1836: A Year in Review
((Note: This update will be from Konrad von Hohenzollern’s perspective, with some straight gameplay stuff at the end. It wasn’t that a thrilling year, to be honest.
))
Of course, I was delighted to see my son be named Foreign Minister; he has worked hard for many years, and there is nobody more deserving. However, I was pleased to see some restraint exercised. Our forces simply were not prepared to engage the British, particularly with the Bern Reforms, which will see more effective training for our cavalry. I wholeheartedly approve; with the large expanses we rule here in Germany, cavalry is vital.
I know some of my colleagues are not fond of the idea of eliminating redistricting in the Assembly, but I think these non-secret ballots should make sure that everybody has a voice. What kind of party man would I be if I didn’t vote for something that would break the UAI’s stranglehold on politics?
The decisions to pursue Heligoland and Walhalla were similarly popular, and I am proud to say I voted for both.
My son’s policy – to encourage stronger relations with Canada and to seek an economic understanding with the Byzantines – have similarly borne fruit.
Of course, the domestic landscape here has changed too. Our prospectors found no fewer than three gold mines – one in Postoina, one in Karlovac, and one in Sassari. This was very good for our bottom line, of course, and I am proud to say that tax rates fell steadily during the year.
The wealthiest Germans pay 60% of their income in taxes, while the poor pay 70%. Of course, these are only the assessed rates; in reality, the rich pay about 22% while the poor pay 26%. The “middle class” is assessed at 65%, with actual payment of about 24%. We were able to fund our army, bureaucracy, and education entirely.
One of the most controversial decisions took place in Judenburg.
A group of aristocrats fought to have the profitable iron mine there shut in favor of expanding the timber industry. The Minister of Finance, Herr de Spinoza, quite rightly rejected such pleas. Iron and steel are the way of the future, as any sensible German knows! We are hardly timber poor to begin with.
Yes, the timber market is on the rise, but compare the price of timber to that of iron.
One need not be an economist to understand why no such change was made. With all of the world’s wars, I think that the price of iron will only increase.
The British have used their military power to declare themselves the second most powerful country in the world; of course, we all know who the most powerful is!
I have it on good authority that our army will be completely reformed sometime in the summer of 1837; as of now, about two-thirds of our western armies are fully equipped, while we wait for artillery to cross Germany from the Polish border and the raising of more regiments of Dragoons and Hussars.
I for one, cannot wait to see those British pay for their insolence.
Okay, first off, I apologize to Some Georgian – I initially read his proposal as all the armies being equal, so I disbanded a handful of infantry brigades over the standard 5 per army; I can rebuild them, of course, and the western armies have all the infantry they can handle. Only the Polish armies are light. The last few brigades of Dragoons and Hussars should be done around April or so, I think.
Since the event in question was a province event, I went ahead and made the choice myself. That’s not your standard province event, so if something like it pops up again, I’ll let the Chancellor decide. We only had a couple of single option events this time around, including this one:
Economy is in overall good shape – that’s about as far as I can cut taxes at the moment without causing a negative balance. We’ll finish Positivism sometime in 1837.
I think that’s it for now. As of this update, all players in the AAR are “seated” (except Firehound15) and will be eligible to vote. Our next step is to see who wishes to change parties. Note that ministers may
not change parties. You have 48 hours to decide. (We’ll call it Wednesday at 10 PM (+4 GMT).)