Unrests in the Kingdom of Lleira, 797-801 AE

Chancellor, you shall send a letter to the count with an order to pay me a visit here, in the capital. Remind the count of his oath and let him know that I will not tolerate any disobedience, however high one's title may be.

— King Jaymond upon receiving news of a lord attacking a merchant caravan

The four-year-long period of unrests occurred in the Kingdom of Lleira after the death of its king, Dain II of Lleira, in 797 AE. The heir to the throne, king's thirteen-year-old son, did not possess much power or support, making it a perfect chance for malcontent nobles to make their move. The following years were filled with countless skirmishes between rebels and loyalists until the latter prevailed in 801 AE.

The Conflict

Prelude

During the 13th war with the Kingdom of Esma, King Dain of Lleira was severely wounded in battle and went unconscious, leaving the country to be ruled by the royal council in place of an incapable king. He died two and a half months later, finally succumbing to the wound left on his head by the enemy axe. The king dying at the beginning of Birth was seen as an evil omen by the population, including some of the nobles, and created many problems to the Crown. Besides, his heir, Prince Jaymond of Wiz, had little to no experience of ruling and was not yet ready to accept the responsibility of it. On the other hand, prince's uncle, Duke Archebald of Wiz, was more than willing to take the said responsibility.

Battlefield

The fighting has occurred all around the kingdom. In truth, many nobles were simply settling the score with each other or straight up raiding their more wealthy neighbours. However, it was all presented to the public as part of the conflict between the king and his uncle.

Conditions

According to history, the harvests were relatively poor in 797-798 AE. It severely limited the number of troops that could be fielded at any given time as well as the willingness of the nobles to declare their support for either side and field those troops.

The Engagement

The first period: 797 - 799 AE

Initially, most lords did not yet dare to oppose the new king openly, for the fate of those who were stupid enough to do that was not easy at all, but it was of little relief to the Crown. Many nobles started to question or sabotage the king's decisions, splitting the country into two camps. Even more nobles decided to remain unaligned, minding their own business and waiting to find out which side is stronger.
After more than a month of growing unrest, King Jaymond has run out of patience. The letters were sent to all his vassals, demanding service and assistance in the war against those who have betrayed the Crown. Armies of loyal lords started to gather near the capital city of Ront, but they were not the only ones to do so. Soon after the king's forces marched out, the scouts reported spotting the sight of another army moving towards them. A big army, some thousands of men, if not dozens of them.

What traitors are you talking about, my nephew? There are no traitors here, only your loyal subjects.

— Duke Archebald of Wiz

The two armies encountered each other near a small hill two days later. On a first glance, the forces were approximately equal in strength, so neither side was willing to take the risk of starting a full-size battle. Should that battle be lost, the war would likely be lost too, and both commanders understood it. Soon enough, King Jaymond has met his uncle, Duke Archebald, who have welcomed his nephew with much respect, claiming that whoever told him of any traitors must be a liar and traitor himself. The fight was in no one's interest, so king accepted that version and thanked his uncle for his loyalty, turning back to the capital and later disbanding the army.
The situation remained tense, with more nobles joining one side or another over the months to come. Small skirmishes started to occur between the loyalists and rebels all over the country, and more and more lords began to conspire at the sight of the king's weakness. At the end of Growth 799 AE, the king had once again summoned the banners, frustrated at his inability to regain control over the country.

The second period: 799 - 801 AE

That attempt ended even worse than the previous one, as the royal army turned out to be severely outnumbered, and the duke did not seem to be willing to let his nephew off so easily that time. However, before the battle started, a significant force was spotted moving to the rebels' right flank. It was led by Duke Pawlin of Stush, king's uncle from his mother's side, who became the head of the family after his father's recent departure and favoured his young nephew to keep the throne. The armies parted edges, and there was no false friendship this time. It was clear for both side that they were in a state of the civil war, though it was not announced officially.
The raids and skirmishes became more and more common, painting the kingdom map with red colours of fire and blood. Still, no side could launch a full-scale attack on the other out of fear to provoke the response from the remaining neutral lords, numerous and able to shift the balance of power to one side or another.

The siege

The topic of today's lesson is the importance of stationary defences, most commonly known as castles, in the wars of the past. Now, let's start with an example from not so long ago, a siege of a baronial castle by then-king Jaymond of Lleira.

— Lesson at the Department of History in the Imperial Academy, 842 AE

The tension reached its highest in the middle of Wane 801 AE when a modest force of men-at-arms under the king's banner marched to one of the rebel castles on the occasion of its owner being caught at attacking a merchant caravan. The march in the middle of harvesting season caught his opponents off-guard, giving the king enough time to try and capture a well-fortified castle inside his uncle's lands that could be used as a base for further advance, but from there on things did not go well. The castle, in which the local baron hid along with his levy and retinue, had a much bigger garrison than expected, and they were unwilling to surrender.
After spending two weeks in attempts to take the castle, the besieging forces ended up being caught up by the much bigger combined forces of rebels. Duke Archebald was, however, reluctant to attack the king outright as Jaymond was in his right, so duke pledged his troops to the king's cause. That move brought more problems than advantages to the king, as the defenders started to receive supplies under cover of the night, while the rebel soldiers did not display any enthusiasm in taking the castle. Moreover, the nobles of both armies started to pick on each other, every day resulting in dozens dead or wounded on both sides.

The end

The situation resolved itself at the end of the month when Duke Archebald decided to ride across his lands with a small retinue to raise more troops. During his travel, the company was attacked by a big group of mounted soldiers bearing no coat of arms and had to flee.
One of the local barons offered the duke, still pursued by the attackers, his hospitality and shelter. The patrols were strengthened, and more men-at-arms were summoned to protect the duke on his way back. However, a few days later, the castle burned at night leaving none alive, not even the servants from a nearby village. It was told that a group of unknown crossed the border with the neutral Kingdom of Moclad, which the duke's company was pressed to, and sneaked up to the castle. They killed some of the patrolmen in the process and slaughtered everyone including the castle owner, his entire family and the duke, after which set the castle on fire.
The overall situation looked very suspicious, as the castle was well fortified and with many soldiers inside, yet they managed to take it on the go and remain unnoticed, only spotted when going back across the border. Many nobles voiced an assumption that someone should've helped that band in both staying unnoticed and getting into the castle, but who and why would do such a thing, considering that the baron died that night too? And while the whole thing seemed suspicious, and many thought the king might be the one in fault, they had no option but to support him in the retaliation war immediately declared against the Kingdom of Moclad.

Outcome

Yes, my dear uncle and I had our differences, but I will not forgive his death at the hands of Moclad soldiers!

— King Jaymond declares the war against the Kingdom of Moclad

After the loss of their leader and the strongest lord, Duke Archebald, the rebel movement was shattered and soon went low for the time being, with the most stubborn ones deemed as traitors and the rest submitting to the Crown. It also gave Lleira a cause to justifiably attack its weaker neighbour, the Kingdom of Moclad, starting the War of Mocladian Demise.

Aftermath

The whole struggle provided the young king with loyal lords to rely upon in his decisions, secured by lands and wealth of the most rebellious nobles. Moreover, the incident with king's uncle being killed by foreign soldiers allowed Lleira to raise a considerable force of previously neutral lords and conquer a big chunk of Moclad's lands, significantly expanding its borders and shifting the balance of power in the region.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

Growth 4th, 797 AE

Ending Date

Wane 88th, 801 AE

Conflict Result

King Jaymond gains control over the country

Belligerents

Loyalist forces

• Kingdom of Lleira

Led by

• Duke Pawlin of Stush
• Emperor Jaymond the Wise

Rebel forces

• Kingdom of Lleira

Led by

• Duke Archebald of Wiz

Strength

4,300-15,000 total:
800-3,500 nobles and men-at-arms
1,000-4,500 archers
2,500-7,000 infantrymen

6,600-22,000 total:
600-3,000 nobles and men-at-arms
2,500-7,000 archers
3,500-12,000 infantrymen

Casualties

250-400 nobles and men-at-arms, of which at least 130 nobles
An unknown number of archers and infantrymen

150-500 nobles and men-at-arms
An unknown number of archers and infantrymen

Objectives

Subdue the malcontent nobles

Build up their influence in the kingdom