Imperial Diet II

[econ21]

Diet Speaker: I have received the following communication from the Kaiser:

I am happy to assign Venice and Budapest to the House of Austria.

I understand there was an agreement between my father and my brother Leopold that Venice would become part of Austria. I am pleased to honour this agreement. However regardless of that undertaking, I would anyway assign Venice to Austria as a reward for Duke Leopold's fine leadership of the Reich as Chancellor. I know he has long been interested in Italian politics and am happy to indulge that interest.

In the case of Budapest, I believe this was taken by the Austrian Household army and anyway, given its location, in future, it would most rationally be defended by that army.

Once again, I thank Duke Leopold for his service and hope his successor will be able to match his achievements.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

I congratulate Duke Leopold on an excellent term. God has seen fit to smile upon his Chancellorship. While we still remain excommunicated, the Reich is vigilant. The Lord has not seen fit to make us weak, and that, my friends, is a very good sign.

[TevashSzat]

I would like to propose:

Edict 7.1: More priests shall accompany the crusaders in order to convert the heathens in the aftermath of the crusade

After we have retook what is ours in the Holy Lands, the population will no doubt be restless and may try to revolt forcing us to station more troops within the cities. In order to counter this, more priests than the two with the crusaders shall be sent, preferably by ship if possible for faster arrival.

[OverKnight]

Gunther stands to read a message from Otto von Kassel:

My lords, let me first thank Duke Leopold for his fine service to the Reich as Chancellor. He has seen us through difficult times, and the Reich is stronger because of him. The Crusade has reached Anatolia and is poised to enter heathen lands, and on the home front we have destroyed incursions into our lands and taken Budapest. Yet, there are still many challenges we must face, both for the those in the Reich and on Crusade.

With this in mind, I announce my candidacy for Chancellor.

Some would say that a Crusader should not be Chancellor. I say with an efficient messenger system and the relative autonomy of the Household Armies that I can be an effective Chancellor. If a Chancellor in the Reich can coordinate the Crusade, than a Chancellor on Crusade can coordinate the Reich. It is not ideal, but only God knows perfection. (OOC: Realistically, we would have separate executives for both, but that was nixed because of speed of play issues.)

My goals in office would be:

First, we must have peace and reconciliation with the Papacy. This will be difficult and I refer you to my letter to the Diet on the matter.

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.

I would not pursue the carrot or stick approach without a clear mandate from the Diet, and I would encourage the Electors to give me one on this issue. But with the current Pope, I fear we will not achieve peace for a long time. Whatever path is chosen I intend to recruit more priests, using the new Theologian's Guild in Budapest. We could use more missionaries and a greater Imperial presence in the College of Cardinals. I believe the Fourth Elector of Swabia has already spoken on this matter.

My second goal is to safely get the Crusade to the Holy Land.

My third goal is economic expansion. There may be limits on our territorial conquests, but we should take advantage of our merchant guilds to train agents so they can trade goods and acquire monopolies. With a small initial investment, this will fill our coffers. We will need money for peace with the Pope and war with the infidel.

My fourth goal is to rebuild the Imperial Navy in the Mediterranean and Baltic. We are vulnerable to blockade and ship borne invasions without it.

My fifth goal would be to maintain good relations with our remaining allies and neighboring neutral factions. This might require a small annuity.

My sixth goal is to stabilize the frontiers of the Reich. As repeated incursions against Frankfurt and Venice have shown, we must have a defensible border. I shall accomplish this by taking Breslau and Marseille. I would also ask that Ragusa be added to the list of allowable conquests. That Venetian territory is like a dagger aimed at the heart of the Reich, it has been the source of many attacks on Venice and Zagreb. By seizing it, we will be able to shorten the borders of the Empire and have a port closer to the Holy Land than any other we now have.

I ask for your support my fellow Electors. Together we can bring the Reich to redemption and glory. Together we can smite the infidel and bring the Cross to Jerusalem. Together we can triumph!

Edit: I will second Edict 7.1

[OverKnight]

Gunther looks around at the disturbingly quiet chamber of the Diet and coughs politely. He rises and speaks:

My lords, Duke von Kassel instructed me to propose the following edict if no one else would. He realizes it may not be popular, but it is needed to gauge the support of the Diet for the "way of the sword" he spoke of earlier. My lord has promised to follow the will of the Diet on this matter.

Edict 7.2: If peace talks fail with the Papacy after a good faith negotiation is made (Florence and at least 5,000 florins are offered) the Diet authorizes the Chancellor to assault the Papal army and then seek peace with the newly elected Pontiff. The Chancellor is authorized to repeat this process as needed, but if a HRE Cardinal becomes Pope, this edict would cease to be in effect.

I have been instructed to listen to any modifications that might be proposed by the Electors and pass them on to my master for consideration. The Duke wishes that a consensus emerge from the Diet about this matter. "The way of the Book" is less controversial, and he feels an edict is not needed for it.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

First of all, I strongly support Duke Otto's candidacy.

Now, however, I direct everyone's attention to the comment he made about the carrot and the stick.

Gentlemen, this Papal situation has been hanging over all of our heads for too long now. We have tried to deal with it many different times with many different approaches, but none have worked. Unfortunately, despite the best of all of our efforts, we are seen by the majority of Catholic Europe as just as heretical as the heathens whom our Crusade on Jerusalem is currently directed at.

Dealing with this problem in moderation has failed. Many times Kaiser Heinrich deposed of the current, unfriendly Pope in hopes that the new one elected would be more sympathetic. It has not worked. Likewise, on the other side of the spectrum, Duke Leopold has attempted to end things with Florence and a small sum of money. This too has not worked.

It is clear to me that moderation is not the answer here. This crisis will have to be dealt with radically, with an option so polar that it would not have even been considered years ago, aside from our darkest dreams.

The question is, do we solve this problem with the juciest of carrots, or the hardest of sticks?

The juciest of carrots, of course, would be to give in. Admit that we did a very bad thing and beg to be reconciled. Give whatever is necessary. While some of us in this Diet may condemn me for the appearance of cowardice, you cannot argue with the results. And consider the alternative.

If we decide to go with the hardest of sticks option, we will have no choice but to systematically kill each and every Cardinal in the College that is not of Imperial stock.

Obviously, this has both spiritual and physical consequences. It would work, certainly. But would we ever forgive ourselves for the act? Do the ends truly justify the means in this situation? What would the Lord think of us when we embark on this Crusade to redeem ourselves, and at the same time, at home, slaughter those who have devoted their lives to the cloth? And, to be more practical, would we find anyone to carry out this terrible task? I, for one, would not. As I hope, none of you would.

My friends, those are the only two choices if reconciliation is to be pursued. Do not kid yourself. You know it to be true in the deepest part of your hearts. And one of those two is an abomination, a terrible deed akin to the betrayal of Christ.

So really, we only have one option left. And it is not the Way of the Sword as Duke Otto proposed.

Edict 7.3: The Chancellor is authorized to use any means, amount of florins, or land necessary to obtain reconciliation with the Papacy, so long as it is not prohibited in any way by the Charter.

It may hurt, yes. But it is the only way.

[Northnovas]

The newly appointed Count of Zagreb stands to address the quiet chamber...

Electors, Conrad Salier's words are too true. I will second Edict 7.3 the time as come to heal these wounds and pay the cost to right our path with the Papacy for the people of the Empire.
Let us obtain peace with the Pope and concentrate our fight with the enemies of the Empire trying to take our lands and for the Crusaders doing God's glory fighting in an inhospitable land.

[Ignoramus]

Duke Ulrich Hummel rises to speak.

Mein electors, though I am but recently made the Duke of Swabia, I humbly put myself forward to you as a contender for Chancellor.

Everywhere the Reich faces enemies. The Kingdom of France is powerful enough to mount a serious challenge in the west. Their citadel in Toulouse trains and equips braver knights than we can ever dream of calling the Reich's.

The Milanese still maintain castles on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, and their constant raids on the Tuscan coast are creating instabilty amongst our Italian possessions.

The Kingdom of England still retains the fief of Normandy, and has recently seized the land of Norway, from which they launch their raids to the north of the Reich.

In the east, the Kingdoms of Hungary and Poland, although checked, are still menacing.

In these troubled times, a strong leader is needed. Though I doubt not Duke Otto's bravery, or his piety for taking up the cross, he is going on Crusade. Such a journey is filled with dangers, both from battle and from starvation. Should Duke Otto perish while in the Levant, what would become of the Reich?

I would first of all consolidate our borders. I would begin constructing forts to hold mountain passes and river crossing to prevent rebels and enemy armies rampaging through the heart of the Reich.

Secondly, I would attempt to appease the Pope and give him a distant island such as Crete, Rhodes, or Cyprus. Over there, he can do but little harm, and it will save us from having to maintain a heavy garrison in Rome.

During mein rule, the frontiers would be consolidated, the rebels defeated, and united Reich ready to crush any opposition.

War, however, would not be negelected during mein term. I would launch major invasions against the Kingdoms of France and Poland, and I would also seek to reduce the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.

Duke Ulrich resumes his seat.