Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Edmund
Edmund continued his rant outside the city.
He was furious. According to the information he had, that prince barely had any soldiers, and the knights inside Gloucester were just at the end of their rotation. There couldn't be many people in the city.
"You bastard, say hello to your mother for me!" Edmund's insults were so weak they could put one to sleep.
However, the bandits behind him didn't feel sleepy at all. They lounged around on the grass as if they were on a picnic, watching the scene unfold like a show.
After yelling for a while, Edmund started to feel tired. And since John still hadn't shown his face, he lost interest.
"That idiot probably doesn't dare to curse back," Edmund thought, feeling pleased with himself. "Bring me some wine to soothe my throat."
The bandits around Edmund complied timidly. After all, in their eyes, not everyone had the guts to curse at a prince.
Edmund was really something, the little bandit thought as he ran to fetch the wine. But before he could reach the cart with the beer, a commotion broke out among the crowd.
The unprofessional little bandit decided to see what was happening first. But before he could turn around to get a clear view, he was knocked over by a man.
"The Normans are coming!"
"The Normans are coming!!!"
Screams erupted from the crowd, turning it into what seemed like a slaughterhouse. Although the Norman knights numbered only a few dozen, they were more than enough to overwhelm this ragtag group.
John stood on the city wall, calmly watching the scene unfold.
The poor bandits were driven away and then cut down. Despite having decent equipment and weapons, their morale didn't match their gear.
The knights charging through the crowd encountered almost no resistance, cutting people down like slicing fries.
The squires following behind them put in their full effort to beat the bandits. Professional warriors of this era were bloodthirsty and cruel. Of course, they also wanted to earn the prince's favor.
One by one, the bandits were struck down by the prince's guards. Even the bandit knights who had once sworn brotherhood with Edmund ran as fast as they could.
But the Norman knights didn't give them much of a chance. How could these bandit knights on inferior horses outrun the royal guards' superior steeds? No matter how they tried to escape, it was just a matter of struggling a bit longer.
It was another completely one-sided battle. John even found it boring.
However, to the other citizens, this was a display of godlike military prowess.
The townspeople peeking around the city gate were eager to rush onto the battlefield, not to fight, but to plunder. The spoils of war were incredibly tempting.
Compared to the royal guards and knights, Gloucester's militia had no sense of professional conduct.
When they saw the battle was already decided, they began to enrich themselves. They might strip something off a corpse or pocket something they found on the ground.
"This kind of battle is too boring," John said as he turned and walked down from the city wall.
He had more important things to do next. The soldiers could clean up the battlefield themselves.
As for the royal guards, they knew exactly what John wanted.
Guillaume rode back into the city and kicked a tightly bound man off his horse. John smiled and said, "Weren't you shouting quite boldly just now?"
Edmund, now unable to speak, had fear written all over his face.
As a bandit knight, he didn't have the money to pay a ransom.
"I have a few questions for you, Edmund. If you answer well... I'll make your suffering less," John said with a cruel smile as he crouched down. "Understand?"
Edmund nodded, trembling uncontrollably with fear.
"Who is your master?"
John's already terrifying face was made even more menacing by his deliberately lowered voice, which sounded like the voice of a demon, intensifying Edmund's fear.
Under such fear, Edmund took half a second to decide whether to keep the secret, and the remaining half second to warm up his lips.
"The Earl of Bedford."
Well, that was quite a big fish to catch.
The Earl of Bedford was an important vassal in the southeastern part of the Kingdom of England, holding a status roughly equivalent to the Earl of Gloucester. But the key point was that he had married the Earl of Gloucester's eldest daughter.
This alone was not enough to justify the Earl of Bedford's actions. Thus, John felt there was something more to this matter.
He grabbed Edmund by the collar and demanded again, "Are you sure it's the Earl of Bedford?"
"Yes... yes, I'm sure," Edmund stammered, "Besides him, there was only one other person, an Aquitanian. I don't know his name... but he definitely came from Aquitaine!"
An Aquitanian?
John instantly became alert,Richard, the future "Lionheart," who was far away in Aquitaine.
At this time, the Kingdom of England's territories were vast, including Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine, almost making up half of France. All these lands were under the control of the Kingdom of England.
Richard had always considered Aquitaine his home base, where he established his rule. If there was a mysterious Aquitanian with the Earl of Bedford, it indicated that the Earl had already colluded with Richard.
This was a very troubling situation. Just thinking about Richard made John's scalp tingle.
His military prowess was renowned throughout Europe. Plotting against him was futile; he could simply strike directly and crush any opposition.
Philip II of France, who would become one of the most formidable kings of France, had been thoroughly outmatched by Richard in his early years.
As for Saladin in Egypt, he had been battered by Richard from thousands of miles away, which speaks volumes about his strength.
"What was your mission?" John asked one final question.
Edmund hesitated for a long time, finally speaking before John lost patience: "They wanted me to capture you on the way and hand you over to them."
A rather foolish plan, but full of hostility.
With this, John had learned almost all he could from a minor figure like Edmund.
As he stood up, John felt a bit dizzy. He had come here to inherit a territory, not to deal with such significant issues.
"Guillaume, we're in quite a bit of trouble now," John said helplessly. "I need to report this to my father."
Guillaume, well-versed in court politics, knew better than to speak on matters involving royal conspiracies. He remained silent, showing no reaction.
John didn't care about Guillaume's response and, accompanied by two guards, made his way back to the main keep.
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