When the information about Wessex's negotiations with the Vikings came out.
King Burgred of Mercia cursed angrily.
After Ragnar's army received supplies from London, they stopped advancing and rested for three days before heading north.
Æthelred even ordered Crown Prince Alfred not to leave the fief without authorization, and announced that a meeting of wise men had been convened.
On December 2, 865 AD, Vikings from all directions gathered and headed towards the tomb of the King of Mercia.
The number of people fleeing the country increased greatly, and many nobles sent their wives and family members away in advance.
Not only Mercia, but also residents of Northumbria also fled.
If Oran hadn't been stationed in Dan City and King's Landing, adjusting back and forth, I'm afraid there would have been greater turmoil.
On December 3, Oran ordered Mawei Gemeng and Gliese to sort out the number of Vikings, each form an infantry team, and mix it into his own team. He would personally take it to the battlefield.
Because all their property is here, this group of Vikings must seek refuge with the God's nobles. If Mercia is conquered and the troops move north, they may immediately rebel.
Therefore, before the war situation has reached such an unfavorable level, it is necessary to increase the hatred between them and the Viking invaders, and at the same time reduce the strength of the local Vikings.
On the same day, the Archbishop of Mercia and the king issued an order that anyone who killed a small Viking leader on the battlefield would be promoted to a knight, and anyone who killed an ordinary warrior would be granted land.
The battlefield lasted for several months, and a large number of soldiers and knights were killed. The king and nobles took them all out instead of swallowing them.
The life and death of the Unsa nobles of Middle England depended on this battle.
Before going south, at Oran's strong request, Ella finally agreed to formally marry Malm to him and consummate the marriage.
During the Viking invasion, everything was kept simple. However, in order to forge a sacred family identity, Oran had already asked his men to raise a group of white pigeons in advance. Tomorrow morning, this group of pigeons would suddenly fly over, and then create several "Jehovah" and "Jehovah" and "Jehovah" appear in the sky. The face of the Virgin Mary will do.
That night, Oran bathed and changed clothes, and Malm was baptized by the priest and escorted by servants to the bedroom.
There are many etiquettes for aristocratic marriages, but Oran skipped them all and called all the servants out.
There were only two people left in the room.
Quiet, extremely quiet.
Then... Oran directly grabbed Malm and pressed him down on the bed.
"I'm guilty, Ge... Oran, we should be praying the Holy Word."
"Then you pray yours and I'll do mine." Oran said as he took off the ceremonial robes of the two of them.
Isn't it just a matter of taking a nap and a quick fix?
He had been delayed in Dan City for too long, fearing that he would not be able to participate in the battle to defend the royal tomb.
This time, Olan seemed to be a different person compared to before, cold and rough.
Malm summoned the courage to ask, "I heard rumors that you also married a wife in Yorkshire? Is it true?"
"Who told you that?"
"That's what they say."
"Really, as a wife, you have a lot of things to take care of, but you don't have to question your husband about this. As I said, I hate jealousy, lovely Malm, I know you won't, so be good."
At this moment, Olan only had Vikings in mind and had no interest in coaxing women.
If you are indifferent in words, use actions to increase enthusiasm.
From maids, noble wives to widows, he has coaxed so many women. He is very skilled and has another way to coax Malm.
"Let's recite the sacred scriptures and repent. I am guilty..."
"I will atone for your sins... The 'Voice of Christ' is on me, shut up..."
When Malm mentioned atonement again, Oran stopped for a moment, thinking of something.
In the next two hours, Olan's nearly 30,000 pores on his body were about 90% opened.
The pupils contracted severely one thousand three hundred and fourteen times.
Hold an angle five hundred and twenty times.
The pitch was sometimes high and sometimes low, and at its lowest, it was two levels lower than usual.
The humidity in the room was half a degree heavier.
Six grinding marks are added to the bed body.
A corner of the quilt was bitten off.
The body extension is also slightly improved.
For seven moments, Olan was in a state of having no desires or desires.
He felt that with his current physical ability, he should be able to practice for a while longer.
Oran didn't know whether Malm's soul was complete. What he wanted most was to have a male heir born.
Among his women, Malm's belly was the most suitable.
Such an intense discussion of the philosophy of life.
Malm was too tired to speak.
Oran was lying on the bed, thinking about the topic of atonement.
"Everyone has original sin and will be judged after death. Those who do a lot of good deeds will be cleansed of their sins and ascend to heaven. Those who do a lot of bad deeds will fall into hell."
I read the "theory of original sin" passed down by this church several times.
Olan thought of a good way to make money, which can stimulate fighting spirit and determination to the greatest extent.
In the early morning, the maid came in to serve the two of them. After getting dressed, Oran led Malm out of the hall and to the square. Then a miracle occurred. A group of white doves were released and flew into the sky, with many feathers scattered.
"Look, this is amazing!"
"The Lord has blessed this marriage, Your Excellency, and you will surely give birth to a perfect heir."
"God bless England."
People get used to it. At first, Olan didn't like listening to flattery, but now he doesn't resent it anymore.
Who says those who are harsh to the ear must always have the right advice?
They are just a group of proud or ambitious subordinates, and there are many unreasonable excuses for their behavior of contradicting their master.
"I heard it!" Oran followed the words of his subordinates and then raised his voice again, "The Lord said that everyone is guilty, but His mercy will forgive us. Anyone who performs one of the 'Seven Sacraments' will be punished. forgive."
Oran is familiar with the scriptures, so he explains the teachings himself.
He thought about it all night last night and decided to take advantage of the issue of faith.
He thought of the good thing "Scroll of Atonement".
Who has no regrets at all, and who doesn’t want to pay a small price to get rid of the evil deeds he has committed.
This "item" created by the Holy See in the previous life to raise funds was going to be used in advance.
In order to be more realistic and make people have no faults to find.
He took out the seven sacraments and used them together.
The so-called seven sacraments refer to the seven acts of the church.
For example, the sacrament of baptism (becoming a people of God), such as the Eucharist (performing ritual activities).
One of the seven sacraments is the "sacrament of marriage." A man and a woman are united by love and vows to form a common life. This is also a sacrament.
To put it bluntly, according to this standard, it is a pig. As long as it grows under the cross, it is considered a sacramental pig. It has wisdom and is innately included in the list of those who can be forgiven.
Then the local bishop would get two iron plates and engraved the words of absolution from the king and the priest on them, saying that they represented God's command. Wouldn't that be it?
All the funds raised were said to be used to build churches and dedicate to God, but in fact they were used to prepare war supplies and help people in poverty during the war.
It is far better to let the people of your country pay willingly than to rob them with a sword.
And nobles can also atone for their sins. At the same time, in order to prevent the church's power from being greatly expanded in this way, Oran slightly improved it and made it into a trinity model, imitating the Father (king), the Holy Spirit (palace), and the Son (archbishop).
That is to say, I belong to the level of granting atonement to people.
Two nobles correspond to one bishop to prevent the subjects from relying too much on the church, and the royal power must always occupy a dominant position.
After a rough guess, the resistance we will encounter is probably twofold.
On the one hand, if you go beyond the Holy See and steal their pardon power, you will be criticized and even held accountable.
On the other hand, if the nobles of other Ansa countries do not follow up, this plan will not be promoted. After all, if there is only Northumbria, this plan will soon die.
Therefore, Mercia must accept it.
Oran was confident that as long as Bergred knew how much more wealth he could gain by doing this, he would agree.
Even if they do this, there will be endless troubles, but the Vikings must get through this first.
No matter what the policy is, as long as it can withstand the pressure of foreign enemies in the past few years, it is a good plan.
On December 6, Oran and Ella, as well as the sheriffs of the entire Northumbria, the remnants of East Anglia, and the last elite of Mercia.
All are close to the "Repton" area and around the cemetery of the late kings.
At the subsequent meeting, the person who received the most greetings from the county chiefs was the bastard Ethelred!
Now that the relationship has broken down, this group of rude nobles began to make up rumors while arranging battle plans.
Encouraging people to do good is difficult and difficult, but people do evil and it is difficult to teach yourself how to do it.
This group of illiterate nobles asked their scribes to make up stories, two of which were the most outrageous.
One story says that the son he had after Æthelred brought his wife back to Ireland was actually the offspring of a Viking. Ivar the Boneless once led people to sneak attack on the king and slept with the princess, and then this bastard was born. .
The reason why Æthelred cooperated with the Vikings was because Ivar promised not to tell anyone about this matter.
The Mercian nobles "happily" caught one of Ivar's personal followers and knew all this.
The second article is even more vicious, directly stating that on a certain day of a certain year, Alfred "sleeped with the princess."
Even what was said during bedtime was clearly remembered, as if they were hiding under the bed and eavesdropping.
In addition to rumors, conspiracy should also be used.
Bergred closed the southern passage, and neither the Vikings nor the Wessex people were allowed to enter. At the same time, he did not sit still and bribed several county chiefs on the border between the two countries.
Oran had already persuaded Ella on the way, and when he entered the ranks of the Mercian coalition, an incident happened.
A group of weak women risked their lives to stop the Knights Hospitaller of Oran.
If this wasn't on someone else's territory, the hospital knights might just behead these women.
What can a shabby group of wandering girls do? What do they want to do?
Titan contacted them and came back to convey the message.
When Oran heard this, he ordered the "leading woman" to be brought to the camp.
He found out that it was the prostitute who he had accidentally assigned to act in Canterbury Cathedral last time.
When they met again after more than ten days, Olan asked her, "Didn't Uncle Ben want you to not have to worry about food for the rest of your life?"
"Your Excellency, I cannot abandon my partner." The woman was extremely nervous and lowered her head as she replied.
Olan didn't expect this answer. She turned out to be a kind-hearted woman.
The woman continued, "Your Excellency, there are refugees everywhere. We originally wanted to go to your Northumbria, but all the main roads are occupied by the army. Without a warrant, we can't go there. If we take the small roads, many refugees... …”
"But what?"
"The refugees turned into perpetrators." The woman's body was shaking a little, and the faint cry of a child could be heard outside.
Oran went out to see. Girls and younger people who were even called "girls" all rushed to the woman who was protecting them.
"Your Excellency, please help us, as long as you give us a warrant."
Women don't dare to ask for too much. A humble attitude is like mud on the ground. Anyone can step on it.
"Bring me some food."
Oran felt something and ordered Titan to bring over some uneaten dry food immediately.
Twelve women, all very young.
In the process of escaping, the elderly were either killed by Vikings or violently abused by criminals, while the young who were left behind were violently coerced into betraying themselves.
The oldest one is the woman who begged Olan, she is probably in her early twenties, right?
A few hard cakes that were cleaner than their faces, and water that was so clear that it could reflect their faces when poured on the ground, were given to the two little girls.
The little girls took a greedy sip and then handed it to their older sisters who were taking care of them.
In a miserable life, we must help each other.
Finally, it was delivered to "that woman" and she divided it up.
The older ones take a small bite first and then pass it on.
Only when they are strong can they protect their children, but they don’t eat too much, and they even deliberately avoid the fillings on top and pass them on to the next person.
But the children were also sensible and avoided it. When they could no longer avoid it, they actually took off the fillings, ate the dry biscuits, and gave the little fillings to others.
Only those who have been hungry know how valuable food is.
During the escape, the road was littered with corpses, and someone who stuttered was very lucky.
"Bring more!" Oran asked for as many cakes as the Titan Mountain and delivered them to everyone personally, placing them in their hands.
"Eat, sometimes people live just to eat."
Oran went into the camp, started writing orders, and prepared to send two more people to send them north.
But when I walked out of the camp, I was intrigued by what the children said.
"These things are so delicious, but it's a pity that Sister Bema can't eat them."
"It would be nice if we didn't meet those Vikings, and she wouldn't have to protect us..."
"Have you met any Vikings on the road?" Oran asked.
The children did not dare to look directly at Olan and shut up in fear, but Olan asked the older girls and learned from their mouths that they had "touched".
In just two words, what happens in the process may be a woman's lifelong pain.
"Were they raped?" Olan asked again.
After getting a negative answer, I finally felt less heavy.
"Go, go to Durham, a town called King's Landing, and you will be reborn."
But when the group of women hadn't gone far, Olan asked someone to call the women back, but let her companions go.
"Your Excellency!" The woman timidly came to Olan again.
This time Oran asked him seriously, "Why didn't the Vikings kill you?"
"We are just like insects. Killing or not is just a matter of thought. Maybe it's because they don't take us seriously?"
Oran's eyes sparkled, this is it!
If you use wanderers as scouts to gather information, you may be killed, but with these weak and humble wandering girls, you may be able to shuttle between the two camps and have a certain chance of survival!
"Do you want to protect more girls?" Olan approached the woman and raised her face with his hands.
A very ordinary face, but Olan felt like seeing an angel at this moment.
"Me?" The woman didn't understand.
"Are you a peasant woman?"
"Yes, my family all died in the war, and that's why I became like this."
"It was God who brought you and me together."
"ah?"
"You will get the first 'Atonement' in the land of England. You will no longer be a wandering girl, I will turn you into a saint!"
"How is it possible! My body is full of sin, why should I enter the church?" The woman looked down again.
"what's your name……"
"My name is……"
"wrong!"
"wrong?"
"You sacrificed your 'chastity' to protect her. Your 'kindness' is enough to set an example. From now on, you will be called..."
"Call?"
"Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc!"
