The war went as Artoria imagined. After five or six days of turbulence on the sea, the 40,000-strong army disembarked at the northern tip of the Brittany Peninsula, and then continued its march towards Rennes under the strict orders of Artoria.

Rennes was as poorly guarded as Artoria had expected. The main forces of Brittany, as Artoria had expected, were deployed in the eastern border region. In the end, it only took a day for Artoria to take the largest city in northwestern France.

Immediately after that, it took Zhang Bang Anmin a day, half a day to declare himself the chosen lord of the Celts, and a day and a half to reorganize the troops. In less than three days, Artoria had conquered the entire upper class of Brittany. Under the coercion of the Norman-Celtic army of 40,000, a total of 10,000 Brittany troops were completely subjugated. At this point, Artoria's army swelled to 50,000 men, and it was fully capable of reading and fighting.

After this, Artoria continued to order a rapid march towards Normandy......

"Haqiu ......"

At this moment, in August, the weather has gradually turned colder. However, because Egil had already exchanged for a high-level physique and high-level cold resistance or something before, plus a fur cloak made of polar bear skin that looked very stylish and was actually very warm and comfortable, it stands to reason that it shouldn't be so cold.

Even when it comes to Finland, the Nordic country closest to the Arctic Circle.

"A slight foreboding...... Did something happen to Hani...... Forget it, with her ability, she can still run away if she can't win. It doesn't matter if you have missing arms or legs, or if you are disfigured. As long as I can come back alive. O Lord the Almighty God of War......"

So Egil began to pray for his wife. Although it is a little strange to say that the object of prayer is a little strange.

During Artoria's voyages, looting, and conquest of Brittany, Egil was not idle, although his army was not yet reorganized, and new recruits were still being recruited. But Egil couldn't wait. Anyway, Sweden has already been annexed, and Novgorod and the Grand Duchy of Moscow have been defeated. The Norman threat to the East had been largely eliminated. Well, even a Norman army, which was not in its heyday, would be enough.

Egil thinks so and does the same. The Norman army, which numbered more than 40,000 men, was still very intimidating - but it was completely useless. The cost of army promotion is also a large amount. It's better to keep it in the city, and you can still have a lot of money left over for carriage and horses, as well as meals.

In the end, Egil's army to Finland was nothing more than 1,700 hussars, 1,000 Norman heavy cavalry, and 300 Norman royal knights, such as 3,000 elite cavalry.

With such troops, it is indeed a little more difficult to continue the expedition to Novgorod. But it couldn't have been easier to subdue the Finns, who were still in tribal civilization. Of course, this is not to say that Egil spared the two barbarian states of the East. At this moment, the foreign overseers Foster and Sekander were already sailing for Pskov on the Viking warship. and rushed to Novgorod and Moscow to carry out diplomatic activities one after another, using the abolition of punitive tariffs as a bait and the Norman strong military front as the backing to carry out diplomatic negotiations. Novgorod was required to cede Pskov and other Baltic coastal areas, and pay 5,000 gold in war reparations. And the Grand Duchy of Moscow did not have a territorial border with the Norman kingdom, so ceding land was forgotten. But the war reparations of 30,000 gold coins must be compensated.

In addition, Egil prepared a series of unequal treaties, such as consular jurisdiction and preferential customs treatment for Norman merchants. and asked the two heads of state to bow to Egil. It is not necessary to come to the court every year, but it is absolutely essential to pay tribute every year. Of course, if Egil is happy, he can also reward him with two dates...... For example, the Norman kingdom has a mud with the fragrance of fragrant grass and so on.

Egil calculated that it should be easier to get Novgorod to submit, after all, the Norman kingdom could launch a devastating attack on Novgorod from the road or by sea. If it weren't for Egil, he would still be worried about the war situation in France. Even if you just destroy it, it's not a big deal. Prince Rurik of Novgorod will naturally understand this truth. Anyway, the coastal territories have not been ceded out once or twice. As the late King Gustav of Sweden said: What should you do when a country stronger than Sweden hits your doorstep?

Get down on your knees and sing about conquering.

But the Grand Duchy of Moscow was not so easy to handle.

First and foremost, the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Norman kingdom did not share a territorial border, and there was a large Novgorod in front of it as a shield. The disadvantage in distance, as well as the inconvenience of transporting logistical supplies, also increased the difficulty of the expedition to Moscow, which somewhat emboldened the Grand Duke Catherine II.

Second, and very importantly, the military strength of the other side is also quite strong, although it is not comparable to the old European powers such as France and the Holy Roman Empire. But at least it's on par with the city-states of northern Italy. Whether it is the Duke's Guard, the elite heavy cavalry such as the Poye cavalry, or the lightly armed cavalry such as the hired Cossacks, they are all Shaolin abbots of the post-80s. At that time, Egil was already uncomfortable.

Third, there is the external environment that Egil is facing, the public enemy of the European continent...... In addition to Italy and Spain in the southernmost part of the continent, as well as Hungary, there are other countries such as the Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire, the United Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania in a state of division and reorganization, and the present-day Lithuania, the three Baltic states, and the Grand Duchy of Novgorod Moscow...... This chain of countries has either fought against Egil, or is fighting with Egil, or is preparing to fight Egil. Egil wondered. What did he do? Will these countries deal with themselves as if they had been beaten with blood?

"Forget it, it's mediocre if people don't get envied. So Egil could only use such words. At the same time, try your best to toss a few enemies for yourself. It's like it is now. Egil had ordered it before the diplomat had left. Don't force the Grand Duchy of Moscow too much, if the other party really doesn't want to pay, just let them come up with two or three thousand, and forget it. If two or three thousand is not enough, then one or two thousand is fine - if they don't even want to pay a thousand gold coins......

Then just stop the negotiations, and Normandy will not do it! The whole country will mobilize and beat the girl to death!

And so, with Egil's ardent expectations, the diplomats of the kingdom set out.

Next up is Finland.

Finland is located on the border between Scandinavia and Novgorod, and is actually separated from Sweden by the Gulf of Bothnia. Most of the land connections are within the Arctic Circle. Therefore, the traffic is not very convenient. And Finns are not strictly Viking. It is not easy to trap them with Great Scandinavianism. So Egil is still a little nerve-wracking. If Finland is not subdued during the polar day, then once the second half of the year is reached, the Arctic Circle will be dark and dark, and it will be difficult to go to war again.

Other than that, Finland has the fewest of the three Scandinavian countries. The political system was also in the primitive tribal system. There is not much reclamation value. After thinking about it in this way, Egil decided on his attitude towards Finland. Basically the same as the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and Sweden before it. Mercenaries are the mainstay, modeled after the previous system for other steppe tribes who came to defect, but the number is slightly smaller, and the system of one-fifth of the tribesmen taking turns to join the army.

After Egil led 3,000 cavalry to Finland, the Finns were horrified to find that their former overlord, Sweden, had been wiped out, through the descriptions of the Finnish hussars who had previously participated in the Swedish-Norman War. A united Norman kingdom has taken over the entire Scandinavian peninsula. At the same time, he led an army to Finland.

While the tribal chiefs and elders of Finland were panicking, Egil's messenger arrived just in time. and presented with Egil's handwritten letters. Timely release of goodwill. And to express that the Norman kingdom would be governed in a better and more Finnish way, and that they would be able to develop.

Such remarks have reassured Finns a lot. Although there are still doubts in my heart, at least I know that the other party does not mean to kill them all, which is enough.

Over the next month. Egil kept going, and received dozens of leaders and elders of dozens of tribes in Finland, happily accepting their tribute of animal skins and horses, and politely rejecting the beauties. and rewarded with finely carved gold and silver jewelry, precious stones, as well as porcelain and silk products from the East.

At the same time, the elite heavy cavalry from the Normans and the hussars from the steppe tribes also showed the Finns what a professional elite army is. The Finns were amazed by the excellent armor and powerful charge of the heavy cavalry, as well as the speed and riding skills of the hussars. I also recognized a lot of the strength of the Norman kingdom.

And at the same time that Egil was courting the Finns in this way, a terrifying battle of the greatest scale was about to unfold in the westernmost part of the European continent......

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