French Succession Game Play/Read/Enjoy

[Giovanni August]

Very nice FNBrown!
Can't wait for the remaining of your story.
I would like to be able to write such a masterpiece like you, but my english is too bad

Saluti

[FNBrown]

The Reign of Emperor Franklin III

Introduction - Part 3

Upon their arrival in Markopolis, Reginald, Neville, and Louis were served dinner at the palace while they briefed Defense Minister Churchill and Chief Secretary Pepe Merlot.

Churchill and Merlot were looking over some of Chamberlain’s journals and papers when Neville finally spoke up. “Look, dad always said how this ring of his was what led him to the tribe. Franklin the Second kept it, and I don’t think we’re going to find a bunch of nomadic barbarians who may not even exist in the midst of the most brutal territory on the continent with nothing more than these old journals. What’s the point of all this, anyway?”

Churchill looked up and replied, “France is without an Emperor. We are unable to find anyone of regal lineage. The Ferus Tribe has provided us with two great leaders before. It is our hope that Franklin the Second produced an heir after he retired to the mountains following his reign.”

Chamberlain replied mockingly. “Riiight. And my dad found the last Ferus emperor with the help of the ghost of Franklin the First and a magic ring… While he was at it, he stopped along the way to help some guy named Jack plant a beanstalk and then he showed little red riding hood the way to grandma’s house. Can I please go now?”

Churchill glared. “Your presence here no longer pleases me. Guards! Show Mr. Chamberlain to his father’s old cell. Perhaps that will quiet him.”

Chamberlain screamed. “This is intolerable! You can’t do this!”

“I already have, Mr. Chamberlain. Mind your tongue – we still have a few of the old guillotines around here for special occasions.”

Neville was dragged down into the dungeon and flung into the cell his father had occupied so long ago. Not much had changed – the back wall of the cell looked to be made of newer stone than the rest of the room, but aside from that, it was identical. After pacing about the small area for several minutes, Neville finally sat down on the old straw mat that had served as his father’s bed.

A gust of wind blew through the cell from nowhere, and suddenly the figure of a man appeared before Chamberlain. He stared with stunned recognition at the being his father had described to him so many times, unable to believe the sudden truth of all the stories he had been told.

The ghost spoke. “Your father wasn’t delusional, Neville. In fact, he was of remarkably sound mind. That’s probably what kept him alive in here so long.”

Neville stammered, “What do you want from me? Do you intend to torment me as you did him?”

The ghost shook his head. “No, I’m done tormenting the English. In fact, I haven’t been around here for quite some time. Your presence here got my attention. Churchill and Merlot aren’t stupid. They tossed you down here the first chance they got so that I might show up. I used to haunt any Englishman that entered the palace, but there’s been so many of them around in recent years, I’ve lost interest.”

Neville replied. “That’s great. I’m happy for you. Now how am I supposed to get out of here? Are you going to knock the wall out for me and make me slog through the sewer to escape?”

The ghost laughed, “No, no, no. Now that he’s got my attention, I can just talk to Churchill directly; he’s an Englishman. I’ll tell him to let you go, and I’ll show him how to find my people.”

“But I thought the ring led my father to the tribe?”

“The ring was a leash, Neville. I needed a way to ensure that your dad completed the mission, and while he wore it, I could haunt his dreams. I could have drawn him a map, but I doubt he would have followed it. Churchill, on the other hand, wants very badly to find the Ferus tribe. All I have to do is tell him where to look.”

With that, the ghost vanished. Twenty minutes later, a guard released Neville from his cell. He was given a horse and provisions, in addition to substantial monetary compensation for his trouble, and sent back home to London.

Reginald and Louis looked on with some puzzlement in Churchill’s office as he seemed to draw a map with instructions from an imaginary being. When he was finished, he gave them their orders. “Rest here for the night, then head to Saint Albray in the morning. Follow the map to the designated location, and you’ll find the tribe. Find out who’s in charge and bring him back here immediately.”

Reginald and Louis rode off alone at dawn. The two of them reached Saint Albray by noon, and checked into the local barracks. The general of the post said that it would be almost a full day’s ride into the mountains to reach the point indicated on their map, so they decided to stay the evening and head out in the morning.

The following afternoon they came across a barbarian sentry who led them to the tribal encampment. They were taken into a large tent and sat down before an old man who wore a heavy fur cloak. The man spoke, “What business brings you here?”

Reginald replied, “We are under official Imperial orders to bring the chieftain of the Ferus tribe to Markopolis immediately. Would that be you, sir?”

“Yes, that’d be me. And I’m not going to Markopolis.”

“Sir, I have strict orders. I will take you by force, if necessary.”

The old man smiled. “That’s amusing. I could have my men here cut you into pieces and feed you to my dogs.”

Reginald was unmoved. “You may indeed, sir. But the palace will only send more troops after me. I’m quite sure you would prefer to avoid that sort of disturbance.”

“Tell me something, young man. Who gives you your orders?”

“I report directly to Defense Minister Churchill and the Emperor.”

“Well, you can tell Churchill to suck an egg. I’m Emperor Franklin the Second, and those are MY orders.”

Reginald was stunned. Louis spoke up, “That… that’s not possible. You’d have to be hundreds of years old.”

“Clean mountain air, fresh spring water, and herbal tea works wonders. Never mind all that. France is without an Emperor again, I presume?”

Reginald regained his composure, “Yes, that’s right. We were hoping to find your heir here in the tribe, but I suppose since you’re still alive…”

Franklin held up his hand. “Don’t even think about it. I retired a long, long time ago. However, I’ll not send you back empty handed. Go to Ferusopolis and find my son, little Frank. He goes by the name Marc Francis, and he works as a blacksmith. He’s my only heir, and if you ask him nicely, he may return to Markopolis with you.”

Little Frank was not difficult to find. Reginald and Louis asked the general of the garrison at Ferusopolis for assistance locating him and were directed to a neighborhood about half a mile from the center of town where they were instructed to look for “the biggest man you’ve ever seen.”

Indeed, little Frank was anything but. He was a towering hulk that stood just over seven feet tall, with shoulders as broad as an ox. His deep blue eyes peered out from beneath a shock of dark brown hair, and he had a grin that almost made you forget he was easily capable of breaking you in half.

Reginald explained his mission, and little Frank was surprisingly affable. “Dad told me this could happen someday. I suppose if you guys can’t get him to come out of retirement, I’ll have to head back to Markopolis with you.”

Little Frank took a few hours to settle his affairs in Ferusopolis, then saddled up his horse, a stout painted draft stallion that most men could walk underneath without bending over. The horse could never match the speed of Man ‘O War, but he’d be likely to walk through an obstacle faster than a smaller horse could run around it.

Churchill called an immediate meeting of the cabinet upon the arrival of the new emperor. He was immediately dubbed “Emperor Franklin the Third” and presented to his advisors for a quick briefing.

Science Advisor Pasteur was the first to speak after the introductions were made. “Do you intend to maintain our science budget?”

The Emperor replied, “As long as the war with the Aztecs continues in our favor, and no other impending threats present themselves, I see ever advantage in keeping a strong technological lead over the rest of the world.”

Pasteur was quite satisfied. Pepe Merlot spoke next. “Your Excellency, we’ve introduced a new cabinet member in response to the people’s clamoring for more representation in their government. May I present your domestic advisor, Ms. Eva Gabor.”

Churchill leaned over and whispered in the emperor’s ear while Merlot rattled off a list of Gabor’s credentials. “It’s a token seat on the cabinet, your Excellency. She cannot vote on matters relating to foreign affairs, finance, military, or general administration.”

“That’s pretty much everything. What’s the point of having her at all?”

“Wasn’t my idea. My advice is to ignore her as a matter of course.”

“Noted.”

Gabor finally spoke up. “I actually have a question for Captain Escargot… Aren’t your men supposed to be the Emperor’s Guard?”

Reginald nodded, “Yes, why?”

“Well, I was thinking your uniforms should be a bit more regal. Maybe you and your men could wear berets, even. I’m thinking maybe something in purple…”

Reginald chuckled. “With all due respect, Madame Secretary, I have no desire to command a company of purple-headed soldiers.”

Everyone at the table laughed. Except Gabor. “I don’t get it…”

“Nevermind.”

[FNBrown]

The Reign of Emperor Franklin III

The new emperor's most pressing order of business was the Aztec war. A decision had to be made - play defense, and let German bear the brunt of the war, or take the offensive. Most of the cabinet was satisfied with remaining defensive, except Churchill. After completing a series of briefings to ascertain the state of the Empire and its military readiness, Franklin called a meeting of his cabinet.

"I've made a decision regarding the Aztecs. We cannot simply stand still and hope that the Germans keep them from invading our borders. The fact is, they declared war on us, and this atrocity must be sternly punished. Our people will grow weary of this war soon enough - if we are going to force peace, it will be done best from a position of strength.

"If we stand by and let Germany fight the war alone, one of two things will happen: Germany will clobber the Aztecs, and grow stronger, or the Aztecs will thump the Germans, and grow stronger (and closer to our own borders). The latter is more likely, but I don't particularly care for either scenario.

"We already have a significant army of swift and powerful cavalry at our disposal, with much more in training as we speak. My proposal is a swift, decisive strike on Salamanca. It is a strategically located city; a veritable crossroads between the Aztecs, Iroquois, Germans, and Americans. It also holds the Great Library. Capturing Salamanca will devastate the Aztecs, and send a clear message to the rest of the world - we will not be trifled with.

"I should also like to make one other thing clear. For the duration of my administration, I demand complete solidarity. I don't mind a difference of opinion now and then, but persistant objections will result in immediate termination. Any questions?"

None were raised. The orders for the Aztec offensive were drawn up, and troops began to mobilize.

By 1540, several cavalry regiments were nearing the Aztec border in Germany and encountering heavy resistance. The Aztecs had inferior technology but greater numbers, and the French advance was slowed somewhat, but Churchill was satisfied that the Aztec armies were being stopped well short of French soil.

In the year 1550, the first wave of French cavalry arrives at Salamanca. The initial attack is successful, and the city is captured, only to fall to a company of Aztec archers that same year. In 1555, more cavalry arrives, and the city is recaptured for good. By 1565, a substantial contingent of French cavalry is at Salamanca, and is ordered to spread out and attack any moving Aztec units.

Churchill calls a meeting of the cabinet in the year 1570, to report on the progress of the war. Emperor Franklin is pleased with the progress, but has been somewhat distracted of late; he has taken a bride, and spends much of his time with the new Empress, Sharona.

"Your report, Mr. Churchill."

Churchill points to a map depicting the region including northern Germany and the southern Aztec lands. "You gentlemen remember my predecessor, Charles deGaulle?"

The Emperor nodded. "Yes. From what I heard, my dad nearly killed him shortly before he resigned."

"Yes, well, he was re-commissioned for the war a few years ago, and given command of a company of Cavalry. His men successfully defeated three groups of Aztec knights in the mountains north of Salamanca. His exploits have made him something of a legend amongst the people now; they consider him a great leader."

Franklin grinned. "This is great news. We can use his influence to help hurry the Forbidden Palace at Salamanca. Order him to report there at once. What else do you have?"

"We've captured Niagra Falls. And the Germans have agreed to a peace treaty with the Aztecs."

"That doesn't surprise me. Our own people are getting really tired of this war - Bismark must have riots all over the place. We definately have the upper hand now. With all the cavalry in and around Salamanca, the Aztecs have no hope of gaining anything with this war. I will demand a summit with Montezuma and see what arrangements can be made."

By the year 1575, Emperor Franklin had negotiated peace with the Aztecs in exchange for 16gp per turn. In 1580, the Empire celebrated. Emperor Franklin ordered the city of Salamanca re-named after his bride, Sharona.

During the years that followed, the Empire continued to work on projects of internal growth and prosperity. All of the garrisoned French riflemen were trained with new equipment and tactics, and re-named "Infantry." In the year 1620, construction on the project of Universal Suffrage began in Edaron, and Darwin began to study his Theory of Evolution in Minas-Morgul.

Emperor Franklin III retired to Sharona in the year 1625, desiring to live on a horse ranch near the city he named for his wife. He had no adult heir at the time, and left it to the cabinet to find a new emperor.

[FNBrown]

Sorry that took so long... I got a little carried away with my introduction.

We have more than enough firepower to have conquered the rest of the Aztecs, but war weariness was causing riots all over the country, so I decided to end it after we took two cities and got a great leader to rush the Forbidden Palace with. Since Germany had already declared peace with them, there was really no point in continuing.

I like the general location of our new territory - and all the cavalry we have stationed there is an effective strike force that could be used against any nation on our continent that gets out of line. The only drawback is that the FP is too far away to do much good for the rest of our cities, I think.

I had to turn the science rate down a bit - we started drifting into negative cash flow. We're still churning out techs at a rate of 4 or 5 turns.

So who's next?

[Harovan]

Well done, FNBrown, and nice stories! Wish I could write so good.

As to war weariness, well, ain't it time to build the Universal Suffrage? And raising the luxury slider to 10-20% always helped for me, at least for a few turns. I don't know if it's wise to build the FP for these 2 cities. May be the next player thinks about this.

Next should be Giovanni.

[FNBrown]

Universal Suffrage is under construction now...

... I suppose I could have bumped up the luxury rate, but there really wasn't much to be gained by continuing the war... I think we're getting to be a large enough empire as it is...

[Giovanni August]

I am doing tryouts for Soccer in these days so I don't know if I can play!
I will try to play tomorrow!
If I can't I will let you know so you can just go ahead with the ext player ok?
I hope I'm not delaying anything

Saluti

[FNBrown]

Good luck with your tryouts!

[Harovan]

Giovanni, I think you should take the time you need, even if you can't make it in 3 days. As long as you don't need 2 weeks or longer, it will be fine with me, and I think with the others too. There seem to be not much really active players left in this game and it's the more fun, the more participate.

[FNBrown]

I agree with Ralph... take your time... the game runs pretty slow anyway, now that we've gotten to the industrial age.

[Giovanni August]

Ok I did my firt two turns... (not much I know)
I hope to post my 20 turns before or on Friday!
Hope before!

Saluti

[FNBrown]

Looking forward to it, Giovanni...

How's the soccer tryouts coming along?

- Franklin

[Giovanni August]

Ok Here is a short summary:

Things are doing just fine but after 6 turns the Aztecs start moving troops into our territory!
To prevent them to attack us I sign a mutual protection pact with America (they also give us 12 gpt)
Saint Ralph began building the Intelligence Agency (I don’t like the Aztecs moves and a spy might be useful) and also if they told us they will move their forces from our territories they didn’t do! I hope they don’t want to start a war because I’m not ready to it!

The war didn’t start (pfiu), I’m intensifying the defense of the two occupied cities in order to be ready for a probable future war, The Aztecs are furious to us and they are moving troops all around the border!

The Aztecs move a couple of spearman in our territory, I ask them to remove them or declare war…. They choose the second option! In one turn we took the cities of Stuttgart and Tepexpan (or something like this) in the eastern part of the Aztecs Empire, the Aztecs counter-attack is terrible and 5 of our cavalry (one of them Elite ) are defeated (only one for them), German and America according to our MPP declare war to the Aztecs!

A spy is sent in Technochitlan and Minas Mogul just completes Darwin’s Voyage. We also learn construction from the Americans (I guess it was a bug or something )

Giovanni Augustus went with a brave group of Cavalry to fight. Unluckily his little army is defeated by a horde of Aztecs Cavalry…. The next day in the palace of Markopolis an Aztecs ambassador leave the dead body of the Emperor in front of the door, He is all covered with blood and his head is separate to the rest of the body!
His wife in Port Vert (new name on New Berlin, INI) doesn’t know anything yet!

************************************************** *
I really tried not to go to war with them but they really forced me! Anyway the Military Advisor show that our military is really much more powerful and in our Northern French Empire with have lots of Cavalry and Infantry!!! We should not have many problems there!
Universal Suffrage is nearly completed and Battlefield Medicine has 19 turns to go!
Germany and America are supporting us.... I think we can easily take 3-4 more cities before going to peace!

Anyway now is up to you Gillskill (I guess), give to my body a decent burial ok?

Saluti

[Giovanni August]

Forgot to post the game

Saluti

[Giovanni August]

Originally posted by FNBrown
Looking forward to it, Giovanni...

How's the soccer tryouts coming along?

- Franklin

Eh eh eh!
Not very good to say the truth!
I didn;t make the team , but the Coach told me to keep training with them and that he will use me in some friendly match or something like this....! I Really wanted to be part of the team.... but i guess I can deal with that...... for now

Saluti