In the side hall of the temple of the Paris Cathedral, the French Cardinal sits on a wooden gilded high-backed chair. The chair is covered with red velvet and edged with gold thread. The raised pillars on the back of the chair are inlaid with agate gemstones.
The Cardinal wears clerical attire—a white gown, a red silk scapular and a red velvet hat. The white gown, the white gown that reaches the feet, and the hollow knee-length white blouse all show the wearer's luxury. The scapular is a short elbow shawl that covers the shoulders and has buttons on the chest. The red color represents the wearer's ecclesiastical rank as a cardinal, and the red velvet hat is exclusive to cardinals. The red velvet hat is decorated with white velvet mink as the edge. The gold falcon ring on the ring finger of the right hand is the cardinal's letter of authority. The ring has a pattern of a falcon spreading its wings. A solid gold cross with an agate chain hangs on the cardinal's chest. There is a trace of unshakable majesty under his kind face.
Bishop Olof of the Lucese Province of the County of Burgundy knelt on the woolen silk carpet in front of the cardinal and listened to the cardinal's teachings, "...the way to salvation is in it. Olof, maybe this is God's experience for Burgundy. Only after going through purgatory can you gain eternal life." Secular affairs, but the County of Burgundy has fallen into a head-splitting dispute, and the church can no longer serve God with peace of mind. Moreover, the Archbishop of Burgundy has deviated from God’s guidance and has succumbed to the rule of Bernard’s side. He has forced the bishops of the four dioceses to choose sides. This is really an insult to the dignity of God. The Diocese of Lucerne has always upheld a moderate position, but the Archbishop threatened to dismiss the clergy of my diocese..."
Orlof took action. When the situation in the succession war in Burgundy was not yet clear, Orlof was the first bishop of Burgundy to lean towards the court of Jonah.
Since the bloody funeral of the Marquis, Olof has been busy. He has visited almost everyone from the archbishops and patriarchs of the Principality of Burgundy to the Archbishop of Paris and even many high-ranking clergy in France. Until today, he was personally received by the cardinal, the leader of the highest church in France.
Today in the entire Kingdom of France, the power of the Holy See is no longer as powerful as it used to be, but for a small county, the support of the Holy See is decisive. In order to gain the support of the church (at least the neutrality of the church), the Jonah court sent Bishop Olof to mediate secretly.
However, the attitude of the French Cardinal is also unclear. He does not want to affect his saints for the sake of a small Marquis County, because he is very likely to be qualified to succeed the next Pope. This secular trivial matter is really not worth the risk.
However, the provincial bishop kneeling in front of him was not weak in energy. He visited almost all the high-ranking bishops, and many people spoke for him, so the cardinal still gave Olof some answers.
“The Archbishop of Burgundy is incapable of pastoral care. In recent years, he has not only repeatedly defaulted on the tithes owed to the Holy See, but there have also been shocking heresy incidents and assassinations in the Marquis’s Funeral Chapels. If you can protect the paradise for God, I can consider letting him. You serve as the Archbishop of Burgundy. However, the current situation in Burgundy is unstable, and I cannot propose to replace the Archbishop. As for the Count of Longxia, I have seen that little guy, and he is a devout believer like his grandfather."
Some words are enough, and there is no need to say too much.
Olov's heart was relieved, at least the cardinal would not favor the court of Besancon in the battle for the succession of the county of Burgundy.
After a while, Olof exited the Cardinal's sacrament hall, and the assistant bishop in bishop's uniform walked over from the side, "Olov, how are you, did the Cardinal give you an answer?" The husband leaned sideways against the assistant bishop's ear and whispered: "Don't worry, the owner of the mine in Lucese diocese will come to your office tomorrow to confess to you face to face..." Thousands of miles away, across the fierce battlefield of Besançon, his eyes turned to a small military fort on the eastern border of Burgundy.
Wallenberg, an important town in the central part of the eastern border of Yona Province, has been taken back from the Swabians by the troops returning south two years ago. Since the frontier army paid more and more attention to this small castle, the garrison here has increased from less than a hundred people to two hundred people, and a company of soldiers from the border army is stationed here.
It is precisely because of the garrison of border troops that this place has been able to sustain itself until now in the face of six to seven hundred Swabian enemy troops.
The Swabians were still attacking the city. Due to the rapid advance, the Swabian army stretched the battle line too long, so their attack on Wallenberg was already very weak.
More than twenty siege ladders and several siege towers advanced step by step towards Wallonburg under the operation of more than 300 soldiers. Farther away, there were many trebuchets throwing stones and clay pots filled with kerosene at the castle. The Burgundian defenders in Wallonburg also used giant crossbows and trebuchets to continuously counterattack the enemies who were getting closer...
Hand on the towering spruce treetops in a dense forest northeast of Wallonburg, two people wrapped in tight-fitting robes held the tree trunk with one hand to prevent falling, and put their other hand on their brows to observe the fierce battle and billowing smoke in Wallonburg.
"The garrison on the fort wall is estimated to be about a hundred, there are still about fifty people in the castle, and about sixty servants and fort farmers. Seeing that they put out the fire quickly and without panic, they should be able to hold on for ten and a half days."
"The damn weather is going to change again." Stanley rubbed his injured calf and cursed secretly, then turned to look at the Swabian camp to the east. A team escorting a carriage entered the camp from the east.
"The Swabians began to increase their troops again. Note that the number of additional troops is more than fifty. There are five cavalry and ten carriages. The carriages are covered with felt cloth and you can’t see what they are pulling." c—a—r—i—o—t!” Stanley blurted out.
The man holding the charcoal stick wrote a few strokes and then stopped, "Captain, this doesn't look like it, does it?"
Stanley glanced back, and it seemed that it really didn't look like it. "These are all learned in school, why don't you remember them? You draw four wheels first." After that, he stared at the Swabian camp again.
"Take note, there are many craftsmen in the Swabian camp, and it looks like they are going to build large siege equipment."
"The Swabian patrol is coming, let's retreat."
The two put away the birch bark and charcoal sticks, untied the ropes, and slid down the tree trunk. The three outer sentries, soldiers in black robes and tight-fitting uniforms carrying crossbows and daggers, came back from several directions, and followed Stanley to escape to the west under the cover of dense forest shrubs...