The village of Esbai looks a bit desolate and desolate. The whole village is located on a gentle slope. The distance between the houses is very large, with livestock and farmland interspersed in the middle.

The top of the slope is the wooden fort that originally belonged to Baron Quinnier.

This simple wooden fortress needs repair in many places. In addition to the central wooden tower, it looks like a little. The walls around the small wooden fort are just sharpened wooden stakes inserted into the soil. Some places are full of ivy, which are seriously corroded by insects.

"Dear Lord, this is your new castle. Please treat it as your home!" Village chief Du Deng said with a flattering look.

"No, the person who decided that the final destination of this place was Earl Berg. I was just ordered to come here to occupy this land." Simon's lips raised a chuckling, and he noticed that the village chief Du Deng's face had obviously stopped.

"So that's the case. But it doesn't matter. As long as you are on this day, I will still treat you as the master here for one day!" Du Deng's smile that was originally filled with his face became stiff.

"Then what are you waiting for? Arrange the staff and prepare a sumptuous dinner for me and my soldiers!" Simon waved his hand and finally sent the village chief who wanted to show his attention at this moment.

His nephew Adam, the big guy in old soft armor, was obviously a little stupid and could not hide his inner thoughts, and now he didn't even have the hypocritical smile on his face.

"If Earl Berg enfeoffed the land based on his military achievements a few days later, I think this place would be suitable for my next development." Simon entered the tower and turned around and said to the fat man.

"Why, my young master," the fat man seemed to dislike this shabby place. "You have made great contributions. We definitely have better choices, such as the wealthy valley territory in the south, rather than this small border village..."

"If we take over this land," Simon unloaded the sword and placed it next to the backrest chair at the front of the hall, and sat on it. "We can build a bridge on the bank of the river to connect to Foldburg on the opposite bank and develop trade. On the contrary, taking over an inland enclave that is not on the Rhine is the trickiest for me."

"So that's it. But what about the Norman Pirates who have to go down the river every year? We cannot establish defenses for this territory in a short time. Do we have to pay tribute to the damn Northerners like Baron Quinier before?"

"Let's talk about what happened next. At least, a bridge connecting the two sides will bring us an absolutely considerable travel expenses. After more people knowing this bridge, we can develop this into a prosperous trade base."

…………………………………

As the sun sets, Erwin, who is working in his own private fields, carries the farm tools and walks towards his hut.

When everyone learned that the new baron was running away happily, the cunning peasants inquired about it.

After confirming that Simon, who was across the river, was about to lead the soldiers to occupy the place, except for a few timid people who fled to the forest with their family's belongings, the other serfs and free farmers left the public fields they had cultivated for the lord and returned to their own private fields to work.

Many of the serf soldiers and free peasants who were released were grateful and praised Simon. In fact, they had nothing worth robbing unless Simon was interested in moldy hay and firewood and the broken farm tools in their hands.

Along the way, Elvin saw the soldiers of Fort Folder in groups of three or three standing guard at the entrance of the village and in the village center.

As the freed serf soldiers said, they were dressed in the clothes and armor of the Norman pirates of the north, well-equipped, and looked very difficult to mess with.

However, the language spoken by the soldiers, Erwin heard a long-lost sense of intimacy - it was definitely the dialect of the Lorraine region.

This reduced his fear a lot. After all, compared to the occupier who spoke strange languages, he was more willing to let those who spoke local accent occupy this place.

"Ahem."

Elvin opened the door of the cottage and a thick smoke came to his face, choking him to cough loudly and cover his mouth and nose.

He looked at his mother and brother next to the fire in the middle of the house with some complaint: "What are you doing? It's not winter now, you have to open the door of the house when you make a fire!"

"Come in Erwin," said the younger brother Edgar, and after seeing Erwin close the door, he continued, "I can't believe you would ask this stupid question. Haven't you seen the invaders everywhere outside?"

"Of course," Elvin leaned his dirt-clad hoe against the corner of the wall, then came to the fire, leaning down on the hay, "they were obviously different from the inhumane hybrids in the past."

"Indeed, they did not kill or rob us today, but this does not mean that they are kind by nature. Perhaps it was because the damn Count Luo Yong had collected the war tax last time, and they had nothing to rob us." Edgar frowned and muttered, stuffing a chopped firewood into the fire.

The room fell into a brief silence, the firewood was clattering, and the water in the iron pot was bubbly. The pitiful grains of wheat and a small piece of boiled black bread rolled back and forth in the boiling water, and this was the dinner for their family.

"By the way, since Baron Quinier has died and the new lord has fled, does this mean that Krieg can come back to live?" Edgar's mother took the wooden bowl from the table and distributed it to her two sons.

"Yes, why didn't I think of this?" Edgar clapped his hands and laughed. "There are no decent carpenters in the village in recent years. The chairs made by Old Gordon are as weak as his elderly mother, and they may fall apart at any time."

"But even if the lord is gone, the sheriff will continue to execute the order to arrest Krieg? After all, Krieg did commit suicide by suicide without the ruling of the lord and the law at that time. This was a violation of the law." Elvin shook his head and said his inference.

"No, it's all because the two damn bastards Duden and Adam were added to the fire and turned black and white. It was obvious that the drunkard had a mistake in rape and killing his wife. Why should Krieg take the blame for the mistake?" Edgar retorted excitedly.

"Enough, let's leave all this to the new lord to make a judgment. What's the use of more we say?" The mother interrupted the argument between the brothers, which was becoming increasingly fierce.

………………………………

“To the glorious Count Amadeus

Your wisdom and kindness are widely circulated. I have decided to give you the Principality of Cologne to commend your contributions and noble spirit.

Your monarch, German king Heinrich"

Earl Berg, or the current Duke of Cologne, was almost overwhelmed by sudden joy when he read this letter sent by the Dresden royal family.

It can be said that this result was something he had expected, but when all this became a fact, he still felt tears of joy pouring into the corners of his eyes.

In fact, when Simon asked the king to issue a mercerization permit in Dresden, Earl Berg, as the king's direct vassal, attended a grand banquet held by the king with other Counts and Dukes.

The king's bird catcher Heinrich looked old, but he had already begun paving the way for his heir Prince Otto.

He knew that when he passed away, the dukes who were on the surface who promised him that he would definitely support Prince Otto as the king would definitely take the opportunity to attack and seek more privileges.

If Otto doesn't agree, they will either rebel directly or support Otto's brother Tankmar or Henry as puppet kings to subvert the regime.

So a new road was placed before King Heinrich - uniting and supporting the vast earls of the kingdom, allowing them to form a force that cannot be ignored and absolutely loyal to Otto to fight against these arrogant dukes.

So, the opportunity for Count Berg came. In King Heinrich's plan, if Count Berg successfully annexed the territory of his neighbor Count Loron, the royal family would give him the title of Duke of Cologne.

Success or failure is here, which is also the reason why Earl Berg took the initiative to anger Earl Luowen and provoked a war. However, what he did not expect at that time was a comeback Blizzard and Earl Luowen who did not play according to the routine and decisively seized the opportunity.

He could not imagine what would happen if he failed - perhaps the king would win over and annex the Earl of Loyon, who was under the leadership of Earl Berg, and he disappeared into the long river of history.

The winner is the king and the loser is the enemy. Fortunately, he has gone through hardships and achieved the final victory.

"It's so lucky. In fact, the war is almost over. It's time to reward my loyal vassals." The Duke of Cologne sat on the lord's chair that originally belonged to Count Luowen, and said to the barons with anticipation on both sides of the big shelf table.

The chef made a hearty meal, and the maids served the rich fruits, roasted wild boar and venison, fresh white bread and a few pieces of roasted cheese on the table.

The barons seemed to enjoy the food, but in fact everyone was absent--who thought who could become the Count of the Duke, and who could get more spoils and land.

However, what disappointed everyone was that until the banquet ended, the Duke did not mention the ban on the earl and the distribution of spoils, which made some people feel as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Especially Lange.

"My Excellency Lange, the Duke hopes that you can stay after the banquet."

In the air of joy, the musicians played hard, the nobles clinked glasses and drank wildly, and a duke's personal servant came to Lange quietly and whispered to his ear.

"I know." Lange suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, but what followed was an indescribable sense of tension.

"It's really strange." Lange shook his head. The flow of time seemed to speed up, and soon it was the end of the banquet. The barons, who were full of wine, hugged the woman and returned to their residence with wine glasses, while Lange was as if they were glued to their seats.

"You all go out." The Duke of Cologne waved his hand and walked out of the door with the servants who were packing the leftovers on the table.

"Didn't you hear it? I'll let you all go out!" The Duke of Cologne's words were a little angry. The two private soldiers standing guard with spears at the gate realized something, and quickly walked out of the hall and closed the door.

Seeing that the entire hall was cleared and only Lange was left, the Duke drank a sip of wine and moistened his voice, and said to Lange: "In fact, in this war, the Dorsten family contributed the greatest strength."

Lange's eyes lit up. Is this explicitly clear that he would be promoted to Earl?

"But, say something that you may not like to listen to," the Duke put down his wine glass, and turned around, and Lange suddenly raised his ears, "Your performance is not as eye-catching as your younger brother Simon."

"What?" Lange suppressed the sudden anger in his heart, and looked at the duke's eyes expressionlessly on the surface, but the slightly trembling voice still exposed his heart, "My monarch, what do you want to say, why not say it directly."

"Very good, what I want to say is that I can enfeoff you a wealthy territory in the county of Loon and make you an Earl of Dorsten, but I have a condition." After knowing Lange's inner emotions, the Duke of Cologne smiled slightly, relaxed, and lay comfortably on the soft fluff on the back of the chair.

"About Simon?" Lange asked immediately like a conditioned reflex.

"Yes, you're smart." The Duke of Cologne nodded in admiration.

“What conditions?”

"I want Simon to be my direct vassal and to be loyal to me." The Duke stared straight into Lange's eyes and said slowly.

"To be honest, I have no objection to this, but Simon must transfer Foldberg to me unconditionally, which is my property!" Lange said after weighing the pros and cons in his heart.

"No, Simon will definitely not agree, and then you will break the will. Not to mention the Earl, you can't even be a baron," the Duke of Cologne's tone sharply, and began to smell a little threat. "I promise that the new territory you get will only be richer than Folderburg, but it's just that there is no miracle of God. If you don't agree, I will let you and Simon share Baron Quinnier's territory equally, that's all, and then let Baron Wolf obtain that rich territory to become the new earl. Do you understand, Baron Dorsten Lange?"

Lange fell into deep thought. He realized that the Duke did this because after this war, the reputation and power of the Dorsten family had threatened his monarch.

The Duke is taking this opportunity to eliminate hidden dangers, completely separate himself and Simon, not giving the two a chance to reunite and unite, split the power of the Dorsten family, rebalance the power of the various noble families in the new Principal of Cologne, and ensure that the Duke family's dominance is the only one.

Although he still couldn't bear to let Foldberg, the fat meat in front of him, would belong to Simon in the future, in the face of greater interests, if he did not choose to make concessions, he would still be a baron in the future. Not only would he not see any hope of becoming an earl in the future, he would have to continue to compete with Simon in the battle for Baron Quinier's land.

As for joining the other barons to resist the Duke, Lange dared not have this idea at all - Baron Carl, Baron Wolf and Baron Siegburg, three selfish guys, will definitely make this happen in the Duke's ears, so that they will be exiled and they can be distributed to more land to gain more benefits.

In the face of a huge profit cake, the so-called friendship is not even as good as shit.

If you accept the Duke's proposal, you can become an earl and get a new territory richer than Folderburg. The price is only to let Simon lead Folderburg into the Duke's direct vassal.

Lange thought that this might not be his new opportunity. He had to make the right decision, a choice that would not make him regret the rest of his life.

"I promise you the conditions, my monarch, I am your most loyal vassal. After becoming the Earl of Dorsten, I will undoubtedly become your most capable assistant. But I am a little curious now, what reward will Simon receive after becoming your vassal?"

"He will receive the title of Baron Foldberg, and be granted the title of Esbait on the northeastern border of Loyon County and the surrounding manors." Seeing Lange surrender, the duke felt a stone in his heart being taken out, his great trouble had been eliminated, and his tone was eased.
Chapter completed!