Now that I have finally recognized the reality of the red luoluo [poor in the downtown and no one asks, rich in the mountains and has distant relatives], Nijmegen defeated Normandy, which was generally favored before the game, won the championship, and dedicated a colorful game to everyone, so that those nobles who were inclined to the flames and extremely philistine finally saw the true strength of the North German Count like a comet, suddenly appearing in the Counts of North Germany.

The name Nijmegen has also become a hot topic after dinner, almost reaching the popularity of the annual hot word.

Stimulate many caravans that originally planned to trade in Cologne or Hamburg, and instead try their luck in Nijmegen to see the legendary mysterious country that does not charge tolls, a series of chain reactions, like dominoes that have been toppled, and after becoming famous, everyone suddenly realized that they still have such a neighbor.

I rubbed my sour face tiredly, and watched the nobleman who hadn't even heard his self-proclaimed name leave with his own beautiful and fragrant daughter, with a stylized smile on his face that had to be changed by manual adjustment.

I can't remember exactly, this is the first few nobles who came to talk to relatives, especially when I don't know where they came from, such a young and promising earl is not yet married, and immediately pulled the girl in his hand.

If it's a direct blood daughter or something, then it's best, bring it to me for a meal, door-to-door sales as if you have to overlord the bow, I can only return with a polite smile and a full of graceful refusal.

However, they soon learned that the three knights who performed well in the knightly competition were also single, and immediately there were many small and medium-sized nobles who did not hesitate to lower their own prices, rushing towards Kohler and the three of them, and the posture seemed to devour them alive.

"I have not congratulated you on your victory, Lord Count Nijmegen, may God bless every victor and the blood of justice on their hands!"

Duke Richard suddenly appeared beside me, accentuated the tone of the last few words, and clinked glasses with me with a smile on his face, so attentive that it was frightening.

"Thank you for all you have done to my knights so that they can return to God with dignity."

"Where, Where, ......"

At this time, my back was already in a cold sweat, for fear that the Duke of Normandy would be unhappy and give me a chill, I had heard the news that he would not say goodbye in a fit of anger and run back to the castle of Laon, but I did not expect to appear at the banquet celebrating victory in the evening, which made me unexpectedly nervous, and my lips trembled and replied:

"Your knights are the bravest warriors in the world, we just won by luck, you know that God sometimes likes to favor the weak, who doesn't eat dumplings during the New Year."

The black duke sneered, his fingers played with the rounded edge of the wine glass, and said quietly: "Dumplings? The bravest warrior? As always, you speak crazy words, so that your knights have defeated even my bravest warriors, and are as heroic as the gods descending from the earth, and God likes to favor the weak? So who is the weaker now, according to the results, is it the little-known Nijmegen, or the complacent but embarrassed Normandy? Let's think about which side God should choose to be on this time. ”

"Lord Duke......"

Seeing that the smell of gunpowder was getting stronger and stronger, I had always believed that more things were better than less, so I hurriedly and carefully accompanied me.

"It's me who speaks out of proportion......"

Duke Richard shook his head, put down the cup in his hand, unceremoniously squeezed out the Earl of Limburg, who had been sitting beside me, sat down on his own, tilted his head and continued:

"I'm not as stingy as you think, it's nothing more than a joust, and the loss of the three knights is just an itch in my boots, and I don't even hurt my fur. But in this way, Normandy can be regarded as a stepping stone for Nijmegen, and the Count of Baudouin basically believes that your family affairs, combined with the power of Flender, presumably Nijmegen's strength will be on a higher level, I will not be like those country lords who have no eyesight and do not know the current affairs, and still want to climb with you, it is really ridiculous. ”

"Your open-mindedness is far beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals, Lord Duke, Nijmegen has no intention of making an enemy of Normandy."

I decided to take the opportunity to further clarify my position, so as not to inexplicably erect an enemy who was beyond imagination, and above all its owner was a willful boy with an unpredictable temper.

"We can join forces to develop, and Nijmegen is willing to bow down."

"Bow down, I don't think the guy who is gloating right now will let you do that, right?"

Duke Richard pointed to Count Baudouin, who was sitting at the top, talking and laughing, shrugged his shoulders and said with a helpless expression: "Don't underestimate this person, every lucky person who can climb to the peak of power is a freak bred by conspiracy and cunning, and even his own flesh and blood relatives are not merciful. The bearded man is playing with power, co-opting one to suppress the other, and at the same time making the two of us jealous of each other, and then Flender sits high on top to reap the benefits, but obviously he succeeded, and now I can't wait to eat you alive and chew you together with the bones. ”

The goosebumps on the back are more dense than before, like a plucked rooster.

I swallowed hard and spit, not knowing whether to take Duke Richard's words as bullshit, or to be cautious and start to watch out for everyone, but I felt like I was falling into, and I had already prepared a frightening trap, and then the noose tightened and slowly locked my throat until all the air in my lungs was drained.

"Now that you've seen the mystery, why do you choose to continue acting according to someone else's script and jump into the trap of self-righteousness?"

Knowing that I was in danger, I unexpectedly calmed down and asked Duke Richard.

"Because you are now the public enemy of everyone, the favorite thing for the weak is to unite to bring down the strong and maintain the balance of power on the surface, and the original strong want to maintain their leading position, so turn a blind eye to it, or even fall into the ground, no one wants the same way of life to be re-arranged, this is politics."

The Duke of Normandy was secretive about tai chi, but the general meaning was still obvious.

"The strongest bull in the pack will surely be the first to be slaughtered, unless it has the strength and determination to jump out of the corral, it can only become a ridiculous victim, and the Count Baudouin hopes that you will stand on the cusp of the storm in his place, divert everyone's hatred, and then kick you in the back when the time comes."

"Puppet? Use me as a substitute for the dead horse? ”

I barely scratched a taste of it, but I still couldn't understand why Duke Richard had to remind himself so much.

"You are a vassal of the German Emperor, but Flender is a vassal of the Emperor's old enemy, the King of France, your marriage has not been blessed by a higher level of vassals from the beginning, and the Count of Baudouin will find an opportunity to incite the war between Nijmegen and Friesland, and whoever wins will help Flender get rid of a fierce enemy."

"Last but not least, you, Count Nijmegen, are now known to be my enemy in Normandy, and all the lords who have a stake in us must choose to take sides again, and then what will happen? Hurry up and think about it with your rusty head. ”

Duke Richard seemed to hate that iron could not be made of steel, and tore the lamb chops in front of him with great force, and that posture frightened a reserved noblewoman opposite.

"You can't bet on either side, and in the end you can only choose a relatively neutral side to pledge allegiance to ensure that you will not be affected by the war, so ......"

After receiving the point, I suddenly realized that although I was a pawn to be used by others, I had to admire the good intentions of the Count Baudouin, and the absolute thoughtfulness of the mind.

The Duke of Normandy was finally relieved, and stuffed the torn mutton in the sauce into his mouth and chewed, splashing all over his lips, as if it had not been touched with meat for hundreds of years, and the gluttony was very vivid: "Now you know what you are going to do, right?" ”

Without a second of hesitation, I grinned shallowly, but I couldn't hold it back, and bent over with my stomach that hurt from laughter, as if I had just heard what a wonderful joke, and tears were squeezed out of my eyes:

"You're really good at storytelling, and I guess when I was a kid I heard those bards who played tricks to make money, but unfortunately, I can't convince myself what you say, I'm sorry!" I raised my glass and nodded apologetically at the Duke.

Duke Richard raised his eyebrows and stared at me, then picked up his cup and touched it with me with a self-deprecating expression, and sighed: "It seems that we really can't avoid meeting on the battlefield, although I had prepared a seamless plan, but I did not expect that I had carefully studied the slightest speech, and still failed to impress you, poor Earl, I will pray for God for you, in the most magnificent church in Normandy." ”

"But I still want to thank you, at least let me know what kind of environment I am in, please rest assured, unless forced to do so, Nijmegen will never take the initiative to fight Normandy, and certainly will not be stupid to act as a pawn of others."

As I drank the wine from my glass, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Count Baudouin, who was watching the situation here, and could only smile politely at Duke Richard.

"The old fox found out about our conversation, I beg your pardon for being with me, and look forward to wanting to see you again, hoping that God will hear my prayers and not let goodbye become a separate sight on the battlefield."

"You're smart, you're a good opponent, and I can't wait to face the army of Nijmegen, what a thrilling battle it will be."

Duke Richard rubbed his hands, his eyes full of the excitement and longing of the war maniacs: "I will rush back to the Château de Laon overnight to prepare for the next protracted war, who has made us unfortunate to live in such an era of life and death, as described in the poem, leisurely walk side by side under the vines, and then exchange views on rhetoric, and write a short paragraph in the wind." ”

"I'm sorry I can't go along with your elegance, I'm illiterate, my lord." I shrugged apologetically, trying to make my expression look light-hearted and natural, so that the old fox staring at us didn't see the flaws.

"Of course, cutting off the enemy's head is far more interesting than boring fiddling with pen and ink."

Duke Richard stood up and straightened his sword, and the squire behind him stepped forward to help him tie his cloak: "I forgot to tell you that I am also illiterate, but I desire to write my own history. ”

"I'm looking forward to that kind of history, it's going to be wonderful."

I stood up and bowed, and watched the young Duke of Normandy leave the ballroom, and my heart could not be calmed for a long time.

To tell the truth, this is a respectable opponent, whether it is character or fighting spirit is the leader of the moment, he exudes a strong aura that wants to change the world, and perseverance for his ideals, the consolidation and expansion of the foundation left by the ancestors, there is courage and courage, and there is a big man who can bend and stretch the mind, but unfortunately he passively stands on the opposite side of him, if you can cast a sword as a ploughshare and coexist peacefully, we may not be able to become good friends.

"Ridiculous times!"

I turned around and sneered at the Count Baudouin's flattering smile, but my heart was very desolate, and everyone I trusted did not hesitate to use myself as a ladder to climb up, and a pawn who could be sacrificed at any time, and betrayed myself in a grand manner, to make my heart hard, or else I would be swallowed up by this era of deceit. ”

What do I really want right now?

Finding a way back to the 21st century and the walking dead dying in front of a computer?

I tortured my heart to find a definite answer!

Live and make your own history!

A voice replied in a faint voice, but I couldn't find the direction it came from, but I knew that it was like a seed, taking root and sprouting vigorously.

(End of chapter)