The joy of the autumn harvest did not come to Mainz. An army of 30,000 was waiting in full formation, and the whole city fell into a state of mourning.
Just outside the city, a large number of carriages were gathered. Most of them were two horses and one cart of supplies. The sacks were piled neatly, and they were filled with fresh wheat that had just left.
There was no time to grind flour anymore, so the whole army relied on cooking rice to satisfy their hunger during the campaign.
For most of the soldiers who came to attack Kaiserslautern, although they were working for the king, even if they won, they would get little money.
What makes their fighting spirit good? It is the stable supply of large amounts of food and the crucial salt.
Compared with Lothair, Ludwig's major strategic advantage was his firm control of the Salzburg Salt Mine in Bavaria.
The local archbishop acted as the steward of the salt industry. While providing the king with a steady stream of income from selling salt, he also hoarded a large amount of prepared coarse salt for military use.
All ordinary people eat is coarse salt, and it has a certain bitterness if the salt is not removed completely. But salt is salt, and only when you eat enough salt can your body be full of strength.
This is the last day before the whole army sets off. It is today that the great and generous Duke Ludwig of Bavaria rewards the most ordinary peasant soldiers with the ultimate delicious meal.
The wooden bowl is filled with cooked wheat, and then a handful of salt is added. This kind of food is seriously lacking in oil and water, but in these troubled times, in the Mainz area, which has been engulfed in years of war, ordinary people can no longer afford bread, and the salt has arrived.
Small quantity and expensive.
Economic blockade is also a natural means of warfare. Since the entire Mainz diocese was firmly controlled by Ludwig, Lothair no longer transported supplies, especially salt, to the territory that once belonged to him.
At first, Ludwig rushed here as an outsider. He wanted to establish his authority, so he deliberately reduced the input of key materials to this place many years ago.
The Rhineland region, which finally included the entire Diocese of Mainz, became the main battlefield for the two noble princes to compete for power.
There are two extremes in Laiyinlan battlefield now.
On one side, Ludwig rewarded the entire army before the battle, feeding the war horses oats with salt. The soldiers were full of strength, and each soldier also brought a little more dry food - black bread cubes that were hard enough to be stone-hard.
The bread is hard to break and can be eaten by smashing it into crumbs with a tomahawk, even if it is very grinding. No, I don’t know if the bread that was distributed was old bread baked at the beginning of the year. It is as hard as a stone and there is no need to worry about spoilage. Ordinary soldiers can also
I endured it. It was smashed into pieces and put into a linen bag. The other small bag was a soldier's small salt bag.
A mouthful of bread crumbs and a lick of salt. Such a large-scale behavior seemed to be voluntary for the soldiers. Ludwig ordered it to be implemented by the king's order.
After all, he got some methods from the Russians that could help improve the military. It is said that if all soldiers prepare some dry food that can be eaten immediately all day long, the army does not need to bury pots for cooking.
"If my army is energetic enough, is sleeping necessary? Those ordinary farmers are just farmers, and they may not be as brave as those peasant soldiers. At least my people don't need to stop to cook for at least three days.
It was enough for me to advance quickly and take Kaiserslautern."
Ludwig fantasized that his army could move as quickly as the Russians. He was unwilling to admit that those guys' speed only came from their superior longships because they didn't even have to cook.
Because, while he was in captivity, he did see the Russians who were fishing. It seemed that they did not even remove the internal organs of the herrings, but stuffed the fish into their stomachs with their big mouths with rotten teeth. They were so barbaric that it was hard to understand.
On the contrary, you can learn some of their techniques, and even use these villains to fight for yourself, and in the future, as those pedantic priests say, try to transform them into "civilized people" as much as possible.
On the other side is Lothair's army, which is stationed in Kaiserslautern and is dominated by Count Metz's army and Baron Saar's army who fled here. Due to the cutoff of transportation and the continued destruction of the war, the area is not yet out of food, but the entire army
We must save food.
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The good weather for several days is very conducive to the autumn harvest, and isn't this a good day for fighting?
Even the Saxon army carried a large amount of dry food in accordance with Ludwig's own request. In fact, he did not need to teach him about this matter. Duke Liudolf of Saxony, who was very familiar with the Russians, had prepared more thoroughly.
As long as peace is restored, the Saxons can quickly regain their strength.
As they were on their way, they lined up in four columns, almost all of them carrying spears of similar lengths. The army, all dressed in black, passed through one small town after another. How dare you ask the farmers not to pay more for grain?
Since the march route was largely within Westphalia, this was Liudov's old fiefdom.
However, he did not regard the local people as his relatives. In fact, he regarded the Saxon relatives in the north as "cows". He is still smart now. He refused to impose excessive taxes and instead led the people to actively use the opportunity of the civil war to
By plundering and making money, everyone has the opportunity to make a fortune, which is why the people support it.
He deliberately took advantage of ordinary villagers' ignorance of the facts and continued to claim that he was the local earl, so he forcibly obtained a batch of grain in the name of collecting tithes.
He did not and felt no need to tell Ludwig about this, but after arriving in Mainz, the Saxon army had already started cooking "teppanyaki flatbread".
Compared to the 20,000-strong army belonging to Ludwig, the Saxon Army had only 5,000 troops, and their military food reserves should not be underestimated.
In Saxony, people made some money in just one year by boiling sea salt, fishing and selling dried fish, selling wheat, and other rare goods such as leather and honey. But the overall people's livelihood was still poor, because even
Ordinary Saxons also know that their plight must be due to lack of military strength. The strength of all local graf counts and nobles is often similar to that of barons in the south. They would rather go hungry to obtain a large number of weapons and tools.
Fortunately, the Russians are really selling cheap spearheads, axes and hammers in Hamburg.
The price of a good spearhead is only six silver coins. According to the requirements of the Russians, the original selling price and transportation costs can be purchased with only sixty pounds of wheat.
The key is that the Russians can easily transport the previous spearhead, but rather than saying it is a spearhead, it is more appropriately called a military spur.
First, cast iron ingots are cast from pig iron, then smashed and decarburized by frying steel, and finally hammered into sleeved spurs by craftsmen.
As the cost of raw materials continues to decrease, and the group of blacksmith workers is growing day by day, its price has become extremely low in the city of Rus, which is suffering from imported inflation.
Even so, there is a cheaper spearhead, which is a spearhead made directly from molten iron. At least the Russians will never use it as a spear for fighting, only for hunting.
The price is even cheaper. The Saxon people, who only have two silver coins, have already had their moles removed. Of course, they are not ignorant fools. Half a century of Saxon war has made the locals poor. Are they foodies?
However, the two silver coin spear was cheap because of its unreliable quality, but they had no choice.
If there is plate armor, all members of the Saxon army will no longer hold shields.
Only Liudov and his own soldiers were heavily armed troops, and the rest of the soldiers did not even have leather armor. Thanks to the wild boars and deer in the forest area, some soldiers simply used lightly leatherized wild boar skin as leather armor, even if
It's better to smell stinky when you wear it than to be killed easily.
Everyone has a small buckler tied to his left arm, which can only protect the frontal driving of soldiers. The neck, crotch, and legs are mostly made of cloth. Even worse, they only have walking skirts, which can be exposed if they run too fast.
Indecent. There are also many barefoot soldiers. After they arrived in Mainz, many of them had been unlucky enough to wear out the soles of their feet. The barefoot people were here and they made makeshift rags, scraps of skin and hemp rope.
a pair of shoes.
Of course, the Saxons can spend money to go to Hamburg and the emerging Schleswig to buy Oriental moccasins shipped by the Russians. The quality is really good, but the price is enough to buy ten high-quality spearheads.
Liudov devoted everything he had to this seemingly decisive battle.
In the Saxon army camp, the spearheads of the soldiers were wiped until they were shiny.
They were not afraid of war, and now they were talking and laughing around the campfire, discussing whether they could change into good clothes and grab a pair of good leather shoes after entering Kaiserslautern.
No one mentioned dying in battle, and no one worried about losing.
After all, the Principality of Saxony won the first battle of its restoration. No matter how much it cost, they did defeat the Frankish army on the frozen Elbe River.
The enemies at that time are now allies. Even so, many Saxons have regained their arrogance. Although their own weapons are simple, they look down on the army directly led by Ludwig, which is mainly composed of Bavarians and residents of the area near Mainz.
So they also looked down upon Lothair's army.
In the first two battles of Kaiserslautern, Ludwig and Lothair had mutual victories and defeats. Now it was the Duke of Saxony's turn to lead an army composed almost entirely of Saxons to attack.
Perhaps this kind of moment of war requires the supreme commander to dress up in costumes and ride on a horse to preach among the armies.
Ludwig did, but had no intention of gathering the entire army in a dense mass for a public lecture.
He didn't think it was necessary. Besides, the vanguard army in the first battle was not his own.
In fact, in his opinion, the main reason for the chaos in 840 was that he broke their bottom line in the Norman world. Liudolf was originally ordered to crusade the rebellious Danes, but now they have become allies, and he
He also made a humiliating peace treaty with the Danes.
Ludwig hated this generation of Dukes of Saxony. According to his plan, he had to make this title himself, and now...
It’s hard to describe in one word.
Liudov, who was still a count at that time, had the freedom to recruit 500 troops, but he had already shown extraordinary military mobilization power. Not to mention the combat effectiveness of the army this guy raised, he could recruit 5,000 troops in a short period of time, so he was afraid of loyalty.
Of all his nobles, only Liudov has this ability.
This was an unexpected surprise, which inflated Ludwig's own confidence. Besides, if there is still no major progress in the war this year, it will inevitably mean bloody internal strife between the Duke of Saxony and the Count of Metz.
A nobleman is an enemy with extraordinary strength.
Of course, it would be foolish to give up before fighting. Although it was necessary to prepare for the worst, the top priority was that Ludwig decided to go to the Saxon military camp to boost their morale in person early in the morning on the day of departure.
"Perhaps I should lie and say that there is a lot of gold in Kaiserslautern. These savages in the forest will be as mad as wild beasts."
No, the morning fog has not yet dissipated. Wearing a purple robe, a gold crown on his head, and a gold cowhide belt hanging with a jeweled Ross steel sword, Ludwig appeared on the stage riding a horse, while the warrior behind him held up Charlemagne's sword.
The Three Lions battle flag entered the Sachs barracks where the formation had begun with a high profile.
He was surprised that these troops were already in action in the early morning.
"Are you that eager to get rich? That's fine." He smiled softly and evilly, and then ordered his followers to announce the coming of the king with great fanfare.
The military camp immediately became extremely noisy. Liudov, who had not yet dressed, hurried out of the wooden shed. When he saw Ludwig, who was dressed in purple and riding a big horse, he subconsciously saluted hurriedly based on aristocratic etiquette - half-kneeling.
"Get up! You are the Duke, and I allow you to speak directly to me at any time."
"No! I'd better look up to you." Liu Duofu didn't take it seriously and asked: "I'm going on an expedition today. Your Majesty came to my camp. Is it possible that there is something important to say?"
"Something's wrong! Now I still want to see your army! You must know that your people will be the vanguard. If your morale drops, I won't worry."
"Don't worry. The Saxon army has already been prepared. I will win! Please..."
"How?" Ludwig asked.
"Just as you promised, if our army wins the first battle, the entire Kaiserslautern property will belong to us."
"Yes." Ludwig answered decisively without even thinking about it. This decisiveness was very reassuring. "I am here for this matter. I want to reiterate this to your army. I also want to tell you some details."
"What details are those?"
"About more wealth. Gather your lower nobles, or your army! It's best... I can see the true appearance of the Saxon army after the fog dissipates."
"Then let's assemble. Originally, I wanted to assemble and leave."
What else could Ludwig say? It happened that the army was gathering to show him the might of the Saxons.
The fog slowly dissipated, and a dark army gradually revealed its true appearance.
The entire army wore black clothes, and the limited horses were also black horses. The Saxon army often wore a black leather or cloth hat. It had no defense, and was only used to keep out the cold and wind. Now it is also for neatness and appearance.
Less than 30% of the soldiers had iron helmets, but they stood in order, and a "forest" with a cold light was extremely dazzling under the sun.
This was the first time Ludwig saw such a mass gathering in Saxony. He didn't take it seriously when they were marching, but now what he saw was clearly a strong black army.
The bad memories that had been buried for two years came back again.
Although he was riding a tall horse, what he felt was not the loyalty of the princes under his command.
He had to think carefully: Saxony is like this, I can still suppress him now, if I die, can my son suppress Saxony?
"I hope this army can capture Kaiserslautern and pay a heavy price for it," he thought.
Ludwig was silent for a while, with his legs firmly clamped on the horse's belly. He flaunted his purple robe arrogantly, and suddenly tightened his reins and immediately shouted filial piety in front of the Saxon army.
It seems that this man is the Duke of Saxony! Of course, one of the reasons why the war broke out in the north was that Ludwig wanted to be the real Duke of Saxony with all the power. His temperament was also the trigger of the Frankish Civil War, Aleman
There was a huge vacancy in the title of Duke of Ni, and Ludwig decided to seize the title. Even if he couldn't get it, he couldn't let his eldest brother Lothair get it.
Pairs of blue eyes stared at this majestic monarch. No one thought he was great, even if he was dressed gorgeously.
"Kaiserslautern! That is my palace! My palace has been occupied, and the gold and silver I left inside have been plundered by the enemy! There are a hundred chests there, full of gold coins. I give it to you Saxons.
Opportunity! Attack Kaiserslautern, you take everything you want! I allow you to loot freely, you only need to give me an empty palace..."
Ludwig continued to repeat these words, but weren't they all discussed in the past? As for the so-called one hundred boxes of silver coins, this was the first time I heard about it.
People became more and more excited, and Liudov himself was the most excited when he got caught up in it.
He heard it very clearly. Holding the hilt of his sword, he went straight to the monarch on horseback and asked eagerly: "Is everything you said true?"
"I won't lie. Unless... all those gold and silver were taken away by the damn Metz people. If that's the case, what do you think?" Ludwig looked at him sideways, his arrogance undiminished.
"Then let's fight!" Liudof sighed. He estimated that this was Ludwig's deliberate rhetoric to seduce the army. I'm afraid he also said the same thing about his own army.
However, what if there are really those hundred boxes of silver coins? If the Saxon army takes over, they can immediately buy countless good things from Ross, and the current decline will be gone.
It's fair to say that the morale of the Saxon army was stronger. No one was grateful to Ludwig, they just wanted to make a fortune with their Duke.
The Saxon army camp made a lot of noise, but the Russians stationed by the river could no longer hear it. Because Blue Fox, Black Fox, Sophia, and even Princess Gisla, who had changed her identity and renounced her ancestors in a surprise attack, were already sitting
The longship departs.
The sun was shining, and Liu Doufu, full of confidence, stood up straight. Behind him was a dense jungle of spears.
His sword pointed directly south: "Saxons! Forward!"