In February 1067, a ship from afar arrived in Riga and sailed into this bustling northern port. Riga has become more and more prosperous in recent years. Ships from all over the Baltic Sea came here, and the flow of goods in the city continued to increase.

Riga's position in Baltic trade was also growing, and the city's merchant fleet was growing larger.

And next, Edward Wessex set foot on this land and returned to the north.

This ship came from distant England and crossed the North Sea with the Norwegian fleet returning from England's defeat.

Although Edward Wessex played a key role in defeating the Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge and wounded the king, Harald still let the man who wounded him leave with the fleet. The Norwegian king was very grateful for the defeat of him.

People have no malicious intentions.

At that time, Edward hurried to the Norwegian anchorage with his wife and daughter and asked Harald to take them away.

Seeing this, Harald agreed. The King of Norway didn't mind helping this in-law. But the matter of stabbing himself was really not a problem. Harald didn't care about such things. He never did.

I will hold grudges because of these things.

It was normal for you to kill me and me to kill you on the battlefield. This was a very common time. Even Harald had to thank Edward for his mercy, otherwise he would have died there.

As for what trouble Edward got into, Harald didn't care at all, and no one could embarrass the King of Norway.

This is true even if he has been defeated. If his majesty is unhappy, he can invade again. There are many warriors in North's hometown who are eager for loot. Both the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans have to appease the king.

Not long after Edward brought him, two English nobles came to the door with a large number of Thain. They were the rulers of Northern England, the Earl of Mercia and the Earl of Northumbria. These two people planned to persuade Edward and

They came to their side, but were firmly rejected by Edward.

It was impossible for them to pull people by force. Harald was right here, and there was no pressure to deter these two useless Norwegian kings. Harold sent troops to save these two guys. These two guys didn't even send troops south.

No, Harald despises these two people from the bottom of his heart.

There is no doubt that these two people were quickly driven away by Harald. They did not dare to do anything to the King of Norway. These two people still remembered how Harald destroyed their army. If Harold hadn't

If they come to the rescue, they are doomed and can only leave in despair.

After these two people left, the King of Norway understood the whole story.

After Edward left the battlefield at Hastings, he immediately went to pick up his son, but he did not expect that the Anglo-Saxon dignitaries would respond even more quickly.

After he was judged to be dead, he crowned his son Edgar directly according to the order of succession to the throne, making him the new king of England.

As for why it was his son and not Harold's son, it was because those boys had already fled to Ireland as soon as possible. It was obvious that the throne of England was a hot potato.

For this reason, Edward was forced to go to London, so when the dead Edward appeared, the local dignitaries were naturally panicked, but then there was a surprise. Under the current difficult situation, it was naturally better for an adult prince to serve as the king.

But Edward's idea was completely opposite to theirs. He had no intention of staying in this land and came to London just for his son.

But next, he never expected that his son would actually express his desire to be the king.

What this boy expressed was very firm, and those Anglo-Saxon dignitaries also firmly supported him. Edward naturally made a big fuss over this, and these guys just carried his son to death!

However, in private, these Anglo-Saxon nobles told Edward their thoughts. They did not plan to keep the crown for long. He planned to give the crown to William in exchange for William's protection.

William would not do anything to them out of reputation considerations, let alone little Edgar.

After all, it was the Godwin family that was hostile to William, not the Wessex family. William's throne came from the Confessor. If he persecuted members of the Wessex family, he would be shaking his own legitimacy.

Sooner or later England would rise up against the Norman rule, and at that time they would escort the King of Wessex back so that the throne would once again belong to the House of Wessex.

Edward thought about this idea for a while, well, as they said, this matter is quite feasible, and maybe he can really keep the throne of Wessex.

Seeing that Edward was already moved, they also mentioned that there were many opponents of the Normans on the European continent. Many forces in France were ready to move, and as for the King of France, the opportunity would come sooner or later.

When they arrived here, these nobles persuaded Edward to stay, but Edward didn't accept the offer at all. He didn't want to stay here and be a king. He wanted to live a stable life in Eastern Europe.

To be honest, the analysis of these nobles is indeed very appropriate. The external environment of the Principality of Normandy is so bad. After all, they are all enemies and there are hidden mines everywhere.

But what they never expected was that despite being squeezed by so many forces, William could still suppress and massacre in England with one hand, and expand his power in France and beat the King of France with the other... History is so illogical.

However, the main reason that made Edward give up taking away little Edward was the child's own will. Obviously, the child thought this was an opportunity, an opportunity to become the king of England.

Even if he cannot become the king of England, he can at worst become an English lord. After all, William's legitimacy comes from Wessex, so even if members of Wessex participate in the rebellion, he is unlikely to attack Wessex.

People from the Si family took action - this is indeed the case in history.

This child doesn't like Eastern Europe. It seems to him that it is too wild. He wants to stay in England no matter what. Although he is young in this regard, he is very determined.

Seeing this, Edward didn't say much. Since this child has chosen his own path, let him go, not to mention that his path is quite maneuverable.

Although Edward himself had an indifferent attitude towards these matters, he still hoped that his descendants would live a better life and achieve a higher status.

Therefore, since Edgar has made his choice, let him go. It is also a good thing to let the throne of England return to the hands of the Wessex family, so that he will not have trouble meeting his ancestors in the future.

His eldest daughter Margaret also chose to stay in England because she wanted to take care of her younger brother.

Edward also agreed with this. If the children chose the road, then let's go on. So his wife and second daughter followed Edward and left.

But what Edward didn't expect was that the two losers from Northern England actually chased them all the way. The idea of ​​these two guys was very simple, they just wanted to have more chips in their hands. How could an adult and experienced Wessex

They are all better than that kid.

Moreover, Edward knew the selfishness of these two people with his toes. The king in Northern England must be better than the king in London. The two brothers had no power in London.

Edward had no choice but to go to King Harald of Norway, who was enough to intimidate these two losers. The remnants of the Norwegian army had not yet left England, and they were still preparing to leave.

Facts have proved that his choice was correct. Even though he was injured and could only lie in bed, Harald intimidated the two English nobles and told them to get out of the way, and the two could only leave in despair.

Harald was also quite emotional after learning about Edward's experience. His experience was really full of twists and turns. For an adventurer like himself, it would be about the same. But for someone like Edward who longs for stability in his bones, this is too torture.

Already.

Then Edward set sail with Harald's fleet and crossed the North Sea.

After following the Norwegian fleet to leave England, which was full of disputes and wars, Edward found another ship among the mountains and valleys of Norway. This ship was the product of Harald's personal care. The King of Norway was afraid that Edward would board some pirate ship.

The whole family was killed at sea.

Then Edward crossed the strait and entered the Baltic Sea. After entering this ocean, he soon arrived at Riga, an important city on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

Riga was a city vassalized by Rostislav, and the ruler of this city, the leader of the Joms Chapter, was also someone he knew, so Edward chose to go to this place.

Over the years, Riga has continued to prosper, especially after dividing its sphere of influence with Polotsk. The safer city naturally attracted more people to come.

Today, Riga has become a city with a population of 7,000, which ranks among the largest cities on the Baltic Sea coast.

Its main residents are Norse. The constant wars between Denmark and Norway over the years have caused many Norse to leave their hometown to seek a stable place, and Riga was among their choices.

Norse people have always had a tradition of emigrating to other countries, and the prosperous city of Riga naturally received a large number of immigrants.

And as the countries of North were converted under Christ, the pagans from all over North also had to find a new place to go, and Riga was a good choice.

In addition, Riga has completely unified the Baltic Norse forces. The islands along the Estonian coast have surrendered to Riga, and all the Norse settlements on this land now obey Riga's orders.

The reputation of the Jomus Chapter is also becoming stronger and stronger. This ancient pagan warband is restoring its former glory and has become a major force on the Baltic Sea.

In Edward's eyes, Riga is undoubtedly a typical pagan ship fortress. Pagans, who are already rare in England, are everywhere on the streets. People fight, swear and trade in the name of Odin and Thor.

The statues of Odin and Thor stood on the roadside, merchants traded under these pagan gods, and pedestrians turned a blind eye to the existence of these gods.

However, there are still traces of Christianity in the city. German merchants who often settled in Riga established residential areas and established Catholic churches. They also worked hard to preach to the pagans in Riga, but unfortunately they basically failed to achieve success. The local area was originally

There are many stubborn heretics.

The Russians also have residential areas. They are basically businessmen from Novgorod. They have also built Orthodox churches, but they basically do not preach.

The enthusiasm of the residents here for paganism can be seen from the temple of the gods that was recently being built. Looking at the scale of the construction site, Edward knew that when this building was completed, there would be another holy place for the northern pagans.

I just don’t know why the temple is currently under construction and there is not a single worker on the construction site.

Edward didn't spend too much experience on these things. He went straight to the ruler of Riga and the leader of the Yoms Chapter, Thorgil. Because he had the token given by Harald, it was easy for him to meet Thorgil.

thing.

Thorgill has not changed much over the years. It can be said that his hair is thicker, his body is stronger, and he appears to have more leadership qualities. He is quite enthusiastic about Edward's visit. It is rare to see someone who fought side by side with him in the past.

Thorgier has not seen anyone from the Moscow court for a long time. After all, he has been working here for a long time.

However, the leader of the Yoms Chapter did not spend too much time on Edward. He still had problems to deal with, and this problem came from Polotsk.

Everyone knows the news about Polotsk's recent mobilization of the army, and for Riga, it does not fully believe Vseslav's words about attacking Lithuania. God knows whether the Witch King will suddenly change his gun. That guy has such a

of criminal record.

Riga was once massacred in this way. In the end, Polotsk paid some symbolic compensation, and Riga finally had to swallow the broken teeth.

Therefore, Riga would consider any move in Polotsk to be directed against them.

Therefore, vigilance is always the highest, and because of this vigilance, Riga avoided many attacks from Polotsk.

Therefore, Riga is now in a state of emergency preparation to deal with all possible emergencies. The Jomus war group has been mobilized, and the warriors of Odin and Thor are waiting for action.

As for the temple dedicated to the gods, it is actually in a state of suspension. Where is the manpower to repair it now? There will be plenty of time to repair it when the current crisis is over.

As for Edward, after greetings and talking about his experiences over the years, Thorgill arranged for Edward to have a team go to Ross and escort him back to Ross.

In this way, Edward embarked on the road to Ross.

Walking on this road, Edward couldn't help but feel that his mood became more and more relaxed. He had stayed in many places over the decades, but Rose made him the most comfortable.

Here he has territory, things to do, and wars to fight, instead of being like a useless person being raised.

After experiencing the pain of being a puppet king this time, Edward yearned more and more for the life of the nobles of Northeastern Russia, which was much better than being a king.

This Riga team moved very quickly, and it didn't take long for them to enter Novgorod.
To be continued...