Edgar received Philip's latest edict from Roger, Earl of Hereford, and immediately summoned all the nobles in the court, and a Gentile wearing leather boots from Córdoba and a cloak large enough to cover an entire bed immediately observed the change in Westminster, and the proportion of blonde and blue-eyed northerners was significantly lower than the last time.

"Philip's edict had spread to the southernmost part of Frankish by the end of the month, and now half the kingdom was mobilized!"

"What is King Alfonso up to?" Edgar asked the emissary.

"Prepare for war!" The foreigner, with his beautiful curly hair, replied, "Badajo, Zaragoza, and even the pagans of Toledo are in a commotion, the Mulabitians are showing the heads of the Christians they have harvested in Salaka, many of the Moorish kings, who have only a few hundred men in force, are now recovering from the fighting spirit, and we have lost too many men in Salaka, and now we can only regroup in the north and wait for reinforcements." ”

The reinforcements were obviously the Franks, and Philip used this time to call on the princes to go to the peninsula to wage a holy war, but he saved a lot of people's hearts, especially after the previous crushing defeat in front of the entire southern princes, such an opportunity to show the royal power was extremely valuable.

Philip was a difficult fellow, and Edgar secretly observed the emissary's expression, and the fat man's cheeks sparkled like cheap glass beads, and he seemed to be confident in the Frankish king's reinforcements, why not? After all, the Count of Burgundy and the Duke of Aquitaine had answered the call, and heavily armed knights were gathering in the Pyrenees, and unless they were blind, anyone could see that a large-scale military operation was imminent.

The Pope himself is strongly supporting this cause, the Archbishop of Pisa, Dagobert, who recently raised the debate now initiated by Madame Matilda's scholars, the Italians are promoting an idea of "Knights of Christ of the Most Catholic Church", and the Holy See himself has given the name fideles beati Petri to many princes who supported the Reformation, including Henry IV's recently deceased uncle, the Duke of Aquitaine!

John of Mantua was even more radical, and the Matilda courtiers had openly advocated a kind of "holy war" and claimed that since the Lord Jesus did not let the apostle Peter throw down his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, but only put it in its sheath, then the Pope, as Peter's heir, had at least the right to master the sword! Another Bonizzo of Sutley declared that dying in battle against the infidels was a "martyrdom".

Of course, opposition was not absent, as the Flemish friar Sigerber Jeanbru, who quarreled with the Gregorians in the struggle for the right to appoint, argued that this idea, while not yet giving any "justice" to violence, was a dangerous departure from Christian teaching. Winrik of Trier pointed out that as early as Gregory VII incited the princes against the emperor, the reformers were already preaching the idea of a "war of atonement", and ecclesiastical princes like Anselm, Bishop of Lucca, even personally commanded armies and participated in secular wars, which was no different from the barbarians of the north!

These are still largely theological debates, and only a handful of big men are genuinely interested, even the Burgundians, who were the first to join the Spanish war, are now more interested in secular alliances such as marriage to King Alfonso, whose armies have not even crossed the Ebro Valley.

Hell hell, if Philip makes a breakthrough on the peninsula, we will immediately be very bad strategically, but to fight for Alfonso?

Edgar glanced at the shield and axe handle on the wall, the golden light of bronze was as cold as the law, why shed blood for others in vain?

"Please wait, sir, we need to discuss this matter with the lords."

There weren't many military leaders in the kingdom at this time, but to Edgar's surprise, the priests were much more aggressive in this matter than the horseback warriors, and at least none of the knights demanded to stop the war in Saxony and go to war with the infidels on the peninsula.

"Even if you can't use force in Rome, at least you should save your brothers in Christ!" The roar of the hammer piercing through the iron armor rang out, and the voice belonged to a weak abbot.

I made a mistake that this is not a good issue to discuss in a large court.

Edgar glanced at Hereford Sein, who was clearly inspired by the men's fervor, and his hand holding the hilt of the spear was trembling.

Finally someone began to argue that the war in Saxony had brought them land and population, and that the fruits of blood could not be easily abandoned.

The kingdom's savings had been spent in a war, and it was not a good thing to be rebellious until a chance to recuperate—and the voice of reason sounded at the right time, with childlike laughter and mockery.

The hall was filled with chaotic shouts and arguments, and Edgar stood like a wolf in front of the best of all

- If I had a prime minister......

Under the golden sky, the fertile canyon covered with summer green disappeared behind him, the huge square fortress came into view, the defensive wall at the end of the causeway was protected by circular fortifications, the military flags on the city walls showed the presence of the Roman army, the ancient ruins and the latest defensive structures were integrated, the outer wall of the trench was full of spikes, Angus could not help but restrain his horse, he had reached Adrianople.

The Emperor sent to the western town his most experienced defensive general, Leo Kofaras, who was known for his command of the bloody Siege of Larissa, and who had guarded the keys to Thessaly under the iron heel of Bohemond.

"Mistress Peter?" The Supreme One greeted the generals who had left the city to greet him, and his face could not hide his surprise.

The last time Angus had seen this Norman at court, Peter Aliface - a former enemy of the Empire, who had nearly stabbed the Emperor at Dillageium.

"Your Majesty has arrived?" John Ducasse couldn't help but exclaim, although it was said that the soldiers were fast, but this speed was inevitably too fast.

"Your Majesty is still in Thrace, and I am here with Lord Nikolai." The Norman replied, the sound of iron armor scraping against him.

Nikolai Mavlokatakalon was also a close friend of the emperor, and since his army was here, it meant that war was just around the corner.

"In that case, what is Your Majesty's latest will?"

"Let's go in and talk." The Norman calmly waved the Bakurum in his hand, a commanding demeanor, his short black hair becoming more straight and sharp, his broad shoulders rising slightly at the same time, and the deep blue armor was rolled up.

Angus was wearing chain armor at this time, like an ordinary guard, and he couldn't help but break his heart when he saw the demeanor of this Norman knight.

Entering the fortress, there were soldiers of all colors and colors everywhere, some of the heads stabbed on the tip of the spear were bloodily stuck in the wall, and the air was filled with a smell of mud.

"What nonsense!" The Norman's voice was raised, "Who put the heads of women and old men in their heads?" Are you intimidating the rebels, or are you showing off the Emperor's guards who are the best at looting! ”

Angus heard it from afar, shook his head, and continued to arrange his subordinates. The Normans had already finished their rebuke, approached the queen's brother, and reminded in a low voice: "The intelligence of the capital has confirmed that the Manichaeans have brought in Hungarians this time. ”