Gisla cried bitterly and her eyes were swollen like a frog.
Blue Fox felt sorry for this girl. As for what else he could do, it was probably to save her life.
Being a royal princess not only brings glory and wealth, but also comes with endless personal constraints. Even living is now a sin.
That night, Gisla, who was crying silently, finally woke up to something.
In the early morning of the next day, morning fog filled the entire Mainz, and the soldiers' clothes were damp. Especially the Russian soldiers on the Rhine River had to endure the pain of dampness.
A girl sat quietly in the shed. After sitting quietly for a while, she slowly stood up, rubbed her swollen eyes, and walked outside with her bare feet. She was looking for a familiar figure, and soon found her hand holding a dagger and busy scraping.
Fish-scaled blue fox.
The girl stood blankly with a frown on her face, her appearance was surprising.
"Gisla? You? Your eyes..." Blue Fox immediately inserted the knife on the ground, and his fishy hands were not comfortable touching this girl.
"Kill me." She said quietly with a sullen face.
"What did you say?!"
"Kill me. Let me die. Let the world completely forget me. I am so redundant in this world, there is no place for me. You should have killed me when we were in Aachen, why did you keep me until now?
." She growled in a tearful tone.
"A girl who's messing around." Blue Fox could understand that she had been greatly stimulated, but it wasn't enough for her to be tired of life.
He didn't want to pay attention, and suddenly Gisla squatted down, grabbed the knife used by Blue Fox to cut open the fish, and put the blade directly to her throat. She looked into Blue Fox's eyes with a sad and angry face, and whispered fiercely: "Stab me to death. You can
Of! End this."
She was serious. Being threatened in such an unexpected way, Lan Hu suddenly became furious.
"Stupid!" A slap knocked over the hand holding the knife, and the sharp blade also cut the girl's palm. Then there was another slap, and the blue fox knocked her to the ground.
"What's going on, brother? Are you talking?" The little fat black fox walked to the scene of the incident through the cover of fog, and saw the curly-haired princess sitting on the ground in the mud holding her bleeding hand and sobbing.
On the other hand, it was Blue Fox who covered his head with a look of helplessness.
The blue fox had no sympathy for her, and at this moment he understood why Askard would rather have a maid than such a girl. He slapped his face, angry that she would not argue, pointed at Gisla and continued to yell: "Stupid! You can die if you want.
Jump into the Inn. I tell you, your father doesn't love you, and your uncle doesn't love you either, so you won't despise yourself. I am the Earl of Gothenburg, and now I actually encourage the noble me to stab you to death. I kindly take you in.
You actually did this to me?"
Gisla remained silent despite the pain in her palms, her tears almost dried up, and she just sat there motionless.
"Here comes someone." Blue Fox called casually: "Bandage her hand. If the wound is serious, stitch it up. Remember, take good care of her and don't let her get a fever."
But the situation was more serious than the blue fox thought. The wound on Gisla's left hand was deep enough to show the bone. It seemed that the tendons were not catastrophically injured, but the bleeding was shocking.
What is the meaning of a farce that happened so early in the morning? Both Blue Fox and Black Fox felt that it was just a desperate girl looking for death.
However, this was the beginning of Gisla's true awakening.
She really gritted her teeth and watched as the fine needles and fine linen threads were sewing up her horrific wounds. What was shocking was that she kept staring. She actually endured the entire operation that was supposed to be unbearable pain.
The ground was covered in his own blood, and his severely injured left hand felt like it was gone now.
Blue Fox stayed with her and witnessed the girl's bravery throughout the whole process.
Suddenly, she gritted her teeth and said loudly: "It's over! Let me be a Norman!"
"Um?"
"I don't want to be a Frankish princess, let me be a Norman! I am cursed by the devil, why don't I associate with you barbarians?"
The blue fox was not surprised at this moment. He subconsciously stroked the back of the girl's head and said, "Gisla, you are serious."
】
"Yes. Cut my hair and start from scratch. Fox, promise me." After saying that, she slowly raised her head, her swollen eyes casting an expectant look.
"It's your own choice, I hope you won't regret it."
"I don't regret it. I'm already dead. I want to leave here. You...take me away."
In Frankish, only women who committed crimes such as adultery and rebellion would be punished by shaving their heads. Gisla was innocent, but if she really wanted to be a Norman, she would have committed a crime of rebellion. According to the law, not only must she be shaved
Bald heads will also be hanged.
The sharp knife kept cutting off her curly hair, and Gisla kept her eyes closed, and finally reappeared in the world with very short hair. If it were not for the fear of hurting her scalp, Gisla would have been bald.
She touched her scalp for the first time in her life and knelt by the Rhine River. The fog had dissipated and she could see her new face clearly. The tears had dried, and the pain in her eyes was accompanied by the pain of tearing her left hand, but any
The pain of my heart is not as bad as my own heartache.
Suddenly, she suddenly pulled off the small pure gold cross pendant on her chest, stood up suddenly, and threw it into the river. For the first time, the girl yelled: "Curse me! Father! Uncle! You all
You are a villain! Lord! You are not worthy of respect at all. I want to be a Norman! I want to believe in the god of the north! Gisla! I don’t want this name! Ahhhhh!”
She screamed and screamed at the Laiyin River.
Lan Hu let her vent, and when she had finished shouting, he gently put his big hand on her shoulder.
"Silly boy, but if you don't call me Gisla, what else can you call me?"
"Give me a name as you like."
"Name. Only parents can name their children." Blue Fox said casually.
"Really? I'm in your hands. Compared to my father and uncle, they are worse than you. I know you just want to possess me, and I have nowhere to go. Give me a name! I'll go with you
.”
She had a hint of pleading, but Lan Hu shook his head and gave in.
"Theresia. Your name is no longer Gisla, you are Theresia." He said.
"What does it mean."
"A kind of bird from the far north. It is small and cute, with blue-black feathers. It is not afraid of severe cold and is extremely tough."
"That's okay. Gisla is dead, and I am Theresia! I am a Norman. I will no longer speak Frankish. Before I learn your language, I will speak to you in Latin...
say."
"Okay." Lan Hu looked at the girl in front of him, who was familiar yet unfamiliar, but the feeling of unfamiliarity was even stronger.
The so-called trastr is a mixture of the word trastr and the Roman feminine suffix. This is a temporary creation of Blue Fox. It is indeed not a native Nordic word, and it was not originally used to describe girls.
Its original meaning is the blackbird, a common bird in the Lake Mälaren area. Even in the heavy snow, this bird still maintains its distinctive blue-black feathers and dances on the snow-covered pine tree branches. Such a small bird
You can only admire it from a distance. It is so small that it has no hunting value. Although it is a small bird, its perseverance is amazing.
Blue Fox originally planned to go back to the city to chat with Ludwig about continuing the battle when the fog cleared, but because of the farce at the riverside camp, he decided to wait.
The Ross warriors watched as a poor girl transformed into a member of their own camp. After cutting off her hair, she became extremely weird. She made a major change in her image. At first glance, she did appear to be a different person.
It was just a farce. The girl felt even more that this Norman nobleman was the man who cared about her the most. Even though he was old, he had never been married.
Could this be part of fate?
The blue fox allowed the princess who had been renamed Theresia to think about whatever she wanted, but one thing made him happy at the moment. There was no trace of the old princess Gisla in the entire Ross camp. Theresia changed her clothes, especially the Ross ones.
She wears a blue-striped robe, and when she loses her hair, she first holds her head with a piece of cloth. Now who would have thought that she is actually a princess?
In this way, he thought it would be easier to explain the matter to Ludwig, because in a very large sense, the princess was dead.
Of course, Ludwig doesn't know all this yet, but he will soon know it in a completely new way.
Regarding whether elites are really being assembled to launch an autumn offensive against Metz?
Blue Fox had to calculate the time, and he had calculated that as long as he carried out his brother's wishes, the army would definitely lose the opportunity to spend the winter in his hometown. Is this appropriate?
Considering that he was granted full authority by Rurik, who could declare that the entire army would spend the winter in a warm area such as Rotterstad, especially the main force of the Russian army in the coalition, is it really necessary for the brothers to go back?
Blue Fox is very clear about Rurik's attitude towards the Frankish Civil War. As the saying goes, once Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom is defeated, Lothair will categorically refuse to recognize any unequal treaties signed with Ludwig in the past. What's worse,
The defeated Eastern Kingdom would be unable to maintain the several great nobles in its western territories, especially the agents installed by the Rus Kingdom in the middle reaches of the Rhine River. Everything in the current County of Nassau would be in vain.
All this determines that Ross must help the Eastern Kingdom win.
Can Ludwig really end the civil war before Christmas this year? The possibility is slim. The civil war will continue to drag on. Ludwig will at most gain a certain advantage. Only with the help of the Russian army can he gain a greater advantage.
Besides, if this year is not a decisive battle, either next year or the year after that, a fateful battle will inevitably break out between the two feuding kings. By then, it will be too tedious for Ross to transport troops all the way from his hometown.
If the elite troops are forced not to return home, where is the best place to spend the winter?
The best wintering areas for black fox and Sophia Nassau are the lahn river valley and the estuary triangle plain of Koblenz.
This is the core territory of the County of Nassau, especially Koblenz. Its good geographical environment has long proven that it can support up to a thousand standing armies to be stationed for a long time. The Middle Kingdom army stationed in the past has been destroyed and is now replaced by the real elite of Rus.
What's wrong with being stationed?
Even if it suffers serious losses, the elite Russian army and the Finnish troops with die-hard supporters, Blue Fox can mobilize a thousand soldiers to garrison.
Therefore, Nassau-Koblenz became a solid base for future attacks. The attackers could go all the way up the Mosel River to Metz, and the retreaters could easily retreat to the mouth of the Rhine River by boat to avoid trouble.
Doing this would still violate Rurik's original mission requirements. The expedition operation has actually been completed, and it would be extraneous to do a new operation. But if I don't do it if I take the opportunity, I feel itchy in my heart and feel uncomfortable all over.
Then do it!
"Rurik, the situation has changed now. The army will be stationed at Ross's Shop in Nassau, which you personally designated. I will lead my brothers to achieve greater victory." Blue Fox thought.
Now that the brothers have reached an agreement, the next step is to inform Ludwig about this.
No, Ludwig still prepared a quiet room. He cleared out all the waiters. This time, even the guards on guard were asked to rest.
He specially summoned the two foxes. He was struggling with some things, and he didn't know whether he should disclose them openly. As for other important matters related to the war, he intended to make a secret agreement with the two Russians.
There are oil lamps in the secret room, and the firelight flickers in the quiet room. The atmosphere here is very depressing, and the so-called dark corner is really suitable for making conspiracy agreements.
Ludwig did it deliberately to create such an atmosphere. Blue Fox didn't need to point it out in particular. He was slightly aware of this guy's attitude.
The black fox and the blue fox are on one side, and across the square table is Ludwig himself wearing a crown.
In addition to lighting fixtures, the table also has a map spread out.
Blue Fox examined it for a while and noticed that there were wooden blocks carved into towers on the map. All the wooden blocks placed represented a city. It was a simple but intuitive war sandbox.
Ludwig propped up his forearms and gently supported his mouth with both hands: "Let me guess, not only do you two brothers want to participate in the war, but you also want to be a big hit."
"That's natural." The blue fox's eyes signaled his brother not to speak, and he looked left and right...
"Don't worry, I have also removed the guards. The other nobles don't know that I have secretly met with you. If you and I don't say anything, no one else will know."
"That's fine." Blue Fox nodded, "In that case I won't talk nonsense." He continued to stare at the map on the table and stretched out his hand to hold a key wooden block.
This wooden block is unusual. It is clearly marked in old Latin letters next to it: saarabvkien.
Ludwig stared at the blue fox's hand: "What? You brothers have a new idea?"
"good."
As he spoke, Blue Fox's eyes focused on another mark marked on the map, mets, and the wooden block was placed on it.
"Is it Metz? Are you targeting Metz?"
"It's you..." Blue Fox glanced at Ludwig's face: "It doesn't seem like you are surprised?"
"A surprise, but not much. It suits your methods very well."
"Thank you for the compliment. Since you can accept it, what do you think? What if we Russians attack Metz?"
Blue Fox needs to hear Ludwig's wishes. He can estimate that this guy is happy to do so.
At this moment, Ludwig stood up, raised his chest, took a deep breath, and then spit it out fiercely like a wolf. His hands floated on the table, and the vibration caused some lamp oil to splash onto the map.
His eyes were fixed on Metz, and then on Sarabrücken. The two settlements were only connected by a thin black line. This mark was not a river, but a Roman road, and in small letters it was marked "Beauty"
Inz Avenue".
He continued to tilt his head and whispered: "Adalbert, Count of Metz, if this man dies, the war will be more beneficial to me."
"He?" Blue Fox asked.
"Compared to other nobles, this person follows Lothair the most. Smart nobles often preserve their strength in civil wars. After all, no matter who wins, life will go on. But this Adalbert fought with all his life against me.
His army is not Lothair's personal soldiers at all, why should he! Last year, he was the one who prevented the king from retaking Kaiserslautern."
Blue Fox knew very little about this matter, so he didn't expect that there was such a hidden secret?
Lan Hu thought for a while: "There is no such thing as unreasonable hatred. Could it be that you did something to him that made him furious?"
"Causing rage? If that's what happened..."
"If you don't mind, you can tell me."
"It doesn't matter. The king has deprived him of his fiefdom in Swabia."
He actually attempted to seize territory? It was in line with Ludwig's domineering temperament. Of course, this domineering attitude must be based on his superior strength.
"Swabia? This is the first time I've heard of it. Where is it?" Blue Fox asked.
"In fact, it is on the right bank of the Rhine Valley, in the mountains opposite Strasbourg. Adalbert is not willing to follow my king, but Swabia is within my territory of Bavaria. Such dissidents must be eliminated!"
"Ah! Now I understand everything." Blue Fox patted his thigh and continued to stare at Ludwig.
"What do you understand?"
"Since your deprivation aroused that man's anger, then he resolutely followed Lothair to fight you to the death. Lothair must have given him significant benefits that cannot be ignored."
"Maybe! But it's not important." Ludwig shrugged. In his opinion, there was something in the cunning fox's words. Since Count Metz fights for his master for great interests, then the name Nassau is really true.
For the County of Nassau, a vassal of the Rus' forces, they fought and plundered like crazy dogs, just for the big benefit - to get the entire Saar region.
"There are no outsiders here. Let me tell you the truth." Ludwig pointed at Metz as he spoke: "The king is now unable to divide his troops to go on an expedition to Metz. Even if he can divide his troops, he cannot attack quickly. I tell you intuitively,
The current defense of Metz City must be extremely empty! If you can launch a sneak attack, you will have a great chance of victory. Moreover, I dare say that you are the only one in our army who has this ability."
"Haha, you're flattered." Blue Fox coughed twice more: "Please note that our Ross Army is not your servant. Whether you want to fight Metz or not depends on my wishes. I tell you clearly, I got King Ross
With the authorization, I can freely control the army. In fact, I don’t need you to teach me to attack Metz."
"Okay. But your brother is indeed my king's vassal." As he said that, Ludwig looked at the little fat black fox, and then stared at the blue fox's face.
"Perhaps, we can form a coalition. Bavaria (referring to the Eastern Kingdom) and Ross will make a legal military alliance. Your people will coordinate with the Nassau army to attack, and the target is Metz. Rather than continuing to cut off Sarabrücken's
It is indeed better to destroy Metz directly than to destroy the ferry bridge. Just like what you did in... in the West. Set fire! Destroy all the local bridges! Destroy the granaries! I can give you permission to loot freely, and everything you get is yours.
Yes, I will not blame you in any way."
"You are so generous." Blue Fox smiled sarcastically, "We helped you fight the war, but you still didn't pay anything."
"I paid. Salgau! Your brother Paul Black Fox's wife Sofia is Count Salgau." As he spoke, Ludwig pointed to the map in particular: "North of Kaiserslautern, until Mainz,
In the future, this will be a peaceful archbishopric territory. In addition, the other areas divided by the Moselle River and the Saar River will be the Sargau fiefdom of Sofia. Your methods can be more barbaric, and the southern territory won by war means,
I can admit that it is yours."
However, Ludwig is still too generous to think about it, and he emphasizes that the legal ownership of the new fiefdom belongs to Sophia Nassau. Although the black fox is the husband of the girl, and is the actual person in power, once the legal success is achieved
It was really Sofia who enjoyed the fruits of victory.
Regardless, his son will inherit everything, and Black Fox considers himself to be the son. For Ludwig, this person obviously needs this kind of reward to express his stance to the many nobles who are loyal to him.
The so-called king has the ability to control the new batch of Norman nobles (referring to the Danish noble Harald Clark who has already completed his political career) like training dogs, as he did in the past, and command them to fight for him.
The so-called king gives major rewards to nobles who are loyal to him and have made meritorious service, and he is extremely generous in granting land rewards.
There is no need to continue discussing this matter in detail, because everyone knows that the Ross army has a strong subjective initiative. Ludwig cannot really order the army to do things, and can only guide it with some interests to meet his own strategic needs.
He had long thought of attacking Metz, killing Adalbert and appointing a nobleman loyal to him as the new Earl of Metz, in order to separate his eldest brother's power.
Of course, the Normans cannot be Counts of Metz, but they can create raging wars in the Metz area and create an atmosphere of terror to achieve the same goal of "splitting Big Brother's power." Local transportation is interrupted, granaries are destroyed, and Big Brother's western and
The East will be temporarily cut off. Isn't this the time window to conquer Strasbourg?
If these Ross Normans work quickly, the army will have a greater chance of capturing Strasbourg this year.
Ludwig is now very proud. He is proud that his secret meeting with the Ross nobles has not only provided him with a strong new force, but also that he is expected to defeat his elder brother in a direct battle this year.
As for using Norman wolves to wreak havoc in the Frankish territory, it was against honor. Now Ludwig no longer wanted to talk about this. After all, only the final victor who survived could define what honor was.
Seeing his complacent look, Blue Fox mentioned the girl he brought yesterday again, and it was time to bring out the gift he had specially hidden for this purpose.
"You're right." As he spoke, Blue Fox took out a bundle of curly brown hair tied with a rope from his clothes. "I was deceived. The girl yesterday was a liar, and the maid dared to call herself a princess. I have already
It was found out that she was cheating because she didn’t want to die. However, she is already dead.”
Ludwig was shocked and lost his composure. He subconsciously stepped back and his eyes widened, which clearly proved what he was thinking.
Blue Fox remained silent, and he understood just by looking at this guy's expression.
Ludwig cheered up again and asked cautiously: "Did you really take action?"
"Of course. I was deceived. Thank you for telling me the truth." Lan Hu pretended to understand and continued: "The woman is dead and her body has been thrown into the Laiyin River. Everything is over."
"Is this the end? Is she...really dead?"
"You look very strange. A despicable tyrant, is he worthy of being cherished by a noble person? Or should I say..."
"Nothing!" Ludwig coughed twice and said sharply: "I have no intention of paying attention to a slave. I just thought you would accept him as a servant. Maybe you are a little arbitrary about this matter." He didn't want to ask about this matter anymore, and he didn't
If you are willing to struggle, what Blue Fox said must be true according to the cruel ways of the Russians.
No matter what, the girl died, and many secrets were swallowed up by the waters of the Rhine River.
He hurriedly changed the subject: "My king's troops are about to take action. When will you Russians set off?"
"Soon, at most a few days later than you."
"I advise you to take action as soon as possible, while the main force of the damn Count Metz is still in Kaiserslautern and Strasbourg. Only you Normans have the ability to launch sneak attacks, so you should act quickly."
Blue Fox shrugged: "It's the same sentence. You don't need to teach me."
The secret meeting ended quietly, and the city of Mainz fell into a solemn silence.
Ludwig couldn't let go of this night. How could he not recognize Gisla's face?
As for the child actually being detained in Aachen, Ludwig really didn't know about it.
At that time, his father was still alive, and Ludwig already had a clear understanding of the situation of his eldest brother's children. He knew the girl Gisla. During the limited opportunities for royal gatherings, he remembered Gisla's appearance and curly hair.
.
After all, all princesses can be used as tools for marrying into big nobles. Especially when a married princess gives birth to the eldest son and inherits the title, it means that the big vassal is the king's in-law, and there is no question of loyalty.
The eldest brother Lothair has four daughters, which means he has more opportunities.
A large bundle of brown curly hair is in her hand. A living woman will never allow others to cut off her long hair, not to mention that the hair is simply "cutting grass" on the scalp. To humiliate a woman in this way is equivalent to taking her life.
.
He really believed that Blue Fox killed the child, but was Blue Fox really responsible for this?
Ludwig tossed and turned, simply not sleeping, so he walked barefoot to the small chapel in the palace, illuminated by the stars and the bright moon, and confessed in front of the cross. He felt that he had directly killed his own relatives.
Niece, that child is innocent anyway.
He regretted it very much. Indeed, the child was a hot potato. He didn't want it and he shouldn't have spoken so loudly about "fake". He was dead now. If he could choose again, he would be willing to take in his niece, even if she really knew too much.
There are so many dirty things about him that he should not know. Even if he is sent to a monastery in the future to live peacefully, it is better than being killed for no reason now.
However, Ludwig also felt that he was too hypocritical for this kind of confession afterwards.
Of course, Gisla wasn't dead at all.
She is living well under the new name of Teresia, and her identity change has been completed. However, the pain on her left hand makes her almost unable to sleep at night. She will have to endure such a bad feeling for many more days, and the pain will continue as the wound continues to heal.
Reduced until the moment the stitches are removed...