A road connects Mainz and Kaiserslautern. This road built in the Roman era witnessed the Frankish expedition and now also witnesses the Frankish civil war.
The war between princes for power is changing. Almost all foreign races that have been conquered by force are taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to regain their power.
It is no longer practical to exist as independent small countries as before, but continuing to swear allegiance to one's monarch as a great noble and negotiating with the monarch to obtain this fiefdom has strong autonomy, which is an extremely pragmatic choice.
How can we persist with anger and hatred? What the Principality of Saxony needs is continued interests, not hatred.
Even though his ancestor Vidukind was defeated by Charlemagne and surrendered, Liudolf went through a lot, and he is still the great vassal of Charlemagne's third grandson.
Five thousand troops marched south along the Mainz Avenue in various Ross-style flag formations, and the ten "squares" were arranged as neatly as possible.
Each flag team protected its own baggage, and the soldiers walked through the final march on foot.
They sang songs about their hometown to kill the boredom, and talked and laughed about how much loot they could get after capturing the city.
In fact, they clearly knew the information that was not good for them. Since Liudolf chose to block the fate of all the Saxon nobles, he had no way out, let alone reveal his information to anyone.
On the contrary, Liudov now has extremely strong self-confidence. Can the tactics he learned from the Russians still fail?
The five thousand troops were already as large as an ancient Roman legion. The soldiers still relied on their feet to advance. In addition to carrying all their own weapons, they also carried dry food and water bags.
There is still more than a month until the autumnal equinox, and the daylight hours are still extremely long. What is most gratifying for these northern soldiers is that the climate is extremely pleasant.
The Inland area is different from the Weser River in the north. Once the latter reaches the end of summer, there will be annoying light rains from time to time. The climate becomes wet and cold, and the people can only endure it.
This year's Laiyinlan is drier. It is said that the rainy season will begin in autumn. If you are unlucky, you may face drizzle that lasts for two weeks. If the rain comes earlier than the autumn harvest, it will be a disaster of no harvest.
Unfortunately, there was no sowing in the Palatinate Plain of Inland this year and there was naturally no harvest.
The farmland is all "fallow", and the wheat grains scattered last year are now bearing fruit. However, the setaria rushes are growing wildly, and the weeds have grown up to the knees, making it extremely difficult for people to walk in the wilderness.
This is why Liudov's army only followed Roman roads and ignored the dirt roads of small towns and villages.
The Battle of Kaiserslautern that broke out last year was already the second bloody battle in this area. The war directly led to the complete collapse of various towns along the route.
Liu Doufu knew very little about these situations, and he would not rush towards the goal with his head reduced just for the sake of wealth.
What should I do if I encounter an ambush? What if there are obstacles on the road? There are some shadows of villages in the distance of the road. Are there Lothair's ambush there?
Liudov believed that since his army set off, Ludwig's main force would definitely follow. As for Thuringia Marquis Takulf, forget about this person. Unless there is clear wealth, Takulf will not come over to rob him.
.….
Liudov had no intention of sending the scout cavalry into the abandoned farmland where weeds were growing wildly, and there was no need to explore the villages in the distance.
The scouts scouted the road in front of the formation, especially going deep into the villages and towns where the main road passed through.
According to Liudov's knowledge, some villages and towns along the route became battlefields for encounters last year, and the Saxon Army may also engage in one or two encounters as it advances in a high-profile manner.
Although there were scout cavalry in front of them to explore the road, all infantry were also asked to be vigilant. However, the infantry was looking at the vast plains. Everyone was heading towards the Northern Vosges Mountains. The nearest huge black shadow on the horizon was the so-called Palatinate Mountains.
, the plain area formed under the mountains to the north to the Rhine River is not large, and it is enough to make the Saxons who live in the northern forest and hilly areas envious.
It would be great if the entire Laiyinlan was owned by the Duke of our own family! Then all the tribesmen would have better farmland.
The scout cavalry left the team far away, and ten cavalry rushed into a village, where
Here they saw the horrifying white bones of Leile.
Even they who had experienced the Battle of the Elbe River two years ago were shocked at this moment.
"This is where Bavaria (referring to Ludwig) fought last year? Did all the infantry die?"
"Maybe! It's probably a southern soldier who was trampled to death."
"Even so, the Bavarians did not capture Kaiserslautern."
"Boss, this time...are we really bound to win?" The scout who said this suddenly felt a little shaken.
"Shut up. We are not Bavarians! Don't forget that we went to win the victory." Captain Shiren continued to lead his men to explore the deserted village. The more they inspected, the more skeletons they found.
They found a large number of reddish-brown rusty helmets and iron swords, and some battle axes that seemed to be usable after being polished were confiscated.
"If you are brave! Gather a few skulls and give them to our Duke!" the captain commanded loudly while holding the reins.
They were not afraid of the battlefield bathed in blood. Now the scouts each found a piece of rotten wood and inserted skulls on them in a very bold and disrespectful manner. They did not care about the identity of the deceased. Now they just needed these horrific skeletons to prove something to the Duke.
.
Of course, a batch of heavily rusted axes were also stuffed into the leather pocket at the back of the saddle, which was filled to the brim.
Before the battle, there was already a large amount of loot in his pocket. The scout suddenly seemed to be holding a white war hammer, and you had to look closely to see that it was a terrifying skeleton.
They rushed back to the mighty marching array in this manner.
The scout captain met with Duke Liudov. As a private soldier, he did not have to dismount.
This man displayed the skeleton in his hand in a high-profile manner, which really shocked Liu Doufu.
"Sir, a large village appears ahead! After investigation, it is a battlefield ruins."
Liu Dou narrowed his eyes: "Is this why you guys have skeletons in your hands?"
"Yes, there are other seizures."
What was immediately displayed was a rusty axe. The handle had rotted away, but it was extremely simple to restore it to a usable axe.
Liudov didn't care about this basic tool. His soldiers were shocked when they heard the news, and then became extremely excited. The news quickly spread throughout the marching array! Everyone knew that there were battlefield ruins ahead, and last year's dead were tragically exposed in the wilderness. They
A large number of weapons were left unclaimed, and weren’t these the first trophies God gave to the Saxons?….
The weapons, clothes, and shoes used to pick up corpses are considered by the church to be "extremely shameful and evil deeds worthy of damnation."
Burying the enemy's corpse is a ritual but not an obligation. As for removing the corpse, the poor soldiers are in urgent need of supplies, and no one thinks about the priest's warning.
"That means there are no enemies ahead?" Liudov mainly heard this.
"Yes. The old battlefield is very quiet. It's a bit scary there. I'm afraid a large number of innocent souls are still wandering around the battlefield."
"Maybe! Let's keep walking, and you can keep exploring."
Liudov didn't care about the so-called wronged souls. After his army arrived at the battlefield, he acquiesced to the soldiers plundering the bones.
All rusty and usable utensils were confiscated, and the skeletons were passively destroyed. Even though there were damaged houses at the scout post that could be used for camping, it would be too scary to sleep around the skeletons.
Many Saxon soldiers are quite young. They come from remote villages and have not experienced the war two years ago. They are full of enthusiasm and have actually visited the battlefield ruins. Now they are a little more frightened.
The army camped directly in the wilderness, the world was dark, there was no firelight in the camp, and the stars and the moon served as illumination at night.
The temperature was not low at night. After eating some dry food, the soldiers slept with their clothes on.
They did not light a bonfire. Liudov set an example, and the lower-level soldiers did not dare to use bows and drills to light fires. The dark night completely obscured the Saxon troops in dark uniforms, and the wind passing over the plains obscured the neighing of the horses. Liudov did not mean it intentionally.
However, the Saxon army merged with the night, and the six thousand defenders of Kaiserslautern existed in the mountain col. They knew nothing about the approaching attacks!
The army passed two old battlefields in a row in one day. The same bones were everywhere, and the same remains of military camps and villages.
As the march continued, the small Palatinate Mountains were already in the northwest direction of the army, and the army was heading towards the key pass of the Northern Vosges Mountains. It was the narrowest and most dangerous mountain pass! It was also Ludwig's "
There is no place for victory.
Considering that the war was about to break out, his messengers rushed to spread the news of the war throughout the entire military camp.
All the men with the title of graf count, who were actually flag captains, received the order and began to form the team.
They gave up all their luggage for the time being and put on their limited armor...
"The men in armor go first, the men in leather protectors come behind, and the men in cloth last!" In this pattern, each earl returned to his own banner team composed of fellow villagers.
The Saxon army has indeed become a flag corps. For example, some cross flags are raised in the spear formation in the forest, and strange symbols or phrases are painted on the white cloth. This is just to allow the soldiers of a flag corps to recognize their own people. See
Understand the main direction of attack.
The so-called entire Saxon army must be a whole. Each spear-bearing flag team serves as an offensive unit. They must obey Liudov's own will. Every soldier trapped in it does not need his own thoughts at all. They only need to follow
Just push in the direction of the flag.
However, how could Lothair's army stationed in Kaiserslautern let the "black army" suddenly appear and break through the mountain pass?
Adalbert, Count of Metz, is still on his way to the Baron of Brisgau. According to Lothair's special order, Baron Brisgow also actively leads troops to garrison Kaiserslautern...
The old baron, who was nearly fifty years old, did not want to get involved in the civil war. However, after learning that Sarabrücken on the lower reaches of the Saar River was attacked, his attitude immediately changed.
The old baron took it for granted that this was a battle of nobles, and he mobilized his elite cavalry force—a mere two hundred cavalrymen as the vanguard to arrive at Kaiserslautern.
The entire territory of Brisgau was open to Count Metz. He was unwilling to do so but had to hold it in. After all, this was an order from Lothair himself. He prayed that the Metz troops passing through the border would not commit any crimes. Fortunately, Adalbert himself would not attack friendly troops.
It's meaningless, or he simply doesn't look down on Brisgau, who is a neighbor of Sargau. What he wants is the entire fiefdom of Sargau and Lainland. As long as he gets these, Earl Metz's territory and strength will be almost the same.
He became half a "Duke of Alemany".
Desire for power was greater than wealth, so he ordered his son Freibach Friedbh to guard Kaiserslautern, and Lothair maintained a strong military fortress with a thousand heavy cavalry placed there.
The small river Lauter runs through the city, and Kaiserslautern's palace is now abandoned. It is not difficult to restore the palace. Lothair regards it as his own property, and now does not allow the local garrison to use it, nor does he order them to sacrifice their lives.
Defending an old palace.
In the old battlefield at the mountain pass, all the dead bodies were buried. Due to the war, the mountain pass, which was only about 1,500 meters away, was turned into a military camp.
Wooden towers were erected on the nearby hills, and the sentinels could clearly see the overview of the military camp, as well as the movements in the northern plains.
It should have been a normal day. Everyone knew that the king was preparing to launch an attack in September. The soldiers kept a peaceful attitude because they wanted to believe that King Lothair, who had said harsh words and had an army of 100,000, would go all the way north this year.
, occupy Frankfurt all the way, and get the entire Alemany.
Since it was a must-win situation, the soldiers were relaxed and optimistic.
The one with the largest number of troops in Kaiserslautern was Freibach, the eldest son of Count Metz, and his younger brother Odobach guarded his hometown of Metz with a small number of troops.
There were 4,000 Metz troops, 1,000 Lothair's cavalry troops, and more than 200 Brisgau troops. The rest were the forced peasants of Sargao and the broken troops who had fled from Sarabrücken.
Such a large army is already very strong, and this is only a small part of Lothair's strength.
What is a militia? If a barefoot farmer brings his own farm tools, he is considered a soldier.
Adalbert's army of Metz swelled to a total of 10,000 men, among whom were a large number of poorly dressed peasants.
In fact, Lothair claimed that
An army of one hundred thousand is not only a serious exaggeration, the soldiers recruited on a large scale lack training, and the peasant soldiers lack armor, so they can only fight with their own various weapons. Fortunately, there are many of them, and the peasants who are like ants and mustards die in battle.
As long as there are no serious losses in the elite retinue of the nobles, the nobles can still quickly pull out a large army.
Because Frank’s wars so far have at most involved small-scale mobilizations, the big nobles don’t know the limits of their mobilization. Anyway, no matter how they mobilize, a steady stream of peasants will join the army. Maybe the mobilization can be unlimited. The only limit is whether the monarch has the financial resources.
Material resources are needed to maintain this huge eating mouth...
The soldiers standing on the wooden tower saw dark "blocks" moving towards the mountain pass one after another. With their good eyesight, they saw a large number of cross flags. Are those friendly forces? No! There is no way there are friendly forces moving south from the north.
Are they enemies? It's hard to say. If there was any enemy presence, the defenders should have discovered it long ago, and these dark things appeared suddenly.
Whether they are friends or foes, those people are indeed forming a team.
The sentry at the top alertly blew the clear horn, which was a battle alarm. The lazy defenders got up one after another. At first, they didn't take it seriously, until more and more people realized that a dark army had appeared at the mountain pass.
As long as you pass the mountain pass military camp, you can reach Kaiserslautern.
The news quickly reached the ears of the garrison general Freibach. He was very surprised at first, but soon this surprise became unnecessary.
He heard a roar in the distance, which sounded like the collective shouts of many soldiers.
After all, some Saxons had stayed in Denmark, and it was logical that the rhythmic and powerful Viking war cries were used by the Saxon army.
At this moment, Liudov, who was riding a horse, decided that the battle would be today.
His dark infantry gradually completed a dense array and moved forward in unison. The spears of the five thousand troops had already formed a wall. The narrow mountain pass area quickly formed a front line consisting of four flag corps and two thousand men, with three thousand soldiers behind it.
Horses can be replenished at any time.
Liu Doufu did not care about aristocratic etiquette at this moment. He was convinced that he had appeared suddenly and that the opportunity for a surprise attack was now.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
Shouting neat chants, a wall of spears advanced steadily towards the garrison's mountain pass camp. From a distance, the black wave was unstoppable.
At this moment, Liu Doufu was supervising the battle with an iron face, and the cavalry troops he led were ready to join the battle at any time.
The defenders reacted too late. Freibach, the eldest son of Count Metz, the general of the defenders, felt like a bolt from the blue. He had no time to reorganize the entire army and could only rely on the soldiers who were awake to immediately organize a line of defense to resolutely block the attack.
"Damn northerners? How dare you sneak attack? Then fight! This is your burial place!" Freibach pulled out his iron sword.