Chronicles of the Saxon People
1511-1541: Securing Borders
Chronicler Jorgen Grobbel
1511:
Following the massive reformation both in religion and government that hit our people in the previous decade, Our king seeks to bring stability back to our realm. His attempts to suppress the rebels and, all in all, make our nation a stronger place before looking to go outside our glorious nation.
1513:
While still dealing with internal strife, Prince Hans Hardenberg of Denmark outrageously broke our alliance. The Danes, although not a threat, could make it harder to keep our borders secure. We cannot focus on the seas, north and internal peasants at the same time...our resources are spread too thin.
1514-1515:
Our King was able to improve relations and obtained an Alliance with King Christian I of Anhalt, an old ally that, at one time, was our vassal. It is our hope that they will once again allow us to protect their nation.
War unfortunately broke out. Triol, our ally to the south, called for our support against a mighty coalition of Austria, Byzantium, Burgundy, The Palatine, and other minor provinces. In the end, we were forced to end the vassalization of both the Prussian Pretenders and Thurungia, a duchy under us since the early 1400s. According to our records, this was the first war in which our troops were unable to reach at least a white peace.
1517:
After two years of peace, our King determined that it was time to annex the Pretender Prussians. Trier, Cologne, and Switzerland came to the aid of the Prussians but they were unsuccesful. Within one month, we were able to annex the Prussian Pretenders. However, because our King had been friends with the Duke of Osterprussen, he was put in the Kings court. Cologne was the next to fall, as they quickly sued for peace offering our King the province of Westfallen and 6 ducats. Though the money was laughable, our king accepted--our nation is slowly growing.
*OOC*--At this point my game crashed and the others continued for 10 years (1527)(I was still at war with some others, so I will recount the best I can).
1515-1524:
Nine years of peace hit our nation. Our king has sent several missionaries in order to further strengthen our core as a nation. Protestants and Catholics, though tolerated, are being shown the true faith.
Along with Religious matters, our king began to construct a greater navy and recruit more troops for a great campaign. His plan: to wipe out Poland who has been at our East building troops for years and steal the trade center in Lubeck from Mecklemburg.
In 1523, our King's military fought successfully against the Polish acquiring Kalisz and Poznan in the process. With his attention turned from the East, our king faces the West---Mecklenburg is next.
1525:
Unfortunately, our King would not see his campagin in completed. Jobst I, the Kings only male heir, took the throne and vowed to uphold his fathers will--take Lubek from Mecklenburg!
1527-1528:
King Jobst I declared war on Mecklenburg, though our nation was exhausted from war and religious rebels had been causing uprisings in the old-Danish provinces. With a mighty coalition of forces, Jobst was able to take the province of Mecklenburg and 250 ducats to pay for the war. Although I believe our King could have taken more, rebels made it impossible for the war to continue.
1529:
Venice, our Protestant Ally, has gratefully sent troops to help secure our nation from rebels. Venice, and their Doge's, have helped our nation through times of trouble--one day we will return the favor.
1530:
During the restabilizing of our nation, several of our nations architects went to our court to discuss possible developments to improve our nation. Though Our King is not as big on the arts as previous kings were, Jobst I agrees that something should be done to regain the prestige our great nation once had; we must be viewed with better eyes from our neighbors to perhaps once again reclaim our dominance in Central Europe.
1533:
In order to further keep our nation stable and keep our ever expanding Kingdom under control, our King opted to appoint superintendents to the nations. Traditionally, similar roles were appointed by the Bishops and thus were directly related with the old Catholic church. However, our King feels that by appointing them himself, they will be more loyal to the throne.
1536:
After 25 years, I accompanied the King and his party to the Danish Kingdom to the north. After meeting with Prince Adolf Sahlentz, our King was able to draw up a treaty between our two nations. Other than the standard "we will aide you in times of trouble", our King graciously acknowledge their sovereignty and stated that the interest of the Brandenburg Kingdom is in Central Europe, not Scandinavia.
1538:
I have chosen to accompany my King as he goes East to suppress Polish Nationalists in Poznan. With 32000 men, we march to secure the old-Polish provinces who still consider themselves to be part of the Kingdom of Poland.
1539:
Our King is dead and his son is but a young boy. The heads of each army meet to form the Regency Council. On our way back to Brandenburg, Johan Freidrick, Adolf Grun, and Maximilian Deitrich asked if I would join them on the Council, as they feel that I, having spent years with the King, would know best about what he would've wanted for our nation. It is true, that I knew of plans Jobst I had to once again assault Mecklenburg, but as a mere Council, we know that we cannot rally the troops to openly declare war. We must wait for the King's rightful heir to become king. I only hope he is a better diplomat than our previous king.
1541:
Although we cannot declare war, Adolf Grun ordered our troops to help Doge Carlo Priuli of Venice against the Muslim forces in the Ottoman Empire. However, before our troops could reach the Mediterranean, Venice, after annexing Mali, declared a White Peace with the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps it is for the best that our troops did not engage the Ottomans, as we have heard great things about their military. Without our King to rally them, how could we take on such a force?