence of the ducato, to establish alliances with the nations and gain potential recognition of the Archducal title and Privilegium Maius. [1]   The Archducal title is based on the documents called the Privilegium Maius, and it was not untill 1453 that it, along with the privilegium was officialy recognized. It is should therefore be advise that in order to stay in-character other nations should refer to the Austrian ruler as "Duke" unless they are prepared to recognize the title and Privilegium in an official capacity so long as this footnote remains.
 * Lithuania: As army reorganised and the Horde is invaded by Timurids, Vytautas continues help Tohtamish. Lithuania invades Crimea.
 * Order of Knights Hospitaller: The three galleys begun last year are completed by the end of this one, and are soon put to the test in anti-piracy patrols. The response from the Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order is received with joy, and Grand Master Philibert assures his German counterpart that members of his Order are always welcome to avail themselves of the Hospitaller's hospitality in any of its commandries, and he writes a circular letter to all local Commanders to inform them of their duty to provide. The Chapter votes to begin a new round of fortifications, protecting the island against a potential amphibious assault. Plans are laid for a ring of small, squat, round towers throughout the island, which could impede any invasion attempt. In other news, the Grand Master is irritated by a certain level of hostility from the native Eastern Orthodox islanders display towards their Catholic Hospitaller masters. As a temporary measure, Philibert quietly instructs the Catholic Bishop of Rhodes to cease actively attempting to convert the native populace.
 * In the Duchy of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti continues to enforce the embargo against Florence. He rallies support among the other Italian city-states against Florence, and celebrates the recent Papal reconquest of Bologna. The Duke hosts the Austrian delegation, and begins negotiations about currency standardization. Progress on construction of the Duomo continues, and Galeazzo readies all of his condottieros for a grand invasion of Medici-controlled Florence. Secretly, he reached out to the Albizzi family of Florence, offering them to retake control of of the city under the federalist system should they pledge their support for an eventual Milanese overthrowal of the current Florentine establishment. (MODS)
 * Venice dip: We join in the embargo against Florence to keep good relations with Milan.
 * Neapolitan Diplomacy: We offer a non-aggression pact with the Milanese.
 * Kingdom of Aragon: We welcome English ambassadors to our capital, and call for support from our friends to help us defend our interests in the Corsica-Sardinia region. We deploy reinforcements to Sardinia in the hopes of strengthening our defence against the invaders. The King of Aragon asks his brother to help his forces defend against the Genoese threat, in return for similar assistance in a future time of need.
 * With the decline of Dehli, Sultan Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate assumes the mantle of the premier Muslim ruler in India and swears to finish what the Ummayads and Dehli started. He expands the pool of army recruitment to 170,000 men and orders the number of war elephants expanded from 560 to 650. The Sultan accepts the gracious offers of Umar of Mogadishu and Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat of Ayuthia on the condition that our alliance will also be an offensive-defensive military one, with Umar's and Ayuthia's fleets assisting our army in operations in India. The Sultan extends similar offers to Oman and the Timurids. The sultan also offers a trading post at Bombay to be shared between any who accept his offer. He notes that the famous Bidri-style copper and siver inlay work will only be exported to those who accept his offer. Finally, he sultan orders his rival Ahmad Shah assassinated. (My apologies for not posting in 1400, but my internet broke and I only got it repaired today.)
 * Mogadishu Diploomacy: We agree to the Bahmani offer of an alliance. 
 * The Teutonic Order:  Outraged by this pagan rebellion, Hochmeister Konrad von Jungingen personally leads a few dozen knights and their retinues to immediately end the pagans reign of terror.  (RNG/Mod decision Needed please).  Extra marks gained from an increase in Baltic trade agreements helps fund the construction and organization of new priories in the Kingdom of Hungary after their king allowed such actions to take place. New infrastructure such as roads are being built between major castiles in all the territorial regions so as to increase intra-region commerce as well as make communication easier between knights across the Ordensstaat. To continue protecting everyones trade in the Baltic, the order comes to construct an additional small naval fleet of  20 ships  which should be finished in about a year and a half to two years. Severao dozen new knight-brothers are recruited from the balliwicks across Central Europe and they make their way to establish estates for themselves in the Teutonic Baltic holdings. Plans are drawn but not put in place yet to increase the size of garrisons in each castle so as to hopefully delay such pagan attackers as the recent ones until larger reinforcements can arrive.


 * Norwegian Diplomacy: We wish to open up trade with the order of the Teutonic Knights.
 * Teutonic Diplomacy: We happily accept.
 * Mod Response, seems reasonable, unless others desire an algo. -MP
 * Assam. Assam upgrades its military, citing fear of invasion.
 * Diplomacy: Assam offers a military and trade alliance with Bengal. Assamese troops with gunpowder weapons are sent to assist Bengal, but Assam will not give gunpowder weapons to Bengal. Assam asks Bengal to help Assam expand in exchange for troops armed with gunpowder weapons.
 * ​Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah, most excellent Sultan of Bengal, asks for tribute from the noble ruler of Assam in exchange for protection. If Assam shall reject this gracious offer of Bengal, we will not accept other arrangements.
 * Mogadishu: The Sultan's Trade Fleet brings in great income for the Sultan by making trade runs, especially as hazardous paths are avoided due to a comprehensive nautical map. The Sultan, thus, decree that the map shall be copied and distributed to Mogadishu merchants, in return, he wishes an added 5% tariff on all cargo from trade ships arriving.  Fabric and wares manufactories begin to expand. We further expand towards the Jubba river, as canals, dikes, and ditches are being built. The land surrounding the Jubba-Shebelle rivers become more fertile. Seeing the potential of a greater population, our Sultan decrees that all people who are willing to farm a piece of the newly cultivated land would be given a piece of land 5 Feddan large (around 2 hectares), seeds and become a citizen of Mogadishu. This policy begins to attract local tribesman and foreign migrants into Mogadishu for land. The Sultan, with the income from the Royal Trade Fleet, establishes the Royal Marines, a standing force of 500, which would be paid even through peacetime. It is tasked to protect the Royal Family and maintain order in the docks. The Royal Marines continues training in on ship fighting, ship maneuver and attack, amphibious landing and general fighting.
 * Bahmani Diplomacy: The sultan enquires on whether Umar of Mogadishu has accepted his offer of an alliance.
 * Republic of Ragusa: The government reform carries on, with the focus on the provveditori which are due to clever scheming, patricians of the families that started the reform. Although the system is more efficient now, it is obviously exploitable, which irritates several families, but due to lesser costs by the government, the lower classes are content, which aids the oligarchy within the oligarchy easier rule. The navy, both trade and military is expanded as the Ragusans now have an easier time developing their nations capabilities. Numerous patricians question the use of Latin, and prefer to switch to Italian. The old guard of the Senate disagrees, but the younger memebers are soon going to outnumber them. Dalmatian and Croatian are each more and more spoken, by all Ragusans.
 * Novgorod Republic: Settlers move east in the hopes of capturing the untamed wealth of the area. The economy, which thrives on furs, salt, and meats from both land and sea, sees marked improvement. Trade routes through Karelia to Swedish-controlled Finland are established, siphoning wealth from the newfound Kalmar Union into the Republic. Relations with Muscovy are improved. They offer assistance to Muscovy in their attempts to be rid of the Golden Horde. Novgorod hopes to break Mongolian influence on not only Moscow, but all of the Russian areas. Vassalization attempts on Great Perm continue, Novgorod establishing new trade routes and promises of protection from its neighbors. In addition, alliance offers are sent to Perm, Novgorod believing that one Perm, being one of the few states in the area that is not a Mongolian vassal, could be a useful ally. (RNG/Mod Response needed) To the west, Novgorod wishes to improve relations with both the Teutonic Order and Poland-Lithuania. While military assistance from either state would be greatly appreciated, Novgorod's military is a mighty powerhouse, with many men being trained this year. Orders from forges across Novgorod are placed en masse, bolstering the Novgorodian supplies. Lastly, trade deals are sent to Pskov, in addition to a 25-year non-aggression pact.
 * With the news of the Golden Horde battling against a new threat, Perm, fearing for its safety, accepts.-Sky
 * Muscovy accepts.
 * Holland: The Friso-Hallandic wars continue to go like they did on OTL. Count Albert builds another 25 ships for trade with other nations around the area. The military of the nation builds another 25 ships for war. Around the capital city a brick wall is continuing to be build to stop intruders. About a thousand guards watch the city for safety reasons. The troop count is now standing at 8,000 troops and counting. Agriculture goes well in our nation with many farms going into surplus this year again. On all major rivers we have a toll stop at each city. Our country and Oldenburg decide to split up Friesland 50/50. The nation is now in an alliance with Oldenburg. The Count allows his grandson to let the daughter of Oldenburg marry him in the future. We are now in a trade agreement with Denmark.
 * Hamburg: With trade becoming increasingly profitable people begin to flock to the city from the hinterland in search of a better life. The people are quickly accepted into the growing trade, blacksmith, and shipbuilding guilds.  Because of this the city sees an increase in the production of ships and iron goods.  Outside the city agricultural production is increased to feed the rising population and we look for more efficient ways to grow more food with less labor.  Work continues on more ships for the navy and the walls around the city are improved.  The navy continues to patrol the trade routes, hunting down pirates and smugglers, in order to make them safer for merchants. Finally we accept diplomats from the Kalmar Union in order to improve relations and trade ties with them.  
 * Hasfid Sultanate (Tunis): It has only been seven years since Sultan Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II took over the throne of Tunis. With our brethren slowly losing ground in al-Andalus, hope slowly fades for a Muslim Iberia. Seeking new allies in this newly found fog of war, we offer the olive branch to the Mamluks, hoping to form a strong, Muslim alliance against any infidel invasion of North Africa. With Barbary pirates raiding islands such as Malta, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, the royal treasury overflows with gold and other valuables. While we continue these dark trades behind closed doors, we continue true trades in Italy and North Africa with the Peoples of the Book. However, the Sultan still decides to sit idly in Tunis, as it is not the time to strike as of yet. We start an invasion of the Tlemcen Kingdom in North Africa, hoping to revive the once great territories of the Almohad Empire which fell a few centuries ago.
 * Genoa: Doge Marco Visconti continues to bring Genoa along on its path of revival, the unity around him as Doge is at an extreme high. The Consuls of Genoa continue to voice support for him. The alliance with Milan continues to be maintained. Continued support is given to Acciaioli with Genovese ships joining him and his army. The Bank of St. George continues to expand filling the void left by the failing Medici bank. The Gold trade in Granada also expands. Expansion by the Corsica is officially liberated from Della Rocca and put under control of Genoa, investment is put into Corsica in order to gain better loyalty to Genoa. The Genovese Arsenal continues to expand with many new ship building techniques being experimented with including building faster and better fortified ships. Currency standerdization continues.  Venetian merchants are offered to move and switch their allegiance to Genoa because of Venice’s rising taxes. (Mod Response)
 * ​Genoa Dip: Marco Visconti requests a allaince with Castille.


 * France: The new “Deux Lis” Regency continues with the support of most of the nation, and no notable objections to the small change in regime. The regency continues to focus on French unity against foreign threats and to end the rivalry between the two influential dukes of Burgundy and Orléans. In October, Isabeau and Charles give birth to a new daughter named Catherine. France requests a betrothal between Charles’s son, the Dauphin of the French throne, Louis, and King Henry of Castille’s youngest daughter, Maria. With the acceptance of this, the French would also officially become allied to the Kingdom of Castile, which they helped in the Portuguese Interregnum Wars. Geoffrey Boucicaut continues to rage a quasi-war against the palace of the antipope in Avignon. France continues to maintain the alliance with the Kingdom of Scotland, and thanks them for the bowmen, sending them back a royal gift of exotic items (along with the stream of supplies to assist them in English incursions). The regents officially establish the Order of the Lily, which is a very small standing and maintained army of elite units to be used in important battles against aggressors. Led by Charles I of Albret, it contains many highly trained knights and professional Scottish longbowmen. The regency reinforces forts around English holdings due to a bolster in English defenses. They also state that they would negotiate terms with the English if they were on favorable terms of the French, as to not lose support of the French public. A non-aggression pact is also maintained with the Bretons due to the royal marriage to the Montforts. The regency encourages the expansion Lyon’s banking and trade center. Although France does not have a central bank, they encourage the de Medici family of Florence to come to France and help improve the financial situation to back French wars. The regency holds a feast in Paris to improve relations and discuss the future of France with its many counts and dukes. Both the Duke of Orléans and the Duke of Burgundy are invited.
 * Burgundian Dip: the invitation is accepted.
 * Castilian Dip: Accepted. King Henry's newborn daughter Maria will be married to the eldest son of Charles when both are 16 years of age.
 * Venice: Envoys of the Doge are sent to both Castile and France to offer alliances. With new trading rights established with the Timurid Empire, trade from the east flourishes as Venice is a major gateway for the goods travelling between east and west. To better defend Athens from the potential off an invasion money is spent to increase the amount of fortifications manned by the Venetians. In the city a portion of ordinary citizens are called up to be reserve sailors and so are trained on training galleys in which they are to taught to row and other skills while the Venitean Arsenal is expanded in size and to increase the labour force slaves are imported from Asia and are held in indentured servitude as opposed to outright slavery where they are commonly made to work in the Arsenal as ship builders while the payment to the guilds for all apprentices taken continues.
 * Castile rejects, and instead offers a trade agreement between the two nations.
 * Oman: With the intention to spread the frankincense trade around the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean via more accessible methods, the Sultan commands the skilled shipwrights of Sohar to construct a fleet of ten trade galleys to help extend the Omani naval influence. With these new ships, a small envoy is sent to Cairo to suggest the opening of a permanent trade route between Cairo and Oman. The Sultan also commissions the renovation and expansion of current settlements on the island of Masirah, with the end goal being to create a permanent hub of trade with easy access to the Indian Ocean. Some of the new fleet are also sent east to India and beyond to find new trade opportunities and to investigate tales of fantastic and exotic spices that are said to come from that region. The fort at Bahla is expanded, and an extra extension is added to the current armoury.
 * Ayuthia: Economy, infrastructure and military improves. Under the current king Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat and its ruling Uthong dynasty, he continues to make Thailand great again by building/upgrading roads and cities, and more cities are grown in skyrocket. Even more residential, commercial and other production building are built in cities. He continue the whole nation trading with other Southeastern Asian nations, India and China by land and sea. The number of soldiers in the army rises up to 50,000. The navy has been raised to totally 30 ships, two of which are sent to patrol the trade routes and to hunt down pirates. Asks Assam and Champa for alliance.
 * Scotland: King Robert III remains holed up in his western fortresses alongside his son and a couple close relations. The current regent, his conniving brother, Robert, Duke of Albany attempts to assassinate his last son. The assassination fails due to the king's trained retinue intervening, yet nothing is traced back to Robert. With the regency limiting his diplomatic actions, Robert continues to consolidate power in the Lowlands from his relatives, though he abandons his goals of centralization when news of the English terms reaches him. With the treacherous English attempting to force us to surrender, the Kingdom of Scotland amasses a large army led by Duke Robert and several leading Stewarts in order to break the seige of Edinburgh. The Gaelic clans in the highlands continue to become divorced from the main body of Scotland with Donald of Islay emerging as a prominent figure advocating for decentralization, though they are forced to help out in the war. In the economic realm, growing cottage industries begin to develop, such as iron working and wool trading in the burgoning burghs, and animal husbandry/fishing continues to displace grain farming. Traders in the coastal burghs begin to reach further and further. Military-wise, the pendulum continues to swing in favor of more quality troops rather than the mass levies popular before the Plague, with men at-arms emerging to support the pikemen. Robert becomes interested in artillery to crush the power of the nobles and sends an advisor to the Continent to study the newest cannons. With the new Scandinavian-English alliance emerging, we strengthen our ties with France and threaten to call them to war if Scandinavian escalation continues. We continue to support Wales in their revolt against the English. Scottish privateers continue to hamper the English around Wales. Though the King still remains de jure in favor of Avignon, the crumbling power of the antipope forces Duke Robert to reassess his situation. An ambassador is sent to Rome in order to inform the Pope of the decision to officially back Rome once old King Robert III dies in exchange for a papal blessing of peace between the English and Scottish.
 * Cyprus: Sick of the Genovese monopoly on the Cypriot market, along with remembering his time as a Genovese hostage, King Janus of Cyprus expels Genovese merchants and outlaws trade with Genoa.  We ask for Venetian support in the case of war with Genoa.
 * ​Genoa controls the city of Fatmagusta right on your back door, incase you really don't want to loose your soverginity I would recomend getting rid of this.
 * Venice dip: In the event of a Genoa invasion, Venice will support the Kingdom of Cyprus as best as they can as long as Genoa is kept out of trade from them.
 * Castile accepts the Genoan offer for an alliance, and offers to support Genoa in exchange for a few ships from the Genoan fleet.
 * Bengal: The illustrious Sultan of Bengal sends emissaries with many gifts to the great men of Asia, Timur and the Yongle Emperor of China seeking friendly relations and mutual aid, as well as the possibility of trade pacts. The great Sultan demands tribute from nearby Assam. As part of his plan to make Bengal great again, the greatest Islamic state in India, the Sultan invites poets and scholars from across the Muslim world to Bengal to make Bengal a place of Islamic learning and culture. To improve his standing as an excellent Muslim, the Sultan sends money to Mecca to finance the maintenance of Allah's house and the construction of Islamic schools and mosques in the Hejaz. At home, the Sultan orders the construction of a magnificent mosque of Bengal in his name. Although the groundwork is laid, it is put off for later because the finances are better spent elsewhere. Azam Shah decides that his grandson Hamza is an incompetent fool and begins to consider the possibility of murdering him so that his younger brother could become the next Sultan of Bengal. It is well known that Hamza is a massive douche. Azam Shah's younger sons are always ready to kill their nephews so he considers telling them to make it so. However, he decides to put off such plans for now.
 * The Emperor-King of Mayapan, Iktan, continues to organize settler parties to retake abandoned cities in the southern highlands region. Some of these settler parties also venture south of the border to create settlements in new territory. The council seeks to improve commerce and communication between the many settlements of the Yucatan by constructing and maintaining roads between them. Emperor-King Iktan also orders some of the best craftsmen in the nation to come to his residence to discuss how to reverse the decline facing the nation,
 * The Crown of Castile: Henry is now 22 years of age, and he and his wife birth their first child Maria. Henry's goals domestically remain largely the same, with a strong focus on eliminating opposition to the crown and preserving the Realm. He continues to prepare for his campaign against Granada, however the conflict in Cyprus detracts from the preparations. Continued investment in the economy leads to continued growth of the economy. Foreign policy, the influx of trade offers and alliances pleases Henry. Naval expansion continues as a small professional army is raised for the conflict in Cyprus.
 * In the Duchy of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti leads his forces to a crushing defeat of the Florentine army in the Tuscan countryside. Shortly after the battle, the Duke falls gravely ill with a fever and is returned to Milan where he is surrounded by the recently created Cardinal, Pietro II di Candia and other assorted clergy. The entire nation prays for Visconti, while his condottiere Facino Cane leads the capture of Florence. Known for his brutal tendencies, Cane has the entire ruling Medici family slaughtered and places the Albizzi clan in power in exchange for the riches of the Medici banking enterprise. With the Duke potentially on his deathbed, his cousin and wife Caterina Visconti takes over as regent, but many regions devolve into the hands of condottieres who act as regional warlords. In an act of strength, Caterina grants Perugia and Montefeltro back to the Pope and accepts a non-aggression pact with the current Neapolitan king.

1402
''' A large fire devestates parts of Utrecht. '''

''' The Great Comet of 1402 is spotted. '''

''' Gian Visconti defeates the Florentines in battle but falls ill from the plague that ravages the city. (Because I'm nice I'll leave his ultimate fate up to you, Rex) '''

''' General unrest rocks Korea as some of the more conservative aspects of society are unhappy over the reforms and purges being udertaken so soon. '''

 A massive rebellion led by Zhu Di takes control over much of the Hebei region in defiance of the Ming Emperor, marching on Nanjing 

''' The Majipahit Civil War (known as the Paregreg War) devastates the East Indies as the rival Eastern and Western courts split over Java. Bhre Wirabhumi of the Eastern Court begins seeking assisstance from China '''

''' Antionio I of Athens lays seige to the city, declaring himself the rightful Duke. The Venetian installed claimant resists, urging the population to support him instead of the renegade bastard. Warfare soon engulfs the duchy, with neither side clearly ahead. '''

'''IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are declaring war, you must post it on the talk page under the algorithm section. Otherwise we can and will overlook you - the mod team'''


 * Duchy of Burgundy: shipbuilding continues in the coastal Burgundian possessions of Flanders and Artois. Duke Philip, while he may have wished for more Burgundian influence in the Kings regency, accepts the final solution as Burgundy's isn't outmatched by Orleans influence. The Duchy of Burgundy reaffirms support for the true Papacy in Rome, and sends support to the French campaign against Avignon.


 * Timurid Empire:  Emperor Timur continued his glorious reign over his Empire, and had designated his son Shahrukh Mirza as his heir. The latter had immediately set out to work as he imposed a tax system upon the local people which he referred to as the mansabdari system. This allowed the Empire to harvest and cultivate a much larger surplus of wheat and other crops which in turn made it much less liker of the Sultanate facing any food shortage. The military was primarily composed of medium-to-heavy cavalry, composite bow, lance, mace, and sword. Heavy cavalrymen wore plated chain mail or metal lamellar armor, with their horses also wearing leather or metal lamellar barding. The infantry was equipped with daggers and swords to be utilised in close combat against the enemy and elephants as well as carts were used for the transportation of supplies. Meanwhile, thousands of men were conscripted into the military from Persia and the surrounding regions to properly engage in combat, and to annihilate the opponents of Timur's realm. With the Golden Horde defeated and conquered, the Timurid Empire would invade Lithuania. However if the Golden Horde had already died back in 1401, it would mean I invaded Lithuania in 1401 which also means that I am currently already at war with Lithuania. Now, I don't know if Lithuania dies in 1 year or not, but if Lithuania dies in 1 year, then in this year, I'm invading Moscow. Meanwhile, Shahrukh Mirza who was controlling the Empire in Timur's stead watched in shock as the Mamluk and Ottoman Empires signed an alliance. Keen on creating a deterrent from the war, Shahrukh offers an alliance to Venice and requests them to create a naval base at Hatay. 


 * ​Jalayirid Sultanate: Sultan Ahmad Jalayir continued his reign over the Sultanate. Acting as a vassal to the Timurid Sultanate, he was now directly answerable to Timur and his temporary regent, Shahrukh Mirza. The military has designed along the same lines as the Timurid military, and men were conscripted to act as as the military for the state. Meanwhile, the Mamluk province of Hatay and the Ottoman vassals were integrated into the Jalayirid Sultanate. The Sultan himself made sure to wipe out all remanents and supporters of the Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Qoyunlu.
 * Venice dip: We agree to the Timurid proposal to establish a naval base at Hatay.
 * Bengal Sultan Azam Shah requests friendly relations with the illustrious and famed Timur as well as potential trade relations with his empire.
 * Roman Empire:We upgrade our military.We request an alliance to aid against the Ottomans with France.We offer John VIII the heir to any legitimate Christian Female who offers.Who wants to be Roman Empress?
 * Kalmar Union
 * Norway: On this great year under Queen Margaret I of the Kalmar Union. The great northern nation of Norway continues to prosper with trade from the Hanseatic League flowing into it. With the trade causing growth in Oslo as a trading city with the population growing to 10,000 with the rural population moving into the city for opportunities. The trade routes with the Hanseatic League are extended to include Bergen to maximize profit. Bergen rises to a population of 16,000. The opening of trade with the Teutonic order has proved luxurious however influence of them spreads into norway with this year alone 112 nobles joining the order. The Ports on Iceland continue developing with fishing being their main export with the biggest port being 500 settlers. After much struggling we managed to make a non-permanent settlement on greenland near the danish one we hope to make this permanent in the future. Northern Land explorers find a hospitable pennisula near our land. (Otl Kola Pennisula average high would be 40 F and low -20 F). We claim this Land in the Name of the Norse Crown however we have no legitimate control of it. We ask queen margaret I to make it legitimate KK. Scientae Dei continues to grow with more norse scriptures and christian scriptures being collected from across europe it is wealth of knowledge that the rich can access. In order to increase our wealth we build 30 merchant ships 20 galleons and 23 exploration ships. After much difficulty we manage to reach a little past the Danish colony in Greenland but find nothing of note The captain speculates we won't be able to make it much farther due to ice caps blocking the way so they return to the danish settlement in Greenland. After the death of the archbishop of Niadros after an official agreement Christian Ahlefeldt is appointed Archbishop (MP perms). We send 2000 men to help with invasion of scotland and begin to conduct raids on the coast
 * Danish Diplomacy: Queen Magrethe legitimizes the Norwegian claim upon the Kola Peninsula. The Queen is also curious if the Norwegians settled west or east of the Danish colony in Greenland.
 * Norwegian Diplomacy: We thank Margaret for the recongition of our claim on Kola and as for the settlement it is east of the danish colony
 * Sweden: We continue expanding our infrastructure and modernizing our army. We continue the colonization of the Northern lands with grant from Queen Margaret. We ask the Hansa members for trade deals and offer to open up a kontor in Stockholm. We begin expanding our navy as well, and start Christianizing the pagan Finns in our territory. We begin the expanding of Stockholm, promoting art and architecture and knowledge. We promote the University of Uppsala as an outstanding place of education. We continue our trade deals with the Teutonic Order. We send 1500 troops to assist English forces in Scotland.
 * Queen Margrethe of Denmark: I receive a military report on the status of Edinburgh, it reads “The Danish Army of 1,000 have arrived in Edinburgh and joined with the English Army to besiege Edinburgh Castle, where the Scottish Army held its defensive position. The siege was stalemated until a large force of Scottish reinforcements launched a major counteroffensive lead by Duke Robert I and descended upon the joint English-Danish Army, with 3,000 troops, plunging us into chaos and confusion and forcing us to retreat to King Stables Road and Grassmarket. The Scottish Army continued their advance, however, for they are determined to drive us out of Edinburgh, thus we are forced to go on the defensive.and go into deep defensive positions. The English Front Line suffers the brunt of the attack, and are in chaos and demoralized while Duke Robert’s Army is organized and has high moral, thus we, the Danish Army retreat to the reserves to preserve ourselves and we feel defeated. Then, off in the distance, we see a new army, fresh soldiers,3,500 strong, from nowhere else but Sweden and Norway! We greet our Kalmar brothers in celebration and they join us and we go into the frontlines again with high morale and we successfully defend against the Scottish advance and launch a counter-counter offensive with the goal of pushing Robert’s force back to Edinburgh castle. We are currently stalemated at Kings Road and Grassmarket,and are hoping that the counteroffensive is successful.”  I thank these Swedish soldiers for saving the Battle of Edinburgh. I also recieve word that France is attempting to make peace between England and Scotland and I fear that the Kalmar Union will get nothing from this war, thus I send 6,000 troops from Denmark to the Shetlands and they split in two, with 3,000 troops invading Aberdeen and another 3,000 troops invading Dundee, both armies objectives are to conquering Aberdeen and Dundee. The Danish Navy also goes to assist the Army. Seeing how England contained the Welsh rebellion we send our 1,000 troops from Cardiff to Irvine with the intention of conquering it and advancing to Glasgow. The sighting of the comet of 1402 this year sparks my interest in the Heavens, thus the University of Copenhagen is finally established and telescopes are constructed and I encourage scientists from all over Europe, especially astronomers to charter the stars, thus the University of Copenhagen is opened. Another 100 ships are constructed this year, with 50 galleons and 50 trade ships. Wealth continues to pour into Copenhagen as her ports are expanded and we expand trade with the Teutons, Novgorod, Hamburg, Oslo, Stockholm, etc.
 * Ming Dynasty:  The Emperor sends an additional 5 regiments of horseback archers and foot soldiers to assist the Mongolian Empire in its campaign against the rebels.  The Emperor agrees to Sakha's request to become a tributary and requests one payment every 3 years. An emissary is sent to Bengal to discuss relations and mutual aid.  The 5 step improvement plan continues.as the military and navy continues to
 * Oldenburg: We agree to the marriage proposal offered by Holland, as the proposed alliance against the Frisians should prove helpful in the ongoing war. Oldenburger forces lay siege to the city of Marienhafe, an infamous pirate stronghold and seat of the tom Brok family. An alliance is formed with the Cirksena family of Norden, who agree to aid us in the siege in exchange for their autonomy under our rule. Concurrently a second force lays siege to Emden, securing the Ems River. Christian V dies this year of old age, and his two sons, Christian VI and Dietrich I, are crowned as Counts of Oldenburg. Additionally Dietrich is married to his cousin, Adelheid of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, acquiring the county of Delmenhorst. The now three concurrent counts of Oldenburg elect to hold a diet in Varel, where they agree to hold separate titles after the conclusion of the war, thus preventing the current County of Oldenburg from being divided further. Christian VI and Dietrich I's great uncle, also named Maurice, is appointed to the head of the Oldenburg navy. He begins an audit of the nation's wartime fleet and concludes that it is badly in need of renovation. He negotiates to have much of the nation's current fleet dismantled and replaced by new ships by the end of the decade. Additionally he begins renovating the nation's few ports on the North Sea. On the island of Heligoland Maurice commissions a new dock for the navy to use during the war. To protect it a fort also begins construction, although it is not expected to be completed until long after the war.
 * Genoa: The Bank of St. George and other Genovese merchant companies sends mercenaries to Genovese owned Famagusta. With the expulsion of the merchants the suffering Cypriot economy bears the full force of a Genovese invasion. Genovese troops under the command Antonio Grimaldi quickly invade the city of Enkomi in northern Cyprus. A week into the war with Cyprus, Genovesse withdraw and fortify Famagusta, seeing that it is the only major port city in Cyprus hoping to gain the fortune from smuggling. We begin secretly inspiring upon the Plebeians to revolt against their Catholic greedy King, who was willing to wreck Cyprus for the expansion of his own pocket. The two companies of Condotteri (3,000 a piece) are reassigned to Athens helping Duke Antonio retake the city. The Bank of St. George continues to expand this time creating a opperationial mercanery millatry unit.
 * Venice: The Venetian fleet stationed at Candia, Crete are warned of the the movement of troops and the fleet sets out to intercept the Genoa fleet and their troops.
 * Oct OCC: The land between Crete and Rhodes is to large to intercept a fleet cosideirng its over 100 miles.
 * Person OOC: Sure I can, I move my fleet to Karpathos which is in between and have ships moving through both sides of the channel hunting for you and if I miss you there I know your heading for Athens so I just charge for Athens and then hit you there.
 * Oct OOC: Currently Karpathos is controlled by the Cornaro family which rules it as a independent nation, counting the space between Karpathos and Rhodes is 100 miles while the space between Karpathos and Crete is 97 miles.
 * Person OOC: There a Venitean family with holdings in Venice which I can confiscate so they would do well to play ball. Plus again if I do miss you I just follow you to Athens. You have to move troops which are not quick vessels plus it is only 90 miles from Karpathos to Crete and 70 miles between Rhodes and Karpathos.
 * Oct OOC: What you are trying would never work in this time, and would barley even work in ours. the Cornaro family functions as any other Merchant Republic family, always trying to get independence. That trait  is what created Monaco.
 * Mod response: A few minor merchant families move their business to Genoa
 * Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo):  This year the land of Egypt intensified its anarchy as warlords loot the cities of both Upper and Lower Egypt, uncovering tombs of Ancient Kings and breaking apart their treasures. Mecca and Medina remained relatively safe from the chaos in their arab autocracies, where the Hajj pilgrimage was opened once again. Undaunted from the charisma of Pope Matthew, the Caliph Al-Mutiwakkil challenged the Pope to a debate on the nature of the trinity, which took place in the town of Rashid near Alexandria. These "Rashid Debates", known widely throughout later literature of Muslim and Coptic scholars, was most enlightening if not at all conclusive. In Syria, the Mamluk Sultan finally gathered enough soldiers to intervene in Syria against the notorious Arab outlaw Al-Ankabut. But Al-Ankabut, knowing of their arrival ahead of time by spies, disguised himself as and his men as poor Arab guides, who led the two bands of Mamluk soldiers away from each other until dark. Then at night, they led the two bands back towards each other, making both of them think the other was Al-Ankabut. It wasn't until dawn that the two sides realized they were slaughtering their own comrades.


 * ​The statesman Mahmud ibn Tulun finally arrives in Tunis after being freed from pirates, and accepts the offer of alliance on behalf of the Sultan
 * Empire of Japan: The Shogunate fully realizes a new form of power as the prior small scale gold mine in Shizuoka turns out to be much more productive than expected prompting further investment and development of the Toi gold mine. while nominally in the territory of the Shiba clan, friendly relations as well as prior ownership and usage of the mine and the now nearby territorial control allows the Ashikaga shogunate to not only use this one mine but exhert major control over most of the other mines open in the region. This not only gives a major economic boost to the Ashikaga but also allows the Shogun to begins funding some further development of its own lands and military forces. The Shogunate begins to use Emperor Go-Komatsu to exhert further political influence on some of the nearer Daimyo particularly on the Shiba clan to more effectively work with the shogun. The Japanese navy in particularly begins to expand as many daimyo recognize the issue with pirates and begin to invest their own fleets to help put down some of the various issues of piracy across the area. The Shogun and his father Yoshimitsu host the first Flower Court a gathering of all the Daimyo who are expected to pay for the journey and stay the whole year at court in Kyoto. All the lords except the Date clan recognize and show as the Date are currently in the middle of a struggle with the Shogun. Halfway through the year the Date clan head is dragged before the court in shackles having been beaten by a unified force of the Ashikaga, Mogami and Uesugi. To redeem the honor and keep the lands of the clan he is given the option of commiting ritual suicide or Seppuku to which he agrees to. Other members of the clan are outraged by the new clan head prevails and submits to the shogun recognizing they do not have the power to challenge the shogun again and comes to court in the final months. Some key issues are discussed especially in terms of the power dynamics of the country. Light Japanese expansion into Hokkaido continues with greater settlement of the south being undertaken. The Tanegashima clan secures further control over the Ryuku islands seizing the island of Amami and surrounding smaller islands planning to move on Okinawa proper in future years.
 * Mongolia: After establishing a port in Manchuria (near Bolshoy Shantar island but on the mainland) we ask Japan for a trade agreement.
 * Holland: The Friso-Hallandic wars continue to go like they did on OTL. Count Albert builds another 25 ships for trade with other nations around the area. The military of the nation builds another 25 ships for war. Around the capital city a brick wall is continuing to be build to stop intruders. About a thousand guards watch the city for safety reasons. The troop count is now standing at 10,000 troops and counting. Agriculture goes well in our nation with many farms going into surplus this year again. On all major rivers we have a toll stop at each city. The great comet of 1402 is spotted by our great astronomers of the nation. A dry port is being built so we can increase the production of building ships for our nation's navy, trade sailors, and fisher men. The first bank of Holland is being build in the capital city of Amsterdam.
 * Cologne Diplomacy: Archbishop Friedrich III writes to offer Holland a trade deal with Cologne, given Cologne's position along the Rhine and the prosperity this trade deal would bring to the two nations.
 * Naples: A son is born to King Ladislaus and the Duke of Urbino's daughter, whom is named Charles. As a part of his widespread reform plan for the Kingdom of Naples, Ladislaus begins a nation-wide effort to build infrastructure such as roads, places of learning, and churches across the Neapolitan countryside in order to increase literacy amongst the poor and lower-class of the nation. His vassals criticize and berate him for attempting to do this massive feat without their consent, but the King largely ignores their criticism and continues on with his ambitious plans. In terms of foreign relations, Naples supports Milan's effort to crush the Florentines and offers a non-aggression pact and a temporary alliance with the powerful duchy. Naples also offers non-aggression pacts with Castile, France, and Portugal.
 * Landgraviate of Hesse: After years of poor rule, a young nobel by the name of Louis Beringer, rallies the people and overthrows Hermann II's regime, claiming all lands and titles. He is hailed as the people's champion. His first order of business, see how it has caused so much death in the land, is to lift the ban on pagan religion. Landgrave Louis I works on expanding the economy of his small nation.
 * You are not a Grand Duchy, therefore you have no Grand Duke. You have a Landgrave. Also, Ludwig I was literally born just this year. Your ruler would be Hermann II, who ruled until 1413.
 * Didn't realize we were being that accurate this time around. Also, what I read said that it was ruled by a Grand Duke around this time. If it's that big of an issue, I'll change it. Also, where was Ludwig I ever mentioned in my post?(edited original)
 *  Lol, practically none of that is going to happen. Try again and please try to remain within the bounds of reason with your posts. Consider this a first strike.  Fine, consider this a lesson in how Medieval politics worked. -MP
 * Cologne: The people of Cologne are very aware that a commission is taking place, and there is much talk on the streets. An anonymous painting is delivered to the archbishop’s residence at the end of the year that depicts the members of the commission walking down a set of stairs, led by the Abbess of Essen. This is thought to reflect the events of the commission, which is named the Kölsch Treppen Commission, or “Cologne Stairs” Commission - unofficially at first, then adopted into public record. The Commission itself pays little attention to the transition to canonesses regular that is proposed in Essen, but the university theologians agree with Adelphina’s general stance (i.e. an intention to bring back strict monastic discipline and emphasise charitable works of mercy) and propose to focus more on assisting the poor in Cologne. With this in mind, and as trade begins to prosper more and Cologne gets closer to getting out of debt, Archbishop Friedrich III makes plans to build a new hospital in outer Cologne.
 * Essen: When Adelphina’s representatives return to Essen, she congratulates them and, noting the Archbishop of Cologne’s renewed emphasis on health, writes to the Archbishop to ask for further funds to build a specialised, small infirmary adjacent to the abbey to eventually be staffed by canonesses regular. This, she feels, will assist with the return to strict discipline in the church, especially through the integration of canonesses regular. These devout women will lead the way towards a more meagre lifestyle. While these plans are still in development and the Abbess awaits a response from the Archbishop, she sends another letter to a nearby non-sovereign abbey of canonesses regular asking for a small initial number of canonesses regular to be transferred to Essen Abbey to jumpstart this process.
 * Bohemian Dip: We offer an alliance to Cologne.
 * Cologne Diplomacy: Archbishop Friedrich III accepts this alliance with Bohemia and requests that a trade deal accompany this alliance.
 * France: The “Deux Lis” Regency continues through its third year, still focused on uniting French against foreign threats. The feast towards the end of 1402 was successful, bringing both of the rivaling dukes, and many other vassals. All the counts and dukes reaffirmed their vassalage to the new French regime at the feast. Later in the year, Isabeau and Charles VI meet with Philip of Burgundy and Louis of Orléans in Paris to attempt negotiate terms to reconcile the two. Geoffrey Boucicaut continues to rage a quasi-war against the palace of the antipope in Avignon. Dauphin of France, Louis officially becomes betrothed to Maria Trastámara, and she is given the title, “Dauphine of France, Marie of Castile”. This secures a defensive alliance between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Castile. Nicolas du Bosc requests the meeting of Scottish and English ambassadors in Le Havre, Normandy to establish peace and a truce between the English and Scottish crowns. Nicolas also wish to discuss negotiations regarding the succession disputes and hostilities between France and England (Swank hit me up in chat). France continues to reinforce French forts close to English holdings, and also starts very slowly building up more of a navy. Regarding the Roman Empire, the “Deux Lis” send food and military supplies to Constantinople to assist with the Ottoman siege, but do not send military forces at this time. Charles VI writes to Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici leader of the Medici Banking family with a request to expand the Medici Bank to Lyons (MOD Response).
 * The meeting between the King's Uncle and the King's Brother in Paris are declared successful, as both of the dukes will have advisors to the regency (balancing their power more equally in the realm).
 * Provence: Louis II of Provence continues building fortifications in his French holdings. Louis also continues to expand his personal army and his levies. Louis still claims to be King of Naples, but cannot receive support from the French crown.
 * Saluzzo: Marquess Thomas III of Saluzzo continues building fortifications and expanding his armies and levies.
 * Hungary: We recall any ambassadors sent to the Ottoman empire. We build up with infrastructure including roads, schools, churches, etc along with our military numbers rising and our population by a few thousand. We continue to modernize our military and build multiple fortifications along the Ottoman border and place many troops to fortify positions their. Many of our cities begin to be fitted with multiple fortifications, defenses, and barracks. Many defenses are built on the Venetian border but not as many on the Austrian border. We also continue to talk with the Papal states in the hopes of an alliance and open trade rights. The same goes with Austria as we move most of our troops of the Austrian border. We also begin to send a request to nations looking for support or a war against the Ottoman empire and that they will send us emissaries if they are. We also ask Genoa for a trade deal and a possible alliance against Venice.
 * Genoa Dip: We accept.
 * Croatia- Infrastructure begins to rise and so does fortifications along the Ottoman border and military numbers. Cities are also fitted with fortifications, barracks and defenses.
 * Cilli- The vassal also builds fortifications, barracks, and defenses in cities and along the Ottoman border. Work begins on their infastructure with roads, churches, and edicational building.
 * Bohemian Dip: We offer an alliance to Hungary
 * Benin: Prince Ogun returns to Mali, and begins his travels throughout the country. He makes note of all discoveries he makes in the nation, such as the use of paper and writing for recording thoughts, and the discoveries of astronomy in the nation. The charting of the stars and the understanding of the sciences in Timbuktu astound the young prince, who orders his entourage to gather as many books for his study as possible. As for the method of writing, after being schooled in its use, Ogun believes that his people require such a tool as well, and proceeds to develop a script for his own language and people. Another discovery made by the prince is the extensive use of large ships in Jolof, where the Mali trade with the Arabs of Morocco and the Spanish. Much larger than the boats used by Benin, but Ogun believes that the shipbuilders along the Niger River will be able to reproduce what Mali has built if not on a smaller scale. Fascinated in particular by the Malian vessels, Prince Ogun inquires of their details such as the builders and their history. He is informed of the past Mansa, Abu Bakr II, who sought to explore the seas with a mighty fleet, but never returned. Before returning home, Ogun invites into his entourage an Islamic imam and a Christian missionary, seeking to have them explain to him their religions in detail during the trip home to Edo. He brings with him also scholars and teachers from Mali, and books written by Arab philosophers and astronomers. Back home, the Oba continues his plans of paving the roads of the nation to enhance trade and communication. The Oba orders that the trenches of the capital be maintained routinely, and the foundries of the nation expanded in all major cities. As his son returns with news of his discoveries, the Oba plans to increase the output of finished goods in his nation to trade with Mali. In the south, Prince Uwaifiokun sets foot on the island of, which he claims for Benin. The natives on the island are deemed to be a peaceful people, who treat the Benin warriors well. Resting on the island for a few days, Uwaifiokun and his men continue on to northern Gabon, where they set foot and explore the lands just beyond the coastline before returning home. Uwaifiokun announces his plans to continue such adventures, and opens a school for navigation on Bioko, where he hopes to hone his skills and the skills of fellow warriors for travelling on the sea. His family and court move to the island, as well as several thousand Benin subjects seeking rich fishing grounds for the market back home.
 * The Crown of Castile officially declares war upon Cyprus, but alas a strategic blunder in the field by a Genoan Mercenary Captain led to the loss of over 4,000 allied men, over half of them Castilian. The loss of so many men damns the war effort, and as a result the people of Cyprus force back the Genoan-Castilian invaders. Henry III blames Genoa for the failure and for dragging the glorious Spain into a war they lost. Henry III considers abdicating, but decides against it due to the lack of an heir. At age 23, he and his wife bear another child, another female named Catherine. Henry Proposes promising Catherine to Alfonso of Aragon (Age 6) for when they come of age. The war effort slows the growth of the Castilian navy. Consolidation efforts continue, As the aristocracy loses power at a slow but steady rate. Henry III resumes war preperations for his campagin against Granada, with knowledge from the most recent campagin in Cyprus, the Spanish Professional Army is raised to 2,000, with a civillian militia of 9,000. The Canary Islands Colony is founded this year, claiming the Islands for Castile. The recent lose in the Cyprus war forces the King to reconsider forgein policy. He is advisded by his small concil to listen to the pleas of Pope Boniface IX and end the Castillian support for the antipope. Henry does this, and reaffirms Castile's support for the one, true pope. 
 * Korea (Chinese protectorate): Following the decision to relax the caste system, allowing sangmin and chung-in to participate in government exams and to serve as civil servants whilst remaining in their caste, Korea continues to see a renaissance of development and ideas. Yi Bang-won begins a reformation of the caste system; he splits the sangmin caste into two–the upper sangmin, or military troops, and the lower sangmin which comprise peasants. He also splits merchants from the sangmin caste into a separate caste between the upper sangmin and the chung-in, known as the sang-in. Lastly, he abolishes the privilege of the yangban nobility to own private armies, a move aimed to consolidate the legitimacy of his rule and to get rid of the ability of the dissent to muster large-scale revolts. Yi Bang-won and his imperial court continues to establish measures to centralise and cleanse the Korean government of opposition through ripping off the titles of the opposing officials and sending them to exile in Manchuria, though at the cost of his popularity among the yangban and the current administration. Nevertheless, the seizure of private armies from nobility make it hard for the dissenters to find ways to muster large-scale revolts. Purged officials include General Bak Po and Yi Bang-won's older brother, Yi Bang-gan. Yi Bang-won continues to direct the nations' modernisation; five more blast-furnaces are built in Hanseong and Busan (steel will be used in the creation of armour, tools, and weaponry), more paved roads and canals are built to facilitate commerce, mining activities in mineral-rich North Korea persist, and the construction of three arsenals–in Hanseong, Busan, and Pyeongyang, and equipped with Chinese weaponry–continue, set to be completed by 1405. The number of military personnel surges to 70,000 people. Ships are deployed off the coast of Korea to ward off any Japanese pirates and trespassers, while control over the Liancourt rocks is further tightened. Korea, under the context of reclaiming lost lands kept by the Balhae kingdom and to pacify the Jurchens, expands further north. The entrenchment of Confucian customs and work ethic into Korean customs continues, though at the cost of native shamanic and Buddhist beliefs. Education is heavily encouraged for those within national civil service program and those of yangban heritage.
 * Korea requests the Ming to send troops to Hanseong, Pyeongyang, and Busan to put down unrest among the nobility, and would want to join Chinese naval exercises in the East Sea.
 * The Ming Emperor agrees and sends 100,000 riflemen to all 3 cities to put down unrest amongst the nobility. The Emperor also allows the Korean Navy to join in the East Sea Naval Exercises. 
 * Sakha requests, absent any objection from China, to establish a trade deal with Korea, offering furs, gold, and ginseng.
 * Korea agrees to the trade offer.
 * The King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily and Count of Barcelona, Ferdinand I, applauds his brother in Castile for his tough stance on Genoa, and agrees to affirm our two countries' close ties by having his son and heir Alfonso marry his new cousin Catherine upon reaching the age of majority. Ferdinand I asks Castile to assist his armies in the defence of Aragon's Sardinian territories against the Genoese. In other news, we announce the birth of Princess Eleanor of Aragon, the latest addition to the royal family, and the King's fifth child. We begin secretly planning for a renewed offensive on Corsica, which we believe rightfully belongs to the glorious Crown of Aragon. We ask brotherly Castile for advice on this matter.
 * Castile advises against war with Genoa, but assures Aragon that any action they take against Genoa will have no impact on our relationship.
 * Cyprus: We offer the following terms to Genoa.
 * 1) The Kingdom of Cyprus receives economic freedom.
 * 2) All Genovese holdings in Cyprus shall be ceded to the Kingdom of Cyprus.
 * 3) Venice receives the city of Fatmagusta
 * 4) Genovese merchants shall be welcomed back into Cypriot ports, however must pay a 5% tariff to the Kingdom of Cyprus along with a 4% tariff to Venice on all cargo for a period of 10 years.


 * Mongolia: As the last pockets of resistance are eliminated, the rebellion has been successfully defeated, Great Khagan Gün Temür of the Northern Yuan dynasty, orders the execution of the captured treacherous chiefs and traitorous officers that fought against their Khagan, along with seizing their estates and gifting them to his most loyal supporters. Although most of the loot is kept in the treasury. The rebellious tribes that their chief died in bettle or got executed, with Khagan's most loyal supporters taking over as chiefs of these tribes, as well as the rebellious tribes that their chief's are fugitives, are also replaced with Khagan's most loyal supporters. Crown authority is thereby increased to very high. Thus Great Khagan Gün Temür has now solidified his rule over Mongolia and can turn his attention elsewhere. The captured former rebels that sweared allegiance to the Khagan and were pardoned, settle in the Karakorum and Shangdu which have finished reconstruction, many consider them even better now than they formerly were, as the walls of the city are way taller, thicker and sturdier and the cities inside are magnificent, with trade quarters and special industrial quarters that have 5 blast furnaces of Chinese design and origin each, with both the industrial and trade quarters being inside the cities walls. On the other hand the rest of the rebels, the unloyal ones are kept in imprisoned with the hope that they will accept in time the authority of the Khagan as we begin a process to brainwash these about 1.000 individuals into being loyal and accept the authority of the Khagan. We dismiss the raised troops and they return to their families. Population remains stable at 500.000 people, with rebel loses being replaced by high birth rates. Tengriism remains the official religion although we enforce religious tolerance, like our Great ancestor Genghis Khan did. New residents continue to move in the reconstructed cities. Mongolia under the context of reclaiming lost lands kept by the Mongolian Empire and to pacify various tribes surrounding the realm, continue expanding towards the East and the North, as well as into the West side of lake Baygal nuur, settling/subjugating vast areas. Finally we reach the sea, as we see a big island(OTL Bolshoy Shantar Island) that we name after our Great Khagan. We also establish a port in the area. Relationships with the Oirot Khaganate worsen and tensions start to escalate. Field guns and hand cannons are constructed by our small industry to be used by the army, but due to our small capabilities production is limited. The army stands at 10.000 proffesional Mongolian horsemen.
 * Archduke[1] Albert IV of Austria continues to meet with advisors secretly, and letters to his two brothers, Ernst and Leopold continue throughout the year. Many only speculate that they somehow relate to the succession of young Albert to the throne and his will, or perhaps the reorganization of the Austrian Army. Some, however, in the Archduke’s[1] inner circle, suspect the motive of these meetings to be less than pure, but none dare air their concerns aloud. Inquiries are made into Albert’s Father-in-law’s health, which yield certain results. The dungeons are also searched for avowed killers, allegedly to redeem them by being recruited into the Archducal Guard. However, mysteriously, the killers that were the most difficult for authorities to catch are struck from records, as well as they did not exist…The Knights under the direct command of Albert’s household are reformed into the first regiment of the Archducal Equius, integrating them into the structure of His Highness’ Most Vaunted Archducal Guard. The First stage calls for 2000 cavalrymen in the Equius, compared to 8000 infantrymen for this new army. The first batch of recruits does well as the second lot are brought in this year. They are recruited from the undesirables of society and men wanting to regain their honour, but mostly from city dwellers and the urban poor, in other words men who did not need to tend to flocks of sheep or fields in the summer, or wait for any harvests to artificially limit when campaigns can occur. At the end of the year, the first lot of recruits, now colloquially known as the “Archduke’s Chosen”, are officially given their appointments as Sergeants and set out to teach the second lot of recruits. By December, over two thousand men stand at the ready in the Archducal Legion, as well as five hundred Equestrians.  Over all, the process of training men is expected to pick up along with recruitment and other things. An Ambassador with messenger pigeons is send to Hungary for quick communication, attempting to have permanent representation in the court of Albert’s ally, with reciprocation of course. In other news, Albert continues to borrow heavily from Jewish merchants to fund his endeavours. Soon he finds himself in a financial dead end.  His efforts and investments into the University of Vienna and the purchase of many roman-era books and scrolls continue unabated, as well as their translations and placement into the Personal Library of the duke. He does, however, take particular interest in the life and exploits of Julius Caesar, reading many books and even sending some to his cousins. On New Year’s Eve, Albert sits by himself in his study, contemplating the nature of his future dealings. He does not want to give up the Archducal Guard, nor does he wish to give up on the construction of new churches. Tax reform has caught resistance at every level, from the Lords of the land to the dirtiest peasant. Stressed and almost out of time for the Archducal treasury, he sits and contemplates to himself. Tariffs and trade along the Danube helped, of course, but there is only so much that he could do without merchants deciding it was no longer profitable to trade in Austria altogether. A fickle species, foreign merchants, loyal to almost nobody, unless they came from a republic, but even then only superficially; their first loyalties are to the gold they carry, he thought. Albert continues to contemplate the future, which seems crashing down fast under the weight of heightened interest. Currency reform might inject some well-needed money by shaving some off the top, as it is known, and that had started earlier this year in October, with consultations with Milan and Genoa, however that would be a more long-term venture, just as with encouraged trade. He worried his nation would crumble under interest unless something was done soon. Depression set upon him, fearful for the future. The bells were about to strike twelve, so he resigned himself to go on to his bed as he noticed a frantic knocking on his door. He opens it with a sullen face, revealing a messenger so eager he might burst. What he held in his lands was a note from his governors in the county of Tyrol, along with a small, light refracting object that illuminated his face with joy. His prospectors, set out last year on false hope, had struck silver. [1] The Archducal title is based on the documents called the Privilegium Maius, and it was not untill 1453 that it, along with the privilegium was officialy recognized. It is should therefore be advise that in order to stay in-character other nations should refer to the Austrian ruler as "Duke" unless they are prepared to recognize the title and Privilegium in an official capacity so long as this footnote remains.
 * Order of Knights Hospitaller: Construction begins on the ring of towers around Rhodes. Each is to be equipped with two small cannons, and will be manned by one Brother (Knight of Sergeant) and four men-at-arms at all times. They will be well-supplied so that in the event of an invasion, the small garrison can hold out for many weeks, wreaking havoc to an advancing army's rear. Grand Master Philibert writes to the Roman Emperor, offering the Order's assistance in protecting Constantinople in the event of a future attack, and also asking that His Imperial Majesty lend his support to bringing about a reuinion between the Eastern and Western Churches. Back in Rhodes, Philibert summons the Greek Archbishop to his Palace, and has a civil discussion where the Grand Master raises the possibility that the Greek church in Rhodes might come into communion with the Pope and the West, whilst retaining autonomy in its customs. The Archbishop laughs at the suggestion, pointing out the fact that not even all the Franks (as he describes those of the West) are in communion with the same Pope! Annoyed, but seeing the Greek Bishop's point, Philibert becomes resolved to do everything within his power to end the Schism once and for all. Several novices arrive from around Europe, and are welcomed and sent on their first cruises.
 * Roman D:We accept the Order's offer.
 * Kingdom of Tondo:  Rajah Gambang, initiates a series of economic reforms for Tondo, with focus seen on the trade sector of the economy. To further augment Maynila's, and ultimately, Tondo's trade prowess in the region, Gambang sends envoys to the courts of Brunei, and Majapahit to strike trade agreements with them in the form of weapons, foodstuffs, minerals, and agricultural products (mod response please) The port of Maynila, seen as the Kingdom's gateway to the outside world, is further expanded to accomodate increased volume from trade. Construction projects involving houses, 'roads', mines, and pastures and farms for a steady food supply are done mostly in Maynila, but spreading to other areas nearby as well. The Tondo fishing fleet is expanded by 25 ships, and to compensate for their defense, 10 ships for combat and 12 ships for trade are commisioned by Gambang. Tondo now holds all land in Luzon south of the Pangasinan Huangdom, and expresses their desire to expand even further. Military forces rise to 12,000 men on 'active duty', but an estimate of 50,000 are capable of fighting for the Kingdom if needed. The islands of Masbate and Tablas are claimed by the Rajah, and orders a force of 150 men and 50 civilians each to control the island.
 * Hasfid Sultanate (Tunis): It has now been the eigth year of Sultan Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II's reign, and the situation in the capital seems to be improving. Although the initial attack against the Tlemcen to the west has been initially a failure, the hope for success carries on. With our brethren slowly losing ground in al-Andalus, hope slowly fades for a Muslim Iberia. Seeking new allies in this newly found fog of war, we again  offer the olive branch to the Mamluks, hoping to form a strong, Muslim alliance against any infidel invasion of North Africa. With Barbary pirates raiding islands such as Malta, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, the royal treasury overflows with gold and other valuables. While we continue these dark trades behind closed doors, we continue true trades in Italy and North Africa with the Peoples of the Book.
 * Teutonic Order: With Hochmeister von Jungingen being successful in his furious reprisals against the Samogititen rebels, he seeks to round up as many connected to this small rebellion as he can. Automatically assuming most if not all are pagan, they are given the choice to convert or die. The issue is that the Hochmeister gave this decision in Low German, not the Samogititen or Lithuanian languages they know, so most all are executed by the Hochmeister and his knights. The rebels lands are seized and information is sent to all the balliwicks and commandaries that any man who wishes to own the land must only pledge themselves to the Order. Such promises seek to increase the size of the Order, as well as further squeeze the more peaceful Samogititens. Trade continues to provide much wealth to the Order, allowing for more roads to be built between regional capitals and smaller castles. The Hochmeister orders construction of new border outposts to further strengthen the response time to foreign incurstions as well as provide an extra layer of defense to the Orders lands. The first few Hungarian knights have been recruited and are greeted as the knight-brothers they are.
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: Hochmeister von Jungingen offers a pledge of no aggression to the Novgorod Republic, as well as assisstance in struggles in both attack and defense against non-Christian peoples; noting that whatever differences Catholicism and Orthodoxy have, they are closer than the paganistic Golden Horde.
 * Novgorodian Diplomacy: Accepted
 * In Sakha, the reforms implemented by Oyus, and particularly the mass conversions to foreign religions, produce a backlash from traditionalist shamans, who criticize Oyus as abandoning the traditions of the Yakuts; which, in truth, he is. These criticisms carry little weight with most Yakuts, however, as the reforms have significantly increased their standard of living. Oyus is motivated to expand and modernize his military, however, based on Mongolian and Chinese military customs; he reorganizes his personal retinue, of about 1500 warriors, into four "banners", linking each to specific regions from which ordinary Yakuts can be called up, in line with tribal tradition, for larger conflicts. The blast furnace sent by the Mongols is finally put in operation; along with other modern smelting techniques, this allows the exploitation of Sakha's large reserves of iron ore, to produce large amounts of weapons, tools, and armour. Oyus, unable to meet demand for iron tools, especially plows, allows his subjects to set up their own furnaces, although he maintains control over the coal supply. Unexpectedly, one such subject, Nyurguun, searching for iron deposits, comes upon a deposit of gold instead. Oyus immediately marries this individual to his daughter to ensure control over this resource and consults his monastic advisors on how to exploit it. Agricultural reforms, such as the introduction of camels, combined with immigration, lead to a population boom as winter starvation is greatly reduced. Continued immigration of Nestorians and Mannichaeans gains them some new converts among the Yakuts, but most Yakuts continue to adhere to the predominant Buddhist-shamanic religion. Camels are also utilized in the military reforms; each banner is split in two, into traditional cavalry, primarily mounted on camels, and infantry, who are rearmed with crossbows and pikes in Chinese fashion. In the capital, Oyus' monastic advisors begin adapting the Mongol alphabet for the Yakut language. Finally, expansion eastwards finally reaches down the Uyla River to the ocean; Oyus orders a road linking the Ulya to the Lena built, but is shocked when no trade arrives at the newly established port of Ulya. Envoys are sent south to make trade contacts.
 * Sakha requests a trade agreement with the Empire of Japan.
 * Japan Dip: Japan agrees on trade
 * Assam. Internal improvements are conducted in Assam.
 * Bengal Diplomacy: Assam hereby accepts the request of Bengal and pays Bengal tribute.
 * Ayuthia Diplomacy. Assam hereby accepts the offer of alliance from Ayuthia.
 * Papal States: Most of Rome has now been cleansed and is completely under control of the Holy Father. Bologna begins to stablize thanks to the efforts of the new Lord and his Papal support. A grant of money is granted to help restore the Papal navy to a point of strength so as to help friendly Christian nations combat any Muslim threat in the sea. Some small aspects of aid are sent to Constantinople in order to help them as the Pope explores the possibility of resolving the Schism that still plagues the Christian faith. With regards to his own schism, the Pope is pleased that the Antipope is losing influence and hopes to resolve the matter soon regardless of the means. His Holiness writes to the headmasters of the Teutonic and Hospitaller orders, thanking them for their continued service to God and commanding them to continue their mission of protecting the faithful, promising them that the issue of the Western Schism should be resolved soon, god willing. In addition to these things, the Pope has several important announcements regarding Papal policy:
 * Ragusa shall be permitted to trade with Ottoman lands on the condition that merchants contribute a portion of their new income to agents dedicated to spreading or preserving the word of God.
 * Hungary can count on the support of the Pope should it be involved in any war against the Ottomans, but the Holy Father cannot promise support against other Christian nations.
 * Milan is asked to return the regions around Perugia and Montefeltro to Papal authority, as they were before the Schism. Current Milanese policy will be maintained in these regions.
 * Scotland is promised that His Holiness will do what he can with regards to peace with England as soon as Scotland abandons support of the Antipope and his agents.
 * New Cardinals have been appointed to the College, bringing the total number of Cardinals in the Church to fifteen. The Holy Father hopes these selections will help bring about greater communion and consensus amongst the faithful.
 * Venice: With an explosion of violence in the Duchy of Athens and fighting in Cyprus, Venice sees itself in a state of national emergency as a fleet of 200 ships are sent to Crete where they are ordered to intercept Genoese war vessels though no open declaration of war is made. We support our claimant in Athens because we are honouring our alliance with the Venitean installed Duke to defend him so 1,000 troops are moved from Cyprus to Athens to help support the Venitean backed Duke while Antonio is offered the chance to become Duke of Paros as recompense for his loss. (MOD RESPONSE) meanwhile the remaining 2,500 men on Cyprus are ordered to support the siege while the Cypriot navy is allowed to maintain the blockade to stop supplies getting in. We have intervened in Cyprus to support our alliance with the Kingdom of Cyprus. In Venice itself the Doge makes a patrotic speech from St Makrs square about a deciding time in Venitean history where they can be looked upon as the bold risk takers who pushed hard and won or as men who shrivelled for fear they are not good enough. The Venitean population rallies behind the war with Athens and the liberation of Cyprus.
 * Antonio eagarly accepts
 * Oct OOC: Venice does not contol Paros which is under control of Naples. Would someone abandon there homeland on the tip of the capitol?
 * Novgorod Republic: Settlers move east in the hopes of capturing the untamed wealth of the area. The economy, which thrives on furs, salt, and meats from both land and sea, sees marked improvement. Trade routes through Karelia to Swedish-controlled Finland are established, siphoning wealth from the newfound Kalmar Union into the Republic. Relations with Muscovy are improved. They offer assistance to Muscovy in their attempts to be rid of the Golden Horde. Novgorod hopes to break Mongolian influence on not only Moscow, but all of the Russian areas. Several churches are built in Perm this year with the funding of Novgorod. In addition, they send several priests to Perm to aid in the spread of Novgorodian culture. In the meantime, Novogorod intends to improve relations with Perm, Rostov, and Yaroslavl. To the west, Novgorod wishes to improve relations with both the Teutonic Order and Poland-Lithuania. While military assistance from either state would be greatly appreciated, Novgorod's military is a mighty powerhouse, with many men being trained this year. Orders from forges across Novgorod are placed en masse, bolstering the Novgorodian supplies. A ship is built this year to protect trade routes. In the meantime, the fortifications around Great Novgorod are bolstered  Lastly, trade deals are sent to Pskov, in addition to a 25-year non-aggression pact.
 * The Kingdom of England:  With new troops occupying Edinburgh, and more being reinforced into the city, we begin to prepare for siege incase the castle must be brought down. The Kingdom of England moves more troops from Nottingham to Fort William on the Welsh border. And regarrisons the northern city of York. England increases its military and navy, the navy restocks the northern coast of France, where the English currently maintain, and defenses are reinforced in southern France. England sends its ambassadors in Castile, Aragon, and the Italian provinces (Genoa, Papal States, and Florence) to improve relations with these budding European nations. England thanks Castile, Aragon and the Italian provinces for their trade negotiations. England calls upon the Kingdom of Portugal to send naval assistance of blockading Wales. King Henry IV continues to purge the Lollards, burning them at the stake as heretics, looking to keep good favor with the Pope and the Papal States. (posting for Swankyboieaux)
 * ​Kingdom of France: France releases an ultimatum that if the border incursion into Scotland is not halted and negotiations are not made to end the border conflict, that France will honor Auld Alliance. (OOC: just talk with me on chat Swanky)
 * Republic of Ragusa: The government reform is nearly done, with the division of power more efficient, however due to its motives, somewhat devious. The trade goes well and the Ottomans are offered a special trade deal that will allow the Ottomans to receive goods from all over Europe and sell their goods through all of Europe via the Ragusans as they have special papal approval. However, a condition to this is that Ragusans must help preserve Christianity in their trade endeavours and helping the Pope connect with his catholic faithfuls in Ottoman lands.
 * The Bahmanids invades Andhra, intending to annex it. The sultan interprets the comet of 1402 as a sigh of the first of many victories. (This will be put on the talk page algo section.) Before the campaign, Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah sires a son, Ali Nadeem Shah. Sultan Firuz grants Umar of Mogadishu a trading post at Bombay, as per their treaty, and now asks Umar to fulfill his side of the bargin by sending ships to support us in this war. We reiterate our earlier offers towards Oman and the Timurids, and if we win the war against Andhra, we will grant Ayuthia a trading post at Machilipatnam instead of Bombay, if they accept our alliance offer.
 * Mogadishu Diplomacy: We send 5 warships to Bahmanids as support.
 * Ayuthia: Economy, infrastructure and military improves. Under the current king Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat and its ruling Uthong dynasty, he continues to make Thailand great again by building/upgrading roads and cities, and more cities are grown in skyrocket. Even more residential, commercial and other production building are built in cities. He continue the whole nation trading with other Southeastern Asian nations, India and China by land and sea. The number of soldiers in the army rises up to 55,000. The navy has been raised to totally 30 ships, two of which are sent to patrol the trade routes and to hunt down pirates.
 * Ethiopia: Emperor Dawit I decides that it is imperative to set up a stationary capital instead of moving between chiefs. He chooses the old city of Aksum to be the capital just as it once was 500 years prior. To feed the larger populace that will move into the capitol farmers are invited, and paid to set up farms closer to Aksum. Dawit sends a group of 40 envoys to the pope in Alexandria to hear of the situation in Europe, with them he sends tribute for the Pope and any European rulers that will allow them to stay. (Egypt response needed for entry lands, mod response needed for Europe situation) 
 * Bohemia: Wenceslaus has another child, this time a young girl named Anna. Wenceslaus continues to study the inner workings of the Roman Empire, in an attempt to regain power. He begins to not be as slothful as he once was, and begins to administrate the Kingdom as it should be. The country of Silesia, which has been in a personal union with Bohemia for a large period of time, has been diplomatically annexed into the Kingdom of Bohemia. We continue to improve relations with the Palatinate. Cologne is offered an alliance. The request for a Saxon alliance is resent to Saxony.
 * Scotland: Old King Robert III finally kicks the bucket due to stress from the building tensions in the area and guilt that he's not mitigating them. His last wishes were to change the Stewart family crest to a bee with a fox's head. They are ignored. With his brother out of the picture, Duke Robert of Albany discreetly puts his brother's son on a boat to Ireland and proclaims him dead. Duke Robert of Albany is now King Robert IV, and just in time too, as the Scandinavians begin pumping reinforcements into Lothian. King Robert IV quickly declares his support for the Roman Papacy before galloping off to raise the levies. All methods of negotiation have been called off, and the entire Kingdom amasses an army to hold off against the encroaching Anglo-Scandinavian alliance until our French allies can aid us. The Gaelic clans in the highlands continue to become divorced from the main body of Scotland with Donald of Islay emerging as a prominent figure advocating for decentralization, though they do send highlander clansmen to war. In the economic realm, growing cottage industries begin to develop, such as iron working and wool trading in the burgoning burghs, and animal husbandry/fishing continues to displace grain farming. Traders in the coastal burghs begin to reach further and further. Military-wise, the pendulum continues to swing in favor of more quality troops rather than the mass levies popular before the Plague, with men at-arms emerging to support the pikemen. Robert becomes interested in artillery to crush the power of the nobles and sends an advisor to the Continent to study the newest cannons. We cut off aid to the Welsh and focus completely on crushing the English in our homeland.
 * Ottoman Empire: With the lost to the Timurids, we give up our vassals in Anatolia to Timur, this causes some of the Sultan sons to see him as a seller of Ottoman lands. The army begins to work on reciting people into the army mostly by getting peasants to join. We accept the alliance with Cairo. and we begin to trade with Cairo and would like to trade with Mogadishu. the number of the army rises up to 30,000. We ask Cairo to accept Tunsi invite and would like to join. We would like to trade with Ethiopia. Our navy begins to work and makes 100 ships
 * Serbia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more 300 mosques mostly in the South. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population Troops are trained in Serbia rising the army to 2,000
 * Wallachia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more 200 mosques mostly in the South, and reciting peasants for the army. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population. the army is rising to 1,800.
 * Hamburg: Production continues to rise in the city. We build 10 more warships for the navy and continue production of merchant ships. The fortifications around the city are complered.  The population continues to grow through immigration.  The navy continues to patrol the trade routes. Agriculture production increases outside the city and trade continues to improve.
 * Cologne Diplomacy: Archbishop Friedrich III offers a trade deal to Hamburg.
 * Hamburg Diplomacy: We accept.
 * The Emperor-King of Mayapan, Iktan, continues to organize settler parties to retake abandoned cities in the southern highlands region. Some of these settler parties also venture south of the border to create settlements in new territory. The council seeks to improve commerce and communication between the many settlements of the Yucatan by constructing and maintaining roads between them. Emperor-King Iktan meets with some of the best craftsmen in the nation to discuss reversing the decline of the nation. Talks with carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths prompt Iktan to create an initiative to rennovate and update existing buildings and roads, and to create plans for future upkeep and rennovations.
 * Bengal: Magnificent Azam Shah continues to sponsor the growth and spread of the Islamic religion across his domain. People are sent to Assam so that those lands may become more Muslim. Azam Shah also sponsors arts and culture. Meanwhile, upon hearing of crisis in Majapahit, Azam Shah is disappointed that he does not have the resources to become involved there. As such, he orders the construction of new ships for Bengal. Bengal decides to demonstrate its military prowess by preparing for a war with nearby Punystan


 * Mogadishu: The nation's income continues to grow, both from increased tariffs and from the Royal Trade Fleet. Fabric and wares manufactories continue to expand. We further expand towards the Jubba river, as canals, dikes, and ditches are being built. The land surrounding the Jubba-Shebelle rivers become more fertile. 10,000 local tribesman and foreign settlers became citizens of our nation last year due to our policies of land reclamation and immigration attraction. The Royal Marines continues training in on ship fighting, ship maneuver and attack, amphibious landing and general fighting.A force of 100 Royal Marines, commanded by the second son of the Sultan, Ali, is tasked to explore the interior of Africa for more trade partners. Our fleet begins to expand, and our shipyards is ordered to construct 3 large dhows, which is set to complete by next year.
 * In the Duchy of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti leads his forces to a crushing defeat of the Florentine army in the Tuscan countryside. Shortly after the battle, the Duke falls gravely ill with a fever and is returned to Milan where he is surrounded by the recently created Cardinal, Pietro II di Candia and other assorted clergy. The entire nation prays for Visconti, while his condottiere Facino Cane leads the capture of Florence. Known for his brutal tendencies, Cane has the entire ruling Medici family slaughtered and places the Albizzi clan in power in exchange for the riches of the Medici banking enterprise. With the Duke potentially on his deathbed, his cousin and wife Caterina Visconti takes over as regent, but many regions devolve into the hands of condottieres who act as regional warlords. In an act of strength, Caterina grants Perugia and Montefeltro back to the Pope and accepts a non-aggression pact with the current Neapolitan king.

1403
Vijaynagar declares war on Orissa, hoping to unite the divided Hindu lands against the followers of Muhammad.

Jan Hus begins preaching in Bohemia.

Belgrade is made capital of Serbia.

Yongle Encyclopedia is written.

Temple of God established in Shanghai.

The Gur a-Amir Mausoleum is established in Samarkand.

The Antipope Benedict XIII flees to Aragon from his seat in Avignon.

Black Death breaks out in Venice.

'''Antonio angrly resumes war against Venetian holdings in Athens after learning that the Duchy of the Archipalageo, being a Neapolitan vassal, refuses to surrender Paros. He quickly gains the upper hand but needs outside help if he is likely to conclusively win. (Sorry for the earlier mix up on behalf of the mods. You two will just have to fight it out the old fashioned way.)'''

'''I don't know if you guys just need more time for algos or what but is there going to be an event on my attack on Genoa moving 6000 men through Venitean controlled waters. Person/ Venice. '''

'''Thats beacuse there was too much water to move them through for any sort of thing to happen, around 80 miles and Genoa couldve just gone thru Knights of St. Johns waters. ~Oct'''


 * Duchy of Burgundy: with the call of a crusade against the pagans tolerated by Hesse, Duke Philip sends 2,500 soldiers to purge that state of false gods. In lieu of the Duke himself, who has taken ill, his son and heir, John, is send to command the troops. Meanwhile, trading becomes a lucrative business in the coastal possessions of the Duchy.


 * Timurid Empire:  Emperor Timur continued his glorious reign over his Empire, and had designated his son Shahrukh Mirza as his heir. The latter had immediately set out to work as he imposed a tax system upon the local people which he referred to as the mansabdari system. This allowed the Empire to harvest and cultivate a much larger surplus of wheat and other crops which in turn made it much less liker of the Sultanate facing any food shortage. The military was primarily composed of medium-to-heavy cavalry, composite bow, lance, mace, and sword. Heavy cavalrymen wore plated chain mail or metal lamellar armor, with their horses also wearing leather or metal lamellar barding. The infantry was equipped with daggers and swords to be utilised in close combat against the enemy and elephants as well as carts were used for the transportation of supplies. Meanwhile, thousands of men were conscripted into the military from Persia and the surrounding regions to properly engage in combat, and to annihilate the opponents of Timur's realm.  After having defeated Lithuania, Timur's army would sack all of their major cities, including the Lithuanian capital before razing to the ground. Lithuanian farmlands would be targetted, with the Timurid army burning down much of the countryside to reduce the crop production, and to starve the Lithuanians. Importance would also be given to the poisoning of wells to ruin the water supply. Similar tactics would also be adopted in Muscovy where most of the population of the city would be put to the sword, and the city sacked. Timur and his military would also make sure to burn down the city and target the surrounding plains, destroying the crops. With the war having ended, Timur would appoint a Governor in the former Golden Horde territory and annex southern portions of the Horde into his Empire, particularly around the Aral/Caspian Sea as well as Crimea and Northern Caucasus. Due to much war spoil and booty captured during the wars, Timur would proceed to march back down South to his Empire. 


 * ​Jalayirid Sultanate: Sultan Ahmad Jalayir continued his reign over the Sultanate. Acting as a vassal to the Timurid Sultanate, he was now directly answerable to Timur and his temporary regent, Shahrukh Mirza. The military has designed along the same lines as the Timurid military, and men were conscripted to act as as the military for the state. Meanwhile, the Mamluk province of Hatay and the Ottoman vassals were integrated into the Jalayirid Sultanate. The Sultan himself made sure to wipe out all remanents and supporters of the Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Qoyunlu.
 * Timurid - Bengal Diplomacy: Trading rights are granted by Shahrukh Mirza to Bengal


 * The Kingdom of England: King Henry IV, councils with the ambassadors of the Kalmar Union, mainly the Danish representatives. They decide to pull out of Edinburgh, ceding the lands back to the Kingdom of Scotland. Allowing the beginning of the peace treaty to be made under way. King Henry IV states: "In order for peace: The Kingdom of Scotland will immediately cease in recognizing Wales as an independent nation. Scotland will beginning backing The Kingdom of England in order to defeat the Welsh Rebellion. The Kingdom of Scotland will allow exclusive trading of Auberdeen and Dundee to the Kalmar Union and the Kingdom of England. Scotland will promise to help conquest lands in Ireland, England in return promises ownership of Belfast to Scotland. Scotland will also recognize English claim to Brittany/Normandy (which ever one NicDonalds (France) doesn't want). Kalmar Union and the Kingdom of England will declare peace for 10 years. Scotland will help bring together the two nations of France and England, in hopes to ending the long, drawn-out war. England will re-align the border of (OTL Hadrian's wall) giving Scotland a bit of their land back. Accepting these terms France will also be agreeing to the same terms, as will Portugal (Portugal is inactive -mod needed?-). This is the decree of the Anglo-Scot treaty." England fortifies its new border along Hadrian's wall. Then asks the Kingdom of Denmark to regroup their soldiers at Fort William, on the Welsh border. King Henry IV also calls upon the Kingdom of Scotland to raid and invade Wales from the shorelines. England sends ambassadors to Paris to draw up peace talks with France. England increase their military and economy.
 * Cologne: Archbishop Friedrich III revels in the success of the Commission and is particularly active in 1403. First of all, he writes a letter to Essen promising to send funds for their infirmary, and confirms his support of their transition to canonesses regular. In return, he requests a trade deal wherein a constant supply of Essen’s minerals, mined under Adelphina I’s authority, are sold along the Rhine on Cologne’s trader vessels. Secondly, Friedrich III writes a series of pastoral letters on the subject of caring for the poor, inspired in waves by the abbess of Essen, which circulate throughout the city in 1403 and are preserved in the municipal archive. Thirdly, given Cologne’s newly-formed alliance with Bohemia, the archbishop writes a letter to Wenceslaus, explaining Cologne’s noble new emphasis on living a meagre life for the people, and requests Bohemia’s financial support in new Catholic Church endeavours to care for the needy. The archbishop also notes the emergence of Jan Hus as a preacher in Bohemia and sends a diplomatic envoy to Bohemia to engage in further talks about the new alliance. This envoy consists of the Vicar General, Wikbold, and two accompanying canons. Finally, with the Chapter’s advice, the archbishop decrees that taxes on all exports of Essen’s minerals (through Cologne’s ports) are to be reduced, along with taxes on the associated industry in Cologne.
 * Essen: The Abbess of Essen is overjoyed by the prompt response of the nearby abbey, accompanied in person by the first five canonesses regular to begin the transition within the abbey. She begins, in each of her frequent addresses to the people, to speak about the importance of caring for those less fortunate and living a life devoted wholly to the service of the Lord. Slowly, over the year, young peasant women from Essen are convinced to join the abbey as canonesses regular and their number grows. Meanwhile, Adelphina instructs three of the younger secular canonesses, working in concert with three young canonesses regular, to condense all of Adelphina’s inspirational addresses into a book of guidance for the new age that reflects the true calling of a devout woman. Furthermore, the abbess is altogether very happy about the response from the Archbishop of Cologne, and informs the people in the silver mines that prosperity is near.
 * Bohemian Dip: We give a loan out to Cologne for the support of the Catholic church. We accept this envoy to our nation and negotiate with them.


 * Kalmar Union
 * Norway: With wealth from trade with the hanseatic league and novogorod increasing our treasuries we begin to spend more on public projects being worked on. Scientae Dei continues to grow as well. Oslo grows to 10,000 and Bergen to 17,000. Colonization of greenland continues with minor efforts as well to make it permeant but all are for not. An outpost is established on Kola as a trading outpost expanding our influence into the penninsula. Fishing in Iceland and the Faroes continue. Minor expeditions are sent past Greenland but fail due to cold weather. A trade route is drawn out between iceland and norway.
 * Sweden: We continue expanding our infrastructure and modernizing our army. We continue the colonization of the Northern lands with grant from Queen Margaret. We ask Hamburg and Oldenburg for trade deals and offer to open up a kontor in Stockholm. We begin expanding our navy as well, and start Christianizing the pagan Finns in our territory. We begin the expanding of Stockholm, promoting art and architecture and knowledge. We promote the University of Uppsala as an outstanding place of education. We send monks to the Scientia Dei monastery in Norway, to help the research there. We continue our trade deals with the Teutonic Order. We move the 1500 troops to assist English forces in Wales. We propose to the Teutonic Order the ceding of Gotland to us, in return, the Teutonic Order will be allowed to build priories in Sweden and the Finnish territories, as well as keep the priory on Gotland. The Teutonic Order shall be economically aided by the Swedish nation as well, in weapons, money and (if necessary) food.
 * ​Teutonic Order Diplomacy: We accept.
 * Hamburg Diplomacy: We agree to a trade deal and open up a kontor in the city of Stockholm.
 * Holland Dip: We propose a trade alliance with you.
 * Holland Dip: We give you a small portion of gold in exchange for timber and whale blubber.


 * Hungary: As the cries for a Crusade continue, we continue to build fortifications and defenses on our borders and in our cities. Our nation continues to build up our infrastructure and military by drafting peasants and other citizens. Military advancements continue and troops are quickly deployed on the Ottoman border. Our country continues to develop itself and our economy starts to grow just a bit. We ask that all nations looking to fight or support in a fight against the Ottomans to please inform us. Borders with Venice begin to become isolated in attempts to stop the plague from reaching our country.
 * Croatia- More citizens are being draft while fortifications and defenses continue to be built on the Ottoman border and in cities. We also continue to build the countries infrastructure
 * Cilli- The vassal also continues to recruit soldiers, fortify borders and cities, and continue to build up their infrastructure.
 * Papal States- We thank the Pope for the alliance with a gift and also inform the nation that we are not looking for support against other Christian nations but only the Ottomans. We also ask if we can open trade with each other.
 * Papal States: Rome is now completely cleared and safe for His Holiness, who also thanks and blesses the late Milanese Duke for returning the lands of the Papacy to him. The Pope is overjoyed that his Antipope rival has been cast out from Avignon, and sends a legate to immediately govern the archdiocese according to Papal law. More funds are sent to help restore the Papal Navy, and a fleet of some twenty ships are now able to be used by God's men whenever required. The Holy Father is also pleased to hear that both Scotland and Castile have returned to the flock and blesses them appropriately. He will look into the possibility of trade with Hungary, but this is not fully possible at this time. However, the Pope hears some very worrying tales coming from the state of Hesse, namely of pagans running rampant, spreading their sin and idolatry throughout the land as an Apostate lord does nothing to stop them. Disturbed by these confirmed reports and eager to prove his authority in the wake of the eviction of the Antipope, Boniface IX writes to resolve this issue:
 * In the Papal Bull titled Apostasia et Peccatum in Hassia (Apostasy and Sin in Hesse), the Pope declares a crusade against the Pagans who now occupy Hesse and excommunicates Louis I, the leader who lets them run rampant and spread their lies and sinful behavior across the land. The Holy Father calls upon any and all lords and faithful of Europe to combat this threat, uprooting the infestation before it can destroy the foundation of God's work on Earth. Great glory and rewards are promised to those that undertake this mission in the name of the Messiah. In his writing, His Holiness urges any who undertake this task to spare any and all Hessian Christians to their utmost ability. He states that any and all means are permissible in "convincing the Pagans of their folly and misdeeds," but insists that "any who are willing and able to confess their sins and convert to the true path of Jesus Christ be able to do so and receive his boundless mercy." Those that refuse to do so must be cleansed so as to provide a safe environment for Christians everywhere. He concludes his document, apart from the standard Christian flair, by saying that apostates such as Louis I represent a grave threat to the stability of Europe and the sanctity of God's work and as such his sins must be purged by holy fire.
 * Castile accepts the call to arms and sends 1000 men to contribute to the holy war.
 * The Hospitallers will send a force of knights from the German Priory. However in a private letter, the Grand Master writes to the Holy Father, asking if all nonviolent means of ending the paganism have been exhausted. The Angelic Doctor St Thomas Aquinas would posit that exhausting all possible peacefu means of resolving the problem is necessary before a war can be considered a Just War.
 * Sweden sends 200 men.
 * Teutonic Order: Hochmeister von Jungingen resolves to send a couple dozen knights as well as their retinues to combat this pagan menace that threatens Christian stability in Central Europe.
 * Norway: In order to deal with this Sinful and heathen behavior norway sends 250 men with the Teutonic Knights and Swedes
 * Papal States: His Holiness recognizes the concerns of the Hospitallers and thanks them for their attention, but fears that an adequate yet peaceful solution cannot be obtained while an apostate is not active in limiting the spread of paganism and conversion but merely allows it to fester.
 * France and its Vassals send 3,200 men.
 * The Kingdom of Aragon continues to improve her Sardinian defences. We begin expanding our military, especially the navy, which will be critical in the protection of Aragonese interests in the Mediterranean. The Antipope is arrested upon arrival in Aragon, and the King formally declares his support for the Papacy. We heed the Castilian King's wisdom and change our strategy; our armies will avoid direct confrontation with Genoa for the time being.
 * Sardinia: We begin improving our infrastructure, including our northern fortifications, in anticipation of a possible Genoese invasion from Corsica. We have heard worrying news about the Black Death, and begin investigating into why it is spreading with such devastating effect, in the hope that anything we find can prevent it from reaching Sardinia and by extension the motherland, Aragon.
 * Sicily: Military units in Sicily are also prepared for a defensive war, whenever that may occur.
 * Genoa Dip: We propose that Aragon recognise Genoese control of Corsica; in return Genoa will recognise Aragon's control over Sardinia. Genoa will also be granted exclusive trading rights in Aragon.
 * Aragonese Dip: We thank the Genoese government for employing diplomacy instead of wasting lives on the battlefield. We wish to avoid conflict with Genoa, and as such agree for mutual recognition of our existing sovereignty on the island pair. However, we believe that granting Genoa exclusive trading rights in our territory will be in the long term detrimental to both our economies. Thus, we instead propose lowering existing trade tariffs on Genoese goods entering Aragon. For the purposes of mutuality, we also ask that Aragonese traders and goods entering Genoa be treated to similar privileges.
 * Bradenburg-Morovia-Luxembourg:  Realizing that hi sitution in Morovia is in jeopardy due to the succession issues surrounding the house of luxembourg Margrave Jobst of Luxembourg officially takes a new wife from one of the lesser nobility in Bradenburg in the hopes of securing an heir though he is disappointed to be given a daughter who he names Ursula. He begins to reinforce his position in Bradenburg and Luxembourg raising inventment in trade and infrustructure in these parts and offers Bohemia a deal to trade Morovia For Silesia in the hopes of ending the internal disputes of the house and swears to renounce all claims to the throne of Bohemia if they renounce claims to brandenburg and Luxembourg. Jobst declares alliegence to the new emperor and promises to support their claims at all costs. Trade agreements are offered to Denmark, Poland, and to the dutch states as the Margrave's focus aims more towards northern germany and to the lowlands. Jobst employs Frederick of the house of Hohenzollern from the small county of Nurenburg to serve in his court as an advisor. Some of the ideas of reformists within the bohemian clergy are looked upon with interest by members of Jobst's court.


 * Denmark: We agree to Brandenburg's trade agreement and we hope this leads to further improvement.
 * Roman Dip:We ask to arrange a marriage between Ursula and the future John VIII.(Moravia response needed)
 * Benin: Prince Ogun continues his studies of astronomy, literature, science, and mathematics under the tutelage of the scholars he brought back to Benin from Timbuktu. Under their wings, Ogun's knowledge about the world beyond Benin is greatly expanded, with stories about the Europeans, Indians, and Arabs fascinating the young prince. He expresses his interest in returning to Mali again in the future acquire additional books and wares to study back home, and to one day improve the standard of living and the collective knowledge of his people as Oba of Benin. In his free time, Prince Ogun pens what shall become the written word of his people, the Banum script. He presents his work to his father the Oba, who is elated by his son's creation. Having seen the success of his son's prior suggestions such as the use of a coin currency, the Oba sees no reason not to adopt his son's written script, especially after seeing the many books and maps made by the Arabs and Mandingo living in Timbuktu. The Oba presents the written script to the uzama, which recognizes the usefulness of writing in the nation, especially as a method of record-keeping in the bureaucratic system of the government. The Banum script is thus passed unanimously as the new method of recording in the nation, replacing the oral traditions of Benin, much to the wide support of the growing merchant and middle classes in Benin. Prince Ogun also takes time to study the religions of Christianity and Islam from the two clerics he brought home as well, seeking to better understand the beliefs of the lands beyond his homeland. Elsewhere, Prince Uwaifiokun's navigator school has drawn hundreds of young men seeking to make a name for themselves as explorers and conquerors. While visiting the Royal Palace in Edo, Uwaifiokun is told of the many large vessels his brother Ogun witnessed in Jolof, and the desire he had to see them reproduced in Benin. Taking this as a good omen, especially timely in light of his desire to explore the unknown, Uwaifiokun orders hundreds of traditional shipbuilders in Benin to relocate to Bioko, where they will begin work on building larger vessels for his navigation school. Several vessels are built and put to the test by th shipbuilders, testing the limits of what the Edo people know as far as seafaring goes. While his brother's dream of building these vessels continues, Prince Uwaifiokun begins his second expedition, this time seeking to explore in greater depth the coastline he landed on a year ago. Uwaifiokun and his band of 230 men trek the lands several miles up the Sanaga River of Cameroon, establishing contact with the native tribes of the region before returning home. Scholars from the entourage Prince Ogun came home with are brought along for the journey, and are instructed to pin down everything Uwaifiokun's band discovers before the return home. Once back in Bioko, Uwaifiokun begins to plan for another grand expedition, making sure to have a close friend and bodyguard of his, Ezeani, makes copies of the plans and carry out the preparation of the expedition. In Benin, roads continue to be expanded and the military's capabilities enhanced through training and discipline.
 * With the outbreak of the Black Death Cyprus asks Genoa to cede Fatmagusta and give us economic freedom, and in exchange Cyprus will pay 5000 marks now and 15000 over a period of 10 years. We hope that peace can come soon as we would rather deal with the Black Death.
 * Landgraviate of Hesse: With the sudden declaration from the Pope, Louis I sends his diplomats to Rome to reason with his holiness and to remind him that their lord, Louis I still promotes the Church and follows the teachings of Christ. We ask the Papal States why they are so eager to attack a peaceful people. The people can practice whatever they wish, so that we may have peace in the land. We are not spreading Paganism, not even promoting it. No temples to the old gods are being built. We ask his holiness to let the people of Hesse be. The economy continues to grow by commissioning the construction of mines.
 * I'm not a mod, and this is just my personal opinion, but isn't it a bit implausible for a Christian monarch in 15th century Europe to randomly leglise paganism? Hadn't Hesse been Christianised for half a millenium by this point? How may pagan Hessians are there running around to make legalising them a pressing issue? I'm sorry for bringing it up, and it's probably not my place, but you seem to have made a lot of trouble for your country for no real reason. Callumthered (talk) 11:48, July 20, 2016 (UTC)
 * Papal Diplomacy: The Pope's emissary's deliver a message to the messengers of Hesse. Louis I has two options: End legal support of Paganism and pursue a more active approach in limiting their influence within his lands or have the servants of God undertake such a task with or without his consent.
 * As a counter-proposal, Louis I asks the Pope for 15 years to convert the majority of the population to Christianity. Let us find a peaceful solution first instead of running straight to war. Is this not what Jesus would do? We will start the construction of churches in every village and would only request the Pope to send priests to help peacefully convert the Hessian people. As a Christian man himself, Louis I insists that we teach these heathens the proper way, and not through force for a heathen cannot learn while dead. If in 15 years, the majority of the Hessian people still follow their pagan ways, Louis I promises that he will personally see to the eradication of all heathens in his land. He rallied his people once before, let him do it again.
 * Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo):  This year a new member was added to the noble family of Abbas in the Caliphate. A warlord attack threatened the citidel at Cairo where the family resided, and ultimately slaughtered all in there who did not escape. And so the mother Aisha fled into the desert near Fayyum. A new star appeared in the heavens, and hung over the place the mother stayed, and by night palm trees would spring in her step. Angels came from Allah to deliver the child, and as soon as he came out of the womb he began reciting the Qu'ran. Aisha then named the child Malik Al-Najm in honor of the occasion. While this was going on, the frustrated Mamluke rulers tried once again to arrest the outlaw al-Ankabut, this time with a more strategic commander who cut off Al-Ankabut from most of his supplies back in Aleppo. Undaunted, Al-Ankabut and his men crafted bladders of sugar water that they hurled at the Mamluk invaders from a distance. The commander laughed at this attack and pressed on, only to discover Al-Ankabut released a stampede of goats that craved after the sugar water, focring the Mamlukes into a retreat. The Sultan asks for trade with Venice 

* For those who consider this implausible, Muslim Cordoba did the same thing 200 years earlier.
 * Venice: We accept the Sultan's offer.
 * Korea (Chinese protectorate): Following the decision to relax the caste system, Korea continues to see a renaissance of development and ideas. To further consolidate royal rule, Yi Bang-won continues to enforce the ban on private armies and further represses the privileges of the yangban. He also continues to purge the imperial court and nobility of political dissent, stripping the titles of dissenters before sending them to exile in Manchuria. However, these efforts are met with criticism from the yangban who feel that their power is at stake. Nevertheless, the seizure of private armies from the nobility make it hard for them to muster large-scale revolts. Yi Bang-won continues to direct the nations' modernisation; more blast-furnaces are built in Hanseong and Busan (steel will be used in the creation of armour, tools, and weaponry), built paved roads and canals ease the flow of commerce, mining activities in mineral-rich North Korea persist, and the construction of three arsenals–in Hanseong, Busan, and Pyeongyang, and equipped with Chinese weaponry–continue, set to be completed by 1405. The number of military personnel surges to 90,000 people. Under the pretext of reclaiming lands once owned by the Korean Kingdoms of Balhae and Gojoseon, as well as to pacify the Jurchens, Korea expands further north. With the Koreans participating with Ming naval exercises in the East Sea, as well as the construction of both turtleships and Chinese-style ships, Korean maritime presence is tightened in the Korea Strait and the Eastern Sea. The entrenchment of Confucian customs and work ethic into Korean customs continues, though at the cost of native shamanic and Buddhist beliefs. Education is heavily encouraged for those within national civil service program and those of yangban heritage.
 * Vijayanagar Empire: With the fall of Andhr, integration of the fallen nation begins in order to spread the faith and solidify the Empires hold in the region. Among numerous benefits are its additional resources and border with Orissa, which the Empire is at war with. The movement of forces and equipment to the front lines is essential, with roads and military installations being built in earnest in the newly annexed territories, (works on infrastructure and military). Deva Raya congratulates his generals on the victory. The war against Orissa continues.
 * Archduke[1] Albert IV of Austria is absolutely delighted from last year’s news. He wants to open the mines right away, however he does not wish to flood the market with silver without first ascertaining to its quality. To that end, he hires the best stewards, natural philosophers and engineers of the realm in order to create a new and improved and standard weights and measures system. He succeeds, and introduces the new standardized system of weights and measures posthaste to the Austrain public, declaring that it is the only legal system of measurement in the Archduchy[1] He also institutes currency reform, commissioning two mints to replace any others in the country. These mints will be equipped with large crucibles in order to purify all metals used in the money creation process to 0.95 fine silver and gold. These two mints will be located in Tyrol and Vienna . Owing to the finding of silver in the lands of Tyrol, the new currency system, much like the one used in Great Brittain, is based upon one pound of silver. This Pfund, minted in both the forms of a silver bar, to be kept in coffers and government stockpiles, as well as a gold coin weighing six Drams (or one Geldmarke), is further subdivided into three Markes, minted in gold, weighing Two Drams. The Marke is subdivided into Twenty One Silver Thaler of the same weight and further into four Groschen  each weighing five Scrupel. The Pfenning is also minted, a coin worth one fourth of a Groschen minted with One Dram Three Scrupel of Silver. The Archduke takes out several loans to finance these mines and mints, knowing that next  year the new silver Thalers and pfunds will be coming into the country. Only Currencies of the same weights and metals as these coins are declared legal in Austria, forcing foreign merchants to first change their money, with a small grace period of two years, of course. However all Austrian Subjects are asked to surrender any foreign currencies currently in their possession immediately. IN other news, Archduke Albert Continues his secret meetings and ceaseless letters to his cousins and his Father-in-law, Albert of Bavaria. He takes interest in his sons, Ernst and William, writing about their commings and goings. Secret letters are given to the servant Albert of Austria gifted Albert of Bavaria. Unusual ammounts of manure are purchased by various guards around the country. Albert IV finds a new licence on life. He is determined to see everything he has planned through, including the training of his Archducal Guard, now numbering at over 4000 Legionaires and 1000 Equestrians along with three hundred Tormentors. Three thousand men are expected to be recruited and trained by the end of June next year, and another two thousand ready in the six months afterwards, leading to a total of ten thousand Guardsmen by December.  Training continues yearlong, and more books about ancient Rome are translated. Hearing the papal call for a Hessen crusade, Albert Sees the perfect chance to test some of his legionaires in action, and pledges two thousand men, 1500 Legionairies and 500 Equestrians, to battle.  Late in the year, the servant in Albert of Bavaria’s household steals one of Albert’s seals, sending it with a messenger to Vienna, to become part of Albert’s plans…[1]The Archducal title is based on the documents called the Privilegium Maius, and it was not untill 1453 that it, along with the privilegium was officialy recognized. It is should therefore be advise that in order to stay in-character other nations should refer to the Austrain ruler as "Duke" unless they are prepared to recognize the title and Privilegium in an official capacity so long as this footnote remains.
 * Order of Knights Hospitaller: With the Antipope in chains in Aragon and the Roman Pope Boniface IX clearly enjoying the sensus fidelium, Grand Master Philibert and all the Bailis of the Langues officially recognise Boniface IX as sole legitimate Successor to Saint Peter. Responding to the Pope's call to crusade against the Hessian pagans, the Order offers a small force of 100 mounted knights from the commandries of the Priory of Germany, accompanied by men-at-arms. The construction of the tower defences continues apace, with many already completed. Naval cruises against pirates operating out of Muslim ports continue, freeing many Christian slaves.
 * Mogadishu: The nation's income continues to grow, both from increased tariffs and from the Royal Trade Fleet. Fabric and wares manufactories continue to expand. We further expand towards the Jubba river, as canals, dikes, and ditches are being built. The land surrounding the Jubba-Shebelle rivers become more fertile. 10,000 local tribesman and foreign settlers became citizens of our nation last year due to our policies of land reclamation and immigration attraction. The Royal Marines continues training in on ship fighting, ship maneuver and attack, amphibious landing and general fighting. Ali returns, saying he has found great animals in the interior of Africa, including a giraffe which he has brought home. He sets off on another journey, into the South of Mogadishu. We send 5 warships to aid the Bahmanis. With 3 large dhows, the Sultan's fourth son, Ahmed, sets off on a naval exploration mission to the East, hoping to find the mystical China. As a gift, Ahmed brought many ivories, gold, and even the giraffe Ali had captured in the three ships.
 * Teutonic Order: Given the call of the Papacy to Crusade against Hessen pagans, Hochmeister von Jungengin sends a force of about 150 knights and their retinues to aid the Pope in ensuring the legitimacy of Christianity in Central Europe. The order is given to all Balliwicks and commadries to house any crusader to their fullest ability. After accepting the Swedish offer to reclaim Gotland in exchange for recruiting rights, we ernestly begin planning and constructing recruiting stations such as balliwicks in the Swedish and Finnish territories. The pawning of former Samogititen land has created a steady and large flow of new knights from Central Europe, Hungary, and Sweden. Trade continues as normal, and the smaller fleet is upgraded to a medium-sized fleet with the construction of fifty additional ships to add to the twenty already in the newly constructed small-fleet. Each time a new border outpost is created, as well as accompanying infrastructure, it is tested for a response time to ensure that any foreign incursion can be met swiftly before reaching too far into Teutonic territory. With a larger influx of marks, a small subsidy is granted to new knights in order to aid in the construction and improvement of their lands.
 * Kingdom of Tondo: Envoys are sent to the courts of Brunei and Majapahit, to encourage increased trading between our two maritime states (mod response please). Tondo continues to expand south, and sends a thousand and a half settlers to northern Samar Island across the narrow strait to claim it in the name of Tondo. 7 blast furnaces around the capital are built to augment the increasing iron and mettalurgy industries of Tondo, and paved roads to and from Maynila are built to connect the Kingdom together. Rajah Gamgang starts to consolidate his power in the capital and orders all political opponents to be a part of the settling process enacted upon Tondo in the nearby islands, primarily to keep them away from seizing or threatening his power. In the villages and towns, a small council made up of the richest landowner, the fiercest warrior, the village chief, and 27 other people of noteworthy abilities and capabilities, is assigned by Gambang to effectively govern their town, as long as the Small Council's decisions do not interfere with the Rajah's laws and wishes. This pseudo-federal system is implemented in almost all towns, villages, and cities except Maynila, which is the personal ruling of the Rajah, and where the Small Council members are merely advisors to the Rajah. The port of Maynila is expanded.
 * Holland: The Friso-Hallandic wars continue to go like they did on OTL. Count Albert builds another 25 ships for trade with other nations around the area. The military of the nation builds another 25 ships for war. Around the capital city a brick wall is continuing to be build to stop intruders. About a thousand guards watch the city for safety reasons. The troop count is now standing at 10,000 troops and counting. Agriculture goes well in our nation with many farms going into surplus this year again. On all major rivers we have a toll stop at each city. A dry port is continuing to be built so we can increase the production of building ships for our nation's navy, trade sailors, and fisher men. The first bank of Holland is continuing to be built in the capital city of Amsterdam. The construction of the largest church in the nation is underway. The first anniversary of Victor and Dorothea of Oldenburg occurs. After getting word that the Pope is calling a crusade against the Ottomans we decline and do nothing to help, because we are in our own war.
 * Sweden proposes a trade deal of whale blubber and timber in exchange for gold.
 * Bohemia: Wenceslaus IV puts the Brandenburger offer on hold for a time, but accepts the proposals of Cologne. We send 2000 Knights to Hesse to combat the heresy. Jan Hus is quickly reported to the nobility by members of the clergy, and Jan Hus is exiled to Sweden. We continue to send delegations of emissaries to the Palatine to improve relations. Wenceslaus continues to read up on Roman manuscripts on how to manage an empire. Wenceslaus V, now begins schooling as a young boy.
 * Genoa: Troops continue fighting in Athens. The Bank of St. George proposes selling its mercanery company of 3,000 men to Duke Antonio (MOD RESPONSE). Trade expands. Profit continues to be gianed in Cyrpus beacuse of smuggling. The bank of St. George continues to expand. The Genovese arsenal also continues to expand. We request that Naples declare war on Athens beacuse of the unlawfull siezure of Paros by Venice. Requests are also sent to Naples, Milan, Castille, and other Italain states to open branches ofthe Bank of St. George.
 * Roman D:We send aid to Genoa.
 * Ayutthaya: Economy, infrastructure and military improves. Under the current king Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat and its ruling Uthong dynasty, he continues to make Thailand great again by building/upgrading roads and cities, and more cities are grown in skyrocket. Even more residential, commercial and other production building are built in cities. He continue the whole nation trading with other Southeastern Asian nations, India and China by land and sea. The number of soldiers in the army rises up to 60,000. The navy has been raised to totally 30 ships, two of which are sent to patrol the trade routes and to hunt down pirates. Asks Mogadishu and Vijayanagar Empire for alliance.
 * Sakha benefits greatly from the establishment of a port and the commencement of seaborne trade, with the government granting land in Ulya to foreign merchants to construct warehouses. Sakha's total lack of ships except for small riverboats limits the profitability of this trade, however. Immigration continues, mainly of the religious minorities whose presence the Khan has endorsed, although Buddhism remains dominant in Sakha, and Oyus' devoutness in it only increases. Tensions with traditionalists remain present, but the expanded military makes them more cautious in their complaints. Sakha begins expanding north along the Lena, rather than toward the coast; marauding Siberian Tatars limit this expansion, however, leading Oyus to consider an expedition against them. They do drive several northern Yakut tribes into closer alliance with Sakha, however. Buddhist monks, now speaking Yakut, are sent out to other such tribes to spread the new religion, with some initial success. The creation of a Yakut alphabet continues, although it is not yet complete. Gold and iron resources continue to be exploited, with modern smelting techniques becoming widely adopted.
 * Novgorod Republic: Settlers move east in the hopes of capturing the untamed wealth of the area. The economy, which thrives on furs, salt, and meats from both land and sea, sees marked improvement. Trade routes through Karelia to Swedish-controlled Finland are established, siphoning wealth from the newfound Kalmar Union into the Republic. Relations with Muscovy are improved. They offer assistance to Muscovy in their attempts to be rid of the Golden Horde. Novgorod hopes to break Mongolian influence on not only Moscow, but all of the Russian areas. Several churches are built in Perm this year with the funding of Novgorod. In addition, they send several priests to Perm to aid in the spread of Novgorodian culture. In the meantime, Novogorod intends to improve relations with Perm, Rostov, and Yaroslavl. To the west, Novgorod wishes to improve relations with both the Teutonic Order and Poland-Lithuania. While military assistance from either state would be greatly appreciated, Novgorod's military is a mighty powerhouse, with many men being trained this year. Orders from forges across Novgorod are placed en masse, bolstering the Novgorodian supplies. A ship is built this year to protect trade routes. In the meantime, the fortifications around Great Novgorod are bolstered  Lastly, trade deals are sent to Pskov, in addition to a 25-year non-aggression pact.
 * Teutonic Order Diplomacy: Hochmeister von Jungingen writes a letter to the Novgorod Republic offering limited armed military assistance as well as larger amounts of supplies to aid them in taking advantage of the heretical disorder in the Golden Horde and to help rid Europe of a historical menance.
 * Ethopia: With Aksum being used as the new capital Dawit orders all non-farmers, 3rd sons and beyond to begin road works that lead from the largest city centers to Aksum. Dawit also sends out Coptic missionaries to sperad the word of the faith around the region. Envoys are sent to the Ottoman empire, France, Egypt and Castille. (Player responses.) Dawit begins to read up on the exploits of the Kush and Aksum empires hoping to rebuild a mix of the two. We accept the Ottoman trade offer
 * Venice: With our loss to Genoa in this single naval battle the Duchy of Athens is abandoned while with the outbreak of the plague we start a quarantine with all ships entering Venice having to spend 40 days in isolation on one of the islands to check there is no plague amongst the crew while the post of State Health commissioner is created and he orders all citizens to be regularly checked for Bubo in the groin and armpits. Anyone found with signs of the plague is immediately moved to an island isolated from the rest of Venice to stop the spread of the infection. All bodies are thoroughly burned. With the fleet damaged the Venitean Arsenal is set to work to build a new fleet to rebuild the Venitean navy to larger than ever before. To counter the growing threat of the bank of St George, the Bank of St Mark is formed with several nobles families holding interests in the bank and the purpose of it being to lend money and invest in merchant projects.The bank of St Mark proposes setting up branches in Padua and Mantua (MOD Responses) The surviving Venitean fleet move back to Candia and they are ordered to raid Genoa supplies and act as privateers throughout the Mediterranean sea and damage Genoa's trade. We also put more work into establishing our naval base at Hatay as per our agreement with the Timurs to encourage more trade.
 * I think I ought to cross the bank branches out since rex did it too with oct a turn or two ago.-Sky
 * France: The “Deux Lis” Regency continues to focus on keeping France united against foreign threats. Last year, in Paris negotiations between the Duke of Burgundy and Duke of Orléans were declared successful. The terms that were decided on included solving many small disputes between the two, and creating advisory counsel to the regency called “Conseil des Racines”, where each duke has two advisors to the Regents. Now that most of the internal problems have been solved in the decentralized French state, the regency focuses on foreign threats. With French support, Geoffery Boucicaut enters the papal palace in Avignon and declares it land of the pope (like it was previously). Later in the year he welcomes in the papal legate to govern the state. France is happy to see peace achieved after the ultimatum, but the regents of France choose not to appear at the negotiations of the Anglo-Scottish treaty, therefore not signing it. All terms are still recognized by France, except the integrated land deal between England and France. France continues to reinforce garrisons on French forts close to English holdings. France begin to gather our relatively small navy at ports near Honfleur, at the base of the Seine. Here they begin slowly expanding the French navy by adding more galleys. Isabeau and Charles give birth to another child which they name Charles. Meanwhile, their daughter Isabella becomes betrothed to the son of Duke Louis of Orléans, Charles. France, and all of its vassals combined send 3,200 men to the Hessian Crusade. While most of the de Medici family was slain in the Milanese capture of the city, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici manages to secretly escape while disguised, and arrives at the court of Charles VI. After hearing of his stories, the Regents decide to give him the title Lord of Lyons, and he re-establishes what remains of the Medici Bank there (OOC: Me and Josh did an RNG to see if he escaped in the chat).
 * Provence: Louis II of Provence continues building fortifications and expanding his armies and levies for the French crown. Louis still claims to be King of Naples, but cannot receive support from the King.
 * Saluzzo:Marquess Thomas III of Saluzzo continues building fortifications and expanding his armies and levies for the French crown.
 * Empire of Japan: The Shogun operating heavily within the gold mines nearby as the gold begins to flow beginning to show marketed increase in the economic power of the Ashikaga clan. This also allows the clan to more effectively arm and equip its soldiers as top of the line arms and armor are provided for many of the non-samurai classes as well as the inclusion of a few hand cannon prototypes only a dozen or so which are used mostly for the fear factor rather than actual tactical effectiveness. The Flower courts ends as the close of the previous year and the Daimyo return home with many important things being discussed, particularly with the uneasiness developed from the new rise of the Ashikaga clan with their seizure of the Hatekayama lands. many of the Daimyo closer to Kyoto were revealed to be unliking of the Ashikaga rise. However with no truly overt military action being made to further their territorial gain or military force the further Daimyo particularly a grateful Date clan for not having their lands and honor seized and tarnished respectively. The Japanese daimyo and their fleets continue to make inroads into handling the Wokou pirates but it remains problematic as their quick ships make it difficult for the more heavily armed and heavier Daimyo and Ashikaga ships to catch up to them. The expansion into Ryuku and Hokkaido continues
 * Republic of Ragusa: The Ragusan government reform has gone well, increasing efficiency. The trade goes well, especially due to the conflicts between Venice and Genoa, allowing Ragusa to present itself as the more stable option in the region. New ships are being built and Hungary is asked to fund them, as Hungary itself isn't allowed to build a fleet due to the Treaty of Zadar (from 1358). As a hungarian tribute Ragusa enjoys the safety this brings, although again tries to strike a deal with the Ottoman Empire concerning trade.
 * Moscow: We call upon the Russian states to rise up against our newfound enemy, we raise as many troops as we can to keep Moscow safe, as we evacuate the leaders and civilians. We send messengers to Novogorod informing them of Moscow's fate.
 * Naples: King Ladislaus decides to join the war against Athens with Genoa and their vassal, the Duchy of the Archipalageo after Venice unlawfully demanded Paros. Naples begins to send troops from the tip of the Italian peninsula to the Greek peninsula to deal with the problem, while also using the rest of their remaining navy to attempt to blockade the Venetian cities. In terms of foreign relations, Ladislaus urges the French to execute the rebellious Louis II of Provence, who still claims to be King of Naples. Naples also offers an alliance with the Genoans after the war is over to solidify their relations in Italy. As offered by Genoa, Neapolitan merchants establish their own branch of the Bank of St. George.
 * Person/Vencie OOC: Come on, the Paros thing was a mistake. I believed the Duchy of Archipelgo was a Venitean client state. I was wrong. It shouldn't have been put in the mod events it should have just been struck. You have no good reason to go to war and I have abadonded Athens anyway.
 * Bahmanids: (Note: Although I still await a calculation of the blunder scores for my recent war with Andhra, even the worst results of those for me would still result in its conquest.) Firuz Shah declares that most of the Sharia will not be applied to Hindus, and allows their leaders to set up their own courts.* The nobles of Andhra are allowed to take positions in the Bahmanid government. The Sultan invades the Vijaynagar Empire, hoping their foray against Orissa may finally provide an opportunity to contain our greatest enemy. All possible troops are rallied for this titanic struggle, temporarily expanding the army to 250,000, and based off Mogadishan design, 20 warships are built. Firuz Shah requests that Mogadishu allows its warships to stay in our service for the duration of this crisis. In exchange for Sultan Umar's continuing cooperation, 100 troops are sent to serve Umar, with 900 more and a war elephant to be sent at the end of the current war. Firuz Shah advises Somdet Phra Rama Ratchathirat of Ayuthia that joining the current alliance of Mogadishu and us Bahmanids would be more advantageous than an association with Vijaynagar alone.
 * Ottoman Empire: With the lost to the Timurids, we give up our vassals in Anatolia to Timur, this causes some of the Sultan sons to see him as a seller of Ottoman lands. The army begins to work on reciting people into the army mostly by getting peasants to join. We accept the alliance with Cairo. and we begin to trade with Cairo and would like to trade with Mogadishu. the number of the army rises up to 30,000. We ask Cairo to accept Tunsi invite and would like to join. We would like to trade with Ethiopia. Our navy begins to work and makes 100 ships. We declare war on Venice and sends 30,000 troops to attack from the south along with 7,000 Janasirs.
 * Serbia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more 300 mosques mostly in the South. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population Troops are trained in Serbia rising the army to 3,000.


 * Wallachia (Ottoman vassal) -The sultan begins to create more 200 mosques mostly in the South, and reciting peasants for the army. More Imans are sent Serbia in hope of converting the population. the army is rising to 1,900.
 * Romans: Nothing of note happen(I might change this)
 * Bengal: Bengal invades its smallest neighbor, sending 10000? troops. Bengal builds more warships. Bengal has more art. Bengal builds more mosques. Allahu akbar. Bengal concludes negotiating of trade agreements with the Timurids, beginning trade with them per the terms of the agreement and profiting greatly from it.
 * The Emperor-King of Mayapan, Iktan, continues to organize settler parties to retake abandoned cities in the southern highlands region. Some of these settler parties also venture south of the border to create settlements in new territory. The council seeks to improve commerce and communication between the many settlements of the Yucatan by constructing and maintaining roads between them. Emperor-King Iktan meets with some of the best craftsmen in the nation to discuss reversing the decline of the nation. Talks with carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths prompt Iktan to create an initiative to rennovate and update existing buildings and roads, and to create plans for future upkeep and rennovations.
 * Scotland: With the sudden English attempt to negotiate a response to this unfolding conflict, the Scottish agree to aid the English in their efforts against Wales and play by the rules, etc, etc. The border conflict is ended and a border is established at the old Solway-Tweed line (not Hadrian's Wall, as it rested almost completely in English territory at this time). Closer trade relations are also sponsered with the Kalmars, with Aberdeen exclusively trading with the Scandinavians. King Robert IV is pleased for the time being, though like any good Scot, he was itching to crack some skulls. The Gaelic clans in the highlands continue to become divorced from the main body of Scotland with Donald of Islay emerging as a prominent figure advocating for decentralization. The Gaelic language and culture continues to become divorced from the main Scots-speaking regular old feudal Scotland. In the economic realm, growing cottage industries begin to develop, such as iron working and wool trading in the burgoning burghs, and animal husbandry/fishing continues to displace grain farming. Traders in the coastal burghs begin to reach further and further, and with the now-exclusive trade links to the Scandinavians in Aberdeen, traders from there are forced to use modern and advanced shipbuilding techniques to cross the wet North Sea. Military-wise, the pendulum continues to swing in favor of more quality troops rather than the mass levies popular before the Plague, with men at-arms emerging to support the pikemen. Robert continues his interest in artillery/cannons, with the first large cannon making its way into Scottish lands at this point.