The Royal Council

**MerlinusCDXX** · 12-17-2008, 06:01

Phanias L. Lydikes strides into the council chambers with a pronounced bowlegged appearance and the dust of the East still clinging to him. "So, we are bickering again over the fate of the Ptolemaic dogs again, are we? Are we ever going to learn that time spent vacillating over 'should we attack here, should we attack there?' just give them yet another chance to catch us with our chitons around our ankles?" Glaring at Polyxenidos Lykikos "AND YOU, YOU BABYLONIAN FREAK, If I Didn't know Mardakou well, I'd be inclined to think you're all a bunch of whiny, poppy addled jackarses who can't help meddling in things they obviously know nothing about. Just because you can't tell the business end of an army from your arsehole doesn't mean you should all of a sudden question the way an obviously seasoned warrior conducts a war. So shut your hole, smoke this" throwing a large bundle of Skythian herb at him "and stick to your trade contracts. Who do you think protects your precious caravans anyway. If it weren't for warriors like the Basileus, you'd be nothing but a poor arsed dirt scrabbler like the rest of the peasants."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Ibn-Khaldun** · 12-17-2008, 17:19

Antiochos raises his hand...

Satrap Lydikes, please control yourself! Although I share your view, that it is needless to have an Edict for every town that we want to take from our enemy, we can talk about it without getting too emotional.

Turning towards Sarpedon..

Those CA's you proposed.. I like them. But could you also mention what 'Rule' do they change. At the moment it's a little bit confusing.

As I understand, your CA E1.1 changes will be added to the 'Rule 4.1' and your CA E1.2 changes will be added to the 'Rule 3.10'?

Am I right?

**Celtic_Punk** · 12-17-2008, 17:19

Cunobelinus who had snuck in unnoticed several hours ago stands up" I second Edict 1.3, Charter amendment 1.1 and 1.2. Those men are expensive to keep and are quite independent. It would take someone of greater influence to keep them together and to act accordingly. CA 1.2 should also be passed because if a Heir wishes his Aid to lead his own army, despite whatever sort of army it may be he should allowed to do so.

I also propose an Edict myself. Edict 1.4 : The war against Epiros should be put on hold when Byzantion falls till we finish with the Gold Coast of Egypt. The reason for this is simple. If we stretch too far too thin too fast we will become easy targets for our enemies. When we take Byzantion the Dacians may not be too happy about our new presence. I know these people better than anyone here. They are hardy like my own people, but are not as wary of the consequences of their own actions. They are ballsy and will pick a fight they cannot hope to win. They also use a weapon called a falx. Any armour we outfit our men with can be torn in half with this weapon. Our western forces should begin training to counter these weapons, so they are not taken off guard if Phyros employ them or the Dacians choose that we are a threat to their sovereignty.

I do not think we should give Ptolemy a chance to regroup with a ceasefire. Even if we make them our protectorate they will not sit idly. We must march down the Nile and destroy them as quickly as possible. 2 Armies with perhaps a small contingent of reinforcements trailing those 2 armies would be sufficient to deal the blows necessary. We cannot allow them to regroup. Just holding the Gold Coast will not be enough to stop them. We will have a long exposed front where we can be pushed into the sea. And Alexandriea will be cut off and overrun. This is total war we face with Ptolemy. We cannot go about this half assed. I do not propose a scorched earth policy at all. I propose we simply destroy all resistance and not stop till they cannot levy any proper force against us ever again.

**Ibn-Khaldun** · 12-17-2008, 17:39

Antiochos smiles..

Dear Cunobelinus, I think this is how you are called these days Arrhenides, you just said that we should not let me qoute you, "stretch too far too thin too fast" but still want us to go down the Nile? The forces available to us are not strong enough to do this. Also, do you think Epeiros will just stand idly when we go against Ptolemaioi?

Ceasefire with Ptolemaioi is not the perfect solution but at least we have taken their ability to build large fleets and recruit their 'elite' units. Also, knowing how irritated they are because of our presence is victory itself!

**kingsnake** · 12-17-2008, 17:41

Aratos claps his hands three times and lifts up.

Yes.

I share Strategos Cunobelinus' opinion. Our war agaisnt Ptolemy is total! We must not stop until Egypt is fully under the rightful control of the Arche.

So I second Edict 1.4!

**MerlinusCDXX** · 12-17-2008, 18:19

Basileus, my apologies for my outburst, it was inappropriate for a meeting such as this. Though, could someone PLEASE tell me that we are looking to our defense while we conduct this campaign. I realize that many of you would love nothing more than to march down the Nile like an armored juggernaught, but we can't afford to give the Aigyptoi dogs ANY back doors into our lands. And what about the rumors of previous Edicts being overturned? Taking Petra is vital, oh, I know it's nothing but a desert craphole, much like the rest of Aigyptos below Memphis, but its strategic position is vital.

Cunobelinus, you do speak some sense about things, but , If you could perhaps re-word your Edict to be less vague, perhaps giving Dispolis-Megale as the new defensive line, I would give it full support. The rest of Aigyptos south of there is filled with nothing but naked barbaroi, it would be more expensive to keep them under control than to just let them burn in the African sun. The problem I see with taking too much of the Mesogeios (Mediterranean) coast is that we would eventually piss off the Qart-Hadastim, and from news that I've heard, they are a pretty advanced people. We are already on the wrong side of alliances as far as they are concerned anyways, and I'd hate to see us at war with them over land we don't even want.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**SwissBarbar** · 12-17-2008, 18:30

I also think, that our war against the Ptolemaioi is an all-out war. But i think we are able to handl the Ptolemaioi AND Epeiros at the same time, once we have captured Byzantion

**Incitatus** · 12-17-2008, 18:41

Alexandros enters the council and speaks

The war against Ptolemy will ultimately end with his defeat and our conquest of Aegyptos. We all know this. I see no reason why this should not happen sooner rather than later, but a premature strike could turn into a major setback. If the Basileus is committed to marching on Alexandria, then every effort must be made to put Ptolemy in a position from which he will never recover. I am personally not a fan of nasty surprises. The way I see it, the war with Epeiros is to provide an easy defence of Asia minor. As soon as this has been accomplished I believe that all our attention needs to lie with the permanent subjugation of Aegyptos. Does anybody disagree?