Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Feb 9, 2015 10:00:22 GMT
Pyotr sat upon his throne, looking down and around at the various members of the Duma who had been sitting down and scratching their arses as the formal introductions were made. Many of the faces were new, many of them were Naryshkins, only a few Miloslavskys were dotted around. As the introductions and liturgy came to a conclusion Pyotr grabbed his club and stood, leaning on the gnarly club he began to address the Boyars:
"Lords and Ladies of the Duma, It is with heavy heart that I come before you today to make a request which many of you may find less than palatable. With the Dutch attack on Calais likely to trigger another major war in Europe and large Ottoman forces drawing away troops into the Caucasus I have come before you to request a new round of conscription. I would like to request that one in fifty able bodied men between the ages of 16-25 be conscripted into new regiments of the army. A one off local tax will be levied to arm and equip these infantry as regiments of the line, but the Moscow treasury will bear the cost of training and deploying these regiments. I understand that these are tough measures, and so out of gratitude for your loyalty the crown will offer some reparations for the men taken. I would also remind you of the rarity of conscription and the difficulties that Russia is currently facing."
Pyotr sat and waited for the response. Many of the Boyars had been subtly told that the Tsar was willing to negotiate on the size of the levy and would possibly settle for 1 in 100 or 1 in 75 men. They are however aware that the Tsar will expect to pay them a lower reparation for smaller forces.
If the Duma agrees to some level of conscription then the Tsar will lay out detailed plans for raising the troops and where they will be sent.
"Lords and Ladies of the Duma, It is with heavy heart that I come before you today to make a request which many of you may find less than palatable. With the Dutch attack on Calais likely to trigger another major war in Europe and large Ottoman forces drawing away troops into the Caucasus I have come before you to request a new round of conscription. I would like to request that one in fifty able bodied men between the ages of 16-25 be conscripted into new regiments of the army. A one off local tax will be levied to arm and equip these infantry as regiments of the line, but the Moscow treasury will bear the cost of training and deploying these regiments. I understand that these are tough measures, and so out of gratitude for your loyalty the crown will offer some reparations for the men taken. I would also remind you of the rarity of conscription and the difficulties that Russia is currently facing."
Pyotr sat and waited for the response. Many of the Boyars had been subtly told that the Tsar was willing to negotiate on the size of the levy and would possibly settle for 1 in 100 or 1 in 75 men. They are however aware that the Tsar will expect to pay them a lower reparation for smaller forces.
If the Duma agrees to some level of conscription then the Tsar will lay out detailed plans for raising the troops and where they will be sent.
