When the levee breaks...
September, 1066 (Continued): In preparation for war, Duke Murchad institutes a new law, increasing the number of feudal levies required from each lord of Munster in a time of conflict.
I have a set of laws I can mess with relating to taxation, troop levies, and eventually (once I'm king), how much autonomy my vassals have. I can only change one law every ten years, and this one will simply force my bannermen to send me more troops when I ask... at the cost of making them all slightly more annoyed.
To counter this, I've granted Ragnvald an honorary title. These are a set of functionally meaningless appellations I can give to anyone in my court to improve their opinion of me. I've given him the most important one: Cupbearer, to get the maximum gain. Along with the title, I've sent a gift of gold to further sweeten the deal.
That's better. Now County Ormond is offering me 94 men. It's still a fraction of what they could muster, but it's acceptable for now.
As soon as preparations are in place, Duke Murchad declares war on the Earl of Desmond for his rightful claim. The Duchy of Munster raises 370 footmen and archers, and 19 horsemen. Led by Duke Murchad himself, Mayor Dúngal of Limerick, and Lord Mayor Ragnvald of Ormond, they march for Desmond at dawn.
And that's all before I even hit “go” on CK2's pausable, real-time clock. Yes, all of that happened in the space of a day. Only about 154,000 more to go! Buckle in.
NEXT WEEK: I press my claim on Desmond, and discover whether or not those Viking princesses find my son and me fit for marriage.
