Boy, this is gonna be a long post.
I finally started on my high expert Sicilian campaign. As I have promised I give a brief report and some observations. It is 1225 now and I expanded my kingdom which now includes (besides the initial provinces) Greece, Const and Bulgaria. The major problem I confront is the excess of heirs which, if not countered (due to six-princes rule), would render the next king childless. So I send them on suicidal missions from time to time.
During my game I saw some strange developments that I have never met before and all of them have to do with peripatetic crusades.
1. Once upon a time two crusades approached my realm - one English (my ally) and one German. The first to come was the German one and it asked for a permission to pass through Bulgaria. Having no desire for an excom, I agreed. In a year, the second one appeared in view and ASKING FOR NO PERMISSION entered the same province. I have two possible explanations: 1) the English are my allies so they thought that a friend does not need to ask for such trifles that should go without saying between buddies; 2) if a second crusade is soon to follow the first one the granted permission extends to it automatically. Or, perhaps, there is some other chain of reasoning?
2. When the English crusade entered Bulgaria I had defeated the local rebels and was besieging their castle. Having granted the permission to the crusade to enter your lands you may expect two results: 1) (if you are of the same confession) the crusade will suck in your troops; 2) (if you are of a different confession) it will burglarize your treasury. But neither happened in my case. I was informed that "Bulgaria WAS ROBBED OF something about 900 florins" and my soldiers were not lured into the crusade. The two crusades spent quite a time in my lands but NO SOLDIERS OF MINE were involved. How do you like it? The reason for the last fact I explain by the low number of catholics in predominantly orthodox povinces. Am I right? But what about emptying the province's treasury? Perhaps, the fellow catholics didn't consider the province mine as the rebels still controlled the castle.
3.Having a desire to get rid of an heir I decided to send him on a suicidal mission to Turk-controlled Trebizond. Some turns before it the German crusade had tried to go in this direction but was repelled and settled for some time in Const. Soon it was joined by the English one and they evidently fell to carousing instead of pursuing thier goal. I moved my prince to Treb and hit "end of the turn". Then I saw that they moved in the same direction. Turks left the province and I was taken to the battle screen where I had to fight two crusading armies! My prince was successfully killed but I expected (and dreaded) an excom, a war with two faction and a fall-off of many allies. Nothing of the kind!!! My only enemy was the Turks while the crusades moved on (presumably to their goal). What a relief! What do you think of that?
Well, now I plan to capture Serbia from the Huns. This move has a two-fold purpose.
1. My king is 50 and the pope a couple of years younger, so even if I face an excom it won't last long.
2. It will be a foothold to start the Switzerland-aimed chevauchee I spoke about elsewhere. First of all, it it closer to the goal so I'll have to go through Croatia, Austria and Tyrolia to reach it. Even if the pope raises hue and cry and warns me to leave the Huns alone when I attack them in Croatia I will move on to HRE lands and wreak havoc there being undisturbed by the pope.
If anyone is still interested (after those lengthy ruminations) in what will happen next, inform me.
