Amsterdam did not exist in this era, not even the large bay to the east of the city.
The Rhine flows quietly into the ocean and reaches the coastal lowlands, where its flow speed further slows down. In the lowlands, a dense network of water is formed, and a small runoff splits off from the large river. This is the Amstel River.
According to the local Frisians, the original meaning of the river is called "Big Water River".
In a sense, the Amstel River is not a simple river. The closer it approaches the mouth of the sea, the more the river channel becomes divided. Eventually, this area forms a saltwater lake called "Vlavo" with dense water networks and dense islands.
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Everything changed significantly in the 13th century. There was a sudden flood in the upper reaches of the Rhine, and a huge amount of river water swept across the lowlands. The Thousand Islands of Lake Vlawo were washed away, and a large bay was created, the so-called Zuider Bay.
, and eventually the land was reclaimed from the sea, and the empty bay was transformed into two artificial lakes.
This disaster caused serious losses to the local people. The city of Utrecht was submerged in water for a time. Therefore, the people living here began to build a dam to regulate the river to avoid recurrence of the disaster.
The name of the dam is very simple, it is called "Big Water River Dam". In the local language, it is Amsterdam.
How did the local people who lived in the ninth century estimate the hellish flood disaster that their descendants would face four hundred years later?
The geographical structure of this place is too different from what it was a thousand years ago. Although Zuider Bay does not exist, there are a large number of waterways here, enough for ships to enter here and reach Utrecht.
However, the simplest route is to rush directly from the coastline into the mouth of the Amstel River, just slightly detouring from the west, and the fleet will reach its destination in the same way.
Rurik undoubtedly chose the latter, because taking the main river route could completely prevent strandings.
Thousands of years later, the large landmass in the north of the city of Amsterdam was purely created by reclamation to connect countless small islands into a flat land. In today's era, the small islands still maintain an intermittent state of connection.
Because I saw the sunset yesterday, it is obvious that there will be relatively good weather in the coming period.
The small boats of the Groningen villagers could be used for offshore fishing. The Baron of Groningen, who was forced to join the army, dreamily boarded the huge Norman ship. He was willing to call it the name of the Ark, and then vomited in the bumpy sea.
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Going up and down with the waves had no effect on the Russians and Danes who were accustomed to sailing. Rurik even hoped that the wind would be stronger so that he could reach his target earlier.
First, the guide sent by the Duke of Saxony pointed out the direction, and Henry Nassau also pointed out the direction himself.
The two guides pointed in the same direction, and the fleet was traveling on the correct course.
Of course, Rurik knew very well that he had been heading south along the Dutch coastline. If he continued southward, he was sure that the fleet could float all the way to the mouth of the Seine River, and it was theoretically possible to suddenly rob Paris.
It was not that he had not thought about attacking and plundering Paris, and because of the available intelligence, Rurik could not imagine that the Paris area that was supposed to belong to the West Frankish fiefdom was actually controlled by King Lothair of the Central Franks. It was really a matter of who had the bigger fist in the civil war.
Who has more territory? Lothair is really cruel to his two brothers.
However, Rus is in a de facto state of war with all Frankish countries, and there is no psychological burden in attacking the territories of their nobles.
For example, in the attack on Utrecht this time, the coalition forces were not mentally burdened, and they were even more famous.
This is entirely because when Henry of Nassau became a landed earl, the core of his territory was located in Utrecht.
Standing on the deck, Rurik was inspired by this. He pointed to the eastern coast and suggested: "What is this place called? The traditional living area of the Frisians? Nassau, what are you going to name it?"
Poor Henry Nassau was so depressed by the severe seasickness that he wished he could get to Utrecht and have a good rest.
He leaned on the railing haggardly and turned his face: "Let's call it Flanders. Otherwise, what else should we call it? Is it really called the Netherlands?"
"It's called Netherlands. In my opinion, your territory needs this name."
"Then let's call it Netherland. I... am the Earl of Netherland. We seem to be arriving soon."
"We are almost there. When we find the mouth of the river, we will dive straight in." Rurik suddenly had an idea: "The fleet should not rush directly into the river. The river water is not good for our fleet. We will land at the mouth of the river tonight.
Rest on shore and attack Utrecht tomorrow morning."
"It's okay! It's okay... you must control your army well and never... don't kill indiscriminately."
"Are you teaching me how to do something?" Rurik suddenly became displeased and glared at him sharply.
Nassau didn't reply, and only managed a haggard smile, that's all.
The fleet can rush directly into the Thousand Lakes. Of course, it can also rush to Utrecht. If this is the case, the entire army should rush in with long oars. This is possible but not necessary.
Since in Groningen, the coalition forces used deception to easily complete the conquest, they should repeat their same tactics now.
Based on previous experience, although the local people knew about the existence of the Normans and how terrifying they were, they were seriously lacking in awareness of the troops holding cross flags high.
Therefore, when the fleet moved southward in mighty force, the soldiers sitting in the cabin and deck were not simply idle.
Because the flag of the Russian army is a piece of white cloth, with two blue cloth strips sewn diagonally. The front and back of the white cloth are sewn, and when removed, there are four blue cloth strips.
Iron needles were used to sew the cloth strips together. This stitching technique was actually very rough. The cloth strips were removed and the flag returned to white cloth. Then the soldiers held charcoal blocks and scratched the cloth with black carbon, which turned into a cross.
flag.
Doing this is not disrespectful to the Kingdom of Rus, this is His Majesty the King's plan.
It is not necessary to remove the blue strips on the soldiers' white robes; it is enough to change all the flags into cross flags.
The "Crusader" does not yet exist, but the Frankish nobles will definitely hold up some cross flags when fighting to prove their faith and identity.
As a result, the mouth of the Amstel River that the coalition forces were looking forward to has appeared. It is not a wide river but has a gentle flow.
Someone hung a wooden bucket with a hemp rope, put a bucket of water in it and drank a little, and found that it was already fresh water.
The trumpeter was ordered to blow the horn, and a person holding two small flags stood on the stern deck of the flagship to give orders to all the accompanying ships.
The Normans were quickly changing their naval formations again to prepare for landing.
This was the second time he had seen them change formations. Henry Nassau was fascinated by it and remembered it silently in his mind. He could understand how to use flags to make some movements to give orders. He never imagined that the Normans could associate each letter with a kind of flag.
Actions, and finally rely on the combination of actions to spell words or even complete sentences, thereby communicating over long distances.
He rashly asked Rurik about this situation, and was even more surprised to learn that the ships were actually communicating with each other using Latin words.
Grain death
All the large ships anchored near the estuary. According to the original plan, after the combat troops landed in small boats, all the armed cargo ships instantly turned into fishing boats. They immediately lit torches and carried out large nets for night fishing.
Expeditions require good logistics, and supplies should be made as close as possible when arriving at the battlefield. Looting is risky, and catching fish on the spot is a specialty of the Russians.
Taking advantage of the phototaxis of the fish, the net is sunk around the ship. When the herring enter the trap, people just raise the net. This method of catching fish is much more efficient than trawling in broad daylight.
Soon, they gained something.
At the same time, the large-scale landing of the coalition forces was basically coming to an end.
The coalition camped at the mouth of the Amstel River, which was about eight kilometers away from the city of Utrecht. The distance seemed a bit far, and it did not take long for the entire army to advance along the Amstel River on foot with light equipment.
All the long ships and landing boats carried by the coalition forces can transport a combat army of at least 600 people to Utrecht quickly by water.
The fact is that Rurik decided on a combat plan at the military meeting held that night.
"We don't care about the surrounding villages. Our army rushes directly to Utrecht. We only need to capture the city and control the local barons and bishops. They must meet all the property demands of our army, especially the local barons.
He must surrender, otherwise he will be killed. The local bishop must also obey, otherwise he will be kidnapped. Then Henry of Nassau announced the establishment of the County of the Netherlands, and the lords of the surrounding villages must surrender, otherwise there will be a military attack."
The Normans did not intend to use force first, which Henry of Nassau welcomed very much. He fully agreed with the military decision of King Rurik of Rus because this decision was very beneficial to him.
As for whether it was a mistake to cooperate with the Normans, how big a mistake it was. Go to hell!
Because these Normans would hold high the cross flag and march into Utrecht with great swagger.
The whole army slept well on the shore for a night, and early in the morning they ate a meal of cooked wheat and herrings caught overnight.
To be honest, his men caught an astonishing amount of herring from this place. The fish were not only large in size but also numerous in number, which was beyond Rurik's expectation.
"It seems that we really need to build a Ross store here and fish in this area ourselves."
The Netherlands is a wonderful area. The Rhine River flows into the sea here, and a large amount of organic nutrients from the European interior also flow into the sea, supporting a large amount of herring and cod. The Russians, who have mastered better fishing technology, have tasted the benefits.
Moreover, there is really no human habitation in this area, so it is a geomantic treasure that no one is trying to grab. If others don’t take it, the Russians will take over it first.
After the army had eaten and drank enough, they arrayed themselves in the riverside area.
A small number of troops stayed at the camp at the mouth of the sea and continued to be responsible for fishing operations.
The coalition forces gathered 1,200 men, marched along the waterway, and began to move up the river towards Utrecht.
"Let's go! Raise all the flags! Pretend to be our Frank army!" Rurik shouted with his right hand, and this statement made everyone laugh instantly.
Cross flags were flashed one after another, and the Russian army marched in order. Although the Danish army seemed to be loose, at least they were gathered together.
During this march, the coalition forces only carried a small amount of armor, and the heavy armor was placed on carts.
The soldiers were indeed marching lightly, carrying their own swords, hand axes, and bucklers behind them, marching in formation with their chests held high.
The waterway troops can advance faster, and this time they adapt to the speed of the land troops. The two troops maintain a constant speed and continue to advance at a pace faster than a walk.
This walk takes two hours.
The whole scene really made Henry Nassau and Baron Groningen feel weird. To be fair, the two nobles wished that these Normans would fake it and arrive in Utrecht for a mass baptism on the spot for collective conversion.
Especially Henry Nassau, who had a close contact with King Rus this time, aside from his faith, he was very particular about some principles and was very kind to those who were obedient. The only flaw was that he was not a Christian.
If the Kingdom of Rus chooses to convert to God, wouldn't it mean that a "Holy Kingdom of the North" will rise from the ground? This is probably a beautiful thing.
It's a pity that if they had planned to do this, they would have done it long ago. After all, what King Rurik said was very true. His Latin was taught by the students of the northern saint Eskil. If he was willing to convert, he would have converted long ago.
Maybe Rurik actually has thoughts about converting to God? Maybe the cross flag he held high today was not entirely a blackmail tactic?
Henry Nassau did not dare to say anything. With his own identity and strength, he could only continue to be obedient and cooperative.
Only pirates appear suddenly and attack suddenly without any reason.
Now disguised as the Christian army, the Norman army deliberately put on a grand display. This move naturally attracted the attention of the people in the villages around Utrecht. The shepherds and cattle herders stopped to watch. Those who hurriedly cut more grass in the autumn put down their hands.
Scythe bit his lip and watched.
Even some naughty children happily came over and swayed in front of the team very boldly.
This move was unexpected by Rurik. Fortunately, these Russian soldiers were selected from the entire army. Their military discipline was very good. The soldiers did not dare to leave the team, and it would be detrimental to their honor to attack boring urchins.
Why were the naughty boys kicked away?
Rurik ordered some soldiers to throw over the small amount of dry food they carried. They were some dry and hard bread cubes mixed with oat flour, and even cheese cubes snatched from Groningen. Even if these foods were contaminated with soil, the naughty boy
I didn't mind it being dirty, so I picked it up and happily stuffed it into my mouth.
This scene was seen by the villagers watching from a distance. As their children ran back happily and held up the pieces of bread they saw to show to their families, it immediately caused a sensation!
Do you still want to continue doing farm work? More powerful nobles from far away have come, and the lord is actually giving away food. This is much more merciful than the knight lord in his own village.
Because they were troops holding cross flags. Their clothes were too gorgeous and they were marching by land and water. It seemed like a great northern Frankish nobleman came to Utrecht for pilgrimage? Utrecht Cathedral is the largest wooden building in the area.
, it is indeed somewhat famous and has reason to attract some big nobles to come for pilgrimage.
As for why there were obviously Norman-style ships in the team, the Frisians living here did not find it strange. After all, the Port of Durist, just south of Utrecht and connected by a river, was still there a few years ago.
It was the den of the Normans. Just because all the Normans had converted, it did not harm the local Frisians. The locals were used to it, so it is normal not to doubt it today.
The nobles from the north were actually throwing away food, and their children couldn't pick up much. For such a good thing, the adults had to go begging in person.
Men and women began to flock to the gorgeously dressed troops as if they were attending a wedding. The nobles they had seen before were stingy and greedy. They would only drive away beggars and would not reward them with any food at all.
They should have been intimidated by the sudden appearance of a large army with gorgeous clothes and powerful troops. However, the behavior of spreading food changed the people's perception.
People still hope to get more food because their daily lives are really poor.