Chapter 1084 Daughter has become a bargaining chip for power insurance
In the past, the only things that could float on the Lan River were canoes and small sampans, but now everything has changed.
The pointed Viking longships at both ends slid their large oars neatly, and multiple longships towed a larger ship.
At first, people fishing by the river and people herding and cutting grass stopped what they were doing, holding on to their straw hats and squinting to admire the unheard of wonders.
They actually didn't know what Vikings or Normans meant. The simple villagers only knew that last year, the Baron brought most of his horse-riding retinue, recruited some farmers, and was ordered to go to the north to fight against the rebellion.
The war is too far away for ordinary people, and the farmers don't know what the "Northern Rebellion" has to do with them. Their families only know that the war will bring death, and they hold their conscripted husbands in pain for a while.
And then? There was no news for a whole winter. Now, even this year's spring plowing has been completed, the Baron's life and death are uncertain, and the people who went on the expedition have disappeared.
Obviously, the village of Nassau is not far from the palace in Frankfurt am Main in the East Kingdom. These mortals are not worthy of going to the palace to inquire about information.
They can only go to the village monastery to pray, and even the baroness is not exempt from secularism.
The long period of no news first brought uneasiness, then fear, but now, it has gradually been relieved.
If Henry of Nassau died or died explicitly, his eldest son automatically inherited the baronetcy.
As long as the Barony of Nassau continues to have heirs, there will be no changes in the lives of ordinary people.
The villagers continue to work hard every day. They cannot read a word. In addition to agricultural production, they go to the monastery to participate in activities. Weddings and funerals in the village have become rare and extremely important entertainment.
The Lan River is not wide and flows slowly, with long boats with shallow drafts majestically going upstream.
The people who saw this spectacle for the first time had no fear at all. They stood like scarecrows in the fields, quietly watching the people on the boat.
There are a lot of people with blond hair there, and many of them look taller.
Wait! Why is the face of the man standing on the deck of that huge ship like an ark so familiar?
It's the Baron!
People who realized that this was great news began to approach the river spontaneously. They waved to the baron and followed the fleet. Although they did not know the situation clearly, it was clear that the baron left on horseback and took very few people with him. Now
What's going on? Could it be that these people are the Baron's new retinues?
Some people boldly speculate that the baron may have made great contributions in the war against rebellion.
Of course, those who work in the fields cannot keep up with the fleet of blue foxes rowing bravely.
"We'll be there soon, get your people ready to dock." Henry Nassau demanded nervously.
The blue fox was in a good mood: "The long voyage is finally over. Let me land...Does your village have a suitable dock?"
"No. However, your boats are very suitable for beach surfing. There is a lot of mud in the riverside area of my village, which is very suitable for you to move around."
"Really? It's okay to go to the beach, but it won't work in the long run. I want to build a real pier."
Henry shrugged: "Whatever you want."
"You...seem to be a little absent-minded?" Blue Fox was keenly aware of the change in this man's attitude.
"After all, my family is leaving here. I'm afraid many people will borrow your boat to leave."
"In that case, I will help you manage this place well. Of course, I will stay temporarily. I hope my people can get along well with your people."
The appearance of the fleet is like the appearance of the Ark. The villagers' understanding of the big ship is limited to the "Ark" described by the priest in the village, so they call Ross's armed cargo ship this name.
If the masts were not hung with eye-catching cross flags, the villagers would subconsciously avoid them. A piece of rough white cloth, with a huge black cross drawn with a blackened wooden stick, transformed the Norman ship into a peaceful disguise. This
The disguise even covered up the Ross flag, which was also flying.
The priest of the monastery in the village can be said to be the most knowledgeable man in the entire Nassau village. He recognized the meaning of those flags at a glance. Although one of them looked like the flag of Saint Andre, at least these markings could prove that the visitor was friendly.
With the priest's affirmation, all the priests came out in force, carrying large wooden crosses and wearing black robes, and led the villagers to the riverside.
At this time, Blue Fox's fleet had washed up on the beach, and some warriors carrying bucklers had landed.
Normally, this group of ruthless people who disembarked from the boat would roar and plunder the village with weapons. They maintained absolute restraint because they all knew that they had to be baptized here to complete their conversion. No one forced them to do this.
Yes, it is said that following the Blue Fox deep into the Frankish hinterland this time is entirely voluntary, and conversion is a condition for joining the team. In fact, everyone is very clever, and converting to God is just to paralyze others, so that they can openly make a fortune in Frankland.
The village in front of you is quite simple. Although there are many stone buildings as far as you can see, there is only a two-story building visible to the naked eye. There are solid dirt roads everywhere, and mud ponds are clearly visible in many places. Smell carefully.
, the air is filled with the smell of cow dung, and the unique fragrance of grass and silt. If you look carefully at your feet, you can detect some black particles, which are undoubtedly sheep dung eggs.
The Swedes were full of regrets about this village among the experienced Russians in the team. It was far inferior to the old Roseburg and the old Birka in Mälaren. Comparing it to the emerging New Roseburg and Stockholm was simply a joke.
As soon as they thought about building a stronghold here in the future, new conflicts began, so everyone had to whisper among themselves - the riverside village fortress they passed by on the journey was good, and they took it as the brothers' castle.
What they were thinking about was taking the Koblenz settlement as their own, and such a spontaneous idea coincided with the Blue Fox.
Even if this place is terrible, it is Henry's hometown of Nassau after all. His ancestors are buried here. The thought of really leaving is a bit reluctant.
Henry has also landed with his old retinue who are still alive. They have lost all their horses and now they are returning empty-handed.
He saw the crowd, the priests in burqas, and tried to see if his wife and children were there. Sure enough, the crowd that kept approaching had familiar faces, so the old man opened his arms and shouted at the top of his voice, "Wife, son."
name, and then walked forward...
The Baron is back! Although the way he came back is very magical, the Lord who has been away for a full year is back!
The baroness threw herself at Henry, and the old couple hugged each other and cried. Henry's son and daughter seemed very calm. They had no idea what a thrilling and fantastic "trip" their father had experienced.
So, the sudden appearance of the fleet and the surprising number of blond men carrying bucklers, who are they?
Blue Fox is first and foremost a businessman, and he is also a businessman who understands Latin, even though he is now dressed like a warrior. He approached the reserved priest as if he were familiar with it, deliberately showed off his sterling silver cross, and communicated with him in Latin.
"You? A person from afar, you... understand the sacred language? Could it be that you are... a priest from afar?"
Blue Fox will never forget the misunderstanding of this priest. Just because he knows Latin, he is considered to be another priest. Warrior? Priest?
"You misunderstood. I am a distant count. I am friends with your count. I will also become friends with you. We should make an appointment to talk about anything."
"Earl? Are you an earl? Our earl?" The priest looked at Henry Nassau, and he suddenly understood: "It seems that the Duke has given you a new canonization."
The matter was so difficult to explain in words that Henry could only shrug his shoulders, which was about the same.
Of course, people will die in war. Fortunately, the losses in Nassau Village mainly come from the baron's retinue and have little to do with ordinary farmers.
The Ross fleet docked at a muddy place with a large bend in the Lan River. Only the big ship docked sideways in the shore waters, and the cables were thrown down to fix the many wooden piles dug deep on the shore to ensure that the big ship would not float away.
The soldiers were ordered to guard the boats and build open-air camps. Since this landing site was to be used as a longer-term residence, they had no choice but to build their own wooden shacks. They also set up large pots to cook wheat, so that the food on the riverside would float towards the river.
.
At first, the people naturally thought that these foreign troops were bound to get some more food taxes from the village. They naturally thought that this army was just listening to the adults. Unexpectedly, this group of people did not seem to have any demands. They used axes and an unnamed
They used tools to cut down trees on the hills and surrounded a large area of land by the river. Then they began to build fences and walls, and there was a trend of transforming them into wooden fences. Within the fences were a large number of wooden houses. At first, they just dug deep wooden piles in the soft soil.
, then lay the floor on the wooden piles and set up large columns. After the frame is built, logs without peeling the bark are piled up to make wooden walls and roofs. The rough construction method is like building a cabin in the forest. Our initial requirements are not high.
But several requirements must be met: no sleeping on the ground, a wooden house that does not leak, and a house that is not damp.
The Ross-style wooden house, which is a mixture of East Slavic wooden house architecture and Viking longhouse construction patterns, is called the word "mukleng" by King Rurik, the so-called woodcut ridge. The simplified version is built quickly in this way. As for the need to keep out the cold in winter, it will not be until later
It's true that in winter, before the brothers could capture a better stronghold, they built the stronghold building themselves and piled mud mixed with reeds on the outer walls.
The foreign army was carrying out large-scale construction projects, and even Henry Nassau could not have imagined that Blue Fox would actually do such a thing. He was very pleased, after all, he did not pay a single copper coin or a pound of grain for these militarized operations on his own territory.
It is obvious that the Rus' people deliberately kept a distance from the village of Nassau, which was in compliance with the promise of the Rus' king Rurik.
The gratified Henry Nassau was not in a hurry to announce major events to the villagers. He met and talked with his family first, and informed his wife and children of the important decision first.
The Baron became an Earl, which does not mean that the title of Baron Nassau will be lost. The lady is naturally happy to have a new status with her husband, but is full of worries about the future.
An ordinary woman can't control anything, and Henry's eldest son, eldest daughter, and younger son who just learned to walk are even more ignorant.
Henry made decisions about his three children: Paul, the eldest, was the first heir to the Earl of the Netherlands, and Bormann, the second, was the second heir.
The area of the County of the Netherlands is much larger than that of the Barony of Nassau, and it can be subdivided into two large parts: Utrecht (in the south) and Friesland (in the north). The eldest son inherits the earl, and the lord is the richest
In Utrecht, the second eldest son can inherit the rule of Friesland in the north and receive a baron title.
Henry didn't think there was any problem with enfeoffment. It was precisely the optimal solution to the distribution of family property.
Women have been unable to be knighted for a long time, so what to do with the title of Baron of Nassau? He thought of the great value of his daughter.
Henry felt that his hometown would be plagued by war in the future, so abandoning his hometown would be the first option.
The lady just didn’t understand this: “Your ancestors’ tombs are all here, do they have to move them?”
"Why not? Now the Duke of Saxony has changed. The Count of Westphalia gave up his inherent title and became the new Duke of Saxony. This is the result of the war. Our family is now a vassal of the Duke of Saxony, and we rely on Ludwig
Beware of being destroyed by him. The Duke of Saxony moved the coffins of his ancestor Widukind to Hamburg, and we can do the same."
"Are you going to give up here altogether? What will happen to your barony?"
"Leave it to our daughter."
This decision made the woman confused: "She is a woman. So, marriage?"
"Yes, it's a marriage. Did you see those warriors I brought? The leader among them is an earl from the north..."
"Ah? So noble. But... a little too old." Madam was surprised and regretful at the same time.
"He also has a young brother who has just grown up and is not married. His brother will come here soon. What do you think? Our daughter is married to the brother of the Earl of Gothenburg in the north. Our daughter's son will naturally inherit the throne.
The title of Baron Sao. With the protection of a northern noble, our daughter will be safe in these troubled times."
Henry's wife still didn't understand, she could tell that all this was her husband's love for his daughter.
After all, the Nassau clan has been powerless since ancient times and has always been a minor vassal. Henry's wife is just the daughter of an unknown knight under the Earl of Rheingau. She has been married to Nassau Village for many years and has not been well-dressed and lived a mediocre life.
She said she was bored. She cried violently when her husband was ordered to go off to war. She had thought that her husband had died in the battle and had given up hope, but she didn't expect a miracle to happen.
One thing about her is that she is definitely not a fool. The so-called King Ludwig was operating from Mainz to Frankfurt, and the Baron of Nassau had betrayed him. Once Ludwig settles the score after the civil war, the barony may not be able to save it.
Ludwig was defeated miserably. The troops who landed in the village belonged to the victorious side, and the man named Joseph Blue Fox was the count of the victorious side.
By marrying off your daughter, you can use the peace treaty to ensure that Nassau Village will not be settled in the future, and your daughter has become a bargaining chip for power and insurance.
However, this does not seem to be at the expense of her daughter.
So, Henry took his ignorant daughter, dressed her up beautifully, and went to meet the blue fox who was temporarily staying at the "construction site".
No one remembers that Blue Fox used to be a fat man. Over the years, whether actively or passively, his warrior-like life forced him to lose weight and become the strongest man in the family. His old face is still a little chubby, but this time
Pants and leather boots, shirtless showing off thick chest hair, not only a sterling silver cross hung on the chest, but also a sterling silver Thor's hammer, a gold-plated Frey's Boar, and even a lucky elf polished in amber.
This is a guy with very diverse beliefs. Henry knows that this guy is not pious to God, which is not a problem. Because this guy is very pious about money and interests, it is especially easy to handle.
Henry Nassau's daughter was still young. He carried the girl, who was dressed simply and wore a black and white turban, and walked into the Russian riverside camp accompanied by his retinue.
Soon, Blue Fox threw away the tools at hand and led a group of strong men out aggressively.
This scene was so frightening that the girl trembled and cried. Henry let go of his hand, and the child was so numb that he hid behind his father and silently poked his eyes out to observe those dirty people who looked like catfish emerging from the mud.
"My daughter is very afraid of strangers." Henry smiled awkwardly.
"I remembered." Blue Fox pinched his beard: "So, you and your family have already discussed it?"
"Think about it. My daughter Sophia will marry your brother. I only have three conditions."
"Say it."
"Your brother must be young, must not have contact with other women, and must convert to God."
"These are all fine." Blue Fox was a little surprised. Should such a big thing be discussed in this informal setting? "Perhaps, we should discuss the details of this matter in a decent setting."
"I also have this intention. How about I hold a family dinner tonight and we can talk in detail?"