State of the Empire: 1550
2 January 1550, Castle St. Maso
Francis I carefully studied the notes to his speech. This had to be absolutely perfect. The State of the Empire address to the Imperial Senate set policy for the next fifty years, and it was his chance to evaluate everything that his people had to say in one place. There would be three major presentations, apart from his own. After the Imperial cartographer presented the official map of the Tuscan Empire, the next to speak would be Count Carlo di Campofregoso, the Theologian of the Empire, who would give a brief of summary of religious events in Europe. Then Marshal Alessandro del Moro, the Duke of Sicily, would give an update on the Tuscan Legions and Fleets as compared with the rest of the world. Finally, Chancellor Axel Gathenhielm would give a report on the economy. Then all present would consult an up-to-date map of the world. It had been done three times in the past; it would be done God knew how many times in the future.
A court chamberlain motioned to the Emperor. It was time to begin.
As Francis I entered the chambers of the Imperial Senate, he got shivers. He was not used to public speaking, and found it one of the hardest parts of being Emperor. A few years ago, he'd been an enthusiastic bureaucrat, a clerk in Constantinople. Now he was one of the most powerful men in all the world. It was humbling. To make matters worse, the chambers were especially full with honored guests from around the Empire. The Senate quieted down as soon as the Emperor entered. Francis cleared his throat, then began to read from his notes.
"Senators, Counts, favored guests, we are all many things in this room. We are politicians, soldiers, administrators, diplomats, farmers, and scholars. We are also fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, uncles, and in some cases, grandfathers. We are one thing above all else, however. We are all citizens of the Empire of Tuscany.
"Stop and think for a moment. It is citizenship that unites us all. We all live to serve the Empire, and would not think twice about dying for the Empire. 150 years ago, a prominent noble, Maso degli Ablizzi, overthrew the republic that governed Tuscany. Today, we have an Empire that spans three continents. Yet all of our weapons, our money, our power, would be meaningless if not for the blood, sweat, and tears of everybody inside and outside this room.
"The greatest asset of the Empire of Tuscany is her people, and we must never forget this. God has chosen us to show a light to the rest of the world. It is our destiny to recapture the glory of Rome; to prove that we will not make the same mistakes our ancestors did. No one man can be too powerful; that is why John I created the Imperial Senate. We are an aristocracy in the literal sense of the word -- rule by the best.
"We must unite Italy under one ruler for the first time in over a thousand years. We must recapture the Holy Land. Gaul, Hispania, Britannia -- these must all be Roman provinces once again. We must spread the teachings of Martin Luther throughout the world. Just as one man cannot rule an Empire, one man cannot control the word of God, as if it were some soup that needed to be spooned out. No! Every man is his own priest; the Pope in the Low Countries is no better or worse than any man in this room.
"Our mission is clear. Our hearts are firm. Our minds are ever vigilant. Our swords are ever sharp. Our souls sing with the brightness of God's love. Our Empire, united, is the single greatest force for good in human history! Glory to Tuscany! Glory to Italy! Glory to Constantinople! GLORY TO THE EMPIRE!"
Every one present shouted the last, together, and the top of their lungs. Nobody noticed the small sigh of relief from the Emperor; his speech had sounded awkward to him, but everyone gathered seemed to respond as he had hoped.
Maybe this Emperor thing wasn't so bad after all?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later
Only the Senators, Foreign Minister Iskander, and Emperor Francis I remained in the room. Francis nodded, and the Imperial cartographer spread out the realm of Tuscany on the table for all to see.
Everybody clapped appreciatively. The map was absolutely beautiful. The Imperial cartographer bowed and left the room.
Francis I nodded to Count di Campofregoso, who presented a map of his own.
"Gentlemen, as you can see, religious conflict in Europe remains a big part of everyday life. Catholicism is by no means dead; indeed, as long as the Damned German Empire remains Catholic, it is difficult to say how successful the Reformation will be. Bohemia has chosen to follow John Calvin, which may speak badly for their souls, but at least it provides a real alternative to Austrian rule. Hungary, Transylvania, and Castille all remain solidly Catholic, although Calvinism has spread a little into Castille.
"Besides us and the Teutonic Order, Lutheranism is popular in Burgundy and Great Britain. Large sections of France and Poland, as well as Scandinavia, have also begun defecting to the One True Faith. I would recommend that Foreign Minister Iskander consider pursuing stronger ties with our religious brethren; I know we are very unpopular with some of the more powerful Catholics.
"Calvinism is popular in the Northern Germanies, and Bohemia is their main protector. I do not believe it will spread much farther, but it would be nice if a few more Electors converted outside the Catholic Faith. Orthodoxy remains largely limited to Russia, apart from Constantinople.
"We have four religions in Tuscany. Most of Italy is Lutheran; there are some Catholics, primarily in southern Italy. Constantinople is Orthodox, as you know; some of my finest missionaries are working to spread Luther to the masses there, but with minimal success thus far. The biggest threat, from a security standpoint, is Islam. It might be wise to begin converting souls there a little sooner than planned. I have reason to believe that the
imams are responsible in large part for keeping up Turkish nationalism. We must convince the people that the Ottoman Empire is dead, or at least barely breathing, and driving out the heresy of Islam is an important step." He bowed to the Emperor and sat down.
"Thank you, Count di Campofregoso. Are there any questions?"
There were none. Although everybody was a devout Protestant at this table (apart from Iskander, who was a Coptic Christian), most of the Senators did not give much thought to religion on a daily basis. Archduke Graecus of Constantinople did, but the words of Campofregoso gave him some comfort.
"Very well. Marshal, I believe you are next."
"Thank you, Emperor Francis." Marshal del Moro pulled out some charts and placed them on an easel behind him.
The Army and Navy of the Empire of Tuscany
Armies of the World
Navies of the World
"Senators, Emperor Francis, I'd like to begin with our own forces first. Most of our soldiers are in the Tercio formation, introduced a few years ago. I am told by our top researchers that someday soon, pikes may become entirely obsolete with improvements to firearms. I'm not sure I believe that, but it is something to keep an eye on, to be sure. Our cavalry, to be honest, is a little outdated. I am hopeful that we'll develop a legitimate alternative to full plate armor soon, as I am worried that if we fought an army that had quality firearms we'd be in a lot of trouble. Finally, the newly introduced Chambered Demi Cannon is both lighter and more powerful than the Culverins of the past. We are at the forefront of army technology.
"We have the third largest army in the world; I do not think we will face Ming any time soon, so the biggest threat remains Austria. We may or may not be able to count on Muscovite support, but if we do, we'd still be in a lot of trouble. Austria could call in Bohemia, and possibly Burgundy. If we could isolate Austria, we might stand a chance, but I seriously doubt that Austria would fight alone. If we could somehow speed along the conversion of France, that might help even the odds; the British have no army to speak of.
"Our biggest opportunity is probably Morocco. They have a small and out of date army. They control the Holy Land and most of North Africa; if we can get these administrative problems worked out, I would consider them a priority target for expansion. We could also consider an invasion of Britain, but that would be a little risky. We have no legitimate
casus belli against them, and besides, I think they would be more valuable as allies, at least in the long term.
"At sea, we are tied for the third largest navy with the British. If we add our loyal vassals Byzantium and Genoa, we would easily dominate any other fleet. We have more Carracks and Caravels than any European nation; depending on where we go next, we could also consider modernizing the fleet. For now, we will keep the fleet divided into two Classes; one in Constantinople and one in Sicily. Each is capable of carrying one Legion at a time. We may eventually need a third, should we expand greatly in Africa. Morocco's fleet is respectable; not as good as ours, of course, but respectable.
"My recommendation to Foreign Minister Iskander would be to pursue alliances with France and/or Great Britain; given the natural antipathy of the two nations, it is highly unlikely we would get both. This concludes my presentation. Are there any questions?"
The Emperor actually had one. "It would appear we have a larger fleet than we can fiscally support, if these numbers are correct. Should we consider a cutback?"
Marshal del Moro vigorously shook his head. "No, my Emperor. That would be foolhardy and even dangerous. The maintenance of the fleet, as I'm sure Chancellor Gathenhielm will explain, is almost insignificant, despite how far we are over budget. The expensive part of ships is building them; maintenance is hardly worth considering."
Archduke Graecus nervously raised his hand. "Marshal, how soon until we can raise a new Legion? I have a lot of territory to defend and we know that the barbarians will not stay peaceful for long."
del Moro consulted his notes, and replied, "Probably not until some more territories become legitimately part of the Empire. I can raise 2 more regiments with no penalties; unfortunately, it is much more expensive to go over the force recommendations of armies than of navies. I could transfer a legion from Italy to your lands; that would give us four in Italy, four in Asia Minor, and one in Africa. Would that be acceptable?"
Archduke Graecus nodded, tentatively. The Emperor scanned the Senators, but there were no further questions. He turned to Chancellor Gathenhielm, who placed his own charts on the easel.
The Imperial Council
Policies
Pie charts
The record of the Emperors
"Thank you, Emperor Francis," responded the tall Swede. "I will begin with administrative matters first, then proceed to economic matters.
"The senior member of the Imperial Council, Sir Andreas Germanicus, Archduke of Africa, is on the Imperial payroll under the name he initially gave us; that is the only thing that might confuse some of those present. Vitale Gori, as you all know, rejected nobility and the Senate to continue his philosophy as he sees fit, where he sees fit. We all know Count di Campofregoso, our Theologian."
Everybody smiled, and nodded to the Count, who was sitting right next to the Chancellor.
"The Aristocracy is firmly in control of our Empire, as it should be. When we do our normal policy review -- one is coming up soon, I believe -- I would advise perhaps giving a few more rights to our loyal subjects, the citizens of Tuscany. It might help combat the effects of the overextension.
"I want you to all to pay particular attention to the pie charts we have on the easel. Since more than half our population is still Turkish, we are more than half Muslim. I would strongly urge Count Campofregoso to begin sending his finest missionaries to these heathen lands. Over time, it would probably also behoove us to accept Turkish as a culture, although that will take some time.
"Perhaps the most worrisome chart is the one in the bottom right. Over half of our lands appear illegitimate in the eyes of the international community. In 1553, Sardinia and Istria will legally be integrated into our Empire; unfortunately, the first batch of Turkish lands will not become core territories until the 1580s. We may have to deal with overextension for quite some time.
"Everybody can read the historical record for themselves. Are there any administrative questions?"
Drusus Germanicus rose his hand. "What if we decentralized our authority? The map you showed seems to indicate we are more centralized than is appropriate. Decentralizing might eliminate our overextension problems, couldn't it?"
The Emperor answered that question. "That might be one solution, Senator Germanicus, but without at least 50% of our lands being recognized as core, we would still suffer from overextension, regardless of our centralization."
There were no further questions, so Chancellor Gathenhielm set up his economic charts.
Monthly economy
Incomes around the world
"With the Emperor's recommendation, I've decided to stick to monthly income discussions for most of this presentation. Briefly, production remains our largest yearly revenue, while our legions remain our largest expense. These will only change by magnitude, so it is a waste of time to report the specific numbers. Any interested Senators may come to my office and consult them at their leisure.
"We've been investing heavily in new weapon technologies for our Legions; we are among the very best in the world in this area. We are soon due for breakthroughs in government, production, and trade technologies as well, thanks to some brilliant independent researchers. It is true we are minting new coins, but it is inflation-neutral -- actually inflation-negative -- so there is no harm to our economy. This will help offset the costs of our legions, which remain our largest monthly expenditure.
"Trade is an insignificant part of our monthly income; we currently only trade in our home Centers of Trade, Thrace and Liguria. We could probably expand this, but for now, production and taxation are simply much more profitable. Our missionary activities are our second largest expenditure, and I only see this figure growing larger. Are there any questions on our economy to date?"
The Emperor had the only question. "Chancellor, wouldn't it be wise to temporarily divert our research into improving stability, rather than new technologies?"
Chancellor Gathenhielm actually looked slightly surprised by this. "I hadn't given that any thought, Emperor, but I think you're right. I will reallocate the funds as soon as practical."
"Excellent, Chancellor. Since there are no further questions or concerns, I wanted to thank you all for spending the better part of a day with your fellow Senators and me. Thank you for your excellent questions. The cartographer will be back later on with some maps of the world; you may peruse them at your leisure. Have a great evening!"
Everybody stood, bowed, and left.
Alone with his thoughts, Francis I had a difficult decision to make. He could press forward with further expansion in Morocco, complete Leo II's mission to subjugate Aquelia, or simply wait until more of the Turkish lands became core. He could not be hasty in his decision. He carefully examined the two world maps, but knew he would not decide for quite a while.
The World
The Empire of Tuscany and her vassals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That will be the last update for a while; I've got a research trip in scenic Champaign, Illinois, and will not return for about two weeks (back 25 July). I will be on the forums fairly regularly, but won't be able to post a new update since my puny netbook can't run EU 3 (but maybe Darkest Hour?).
I actually could use a little guidance on Francis' problem. I can ignore overextension and go after Morocco (the last major enemy I can use Holy War on; want to get that done before 1650, when I'll lose it), sit quietly at peace for 30+ years (making for very dull updates), or try to subjugate Aquelia, knowing that at least Austria would likely intervene. I could also cancel the mission and hope for a better one; with my luck, it would probably be something stupid, like improving relations with Austria.
What do you guys think? If you have suggestions, I'm all ears, but I want to know why you recommended that one and not the other two.