"Where are we going, Your Majesty the Duke?" Count Wolfe rode his tall war horse and turned his head to look at Amadeus. @·No mistake first~~
"The king's messenger told me that we must first go to Henneberg Castle in Thuringia to join the troops of the king's nobles."
“Where will the invading army of infidels attack?”
"I have no news at the moment, but I guess they are going to attack the Principality of Saxony. If they succeed in conquering the royal castles in Saxony and plundering them, the entire kingdom will fall into chaos."
"Those are just the castles and villages of the royal family." Count Wolfe thought about the problem relatively simply. He scratched the back of his head with some confusion. "The other nobles' own lands are still good, and they can continue to interact with the Magyars. Fight!”
"If you were the Duke of Bavaria or the Duke of Swabia, you wouldn't think so. You would definitely do your best to preserve your military strength and prepare to launch a rebellion to usurp the throne from the weak Liudolf family. As for Magyar People, just let them plunder the royal land and its surroundings. Anyway, they will definitely leave on their own once they have robbed enough treasures. The pagans are just plunderers, not conquerors."
"But this will undoubtedly bring shame to all Germans. The sissies in West Francia, Lotharingia and Wessex will think that we are all cowards and weak to be bullied!" Count Wolfe's martial nature made him say Say this.
"The dukes only care about their own immediate interests, no one cares about this," Amadeus shook his head helplessly, "The temptation of the throne is much greater than these invisible and intangible honors."
In a short time, the nobles, knights and private guards who filed out of the gate of Dusseldorf walked through the road outside the town and went straight to the camp in the open space on the edge of the forest.
Simon's memory goes back a few years. He recalled that day, when the open fields outside the town were filled with blood, severed limbs and the corpses of soldiers. His father was shot by an arrow during the battle and was dying, while Lange was drunk in the castle. It all seemed like it happened yesterday.
Most of the soldiers in the temporary camp have packed their bags. When the nobles had a dinner in the castle last night, the Duke's messenger had already informed them of their departure this morning.
The camp at this time looked extremely chaotic. There were people doing everything, including going to the toilet on the spot, packing food, wiping weapons, packing luggage, sleeping soundly, drinking and gambling, and others. There are those who have sex with the military escorts, those who have fights and have fun. This chaotic scene made Simon frown subconsciously.
There were about eight hundred people in the entire camp. Wolfe and Lange each brought a hundred men, the other four barons each brought an average of fifty to sixty men, and the Duke recruited more than two hundred men this time. For a small principality that had certain feudal obligations to the kingdom, this number was already staggering.
Fat Hoffman's figure was easily identifiable in the crowd. There were not many tall, fat and strong men like him in the whole camp. Only a few hunters, butchers, and townspeople among the soldiers looked well-nourished, had muscles on their bodies, and were healthy and strong, while most of the soldiers were as slim as straw in the crop fields. Even worse than them were the many conscripted peasant soldiers, who were even faster Turned into skin and bones.
"Sir, our soldiers have all been packed up." Fatty Hoffman squeezed through the crowd and walked to Simon and said.
"Let them form an array and go to the road to attack. I don't want those untrained mud-legged people to break up our array during the march, and there may be some trouble."
"Okay sir."
After a while, the soldiers from Fort Verde came to the main road with their luggage and carriage.
Langer's eyes were a little surprised. He looked at Simon's private soldiers cautiously. It seemed that each of them had a chainmail, a chainmail turban and an iron helmet. Simon's conscripted soldiers surprised him even more. In his opinion, the peasant soldiers who were supposed to have no protection actually had leather armor, armed clothing, stuffed hats, and wooden shields on their backs. This is not what ordinary lords are willing to bear.
In comparison, the troops of Counts Lange and Wolfe looked much shabby. The private soldiers wore either mail or scale armor, while the peasant soldiers recruited were almost all clothed in cloth. It looks like it has no fighting ability.
Originally Lange wanted to use his own troops.
He had threatened and intimidated Simon, but now he was actually doing it the other way round, and he was frightened instead.
"You are so pious, Simon," Lange buried his jealousy deep in his heart. His eyes stared at Simon's back like a poisonous snake, and he raised the corners of his mouth maliciously and muttered to himself, "I hope your troops are here." Don't lose too much in the battle, otherwise..."
…………………………
The army of the Principality of Cologne moved slowly along the road to the east like a crawling snake. It is not far from the Count of Berg to Thuringia. It only needs to pass through the two counties of Marburg and Fritzlar. If they travel quickly, they can get there in more than a week.
The marching team was very loose, but for the nobles, it was already remarkable that this group of unorganized and selfish soldiers could get together and walk towards the destination without slipping away midway.
Most of the time for lunch and dinner, the nobles ate in the Duke's tent. It was said to be a tent, but in fact it was just a large tarpaulin supported by four thick branches on a flat ground, and then placed a long shelf table, dining chairs and tableware.
The earls and barons sat down in order. The duke's cook lit a fire not far from the tent to roast the prey. The servant opened the wooden barrel and filled the beer for the nobles. There were also servants responsible for cutting long loaves of bread and stewing bean soup.
"Amadeus is also a person who knows how to enjoy life." Simon thought secretly in his heart.
Bishop Hans sits on the right hand of the Duke. In order not to break the canon, he can only eat fish. However, there is no fresh fish to catch here, so when the nobles eat barbecue, there is always a fish on his plate. The salted fish is unappetizing.
The atmosphere at the dinner table can sometimes be strange. Although everyone is the Duke's vassal, most of the time, the baron and the barons have a lively conversation. The two counts Lange and Wolfe don't know what they are discussing, and the bishop always pesters the Duke to talk about endless things. Religious topics.
Simon didn't like to dine at the same table as Lange, which would always make him feel like his throat was stuck with fish bones, because from time to time, Lange's cold eyes would glance at him. It seemed that he was still coveting Simon's title and land. , has never changed. Update without error@
Sometimes, nobles would argue at the table about whose knight was the bravest. The Germans valued martial arts, and whoever had a brave knight under his command would gain prestige and honor, as well as the respect of other nobles.
Later, they gradually became dissatisfied with telling the brave deeds of their knights. Because their words were unfounded, some people's deeds became more and more exaggerated and outrageous, and not everyone recognized them. So, Count Wolfe used his rough voice to propose that the knights have a fair and just duel to see who is talking nonsense and who is the real brave.
"It's so stupid. We are about to have a duel with the heretics, and we actually want to play a life-and-death duel with our own people before the war begins." Amadeus sneered at Earl Wolfe's reckless proposal in his heart, but he could not show it. Cowardice would damage his prestige, but for a moment, he didn't know how to use words to prevent this tragedy from happening.
"Leave your strength and excess energy to the heretics instead of letting the knights' lives go to waste here." Simon saw the hesitation and rejection in Duke Amadeus's eyes, so he spoke for him. said Earl Wolfe.
Bishop Hans chewed the hard and salty fish meat and nodded. He also did not approve of this kind of cannibalism that gained nothing but honor and fame.
"Oh?" Earl Wolfe's face, which turned red after being drunk, showed a touch of disdain and ridicule, "Are you afraid, brave and fearless Baron Foldburg? So, your knights are all famous. An unknown coward cannot stand this test, right?"
Fatty Hoffman and Miller, who were standing next to the tent, clenched their fists and wanted to punch Earl Wolfe's hateful face until it was bruised and swollen.
"I think what Baron Simon said is right," Bishop Hans wiped his mouth and wiped away the remaining salt stains from the corners of his mouth. "At this critical moment, the Lord's warriors should wield their swords against the infidels and kill each other. it's meaningless."
"This is not killing each other, my Lord Bishop, we are just letting the knights go through a trial full of honor before going out for the Lord, and select the truly powerful knights to fight against the heretics." Lange said no. .
Baron Wolfe was emboldened by the untimely appearance of a pleasant voice.
"Absurd," Baron Winter of Vancombe retorted, "Both the powerful knights and the less powerful knights are devout supporters of the Lord, and they do not need so-called trials to prove their qualifications to go to war for the Lord. "
"So, you are admitting that your knight strength is not that strong, right?"
"We will prove ourselves in battle against the infidels."
"Are you timid? Why don't you prove it now in this clearing?"
"That's enough!" Duke Amadeus's face was frighteningly gloomy. He patted the table, and the earls and barons suddenly fell silent, and no one stopped arguing.
"The army of pagans is showing off their power on the land of the kingdom. We don't have time to do all this. If you really want to prove the strength of your knights, then prove it with the blood of the pagans on the battlefield."
"Why don't you have time? You really know how to make excuses. Aren't we just having a leisurely dinner in the tent? Isn't this called no time?" Earl Wolfe had obviously drunk too much. He subconsciously wanted to express his true thoughts, but was stopped by Lang, who had quick eyes and quick hands, pulled the corner of his clothes but did not say anything. @·No mistake first~~
The dinner ended in embarrassment and unhappiness. But now, they are only one day away from Henneberg Castle, and it seems that the opportunity to prove that these two guys dream of, Count Wolfe and Lange, is about to come. .
