Duchy of Franconia

[gibsonsg91921]

I have not been a lapdog of Ansehelm, I have been loyal to my brother. That is a difference. I did not consult Ansehelm about attacking Constantinople - he didn't even know about it - I acted for the people. However, I have feudal duty and intelligent loyalty to my brother, who has frequently led us through hard times.

[gibsonsg91921]

This house has been divided for too long. One can have political differences and still work together towards a common good.

[Tamur]

Before we can mend the house, and avoid future problems, I think we need to clearly define how it was broken. I have my own ideas of what went wrong, but I may not be the most reputable sort. Me stating the obvious issues would only deepen the divide.

[Dutch_guy]

Before we can mend the house, and avoid future problems, I think we need to clearly define how it was broken.

And perhaps we should also discuss our future plans, as to avoid disagreements of any sort in the future.

[Ferret]

I do not see how identifying the problem will help at all, my only concern was the management skills of Ansehelm and now that he has retired from politics it will be interesting to see what ideas Peter has to 're-unify' this House.

[gibsonsg91921]

For starters, I will make no promise that I intend on breaking. For the future, I wish Franconia to get out of this funk with as little loss as possible. For those of you with armies, keep them well. We must anticipate attack and take the initiative. We all need an army with full loyalty. I know I may not be seen as a bastion of loyalty, but I never did once rebel and I feel honored by you all for having me as your Duke.

Dieter, your army is safely occupying Magdeburg as we all know. It would be best to utilize the recruitment facilities in Magdeburg to recruit only the highest quality units to combat the Poles, Danes, and Rus. When defensively we become stabilized, you can attack the Danes.

Fritz, you have the command of a large army from the mercenaries that have flocked to your call. When you are defensively stabilized, we shall retake Thorn.

Tancred, you are still far away with your army. It would be well to join up with Fritz and assist him in capturing the rebelling cities. You will be rewarded with your own county to govern.

As for me, I shall return from Swabia and defend Hamburg from the large Danish forces nearby. As times stabilize, I may take the initiative and conquer Antwerp.

For simplicity's sake, I shall rename the armies.

Peter's Army - Army of Hamburg
Dieter's Army - Army of Saxony
Fritz's Army - Army of Prussia
Tancred's Army - Army of Brandenburg

Hopefully we will be able to recover to a safe and peaceful time once again.

[Privateerkev]

A messenger bearing the livery of Jan von Hamburg comes to the door to the Franconian Hall. He waits for the guard to match his name to a list. The guard nods and the aide walks in bearing a letter from Jan that he reads aloud.

Fellow Franconians,

News has reached me in Outremer regarding Duke Ansehelm's retirement from politics. Steward Peter has graciously reached out to me and offered me some kind words in the spirit of future cooperation. I wish to state clearly and publicly that I thought this action was quite mature of him and shows that he wishes to lead this House into a new direction. I will return his courtesy by promising to do my part to improve the dialouge that goes on in these chambers.

There has been some talk over what went wrong with our House or how useful it would be to discuss what went wrong. I think a conversation that labels blame from one of us to another would end up being unproductive. I will say this. Each and every one of us can be quite... difficult when we want to be. We are all very unique personalities. While this has at times divided us, I believe it could unite us if we let it.

Every single one of us chose to take advantage of the chaos for our own reasons. None of us are blameless. I do believe that all of us thought that what we were doing was right. Now, we will all have to decide whether to continue going our own way, or rather to unite. I for one am waiting to see how Peter intends to lead this House before making any final decisions. I've always been a more stubborn and independent sort and will watch the developments from afar.

No reason why we can't try to be more cordial in the meantime though.

Sincerely,
Jan von Hamburg

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: From the PM conversations Jan has been having with Peter, I assume that Jan is allowed to speak in here again. If I am mistaken, just let me know and I will delete the contents of this post and/or ask Econ to delete it.

[gibsonsg91921]

ooc: yep, ur allowed to speak here.

We will unite. Austria has Becker and Prague rebelling against the feudal system of Duchies, Swabia is in tatters with three factions: Loyalists, Dasselists, and Principalitists, and Bavaria is attacked by the Greeks relentlessly with Duke Lothar in the Swabian Civil War. We shall remain a house united, without petty squabbles and with an open debate forum. No one shall be banned unless they attack a Franconian personally - you may debate and attack the other person's edicts, etc., but insults will cause you to be banned. I say that now and that is final.

[Tamur]

*edited, just in case anyone is subscribed, missed Péter's direction post above*

Greetings fro the north, my brother, and other noble relations. I gratefully acknowledge that the force who have heeded my call has grown strong. I, however, do not have the luxury of stabilising. My mercenaries have no interest in putting down roots here on the coast, and I do not wish to practice the arts of a blustering windbag to keep them in place.

We sail in search of plunder, and will return when conditions are more favourable to stability.

[gibsonsg91921]

You must ensure that conditions are safe for you to depart, brother. I do not want 2,000 men off pillaging when there are enemies close at hand and rebels. If it is safe, it would be wise to take the offensive as you have proposed. My suggestion: Arhus, Oslo, or Stockholm. Hurt the Danes back home.

[Dutch_guy]

I have decided to help our friends Karl Zirn and Karolinger in the defense of Budapest. As I have promised them. Afterwards I shall come home as fast as I can.

[Tamur]

God be with you Tancred. And God protect us all at this delicate time in the history of the Reich. I look forward to seeing our house safe and whole when this chaos has abated.

And as for King Jan and his cowardly defection from his post in Outremer, after so many fine words, the only just reaction our house can have is either condemnation and future barring from any position, or complete outlawry. He has been defying his Duke his entire lifetime, has rigged appointments, and has lived as a law unto himself. And this, it must be clear by now, will not change.

It is time this history of abuse of power came to an end.

[Ferret]

God be with you Tancred. And God protect us all at this delicate time in the history of the Reich. I look forward to seeing our house safe and whole when this chaos has abated.

And as for King Jan and his cowardly defection from his post in Outremer, after so many fine words, the only just reaction our house can have is either condemnation and future barring from any position, or complete outlawry. He has been defying his Duke his entire lifetime, has rigged appointments, and has lived as a law unto himself. And this, it must be clear by now, will not change.

It is time this history of abuse of power came to an end.

What!? Where did you find this out Fritz, I am most certain that Jan would never desert his position, he is by far a more honourable man than most. If he is indeed missing then it must be someone else's doing, someone from within or without the Reich.

OOC:edit: sorry just realised that it looked like an insult to Fritz, not intentional and is now edited out .

[Cecil XIX]

A letter arrives from Edmund Becker

Noble Franconians,

It has come to my attention that Hamburg has revolted, and foreign armies threaten Frankfurt, Stettin and Breslau. With the times being what they are, I offer to use myself and my army in the defense of Breslau if Duke Peter will allow me to enter his lands. I hope to be of help in the defense of the Reich.

Sincerely,
Edmund Becker

[gibsonsg91921]

Count Becker, it is most noble of you to assist us in our defense. I thank you very much and accept your offer.

My army will relieve Frankfurt as soon as possible - if it falls to the Danes before I can arrive we shall retake it!

Fritz, are you in a sound position to fight the besiegers of Stettin? If so, destroy the hostile army!

I have not heard any truth to the rumors that Jan has deserted, and if he has left for the center of the Reich I do not believe it is with malignant intent. I just offered him the county of Hamburg (when it is reconquered from the rebels) were he to return from Outremer, and I believe he is only of good intentions. Were my deepest instincts false and he returns with malicious intent, he shall be thoroughly punished. I doubt of such an occurence.

Tancred, do make sure you help Duke Arnold at this time. When you return there will be plenty of work to do but as the Reich collapses we cannot look inwardly.

Dieter, if you and the Army of Saxony are needed in any part of these schemings, you are in the central position to bolster our odds if needed.

[gibsonsg91921]

Friends, I believe it is time I declare my Ducal heir to Franconia.

My Steward shall be my brother Fritz when I yet live but am incapable of fulfilling my duties as Duke for any reason.

When I die, the Duchy shall pass on to my cousin-in-law, Dieter Bresch.

These statements are not set in stone. If you bring dishonor to Franconia, your inheritance shall be revoked and given to one more worthy.

[Tamur]

I thank my Duke for this honour, though in truth I expect Péter will outlive me.

And I wish to make a public apology for my actions in recent years. The lure of gold is very strong indeed. I have completely neglected my duty to Franconia, and my duty to the Reich, and deserve the most severe punishments. I hope to use these last few years of my life to make amends as much as is possible.

[Dutch_guy]

I can agree with the choice our Duke made, both Fritz and Dieter are more than capable of leading our Duchy if one of them is tasked to do so.

Further more I would like to inform you all that I'm finally back where I belong, in the homelands of our Duchy. I'm currently near Magdenburg, where I hope to strike back any Polish attempt at the city. I hope my rather meager army, combined with the local garrison, is enough to rout them, with as few losses as possible...

We shall see soon enough.

[Ferret]

I thank you mein Duke for making the honourable decisions of giving the von Hamburgs some political weight at last. I will not let you down, I would rather die than see Franconia split between the arrogant Danes, Poles and Russians. I am also glad to hear of your arrival Tancred, I suspect the Poles will attack soon but they will be no match for our combined forces and the great citadel which I defend.

[gibsonsg91921]

Fritz, you are forgiven. Prove your loyalty on the battlefield! Regardless of the reason, you sacked Stockholm and brought home a large amount of wealth. My recommendation is that you transfer it to Dieter at Magdeburg so he can raise a strong contingent of highly trained reinforcements for you.

Tancred, my friend! You have returned from Austria, and not a moment too soon. We must retake what is ours! Hamburg, Thorn, Krakow, and Breslau are lost, and the remainder of Franconia is in jeopardy. For this, I will be recruiting another promising military commander to be promoted to General and take part in our council in the coming years.

[Ramses II CP]

OOC: Before I speak in character I want to make sure I have a good grasp of things. The situation as I can see it is that Stettin has (almost certainly) fallen while Fritz stood by, err, watching. I regret to say it, but the only thing I can see to do now is recapture the city and sack it while attempting to terrorize the populace into obeying me and giving stiffer resistance to the next wave of Poles. Fritz respects Peter, is on even terms with Tancred, and just barely tolerates Dieter due to the previous power struggle over control of the army. We're all Lutherans, except Dieter whose affiliations are unknown or unexpressed but probably neutral or uninterested. Franconia has been a house divided under Ansehelm, but Peter has a good chance of bringing things back in line.

And my mercenaries are going to be hungry for blood and money. Sounds like fun.

[Tamur]

OOC: Brilliant summary, that's precisely right. The only other possible item to work in is his relationship with Alexander Luther. Fritz fiercely defended him before the cataclysm, and his continued existence may be an issue in the next Diet session.

[Privateerkev]

OOC:

Don't forget Jan's wife. Jan was staunchly anti-Lutheran. And quite anti-Kastilien because of his father's feud with Gunther. He might be dead but she will take an active role in politics until their son grows up.

[Ramses II CP]

OOC: Oh excellent, and Fritz has shown a bit of disrespect to the fairer sex as well. I have a feeling I should change my tag after some of the things I'm going to have this chap carrying out.

[Ferret]

OOC: Dieter had very similar views to Jan but had less of a grudge for the von kastiliens, he doesn;t really mind Peter but he doesn't/didn't like the others. So anti-lutheran but probably going ot go mad because Jan dies, I'm really struggling to decide what to do.

[Ramses II CP]

Peter, my Duke, are you seriously suggesting I transfer 'it' all to Dieter? While certainly I will do my part to defend the homelands I must ask what our dear cousin has done to earn such a reward, other than schism my own army when these invasions first began? I drew this coin forth from the Danes with the blood of my men. It was hard won and well earned. It cannot simply be given up at the drop of a word, even from my Duke.

With that in mind, do you have a request Dieter? How much cash do you feel you need to maintain the defense of that impregnable citadel, given that your current force is far larger than my own and supported by Tancred's own army? Perhaps a small sum could be freed up from my own mercenary levies, or perhaps after I have dealt with the situation at Stettin I could simply march to your aid myself. I would very much like to speak with you, dear cousin, in person.

[Ferret]

OOC: I think Peter meant that you transfer the money to Dieter so that he can recruit some men for you, as he has better troops availible at Magdeburg. Gibson, correct me if I'm wrong.

edit:
see here:'transfer it to Dieter at Magdeburg so he can raise a strong contingent of highly trained reinforcements for you.'

[Ramses II CP]

OOC: Too much reading today trying to catch up! My eyes are tired. ;)

Ahh, well, I've had the messenger flogged for his error. Still not entirely certain this is my best method of procuring new troops. I'll know more after I can determine the ground situation at Stettin.

[gibsonsg91921]

In either case, it would be a mutually beneficial decision. Of course your great sacking has earned you money, Dieter's central position and access to recruitment would benefit the entire Duchy.

[Ramses II CP]

Stettin has fallen to the Danes with very little fighting. I mean to recapture it immediately. Recruitment will have to wait.

I am quite wroth to see my loyal subjects roll over and become Danish lapdogs at the first chance, just as I am outraged that they chose to raise arms against me in rebellion again. There will be a reckoning.