Chapter 1002 Ludwig, King of the East Franks, was planted uselessly
In the dark forest, the Ross cavalry polished their swords. The air was filled with the aroma of cooking wheat and barbecue, and the soldiers waited for the delicious meal to be cooked.
Hundreds of prisoners sat paralyzed together. They were driven to the city of Cologne during the day, dreaming of being rescued by the defenders. However, the priests seemed to be a group of traitors.
They witnessed the martyrdom of a brave cardinal and the murder of his companions.
Many people were disheartened. They did not trust the Ross horse bandits at all and were convinced that they would be driven to the city again tomorrow, only to be brutally killed.
The captured village priests have all been killed, and there is no suitable messenger to preach to the prisoners sitting on the ground.
In desperation, Fiske tried his best to describe this scene using poor Middle French vocabulary.
He stood on a high place and preached: "Money! Your lives! We! Got the money! You are released. Cologne refuses! You die."
They were all simple words that the captives could understand and were greatly shocked by.
Are the "great men" in Cologne really willing to give up money? The captured people are devout in their faith. As for whether those "servants of God" are also very devout, many people have unexplainable doubts.
Anyway all the prisoners got some food.
Either a piece of wood, or simply made into a nest with both hands. They got some cooked wheat in various containers, but it was like the last supper to them.
Just as these prisoners thought, Fisk had indeed made two preparations.
If the priests refuse to fulfill their contract, they will simply execute the prisoners indiscriminately under the city walls. After all, it is impossible for the brothers to continue to waste money in the Cologne area. Rational consideration is that the cavalry with less than 200 riders will not be able to force the Cologne people to spend money to buy peace. Everything does not matter.
Once the opponent refuses, it will be a sufficient reason for the Russian army to launch a possible military attack in the future. After all, it is not difficult for the fleet to attack Cologne along the Rhine River.
"I hope my threats can be effective." Fisk secretly hoped.
On the other hand, just as Fisk hoped most, the city wall could protect the physical bodies of the Cologne people, and the people and priests had given in.
The treasury was opened, and fearing that the shrewd Norman horse bandits would find out that the ransom given was insufficient and cause trouble again, the priests decided to take out the full amount of 5,000 pounds of silver coins and pack them into a hundred sacks.
Acting Bishop Hildwin even went a step further. In addition to the two small carriages, he organized ten additional pack horses, with a small oak barrel hung on each side of the horse's back, filled with pure barley wine.
Giving in to the barbarians is a very humiliating thing. Considering that four hundred years ago the Pope also gave in to the Hun leader who attacked Rome, the priests had reason to comfort themselves with this example.
After all, it is not a glorious thing. Anyone who has done such a thing, the Cardinal of Cologne, will obviously not be able to participate in the vote for archbishop. Therefore, the death of Cardinal Marquez won him the status of a martyr and posthumous honors.
His attempts to buy peace during his lifetime could not get him any help in running for archbishop. Everything was tacitly false and submissive.
Hildwin's position as acting bishop was not his own, and he had no bigger dreams. Now he just wanted to put an end to the disaster.
After all, what he was criticized for was his decision, his final decision, and his execution in the end.
On the day of the appointment, the city walls were as usual covered with the city's defenders. Although the soldiers did not have the courage to go out and fight, at least they had to show off their skills.
Everyone was holding a flag, and as far as the eye could see across the city, there were cross flags fluttering in the wind.
At this moment, a team walked out of the gray forest through the snow. The Ross cavalry escorted these more than 300 prisoners, with arrows on the handles of their bows, ready for battle.
Fisk saw the flags everywhere on the city wall from a distance, and couldn't help but be surprised.
"They are showing off their power! Brothers, pay attention! All obey my command."
The implication is that everyone is ready to execute the prisoners.
As a result, they arrived outside the city gate cautiously. First, all the corpses were cleaned up, and there were still some traces on the snow. The cavalry was just a stone's throw away, and Fisk couldn't help but yell loudly, saying that the north gate of the city had been opened by someone sneaky.
"Attention everyone, there are enemies rushing out now." He continued to order.
The cavalry soldiers have formed a linear formation, and they can use recurve bows to shoot three arrows quickly to counter any possible geothermal heat.
The enemy they were worried about did not exist. What came out of the relatively narrow city gate was a cavalry team.
The two carriages carried a large number of sacks, and the horses behind them carried some wooden barrels.
A prelate carried the cross, followed by some helpless servants.
This person is the acting bishop. Fisk still remembers that this guy is called Hildwin.
He then held the reins and walked forward towards the horse, and asked condescendingly: "Have all the silver coins arrived?"
"As you can see, here they are. Fifty sacks, each containing one hundred pounds. I guarantee with honor that this time they are all fine silver coins."
"Really? Maybe I should believe you."
"We don't dare to deceive, we keep our promises, and we hope... that you can release the prisoners and all leave."
"At least let me inspect the goods."
Fisk personally inspected the goods, and he deliberately asked to open the sack buried deepest. This move really made Hildwin break out in a cold sweat.
This thing frightened Hildwin. After all, someone asked to stuff a large amount of low-quality silver coins into sacks and throw them to the Ross horse bandits. As long as they were pressed in the middle of the carriage, how would the enemy know? Hildwin was afraid that something would go wrong and scolded this deception.
Now, as expected, his worries came true, and he realized his wit from last night.
"Yes, they are all of good quality. I also know that these silver coins are engraved with Charlemagne's image. Your good silver coins are very popular in the northern world." Holding a large number of silver coins, Fisk couldn't help but praise them.
Hildwin trembled: "Thank you for your praise, sir."
"Okay. Those barrels should be full of ale?"
"Yes."
"Oh? You won't poison it, right?" Fisk asked with interest.
This question made Hildwin tremble and jump in shock. He denied incoherently: "We don't dare! That is an evil act that violates faith. If we do it, we will all go to hell. Even if... you don't believe in it."
Our God."
"I can trust you. It seems that you are willing to keep the promise, so we will keep the promise too." Fisk nodded and ordered: "Don't move. We will take away the carriage and horses. You can take away these tied prisoners."
.We Russians are actually principled. Your Franks have been defeated and Cologne has spent money to buy peace. At least I will not lead troops to wreak havoc here again. Let’s leave now.”
"Then, I wish you a safe return to your hometown."
Hildwin subconsciously wanted to mutter "The Lord be with you" to say goodbye, but when he thought that these were a group of barbarians, he had to mutter something else. At this moment, his mind was filled with joy and fear, and he wished that these group of horse-riding devils would leave quickly.
.
Fisk was completely ecstatic. Fortunately, he had experienced hundreds of battles. Since he could face the bloody battlefield calmly, now he was faced with the sudden robbery of five thousand pounds of silver coins... This thing is indeed outrageous, but one thing is true.
, he and his brothers created a miracle of war. Suppressing his joy, he ordered his subordinates to take away all the horses and carriages.
After that, they still took action against the prisoners.
The prisoner thought he was going to be killed, but the rope binding his hands was untied, and then the soldier kicked him hard. The man who stumbled on the snow quickly got up and ran towards the open city gate.
Because it was inconvenient to carry a carriage on the return journey, a large number of silver coin sacks had to be transported by horses. The brothers needed to recover all the ropes that tied people up. Their act of untying the ropes was like a performance art. Now the city walls were densely covered with Cologne.
Everyone has seen that the Ross horse bandits did release the prisoners safely, and they will probably keep their other promises.
Forget it, Fisk said nothing more to the priests. He even ordered the army to take the spoils and leave without looking back, gradually disappearing into the forest.
…
For the Ross Cavalry led by Fisk, it is time for their winter adventure to come to an end.
If war is a means to gain profits, then their special actions directly earned sufficient military expenses for Ross's expedition.
Fisk was in a great mood. He felt that the cold wind blowing on his face was warm. The first thing he could think of while guarding a large amount of treasure was the good days ahead.
He tightened his grip on the reins, raised his chin and shouted to everyone with great interest: "The king asked us to sneak attack the enemy, and we made a fortune! Don't forget, many brothers have died in this war. They went to the Heroic Spirit
The palace, but their families must be compensated. After paying the wealth that belongs to the king, we brothers will share the treasure equally. Living and dead, all of us will share equally!"
As a general, Fisk was embarrassed to be greedy. He had the power to take a large part of the loot as his own, but he was unwilling to do so.
Because he noticed Arik's behavior over the years. That man was not greedy, but Arik still had huge wealth. The brothers also admired this man as a true warrior, and he was definitely not the king's cousin.
Fisker pursues personal honor more than wealth.
Many cavalry warriors hold huge amounts of wealth, especially young people who were once forced into the Ross Cavalry by their parents. For a while, they just want to go back to their hometowns with their wealth to show off, and they are even a little war-weary because of it.
Fisk is not the same. If the cavalry still encounters the Frankish army on its way back, it will use the same tactics to gain another victory to expand the results.
After all, the horses used as pack mules still have sufficient transport capacity.
The cavalry went north along the all-too-familiar Roman road. Except for them, there were no living people at all on the journey. They were surrounded by the quiet gray-white forest and the dry grassland covered with snow in the forest.
Occasionally, a fox would flash by, but warriors intent on hunting always missed the opportunity.
The cavalry had no intention of attacking with all their strength. They staggered to Osbrunak, which was burned by their own hands, rested here for the night, and then continued northward.
The further north you go, the more dangerous it becomes. The soldiers who were quite bored along the way cheered up after Fisk's kind reminder.
They cooked wheat around the campfire, drank ale, and ate roasted and cold meat.
"Your Majesty, we are sure to win! Our expedition took a long time, and perhaps the enemy's large forces are still entrenched on the banks of the Elbe River. If we continue to go north, we are likely to encounter the enemy. Everyone should be alert and take action immediately if they find the enemy, without mercy!"
Fisk ordered this, but now there are a lot of bottles and cans, and the cavalry's flexibility has been greatly reduced.
As a last resort, he had to be on the safe side and divide his troops into two groups. He would conduct the reconnaissance at the front while commanding the troops, while he would steadily advance in the rear with a large amount of loot.
They immediately split into two groups and advanced until they unexpectedly encountered a cavalry caravan on the road.
At the beginning of the period, Fisk led a hundred cavalry just walking around, so that the horses were not tired and the people were not tired. The soldiers did not even bother to hold the bow. They put their hands into each other's sleeves, and the horse's reins were put on the sleeves. People
The person wears sunglasses, a fur scarf wrapped around his face, and a furry white bear fur hat, so that not even an inch of skin is exposed.
Fisk himself also relaxed his vigilance. The money team he led formed two columns, always keeping a distance of about 500 meters from the rear team.
Now, after passing another bend in the road, the forest cover disappears and another horse team suddenly appears in front.
Seeing this, Fisk, the leader of the team, was instantly alert. He subconsciously grabbed the bow in the leather bag with his left hand and instinctively shouted: "It's an enemy attack!"
A roar shook the entire team.
The well-trained Ross cavalry changed their slouchy appearance. Their hands, which were shrunk in their sleeves and were covered with heat, were extremely flexible. They grabbed their bows and pulled out an arrow from the quiver on the right side.
What does it mean to strike preemptively? I saw that some of the soldiers at the head of the front team did not bother to expand their formation slightly, and immediately shot arrows under the guidance of Fisk.
The arrow was set on the right side, and immediately after the first shot, there was a second shot, and a third shot.
This was an encounter. Although the Ross cavalry did not yet know the identity of the opponent, in this silent ice and snow forest, those who were not Ross's cavalry were the enemies.
Some warriors simply dismounted and shot arrows from the posture of an archer. In this way, they stood closer and their shooting accuracy was extremely high.
They didn't even have time to take off their sunglasses, and they were shooting desperately as they competed with each other for credit.
The increasingly dense rain of arrows hit the opponent into chaos!
In other words, from the moment of encounter, the opponent's position was already in disarray.
Inexplicable enemies began to fall off their horses and cause casualties, and the horses also fell one after another. More people began to fall into chaos. If they were not people wearing armor, Fisk was sure that what he was attacking was indeed not an ordinary merchant cavalry.
"No! They must be Frank soldiers! Those who are still riding horses, draw your swords and charge me!"
After all, Fisker has already taken the lead.
More than twenty riders followed closely behind. The brothers didn't even have time to take off their cotton hats and put on their leather helmets before they already drew their swords and charged forward.
I saw the infantry archers in the rear. They carried round shields and did not bother to draw their swords. They continued to pursue with recurve bows...
An incredible encounter ended with the Russians inexplicably winning easily, so much so that Fisk felt that his victory was without any glory.
They killed a large number of people wrapped in sackcloth. These people were obviously armed men. The strange thing was that they seemed to have no resistance. Even the hands wielding swords were hard. Some of the armed men were busy running away, but unfortunately the horses were also like
He was extremely weak and was easily killed.
The Ross cavalry understood the principle of shooting men first and horses first. A large number of the opponent's horses fell down, and they also threw the extremely bloated people on the snow.
In a moment, a large number of Ross's dismounted riders caught up, either continuing to shoot or directly drawing their swords to kill.
When the brothers heard some bloated armed men begging for mercy in Frankish, everything was relieved.
"It's actually the Franks?! It's actually their army?" Fisk, who had swept across the entire enemy team, heard the cry for mercy and hurriedly led his brothers to turn their horses around and charge back again.
The Ross cavalry had already begun to hunt down the enemies who had fled into the ice and snow forest. They shot with bows as if they were hunting wild deer, and easily completed the sniper kill with one arrow.
There were many people sitting on the snow. They didn't scream in fear or fight to the death. Instead, they looked like they had seen through everything and were being slaughtered with expressionless faces.
Some brothers were about to stab many of the victims with their swords. This was all too abnormal. Fisk came on horseback and said, "Stop it! Keep the prisoners alive first!"
The soldiers who didn't hear the order quickly completed the elimination, and the others paused one after another.
Fisk's heart was beating wildly, and he didn't expect that he would be able to fight again halfway.
"Check each other to see if any brothers are injured!"
As a result, everyone claimed that everything was normal, as if the Russians were indeed unscathed during the entire encounter.
This was indeed the case, because they were attacking a defeated army that was constantly escaping in the ice and snow, without supplies, and was starving and freezing.
These people can continue to arduously travel south in the world of ice and snow, which is simply a miracle for mankind.
They were by no means superhuman. Even if they did not face this encounter, the defeated army would still have to face a fatal trek when they retreated to Dusseldorf, which was still populated by people, with a slim chance of success.
The number of people who could persist until the encounter with the Ross cavalry was less than fifty.
After they passed the frozen Weser River, they lost half of their lives due to cold and hunger while camping. An extremely noble man lost his pride and continued southward in a muddle-headed manner out of a survival instinct.
Now, this noble man has been captured by an unknown Rus warrior.
When the man covered his entire face, and when the Ross warrior tried to pull away the sackcloth covering his face, the man who seemed to have given up resistance suddenly became violent and took advantage of the man's surprise to pull out his dagger and stab him.
Fortunately, the soldier was smart enough to dodge, and he was stabbed in the air.
"madness."
The warrior kicked him over with a fierce kick, and warm nosebleeds flowed out. But when he was about to stab the attacker who fell to the ground, he saw that the sword that almost killed him was actually a Ross steel sword.
!
"Is it our sword?" The surprised soldier looked closer and saw the name "Clavasen" clearly spelled out in Roman letters on the hilt.
Klavason is the most famous old blacksmith in Russia, and all the young Russian soldiers know his name!
Finally, the warrior finally removed all the coverings of the man with the nosebleed. Hidden under the linen covering his face was a gray-white face. His face was ferocious and angry, but it was a pity that he looked haggard at a glance.
Is he this kind of person, but he still wears a golden crown with a lot of protrusions on his head?
No! This is the Golden Crown of Iris. This person’s identity is extraordinary!
"Boss! Come on! I caught the bear!"
"You caught a bear." Fisk couldn't help complaining as he rode up on horseback, until he saw the haggard face of the man lying on his side in the snow and the extremely eye-catching golden crown on his head, he could no longer remain calm.
"Ah! This man?!"
A person's name is about to come out.
Fisk's face was trembling and he shouted: "Ludwig? Frankish Ludwig?!"
Although the man lying on his side was unresponsive, his constantly trembling eyes and face that rarely moved twice in its stiffness proved everything.
Fisk's head buzzed, his scalp became hairy, his whole body trembled, and his feet even sweated for a moment.
"It is indeed a big bear! Did you capture him? Brody Haraldson?" he asked hurriedly.
"It's me. Did I make a meritorious deed? This man seems to be very noble."
"Of course. Brothers, come and watch!" Fisk roared, which immediately attracted many soldiers who were collecting trophies to watch the show.
That's all, he shouted with great interest: "Brody, although this shocks us all, I am afraid that the person you captured is King Ludwig of East Francia. You have become a great hero!"
Soldier Brody's face was trembling. He took off his sunglasses and looked at the weak man wearing the golden crown. He couldn't believe that such a useless person was actually a king.
This is indeed the case. Ludwig, who was hungry, cold, and disheartened by the humiliation of defeat, thought he had escaped the full-scale counterattack of the Norman-Saxon army, and thought he could go all out to escape and obtain key supplies on the way.
He did escape the Weser River and was theoretically very close to the "civilized world".
However... this was a very embarrassing coincidence, and he fell into a trap...