"The king's strategy is truly a mistake."
Inside the city of Rouen, an elderly man was sitting in the lord's hall, as if he were the true ruler there. He stroked his beard, which was full of white, weathered strands, marking the passage of time.
He was not speaking French, but rather the Saxon dialect from Germany.
"We are fully capable of defending this place, yet the King of England has his bastard son guarding it. This is a grave mistake," he said to his attendant.
His attendant dared not speak, only listening to him.
"Young Prince John is the heir to the kingdom. He is highly capable, with vast lands and great power. If he were Henry's vassal, would Henry dare treat him this way? It's precisely because he is Henry's son that he made such a mistake. He thinks he can treat his son lightly. He should either eliminate him or treat him well."
"Duke, what if the king hears you speaking like this?" said a Saxon knight. "I don't think the King of England is an easy person to deal with."
Heinrich "the Lion" showed a dismissive attitude towards the knight's concern.
Now, except for a few royal knights, the entire Rouen was filled with the Saxon knights he brought. Even if Henry II knew, he couldn't hold him accountable.
If Henry II wanted to continue extending his influence into the German territories, he couldn't touch Heinrich.
"What I'm saying is not wrong. John is the most suitable heir for England. Don't you think he is very much like Fritz? Skilled in power plays and adept at scheming."
The Saxon knights nodded in agreement. They had no good impressions of Frederick, the Holy Roman Emperor.
He turned to Geoffrey. "Bastard, your father has made a very wrong decision. I suggest you hurry back to England and save your brother."
Geoffrey shook his head. "I also dare not defy my father's will."
When he said this, Heinrich suddenly burst into laughter. Those around him looked surprised, not understanding why Heinrich laughed.
Even after Heinrich finished laughing, everyone was still in the dark.
"So, so you are also just a self-interested person. Henry is indeed a pitiful king," Heinrich bluntly mocked. "Even his own son only cares about his own fame and future. He is truly alone, lonely, and pathetic."
Heinrich was probably the only one who dared to make such statements publicly.
He was once the most authoritative feudal lord in all of Europe, holding vast lands in Saxony and Bavaria, and at one point even coveting Italy, challenging the Holy Roman Emperor.
Moreover, his talents had long been recognized by people and history.
In European history, there were only four princes known by the epithet "the Lion," and Heinrich "the Lion" was the earliest among them. His military strategies could rival those of Richard the Lionheart.
"My father respects you greatly, and I hope you can extend the same respect to him, my lord duke." Though Geoffrey was deeply dissatisfied, he could only express it subtly in this manner.
"Alright, bastard, then we should discuss together how to defeat the enemies outside the city."
Heinrich beckoned Geoffrey over to his side. Geoffrey, suppressing his anger, moved closer to listen to Heinrich's plans.
"This is your map. It's very detailed and quite good," Heinrich said, offering rare praise.
Geoffrey could only grumble inwardly, thinking that since the map was of their own lands, of course it would be detailed.
Heinrich continued, "We don't have the advantage in numbers, but we still have some opportunities. If we drag this out a bit longer, we can uncover the internal divisions among them. The French king has many Saxon mercenaries under his command. They are not willing to serve France, and we can turn them against him."
"Also, there are quite a few Flemish nobles in their ranks. These people are traitors by nature. With a little bribery, it will be easy to sow discord among them. Bastard, learn these things well; they will be useful to you in the future."
Heinrich spoke earnestly, looking at Geoffrey. "You are lucky to have met me. Maintain a good relationship with young Prince John; he has much more potential than Richard."
Geoffrey took these words as mere nonsense, letting them go in one ear and out the other. He couldn't think that far ahead at the moment.
...
"So you mean, His Majesty the King is not planning to keep me?" John held the intelligence report in his hand, facing Richard de Luci, the Chief Justiciar of England. This elderly minister had once been a trusted aide of Henry II, but now he could only bring such helpless news to John.
He looked at John. The prince, who bore a striking resemblance to Henry II, did not fly into a rage. In this regard, he was already completely different from his father.
"How could this happen?" John leaned back in his chair, resting his right hand on his chin as he pondered his next move.
He remembered advising not to overreact a few days ago, to just wait for Henry II's support. Now, Henry II had given him a hard slap in the face.
The kingdom was more important than his own son.
Given this perspective, John could understand why his brothers had better relationships with their mother and poor ones with their father.
"No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Why would His Majesty do this?" John complained, but he remained calm.
Guillaume said, "Your Highness, since His Majesty the King can't save us, we should save ourselves."
Now, John regretted not listening to Guillaume at the time. He nodded in agreement, acknowledging his earlier mistake.
Luci followed closely behind John like a loyal guard.
John approached the map hanging on the wall and spoke in a low voice, "Young Robert's army has been stuck in Rochdale. There... it's about the same, we won't gain much advantage from the terrain."
"Your Highness, it seems your army has few knights," Luci said, glancing at the phalanx soldiers resting in the castle. "They must be soldiers you brought from Ireland, right?"
"Yes, they are all from Ireland."
At this point, John had nothing to hide; these were indeed his troops from Ireland.
Luci was filled with concern. John's army lacked knights, and he didn't know how effective they would be in battle, but he dared not hope for the best.
He asked, "Your Highness, can you trust your army?"
Breton, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow but said nothing, though his displeasure was evident.
As for John, he didn't even turn his head. "Their combat effectiveness has already been proven in Ireland."
John's certainty made Luci hesitant to say more. Breton's expression also softened somewhat; at least, it no longer showed the clear dissatisfaction he felt earlier.
"The enemy should have the advantage in numbers. With the few troops we have, we must be extremely cautious."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with John's assessment.
Young Robert had a substantial number of knights and many nobles under his command. Although they had been coerced into joining, their combat effectiveness on the battlefield would undoubtedly be significant.
This was a force that could not be underestimated.
Given John's current army, even with the knights from Lancashire, engaging directly with Robert's forces could easily end in disaster. John himself could even be captured on the battlefield.
Looking around, it seemed there were no factions within England that could help John. The entire northern part of England was essentially in a state of anarchy.
Under these circumstances, John had no choice but to resort to some unconventional tactics.