Amidst the damp swamps and shoals, a solitary dead tree stands. Count Waldhel sits at the window of the fortress, with one foot dangling below and an open book on his knees. The parchment pages are already a little yellowed, but The monks used colorful dyes to make the drawings lifelike.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Earl." Suddenly on the lower level of the fortress, a man wearing chainmail and a blue blouse shouted loudly.
"I'm here." Earl Waldhel shouted, but did not get up. He still looked at his barren and sparsely populated land.
"You are here, I am looking for you everywhere." The man's name is Floris, the military commander of the Dutch count. He is smart and tough, with short brown hair shaved. He stepped on the wooden stairs, making a loud sound, and the dust came from Wooden stairs fell one after another in the gaps.
"What happened?" Earl Waldheer is 12 years old. He has long curly golden hair, sharp lips, and blue eyes full of intelligence and enthusiasm.
"Our people caught a few deserters, and they said a terrible thing." Floris paused and said to the young count.
"What terrible thing?" Floris frowned slightly, and his already serious expression became more solemn.
"Holland Jarre is dead." Floris swallowed before saying.
"Are you saying that my monarch is dead?" Count Waldhel looked at his men in surprise. He had just visited Dutch Jarre not long ago. The Northman looked strong and not sick at all. On the contrary, his wife, the Duchess of the Netherlands, was very ill and looked like she was about to die.
"They were killed by another group of Northmen." Floris said to Count Waldhel, the corners of his mouth raised unconsciously.
Count Waldhel closed his book. The Vikings invaded and killed the local rulers. Dutch Jarls took advantage of the situation and became the new ruler. The Falkvalding family followed the trend and swore an oath to Dutch Jarls. Be loyal and become a vassal instead of ruling the local Netherlands.
Although they surrendered to these northerners and paid tribute to the Dutch Jarls, the people of the Wadher family actually looked down on the Northmen at all, believing that one day they would regain the rule of the entire Netherlands, and now the Dutch Jarls You were actually killed. Did their chance come?
"Should we raise troops and immediately go to avenge Holland Jarre?" Floris asked excitedly.
"No, what's going on with the Earl of East Friesland?" Earl Waldhel waved his hand. He asked his general. You must know that the Earl of East Friesland is also a fierce Norse lord. If this powerful If the vassal does not act, Earl Waldhel will not act.
"We don't know about this matter." However, the two counties are separated by the West Friesland County occupied by Ulf. If East Friesland and the Dutch County cannot act at the same time, it is very likely that Ulf will be The husbands were defeated one by one.
"I will send someone to go around and contact the Earl of East Friesland." Floris said quickly.
"Well, just tell him that if we can kill the invaders and avenge Yael, we are willing to be loyal to him and become his vassals." Earl Waldhel said with a smile.
"What, are we really going to surrender to another Norseman?" Floris asked in surprise.
"No, this is just to deceive him." Earl Waldhel smiled. He just hoped that the North would lose both sides in the fight, and then he could take the opportunity to regain the dominance of the Netherlands.
Floris, who understood, immediately followed the count's instructions. He was a commoner from a humble background, and it was only through the count's appreciation that he was able to obtain such a high position. He admired this 12-year-old boy very much. .
"But I don't know what the pirates who can kill Yael look like?" Count Waldhel sat on the window sill again, squinting his eyes and looking into the distance, the sky that seemed to be always gloomy, he didn't Knowing that one of the two envoys sent by Ulf was very fast, the other got lost and arrived in Holland County late.
"I, I am the envoy of the Duchess, you can't~ah~~."
"Pfft." The Earl of East Friesland stabbed the envoy in the stomach with an iron sword, and then stirred it hard, smashing the entrails and intestines of the envoy. Looking at the fallen body, he was just calm. He pulled out his sword and wiped it on the corpse's back.
"What should we do now?" The woman standing next to the earl, wearing leather armor and a pair of sharp brown eyes, is the wife of the earl of East Friesland, the shieldmaiden Sif.
"Of course, kill the guy who stole the castle." The Earl of East Friesland put the Viking iron sword into its sheath and said to his wife.
"Revenge for Yael?" Sif put his hands around his husband's neck, reached out and gently stroked the beard tied on his chin, and asked him.
"No, it's because he did what I should have done." The Earl of East Friesland snorted. He also had a desire for the dominance of the Netherlands. In the past, it was hindered by the defense of the Dutch Jarre and the solidity of Haarlem. He couldn't act rashly because of the city wall, but now that Jarl of the Netherlands is dead, he can legally become the Duke of the Netherlands as long as he kills Ulf and others.
"Cunning Haraldson." Sif smiled and kissed her husband's cheek. Of course she hoped that she could become a Dutch duchess. You must know that whenever she sees the sick look of Eniel, the wife of Jarl in the Netherlands, she can be affected by it. She felt itchy with hatred when she saw the respect of everyone.
"Assemble the army and let us visit this group of pirates." The Earl of East Friesland got rid of his wife's entanglement, and he ordered his warriors.
"By the way, put the body on the horse." The Earl of East Friesland said when walking out of the Lord's Hall.
The messenger's body returned to Haarlem on the afternoon of the third day. Ulf looked at the horses running in on the city wall and the corpse on his back, and clearly knew the Earl of East Friesland's plan.
"It seems that someone wants to fight with us." Ulf touched his chin and put his elbow on the wall. He thought carefully about how to deal with the Earl of East Friesland.
Ulf turned and returned to the lord's hall. The frightened courtiers were respectfully waiting for his arrival. The Dutch duchess was sitting on the throne, and beside her was the heiress Huda who was holding a doll.
"You have all sworn allegiance to the Duchess and her heirs, so now is the time to test your loyalty." Ulf walked into the hall. At this time, the hall had been cleaned by the servants, even the pillars The blood of the slain bishop had also been washed away with clean water.
"Yes, we swear allegiance to the Duchess and her heirs." Ditwin quickly said to Ulf on behalf of everyone. They have already experienced this cruel Norse lord.
"Very good. Now the Earl of East Friesland has actually killed the envoy sent by the Duchess. This is a rebellion against the Dutch Jarl who just died. We must not sit still and wait for death." Ulf nodded with satisfaction, and he called After waving, two North warriors came in carrying the messenger's body. Seeing the horrific body, everyone couldn't help but turn their faces away.
"Yes." Ditwin did not dare to disobey Ulf, he nodded mechanically, "Then Lord Ulf, what do you want us to do?"
"Immediately send people to announce to all parts of the territory that the duchess's right to rule will be restored, and the atrocities committed by the Earl of West Friesland will be made public." Ulf ordered to Ditwin and others.
"That's it?" Ditwin was very surprised. According to his understanding of the Vikings, Ulf at this time did not take the opportunity to levy violently, but he only asked to declare the legitimacy of the duke's rule everywhere.
"That's it." Ulf said calmly.
This puzzling behavior made the courtiers feel strange, but no one dared to disobey Ulf's order. They immediately set off to convey orders to the villages and towns in the West Frisian territory under the supervision of North warriors, because these courtiers They helped rule this place for a long time, so the city of Alkma, the barony of Leeuwarden, and the barony of Dokham all opened their gates to them.
"You mean the duchess is now the ruler?" Looking at the courtiers carrying the flag of the Accra family, the mayor of Alkma was very surprised. How could he have heard that the Norse who sacked his city occupied the castle.
"Yes, the Duchess has reached an agreement with Lord Ulf, and peace has come. However, the Earl of West Friesland has evil intentions and intends to steal the rights of the Duchess." Dietwin said to the mayor of Alkmaar.
"Is this happening?" The mayor of Alkma was very shocked, but after thinking about it, they were all Vikings anyway. Even if they fought with each other, it was very possible, as long as it didn't affect them anymore.
"In short, if anyone from the Earl of West Friesland appears, report it to us immediately." Ditwin said to the mayor, but at the same time he felt bitter in his heart. He is now following the Northmen everywhere to promote the rebellion of the Earl of West Friesland. , which is equivalent to tying himself deeply to Ulf's chariot. Once the Earl of East Friesland attacks, he can only pray that he will not succeed.
After ordering the old courtiers of the Netherlands to go out and appease various places, Ulf seemed to have fallen into silence. Even Ange could not understand his actions. However, it was this kind of silence that made East Friesland prepare for war. The count, as well as the people of the Netherlands, began to relax.
"Ulf, what are your plans? If you are not going to occupy this place, we can plunder and leave." Vargas found Ulf, who stood on the city wall every day, looking into the distance, and said to him anxiously .
"Of course we have to occupy this place." Ulf looked back at Vargas. He couldn't express his thoughts to his companion, because what he was going to do next might not even be understood by the Northmen.
"Our spies reported back that the Earl of East Friesland's army may be ready within a week. Another of our envoys came back and told us that the Earl of Holland in the west was also ready to move. They sent people to try to contact East Friesland. Earl of Rislan." Ange also climbed onto the city wall at this time and reported to Ulf that their situation at this time was extremely bad.
"The time has come." Ulf raised his head and looked at a crow passing in the sky. He stood up and said to the two of them.
"What?" Vargas and Ange looked at each other.
"Leave enough men to guard the castle while the others form an army." Ulf said to them.
"Oh, are we finally going to take action?" Vargas was immediately excited when he heard that there was a war.
"Where to go?" Ange asked curiously. East Friesland was still far away from them. At this time, the count's army had not moved. Wouldn't it be a disadvantage to attack rashly?
"Target Amsterdam." Ulf said to the two of them, and the answer was beyond their expectations, because Ulf had been promoting the Earl of East Friesland as a traitor and seemed to want to attack him, but now the target is Moved to Amsterdam.
"Yes, if you want to deal with the Earl of East Friesland, you must capture Amsterdam." Ulf's idea is very simple. Amsterdam is behind Haarlem. Although the Earl of Holland has never openly rebelled, But it is extremely dangerous. If when he is fighting with the Earl of East Friesland, the other party steals his home, then they will immediately be in a dilemma.
"I know." Angel thought for a moment and immediately understood what Ulf was thinking, so she turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute, no one can know about this except you two. If anyone asks why we are gathering, just tell them to deal with the Earl of East Friesland." Ulf ordered Ange.
"Got it." Ange nodded and immediately went to summon the army.
"Vargos remember the crossbow we had on the longship? Bring it with you this time too." Ulf ordered Vargos.
"Oh, are you finally going to use that thing?" A smile appeared on Vargas's lips. He had always wanted to see how powerful the crossbow that Ulf ordered the blacksmiths to build was.
"You will see it." Ulf patted him on the shoulder, and at the same time glanced at the cross erected beside the road outside the city wall. Berengar's body had become shriveled by this time, and had been wailing for three days and three nights. Finally, this loyal courtier to Dutch Jarre died in pain. I wonder who will be crucified next?
"Treading on the Stars"
Under night, Ulf was riding on a horse. This was originally the horse of Dutch Jarl and now became his property. 70 North warriors and 60 levied soldiers gathered outside the castle. They held torches and looked at Ulf. .
"Ditwin, you did a good job." Ulf looked at the conscripted light infantry. These people were farmers near Haarlem. It was Dietwin who summoned them in the name of the duchess. .
"Why are you fighting for the North people?" But when this group of levies arrived in front of the castle, they found the North soldiers and the black wolf-headed flag, and they couldn't help but murmur in their hearts.
"Yeah." Ulf took in all their performance and squinted his eyes, knowing that he had to do something, otherwise his morale would be greatly damaged before the fight even started.
