Stories thread - King of the Romans PBM

[flyd]

Magdeburg, 1146

"This isn't good, you know. This whole thing with Sigismund. Nothing good will come of it."

Fredericus was standing in the courtyard of recently conquered Magdeburg, observing as a great number of workers were tearing down a part of the garrison's quarters to make room for a drill square. With him was Franz, a member of his bodyguard, and well within hearing range was Otto, the engineer overseeing the construction project.

"The war, you mean?" said Franz.

"Yeah, the war, the impending Swabian land grab that was so masterfully set up. If only I knew who exactly was behind it all."

"The French?" Franz said, knowing that this explanation was far too simple for Fredericus.

"Oh, it wasn't the French. What would they have to gain? I'll tell you what Swabia has to gain: France. It's perfect, really. The honest and chivalrous Swabian gets killed, everyone laments his death, vows revenge upon the villainous French scum, Swabian armies get sent into France. Even better if they get it done before Heinrich dies, since he can use his little 'geographical' distribution to justify giving a disproportionate number of lands to Swabia. Still, I have a difficult time blaming the Prinz, it doesn't seem like something he'd do. Maybe it was that von Salza. Conveniently enough, he's the only one eligible to be Duke of Swabia now. He's already started to point fingers at nameless electors in the Diet, as if everyone isn't eager to accept that the French did it. You know..."

"Yes, but," Franz finally interrupted the rant, "the French attacked us before the assassination. We were at war. Is it not reasonable that they would eliminate a commander of our army in the west for strategic purposes?"

"Of course they attacked us! They always do. Are you familiar with the story of how the Romans came to conquer everything?" Upon receiving a negative gesture from Franz, Fredericus continued, "well, they say that back when the Romans had only the control of Italy, and were at war with some small city in the west of Greece, I forget what it was called, they decided to send a small raid over. So they did, but one of their Senators died in battle. Naturally, there were great lamentations and cries for revenge, so they sent a big army to conquer Greece, but they said 'we'll just take Greece, then we'll stop expanding.' But in the process of doing this, their little legions were attacked by the entire Macedonian might. That's what they say anyway, but from what I've read, they seemed to be on the offensive the whole time. I think they lost another Senator, or maybe a Consul, so, of course, they had to completely destroy Macedon. But this got them into contact with the Thracians and the Illyrians, who attacked them, and then also the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires the same, and, well, you know the rest."

"That seems a bit exaggerated," said Franz.

"Oh, I'm sure it is, but the exact history isn't important. It's more of a fable than anything. The point is, that deaths can be used to justify aggression. That expansion gets you into other wars. No one likes large armies running around near their border, conquering their neighbors. I'm already looking beyond France, and see England, Portugal, and Spain. I'm sure they're looking over here too."

Franz nodded, having nothing to add. Fredericus continued, "there is also a third way to get into wars, as the Romans have shown us with their conquest of the Iberians. That role, for us, is filled quite well by the Kaiser himself. He doesn't respect the Diet. Some of his actions can only be described as Servian, although perhaps a bit lesser in magnitude. Remember when he ordered an Imperial army to violate Polish territory, when the Diet desired good relations with the Poles? But of course, the Poles are the back stabbers! They must be destroyed! Now they wonder why the Russians won't ally with us. I'm betting they don't want to be labeled as back stabbers when our armies start taking scenic tours of the steppes around Novgorod in a few decades' time."

Franz chuckled. "So, what is to be done?"

"Nothing. Lay low and keep quiet. Sigismund is dead, remember? Woe to him who doesn't grab his lance and charge at the walls of Paris."

At that point, the conversation is interrupted, as a wall of the garrison quarters falls over, crushing several workers.