Chapter 1108 Attacking Trier Rain and Winning the Dawn Valley
What does Trier mean? What does attacking it mean?
What is a manifestation of Ludwig's anger? If there is one, attacking Trier is one.
Attacking Trier must be a very serious sacrilege, but destroying the local area is indeed a means to weaken Lothair. Of course, the Eastern Kingdom's army cannot be sent to do such a "black job", and even the saboteurs sent out cannot be sent in
It has no legal connection with the Eastern Kingdom.
In order to wreak havoc in Trier, the Eastern Kingdom could still stand by pretending to be calm, so it was most appropriate to ask the Normans to do such a thing.
Because Trier, although it is not a county, it is better than a county.
That's an area controlled by priests!
As early as Charlemagne's lifetime, the Archbishop of Trier provided important supplies to the Frankish army that conquered the Avars. The Franks defeated the Avars, and after the war, Trier received
Commendation.
Charlemagne was crowned "Emperor of the Romans", and many nobles received awards in such a prosperous period.
The Diocese of Trier is not a noble, so it has been upgraded to a bishopric, which is already the same level as Reims, Cologne, Worms (Mainz), and the North.
Charlemagne rests in peace, and his successor, Louis the Pious, lived up to his nickname. During his reign, the bishopric of Trier was granted legal immunity. The so-called common Frankish laws did not apply in this area, and Trier could
This establishes the "Kingdom of Heaven on Earth".
The priests did not establish a country, but the Roman palace and royal estates within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Trier became the property of the priests, and villages large and small had to pay various taxes to the priests.
The Diocese of Trier received absolute security and protection promised by Louis the Pious, so the diocese was able to quietly worship God and develop its agricultural economy for a long time.
However, the civil war inevitably broke out.
Lothair was indeed the first heir of Louis the Pious in law. He recognized all the privileges granted to the Bishopric of Trier by his father and grandfather. The other party also naturally recognized Lothair as the king of the Franks and continued to hold the title of "Emperor of Rome".
"title.
The civil war had broken out in 838. Although Louis, who was under house arrest by his sons, was released, his royal power fell away, and his sons immediately began to conflict. Over the past few years, the situation around Trier has become increasingly tense. It seems difficult to try to survive peacefully.
Only then did the Archbishop accept King Lothair's request to garrison the troops.
How to garrison the army should be particular. The army cannot be stationed in remote places, but must be able to defend the city when necessary. The army cannot be stationed in sacred places, and must be far away from the churches in the city. They cannot overstep their limits, after all, they are only soldiers.
This Roman city was founded in the Octavian era. It has experienced prosperity, destruction, and restoration over hundreds of years, and a large number of Roman ruins are still visible. Emperor Constantine built a magnificent palace here, but it collapsed in Rome.
Only the foundations were left destroyed in a series of wars during the great migration of ethnic groups.
Charlemagne once again rebuilt the Roman palace as his palace. The palace still exists today. Legally, it is the private property of the family of his successor Lothair. Charlemagne also rebuilt the cathedral. The building materials were all stone. It became the strongest church in the region.
The bishop sits in the church.
The garrison had a very legitimate reason - to protect King Lothair's palace in Trier.
Lothair's standing army had a large number of troops. If it were deployed more, there would be too few troops that could be sent to the front line of the civil war. He stationed a standard corps in Trier and a standard corps in Koblenz.
A full infantry standard unit should have 800 people. These two stationed standard units are seriously lacking. There are 400 people stationed in Trier. They are nominally to protect the palace of the king's private property, but in fact they are to protect the priests.
We and them in the city of Trier.
What this garrison can only do is ensure the safety of the city of Trier itself.
The Moselle River connects Metz and Trier, and the waterway is directly connected to the Rhine River. Trier is geographically close to the Saarland-Rhineland region, the peak of the Civil War, and even to Strasbourg.
Even if it's not close, it's far.
An undeveloped mountainous area stretches across, and the virgin forest is an insurmountable barrier that protects the east of Trier. On the opposite side of the mountainous area, the terrible Battle of Lauten took place recently.
The locals still live a peaceful life, the priests do not move around unless they have nothing to do, and the farmers in each village only live within a day's journey. Even the farmers' lives have been severely restricted. They are not allowed to hunt in the forest because
The mountains, forests, birds and animals were the private property given to the church by the king. They could not even fish in the Mosel because the catch was also the private property of the church.
The peasants' life was determined to die in their own villages. After being authorized, the Bishop of Trier governed according to his own beliefs. Frank's secular life was slowly dissolving, and it was slowly becoming a "theocratic country".
Peasants farm and raise some livestock on weekdays, with almost no entertainment, but must diligently participate in various activities in the monastery. They are forced to be ascetics, and the wealth that the church is constantly accumulating is gradually turning into exquisite gold and silver instruments.
Strangely enough, the priests did not become fat one after another. The archbishop's name was Hutto, and this elderly bishop was still skinny.
He amassed wealth without knowing how to enjoy it, and he relied entirely on the king's military protection.
The cathedral in Trier can be said to be a source of military expenditure for King Lothair. He can get crucial cash from here to pay the army by promising more privileges.
How could Ludwig, who was on the other side of the Civil War, not know? He also needed money.
It's just that for this series of inside stories, the "Fox Brothers" who have sharpened their axes do not provide detailed inside information.
Fred, who surrendered, said: "No one will think that you Normans will be merciful. Your purpose of this trip is to rob and kill. I have boarded your ship, which is tantamount to selling my soul to the devil. Since I have done evil,
Then go to hell! Go and plunder the Trier church, there is a lot of gold and silver in it."
"Is this true? How much gold and silver is there in the local area?" Blue Fox originally planned to empty the local granaries, so he gathered all the vacant longships. Hearing that there was a large amount of real gold and silver, he was very greedy.
"Really. There may be a thousand pounds of silver coins or more, and there are many gold and silver holy objects."
It seems that there are so many treasures, even if the journey is a bit long, overwork is necessary in order to make a fortune.
There is another big problem facing Blue Fox. His cash reserves are running low. Either he has to transport cash or supplies from Ross, or he robs his neighbors.
As a Frank, Fred betrayed Lothair and switched his allegiance to Ludwig. He was defeated and surrendered. Helping the Normans attack Trier was a surrender.
"This is blasphemy. However, King Ludwig made an agreement with the Normans, and God did not punish him. I am his subordinate, and if I act with the Normans, I will not be punished by God. Yes.
!After doing this, he might just make me a baron."
Fred did some mental games on his own, and then, a brand new man appeared.
This man's hair was deliberately tied into many braids, and his face was painted with some lines in indigo. Especially, he was wearing a Russian robe.
When it comes to acting, you have to do everything right. Fred is determined to regret it later. In this operation, he participated as a Norman.
Putting on the costume of the Ross army was just a simple act, and his real act of cooperation was to reveal the specific information about the Trier garrison to Blue Fox.
The city has stone walls, and the gate is a heavy wooden door that opens on both sides. There are no defensive measures such as lifting iron fences and trench suspension bridges. The captain of the garrison flag is named Bruno, and he has more than 400 people. The city of Trier itself is undefended and has a garrison.
It was fortified. The priests did not raise any guards. As long as the defenders' standard troops were defeated, the city of Trier would be a sheep to be slaughtered...
Therefore, two large pine trees were cut down, the excess branches and all the bark were peeled off, and the trunks were thrown into the water, with the plan to drag them while rowing, and then carry them ashore at the destination and use them immediately as a battering ram.
The Norman army, painted with indigo on their faces, assembled at the mouth of the Moselle River in Coblenz. Blue Fox and Black Fox took almost all the combatants to participate in the operation, and even assembled as many as thirty longships, leaving only two
Boat in Nassau Village.
Each soldier carries sufficient dry food - fried flatbread.
However, the wheat varieties widely grown in Western Europe in this era have higher wheat bran and will dehydrate more quickly after cooking. Nordic wheat cakes made by grinding them into powder and mixing them with oat flour can be baked very large and can be as hard as dry food.
Wood chips. Its disadvantage is that it is hard, but its advantage is that it can be stored for a long time.
The smart warrior smashed the dry flatbread into pieces with a hand axe, then put it into a linen bag, so that it could be enjoyed at any time in the form of hard biscuits.
This is the main dry food, as well as a large number of pickled and dried herrings brought by Black Fox, as well as local cheese products, butter and mutton jerky from Nassau Village.
There are even some sweet wines that are initially brewed in wooden barrels and have low alcohol content. Newly harvested onions and bisporus are also included, but they have become a condiment.
Fred had never expected so many tricks in logistics. As for food, when he was stationed at the Koblenz Fortress, he lived on oatmeal every day, and he had to save salt.
What happened to this group of Normans named Ross? The food they had during the march was too rich.
Because he participated in "evil deeds" as a Norman, Fred received very good food. The Normans he had heard in the past were a group of pirates who killed without batting an eye. Those statements were obviously correct, but they obviously ignored
The food these guys had was pretty good.
Fred joined the group, and like the Normans, they sailed a huge oar up the Moselle River.
He couldn't stop and had to keep pace with the others. It was novel at first, but then it became uncomfortable.
The arms of this group of Normans seem to have infinite power and can row endlessly. From the early morning departure from the assembly area in Koblenz to the evening when they docked to rest, their tired arms can finally relax. The army is here
Make a fire on the shore and eat your own dry food. Butter cubes dipped in salt, accompanied by dry and hard cakes and chews, taste good and can quickly restore physical strength.
Fred saw that some guys were eating raw onions, while others were roasting mushrooms. The Mosel River was not wide enough and the river bed was shallow, so there were long boats anchored on the river, lighting torches and actually catching fish. Until
Someone came ashore happily with a newly caught bass, and only then did Fred realize the strange fishing skills of these guys.
The Rus are indeed an alternative among the Normans. A series of marching rules created by King Rurik of Rus have been proven effective in all wars.
This night the soldiers' bodies were fully rested and a large amount of high-calorie food was eaten in their stomachs, which is very important now that autumn is getting stronger.
The next day, even Fred had regained his strength. He knew that today would still be endless rowing, and he would be able to endure it.
But as long as you continue to move forward, you will eventually encounter a village belonging to Trier.
He had to ask Blue Fox: "What are you going to do if a village appears on the riverside?"
"What else can we do? Of course it's robbery."
Blue Fox spoke lightly, and to Fred it sounded like they took killing very lightly.
"Robbery? Means killing those innocent villagers?"
"Oh. Those farmers are indeed innocent, so what? We are all the purest Normans now. At least I can be a little more merciful in the end."
Blue Fox is a pure Norman but not a warrior. Fred just doesn't understand that Normans also have multiple layers. For example, those who are businessmen know how to adapt and keep a line.
They sailed for three days in a row, and no one could tell how long they sailed. The Moselle River was very slow during the dry season, but it rained lightly.
The pattering light rain did not stop the troops from continuing their operations, so the people endured being wet and continued rowing.
A strange scene suddenly appeared on the river! It was a long boat with two pointed ends lined up in a long formation of snakes. A group of strong blond men who felt uncomfortable wearing wet clothes rowed hard with their shirts off. Many of them had strange patterns on their bodies and wore strange clothes.
There were strange pendants of gods, including crosses. Everyone rowing hard had strong internal heat, and they were collectively steaming with heat, like a group of ghosts coming out of hell in the fog and rain.
The first innocent village suddenly appeared. It existed at a big bend in the river. On one side of the bend was a flat farming area. The village was here, and on the other side was a rocky cliff that looked steep.
"What's the name of this place?" Blue Fox asked Fred.
"Traben, also called Dawn Valley."
"Okay. This place is ours."
Blue Fox didn't even think about ordering a pause in paddling.
"Haha! Brothers, we have a place to stay tonight. Capture this village and we will spend the night in a dry place."
Legally speaking, the area where the village of Traben is located is not under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Trier. The area was awarded to the Archbishop of Aachen by Louis the Pious ten years ago and became its enclave. The one the Blue Fox ordered to attack was not
Trier, of course there is no problem with this. In the final analysis, it is a force attacking the Kingdom of China.
The true appearance of Trabon was vaguely visible in the fog and rain. Is this really a village? When the longships docked one after another, the Russian troops who landed with weapons launched an attack in the mud. The fog and rain could not hide its outline, which appeared in the
What Blue Fox saw in front of him was more like an undefended town.
They originally planned to rob a village to find a dry place to stay, but they didn't expect anything extravagant. Now that they saw that there were some two-story buildings here that were probably larger, they thought that there should be a lot of treasures in this place.
Then comes the attack.
The Russian army captured the entire town without any effort. Those who tried to resist in panic were killed. The barbaric warriors had sex with the women of the village on the spot.
In the monasteries in the villages and towns, the priests were directly appointed by the Archbishop of Aachen, but they were still killed neatly.
After all, this town has a large population, and a large number of residents realized that there were gangsters doing evil. Although they thought it was outrageous, they took the time to break open the door and escape to the hilly forest to the west. The Russian army, which was busy looting, was too lazy to pursue the escapees.
It was so miserable for those who did not escape. More than thirty women were captured, and these were all the prisoners. The only reason they were alive was because they were women.
There were corpses everywhere in the villages and towns. Although the victory was very easy, the faces of the soldiers were also filled with the joy of victory.
But this was not the victory that the blue fox longed for. Although the accompanying black fox wanted to prove that he was a real man in the river of blood, he actually covered his face involuntarily when he saw this cruel scene.
Fred was shocked. He didn't blame or praise, everything was dull, "Oh my God! I brought them here!" He finally started to blame himself and knelt down directly in the fog and rain...
As many as two hundred people were killed, and the captured women suffered severe mental trauma. The monastery was ransacked and the priests were killed.
The captured women were assembled under the order of Lan Hu. They were wrapped in sheets, their eyes widened, and their whole bodies were shaking uncontrollably. You could understand with your toes what had happened before.
They were temporarily placed in a barn, and the blue fox had to order the men who were watching eagerly: "Don't do anything bad, you have also vented, and that's it for now. We will spend the night here and take away some of the things we need."
Things leave. Tomorrow morning, these prisoners will be released on the spot."
His order caused great shock. Some people suggested that he could be taken away according to the old rules. Blue Fox felt that this was a waste of time and unnecessary.
After all, the blue fox has a noble status, and the black fox is willing to listen to his brother's words. The two nobles ordered this, and the brothers had no choice but to accept it angrily, and claimed that they could grab a rich man in Trier.
However, the rain continued for another day, and the prisoners who were locked up in the barn ate nothing. It was not until the third day after the Russians arrived, when they were about to leave, that the closed barn was broken open.
The captured people hugged each other and screamed, some even fainted from hunger and fright. The axe-wielding warrior did not stop and walked away carrying the ax.
The Russians came like ghosts and left in a hurry. They left behind a large number of corpses, took with them the limited gold and silverware they looted from the monastery, and some food.
Blue Fox did not set a fire here, and he was not merciful. It was just because the fog and rain had just stopped, and the wet town did not have the conditions for arson. He did not regret it. Anyway, he had to pass through this place to return to Trier with the loot.
"Dawn Valley", it will not be too late to take away the supplies that were not snatched this time.