Cross: Yes, I was actually quite happy with that. It would have been hard to get a CB otherwise.
The Subjugation Wars - Part 1
Brabant's newest mission
's-Hertogenbosch, Royal Palace, 25-12-1377
It was Christmas Day. Queen Jeanne and her husband sat comfortably on a couch. A fire crackled in the fireplace, it was a comforting sound Jeanne thought. Her sons Antoine and Jean entered the room, bringing with them a cold gust of wind from outside. Antoine was 18 already and his brother Jean was two years younger.
''It's so cold outside, mother. We couldn't even touch our swords without gloves anymore.'' Antoine spoke while the two of them took of their coats and shawls.
''That might explain why we're inside near the fire. It hasn't been this cold outside in over twenty years. '' Jeanne said.
''And still father makes us practice our swordsmanship with captain de Bruxelles every day!'' Jean replied slightly annoyed.
Orland gave them a smile, ''One day the two of you will be in charge of this kingdom. We have to prepare you the best we can. With the full conquest of Holland we have doubled in size in a little more than twenty years. That's a lot of responsibility.''
Their sons sighed. ''We know father. Although I really do not see the point of studying philosophy! It's even more boring than Roman Law.'' Jean complained.
''Important nonetheless.'' Jeanne interrupted before Jean could complain on about how the need of studying outdated and unused law. ''However, since it's Christmas we did get you both a small present.''
Antoine and Jean were immediately silenced and awaited eagerly. Orland stood up and walked towards a desk in the corner of the room. He grabbed two boxes and gave them to Antoine and Jean. They opened them quickly. Inside of the boxes they found two beautifully handcrafted swords carrying the royal emblem of Brabant.
''A little fancier than the practice swords you've been using, aren't they?'' asked Jeanne.
''It's beautiful, mother. Thank you so much!'' Antoine said while testing the balance of the sword, which was perfect.
''That isn't the only thing we've got for you two though,'' Jeanne said ''You're both required to report to general Van der Most tomorrow at dawn. It's time to get into the real business.''
''What? We? In the army? Haha, that's a joke right?'' Jean laughed.
''Nope, you'll both be starting as lieutenants under the general's personal command tomorrow.'' Orland said.
Jean was about to start with a new protest but got interrupted by his brother. ''Getting real life military practice is important, young brother. We shall do as mother asks of us''
Jeanne smiled, she was very proud of both of her sons. ''The General will take personal care of your military education from here on. Since the army headquarters are quite close to the Palace you're both required to report here every Wednesday to continue the other parts of your education.'' she added.
Orland rose up once again. ''Let's go to dinner, our cooks have prepared a fine meal. Almost as good as the King of England's one, although we'll have to do with just two sheep instead of three hundred.''
Orland grabbed his wife's hand and led his family to the dining room, where their Christmas Dinner awaited.
The people of Holland enjoy Brabantine rule
New counting houses and markets are being constructed throughout the country
It was impossible to integrate Münster into Brabant before November 1380. The people of Münster were simply not used enough to the new rulers yet. This left Queen Jeanne with little else to do than to invest in the economy of her country. She ordered the construction of new markets and counting houses in Brussels and Breda.
It also allowed her to keep an eye out on what was happening abroad. The English just finished another of their petty wars again France and started some form of a Crusade. Their troops conquered parts of North-Africa and took lands in Northern Anatolia as well. Castille and Portugal were also embroiled in one of their feuds again.
War in North-Africa
Jeanne's cultural investments pay off
Münster gets integrated
Near the end of 1380 Münster was finally ready to be incorporated. Jeanne's main goal was to bring the region of Berg under direct control of Brabant. She and Orland had already decided to release Münster again as a duchy loyal to their crown, if they didn't the Holy Roman Emperor would probably get very upset.
For long Köln has been our ally, now it's time for them to become one
When the integration was complete they immediately got to their next goal. Cologne had been a long standing ally of Brabant, however recently complaints had begun to arrive. The Bishop of Köln seemed to be under the impression that the city didn't get rewarded well enough for their support against Scotland. Jeanne knew that if she paid the Bishop he would be silenced for a while, but sooner or later he'd be back for more. That left her with only one option, forcing eternal loyalty from Cologne.
That was however much easier said than done. A Burgundian diplomat had arrived last year, warning queen Jeanne that his Liege would not be pleased with more aggressive behaviour from Brabant. Thus they waited for the right time to come.
Münster gets released after integrating Berg in Brabant. They're now a Duchy instead of a Bishopric
A celebratory Jousting Tournament is held in Den Bosch
s-Hertogenbosch, Jousting fields, 05-02-1381
''We are down to our last two contestants of the day! On the left side of the field we have Prince Antoine! Facing off against him is no one less than the Mountain!'' shouted the presenter of the jousting tournament.
The Mountain was a huge man. Antoine thought he could very well be double his size in both length and width. To make things even worse the Mountain wore heavy plate armor and a shield the size of a small table.
''You go take him down brother, you can do it!'' Jean encouraged his older brother.
Antoine nodded once and climbed on his horse. A squire handed his lance and shield. He look to the huge grandstand surrounding the field and spotted his parents in the royal lounge.
''All participants stand ready! On the count of three! Three, two, one, go!'' the host shouted. A trumpet sounded at the go, drawing everyone's attention.
His horse stormed forward. He could hear the sound of thundering hoofs as he noticed the Mountain's horse was as oversized as he was himself. His helmet made it very difficult to keep a clear vision on the target. His best shot was to hit the Mountain in the chest, anything else he probably wouldn't even notice.
With a huge crash the two opponents met. Antoine could feel his spear shatter against the huge shield the Mountain carried. Then all of a sudden he was in mid air. For a brief moment he thought he was flying but then the reality hit him in the face, literally. He smacked against the ground, a stinging pain shooting up through his shield arm. When he finally dared to open his eyes he noticed his arm was bent in a way that should not have been possible. He vaguely noticed the host shouting something about the Mountain's victory before his brother appeared.
''Are you alive?!'' Jean asked worriedly.
It took Antoine a little while to reply. ''I just need a little rest.. and a bandage perhaps.''
A physician hurried towards the fallen prince, followed by a trail of assistants. ''We best get him inside the palace, his arm definitely needs to be set. ''
''You better hurry, I need to attend a party this evening,'' Antoine mumbled. ''There is this merchant's daughter I fancy.''
The physician gave him a stern look and ordered his assistants to take him inside.
Portugal has fallen
Brabantine Nobles demand compensation for the Jousting Tournament
Time has come to bring Cologne into the fold
The war against Cologne would start surprisingly easy. Cologne itself had just been attacked by a rebellious peasant army. They demanded more rights from their noble oppressors. This however proved to be a huge chance for Brabant. All of Cologne's allies abandoned the city state in its hour of need because they couldn't even keep their own population under control.
Cologne does not stand alone after all. Not shown: Gelre joining the war
Cologne's leaders weren't completely without help though. A month after the Declaration of War the city signed a secret pact with Brunswick. The German kingdom came to the aid of Cologne in exchange for a fair sum of money. However things wouldn't exactly turn out as planned.
After a three month winter siege, Cologne falls
Instead of marching his army to relieve the siege of Cologne, the king of Brunswick decided it was a better idea to attack Osnabruck and Friesland. This lift Cologne completely defenseless. The armies of Brabant had surrounded the city, securing most of the supplies before they could reach the city. This meant that the people of Cologne had virtually no army to speak of and little food to survive on. After three months the people rose up once again and opened the city gates to the attackers.
Gelre gets punished for joining the war
With Brunswick's army distracted in Friesland, Brabant quickly marched on Gelre and stormed the city walls of Arnhem. The result was fast and devastating. At least, for Gelre. Queen Jeanne showed no mercy for the leaders of Gelre. The little nation had annoyed Brabant too much already in its past. This time they had to pay with their freedom.
The current situation, Brunswick refuses to surrender
Brunswick, still convinced it could actually liberate Cologne from ''vile foreign oppressors'' still refused to surrender though. Their king did not seem to care that they were fighting for the very people who were besieging Hannover. Brunswick would have its victory though, Friesland would be unable to hold out any longer.
Friesland falls to Brunswick. However soon after Brunswick has to surrender unconditionally
With the fall of Friesland and the surrender of Brunswick the war of subjugation was finally completed. Brabant had managed to profit from it far greater than it had initially expected. Not only was Cologne vassalized, Gelre got annexed directly into Brabant and Brunswick had to pay with its own freedom.
Queen Jeanne had just ordered her army to return to s-Hertogenbosch when her husband convinced her of something. They now had three powerful vassals. However if they were to eventually take on Burgundy in the south three wasn't enough. Luckily for the royal couple, there were plenty of German City states in the east. More than enough to fill their needs.
Little did anyone know yet what was about to happen though. Anyone except for king Jean II de Valois perhaps..
Europe in 1385 AD
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For some random reason I keep getting subjugation CB's on everyone around me, so be prepared for some more parts in the Subjugation Wars.