With the end of another session it's time for another report.
This ten years would be a quieter one than the past decade, at least for the Swiss. On the orders of the Tagsuntzag it was time to rebuild Switzerland's trading empire and reputation. Military access was denied to Austria as ordered. Relations with Swiss allies Venice and Lorraine would have to be prepared, and guarantees of the small German states to the north given. Swiss merchants slowly began to fill European markets again, and reforms were made to the military in case of another war.
In June 1486, however,the Hungarian King, apparently having grown weary of life, decided it would be a good idea to attack Venice. The Stadtholder answered the call to arms and joined our Venetian comrades.
While Venice took care of Hungary, the Swiss army moved to attack their ally Mazovia. Sadly, Alfred Bruger was not the general that Statdholder Stefan was, and was defeated by Mazovian forces in the Battle of Wien.
Undeterred, Stadtholder Bruger continued to march his army towards Mazovia's capital, ignoring the loss of Munich and rebellion in Konstanz.
Although he would die of a fever in the middle fo the campaign, Bruger's plan paid off. His successor Heinrich Bischofberger woult take command of the siege of Mazovia and, shortly after it fell, enemy alliance leader Hungary would agree to pay Switzerland a tribute of 50 Ducats. Venice would go on to win large tracts of land from Hungary before accepting a ceasefire.
The next years were spent peacefully. Switzerland came to dominate centers of trade in Burgundy and Venice again, and improved their production and naval tech (despite having no ports and no navies ). Even with money pouring in from all of the country's new vassals, trade again overtook taxes as a percentage of the nation's income.
Switzerland again fought a short war to help Venice, this time against Ragusa, but mostly peacefully traded and researched new technology. The war between Poland and Lithuania against the Ottomans ended, with the Turk's losing much land to the two superpowers. An inconclusive war was also fought between Austria and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In more unpleasant news, France declared war on Burgundy, neatly sidestepping the alliance between Switzerland and Burgundy's Personal Union Leader Lorraine. The war would end with France gaining control of Metz, unimportant in itself but putting them right on the border with the small German states. Something would have to be done about this.
Good news came less than a year later when Wurtemberg agreed to annexation. The mighty nation of Switzerland was again expanding. Ansbach also became an ally, hopefully providing a way to get involved in the politics of the small German states in the north later on.
And so the Republic of Switzerland faces a new decade. Things have constantly improved for the small nation, but there are challenges as well. To the east the mighty Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth swallowed up it's enemies, with only Austria standing in their way. To the west France continued to grow, now encroaching dangerously close to Germany. These may be the issues of most concern to the Tagsuntzag today.
Over the past few sessions we have begun to develop policies from the orders of the Council Members. Here is what we have come up with so far.
Short Term:
-Focus on trade, keep reputation as good as possible.
-keep relations with allies Venice and Lorraine high.
-Guarantee and/or warn nations to the north, to get an opportunity for a casus belli.
-Avoid war with any nations whose allies we can't handle.
Long Term:
-Unite the Rheinlander provinces, and eventually all German provinces.
-Be on the look out for any good chance to make excursions into Northern Italy.
-Keep France and Burgundy from spilling into Germany if possible.
-Never pay tribute to the Saxons again.
We bring a couple issues before the Tagsuntzag today. One is whether this policy is a good one to keep as a base for future decades, and whether any additions, changes, or subtractions need be made. Another is what to do about France and Poland-Lithuania's recent expansion, the former's against an ally. Lastly, we wish to know whether any changes to the meetings of the Tagsuntzag are necessary, whether members feel they have a stake in the country's fate, how to give them one if it is lacking, and whether a single decade between sessions is best or whether perhaps they should be extended. I look forwards to hearing your thoughts on the matter.
This ten years would be a quieter one than the past decade, at least for the Swiss. On the orders of the Tagsuntzag it was time to rebuild Switzerland's trading empire and reputation. Military access was denied to Austria as ordered. Relations with Swiss allies Venice and Lorraine would have to be prepared, and guarantees of the small German states to the north given. Swiss merchants slowly began to fill European markets again, and reforms were made to the military in case of another war.
In June 1486, however,the Hungarian King, apparently having grown weary of life, decided it would be a good idea to attack Venice. The Stadtholder answered the call to arms and joined our Venetian comrades.
While Venice took care of Hungary, the Swiss army moved to attack their ally Mazovia. Sadly, Alfred Bruger was not the general that Statdholder Stefan was, and was defeated by Mazovian forces in the Battle of Wien.
Undeterred, Stadtholder Bruger continued to march his army towards Mazovia's capital, ignoring the loss of Munich and rebellion in Konstanz.
Although he would die of a fever in the middle fo the campaign, Bruger's plan paid off. His successor Heinrich Bischofberger woult take command of the siege of Mazovia and, shortly after it fell, enemy alliance leader Hungary would agree to pay Switzerland a tribute of 50 Ducats. Venice would go on to win large tracts of land from Hungary before accepting a ceasefire.
The next years were spent peacefully. Switzerland came to dominate centers of trade in Burgundy and Venice again, and improved their production and naval tech (despite having no ports and no navies ). Even with money pouring in from all of the country's new vassals, trade again overtook taxes as a percentage of the nation's income.
Switzerland again fought a short war to help Venice, this time against Ragusa, but mostly peacefully traded and researched new technology. The war between Poland and Lithuania against the Ottomans ended, with the Turk's losing much land to the two superpowers. An inconclusive war was also fought between Austria and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In more unpleasant news, France declared war on Burgundy, neatly sidestepping the alliance between Switzerland and Burgundy's Personal Union Leader Lorraine. The war would end with France gaining control of Metz, unimportant in itself but putting them right on the border with the small German states. Something would have to be done about this.
Good news came less than a year later when Wurtemberg agreed to annexation. The mighty nation of Switzerland was again expanding. Ansbach also became an ally, hopefully providing a way to get involved in the politics of the small German states in the north later on.
And so the Republic of Switzerland faces a new decade. Things have constantly improved for the small nation, but there are challenges as well. To the east the mighty Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth swallowed up it's enemies, with only Austria standing in their way. To the west France continued to grow, now encroaching dangerously close to Germany. These may be the issues of most concern to the Tagsuntzag today.
Over the past few sessions we have begun to develop policies from the orders of the Council Members. Here is what we have come up with so far.
Short Term:
-Focus on trade, keep reputation as good as possible.
-keep relations with allies Venice and Lorraine high.
-Guarantee and/or warn nations to the north, to get an opportunity for a casus belli.
-Avoid war with any nations whose allies we can't handle.
Long Term:
-Unite the Rheinlander provinces, and eventually all German provinces.
-Be on the look out for any good chance to make excursions into Northern Italy.
-Keep France and Burgundy from spilling into Germany if possible.
-Never pay tribute to the Saxons again.
We bring a couple issues before the Tagsuntzag today. One is whether this policy is a good one to keep as a base for future decades, and whether any additions, changes, or subtractions need be made. Another is what to do about France and Poland-Lithuania's recent expansion, the former's against an ally. Lastly, we wish to know whether any changes to the meetings of the Tagsuntzag are necessary, whether members feel they have a stake in the country's fate, how to give them one if it is lacking, and whether a single decade between sessions is best or whether perhaps they should be extended. I look forwards to hearing your thoughts on the matter.
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