1429-1434
Niemiec paused, took a sip of his drink, and looked across at me. For a moment, his tone changed. Whereas previously, he had been almost professorial, expounding the debates and politics of his long life, he suddenly became - ever so slightly - more informal.
"You know, Pan Anderson, it is funny - having so long a life and yet remembering things so clearly. I suppose that - because I am inhabiting a new body every few decades - I am immune to the decay of the grey matter that so many people suffer from in later life. To some extent, perhaps I have trained myself to remember facts and political information. As you can tell from our little conversation here, I have clear memory of the decisions and policies I recommended, even hundreds of years ago.
"But it is the personal memories that I find hard to recall. Recent ones I still retain - back a hundred years or so. Longer than that, and it all merges into one. I remember, for example, standing in the marketplace of Sandomierz about three hundred years back, hand in hand with one of my wives, and looking at the sun setting behind the roofs of the old town. Every time I think of that evening, I am suffused with a warm, happy feeling. I remember that was one of the few occasions where I was able to give myself fully up to the passion and the light-headedness of love. An English poet once said that all writers have to have a sliver of ice in their heart to enable them to observe and dissect the world in their work. When I knew that I was bound to outlive my wives - not just a little but by hundreds of years - I realised I had to have that sliver of ice in my heart as well. But that time in Sandomierz, that was different. Then I almost thought it worth dying, just to see whether there was an afterlife where I could be with her forever. But" - his jaw hardened slightly - "my duty prevailed. My duty to Poland."
He paused.
"And although I feel happy and nostalgic even now, thinking about that perfect evening, I feel an undertone of sadness."
He paused again, and seemed to compose himself before continuing.
"Because I cannot for the life of me remember which wife I was there with."
He took another sip of his drink, and looked away.
"The reason why I mention this now, Pan Anderson, is because one of the few non-political events that I can remember from very early on in my career was a banquet that took place around Christmas 1428. It was probably just after New Year, because I remember a friend of mine from that time coming over and congratulating me on ten years of active politics. I must have replied with some pleasantry, but I sat in thought for the rest of the evening. Ten years. Not long in general, but a tiny - microscopic - amount of time compared to the infinities ahead. And there was so much to do."
The strength in his voice returned, and the old professor was back.
"So I thought the aristocracy were ready for a little more pain - a decade having passed since our last major political reform. I therefore ensured that the Senate gave the cities audience rights in the Seym - a move which did not please the aristocracy, I have to say, though they still thought of me as one of their allies.
"Later in that month, reports from France suggested that a very lowly girl had risen to a position from where she could advise the very King of France on the conduct of his war with England. I don't know what she said, but it was certainly wise advice, for not eight weeks later - and after such long bloodshed - the French took 250 ducats from the English in return for peace, and all England's sacrifices had been in vain.
"We undertook some gentle diplomatic activity during 1429. We ensured that relations with Böhmen remained good by signing a trade agreement - and thereby avoiding much merchant-related unpleasantness. A royal bride was despatched to Würzburg, and towards the end of the year we expanded our alliance to the West to include Sachsen. The situation of the German princes still excited my envy. Much as I loved old Poland, there was still a long way to go, if we were going to challenge the development rate of the Western powers.
"Elsewhere in the world, Castilla took on Granada in a war that continued past the end of the year, Srbija ceded Kosovo to the Osman power, along with 146 ducats. The strength of the Osmans was increased by the annexation of Teke in September.
"In the following year, Poland was quiet. My researchers, whom I had moved into slightly more spacious accommodation in the Royal Castle, came up with a set of trade advances and infrastructure that would prove useful in the future, but were for now noted and forgotten. Over the summer, a rich noble left 150 ducats to the state treasury for the improvement of our trade capabilities - a gesture which I ensured was widely publicised, in the hope of repeat performances.
"Abroad, England suffered mixed fortunes. At the start of the year they were forced to buy peace with the Dukes of Bourbon for 300 ducats, but a few weeks later they annexed the lowland state of Oldenburg. After the death of their ruler, the nobles of Brabant threw in their lot with the Burgundian Kings, while Castilla vassalised Fes, taking the province of Tanger for themselves.
"The upheavals in the West continued into 1431, with France annexing Lorraine, and Castilla taking Gibraltar from Granada along with 25 ducats. At home, things were quiet until the day before Christmas, where a monstrous diplomatic insult - the nature of which I must confess I have entirely forgotten - ensured that any war we chose to undertake against Bosna would be considered entirely justified, at least for a while. But they were a long way away, and a poor province of south Slavs. We had little interest in them.
"The following year, the Lithuanians followed our lead by accepting the legal principle of neminem captivabimus - which enshrined the rights of people (nobles in fact) to be spared arrest if they had not been convicted of an offence. It was good to see that our brother nation was following our lead so clearly, but I hoped that the Lithuanian nobility were not getting to be so arrogant and hotheaded as our own.
"The unaligned nations of Brandenburg and Magdeburg declared war on each other in February 1432, and we took advantage of Brandenburg's military need to bring her into our alliance as well. This drove the Polish alliance further into the German heartland - exposing us both to advantageous cultural connections, and to potential military conquests.
"In the mean time, things were going wrong for the Danes in the former territory of Preußen. The city of Królowiec, the former Prussian capital, was held by rebel forces loyal to the old order, and the Danes were having trouble evicting them from control. The problem this caused for us was that rebellious elements in Memel were encouraged by their neighbour's success into similar adventures. The King - stationed with the largest Polish army in Memel - had to put down two peasant uprisings in the course of the year.
"Abroad, England were avenging themselves for their stalemate in the Hundred Years' War by attacking anyone they could see in the Low Countries. First Gelre, then Friesland were annexed. Near the end of the year, Karaman gave Adana and Konya to the puissant Osmans.
"Early in 1433, we discovered new fortification technology, but - although the treasury was fairly full - the Senate decided to hold off on construction of any improvements just for the moment.
"Nothing happened of any note at home during this year, but armies were active in most parts of Europe outside our borders. Suzdal - a underdeveloped satrapy on the other side of Moskva - declared war on the Muscovites following an incident at a royal wedding that showed off the barbarous side of their respective national characters. Novgorod, as a result of this alliance war, stormed the citadel of Pskow and annexed it. In the west, Bourgogne annexed Holstein. Later that year, Bourbonnais had to cede Limousin to France.
"In May, the war between Magdeburg and Brandenburg was settled by a small reparations payment by Magdeburg. In the same month - a little earlier, if I remember rightly - Danmark led her alliance of Sverige and Norge into the field against the Deutscher Orden, Pommern, Novgorod and Mecklenburg.
"Events in the Kingdom became a little more heated the following year, with widespread unhappiness among the peasantry - perhaps caused by aristocrats taking out their militaristic longings on their local serfs. Either way, it meant a year of rebellions, which began in January in Danzig and Podole. The army already stationed in Danzig put down the rebels there, while the commander in Podlasie waited for the bad weather to deplete the numbers of rebels in Podole. In May, Galicja revolted, and was put down by the Podlaski army that had been sent ready to go to battle in Podole. Buoyed by their victory in Galicja, the Podlaski army marched directly to Podole and ended the rebellion there.
"Just at the end of May, when things were in this precarious position, the Lithuanians demanded our participation in a war against the Order's alliance (who were already fighting the Danes). Reluctantly, we agreed, and the King moved to the newly recaptured Królowiec to lay siege. The army from Danzig moved to Hinterpommern for a siege.
"In June of 1434, England proclaimed herself Defender of the Catholic Faith, which I understand surprised the Pope somewhat. By the time we heard the news, however, we were busy with preparations for the coronation of our new King, Władysław III. His first act as King was to raise a new army (6000 foot and 7000 horse) in Mazowsze, and march them to Hinterpommern to join the siege. Unfortunately, the arrival of the new recruits caused confusion in the camp, and when a Pommeranian army attacked the following day, the entire force had to retreat in confusion to Brandenburg. From there, rather than attempt to reimpose the siege, they were marched to Poznań to counter rebels there. That done, they headed to Mazowsze to carry out the same task. In September, the Norwegians annexed Mecklenburg, which came as something of a surprise, and the Senate decided to end the war with the Order, as we had no gains that we wanted to pursue. The Order, who were under pressure from our Lithuanian brothers, decided sensibly to accept a white peace.
"As the year ended, good news came from the East. The troops of Suzdal had overwhelmed Moskva, and taken 20 ducats in return for peace. Moskva also had to cede rights of military access to Suzdal. And so 1434 ended."
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