Integrating conquered territories, giving them more appointments in the bureaucracy, most obvious bribes. They are chiefly interested in retrenchment not as an end in itself but as a means to the end of attacking Yang and/or Liang to play for mastery of China; they believe that state finances and military resources need to be built up before any war can be contemplated.
The merchantry control most of it. So, no.Kraznaya said:
Much the same way they did in OTL. Take a look, for instance, at the famous Cao family. The Liang also rather sneakily have the advantage of justifying their corvee labor through Daoism; repairing roads can be and has been called 'sacred to the Way'. They also have constructed 'quiet rooms' in major cities in which people can meditate and do penance. It's mostly an assortment of 'little things'.Kraznaya said:
Actually, somewhat confused ones. The Liang dynast still claims to be Son of Heaven, and absolutely forbids worship of deities like the Queen Mother. But that "absolutely" is done with a bit of a wink and a nod these days. The whole thing needs a new formulation.Kraznaya said:
I could!
...and will.
Ceredigion: the king of Ceredigion is the most powerful of the Cambrian rulers in military terms. This is mostly because he hasn't had to waste his valuable blood and treasure fighting the Rygi. He's also got the best connections with everybody else. He tends to push wars with the Rygi because he won't have to be the one to fight them, unless things get really ugly.
Powys: the king of Powys is a constant rival of his Ceredigian neighbor, both due to trivial friction (you stole my
Dyfnaint: the king of Dyfnaint is chomping at the bit to fight the Rygi, and is pissed that peace is prevailing. He tends to fear Rygi power, being on the front lines and all. Think of him like a Cato the Censor. That's his main issue, though he also supports expanding the common navy.
Elmet: the king of Elmet is both weak and close to the Rygi. He tends to shy away from any wars with them and is the most supportive of increasing the size of the common army.
Rheged: the king of Rheged is far enough from the Rygi not to have to worry about getting screwed in most wars with them, but weak enough to be forced to fight by the Ceredigian king. They tend to support fighting with Ystrad Clud as well, on a low-level "let's plunder them gaise" basis, but it's not exactly a critical plank in their policy.
As you can see, most of the factions' kings' opinions on stuff have to do with a) common military forces and policy and b) common diplomatic policy, because those are the only issues actually handled by the Council. In all other respects the kings tend to be independent, though the Council may serve as an arbitrator between any two of them on a mutual dispute.
Hey, I'm still here.
