Imperial Diet VI

[Tamur]

*Fritz rises and slowly walks to the centre of the floor*

I applaud the bravado of King Jan in being willing to give up his title. This is the mark of a greater man than I had thought him to be.

But think, gentlemen. How easily we give away what other men's blood has dearly bought. Our fathers have for generations bled and suffered to maintain and defend Jerusalem from invasion. And we have been successful, despite all odds and despite being thousands of miles from our German homeland.

Do we really, truly feel in our hearts that the gifting of Outremer to the Byzantines is in the best interest of that most holy city, Jerusalem? Or are we looking at the bottom line on the tally sheet?

*Fritz pauses for a full half-minute, looking now at one elector, now at another*

It's too expensive! It's too much work, too much trouble, too much toil, too much sweat in a dusty land.

The bones of our fathers lying in the holy ground must tremble to hear such words spoken in the Diet.