Tales of the Baltic Empires: Teutonic PBM write-up thread

[Privateerkev]

Denmark Turn 1: 1250

King Knud walked up to the ramp of a ship followed by an aid who kept annoying him.

"But sir, your sending your armies all over the Baltic! We don't have the men and we'll be strung out!"

Without turning around, the King said, "Then build a navy to link these settlements together. I want Scandinavia under Danish control before my death. And I want Visby and Finland. We'll make peace with the Rus in order to keep Danish Estonia. And we'll make peace with the Kaiser to keep Denmark."

"But my lord! The Grand Duke of Novograd is going to want ports! How do you know he won't just take over Danish Estonia?"

The King, now on the ship, started walking down a hallway, "Because I will try to convince him that there are other ports to take."

"But the only other ports in the area are controlled by the Teutonic Order! You would try to convince non-Christians to war with other Christians?"

"Bah, I hardly have to convince anyone to war with the Order. Who haven't they angered? The Lithuanians hate them. The Poles fear them. The Kaiser can't control them. The Novogradians have not forgotten their earlier wars with them. The Mongols have other things to worry about and are far from the area. Norway could care less. No, no one will miss the Order."

"But sir, they might figure out what your doing. What if the Order moves it's northern forces against us in Danish Estonia?"

"Move the navy in. Blockade the straits at Arensberg. Tell the Order Hochmeister that it was a "navigation mistake". He won't believe it of course and he'll probably attack. We'll have all the reason for war that we will need. Then we build a navy, attack the Order's northern territories, and assist in their destruction. Then we can all get on to the business of making money."

The aid realized he was on a ship about to set sail. Not wanting to be trapped on a ship heading for Scandinavia, ran to the ramp before they pulled it up.