Aleb Fortress, which once housed nearly ten thousand people, is now in ruins.
Almost all the people who retreated into the fortress were wiped out, and those who were lucky enough to survive were almost wiped out.
The conquerors had no idea that this area had been Danish territory since ancient times. They were also Danes and showed no mercy to the dying people.
Because everyone in the fortress betrayed Odin.
What will Ragnar's men do? Rurik is completely too lazy to care, and even making irresponsible remarks is redundant. Jutland belongs to Denmark. According to the previous agreement, Rus will not occupy and rule here, and the locals do not agree to accept it.
Rus' rule.
How to deal with the people in the fortress is an internal problem for the Danes themselves.
Rurik was now concerned about two prisoners - Eskil and Liudov.
Count Liudolf of Westphalia announced his surrender, and he was untied from the ropes that bound his body. No one was worried that this guy would escape immediately. This guy was injured and weak, and what he needed most was fresh water and food.
Liudov, who had just been restrained by the contact, was immediately picked up by the Russian soldiers.
Rurik immediately ordered: "Take this man to the river and let him push the water. Keep a good watch on him and don't let him escape."
That's all, Rurik chatted with Ragnar for a few more words, and each made arrangements to clean up the battlefield. As for the major events after the war, let's leave it to tomorrow!
Regarding this long war, Ragnar believed that the captured Liudov must have concealed something. For example, this man might have dug a cellar with a lot of gold and silver buried in it. Otherwise, how could he buy a large amount of labor for him?
What about building a city? He once pressed Liudolf about the whereabouts of his gold and silver. The tired man kept insisting that he really had no money. Such a description made Ragnar completely unconvinced.
Regarding this matter, Ragnar did not want to tell Rurik and emphasized: "I don't care about your business of going to the city to collect arrows, but don't compete with my people for the loot." He really wanted to keep the gold and silver he found to himself.
If he only robbed gold and silver, wouldn't the King of Rus become a bandit?
Rurik wholeheartedly agreed, and the troops he sent were indeed only recovering arrows and javelins. He did not believe that the enemy really had a large amount of gold and silver.
Finally, the warriors returned carrying bundles of arrows and reported to their king the tragedy in the fortress.
Two important prisoners fell into Rurik's hands, and their lives were worth two chests of gold, even though they were both mentally exhausted and wounded.
"Northern Saint" Eskil underwent surgery in a drunken state. His injured thigh was tightly tied with hemp rope to forcefully stop the blood flow, and then the wound was cut open to take out the arrow. The bright red muscle tissue
He was dug out, and the magazines on the arrow clusters were cleaned and removed with strong alcohol, although the alcohol content in his plasma was now off the charts. If this person had undergone the operation while awake, the severe pain could have forced this old man to faint.
Que.
Until late at night, Eskil woke up, and the dull pain in his leg also affected his head. His injured leg was sutured, and there was no excellent antiseptic and anti-inflammatory drug. The wound was made do with a layer of honey and wrapped around it.
linen.
He was drunk with some honey water while he was drunk. Although his energy has recovered a lot now, his thighs hurt when he stood up and walked around. Fortunately, the arrows on his body were gone. Through the dim light, he noticed that his wounds were injured.
Treatment.
"It was the Russians who did it. I...was treated by them?"
Eskil is still in poor spirits, and the noise caused by his awakening attracts the guards outside the battalion commander.
A soldier was ordered to stare at the old man, pick him up, and sneak into the battalion commander without saying a word. He threw a few pieces of wheat cakes and two glass bottles of honey water to the old man. You said: "Drink. This is your Majesty."
Given to you."
He picked up the food and water and couldn't wait to ask: "Where is your king? Where is Rurik? I want to see him."
The soldier didn't reply. He turned around and left, closed the curtain again, and finally shouted rudely outside the tent: "Old man, the king will grant you immortality if I support you. We'll talk about anything tomorrow."
Because Eskil is a prominent priest, Rurik does not really respect this person's status. He really can't stand the endless chatter of this person once he enters the state.
It was necessary to talk to him about something in detail, but now Rurik just wanted to have a good chat with Liudov.
Now there is a big question that needs to be clarified - who is Liudov's ancestor Vidukind.
On the battlefield, Rurik had no time to verify it, but now he has enough time to figure it out.
After some inquiries about this name, it was Rurik's captain of the bodyguard, Grund, who revealed the truth.
Likewise, even Jevro mentioned this man's name.
As Blue Fox traveled anonymously in the Frankish hinterland, he learned a lot of things, including several statements about Widukind.
They are all their subordinates, and they know "Vidukind" through various channels.
The original meaning of this man's name is "Son of the Forest". It is more like a title than a name. In other words, the man's name itself is not important. "Vidukind" is not only a name, but also a belief.
A long time ago, when Charlemagne launched a war of annexation against the barbarian Principality of Saxony, it was Chief Widukind who stepped forward and led the Saxons to fight against the Frankish army. However, he was defeated and surrendered, and a large number of Saxons were killed in retaliation, 4,500 of them.
Prisoners of war were executed in public, just as Caesar executed the slaves who failed in the Spartacus uprising. This was intentional by Charlemagne the Conqueror.
Some people fled to Denmark, and some were forced to give up their belief in sacred trees and convert to God. For the conquering Franks, the Saxons could only survive under high pressure, and this is exactly what Liudov called "The Grandson of Widukind" and "The True Saxony"
After raising the banner of "Duke", many Saxons immediately defected.
The key question is exactly this Widukind.
Once defeated, Widukind led his Saxon troops to flee to Denmark, and met with the young Danish lord Godfrey. Although it was half a century ago, almost all the nobles at that time had died, but
The memory of the war is passed down by word of mouth and has always been passed down among the Danes.
Because Ragnar also knew the name of Vidukind, and his father, Sigurd, who had died, met Vidukind when he was young.
Sigurd, who was still a child, could not help but see that man. After all, when Widukind came to Denmark, he wanted to seek military help from the Danish lords as much as possible. The fact is that most of the Danish lords organized coalition forces to really help him based on the principle of lip service.
Counterattack. However, at that time, the Danish-Saxon coalition was trampled into minced meat under the iron hoofs of the Frank cavalry, which scared the Danes to start building the Great Wall of Schleswig.
Precisely because of word of mouth, historical information is distorted in the process of communication, but the core issue will not be distorted.
Because through the story of Widukind, the barbarian Duke of Saxony, which is generally believed to be true, Rurik suddenly understood after smoothing out the information.
Many of his generals and cronies, especially those who had dealt with the Danes, were sitting around him around the campfire.
Rurik slapped his thigh: "I understand! The reason why the Danes built the Great Wall! Everything is coherent!"
The king's excitement really frightened the blue fox: "My king, do you have any ideas?"
"Send that Liudov here! I want to have a good talk with this man.?"
Hearing this, Arik was quite disdainful and laughed casually: "You talk so much about Vidukind, a man who is like a legend, so what if Liudov is a descendant of this man? He is just our prisoner, a despicable person."
Rurik immediately glanced at his elder brother: "He? He is not despicable. If everything is true, he should be the Duke of Saxony. Maybe we can force him to lead the Saxons to rebel against the Franks again."
If he really wanted to kill Liu Doufu, he would call an executioner and kill him with a battle axe.
Capturing Liudov alive was indeed the right choice, and could even instigate him to rebel.
Unless, this man is not a direct descendant of Vidukind, or even shamelessly loyal to the Frankish Kingdom.
But it was said that Liu Doufu, when he was pulled to the stream, his exhausted body suddenly became excited. He stretched his head into the water, and he had a strong tendency to plunge into it.
He drank water greedily like a cow until his belly was hard.
However, this man was already disheartened. When he drank a lot of water, he quickly regained his energy. He stood up and looked around. The shocking scene made him feel that the world was false.
Look! The western waters are full of ships. Those big ships are too eye-catching, and the waving flags are too blinking.
His fortress flew the flag of the raven, which was the symbol of Odin believed by the barbarian Normans. The village of Lindholm was occupied by the barbarians. In fact, the original owners of the village, the Lindholm tribe, had returned. Because this was their homeland, Liudov and his Saxons were invaders.
There are many tents on the beach in the south. There are many tents and flags there. There is a huge difference from other Norman camps that is visible to the naked eye.
That was the Russian beach barracks, and it actually looked quite similar to Ludwig's Frankish regular army barracks.
It would be better if those waving flags were not "x"s but "ten"s.
Guyuan
Liudov seemed very honest. After drinking the water, he halfheartedly ate the boiled oats with salt added by the Russian army. He was confused about the future. The army brought from the fiefdom was completely annihilated and he followed his own path. The people either died or fled, and they were left alone in prison, at the mercy of King Rurik of Rus.
At least the young victor retained aristocratic decency to himself.
He never thought much about it until nightfall, when he was under guard and invited to have a face-to-face talk with King Rurik.
A detailed conversation face to face? Just a detailed conversation between two men?
He didn't understand what Rurik wanted. Since it was the winner's request, he just had to comply.
Liudov was stripped of all his weapons and escorted to a specially prepared seaside tent in Rurik under strict guard.
There were a group of soldiers guarding this tent, and when they saw Liu Doufu coming, who was wearing single clothes, they all looked at him warily.
"Let's go! The defeated nobles, go see our king yourself." A soldier pushed him.
So, Liudov cautiously approached the tent, and in the dim oil lamp, he saw King Rurik sitting casually.
"You? You are indeed the defeated Liudov." Rurik raised his head and immediately emphasized the attribute of "defeated."
Such humiliation was heartbreaking. Liu Dofu had nothing to say and had to sit down.
He was angry, and as soon as he sat down, he raised his head and bared his teeth and asked, "You don't even give me any comfort! There are only you and me in this tent, aren't you afraid that I will strangle you to death with my own hands?"
Rurik laughed: "Stupid. Is it good for you to assassinate me now? Or do you really think you can strangle me to death? Instead of being strangled to death by me?"
As he spoke, Rurik rolled up the sleeves of his arms, and the dim oil lamp could not hide the clearly textured tendons.
Just one look at this, and Liu Duofu, who was already a little older, was completely discouraged, and he made an old face: "Young victor, what do you...what do you want to do with me? You can't find a good time and auspicious time."
I killed and sacrificed to your barbaric gods."
"Haha. What you said is wrong, but not entirely."
"how do I say this?"
"The sacrifice is already there, it's Horik."
"Ah?" Liu Duofu felt confused.
"Don't be surprised, I have captured Horik, and all the Robards and affiliated tribes in the north have been defeated. Liudov, I hope you understand your situation. You don't have any allies in Jutland. You
When you come here, you and your Frankish soldiers were all defeated. I heard that you also won over many Saxons, but they all also failed."
"Alas... I admit my defeat. When I saw the whole picture of your army, I knew that my defeat was natural."
"You are very self-aware." Rurik felt very good after hearing these words, and immediately asked the key question: "Have you thought about your future?"
"Am I still eligible?"
"I know your true identity."
"Yes! I am a vassal of the Franks, and I am the Count of Westphalia."
"It's not just this identity... so you." Rurik's words stopped suddenly, and suddenly an idea came to him: "I actually have no ill intentions towards you. You learned that you are a Saxon, not a Frank. Rus and Denmark, for you Saxony
People have no hatred, we are just against Frank. Of course, our war methods have always been very barbaric, and we often kill people wantonly. You have to understand this."
To understand the devil's barbaric behavior? Of course Liudov could not understand that even if he won a certain battle, he would not kill innocent people indiscriminately.
Rurik asked again: "Why don't you tell me your intention of coming to Denmark first? I hope you are not far away from your own fief and coming to Denmark out of a subjective attitude."
The words spoke to Liu Doufu's heart, and he couldn't express his pain. Now he just revealed his heart to his enemy: "I came here on the order of the king..."
To this day, he has nothing to lose. As a defeated person, of course he has to find some reasons for his failure to restore his respect as a nobleman, so all the responsibilities are passed on to Horik and Prince Ludwig.
hope.
In this way, Rurik finally learned about the unknown side of this war through the mouths of the people involved.
As the saying goes, cause and effect are intertwined. Liu Doufu did not come willingly. If he did not come, his fief would be confiscated, his family would be exiled, and he would not even be able to keep his status as a noble.
"We don't have to be enemies, but your master Ludwig asked you to come to the north to fight. I do know this big noble. My shop in Hedeby was destroyed. Although the black hand is Horik's army, it is really
The man behind this is Ludwig. You..." Rurik suddenly asked in his soul: "To this day, are you still loyal to him?"
Such a question suddenly confused Liudov. He hesitated for a while, and hesitation meant that he was not loyal to Ludwig.
"It seems that you no longer trust him?" Rurik asked immediately.
"This...I am his vassal, maybe...but..."
Liudov obviously meant something in his words, but through the large amount of information this person revealed, Rurik laughed wildly with joy in his heart, but it was difficult to show it on his face. Because it was necessary to attack Frank to vent his anger, but Frank had three princes.
The news spread all over the Danish world that they were at odds with each other. Due to the lack of information, people did not know the extent of this contradiction.
Liudov was a party to the fight between the princes. Such a Frankish count vassal had to choose sides at this juncture.
It turns out that Frank's "War of Three Kings" broke out! The actions of figures like Horik and Liudov in recent years are directly related to the Frankish Civil War, and are even an extension of the Civil War.
Since the biggest enemy of all the Viking forces is Frankish Prince Ludwig, then beat this man up!
It happened that the Count of Hamburg and the Count of Bremen were both vassals who sided with Ludwig, and Blue Fox provided very solid information about this.
Rurik slapped his thigh: "I can tell you a secret now."
"ah?"
"My army will assist King Ragnar of Denmark to regain the entire Jutland and restore the rule of Lord Godfrey. Then, directly attack the territory of Prince Ludwig. This man is the source of all evil, and he will pay the price
A tragic price! Therefore, I will attack Hamburg first and destroy the Earldom of Hamburg."
"ah?!"
Liu Dou opened his mouth and trembled: "Why? Why hamburger?"
"What? What are you going to say? Are you against my attack on Hamburg?"
"No. I don't dare, but..."
"Do you have any inside information? You might as well tell me."
"I have some personal matters. However, I can't stop any actions of you Normans."
Rurik nodded: "You are just my prisoner, and you are very self-aware. However, I am willing to listen to your suggestions. Remember, any suggestions!"
"Okay. Can you... tell me why you Normans insist on attacking Hamburg? Just because the nobles there also obey Ludwig's orders."
"You actually asked me a question?" Rurik smiled, and the whole room burst into laughter. Then he stared into his eyes: "You are brave enough, and you are worthy of being a ruthless person who fights to the end. To be honest, Liudov, if it weren't for
Even if you are tortured to the point of collapse by hunger and thirst, you will not be captured. Your spirit is worthy of admiration. Well, I will tell you the truth."
"Speaking."
"This is a coalition, a coalition of Rus, Sweden, Götaland, Denmark, and the armies of the Far East. You can understand it as all the Normans uniting to fight the Franks. I have an army of 10,000
King Ragnar of Denmark also has 10,000 people. Such a huge army requires a lot of food. Now that the autumn harvest is coming, I intend to enter Hamburg and plunder all the local food to meet the needs of our army."
"Ah! Are you like a swarm of locusts gnawing at Egypt?"
"A very appropriate metaphor." Rurik shrugged, "This is war. Do you have anything to say? Do you want to stop me?"
"This..." Liu Duofu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had a sad look on his face, as if he had been constipated for seven days. After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to choke out some words: "I beg you, don't attack Hamburg!"