[ETW AAR] The Kingdom of Georgia
With the passing of his uncle in 1699, King Giorgi XI came to power. It was a day the new King thought would never come as he was already 50 years of age. This did not Giorgi though. His uncle had driven the nation into the ground. She was poor and the people were unhappy. The late-king's foolhardy approach to dealing with Russia had almost triggered an invasion. The military was nothing but ill-trained militia. Things had to change!
Giorgi went to work right away. He immediately ordered construction of some basic roads to span the kingdom. To long had merchants and military traffic been forced to slog in the mud and through fields.
Next was the re-opening of the school in Schumkale. Education and technological advancement were not popular with his uncle, so the school was closed many years ago. A local scholar known as Konstantinos was selected by the King to run the school.
Giorgi then decided to focus on trade. He wanted to build up Georgia's infrastructure and military. For that he needed money, and that required trade. Dagestan was their only trading partner. A legacy left from the scheming and plotting his uncle had engaged in with the muslim nation. It was this that almost brought about a Russian invasion. Giorgi was surprised when one of his dilpomats returned saying that Persia had excepted a trade agreement with Georgia. Persia had expressed its dislike for the small Orthodox nation in the past.
The tougher task was with Russia. The first reply was one filled with insults. The young Tsar, Pyotr I, was clearly not fond of Georgia. Giorgi took a risk with his next offer. He spent a great amount of the kingdom's treasury on some of the finest Asian china he could find. To deliver this along with another trade offer, Giorgi selected the Naval Bey, Dionisios Routsis. Giorgi told the man that if he did not succeed in convincing the Russians to a trade agreement with this priceless gift, he would be fired. In truth, the post was one left over from his uncle's days. As Georgia had no navy at the moment, the office of Naval Bey was one of complete uselessness and only served to give a man status.
Time passed and Giorgi went about his next task, the military. Georgia needed something more the militia if they were to protect themselves. Especially against the Ottoman's, who spoke many times that Georgia is a land that rightfully belongs to the Ottoman Empire and the muslim people. This of course made Giorgi and the rest of Georgia's population quite nervous. After a meeting with General Kouretas, the leader of Georgia's Army, the king issued funds to upgrade the military facilities in the capital.
Upon arriving to his private quarters one day, Giorgi found a urgent letter from Dionisios. The Russians had agreed! A large victory for the Georgian economy!
With the year 1700 coming to a close, things in Georgia were turning around. The people felt great hope in the new king and the direction the nation was taking.
(just started a new campaign with Georgia. Will update as i go along!)
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