A Saxon Imperial Dream
- Thread starter Veldmaarschalk
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Just to answer that with a quote from Byakhiam.Veldmaarschalk said:Well once a parent has the lazy trait, it seems like you are stuck with that trait for every child
So it seems the Billung will be known as the lazy in history.Byakhiam said:
Btw: Why does a muslim land still exist in Slovakia? Why didn't you wipe them out?
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Staden, Staden WTF are the Staden ? :rofl:
As you can see, I have a child king, not really a appropriate time to go conquer muslim lands. Since a child king can't command his armies.
And also, those Carpathian mountain provinces are very remote so news from that area takes a long time to reach the civilized world
As you can see, I have a child king, not really a appropriate time to go conquer muslim lands. Since a child king can't command his armies.
And also, those Carpathian mountain provinces are very remote so news from that area takes a long time to reach the civilized world
Sorry, Billung of course. You see what happens when it is days ago that I played CK or you wrote what happend. Also I knew one of the families in my AAR is the same as yours, only which?Veldmaarschalk said:Staden, Staden WTF are the Staden ? :rofl:
As you can see, I have a child king, not really a appropriate time to go conquer muslim lands. Since a child king can't command his armies.
And also, those Carpathian mountain provinces are very remote so news from that area takes a long time to reach the civilized world
o But now it sounds quite funny. :rofl:
And it was late last night.
o
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BBBD said:That is a might fine really so it is.
Now all you have to do is join it up.
If young Wulfbald lives long enough that indeed is the goal, an to achieve that he will have to beat the von Franken and conquer Germany.
1235
Guigues guessed that it would take Kazimierz Piast a couple of months to reach Poland, he decided to sent all his troops into winterquarters. And to call them up again in april.
In his estimate, Guigues was right, the Asturian-Navarrese army arrived in Poland in june, they were heading straight for the Polish capital in Danzig. But the royal Polish army was ready for them and on the plain of central Poland a battle was fought between 12,000 Asturians and other Spaniards and some 15,000 Polish troops. Since only the royal regiments were called upon, both queen-mother Adela and marshall Guigues found it wiser to not use any troops of their vassals, because of possible loyalty problems.
In heavy cavalry and infantry the both armies were about equally, only in the amount of archers did the Poles clearly outnumber their opponents. Marshall Guigues had learned to valuate the firepower of the longbow And also had come up with some innovative tactics to use them. And with the help of this the Poles defeated Kazimierz in the battle of Sieradzko.
But it wasn’t a complete defeat and Kazimierz even received some reinforcements from Asturias but in july 1235, he was defeated again by marshall Guigues in the battle of Krakow. Kazimierz made a peace offer, which was accepted by Guigues, since both he and the queen found it unwise to move the royal Polish army to Spain and conquer Kazimierz homelands. It would be a to costly affair both in money and men.
1236
A peacefull year for the kingdom, the only noteworthy things were the finishing of a stone castle in Hamburg, a smithy in Lubusz and a templar house in Danzig.
And Beatrix de Sabran proved to be an excellent steward, improving the taxrevenues of several provinces.
1237
In 1237 there was bad news,, the small pox that were still plagueing Mecklemburg had now also appeared in Hamburg.
Meanwhile the Teutonic Order which had its capital in the neighbouring province of Marienburg offered a regiment of his troops to act as a royal guard for the young king. Queen-mother Adela, who as a german women, had high regards for this knightly order accepted the offer.
1238
The improvement of the kingdom by Adela and Beatrix continued, a school was opened in Stettin, a library in Hamburg, a royal post in Bremen and a glass work factory in Lubusz.
Also the small pox plague in Hamburg had ended, but the one in Mecklemburg still continued to take its deadly toll.
1239
In february, queen-mother Adela became seriously ill. And alltough she was not a Billung by birth her diseases showed all the symptoms of the dreaded ‘spell of the Billungs’. But she didn’t want to hear anything of handing over some of her duties to another, she was the queen-mother it was her duty to serve her country and its good people she said.
But not only she became critically ill, also spymaster Swietoslava, who got leprosy. And alltough this illness was a great handicap to her, she was still able to perform her task as spymaster very well.
Guigues guessed that it would take Kazimierz Piast a couple of months to reach Poland, he decided to sent all his troops into winterquarters. And to call them up again in april.
In his estimate, Guigues was right, the Asturian-Navarrese army arrived in Poland in june, they were heading straight for the Polish capital in Danzig. But the royal Polish army was ready for them and on the plain of central Poland a battle was fought between 12,000 Asturians and other Spaniards and some 15,000 Polish troops. Since only the royal regiments were called upon, both queen-mother Adela and marshall Guigues found it wiser to not use any troops of their vassals, because of possible loyalty problems.
In heavy cavalry and infantry the both armies were about equally, only in the amount of archers did the Poles clearly outnumber their opponents. Marshall Guigues had learned to valuate the firepower of the longbow And also had come up with some innovative tactics to use them. And with the help of this the Poles defeated Kazimierz in the battle of Sieradzko.
But it wasn’t a complete defeat and Kazimierz even received some reinforcements from Asturias but in july 1235, he was defeated again by marshall Guigues in the battle of Krakow. Kazimierz made a peace offer, which was accepted by Guigues, since both he and the queen found it unwise to move the royal Polish army to Spain and conquer Kazimierz homelands. It would be a to costly affair both in money and men.
1236
A peacefull year for the kingdom, the only noteworthy things were the finishing of a stone castle in Hamburg, a smithy in Lubusz and a templar house in Danzig.
And Beatrix de Sabran proved to be an excellent steward, improving the taxrevenues of several provinces.
1237
In 1237 there was bad news,, the small pox that were still plagueing Mecklemburg had now also appeared in Hamburg.
Meanwhile the Teutonic Order which had its capital in the neighbouring province of Marienburg offered a regiment of his troops to act as a royal guard for the young king. Queen-mother Adela, who as a german women, had high regards for this knightly order accepted the offer.
1238
The improvement of the kingdom by Adela and Beatrix continued, a school was opened in Stettin, a library in Hamburg, a royal post in Bremen and a glass work factory in Lubusz.
Also the small pox plague in Hamburg had ended, but the one in Mecklemburg still continued to take its deadly toll.
1239
In february, queen-mother Adela became seriously ill. And alltough she was not a Billung by birth her diseases showed all the symptoms of the dreaded ‘spell of the Billungs’. But she didn’t want to hear anything of handing over some of her duties to another, she was the queen-mother it was her duty to serve her country and its good people she said.
But not only she became critically ill, also spymaster Swietoslava, who got leprosy. And alltough this illness was a great handicap to her, she was still able to perform her task as spymaster very well.
1240
Young king Wulfbald would turn 16 this year and his mother was already busy arranging a marriage for him that would benefit the Polish kingdom and her own family.
Wulfbald who had heard about this from his tutor and friend, chaplain Renaud Capet, went to his mothers quarters in the royal palace.
“Mother, I have heard you are arranging a marriage for me ?’ said Wulfbald.
‘I am busy right now, Wulfbald, please come back later.’
‘No mother, I want to know if it is true that you want to marry me to one of your relatives ?’
‘Who has told you that ? Renaud ?’
‘It doesn’t matter who told me that mother, I want to know if it is true ?’
‘I am sure Renaud has told you, hasn’t he ? That man just talks to much. But yes it is true.’
‘So, you are going to marry me to this woman, this Jutte von Weimar ?’
‘So you know her name already ? Yes, she is the prime candidate.’
‘But mother, she is just the daughter of a duke. While I am king of Poland, Lithuania and Finland. A marriage between her and me is below my standing. I don’t need you to find me a good wife, I can take care of that myself, she must be of royal blood just like myself.’
‘Her father Baldewin von Weimar is duke of Brandenburg, my son. That makes him one of our most powerfull neighbours.’
‘But not of royal blood mother, and does it matter that he is a duke, he still is a vassal of the king of Germany. He can’t switch his alliegance to us, just because I marry his daughter.’
‘Baldewin has no sons yet of his own, Wulfbald. And in the arrangement I have made with him, your first born son will be his heir. Which means that in due time, the duchy of Brandenburg will be part of our realm.’
‘My son will be a king mother. A duchy more or less isn’t that important.’
‘Your son will not just inherit Baldewin titles, but also his vassals, the counts of Slupsk, Zemigallians, Altmark, Plauen and Anhalt. So that would be a big inheritance, young man.’
‘But I have heard that she is a very plain looking woman mother, with no special abilities what so ever. And she is already 20 ! And what if Baldewin gets a son after all, since he still is only 40. Wouldn’t that mean that we lose that inheritance.’
‘Baldewin is a widower and he has promised me, that he won’t remarry, so there is no danger for that.’
‘But what if he doesn’t keep that promise and gets a son. Will we then kill that son ?’
‘Kill ? We will never kill a young child in fact we will never kill anyone.’
‘Why not ? Father has done it.’
‘Who told you such lies ? Your father was a good man, he never killed anyone, only in battle did he kill people.’
‘I have heard otherwise mother and what father did was very wise in my opinion.’
‘Aahh, arrgh’ queen-mother Adela bent almost double when she felt a terrible pain in her stomach.
‘Are you ill mother ? Do I need to call a servant ?’
‘No no, just some minor pains, but if you could give me some fresh water.’
‘Water ? Who do you think I am, your maid ? I am the king, mother. I will call a servant to help you. I will also marry that Jutte but not because you say so, but because I believe this marriage will benefit the kingdom and myself. And you don’t need to worry very much longer, once I am 16 and the regency has ended, you may retire and spent your time with young Eckard, my idiotic brother’
Wulfbald then left the room.
Queen-mother Adela, had now finally seen how her first born son really was. She had turned a blind eye to long. But she didn’t blame Wulfbald, she only blamed herself, if she had just spent more time with him. And she would also have to talk to chaplain Renaud, that men just told to many stories to her son.
Wulfbald turned 16 in april and was married to Jutte von Weimar, who was indeed a very plain looking young woman without any specific quality. But her only service was to produce a heir and in that she seemed quit good since she became soon pregnant after the marriage.
With his coming of age and marriage the official regency had ended, and Wulfbald kept his word. His mother was relieved of her position, on ground of her health, as chancellor. The new chancellor was Beatrix de Sabrand, while the new steward was Wermund von Liebschau, the other positions in the royal councill stayed the same.
Other important things in the kingdom was the building of windmills in Gniezienksie, a monastery in Bremen and Holstein and a church in Hamburg.
Young king Wulfbald would turn 16 this year and his mother was already busy arranging a marriage for him that would benefit the Polish kingdom and her own family.
Wulfbald who had heard about this from his tutor and friend, chaplain Renaud Capet, went to his mothers quarters in the royal palace.
“Mother, I have heard you are arranging a marriage for me ?’ said Wulfbald.
‘I am busy right now, Wulfbald, please come back later.’
‘No mother, I want to know if it is true that you want to marry me to one of your relatives ?’
‘Who has told you that ? Renaud ?’
‘It doesn’t matter who told me that mother, I want to know if it is true ?’
‘I am sure Renaud has told you, hasn’t he ? That man just talks to much. But yes it is true.’
‘So, you are going to marry me to this woman, this Jutte von Weimar ?’
‘So you know her name already ? Yes, she is the prime candidate.’
‘But mother, she is just the daughter of a duke. While I am king of Poland, Lithuania and Finland. A marriage between her and me is below my standing. I don’t need you to find me a good wife, I can take care of that myself, she must be of royal blood just like myself.’
‘Her father Baldewin von Weimar is duke of Brandenburg, my son. That makes him one of our most powerfull neighbours.’
‘But not of royal blood mother, and does it matter that he is a duke, he still is a vassal of the king of Germany. He can’t switch his alliegance to us, just because I marry his daughter.’
‘Baldewin has no sons yet of his own, Wulfbald. And in the arrangement I have made with him, your first born son will be his heir. Which means that in due time, the duchy of Brandenburg will be part of our realm.’
‘My son will be a king mother. A duchy more or less isn’t that important.’
‘Your son will not just inherit Baldewin titles, but also his vassals, the counts of Slupsk, Zemigallians, Altmark, Plauen and Anhalt. So that would be a big inheritance, young man.’
‘But I have heard that she is a very plain looking woman mother, with no special abilities what so ever. And she is already 20 ! And what if Baldewin gets a son after all, since he still is only 40. Wouldn’t that mean that we lose that inheritance.’
‘Baldewin is a widower and he has promised me, that he won’t remarry, so there is no danger for that.’
‘But what if he doesn’t keep that promise and gets a son. Will we then kill that son ?’
‘Kill ? We will never kill a young child in fact we will never kill anyone.’
‘Why not ? Father has done it.’
‘Who told you such lies ? Your father was a good man, he never killed anyone, only in battle did he kill people.’
‘I have heard otherwise mother and what father did was very wise in my opinion.’
‘Aahh, arrgh’ queen-mother Adela bent almost double when she felt a terrible pain in her stomach.
‘Are you ill mother ? Do I need to call a servant ?’
‘No no, just some minor pains, but if you could give me some fresh water.’
‘Water ? Who do you think I am, your maid ? I am the king, mother. I will call a servant to help you. I will also marry that Jutte but not because you say so, but because I believe this marriage will benefit the kingdom and myself. And you don’t need to worry very much longer, once I am 16 and the regency has ended, you may retire and spent your time with young Eckard, my idiotic brother’
Wulfbald then left the room.
Queen-mother Adela, had now finally seen how her first born son really was. She had turned a blind eye to long. But she didn’t blame Wulfbald, she only blamed herself, if she had just spent more time with him. And she would also have to talk to chaplain Renaud, that men just told to many stories to her son.
Wulfbald turned 16 in april and was married to Jutte von Weimar, who was indeed a very plain looking young woman without any specific quality. But her only service was to produce a heir and in that she seemed quit good since she became soon pregnant after the marriage.
With his coming of age and marriage the official regency had ended, and Wulfbald kept his word. His mother was relieved of her position, on ground of her health, as chancellor. The new chancellor was Beatrix de Sabrand, while the new steward was Wermund von Liebschau, the other positions in the royal councill stayed the same.
Other important things in the kingdom was the building of windmills in Gniezienksie, a monastery in Bremen and Holstein and a church in Hamburg.
1241
In january, the first child of Wulfbald and Jutte was born. But much to Wulfbald annoyance it was a daughter, who was named Rudwicha.
Shortly after the birth of the princess, king Wulfbald held a meeting with his marshall Guigues and chaplain Renaud.
‘My dear marshall, I have decided that we will go to war.’
‘To war ? Why your majesty ? Who is threathing us ?’ said marshall Guigues.
‘Nobody is threathing us, but I am threathing people, hahaha. We will go to war against the duke of Mecklemburg, marshall.’
‘Why him ?’
‘Renaud here, has taken an interest in history my dear marshall and he has found out some remarkable stuff. Tell him Renaud.’
‘Yes your majesty, where shall I begin. First of all I am very honoured of course to be here at this meeting, and how is everything with the young princess, your majesty ?’
‘Tell him about Mecklemburg, you damned idiot.’
‘Ah yes, of course. As you know marshall there is a county of Mecklemburg, currently held by our good king Wulfbald and a duchy of Mecklemburg, which can be very confusing sometimes especially when you are studying history like myself. Now don’t get me wrong I am not a great historian or scholar, but I have collected a lot of knowledge I might say. And did you know that ....’
‘Renaud, tell him why we have a right to go to war against Mecklemburg and if you drift of again I will have you your head put on a pointed stick, hahaha.’
‘Yes your majesty, of course. I will start right now. The current ruler of the duchy of Mecklemburg is duke Valdemar Kraam,
and he is also count of Rostock and Tröndelag. Now the first Kraam to be count of Rostock was a certain Mikkel Kraam, a pirate as people said. He was also the former marshall of Duke Magnus ‘the Magnificant’, one of the great ancestors of king Wulfbald. Now this Mikkel was given the title count of Rostock, a title that before that was held by the father of Duke Magnus, Ordulf. This count Mikkel turned out to be man who still worshipped the ancient pagan gods of Scandinavia like Thor and ...’
‘Renaud, I am already sharpening my stick’
‘After he became count he turned pagan again and was excommunicated and he also perfomed bigamy, that is he was married to two women at the same time, very shocking I might say. Then in 1161, king Johann ‘the Baptist’ granted the title duke of Mecklemburg to Hardeknut Kraam, who was not pagan anymore I might ad, but a very well known christian who even went on a pilgrimage to the holy land.’
‘Renaud, I have had enough of this, I will continue’ interrupted Wulfbald his chaplain.
‘During the reigh of king Bodo ‘the Bad’ the Kraam switched sides and became vassals of the kings of Germany. But they really had no right to do this because they titles they held should have been forfeited when that pirate Mikkel became excommunicated, so the title should belong to the Billungs and that is why I am going to war against him.’
‘But what about his liege, the king of Germany, won’t he come to his aid ?’ asked marshall Guigues.
‘No, that Valdemar has declared himself independent a few months ago. And the German king has done nothing about that, I sign of profound weakness I must say.’
‘So we are going to take the titles from this man, your majesty ? I mean we claim the titles duke of Mecklemburg and count of Rostock and Tröndelag ?’
‘No we don’t claim them, you fool, we already have them. We are just going to take them, except that uh .... Troehoendelak. RENAUD ! Where is that county situated and does it belong to me as first Billung ?’
‘Tröndelag, your majesty is a, ah.... let me think, I believe it is somewhere in Scandinavia and I don’t believe it ever belonged to the Billungs’ said Renaud.
‘Yes, your majesty, chaplain Renaud is correct, Tröndelag is a county in the kingdom of Norway, what I have heard is that it is a very poor desolate place full of trees and mountains where it rains all summer and snows all winter’
‘Well thank you Gugues, that is clearly not a place for me to claim. I let him keep that. Now marshall I want to prepare the kingdom for war, it has been at peace to long, blame that on my mother who was to soft in those things. I want us to be ready this fall, because I first have to find a wife for that idiotic weak brother of mine, Eckhard’
‘Queen-mother Adela has done a lot of good things for the kingdom, during the regency your majesty. And keeping the peace is a good thing.’
‘Strange to hear that words out of the mouth of the royal marshall, I know you and my mother were close friends Guigues, but your loyalty belongs to your king, don’t forget that. So don’t tell my mother anything about this our you head will be on a pointed stick, HAHAHA !’
Prince Eckhard became 16 this year and his character was almost the opposite of his brother Wulflbald, Eckhard was modest young man who trusted all people who were nice ot him and even people who were bad to him and Eckhard who had always been bullied by his elder brother even trusted Wulfbald.
Wulfbald quickly had found a good wife for his brother, a young lady from Ireland, not of royal blood, but since she was intended for his brother that didn’t really mather. Máire Ui Mördha, was a very diplomatic woman, and Wulfbald who easily spotted talents made her his chancellor, Beatrix de Sabran was made steward again. Werenher von Liebschau didn’t really regret his dismassals his king had threathend him to often to put his head on a pointed stick, so he was glad to be out of the councill.
In january, the first child of Wulfbald and Jutte was born. But much to Wulfbald annoyance it was a daughter, who was named Rudwicha.
Shortly after the birth of the princess, king Wulfbald held a meeting with his marshall Guigues and chaplain Renaud.
‘My dear marshall, I have decided that we will go to war.’
‘To war ? Why your majesty ? Who is threathing us ?’ said marshall Guigues.
‘Nobody is threathing us, but I am threathing people, hahaha. We will go to war against the duke of Mecklemburg, marshall.’
‘Why him ?’
‘Renaud here, has taken an interest in history my dear marshall and he has found out some remarkable stuff. Tell him Renaud.’
‘Yes your majesty, where shall I begin. First of all I am very honoured of course to be here at this meeting, and how is everything with the young princess, your majesty ?’
‘Tell him about Mecklemburg, you damned idiot.’
‘Ah yes, of course. As you know marshall there is a county of Mecklemburg, currently held by our good king Wulfbald and a duchy of Mecklemburg, which can be very confusing sometimes especially when you are studying history like myself. Now don’t get me wrong I am not a great historian or scholar, but I have collected a lot of knowledge I might say. And did you know that ....’
‘Renaud, tell him why we have a right to go to war against Mecklemburg and if you drift of again I will have you your head put on a pointed stick, hahaha.’
‘Yes your majesty, of course. I will start right now. The current ruler of the duchy of Mecklemburg is duke Valdemar Kraam,
and he is also count of Rostock and Tröndelag. Now the first Kraam to be count of Rostock was a certain Mikkel Kraam, a pirate as people said. He was also the former marshall of Duke Magnus ‘the Magnificant’, one of the great ancestors of king Wulfbald. Now this Mikkel was given the title count of Rostock, a title that before that was held by the father of Duke Magnus, Ordulf. This count Mikkel turned out to be man who still worshipped the ancient pagan gods of Scandinavia like Thor and ...’
‘Renaud, I am already sharpening my stick’
‘After he became count he turned pagan again and was excommunicated and he also perfomed bigamy, that is he was married to two women at the same time, very shocking I might say. Then in 1161, king Johann ‘the Baptist’ granted the title duke of Mecklemburg to Hardeknut Kraam, who was not pagan anymore I might ad, but a very well known christian who even went on a pilgrimage to the holy land.’
‘Renaud, I have had enough of this, I will continue’ interrupted Wulfbald his chaplain.
‘During the reigh of king Bodo ‘the Bad’ the Kraam switched sides and became vassals of the kings of Germany. But they really had no right to do this because they titles they held should have been forfeited when that pirate Mikkel became excommunicated, so the title should belong to the Billungs and that is why I am going to war against him.’
‘But what about his liege, the king of Germany, won’t he come to his aid ?’ asked marshall Guigues.
‘No, that Valdemar has declared himself independent a few months ago. And the German king has done nothing about that, I sign of profound weakness I must say.’
‘So we are going to take the titles from this man, your majesty ? I mean we claim the titles duke of Mecklemburg and count of Rostock and Tröndelag ?’
‘No we don’t claim them, you fool, we already have them. We are just going to take them, except that uh .... Troehoendelak. RENAUD ! Where is that county situated and does it belong to me as first Billung ?’
‘Tröndelag, your majesty is a, ah.... let me think, I believe it is somewhere in Scandinavia and I don’t believe it ever belonged to the Billungs’ said Renaud.
‘Yes, your majesty, chaplain Renaud is correct, Tröndelag is a county in the kingdom of Norway, what I have heard is that it is a very poor desolate place full of trees and mountains where it rains all summer and snows all winter’
‘Well thank you Gugues, that is clearly not a place for me to claim. I let him keep that. Now marshall I want to prepare the kingdom for war, it has been at peace to long, blame that on my mother who was to soft in those things. I want us to be ready this fall, because I first have to find a wife for that idiotic weak brother of mine, Eckhard’
‘Queen-mother Adela has done a lot of good things for the kingdom, during the regency your majesty. And keeping the peace is a good thing.’
‘Strange to hear that words out of the mouth of the royal marshall, I know you and my mother were close friends Guigues, but your loyalty belongs to your king, don’t forget that. So don’t tell my mother anything about this our you head will be on a pointed stick, HAHAHA !’
Prince Eckhard became 16 this year and his character was almost the opposite of his brother Wulflbald, Eckhard was modest young man who trusted all people who were nice ot him and even people who were bad to him and Eckhard who had always been bullied by his elder brother even trusted Wulfbald.
Wulfbald quickly had found a good wife for his brother, a young lady from Ireland, not of royal blood, but since she was intended for his brother that didn’t really mather. Máire Ui Mördha, was a very diplomatic woman, and Wulfbald who easily spotted talents made her his chancellor, Beatrix de Sabran was made steward again. Werenher von Liebschau didn’t really regret his dismassals his king had threathend him to often to put his head on a pointed stick, so he was glad to be out of the councill.
I just hope that Wulfbald leads his own regiments and dies. I can't stand this guy.
CSK said:
i completely agree only at 16 and no heirs... on the other hand iy would surely stirr up things a bit
Finally a king who knows what he wants and knows what he is doing and you all dislike him
A King should not do what he wants but what is best for his family and his realm. And there some others, even if they didn't really rule, were better.Veldmaarschalk said:Finally a king who knows what he wants and knows what he is doing and you all dislike him
A few weeks after the marriage celebrations of his brother, Wulfbald ordered marshall Guigues to his office.
‘My dear marshall, how far are the preparations for the war and do you already have a plan in mind to defeat and conquer the duchy of Mecklemburg’
‘Everything is almost ready, sire, the troops are trained and fully equiped. I also have made up a plan, which should end in a victory for our kingdom.’
‘Tell me, what is your plan ?’
‘Our first objective will be Rostock, your majesty. With the royal regiments of Danzig and Stettin we will attack from the east and with the regiment of the county of Mecklemburg from the west.’
‘But I thought, the county of Mecklemburg suffers from the small pox ?’
‘No sire, that has ended almost a year ago, has nobody informed you ?’
‘No, nobody has. I am going to find out who was responsible for this and then his head will receive a place of honour on the highest tower of my castle’
‘Ain’t that a bit to harsh, sire ?’
‘What is that with you Guigues ? I don’t like that kind of softness with my marshall. Now continue with your plan.’
‘After we have defeated the army of Valdemar in Rostock we will take his castle there, and when that is taken. We will hire a fleet that will take us to Tröndelag and then take that province, this war should be over in a couple of months.’
‘Hire a fleet ? How much is that going to cost us ? Nevermind, that part of your plan I will not follow, I have other ideas about taking True in de Lak.’
‘Tröndelag, sire. May I asks what that plan is ?’
‘Yes, of course. You my dear marshall seem to forget that I also have vassals who have armies, which I can use’
‘No, I haven’t my lord, but your mother queen Adela always said that the armies of our vassals should only be used when we are attacked, but never to be used when we are attacking.’
‘My mother, is no longer in charge, Guigues. And that kind of crap is just ridiculous. I am the king and they have sworn to obey me, when I demand their regiments they will have to accept. But I am no fool, Guigues I know that I will have to offer them something in return’
‘And, your majesty, may I hear about this plan’
‘As you know I have two vassal counts in Sweden, the counts of Medelpand and Ängermanland. The current count of Ängermanland is a distant cousin of mine, another Magnus Billung, he is to command the regiments of both these counties and he is to conquer Tröndelag.
Since I suspect that Valdemar Kraam will order his regiment from that place to defend his capital in Rostock, that province will be defenseless’
‘But what have you offered count Magnus in return ?’
‘I have made a deal with count Magnus, he pays the troops out of his own pocket and when he has conquered Tröndelag he may keep it as his possession. This saves us a lot of money, since we now don’t have to hire a fleet. What do you think about that, Guigues ?’
‘But, your majesty, since we don’t have a claim on Tröndelag we can’t give it to count Magnus, or are we claiming Tröndelag afterall ?’
‘No of course not, you know I don’t have a claim, I know that I don’t have a claim, but there is no need to tell Magnus that, hahaha’
‘But won’t that offend him ? And with that also your other vassals ?’
‘Phh, who cares. Guigues set everything in motion. It is time for war, but first I have to find the man who failed to inform me about Mecklemburg and the small pox.’
It didn’t took Wulfbald a lot of time to find out who was responsible for that. Steward Beatrix had wanted to tell him as soon as she had heard the news, but the captain of the royal guards regiment, the regiment that his mother had hired from the Teutonic Order. Had refused to let Beatrix into the royal chambers, he had said that he would inform the king, but had forgotten about it.
Wulfbald, vengefull as he was, had the poor man beheaded and his head was put on wooden stick which was placed on the highest tower of the castle, a reminder for everyone, that no one was to forget his duty and responsibilities. Wulfbald also sent the rest of the Teutonic Guard back to Marienburg to inform their Grandmaster, that Wulfbald didn’t need a fancy dressparty as his royal guard.
At the end of september the Polish regiments started the invasion of Mecklemburg. Poor Valdemar was completely surprised and before he knew it he and his regiment were locked up in the local castle, but Valdermar had been able to sent a request to his county in Tröndelag, little did he know that it was Wulfbalds intention to let him do this, so that Tröndelag would be undefended.
Valdemar hoped to hold out in his castle untill his reinforcements arrived, but the Polish siege tactics were to superior and he had to surrender his castle on the 20th of november.
When his regiment from Tröndelag arrived it tried a brave assault on the Polish army, but the entire regiment was almost totally killed.
‘My dear marshall, how far are the preparations for the war and do you already have a plan in mind to defeat and conquer the duchy of Mecklemburg’
‘Everything is almost ready, sire, the troops are trained and fully equiped. I also have made up a plan, which should end in a victory for our kingdom.’
‘Tell me, what is your plan ?’
‘Our first objective will be Rostock, your majesty. With the royal regiments of Danzig and Stettin we will attack from the east and with the regiment of the county of Mecklemburg from the west.’
‘But I thought, the county of Mecklemburg suffers from the small pox ?’
‘No sire, that has ended almost a year ago, has nobody informed you ?’
‘No, nobody has. I am going to find out who was responsible for this and then his head will receive a place of honour on the highest tower of my castle’
‘Ain’t that a bit to harsh, sire ?’
‘What is that with you Guigues ? I don’t like that kind of softness with my marshall. Now continue with your plan.’
‘After we have defeated the army of Valdemar in Rostock we will take his castle there, and when that is taken. We will hire a fleet that will take us to Tröndelag and then take that province, this war should be over in a couple of months.’
‘Hire a fleet ? How much is that going to cost us ? Nevermind, that part of your plan I will not follow, I have other ideas about taking True in de Lak.’
‘Tröndelag, sire. May I asks what that plan is ?’
‘Yes, of course. You my dear marshall seem to forget that I also have vassals who have armies, which I can use’
‘No, I haven’t my lord, but your mother queen Adela always said that the armies of our vassals should only be used when we are attacked, but never to be used when we are attacking.’
‘My mother, is no longer in charge, Guigues. And that kind of crap is just ridiculous. I am the king and they have sworn to obey me, when I demand their regiments they will have to accept. But I am no fool, Guigues I know that I will have to offer them something in return’
‘And, your majesty, may I hear about this plan’
‘As you know I have two vassal counts in Sweden, the counts of Medelpand and Ängermanland. The current count of Ängermanland is a distant cousin of mine, another Magnus Billung, he is to command the regiments of both these counties and he is to conquer Tröndelag.
Since I suspect that Valdemar Kraam will order his regiment from that place to defend his capital in Rostock, that province will be defenseless’
‘But what have you offered count Magnus in return ?’
‘I have made a deal with count Magnus, he pays the troops out of his own pocket and when he has conquered Tröndelag he may keep it as his possession. This saves us a lot of money, since we now don’t have to hire a fleet. What do you think about that, Guigues ?’
‘But, your majesty, since we don’t have a claim on Tröndelag we can’t give it to count Magnus, or are we claiming Tröndelag afterall ?’
‘No of course not, you know I don’t have a claim, I know that I don’t have a claim, but there is no need to tell Magnus that, hahaha’
‘But won’t that offend him ? And with that also your other vassals ?’
‘Phh, who cares. Guigues set everything in motion. It is time for war, but first I have to find the man who failed to inform me about Mecklemburg and the small pox.’
It didn’t took Wulfbald a lot of time to find out who was responsible for that. Steward Beatrix had wanted to tell him as soon as she had heard the news, but the captain of the royal guards regiment, the regiment that his mother had hired from the Teutonic Order. Had refused to let Beatrix into the royal chambers, he had said that he would inform the king, but had forgotten about it.
Wulfbald, vengefull as he was, had the poor man beheaded and his head was put on wooden stick which was placed on the highest tower of the castle, a reminder for everyone, that no one was to forget his duty and responsibilities. Wulfbald also sent the rest of the Teutonic Guard back to Marienburg to inform their Grandmaster, that Wulfbald didn’t need a fancy dressparty as his royal guard.
At the end of september the Polish regiments started the invasion of Mecklemburg. Poor Valdemar was completely surprised and before he knew it he and his regiment were locked up in the local castle, but Valdermar had been able to sent a request to his county in Tröndelag, little did he know that it was Wulfbalds intention to let him do this, so that Tröndelag would be undefended.
Valdemar hoped to hold out in his castle untill his reinforcements arrived, but the Polish siege tactics were to superior and he had to surrender his castle on the 20th of november.
When his regiment from Tröndelag arrived it tried a brave assault on the Polish army, but the entire regiment was almost totally killed.