Norway.

From the coastal promenade into the fjord surrounded by seven mountains, the royal garden of Alkstadt was the royal garden where the king built his town, and at dusk the stars reveal the longships quietly moored in the harbor, and the old castle of the royal family on the high ground looks down proudly, and the open world facing the coast is separated from the surrounding mountains, as if it were a separate world. When dawn fell, northerners entered the town, and by the time the church bells rang and the bustling crowds filled the city, the thriving Bergen fish market was already in full swing.

The Norwegians, returning from England, were soon invaded by the Danish king Sween, and when more than two hundred Danish ships appeared in the fjord, the young king of the Norwegians, Olaf, offered to negotiate.

After the two sides met in the fjord, King Olaf presented the Danish king with Herulan furs, Swedish vanilla and amber from the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. King Sven, a tall old man with a slight lameness on one leg, thanked the son of Harald for the gift and said, "What does the son of Harald want from the Danes?" ”

"There is nothing more than friendship." Olaf replied humbly.

King Sven couldn't help laughing: "How did the Norwegians get the friendship of the Danish king?" How can the sword and blood that Harald once brought to the Danes be forgotten by the Danes? ”

"Your Majesty, the bloodshed of the past has ceased long before the death of the former king, and the peace treaty signed two years ago will remain in force, and in order to secure this peace treaty, we are willing to enter into a marriage with the Danish king, so that the alliance between the Danes and the Norwegians may continue. The northerners will fight for a higher goal, not kill each other in this fjord. ”

Seeing that the king of Sven did not answer, Olaf continued: "As you know, the Norse were defeated in England, but the English were defeated by the Normans in the south, their king and his own brothers were all killed, and now the western lands are in chaos. You are the nephew of King Cnut, the land of England once ruled by the Danes, and the fertile soil of Mercia, Wessex, and the tall walls of York Fortress are not better prizes? Why did the Danes' spears and shields break in this fjord? God is above, England is now weak, isn't this where the Danes come in? ”

So saying, Olaf had a gray-robed monk brought out from behind him, and he pointed to the monk and said to the Danish king: "As a sign of our sincerity, we are willing to hand over to you Elfwin, the grandson of King Canute and son of King Harold the Scud." ”

King Sven was finally shaken, he stepped forward, took the monk's hand, looked at his face himself, his expression changed rapidly, and at last, he laughed: "Well, the peace between the Norwegians and the Danes is still in force, we will be allies, and my daughter Ingrid will marry King Olaf of Norway." ”

When the stone in Olaf's heart finally fell, he spoke: "God bears witness to our covenant, so let us celebrate with a feast!" ”

While the Danes and Norwegians drank the honey, Brother Elfwin covered his face with a cloak and quietly left the hall. Two other black-robed friars were waiting for him outside the wooden door of St. Mary's Church, and Elfwin stepped forward and whispered to them: "We must return to Aquitaine at once, the sons of Harald and Sven are ready to detain me on their expedition, and perhaps make me a puppet king." ”

The black-robed friars nodded, and led him through the door, and when they came out, Elfwin had completely transformed into an old woman, and he had followed the two monks to the fjord with a white cloak. By the time the Norwegians found Elfwin missing, they were already far from the coast.

At the court of Normandy, King William was not yet aware of the coming war, and the most powerful nobles in England had been brought to Normandy by him, and before the news of Dover came, William decided to wait until Christmas to return to England, and wrote a letter ordering the Earl of Hereford to send troops to conquer Cornwall.

During this time, Edgar and Prince Robert often went in and out of the court together, participating in hunting and various festival ceremonies. In addition, Edgar insisted on the practice of riding every day, just like the daily training near Windsor and Hyde Park, his riding skills amazed Robert, of course, when hunting, Edgar would also gallop like a fox hunting, breaking the strict pace of training, the fun of this sport is to chase foxes and deer through the hills and woodlands, the free wild of eagle dogs, on horseback to see some hounds screaming to scare their prey, others rushed up to bite the throat of the prey with sharp teeth, It was more exciting than Edgar's old preference for shooting birds in the woodland with a gun. In the military society of the Normans, such activities were enjoyed by all nobles, and these knights would shoot lightly and bend their bows like the Magyars, although these hunting bows were not the recurve bows popular in the East.

Many English nobles were not as free as Edgar, but they were not all willing to rebel against the Normans, the Earl of Moka mentioned his brother Earl Edwin to Edgar at a banquet, the Earl of Mercia was not willing to raise an army against the king, in the current situation, the king has been officially crowned, and any nobles must take this fact into account when resisting, which is why many English people are reluctant to take risks. In addition, the Earl of Edwin received a promise from the king that he would marry the king's daughter, which would strengthen his position in England, but the Earl of Moka was deposed by the king and his domain was given to Kopsey, who had been a supporter of Tostig and stood alongside the Norwegians against the English at Stamford Bridge.

Edgar carefully remembered the words of the Earl of Moka, he could already understand the language of the Anglo-Saxons, and everything the Count of Moka said helped Edgar understand the chaos and strife in the north of England, many hatreds from generations ago still tear the land apart, from Benicia to York, the nobles were deeply involved in the blood feud between the descendants of Uhtred and Serbrand, the murder of the Bishop of Durham by the Swinton family, the civil war of the Godwins, and other complex and entangled factional struggles. Since the time of Canute, there has been a lot of fighting. Edgar will gain a foothold in this troubled land in the future, he must know the country, these lands, he must know the respective positions of the nobles, many contradictions that Edward the Confessor was unable to solve, and even deliberately exacerbated, are all the more dangerous at this time, and any disgruntled person may thus destroy his opponent with the help of the Norman power, as the general manager of Hereford Castle did, and strengthen his local power through the power of the Normans, and destroy his personal old enemies. Edgar doesn't want to be caught up in such a dispute in the future, and he must find a solid foothold and gather his strength.

At the feast of All Saints, the Bishop of York told Edgar: "War is coming. ”