Chapter 1101 The ambitious Count Metz and the desperate King Ludwig
At the beginning of the period, Ludwig led his troops across the Inn River, entered the south bank area, and continued southward until they captured the town of Lauten.
At that time, Ludwig declared his rule as soon as he arrived here and moved directly into the royal villa here.
Long before Charlemagne, the Frankish rulers had built their royal palace here. With the palace as the center, a group of servants and craftsmen serving the nobles settled here, and the church sent priests to work in the monastery here, creating a small town.
This was completed. Because the town originated from the emperor's palace, it naturally also has the unofficial nickname of Kaiserslautern.
There are a number of Frankish villages scattered in the nearby area. In times of peace, this place would have been a prosperous and pastoral place.
Because it is located in a flat area to the west of the Northern Vosges Mountains, this place belongs to the Rhineland-Palatinate in the narrow sense and the Saarland region in the broad sense. It is very suitable for the development of agriculture, and the wealth of the nobility is almost built on farmers.
Exploitation, any ambitious Frankish noble must compete for the Frankish population here.
However, the civil war forced people in areas where the war was fierce to choose sides. Many people poured into the north, which meant they ended up in the Eastern Kingdom. Another group went to the south. There are still a group of villagers who did not leave and lived their daily lives in their villages.
life, because they believe that the civil war between the nobles has nothing to do with the common people.
Ludwig and Lothair were both kings. Since King Ludwig came to Lauten in person, the people who stayed there who had no choice would naturally submit to him.
However, as King Lothair's standing army continued to cross the Saar River from Sarabrücken to Saarbrücken via pontoon bridges, in the summer battle of 840, Ludwig lost his rule over Lautern.
The reason why King Lothair acted quickly was because the flat land had long been targeted by the Roman Empire. A Roman road passed through the entire Greater Sal area, and Metz was the starting point. The Romans built it when passing through Sarabruggia.
A solid stone bridge was built. After passing through the Saar River, the road basically extended northward along the Northern Vosges Mountains until it was blocked by the Rhine River. Then the Roman-era Main was built at the intersection of the Main and Rhine rivers.
The town of Ci was used as a strategic bridgehead to continue the attack on northern Germania.
Rome had been destroyed long ago, and some of the ruins she left behind were inherited by the Franks. Those old infrastructures still play a crucial role four hundred years later!
In the wild land, a Roman road is a necessary passage for military operations. From a macro perspective, if the Eastern Kingdom wants to mobilize troops from Bavaria to participate in the civil war, the geographical shortcut seems to be to cross the river at Wiesbaden, and then cross the eastern foothills to the north.
Vosges Mountains, thereby fully controlling the Saarland region.
But when the army faces the mountains, any attempt to forcibly climb over the mountains will surely kill the army alive.
The nobles relied heavily on the Roman roads that had existed since ancient times in their wars. They would not take the risk of letting their armies go wild unless they had to. And because of extremely poor navigation technology, the Frankish army did not have the slightest advantage in water warfare. The self-aware nobles relied even more on it.
Tactical maneuver on the Via Romana.
Sarabruggja is a name that existed in the ancient Germanic period and refers to "bridge".
After all, the stone bridges in the Roman era were not as strong as Roman avenues, and the stone bridges disappeared into history. However, Frank built an iron cable pontoon bridge on the Saar River, making traffic still smooth.
This pontoon bridge was the key for the Middle Kingdom army to quickly enter the Saar region. So in the spring of 841, Lothair's Middle Kingdom army firmly controlled Lauten.
For his own safety, Lothair himself did not stay at the Emperor's Palace in Lauten.
Adalbert, Count of Metz, entered Lauten with his army. He did not dare to cross, and for the convenience of fighting in the wilderness, he stationed himself with the king's standing army in the open areas outside the town.
The earl was granted great power, and Lothair made an important promise: "If your army successfully invades Mainz, that city can become your new fief. The earl of Leingau refuses to pledge allegiance to me. You have a chance."
Become the new Count of Laingau."
Is the promise true? If it is true, such a reward is too generous!
Count Metz planned that if he succeeded, he would be able to take over the Counts of Sal and Ingau in the future. The area of the fiefdom had more than doubled. Is this the benefit of being loyal to Lothair? It is really gratifying.
However, as a great nobleman in the central region, Adalbert was not just a reckless man. There are now many rumors that Ludwig of the so-called Eastern Kingdom suffered a defeat in the north, leaving his troops in other places empty.
Are they really out of strength?
Why did King Lothair go to Strasbourg with the main force? Although the King left himself a group of standing troops to command, after all, the main force was the warriors who came to Metz.
The current news is very complicated. Charlemagne rests in Aachen, but there are either Norman pirates roaming around Aachen, the Count of Flanders who defected to the Eastern Kingdom, or even the West Kingdom army that is ready to move near Paris.
Adalbert did not worry about being stabbed in the back in his own fiefdom, because behind him were the Burgundians.
One of the biggest reasons why the Principality of Burgundy and the Principality of Provence firmly supported Lothair was that Lothair's nephew Pepin led troops to guard Provence and northern Italy, and a strong army guarded the south, forcing a semi-free state.
Burgundy must insist on standing in the Middle Kingdom.
But Count Adalbert's army was not large. He brought 5,000 men to the battle, most of whom were infantry, and were also responsible for the baggage. Lothair arranged for him to give him 1,000 cavalry and 1,000 infantry.
Theoretically, Adalbert could command 7,000 men to participate in the battle. Due to the unavoidable wounded soldiers and even the long-term civil war that weakened the will of the sergeants, Count Metz's army did not have a strong will to fight.
The king has an order and must take the initiative to attack.
At the beginning, Count Metz had been delaying in the spring and summer on the grounds that the food was not in place, but now at the end of summer he really could not delay any longer.
Because the harvest season is not far away, the best way to solve the problem of army supplies is to resupply on the spot, which is to directly rob the villages. Considering that all the villages in this place are likely to be their own territory in the future, it will not be beneficial to them if they really launch troops and plunder.
Future rule. Besides, robbing villages is disgraceful. Great nobles are not gangsters.
Maybe he captured Mainz before the wheat heads, so as to obtain the local wheat tax. He concluded that the army of the Eastern Kingdom would not launch a counterattack immediately, and the other party must also complete the wheat harvest in the autumn, otherwise their winter and
Provision will be a big problem next spring.
Count Metz's calculation was good. Under King Lothair's constant urging, he launched the summer offensive against Mainz brazenly!
However, not long after the army set off, there was an encounter with the Eastern Kingdom's army.
However, it is said that Ludwig, who was defeated in 840, signed a peace treaty with the Russians and other victors in early 841, and then returned to the original place on a Russian ship.
Count Robert of Leiingau was released, and he fled to the Taunus Mountains in the north to live in seclusion. This man was considered wise, so Ludwig completely controlled all the political affairs in the Leiingau region except the Barony of Nassau.
So, how to hide your weakness?
When a weak cat feels threatened, it will arch its body and its fur will burst and expand. Its body will double in size instantly to scare away the threat.
The same is what Ludwig wants to do.
He was glad that he had left a group of elite members of the standing army in Mainz, and he had already expected that his eldest brother Lothair would definitely go on the offensive.
"If I were captured or died, or even evacuated from Frankfurt, I would be willing to become the little Duke of Bavaria. This would be a defeat. Even the title of Duke would not be preserved."
He believed that his eldest brother would definitely kill him, even if he was a member of the royal family.
In other words, just because he was a member of the royal family, there was a reason for his whole family to be killed. This was the case with the Frankish nobles. The nobles killed each other, the son killed his father, the uncle killed his nephew, and the nephew killed his aunt, but the young Charlemagne survived by chance.
He was also one of the few survivors of the entire royal family. The childhood disaster forced Charlemagne to formulate a system of enfeoffment of nobles, and the purpose of the three-part world initiated by him was to avoid this kind of self-destructive royal civil war.
Charlemagne was dead, and so was Louis the Pious.
From Ludwig's point of view, since the eldest brother refuses to recognize the "three-point plan" formulated by his grandfather, it means that the eldest brother must kill his entire family and not even leave a single baby. There is no middle ground at all.
Based on this understanding, Ludwig, who suffered a defeat in the north, must regain his face on the civil war battlefield in the south, boost his morale through a victory, and give himself an explanation.
As soon as he returned, he reorganized his army, first reorganizing all the cavalry, and then targeting the farmers.
He increased taxes to plunder farmers' surplus grain, further plundered the labor force in the Leingau area, and forcibly incorporated more farmers into the army. Naturally, the peasant soldiers were extremely reluctant, but Ludwig personally promised them: "We will take back the labor force."
Teng! As long as we win, you can loot freely! Whatever you grab is yours, even if you grab a piece of gold as big as a fist, it is still yours!"
Not to mention, this kind of speaking skills learned from the Russians is really useful. He saw a group of war-weary peasant fathers with eyes that seemed to spit fire. Even if these people were just a group of armed peasants, they were numerous enough.
Ludwig was unable to provide enough weapons and equipment for this new group of sergeants. Considering the reasons why he suffered defeat in the north, he made some adjustments to his army as soon as he returned.
If you are poor, you can only fight poverty. The main weapon held by a large number of unarmored peasant soldiers must be a spear as long as three men. If there is no spear head, a dagger or a short sword can be used instead. As for the secondary weapons that are handy,
Most of the agricultural tools used by individuals for work are hand axes.
Mainz on the south bank of the Rhine River has always been Ludwig's defensive center. Since its return, small boats have continuously transported new recruits to the other side. In desperation, he abandoned defenses in other directions and sent his main force to the other side.
All were transported to the other side of the river, including the last thousand heavy cavalry.
The rafts were pieced together into a giant raft that resembled a barge and was towed to the other side by a small boat.
Ludwig changed his past war logic, and it can be said that he learned some things from the war in the north. Especially the importance of the presence of big nobles at the front line.
Maybe the arrival of the Ross army in Mainz can serve as a good friendly army. Those guys are just for wealth and are so easy to control. A Ross army is in Nassau, its strength is comparable to the Danish mercenaries in the past, and its combat effectiveness is stronger.
Let the Russians living in Nassau come? Thinking of the previous defeat, he would not consider it for the sake of face.
"I must use my own power to take back Lauten! If I can tear down the damn bridge at Sarabrugga in one breath! What will Lothair do to me?"
Only a handful of the great nobles of the Eastern Kingdom were involved in this matter, and their attitude towards Ludwig himself was very ambiguous.
Just like you can't count on Russian mercenaries, it's unthinkable to try to borrow troops from Flanders, the Netherlands and Saxony right now! As for borrowing men from Cologne, the local priests have suffered a big loss and will never be able to get the men, money or food.
.
As for the Diocese of Worms, it would be great if they still announced their stance on the Eastern Kingdom! The diocese provided extremely crucial money and food. As for recruiting soldiers from the diocese, Ludwig has already finished this matter.
It would take time to mobilize troops from his old territory of Bavaria, and the Margrave of Thuringia in the north made up a bunch of excuses not to send troops.
It seemed that all the nobles were watching Ludwig's personal performance.
He felt that he was already standing on the edge of a cliff, and the only one who could save him was himself.
He forcibly gathered 8,000 people! Of course, this was just a number on the books.
There are only two thousand soldiers in the real standing army, and there are nearly a thousand peasant soldiers who are probably capable of fighting. Whether the remaining five thousand can be regarded as soldiers is a question.
Since the settlements of the Count of Leiingau are highly concentrated in the Main River Basin from Frankfurt to Mainz, as long as a string of villages along the river are forcibly recruited, it will not be a problem to squeeze out thousands of peasant soldiers.
There are eight thousand troops, three thousand warriors who dare to fight, and five thousand people who make up the numbers. The former is the main battle force, and the latter is mainly used to escort supplies.
The Inn River is very lively. As long as it's not raining, the river is filled with boats and rafts that are constantly transporting people and materials.
Ludwig was very envious of the large ships of the Russians. Even just some longships were enough to change his poor transportation capacity. Even if he could reasonably borrow the power of the Russians from Nassau in accordance with the treaty, he would never do so.
Hundreds of people cross the river every day, and subsequent people gradually arrive at Mainz on the other side of the river. In a short period of time, Mainz has become a city with a huge population.
At the end of June, Ludwig personally led the army and began to move south. Just like his previous tactical plan to capture Lauten, he moved along the old road.
The 8,000-strong army of the Eastern Kingdom marched straight towards the Northern Vosges Mountains along the old Roman road from the Hain-Laine plain.
At the same time, the army of the Middle Kingdom, led by Count Metz himself, was ordered to leave Lauten in the mountains and plains, and also advanced along the old Roman road.
Both sides deliberately chose this time to act, a full month before the so-called wheat harvest, but neither knew the other's existence.
Count Metz's army passed through the mountain pass in a cramped manner. The army was forced to pass through the strips as if entering a pasta machine. He had to rest in the trumpet-shaped area after breaking through the mountain pass. There was a small town of Winneville here, and the army was
Rest and regroup here, and plan to continue the march after the personnel and materials are basically expired.
And Ludwig was also gathering in the villages and towns of Altce on the plain. After all, the quality of a large number of the troops under his command was not good, and many of them fell behind after only two days of marching. Thanks to this being a plain, the straggler infantry could
Look for the large army through the clouds that are baked red by the bonfire at night.
However, it was the burning red cloud that shocked Count Metz.
Since most of his troops were his own soldiers, the count and lords used all their strength in this campaign. Count Metz could not tolerate defeat. He did not dare to gamble or launch a surprise attack. He at least knew that there were signs of incredible large-scale human activities ahead.
, concluded that it was definitely not a peaceful situation.
So when Count Metz saw the red-hot clouds over there, didn't the fire in his own army also look the same?
Ludwig also discovered an unusual scene in the south and concluded that Lothair's people had appeared.
"Is there a traitor who leaked the secret?" He felt that his actions were very confidential and did not bother to catch the mole. He was longing for a battle to wash away his shame, and this time he finally got the chance.
What to do?
Continue to act step by step during the day and prepare for the decisive battle?
"No! I have nothing to lose!"
It can be said that the Russians were his teachers again! As the saying goes, the army on the march last year was unexpectedly attacked by the Russian cavalry. Ludwig, who was severely caught off guard, only realized after the war that the battle could be like this.
Launching a sneak attack was considered extremely immoral and contrary to the character of the Frankish nobility.
Thinking that if the eldest brother wins, he will definitely not give his whole family a chance to survive. "Since you are so cruel, I will not follow the etiquette."
Since 200 Russian cavalry can plunder and wreak havoc along the way, and now that he can make up 1,500 cavalry including bad horses and reluctant horsemen under his command, why not just take a barbaric gamble!
So, before dawn, Ludwig summoned his four cavalry flag captains and ordered: "I will lead the charge! All of you must follow me without fear of death! The Lord will grant us victory! The shame of the first blood in the north
, we have lost the shame of losing Lao Teng last year. We killed the enemy by surprise! Remember, there will be no mercy. After the war, you looted wantonly, and I will give you all a military pay increase!"
The Captain of the Flags thinks that the king is crazy! But he has the same demeanor as Charlemagne when he was young.
At dawn, the dark blue sky is gradually turning into sky blue.
The huge cavalry is advancing up the Yinpingyuan Group.
Almost all the heavy cavalry of the Eastern Kingdom in the Mainz area were here. Ludwig didn't want to know what the enemy's strength was, so he used the strongest army he could to launch a strong attack.
Finally, the village ahead suddenly appeared in the early morning mist, and a large number of white tents were extremely conspicuous.
"Attack! Victory! Or die!" Ludwig held up the Ross steel sword, shining brightly in the morning sun.
The earth is shaking, and the cavalry of the Eastern Kingdom rushes into the bell mouth area formed by the Palatinate Highlands and the Northern Vosges Mountains, rushing towards the lazy army of Count Metz who is stationed here to rest and recuperate...