Chapter 1097 The Rus Army Lands in the Horn of Germany
The men of Nassau Village are gathering. They care more about gaining a fortune through fighting than their belief in faith.
Of course, the reason for joining the war cannot be so barbaric. All the troops will use the banner of Baron Nassau to get Coblenz in the name of justice.
The expansion of the barony, Blue Fox claimed that this was authorized by King Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom. Regardless of whether there are documents or witnesses to prove this high-sounding reason, anyway, the Nassau army gathering to fight is part of the kingdom's civil war.
.
Who is righteous? The Nassau side will claim that Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom is righteous.
For the first time, ordinary villagers like the green grass by the river were taken seriously. In name, everyone was actually fighting for King Ludwig.
In fact, everyone also understands the simple meaning of fighting. Even if they just follow the real Norman army and wave the flag, they will get benefits afterwards.
There were doubters among the villagers. As Father Conrad publicly announced that the monastery also supported the baron's actions, all doubts quickly dissipated like rising smoke.
The assembled Russian army was a mixed bag. Everyone communicated with each other in Norse and tried to be uniform in clothing.
The brothers sharpened and unloaded the swords, and the six torsion slingshots on the armed cargo ship were all unloaded from their fixed positions.
In principle, the task assigned to the villagers was to wave the flag and shout. Considering the actual needs, all the bow-wielding hunters in the village were gathered, even those who brought their own short wooden bows and knew how to shoot.
In addition to its own archers, Blue Fox gathered a hundred crossbowmen, but their weapons were uneven.
In close combat, the sword and shield bearers set up a shield wall, and the back row was supported by halberdier bearers with spears and axes strapped to them. There were six torsion slingshots mounted on two-wheeled agricultural carts, and hundreds of crossbowmen.
A low-end version of the traditional Rus' army is in the hands of Blue Fox.
This is not the first time Blue Fox has commanded a battle, but the first time he has commanded an army of nearly 800 men to act independently as an independent commander!
Only he himself knew about the pressure, but seeing his younger brother Hei Hu, this kid had no idea of the mental challenges his second brother was facing, and his mind was filled with fantasies about his achievements. Yes, this Black Fox just wanted to see the blood flow into a river.
If King Rus faced a big war, what would he do?
After preparing supplies before the war, the army must be given a lecture in an open place. If the number of sergeants is very large, the subordinate commanders will be gathered together for pre-war mobilization, and then these elites will be entrusted to convey the king's will to the army.
Every warrior.
No chief had done this in the past, and Blue Fox himself was not sure whether it was extremely necessary to make a speech. He heard and thought that since the king frequently did this, it must be reasonable, so he sat in the wasteland beside the river in Nassau Village.
Let’s give a lecture.
He was wearing chainmail, and an obviously compact iron helmet was placed on his face, which made his cheeks a bit bulging. The viewers noticed that the blue fox boss was not wearing his own helmet. The large iron helmet was just like the one he wore.
Wear it on the head of the little fat man next to him.
After all, it was a war. My younger brother had never experienced a real bloody battle, so he imagined that he would be able to survive alone in the battlefield. This was stupid! Out of love for his younger brother, the blue fox's favorite stomach was placed on the fat brother.
The blue fox's own image is a little funny, which is why he is so unexpectedly eye-catching.
In Norse, he reiterated the conditions that must be paid attention to during the battle, saying that there must be no indiscriminate killing, that prisoners must be captured first, that the women of Coblenz must not be persecuted, that the fortress must be captured first, and so on.
He is also not sure that he has absolute control to ensure that the army is absolutely obedient. What he can trust is that the "old folks" in the army are absolutely obedient.
In this case, Father Conrad stood up in a high-profile manner.
"Remember! You must be merciful and do not go against the will of the Lord. Those ordinary people are the same as you, and you must not harm them! Your enemies are just the garrison of Coblenz. If they surrender, you put down your killing sword. This way
, you are not adding to your sins in vain.”
Conrad spoke in Latin, and Blue Fox translated it, which drew boos from the entire Russian army. He also preached these words in the local dialect of Nassau, which was very suitable for the villagers to arm themselves.
Twenty longships and an armed cargo ship are now gathered at the dock of Nassau Village.
Soldiers from Northern Europe boarded the longship one after another. They had already put on the necessary equipment. This equipment allowed the soldiers to sink to the bottom and drown if they fell into the water. In order to complete the landing quickly, the brothers also risked their lives.
The first people to land sat in silence on the long boat next to the trestle. As people took their places one after another, the people on the shore began to untie the cables tied to the wooden piles.
The armed cargo ship was filled with Nassau village militiamen. They were densely packed on the deck carrying spears and flagpoles. The man holding the horn stood on the high place on the stern deck of the ship. After seeing the signal sent by the blue fox, he sang in a low and melodious voice.
The sound of the trumpet seemed to herald the appearance of the northern beast in the forest, and the Russian army gathered in the village of Nassau on the Lanhe River was dispatched in full force!
In the past, Henry Nassau could only provide fifty well-trained cavalry. If the Count of Ingol urged him in a hurry, he could at most provide two hundred more peasants.
Of course, compared to the kingdom's standing army, a group of farmers' armed forces are simply fake! However, the 150,000 regular troops at the peak of the kingdom during Charlemagne's period have faded, and the strong warriors have long since aged. The conscription system established by this emperor
It simply disintegrated at the speed of a free fall. Due to the fact that the royal family had been in internal strife for nearly half a century, the power of the princes in various places became more and more powerful. They gnawed at the old conscription system, and finally the army became more and more aristocratic.
Lothair of the Middle Kingdom inherited the title of King of the Franks according to the old rules, which were divided into three parts of the kingdom. He was assigned to the area with the largest proportion of Franks and the largest number of standing soldiers. He realized the consequences of the division of the kingdom, and then
Armed forces reduced the vassal state, and a full-scale civil war broke out.
The civil war consumed the small standing armies of the three top princes. Their vassals used the war to expand their private armies, occupying the soldiers who should be directly loyal to the king. Of course, the vassals, large and small, had their reasons.
If you ask me to send troops to fight, you must give me more power so that I can bring more troops to fight for you.
The three princes did not have so much wealth to support a large army, so they had no choice but to delegate power.
In the Middle Kingdom, this was directly reflected in the rapid expansion of the military strength of Count Adalbert of Metz. The current situation determined that King Lothair had to rely on Count of Metz to guard the central area of his narrow territory. Without this great vassal
Due to his persistence, Lothair was unable to drop his main force to the area near Strasbourg to fight his third brother, Ludwig, who was most opposed to him.
The situation in the Eastern Kingdom is more complicated. After the great defeat in 840, Ludwig could only firmly control his hometown of Bavaria. Thanks to the new Principality of Saxony, the Principality of Thuringia, the huge Diocese of Cologne, and Wall
The parish of Muss and the nominal allegiance of some minor vassals allowed the Eastern Kingdom to maintain its framework.
The Barony of Nassau did not have direct legal allegiance to Ludwig, at least within the framework of the Eastern Kingdom.
An army of eight hundred men! Without Ludwig's knowledge at all, under his banner they came out of the cave where they were hiding like a brown bear with great fanfare.
A fleet clearly in Nordic attire rushed out of the Lan River and appeared in the main channel of the Lain River with a high profile.
All the masts were hung with the "Black Cross Flag" with black lines on a white background, and then a real Charlemagne battle flag, which was sewn with three lions with slightly abstract lines. This flag was originally a trophy of the Russian army half a year ago.
The flag is now in the hands of the Blue Fox to facilitate subsequent actions. The so-called acting under the banner of Ludwig is obviously raising the Three Lions flag.
The flag is here, and even if the action is primarily to make a fortune, it has a great reason.
The long boats guarded the big ship, each long boat retracted its long oars, and the fleet floated freely on the wide river.
The Rhine River is not wide, but for the Franks, whose shipbuilding skills are regrettable, they do not have the ability to cross the river on a large scale in a short time. A small sampan cannot transport a few people at a time, although they can use a large amount of pine wood that is easy to float to assemble a raft or even
Making a floating bridge requires a lot of manpower and material resources.
The Rhine River is therefore in the lower reaches, and the middle reaches has become a de facto natural chasm. Today, only Nordic-style longships can ignore it.
The defenders of the Middle Kingdom in Koblenz were neither deaf nor blind. In the past few days, the defenders had witnessed many strange large ships floating majestically. The large ships were actually pulled upstream by the sharp Nordic longships at both ends? It was so high-profile.
Under the banner of Ludwig?
"These are the Norman mercenaries under Ludwig."
Ludwig inherited his grandfather Charlemagne's policy towards the Norman world. It was an open secret that he had Danish mercenaries under his command and directly participated in the civil war. On the battlefield, there were several conflicts between the Chinese army and the Norman mercenaries who collectively held round shields.
In this conflict, the latter always ignored the rules of fighting and showed no aristocratic dignity, which caused the Middle Kingdom to suffer a small loss.
At first, the Nordic longships floating in the main river of the Inn made the defenders of Koblenz nervous, as if they were about to land and rob.
This has happened many times in the past year. Even a large fleet passing by did not appear to attack Coblenz, but just drifted by quietly.
The standard-bearer of the garrison was named Fred Edmond. He did not have a fief, but only had the title of knight. He was an officer of the standing army, with two centuries under his command. The entire army was directly loyal to King Lothair himself.
At this transition stage between old and new eras, the situation was quite unfavorable for Fred and his men. The army was stationed in Koblenz, and the flag captain exercised all the powers of a feudal lord. He could act according to his own will, but he could not
Let your descendants be hereditary.
Ordinary soldiers will receive a pension when they get old, and Fred will go to a small distant village to become a knight lord when he gets old. This is how Lothair promised his standing army, and it was indeed implemented, but is it really fair?
South of the city of Koblenz is a hill, which is part of the Black Forest Mountains on a macro level. After this hill, in principle, it is the territory of the huge Count Metz. If Count Metz wants to "personally guard" Koblenz
And after getting the king's approval, the brothers had no choice but to make room for it.
Koblenz has changed hands many times, and knowing the history of this place, the standard defenders do not consider this place their home, so it should not be a burial place.
The fleet, thought to be the Danish mercenaries of the Eastern Kingdom, jumped repeatedly on the main river. Even if the flag captain claimed at first that "the wolf is coming", every warning ended without incident. This time, the people were larger.
, it seems that it is just drifting safely southward.
The nearby villagers have been indifferent. Although they have basically no communication with the people on the other side because they come to the Inn River, they have no idea what these passing fleets can bring to them.
While the military and civilians were very relaxed, the landing quietly began.
The Blue Fox and the Black Fox were on the same long boat. His old attendant, Mrs. Oberlidy Tesla, Vardi, led a group of brothers and promoted a man named Eric, nicknamed "Big Teeth" among the Jotalans in the army.
"The people led a group of brothers. Father Conrad naturally commanded the farmers' armed forces in Nassau Village.
The huge army was divided into subdivisions, so there were plans for landing on the beach.
"This mountain seems to divide Coblenz, and the fortress is on the mound." Black Fox couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the low hill.
"It's no problem." Blue Fox pointed to the village settlement under the hill with his big finger: "There's not even a wall there! We'll land from the village and capture all the locals."
"I'm just afraid they'll run away."
"So cut off their escape route!"
Blue Fox directed the entire fleet to attack, and the longship deliberately launched a beach attack at the connection between the hill fort and the village.
Based on Father Conrad's information, Blue Fox knew the situation on the other side of the river. There was also some silt in the riverside area there. Forcibly washing the beach would not damage the keel, so the soldiers could disembark and take action immediately.
Perhaps just like the past few times, those large ships ignored Koblenz and drifted away. The residents who lived a boring life regarded watching the big crossing as fun. It was also the wheat harvest season, and the closest to Koblenz Fortress was
These villagers are waiting for the harvest and are busy gathering grass and firewood to prepare for the coming winter.
As a result, they watched helplessly as an astonishing number of men with bucklers jumped off the half-stranded ship...
The iron helmets reflected sharply under the sun, and the Russian troops, all dressed in white, began to walk quickly after landing ashore.
Realizing that there was danger, the first villagers who witnessed the incident started running wildly with their farm tools.
Blue Fox was keenly aware of this. He took another look at the stone fortress on the southern hill. When he saw that some of his own people were actually charging towards the southern fortress, he shouted sternly: "Idiots, don't attack the fortress yet! We have surrounded the village.
!Capture them all!”
This roar had an effect. Those who rushed south the fastest found that their companions behind them were rushing north collectively, and had no choice but to keep up with the large army.
The "German Corner" does not exist in today's era. Although Koblenz is a very old Germanic settlement, in the midsummer of 841, it is a military stronghold built on the site of the Roman military camp.
There were villages in the area that was originally the "German Corner". The villagers planted crops and herded cattle, and the men who sat near the shore fished for fish. The tithe paid by them continuously supplied the monastery and the military camp on the hill.
The villagers lived in a peninsula-shaped area. The Rhine and Moselle rivers formed this narrow area, and it was natural for the landing Russian army to divide it.
At this moment, the horns of the fortress on the hill were blowing loudly, the flag captain was panicked, and the sergeants didn't know what to do.
Perhaps the only thing that can be done at this moment is to seal the fortress gate.
Flag captain Fred stood on a high place and raised his head, leaning his upper body and almost falling. He shouted to his subordinates: "Archers on the city wall! Seal all the gates immediately! Kick all the people who are sleeping in to wake up! Try to pull the nearest person.
Enter the fort!"
He was no longer able to accept the people from the nearest village, because those guys must be mercenaries from the Eastern Kingdom (he was very sure), and he had never liked these guys. He was worried that these ruthless people would kill the villagers wantonly, and even destroy the monastery.
It's like hearing rumors about the Normans.
It was a grave crime for Ludwig to keep such mercenaries, so Lothair declared to his own soldiers that this was a crime of blasphemy, and asked his subordinates not to leave alive any war against the mercenary group.
Do you expect the two hundred defenders to come out of the fortress and fight the Normans? The opponent is obviously very outnumbered! The Coblenz Fortress can no longer defend itself!
For the Blue Fox and the Black Fox, their troops rushed to the Moselle River at the other landing point in a short time.
After all, this area is cramped as a whole, with the Kill Penetration landing site being only two kilometers long. Every soldier in the flat land can see the so-called Moselle River not far away from the Rhine River landing site.
Of course, the villagers knew that they could get protection from the defenders by escaping to the fortress in the south, and even took advantage of the mountainous area to escape further. However, the escape route had been cut off, and there were still a large number of villagers staying at home with no time to escape. They stayed in the village.
People from outside gradually returned to the village. Many people rushed into the monastery in fear. In critical moments, perhaps they could only pray to the Lord to protect them.
At this critical moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
Father Bachbert of the Koblenz Abbey held a cross in his right hand and called on everyone to calm down. He also suppressed the panic in his heart. Seeing the priest's calmness, the frightened villagers also knelt down one after another and kept crossing themselves on their chests.
Although some people took the risk and evacuated by boat, most villagers had no chance to escape.
Maybe it was a miracle! Those armed men had clearly arrived at the outskirts of the village and were stationed collectively outside the village, as if there was divine power preventing them from moving forward.
Father Bachbert felt more and more strange that maybe those people were holding cross flags and even had huge black crosses painted on their shields.
"Perhaps they don't want to kill? But they have ulterior motives? At least you can have a chat with them." So the priest led the lower-level priests, deliberately carrying large wooden crosses temporarily tied with wood, and showed up to confront the densely packed army outside the village.
See.
It didn't matter. The priest saw more flags, all of which were cross flags, and the soldiers standing on the ground obviously stood up when they saw him appearing.
This was done deliberately by Lan Hu, since the besieged village could not escape anyway. Based on his businessman's thinking, the first thing he thought about was not to rob without hesitation, but gave the other party time to calm down, and then listened to the priest Kang who accompanied the army and completed the landing.
Ladd's suggestion really led to the arrival of his friend, who was probably the middle-aged priest with a stooped back, right? A priest named Bachbert.
No, Conrad and his priests also showed up carrying a cross.
"My friend! It's me! Conrad!" He appeared openly with open arms.
I actually met a friend, even though this friend only exchanged a few letters with each other, and they only had many detailed conversations while attending mass in Worms Cathedral. Although Bachbert couldn't figure out the situation, at least Father Conrad was present.
, indicating that the situation is not critical.
Father Bachbert's inner fear weakened a lot. He knew that a large number of villagers were peeping their heads to pay attention to the changes in the situation, so he took the initiative to walk towards the army, intending to ask what was going on.
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Chapter 1097 The Russian Army Lands in the German Corner Free Reading.