Knights of Honour 2 - Genoan Trade Empire

[Undercovergeek]

Consul of Genoa (King of Genoa as far as the game is concerned) - Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone - famed for crusading, becoming an admiral of the Genoan navy, and settling down to become a skilled diplomat and writing Crusades stories in badly written Latin - I'll hope to do better by making Genoa a trading capital, becoming rich beyond my wildest dreams, taking a few provinces now and again and expanding



Genoa, 1080 give or take a decade or two - my lands include Genoa itself, Nice on the border with 'France' thats to say Marseille, Barcelona and Savoy, and the island city of Ajaccio on Corsica



Genoa



Nice



Ajaccio



and the neighbourhood



Whilst aiming to become a centre of trade its important to note that Genoa itself has scarce tradeable resources - my only rare resource is amber that i can upgrade and increase commerce, the rest of our goods will come from generic upgrades that all kingdoms can perform, grow crops, expand and sell those, fish from the harbours etc - i do have salt in Genoa and this allows trading of fish only when combined with the barrel resource which comes from forests on your lands - i have no forests to speak of so we either need to trade and import barrels which relies on other kingdoms producing them or 'acquire' a province with forestry and build my own coopers

This gentleman here will be our much put upon steward, chancellor and advisor - he looks a bit like Thomas Cromwell but well, he's 400 years from now so i say Cromwell looks like this guy - Alfonso the Worried



'I asked for partners, Alfonso, partners - we need commerce, trade, goods and artisinal treasures from foreign lands!! Send out our small traders to establish trade with our neighbours i said - our legacy will be nought without foreign trade - what have you to say?'

'Sire i have acquired trade agreements with Savoy, Barcelona, France, Aragon, Valencia, Aquitane, the Papal States, Venice and Croatia - of these the most lucrative markets are Savoy and Venice'

'Very well Alfonso, send our most experienced merchant to Savoy, i'm off to Venice'

'My lord?'

'I have no skills with a blade, i'm not particularly fond of the dark arts of diplomacy and spying, i am no church man but i can sell snow to eskimos Alfonso, SNOW!! i'm off to expand our trade with Venice and fill our coffers'

[thecommandtent]

Good stuff, looking forward to follow along




Not that I needed another game on my radar.....

[Undercovergeek]

'You want a sweet?'

'No sire'

'Aaaaaah Alfonso, Venice is such a beautiful place, it teems with trade and goods from far away, not like home with its fish and....... fish - there is so much to learn here, writing, reading, mercantile skills and bargaining - my knowledge of local trade practices is increasing'

'Very good sir'

'I may stay here for some time - what news from home? Did you carry out my instructions?'

'Indeed I have - as you mentioned, all 3 of our provinces are coastal and would benefit from improved harbours'



'Excellent, if we intend to become a major force in the business of trade we will need both harbours and market places Alfonso'

'I have commissioned labourers to construct market places in our provinces also my Lord'



'And the masses Alfonso, the masses will need somewhere to pray, besides which it will play well with the Papal States to build them a church and educate our people'

'Already done sire, a church in Ajaccio is full to capacity every Sunday and the people praise you and the Lord'



'Our finest merchant from the school of commerce has set for Savoy my lord, he will establish important trade with them and grow our markets as you do here'



'My loins ache Alfonso'

'My lord?'

'They do, I'm consul of our growing Republic and all around me are statesmen, men of titles, leaders all with wives Alfonso, where is mine?

'I will find you a wife my Lord'

'A pretty one?'

'Weeeeellllll'

[Undercovergeek]

'Do we always have to meet on this bridge?'

'Its a nice bridge Alfonso. Did you find me a wife?'

'I did, i admit, not our first choice - Byzantium thought we were a little quaint to join their royal family. They were quite rude actually, still hurts. But yes, Agnes of Aquitaine, we have strong mercantile ties with them, she has child bearing hips and a moustache - you will make many children sire, cough cough'

'Fine, ill close my eyes and think of Genoa - speaking of which, how goes our plans'



'The harbours and market places are complete, as is the church - i have started works on expanding the markets and the harbours to bring in more trade and commerce - after speaking to some of the foreign merchants in our docks they mention scribe offices and inns as a fine addition to the market to errr fine tune the taxes and take advantage of the more drunken traders there'





'Excellent, and........'

'Our province in Nice is the closest we have to unfriendly neighbours, i have asked the hillsmen there to construct forts in the mountains and strengthen our borders, they will eventually become independent villages attached to the forts bringing food and resources down from the hills'



'and finally extra housing districts in Ajaccio, they have an abundance of settlements and villages there, we may as well exploit this to increase the peasant population to fill out our armies, should we ever need them'



'We have two underused resources in our lands sire - amber, which is a very costly market to establish, and salt - salt on its own is a fine trade resource and will bring us money, but if we can find a kingdom to trade barrels with us, we can barrel the abundance of fish we catch and sell salted fish across the region my lord. Short of that our Republic thrives but we are limited by what nature has given us'

'All good news Alfonso, i fear our ambitions may be limited by our own lands - we need to look to our weaker neighbours and what they can provide.......  build me an army worthy of Genoa Alfonso'

[Undercovergeek]

'I love this bridge Alfonso'

'About that........'

'What are you doing to my bridge?'

'You remember the whole, build me an army, our ambitions are hampered blah blah'

'I know people who can have you removed Alfonso, or remove parts of you'

'You do my Lord...... me'

Sigh

'The most important trade hub, biggest collection of commercial enterprises and opportunity for expansion is........'

'Venice?'

'Venice'

'You're going to sack Venice?'

'Very carefully, and we wont break the bridge'

More sigh

'The thing is, we need to get you out of the city before the army comes or you'll be taken prisoner sire'

'Well, yes, i could see why that would happen. I have made contacts Alfonso, expanded our reputation and brought wealth'

'Or we could take it all and have it for ourselves'

'Excellent'

'I have recruited the noblest of all our Knights from the military academy - Roberto, he will lead our forces, oh and his friend Dave because his army wasn't quite big enough on its own'



'Just........ just win for the Lord's sake'

'Oooooooooo'

'Yes?'

'The Queen has given you a son, a fine Prince, and with a better martial skill than you and he's only a day old'



'But ive been in Venice for over a year'

'Hooorayyyyyyyyyy'

[thecommandtent]

'But ive been in Venice for over a year'

'Hooorayyyyyyyyyy'

 

[Undercovergeek]

'The city is almost yours my Lord - the siege has been lengthy but the last few defenders have come out to attack - it will not be long'

'Praise be Roberto, my wife has given me a second son and i have not been home for 2 years'

'Your skills know no bounds sire - truly impressive'





'At last the city has fallen - Venice is yours my liege - there are basic improvements to the city and they know the secrets of woodworking we can use to expand our trade. The peasants are still rebellious but should calm down with the presence of our armies'



'Is that not 2000 rebels i hear banging against the walls now Alfonso?'

'It is my Lord, we didnt think youd notice. Roberto and Dave have refilled their ranks and are attacking the rebels as we speak'



'Is there anything else i should know?'

'Our merchant in Savoy has sent us his finest student - I have recruited him and sent him to the Papal States to increase our trade and our relations with the Pope sire'

'Very good..........'

'Your errrrrrr second son, appears to have a knack for the dark arts of spycraft - a right sneaky bastard he is, he is been schooled in the way of cloak and dagger and all things backstabby by our best. Across the home territories most of the improvements we can afford have been carried out, upgrades to harbours, housing and the markets are complete - with the acquisition of Venice we can commence our plans for a barrel industry and start exporting salted fish your grace and with that money we can begin the amber trade from Genoa, and finally we have built watchtowers across the hill forts in Nice'

'There are men guarding the towers?'

'All along the watch towers sire'

'Anything to report?'

'Well, uh, outside in the cold distance a wildcat did growl'

'Excuse me?'

'Two riders were approaching and the wind began to howl'

'Are you playing an air lute Alfonso?'

[thecommandtent]

 

[Undercovergeek]

 

[Undercovergeek]

'Back to the bridge again?'

'Hey, its my bridge now buddy, i can stand on it if i want to...... what news'

'The father-in-law's died, sadly at the time we were lowly in the 'wife to be' stakes so only single province kingdoms were giving their daughters away and with that theres no inheritance for you'



'Puh.......not even a strip of France!' Cough, cough, wheeze, gasp, splash

'I knew it, you've died on this frikking bridge and fallen in the river - IM NOT GETTING YOU OUT!'



'Dionisio, my liege - your father boasted of your military skills - i see the job comes with a big helmet'

'And a fancy chainmail suit...... catch me up Alfonso'

'Your brother Alfredo has come of age, he of the cloaks, and the daggers - always watching people over his spoon at meal times....... ive sent him to Sardinia, hes going to report back on their military strength, buildings and resources, see if its worth a shot at adding them to the Republic

Our coopers are making barrels in Venice and the first ship loaded with salted fish is heading for the markets now my Lord, the money made there will establish a lucrative amber trading market in Genoa itself. Venice also has a barracks that we aim to keep as our most eastern city, its important to note that there are untold resources in the city from spice markets, herbs, apiaries, artisinal goods - the list is endless'

'Excellent - as soon as weve heard back from Alfredo, we'll draw some plans for..............'



'Arse'

'It would appear he tried to turn one of their generals and failed miserably - theyve killed him and dragged his body through the streets'

'Are they strong in numbers?'

'There army is twice ours sire, and they have boarded their ships already'

[Gusington]

This is awesome 

[bayonetbrant]

and finally we have built watchtowers across the hill forts in Nice'

'There are men guarding the towers?'

'All along the watch towers sire'

'Anything to report?'

'Well, uh, outside in the cold distance a wildcat did growl'

'Excuse me?'

'Two riders were approaching and the wind began to howl'

'Are you playing an air lute Alfonso?'

 

 

 

[Undercovergeek]

'Yesterday, all the Sardinians seemed so far away, now it looks as if theyre here to stay...... theres 6000 disembarking off the coast of Nice sire and 3000 remaining to guard their island'

'Are they advancing on Nice?'

'Theyre content to pillage and burn the farmland so far my Lord, the hillforts should slow them down some'

'Release Roberto........and Dave'





'Our forces met on the fields of Eze my liege, we were 2000 stronger than the Sardinians - victory is yours - now we need to take to the ships, sail to Cagliari and avenge your brother'





'As we sail the Pope has pledged 5000 men to our cause, they will meet us on the outskirts of Cagliari and assist with the siege. There is but a small matter of a rebellion in Venice - the peasants are revolting'

'Its the fish and cheese in their diet i think...... before committing to the siege, have Roberto engage Sardinian forces outside the city, send Dave back to Venice to defeat the rebels'



'The Papal states are here my lord, massed to the west of Cagliari, i also took the opportunity to hire the rebel commander we defeated in Venice and have him transport his army to Sardinia - we are ready'



'It is done, Sardinia is yours, we control most of the Mediterranean east of Mallorca, Sicily is our only rival for the sea trade in this area. Gherarduchio your son is born my Lord, his potential in all statecraft is unsurpassed - he will be a fine heir'



'But....... ive been at war for 2 years Alfonso'

'Hooooraaaayyyyyy'