King Edgar has not yet been crowned, and the Council of the Sages of this kingdom has not advised and supported him, and his authority is almost like that of a castle in the sand, not to mention that he does not even know the language of the country today. Thomson felt that he was in danger of many things, but because of his special origins, he could not find any support, even the king's family, because he knew nothing about them.

According to his knowledge of history, the entire kingdom was facing conquest, and the blood of this conqueror would rule Britain, including his own allegiance—or the Queen's Majesty. As for yourself, will you be able to live? This is not up to him at the moment, after all, Edgar is just over fifteen years old, neither his supporters nor his enemies will value his decision, all they value is Edgar's bloodline, which is the last blood of Chedick, the only blood left of the royal family of Wessex, this heroic family has produced King Alfred, Ethelfred of Mercia, and Etherstein, the British overlord, and now he and his sisters are the last heirs.

In mid-November, when the nobles of London finally ceased to quarrel about resistance, they found that the Bishop of Canterbury had disappeared, and some said that seeing the Bishop leave Westminster and go in the direction of the upper Thames, this supporter of Edgar would almost certainly have betrayed Edgar and gone to the enemy alone. The Bishop of York was furious and kept shouting, "Treason! ”

Three weeks later, however, while Edgar was observing the fortifications at the fort, the Earl of Northumbria and the Earl of Mercia followed the Bishop of York to his side, and the Bishop of York said to Edgar: "My lord, the Normans have arrived in Luton, and Bishop Stigander has been seen by the Duke's side. ”

Edgar turned his head, looked at the two counts who were silent, and then turned to the bishop: "What is your suggestion?" ”

"My lord, we feel that we can only welcome the Duke now."

Edgar surveyed the tower, then to Westminster, where there were few fortifications. Edgar didn't continue to object, just nodded, "When are we leaving?" ”

The Earl of Moka spoke, "I suggest that an envoy be sent to the Duke at once, meet him near Hertford, and then meet him at the Duke's camp. ”

Edgar felt the frustration of the crowd, but he himself was uneasy, not knowing what fate would do to him. The veteran was tired of this strange and pessimistic life, and became more and more nostalgic for his own time, even those days when he endured hunger and thirst and braved artillery fire to fight the enemy.

Two days after the Immaculate Conception, Edgar and the bishops, the earls, the governors of London, and some of the Thains set out north from Westminster. Edgar renounced the crown and retained only the title of Prince Etheline (the Noble), and the Duke of Normandy accepted their surrender and decided to meet the English nobles at Berkhamste.

Along the Roman road north of London, "Erringa Road", the nobles of England were dressed in bright clothes, followed by dozens of pack horses, carrying rich gifts, weapons and various household utensils, but such a strong procession had no flourishing atmosphere, and people did not have any interest in shooting birds and beasts, Edgar and the Bishop of York consulted and sent a messenger to the direction of the Duke of Normandy's camp to report, waiting for a reply. After a brief camp, the English waited quietly, and suddenly saw a number of horsemen galloping ahead, led by a tall Norman knight, dressed in hooded long-sleeved chain mail, lined with azure linen lining, wearing a Norman helmet, riding a sturdy red war horse, the saddle inlaid with gold ornaments, and behind him one of the cavalry in a short white robe was a messenger sent by the English. As the gallop approached, the noble knight took hold of the reins and cried out to the Englishmen in French: "I am Robert, messenger of the Duke of Normandy, son of Roger of Beaumont, and I have been commanded to invite you to the Duke's camp. Edgar, accompanied by the bishop, came before him, and when he saw that he did not dismount, he replied in French: "I am Edgar, son of Edward of Wessex, and this is Aldred, Bishop of York, and we are willing to follow you to pay homage to the Duke." ”

The knight saw the young man and the old man in front of him, his arrogance disappeared for a moment, he took off his helmet, showed the short hair on his forehead, and the back of his head was all shaved, he released the reins, and dismounted to salute Edgar, and then invited the prince and the nobles who accompanied him to follow him north, the young knight had just experienced his first personal battle in Hastings, and was appreciated by the Duke for his courage, although he was older than Edgar, he showed him an unusual respect, but he ignored the other English nobles, Nor did they salute the Bishop of York, and the people of England packed their bags and silently followed the journey north.

As the widest part of the Roman route, the march north of London was extremely rapid, and after passing through the Norman outpost, the woods of Berkhamstead were already visible to all, a new fortress was being built, and the towers were beginning to take shape, so quickly fortified the English nobles to their hearts. When they arrived at the camp, a group of slingers with bullet bags were digging a trench on the perimeter, and the two flanks of this large camp, near Erninga Avenue and Watling Avenue, were stationed in separate detachments, in the direction of St Albans and Hertford. Knight Robert brought the English to a tent, and saw a middle-aged iron-clad warrior come out, he was carrying a kite-shaped shield, and a large rough barkurum staff was tied around his waist, which was the status mark of a Norman general, and his hairstyle was similar to that of Robert Knight, only slightly gray, so Robert saluted him, and turned to Edgar and the others to introduce: "This is William Fitz Osborne, the governor of the court, and he will take you to the Duke." ”

At this time, the English cavalry were all outside the camp, and only a dozen high-ranking nobles followed William through the center of the camp from outside the tent, and on the way William Fitz Osborne also had a little reminiscence with the Bishop of York and others, because his brother Osborne had served King Edward (the penitent) as Bishop of Bosham, so he was very familiar with the kingdom. Under his leadership, everyone came to a place close to the fortress and finally saw the Duke himself!

The Duke stood out to the crowd, he was muscular, about six feet tall, his brown hair was shaved short, he had no beard, and in his prime he seemed to be closer to the Danes than Robert the Knights, like the dragon-like northerners described by the Icelandic poets. He came down from the high ground, followed by a group of attendants, and the English came forward one after another, waiting for the duke to meet him. Behind Governor William was Edgar and several earls and bishops, and Edgar was slightly excited in his heart, this was the first time he had seen a famous conqueror in history, and he couldn't help but begin to observe the duke, the future king of England. The nobles behind him were even more nervous, each with their own agendas, and the two lords of the north had their own ambitions, but when they saw this great warrior, the violent monarch who had destroyed the kingdom, they preferred to hide in their northern strongholds rather than put their safety in the hands of this terrible enemy.

The Duke seemed very cheerful, and he asked who the young man who had surrendered was, and when he learned that he was the noble Edgar of the royal family of Wessex, he embraced him with great pleasure, and asked his age, and then said to him: "You and my eldest son Robert happen to be the same age, and he is not here now, so why not come with me to Normandy in the future, you young men must like to make friends with each other." ”

The English people behind Edgar changed color, and the Duke's tone was unmistakable, obviously trying to bring the surrenderers back to Normandy. The Earl of Moka was particularly anxious, and kept glancing at the Bishop of York. Bishop Aldred finally stepped forward: "My lord, Prince Edgar and the people of England are willing to swear obedience to you and present the crown, hoping that you will rule this miserable kingdom justly. ”

The bishop then presented the duke with rich gifts, including fine linen, silver-grey squirrel and mink skins, richly decorated saddles, and robes with gold and silver buckles. Edgar bowed his knees to the Duke and kissed his ring, and the Duke promised to give Edgar the title of Oxford, who henceforth assumed the title of Earl of Oxford.