Chapter 973 King of Northumbria, King of Viking York in Hamburg
The climate is getting colder and colder, and the Russian soldiers stationed in Hamburg are becoming more and more homesick.
In principle, those Danes who are still stranded here are waiting for news from King Ragnar. The waiting process is getting more and more boring. It is definitely not a good idea to stay in the Saxon territory for the winter. They want to return to Zealand and
Families unite.
The Danes secretly communicated that once the first snow falls, the brothers can go home.
The situation is also very bad for the Russian army.
The Russian army includes Russians, Finns, Slavs, and a small number of Swedish and Götaland warriors. Arik, Jevlo and Medvet, the unit generals can restrain the well-trained warriors. But the war
Starting from this spring, we have been fighting all the way from the far north. Will the war continue as winter enters?
Especially the Slavic warriors, everyone whispered to each other in their hometown language that they might not be able to return to their hometown this winter.
If you are a lonely warrior in your prime, it is not a pity to be at home all over the world.
They all have parents, wives and children, and they have a strong obsession with farming. Even though the king has been very stable in terms of food supply, they are still extremely worried about the situation of their relatives back home.
Your Majesty, it is a virtuous policy for your Majesty to waive taxes this year. Brothers have all gained spoils from this war.
So, will the golden autumn grain harvest go smoothly? If I, as a strong laborer, do not return, will next year's spring plowing encounter obstacles?
Everyone lives in Hamburg with mixed emotions.
They are actively producing, especially setting up a salt boiling workshop at the mouth of the sea, and choosing a good land as a temporary dock and ship berth to meet the Atlantic cod and herring caught by trawling for immediate processing on the shore.
Because of their alliance, both the Russian and Danish armies kept a distance from the Saxons.
After the victory against the Frank cavalry, the Saxon armed forces upgraded their armaments. Duke Liudov received real support from most of the local nobles. The latter were also worried about the Franks' retaliation afterwards. A large number of villagers brought their families with them, and the nobles
Under the leadership of the master, we moved to the vicinity of Hamburg not to be affected by the cold in late autumn.
In this way, Liudov pulled out more militia fighters and selected some who were strong enough to become elite sergeants.
Hamburg became a symbol of resistance and freedom, and the Saxon population in this area quickly exceeded 50,000.
The newly arrived Saxons all came from the area on the south bank of the Elbe River. They crossed the river in small boats and moved to Hamburg. The nobles declared their allegiance. Liudolf immediately ordered them to open up wasteland to build new villages, and also ordered them to transform the newly reclaimed land into fertile farmland.
, I will live here from now on.
The so-called exchange means that after these nobles and their families who adapt to the current situation pay this year's "tribute to the Normans", they will be tax-free for many years in the future.
Tax exemption is certainly a good thing, but what they urgently need is safety. Now that the rebel flag has been raised throughout Saxony, any village that is left alone will have a high probability of encountering terrorist reprisals from the Franks. The only way to stay together is to stay together.
What's more, the Russian army is still stationed here. The Hamburg area is very close to the Great Wall on the Danish border, and the Saxon-Danish Alliance for mutual protection obviously means that this place is already very safe.
Liudov is very satisfied with the current situation and he can conclude that more people will move to the Hamburg area in the future.
When a country has a huge territory but a small population, the monarch must give priority to controlling the people in the territory and avoid spreading settlements widely. Instead, he should set up some key cities and settle a large number of people in designated places.
Even if Liudolf is in charge of tax collection, conscription, and handling religious affairs in the future, he still needs to try to attract as many people as possible to the Hamburg area.
He has already done this, and naturally he has special worries.
"I don't have any more capital. If Ludwig launches a large-scale crusade against me, once defeated, the entire Saxony will be destroyed. I must win."
Without saying anything, he also hoped that Rurik would quickly bring back the army that had looted from the southern expedition. The young king was good at fighting. Without him to command the allied troops, Liudov was really afraid of Ludwig.
Even because of the recruitment of strong men, the nominal army of the Principality of Saxony has expanded to 10,000 people.
Because a large number of iron tools were seized, the blacksmith softened the iron in various shapes and smashed it into a broad-leaf spearhead. When paired with an oak shaft, it became a spear. There were Saxon spearmen everywhere, and this was not only the only spearhead that could quickly arm an army.
This method has also proved on the battlefield that the massed spearmen can indeed contain the impact of the Frankish heavy cavalry.
These armies still did not give him confidence.
He was looking forward to more reinforcements and the coming of winter.
Will the Franks still launch strong attacks in winter?
At least there is no news proving that there is a Frankish army rushing towards him with overwhelming force. Like a miracle, Liudov has a special ally.
A large ship came from the west, its main mast flying a strange-patterned crow flag.
This is an Aurora-class sailing cruiser, which is actually a major modification of the Caravel-type sailing ship. It has seaworthiness beyond the times, but it has been in the water for many years and has lacked maintenance in the hands of its owners over the years.
There are a lot of strange marks on the oak hull, which prove that this ship has actually traveled to many places.
There were two people standing on the towering bow of the ship. They both had weird braided beards and bald heads that were completely inappropriate for their age.
Another large ship that was almost identical followed her, except that the official Ross flag was flying on the mast.
Flying the raven flag is the naval flagship Balmok from the Viking Kingdom of York, and standing on the bow are King Biyoni and his brother Floki.
However, they said that there were two father and son who were suffering from seasickness sitting in the captain's lounge of this ship.
The father and son were very well-dressed, with loose felt jackets tied firmly with leather belts, and boots made of blackened cowhide.
The father has slightly curly hair and wears a gold crown. His left side is empty, proving that his left arm has disappeared.
The son is thinner and taller than his father. He looks weak and dull.
They are King Aenred of Northumbria and Prince Ella.
The little boy he once was has grown up, but unfortunately Northumbria's glorious era has come to an end.
Ella is the only heir to the throne. If his father dies, he will naturally go very smoothly. Then will he continue to submit to the Rus and the Norwegians in the Kingdom of York and cooperate with him? Of course he hopes to restore the great achievements that have been lost.
However, all he can inherit in the future is a very small kingdom. Perhaps the only thing that can be changed is to end the annual tribute of 300,000 pounds of wheat to the Russians.
It has been eight years since the kingdom suffered a great defeat in 832 and humiliated peace with Rus.
The large loss of population caused the shrinking Northumbria to languish in strength, and the annual tribute curbed the development of the kingdom. Mercia in the south was also in chaos. The nobles fought for the throne and killed each other, which directly caused Wessex further south to become stupid.
sports.
Surrendering to Ross is a helpless thing. As the king, what Eynred needs to do now is to try his best to maintain the power of his family and to keep Northumbria as a country in the increasingly treacherous current situation.
.
He himself has a good personal relationship with the Russian explorer, royal pirate, and de facto leader of the diplomatic corps Spuyut. This time when he asked for tribute, he produced an invitation letter written by the King of Rus, which undoubtedly moved his heart.
Thoughts on going to Europe.
Then they took the big ship from the Kingdom of York next door and crossed the sea to the east. It didn't take long to cross the North Sea and rush directly to the mouth of the Elbe River in an almost straight direction.
This move was unimaginable to both Eynred and Ella! In the past, when British nobles wanted to go to Europe, they usually arrived in Frankfurt through the narrow Pas de Calais. The strait was so narrow that you could see the other side at a glance. Maybe a strong man could
Swim directly there. This route is very short and a small boat can successfully cross the sea.
This was Eynred's first time riding on a Viking ship. Not long after he boarded the ship, he became exhausted due to the rough sea surface. Now that it was finally anchored, he couldn't wait to get ashore.
So when the king and his son stepped out of the cabin, they looked around and saw an astonishing scene.
"Dad, there are Viking ships everywhere here! They seem to be fishing? They are all warriors." Ella was cautious and timid, so she could only whisper in a low voice.
"Yes... I can see it. I haven't seen it for many years, but the Russians are already so cruel. Isn't this the territory of the Saxons? I was obviously invited by the Duke of Saxony."
Compared to these two, brothers Biyoni and Floki are simply excited. They have a lot to talk about with Rurik, and they can't wait to see their biological sister Nolen.
The two of them knew exactly what this time point meant.
My sister Nolen is about to become a mother or has already become a mother, and the two of them are going to be uncles, which is really a happy event.
Of course, an old friend was already waiting for them at the mouth of the river.
Arik stayed here, not that he received any information to contact Biyoni and his party. He supervised the work of boiling salt here, especially the hired Saxon labor force, to prevent them from being lazy.
The big ship anchored at the mouth of the river and released the small boat, and people completed the landing one after another.
It had been eight years since they had seen each other. As Biyoni's memory of fighting side by side in the past was still fresh, he still caught a glimpse of Arik in his prime.
"It's you! Arik! I know you!" Biyongni laughed and pointed his middle finger at his old comrade. He didn't care about the majesty of the king, and walked towards him with open arms.
This move once surprised Arik, but seeing the flag flying on the mast and the overly conspicuous blue-and-blue patterned bald head of the guy coming towards him, some ancient memories were awakened.
"You? You can't really be the Biyongni brothers, right?"
"It's me! Why should you be careful when you speak?!"
Two men of similar age first punched each other in the chest and then hugged each other.
The two were not only comrades in the past, but also relatives now. After slapping the old man on the back hard again, Biyony immediately asked: "Where is my brother Rurik? How is my sister Nolen? I heard that she
Now that I am going to be a mother, is the child safe?" He rambled in a rare way, and the questions kept coming one after another, so Arik had to answer them as best he could.
In this way, Biyoni felt a little regretful: "Rurik went to attack the Flanders along the coastline. Why didn't you call me for such a good thing? Forget it, I'd better see my sister first."
Biyonni indeed had a thousand things to say to Rurik, especially about some of his governance actions in Britain as the King of York, including completely controlling the Shetland Islands and even overcoming the Norwegians in the Bergen area.
The relationship has become deeper and deeper, as well as the conflicts with Thorgis, the Viking leader who lives in Ireland, and then non-aggression.
Floki also wanted to talk to Rurik about another matter, an extremely crucial matter, and even that was a secret between himself and Rurik.
It is said that the island in the far north that was "predicted" by Rurik has been discovered by him!
Arik patted the old man on the back again: "Our army's camps are all in Saxon Hamburg, and the local nobles have written to you. You should know that all the northerners declared war on Frank this year and were once enslaved.
The Saxons are also in trouble. There are opportunities everywhere here, so please get to Hamburg as soon as possible."
"Very good! All I need is some challenges." Suddenly, Biyongni lowered his head and asked with a wicked smile: "Those Franks should be very rich, right?"
"Of course." Aric said without thinking.
"Very good, I will rest on the shore for a while. Also, I will introduce two more people to you."
Aric knew that the letter also invited the king of Northumbria, but he did not expect that both the king and the prince came.
A defeated king was dressed gorgeously and even brought some guards. The guards were all dressed in orange and held a red-orange flag, which showed that their appearance was very regular.
How could a mere little king who surrendered after defeat have such a pomp?
Aric didn't give Eynred and his son any good looks. After all, they were guests, and he didn't bother to talk to them after shouting a few words.
It just so happened that Eynred didn't want to yell too much with the Ross nobles except Rurik, even if the man in front of him was Rurik's eldest brother.
Although Eynred had no idea that Ross had expanded into a giant in Northern Europe over the years. The so-called Northern Europe except for the Bergen area was either Ross's territory or sphere of influence. Seeing that there were a large number of Ross troops entrenched at the mouth of the river, he subconsciously kept calm.
I was impressed by the size of the Russian army and the astonishing number of young faces among them.
He suddenly remembered the threat from Rurik many years ago. It was said that women in Rus were giving birth in large numbers, and that all the people in Rus were soldiers and their children would become soldiers when they grew up. Now, those young children in the past have grown up, and Rus really has a lot of potential.
There is a constant supply of troops, but what we see now may still be only a small part of its army.
From now on, they will take a long oar boat to go straight to Hamburg. Eynred and his son are watching everything around them vigilantly. They know that the Duke of Saxony is actually the Count of Westphalia, and he even has the Saxon hero Widukind.
His bloodline is also a betrayal of Frank. It can be said that this is a vicious betrayal, but from another perspective, it is a feat of fighting for freedom from slavery.
Why doesn't his Northumbria want to get rid of the Russians' demand for tribute? To be fair, Eynred admires Liudov's life-threatening rebellion. As for whether to recognize his dukedom as invited by the letter, it still needs to be discussed.
one time.
Some ancient memories cannot be forgotten, even if they have passed three hundred years ago.
But is three hundred years really ancient?
The area of Hamburg was the territory of the Angles three hundred years ago. Later, the whole family just crossed the sea. The Angles and Saxons were neighbors when they were in continental Europe. Later, they crossed the sea and established a relationship in Britain and continued to be neighbors. Although they are neighbors, each other's love
Wars come and go.
A large number of Saxons have not left at all. Now they are launching a war of restoration. Eynred supports it from the bottom of his heart. He wants to observe more out of political caution, but it is necessary to talk about history after meeting Liudov.
The deeper you went into the river, the more you saw a large number of settlements. Almost all of those houses appeared on the north bank of the Elbe River. Eynred realized that something was wrong.
Finally, a city with vast wooden walls and an iron pontoon bridge appeared!
On the outskirts of the city are a series of wooden sheds, with a large number of wooden poles on the ground, and the Ross flag with white background and blue stripes flying everywhere.
There are Russians and Saxons everywhere here. Hamburg has become a mixed existence?
Eynred set foot in Saxon territory for the first time in his life. His cloak was red and orange, his guards were dressed in orange-yellow uniforms, and their flag was also a combination of red and orange blocks. Together with his golden crown, it became a very eye-catching presence.
Liudov stood on the high ground and recognized at a glance that this must be a foreign nobleman, so he personally led the guards out of the city to greet him.
Just then, Liudolf, Duke of Saxony, brought the King and Prince of Northumbria, as well as Biyonni, the Viking King of York.
The bald King of York believed in Odin, which was not a problem. After all, the Franks raised a butcher knife against the Saxons who also believed in God. Faith was indeed not a reason to launch a war of conquest.
At the first moment of the meeting, Liudov expressed his hope that the Viking Kingdom of York would recognize the Principality of Saxony. Such an abrupt request made Biyoni feel that someone was teaching him how to do things.
Biyoni did not answer, and even did not want to deal with the Duke's finances. He asked bluntly in Norse: "We can wait until my brother Rurik comes back to talk about anything. I will do whatever he wants. All I want now is
Find my sister Noren!"
Isn't Biyongni's answer clear?
Liudov was not angry, and with a secretly happy attitude, he arranged to personally lead Biyongni and others to visit Rurik's wife Nolen in the city.
His attitude towards the Northumbrian king and the prince was extremely friendly, and there was no language barrier between them.
Liudov was still respectful to Eynred, who had lost his arm. After a while, an old man wearing a black robe came over holding a wooden staff inlaid with a cross.
Eskil, the Saint of the North, showed his identity directly, which really shocked Eynred.
Eynred hurriedly knelt down and asked Ella to do as he asked. He kissed the back of Eskil's old hand and said "pada".
"Please arise, my child. You are a king from Britain, and you have never lost your glorious faith in any hardship. God is with you."
After all, there are not many bishoprics in Frank. Eskil manages the entire Northern Region, or the northern part of the Bishopric of Cologne belongs to the Northern Diocese. Eskil's status surpasses all the bishops in Britain, and he even has the promotion to the church.
Zong's chance, of course, this chance has become extremely slim.
The fact that Eskil can stand here is tantamount to supporting the restoration of Saxony.
Liu Doufu originally wanted to think about it carefully, but he already understood the attitude of the bishop, and his hesitation was meaningless.
The King of York and his Vikings didn't bother to come to the tower to talk, so Liudolf had a good chat with Eynred.
The two parties talked a lot, even late into the night.
This free talk has achieved sufficient results - both parties recognize the legitimacy of each other's rule.
The Kingdom of Northumbria recognizes the Principality of Saxony! It opposes the Frankish Kingdom’s invasion of the Principality of Saxony!
Even the results of the negotiation were engraved on a wooden board in advance, and the northern sage Eskil served as a witness, giving him legal validity.
Indeed, Eynred's first reaction when he saw Eskil, an old man, was to kneel down, because this old guy's identity has huge appeal and power.
But he said that this Eskil could completely transform the city where his cathedral is located into a military fortress like the Archbishop of Cologne. He could recruit and support a group of mercenaries, and he could directly control the people like a great noble.
, the so-called military, financial, and religious beliefs were firmly in hand, and he became the ruler of Saxony, just like the Archbishop of Cologne did in the past.
Esquier has a big plan, which can be said to be paranoid. He plans to spend his life spreading his faith to the end of the world. Worldly fame and wealth are a blasphemy to his faith. He just wants to be an ascetic.
It is undeniable that he has positioned Hamburg as the cathedral, which will be the future center of faith in the north.
Although he is unwilling to participate in the war between nobles, war is inevitable now.
It seems that this is a wrestling match between the northern world and the Frankish world, with both sides pulling their allies over to show off.
How come the priests of the third-party forces are outsiders sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers and tigers?
Eskil is not a mediator now. He has his own position, and the older he gets, the more stubborn he becomes. He believes that the nobles should comply with the strategic demands of the Russians. From then on, the northern world and the Frankish world have the buffer of the Principality of Saxony and do not border each other.
That is peace in the world. And when the world is in peace, it will be a situation that is conducive to the actions of the priests.