1605 Summer (June – August)

Early August

Coup d'etat happened at Madrid – the Capital of the Iberian Union(A Personal Union of Spain and Portugal) but was soon crushed by Felipe III – my half-brother and the son of Felipe II and princess of Portugal. But that was the last straw for him. After that Coup, several feudal lords in Spain and Portugal, who have kept silence till now, all revolted against him. And the entire Iberian Peninsula entered into a civil war between few followers of Felipe III and all other rebels.

“Earl of Essex, I’ll give you 15,000 marines. Takedown Lisbon!”

“Of course, your majesty! Do you wish me to march to Madrid after that?”

“...If that’s possible, yes. But don’t bite more than you can chew. 15,000 marines didn’t grow in trees, you know.”

So, I’ve ordered Earl of Essex to capture Lisbon – the capital of Portugal – with 15,000 marines, which war originally 10,000 but has been added another, newly trained 5,000. Of course, the final destination was Madrid, but I’ve told him to hold his horses. If those marines are lost, it would cost an arm and a leg to the United Kingdom.

and he replied

“Yes, your majesty.”

I was just hoping this young admiral wouldn’t strain himself.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Army which was on strike due to unpaid salary retreated to the homeland, and the deserted French forces and troops led by German Feudal Lords were being tackled by United Kingdom’s troops led by Philip Sidney.

Sidney and his 30,000 detached forces didn’t pick a fight with the alliance of ‘Lioness’ and German Feudal Lords. Instead, they were just circling their enemies, preventing their foes to attack the Netherlands.

So, the alliance was in a dilemma. If they tried to attack Sidney’s troops, they didn’t have enough mobility to catch them due to the lack of supplies. However, if they tried to retreat or attack other places, they might be attacked by his forces from behind. And what’s worse, they wouldn’t be able to replenish more soldiers, unlike the United Kingdom.

In the end, without any major battle, both the alliance and the detached forces were just confronting each other, spending supplies. But, while the United Kingdom can supply its troops with more supplies, the enemies couldn’t. In short, they were starving to death.

Mid August

Regent and the Queen Mother of France Elizabeth – my daughter, who is now commonly called the Lioness – secretly sent me a letter, asking for a negotiation.

“Your majesty, I would gladly take your side if you inherit me 10 states of the Netherlands.”

In short, she suggested that she would switch sides if I hand her the Belgium and Luxembourg.

‘...Is she out of her mind? Or is she mocking me? Doesn’t she understand the current situation? It’s my overwhelming victory and why on earth should I give her a single acre of land?’

So, with a short hesitation, I gave her a reply.

“Dear Regent of France. I would welcome you on my side under the condition that you inherit me, Aquitaine and Normandy.”

In short, I said

‘F**k off, you bitch. If you have obeyed your father, you would have got at least Savoy, Nice, and Corsica, if not Naples and Sicily. But no, you’ve betrayed me and took Felipe III’s side. No mercy for a betrayer!’

So, Sidney’s 30,000 detached forces fought with Lioness’s final, few, most fervent 12,000 troops at the suburbs of Calais, attacking them from behind, but lost. Even though they outnumbered the French in numbers, supplies, in geographic conditions and all other objective conditions, they’ve lost. The United Kingdom’s troops lost 11,000 soldiers while the French lost only 3,000 – in a single battle.

Sidney, who barely saved his life at this battle roared with fury and said

“..That bitch by the name of Elizabeth, who betrayed her country and stood up against her father, is either guided by Jesus or sold her soul to Lucifer! If not, how can I or other generals in the United Kingdom lose every battle against her...ughhhh!”

And that became his will since his gunshot wound got worse and he died a week later. From that point, the remaining forces of the United Kingdom just stuck inside the fortresses in the Calais region and didn’t come out on the battlefield, no matter whatever tactics the French Army uses to provoke them. And with the lack of both basic military supplies and fortress guns, the French Army couldn’t take down Calais and had to retreat to Paris.

However, the Regent Elizabeth claimed the title of ‘The strongest woman in Europe since Athena’, after the battle of Calais. It was a nickname that I – who was both her strongest opponent and her father – admitted and was spread to entire Europe in just a short time. Although she wasn’t happy with it and grunted

“ ‘The strongest woman in Europe since Athena’, huh! Then how should I address the man that the

‘Strongest woman in Europe since Athena’ couldn’t give a single blow, let alone surrender? The most cunning serpent since the snake who seduced Adam and Eve to eat the apple, maybe?”

1605 Fall(September – November)

Early September

Essex’s marines have taken down Lisbon, with Portuguese aristocrats abruptly cheering their new king – I – Eduardo Ⅰ ‘The Rich King’, and Spain’s civil unrest growing bigger, especially in the Castile region.

At the same time, the armies of the German Feudal Lords have re-attacked the Netherlands region after hearing the news that Sidney - who has led the detached forces and has been a pain in the neck – has died. But they couldn’t breach the fortress lines and the war was in deadlock.

Late September

Felipe III declared de-facto surrender. His secret message said

“You’ve won. Brother, please have mercy. Spare me Sardinia, Naples, Sicily, and Milan.”

In short, he said

‘Okay, you can have the entire Iberian Peninsula. But spare me Italy Peninsula.’

And I spared him more than that since I was well aware that stepping into the Mediterranean means quarreling with Venice, Ottoman, etc. So, my reply was

“My dear brother Felipe, how can I be so cruel? I’ll be the king of Portugal and Castile and you can be the king of Aragon.”

Since Spanish territories in Italy belonged to Aragon while Spanish colonies - in Latin America, Far East, etc – was Castile’s, I suggested that we split the Iberian Union into two. One being Castile and Portugal and the other being Aragon and Italy.

Knowing that he had no chance of winning, Felipe III’s answer was positive to my suggestion.

“I’ll gratefully accept your hospitality, my brother.”

With the main two parties in the war finishing basic agreement, there was no room for other losers.

Mid October

The Papal States officially suggested truce to all parties involved in the War of Iberian Succession, ending the battles between the United Kingdom’s troops and it’s foes’ armies. Although the spies reported that after hearing this news, Regent Elizabeth went bananas and screamed in French palace

“Oh, Holy Father! Are you deserting me!”

unlike in the battlefield, she couldn’t do a single thing, because she was not one of the 2 main heirs – I, Eduard VII(Eduardo I) and Felipe III - in this war of succession.

Early November

Felipe III and I, several other parties involved in this war met at Aquitaine and made a peace treaty. It was not that different from what he and I agreed in a letter previously in September. Felipe III became the king of the Union of Aragon and Two Sicilies – a kingdom which is a commonwealth of Milan, Sardinia, Naples, Sicily – and I inherited the United Kingdom of Castile and Portugal.

Now, with my kingdom’s official name becoming United Kingdom of England-Scotland-Ireland-Netherlands-Portugal and Castile – I had to abbreviate it with the title of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Iberia.

In fact, without Aragon, it’s not Iberia in full, but what the heck. After the Age of Discovery, the #1 priority sea of the Iberian peninsula became Atlantic instead of the Mediterranean, so it’s not nonsense that I claim myself as king of Iberia.

I wanted to take Aragon and Two Sicilies also from Felipe III. But, since the Mediterranean was a blind spot to me and the Royal Navy, West & East India Company, I’ve yielded it to Felipe III.

Meanwhile, France only gave up one thing at the peace treaty – my daughter and Queen Mother of France Regent Elizabeth and their descendants – including the current king of France and her eldest son, Louis XIII – had to give up succession rights of the United Kingdom’s crown and its’ territories.

Of course, it was I who forced that condition to Elizabeth, however, it was a benevolent condition because I asked her neither territory nor war compensations.

For one thing, I have enough on my plates with consolidating Portugal and Castile into my kingdom. And another thing, even though I’ve won the war, I didn’t win a single battle against the ‘Lioness’ and her troops.

At the negotiation hall, Elizabeth looked at least 20 years older than I’ve last seen her face to face in 1602 at Notre-Dame. She ignored me as if I wasn’t there, and even at the moment she was signing the peace treaty document, she didn’t even glance at me.

‘Next time, I’ll see you at Westminster Cathedral, my father.’

‘Yes, wasn’t that what you’ve said to me in 1602, my girl? I guess we’re no longer father and daughter, but fatal enemies who can’t rest until the other one dies.’

So, I’ve followed suit and just ignored her presence, just checking that she has signed her signature - as a Regent of France – properly at the peace treaty document.

But there was no mercy for the Hanseatic Leauge. They had to give up their monopolistic commercial rights in the North Sea to the United Kingdom. They now needed permission from the United Kingdom to buy or sell goods in the North Sea and had to pay tariffs to the United Kingdom for every merchant ship they set sail at the North Sea. Also, the amount of catch of their fishing has been restricted. In short, their territorial waters were disappeared.

Meanwhile, the German Feudal Lords who involved in this war were in similar waters with Elizabeth. They paid nothing – neither war compensation nor territory – but just signed the peace treaty document, acknowledging both the Edward VII’s inheritance of Castile and Portugal and Felipe III becoming the king of Union of the Kingdom of Aragon and Two Sicilies.

Why? Since the Holy Roman Empire – Austrian Habsburg to be more exact – owes Hanseatic League huge debt thanks to lobby money spending in their complicated election system, the Hansa becoming weak is not bad news to them. But if I tackle the feudal lords? It would seem as if I’m trying to become the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire, and even the current Kaiser Rudolf II – who is an incompetent ruler, only interested in occults and arts - wouldn’t tolerate it.

Anyway, with this peace treaty, the war that lasted for about 3 years came to an end. But nobody, including myself, believed this would become a foundation of long peaceful days. No, it’s just 10 years – or perhaps shorter - worth of truce.

Although the United Kingdom gained the hegemony of Europe with this war, it didn’t fight face to face with the current champion of Europe – the Holy Roman Empire. It just fought with some feudal lords inside it, not with the Austrian Habsburg family, who's monopolizing the title of the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire as the Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia.

Luckily, thanks to a prolonged war with the Ottomans and Rudolf III’s benevolence, the Holy Roman Empire remained silence with just a small favor this time. But next time? Fat chance!

Most likely, they would try several tactics to divide the United Kingdom and make it weaker. Or maybe, they would even put their old dispute between the Catholics and the Protestants aside and unite under the Kaiser and wage war against the United Kingdom.

I need to prepare for that worst-case-scenario as well.