TroG Parliament

[Innocentius]

Chancellor Innocentius of Firenze remains seated but speaks aloud.

I agree with Isbulino Doria on the three first suggestions. However, I must remind you all that the lands of Napoli lay open to us. These lands are held by the Greeks of Constantinople and are well-known for supporting corsairs. Also, should we not take these lands quickly enough, I assure you that the Normans of Sicily will claim them instead and the Normans are even less trustworthy than the Greeks. Leaving a potentional naval base open to our enemies might be risky. However I will not give any final answer to this matter as I have yet to hear of the Consul's wish.

[Warmaster Horus]

A boy, still in his teenage years and sitting in a chair next to the Consul's seat, confers with his mentor and his Father's advisor. After a few minutes, the Prince Gregorio speaks, hesitantly at first, using an old introductory phrase.

Members of the Genoese Parliament, Great Men of the Republic, I Prince Gregorio salute you all humbly. I do not speak officialy, but just wish to convey my thoughts upon these matters.
I agree with Isbulino Doria's first three proposals. However I suggest we also attempt to forge an alliance with the Papacy. I feel that since we are a catholic republic, we should have the best possible relation to the Holy See.
These are in NO way my Father's wishes however. I have had no contact with him for many months now. If one of you has knowledge of his situation, I bid you to speak.

[Kavhan Isbul]

Isbulino Doria raises and prepers to hold a long speech, later to be known as Isbulino Doria's Speach on Naples

Chancellor Innocentius, Your Highness Prince Gregorio, well respected members of the Parliament, if Consul Gregorio II is to return, then I shall respect any of his decisions regarding the Republic's foreign policy. In his absence though, we still need to decide on certain pressign matters.
As Chancellor Innocentius has pointed out, Naples holds huge importance. It controls the southern part of our peninsula - fertile farmlands and rich trading cities. It will give us an opportunity to prevent the Normans, the Venetians or the Pope to expand in that direction, slowing down these potential enemies' progress. And last but not least, it is easy to take and will give us a great base where troops can be trained.
However, I need to point out that simply because the Greeks are weak and the province easy to take, it does not mean that it will be easy to defend. Our fleet cannot protect all the seas surrounding the southern part of the peninsula, and even if it were, the Pope can still attack us by land. Some of you will be quick to point out that such an attack from the Holy Father is unlikely, but while this is true, we cannot entirely dismiss a conflict with the Vatican and if such a conflict is to ever brak out, we will find ourselves in war with the rest of the Christian World, as all Christian Kings will take the Pope's side. Furhtermore, the treacherous Normans and Venetians might decide to start a war over Naples with us, causing great damage to our trade. The Pope, who as I already pointed out himself has ambitions to extend his rule south of Rome, is likely to take the side of our enemies and threaten us with excommunication. This is why my house believes that Naples will require a large investment for a small immediate return, and is best left to the Greeks as it is, at least until we are able to muster a larger force and fleet and secure a few key alliances.
If in the meantime one of our enemies is to take Naples, this is likely to lead to a war between the power that gains control of the province and the other two of our neighbors. As long as the Papacy is involved in the war, it is almost certain that either the Normans or the Venetians will get excommunicated, leading to an opportunity for us to attack them from behind, getting easy victories as their main forces are engaged with one another or the forces of the Pope, and gain provinces more valuable than Naples, such as Milan, Venice and Sicily. Who knows, in a war between the Normans and the Pope, the former may even conquer Rome, and we may gain Naples from the Holy Father in return from liberating his lands from his enemies, and other provinces on top of that.
It might be more opportunistic for our Republic to grow richer from trade, in the meantime increasing our navy and our armies, and wait for the Naples Question to evolve into a war between our enemies, and get involved in the hostilities once our enemies' armies are depleted.

At the same time, my house is in full support of a punitive expedition against the Schismatics. We just think that Crete or other islands in the Eastern Mediterranean are a better target, as it can be protected by our fllet with only small dejma garrison in Khandia and it will give our Republic a great base on our way to the Black Sea and the Holy Land, where great opportunites for trading and gaining wealth exist.

[Warmaster Horus]

Honorable Isbulino, I agree with your House's idea about the Naples Question. Waiting seems the best option.
I must however disagree with a 'punitive expedition' as you suggest. It would require financial support; which may be given somewhere else. But if Venice, the Papacy or Sicily decide to attack the Byzantine Empire, we should then and only then strike at one of the Isles. For now we must grow, economically.

[naut]

I have little more to add than I support the views put forward by my cousin Isbulino.

[Wasp]

Wasp of Ajaccio waits for a few seconds, then stands up.

First of all, Corsica agrees on Isbulino Doria's plans for the distribution. Also, we support the notion Prince Gregorio put. We should aim for a secure and stable economy. Rash attacks might gain us some land, but without a proper infrastructure to back it up, we might lose more than we gain eventually.

However, if certain.. opportunities present themselves to us, we would be fools not to seize them after a careful consideration. But, a decent general would be necessary.

[gunslinger]

After spending an uncomfortably long time in conference with the advisors seated behind him, Gunslinger of Cagliari assembles his notes, stands, and addresses the assembly:

Let me begin by thanking those present, as well as our Consul, Gregario II, for supporting my requests pertaining to my position in Sardinia. Sardinia is a humble province in terms of economy. However, I believe that with proper governance it can contribute to the strategic well being of the Geonese Republic. Isbulino Doria has taken upon himself the task of deciding what commitments I should offer our Consul in exchange for his faith in my ability to govern Sardinia. While I agree with my esteemed colleague that Sardinia is well-suited as a place to manufacture ships to benefit of all of Genoa, I must admit some puzzlement concerning his accounting. Perhaps Isbulino has not taken into account the fact that I cannot hope to attract skilled men to work as shipwrights unless I can offer them something more secure than the simple, wooden palisade which now serves as Sardinia's only defense. No, before I can even begin work on a shipwright, I fear I will need to invest in a stone keep. Once I have accomplished these building tasks, I would then have ten years to build a galley. My advisors tell me that it would be possible for me to accomplish these three goals, although it would require the commitment of nearly every florin produced in Sardinia during the ensuing years as well as the 1,000 florins which is my share of the republic's current treasury. In fact, when yearly support costs are factored in, I would not even be able to supplement the paltry 60 man garrison which currently protects Sardinia. It is my understanding that this number isn't even sufficient to prevent the banditry so often undertaken by our Catholic brethren in the peasant classes, let alone the threat posed by the Sicilians to the South.

Perhaps one can understand Isbulino's motivations when one considers that his comparatively rich province, which he suggests should be responsible for the production of three units of infantry, will have much to gain from its trade of wool once an entire generation of Sardinian blood, sweat, and treasure has gone into producing that first galley.

Ah, I fear that I have let my emotions get the best of me, and I may have spoken too harshly. I can only pray that God will grant me such steadfast loyalty and patience as we have seen exhibited by Wasp of Corsica, who gamely agreed to Isbulino's demand for troop production even though he must know that the yearly support costs of his current small garrison already outstrips the yearly income of his entire island. Wasp, I salute you, sir.

Perhaps my esteemed colleague, Isbulino, would be interested in showing his appreciation for the rich province he has been granted by helping to offset the costs imposed on Sardinia for a keep and a shipwright. This would make it possible for me to invest in the natural deposits of silver and salt which are present in my province. My advisors assure me that investments in mines would pay for themselves within ten years of the mine's completion, thus allowing Sardinia to be of somewhat more economic use to our republic. Isbulino may consider this an investment in the fleet which will be protecting his wool shipments, and increasing his accounts receivable, in the years to come.

As to Isbulino Doria's suggestions concerning Naples, I agree wholeheartedly. In my opinion, any uneccesary borders with the papacy are to be avoided whenever possible. As for fears that the Sicilians will invade Naples if we do not, I can only say that I hope they choose to do so, as a conflict with the Byzantine Empire can only weaken them, especially where their navy is concerned. I am of the opinion that once our current borders are relatively secure, we should begin the building of an army with the goal of taking the island of Sicily itself, if the Sicilians should be so foolish as to spread their forces thin. Sicily is a very rich island, with revenues almost equal to all four of our current provinces, and it could be easily defended for the price of upkeep on a few ships.

Gunslinger of Cagliari takes his seat and looks over the assembly with confidence. One of his advisors leans forward to whisper something in his ear while glancing nervously at the rich, powerful and popular ruler of Tuscany

[Wasp]

Wasp flashes some angry glances to one of his advisors during Gunslinger's speech, and stands up before Isbulino Doria can reply.

My dear Gunslinger, I thank you for your.. kind words. Surely you have the same confidence in our Consul as I?

It is true that we will have to cope with a yearly loss for some time, but me and my advisors are confident that the economy of our island will quickly catch up. If not, I do think our Consul will understand that we have tried everything in our might to balance these costs and profits.

Wasp turns to Isbulino, while taking his seat again.

My excuses, Isbulino, for I am sure you have something to say, as well.