Far away, an exile boarded a merchant ship, and behind him was the rich Apennine Peninsula of northern Italy, the Duchy of Lombardy. The squire of the exiled knight was a little puzzled: "Why should we go so far?" Mr. Morris. ”

"The Duchy of Lombardy can't tolerate me anymore, and my father married De. Garsand of House Mann, she gave birth to a healthy boy to my father this year, an orthodox duke's heir, not my lowly bastard.

Even my mother, Greendoorn. Villeff, Duke of Verona, Guelph. Wilf's sister also died of illness this year.

Now no one will welcome me, whether in Lombardy or in Verona, and the only way before me is to go to war and obtain titles and domains, so that I can return to Lombardy and Verona in style. "Morris. Welf opened the conversation, as if he didn't vomit unpleasantly.

The squire of the exiled knight was a little puzzled: "Then why should we go so far, Duchy of Normandy, Lord Maurice."

If you go there, it will take you more than half a month, so why don't you go back to Italy and go to Rome, I heard that His Majesty the Pope is recruiting troops there, and we can go there and try it. ”

The knight's expression was a little tired, and he replied simply: "The Duke of Barcelona and the King of Castile have already rejected my sword, if not Normandy, then France, or even Zaragoza."

As for Rome, this is not on my radar. ”

The squire's eyes widened, "Moor, you're not kidding, are you, my lord?" ”

"I knew you wouldn't want to, so stop complaining, and we'll go to Normandy, to France." The knight looked at the migratory birds in the sky and couldn't help but sigh, remembering the merciless mockery of those Italian nobles and the contemptuous eyes of the Spanish nobles.

"Maybe only the Duke of Normandy, who is also an illegitimate child, will accept me regardless of my status as an illegitimate child." Morris. Welf thought to himself.

Not long after, a middle-aged man dressed as a captain walked over and said respectfully:

"Knight, you see this is the Bay of Biscay, next to the Duchy of Gascony and the Duchy of Aquitaine, do you want to stay here?"

"No, you take us directly to Normandy, Captain Jack, don't worry, you won't be short of gold coins, and when you get to Normandy, I will give you a lot of rewards." Morris. Welf shook his head in refusal.

"Knight, do your best, and we'll sail straight to the port of Le Havre in Rouen, Normandy." Captain Jack responded and bowed away.

After Captain Jack left, Morris. Welf turned and returned to the cabin, he was going to stay with his retinue and the mercenaries who shared his purpose, this group of nearly 100 mercenaries would be his greeting gift to William, whether he could impress William or not depends on his ability and these Italian mercenaries.

......

Italian knight Maurice. Welf and hundreds of Italian mercenaries made it to the port city of Aufleur in Normandy.

"Wow! It's really prosperous here, it's almost like the port of Genoa, I didn't expect such a prosperous port to be kept so clean. Maurice's squire sighed with wide eyes and open mouth.

"Don't make a fuss, now our first task is to go to the city of Rouen and meet the Duke of Normandy, only by seeing him will we be useful." Morris patted him on the shoulder and said.

When his squire had his mouth shut, Maurice threw a coin at the horseboy and handed him his beloved companion "Ray", saying, "Son, find some of the best oats for our horses, this is for you." ”

The heroism of the Andalusian steed that Maurice had brought with him from Spain had earned him the envy of many people along the way, but even the most greedy bandit would not dare to do anything wrong with this tall, slender warrior.

The smell of cheap beer in a cheap tavern in the port district made him frown, but he found a seat and asked for a plate of lamb shanks while a group of Normans nearby chatted loudly.

"It's going to be a war again, and the mercenaries that the Duke has recruited this month are only a few thousand people."

"Hey, it's a pity that it has nothing to do with us Normans, and our Duke did not allow us Normans to become mercenaries and join this great expedition."

"Yes, it's a pity, it's Rome, the richest city in the world, and even if we just make a handful of money somewhere, we can get enough gold coins to eat and drink for several years."

"I heard that His Majesty the current Pope and His Majesty the Duke have a good relationship, why did it come to the point of fighting?"

"That's Lord Caesar asking for help from the Duke, he's a good friend of the Duke, and in order to get help, he's going to join us in Normandy, how can we not help. In any case, the Altwell family is also our Normans, and they can't be bullied by the Holy See. ”

"We'd better go back early to prepare, I heard that Lord Duke is going to issue a privateering license for Rausch, and you can form a fleet to rob legally.

Haha, Lao Tzu has long wanted to him, go to Rome, go to Rome. ”

"Rome, Rome!"

"What did these people say? They're going to attack Rome! Maurice was a little surprised, he didn't expect that he would have to go back to his hometown to fight, and he would still be fighting with the Holy See.

"That Captain Jack taught me some French, which I probably already understood, and their goal was indeed Rome, to help the Outville family in Apulia." His retinue Ian. Wright responded.

"We have to hurry to Rouen, I don't want to miss this great expedition." Maurice stood up and faced his retinue Ian. Wright said, "Ian, come with me to call my soldiers and Italian mercenaries, and we will meet the Duke right away." ”

......

Lombard knight Maurice. Welf did not see William in Rouen, who had left Rouen a few days earlier to patrol the territory with his army.

Fortunately, the recruitment of mercenaries continued, and mercenaries poured into the city everywhere, and he easily found Osborne's butler, who was in charge of recruiting mercenaries.

"Son of Albert Ezo, Duke of Lombardy, Maurice. Welf, I know your name.

I appoint you head of the Italian mercenary regiment, and give you two thousand weapons and shields, three hundred sets of chain mail and six hundred sets of leather armor, and other supplies that you can recruit Italian mercenaries to fill. ”

"Yes, Steward Osborne, I don't know when I'll see the Duke."

"You have to be patient, the territory controlled by Normandy is not something that can be patrolled in a while, and before that, you must train your mercenary group as the vanguard of this expedition to Rome." Steward Osborne waved his hand and patiently instructed.