Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

With such a difficult and ancient brushwork, It is the first time in my life to read! "Benefits" [Note: A comedy by the British writer Goldsmith. 】 When the Templars reached the great hall of the castle, they found De Blasy already there, and I think, said De Blasy, that your proposal, like mine, was interrupted by this tumultuous blast of horns.But you came later than me, and so reluctantly, I guess, your negotiation must be smoother than mine. So your marriage proposal to the Saxon heiress was unsuccessful?said the Templar. By Thomas.Beckett [Note: British politician, who was once the Archbishop of Canterbury, was executed for opposing King Henry II. ]'s relic, De Blasey replied, Miss Rowena must have heard, I can't bear to see a woman's tears.

nonsense!The Templar said, you are the leader of mercenaries, you are afraid of women's tears!Sprinkle a few tears on the torch of love, and the fire will burn brighter and brighter. Excuse me, what a few tears, De Blasey replied, the young lady had enough tears to put out a campfire.I have never seen a man whose hands wrung so much, whose tears flowed so endlessly, and Elder Emer told us about St. Niobe, so only she can compare with this lady .The beautiful Saxon was in tears. (I wish the elders could also tell us when Niobe was canonized. Probably in that civilized period when Pan lent his pagan horn to Moses. Original Note [Note: The author is satirizing Elder Emer Waiting for ignorance, calling the characters in Greek mythology saints])

But my Jewish girl didn't cry at me, she lost her temper at me, replied the Templar, I don't think there is a single person, including Abaddon. The devil who came to the bottomless pit (see "Apocalypse"). ] Inside, he will be so domineering and unyielding.But where is General Niu Nian?The horn is blowing more and more vigorously. He's negotiating with the Jew, I think, De Blasey replied calmly, perhaps Isaac's howling drowning out the sound of the horn.You know by experience, Sir Brienne, how a Jew shouts, over twenty horns plus The sound of twenty trumpets.But we might as well send a footman to call him.

In a short while, General Bull Noodles arrived. The reader already knows how he was interrupted by the sound of the horn when he was performing torture; he was only a step late in order to make some necessary arrangements. Let us see what the damned horn is for, said the General Buffalo, and I have a letter which, if I am not mistaken, is written in Saxon. He looked at the letter, turned it over and over several times, as if he really thought he could understand its meaning by turning the paper over a few times, and at last he handed it to D. Brasi. I don't understand what kind of spell this is written, De Blasey said, because he was no different from other knights at the time. Their common feature was that they were illiterate. Our priest wanted to teach me to write, he said , but my handwriting was crooked and messy, so the old man had to give up his mind.

Give it to me, said the Templar, there is something priestly about us, for we must not only be brave, but also have a certain cultural knowledge. So I'll just have to excuse you and use your knowledge to solve the problem, said De Blasey. What's on this paper? It's a formal challenge, replied the Templar, but by the Lady of Bethlehem, unless it's a foolish joke, it's a real gauntlet, something like this coming through a drawbridge into a baron's castle, I'm afraid It was the first time ever. joke!General Niu Nian said, I would like to hear, who dares to joke with me about this kind of thing!Read it, Sir Brienne.

So the Templar began to read: My poor man, son of a fool, by trade a buffoon of Lord Cedric of Rotherwood, noble lord, and freeborn; What are you crazy about!General Niu Nian interrupted the words in the letter. By St. Luke, it says so, replied the Templar, and went on reading: My lord, Goth, son of Beowulf, a pig-herder by trade; will stand with us in this quarrel Like-minded allies and partners, that is, the upright knight who is temporarily named the black armor lazy man, and the folk warrior Robert who is known as the hundred-step piercer.Locksley, joint letter to General Reginald of the Bullface and all his gangsters, the notice is as follows: Because you have provoked a dispute without cause, violated personal liberty by illegal and violent means, and taken away our lord and master Cedric. Lord, and noble and freeborn Miss Rowena of Hargoldstein, and noble and freeborn lord Athelstan of Coningsberg, and the rest of their families and their servants who were born free, and a Jew named Isaac of York, and his daughter, a Jew girl, and took away their horses and mules, while the above-mentioned nobles and their servants and slaves, and the horses and mules, and the above-mentioned Jews and Jewish Ladies, you are all peaceful and good citizens of His Majesty the King, and are traveling as lawful subjects on the high roads of the kingdom; therefore you are hereby ordered, within an hour after the receipt of this letter, to report to us, or to whomever we designate, Surrender the above-mentioned lords, Cedric of Rotherwood, Rowena of Hargostan, Athelstan of Koningsburg, with their servants, servants, entourage, horses and mules, and the above-mentioned Jews and Jewish Girls, and all property and chattels belonging to them, and guarantee that their bodies will not be harmed and their property will not be damaged.If not, we declare to you that we will regard you as robbers and rebels, and carry out crusades, sieges, etc. against you, and use all means to make you unsafe and even destroyed.The military order is like a mountain, and when the war letter arrives, it is hoped that it will be followed.This book is issued in our name, written in the hand of the devout priest of Copmanhurst Church, Faithful to God, Our Lady, and St. Dunstan, at Great Hazel Gathering, Harthill, on the eve of St. Wyssalter's Day.

At the bottom of the document, scrawled in a few strokes on the first line, it was a chicken head and a comb, which served as pictographs representing the idiot's signature to Wang Ba.The second line is a pious cross, which is the signature of Ge Si, son of Beowulf.Then there are a few thick and big words: Heijia lazy man.The last row is a delicately outlined arrow, which represents Loxley the Farmer. Several knights listened to this unusual and wonderful article from the beginning to the end, and they were stunned for a moment, and they were silent. You looked at me and I looked at you, as if they couldn't figure out what it meant.De Blasey was the first to break the silence with a burst of uncontrollable laughter, and then the Templar laughed too, only softer.On the contrary, the bull-faced general seemed very annoyed by this untimely laughter.

I warn you clearly, gentlemen, he said, that in such a case you had better think about what to do, and not take it lightly. The bull-faced general was terrified of falling off his horse last time, and he still has lingering fears, de Blasey said to the Templars, he was afraid when he heard the challenge, even though it was just a fool and a pig herder. . By St. Michael, Bullface replied, if you can take the risk alone, so be it, de Blasey.You know, these guys don't dare to be so unscrupulous without the backing of strong force.This forest is full of bandits, and they are not satisfied with my protection of the moose.Once I catch a poacher on the spot, tie his hands and feet, and let the wild deer kill him within five minutes, it will be terrible. Countless arrows will shoot at me immediately, as if I am an Ashby field like a target.Well, boy, he added, to one of the servants who were waiting for an answer, have you ever sent to find out how many they dared to challenge me?

At least two hundred people gathered in the woods.replied the servant. No wonder they are so arrogant!General Niu Nian said, this is the result of lending my castle to you. This kind of thing cannot be done secretly. This is good. You have poked a hornet's nest for me and made them buzz in my ears ! wasp!The wasps don't sting, said De Blasey, and they're just lazy people who would rather hide in the woods and steal venison than work for a living. Will not sting!General Buffalo replied, an arrow with a forked point and a shaft three feet long, shot from beside you, can sting someone.

Don't be ashamed, Your Excellency!The Templars said we should gather our men and attack them.One knight pair, one warrior is enough to deal with twenty such peasants. Yes, that's enough, said de Blasey, I just don't think it's worth stabbing these guys with my gun. Yes, replied the General Buffalo, if they are Turks, or Moors, Monsieur Templar, or those timid country bumpkins of France, brave de Blassy, ​​you are right.But these English peasants, we cannot take advantage of them. Our advantages are only weapons and war horses, but in the forest, these things are useless.You say launch an attack?But we don't have enough men to hold the castle.My best fighters are at Yorktown; and so is yours, De Blasey; and we have not twenty men here, except for the few who took part in this mad operation.

Are you afraid that they will gather a large number of troops to attack the castle?said the Templar. No, Sir Brienne, replied the General Bullface, the bandits do have a valiant leader, but they have no climbing equipment, no ladders, no experienced commanders, and my fort is not afraid of them. Then send for help from your neighbors, said the Templars, and let them assemble and come to the aid of Baron Reginald's castle, and rescue the three knights who are besieged here by a jester and a pig herder! Don't be joking, Monsieur Chevalier, replied the baron, but whom should I send for?Malvorcin has taken his men to York, and so have the rest of my allies; I would have gone too, but stayed only for this unfortunate event. Then send someone to York and call back our men, De Blasey said, if they see my flag flying over the castle and my mercenary troops, and dare to stay here, then I will obey They, admit they are the bravest of the forest robbers. But who can deliver the letter?General Niu Nian said that they would guard every road and arrest the messengers.Yes, yes, he said after a pause, Mr. Templar, you can read and write letters, as long as we find the stationery left by my priest; this fellow is twelve months old. During Christmas, I ate and drank to death The servant hadn't left yet, so he said hastily: Yes, I remembered, these stationery are kept at the old woman Everid's, because she likes the confessor.I heard her say that he was the only one who still maintained the courtesy to women in front of her. Go, get me these things, Engellade, said the General Bullface, and then, Mr. Templar, please reply to this daring provocation. In my opinion, it is better to answer them with a sword than with a pen, said Bois-Guirebert, but since you will do so, I will obey you. So he sat down and wrote the following letter in French: Reginald the Buffalo, and his esteemed knightly allies and companions, refuse to accept the challenge of slaves, servants, and fugitives.If the man who calls himself a knight in the black armor really deserves to be called one, he should know that, because of those he has associated, he now has no right to be called a knight, nor does he deserve the respect of a true knight of noble blood.Concerning those whom we have imprisoned, we, in the spirit of Christian mercy, beseech you to send a priest to receive their dying confession, and to grant them the pardon of God, as we have resolved to put them to death before noon today. Execute them, and then hang their heads on the city wall to show the public, so that those who want to save them can see that we don't take their threat seriously.As we have said above, we would like you to send a priest hastily to seek God's forgiveness for them, and thus you will have done your last duty on earth for them. After the letter was folded, it was given to the servant, who would deliver it to the messenger waiting outside the castle as an answer to the letter of challenge he had brought. The farmer thus accomplished his task, and returned to the headquarters of the combined forces, which was tentatively situated under an old hazel tree, about three arrows' range from the castle.Wang Ba and Ge Si, their allies Black Armored Knight and Locksley, and the merry hermit were all waiting for the reply, and they were getting impatient.Around them, a little farther away, you can see many rough peasants. Their forest clothes and weather-beaten faces show that they are ordinary laborers.More than 200 people have gathered, and the rest are still coming quickly.Those whom they recognized as their leaders were not different from the others in dress, arms, and equipment, except for a feather in their caps for a mark. To this group there were others of lesser discipline and worse arms, including the Saxon inhabitants of the neighboring towns, and many slaves and servants from Cedric's vast estate, who also fled to his rescue. here.Most of these people's weapons are extremely simple, and they are only temporarily used for military purposes when the situation is forced. They mainly include spears for catching wild boars, long-handled scythes, flails, etc.; because the Normans are like ordinary conquerors, their policy is to try their best Prevent the conquered Saxons from holding or using weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds.These circumstances greatly limited the strength of the Saxons. Originally they were numerous and mighty, and because they were fighting for a just cause, their morale was strong, and they could form a huge deterrent force against those who guarded the castle, but now they could not do so.The Templar's letter was then delivered to the leader of the mixed force. In order to ascertain the content of the letter, I first consulted the priest. St. Dunstan, who with his crook led many sheep into the fold, has done more than any other saint in heaven, said the venerable saint, and now by his crook I swear I am of such The gibberish writing is incomprehensible at all, who knows whether it is French or Arabic. He casually handed the letter to Ge Si, who shook his head angrily, and then handed it to Wang Ba.The Clown, looking from one corner of the letter to the other, put on a learned smile, the way monkeys do on such occasions, and bounded up to Locksley, tossing him the letter. If these long letters were bows and these short letters were arrows, I might get along and understand a little of their meaning, said the brave farmer, but these things have no place for me, like an end twelve miles away. Deer, it's the same as if it can't reach my hands. Then I have to act as the clerk.The black armored knight said, took the letter from Locksley, first read it silently, and then explained it to his companions in Saxon. Execute noble Cedric!Wang Ba shouted, my God, you must be mistaken, Mr. Knight. I am not mistaken, my good friend, replied the knight, that is what the letter says, and I take it for granted. Then, by St. Thomas of Canterbury, said Gerth, we must take the castle, if it means destroying it with our bare hands! That's the only way to do it, Wang Ba replied, but I can't even smash a brick with my hands. It was nothing more than a stalling tactic, Locksley said, and they dared not do it, for it would surely invite terrible reprisals from us. I hope, said the black knight, that some of us will be allowed to enter the castle and find out what is going on inside the siege.I thought that since they needed a confessor, the holy monk might take this opportunity to gather the necessary information for us while performing his religious duties. To hell with you, what idea did you come up with!Says the pious hermit, I tell you, lazy sir knight, as soon as I take off my monk's robe, my priesthood, my sacred duty, and even my Latin, leave me with it; Clothes, you can kill twenty deer without giving a Christian a deathbed confession. That would be difficult, said the black knight, who else could play the part of the confessor here? Everyone looked at each other without making a sound. I thought, after a while, Wang Ba said, a fool is a fool after all, and this foolish job made the smart man quit, so he had to do it.To tell you the truth, dear friends and fellow countrymen, before I put on the jester's coat of paint, I wore a priest's coarse robe, I was educated as a monk, and it was only later that I contracted meningitis, which left me with a brain worthy of Be a fool.I believe that as soon as I put on the monk's robe, the priesthood, sacred duties, and even Latin words attached to it will also be transferred to me, making me qualified to perform the priesthood, for my noble master Cedric G. and his friends in affliction offer comfort in this world and the world to come. Do you think he is sane?The black armored knight said to Ge Si. I don't know, Ge Si replied, but if not sober, then this is the first time in his life that he used his nonsense for serious things. Then put on the monk's robe, boy, the knight said to Wang Ba, let your master tell us the details of the castle.They must be few in number, and nine times out of ten the castle could be taken by a single daring surprise attack.It's getting late, let's go. And, said Locksley, meanwhile we must seal the place so tight that not a single fly should get past it, lest the news get out.In this way, my good friend, he continued to Wang Ba, you can tell those thugs that no matter what harm their captives suffer, they will have to pay the heaviest price for it. Pax vobiscum [Note: Latin, I wish you peace. 】.Wang Ba said that he was now wrapped tightly in the priest's robe. After saying this, he imitated the monk's posture, walked solemnly and steadily, and set off to perform the task.