One by one, straight or curved spears were taken out by the soldiers from the armory of Fort Verde. The air was filled with dust visible to the naked eye, mixed with a hint of carrion, perhaps because of the last time Which guy who didn't work seriously didn't wipe off the remaining blood and minced meat on the weapons and armor, which caused this disgusting smell to hit his nostrils.
The spears that were taken out were all piles of spears that had been sorted and bundled. They would usually be bundled together and placed in the corner of the armory to make more storage space for other weapons. However, what troubled the soldiers was that the quantity in each bundle was different. The soldiers had to remove the straw ropes on each bundle of spears and sort them again, and then re-bundle them in a pile of twenty spears. Together.
This was not a difficult task. When the sun was shining, the boxcar pulled by two carriages was already stacked with a hundred shields and five bundles of already counted spears.
After lunch time, Captain Hann, who was wearing a blue uniform, short-sleeved mail, a Norman nose guard and mittens, and a short battle ax on the belt around his waist, was walking. The front group led the carriage team out of the gate of Fordeburg.
Behind him were twenty armed soldiers, who led two carriages loaded with spears and shields and two mules carrying rations and camping tools from the west outer gate of Fort Verde.
It is conceivable that any robber would run away without thinking in front of them.
Since there is no village in Simon's territory on the Fordeburg side, Hann will first take the convoy to the ferry to cross the Rhine by boat, and send the weapons and shields to the newly built village of Ludwig Kooser first. ’s manor, and then set off to the nearest Fatty Hoffman’s Birmingham Manor, and circled around Esbaiburg one by one like this, ensuring that the militiamen in every village in the barony were distributed with spears and shields.
"I hope we can finish all this before those damn infidels arrive!" Han En wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly quickened his pace.
…………………………
A few days later, in Tonysburg, where everything was as peaceful as usual, Julian was wearing a black hood, a patched gray linen shirt, brown bag trousers, and a pair of worn-out short boots, like a servant. Walking into Lange's tower quietly.
The two guards standing guard at the door of the tower did not stop him or say hello to him. They just glanced at him casually and then looked away. The guards behaved as if they were an ordinary servant passing by them.
In fact, they are used to this. In the past two years, they have witnessed Sir Julian's entire process from publicity to stability to low-key.
At first, Julian had just received a title and his own territory, and he seemed very proud. The "winner in life" dresses like a brightly colored peacock every day, whether it's bright clothes or color-blocked tights.
Later, Julian became Lange's spymaster. Lange asked him not to be too high-profile and not to expose his flaws to the enemy. Therefore, except for formal occasions such as banquets or hunting, he usually only wears a light blue woolen sweater and a pair of brown tights, which is much more restrained than before, but if he is placed in an ordinary If you go among civilians, you will still look very different.
After Count Lange's wedding, Julian looked much thinner than before, and his whole person felt a little more gloomy. He began to wear the low-grade linen clothes worn by commoners and retainers, the only difference being that they were cleaner and neater than them.
When he first came to see Lange dressed like this poor man, the two guards at the tower door thought he was a peasant who came to petition the lord, and they scolded him angrily and told him to get out, until the "peasant" picked up the After taking off the wide hood, they were shocked to find that it was Sir Julian, and they apologized quickly.
In fact, this can't be blamed on the guards, it can only be blamed on Julian's changes. It is really unimaginable that an important vassal who is always around the lord every day suddenly one day wears "untouchable" clothes that do not match his status. This is really unbelievable. Such a thing has been unheard of since they were born.
Julian had no special explanation for this. When Lange asked curiously, he said that this was the need for spy work. He had to make himself more inconspicuous and hide deeper. Lange was quite touched by this - he knew Julian, and in his opinion, Julian, a man so flamboyant and domineering, actually put on low-key civilian clothes without complaint every day for his job as a spymaster. He must have He must have overcome huge difficulties, and he must treat this loyal vassal who has been following him well.
In fact, all this is just an act of self-redemption by Julian. He often went to church alone, begging God to show him a way out of his dilemma. He often falls into painful choices - one is to assist Lange, who is kind to him, and the other is to help Simon, who is kind to him. What's difficult is that the two brothers are in a hostile state, and Julian's position is equivalent to Lange's eyes and ears.
Some people will engage in self-destructive behaviors when they feel guilty, such as self-flagellation, seclusion in a tower, or hunger strikes, which will alleviate part of their inner guilt.
For Julian, his act of self-mutilation is to wear ugly and rough civilian clothes, which will make him feel like there are ants crawling and stinging him all over his body.
If this had happened in the past, he would have thought of wearing these clothes and suffering this pain, and it would be better to just kill him. It is really shameful and uncomfortable. But now, he lives with it every day, hoping it will lessen his guilt.
"My lord, here is a piece of information from the Baron of Fordeburg." Julian calmly stepped on the wolfskin carpet, came to Lange who was sitting on the lord's throne, and leaned into his ear. whispered.
"Say it." Lange looked not in good spirits and a little drowsy. It seems that he slept very late last night, probably because he spent a lot of energy and energy on the bed with his wife. When Julian approached him, he just opened his eyes slightly and glanced at him to see who it was, then he lowered his guard and closed his eyes again.
“In addition to the Privy Seal of Baron Vankum Winter and the Privy Seal of Baron Karl of Duisburg who arrived in Fördeburg in the past two weeks, last week, Baron Lemaitre of Siegburg and An envoy from Baron Hale of Wurz also arrived at Fördeburg.”
"So, Simon has indeed established a faction against me and Count Wolfe? This is really overestimating one's capabilities. Who do these rabble-rousers think they are!" Lange spoke with a lazy tone, He didn't even open his eyes, as if he had expected this.
"If nothing unexpected happens, yes. Of course, the possibility of targeting Duke Amadeus of Cologne cannot be ruled out."
"Are you stupid? It's absolutely impossible to target the Duke of Cologne!" Lange immediately shook his head in the negative. "Simon has no reason or motive to do this. He already has two potential enemies, me and Count Wolfe. It’s too late for him to win over the Duke of Cologne, so he might make enemies with him? My brother is very cunning, he is not stupid at all. Also, I am curious, why is the information from Simon’s side getting slower and slower now?”
"I'm not sure, my lord." Julian didn't notice that he was breathing faster, and there was a fine drop of sweat on his forehead. "It seems to be the devil's lair there. The spies we sent to the Barony of Fordeburg every once in a while." After a while they disappear without a trace, and the people sent to look for them soon follow in their footsteps.”
"Yeah?"
"Yes, my lord. Most of them are my cronies, and they are unlikely to abandon their family and property in the territory and run away alone, so I speculate that they may have encountered misfortune. Therefore, I repeatedly warned the person who is now sent to Fu The spies in Fort Weld must be cautious and try to integrate into the lives of the locals, instead of just sitting around in the tavern every day to gather information."
"Ha, Simon is really great now. His ability to catch mice in his own territory has improved a lot..."
"Da da, da da, da da..."
Just as Lange was talking, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats reached his ears from far to near. After a while, a panting messenger broke into the tower and walked straight towards Lange with long strides. Come.
"Stand there and don't move, who are you?" Julian shouted at the messenger, stepped forward to block Lange, and touched the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Only then did Julian notice that there was still an arrow stuck in the back of the messenger's arm, but the blood on his armor had dried up.
Suddenly, he had an ominous premonition.
"Your Majesty, there is a group of heretics who have attacked your village!!!" The messenger looked in pain, and his voice was trembling as he spoke.
"What!?" Lange, who was slumped lazily on the armchair, suddenly widened his eyes and stood up, "Did those damn Norse people come over in a long boat to set fire to kill people again?"
"They are obviously not Northmen, my lord," the messenger said with pain. "They attacked Fieldhausen Ranch without warning in the early hours of this morning. Almost all of them were riding horses, and they were also very good at shooting arrows on horseback. The arrow in my arm is from when those damn bastards chased me."
"Hell, it must be the damn Magyars!" Lange hammered the table with his fist angrily.
"Gris, take this brave soldier to the palace doctor to treat his wound." Julian ordered a servant next to him, who quickly put down the bucket he was carrying and led the injured messenger quickly. Step out.
"What now, my lord?" Julian's eyes returned to Lange, who was now pacing back and forth anxiously in front of his throne with an angry face.
"Let old Eric, the military chief, come to see me. I will summon the army, seize and chop off the heads of those heretics!!!"
"They are all on horseback. Perhaps they have escaped with the loot at this moment..." Julian whispered his thoughts.
"You don't understand, Julian, even if they have fled to Frisia, I still have to raise soldiers to fight! If I just swallow it and do nothing, everyone will think that I am a weak coward, and I will be in everyone's eyes I can’t raise my head in front of me!”
"I understand, my lord. I'm going to find old Eric now." Julian nodded, and followed the footsteps of the attendants and messengers out of the tower door.
