Conseil du Royaume

[econ21]

"Duc Alain de Rohan, you honour us by declaring yourself ready to lead. What, pray, is your manifesto? And is there any legislation that you will require to fulfill it?

We have heard that Duc Hugues de Champagne will not run. What of Prince Louis and Duc Raymond de Provence? A contest is healthy for the Kingdom, particularly if it focuses minds on her future direction. But the sand glass is running and any debate between contestants must begin soon if the voting is to be informed."

[_Tristan_]

The King stands and all murmurs stops.

Mes seigneurs, you all know me to be a staunch defender de notre Mere l'Eglise. I have not forgotten that were it not for the bravery of Charles Martel at Poitiers notre Royaume would have fallen to the Muslim hordes.

Nevertheless, while I can understand the fear and loathing that knowing the Moors have set foot and now have a hold on European soil can create, we must not give way to the fanaticism of a Crusade yet. Les Espagnols et Portuguais are not defeated yet and have managed to create a standstill. Now how would they like to see bands of religious fanatics scour their land for that is how Crusades are led, like swarms of crickets, devastating the countryside which they cross ?

Moreover, I do not wish to see France expand beyond its natural borders while there still remains home territories to regain, and as you well know, this is not for tomorrow.

Even if such a Crusade was granted by the Pope, I agree with the proposal that was made before that all lands reconquered by our amrs by returned to its rightful owner le Roi de Castille et Leon. This would create a strong bond between our two kingdoms, leaving us free to deal with the English and the Germans in their own time, even calling upon our allies to help us.

Once my daughter is in Rome, if this assembly wishes to pursue this course, I will ask her to plead our cause before le Saint Père, but not before.

One other matter requires my attention, I think... I do not like some of the debate going in these halls. Particularly, I do not like the bickering and ambition that worms itself into your words, mes Seigneurs.

While I agree that France must be returned to her former glory de l'Empire de Charlemagne, France will have only one ruler and I will deal with our conquests as I see fit. Should I decide to give Angers to Bourgogne rather than Bretagne, that is my will and I will not have it contradicted. So do not presume to know what course I will hold.

Lastly, I do not like the proposition of binding the Seneschal hands by forcing him to recruit men to give a Seigneur rather than another.

However, if he's willing, I will look favorably to recruiting myself those mercenaries as needed, with the Seneschal necessary allotment of funds and provide them to the general that will seem the most capable of successfully leading the agrred uopn conquests.

Speaking of which, I am saddened and a bit worried for the fate of France when I see so few among its leaders wishing to step up and run for the position of Seneschal.

Turning to his son.

Louis, I would have thought that you would have relished the prospect of taking part of the power of the King before your time ?

Then, scanning the ranks of the dukes.

What of you Provence ? Champagne ? What better way to vie for my favour than to prove yourself worthy by leading the realm on the path of grandeur ?

That said, I will leave you to debate the matters at hand.

[Ramses II CP]

Prince Louis draws his gaze away from Bertin to address his father's concern,

Mon Pere I know more of your heart than you may suspect, and it is not my desire to create dissent by rising above my already lofty place. The day may come when I believe our Kingdom is best served by my taking on the role of Seneschal, but that day is not yet.

On the matter of the Crusade, the edict is most carefully worded to allow ample time for the development of forces towards this noble end. If you wish it I am certain it can be altered to include a provision for temporary ownership of the provinces preperatory to returning them to their prior Christian owners.

I will once more point out, on my own, that the royal prerogative should not be presumed upon. Bertin withdraw your edict. It has felt the disfavor of your King, your Prince, and your own allies within your House. To be true to your intent is noble to a point, and foolishly stubborn beyond that point.

[Marcus Agrippa]

Alexandre rises to speak

My King, Dukes and brother knights.

I Have listened and see much division in our collective thoughts.
With my Ducs permission I shall soon join the company of the Fleur De Lyes and run for it's captain.
I am a Chivilrous man and that means I do what is right.

I believe bringing the near east Metz under our protection would serve our imediate interests.
If the order pursues this and is supported by the King and the Duke of Lorraine then we stand to be united and serving our King and country, our royal highnest shall do with the provence as he sees fit.
While this would be done bringing our focus to restoring France without a war we can't fight, we could pursue alliances to secure our borders.

In this the order will not be at odds with any Duchy.
The order fights for the good of France and the King.

[Andres]

Thierry is in deep thought and looks up. He takes a sip of his goblet of water and stands up to address the Counseil.

Messieurs, it seems like we are not going to war with the English soon and I understand the wisdom behind that.

I also understand that we are going to build infrastructure in our Royaume, which is also a wise course of action.

But, we also have the English present in our very own lands. Yes, we are not powerful enough yet to take the initiative and start war, but we shouldn't be naive by assuming they won't attack us first in the near future. Once the treacherous English make their first moves, we'll need to mass recruit troops.

Some of you speak of conquering rebelious settlements, but we'll need troops for that. I understand that mercenaries will be recruited for that purpose.

Infrastructure is expensive, mercenaries are expensive, recruiting troops to defend ourselves against an attack of the English, is expensive.

We need money.

My esteemed colleague, Raynaud de Xaintrailles, talks about a "Holy Crusade". I prefer to call a spade a spade: we need money, the Moors have rich cities, let's take their money to finance our expensive projects. It will also give an opportunity to the more restless among us to prove themselves on the battlefield. It might be a good lesson for those "chivalrous and honorable" types among us, so that they learn that a silly tournament and a real war are not the same.

It is with this in mind, that I second Edict 1.5. But I'd like to repeat my query to Raynaud and insist that he rephrases it so that all settlements be sacked and all buildings destroyed. Since making money is the purpose, I'd also suggest that we try to ransom the prisoners we take. Of course, if no money is paid, the lifes of our captives are worthless and they should be hanged.

Thierry sits down again.

[AussieGiant]

The duke waits until the King, Prince and other nobles have made their statement.

He then moves onto the chamber floor. His voice is strong and firm and a contrast to his slight but fluid build. He is more boy than man in many respects. He gazes initially at Hermant before then addressing the benches in general.

“My strategy is simple and effective.

Bretagne is cut off from ze rest of ze kingdom. Due to ze Kings wish to refrain from warring wiz ze English, my options as a Duchy are effectively zero.

To zat effect, I can place a ‘and on my ‘eart and swear zat I will do what is best for ze realm as a whole and my objectivity at zis critical moment of our Empires development is assured.

Provinces of opportunity will be taken as efficiently as possible given our limited forces. Metz is certainly one of zem, others will be considered as an when ze time presents itself.

I am an ‘onourable man and zerefore I will conduct ze business of France in a like minded fashion. Our enemies and allies will know where we stand and why.

Given our current underdeveloped facilities, crowns will be given to all Dukes for ze development of our roads, churches and economy. It goes with out saying zat Paris will also benefit from zis expenditure.

Likewise we will open a dialogue with ze Pope in Rome. What they will bring is anyone’s guess but I will endeavour to raise our standing wiz him.

Please be aware, I am not a supporter of mercenaries and zey will be recruited only when absolutely necessary. I do not believe in ‘anding valuable experience in battle to men who can from one moment to ze next be fighting for someone else.

As for edicts, Bretagne ‘as none at zis time. If I am to be considered I would prefer flexibility zan a set of edicts that limit me at zis time.

At this moment the young Duke, stops pacing as he has done since he began to speak.

“On a final note, I know some ‘ere believe I am too young to lead zis Kingdom, I can appreciate zat position, I may ‘ave inherited Bretagne before my time and my fazer certainly went to an early grave. But since ze age of twelve I have been tutored and educated to do just zis task.

I ask you to give me zis shance.”

[Vladimir]

[OOC: Destroying all buildings is a cheezy, gamey way to cripple the AI. It may also encourage the GM to "restore the ballance."]

Duke Alain: Could his highness kindly refrain from chewing on his codpiece while attempting to speak?

[AussieGiant]

Looking amused and confused at the same time.

"Are you talking to me de Linars?

[KnightnDay]

Thomas stands.

"I myself suggested the recruitment of mercenaries during deliberations within the House of Lorraine. Their need is vital if we wish to capture Metz without delay. There are two reasons.

First, our spy in the area can infiltrate the garrison at once and knows which guards can be bought. However, the rebels are nothing if not unpredictable. If we delay into another season, the guards will likely change and we will not have the same guarantee that our spy will be able to pay off the others. Then it may become a siege where we must delay further while the rams are collected and so forth.

Second, the garrison of Rheims cannot move quickly enough on foot to reach Metz immediately. The mercenaries which can be hired enroute to Metz can. So our choice is this, the immediate seizure of Metz with mercenaries, or a delayed seizure without them. Consider too that the Holy Roman Empire will have troops on the move towards Metz. I am concerned that delay would be a needless risk. His Majesty's offer of providing these soldiers for this effort rather than through edict is one I highly favor."

[AussieGiant]

"Clearly, in ze case you mention Ser Thomas, any delay risks failure of ze objective.

Mercenaries would certainly be considered if I was to obtain ze position of Seneschal."