After the Normans retreated, Edgar disbanded York's army, leaving behind only a squadron of knights and a few dozen longbowmen still being trained by the Danes. Due to the difficulty of the road, many Northumbrians did not return home immediately, choosing instead to continue the winter in York. When the Earl of Edwin returned from Chester, he saw the signs of war on the walls of York from afar, and he followed the guards on the walls to St. Peter's Church, and saw the nearby cemetery enlarged considerably, and a Danish-style runevenstone stone was written crookedly:

"Eskiel is here to decay into dust, and may his soul be with the saints."

Upon entering the church, Edwin spotted his brother Moka standing next to Prince Edgar and Bishop Durham, where Bishop Wachester was talking to them, and Earl Edwin approached.

"We'll confirm this pact with King Malcolm." As Edwin approached, he heard Edgar say this.

The Northumbrians then dispersed, and Edwin walked up to the prince and saluted: "My lord." ”

Edgar bowed and said, "Don't worry, you can talk to Lord Moka for a while, and we will pick you up at the banquet in the evening." ”

Saying that, as if the prince had something to talk about, he pulled Bishop Warchester into a corner alone. Earl Moka and Edwin hugged each other before Edwin spoke, "Edith has been sent away, how is the current situation in York?" ”

Count Moca made a cross: "God bless her." Then he added: "We are negotiating with the king of Alba, and the Scots have arrived in Locien, but I have heard that there are only about two thousand people. ”

Edwin was a little curious: "Will there be a war in the near future?" ”

Moka replied in a low voice: "Our losses are not light, it is estimated that the war will not be resumed until the summer, and we still have to wait for the arrival of the Scots." The messenger said that the army of the Count of Morais would arrive before spring, but that King Malcolm would not be heading south for the time being. The prince was prepared to wait until after May to gather the militia, and there would be no war before. ”

The two walked out of the church, and near the riverbank, Edwin saw a large number of people gathered in a clearing, and from time to time there were shouts, and he pointed his finger and asked, "What are you doing over there?" ”

Moka glanced at it and replied, "The bow and arrow training arranged by the prince seems to have been getting more and more lively recently. ”

Although it was cold, there was no chill in the air near the crowd, and the archers in the middle of the field, wearing wool caps and finger guards, were aiming and shooting at their targets. Edwin had seen the kind of bow they used, but had never seen so many people shoot together with such a huge weapon. Many of the English soldiers had longbows made of elm, and there were also some yew bows, which were not even smooth on the surface, but they were strong and strong, and the longbows made of elm had a flat appearance, while the yew longbows had a semicircular cross-section, and the archers carried arrows like bunches of wheat with a plain appearance, but Edwin then saw an arrow come out of the string and shoot through the wooden target like a piercing cheese. Moka, who had never carefully watched the training of these archers, was a little surprised to see such power, and Edwin remembered some of the old battlefield stories he had heard, and said to his brother, "This Danish longbow is somewhat like the weapons used by the Gwentes mentioned by my father, but it is larger." It's just that those barbarians generally prefer to hide in the mountains and forests to ambush, but they have not seen them use it with their own eyes. ”

Moka watched as one of the longbowmen stretched the bowstring to the side of his sideburns, only to shoot an arrow away, and casually asked, "Is Gwent still in Karadog's hands now?" ”

Edwin replied, "Earl William is still trying to cross the river to harass him, but there are many Welsh, and without reinforcements, Gwent should be in no danger." ”

Moka suddenly had an idea: "Since the prince wants to train longbowmen, why don't we ask the Welsh for some reinforcements, they should have quite a few archers." Now that the Normans of Mercia are not many, perhaps we can join forces with the Welsh and reclaim Shrewsbury, and if the prince wants to attack Nottingham, we can threaten the Normans from the west. ”

Edwin was a little moved by this bold plan, and he remembered another piece of news, so he said: "I have heard that the Godwin brothers plan to continue to land in Devon from Dublin, and this is indeed a good opportunity, and when the Gwinnes and the Irish send troops, we can take advantage of the opportunity to seize the land of Mercia." ”

At the banquet that night, the Earl of Mercia told Prince Edgar privately about the news from the west, and mentioned the invasion plan, and the prince showed some interest in this, but had some doubts about contacting the Welsh, so the Earl of Mercia explained to the prince the long-term alliance between himself and Bradin of Wales, and said: "Edric's offensive in Shropshire is very fierce, and if we can get the aid of Gwent, the Normans will not have the strength to hold the area on the east bank of the Lugar River. My army in Chester will join forces with the Welsh in besieging the Norman fortress, and then we will be able to take the Northumbrian offensive east of Mercia by surprise. ”

Edgar thought about it, the summer war will be dominated by the Northumbrians and Scots counterattacking southward, if the Mercians and Welsh can contain the enemy on the western front, they don't have to worry about being attacked from both sides, the large number of moorland rivers south of York can also protect their left flank, once the northern army reaches Northumbria, King William will have to go north to fight him, so that the Northumbrians can avoid repeating Harold's mistake and running long distances to the southern coast to face off against the Normans.

Edgar did not know the situation across the Channel at this time, so he estimated that King William's main force would reach more than 10,000, and in order to increase his chances of victory, he agreed to Earl Edwin's plan. Edwin suggested that if the Gwentes sent troops, the Earl of Morka could bring some Welsh archers to join the prince's main force, and Edgar immediately agreed.

That night, Edgar slept very late, and somehow he suddenly remembered some old things from his previous life: he stabbed his enemy in the chest with a knife, and when he strained his wrist, the sound of the opponent's ribs breaking; There was also the brutal scene of one of his subordinates being blown to pieces by a red-hot grenade in front of his eyes; And the hundreds of times he charged in spite of the fatigue of the roaring of people, these memories seem to have been suppressed, but on this night suddenly erupted, he couldn't help but have some fear, what will happen this summer?