THE HARROWING OF THE VALLEYS
Back then Caernarvon was not the massive fortress that now guards the western marches. It was still impressive to my young eyes, though, and the savage Welshmen that guarded it seemed like monsters from a child's tale. Their spearmen taunted us from the walls, displaying their private parts and throwing ordure, but we could stand their jeers and we cursed back as lustily as they. For the assault, William had recruited a group of Welsh archers, short and wiry men who held great long bows nearly as tall as they were, and we mocked them for we were Saxons and tall and they were Britons and seemed like children to us. He had brought also spearbands from among those local tribes that paid tribute to the men of Caernarvon, and it was these expendable troops, accompanied by bands of lackwits and ne'erdowells from his own lands, who were tasked with taking the siege engines to the walls: a great tower and a score of ladders. It was then that we saw the deadly accuracy of the great yew bows the Welshmen carried, and our mockery turned to cries of dismay as flight after flight of arrows cut down the spearman and peasant bands in their dozens. We set up a shout as our tower neared the enemy walls, but the Welsh were skilled in siegecraft and had laid out barrels of pitch by their bows, which they lit as they shot to produce arrows that burned fiercely. Their flaming darts set one of the towers alight, killing the wretched men inside it, but the king just laughed his cruel laugh and we saw that the other tower was at the walls, and then I was moving forward as Geoffrey roared to me to march and I was made just one man among the hundreds pressing together as we struggled up the ladders.
First, an apologetic. I missed two agents - a spy north of Nottingham and a cardinal in East Anglia - in the post above. They are now hard at work spying and preaching respectively.
Sellswords of Swansea
Three turns in (ie turn 4) and King William's men have been besieging Caernarvon for a turn, long enough to build two ladders and a siege tower. Clearly I've been doing something right as the Council of Nobles last turn offered a 2500 Florin bounty for the capture of the castle. En route, I hired some Mercenary Crossbows and Welsh Spearmen to bulk up the assaulting force, as I expect casualties to be heavy. That said, as Caernarvon is just a wooden castle the few basic units I have should be enough, so I ordered the assault.
All goes well, although there is a dicey moment when the siege tower catches fire and the laddermen are getting butchered by Welsh Spearmen defending the walls. Thought for the day is that troops arriving at the top of a ladder are in a horribly vulnerable situation. I was impressed to see that the AI had put ALL its troops on the walls, only withdrawing any units to the capture point once I had already captured the gates. Doing that, by the way, capturing the gates, was a real fight. Even with spearmen on both walls AND more men coming up the ladders, which disrupted the Welsh Spearmen defensive units' formations and allowed me the first few kills, it was very slow going. Looks like wall assaults are where the English close assault troops will shine, when I get them later on that is. The kill ratio was horrible, and I lost nearly 400 out of 600 men beating the 260 or so longbowmen and spearmen in the castle. Also, mental note - while troops are unarmoured, longbows are a real killer against them. I lost nearly all my crossbow mercenaries and peasant archers (the first units the AI longbowmen targeted) before my ladders were even at the walls. Still, by the time the dust has settled, King William has added Wales to his growing nation, and the grateful nobles have coughed up their 2500 florin reward. This is immediately spent on outfitting more troops for the upcoming Scots campaign.
Northern Frontier
Before the princess even made it to the border, the Scots have offered map information and a trade deal. Looks like the Greater British Co-Prosperity Sphere is off to a good start. I sent Her Royal Highness to offer 500 gold to their representative as a sweetener (and in the hope that successfully negotiating things will help to trigger some handy V&Vs for her). The greedy Scots accept, but there's no trait increase - at least, not yet. As London's Brothel is now welcoming customers and sprogging cheery little English spies, there are a few more men in cloaks being sent North to ensure that Scotland is thoroughly infiltrated. This is good as the initial spy died horribly trying to sneak into Edinburgh (on a 93% chance too, poor devil).
Nottingham and London continue to produce reinforcements, including some Hobilars and Mailed Knights, so Rufus's army is growing nicely. The militia and archers wounded assaulting York have been sent home to pick up some new recruits but they'll be back soon. I was delighted to see that Rufus had gained the trait "mean leader" (+1 Dread) - any ideas what triggered this? Still, in the hope of encouraging him along the path of depravation I whacked tax in York up to 'Very High'. I want Edinburgh quaking when he gets close.
Meanwhile, back in Brittany
The chivalrous (compared to Rufus, anyway) Prince Robert's reunification talks with the good people of Rennes are going well and they should fall next turn. I imagine this will trigger a last glorious charge by the anti-co-operation elements, but they're troublemakers anyway and better dead. Once they're gone Robbie will have Rennes to play with. His enlightened rule should be an interesting contrast with Rufus's iron-handed ways, and with luck should give some insights into how the traits work.
Upgrades and Agencies
The Diplomat is still travelling East toward Germany, passing the rebel city of Metz on the way. Nottingham and Caen have both now build leather tanners and are churning out padded armour, which should cut casualties a bit against the Scots. For the hobilars, anyway, as frankly no-one cares if a few Saxon peasants catch arrows in the face. The Merchant is happily trading wool, appropriate enough in a historical context. I'm looking forward to seeing how the monopolies work - multiple merchants on separate instances of the same resource are supposed to produce some extra cash bonus, which could be handy down the line.
Next Steps
With England and Wales under one Norman banner, I'll use the next few turns to refit and resupply my troops, and then head North with Billy the first and his unpleasant son Rufus, with a view to removing the Scots before they have time to become a threat (or ally with the French). After that, it's eyes South to take on the French - but it's getting late, and I'm tired, so that's enough for today. Next up - the highland campaign.
Re: Vignette - England
Re: Vignette - England
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