"Power ......"

He muttered the simple, tongue-twisting word, as if reminiscing about the enchanting taste: "You always have a way, friend." ”

I was relieved to hear my friend's words, my tense nerves were relieved, Richard was relieved, and the rest of the story took a turn.

"You don't have to worry about Nijmegen, I just received the news a few days ago that there is nothing at home, and Flender's army is ready to help in case of danger."

I certainly can't tell him the real situation, and the allies who have managed to stabilize must not be shaken again: "The top priority is to march into Rome, completely defeat the rebels gathered by the Pope, firmly control the Vatican in our hands, and then manipulate the re-election of the Holy See, and set up an obedient puppet to give orders in the name of righteousness, which is called blackmailing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, I told you." ”

Richard touched the tip of his reddish nose, which was caused by drinking too much, and he smacked my proposal, and said after a while: "First of all, I don't think Count Flender can believe that this old fox is too familiar to me, and what if he is also involved in Robert's conspiracy?" Then the fall of Nijmegen may be inevitable. ”

"Impossible! Baudouin is my father-in-law, and even more so my staunchest ally, and the precious daughter of Nijmegen, whom he regards as the jewel of his palm, is guarding the castle of Nijmegen with his own grandson. "I was a little anxious when I said this, and I almost finished yelling at the top of my voice.

"Let's send a few more messengers back to warn you, as you said, this world is realistic, and your closest relatives must be on guard." Richard now learns to refute with my words, putting me in a paradoxical situation.

It's not so much that I'm a father-in-law who absolutely trusts his beloved daughter, but rather a stubborn reluctance to admit his mistakes, just like a marathon runner, who is about to cheer and celebrate, who would have thought that his teammates around him would suddenly stretch their legs and stumble, making you fall on the impossible finish line, that feeling of heartbreak and surprise is enough to destroy the most solid line of defense in everyone's heart.

"Our goal is in Rome, take a step back, it is an abyss, take a step forward, maybe the willows will be bright, if you want to choose, how to do it?"

Richard was silent for a long time, and mortals will inevitably hesitate at the point of choice, but the result will be the same, because we are ordinary people, and after all, we do not have the concentration and freedom of sages and prophets.

Power!

The top prey that exudes a graceful fragrance, like the pitcher plant that attracts bees and flies, its beauty is as deadly as its evil, but it is so charming that anyone who wants to grab the fragrance thinks how different they are, and then enjoy the tenderness of the fragrance soaked in the bones, while slowly sinking into the quagmire, willingly handing over their lives to each other in exchange for self-righteous dreams, compared with the power itself, you will always be less than a snap of the fingers.

"The Norman warriors never knew what it was to retreat, and the gods of Odin and God could testify to it."

A deep voice slowly spat out from his mouth, like the roar of a tiger waving in the depths of the jungle, full of surging power: "I still choose to be on your side, but this time I want to share more." ”

"Only Rome, I only want Rome."

I almost gritted my teeth and said, eager to chew these words: "You can pick the rest, friend, you deserve it." ”

Richard happily stretched out his arm and gestured to me with his eyes to give me a high-five: "Deal." ”

"Deal!"

I squeezed his generous slap tightly and clenched it vigorously: "Time is running out, we have to race against time to operate." ”

"I had a plan before you came."

Richard didn't care about my surprised expression, he was a rough man who was rare to be careful, so he might as well listen to it:

"There are spies in the city of Milan, His Majesty's Henry's, His Majesty's Robert's, His Holiness the Pope's, Pseudo-King Aduin's, the Romans, even the Saracens, etc., who saw that you had entered here in the morning and never went out, and soon every master would have on his table with the shocking news that the Duke of Normandy had placed the Duke of Nijmegen under house arrest, and his army was torn apart because of the leaderlessness of the dragons."

"They will think that Nijmegen is finished, and I am finished, and the little ones are running to tell each other and celebrate each other, what a spectacle and joyful scene!" I know that sometimes his little ideas are like humble side dishes in a delicious delicacy, seemingly dispensable, but actually affect the texture and taste of the whole dish.

"His Holiness the Pope will devote all his attention to Verona, and the conditions of the St. Garre Pass are so bad that he will be able to enter Carinthia from the relatively easy Brenna Pass, which will be the first stop in Germany. Think of it, the crocodile shows his soft, unguarded belly, and it only takes a thousand fine horsemen, a thousand brave warriors who are not afraid of death to kill the rabble like the slaughter of chickens at Christmas. ”

I handed him the full wine glass, and I leaned in and touched it gently, the mellow yellow wine syrup shook and swirled, and a few drops were thrown out along the rim of the glass, but neither of us cared: "The ale is good, it's the first spring wheat of the year, right?" ”

——————————

"You must think I'm crazy, don't you?" I condescendingly sat on my horse, staring at the knights who were staring at me and said in a loud voice.

At that time, the weather was pure, the large clouds that were rolling quickly soared and soared, and then spread out in the air, pulling long fish scale ripples along the skyline, gradually disappearing, the sun occasionally appeared in the gaps of the clouds, sowing warm orange rays, casting fleeting spots of light on the earth, dotting the green hillsides with lovely smells and smells, soft as a tapestry woven of fine wool.

There is no one who does not like the beautiful scenery given by magical creations, just like the fish love the cool and clean spring water, of course, if you don't have to put your body in this aggrieved armor, the joy of enjoying the scenery will surely make everyone whistle proudly.

"You must think I'm crazy, do you?"

I repeat what I said again, but this time it strengthens the power between the lines.

The breeze penetrated into every corner and crevice, blowing the soft blades of grass rustling, and the knights and their horses were silent, focusing on their own feudal lords, and one by one they stood straight into the solemn statues in front of the temple, forming a monument standing proudly in the wind.

"You must think I'm a complete lunatic, do you?"

The third time I said the same thing, even the mounts that could not understand human speech were restless on the ground, and you can imagine the endurance of the knights to listen to me honestly until now.

"That's right, let you guess correctly, I'm a madman, a crazy and unruly madman, a madman who doesn't die without hitting the south wall, and a madman who doesn't look back after hitting the south wall!"

I gradually accentuated my tone so that the knights farthest away from me could hear the impassioned speech: "The combination of the Bible in the hands of the priest and the sword in the hand of the knight is destined to be sacred, for both the priest who is determined to serve the Lord all his life and the knight who is willing to shed his blood are equally pious to all, and who is more noble and who is more favored by God." ”

The mount twisted its neck, neighed high-pitched under the restraint of the horse's chewing, and floated far down the wind with the air current, and as the first listener to respond, it reacted relatively quickly.

"The first church in the Vatican was built on the tomb of St. Peter by order of the great Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, and this simple stone building represents the projection of God on earth, and also represents that the gospel of the Lord will shine on the world with all glory to God!"

"Amen!"

The knights answered in unison, their deep voices overpowering the wind, resolute and approving, but also mixed with doubt and denial.

"St. Peter, who entered Rome twice in spite of the perils and did his best to preach the gospel despite the persecution of the tyrant Nero, was influenced by his zealous preaching, and many turned to the arms of God and became children of the Lord, the first pope universally recognized, the projection of God on earth, the most faithful believer and messenger of the Lord, the shepherd who guided all beings to heaven, and therefore the divine Lord of all things in the world!"

Speaking of excitement, I clenched my fists with both hands and kept waving to vent the feelings in my chest, hoping to infect the people in front of me.

"Praise the Lord!"

"Holy for holy!"

"God forbid!"

The knights responded enthusiastically, and there was a murmur of chain mail rubbing.

"There is no doubt that the successors of St. Peter are wise, merciful, loving and pious of the most holy people, and only such people can ascend to the throne of the Pope and rule Christendom under the gaze of God, and the Vatican is the pure kingdom of heaven on earth, the holy place in the heart of every faithful servant."

I noticed that many people's eyes were slowly burning with fanatical fire, and I hurriedly struck while the iron was hot: "It's a pity that now the holy Holy See has been trampled on by evil customs, and the filthy ** flows across the land where St. Peter once trodden, and the churches of the Vatican no longer sound the prayers that cleanse the heart, but are full of conspiracy whispers and the trading of money and power to each side, the land of St. Peter is defiled, and the unclean people in their hearts pave the way to fulfill the priesthood with the help of money and power, and our faith has been lost!" ”

My last few words were like a bombshell, and they clearly shocked the people who listened carefully, their eyes widened in disbelief, and they looked at each other uneasily, the Duke was tantamount to openly expressing their confrontation with the Vatican, and the enemy they were about to face was the Holy See coalition army that had gathered more than a dozen miles away.

"The light of the wicked shall be extinguished, and his flame shall not shine, saith the Lord."

I quoted a sentence from the Bible and explained it word by word:

"It's a pity that in the past, I also stood behind the devil's bewitched Ni Xia, and contributed more than once, it was ** blinded my ardent eyes yearning for God, it was the charm brought by power that made me lose my mind and go astray from the grace of the Lord, compared to you who are pious, I am guilty."

"Your Excellency...... Please don't blame yourself like that. ”

The knights in the front row didn't expect my sudden confession, and they didn't know what to say, so they could only stumble and comfort.

"Do not be like the foolish mule and horse, which must be strangled with a bridle, or else you will not be obedient."

I crossed my chest and prayed with my hands together and bowed my head:

"The Lord says, 'It is wise to turn away from sin, and I hope that it is not too late for me to repent, and that your salvation will be just too late."

One of the knights pressed his chest heaving from overexcitement, and his eyes seemed to choke with tears: "Please guide our sinful souls to be saved, my lord!" ”

Regardless of whether this knight's performance is sincere or not, his acting skills are realistic enough, I like smart people, not to mention that at this moment when everyone is hesitating to be high and low, any hysterical roar and bitter preaching are all pale and weak, and only tears can accurately capture the sensitive nerves of the audience!

"The justice of the world needs to be supported, God's love for the world needs to be reaffirmed and promoted, as warriors who defend the faith by force, we can do nothing but dedicate our lives, and only by dedicating our lives can we stand without regrets in front of the gate of heaven, and proudly say to the angels who come to receive us: My whole life and all my energy are dedicated to the noblest cause in the world, fighting for the faith of my Lord Christ! God bless Germany! God bless Nijmegen! ”

I don't blush at all when I steal Ostrovsky's quote, and it is this sentence that finally ignites everyone's surging passion, the sound of the sword drawn and unsheathed into a deafening roar, the reflection of the blade is dazzling, and it is no exaggeration to say that we have truly achieved a million hearts at this moment.

"God bless Germany!"

"God bless Nijmegen!"

Slowly putting on my helmet, I rode to the front of the whole procession, took the spear handed by the squire and raised it high over the top, and shouted hoarsely:

"A strong enemy is at the moment, fearless!"

"Be bold and faithful, worthy of God!"

"Loyal and upright, I would rather die than give in!"

"Protecting the weak is worthy of heaven!"

"This is your oath, this is my oath, every soul can be saved, go forward! Knights of Nijmegen! ”

Needless to say, the rebels stationed behind a few gently undulating hills must have known our coming, and unless they were all deaf and blind, the cries and the sparkling light of the sun would surely destroy the senses and tell the enemy clearly that the comers were not good.

As the sun set as the sun set from the spacious mansion of Richard, Duke of Normandy, made of tall Romanesque columns, the last rays of afterglow seemed to remain on the edge of the warm pool, and the late townspeople hurried along with their turbans wrapped in their turbans, carrying in their meager salaries for a day's work or the moldy bread they bought at the corner market, without stopping at all to notice the strange figures whose faces were also wrapped in waist-length turbans.

I followed my squire and the knight sent by Richard to protect me, Luca's tall figure was like a clumsy bear, and he always accidentally bumped into pedestrians who were walking with their heads down, and he was so reckless that no matter how low-key we were, we would inevitably be noticed, so I had no choice but to speed up my pace, and stumble out of the city in a daze under the guidance of my guide.

According to the agreed plan, Richard would release the news of my imprisonment the next day, and at the same time the army of Nijmegen would gather outside Milan to demand their duke by force, and the specter of war would hang over the entire Po Plain, and all the forces, both overt and covert, would have to adjust their gaze to the largest city and fortress in Lombardy, and to pay attention to the imminent battle.

Of course, they have already condemned me to death in their hearts, and the captured Duke of Nijmegen will be ruined from now on, and he will not be able to ask for the right price, and the greedy Richard will not release this valuable captive, and I, who have lost my foundation, will not be able to pay the sky-high price of the black duke, who regards wealth as his life.

Everything went smoothly as planned, I successfully contacted Rollo who led the army to discuss the men and strategies left behind, and the big drama of everyone getting drunk and waking up was about to begin, but the poor people who played the role in it could not control their own fate.

Of course, I cannot divulge such important information about the fall of Nijmegen to everyone here, including the most trusted Rollo, because it is related to the morale of the army, and the development of the battle that will determine the success or failure of the future, the ancient philosopher taught us:

Secrets are always rotten in your own heart.

In the moment of the bump on horseback, I couldn't help but think:

"There is no absolute protagonist on the stage of power, and there is no absolute good and evil, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness, in the face of cruel fame and fortune, everyone is constantly chasing, but everyone seems to have forgotten a simple truth, mortals, all have a death!"