[D4, EN, Closed] Hands Across the Water

[Simon IV de Montfort]

Simon nodded, reinforcing Llywelyn's idea.

His own connections, sadly, had not been properly sorted - he had been called up before he could truly organise his father's estate.

[Andre l'Ecrivain]

Andre, being a second son, is far out of the loop in such things. He says "I do not, my king," and hangs his head slightly.

[King Richard Lionheart]

Richard considers for a moment. "Yes, the Queen would make sense. Right."

[William Longchamp]

Longchamp looks up from where he has been taking minutes.

So the plan is: hire Danish shipping to supplement that provided by our own people. These will travel from England unloaded with troops to join us in Provence. In the mean-time, form a treaty of cooperation with the Aragonese to round out the shipping. This neatly solves the issue of Greek interference, as they will not wish to challenge so large a fleet, and the Genoese and Venetians will be left out unless they wish to crusade for true piety, rather than mercenary gain."

"With the shipping of three realms, with the French using their own, we will sail across the Mediterranean, pausing for provision and watering only in Messina, from where we will sail to Tyre, from there to march to conclude the siege of Acre and link up with the forces of the Emperor and Lusignan."

[King Richard Lionheart]

"Any refinements?" Richard tosses out to the room.

[Andre l'Ecrivain]

"My lord Chancellor has the thrust of it, methinks," Andre says, since he has been addressed.

[Llywelyn mab Iorwerth]

"Only one, your Grace." Llwelyn feels a bit more at ease right now. "It seems that we have armies raised from across Europe to retake the Holy Land, all originating from different points and leaving from different ports. Has there been a meeting place established to muster the combined forces before arriving in Outremer? General tactics dictate that it is best to keep our forces as whole as possible. While I am sure that some delays are impossible, such as ships going off course or sinking, one large convoy would mean that the bulk of force arrives whole and decisively rather than risking arriving in staggered groups."

[William de Mandeville]

"The armies of England and of France will depart from Provence and land once at Messina, where we may pick up some of your Grace's sister's people," Essex says, "before landing at Tyre. There is not much we can do about the German army, as it is progressing by land, but we are told that it will be about the size of our army joined with France. There is the matter of sustaining such large forces on the countryside of Outremer, which is dry and hard, so any campaign will need to be decisive quickly."

[Simon IV de Montfort]

Simon nods, before thinking.

"Are there any ports of call near Outremer we could rely on to establish a forward base within? Perhaps if we could procure a local foothold, we could barter for local supplies while we march onwards."

[William de Mandeville]

Essex, again. "The Armenians in Cilicia were helpful in years past, but I hear that the Seljuks are giving them troubles of their own. Cyprus is nearby, but it is Greek and is ruled by a Komnenos."