Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Hundred-Eighty-Five : Teachers And Titles


You! In The Front Row! Stay Awake!

We open this chapter in September, of the year 843 AD, with the Queen calling her scribes and scholars to bring her all the information they had on the members of the Royal Family and the members of the Royal Court. She was going to make sure all the children were getting the best educations they could AND there was no single men running about who needed to be married off. Willing or otherwise.

First she checked out the daughters of Mayor Leontios of Yumai. One of her offspring who hadn't tried to kill somebody or cheat on their spouse or set somebody's pet on fire. His daughters were being educated by his wife. While Mahideva Chhinda was of the culture of Hindustani both of the daughters had, so far, turned out Greek. So the Queen didn't see any reason to get involved.

Spoiler: Mayor Leontios And Count Pelagios
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The next person on the list was Count Pelagios of Nyima. She was alarmed to find out that his educator was one of those Christian Bishops. In a Buddhist County! They most be like roaches. As the bastard was only 3 years old there was little she could do. When he was older she would be able to suggest a new teacher. The only problem was the cross-wearer was also the regent. And while Bishop Gongru may have loved God he seemed to hate everybody else and the Count wasn't really fond of him either.

Then she noticed that Rhodanthe was being educated by her mother again. How did that happen? The Queen, once again, sent a request to Princess Anastasia to hand over her daughter to the Queen for a proper education.

Spoiler: Stop That Anastasia!
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Next on the list was Doge Himerios of Lhasa. He was educating his daughters directly so she saw no reason to get involved with that arrangement. Hopefully they turned out better than he did.

Spoiler: Doge Himerios And Lady Mayor Eustathia
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After him the Queen checked on Lady Mayor Eustathia of Banbar. She too was home schooling her sons. So once again the Queen felt it was better to leave things be. Both the Doge and the Lady Mayor had been tossed into the deep pool of politics at a young age and had survived. The Queen hoped they passed on something to their offspring - something to help them survive also.

Spoiler: Lord Mayor Eusebios
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Next was Lord Mayor Eusebios of Amdo who had just come of age. He was a humble man who, also, had a cruel side. A man who knew how to use a sword, a skilled warrior, yet had sympathy for Christendom. She tried to find somebody worthy within the Royal Court to marry him and found her list of available women empty. She sent out invites to three different women living outside the Kingdom looking for love, all with interesting skills and talents, and then went back to work.

Spoiler: Mongolian Revolt
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How Many Again?


At this point she received a interesting report from her agents to the north. It seems, Pulad if the House of Kulug, the leader of the Revolt had no soldiers. None. But his ally in the war, his Vassal Khan Sircan "The Monster" of Akhum, had almost seven thousand warriors. He was a brave warrior and hunter who had some sympathy for Pagans. And they were winning.

Spoiler: The Side Winning
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Khagan Bars "The Just" of Uyghur had an ally also but it didn't matter. He were losing badly. He had skills but not the numbers. And it looked like the Revolt was getting to the Ruler as he suffered from depression.

Spoiler: The Side Not Winning
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That meant it was unlikely the Revolt would be losing any time soon. Which was good. On the other hand that was a LOT of soldiers to deal with. Which was bad.

A war with the Mongols might be a little too even for the Queen's taste. But she decided to keep an eye on the conflict and kept it in the back of her mind.

She put the report to one side and went back to the list of members of the Royal Family.

The surviving children of the late Mayor Andronikos were being educated by their mother. The Queen had no problem with that. She just decided to keep an eye on them. As members of the Royal Blood line they could be used, when older, to make important connections...er...marriages with future allies.

Spoiler: Fatherless
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The daughter of the late Count Andronikos of Medog had been abandoned by her mom to the Royal Court. But she was being educated by the Royal Tutor Countess Kyra of Bumthang. Sadly, the woman had lost her own son now taught dozens of the children of the Royal Court. The result was she suffered from depression just like the Queen.(1)

Around this time a messenger arrived with a small piece of information. Lord Mayor Eusebios of Ambo, now he was an adult, was doing his best to keep his power. He had made his Council pass the Late Feudal Administration Law. It increased his control. For example if a Vassal refused the Liege's demand to back out of a war that Vassal could be seen as a traitor.

Spoiler: Eusebios Passes The Late Feudal Administration Law
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Then the Queen, putting aside the lists, turned to something she had been wanting to do for a long time. There were THREE Duchy Titles floating about. She wanted to do something with them before somebody grabbed them for themselves and caused who knows what kind of trouble for her and the Kingdom.

The first title was the Duchy of Qamdo which included the counties of Bome and Qamdo. It also included the Grand City of Banbar. The County of Qamdo was beyond the border - inside the Revolt.

Spoiler: The Duchy Of Qamdo
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She decided to give it to her daughter the Lady Mayor Eustathia of Banbar as she was already holding one of the pieces of the Duchy.

Spoiler: The NEW Duchess Of Qamdo
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The Queen noticed Eustathia's husband was the Heir to the Duchy but that didn't bother her. The husband's Heir would be one of his sons so it would end up back in the Royal Family sooner or later.

Next was the Duchy of Yarlung made up of the counties of Lhunze, Nedong, and Taktse.

Spoiler: The Duchy Of Yarlung
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This was an easy choice as Count Wiryasini "The Wise" already had the County of Taktse, was very loyal, and had no offspring. In other words the Queen was the Heir. Now, he did have a Concubine so there was a SMALL chance of some offspring but the Queen was willing to take the risk.

Spoiler: The NEW Doux OF Yarlung
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Before she started pondering the last Duchy she remembered the Count Yase with his lovely BUT not-Greek teacher. So she sent out a request to the Count to replace his current educator with the Princess Theodosia. The Queen felt the woman was just as pretty and she was Greek to boot!

Spoiler: Princess Theodosia To Teach Count Yase?
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Then the Queen went back to focus on the title of the next, and last remaining, Duchy. The Duchy of Nyingchi was made up of the counties of Mainling, Nedog, and Nyingchi. This was also a easy choice.

Spoiler: The Duchy Of Nyingchi
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She selected her husband. Now he was the Doux Herakleios of Nyingchi. And once again it was she who would be the Heir. And she was too old now for children. True, he also had a Concubine but the woman had produced no offspring as of yet so the Queen, once again, was willing to take the risk. Of course he wanted to be placed on the Council now but she ignored his demands.

Spoiler: The NEW Doux Of Nyingchi
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This DID mean her Council now had a Doux on it but the Sakellarios was one of the most loyal of the Councilors so she wasn't that worried about it.

Now she decided to look over the counties on the northeast border. The counties that were controlled by the Revolt and could be targets for a war with the Steppe Rebels.

Spoiler: The County Of Qamdo
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Out of the five counties she realized the choice was, once again, easy. The County of Qamdo, which could be claimed by the Duchess of Qamdo, would be the best target IF they went to war with the Mongolian Revolt. The only thing she disliked about the county was it was not only a Catholic region but it was full of Norse!

So we close this chapter with the Queen catching up on a lot of work she had neglected during the last two wars. She had spent a little time, and a lot of money, to do this but the results would be worth it.
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Author's End Notes:

1. It seemed having too many wards or students could increase the chances of being stressed or becoming depressed.