The iron-clad cold light was dazzling, and everywhere they could see, they had gathered from all the counties of the North, and the target was Warwickshire, the capital of the Duke of Mercia.

These armies consisted not only of the Anglo-Saxons of Sein, Veran, burghers, and serfs, but also of the Vikings of the Danish district of Yorkshire, and the Scots of Northumbria and Lothian, who were attracted by the promises of the Duke of Leofrick and fought for wealth and glory, for titles of nobility and domains.

The Vikings, the Norwegians, the Scots, these warriors from the north were more brave and good at fighting, no less than the Norman warriors under William.

William was even more threatened by the fact that, unlike the Godwin army he faced at the Battle of Hastings, the Northern Princes' coalition had a large number of knights.

These knights may have been slightly less equipped, most of them were only equipped with chainmail and iron helmets, but their horsemanship and combat effectiveness were not inferior at all, and in the battles with the Scots and Vikings, the northern princes trained to be cavalry worthy of the Normans.

It is impossible to use the advantage of cavalry and longbowmen to wear down the opponent in sports warfare like in the last Battle of Hastings, and the opponent has a large number of cavalry enough to offset William's cavalry advantage.

Warwickshire, the capital of Mercia, across the line from Oxfordshire, was massing troops, and William's army landed in Wessexshire, the capital of England, from the ports of New Southampton and Portsmouth, before heading north to join up at Readingburgh in Oxfordshire.

Readingburgh, Buckinghamburg, and Oxford, Oxfordshire, were the main battlefields chosen by William, and he ordered the fortifications to be built in these three places based on the original castles in the area.

At the same time, William also ordered the three counties adjacent to the Duchy of Mercia and Northumbria, such as Wiltminshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, to begin to clear the wilderness.

All the villages and towns on the front line were forcibly abandoned by the Normans, food and all kinds of military supplies were shipped and taken away, wells for water were filled, pastures and forests were burned, towns and villages that might have been used for defense or garrison were burned, the Angles who were willing to go south were resettled in the south, and the English who did not want to go south were detained and expelled from their territories to prevent these people from being used by the northern princes who went south as people.

He wanted to make sure that the coalition of northern princes who were going south could not find any supplies in Weltmin, Oxford, and Northamptonshire on the front, that their horses could not get fodder, that they could not recruit any people, and that it was difficult to even find a clean source of water.

William did this to buy time, and the only troops he had stationed in England were the Guards, mercenaries, and civilians, and the Second and Third Legions, as well as the troops provided by William's dukes, were still converging on Oxfordshire, and it was impossible to gather the army in a week.

The first to arrive was the Third Legion, stationed in the Duchy of Belgium in Flanders, and had already arrived in Wessex by ship under Duke Andrew of Belgium.

The Second Legion, led by the Earl of Rodrigo, was stationed in the Earldom of Devid, Wales, and was tasked with guarding Wales and Ireland, and were on their way by boat to reach Wessex, bypassing Cornwall and passing through St George's Strait, Lands Point and Solent Strait to reach the port of New Southampton in Wessex.

In this way, a week was already very short, and the continuous gathering of large armies in Warwick and Leicestershire, the principalities of Mercia, not far away, put a lot of pressure on William, and he would not feel relaxed until reinforcements arrived.

......

Readingburgh, Oxfordshire

"Faller, remember what I said?" William asked, staring at Phaleosborne, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Your Majesty, let Edward go. Edmondson was my fault, and I could accept whatever punishment I had. "Faller. Osborne was in a good position to admit his mistake, and he knew that only by doing so could he obtain William's forgiveness, after all, the matter was so big that it even caused a war between the Normans and the northern princes.

"Fale, I remove you from the duties of the head of the court, and at the same time take back your estate in Evre, you give me a good training under Duke Rodrigo, and only after you have made some achievements and made up for your mistakes, can you return to the court." William shook his head slightly, gritted his teeth and declared ruthlessly.

Actually William vs. Faller. Osborne's punishment was still very light compared to the consequences of his death, but he was deprived of his position in the court and his estate in Evreux, and he was able to serve in Duke Rodrigo's Second Legion, and as long as he could perform well in this war with the northern princes, he could still gain William's trust and reuse.

"Let's go down." William waved him down.

"Jean Russell. Morality. Viscount Bayolle came in. William sat back down and spoke to the guards standing beside him.

"Yes." The two guards were ordered to leave, and a short time later, a Norman nobleman dressed as a general came to William under the guidance of the two guards.

"Russell of Bayol, come to the audience." The visitor was fair-faced and handsome, with the blond and blue-eyed face of a Norman, with a mustache on his lips, and a young and promising general from the way he dressed.

"Viscount Russell, why are you anxious to come to see me?" William looked at Russell, who was on one knee. Morality. Bayolle asked.

This person is the head of William's intelligence agency in charge of England, and he has an elite intelligence unit under his command, which is directly responsible to William.

"Your Majesty, according to the message from my eyeliner in Yorkshire, Northumbria, Edward. Edmondson to King Magnus of Norway and Denmark. Inglin asked for help, and the messenger was in York City with Edward. Edmondson negotiates alliances and troop dispatches. "Russell. Morality. Viscount Bayolle reported truthfully.

This was not good news, as the Vikings of Norway and Denmark had joined the war, which meant that the war was going to be out of William's control.

"Russell. Morality. Viscount Bayol, do you know who the emissary sent by King Magnus is, and whether you can send someone to assassinate him, and destroy the alliance between the two sides, or at least make them suspicious of each other, so that they can delay for a while. William asked after a moment's pause.

"The principal sent by the kings of Norway and Denmark was Harald the Heartless, Duke of Trengrad of Norway. Ingrin, King Magnus's cousin, was also the commander of this reinforcement. ”

'Oh?' The name 'Harald the Heartless', is familiar, he is ......' 'Harald the Heartless'. Ingrin's name intrigued William, and he muttered to himself in thought.