The special writing material made Liudov strange. He didn't understand Latin at all. When he saw Rurik writing Latin documents fluently with a quill pen, the inferiority complex of being an illiterate came to his heart for the first time.
When Rome collapsed, the Latin language mastered by the Western Romans was quickly forgotten. In the end, only the priests continued to master it and regarded it as the "sacred language to communicate with the gods."
The Eastern Roman Empire had already completed its Hellenistic transformation, and Latin had completely lost its market. Even the scriptures mastered by the priests were written in Greek.
One or another of the great Frankish aristocrats was a military aristocrat who came from the tribal era.
All kinds of small nobles must have their origins in the leaders of small tribes.
Rather than learning knowledge, they believe in the power of swords and axes. It is considered truth to solve all problems through violence. Unless swords and axes really cannot solve the problem, they will think of negotiation.
On the contrary, the priests are all pacifists. They prohibit force and rely on missionaries to spread their faith everywhere. They rely on their mouths to persuade barbarians to convert to the sacred faith. It is they who retain the use of Latin. Objectively speaking,
It formed a cultural barrier with the nobility.
Now, they believed that the priests' use of force was a betrayal of their faith, and they were even persuading the Frankish nobles to ban force.
But what's the use? Not even the Roman Pope can stop the civil war between the three great Frankish nobles. The Pope can only call on a few cities and fiefs fully controlled by the priests to adopt a neutral attitude and not intervene in the civil war, and try their best to gather refugees.
For example, Cologne and Dusseldorf, a large number of Frankish immigrants who escaped from Saxony are migrating to these two places. Just because people are sure that they will receive asylum and food relief, and this is indeed the case.
However, the straight-line distance between Cologne and Utrecht is only 170 kilometers.
Utrecht belongs to the county of Flanders and is one of the important towns. Flanders is geographically bordered by Westphalia, and is geographically bordered by Saxony in the north.
Liudolf is still the de jure Count of Westphalia. In principle, he can mobilize all the nobles in the south to continue to listen to him, even if he has raised his flag to restore the Principality of Saxony. If the emerging Principality of Saxony still contains
Westphalia, then this huge country physically tore apart the entire East Francia, and the entire Flanders that was loyal to East Francia was already in an enclave state.
They have all become enclaves. It is theoretically possible to conquer Flanders and annex it, or to force the Earl of Flanders to rebel too.
Because the Earl of Flanders appears to be of Frankish origin, but in reality? There is some Frisian blood in his family lineage.
After all, Flanders and Saxony suffered exactly the same fate. Both were defeated and surrendered during the Frankish Conquest.
Liudov wrote his own letter. He wanted to write more than just a letter.
Facing a completely new situation, Rurik wanted to write a letter, but he wrote it as a human being and not as a letter.
Only King Ragnar of Denmark asked to write only one letter.
All letters are like this.
"A Letter to King Ludwig of the East Franks" written by Rurik is a letter of war.
Core content: First, you must lead the army north and negotiate with the King of Rus. If you are unwilling to negotiate, go to war directly. Second, you must recognize the Kingdom of Rus, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Principality of Saxony, and the County of Nassau. Third, if you do not come this year, you will be captured.
The 2,000 Frankish civilian prisoners and 300 prisoners of war were all taken as slaves. Fourth, if they did not come, the Ross army would continue the war and kill and plunder Frank civilians. Fifth, Ross did not intend a war. As long as East Francia met the conditions,
A peace treaty can be signed.
The "Book to the Viking Kingdom of York" written by Rurik is essentially an invitation letter. The core content is to invite the brothers Biyoni and Floki, who are kings, to come to Hamburg and see the achievements of the Kingdom of Brothers.
Let's take a look at the situation of their biological sister Nolen.
There is also a letter of credence called "The Letter to Northumbria", which is called an invitation to the King of Northumbria to come to Hamburg, asking him to make a statement on the restored Principality of Saxony and asking him to recognize the legitimacy of the Principality of Saxony. At the same time, he came to Hamburg.
Take a good look at Reglaf, who has grown up a lot, and get to know each other well now. When he inherits the Kingdom of Mercia in the future, we will not be strangers to each other.
Liudov wrote two documents, one was the "Declaration of the Restoration of the Principality of Saxony", which was essentially a declaration of war against East Frankia. Even though Liudov did not want to expand the war, he knew that the war was inevitable.
The core content is as follows: 1. East Frankia must recognize the restoration of the Principality of Saxony. 2. Westphalia must be merged into the Principality of Saxony, but does not include church towns such as Cologne and Dusseldorf. 3. Part of Francia
The Des area was merged into the Principality of Saxony and became part of the County of Nassau. Fourth, it was recognized that the Baron of Nassau was upgraded to the Baron of Nassau loyal to Saxony. The Barony of Nassau on the banks of the Lan River belonged to the enclave of the County of Nassau. Five, Saxony
The principality will not betray its faith and will not go to war with the East Franks after meeting all territorial requirements.
There is another one, the so-called "Letter to the Count of Flanders". If his credentials against Ludwig were too outrageous and unacceptable, to Count Baudoin of Flanders, it was a hooligan act.
Liudolf persuaded Baudouin to cede part of the territory to the new Duchy of Saxony and betray Frank with the remaining territory.
He estimated that this kind of letter "Give you a knife and ask to commit suicide" was meaningless, and it would even be difficult to deliver it to Baudouin, but he wrote the letter down just in case it could be used later. After all, the Russians and Danes were about to go on an expedition.
Expedition? With the speed of the Russians, they could reach Utrecht in just two days. With their superb navigation skills, they could do whatever they wanted. Liudov was very envious of this super mobility.
Ragnar only had one letter, and the ghostwriter was Rurik. His request was quite simple. He just asked the Frankish country to recognize him as the king of Denmark, and that Frankishly prohibited the invasion of the north. As for the promise that "Franklin will not be robbed if he fulfills his promise."
He didn't even mention such things as "plundering".
The autumn rain fell for three whole days, and the earth was completely soaked. When the sky cleared up, the warm temperature could no longer return.
The north wind was still relatively strong, and the waves of the sea were also a bit fierce, but it did not affect the rapid progress of Ross's ship at all.
This autumn rain is just a prelude. The autumn rain in the Hamburg area is concentrated in October, and there are not many rainy days in general. In winter, snowfall will become more frequent.
As long as the sea is not stormy, the Ross fleet can advance safely, or because the southward attack on Utrecht is advancing along the coastline. The so-called "West Flanders Islands" in the Dutch waters have a geographical structure like a pearl necklace, which is simply a natural breakwater.
, greatly weakening the power of the waves, the fleet will advance close to this special archipelago.
Until you find the deepest bay, you see the only river with a wide mouth, the so-called Aemestelle River.
All this information was specified by Liudov. In order to ensure the smooth military operations of the Russian-Danish allies, he even sent a guide.
The words were too familiar. Rurik thought about it and suddenly came to the conclusion. A city could rise near this river, which is Amsterdam.
As for the target of the attack, Utrecht, it is just upstream of the river, and long boats can rush in directly. Even without a long boat, the Ross ship anchored at the mouth of the river, and the army could land directly and reach Utrecht on the same day on foot.
Lechi.
As a result, the Russian army began to gather in Hamburg.
Is it necessary to lead a personal expedition? Rurik thinks about it, yes.
Last time, the eldest brother Arik was on a mission to transport people and encountered the Frankish army in the ruins of Bremen. His poor handling of the situation caused the Russian army to actually escape in embarrassment.
Gu Hu
This time, Rurik wanted to bring elite soldiers. He did not need to have a large number, just a thousand. All the so-called standing armies would come, and then they would organize one from each of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.
A full Centurion (one hundred and twenty people), coupled with some armed sailors, most of whom were actually pirates from Saaremaa, made up a little more than a thousand people to carry out this task.
The other Russian troops did not have to be idle, because they did not know how Ludwig would react, but the army would have to return when the weather was too cold. Rurik made a plan, if Ludwig would be a turtle.
, or the messenger lost the letter and the other party did not make a statement. The Russian troops withdrew to Bornholm Island, rested in Gothenburg, and a small number of people retreated as far as Tombstone Island.
The war is not easily suspended now. Rurik originally wanted to return to his hometown in the winter. Now it seems that because the war has spread to Frankland, the scale has far exceeded expectations. Standing in this position, he can no longer
Close hand.
Of course, if we can create a "huge western trade security and stability" situation for Ross in one package, the current struggle will be worth it.
The main force of the Russian army will move to the mouth of the Elbe River, where they plan to boil salt and plunder fish resources. Considering that there is a high probability that the army will not be able to return to their hometown in winter, this is a historic first, even if the soldiers have complaints
There is nothing I can do. I simply don’t think about Lu Manman. It is better to obey the king’s arrangements and actively produce and store supplies for the winter on site, such as boiling salt and pickling salted fish. Even boiling more salt can be very smooth from the local Saxon people.
Change it to wheat.
Because the victory of the war directly attracted a considerable number of local Saxon nobles who were watching the situation to truly surrender to Liudov. They either themselves or sent representatives to hand over the unpaid grain to Liudov.
They also saw the huge Norman army, traces of the battlefield, a large number of captured people, and mountains of captured weapons.
The main force of the Russian army had not strategically moved to the mouth of the Elbe River, so it was such a large ship that set out first.
The royal pirate Spyut, who once served as the commander of the Russian squadron, has now returned to his old profession - escorting tribute from Northumbria.
Different from the past, his task this year was to send the requested tribute directly to Hamburg to be used immediately to meet military needs. He was also tasked with delivering the letter and persuading the recipient to come.
Spyut went out to sea with a mission. In fact, all he had to do to go to Britain was to go all the way west, and then plunge into Hunter Bay, which would be equivalent to hitting the territory of the Viking Kingdom of York. He estimated that he would not be able to reach that guy Biyoni.
He would let this opportunity go. He had not seen him for many years. He must be too lazy to listen to his description of King Rus. He wanted to come over and take a good look at how his Rurik brothers were doing.
At the dock, Rurik took off his hat to say goodbye to this important subordinate who shouldered the mission.
He pointed at the Gray Squirrel going down the river. "Spuyut! We must persuade Biyongni to come!"
Similarly, Nolen, who was relying on heavy leather clothes to hide her pregnancy, no longer pretended at this moment: "Spuyut! Tell my brother that he must come, I will give birth, and he will be an uncle. Let him be sure
To come!"
This long-distance ship is not simply a tribute, it has great political significance.
Liudolf wished that the King of Northumbria would come in person, or even send an envoy. He needed more countries that believed in God to recognize the Principality of Saxony. Even if Northumbria was a weak country, it would be good to have its recognition.
You can even take this opportunity to get in touch with Wessex to win recognition from the other party. The more countries that recognize the Principality of Saxony, the better. Liudov is not picky about this, he just hopes that he is not isolated.
The next day, another group of people wanted to leave.
In other words, it is exile.
Robert's wounds have been getting better, but his attitude is wavering. It is obvious that this is either a miracle or the medical skills of the Russians saved his life. It is ironic that he was killed and they shot him and he was saved by them. A huge army was saved by them.
Play with applause, and then be wiped out.
Robert didn't want to die, and he had no reason to die now. He carried a leather bag with many letters stuffed in it. He knew that as long as one of these letters was handed over to Ludwig, the latter would become furious.
But if they refuse to deliver or the letter is lost, the Russians will continue to fight and kill the Franks. This is very unreasonable. It is obviously the rudeness of the nobles, why should they anger the people?
If Ludwig didn't give an explanation, a large number of Franks would be killed for no apparent reason.
The threat of the Russians is not false, they are really cruel and dare to do it.
Liudolf gave Robert horses and released ten people at the same time, including Robert's retainers and Frank's elite cavalry. Having so many followers ensured that Robert would not be too embarrassed, and also ensured that he would be cared for along the way.
He was still injured and had an accident. Even if there was an accident, others were obliged to deliver the letter. Even if it didn't work, they had to tell Ludwig that the Ross Army had killed three thousand of his cavalry on the banks of the Elbe River.
.
Count Robert of the Rheingau left, galloped on the pontoon on the poor horse that had been sent away, and disappeared into the forest as fast as possible.
This is so sad. A month ago he took three thousand cavalry to the north, but now there are only eleven people including himself.
He knew that he would be punished after he returned, and he was willing to accept the punishment for the sake of greater morality. As a noble, he must also accept the punishment. After all, the monarch Ludwig was innocent.
Finally, there is Rurik and Ragnar's crusade against Utre.
The large ship towed the vacant longship, and half of the main force of the Ross fleet was dispatched.
Five sail destroyers, five sail cruisers, twenty standard cargo ships, and ten long boats towing.
It carried 1,500 people. The so-called Russian army had more than 1,000 people and the Danish army had more than 400 people.
An army of this size is large enough to fight a large-scale European war, and it is also qualified to fight a decisive battle with the Count of Flanders. After all, it is rumored that this guy is really stretched out.
Those rumors may be correct. Rurik still assembled an army of this size. The personnel composition of his own team was deliberately complicated. Except for the First Banner Troop, which suffered too many casualties and was the unit with the most loot, the other five flag corps
We need an opportunity to expand the spoils of war. All five flag corps have dispatched centurions. Brothers are fighting for public opinion. No one can criticize anyone in the future.
There was nothing left to save. From Liudov's point of view, he wished that his allies would win the victory as soon as possible, so that he would not have to worry about Ludwig's army suddenly arriving and lacking troops to resist.
A new march has begun. The fleet moves down the river, raises its triangular sail and rushes quickly along the coastline in the north wind.
Immediately afterwards, almost all the Russian and Danish troops moved to the mouth of the Elbe River. They quickly expanded their coastal camps to fish and cook salt on a large scale. In a short period of time, Liudolf's Hamburg and the Norman forces almost disappeared.
He knew that the Normans would leave sooner or later, but now he felt empty in his heart.
He knew exactly what he regretted - the lack of military protection.
It is better to ask for help than to ask for yourself, and the Normans are never good people. The young man Rurik is also ruthless in nature. Today's alliance with Saxony is just because they, Rus, need a buffer zone.
As a buffer state, no one knows its meaning better than Liudov. Since Ludwig's army was said to be attacking him, it was actually eyeing the Norman world. He began to expand his militia to "defend
In the name of "Saxony", morale is maintained. As for whether one can really strengthen himself, that is unknown.