The Kingdom of Outremer

[OverKnight]

Count Hans, I too mourn for Dietrich, he was a great man. We shall see what his will says about the disposition of his mortal remains.

Our spy has told me that the Jihad forces that retreated to Antioch have abandoned their quest. An Egyptian force has moved north to block our route, but I'm sure once we choose to give battle, they will retreat. Their force is mostly siege equipment, and they now know to face us is to die.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I am tempted to take Aleppo, it is lightly defended, but the chance for delay might be too great.

If I understand the Kaiser correctly, he wishes to have the priests begin preaching near Antioch in preperation of us swinging north to take the city once the Crusade is complete. This is an interesting notion. Still, Count Hans's concern about in what state we should hand Jerusalem over to the Pope, is also valid. I will think on this.

[OverKnight]

The Crusade has successfully driven off that Egyptian army and is now north of Acre. Count Hans and Count von Mahren with half our forces have barely reached the walls of the fortress, the siege will begin next year, and I will see if I can infiltrate our agent.

The remaining forces are with the Kaiser and myself hiding in a small wood to the northeast. We are a year away from our goal.

Both armies have been supplemented with Crusader Sergeants, also some religious fanatics have joined the Kaiser's army. Each army also has only two missile units, a pity, but for a siege assault, they're not critical.

I must know ask a needful but possibly distasteful question. When we take Jerusalem, what do we do with the population? Should we occupy, sack or exterminate? It would be unwise to gift a rioting city to the Papacy. Also, with the diplomat ready to meet with his Holiness next year, when should we hand the city over?

[TinCow]

The city must be handed over immediately. The longer we hold the place, the less honorable our intentions will seem. We took up the Cross in the name of the Pope and we must honor that commitment. If the Pope cannot maintain his own lands, we will lend him aid from our own holdings. If the Egyptians attack the city after it is in his possession, we must repel them. If the city revolts against his rule, we must recapture it and return it to the Papacy. We are the guardians of Jerusalem, but we are not its owners. Let us remember that.

(OOC: It would be a good idea to try and get an alliance from the Pope, perhaps in conjunction with the gift of Jerusalem, perhaps afterwards. Either way, it would be very useful to be allied with the Papal States if we have to relieve a siege of the city later or otherwise help the Papal armies.)

[Kagemusha]

Count Von Mahren joins the conversation.With a silent voice he speaks staring at the ground.

"There is only one way to deal with heathens in Jerusalem and that is to put them into sword.All of them. The Holy city has for far too long be polluted of these Moors and their false God. We should clean the city from them completely. About when to take it.As soon as possible.I dont understand why are we attacking random cities around Jerusalem,when we should be marching straight into it."

[OverKnight]

I have thought of asking Pope Pisanus for an alliance when we gave him Jerusalem. I will do so. Unfortunately, we cannot ask for military access until they actually have territory, but I will keep it in mind.

[FactionHeir]

My fellow crusaders.
We came here to the holy land to take back for god's children what is rightfully theirs. We came here to fight the unholy hordes of the heathen idol.
But did we really come here to butcher every man, woman and child we can find?
We have already butchered all the heathen soldiers we have fought, as they have raised their weapons against us, but is everyone here a sinner and beyond redemption?
Would we not further god's glory by showing these heathens the true faith and bring them into the light?
Not everyone living in these lands is a heathen either. As you are all aware, some Christians still inhabit the cities and would we want their blood upon our hands, upon our souls?

It would be harsh to put the populace to the sword, yet it would be unwise to merely occupy the cities and have resistance develop against our noble rule. The only thinkable compromise would be to show these people what would happen if they did not obey our rule and seize all the false symbols of their god and pagan faith and melt them down.

OOC: TC, while allying with the pope would be great from a game point of view, I would recommend against it. Reason being the way the scripts in 1.02 handle alliances and trusted allies. If we become a trusted ally of the pope (i.e. global rep of reliable and fairly high relations) anyone who is at war with us or we declare war on instantly becomes excommunicated. While this may be "right" if you look at us being the "Holy Roman Empire" who own the papacy, it would make the game much too easy.

On another note, could I ask what composition of troops you have kindly assigned me, chancellor, and information on the defenders of Acre?

[OverKnight]

Your forces are: Bodyguard x2, Mailed Knights, dismounted Feudal Knight, unhorsed Knight, Armoured Spearmen x2, Crusader Sergeants x2, Pavise XBowmen, and Xbow Militia.

The forces in Acre are a Egyptian noble, Mamluk Horsemen and some form of mounted Archer. There's an Egyptian army to the south which has spears, artillery and some horse.

Jerusalem is being defended by an Egyptian noble and his retainers. It seems in destroying their Jihads, we have seriously set them back.

If you want more information, the latest scouting report (save) has been delivered.

[Kagemusha]

Jonas Von Mahren continues after hearing the words of the others,still staring at the ground.

"I will ask you Chancellor Von Kassel,when do you think we will reach Jerusalem? I am asking becouse once we have taken it,i want home.I dont know what you others are planning,but im sick and tired of this heathen land and its inhabitants. I joined this crusade on my now dead Duke´s wishes and have been miserable ever since.I want this crusade to end and then get back home to Germany and Franconia as soon as possible. When will this be possible?

[FactionHeir]

*Hans looking through the scouting reports makes a few notes before speaking*
It seems like our Egyptian foes have greatly neglected defending their homelands. I believe I may be able to even pull off a tactical maneuver and lure the defenders outside Acre to fight on our terms instead of spending lives scaling the walls of Acre. Please keep me informed of the enemy's movements so I may plan the assault my chancellor.

OOC: Next turn, instead of giving me the save during the attack sequence, please upload it before taking action, so I can choose the angle of attack
Actually I might even split a few more units from the army you assigned me to get a heroic victory hehe. We shall see.