Taxman's Conspiracy

The Taxman's Conspiracy of 1546-1547 was what appeared to be a planned insurrection by militant Savoyards loyal to the Principality of Savoy, including Peremonters and the criminal group known as the Jackals, against John I. Instigated partially by ethnic tensions which had been brewing over the past twenty years since the death of the last Savoyard king, Guy de Bar, numerous other factors coalesced to inspire anti-Imperial sentiment within the Savoyard realms, who were already notorious for their disdain for the customary Johannian autocracy. The emperor's ongoing dispute with Rhys Roke over the legal status of his marriage combined with Savoy's refusal to pay any form of taxes to the Imperial crown engendered the conspiracy, which aimed to assassinate the Emperor and divide the Empire into its constituent, independent provinces. It occurred simultaneously to the Eighteen Years' War, forcing the Emperor to deescalate that conflict and reallocate necessary resources when the rebellious Savoyards withdrew both their military and tax support for the war. Ultimately, John was slain anyway while campaigning in the south, averting the conspiracy as peace with the insurrectionists was made by his son, John II, who managed to therefore preserve the Empire.

Historians widely believe that the Taxman's Conspiracy is what drew the Eighteen Years' War to a stalemate, preventing the Empire from ever achieving total victory over the dwarves.