Imperial Diet

[Lucjan]

There is mumbling from side of the House of Franconia. Then outright laughter, nobles, statesmen, even their secretaries can see through the Kaiser's pitiful excuses.

"Does he actually think we can't see through that nonsense?!" One man yells.

"He's deliberately lowering relations with Poland so they'll deny the alliance!" Another angry voice barks.

"The duke isn't refusing the edict, he was never ordered to build them, in fact, Franconia is the only house that had the foresight to erect such constructions prior to the edict! Each duchy should construct it's own towers! It's stupid to have a man with no knowledge of other houses building their watch towers!"

"He's a baboon!"

The rauckus laughter, after that last comment, only grows worse.

"He violates edicts! Argues that he didn't, then tries to make the Reich's situation WORSE by ignoring intelligent council and proceeding to deliberately act contrary to the diet's wishes!"

The Franconian section of the diet, now in an uproar, begins to angrily storm out of the diet, following their duke.

"This is not a diet! This is a dictatorship!"

"Tyrant!"

"Any man who thinks this dummkopf is an honorable man is ALSO a dummkopf!"

It takes little time for the entire section of Franconia's diet seating to be empty.

[OverKnight]

Otto von Kassel quickly strides into the Diet. His riding clothes are splattered with mud and the worse for wear. A bandage is wrapped around his head, with a hint of red showing through the gauze at the right temple. Otto speaks:

Mein Kaiser! Lords of the Reich! Bern is ours! The Reich is victorious! I have ridden three horses into the ground so that I could bring you the news myself!

Having made his announcement, some of the elation leaves Otto. He appears grimmer than you remember.

It was not without cost, however. The commander of their garrison, Helmut, knew his business and his walls were strong. Almost 400 of my men gave their lives for this victory. None of those bandits, however, lived to brag of it, I sent almost 700 of them to Hell!

Otto turns to Prinz Henry and the Swabian delegation:

Sigismund and his men fought like Lions my Prinz! Without their valor, I fear the day might have turned against us. All the men should be commended for their bravery!

Otto faces the Kaiser:

I bring with me 1500 florins for the royal coffers mein Kaiser. They were crafty and well armed foes, but not all that rich. Still, we are in commanding position in the Alps now.

Otto addresses the new Fourth Elector of Austria:

I thank you for the gift of wine you gave me before I left good sir. Sigismund and I drank it in the great hall, and it was excellent. I have a few choice bottles from the castle's cellar that I will send to you.

Otto turns to face the Franconian delegation, only at this point does he notice their absence. One of his eyebrow raises a bit, but he says nothing. Otto addresses the remaining members of the Diet:

I will present a battle report soon my lords, but I am very tired now from the road. I am going to rest. I might have something to say on the morrow.

Otto turns on his heels and wearily exits the Diet. He returns much later, rested and in a change of clothes, and begins writing a battle report at his desk.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Kaiser Heinrich:

Wrong again, Franconia. The watchtower that Dietrich requested was to keep watch over the Danes, not the Reich.

And you were not the only house to have placed watch upon outsiders, either. Austria has done so with both the provinces of Vienna and now Prague too, and Bavaria has done so with a pass through the Alps leading into Italy, serving both as an interior and exterior view.

I suggest to the electors and their staff that they review the latest maps thoroughly as well as constitutional procedure before they... grace this Diet with their presence again.

[Ignoramus]

Count Sigismund der Stolze strides into the Diet building. He has not had time to change from his coat of mail into more suitable attire.

Mein Kaiser, fellow electors, and honourable lords of the Reich, I offer my heartiest congratulations to Otto von Kassel. He fought admirably at Bern and kept calm even when the day looked as if it may go against us. He is a credit to the Reich and the Duchy of Bavaria; it was an honour to fight alongside such a brave and shrewd general.

I apologize for the state that I am in; I received a mere scratch on mein arm from a Swiss spear.

Sigismund bows and quiety leaves the Diet.

[Ituralde]

Conrad had once again been suspiciously absent from the Diets meeting and now that he returned the reason for his absence was obvious for everyone. His skin was now drawn tight across his skull, like thin parchment, with his eyes set back . His hair has grown even less and thinner, dangling spindly in a small fringe around his head. It really was a sight to be reminded of ones own mortality.
His voice was also thinner as he spoke, but still managed to carry to the farthes corners of the Diet:

Much has happened, while my health has kept me from joining this Diet.
I must applaud our great military leaders for rewarding the Reich with these victories. My greatest respect belongs to Duke Leopold, Duke Mandorf, Otto von Kassel, and of course Sigismund der Stoltze, without his help the taking of Bern would not have been feasible, or so I've heard. Finally those treacherous Milanese dogs have been restricted by...
A short fit of coughing interrupts the Elector and it takes some time before he regains his composure.

I also have to apologize for the Absence of my Liege. He is quite busy in the East, building watchtowers and what not. Those uncivilized lands can not be left to themselves for just one month, I guess, not like our Italian holdings, where few of our esteemed Electors have visited recently.
Duke Leopold intends to return at the next formal Diet meeting the latest. In the meantime I shall do my best to represent the House of Austria.

Exhaling heavily he lowers himself back in his seat, relying completely on the support of an ornately carved walking stick, to do so.

[econ21]

Prinz Henry: I would like to congratulate the House of Bavaria on leading our men to twin victories at Bern and Stettin. Both sieges were hard fought and I am pleased that the House of Swabia was able to contribute in some small way, with the gallant Count Sigismund riding at the side of Commander Otto. I hope the Emperor will bear Sigismund in mind to command the next battle of our forces, as I believe he is the only knight of renown who has not yet had a chance to lead us in battle.

I would also like to comment on the severe losses we suffered in the two sieges. I wonder if, in future, we should consider starving out garrisons rather than throwing our men against their walls? After all, a besieged garrison cannot go anywhere, and I would rather face the defenders in a sally (or even fight off a relief force) than storm city walls to get at them. This is particularly true while our assault forces consist of only horse and spearmen. Things may change when the day comes when we can provide a siege train or even persuade our proud knights to dismount to scale the walls. But until that time, I wonder if we should be more patient and not expect such rapid gains as we have become accustomed to.

[OverKnight]

Otto, at the mention of Bern, rubs his right temple and winces. He rises to address the Diet:

Mein Prinz, you speak truly. It is much better for us to fight an enemy who sallies out than assaulting their walls.

However, after taking Bern my clerks inventoried the castle's stores. According to them those schwein had enough provisions to last them another 10 years! (OOC: 5 turns) Sigismund and I would still be sitting outside Bern in our siege camp dicing if the Kaiser had decided to starve them out! Yes, we would have saved lives by waiting them out, but we would have had the largest field army in the Reich immobilized for the entire time. The sooner we seize a settlement, the sooner we can collect revenue from it and build it up, and the sooner we can replenish and redeploy the army that assaulted it.

In the future it would be wise to strike a balance between conservation of our forces and strategic interests when choosing in a siege between assault or starving out an enemy. I see this balance shifting depending on many variables such as the state of our treasury, proximity to reinforcements, and whether a relief force is close. Towns, particularly, are vulnerable to prolonged sieges.

In the case of Bern castle, however, the Kaiser ordered the assault at the right moment. I do not believe we had the time to wait until they sallied out, edict 2.5's deadline would have passed. Waiting a few more years, but not enough to starve them out, would have only reduced their numbers by a pittance. I had the siege equipment I needed and all the men I was going to get. The presence of Milanese forces in the region a few years later shows that the timing of the assault was correct.

Otto's expression becomes grim, his voice comes out in a low rasp:

We must not shy away from bloodshed if it is necessary for victory!

Otto's mood lightens a bit.

I agree with the Prinz's suggestion that Count Sigismund have his own command. He has fought well in two battles already and deserves a chance to lead an army of his own!

My lords.

Otto sits.


OOC: I think I'm enjoying that new point of dread.