Italy Megacampaign: Part 08: 1539-1550: Conquest of Rome

I really needed diplomatic reputation advisor, and I spent years and years paying candidates to go away to get one. Most countries have estates, which conveniently have most of the good advisors, so they don't have to suffer from it. Also monarchies have far easier time with diplomatic reputation, that +1 from maxed out legitimacy is huge.

France got into a rivalry with my ally Castile, and almost joined coalition against me, I had to write a strongly worded letter to Denmark to make France reconsider.

I took it slow for a while to let my manpower reserves recover. Naples took half of Papal States, so in my next war I could get Rome and Umbria without too much AE.

As I was finally annexing some vassals, and I got backstabbed by Austria and the Mamluks, I started looking to unconventional allies. Switzerland and Qara Qoyunlu seemed like decent counterweights to those traitors.

It will take me another decade or so to form Italy. I'm about to spawn my first CN in Carribean. I sort of want to switch to a CN at some point, but it will probably be US, Mexico, or Brazil area. And in any case, not for a while.

Printing Press spawned in Hungary of all places.

Somehow Nassau got emperorship. After that electors couldn't agree on anyone so they picked Catholic duke of Burgundy, who then added all his lands to the HRE.

Ottomans are now an OPM, about to get annexed. Candar and Karaman who divided Ottoman lands are basically in Mamluk sphere.

HRE controlled by hostile Burgundy is bad news.

Naples is very well protected now, but alliance networks rearrange themselves often.

Especially so if HRE leagues trigger.