Immediately after Christmas, the Duke of Wilhelm ordered his sergeants to garrison the castles of Normandy, and selected a field force from among the Normans, Bretons, Flemish, and many warriors who fought for money, and marched to the castle of Geberois, where Robert was stationed. For him, as long as there was war, there was no difference in any season, and the years could not wear down the will of the Norman leaders. The horses, chariots, and foxes pierced the Franks' nightmares, and they knew at once that the Normans were coming.

Robert, Count of Flanders, and his nephew also learned of the Duke of Normandy's approach to Beauvais from the retreating raiding detachment, and they immediately began a pre-war military discussion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lion has left its den, now what should we do?" The Count of Flanders had a rare opportunity to consult not only his nephew Robert the Sock, but also two vassals of the King of France, Reberois, a huge fortified fortress, and therefore two commanders with equal authority, one from the court of the French king, Viscount Gautier, and the other Vidame, Vice-Count of Helias (a noble title in medieval France), both of whom were ardent supporters of Robert the Sock, just like the others who followed Robert, They all wanted to be able to reap various benefits from the future Duke of Normandy.

"The position and defense of Rebelakum (the Latin name for Rebeluwa) is the best, and we can fight the Normans here for a year, and then the Duke of Normandy will definitely not be able to hold out." Heliyas replied confidently.

"I support Lord Helias." The eldest son of the Duke of Normandy, Robert the Sock, immediately affirmed the other party's opinion, and his uncle, the Count of Flanders, showed a hint of surprise, and the Count of Robert, who had thought that his nephew would be eager for revenge and asked for the initiative.

"No one knows the Norman army better than I do, and no one knows the lords of Normandy better than I do, and believe me, uncle, we should not go head-to-head with my father. If we go out of the city to stop us, most of the knights here will be buried in the grass, and if we hold ...... castle," Robert sighed, "The Normans will begin to destroy themselves. ”

On Tony Island in England, King Edgar walked through the crow-scowling canopy to the still-being of Westminster, despite the mud stains stained by the white ornaments on his blue robes.

The new building has a distinctly northern character, with almost no curvature, and no domes of Italy and Greece, with only deep cloisters supported by stone columns and various reliefs of different styles, which obscure many details under the wind and rain. Edgar stretched out his slender fingers, stroked the marble sculpture, and then asked Rodrigo behind him, "Lord Campeado, what do you think?" ”

"This is a herald of a new era." The Spanish knight exclaimed heartily.

The king frowned suddenly: "A new era, yes, but it also means that the old era is dying. ”

The Spanish knight did not understand the king's words, but could only listen to Edgar's slow narration: "I am grieving for the fate of many people—Harald, Harold, and William—this may be a disease of our Saxons, and we always lament everything in Middle-earth, and I am sure you have heard a lot of ancient English poetry, and the messengers of the swans love to sing about the ruins of the past, the warriors who died in battle, and the old exiles. The tragedy of us Saxons is that we love the finite things so much that this nostalgia will eventually swallow up the strongest hearts, so that we will always realize that the time that belongs to us never seems to return—we are a group of hopeless conservatives, and even after a thousand years, our noble gentlemen may continue to lament the glory of the past that has disappeared like a shipwreck, but will not hold out a finger to save this decaying Middle-earth, but will only comment quietly before the curtain ends: As I expected. At this point, Edgar's voice was almost inaudible, vanishing between the columns like the ghost of antiquity.

"I'm sorry, my Lord Rodrigo, for you to hear this meaningless content. I think you might prefer to continue conquering the Britons on the battlefields of the West. Now, let us talk about some glad things," said the king's somewhat hoarse voice, "that you have conquered for us the unruly Welshmen, and since Roger has taken the position of Earl of Hereford after the conquest of Gwent, we do not think it is appropriate to continue to treat a great knight like yours badly." ”

The king drew his sword and said to the Spaniards, "Kneel." ”

Then he rested his sword on the Spaniard's shoulder, and in the middle of the great unfinished structure, he proclaimed: "In the name of the throne and St. Edmund, we canonize you as Earl of Pembroke." ”

Rodrigo raised his head, his eyes were full of surprise, he had fought for another king for half his life, won countless honors and fame for himself, but he had not been able to achieve such a high position, just when he was in a daze as if he was enchanted, King Edgar's voice suddenly lowered again: "There is one more thing, we will not force you, but out of the responsibility of a king and brother, we must ask you, my lord, will you marry my sister Christina?" ”

The king's sword was cold, and the Spanish knight almost shuddered, but the sword was withdrawn. Edgar's expression was so kind that Rodrigo began to wonder if he could refuse the offer at no cost.

Obviously, it was a political marriage, an opportunity to assimilate into the Anglo-Saxon court society, but Rodrigo never felt the need to get into the upper echelons in this way. He had no impression of the princess Christina, except that she was a very pious woman, but what did that mean? In the history of the Kingdom of England, there have been countless pious women, ranging from old and ugly illiterate women to wise ladies, such as St. Hilda of Viterbi, who was wise enough to attract even kings to consult the state.

He needs a marriage and an heir, but is it a cage? The Spaniards themselves did not realize that he was not averse to marrying a noble princess, but that such a way might harm the freedom and glory which he cherished, and if he had accepted the king's suggestion, would anyone henceforth think that his title had been given to a woman? On the other hand, if he rejects the king's kindness, does this mean the end of grace? Rodrigo seemed to want to convince himself to escape, for he had never been one to compromise on everything, but he couldn't bear to give up on this tempting attempt, and the Spanish knight looked up, his long curly hair trembling slightly, and silently counted his heartbeat, and he nodded hesitantly—was it a complete accessory? He suddenly realized, with horror, that the freedom he longed for was not just in marriage, but in a higher ambition that he had never realized, not even when Wales conquered the rebels of Reece Tudor: he longed to be a king.

Edgar didn't realize the psychological changes of the new Earl of Pembroke and told the other party about it, for some reason, Edgar felt an involuntary calm and reassurance every time he was in front of this famous person in history, as if he thought that such a legendary knight of the Roland style could not have any dark side, would King Arthur doubt his Lancelot for no reason? He spoke of another, distant matter: "I had a recent dream in which I saw long white hair and blood-colored horsetails, and sturdy helmets of the Avars. Raindrops fell from the sky, dense like arrows. ”

The Spaniards were a little distraught, he didn't even hear the king's dreams, Edgar didn't go on, he didn't want to take the risk of describing what was going on, at this time, no one would believe that the generation of William, Duke of Normandy, was about to come to an end from the stage, and a new kind of war would sprout out of the darkness of the past, and then completely change the era.