Mecklenburg--an AAR

Thank you all and I appreciate each of your support.

Heres part one of first section or, chapter
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Ah...It is in the frost of the cool winter that our story begins. Our country--Mecklenburg, as described earlier, is situated near a coast among other German nations bearing similar resemblance to us. Among those, one to our North and another to our East--to be exact--with the names Holstein and Pommern, respectively, are in contract with us of alliance. The alliance was brokered by our king, Magnus I--whose importance we will come to later.

The city of Lübeck, being of significant value to our nation, is, surprisingly, sparely equip with defensive fortifications. The bailiff's office, does not exist--or is long ignored if the shack, built centuries ago which has been vacant even longer, were put into consideration--all this of course, was of no little mirth to the local citizens.

Our city is extremely busy the year round, our most abundant product is materials used for naval construction, which leaves our ports daily in great quantity. Being the center of a properious region does have its good sides--among which, heaps of migrants journey from local and afar, carrying with them hopes of starting new lives within our gates, which made our city one of the most populous of German states: thirty-six thousand souls, and the biggest of all our neighbors.

Our army stand tall with nine thousand footmen and one-ninth that of cavalry. The men are trained daily with routines which fit the conditions of light skirmishes, and tested, when the time should come, on groups of inexperienced rebel scum; because a truth is evident to any soldier in Mecklenburg--from the infantry trainees to from the wood-like and expressionless captains--none of them dared to dream of themselves take part in an actual war.

Our navy, if you may call it such, equates a total of 5 warships and 5 personnel transports. And their daily activities consist of sitting quietly in their peaceful spot of the harbor and an occasional spin around the local waters, stopping at natural harbors for exercise maneuvers, before heading home, lead by their mild mannered captain. It is with this branch of our kingdom that has arisen some serious problems.


The problem started in the form of rumors. And after a while turned into facts in the minds of its spreaders; which later became the source of outrage and public protest. It all came, it was said, from some top aristocrat official, who is part of naval affairs, whose words carried weights when spoken, and who also is within the close circle of the king himself. Though what was actually said was diluted through the mouth and tongues of tens upon hundreds and came out in bits and pieces of half fable and half truths: that management was tight for money, that the king was outraged, that city was going bankrupt, that county lands were preparing to be made sold, that the shipyard was going bottoms-up--and indeed, as people gradually found out, the latter was the most true of all.

This, without amplifying, was of great shock for a large proportion of the citizenry. Anger and discontent became the fuel for many heated conversations over at local pubs and shipping docks; though they were started and carried-on by dock workers and sailors, the mass were sympathetic to their grief, and some even joined in as a show support by adding a word or two.

But after a while, when the general commotion subsided, and the news gone out of favor, many didn't bother looking back, and the few who had been advocating critical remarks found it hard to believe and even absurd to have had been so worried about something that was of no practical importance to themselves.

But there were some who resisted and did not cool off, and got even more upset by the silenced received in response to their petitions of inquiry.

For many parts of the city unrest grew in pockets, and people were seen to leave their work sites and not come back for days.

The situation went on for some time without any hint of resolve, and the ones who saw it as it was happening were honestly waiting for nothing less than the detachment of the royal army to come any day now and stir up a messy bloodbath.

In the end, it came as though fate intervened, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief-the king finally spoke.
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Sytass:
It's not that I'm modest, but you do exaggerate. I enjoyed your war and peace very much--I too am a fan of Tolstoy's.

Here is part two, of... still the first character, or section--I know this is getting dragged on a bit without much happening in the real game, but things just got out of hand and I'm not responsible But for those who are getting weary I promise to speed it up and dig in at least 50 years before the end of the next installment. Thanks again for the attention.

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And so, here we are again, friends.

---Every person, from the serf to the gentry, from the wealthy to the beggarly, from the sailor to the farmer, waited eagerly--some with more frustration stored in their breast than others, but it would be a lie to say that not all were, to some degree, apprehensive of what was to come. They anticipated and it came. It came, in the form of a posted notice that appeared early one morning on the South Gate, stamped with the royal crescent. As people gathered around the delicate sheet, and read its contents--which was imprinted neatly in the format of the court--the ones who could understand its meaning did so fairly quickly, while others padded on his neighbor's shoulder for assistance (though as it had been, there was not much written on it) To sum up, it came thus:

* * *
For those whose fortune resides
within the confines of this land,
to which His Majesty is King
and Supreme Guardian--

Adjustment to the royal budget
has been made.
Funds unbeneficial to Mecklenburg
shalt go not to waste.
Decree by His Majesty is uncontestable
law and authority.
Any impertinence shalt not stand tolerance.


The meaning behind words on the posted sheet was deciphered and quickly spread to all corners of the crowd. From high above, the black ball of men, women, and children seems to have grown a life of its own by this time: and uniformly, begin to sway from far left and to far right, and contract to become half its size only to expand, and engulf a street-stand nearby.

The crowd ringed murmurs and occasional shouts, but soon went into low hums as the gathering started to dissipate, and gradually, all went home.

"Look, sire. They're all leaving." a squeaky voice, said, "You said nothing would come of the mob and, nothing did!"

"Yes, they'll need twice more men than that for them to even think to have a chance."

The man with the squeaky voice was talking to an older man with a head of white hair. The two stood looking from the balcony of an ancient masonry tower, which had a commanding view of the street down below.

"The dastardly dogs! Your majesty's royal guards would have them crushed into bits under their hooves."

"Will they come back? Humph, perhaps next year if not careful." said the gray-headed man, softly.

"Shall we start for home," said the servant, "your majesty?" And after meekly taking a step forward, "when shall I call the minister of finance to arrive for the meeting?"

He wasn't listening, and had forgotten about the servant altogether--who was constantly staring into his face as though looking for a chance to dedicate himself in some way. The old man stopped looking and turned from the balcony ready to leave the tower.

At the palace, once back in his chambers, the king immediately sent for a servant to carry his message to the minister of finance together with the other ministers to promptly call at the evening after the next for a secluded gathering.

"Messy business it all is," said the old man, when left alone, "how ever did father do to deal with these nuisance?" He then fell into a deep muse.
~~~

We perhaps may pause for a moment now, to reveal, if not some, at least a few peculiarities of this king, which may serve to be points of interest.


Magnus I was crowned in his late forties, after the death of his father, who, while his son knelt at his deathbed, told him to rule benevolently, but with a forceful grip. Magnus became a modestly successful ruler after a few years of reign. Among many things, he had faith in the might of the military--actually, the army only--he dreaded boats. And any navy that was mentioned before him was sure to receive good scolding at.

Once, while attending a festive gathering at one of his friend's retreat (who also happened to be the king of Würzburg), he mockingly insulted a well-known Venetian maritime captain in the middle of a heated argument between the two men--in which the question of the cavalry and the galley's usefulness hung in the balance. An incident which moved Mecklenburg onto Venice's unflavored nations' list. "Ha!" retorted Magnus, whenever the issue rose, "as sure as I could send twenty-thousand horsemen to sack the city of Venice as that scoundrel of a captain could reach me with his galleys!"

Though the king was no great diplomat, he did do fairly well in contracting an alliance (as mentioned in part one), between Holstein and Pommern with some help from his aristocrats--which he often drew out in diplomatic situations as though from a back shirt-pocket. One of his two allies--Holstein, he had special admiration for. The king of Holstein, Hans, had, on many an occasion, invited Magnus to visit him in Hamburg, at his royal chateau--which he graciously always accepted. He enjoyed making the trip especially during the late months of the year: when snow fell in Hamburg and not his own city--to enter the stone-walled chambers of his ally and loyal confidant, sit over a crackling fire, and with a cup of hot water mixed with dense honey imported from Tuscany, talk about everything in the world and nothing of importance.

This was his favorite time of the year, and had been always kept in memory. Sometimes, not hearing the voice addressing him, he would turn around moments later, and meet other staring eyes with dreamy eyes of his own--a likely sign, too common to be guessed for any thing other than reflections of a Hamburg, in white snow.

If it is true enough that he was ignorant with money--it would be also equally true that he knew well of that himself. And because of that, he wanted to do what he can to appear not as the ignorant fool he considered himself to be. He often called meetings on the spare of the moment, which he deemed to be important and, looking into the eyes of his ministers, asked naively about obvious mistakes on the part of theirs; the ministers, whom being themselves dense, had already forgot the question asked, and returned only with broad answers, to escape of any possible blames.

Thus, a report came one day on which listed the royal budget in bad-shape, and dire need for change. A change was made--in the cutting costs in naval affairs--which, a few days after the notice was posted on the South Gate, transacted into nothing less than the liquidation of the entire navy. A few transports, however, were spared at the end to the piteous beseech of the sailors.

The king, having satisfied himself with a solution to the budget (which had been an easy one for him to find), declared in a meeting consisting of top officials that he would implement a few more changes of his own making by the month following the new year--of which, were 1) developing new methods for increasing trade revenue, 2) granting more allowance to the clergies (of Catholic faith, of course), 3) and implementing a doctrine to promote a greater sense of mercantilism within the authorities of his realm.



Before closing the session, a short, stocky man rose, and bid attention for his proposals--he called for more merchants in our own market to be moved-in immediately, and, as well as, hire a capable man to manage the local tax office. But before a response was got, he moved to vouch for some one he knew who was, as he put it, "perfectly matched for the job". "He's young--in his twenties, if I'm not too much mistaken," said the man, who in fact was the minister of finance, "and well-trained in Milan, under the guidance of an acquaintance of mine." And as to the question of, Does he speak German? The answer was, "Oh, fluently, with a touch of Bavarian, to be sure," and, that was that.
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Part one of the chapter on "1492-1550"

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The seagull flapped its wings twice and landed softly on a wooden pole.


The year was 1550.

The bird stood erect, with its head anchored high. Its bulging watery eyes scanned the on-going flow of people walking about on the dock. The great daily commotion was just about to begin: all around were soldiers marching, merchants bartering, ship workers hammering, peasants hauling, accountants pestering, and children and old men watching all this with great amazement.

60 years have passed since the last account of the happenings in Mecklenburg, friends, and much has changed.

First I would like to report that our kingdom has survived the tides of chaos that had swept through Central Europe and drowned many nations in its wake. In that process, we have also managed to make a few coppers without increasing our boundaries.

1492 was a new beginning for us. Poland in the East decided straight after the New Year to impose its will on the people of Pommern--who happened to be one of our two allies. Holstein, being the other ally, told us that if we were to join in and help, Lithuania would enter the war and stop us cold. Doom hung in our decision. In the end, we chose survival instead of honor. Pommern was overran with Poles in a couple of months.

This foreign policy was illuminating to our supreme leader Magnus I. Who, although enjoyed the invitations to the houses of his friends, enjoyed more the house that he called his own. This, he thought, was very shrewd. And one day calling a meeting, he announced that from then on the sovereignty of Mecklenburg was friend of no one's and enemy of--equally--no one's. Days after this announcement came word that Holstein gave in to threats from its new ally, Denmark, and was annexed by effect.

By this time, the Danes appeared to have sufficient strength to wage a war against the Poles and friends, and did. Bremen, being a member of the Polish alliance, was eager to contribute to the war effort, but instead was only to be crushed and quickly annexed into the Danish kingdom. Denmark appeared to be sitting comfortable in a position with only Poland to worry about--the only other country that seemed to be fighting in the war. But that much was shattered when 5 more countries joined in against the Danes. They were a tight pack of some small German states. Battles soon stretched along both sides of the Elbe.

Things got underway so quickly and was over before any one had ever expected it to, that all, especially the Danes themselves, were left in shock and consternation, at the signing of the treaty in Copenhegan. It was said to have happened like this.

The new German alliance devised a plan targeting the Danes immediately after Holstein was taken. It called for a massive build-up of troops to the brink of their cities' capacities in hope of liberating Hamburg before any more German cities fell into Danish hands. Upon news of Bremen's fate the alliance got underway to commence war. A diplomat was sent and the soldiers went in on the following day. The German generals had high hopes of sufficiently driving back the Danes from the south by attacking its already stranded forces-counted on to be busying with the Poles on the other front. But battles raged on for weeks with little progress. The German alliance was poorly coordinated. It so happened that many commanders each gave independent and, sometimes, contradicting orders to their own and adjacent company. To the much confusion of the troops, whom charged blindly into crowds of chaos, and rising swords on all around him, fought for his own survival.

It was after only month of retreats and the talk of ending the war that from the lines of Hanover, came a squadron lead by a commander with relative success. The commander was still fairly young and had an open face with chiseled features. He wore a lusciously red cape that seemed to blend in with the state's flag when seen from afar--which was mounted on a exceedingly tall pole and always carried high into the battle with proud devotion. The men under his command fought hard to the death along his side and with great results. They caught the Danes by surprise in late autumn--often credited to their unreserved audacity and ambition--by taking 3 adjacent provinces in a matter of few short months and decimating the moral of Danish troops. A treaty was signed weeks after giving Hanover control of the two German states thus ending the war. The Danes, in a separate treaty, were made to pay the Polish alliance a hefty sum to ensure a peace agreement.

Many more wars were fought to the advantage and disadvantage of nations involved, such worth mentioning are Brandenburg's expansion onto the two Pommern provinces, and Italian Genoa's occupation of Holstein.

All this time Mecklenburg stood watching, and did nothing.


By now it was 1525. Luther's words had sufficient support and were spread to create religious mayhem. His popularity was most abundant in north of German lands, south of the British Isle, and in regions of Scandinavian territory. One of most affected countries was Mecklenburg, by the fact that its sovereignty did not believe in deviations from the Roman Catholic faith. But its supporters stood their grounds. The most diverse range of citizens, except those of the clergies, held gatherings and demanded for a reform to the religious principles that guided this land. They were ordered to disperse with the threat of treason. And many disobeyed passionately with death looking down their eyes. They were loaded on to wagons and thrown in to stone cells. But this only incited more who followed their examples and were accordingly tossed into prison--soon its walls were filled with all sorts of miserable inhabitants from all degrees of society. Executions moved from a public rarely to a weekly occurrence. The average participants watched frightfully as shrieking prisoners were kicked and dragged up the stage podium. Waiting for his last words, while the coiffed blade handler stepped into his position and tighten his grip on his weapon of choice, the only sounds to have come out of the almost child-like adult were piteous and pathetic howls--while tears and mucous and hairs all mingled into a gel, covered his face. Everyone turned their faces away when the head came off and blood spilled on to the wooden platform--a few even covered their faces and cried. The executions went on steadily as the jailhouse became ever more full and prisoners required disposing of. The public's outcries,
sometimes even from well-respected Catholics, were ignored by the king, Heinrich III. His Majesty regarded such behaviors as insolence for years of royal leniency on his part. "It would not do," he often said, in a patronizing tone "to allow pesky fanatics parade their satanic fancies whenever and wherever they pleased, especially when they're doing it on our backyard." But there was another reason behind his apparent, unbound hatred for those of Lutheran faith--he did not want to offend any of Mecklenburg's relations-whom (notwithstanding being all Catholic) secured an agreement among the heads of states to crush down on the uprise, which they saw as too liberal and a potential threat to their sovereignties.

My three soviet comrades, I thank you.

I've been extremely busy at work since the last update that I'm not getting much sleep these couple of days. Its hard to say from now when the next one will be finished; but as long as you're still interested in Mecklenburg, she will go on.

I appreciate your appreciation, Commandante.

I realize that I've been slumping a bit; and with the year ending, I'm finding more work waiting for me than I have the time or the enery to manage. ANd when I'm not busy I'm relaxing and doing pretty much nothing.

As to when the next one will come, I honesty don't know, but it doesnt mean that it never will

again, thanks for the time and attention.


btw, when will your next update gonna be up? Who will Brandenburg be annexing next?

MECKLENBURG LIVES AGAIN!!

Hi guys! I've been neglecting this thread long enough - sorry for the unfair delay. Expect an update soon!