A Thorn In The Rose: A War Of The Roses TL
- Thread starter VVD0D95
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VVD0D95
Banned
How exactly do you expect that to come about? Charles isn’t married to a yornist princess
Jonathan1997
Banned
The only way burgundy would be united with England would be if if Margaret of Burgundy who married Maximilian married the heir to the English throne. Also Charles Bold would have to die in battle same as ITL
Why would he try and marry his daughter to a kingdom who's in the middle of a civil war and will take some good years of reconstruction to rebuild and is still a enemy of their neighbor, especially now that they killed their heir? Honestly, Charles has a much better time buddying up with his french brothers, especially due to the fact that his daughter was meant to marry the Duke of Berry and his opinion isn't soured due to dealing with the machinations of Louis XI.
Chapter 151: Crofts Stand
VVD0D95
Banned
Chapter 151: Crofts Stand
June, 1462
June, 1462
“There is enough food for a month, not much longer.” Nicholas, his younger son said.
John nodded. He’d suspected as much. There hadn’t been much time to get things in before the siege had begun. And given how many people were in Ludlow, they were running out of food quite quickly. John took a breath. “And the state of it?” He was worried that there would be lice or something else to infect it and make it inedible.
“Being kept safe.” His son said.
John nodded. “Good.”
“What are we going to do?” William, a cousin and the swords master of Ludlow asked.
John took the question into consideration. There were perhaps three thousand men outside the castle walls, laying siege to them. Lancastrians and Welshmen who wanted to take Ludlow to use it as a tool to beat the King with. John had known the King since the man was a baby in swaddling. He wasn’t going to hand over this castle at any cost. But he also knew that they couldn’t hold out forever.
“We are going to have to stand and fight for our ground.” He said eventually.
“How?” Nicholas asked.
“We’ve got the men and the resources.” William said.
“But we’ve got very little food. Not if we want to do it properly.” Nicholas retorted.
“And what is properly?” John’s brother Henry asked. Henry was missing an eye from the last time the Lancastrians had come this way.
Nicholas looked stumped at that. John took a breath and then spoke. “We know how many men they have out there. We know how many men we have. We know what the defences of the castle are. We know one another. We must do something.” He was keenly aware that even if the King was coming with an army, the man might not make it here in time to stop the onslaught that would come when they lost their last resources of food.
“How?” Nicholas asked again.
“We’ve got to be very careful about it.” John said. “We cannot do any sorties out of the castle.”
“So, what are we going to do?” Nicholas asked.
“We’re going to pick them off one by one.” John said.
“How?” Nicholas asked.
“With our archers, and with the cannons that we’ve got.” John answered.
“And you think that will be enough?” Nicholas queried.
“They have no cannons, and they’ve only just started setting up their trebuchets.” William pointed out.
A horn sounded off in the distance, which prompted Henry to go to the window and pull out a looking glass. “Something’s going on out there.” He said.
“What?” John asked, he walked over to his brother and took the looking glass from him. He pressed it to his eye and exclaimed. “The King is here!” Sure, enough he could see the King’s banner, a sun in the splendour, and the lion of England, alongside the banner of the Duke of York, a white rose with the lion at its side. That was something.
*Grabs popcorn* *crosses fingers* Please be a Lancastrian victory, Please be a Lancastrian victory. Also this is going to be good.
But wouldn’t the Sun in Splendour be butterflied? I thought that was only ever used by Edward, after the Battle of St Mortimer’s Cross which has been butterflied.
But wouldn’t the Sun in Splendour be butterflied? I thought that was only ever used by Edward, after the Battle of St Mortimer’s Cross which has been butterflied.
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Chapter 152: Ludlow
VVD0D95
Banned
Chapter 152: Ludlow
June, 1462
June, 1462
Edward muttered a prayer to himself, then drew his weapon high into the air. “Gentlemen!” He roared, grateful he’d pulled his visor up to do this. He blinked at the men before him. “We are here to drive the traitors away, to throw the Welsh back into their pits. We are going to bring victory and honour to our ancestors. Today we end this damnable war!”
He was greeted by a deafening roar.
“Today, we show that there is one true King of England and that as long as there is one King, the red rose will never win!” Edward roared.
The roar intensified.
“For the King!” William Hastings roared. The roar increased, Edward smiled, with his free hand he pulled down his visor and turned his horse around so that they were facing the enemy. He counted to three and then bellowed.
“Charge!”
Edward’s heart thumped in his chest as they approached the enemy lines. It had been one long hard slog marching from London. There had been rain, there had been sleet, and there had even been snow, of all things. But now they were here. He would end the Lancastrian threat once and for all. Especially if Henry was here. If he could capture Henry, then this was game over for them.
Perhaps then he could finally settle down and choose a wife. Edmund suggested going for a Portuguese bride, Edward wasn’t sure, the girl was much older than him, and apparently quite pious. That might be good for winning over some of the devouts who supported Henry, but it would bore him terribly.
There was the Foix girl that his father had talked about. But he wasn’t sure if she’d bring much benefit, not now that Charles VII of France was dead and the new King of France was more interested in whoring. If Burgundy had had a daughter of his age, it would be no issue whatsoever. But he didn’t and so there were many things that needed to be considered.
His mind went blank when the crash came. Some poor bugger of an infantryman was in front of him when Edward brought his weapon down. He heard a crunch and moved on. Another enemy appeared and the same happened. A third enemy and the same result. These men were just boys; they weren’t real fighters. It seemed the outer perimeter of Lancastrian defence was weak. That was good.
There was pressure of course. He soon found that out when the enemy came charging toward him, not on foot, but on horseback. From what he could make out these were men bearing Oxford’s sigil. He wondered whether or not the Earl of Oxford would be willing to fight them if he came across them. the man was leading the rear, and was being watched by Pembroke and Essex. But still he might need to be deployed.
Edward swung his weapon to and fro, trying quite desperately to stop himself from falling. His balance was getting worse as time went on. He took a few blows to the chest and to the arms, but nothing to the face, which was good. He knew from experience that blows to the face never ended well.
The first sign that things were going their way was when he came across men who weren’t properly armoured. That surprised him. Either they hadn’t learned that they were approaching or they were slow and disobedient. Either way they were brought down easily enough. Edward took some of their lives with simple thrusts of his sword.
Their eyes widened as blood burst from their necks or their eyes or wherever the weapons hit them. It was a strange sight, Edward had to admit. He pushed that thought down and tried to keep his eye on the prize. Ludlow was coming closer into view, which meant that soon he’d find the enemy’s leaders. He took a breath. He heard something to the side and then ducked as a sword whistled above his head.
A snarl and a swing. It was someone wearing the Oxford arms, but it wasn’t Oxford. It was more than likely the man’s son, Aubrey. Edward blocked another swing and then parried it and swung back. He struck gold. Hitting the man’s armour and causing him to grunt. De Vere pushed back, swinging with an erratic frenzy.
Edward pushed, pulled and blocked. Slowly moving through the movements he’d been taught as a lad. De Vere managed to hit him a few times, causing him to grunt but there was nothing too serious. It was when the other cunt joined in that things got a bit sticky.
The other man was bigger and stronger and his blows came with much more force. Edward felt his arms shake as he attempted to block this man’s swings. He grunted under the strain, and slowly managed to pull himself free, but not before incurring a significant strain. He heard his armour creak under the weight of it all.
Edward was attacked by both of them at the same time. Hitting one of them and getting hit by the other. It was a constant thing. One moment they’d be stalking him, the next they’d attack and then he’d retaliate. He was trying to think of how to end this cycle when he heard something.
What it was he didn’t know. But it caused something in his gut to sink.
VVD0D95
Banned
The death of the King doesn't mean it would be a victory, there are other capable commanders still there.