Rise of Rurik

It is not surprising that the king personally rewarded the meritorious soldiers and soldiers. Ludwig was shocked that Rurik, the king of Russ, spent a day and a night rewarding all the barbarian soldiers and soldiers.

"Are they all your cronies? Those who follow the army also deserve money? Do you really need to reward everyone?"

Ludwig didn't understand that if he was a party, he would naturally only give property to the elite troops who worked hard and did a great job. Finally, to the people who contributed, giving a few more meals was a great reward.

Even if he can realize that this indiscriminate reward will attract some lowly blood peasant soldiers to work hard for the monarch.

But the lowly are born lowly, and this lowly blood will never be changed. When a monarch bestows wealth on the humble, it will also appear that the monarch is not wise.

Because the scriptures have set everything in the world into three, six and nine, Charlemagne's grandson and the farmer's grandson have an insurmountable blood gap.

But the loud shouts of those people are no joke, they are indeed supporting their barbarian king.

"Bah. I admit that you are the victor, our cooperation is just an expedient measure..." Ludwig hid his inner resentment, he was putting on a good show, as if he had fully admitted to the defeat, and he was not satisfied with the accumulative 30,000 Franks. The casualties of soldiers and more fleeing Frankish civilians were past.

And Hudbold, Archbishop of Cologne, the fat-headed and big-eared old guy faced Rurik's "spending money" behavior with a purple face that had been constipated for ten days.

"It's all my money! You use my money as a reward! My Cologne has spent such a huge sum of money on peace!"

After all, the peace treaty has been signed. Ludwig and Hardbold, who are of noble blood and identities, actually have two contradictory choices.

Forming an alliance with the Normans headed by Ross was an expedient measure. After all, it was a blasphemy against the faith of God.

An alliance with the other side is a pragmatic choice, it brings peace, the Normans are also mercenaries that can be used, and breaking the alliance does more harm than good.

Whether the alliance is implemented or suddenly torn up, the Franks can have extremely flexible guidelines.

The two didn't get together to discuss anything secretly. They stood at the height of the castle in Hamburg, always watching the big show of the Rus people making money outside the city, and they chose to forbear the status quo.

"They will burn Horrick to death. You... think this person is a heretic, is he serious?" Ludwig asked lightly.

Hadbold still had a stoic face: "But he is indeed a heretic. Your Majesty, you also wanted to execute this traitor many years ago."

"He can be executed, but it's not the Rus' turn to execute him."

"Ah...they will set fires outside the city. This is a barbarian ceremony, and we will hold mass in the church." Sad and sigh, Hudbold shook his head helplessly: "This year, I will be in Cologne as before. There is a ceremony in the church. Now I'm afraid my fellow believers think I'm dead."

"Are you blaming me?"

"I don't dare." Hadbold answered confidently, and Ludwig couldn't ask any more.

The Archbishop of Cologne was complaining, and Ludwig shrugged: "Let this end quickly, I'm going back to Mainz, and I'm going to rebuild the army while there's still time. And you..."

"how?"

"Your Cologne jokes generally fail. You should organize an army, at least to protect yourself."

"We are servants of the gods, and in principle we cannot recruit soldiers." Hadbold looked confused, and he also felt that the king's questioning had something to do with it.

Sure enough, Ludwig said: "In this case, I am completely responsible for the military defense of Cologne. I will appoint generals to protect your bishop from being attacked by barbarians at any time."

"This...it's not appropriate."

"There's nothing wrong with it. You have to remember that they can ask for five thousand pounds of silver from your Cologne, and they will try to ask for more in the future. Will you give it? Do you have any strength to refuse? Unless, my army Stationed in Cologne. They will rein in it, or the big sin of breaking the covenant is theirs. Parda, you can't actually refuse."

Indeed, Hadbold could not refuse, and he responded with silence, in fact, acquiescence.

Especially the clergy, they have not yet freed their minds to wonder whether it is blasphemy to God to organize the army led by the clergy. This was not the age of the Crusades after all, the same new creed shared by all the priests - persuading barbarians to convert through the mouths of lobbying. Physical means are the worst of the worst.

As a result, just as Rurik was making money, Ludwig quietly acquired the military power of the Archdiocese of Cologne. In the future, the troops of the East Franks can be stationed in this archdiocese at will. In the past, this kind of thing would encounter opposition from Cologne, but now everything has changed.

And according to the treaty of alliance, Ludwig noticed a minor loophole in the treaty.

The county of Westphalia was abolished, and the territory was all assigned to the Archdiocese of Cologne, whose northern edge reached directly to the southern bank of the River Weser.

Therefore, the Eastern Kingdom built a military base on the banks of the Weser River, which was not a betrayal of the covenant.

Ludwig would be on the lookout for the Duchy of Saxony and the Norman world further north, still ostensibly allied.

…

Now, for all Christians in Hamburg, tonight is Christmas Eve.

The winter solstice defaults to Christmas, and it is unknown since when it became custom and legalized by the church.

The last revision of the Julian calendar, the Roman Empire still exists. After five hundred years, the imprecise calendar has made the dates do not match the astronomical winter solstice.

So some parish priests indulge in dogma and hold Christmas Mass on an already incorrect day in strict accordance with the old calendar.

The Archbishop of the North, Eskil, also believed in dogma, and now he prefers to obey astronomy.

Because the daylight hours of the winter solstice in Denmark are better than nothing, he was even detained in Ross and saw the full meaning of "day without day". Such an incredible astronomical phenomenon carries a strong sense of holiness. Since the birth day of Jesus, who suffered from generation to generation, is like bringing light, and the saints were born after the winter solstice, the days are getting longer and longer, and this matter is most appropriate in the north.

The Norman Hanukkah completely coincides with the Christmas of God. The Duchy of Saxony will celebrate on this day in the future. The northern parish holds the right to interpret. Saxony, the Netherlands and Flanders are all areas under the jurisdiction of the northern church in principle. , do not pay attention to the attitude of other dioceses, especially the recent Archdiocese of Cologne.

When things settled down, Esquil took the time to select some potential boys from among the Saxon children of Hamburg, regardless of his aging body. He continued his old business, selecting and training young priests on the spot, and reinventing his almost collapsed career.

In the past ten years, the northern world has been full of wars and turmoil. The cause of spreading the gospel has suffered a devastating blow. Of course, there have been unexpected results in the desperate situation. The nail of God has been pierced in the distant Ross. Eskil knew that in his twilight years he would not be able to see the entire North immersed in the Gospel, so in the final stage of his life, what had been reduced to a theoretical northern church, and now was a good opportunity to survive a desperate situation.

He had the dozen or so young priests left to train the newly recruited boys and teach them how to sing hymns in order to stand out at the Christmas Mass.

Boys were considered "masculine and holy" by the Holy See, and their voices were always soft and penetrating. What they were learning was the Gregorian chant, a brand-new Frankish religious chant appointed by Charlemagne to combine the Gallic chant with the Roman chant. Under the promotion of strong means, all the dioceses of the Franks adopted this chant. .

But the children's chorus rehearsal attracted some Saxon people to stop and watch.

Almost all of these children were war orphans, and there were even children of Frankish origin who had been released. Eskil takes in these poor children. Their future will lose the right to marry but they will have no worries about food and clothing. When all children grow up, they will be sent to at least one village to become the resident priest, and the most outstanding of them can even succeed in the north. archbishop.

Compared with Ludwig's clever use of means to seize the garrison of the Cologne diocese, Saxony has gone a step further. The Duke Ludov family has been completely bound to the northern diocese, and the two sides use each other and ensure each other's safety.

Liudov took this in-depth cooperation as a major insurance of his faith in his principality. He was on guard against the East Franks breaking the treaty and attacking again. If this was the case, then the military action of the other side was immoral. Unless the great nobles of the Eastern Kingdom have shamelessly attacked the Northern Church.

So he took his only son Bruno out and asked Esquil to become Bruno's godfather.

Now and in the future, Ludov confirms that he cannot add any new male to the family, and Bruno is the only heir to his title. Bruno is almost a young man, and legally he can get married. He did not participate in the war, just to keep the noble fire for Saxony.

Today's Christmas Mass, Bruno donned a black burqa and played the role of a junior priest, and will participate in the ceremony with a small gilded cross from Cologne Cathedral in his arms.

Because Rurik made a choice, most of the sacred artifacts of the Cologne Church that were confiscated were taken out again, but they were given to the poor and poor Northern Church.

Hardbold didn't dare to say an objection to eating Huanglian, and his only appeal was to take Cologne's "true cross" away after everything was settled.

As a result, the huge mass in the Hamburg church is no longer shabby. Many believers heard the solemn chant, saw the huge golden true cross, and also saw the dazzling variety of holy vessels held by the priests.

But the believers are almost all Saxons.

People soaked cloth and hemp rope with flammable turpentine fish oil, wrapped it around wooden sticks and lit it. They held a large number of torches and gathered outside the church. After all, the current Hamburg church is so small that it cannot accommodate too many people, so that the Mass needs to add a parade so that everyone can join the Mass.

Assumption, Halloween, Easter, these festivals all have pilgrimages, and there is nothing wrong with holding Christmas Eve.

Eskil and Hudderbold, the two archbishops have historically come together for a giant mass, they completed the interior work, and then carried the holy true cross outside the church, amid the stunned voices of thousands of people Placed on a sled.

The singing boy continued to chant, and the young priest continued to carry the magic weapon.

Today's Hamburg is already a big city. The walls built during the war redefine the scope of the inner city, and there are dense buildings outside the city wall trenches, which define the outer city.

The parade takes place within the walls, with torches crowded around the True Cross, and the procession will eventually circle three times around the road under the wooden walls of Hamburg.

And this is just the first form of Christmas Mass.

The Frankish forces could not defeat the Normans militarily. Today, Christmas or Hanukkah in Norman, the two sides of peace are fighting in festive ceremonies.

The biggest Christmas Masses are three on the same day, the so-called "Three Masses". Even the wealthy Archdiocese of Cologne will not do "three Masses" unless it is necessary, but this time is unusual.

What they are doing now is "Night Mass", until the dawn of Christmas Day, "Dawn Mass", and "Day Mass" until noon, so that all the ceremonies are completed.

The priests would be very tired, just fighting for their beliefs, and Esquill simply fought.

…

The priests made the ceremony very grand, and the chants and the shouts of the people were carried beyond the walls.

There seemed to be a fire in the city, and the scout told Rurik that the Saxons had all raised their torches, and they were roaming in great excitement.

"Are they showing me their strength?" He looked at the tower subconsciously, and said solemnly, "It seems that we are going to repay them with a more enthusiastic ceremony."

Regarding the Christmas Mass, both Blue Fox and Regraf also attended.

In addition, the Northumbrian king Ernred took the crown prince Ella, two father and son nobles from Britain dressed in orange, and the guards carried the Northumbrian flag, participating as Ludoff's guests.

Ludwig was able to have a good conversation with Ernred, who had severed his arm, and realized that the man's severed arm was actually done by Rurik himself.

"Do you hate him?" Ludwig asked.

"What's the use of talking about it now."

"That is not to hate."

"Times have changed, and hatred is useless. At least his eldest son has been converted, and I can get benefits and safety from working with Ross."

Ludwig was able to take advantage of the opportunity of Mass to examine Rurik's actual eldest son Regraf. To be honest, he didn't like this boy, because he looked too much like the Nordic ruthless man who gave him shame.

In the same way, Regraff didn't think Ludwig was any good, but he was a defeated general under his father. As for the Christmas Mass in front of him, he was equally bored.

"Boring, I want to see a river of blood."

Killing a large number of reindeer to perform blood sacrifices is what Regraf wants to see. He was eager for this boring Christmas parade to end, and he immediately felt outside the city to see the ceremony of his father's sacrifice.

Because the one who will be burned is Horrick Haraldsson, known as the "root of all evil".

Just outside the city, when the stars are in the right place, the Norman Hanukkah will begin.

The high priest is not in the army, but in the past few years of priestly activities, Countess Noren of Narvik has always participated in grand ceremonies as a priestess.

She has finished giving birth and her body is recovering well, and now she puts on a polar bear fur coat, especially a staghorn helmet modified from a tin helmet.

Noren, as this year's High Priest of Light, was recognized by Ross, Denmark and Viking York.

She is also a singer, so she sang the praises of Odin and the gods with the musicians she had trained. She sang with their unique Viking-style long singing, accompanied by the horns and bone flutes with a sense of remoteness. Not losing to the chant in the city at all.

All the Viking warriors gathered by the wooden platform, and all the Finns and Slavs also gathered here.

When the singing came to an end, Rurik stood on the assembled wooden platform and faced the silent onlookers, trying his best to deliver an inspiring speech in his loudest voice.

The king acknowledged that it was a great victory and that the soldiers had performed miracles.

The king thanked the soldiers for their sacrifices and cherished the memory of the sacrificed warriors.

In the end, the conversation fell on Horrick Haraldsson, the source of all evil.

He pointed to a lump of meat on the wooden stretcher where he was lying: "Look at all of you, this is the wicked Horrick Haraldsson who brought chaos to the northern world, and he will be burned to death! Our deeds will be destroyed by everyone. God sees! When we execute traitors, we are paying tribute to the gods! Come! Warriors, bring sacrifices to the tower!"

Again, the four red-backed warriors, ignoring the severe cold, put their shoulders on the stretcher platform and began to climb the tower. At last, poor Horrick had been placed at the top, beneath which was a deep patio and a chimney.

Everyone was waiting for the stars, and they raised their torches one after another, looking at Rurik with their eyes.

"The time is right now! Warriors! Fire!"

So, Rurik himself tried his best to throw his torches, and the soldiers that followed took action one after another. Hundreds of torches were thrown under the wooden tower, the dry wood gradually began to smolder, and the whole scene began to fill with choking smoke.

Rurik squinted and stood there, watching the flames ignite gradually.

When the flame reaches a critical temperature, the large amount of solidified fish oil that has been poured over finally begins to burn.

The flames burned more and more vigorously, and the sacrifices placed on the top of the tower at this moment began to twitch violently.

People can see the sacrifices struggling, but they cannot hear the sacrifices whine.

Horrick was being roasted by the smoke, his poor throat was damaged, and he could not utter a few curse words before he died. His ears were still normal, he was aware that he was going to be burned alive, and he was now feeling an increasingly deadly heat.

But his pain won't last long.

At the center of this fire tower is a chimney! The core temperature can reach 700℃ or even higher!

As the flames became more and more prosperous, finally in the spotlight, a terrifying tongue of fire erupted from the center of the tower!

At this moment, the people on the Christmas parade in Hamburg were completely embarrassed, because the flames were so outrageous that even the clouds in the sky were burned red.

"Look! It's a fire dragon! The fire dragon was born!"

The Saxons began to scramble for fear that the dragon from **** would lead to deadly killings.

Ludwig was also taken aback for a time, feeling that he would eventually be punished by God for his cooperation with the Normans. But wait! Not at all!

He hurriedly approached the city wall. At this moment, he saw the flames from the wooden tower, the tongues of flames at an absurd height, and the rumbling sound from the distance. It was the battle cry of the Normans, accompanied by drums, horns, and the mere beating of shields.

Rurik, like his subordinates, raised his sword high and shouted in vent. People kept chanting the names of gods like Odin, Frey, Thor, etc.

Horrick Haraldsson, who was sacrificed at this moment, has been scorched. His pain was finally over, and he was cremated in the flames, and the temperature of the flame was still rising. In a sense, the wooden tower becomes a blast furnace, and the strong chimney effect causes violent combustion, but due to the limitation of burning materials, its heat is not enough to melt the bronze water. It is enough to burn the sacrifices into ashes in a short period of time and then take them to the sky, and fall back to the earth in the form of powder...

The Viking army sang and danced around the fire tower, enjoying the warmth of the harsh winter, until the dawn of the new day, their carnival was still the same.

When the sun finally rose, the fire tower was still burning rapidly, but the dry Vikings lay down.

They gradually woke up, and under Rurik's lead, they started a performance art - the face of the sun, kneeling on one knee with open arms and praising the incarnation of Odin.

The nobles are like this, and the common soldiers have to follow the example.

If there were no folklore and folklore was invented, Biyonni vaguely remembers that when he and Rurik explored the end of the northern world, they survived the endless dark and polar night in the sea at the end of the world, and finally bowed to the sun and became brothers by blood. That was something that excited Biyongni, and it was even more exciting now.

In response to the Vikings, it was the Dawn Mass of Christmas Mass in the city of Hamburg.

The "festival fighting method" between the two sides is still going on.

Thus, ushered in the year 841 AD.

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