Rise of Rurik

Compared with the Roman-era cathedral in Trier, the cathedral in Mainz is ill-fated.

Five hundred years ago, after the looting and fire, the building collapsed on a large scale, and only the stone base and some broken walls remained.

The ancient barbarians had become civilized people, and when they were baptized as Christians, they rebuilt a new church on the ruins, the so-called Saint-Martin Cathedral.

Still in the Merovingian era, Saint Martin financed the rebuilding of the new church in Mainz. In addition to the rock base, it is built with a lot of wood, which lacks the solidity of Roman rock buildings, and the construction cost is lower.

Compared with Worms in the upper reaches, Mainz may be more suitable as the seat of the bishop. But guarding such a cathedral that was clearly built in a hurry, the regional archbishop is not willing to move the seat here.

But the archbishop himself had already been stationed here, or rather he himself was now forced to be at the mercy of Ludwig.

Because, if he is unwilling, the position of archbishop will be deprived immediately.

What does the sudden arrival of Norman longships in Mainz have to do with Ortega?

Until Father Conrad of Nassau Abbey came unexpectedly with a cautious mood, the visit was a surprise.

Aldega summoned this relatively low-level monk with extremely high standards. What is a high standard is that in his private office, the cramped room is illuminated by dim oil lamps, and all the idlers are sent to talk face to face.

After a short polite greeting, Odegar had to ask some soul questions.

"The Normans are here again. What are they here... for? Who are they?"

Conrad answered simply: "It's still a Ross stationed in Nassau."

"The leader is still that Joseph (referring to the blue fox)."

"It's his brother, Paul."

"Paul? So this Paul, is he a good man? As far as I know, these Ross people have all been corrupted by the devil, even you! You! Did not educate them, you are also guilty."

Odegar's face was solemn and his words were very severe. If his identity had not determined that he could not commit the crime of "rage", he would have pointed at Conrad's nose and cursed so rudely.

[To be honest, I have been using @

All because of the extremely special status of the Archbishop of Mainz (Worms).

The "Imperial Faction" is a loose alliance of nobles in Frankland. They support Lothair as the sole king, oppose the three-part empire treaty formulated by the previous king, and advocate the use of war to wipe out other princes and other forces.

If Lothair wanted to kill his two brothers and his nephew Pepin, the imperial faction's agitation would bear a lot of responsibility.

Take the Earl of Metz for example, of course he wants to incite his own monarch to use violence and cruelty. Only in this way can Metz have the opportunity to obtain greater privileges after the civil war, thereby restoring the power of the former Principality.

Some local archbishops were forced to choose sides, and this Odgar took Lothair's position, but the entire diocese was simply occupied by Duke Ludwig of Bavaria.

In order not to be exiled, he betrayed his position and surrendered to Ludwig, thus retaining the archbishop position.

His life experience was rather complicated. When he was young, he traveled around the empire and served in many monasteries and churches. He had a very good relationship with the late king Louis the Pious, and by the way he also had a good relationship with Prince Lothair.

Even, Odgar was the baptist of the defeated Danish king Horik who was sacrificed to Odin by Rurik as a "burning pig" on Hanukkah (Christmas) at the end of 840.

Therefore, when he surrendered to Ludwig, he met the five Danish mercenaries who were still alive at that time and their leader, the expelled King Harald Clarke.

Horick, who knew that Baudouin, Earl of Flanders, was suffering from the theft of the Port of Durist, also learned that this person first went to Denmark to be king under Ludwig's order, and also learned that this person rebelled and surrendered for the second time, In the end, he was also known to have been killed.

When Horik was deliberately turned into a roast pig by the new Ross Kingdom, the Ross native Joseph Blue Fox was the one involved.

A group of Ross troops from that war has now turned into the Nassau garrison, and now...these people killed Lothair's 800 standing army again? !

Although they are all in the city of Mainz, Archbishop Odegar did not meet the "Fox Brothers" who visited this city last year. He only knew that after Ludwig, the King of the East and Duke of Bavaria, lost the Danish mercenary group, he clearly Get new Norman mercenaries, and they are stronger.

Taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, in this private place with no one around, he decided to ask Conrad a fatal question. ....

No, he checked the surroundings again and made sure that all the priests would rest in the dormitory, and then he returned to the Chamber of Secrets and asked: "Is it really them? Is it really Ludwig who asked them to attack Trier?"

With such a question, Conrad also knew its fatality.

"Are you afraid? Don't be afraid, say it. You just answer, yes or no."

Conrad didn't seem to continue to be unconscionable, he said with a downcast face, "Yes. Everything is a conspiracy, even the king is the conspirator."

As if a sword had been stabbed in his chest, Odegar, who was clutching his heart, forcibly held back the pain and slowed down, his lips trembling in cold sweat.

"I... What else can I say? The war between the nobles has given up all face and soul. Do...do I continue to blame the Normans? Some nobles are also confused by demons."

Odegar is very interested in things outside, especially curious about the home of the Normans. How about the Danes? His cognition was still limited to twenty years ago, but he didn't know that the northern world had been turned upside down in twenty years.

The news that Conrad can explain is limited and distorted, but he describes the military power of the Normans very aptly. The so-called almost instantaneous, the always powerful Ross army arrived in Koblenz, the Frankish army who committed the crime of malicious arson was killed and beheaded by the powerful Ross army, and then the Ross army disappeared overnight.

Such a description made Odegar's cold sweat never stop, so that the talk ended passively with the old guy about to collapse.

So this time the Russians stationed in Nassau arrived in Mainz with a lot of heads at the juncture of the imminent battle.

After all, Odegar is not a pious person who can only worship God. To put it bluntly, the so-called **** determines the head. His current archbishop will naturally wear a bishop inlaid with gold and silver.

Gao Hat is a good servant of God. If he is really deprived of his position, he will continue to be loyal to Lothair, and if he appears again, he will show himself as a military noble.

It is not impossible to command the army to kill people on the battlefield, and now you can't show your hypocrisy to others. It is exactly the current situation.

How can these ideas be decided by himself? But wishful thinking.

Like a puppet on a string, the dignified archbishop must follow Ludwig's requirements in addition to normal religious affairs. Even, he has been grounded, and he is not allowed to leave the cathedral for half a step without permission.

On the one hand, there is a secret meeting in the cathedral, and on the other hand, there is a secret meeting in the palace.

The archbishop has a deeper understanding of the Norman Ross people, and of course it is only from ignorance to a little knowledge.

Ludwig and the Ross people have a new conspiracy, but they are actually reaching a win-win deal on a high platform.

In fact, for Ludwig, once the conspiracy succeeds, he earns the most.

To complete the conspiracy, the prerequisites must be fulfilled. The next morning, the noble Duke of Bavaria broke into the St. Martin's Cathedral in the city with a high profile.

He didn't even take off the exquisite Rose dagger hanging from his waist. First, I really feel that this sword is too exquisite, and second, it is also a kind of spiritual victory. You must know that the sword that belonged to Rurik, the king of Ross, hangs on your body, and you cannot win the Elbe River War, so you need to bring the Norman sword that you claim to be "captured" to show off in order to regain face. ....

It can be said that he had the same attitude towards the black fox and the Ross garrison in Nassau.

As for Archbishop Odegar, Ludwig did not have any psychological burden, and he was a complete winner for this person.

Facing the intruding Ludwig, Odgar only dared to remind in a low voice: "Honorable Duke of Bavaria, this is a holy place, please take off your weapon and put on your robe..."

"Forget it." Ludwig interrupted the archbishop arrogantly.

Odegar took three steps back, hooked his head and dared not say anything.

"Why are you afraid of me? You! You don't even want to be called the king of the East. Forget it." Ludwig continued to be domineering, and approached the archbishop directly to look down on this noble servant of God.

"King... what do you mean by this? Could it be that you are repenting?"

"Repentance? Oh, I will repent. When the army that killed my elder brother, I will repent after the battle. But the cathedral is about to hold a grand ceremony. This king came here for no other reason, so I canonized two nobles in the auditorium .and you, must be a witness."

"Okay! Okay... may I ask the king, who is the new nobleman?"

"Good question. Of course, those Ross people who personally sent ships and troops here."

Now Ortega sweats mentally as soon as he hears "Ross". Hearing what Ludwig said, he immediately thought of last year's conspiracy. But I can't reveal a word, and I can't let anyone know what I know. Especially now, he estimated that Ludwig had reached some kind of **** conspiracy with the Ross people again, and only the devil knew what the conspiracy was.

However, there is nothing wrong with the archbishop witnessing the sacred ceremony of conferring nobles.

He took the task, but was surprised by Ludwig's eagerness.

"The ceremony is going to take place tonight?"

"It's not too late, it's tonight! Even if it's a little crude."

From Ludwig's standpoint, he wished that the fast-sailing Ross would set off immediately, destroying the key stone bridge in Sarabrücken and burning the granary in a short period of time, thus cutting off the retreat of his brother's army. Greatly improve their dire situation.

So he had prepared his guide overnight, so-called Ross Army stationed in Nassau during the operation to point out the direction.

Now Houthakulf of Thuringia himself crossed the Rhine with ease that morning in a Norman longboat. This is a rather fantastic feeling in his life. He can look at the city of Mainz with its thick stone walls from the perspective of a Norman.

He even chatted disrespectfully with his soldiers in Thuringian dialect and with a lot of slang: "If we were Normans, we would land directly on such a ship, plunder and leave. Haha,

But we are not Normans. "

After all, many armored soldiers roared with laughter, making the boatmen confused.

The Thuringians do not speak Frankish, but the local Germanic dialect, but the two languages ​​have great commonalities, and they can communicate with each other without barriers. If the Thuringian side is uttering some slang, then the conversation is hopeless.

Because the Principality of Thuringia was annexed by Frank by means of war, and was forced to surrender after paying a certain loss of personnel. The old aristocrats were killed, and the newly enshrined aristocrats were rewarded with "border earls", so-called marquises. ....

Thuringia has its own ideas since ancient times. They must guard against the invasion of the Franks and the Saxons, and the biggest threat is the wave of immigration of Slavic tribes in the east.

The Slavic tribes such as the Sorbs were conquered by the Frankish army. These people took their families as slaves. They sent a large number of troops in the war two years ago but were wiped out. The catastrophic loss was beyond words, and Ludwig demanded every tribute.

Thuringia, who was authorized to levy taxes, naturally wanted to take advantage of it. The Frankish civil war was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even though he had a certain amount of Frankish blood, Thakurf now completely stood in Thuringia's position. He deliberately stood still and deliberately plundered the slave clan, all in order to stabilize the existing strength and wait for opportunities to expand.

However, the very real problem is that Thuringia has limited strength since ancient times.

Thakurf organized a thousand recruits, most of them infantry. Are you sending troops? Out. Why only a thousand people? Answer, Thuringia is weak. Why is there only a small number of cavalry? Isn't this a violation of Charlemagne's regulations? Answer, Thuringia is weak.

Send troops, but not to cut flesh for aid. He is well-versed in international affairs, and the Duke of Saxony made peace and alliance with the more powerful Normans. A great threat suddenly appeared north of Thuringia.

The failure of the Great War in 840 meant that Ludwig's control over the entire north could not be said to be under control, but only in name.

He had to think about it: what could he do to me if I didn't appear extremely enthusiastic?

With the help of Norman ships, the Thuringian army almost completely crossed the river in just one morning, leaving only a small amount of luggage.

Just as Ludwig complained to the black fox yesterday, the Thuringian army deliberately did not bring a large amount of supplies. When people arrived, a thousand people were neither too many nor too few, and a thousand mouths were screaming and waiting for the king to deliver food.

He even realized why Ludwig valued those Normans in Nassau? "Isn't it just to show me that you have new mercenaries? Since you value them as much as that Harald Clark. Let your new favorite do the dirty work. Anyway, if someone dies, the loss is by no means I."

So the Marquis of Thuringia clearly landed with a kind of unscrupulous attitude. He entered the city to meet with the king, and when he heard Ludwig's grotesque troubles, he put on a smiling face and pretended to listen carefully, but he slandered, "You are a fool".

However, Marquis Thuringian was aware of Ludwig's love for the Nassau Ross people, and he was still taken aback by his plan to publicly confer the title of great nobleman.

A small Nassau, a small village chief in the Lane Valley, and a mere baron can become the ruler of the entire Lyingau? Why did Koblenz belong to them? Is the news reliable? Doesn't Ludwig want to occupy the strategic fortress area of ​​Koblenz himself?

That's right, Ludwig wanted to use the power of the Ross people to use his strength.

The so-called whoever occupies Koblenz is equivalent to dancing naked in front of Lothar and the imperial nobles. That is a real strategic threat, and secondly, it is also extremely insulting. Since the Ross people are fierce, let this group of northerners and those nobles fight desperately for a long time, and death is not their own loss anyway. ....

So Ludwig thought that he was wise enough to give these Normans greater benefits, so that they would be reluctant to part with what they got now, and would fight Lothair desperately to keep their wealth and status.

By the way, it was also the Marquis of Thuringia to show off what kingship is.

What else can I do? Thakurf is willing to go to the cathedral to see the grand occasion of the canonization ceremony, and by the way, see what the "Norman chieftain" who is loved by the king is.

Until he saw that "a fat pig full of manes" was going to be canonized

Baron of Wiesbaden.

It is fair to say that Heihu is a big fat man, and he cannot lose weight passively unless he goes through the complicated and difficult experience of his second brother, Lanhu.

According to the rules of the Franks, he specially wore special robes, the so-called robes combined with the national costumes of the Franks and mixed with the toga robes of the Roman Empire. Finally, he tied his waist with a belt as much as possible. Unfortunately, the more the waist is worn, the more ridiculous the whole person looks.

Both he and his wife Sophia wore these characteristic robes, and Sophia dressed up more beautifully. Both of them purposely hung a sterling silver cross on their chests. This is an extraordinary accessory, the most prominent is that it is very large, declaring the dignity of the owner.

On the other hand, Ludwig, wearing a battle robe and a golden crown, tried his best to show his dignity.

The same Ross steel sword still hangs on his waist, and when it comes to the real canonization, he uses his real sword - the broad-bladed Frankish iron sword inlaid with rubies and lapis lazuli.

Archbishop Odegar led all the priests, as well as the visiting priest Conrad as a witness.

As for the nobles, only two great nobles were present to observe the ceremony, namely Houthakulf of Thuringia and Count Popo of Upper Main (Bamberg).

Completely different from his elder brother, there were not many feudal nobles in the eastern and northern regions of the empire under Ludwig's rule. Firstly, these regions were conquered by military forces in the last hundred years, and secondly, because the army that expanded the territory had been conquered for a long time. A military aristocrat is in control, and this great aristocrat does not need vassals from all over the country to send troops to support him.

The current Ludwig is such a great nobleman. His control of the north can be said to have failed. Fortunately, those nobles who once rebelled are still loyal to him in legal terms. As for the control of Bavaria and Austria, he behaved more like an oriental king.

More and more Bavarian troops transited through the Earl of Main, taking advantage of the shipping and riverside passages on the Main River and finally gathered in Mainz. Ludwig used his heavy cavalry at the bottom of the box, recruited a large number of recruits, formed a large number of flag teams, and directly commanded them by himself.

Popo, Earl of Upper Main, was a man who made great achievements. His merit was not in killing the enemy, but in dredging the communication lines so that the Bavarian army could reach Mainz smoothly. So that in the future battlefield, Ludwig does not want the earl to lose something.

The Marquis of Thuringia is different. This guy is afraid that he needs to be whipped, so that his army is willing to fight desperately. He can only fight with the wind. He doesn't have the ability to fight **** battles, but he must have the ability to plunder, and it must be great. After all, Ludwig knows what he did when he conquered the Slavic tribes.

No, the big fat black fox and the petite Sophia both knelt down, and Ludwig held a battle sword to touch his shoulders and head to congratulate, and deliberately shouted a narration declaration.

"Canonization! Sophia Heinrich Nassau~www.readwn.com~ is the Earl of Nassau-Koblenz-Leingau!"

"Conferred! Paul Black Fox Gouldson, Baron of Wiesbaden!"

Ludwig also made a major declaration: "The Robert family defected and abolished all its titles. Wiesbaden returned to Lyingau, and Dalyingau remained unchanged! Sophia is the first countess of Lyingau, the eldest son of Sophia and Paul He will be the next Earl of Lyingol."

Such a declaration is enough to cause an uproar in the aristocratic circle. A woman became an earl and a Norman became a baron.

Although the expelled Danish king was loyal to Ludwig, he did not get a title until the end. This "Norman pig" named Paul became the Baron of Wiesbaden? And his son is the earl who governs the three places.

The Earl of Upper Main was in a calm mood, while the Marquis of Thuringia widened his eyes in disbelief.

But the fact is that, Ludwig repeated the declaration three times, obviously he will not make any changes. .

reborn carambola