The black fox came to see him in a gorgeous dress, and Ludwig felt that his clothes were outmatched.
He couldn't take off this person's clothes to ensure that he didn't overstep his bounds, so he could only make him wait for a while, then wander around in the dressing room and put on his own good clothes.
Ludwig changed his makeup and wore a purple robe, which was heavily embroidered with gold thread patterns.
The gold-plated leather helmet is still the same, but with real emerald green peacock feathers.
He deliberately twisted his thick waist in front of the black fox, holding his gold-patterned belt with both hands to show off with a smile.
"What do you think? You have seen a lot in the north. Let's see if my clothes are gorgeous."
To be fair, when seeing Ludwig wearing a purple robe, Black Fox was instinctively envious and even jealous. However, even though the top nobleman in the East was wearing the clothes, he could not forcefully take them off.
The smart black fox hurriedly asked Sophia to step back slightly with gestures, then put on a businessman's professional smile, pretending to be quite respectful: "It's so gorgeous. When I was in Rus, I heard the King of Rus say that wearing purple
The man wearing the robe is the real Roman emperor. You are the real venerable one! And your gorgeous helmet crown is the tail feathers of a gorgeous bird in the far east. My father once owned it, so I know something about it."
Black Fox's words really meant something, the horse was photographed just right, and Ludwig felt very comfortable.
"A real Roman Emperor. Very good! However, I am not too obsessed with becoming a Roman Emperor. But this purple robe..." Ludwig spun around in a circle, causing the robe to fly: "It
It's a real Roman product, exclusive to the Eastern Empire royal family. I didn't expect that guy Rurik to know the goods."
"Yes. Rurik, the king of Rus', does have great wisdom. Moreover, we in Rus' don't know anything about the Eastern Empire."
"We Ross? What a joke." Ludwig pretended to be displeased and snorted: "Now you are my king's vassal. Forget it. That guy Rurik..." He poked his head to the north, thinking of some past events.
He actually showed a trace of sadness: "Rurik, if he converts to God, I am willing to be a good friend with him and even marry my daughter to him. Unfortunately, he still believes in the evil god of the north. I am very sorry."
"Even so, King Ross is still a good person to talk to."
"Good man? Stop speaking for him. He is a king, and I am also a king. What about Rus? The king lost 30,000 troops on the Elbe River, and now he has raised another 30,000 troops. What about the Duke of Saxony? He is still loyal to me. I
You are stronger than Rurik, and you! You fox, becoming my vassal is the right way."
"This is natural." Black Fox quickly complimented with a smile.
"That's fine. Compared to other nobles, you are more knowledgeable. The other nobles only know that my king's clothes are gorgeous, but they don't know where they come from. I will not wear this robe unless necessary. Now is the time."
As he said that, Ludwig stared closely at the black fox's face: "Now I want to see what you have captured. In the next military meeting, you will wear this gorgeous clothes and participate on behalf of your wife."
"This...I am your baron."
"Baron? In my opinion, your ambition is worthy of the status of a duke."
There was a hint of sarcasm in Ludwig's words. At this moment, Black Fox was not surprised or frightened at all. On the contrary, he was slightly satisfied with the irony. Yes, in fact, Paul Black Fox, who married into the Nassau family, was
It is necessary to carve out a large territory.
"Women have no right to participate in the military meeting, and any maids will also avoid it." Ludwig added: "You will be the new Count of Laingau, and the king will still need your military strength in the new military operation.
."
The words had been made clear, and Black Fox's mind was spinning. He thought that this year's military operation was over, and the next step was to barrel the wine and prepare for the winter. Did he still have to continue to participate in the civil war of the top Frankish nobles?
At first, Black Fox was feeling lucky, but now it doesn't matter anymore.
Mainz gathered a huge army. Based on Black Fox's understanding of Ludwig, the next step must be to attack.
Maybe the decisive battle will be this year.
Regarding Ludwig, his purple robe was indeed imported from Eastern Rome.
Inheriting the vast territory laid down by his grandfather, the eastern fiefdom of Austria, which belongs to him, is very large. However, the local development is limited. Fortunately, the Croats on the border still remain in a state of submission. Business travelers pass through Croatia along the coastline of the Adriatic Sea.
After controlling the area, you can enter East Rome.
Who was the real Roman emperor, the wasteland of Eastern Rome, or the king of the Franks?
The dispute over the "real emperor" continues. Lothair still holds the title of emperor, but once he is defeated in the civil war, the title will be suddenly lost.
This is what the Eastern Empire wants to see, but the Eastern Empire will not send troops or spend money to help Ludwig win the civil war.
Some gifts can prove the attitude of the Eastern Empire, such as the purple robe draped on Ludwig.
A robe is worth a thousand words! Just as he said to the black fox, the so-called demand is to ask the eldest brother to recognize the old agreement to split the kingdom. Ludwig hopes to gain an advantage on the battlefield, and the door to negotiation is still open. He hopes to
After a decisive victory, have a good talk with your elder brother, and you will be able to give him a step to end the civil war with dignity.
】
So, where is the battlefield for the decisive battle?
In fact, news has been flying all over Mainz, and there must be elaborate operations from the Middle Kingdom mixed in in the city. The work of preventing spies can be said to be non-existent. Besides, the great nobles in the north and east led their troops across the River Inn. This kind of
The action cannot be concealed at all. How could the Middle Kingdom's garrison in Kaiserslautern be ignored without being deaf or blind.
Ludwig, dressed in a purple robe, completely overshadowed the black fox's gorgeous attire. This robe added the only touch of purple to the entire city of Mainz. However, in this city that had become dirty due to the garrison of the army, the filth and
Impurity became a blasphemy against the purple robe.
Ludwig didn't take it seriously. He was accustomed to a messy environment. He would not realize his sloppiness until he had the opportunity to go to Ross's Neurosberg for a state visit.
The king of the East deliberately made a high-profile appearance, and the smart black fox and his wife behaved exactly like minions. The two of them brought all the guards in Ross attire, which gave Ludwig enough face.
Ludwig did not ride a horse, but walked on the dark road all the way to the north gate of Mainz facing the river. At the pier, as he had done last year, he personally admired the looting masterpiece of the Ross army under the banner of Nassau.
A large number of helmets were piled on the ground, and even a few bent swords.
At this moment, Ludwig was surrounded by a group of majestic cavalry, and the Nassau troops in Ross army uniforms also stood together.
The lively pier attracted many people. Thuringia Houthakulf had always been so exquisite. This time he simply rode a horse to find out what was going on. He easily saw the expensive man in purple robes, riding a war horse and sitting on a high place.
We also saw the piled-up "helmet mountain".
Ludwig did not want to touch these dirty helmets with his noble hands. Judging from their style, they were unmistakably Frankish.
Is there a certain possibility that the so-called Nassau Army used other methods to obtain the helmet, and Broken Sword takes the credit?
No! There is no need for these guys. Besides, no matter what Black Fox does so far, it will have no impact on the next battle.
"Not bad. Very good...you have gained a lot."
Black Fox thought this guy was praising him more, but unexpectedly, he just muttered a few words and dismissed it?
"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Black Fox couldn't help but ask.
"What else can I say? It's enough that you have properly completed the task assigned by me. At least for the time being." After saying that, Ludwig looked around and noticed that the Thuringians were watching the fun from the corner of his eyes.
Some people couldn't help but whisper: "Takulv, what are you doing here..."
The Russians were rewarded with a lot of disgusting heads, which made the view extremely bad. Now a lot of helmets are a good thing, but in the eyes of the locals, even under the banner of Nassau, it is still Norman who appears here.
The army, they exist here simply because they are all servants of the king.
Considering the viewing issue, the people brought by Black Fox still camped at the dock. Even the little girl Sophia Nassau, as a countess, could only use the dock as her own camp.
The black fox's fox ears were raised high. Although he had not yet participated in the military meeting in the evening, various garrison troops were discussing ideas such as attacking Kaiserslautern and attacking Strasbourg. Everything was not groundless. He had already estimated
Ludwig's purpose was reached.
Because these two place names are at least not unfamiliar to the Kingdom of Rus, Black Fox is even more familiar with a set of maps made by Rurik himself.
At night, inside Ludwig's palace.
Just as he said, no women will participate in the military meeting, the maids have all avoided it, and even the male waiters have disappeared without a trace.
Ludwig did not want a mixed bag of people to appear at the battle meeting. At this moment, he was not acting as a king, but as an expeditionary general, surrounded only by generals with strong military virtues.
Justice? In his opinion, there is no absolute justice. There are real interests.
In the small stone room, the high-hanging chandeliers and oil lamps on the walls illuminate the entire room.
Ludwig still wears his purple robe, but the light of the oil lamp cannot reveal the gorgeousness of his clothes. He is sitting on a rather simple wooden chair with a table in front of him, and a map is drawn on the parchment spread out on it.
There are some wooden blocks carved into the style of small towers placed on them to represent some military towns.
Duke Liudolf of Saxony, Margrave Thakurf of Thuringia, Archbishop Odegaard of Mainz (Worms), and the Black Fox representing Leingau (Nassau).
Compared with the Middle Kingdom and the southern princes, Ludwig did not control many princes. There were only four nobles present. It seemed that he did not have many vassals, and in fact there were not many. However, none of these vassals
Fuel efficient lamp.
Completely different from his elder brother, as the eastern part of the kingdom has been at war with various West Slavic tribes, war factors have forced the eastern kingdom to be more organized. The more vassals there are, the more Ludwig's own strength is weakened.
The command of Wan Dajun was firmly in his hands, and he had the physical strength to suppress his several major vassals.
But that's only on paper.
Only two years ago, the great nobles gathered in this room were beaten to a bloody head.
Meeting each other now is naturally awkward.
In just one and a half years, Duke Liudolf of Saxony restored the strength of the army. The Saxon army was dressed in black and held high its characteristic flag. All these essences were learned from the Kingdom of Rus. In fact, their clothing styles were not unified at all, but the overall scale was large.
The black tone, as long as a large number of Saxon spearmen line up, they can build a "black square" which is very scary.
The 5,000-strong Saxon army was Ludwig's powerful ally. However, it was Liudov who combined with the Russians two years ago and caused heavy losses to his heavy cavalry army. I think I have mixed feelings about this man and this army.
There is no need to mention the past, but the arrogant look of Liu Doufu now, and the smiling eyes of Liu Doufu and the little fat man Paul Black Fox make people speechless and angry.
Looking at the Marquis of Thuringia, Thakurf was neither happy nor worried. He had a calm face and seemed to want to speak, but also seemed to just want to listen.
Ludwig didn't want to scold this guy at all.
As a so-called vassal, it is the duty of a vassal to lead troops and respond to calls according to their obligations, but he is clearly a border marquis with an expansionist streak. He only led a thousand people to respond, and it was almost written on his face.
As for the real wooden man, he is Archbishop Odegaard. This man is not a pure monk. Odegaard can personally pull out an army and act as a de facto military commander. He has never done so and will never do so again in the future.
There was no chance to do this. Or maybe Odegaard was numb to the civil war. He once thought this was his opportunity, and now he just wanted to spend the rest of his life in the church. Finally participating in this military meeting was a forced move.
Everyone was listening to Ludwig himself talking.
No, he cleared his throat and spoke.
"At this point, the hounds sent by the king have attacked Sarabrücken, the bridge has collapsed, Baron Salgau has been killed, and the road from Metz to Mainz has been interrupted, so that the enemy cannot add more troops. In this way
Our plan to attack Kaiserslautern must be foolproof. The king is about to launch an attack. All of you must organize your armies immediately after the meeting. When I personally lead the army to advance, all of you must follow."
His eyes were mainly focused on Liudov and Takulv. The so-called march mainly relied on the coordination of the two allies.
No, the words were not intuitive enough. Ludwig pushed the first wooden block on the parchment and said while pushing: "We will attack Kaiserslautern along the road. This time we have absolute strength. We must defeat it."
Seize it."
After that, he pushed the tower-shaped wooden block that symbolized the first goal, and still pushed the wooden block that symbolized his army: "After winning the battle, we will capture Sarabrücken, we will build a pontoon bridge, and then we will march towards St.
Full-scale attack on Rasburg."
Both Liudov and Takulv were informed of the king's proposal, although it was very radical.
The reason for attacking Strasbourg was because Lothair's whole family was there. He was very aware of the Rus Kingdom's sneak attack on Aachen this year, and he would never mention it to others in public, but it must be the case.
The ability of the Rus's probably meant that the attack on Aachen would be successful.
As a man who had no intention of becoming the only king of the Franks and the emperor of Rome, Aachen would never belong to him, and Ludwig was not born there. As the top nobleman in the East, his whole family was in Regensburg, even if Aachen
Not only did he suffer no loss from being robbed, but he was injured by his enemy - his eldest brother Lothair.
Only God knows whether Rurik's army disrespected Charlemagne's tomb, and now we can only pray that they fulfilled their secret contract.
This is an opportunity! As long as Lothair is distracted by the disaster in Aachen, it gives himself a strategic opportunity to advance quickly.
The Ross Expeditionary Force was tantamount to opening a second war for the Eastern Kingdom. Although the Normans had their own opinions, the Eastern Kingdom did gain strategic benefits without paying a single silver coin.
He pressed his right index finger firmly on the point marked Strasbourg on the map, bared his teeth and shouted with a victorious smile: "This is the real goal of my king! I will personally surround this city and force
Lothair makes peace with me! This is the opportunity God has given me! The civil war will end with my victory this year.”
Indeed, only God knows whether the Civil War will end this fall.
Liudolf was not impressed by Ludwig's solemn vow, and Takulv found it even more ridiculous.
A very sharp question was first raised by Liudov: "The great past! Now that the bridge on the Saar River has collapsed, how can the army cross the river? Besides, is Lothair's army really so weak that it will collapse in one blow? We all
I know there may be a large enemy garrison in Kaiserslautern."
"You?" Ludwig was very happy to be called the Great King, but he was unhappy when he was questioned. He waved his hands and said with a smile: "You. There is no need to mention the past. Now you are all my subordinates. This
This time I brought the Eastern Cavalry, and our army was able to gather five thousand cavalry to launch a strong attack. I had a hunch that our army could easily capture Kaiserslautern."
Liudov felt very speechless. Indeed, two years ago, this guy also felt that he could easily destroy himself and the Norman army, especially the Ross army.
Why do you have this magical self-confidence? Maybe the soldiers led by Ludwig himself can fight one against ten.
Liudov shrugged, "Then I would like to congratulate the king on his victory in advance."
Thakurf, who had always kept quiet, could always listen attentively, but the king regarded crossing the river as a child's play. However, when his Thuringian army came to the Inn, they just collectively got on the Norman longboat and easily crossed the river. Could it be that
…
Takulf still looked down upon a nobleman of Norman origin, especially a fat pig-like character.
He rarely spoke up and asked: "Your Majesty, how can we cross the Saar River after the bridge collapses? The cavalry corps still needs bridges." "Takulf...is this a problem?" Ludwig pointed at the black fox with his big hand.
: "My new Count Laingau personally destroyed the Saar River Bridge, so I will order him to go out again in this war."
"Ah?" How could Black Fox sit still now? He pointed at himself: "You still want me to go? You really can't trust me?"
"Black Fox!" Ludwig continued: "I need your ships as pontoon bridges, and I also need manpower to stop the enemy's rout."
"Let me build a pontoon?"
"Exactly. For my king's victory, you must go. Don't you...don't want Sargao?" At this point, Ludwig's purpose lies. Because there are two elders sitting here.
The unstable factors of the number were the Duke of Saxony and the Margrave of Thuringia.
"Assist me to besiege Strasbourg, and all of Sargao will be yours. Anyone who performs meritorious service for me will be rewarded. As you, the prize after success will be Sargao! You! You will also serve as the Count of Sargao.
!”
Ludwig kept repeating the word "Sargeau" so that the other nobles present could hear it.
What he wanted to express was really the principle of Shunchang's rebellion, but in the eyes of Liudov and Thakurv, it was really stupid for the king to take advantage of a naturalized Norman nobleman.
But wait!
Sargau has always been the core territory of the Franks, and this is the fiefdom of Lothair.
Could this be a deliberate attempt to create a buffer zone? Just like Croatia is sandwiched between Frankia and Eastern Rome, it is a buffer zone between the two countries.
It is a good thing to get Salgao. Black Fox is afraid that the interval between the two operations is too short. It will take a period of time for the army to recover before it can become combat effective. The key is that although after obtaining Salgao, Nassau's huge number of landless knights can
Drawing territory in the empty Sal heights is still a blank promise for now.
Since Ludwig was shouting so loudly, the black fox simply stood up and made the matter clear.
He simply didn't bother to say honorifics at this moment, but called him by his first name: "Ludwig! I can be Count Salgao, but my warriors need tangible benefits."
"You!? How presumptuous! How dare you call this king by his first name?!" Ludwig turned around and smiled, but it was definitely not true anger.
"I have a request. Only by meeting my request can I convince my soldiers to go out again."
"you say."
"I want one pound of silver coins for each soldier. I have five hundred elite soldiers. Five hundred pounds of silver coins, bring them!"
"Absurd! The lion opens its mouth?"
"Then use grain instead. Give me one hundred thousand pounds of this year's new wheat as commission."
"You...want so much?"
"Is it much?" Black Fox said reluctantly.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the room was already very strange. Ludwig was a little overwhelmed because of his anxiety, and both Liudov and Thakulv became restless.
"It is natural for a vassal to send troops to serve my king!" The helpless Ludwig could only emphasize.
Black Fox immediately added: "I have already helped you fight once. You asked me to send troops for the second time this year. Yes! Give me money. If you don't have money, give me food."
So Takulf immediately stood up after hearing the news: "In this case, we in Thuringia guard the border for the king and serve the king every day. This time our army has to participate in the expedition and pay a huge price. The king is so kind...
Love Nassau. Oh no, it’s Lai Yingao. He sends five hundred troops, and I have one thousand. He wants one hundred thousand pounds of grain, and I just want two hundred thousand pounds."
"And me." Duke Liudolf of Saxony could not hide his joy: "I will send five thousand troops, so just give me one million pounds of grain."
"You! Ridiculous!" Ludwig was blocked for a while and could not get off the stage.
The black fox refused to give up. After all, he knew that the so-called king was once so depressed that he almost died in the snow. Being captured by the Russian army was a pain that this man could not forget in his life. The more this happened, Ludwig must have
The more you need to prove that you are still very noble.
The black fox deliberately provoked him: "This is the second time that the king has organized an army of 30,000 people. Is the king really so poor that he can't even afford to pay me 100,000 pounds of food?" "You! Damn fox! I will give it!"
Derwig stomped his feet vigorously: "You guys, I will give it! May God forgive your greed."
"No! It's to thank the king for his kindness." Black Fox felt comfortable now. He covered his chest and greeted Ludwig who had suffered a loss.
I saw two other nobles, and they also stood up to express their gratitude to the king.
In this way, it seems that Ludwig is really happy. If so, it is also a bitter and happy...
Up to now, Archbishop Odegaard of Mainz was the only one sitting silently during the whole process. He didn’t want to say anything, and he didn’t even want to argue now. He could only secretly regret in his heart: “Oh, even if we spend a huge amount of food, it’s Aleman who will suffer.
The people of Nigeria are suffering, but your own people are suffering. Ludwig, you are a militaristic lunatic..."