Chapter 631 The War Is Coming

On January 5, 1066, King Edward, the monarch of the Anglo-Saxon Wessex dynasty, died suddenly.

His death was like the starting gun for the race for England's throne.

But Harold Gwenson's opponents were at a disadvantage. They were all on the other side of the sea, thousands of miles away.

Since ten years ago, that is, in 1056, except for the title of king, Harold of Wessex has been in charge of all parties, but despite his favorable location and harmony, But he still has a problem-Harold still faces a big obstacle on his way to the throne. Although he is the most powerful man in England at present, and although he is the brother-in-law of the former King Edward, he has no direct relationship with the royal family. blood relationship.

Edward left a blood relative, Prince Edgar, who was only fourteen years old, was Edward's nephew.

And Harold was blessed with good fortune - at least at this moment he was blessed with good fortune.

Several major nobles in England have gathered in London since last Christmas. Edward, who is seriously ill, has no clear successor, so they must elect the next king. Among the members of the noble council is Harold's brother. Goss Gowinson - Earl of East Anglia.

With the help of his younger brother, they successfully persuaded the parliament to accept that England now needs a person who is good at ruling and has real power. The actual controller of Harold—His father, Earl Godwin, successfully established a great dynasty, and at the same time accumulated a lot of territory and power for his four sons. Harold's other two brothers, Kent and Tosti, who has a large area of ​​land in Northumbria, and Goss, a member of the noble council, the four brothers divided up large areas of land in England and Scotland, and helped the family maintain power. It is even believed that the Earl of Godwin himself created the Edwardian management system - although they recently lost their brother in the north, Harold Godwinson has become the best candidate for the new king.

And Harold himself is indeed a mature politician. He knew that he must take the initiative and urge the noble council to support him as the throne, so a few minutes after Edward died, Harold played the trump card in his hand-he declared to the noble council that Edward When he was dying, he told him that he wanted him to inherit the throne, but other people present at the time did not veto his statement. Even the noble council itself liked it. They needed a strong king, let alone this strong and brave king. The mighty king has now given them a perfect argument.

So, on January 6, 1066, the people of England just buried their old King Edward in the unfinished Westminster Abbey built by him in the morning. De Gewensen was only a few steps away from the body of Edward who had just been buried. Under the auspices of the bishop, he was anointed with holy oil on his head, put on a crown, and was crowned as the new king of England—originally according to religious By convention, a new king must be crowned several months after being elected.

And it wasn't until many days later that the news of Edward's death and the quick ascension of the British earl reached the ears of William, who was still training troops and strengthening armaments in Rouen, the largest city in Normandy at the time, and the Norwegian king Hara the Ruthless It was not until more days later that he was told by his subordinates when he was using fire to suppress the countrymen who resisted his rule-they learned the news from the traders who traveled to and from the North Sea.

England's days of peace are numbered, William is setting out to organize his army into an expeditionary force, and Harald is dreaming of a great and immortal victory, but Harold faces a third enemy, One who was closer to him—his brother Goss in the Gowinson family was the most supportive of him, while the one in the north was not so loyal.

Tosti, Earl of Northumbria, was banished from England by Harold six months before he became king.

This Tosti was also the brother-in-law of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, father-in-law and ally of William, Duke of Normandy.

Tosti is a very charming person. He is more handsome, stronger and braver than Harold, and he prefers to follow the soldiers to fight on the front line when commanding, but obviously when it comes to governing the territory, he and his brothers Not far away, Northumbria was thrown into chaos by him. He imposed heavy taxes in the territory at will and suppressed other nobles. In fact, people knew that at least three Northumbria nobles were killed by him. under the assassination.

People were overwhelmed and began to flee to the South. Harold had two choices. If he supported his brother, there would inevitably be a civil war. But if there was only one thing England learned in this century, it was that During the civil war, the Vikings would take advantage of it and conquer them all like they did before, so this was a dilemma. Harold had to make the right decision, sacrificing his brother, and avoiding Vikings. Beijing invasion - at least avoided for a few months.

And only three weeks after Harold became king, this Tosti joined forces with his illegitimate son, Duke William, in Normandy to start his revenge plan. revenge.

On the beaches of Normandy, brothers turn against each other, causing trouble.

"My brother, he is a lying dog!" Tosti, who was much taller than William, was slightly behind the Duke of Normandy by half a step, and said loudly behind him.

William, who walked slowly ahead, didn't turn his head back: "Did you come all the way here to tell me what I already knew?"

"He betrayed me, and my family." Tostig, ignoring the vulgarity of the dyslexic and practically illiterate William, replied in a quieter voice, noticing that William stopped and looked back at him. , Tosti continued to persuade in a more sincere tone: "I came here to deal with him."

"Then why should I believe you?" William stared at the former Earl of Northumbria with his own eyes, "You are connected with him by blood."

"I can't change this fact, but I can help you. He stole my land, and he stole your crown." Tosti did not avoid William's gaze, but looked at each other sincerely, "Unite , we can defeat him."

William just continued to stare at him for a moment, then nodded slightly, turned around, and continued to walk forward without speaking.

The former Earl of Northumbria's desire for revenge did not stop at William. He also hoped to gain the support of another great warlord. Thousands of miles, north to Norway, seeking the support of the Heartless One.

A few weeks later, in the longhouse of a Norwegian highland lord.

"Oh, what are the black sheep doing to me in Norway?" Harald, who was sitting behind the lord's long table with his two confidantes, looked at Torsty Gwenson standing in front of him, "He looks and has a good physique, how many games can he play with me?" Wrestling, but what other use are you to me?"

Tostie twitched his lips for revenge, and endured the rudeness he regarded as barbarians: "Most English nobles hate my brother, they will support me, as long as you support me, they will support you too , they will support you."

"Do I look like a fool?" the Viking king asked the former Anglo-Saxon nobleman, leaning on the backrest.

"You are a warrior like never before in Scandinavia. England is within your reach. Attack now and your name will live forever."

"In battle storm we seek on lee, With skulking head and bending knee... I will out and carve my name in legend legend.)” Harald Hardrada the Relentless, also known as Harald III, King of Norway, extended his hand to Torsti Gwensen, former Earl of Northumbria.

The two came to an agreement, and together they formed an invasion force to launch an attack on Harold's England from the north in late summer, while William himself was about to be ready a thousand miles to the southwest.

William, who had just finished praying with his distant cousin and wife Matilda, said in a tender voice that was completely different from the usual cruelty: "When summer comes, you will be ready."

"If this is God's will, then his will will be realized." The pious Matilda looked at her husband with some admiration. She was completely confident that William would be favored by the Lord to win this war.

In the palace in London, Harold was still ignorant of the enemies coming from two different directions.

In the royal hall, Harold's closest brother, Earl of East Anglia, Goss Gowinson, walked beside his brother: "Half of happiness comes from patience. King Edward often said this sentence."

"Famous words." Harold, the new king of England, went to his throne and sat down, and added to his younger brother Goss who was standing beside him, "The other half is a sharp sword."

Obviously, in the heart of this Harold who thinks that being a king is different from the previous earl, and has a connection with the Lord because of the divine right of the king, he is still very clear about all the laws of power politics. He knows that someone will want to take his crown Take it with his head.