Spain, 1080. King Alfonso has ascended the throne upon a fractured and squabbling Iberian peninsula. In most other versions of history, this would have simply resulted in the eventual unificiation of Spain alone. But in this version ... there will be another result.
Basically I plan to more or less document my campaign here as the noble Spaniards in Medieval 2 Total War. Game settings are M/M (because I lack tactical acumen
So, without further ado...
(Historian's Note: 17 turns elapsed, 1.5 hours played)
King Alfonso in 1080 had much potential but little territory. He only controlled the castle of Toledo and the large town of Leon, which was his capital and under the stewardship of Alfonso's son and heir. The remainder of Spain was equally divided between the Moors in the south, the Portugese in Pamplona and Lisbon, and the independent rebel provinces of Zaragoza in the northeast and Valencia on the east coast.
Alfonso's master spy, dispatched to Valencia, reported that El Cid the Chivalrous had come to control the castle and seemed well-entrenched. He was a very strong general
Alfonso recruited a few units of mailed knights and a pair of jinette units and drew out a good deal of the garrison at Toledo to supplement the forces of Vaasco, the king's trusted general, with some spear militia and three peasant archer units.
Alfonso took the field with his general at Zaragoza. On approach to the castle Alfonso had been dismayed to see that an army of Portugal was already besieging the town, but the king's arrival caused the Portugese to withdraw, leaving the city open for conquest. Details of the siege and battle are not known
Alfonso turned and headed south once more, only to be dismayed again to find a Moorish army of uncertain strength moving in on the castle of Valencia. Alfonso's master spy had been unceremoniously thrown out of the castle, and was discovered and killed on attempting to re-enter, so the king had little option but to lay siege to Valencia before the Moors did, given the relative distances and the impossibility of intercepting the Moorish force before they attacked the town.
Alfonso laid in a protracted siege, astutely assessing that his cavalry-heavy force was better suited to meeting a sally from the castle rather than attempting to take it. When the Cid did finally commit to battle before the castle gates, he was annihilated
A rebel uprising near the town of Zaragoza presented a small problem for Alfonso as well; even under Vaasco the town was only lightly defended, which necessitated Alfonso's again heading north to defeat that incursion. The act did result in an increase in Vaasco's loyalty, apparently because the king came to his general's aid so quickly. The king's presence also seemed to stave off some saber-rattling from the Pamplona region and the Portugese army stationed there. A newly-made spy infiltrated the castle and was providing Alfonso with regular reports.
In the west, Prince Rodrigo's stewardship over Leon and the country's finances was largely uneventful during this period. Tax rates were lowered to the minimum in every city across the country, as Rodrigo had guessed that population increases would accelerate as a result, covering any financial difficulties caused. Nevertheless finances were tight. Production for new buildings stalled again and again, and King Alfonso was forced to sack cities he'd conquered to this point to keep some progress going with recovered booty.
However, Rodrigo also pursued a policy of exploration and expansion. He commissioned the building of a small cog and sent one of Spain's first merchants with it, sailing round the Iberian peninsula and into the Mediterranean. The same merchant debarked in North Africa, and though it took him the better part of four years on foot, he eventually arrived in the legendary land of Timbuktu, starting a gold trading business that -- without a single mine to support it -- was returning 270 florins per turn in its first year of production.
The cog, meanwhile, settled in the straits of Gibraltar. Alfonso believed this would be a very important strategic position to hold, since the blockade prevented any Moorish troops crossing into Spain. The Iberian peninsula was cut off. Alfonso could finally begin his war to free Spain of Moorish influence without having to fight half of North Africa as well.
Three other individuals merit citation from this period. One was the unmarried princess Urasca de Valiente, who developed a talent for diplomacy. Commencing trade rights agreements with Portugal and subsequently France, she found her charm increasing
The second individual was a diplomat from Leon, who headed off into the north of Europe after securing trade rights with the Moors. As at winter 1088 he was in central France, moving until Council instructions to establish contact with the English. It was likely he would spend his entire life wandering the world setting up agreements with other nations, and never see Spain again.
The last individual was one who appeared at King Alfonso's side, in his retinue, after the battle of Zaragoza -- a bard. Interestingly, though, Alfonso discovered that the bard -- and hopefully other prominent persons in retinues across the world -- was not tied to Alfonso, and could be moved to another noble. Although the benefits the bard provided were such that it was suitable for him to remain with Alfonso for the time being.
Some issues confronted King Alfonso in the winter of 1114. Having secured Valencia and Zaragoza, Alfonso had no real other places to expand his kingdom. The main question he had to answer was: should he declare war against Portugal, a Catholic kingdom -- or should he commence a war against the Moors?
Against Portugal it would necessarily require a proper buildup of troops to try and simultaneously eliminate both the castle of Pamplona and the capital of Lisbon -- which would take valuable time. Alfonso basically commanded Spain's one and only standing army. Against the Moors, he had the advantage of having cut off the Moorish settlements on the Spanish peninsula with his navy, thus pushing them against a proverbial wall. However, Alfonso was fairly certain that if he did so, he would have to leave Zaragoza, if not Leon itself, vulnerable to a Portugese knife in the back.
In addition, Alfonso had deduced that further expansion was now critical to his success. The development of his towns and cities were being funded primarily by his conquests. It is known that King Alfonso prior to 1080 had plans to utilise assassins and spies extensively to protect his interests, but without the appropriate training grounds for such individuals, such plans were castles in the air.
EDIT: Made some changes to make this more like a historical text. Hope the style is of interest and readable to people...
"Come now, little girl, if we monsters truly wanted to hurt you, would we be waiting here, in the very deepest, darkest part of the forest?"
Semper in excremento, sole profundum qui variat.
[This message has been edited by Saintheart (edited 12-01-2007 @ 00:53 AM).]