Chapter 1107 Count Metz, King Lothair and Strasbourg
The long route of the Rhine River is winding, and its central channel suddenly runs north-south. Until it reaches Mainz, the river extends all the way west until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
The central river channel infiltrates a large area of mountainous land, forming a large-scale river valley plain.
The long and narrow valley is bounded by the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Württemberg Mountains to the east. Legally, Württemberg now belongs to Greater Bavaria, and it is Ludwig's fiefdom. However, the endless virgin forest prevents it from providing any effective resources.
, it is also an inaccessible place where wild animals roam.
The western part of the river is the real valley plain. The terrain here is extremely flat and has always been suitable for people to settle. The valley plain extends southward to Basel City at the foot of the Alps. The north-south span reaches 150 kilometers and the maximum width is 50 kilometers.
The plain area here is really a wonderful place for agricultural development. The local core city is Strasbourg, with more than one million Frankish people living in this narrow area.
The priests are the masters of this area, and the Archbishop of Strasbourg governs this land with doctrine. Therefore, it is a demilitarized area as a whole, with only the militia in each settlement doing self-defense. Also because during the same Frankish Kingdom
, as the central area, there is no possibility of being invaded by foreign enemies.
However, the civil war has turned the valley plain where Strasbourg is located into a place of right and wrong, and it has also become an important source of troops for King Lothair.
After the death of his father, Lothair, who legally succeeded the Frankish throne, began his active actions.
The treaty of three parts of the world was to avoid civil war among the royal family, but if the treaty was actually implemented in accordance with his father's will, then the Franks he owned would be severely reduced. In his opinion, the land allocated to his two younger brothers could not provide much.
With strong military strength, it was Lothair's idea to use force to remove the titles of his younger brothers.
At first, he did not intend to make the truth clear. Ludwig, the third child, would only be the Duke of Bavaria, and Charles, the fourth child, would only be the Duke of Aquitaine. They would hand over all the standing troops at hand. Wouldn't it be nice to become wealthy Dukes with peace of mind?
?
His idea was to break the arms of any enterprising nobles, and even "give up the standing army". His main target was Ludwig.
In the eastern part of the kingdom, the northern princes have been opening up territory for the kingdom for hundreds of years. The Frankish army in the wilderness often has to exchange opinions fiercely with the Danes and various Slavic tribes. They have interests with the Ludwig family who were granted this place.
Completely bound. The nobles have to think, if Ludwig loses power, Lothair will really treat us nobles well.
The situation in the Western Kingdom is even more complicated. The large and small nobles in the Aquitaine Plain and around the Pyrenees have more or less Gallic ancestry, and their language is a mixture of Romanized Gaulish and Frankish.
In the body, a lost prince is eager to restore his honor, and many southern nobles are willing to help, as long as this new western king will think about them.
But in terms of geographical territory, the Middle Kingdom owned by Lothair does have an overwhelming advantage.
He wanted to make full use of the human resources in the Strasbourg area and use recruitment and coercion to force farmers to serve as soldiers.
What should I do if I owe land rent? Join the army, get paid, and pay off the debt.
The reason why Lothair has been asking Count Metz to take the lead at this stage is because he is busy training new recruits in Strasbourg. After all, he knows very well that his brother Ludwig has an iron army that has been fighting in Bavaria for a hundred years.
This army used to attack the Avar barbarians who invaded with Grandfather the Great, and later was stationed in the east. Now it is Ludwig's trump card.
My brother is obviously unwilling to compromise, so he has no choice but to fight!
Although there is news that there was a fire in Ludwig's backyard and the counter-rebellion army suffered heavy losses. Is this credible? This should be a fact. I am afraid that the real situation is definitely not as outrageous as the rumors.
Lothair is most aware of his current situation. His actual control area is huge and powerful, but there are forces opposing him in three directions. Lothair does not have the strength to defeat a group of enemies and win quickly.
Deploy defenses at various key points, and then assemble and train heavy troops in Strasbourg on the basis of ensuring that the rear is worry-free.
He also looked forward to the fact that the autumn harvest of 841 would bring him huge amounts of wealth to fill his military needs and pay for his new recruits.
How many recruits are there? That’s a mighty 20,000 people!
"Me! I can be as powerful as my grandfather! I am the real King of the Franks."
He had no financial resources to support the 20,000 new recruits who were completely out of work. Whether they were free farmers or debt-cropping tenants, or even prisoners who were judged guilty by the church, all kinds of people gathered together. They trained during the off-time period and went back to harvest wheat during the busy period.
These 20,000 people were divided into two parts, 8,000 of which were Frankish farmers with quite clean backgrounds, and were organized into ten infantry standard corps. Lothair personally spent money to purchase weapons for these people, but only for armor.
Since my financial resources are really limited, I don’t have to.
The remaining 12,000 people are organized into fifteen flag corps. Their personnel are more responsible. According to the plan, they will first serve as a logistics force, and their training must also be neglected. Under normal circumstances, these people will not be deployed on the battlefield. The current battle situation on the front line is tight.
, or when Mainz and Frankfurt really open up the situation and pursue victory, they will fully participate in the war.
Lothair's wishful thinking was good, and he felt that he had enough time to spend it. As long as time continues to delay, his strength will become stronger and stronger. When his muscles are strong enough, it will not be a dream to completely unify Frank within one year.
However, Count Adalbert of Metz came in person.
Walking through the fields, the count saw a large amount of wheat stubble, as well as many women and children picking up missing wheat ears in the fields. He led the guards on horseback through some villages, and also saw farmers threshing grains collectively with flails.
The entire Frankish world is busy with this year's autumn harvest. If a military operation is launched at this time, both sides will definitely be conflicted.
Although Count Metz suffered heavy losses and the defenses at Lauten and Saraperuggia ferries were strengthened, he was very confident in his defenses, but important information must be informed to his king.
Lothair was greatly surprised by the count's sudden return, and urgently summoned this hard-working nobleman to his palace.
"Now, what is the situation in the north? I hope you can tell me that Mainz has been captured by you." King Lothair, who was sitting in a gold-plated seat, wore a shining golden crown, and his right hand was slightly removed, looking casual.
.
Count Metz had no joy at all, and his sullen face looked as ugly as if he had lost several bags of gold.
"No. I didn't capture Mainz, but..."
"Did something big happen? Are you trying to tell me that you lost the fight?!"
"We didn't lose or win. It was the Duke of Bavaria who personally led the main force southward!"
"ah!?"
Lothair, who was once at ease, suddenly became angry. The hair on his body trembled, and his big hand pointed directly at the earl's neck: "You! You mean, my brother's iron army went south?! It's unbelievable that he actually launched a war during the wheat harvest season. It's true.
Crazy! Crazy!”
Count Metz deliberately did not finish his words. Seeing the not-so-young king pacing left and right like a lion, roaring filial piety, he felt a little happy in his heart.
"Tell me! What's going on?" Lothair calmed down and continued to question.
"But!" the Count raised his chest, "I spent countless blood to block the Duke of Bavaria's attack for Your Majesty. I am your loyal servant. I killed at least four thousand people and finally repelled their offensive.
"
"They didn't come?! Oh, thank God. No! I'm thanking you. That's not right..." Lothair suddenly thought and felt even more terrible: "So, you killed four thousand people? I leave it to you.
Is it possible that the two thousand regular troops also..."
"How dare I allow the elite of the army to be lost? Although some died in battle, the damage was not serious. It was just that the peasant soldiers I brought suffered great losses. Of course, when I was cleaning the battlefield, I found five thousand enemy corpses.
"
"Five thousand corpses?!" Reason told Lothair that there must be water in it, which was extremely encouraging news.
"Yes. Although there were also a large number of corpses of peasant soldiers. They were all buried... It was really a cruel battle."
Speech is an art. The war statistics given by Count Metz in this special report are a bit strange. It seems that he did not give himself a premium or exaggerate his losses. Listing such data just shows that Adalbert is a great hero with hard work and merit.
He immediately received Lothair's verbal praise, followed naturally by some practical promises.
"You ensured the tranquility of Strasbourg! I will make you Baron Basar, and the land at the foot of the Alps will be yours. But the previous promise remains."
In fact, what Count Metz wanted most was the entire Strasbourg, the land that Lothair stepped on. Because the early border of the Merovingian Dynasty was the north-south Rhine River under the Vosges Mountains. This place was the old
The territory of the Duke of Metz. If you get this area, you can get extremely huge human resources. By then, although the Earl of Metz is called a count, his actual level is equivalent to or even stronger than the Duke of Burgundy.
This idea is obviously unrealistic, but Adalbert is still happy to get Basar, because it also belongs to his ancestors' fiefdom.
"I am Count Metz, I will also be Count Saar-Mainz, and even Baron Basel. If I add some fiefdoms, I will be just like my ancestors." The civil war has given many nobles opportunities, and Count Metz is looking forward to a better future.
He would indeed suffer heavy losses in the future, but he was full of confidence when he actually saw King Lothair's new troops in Strasbourg and saw the great harvest in the valley plain.
Now Lothair can be sure that his brother's most powerful and belligerent enemy is in Mainz. The Eastern Iron Army is well-deserved, and they fight against each other with the same tactics as attacking the Avars. Lothair admires this army, but it is a pity that he
They are not loyal to themselves. Lothair really can't believe it now that his brother suffered a defeat in the north. In the Battle of Lauten, both sides suffered heavy losses, and almost all of the dead were poor peasant soldiers.
The elite of the Eastern Kingdom survived, proving that Ludwig still had great strength.
Autumn will soon come, and there will be more rain. When the land becomes muddy, it will be difficult for the heavy cavalry that the Franks are proud of to attack. After the autumn rain season, there will be winter, which will be even less suitable for fighting.
In Lothair's view, there will be no more wars in 841, and the end of the civil war is no longer far away. He feels that a decisive battle will break out in the Saarland-Leinland region where Mainz is located. Currently, he has the advantage and continues to consume
Over time, this advantage will become an overwhelming advantage.
Lothair did not send secret talks, nor did Ludwig. This kind of thing should be done immediately, but both sides did not do it because they had no awareness of this aspect.
The information received by the two supreme commanders in the war was still very limited. The way to resolve the war was to send official messengers and agree on a time and place. The two armies would square up to a decisive battle. This was noble dignity.
Just like the original meaning of Assassin is "low and dirty low-class people", it can be extended to the meaning of assassins and spies, precisely because the nobles feel that this kind of behavior is very bad. Assassin has already existed in the eleventh century
, in Europe in 841, the noble Lothair did not want to be a despicable person. So even though his brother's behavior of sneaking into the military camp of Count Metz where he was camping was very disgraceful, he planned to retaliate in kind.
However, the war situation took a turn in a direction that King Lothair did not expect.
Lothair, the real king of the Franks, the successor to the title of Roman emperor, and two heavyweight titles in one, was restrained by him. He could not do despicable things.
However, Ludwig no longer cares too much. Since he has allied himself with the Normans with strange beliefs, why not continue to break the law? If being despicable and shameless can guarantee his power, then do evil! "Let me be judged by God after my death.
!It will never be you who will judge me! Lothair!"
The wheat harvest in Nassau is also in progress. Now with the support of new wheat from Coblenz, the "Fox Brothers" who actually control the power in Nassau are now greatly strengthened.
The blue fox is the earl from afar, and the black fox exercises the actual power of the baron of Nassau. The two nobles are eating cakes made of new wheat in one hand, and drinking wine from the wine glass in the other hand.
Because of the secret agreement with Ludwig in Mainz, Trier was the next target for a powerful attack by the Ross army under the name Nassau.
Fred was forced to take the role, and he was reluctant at first. However, after arriving in Nassau Village, he immediately received a solid monetary reward from Blue Fox, and his attitude quickly changed.
"You care about them, and they care about you? If you are sent to Coblenz, you will be attacked. Take the money and help us finish this job. In the future, Ludwig will definitely reward you for your merits.
.At least when our brothers get rich, you will definitely be indispensable. Or you can follow me! I am the Count of Gothenburg in the north. I can give you a piece of land and make you a baron, but you have to change your beliefs and become a warrior of Odin."
Fred did indeed intend to do something after receiving the money, but he was still very conflicted and did not know the tactics of this Norman nobleman who had made a heavy promise.
But soon, he understood what blasphemy was.
Blue Fox gathered all the existing troops in Nassau Village. They set up wooden stakes in the open space of the village and even brought a sheep.
The brothers were almost all Odin's warriors before they converted. Converting? Does that mean having to break away from the past? Bah! It's all just a ruse.
After all, Ludwig said: "Just act the way the Normans do. I have nothing against you."
The smart blue fox understood that the guy was implying that when the army really demolished the city of Trier, it must have nothing to do with Ludwig. The attack must be an accident and a sneak attack by the Normans.
That's all. But in terms of the result, it was indeed a stab in the back of King Lothair.
Sheep were sacrificed in blood, and the Rus warriors, whose faces were smeared with indigo fuel, were chanting Odin's name again.
Father Conrad and Bachbert were shocked and angry, and even joined forces to argue with Blue Fox.
However, the Norman nobleman whose Christian name was Joseph directly took out a series of pendants that he had covered up. "Pious! Of course I am pious! I am pious to many gods. You two said that I am blasphemous. This is a fallacy.
Listen, Odin is God, and I understand Latin."
Such a statement could only add fuel to the fire, and he said again: "It will be good if we collectively repent after the war." But such a statement was extremely arrogant.
Blue Fox has his own set of sophistical logic. Since he understands Latin, the two priests weighed it up for themselves. Priests who pay attention to civilization and profoundness must not quarrel in Latin. In addition, the other party really has a large army, so they had to silently curse this heretic in their hearts.
The angels rained down thunder and struck him to death.
Was there really a thunderbolt? The bolt from the blue did not appear. Even if it did, the blue fox could immediately interpret it as "Look, it's Thor who protects us."
As long as you regain your identity as an Odin warrior, any robbery can be regarded as a great achievement. The brothers have been holding back for half a year. The attack on Coblenz did not cause substantial damage due to the need to be notified later. The brothers attacked the fortress and killed them without any fuss.
Despite all the fun, he didn't make a fortune. Trier hit Trier in the following autumn. There were no regulations to bind him. How could he miss this opportunity to make a fortune?
They collectively put on the uniforms of the Russian army, held the flag of the Russian army, and the boats they used were all traditional long boats. They will launch operations on the first day of September, all of which are needed when marching up the Moselle River.
After the supplies were stored, the soldiers reorganized their weapons and mentality, and then attacked in the best condition.