Chapter 631 War Is Coming (Sincere Thanks to Silver Alliance Leader Ai Ai)

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

His death was like a starting gun, setting off the race for the throne of England.

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, apart from not having the title of king, Harold, who was granted the title of Wessex, has been in charge of all powers. However, despite his favorable location and people, But he still has a problem - Harold still faces a big obstacle on the way to the throne. Although he is currently the most powerful man in England, and although he is the brother-in-law of the late King Edward, he has no direct connection with the royal family. blood relationship.

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

And Harold was blessed by heaven and earth—at least at this time, he was blessed by heaven and earth.

Several major nobles in England have gathered in London since last Christmas. Edward, who is seriously ill, has no clear successor. They must choose the next king, and one of the members of the noble assembly includes one of Harold's brothers. Goss Gwenson - Earl of East Anglia.

With the help of his younger brother, they successfully persuaded Parliament to accept that England now needs a man who is good at governing and has real power. As Edward's loyal minister, Harold is ambitious, good at war, and can serve as a powerful person. The actual controller of Harold - his father, Earl Godwin, successfully established a great dynasty and accumulated a large amount of territory and power for his four sons. Harold's other two brothers, Kent and Harold, were in the north. Tosti, who had a large area of ​​land in Northumbria, and Goss, a member of the aristocratic parliament, the four brothers divided up large areas of land throughout England and Scotland, and helped the family maintain power. People even think that it was Earl Godwin himself who created the Edwardian management system. Although they recently lost their northern brother, Harold Gewenson became the best candidate for the new king.

Harold himself is indeed a mature politician. He knew that he had to take the initiative and prompt the noble assembly to support him as the throne. So a few minutes after Edward's death, Harold played his trump card - he declared to the noble assembly that Edward When he was dying, he told him face to face that he wanted him to inherit the throne, but other people present did not reject his statement. Even the noble council itself was happy to hear this. They needed a strong king, not to mention this strong and brave king. The powerful king now gave them a perfect excuse.

So, on January 6, 1066, the people of England had just buried their old King Edward in the incomplete Westminster Abbey that he had built in the morning. In the afternoon of the same day, Harrow De Gwenson 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, put on a crown, and was crowned the new king of England. Originally, according to religious Traditionally, a new king must be crowned several months after his election.

It was not until many days later that the news of Edward's death and the British earl's rapid accession to the throne 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 Halla the Ruthless It was only after more days when Er was using fire to suppress the country people who resisted his rule that he was told by his men who arrived - they learned the news from the traders traveling to and from the North Sea.

England's peaceful days are numbered. William is organizing his own army into an expeditionary force. At the same time, Harald is also dreaming of a great and immortal victory, but Harold also faces a third enemy. A person closer to him-his brother Goss in the Gwenson family is the most supportive person, but the one in the north is not so loyal.

Tosti, Earl of Northumbria, who was expelled from England by Harold six months before Harold became king, was also the father-in-law and ally of William, Duke of Normandy, and Baldwin 5th Earl of Flanders. brother-in-law.

Tosti is a very charming man. He is more handsome, stronger and braver than Harold. 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 Far from it. Northumbria was thrown into chaos by him. He arbitrarily imposed heavy taxes in the territory and suppressed other nobles. In fact, people knew very well that at least three Northumbrian nobles died because of his planning. under the assassination.

People were overwhelmed and began to defect to the south. Harold had two choices at the time. If he supported his brother, there would inevitably be a civil war. But if England at that time, in that century, had only learned one thing, it was that During the civil war, the Vikings would take advantage of the situation and conquer them all like they did before. So this was a dilemma. Harold had no choice but to make the right decision, sacrificing his brother and avoiding the Vikings. The invasion of the Kyoto people - at least averted for a few months.

Only three weeks after Harold became king, Tosti joined forces with the illegitimate Duke William in Normandy to start his revenge plan. Now he hates his brother so much that he wants to regain the territory. revenge.

On the beaches of Normandy, the brothers turned against each other and caused trouble.

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

William, who was walking slowly in front, didn't even look back: "Did you come all the way here just to tell me these things that I already know?"

"He betrayed me and my family." Tosti didn't care about the vulgarity of William, who had dyslexia and was actually illiterate. He replied in a lower voice, noticing that William stopped and looked back at him. , Tosti continued to persuade in a more sincere tone: "I am here just 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 by blood with him."

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

William continued to stare at him for a moment, then nodded slightly, turned around, and continued walking 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. After completing his trip to Normandy, he sailed with Harold's estranged brother Tosti. Thousands of miles north to Norway to seek support from the Heartless One.

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

"Oh, why did the black sheep come to Norway to find me?" Harald, who was sitting behind the lord's long table with his two confidants, looked at Tosti Gwenson standing in front of him, "You have good looks and physique, how many games can you play with me? Wrestling, but what other use are you to me?"

Tosti twitched his lips for revenge and endured the rudeness that he regarded as barbarians: "Most of the English nobles hate my brother. They will support me. As long as you support me, they will also support you." , they will support you."

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

"You are the bravest Scandinavia has ever seen. England is at your fingertips. Attack now and your reputation will live on forever."

"In battle storm we seek on lee, With skulking head and bending knee... I will out and carve my name in legend (In the storm of war, UUReading www.uukanshu.net We will go forward bravely and never bow our knees... I will out and carve my name in legend) Will turn my name into legend.)" Harald Hardrada the Ruthless, also known as Harald III, King of Norway, reaches out to Tostig Gwenson, the former Earl of Northumbria. .

The two men agreed to form an invasion force to launch an attack on Harold's England from the north in late summer, while William himself was nearly ready a thousand miles to the southwest.

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

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

In the palace in London, Harold still knew nothing about the invading enemies from two different directions.

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

"A wise saying." Harold, the new king of England, walked to his throne and sat down. He added to his brother Goss standing next to him, "The other half is a sharp sword."

Obviously, Harold, who thought that being a king was different from the previous earls and had a connection with the Lord because of the divine right of kings, was still very clear about all the laws of power politics. He knew that someone would want to take his crown. Taken away with his head.