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{{Or not such a young guy! ;) }}
 
FIFTH SENATE SESSION - ANNOUNCEMENT

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Illustrious President of the Imperial Senate magistros Nikephoros Dalassenos hereby announces that Sacred Emperor Basileios III Angelos, basileus basileon by the Grace of God, king of kings and rulers of rulers, Caesar Augustus of the Romaioi and all Men, Autokrator of the Holy Church and Protector of the Christendom, in his wisdom decided to

CALL THE FIFTH SENATE SESSION

to seek counsel of the noble Senators who guided by the Holy Spirit are going to debate and vote on the following matters:

RESOLUTIONS
  • (1) Expedition – Far East (Alakeshvara map)
His Imperial Majesty decided to ask the Imperial Senate for counsel in the following matter:
Shall We organize an expedition based on Alakeshvara map to verify the accuracy with which it shows the unknown distant lands and seas in the Far East?

  • (2) Diplomatic mission – Serica (to establish diplomatic relations)
His Imperial Majesty decided to ask the Imperial Senate for counsel in the following matter:
Shall We send Our trusted servant Javier Espinosa to represent Our Authority as the Megas Droungarios of the Imperium Romanum before the ruler of Serica, if the existence of the Sinae where this realm allegedly lies is confirmed?

  • (3) Casus belli – Pisa (Trade War CB)
His Imperial Majesty decided to ask the Imperial Senate for counsel in the following matter:
Shall We put an end to exploitation of good Romaioi by imposing tarrifs on Pisan trade as well as demanding full access of Roman merchants to Pisan market and, in case of refusal, force the Republic of Pisa into submission?

SENATE POLICIES
Sacred Emperor Basileios III Angelos, basileus basileon by the Grace of God, king of kings and rulers of rulers, Caesar Augustus of the Romaioi and all Men, Autokrator of the Holy Church and Protector of the Christendom requested the Imperial Senate to prepare a general policy to be presented to for approval before His Imperial Majesty concerning the following issue:
Management of oeconomic affairs of the Imperium and sanation of Imperial Aerarium
The policy proposed by the Imperial Senate must directly adress the aforementioned issue to be accepted by His Imperial Majesty.

POLICIES
  • Provincial Taxation System
We have established a permanent provincial taxation system that will optimize gains for the treasury.

Requirements:
  • Administrative Ideas
  • Quantity Ideas
Effects:
  • -10% land maintenance modifier
  • +10% manpower recovery speed
Cost:
  • -1 MIL/month for at least 10 years (at least 120 MIL)

GUESTS OF THE IMPERIAL SENATE
Illustrious President of the Imperial Senate magistros Nikephoros Dalassenos on the order of the Sacred Emperor Basileios III Angelos, basileus basileon by the Grace of God, king of kings and rulers of rulers, Caesar Augustus of the Romaioi and all Men, Autokrator of the Holy Church and Protector of the Christendom hereby announces that
  • His Venerable Excellency patrikios Javier Espinosa, Megas Droungarios of the Imperium Romanum and Megas Doux of the Imperial Navy

has been invited for the Fifth Senate Session as a guest of the Imperial Senate, so that the noble Senators may ask His Excellency questions concerning matters discussed during the Session as per article 20 of the rules of procedure.

***
SCHEDULE (WARSAW TIME)
  • Opening of the Session – 11:00 p.m. 20 June (Saturday)
  • DEBATE (1 DAY) - 11:00 p.m. 20 June – 11:00 p.m. 21 June
  • RECESS (1 DAY) - 11:00 p.m. 21 June – 11:00 p.m. 22 June
  • DEBATE (1 DAY) - 11:00 p.m. 22 June – 11:00 p.m. 23 June
  • VOTING (1 DAY) - 11:00 p.m. 23 June – 11:00 p.m. 24 June
  • Closing of the Session - 11:00 p.m. 24 June (Wednesday)
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***

IMPORTANT CHANGES

Experimental Senate Session – I guess you can call it like this. Why experimental? Well, mainly because the rules concerning voting will be changed and because I'm introducing a new feature – Senate Policies.

Changes to voting
I'm still in the middle of making changes to the „Imperium Sine Fine” mod/save as well as to the rules, but what I want to try out during this Session is a new, simpler way of voting. This is how it's going to work:
  • Quorum – 1/2 of the number of Senators who voted
  • Simple majority – for senatus consulta, resolutions and policies
  • Ballots (senatus consultum) – you will use „FOR” and „AGAINST”
  • Ballots (policy) – you will use „FOR” and „AGAINST”
  • Ballots (resolution) – you will use „AYE” and „NAY”
Because we will be using simple majority there is no need for „ABSTAIN” ballot.

New feature – Senate Policies

Listen well, because this is big: I'm going to allow you to make your own policies, which I will later (after the Session) mod and use in the campaign. That's right, I will mod whatever you come up with – within limits of reason, of course.

Here's how it's going to work:
  • The Imperial Senate may propose 1 Senate Policy each Session to the Emperor, who may then give his approval to the proposed Senate Policy (enacting it).
  • Every Demes (Senate Faction) has a Speaker (unless it failed to elect him).
  • Every Speaker may propose a policy in the name of his Demes.
  • Every Speaker may also support 1 Senate Policy proposed by other Demes.
  • To be presented to the Emperor, the Senate Policy has to be 1) supported by at least two Speakers 2) passed in vote by the Imperial Senate
  • This means that at least two Factions have to cooperate to pass a Senate Policy
Where's the catch? Well, the Factions have contradictory goals and you only need to convince one other Faction to get enough support from Speakers and (hopefully) pass the Senate Policy in a vote.

But why should, say, Whites support Senate Policy proposed by the Blues? That's why:
  • The cost of the Senate Policy is determined by the Faction which proposed it.
  • Every Senate Policy consists of two bonuses.
  • Each bonus is chosen from the list of ideas in the Custom Nation Designer for EU4.
  • Thus each bonus costs some points.
  • The Senate Policy may not surpass 10 points in total.
To gain support from the other Demes you may offer them to choose one of the two bonuses. This opens the possibility of negotiations but remember – your Demes will be paying for the policy if it passes while the other Demes gets what it wants for free.

Example how I envision this:
  1. Reds propose „Army STRONK!” policy with bonuses to Discipline and Land Morale. Blues propose „Navy FTW” policy with bonuses to Navy Tradition and Trade Efficiency. Whites don't propose any policy.
  2. Reds and Blues fail to compromise on their policies.
  3. Whites offer to support the Blues if they change the Navy Tradition for bonus to National Tax.
  4. Reds see this and propose counter-offer with Missionary Strength instead of Land Morale.
  5. Whites support the Reds → Senate Policy has support of 2 Speakers.
  6. ”Army STRONK!” policy, now renamed to „Deus Vult Act” is passed in voting and proposed to the Emprah.
  7. I mod the game so that the „Deus Vult Act” gives the apropriate bonuses, has the apropriate localization (for instance „Policy proposed by senator Exemplus Testus on Fifth Senate Session in year 1540 in order to strengthen the <description>”) and cost, in this case in MIL points because it was originally proposed by the Reds
  8. I enact the policy in game.
  9. Now when the Senate Policy was enacted it behaves like any other policy – that is it may be revoked or reinstated by the Senate during each Session.
If you never used the Custom Nation Creator and you don't know what I'm talking about:
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List of all bonuses from which you build your policy together with their value in points is available on EU4 wiki.
 
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{{ Oh God it will be wonderful for interactions between factions :eek:
it's quite of sad the Reds did not hear of this. At least the Whites have the opportunity to debate on this as do the Blues

Otherwise agreed on the change for voting, since the Senate was "never full" when it came to voting it led to strange results :p
BTW the last link does not work }}
 
{{ Oh God it will be wonderful for interactions between factions :eek:
it's quite of sad the Reds did not hear of this. At least the Whites have the opportunity to debate on this as do the Blues}}
{{ I could wait until the Blues finish their meeting and announce the Session then but this would mean it would start a week later and I don't know whether I will have the time. And I couldn't announce it before because I need some time to think it through and make some plans (not to mention doing stuff IRL). So yeah, it kinda sucks for Reds - I'm terribly sorry for this. But I think I know how to make up for it ;) }}
 
{{ This will be interesting. As Quintus tends to support both blue and red ideas this should make his decisions easier. I cannot wait to be able to take part in the next senate session.}}
 
{{A Trade War CB against Pisa that could possibly end in them joining the Imperium... If that happens, in a few generation we could have Pisan Senators... I want that just for Enlil. Also the chance for the Senators to create our own policies sounds amazing. More scheming to get the support of the other Factions, more accusations of being Purple or Pink Senators... Oh, things are going to be lively.}}
 
{{ Purple or Pink Senators... Oh, things are going to be lively.}}
{{And what about those who are openly Purple? You can't accuse if they are honest.}}
 
{{But we can still slander and belittle you :p. All IC RP of course}}
 
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Senator Marcello Giovanni di Capponi:

Well now, it seems we have much to discuss. I am leery about any kind of expeditions into the Far East. The potential for disaster is great, but I will have to see what the rest of this deme thinks lest I accidentally seem like the leader, a curse to be borne by those afflicted with that rare yet natural trait of true leadership. I, regardless of the White Deme, or the Senate in general, am against war against Pisa. They have already turned on their Xenoi masters, and their decisions are simply motivated by a basic need to survive. The Imperium attacked them in order to expand its territories, so of course they could not count on the Imperium for protection from the Xenoi. Thanks to their struggles, Christian populations remain in Europe! Though the Imperium and the Pisans have taken two different roads, it must be acknowledged that the Pisans are still Christian men, a reality more obvious to a resident of Annonaria than one of Constantinople. Finally, not seeking to delve into another argument with our esteemed leader Senator Serapis, I will make no coment on Imperial economics. Godspeed my fellow Demes. Godspeed.
 
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Senator Titos Livios Melissenos

*Titos takes a thoughtful look at Senator Serapis. The Melissenos had already some marriage ties to the Salamis through his own wife, Serapina. Connections to another house would only strengthen the House more. In particular: His line of the Melissenos, in contrast to the assho... less respectable Praefects of Athens... He still takes his time with the Answer.*

There is my Granddaughter, Basilina, the doughter of my eldest son Julios. She is only 29, but like you, shes already widowed without children of her own. I think she would like to remarry, particular someone of your good reputation. And I think, she would not only be a good wife but also make a good stepmother for your child since she's not only well educated but also warmhearted.

*Titos shifts his view to di Capponi.*

On the war with Pisa I agree with you, although for other reasons. In my opinion we need every year of peace we can get to restore the imperial economy and to set it on a solid base for the future, one that can stand the test of time and wars. If we now fight Pisa, it will only bring new costs and – at least that's what I suspect – few gains.
I also agree on the risks on new expeditions, but I think that they could also bring about positive things. Remember the discovery of Christians on the island of Ceylon. Never the less we might want to shift the focus for our explorations for a few years. As mentioned earlier: An alternative could be an expedition in the heart of Africa, find another land route to Mali, find out more about this Kingdom and others that might lie there.


{{Although I should ask beforehand: Do we have the option for land exploration, Czoklet?}}
 
{{Although I should ask beforehand: Do we have the option for land exploration, Czoklet?}}
{{When we got the proper national idea unlocked, sure. But before that? Not really.}}
 
Senator Alexios Serapis of the White Demes

"Basilina," he smiles at Titos. "Yes, I've made some research in advance and I've heard much of her good qualities. I'd rather have a woman of wisdom and experience than a blushing virgin. I think she would make a good match. Let's have our staff make the arrangements while we're still both in the City." He extends his hand for a handshake.

"Pisa has always been a thorn in our side, but never really a threat. I see no need to war against them now when we have more important matters to deal with. The Tagmata need to recover and we can simply not afford to pay for the mercenaries, especially since Pisa is our main source. Should some great calamity befall them, like what has happened with the Xenoi perhaps we could take the opportunity, but that is unlikely. If the Xenoi continue to decay it is possible that the Pisans will even take advantage of their troubles and turn against them again, like the Lithuainian Khan did against the Horde. If they do perhaps our old hostilities can be mended, God willing, but that's a discussion for another time."

"We have already talked about new expeditions, and I believe we've reached an agreement. Even though we don't yet know the cost they would have it's likely, based on earlier experience, that they will be extreme. What use do we have of maps and embassies with distant powers when our people are rioting on the streets and attacking our estates because they have no money for bread, or when we have too loot the churches simply to pay the interest on our loans?"
"Further," he laughs softly, "I doubt the Megas Droungarios is the right man to negotiate with such a great and proud empire as Ceres is reputed to be. The man gave me the impression of a pirate when last he spoke in the Senate. What if he gives the same impression to the Chinese? Repairing a poor first impression can be difficult, expensive and in some cases impossible."

"Now, as was just announced, we have the ability to propose a policy before the Senate. Not a great Reform, but potentially significant. In light of our financial situation I think it would be most beneficial to the Imperium if we propose a renegotiation of the terms of our loans to reduce our interest-payments. That would place some strain on the administration, but would help alleviate some of the burden on our finances. At this point that would probably bring in more money than raising the taxes." He turns to Titos Melissenos again, "I am sorry, my friend."

"I welcome all your ideas, my dear friends and colleagues. Even yours, Senator di Capponi. I do not seek to dominate our Demes, but to bring it together."


{{
Taxes, currently at -5.5 efficiency brings us 25.75 in income.
Interests on our loans costs us 25.09.
Advisor costs are at 32.36, though they can be reduced by hiring cheaper advisors.
How much would we gain by raising taxes 5% or reducing interest rates by 1?

The Reds have a pretty good potential policy in a -5% reduction in military land maintenance. That cost is 67.63, so while the slider is 50% that would save more than any other policy. In peace the slider is (depending on play style) usually far lower than that, but I could still see a possibility for some Pink negotiations there.
}}

...there is much to discuss:
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Senator Titos Livios Melissenos

*Titos leans back in his seat.*

I think you are not wrong on this one and the Empire would surly profit in the short run. Maybe not so much in the long run, since the ultimate goal should be to work without any kinds of loans and finance itself. But I admit that at the current state of affairs this sounds a bit utopic, so I won't stand against such a policy.
Still, I would like to ad least propose an alternative. The Empire does make a good amount of money by the production of goods, in fact it's the greatest source of income at the moment. So it might be beneficial to strengthen this sector. The easiest way would be to loosen some restrictions on who can do what and in which way. That wouldn't cost the empire directly but might bring other to invest.



{{5% Production efficiency wouldn't be to bad either, at least at the moment or inflation reduction, if I see that big red arrow :D.}}
 
{{The Reds have a pretty good potential policy in a -5% reduction in military land maintenance. That cost is 67.63, so while the slider is 50% that would save more than any other policy. In peace the slider is (depending on play style) usually far lower than that, but I could still see a possibility for some Pink negotiations there.
}}
{{ I'm afraid this can't be allowed to happen.}}
 
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{{ I wonder what paths my glorious Demes will take. Both the Reds and Whites seem to get many problems with the Blues (for absolutely no reason :p ) but I guess that could change if we make them an offer they can't refuse ... }}
 
{{Have we chosen exploration as a national idea yet? I had assumed yes since our boats have been exploring the coasts.}}
 
Senator Alexios Serapis of the White Demes

"When the policy is no longer needed it can be revoked. I certainly do not want it to be useful in the long term, but I fear 10000 in loans will take a long time to repay."
"You make a good point. Encouraging Production would strengthen our finances. But by how much? We'll need to make some calculations."



{{Production efficiency and trade efficiency could be good be options. I didn't see them on the posted list, though they are on the Wiki. Interest reductions (and now army maintenance) probably bring in more, though. Has anyone done the math? It depends also on what average interest we currently pay on our loans. But this is getting gamy, sorry about that. }}


{{Ouch!
That's actually a good case for taking Religious ideas next. Stability and Religious Unity would help a lot.
}}

{{
Czoklet,
I also realised it might be a very good idea to change our faction bonus to help reduce interest instead of getting more advisors like we voted on last time. Is that possible to do or are the bonuses written in stone?}}