In a Flash of the Blade: A Burgundy AAR
Phillipe the Second of Burgundy awoke to a rather cold and breezy October day. He rubbed his temples as the pain of a hard night of drinking had taken its toll on him. Phillipe, by the year 1399, was getting old. He could feel it in his joints.
Knock Knock
“Yes? Who's there?” asked Phillipe
“M'lord, I have brought a new map for you and the Nobles wish to inform you that they are waiting for you in the dining room.” humbly said the servant.
“Those damn Nobles will never let me be, will they?”
“I'm afraid not m'lord.”
“Fine. Let them know I will be with them shortly”
“Yes sire,”
“oh and one other thing, make sure Jean is present as well.” ordered the King
“Absolutely my king!” the servant then scurried off to fulfill the King's wishes
King Phillipe groaned and wished he had not had so much wine. Nonetheless, he put on his clothes and walked to the dining room where all the Nobles had been waiting for him.
As Phillipe walked to the dining room, he saw his son Jean waiting for him outside.
“Jean, you're not in there because?” questioned Phillipe
“Father, I was unaware of why you wanted me to be here with you” Jean asked
“You know you are to rule this kingdom when I die”
“Yes, I know this, but I'd rather not meet the nobles until I must”
“you must meet them now. They are a tricky lot and will do their best to take power from you. Do you understand?”
“Of course father”
“Let's go and deal with them”
The dining room was massive. It was about 12 feet high, 20 feet long, and 18 feet wide. The walls were adorned with paintings of relatives, trophy animals which the King and his predecessors had killed, maps of Europe, and a few relics from the Holy Land. The table was at the very most ten feet long and three feet wide. The edges were gilded as was the candle sticks placed every two and a half feet. The table itself was made of a nice mahogany wood. Phillipe's chair was at the head of the opulent table and Jean's was at Phillipe's right hand.
As the King of Burgundy and his son entered the room the quiet murmuring that had been going on suddenly stopped. Phillipe and Jean both took their seats. The room was still quiet, so Phillipe began.
“Well, all of you called me here. What is it you want” urged the King.
One of the Nobles chimed in “To be honest, your majesty, we just had a few ideas we would like to share with you for the future of the kingdom.”
“Go on”
“Here, you see the map of our territory.”
“Get to the point, I am not feeling so well”
“Of course, your highness, we are suggesting that you invade and conquer the Duchy of Liege”
“You nobles want me to sacrifice my men for what reason? I have no quarrel with Liege”
“My king, there have been constant raids by Liegean forces into our lands. They must be punished!”
“I will go, talk to my subjects and get their opinion of the matter.”
“But your highness! They are....”
“Do not raise your voice to me! I will handle this as I see fit. On a related note, I will be investing more of our military budget into the Army and not the Navy, I believe this makes sense because we will, one day, have to deal with the French and need all the support we can get. Furthermore, I want a change of infantry. No more halbeards, just use regular infantry” (Naval thought suffering).
Before King Phillipe and Jean left the room, they noticed three men who they had never seen before. They looked to be from the monied class. Very oddly dressed, but he could tell they were Burgundian. As Phillipe walked over towards them, they got nervous. Their eyes began to shift, became sweaty, and they began to visibly tremble.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?” Phillipe demanded
“My king, we are but three humble finance men” squeaked one of the group
“and that will do what for my country?”
“we can re-work your financial system to allow you to mint more money without any inflation?”
“Really? You can do that?!!!”
“Yes, your majesty”
“Hired” (Hire three Masters of mint)
With that, Phillipe left his castle to go investigate the claims of some of the nobles.