Tens of thousands of Aachen residents fled the city with only a small amount of food. After witnessing the brutal killings in the city, they fled into the woods outside the city in intense fear.
Their number was already very large. As the escape progressed, the people who began to fall into deep hunger were finally forced to become an army of beggars and even bandits.
It is now the summer famine, and before the wheat is harvested, all the villages near Aachen are living a hard life.
Even though they live near the capital, affluent life has not come to these Frankish villagers at all. On the contrary, because they are the purest Franks and they also bear the most responsibilities in the kingdom.
The large-scale conscription system is still dying out, and farmers will no longer serve as soldiers unconditionally unless necessary. However, each household still retains weapons according to the old regulations.
Each village has opened up space in the forest, forming farming estates of varying sizes.
Soon after the festival ended, the people who returned to the village continued to live their poor lives, praying to God for a good harvest and to King Lothair to reduce taxes.
There is not much leftover grain in each village, so villagers borrow grain from each other, and even the worst of it can only dig some wild vegetables to make up for it.
In order to produce more land, each family has more children, and a larger population leads to more food consumption. The villagers are struggling to survive on the subsistence line. They are controlled by the priests and have no more desires.
They are quite mediocre. They see no hope of great prosperity in the future, but they also feel that their lives will not get worse.
What the Normans said was terrifying, and that was something outside the forest, but what was going on with the sudden appearance of a large number of people?
The people who came out of the forest were hungry. They had better clothes and even jewelry.
The kind-hearted villagers invited the village priest to inquire about the rare outsider, and were shocked to learn that the barbaric army had invaded Aachen.
Aachen fell? The theory is outrageous.
But everyone's attitude was frightened. A large number of refugees gathered in the rough lanes of many villages. The teachers in the village provided a small amount of food, but there were too many of them!
Even if they sold their jewelry and necklaces, the high-priced food they received was quickly exhausted. When food supplies were not available, the hungry residents of Aachen saw no hope of begging, and finally turned their backs on the law.
Fierce conflicts broke out between the robbers and the villagers. The villagers took out weapons and attacked their fellow villagers. The priests tried to maintain order in panic, but even the priests were accidentally killed in the chaos.
The larger group of refugees turned into their ancestors!
The Franks of the past were known for their barbarism. They broke down the Roman walls, burned, killed, and plundered, which was no different from today's Viking army.
Such destruction not only informed the peaceful villagers of the attack in Aachen, but also made them feel the aftermath of the attack. Their lives were destroyed, and the villagers who lost their surplus food had to face the terrible reality - how do we live before receiving the goods?
.
The wheat has not yet headed, and the current wheat seedlings are at most used as fodder for livestock.
The group of fleeing refugees is gathering more and more, and they are moving along the "Cologne Avenue" on a macro level. However, this hungry army is causing fear, and in a chain reaction, more villagers are beginning to move towards Cologne.
Many villages were looted by the Frankish refugees themselves, and after receiving certain supplies, they were able to continue fleeing. All of this undoubtedly destroyed Count Jülichgau's tax base.
Cologne Avenue is known as the "Road to Hell", and what is happening now deserves its sad nickname.
Most of the refugees did not participate in robberies during their escape. Most of them were women and children, eager to find safe haven.
The nearest refuge is the city of Jülich, which is the residence of the count, so there must be a personal guard of the count. Those soldiers will become everyone's protectors, and the count will definitely be able to provide some food for everyone to tide over the difficulties.
Time difference! The key lies in the time difference.
When the Russian coalition attacked Aachen like a storm, Archbishop Hatgar of Liège, who had successfully escaped, had just completed an emergency visit to Count Lichgau.
The archbishop had already wasted a lot of time on the road. He believed that because he had informed the two nobles of the disaster, the nobles would immediately organize an army to defend Aachen and point their swords directly at Maastricht and Maastricht in the west.
Liège.
Hartega didn't believe that the Norman pirates wanted you to go ashore and attack Aachen directly. Presumably Aachen is still peaceful now, and his friends in Aachen Cathedral know nothing about the major events happening in the outside world.
However, as his carriage drove straight along Cologne Avenue to Aachen, he suddenly saw moving figures on the road.
"Parda! What kind of weirdo is that?!" the junior priest woke up the archbishop who was drowsy due to the fatigue of traveling.
Hatega woke up a little, and he raised his head and saw the shadow at the end of the road.
There are more and more objects that look like human figures, and if you look closely, you can see that they are indeed a large number of people moving around.
"Strange thing. Is that a nearby villager?"
"I don't know. But... I feel scared." The lower-level priests are now suspicious because of the disaster they encountered in Liege.
Hatega was not like that, but seeing that the moving people tended to become a mobile army, he couldn't help but become frightened.
"There's a problem! There's a big problem here. Why do I feel... they seem to be fleeing?" He himself realized the terrifying possibility, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration and slapped his thigh: "Oh no! Don't be a Ya.
Something big happened in Chen."
"What should we do?"
"Go up to us and ask why." That's all. Hart hurriedly ordered the charioteer to move forward quickly.
"Don't let anything happen to Aachen." He murmured to himself, but when he had this ominous premonition, he basically believed that the disaster was already confirmed.
The hungry refugees saw the appearance of a carriage as if they had seen a savior. They imagined that the carriage was pulling a large amount of food, and as the carriage approached, the figure of the black-robed priest sitting on it became an even greater salvation.
These well-dressed men and women are residents of the city of Aachen. Their large-scale wearing of leather shoes proves that the living standards of these people are far better than those of the villagers around the city.
More and more people gathered, and Cologne Avenue was completely blocked.
There were about a thousand people blocking the carriage. Just when Hatega was surprised and panicked, one of the refugees started to move first. More and more people gathered around the carriage and knelt down on their knees, raising their hands high to pray to a great thing.
Worship, accompanied by mourning.
They did not worship Hatega, or even know him at all. It was just that when he fled Liege, he moved the black wooden cross placed in the cathedral. The cross was very big and not as old as the Bishop of Cologne.
It was covered with a layer of copper and plated with gold, and there were still some decorations on it.
The carriage carrying this holy object fully demonstrated the extraordinary status of Hatega. The refugees actually worshiped this cross, and its existence was like a manifestation of God.
"Who are you? Why are you blocking the road? Don't kneel, I order you to get up!" The excited Hatega stood on the carriage. It is true that he is a bishop and can become a general when necessary, but he is too old now.
.
He changed his tone to a softer tone and called again: "Everyone, get up! I am Hatega, Archbishop of Liege. If you have any difficulties or grievances, please tell me! I will help you. Now get out of the way. I want to
Go to Aachen."
Regardless of what happened to the Archbishop of Liege, these people just escaped from Aachen and heard that the senior priests actually wanted to go to hell. Isn't this a personal risk? Even martyrdom should not be done in this way.
The baker in the city lost his shop and became poor overnight. At least he had a craft, and he could return to his old business with his family after escaping to Count Jülichgau.
The bearded baker temporarily became the talker. He still had a lot of strength because he specially packed a lot of bread in cloth bags when his family fled. Now the bread has been distributed to the refugees, and the limited supply
Bread can only be supplied for a short time, and now his family is basically out of food. Fortunately, the current direction is almost to the city of Jülich.
"Parda, we...we all escaped from Aachen!" An old man cried bitterly like a child in front of the archbishop. In pain, he explained everything he saw in the city. Everything he described was
The archbishop was shocked.
Impossible? No! Maybe there is some exaggeration, but nothing should be groundless.
Because this senior baker swore that what he saw was absolutely true. This man brought up a few key details: the white robe, the large buckler, and the x-shaped blue pattern on the white cloth flag.
The key among the keys is the most terrifying, just because there are blue lines on the robe.
The attackers look like this, aren't they just...
Hatega's eyes were as wide as copper bells. At this moment, the people were still waiting for the priest to show them a way out. What they saw was an old man who was completely confused.
"Impossible, Aachen has been occupied by them... Normans, how can they be so fast? How can they take Aachen easily?!"
A series of questions were left unanswered. The confused Hartgar thought about it and decided that going to Aachen would be a dead end. He knew clearly in Liège that these Normans were no longer ordinary pirates. As an advisor to the king,
He could guess that there must be a huge conspiracy. It was unbelievable that they could attack Aachen. There must be an expert to guide them! Hatega was more willing to believe that this matter was indeed part of a huge civil war, and that the mastermind behind the scenes was no one else.
It was Lothair's brother Ludwig.
"Walk!"
Hatgar gives orders to the charioteer.
Taking advantage of the opportunity for the people to give way to the carriages, he did not solve the problems for these refugees, but took advantage of the window time to quickly separate from the refugee team.
When the people saw the senior priest who claimed to be the Archbishop of Liège walking away, they gave way precisely because they did not dare to obstruct the saint, and now they did not dare to hinder his evacuation.
What else can be done? Keep moving. As long as you hold on a little longer, you will reach Jülich and everything will be fine.
It's just that some old and weak people may not be able to hold on.
The Cologne Avenue extends westward to the town of Durham, where it forms a crossroads. From there, walk a short distance further north to the town of Jülich.
The road that the people took was now Hartga's return road, and the archbishop rushed back to Jülich with unexpected news.
The bishop's return trip made the count subconsciously think that he had forgotten something, or that he had something to say and needed instructions.
The bishop himself had not long left, and Earl Eberhard, who was busy arranging his troops and horses, was dressed in armor and riding a tall horse to greet the noble bishop.
Standing next to the carriage was a mighty cavalry team. Seeing these warriors, Hattaga felt relieved. He couldn't be happy. This army was too small. After all, according to the baker and many
According to the refugees, there were Norman soldiers everywhere in Aachen, perhaps thousands of them? According to the archbishop's knowledge, as long as it was indeed the Norman army that conquered Maastricht and Liège,
They do have the ability to capture Aachen, which is currently very weakly defended.
"Parda, what makes you come back now?" the count asked casually, not knowing the urgency of the situation.
"Aachen! Aachen has fallen."
"What?!"
The count felt that he had heard something extraordinary, so he couldn't help but take off his helmet, button his ears, and asked again: "What did you say?"
"The most terrible thing has happened. Aachen! It has been captured by the Normans. Everything is over! Everything is over..."
Hatega tried his best to stay calm, which he could do with his qualifications.
He jumped out of the carriage and approached the count with a wooden stick, forcing the noble Count Eberhard to dismount hurriedly to greet him.
Just three or two sentences of negotiation have already explained the situation.
"The king's city is occupied by barbarians? This is our shame! No, I have to attack with the whole army!" The hurried earl looked left and right, and casually ordered his soldiers: "Go quickly! Order the men who have assembled to ride on horseback immediately, don't do it!"
One person was missed."
The cavalryman who received the order whipped his horse whip violently, and the horse's hooves flew away in endless dirt.
"You don't need to be in such a hurry," the serious Hartega said again.
"Why! That is the king's city, Charlemagne's city. How can I not be anxious, I want to avenge the king. Besides, Charlemagne rests there."
"Do you have many soldiers? Can you really win with a small number of troops charging into the city?"
This is an important issue. The passionate Eberhard no longer cares about it. He beat his chest hard: "This is my duty. I happen to have a team on hand. I was on standby by the king's order. Now it is the closest to Aachen.
The army is me, and I would rather disobey orders and rush to the aid of Aachen, even if I die in battle. Let’s go! God supports the just act.”
Having said that, the count turned around, mounted his horse, and rode away again.
Hartgar stood there. He could not persuade the Earl of Lichgau, and he was not qualified to do so based on the current situation. For ordinary priests, they often joined the army to attack the Normans because of their fanatical belief. Really?
Having seen the terror of those special Normans, Hartgar was willing to stay in the town of Jili.
As Earl Eberhard said, he is indeed going all out to rectify the existing troops.
All young and middle-aged men who could ride a horse were gathered together, and all the horses that could be found were led out. Even some horses that were used for pulling and milling could not be wasted, so the pack horses were arranged to pull flatbed carts to transport some infantry.
Nothing is more important than speed these days.
Eberhard calmed down a little. Considering that the enemy had a lot of troops, he had to spend the necessary time to assemble his troops in order to have a higher chance of winning.
He spent the whole day gathering an army, and the time he spent produced remarkable results, because he really assembled an army of 1,500 people.
With 800 cavalry and 700 infantry, Julichgaard has never had such a strong armed force. Seeing the army he personally organized to attack, the count felt heroic.
The strength of the Frankish army lies in the cavalry team. The other forces they face are generally weak in the cavalry force tribe. Relying on the mobility that is stronger than the enemy, the Frankish army can carry out surprise attacks, and can use armored heavy cavalry as simple and rough as a mudslide.
Overwhelm the enemy's lines and trample the enemy into a lake with horseshoes.
Most of the eight hundred cavalry were light cavalry, and nearly 40% of the riders only had leather armor. The situation should not have been so miserable. It was precisely because there had been no war in the Frankish core area for thirty years that the old cloth armor's coarse cloth covering was damaged and the riveted armor was damaged.
The pieces have also rusted away, leaving only the extremely durable and wear-resistant hard cowhide that can still be used.
Even so, Count Eberhard of Jülich, who had organized such a large force for the first time, was extremely excited.
"Rescue Aachen! Defend the faith! Fight against the barbarians!"
The soldiers chanted such slogans, which was the fundamental reason why the count could assemble such a large army.
The people of Ulich are fighting for greater morality. They are pure Franks. Charlemagne is the greatest king in their minds. Any behavior that humiliates Charlemagne will cause these people to be furious.
join the army.
Of course, there is also a rather realistic factor - rescue Aachen and expel the Normans, and everyone may be rewarded by King Lothair after the war.