• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
stnylan Yes, they were lucky, but as you say this will surly give Jean a shining start in the eyes of several important people…



J. Passepartout Sometimes one has be to be lucky and they were this time. Yes, it was a dangerous distraction, but it worked and that is what is important.



All We leave Jean and his friend for now after they have rescued Richard. We are heading south to meet everyone’s favourite red menace and see what he is planning to do with this war… Should have it ready in a couple of minutes.
 
The Great Duck said:
Really good!
Keep it up!
Thanks :) New update is ready now...
 




picturecbloisrobidaii0.jpg



28 July 1625
Blois, France





The Cardinal was eyeing the lieutenant very carefully. After having spent weeks close to Blois encamped and waiting it seemed like good news were arriving at last. The Cardinal had now been staring at the lieutenant for close to three minutes and Richelieu could see that the man was sweating, it was clear that standing in front of the Cardinal was not something the man was enjoying. On the man’s forehead Richelieu noticed several drops of sweat were pouring down to his face and he could see that the man felt very uncomfortable. Slowly the Cardinal moved his hands together and nodded to the lieutenant.




”So lieutenant I hear you bring news from the front?”




”Eh… eh… Y…ye…yes Your Eminence. I was sent here to inform Your Eminence that we have located a small Huguenot force to the south close to Montlucon…”



” Montlucon you say?




The Cardinal slowly sat back in his chair with a large, cunning smile on his mouth




”Yes, Your Eminence. We came upon their camp in the early morning just two kilometres west of Montlucon… It seemed like a small force of cavalry Your Eminence, nothing more than a couple of hundred men…”



”Splendid… Thank you lieutenant you may leave…

Oh just one more thing… I hope some of your men are still there watching the enemy to avoid them getting away?”




”Of course Your Eminence, Tremoille sent me to Your Eminence with twenty men, but he kept thirty men with him to keep the enemy watched…”



”Tremoille… I see… A very wise move from him indeed. Thank you lieutenant, prepare your men to move out soon, you may leave!”




As the man left the room the Cardinal sat back in his chair watching the huge map of France he had on his wall. Montlucon was situated about 190 kilometres to the south; if he was able to move the army quickly he could hope to catch the Huguenot force in early August. The Cardinal smiled, he had got an even better idea. If he moved the army south now he might trap the Huguenots closing their way back to Huguenot provinces.

Standing up the Cardinal walks across the room to the large map on the wall. His eyes looks closely at the map for a long time before he gets forward a knife and stabs it into the map between Poitiers and Limoges.




”So you think you are so wise taking the war to me Rohan… I will show you that the Cardinal is even smarter, I will stop you here once and for all!


Turning his back to the map where the knife is still standing in the map the Cardinal starts laughing a demonic laughter. The Cardinal continued laughing as he moved out of the room, outside the room De Rousselet was sitting. As he saw the Cardinals’ face and heard the demonic laughter De Rousselet started smiling also.



“I think Your Eminence has a plan?”



”Indeed, I do De Rousselet, indeed I do.



Prepare the army, we move out in one hour…I have got him now, we march south, south to crush this heathen and his rebellion once and for all!”
 
The Cardinal still has one piece (or likely more than once piece) of information he's not telling people. He would not be so precipitous I feel unless news of this small cavalry force pressaged something he had been expecting.
 
The Cardinal is over confident. Trust me something is going to go wrong. ;)

Joe
 
stnylan The Cardinal always has hidden information and a hidden agenda…


J. Passepartout I think the plan is pretty good yes, and well bad guy that depends on how you look at it… after all Rohan and his men are rebels



Storey You are correct, but it is not the Cardinal who is the first to make a wrong move… but something is soon to go very wrong



All Time to get this war on the road I think. We head south to catch up with the French vanguard and an overconfident general who has decided to attack the enemy before the main army had managed to catch up with him. And then suddenly dust is seen in the distance…
 




suzapass2po0.jpg




10 August 1625

East of Lyon, France




The smell of gun powered filled the air. It was a hot day in late summer in France and for the soldiers the smoke and the gun powered made conditions even worse. The heath made it horrible to fight and the sweat made sure the gun powdered got sticky and got onto their bodies.

From where the French commander stood it seemed only to be a couple of hundred men down there and that had been his main reason to launch the attack instead of waiting until Cardinal Richelieu could arrive with the main army. Knowing that the Cardinal wanted the rebels destroyed once and for all General Jean Louis Sarmont had decided to send his small infantry force to engage the rebels. Now he stood overlooking the battle that was developing, smiling the general could see the rebel forces start to give way as his infantry pressed forward their attack.

Sarmont smiled when he turned to his cavalry and was about to prepare for the cavalry charge that he felt confident would destroy the rebel forces once and for all. It was then the general was got aware of a large cloud of dust approaching from the left side of the enemy front. Sarmont halted his charge order and instead he moved closer to the top of the hill to take a closer look, he had sent a messenger to the Cardinal earlier that morning informing him of his intention to attack, but having received no reply Sarmont was surprised to see the army arrive at the battle already.





”What do you make of this Nicolas; your eyes are young… Now tell met he colour of their banners.”



“I am not sure monsieur General… they look white, but I wouldn’t swear on it… Shall I recall Tremoille’s infantry from the hill?”



”If there are indeed white His Eminence has arrived already, that was early… No, leave Tremoille’s company where it is. As a matter of fact send word to Tremoille that I am very displease by his lack of speed, I ordered that fortified position on the hill take two hours ago and he still haven’t been able to take it…”



“I shall inform monsieur Tremoille at once monsieur General!”



”Monsieur Henry… prepare your company… I intend to end this before His Eminence can arrive and steal all the honour! If you strike hard into their right flank monsieur I am sure they will break and I will personally command the cavalry in the last charge making sure this rebellion ends here!”




”My men are ready monsieur General!”




”Nicolas… keep the approaching force under watch will you. Inform me when His Eminence is close enough for me to secure the battle just before he arrives and then we shall see who the King makes Marshal of France…”



“Of course monsieur General. Victory will surly be yours monsieur.”



”Of course it will Nicolas, of course it will. General Sarmont is always victorious!”




Smiling the General turns once more to his cavalry and prepares his men once more for the charge, it is just as he is about to start the attack that he suddenly sees the banners of the approaching force more clearly.”




”Monsieur Henry… Is that what I think it is?”



“Monsieur General, monsieur General… it is not our force, it is the Duke of Rohan and he looks like several thousand men!”



”Damn it!”



“What to do monsieur General, what to do… we are trapped here!”



”Indeed Nicolas we are trapped it seems, but we will fight to the end…”
 
The problem that Cardinal has is that his pawns insist on thinking for themselves, and no matter how much he calculates those thoughts into his plans some of them will, inevitably, be so much spanner in his fine works!
 
stnylan Indeed, that is always the problem of great minds isn’t it. You can’t be everywhere and you can’t control everything so you need to have some people working for you and often they can indeed make mistakes…



kingmbutu That would perhaps be better… I don’t think the Cardinal would have allowed himself to be captured like this.


J. Passepartout This army is defeated indeed, the rebels managed to capture my forces between them much earlier than I had though, I was actually surprise to see the large rebel force that fell upon my small scouting force… The Huguenots will be put down, but it seems like it will take a lot longer than originally planned…


All No point in delaying it I think… let us just see how this battle develops shall we? The update is ready in a minute.
 




suzapass2po0.jpg




10 August 1625

East of Lyon, France




General Sarmont was fighting for his life. They had been taken by surprise by Rohan’s army and Rohan had fallen upon Sarmont’s position without the general being able to do anything to avoid it. Having been caught between the two rebel armies there was nothing else to do than stand and fight.

As the sent his sword quickly into the head of the man in front of his horse the general looked around and saw his men fighting. Tremoille’s company was still holding the hill top having fortified themselves on the top, on his left Monsieur Henry’s company were still holding their position, but the general could see that they were hard pressed. Down in the valley his main forces had almost managed to push back the first rebel force, but now that the main rebel army had arrived Sarmont had been forced to pull back his forces to try to defend his position on the hilltop. But the main force had still not been able to get away from the rebels in the valley and now that they had seen Rohan and the main force had arrived they were no longer giving way but pushing forward against the French forces.

The general sent his sword into the right arm of the man on the left side of his horse and then turned to sent it into the skull of the man of his left side. Then he could see two pike men approach obviously trying to get him off his horse. Kicking his horse Sarmont could feel the horse jump kicking both the men behind him as it started galloping forward.




”FOR KING LOUIS! TO ME!”


“FOLLOW THE GENERAL. LONG LIVE THE KING!”



As Sarmont’s horse moved quickly forward he could see his companions also kicked their horses and got them moving forward out of the melee they were currently trapped in. The infantry was kicked and stepped down by the horses, but the general could also notice that several of his men were dragged from their horses and stabbed to death by the rebels.

Feeling his horse get more and more speed the general could see that he was getting away from the attackers. To his left he could see Monsieur Henry had also got out of the group of infantry, but as Sarmont watched he could see the man fell forward. It was then Sarmont noticed that Henry’s entire chest was bloody and as he watched he could see several infantry men stab Henry again and again and again while the man was dead on the ground. It was blood everywhere.

More and more infantry were coming against them and Sarmont could see that most of his main force had been surrounded down in the valley. As the rebel forces closed in on them Sarmont could watch as more and more of his men fell and the rebels overwhelmed their positions, the last thing he could see was the white French colours in the middle of the ocean of fighting men and the seconds later the flag was down. The army had been destroyed.

Turning around Sarmont could see that only about twenty-five of his cavalry men were still fighting, up on the hilltop Tremoille’s company were still holding there ground having defeated several attacks launched by the rebels. Just as Sarmont turned once more to look around the situation he suddenly noticed he had been surrounded by cavalry. His men were fighting and dying all around him and he was in the middle. It was time to act.




”WE FIGHT TO THE END MEN. LONG LIVE KING LOUIS!”



“LONG LIVE THE KING!”


With those words the last reaming men charged forward. Stabbing and hitting on every side they managed to kill several rebels, but more and more rebels surrounded them. Sarmont felt his horse fell under him and it was then he noticed that several pikes had been sent into the horse’s stomach. He fell to the ground landing on top of an already dead friend, the face was trashed having been destroyed by a sword that had gone right through the skull, but as Sarmont is on top of the body he suddenly realises it is Nicolas, his faithful second in command had already fallen, given his life for France.

Feeling another man fell on top of him Sarmont quickly grabs his sword and gets up. His face was filled with blood and he couldn’t see clearly anymore, but he just trashed forward sending his sword left and right killing all that got in his way. But it couldn’t last. Suddenly he feels something cold in his left side and then the blood start pouring out, as he fells to the ground he can see a lot of rebel gathers around with their weapons ready to strike. As they moved their swords up ready to strike Sarmont started to pray.



”God have mercy on me, I will see you all in heaven. Long live the Kin…”
 
Last edited:
Excellent battle there, though I wonder if there is a set-up here.

Oh, and there is a rather amusing typo I rather suspect you will want to correct. The final line:

Sarmont said:
”God have mercy on my sole, I will see you all in heaven. Long live the Kin…”
Clearly his feet must be very holy!
 
The Cardinal will not be pleased at this turn of events. Speaking of which, where is our cardinal? ;)

Joe
 
stnylan It was an interesting battle and I have to admit I was taken by surprise. I got pretty angry when my entire regiment was destroyed and I was unable to do anything as the main army wasn’t going to get there on time…

Now that was a typo :eek: Guess I didn’t read through that update well enough.. fixed now ;)


Storey He will be very displeased I think. Especially seeing that only five days later our dear Cardinal is right here on the field of battle and defeat…



J. Passepartout At the moment it seems like there is more annoying for the Cardinal than there is Huguenot/rebel kicking… but I hope to alter that in time


All I have to admit I got very angry when my entire regiment was destroyed by the rebels like that especially since the main army was still marching and had no chance of getting there on time, and when it arrived the rebels had already moved on… But as Storey asked for the Cardinal I think it is time to return to the field of defeat and see the Cardinal’s reaction and plans for the future…

I am working on the next update now and should have it posted soon.
 




suzapass2po0.jpg




15 August 1625

East of Lyon, France





Cardinal Richelieu was in a bad mood. They had arrived too late. Slowly he moved his hand down from his eyes and turned his horse around. The smoke, the stench of bodies and the destroyed French colours told a tale Richelieu didn’t like. Sarmont had allowed himself to be trapped and because of this the entire French vanguard 800 infantry and 200 cavalry had been destroyed by the enemy force.




” I told him to wait…


Damn you Rohan, you play this game much better than I had thought, much better indeed… but I will get you, I can promise you that much…”





“I presume Your Eminence wants to continue the hunt? Rohan can’t be far away now… surely he wouldn’t be so silly as to try to attack Lyon?”




”Ah de Rousselet no he won’t be as silly as to try to tackle the walls of Lyon… but there are some in that city who wants to aid him in taking it…”




“Do you mean traitors in Lyon Your Eminence? Shall I make sure the city is purged… I will be more than happy to restore some kind of order. It has been too long since I last had the pleasure of taking care of rebels…”




”Control your lust for blood se Rousselet, we are standing on a field of death. You should have some respect for the dead.

God have mercy on you…


No, I intend to send some old friends of ours to Lyon to look into the matter… Also there is no reason for His Majesty to stay here. I am sure we can persuade him to go to Lyon also.”




“But what if the rebels attacks, what if His Majesty is taken prisoner or killed… ”



”Trust me de Rousselet it won’t come to that… but he might be used as bait!

Let us just pray the Duke will go for the bait…


As I said I will send some old friends to Lyon. They have saved the King once and I think they will protect him this time also. Young de Nogaret seems to have a certain expertise in getting people in and out of tricky situations… ”





“So you are sending them to Lyon… I must object...”




”Silence!
I will not have this… remember De Rousselet I know the situation much better than you and they will go with the King to Lyon and see if they can smoke out the traitors.

I can’t possibly send you, there isn’t a Huguenot in France who doesn’t know who you are, and who you work for. You wouldn’t even be able to get pasted the city gates before they knew about your arrival… No it wouldn’t work, my mind is made up.

Besides I need you to travel north and find out what happened to Buckingham’s secretary…”





“I thought the Baron accompanied him to the coast and then he sailed back to England…”



”In cases like this you are not to think, you are to know!”

Now send word to the Marshal, he will accompany His Majesty to Lyon with the Royal Musketeers and Monsieur de Coligny’s and Monsieur de Valet’s companies. And give this to Baron de Coligny will you, I am certain the Baron will understand my orders…. And if he don’t you make sure he do…”




“Certainly Your Eminence!”




The Cardinal cast one last look on the scene of death and defeat, feeling the stench of death filling his nose the Cardinal sets up an annoyed face. Then Richelieu turned around and left the field of defeat behind slowly riding back down the hill to the army encamped in the valley on the other side. Behind him locals were already at work digging graves and pillaging the corpses, casting one last look Richelieu signalled to a sergeant to bring a group of soldiers up and stop the pillagers and make sure they buried all the bodies.

As he entered his tent a little later the Cardinal felt exhausted, the death and horror he had seen on the hill was not a scene he wanted to see again. Exhausted the Cardinal fell to sleep on his bed.