When we last left off, I was planning on ignoring Europe for a while and focusing on the Muslim world.

And then numerous opportunities knocked. I took out some small Islamic countries, but then Naxos and Corfu were just there. And the reborn Knights were allied with Corfu, too! And Crete broke free from Venice! And then there’s Serbia, right there!

…You get the idea. I did get into an initial tussle somewhere in there with the Mamluks and Dulkadir, but I peaced out after a quick landgrab as I wasn’t in a good position for a long fight.

But that is my next target. I really do have to let Europe relax a bit more now. While that truce runs out, I keep seizing those small opportunities, and then allow myself a few years of peace to let my manpower recover, and to deploy sufficient amounts of cannons to make the next war easier.

And it is easier – I end up taking a 100% warscore peace deal, breaking off large chunks of the Mamluk’s empire and especially their hard-to-punch-through forts in Aleppo and Damascus.

And then I hit an important decision point: Castille is at war. France is willing to join me in a war against Castille. It’s, technically, an opportunity. So I decide to be manly, and move onto Castille.

And I win. Admittedly, not a huge, game-changing victory, but that’s two provinces less to conquer later on. And it’s a confidence booster. And it’s more AE that can bleed off in time.

After that, it’s more opportunities. Qara Qoyunlu. Genoa. All get downsized significantly as I see good chances to weaken them. And then… time to get ready for another big war against the Mamluks.