King Ella looked at Oran, the hatred beneath his smile was darker than the dark clouds in the sky.
Oran has already set up a shed at the meeting place in advance.
On the spacious suburban land, each party brought one person into the shed.
The makeshift shack was covered with bark and weeds to cover it from the rain.
Oran took Titan to help him carry his sword, and King Ella took his son-in-law William.
After the four people entered the shed, five hundred meters away, there were two people holding their breath, waiting for the outcome of the negotiation.
The shed was empty on all sides. Oran looked over from behind Ella and saw the royal carriage, thinking that Malm was in the carriage.
I met this fiancée once in total, and then separated for more than a hundred days, relying on nonsense letters to communicate with each other.
He didn't know what Malm was thinking, but for him, it did not enhance the relationship at all. It was not related to her identity but to his own great cause, so he must pay attention to it.
When his eyes moved to William, Oran remembered that this bastard missed his wife and had offended him in Dan City.
then……
"Your Majesty." Oran called again when he entered the shed. He waited until King Ella sat down before following him.
Different from the domineering appearance as imagined, Oran until now has been full of etiquette for a noble to deal with the king.
But he didn't say a word of greeting to William who was beside King Ella.
"Olan, you have killed so many of my people, I really want to give you a warm hug."
After King Ella finished speaking, William next to him also said threatening words, "You have committed almost all the crimes that a vassal can commit, released the hostages, then disbanded the army, and went to the royal court to be tried. Maybe you will be given a noble of decency.”
Decent?
William's words were signaled by Ella in advance. Of course, Ella also knew that Olan could not give in. It was just a verbal intimidation to observe the opponent's reaction.
"Sir William." Oran raised an eyebrow.
"Um?"
"How did you get here?"
"What?"
"how come?"
"Driving with the king's chariot."
"Then do you have the qualifications to speak?"
"Asshole, what did you say!"
William stood up angrily.
Oran ignored it and turned to Ella, "Your Majesty, I have just received some important news. I would like to discuss it with you and ask those who have nothing to do with it to step aside."
After Oran said that, Taitan consciously walked out of the shed and accepted the light rain to wash his body.
He retreated again and again until Oran waved his hand to stop.
"William, you leave first."
"I am a baron, Your Majesty!"
After William finished speaking, Oran mocked, "Your Majesty, the baron you bestowed upon me is no longer able to command you?"
"Back off, William, don't let me say it a third time!"
King Ella's voice forced William to endure the humiliation and retreat ten meters away with Titan.
Nobles have the dignity of nobility. This is an unwritten rule, and the king cannot do whatever he wants.
Oran just ignores him, but the king is such a bastard!
This made William even more dissatisfied with the king.
A king who is addicted to alcohol, overthrows his brother, and treats his daughter as a plaything has nothing worthy of respect.
Because of the land he had given him, William had respect for him for a while, but people were dissatisfied, especially the ambitious ones. William's loyalty soon dwindled as the king faced difficulties in other aspects.
Princess Haian, who was hiding from the rain on the carriage, opened the curtain and watched, not knowing what was going on. The reason why she did not accompany the king was because she was afraid that there would be a conflict and she would be involved in danger, so she hid in the carriage and could go in and out at any time.
Malm was locked in another carriage, and the left and right windows were sealed, unable to see the outside situation. She held a sweater in her hand, which she had sewn for Oran, and wanted to hand it over to Oran herself.
The heart of a woman caught up in emotion always thinks about such trivial things.
At this moment in the shed, King Ella is forcing Oran.
"Bring out Cyrus first."
"Your Majesty, before coming here, I thought about a lot of scenes and how to explain it to you, but as a big event happened, these are no longer important. Your brother has been assassinated by the Vikings, and the kingdom will fall into darkness."
"This joke is not funny at all." King Ella opened her eyes wide.
But he was not panicked. In fact, he received this information on the road before he approached Dan City, which was almost the same time as Oran received it.
He had a long-term confrontation with his brother's army and was very sensitive to changes in the border. When the Mercian army entered the border, he drove away his knights.
In order to verify the accuracy, Ella sent someone to verify the authenticity again and obtained this important information.
Oran observed Ella for a while and continued, "Now that the former king has left, the divided country should be unified. Mercia and the Vikings are both outsiders. One threat left, and another came. I think, It’s time for you to step out and lead everyone out of this difficult time.”
Oran changed the subject and chose this topic. To a certain extent, it was no less important than exchanging prisoners. It was related to Ella's core interest - the throne.
"There are seven thousand troops in Mercia, why do you take them back? Besides, my brother has an heir."
Ella raised a difficult question and wanted to see if there was any difference between Olan's answer and the one deduced by her own counselor.
“In Ireland to the west of Mercia, there are Yinvar the Boneless, other Viking leaders, and tribes on the island, all of whom have been at odds with Mercia.
To the southwest is Wales, which also has border conflicts.
To the south is Wessex. One was the overlord forty years ago, and the other is the current overlord. The two sides often compete secretly.
To the east were the Vikings who occupied Kent.
To the north are the former king and us. Although the seven thousand people seem to be powerful, looking at it from another angle, we are actually surrounded by enemies on all sides. We must disperse our troops and defend them in various places. In terms of local confrontation, we are at a disadvantage.
Besides, in the past fifty years, they had not ruled the three southern counties for a single day, and they had no legal qualifications at all.
Now we are just taking advantage of the chaos, trying to cause the occupation of the established fact, and vassalize the three counties in the south.
You and the former king are just a 'quarrel of spirits'. You are both members of the Norn family by blood, and you two have their own supporters in the kingdom.
Now that he is dead, what hatred do you still have against the other county chiefs?
Nowadays, no one is more qualified than you. All the children of the former king died at the hands of the Vikings. Only one illegitimate knight survives. The other county chiefs will not support such a lowly person to become the king.
The people of Mercia probably also took note of this. The illegitimate son had no prestige, so they could only use a handwritten letter to say that he would be in charge of the three counties until an heir was chosen. "
Olan's analysis was sound and well-founded, and the answers were similar to those discussed by Ella's men.
As a king, sometimes you don't need to be smart or capable, as long as you have the ability to listen to the advice of your capable subordinates.
But the most important problem that King Ella discussed with his subordinates was Oran's attitude.
Without the threat of Oran, I would also like to hold a Thain conference and convince other county chiefs as quickly as possible.
If the Mercians are allowed to do whatever they want, he will never be able to restore the territory to his father's time in his life.
In their hearts, both of them want to guide negotiations into cooperation, and there is no smell of gunpowder at all.
At this moment, Ella is acting more like a qualified king than she has been in the past few years.
If Olan can really bring benefits to himself or even fulfill his dream, then he can still negotiate even if he kills his own relatives.
After talking for a while, Oran guessed from King Ella's overly calm reaction that King Ella knew no less than he did.
When negotiating, if both parties have the same goals and can give up unnecessary face or dignity, the success rate will be high.
"Your Majesty, I would like to express my allegiance to you again in front of the nobles of the eight counties of the kingdom. County Yewe and County Durham are at your disposal. You have the support of Northumbria and Carlisle, so you have four counties. , Edinburgh County has always been neutral, but we joined forces and added a group of Vikings led by Horsetail Gomon to threaten them. They would send people to compromise without using force.
As for the three southern counties?
Your Majesty, do you have any better ideas?"
"I have long sent people to fight with my brother's army on the border and bribe each other. I have my own way to communicate with them."
"This is great, Your Majesty, leave Yorkshire to me. I have sent people in advance to persuade them to participate in the upcoming conference." Oran interjected.
Even if the plans are consistent, the three counties cannot be handed over to King Ella.
Oran wanted to win Yorkshire to his side.
The letter he sent to Yorkshire stated that he was "talking and laughing" with the king, had set a date for the meeting, and would send someone to inform Sheriff Gliese again.
Moreover, his southern territory of Durham happened to border two important routes to Yorkshire. If he refused to allow the king's troops to cross the border, it would cause even more trouble for Ella.
Seeing Oran like this, Ella took the idea of the Sheriff of Yorkshire colluding with Oran seriously, but she still nodded in agreement.
However, he didn't want to suffer a loss, so he brought the topic back, "Leave Gulie and Konni to me, and let's press down on the dispute between us first."
"Your Majesty, you are so funny, of course not."
Oran's words made the air condense again, and he explained, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we haven't reached an agreement yet, I still want to destroy Shi Meng with you.
Besides, if Cyrus were with me, wouldn't your rule be more stable?
According to the original plan, the priests will all die, and they will be blamed on Shi Meng. You will take the opportunity to take back those book fields.
And if this group of Vikings dies, your military exploits will be more prominent, the kingdom will also gain internal security, and Mercia will pay more attention to your skills.
Conni will stay for now, just think of him as the priest you put on my side to help me with my academic affairs.
After Cyrus finishes the conference, I will return it to you. You can even choose from three options: perfection, disability, or death. "
"Olan, if you want to see Haian's madness, you can choose the last two methods of return."
Ella thought Olan was a madman, and talking to him was sometimes serious and sometimes scary.
"Your Majesty, don't let women interfere with our plans. A good wife, with a noble title, will give birth to several smart and strong heirs for us. That is her duty.
The Holy Scriptures say: A woman submits herself to her husband as to the Lord.
The holy scripture says: If a woman wants to learn, she can ask her husband.
The Holy Scriptures say: Women are created from the ribs of men, and this bone is hidden under the chest, which means that women are protected by men. Women should respect their husbands as gods, rather than husbands fearing their wives.
If the princess loses her brother, you can rearrange your trusted and easy-to-control vassal knights.
Don't you reward a holy bone knight so that you can promote him and reuse him?
Hundreds of thousands of Northumbrians will obey your casual words.
I have a suggestion: shut up the princess and let you govern the country as you wish.
Excessive kin power is a very terrible danger. They will do unfavorable things to you when you are weak. "
Oran reminds Ella that this is how you yourself overthrew your brother's rule.
Silent for a long time.
After waiting for a while, King Ella continued to ask, "After Shi Meng is cleared, the territory will be divided?"
"Cancel the establishment of Engu County. I only need these two counties in my hands. The other territories belong to Your Majesty. The Vikings I eliminated in Yewei County are all due to you."
It sounded good, Ella smiled and asked, "What do you want if I reset."
Oran also laughed, and his laughter echoed in the shed...
Half an hour later, King Ella waved Malm's carriage over.
Later, Ulf was also brought over.
But it can be seen that Ulf received an extremely friendly greeting, but King Ella still left room for maneuver.
Olan looked around and saw that he was not disabled, but his face was twice as swollen as before and his legs were shaking when he stood.
The king's guards came closer, and naturally Kunsang also brought people closer.
Ella said before leaving, "You have ten sentences."
Looking at his fiancée, Olan thought for a moment, what sweet words could he say to deceive this woman?
Now for him, with two counties in hand, he will soon ascend to the center of power in Northumbria.
The attraction of women to him continues to decrease, and now they are divided into two types: playthings and wives.
The latter is much heavier and more valuable.
"Stay away."
Oran was naturally majestic. As soon as he said these words, Kunsang roared, causing the king's guards to take a few steps back.
"Your Excellency, woo woo woo..."
"Don't say it if you are arrogant. As long as you don't die, Great Expectations is waiting for you."
After Oran said this to Ulf, Malm took out the scarf from his arms.
Oran took it and looked at it carefully, but felt nothing.
But he knows that this is what his wife wants. Don't neglect someone who pleases you, especially the person next to you.
If a person's heart is hurt, it will take several times of effort to coax it back.
So, he raised his eyes and said warmly, "I like this gift so much. No one has done this to me except my mother."
He held his wife's hand and then kissed her in full view of the public.
"Wait for me and I will take you back. You and I will never be separated."
Oran hugged Mal's body to prevent her from breaking away, and the woman's body gradually became soft.
Olan touched her hair and whispered in her ear some sexy words of love.
Malm is already perfect, with outstanding looks and a gentle personality.
Oran hates women who talk too much, so her kind and obedient character ensures that she will be loyal to her husband and not interfere in other matters.
Now that his territory borders Scotland, he can also borrow Malm's maternal royal family identity in the future.
After the performance, Malm and Ulf were taken away by the king's guards.
After the woman left, Olan left a lingering fragrance.
After a while, the fragrance dissipated, and there was no longer any sense of love in his heart.
This negotiation was unbelievable to any of the participating nobles except Olan.
The angry princess was suppressed by King Ella. Even though he was afraid of his wife, he did not let go this time and did not issue an order to start the war.
The knights who want to avenge their companions want to track down the monk who killed the priest.
Oran asked them to send representatives to his team to listen to the confessions of Bishop Konni who had been subdued and the knight captives whom he captured and threatened with their lives.
These confessions tend to favor Oran's "loyalty" and "courage" and attribute the whole incident to the Viking Shimon.
Scenes of fueling and jealousy, these represent rising anger.
Oran even shouted in vulgar language, "Fuck, these Vikings are lawless. I swear on my life and honor that I will bloodbath them to make you believe in Uncle Ben."
Within four days, messengers sent to every county in the kingdom received letters convening the convention.
The letter states that the five northern counties of the kingdom have surrendered to King Ella, and all Vikings have surrendered. If you continue to fail to act, you will become a vassal of Mercia.
King Ella mentioned in his letter that as long as they agreed to his rule and accepted orders to send troops during war, the taxes they paid to the former king could be reduced by half.
The county chiefs felt that the benefits were more attractive, and the legal system and culture were from the same lineage as King Ella, so they all responded eagerly.
On the eighth day after the trip to Dan City, the king and Oran concentrated all their forces and began to surround Shi Meng's territory and surrender.
This time, the disparity in power was overwhelming.
The knights of Edinburgh and Carlisle sent troops to support them, and also came to attend the meeting convened by the king.
Oran used the names of two counties and added Gemeng to surround Shimeng to the east.
The king personally led a group and set out from Dan City.
Plus Glock and Mi Qiao who were ambushing Shi Meng settlement.
The mobilized troops approached 2,000 people, which dealt a devastating blow to Shi Meng.
In the past, the battles between this group of Vikings and local lords were extremely one-dimensional.
Hundreds of people gather together, and then choose a place to compete with each other, or directly mobilize all their strength to fight for a certain target.
But this time the king's army came with great force, and even regardless of whether they had been baptized or converted, as long as a lone Viking appeared where the soldiers of the Lord found them, it would be a massacre.
Fear spread throughout the settlement. They didn't even know where the king's army would come from. There were enemies on all sides.
The offensive lasted for three days. At night, the Vikings even heard roars and war trumpets from all directions.
Shi Meng did not want the settlement to be slaughtered, so he chose to send someone out to meet with the king to explain the whole matter clearly.
The king agreed, but he needed Shi Meng to personally bring people out and tell everything.
Shi Meng is in a dilemma. What if this is a scam? Then he will lose completely.
His wife advised him, "If they lie to us once, they will do it a second time. Fight, Shi Meng. I will be with you. Even if we die, we will die together!"
"Flia, if you stay to guard this mountain fortress, once it is breached, everyone will die! I don't want so many people to die after me. Let's rush out and go to the Hall of Valor together when we die."
Finally, Shimon mobilized everyone and prepared to break out towards the weakly defended north, facing Edinburgh. As long as they rushed out of there, they could hide in the mountains of Scotland. That was the last chance.
But when he fought desperately and was retreating towards the north, there was a commotion in the team, and Mi Qiao and several other minor leaders suddenly rebelled.
Shi Meng could tolerate being betrayed by outsiders, but betraying him by his own people turned him into a crazy beast.
But he had no choice but to fight against an enemy several times stronger than himself, so he had no choice but to retreat.
The reason why the defensive force in the north is weak is also part of the plan of Oran and the King.
If the outside is strictly guarded and it is difficult for the Vikings to escape, they will burst out with determination to defend. Once a path is given to them and they have another possibility of survival, they may not necessarily fight to the death.
All Oran wants is for them to escape.
Once people flee their homes, their morale and confidence will be greatly destroyed. If they want to survive, they will be a target if they flee irregularly.
If they were on the run and caused great trouble to the lords of Edinburgh, the power of this neutral county would also be reduced, which would be beneficial to the king or Oran.
At this moment, human lives are just a passing number. Without sacrifice, there will be no future stability for the rear.
On September 10, 865 A.D., on this day, according to later records in the diary of the Kingdom of Northumbria, more than 500 Viking corpses fell to the ground from Durham to Edinburgh.
On six relatively large rivers, severed hands and feet can be seen everywhere.
The Viking corpses collected by the Catholic soldiers showed the great success of this operation.
King Ella was called "Ella the God of War" because of this action.
On September 11, Nanding and Gomon's troops advanced to the Scottish border and caught up with the last of Gomon's troops. There were less than 200 survivors.
This time, God Odin did not protect him. He failed. Less than half of the nearly two thousand settlement residents were left.
Those who survived were made slaves and driven south by carloads.
At noon that day, a child was born prematurely by a stream because of the mother's excessive fatigue.
After he landed, he didn't cry, as if he knew the suffering of his mother and father and would no longer cause trouble for them.
Baimeng book
"We are almost to the north. We will be safe soon." Shi Meng comforted his wife and helped cut the umbilical cord with a red-hot dagger.
Looking at his son and wife who were covered in blood, Shi Meng shed tears.
"I will protect you."
But not long after he finished speaking, the birds in the forest shivered and flew away from the forest in fright.
There was a vibration on the ground. It was the majestic sound of horse hooves trampling on the ground, which made the water on the stream ripple.
War trumpets sound, and the lyrics are a tribute to the Lord of the White Eagle.
Oran is here!
After hearing this, the other Vikings fled away from a group in order to survive. In the end, only the loyal warriors who followed Shimon were left, including Glock.
Looking at the child, Glock said to Shi Meng, "Let's go."
"What do you mean?" Shi Meng became alert, and his soldiers also pointed their swords at Glock.
"I will protect their mother and son." After Glock finished speaking, he asked the other twenty soldiers to put down their weapons and said, "Shi Meng has grown from a wandering beggar to a leader. His luck has run out. You can all survive by following me. "
Freya cried, "Why!"
Glock pulled out his sword, "I'm not convinced, that's all."
Call--
Olanla stopped his horse and slowly came to the outside of the stream. He found that it would take a lot of effort to cross this rapid.
He first looked at the drama of betrayal and resentment in front of him from a distance, and then said to the men around him, "I said that the child will lose his father before he is born. You really let me down."
Gomen lowered his head and said nothing. Olan, this bastard, is more terrifying and even cruel than people like Haman, Baldo, and Alger.
Nanding drew his knight's sword and said, "Sir, I will make up for my mistake immediately."
