Kingdom of Plebina
Turn 2 - March 1815 to October 1815
Tarrantia, Kingdom of Plebina
May 1815
"Is that a Kalpian ship?"
The sun was once again warming the whole city of Tarrantia as spring had returned to the land, and perhaps one of the busiest places in the city was the harbour. The place where goods and people from far and near came to trade, make a new life or simply enjoy life for just a while. And the numbers had just risen in the past months.
After the Plebian-Kalpian Royal Trade Act of 1814 had been signed and put into effect, the amount of trading vessels laying anchour and setting sail from the Plebian harbours had only increased in number. So had the amount of goods, people, money in the Plebian economy, but sadly the growing trade had not only been a grace. Smuggling was also on the rise.
It had gone unnoticed in the start, perhaps a few goods vanishing without a trace and suddenly showing up at the black market at first, until Plebian officials finally found solid evidence of what was feared to be a smuggler's ring.
-"It is most certainly, Your Majesty. See the flag on top of the mast, just there? You can just make out the flag of the Kingdom of Kalpia; the two red strips, the one white and their emblem right there. Not as beautiful as our flag, I must admit, but still rather pleasent to look at." The man standing beside King Alfonso was Claudio Garafalo, the Minister of the Navy, a man of trustworthyness and experience. One of the few Plebian military leaders who had been able to score a victory against the Civitian Navy during the Great War. While it gave King Alfonso and his government more time to defend the capital and latter flee the country, it had left the Plebian navy largely in shatters. And now it was a shadow of its former self.
"Your eyes have not betrayed you after all those years, Claudio. But who knows what lies beneath it's deck?"
-"Are you under the belief that the smugglers are using the Kalpian ships to bring in their goods?"
"We both are under that belief, my friend, don't you deny it. But to think that they are alone?"
-"Highly unlikely, Your Majesty. The reports and rumours all point out the fact that a pattern of ships can't be found."
"So why aren't you inspecting all the ships that come into harbour then, Grand Admiral Garafalo?" King Alfonso turned to look at the old sailor, a massive grey beard nearly hiding his lower face; wrinkles, scares from both shrapnel and sunburns dotting the upper half. The King's voice was starting to get annoyed, clearly awaiting an answer that would be easy and effective. The Grand Admiral looked back, still confident in his gaze.
-"You remember the battle of Bertina Bay, Your Royal Highness? The battle that made it possible to evacuate Tarrantia? A large part of our fleet was lost that day, and while a victory it was a victory we could not repeat; not then, not now."
"Then how many will be needed to effectivly patrol our sealanes and keep the smugglers at bay?"
-"And privateers as well, I'm afraid."
"Privateers? How...why was I not informed of this!"
-"I was under the impression Foreign Minister Bellino told you, Your Majesty."
"Foreign Minister Bellino is in Oslad for highly important diplomatic affairs. But that matters not now, just tell me what I need to know.
-"4 Second Rates, 2 First Rates, 5 sloops. That is what I as both Grand Admiral and Minister of the Navy is requesting."
"I do not know much about ships, but that sounds like hard labour to me. Is it doable in the coming months?"
-"Most certainly, Your Majesty. The ship wharfes should be able to deliver the ships within half a year. Of course the labourers will need to work hard and valiantly, but I am sure they will understand. It is for the better for the Kingdom after all."
"For the better for the Kingdom, indeed Garafalo. Indeed."
Oslograd, capital of the Osladian Empire
June 1815
The first thing that Foreign Minister Manfredo Bellino noticed once he set foot on Olsadian soil, was the emptiness. Ever since he had stepped off the ship that carried him from the ports of Plebina and entered the stagecoach that would take him to Oslograd, he had been unable to see any major cities since Slonimsky. Vaste spaces of nothingness, occasionally interrupted by a little village and peasents littering the fields, stretched as far as the eye could see. And a bit more. Now Bellino was accustomed to travelling, but this trek was taking a toll on him. Hadn't they eventually reached Dolgonsk and Kubelik, he was afraid he'd lose his mind.
And finally, after feeling like a far too long trek through the Osladian countryside, the Foreign Minister of Plebina saw the city of Oslograd rise up before him. It was a marvel to witness, he thought to himself, but he had important business to attend to.
The document he carried under his arm was far from massive or complex, though still a bundle to reckon with. Foreign Minister Bellio would deliver it to the Olsadian foreign ministry, or Tsar Lubomir II if preferred - He was preparing himself mentally for both cases.
What it said and asked for was simple enough, at least the short version of it; allow more Plebian traders onto the Olsadian trade market, lower the customs on Plebian goods and ensure the safety of Plebian traders inside of Olsadia's juristiction. The same would of course apply for Osladian traders and merchants in Plebinan territory. If they would accept the proposal or not was another matter, but FM Bellio was hopeful in this task.
Of course other subjects would be mentioned and discussed the following days, but the trade proposal would be the offical reasoning behind Bellio's visit. The other subjects would be behind closed doors, so to speak.
Julian Ship Works, Tarrantia, Kingdom of Plebina
August 1815
The sound of hammers falling on metal, wood creaking and many other sounds could be heard from far down the harbour in Tarrantia. The Julian Ship Works lay in one of the poorer parts of the city, hidden away from the view of the middle and upper-classes. It was best that way, the owners thought; what horrid sight that establishment must have been if those who payed actually saw the conditions work was undertaken in.
The order from the Mininstry di cose navali of several new war ships had come as a pleasent surprise for the owners of the wharf; not so much for the workers. Because of the short time-frame, they had to cut corners, and not in the sense of lowering the quality of the ships. That was far out of the question. Instead it was the workers who had to pay.
-"HELP!"
The scream of a man in tremendous pain echoed throughout the East Wing of the wharf, following the sound of creaking wood finally snapping under the pressure and falling on said man. Workers flocked around the man and the mast, doing their best to lift the mast off him. It was all in vain though. The man died of bleeding within moments, leaving the other workers literarly standing in his blood as the supervisor finally arrived, all too late.
Soon the man was removed, but the workers were left to continue working on the same ship that had just killed the man. Luccio Garabaldi Carlo, loving husband and father of five, gone to Heaven in an early grave. For many this was just another tragedy in the line of work. For many others this was the last straw. Not long after the mast-incident, the workers began striking and demanding that this madness be stopped, one way or another.
That was how the Dockyard Riots of 1815 began. How it ended, that was another story for another day.
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Action 1: National Decision -
The Plebian Naval Act of 1815-
Action 2: Trade agreement-proposal to Osladian Empire
@Chairman Stein -
Action 3: Increase relations with Kingdom of Buccia (+3 relations)
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Naval Ship Assignment - Merchant escort in Inner Sea
- [
Demobilization] - [Mobilization]
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Research Priorities:
- Army (Medium)
- Navy (Normal)
- Industry (Medium)
- Social thought (Normal)
- Economics (Normal)
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