When passing through the market in Rouen, Edgar deliberately stopped for a long time, and Robert, Duke of Normandy, had to accompany the King of England. Strangely enough, the King of England was not attracted by the huge beams of a wealthy mansion near the bazaar, but he was quite fond of the worst and dirtiest bazaar.

"Your Majesty?" Count Rodrigo finally reminded Edgar from his musings.

Before the king left, he took another look at the market in the direction of the Seine, the place where Joan of Arc had been tortured in his previous life, which now seemed to him as a reminder of history:

"I don't know God's love or hatred for the English, but I know that they will be expelled from France!"

While the king of England trembled at the trial of a young girl from Orleans, the man who invited him to Norman territory was in a different state of mind.

The new Duke Robert was not proud of his decision, but he knew that his temperament was too gloomy to win him the affection of the Normans, but he had to protect his legitimate property: the duchy was his, and Luforth had no right!

Therefore, he does not care to use any means, or pay any price.

Edgar quickly confirmed Robert's situation: a duke besieged by vassals, his forces were completely suppressed in the southwest corner, while Rouen was more like a prison, almost all outside the city was enemy territory, and nothing was really under Robert's control except for the castle of Rouen.

The embarrassment of the new duke can also be seen in the banquet in Rouen: unspiced bonitos and pies, bland wines, so shabby that there is hardly any decent food suitable for dukedom. However, it is more likely that Robert's nature is stingy, after all, Edgar was also poor, but even if he sold his entire inheritance and his family's jewelry, he would make sure to impress the generosity of his allies and samurai. There is no doubt that William Lufus was not a rich man, but he was the kind of person who was willing to spend his money to buy a crown for himself, and perhaps that was why he was able to trap Robert in Rouen.

"It seems that there is only a division of troops now." Edgar said to Robert, "Philip of Macedon said that the essence of strategy is divide and conquer. Now is the time to act, to do whatever it takes to get our enemies united. ”

"Fortunately, the Danes have been dealt with by Master Baldwin." Rodrigo said.

"But the crisis on the Eastern Front has not been resolved, Lord Count." Edgar looked around with flashing eyes, "If we hand over the militia from the East to you, are you sure to hold the line between Calais and Boulogne?" ”

"Nope." "Lincoln's army is still in Dover," Rodrigo admitted, "and I will not be able to reinforce Boulogne unless they set out at once, and whether the Boulognes will hold on to it is only for God to know." ”

"Calais must hold on!" The king emphasized, and before Robert realized the distrust of his side revealed in it, Edgar quickly reversed the subject, "The Boulognes are now too scattered to take the city without the knights of Duke Godfrey." ”

Rodrigo recalled the woodlands and ridges he had passed on his return to Abouville, and pondered for a moment before replying: "If Boulogne can't be saved, I can retreat to the Somme, where there is a good battlefield......"

The king nodded and allowed Boulogne to be given up for the time being, which also relieved Rodrigo.

"Northumbria is not there, Mercia is sick, and our flanks will be handed over to the adults until the enemy near Rouen is settled." The King and the Duke of Normandy raised the gold cup to Count Rodrigo at the same time.

On the second day, Rodrigo sailed from Rouen to Calais, where the Count's signature red hair appeared outside the fortress's massive corner fort.

"Can the army fight now?" Rodrigo asked as soon as they met.

"All geared up." The old Welsh guard proudly said that the armies of Kent and Sussex had left Calais because of the king's expedition, but Martin was not afraid of the Flemish people, especially their Earl Robert, who had fought under the lord Hereward and was all too familiar with his skills.

"We need some men to go south, and my lordship only needs to hold Calais according to His Majesty's orders, and even if Boulogne is lost, there is no need to send troops, and I will lead the Flemish to the west."

"What if Robert doesn't chase after the adults then?" With Martin's knowledge of Robert, the other party is indeed not the kind of far-sighted commander, and Rodrigo's strategy of luring the enemy into depth will be successful, but he is still a little curious how the Spaniard will respond to another possibility.

"If he chooses to go north, I will take the opportunity to retake Boulogne and annihilate the Flemish under the city of Calais." Rodrigo showed a faint sense of pride, as if it would be easy to retake the fortress of Boulogne from the Flemish people.

"Are you planning to retreat west to Pontillo?" Martin suddenly asked a question, "Do you trust Guy of Pontillo?" ”

Rodrigo's face changed, he did ignore this, once the Pontilio turned against him, his army was encircled, and when the time came, the battlefield he chose was likely to be the graveyard of the English and Boulogne!

"What do you mean?" Rodrigo finally showed an open attitude towards Martin, and he realized that this Welsh veteran was not a brave man, and as a warrior of Hereward's personal samurai, Martin's combat experience was definitely the most valuable asset of the kingdom.

"Attack! Robert was not a coward, but he had long been tainted with the habits of the Danish pirates, and he hated hard fighting, and the adults might be able to reduce their losses by retreating, but it was also equivalent to emboldening the Flemish people, who were very difficult opponents when they thought their opponents were weak. Martin grimaced, "If it weren't for His Majesty's orders, I would have sent all of Calais' men out, and then grabbed Robert's brigade and beat him to death." ”

Rodrigo did not expect Martin to give such a suggestion, and it must be said that such a plan full of glory and courage was indeed very much his appetite, but when he thought of the terrain near Cressie, he felt extremely sorry - if he set up a formation there, he could completely make the Flemish people not return!