The szlachta Diet of 1649

Baron Konrad felt that he had the upper hand with his declaration, signatures from the Owijać-Drewna szlachta and his show of force with his battalion of veterans.

Formal points of order and a number of balls were held to fete the end of the Thirty Years War. In combination they made the needed delay to keep the final declaration of a call to vote for the new Duke put off until July 1649, when the Coronet Korps was within 2 days march of their homes in Coronet.

Pułkownik Ludwik, made a grand entrance into a ball the night before the Diet was to vote on the Duke, he was formally named to the szlachta, agreed to even by Konrad whom was equally aware of the exploits of the Coronet Korps. Ludwik was to participate in the vote the next day.

Unknown to Konrad was the proximity of Coronet Korps (they were in-fact only 4 hours away!).

The other szlachta agreed that the show of force and unilateral declarations of Konrad were wrong. That a balace was needed, Pułkownik Ludwik, politely pointed out that he wanted no part of the politics, that he wished only to see prosperity return to all of Mieczyslaw. To that end he would not enter the hall in Coronet so long as a the question of the Duke remained unanswered, that he would lead the Coronet Korps into the town to provide a balance to Konrad's veterans and ensure that a peaceful transition to power was accorded to whomever the Diet selected as the new Duke.

Konrad was aghast when he heard the massed drum-beat of the Coronet Korps as they entered the town to the cheers of thier fellows! It was a morning of much excitment as the szlachta assembled in the great Hall. Konrad arrived with his escort, much less assured of his coronation that he was only weeks before.

Once the hall re-opened, it was not Konrad whom had been selected as Duke, Konrad was the fourth szlachta to leave the hall and he was to leave the town before nightfall, none would say why Konrad left so quickly, only that he was honor-bound to take that action. Few of his veterans left with him as the celebrations and balls continued all summer long.

The new Duke of Mieczyslaw Czeslaw ewa Jerzy formerly a minor noble, whom had developed ties to the English court and Hanoverian noble families during his service in the Netherlands. Being only 23 years old he was the youngest elected Duke to date. His election was yet to be confirmed by other noble houses, but the support of the szlachta that had met in Bavaria assured that Maximilian I would support the new ruler of Mieczyslaw.