Unfortunately I have decided to
exploit how much money you can make with raiding to improve the capital infrastructure to the max "roleplay" Rymvidas content trait too far, so this and the next update won't feature any attempts to expand or reform the Romuva faith, but on the other hand they will feature a lot of hitman action.
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Early reign of the first king
There were traitors within that had to be dealt with, but first the crown authority had to become more than symbollic.
Twice traitor, this old man got what he deserved. But he was not the only one. These traitors held vital lands that would be better ruled directly by the King, or handy to give to a second son to prevent the split of the desmesne.
To his second son, Rymvidas handed the lands from a traitor and the duchy of Zemaitija, hoping he would be a capable ruler and not fail to defend the ducal title from claimants. Among the many plotters and traitors was the chief of the Yatvyag, planning to claim the Kingdom of Lithuania for himself. His fate was about to happen.
But he decided to not go out without a fight.
The war was nothing short of trivial, considering the enemies the Gediminaitis have faced before.
An outbreak of consumption had a heavy toll in Lithuania, killing another of the children of Rymvidas, but fortunately, his bright son was spared from such a terrible plague, and his bethroted, a genius, would also hopefully be alive once he comes of age.
The Eastern Roman Empire is dead, and so are their Turkish conquerors at this point, for the French have crushed them like a skull of pig. This was a worrissome display of how much Lithuania would be endangered and doomed should the Catholic Pope shift the focus of those crusades away from the Middle East and into the Baltic. Facing the greatest Catholic powers would be hopeless and futile, but hopefully, a crusade for Lithuania would never happen.
Hopefully.
With the traitorous Chief of the Yatvyagis defeated, his lands were split between the duchies of Lithuania and Zemaitija, further consolidating the internal unity and strength of Lithuania, which must not fragment because of Gavelkind, even if delicate measures must be taken to ensure that by the hands of the hitmen.
One of his best daughters is sent to the care of a prosperous individual, and it seemed that such nutjobs were perhaps a bit too common within the courts of Lithuania. There is no way this could go wrong, for Birute had a future of greatness reserved for her.
It is better to not take any chances of having one's dynasty over, unless absolutely necessary, and in this case, it was not for that prince, having gained Zemaitija, would not have any part of the royal desmesne given to him once Rymvidas meets the gods. It almost seems like everyone is a hitman in Lithuania, from how many plots the King has to pressure others to give up.
Lithuania was about to start a war against their religious enemies again, but not formally. The King slowly awaited for the levies to become complete and invested in infrastructure to also complement his personal levies with a retinue of cavalry, so that, content to have become king and uninterested in further territorial conquest, he could raid neighboring regions for wealth that would help funding the transformation of Lithuania into a powerful and rich kingdom. Rymvidas would personally lead such raids.
Having become strong, and realizing all the meddling only served to make Kingcomrade "The Great" for many victories against traitorous vassals induced to rebel by the dissent sown within, Lithuania has long left Poland in peace, other than asking for ransoms to send their priests back, and their chancellor has been busy improving relations with the vassals of the Kingdom of Lithuania instead.
Rymvidas has chosen to personally educate his first son, and to teach him that cruelty is not the way to behave in times like these, how for pagans surrounded by those who want to convert everyone in their kingdom to their religion instead, it is best to be loved than feared, lest the common people seek kindness in the Catholic Church instead. His son Dausprungas didn't buy it completely, but his father advice served to stop his cruel behavior.
After some pillaging over Russian territories, they have chosen to go right into the Livonian lands, full of riches and wealth they do not deserve as tyrants and oppressors of the poor Latvian people. Besides, their Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of an needle than for a rich man to go in their heaven, so Lithuania is actually doing them a big favor heh.
To support the raiding forces, a truly exception leader of men organizes the Lithuanian army. It is a pity this Prussian Mayor and exceptional warrior and general won't live much longer, for Ulliniks is one of the greatest generals ever in the history of Lithuania. Alas, it seems the best generals are Prussians, while the best hitmen are Lithuanian.
Envy is another form of butthurt, and it only leads to ruin. After being taught such a lesson, his son becomes neither envious or kind.
The morals of the Romuva faith are quite different, but unlike the long dead Norse polytheism, other than mutual hatred ever since the Teutonic knights began to invade the Baltic, the essential morals of their religion, besides emphasizing bravery and honor in fighting the good fight for the Lithuanian clay instead of meekness and submission, has more in common than they wish the did, and Rymvidas really makes his son know well everything that is at stake in these times where Lithuania is the last pagan kingdom of Europe.
The religious education Rymvidas got about the gods shaped him a lot, lighting the fires of religious fervor within Dausprungas, who have the deepest respect for Dievas and all Baltic gods and an unequal hatred for those who seek to destroy his faith and his people in the name of their god.
All along these events, naturally, Rymvidas was enforcing the whole thing of Jesus preaching a humble life to his followers, by taking away everything of worth from them. Sometimes the pillagers were a bit too destructive, however, but it happens.
The genius wife of his son died as soon as she moved to Vilnius. Smallpox... that is a rotten way to die. What a shame. Eventually there could be another genius wife, but that will have to wait for now.
And someone just converted to Christianity within Lithuania, and was clearly doing a very Christian thing by plotting to seize the kingdom through deceit. Zemaitija has always been trouble.
She was put in her place, and died there. Someone who converts to Christianity and plots against the Kingdom of Hitmen really must have a "towering intellect".
HERESY grows strong in Novgorod, the Orthodox religion having its authority long crushed by the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire. Good.
The son of that whore that converted to the religion of the Teutonic oppressors brings trouble by defying Rymvidas' second son for the Duchy of Zemaitija. His father, having gathered a lot of wealth from raiding, is planning to help his son the only way he can.
There were no genius damsels available, but Dausprungas got married with a very STRONG wife. Most of the best possible wives were Altaic, no surprise considering which is the greatest and most powerful pagan Empire of the world. Having some future Lithuanian kings with mongoloid facial features and slanted eyes does not matter if they turn out to be STRONG or geniuses.
With his second son in deep trouble, Rymvidas sent his master of the Lithuanian hitmen and spies to where the one responsible for this war was, to put an end to this conflict in the most Lithuanian way possible.
I thought Lithuanian hitmen never failed. But at least they didn't get caught.
Really? Are you just pretending to be Lithuanian hitmen and running away with the gold without even trying to do the job?
Meanwhile, Princess Birute is sent to secure an alliance with the most powerful pagans of the world: The Mongol Empire, marrying with nobody else than their Khagan and descendant of Temujin, and thus becoming thus the queen of all Mongols.
Maybe Lithuanian are not that good hitmen as thought.
Unless they can kill babies inside the wombs of their mothers without anybody noticing. Another unfortunate event, but live in these times is like that. One day one of the king's sons is cheerfully playing and health, the other is a burial of a newborn one.
After several failed attempts, Rymvidas gave up, but at least the hitmen severely wounded that bastard and opportunist, who would most likely not survive much longer, hopefully.
Rymvidas became a grandfather. It is no secret that Asians have a greater concentration of Neanderthal genes, therefore this can only be good.
The master of spies and Lithuanian hitmen found out some serious evidence of corruption, and was allowed to use it as he see fit.
But, he only ended having a poetic death, killed by one of the very hitmen he used to command.
In one of the raids, the Livonian Order reacted, but fortunately reinforcements were on the way.
Thanks to the reinforcements, they were utterly defeated, but not without a cost. The raiding against their territories would proceed.
It may be disappointing for Rymvidas to have not been the one that delivered the final blow against the Teutonic Order, but it is alright. Those Catholic Prussian counties formed by successful peasant revolts will be much easier to defeat once a king more interested in conquest than raiding replaces the current one. This was a great day, for it was only thanks to Lithuania that the Teutonic Order was truly defeated, and now their final demise in the Baltics have come at last!
Even better news, the war for Zemaitija was over, and despite their poor efficiency, the hitmen did their job by mortally wounding their target in the end and none ever got caught. For now the Gediminaitis still directly rule that Duchy.
Rymvidas great skills have been substantial to reduce cultural and language differences between Baltic peoples, and now in Daugava Latvian was a dialect rather than a completely separate language.
WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?
And it seems that in desperation, they are trying to centralize their rule over their Livonia internally. Nothing that the raiders couldn't effectively sabotage by making the victim of such revokation win.
The constant raids against the Livonian Order have weakened them so much that Latvian peasants have gathered the courage to rise against the German oppressors. Catholic peasants, unfortunately, but still good news, even if it has weakened the raider force, that will need a while to return to their usual activity.
This became also a time with a shortage of truly skilled masters of spies and hitmen, but that man will do, as he is sent to spy upon the superior technology of Holland.
After the formation of the Kingdom of Lithuania, there were no wars, only secret wars of hitmen against those who threaten the glory of the Gediminaitis, and of course, more and more raiding.
TO BE CONTINUED