It is impossible to take a boat for the rest of the journey. Fortunately, the journey is no longer dangerous.
The bodies of the attackers were dumped on the spot in the forest, and all their weapons were confiscated. Wherever the bodies of the Frankish soldiers who died in the battle could be found, Eskil personally prayed for them with final mercy and watched them being buried.
He even prayed over the attacker's body and said it was inhumane to leave it in the wilderness.
Harald Clark looked indifferent and urged Eskil to set off without complaining.
They first walked in the forest by the river, and after arriving at Harald's forest camp, they took a carriage. Harald's mission was originally to intercept and kill bandits in the Alemany area, but now his mission has completely become to escort Saint-Egypt.
Skir and his party arrived in Regensburg.
This was destined to be an arduous trek. It was at this moment that the first snow of winter in 835 fell.
People who were walking around couldn't feel the cold, but Eskil, who was sitting in the carriage, had to wrap himself in a lot of linen.
Even if Blue Fox is fat, he will not be able to withstand the cold. He no longer needs to disguise himself. Earl Robert no longer thinks of him as a powerless priest, but as a person who can fight. A priest still wears a robe, waist and waist.
There is a sword hanging inside and a mandarin duck shield on the back, which looks awkward no matter how you look at it.
However, this was only an anomaly that happened in the ninth century. When the movement to the Holy Land took place, the priests who would provide medical assistance to pilgrims would take up arms in order to protect themselves, and the Knights Hospitallers were born. They were dressed like this, in black robes.
The priest holds a sword.
They advanced along the Danube River in dense light snow and received an important batch of supplies in the town of Ulm. Another week later, the team arrived on foot in the town of Ingolstadt and once again bought a batch of supplies from the local lord.
Bread, and even some live chickens. The broken weapons that were captured were used as money, which made it easy for Harald to obtain supplies.
How far is the road to Regensburg?
Blue Fox felt that he had not walked as much in other times of his life as during this period. He had already worn out a pair of boots, so he had no choice but to continue on the road with the captured boots. He could sit in a carriage, but he would feel the cold again.
He didn't realize that he was losing weight rapidly. The long-distance march every day was nothing to the team of Harald, who was a Viking pirate. Businessmen like Blue Fox had to persevere. Gradually, he was able to catch up with the team very well.
, gradually he no longer lost weight, replaced by strong legs.
The Danube River is winding. A full half a month has passed since the group left Frankfurt and entered the main channel of the Danube River until they arrived at Ingolstadt. They were passively restrained by the winding river and took many detours. The reason why they did not go
Harald Clark, who only led the way through shortcuts, was worried about getting lost in the dense forests of the Baden region.
The snow has stopped, and the Danube River is still flowing quietly. The previous plan to take a boat was completely cancelled, and it was no longer possible to reach Regensburg quickly.
One snowfall was followed by another, and the snow on the river bank blocked the progress.
The arduous journey finally comes to an end, when the dense forest turns into a large open area, indicating that Regensburg is ahead.
The time has entered November.
But Regensburg is not a huge city!
For the first time in his life, the round-faced Blue Fox could accurately touch his square chin. An unexpected gain during the long journey was that he was so thin that his belly became extremely loose. He saw that it was even bigger than Bremen.
Tall stone city walls, as well as tall wooden towers and crosses at the top.
That was St. Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, an era before it suffered a catastrophic fire and was restored to pure stone, and no one really worried about the great church being engulfed in flames.
There is a group of wooden buildings attached to the outside of the city wall. Although it is winter, some figures are shaking.
The real road has appeared, the snow has been turned very solid, and horse-drawn sleighs are moving in the distance.
"What is that? A man on horseback?" Blue Fox asked subconsciously.
The Earl of Hamburg immediately explained: "It's a patrol cavalry. This is already the prince's domain, and a thousand elite cavalry protect the prince's safety. Joseph, I know you are not a devout priest, at least now you have to disguise yourself again."
Blue Fox had nothing to say. He managed to learn a little Frank along the way and finally understood the warning, so he took off his weapons.
Sure enough, because the team led by Harald was too flamboyant, the patrol cavalry naturally came to investigate when they saw the flag of a cross mixed with a raven. When they learned that it was the famous Norman mercenary Harald and his group, they let him go without further questioning.
Until the patrolling cavalry suddenly realized that there was another flag here.
The Count of Hamburg? Why is he here? And Saint-Eskilde?
Once the entire team is allowed to enter the city, the soldiers will be collectively arranged to a hotel (actually a barn) to rest and receive water and food.
Eskil had no intention of caring about the follow-up of the soldiers. He took a few followers into the church in the city. This was his home!
Blue Fox, Vardy, the Earl of Hamburg, and the few accompanying soldiers who survived the sneak attack, all entered the church to eat Holy Communion. They had to wait, even the noble Northern Eskil could not be seen casually
When it came to Prince Ludwig, even the loyal Count Robert could not overstep his bounds.
Ludwig held an ace unit, which was the heavy cavalry regiment guarding Regensburg. Although the strength was only a thousand men, with the addition of retinues and auxiliary troops, he could immediately pull out a five thousand men.
A legion that is a mixture of heavy cavalry, light cavalry, infantry, and archers.
Exactly four hundred years ago, the Third Legion of Western Rome was stationed in Regensburg. At that time, the Third Legion was composed of blond Goths and Franks. Today, "Legionsburg" is still the same "Legionsburg"
, even the ethnic composition of the army has not changed essentially, except that the commanders at all levels of the army have become Frankish aristocrats.
Sometimes, Ludwig lived like the leader of the legion. He really liked the feeling of commanding thousands of troops, and he looked down on his brother Lothair who liked to play tricks.
He conspired with another brother, Pepin, to release his imprisoned father, and also released his younger brother Charles.
The pious Louis was still the king of the Franks. After this experience, the old king was mentally and physically exhausted. Although the king was no longer able to govern the government, the three princes were actively wooing the nobles and recruiting troops to prepare for the future war.
Ludwig, who once pursued a fist policy, had to change his strategy.
The weather was getting cold, and this thirty-year-old top noble in the kingdom had no intention of hunting. He was busy continuing to create successors for the territory with his wife, and spent the rest of his time focusing on the training of his cavalry regiment.
The commander of the cavalry, a count who had not yet received a fief, personally reported important events to the prince.
Ludwig was not too surprised. He first climbed up the stone tower of the castle and took a few glances at the church. He stood on the high ground and let the cold wind calm his mind. Then he gave the order: "Let Harald the Norman,
Saint Eskil and the Count of Hamburg came to see me. Only these three came to see me."
In addition to his own army of cronies, Ludwig was wary of many nobles. Lords from various places would suddenly switch sides for the sake of interests. After all, the old king looked like his days were numbered, and the three princes all had the right to inherit the Frankish king.
As for who will inherit, maybe it will be the terrible tradition of the kingdom - the one who kills all his relatives will be the king.
The messenger arrived at the door of the church and handed over the prince's oral message written on silk to the little priest who held the door.
The letter reached people who had been waiting all day.
Eskil was very happy to read the letter, and the Count of Hamburg also happily pointed out that he cherished this opportunity to meet the prince.
Naturally, Blue Fox also thought that he would get the opportunity to meet the top nobles, but Eskil poured cold water on him.
"Why? Why can't I come to see him?! I still want to sign a covenant with him!"
"Joseph, don't think too much, you are just a little priest. Just stay in the monastery without any worries, and remember not to go out. This is a legion city, not a trade fair..." Esquier's words were warning,
Blue Fox had no choice but to give up considering the situation.
In his own castle, Ludwig was sitting on a stone seat paved with bearskin. He was sitting high in a battle robe, overlooking the three people in attendance.
Esquier personally brought the wooden box with him, and inside it was naturally the letter that must be sent during this trip, as well as the sword.
When the other two people met their monarch, they first performed warrior salutes and then stood flat.
"It's you, Saint Eskil. How are your achievements in the north? I heard that some situations have arisen. Don't worry, I sent the pious Horik Kral to deal with those ignorant people. Soon Denmark will
The whole country takes refuge.”
It seems that the prince is extremely confident in controlling the situation, and everything is controlled by his remote control thousands of miles away?
Esquier was polite at first, and then bluntly stated the fact: "Your Highness, Horik, whom you trusted, has betrayed his faith and believed in the barbaric god of a foreign race."
"You're kidding!" The prince's expression changed instantly.
"Your Highness, why do you think I am here? I was driven away by Horik, whom you trusted. The priests were displaced and even faced death threats. The church I ran in Hedeby was finished, and the Danish believers fled to death.
escape."
This is really a huge blow. The prince once confidently put the loyal Horik back, thinking that killing two birds with one stone would be the case. Is this really the case?
Esquier opened the wooden box and placed Horik's autographed letter on it.
Now the prince couldn't sit still at all. He hurriedly ran down from the throne, grabbed the parchment, and read the "Declaration of Freedom" on it carefully.
There is something particularly wonderful on the letter. A very abstract bird pattern is actually a raven. This must be Horik's handiwork. The guy relied on this mark to prevent counterfeiting of the letter.
The more the prince read, the angrier he became. He thought it was ridiculous for a moment, but seeing that the Earl of Hamburg from far away on the northern border came in person, it can only be said that the ambition described by that guy Horik in the letter was indeed true.
The prince threw down the letter and stamped his feet: "It's against it! It's against it! Damn Horik, I gave you trust, and this is how you repay me! You betrayed me! You betrayed the Lord! You must go to hell.
.No! I will chop you to death!"
Although Eskil expected Ludwig's rage, he never expected that the prince would draw his sword and slash at the furniture to express his anger.
The prince roared for a while, leaving many marks on the wooden table and chairs, smashing three vases into pieces, and even bending his sword.
"Damn Horik, he dares to call himself the king and dares to break away from my management. I am still a duke, and he dares to call himself the king. You..." The prince looked at everyone, especially the Earl of Hamburg: "Robert, tell me!"
"Yes! Your Highness... Regarding this matter, I estimate that the Danes will take action and attack our country. You know, Horik and his gang are pirates themselves, and all Danes are pirates." The earl was about to mutter.
A few words of "it was a stupid decision to let Horik go back", the current situation is definitely not suitable for such a straightforward description. Anyway, the prince must be extremely wise, and that Horik is a white-eyed wolf.
The count hurriedly changed the subject: "I can corroborate Saint Esquier's description. There are many farmers, merchants and craftsmen who have escaped back in my territory. They all said that they saw Horik's people killing people casually, even using live bodies to kill people.
Human blood sacrifice to their Odin.”
"It's...ridiculous!"
The prince was so angry that his teeth were itching. How could he be so angry? It was obviously a mad dog that he had raised. The mad dog became a bit loyal, but in the end, the mad dog suddenly transformed and claimed to be more noble than its owner. It is really unreasonable.
After the conversation changed, the prince's sharp eyes glared at Harald Clark again: "That's your nephew. Unexpectedly, he is a mad dog. You are also responsible for this matter."
Harald's face suddenly looked as embarrassed as if he had been constipated for a month. He had thousands of reasons, so he quickly knelt down on one knee and made the sign of the cross on his chest: "I am pious. My betrayer, Horik, is not my nephew.
If you want to attack Denmark, I will fight personally to share your worries."
Although these words made him feel comfortable, the Harald in front of him was also a Norman, and his identity could no longer be completely trusted by the prince.
He picked up the dirty heart that had been trampled on the ground. For the top Frank nobles, he was expected to become the "protector of all Romans" and the man who was expected to become the king of all Franks. Ludwig could not bear to have his authority violated and desecrated.
In fact, there were no insulting words in Horik's letter, but it only emphasized that Denmark and Frank had a clear relationship between kingdom and kingdom. It was this emphasis that caused the most extreme anger. No Frank king recognized the "Kingdom of Denmark".
East and west, the king only recognized a large group of barbarian chiefs and the chief among them. Therefore, in the Frankish documents of this era, Denmark did not have the suffix "kingdom".
A small country is not qualified to compare with a huge kingdom, Horik must be defeated.
Ludwig just thought about it for a moment before making the decision to send troops. However, a full-scale war was not advisable. He did not want to lose out in the competition among the princes. If he could send a large army to act as an armed deterrent and force them to surrender again,
By paying tribute, the matter can be put on hold for the time being.
He is a top nobleman, not a pedantic priest. He only asks Horik to continue to be his mad dog. It is the priests' job to persuade all of them to convert.
He claimed that he would set off with the main force of Regensburg's elite cavalry, and then gather a group of retinue soldiers from the lords of Munich, Nuremberg and Frankfurt to go to the Count of Hamburg to shock the troops, and even launch a powerful symbolic cavalry attack.
The Count of Hamburg was so happy that he burst into tears. With the support of the prince's absolute military power, wouldn't the dangers of Hamburg and Bremen be lifted?
After calming down a little from the initial anger, Prince Ludwig held his bent iron sword and couldn't help but blame himself: "Maybe I should control my temper. My sword is bent again and I need a blacksmith to straighten it for me...
"
Eskil has been waiting for an opportunity, but now is not the best opportunity.
There was a leather roll on his back, and now was the chance to show off the treasure.
"Your Highness, please calm down. I want to present you with a treasure obtained from the North."
"There is actually a treasure?" The prince's staggering face forced a smile, "What is it?"
"A sword."
"Sword? Wait a minute... You are a saint from the north and you actually carry a weapon. You? You actually enter my palace with a weapon?"
Ludwig was naturally not afraid of the assassination of a decaying bishop, but a big loophole in the procedure was exposed. The soldiers did not dare to check the priests. If the assassin Qiao Zhuang was really a priest, wouldn't it be...
Let’s take a look at the sword first.
As the leather was opened, it was inlaid with gems, gold patterns, a silver hilt, a sword with gold and silver, a scabbard inlaid with amber, rubies, and entirely silver. Ludwig had never enjoyed this kind of treasure.
, even if the scabbard is empty, it will show its glory hanging on the body.
The prince grabbed the sword manically and drew it skillfully. The bright white blade made a fierce buzzing sound.
"Ah! What a sword! It's a perfect sword. You... got it from the North?"
"Yes. And this sword is very elastic and will not break or chip. I hope you like it."
"I like it so much. Tell me the details of how you got this sword. I want the swordsmith master in the North to make me a long sword according to this."
"He's from Russia."
"Russian? Who is that?"
"Just like the Danes, they are another group of Normans, but the Ross and the Danes have a deep hatred. The leader of the Ross calls himself the Duke, and he has sent an envoy, requesting... to form an alliance with you."
"Is there such a thing?" Realizing that the matter was slightly complicated, the prince put his sword into its scabbard and listened to Esquier's detailed description.
The prince did not see the barbarians, but it happened that the envoy was a convert.
Is it possible to summon the Blue Fox? However, Harald Clark, who claimed to know Ross very well, explained to the prince: "Saints are not warriors after all, and any amount of praise is excessive praise. I know the Ross people very well."
, they brought out at most a thousand warriors, and have been suppressed by Denmark for a long time. It is impossible for Ross to defeat Denmark. When I was the leader of Denmark, there were reports from my subordinates that they attacked the Ross fleet. That was a group of people who stayed in more
As for the barbarians in the north who can offer this sword as tribute, it must be the sword of their leader. In doing so, they should be asking you to send troops to attack Denmark to relieve their crisis."
"So, there is a barbarian chief teaching me how to do things?"
"That's true."
"Arrogant! Let them go away."
Eskil was just listening. This Harald used his past knowledge to judge the crazy Russian people, and actually used these descriptions to trick the prince. But he really didn't want to get involved anymore. The prince's criticism just now was very direct, Eskil
I just want to eat my vegetarian food honestly and don't want to have anything to do with the army or weapons anymore, so I just want to shut up completely.
Eskil didn't say anything, and now it became Harald Clark's stage.
Harald the Dane described the Russians as little-known minions, completely ignoring the fact that the Russians were already Baltic or little overlords. In recent years, Harald has been active near the Alps, and has never been to the north since he was expelled.
Once. His description of the Rus' people ten years ago was completely correct, but since 828 AD, everything has changed.
After all this, you still want to allow the Ross envoy Joseph Blue Fox to have an audience? Bah!
A small tribe should not think that having a convert will lead to the heir to the Frankish throne.
Since the prince was so determined, Eskil didn't say a word, but faithfully recorded what he heard and heard. He did not dare to lie, and would clearly tell Blue Fox about the matter, and in the future he would also tell Prince Rurik himself of Rus.
The true attitude of Frankish Prince Ludwig. He didn't think this would lead to a war or other extreme situation. He didn't even have to think about it. Eskil only hoped to win the favor of the Prince of Rus with his honest image.
, allowing work that was once blocked in Ross to begin.
Eskil returned to the church and explained the situation to the anxiously waiting Blue Fox.
Like a bucket of cold water pouring over the head, "Ludwig despises us Russians like this?"
"After all, the prince is the most noble member of the royal family. He has already sheathed his sword. Even so, you can't meet him. As for signing the covenant, you'd better give up on it."
"Then, Prince Rurik will punish you with war!" Blue Fox clenched his fists. Seeing the anger of this man whose figure was completely different from that of more than three months ago, Esquier was convinced that Rurik would really do it.
Use force to vent your anger.
Even so, still...
Esquier thought for a while, even so he still has to go to Rus. Arrogance and rage are one of the seven deadly sins. If the prince is punished by the Lord, it is his fate, and it is also his fate that his army encounters setbacks. Worldly things and holy things
It doesn't matter.
There is no need to stay in Regensburg. Blue Fox can't wait to return to New Rossburg to report to the prince now. However, this is impossible. He can realize that he is extremely far away from the Ross territory. If he wants to go back, he can only find him next year.
The boat goes through another adventure.
He asked about Eskil's future arrangements.
"Don't worry, Joseph. I'm going to Reims. You come with me. Worldly matters have nothing to do with us. Going to Reims to register your religious membership is one thing. There are also important things entrusted to me by Prince Rurik.
, you know this matter well."
"The matter of Princess Mary, and Reglaf..."
"Ah... Finally, I still have to get in touch with worldly affairs. At least this is a good thing. Mercia has a real legitimate heir to the throne."
That's all, they set off soon.
Eskil, Blue Fox, and Vardy, three real ascetics, three people and a carriage, carrying some supplies donated by the prince, in the posture of ascetics, in the Bavarian forest in December, along the glacier
Go forward and head towards Reims, which is ruled by Prince Lothair.
Esquier will report to Reims Archbishop Sinquemar and implement many things.
They each have their own agenda. Blue Fox will record what he sees and hears and provide first-hand investigation information for Prince Rurik to conquer Frank.
Only Prince Ludwig, no one told him the truth of the matter. Based on the existing information, he had already made a huge strategic misjudgment.