Conseil du Royaume

[OverKnight]

Hugues stands and speaks to the nearly empty chamber.

My lords, remember, if the King is victorious in this election, it is likely his Majesty will then retain the office after this term using his prerogative. For some this will be fine and dandy, but I thought I'd point it out.

Hugues leans back in his chair, puts his feet up on his desk and takes a swig of wine as Reeves hands him the latest tallies.

[AussieGiant]

As the election results come in to the chamber, Alain glances at the throne.

"So!"

In a manner that clearly represents a break in his normally flippant and formal demeanor in the council, Alain thumps his mailed fist on the bench forcefully.

"We are done!"

[OverKnight]

Hugues stumbles back into the Conseil. He looks hung over and battered.

I am grateful for the honor the Realm. . .eventually. . .bestowed upon me. I will serve the King and the Conseil with justice and fortitude. We face difficult times, but we will persevere.

Here is my first report. Reeves wrote out most of it.

I had just gotten back to my men at the Moselle when the Germans attacked, sneaky bastards! Put paid to them.

I would also like to announce that Thomas de Saint-Amand, who yet again has proved his worth in battle, is now the Baron of Franconia. I congratulate him!

I hope his new Barony isn't reduced to a cinder before he sees it.

[OverKnight]

Hugues scans a few reports, including some notes from Reeves, and stands. He looks a bit more refreshed, if still tired. He sketches a bow.

My King, Dauphin and Nobles of the Realm. I have received some requests for mercenary recruitment. Chevalier Gaeten de Rethel has taken position in a mountain pass between Bern and Dijon. He has requested a company of crossbowmen.

The King wishes reinforcement so that he may move from Frankfurt and engage Kaiser Maximillian but leave a garrison.

I would prefer if all future requests for troops, mercenary or recruited, including prioritizations, be made in the Conseil. This would make them easier to track and to ensure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.

(OOC: It well also, I hope, encourage discussion in this thread between sessions.)

Seignuer Gaeten de Rethel's request is denied. 860 Florins is a great deal of money. He has no other men besides his retinue. Barring future developments, we have enough forces in the area to respond to a German incursion.

As for the mercenaries the King requests, I need more specifics as to what his Majesty needs. There are three companies of crossbowmen and two companies of spearmen available for hire in the area. Certainly to face down the Kaiser, I will not skimp, but purchasing the services off all those companies would cost nearly 4,000 florins.

Hugues checks his notes.

Which is 2/5ths of our current treasury and our entire income for the season.

[Cecil XIX]

Given that Dijon can only recruit one type of unit, I think I am being specific enough when I say I want my three unit prioritizations fulfilled as soon as possible. At least they're cheap.

[OverKnight]

Hugues nods to Raymond.

To be honest, I had not reviewed all troop requests yet. (OOC: I'll be printing out the SOT thread and doing recruitment at the end of the turn. It might be a good idea to delete old prioritizations and flag new ones.)

The Duc raises a good point, prioritizations of troop recruitment come before all other expenditures, including mercenaries:

(3) Prioritized Units - No money can be spent on any recruitment until all Prioritized Units have been funded, unless the Nobles who Prioritized them agree otherwise. If there are multiple Prioritized Units, and not enough funding for all of them, the Chancellor may choose which to recruit first. Nobles may specify any of his settlements for the unit to be recruited from, and any unit available for hire in that settlement to be recruited. Artillery and mercenaries cannot be Prioritized. A unit may be retrained instead of recruited if the unit is already located in a settlement where it can be retrained in some fashion.

This is part of the reason I wish to make requests public. Certainly Duc Raymond needs men to defend Dijon, but the King needs men to repulse the Kaiser. Also, Dijon can only recruit so many companies this season. I would also like to have Florins to build. I hope we can hammer out a compromise where everyone is satisfied.

OOC: The save window is going to be extended until all these first season issues are sorted out.

[econ21]

I congratulate the Seneschal on his election. I agree with my Duc that prioritised units should be ... err.. prioritised. However, if only one company can be trained at Dijon each season, perhaps he and our other landed gentry would allow the Seneschal to hire mercenaries for the King?

On the matter of mercenaries, I believe our Monarch is astute to favour them over militia when it comes to battle. Yes, they cost more than militia but they also are much better equipped and trained. Militia are ideal for garrison duty and lesser actions. But it would be heartless and perhaps reckless to send untrained and unarmoured militia into a major battle against superior numbers when we could hire well armed professionals. When we have the capacity to train our own armoured infantry, mercenary foot may then become an unnecessary indulgence. However, even then, I fear that we will never train crossbowmen who can match the range of the arbalests of the mercenaries and some of our neighbours.