Rise of Rurik

The pier in Falklingas Town was immediately occupied by the black fox army, and the local small barges naturally became trophies.

The Ross soldiers with swords were killing and destroying everywhere. They broke into the houses and rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and naturally they also pulled out the people who were hiding.

There were not many people hiding, and when they saw the white-clothed men blatantly slaughtering them by rowing boats, they ran northward along the main road without caring too much. Those who hid were either pulled out by the hair, or simply fought to the death with the robbers.

The five Ross soldiers who were killed were dragged to the square in front of the monastery by their companions, and more than a dozen other fighters gritted their teeth and tied their injured arms with cloth strips.

At this moment, the black fox was busy counting the belongings that the soldiers moved out of the monastery in the square, and his good mood was immediately reversed by the casualties of his subordinates.

"What's going on?" He subconsciously pulled out his sword with a big belly, and hurriedly approached the five brothers who had completely lost their vital signs on the ground.

He was heartbroken, and found that his subordinates were all wearing chain mail, and they all died in the end? Apparently the fatal wound was in the neck.

Immediately, he became vigilant: "The method of killing is so sharp, you know how to stab the neck? There are enemy ambushes in this place?!"

"Not at all." The panting warrior sighed, "The hiding villagers killed them."

"Where's the murderer?"

"It has been executed." The soldier replied helplessly.

"Damn it! Damn it! Soldiers can also be plotted against by boring farmers? What a loser!"

The pouting black fox stomped his feet vigorously. He didn't expect the casualties of his own army to appear like this. Obviously, the previous actions had been smooth, and even the so-called casualties in conquering Saarburg were just a few soldiers who sprained their feet slightly when they climbed the wall.

Now, at least 20 captives are being escorted to the square. They are trembling, and any disturbance can cause them to faint.

The black fox looked at those people again, originally thinking of taking the male and female captives back, but now he was completely murderous.

He gave a simple message to the soldiers present, and the brothers from the north understood it, and then, amidst the screams of the captives, stabbed them all with a sharp sword. It's not even over yet!

Some of the seized agricultural tools, such as pitchforks, were cut off from the wooden poles, and after the sharp parts were cut out with an axe, they were slammed on the square with a hammer.

The black fox ruthlessly ordered: "Insert more wooden poles, cut off the heads of the dead, and stick them all on wooden poles!"

This crazy move was indeed a conspiracy with King Ludwig when it was implemented in Mainz. Of course, all the crimes of such an extremely cruel method were claimed by the barbaric Normans, and Ludwig himself would not admit it at any time Yes, even if he conspired secretly.

Wadi carried a sword and led a group of soldiers to sweep the entire town. Any rebels were killed. When he returned, he escorted more than 30 prisoners.

All the troops assembled in the central square, facing the huge St. Martin's Abbey, a clean and tidy place, and everyone was happy to use it as a dormitory for tonight.

But in front of the holy monastery, acts of terror are being carried out.

The accompanying militiamen in Nassau and Coblenz really didn't understand why these Norman soldiers who helped everyone fight did such evil things in front of the holy monastery? Everyone dared not go forward, and no one even dared to enter the town. They waited on the landing beach, and they did not dare to watch the operation of "standing up and inserting the head".

The hideous face of the dead silently spoke of pain and curse, the ground was blood red, and the air was filled with a special smell of rust. Another group of captured people who witnessed this tragedy all sat paralyzed on the ground, and what awaited them was the end of death.

Wadi was very surprised. He wanted to go to the river to wash off the blood on the sword. He approached the black fox first, and asked calmly, "I haven't arrived in Sarabrücken yet, so what?"

"A brother was killed." The black fox continued to supervise the homework without looking back.

"several?"

"Five."

"So, it's all revenge?"

"It's revenge. And... it's not a good omen. On the contrary, everyone is very angry about this matter. When we arrive in Sarabrücken tomorrow, we must kill them all!"

"Just do it." Patting Black Fox on the shoulder, Vardy had nothing to say. To be fair, he is even a little disappointed with the current black fox. The young man wants to use war to prove that he follows the customs of the northern world, but if things are done too crazy, it will attract people's plans, not to mention that this is clearly an outlet for the farmer.

Perhaps the third child from the Gould family was such a complicated and contradictory person. The whole looting operation was sometimes soft-hearted and sometimes violent.

After all, Vardy didn't care, five brothers died is not too much, but the army was aroused by anger, and this anger can just be used.

Many people dare not make irresponsible remarks on this behavior of "standing up and inserting the head", especially the leader Ohm Laite.

Vardy washed his sword and found the guy sitting by the river with his back to the monastery.

"I was looking for you, but you are here." Wadi sat down casually.

"My lord, what's the matter?"

"It's a big deal. You..." Vardy could see the trembling in the man's eyes. Obviously, this guy has a lot to say, and he can guess what he wants to discuss. Vardy didn't talk about anything, and asked directly: "You really know this place very well. Tell me, what is the name of Thrall's nobleman?"

"I do. It's Wolfgang of the Beckrich family."

"Okay. When the brothers came, they saw men on horseback galloping up the road, and we were forced to stay here. Obviously, the news of our attack has been known to that guy. If he is not in Saarburg, he must be. Sarah Brücken."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Does he have many troops?"

"That... I don't know. But he's a baron, and his financial resources... maybe not much. Maybe on par with yours."

"Five hundred people? Six hundred people?" Vardy pinched his beard subconsciously. Anyway, he is also a baron now, and he is the real combat commander of this army, and he is obliged to command the army to victory.

If the enemy and our own forces are evenly matched, and the riders have reported the news early, will there be a final decisive battle tomorrow?

Vardy intends to prepare for the battle, and Omlet has long called on the black fox to prepare for the battle.

Ohmlet didn't dare to say more, and it was Wadi who complained first: "I know you are afraid, and the militiamen we brought are just as afraid. This is how the northerners vent their anger after the war. Just don't watch it. Tomorrow we will lay down Sarah Brücken, this has to be done again. I'm going to gather the fighters, and you come with me and tell them what we're going to do tomorrow."

"Alright." Ohm Lat patted his clothes and stood up.

It can be said that even the natives of the Saar River know nothing about the history of the long past.

Just like Baron Saar's Beckrich family, this family is not local at all, or the so-called large number of locals are also Franks who moved here after a brutal war.

The Saar River Basin was the settlement of a group of Alemanni tribes, but they were all outsiders who took over the magpie's nest after driving out the local Celtic tribes.

But in 506, when the Frankish army of the Merovingian dynasty declared war on the entire Alemanni tribal alliance, each tribe was uprooted, and all those who refused to accept were slaughtered bloodily. In the old days, the Roman road rushed into the Saar River, and then went north into the entire Palatinate region, and even rushed into the area north of the Rhine River, and rushed to Frankfurt, killing the old Thuringian nobles with war and setting up a new puppet. An ancestor of the Thuringian Marquis Thakurf.

This is one bad debt after another. The methods of the Black Fox's Ross army today are not much more barbaric than the Frankish cavalry three hundred years ago.

It's just that the Franks are already civilized people, relying on the Catholic faith, and in principle require the people to live in good and orderly ways. Aristocrats may breed brutality because of their privileges. Ordinary soldiers fear the "judgment of the soul" after death. They can kill the enemy, and there is a strong psychological resistance to the crime of destroying the corpse.

It is impossible for these Ross troops who were not from the old Ross tribe to change their views in an instant.

Even, by mobilizing hatred, the wrath of those accompanying militiamen of Nassau and Coblenz was mobilized.

Who Burned Down the Residential Areas of Koblenz? It is the nobles and generals of the standing army who are loyal to King Lothar. The civilians didn't have time to figure out why, they only knew that Baron Saar was now loyal to Lothair and was making things easier for his army. Baron Saar is everyone's enemy, and Lothair himself is responsible for burning down everyone's houses. Since he cannot be responsible, the nobles who are loyal to him must be responsible.

There is a reasonable reason for such a large army to burn, kill and loot all the way along the Saar River. Of course, this reason is far-fetched. The militiamen were not like the ruthless Nordic people who crossed the sea and stationed in Nassau. They didn't think the priests of the monastery had anything to do with them, and the ordinary farmers were not enemies either.

Who is the hater? It was Baron Saar, who was said to be Wolfgang Beckrich von Saargau.

These militiamen are worried that they will be punished by God for committing the crime of looting, but they have no sense of guilt if they crusade against the nobles who do evil. In the final analysis, in terms of jurisprudence, everyone is a militia standing on the side of Ludwig, the king of the Eastern Kingdom and Duke of Bavaria.

The militiamen were full of enthusiasm for crusade against the guilty nobles, and the Rus warriors who had their brothers killed now had even more desire for revenge.

None of the captives caught here will remain.

The army slept in the town of Forklingas for one night, and the five brothers who were killed simply followed Ross's old rules, piled up wood and burned it on the spot.

If there is a large-scale battle tomorrow, many soldiers will inevitably die. The soldiers are never afraid of this. From their perspective, they have just finished a brutal battle more than a month ago, and their current actions are just a continuation of that battle.

The town of Falklingas is just at the intersection of two Roman roads, but there is no bridge built here because the river is too wide.

Just like in ancient times, barges are used to communicate with the two sides of the river. If the army crosses the river, it is a better choice to take the bridge upstream.

The water level of the Saar River here is not deep, and the upstream river channel must be shallower, and the width will quickly narrow, otherwise a bridge with stone piers will be difficult to build.

This is exactly the case. At the destination of Sarabrücken, the width of the river here is less than fifty meters, and the depth is not enough to submerge an adult man. It is not difficult to lay stones on the river bed and build stone piers purely by gravity. .

Those riding horses rushed to Sarahbrücken as quickly as possible, relying on the Roman Avenue and galloped for six Roman miles (about ten kilometers) to the baron's current residence.

"What did you say?" Facing the frightened cavalry after dismounting, Baron Saar asked again and again: "Do you want me to believe that the white army who came by boat landed in the monastery and killed everyone they saw? Are you kidding! Could it be that they drank too much wine? nonsense?"

"My lord! It's absolutely true!"

"Nonsense!"

But all the soldiers who returned to the team were half kneeling, and they swore with honor that they did not lie.

But from the standpoint of the baron, he couldn't believe this anyway, even if there was only a slight possibility that this matter was true, he was not willing to face such a fact at all.

"You guys get up first. Go drink some bread and have a rest, and report to me slowly when you calm down."

"But my lord! Everything is true. If we don't defend ourselves, we are afraid of tomorrow or the day after tomorrow..."

The retinue cavalry frowned and even burst into tears. Seeing how they were crying, the baron could feel that something had happened to Falklingas, but how should he take care of the situation there now?

He summoned some soldiers to pull away the returnees, and he didn't have time to manage the affairs of the lower reaches of the river for the time being, because there was a big matter in front of him right now.

Without him, in a few days the militia, which has been mobilized from the direction of Metz, will cross the bridge and head north. It was Earl Metz's soldier. Baron Saar learned that Metz had obtained some benefits from the king, and contributed a lot to it.

Since the battlefield of the civil war is in the north of his fief, if there is a slight mistake in the war, the first to suffer must be his fief.

Now a large number of troops have assembled in Kaiserslautern through the bridge of Saarbrücken, and soon Earl Metz himself will cross the border with his own cavalry, and in the autumn harvest time, King Lothar will lead troops to cross the border.

Of course, the bridge at Sarabrücken is not the only one in the local area. There is also a small bridge in the fiefdom of Baron Brisgow a little further upstream.

However, the bridges in their own fiefdoms are the largest and fastest, and cavalry, infantry, and convoys can quickly cross the bridge without worrying about falling into the water.

The task of the baron is to guard the bridge, and take care of the granary and some ordnance temporarily placed here. In order to successfully complete the task, he mobilized nobles from all over the fief here, and all the knights in the whole territory served in Sarabrücken. And their other identity is the reserve force.

The atmosphere of the Armageddon was already evident. The vast area of ​​the Palatinate was clouded with battle clouds, Ludwig was on the defensive in Mainz, and Lothar was on the offensive. The initiative of the attack was in the hands of Lothair, and the army planned to launch an "Autumn Harvest Offensive". In this way, Mainz was captured in one fell swoop, and the local golden autumn food was also obtained by the army of the Middle Kingdom. Lothair solved the problem of the army's supply at once. .

Only a few nobles knew about such a decision. Baron Wolfgang Beckrich of Saar held an important and special position, so he was an insider.

Even Lothair did draw a big cake for him, saying: "If you do well, you may become Earl Palatinate after the war, and Kaiserslautern will belong to you."

He couldn't even imagine being a fief of a large area, but it was really exciting to think about it carefully.

On the surface, his own barony has a large territory, but it is actually a chain of settlements composed of a few tributaries along the Saar River, and other places are deserted mountains and mountains.

The Palatinate is different. The war has destroyed it, the nobles have died, and a large number of unclaimed lands are waiting for new masters. Those are all good places suitable for farming, the space is open and the land is fertile, and if you seize them, you can become a great nobleman of the empire.

To the south of the Rhine River and to the north of the Saar River, a large area of ​​plains is indeed fertile land suitable for farming. When the war came to this point, Ludwig thought that he had already torn his face, and he took the whole area to the ground. It doesn't matter if you occupy the area as your own. In the future, you can use the Saar River and the Mosel River to delineate the boundaries of the new territory with your big brother.

Baron Thrall instinctively did not believe that the backyard was on fire. Of course, he couldn't believe what he had never seen or heard before. What is "a large number of white soldiers jumping off ships and killing people when they see them?" Could it be that the fantasy stories in the scriptures have come true?

However, his subordinates only went to Forklingas after getting the mission~www.readwn.com~ After all, there is also a north-south Roman road in the area. On the other side of Lingas town, facing the situation where there is no bridge, they yelled and cursed.

The task of the retinue cavalry is to tell the friendly army that the correct road is still upstream when there is a misunderstanding, and to serve as a guide by the way.

Count Metz's men would not be foolish enough to attack Thrall, unless they turned traitor. This is absolutely impossible! As for the "White Army", those soldiers who drank water and ate bread were summoned by the baron again. The attitude of these people did not change at all, so the baron, who had a fluke mentality, had to react positively.

However, it is just a general "positive response".

The baron issued an order that all knights, retinues, and militiamen are not allowed to drink tonight, and everyone should be vigilant to prevent possible bandits and robbers.

The order he issued was indeed "beware of bandits", which is not strictly speaking wrong.

However, he was completely unaware of the strength of the gangsters who were about to kill them, and the brutal missions that those people were carrying.