The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 75

75. Like Edward I (3)

—1187, Edinburgh Castle—

The battle raged on.

However, for Scotland, the fight was practically over.

Even if they won this battle, they couldn’t guarantee victory in the next. How could they plan for the future?

Every city, except for this central stronghold, had already been seized by England—more precisely, by the army from Prince John’s Irish territory.

The Scottish command was in a state of utter despair.

The double agent, who had long been in England’s pocket, pretended to be flustered.

‘Prince John’s reputation from the Middle East wasn’t just hype.’

‘He served Prince Richard as his lord. The upcoming battle between the princes will be interesting.’

He marveled inwardly.

‘Something… something is about to happen.’

‘To be pushed this far already.’

The incompetent commanders felt genuine fear.

Prince John.

Previously, he was just seen as the youngest prince of the dysfunctional Angevin-Plantagenet family, known for his singing.

But he had gained experience as the deputy commander in the Egyptian campaign, personally mentioned by Frederick I during the Crusades.

Liberation Army Commander Robert felt a pang in his heart.

He knew. They were already close to defeat.

‘The situation doesn’t make sense. Did I fail to anticipate that Henry the Lion and Prince John would launch such rapid blitzkriegs from both sides? No, even failing to consider that is my defeat.’

Though nominally troops from regions already subjugated to England, the Welsh and Irish forces, who once hated England as much as Scotland did,

were now rampaging wildly thanks to the brilliant joint operation by Henry the Lion and Prince John.

Prince John swept through major cities with his rapid advance, while Henry the Lion methodically advanced, securing subsidiary towns and nearby areas.

Edinburgh Castle, the capital of Scotland, was completely surrounded. There would be no reinforcements to break this siege.

The outskirts of Edinburgh had already fallen to the suppression forces long ago.

In this battlefield where elation and despair intersected, the suppression forces were filled with courage, while Scotland was filled with despair.

Soon, the English army began to sing.

It was “Hail Henry II,” the official theme song of the Kingdom of England, created by Prince John.

‘The Song of Cairo’ is definitely a masterpiece, but that’s an international song. The true song of England is “Hail Henry II.”

—Hail Henry II, hail the great King!

The great King possesses three abilities:

Drinking, fighting, and making bastards!

—Amidst the chaotic war,

Resentment and holy war!

Like our fathers,

Let’s sing together, true friends~

With those words, the English soldiers, who had been attacking the castle until just now, sat down on the ground, out of range of the Scottish arrows,

and began to drink beer.

They were actually drinking beer in the middle of the battlefield.

Drinking during war! Even if beer was treated almost like a beverage in medieval Europe, this was too much. It’s not like they were Viking warriors.

“Those crazy bastards.”

Those watching from Scotland were furious. Wasn’t this humiliation?

But the Scottish commanders didn’t know. The people drinking beer now were the vanguard.

Before long, the second suppression force led by Godfrey arrived.

“….”

Prince John’s vanguard was terrifying enough. But there was still one more to come.

Moreover, before long, Henry the Lion’s army arrived in front of the castle walls.

Prince John, following the history of Edward I, whom he sought to emulate, ordered the capture of all central areas while the enemy was disoriented, and then to deliver the final blow.

“Deploy the new siege weapons.”

—Prepare the New Jones Bow.

The great siege weapon took a long time to assemble.

But the enemies didn’t have the strength to interfere, and the Safe Guild technicians, who had learned techniques from Akbulhui,

while the beer-drinking English army diverted the Scottish army’s attention,

the massive siege weapon, the New Jones Bow, was also

One step further than the existing Jones Bow, which could fire five shots in a row, the assembly of the seven-shot siege weapon was complete.

‘Just what are these guys doing?’

From the moment Prince John was appointed as the commander of the suppression forces, Robert never let his guard down.

From the start, he didn’t get greedy and tried to move as efficiently as possible in the early stages to induce a war of attrition.

No matter how strong an army was, they had to eat and sleep. The more exhausted and lacking in supplies the enemies were, the weaker their morale would become, and the Liberation Army, with its secured defense and supply lines, would have the advantage.

However, the suppression forces advanced faster than Robert had anticipated, like a bolt of lightning.

Knight Douglas, sweating, spoke to his lord, Robert.

“Your Excellency….”

He was asking for orders.

“You don’t have to say it. Run away.”

“Pardon?”

“This castle will soon be captured. So, you quickly take the men and escape to Denmark.”

“The proud Highlanders cannot do that.”

Living in harsh mountainous terrain, fighting solely for Scotland. Retreating? Especially to Denmark, which had used them like expendable supplies.

However.

“Lord Howard, drag that man away. The young must live.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency!”

Robert, seeing capable young knights, including the hot-blooded Douglas, being dragged away, muttered.

“Having failed, I will die miserably and painfully. But I won’t be captured easily.”

Even if the castle fell, he planned to make a final desperate stand in close combat.

—Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

Soon, the castle collapsed.

The suppression forces entered the ruined castle.

“Capture Robert, the ringleader of the rebels.”

“If we can just catch him, Prince John promised a huge reward.”

However.

“Incompetent old men from the mountains, we will die here. But we can’t die alone.”

“Hahaha, that’s right.”

“I am Knight Thomas Wallace, dispatched from Wales. You are under arrest.”

“Wales, you have become hunting dogs, and we have become dogs to be boiled and eaten.”

Wales, like them, was once an independent force, but was annexed by England during the Great Lion War, just like Scotland.

In short, Wales and Scotland were neighbors on the British Isles who couldn’t help but feel the same way. But now, a tragedy had occurred where they met as enemies.

Thomas Wallace, despite hearing the demeaning remark that they were hunting dogs working for their masters, didn’t change his expression and replied.

“Each of us has a reason to live for different reasons. It’s just that the directions of you Scots and us Welsh are different.”

“I suppose so.”

He knew what fate awaited the leader of a failed rebellion.

But now, Robert was more heartbroken by his second failure than by the miserable and painful death that was soon to come.

His first failure was not protecting this castle at the risk of his life during the Great Lion War.

His second failure was failing to protect Edinburgh once again.

Now, there would be no hope again.

* * *

—Ireland—

I returned to the peaceful island of Ireland after a long time, bringing many prisoners with me.

Having won, I can enjoy such luxuries.

There are two examples in the Bible of taking prisoners.

One is when the great conquering King David brought the Philistine prisoners and put on a wonderful performance.

The other is when the cruel Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadnezzar II) captured the royal family of Judah and put on a performance.

The former is the glory of the Jews in their prime. The latter is the humiliation of the Jews.

Of course, as Safe John, I am on the side of justice, so I gave a wonderful performance like King David taking the Philistine prisoners.

‘Of course, what I want is something else.’

What the people of the territory want is the belief that their home is safe. Safe John is showing that he is a fairly capable lord who can suppress the rebellion in Scotland, and that is what I want.

Ah, my ring is a genuine David’s ring that received a certification mark in a dream.

Of course, the reason is understandable, but Scotland shouldn’t have resisted.

No, if they were going to do it, they should have done it when my brothers and father were having a rebellion party with their souls on the line.

They shouldn’t have started a war of liberation just because the main forces and commanders of England had left.

Perhaps, I know very well that foreign bad guys seduced the innocent Scottish nobles to make this happen, but it is true that my heart aches to see this tragedy.

“Sob, how could this happen.”

“We shouldn’t have listened to those guys.”

There are those who shed late regrets and hot tears.

But who told them to be swayed by others and start a liberation movement? No one held a knife to their throats and threatened them to rebel.

“Wow!”

“Long live Prince John!”

“Long live the Lord of Ireland!”

I made a comeback home while listening to the cheers of the Irish people.

Well, I’m the Great Lord of Ireland, so Ireland is my home!

My brother-in-law spoke to me.

“John, you have done a great service this time. To suppress the rebellion so quickly.”

“It’s all thanks to my brother-in-law’s help.”

“Well, I just have a talented brother-in-law.”

In fact, it was my brother-in-law Henry who coordinated the Welsh army, which I was practically using as mercenaries.

It would have been troublesome if Wales had gone crazy in the middle and started a rebellion together like Scotland, and it would have been a disaster if there were insidious saboteurs like Denmark, but Henry, the foreign security guard of England, took care of eliminating the threats.

Well, from the beginning, the main character of this suppression was supposed to be me, Safe John, so relatively, my brother-in-law assisted as a staff officer.

While receiving cheers, I went to the most hardworking unit. The greatest heroes of this war are, no matter what anyone says, the Safe Marines.

There must be people who risk their lives and volunteer for the vanguard so that the army can advance with peace of mind. My operation could be more accurate.

Yes, the Safe Marines did well.

I changed them from death row inmates to free citizens, and I tempted them with special pensions and death benefits for their families.

In a sense, I was thinking of turning my Safe Marines into warriors who fight for their families.

Anyway, I won.

I didn’t get captured by the Scottish army and become an ugly hostage, but I raised my achievements by taking the leaders of the enemies hostage.

Most of all, quickly.

“Anyway, there aren’t many people who know your face properly.”

“You were quite excellent. The problem was that half of your tactics were supported by incompetent commanders, and the other half were commanders who had already sided with England.”

“Are you mocking me for the last time, Prince of England….”

“I want to mock you, but your punishment will be given by the Great King (Henry II), who will be returning soon, not me.”

I am the commander of the suppression forces. The judgment will be made by my father, who will be returning soon.

* * *

—England—

After resting in Ireland for a while, I had to come back to my home country because there was a special day today.

Because today is the day of the Triumphal Return of Great England.

Of course, because it was a special day with a triumphal return, I brought my mother and family.

Unfortunately, Charles and Elizabeth, who cannot come to such a place, are in the castle.

My eldest son, James, who came to London for the first time and watched here and there with curiosity, asked me.

“Father, what’s going on today?”

“There will be a triumphal return of the knights of England who made the greatest contribution in the Crusades.”

Well, I finished all the similar triumphal returns in Ireland, and honestly, I don’t even want to do it.

But the triumphal return to celebrate my father and brothers, and the knights who followed them, is a great festival.

But not everyone liked it. There were one or two people complaining. Ah, of course, they are the royal family.

“I never thought the day would come when I would wait for those damn men.”

Of course, my mother, Eleanor, was very dissatisfied.

My sister Matilda, who was following my mother, was also very dissatisfied.

“Saying that he would regain his Saxon Electorate, but no news so far, damn father!”

Ah, did our father make such an empty promise? But why did I only know now?

‘Territory Business’

This is the answer to the territorial dispute at the Jerusalem Agreement, which was the feast of achievements held after the end of the Third Crusade.

Selling the remaining Middle Eastern territories to the Eastern Roman Empire and nearby Great Lords, except for the territories given to the knights who decided to advance into the Middle East, and the territories to be used as economic and military bases.

Many lords who already had territories in Europe that they could not handle wanted a lump sum rather than a fixed income.

Anyway, it seemed that the return was delayed a little more because of that.

And not long after.

My father Henry II, young King Henry, brother Geoffrey, and brother Richard, who is coming from Normandy, and the expeditionary forces, were cheered by the people.

But the cheers of the people turned into shock.

Because Henry II brought several people for ‘viewing’.

“Wow… he’s my husband, but he’s really amazing.”

My excellent mother exclaimed.

“As expected, he is my father-in-law.”

Mary also widened her eyes.

Ha, our father’s personality is really the best.

He brought the Scottish King Iliam family, whom I didn’t know where he had hidden, and next to them, a flag with a lion on a yellow background, symbolizing Scotland, was fluttering.

There is no humiliation like this. Wow, this family of devils, Anjou! Ah, of course, the devil is my father, Henry II.

“First of all, I have something to say to my people.”

The first words from our great father Henry II’s mouth were not about boasting about the Crusades.

“King Iliam of Scotland will now become the Earl of Scotland and become a nobleman under Ireland.”

‘Wow… personality. No wonder he gets patricide [the act of killing one’s father].’

I originally knew that he lacked personality, but today, my father Henry II, who was doing more of a hateful nation (a derogatory term for England), looked petty.

No, more than that, are you dumping on Ireland again?