Imperial Diet

[TinCow]

Most noble and honorable Electors, I stand before you as a candidate for the Chancellorship. I stand before you as a loyal servant of the Reich. I stand before you as a friend to the Ducal Houses.

Kaiser Heinrich and Count Sigismund der Stolze have done much to restore the Reich to the state it was in prior to the Investiture Controversy. The rebellious border lands have been brought back under our control and the upstart Milanese have been crushed. However, these victories have come at a cost. The emphasis on the war in Northern Italy has made the Ducal Houses vulnerable. Austria and Franconia were caught with few defenses when the traitorous Viennese and Poles betrayed us. It was only through the bravery and skill of Dukes Leopold and von Saxony that they were defeated. The Bavarian city of Bologna was occupied by the enemy. Brigands and rebels have been allowed free reign over our lands.

Today, Franconia continues to oppose Poland without support from the Reich. Austria continues to fight Viennese armies with nothing more than courageous militia. This cannot be allowed to continue. The Reich exists to serve the Christian people. The people are represented by the Ducal Houses. The Reich must do all in its power to ensure that the Houses have the means with which to maintain order within their provinces and secure the borders from foreign enemies.

The only way this can occur is if the Houses have armies of their own. The Armies must be free from meddling by the Kaiser or the Chancellor, yet they must also not unduly burden the resources of the Reich or endanger collective security. Accordingly, in consultation with other like-minded Electors, I have drafted the following Charter Amendment. While at first glance, it may seem complex and bureaucratic due to its length, it is exceedingly simple in application. The extensive delineation of clauses is merely to ensure that the Armies serve their purpose and are not abused by the Houses, the Kaiser, or the Chancellor.

Charter Amendment 5.1: Each Duchy shall have a Household Army with which to defend its territories. The Household Army will be governed by the following clauses:
1) The Household Army may not be removed from the House’s provinces without the permission of the Duke.
2) The Duke will determine where the Household Army is to be garrisoned. This location can be changed at any time, so long as the Duke informs the Chancellor of the move. The Chancellor will not remove the Household Army from the garrison without the Duke’s permission, except as required to fulfill Clause 4.
3) The Duke will determine who commands the Household Army.
4) At the beginning of each Diet session the Duke may assign general orders to the Household Army, which are to be carried out by the Chancellor. Between Diet sessions, any additional orders submitted by Dukes are to be implemented only at the Chancellor's discretion. The Duke may select one of the following Orders: (1) attack any rebel force in House territory, (2) attack any hostile force in House territory, including other factions, (3) attack any foreign or rebel army in House territory, including neutral (but not allied or crusading) factions, (4) temporary assignment to another House, (5) assignment to offensive duties. If Order (4) is chosen, the Duke may determine the time limit of the temporary assignment and the commanding general, but all other decisions are made by the Duke of the receiving house. When the time limit expires, the Household Army must be immediately returned to House lands, no matter what other circumstances occur, unless the Duke agrees otherwise. If Order (5) is chosen, the Duke may specify an enemy settlement or army as the objective and the commanding general. The settlement or army must be in a province that borders the House and the Reich must already be at war with the target. All other decisions are made by the Chancellor. The Duke may recall the Household Army from offensive duties at any time and for any reason.
5) The Household Army will consist of a minimum of 3 infantry regiments, 2 ranged regiments, and 1 cavalry regiment. The Household Army will ideally consist of 4 infantry regiments, 3 ranged regiments, and 2 cavalry regiments. For the purposes of this rule, Generals’ bodyguard units do not count as cavalry regiments. All regiments must be professional soldiers, not militia.
6) If a Household Army falls below the minimum strength level, Imperial military recruitment must be allocated to restoring the Household Army to minimum strength before forces can be sent elsewhere.
7) The Chancellor will attempt to maintain the Household Armies at full strength, with the highest quality regiments available.
8) In emergencies, the Chancellor may detach any units in excess of the minimum strength level for use elsewhere. The Chancellor may not reduce a Household Army below the minimum strength level without the permission of the Duke.
9) If the Imperial Treasury cannot support all Household Armies at minimum strength, the Chancellor must consult with the Dukes and receive their permission to reduce the Household Armies in such a way as to eliminate the deficit.
10) The Imperial Diet may temporarily remove any or all of these rules by a simple majority vote. The temporary period will last no longer than 10 turns.

The significant difficulties which will arise due to the Household Armies will be organizational of nature. Even then, the main burden will exist only in their creation, as their actual workings will be simple and clear once the Armies are assembled. Accordingly, the main burden will fall on the next Chancellor, and him alone. I will gladly bear this weight.

However, my commitment to the Ducal Houses is not limited to this Charter Amendment alone. Even if it does not pass, I swear to you that I shall do all in my power to work with the Dukes to ensure that their vassals are protected, their territories are secure, and their interests are given significant weight. No matter what occurs, I shall be a champion of the Houses and a defender of good Christians.

Yet, we cannot focus exclusively on domestic affairs. We find ourselves at war with three nations. The Milanese have been crushed, but they are not yet totally defeated. While their territories of Corsica and Sardinia are of little threat to us, they still have a massive Army on Imperial soil. We must destroy this force before it assaults Florence or attempts to escape. The city of Venice is of little threat to us at the moment. Kaiser Heinrich and Prinz Henry should combine forces and march to destroy the Milanese army immediately. I propose that once this is accomplished, we then seek a ceasefire with the Milanese, to allow us to concentrate on our remaining foes. Their island holdings are of little value to us and we cannot afford to send armies across the seas when we are threatened by land in all directions.

Edict 5.15: The large Milanese army outside Florence will be destroyed. After this is accomplished, we will seek to establish a ceasefire with Milan, so long as one can be obtained without cost to the Reich.

We must then turn all our fury on our traitorous former allies. Advances must be made be against the Poles and the Viennese. With skill, courage, and the blessings of the Almighty, we shall prevail in these struggles and bring righteous fury to those who have turned against the great Empire of Christ. As we speak, a Franconian army is besieging Magdeburg. However, it is a strong castle with trained defenders. The Franconian force must be reinforced with trained infantry before the assault can be made.

While Venice’s power has been largely smashed, Austria remains without a professional army to defend her borders. Kaiser Heinrich and Prinz Henry can resume the march on Venice itself once the Milanese have been dealt with. Duke Leopold must then be provided with a professional army with which to advance against the Viennese holdings to the south, particularly Zagreb.

The French question cannot be ignored. Fortunately, it is the easiest of the fronts to defend. Count der Stolze is encamped in the Alps with a large army. He can easily reach Dijon quickly with a significant force and defend Swabian territory from any French attack.

I am certain that there are some of you who have questions about my feelings towards Pope Gregory. I assume the rumors of my penance in Nuremburg have reach you, so I will simply say that they are true. I have spent a great deal of time in contemplation of our relations with the Pope. I have concluded that I was wrong. Pope Gregory is not a friend to the Reich, but then he is not a friend to any nation. Pope Gregory is a friend to Christians, regardless of their nationality. He has certainly made mistakes in the past, but he has proven that he wishes the best for our people. I believed that he forced the Milanese and Venetians to move against us. Yet he has excommunicated them both and not us. There is no possible way that the Italians could be obeying his orders.

As for the question of Investiture, there have certainly been errors made. However, is it so terrible to have Cardinals choosing the Pope? Are these evil men with bad intentions? No, they are holy men who serve Christ. Does giving them power prejudice the Reich? No, because the Reich has produced more Cardinals than any other nation, including a Preferatti. It is entirely possible that the next Pope could be Cardinal Scherer himself. Would that be an evil act that the Reich could not tolerate? I do not believe so. Indeed, the only reason this Pope or any other would have for moving against the Reich would be if we fell under the sway of heathens and witches. In such a case, it would be the duty of all righteous Christians, to restore the rule of God in our lands. I for one will never let the Reich be corrupted, so I have no fear that this will occur.

In summary, I promise you the following, Electors. We will immediately begin building Household Armies to defend the Ducal Houses. While this is going on, with the resources already available, we shall defeat the Milanese army outside Florence and take Venice. When the Franconian force at Magdeburg is reinforced, it will assault and take that castle. Once a professional army has been provided to Duke Leopold, he will lead an attack on the Venitian city of Zagreb. In the west, Count der Stolze will hold the Swabian border from attacks by the French. Throughout all of this, the resources of the Reich will be devoted to creating the Household Armies and restoring security to our lands. If you give me the power to do this, I expect that well before the next Diet session we will be able to advance anywhere and everywhere we wish without need for reinforcements and without risking the security of any House.

Electors, I seek to serve the Great Christian Empire. Give me the fiery sword and I shall wield it against those who would oppose the Lord!