The trees and mosses of the woods and mosses gradually disappeared, the reeds and algae on the great river appeared in front of them, and the Scottish fleet, which had been waiting for a long time, took over the Humber from Prince Edgar and his party, and the pursuers to the south were no longer able to threaten the English.

The knights who followed the prince were relieved after a bloody battle, mud and blood splashed on their armor. Upon meeting Hereward, who was leading the brigade, Edgar immediately asked about the people in Lincolnshire.

Hereward replied, "Some people didn't survive their injuries before, and most of them have regained their strength. ”

Edgar nodded, he didn't want to return to York just yet, he didn't want to face it for the time being due to his subconscious guilt for the Earl of Benicia. After learning about the situation of the remnants of the army on Erie Island, he asked: "If I want to go north along the coast in half a month, how many people can follow?" ”

Without hesitation, Hereward replied, "Ten days will be enough, and most of the people should be able to resume their reorganization, these are not the old, the weak, the sick and the sick, but the soldiers who fought against the Normans, many of whom are militia led by Theon of Peterborough and the priests." ”

This statement made the prince very satisfied, but Edgar would not know until everyone had recuperated and trained himself.

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and disappointing the Bishop of Bayoux, having learned of the departure of the English from a fleeing knight of Montfort, also turned south in disappointment. Bishop Otto spent a lot of money, and his original plan to completely annihilate Hereward failed, and perhaps the other party would become a difficult opponent on the battlefield in the future, and the bishop felt a little headache when he thought about it, but he didn't care about the English archer mentioned by the knight.

At the beginning of May, Prince Edgar, who had arrived at Bebanburg by sea, was training the militia of Erie Island as he waited for the arrival of King Alba when Hughard Barn suddenly arrived from York.

When Edgar saw the Northumbria Sein, he immediately said, "The Earl of Moka will be leading the Welshmen back to York in the near future, and you will be able to see him when you go south." ”

Edgar nodded slightly, and then Hughed's expression became a little unnatural, and he hesitated for a moment before continuing: "The Count of Benicia has been ill recently. ”

After seeing that the prince did not say a word to interrupt, the Thain continued: "That Norman nobleman has been ordered by the Earl to have his eyes gouged out, and is now in solitary confinement. ”

The news made Edgar a little dumbfounded, and he was silent for a long time, but still didn't say anything. It was a long time before Prince Edgar broke the silence and took the initiative to change the subject, so Hughed began to tell the prince about the meeting between Earl Edwin and Caradoger of Gwent. When he heard the other side asking the English to support him against King Kadugan of Glamorgan, Edgar couldn't help but ask, "The Earl of Mercia has agreed to this condition?" ”

Hughed nodded and added, "At present, the situation in Gwent and Glamorgan is relatively calm, otherwise Karadoge would not dare to send the main force to help us." To the north, the Earl of Hereford had repelled the Gwynnes and returned to the western side of Mercia to defend, and Shropshire was occupied by the Normans and Edric, respectively. ”

Edgar thought for a moment, and felt that this north-south attack should pose a serious threat to Earl Hereford, so he didn't continue to ask, after all, he was not in Mercia, and he was not familiar with the situation on the border, so it was better not to interfere too much with Earl Edwin's actions.

Referring to the Welsh reinforcements of the Earl of Moka, Hughed also explained simply: "These men use a single shortbow, which does not seem to have the longbow of the Danes, but Gwent's archers are the most famous in all Wales, and their archery skills are very good." ”

Edgar replied, "Let Count Moka take them to the Danish training, I think these soldiers may be better suited to practice the Danish longbow." ”

Shoed nodded his head in remembrance before bidding farewell to the prince, while Edgar began to write to King Malcolm, informing him of his war in Lincolnshire and the events of the battle on the Western Front. Originally, according to the agreement reached by the Bishop of Warchester, the wedding of Margaret and King Alba would be held in Dunfermline, Scotland, early next year, but Edgar felt that this year's war in the south might cause both Northumbrians and Scots to concentrate in the south of England, so he suggested that the king should go south after the wedding in York in advance, so as not to be too late to deal with the changes in the war next year.

Throughout the month of May, Hereward personally participated in the drills in the camp, training with Prince Edgar's knights, and after each day of military training, he would follow Edgar back to Bebanburg to deal with various affairs. The veteran didn't know anything other than running the army, but Edgar intended to let him attend meetings with the magistrates, which was important for him to establish good ties with the northerners, and Edgar also intended to make him the new governor of Lincoln, so he was deliberately training the guard to familiarize him with taxation and conscription.

After Pentecost, as the people of the counties were busy mending barns and hedgerows, and storing butter and cheese in their homes, new intelligence from the south finally interrupted Prince Edgar's plans. Hughed appeared before the prince again, this time his expression was not as calm as before, but reported to the prince with a little anxiety: "The situation in Mercia has changed, Hereford has secretly reached a secret agreement with King Kadugan of Glamorgan, and now the rear of the Gwent is under attack, and it is becoming increasingly unstable, and the direction of the Norman attack is not yet known. ”

Edgar asked, "What did Count Moka say?" ”

Hughed hurriedly replied: "The Earl of Northumbria said that I hope the Lord can go south to rescue immediately, otherwise Earl Edwin may encounter accidents." ”

This incident didn't seem to make any ripples on Edgar's face, he just nodded quietly, and then asked about Edric's situation, but Hughard was a little vague, but Edgar heard that that Mersia Sein was not very supportive of Earl Edwin, and it seemed that there were some family disputes involved. Edgar stared at a freshly written letter, crumpled the parchment in his hand, and said, "Please tell Lord Earl Moca that I will go south at once, and we will meet at York before marching southwest together." ”

With that, he began to write another letter, explaining the new situation to King Malcolm and apologizing for not being able to meet him at Bebanburg. Then, Edgar called in Hurry Ward and gave the order to stop training and prepare to go into battle. As the summer farming season approached, war was approaching, but Edgar didn't know who the enemy would be this time.