Imperial Diet

[Ituralde]

My dear Kaiser, Dukes, fellow Electors!

It is indeed an important hour in which we meet here today. First I have to applaud my father, our Emperor Heinrich who has led us through the last years. Our hopes were down and our Empire at it's low-point, but he has managed, together with our guidance, to lead us back once more towards the glory that we deserve. May the next Chancellor be as successful as Kaiser Heinrich the Champion!

So far only Sigismund der Stoltze has stepped forward to take this duty and I also beleive that he would be most capable of leading our Empire. If my brother Henry puts the faith in him to let him stand for election, I think he should stand up to the critical looks of any man in this Diet.

However, I have to disagree with some of his political proposals and would like to echo Otto von Kassel to some degree, when I say that we have to be cautious. I don't need to remind you of the perils of excommunication and yet you propose us to take it on us once again.
Excommunication, gentlemen, would open our borders for every would-be invader that comes along. Some may even be inspired by the word of Pope Gregory to attack us, although they had no ill will against us beforehand. We may disagree with Pope Gregory's decisions in the past but let us not forget that he still is a mighty man and his word holds sway over the various Christian rulers of Europe. Incurring their wrath is something that we can not allow in our current situation. Our armies may be strong and able to defeat our foes even though they outnumber us, but were half of Western Europe arrayed against us, no courage and no bravery would save us.
I urge you Electors to consider these things, before you propose actions that lead us towards excommunication or even dare to attack Rome itself!

Now, the matter at hand is the war with the Milanese and you know that I want them wiped off the face of this earth. But we have to be careful. Patience is a virtue that we should not discard. An attack against the city of Milan is vital in our current situation. The attack on Bern can not be unavenged and the Duchies capital is under-defended and well within striking distance of our armies. An army from Innsbruck under Otto von Kassel joined by forces from Bologna should be able to attack the city within two turns. This should be our only offensive action against the Milanese for now. It will anger the Pope enough, of that I'm sure, but if we are fast he won't threaten with excommmunication until after Milan is firmly under our control. With the head of the Milanese snake cut off, we can rest back and allow Pope Gregory his will and let the Milanese come at us.

I think the essence of my intentions can be summarized by two Edicts.
Edict 3.6: The Chancellor has to avoid excommunication to the best of his abilities, by agreeing to the following: No offensive war may lead to excommunication and no attack on Rome is to be made.
Edict 3.7: A combined army under the lead of Otto von Kassel is to attack and take Milan as soon as possible.

Our other military forces should stay put and ward our borders. The Milanese may very well try to attack Bern castle once again and it would be a shame if Count Sigismund were halfway on his way to Dijon instead of putting his capacities towards the defense of Bern.
Me, I will stay in Vienna and amass a sizeable enough force to persuade any would-be attacker into rethinking his ambitions. I don't know what our allies are up to, marching troops through our countryside,but rest assured that I will watch them closely and destroy them utterly should they seek harm for the Reich.

Furthermore, I second Edicts 3.1 and 3.2.

Leopold looks around the Assembly quietly, passing each of the Houses with his glance to drive home the points he just made, before taking a deep breath and continuing a note mor jovially.

Maximilian Mandorf raises a valid point concerning a flaw in our current Charter and I have to agree with him. I second Charter Amendment 3.1.
While we are at the matter of Charter Amendments I'd like to put another small piece of legislation forward to this Diet. The late Second Elector of Austria Conrad von Schüsselen has thought up this Amendment, after discussions revolving around the distribution of settlements have arisen during our first Diet session. I owe it to this esteemed member of the House of Austria to at least present his deliberations to this Diet.
While we were able to agree on a common course during our first discussion, much of it revolved around the Kaiser following notions put forward in the Diet. While noble in thought it does not give any guarantees in case a Kaiser would be unwilling to listen to the Diet.
That's why I would like to put the following up for discussion:

Charter Amendment 3.2:
The House of Austria proposes a Charter Amendment which will anull §5.3 and change §4.3 to read the following:
"The allocation of settlements is decided upon in the Diet session that follows the capture of the settlement. Until then the captured settlement remains under direct control of the Reich. The voting for settlement allocation will follow these rules:
Each House has one vote, which will be placed by the respective Duke.
A majority is required for a settlement to be allocated to a specific House.
If there is a draw in votes, the Emperor may break the tie and grant the settlements to one of the tied Houses."

I would be especially interested in the oppinions of my father, Emperor Heinrich and my brother Henry who will eventually lead our glorious Reich as Kaiser. The intention behind the Amendment is not to wrest power from the Kaiser and give it to the Dukes, but to formalize the decision process for settlement allocations, while at the same time broadening the field of particpants to involve all parties concerned, equally. I'm looking forward to your honoured oppinions on all matters put forward by me and the House of Austria.

He bows slightly to the Assembly, before settling down again.

[econ21]

Prinz Henry: I would like to propose:

Charter Ammendment 3.3 Replace point 3.10 with

"Influential players get bonus votes (max +5 bonus)

Appointed Influence (Max 3 points):
Duke: +2
Count: +1
Chancellor, ex-Chancellor, or Prince: +1

Stat Influence (Max 2 points):
15 or more total stat points: +1 (I thought about a lower number, but all avatars are given a base 3 piety and base 5 loyalty, which means those points are freebies. So, 15 is only 7 from actual traits, plus the 8 piety and loyalty freebies)
6 or more ranks in one stat: +1 (In the unlikely scenario where a character gets 6 or more in 2 stats without having 15 total, they get this +1 twice)

The player who is Emperor gets bonus votes differently, being equal to his authority."

Replace 4.5 with:

"Counts are governors of their settlements. Dukes govern settlements that are allocated to their Houses but not to a Count. The Emperor governs settlements that are not allocated to any House."

OOC: These are TinCow's proposals already discussed OOC. Let's keep discussion of them there, but they should be seconded and voted on in the Diet.

[Warluster]

The Second Elector of Swabia walks in with an walking cane, then sits down, where his Fellow Electors brief him on the situation
I see, I have no long speeh to bore you with, i have an short sentence to say. That is this; Sigismund der Stolze is an noble man, and he shall lead this empire onto glorius things. Just as kaiser Heinrich has done.He bows to the Kaiser I support the decision fully that the Count Sigismund should become Chancellor, thank you for listening
The Elector sat down, feeling his stomach where he was attacked

[econ21]

Prinz Henry: I am proud to support my adopted son and fellow Swabian, Count Sigismund, in his candidature for Chancellor. I believe a term of 20 years (10 turns) may be an appropriate term of office, given the rigours of war.

However, I confess, I am reluctant to sanction an attack on Rome at this stage. It is true that sooner or later, we - the Holy Roman Empire - must occupy Rome. It is only right and fitting. But I had thought that we should delay such a move, until we stand as the clear and unchallenged leader of Catholic Europe. At present, our position, although strong thanks to my father, remains fragile and I fear we could be torn down if our many Catholic neighbours all turn on us following our excommunication. As I have indicated before, I would prefer us to use the Papacy and benefit from the wave of religious zeal that is engulfing Europe.

In this respect, I see much tactical advantage in Sir Otto's proposal to sucker the Milanese into attacking us again repeatedly and let them become excommunicated. Were that to happen, we would be free to strike at all their cities without being ordered to desist by the Pope. And indeed, we could call a mighty crusade to crush Milan, attracting fine zealous fighters to our cause. I would ask Count Sigismund to ponder Duke Otto's strategy and perhaps see Milanese excommunication as the trigger that will allow him to achieve his rightful goal of crushing Milan without risking a wider conflagration.

I second Constitutional Ammendment 3.1. It is unjust that Bavaria is denied Counts due to the absence of a Duke. Remedying that injustice is a simple matter.

However, I strongly oppose Constitutional Ammendment 3.2. I confess, I do not see how this is supposed to work, given the naked conflicts of interests between the Dukes when making such decisions. In my mind, I have an image of a newly acquired settlement as a captured fox and see the Ammendment as proposing it be thrown to a pack of hounds. I fear hounds may behave decorously by comparison to how men will squabble over the division of the spoils. Such naked competition may foster conflict between Houses and division that weaken our empire.

It may be that the Dukes could come to some non-competitive solution - perhaps agreeing on an allocation on geographic lines. They may then come to behave less like hounds and more like those slothful reptiles from Africa and Asia who lie idly even when thrown fish or meat. Such an outcome may rob the Empire of some of its dynamism - Houses will no longer have to distinguish themselves to achieve rewards. Or it may skew our statecraft so that it becomes directed towards territorial expansion in the area of influence assigned to the most politically powerful House.

So, fellow Electors, I have deep unease with Ammendment 3.2. I would prefer to see the Emperor remain free to reward Houses with settlements. He will allocate them as he judges fairest and most conducive to the good of the Empire. Aside from anything else, the Ammendment would seem to rob my father of his one real power and reduce our Empire to something more properly corresponding to a Republic, albeit one fractured on geographic lines. We have constructed a more subtle system of checks and balances, with a separation of powers. I would like to see evidence of the system failing before supporting such sweeping change.

Prinz Henry sits down, then Sir Otto approaches and whispers something in his ear. Henry thinks for a moment, then rises again.

On reflection, I second Edict 3.4.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Kaiser Heinrich:

This is not the time to make use of tactical maneuvering or diplomacy. This may shock the Diet, I know, but now is the time for something different.

In the twilight of my Chancellorship, the Pope had the audacity to twice -twice! - violate the Empire's borders and instruct me on how to conduct diplomacy. He flaunts his power and authority openly. He knows that we have not the resources to seriously challenge him, so he prances through Imperial territory with the largest army he can find, knowing we can do nothing. The Milanese, our former subjects, seek to now make us their subjects. They have brazenly besieged Bern, which we at the time had just conquered.

Now is the time to show the world our power.

I admit, good Electors, that I am to blame for the reason that we have had to reclaim our glory in the first place. I have made some errors in the past, if you will. The Investiture Controversy threatened to shatter our Reich and change the way Europe has worked forever - in a way the second scenario has already happened. However, I do believe that the actions that this Diet and I have taken in my just-concluded Chancellorship have prevented the gradual crumbling of this great nation.

What we have accomplished in the previous years is no small feat. Under my Chancellorship, we have doubled in size. We have grown in power, and we have financially stabilized ourselves. Why should we still be taking orders from Pope Gregory and fighting passively against the Milanese? These people had the nerve to attack us, to publicly humiliate us! We must strike back with a fury. We do this so that all the world knows that they are subservient to us!

I remind the Diet that we have been given an oppurtunity to shine on the world's stage with the Milan and Papal situation. I beg to them that we do not squander it.

If we properly make a statement now, then I assure you, we will have to worry about very little for quite a long time.

Edict 3.8: Milan is to be crushed by an offensive campaign, one that does not wait for Papal opinion or any other outside factor to strike. Kaiser Heinrich is to have a major role in this campaign.

Edict 3.9: Edict 1.1 is hereby repealed.

I second Edict 3.5 and Charter Amendments 3.1 and 3.3.

I also support good Sigismund der Stolze in his bid for Chancellorship. May he lead this Reich into a golden age more golden than the world has ever seen.

[TinCow]

Maximillian Mandorf jerks to his feet with a gleem in his eye, his arm snapping into a stern military salute.

Mein Kaiser! I can walk!

Mandorf pauses and shakes his head from side to side, as if he had walked into a spiderweb.

...my...apologies... gentlemen. I do not know what came over me.

Mandorf regains his composure and continues.

Kaiser Heinrich shows the courage of a true Emperor! We must seize the opportunity presented to us and strike deeply into the hearts of our enemies. We must, of course, despose of the rebellious Milanese, but if we do so and leave the Usurper intact, he will send another one of his subjugated Kings against us. If the Reich is ever to be truly secure, we must ensure that the Papal throne is fully within Imperial control.

Some of you propose restraining our assault, fearing the Usurper's power. Some of you want immediate action. I believe there may yet be a way to assail Rome without provoking severe retaliation from those Catholics who have bent knee to the false Pope. I have heard rumors that the Pope is considering calling a great Crusade to return the eastern lands to Catholic control. I feel as if this event is over-due and may well be called soon. Once the Pope calls for this mass campaign, he will be unable to assemble sufficient resources to ask for a second one against us!

We should move against the Milanese now, restraining our wrath only on the threat of immediate excommunication. Yet, once Gregory's Crusade is launched, we should strike at all remaining Milanese forces and then take on Rome itself. We will certainly be excommunicated by the false Pope, but with all of his followers responding to his first call to arms, no friendly nation will raise arms against us. Perhaps some may take advantage of our disfavor to attack, but any who would do so would likely strike soon anyway.

Let us destroy the Milanese and return Rome to the Empire! As a final measure, it would be my dying wish to see the Kaiser himself cross the floor of the holy basilica in Rome. Let us send a message to all Christendom that the laws of God cannot be violated!

Edict 3.10: If Rome is assaulted and Kaiser Heinrich is alive, he must lead the attack.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Kaiser Heinrich:

Naturally, I second Edict 3.10. I would be honored to fully redeem myself.

I remind the Electors that if they agree with Edicts it is not enough that they vocally support them, but officially second them. Otherwise the scribes could get confused.

[AussieGiant]

Standing slowly the 4th Elector of House Austria composes himself for a moment:

Kaiser Heinrich, Prinz Henry, Dukes of the Realm, fellow electors,

Gazing out the great window above the heads of the assembled nobles, the 4th elector says absently

Attack Rome you say...

Very few things in life are absolute gentlemen, however, if we attack Rome, then this course of action will provide for some absolutes in our life time.

Raising his voice and beginning to pace in front of the Austrian benches the 4th Elector continues

First, WE WILL BE EXCOMMUNICATED...fact!

Second, our Reich and the people WE lead will question us and our actions...we will need to spend far more resources controlling our own population than we currently do....fact!!

Third, we will be surrounded by 7 Catholic nations of which only 1 is not able to attack us with the Pope’s backing. The military options open to our enemies will be unlimited. Are we really in a position to conduct a potential war on such a scale?

Fourth, our trade and current financial status will drop sharply.

The pacing continues, however his voice lowers to a normal level again

Without try to sound like a bore my lords, WHY are we considering attacking the Pope?

Forgive me if I am not overly impressed by the words of outrage and such. Whether we like it or not, the POPE is the POPE. Spitting in his face, taking his city, slapping his arse will not change that!!

To openly defy him has never brought ANY nation ANY benefits. Are we not able to learn from the past? Is anyone able to outline ONE benefit to this Diet?

I think it`s time gentlemen, to put aside our personal ambitions, our hidden agendas, our outrage and our egos and keep in mind the normal people of our realm, and THEIR condemnation of US if we were to take this course.

Stopping for the moment and standing quite still, the 4th Elector smiles to the gathered nobles

I personally think it's time we cease drinking the Absinth Duke Leopold has brought back from Prague...go outside and do one of the following things...or, both if they really take your fancy...

...strip yourselves naked, and have each of your page man throw a bucket of cold water on you from the battlements...or, go to the jousting range and have Helmut, our local jousting champion, slam his lance once or twice against your Great Helms, and NOOO, that’s NOT the great helm on your head gentlemen...I mean the OTHER great helm we all have!!

I say this my lords, because it’s that level of pain and suffering the people of our nation will surely feel if we allow our secular ambitions to convince us, that attacking Rome is in the best interests of this Reich and the people we have the privilege to govern.

I therefore second edicts 3.4, 3.6, 3.7 and Charter Amendment 3.3

My God rest our souls!!!