One the Counsel was dissolved, the Emperor's grand plans were set into motion. His generals, the highest of whom was his personal War Advisor, were set to prepare to make war at a moment's notice. An envoy was sent to the small state of Baden immediately, offering the formation of a Southern Alliance between the two German states. Baden agreed immediately and without regret.
On the home front, the Emperor decreed that the Reich should strive to innovate and incorporate greater ideas, even more that centralising his great State. During the first half of the Year of Our Lord, 1419, Austria was imminently active in international diplomacy. The Emperor married off his relatives to Bavaria, even though his suspicion had been cast on Ernst from rumors of an assassination attempt, because Ernst graciously offered. Following suit, the states of Mantua and Austria were tied with more royal blood at the former's request.
Taking initiative in June, the Emperor sent an emissary to Wurtemburg offering an important marriage, which the state accepted. Hopefully they would also accept a proposal of alliance.
Weighing heavily on the issue of sustaining his vast military, the Emperor decided to decomission half of the Infantry but to keep the whole of the Cavalry with a complement of men on the ground.
In August the horror of horrors happened. The state of Bohemia officially bowed to the radical heretics in its countryside and declared itself Protestant! The Emperor sent unofficial condolences to Hungary, hoping to keep his Eastern partner placated while plans were drawn up that, if neccesary, the Reich would 'correct' the misdeed of the Bohemians and, if possible, return them to the True Religion of Catholicism. If it came to blows, and the Bohemians refused, they would be forcefully annexed. But all of that was far in the future, for the Emperor was still hard at work consolidating his alliances wit hthe Southern German states.
In November Austrian merchantmen set out to Veneto to increase the economic reach of the Reich. One month later they returned with bad news: the merchants of Venice wanted no Austrian goods. The Emperor was furious, but that same month, indeed within the week, his emissaries returned with wonderful news: Wurtemburg had joined the alliance!
In March of the following year the Emperor decreed that the bailifs in all of the Realm would be promoted to tax collectors, to bring greater wealth and glory to the Reich. He also sent more merchants to Venice. Next month brought even more news, with the bringing in of Bavaria to the grand alliance. Austria was proving to be the more adept forger of coalitions in the known world, with three partners going foreward.
The rest of that year passed uneventfully until October, when Mantua was officially inducted into the alliance to counter the induction of Lombardia into a coalition with Helvetia, Savoy and Genoa. The Emperor worried now on two fronts: the Hussite oppressors in the North and the Helvetian pretenders in the West. His conscience told him to wait, so wait he did.
In September of 1421 a domestic issue rose to the Emperor's attention. A delegation from all of Austria's cities demanded nothing less than a greater autonomy, claiming the Emperor was seeking to deny their rights. He was doing no such thing, but he knew that conceding to the ruffians' demands would only hurt his Empire in the long run. He abjectly denied the representatives their demans, prefering to deal with the short-term loss in stability rather than having to deal with further decentralisation, which had been the death of the original Holy Roman Empire.
In December the Emperor sent an emissary to far-off Kleves, which was surrounded by enemies. The mission was treated so badly that the Emperor vowed never to allow Kleves any leeway again.
The next September, 1422, the Emperor was flustered by failure of the Reich's merchants in Venice completely. The merchants had been chased out of the market, leaving the Reich without a cent of trade income anywhere. On this issue he decided to call a general Imperial Counsel.
~~~~~~
Once again the room filled with the Emperor's advisors, those named to positions and those not. His face remained slightly blotched with the recent news of the failure of his merchantmen.
"Gentlemen, what is to be done? Our military is thirty-five thousand strong, mostly Cavalry. The Croats and Magyars have sacked Veneto's territories outside of Venice proper. I believe that we can seize the city and claim the Center of Trade for ourselves. I realise the importance of this matter, so I have decided to call up this counsel to discuss it instead of making rash moves."
The stately, timeless Emperor sat in his modest throne, the hanging map behind him relatively unchanged. He hoped, very soon, to correct that.
On the home front, the Emperor decreed that the Reich should strive to innovate and incorporate greater ideas, even more that centralising his great State. During the first half of the Year of Our Lord, 1419, Austria was imminently active in international diplomacy. The Emperor married off his relatives to Bavaria, even though his suspicion had been cast on Ernst from rumors of an assassination attempt, because Ernst graciously offered. Following suit, the states of Mantua and Austria were tied with more royal blood at the former's request.
Taking initiative in June, the Emperor sent an emissary to Wurtemburg offering an important marriage, which the state accepted. Hopefully they would also accept a proposal of alliance.
Weighing heavily on the issue of sustaining his vast military, the Emperor decided to decomission half of the Infantry but to keep the whole of the Cavalry with a complement of men on the ground.
In August the horror of horrors happened. The state of Bohemia officially bowed to the radical heretics in its countryside and declared itself Protestant! The Emperor sent unofficial condolences to Hungary, hoping to keep his Eastern partner placated while plans were drawn up that, if neccesary, the Reich would 'correct' the misdeed of the Bohemians and, if possible, return them to the True Religion of Catholicism. If it came to blows, and the Bohemians refused, they would be forcefully annexed. But all of that was far in the future, for the Emperor was still hard at work consolidating his alliances wit hthe Southern German states.
In November Austrian merchantmen set out to Veneto to increase the economic reach of the Reich. One month later they returned with bad news: the merchants of Venice wanted no Austrian goods. The Emperor was furious, but that same month, indeed within the week, his emissaries returned with wonderful news: Wurtemburg had joined the alliance!
In March of the following year the Emperor decreed that the bailifs in all of the Realm would be promoted to tax collectors, to bring greater wealth and glory to the Reich. He also sent more merchants to Venice. Next month brought even more news, with the bringing in of Bavaria to the grand alliance. Austria was proving to be the more adept forger of coalitions in the known world, with three partners going foreward.
The rest of that year passed uneventfully until October, when Mantua was officially inducted into the alliance to counter the induction of Lombardia into a coalition with Helvetia, Savoy and Genoa. The Emperor worried now on two fronts: the Hussite oppressors in the North and the Helvetian pretenders in the West. His conscience told him to wait, so wait he did.
In September of 1421 a domestic issue rose to the Emperor's attention. A delegation from all of Austria's cities demanded nothing less than a greater autonomy, claiming the Emperor was seeking to deny their rights. He was doing no such thing, but he knew that conceding to the ruffians' demands would only hurt his Empire in the long run. He abjectly denied the representatives their demans, prefering to deal with the short-term loss in stability rather than having to deal with further decentralisation, which had been the death of the original Holy Roman Empire.
In December the Emperor sent an emissary to far-off Kleves, which was surrounded by enemies. The mission was treated so badly that the Emperor vowed never to allow Kleves any leeway again.
The next September, 1422, the Emperor was flustered by failure of the Reich's merchants in Venice completely. The merchants had been chased out of the market, leaving the Reich without a cent of trade income anywhere. On this issue he decided to call a general Imperial Counsel.
~~~~~~
Once again the room filled with the Emperor's advisors, those named to positions and those not. His face remained slightly blotched with the recent news of the failure of his merchantmen.
"Gentlemen, what is to be done? Our military is thirty-five thousand strong, mostly Cavalry. The Croats and Magyars have sacked Veneto's territories outside of Venice proper. I believe that we can seize the city and claim the Center of Trade for ourselves. I realise the importance of this matter, so I have decided to call up this counsel to discuss it instead of making rash moves."
The stately, timeless Emperor sat in his modest throne, the hanging map behind him relatively unchanged. He hoped, very soon, to correct that.
