Chapter 1163 This is the cunning victory escape of the Ross people
With the long boats here, the broad Rhine River is no longer an insurmountable natural chasm.
Each long boat can transport fifty civilians to the other side at a time, and ten boats are five hundred. If small fishing boats are added, it will not be a problem to transport seven hundred people at a time if they act collectively.
This is true in theory, but in practice it is completely different.
At first, those people who were eager to escape did not choose a route. They did not carry many daily necessities. They always took a few days of rations and a small amount of ceramic cooking utensils, and carried blankets for bedding and evacuated with their families.
Limited luggage doesn't cause a lot of confusion, but that's not the case at the moment.
The panicked crowd began to feel at ease. They had not thought about it before, but now many people simply returned to their homes and returned to the riverside dock carrying sacks filled with wheat.
The dock was bustling with people, and although there was no panic, the confusion was obvious.
The Norman conquerors became the maintainers of order, some wooden poles were erected, and crosses and flags of Ross waved in the wind.
All the priests were called in to maintain order and earnestly appealed to everyone to remain calm.
The methods of the Russian soldiers were simple and crude. Those who caused chaos due to panic could be beaten with a few sticks and they would be honest.
The old soldier Eric, as the trusted leader left by Blue Fox to his younger brother, led a group of brothers to maintain law and order and manage the crossing of ships.
The villagers carrying sacks hurriedly jumped onto the longboat. Their wives and children represented him, and the faces of the family were full of joy.
"Let's go! Send me the rope!"
The leading oarsman roared, and the boat drifted toward the center of the river.
It stands to reason that all villagers with physical fitness should join the rowing with big oars at this moment. However, they are not Russians, so letting them row will completely ruin the rhythm.
For these Russian soldiers, even if there was some resistance at first, when they saw their father-in-law and his family on the other side running for their lives, they would still fight for their lives out of simple feelings.
Marry your daughter to those Normans who came all the way, and it was they who rowed their ships to save him in critical moments.
The people of Koblenz have no patriotic interests. They are just ordinary farmers who instinctively avoid war.
The refugees carried their belongings to the other side and knelt on the shore shouting for safety. The setting sun shone on their backs, and people's faces were filled with joy.
Still uneasy, they had to continue walking to the upstream fishing village of Randstad and camp at the mouth of the Rand River.
Refugees are prohibited from entering the village of Nassau deep in the Lan River. This is not because of ruthlessness, but because there are too many of them. How can the small mountain valleys be filled with thousands of people?
People who crossed to the other side even started to make fires on the spot. They lit a large number of fires. As night gradually fell, these shining points like star chains gave clear directions to the ships that were forced to cross at night.
There were fires on the other side, and there were even bonfires in Landstein upstream of the river.
The fall of night meant that for Quentin's crusade army marching into the Middle Kingdom, whoever fought had a rest, and for the fleeing people of Coblenz, those who were trying to sleep all got up.
Because Black Fox issued this order: "No matter how tired they are, wake up all those guys who have fallen asleep! Let them continue to cross the river by boat."
As for the oarsmen, what should they do after a busy afternoon? If the Russian army is exhausted on a large scale, wouldn't it be a disadvantage among disadvantages in the event of a fight?
This question came from Robert who was waiting for the ship to leave.
"Your people are more pious than the priests! Helping them is a great virtue, but your people are exhausted. Even if your warriors are strong, they have lost their fighting spirit after so much effort. Maybe you should let them rest."
Black Fox and Wadi have already discussed it, Black Fox will decide the strategy, and Wadi will implement the tactics.
What is the strategy of the well-thought-out Black Fox?
"When did I say that I would fight them desperately? Even if it is a battle, it is not now. I will let the rowing warriors be replaced. In the end, everyone will be tired, but the enemy will get an empty city."
Even if someone accused Black Fox of being a coward and shameless, he would only take it as a joke. This young fat man had never believed in Odin, and he never thought that blood sacrifice to Odin was great.
It was precisely now that the real nobles of Frank praised themselves as "moral models" based on their beliefs, which made Blue Fox feel extremely comfortable.
Whether it is due to morality or reason, Black Fox is forced to adjust his tactics based on reality.
The tired Eric was replaced, and Vardy jumped on the boat with another group of people to participate in the paddling.
The replaced soldiers were lying on the dock in Koblenz. Even though the noise was noisy in their ears, they snuggled up next to the campfire and fell asleep.
The transportation speed at night was greatly reduced due to many factors, but they finally got enough time.
The overnight transport was painful for everyone, and only when the refugees reached the other side of the river did they feel relieved.
In the early morning, when the sun is about to rise, the thick fog of early summer begins to fill the whole world. At this moment, the other side of the river is full of people. They get off the boat and fall asleep. Now they add more firewood to the extinguished bonfire and use pottery urns to boil some river water.
, threw the dry and hard black bread in, soaked it until soft and ate it with a big gulp, then the whole family continued on their way.
On the Koblenz side, Eric's troops, who had rested for the night, got up, and they took over. Wadi's troops, who had been busy all night, continued to transport the remaining refugees.
What is gratifying is that when the river fog dissipates, people on the Coblenz side can see the refugee team appearing on the other side of the river. They push small handcarts loaded with food, farm tools, and cooking utensils.
They have basic self-rescue capabilities, and the existing food surplus can sustain them for a period of time.
Of course, because the church in Koblenz has the right to govern the riverside plain area, the church's granary stores the largest amount of food. That food is the rations of the priests and is also the tithe they collect. There is still a lot of leftover food, which is the food of the priests.
Bachbert's most important property could not be transported away by the priests alone. When he asked Black Fox to transport all the grain, Black Fox seemed to readily agree.
"Of course I will help you transport food. Let's go! Let's go to the church first and take away all the valuable things!"
Although these Normans were doing a good deed by rescuing the people and actually touched the monastery's property with their hands, the priest's first thought was that these Normans would take the opportunity to plunder.
Bachbert was restless. He followed several young priests behind the Ross soldiers, and finally walked into the fat black fox leading the team.
"You have something to say?"
"some."
"What's the matter?"
"I... need a promise from you. After the disaster is over, please return all the gold and silver to us."
"Oh?" Black Fox gave him a blank look: "Do you think we are thieves?"
"I don't dare." The priest hurriedly denied.
"Of course we are not thieves. But after doing so much, do you have to pay some fees? Help you transport people and supplies. Brothers have never been so tired as these two days. Next, we have to fight with those Frank troops
I'm afraid many soldiers will die in the battle. How about you? You know there is a wicked man named Judas, who is greedy and despised."
"Me?!" For a moment, Father Bachbert didn't know how to answer. Then he thought about it. This little fat man who converted to God spoke Latin. Now he mentioned Judas, and he might quote scriptures later. "I'm not Judas! I don't.
Greed!" The blushing priest had no choice but to reply.
"Okay. I don't want any of the gold or silver holy objects. All the silver coins you have stored up will be used to reward my warriors. And your granaries, all belong to me now."
"Ah?!" The priest was suddenly stunned and even trembled all over. "This...how is this different from a robber?"
"You still think we are robbers?! Brothers, please stop." Black Fox gave an order, causing the brothers to give up their fight. He approached the priest, put his face close to him with a half-smile and looked into his eyes: "Papa
, now you should understand who are the real robbers. Those troops killed the mountain residents and fled, and we are saving them. They will plunder everything, maybe they will not kill the priests, and all your property will be confiscated. It is time.
, you are still worried about your money and food. Aren’t you a servant of God? Now you can’t let it go.”
"Me? You?! You're questioning my piety."
"That's right. It's better to feed the people and reward my warriors with your food. It's better to eat it in our stomachs than to be taken away by those people. Don't worry, you can say that the monastery has dispersed all its wealth."
"That's fine." Bachbert had no choice. He only had the last hope: "You must guarantee the life of our priests no matter what."
"Of course. Let's go."
Continuing forward, he walked into the empty village. Bachbert's steps became more and more difficult. He had never seen those armies of the Middle Kingdom until now, and at one moment he even doubted their authenticity.
It is undeniable that the plain area at the foot of the mountain was originally a relatively densely populated and lively place. People disappeared completely, livestock were led across the river, and poultry were put into cages and carried away.
The village community was eerily quiet, with only a few people remaining in the monastery in uneasiness.
The priest felt that Paul the Black Fox was quite pious and righteous. If he were not a Norman, but a real Frankish nobleman, he would surely have a very bright future.
But wait! This young man has soldiers! There are five hundred elite warriors!
The black fox was expecting the granary to be full, but when he actually entered the granary, the scene was disappointing.
The man holding a torch illuminated the house, and he tsked: "What did I think? You are not rich in food."
"Ah? Are you disgusted? This is the spring famine period, and... we are never greedy." At this moment, the priest was still trying to prove his innocence for the "Judas Theory" he had just said.
"Forget it, we don't have much food so we can move it easily. What kind of wheat are these?" Black Fox asked again.
"Not a lot of wheat, mostly rye and oats."
"Anything is fine." Black Fox still prefers wheat. Grind it and sift it through a gauze mesh to make scones and bread. It is delicious when spread with honey and raspberry sauce. You just can't taste it now.
He ordered all the carts in the monastery to be requisitioned, and then the mass removal operation began.
The last refugees were quickly transported to the other side of the river, and they walked one after another to the fishing village of Landstein. This fishing village at the mouth of the river has been maintained by Father Conrad of Nassau Abbey and a group of young people to maintain order.
There are too few of them, and if they really want to maintain order, they still need a big shot.
Before seeing the cash and leaving here, Robert Laingau was the lord of this area. The majority of residents had no time to care about the new relationship between Baron Nassau and Earl Robert. They still simply believed that Lord Robert was the supreme lord. They
It is rare to see a great Frank noble in my life, but I did see him this time.
Even though there were only a limited number of attendants around him, with the support of two knights and the help of three fleeing knights from the other side, the people all chose to obey in the face of high-ranking powerful people.
The other side of the river was overcrowded and there was no trouble, and the existing food supply could last for a while.
What they didn't know was that right in Koblenz, the Russians were making their final "raid."
The Gould family were all businessmen, and they also started out as industrial owners in their early years. When Black Fox was growing up, his family's fortunes were rapidly rising, and he still had the unlucky energy to eat pickled shark meat.
A steady stream of handcarts carried sacks of grain to the riverside pier, and resting soldiers went from house to house searching for supplies that had not been taken away.
The brothers were very happy at this moment. Some of them remembered their father-in-law's mansion. Such people would not let other brothers rob it. Their attitude was very simple: I am taking away my own things and evacuating completely.
As for the completely unfamiliar house, the soldiers plundered all kinds of useful things from the shacks, and also took away useful daily necessities such as wooden pots and pans.
The long ship loaded with food for the monastery will go directly to the fishing village of Randstad to unload the goods on site. When the supplies are getting less and less, the final "remedial work" should be implemented.
At this moment, Eric and Wadi rolled up their sleeves, and their plain white linen shirts covered their chest hair. Due to exhaustion, the sweat on their faces receded, and the salt stains left behind were clearly visible.
"Everyone has worked hard. Now the priest has gone to the other side, and we are the only brothers who are left in Coblenz." Black Fox said frankly.
"Brothers are all exhausted!" The old soldier Eric gasped: "I am exhausted too. Now it is time to transport the brothers to the other side. In our current state, we are simply unable to fight those armies."
"That's right." Wadi immediately agreed: "Our troops are small to begin with, and a large number of brothers stay on the shore. If we are discovered by them... If we run a step slower, something will happen."
Black Fox nodded, and then pointed directly at the fortress on the hillside: "Coblen Castle! If it is a field battle, once our reinforcements arrive, we don't have to be afraid of how many Franks come. If they capture that fortress, we will be in trouble.
I don’t want to attack the city afterwards.”
Eric glanced at the fat young man with a smile: "No need to say more. We won't let them get what we can't get. I can't destroy the stone city wall in a short time. It's OK to burn the wooden houses inside.
"
"Uncle, just go and do it!"
"In that case." Wadi thought for a while: "We also burned down the village community. If we can't get it, they won't get it either. We let them come without a place to rest."
"This won't work."
"no?"
Black Fox's attitude was resolute: "No matter who sets the fire, it can't be us. It's best if those Frank troops set the fire! Or, we can find a way to let them set the fire."
"You?" Wadi narrowed his eyes: "Have you thought of a conspiracy?"
"Maybe... it's a conspiracy." The black fox also narrowed his eyes, like a cunning fox.
No, the Russian soldiers holding torches began to set fire to each house in the fortress. They were a little regretful. This was the house where they had been stationed for a year. Although it was also a trophy, it would be false to say that they had no feelings after living there for a year.
Koblenz has stone walls and tall buildings made of stone and wood. This is a military fortress. The three Frankish princes fought for the sovereignty of this place many years ago. They all know that they control the strategic advantage of the Koblenz Fortress.
.
So the soldiers believed that the ultimate goal of the crusade, which Frank had never met, was to recapture the fortress. If it was dilapidated, wouldn't it make the enemy vomit blood?
Thick smoke rose from the roofs of the haystacks, and the entire fortress area was gradually obscured by smoke and dust. The thick smoke swayed upwards with the wind, and the arsonists in the fortress were also disfigured by the rapidly spreading smoke.
The Ross soldiers evacuated in a hurry. When they sneezed and retreated to the dock, they suddenly heard a terrifying low roar.
Their feet felt the obvious tremors of the earth. The black fox who was waiting to leave by boat suddenly raised his head and saw that in the more intense smoke and dust, the tallest stone building of the fortress collapsed.
Immediately afterwards, all the taller stone towers collapsed one after another.
"You guys did a good job." Facing the dark-faced guys, Black Fox had to ask one more question: "No one was hurt in the sabotage, right?"
"No." One of the ten captains said naively: "It's just a bit regretful."
"What do you regret?"
"It's like destroying our house and I can't be happy about it."
"Don't worry about it. When this crisis is resolved, we will build a better fortress. Don't think that it is not honorable to evacuate without fighting. We will rest and kill them slowly. We will take away all their armor and weapons."
But the soldiers still like to settle grudges, even if the words of the little fat black fox are quite reasonable.
After all, there were as many as thirty warriors armed with crossbows and short wooden bows hiding in the residence, and a "captain" led these brothers under orders to conduct a sneak attack.
They accepted special so-called "hatred-causing" actions and were able to participate in the first battle, which was the envy of most soldiers.
The Black Fox didn't care much about them, the brothers were still eager to leave with some supplies, and they intended to move as much of Coblenz's goods as possible to enrich themselves.
Some soldiers have already evacuated, and there are not many soldiers left in Coblenz.
Black Fox and Wadi will stay at the end, with more than a hundred brothers backed by four long boats, waiting to finish the last pot of wheat porridge and retreat collectively.
The weather was good in the soft afternoon, and everyone was in a good mood. The smoke column of the Coblenz Fortress was still terrifying. The wooden beams collapsed due to the fire, and all the upper-level stone chambers collapsed. All the wood was burning, and the lower wood was simmering. The black smoke billowed like a volcano.
break out.
Quentin, who was marching, was not blind. He was wondering why thick smoke was billowing over there before his crusade army arrived?
No, Quentin simply led more than a hundred cavalry in person to find out.
They rode hard and decided not to wear armor at the moment, and passed through the mountainous area as light cavalry. What they saw was the hillside fortress in the thick smoke, the obvious Viking longships at the bottom of the hillside, and a group of people sitting by the river.
"It's the Normans! Don't miss this opportunity! Frank warriors, follow me and kill them!"
It was their justice to crusade the northern barbarians. Quentin ignored the villages not far away for the time being. He just wanted to kill as many enemies as possible before the Normans escaped. After all, the act of punishing the rebellious noble knights made many cavalry warriors psychologically conflicted. Now
By killing the Normans they found justice.
When the cavalry suddenly appeared, the laughing black fox jumped up. He threw away the wooden bowl and didn't care about tasting it now. He picked up his sword and pushed the pottery urn where the oats were bubbling directly.
Food flows everywhere.
"Damn it, the enemy has really appeared. Brothers, let's retreat!"
This group of Russian troops did not want to fight with the Frank cavalry. They destroyed the cooking utensils and stumbled onto the boats. With a push of several large oars, four long boats entered the Rhine River one after another.
"It's safe now." Someone said as if he was relieved of his burden.
"Bah! My dinner has been ruined." Black Fox was angry and looked around: "Stop rowing now! Pull up your pants and humiliate them."
The fat black fox started to do it by himself. After a while, the long boat was lying across the River Inn. Except for a few people rowing against the current, the others formed a white patch.
The white things on the four boats were constantly twisting and squirming, accompanied by wild laughter and swearing phrases in Frankish.
Quentin and his cavalry have arrived at the river beach where the Russians fled, and their horse hooves stepped on the wheat porridge scattered on the ground.
Quentin's face was trembling, because those Normans were busy taking off their pants and humiliating themselves. What was even more strange was that there were many people on the other side of the river.
"They are so disgusting. Their ears should be cut off and then hanged." A soldier pouted and said angrily.
"No. They escaped." Quentin, who gripped the riding crop tightly, was extremely regretful: "If I really get caught, I will burn their butts with a red-hot iron! How dare you humiliate me?! How vicious."