912 - 935: Reform and Reinforce
Konrad’s reign began with great reform. As promised, he abolished the vastly unpopular “two-thirds rule” implemented by the Hohenzollern dynasty. In the statute written by his ministers:
Shall it be Henceforth Known, that on this day, the Twenty-fourth of June in this Year of Nine Hundred and Thirteen Anto Domini, In The Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ, all Future elections carried out by the Nobles of Germany, in what is known as Reichstag, shall be Decided by an clear majority, and that no Candidate with a valid claim to the Kingdom of Germany shall be Denied this opportunity.
A militia was trained in Berlin. It was to serve as a deterrent to future attacks by neighboring powers. Although ambitious in thought, Germany lacked, at the time being, the proper materials to produce quality swords and armor, so the soldiers had to cope with makeshift clubs.
Konrad sent his diplomats to improve relations with the Dutch. Included in these attempts were a rite-of-passage agreement, allowing both nations to explore the other’s territory, and the purchase of Dutch shipbuilding techniques. A serf, whose name was long lost to history, was taken back to Hamburg to teach the shipwrights there the Dutch technique.
Meanwhile, work began on the iron reserves in the Rhineland. Work was expected to last 13-18 years.
The first troops were trained at Berlin, though lacking some basic equipment. The first of many, Konrad’s advisors promised.
By this time, Konrad had become far too sickly to make many appearances far from the palace. His aides began to have increased say in the nation’s policy. The king’s head diplomat, Ernst Karling, (Or “Raupe,” as some called him) took it upon himself to organize a visit to the court of Charles III, the king of France. The negotiations would take an excruciating three months, as both parties attempted to haggle, but to no avail. The height of futility was highlighted during the last several weeks. Ambassadors from Germany desperately wished to acquire the vast collection of astronomical information France had to offer. Charles, a tall, intimidating man standing well above anyone else at the conference table, refused to simply “give away” his collection. The counter-offer’s price was much too hefty for Raupe, and a standstill ensued. At one point, a French diplomat wrote, “We wouldn’t give them [the Germans] a box of radishes for what their offer entails.” Eventually, the diplomats went home with little to nothing to show for their months of work.
The iron mines in Frankfurt were completed ahead of schedule. This was splendid news for Konrad, and, even in his ailing health, he decided to go visit the site himself. After taking a tour of the forges, Konrad caught a rather nasty bout of pneumonia. Miraculously, he recovered from his illness, but he was never the same.
Konrad subsisted off water and saltines for nearly two years, a shell of his former self. He was never really in a great physical shape in his 23 year reign as king, but if he was compared from his coronation to the hours before his death, a great difference could be seen. Formerly of a rather portly physique, his ribs could now be seen poking out against his chest. Konrad’s own personal tailor had to import special clothes from a dwarf colony in Sweden to fit Konrad’s waist. The king’s anorexia was so devastating that in his last three months, he rarely even got up from his bed to do anything besides eating and urinating, both very uncommon. His doctors tried to convince him to eat, but at age 92, it was futile. He was taken to heaven on July 22nd, 935 A.D.
The State of the empire upon Konrad’s death: