Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1104

Can a woman be a baron too? sure.

In order to avoid the extinction of nobles, some extreme measures have reasons to be implemented.

The city of Mainz on the south bank of the Laine River has thick Roman stone walls. It was originally a permanent city expanded by the Roman Empire. It stands on the left bank of the Laine River, watching the Germanic world in the north. After all, the Germanic Franks established a new kingdom on the ruins of Rome, and Mainz, which was originally a border area, gradually became the hinterland of the kingdom.

The Alemani tribe has disintegrated, and its tribal leaders have also turned into nobles of the Frankish system. This is a compromise for the surrounding tribes during the Frankish Conquest.

Especially the Adalbert family, earl of Metz, whose ancestor was a chieftain of Alemany.

This ancient Alemannic homeland for generations is now the height of the civil war, and a series of tragedies are taking place.

The thick stone walls could not give the people who took refuge in Mainz absolute peace of mind. In the eyes of ordinary people, Charlemagne’s third grandson, King Ludwig of the East, was not a good person either. In order to avoid losing his power, this guy forced ordinary farmers to go to war. Sadly, these farmers who had no choice took up weapons modified from agricultural implements and faced almost their own kin.

The army was entrenched in Mainz, and the ordinary peasants endured hardships, and they dared not complain about Ludwig. The king’s military operations made no progress, and the losses were not small. He could only comfortably claim to be “not defeated.”

This year’s autumn harvest is just around the corner, and as many as 2,000 farmers have suffered from battle losses, further weakening the labor force, making the agriculture in Laiyin and Laiyingao, which were already stranded by the war, even worse.

The living must join the autumn harvest, even a group of peasant women with green faces must bring scythes to harvest oats and wheat.

The area south of Mainz is the Upland Plain, where a group of farms were abandoned, and a large number of refugees gathered in Mainz. The priest from Worms parish reassured these poor people, claiming that “your suffering stems from lack of piety”, and in this way try to cut the military and disaster of King Ludwig as much as possible.

The people need to eat, and the main force of the Eastern Kingdom stationed here needs to eat.

After some patchwork, Ludwig believed that there was still a strong army of 3,000 people who dared to fight. This is his last trump card in the middle reaches of the Lai Yin River, and for the time being he has not dared to gamble.

Half of the 3,000 people were cavalry soldiers. People had to eat and horses had to graze. If the army stood still, it was a huge material consumption machine.

Perhaps it would be the best choice to disperse the army into the fields to harvest grain in person. Such a measure of cherishing the power of the people was not only unthinkable, but never even tried to think of.

He was concerned about how much food he could receive this year, and looked forward to saving up enough supplies to avoid spending money to transfer food from Bavaria.

In the end, what he was frantically depleting was mainly the people who came from the territory of the Earl of Yingao. He never took this place as his core territory, and there was no psychological burden on how to deplete it.

To make matters worse, the real Earl of Layingau went to the Taunus Mountains in the north to live in seclusion, without betrayal or allegiance. They simply left the entire fiefdom and let Ludwig toss about it at will.

The local big lord is rotten, and Ludwig has a little more anger to vent his anger, and he is more aggressive in looting the local people’s surplus food and human resources.

Just when the situation was anxious and complicated, the Rus people entrenched in Nassau brought good news.

Blue Fox’s Rus army guarded the ship and camped outside the city.

He himself took a small group of elite Sui Cong, his younger brother Black Fox, and his sister-in-law Sophia Nassau, and walked into Mainz under the **** of elite Frank heavy cavalry.

The larger the city, the lack of firepower for prosperity.

The blue fox had an old face, and he saw a group of decadent people sitting idle on the dirty street. The old woman had a sad face, and the gray-white turban covered her face as if to hide her poverty, while the children with ignorant eyes had dark faces, and the dry snot stuck to their faces, and no adults could wash their faces for them.

When these people saw Ludwig riding a tall horse, they didn’t shy away, they just looked up and didn’t do anything.

Ludwig didn’t pay attention to his own people either, as if he didn’t see it at all. He was a horse-riding bodyguard and even more contemptuous.

The monarch and the people have such a numb relationship with each other? This situation does not exist in Ross at all.

“Ludwig will always be an arrogant guy.” Blue Fox’s initial perception of him still hasn’t changed after so many years.

The corruption in the city was shocking to the black fox. Little Sophia Nassau just subconsciously held the black fox’s fat arm all the time. She instinctively felt that this place was a bad place.

A good name, because the war has made her prosperous no longer.

“Maybe prosperity can be restored, provided that their civil war can be terminated.” Thinking of this, the blue fox looked at Ludwig’s back on the horse, and felt that this man would not let it go.

The main roads in the city are paved with dense stone slabs, a legacy infrastructure from the Roman era, as are the heavy stone buildings.

A stone building with remnants of Roman style became Ludwig’s temporary palace, where he wished to entertain the Blue Fox and his party with great mercy.

In the final analysis, the blue fox also has the status of an earl, and his younger brother, the black fox, has to have the status of a baron equivalent to the Frankish system because he joined the Nassau family.

Earls and barons, as well as marquis (frontier counts), are only a few of the great nobles in the legal control area of ​​the Eastern Kingdom. Legally, an earl is indeed higher in rank than a baron, but it’s not necessarily true when it comes to military strength.

The noble king, during Ludwig’s capture and peace talks, saw too many strange things in the north. It’s fair to say that he admires the complex and delicious meals that the Rus people do, and now he brings a batch of Rus people’s glass tableware to put it down.

The food and drink that Ludwig can offer today can be described as brutish compared to elegance. He ordered to roast a local goat, be sure to choose a goat tail fat enough for roasting. There are no special ingredients for roast lamb, only coarse salt and thyme. When eating meat, nobles cut the meat with knives, and even tear it up by themselves.

Like a bear sitting on a stone cosy with fire, Ludwig is such a beast. He deliberately waited until the fat sheep was cooked before announcing the start of the feast, and invited the foreign nobles who were in a daze in the city to a private meeting.

No wives, no maids. Of course Ludwig has the right to secretly raise a few maids, and it is also possible to make some illegitimate children. He disdains to do this. This is not the spiritual cleanliness he created because of his beliefs. The so-called big brother Lotaire clearly wants to put himself to death. When he is alive and dead, he will spend all his thoughts on the war, why should he think about anything else?

The stone house was like a secret room. All the attendants left, and there were only four people in the room: King Ludwig, Blue Fox, Earl of Gothenburg, son-in-law of Baron Nassau, and Sophia, daughter of Baron Nassau.

The four of them are nobles, and tonight can be described as a secret meeting of nobles. Even the young Sophia felt uncomfortable in this nervous atmosphere.

Maybe the girl should leave this brutish aristocratic secret meeting, but the sizzling and oily roasted fat sheep made her salivate. Of course she can’t go, because she is the key person.

For the blue fox, Ludwig’s attitude is extremely complicated. He fiddled with the ruby-encrusted Ross steel sword, and cut the mutton himself with this sharp treasure, deliberately for the blue fox to see clearly.

“That sword was once the saber of King Ross. I gave it to you back then.” Lanhu’s eyes were sharp.

“Indeed. Last year, I was beaten so hard by you! The noble I was almost captured by an unknown soldier, but the other party was actually a noble. This sword was not taken away by your Rurik in the end. It’s a good sword. It’s still mine.”

“It’s a good sword.” Lanhu smiled and stood up again, pulling out his saber, the sword humming in the wind made Ludwig look sideways.

Seeing his brother like this, the little fat black fox also pulled out his sword and showed it with a smile.

The so-called murderous intention with a sword in hand, Ludwig felt a slight threat, so he covered up the embarrassment with a smile, but when he looked at their swords, a strong sense of familiarity emerged spontaneously.

Lanhu said with a little arrogance: “Do you really know the source of the sword?”

“I don’t know.”

“Your sword was originally ordered by my father and given to King Rurik, and then the king passed it on to me, and finally gave it to you as a gift. The swords of our four brothers all have similar styles, all from the same master. hand.”

Ludwig never knew this. “So, my sword isn’t really noble?”

“Neither. Even if our brothers are loyal to different kings, we are all nobles. The sword you ordered is very valuable. The sword you are holding is worth two pounds of silver.”

It’s the businessman’s slick wisdom, what is “the king of allegiance is different”, Ludwig glanced at the little fat man who had entered the Nassau family, and was delighted.

“Since we all carry swords, we are all great nobles. I allow you to move freely! Come on! Let’s share the fat sheep.”

A rather plump leg of lamb was cut into a glass plate by a black fox, and he personally brought it to Sophia Nassau. The little girl has long been drooling, she has never dared to make a sound, and now she is sulking with a prepared knife and fork to cut the meat and eat it.

It was very inappropriate for such a little girl to join the secret dinner of the nobles indecently. Ludwig specially allowed this young daughter of the Baron of Nassau to participate, and did not see her as a woman in essence. It stands to reason that the humble Baron of Nassau in the past existed as a small vassal of the Earl of Leying, and did not even have the right to face the king. Now, of course, Ludwig doesn’t respect this girl, he just looks at the little fat man beside her and the Russ army who can easily capture Koblenz.

After nibbling on his stomach and eating hard, Ludwig rudely smashed a small dagger (a kind of tableware) on the oak table, and said arrogantly: “To be honest, I appreciate your capture of Cobron. The behavior of this king. The war in the south of this king has not been smooth recently. Your position in the west has brought me back my face. You are also very clever in sending the prisoners to me, which really alleviated some of my lack of troops. ”

Obviously, this guy said this to pave the way for a deep secret conversation.

Looking at this king, Lanhu urgently inquired about something during the short time he stayed in the city. He winked at his brother Heihu to shut up, he smiled meaningfully for a while, and then said, “You will get a benefit in this way, so we also need a benefit.”

“Benefits, what do you want?”

“Like the treaty we signed with each other at the beginning of the year. Me! As Earl of Gothenburg of Ross, I brought the army to help you fight, helped you take Koblenz, and gave you the prisoners. You have to pay me money.”

No anti-theft

“Money? What am I paying for?” Ludwig’s arrogant face relaxed.

“One hundred and forty prisoners, each worth two pounds of silver.”

“You? Seriously?!”

“really.”

“Greed!” the surprised Ludwig asked sharply, sticking his head out, “why?”

“Oh? Could it be that the noble past can’t even take out three hundred pounds of silver? You must know that the Bishop of Cologne paid five thousand pounds of silver to buy peace. You are not as noble as a bishop?”

Ludwig, who was so aggressive, gritted his teeth, and as a king, it was inconvenient for him to point out that he was indeed short of money now. More than just a lack of money? It’s really exhausting and exhausting right now.

For a few moments, Ludwig appreciated that the Normans could loot around in longships. Being forced to act as a bandit is not only degrading, but also blasphemous, but looting in a distant place is a shortcut to solve the problem of military supplies in a short period of time.

In fact, since the moment he saw the Ross army at the landing point, Ludwig’s evil thoughts rose. It is indeed not suitable for you to send people to do evil things yourself, but the Normans are recognized as “Satan’s apostles”. Just like the group of Norman mercenaries from Denmark that he had raised before, some of the dirty work that was inconvenient for him to do was done by the poor Danish nobleman Harald Clark. There is even Horlick, a Dane who was taken off by the remote commander Nai He, who was a good dog before he turned against the water.

As long as the northerners can be used, they can become good dogs with the lure of fame and fortune.

Ludwig knew that he couldn’t use the blue fox, but his younger brother was obviously very knowledgeable.

He didn’t say that he couldn’t get the money now, but instead asked: “You must be robbed by occupying Koblenz. That place was occupied by Lothair, and you must have made a fortune.”

“We are just fulfilling our treaty obligations. As for the captured prisoners and some weapons, you have already taken the prisoners, and you owe me three hundred pounds of silver coins. As for the captured weapons and equipment, I can sell them to you cheaply. Those silver coins I will distribute it to the fighters, I hope you can pay quickly.”

“This…” Ludwig said with a low face: “Anyway, people are already in my hands as loyal to me. Now is the time when this king is employing people, and the personnel and materials are relatively tight, so let me take the money immediately, and I will tell you clearly that next year Say it again.”

“Is this a deliberate debt?!”

“That’s right. This king owes it on purpose, how about it?”

Lanhu was pretending to be angry, but seeing that the other party seemed to be really moving, he relaxed again with a smile. In the end, Lanhu concluded from what he saw and heard in the city that this guy was not rich for the time being, and it was really unnecessary to force him to pay.

“Okay, I’ll record this account first. I have another important event here this time, it’s really my brother Heihu and my sister-in-law Sophia.”

Ludwig still had a sullen face, and said meaningfully: “I have already guessed what your intentions are.”

“Really? But it’s definitely not a complete guess. I know you Franks have a lot of attention. My brother needs a name, and my sister-in-law needs a name. Henry Nassau intends to divide Nassau’s old land to Sophia, and also It’s this girl. How? Your honorable king, do you agree?”

Recognition is of course no problem, but at this juncture, Ludwig is more concerned about the benefits he can get after acknowledging. “Of course this king has the right to canonize a new baron, even a woman. But what good will it do me?”

“Nature is the allegiance of a new noble.”

“Is it your brother?” After speaking, Ludwig’s eyes were already staring at the eager black fox.

“Neither…”

Therefore, Lanhu solemnly came up with his own proposition, intending to bargain with Ludwig.

He planned this: Sophia Nassau was canonized as a baron of Nassau, ruling over the old Nassau and Koblenz. As the baron’s butler, the black fox actually leads the military and political affairs. Black Fox and Sophia’s future sons will inevitably inherit the title and continue to serve Ludwig and his successors. The Rus army stationed in Nassau can act as the Nassau Baron’s Army, especially in the civil war from the standpoint of the Eastern Kingdom.

Ok? Of course!

A long time ago, under the strong military oppression of the Franks, the Danish chief Godfrey nominally surrendered to Charlemagne. Although his successor Harald Clark was down, he still took a group of warriors to serve the Eastern Kingdom.

Of all the Frankish nobles, Ludwig’s fiefs were geographically marginal, and his army was closely related to the Normans, Wends (generally known as the West Slavs), and Moravians s contact. The Normans are not simply “Satan’s apostles”, they are fierce and can be used, and the now rising northern monarch Rurik is indeed a hero who can communicate.

Everything is for profit! Faith is just a fig leaf for competing interests!

Ludwig saw the truth very clearly, especially the Cologne Diocese, which had expanded its strength after the war. Where are those priests now, who are the servants of the gods, and they have clearly begun to become noble lords, and the executors are clearly earl-level large-scale. authority. Mastering the divine power and military power, and the financial power is firmly held, they can claim that they can build a paradise on earth in Dar es Salaam. But in Ludwig’s view, such things are a big threat to his own power.

First of all, it is impossible for the black fox to be legally loyal to Ludwig, but his future son can. Sophia must now kneel down on one knee, and the little girl is loyal to Ludwig like a male noble~www.mtlnovel.com~ In the stone room, the identity of a baroness has been confirmed.

But Sophia was ignorant all the way. She was very afraid of the bearded king. When the sword was placed on her left and right shoulders and the top of her head, which had already taken off her turban, she subconsciously trembled. Finally, she learned to say a Latin phrase in a dull manner to declare her allegiance. .

She is just a little girl, but completing the encapsulation means two big things. First, the Baron of Nassau, who was also in the Leyingau area, still exists, so that a new nobleman exists locally, and Ludwig no longer has to worry about everything. Second, the entitlement is equal to the approval of the Baron Nassau’s right to rule Koblenz. This matter will definitely not be recognized by the Middle Kingdom. Then the baronies or the de facto Rus people will be severely attacked by the Middle Kingdom. Dewish would love to have a strong man to help him share the pressure.

So, based on the second benefit, can the third benefit be derived?

Their Norman Rus, who bear the title of Baron of Nassau, are obviously more greedy and cunning than the Danes. Considering that he can’t immediately take out a batch of money to redeem the captives, those northern ruthless people will definitely be angry, unless they authorize this group of guys to do something to satisfy their hunting appetite.

txt download address:

phone-reading: