Imperial Diet II

[Warluster]

Prinz Jobst stands and whispers

A good battle for Chancellorship that one was...

Jobst's feelings within show quickly, but is covered by a beaming smile

I like this idea of a fleet, we need more safer,secure waters, so when we assure Trade Rights over water it is no longer declined in fear of pirates.

I will also send a message to the Crusaders urging them to hurry up, as oter nations might get there first!

[OverKnight]

Gunther stands, bows to the Prinz and speaks:

Ah, ummm yes. . .well, your Highness, the Crusade isn't sanctioned by the Church due to our umm. . .status. So no other Catholic nations are taking part.

My lord has assured me, that if we are reconciled that he will seek an official Crusade as soon as our standing within the Church is high enough to do so. At that point, if it happens, we will have quite the head start over the other nations.

[Warluster]

Without stand, Jobst speaks

Oh, I see...

All the same it is fortunate that we have no competors.

But I still wonder, do we go on this 'Crusade' to gain the liking of the Catholic Church, or is it for personal glory?

As if its for the liking of the Ope, then we have a very small chance of pleasing him. If its for personal glory, then I wish you more luck in that grassless country.

[Stuperman]

Gerhard Steffen walks in covered in blood from head to toe. He throws a scroll on the table showing the preliminary battle results.

"Every last one of the Venetian Rebels foolish enough to take up arms against the riech have been executed, that should teach the bastards"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Ignoramus]

Duke Ulrich Hummel angriliy gets to his feet and glares at the Chancellor.

Mein Chancellor Otto, you are a dummkopf if you think France is no threat! Swabians are dying relentlessly for no purpose, other than to drive the Franks from our lands. I cannot stand by and allow you to give the French no retribution for Sigismund's death. Indeed, you are doing the opposite! You are allowing them to pillage our lands.

I feel disgusted at the "wise" electors that pass edicts harnessing retribution for a murdered elector who once led this Reich.

Duke Ulrich motions to Prinz Jobst to take his place as he storms out of the Diet.

[AussieGiant]

The Count of Venice stands to speak

Lord Gerhard,

My man has sent a message to your quarters regarding my most humble gratitude.

You victory has been the total annihilation of the Venetians forces on the main land.

I thank you for your service to the Reich.

My dear Duke Ulrich,

as one of the Reich's "wise" electors, it has never been my intention for you to be disgusted. I'm sure in due course the French will feel the might of the Reich. For the moment though things will have to remain as they are.

[FactionHeir]

*the messenger, receiving yet another letter, looks highly nervous before addressing the diet*

Ermm my noble men, my Count wishes to ask whether it was... wise to pay the English a total of 18500 florins for an alliance after they had attacked us and we are even allowed to take one of their cities? Would a lower amount not have sufficed?

OOC: The balance on that was very generous. Generous alone would have raised the relations and made em accept. Could have saved over 4-5k florins!

[Stuperman]

Gerhard Steffen

I got your message Count, and thank you again.

Good luck to the Franconian armies pursuing the polish in the north.

Peace with the English was expensive, I genuingly hope that it was worth it.

[TevashSzat]

With the English as our allies, we might even be able to get them to attack the treacherous French and teach them a lesson.

[OverKnight]

Gunther of Eichstadt speaks to the Diet:

An interesting proposal Elector of Swabia. I am sure my master will pursue it in the next year. We shall see if the long standing enmity between the English and French can be exploited.

Yes, the alliance was expensive, but I can assure the Diet that the Chancellor drove as hard a bargain as he could. The English were loathe to ally with us and any protracted negotiations could have resulted in failure.

My lord hopes that this alliance will benefit us spiritually as well as temporally, and that is why he sought it.

As for Duke Hummel's withdrawal from the Diet, I hope he is aware of the steps that have been taken to reinforce the Swabian Household Army and to root out the French spy in Dijon. None of the Duchies stand alone.

[Warluster]

Prinz Jobst stands, staring at Gunther of Eichstadt,then speaks quietly
Hm, this is much appreciated... we know no house stands alone, its just the favour of all.
Jobst clears his throat and speaks aloud

We offered all of those florins for a say of word!? They shall break the alliance easily!!! They should've cpme begging on their knees before we even THOUGHT of an alliance!!!

Jobst sits angrily

[Stuperman]

It is well known that the English and French have thier differneces, one aspect missing is the fact that the English also have a long boarder with the Danes, I'm sure this could be put to our advantage.

[TinCow]

*A Bavarian nobleman stands, his eyes blurry with tears of joy.*

Peace! Peace at last! We are reconciled with the Pope and returned to the community of God! All praise is due to Chancellor von Kassel for seeing to end of our exile from the light of Christ! I must notify my lord Mandorf of this immediately!

*The man rushes from the room. A faint, receding cry of "Peace! Peace!" hangs in the air to show his passing.*

[FactionHeir]

*Shifting through several letters that recently arrived from the crusader camp, the messenger addresses the diet*

My dear lords. My count wishes to congratulate the chancellor officially on his feat to reconcile us. He wishes to also ask the diet to join him in his call to have the pope call a true crusade towards Jerusalem.

[Ituralde]

Duke Leopold rises from his stand, applauding loudly!

Praise the Almighty!

Duke Otto von Kassel has succeeded where I have failed. I have had my doubts about the costly alliance with the English, but the diplomatic skill of our Chancellor seems to be superb. Fourty Years of damnation and purgatory have passed over our lands, but now we are finally back in the graces of Christendom!
I can only pray that this will help end our wars with our Christian neighbours.

I support the Chancellor in any peace negotiations he will make in the future. Approach the Venetians, approach the Poles, the Milanese and the French! Peace can be had at last and we can focus on saving our souls. I will gladly end the siege of Ragusa, if it brings us peace with Venice.

I congratulate Chancellor von Kassel once more on his accomplishment!

A confident smile on his face and looking visibly reliefed he sits back down again.

[AussieGiant]

Riding up to the doors of the Diet Chamber, the Count of Venice leaps of his steed and roughly embraces Duke Leopold. Realising his catastrophic break of protocol he quickly steps away from the Duke with a shocked wide eyed expression...

...he begins to speak...stops...starts...stops...then simply waits...for a reaction

[Warluster]

Jobst stands, smiling broadly

Finnally, a light amongst the dark clouds! If Hungary or Poland or France attacks us again, then their the ones excommunicated!!

Jobst looks at Hans Messenger

The idea seems very good, if we get a Offical one then we can gain even more popularity!

[Stuperman]

Gerhard Steffen

A Stroke of Pure Genius Chancellor Von Kassel. Reconciled without giving up any land is quite amazing.

[OverKnight]

Gunther reads a message from the Chancellor:

Electors of the Reich,

It is indeed good news that we are reconciled. It is a joy to be savored. Yet as Chancellor I must now consider the practical aspects of our readmittance into the Church.

We must now take into account the opinion of Pope Lanbertus on any actions we might take. Several of our enemies stand higher in his favor than we do, the French and Venetians for example. If we wage an aggressive war outside our current territory with them, we risk excommunication again. This cannot happen!

We have two options available to us, we strike quickly enough and take what we can before a Papal edict compels us to stop, or we engage in an active defense against these powers. Eventually, if they continue attacking us, their standing with the Church will fall, and they themselves may be excommunicated. Both strategies have worked for us in the past.

The conquest of Marseille and Breslau may have to be delayed while we pursue the latter option. Ragusa is the exception, I will attempt to have this lightly defended castle taken quickly before any outside interference can stop us. This will shorten our land border with the Venetians by hundreds of miles, deprive them of their major recruiting center, and will provide our closest port to the Holy Land. These strategic concerns outweigh the risk of displeasing the Pope. However, if ordered by the Pope to cease an attack, I will immediately do so.

Duke Leopold has spoken of seeking peace with many of the factions with whom we are currently at war. This is a noble goal, but I am not sure our peace with the English can be replicated. The English invaded us, we crushed their army, thanks to Count von Hamburg, and then they declared war on the Danes. Also we did not hold any of their territory. These unique factors, I believe, led them to seek peace with us.

The other nations we are feuding with, believe we hold territories that are theirs by the grace of God. The merchant republics still pine for their lost capitals, the Poles want Thorn, the French seem obsessed with Dijon. Even if we grind their armies into dust, peace negotiations with them will still be difficult, and may only serve to discourage our diplomats and blunt their skill. I will seek peace, but I will not give in to outrageous demands or give up one inch of the Empire. Nor have any of their diplomats approached me for peace in my term, though perhaps in Duke Leopold's.

As for calling an official Crusade, until I can send a diplomat to the Pope, this may not be possible. As I said before our standing with him may not be high enough. I will do what I can however. If the current Pope will not grant us a sanctioned Crusade, I am confident the next one will.

[TevashSzat]

I too, would like to congragulate Chancellor Von Kassel for our reconciliation. Having been the spearhead of the army that brought the last pope's demise, I can say from first hand experience that getting reconciled is not an easy task and that althought the pope is a holy man, he is not feeble and ill suited for battle.

I urge all future chancellors and electors as well to carefully think of the consequences of their actions before engaging in any activity that may result in excommunication once again.

With us reconciled, I propose that a diplomat should be sent to the newly elected pope as soon as possible in order to restablish amicable relations. Should the pope like our diplomat enough, he may even be inclined to support our current crusade towards the Holy Lands.

[OverKnight]

Gunther is handed a message and he noticeably pales. With his shaking hands clutching the crumbled letter to his chest he speaks in a quavering voice:

Treachery! Foul betrayal. . .I direct the Diet to the latest update of the Chancellor's report. . .

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...&postcount=107

[Ignoramus]

A Swabian page enters the shocked Diet and glances to the Speaker. Receiving permission to speak, he stands up.

Noble electors, I bear a letter from Duke Ulrich.

"Fellow Electors,
For too long have I borne the insult of Sigismund's death gone avenged. No matter what you may say, Sigismund shall be avenged! Before I am finished the whole of northern France shall be laid waster under the Swabian banner.

Ulrich Hummel, Duke of Swabia, Elector of the Holy Roman Reich."

The page bows, and exits the Diet.

[Warluster]

prince Jobst stands, beaming, and bows his head, then quickly walks from the Imperial Diet, heading to Dijon to relieve the siege, and possibly crack a bottle of wine...

[AussieGiant]

Standing to speak the Count of Venice raises his voice to harsh levels while turning to the Swabian benches

Has the House of Swabia and it's Duke gone completely insane!!!

Attacking France who is vastly more favored than ourselves after being freshly reconciled with the Papacy!!

I move we immediately sanction Duke Ulrich and strip him of all military forces until such time as he can follow orders, and NOT PLACE this Empire directly on the path of being excommunicated!!!

HIS actions have already been noted by our Cardinals and Bishops!! As of now I am receiving dozens of letters from our clergy and merchants regarding the matter!!

[TinCow]

*A representative of the Count of Nuremburg stands.*

The Duke of Swabia's actions are an outrage to this Diet! They are made all the more insensible as he could have freely marched on Marseilles, if he so wished. His complaints about a lack of advance on the French are preposterous given this Diet's direct authorization of action against that city!

Duke Hümmel must be restrained immediately, in one manner or another! If the Chancellor cannot exercise his power over this betrayal of the Reich, I demand that the Kaiser call an Emergency Diet session, so that we can strip the Duke of Swabia of his army until such a time as he has repented for his treachery or died of old age!

[TevashSzat]

Friedrich Scherer stands up after lurking around the Diet quietly

The French were treacherous pigs not unwilling to resort to treacherous strategies to win the war against us. While the other fronts were extremely active with immediate action against the Milanians and the Venetians at first and then proper defenses and counterattacks against the Polish, the western front has been neglected with only defensive measures taken. That could have been allowed and reasoned out if it weren't for the assassination of Sigsmund which required brutal revenge yet we have yet made any significant forays into French territory. The House of Swabia has stood down long enough and now we must seek for revenge and teach the French a lesson.

Friedrich Scherer quickly leaves afterwards

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

Congratulations, Duke Ulrich. You have singlehandedly compromised the entire position of the Reich and have worked to undo what all of us have worked so hard to achieve these past years.

I too demand Kaiser Henry to call an emergency session for the specific purpose of censuring the Duke.

[TinCow]

*The representative of the Count of Nuremburg stands again.*

This is preposterous! The Swabians did not even ask the Diet to approve the conquest of any French territories at the last session! The Austrians requested an alteration to the Edicts to allow for the conquest of Ragusa, and that request was granted easily. A similar edict proposal by any Swabian would likely have received the same level of support. It was only through their own laziness and negligence that such legislation was never proposed. Yet now they stand before us complaining of injustice and bias by the entire Diet!

Madness has overtaken the House of Swabia and the Imperial Diet must act! I demand an Emergency Session be called immediately to temproarily remove the Swabian Household Army from the command of any Swabian!

[AussieGiant]

The Count of Venice stands again

The action of the Swabian house are totally selfish and without rational thought or reason!!

Sir Sigsmund was murdered 40 years ago!!!

Was anyone in the Swabian house even alive when it happened??!!

This thinly veiled attempt at destroying the wishes of the entire assembly is totally at odds with what has been written in the amendments and edicts of this body of lords!!

One can only wonder if the house of Swabia is working for some other party or realm, because it is certainly not the Holy Roman Empire.

If a few small extremest wish to carve out sheer lunacy then they should be expelled from the Diet and stripped of all titles and rank.

Using Sir Sigsmund's murder as a justifiable reason to conduct this course of action would have him turning over in his grave!! And I say this with all authority having meet the man numerous times!!

Any senior member of this Diet will confirm this.

An Emergency Session is needed forth with and action must be taken!!

[econ21]

Diet Speaker: The Kaiser is sympathetic to the calls for an Emergency Session of the Diet. His main priority at the moment is raising our standing with the Pope and offensive actions by Swabia against France are having the opposite effect.

However, the Kaiser is of the opinion that the Chancellor already has all the laws and powers he needs to curb the House of Swabia. If the Chancellor believes that an Emergency Session of the Diet is required to restore discipline, then it will be granted.

Otherwise, the Kaiser hopes that the House of Swabia will act with more restraint than it speaks in the Diet and bear in mind that any gains by conquest will be allocated at the Kaiser's discretion. If these hopes are not fulfilled and the Chancellor unable to restore control, then an Emergency Session will be called.