The village of Esbai looks a bit desolate. The entire village is located on a gentle slope, with large gaps between houses, interspersed with livestock pens and cultivated fields.
At the top of the slope is the wooden castle that originally belonged to Baron Quinnier.
This simple wooden fortress is in urgent need of repair in many places. Except for the wooden tower in the center, which still looks decent, the walls around the small wooden fort are just sharpened wooden stakes inserted into the soil. Some places are overgrown. The ivy has been severely corroded by insects.
"Dear Sir, this is your new castle, please treat this as your own home!" Village Chief Duden said, bending down obsequiously.
"No, the person who decided the final ownership of this place was Earl Berg. I was just ordered to come here to occupy this land." Simon chuckled, and he noticed that the village chief Duden's face visibly paused.
"So that's it. But it doesn't matter. As long as you are here today, I will still treat you as the master of this place!" The smile that originally filled Duden's face became stiff.
"Then what are you waiting for? Arrange the manpower to prepare a sumptuous dinner for me and my soldiers!" Simon waved his hand and finally sent away the village chief who wanted to be attentive at this moment.
His nephew Adam, the big man wearing old soft armor, was obviously a bit stupid and was not very good at hiding his inner thoughts. Now he no longer even had the false smile on his face.
"If Earl Berg will entrust the land based on military merit in a few days, I think this place will be quite suitable for my future development." Simon entered the tower and turned around and said to the fat man.
"Why, my young master," the fat man looked a little disgusted with this shabby place, "you have made great contributions. We definitely have better choices, such as the wealthy valley territory of Horsgen in the south, instead of this small border village. …”
"If we take over this land," Simon unloaded his sword and placed it next to the armchair at the front of the hall, then sat down on it, "we can build a bridge on the river bank to connect to Verde on the other side of the river. Fort and develop commerce. On the contrary, taking over an inland enclave that is not on the Rhine River is the most difficult thing for me."
"I see. But what about the Norman pirates who come down the river every year? We can't build defenses for this territory in a short time. Do we have to hand it over to those damn northerners like Baron Quinnier did before? Tribute?"
"We'll talk about the rest later. At least, a bridge connecting the two sides will bring us an absolutely considerable toll income. When more people know about this bridge, we can develop it into a prosperous trade stronghold. "
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As the sun set, Erwin, who was working in his private field, picked up the farm tools and walked towards his cabin.
When everyone learned that the new baron had run away, these cunning farmers asked around.
After it was determined that Simon on the other side of the river was going to lead his soldiers to occupy this place, except for a few timid people who fled into the forest with their family belongings, the other serfs and free farmers just left the public fields cultivated for the lords. Return to work in your own private land.
Many serf soldiers and free peasant soldiers who were released were grateful and full of praise for Simon. In fact, they had nothing worth looting, unless Simon was interested in the moldy hay and firewood and the tattered farm tools in their hands.
Along the way, Erwin saw Foldburg soldiers standing guard at the entrance and center of the village in twos and threes.
As the freed serf soldiers said, they wore the clothes and armor of the northern Norman pirates, were well-equipped, and looked very difficult to mess with.
However, Erwin could hear a long-lost sense of intimacy in the language spoken by the soldiers—it was definitely the dialect of the Lorraine region.
This reduced the fear in his heart a lot. After all, he was more willing to let people who spoke a local accent occupy this place than occupiers who spoke a strange language.
"Cough cough cough."
Erwin opened the door of the cabin, and a puff of thick smoke hit his face, choking him and coughing loudly, covering his mouth and nose.
He looked at his mother and brother beside the fire in the center of the room with some complaints: "What are you doing? It's not winter now. To light a fire, you have to open the door!"
"Come in Erwin," his younger brother Edgar waved to Erwin. After seeing Erwin close the door, he continued, "I can't believe you would ask such a stupid question, don't you? Do you see the invaders everywhere outside?”
"Of course," Erwin leaned the dirt-covered hoe against the corner, then came to the fire and leaned down to sit on the hay. "They are obviously different from those inhuman bastards in the past."
"It is true that they did not kill anyone today or rob us, but this does not mean that they are benevolent in nature. Perhaps it is because the damn Earl of Loon levied the war tax last time and left us with nothing, and they have nothing to rob. "Edgar frowned and muttered, and stuffed a chopped log into the fire.
There was a brief silence in the room, the firewood crackled and the water in the iron pot gurgled and bubbled. A meager amount of wheat grains and a small piece of boiled black bread were tossed back and forth in boiling water. This was their family's dinner.
"By the way, now that Baron Kunir is dead and the new lord has escaped, does this mean that Krieger can come back to live?" Edgar's mother took the wooden bowls from the table and distributed them to her. Two sons.
"Yes, why didn't I think of this?" Edgar clapped his hands and laughed. "In the past few years, there has been no decent carpenter in the village. The chairs made by Old Gordon are the same as those made by his elderly mother. It’s just as fragile and might fall apart at any time.”
"But even if the lord is gone, the sheriff will still continue to execute the order to arrest Krieg? After all, Krieg did kill the drunkard privately without the judgment of the lord and the law. This is against the law. Behavior." Erwin shook his head and expressed his inference.
"No, this is all because these two damn bastards, Duden and Adam, added fuel to the fire and confused right and wrong. It was obviously the drunkard who made the mistake in raping and killing his wife. Why should Krieg, who retaliates in kind, bear the blame?" Edgar retorted emotionally.
"That's enough, let's leave all this to the new lord to decide. What's the use of saying more?" Mother interrupted the argument between the brothers which was getting more and more intense.
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"To the glorious Count Amadeus
Your wisdom and kindness are known far and wide. I decided to give you the Duchy of Cologne as a reward for your merits and noble spirit.
Your Sovereign, King Heinrich of Germany"
When Count Berg, or now the Duke of Cologne, read this letter sent urgently from the Dresden royal family, he was almost suffocated by the sudden joy.
It could be said that he had expected this result, but when it became a fact, he still felt tears of joy welling up in the corners of his eyes.
In fact, when Simon asked the king for a license to open the crenellations in Dresden, Count Berg, as a direct vassal of the king, attended the grand banquet hosted by the king together with other counts and dukes.
King Heinrich the Fowler may have looked old, but he had already begun paving the way for his successor, Prince Otto.
He knew that after he passed away, the dukes who had promised themselves that they would definitely support Prince Otto as king would definitely take the opportunity to attack and seek more privileges.
If Otto did not agree, they would either directly rebel or support Otto's brother Tankermar or Henry as a puppet king to subvert the regime.
Therefore, a new path was laid before King Heinrich - to unite and support the numerous counts in the kingdom, so that they could form a force that could not be ignored and was absolutely loyal to Otto to fight against these arrogant and undisciplined people. of the Dukes.
Then, Earl Berg's opportunity came. In King Heinrich's plan, if Count Berg successfully annexed the territory of his neighbor Count Lowen, the royal family would give him the title of Duke of Cologne.
Success or failure depends on this, which is why Earl Berg took the initiative to anger Earl Loon and provoke a war. But what he didn't expect at the time was a resurgent blizzard and Count Loweng who decisively seized the opportunity without following the routine.
He simply couldn't imagine what would happen if he failed - maybe the king would win over Earl Loon who annexed the Earldom of Berg, and he would disappear in the long river of history.
The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Fortunately, he went through hardships and achieved the final victory.
"What a blessing. In fact, this war has almost come to an end now, and it will soon be time to reward my loyal vassals." The Duke of Cologne sat on the lord's chair that originally belonged to Count Lowen. , said to the expectant barons on both sides of the large trestle table.
The cook prepared a sumptuous meal, and the maids brought to the table a rich variety of fruits, sizzling wild boar and venison, fresh white bread, and several pieces of grilled cheese.
The barons seemed to be enjoying the food, but in fact everyone was distracted - they were thinking about who could become an earl under the Duke, and who could get more spoils and land.
However, what disappointed everyone was that until the end of the banquet, the Duke did not mention the enfeoffment of earls and the distribution of spoils. This made some people feel as restless as ants on a hot pot.
Especially Lange.
"Your Excellency Lange, the Duke hopes that you can stay after the banquet."
In the atmosphere of joy, the musicians played hard and the nobles clinked glasses and drank. A Duke's personal attendant quietly came behind Lange and whispered into his ear.
"Got it." Lange suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, but what followed was an indescribable sense of nervousness.
"It's really strange." Lange shook his head. The flow of time seemed to speed up, and soon it was the end of the banquet. The satiated barons returned to their residences one after another with their wine glasses in their arms around the women, while Lange remained motionless as if glued to his seat.
"You all can go out." Duke Cologne waved his hand, and the servants who were collecting the leftovers on the table walked out of the door.
"Didn't you hear that? I'm telling you all to get out!" Duke Cologne's words were filled with anger. Only then did the two private soldiers standing guard with spears at the gate realize what they were doing and quickly walked out of the hall and closed the door.
After seeing that the entire hall had been emptied and only Lange was left, the Duke took a sip of wine to moisten his throat and said to Lange: "Actually, in this war, the Dorsten family contributed the most. of."
Lange's eyes lit up. Was this a clear indication that he would be promoted to earl?
"However, let me tell you a fact that you may not be happy to hear." The Duke put down his wine glass and changed the subject. Lange's ears suddenly perked up. "Your performance is not as outstanding as your brother Simon."
"What?" Lange suppressed the anger that suddenly rose in his heart, and looked into the Duke's eyes expressionlessly on the surface, but his slightly trembling voice still exposed his heart, "My Lord, what do you want to say? , it’s better to say it directly.”
"Very good, what I want to say is that I can entrust you with a wealthy territory in Loon County and make you Earl of Dorsten, but I have a condition." After knowing Lange's inner emotions, Cologne The Duke smiled slightly, relaxed his body, and lay comfortably on the soft down of the back of the chair.
"About Simon?" Langer asked immediately like a conditioned reflex.
"Yes, you are very smart." Duke Cologne nodded appreciatively.
"What conditions?"
"I want Simon to become my direct vassal and serve me." The Duke stared directly into Lange's eyes and said slowly.
"To be honest, I have no objection to this, but Simon must transfer Foldburg to me unconditionally. It is my property!" Langer said after weighing it repeatedly in his mind.
"No, Simon will definitely not agree, and then you will violate your will. Let alone a count, you can't even be a baron." Duke Cologne's tone became sharp and began to sound a bit threatening. "I guarantee that the new territory you will get will only be richer than Fordburg, but without the miracle of God. If you don't agree, I will let you and Simon share the territory of Baron Quinnier equally, that's all , and then let Baron Wolfe obtain the wealthy territory and become the new earl. Do you understand, Baron Lange of Dorsten?"
Lange was lost in thought. He has realized that the reason why the Duke did this is because after this war, the reputation and power of the Dorsten family have threatened his monarch.
The Duke is taking this opportunity to eliminate hidden dangers, completely separate himself from Simon, not giving the two a chance to reunite, split the power of the Dorsten family, rebalance the power of various noble families in the new Duchy of Cologne, and ensure that the Duke's family The family is the largest.
Although he is still reluctant to part with the piece of fat in front of him in Fuldeburg, it will completely belong to Simon in the future, but in the face of greater interests, if he does not choose to give in, he will still be just a baron in the future after losing power. Not only will he not be able to see With any hope of becoming an earl in the future, he has to continue to quarrel with Simon over the land of Baron Quenir.
As for uniting other barons to rebel against the Duke, Lange did not dare to have this idea at all - Baron Karl, Baron Wolf and Baron Siegburg, these three selfish guys, would definitely bring this matter to the ears of the Duke. They will be exiled, and they can be allocated more land and gain more benefits.
In the face of the huge profit cake, the so-called friendship is not even as good as shit.
And if you accept the Duke's proposal, you can become an earl and get a new territory that is richer than Fort Fuld. The price is just for Simon to take Fuldburg as a direct vassal of the Duke.
Langer thought that this might not be a new opportunity for him. He must make the right decision, a choice that he will not regret for the rest of his life.
"I agree to your terms, my Lord. I am your most loyal vassal. After becoming Count Dorsten, I will undoubtedly become your most effective assistant. But I am a little curious now. Simon will become your vassal. What reward will you get in the future?"
"He will be granted the title of Baron of Foldburg, and be granted the title of Esbai Village in the northeastern border of Loon County and the surrounding manors." Seeing Lange's surrender, the Duke felt that a stone that was stuck in his heart had been taken out, and the serious worry in his heart was gone. Being eliminated, the tone softened.
"Huh." Langer breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Simon just got the poor mess on the other side of his territory. From this point of view, Simon would not pose a threat to him for the time being. .
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