Tang Qi Tan

Chapter 563 Closing
Once upon a time, the British Isles, located on the edge of the western continent, was just a wild geographical concept for a long time; until the expansion of Caesar in ancient Rome, it became the westernmost province of the empire; it also brought earth-shaking changes to the natives of the British Isles drastic changes.

Therefore, with the rise of Roman colonial cities, immigrant settlements, military camps, public bathhouses and churches everywhere, towns and post stations with business travelers, and finally Hadrian's Wall running through the British mainland, it became a barbaric and backward and The dividing line of civilization.

Then, with the decline of the ancient Roman Empire and the shrinking of its sphere of influence; in addition to the re-emerged indigenous peoples in the local area, many peoples who crossed the sea from the Western Continent like a lantern, also continued to plunder and occupy, filling up the Roman Empire one after another. The dominance gap left.

During this period of hundreds of years, in addition to the descendants of localized immigrants left in the Roman era, as well as the Celts who came to Britain earlier, the remnants of the Iberians; the Visigoths, Vandals, Zhu Alien invaders from Tets, Vikings, and Normans.

Eventually, seven tribal kingdoms named Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria were also formed, as well as some large and small kingdoms in between. The lord and the vassals fought against each other for a long time and jointly resisted the invasion of foreign enemies.

All this was not changed until the collapse of the Frankish Kingdom.Following the Battle of Normandy, known as the last elegy of the Carolingian Dynasty, the short-lived hero King Charlemagne lost his bones on the battlefield; the remnants escorted his pregnant cousin to flee to Britain.

In the name of the birth of Charlemagne's posthumous son, the Carolingian dynasty's blue-ground clover flag was raised again.It also gathered the remnants of the Franks on the mainland, and with their overwhelming experience, tactics and weapon advantages, they started a ten-year war known as the "Red Dragon Conquest" against the seven kingdoms of the archipelago.

Therefore, the Lady Khaleesi, who personally led the remnants and last followers of the Frankish Kingdom to rebuild the remnants of the Carolingian Dynasty in the land of Britain, is also known as the Mother of Dragons; The era of the throne, and the tradition of the eldest daughter of the royal family assisting the young master for generations.

Over time, Britain has become the Western Continent, where many losers and heretical groups gather.Immediately afterwards, the exploration of the other side of the ocean and the harvest of the southern black continent also allowed the British Isles to develop and prosper, and eventually became a threat to the coast of the western continent.

Although after so many years of evolution and development, the population and culture of the British Isles have also followed the various technologies and ideas brought by those fugitives; and have always maintained a certain degree of communication/warfare with the coastal areas of the Western Continent.And it can also develop and improve.

But as long as the ruler sitting on the Iron Throne has never given up the claim of the Carolingian Dynasty/Frank Kingdom with blue clover; then the British Isles will always be the Western Continent, the apparent enemy of most countries; especially the inheritance And the Holy Kingdom, which divided the Frankish heritage.

The second is the main force of conquering and destroying the Franks, the successors of the claim and legitimacy of the revived Roman Empire, the Eastern and Western Empires;Finally, there are other countries under the influence of religious beliefs in the Western Continent.

For example, the Catholic Church in Constantine, the Universal Church in Rome, and the Orthodox School in Jerusalem; while competing and competing with each other, they also quite consistently declared in their preaching that the remnants of the Franks who fled to the British Isles, and Its followers are sinful heretics.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, those who can directly maintain open diplomatic relations with the British Isles; only the southwestern tip of the mainland, the pagans of the Cordoba dynasty on the Iberian Peninsula; and the Norman countries along the Baltic Sea and the North Sea in the north, And the northern Holy See it enshrines.

Especially the northern Holy See, which is jointly rejected and attacked by the Universal Church, the King's Castle Catholic Church and the Jerusalem Orthodox Church; it has a close relationship with the former Frankish Kingdom.Its predecessor can be traced back to the Holy See, Pope Stephen II who consecrated Pepin the Short, the founder of the Carolingian dynasty.

It was only when Emperor Leo IV from the revival of the Roman Empire, the Isaurian dynasty, with the help of the Seres from the far east, began to counterattack the Italian peninsula.The Holy See, the universal church located in the city of Rome, also split and continued civil strife.

And because of this, the resurrection of the famous martyr occurred, and the living saint Contenolia, who was rescued from the stake of the factional struggle, also left Jerusalem under the escort of his followers and received the support of the conqueror of Seris , became the founder of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In the end, after the Fifth Ephesus Synod personally presided over by Emperor Leo IV, who was nicknamed "Khazar"; the deposed and exiled former Pope Stephen II and his henchmen did not arrive at the designated island, He was robbed halfway, and established the Northern Holy See among the barbarians.

But also because of such a historical origin, the British Isles and the northern Norman countries have always maintained a relative sense of potential allies and mutual exchanges.Therefore, the remnants of the Franks in the British Isles, the Pagans of Cordoba, and the Normans, are called the sacrilegious triangle.

Having said that, when the soldiers of the third batch of the First Legion rotated, they brought spoils and rewards, and even promoted their ranks and doubled their allowances; they set foot on their way back home.Surprising news came again from the front, the outpost of the New Kingdom Army was actually defeated.

Although the ones who suffered the defeat were actually the five redemption companies reorganized by the enemy soldiers who surrendered along the way or the defeated captives after a short period of education and transformation by the priests accompanying the army.According to the claims of the gathered soldiers, they were surrounded and attacked by the enemy by surprise.

Even without many signs and signs, hordes of enemies emerged within a very short distance, launching fierce and continuous attacks from all directions.This also made Jiang Tian no longer eager to order the First Army to attack, but dispatched more reconnaissance forces to enter the range of potential enemy activities.

However, the news that came back from the activity area of ​​the Britons was a bit unexpected.The soldiers disguised as small traders who went to investigate did not see all the ruins and barren fields that had been ravaged by wars and plundered by foreigners for a long time; there were also quite peaceful scenes.

Especially near the cities and towns occupied by the British, there are actually large fields of wheat and oats that have been harvested; there are also some orchards and pastures that are quite intact.This also means that there is a problem with the intelligence from the Netherlands and other counties, and it is a big problem.

Because according to the statement provided by the other party, the local towns have long been burned, killed and looted by the British; the local people have also fled.However, the reality is that in the past few years of siege and blockade, not only did the foreign Britons not starve to death, but they began to try to take root locally.

You must know that a group of robbers and bandits who burn, kill and loot everywhere are not terrible. As long as they insist on clearing the strong walls and blocking them, they can be destroyed and collapsed without a fight.But a group of invaders who are willing to calm down and farm, is that the big trouble?No wonder the Netherlands is anxious to wait for the uncle.

However, when the First Army arrived at Dordrecht, the first city in the territory of the Netherlands, along the frozen Farr River; news came again, and the army of the lowland princes of the Netherlands once again Defeated, even Rotterdam, another important city, fell.

With the fall of Rotterdam, Floris V, Earl of the Netherlands, was killed; Eldre II, Earl of Zeeland, fled all the way back to his territory under the pressure of the defeated army, and the coalition forces of the lowland princes also disintegrated.In the end, only Roble, Earl of Flanders, led the army to join.

At this time, with the death of the contemporary ruler Floris V, the Earl of the Netherlands fell into serious chaos and panic.The cavalry of the First Legion, who continued to explore, also encountered a large number of fleeing refugees; among them were even mixed with many local nobles and town officials.

And they also brought another news. For the succession of the Earl of the Netherlands, the heirs of Floris V also had serious disputes and civil strife in the local area.Among them, the citizens of The Hague supported their youngest son William, while the nobles of Amsterdam supported their daughter Margaret.

Therefore, in a short period of time, two opposing camps were formed, known as the "cod faction" (fishing boat merchants) and the "hook faction" (management nobles).Roble, Earl of Flanders, vowed to claim that the root cause of the defeat was that the vassals of the Earl of the Netherlands had defected to the British.

This is even more incredible.But fortunately, the emergence of the First Army of the Sealand Kingdom, the former suzerain, somewhat stabilized the local situation and people's hearts; it also allowed the investigators sent out by Jiang Tian to get more news and inside information, or the root cause of the defeat has long been was buried.

The reason is simple. The contemporary Earl Floris V of the Netherlands, who has died in battle, is not considered a qualified monarch and ruler.Since he succeeded to the throne, he has basically been mediocre, neither protecting the etiquette of citizens and businessmen, nor reconciling the conflicts between family members and vassals.

In the face of the many disasters and mutations brought about by the invasion of the British and the changes in the celestial world, he also failed to respond effectively; instead, he stepped up the taxation and extortion of various cities and territories for this reason.As a result, many unbearable people fled.

Moreover, a considerable part of these people fled to the sphere of influence occupied by the British.Because, here, you can avoid the exorbitant taxes apportioned by the country; and the British, as foreign invaders, only pay taxes in kind after the autumn harvest.

Later, some lower-level vassals and feudal lords who were unable to resist the British raids and could not bear it also began to secretly communicate with them, and even paid tribute in disguise to avoid harassment.In fact, when Jiang Tian heard this result, he became interested in the leader of the British.

After all, in this era of nobles and vassals in the mainland countries, the lower limit is generally lower.It is rare to see a leader who is good at managing the occupied area, rather than relying solely on robbery to maintain it; who can also have enough ingenuity and tactics to invade the army from outside.

(End of this chapter)