Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1103

A **** battle ended on the same day. Ludwig, who was the main attacker, was unwilling to fight again. After counting the remaining troops, his forge ahead plan had to be put on hold due to practical reasons.

The Lauter River, which gathers from the springs of the North Vosges, was bloodied, and the blood of the dead made the river crimson, and it still looked strange when the river finally poured into the Rhine.

The town of Lauten was still in the hands of Adalbert, Count of Metz, who, too, suffered great losses, and his plans to attack Mainz for the city’s victory were suspended indefinitely.

The dead bodies scattered on the battlefield at the mountain pass were once uncollected, and both sides were actively preparing for the battle. This was not to attack again, but to prevent the attacking opponent from being beaten.

It has been three full days since the end of the battle, during which both sides continued to strengthen their defenses.

The two sides, who were very nervous, did not even send messengers to communicate. Finally, Ludwig couldn’t bear the boredom of the battlefield and sent messengers.

The messenger rode a horse and ran across the battlefield. The dead corpses on the ground were all gray and white, and the blood turned black. The corpse group and the early morning bushes formed a very eye-catching contrast. The air is filled with the stench of Dandan, as long as people who are not stupid can understand that in a few days, the stench of corpses here is enough to make the living people who stray into it faint.

The messenger ran wild with the king’s letter, and the parchment scroll in the leather bag sketched Ludwig’s letter of surrender.

The vigilant Count Metz’s subordinates successfully intercepted the courier, and then escorted it to the camp in Lauten.

Now, the messenger stood in front of the count with a rebellious attitude, and the letter he was carrying had already been delivered.

“It’s still my allegiance. It’s exactly the same as what I thought.” The count rolled up the scroll, and he was so noble that he would not be angry with an arrogant messenger, but sighed: “The dignified king is on his way. If I prepare properly, it is very likely that Killed Prince Ludwig. Ah! Calm down, what a sin.”

The messenger is arrogant and serious: “Please consider my king’s suggestion carefully. It will be good for you to be loyal to King Ludwig.”

“Really?” The earl looked contemptuously out of the corner of his eyes: “I can’t get you some ordinary people to teach me how to do things. I already know the prince’s request, you can go back. Oh, this is a chance, you also bring me with you. letter.”

Adalbert lacked suitable writing materials on hand, and since there was still a lot of blank space on this parchment, he just added a few words on the spot.

He is a great noble who pays more attention to force, not a bard or a philosopher by any means, and his reply is concise, even with only one sentence: “At any time, Count Metz is loyal to King Lothair and his family descendants.”

It is equivalent to saying that Count Metz, who insisted on Lauten, denied other options.

He did not ask for another fight, nor did he intend to make peace.

When the messenger returned disheartened and delivered a reply from Count Metz, Ludwig already understood the other party’s tangled attitude. Count Metz deliberately concealed some preconditions, and the true words he asked for in his reply were: “Although I have suffered a lot, I still swear allegiance to King Lothair.”

“Damn. How much has he done to you? It’s best for you to be passive, even neutral. Now that you’re actively involved in the civil war, what do you want? Rip the earth and become an archduke and learn from the Burgundians?”

Counts are already the most free nobles in the kingdom, and some counts have been more free since ancient times, such as the Marquis of Thuringia and the Grand Duke of Burgundy.

The name of Metz (Metz) is ancient, especially the Adalbert family has been a big noble in this area two hundred years ago.

The title has been downgraded from duke to earl in this generation, because the family cannot overstep the power of the royal family.

Count Metz is neither deaf nor blind. The Count of Westphalia, a descendant of the Saxon chief Widukind, is the Duke of Saxony who has regained his family’s title from the Eastern Kingdom, and is said to have really mastered the real power.

The small area of ​​the Earl of Metz is, in principle, across the Rhine from the Westphalian part of the area.

The success of one party deeply stimulated the ambition of the earl. The earl of Metz was a Duke during the Merovingian dynasty. The family was downgraded in the new dynasty, and a considerable territory became the direct jurisdiction of King Lothair, especially Sri Lanka. Trasbourg, but the successor is unwilling to sink. This is the reason that stimulated this generation of Counts of Metz to resolutely and highly intervene in the civil war. The so-called really took Mainz and occupied the Saar region north of the Saar River and south of the Saar River as his new fief, then although he still It is the name of the earl, and the strength has basically returned to the state of two hundred years ago.

The two decision makers did not communicate further, and it was not each other’s will that a second battle took place in the town of Lauten.

Count Metz knew that he was not qualified to kill Prince Ludwig, and that taking prisoners was the ideal result. If the killing was really completed, it would be a disaster for the family.

Ludwig calculated that if he continued to attack Laoten by storm, it would still be a tragic victory, and then the tired army would be defeated by Lothair, who was waiting to work.

After calming down, the two chose unparalleled rationality. They deliberately stalemate, deliberately delaying the battle until the autumn harvest. After the autumn harvest, the “war season” is basically over.

The Franks defined spring and summer as a period suitable for war, a set that was inherited from the Roman Empire.

But there is no point in continuing to stay in the dilapidated town of Winneville. This bell mouth area faces a mountain pass that cannot be made quickly. Staying here will reveal all the flaws. It is better to withdraw to Mainz so as not to delay this autumn harvest.

It was Ludwig’s Eastern Kingdom army that first began to withdraw, and the dwindling army marched north along the Roman road. The entire town of Winneville was empty, and the surviving peaceful residents were evicted.

He even collected civilians in the original area of ​​​​the annex, and once found all of them were brought to Mainz.

The Frankish people who came up to the Yin Plain had to choose a side, and now all the villagers north of Lauten Township were relocated by Ludwig. When the army was evacuated, what was left was the extremely empty world after the war.

He only left an outpost in the town of Alce, the only way to pass the Roman road. It took Ludwig three days to complete the withdrawal of the army, equivalent to a journey of 50 kilometers. Losing a lot of troops, the army retreated to Mainz in ashes, and then went into full defense.

Military operations are neither won nor lost, and it is true that the loss of troops will be lost.

Fortunately for Ludwig, the loss of his elite troops was slight, but the peasant soldiers forcibly recruited in the Leyingau and Upper Lein areas (the area near the Mainz section of the Lein River) suffered great losses.

The war of 840 was the place where conscription was rampant, and it was still the same a year later. The human resources of Leyingo were so depleted that it was inevitable that the local agriculture would be seriously damaged.

Ludwig didn’t care about the lives of local farmers. He relocated farmers from the south to the north, in order to continue to squeeze human resources.

“Ah! This year is not enough. I will continue to recruit troops now, and I will transfer troops from Bavaria. Next year, I must seize the Saar River Bridge (Sarabruggja Town) and get the entire Saar region.”

As a result, it was at this delicate time that Ludwig was busy defending and licking his wounds, and a Norman fleet appeared in Mainz carelessly.

Who is coming? It was the Ross Fleet of the Blue Fox and Black Fox brothers, and in fact it was the Ross Fleet with the name of the Baron of Nassau.

The fleet is small, and if the cross flags were not flying wildly, the people along the way would feel that this was a serious threat.

The defenders of the Eastern Kingdom are naturally on high alert, and they are now extremely responsible for the attitude of the Normans. In the end, they had a friendly relationship with each other through the treaty. When the defenders thought of the king’s expedition, they lost 30,000 halberds, and the fear in the hearts of these people was indelible.

Mainz was originally one of the “church cities” under the diocese of Worms. It was originally undefended, but now it is firmly under the control of King Ludwig and is on high alert.

“It’s Mainz in front? It looks like they have their garrison here. Will we be attacked if we land directly?” The black fox was inevitably suspicious of his own safety.

Blue Fox didn’t care: “That Ludwig knows me. Haha, he doesn’t dare to shut me up this time. Look at the gifts we brought this time, he will be excited. Listen, take good care of your woman, Sophia. Can help you do something.”

A typical Norman longship splayed out its oars to tow an armed freighter, which housed a special cargo—the disarmed defenders of Koblenz.

The surrendered captain of the garrison flag, Fred, had no choice now. He came to Mainz for the first time in his life, and leading his brothers to join the army of the Eastern Kingdom was the best ending that could be achieved.

Of course, the cargo was more than a hundred prisoners of war. The batch of weapons and armors seized by the brave capture of Koblenz must be urgently needed materials for the Eastern Kingdom army. They were taken from prisoners of war and carried from the armory, and they were sold separately for the purpose of maximizing profits.

The battle at Koblenz was over, and even the knights who had taken in deserters from the garrison changed their allegiance to the Baron of Nassau for their own benefit, and took the population to become part of the baronies.

The expanded Nassau baroniality needs the recognition of the great nobles. Of course, the black fox does not need the approval of the top nobles to exercise the power of stewardship. Sophia Nassau gets the baroniality as a woman and really needs the support of the great nobles.

Entering the Frankish world needs to implement some red tape. It is not like the openness of happiness and feud in the northern world. The blue fox and black fox brothers don’t like this, and now they can only accept it.

The fleet docked carelessly, the personnel landed one after another, and then the materials began to be transported.

The locals kept vigilant onlookers, and Ludwig rushed to the periphery of the outer landing field with heavy cavalry. He noticed that the Norman army also displayed the Ross flag, and the appearance of a group of elite armed men really made him love and hate.

Reason took over his mind, and he couldn’t help thinking: “If these guys act as my mercenaries now and listen to my deployment, with a strong army in hand, I will have an advantage in launching an attack next year.”

He is a king after all, and now back to his turf, the shelf must be brought up.

The heavy cavalry was really neat in formation, they were not attacking but acting as a guard of honor.

The Russ army who landed was inevitably vigilant, so the torsion slingshots on the armed cargo ships anchored near the shore remained in a battle-ready state, and the soldiers who landed were able to push the long ships back to the Yin River in a short time.

After all, this was just a show off by Ludwig. He took advantage of the time to change his clothes, especially to put on his golden crown.

When he reappeared on horseback, the squires beside him held high Charlemagne’s “Flag of the Three Lions”. A noble knight appeared? ! Do not! That was King Ludwig himself!

“He’s here.” Lanhu pounded his brother.

“Who? A big noble?”

“It’s their king. A great noble on the same level as my king, Rurik.”

“It… doesn’t look noble either.”

Lanhu squeezed his brother’s neck fiercely: “At least this man will admit your power in the local area. Remember, you must salute him respectfully, even if you pretend to be.”

“Acting? Well. If it’s in my favor.”

In doing business, you must be good at being tactful, and don’t be as stubborn as the Odin warriors. Businessmen can be shameless. Anyway, money is the most important thing.

Although the little fat black fox was wearing chain mail, the ferret cap with blue-dyed feathers on the top of his head was really gorgeous, and the fat figure alone indicated that he was rich.

Sophia Nassau, who was being pulled, simply hugged the arm of the black fox. It was the first time in her life that the little girl saw the heavy cavalry arrayed by the river, and she was inevitably afraid.

Ludwig held up his curly beard chin, deliberately arrogant to hide his actual weakness, and even tried his best to overshadow the Russ in face. He recognized the slightly fat guy, and he was quite regretful about Joseph Blue Fox. He had known that there would be a series of troubles in the future, and he should not have arrogantly rejected this adventure from the north all the way to Regensburg in Bavaria. Ross messenger.

The series of misfortunes in the past are irreversible, and it is not too late.

Ludwig, who was riding on a Frank high-headed horse, stood in front of Blue Fox and the others, one was looking down in a high-profile manner, and the other was looking up with a professional smile.

“Joseph, it’s you. How did you know I was here?”

“Oh, noble king. Who does not know your name? I heard that you were in Mainz, and you landed here on purpose.”

The blue fox’s glib appearance made Ludwig feel that this was a special kind of arrogance. But he can’t say anything, after all, people are flattering.

“Well, I do have a great reputation in my territory. It’s strange, you guys don’t take care of them in Nassau, why did you suddenly come to me? You’d better bring me something good.”

“Yes, it is because of good things that I am here.”

“What good thing?”

“A good thing that you must be happy.” The blue fox deliberately whispered: “We captured the town of Koblenz and made all the nearby villages surrender. Now that the mouth of the Moselle is completely under our control, it No longer your enemies, we are your allies.”

“What? How could there be such a good thing?!” Ludwig was taken aback, he subjectively thought this was a bragging.

“Yes. I even brought evidence.”

What is evidence? A group of young men in single clothes were driven forward, leading the enemy to Ludwig, who was riding a horse, and the next second he was on one knee.

The captain of the flag guard, Fred, was very particular about revealing his hometown, the flag team he served, and his intentions of loyalty in the future.

“The Guard is Here”

“You? It’s actually the defender of Koblenz? You stand up and speak.” The excited Ludwig ordered.

He added a lot of unarmed people, but he was overjoyed with these men, and he didn’t even care about their past. He was completely too lazy to listen to Fred’s further narration. Since all the people in the group were interested in allegiance, and when he was employing people, the good thing that the Middle Kingdom army poached was not done for nothing. Since this group of people has its own organization, they still exist as a whole flag team, but they have become the standing army of the Eastern Kingdom.

Then at the Rus’ landing site, a group of Rus’ prisoners of war knelt down and collectively swore allegiance to King Ludwig.

The Barony of Nassau lies to the north of the Rhine, and the south bank is the Koblenz region. Ludwig knew quite a lot about the situation there. The territory that was supposed to be the younger brother Charlie the Bald was taken away by the elder brother Lothair. This is a glimpse of the civil war. With Koblenz, he is really cool.

But after thinking about it, the question comes again – who is Koblenz who was captured by the Rus?

This matter can be discussed well. Ludwig is in a very happy mood. He intends to entertain Joseph Blue Fox and his cronies, and intends to be merciful to arrange for the landing of the Ross Army to camp outside the city of Mainz.

He had long noticed the little fat man standing beside the blue fox and a little girl wearing a traditional white scarf robe. His temperament was not used for brutish Ross warriors, no need to mention noble. It seems that it must be the cronies brought by the blue fox, who should be the object of the banquet.

He couldn’t help but ask one more question.

So ~www.mtlnovel.com~ the black fox was respectful and flattered very naively. A series of positive Latin adjectives not only greatly satisfied Ludwig’s vanity, but also proved the nobility of the black fox.

“It’s nice to meet you, little fat man. You have this blond hair and you’re a Norman, right?” he asked.

“Yes. Dear King, I am the third eldest of the Gould family in the Kingdom of Ross, I am Paul Black Fox, and now the son-in-law of the Baron of Nassau. You see, this girl is Henry Nassau’s daughter Sophia, and we are engaged. …”

At this point, the black fox does not need to say any more. He deliberately displayed a sterling silver cross and claimed to be the son-in-law of the Baron of Nassau. Ludwig has realized a lot.

Ludwig’s heart was dripping: “It seems that these Norman guys are here to negotiate with me. I can definitely use them.”

The former Ludwig was young and vigorous and dismissed the Norman world, believing that Denmark was all Norman. The war made him sober. Since he could not win the North and the northerners were not pure pirates, it was necessary to make deals with nobles who were good at negotiating, especially the Gould family.

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