Count Baudoin of Flanders never thought that he would become a prisoner of war by accident.
He is now tied with ropes, and his mouth is stuffed with a piece of cloth, and his mouth is also tied with a rope. His eyes are blindfolded, and only two nostrils are left for breathing.
Then they were thrown onto the ship like cargo, full of fear and despair about the future.
Rurik was not willing to negotiate immediately with this "unexpected surprise", and there was no need to even sign an alliance under the city now.
The person would be taken all the way to Hamburg and temporarily imprisoned there.
After all, Baudouin is the earl of a huge area. Although whether he is dead or alive is not a big problem for Ross, now that he is captured alive, it is of course impossible not to squeeze out his strategic value as much as possible.
The Russian-Danish coalition no longer had any intention of staying in Antwerp. As for whether to take advantage of the victory and pursue Ghent next, Rurik had no intention, and Ragnar's idea of plundering was abandoned.
When they arrived, everything was peaceful in Antwerp, and the twenty nearby villages were busy stocking up on supplies for the winter.
When they left, all that was left in Antwerp was ruins and dead bodies strewn about the battlefield. The villages were still there, but the villagers had escaped with their soft livestock.
The economy of a large area has collapsed, the assembled army has dispersed, and the life or death of the count is uncertain, which is also a political disaster for the entire region.
The nobles of Bruges, Lille, Dunkirk, and Brussels had to wait for some time before they learned of the great defeat of the county against the Norman army.
The corpses of the war dead were abandoned outside the ruins of Antwerp. A large number of crows were waiting for the departure of the Norman army. They stared at the corpses eagerly. Before Rurik led his troops to leave, he had already noticed crows pecking at the eyes of the corpses.
They are not ordinary birds, but Odin's eyes.
Their large presence on the battlefield means that Odin approved of the battle taking place.
Because Ragnar's Danish army was too arrogant, many soldiers went into battle shirtless, and lost some brothers because they deliberately did not wear armor.
None of Rurik's Russian troops were killed, but more than thirty brothers had bruises on their bodies to varying degrees. The armor effectively protected the body, and bruises were usually not a problem, but now Rurik just wanted to bring a lot of loot with him.
Leave.
The rain gradually stopped and the temperature warmed up slightly, but then the sudden arrival of the north brought everyone back to reality.
The dry north wind is quickly blowing away the cold and wet, which makes Rurik breathe a sigh of relief. The cold and wet weather is like a dull knife cutting flesh. Thanks to the strong bones of his soldiers, they can resist for a period of time. Everyone's patience
There is a limit. When people's immunity is finally weakened to a limit, the plague will break out.
At the beginning, bow drills and fire salt were used to ignite the stored dry firewood. The moist wood they searched for gradually burned, and the coalition soldiers took the time to dry their clothes by the growing number of bonfires.
No one collected the corpses of the enemy who died in battle, they cremated their own dead on the spot.
Then, aim for a new goal.
The bonfire is crackling, this is the last night before departure.
Ragnar's eyes ignited with fire, and he muttered again: "I won't go to Hamburg with you. Just like the previous plan, when we reach the mouth of the Rhine River and arrive at the Rotterstad we decided on, I will
Loot deep along the river. Please be sure to tell the people in the north about my temporary departure."
"Everyone has his own ambitions. I also want to try to plunder along the Rhine River. After all, you are the one who opens the situation. I support you." Rurik answered happily.
Before this, there was no Viking fleet going up the Rhine to rob, and even the people who once controlled the port of Durist did not dare to do so.
Ragnar himself is a Danish nobleman. Even though he was once a down-and-out nobleman, he still knows some information.
Going up the Rhine River, you directly face the core area of Frankfurt.
The closer to the core area, the denser the wealth. There is a large amount of gold and silver utensils, delicacies and precious jewelry, and even some beautiful women can be kidnapped to become wives. Almost none of the group of diehards under Ragnar's command are from him.
The primitive tribe gathered this group of fans thanks to the majesty they displayed in noble duels when they were young and the prestige they now possess.
The brothers followed him through life and death mainly for the opportunity to make money and plunder slaves, and now they are clamoring to collectively vote for him.
In the past, the Franks had strong soldiers and horses, but now they are in the midst of a civil war. In addition, the coalition forces annihilated a group of Frank heavy cavalry on the banks of the Elbe River. It is undeniable that the Danish soldiers were direct participants. Ragnar and his men were high-spirited and determined to penetrate deep into the core Frankish group.
The opportunity for plunder has arrived. Even if the Ross allies do not participate this autumn, it is because of friendship and deliberately selling everyone a favor.
Rurik slapped Brother Ragnar on the shoulder and continued to encourage: "You can loot and destroy as much as you like. I will return to Hamburg and wait for your good news."
"So, you won't go back to Ross's hometown?" Ragnar suddenly asked this key question with a smile.
"Of course I have to go back. But..." Rurik shrugged, "Arriving at Bornholm Island is considered a return to Ross's hometown. Even arriving at the Göta River is considered a return to Ross's hometown. You know, your day
Everything north of the Rand Peninsula is my territory."
All the planning has been done, and all that remains is the division of the fleet.
Of course, until now, Rus and Denmark have not signed a formal written alliance agreement, and have not made a grand ceremony to swear an oath to Odin about the sanctity of the alliance.
But the two sides have continued to fight side by side this year, and the alliance has been proven by the crows on the battlefield and the enemy corpses scattered everywhere.
Ragnar confidently handed over the loot he grabbed in Antwerp and Utrecht to Rurik for settlement. Eventually, the supplies stuffed into sacks would be thrown into Hamburg first.
He decided to go into battle lightly and start a new robbery. Although the operation did not have a clear robbery target, there was no need to have a clear goal.
Because, his plundering army of more than 200 people will appear directly near the Frankish capital Aachen. As long as he decides to go retrograde along the Rhine, the result will be like this.
Finally, the Russian army, which had grabbed a large amount of food and wool, withdrew.
Since the withdrawal of the coalition forces, Rurik and Ragnar have gone their separate ways.
All the wet sails of the Ross fleet were blown dry by the north wind. The ships raised their triangular sails and headed north quickly against the north wind. The sails faced the wind at a special angle, forming positive and negative pressure zones, just like the wings of an airplane.
Generally, it obtains "lift", which is a strong forward force.
This technique requires some complicated operations to do with a simple heighing sail, but it is quite simple to do it with a Latin-style jib.
Can you still dash forward on the sea against the strong north wind?
Baron Victor of Groningen and more than a dozen feudal knights from Utrecht had never seen this situation. They had understood that the "Normans in white and blue stripes", the so-called big ships of the Kingdom of Rus, would no longer be able to
It's rare but strange. Now they think the Russians are using some kind of divine power.
Poor Gothic Bishop Paul Feder had little experience in sailing, and it was his first time to "fly against the wind" on a large Norman ship on the sea. Unfortunately, the severe seasickness made the little old man mentally weak and he was no longer able to express his feelings at the wonders.
As for the captured Count Baudouin, he was still tied up with ropes like fragile cargo, with a blindfold covering everything. He didn't even know that he was on a big ship, he just felt that he kept bumping up and down and experienced a strange feeling.
As the fleet quickly rushed back to the mouth of the Amstel River, all the feudal knights from Utrecht and their retinue were put down.
They were allowed to walk back to their homes, but before leaving they were threatened: "Remember! You are already a vassal of the Netherlands. The County of Flanders has nothing to do with you. Return to your own country."
The village continues to live its life, your real Earl will return soon."
Henry Nassau will not establish his rule in the city of Utrecht now. He is an outsider. When the Russians and Danes did not build bases at the mouth of the river, when his own village of Nassau had not yet been built along the
The river floated to Utrecht, but he would not come.
The fleet arrived in Groningen again. Baron Victor experienced this fantastic experience. He had only one choice to surrender to powerful outsiders. He was even glad that he had failed in vain, so that he was still a noble and his hometown was not destroyed by war.
.Even, the situation can be greatly improved.
He surrendered to the two great kings of the Normans and recognized the Netherlands as a lord and the existence of the Duchy of Saxony.
This bottomless surrender of a small nobleman can be said to be a betrayal of faith and a betrayal of the Frankish Kingdom. However, he has received a safety promise. At least, the Norman pirates will no longer attack the coastline near Groningen, and the locals have obtained
While maintaining safety, they could also do business with the Normans. As for the price, their coastline was completely open to Norman merchants and they had no right to collect any customs duties or port taxes.
In this era, the entire Netherlands will be classified as an economic control zone by the Kingdom of Rus. This is what Rurik wants. Because he really needs this largest wool production area in Western Europe today.
…
Ragnar's fleet has entered the main channel of the Rhine River, and soon the fleet encountered a choice.
"Boss, when a smaller river merges into a larger river, how should we choose?" a confidant asked.
All the warriors are waiting, eager to make a fortune, waiting for Ragnar to make his decision.
"Take the big river route! From now on we will always take the big river route. Only by the big river route can we make a fortune."
The soldiers then had a backbone, and they continued to row on the main channel of the Rhine in this dry season with their big oars, eager to plunder and make a fortune.
The so-called small river is essentially the Maas River. If Ragnar makes the decision to take the small river, he can directly explore the huge Frankish capital Aachen in this cold autumn. However, navigation deep into the hinterland is more risky.
Secondly, Ragnar had no plans to plunder Aachen.
His choice of the main river was a safe move, simply because a suitable target appeared in front of him.
The town of Nijmegen stands unsuspectingly on the banks of the Rhine River. A large number of village communities surround a large wooden building. The monastery in the settlement is too eye-catching as a building that stands out from the crowd.
In the past history, no Vikings ever visited this place.
The few people in Nijmegen watched in surprise as the special large boat with "two pointed ends" appeared on the river.
The Viking dragon-headed longship is already a big ship to the local people. In addition to farming and domesticating cattle and sheep, the people's daily life is to go to the monastery to worship. The local people's poverty-stricken life is no different from that of other people.
A local farmer will probably never leave Nijmegen on the riverside in his lifetime. The strange boats seen today are indeed a novelty.
But soon the spectators realized their folly.
They are like fools standing on the beach admiring the strange white line in the distance. When the huge waves of the tsunami rush towards them, it is too late to escape.
Ragnar, who was standing at the bow of the ship, pulled out his beloved Ross steel sword and led the entire small fleet to forcibly rush to the beach.
"Attack! Enter the city! Loot! Kill them all! Attack the monastery and steal the gold!"
Nijmegen is not a fiefdom of a nobleman. It is a bishopric. All local affairs are managed by priests and are directly under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Cologne.
As the so-called Rome fell, various Germanic barbarians were rampant in Western Europe. Even if the Frankish tribes were unified, before the unification with huge profits, the priests held the sacred faith and became the masters of the world in some core areas of the huge land. At that time
The old Roman administrative system collapsed, and even the warlords and tyrants did not rise. Only the priests held on to the last fire in the dark ages, struggling to maintain the basic order.
In the middle and lower reaches of the Rhine, with Cologne as the center, most of the settlements along the river have been managed by priests in the past hundred years, the so-called Archbishop of Cologne. Of course, Charlemagne could abolish the Archbishop of Cologne's overall control of this area while he was still alive.
Position control, but he did not. Charlemagne was awarded the title of "Emperor of the People of All Rome" by the Pope in Rome, and was personally anointed and blessed by the Pope, becoming the patron saint. In this way, the Bishop of Cologne has a certain understanding of this "saint".
It means obedience in all aspects.
This area is dominated by theocracy. Regarding the Frankish Civil War, the huge Bishopric of Cologne remained neutral. It did not support any soldiers externally and actively recruited war refugees internally. No one from the three parties in the civil war tried to take the initiative of the Bishopric of Cologne. After all,
The nobles of the Frankish system who rush here to cause trouble are equivalent to selling their souls to the devil.
But all Ragnar and his Danes noticed was the monastery's amassed gold and silver.
No Frankish army dared to disrespect the monastery, in other words Nijmegen was undefended.
The city was small and the population was small, so Ragnar led his troops to forcibly rush to the beach, directly charging towards everyone visible to the naked eye, and then violently hacked and killed them.
The people of Nijmegen had never imagined that such a thing would happen. They were screaming and running away wildly, and a large number of people were hacked to death.
The Danish army, armed with bucklers, swords and axes dripping with blood, had already rushed into the city. They killed the few who dared to resist and rushed into the monastery without any losses. They killed indiscriminately and all the priests were killed. The gold and silver vessels in the monastery were made of metal.
was included in the cyst.
The warriors' desire was satisfied and everyone got some gold and silver.
They also plundered food and captured women.
After all, Nijmegen, as a city, is essentially the center of faith in a region. The people who live in the city serve the monastery, and the wooden building was repaired on the Roman military camp and is now used as a granary.
The presence.
Ragnar discovered this granary, and looking at the large amounts of grain stacked, he felt a desire for destruction.
"You will be happy if I gave you this food. Rurik, you should follow me and continue robbing. Forget it, this food will be burned on fire." He said to himself, and then took away some necessary things for his brothers.
When the rations were uploaded, he ordered the fire to be set on fire.
There was no need to pursue the people who escaped, and Ragnar's troops happily returned to the ship at the seaside with the plundered grain, gold and silver.
They also kidnapped more than 20 young women and used them as slaves, with tattoos violently tattooed on their skin. They could not commit suicide because of their faith and endured the humiliation. They did not understand why they suffered such misfortune. Maybe they had taken measures in their daily life.
Now I am being punished by God.
The Danish army, having tasted the sweetness, became even more arrogant.
Ragnar also captured five priests. Before he decided to leave, he chopped off the heads of these priests in public, and then roared to the sky to show his strength to the gods.
As they left, a raging fire broke out in Nijmegen behind them. The whole city of this small town built in the Roman era was on fire. The flames illuminated the clouds at night and the sky turned red. People in the distant villages did not understand what was happening.
What, I thought there were cracks in the earth and monsters were flying out of them. Until someone escaped from Nijmegen and explained the tragedy, causing panic among the villagers.
Ragnar and his brothers did not care about the suffering of the local people. He just wanted to make a fortune as much as possible, and also took the opportunity to express his deepest resentment.
Even though he was already recognized as the King of Denmark, the Danish world was constantly ravaged by the Frankish nobles as if they were toys. The initiator was the Frankish Kingdom. He would kill and plunder as a means of revenge, even if he didn't have many people at hand.
The overall direction of the main channel of the Rhine River has changed from northwest to southeast, the strapped sails have come into use, and the fleet has begun to speed up.
A settlement appeared ahead, which was larger in size.
"Brothers, work harder! In the new city, we will make a fortune!"
What happened next was the "Sack of Duisburg".
The Danish army captured the undefended Duisburg without mercy and effort, but two of Ragnar's brothers were killed in a surprise attack on the wooden fortress.
The people who killed the Danes were actually mercenaries hired by the merchants. The wooden castle was also a resting place for the merchants. But the Danish army had more than 200 people. They had enough troops and equipment and became more sophisticated due to continuous wars. They conquered
The wooden castle immediately targeted the merchants resting here and killed them indiscriminately.
The people living in Duisburg tried their best to escape to the forest for refuge. Some merchants did not want their goods and fled alone on their horses.
Ragnar gained unexpected wealth from this robbery. In addition to some real silver coins, gold coins and copper coins found in the luggage sent to the merchants, they even found precious wine.
The brothers played with the plundered women and drank freely. They had no shortage of meat, and they slaughtered the horses left by the merchants and grilled them over the bonfire.
Because Duisburg was a town controlled by a group of clergy, it was a trading node, and a Roman road called the "Hellwag" passed here and extended to the north.
For the Roman Empire in ancient times, the north was full of unknowns and challenges. Leading north to the Germanic world was like leading to hell. It was also in this old province of Germania that they built Rome, hence the name "Road to Hell."
A very unsightly name, which continues to be used today. In fact, this road can extend all the way to Saxony, passing through the earldom of Westphalia, then connecting Bremen, Hamburg, and eventually even extending to Denmark.
The overland trade in northwest Europe relies heavily on the "Hell Road", the main road to connect various branches.
After all, Duisburg is a trade node, so it is normal for priests to set up checkpoints here to collect tolls.
As a result, the collected taxes have not yet arrived in Cologne, but are now being pocketed by Ragnar. The captured priests were pulled out and beheaded Priest Odin. After a simple inquiry, Ragnar also knew about the richer Cologne.
The presence.
It is said that there is even more wealth there. The past two plunders were so successful that the brothers' confidence grew.
"Fight Cologne! Kill their bishop, all the priests will sacrifice their blood to Odin, and we will steal countless gold and silver."
Ragnar's call was answered immediately, and the soldiers opened their mouths with blood. They had already begun to take action.