Chapter 690 The cavalry following
"..Lord Galvin!""
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the corridor. Phoenix turned around, but saw no one.
～
A moment later, the wooden door of the house where Lord Galvin was located was pushed open.
When Phoenix came to the entrance of the corridor, he saw only a figure wearing a black burqa walking in. Then he immediately followed.
Phoenix recognized Bishop Olof from the back.
Bishop Olof turned around quickly when he heard the voice, "Phoenix, something bad is going to happen!"
Bishop Olof changed his usual seriousness and looked embarrassed.
Fenix walked up to Orlov and asked urgently: "Master Bishop, what happened?"
Bishop Orlov adjusted his breathing and looked back at Lord Galvin, who was still sleeping. He said softly: "I just came back from Engelberg Cathedral and learned a bad news from the local bishop. It turned out that after the team arrived at Engelberg Abbey and settled down, Bishop Olof took two religious guards to Engelberg Cathedral to visit the local parish bishop.
As the religious leader of the Burgundy Kingdom, there was no need for Bishop Olof to deign to go to Engelberg Cathedral in person.
But as a faithful believer and a close friend of the local bishop, the former bishop of the Lucese province, Bishop Olof went gladly.
In addition, Bishop Olof followed Flanders in his southern expedition to Lombardy and had been away from the Burgundy Kingdom for nearly a month. He was not very familiar with the recent events in the Kingdom. Lucesien Province is located in the middle of the Kingdom, connecting the north and south, connecting the east and west, and gathering all kinds of complicated information from the south and the north. Here, Bishop Olof can get some useful information.
When Bishop Engelberg heard that Bishop Olof was coming with religious escorts, he was first surprised, and then came questions.
Hence before, the Palace Guards briefly stopped in Engelberg when they went south. At that time, Bishop Olof also went south with King Flanders.
At this time, Bishop Olof suddenly visited Engelberg Cathedral, which could answer the question in his mind.
A few days ago, the news that King Flanders was assassinated in Lombardy was spread by the traders returning from Besancon.
Soon, this matter spread in the autonomous city of Engelbe.
The next morning, the coachman who delivered vegetables, fruits and firewood to the church talked about it with the church staff who received the goods. At noon that day, the news, which was no longer a secret, reached the ears of the diocesan bishop.
The church should have stayed away from the influence of secular power, but Lucesien was an exception.
Just like Olof, the former Bishop of the Diocese of Lucesne Province, although the diocesan bishops of other cities in the territory apparently do not participate in the struggle for secular power, in fact they have never been free from the temptation of secular power.
Taking the War of Succession as an example, Lucerne favored the Flanders side in the later stages of the war, and was largely influenced by the church.
Although the church is far away from the whirlpool of the center of power, it has never been free from the influence of secular power.
After meeting with the Bishop of the Diocese of Engelberg, Bishop Olof of the Marquis, the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then started a conversation about the progress of the renovation of Engelberg Cathedral and the relief of refugees in recent months.
During the conversation, the Bishop of the Diocese of Engelbe couldn't help but ask about the reason for Bishop Olof's visit to Engelbe and the situation of King Flanders.
Because Bishop Olof had been accompanying the monarch during the Southern Expedition, but now Flanders was nowhere to be seen, the bishop of the Diocese of Engelbe was left with many questions.
However, as the archbishop of the princely state, Olof certainly understood the implication of this old friend's words. But even so, Bishop Olof remained tight-lipped and did not tell the truth. He just said, "It's a matter of military secrets, no comment," and then he excused himself.
Seeing that Bishop Olof remained tight-lipped, and combined with the rumors of Flanders' assassination, the Bishop of the Diocese of Engelberg became even more convinced that things were not that simple.
With his own doubts, the Bishop of Engelbe Diocese tentatively told Bishop Olof about the rumors that had spread throughout the streets in recent days.
Bishop Olof was stunned for a moment after hearing this, full of doubts. After coming back to his senses, he immediately warned his old friend sternly not to believe in it easily, let alone spread this rumor that could get him into trouble.
Seeing Bishop Olof's loss of composure, the bishop of the Diocese of Engelberg nodded repeatedly and promised never to mention the matter again.
Then, the two fell into silence without saying a word.
After Bishop Olof left the church, he immediately got on his horse and returned to the monastery, deciding to tell Lord Galvin and Phoenix the news.
On the way back, he never imagined that the Lombards would spread the news of Flanders's death before them, leaving them in an extremely passive situation,
"...—What?"
When Phoenix heard the news, he was as shocked as Bishop Olof's reaction.
He did not expect that although the group of people traveled day and night to escort Flanders back to Besançon, they would still be a step too late. The actions of the Lombards also confirmed Art's previous inference.
Aside from anxiety, Phoenix kept walking back and forth in the room. Lord Galvin was bedridden again, and the team was without a backbone for a while. Not to mention the unexpected consequences that the spread of rumors would bring, the rumors themselves were disturbing enough.
What's more, the person who spread the rumors and caused trouble has not been caught and is missing. Their purpose is by no means as simple as demagogueing people. Maybe these people have other tasks on their shoulders. After a while, Phoenix stopped and said to Bishop Olof: "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. Should we inform Earl Art first?"
Phoenix couldn't make up his mind about such a sudden event.
"It's too late!" Bishop Olof rejected Phoenix's idea. "Since this matter has spread from Besançon to Engelberg, it means that it happened a few days ago. Perhaps Art has already received the news~"
"This~" Phoenix was impatient for a while and had already forgotten about Art's eagle eyes all over the place.
"Perhaps, his instructions on this matter are already on the way." Bishop Olof was sure that Art would do this.
Based on his knowledge of Art over the years, this Earl of Xinpu has always been calm in doing things, always taking one step at a time and looking at the other two steps. The early escort of Flanders back to Besançon is a case in point.
“Then what should we do now, Your Majesty the Bishop?” Phoenix asked respectfully.
"Continue to go north and secretly escort the monarch's body back to Besançon. Art will make arrangements for the rumored matter, so we can just wait for news from him." Bishop Olof fiddled with the white bowler hat on his head and slowly walked to Lord Galvin's bedside.
"Your Majesty the Bishop is right. I have asked the abbot to arrange for someone to take care of my father. He will return to Besançon after his health improves. I will leave a small team responsible for his safety and escort him northward."
"This is the best thing." Bishop Olof then told Phoenix, "Although Art may already know about this, we should still inform him about it. First, let him know our current approximate position and next plan; secondly, we can let him make plans in advance to respond to the Lombards' actions. "
Bishop Olof walked up to Phoenix, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "Since your brother-in-law, Count Art, has arranged for you to escort the monarch back to Besançon, he certainly has his reasons. Now that your father is ill, we will rely on you for the rest of the journey."
Looking at Bishop Olof's ardent expectations, Phoenix nodded heavily, with a bit of decisiveness in his firm eyes, and solemnly replied: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will definitely live up to Earl Art's expectations!"
Bishop Olof nodded with satisfaction and patted the young Baron Sapp in front of him on the shoulder to encourage him.
Early in the morning of the second day, the wind and snow gradually subsided.
The escort team that settled in the monastery yesterday began to pack their bags early and prepared to continue their journey north.
Phoenix specially went to Galvin's room to take a look at him before setting off. He also ordered the personal guards who were responsible for staying with Galvin to take good care of his father.
In addition, in order to thank the monastery for taking care of his father and being a faithful believer in God, Phoenix donated a holy blessing worth five thousand pfennigs to the monastery before leaving.
After breakfast, the group went out from the back door of the monastery, avoiding the lively street market, and hurriedly walked north. At noon, when the northbound team arrived at a village south of Letestre, a city in the central province of Lucesien, Phoenix ordered the team to rest for a while and replenish their strength before continuing.
At the same time, in order to prevent irrelevant people from approaching, Phoenix arranged four patrol cavalry to guard the area three miles away from the team as always.
After simply eating some bread and dried meat in an abandoned stone house, Phoenix walked alone to a hillside near the village.
Standing on a high place and looking around, the endless wilderness is covered with thick white snow. The cottages and manors that dotted the area were filled with smoke, and from time to time the aroma of baking bread drifted from the distance.
The mountains to the west of the hillside lie between Lucesien and Kodor, blocking the commercial and personnel exchanges between the two homes.
Hands up to cover his eyebrows, Phoenix felt that the pass between the distant mountains seemed familiar. Just as he was trying to recall it in his mind, he was interrupted by the call of his bodyguard from the foot of the hillside. "My Lord Baron, a cavalryman who claimed to have followed our footsteps from the south claimed to have something important to see you. He said he came from Fort Marsi~"
"Fort Marsi? My brother-in-law's territory in the Côte d'Or province~ What are they here to do?"