In the spacious, bright halls of Magdeburg, the blazing fireplace brings a touch of warmth to the people inside, and this is the beginning of the chūn, when the season is sunny and the birds are singing and fragrant; However, if it encounters a (yīn) day, there will be a situation called "return (chūn) cold". Unfortunately, the weather in the last few days has not been clear, either cloudy or drizzling.

But even if the weather is so hazy, it will never be more gloomy than the hearts of the people in the hall. In fact, even the sun was shining outside and the birds were singing and the flowers were singing, but they could not resolve the depression of everyone in the hall. For the nobles of the Duchy of Saxony, these days were destined to be the most difficult days of their lives, and their hearts (qíng) were so bad that the burning coals could not remove the chill in their hearts.

On that tall metal throne sat not a majestic, majestic, solemn middle-aged man, but an immature boy, about seven or eight years old, with black hair, air bangs, and a decent green woolen dress. A pair of small feet in brown moccasin boots couldn't even reach the ground. So much so that he needed to put a low purple mound under his feet so that he could go up and down freely on this throne.

Judging from his graceful and luxurious attire, his share of (shēn) is called out (yù) - he is the current Duke of Saxony, the nephew of the Duke of Hesse. He was clearly well educated, and he was desperately trying to sit upright on this throne, trying to put on a serious and majestic appearance. However, even if he desperately opened his eyes and pursed his lips tightly, the only noun that can be reminiscent of is probably only "可 (ài)", which is 108,000 miles away from the ideal "majesty"!

But he can't be blamed, what majesty can a seven or eight-year-old child have? Even if he stares at his eyes as big as a light bulb, everyone will only think that he is selling cuteness or playing with a grimace!

Judging from the humming sound coming from his mouth, the blue eyes that were blank and ignorant, and his little feet shaking from side to side (dàng) involuntarily, we knew that he was mostly ignorant of what was happening, and was still immersed in his own world! The brightly lit and bustling hall seemed to him to be just a noisy and fun occasion! For him, war and intrigue are just distant and obscure terms, never a part of his life!

"Henry!" A woman's scream sounded in the ears of the little duke like thunder, and the little duke was startled, quickly straightened his body, put his feet together, and sat up again.

The source of the voice was a young woman with long curly black hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, dressed in black, and covered with a black translucent hairnet over her head.

Judging by her stern qíng and angry tone, as well as the black dress, her share is called out (yù) - the mother of the little duke, the former duchess, and the brother and sister-in-law of Ditrick.

Fortunately, the hall was noisy, and almost everyone's attention was focused on the two men (shēn) sitting on either side of the long table in the middle of the hall, and no one noticed the episode between the mother and son.

A man on the left, dressed in chain mail with a shrewd short beard, (shēn) covered with a goose-yellow heraldic burqa, and a green lion at the mouth (xiōng), is about forty years old. The man sitting across the long table was dressed in full (shēn) plate armor, a red burqa on (shēn), a coat of arms with two swords crossed painted at the mouth (xiōng), long reddish-brown hair scattered over his shoulders, a ruddy complexion, a voice like a bell, and strong eyebrows, and he looked like a tough guy.

Judging from the luxurious clothes of these two, it was clear that they were either rich or expensive, and at this time, the tough man in red pointed at the man in yellow opposite like an angry lion and roared, "Earl of Verburne, you coward!" Listen to what you say, peace talks? The dignified Duke of Saxony, is he going to wag his tail and beg for mercy from a little count? With that, he gasped as if he were gasping for breath, and the nobles standing behind him (shēn) immediately began to cheer.

"I'm just talking about things! Count Anhalt, don't forget, it was such a small count who captured Braunschweig, Feldenburg, and Lüneburg in just a few days! I ask you, if it's once, maybe it's a coincidence, but twice, three times, is it still a coincidence? You say that the Count of Braunschweig eats, drinks, and is merry, unlearned, and ineffective in defending the city, but where is the Count of Luneburg? The Count of Lüneburg was a well-known knight in the principality, and I believe everyone present knew this very well! After listening to Earl Anhalt's roar, a trace of gloom flashed on Earl Verborne's face, but after all, he was a middle-aged man in his forties, so he took a deep breath and retorted methodically.

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of nobles after him (shēn) also cheered, mocking the Count of Anhalt on the other side, and one of the nobles even said: "Lord Count Anhalt, if you are really so brave and fearless, why do you want to shrink Magdeburg as a turtle?" If you have the ability, you can lead the troops to kill it! ”

"You're looking for death!" After all, the Count of Anhalt was a little too young, and judging from his sharp sword eyebrows, he knew that he was a typical (rì) German nobleman, arrogant, strong, arrogant, and irritable.

"Enough!" Seeing that the powder keg was about to be ignited, the Duchess had no choice but to speak.

"Now, the Duchy of Saxony has reached a critical juncture related to the life and death of the Duchy of Saxony, but you still have the heart (qíng) to quarrel? What do you want to do? Before the enemy has come in, are you going to kill each other? When the Duchess saw this scene in front of her, she had a feeling that her heart was like a knife.

She knew very well that although these nobles in front of her called their sons as "dukes", in the bottom of their hearts, none of them really cared about the opinions of their mother and son. She often thought how good it would be if her husband was still around!

"Otto, look at these people in front of you, when you are still alive, they are like docile lambs, wagging their tails like cats and dogs. But as soon as you leave, these people will become tigers, leopards and jackals one by one, eager to devour our mother and son! ”

In the eyes of Lady Helena, her husband Otto? Duke Udaoneng, 平 (rì) is a gentle and good gentleman, but when it comes to solving problems, it is like a different person, and he has a ruthless and unique one (tào) for establishing his own authority, mediating and balancing the nobles.

Lady Helena was miserable at heart, she was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Thuringia, she had been raised since she was a child (jiāo), and the first half of her life was perfect. In the Middle Ages, when arranged marriages were prevalent, most women were unhappy in their marriages. But she was fortunate that she and Duke Otto (Qíng) fell in love and were happily married. But what is unexpected is that his husband, Duke Otto, died of dysentery at a young age, and suddenly, her son, Henry, who was only 6 years old, became the new Duke of Saxony.

At that time, Lady Helena's brother, the current Duke of Thuringia, wrote to her that she could return to Thuringia and start a new marriage. But Madame Helena refused, she had long regarded Saxony as her home, and her marriage to the Duke of Otto may have lasted only seven years, but it was the best time of her life. What's more, how could she bear to leave her 6-year-old son Henry?

But at this moment, Lady Helena began to wonder if she had made the right decision, and she even came up with the idea of fleeing back to her mother's house in Thuringia with her son. But this thought was only fleeting, because everything had changed, her eldest brother had died a year earlier, and now it was her nephew who inherited the title of Duke of Thuringia. And how close can nephews and aunts be? Their kinship has been diluted!

Lady Helena felt a pang in her heart as she looked at her son, sitting on the throne with a restless and pale face. The duke's burden is too heavy for his own son! Like the heavy garnet silver necklace around his neck, it overwhelmed him.

In the Middle Ages, it was normal for nobles to have contradictions with each other, in fact, it was not a bad thing for the lords to have contradictions between nobles, which was not only an opportunity for the lords to establish their prestige, but also a great opportunity to win the hearts of the people. It can also ensure that his subordinates do not join forces to rebel and threaten their dominance.

But Henry? The Duke of Udogon is so young, he is still a little doll, and he probably can't even read a map, so if you ask him where Saxony is, he might point to Bavaria. In such a situation, Sir Ditrick, who served as the regent, is not there, and only this pair of orphans and widows are left, and of course they will seem powerless in the face of the arrogant nobles!

"The Duchess is right! Now is not the time for infighting, there are five counts in the Duchy of Saxony, and now there are only two of us left, and we must unite against the enemy outside. The calm Earl of Verburne was the first to throw out an olive branch with a deep understanding of righteousness.

"Hmph~" Count Anhalt didn't buy it, he held his chin high, held his hands in his mouth (xiōng), and snorted coldly to himself.

The scene suddenly came to an impasse, and just when everyone was silently sweating, Count Anhalt finally let go, and he sighed and said, "Just give the Duchess a face!" ”。

"That's right, that's right, let's put aside our previous suspicions and unite with the outside world!" The Earl of Verbourne chimed in. In fact, these two counts are not unreasonable people, not to mention that now that Braunschweig, Felden, and Lüneburg have fallen one after another, if they can't bite Magdeburg and defend it, the next thing to be threatened is their territory.

At this moment, the whole Magdeburg shook, the chandelier on the ceiling swayed, accompanied by a large amount of dust falling from the sky, an unknown loud noise outside the hall, and the thud of heavy objects against the city walls.