1. Andrew captured the port of Dover and garrisoned it, and after ensuring the safety of the retreat, William joined Andrew, who had returned with his troops, and led a force of 16,000 men along the Thames all the way north towards London.

It was a hot June day, and the Normans were struck by heat, malaria, and dysentery, and many warriors who did not die on the battlefield fell ill from the torment of the disease.

In order to take care of these hundreds of patients, William had to send part of his army to return to Port Dover from the patients to recuperate.

In this way, after William's army had been divided into 2,000 men to garrison the port of Dover and the sick and escorted troops away, his army was only about 15,000 men, and although they had an overwhelming advantage in the face of the remnants of the Godwins, the Normans were not sure of victory in the face of the armies of the northern princes led by the Duke of Mercia and the Duke of Northumbria, which were about to go south.

Fortunately, time was still on William's side, and even if the northern princes received the order of King Qin sent by King Edward, it was not possible to gather troops and prepare supplies in a day or two, and he would have at least two weeks to achieve his expected goal.

Illness does not distinguish between a nobleman and a commoner, whether it is a soldier or an officer, and although William's living conditions are much better than those of ordinary soldiers, he still unfortunately contracted dysentery.

Summer is the season when there is a high incidence of dysentery: Summer is the season when there is a high incidence of dysentery. This is because the summer temperature is higher, which is conducive to the reproduction of dysentery bacilli. In addition, flies can be used as an important vector for the transmission of dysentery, which can easily cause the epidemic of dysentery. Normally, there is stomach acid in the human stomach juice, which can kill the bacteria swallowed into the stomach. However, when you sweat a lot on a hot day, a lot of water and salt in the body are lost, so that the raw materials for making gastric acid are reduced, and the gastric acid is diluted when you drink more water, so the bactericidal ability is weakened, and the germs you eat are easy to enter the intestines.

In addition, people love to eat raw and cold vegetables, melons and fruits in summer, and do not pay attention to disinfection, which increases the chance of dysentery bacilli entering the human body.

Contamination of water by dysentery bacilli can cause outbreaks. If the feces of patients and carriers are not properly treated, the water source is not well protected, and the natural water, well water, and river water contaminated by feces are not disinfected for drinking, which is often the root cause of the outbreak of bacillary dysentery.

Drinking unclean Thames water was probably a major cause of dysentery in the Norman population.

William realized this, he ignored the disease, and ordered all the soldiers of the army not to drink raw water, drinking water must be boiled before drinking, not to eat rotten and spoiled food, waste and feces should be incinerated and landfilled, and the tableware containing food should also be boiled and disinfected on time to prevent diseases from entering the mouth.

In the treatment of patients, William did not spare medicinal materials, and ordered the doctors of the military medical guard battalion to take care of them.

A few days later, dysentery, malaria and other diseases in the Norman army were finally curbed, and many patients also came out of their illnesses, recovered, and the morale of the army, which had been somewhat low, was also restored.

These days, William's body has chills, fever, body temperature often above 39°C, headache, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain and tenesmus, which is really distressing.

The experienced Earl of Richard brought amaranth, garlic, onions and other anti-dysentery vegetables from the surrounding farms, and mixed them with wheat flour to make a paste-like garlic amaranth porridge to help William get through the difficulties.

William's health gradually recovered, and the other sick soldiers also recovered after taking the porridge with garlic and amaranth, and the city of London was already within easy reach.

Earl. Godwin's army withdrew from the siege of the city, and they gathered to the west of the city, seemingly hesitant in the face of the menacing Normans.

The nobles under Duke Godwin already knew about Harold. Godwinson and his army were wiped out, but faced with the temptation to capture King Edward, he chose to stay and continue the battle.

After several unsuccessful resistances, the remaining lords began to fight among themselves, arguing over whether to go or stay.

The powerful Duke Godwin quickly put an end to this pointless argument, and he decided to retreat westward with his army, without an army, he still had Wickes, and the friendship of the Irish, the Scots, and the Norse-Gaelics, and he was also the in-law of Baldwin V, Duke of Flanders, and given time he was perfectly capable of raising a large fleet and a huge army to make a comeback, and he did not care at all.

William's army crossed the Thames in three columns, and he claimed to have bulldozed the Godwins, but the Godwins army gathered in the west of London quietly withdrew, and William had no time to care, or rather careless, that his ultimate goal was the city of London, his cousin, His Majesty King Edward.

Driven out the remnants of the Godwins, William sent men into the city of London and demanded that he open the gates and let the Normans into the city to rest.

The governor of London, Esselger, did not dare to offend the menacing Normans outside the city, and he immediately went to the palace to report the matter to His Majesty King Edward.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty King William, the Norman King outside the city, has asked to come into the city to meet you, but it's just ......" Essorg, the governor of London, bowed to King Edward with a look of embarrassment.

"Tell me anything!" Edward asked, looking up at him.

"Fifteen thousand Norman troops have gathered outside the city, and His Majesty Wilhelm has asked to lead the whole army into the city to rest." Esser reluctantly told the truth.

“emm... William worked hard and helped me defeat the Godwins, and he did great service to the Kingdom of England, and deserved the treatment and reward he deserved.

Let His Majesty William and his army camp outside the city, and I will provide his Norman legions with abundant gold and silver, ample supplies, and vast estates.

Go out of the city and tell William what I have said, and when the Dukes of Mercia and Northumbria from the north arrive in London, we will celebrate this hard-won victory with a grand triumphal ceremony. ”

Although Edward's words are high-sounding, there is a sense of alienation that rejects people from thousands of miles away, as if William outside the city is not his cousin who once had a good relationship, but a figure like the Godwin family.

It was clear that he did not want William to lead his army into the city, at least not for now, at least until the army of the Duke of Mercia and the Duke of Northumbria arrived in London.

Perhaps it was the shadow of the Godwin, perhaps more than a decade of exile, or perhaps his persecution delusions, the Edward Kingdom was very insecure, and he was always suspicious and wary of powerful princes, even if William was a foreign monarch, even if he was his cousin.

King Edward, who had always been insecure, decided to refuse to let William into the city.