In February 1067, a ship from afar arrived in Riga, sailing into this bustling northern port. Riga had grown increasingly prosperous over the years, with ships from all over the Baltic Sea arriving, and the flow of goods in the city constantly increasing.
Riga's position in Baltic Sea trade was also steadily rising, and the city's merchant fleet grew ever larger.
And then, Edward Wessex stepped onto this land, returning to the North.
The ship came from distant England, crossing the North Sea with the Norwegian fleet returning defeated from England.
Although Edward Wessex played a crucial role in defeating the Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge and injuring the Norwegian King, Harald still allowed the man who wounded him to accompany the fleet. The Norwegian King held no ill will towards the one who defeated him.
At that time, Edward, with his wife and daughter, rushed to the Norsemen's anchorage, asking Harald to take them with him.
Seeing this, Harald agreed. The Norwegian King didn't mind helping his in-law. As for the matter of being wounded, it truly wasn't an issue. Harald didn't care about such things; he never bore grudges over them.
On the battlefield, it was perfectly normal to kill or be killed; these were common occurrences. Harald even had to thank Edward for showing mercy, otherwise he would have certainly died there.
As for what trouble Edward had gotten into, Harald didn't care at all, and no one could trouble the Norwegian King.
Even though he had been defeated, this was still true. If His Majesty were displeased, he could completely launch another invasion. The Norse homeland had plenty of warriors eager for spoils, and both the Anglo-Saxon and Normans would have to appease this Norwegian King.
Shortly after Edward arrived, two English nobles, accompanied by a large number of Thegns, indeed came knocking. They were the rulers of North England, the Earl of Mercia and the Earl of Northumbria. These two intended to persuade Edward to join their side, but Edward firmly refused them.
It was impossible for them to force him, as Harald was right there. As for intimidating these two useless individuals, the Norwegian King felt no pressure. Harold had sent troops to save these two, who weren't even willing to send troops south. Harald looked down on these two from the bottom of his heart.
Undoubtedly, these two were quickly driven away by Harald. They also dared not do anything to the Norwegian King. These two still remembered how Harald had annihilated their army; if Harold hadn't come to their rescue, they would have been finished. They could only leave dejectedly.
After these two left, the Norwegian King finally understood the whole story.
After escaping the battlefield of Hastings, Edward immediately went to pick up his son, but he didn't expect the Anglo-Saxon magnates to react even more quickly.
After determining that he was dead, they directly crowned his son, Edgar, 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 sons, it was because those boys had immediately fled to Ireland, clearly seeing the English throne as a hot potato.
For this, Edward was forced to make a trip to London, so when the supposedly dead Edward appeared, it naturally caused immense panic among the local magnates, but then came joy. In the current difficult situation, it was naturally better for an adult Prince to be King.
However, Edward's thoughts were completely opposite to theirs. He had no intention of staying in this land; coming to London was only for his son.
Yet, what he never expected was that his son actually expressed a desire to be the King.
The boy's intention was firm, and those Anglo-Saxon magnates also firmly supported him. Edward naturally made a huge fuss about this; these guys were leading his son to his death!
However, in private, these Anglo-Saxon nobles told Edward their thoughts: they had no intention of keeping the crown for long. They planned to hand the crown to William in exchange for William's protection.
William, for the sake of his reputation, would not act against them, much less against young Edgar.
After all, William's enemies were the Godwin, not the Wessex Family. William's claim to the throne came from the Confessor; if he persecuted members of the Wessex Family, he would be undermining his own legitimacy.
England would sooner or later rise up against Norman rule. At that time, they would escort the King of Wessex back, and the throne would once again belong to the Wessex Family.
Edward considered this idea. Well, just as they said, this matter was quite workable, and it might indeed preserve the Wessex throne.
Seeing that Edward was tempted, they also mentioned that there were many opponents of the Normans on Europe. Many forces in France were stirring, and there was also the French King; the opportunity would come sooner or later.
At this point, these nobles tried to persuade Edward to stay, but Edward simply wouldn't take the bait. He didn't want to stay in this place and be King; he preferred to live a stable life in Eastern Europe.
To be honest, the nobles' analysis was indeed very accurate. The external environment of the Duchy of Normandy was just that bad; it was surrounded by enemies and hidden dangers everywhere.
However, what they never expected was that William, facing pressure from so many forces, could still suppress and slaughter in England with one hand, and expand his influence and punch the French King in France with the other... History is just that illogical.
However, the main reason Edward gave up taking young Edward was the child's own will. Clearly, the child saw this as an opportunity, an opportunity to become King of England.
And even if he couldn't become King of England, at worst he could become an English lord. After all, William's legitimacy came from Wessex, so even if a member of the Wessex Family participated in a rebellion, it was unlikely he would act against someone from the Wessex Family—and historically, this was indeed the case.
This child did not like Eastern Europe; he found it too wild. He desperately wanted to stay in England. In this regard, although he was young, his will was very firm.
Seeing this, Edward said nothing more. Since the child had chosen his own path, then let him follow it. Moreover, his path was quite feasible.
Although Edward himself was indifferent to these matters, he still hoped that his descendants would live better lives and achieve higher status.
Therefore, since Edgar chose, then let him go. It would also be a good thing for the English throne to return to the Wessex Family, so that he would not have trouble facing his ancestors later.
His eldest daughter, Margaret, also chose to stay in England, her reason being to take care of her younger brother.
Edward agreed to this as well. If his children chose their paths, then let them follow them. So, his wife and second daughter left with Edward.
However, what Edward didn't expect was that those two useless individuals from North England actually chased after him. These two guys' idea was simple: they wanted more bargaining chips. An adult and battle-hardened Wessex was certainly better than that child.
And Edward knew with his toes what their selfish motives were: a King in North England would certainly be better than a King in London, as the two brothers had no influence in London.
Helpless, Edward could only go to the Norwegian King Harald. This man was enough to deter those two useless individuals. The remaining Norwegian army had not yet left England; they were still preparing to depart.
It proved that his choice was correct. Even if he was injured and confined to bed, Harald still intimidated the two great English nobles, telling them to get lost, and the two could only leave dejectedly.
Harald was also quite emotional after learning about Edward's experiences. His journey was truly full of twists and turns. It would be fitting for an adventurer like himself, but for someone like Edward, who yearned for stability deep down, it was truly tormenting.
Then Edward set sail with Harald's fleet, crossing the North Sea.
After leaving war-torn England with the Norwegian fleet, Edward found another ship amidst the mountains and valleys of Norway. This ship was a product of Harald's personal care; the Norwegian King feared that Edward might board a pirate ship and have his entire family killed at sea.
Then Edward crossed the strait and entered the Baltic Sea. After entering this ocean, he quickly arrived at Riga, an important city along the Baltic Sea coast.
Riga was a city subservient to Rostislav, and its ruler, the leader of the Jomsvikings, was someone Edward knew, so Edward chose to go there.
Over the years, Riga had continuously prospered, especially after delineating spheres of influence with Polotsk, which made the city safer and naturally attracted more people.
Riga had now become a city with a population of seven thousand, placing it among the large cities along the Baltic Sea coast.
Its main residents were Norsemen; the continuous warfare in Denmark and Norway over the years had caused many Norsemen to leave their homes in search of stability, and Riga was one of their choices.
Norsemen had always had a tradition of external migration, and the prosperous city of Riga naturally benefited from a large number of immigrants.
Furthermore, as the Norse nations increasingly converted to Christ, pagans throughout Norse lands had to find new places to go, and Riga was a good choice.
Riga had also completely unified the Baltic Norse forces; the islands along the Estonia coast had submitted to Riga, and Norse settlements in this land now obeyed Riga.
The reputation of the Jomsvikings also grew stronger; this ancient pagan warband was restoring its former glory and had become a major power in the Baltic Sea.
In Edward's eyes, Riga was undoubtedly a typical pagan longhouse; pagans, already rare in England, were everywhere on the streets, and people fought, swore, and traded in the names of Odin and Thor.
Statues of Odin and Thor stood by the roadside, merchants traded under these pagan deities, and pedestrians were oblivious to the presence of these gods.
However, there were still traces of Christian in the city; German merchants who frequently stayed in Riga established residential areas and built catholic churches. They also tried to preach to the pagans of Riga, but unfortunately, they achieved little success, as there were many stubborn pagans already in the area.
The Slavic people also had residential areas; they were mostly merchants from Novgorod and also built Orthodox churches, but they generally did not proselytize.
The residents' enthusiasm for paganism could be seen from the temple of the gods currently under construction; Edward knew from the scale of the construction site that once this building was completed, the northern pagans would have another holy place.
It was just unclear why the temple was currently under construction, with no workers visible on the site.
Edward did not spend too much time on these matters; he went directly to the ruler of Riga, Sogier, the leader of the Jomsvikings. Thanks to the token given by Harald, it was easy for him to meet Sogier.
Sogier had not changed much over the years; if anything, his hair was thicker, his body stronger, and he appeared more like a leader. He was quite enthusiastic about Edward's visit, as it was rare to see someone he had fought alongside before.
Sogier had not seen anyone from the Moscow Court for a long time, as he had been working here for a long time.
However, the leader of the Jomsvikings did not spend too much time on Edward; he still had issues to deal with, and this issue came from Polotsk.
Everyone knew the news of Polotsk mobilizing a large army recently, and for Riga, it did not fully believe Vseslav's claim of attacking Lithuania. God knows if the Sorcerer Prince would suddenly turn his guns; that guy had such a track record.
Riga once had a colonial settlement massacred in this way, and Polotsk symbolically compensated them with some money, leaving Riga to swallow its broken teeth.
Therefore, Riga would consider any movement from Polotsk as targeting them.
Thus, vigilance was always at its highest, and it was because of this vigilance that Riga avoided many attacks from Polotsk.
So Riga was now in a state of emergency preparedness to deal with any possible emergency; the Jomsvikings had been mobilized, and the warriors of Odin and Thor were ready for battle.
As for the temple dedicated to the gods, it was actually under construction; there was no manpower to build it now, and there would be plenty of time to build it once the current crisis was over.
As for Edward, after exchanging pleasantries and discussing their experiences over the years, Sogier arranged a team to escort him back to Rus'.
And so, Edward embarked on his journey back to Rus'.
Walking on this path, Edward couldn't help but feel his mood lighten; he had stayed in many places over the decades, but Rus' was where he felt most comfortable.
Here he had land, he had things to do, and he had wars to fight, instead of being like a useless person kept as a pet.
After experiencing the bitterness of being a puppet king this time, Edward increasingly yearned for the life of a Northeast Rus noble; this was much better than being any kind of king.
This team from Riga moved quickly; they soon entered Novgorod territory.
And this team was very efficient; even with Edward's retainers, there were only thirty people.
Everyone was a warrior clad in armor, which was probably why no clueless tribes tried to rob them on the road.
Edward repeatedly felt the sensation of being watched, but no attack ever occurred, which was clear proof.
Although they did not encounter any attackers, Edward never expected that they would encounter a large army.
At that time, Edward and his group were walking on a dirt road in the forest, the kind of road only known to locals and merchants who frequently traveled on it.
These roads were usually very quiet because not many people traveled on them normally, and it was for this reason that Edward and his group were able to notice the movement of a large army in the distance so quickly.
And after confirming that it was a large army on the move, Edward and his group immediately hid in the dense forest beside the road.
There was an unwritten rule for traveling on such small paths: if a large group was spotted approaching, the first action should always be to hide and ascertain their identity.
Because a large group moving on such roads might not want to be discovered, so for the sake of one's life, it was better to hide obediently.
Otherwise, if one died and the body was thrown into the forest, there would truly be no evidence.
However, what no one expected was that they would next see a truly massive army.
Soon after hiding, a large number of scouts ran past on the road they had been on, and after a while longer, squads of soldiers appeared before their eyes.
These warriors advanced quietly on the forest path, their weapons and armor varied, ranging from iron armor to padded clothing, but from their faces and the occasional words spoken in the ranks, their Slavic identity was evident.
They were very orderly, advancing in good formation under the restraint of their officers, with virtually no stragglers.
"Damn it, it's Polotsk's people. I knew they had ill intentions."
Just as Edward was guessing the origin of this army, a low curse from the Norseman beside him caught his attention.
"Polotsk's people? How can you tell?"
Edward was naturally curious about this; how could they immediately tell that these were Polotsk's people?
"We've fought Polotsk's people countless times; their appearance is long memorized. And from the looks of these guys, they're Polotsk's elite."
The man said matter-of-factly. Indeed, they had fought Polotsk countless times and were long familiar with their opponents.
These words made Edward's heart tense; why was the Polotsk Principality mobilizing so many troops and advancing on a small road within Novgorod territory?
As he thought about this question, Edward also realized the crux of the matter: what else could such a large army appear for? Thinking this, Edward looked in the direction they were heading. Yes, that direction was north, towards Novgorod.
It seems I've returned at just the right time; I'll have to go to the battlefield again as soon as I arrive.
Edward thought this; as someone who had been a king, he generally knew what was about to happen.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, the Polotsk army finally disappeared, and after waiting a little longer, everyone started to move.
They quickened their pace because everyone knew that this news had to be brought to Rostislav as quickly as possible; something big was about to happen in the north!
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