Unlike the situation where the center of the county of Alençon was the city of Alençon, Baron Vernon's residence was a mixed earth-wood and masonry castle called Fort Vernnon, which seemed to be much taller and stronger than the civil castle that William had built urgently in Alençon.

The Château de Vernon, near the Seine, is surrounded by vast estates, rural farmhouses and cultivated land, with only a small fishing village and fishing port of about 200 people a few hundred meters away.

William's own thirty-six estates granted by Earl Robert were distributed around Fort Vernon, with a total arable area of 38,000 acres, while the local knights and nobles owned as many as seventy-six estates, with a total arable land area of 66,000 acres, and the rest of the land owned by yeoman farmers and merchants was about 30,000 acres, and the remaining wasteland belonged to William about 450 square kilometers in addition to the surrounding areas of their respective estates.

In fact, due to the flat terrain, water network and fertile land of the Barony de Vernon, this remaining wasteland plain still has great agricultural potential, and as long as enough manpower and material resources are invested, new estate estates can be opened.

After two days of marching, William and his party finally led their army outside Fort Vernon.

"It is worthy of the castle where the barony is stationed, and the exterior of the civil structure is clad in masonry, and it is indeed much taller and stronger than the temporary civil castle I built in Alençon." William looked at Fort Vernon in front of him, sighed to himself, turned to Faller beside him, and said, "Let the people of the castle come out to meet their master!" ”

"Yes, His Highness William."

Faller bowed in response, turning his horse's head and galloping away towards Fort Vernon.

In a few moments, the drawbridge of the castle was lowered, the gate opened, and out of it came a man who looked like a middle-aged butler, followed by several servants and hundreds of sergeants.

The middle-aged butler came to William's side, knelt down on one knee and said respectfully, "Chris, the butler of Fort Vernon. Maury, come and meet the Baron. ”

"Get up, Steward Chris." William held his right hand and said with a smile: "Take my soldiers to the castle station!" ”

His name had long been mentioned by William, who was indeed subordinate to Count Robert, and who for several years had managed Fort Vernon and the surrounding estates.

"Yes, Lord Baron."

Chris. Butler Maury bowed to William, turned around and led the way for William and his party.

By the time William's army was all stationed in the castle, it was already evening, and the soldiers had hastily feasted on the food that Fort Vernon had carefully prepared, and then went back to the camp to rest.

At night, in the study of the main castle building, the room was illuminated by bright candlelight, and William and his confidant, Sir Hubert, were discussing something.

"Sir Hubert, have you heard back from the letters addressed to the knightly nobles of Barony Vernon?" At this time, William's face became extremely solemn and serious, and he asked.

"As for His Royal Highness William, so far, no response has been received, no knights and nobles have come to see him, and no one has been sent from even the towns loyal to you." Sir Hubert shook his head slightly, and said with a somewhat helpless expression.

According to the traditional feudal system of the Middle Ages, if a new baronial nobleman succeeds to the throne, then the knight nobles and the mayor/speaker of the town to which his domain belongs must come to the baron's castle to see the baron, and swear allegiance to the baron.

"Is it dismounting? These knights, nobles, and even lowly merchants dared not come to see it! William's tone became angry, and he said with a look on his face, "Aren't they ready to be loyal to me?" This is a betrayal, a betrayal that can never be forgiven! Since they are not prepared to be loyal to me, they should not occupy the titles of nobility and the estates, I will take them all back and give them a punishment that they will remember for the rest of their lives! ”

Listening to William's angry roar, Sir Hubert pressed William's shoulders with both hands, and said solemnly: "His Royal Highness William, please calm down!" We are new to the city, and although our military is stronger than theirs, the other side is a local snake anyway, and if the two sides fight, we may not be able to win favor. ”

"Whew... Call... Whew..."William gasped slightly, calmed down a little, looked up at Sir Hubert and said, "Good! I was waiting for them at this Villenon Castle. Also, send me a letter saying that they have three days to come to Vernon Castle and declare their allegiance to me, or I will declare them rebels, and will reclaim their titles of nobility and estates, and send troops against them! ”

William did this for a reason, just as Philip II, the Capetian monarch of France, did 200 years later, 200 years later, when Philip II took over Normandy and the English royal family in France.

The first conflict between King Philip II of France and King John of England erupted in 1200 over the latter's marriage to Isabella of Angoulême. Isabella of Angoulême was originally Count Hugue X, Count of Marsh. Morality. Luzion's fiancée, whose marriage to John deprived the Luzion family of a possible dowry. Morality. Luzion then asked Philip II to administer justice.

In order to fight King John of England, Philip II, as a lord, asked his vassal, Duke of Aquitaine, also King John of England, to respond to the lawsuit in France. After John's natural refusal, Philip announced that all of the Plantagenet possessions in France had been confiscated by the King of France.

Philip II then took a clear stand against King John of England, and in 1203 he attacked Normandy again; After destroying many castles, he concentrated his forces on the fort of Gaillard. Despite the heroic efforts of the English soldiers, the fortification fell on March 6, 1204. All of Normandy then fell into the hands of Philip II.

On 13 October 1206, Philip II and John signed a peace treaty at Tuar. The peace was overwhelmingly favorable to the French crown: John was forced to give up all the territories north of Royal that had formerly belonged to the Plantagenet dynasty, including Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou, and Turaine. According to the treaty, John was to keep Poitou; But Philip invaded the area again in 1207.

King Philip II of France was only the titular lord of King John, the King of England, and he could provoke trouble and confiscate all the territories owned by the other party, and even have an excuse to invade the other party's other territories.

If the king of France could recover the fiefs of his nominal vassals for such far-fetched reasons, why couldn't William, the lord of the Barony Vernon, take back the fiefs of the knightly nobles who were not loyal to him?

"This—" Sir Hubert looked hesitant, not knowing what to do, after all, William had not officially fought any nobles before, and Sir Hubert did not know what adverse effect this would have on William.

"Don't hesitate, Sir Hubert! Just do as I say. William looked up at him and made up his mind: "We can't waste these three days, and we still need to train the army diligently, after all, nearly half of your main infantry regiment is recruits, and these recruits are not very high in combat effectiveness." In addition to that, you'll have to work with the housekeeper Chris. Mori confessed and asked him to recruit peasant soldiers, prepare grain, grass and ordnance baggage, and prepare me for the battle! ”

"Yes, His Highness William." In the face of the tough William, Sir Hubert had no choice but to nod his head.