Chapter 1196: The Bishop of Liege, Bishop Hartega, who decided to turn the tide in the crisis
In extreme panic, Bishop Hatgar of Liège took all the priests and left the city of Liège, as well as the Bishop's Cathedral of Liège, which he had personally funded and built.
He took all the sacred vessels, books and most of the cash and left through the wooden bridge, followed another Roman road as fast as possible, and arrived at the Barony of Limburg in the eastern border of the Diocese of Liège.
The core area is in a forest, with some scattered farmland opened up in the forest, and to the east of the forest is a large piece of worthless swampland.
The fiefdom of Baron Limburg is here, but this kind of summer nobleman who is very close to Aachen does not have strong family strength, but his status is noble.
Baron Andorf of Limburg had no great ambitions. He was loyal to Lothair and guarded the security of the southern suburbs of the kingdom's capital. By the way, he also provided some daily services to the priests who passed through his fiefdom.
There were not many excursions in this era. If there were many priests traveling for academic exchanges, and a small number of merchant groups. Compared with commerce, the commercial situation in the area near Aachen itself was better than nothing.
Aachen exists at the crossroads of two Roman avenues, but it is not a commercial city. Businessmen only use its convenient transportation. The real destination of most of those businessmen is Cologne.
The road from Aachen to Cologne is called the "Cologne Avenue", but businessmen often jokingly call it the "Hell Road".
After all, this was the road built by Emperor Augustus hundreds of years ago when he sent troops north to attack the Teutons. Twenty thousand Roman soldiers died in the Teutonic Forest, so this road became the so-called road to death.
Times have changed, and the barbarians of the past have established a new empire. This road still continues its highest priority military significance. If they want to conquer the north, the Frank army can also choose to take this road north and take the road at Cologne or Dusseldorf.
The boat crosses the wide Rhine River.
When building roads in Rome, they always tried to make them as straight as possible. They mostly used stones to pave roads in Italy. When the empire became too large, they began to build roads with rammed earth in remote areas.
For hundreds of years, the road from Aachen to Cologne has always been a thoroughfare, and the whole journey is equivalent to fifty Roman miles (about 80 kilometers).
On such a journey, a traveler can complete the entire journey in four days using only one pair of feet.
Blue Fox has already learned about this traffic information in Cologne. It is an option to attack Aachen from the direction of Cologne along the "Hell Road" that has been known for a long time.
For the sake of safety, and considering practical reasons, the coalition forces resolutely chose to penetrate the Meuse River and try to shorten the time wasted on the land march.
South of Aachen is the Barony of Limburg, and north of Aachen is the Count of Jülich.
The task given to him by Count Eberhard of Jülich and King Lothair was to garrison his fief and organize an army to go into battle when necessary.
When the Bishop of Liège fled to Limburg, the Baron was shocked that the bishop came to his residence in a very low-key manner.
Baron Andorf hurriedly greeted him. He saluted the bishop and kissed the bishop's old and trembling hand.
"Papa, you came too suddenly."
Just as he was about to say a few words, the bishop rushed to speak: "My child, can you give me a temporary place to stay? I want to sort out my emotions, and also...tell you about a disaster."
The baron was so shocked that he hurriedly escorted the bishop to the local monastery. The carriage was placed in the courtyard, and all the entourage received meals and long-lost safety.
The baron could see that the bishop was in a hurry. His mind was buzzing as he listened to the story, and the news that came like a bolt from the blue made him confused.
"This... this..." He suddenly yelled at the situation in the monastery: "The Normans actually did all kinds of evil along the Meuse River?! They actually destroyed Maastricht and Liège? Could it be that they are next
Are you going to attack me?"
The former is a fact, and the latter is purely the Baron's terrifying guess.
This speculation is not unreasonable. After all, the well-informed Bishop of Liège is also Lothair's palace adviser. The information revealed by the bishop cannot but be thought-provoking.
As the saying goes, the Carolingian royal family came from a powerful palace prime minister. The palace prime minister was too powerful and emptied out the king. So in order to avoid a repeat of history, Charlemagne simply did not have a palace minister. But the king needed some smart and capable nobles to assist him, so the palace minister system
It was abolished and replaced by the advisory system, and the power was distributed to some great nobles and archbishops. They were all the king's advisers, and they had to be loyal to the king for their own power.
In today's civil war era, advisors had to choose sides, and those advisors who supported Lothair naturally gathered into one organization - the Imperial Faction.
The Bishop of Liège did not blame the baron for his indiscretion, for his own excitement was contrary to his vocation.
The bishop spoke hoarsely as if his neck was in a chain, and the movements of his hands were also very exaggerated.
"Norman pirates are killing people and plundering goods everywhere, and Maastricht has become a hell on earth. Where is the army? If the king's army can destroy them, all disasters will be over. But... the Normans are still marching. I told him long ago
(Referring to Lothair) Don’t put all the army in the east. The rear is empty now, and we are being attacked by the Normans..."
This is true. The baron feels that the bishop knows a lot about the Normans.
This is indeed the case. Although he has not actually had a face-to-face encounter with the Ross coalition, he knows a lot about what has happened in the north over the years.
In other words, this Hatgar can also get some first-hand parchment letters.
It all happened because of the Archbishop of the North, Eskil, who loved to write letters. After writing many of his experiences into letters, he sent young priests in a relay, first to the Archbishop of Cologne, and then to the Archbishop of Reims, Schink.
After all, the financial supporter behind the missionary work in the north was the Archbishop of Reims, Sinquemar, and Esquier had the obligation to send him regular letters.
Reims copied these letters and sent them to the archbishops of other regions, so as to fulfill the church's obligation to share information.
While a large number of middle and lower-ranking Frankish nobles knew little about the Normans, many archbishops' knowledge of the Normans had already risen to several levels.
The Bishop of Liège was more willing to call the Normans Danish pirates in a precise way. He did not understand the emerging Russians, but he knew the most about the Danes. Only these guys could fight their way into the Meuse River from their long-standing stronghold at the mouth of the Rhine River, and then proceed to the Meuse River.
Wreaking havoc. What’s horrifying to think about is that in the past, Danish pirates only robbed houses offshore, often attacking the Counties of Flanders. What’s going on now? The Danes never went deep into the Maas River to carry out large-scale robberies.
, I dare to do it now.
While fleeing, the bishop desperately thought about the whole story in pain. His wise mind felt that all this was probably a terrible conspiracy.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was true. After meeting the nearest military nobleman, Baron Limburg, in this monastery, he sternly gave his advice: "I'm afraid all this is part of the civil war. I am very
I'm worried that those Danes will risk attacking Aachen. From what I understand, there are not many defenders in Aachen now! If our New Rome is attacked and Charlemagne's Holy Tomb is insulted, you and I will be sinners. I hope you will mobilize the fiefdom immediately
To all our warriors, may the Lord grant you glory.”
War is an opportunity, but if the war is not conducted properly, it can also lead to the annihilation of the entire army.
The baron was caught in a tangle, but he had never seen the bishop's trembling eyes. His pleading attitude seemed to say: "Only you can guard Aachen."
"Then mobilize!" The baron looked at the black wooden cross hanging high in the monastery, and subconsciously made the sign of the cross on his chest. At this moment, he seemed to have become a saint.
Suddenly, as if a divine power came over him, he fearlessly swore: "I swear with all my honor, I will defend my homeland and my faith with my life, even if it means sacrificing my life."
The Bishop of Liège was very worried that the Bishop of Maastricht had been killed. The tragic death of a friend made him sad and angry. However, the bishop was still clear-headed at the critical moment. The main force of King Lothair is now in Strasbourg.
, knowing the inside story, he understood that the king was going to launch an autumn offensive, hoping to defeat his most powerful brother Ludwig in Mainz and end the civil war in one fell swoop.
The Flemish people who had rebelled in the past year were ready to move, causing the legions that were supposed to be stationed in Aachen to mobilize to the northwest.
In recent years, the area around Aachen has not been peaceful. Norman activities have become more and more rampant. The great nobles are all aware of this. But no one thought that the Normans could actually reach a place just one step away from Aachen.
.
As an advisor to the king, the Bishop of Liège intended to personally warn the military nobles of all sizes around Aachen during the critical moment, and then rushed into Aachen and cooperated with the Archbishop of Aachen to mobilize the people of the city to defend the holy city.
Even if there is some possibility that the so-called Normans looted too much and left contentedly.
It is impossible for him to base his solution to the crisis on the enemy retreating when he sees good. There is even a possibility. Why should the Frankish army passively defend? When Aachen has assembled enough militiamen, and under the leadership of mostly nobles, it is clear that
You can take the initiative to attack and launch a holy counterattack against the barbarians.
After getting some supplies in Limburg, the Bishop of Liège set out again, this time temporarily bypassing Aachen and heading straight to the count of Lich, because he knew that the military nobleman had a fresh army in his hands, which was originally intended as a military force.
The "tactical reserve" that solves the problem of the Flemish attack is currently the best Aachen defense force.
If the bishop wants to go to the count of Jülich, he must first arrive at its important border town of Duren.
Durham means "gateway" in Celtic. This former Gaulish settlement lasted throughout the Roman Empire and was expanded into a rest palace by the Roman emperors.
Charlemagne inherited and further expanded the palace here, becoming the closest royal palace to Aachen.
But as the glory of the emperor dissipated, the splendor of the palace gradually dissipated.
Lothair, who claimed to be the only Roman emperor, could choose many palaces in the empire as his permanent residence. Facts have proved that he now prefers to stay in Strasbourg.
The status of Durham Palace has plummeted, but the historic monastery here is extremely important to the Bishop of Liège who is in a hurry.
The carriage advanced rapidly along the Roman Avenue extending north, and the bishop simply brought a small entourage with him. He risked being attacked by wild beasts in the forest along the way and wanted to see Count Jülich himself as soon as possible.
He was sponsored by Durham Abbey, had a brief chat with the local priest, stayed for one night, and then went straight to the town of Jülich.
This is completely the core area of Frankfurt, and all the Roman avenues are nearby. It can be said that there is a village every few Romes.
Like flags sprinkled on a chessboard, Frankish villages of all sizes are arranged quite densely, and almost all settlements are covered by dense forests. As former forest dwellers, a large number of Franks immigrated early to areas more suitable for breeding.
In the Paris plain, there are also a large number of people who rely on the lowland areas centered around Aachen. They ask for living space from the forest. Obviously, as long as development continues, this huge forest area in Western Europe will be forcibly transformed into farmland.
For people today, forest resources are simply inexhaustible.
Dense forests, rolling hills, and rivers running through the forest.
Farmland relies on these natural rivers and uses readily available water resources for irrigation.
The good living environment raised a large rural population, so much so that there were a large number of residents under the jurisdiction of Count Jülich, whose fiefdom was located due north of Aachen and due east. These people were also the basis for supporting his military strength.
The reason why he was sealed here is because the earl family is related to Charles Martel, nicknamed the Hammer, so earl Eberhard is a distant blood relative of King Lothair.
Being in a dense forest, one's view is obscured.
The Earl is living a daily life that he is very familiar with. Now his daily job is to supervise the military training of his own soldiers and ensure that the recruited militiamen maintain basic training. He also uses these human resources to order them to carry axes.
Logging of the Count's private forest.
Why not use free manpower? Cut down the wood, make it into usable wood, and then sell it to farmers. The count can make more money by doing this.
After all, maintaining a cavalry of hundreds of people is very expensive.
The best way to maintain the combat effectiveness of the soldiers is to hunt. Wild animals are often found in the forest near the town of Jülich. There is no problem in hunting wolves and foxes. If you can kill a bear, you can make a fortune.
On this day, while the Count was resting in the forest camp, his subordinates who came from the city hurriedly reported the news of the sudden arrival of the Bishop of Liège.
The subordinates who dismounted spoke half-kneeling, and also repeated a special statement from the Bishop of Liège: "A powerful Danish barbarian tribe has done all kinds of evil in the Maas River, and they are likely to be detrimental to Aachen."
"Danish barbarians?" The earl scratched his beard vigorously and was puzzled. He ordered his subordinates to lie down and asked again: "I'm still wondering why Hatgar suddenly came to my place. Are you going to tell me this?"
"Absolutely true."
"Okay, you go down. It's ridiculous." The count didn't quite believe this explosive crisis warning: "Can a small group of pirates scare him half to death? Scared him into coming to my fief in person? Or does he have some other agenda?
?”
Considering that something big might really happen, the count's good mood for hunting disappeared.
The cavalry team blew the rallying call, and the scattered teams gathered together. A powerful Frankish heavy cavalry unit assembled and returned to the town of Jülich.
At this moment, the Bishop of Liège has been waiting here for a long time. He and his entourage rested in the city, ate bread and drank some wine to relieve themselves from the fatigue of traveling.
The earth is shaking, and listen carefully to the neighing of war horses.
The delighted bishop walked out of the door with a smile. He saw a powerful heavy cavalry unit standing majestically on the stone square outside the church.
A well-dressed man skillfully trained his horse, and the horse took him out of the formation and headed straight towards the Bishop of Liège, who was wearing a black robe.
"Isn't this the Archbishop of Liège? My friend, Hatega, you came to me unexpectedly, and I was not prepared to welcome you. I am guilty of poor hospitality."
The count called the bishop by his first name, and Hatgar himself didn't care. They were both advisors to the king, not to mention that the count was a distant relative of the king.
He dismounted and invited the bishop to his mansion to discuss the terrible news in detail.
So until the two met face to face, the reality forced Count Eberhard to believe it.
Every hair on his head stood on end, and his beard was full of hair, making him look like a lion. Eberhard was so surprised that he paced with his hands behind his back and said to himself: "What on earth have made the Danes so crazy? They are so crazy."
They attacked Maastricht and Liège, and even the local garrisons couldn't destroy these pirates. How did they become so powerful when they were just a group of pirates who were beaten up by Charlemagne?"
"Perhaps it has something to do with the dramatic changes in the situation in the north over the years." The bishop, who seemed to be sitting calmly, was already in a state of turmoil: "My friend, you should have heard that Ludwig suffered a huge defeat in the north, and that Cologne lost the entire
Things in Westphalia.”
"I've heard a little bit about it. However, those nobles have nothing to do with us now. They are just Danes. I remember, aren't they loyal to Ludwig? Isn't it possible? Wait a minute!"
Seeing that the count had realized something, the bishop continued his conjecture with a sullen face: "It is an open secret that Ludwig maintains a Danish mercenary force. The occupied Durist is full of Danes, and the local leader actually calls himself Freud."
Count Landers is still loyal to Ludwig himself. Maybe he suffered a defeat in the north, but as far as the result is concerned, those Danes are still loyal to him. There are also the rebellious Saxons. I don't believe those guys are really rebellious now.
."
Therefore, when news about the great changes in the political situation north of the River Inn reached the Middle Kingdom, the nobles here learned that the news from the east and west was somewhat distorted.
As a consultant to the kingdom, Bishop Hatgar of Liège was wise and summarized some meaningful information among his numerous messages, and tried his best to clarify the logical chain on the way to escape.
Of course he had no conclusive evidence, but in line with the principle of "the biggest beneficiary is also the biggest suspect", and since the two sides of the civil war were already at odds, he crossed himself on his chest and said conclusively: "All of this is most likely Luther's."
Vichy's conspiracy is most likely caused by the military advisers he sent to guide the Danes' actions."
The count was trembling all over, "I just don't understand! If this is true, then Ludwig is too crazy! He clearly knows that his grandfather's holy tomb is in the city, so does he still support the Danes to use force near Aachen?
?”
"Perhaps this is the fate of being a member of the royal family." The bishop pointed out. The struggle for power of several generations of Carolingian kings has always been accompanied by horrific bloody killings, and he did not want to mention it more.
"So, what should I do? Should I gather all the cavalry and go to Liege to annihilate the Danes?" the count asked rhetorically.
"Don't be reckless, at least not now. I have arranged for the residents of Liège to flee in all directions. The Danes can at most run wild in the empty towns and let them plunder the property that cannot be taken away. As long as they do not extend their clutches to Asia.
Chen. We must first ensure the safety of the city of Aachen, and then plan to destroy these invading Danes."
"So I'm the only defender?"
"I'm afraid, this is your fate." The bishop raised his head and looked directly into the earl's eyes, and said seriously.
His clenched fists slowly loosened, and his tense body relaxed. The Earl nodded: "I understand. I will immediately order the assembly of all nobles and mobilize as many militias as possible. So, what else will you do?"
"I will go to Aachen immediately to make peace with the local bishop. I will personally put on my armor and lead the Aachen militia to defend the city, and then I will choose the opportunity to take the initiative."
"That's fine. I will immediately send the cavalry to report to the east. I hope the king can know the crisis here as soon as possible." The count finally added.