Imperial Diet & Rules

"So you're a criminal, then. Since I do not fancy giving money to criminals, I will no longer pay that tax in any shape or form, until the post is held by someone who respects the rule of law. Then you can say whatever you want about 'crisis giving right to criminality' or what-have-you."

Theodericus turns to Leopold and snorts.

"You 'selflessly defended our lands from the Magyar'. The fact that it was the Osterreich that was attacked had absolutely nothing to do with it, right?"

Theodericus laughs accusingly.

"A blind man could see through your empty rhetoric, Duke."

The Prinz

Margrave der Bartige, refusing to pay taxes levied by the Diet is itself a criminal act.

And I have marched to the rescue of several cities not my own to defend them from the Milanese, Polish and others.

I see through your childish attempts to bait me and will respond to your taunts no longer until you take a more mature stance.

May I also remind you that I am your Prinz, not a mere Duke. Show the proper respect.

Theodericus laughs once again.

"Maybe you would command more respect, Duke, if you spoke and behaved like a man who deserve it. Your continued contempt of honesty and the truth is truly laughable. You think having done what is no more than your duty to do should see you rewarded? But you didn't even do it as part of your duty, did you, when you cared more about who got the Milanese gold than about Milan falling into our hands? We all know your motivations for going there were never selfless, Leopold, so don't take us for fools. But that's not cheeky enough for you, is it? No, not only would you have us believe that your gold digging was selfless, but you expect us to swallow that that would make your defence of the Osterreich and your offensive raids into Poland and Hungary to take their cities for yourself was selfless, too! Is there no depth you won't sink to?

As for my refusal to pay the tax, surely you must understand that supporting a criminal is in itself a criminal act? Of course you do. You just don't care. Whatever suits you best, eh?"

The Prinz leaves the chamber.

OOC,
honestly, the only reason I recruited those troops is because the two players I was asking permission from were absent from the game at that time. I had gone a couple of turns trying to wait to get permission and simply missed my chance to move because they were not available to respond. I felt confident that given the players past acceptance and my relations with them that they would accept again so I just went through with it to keep the game moving. If the players had spoken up to deny permission I would have simply loaded the save and cancelled this action.

In any case though, I'm willing to play through it like this since their has already been IC debate, I just wanted you to know that I had meant that as an OOC decision with an assumption that the avatars had indeed given permission.

IC
Well then Sir Margrave, I won't worry that I must defend your lands. But I may remind you that I did not even act criminally, I had already gained permission for the use of these recruitment facilities in the previous season, I was simply upholding formalities by asking once again for permission.

Kaiser Heinrich:

If the good Margrave and the Reichsmarschall could kindly put their decades-long yammering on hold for ten freaking minutes, I would greatly appreciate it. With this bloody echo in here being what it is you have assured all of us that future generations of Electors will be subject to hearing the ghosts of your arguments and insults. I can't hear myself think in here anyway as is!

"As you wish, Kaiser. I shall go tend to my army then: I have a king to kill."

Theodericus leaves the Diet.

Kaiser Heinrich:

Ah, silence. Right then.

*The Kaiser takes a look around the Diet and sees that a large amount of the benches are empty due to Electors being absent for various reasons*

SCRIBES! Record my words so that future generations may have access to my wisdom. Also, once the Electors get back, I want them to hear what I have to say.

Von Essen: The last I heard, war is dangerous. People die. Shocking, I know, but my immaculate combat record is not to be taken as the norm for aspiring commanders. You are also a noble. I don't know if you've noticed, but we have precious few of those in these parts these days. We need nobles to rule lands. You can do that and still be able to kill your enemies. So what say you?

Leopold: You get Zagreb once Bavaria has been established.

Margrave: Go kill that king, I may have something for you as well once you return with success.

Von Essen seems somewhat nonplussed at his Kaiser's casual reaction to his speech, as if he did not know his ruler well.

Yes, my Emperor. I wish only to slay the enemies of the Reich, as I have proven myself unfit for command or any task other than slaughter. What would you command me to do?

Kaiser Heinrich:

I would command you to stop thinking so lowly of yourself and recognize that people are capable of both killing people and ruling people. Or, barring that, I would command you to at the very least ignore these feelings and bottle them up and rule anyway.

As you wish. I had been planning to ride north to aid you against the Poles. Shall I continue on this path?

Ernst of Melk.

The Reichsmarschall aids the Kaiser and the Margrave against the Poles. Von Essen, with the Kaiser's leave you are required by the Prinz to march on Ragusa.

Indeed, I am already marching for the capitol now, and will soon have my army bolstered significantly by new recruits. I look forward to fighting at your side mein Kaiser.

Concerning the argument between myself and the good Margrave, I submit to your authority on the matter and will bow to whatever decision you make, only keep in mind that I acted as I thought was best for the Reich.

Jens Herden then turns to Von Essen

My good friend, you must not be so hard on yourself. Soldiers live to die, and the capture of Zagreb was a glorious day to die on. You should not be ashamed about this death, but instead rejoice that your skill as a commander gave this man the privilege of giving his life so that the Reich may live on. To throw away your own life would be the true crime, and the true waste.
I adopted you because I saw in you the inner strength that belong to all nobles of the Reich, and now is the time for you to call upon that strength. Take your morning and turn it into righteous fury with which you may destroy the enemies of the Reich. March on Ragusa and sack it in the name of Von Magdeburg that his name may live on for the capture of not one, but two cities!

My skill as a commander? I am afraid you don't know the whole story, Reichsmarshall.It was my failures and not my skill that led to that tragedy.

On the subject of recruitment, I believe I granted recruitment rights over Innsbruck for the entire current term already, but just in case I say again. This term's Reichsmarshall is free to recruit anything he needs out of Innsbruck for the duration of his term or of my ownership of the castle, whichever ends first.

Ernst of Melk.

We trust, in light of this information, that the Margrave withdraws his unfounded objection to paying the Marschall's tax?

Friedrich von Eisler:

"It is neither unfounded nor withdrawn. To begin with, it was not only Innsbruck, but also Vienna. If permission had been given beforehand for both, the Reichmarschall would not have asked for permission after doing it, saying he'd abort it if he didn't get it. Then when challenged about it, he would not have given the answer that "times of crisis demands action". He would have said "I had already received permission", and it wouldn't have taken this long for me to hear about it first. This is why I have my doubts about von Essen's claims as well.

Even if you had, and you could prove it, and you could convince me that you're all so dimwitted that such an important point could just slip your mind for so long, it is absolutely clear from Herden's behaviour that, at the time, he did not believe that he had received permission to do it, but went ahead and did it anyway. So when he admitted that he feels completely justified in granting himself a special right to break the law, any law, whenever he wants, he wasn't lying. He's a criminal. Brandenburg-Bohemia doesn't associate with criminals. Brandenburg-Bohemia doesn't fund criminals. We have what you in the Osterreich seem to know only from distant stories: honour and principles."

Ernst of Melk is bemused.

Who is the victim of this "crime"?

The Margrave contorts himself into ever more absurd and uncomfortable positions in his attempts to deny reality...

A dangerous glint enters Elberhard's eyes.

"Claims"? I would urge you to reconsider who you accuse of lying, however roundabout a method you choose of doing it. I see little of this vaunted honor in Brandenburg-Bohemia. All I see is a bully who reverts to words rather than his blade, assuming if he complains loudly and frequently enough people will come to start believing his accusations.

"It's called principles, Ernst. Look it up in a dictionary if you don't know what that means."

Friedrich turns to Elberhard.

"I never accused anyone of lying, and the claim that the Margrave is acting like a bully is just ludicrous. If anyone of Brandenburg-Bohemia ever committed a crime, we wouldn't start acting as if we were persecuted little babies as soon as someone called us on it. It's pathetic, and you should be ashamed of yourself, accusing the Margrave of being a 'bully' just because he won't support criminals or criminality. If ever I sunk so low as to behave like you, I'd retire and never respect myself again."

Odd. You act like persecuted little babies the rest of the time, why not then? You scream and cry of injustice when none has been done. What Jens did was presumptuous, but you are not the victim in it, and the two nobles affected have settled it with him.

You, on the other hand, propose to violate Diet law by refusal to pay the tax, all the while whining and crying of wrongs done in order to provide a cloak of self righteousness around your own planned criminal act.

With a tired expression on his face, Friedrich waves Elberhard off.

"If all you've got are insults and attempted deflections, I don't know why I should bother with you. Perhaps you would better spend your time by learning the arts of war? Had you done so before, von Magdeburg might still have been alive."

Scum. You have no right to speak of von Magdeburg, and using his name in an attempt to avoid criticism over your declaration of intent to willfully break Diet law adds to the disgrace. So much for Brandenburg's vaunted "honor".

Calming himself, Elberhard gives Friederich one last dismissve look before turning towards the Diet.

Well, it seems that both my Duke and my Kaiser wish me to continue in a leadership role. If this weren't enough to convince me, certain sections of the Reich Elberhard looks pointedly towards the Margrave's Diet seat are rather lacking in their leadership. Therefore I will heed the command of the Emperor and continue in the duties to which I've been appointed.

I also humbly present myself to him for the position of Duke of Bavaria. Knowing our rulers preference for straightforward speech, my plan for the Duchy is thus:

1. I will appoint skilled advisors and listen to their counsel in the military and economic development of any provinces the Duchy may own. When possible, I will raise up nobles of the rank to countship over some of those provinces.

2. I will use the resources gained from step one to slay the enemies of the Reich wherever I may find them, while also tending to the Duchy's defense.

I believe this outline covers the "clear and concise" requirements, and will be happy to elaborate further if need be.

Jens Herden simply ignores the Margrave's latest comments, simply looking to the Kaiser as they are said. Herden then smiles as von Essen speaks and turns to face him.
It's good to have you back von Essen!
I'm glad you have put yourself forward, the Reich needs men such as you.

Ernst of Melk.

The Prinz sends word that he wholeheartedly supports the Count of Tyrol's application for the Duchy of Bavaria.

The Prinz has arrived.

I would like to petition the Reichsmarschall to ignore the request of Brandenburg-Bohemia for his aid until such a time as the Margrave of that territory withdraws his threat to renege on the mandated tax.

If he shall not pay for the Marschall's army then he should not benefit from it.

We of Osterreich have plenty need of the Reichsmarschall, as there are numerous Magyar armies encroaching on our territory and we are glad to pay the tax to support the recruitment and upkeep of his force.

I am not heading to Brandenburg Bohemia, but to Frankfurt to aid our Kaizer.

Friedrich von Eisler:

"And that's all that the Margrave ever asked from the Reichmarschall, besides staying within the confines of the law."

The Prinz, ignoring the man from Brandenburg.

My apologies to Count and Kaiser for the misunderstanding.

Ernst von Melk has received a missive from the Prinz.

Mein Kaiser, the Prinz, in siege at Milan, stolen from us by the Venetian cur, has received word that the Pope seeks to bar him from entering the city by Papal Bull.

He wishes to know your view as to whether he should ahem "kow tow to that loathsome and execrable hat fetishist or instead storm the walls and doing so shove my mailed fist.." Oh. Well your Imperial Majesty no doubt is able to correctly assess the tone from that extract.

What response should I give?

Jens Harden marches into the Throne room, covered in mud from his recent march with a furious look upon his face.

He looks around for the Margrave and his mood seems to lift slightly when it is clear that he is not in attendance before kneeling before the Kaiser.

My Kaiser,
I come with news of treachery in our midst.
The Margrave has explicitly threatened and denied the Reichsmarshall from entering his lands. This will lengthen my march to relieve the capitol by at least an entire season. As an agent of the Reich, this is tantamount to his declaring hostile intent towards the Reich itself, as well as delaying its defense. I demand that Theodericus be stripped of his title for this outrage.
Time and again he has stood in the way of my defense of the Reich, every time testing the limits of what he can get away with, well no more! The position of Reichsmarshall exists solely for our defense, and yet Theodericus threatens me with violence!
This time he has truly stepped over the line and entered into treachery against the Reich!


I also request permission from von Essen to once again use Innsbruck for recruitment, I will be recruiting
Sergeant Spearmen (430)
Peasant Archers (200)
Mounted Sergeants (460)

Of course, any recruitment that's needed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightbringer

Jens Harden marches into the Throne room, covered in mud from his recent march with a furious look upon his face.

He looks around for the Margrave and his mood seems to lift slightly when it is clear that he is not in attendance before kneeling before the Kaiser.

My Kaiser,
I come with news of treachery in our midst.
The Margrave has explicitly threatened and denied the Reichsmarshall from entering his lands. This will lengthen my march to relieve the capitol by at least an entire season. As an agent of the Reich, this is tantamount to his declaring hostile intent towards the Reich itself, as well as delaying its defense. I demand that Theodericus be stripped of his title for this outrage.
Time and again he has stood in the way of my defense of the Reich, every time testing the limits of what he can get away with, well no more! The position of Reichsmarshall exists solely for our defense, and yet Theodericus threatens me with violence!
This time he has truly stepped over the line and entered into treachery against the Reich!

---

Ernst of Melk is heard to give a sharp intake of breath. Grinning, he awaits the Kaiser's response.

Friedrich von Eisler:

"What new folly is this? The Margrave is owner of his own land. He decides who gets to enter it, and all he has done is to deny this dreg to befoul the earth of Brandenburg-Bohemia. The only violence that has been threatened is if he would ignore this and still break through the Margrave's land. In other words, he only let Jens know that this decision would be enforced. With the track record Jens carries, that seemed like an axiomatic necessity."

Friedrich turns to the Kaiser.

"Now, the fact that Jens Herden doesn't respect other people's property is well known, but as Kaiser, you have to. On the Margrave's behalf, I apologize for any trouble this causes you, Kaiser, but the Margrave simply cannot trust this rat to enter his lands with an armed force behind him. If you think you can trust him that way, so be it, but if you ask me he is as likely to join the Polish besiegers as he is of attacking them."

Ernst of Melk

I cannot believe that the Margrave would endanger the Kaiser's life and the sanctity of our capital by denying him the Reichsmarschall's aid simply to continue a long-running personal feud with Count Herden.

Surely he must reconsider this madness.

Friedrich von Eisler:

"The Margrave is not denying anyone aid; he is simply denying Jens Herden passage through his lands. He is a liar, has a criminal record and has from day one been nothing but hostile towards the Margrave. How could the Margrave possibly trust him at all, let alone enough to let him pass through Bohemia at the head of armed men? Come on, be serious for once."

The Margrave's only reasonable complaint against Herden can surely be that he was once rude to him under provocation.

The rest is pure delusion. If the Kaiser is slain by the Poles it will be on your master's head.

Friedrich waves Ernst off.

"If you wish to put on the jester's suit, be my guest, but everyone will think of you a fool. I will waste no more time on cretins like you."

Ernst rolls his eyes.

Yes, I am sure that it is I who appears foolish in this exchange.

Kaiser Heinrich:

*The Kaiser has been silent through this last set of exchanges, trying his very hardest to ignore what is going on. The closest to him can hear him muttering, something along the lines of "death take me quickly so that I may finally receive some peace from this bickering."*

Can the two of you not come to an agreement once? Just once? You know, besides the fact that you hate each other? This petty squabbling has long since passed the point of annoyance.

Herden, stop trying to get the Margrave's position diminished. He isn't going anywhere, and you're going to have to accept that. Margrave, yes, you have every right to deny Herden the right to marching through your lands and there's nothing I can do about it. However, this stance is also quite tiresome and potentially dangerous.

What I need the both of you to realize is two things: Well, three actually, but surely you must know by now that I approve of this continuous arguing almost as much as I do the current stance of the College of Cardinals. One, that your opposite number as well as yourself has the Reich's best interests at heart. Shocking, yes, I know, but it's true. Two, that if this Reich is ever to reclaim its former prosperity under the great Emperors of old, then we need to be running at full efficiency. And this means not trying to get each other stripped of their titles or banning people from marching through their lands to assist their Kaiser!!!

Any man who is not a complete and utter fool should know that a man of the Reich forcibly taking another man of the Reich's lands is paramount to another civil war starting. And every man here should know my policy towards civil wars while I am still alive: that I will abandon everything I am doing, personally take the instigator's head, and donate his former lands to the pigs of Frankfurt for the rest of eternity. This I pledge here and now. Do we all have an understanding, at the very least?

Now, I have one application for the Duke of Bavaria. And unless there are no objections, I will begin the transfer of property and rule on the Papal issue at the beginning of next campaign season. Unless, of course, the Margrave and the Reichsmarschall see fit to continue to distract us all with their interminable pissing contest.

He certainly does have the right to prevent me from entering his lands as the count of Budapest, but surely the Reichsmarshall has the right to travel wherever needed in order to secure the defense of the Reich. I will relent on my insistence that he be stripped of his title, but I will not allow him to put the entire Reich at risk. I fully intend to march along the roads strait to Frankfurt, and if the Margrave sees fit to attack the army of the reich, then its on his head.
With that, the Reichsmarshall turns to leave.

Friedrich von Eisler:

"Kaiser, you have said time and again how much you wish to avoid another civil war. Well, if Jens Herden does what he has just said he will do, then there will be one. This is not in the interest of anyone - except apparently Jens Herden himself - so I urge you to take whatever measure you find necessary to stop him."

Friedrich now turns to Ersnt of Melk:

"We have had our differences, but so far all of them have stayed and been settled with words. Your excuses for Herden's crimes so far has among others been that 'there's no victim', well, with the crime he has now revealed to the Diet he intends to commit there certainly is one. What is the Prinz's response to this? Will he keep protecting this megalomaniac in his drive to instigate another civil war, or will you condemn his behaviour and reel him in before it is too late?"

Friedrich now turns to the rest of the assembly.

"I think Herden has gone too far now. He has regularly flaunted the law and is now about to start a civil war because of it. I think this is more than necessary, so I move that Jens Herden should be impeached from the position of Reichmarschall and banned from holding any office on the level of the Empire. Vote with your conscience as honourable Germans."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: I'm assuming here that Nightbringer's changes to the save won't be counted since they were done after the save was closed, which would mean that the crime has not yet been committed.

Excuse me, but how exactly is taking the most direct route to protect our capitol in my interests only. This absurd demand you have made does absolutely nothing but threaten the safety of the Reich.

I am taking no action more hostile than marching along one of the Reich's roads. If a civil war starts it can only be on account of the Margrave. Please my Kaiser, I may have spoken to him impolitely in the past, but since then the Margrave has carried a pointless vendetta against me. I am attempting to do nothing but fulfill my mission of protecting the Reich, while I do not even know what he seeks to accomplish aside from hounding my every step.

Friedrich von Eisler:

"Those roads belong to the Margrave, and as the Kaiser has already acknowledged, the Margrave alone decides who may and may not use them. He has informed you beforehand that you may not use those roads, and if you do, that shall be seen as an act of aggression, and he will respond in kind. You cannot squirm your way out of this one, worm."

Ernst von Melk

The Reichsmarschall proceeds to answer the Kaiser's call for assistance and will travel by the shortest route.

If the Margrave is stupid enough to initiate a civil war in response then he will pay in kind for his idiocy.

"Is it possible to be disappointed, even when things go exactly as you expected? Not only does the Osterreich continually shelter and defend criminals, now they do so for a traitor as well. A traitor who, may I add, lied to my messenger when he promised he would not enter my lands. This was just before he tried to have the Margrave stripped of his titles because of his insistance on ruling his own lands, so one can only draw the conclusion that he had intended to take that route no matter what. If he couldn't do it by 'turning off the law', so to say, he would outright break it, even if he knew this would mean civil war.

You would have to search far and wide to find a more loathsome creature. I doubt even that you could. That the 'Prinz' let this happen, and even encourage it, is beyond disgraceful, it's an outright outrage. Does he care nothing about the Empire at all? Does he not even care about the Kaiser's will? For God's sake, is there anything Herden could do, anything at all, save perhaps attack the 'Prinz' himself, that this 'Prinz' would not allow and defend?"

Friedrich sighs.

"But as I said, I'm not surprised. I've known for long that this 'Prinz' is as corrupt as he is incompetent. Still, I await the Kaiser's answer."

Out of respect to your captain, I refrained from crossing into your territory until I had brought this to the attention of the Kaiser. The matter stands, the only traitor here is the one to attacks fellow men of the Reich.

You may accuse the Prinz of supporting me beyond reason, but I swear it appears as though you in turn wish to assist the Poles and Hungarians. Every action you have taken against me has been to their betterment and the Reich's determent. I refuse to respect your absurd demands anymore and will do as is required to protect the Reich.

As Herden speaks, it's obvious that Friedrich isn't even listening, as he's talking to the men around him.

Ernst sighs.

The Margrave inhabits a fantasy landscape populated by traitors and criminals who would seek his ruin.

Meanwhile in the real world his paranoia causes him to alienate his peers and create adversaries of men who would be his allies.

Were he not so offensive in his rantings one might feel sympathy towards him...

Kaiser Heinrich:

Good Electors, I apologize for the foul smell you may have noticed emanating from the city in recent days. Our burial teams are still working to dispose of the large amount of Polish corpses present after the most recent battle. Incidentally, I was wondering what to do with them all, when I finally decided on altering the landscape outside of the city a bit. You'll be happy to know that within the next week or two the Poles will all be buried in a mass grave under a new hill to the east of the city, in order to signify to any future invaders from that direction what their fate will be so long as the Kaiser mans the walls.

The Prinz, recently arrived from his victory at Milan.

Mein Kaiser I salute you on your victory over the Polish scum! I fear a mass grave too good for them - should we not instead burn their fetid corpses such that they are condemned to purgatory for ever more, unable to rise to receive the Good Lord's judgement on the allotted day?

Still, should you proceed with your plan it will at least provide a good vantage point for nobles of the Reich to gaze upon the great city our capital and micturate upon the remains of our enemies.

Speaking of which, with the Venetians cast out of their nest of sin at Milan and their armies scattered to the four winds I see a great opportunity to advance upon their own capital and subjugate it to our rule.

Do I have the Kaiser's and the Diet's blessing to defy the Pope and seize Venice for the Reich? Opportunities like this do not often present themselves and if we delay we risk allowing them time to regroup and put their ill-gotten coin to the evil work of recruiting new forces to send against us.

The fledgling Duchy of Bavaria would gain greatly from the removal of the Italian foe once and for all..

Kaiser Heinrich:

As I have mentioned previously, Leopold, I will rule on this issue once the new campaign season begins. Now that I am no longer pinned down in Frankfurt I will be able to glean a better picture of things than before.

Mein Kaiser, I would ask you to grant the castle of Stettin to the control of Brandenburg-Bohemia, as it is in a vital position for securing the future of my Margravate, and by extention your north-eastern border, against the wretched Poles.