Blue Fox couldn't care less. He wanted to carefully investigate the entire city defense structure of Bremen, and at least go around the streets and alleys at the base of the city wall.
It was precisely this behavior that went too far. The dense crowd at the market could hide it, but now he was exposed to the eyes of the public.
The emergence of a fat man in this era is just a blink of an eye. Ordinary people may not eat well and are generally thin. Why is an ascetic obese?
Bremen is an important logistics transit point for the northern Frankish wool trade. In addition, cheese products and linen textiles are also distributed to inland areas through here.
The prosperity of commodity trade naturally gave birth to bandits. Bremen needed these merchants to pay high taxes, and it was obliged to eradicate the bandits. The hands of thieves were chopped off when caught, and the robbers in the city were dragged to the square and hanged in public. As for outside the city, they had their hands chopped off.
Wandering bandits must be exterminated regularly, and a small cavalry unit is dedicated to this task. As the saying goes, bandits must be exterminated at any time, and the count even used this to train his troops.
There are also soldiers patrolling the city frequently. These people walk around frequently and are generally familiar with the faces of the citizens. However, there are traders and goons from outside the city coming to sell goods every day, so the soldiers have to be more vigilant when patrolling.
Three ascetics walking in the streets at the base of the city wall?
The patrol captain and his five subordinates deliberately stayed still and moved furtively. After all, the enemy was an ascetic, and they could not be arrested hastily no matter how weird their behavior was.
The blue fox was completely unaware of all this.
It has been nearly fifty years since Bremen was expanded. The city has been renovating and expanding slowly. Since the city buildings are mainly made of wood, renovations have been more frequent. Most of the citizens are no longer engaged in agriculture, and they may serve Bremen.
The various handicraft families of Earl May also include pure settled businessmen, as well as the families of soldiers and retinues. These people are almost separated from rural life. They are the earliest urban residents in Western Europe and the pioneers of the "citizen class".
The taxes collected by the count created employment for many people, and the prosperity of merchants also allowed citizens who did not farm to find other jobs.
The results of the "Carolingian Renaissance" are most vividly displayed in Bremen. The city no longer has the seriousness and depression of the military fortress period, and a thriving business atmosphere has emerged and continues to develop.
It's just that its prosperity is inferior to Hedeby in the past, as well as the rising Novorosberg on the Neva River and Birka in Sweden. At least that's what Blue Fox judges.
Lan Hu admired the local architecture very much. Although most of the buildings here were single-story thatched houses with wooden walls, there were also a number of double-story houses. He deliberately stopped to observe for a while, and couldn't help but stroke his shaved beard with satisfaction.
I couldn't help but smile.
"The double-storey house is built on stone foundations. The first floor is a stone room, and the second floor is made of pure wood. It's good. This way, the building doesn't have to worry about flooding, and the upper floor can live freely."
Ross can also learn the house-building model of this group of Franks. He is trying to remember it.
Keep walking, there is another moth ahead.
A wooden window was opened on the second floor of a certain house, and the few pedestrians who left it clearly got the signal and ran away. In a moment, hands holding wooden basins appeared, and some brown sticky substance immediately went down the slope.
There is no need to explain what happened. The blue fox subconsciously pinched his nose, and in desperation, he yelled in Norse and cursed: "What a villain, you dare to throw the feces casually. If it splashes on me, I will have to chop it up."
Your head!"
The language was spoken in Norse, and most of the residents in the city were Saxons who were good at speaking Saxon. The two languages have the same origin. The people who were hiding in the dung heard the curse, but they understood a few key words in it. They took a closer look at the curser.
He turned out to be a priest dressed as an ascetic. He couldn't help but cross his chest and lamented his sin.
It was Blue Fox's casual curse that attracted the uninvited guests. The patrol team that had been following them swarmed up and captured the three of them.
"Hey! Why are you arresting me?" In desperation, the blue fox still yelled in Norse.
The patrol leader directly scolded you in Norse: "Are they Danes? I have dealt with you before. You disguised yourself as a priest and entered the city? I have been observing you for a long time. Priests do not curse, let alone look around in military areas."
Your meticulous work!"
"This is a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding. We came from the church." The accompanying young priest hurriedly explained in Frankish.
However, explanations were useless. Lan Hu and the other three were tied up with ropes and taken to the count's residence in front of the citizens, which was the city's inner fortress. The next step was to be imprisoned and await retribution.
Lan Hu wanted to explain, but he was sent to the underground prison anyway. As the bronze lock fell, he became a bird trapped in the pit, unable to fly.
"This is really unreasonable!" He slammed the wooden door hard and said dirty words.
Although the jailer was impatient, the other party was an ascetic after all. Although he was sent here for no reason, it was better not to act rashly. Maybe they would stop when they got tired of scolding.
Things are indeed strange. Do ascetics also curse and complain? It is unheard of.
For the Earl of Bremen, today should be a normal autumn day. Earl Hunter guards his sacred land and makes a large fortune every year by collecting transit fees from merchants. With this money
He can support a larger army of retinues and recruit more militiamen to defend the city when necessary.
Precisely because the weather was good today, the Earl led more than fifty people on horseback out of the city at dawn.
Autumn is a good time to hunt wild deer. It can also deter bandits hiding in the forest. It can also show your presence to small merchant ships and land merchants at the border to reassure them. It also gives them a warning: they must pay taxes.
It was not until the evening that the earl, who had shot two deer with a bow, returned with his troops. The horseshoes of the cavalry turned up a lot of dirt. The earl did not think about sorting out the traffic and sanitation conditions in the city. Seeing the earl's return, the people started to cheer.
Avoiding it, most people bowed and saluted in the street.
The cavalry returned to the city's inner citadel with great momentum, which is the area across the city square from St. Peter's Church. There is a three-story wooden fortress, or it should be four stories high, because the herringbone top stands
There is a cone-shaped arrow tower, which is the commanding height of the city and a platform from which the count overlooks the whole city. He can also observe the enemy's situation during war.
The blue fox who visited the city has not come back in the evening! Saint-Eskilde is already panicking, because the rule is not to eat after meal time. Based on his understanding of the fat blue fox, that man is eating even if his faith is not pure.
There is no ambiguity on the issue.
Blue Fox and the accompanying priests seemed to have disappeared. What's worse is that the city gate has been closed now. When the sun sets, the city enters the curfew period. The priests have a noble status and are also restricted by many dogmas. For example, they are not allowed to leave at night unless necessary.
In the church area, the closed walled doors may even be locked.
Blue Fox will never run away? He is from Russia!
Saint-Eskilde was confused, but the local priest provided some seemingly reliable suggestions, that is, to ask the Count of Bremen for help.
The discussions among the priests and Eskil's anxious look were noticed by the incognito Count Robert of Hamburg. The old nobleman almost said with certainty: "A fat ascetic is suspicious no matter how you look at it! The count's castle is here
On the other side of the square, if I were Hunter (referring to the Count of Bremen), I would see such a person dangling in front of me and immediately send someone to capture him."
Robert is so sure, Eskil has a backbone.
"Joseph Blue Fox is the messenger of Ross and a convert I cultivated. Even if he is not a pious person, if something goes wrong, I don't want to go to Ross to preach."
Hearing this, Robert deliberately raised his eyebrows: "Then you have to hurry up. As an old friend of mine, I always have to face the robbers outside the city. If I think Joseph Blue Fox is a gangster from Qiaozhuang, I'm afraid he will be tortured by evisceration."
.”
It was scary to hear that. Eskil's legs tightened and he simply made an exception and announced that he would go to the count's fortress at night to check the situation.
Can the northern saint Eskil be so reckless? Is that fat man really a treasure? Robert did not want to disturb Hunter, nor did he want other nobles to know that the dignified Earl of Hamburg actually left his fiefdom without authorization.
Nowadays, even if I want to keep a low profile, I can't do it.
St. Peter's Church requires some preparation, but the castle is another story.
Today's hunting harvest was pretty good. Although it was just two small deer, according to the normal probability, it is normal to catch two deer in a week.
The deerskin is the count's treasure and will be made into leather gloves, leather hoods and saddle skins. The deer head will be made into a specimen and become a pendant for the house. As for the venison, the count will use the chewiest deer hind legs.
The meat was kept, and all the remaining meat was given to the warriors.
"Ah! The soldier has gained a lot today!" He returned to the house, and the young countess took off his robe for him personally.
The young son ran over with a smile on his face and was picked up by him. He kissed his delicate face hard with his bearded mouth.
The first wife of Count Hunt of Bremen died of a high fever, and the poor wife left behind only one daughter. The daughter has been married to nearby Flanders and became the wife of Count Baldwin.
Hunter became a single man and lived happily as a free man for several years. During this period, he was also recruited to conquer the Normans who had occupied Durist Port, but he was defeated.
Hunter was highly nervous about the Normans. Those guys were legally recruited by Prince Ludwig, but in fact everyone knew that they were a group of wolves that needed a lot of meat to be fed to stabilize them. As long as there was anything between the Great Wall of Schleswig and
The people in the North are all Normans, and the Normans are roughly equal to pirates. Earl Hunter's understanding is very simple and pragmatic. He himself has never crossed the Great Wall to visit Denmark, even though they are not far apart geographically.
, according to the descriptions of the real Count of Flanders, a large number of merchants, in his mind the Normans and pirates were equated.
"The prince is playing with fire. Harald and his people are pirates, and Horik and his people are also pirates. Who can guarantee that this group of people will not suddenly rebel, and who can guarantee that they will only attack Lothair and not
Attack you (referring to Ludwig)?"
In recent years, life has settled down. The most intuitive manifestation is that he collects the annual tolls very happily and increases them every year. With the help of Prince Ludwig, he married the daughter of the Marquis of Frankfurt. This was a pure marriage.
Political marriage. Because of this marriage, Ludwig of East Francia became involved in the affairs of the Duchy of Alemany.
The Duke of Alemany's family was extinct, and the title of the country was once vacant. King Louis the Pious wanted to grant the land to his youngest son Charles, which caused other princes to conspire to imprison their father and poor brother Charles.
Now that the Frankish King Louis the Pious has been released, although he has become king again, the huge kingdom is essentially controlled by the princes and the big nobles on the frontier. He has lost his military power and only has his title. No one cares about Louis as king anymore.
Ludwig did not have the title of Duke of Alemany, this title has always been vacant.
The Marquis of Frankfurt had already declared his allegiance to Ludwig, but he had to do so because an elite army had been stationed in Regensburg. The army was running along the Danube River, and the cavalry could reach Frankfurt in only two days. Frankfurt
It is the largest city in the Duchy of Alemany. The Marquis has his own ideas, because the kingdom has been essentially split. If it is officially split, he thinks he can acquire the Duke of Alemany from Prince Ludwig who is the king.
title.
A political marriage strengthened the relationship. The Marquis did not want his young daughter to marry the elderly Count of Bremen, but what could be done? This marriage was recognized by the Pope.
The Count of Bremen was Ludwig's most loyal minister, and the Countess was a Frankfurt noble.
Hunter took a break and drank a large glass of wine with the silver jug in hand. He then described to his wife the results of his hunting in the forest.
Although it was a political marriage, the count fell deeply in love with his young wife, especially after the woman gave birth to a son.
By now, the Marquis of Frankfurt has long since changed his attitude, because his territory is an inland transfer station for northern wool. Frankfurt has economic ties with Bremen. Charging commercial taxes on wool merchants can bring very good business to Frankfurt.
Income. In the near future, my grandson will inherit the Count of Bremen, and then our business cooperation will be even more comfortable.
The countess listened to Hunter's description. She was just an ordinary woman, so ordinary that she had no thoughts of her own. She just prayed step by step every day and lived a calm life.
After the deer leg was cooked, Earl Hunter tore the oily meat under the oil lamp, and asked his son to chew the meat. He even said: "You must be brave when you grow up, and you must behave like this now."
It's a wild beast, tearing flesh from me like a hungry wolf."
The little boy grew up in such an environment. He had a father who was good at hunting, or at least suppressing bandits, and he took his father as a role model.
The sight of his son biting the meat made Hunter extremely happy.
It was at this time that the city sheriff, who was waiting for an opportunity, informed the earl, who was in a good mood, about the deliberate priest who had been arrested by his men.
"What? You arrested strange ascetics? Did they really mean it? You shouldn't be so reckless. I don't want to go to the church to confess on your behalf."
The sheriff was also helpless: "But sir, the ascetics were swearing in Norse. We arrested them near the city wall, because we were afraid..."
"Wait..." Hunter pinched his beard and realized that things were not simple.
The Sheriff guessed what the Earl meant, and added: "We found out some things during the interrogation. A fat priest said that he was a friend of Saint Eskil in the north. He also said that the Saint was in the city."
"It's ridiculous. It's not the right time for Saint-Eski to come to Bremen to take up his post. He is in Hamburg!"
"Yes. But the three ascetics all said that Saint Eskilde has entered the city. And..."
"And what?"
"The Count of Hamburg himself has come to town."
"Absurd!" Hunter yelled, obviously frightening his son, and said in a soothing tone: "You go down first. When I finish eating, I will go to the dungeon to have a look. You know, I am afraid that this is a Norman.
Conspiracy. Sheriff! If you show caution, go to the Prefect and collect twenty silver coins."
"Thank you, sir."
The Sheriff left happily. Unfortunately, the patrol team that actually arrested Blue Fox and his party only received a reward of one silver coin each.
In a sense, Earl Hunter's guess was right. In Frank's concept, the Russians were also a type of Normans, and the arrested Blue Fox was indeed a military and commercial expert. He was arrested while collecting intelligence.
deficit.
Blue Fox did not suffer any severe beatings in the dungeon. Firstly, the jailer did not dare, and secondly, the fat man "confessed". The information he confessed was so shocking that the warden had to prepare black bread for him. It was Saint E.
Skier's friend, if he offends this fat man, his soul will be filled with dirt.
The earl was still busy chewing meat, and another soldier came to report the situation.
His mind was in a mess and he criticized harshly: "If you have anything to do, we'll talk about it later."
"But my lord, you should look out the window. There is a torchlight team coming out of the church, and they are coming towards us."
Upon hearing this, the count immediately stood up, and then quickly ran to the tower on the top of the fortress, where he indeed saw a torchlight team.
"Oh no, I really caught Eskil's friend. It's really unlucky. Saint, if it were really you, you should have come in a big way!" Earl Hunter gritted his teeth and immediately ordered his men to connect the inner castle with the city.
After lowering the suspension bridge, he will personally meet the visitors.