Count Bag's fears were not unreasonable, and the army of Neustria, nay, it should be said, was not so much an army as a group of feudal lords and their retinues, large and small, and a far cry from the neat and solemn army that the average man imagined, and the difference between them was like unrefined ore and steel. They were more of a tribal alliance than an army, for each feudal lord retained a considerable degree of freedom, and they often left the battlefield without permission, but also entered the battlefield without permission.

While the commander of the army was still praying, his men had entered the battlefield to fight the enemy, or had made an alliance with the enemy and attacked him in turn, which was not uncommon at the time, and caused many defeats that could have been avoided.

The above is still a regular army under the command of the king, but what about the men of Count Bagh?

Even by the standards of Count Bagh, not in modern times, or in the northern countries, but by the standards of Count Bagh, it is difficult to call them armies, who are veterans of raiding homes and houses, accustomed to plundering civilians, and that's it. They scramble to be the first when they pounce on the fat sheep, and they are brave when they fight for the spoils of war, and as for discipline, what is that?

In the past, even under the noses of Count Bagh, they used to make trouble, but now they all know that when a fat sheep comes to the door, will they obediently catch lice at this time as contentment?

Once he realizes this, where can the Count sit still?

"Hurry, hurry, we have to hurry, or the hunchbacked gang won't leave anything for us!" He shouted, and the knights immediately thought of this layer as well. And regret that he was not prescient.

Several knights who had joined the Count from elsewhere said that if the hunchback had been the first to divide the spoils. Count Nabagh must order them to surrender, or else. Where is this where the Count is placed?

The other knights under the command of the former earl retorted that the hunchback men were not very reliable, and had complained in the past that they had divided everything they had robbed when they had not joined the earl, and that they were now going to give the largest share to the earl, and now that they had obtained such a large fortune, they had enough capital to go to other dukes or counts, and they were not afraid of the wrath of the Count of Bagh. They must hurry, and catch the hunchback before they leave Count Bagh's territory.

Another knight of some age said. The hunchbacked group may not be so bold, but, just in case, it is better to rush over first......

"Ah, those lawless ones!" Earl Bagg heard the discussion of his men, and under the influence of the alcohol that filled his brain, he became even more indignant, as if he had seen the hunchback gang recklessly dividing the ransom and other wealth that belonged to him, "Hurry up." You're still grinding, aren't you with the hunchback? He scolded, but there was no reason for such an insult, and the knights were as eager to get to the battlefield as the Count of Bagh. They bit each other's ears and said. As long as the hunchback does not break the kettle, he must always leave a copy for the Count of Bagh, so as not to turn the earl's face. However, there are several of them. There is no reason for the hunchback to give them a share as well.

The knights hurried to their horses and went with their accomplices to snatch the captives and riches.

And the infantrymen sighed. As soon as they had warmed up, they stopped to rest, and now they had not rested enough, and they were about to move forward again. Some people were buzzing about the fact that the knights and their horsemen must have had the lion's head as always, and that they had to use their two legs to reach their destination, and that they had to carry their weapons on their shoulders, and that they had worked harder than the horsemen, but that they had received far less than the horsemen. Others laughed at them, saying that they had thought too beautifully, that this time they were at war with the bishop's men, who were fighting near their homeland, and who certainly did not carry money and valuables with them like the pilgrims, who they could

The distribution was very limited, "Do you carry porcelain, wine and pork when you are fighting?" "That's not a war, it's a businessman's door-to-door delivery." ”

Others thought of something else.

"Well, well, we're going to war with a bishop this time." Someone in the procession drew a cross, "He will carry holy relics, so how can we fight them?" ”

"Bishops and abbots will die in battle." The two northern mercenaries said, "We have captured and killed them before, and those holy relics have not blessed them. ”

"But they are all unruly guys, they only sit in that position by virtue of their noble background, and they can't exert the power of holy relics! The relics will punish them instead, just like the former bishop of Tournest! God himself punished him, and according to the pilgrims, God choked him to death on a piece of bread in front of the king, the queen mother and the archbishop! And now the bishop is so gracious that he can walk barefoot over red-hot iron without a single incident! ”

"Oh, oh." The two northern mercenaries said, "Is that really the case? We don't know. ”

"The pilgrims say so, they were cured of their illness in Turneste, and St. Aubrey has been protecting Turnest for a long time, but such miracles only occur at the hands of the current bishop, don't they?"

"The Duke of Ulrich also witnessed that miracle, so he sent to the Cathedral of Tournest all the sacrilies that he had plundered from other monasteries, and he had not believed in our religion before, but now he was pleased to enshrine all the holy things in his possession to Tournest." Another chimed in.

"While the previous bishop was there, the pagans of the north stormed the gates of Turnest without much difficulty, and while the current bishop was there, the Lakadians, who believed in the pagan religion and allied themselves with the pig-headed warriors of hell, besieged Tournest for several days and nights, but did not open the gates of Tournest, but left many corpses behind...... Don't you understand what God means? The holy things bless the saints, but not the wicked. ”

"He's going to be canonized, that's a sure thing."

"The merciful God has made the signs so clear, not that they are not unreported, that the time has not yet come, but that the time has come. Bread can choke people to death. ”

"It's a bishop who choked to death!" There are always people who are willing to use their eloquence at such times to frighten their own people.

Listened to such terrible words. More people drew crosses, and they talked to each other. "How can we be enemies in that case?"

The men with the equipment in their hands were holding weapons, but for the first time since they had grown up enough to wield them, they thought that they should be a whole team, and they should gather together and set off, "It is not okay to leave the large army and advance recklessly by yourself, this is a war, not a hunt!" They said to themselves. Then he went around in circles with peace of mind.

This kind of behavior would have been reprimanded and whipped by the knights in normal times, but they were now anxious to take back their share from the hunchbacks, and who could care about the grinding infantry in such an emergency?

"Urge them, are we the earl's steward?" The knights thought to themselves, "No, I don't care about them, two legs can't always catch up with four." No matter how much I urged them, they would not be able to catch up, and by the time they arrived at the battlefield, there would be nothing left for me. Why should I be the earl's steward? But I have delayed my share? These infantry were supposed to be numbered, and who expected them to fight? If I do, the Count will not praise me. And my loss is real. More likely, the Count will think I'm a coward. Deliberately falling behind for fear of fighting the bishop. Phew, it's me. It would also be considered a coward. How can a noble knight mix with the infantry? ”

They thought so and did so, whipping their horses to catch up with the Count, leaving behind the tumultuous infantry regiments, preoccupied with the great fortunes at their fingertips.

As for the earl, he urged the knights to be too late, how could they still take care of the infantry, "Hurry, hurry, don't teach the hunchback to let them go." He urged.

Count Bagh and his knights thus abandoned their melee infantry, archers, servants, and rushed to the battlefield with only a retinue on horseback. They didn't think much of it, for they all thought it was enough to deal with the young bishop who had not dared to come to war for a few years, but had cowardly buried himself in the fields and foolishly led the army with a young woman, and the infantry might have been of some use in capturing prisoners, but now it was important to get ahead of the hunchbacks and others.

They hurried to the place designated as the battlefield, a flat land interspersed among low rolling hills, on either side of the road, where fields had once been barren and shrubs and trees, growing to the height of half a man.

Warm spring breezes rustle the surrounding wild plants, some butterflies flutter through the grass, and the occasional grey magpie or black swallow flies through the bushes.

There is no sign of any army in existence.

Even if the knights were on horseback and craned their necks, they could not be seen.

The sky was clear blue, two or three woolly white clouds drifted slowly in the sky, and there was a black spot hovering in the distance, it was a suitable weather for hunting, picnicking, and fighting, but Count Bagh and his men did not see their enemies, nor their companions, they did not see any of them.

"Phew, phew, where's that damn hunchback?" "Where is he and his accomplices?" roared, "Where is he and his accomplices? They better pray quickly and not be taken seriously by me! ”

The knights of the Earl's men circled the Count in irritation, cursing the Hunchback and their accomplices with the Earl, who dared to ignore the Count's sovereignty and authority, and leave them alone to make a fortune.

When the hunchback and his accomplices descended from the first to the ninth level of Hell to the sound of their curses, it finally occurred to them that the cowardly young bishop might have only verbally threatened the Count with war, and that he might not really dare to step out of his parish.

The idea was immediately vetoed by the angry Count.

"As you say, where are the hunchbacks? This is the avenue leading to Tournest, where they were supposed to be patrolling! The Count angrily pointed out the obvious truth to the fool, "Ah, I ought not to trust them, you traitors! See the traitor with the eyes of money! May they go to hell, and the gold they stole from me will turn into hot juice and pour it into their throats! May God punish them and teach their wives to take their money and stick it to Little White Face! Their sons are heavenly eunuchs! Their daughters all went to the convent and eloped with someone! May all the saints curse them so that their parents should be turned over in their graves for it! May they always hang on the gallows, the crows take their eyes away, and the ants gnaw away their skeletons! ”

It must be said that the Count of Bag's troop speech is not as talented as Xenophon, but his curse can be called a new trick and comprehensive. It can be seen that everyone has talents, and a crappy poet may not be able to be an excellent critic, and vice versa.

As he was shouting and cursing like this, one of his men with the best eyesight suddenly cried out, "There! ”

Everyone turned their eyes together, and they saw three horsemen and horses coming towards them in a zigzag shape.

Three maidens on horseback. (To be continued......)