Late at night, the cool early autumn breeze blows through the stone windows, making the stone chamber high up in the fortress feel cool.
Liudov's mood was complicated because he had a special judgment on the situation based on the available information. It would be completely wrong to say that he had a persecution delusion, because compared to Prince Ludwig, he Liudov or West
Count Valia is acting like a complete traitor now.
As a traitor, his behavior must have been spurned by Ludwig, and because he could not get the support of the "Northern Saint" Eskil, he could only form an alliance with the heretical Normans.
As a traitor and an isolated person, it was inevitable that he would be attacked with concentrated firepower by the Frankish nobles.
Therefore, this time I have made a big mistake. However, there is no way out!
The King of Rus and the King of Denmark arrived, and through their faces, Liudov could not see any fear or worry in the two heroes.
Aren't they afraid of the huge army of the East Frankish king?
There are wooden tables in the stone room high up, the ventilated stone windows are covered with wooden boards, and a large number of oil lamps are lit in the room. The light in the house is relatively dim, and the flames are beating constantly, just like Liu Doufu's complicated heart.
Seeing that the two heroes were already seated, he did not hesitate and stated his worries straight to the point: "Now everything is clear, it is Ludwig! His army has already marched to Bremen! He is going to kill my whole family! He must kill my whole family!"
I also want to kill all the Saxons here! Just like...just like Charlemagne’s mass killing. You two must save me."
"Of course I will save you. Are you really afraid of those Frank troops?" Rurik didn't panic at all.
"Why are you afraid? If Ludwig comes, he will bring at least 20,000 troops, or even 30,000 troops. He may dispatch at least 5,000 cavalry!"
"Wait?! What did you say?!" Rurik's confident face suddenly became serious.
"I will be attacked by him with all his strength because I betrayed him. He will bring 30,000, even 40,000, 50,000 people. In this way, the Saxon nobles who have sworn to surrender to me will rebel, and Ludwig will
Hope will gather a larger army. I am in danger!"
Liudov's beard couldn't hide the twitching on his entire face. He was really trembling.
Rurik found it strange that this guy was fighting to the end when he was defending Aleb Fortress. He had never been so scared at that time. Could it be that Ludwig was even more terrifying?
Ragnar felt that this was too ridiculous, and retorted with disdain: "Thirty thousand, forty thousand, and then fifty thousand. How many people were there in the end? One hundred thousand? Liudov, are you a good liar? Now
No one has detected the strength of the Frankish army, why are you so sure? Did you see it or hear it? Or is it your imagination."
Ragnar's questioning also made Rurik wake up: "Yes. How do you judge their military strength?"
Liudov was indeed just conjecture, and he also had an explanation for his judgment. "Ludwig's army has been in the south, and he has at least 30,000 troops on hand. Now that it is autumn, King Lothair's army will not be launched in the winter.
If we attack, Ludwig can make a truce in the south and free up his hands to attack me in the north."
"Thirty thousand troops?" Rurik asked again.
"Exactly."
"What did you just say? There are still five thousand cavalry?"
"Yes. At least Regensburg has five thousand elite cavalry, and Ludwig has been leading them in battles. The current situation is that this cavalry has arrived in Bremen, and they will cross the river to attack us."
Subjectively, Rurik felt that these descriptions were conjectures.
When Blue Fox returned to Ross, he wrote a "Travel Notes" about his experiences, which greatly enriched Rurik's understanding of the current situation in Frankfurt, especially East Francia.
Rurik was convinced that Ludwig had a strong army, but would he really transfer the main force to the north in a short period of time? Not to mention whether he could provide an army of more than 30,000 people, but would the food and grass for these soldiers be enough?
Knowing that there must be a large number of infantry here, they have to walk from the south to the north on one leg, but the march will consume a lot of food. Unlike the Russian army and the Danish army, which rely on sea routes and inland rivers to move quickly, and deliberately reserve a large amount of food for preparation
Unexpected.
In terms of general rationality, Rurik did not believe that Ludwig would suddenly go all-out northward.
It is naturally necessary to take precautions in advance.
Seeing Liudov's fear, Rurik simply stopped worrying about the enemy's strength.
"We seem to be immersed in mist. We can only see the scene in front of us. We can only guess what is in the distance." Rurik told a riddle.
"What... do you mean?" Liu Doufu asked.
"We only know now that a strong cavalry has arrived in Bremen. Even if my eldest brother destroys the bridge, it won't take a lot of time for them to rebuild it. We shouldn't pay too much attention to whether Ludwig's main force is coming.
How long will it come? If this huge cavalry enters the border of Hamburg and launches a strong attack on us, their cavalry can sweep through our infantry array. Therefore, I placed the fleet across the Elbe River and guarded the bridge with heavy troops. Can their cavalry
Can you still rush over from the river?"
"Of course it's impossible. But... they can attack me in a detour and go to remote areas to ask the local nobles to be hostile to me."
Rurik shook his head: "If you don't care about commanding nobles who are too far away, don't expect them to send troops to help you. The only one who can help you now is me! King Rurik of Rus! And you want to be the Duke of Saxony safely, the problem is
It’s not up to Ludwig, it’s up to me. I decided to help you get rid of your enemies.”
What Liudov wanted was this kind of promise, and he needed Rurik to make it clear to him.
But the situation was too complicated. Liu Doufu asked again: "What if they really come with 30,000 people or more? What should you do?"
"Fight! We must fight. At least I will try to kill their lives as much as possible. We must make full use of the Elbe River. The wide waterway is a big obstacle to the enemy." As he said, Rurik scratched his face: "Just like this, your army's
Leave the command to me. Let me command your Saxon army, so that our combined army must total ten thousand people. You have never had experience in commanding such a large army before, and I have rich experience. We, the Russian army and the Danish army
No one knows my strength better than you."
Liudov was still hesitant to hand over command of the army.
Rurik immediately added: "Don't worry, if I invade your country, I will have to face the Frankish Kingdom directly. This is not my wish. When your crisis is resolved, your army will still be your army. You are now mine
A general of the army, you obey my command, and you go and persuade all the Saxons to obey my arrangements, this will ensure your victory."
To this, Liudov had no choice but to agree.
The annexation of the Principality of Saxony was a fool's errand for both Rus and Denmark. According to Rurik and Ragnar's plan, first of all, Rus and Denmark are brotherly countries. Although the Duchy of Saxony, which borders the Kingdom of Denmark, is not a brotherly country to each other, they are still brothers.
At least they recognize mutual non-aggression. Saxony is a buffer country between Northern Europe and the Franks. The country must maintain enough independence to ensure that the Frankish countries in the future will not easily go north to attack the Viking world.
For the current situation in Northern Europe, and for the huge Rus Kingdom, a sufficiently independent Principality of Saxony is very important.
It's a pity that this country's military strength is really low. The Saxon army that Rurik saw, except for those Saxons from the north of the Schleswig Great Wall, retained a strong fighting spirit after Vikingization. Liudov
Most of the men recruited in Hamburg and surrounding areas are honest farmers. They have a certain degree of ferocity, but unfortunately their physical fitness is too poor.
After all, the good farmland was occupied by the immigrant Franks, and the tamed Saxons even lacked decent farm tools. Even so, they had to pay tithe. They could only eat sour rye and oatmeal on weekdays, and almost only relied on
These people live on coarse grains and are generally shorter than their Saxon counterparts outside the Great Wall, which is why they have a larger population.
Liudov has an astonishing number of farmers under his command. Their relatively short stature is not a problem, but their poor physical fitness is a big problem. Big problems can also be easily solved, as long as they eat fish and oats for a month, plus some physical training.
Become strong.
It's a pity that Liudov doesn't have time anymore.
The large number of Saxon peasant soldiers was estimated to be four thousand, and they were all men between the ages of fifteen and thirty.
They lacked weapons, so most of them used sharpened wooden sticks as short spears, wore coarse cloth clothes, and used shields made of wooden boards as their only protection.
Even so, they arrested a large number of Franks and killed many in retaliation. They could kill the Frank immigrants who were unprepared. When they heard that they were going to fight the powerful Frank cavalry, everyone was scared.
Now Liudov has entrusted military power to Rurik. This sacred power must be used in a good way.
Many Saxon peasant soldiers were full of fear of the future battle. They did not even think that thousands of Norman soldiers stationed in Hamburg were a terrifying thing.
It was entirely because of the bad influence of Charlemagne's massacre that the Frankish army really killed people indiscriminately! And they even used brutal methods to kill Saxon soldiers who were caught.
Therefore, after Rurik gained power, he arranged for his Rus army to go to the forest to capture the fleeing Saxon warriors.
Nearly a hundred people were arrested overnight.
So on a new day, all the Saxon peasant soldiers were assembled, as well as almost all the Russian and Danish troops.
The strength of the coalition forces has swelled to 11,000 men, but the only ones who can really fight are the Russian-Danish coalition forces of 7,000 men.
The gathering of such a huge army was deliberate by Rurik.
Look! The Russian and Danish troops were dressed majestically, especially the 300-strong Russian cavalry, who paraded openly in front of the army in their best attire.
The Russian army, in particular, was uniformly dressed and stood in a flag formation on the grass outside the city to form squares.
On the other hand, the Saxon Peasant Army was a large number of people. At first glance, they looked like a group of dark onlookers with blond hair and gray-black robes. They stood in a disorderly manner without the heroic spirit of soldiers, and their faces were solemn, just because they were all watching.
A terrible punishment.
This is indeed a terrible punishment!
The newly cut pine wood was pieced together into three rows of wooden frames, with nooses attached to them. This was a simple gallows.
A total of ninety fleeing Saxon warriors who betrayed their oath of allegiance to the duke were captured last night and publicly executed today.
glutinous rice
Liudov, who was riding a horse, took his eldest son Bruno with him, and followed Rurik, who was riding a horse, to watch this grand event.
Ninety deserters had their hands tied and were pinned down on the grass. The majestic Rus' Guards wearing bear heads were ready to carry out this punishment, and they were waiting for Rurik's order.
Liudov now saw the gathering of the huge Russian army and Danish army. The majestic scene directly reminded him of Ludwig's army. No! More majestic than Ludwig!
"What a great army! It's so powerful that I immediately gained confidence," he complimented.
Rurik shouted proudly: "Did you know? In Rus, each woman can give birth to eight children, and each child can live to grow up. I have a steady stream of reserve soldiers, and they are loyal to me! Look at you
The Ross army in front of me will be several times larger in a few years. Do you still have to worry about Ludwig's army? Forget it. By then my army will not only be larger than his, but also better at fighting than him. Only
It’s just that our strength is weak now.”
"That...is really a wonderful future."
Liu Duofu took a breath of cold air, pointed at the people kneeling on the ground and asked coldly: "Do they really deserve to die?"
"What? Are you dissatisfied with my decision?"
"No. I should have protected them, not killed them."
"kindness?"
"Shouldn't we be merciful? According to our beliefs, we should be merciful to them."
After saying this, Rurik suddenly remembered himself more than ten years ago. But so many years of rule and battle have made him sober in the world.
"You think they are pitiful, but they are deserters. If they escape successfully, other soldiers will see them and run away. At that time, the only troops in your hands will be your family and followers! If you want to maintain your status,
We must kill these deserters who are causing chaos. Listen, you still have four thousand troops. If you don’t kill these ninety people, you won’t be able to keep the four thousand!"
"Then...just do it!"
"I still need your speech. After all, I am a Norman." Rurik said deliberately, "Only you can give orders on this matter."
Like a huge boulder pressing down on his shoulders, Liu Dofu made a determined decision to "kill" his own people.
He stood on horseback in front of his Saxon army and shouted: "Look at those kneeling people! They betrayed me! They betrayed you! We will fight fiercely with the Franks here and defeat Ludwig to defend our Saxony.
! However, some people want to escape! Now we have no way to retreat, and behind us is Hamburg. Without Hamburg, all of you can only run around like wild beasts. Listen, the King of Denmark refuses for you to escape from Denmark, Frank
If the army captures you, you will be skinned and cramped. Flee to the east to Pomerania and Oberlidit, and the locals will make you slaves! Now you can only follow me closely and our Norman allies
Work together to defeat the Frankish army. So these traitors must die!"
After all, Liudov was a decent man and talked a lot to the farmer.
He cleverly kept emphasizing the concept that all so-called prisoners are traitors, and traitors must die.
At this time, regardless of his leg injury, Eskil, accompanied by many young priests, ran frantically to the scene of confusion. He was limping on a silver-plated cross wooden staff, and specially brought a temporary
Made of high bishop's hat, it immediately attracts everyone's attention.
The Saxon warriors were shocked as they did not expect the "Saint of the North" to suddenly arrive.
However, Eskil was immediately captured by Rurik's men, and many minor priests were expelled.
He was brought before Rurik.
"Stupid old guy, what do you want to do?!"
Eskil roared with anger: "Can't kill! You can't kill them."
"Can't traitors be killed?"
"They are all devout lambs, you must not kill them. This is unjust! You..."
Rurik was not angry and just kicked the wound on his thigh lightly, causing Eskil to scream in pain.
"In the way. The soldiers dragged him away."
Eskil was pulled away with his arms folded, and a soldier did not forget to pick up the cross stick that he had dropped. Eskil endured the pain and kept shouting: "Can't kill! If you kill, you will go to hell!"
Liudov, you will be cursed. You will be Satan!"
However, Liu Doufu, who already understood the power, decided to kill him.
The deserters had simple linen bags put over their heads and ropes around their necks, and the wooden footings were removed without any delay.
They twitched under the rope, like twisted salted fish, and gradually lost their lives while being watched by an actual crowd of 20,000 people...
Even the Saxon women could see clearly that Liudov was really determined to fight the Franks. They also saw the majesty of the Norman army after it was assembled.
The women all gained confidence in victory, and the Saxon warriors not only gained confidence, but also fully understood that cowardice would result in either death at the hands of the enemy or execution by their own duke.
In a sense, Rurik was helping Liudov kill people and establish his authority. He helped Liudov do what the latter did not dare to do.
In this way, the subsequent military deployment will be tense but orderly.
Rurik no longer worried about the Saxon army disobeying his orders. As the commander of the coalition forces, he began to provide the Saxon army with ample food.
Their food treatment is only half that of the Russian army. Even so, many men are eating wheat porridge after a long time, especially wheat porridge with a lot of salt. This is simply happiness.
Of course, these people were not grateful to the Normans for providing food and salt, and regarded this as a reward from Lord Liudolf.
No great nobleman had ever been so kind to ordinary farmers. It seems that the former King Vidukind had such a righteous act. By coincidence, Vidukind's coffin was moved to Hamburg, and Liudolf was his descendant.
They are willing to fight tooth and nail to defend their hard-won restoration. As for cooperating with the Normans who have heretical beliefs to fight against the Franks, this is not a problem for ordinary farmers.
Everyone's first priority is to survive.
It is not difficult to survive, as long as the main force of the Franks is defeated and the war forces peace, Ludwig is forced to recognize the independent status of the Principality of Saxony, and the two countries sign a peace treaty.
Therefore, the coalition soldiers began to build fortifications aggressively. Rurik ordered the soldiers to cut down trees and dig holes. Completely relying on the number of people, a small river channel was completed in three days! Even though the depth of the newly dug river channel was very shallow and not
It's very wide, but it can block the enemy's attacks from behind.
With the protection of the Elbe River and newly dug waterways, the city of Hamburg has become a huge island in the river. The island is not small in area, and it has become a giant camp for up to 30,000 soldiers and civilians.
The Elbe River runs across the main force of the Ross fleet. A large number of wooden piles have been placed on the banks of the newly dug small river channel, and the wall surrounding the huge island area is also under construction.
The Allied forces were by no means trapped in a cocoon, but relied on the river to build natural defenses. External traffic passed through a wooden bridge with stone piers and an astonishing number of rowing long boats. Thanks to the newly dug waterway behind Hamburg, Ross's long boats could easily bypass the bridge.
Arrive at the upper reaches of the Elbe River.
All this was completed in a short time, and Rurik also spent a lot of manpower and material resources on this spectacular civil engineering project.
This move not only opened Liudov's eyes, but also surprised Ragnar. They had never thought that the war could still proceed like this.
What they didn't know was that the ancient Roman legions who had fought all the way to Saxony were best at civil engineering, and Rurik was just replicating this military quality.
Fortunately, there was no shortage of food now, and a large group of captured Frank men also worked as slave labor to dig pits. Regarding this, the Saxon people were in an extremely happy mood.
Rurik was busy here, waiting for the enemy to appear.
He had been waiting for many days, and finally the sentry stationed south of the Elbe River urgently withdrew to report that he had seen the enemy's mounted scouts.
Rurik did not have to wait any longer. Shortly after the sentry reported, the Frankish cavalry suddenly appeared holding the cross flag and Charlemagne's three lion flag high.
Their military strength is indeed huge, but...
Rurik stood on a high ground. Even though the whole of Hamburg was now on combat readiness, facing the enemy in front of him, it would be too ridiculous for him to believe that this was the so-called main force of Ludwig.
He hurriedly heard the news and asked Liu Dofu, who was standing next to him, jokingly: "Is this the army you are talking about...?"
"Indeed... it should be... right."
"That's it? Ridiculous. I thought they really came with thirty thousand people."
"There should be follow-up troops. Even so, this cavalry is too terrifying."
Rurik shook his head: "Maybe so. Let's see what happens next."