Rise of Rurik

The latest website: The village of Schützerhausen, abandoned due to the war, finally became the battlefield of a great war. Its unique characteristics of a small plain among the mountains, which should have been covered with yellow wheat ears this autumn, have now become thousands of soldiers and war horses. tombs.

Ludwig has an absolute superiority in military strength. Facing the huge infantry oncoming, the Metz Army that continues to stand firm faces the fate of death benevolently.

More than 5,000 soldiers from the Earl of Metz, led by a group of lower-level nobles, barely resisted the first round of offensive by Ludwig's Bavarian army.

However, after the victory of the battle with the cavalry, the attacking side is as powerful as a rainbow. When the battlefield becomes crowded with infantry, whichever side has more numbers, better physical strength, and stronger morale can win the battle with any advantage. .

The Bavarian army had all three advantages, and under constant pressure and destruction from the flanks by friendly forces, the Metz army finally collapsed.

For the worst attack is being carried out by Ludoff, Duke of Saxony himself.

Like a powerful right uppercut, the Saxon army deliberately stood on the right side of the battlefield. At first, it was to prevent the enemy cavalry from launching a charge, so that their own side resisted with a spear wall.

Precisely because Liudov participated in too many battles in his life, he realized a cold knowledge that many nobles probably did not understand in their entire lives.

The so-called cavalry or infantry, when the army advances in war, it always moves unconsciously to the right. There is no particular reason, even if it is running, it is very comfortable to turn to the right, but there is an indescribable discomfort when moving to the left.

And the marching army tends to amplify this, and it eventually turns into a group behavior.

So the Saxon army on the right side of the formation, their attack was extremely comfortable, especially since each soldier knew that he was going to give the enemy a hard right uppercut.

A wall of spears approached from the left from Metz's point of view, and its presence forced the Bavarian soldiers to vacate in a hurry.

The spear wall was poked and rammed. At first, the soldiers stood in an average of five rows, and the positions gradually became denser, and the width of the spear wall gradually became too large.

Under the endless attack of spearheads, a large number of Metz fighters have no chance to fight in close quarters. In the final analysis, a large number of soldiers are basically armed peasants. Most of them can only make do with a piece of hard leather as armor. Facing the Russian-made steel spears stabbed by the Saxons, they have no power to fight back and are stabbed with thousands of wounds. Hundred holes.

More Metz nobles died in the final battle, and their death meant the collapse of one knight after another.

There is no doubt that this civil war in which the nobles, big and small, on Metz's side gambled everything and had to intervene intensively. They, who assembled the most troops from many big nobles, were **** in Kaiserslaw overnight. Teng, turned into endless corpses.

The Earl of Metz has existed in name only! At least the Metz nobles ruled by the Adalbert family, the authentic lineage of nobles inherited from the Merovingian dynasty, have collapsed so far.

Even if his eldest son died and he himself died in battle, Adalbert still had a little thought that his youngest son, Oberbach, was still firmly guarding the city of Metz.

But what he didn't know at all was that a Russian army named Nassau was actually a Russian expeditionary force, and with the aftermath of looting Aachen. The refugees rowed their long boats and plunged into the Moselle River.

Any looting operation has the support of Ludwig, and even tacitly allows everyone to cause killing and destruction as much as possible. Everything is to weaken the strength of the "Roman Emperor" and also to attract the attention of the nobles, so as to reduce the possible dangers on the road to march. the pressure encountered.

It can be said that Frank has never fought such a complicated battle since the founding of the country.

Throughout 842, Flanders, the Meuse River Valley, the capital Aachen, the Moselle River to the Saar River, and the Palatinate under the jurisdiction of the Inland in a broad sense were all at war. These battlefields are not subordinate to each other on the surface, but Lothar is not a fool. He can see that such intensive wars must have a high-intensity connection with each other.

The war is no longer a battlefield. The two armies gather tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, and then break out a big battle that can end in one to two days, thus ending all wars and there will be no major wars for many years. It is war, presented as nothing more than gang fights on a larger scale. Now the wars on multiple fronts have forced Lothar and his imperial nobles to exhaust themselves, and the concept of war has also been redefined.

The Battle of Schützerhausen was only a small part of the Frankish Civil War in 842, and the battle of the blue fox and black fox attacking Metz was also only a small part.

In fact, after Ludwig regained Kaiserslautern, he could turn westward along the Roman Avenue. Today, he almost killed the Metz army and almost wiped out the entire army. The next step is that the army will be able to take all the surrounding areas of Metz city. Take it down.

But he was unwilling to do so, because getting Metz seemed to be a bargain, but he also lost the strategic window to defeat his big brother.

Strasbourg! It was the city that he missed. She is not only a city, but also represents the entire narrow Rhine Valley!

The core of the wealthy parish of Worms is there along with all of Alsace.

To the east of it is the broad Rhine River, and on the other side of the river is the huge Wurttemberg Mountains, which are largely uninhabited.

If my elder brother Lothar had a whim, even if he used a large number of small boats to cross the Inn River, after an army suddenly arrived at the outskirts of the Württemberg Mountains, the army could bypass the endless mountains and launch an active attack from the north to the east .

Because there is only a very wide gap between the Württemberg Mountains and the Baden Mountains, which is not far from Strasbourg. Since the civil war, Lothair has not implemented this kind of surprise attack plan. Ludwig doesn't quite believe that his elder brother doesn't have such an idea, maybe he forgot, maybe he is ready to do it.

After all, Strasbourg really has a large army, and the eldest brother's family is there. Does he really only want to take down Mainz?

"If it were me, I would definitely launch a surprise attack across the river and directly attack Regensburg." That's what Ludwig thought, so he wanted to return to Strasbourg, the most important city in the kingdom.

Where the Roman emperor was, the local city was what mattered most.

There was a shortcut, a thoroughfare, to hit Strasbourg. It's just that the Roman road is quite special. The ancient Romans built this road by digging in the mountain depression.

The Metz-Strasbourg Avenue, its most special feature is that the road simply and rudely crosses the weakest part of the North Vosges Mountains, connecting the Roman Empire to the Paris Plain and the Rhine Valley in a shortcut.

Besides, the Diocese of Strasbourg in the Rhine Valley basically coincides with the Earl of Alsace, and that land boundary is not the fiefdom of Lothair. Obviously he snatched it from the Earl of Tours and his father-in-law Hugo III, and now he takes it as his own.

This is not the first time Lothair has done after inheriting the title of Roman Emperor. Koblenz was originally the only fief of "Charlie the Bald", and it was also taken by Lothair. Such continuous encroachment on other nobles, even his own father-in-law and younger brother's fiefs, eventually turned into today's war.

The black mud mixed with the green grass was soaked with the blood of the warriors, and the Lauter River was bright red.

Any ordinary peasant who witnessed this tragic scene could almost faint from fright. Even if they won the battle, most of the conscripted militiamen survived because of the favorable wind. .

Only veterans are numb to all this and have a normal level.

The army pursued the fleeing enemy, and the cavalry mercilessly hacked at the backs of the fugitives. Thousands of Metz soldiers were killed needlessly and lay dead on the grassland.

They pursued all the way to the pass, and the narrow but level Roman road in the valley was crowded with fugitives.

"Fight to the end! Follow me!" Ludwig raised his arms and shouted, his cavalry didn't care about the violent panting of the horse, let alone the dried blood on his face.

As the Duke of Bavaria, he did not intend to rule over the Earl of Metz, because it was not just a vast aristocratic territory, but an important part of the "Imperial Faction" noble alliance.

Ludwig completely ignored the setting sun, and he personally led the team to hunt down until the sun set.

Until the soldiers tore their throats and reminded: "My lord! We can't fight at night, let's go back quickly."

He finally came to his senses, looking at the enemy whose figure was getting more and more blurred into the lake and sinking into the darkness, he finally reined in.

"Okay! Let's go. See if Adalbert's body is found."

There were a large number of soldiers stranded on the battlefield, and the victorious army immediately began to clean the battlefield after a short rest.

This part of the Metz army had already marched with a batch of supplies, and all the horses were unloaded from the carriages transporting the supplies, and countless sacks and wooden barrels were placed on the carts.

The Saxons and Thuringians firmly controlled it, and the spearheads of the soldiers were once aimed at the friendly forces trying to grab it.

Liudov and Thakurv suddenly formed an alliance, and the two had their own reasons.

What about the outraged Bavarian infantry? They had no choice but to gather outside the village of Xu Zehausen for the time being and wait for the return of the Lord Duke who was chasing the enemy.

But they found the body of Adalbert himself. There were many short spears stuck in the body of the deceased, and there were deep ax marks on the neck.

The earl did not rest in peace, and his body was dragged like a dead dog.

Many knights intend to share this victory, but it is unknown who directly killed such a great enemy.

The sword engraved with Adalbert's parents was inserted next to the corpse, and no one dared to touch the exquisite gold-patterned gemstone belt. It was these objects that proved the identity of the corpse.

Returning Ludwig wandered back with the victorious cavalry. The warriors were exhausted and needed a good rest, but their spirits were extremely high.

He intended to visit the occupied town, but was told by his subordinates that the Saxons had been forced to occupy it.

"Greedy guy..." Ludwig clenched his fists, he was too embarrassed to say anything. Even if he passed by now, he could already guess what Liudov would say.

The greatest good news was that the body of Adalbert himself had been found, and the good news instantly dispelled the displeasure.

"Okay! Let's see what happened to that arrogant guy. Who killed him? I want to give him a reward!"

The bonfire shone on Adalbert's **** corpse, and many knights stood beside him majestically, kneeling and saluting when their sovereign came first.

"Who killed him?"

The knights looked at each other.

"Okay! That means everyone deserves credit! All knights will reward you with a hundred pounds of silver!"

The excited Ludwig just casually said, as for whether, when, and how he will implement it, no one cares.

His idea is very simple, after victory, he must be rewarded. It is impossible for him to take out the ready-made gold and silver from his hometown and distribute them immediately.

He still thought of Strasbourg, a rich city that must pay huge compensation for the final defeat and the winner.

Describing the wealth of a city as "there is a mountain of gold", this is the case in Strasbourg. As long as you search for gold, silver utensils and coins in the city, you can pile up a huge gold mountain that is more than one person high.

He didn't feel that he had degenerated into a bandit addicted to looting. Looting was a necessary evil to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, and he had to fulfill his promise to the big vassals.

Just as he acquiesced to the Saxon and Thuringian possession of a large amount of the enemy's baggage, the benefits of doing so were immediately apparent the next day.

The three great nobles gathered in the village of Schützerhausen, and the haughty Ludwig walked into a house that had been cleaned.

He walked around in a armored stomach, grabbed a wooden stool and sat down, and glanced at the two smiling nobles.

He cut straight to the point: "Are you satisfied? The Metz people's supplies are all yours! The king will not pursue it."

"Oh! Thank you so much." Liudov said without hesitation, "But this does not count as your past promise."

"Yes." Thakurf immediately added: "I still want food and silver coins, and I will continue to fight for you."

Looking at Thakurf again, Ludwig's mind is full of his clown-like performance on the battlefield.

"Yes, my promise will be fulfilled! But..." He paused for breath: "All the wealth is in Strasbourg. I won't dawdle here anymore. At most, I will give you the daylight today to bury your own corpses. As for the enemy The corpses rot here, even if Kaiserslautern will be polluted with endless stench in the future."

The two nobles were startled.

"You mean, we don't even take a break to go on to the next fight?" Lyudov's eyes widened.

"That's right!" Ludwig stroked his sword lightly, "Adalbert is dead, and the Nassau army must have attacked the city of Metz. Our army has already destroyed the Earl of Metz's family, and Metz is no longer a threat. Maybe this king can support a new one in the future."

He said that on purpose, and hinted with his eyes.

Everything was kept silent, and the two nobles looked at each other tacitly.

Liudov coughed lightly: "What are you going to do with Adalbert's body?"

"Bury it in situ, at least this man deserves it."

"I thought you would behead him and give the head to Lothair as a great gift."

"No need." Ludwig waved his hand, "The sword and belt are already in my hands, then..."

"So... our army will march tomorrow?" Liudov asked sharply, not wanting to talk nonsense.

"Yes! Our army must be quick. The loss of our army's strength is not serious, but it may still be insufficient. If the group of Ross people in Nassau can help me immediately, the chances of winning Strasbourg this year will be much better." He is still optimistic, but these words hint that there are hidden worries about the loss of the so-called Bavarian army.

But he also thought of a possibility: "We are going to pass through Bristol. The local baron has been killed by us, and a large number of knights have also died. I will forcibly recruit a large number of militiamen from the local area, and I will take away all the adult men passing through the villages and towns."

"But..." Liudov demanded, "do you really expect the peasants over there to fight for you?"

"Yes. Any peasant family who fights for me will be exempted from all debts. After the war, I will take them to my king's Bavaria."

"It's simply plundering people."

"No! It just declares the king's kindness. And it's fair."

In fact, Liudov is not qualified to question this matter. It is precisely he, the dignified Duke of Saxony, is also using dirty means to obtain population - from Danish pirates, in the name of benevolence, to buy prisoners of war captured from the British Saxon Kingdom.

As a result, Adalbert himself, together with the body of his son, was buried by the Lauter River.

The whole army assembled again, and all the wounded soldiers were placed in the city of Kaiserslautern. Ludwig left a batch of supplies, and these wounded soldiers were asked to recuperate silently while guarding the city.

The marching army was reduced to only 25,000 people, all of them were uninjured, and the soldiers still maintained their combat effectiveness. Because everyone got more or less spoils of war, they rushed into the Bristol Baronie with the power of two victories.

The cavalry opened the way to arrest people everywhere, and Ludwig used coercive means to order the soldiers to capture all the men they saw! Even young bearded young men and old men with gray beards.

How attractive is the so-called promised cancellation of all debts? Ordinary farmers have just finished harvesting wheat, and a large amount of oats still need to be rammed with a flail to hull them.

All the strong labor force was taken away, along with the key farm tools. If a large number of farmers die in battle, what the local area will lose is not only the labor force, but also the means of production for next spring plowing. As long as Ludwig wins, he doesn't care about the life and death of the people in the crossing.

The whole army crossed the Saar River from Schwabrücken (Twinbridge), and all male residents of this key town were incorporated into the army.

A wailing army of peasant soldiers of up to 5,000 suddenly appeared, and they were driven to the north of the Vosges, towards the Metz-Strasbourg road that crossed the mountains. UU reading www.uukanshu. com

The army with luggage finally experienced a rain, and they continued to advance in the valley according to Ludwig's order in the gloomy rain.

"Don't dawdle! Through the mountain pass, the whole of Alsace is ahead! It is the rich Strasbourg, and all fighters can get riches!"

In fact, Ludwig was also shivering from the early autumn rain, and he knew that the only way to keep warm was by walking quickly.

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The army, which had swelled back to 30,000 people, was being continuously weakened by the rain, but Lothair and his army stationed had no idea that a large army was advancing in the rain on the winding road in the North Vosges Mountains.

Ludwig gave the most pragmatic statement to the whole army. It is impossible for the army to go straight to the final goal without stopping after overcoming the mountain. The army is in urgent need of correction, and the number of troops needs to be further expanded.

"Take Saverne after overcoming the mountain! We will camp there and wait for our army to rest and fight the enemy. This year the whole army will spend the winter in Strasbourg!"