KlinkerKing
Man bites dog?
- Location
- The Lion's Den
Paths of Civilization II: Paths of Industrialization
Gulmaryn: What's a gulag?
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
Don't worry, you'll all see the inside of one soon.
1849 Part 1 - War and International Reporting
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Early 1849 EY
Mynys Dymon sighed as he walked in circles on a side alcove in the vast halls of the Blackmouth Parliamentary. Two of his aides shuffled nervously, holding with them several stacks of papers that the parliamentarian looked disdainfully every now and then.
Madness.
Utter madness.
Really, the generals in charge of the Kus Front should be flogged and whipped in front of the entire Parliamentarian assembly for what they did. Only the fact that they were working on bad orders in the first place had prevented him from calling for a motion of recall right away.
The Conservative Leader stopped in his pace, and decided to sit on an empty bench. Grumbling, he motioned one of his aides to his side. "Give me the casualty reports again." An order that the motioned aide hastily fulfilled, grabbing several sheafs of the topmost papers, crouching lightly to allow Mynys to properly grab them and grumble harder as he looked at the figures.
On paper, the idea of pushing through the important cities, passes, and industrial complexes are the easiest way to win a war, especially given the Dual Crown's size. Furthermore, by pushing in railways along those important routes, the Dual Crown could then push in further troops and supplies to be able to effectively hold the region.
On practice, trying to set up a continuous railway trunk and take the important strategic locales is a nightmare. A nightmare that costs fifty thousand of the troops on the first few months alone. Mynys could only stare at the lists of locations that were continuously battled on. Krandi, Fannut, Yarnfal. More and more names marked with the blood of thousands of Dual Crown's finest.
The worst part? The officers failed to take any of the battle goals outside of those that are close to the borders anyway. Their orders had left them too exposed, forming too many salients with insufficient protection that were vulnerable to raids, soldiers tasked with hauling steel instead of guns getting shot up in the night.
Well, that's the worst part about the fighting. But not the worst part overall. No. That was at least the third worst part overall. The second worst part overall was the fact that the populace figured out the butcher's bill through countless rumours and hear says. Preposterous things, really. Like the rumour of the fact that every movement the army made were hindered by diseases, that with every march, troops fall off by the dozens. That one was patently not true. Attrition from diseases and some such had always been staggeringly low compared to other nations, even if they are starting to fight in the more tropical region of the Black Sheep territories. Or the rumour about a dangerous demon of an Eastern Black Sheep general who had drank blood straight from his saber who battled both the Western Black Sheep and Dual Crown soldiers alike.
Okay, that one was partially true, Mynys had to admit. Eighth Emperor-in-Waiting Manshur Ghulam is a maverick who prefers to lead from the relative front and thank Karivon that he's on their side. His rise to prominence was certainly unexpected, albeit from a source most predictable. He was once part of the first batches of officers trained by Glymaryn's own. Mynys darkly mused that the student, in this instance, had beaten the teacher in this round. The parliamentarian leader read through part of Ghulam's exploits. His arrival thoroughly roused the comparatively weaker Eastern Army against the better trained and equipped opposition, despite the failures of the Dual Crown to assist. With every engagement, Ghulam created solid momentum for the entirety of the Eastern Army to consolidate and hold territories. On the one hand, this meant that once again the Dual Crown was failing to live up to its military potential, even if a series of expensive and embarrassing battles meant that they were only moving slowly. Other nations would have been pushed back with the perfomance being reported. On the other hand this meant that there was a higher chance that the Western Black Sheep would be less likely to break away again if they felt they had been defeated by the East rather than the Gylmaryn.
But that was, again, only the second worst news.
The worst news that, somehow, the parliamentary notes regarding the recommended strategic objectives had somehow spread to the populace. While the notes didn't contain anything truly sensitive, they showed that business leaders had been persuading parliament that the best recommendation to the Haddyth was to order the generals to seize key points and push forward rail lines. It was an incomplete but not inaccurate account, and it painted the Royalists and the Liberals as being insensitive to the cost in blood in favour of profit. The owners and managers of steel and railroad companies would make a killing laying track, and if they had to kill a few hundred or a few thousand sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers, well, so be it.
Well, those weren't Mynys' own words or thoughts, but it was definitely one of the many thoughts voiced by the populace, amplified massively by the uncensored newspapers and free assembly protestations. Whoever had leaked those documents was good too, because they had made sure multiple papers across the Dual Crown had received it more or less all at once, catching the Crown off balance before they could put together and adequate response.
To say the populace was livid was an understatement.
New Status Gained!
Lost to Greed: Whenever the Royalist or Liberal Party is the leading party in parliament, gain +1 temp Consciousness every refresh cycle. Expires 1869 EY
Yet, through all these, despite the countless protests, despite the countless discontents from bad harvests, slight economic downturn, and many more minor trifles that piled up to a mountain, despite everything that went wrong... Nothing happened. Nothing too outward happened, at the least. Mynys kept his pulse with his party. Many of those who were supportive of the Royalists and Liberals now turn to the Conservatives, a fact that he'd have been happy with, had it not come with the cost of nearly blowing the nation in a fit of populist rage. The picture painted by the leaks had also made it very much seem that the Haddyth had been given bad advice from parliament and his generals who had been pressured by parliament, rather than making a bad call directly, so at least pro-Republican sentiment was tamped down, even if anti-noble sentiment was up.
Let not the SKF happen again, thank you very much.
Of course, now he had to go to the latest round of Parliament where there was already a screaming match brewing to assign blame for all of this mess and figure out how they were going to get out of it. There were already rumours of members breaking away from the Royalists and Liberals to avoid the taint upon them, either to cross the floor to the Conservatives or form their own new parties.
Pick one option as the focus of the war effort:
[] [Army] Inflict additional damage
[] [Army] Attempt to seize strategic locations
[] [Army] Push through additional rails
[] [Army] Minimize damage to own troops
[] [Army] Assist Eastern Black Sheep forces
[] [Army] Protect endangered civilian populations
After the unpleasantness of the military situation and the screaming match between the various concerned parties, in an attempt to get some things done, the Prime Minister pushed forward a proposal in front of the assembled parliamentarians. It seems that their Khemetrian counterparts are exceedingly happy that about the focus on railway building to their lands and would like to start their own Rail Company under their Royal Family. The slight problem is that despite the fact that the global economy has finally recovered as well as the influx of money from prospective archeological teams, a lot of the funds that are needed ended up going to revitalizating their economy. Thusly, they needed an influx of investments to kickstart the project.
The Prime Minister stresses that his Khemetrian counterpart is very much aware that this might be asking too much, especially considering the volatile circumstances in the Dual Crown and in spite of the Eternal Friendship Agreement, and would like to offer that in exchange, regardless whether the request was accepted by the parliament and the Haddyth, the Dual Crown will always have the first say in regards of railway building. Mynys couldn't really complain either way. Strengthening ties between their centuries, if not millennia, old ally is always a welcome prospect.
The global economy has finally recovered. All trade SoL penalties are lifted.
[] [Khem] 0 PW - No need for further investment
[] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company (-2 IC, doubles rail production rate for Khem, provides SoL once completed and begins work on other rails)
[] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
In a less fortunate news, the shipment of archeological artifacts from Khemetri has been stolen without a trace, a fact that brings substantial embarrassment to the assigned security details. Mynys wondered aimlessly then. Could that issue and the leak about the parliamentary notes be connected? It's... extremely concerning if so. Someone kept making trouble for the Dual Crown and their interests, and while conspiracy was unfitting of a man of his standing, enemy action seemed increasingly a possibility.
No bonus Prestige gain this turn.
In further international news, the Ochro-Etalian Empire was in a bit of a threeway spat with the Behryvar and the Styrmyr over some of the territories and peoples that had formerly been Ochruhr controlled. While part of it was just rationalization of some of the enclaves and three way border gore that was going on between the nations due to various historical issues, it was obvious from the way that the OEE was pushing that they wanted the excuse to make some major gains. While the issue had been quiet up until now, it was obvious that the Dual Crown turning its attention East had prompted a certain degree of agitation in the region that would have never occurred with their attention undivided.
As it was, none of the countries involved actually wanted a fight, and there were calls for a continental congress, to gather together various unaligned powers to hash out the issue and come to an "equitable agreement". From the rumours, the OEE would probably get most of what they wanted without a strong voice speaking out against them, and what they didn't get were probably sacrificial objectives. Unfortunately, pressing the issue would definitely be a distraction and had a small but distinct chance of flaring up into something larger.
The Ochro-Etalian Empire has plans to call a continental congress. What level of representation should be sent?
[] [Congress] 0 PW - Send a token observer and stay out of it (-5 Prestige, +1 temp Trust)
[] [Congress] 0 PW - Just go along with the majority opinion (OEE probably makes gains, Behryvar and Styrmyr likely annoyed)
[] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
Regardless, he should focus on the man in front of him. After the consensus in regards to Khemetri's request been put forth, the assembly disperses.
"Please, Esteemed Judge, have a seat." Mynys blinked, wondering how he'd gotten to this situation. He had delivered the report. The Prime Minister had restrained the angry Haddyth. The calmed Haddyth had given an order to the fastest couriers on what the field general's overall plan needed to be. So far, so good.
Except the fact that now he had been kidnapped.
Well, it's an exaggeration. He was informed by one of his aides that someone wanted to talk to him in a secluded alcove in the halls, but said aide 'disappeared' as they approached the meeting place. But considering that he is now talking to a man wearing a garish Imperial Purple capelet, he's probably talking to a member of the Liberal Party and being dragged off by someone of his caliber probably counts as getting kidnapped. Well, might as well play along and sit down.
"So, to whom am I talking to?"
"Rostam Hynrk, pleased to meet you." The man smiled diplomatically as he poured pitch black coffee, Khemetrian by the smell of it, into two cups.
Mynys had to supress quirking his eyebrows. "The magnate who owned the Husram Arsenals?" Mynys ratcheted up the threat level of the comparatively younger man in front of him for the simple fact that Husram Arsenals is one of the few private large-scale gunmakers in Glymaryn. One don't get to do that without a touch of ruthlessness.
Or in the case right now, pragmatism and a touch of daring to go meet up with the leader of the Conservative Party in private. Mynys wondered if he might be seeing a floor crossing, but it seemed unlikely from this man.
"The very same. I must admit, I was unsure to try and contact you directly. But considering the report you delivered, I think that this is the best thing that must be done to the nation."
"....And why is that?"
"Well, you certainly must know that this nation is starting to fray lightly at the seams. Between these disastrous military adventures," Mynys had to force calm on his face considering what his talking partner's business was about. "As well as the feel of malaise in our society, something must be done to ensure that things do not go horribly wrong."
Mynys had to concede that point, but couldn't get what Rostam is angling at. Certainly, being a member of the Liberal Party, he knew that there's a lot of bad reputations attached to the Party. He might as well take the bait now and ask, "And what would you propose?"
"A joint agreement." He smiled once more, a sharper one this time. "Tell me, would you agree that one of the problems that this society of ours, or indeed, the society around the world faces is on the matter of alcohol consumption?" Mynys quirked his eyebrows, incredulous. But before he could offer a reply, the magnate continued. "Well, you have ears amongst your religiously minded peers, I am sure. Certainly, one or two of them must have despaired about the fact that some of their congregations went ahead and drank alcohol before the start of their work, and then subsequently maimed or killed themselves through carelessness."
"Well...."
"Oh, I can add my experience as well. When I was making an inspection on one of my factories, I found that an entire section was done because they were picking bits of a man out of the gears of one of the engines. It seemed that one of the men had come in still inebriated from the night before, and had not the coordination he should have. He got a hand caught in some gears he was applying oil to, and from there dragged into the machinery. Truly a tragedy, but it is more than just his life lost. I had my accountants work out what the lost delivery of goods is likely to cause, and he calculates that this probably resulted in an additional two deaths on the fronts from the late delivery of adequate weapons. Cast this across the entire nation, and you can see that it truly quickly begins to add up," Rostam explained. Mynys noted that the man no doubt had also figured out the financial losses in damaged equipment and late deliveries.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect this sort of viewpoint, but indeed, alcoholism is a problem in the Dual Crown." He didn't bother to correct the fact that Rostam was off the mark. It's not 'one or two', no. It is an issue that's brought up in every single correspondence. "It's certainly a problem that doesn't seem to be able to solved incrementally. I take it that you have a plan for this, entailing the 'joint agreement' that you mentioned?"
Rostam nodded. "Yes. I have just the thing...." He rummaged the inside of his coat and proferred Mynys with several sheafs of papers. "Read them, you'll find the content to be....of your interest."
Mynys dreaded what the Rostam had in mind, but he read on. The first page is an extensive list of signatures. A lot of the names here are business magnates, factory owners, and other such person of importance in the Liberal Party circles. The further he goes down though, he starts to see familiar signatures, those of his own party members and even some from the Royalists. Deciding against railing on Rostam on what he's planning, he turned to the second page.
It was a simple thing, a request that Parliament acknowledge the role alcohol and other mind altering substances had to play in the misfortunes of the Dual Crown, and a statement of general support for local movements. There was also some broader language that Mynys knew had come from religious leaders that railed against more general issues of decadent behaviour associated with drinking, since the business leaders were unlikely to be all that upset with greed. And then there was a further bit of policy that was also aimed at the Conservative Party in particular.
His pet policy to be exact. A call for increased education and awareness throughout the Dual Crown, both on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and on promoting sober learning rather than the debauched fraternities that many imagined the universities to be filled with. Mynys would normally have to fight tremendously for the suggested changes, but with this level of support...
But no. He mustn't waver so easily. He glanced back to Rostam, who occupied himself with drinking the coffee. This movement is large, with many focus and talking points that sooner or later, Mynys would argue sooner, that there'd be a split in the midst of the movement. Not to mention, the entire movement basically changes the playing field from under the rug of everyone.... except Rostam and others signatories who would be forewarned about this, and made changes accordingly.
But at the same time, Rostam is right. Something had to be done. The populace would need something to occupy their minds, lest something else blows up and Dual Crown is swallowed in fire. Not to mention the fact that it is still a net positive. Less people would die from their own folly, more productivity, and more education on top of those...
What is the right call here?
New Status Gained
Early Temperance Movement: +1 temp Consciousness every refresh cycle until the movement is either suppressed or a party takes the Speech in Parliament for Temperance Action
Speech in Parliament for Temperance - 1 PW: Supports the Temperance Movement, advancing the status. Party that makes the speech gains +1 Power. Only one party can support, party with the most total power gets priority.
Does the Conservative Party accept this into their platform?
[] [Temp] No
[] [Temp] Yes (Speech is 0 PW for Conservative Party next turn)
[] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
---
Mynys Dymon sighed as he walked in circles on a side alcove in the vast halls of the Blackmouth Parliamentary. Two of his aides shuffled nervously, holding with them several stacks of papers that the parliamentarian looked disdainfully every now and then.
Madness.
Utter madness.
Really, the generals in charge of the Kus Front should be flogged and whipped in front of the entire Parliamentarian assembly for what they did. Only the fact that they were working on bad orders in the first place had prevented him from calling for a motion of recall right away.
The Conservative Leader stopped in his pace, and decided to sit on an empty bench. Grumbling, he motioned one of his aides to his side. "Give me the casualty reports again." An order that the motioned aide hastily fulfilled, grabbing several sheafs of the topmost papers, crouching lightly to allow Mynys to properly grab them and grumble harder as he looked at the figures.
On paper, the idea of pushing through the important cities, passes, and industrial complexes are the easiest way to win a war, especially given the Dual Crown's size. Furthermore, by pushing in railways along those important routes, the Dual Crown could then push in further troops and supplies to be able to effectively hold the region.
On practice, trying to set up a continuous railway trunk and take the important strategic locales is a nightmare. A nightmare that costs fifty thousand of the troops on the first few months alone. Mynys could only stare at the lists of locations that were continuously battled on. Krandi, Fannut, Yarnfal. More and more names marked with the blood of thousands of Dual Crown's finest.
The worst part? The officers failed to take any of the battle goals outside of those that are close to the borders anyway. Their orders had left them too exposed, forming too many salients with insufficient protection that were vulnerable to raids, soldiers tasked with hauling steel instead of guns getting shot up in the night.
Well, that's the worst part about the fighting. But not the worst part overall. No. That was at least the third worst part overall. The second worst part overall was the fact that the populace figured out the butcher's bill through countless rumours and hear says. Preposterous things, really. Like the rumour of the fact that every movement the army made were hindered by diseases, that with every march, troops fall off by the dozens. That one was patently not true. Attrition from diseases and some such had always been staggeringly low compared to other nations, even if they are starting to fight in the more tropical region of the Black Sheep territories. Or the rumour about a dangerous demon of an Eastern Black Sheep general who had drank blood straight from his saber who battled both the Western Black Sheep and Dual Crown soldiers alike.
Okay, that one was partially true, Mynys had to admit. Eighth Emperor-in-Waiting Manshur Ghulam is a maverick who prefers to lead from the relative front and thank Karivon that he's on their side. His rise to prominence was certainly unexpected, albeit from a source most predictable. He was once part of the first batches of officers trained by Glymaryn's own. Mynys darkly mused that the student, in this instance, had beaten the teacher in this round. The parliamentarian leader read through part of Ghulam's exploits. His arrival thoroughly roused the comparatively weaker Eastern Army against the better trained and equipped opposition, despite the failures of the Dual Crown to assist. With every engagement, Ghulam created solid momentum for the entirety of the Eastern Army to consolidate and hold territories. On the one hand, this meant that once again the Dual Crown was failing to live up to its military potential, even if a series of expensive and embarrassing battles meant that they were only moving slowly. Other nations would have been pushed back with the perfomance being reported. On the other hand this meant that there was a higher chance that the Western Black Sheep would be less likely to break away again if they felt they had been defeated by the East rather than the Gylmaryn.
But that was, again, only the second worst news.
The worst news that, somehow, the parliamentary notes regarding the recommended strategic objectives had somehow spread to the populace. While the notes didn't contain anything truly sensitive, they showed that business leaders had been persuading parliament that the best recommendation to the Haddyth was to order the generals to seize key points and push forward rail lines. It was an incomplete but not inaccurate account, and it painted the Royalists and the Liberals as being insensitive to the cost in blood in favour of profit. The owners and managers of steel and railroad companies would make a killing laying track, and if they had to kill a few hundred or a few thousand sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers, well, so be it.
Well, those weren't Mynys' own words or thoughts, but it was definitely one of the many thoughts voiced by the populace, amplified massively by the uncensored newspapers and free assembly protestations. Whoever had leaked those documents was good too, because they had made sure multiple papers across the Dual Crown had received it more or less all at once, catching the Crown off balance before they could put together and adequate response.
To say the populace was livid was an understatement.
New Status Gained!
Lost to Greed: Whenever the Royalist or Liberal Party is the leading party in parliament, gain +1 temp Consciousness every refresh cycle. Expires 1869 EY
Yet, through all these, despite the countless protests, despite the countless discontents from bad harvests, slight economic downturn, and many more minor trifles that piled up to a mountain, despite everything that went wrong... Nothing happened. Nothing too outward happened, at the least. Mynys kept his pulse with his party. Many of those who were supportive of the Royalists and Liberals now turn to the Conservatives, a fact that he'd have been happy with, had it not come with the cost of nearly blowing the nation in a fit of populist rage. The picture painted by the leaks had also made it very much seem that the Haddyth had been given bad advice from parliament and his generals who had been pressured by parliament, rather than making a bad call directly, so at least pro-Republican sentiment was tamped down, even if anti-noble sentiment was up.
Let not the SKF happen again, thank you very much.
Of course, now he had to go to the latest round of Parliament where there was already a screaming match brewing to assign blame for all of this mess and figure out how they were going to get out of it. There were already rumours of members breaking away from the Royalists and Liberals to avoid the taint upon them, either to cross the floor to the Conservatives or form their own new parties.
Pick one option as the focus of the war effort:
[] [Army] Inflict additional damage
[] [Army] Attempt to seize strategic locations
[] [Army] Push through additional rails
[] [Army] Minimize damage to own troops
[] [Army] Assist Eastern Black Sheep forces
[] [Army] Protect endangered civilian populations
After the unpleasantness of the military situation and the screaming match between the various concerned parties, in an attempt to get some things done, the Prime Minister pushed forward a proposal in front of the assembled parliamentarians. It seems that their Khemetrian counterparts are exceedingly happy that about the focus on railway building to their lands and would like to start their own Rail Company under their Royal Family. The slight problem is that despite the fact that the global economy has finally recovered as well as the influx of money from prospective archeological teams, a lot of the funds that are needed ended up going to revitalizating their economy. Thusly, they needed an influx of investments to kickstart the project.
The Prime Minister stresses that his Khemetrian counterpart is very much aware that this might be asking too much, especially considering the volatile circumstances in the Dual Crown and in spite of the Eternal Friendship Agreement, and would like to offer that in exchange, regardless whether the request was accepted by the parliament and the Haddyth, the Dual Crown will always have the first say in regards of railway building. Mynys couldn't really complain either way. Strengthening ties between their centuries, if not millennia, old ally is always a welcome prospect.
The global economy has finally recovered. All trade SoL penalties are lifted.
[] [Khem] 0 PW - No need for further investment
[] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company (-2 IC, doubles rail production rate for Khem, provides SoL once completed and begins work on other rails)
[] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
In a less fortunate news, the shipment of archeological artifacts from Khemetri has been stolen without a trace, a fact that brings substantial embarrassment to the assigned security details. Mynys wondered aimlessly then. Could that issue and the leak about the parliamentary notes be connected? It's... extremely concerning if so. Someone kept making trouble for the Dual Crown and their interests, and while conspiracy was unfitting of a man of his standing, enemy action seemed increasingly a possibility.
No bonus Prestige gain this turn.
In further international news, the Ochro-Etalian Empire was in a bit of a threeway spat with the Behryvar and the Styrmyr over some of the territories and peoples that had formerly been Ochruhr controlled. While part of it was just rationalization of some of the enclaves and three way border gore that was going on between the nations due to various historical issues, it was obvious from the way that the OEE was pushing that they wanted the excuse to make some major gains. While the issue had been quiet up until now, it was obvious that the Dual Crown turning its attention East had prompted a certain degree of agitation in the region that would have never occurred with their attention undivided.
As it was, none of the countries involved actually wanted a fight, and there were calls for a continental congress, to gather together various unaligned powers to hash out the issue and come to an "equitable agreement". From the rumours, the OEE would probably get most of what they wanted without a strong voice speaking out against them, and what they didn't get were probably sacrificial objectives. Unfortunately, pressing the issue would definitely be a distraction and had a small but distinct chance of flaring up into something larger.
The Ochro-Etalian Empire has plans to call a continental congress. What level of representation should be sent?
[] [Congress] 0 PW - Send a token observer and stay out of it (-5 Prestige, +1 temp Trust)
[] [Congress] 0 PW - Just go along with the majority opinion (OEE probably makes gains, Behryvar and Styrmyr likely annoyed)
[] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
Regardless, he should focus on the man in front of him. After the consensus in regards to Khemetri's request been put forth, the assembly disperses.
"Please, Esteemed Judge, have a seat." Mynys blinked, wondering how he'd gotten to this situation. He had delivered the report. The Prime Minister had restrained the angry Haddyth. The calmed Haddyth had given an order to the fastest couriers on what the field general's overall plan needed to be. So far, so good.
Except the fact that now he had been kidnapped.
Well, it's an exaggeration. He was informed by one of his aides that someone wanted to talk to him in a secluded alcove in the halls, but said aide 'disappeared' as they approached the meeting place. But considering that he is now talking to a man wearing a garish Imperial Purple capelet, he's probably talking to a member of the Liberal Party and being dragged off by someone of his caliber probably counts as getting kidnapped. Well, might as well play along and sit down.
"So, to whom am I talking to?"
"Rostam Hynrk, pleased to meet you." The man smiled diplomatically as he poured pitch black coffee, Khemetrian by the smell of it, into two cups.
Mynys had to supress quirking his eyebrows. "The magnate who owned the Husram Arsenals?" Mynys ratcheted up the threat level of the comparatively younger man in front of him for the simple fact that Husram Arsenals is one of the few private large-scale gunmakers in Glymaryn. One don't get to do that without a touch of ruthlessness.
Or in the case right now, pragmatism and a touch of daring to go meet up with the leader of the Conservative Party in private. Mynys wondered if he might be seeing a floor crossing, but it seemed unlikely from this man.
"The very same. I must admit, I was unsure to try and contact you directly. But considering the report you delivered, I think that this is the best thing that must be done to the nation."
"....And why is that?"
"Well, you certainly must know that this nation is starting to fray lightly at the seams. Between these disastrous military adventures," Mynys had to force calm on his face considering what his talking partner's business was about. "As well as the feel of malaise in our society, something must be done to ensure that things do not go horribly wrong."
Mynys had to concede that point, but couldn't get what Rostam is angling at. Certainly, being a member of the Liberal Party, he knew that there's a lot of bad reputations attached to the Party. He might as well take the bait now and ask, "And what would you propose?"
"A joint agreement." He smiled once more, a sharper one this time. "Tell me, would you agree that one of the problems that this society of ours, or indeed, the society around the world faces is on the matter of alcohol consumption?" Mynys quirked his eyebrows, incredulous. But before he could offer a reply, the magnate continued. "Well, you have ears amongst your religiously minded peers, I am sure. Certainly, one or two of them must have despaired about the fact that some of their congregations went ahead and drank alcohol before the start of their work, and then subsequently maimed or killed themselves through carelessness."
"Well...."
"Oh, I can add my experience as well. When I was making an inspection on one of my factories, I found that an entire section was done because they were picking bits of a man out of the gears of one of the engines. It seemed that one of the men had come in still inebriated from the night before, and had not the coordination he should have. He got a hand caught in some gears he was applying oil to, and from there dragged into the machinery. Truly a tragedy, but it is more than just his life lost. I had my accountants work out what the lost delivery of goods is likely to cause, and he calculates that this probably resulted in an additional two deaths on the fronts from the late delivery of adequate weapons. Cast this across the entire nation, and you can see that it truly quickly begins to add up," Rostam explained. Mynys noted that the man no doubt had also figured out the financial losses in damaged equipment and late deliveries.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect this sort of viewpoint, but indeed, alcoholism is a problem in the Dual Crown." He didn't bother to correct the fact that Rostam was off the mark. It's not 'one or two', no. It is an issue that's brought up in every single correspondence. "It's certainly a problem that doesn't seem to be able to solved incrementally. I take it that you have a plan for this, entailing the 'joint agreement' that you mentioned?"
Rostam nodded. "Yes. I have just the thing...." He rummaged the inside of his coat and proferred Mynys with several sheafs of papers. "Read them, you'll find the content to be....of your interest."
Mynys dreaded what the Rostam had in mind, but he read on. The first page is an extensive list of signatures. A lot of the names here are business magnates, factory owners, and other such person of importance in the Liberal Party circles. The further he goes down though, he starts to see familiar signatures, those of his own party members and even some from the Royalists. Deciding against railing on Rostam on what he's planning, he turned to the second page.
It was a simple thing, a request that Parliament acknowledge the role alcohol and other mind altering substances had to play in the misfortunes of the Dual Crown, and a statement of general support for local movements. There was also some broader language that Mynys knew had come from religious leaders that railed against more general issues of decadent behaviour associated with drinking, since the business leaders were unlikely to be all that upset with greed. And then there was a further bit of policy that was also aimed at the Conservative Party in particular.
His pet policy to be exact. A call for increased education and awareness throughout the Dual Crown, both on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and on promoting sober learning rather than the debauched fraternities that many imagined the universities to be filled with. Mynys would normally have to fight tremendously for the suggested changes, but with this level of support...
But no. He mustn't waver so easily. He glanced back to Rostam, who occupied himself with drinking the coffee. This movement is large, with many focus and talking points that sooner or later, Mynys would argue sooner, that there'd be a split in the midst of the movement. Not to mention, the entire movement basically changes the playing field from under the rug of everyone.... except Rostam and others signatories who would be forewarned about this, and made changes accordingly.
But at the same time, Rostam is right. Something had to be done. The populace would need something to occupy their minds, lest something else blows up and Dual Crown is swallowed in fire. Not to mention the fact that it is still a net positive. Less people would die from their own folly, more productivity, and more education on top of those...
What is the right call here?
New Status Gained
Early Temperance Movement: +1 temp Consciousness every refresh cycle until the movement is either suppressed or a party takes the Speech in Parliament for Temperance Action
Speech in Parliament for Temperance - 1 PW: Supports the Temperance Movement, advancing the status. Party that makes the speech gains +1 Power. Only one party can support, party with the most total power gets priority.
Does the Conservative Party accept this into their platform?
[] [Temp] No
[] [Temp] Yes (Speech is 0 PW for Conservative Party next turn)
[] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
---
Early Anthropology (35/50-70?) [Social][Science][Open]
Early Linguistics (35/50-70?) [Social][Science][Open]
Theory of Empire: Romantic Paternalism (33/60-80?)[Social][Rare]
Modern Idealism (42/50) [Science][Open]
Electromagnetic Theory (16/???) [Science][Physics][Open]
Thermodynamics (56/60) [Science][Industrial][Open]
Nitro Explosives (15/???) [Science][Chemistry][Military][Open]
Elemental Periodicity (17/???) [Science][Rare]
Industrial Medicines and Vaccines (2/???) [Science][Medicine][Open]
Industrial Fractioning and Distillation (17/???) [Chemistry][Industrial][Open]
Early Electrochemistry (16/50-60?) [Science][Chemistry][Open]
Industrial Battlefield Medicine (31/45-55?) [Medicine][Military]
Early Scientific Paleontology (0/???) [Science][Biology][Open]
Hiding in the Rainbow? (75/85-100?)[Science][Unique][Closed]
Mid 19th Century Army Doctrine (3/???) [Military][Army][Open]
Universal Officer Literacy (36/60-70?) [Military][Initiative][Open]
Independent Logistics (34/45) [Military][Initiative][Open]
Breechloading Cannon (30/50-60?) [Military][Weaponry][Open]
Early Ironclads (0/???) [Military][Naval][Open]
Commercial Steamers (0/???) [Naval][Industrial][Open]
Mid-19th Century Ship Design (0/???) [Naval][Industrial][Closed]
Mechanical Mining (11/60) [Industrial][Open]
Steel Railroad (35/60) [Industrial][Open]
Early Linguistics (35/50-70?) [Social][Science][Open]
Theory of Empire: Romantic Paternalism (33/60-80?)[Social][Rare]
Modern Idealism (42/50) [Science][Open]
Electromagnetic Theory (16/???) [Science][Physics][Open]
Thermodynamics (56/60) [Science][Industrial][Open]
Nitro Explosives (15/???) [Science][Chemistry][Military][Open]
Elemental Periodicity (17/???) [Science][Rare]
Industrial Medicines and Vaccines (2/???) [Science][Medicine][Open]
Industrial Fractioning and Distillation (17/???) [Chemistry][Industrial][Open]
Early Electrochemistry (16/50-60?) [Science][Chemistry][Open]
Industrial Battlefield Medicine (31/45-55?) [Medicine][Military]
Early Scientific Paleontology (0/???) [Science][Biology][Open]
Hiding in the Rainbow? (75/85-100?)[Science][Unique][Closed]
Mid 19th Century Army Doctrine (3/???) [Military][Army][Open]
Universal Officer Literacy (36/60-70?) [Military][Initiative][Open]
Independent Logistics (34/45) [Military][Initiative][Open]
Breechloading Cannon (30/50-60?) [Military][Weaponry][Open]
Early Ironclads (0/???) [Military][Naval][Open]
Commercial Steamers (0/???) [Naval][Industrial][Open]
Mid-19th Century Ship Design (0/???) [Naval][Industrial][Closed]
Mechanical Mining (11/60) [Industrial][Open]
Steel Railroad (35/60) [Industrial][Open]
Econ
Industrial Cap 14 (9) (Max. 11+75%)
Development 40/65+25%
Bonds 10
Pollution 4 (7)
Infrastructure
Railroads 3/8
Sewers 1/8
Hospitals 1/4
Culture
Consciousness 4 (5+3 Poll = 8)
Standard of Living 8 (13)
Happiness 6/10
Research
Academies 5/5
Mil Academies 2/2
Education 4
Innovation 8 (+4 Consc = 12)
Diplomacy
Trust 11 (9)
Espionage 8 (11)
Martial
Militancy 6 (6)
Armies 8 (5) [3/8 Rearm]
Navies 6 (6)
Political Will 5/20
Prestige
Min. 41
Current 171
Trans-Kyberi Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development, (3 more uses to remove Undeveloped Hinterlands status, 1/30 Actions to Completion) (0 PW for the first use a turn)
Kale-Yllthon Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (2/8 Actions to Completion) [Company Founded - Kielmyr Controlled]
Valleyhome-Khemetri Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (3/5 Actions to get to Khemetri, 0/6 Actions on their end) [Company Founded]
Valleyhome-Kus Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (4/4 Actions to get to Black Sheep, 1/16 Actions on their end) [Company Founded]
Industrial Cap 14 (9) (Max. 11+75%)
Development 40/65+25%
Bonds 10
Pollution 4 (7)
Infrastructure
Railroads 3/8
Sewers 1/8
Hospitals 1/4
Culture
Consciousness 4 (5+3 Poll = 8)
Standard of Living 8 (13)
Happiness 6/10
Research
Academies 5/5
Mil Academies 2/2
Education 4
Innovation 8 (+4 Consc = 12)
Diplomacy
Trust 11 (9)
Espionage 8 (11)
Martial
Militancy 6 (6)
Armies 8 (5) [3/8 Rearm]
Navies 6 (6)
Political Will 5/20
Prestige
Min. 41
Current 171
Trans-Kyberi Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development, (3 more uses to remove Undeveloped Hinterlands status, 1/30 Actions to Completion) (0 PW for the first use a turn)
Kale-Yllthon Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (2/8 Actions to Completion) [Company Founded - Kielmyr Controlled]
Valleyhome-Khemetri Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (3/5 Actions to get to Khemetri, 0/6 Actions on their end) [Company Founded]
Valleyhome-Kus Railway - 1 PW, -4 Temp IC, +1 Max Development (4/4 Actions to get to Black Sheep, 1/16 Actions on their end) [Company Founded]
- Location
- Minnesota
And predictably greed burns.
- Location
- Reno Nv
You know what, screw it, we may as well conquer not!Inda for all the BS that it is bringing.
Best to learn the leasons here. When Ww1 happens we will need to run rail to battlefronts so cutting our teeth with a war that is ultimatly non-threatening will be a good thing.
[X] [Army] Push through additional rails
Our ally seems to be doing well, lets focus on the longterm.
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company (-2 IC, doubles rail production rate for Khem, provides SoL once completed and begins work on other rails)
Pet the cat. Feed it when it meows.
[X] [Temp] No
Picture if this flows out of the worker's party.
Seriously, this is so much more effective flowing from the bottom up and may be exactly what we need to convert the worker's party from a minor party to a major one. The liberals party is weak enough for them to steal support.
[X] [Army] Push through additional rails
Our ally seems to be doing well, lets focus on the longterm.
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company (-2 IC, doubles rail production rate for Khem, provides SoL once completed and begins work on other rails)
Pet the cat. Feed it when it meows.
[X] [Temp] No
Picture if this flows out of the worker's party.
Seriously, this is so much more effective flowing from the bottom up and may be exactly what we need to convert the worker's party from a minor party to a major one. The liberals party is weak enough for them to steal support.
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- Location
- Minnesota
Is this focus going to combo with or replace the previously selected focuses?
- Location
- Sweden
[X] [Army] Assist Eastern Black Sheep forces
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
[X] [Temp] Yes (Speech is 0 PW for Conservative Party next turn)
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
[X] [Temp] Yes (Speech is 0 PW for Conservative Party next turn)
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
Lost to Greed, indeed. And we still haven't finished fuckin' Idealism!
Poor Mynys Dymon.
HanEmpire
Delicious
[X] [Army] Minimize damage to own troops
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 0 PW - Send a token observer and stay out of it (-5 Prestige, +1 temp Trust)
[X] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 0 PW - Send a token observer and stay out of it (-5 Prestige, +1 temp Trust)
[X] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
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- Location
- United States
[X] [Army] Assist Eastern Black Sheep forces
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
So was it actually a poor plan, or did we just roll badly?
- Location
- Illinois
Less bad, more that it was one of the riskiest, and that we rolled badly.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
I think the real problem lays a bit deeper than just "bad roll" or "poor plan"
- Location
- Brazil
And what would the real problem be?
- Location
- Edmonton
- Pronouns
- He/Him
deeply entrenched societal problems and a refusal to realize we will never have the time to fix them because we're piling on half the world's problems onto our plate.
: )
I miss my trees man.
- Location
- Illinois
More seriously, I think we're going to want to have the Conservatives embrace the Temperance party right now. Get them in on the ground floor so the movement doesn't go off in a direction we don't want.
For the war goals, I also think we want to play up the fact that the Conservatives, who are seen as the 'good, moral people' right now, have taken charge and are different from the corrupt Royalists and Liberals. A heroic option like preventing damage to our forces or saving civilians, or even just focusing on helping our apparently competent ally, should work out well.
Just keep in mind that doing more rails with the Conservatives having taken power is probably a bad idea. If we do badly again and it looks like the Conservatives were no different than the other parties, we're going to get a nice little rebellion going.
Which we don't want.
For the war goals, I also think we want to play up the fact that the Conservatives, who are seen as the 'good, moral people' right now, have taken charge and are different from the corrupt Royalists and Liberals. A heroic option like preventing damage to our forces or saving civilians, or even just focusing on helping our apparently competent ally, should work out well.
Just keep in mind that doing more rails with the Conservatives having taken power is probably a bad idea. If we do badly again and it looks like the Conservatives were no different than the other parties, we're going to get a nice little rebellion going.
Which we don't want.
[X] [Army] Assist Eastern Black Sheep forces
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
[X] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
Going by gut feel here, best to have the Temperance movement launch early, before the whole Metalight-psychoactives thing goes further.
[X] [Khem] 1 PW - Found Khemetri Rail Company and give extra investment (-2 IC, -3 temp IC, founds Khemetri company as above, adds an extra rail action to the project this turn)
[X] [Congress] 1 PW - Press for your own interests in supporting the Behryvar and Styrmyr on your terms (-2 temp Trust, small chance of triggering another Syffryn War)
[X] [Temp] All-In (Makes Speech Early, ???)
Going by gut feel here, best to have the Temperance movement launch early, before the whole Metalight-psychoactives thing goes further.