Welles started gathering troops at his base in Lincolnshire, ready for a show of arms against the King. The unrest in Lincolnshire prompted the King to act, and he started gathering men for his army on 4 March. The news of the King's intention to march to Lincolnshire quickly spread panic among people there. Due to Welles' deliberate misinterpretation, rumours were quickly spread that the King was coming to try the previously pardoned rebels from Edgecote, and that he would "hang and draw a great number" of them.