It's a good thing that Lord Baron is back safely, but what's going on with those strange ships and strange people?
The entire lower reaches of the Lan River Basin belong to the Barony of Nassau. Legally, the Nassau family owns a large area, but the vast land is in sharp contrast to the sparse local population. The territory is indeed very large, and the only truly effective settlements are
There are three places: Lahnstain, Badenems and Nassau Village.
Lancun is just a small fishing village where the Lan River flows into the main channel of the Rhine. Spring Castle is located inside the Lan River. It is a small settlement beside the river. The hills behind it have the remains of a Roman-era fortress. It has been discovered
hot springs, but the settlement's most distinctive feature is its existence as a small quarry.
In the end, the largest settlement was in the village of Nassau a little further upstream. The Lan River became very gentle here. The river turned around and carved out a fertile, watery valley plain in the hills. The unique geographical conditions made it very suitable for agriculture.
develop.
In Lancun, the simple fishermen welcomed back their barons and became the first locals to learn about the real existence of the Rus.
These people live in a rather isolated place. Without the Baron's request, they would not risk leaving their place of residence. There are bears, wolves and wild boars in the forest. These ferocious beasts will attack ordinary people who are alone.
Hunters should also be careful, and they must hunt in groups. As for boating out of settlements, they should also be careful. If they accidentally enter the territory of other nobles and are found to be strangers, they may be treated unfairly.
Unless they are priests, only priests can move freely.
Blue Fox and his people released Ludwig in Lancun, and he was able to stay briefly and "appreciate" the village.
Ludwig and his entourage left on foot along the river with the remaining belongings. Nassau knew that he did not need to show any favors, but he was still worried that the Lord of the Eastern Kingdom would be attacked by wild beasts along the way.
Blue Fox persuaded him to feel at ease: "If a bear or wolf kills him, it will be his fate. Besides, this man kills without blinking an eye on the battlefield. Maybe if a beast suddenly pounces on him, he can decisively draw his sword and kill it."
."
Henry Nassau was not convinced by this explanation and had no time to think about it any more.
On that day, people who had been tired from traveling and traveling came ashore collectively.
The scattered people stationed in Lan Village welcomed back their compatriots who had gone to the north. The soldiers of Nassau Village who survived the disaster did not want to go to war at all. If the Baron had not followed orders, they would have continued their peaceful life in the past.
Ordinary people did not dare to ask the Baron personally because of their humble status. After all, there were rumors that the Baron might die in battle, so the Baron's eldest son would naturally inherit the title.
Now, Henry Nassau, a living man, stands here alive. Some of the soldiers who went out to fight have died, and there are enough left to tell the fellow countrymen what happened in the north.
When the real reality was described by these returnees, the people in Lancun felt that the whole world had become bizarre and magical.
Because everyone knows that the entire Barony of Nassau is loyal to the Frankish royal family, and because Count Rheingau is loyal to the Eastern Kingdom, Nassau also follows suit. Now everything has changed, the Baron of Nassau has been upgraded, and even the name of the territory has changed.
What does the Count of the Netherlands mean? In this war, the Baron of Nassau got a large piece of land as a spoil at the mouth of the Rhine. The new Earldom of the Netherlands was a suture of Friesland, Utrecht and Nassau.
, even my hometown Nassau has become an enclave.
But how do ordinary people know the terms and customs of distant places? With the Baron's new identity, will his life be better?
What is certain is that the other side of the war, the rebellious Saxons and the heretical barbarians they invited from the north, won the war, and now the barbarians are here.
Are they really barbarians? It is difficult for returning warriors to change their past titles in a short period of time. The so-called non-converters are all "barbarians". Even if the other party is very powerful, they always have some contempt in their hearts.
The villagers consciously kept a distance from the foreign troops who landed, and felt anxious after learning that these people had made an agreement with the adults to legally settle in Nassau. They were just ordinary people who could not influence the decisions of the nobles, and could only pray that the people who came were not despicable.
Stranger.
After the long journey, Lancun was filled with the smell of cooking wheat.
Blue Fox brought the "high technology" from the north, that is, a large iron pot. This was the marching pot of the Russian army. He only brought one pot, and the rest of the cooking utensils were all pottery urns.
The captured military rations, the Saxon grain tribute demanded, and even the grain tribute received from Britain, some of these supplies are in the hands of Blue Fox's squadron. He is essentially a businessman who is good at calculations, and now he holds an army.
We should also consider the food and drink expenses of these people.
The food he had on hand was enough to support the army for a period of time after it arrived in Nassau. After the food was exhausted, he had to find a way to get supplies.
Obtaining supplies from the Baron of Nassau seems to be a reasonable choice, but the army of 500 people faces only more than 2,000 Nassau people, and the locals have no ability to support them.
Therefore, when the blue fox came up with the idea of plundering Coblenz nearby, it was not surprising. It seemed to be a fat sheep waiting at the door of the house, waiting for food supplies to be insufficient.
Currently, food is relatively abundant, and for the sake of long-term stability, Blue Fox intends to show its kindness to all ordinary people in Nassau.
The bonfire crackled, and the Blue Fox, holding a batch of silver coins in his hand, immediately bought up today's catch from the Lancun fishermen. The villagers provided the largest number of local European seabass, and the Blue Fox showed his generosity mercilessly, with one silver coin for each seabass.
, of course he wanted to enjoy it with his cronies, but the fishermen’s hands were trembling in shock at such a large sum of money.
This is because some fishermen have debts to the nobles. Today they just sold a few fish, and in disguise, the Russians from outside helped them settle their debts.
To hell with those who have impure beliefs! Outsiders are good people if they have money and are willing to help the poor solve their economic problems. Besides, the foreign leader of the Russians, as long as he is not blind, he can see that he has a hanging on his chest
A sterling silver cross. This... is actually a friend.
From now on, he will show some favors. Henry Nassau does not understand the behavior of Blue Fox. He simply thinks that this guy does whatever he wants because of his wealth.
Henry Nassau and Blue Fox casually got together to warm themselves over the fire, waiting for the grilled fish to mature.
European seabass bones are good. After scraping the scales, you can process the spiny back and tail and skewer them before grilling.
The fish is grilled until both sides are black, sprinkle with some salt and serve.
Henry Nassau held the grilled fish in his hands. He was so excited that he couldn't help but sigh: "One fish costs one silver coin. You are really generous."
"It doesn't matter." Blue Fox answered casually.
"Okay. I'll wait for the wheat porridge you cooked. Ah... it's really a nice night's stay. I'm very pleased that you maintained restraint and didn't disturb my village." After that, Henry started to eat.
The blue fox looked at this guy again, smiled slightly, and continued to eat the fish.
Blue Fox has never been a kind person. He has to calculate whether everything is profitable. Unsurprisingly, he learned some tricks from Rurik, such as showing some kindness to the poor and then accepting them as dogs.
.
As a result, he had many such "loyal dogs" under his command. Except for a very small number of Rus, the real Vikings from Sweden were a group of Viking Saxons who could not survive in Denmark, and even a group of converts to God.
Saxon.
There is also a rather reliable Slavic entourage, Oberlidit Vadi.
As the Earl of Gothenburg in Ross, Blue Fox deigned to develop in the Frankish hinterland on the order of the king. He would leave after the mission was completed. However, there was no need for the team he led not to leave. Instead, the "other members of the Gould family who arrived later"
A fox" takes over.
Therefore, based on the principle of complete voluntariness, if you want to join the Blue Fox team, you must make a commitment-to convert to God.
The already full Blue Fox patted his belly: "It's great to have a priest in your village. Take a look..."
"How?" Henry looked at him.
"There are still many people who have not converted to your god. Just find your priest in your village and hold a public baptism ceremony."
"You...you...are really willing?"
Henry Nassau was a little excited. After all, he was not a priest, but after these outsiders converted to God, he would not be embarrassed as a noble.
"Of course. This is the first priority when I get to your village. I also want to talk to your priest. That man will definitely speak Latin, and we will have a great conversation."
"That's true."
There are some words that need to be buried in the heart. Henry Nassau is convinced that even if these ruthless people convert collectively, they can still be robbers with peace of mind, but they will just make sure that the rabbits don't eat the grass on the edge of the nest. That's okay...
The next day, the people who had suffered from the fatigue of boating and traveling slept until noon. They had another meal and kept enough energy to officially plunge into the Lan River in the afternoon.
That night, the fleet camped ashore at Quanbao.
The current existence of this place is a quarry. There are less than fifty people living there. They dig rocks, cut them into pieces, and transport them back to Nassau Village. Their work can be said to be extremely leisurely.
The name of Spring Castle comes from the Roman ruins on the hill. The hill was originally a permanent Roman fortress hundreds of years ago. The available building stones were gradually moved back to their hometown by the Nassau people, who continued to build thin films locally.
Granite is excavated under the soil. It is in the cracks of these rocks that there are spouts that heat the groundwater, and the hot springs can flow by themselves.
The hot spring has not been developed and utilized because it is too hot and far away from large settlements. Only mining workers can use the resources here to wash clothes and take a bath.
As the weather gets colder, hot springs emerge from the ground and form small streams. The water cools quickly and finally flows into the Lan River.
It was the first time Blue Fox learned about the hot springs here while living here.
It is not surprising that there are hot springs. Henry Nassau very directly pointed out the huge Mainz area where the Eastern Kingdom's army was mainly stationed. The small town Wiesbaden in it is famous for its hot springs. And in Worms, not far to the south,
Legally, it was Bavaria, Ludwig's core territory. There was a hot spring area in the hilly area near Worms. It was simply named Baden-Baden because there were so many hot springs here.
The entire area was once the garrison of a Roman legion. There were fortresses in the lower reaches of the Line River where Nassau sat. The cluster of fortresses extended to Mainz, Worms and Frankfurt. At that time, the Roman legions were wary of the north.
The Franks and the Alemannic people, after all, it was the Franks who had the last laugh.
No one in the Nassau family recorded their history, and the villagers could only learn fragments of past memories through word of mouth. For Henry Nassau, his family seemed to have been allied with the Franks since ancient times, but in his generation, they betrayed it for a better future.
Therefore, the three settlements of Baden-Ems am Rhein (Springburg), Wiesbaden, and Baden-Baden have long existed and are all named after the springs. They are geographically close to each other because of this section of the Rhine River.
Directly beneath the river is a geothermal active area.
In an era of abundance, such geographical features were very suitable for building sanatoriums. In fact, it was the explorers of the Roman era who discovered this feature. The Romans, who loved bathing, first built a hot spring bathhouse in Wiesbaden, which was actually the headquarters of the Roman legions.
Supporting infrastructure. Later, these facilities were inherited by the Frankish nobles. Frankfurt am Main was a palace built by Charlemagne. It was an advanced base for the conquest of the East and a holy place for bathing and recuperation.
Now King Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom is still in the mood to enjoy a hot spring bath and relax? He doesn't have time to do so.
Even though Spring Castle near Nassau Village has hot spring resources, Blue Fox is keenly aware that it can be used. Now is definitely not the time to renovate a hot spring bath.
People only think about enjoying when they are wealthy. He learned that the lives of the villagers in Nassau have always been relatively poor. People are busy improving their livelihoods, so how can they be in the mood to enjoy?
Does the Nassau family really love their people of the same blood? He has always done a decent job, no different from other small lords.
In the past, the Baron of Nassau and the Count of Rheingau were allies. The weak Nassau had to pay tribute to Ludwig, the great nobleman of the Eastern Kingdom. In this matter, Rheingau helped transport supplies all year round. The amount of tribute was not large.
However, the entire Barony of Nassau only has a small population, and they cannot grow much food on the relatively poor land, so they have no choice but to find other ways to develop.
They have been developing agriculture, but cannot become rich due to various reasons.
Even so, the people's spiritual world is full. Ordinary people don't need to think too much. They work every day, go to church once a week, participate in festivals, and live a poor life.
Why is this?
It is because of the geographical structure of this place. The hot springs are a treasure, but the soil here is thin. Only the valleys and plains between the hills are suitable for farming. Reclamation is also a kind of risky investment. If reclamation has a high probability of bringing profits, the enthusiasm of the people will be basically suppressed.
Don't live there. Nassau Village adheres to the rough agricultural methods of the past, and coupled with the lack of fertility of the soil, there is not much surplus of wheat and oats grown every year. It is normal to have poor harvests for many years in a row.
But in such an environment, grapes can be grown on the hills, and cattle and sheep can be raised on the wasteland in the valleys and plains. All of these require upfront investment. A large number of farmers who are already short of money have become tenants of the Nassau family, lacking the motivation to invest.
It is fundamentally unfeasible to use cattle and sheep to open up acres of land in the mountains to develop grape plantations.
Because the entire Barony of Nassau is the territory of the Nassau family, and the hills are the property of the nobles. "I have mercifully opened up the hunting rights in the mountains and forests to you, so don't have any evil thoughts." The Nassau family thinks that it is very benevolent.
, it is a pity that this "kindness" has not turned into a lot of wealth. If the people are not rich, small families will have a large number of children to increase the agricultural population. However, many children die at a young age, high birthrates and high casualties. This is the entire Baron of Nassau
The reason why we only have more than 2,000 people.
After all, the area is both fertile and barren. If it does well in livestock raising and grape growing, it will naturally make a fortune, and then the money earned from trading dairy products, meat and wine can buy food so that it becomes rich.
The Nassau family lacks business thinking and investment motivation. If it were not for the war, Henry Nassau would have lived a peaceful life and lived a plain life. He would not even leave his own name, and could only be marked as "Nassau of a certain generation" by future generations.
Baron", and his descendants continued to be barons and so on.
But the history of this family has completely changed! The Nassau family no longer needs to wait until the 13th century to develop with the help of the HRE. Now, the family must develop in the Netherlands overnight.