Imperial Diet II

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

This is, erm, unfortunate.

Chancellor Leopold's actions are quite lamentable and his motive is clouded. It seems as if he is deliberately harming the Crusade, which is a most unholy and dishonorable act.

However, that said, there is no provision in any of the edicts that states that the Crusaders will retain full control over their armies, or that they are to be treated as if they were House Armies. Therefore, the Chancellor has not technically violated an edict.

Perhaps, if an Emergency Session were to be called, it would serve better to reprimand him and place legislation in place that would prevent future occurances such as these rather than impeach him.

That said, I vehemently disagree with his acts, although it is on a personal level rather than a legal one.

[Warluster]

Jobst stands, wondering what to do, then smiles

There are two points here, both a agreeable.

An emergency session shall not be called, as for now it is not needed.

Yes, The CHancellor did pull out the Teutonic Knights, some of them, but not all. And I am sure his will was to send them back?

Of course, before we accuse or backstab, listen to what the Chancellor ahs to say, it could heal this wound. Duke Leopold shall stay CHancellor until the end of his term, ro if fate has other means for him.

Jobst sits down

[Ituralde]

An Austrian messenger arrives in the Diet, once more.

Nobles of the Reich, Dear Electors!

I bring word of my Duke, Chancellor Leopold.
The allegations made against his person are taken very serious by him. It was not his intention to deprive the Crusaders of any of their men. The mentioned Knights are already on their way to rejoin the Crusade as I speak here.
Chancellor Leopold will appear in front of this Diet once the siege of Budapest has been resolved. He will then listen to every charge brought against him and give an explanation for it that will be satisfactory for all factions concerned.
This has been a misunderstanding with grave consequences, but the Chancellor is more than willing to remedy it.

He salutes in front of the Assembly, before leaving the Diet again.

[TinCow]

*The Bavarian Messenger looks immensely relieved. His body noticably sags and for a moment it appears as if he is going to drop to the floor due to extreme fatigue. After a few moments he recovers himself and steps forward.*

My Lord will be most pleased to hear this news, Chancellor Leopold. *He pauses for a moment and looks at a pouch hanging from his waist.* There is... one final message from my Lord. I was instructed to convey this information to the Diet in relation to the Teutonic matter. Though the issue is now resolved, I suspect that he would wish me to convey the essence of the message regardless.

*He pulls out another scroll from the waist pouch, scans down halfway, and begins to read.*

Electors, I wish to remind you that Edict E1.1, which deals with the creation and conduct of the Crusade itself, specifically gives control of all strategic decisions to the Council of Crusaders. I suspect that some of you would argue that the disposition of the Teutonic Knights is not a strategic matter, but I firmly disagree with this line of thought. Even if the Knights themselves are beyond strategic control, surely depriving the trailing Crusade Army of its entire allocation of cavalry is a strategic matter.

*The Messenger looks up from reading.*

There is, of course, more, however it is no longer applicable to this situation. I suspect my Lord would wish me to encourage you all to remember Clause 4 of Edict E1.1 in all future decisions about the Crusade.

*The Bavarian Messenger turns and leaves the Diet at a brisk pace.*

[AussieGiant]

The 2nd Elector of Austria stands with a bland expression on his face

Excellent...

Pausing to look around at the assembled nobles and advisors

...I believe at this point all our constitutional lawyers are pleased with proceedings. We can now pay them a king’s ransom in fees and get back to governing this bloody realm.

Do I need a vote or further consultation from our battery of advisors on this, or can I take the silence as a resounding "Yes" from those of us present?

....no need to answer gentlemen it was a rhetorical question.

For those of you who are inclined I'll be holding a small party this evening to show off the "acts" I have brought with me from Russia. Prince Jobst, would you care to partake in the festivities? Some of these ladies are very educational...

[OverKnight]

Gunther rises to deliver a message from Otto:

My lords, I congratulate the Chancellor and Count Hans on the seizure of Budapest. It is a great victory and I hope it will serve to turn the attention of the Magyars to their own defense and from pointless expeditions into our lands. Even now a large Hungarian force has turned from the Reich and lingers outside their former capital. While I respect the Chancellor's zeal in pursuing the Venetians, I am afraid he will have his hands full before then.

Congratulations are also due to the Franconians, who have only added to their martial reputation with their victories in the north. I hope their attention will soon turn to Breslau. Once we have taken this settlement, I am sure it will put an end to these bothersome Polish raids on Frankfurt.

I have been informed that the Tuetonic Knights wrongly taken from the Crusade are on their way back to us, with reinforcements no less. While I am worried about their ability to cross the Hungarian plains safely, I am gladdened by their return. If the Chancellor wishes he may once again use Florence in negotiations with the Spanish Pope.

The Papacy vexes me. We offer them a great deal for peace and yet they refuse. I hope Conrad can finish the Milanese soon, so he can travel to Rome and secure the city. This Filippus the Warmonger might yet live up to his name.

Despite the Chancellor's best efforts, our negotiations have failed. I would ask the Diet how we should proceed. As I see it, there are two ways we can proceed to increase the chances of peace and reconciliation.

The first is the way of the sword. I believe Kaiser Heinrich wished this pursued more. We attempt to make peace with the current Pontiff, if he proves intransigent, we remove him and vote for a candidate who might be more receptive to us. There are no Imperial Cardinals among the Preferati, but if we vote for the Cardinal who does become Pope, it might serve. If the Pope we vote for is ungrateful for our support, we unfortunately might have to repeat the process. I have found this idea repugnant in the past and I do not propose it lightly, but it may bring about peace more quickly.

The second is the way of the Book. We recruit more priests into the Imperial service, build churches in the Reich and have our missionaries convert the heathens in far away lands. This will eventually improve our standing with the Pope and again we might have peace more quickly. A secondary benefit is that many of those new priests would prove useful on the Crusade.

Either option requires that we set aside a large amount of money to facilitate negotiations. The first option would most likely be quicker and cheaper, but it is much more distasteful than the second.

What is the opinion of the Diet? Any ideas to break this stalemate would be welcome.

[Warluster]

I see you have put a lot of thought into this.

Maybe we could do a mxture of both options? We could train heaps of priests, and we keep killing off popes, until ours is elected? But thats no gurantee that our Pope would reconcile us.

The way the Pope is acting now, I ahve to say I think he will not reconcile us for his own personal ways. He wants the Reich! I say kill him, before he does anymore damage!