Imperial Diet

[TinCow]

I, Maximillian Mandorf, Steward of Bavaria, agree with the Swabians that it is important that we establish a firm barrier to prevent French aggression against our territories. Yet we must not ignore the threats posed by other nations, most particularly the aggressive Papal lapdogs to our south. Milan, Venice, and Sicily may choose to fight amongst themselves, but it is certain that at least one, if not all of them, will turn on us in quick order.

We must maintain power in Northern Italy both for the purposes of trade and to allow us better control over the Papal throne. The Pope must learn that he cannot continue to ignore the right of the Kaiser to appoint the most worthy priests to the position! It is the proper order as prescribed by God and must be restored!

In order to ensure the influence of the Empire in Italy, we must first secure and strengthen the Alpine provinces to provide for defense against any trechery and a springboard for any attacks. You all know that Bern is the first and most vital step in such a plan.

Yet, I am not an ignorant or unreasonable man. We are all grasping at straws in all directions. Bern is an important province, but its control can perhaps be delayed for a short while until other actions have been fulfilled. I will support provisions giving Metz priority and ceding control of this territory to Swabia, but Bavaria must be compensated in return. I will vote for such provisions, but only if my Swabian colleagues will support the following edict:

Edict 1.13 - When Bern is conquered, it shall become the property of the House of Bavaria. This Edict will remain in effect until the Holy Roman Empire conquers Bern.

[DMu]

Unnamed Austrian elector:

I ask for your attention, Kaiser, Prinz, and fellow electors:

I hereby withdraw edict 1.11 (formerly 2.11) (aside: powerful forces are arrayed against you, my Duke. Be weary. I tried my best )

respectfully hand over the following official doc:
it reads

edict 1.13: seconded

[flyd]

I should point out that the laws clearly state that it is within the Emperor's power to give settlements to one of the Houses (section 5.3). I see no reason why he would need to follow Bavaria's Edict 1.13, or any suggestion from Swabia regarding Metz. Surely, requests to the Emperor can be made, but this seems far from the proper way to do it. Does no house besides Franconia respect the position of the Emperor?

[Warluster]

I second edict 1.13.

it is an nescarry Area to control, it is sonewhat a radar for Denmark if they capture, and Denmark is intent on the descruction of this grea tEmpire.

if we control it then it is a good spot for future invasions of Denmark,Poland or Antwerp. But I also propse we extend the time limit of the edict

[pevergreen]

As but a lowly member of the noble House of Austria, I do not know much about what enemies we shall encounter, therefore I propose
Edict 1.14 - Train a diplomat and send him east, to create friendly policies with Poland and Hungary.

Trade at first with these Kingdoms, until we of Austria can claim their settlements, in the name of the Empire!

I would Second Edict 1.9 but I am under the impression the Governer instructs what shall be built, not the Diet.

[OverKnight]

Third Elector of Bavaria:

Greeting Lords and Electors of the Empire, I *second edict 1.13*. This is an excellent suggestion. The Alps form a formidable natural barrier to our potential enemies to the south, the treacherous Italian merchant states.

Second Elector of Swabia, I fear you are confused, Bern would allow us to monitor the actions and defend the Alpine passes against Milan and France, not the Danes. Perhaps you're thinking of Hamburg? Your support for the edict is still gratifying.

I admit the disposition of territories is of course the domain of the Kaiser, but the integration of Bern into the Bavarian duchy would allow for geographic continuity and easy defense due to Bern's proximity to our recruitment centers.

I fear war with either the Venetians or Milan will come shortly milords. They cast covetous eyes on our Italian province. Bologna is vulnerable due to it's lack of a connection to the rest of the Empire. To think, if we wished to move troops into or out of the province we would have to ask permission, permission!, of those oily, usurious merchants! Bah! If we are to seek an alliance with one them it should be Milan, they do not straddle our lines of communications like the Doge and his ilk do.

I support edict 1.1, it is already seconded and it is a good idea. I am a Christian and a German, we need to improve our relations with Rome, they are very low at this point. If we fall too far in the Pope's disfavor it will embolden our enemies to strike, for they will not fear his disapproval. I am not saying we should bend the knee in all matters, but we should respect the power he holds.

The 3rd Elector of Swabia has proposed that we build roads in Vienna. I would go a step farther and propose:

*edict 1.14*: Roads should be present in all current provinces of the Empire by the year 1100 (20 years/10 turns)

Our armies will be needed on many fronts and we are an inland Empire. We need roads to quickly dispatch an army from one area of the Empire to another. Trade will also benefit.

I support the expansion of the Empire in general. Seizing Hamburg, in addition to Bern, Metz, and Prague is a good idea. It might antagonize the Danes, or they might turn north. We shall see. In expanding, however, we should set our sights on strong frontiers that have choke points we can defend, the Alps in the south, Hamburg and the sea to the north, and the Rhine to the west. The east, well, there is the Danube, but that is not ideal.
I hope the Kaiser will keep this in mind.

[OverKnight]

OOC: Change mine to 1.15, I was in the middle of writing when Swordsmaster's post went up. And for some wonky reason I can't type in bold so I had to substitute asterisks, my apologies. It might be because I'm using the web browser at work.

[pevergreen]

My dear Bavarian friend, I think you are mistaken with your eagerness to ask Milan for an alliance. Milan and Venice are both alike, with qualities akin to each other. For if we take Florence, as we should, we will have two borders with Milan, and as they seem have more cities in northern italy than Venice, it would seem Venice is the weaker city state in Northern Italy.
In realisation of Milan's power to extend through the weak and divided France, I put foward another Edict to the Diet.

Edict 1.16 Recruit and send a spy to watch over Milan's progression.

This will allow us to judge when they are aggrivating their neighbours and give us time to strike.
(OOC: I really hate Milan)