Leicestershire is actually not far from London City and Middlesex, only separated by the two counties of Northampton and Bedfordshire, less than 200 kilometers away in a straight line.

When William first heard the news that he had received 20,000 reinforcements from the Norman Kingdom, even the most calm 'elder', Leofric, Duke of Mercia, couldn't help but panic, not to mention the other northern princes who were still very young, Sword. Northumbria is a little older by 35 years and the younger Count of Northumbria, Osoff. Bamburgh, who is the son-in-law of Duke Sword, is only fourteen or fifteen years old this year, and he is still a young man.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic yet!" Leofrick, Duke of Mercia, spoke, and his prestige and composure made everyone present unconsciously quiet, and their eyes looked at him expectantly.

"Uh-huh...... Leofric coughed lightly and said, "I know that everyone is afraid of the mighty Normans, and their combat power is second to none on Europa, they have more luxurious equipment than the Vikings, they have the discipline and unity that the Vikings do not have, and they have the courage, cunning and personal fighting ability far beyond the Vikings."

In the face of such a formidable enemy, it should indeed be treated with caution.

However, I think your attitude is a little too radical, and the Norman King William, who was stationed in London, did not immediately go north to fight our army after receiving reinforcements, I think he has no desire to fight us, and we hope to make peace with William and settle the dispute through negotiations. ”

"Do we want us to submit to the feet of that bastard William? Then I'd rather fight the Normans. Osoff, Count of Northumbria, stood up and shouted at a loud voice.

"The young man really couldn't hold his breath." Duke Leofrick shook his head secretly.

"Naturally, we must lose the battle without losing the battle, at least we must play with the momentum of the northern princes, and we must not let the Normans look down on us, only in this way can we get favorable conditions in the next negotiations." Leo Frick explained.

"We're up to you, Lord Mercia." The princes of the north replied one after another.

Then, the army of King Qin formed by the princes of the north came in waves, and they arrived outside the city of London, which was now densely covered with flags and figures, and it seemed that there were indeed 30,000 or 40,000 people stationed in the city.

Looking at the elite Normans on the city wall, the princes of the northern realm couldn't help but swallow their saliva, and a bean-sized cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please rest assured, our army also has 20,000 people, and there are many cavalry, even if it is not defeated by the Norman tiger and wolf army, but it is more than enough to protect ourselves by virtue of the geographical advantage, so we don't have to worry about our own comfort at all.

Next, I will send an envoy into the city to negotiate with William, and you will wait in peace. ”

Leofrick comforted the crowd and sent his most trusted Bishop of Worcester, Wolfstein, into the city to negotiate with William.

The negotiations went very smoothly, William knew that his plan would not deceive the northern princes for long, and the other party also wanted to end the war through negotiations as soon as possible, so the two sides quickly reached a peace treaty.

In the end, the two sides reached a peace treaty, which prevented the outbreak of this civil war.

In the contract, King Edward confiscated all the fiefs and official positions of the Godwin family, and transferred these fiefdoms and official positions to William, and Queen Edisha was also sent to the Varville Abbey, and the once prominent Godwin family seems to have been uprooted. William also rose to the cardinal position by virtue of the fiefs and official positions he had seized from the Godwins, appointed Normans to many important positions, and controlled the government of the Kingdom of England.

Although William had to give hostages as a guarantee to the king as a concession, it seemed that the king's side had the upper hand, but in fact, the authority of the royal family was greatly damaged, and it could even be said that it was completely swept away.

Taking advantage of the gathering of the nobles and bishops of England in London, William proposed that King Edward of England convene a Council of the Magi to confirm his right to the throne of England.

The Council of the Magi (English: itenagemot, abbreviated as itan, Old English: Itena Gemōt) was an important political body in Anglo-Saxon England, a kind of high-level meeting presided over by the king, of varying duration, and of varying numbers, attended by high-ranking clergy and secular nobles known as "sages" or "wise men", including the king's close ministers, royal favorites, and magistrates.

It arose before the 7th century, replacing the "Mark Assembly" or popular assembly of the Germanic Teutonic tribes of the earlier European continent to adapt to the development of Anglo-Saxon society at that time, and remained in function until the 11th century.

In the ancient Germanic tribes, there was a tradition of summoning the commune to witness the transfer of ownership of a piece of land, which is generally believed to be the origin of the Council of the Magi in England. Regardless of the role and status of popular assemblies among the Anglo-Saxon tribes before the 6th century, the introduction of Christianity around 600 years will inevitably affect the social structure of England. Since then, royal power and clerical power have been intertwined and inseparable. At the same time, the clergy and the secular aristocracy owned large estates and were considerable stakeholders in society at the time, and the decision-making power and judicial power fell into the hands of these upper classes.

The first recorded Council of the Magi took place around 600 when a series of decrees were issued under the auspices of King Aitelborcht of Kent. However, it is believed that the Council of the Magi had already existed before this.

The Council of the Magi of England during the Seven Kingdoms was convened by the monarchs themselves, and varied in duration, venue, and scale. In the late Anglo-Saxon era, there were more than 60 towns where meetings of the wise men were held. At that time, there was no fixed capital of each country, and there were so many places where the king was stationed that manors or paddocks could be used for meetings, so there were countless places to meet.

From the 9th to the 11th centuries, London was the city with the most conferences, and religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Epiphany were ideal dates. Archaeological data show that the better meeting hall of the sages is 130-150 square meters, equipped with a kitchen, a rest room and a reference room.

At the Council of the Magi in March 931 there were two archbishops of Canterbury and York, two kings of Wales, 17 bishops, five abbots, 15 magistrates and 59 thain, a total of 101 men. In the Council of the Magi of Winchester in 934 there were 19 archbishops and bishops, 4 abbots, 4 Welsh nobles, 14 magistrates and 52 Thanes, a total of 81 men.

At that time, transportation was inconvenient, and for other reasons, some people did not attend after receiving the king's edict, and sometimes they were punished. This shows that attending the Council of the Wise is not only an honor and a right, but also an obligation.

The members of the Council of the Wise are prominent figures with a wide range of terms of reference.

First of all, it participates in major decisions within and outside the country, and has the right to depose or install the king. For example, in 757, Higbert of Wessex was dethroned for violating customary law; In 774, King Alred of Northumbria was deposed for misdeeds and chose Selleder as king.

Second, the Council of the Magi had judicial power and had the power to hear all kinds of cases, and its judgments were the result of collective resolutions, which the king had no power to change. In addition, the Council of the Magi provided advice and information to the king, and at that time, transportation was poor, and successive kings often traveled around the world and convened councils of the Magi in different places to learn more about the local situation.

The Council of the Magi, with its inherent character of representing the interests of the clan nobility to curb the expansion of royal power, was the main form of struggle between the early English nobility and the royal power, and in fact deprived the king of the status and prestige that he had only in the late 11th century. Even Alfred, the famous king, had to hold frequent councils of the wise to listen to the nobles.

After the Norman Conquest, William I eagerly held an anointed coronation full of divine power to show the world that "through the anointing coronation, the kings of the 'barbarian' regime are no longer mere military leaders of the primitive Germanic tribes, no longer tribal leaders who can be bound, deposed, or even executed by the 'Council of the Mages' composed of nobles at will, but Christian kings who exercise the sacred dignity of the political authority of the state on behalf of God."