| Philippe III's Guide to Rulership |
| Being the principles understood and employed by Philippe III, Emperor of the West, in his conquests of Europe, as dictated to his faithful scribe, known to some as Tonto_Marius. |
| The Power of the Florin and the Power of Popularity |
| There are two things any prospective ruler must understand. The first
of these is that money is power. He who has the most florins will be
able to develop larger, better trained, better equipped armies. This
inevitably leads to victory. He who does not develop his economy is
doomed to destruction. Every ruler can understand the power of farming. What few rulers understand is the power of trade. Setting up a trade network is difficult. It requires Trading Posts in the provinces providing goods and in the provinces receiving them, requires ports in both provinces, and requires a chain of ships to link them together. However, the benefits of trade can be enormous - some trade-rich provinces can make thousands of florins by themselves. After a certain stage of empire, trade routes MUST be constructed, or the empire will run out of gold, wither, and die. As any ruler knows, raising taxes raises more money. Empire-wide raising of taxes can provide dramatic increases in funding - 10,000 florins in one year of my reign alone. However, raising taxes decreases happiness in a province, which leads us to the second topic: controlling happiness. There are two numbers to keep in mind here: 100%, and 140%. With 100% loyalty, rebels in a province will not revolt. At 140%, dead factions cannot respawn in a province. Fortunately, while keeping 100% loyalty is ALWAYS critical, 140% loyalty is important primarily when 60% of Europe has been conquered, as at that point massive rebellions will sweep the land, with both rebels and faction respawns. [Scribe's note: The year Philippe III died, rebellions like these took away half the Empire. It took France thirty years to reach a state of recovery.] Fortunately, happiness can be maintained fairly easily. The easiest way is through taxes. The lower the taxes, the happier the province. The next easiest way is a huge garrison, which is why some rulers keep cheap peasant armies around for policing duties, freeing up more capable troops for front-line duty. The other way, hardest to implement, but most permanent and effective, is through buildings. These buildings include: All Militia line buildings: +10% happiness Watch Towers: +20% happiness Border Forts: +30% happiness Church: +20% happiness In addition, provinces of the same religion as your own will be more loyal. Leaders who are excommunicated will take enormous loyalty penalties throughout their empires. Also, provinces that do not have a line of communication with the emperor are more subject to revolt. This line of communication is a hazy concept, but essentially it means you need a port and a chain of ships from far flung provinces to your homeland where the ruler is. Understanding all of this, there is one more thing that can improve both happiness and income - governors. Early on, governors are not a dramatic thing, but a high-acumen (4-5+) governor in a developed province can do amazing things, doubling income and the like. In addition, high dread governors or governors with happiness-increasing virtues will increase happiness. |
| Military Planning - The Art of War |
| The most important duty of the ruler is to be prepared for war. It is
important that the ruler keep armies that are numerically and
technologically superior and capable of rapid movement. There are a few things to understand. Firstly, strategic mobility. This essentially means ports, ships, and coastal provinces. Through a port and a chain of ships, armies can be assembled or moved across an entire empire in a single year. This is vital for any number of reasons - reinforcements, the ability to strike the enemy anywhere you please, and most of all the ability to assemble large armies from scattered recruitments across your empire easily and quickly. For those reasons, it is vital that a ruler control the seas, as well as previously mentioned reasons like trade and communication. Ships are the key to power. Secondly, a ruler should know the types of armies he wishes to employ, and should construct his troop-training buildings to specialize in the troops needed for these armies. The key is this: a single province should be equipped to produce a single troop type, of the best available in that age. If it has achieved that goal, it may start on another type of troop. This allows for the quick appearance of technologically-superior armies in each age. In keeping with the principles of strategic mobility, the most developed provinces should be in coastal areas, and should always have access to the sea. In combination with this, a ruler should know his lands and know what troops his faction can produce. Wales, for instance, produces +1 valour longbowmen, thus Wales should have the goal of producing archers and eventually longbowmen. If a faction gets an especially effective troop type like the longbowman, these troops should be widely trained. Once engaged in battle, a number of things will decide victory. Perhaps the most important factor are the generals involved. In the Spanish campaigns, many French generals of one or two stars were routed by Almohad generals with high dread simply because the French troops panicked and ran from the field. An army with a highly competent general will fight better, often leading to seemingly invincible troops. The second factor is technological superiority. All else being equal, better-equipped troops will mop the field with less effective troops. For that reason, armor, weapon, and valour upgrades should not be skimped on by a ruler. The third factor is numerical superiority, the importance of which should be obvious. The fourth factor is taking a combination of arms into battle. The most effective armies are those which employ a combination of infantry, cavalry, and archers, though sometimes with preferences one way or the other. It is important to understand that cavalry are vulnerable to many units - they have deadly charges, and are instrumental in mopping up destroyed units, but lack staying power, and can be easily destroyed by spear units and crossbows. Infantry are powerful, but are vulnerable to archer fire, cavalry charges, and are very slow. Archers are weak in hand to hand combat, and are weak singly, but in massed groups can destroy armies. |