Imperial Diet III

[econ21]

Kaiser Henry: The Ninth Diet session is now closed for the proposing of edicts and amendments. Voting will begin shortly.

[Ignoramus]

Ulrich Hummel strides into the Diet chambers. He quickly moves to Swabian side and begins to address the Diet.

"Mein electors, we face many new challenges and threats since we last assembled. The Russians have burst through our eastern frontier and have stormed the castle at Thorn. There are reports of strange barbarians from the east.

In such times of war and devastation, defense is not enough. I, therefore, propose controlled offensives against the Reich's enemies. If this august body deems me worthy to lead the Reich, I shall swear upon mein honour and all the Duke of Bavaria's relics that I, Ulrich Hummel, Count of Lorraine, shall lead the Reich to a glory rivalling that of ancient Rome itself!

The Romans ruled the world, from the wall of Hadrian to the edges of the Mesopotamian desert. There is no reason why we, the true heirs of Rome, and of Charlemagne, cannot achieve at rightful place at the head of the Mediterranean.

Such heights, however, cannot be attained easily while enemies lie at every corner. Therefore, I propose that we seek out and destroy those armies that threaten our borders, and force them to sue for peace while they still live.

That, mein electors, is how the new Rome shall rival the old."

Ulrich bows and leaves the Diet.

[Stig]

Ansehelm stands again

I applaud you Herr Hümmel, you have got my vote for the position of Chancellor. I believe that you will be able to recapture the lost city of Thorn, my city of Thorn.

[AussieGiant]

A messenger makes his way to the Diet floor in the livery of House Austria. He clears his throat and begins to read the unfurled parchment

My Lords,

Now that my father is leading the Riech's new Crusading Army to Damascus, I hear by follow his wishes. I am now the Steward of Austria until such time as my father returns or god takes him from this earth.

Long live the Reich!!

The messanger folds the parchment and departs the Diet floor

[Warluster]

The spy Dieter von Darmstadt enters the DIet,closely accompanied by Fritz,Prinz Jobst's main captain and bodyuard


Mein lords,counts and Duke,

And of course mein great Kaiser,

I have been sent by Prinz Jobst, who does not wish to be back at the Diet for some years

Dieter glares at some people from the paper he's reading

He has sent a message, which I shall read out:

Mein fellow electors, mein Kaiser,
I have been warded off Rome for now, but I have very joyful news.
Dieter von Darmstadt recently investigated the place where the battle between the EIA and the Danish Crusaders happened.

I sent him to report to you persoanlly,
I also welcome back mein Kaiser, we missed you much. I also congratulate mein fellow swabian Chancellor Hans on attaining the position of Chancellor.
I shall return soon after I go to help the Franconians fight off those Poles,

God be with you,
Prinz Jobst,
Count of Dijon,
Commander of the EIA,

mein fellows,

At the battle I found many dead, of both Danes and Germans.

I found that the Danish Family Member was killed from Crossbow fire.

And I also found that the Danish were those who struck first, several german Scouts were found dead on the edge of the forest, and with interviews with the soldiers under command of Jobst, they thought it was a invading French army, and they knew not it was a Crusading Danish Army.

If there are any inquires Prinz Jobst has said I may fill in his position in the Diet for now, until he returns.

Dieter bows and sits where Jobst usually sits, while Fritz sits behind him.

[Stig]

A messenger from Breslau enter the Diet reading out the following message

Meine Herren,

I must say that I do not believe that Prinz Jobst is free to go. Ofcourse it would have been nice if the Danes told us they were coming, but we knew that a crusade was going on, so they were free to pass through. Now we are at war with them, not because of them, but because of the Prinz.
And here he is, offering his help to Franconia. May I remind him, that he is the one that got Franconia into more trouble. We lost my city of Thorn, we have trouble with the Poles, and here is Jobst, getting us into trouble with the Danes as well. A big thank you.

If Jobst really wants to help us, I suggest he takes his men and joins the crusade. That way he'll do the Reich a favour, and he doesn't get Franconia into trouble.

Ansehelm von Kastilien
Count of Thorn
Current Governor of Breslau
Heir of Franconia

[FactionHeir]

*Hans sighs and begins to speak*

My lords,
While I would like to believe what Dieter von Darmstadt is reporting, I should caution that the findings do neither prove nor disprove the events.
So, we know some bodies of our individuals bearing the Imperial uniform have been found at the edge of the forest, but does that really tell us anything?
And so I ask,
Were they truly Germans and if so, were they officially part of our Prince's forces? For all we know someone could have stolen these uniforms.
Were they slain by the Danes or in a dispute with their own comrades or even another group we are not aware of?
Were they the ones who initiated the aggression?
Did they truly die where they were found or were they moved there or did they even get slain during the ensuing battle, merely slightly detached from the main force?

We lack information my lords, information, that I sent this man out to forage, yet he only brings back two pieces of some importance, the second one being, that some soldiers thought it was a French invasion. Considering we have been at war with France and the French wear quite different uniforms, is the story that some soldiers tell truly reliable?

Now, while these pieces do not redeem our Prince, they also do not incriminate him. There is a lack of any credible source that could tell the true story, for the soldiers will try to protect themselves and their commander, the Danes will incriminate us and the locals will say whatever they are paid to say or they like, and the slain do not seem to give much away.

The spy Hugo on the other hand sends word that Prince Haakon of Denmark is still alive, which means that the noble slain north of Staufen is not him, unless the informant is mistaken.

I would ask for anyone who believes there may be another avenue of investigation to speak up so it can be pursued.