The group divided into three boats, connected by cables.
The Elbe River in late autumn is already very cold, and going to Regensburg under such climate conditions is really a challenge.
The Earl of Hamburg knew the risks involved. He even made a will for himself, saying that if he died, his eldest son would immediately inherit the title in accordance with the regulations. He also took advantage of the military meeting after the festival to explain this matter to most of his vassals.
The earldom is still an earldom. Although the earl's actions are very crazy, after all, the earl is for the safety of the entire Hamburg area, which is very important to everyone. The lower-level vassals swear allegiance to the earl of Hamburg at all times, even if it cannot be said clearly.
Serve a young man as earl.
Even if he is away, the daily work of the earldom can still be carried out in an orderly manner.
The earl and the retinue of knights were deliberately lightly dressed for this trip, and did not bring a set of chainmail for protection. After all, it was a cumbersome thing. As for what to do if they encountered bandits and wild beasts, they naturally gave priority to evacuating.
Most of the weapons they carry are defensive in nature, and the bows and arrows they hold are not for killing people but only for hunting to satisfy their hunger on the way.
In order to be as low-key as possible, even the earls wore brown hooded robes. At first glance, they looked like ordinary travelers escorting priests, and they were not threatening to other people at all.
Many times, when high-status priests were traveling within the kingdom, they would be accompanied by some simply dressed followers.
Eskil, Blue Fox, and Vardy all wore black robes, and black crosses were deliberately placed on the boat. In this case, too much cover-up would make people suspicious, and revealing the identity of the priests would only attract attention.
respect and avoidance.
There are some things that can be done along the way, such as the Count of Hamburg passing through the edge of the Count of Flanders in this disguise.
"It is true that Horik and his gangsters went to Denmark? The stolen port of Durist was recovered?"
If they leave, the people of Bremen will surely be able to provide positive intelligence.
Robert, Count of Hamburg, wants to visit Bremen, and Eskil even more!
Now is the dry season of autumn and winter. If the three ships are not propelled by oars, the drifting speed will be irritatingly slow. The ships finally drift to the mouth of the Elbe River. At this moment, the furled sails are lowered, and the ships are blown by the cold north wind.
Drifting southward close to the coastline.
After an afternoon of wandering, the group had to approach the coastal shoal before wading ashore in the evening. They would spend the night on this deserted sandy beach.
This is the farthest south the blue fox has reached in its life, and there seems to be endless ocean and land as it continues south.
Further forward there is a waterway deep inland, which the Franks called the Weser River according to Saxon parlance.
Frank's retinue soldiers also used bows and drills to make fire. After the bonfire was lit, the blue fox naturally came closer to keep warm. He was carefully observing the actions of these Franks, and his eyes often fell on those soldiers. When the other party's eyes glanced over, he
He glanced to the side and said that such an action really made the Frankish soldiers feel threatened.
The blue fox's eyes were not provocative. He was simply observing and recording it in his mind so that he could return to Ross to report to Prince Rurik and analyze the combat effectiveness of a Frank, especially the Earl of Hamburg's army.
Is it really peaceful trade? That's natural! However, Ross has never promised "not to use force first", and doing business with swords is also a specialty of the Ross people.
Hamburg at least had a lot of rye resources to plunder. Prince Rus was really a weirdo when it came to plundering food. The Blue Fox followed suit and focused on the farmland around Frankish towns.
The Frankish soldiers gnawed on the black bread and tore into the dried meat, and the same was true for Esquier. He was of noble status, and even when he was forced to eat on a picnic, he was quite elegant. He held a piece of black bread in his hand, broke it open little by little, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The blue fox couldn't help but pay attention to this old guy: "You are obviously very hungry, but you still look like a chicken pecking at wheat grains."
"My son, be pious at all times. True priests must abide by the rules."
Esquier spoke with a smile, and the blue fox was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He was really hungry. In the past, when he opened his mouth and tore into the barbecue, he didn't feel like the sour black bread. Now this black thing is actually delicious. In fact, he doesn't
What I noticed is that as a fat "elephant seal", his figure has been shrinking. The past two months have been a terrible adventure. He really can't eat well and sleep well. The wealthy businessman is wandering around.
Blue Fox slapped his chest violently to swallow the choking bread, and asked again: "You seem to be very happy?"
"Soon we will pass through Bremen, which is a city much larger than Hamburg. Ah! I want to go to the monastery to have a look. Joseph... Esquier looked at the blue fox, "When I finish Ross's work in the future,
Traveling probably means coming to Bremen to take up a post. The monastery in Hezeby has been ruined, and rebuilding it will take too much effort on my part. I can go to Bremen at any time to take up a post, and that is my destination."
"Really? How is the business situation in Bremen?"
"I knew what you would ask." Eskil smiled faintly and finally said: "I am a practitioner and I never care about business."
Asking was in vain, so Blue Fox thought about it and took the opportunity to go to the market in Bremen.
The next day, the three ships continued.
The small flotilla of people finally entered the small bay, and now everyone had to start paddling the entire distance, even though the Weser River was slower than the Elbe River during the dry season.
It took another whole day of paddling until the fleet finally arrived in Bremen in the evening.
According to common sense, Earl Robert can meet the local nobles in a swaggering manner, but forget it this time. He really doesn't want to waste too much time.
Tall wooden walls surround this riverside city, and a few boats are parked on the wooden piers along the river. This glance gave Blue Fox the first impression that the city's commercial atmosphere was not strong. He was puzzled, especially from his perspective.
Bremen could not be a very good commercial city because of the lack of ships.
The ship was parked at the dock, and since their public identities were priests and attendants, the patrolling soldiers charged a small fee for guarding the ship and horses as usual and asked no more questions.
Eskil also kept a low profile and led the team into the city in a grand manner without revealing his noble identity.
They rushed into the city before the gates were closed, and finally the gates were closed and the curfew was about to begin.
Walking in the winding and narrow dirt streets of Bremen, Blue Fox smelled the stench. The dim sunset illuminated the world in orange, and the whole person became lazy. There were some dirt bumps in front of him, and he took a closer look.
It's actually horse manure.
Before he could scold the two armies, the Frank soldiers accompanying him were already scolding him.
Human and animal excrement is dumped into the streets. No one manages the sanitation of streets and lanes, and there is no concept of sanitation management. Everyone's philosophy is quite stubborn and simple. The so-called dung is dung when it is dried, which is a kind of soil, and other
There is no essential difference between soil and soil. If you throw it on the street, it will eventually become a hard road.
Count Robert and his attendants hid their protective swords in their robes. No one dared to check the priest's servants, let alone the three priests in the team who were from Hamburg.
After passing the city square, a magnificent wooden church appeared in front of everyone.
Seeing the majestic appearance of the church, Eskil was as happy as if he had returned home!
"Are we staying here tonight?" Blue Fox asked.
"Exactly! Ah! This is my church!"
Simply speaking of the scale of the building, although St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen is a purely wooden building, it is indeed a giant wooden building. Blue Fox's evaluation in this regard is fair. This church is indeed the best that I have ever seen in my life.
The largest building, the palace of the Principality of Rus, is not as huge as it.
Blue Fox was filled with emotions, and so was Robert, Count of Hamburg. The Count kept crossing himself on his chest, looking at the wooden steeple of the church with his eyes open and sighing after get off work.
Eskil said excitedly: "Let's go, my children. After you put your luggage in the compartment, you will stay here tonight."
"Only for one night." The count regained his composure and emphasized.
"No. We can stay for a day and you can have some rest."
"It's better to leave as soon as possible. I'm hiding it from the Count of Bremen this time. If he recognizes me..."
"What will happen?"
"He must be dragging me to drink and go hunting. If I don't appreciate it, he will be angry. You know, my wife's sister is the wife of the Count of Bremen..."
"No." Eskil shook his head, "I am already in Bremen, and I have to manage the church's affairs. You should also understand my identity, and I will work here."
Eskil does have the title of "santa", which was given by the Pope in recognition of his contribution to spreading faith in the Far North. In addition, this most important missionary also needs a very high title.
Thereby strengthening the persuasiveness in new letters to the local area.
The first moment he stepped into the church, he explained and confirmed his identity.
Great people come to St. Peter's Basilica! St. Eskil is the temporary bishop!
Since the saint insisted on staying, Count Robert and his companions rested in the church premises.
Early the next morning, the closed city gates were opened, and all kinds of traffickers began to enter the city.
Although the blue fox slept deeply, he was still awakened by the noise outside in the early morning.
Is it a market? An open-air square is indeed suitable for a market.
At this moment, my official status is that of a priest, and according to the regulations, I am not supposed to take a nap. All the priests, regardless of rank, under the leadership of Saint Eskil, held an early morning collective pre-dinner service. There were at least 100 people sitting in the huge dining room.
There were a hundred priests of different ages, all wearing black robes and sitting upright, chanting the same prayers in unison. Their strong discipline reminded Lan Hu of the army.
At this moment, he couldn't help but admire Eskil. In Denmark and Ross, this old guy is simply a weak old man, but in Frankfurt Bremen, he is a big shot who responds to everything.
In order to eat, Blue Fox had no choice but to pray. Not only him, but also the incognito Count of Hamburg was sitting in the corner with his guys, enduring the embarrassment and praying with a large group of priests.
After the meal, the boring prayers came to an end. Blue Fox, who had stuffed his stomach with black bread, went to the square market to have a look.
It happened that the earl also wanted to send his men to purchase some supplies for the journey.
Of course they would not form a visiting team. Blue Fox changed his outfit this time. The black robe was too eye-catching, so he changed into the outfit of an ascetic according to Esquier's request, as if he thought that the wandering monks were just erect.
His belly makes him look weird.
He could enter the market and have a look. Although Eskil gave permission, he also sent two local priests to accompany him. He was just afraid that the patrol officer would arrest such a strange ascetic as a determined person first.
The three priests are both real and fake. They are all dressed as ascetics, especially the pointed brown jumpers, discount leggings on the calves, and a coarse cloth belt that highlight their identities.
It must be unusual for a fat priest from the north to travel with Saint-Eskilde, right? The young priest was cautious at first, and mentally despised the fat man.
Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. This person must have become so obese because of his addiction to gluttony. Why do saints still pay attention to him?
Following Blue Fox's fluent Latin inquiry, the two priests were stunned on the spot, and their contemptuous attitude disappeared. Co-author: This fat priest can speak Latin better than the bishop? No wonder the saint would forgive this man's sin of gluttony.
In addition to being unable to leave the city, the blue fox can actually move around the city at will.
His first identity is a priest, secondly an envoy from the Principality of Rus, and then a businessman. Finally, he is also an agent sent by the Principality of Rus. When Blue Fox was in Hedeby, Denmark, one of his jobs was to investigate the current political situation. Now he accidentally entered the Frankish hinterland and collected political information.
Obtaining information is compulsory.
Before he entered the city of Bremen, he reviewed the docks, carefully observed the surrounding shoals and forests, and made an estimate of the voyage. He was thinking about such a thing, if the prince's fleet suddenly killed
So, if a force of a thousand men should land where should it be? If the prince decided to attack the city and plunder, where would be the weak point of the city wall?
The blue fox has a fat belly and a big face, but the wisdom and courage in his head are not stewed in a pot.
He examined the goods sold by the vendors in the very chaotic market. It seemed that they were mainly wheat, vegetables and fish catches. Food-related goods were always in bulk, which was not surprising.
In addition, wooden tools, pottery, bundles of wool, and woven linen are also bulk commodities.
Similar products are generally common in markets across the Principality of Ross, but they are quite different from each other.
In Bremen's Square Market, wool is a bulk commodity, but it is a rare item in the Rus' market. However, the most bulky leather and corresponding leather products in the Rus' Principality are extremely large, but leather products are quite rare in Bremen.
.
There must be a hidden story behind this. As a businessman, Lan Hu consciously has to investigate, but unfortunately time is limited!
He stopped in front of a stall selling wool. There were as many as eight stalls selling wool. After looking at it for a while, he could count on his fingers as many as ten women wearing headscarves who came to buy wool. The balls of wool were not even
It was degreased and mixed with some leaf debris, which was obviously cut from the sheep's body recently.
Although the Rus' people have not been able to raise sheep for a long time, the situation has changed dramatically. Gradually the Rus' Principality can produce its own wool. But this does not mean that the Blue Fox, who was born in the Anglas tribe (Duchy) of the Kingdom of Sweden, has never seen sheep.
The blue fox knows that wool is cut once in spring and once in autumn, so these wool must have been cut in autumn.
Although there are only eight vendors, the wool in their hands looks like it can break the wheels of the carts in their hands. The wool is piled tightly together and the height is extraordinary. When women buy wool, they pull out a big pile from the pile.
Tie it up with hemp rope and then weigh it and pay.
Bremen's population far exceeds that of Hamburg. With a population of 3,000 people, it is already a large city in northern Frankfurt. If the region encounters unrest, in extreme cases, 30,000 nearby farmers will flock to the city with their families and take refuge. Hamburg's
The area enclosed by the wall can actually accommodate so many people and survive for a while.
Because Bremen was originally a military stronghold of the Saxon country, the Frankish army conquered it very early and seriously operated it. In the future annexation war of the entire Saxon country, Bremen was a stronghold for sending troops.
Therefore, St. Peter's Cathedral began to be built as early as 789, and the city of Bremen also began to expand at the same time. The purpose of the expansion was to provide a safe assembly point for the army. The commercial role of this huge city square was secondary, and the primary role was
It is a military school ground, so it is one of the rare areas of land that has been leveled and then tamped down on one side.
The Count of Bremen has many fiefs and a larger population in the territory, which means higher productivity, and it is adjacent to the Flanders region.
Flemish herdsmen would sell the cut wool to buyers, and merchants would transport it overland to the market in Bremen.
In this era, Flanders (Netherlands) was the main wool-producing area of the Franks. Most of Flanders were red-haired Frisians. They were also conquered by Charlemagne. Nowadays, they generally rely on raising sheep to eliminate breeders.
Make extra money off the ground.
There is a wool trade line in Frankland. What Blue Fox sees now is only the first batch of wool dealers. As long as he can stay, he can count more wool merchants. Bremen is the first on the trade line.
In large cities, merchant ships traveling upstream along the Weser River can reach the ferry city of Minden (meaning the city in the central highlands). They can continue southward along the tributaries of the Weser River and then take the overland route. Wool from Flanders can be
Arrives in Frankfurt, Duchy of Alemany.
It's just that the legal power of Alemanni is currently under the leadership of Prince Lothair. In fact, Prince Ludwig has sent people to firmly control it, and he will not hesitate to fight against his brother to defend it.
But Blue Fox's understanding was very limited, and he had a serious lack of concept about the huge Frank, but the volume of wool trading here shocked him deeply.
His "inspection" was more than that. He had to take a good look at the entire market. He also had to walk around the city wall, looking for weak points, and memorize the information in his mind.
He also had his own way of persuading the priests who followed him to lead the way: "Maybe there are poor beggars in Bremen, and they will always hide in the alleys. I want to find them and give them blessings..."
These words made Lan Hu feel numb, and he really became a pedantic priest. The words were spoken in Latin, and the two young priests who could barely understand them were moved to tears by the kindness of priest Joseph Lan Fox...