"What's this?"
"Your new officer's guide,
Protospatharios Tekosis. The codification of the new Byzantine Army's doctrine."
"Ah. So this is what you theoreticians do in your spare time. You come up with new ways for soldiers to fight a war."
"That's one way of putting it. The
basileus is intent on examination, investigation, and codification of military theory. He wants every
chiliarch, every
drungarios, every
merarch to have an understanding of what to do with what you have."
"But the situation on the ground in the military cannot simply have a rote answer for every possible circumstance! Not everything is the same! What similarity can be found in war? This, this
book presumes to know how to counter an opponent who is trying to do the same to you: foil your designs and allow his own to succeed?"
"No. It doesn't try to simply tell you what to do every single time. That, as you so eloquently put it, is rather foolish. Actually, this is more of a series of thoughts by our premier strategist on the way war works, that there are fundamental laws of war that are subject to some revision and change, and that war operates along these fundamental laws."
"What sort of laws?"
"Read the book, good sir.
Strategos Venizelos won at Aegae-"
"As countless books have reminded us."
"-and he knows a little something about the way warfare works. Aegae was a set-piece battle, and certainly he's fought guerrilla war-"
"What's that word? Sounds Portuguese."
"Spanish, actually."
"Hmm. What's it mean?...and how do you pronounce it?"
"It means, basically, a partisan. Guh-rill-uh."
"That's difficult to say."
"Not really. Never mind that. Anyway, this book,
Peripou Polemos, just talks about the great
strategos' experiences. Give it a try."
"Well...if this is what the Army wants..."
"And the Navy, too. It's mainly a strategic study, but can be helpful on the operational level."
"Fine. If it's what the military wants, then I suppose the commander of the Varangian Guard has to go with it."
"Excellent! Good work. Would you mind letting me know if there are any major oversights or complete errors - in your opinion - in the book?"
"Yes, I suppose it's my duty. Or something along those lines. Speaking of duty, I had better get moving. We're still practicing for the independence day parade near the Hippodrome."
"Good luck then, and God bless."
--------
OOC: Krimzon:
-Janissary revolt in Ottoman Empire,
turn I. They attempt to establish a nation in Serbia.
-Greek uprising (and riot in Athens) sparks general uprising among European populace in the Ottoman Empire. Russia and France threaten Ottoman empire with invasion if they fail to withdraw from predominantly Orthodox areas.
-Ottomans fail to send orders and don't withdraw. Venice seizes what is now Serbia. Greek rebels are the only remaining rebel faction. Ottomans pushed out of Europe. Russia takes "Tsargrad" (Constantinople).
Turn II.
-Serbs sign treaties basically making them a satellite state of Russia, Venice is destroyed,
Turn III.
-Krakow assists Serb rebels and creates a Krakow-friendly government in Serbia, which joins the Union,
Turn IV.
-Russia threatens Krakow with general war. Krakow offers withdrawal plan in Serbia.
now i will be know as the spas parrow man who chickened out and seced land to big meanie russia 
