Outside the borders of the county of Bruges, in the Normandy barracks, William received the nobles who had come to negotiate the surrender of the Baron of Middelburg, Angersberg, a cousin of the Duke of Baldwin.

"Is Duke Baldwin really willing to agree to any of my conditions?" William said with a squint.

"My Lord will obey all your requests." Baron Angers Bell nodded frequently like a chicken pecking rice, as if he was afraid that William would not agree.

"Give me the northern half of the county of Bruges, the coastal half of the county of Yprin, the county of Geny, the county of Boulogne, and the county of Artois." William said, pointing to a map of the Duchy of Flanders on his desk.

William's area was the coastal part of the Duchy of Flanders, the richest and most industrially and commercially developed area of Flanders, and under William's deliberate manipulation, this coastal area was the least plundered by the Normans, and the local economy could be restored quickly.

In particular, the port of Calais, located in the county of Guinie, the port city closest to the Kingdom of England in France, William did not offend it, but only sent troops to occupy it, and did not offend the inhabitants of the city.

Calais is located in the north of France - the Pas-de-Calais region, which is located in the north of France, bordering Belgium to the north and across the sea from the United Kingdom.

It is located in the axis of Europe, radiating the capitals of five European countries, 235.85 kilometers from Paris, 151.34 kilometers from London, 175.38 kilometers from Brussels, 262.48 kilometers from Amsterdam, and 344.95 kilometers from Dusseldorf.

At the same time, Calais is a port city in northern France, bordering the Calais Strait (French La Manche, Dover Strait), and the British Port of Dover is more than 30 kilometers away.

Due to Calais's unique geographical conditions, it was chosen by William as one of the best ports to land in England in the future, and it was only a day's voyage to reach England, which was its unique advantage.

But apart from the half of the Duchy of Flanders that William had claimed, the other half of the land he left to Duke Baldwin had been brutally plundered by the Normans, and there was nothing but ruins, hundreds of thousands of refugees waiting to be fed.

Of course, William was also merciful enough to leave the Zeeland Islands in the Earldom of Zeeland to Duke Baldwin, which was a decent territory and was not plundered by William.

However, William did not have any good intentions, because this county of the Zeeland Islands is a disputed territory between Flanders and the Netherlands, and the Dukes of the Netherlands would not pick up Duke Baldwin's tiger whiskers when the Duchy of Flanders was strong, but now that the Duchy of Flanders is in danger, it is uncertain what measures the Dukes will take.

"Well, my master, Lord Duke of Flanders, has agreed to your request, and now you can send troops to pacify the mob outside the castle for us!" Ange Bell immediately nodded in agreement and pleaded with William.

"You don't think I've made all the hard work to march into Flanders and don't ask for that, do you?" William looked at the nobleman like a fool.

Baron Angers replied with a sneering expression, "Speak, Lord Duke. ”

"First, I will take half of the refugees gathered in the county of Bruges, which is three hundred and sixty thousand men, and they will be my serfs, who will cultivate the land on the estate for me.

Second, Duke Baldwin was to be attached to Normandy and obey Normandy's orders, and at the same time he was required to pay a tribute of 50,000 pounds of silver for my military expenses to protect the Duchy of Flanders.

The first installment of this year's tribute was to pay 100,000 pounds of silver to offset our army's military expenses and material consumption. "William again put forward two conditions to Baron Angers.

"This..."Baron Angers was stunned by William's huge appetite, he did not expect William to ask for a huge amount of tribute in addition to claiming most of the elite territory of the Duchy of Flanders.

"To say yes or not to me?" William asked.

"Can you please reduce the amount of some tribute?" Baron Angerbel wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right hand and pleaded: "The Duchy of Flanders, which has lost most of its territory, really can't afford such a huge tribute. ”

"The amount of the tribute cannot be changed, but I may allow Duke Baldwin to owe a tribute of fifty thousand pounds of silver on credit for a period of two years, with interest of two cents." William was adamant and refused Baron Angers' request.

1% is commonly known as a centi, a cent and a fraction of a cent. If the interest rate of 2 cents is annual, 50,000 pounds of silver must be repaid with interest of 10,000 pounds of silver a year, and the annual interest rate is 20% for one year and 40% for two years.

"I promise, I grant your request" Baron Angerbel swallowed, his throat moved, and he immediately agreed, he was afraid that if he did not agree, William would tear himself apart.

"Go back and wait for my news." William waved away Baron Angers.

After Baron Angebel left William's tent, Count Hubert walked up to William's side and said, "Your Highness William, do you really intend to let go of the Duchy of Flanders like this?" The Principality of Flanders is a good place, not only rich in coal, iron ore and other resources, but also extremely developed in handicrafts, textiles and commerce, and the tax collected in a year is a huge wealth.

Your Highness William, we cannot afford to pass up this opportunity to annex the Duchy of Flanders. ”

"No, we are not ready to annex the Duchy of Flanders, even this large coastal territory is also the limit of our control, and any more I will have to be canonized to an independent earl vassal, which is not what I want." William shook his head and explained: "What's more, if we directly swallow the entire Duchy of Flanders, then we will be directly enemies of the Duchy of the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, facing the threat of the Holy Roman Empire, which is not what I want." ”

William's explanation was very reasonable, and Count Hubert was speechless, so he had no choice but to agree with William's words.

To tell the truth, according to the meaning of Count Hubert and many Norman nobles, the entire territory of the Duchy of Flanders should be occupied, and it is completely inconsistent with the Norman aggression and temperament to occupy and digest the land little by little, if it were not for William's high prestige, this group of arrogant soldiers would have left alone.

In Sleisburg, Baron Angers Bell brought William's three conditions to Duke Baldwin, and when he knew the contents of these three conditions, even if he was patient, he could not contain his own anger, and smashed everything on the table to vent his anger.

However, to no avail, under the persuasion of Baron Angebel, Duke Baldwin finally calmed down, and after some thought, he decided to give in, he did not want to be the first Duke to be hanged by the mob.