Chapter 79 Chapter Forty-Five

Zbyszko and Jagienka lived in Mochitori, and old Macko built them a castle in Bogdaniec.He put a lot of effort into building it.He wanted to build a city wall of stone and mortar, and a tower of brick and tile, but bricks were hard to come by in the vicinity.In the first year he dug the moat, a task which was not very difficult, for there were ditches on the plateau on which the castle was built, perhaps as early as pagan times.For these ditches, it is only necessary to cut down the surrounding trees, and then deepen and strengthen them.In the process of digging these ditches, they came across a spring of abundant water, which filled the moat with water, and Macko had to devise a way to drain the water.So he built a fence on the high pier.Stack all the materials needed to build the walls of this small castle there, such as thick oak beams that cannot be hugged by three workers, and larch beams that will not rot in the mud or under the turf, etc. .Although Zgotritri and Mochitori had strong hands and worked hard for a year to start building the castle walls, he was even more enthusiastic about building them now because Jagienka had given birth to twins. .The gates of heaven have been opened for the old knight.In any case, he is working so hard now, finally for someone.He also knew that the "Grache" clan would never be extinct, and that "Demba Podakova" would be bathed in the blood of the enemy more than once.

① Note to the English translation: The coat of arms of the "Grache" (hail) clan is "Demba Podakwa", a horseshoe with a round head and a cross in the center. They named the twins Macko and Jasco.The old man boasted that there were no children in all the kingdom to compare with the twins; and he loved them exceedingly.Jagienka was more precious to him than the whole world.He will give you anything if you praise Jagienka in his presence.Although people admired Zbyszko, they did not praise Jagienka just for the sake of gain.For in the neighborhood she really shone like one of the fairest flowers in the meadow.

She brought her husband a great dowry, and what was better than the dowry: her affectionate love and dazzling beauty; her majesty and courage would have made any knight proud.Only a few days after she gave birth, she would get up as if nothing had happened to take care of the housework, and then go hunting with her husband, or ride from Mochitori to Bogdaniets early in the morning, and return to see her at noon. Macko and Yasco.So her husband loved her as his own eyeball.Old Macko loved her, and so did the servants whom she favored.As soon as she entered the Church of Kirsisnia on Sunday, people shouted and praised her.Her former suitor, the ugly Rogoff's Khitan, married a peasant's daughter, and after mass he drank and drank in the inn with old Wilk of Borzodova. After that, he said: "For her, your son has fought me more than once, and we all wanted to marry her, but we didn't succeed; it was as if we were reaching out to touch the moon in the sky."

Others declared loudly that such a beauty could only be found at the court of Cracow.Besides her wealth, beauty, and manners, they also greatly admired her courage and physical strength.Everyone unanimously asserted: "This is a strong woman who can spear a bear in the woods; she doesn't have to crush a nut with her teeth, but just puts it on a chair and sits on it with her buttocks up, and the nut is crushed." As if crushed by a stone mill." In the parish of Kirsisnya, in the neighboring villages, people praised her in this way; and even in the town of Shiraz, where "Voyevda" lived. she.But although people admire Zbyszko of Bogdaniec, it is not particularly surprising that he married such a wife, because he himself is also very famous.It is unmatched by anyone nearby.

The young nobles and gentlemen were talking in detail of how Zbyszko had killed countless Germans while fighting under Witout, and how he had made them all kneel and beg for mercy in one-on-one duels. .They say that no crusader knight ever escaped his hand; that at Marburg he threw a dozen knights off their horses in succession; Ulrichs, the brother of the Grand Master, was one of them.In the end they said that he was even a match against the knights of Cracow, and that the invincible Tsavesia Czerny himself was his closest friend. Some of them do not believe these exaggerated stories and treat them as myths.But when it comes to preparations for war, when it comes to sending Polish knights to the army with the others, they always say: "There's Zbyszko," and then it's the turn of the disheveled Rogoff's Khitan and other local Dali soils.But those men were far from the young lord of Bogdaniec in courage and knightly prowess.

Zbyszko's vast wealth also contributed to his rise, which was as respected as his fame.After his marriage with Jagienka, he owned the vast property of Mochitori and the abbot.Although it was not due to his meritorious service, before that, he already owned the huge wealth accumulated by Spychoff and Jurand.Besides, it was whispered that the spoils of the two knights, Bogdaniecs alone, in weapons, horses, clothes, jewels, etc., were worth three or four good villages. From this they believed that God took special care of the two "Graches" and of this family bearing the coat of arms of "Demba Podakova", because it was very weak not long ago, except for the desolate Bogdan. Nets had nothing, and now they are more prosperous than any family in the neighbourhood. "It's strange," said the old neighbors, "after a fire Bogdaniec left only one dilapidated house, and the owner, for want of men, had to give it to a relative, and now And yet a castle was built." This particularly surprised them, and they took it as a sign that the whole country was also on the way to prosperity with irresistible momentum, which, if only God would, would surely come to pass.So there was nothing malicious about this surprise.On the contrary, they were proud of their two knights of Bogdaniec, who had given them a definite example of a nobleman with will, force, and heroism. , and adventurous chivalry, you can achieve much.Considering this, many nobles feel that the world in their hometown is too small, and they all feel that going abroad can get huge wealth and vast land, which can not only make them rich, but also benefit the kingdom.This kind of willingness has penetrated into the various noble families in the entire village, and will eventually boil over and develop outward.

Though the wise privy councilors of Cracow and the peace-loving king were able to subdue this force for a while, and prolong this age-old war against the enemy for years, there was no power on earth to extinguish it completely, nor can check the will of the people to aspire to great goals.