Megas Logothetes' and Senators' Reports

[Cecil XIX]

Taking the save.

[Cecil XIX]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1126-10.zip

Fought the Fatamid Jihad. Killed the General and ended the Jihad, but lost some eight-hundred soldiers. Would have been less, but for some stupid reason the four units with Makedonios (but not Makedonios himself, of course) could only retreat in the exact opposite direction from whence the came - right through the enemy army. Also accepted ransom offer for 633 florins exchange for approx. 260 men.

[Privateerkev]

taking the save.

[Privateerkev]

EF and the Order Crusaders have defensive battles.

I will PM EF the save. When he is done, he will PM both Rowan and Ramses his save. The first one of them to fight the Crusade battle will give me the save back. Rowan/Ramses are to try to save before the new windows come up. But if they can't, just don't touch the windows and save it then.

[Privateerkev]

Report for 1126:

The economy starts to grow. And those that did not benefit from the economy last year did this year. Unfortunately, my fairness has been met by backstabbing and plotting. It seems the Caesar wants to kill a whole bunch of us in a mad grab for power. Keep in mind that when I signed off on the authorization for these buildings and armies, I did not yet know of the Caesar's plans. For those of you who haven't yet seen it, here is the Caesar's super secret plan to kill us:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Greetings, dear friends.

I will soon ascend to the throne. The Order have insulted me and the royal family flagrantly and yet we have been powerless to bring them to account.

What is more, the Order have shown themselves increasingly disloyal as a whole.

For the good and stability of both the empire and the nobles, I have a proposal I wish to offer to the both of you.

It is simply this:

As soon as I ascend to throne, we three form a Triumvirate. The Order's insults are a legitimate and just causus belli for us to declare them traitors and their land confiscated. Once we have defeated them, we shall be able to redistribute the land of the empire amongst ourselves. If the independent nobles, such as Methodios and Micail remain out of the conflict, then they shall keep their land. If they cast their lot with the Order, then their land shall be forfeit too.

As a result, the Asteri would control the western half of the Empire, the Komnenodoukai the East, and the Imperial family the centre plus all the patriarchates.

This would require some exchanging of land between House Asteri and House Komnenodoukai, but I'm sure negotiations could be entered into.

Imperial Provinces:
Constantinople
Rome
Nicaea
Dardanellia
Antioch
Jerusalem
Alexandria

House Asteri:

Athens
Thessalonica
Corinth
Arta
Dyracchion
Belgrade
Bucharest
Rhodes
Zagreb
Sofia

House Komnenodoukai:

Sinop
Caesarea
Smyrna
Adana
Tblisi
Yerevan
Nicosia
Diyarbakir
Aleppo

We would then control the Magnaura and be able to propose legislation which would change the structure of the empire.

War may only be declared by the Basileus.
All new provinces are at the disposal of the Basileus.
The cities of Rome and Constantinople can never be held by anyone but the Basileus.
The Basileus army consists of a minimum of 8 infantry units, 2 missile units, 2 heavy cavalry units, and two artillery units.
The Imperial Fleet is under the command of the Basileus.
The Imperial Fleet consists of a minimum of 8 ships.
The Caesar’s army consists of a minimum of 6 infantry units, 2 missile units, 2 heavy cavalry units, and two artillery units.
A member of the House Asteri is always the Lord High Chancellor
A member of the House Komnenodoukai is always the Lord High Steward
The Caesar always holds the Privy Seal.
The leaders of the Asteri and Komnenodoukai are on the Basileus’ Privy Council along with the Caesar.
Constantinople alone can recruit Varangian Guards.
The House Asteri commands the Western Legion, which consists of 12 infantry units, 2 missile units, 3 cavalry units, and 2 artillery units.
The House Komnenodoukai commands the Eastern Legion, which consists of 12 infantry units, 2 missile units, 3 cavalry units, and 2 artillery units.

What say you, my loyal friends?

Ioannis Komnenos,
Caesar of the Romans.

Now, on to the report.

Armies:

Both Royal Armies are just fine. I just hope they aren't used to kill Byzantines...

The Order's Armies were severely beaten taking on yet another Fatimid Jihad army much larger than they. I have recruited and retrained 1 spear militia each in Antioch. 2 Peasant archers in Nicosia have been recruited. My army is currently 1 archer and 1 cavalry short of the legal requirement. I asked myself for permission to ignore the requirements of my private army for one year. While I was tempted to force myself to break the law by illegally denying myself a full private army, I am proud to say that I have given myself approval.

Kalameteros: His Treb Archer and Byz Spearmen at Markianople were retrained. A town militia is moving towards him for his army.

Alek: Per his wishes, he was moved towards Durazzo.

Savvas: His army is being moved by me. We have it so we might as well use it. Since he locked his 2 peasants in Arta, I have recruited 2 more in Scopia.

Zigavinos: A HA, 2 peasant archers, and 2 peasants are enroute to Iconium. A town militia is in Iconium to round out the army.

Pavlos: I took his offer and disbanded those 3 mercs. As part of our deal, I have retrained the Treb archer. And I have recruited the Dismounted Lancer and Byz Spearmen in Tbilisi.

Kan: There are 2 peasant archers and an Alan Cav in Trebizond. Plus a Spear militia and 2 town militias in Sinop. He can use those as his army. 2 town militias were recruited in Sinop as a garrison.

Buildings:

Yerevan: The Prioritized Wooden Walls were started. And all repairs have been made.
Athens and Bucharest started grain markets.
Dardenellia and Trebizond started Land Clearance.
Tbilisi started a small chapel and Corinth started a Chapel.
Sinop started a port.
Antioch got a Theologian's Guild. It is nice that someone recognizes our efforts in the Levant.

Foreign Affairs:

I sold both the French and the Hungarians our maps for 1000 florins.
Hypatios was jumped by 1000 Turks. I assume the man is well known as the butcher of Iconium. He survived and ran north.
The Fatimids attacked the Order Crusaders. The garrison of Cairo came out and was destroyed. The Order then occupied the city. I congratulate the men and it seems the Crusades are soon coming to a close.
The Council of Troyes happened. The Templars have been officially sanctioned by the Pope.
A riot in Alexandria killed some men and damaged the grain market.
Yerevan is under siege from a small 2 unit Turkish raiding party.
Armatos killed a Fatimid general and stopped the Jihad even though he lost the battle. The army has dissapeared but is no longer a threat to Constantinople.
The Turkish Jihad has dissapeared.
And a heretic was tried at Scopia. It seems Methodios's habits are becoming popular among his subjects.

Permissions:

OOC: No Crusaders can move until TinCow declares the Crusade is over or overrides this order.

Armatos has permission to move the peasant archers in Nicosia, the ship off of Nicosia, and all units in Antioch except myself.

Kalameteros can move the town militia that is heading towards Markianople.

Zigavinos can move the units to his army that are enroute to Iconium. They are the 2 peasant archers, horse archer, and 2 peasants.

Efstathios has permission to move his Crusade army into Alexandria to help keep order.

Methodios's Crusade army is "seized" by the Office of the Megas until he replies to my letter.

OOC: 3 RBG's in Scopia and 3 in Corinth are available for YLC to look over.

LOTR-1128

Save is open until roughly 27 hours from now.

*edit*

OOC: Also, Motep has accepted KP's MotH offer.

[Smowz]

taking the save

[Smowz]

Nevoulas joins zigavinos in Iconium and greets the people of the fine city with some aplomb!!!

Here is the save:

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1128-1.rar

[TinCow]

Taking the save.

[TinCow]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1128-2.zip

Crusader Sergeant units in Alexandria and Methodios' army have been swapped, as I removed the wrong one from Alexandria last turn. Movement was reset for Methodios and Annios after this was completed.

Vissarionas ek Lesvou (Ramses II CP) now owns Cairo and has been given the proper title ancillary.
Vartholomaios Ksiros (Rowan) has received the Bridle of Constantine. (How he came across it is for him to decide IC.)
Stavros ek Amarinthou (Knights_of_Palma) has received the Iron Crown of Lombardy. (How he came across it is for him to decide IC.)

4007 added to the treasury for Crusade upkeep. This is the last time this will be done. All future Crusade unit upkeep will have to be factored into the economy.

Nikolaos Aristenos (YLC) has been transported to his starting location in Scopia. The other 5 RBGs have been killed off.

The Crusade Event is now officially over. All normal game rules once again apply to all Crusaders, Crusade armies, and Alexandria and Cairo. Crusaders may begin moving their own avatars again this turn.

[Northnovas]

Taking the save. Giving it back!

http://www.totalwar.org/Downloads/M2...OTR-1128-3.zip

Went and fought the Rebels in Durazzo Region.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Easy victory no report for Rebel Army was also offered MoH to the Royal Family but refused. IC could not accept role to protect then be involved in the Royal Family.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I moved pevergreen to Druazzo his request after the battle and I am there with my army. Reduced the taxes in Arta to yellow face. PO order dropping quickly.
Updating SOT.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Taking the save.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1128-4.rar

Moved Efstathios to Alexandria. Changed tax level to High in Athens.

(Lol.. Efstathios is the governor in Alexandria.. Shady deal between him and Methodios?)

Edit: Forgot to add save

[Ituralde]

Taking the save!

[Ituralde]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1128-5.zip

Sallied against the Turks outside of Yerevan. I ransomed the captured soldiers since the Megas seems bent on obtaining money.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Moved part of my Private Army from Tblisi to Yerevan. Had to leave Yerevan to make sure those units are truly part of my Private Army, because my fort is gone.

[Kagemusha]

Taking the save.

[Kagemusha]

Gathering my army. Here is the new save:

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1128-6.rar

[Privateerkev]

taking the save.

[Privateerkev]

Report for 1128:

1128 will forever be known as the "year of loopholes." Since Imperial Bureaucracy was moving away from the "loophole model" of governance, I decided to have one last Hurrah. I noticed the Caesar's SOT did not have "do not obliterate" in his army orders. So, I "obliterated" his army. I hope he doesn't mind. I promise I will rebuild it with the finest peasants in all the land. I then went to the settlements of every person who voted against me, and I destroyed every building. The Charter is quite clear that the Megas can do anything he wants as long as it isn't forbidden in the rules. I used the money from those buildings to secure an alliance with the Pope. To sweeten the pot, I gave the Holy Father the provinces belonging to those who voted against me. Again, it isn't forbidden in the rules, so it must be legal.

Hopefully by now you know I'm just kidding...

Sorry, with the stress of this job, you need to laugh or you will go insane. And I'm not talking about any kind of insane. I mean clown shoes wearing exploding flatulence insane.

Anyways, on to the report...

Armies:
If I don't mention an army, it's because nothing changed, the army is up to legal requirements, and everything is fine and dandy.

Order: I recruited a town militia in Antioch. And a peasant archer and horse archer in Nicosia. My army is legal and I no longer have to worry about me prosecuting myself.

Zig: I recruited a town militia in Icon. The rest is heading towards the city.

Alek: He is sitting in Durazzo. I disbanded his 2 balkan archers and recruited 2 peasant archers.

Kan: I recruited a HA at Treb to replace the cavalry I am taking back from him.

Building:
Antioch started Large Walls. I figure since the Caesar threatened to throw himself against the walls of Antioch, I might as well make them bigger.

Adana and Aleppo started on roads. I know it might sound amazing that no one has built roads for us in the Levant before my term but it is sadly true.

Caesarea started on Land Clearence.

Cairo started on a small church to begin spreading the faith. Also, it had a Master Thieves Guild. That noble city deserves better so with Vissa's blessing, I destroyed the guild. I sold it for 666 florins which must be a sign that they were truly evil. They tried to re-establish themselves this year in Cairo but I refused.

Alexandria repaired the grain market and started on paved roads.

Sofia started on Garrison Quarters. This is my first military building of my term and I don't plan on there being many others.

Foreign Affairs:
I sold the Pope our maps for 1000 florins.
A heretic was tried in Adana.
Hypatios was jumped again by the Turks. 600 of them attacked him and his 12 bodyguards but I was able to get him out of there. It seems they don't like him much. I can't imagine why...
The HRE is the strongest faction around. I hope those uppity Germans don't let it go to their head.
We have a mission from the "nobles" to blockade Gaza for 2 years for 1000 florins. I've decided to accept. It must be a merchant looking to stifle his competition.

Domestic Affairs:
Nevoulos got an architect and Stavros got a pagan magician.
There is a riot in Cairo and it damaged a couple buildings. Methodios is valiantly trying to restore order.
There is a rebel army right next to Alexandria.
There is a small 2 unit Turkish raiding party near Yerevan.
There was a glimpse of yet another Fatimid Jihad army but it is now out of sight.
The Turkish Sultan came out of nowhere and the Jihad army is now to the west of Constantinople.

Permissions:
Armatos can move the units in Nicosia, the boat off of Nicosia, and all units in Antioch province but Makedonios
The boat down by Egypt is now for the use of Bart so he can come home. It is to his north east.
The Alan Cav that came from Trebizond is now reclaimed by the office of the Megas. It is not to be moved.
I strongly suggest that Hypatios runs for the hills. The Turks are after him. I'm not sure why he thought it would be a good idea to run through Turkish territory alone after he massacred thousands of Turks...
Zigavinos can move the units heading towards Iconium
Vissa, fresh from victory and the Crusades, has run south into the desert with only himself and his bodyguards. He did this against my orders. I demand that he turn around and come back up north. Or at least tell me what the heck he is doing down there. (OOC: I made the move OOC at Ramses request but did not approve it IC.)

LOTR 1129

OOC: Save is open for at least 24 hours. I'll probably get to it tomorrow night.

[Motep]

Taking save...

(i missed last turn...)

[Motep]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1129-1.zip

Moved closer to the capital, where I hope to catch a ship to egypt. (where do I make this request...here?)

[OverKnight]

Taking the save.

[OverKnight]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1129-2.zip

Turkish Jihad Army utterly destroyed with the Sultan and Crown Prince killed. Ransom refused on the prisoners. I was only able to get the Skythikons back to the capital, so I lowered taxes to compensate.

[Kagemusha]

Taking the save.

[Kagemusha]

Took the HA in the army with the permission of Megas and left the excess of troops behind.Here is the new save:

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1129-3.rar

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Taking the save.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Save is back: http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1129-4.rar

Took Efstathios and his Skythikons to destroy the rebels out side of Alexandria. Things didn't work the way I expected and Efstathios Laskaris died.
Will post battle report soon.

[Privateerkev]

My Office was defied when those Alan Cav were moved. That is against the law.

I have rectified the situation by disbanding the Alan Cav and moving the peasant archers into Kant's army.

LOTR-1129-5

[woad&fangs]

taking the save

[woad&fangs]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1129-6.rar

Took Solomon's ex-crusaders + 1 unit dismounted and 1 unit mounted lancers. Attempted night attack on rebel army and won, though with higher casualties then I would have liked. Sent the mounted lancers to Cairo, took the rest of the army east with me towards Gaza. Alexandria is yellow, Cairo is red. Annios got a MoH. I didn't know if it was up to me to accept it so I've left it up. If the descision is only up to me then I accept.

[Cecil XIX]

Taking the save.