Also, you guys are preparing to fight a war of independence against the ruling power and a rogue crusader state without boosting your military funding. I genuinely didn't see that coming. I don't want to tell you guys what to do, but you might want to consider getting allies and taking any possible opportunities to invest in the military if the opportunities present themselves.
I've mentioned multiple times before that my idea is more to increase our diplomatic leverage and sell influence to the country to other great powers within and without the Christian League so that they all have a stake in seeing an independent Egypt under a "civilized*" European Christian manning the helm in the form of Marcato to legitimize it. That state of affairs wouldn't last long if the AENC had anything to say about it, but it'd the be the state of affairs to give impetus for the great powers of Europe to have a reason to want and trust to see an Egypt with more independence rather than one dominated by any one power. That plan had to be reworked a bit when you didn't give us any options to communicate with the great powers of Europe besides Italy (excluding the Comintern since that would in no way help along the diplomatic portion of the plan, just the "smuggle in weapons and trainers" part) but I thought that was maybe just a narrative decision that the AENC wouldn't want to talk with any other members of the Christian League if not forced to.
I was also planning on boosting the military with allies and foreign aid though, yes. That was one of the things mentioned in selling my plan to make up for the lack of immediate funding increases. Didn't think we absolutely had to go to war immediately if it came down to it as I also explicitly mentioned boosting the military, among other things, next turn after the windfall from our income increases comes back and that we'd settle for training a small but elite army in the meanwhile. Not exactly impossible to build a disciplined and well-trained army with our current level of funding if we keep it small after all. As I said, I wasn't planning for any wars yet, as I explicitly mentioned in the logic of my plan, so forming a strong nucleus for us to build upon when we get more money next turn is acceptable.
If you planned for us to be forced to fight a war of independence against Macedonia and a war of conquest then against the Levant, that's more on you for not communicating that was the only route and that it had to happen by the next turn. I have been extremely open on how I viewed what was possible for us to do, both in how I've presented my long-term plans and in my own questions to you. I've said over multiple chapters now that my plan since Egypt was chosen isn't a full on revolution so much as a legitimized (though forced) leave of the region under Marcato's rule after currying favor with other great powers and members of the Christian League to counterbalance Macedonia's own influence followed by a soft coup and Marcato's forced "retirement" since the AENC will have established control of the domestic agencies in the meanwhile. You've not once said "hey, that isn't actually a possibility and you have to fight after setting this budget."
Having a full on revolution would just ruin the country and would, to me, be a likely defeat condition on the viability of our pan-Arab plans due to the damage it would bring about necessitating time and funding to rebuild.
*using that term since they'd probably be rather xenophobic about native Egyptians actually leading their own country
I've mentioned multiple times before that my idea is more to increase our diplomatic leverage and sell influence to the country to other great powers within and without the Christian League so that they all have a stake in seeing an independent Egypt under a "civilized*" European Christian manning the helm in the form of Marcato to legitimize it. That state of affairs wouldn't last long if the AENC had anything to say about it, but it'd the be the state of affairs to give impetus for the great powers of Europe to have a reason to want and trust to see an Egypt with more independence rather than one dominated by any one power. That plan had to be reworked a bit when you didn't give us any options to communicate with the great powers of Europe besides Italy (excluding the Comintern since that would in no way help along the diplomatic portion of the plan, just the "smuggle in weapons and trainers" part) but I thought that was maybe just a narrative decision that the AENC wouldn't want to talk with any other members of the Christian League if not forced to.
I was also planning on boosting the military with allies and foreign aid though, yes. That was one of the things mentioned in selling my plan to make up for the lack of immediate funding increases. Didn't think we absolutely had to go to war immediately if it came down to it as I also explicitly mentioned boosting the military, among other things, next turn after the windfall from our income increases comes back and that we'd settle for training a small but elite army in the meanwhile. Not exactly impossible to build a disciplined and well-trained army with our current level of funding if we keep it small after all. As I said, I wasn't planning for any wars yet, as I explicitly mentioned in the logic of my plan, so forming a strong nucleus for us to build upon when we get more money next turn is acceptable.
If you planned for us to be forced to fight a war of independence against Macedonia and a war of conquest then against the Levant, that's more on you for not communicating that was the only route and that it had to happen by the next turn. I have been extremely open on how I viewed what was possible for us to do, both in how I've presented my long-term plans and in my own questions to you. I've said over multiple chapters now that my plan since Egypt was chosen isn't a full on revolution so much as a legitimized (though forced) leave of the region under Marcato's rule after currying favor with other great powers and members of the Christian League to counterbalance Macedonia's own influence followed by a soft coup and Marcato's forced "retirement" since the AENC will have established control of the domestic agencies in the meanwhile. You've not once said "hey, that isn't actually a possibility and you have to fight after setting this budget."
Having a full on revolution would just ruin the country and would, to me, be a likely defeat condition on the viability of our pan-Arab plans due to the damage it would bring about necessitating time and funding to rebuild.
*using that term since they'd probably be rather xenophobic about native Egyptians actually leading their own country
Going to war will be a choice. Nobody's being forced to do anything. I'm not going to strongarm you guys into making certain decisions. The main issue would be balancing foreign interests, which will likely be costly, and taking a hit to revolutionary credentials. There will always a cost and trade off to decisions.
Maintain will help a bit, though nothing too radical will be on the table. The Islamists may have a solution though to build more schools and train more teachers without it coming out of the government's budget.
=== Egypt, Summer 1916 - The AENC's Agenda Results
===
The discussion on the budget and agenda lasts for hours, well into the night. A few had suggested the idea of a recess and reconvening but they had been shot down by both Marcato and David Hakim. A rare moment of agreement between the governor and prime minister. Neither man wished to waste any more time, after weeks of preparing. They were intent on hammering out the final details, even having dinner brought to them in the office, providing a brief respite from the intense back and forth.
Finally a general accord was struck that was agreeable to nearly all involved. Psoy himself had said very little, simply in quiet agreement with everything said. The process was somewhat unnecessary, as both Hakim could set the budget himself and only needed an agreement from the governor to make it official. The party would accept it with minor grumbling, unlikely to destroy its own government before it even got off the ground. He did it though to establish precedent and include his own cabinet, ensuring it was a somewhat democratic and involved process. They were friends and allies, mostly, not party yes men. Hakim had no intentions to become the Ludomir of Egypt.
Which is why Khouri felt no need to hide his displeasure at the funds given to the military. "I'd hoped for an increase in funding. That is most disappointing," he grumbled, closing several folders of projects that wouldn't come to pass. A quiet 'merde' muttered his breath. "We'll have to make do with what we have."
"It won't be left in limbo," Issa assured his fellow minister. "Hakim and I will work to secure friendly relations with our neighbours to ensure peace. Failing that we'll make sure we have allies offering their support." He shot a glance at Marcato, who shallowly nodded.
"I have no doubt that you'll act with Egypt's security in mind, against whatever may threaten it," Marcato remarked in approval. He understood the unspoken understanding in the room that everyone expected a future conflict, though the exact nature of it was still up in the air.
"It's an unfortunate but necessary decision," Hakim cut in. "Developing our economy takes priority."
"And with the funding we've allocated, we'll turn the engine back on and leave it running," Nadir said, a faint gleeful look in his eyes as the possibilities ran through his head. "We'll begin rehiring former workers at once. In no time at all we'll be back to being the leading industrial nation in the region, no, the continent."
"Sans South Africa," Khouri added, eliciting frowns and sour looks from all at the table.
Hakim politely coughed, regaining everyone's attention as they continued on. "Our first priority will be tackling land reform. We must lift our people from poverty and deprivation they suffer. I consider this one of our foremost duties," he said with the utmost sincerity. "Once that is settled we can begin modernizing agriculture as well."
They'd all seen the share of poverty in the country. Somehow it was even worse in the countryside, tenant farmers worked to the bone to eke out a living on land owned by a noble, iman, or foreigner. It was squeezing blood from a stone, every man, woman, and child wrung dry to extract a little bit more profit from each harvest while their suffering only grew.
"We should expect involvement from Macedonia. Ambassador Pavlotis made it clear his government is watching the process closely," Issa said, hand resting on his bearded chin. "We did agree to compensate them for land seized."
"Is it even seizing it if we have to pay them full price for it?" Nadir dryly remarked, shaking his head in disapproval. "They'll price gouge us on it, I'm sure of it. We have to avoid spending the entire Ministry of Agriculture's budget on paying extortion fees to get our own land back, otherwise we could forget about modernization programs."
"That might be a necessary sacrifice if we wish to gain control of cotton production and keep them appeased," Issa replied with a frown. "I dislike it as much as you but reneging on that deal so quickly would not be wise."
"I'd take land reform over modernization if I have to, if it means the farmers can finally live off their own work," Hakim interjected.
"You could avoid their lands entirely. You made no guarantee that you'd buy their lands in the first place," Marcato suggested, unclasping his hands and motioning to Issa. "It'd limit the scope of any reforms. I'd say it's a more workable solution. It gives them nothing without breaking your agreement."
"The possibility had crossed my mind as well," Nadir admitted, turning his palms upwards. "There's still plenty of land not controlled by the Macedonians. They've made no demands that we compensate other foreigners, much less locals."
"I doubt many would take issue with it, so long as we take care regarding land held by Al-Azhar," Issa said. The The Al-Azhar was the religious leader in Egypt, issuing fatwas on what was acceptable Muslim behaviour in the country. While it held no official power, its influence was undeniable, extremely popular with the Islamist wing of the party and more than a few Ba'athists. "I'd suggest leaving the mosques and schools themselves alone. They'd have little grounds to contest us on land reform. They did endorse us."
"We'll worry about them then once we deal with education," Nadir replied, beginning to close up his own folders of paperwork. It was the signal for everyone else to wrap up the meeting, each man gathering up their own documents.
Hakim stood at the head of the table, looking between everyone in the room. "Gentlemen, we've worked together for years, so I know what you can accomplish with nothing. Show me what you can do with the state's backing."
===
In the following days, Marcato was approached by Cardono, an old political acquaintance from Venice. The country continued to suffer financial woes from the loss of territory after the disastrous war with Italy and Hungary. It was old news to the governor, but the increasing severity of it was somewhat of a surprise, as was the fact that Cardono had arrived in person to beseech Marcato. Cardono predicted that Venice risked going bankrupt in several years.
He then explained how Marcato could help. Egypt had once been required to pay taxes to Venice, as it was a colony, but since the war Macedonian interference on the part of Iskandar prevented such funds from being sent. As governor, Marcato could unilaterally approve the resumption of payments back to Venice. It wouldn't be much compared to the veritable cash cow that the colony was before the war, but it'd be enough to help keep Venice afloat.
"So, what do you say, old friend?" Cardono implored the governor. "We are both patriots. The republic calls upon you in its most dire moment of need."
Marcato bit back a retort and hid his frown well. He agreed with Cardono entirely, but loathed to have his patriotism preyed upon by the man. Instead he turned his chair around, and stood, gazing out of the window as he thought.
The republic had stood for nearly a thousand years, a millennia of rejecting the absolutist and archaic monarchies that had once so tightly gripped the continent. When the Dual Monarchy and Burgundy had finally allowed their estates-generals but a mere taste of liberty, the San Marino system of checks and balances had been established for centuries. They were the first spark of liberty to grace Europe, a fact so readily forgotten.
It was thus Marcato's first instinct to approve the payments without question. However, he knew doing so would upset the All Egyptian National Congress, especially so soon after they'd finalize the government's budget. He knew that the move would be seen as empowering Venice, perhaps rightly so, which he also knew would not earn him any allies among the party. He had too few as it was already.
What does Marcato do?
Current Budget -1
[ ] He approves the resumption of payments, costs 1 Budget
This is a one time penalty that represents payments spread out over the following years. It does not come out of any ministry, only the government. It will bring you down to Budget -2. Not an intolerable number, but the cost would anger many.
[ ] With a heavy heart he refuses Cardono's request
Venice will have to figure it out without Marcato's help. Their woes may pass in time if they find another source of income, or it may simply continue to stumble along.
===
The vote will be open for two days. Sorry for the wait. I've been playing a lot of Elden Ring. It's fun, also this isn't an invite to talk about it. I figured I'd hammer out a quick update before getting to Agriculture. It makes more sense as a separate post anyway.
Hmm, so I suppose on one hand, approving the resumption of payments would reduce Marcato's influence among the AENC, but it drives the government deeper into debt and may empower Venice.
Honestly the question for that decision is if it is worth it to help Venice.
Like what would it serve as a counter-weight for, even if it is possible to use them as counterweight considering their current circumstances.
A possible benefit to helping them may be their investment in our economy but "may" is a rather important word in that sentence. The drawback is obviously more debt to deal with.
The vote will be open for two days. Sorry for the wait. I've been playing a lot of Elden Ring. It's fun, also this isn't an invite to talk about it. I figured I'd hammer out a quick update before getting to Agriculture. It makes more sense as a separate post anyway.
I'll admit, I was kinda afraid I killed the quest with my budget taking us somewhere you didn't expect. Good to see that's not the case.
Anyhow here is how I see it:
A resumption of payments offers the possibility of using Venice as one of many counterweights to hopefully secure our independence without need for fighting. If the payments are invested properly, Venice could probably begin doing exactly what we were doing in cutting off below-market price wheat to Macedonia in expanding their budget to rebuild their might. It would also, as I said, isolate Marcato from any chance at power rather cheaply.
Rejecting the question firstly would, as already mentioned, isolate Marcato. I put this as both a benefit for and against because the plan we've been following so far is using a future Doge Marcato as a legitimizing figurehead to secure Egypt's sovereignty (after which we coup the guy with the AENC having secured control of the domestic apparatus). Thus, him poisoning his reputation this early on could make such a strategy unpalatable to both our party wings and to our supporters and make it all the more likely of an impromptu popular uprising. It would also sink us further into debt for what is an uncertain investment, as there is no guarantee Venice would use the extra money carefully enough to rise once again and serve as a counterweight.
Thus, I am leaning towards rejecting the offer as not being worth it, but I am not going to vote yet as I wish to see if anybody wants to convince us of the merits of resuming payments.
[X] He approves the resumption of payments, costs 1 Budget
Maybe Venice can give us some of their old ships since they are broke and cant maintain their upkeep and our military guy wants some form of defense... @Fission Battery is this doable?
Maybe Venice can give us some of their old ships since they are broke and cant maintain their upkeep and our military guy wants some form of defense... @Fission Battery is this doable?
No guarantees of nothing. Consider it from their point of view. This is an attempt to gain back taxes and reassert the tiniest bit of control over a protectorate they supposedly own. Mostly about the money though. If you want to buy ships off them then that can come up later during the military section. That'd be it's own cost though.
Nah, fun fact about this timeline. Venice has actually developed into a wholly separate culture and nation from Italy. I mean, it kinda was even in OTL and to this day there's still a stronger regionalist movement in Venice than in other parts of Italy (which began slowly standardizing to Tuscan languages and cultures after the World Wars). Here, however, Venice maintaining its powerful status in Europe has made its national identity even stronger so they wouldn't consider themselves Italian.
I know your comment is intended to be funny which is why I rated it as such. Just thought I'd use it as a launching point to exposit some lore!
