The water lord stared at the map in front of him with red and blue arrows, and fell into deep thought.

Although the map in front of him always seemed extremely simple in the eyes of Sinloth because of the times, as a military map, it was enough. Countless red arrows and blue arrows continued to bite and chase, but in the end, the red arrows still surrounded the blue arrows, and the blue arrows had no way to retreat except for the land behind them.

But behind them is their homeland.

"It's been a long war." Shui Jue rubbed the corners of his eyes and sighed. He's not Taylor's war maniac, and he can work on strategy for days and nights without sleeping. If it weren't for the fact that this time was really important, at his age, he would have been in the Dharma Demon Cultivation Days.

"But it's finally coming to an end."

Ivar is indeed a character, and even in the face of a huge disadvantage in numbers and equipment, he still makes a lot of counterattacks. But no matter how great a hero is, he is powerless in the face of a national machine like the Empire.

The training of the five fleets is not low, and compared with the first fleet, which is extremely powerful, what they lack is only a fight between life and death. And after countless battles in the past six months, the original rookie soldiers have finally really grown up. Being able to unite the five generals who were originally hostile to each other and let them cooperate with each other is enough to make the Water Lord proud.

However, this is not enough.

Previously, the water lord had several opportunities to force the other party to fight a decisive battle, but the old duke gave up all of them. What he needed was not a victory, but a conquest, a perfect conquest of the Empire over the Normans.

If he is only a general, then he only needs to think about how to defeat the opponent's main force as quickly as possible, then the merit will be completed, and all that remains is to think about what posture to return to the king to get the honor and reward he deserves.

If he is only a marshal, then he will have to consider the balance of combat power and national power. Get the best results at the lowest cost. The life of every Imperial soldier is precious, it cannot be discarded, and every life should be used in the right place.

However, the Water Lord is not only the Marshal of the Empire, he is also the Grand Duke of the Empire. Basil is old and may return to heaven at any moment. At a time when the political situation is becoming more and more delicate, he has to try to maintain the balance of power in the military. Of the five generals, only two were die-hard loyalists of the Emperor, while the other three were obscure. What the Lord needed was a conquest to consolidate the somewhat shaky imperial power.

But there's so much to worry about, and it's not just the troublesome Normans. If he really completed the Norman conquest, it would certainly make the royalists a great reputation, but you must know that the water lord has long been the honor of the duke. And he was born in the top giant Capet, and he is completely unsealable.

Unless Basil is willing to make an exception for him king, or make him the eighth governor of the empire. But the water lord understands that even if he has a personal relationship with the emperor, it is absolutely impossible for Basil to agree.

It has nothing to do with personal friendship, simply because he is a member of the Capetian family. Capet is strong enough if the Water Lord becomes an Imperial Governor at this time

That's simply forcing Basil to do it, in order to ensure the succession of the throne, with the water lord's understanding of Basil, this old bastard can do anything.

The battle between "Trouble, Trouble" and Norman must be won, and it must be a big victory. Otherwise, the royalist line will face extremely great pressure, and a duke with royal blood like Alexios will inevitably take advantage of the last midnight fiasco. However, the Water Lord is bound to not be able to obtain the honor of conquering the Normans, and there is no one in the current Imperial General who is capable of overpowering the crowd, what should I do?

If either Isabelle and Taylor had been there, there wouldn't be the predicament we are in. Although Isabel is the illegitimate daughter of the emperor, she is of imperial blood, and with her influence among the nobility, it would be great if she could lead an army to conquer the Normans. And Duke Taylor's situation is similar, although he is also from a wealthy family, but after all, he is only a side branch, and his only daughter is also married to Norman, he can actually be said to be the heir, but he is not afraid of some gossip.

In fact, the little William in Normandy is a good candidate, although the little William is young, but full of vitality and vitality, and the ability to lead the troops is also good. Shui Jue originally intended to carry it, but his ancestors were Normans after all, and if the credit was too great, it would also make people suspicious. It's the Irish Van Zhuo, but it's a pity that the little guy is too sensitive, and he just made a great achievement and ran away with William without a trace.

Thinking of this, Shui Jue smiled silently and bitterly. Before I won the war, I began to think about these post-war things. The Grand Duke took a deep breath and forced himself to refocus on the map in front of him.

In any case, the war with Normandy must be won. Just as the Duke looked at the map, thinking about the next strategy in his mind, the herald's report broke his contemplation.

"Your Excellency, here's a letter from the royal capital."

Shui Jue didn't turn around, still looking at the map in front of him: "Wang Du? Is it Prime Minister Osborne's letter? ”

The five fleets would have suffered a major defeat before they could have achieved an inch, and if it hadn't been for the sudden strength of Sinloth, it might have turned into a big rout. Fortunately, he and Basil were young, and His Majesty the Emperor took off all the pressure for him without saying a word. It's just that His Majesty the Emperor is old after all, and some guys who have ghosts in their hearts jump up and down all the time.

The emperor can not be in a hurry, but a prime minister can't. Since last month, Imperial Chancellor Osborne has been urging him to fight Norman as soon as possible at a daily rate, hoping that he will rely on military exploits to suppress some people.

"Let it go." His Excellency the Prime Minister is not tired of writing, but Shui Jue still thinks that his eyes are sour when he looks at it. Anyway, it's all the same content, Osborne is in a hurry, isn't he in a hurry? Ivar is not an easy person to deal with, and in order not to resurgence in the future, this time he must completely defeat Norman and drain Norman's blood. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of the Imperial soldiers who died tragically that night?

"No" herald is also a confidant of His Excellency the Duke, and he knows a little about His Excellency's troubles. It's just that the young man's face seemed to be very embarrassed, and he didn't know what he was worried about, so the young man finally gritted his teeth and put the letter in his arms on Shui Jue's table.

"No, Your Excellency, Prime Minister, please take a look."

Isn't it Osborne? Who could that be?

When there is doubt in the heart, the thinking in the head can no longer be carried on. Shui Jue turned around and looked behind him. This is a very ordinary letter, and the only thing that is special may be the huge love that is drawn on the envelope.

Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the Grand Duke, who had always been calm, and a very bad association was made in his heart. The unbelieving Duke licked his lips and opened the letter.

"I Love Philip Himself"

As soon as I read the first few words, a wave of anger rushed up from the bottom of my heart. The steady Grand Duke slammed the letter to the ground, grabbed the herald by the collar and roared loudly: "Didn't I say that in the future, I will not accept any letter from that mad woman in Flanders!" ”

The poor herald was sprayed all over his face, but he still reluctantly said to His Excellency the Duke: "But she is a official document, and Miss Flanders is not only very knowledgeable, but also looks like you."

"But she's only fourteen! Why do you keep pestering me, this bad old man! Is she perverted! The Duke lost his usual composure, and roared like an angry lion. In his mind at the moment, it doesn't matter what empire, what balance, all of them. In the duke's mind, all that was left was the aristocratic girl who was smirking at him.

"Write to her and tell me, and if she pesters me again, I will go to the monastery and become a monk!"

"Is that really the case?"

Xia Li asked the petite girl next to her, and what she got was a big smile from the other party: "Although I don't have an external device, I can't go wrong with my own electric detector at this distance." At most, there were two days to go, and there was a small village in front of it, and there would never be more than twenty people in it, and most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled. ”

"Really? Then I'm relieved. ”

After receiving Tirpitz's affirmative answer, Xia Li's anxiety finally calmed down a little. She's all too new to dealing with magic and the like. I've heard Daddy Dead Ghost talk about magic before, but it's all legends, and it's completely unbelievable. But according to Randy, it should be pretty remarkable.

Then believe it.

After all, this is the first time her people have gone to sea to hunt, and how much prey they get is secondary, and the key is to get used to fighting. After all, at a young age, as the patriarch, even Xia Li, who has always been heartless, feels the pressure on her shoulders to some extent.

Aside from Randy and himself, none of the current clan would be angry. And those sailors are okay with boats, and they are completely unreliable in fighting wars or something. Then, the first enemy is not destined to be too strong. The tribes that could have survived in the north, even small tribes, would almost certainly not be able to eat for Xia Li. In the bitter cold land of the north, even if it is a small tribe, there will always be a few who can fight. There may be nothing wrong with you, but casualties among your people are inevitable.

Talking to Xinluo about the useless people going to die, but Xia Li is not so ruthless in the end. In any case, Daddy handed over his people to himself, even if he was not happy in his heart, then they had to continue walking.

Fortunately, the great war between the Normans and the Empire caused Ivar to take away the elites of the various tribes, and the rest were just some old and sick people, who happened to be the target of the Viking boys.

"I'm looking forward to it."

In the cabin, all the Viking boys gathered around Xia Li with solemn expressions.

With a "bang", the sharp dagger was stuck on the table. Xia Li looked at these teenagers like hungry wolves staring at lambs. No one spoke, but everyone knew what to do next.

"Remember, whoever kills the prime first will seize the granary first." Xia Li's gaze was fierce, but her tone was unusually calm: "If you don't want to die, kill all those hairy seals." There was a slight commotion among the teenagers, but the discipline they had cultivated over time still made them wait for the patriarch to speak.

"From today onwards, you are not allowed to eat, remember, you are not allowed to leave one!"

Knife light, flames, tears, blood, survival. In the harsh north, only the strong can truly survive. However, no matter how strong a person is, when he kills his own kind for the first time, he will always be a little repulsed. And this is also the reason why Xia Li is not allowed to let the people eat, if she faints from hunger, she will not feel afraid and scared, right? R1152