~Part 3~
In which Riga is eaten whole
By mid-1406 the armies had returned from the East and a new one had been trained, bringing the size of their forces to 7000 men. The Order's merchants ranged far and wide, and were the dominant traders in Novgorod with a sizeable foothold in Lübeck as well. The Hochmeister, Konrad von Juningen, desired to expand their territory, and Riga and Mazovia were both vulnerable. Riga, though a member of the Empire, had no allies and no possible hope apart from the Monarch of Cleves, who was an incompetent ruler. With the knowledge that they would be unhindered, war was soon declared on the Order of Riga. Cleves soon excused themselves from the war, paying a pathetic 11 ducats for a ceasefire. The Teutons did not intend on wiping them out, however: they knew that an feeble emperor would be no trouble to handle later on.
In Riga the Hochmeister panicked on seeing the vast armies of Teutonic Knights decending on them. Horrified, he called one of his aides to his aid.
"Hans, what are the GREYMEN doing here?? "
"I believe they just declared war on us, Hochmeister Johann!"
"Quickly, muster the garrison. We must defend my Hoch! "
"Sir, I believe Hoch is an adjective."
"Silence! "
The armies of Riga were constantly on the run from the feared Teutonic Knights, and after fleeing across the nation they were chased to Kurland and wiped out.
The war ended with the Siege of Riga itself, and that city was subsumed into the larger Order. It had come to Konrad von Jungingen in a vision that they should expand the army; they promptly did so. Pommerania was to be the next target for the Order, and so the troops were mustered on the Order's southern frontier. By now the merchants in Lübeck were the dominant traders, as they were in Novgorod. This greatly increased the wealth the Order had to the point that they had a vast surplus of money. This was vital, as they had long ago stopped receiving donations from the Christian lords of Western Europe to fight Pagans.
The Pommeranians were chosen as the next area of expansion as they had few allies of import; only Hamburg, Denmark, and Mazovia were likely to aid them, as well as the Emperor in Cleves. This meant that the Knights would be able to expand into Mazovia as well - ideal locations for the expansion of the Order. With the plans in place, Konrad waited for the armies to be trained.