Rise of Rurik

The latest website: The baron who left the city and came with his followers on horseback, saw that the "Metz Army" entered his barracks in arrogance.

And those knights who are loyal to themselves are actually kneeling to someone.

"Get up! Don't kneel! Earl Metz is not worthy of your kneeling!"

But no one got up.

The baron was very surprised, until he saw the purple robed man wearing the golden crown, he couldn't help but trembled all over.

"Then... the noble I am not worthy of your kneeling and allegiance?" The man in the golden crown and purple robe held his chin high, his beard fluttering in the wind.

Of course the baron could see that this person was a noble person, after all, the majestic appearance of the large number of cavalry behind him was really not to be offended.

Could this be Count Metz himself? An earl is qualified to wear a golden crown?

"Who are you?" the baron asked maliciously, squinting his eyes.

"Presumptuous!" The man in the golden crown and purple robe continued to be arrogant, while his subordinates were already flexing their muscles and bones and eager to try. "I am the noble Duke of Bavaria, king of the north and east of the empire, master of all Slavs..." Ludwig announced a series of titles in a high-profile manner.

"My God! It's you?!"

Baron Edmund of Saverner never dreamed that the enemy's Eastern King's army suddenly appeared in Alsace as if they had emerged from a crack in the ground.

Ludwig suddenly drew his sword: "Kneel down! Baron Saverner! Serve me and save you from war."

After speaking, he didn't give the baron a chance to refute, but only signaled his own soldiers with his eyes, so more than a thousand horsemen drew their swords one after another, and the sound of metal clashing was extremely horrifying.

The kneeling knights were surprised and terrified when they learned of the front line. They didn't have any hatred or affection for the Duke of Bavaria, but their lord stood in the camp of Roman Emperor Lothair after all.

[In view of the general environment,

Ludwig had every reason to attack the whole of Saverna, abolish all the nobles, and loot all the villages to serve as soldiers.

Check it out!

At present, only the Duke of Bavaria is present with an extraordinary cavalry, and Saverner's defense has been abolished just like that. What's more, there is a terrifying army visible to the naked eye behind it.

"Could it be that my fief can become a battleground?" The embarrassing baron didn't have time to think about it.

The baron took decisive measures. Now he could hardly doubt the "Duke of Bavaria" whom the other party called himself. He got off his horse and immediately half-knelt down, and drew out his sword and stuck it directly on the ground.

"Baron Saviner, Joseph Edmund von Savinia is dedicated to the Duke of Bavaria...!" He bit the last word very hard, even gnashing his teeth.

"Well done." Ludwig was finally willing to bend down, "I can see that you are not particularly willing to submit to me. However, you will keep all the fiefs now, and so will all the knights. I don't need you My army provides unbearable supplies, so..."

The baron, who was still half kneeling, was covered in sweat. It was wonderful to listen carefully to the promise of this great nobleman. In other words, this person must have other demands.

"I order you to join this war immediately, and all your troops will be under my command. When our army invades Strasbourg, I will capture alive my elder brother Lothair, who is shrinking under the rock like a crab, you!" Ludwig pointed his big hand directly at the baron's face: "You will be rewarded. Now, flatten your body."

Edmund was at a loss, and it took him a moment to figure out what was going on. Fortunately, his mind turned fast enough to realize that he had changed the hall in an instant, and all the measures for the war would be rewritten in an instant.

"Maybe, the matter is not very high! As long as the civil war of their great nobles doesn't ruin everything for me." The baron had this extravagant hope, and betrayed Lothair to make it a reality. He never had the right to choose independently, but he accepted it immediately. new reality.

The baron and the twenty knights could only hope that the Bavarian army from afar would eventually win.

Based on this idea, in Ludwig's view, he suddenly got what he thought was a loyal minister, and even an elite new army.

, and the entire Saverna peasants, there will be at least two thousand armed militiamen joining the army.

Obviously, what Ludwig wants is to expand a greater advantage in a short time to increase the odds of winning. So he had no intention of going straight to Strasbourg with an exhausted army.

The Zorn River (Zorn), originating from the slopes of the eastern foothills of the North Vosges, runs quietly through this area. It is a small river with an average width of only 20 meters. Several channels were dug to irrigate farmland throughout the region.

In this era, Zorn did not widen, let alone dig a canal leading to Strasbourg.

Even if it is a small river, it is still a barrier that can hinder the advance of the army, but it is far inferior to the Rhine River and other large rivers. If the army forcibly fords through the water, it needs to find the correct shoal ferry or spend some time building pontoon bridges.

Ludwig didn't worry about crossing the river at all. After he occupied Saverna, he could directly use the local wooden bridge, even if it was not a bridge.

Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, as well as the forcibly recruited Bristol militia, deliberately stationed in the river area northwest of the city.

Based on what happened just now, he can see that the local nobles are not loyal to his eldest brother. For the time being, what he wants is not that these nobles will be loyal to him after changing their positions, at least they can no longer fall into the arms of the enemy. In order to avoid complications, the army deliberately camped outside the city.

In the eyes of the baron, this move was really the benevolent policy of the great Duke of Bavaria. After all, as long as they were willing to attack, the small city of Savilna would collapse in an instant.

The bad march finally came to an end. Once the soldiers who endured the pain stopped, the tight strings suddenly relaxed, and some negative incidents began.

People with diarrhea needed recuperation, but these people gathered on the Zorn River to defecate on a large scale, and the waste was mixed into the river, and the soldiers needed river water to cook porridge and eat hot meals.

The Saxons and Thuringians will wait with interest until the porridge is boiled until it becomes pulpy, as will the largest Bavarian army.

The poor Briscoe militiaman was so hungry that he began to eat the wheat before it was cooked, and finally his stomach was as hard as a stone, but he began to have diarrhea.

On the second day after the establishment of the camp, more than 20 people died of severe collapse caused by diarrhea.

Ludwig didn't have time to care about this. It didn't matter if a few soldiers died of the epidemic, as long as most soldiers could fight.

In his opinion, there are as many militiamen as there are, and marching will also reduce the number of people. There is nothing wrong with losing some, even if the loss is large, they can be recruited from Savarna immediately.

After all, there must be a large number of serfs who have fallen due to debts here, and they continue to have a chance to turn around.

As long as the serfs are given to serve as soldiers, they can be exempted from all debts and even get a share of the spoils, and then threaten their masters to confiscate their property if they don't let them go. May I ask, which lower-level nobles would object to this small and reasonable request of the Great Duke?

Finally, Ludwig entered the city of Saverna without bloodshed. He was wearing a gold crown and a purple robe, and even the personal guards were also dressed gorgeously.

At the same time, Ludoff, Duke of Saxony, and Houthakulf of Thuringia also entered the city.

The people stood on both sides of the avenue with their heads held high to pay tribute to the great Duke of Bavaria. They cheered and greeted the eastern master of the empire with a smile. They had to be like this, and everyone was told by the baron that only by coaxing this fierce and murderous nobleman could they get peace in Saverna.

The baron was riding a horse but deliberately dressed shabby. Although he was also wearing plate armor, the leather and cloth of the skin were obviously damaged. The saddles were worn out and the stirrups were rusted, and even the iron helmet was obviously corroded.

The baron brought the three great nobles who came from afar into the city. Now Ludwig is the real master of the city, and the baron has become a poor man.

A solid stone fortress lay in front of Ludwig, and he looked at it for a while, Luth was slightly displeased.

"Edmund, you are a baron and you are qualified to live in such a fortress?"

As if harsh, the baron hurriedly explained: "My lord, my family only rebuilt the house on the ruins of Rome. Just like the whole city, we rebuilt it, and even the city's drainage channels were restored.

. "

"I know. You've done a good job! Now your fort is my palace for the time being."

The baron froze, his face pale.

"Unwilling?"

"I dare not."

"Don't worry. I'm only staying here temporarily, but your residence is indeed not worthy of the noble me. Go on."

Of course Ludwig knew the entire Alsace region, and he even had the idea of ​​occupying this place a long time ago. However, the former king had to own the entire Rhine Valley (including the Alsace region) based on the fact that the eldest son was more prosperous. Lothair.

That being said, Ludwig didn't really intend to live in the city for a long time. He didn't have full trust in the baron, and even worried that he would be attacked and assassinated.

He came to this city only to find a suitable place to hold a noble military meeting, and the latest Baron Saverna was obliged to participate.

The baron's family book is here. The plainly dressed lady looks like a nun. The eldest son already looks like an adult, and the younger son is still a tiger.

Seeing Edmund's eldest son, Ludwig already had new ideas.

No, the eldest son of the baron, Edmund II (Edmund Jr.), who was not eligible to attend the meeting, was also forcibly pulled here.

what is this? The son with the right of inheritance was controlled by Ludwig, and the brat was suddenly excited after being coaxed by the noble monarch.

Edmund didn't understand why his son was flushing with excitement until Ludwig explained why at the beginning of the meeting.

The stone chamber at the top is a bit cold, and the cold makes the head sober. And here is on a high place, looking east through the stone window, the mist covers the phantom of the city of Strasbourg.

Ludwig sat in the most honorable position, and the rest of them could hardly agree with this man.

He first looked at Edmond who was eager to speak: "I know what you want to say. I like your son very much! He can be a brave fighter, but he lacks opportunities! Think about it, Lothar will not give Nobles of your level have greater opportunities, but the noble me is different."

The baron was shocked: "You? Interrupt the promotion of my eldest son?"

"Exactly. Colmar." Ludwig clearly specified one of the locations, "The Colmar Palace is in the hands of Lothar? I intend to give Colmar to your family after the victory. I will deny the church's right to The stewardship there, it will become a barony, and your son can become Baron of Colmar."

Hearing such an explanation, the baron was not calm anymore. "Really? I mean, if..."

"Of course it is true." Ludwig seriously emphasized: "It must be my palace, and I have a reason to get it. And you... want to provide me with the necessary assistance. Do you know anything about Colmar? The local garrison agrees. ? Where is the main force of Lothair's army? I heard that he has 50,000 troops, is the rumor true?"

One question after another, Edmund certainly knew some inside information, but it was impossible to guarantee his own explanation.

The so-called 50,000 troops is just a statement, and Lothar may not know how many troops there are. But most of them were stationed north of Strasbourg, and a large amount of food was stored in the granaries of Colmar.

Ludwig listened with relish, and he became more and more happy: "You mean, there are very few troops in Colmar?"

"Maybe only the manager of the granary. After all, it is the territory of the church. Nobles like me have no right to set foot in it. Presumably other nobles are the same."

"In that case, wouldn't the Colmar Palace become Lothair's residence?"

"Not at all. This is the only thing I can be sure of, the Emperor of Rome... Oh no, it's Lothair, your enemy. His whole family is in Strasbourg."

Ludwig couldn't quite believe this: "The palace in Colmar is mine, and the local granary is also mine. Edmond, you will lead the way for me. And your eldest son is now my knight guard."

"He? My son, is he really qualified?" Edmund asked tremblingly.

"Of course I'm qualified. Lothar doesn't know how to fight at all, and I am extremely good at fighting. Do you know Adalbert, Earl of Metz?"

The Baron suddenly asked, "What happened to him? Could it be..."

"He was killed by me. Kaiserslautern is mine, Sargau and Brisgau are also mine. Even if it is Metz City, one of my side divisions is about to take the city. You have to think carefully, who is worthy of your family Allegiance to the king."

Is there even a question? Sitting here are the Duke of Saxony and the Marquis of Thuringia. The reality is completely different from the rumors. Saxony is obviously Ludwig's minion.

The appearance of the two northern nobles meant that the northern army joined the war, and the addition of the Saxons and Thuringians brought huge changes to the war.

Due to reality, the baron explained everything he knew in detail, and Colmar naturally became the target that Ludwig must win.

The brief military meeting meant that Ludwig's army was further expanded, and the news about Baron Savigau's defection was immediately blocked.

The baron ordered the road to be blocked, and the army remained on alert, but any envoy from Lothar would be detained immediately.

Ludwig's huge infantry was temporarily stationed outside the city, but all the cavalry was gathering.

There are many "guard knights" around him, who are actually the sons of some Bavarian nobles. The young people are directly loyal to Ludwig himself. They can get the chance to be appreciated and promoted, and they are also hostages to be watched. Now, young Edmund rode happily and directly to his lord.

The baron took his eldest son to gather his own soldiers, and all twenty knights fought together with the retinue.

Even Liudov and Thakurf joined the action with their own cavalry.

A day's rest is enough for capable cavalry, and a cavalry regiment with a total strength of 3,000 suddenly appeared.

They assembled in the south of Saverna. Ludwig was still wearing a golden crown and purple robe. He waved the Three Lions banner and shouted to the whole army: "Soldiers, take Colmar, and we will camp there!"

Accompanied by war drums and bronze horns, the cavalry threw off the infantry and rushed north and south towards the Roman road in the Alsace region.

Saverna was only 30 Roman miles away from Colmar's leading road, and the cavalry killed about 50 kilometers away that day.

The city of Colmar is actually an undefended city. From the standpoint of Lothair, the city is located behind the battlefield, and there are big rivers and mountains as barriers, so it cannot be attacked no matter what you think. Of course, the premise of accomplishing all this is that the powerful Earl of Metz has not collapsed.

Now Metz's army can be said to be completely wiped out, and Colmar, which is safe, has changed hands in an instant.

Ludwig got the Colmar palace, which was well taken care of by the priests, and the solid Roman-style palace was immediately declared to be the real command post of the Eastern Army, and the huge infantry still stationed in Savinna was also moved here. stationed.

It was precisely because he suffered a big loss in the north that he realized that even if he had the chance to win, he had to keep a hand, not to mention that he did not have the advantage now.

In theory, the autumn rainy season has already arrived, and there is a high probability that there will be rains lasting for several days to two weeks in the future. Such a situation is not good for the war. Although the more unfavorable the environment, the more likely it is to launch a surprise attack. In fact, Ludwig, who cannot afford to lose, has no choice but to not calm.

He needs to absorb the fruits of victory in taking Colmar lightly, firmly control the large granary here, and transform it into a stable strategic base.

So the army marched straight to the south, and Colmar immediately became a large army camp. The recruitment of peasants has already begun, and those local debt slaves are all forgiven from their debts. In exchange, they must join the army. Anyone who refuses will be executed.

Overbearing, he ordered the loyalty of the local church, and at the same time announced that the small diocese of Colmar was immediately assigned to the bishopric of Mainz.

His lightning operation is not over yet, it is not yet raining, the cavalry hardly rests, a flag team goes straight to the south of Basel City, so the city that has been promised everywhere as a gift has finally become Ludwig's easily capsule.

Half of Alsace from the army crossing the North Vosges pass to the south of Strasbourg was already owned by Ludwig. In theory, he had controlled the entire local population, and compulsory conscription had begun.

Why is he so obsessed with going south? As the saying goes, the Bavarian, Saxon, and Thuringian armies that have traveled here are too far away from their hometowns, and the sense of uneasiness among ordinary soldiers is increasing day by day

Therefore, the army needs a stable logistics base and the best plan for the possible winter.

The war with the Normans made Ludwig more aware of the importance of logistics, precisely because he had a direct conversation with Rurik and learned that the king actually prepared six months of rations for the war, which inspired him greatly.

The geographical location of Alsace in the south is extremely critical. Not only is there abundant water and grass suitable for farming, there are many occupied grain storages, and the people can forcefully mobilize thousands or even tens of thousands of recruits.

The most important thing is that the ship can reach the Earl of Lizgau on the shore of Lake Constance after passing through the more turbulent turn of the Rhine River. It already belongs to Greater Bavaria! Count Andalhard's allegiance was to Ludwig himself.

Until now, this great nobleman has not asked the nobles in his basic area to send troops, maybe now is the time when he has to send troops.

The turbulent flow of the Rhine River does not mean that navigation is impossible, but the slopes on both sides of the river are extremely steep, and everything is safe as long as it passes through the canyon area.

Many priests have to enter the Lake Constance area upstream through the narrow valley area, so Cui Cheng sent out some trackers for this purpose.

But going down the river would not be a problem, but Frank's ships were all small barges and it was impossible to increase the number of troops.

What Ludwig needed most was not the armed militia. If Earl Lizgau personally brought well-equipped personal soldiers to assist him, even if there were only two hundred of them, it would have a major impact on the entire battle situation.

He has already started to act!

Of course, the Roman Emperor Lothair, who lived in Strasbourg, was not deaf and blind, and the envoys he sent disappeared without a trace.

What happened to the Colmar Granary? Baron Saverna disappeared? Count Metz's envoy has not been here for a long time, what's going on in Kaiserslautern? Did the envoy who went to Aachen to investigate quickly get lost?

He was deaf and blind for a while, and finally informed the fleeing messengers that the Bavarian army had actually approached the city!

"My God, Ludwig, where did you come from? Aren't you in Mainz? Could it be that your army just crossed the river from a dangerous valley? That's fine, I can be in Cologne Erma will kill you to end the war!" Lothar thought so, and his army suddenly adjusted its original tactics.

However, this adjustment is simply a disaster.

A considerable part of the army loyal to Lothair has reached the cities of Speer and Mannheim in Alsace in the north. He did have an army of nearly 50,000 troops, but the quality was extremely poor. The assembled militia only seemed to have a strong force, and there were only more than 10,000 armored elites with real combat effectiveness.

Just like his younger brother Ludwig, Lothar did not order all the nobles of the "Imperial faction" to gather elites. He boasted that the Earl of Metz, who had exhausted his fief, could invest enough auxiliary troops to win a big victory for himself.

Strategy and tactics were completely chaotic. Even though Lothair wanted to respond to his stinky brother with a big battle that everyone needed, the army that originally planned to attack Mainz along the edge of the Northern Vosges Mountains was ordered to turn back, and its morale was damaged. Not to mention, the physical strength and morale were also seriously bruised once and for all.

There is also a certainty in the coincidence, the sky becomes cloudy and dark, UU reading www.uukanshu.com the north wind blows across the north-south Rhine Valley, a new autumn rain begins again, it drizzles continuously, no one knows it is suitable to end, join the war The only thing both sides know is that the war may have to be postponed until early winter, and even this year's war will be dragged abruptly until next spring.

Ludwig, who had optimistically estimated that the war would end in the golden autumn, had to surrender to reality. He had to be pragmatic. Fortunately, he occupied the Colmar granary and got in touch with Earl Lizgau. The latter has a great influence on the army. After all, it is a real Bavarian vassal, which means that the expeditionary army theoretically fights at the door.

As for Lothair and his army, the situation suddenly became serious. Because he was blocked in the northern Alsace region of the Rhine Valley, he felt that his connection with the western vassals was cut off. The north and the west are vassals loyal to the enemy, and the south is the place where the local army Chen Bing, the majestic Roman emperor Actually got stuck.

This is the most severe moment that Lothair has faced in his life. It is really the current situation. He didn't want to admit that Ludwig was good at fighting, because this year his own territory was under siege everywhere, if he didn't

Ludwig's conduct is difficult to justify.

"I really don't know who is the real Roman emperor! God, have I been abandoned by you?"