Rise of the Mecklenburg Empire

[History_Buff]

Worrying stuff. I hope it turns out to be nothing too difficult to fix with regards to your PC. No rush with the updates either, real life matters always come first. As for the last update though; cracking stuff. I was a bit surprised that you allowed Eric Askanier to go free when reading that part, but then noted your explanation at the end about the game itself allowing him to go free (EU3 is far too merciful...). Very good gains, the initial gamble has paid off spectacularly and it is especially pleasing to see Magdelana humbled. Now onwards, computer permitting, to yet more glory!

I shall bring ever more glory to Mecklenburg soon enough.


Alright, the computer issue has been addressed, my classes are concluded, and I do not work today, so that means, time for an update. There will be no screenshots for this one because it covers two rather uneventful years. Hopefully I shall make it interesting for you readers.

3 April, 1401 Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Ulrich von Mecklenburg was ecstatic. while he had not added any territory to Mecklenburg, he had expanded its influence immensely. He had secured a Personal Union with neighboring Saxe-Launenburg and, as the sole heir to the throne, any child that he and Amalia might have would inherit the nation. Brunswick and its ruler, Hendrick Milde von Welf, once hated rivals, were now obedient vassals. For all appearances, Brunswick was behaving for the time being. However, he was no fool. He knew the only reason they remained well behaved was because of Munster to their west. As long as Munster continued to support Mecklenburg, Brunswick had no chance at beating them. However, alliances tended to be fickle and he realized he needed to either increase his own power relative to theirs or else find another strong vassal to counterbalance against Brunswick. He made a note to consult Gustav about that the next time he saw him.

Magdeburg had also been forced into vassalization, however, unlike Brunswick, they were much more loyal. They were outmatched by Mecklenburg and they knew it. They also knew that the only reason that they had not been annexed was that Mecklenburg had not been the ones to occupy their lands. It was only a matter of time before Ulrich tried to annex them formally and they knew it.

The only black mark was that he had as of yet still failed to produce an heir to the throne. Even this, however, seemed to be a temporary situation, as Amalia seemed to have returned to her old self after the fall of Magdelena. She seemed much happier now and she and Ulrich were getting along remarkably well. The more time he spent with her, the more he also came to realize how clever she was. She had started offering small bits of advice on occasion in councils and, while she was told by Ulrich and Gustav politely and Heinrich less politely, that women were not generally supposed to speak in council, all three admitted that her ideas often held a fair bit of merit. He hoped that this intelligence would be passed to whatever child the couple had, but one never could tell with such things.

As he was thinking about the issue of the heir to the throne, his sister, Andrea, entered the room.

Andrea was 16 and was the talk of the court recently. She had just recently come of age and already their was talk of whom she was to marry. It did not help that as long as he currently had no heir, whoever married her would become the heir apparent to the Mecklenburg throne. As such, she was flocked by suitors day and night, from all the myriad courts of Europe. However, she had refused them all and Ulrich did not want to force her into marrying one of them. Privately, Ulrich thought he knew why she refused them. Growing up, she and Gustav, who was only 18, being the youngest of the three friends, had seemed to fancy each other. Recently, he believed that this may have turned into something more serious but he had not yet asked either of them about it yet.

"Hello brother, I take it everything is going well today"

"Yes it is Andrea, I was just thinking on my recent war."

"Then it is good I came down when I did, knowing you, if you think about it to much, your like to decide you like it and start another one right away."

At this, both brother and sister laughed. They had always been quite close and that was part of the reason that Ulrich refused to force her into a marriage, even though he knew she would probably not openly object to it.

It was then that Gustav also entered the room

"Ah, Ulrich, it is good that I found you, I was just coming to deliver this report and - oh, good afternoon Andrea, I hadn't noticed you there."

It was then that Ulrich realized that this was the perfect time to bring up the recent rumor, as the three of them were the only ones in the room.

"The report can wait for now, First, I have something I would like to ask you Gustav".

"Yes, sire, how may I be of service"

"There is a rumor circulating of late that you have taking a liking to my sister here. I would like to know whether their is any truth to this rumor".

The moment that he asked the question, both of them turned the brightest shade of red Ulrich had ever seen, and he knew he had his answer. As Gustav was struggling to come up with a way to answer the question, Ulrich spoke.

"There is no need to answer, I can see from your faces, which look like they have been out in the sun a little too long at the moment, that it is true. Do not worry, for I am not angry. In fact, I have another question for you Gustav. Would you like to marry my sister?

At this, Gustav was visibly shocked, he had thought he was in serious trouble. He expected to be scolded at the least and jailed at worst, but this he had not expected. After fumbling for words for a few minutes, he finally spoke up.

"Your grace, I would be honored to take your sisters hand in marriage, but I have to ask, why chose me? To be sure, I am a Count, but I am far from the largest landholder in the country and I hear tell that foreign rulers have been courting her, so why choose me among all these candidates?

"The answer is simple Gustav. You are the only one of them that I trust. The foreign rulers merely have their eyes on my crown should I die childless as do many of the domestic suitors. You, however, legitimately seem to care for my sister, if the rumor is indeed true, and I can trust you to carry on my legacy should the worst come to pass."

"Very well, old friend, as you say, I do indeed care very deeply for your sister and would be honored to have her hand in marriage and should the worst happen, I vow to carry on your legacy and make Mecklenburg a power to be reckoned with.

"Very well, I shall announce the engagement immediately. The marriage shall happen at the end of next month. Is this to your liking?"

"It is sire, now, if I may, I will return to the business I came to discuss."

Gustav then commenced with his report, though, to be far, his mind was most decidedly elsewhere. In just one month, he would be married to the woman he had fancied since he was a child and who he had recently come to love. However, he had never dreamed that he would actually be marrying her. He was simply not important enough outside of his post at the court. Now, he realized, all of his efforts had finally been rewarded.

A few weeks later. Schwerin castle.

This was the happiest moment of King Ulrich's life. As he stood there by his wife's side smiling, holding his newborn son in his hands, he had an immense feeling of pride.

As he stood their, looking at his newborn son, he knew he would make a mighty King. He looked strong, though who could be sure of such things where newborns are concerned, and if he inherited his mother's, or his, brains, he would make quite a King indeed. However, that was in the future, and who knew what this boy might turn out to be *. He handed his son back to his loving wife Amalia, who then held him close and smiled again.

Around him, his friends and advisors looked on with equal joy. Both Heinrich and Gustave were supremely happy for their King. Finally, he had a son, one who would hopefully grow to be a worthy heir. Gustav's own wife, Andrea, was currently pregnant and he waited with baited breath for the day that he could share his King's joy. He hoped the two children would grow to be just as good of friends as their father's were. Heirnich, on the other hand, could only imagine how his friend was feeling, still being a bachelor himself. He was, however, supremely happy for his oldest friend to finally have a son of his own

Thus did Mecklenburg gain a new heir to the throne. The King could now rejoice in the knowledge that his line would continue.


August 16, 1401 Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Heinrich was beginning to get frustrated. He had been working for months to find a possible route of expansion and it just wasn't working. There was still as of yet no country that looked ripe for easy expansion. He was even more frustrated when he though of how high Gustav was rising. He had gone from Count to heir to the throne almost over night. While he was somewhat happy for his friend, a good part of him was jealous. Heinrich was an ambitious man and he had hoped to be the one to marry Andrea. He had served Ulrich for years and he felt he deserved something as a reward. He had hoped to secure command of the army so that he could enforce his claim to the throne should Ulrich died childless, or indeed, a small part of him had toyed with the idea of overthrowing the heir if one were to be born. However, despite his strong ambition, his loyalty to his friend, the king, was stronger. He believed in his friends vision of Mecklenburg as a great power and wanted to help him make it a reality. As long as the King lived, he would continue to serve him faithfully, but who knew what the future held? For now, Heinrich returned to his work, he believed he might have finally found a potential avenue for expansion. He would have to bring it to the King's attention at the January session of the Council.

January 1, 1401, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Ulrich took his place on the throne, his wife Amalia at his side. He then waited while his advisers took their seats in the council chamber.

"Alright, lets get down to business. First, Gustav, tell us how the diplomatic situation looks."

"As you will sire. As you know, Luneburg has recently secured an alliance with the Hanseatic League. While this is not a concern for the moment, it my well be in the future, as the Hanseatic League has had a dispute with the Danes over Holstein for some time. If they were to get drawn into a war between the two nations, they could be forced to break their alliance with us. As for our other ally Munster, they seem to be getting more and more unhappy with us. They have not forgotten how many lives were lost from their kingdom in the last war only for us to reap all the benefits, and I doubt they would help if called into another war. Luckily, however, this information has been kept from the Duke of Brunswick. This is good, because, while relations with Brunswick remain good, I still believe they are merely bidding their time to try and find an opportunity to break away. Should they sense even a hint of weakness, I have no doubt they will turn on us."

"Very good Gustav. Heinrich, have you had any luck in your search for targets of expansion?"

"I have your highness. I believe Pommerania may be ripe for expansion".

"What madness is this Heinrich, you know that we do not have the might to fight against Pommerania. Even if we did, we have no justification for war. Should we attack, we might have to fight the Holy Roman Emperor himself!"

That was the newest member of the council, Erick Askanier. The boy had proven himself a very loyal man and capable man. He had shown to have a sound military mind and that was why he was here. In addition to being in charge of the army of Saxe-Launenburg, Ulrich had made him his chief army adviser.

"At first glance, this may appear to be so, however, with your armies in Saxe-Launenburg and the support of our vassals in Brunswick and Magdeburg, not to mention Luneburg and Munster if they join, we should have the strength to defeat them, as they lack any truly frightening allies. As for a claim, I believe we may be in luck. Their heir is ill and many believe he will die soon. If that happens, his daughter becomes the new heir to the throne. If we arrange a marriage between her and someone from our country, we might be able to press a claim to their throne."

"That is not a bad plan, but it has one major fault, and that is that I have no male relatives to marry to his daughter. Also, he may say that it is a ruse to claim his throne."

"I realize this problem, yet I have a solution. I propose you adopt me as your brother. We have known each other since childhood and I have served you long and faithfully, it should not seem unusual. Then, you could arrange for my marriage to his daughter. As long as this is done before the prince dies, it should not seem overly suspicious, as the illness is a closely guarded secret and he will not be aware that we know about it. Moreover, he will see it as a chance to claim our throne, on however shaky a basis. He will never dream that we would try to claim his, based on how strong he is relative to us. Then, if his heir dies, you press your claim to his throne through me."

"I like the idea Heinrich. It is a perfect opportunity for us to expand. I shall adopt you as my brother, as Gustav is my brother-in-law. I will make the formal announcement after this meeting is over. Then, we will ask the King of Pomerania about the marriage. We will meet again in 6 months time to review the situation. dismissed".

At that, they all began to file out the door. Heinrich was very satisfied. True, this would give him a wife and Ulrich a chance to expand, but it also gave him something else. By adopting Heinrich as his brother, it gave Heinrich a claim on the Mecklenburg throne should he chose to press it on Ulrich's death. True, he would be third in the line of succession, behind young Friedrich and Gustav, however, Friedrich was still young and it was still unknown if he would survive to adulthood. Gustav, who had never shown any desire to be king, might also chose to decline the throne. Their was also the possibility of Gustav dieing before being a position to inherit, as all three men were still quite young. Who could say what the future held?

June 8, 1402, Schwerin Castle council chambers, Mecklenburg

It had been six months since their last meeting and much had happened. The heir to the Pommeranian throne had indeed died not long ago and now they were to discuss preparations for claiming the Pomeranian throne. Ulrich began the session by speaking first

"Alright, as you all know, the heir to the Pomeranian throne has recently died. This gives us an opportunity we cannot afford to pass up. An opportunity to both expand and eliminate one of our chief rivals in the area, one way or another. First, I will hear from Gustav about our allies opinions in this war."

"Thank you your majesty. As you know, Saxe-Launenburg, Brunswick, and Magdeburg are bound to follow us and follow us they will. Luneburg has also agreed to join us should we declare war. However, when I extended feelers to determine whether Munster would follow us into another war, my suspicions were confirmed. They are saying that they will follow us, but Heinrich has informed me that his contact says it is a front. The Archbishop has no intention of joining us. Too many of his men died in the last war for to little gain for him. However, I believe we have the strength to win the war without them and would advise calling them anyway, as the Archbishop may change his mind, as he did with the first war."

"Thank you Gustav, now it is Heinrich's turn to inform us on the forces our enemy has."

"Very well sire. I am afraid my news is not good. While Mecklenburg currently boasts a force of 2,000 men under arms, Pomerania has about 6-7,000 men under arms, and 8,000 according to some of my reports. They also have the ability to raise more troops should they need to and their province of Stettin can only be reach directly via Brandenburg, who will not give us military access, or by crossing a strait their navy can easily block. That means we will need to take a roundabout way to reach Stettin and Hinterpommern. That will give them time to replenish loses and raise more men. In any case, if Brunswick, Luneburg, Saxe-Launenburg, and Magdeburg join the war, I believe we have a chance.

"Very good, Eric, I want force estimates for our allies"

"As you will my liege. As you know, I currently command about 2,000 men. Magdeburg commands 1,000, though they can raise one more regiment if need be. Brunswick commands 6,000 men and Luneburg commands 2,000. All told, that puts our numbers at around 15,000 men total, and that is not counting Munster, who command another 6,000."

"Very good Eric. My friends, I have heard your council and I have made my decision. We will press our claim to Pommerania in 7 months and declare war shortly thereafter. That gives us 6 months to prepare for war. That is all, dismissed."

Ulrich von Mecklenburg could hardly believe what he had just said. true, Pomerania was no Bohemia, not even a Hansa, but it was still a respectable power in the region. If this backfired, it could yet again prove the end of Mecklenburg. However, yet again, Ulrich was willing to role the dice and risk everything on how they landed.

 

[morningSIDEr]

Interesting stuff. A quiet two years but filled with action and plotting nonetheless. It seems a good move on Ulrich's part to tie Gustav closer to himself but I find Heinrich's jealousy rather worrying. The fact that Heinrich felt he had to manoeuvre himself into a position to gain a claim to the Mecklenburg throne doesn't seem a particularly good thing. Hopefully his loyalty to Ulrich will stay true for now though. Rather more interesting is the coming conflict with Pomerania, it looks to be a tough fight but certainly one Mecklenburg can win. With such a victory, nothern Germany is really going to be under Mecklenburg control.

 

[MarkusH]

Nice aar, i hope you defeat those Pommeranians

 

[History_Buff]

Interesting stuff. A quiet two years but filled with action and plotting nonetheless. It seems a good move on Ulrich's part to tie Gustav closer to himself but I find Heinrich's jealousy rather worrying. The fact that Heinrich felt he had to manoeuvre himself into a position to gain a claim to the Mecklenburg throne doesn't seem a particularly good thing. Hopefully his loyalty to Ulrich will stay true for now though. Rather more interesting is the coming conflict with Pomerania, it looks to be a tough fight but certainly one Mecklenburg can win. With such a victory, nothern Germany is really going to be under Mecklenburg control.

Thank you very much. if I can secure Pomerania I will indeed be on the road to becoming the new regional power. However, I will not consider myself a true regional power until i am not longer reliant on my vassals and allies to win wars.

Stralsund, Vorpomern, Kingdom of Pommerania, February 13, 1403

Ulrich von Mecklenburg made his way to the mayors seat in the town hall of Stralsund. After a vicious assault, the city had fallen to him. He had personally lead the assault on the walls, so he was understandably exhausted. However, the most worrying thing was that the army of Pommerania had yet to appear. During the siege, he had been reinforced by a large percentage of his allies forces, which probably helped to scare away the Pommeranians. Munster had refused to support him, but other then that, all the other allies had joined. As long as his allies remained in the city with him, he was to strong for the Pommeranians to risk attacking. however, he also could not attack them, as their army was blocking the strait leading to the city of Stettin. He had been trying to secure military access through Brandenburg, but they were stubbornly refusing to give consent. They were no fools and feared what would happen should Ulrich gain control of Pommerania. As things were, Ulrich's successor, whoever that may be, was poised to inherit the throne of Saxe-Launenburg, joining the crowns of the two countries and formally making the province of Launenburg part of Mecklenburg. It was also only a matter of time before he gained control of Magdeburg as well. If Pomerania were added to that, Ulrich's successor would be the head of a new regional power that, through virtue of them sharing borders, would be a threat to Brandenburg.
However, despite the voicing of these concerns by the local nobles, their King, Jobst von Luxembourg, who was also King of Luxembourg, still refused to declare war for any reason. Jobst seemed to be concerned more with matters in Luxembourg then with those of his junior partner. As it became more and more apparent to the local Brandenburgian nobles that their king cared little for them, they began to mutter more and more and more about severing ties with their foreign king. However, they were unwilling to face his allies so while it became apparent that the union would die with Jobst, they still remained paralyzed, able only to watch as their Northern neighbor continued to gain more and more power.
Ulrich thanked the Gods for that. If Brandenburg chose to, they could probably crush him and his country at the moment. As long as the giant remained chained to the ant that was Luxembourg however, they were not a threat. In the meantime, he continued to gain in power. One day, he or his successors would have to deal with Brandenburg, but that day had not yet come.

As he was thinking on this, he was interrupted by a servant who ran into the throne room, panting like crazy. He had clearly run at top speed to get the message to him, so it must be urgent.

"Sire...the...Pomeranians"

"What about the Pomeranians, catch your breath and spit it out."

After waiting to catch his breath, the messenger began to speak again.

"Sire, the Pomeranians, they have begun marching against us."

"So, they came did they, send word to our allies."

"As you will sire"

"Have the scouts who brought us this news been able to determine how many men we will be facing."

"They report that their appear to be 6,000 men in their army"

"Good, then we will not be too terribly outnumbered. Inform the men that they should make ready to march immediately. We shall meet them in the field of battle."

And with those words Ulrich prepared for what would be the first battle of this war.

Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg, March 1403

Ulrich von Mecklenburg was not happy. The Battle of Vorpommern had been a defeat for him and his men. Now, he had retreated to Mecklenburg. The Pomeranians were coming, but he had more men and he was confident he could beat them. Their was no doubt in his mind if he lost here today, the war would very likely be over. He would be forced to retreat and abandon his capital. Moreover, he highly doubted that the Pomeranians would let him retreat.He had been lucky to escape last time and he would be lucky to escape this time to. They were all to likely to chase him down and destroy his army. That would be the end of his war, and of him. He kissed Amalia began and marched out to defend his city.

A few days latter.

"They're running, they're running!"

It had been a hard fought battle, but Ulrich von Mecklenburg and his allies had managed to force the Pomeranians to retreat.

"Do not give them any chance to retreat, give chase."

This was his chance, if he could catch them in Vorpommern, they would be demoralized and, hopefully, forced to surrender.

That would not be as easy as it sounded, however. While the Pomeranians had indeed been defeating, his own men, who had suffered terrible loses in the first battle of Vorpomern, had not had time to recover, as replacements had yet to be trained. That meant that he was relying on his allies. He ordered Eric Askanier and the others forward, but hed had no way of knowing whether they would heed the command or not.

Stralsund, Vorpommern, Kingdom of Pomerania. 11 May, 1403

"We did it, my friend, we beat them again!" said Ulrich to Eric Askanier

"We did, and what a victory it was too".

Ulrich could not believe it. The war that had seemed on the verge of being lost was now beginning to turn around. The Pomeranians had suffered two costly defeats and were on the back foot. He was now thoroughly glad that he had agreed to give Eric command of the battle. Eric had come to him shortly after the last battle and had requested command in the next battle. Ulrich was a little put off by the presumptiousness of his vassal, but Eric simply stated that he had a plan that he believed could beat the Pomeranians and that he wanted to test himself as a commander. He also said that he wanted to be given a chance to prove his loyalty beyond a shadow of a doubt. Ulrich had already come to trust the young Eric, he was smart and he had served him faithfully in Saxe-Launenburg. After having his plan explained to him, he admitted it had considerable merit. He also had to admit, from what he had seen in the councils and during the time they had fought during the Battle of Launenburg, that he had noticed that Eric Askanier had a sound military mind. Indeed, he might be a better general then him. Wanting to find that out for himself, and gaining a convenient scape goat should the battle go wrong, Ulrich agreed to allow him to command.

The result had been incredible. The 2nd Battle of Vorpomern had been a glorious victory for the allies. The Pomeranians had lost 2290 men in the battle, bringing their numbers down from around 4,500 before the battle to just a little over 2,250 men. That meant that the Pomeranians had lost fully half their remaining forces in one great battle. Their once mighty army was now reduced to pathetic remanant of its former self.

However, that fact also made Ulrich furious in a way. While indeed they had won a great victory, they were completely unable to exploit it. While the Pomeranian army lie broken on the field, the Pomeranian navy was still intact, and the miniscule Mecklenburg navy stood no chance of defeating them. That meant that Ulrich could do little but watch them limp away, only to raise more men and come back at another time. That fact made him furious.

That was a problem with which Ulrich had had more then enough. He could win as many battles as he wanted, but as long as the Pomeranian navy controlled the strait and Brandenburg refused military access, the Pomeranian army could always escape to fight another day. He also lacked the ability to reach the rest of their territory. No matter how many battles he won, he simply was not going to be able to convince the Pomeranian King, Barnim VI Gryf, to give up his crown by battles alone. He had to convince him that the war was lost, and the only way he was going to do that was by marching an army into his capital and throwing him out of his own damn throne.

At that moment, Gustav appeared, with a very big grin on his face and an equally big stack of papers in his hand.

"You certainly look pleased with yourself Gustav. What has happened? Have the damn Brandenburgers finally agreed to give us access through their lands."

"No, my liege, I am afraid it will be quite impossible to sway them, as we simply lack the gold necessary to bribe them into doing so. However, I have accomplished the next best thing."

"What might that be"

"While the route through Brandenburg is indeed the most direct route, I have found you another route."

"This is great news, it appears my birthday had come early this year. First Eric and I crush the Pomeranian army on the field and then you arrive to tell me you have found a way to possibly bring this war to a close. At this rate, Heinrich will be showing up any minute to tell me that one of his assassins has managed to give him the head of the Pomeranian King any minute now".

At this remark, all three men laughed. Then, Gustav began to speak.

"I rather doubt that, sire. Returning to the matter at hand, however, as we have just said, Brandenburg refuses to give us military access through their lands, and they are unlikely to change their minds on the matter. That being said, what if we were to go around Brandenburg?"

"What lunacy is this? Brandenburg is a large country. It would take ages to go around them and the Pomeranians would surely have time to rebuild. More importantly, we would have to pass through at least five countries by the most direct route. To further complicate matters, one of the countries on that route, Meissen, is supporting Pomerania. Also, no matter which route we take, we would have to pass through the lands of both Bohemia, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Poland, who also have their eyes set on taking a bit out of Pomerania. Why should either of them give us access through their lands.

"It is as you say, your majesty, it would be very difficult, but it is possible. Magdeburg is our vassal and they will certainly grant us access. Thurinigia and Saxony will also not be that hard to convince to give us access. As for Bohemia and Poland, you are right, they have good reasons to not give us access, however, they also have good reason to give us access. We currently enjoy good relations with Bohemia. Whatsmore, they share a border with Brandenburg and by helping to strengthen us, they gain a potential counterbalance to their neighbor in the case of war. As for Poland, they do indeed harbor territorial ambitions against Pomerania. It would give them a port, something they currently lack. However, it might also be in their best interest for us to weaken Pomerania first so that they could attack. By your leave, I will send the requests."

He had to admit, he never would have thought of any of this. Gustav sure had a mind for diplomacy. Indeed, to the major powers, like Poland, Brandenburg, and Bohemia, Mecklenburg was just a pawn to be used in their own games. He longed for the day where Mecklenburg would no longer be used by other nations to further their own goals. A day when Mecklenburg would be the great power using all of them as pawns. With that thought he then gave Gustav leave to send the requests and to return to him in a month's time. That would give him time to replenish his losses from the last battles. He could only hope that his plan would work.

the next month in Stralsund

It had now been a month since their last meeting. Gustave was due to arrive any minute now, hopefully bearing the news that would finally allow him to win the war with Pomerania. He could hardly contain himself, and could only hope that Gustav would arrive soon.

Almost as if on cue, Gustav then entered the room.

"Ah, Gustav, so very good to see you. what is the news from the countries that you requested access from."

"It was excellent, sire. Everyone one of them said yes. I had to personally visit Poland once to convince them that letting us pass through their lands was a good idea, but we finally have our way to reach Pomerania."

"Excellent. The Pomeranians will never expect us to come from such a roundabout route. We should be able to catch them off guard before they can react. Send the word to our allies. We march now.

"That will be something of a problem your majesty. While I was able to convince them to give us military access, I was unable to convince them to give our allies access. We will have to press into Pomerania on our own. I believe that I may be able to convince them to let our allies pass through their lands, but their is the problem that I am not altogether sure that our allies will march all that way."

"So your telling me I have to lead an invasion of a country that has an army of 8,000 men with only 2,000 men."

"Unfortunately, that is exactly what I am saying."

"Ulrich now had a choice to make. He could wait to march until more access treaties had been signed. However, the longer he waited, the more chance the Pomeranians would find out about the treaties. On the other hand, he could march now with only 2,000 men and hopefully arrive in Stettin before the Pomeranians could figure out what was happening. When he got there, he would have to hope that Stettin fell quickly, or else he would almost certainly be done for. Sure, he could withdraw into Poland if the Pomeranians came after him, but his chance at winning the war in a stroke would be gone. His only chance would be that the Pomeranians would so confused about what to do that they would not move until after Stettin fell. That might give him the bargaining power he needed to get a peace deal that at least gave him Vorpomern.

After a long time of hard thought on the matter, he decided he was going to have to yet again role the dice. He could not afford the possibility of this war becoming a war of attrition, as Mecklenburg would almost certainly lose in that contest. He therefore marched out. One way or the other, this next campaign would see the end of the war. It would either end in the ascendance of Mecklenburg and secure his own reputation as a bold and brilliant commander, or the complete destruction of his nation and his condemnation as a fool who selfishly lead his people to destruction in some mad quest for personal glory. God only knew which one would prove true.

And there you have it. Took me a while, but I finally go the update up. I originally intended to have the whole war in one update, but this one became so long that there was no way I was fitting it all in one update without it being impossibly huge. I will try to update again this week if I can, but my schedule is kind of full now, so It may not be up till next week.

 

[morningSIDEr]

As long as the giant remained chained to the ant that was Luxembourg however, they were not a threat.

I love this description; how apt it is too! Unfortunate that Brandenburg are proving so stubborn with regards to military access, although I'm not sure I blame them, Mecklenburg is rising in power very quickly, it would frighten me if I was in Brandenburg's place. The Battle of Mecklenburg seemed a close affair, it was lucky that Ulrich's ally stood with him, although it was followed by a thumping victory at Vorpommern. Hopefully you can make use of Gustav's cleverly worked pathway to Stettin without Pommerania realising what is going on. Otherwise things could get very hairy indeed.

 

[blsteen]

A path...
perhaps some more troops???

 

[History_Buff]

I love this description; how apt it is too! Unfortunate that Brandenburg are proving so stubborn with regards to military access, although I'm not sure I blame them, Mecklenburg is rising in power very quickly, it would frighten me if I was in Brandenburg's place. The Battle of Mecklenburg seemed a close affair, it was lucky that Ulrich's ally stood with him, although it was followed by a thumping victory at Vorpommern. Hopefully you can make use of Gustav's cleverly worked pathway to Stettin without Pommerania realising what is going on. Otherwise things could get very hairy indeed.

The battle of Mecklenburg was indeed lucky. It could have easily gone the other way. Vorpommern gave me all the breathing room I needed though. Thankfully, Brandenburg's stubbornness proved to be more of an annoyance then a hindrance. As for Pommerania, you will see that I get very lucky with them in more ways then one.

A path...
perhaps some more troops???

Unfortunately, I did not raise anymore troops, as I did not think I could afford it.

Armee von Mecklenburg Camp, Poland, en route to Stettin, June 1404

"This path you worked out has been a godsend Gustav. It may well prove the thing that wins the war for us."

"Thank you, my liege. I hope that it may prove to be just that".

"From what Heinrich tells me, the Pommeranians have yet to move an inch from Hinterpommern. They have no idea what is about to happen to them or else their King is too afraid to try and meet us. He tells me Stettin is completely unguarded, save for its own garrison."

"Will you move in then sire?"

"That I do not yet know. Their could be another reason that Stettin is unguarded. I fear they may be trying to lure us into a trap. They could be trying to entice us to attack it. Then, when we do, they move in and defeat us, I have no illusions about defeating 8,000 men with 2,000. Then, their navy prevents us from joining our allies and hopefully they will be able to force us to surrender. It is what I would do in their place."

Ulrich thought about this for a minute. If that was what was happening, the war might be lost and lost badly. Their allies would be left to stand alone against Pomerania, and Ulrich did not know if they could hold long enough for him to raise more men.

If they could not hold, King Barnim VI Gryf would march into Mecklenburg, probably capture the city, and that would be the end of Mecklenburg right then and their more then likely. If they did hold, he would be right back where he started, but with any chance of surprise now gone.

However, the longer he waited, the more chance someone would give the reports to Pomerania. Heinrich's reports all seemed to indicate that Pomerania had no clue he was coming, meaning that this was the best chance to end the war he was ever going to get. With that in mind, Ulrich made up his mind.

"Give the order to the men, Gustav, it is time to march."

Camp of the Armee von Mecklenburg, outside Stettin, Pomerania, July 6, 1404

Ulrich von Mecklenburg was not pleased. He had, for all intents and purposes caught the Pomeranians completely off guard. He had marched into the Stettin region completely unopposed and for a while, he thought he might take the city without a siege. However, he had arrived to find the gates barred to him. That really frustrated him, as he had ordered his men to march carrying no banners in hopes that his men would be mistaken for Pomeranians. The plan was to fool the garrison into thinking his men were their own army. Thus fooled, they would let him into the city and then he would able to capture it before anyone knew what was happening. However, one peasant had derailed that plan. He was a farmer who had lost his arm at the Second Battle of Vorpomern. This man had been a good soldier in the battle and had gotten pretty close to Ulrich in the fighting before one of the King's bodyguards struck him down. The result was that he was able to recognize Ulrich. However, since he was a peasant, one of many who had fought in the battle, the King did not recognize him. After the army had passed, the peasant was able to sneak past his army and reach the city. He then went to the captain of the guard, and told him the story. At first the captain took it as the rantings of a madman. That is, until he was able to give as detailed description of not only the men, but also of the King. That was enough to convince the captain to believe their might be some truth to the story and he sent his own men out to scout around. Their reported back the next day that they had seen the army and that they had seen a man matching the farmers description of the King at the head of the column. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, the Captain of the Guard ordered that the city gates be closed. When Ulrich arrived before the gate the next day, he had found the gates closed and had demanded entry. When Ulrich demanded to be let in, the captain of the guard asked who they were. Ulrich claimed that they were the Pomeranian army marching to go after the Men of Mecklenburg and that they would like to rest and resupply in the city for the night. The Captain of the Guard then asked to see the their banners if they were indeed the Pomeranian army. However, Ulrich who had made fake banners in preparation for such an occasion brought them forward. However, the Captain had fought in the Pomeranian army a few years ago before an injury, though one not quite as severe as the farmer who had warned him, had forced him to leave the army. He was able to recognize that the banners were fake and immediately ordered his men to battle stations. Ulrich had thus been forced to lay siege to the city.

That, however, was the least of his concerns. While he was sitting here besieging the city, the Pomeranian remained in Hinterpomern, not a month's march from his positions. They could come to attack him at any moment, and that would be the end of him. However, incredibly the arrival of Mecklenburg force seemed to have thrown the Pomeranian government in Hinterpomern into complete confusion. The King did not seem to know what to do, as he feared that Ulrich's men might be just the first to arrive and that a larger force might be coming. This caused great indecision in the Pomeranian army (seriously, they marched would start marching to Stettin, only to stop. This kept going quite a few times.)He could only hope this state of confusion would last long enough for him to starve out the city, as he did not dare risk assaulting with the Pomeranian army nearby, for fear of giving them an opening to attack him. All Ulrich had to do now was wait and hope for the best.

a few months later

Ulrich von Mecklenburg sat in the castle at Stettin immensly proud of himself. He had proved very fortunate in that the Pomeranians did not attack. As a result, the city had capitulated just a few days ago. Upon being offered the surrender by the captain of the guard, he thought about having him and that peasant, who his spies had told him had informed the city of his approach, executed. However, Ulrich did not want to seem like a vengeful ruler. Moreover, the city had surrendered. If he executed the commander, that would be the last time any city capitulated to him rather then fighting to the death, as their commanders would believe they had noting to lose. As for the peasant, he clearly was a resourceful man and he thought he might be of more use alive then dead. He inquired after the man's name and found that it was Johann. impressed by the man's intelligence, he asked him if he would be so kind to join him and serve as his chief scout. Expecting death and realizing that Pomerania had lost he war, he agreed.

It was then that Heinrich appeared carrying a report. He handed the report to Ulrich who then looked it over. After doing so, he looked at the reports again, convinced that they must be false.

"Let me get this straight Heinrich, 7,000 men from the army of Pommerania have just vanished? Do I have that right, cause if I do, I have absolute no idea what is going on."

"That is indeed what happened sire, however, it would not be accurate to say they vanished. That would imply that they disappeared into thin air(in reality, this is what happened. the majority of their army vanished without a trace, along with their fleet, IIRC. What follows is my storyline explanation for what happened). What seems to have happened is that the soldiers got sick of their King's indecisiveness that their was a mutiny. The king put the mutiny down most brutally, but still refused to march. The result was that the remaining soldiers began deserting en masse."

"When you put it that way, it makes a lot more sense, but what about the fleet?"

"It appears that the fleet was ordered into the Baltic in preparation for an attempted landing at Mecklenburg. However, after waiting for quite a while while the mutiny was put down, a storm seems to have wrecked much of the fleet and scattered the rest of it to the four winds (yet again, this is my way of explaining what happened to their fleet)."

"My God Heinrich, this is a miracle, a bona fide miracle. This proves god is on our side."

"I realize this sire, we must capitalize on this immediately".

"I agree, order the men to prepare to march. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity."

Ulrich could not believe his luck, he had just been handed a victory on a silver platter. He had hoped to come out of the war with one or two new provinces just a few short months ago. Now, those goals seemed terribly pessimistic.

Hinterpomern, Pomerania, December 13, 1404

Ulrich could barely believe that this was happening. A few moments ago, King Barnim VI von Gryf of Pomerania had been thrown at his feet in irons. If he had been told a few years ago that this day would come, he would not have believed it. He had defeated one of the great regional powers, granted, he had done it with help from his vassals and allies, buy still he had done it. He had easily routed the 1,000 infantry the King had had left to him and captured the King. Now all that remained was to take his capital, whose garrison was severally demoralized with the loss of their King and due to the desertions and mutinies. One brief assault was all that would be needed to get them to surrender, he was sure of it. Not knowing if he would need Barnim in the future, he ordered him imprisoned for now and began making preparations for the assault.

Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg,

Ulrich felt like he was on top of the world right now. Here he was in his throne room about to sign the treaty that would make him one of the most powerful men in Northern Germany. It had taken little effort on the part of his men to force Hinterpommern to surrender, as he had expected, and now, with Pomerania completely occupied, he could pretty much force Barnim VI Gryf to sign whatever treaty he wanted. It had taken some time to decide what exactly it was he wanted out of the war however. Heinrich had favored going ahead with the Personal Union and crowning himself King of Pomerania. While he certainly could do that, he refused to delude himself into thinking that personal union would last long. Pomerania was just too powerful in comparison to him and he was certain that they would break away on his death. That would force his successor to fight a potentially long and costly war to keep it in the union, and even then victory would be anything but certain. More importantly, while Barnim was willing to sign almost anything to end this war, their was a limit to what he would agree to. He would agree to give up territory or his thone, but not both. He knew giving up territory to Ulrich would serve to further strengthen Mecklenburg at the expense of Pomerania. He knew as long as the Pomerania remained at its current level of strength, their was a chance they might be able to eventually break out of the personal union. However, if Pomerania yielded so much as a single province to Mecklenburg, then it would serve to make the balance of force much more evenly matched. Mecklenburg stood to inherit Launenburg when Ulrich died and he knew that Magdeburg's days were numbered too. That would leave Mecklenburg with 3 provinces on Ulrich's death. That already put Mecklenburg on par with Pomerania militarily, if he ceded Vorpomern and/or Stettin as well, Mecklenburg would have 4 provinces to Pomerania's two or even one, and that ratio did not seem as conducive to breaking free as 3:3 did.

In response to this, Eric Askanier had argued they should seize Stettin and Vorpomern in the peace treaty, or even outright annex Pomerania. Ulrich did not like this idea that much. To be sure, it would greatly strenghten his nation, but it also caused him to run the risk of running afoul of the Emperor by taking so many lands that he did not have a claim to within the Holy Roman Empire. The other states of the empire would also not look to favorably on such a blatant land grab. Moreover, taking Vorpomern and Stettin left Pomerania free, and that was a problem. Alone, they would be no threat to him after losing 2/3 of their land, but they might make some powerful new friend who might be a threat to him. If that happened, Pomerania might become bold enough to declare war and, since Stettin still lay across a strait by the only access he had, any power with a navy could prevent him from reinforcing it. If that power also had the capacity to keep that navy their, he would have to use the same strategy he had used in this war, and their was no guarantee that route would remain open that long. If Pomerania's new friend also had the ability to put men on the ground in the area, he could risk losing both of these new provinces back to Pomerania. At the very least, he might stand to lose Stettin in such a situation. There was also the problem of Brandenburg. Everyone in Mecklenburg knew the union would not outlive King Jobst, but no one knew how long Jobst would live. If he died tomorrow, the giant would no longer be chained and it might decide to try and eat Mecklenburg for dinner. This would be even more likely if they were already involved in a drawn out war, and Mecklenburg would stand no chance if that should happen.

To prevent this, Gustav had come up with a compromise solution. He suggested to the King that they take Vorpomern and make Pomerania a vassal. This would strengthen Mecklenburg, giving them another province and effectively doubling their size, and give them a powerful new friend who would just so happen to have no choice but to aid them in any future conflict. Thus, Mecklenburg would be strenghtened and, perhaps more importantly, they would have found the counterbalance they needed to replace Munster. As long as Brunswick and Pomerania disliked each other and he kept them away from each other, their relative strengths, in conjunction with Mecklenburg's, would cancel each other out. With the addition of a new province, Mecklenburg might also be able to raise more men and thus further increase their security should one of their vassals get frisky.

Ulrich liked this plan and decided to go with it over the more extreme plans of Erick and Heinrich. Heinrich looked visibly displeased. No doubt he had hoped to be put in charge of the new Pomeranian lands based on how vehemently he defended his own proposal. He also seemed to support Erick's proposal when it became clear the King would not go with his. Heinrich was ambitious and everyone knew it. However, the King was beginning to have doubts about him. He still seemed to be absolutely loyal to him, but he was no longer certain this loyalty would extend to his son when he eventually assumed the throne, and even less convinced that it would extend to Gustav should Friedrich die before being able to inherit. In the case of the latter, he thought Heinrich might think he had as good a claim to the throne as Gustav and might make a push for the throne. In the case of the former, he feared that Heinrich might try to seize the throne if he viewed his son as too weak to rule. He therefore wanted to avoid making Heinrich too powerful. However, he had handed him the justification for this war, so he deserved something in reward. He therefore decided he would make Heinrich Lord of Vorpomern. Vorpomern was not as rich as Mecklenburg itself and he did not think Heinrich would be able to raise enough men to challenge his son or Gustav for the throne from those lands. Gustav's service had also been exemplary and he deserved some form of reward as well, and the King thought he might have just the thing to reward him with.

With all of that finally decided, Ulrich signed his name to the Treaty of Rostock, which officially Mecklenburg's place as one of the regional powers of Northern Germany.

And their you have another update. I seriously got majorly lucky in this war and if anyone know's what the heck happened, I would very much appreciate your explanation.

You guys also might get lucky and get another update sometime this weekend, but we will just have to wait and see.

 

[morningSIDEr]

And their you have another update. I seriously got majorly lucky in this war and if anyone know's what the heck happened, I would very much appreciate your explanation.

I'm not at all sure myself! It does seem very odd. Perhaps their ships ran out of maintenance whilst the Pommeranian army was on them? I have no real idea, but it was a very lucky break. Good that Ulrich has managed to strengthen Mecklenburg so considerably, I wasn't quite sure if his gamble with going after Stettin would pay off, but it has handsomely. The only possible worry is the continued ambition of Heinrich, which is starting to look rather dangerous.

 

[Count deMonet]

And their you have another update. I seriously got majorly lucky in this war and if anyone know's what the heck happened, I would very much appreciate your explanation.

If I were a betting man, I would guess that Pommerania either went bankrupt, or simply ran out of funds and disbanded most of their forces to lower upkeep. It was likely due to your occupation of Vorpommern(which is 40% of their income) and the costs associated with war exhaustion. While they are a larger nation than you, their economy does not start out very strong, so they can easily get over-extended. especially if they had built up an 8000 man army that early. Soldiers that don't get paid do tend to 'wander off' after all.

Keep up the good work, the character development is very entertaining.

 

[History_Buff]

I'm not at all sure myself! It does seem very odd. Perhaps their ships ran out of maintenance whilst the Pommeranian army was on them? I have no real idea, but it was a very lucky break. Good that Ulrich has managed to strengthen Mecklenburg so considerably, I wasn't quite sure if his gamble with going after Stettin would pay off, but it has handsomely. The only possible worry is the continued ambition of Heinrich, which is starting to look rather dangerous.

I wasn't sure it would work either. I half expected it to be the end of me. However, an extraordinary amount of luck meant that this war turned out better then even I could have hoped for. Also, I am glad you like the Heinrich character. I was going for the shady ambitious type and it appears I succeeded.

If I were a betting man, I would guess that Pommerania either went bankrupt, or simply ran out of funds and disbanded most of their forces to lower upkeep. It was likely due to your occupation of Vorpommern(which is 40% of their income) and the costs associated with war exhaustion. While they are a larger nation than you, their economy does not start out very strong, so they can easily get over-extended. especially if they had built up an 8000 man army that early. Soldiers that don't get paid do tend to 'wander off' after all.

Keep up the good work, the character development is very entertaining.

That would explain a lot. I am glad you like the new style. I decided to try a new style for this AAR and I am drawing on Avinidians Novum Romanum Imperium for inspiration on the style to some extent.

September 9, 1406, Schwerin Palace, Mecklenburg.

When Gustav entered the room, the King seemed to be beside himself. He was clearly agitated at something and was engaged in a rather tense discussion with Eric and Heinrich. Gustav had been able to hear the King bellowing from down the hall and now he got to see what the commotion was about. The King was holding a piece of paper that appeared to be the source of the problem.

"Who does that Emperor think he is! How dare he order us to hand over territory that we fought and died for!"

"He is the emperor, it is his prerogitive." responded Eric

"The letter states that this request is being made ' in the interest of stability within the Empire. I think they want us to believe that this request is being made to uphold the status quo in the empire." added Heinrich

At the Heinrich's statement, the King let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Status Quo my foot. This request has nothing to do with the status quo. When I asked the ambassador what would be done with the territory, he got very defensive and simply stated it would be held 'for the good of the empire' and would not tell me more. It is pretty obvious to me what the emperor intends to do with these lands. He means to keep them for himself! He is, in effect asking us to hand over our hard won lands to him for him to keep, seeking to profit from our dead by expanding his kingdom without contributing anything to the struggle to take it. If he were ordering us to give it back to Pommerania, that I would understand. That would be protecting the status quo and stability within the empire. This is a blatant abuse of the Imperial title for his own personal gain."

It was then that the King seemed to notice Gustav having entered the room. He turned to address his foreign policy advisor.

"Ah, Gustav, just the man I needed to see. I trust you have heard our discussion. What would you have us do about this predicament."

Gustav took a moment to think about his response. Unlike the King, he understood perfectly why Bohemia was making this request. They had already done the same thing to numerous other nations. It was nothing short of a blatant power grab in an attempt to strengthen the Emperor's own hand in the Empire's internal politics. However, requesting this territory had some other points to recommend it from their perspective.

First, it gave Bohemia something it was currently soarly lacking: a Port. Granted, it would not be contiguous with the rest of the Bohemian empire, but it did not need to be, as the Emperor automatically gained free military access through all the lands of the Holy Roman Empire by virtue of being the emperor. As emperor, all those lands were technically, if not factually, his, so why shouldn't he be able to march through them. Also, all he would have to do to connect it to the rest of his country would be to go to war with Brandenburg. Gustav did not see this as unlikely. In fact, he believed a clash between the two powers was all but inevitable, as the both had designs over the same territory. Of course, Brandenburg was also likely to conflict with Mecklenburg, as it coveted control of Pommerania, so Gustav would not be overly concerned unless Bohemia gained a crushing victory.

Second, and directly related to that the first point, it represented an opportunity to open up a second front in the event of a war between Bohemia and Brandenburg. If that initial foothold could be expanded, Brandenburg would face a war on two fronts that it would be sure to lose.

Thirdly, having possession of Vorpommern gave Bohemia a base from which to contest any further advances by Mecklenburg. The rapid rise to power of such a small state alarmed many of the larger powers in the area. To be sure, Mecklenburg remained a small, insignificant state for the time being, only holding two provinces. However, it seemed likely that two more provinces, Launenburg and Magdeburg, would soon be added to that total. That would make Mecklenburg a regional power. When taken into account with their two vassals, Brunswick and Pommerania, they had the potential to rival Brandenburg for power. This intrigued some countries, who decided to watch the state and see if it might be useful to their own designs. However, it also frightened many countries. While countries such as the Hansa, which was rapidly gaining in power, did not yet have anything to fear from Mecklenburg, Other nations were getting wary. The feared the creation of a new regional power that might eventually become a threat to them. Bohemia was one of these nations. While being the emperor meant that few if any countries could match their manpower reserves, the Imperial title was elected so their was always the possibility of Bohemia losing it to some other state. Mecklenburg, with its propensity for strategic vassalization, was one such state that could eventually threaten their hold on the crown. If the Mecklenburgers were to vassalize or otherwise convince some of the electors to vote for them, the balance of power could eventually shift to Mecklenburg. However, the more immediate threat was Austria. If Austria managed to take the crown, then Bohemia would be hard pressed to hold them off in a future war with their recently empowered neighbor. Indeed, for Bohemia, the nightmare scenario would be an Austrian alliance with a strong neighbor to their north. Currently, the nation most likely to provide a threat in that regard was Brandenburg. However, if Mecklenburg continued on its current course and continued to expand, their was a possibility of them surpassing Brandenburg. An alliance between a newly arisen Mecklenburg and Austria would be no less threatening to Bohemian interests then an Austrian-Brandenburg alliance.

With these things in mind, Gustav considered his options. To accept would greatly weaken Mecklenburg and also make all those men who died in the war to take Vorpommern sacrifice be in vain. To refuse, however, would be to defy the emperor and give him a perfect excuse for war with Mecklenburg.

After weighing his options, Gustav spoke.

"Your majesty, I believe we should refuse this offer".

At once, a stunned silence engulfed the room. Everyone had expected Gustav to counsel accepting. After recovering from the initial shock, the King began to look more pleased. Heinrich, however, was not and he addressed Gustav.

"It appears our once great Foreign advisor has gone mad. Are you sure you are feeling all right, old friend. I believe you just suggested angering the emperor, who, by the way, has probably the largest military of anyone in the Empire. Your highness, I beg you not to listen to him. To anger Bohemia would be suicide, or have you forgotten about their massive army compared to ours Gustav?"

Irritated by Heinrich's scathing remarks, Gustav responded.

"Bohemia does indeed have a rather large army, however, to accept this demand would give them a base from which to contest any future expansion of ours. Also, we do not share a border and I doubt attacking a small state like us will be very high on his agenda. In addition, we can count on the Support of both Pommerania and Brunswick. This represents a not insignificant force. Yes, they would probably win in the end, but they would be operating under strained supply lines and they would not be able to send their full strength against us, for fear of encouraging Austria to attack. As a result, they would likely suffer significant losses do to attrition in our lands. If we scorched the earth and retreated into our allies territory, we could make life hell for them. Bohemia knows this and may decide that a war with us is more trouble then it is worth to crush such a small state, that they must surely think as nothing more then a pest."

" You cannot know how Bohemia will respond. They could just as easily decide to try and attack us to send a message to the rest of the empire that this is what happens when you defy an imperial order. If that happens and they do put everything they have into this war, we will probably all be dead within a year. Do you real expect our King to beat our countries future on a hunch? You really are a fool. Hear me sire, we must accept this. We are not strong enough to oppose Bohemia yet. Let us trade this province for time and prepare to take it back in the future.

"Idiot, do you really expect That Bohemia will just stand by and watch while we grow stronger? If we accept this time, what is to stop them from making the same demand the next time we expand? By giving them this land, we offer them the perfect base from which to attack us in the future!

They went back and forth arguing their respective points of view for several minutes. The King listened to it all and let out a sigh. This was only the latest argument between his two old friends, and they were growing more frequent ever since he had made Heinrich Lord of Vorpommern. He now wished he hadn't done that. The appointment only seemed to make him more arrogant then ever. He seemed to think that because he was a Lord and Gustav was not, that somehow made him better, if not smarter, then Gustav. The two frequently clashed over matters of policy and many other things. It grieved him to see his two oldest friends becoming bitter enemies, but their was little he could do. All efforts at reconciliation between the two had failed, and the King really did not have the time to try and force them to get along. Finally, the King had had enough of the argument and he spoke up

"That is enough damn it! Both of you cease this petty argument this instant! You are senior councilors of the Kingdom of Mecklenburg. I suggest you stop acting like children so that we can get to more important matters."

"But your majesty, this man is asking you to risk war with the most powerful state in the Empire, surely you cannot --"

"One more word out of you Heinrich, and I will throw you out of this meeting right now. I am already regretting giving the Lordship of Pommerania, do not tempt me to take it away."

At the suggestion that his beloved lordship might be taken away, Heinrich suddenly got very pale. Sure, he had counciled giving it to Bohemia, but that was only because he anticipated he would be given another to compensate him for his loss, something that he should have been at all certain of based on Ulrich's current irritation with the newfound arrogance of his spymaster. If the King revoked his Lordship, however, it was unlikely he would get another one. Not wanting to lose what he considered as his most prized possession, he immediately silenced himself.

"Now, Gustav, as rude as Heinrich was, he did have a point, Bohemia is rather powerful. However, I tend to agree with you. To give them this province would only invite future demands and give them a dangerous base from which to oppose us. I shall refuse this request and pray that nothing ill comes of it. That is all for the day. You are all dismissed."

And with that, the meeting was finally over. He was patience with Heinrich was beginning to grow thin. Clearly, he needed to find some way of reigning in his old friend. He considered taking away his Lordship, but he was not quite ready for that yet. While he was rather arrogant, he had not crossed the line to being unmanagable. Moreover, he had no one to replace him. Sure, he could make Gustav the new Lord of Vorpommern, but that would be more likely to make the situation worse then better. He could expel him from the council, but yet again, he still lacked a replacement. Johann, the peasant he had taken on as his spy, seemed to have some knack for espionage, but he was still inexperienced and not yet ready to take Heinrich's place on the council.

What made the situation even worse was that Friedrich was still very young. That meant that, for the time being, he would need a regent to rule for him until he came of age if Ulrich were to die. The problem with that was that Heinrich and Gustav were the two most obvious candidates. If the relationship remained hostile between the two or, heaven forbid, got worse, there could be serious problems. At this point, Ulrich realized that the only thing that kept Heinrich and Gustav from killing each other was the respect and loyalty both of them had for him. However, the animosity between the two men presented another problem: the possibility of a civil war over the regency upon his death. Ulrich seriously doubted that the proud Heinrich would accept Gustav as the regent if Ulrich appointed him to the job. His pride would not let him, as it would be tantamount to admitting defeat in Heinrich's eyes, and that was something he would never do. While he did not doubt that Gustav would accept Heinrich as regent, that also presented problems. First of all, it was becoming more and more clear to him that Heinrich would not make a good regent. He was an arrogant, vengeful man, and his all consuming ambition could all to easily lead the nation to ruin. Even worse, his ambition might lead Heinrich to refuse to surrender the regency when Friedrich came of age. That would undoubtedly lead to a civil war between those loyal to Friedrich and the supporters of Heinrich. Even worse, Heinrich might try to have Friedrich eliminated and himself crowned king, and he would make an even worse King then he would a regent. That would also lead to civil war.

These concerns continued to weigh on him. However, he could see no way to resolve this situation at this time. The two showed no sings of reconciling and the King lacked the time to try and get them to do so. The only solution was to ensure that Mecklenburg would have an heir to the throne and soon.

Alright, there's another update done. I would write more, but I am a busy man and have a project that must be finished and things to do tonight. I will try to work on the update and have it up by tomorrow or sometime this weekend if I can. One of the problems I am facing is that, do to a lack of activity, I have no screenshots for the next three years and, as I have played ahead quite a bit, I have no idea what happened in those years. That means I will have to investigate to find out what I did in those years or else skip them entirely and resume at the next screenshot and I have not made up my mind as to which I will do.

 

[morningSIDEr]

It is from testing matters such as this, the ultimatum from the Emeperor, that great men show their ability. I think Ulrich made the right choice really, he's worked hard to expand his realm and to have the fruits of this hard work taken from him by the Empire seems unfair. Furthermore it is clear Mecklenburg will continue expanding, if she is simply going to cede her gains in land everytime she is successful in a war she will get nowhere. Nonetheless the Emperor remains a threat so Ulrich had best tread carefully. And he had best tread carefully not only with the Emperor but also with his advisers. Their infighting is worrying, Heinrich need be checked, it would be a pity for all of Ulrich's work to prove wasted if his kingdom dissolved into civil war upon his death.

 

[History_Buff]

It is from testing matters such as this, the ultimatum from the Emperor, that great men show their ability. I think Ulrich made the right choice really, he's worked hard to expand his realm and to have the fruits of this hard work taken from him by the Empire seems unfair. Furthermore it is clear Mecklenburg will continue expanding, if she is simply going to cede her gains in land everytime she is successful in a war she will get nowhere. Nonetheless the Emperor remains a threat so Ulrich had best tread carefully. And he had best tread carefully not only with the Emperor but also with his advisers. Their infighting is worrying, Heinrich need be checked, it would be a pity for all of Ulrich's work to prove wasted if his kingdom dissolved into civil war upon his death.

Indeed, I believe I made the right choice here. The Emperor does not share a border with me and he probably has bigger fish to fry then me. As for Heinrich, I think having threats at court is good for the story. I have often said that a King may win his Kingdom on the Battlefield, but he can lose it at court.

Now, I would normally update My HOI2 AAR at this point, but because my last update was rather short, this one will come first. I will be skipping over those three years because, apparantly, nothing happened. I will on occasion be skipping years if nothing happens or if I have no screenshots. If I have no screenshots of events, it will prove difficult to recall some events, as I have played ahead and therefore no longer remember what happened if I do not have a screenshot. If I do not manage to find out when an event happened, it will be mentioned in passing in the most recent screenshot I have. I loaded up before and after and did not notice any major differences. and without further ado, let the update commence.

March 14, 1409 Schwerin Castle Mecklenburg

King Ulrich von Mecklenburg sat playing with his son in his study. While the boy showed only a mediocre grasp of diplomacy and administration, he had evidently inherited his father's strength. The king had no doubt that Friedrich would make a fine soldier. As for diplomacy, he had Gustav to help him with that. He did wish that his son had a better grasp of administration, however, he would have plenty of people to help him with that. For now, Ulrich was just glad to have the time to actually spend time with his son, something he could not do as often as he liked. The King therefore put all worries about the future. What point was there to trying to predict the future after all?

9 November, 1412, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Gustav was very pleased with himself. He had just managed what might well be the greatest diplomatic triumph of his career and he was about to present the news to the king.

It had been mostly quiet in Mecklenburg the last three years. Not a lot had happened, as Mecklenburg had been focusing on its economy and no neighbors had been ripe for conquest. The only real event of major importance that had occured was that the Hansa had lost a war with Hesse and thus been forced to release Hamburg as a sovereign state. Since Hamburg had declared itself to be a monarchy, Gustav had organized a royal marriage between the two states.

He found him in his study playing with his young son, Fredrich. The King spent a lot of time with the boy when he was not working and seemed to really enjoy it. Not surprising, Queen Amalia was also present.

When the King noticed Gustav standing in the doorway, he greeted him cordially and asked Amalia to take Fredrich for awhile.

"He sure is a strong boy", the King remarked of the Prince "He will make a fine soldier some day."

"I am glad to hear he takes after you then" said Ulrich

Ulrich smiled "Indeed he does, now, lets get down to business shall we, what have you brought for me."

"This, sire, is a letter from the Archbishop of Magdeburg"

"It says here that the Archbishop is willing to hand over control of the city to Mecklenburg."replied Ulrich

"Indeed, he states that running the city has become too great a task for him. In truth, I think he rather knew that he could not hold out for long if we decided to try and take his city from him. I think he also fears his neighbors might try to take it from him. In light of this, he has decided to hand over the city to us. It is the course that seems to offer the lest amount of bloodshed for him."

"This is a great triumph. Indeed, you have done me a great service, and I would see you well rewarded for that. Gustav, would you kneel please."

A curious Gustav did as he was asked. What could the King possibly want him to kneel for?

Once Gustav knelt, the King grabbed the ceremonial sword that hung from the wall behind his desk and touched it to Gustav's shoulders

"From this day forth, you shall now be known as Gustav Wilhelm von Hannover, Lord of Magdeburg. Rise, Lord Gustav."

Stunned, Gustav rose and began to thank the king profusely. He had never dreamed of being made a Lord. when he gave voice to this, the King responeded.

"Gustav, you have served me both wisely and faithfully for many years now. If not for you, I would never have come this far and it is high time you were rewarded for these efforts. What's more, this handsome addition to our territory was all your doing, therefore, it is only right that you should be made its new ruler."

"I see your point sire and I thank you. However, I must say that certain elements at court may not like this very much."

He meant Heinrich. Indeed, the King would love to see the look on Heinrich's face when he heard the news. However, the King really could care less of Heinrich's objections at this point. Heinrich had become more and more arrogant with each passing day since he was made Lord of Vorpommern, and the King had quickly tired of it. Thankfully, He had not caused any problems as of late and The King had hoped that his two advisors might be able to reconcile. However, that now seemed unlikely. Heinrich would not be happy about Gustav being given such a choice land as his Lordship, but he could hardly refute that Magdeburg's addition had been Gustav's victory, so there really weren't any grounds upon which he could refute the award. Heinrich would have to be dealt with soon anyway. However, before he could move against him, the King needed some form of pretense to rob him of his lordship. So far, Heinrich had been careful to avoid a direct confrontation with the King, which would give the grounds to dispossess him of his lands. That meant the King's options were limited.

Pushing thoughts of Heinrich from his mind, the King dismissed Gustav and got to work on the work of formally integrating Magdeburg into the empire.

18 June, 1418, Stralsund, Vorpomern, Mecklenburg

Ulrich von Mecklenburg sat down, exhausted from the long fight. He had just had to put down a rebellion by the some locals who wanted to rejoin the duchy of Pomerania. This had satisfied one of Ulrich's goals, as he was able to use this as a pretext to have Heinrich removed from his position of Lord of Vorpomern, claiming that he should have been more attentive and that such a large rebellion could hardly have been spontaneous. It must have been planned for months, if not at least a year, without ever even coming close to being discovered. For failing to keep order with in his province, the King removed Heinrich from his position. While Heinrich had fumed over the decision, the King had calmed him by promising that he would not assign a new Lord to the territory and offering Heinrich a chance to earn his Lordship back. He had not kicked him off the council, so he had not lost his services. In fact, his performance actually improved, as he seemed intent on gaining his Lordship back. He had also proved far less confrontational, and had not had a serious argument with Gustav in some time. The King could only hope that that meant the two had finally finally reconciled and that Heinrich was done with his scheming.

As if thinking of them could make them appear, in stepped his two oldest friends and advisors.

"Ah, Heinrich, Gustav, I take it you are hear to give your reports."

"Indeed we are sire, by you leave, I will begin with an overview of recent events." responded Gustav

"Very well, go on"

"As you know, the past 7 years have been relatively quiet. By focusing on our trade, we have managed to gain a commanding presence in all of the nearby centers of trade.
We have also signed an alliance with Anhalt. Finally, we have secured a royal marriage with Hungary"

"However, there is a much more pressing concern. As you know, we are allied to the nation of Luneburg. However, they are also allied to the Hansa how has apparantly gone to war with Hesse again. Hesse has brought Hamburg, Saxony, and Alsacce into the War. However, we are not obligated to help them in this war. I propose we stay out of this affair, even though we could technically intervene on Luneburg's behalf, as the most Hesse is likely to do is force Luneburg to break our alliance with us in which case, we will simply sign a new one."

"Sire, if I may" said Heinrich

"Go ahead, old friend".

"I believe that we should intervene in this war."

"Heinrich, this is a rather serious decision. Hesse and their allies have a rather large army and we stand to gain little from the war. I have no desire to take land from Hesse and merely give them an excuse for war again a few years down the line and I am not willing to annex them, as that is too much territory we have not claim to. Our ownership of imperial lands we have no claim to is already grating on the nerves of our neighbors. We might be able to take Hamburg, but it is close to the Hansa, so it is likely they will beat us to it. We would be sending our men to die for nothing."

"Yes, but it is not territory that I am thinking of, at least not primarily. We should try to take Hamburg, but it is inconsequentially. The real prize of this war will be Saxony."

"Saxony? why the devil would I want to annex Saxon?"

"You wouldn't be annexing, sire, but vassalizing it."

"Why vassalize them? They can commit few troops to our armies and we already have enough vassals as it is."

"Simple, your grace, they are an imperial elector. By vassalizing them, we can almost guarantee they will vote for us in Imperial elections. While we are right now too weak to effectively act as Emperor, as it would put requirements, such as defending the empire, on us that we cannot meet, it is a worthy eventual goal. Once we have the money and clout to do so, we could try to take the Imperial throne, and the easiest way to do that is to vassalize as many of the electors as possible. Why not start now?"

"You have a very good point Heinrich, however, would our military be able to handle the Hessian military. "

"On its own, no, but with out allies and vassals, I believe that this war will be winnable. Brunswick and Pomerania can between them probably raise between 7-9,000 troops, if not more. Hesse cannot hope to match that deployment."

"Very well, I believe you are right. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to waste. Gustav, prepare a formal declaration of war on Hesse."

"As you wish, sire."

And with that, Ulrich von Mecklenburg again prepared his country for war.

 

[Cthulufaic]

Sweet AAR you have here! Keep up them posts my boy! By the By, do you plan on ever eating scandinavia?

 

[morningSIDEr]

Cracking stuff. I'm a bit confused by the first screenshot though, perhaps my eyes are failing me but it seems to show Friedrich as an 8 year old, which is a bit old for a newborn! Was Friedrich 'born' via an event, hence his high age? Or was he born a few years ago? All a bit strange.

Apart from that, all seems good. The addition of Magdeburg is a very useful gain and awarding Gustav with a title seems a very good move by Ulrich, he seems his most loyal and trusted advisor. I'm actually quite pleased with news of the rebellion in Vorpomern, Heinrich has been worrying me for a while thus his lowing his title is no terrible thing. Perhaps it will lessen his arrogance if nothing else.

So now war once again, and a very intelligently chosen war too. Gaining control of the electors at this early stage should pay off in the future.

 

[History_Buff]

Cracking stuff. I'm a bit confused by the first screenshot though, perhaps my eyes are failing me but it seems to show Friedrich as an 8 year old, which is a bit old for a newborn! Was Friedrich 'born' via an event, hence his high age? Or was he born a few years ago? All a bit strange.

Apart from that, all seems good. The addition of Magdeburg is a very useful gain and awarding Gustav with a title seems a very good move by Ulrich, he seems his most loyal and trusted advisor. I'm actually quite pleased with news of the rebellion in Vorpomern, Heinrich has been worrying me for a while thus his lowing his title is no terrible thing. Perhaps it will lessen his arrogance if nothing else.

So now war once again, and a very intelligently chosen war too. Gaining control of the electors at this early stage should pay off in the future.

No, your eyes are not failing you, mine are. I completely missed that. That is the first screenshot I have of him, so I completely forgot that he was born all the way back in 1401. I will have to edit my previous posts to reflect this.

You are right about Magdeburg, it will prove very useful. the Vorpomern rebellion did allow Ulrich to strip Heinrich of his title, so that was good. However, if he keeps himself out of trouble and his plan for this war works, he may have a chance to earn it back.

Indeed, getting an elector in my pocket would indeed go a long way to helping me in the future. Unfortunately, I do not want to gain the Imperial title just yet. That would compel me into wars I am just not capable of fighting, even if it would stop the Bohemians from asking for my provinces.

 

[wundte]

I really like what you do with your characters relations! Keep it up!

 

[Avindian]

Really good stuff! I just now discovered this, and I appreciate the shout out -- I look forward to more!

 

[History_Buff]

Sweet AAR you have here! Keep up them posts my boy! By the By, do you plan on ever eating scandinavia?

Thanks for the compliment. As for your other question, Probably not. I will most likely be eating Denmark, but Sweden and Norway will most likely be left alone.

I really like what you do with your characters relations! Keep it up!

I most certainly plan to.

Really good stuff! I just now discovered this, and I appreciate the shout out -- I look forward to more!

Glad to hear you like it.

Alright, I have just carried out a massive edit of this AAR. Pretty much, I edited anything that said that Ulrich was childless and moved the part where I describe Friedrich's birth to the 1401 update, because that is when he was born. Read it if you like. Now, lets get on with the update.

18 June, 1419,Mecklenburg Army camp outside Magdeburg, Altmark, Mecklenburg,

Ulrich von Mecklenburg was very proud of himself. He had just seen off the the army of Hamburg, which had been chased out of its lands by the by the Hanseatic alliance.

The Hamburg army had had more men, but their morale had been sapped from previous battles and they had proved easy prey for Ulrich and his men. Ulrich now planned to give chase, but for now, he gave his men a rest. He also had had reports that his vassals, the Pomeranians were making a good showing of themselves against the Hessians in Brunswick. As of yet, he had received no requests for aid, so he would let them handle the Hessians for the moment. He meanwhile meant to annihilate Hamburg's army. While he would like to be able to occupy the city, it was already under siege by the army of the Hanseatic league. However, that was the only blemish on what was shaping out to be a very successful war.

27 April, 1421, Outside Leipzig, Saxony

King Ulrich von Mecklenburg whipped the sweat from his brow. He had just added another victory to his record, this one against the Saxons.

However, even though the Saxon army had been forced to fleet, their capital at Leipzig remained untaken. The garrison of 1,000 men looked like it could hold out awhile and Ulrich lacked the men to be able to storm the city. That meant he would have to wait the siege out, something he did not relish, since he had never been fond of sieges. They cost time and could drag on for what seemed like ages and kept his army tied down and unable to provide assistance to the greater war. However, this war looked to be on its way to being won. While the Hessians had forced Luneburg to annul the alliance, Gustav assured him that he would be able to get them to resign the alliance after the war ended. Thus, Ulrich did not worry much over the fate of the country on whose behalf his country had officially gone to war. By now, he figured that everyone knew that had only been a pretext, even if they did might not yet know what his real goal was. However, that would hopefully become apparent soon. However, while the Hessians and their allies had managed to bring Luneburg to heel, that would prove to be the high water mark of the war. The Hessian army had been decisively beaten by the Pomeranians and they now found their cities under siege by the Pomeranians and Brunswickers. So far, Heinrich's gamble looked to be paying off.

Heinrich. The man had seemingly changed almost completely. He hadn't fought with Gustav in sometime and he seemed to be a lot less brazen with the King lately. While Heinrich did not always agree with either man, he was much more respectful and civil now. He rarely openly challenged the King's judgement, only doing so when he felt he was making a grave error, which was his job as his advisor. He could only hope that Heinrich had seen the error of his ways after being stripped of his lordship. If this war was victorious, he was seriously considering giving Heinrich his Lordship back. He did not really have anyone else who could fulfill the role at the moment, and the war was his idea. The King therefore felt he deserved some reward. He only wished it was not Vorpomern he would be giving him. The size of the rebellion a while back showed Ulrich that Vorpomern could raise a sizeable force and, while Heinrich seemed to have abandoned his ambitions of kingship, he would rather he not have the ability to build up such a large power base if those ambitions came back. However, for the moment at least, Ulrich decided he would have no choice but to give him Vorpomern if he wanted to give him a land, as no new lands would be gained and giving him Magdeburg would be even worse then giving him Vorpomern. However, Ulrich put those thoughts aside for now and got down to the business of preparing to lay siege to Leipzig.
November 10, 1421, Leipzig, Saxony
It was finally over. After The fall of Hesse to his vassals, they had come East to help him lay siege to Saxony. With the new influx of men, Ulrich had ordered an assault on the city. The assault had carried the city and now he had what he wanted. He now forced the King of Saxony to sign the treaty of Leipzig, making him a vassal of Ulrich

Soon after, he forced Hesse to sign another peace treaty whereby they agreed to pay a small sum of money to Mecklenburg and renounce almost all of their alliances. With all of his territory occupied, he had little choice but to accept.

Heinrich's gamble had played off. The war had been short and victorious, nothing like the suspense ride the war with Pomerania had been. Upon his return to the capital, he presented Heinrich with his old Lordship and warned him not to take it for granted like he did last time, as he would not get another chance. Heinrich gave the King his word he would not ever betray his trust again.

10 December, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Gustav sat at his desk starring at the mountain of paperwork on top of it, as if by simply willing it to do so, it would go away. The recently concluded war had led to a flurry of diplomatic activity and that meant more work for Gustav. Gustav had developed a loving for paperwork after his son had been born around the same time as the Prince. It seemed to have a ravenous appetite for his time and sucked it up like a thirsty man drank up water. That had cut drastically into his time with his son, causing him to become a master at prolong it. However, not that his son was grown, he found he had little justification for foisting it on assistants. Karl seemed to make his father more and more proud of him with each passing day. He had served with distinction in the most recent war and had shown tremendous bravery. As well as that, the boy seemed to have inherited his father's diplomatic ability. He and the Prince had become fast friends, reminding Gustav of younger versions of himself and the King.

It was that moment, when he finally summoned up the will to get to work on the paperwork when an aide came in with a letter from the King of Luneburg. Gustav had been trying to get them to agree to another alliance every since the last war ended, a feat that had required some generous bribes, and he had finally sent the formal request not long ago and he hoped that this letter bore a response.

Much to his satisfaction it did indeed house a response. Even better was that the response was a yes.

Finally, after a month of trying, he had finally managed to undo the only real damage that Hesse had been able to do during the war. More importantly, taking this letter to the King gave him an excuse to give some of the paperwork to one of his assistants and put the rest off until he returned.

17 February, 1422, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg

Things had been rather slow lately in Mecklenburg for Ulrich. They had continued their trade policy and they had had mixed success lately. Thanks to the tribute he had received from Hesse, he had a far bit of surplus in his treasury. However, he had not yet decided what to do with it. He could try to use it to improve relations with his neighbors in hopes of getting an alliance, but most of them already had alliances and he did not want the gold to go to waste by picking the wrong country to invest in. He could also try to develop his lands, but he had not yet decided what he wanted to invest it in.

While he was contemplating this, a man walked in who was quite obviously of the lower nobility. After being introduced as a Count from Mecklenburg, the man handed him a petition, signed by many of the other counts in Mecklenburg.

"What is this?" Ulrich asked.
"This is a petition from the local nobility. It is well known that you have been taking more and more authority from the minor nobles and placing it in your own hands. While we do not ask you to return these powers, we would like to be compensated in some way for the loss of power. We would ask that you increase the barriers to entering the nobility, as several of the wealthy merchants that you have sent to far off markets have become quite wealthy and have been trying to weasel their way into the nobility. We think this is a fair trade off."
"I see your point, but why bring this to me now?"
To be honest, sire, I am the one who proposed this petition. I did so because many of the nobles are getting nervous at their slow loss of authority. The fear that you might someday just abolish the lower nobility altogether and many are talking of revolt. I proposed this measure as a way of cooling tensions and of getting something back rather then risking our lives in a revolt that would most likely prove foolhardy. While it is up to you to accept or reject the petition, I strongly recommend you accept, as the grumblings will only get louder if you reject."
The King weighed his options. While he did think things would be better if he could reduce, or even phase out the local nobility, he had not yet gotten to the point where he could do that just yet. The last thing he wanted was to further agitate the nobility at this time and destabilize the country. On the other hand, he lost nothing by accepting this request. Therefore, his choice was easy.
"Very well, I will grant your petition, go and tell give your friends the news."
"Thank you very much sire, if that is all, I will take my leave"
and with that the young noble walked off, pleased that he had managed to convince the King to agree to this petition and feeling safe in the knowledge that, for the time being, their would be no further attempts to undermine the nobility.

21 April, 1422, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg.

Ulrich sat discussing policy with his son Friedrich, who he had recently named his domestic minister. The boy was now 21 years old, and it was high time he start learning how to manage a country. So far, he had done a passable, but not a stellar job. His heart just wasn't in it, for he preferred soldiering to accounting. However, he had finally convinced his father that the money they had gained from the peace with Hesse would be best spent in constructing a Constabulary in Mecklenburg. by establishing local constables in the region and building the Constabulary, he would be able to increase the tax income he received from the province, making it the wisest investment at the moment. The King and the Prince therefore sat with the magistrate who would head up the constabulary when it was built and was currently overseeing the construction. He seemed to be rather intelligent and had found a decent architect to design the building. Now all that was left was to appropriate the funds for construction. After listening to the architect explain the plans and getting his estimate of how much it would cost, the King ordered the money taken out of the treasury.

While the constabulary would undoubtedly increase tax income, the King suspected that the prince also had another, more martial reason for advocating it. Currently, Mecklenburg's army was rather small for a nation its size. The problem, however, lay not in the amount of men they could raise, but rather in the maintaining of the troops. This constable would increase the money that Mecklenburg brought in and therefore allow them to raise more men. While this certainly wasn't bad thinking and he had arrive at a good conclusion, he still didn't like how his son's mind always seemed to be on military matters. No doubt he had only come up with this plan by asking himself the question "How to find more money to raise more men?". He would have to have a talk with his son later to see if he could straighten that out a bit.

16 December, 1423, Schwerin Castle Mecklenburg

Things had been rather quite the past year. After his son had sold him on building that first constabulary, Gustav had requested for one to be built in his lands of Altmark as well. He had agreed and construction had begun shortly thereafter.

Gustav had also informed him later that year that Saxony was now voting for him for Holy Roman Emperor

However, it did not matter that much, as it was still only one vote in a sea of Bohemian votes. He could do with Bohemia losing the imperial crown but, for the moment, it did not look like it would happen.
That was when Gustav came in with rather depressed expression on his face holding a piece of paper. the King also noticed that his hand was shaking, something he had never seen happen before.
"What is wrong Gustav, you look like you have just seen a ghost."
"Would that that was the cause of my concern. It would be much better news then what is in this news."
Ulrich took the paper and read it. Upon reading it, his heart sunk.

Apparently, Friedrich and Karl had been in the town of Rostock and had been returning home to the castle when their party was set upon by what appeared to be bandits just a few yards from the castle. The two boys fought well, killing a sizeable number of them. However, in the end, there were just too many of them and the boys were overrun. Their bodies had been found the next day, riddled with dozens of wounds, demonstrating how strong of warriors they had both been.
The news was two much for Ulrich, who immediately broke down in tears. His son had been everything to him and now he had been killed by mere bandits. It hardly seemed fair. He now realized how hard this news must be for Gustav. Gustav had been so proud of his son also. It was clearly all Gustav could do to keep from crying himself.

After taking sometime to temporarily contain his grief, something else began to bother him about the news. Why would bandits be so brazen as to strike so near the castle? There had been no reports of bandit attacks in the area, so why this attack all of a sudden? Also, why were the two boys in town in the first place? They did not frequent the town and only rarely did they go there. It didn't make sense. He began to think there might be more to this. Therefore, he decided to ask Gustav to look into this matter.

There you have it, another update. I may post another short update in the next few says, but I won't promise anything, as Last Bastian is due for an update next.

 

[morningSIDEr]

Good news mixed with some very bad. Good that the war with Saxony went so swimmingly, a strong new vassal gained. I had also first thought that this war brought with it yet more good news in that Heinrich seemed to be acting very well but now turning to the bad news, the passing of Friedrich, I am not so sure. I think Ulrich is right to be suspicious regarding the manner of Friedrich's passing, I think the seemingly repentant Heinrich may just have had a hand in it. All rather murky at present anyway, greatly looking forward to the next update so that I can find out exactly what has been going on.

 

[History_Buff]

Good news mixed with some very bad. Good that the war with Saxony went so swimmingly, a strong new vassal gained. I had also first thought that this war brought with it yet more good news in that Heinrich seemed to be acting very well but now turning to the bad news, the passing of Friedrich, I am not so sure. I think Ulrich is right to be suspicious regarding the manner of Friedrich's passing, I think the seemingly repentant Heinrich may just have had a hand in it. All rather murky at present anyway, greatly looking forward to the next update so that I can find out exactly what has been going on.

December 16, 1425, Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg.

The King was no longer himself. The loss of his son two years ago had at first caused him to be bitter and angry with the world. Now, however, he had sunk into a deep depression that he did not seem to break out of. Amalia had tried to cheer him up but nothing seemed to work. His son had meant the world to him and his death seemed to have broken him. He was no longer the strong visionary he once had been. However, the fact that his son was dead was not the only thing troubling the King. Ulrich was now a rather old man and Amalia was past child bearing years. That meant that the when he died, which he thought would be relatively soon, the dynasty died with him, at least in the male line. While the death of his son was the reason for the depression, this was the thing that kept him from climbing out of it.

Making all of this worse was the fact that today was the second anniversary of his son's death and Gustav was still no closer to finding the people responsible. He was starting to think the death really had been by coincidence and that Gustav might be better off putting his energies elsewhere. He had asked Gustav to do this because he was the one person at Court absolutely above suspicion. Heinrich might still have designs on the crown and had his son kill to advance his own cause of being King someday. Johann might have done it to avenge his fallen homeland in Pomerania. Erick Askanier might have done it to foment tensions in Mecklenburg between Gustav and Heinrich to incite a civil war that might allow him to seize control of Mecklenburg on Ulrich's death. The death of Gustav's own son, however, placed him above suspicion because he would most certainly of ordered the bandits not to harm him if he had been behind it. However, whoever had hired the bandits had tried very hard to ensure they disappeared and the trail was beginning to run cold.

It was then that Gustav entered with an expression on his face that was halfway between joy and disappointment and an envelop in his hands.

"Ah Gustav, how goes the hunt".

"Very well sire, I believe I can now say with certainty who was responsible for the deaths of our sons."

At this the King brightened up notably "Really, have with it then, who was it. This is the best news I have had since my son died".

"Heinrich von Meinicke"

At this the King looked ready to try and punch a hole in the stone wall. Heinrich was his friend, how could he have done something like this? When he asked Gustav this question, Gustav replied thusly.

"Sire, I am sure of it. I finally tracked down the bandit leader a few weeks ago and after some, ahem, persuasion, he confessed to being hired by Heinrick. We arrested Heinrich and searched his castle and found his journal. In it he talks about, initially, his dislike for me and his ambition to be King. However, he also constantly stresses how to try and do anything while you still live would be unthinkable. He seems to indicate that at this point, his personal loyalty to you was stronger then his ambition. When you dismissed him from his Lordship though, this seemed to change. Apparantly, stripping him of Vorpomern also killed the personal loyalty he had for you, leaving nothing to restrain his ambitions. While he put on a show as if being repentent, his journals tell another story. He begins railing on about how you do not recognize his talents properly and makes some unsavory remarks about your relationship with me. He seems he cannot believe you would favor someone who was lowborn, citing my father's origins as a merchant before being ennobled by your father, over someone of what he calls 'true nobility'. He goes on and on about how he should be King, calling you a simpering fool at several points. The tirades just continue until the day your son is killed. He then confesses to having his son lure our boys into the ambush. He claimed that he had left orders to leave my son unharmed, so as to cast suspicion on me, but my son broke free of his bonds and they killed him. His plan was to kill Friedrich and frame me for it. Then, when he informed you of the deed, he would claim indignation at the deaths and request to lead the investigation, making sure it arrived at my door. This would make him the sole heir when you died.

Ulrich could not believe it. One of his best friends had murdered his son and Gustav's son as well. All over the throne. Once again, trying to punch a hole in the stone wall started to look like a good idea. To make matters worse, he felt at least partially to blame. Had he not stripped him of his lordship, this might not have happened. But he had thought giving it back might have salved that wound. Apparently Heinrich had played them all like fools. Now, however, it was time for Ulrich to get payback. He ordered Heinrich brought to him.

When Heinrich arrived, the King demanded that he explain himself.

"You did not recognize my talents. I should have been King when you passed. I should have married your sister. I was more deserving then this upjumped peasant. He should go back to the farm where he belongs. Let the 'real' nobles run things. You had no right to strip me of my deserved reward in Vorpomern. That rebellion was just pretense. You wanted me gone because you couldn't handle me telling you the truth about this idiot at our meetings. You wanted to put your own toady, probably Johann, in as Lord of Vorpomern. Just so happens I gave you that war before you could."

"Why kill my son, an innocent boy if your issue is clearly with me"

"Easy, Killing him and framing Gustav would make me king when you passed. I had nothing against your son. He was just in my way. With him gone, I could finally get the crown I so deserve. No man has done more to deserve it. I gave you the war with Pomerania. I gave you the war with Saxony. Gustav has never done anything but back up my achievments. As for Friedrich, what makes him more deserving then me. That he was born into the royal family. Royal blood has no bearing on ability. I deserved it more then him because I was smarter then that idiot and you know it. Why make him the King and not me?"

"You are supposed to be my friend, you knew how much my son meant to me. How could you do this to me."

"What kind of friend constantly undermines his friends. I know you were grooming Johann, that peasant from Pomerania, to replace me as spymaster. You gave Gustav your sister's hand in marraige over me, who clearly deserved it more. I know that they love each other, but who cares. Love has no bearing on politics and her husband was a matter of politics. Therefore, it matters not how much she loves her husband. All that matters is how is that he is deserving and no man was more deserving then me. Then there is Vorpomern. You took that from me for nothing more then pretext. You wanted me gone and you used the rebellion against me to justify it. What kind of friend does that to his friend. You ended our friendship, not me."

Heinrich could not have said anything worse. Had he come in repentant of what he had done, the King might have spared his life. But this open defiance would not stand. He could not stand for Heinrich's arrogance anymore. Two innocents had already died to satisfy his grand ambition, how many more would he have willingly sacrificed to see it fulfilled? With that in mind, Heinrich, first thought to have him carried off to be executed. But then he had an idea. Instead of asking him to be taken away to execution, Ulrich took the ceremonial sword from over his desk and ordered the guards and Gustav to hold Heinrich down.

At this moment, the horrified Heinrich began to plead for his life. "How can you do this to me. You claim me as a friend. For the love you once bore me, please, do not do this."

But that love was gone forever. Ignoring Heinrich's pleas, the King raised the sword up and brought it down on Heinrich's head, executing him personally.

"Have his son imprisoned and interrogated at once. If he willingly took part in this and knew what he was doing, I want him to rot in the darkest cell we have for the rest of his miserable life."

"At once sire" replied Gustav.

The King seemed to finally snap out of his depression. Perhaps he could get back to his own self again after all.

6 November 1426, Scwherin Castle, Mecklenburg

All those gathered were very somber. On November 6, 1426, after a long and successful reign of 34 years, Ulrich von Mecklenburg was dead.

For many, they could not believe that he was finally gone. The past year, he seemed to have pulled himself out of his depression. Everyone thought that he might have lived another 5 or even 10 years. Instead, the King had passed peacefully in his sleep at the age of 50. He had been without a doubt the greatest ruler Mecklenburg had ever had. In his 34 year reign, he expanded Mecklenburg by three times its original size. Whatsmore, with his death, his successor would now inherit the the country of Saxe-Launenburg, adding yet another province to the Kingdom. He had been a dynamic and decisive ruler, taking big risks to raise Mecklenburg up above the level of petty Kingdom and he had succeeded most admirably. He had even defied the emperor twice. He had had a grand vision of Mecklenburg as the dominant power in Northern Germany, perhaps even all of Northern Europe. However, he had died before accomplishing that lofty ambition. It would now fall to his successor to carry out the dream. One could only hope that the next King would be as good as the one who had just passed.

There was much discussion who the next King would be. Most believed it would be Gustav, who was married to the Kings sister, Andrea. He had by far the best claim. But the King had given Gustav a sealed letter, to be opened on his death, that named the successor and no one knew who it was. To no one's surprise, when Gustav read it, it named him as the next King. With a heavy heart Gustav accepted. The recent events had hit him hardest. In the space of the last 3 years he had lost his beloved son and his two best friends. Even worse, Andrea remained depressed about the death of there son and he feared that the death of her brother might be too much for her. He was not sure if she would stand up to the rigors of being queen. She was all that he had left and he feared he would soon lose her too. However, one thing kept him going. The promise he had made to Ulrich long ago to help him to bring Mecklenburg to greatness. He was determined to continue his friends vision and to do all in his power to see it to fruition. Now, it was Gustav Wilhelm Von Hannover's turn to show whether he had it in it to be as great a King as the recently departed Ulrich.

I know this update is rather short, but that seemed a good place to end this update. I may update this again tommorow if I can, but I have exams and projects coming due, so I must begin working on them now.