I turned FRANCE into the MOST POWERFUL EMPIRE in Crusader Kings 3

In the 867 start date, The heirs of Charlemagne rule Europe in Crusader Kings 3! But what if I told you that there is one TRUE HEIR of Charles the Great that has the power to unite ALL of the Europe and all the Karlings under one empire banner? And that he has NO HAIR? That's right, today we are playing Charles the Bald!
That's what we're going to explore in todays video! As Koifish will play as the King of France, one of the strongest and most broken Kingdom starts in all of CK3!
This is a part of the Crusader Kings 3 A-Z series, where I play as every recommended starting character in CK3! And this one is the most diplomatically masterful of them all: King Charles the Bald!
I will be using all the tips and tricks and strategies that I went over in my CK3 Lifestyle guide series, mainly focusing on Martial and Learning! I'm also playing with all the current CK3 DLC, Including Northern Lords, Royal Court and Fate of Iberia!
In this video I also use a strategy that I showcased in my Diplomacy Lifestyle Guide video! Diplomacy is the first out of five different Lifestyle focuses that you can pick for your character in Crusader Kings 3. But how GOOD is it? It's absolutely BROKEN!
The question still stands... How did I go about it when I turned FRANCE into the MOST POWERFUL EMPIRE in Crusader Kings 3
#ck3 #crusaderkings3

[@Koifish]

*King Charles the BADDY* This video was honestly insane to record! HUGE EMPIRE? REFORMED RELIGION? RETURN OF HAESTEINN?! It has it all! More CK3 Coming very soon, including some action BEYOND THE WALL in Game of Thrones!

[@donpollo3154]

Charles the daddy 😏

[@Ykan-dh5hl]

By the way Koifish, Occitan is pronounced Ok-see-tan (kinda) Great video by the way

[@mattparker9726]

Koifish lowkey hates Ohio?

[@jacethegreat17]

I appreciate you representing the most oppressed nation on earth 😂

[@therealmrkrabs6413]

Sorry, will have to dislike this for continuing the existence of Fr*nce

[@ohuckabee]

"Less talking, and more Frenching." With lines like that, it's no wonder Mrs. Koifish fell for you!

[@eagleowl833]

Bro, that's savage. Don't kick a koifish while he's floating belly up💀🐠

[@maxjohn6012]

Koifish: Blackmails his doctor Doctor: Cuts off Koifish's leg Koifish: "Why would you do that???!"

[@obscurekidney501]

it's funny how the first Norman in this playthrough is tiny when "Rollo The Walker" the actual first Norman was called the walker due to being too big to get on his horse, having to walk

[@thalmoragent9344]

Wait, too big for his horse? Like fat, or just "big" and heavy?

[@obscurekidney501]

@@thalmoragent9344 I think he was just big and heavy idk about fat

[@xo-1320]

​@@thalmoragent9344Powerlifter build so fat on top of muscle.

[@Folcock]

​​@@thalmoragent9344their "horses" were basically ponies he was just too tall see the statues of him in France and scriptures

[@-._A2._-]

​@@xo-1320I hate that people compare a soldier to a powerlifter. He would look more like a strong man in the military than strong powerlifter. Both are strong but have different characteristics based on what their strength is for.

[@DUAXNinja]

The greatest tragedy of this video is that Brittany survived all the way till the end. A true French ruler would never stand for such a blunder.

[@JamesL42]

Tbf the French did leave Brittany alone for almost 1000 years before they annexed them. And only then it was technically by inherentence.

[@thalmoragent9344]

​@JamesL42 Really? What's the history between them? I'm actually curious now, I'm gonna search it up now 😅

[@Joel-lx2lw]

​@@thalmoragent9344History Matters has a great Video about the subject.

[@noblenaveragemanointernet2582]

@@thalmoragent9344 Long story short, fierce resistance, then the long game for the heir being a woman, and a marriage that unites both realm.

[@leahryan5560]

@@thalmoragent9344So Anne inherited the duchy in 1488 at age 11 upon the death of her father. She was married to two kings of France: Charles VIII and Louis XII. She had no surviving children by her first husband so when he died, his cousin ascended the throne and Anne married him (her first marriage contract stipulated that she marry the next king of Charles VIII died without an heir). She and Louis had two surviving daughters: Claude and Renee. Anne wanted to keep Brittany free from France, so she betrothed Claude to the future Charles V. But later, when Louis became ill, he cancelled that engagement and betrothed Claude to his cousin and heir, the future Francis II. Anne wasn’t happy about this. She died in 1514 at age 36. Her will dictated that her younger daughter Renee get Brittany but Louis ignored this and Claude became Duchess of Brittany. Louis died in 1515 and Francis and Claude became King and Queen of France. Claude was not as active in policy making in Brittany as her mother had been and left a lot of those decisions to her husband. Claude died in 1524 and her eldest son Francis became Duke of Brittany (he did not live to become King of France). The title was later incorporated into the crown and the land became part of France.

[@bernard832]

The French Pope you were thinking of was the Avignon Papacy. Clement V, a Frenchman, was elected pope in 1309 and moved the papal residence to Avignon, which was then part of Burgundy under the HRE. Rome lost a lot of income and went into decline and unrest. Pressure from Italian political factions led to the election of Urban VI in 1378, but he alienated the cardinals by forbidding them from taking indulgences and the king of France by staying in Rome instead of Avignon. The French cardinals elected Clement VII as pope in Avignon, and there were two competing popes until the Western Schism was mended in 1417.

[@Entropy__]

Nice info!

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

Haha you actually gave Normandy to that little Viking Dwarf. We’re on the right timeline lol

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

IT HAPPENED!!!

[@deusvult6920]

There is no such thing as more than one timeline

[@MegaEarAche]

I love it. Even when he isn't doing a Haesting run. They still make it into the video.

[@crazyhercules9442]

I was not expecting the son of Haestein to return, honestly. Boy what a surprise😂

[@Kasaaz]

Sometimes I don’t know if Koifish is making a joke by saying things weird on purpose or if it’s just the way his brain works. I’m entertained regardless, like when he called the dwarf his King of the Hand.

[@bowserhunter1]

"There is one man to further unite all of Europe" ngl I thought the followup to that was going to be "Jarl Haesteinn"

[@victorhino26]

Brittany just chugging along in the corner unscathed by Koifish's predation amaze me more than Ragnarr's return or the spawning of a dwarfen viking named Halfdan,granted the former brings out a chuckle out of me ngl

[@walnzell9328]

15:45 Koifish doing a historically accurate move here.

[@kaidenhall2718]

Who can resist a viking dwarf

[@erwannthietart3602]

There wasnt a time where France claimed the Papacy in itself (nor West Francia but heh thats just France but older) BUT there was a time in the middle ages where the French kidnapped the pope from Rome to send him to Avignon making him closer to France than Italy, at first he was the Legitimate Pope, but the thing is, the French didnt stay in Rome so shortly after leaving another pope appeared and it ended up in a sorta French sponsored pope vs normal Catholic pope war of influence won by Normal catholic pope at one point. It was a really fun time lol

[@herrnachbar81]

if i remember correctly, charles' name "the bald" meant something like "the landless", because after the parlament in worms, he didn't get as much land as his brothers after francia was divided between them

[@2dogsandaDJ]

8:04 "Im being called to war, I'll accept but Im not gonna help" Suuuuuch a fuckin mood in this game

[@stayfrxstyy]

Saddest lines before knowing about the tragedy: "Why did i get Normandy?"

[@Larbek24]

So I know two theories why Charles was called the bald. The first is the one you explained in the video as with bald as crown- or landless. The other one is that he was called the bald because of his healthy and full hair and the nickname was just ironic.

[@m00zesss]

Your renown didn't change after handing out the kingdom titles because they are not independent rulers. Apart from that great content as usual :)

[@marknezanuto]

They kqy have renown from court lvl even if they are youre vassals.

[@thebackup291]

I honestly am lost for words on this on I am highly entertained and never got bored during his video haven’t felt like this in a while keep up the good work man!

[@andreanecchi5930]

thanks for the video, it's always fun to hear you say the words of other languages in your own way😂 , If there is some empire that you don't normally see on the map, could you make a video trying to form one? , I mean one of the kind of that kingdom that you can form in India with the Jewish religion. , 27:24 is the count of the city where I live

[@jkepic9068]

6:50 YAY WARBAND MUSIC THE NOSTALGIA

[@adumbassroomba367]

Ahh yes, the Pope Wars, even in a game those happen, glorious

[@sizanogreen9900]

How the heck did Brittany survive this...

[@Jobama95]

Your battle for rehab drove me to hit the like button. To help you help yourself would mean the world to me. Hoping to not see you relapse. Sincerely, a Hastein addict.

[@factualdegree5450]

When you said “French culture” I thought you said French creatures lol

[@Takayama-sama]

Thank you for answering my question about schmunking Koifish!

[@ohNojames]

Strong alliance...1100 fighting men in his army. Such an optimist Koifish. Why were you losing 10 gold a month at the end?

[@jamiekamihachi3135]

A fruit basket would probably be a pretty impressive gift in the 9th century. Imagine getting a banana imported from god knows where.

[@fifagod4804]

Love the videos ❤

[@battleonize]

great video koifish!!!

[@jdmacdad5418]

I know this video is old, but I appreciate the Tropico 2 music in the beginning!

[@SuperAzoz99]

Literally the best CK campaign I ever seen

[@sheogorath6804]

If you didn't know he was named Charles The Bald due to being extremely hairy. Classical French Humour.

[@WilliamFarge]

Above all, it was because he had no kingdom before one of his brothers died without proper heir.

[@caniblmolstr4503]

Naah.. It was because he was the only brother without a crown when the kingdoms were split by Louis

[@jito7377]

Yes, Coifchild. Keep droping those wisedoms!

[@sera1934]

Ragnarr coming back was insane. Whey keep following you))))))

[@matthewdamal2687]

Nicely done

[@dragonking4756]

23:05 my home town got mentioned rahhhr🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅

[@andresmadrid9260]

Love your videos, i think it would been way harder if you pick up the last Karling in 1066 and try to restore the Empire, since you only start with one county.

[@LTD538]

That’d take forever coz hed have no claims

[@factualdegree5450]

@@LTD538 there are many ways you can conquer without claims, or other ways to obtain claims.

[@LTD538]

@@factualdegree5450 yeah, but itd take forever to do that if you dont have claims. I have played this game before lol

[@walterusalbus]

@@factualdegree5450 i did it by using the learning tree to get claims and also having my bishop make claims.

[@factualdegree5450]

@@LTD538 I haven’t really tried, but if I did, I would try and stock up on men at arms and change my faith to commit war crimes lol

[@LordMrPhantom]

Tells a stammerer not to dwell on it too much. Koifish, that was an unintentional jab lol

[@Apollo1989V]

I would like to see a video of 1066 France restoring the Carolingian borders.

[@ProbablyNot18]

this was great

[@pjoterem141]

the Warband music hit hard

[@factualdegree5450]

I love when he uses Warband music, brings me back to my all nighters of conquering the world

[@ObliviAce]

SINCE WHEN DID KOIFISH HAVE A BABY 😭 I STARTED WATCHING THIS DUDE SINCE I WAS 13 BRO SO MUCH TIME HAS PASSED

[@sounakchatterjer4158]

You can try to run from the Vikings but the vikings will always come for you with the Hasteinings

[@KingAusarII]

19:53 That only happens if theyre independent rulers. Since theyre kings under your empire that makes them vassals, unlike italy before you invaded it

[@mrdark619]

To be honest I kind of expected you to play haestein and take over all of europe with him instead :P

[@justinmalangoni9467]

keep these going... would like to see Robert the Fox

[@ShadowDragon1848]

I did stammer and do it even know, when I´m very excited. Sooo yeah I feel a bit oooooooffffffended :D ^^

[@Shansitan]

I recently did a play thru where I started in Ireland took all of Britannia founded my own religion that was similar and by the end date had most of the world under my empire and of my religion it is definitely broken to just constantly get free money

[@Jayn0x]

Napoleon is proud of ya

[@johnbgoode1605]

12:20 Koi Child!

[@jkepic9068]

baby koifish sounds so cute lol

[@Logan0503]

Cool, now I know what schmonked means! This is like when I finally figured out what chuffed means…

[@therealmrkrabs6413]

3:45 As an Ohioan, this is inaccurate. We do not stab each other, we shoot each other.

[@a7i_.]

"Thank you wife, your knowledge is impressive" 😂😂

[@kvshuzumaki382]

It only helps your renown if they’re independent

[@m1sz3lpl24]

CK3 Koifish video without Haestein? Hell yeah!

[@meisterblue6333]

very cool

[@thefabviking]

Haven't watched the video yet, but I wonder if he's gonna evict hæsteinn as a neighbour lol.

[@luckyone7778]

Koifish yet again beaten whole world of CK3

[@Wooper160atThePond]

there's something very entertaining about a Swedish man joking about "dropping Politics at the Thanksgiving party" Have you ever even been to a Thanksgiving dinner in the US?

[@bakaky0]

"letter C in the A to C challenge". It's finally over

[@Asenpopov]

I've stammered ever since i could talk. Lold at the stammer joke. That's exactly how i got bullied at school 😆

[@PraiseJ-Pope]

Seems like Mrs. Koifish has really high Learning

[@hallstadt]

koifish is playing tall rn

[@aaronzapol5253]

Koif-fish, the greatest medieval swede ever.

[@TheColombianSpartan]

Koifish you know very well rehab won't cure your Haesteinn addiction Nothing will and thats because its a glorious thing

[@joespears360]

Being someone who lives in rural Ohio, it is quite possible for a liberal relative and a conservative relative to eventually stab the other when discussing politics, especially if alcohol is involved

[@eliomarmion5485]

La Guerre (the war)

[@DiaberlyDiablo]

Please make more ck3 content.

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

I read the thumbnail as blind a f

[@alexnunn2161]

From what little i know, the nickname ‘The Bald’ is meant to be ironic since Charles was supposedly super fucking hairy

[@dojihajime]

Koifish, you are a Emperor, there are no good guy emperors.

[@Sylus_Domanni]

Haestinn death time stamp 9:34.

[@pyurjenius6676]

"Bite his ankles!"

[@connorbarton4308]

With head of faith title you can make it always approve and divorce anyway

[@AquaticBigfoot8]

Sneak King 👑

[@Iceican]

I played an englishman in africa took me a bit to realize i just made an english colony

[@JerichoJulius0]

Algo time

[@orirotem2298]

First time you call your favorite guy shmunk

[@angrypastabrewing]

King Charles now looks like Walter White

[@germancardenas3068]

it seems weird when koifish is not Haesteinn in a video

[@arno_grnfld455]

Lmao haesteinn just wouldn't go away it seems

[@JaeSM97]

HOLY SHIT THE PLOT TWIST AT THE END! I'm actually laughing my ass off. This is literally too funny. I think in one Koifish's future playthroughs, he needs to pin Haesteinn and just sort of, observe what happens every few years.

[@graemebarnes3445]

a to z? you missed Caustatin in scotland!

[@Songante]

Could you share what music you put in your videos?

[@priscsepa]

the frankish were germanic people! not french! yes it true, the mix of gaul, latin and frankish created the "french" culture but I can assure you that the disqusting french language that you hear today didnt exist yet. it was more like the nobility spoke frankish, and the people spoke some kind if mix of latin.

[@LordAgamiS]

Please oh great koifish. Restore the ancient kingdom of celtica and unificate all the pictish people (same as the slawes). I beg of You, mighty Warrior of ck3, return the paganish celtic to all europe before evil romans destroyed it.

[@MaitreKorda]

How did you make the scene at the start?

[@Shansitan]

I thought the only letter in ck3 was H for.... you guessed it haestien

[@jawbreakerhd9887]

What song is used in the beginning of the video?

[@RKGrizz]

Koifish, the French get access to the Gendarmes heavy cavalry so the Armored Horseman is not the strongest Men-at-Arms unit for the French.

[@bravebenson9262]

I havent played the base game since the Elder Kings mod. Now with the AGOT who wants to play France when you have Targaryans?

[@vincentsilvestre6765]

Lets goooooo

[@holdencrowley3890]

You should of named him noplian and made him short

[@cptmiller132]

hilarious how you lost your gout right as you tried to off yourself lol

[@demonkingbadger6689]

Rehab doesnt solve Haesteinn addiction .

[@RealConstantinusMagnus]

You should have renamed him to Charlesnapoleon

[@teal_m_101]

Does this count as a grimdark alt history?

[@thecaveberry8444]

I love coif fish