[Pilsner]

unfortunate local counts or other petty nobility - who were expected to put on a massive feast for the entire countryside that would virtually bankrupt the hosts. But that was actually part of the strategy.

Elizabeth I used state visits as a weapon against nobles she suspected of intrigue. They had a hard time plotting while she, and her retinue were at their home, and so long as she stayed tradition and honor demanded that they lay out kingly, umm, queenly, feasts and entertainment. By the time she left they were too busy staving off creditors to indulge in plotting.

[livius]

Well, feasting and economic depletion works too, and it’s sure a lot less bloody!