The 5,000 Norman cavalry made their way south, and finally managed to track the trail of the combined forces of Lower Lorraine and Luxembourg, but in front of them were the endless dense forests and the rushing Maas River.

Faced with the Lower Lorraine army that was about to flee into the forest, Duke Andrew never gave the order to cross the river to pursue.

Before leaving, William had told him not to enter the forest, to preserve the strength of the Norman cavalry, not to throw away the precious troops, he could not afford to bear the risk of heavy damage to the knights under his command.

Duke Andrew always kept William's advice in mind, and in the face of the endless Black Forest, he did not order a deep pursuit into the jungle.

This Black Forest is so famous that even if Duke Andrew hasn't been here, he knows its name.

The Black Forest, also known as the Teutonic Forest, is located in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany and the Rhine Valley region in western Germany.

This dense forest is part of the Black Forest in the Rhine Valley.

It's just that in the edge of the black forest in front of him, Duke Andrew can't see clearly under the cover of the dense forest, let alone the depths of the forest.

If he hastily led his army into the Black Forest to pursue the enemy, he would likely have been ambushed and severely damaged by the combined forces of Luxembourg and Lower Lorraine, who were familiar with the terrain.

Not to mention the turbulent Maas River, a tributary of the Rhine, originating in Pouilly, at an altitude of 456 meters above sea level on the Langelet Plateau in France, flowing north through Belgium and the Netherlands into the North Sea, with a total length of 950 kilometers.

The upper reaches of the Maas River are called the Meuse, the river flows north from the birthplace, flows through the Ardennes Plateau, in the territory of Belgium, there is the Sambur River on the left bank, the Les River, the Urt River on the right bank, etc., and finally the Maas River flows into the lower reaches of the Rhine River, and finally flows into the North Sea.

In the case of further conquests in Lower Lorraine, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, control of the Maas River is essential.

However, at present, William's fleet is still in a state of chaos, and it will take a long time to restore its combat effectiveness, and it will take a lot of time to gather civilian ships to form an inland river fleet.

As a result, the only areas that the Normans could conquer were the plains of the counties of Hainaut and Blatbon, as well as the lower Rhine and estuary.

"All the army turned!" Duke Andrew did not hesitate and immediately led his army away.

On the second day, Duke Andrew's 5,000 cavalry joined William's army in Brussels.

Brussels is located on the banks of the Seine, with the low, flat plains of Flanders to the north and the slightly undulating Brabant Mesa to the south.

Brussels, later the capital and largest city of Belgium, was the seat of the main administrative body of the European Union.

Even now, during the dark 11th century of the Middle Ages, Brussels was an extremely important city, with its unique geographical location and the centuries-long struggle between many political forces to claim it for themselves.

For such an important city, William included it as one of the targets that had to be conquered as early as his march into the county of Bratt.

William was also fortunate enough to be targeted by the city of Antwerp, as well as the Counts of Lorne and Breda where it was located, and other territories on the left bank of the Rhine.

This rich territory of the lower Rhine not only had convenient water navigation conditions, but also fertile land and rich towns, which were not inferior to the rich Duchy of Flanders, and Wilhelm had already coveted it.

Seeing Duke Andrew's arrival, William immediately smiled and led people to greet him, and asked enthusiastically: "Andrew, how is the situation, are there any troops chasing Lower Lorraine and Luxembourg?" ”

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but when we traced the enemy's tracks, they had already retreated into the Black Forest through the Us River, and I had to return with my army to report to you." Duke Andrew lowered his head and said with a guilty face.

"You're doing a great job, Andrew, and I'm glad you can remember what I told you." William smiled and patted him on the shoulder, complimenting.

"Really, Your Majesty, you don't reproach me?" Duke Andrew's expression did not seem to be fake, and he was pleasantly surprised.

"Of course, Andrew, you've been doing a great job, how can I blame you!" William smiled and comforted: "There are important people to entrust to you next!" ”

"Your Majesty, please speak!" Duke Andrew bowed in response.

"The crisis on your side can be said to have been basically resolved, the Vikings no longer pose a threat to us, and the three princes of Lower Lorraine, Luxembourg and Holland in the HRE are helpless against us.

I'm going to focus on the conquest of the Kingdom of France, and I'll leave you with Roger. Morality. Count Montgomery's Fifth Legion and my vassal troops totaled more than 15,000 people, plus your original main force of the Third Legion, nearly 30,000 troops were enough to guard the eastern gate of my Norman Kingdom. William said with a smile as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Duke Andrew.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, even if I fight with my life, I will swear to protect the Norman kingdom to the death." Duke Andrew said solemnly: "I don't know what else you have to order." ”

"In that case, you can march into the county of Hainaut and wipe out the remnants of Baldwin V, Duke of Flanders, and his allies.

If possible, you can also occupy the counties of Hainaut, the counties of Blatbon, Lorne and Breda on the north bank of the Uss River, the left bank of the lower Rhine, and the strategic points of Brussels and Antwerp.

Of course, if the enemy is attacking, you still have to put the whole army first, and the primary goal is to preserve your strength, and if necessary, you can abandon the territory you have already conquered and retreat to the castle fortresses of Gunde and Bruges. William deliberately explained.

For William, it was only right to conquer the Kingdom of France, seize the throne, end the war as soon as possible, and mobilize his forces to deal with the attack of the HRE Empire.

If he coveted the territory of the HRE Empire and put the Kingdom of France aside, William would most likely lose both.

The fertile land of the lower Rhine, though tempting, was not necessary for William, and the crown of the Kingdom of France was what he coveted, and he could not give up the throne of France for the sake of some distant territory.

As the so-called ten birds in the forest, it is better to have one bird in the hand, rather than coveting the territory of the HRE Empire, it is better to firmly grasp the Kingdom of France in the palm of your hand.

After telling everything, William led the Guards Corps, Roger. Morality. Beaumont's 2nd Army, the Duke of Richard's 4th Army, returned to Normandy to join the arriving blockade reinforcements at Rouen, and then marched south to the battlefield of Burgundy to join the Duke of Rodrigo.