Rise of Rurik

Latest URL: There is only one mountain pass in the long and narrow North Vosges Mountains, but it is not steep and cramped. The forests on both sides were extremely dense, and even though the Roman Avenue in the middle was once again rained, it was still hard.

The first is that all the soldiers are overtime. They have been marching all these days, and it is very bad that the weather is also quietly turning cold.

The wet environment after the rain made it difficult to start a fire. The soldiers could only eat the dry food they brought with them. Many of the farmers who were forcibly recruited could only chew dried wheat and fruit like horses.

Ludwig has been forcing his army to persevere, but the bodies of the soldiers will not always remain strong because of the sovereign will.

What they drink is rainwater that is not clean enough, and what they eat is wheat that cannot be cooked.

The epidemic was happening quietly, and some soldiers began to have diarrhea, and even passed out the swallowed wheat directly.

The marching queue, which was originally crowded with people, was greatly elongated for one reason or another. On both sides of the queue, there were often people with diarrhea who paused and squatted down, and staggered to catch up with the queue after finishing their work.

Until some forcibly recruited armed militiamen could no longer keep up with the marching team because they were too weak.

Ludwig had no sympathy for these people, but called them cowardly deserters.

The best way to deal with deserters and cowards is to kill them, that is, to hang them!

But he opted for a harsher punishment than hanging.

Ten "deserters" who had suffered from severe diarrhea and lost their minds were pulled out. They looked haggard, obviously knelt down to be tortured with their hands behind their backs, without fear or resistance.

The prisoners of war beheaded them all like cutting melons, and Ludwig also used the very spicy tricks of the Danes here.

The ferocious heads were inserted into wooden poles, and ten heads stood beside the road.

"You have all seen it! This is what happens to deserters and cowards! Soldiers, we are only one step away from the final victory. Although we have encountered difficulties, everything will be fine when we cross the mountain pass. If there are any cowards, so deal with them. "

Obviously he was also wet, but Ludwig didn't care about it. He rode a tall horse and specially wore a golden crown. He gave orders to his Bavarian warriors, but he was deterred by the execution of forcibly conscripted peasant soldiers from the Brisgau region.

Such deterrence can at most ensure that the Bavarian army remains calm, as for the others... Ludwig is deterrent.

Someone was killed, no matter how difficult it was, the forced militia had no choice but to grit their teeth and move.

Now, the Saxon Army and the Thuringian Army passed by the execution scene on the side of the road one after another.

Liudoff had already heard about Ludwig's work in the former team, and now he finally saw his masterpiece.

"You...do you really regard the people of Bristol as your Slavic slave soldiers? They are not Sorbs, not Croats. You are not as good as the Normans!"

Feelings are all emotions, my army’s logistics is in good condition, learning from the ready-to-eat dry rations stored by the Ross army is now in great use, Liudolf does not have to be responsible for the Bavarian army, if that guy keeps yelling at him, the Saxony army can respond negatively.

The reason why the army suddenly became embarrassed when they crossed the North Vosges Mountains is that there is a lot of water vapor here. The long and narrow Rhine Valley is very suitable for farming, and it also feeds millions of people. Occupying this place will not only give Ludwig a large rich land to obtain a steady stream of tax revenue, but also the most critical recruitment of soldiers.

Besides, this place was occupied by Lothair by illegal means, he can, why can't he?

In September, the autumn rainy season quietly begins in central Europe.

Farmers throughout the Alsace region had just finished harvesting their wheat, and they seized the time to ram a large husk reserve with flails. They must be fast, otherwise the delay in receiving this year's goods will not only waste the food, but will also inevitably lead to life difficulties and even famine for Almighty next year.

Moreover, Lothair, who is based in Strasbourg, must wait for the farmers to finish husking the wheat, and then send personnel and even soldiers to collect eleven taxes in each village-new wheat.

Only this year's new wheat is enough rations to support his army's expedition to Mainz.

Obviously, Ludwig didn't have this concern at all. He exhausted the area he passed by, even if he condoned the army's looting, he had no loss. He doesn't even care about his own moral rating, which is low enough after all.

Ludwig is such a great nobleman. He has the ambition of Charlemagne. He was sealed by his father on the eastern frontier and led the northern frontier. He continued to expand the territory of the empire and gave birth to more and more people who wanted to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds. Lower nobility.

He wants to reward a large number of lower-level nobles, but Bavaria's resources are limited. On the contrary, this civil war has become an opportunity to solve their own practical difficulties, which is why they took the initiative to invade the Alemanni region centered on Mainz and control Saxon Denmark (failure to negotiate peace). The Rhineland and Alsace in the center became necessary.

As long as the opportunity is sufficient, the Earl of Metz, which has been labeled as a noble desert, will also be taken.

Obviously, these war dividends were shared first by their own Bavarian nobles, and those other nobles who participated in this war were at most happy with the right to plunder.

However, if the simple killing has no intention of bringing serious resistance to one's reconquest.

Saverne, the westernmost baron in the Alsace region, Ludwig thought about it, as long as the baron knelt down and pledged his allegiance to openly oppose Lothair.

But Saverner was not alone in the civil war.

A military camp erected since the end of Roman times, it became the foundation of the city's construction. The baron's palace stood on top of the ruins, and a small and sturdy castle was built from the stones available everywhere.

The locals have a large number of Celtic ancestry, mixed with a large number of Alemanni and Frankish immigrants, and the locals have formed their own dialect, which is different from the real Frankish language.

The composition of Ludwig's Bavarian army is equally complex. Most of the soldiers have certain Slavic blood, and the Bavarian dialect they speak also has its own characteristics.

The two sides are not all pure Franks, but the purpose of the war is only the struggle for power by the top nobles, and all kinds of people are involved in the fight.

Inside the fortress of heavy gray stone, Edmund, Baron of Savilna, was preoccupied with his own army.

"How is the grain reserve now? Is the tax collection going well?" Standing in front of the stone bed, he asked the butler standing behind him.

"Reporting to my lord, everything should have gone smoothly, but the heavy rain in the final stage brought us a lot of trouble."

"I know it will rain. But the king is in a hurry, and even if there are difficulties, he must overcome them."

"Yes..." The housekeeper shook his head and dared not say any more.

"Is the army of all the knights ready?" the baron asked again.

"It's basically here, that's..."

"How?" The baron turned around, "I arranged for you to do something, what do you know? Is there something unspeakable?"

"Yes. On the surface, everyone fully supports your request, but this autumn's attack... everyone is reluctant."

"Is there such a thing? Against me? Or against the king. Tell the truth."

"Yes..." The butler had to weigh it up.

"Say it, you are innocent."

"It's King Lothair."

"Tch, I thought they were against me. It turned out to be the king..." The baron stood at the stone window again, looking at the dark green North Vosges Mountains, and sighed meaningfully. Because the baron is not central to Lothair.

After all, the Baron Saverner's family was originally a vassal of the Earl of Tours-Alsace, and now the fief of Alsace was directly taken away by Lothair, forcing Saverner to directly pledge allegiance to Lothair in an illegal way .

But in other words, Lothair inherited the title of "Emperor of Rome", and any of his claims can be called imperial edicts.

As for the nobles who didn't want to accept... Civil War broke out.

The baron with a tangled mentality has no right to choose to stay out of the matter, otherwise, he will be deprived of everything, and maybe his whole family will be exiled.

Autumn and winter are not suitable for war. After all, if the war goes wrong, won't I suffer from the cold winter again? Even if the new wheat is harvested and the food is sufficient now, don't start a war if you are not fully sure of a quick victory.

Of course the baron didn't know the crisis that Lothar was facing now, and the control area was being encroached by various forces.

The baron only learned about the movement of Metz's army from the messengers who crossed the mountain. He also learned that there were thieves who attacked Aachen.

He doesn't care about the authenticity of the incident in Aachen. Aachen is too far away. Although it is the legal capital, Baron Edmund has never been and does not want to go. Adhering to the principle of not leaving his hometown unless necessary, he at most cares about the mountains. The Earl of Metz, the greatest nobleman in the West, has any new ambitions.

The reason for this is that the south of the baronial land is called Basel, and it is still an unowned land.

Basel was like a big cake, and Lothair used it as a temptation to promise it to many nobles. As for who will get it in the end, it depends on the performance of the nobles in the war.

】

Basel is now managed by the Bishop of Strasbourg. It is for this reason that this mountain city under the civil war is almost becoming a paradise.

Knights from all over the world left the small towns where they lived and gathered in Saverna with their retinues. There are as many as twenty knights under the baron's command, and each knight controls a village. Such a wealthy place has a large population, and each knight can easily support twenty followers.

For Lothair, Baron Saverne is not just guarding the Roman road across the North Vosges, he has enough troops in his hands to muster 800 cavalry!

Of course, the cavalry is different from the cavalry. All the knights that the baron has mobilized this time, each knight is accompanied by a retinue on horseback.

The army is all cavalry, but the armor is uneven, and the cavalry level of the soldiers varies greatly. What's worse is that the cavalry wear all kinds of clothes, and each knight must show a small flag, draw some strange pictures or simple words on it, and use the flag to maintain a cavalry squad with the knight master as the core. Therefore, when they really fight, they can only look for their own knight masters, and individuals do not have the right to fight autonomously.

The essence of many cavalry troops is "mounted infantry". Only the baron's headquarters troops can use the Frankish onion-peeling tactics against the enemy under the leadership of the baron himself, and even the death-riding attack on the wall.

The baron did indeed mobilize 800 cavalry, and each cavalry brought as many as 2,000 auxiliary personnel (most of whom were not qualified for combat). In addition to managing the logistics, they also took care of the daily life of the nobles and followers.

Saverna City became extremely lively, but it was also immersed in the tense atmosphere of the upcoming war.

The blacksmiths in the city were busy all night, and the local farmers also came to work as temporary laborers to serve the nobles and earn a little money.

The small church in the city is visited frequently. After all, it is necessary to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. In any case, it is a sin to kill fellow believers. There is an endless stream of people who come to the church to confess. After some perfunctory greetings, the priest told: "God Your sins have been forgiven."

The baron was preoccupied with preparing for battle, and the duty of guarding the pass had been neglected.

Ludwig's army marched through the mountain pass, the army was tortured very painfully, and finally everything suddenly became clear!

They stood at a relatively high position, and the flat area in front of them was the huge and narrow Rhine Valley!

Look carefully! The more gloomy scenery in the east is the endless Württemberg Mountains. After passing the Rhine River and the mountains, you will return to your hometown in Bavaria.

Today is an era when there is no road across the Württemberg Mountains. When the Bavarian army thinks that they are fighting near their hometown, their homesickness is greatly relieved, and their emotions that have been worn down to the point of depression are revived.

The army raised the flag of the cross and the flag of the Three Lions of Charlemagne high. The wind quickly dried the soldiers' wet clothes, and the flags fluttered in the wind.

"Cheer up! Follow me straight to Saverna!" Ludwig held his toes high, and he put on his purple robe again. The majestic Duke of Bavaria was dressed like the emperor of Eastern Rome.

The 30,000 troops behind him entered the flat Alsace region through the mountain pass one after another, and the first thing to do was to quickly occupy the barony in front of them.

In essence, Ludwig does not want to fight rashly, and his army needs to rest immediately. He could have left and sent an envoy to order the baron to kneel down and surrender, but his arrogance did not allow him to do so.

He was not worried that the other party was deaf and blind. The army lined up and continued to advance along the Roman road.

Ordinary farmers are still picking up some trivial wheat grains in the farmland after harvesting wheat, or carrying scythes to pluck grass for livestock.

They just watched blankly, and Ludwig ordered to ignore them, and then ordered the cavalry to advance quickly.

The earth is trembling, the temperature cannot rise after the rain, and no one can ignore the existence of a silver light under the sun.

The baron himself saw the silver presence from the mountain pass in his castle.

Standing by the window, he clenched his fists: "What's the situation? The people from Metz are going to Kaiserslautern, so they still have to go to Strasbourg from me? Didn't they agree not to cross the border from me?"

The baron didn't think much about it at all. He had no affection for Earl Metz and no malice. He just heard that the guy was very interested in owning the new fiefdom. For example, Lothair made a clear promise to grant Basel to this person.

Those things have nothing to do with me, but it has something to do with Metz's army passing through my own territory.

He first settled down his family and kept calm, then hastily gathered his own soldiers, including all the priests.

He at least knew that Earl Metz devoted all he had to this station, so his army was extremely large. Consciousness does not prevent the army from crossing the border, as long as it is ensured that they are not guilty, this requires the baron to "send each other in person."

"Gather together, follow me to see the people of Metz!" He rode a horse to the camp in the headquarters, and then organized the cavalry army as quickly as possible.

The baron was gathering his team to find out, but Ludwig had already rushed with his cavalry.

Horseshoes trampled on the Roman road that had been trodden by countless people, and the figure of the mighty army became more and more obvious. Under the sun, the helmets of the cavalry reflected violently, and they rushed to the city of Saverna as quickly as lightning.

The speed of the Bavarian cavalry is too fast, and their strength is strong. Every soldier is directly loyal to Ludwig, which ensures the efficiency of the army's operations. To maintain this efficiency, the monarch often needs to lead his own huge personal army to launch a surprise attack. .

At this moment, Ludwig acted like a general. He really managed to raise his head and charge. All the cavalry closely followed the three lions battle flag at the head of the team. The man with the golden crown.

After all, after leaving the mountain pass, you will arrive at the city of Saverna soon, and more than a thousand cavalry suddenly appeared below the city.

The baron completely misjudged, he thought that the visitor was from Metz, not only was he so sure, but he also told everyone about his judgment. Earl Metz's fighters are not enemies, the nobles of Saverna just hope that these guys will not get involved in their territory.

The subordinates did not take hostile measures at all, and simply let the sudden large group of cavalry enter their camp outside the city.

It wasn't until this time that Ludwig discovered that the city had been transformed into a large military camp. The places he thought were residential buildings at first were almost all soldiers' dormitories. It is true that there are also a large number of public activities here, and it seems that they are all support personnel.

If the other party doesn't make the first move, it's not easy for him to make the first move.

Ludwig tightened his grip on the reins, UU reading www.uukanshu.com suddenly felt that the situation was very awkward.

"Where are your nobles? Tell your master to come to me!"

He yelled at the onlookers onlookers on horseback. Although he didn't reveal his exact identity, the purple robe and golden crown were already extremely eye-catching.

Especially that golden crown!

Only the king has the right to wear a golden crown. The nobles that the knights and their retinues usually see are the local barons. They have never met Lothair himself, even though the Roman emperor has been in Strasbourg for a few years. up.

Suddenly, the witty knight simply brought his followers and handymen to kneel down collectively to the man wearing the golden crown. One knight started, and the rest of the knights knelt down one after another.

The development of the matter completely exceeded Ludwig's imagination. He looked around and smiled incredulously.

"It's strange, you surrendered just by seeing my army? Things are easier to handle."