Imperial Diet II

[TinCow]

*Maximillian Mandorf enters, fresh from bringing Christian justice to lowly highwaymen. He glares at his scribe and gestures towards the door. The man sheepishly slips out.*

Perhaps I should give that man a history lesson on what happens to insolent scribes in places such as this.

*Mandorf sighs.*

My Prince, I understand the theory of how investments in future construction work, but you must also understand reality. The reality is that when I assumed my post, the construction of the fortress had already begun and the appropriate monies had already been deducted from the Imperial treasury. As my scribe stated, I have respected that situation and let the orders stand. You should be most grateful for this, for I most certainly would not have otherwise given priority to construction of that facility at this time.

You accuse me of putting the cart before the horse, yet you are doing the same, my Lord. We have three castles capable of producing decent, professional soldiers. They are certainly not of a quality to make the world shake with fear, but they will perform admirably for the time being. What we need more than anything is not soldiers or even the facilities to produce more soldiers. What we need is money.

Accordingly, it is my full intention to give favor to financial structures and only allow for military construction when there is extra money to spare or when it is essential for the security of the Reich. I understand you will likely vehemently disagree with this assessment, but I believe it to be correct and under the current circumstances, it is my decision to make.

During my campaign for Chancellor, I pledged one thing above all others: giving the Houses the means with which to defend themselves. Austria and Franconia are horrendously vulnerable to attack and their defense cannot wait for armored knights to be produced from Staufen a decade from now. They must be immediately given the forces they need to protect their lands. Accordingly, my priorities are as follows:

First, to immediately increase the professional military strength of Austria and Franconia. Second, to repair the walls of Bologna and invest in new financial structures. Third, to reorganize the defense of cities so that they are garrisoned by militia which do not require pay out of the Imperial treasury. Fourth, to improve the military infrastructure of the Reich.

No doubt there will be much future disagreement with my policies...

*Mandorf's face grows cold and he stares straight at the Prince.*

...but I do not care for petty squabbling over every minutia of my policies. I will do what I believe is right for the betterment of a Christian Reich! That does not include giving favor to any one House or to any one Elector. If you wished for a Chancellor who would pour the Imperial treasury into Staufen, then perhaps you should have run for the office yourself.

[econ21]

Prinz Henry: I would ask to you to remember, Chancellor, that I am a Prince. I query, I express concern: I do not "squabble".

There is much in your plans that I agree with - constructing financial buildings and using militia as city garrisons, for example. It was partly because I had confidence in your ability to prudently manage the creation of Household Armies that I was happy to support your election as Chancellor. But I would still argue for giving primacy to upgrading our castles above all other investments.

It is not a matter of wishing to pour the Imperial treasury into Staufen. Yes, upgrading our castles will be expensive and yes it will consume a lot of the Imperial treasury. But nonetheless it should be prioritised. I repeat: investment in upgrading Staufen is of no particular benefit or concern to Swabians compared to other Germans. A fortress and the troops it can generate are Imperial assets. I would argue for prioritising the construction of a fortress whether it were Innsbruck or Hamburg that stood ready to upgade.

Surely, it is not "minutia" whether we have infantry capable of matching the swordsmen of Denmark or the crossbowmen of Italy? You would have our knights stand idly by on horseback for lack of training while mere spearmen clamber over our enemies' walls? You would have our archers stand in the open while our enemies take cover behind large pavisses? If you do not regard these matters as a priority, then perhaps I shall have to rethink my natural aversion to "squabbling".

[FactionHeir]

Chancellor, I suggest that you only raise militia to the extent they can be supported at cost to the city alone. Any militia above that limit would be excessive and can be replaced by cheaper peasantry.

[TinCow]

*Mandorf nods in agreement.*

I completely agree with the Fifth Elector of Swabia. I must say that the question of the militias is most frustratingly complex. We will reap immediate financial benefits from having militias be supported by the towns themselves, but the cost of recruiting them must come from the Imperial treasury. Accordingly, the militia issue cannot be addressed this year, though hopefully next year I will be able to begin on it.

Furthermore, the towns cannot be left defenseless while the militia are recruited. In Austria in particular this means that the professional regiments stationed there cannot be removed or otherwise replaced until the Austrian Household Army is assembled. I would sincerely love to be able to simply replace all town garrisons with full complements of militia this very week. Unfortunately, it appears the actual process may take several years before it can be completed everywhere. I swear that it shall be completed as quickly as is possible without risking the security of any House. If the end result is tardy, then I will certainly accept the blame for the situation.

I will say that I have already ordered two regiments of unarmed peasants to be disbanded. Heavens only know where they came from, but they would not make any difference in a battle and were draining 200 florins per year from the treasury.

[nazgul3]

Bavarian Elector stands

We should definatly build our fortresses when they are presented and build economy to the cities who are lacking behind in money. With the bigger cities we should concentrate on public order and public health. Our castles are not ment to be making money they are there to advance our troops. The more advanced our troops are the easier it is for the Reich to overcome our enemies.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Kaiser Heinrich:

I must say that I completely agree with Prinz Henry (sotto voce: for once) about the lack of even one building in the queue being built. Back in my Chancellorship I found the funds to obey most queues and still double the Reich's size.

It seems as if your financial calculations about there being money left over to build after the House Armies have been created have already been proven incorrect, since apparently not even a 600 florin land clearance can be built.

[ArchdukeEvan]

it has not been mentioned yet i belive so let us think of this to...

stands to speak

if we are going to argue over money should we not take into accont the yearly cost of these troops?

the knights we train will be expensive... very expensive... and dispersing peasents... even 200 of them... will not pay for the formation of Armored Sword Regiments... and if we have to support the horses as well... then it is almost twice as expensive... also if we upgrade Staufen then knights can only be used in the area closest to there... because currently there will be no other places to train and retrian them...

so i come to theis... i am not agianst upgrading the castle to a fortress... but can we really get enough use out of these few knights we train there when 2 groups of Spears can fight the same... instead of relying on brute-force we can use tactics... as we have done before... to defeat the enemy

that is all

sits

[TinCow]

Gentlemen, please, this is not a long-term crisis by any means. The shortage of monies is likely to be confined to this year alone. Next year will see increased profits across the board and construction is expected to resume in many settlements even after further recruitments have been made. The siege of Florence will surely be broken by the Kaiser next year, bringing still more monies into our coffers, and I fully expect the castle at Magdeburg and the city of Venice to fall to our forces in the near future. In short, Electors, there is not a crisis in the Treasury. We have fallen short this year due to poor harvests and other factors such as the extremely high cost of the fortress at Staufen.

We are more than capable of sustaining the Household Armies, the Imperial Armies, and the building programs of most settlements around the Reich. I have not even completed my first year as Chancellor yet and you are already predicting doom and gloom, despite the fact that the situation has not changed one bit from when we had the election and I am doing exactly what I said I would during my campaign.

My good Electors, you simply must give it some time to work. I promise that you will see positive results in a very short period of time. Surely one single year without new construtions, other than the fortress at Staufen, will not cause the downfall of our Empire.