The Oregano War
Upon the King's birthday in February of 1500, his new subjects in Mecklenburg presented him with rich tapestry that displayed the new boundaries of Greater Bavaria. This tapestry can be seen today
at the Museum of Gluttonic Knights in Munich, Germany.
(OOC: Click there for screen shots!)
A better present came from the Lithuanians, who accepted peace with Courland in exchange for 150d and military access. Eager to return to peace and resume both the quest to conquer Far Cathay and his investigation into the whereabouts of the Lost Wlak, Albrecht der Weise sent word to the Danzig Regiment occupying Courland to begin negotiations for peace.
Of course, though all of Courland was occupied by Bavaria, the nation, as a protected vassal, could not be annexed, but Livland was returned to Bavaria, military access separate from what was guaranteed by Courland's vassal status was secured and an agreement for 500d in scheduled reparations was made, but the depleted Courlandan treasury ultimately paid only about 50d.
The next step was to make peace with the Palatinat, but this was more difficult. It took upwards of 150d before the small nation accepted Bavaria's offer for a truce. Finally, while the rest of Europe boiled over in multi-national wars, Bavaria could, they were convinced, finally resume their plans uninterrupted.
Their plans were then interrupted. The madness of the King of Austria, once rumored, then joked about, but now widely accepted as fact, again reared its ugly head when the Grand Regis declared that the oregano plant was sown on the earth by the devil and its ingestion led to demonic possession. All oregano was confiscated and burned throughout the Austrian kingdom and in its occupied lands. A dark, but savory, black cloud rolled across Europe and spice gardens from the North Sea to the Adriatic Sea were razed.
One would think that for a nation at war with over twelve other nations, this extreme act would be about as far as Austria could go toward true insanity. But such thoughts would be for the sane mind, and would not take into account exactly how mad the Austrian king really was. The burning of the domestic oregano patches was merely phase one. Phase two was launched on June 1, 1500.
Newly mustered Austrian troops (mostly young men and elderly veterans since so many adult Austrian men were already in the army, fighting far from home) crossed the Adriatic in a dawn invasion, declaring war on Venice, and claiming the leaders of the Republic to be possessed by the evil oregano demons. Burning towns and salting fields, the shock of the Austrians' first attack sent Venice reeling, before they could regroup and call their allies to their aid. Siena, Genoa, Tuscany, and the Papal States all joined forces with Venice against the mad Austrians.
Albrecht der Weise spent the entire night damning Austria, and cursing the inbreeding that produced such a feeble-minded king. He was half ready to send Augustus and his knights into Austria to see if a new leader could be found if an "accident" befell the poor Grand Regis. But honor forbid him from acting on these impulses, no matter how satisfying the results might have been. Instead, Bavaria, and the other members of the alliance, once again came reluctantly to Austria's aid.
Away from the war front, Albrecht continued his stay in Mecklenburg. Much of the province was closed off to outsiders. Though the international markets remained open, they were closely regulated, and an armed guard kept a watchful eye on every piece of merchandise going in and out of the province.
The Irish regulars had arrived and were being kept in choice housing while Albrecht's new Mecklenburg council of advisors met with them. Their assistance in keeping order, and perhaps in helping to recover the Lost Wlak, would be vital, but it was not yet time to throw them into combat.
Plans were contrived about how to get more arms into Eire, and how to best rally the people against the English. Relations between Bavaria and England could not have been worse, and there was great sympathy among the Bavarian people for the Irish.
While Augustus III was kept occupied maintaining order in the newly annexed province of Bohemia, the king took others into his confidence. There was in fact a secret order that had been charged with protecting the secrets of Brother Speilburg, the monk who had tried to document the secrets of the Lost Wlak. However, the brotherhood had apparently fled Mecklenburg some time ago. The government of Mecklenburg had not been hostile to the order, and in fact had actively worked to protect it from the Pope. Why the order of monks had fled was not known, but those who had worked for the government as contacts to the order offered to share what information they knew.
In August, a breakthrough was made, but the king would keep the discovery a secret for the time being.
Other events required his attention. The people of Moldavia had declared their independence from Hungary. Should they remain independent, this could prove to be a problem. It would have been much easier for Bavaria to seize a distant Hungarian province in order to expand eastward than the alternative: having to conquer an independent people and forcibly annex them. This would only worsen Bavaria’s already soiled reputation.
The former officers of the army of Mecklenburg also met with the king. Speaking with as much deference as possible, because after all, the Bavarians DID conquer Mecklenburg most handily, they expressed their concerns that perhaps the Knight’s military methods were too antiquated, and they offered their assistance. (OOC: Bavarian Land Tech is 5, most neighboring nations have 7-9. We’ve been investing in land tech pretty heavily, but are still behind, probably due to how much is going into infrastructure). King Albrecht took this advice and used it as the excuse he needed to summon Augustus III to Mecklenburg. Even the Austrians, mad as they were, had found creative uses for gunpowder, which they called “Big Honking Kablooie Dust”, while Augustus’ knights used the same weaponry as their grandfathers.
While awaiting the arrival of the Lord of his Gluttonic Knights, the king received an appeal from Venice to end hostilities, as the Venetians bore no grudge against the Bavarians, only the mad Austrians. Albrecht readily agreed and ended Bavarian participation in the Oregano War. Finally, after years of being drug into needless conflicts, Bavaria was at peace.
The Oregano War would ultimately topple the Austrians. Stretched too far trying to fight on too many fronts, a disgusted populace finally said “no more”, and many of the Burgandian lands declared their independence. Flanders, Holstein, Lorraine, and Strassburg all left the Austrian kingdom, and the exhausted Austrians let them go without a fight.
Augustus III arrived in Mecklenburg in time to hear the good news that Austria had ceded the lands without a fight, and that Bavaria would remain at peace. That was the only good news he would receive in Mecklenburg.
