King Heinrich is old.
His long beard, as white as snowflakes, is hard to look away from. In the minds of the nobles, its original golden color could still be seen a few years ago.
At this time, he was sitting next to William, Earl of Thuringia, with his head lowered, as if thinking about something.
In the dark castle hall of Henneberg Castle, nobles from all over the kingdom were intensely discussing combat strategies.
Some people were red-faced and looked like they were about to pick up the guy; some people were obviously indifferent to this and almost fell asleep in their chairs; and some earls from nearby territories were so anxious that they were restless. They were the first to bear the brunt of the infidel's attack, but now they could do nothing but watch the high-ranking guys bicker.
King Heinrich's eldest son, Count Tankmar of Braunschweig, stood calmly by the window not far behind his father, watching these people making useless arguments.
Tankmar was the king's illegitimate son. Although he was Heinrich's first son, he had no right to inherit. He was jealous of his brother Otto, who was five years younger than him, as if he was born with everything that was rightfully his.
However, he is a patient man, and he hides his greed for the throne very well. It would be extremely foolish to expose his intentions too early. At least, all this will have to wait until King Heinrich dies before it can be brought to the table. superior.
He glanced at Otto, who was standing not far away and was also silent. He had only just grown up. Who could have imagined that in the future, the power of the entire German Kingdom would be handed over to this guy who had just grown hair? Thinking of this, Tankmar became more determined in his thoughts.
There was a noisy sound of horse hooves outside the window, and it sounded like another noble led an army to the assembly point outside the castle.
Tankmar put his hands on the edge of the wooden window and stuck his head out. After a while, a strange-looking nobleman rode in through the castle gate with a few followers on a beautiful horse.
"It seems to be Amadeus, Duke of Cologne, the new lucky guy," Tankmar stroked his beard and looked at Amadeus who handed the reins to the stable boy. "Although he is not strong, at least he is He is a Duke. I think I can contact him secretly, and if he is a greedy man, I can promise him a lot of wealth and new titles and territories to get him on my side."
There was a rumble of thunder in the sky, and gloomy clouds began to occupy the blue sky. The nobles in the castle tower could clearly hear the "scream" of the strong wind outside.
In the summer, heavy rains like this are very common, but now it appears just in time - the bad weather can effectively delay the march of the pagan attackers, giving the nobles of the kingdom more time Discuss coping strategies.
The double wooden doors of the hall were opened, and the guard and caller holding a short spear at the door loudly announced the title of Duke of Cologne. The voices of the nobles' discussion became quieter. Some people had never seen this newly promoted noble. He looked at the door curiously.
King Heinrich seemed to wake up from a dream. He rubbed his eyes and raised his head - it turned out that he had just fallen asleep. I don't know why, but he is getting sleepy now. It's not a good thing to fall asleep unknowingly in such a noisy environment.
Amadeus strode into the hall, perhaps his confidence derived from the nearly eight hundred troops he had brought with him. Behind him, Count Lange and Count Wolfe were walking side by side. Behind the two counts were five barons who directly belonged to the duke.
"I offer you my highest respect, my lord," Amadeus said humbly, bending down and lowering his head. "After receiving your letter, I and my vassals brought Eight hundred able-bodied soldiers join you to fight against the invading army of pagans!”
After Duke Amadeus finished speaking, almost at the same time, the vassals behind him bowed their heads and said in unison: "I am willing to serve you, my king."
"Very good, very good. Nice to meet you." King Heinrich narrowed his eyes and smiled happily. He stroked his long beard and looked at the young or young people in front of him. The vicissitudes of the face, said gently, "Now every strength is crucial to us. Put your people in the open space next to the castle
Once settled, Earl William's servants would bring them bread and wine. Now pick a chair and sit down, it will be time for dinner soon. "
Since they arrived relatively late, Simon and his party could only sit in a remote corner on the right side of the door.
Amadeus was a duke, so he sat relatively close to the king, which was, of course, where the most heated debate took place. The tit-for-tat confrontation between the Duke of Franconia and the Duke of Bavaria filled the table with an anxious atmosphere. They involved more and more people and seemed to force them to choose sides. No one among the Dukes could ignore this. Extra things.
In contrast, Simon's side of the table is much quieter. The main people here are earls, who are basically direct vassals of each duke. This seems to be a bit out of place between Simon and the other barons.
Simon even heard some people whispering that the newly established Principality of Cologne should consolidate its titles and create an additional title of earl. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate for the five scattered barons to dine at the same table as the earls.
Simon was also quite helpless about this. It's considered good if the other party doesn't take the table to get angry or shout sarcasm. Of course, in fact, they did not dare to publicly express their opinions on these barons, because the king said that this long table was the table where the Duke's direct vassals ate, and he did not stipulate the titles of the diners. As an earl, speaking against him in front of the king is undoubtedly getting kicked in the head by a donkey.
The king's eldest son Tankmar sat on the left hand side of the king. Simon looked over from a distance. He seemed to have a good relationship with everyone. In most cases, whenever the Duke of Franconia and the Duke of Bavaria could hardly suppress their emotions, When there is anger, he will act as a peacemaker and cool down the table.
Duke Amadeus of Cologne is obviously on the side of the Duke of Franconia. The relationship between the two of them is very good, and anyone can see it.
However, he did not often open his mouth to participate in discussions. After all, the Principality of Cologne was just a small principality, and even the legal capital of Cologne was still in the hands of the Principality of Upper Lorraine. In this embarrassing situation, Amadeus chose to do his best in a low-key manner. Be inconspicuous so as not to be poked in the painful spot by the other party.
King Heinrich spent more time thinking with his chin propped up and his head down, and he didn't even show much interest in the delicacies that the servants in front of him kept bringing to the table.
"Where has Prince Otto gone?" Simon has always had a question in his mind, because the chair on the right side of King Heinrich seems to have been empty from beginning to end, and only the wine glass next to the dinner plate with slices of barbecue has been taken away. .
The Dukes did not care about Otto's absence. Although they promised the king to support Otto in words, in their hearts, no one took this numb-faced prince who liked to meditate all day seriously. He did not have his My brother, Tankmar, is so lovable and knows how to deal with people.
The gradually gloomy clouds made the light outside the castle become darker and darker. The servants bought more firewood for the fire pit. If it rains heavily later, the late arrivals can dry themselves by the warm fire. clothes. The surrounding candles were also lit by servants, and some drunken nobles sang ditties praising knights and praising love in a dim environment filled with the smell of wine and meat and weak candlelight.
Some people got excited about singing, called their personal attendants, and ordered them to bring their hired military musicians from the military camp outside the castle to accompany them.
There are no bards in Henneberg Castle. The long-term war caused Count William of Thuringia to cut many non-essential expenses, including the budget for hiring bards. He became a thoroughly practical person. An activist, he now prefers to spend all this money on food and fodder for men and horses, fortifications, armor and weapons, and even mercenaries.
Simon finished his dinner, wiped his mouth, and left the chair without hesitation. The well-dressed snobbish earl sitting diagonally across had been scanning him and the other four barons with a scrutinizing gaze. He didn't say anything in his mouth, but it seemed that he had said everything. It's really unpleasant, like a fish bone stuck in your throat while you're feasting.
Perhaps because he didn't want to see that annoying face again, Simon wanted to go somewhere else. He thought that the top of the castle tower would be a good place, where he could see the entire defense layout of Henneberg Castle and the terrain of the surrounding area. This three-story building
The wooden tower should be the tallest building in the entire County of Thuringia.
He walked into the narrow corridor, and the stronger and stronger wind poured directly into Simon's collar and sleeves. The fresh and cool wind refreshed him, blowing away the unhappiness and fatigue from the journey to the back of his mind.
A middle-aged man with a mustache wearing a dark red woolen cloak happened to come down from the upper floor, and the wooden corridor that could only accommodate one person became crowded. The other party looked at Simon curiously, as if trying to tell something from his face, but still greeted Simon politely. The two of them turned sideways at the same time and passed each other.
When Simon reached the platform on the top of the building, he discovered that there were not only lookouts and soldiers on it. A young blond man wearing a short robe with exquisite patterns and a purple cape on his shoulders was holding a wine glass and standing on the wooden wall. Edge looked off into the distance, looking like he had just finished a conversation.
"So Prince Otto is here." Simon thought silently in his heart. Now, he knew why the mustachioed man who just came down the corridor looked at him curiously. God is my witness, he didn't know that Otto was on the top of the building. He just came to take a breath and enjoy the scenery.
But it was impossible to go back now. The sound of stepping on the wooden stairs was really too loud, and it was difficult to attract attention. Otto turned around and saw Simon. If he was like a mouse crossing the street at this time, It would be really embarrassing to turn back in despair.
Simon felt a rush of heat, and his heart beat significantly faster. He became nervous in front of the young future king. Although he had met Otto once before when he went to Dresden to ask King Heinrich for permission to open the crenellation, but now he actually didn't know it for a while. Know how to speak.
"Good day, my lord, I didn't expect to meet you here." Simon regretted his words as soon as he said them. He always felt that something was not right. That's for sure. In such a high-tension mood, no matter how perfect your words are, you will always feel that you have said something wrong.
"If I remember your name correctly, you should be Sir Simon, right?" Otto lowered his eyes slightly, as if searching for past memories in his mind.
"Your memory is so good," Simon was a little surprised. He actually remembered his name and appearance. "However, I now have a new title. This time I came as Baron Feldburg in response to the call of the Duke of Cologne. here."
"Are you a baron now? But to be honest, I'm not surprised. I saw that you have great potential in the tournament a few years ago." Otto smiled amiably and pointed to Simon's right hand. The unique gold ring on your thumb, "I still remember that this gold ring was my reward for you."
