An uneasy atmosphere permeated the entire mountain col, and ordinary villagers realized what the Russians who had settled there were trying to do.
In this small place that lacks stories, a small thing can make everyone aware of it in a short time.
War? Capture the city of Koblenz on the other side?
Those Russians had revealed this information inadvertently, or this matter had been rumored as early as the arrival of the first batch of Russians.
However, this kind of attack on a city is something that aristocratic lords like to see, so what does it have to do with ordinary farmers? Can you still get a share of the spoils if you are ordered to fight for the lord?
The days of the villagers in Nassau are as usual, it is soon the wheat earing season, and they are already preparing for the annual wheat harvest.
The mountain depression area is the only local area where grain can be grown. Unfortunately, the poor planting environment severely limits the upper limit of wheat and oat yields per acre. However, the villagers sow seeds in a rough way, and how much they can produce depends on praying in the monastery.
Neither Blue Fox nor Black Fox are experts in agriculture. As ancestral businessmen, they can still make much faster and more money by buying and selling and profiting from the price difference.
The leather from the north needs to open up the Frankish market, and the wine from Frankia will definitely be snapped up when it is sent to the north.
The two brothers stared at the local mountain grapes and felt that this economic crop was worthy of expansion. However, it took time for fermentation to produce greater benefits.
With the addition of a group of Flemish people from Utrecht who later joined the army, and the Nassau farmers who could be summoned, the two brothers determined that they could assemble an army of 700 men.
The local farmers are just making up the numbers, but the really brave and fierce ones are actually 300 people. They are the Old Rus, the Onkras and Mälaren people of Sweden, and the Götalans of Gothenburg. They are the real Vikings
People, nowadays, people who have converted to God only regard this as a means of legal robbery.
The other group of people are mostly Saxons. They converted early and have a psychological grudge against robbery to make money, but that's all. This group of people is weak in physical fitness, at least Blue Fox and Black Fox think
These men are not yet suitable as the first choice main offensive force.
To put it bluntly, the brothers voluntarily followed the Blue Fox boss to adventure in the Frankish hinterland, not just to plunder and make a fortune.
There is a saying that rabbits don’t eat grass beside their nests, and these brave people are not rabbits. They are a group of hungry wolves. Now due to many events, the violent situation has been suppressed. If the situation in Nassau is completely stable, it is time for the brothers to follow the orders of King Ross.
.
The Russian army began to gather, and began to extensively make new wooden shields and repair their weapons.
The sun-bleached pine wood was assembled into a Nordic round shield, and the front was painted with a black cross mixed with rosin. The prepared white cloth came in handy, and it was coated with carbon black to become a large number of cross flags.
Everything has been done according to Blue Fox's earliest methods, and now it is simply creating a crusade.
The news naturally reached the ears of Father Conrad, who deliberately kept a deaf ear to what was happening outside the window. He was restless and frightened at the thought of these ruthless people going to kill.
"There is a group of devils living around me. Even if they convert, they will still kill...I actually have illusions about them!"
Conrad has lived according to the scriptures since he was a child. He is a peaceful man who only wants to serve God with his life. The secular thoughts he once had have been wiped out by the years. He does not reject all wars. If the army of the Queen who believes in God crusade against foreign barbarians, he will naturally
Say mass and pray for it. But! These Russians are going to attack our friends in Koblenz!
Conrad was worried about one thing. The Russians were still wild and if they started fighting, they would probably kill their friends in the monastery on the other side. He didn't care about the civil war among the nobles. What he cared about most was the safety of the church members.
Even though Nassau Abbey was legally adjusted to be administered by the Northern Church, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Worms (Mainz) for the past two hundred years.
How about Koblenz? Since the conversion of the local people, it has been included in the diocese of Worms. The priest of the local monastery is friends with Conrad. Although they have little contact with each other, they always know each other during the grand mass in Worms Cathedral.
We can have a good chat.
Just as Conrad was hesitating, Black Fox Red Fox visited in person.
Conrad sat in the confessional again, looking serious through the grated window.
"Hey! Old man, you are too pedantic." Blue Fox's words were vulgar and harsh.
Conrad was startled: "This is a holy place, don't make any noise."
"No nonsense. Conrad, find a place where we can have a good chat."
"Chat? What to talk about?"
"Are you pretending to be stupid? We are busy killing prisoners of war, and you really turn a blind eye? We are about to attack Coblenz. You are a local, and we need some information from you."
"This... okay! Okay..."
There is no way to avoid disaster, and pretending to be stupid will not help. But then I thought that since I might be highly involved in this matter, I might be able to try my best to maintain peace by myself.
The monastery is a solemn place, so Conrad changed to a wooden house to chat with the two men again.
At this moment, the blue fox looked calm, while the young black fox's eyes were burning with fire.
Both were ferocious beasts, and Conrad remained cautious and silent.
"You all know the news." Blue Fox said without any nonsense, "We are going to attack Coblenz. My plan is to capture it, and then we will station troops there. What do you think?"
"Me? I don't dare to oppose or support. I'm just a priest."
"Don't act stupid." Blue Fox shook his head, "We need specific information about Coblenz. How many troops are there? How many villages are nearby? What kind of nobles are the defenders?"
"You!" Conrad stared at the blue fox with trembling eyes, faintly angry: "I am a priest, I don't care about this. I am a servant of God."
"So you don't know?" Black Fox asked, raising his head.
Blue Fox didn't believe that argument at all: "It's impossible for you not to know. Priests are the local elite. Although you are not a noble, you must know a lot about the situation of the local nobles?"
Conrad lowered his face and struggled with his thoughts. He slowly raised his head: "I do know some situations. I can tell you, but you must also tell me what you want to attack Coblenz."
"Haha. Of course it's money, food, all kinds of treasures, and the city of Koblenz!"
Blue Fox's answer satisfied all Conrad's thoughts about the bandits. As for their desire to occupy the city, the meaning became different.
"You want to occupy and rule? This is cutting off the flesh of the Middle Kingdom. You will encounter revenge!"
"Revenge? Revenge from the Middle Kingdom? Hahaha..." The two brothers patted their bellies and laughed, they laughed arrogantly.
Blue Fox continued: "If this can arouse their revenge, this will fully satisfy King Rus's request for us. But I do like that city, and it is more suitable for garrisoning the army than here. You know!"
Blue Fox's eyes were bright: "My identity is the Earl of Gothenburg in the north. I have 30,000 men, and I can organize an army of thousands. We like warm places, Nassau is a good place, but he is my brother's
I want the territory for my own benefit, I want Koblenz and the surrounding areas. Take it! I own it!”
"You...can really do it?"
"Of course you can."
Conrad never thought that this blue fox was so ambitious. If he hadn't reaffirmed his identity in a high-profile manner, he would have forgotten that this man was a northern earl. Obviously he really had soldiers, and he could do whatever he wanted with them.
Clear rules and precepts can only keep the self-disciplined people in peace, but have no binding force on the rude nobles. Once a fight breaks out, the priests have to follow the bloodthirsty nobles for their own safety and find excuses for their evil deeds.
Since war was inevitable, Conrad sighed and began his own efforts to turn the tide.
Conrad made a condition: "I will personally participate in this war."
"Huh?" Blue Fox was surprised, and then wanted to laugh again.
Black Fox asked back: "What do you want? Do you want to be a warrior?"
"No." Conrad said with a sullen face, "I hope you can restrain your hands of indiscriminate killing. Don't kill indiscriminately. If it's just looting, don't hurt ordinary people. Don't loot the monastery. Everyone there is my friend.
.Furthermore, I see that you are very kind to the villagers of Nassau. You should continue to maintain this kind of kindness. After taking over Coblenz, you should also continue to be this kind, so that the local people will pay you taxes, which is better than indiscriminate killing.
Be good."
Blue Fox listened carefully and thought about it carefully. It was indeed true. He replied: "It makes sense. I will not kill indiscriminately unless they resist resolutely. Since you want to join, it is a good thing. If you can persuade the locals to surrender, I will
Swear to the Lord not to harm anyone. Persuade the city defenders to hand over their property and I will not loot it. You can also persuade the local monastery and I can promise not to destroy the monastery."
It seems that an opportunity to peacefully resolve a major war has arisen.
Suddenly, the majestic images of many saints came to mind, and Conrad felt that he would be a brand new saint. To bridge a war with the power of one person was a major achievement.
"I trust you," he said. "Now, I will tell you what I know."
So Conrad began to talk a lot about what he knew about Coblenz.
The so-called Koblenz is located at the confluence of the Mosel River and the Rhine River. This is a strategic location for water and land transportation, so Rome built military camps here in the old days.
A large number of old stone buildings in Koblenz were expanded on the basis of Roman military camps. A so-called small stone fortress was built on the mound, and a group of residential buildings were located next to it.
The city is small in size. It still maintains the scale of the old Roman military camp, and there are a group of villages in the south. The villagers provide taxes to support the priests and troops in the city, but there are no feudal nobles in this city.
There may be two hundred troops in the city, and they are under the control of an infantry banner captain. The banner captain has a fiefdom in his hometown. Although he is a knight, he is the trusted personal soldier of King Lothair.
Coblenz was originally assigned to Charles the Bald in the West according to the old treaty. King Lothair rejected the treaty and annexed it. This annexation happened only two years ago. Charles the Bald gave up and evacuated his people, and the troops of the Middle Kingdom moved in.
A series of explanations led the Blue Fox to confirm that this Conrad had been pretending to be Hutu all along. He knew too much, and he had really picked up a treasure before the battle.
The two brothers listened carefully and discovered the big problem.
Blue Fox laughed: "Since that place didn't originally belong to the Middle Kingdom, it was stolen by Lothair! If he can rob it, why can't we rob it?"
"Yes! Grab it." The black fox showed its fierce look.
"So, what kind of flag do you plan to seize? I know you are making a large number of cross flags. Are you seizing it in the name of the Lord?" Conrad asked.
"Indeed, there should be a justifiable name. This will also make it easier for you to try to persuade them to surrender." Blue Fox said while pinching his beard.
But Black Fox immediately grabbed the conversation and patted his belly: "My appetite is very good, I want to take it away. Brother, you still have to go back to the north to finish your affairs here. I will make the decision here from now on. So I have the right to treat Cobb
Lenz decided."
"You barbaric boy, you are right. If I were not your brother, I would not help you do this. To put it bluntly, if you do well here, the supplies from the north can better open up the situation in Frank. You...
Got an idea?"
"Let's do it under the banner of Baron Nassau. Who can say otherwise in this name? That's what I want. Of course I am loyal to the King of Ross. And Nassau is nominally under the control of Henry of the Netherlands.
Count Deland is loyal to the Duke of Saxony, and the Duke of Saxony is loyal to Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom. We are both in the same camp, and we will definitely not object to acting under this banner."
The nobles are loyal to each other, and the vassals of the vassals are not my vassals, and Blue Fox is too lazy to think about the chaos.
"Then fly the banner of Baron Nassau, and then Coblenz will row in. If King Lothair wants revenge, then fight! I can't ask for more!" Blue Fox said.
The two brothers have finished discussing, and now Conrad wants to say something else but chooses to keep silent.
What does the expansion of the Barony's territory have to do with the priests? Conrad just wants to avoid war and killings, and it doesn't matter who the lord is.
To be fair, although the people of Nassau Village unanimously supported Joseph Blue Fox and called him a good man, he was indeed willing to give alms to the villagers. Of course, those who benefited wanted to get the benefits for a long time, and in addition, they were grateful.
Simple thoughts will definitely do things for the Blue Fox.
Conrad held it back for a while and then asked: "So, do you call the farmers in this village to fight? I know, in fact, you have this idea."
"Haha. Of course I have this intention. After all, we northerners fight as a whole and share the benefits after the war. How are the villagers here? I don't think they are qualified soldiers, but they can hold the flag high and shout for me and beat the drums.
It's enough for the opponent to collapse in fear. I will try my best to mobilize all my strength and force them to surrender with absolute strength." Blue Fox said.
At the end of the small meeting, Conrad's heart couldn't calm down at all. The Barony of Nassau had never taken the initiative, but now that the actual lord has changed, people here can take the initiative to decide their own destiny?
No. The people here have vacated the cages and replaced the birds, and the old villagers are also becoming Norman. In fact, because there are too many Normans here, there can only be more in the future.
"At least they have all converted, at least they have some respect, and at least my words are of some use." Conrad comforted himself.
Therefore, Blue Fox gathered a brand new group of men. Since he wanted to gather all the fighting power according to the northern tradition, including the ten-year-old boy, although he would not fight with an axe, he should at least wave the flag to cheer.
Nearly two hundred local men gathered together. When they heard that they were going to devour Coblenz under the banner of Baron Nassau, their attitude was very tangled. If they participated in the war, they could share the spoils. Blue Fox promised that the war would end quickly and not delay this year's wheat harvest.
.
But there is a possibility of death in the war, and the villagers do not have any hatred for the locals in Coblenz. If they attack them, their conscience will not go away, but everyone still wants to make a fortune.
Fortunately, Blue Fox made an agreement with everyone. The Normans took action and the Nassau people waved and shouted, especially since the latter had the right to refuse to fight and be exempted from this year's tithe tax afterwards.
It is really unsettling to get spoils of war or robbery in disguise, but tax exemption is another matter. The villagers are clamoring to participate, which is really a spectacle for the priests.
Villagers dressed in different styles, and in order to ensure their identity, they put easily accessible grape vines on their hats, and gathered together to practice how to collectively wave flags and drums.
It seemed to Conrad that these villagers had become degenerate, and from the look of their greedy eyes, they were just like the Normans.
How about the real Normans? This group of people are basically uniformly dressed. They all wear iron helmets with huge nose guards. Some people have mail armor to protect their faces. There are many people with chain mail on their upper bodies and iron plates to reinforce the mail armor.
, but the armor and stomach were covered by cloth robes.
They usually keep things secret, but when a war comes, they dig out all their treasures.
Looking at their true faces, Conrad felt that these people could really eat Coblenz alive, and he was the only one who had the ability to avoid meaningless killings.
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Chapter 1096: If King Lothair grabs it, I can grab it and read it for free.