Rise of Rurik

Ludwig finally gave in mentally, and peace talks were immediately put on the agenda.

There were still some days left before peace talks, and Ludwig was still under house arrest. He was allowed to wander around Hamburg and the surrounding areas, to see the Russian camp, and to have a good chat with Liudov. These things are all under the attention of Rurik's spy.

The defeated king lost all his glory, and he looked plain and inconspicuous.

He is a king and a devout believer. He prays once every morning and every time he eats, which is like obsessive-compulsive disorder.

There is a small church in Hamburg, and now the political significance of this bishop's church has been extremely huge.

On Sunday, Ludwig prayed in the church with a pious attitude. Strangely, the Archbishop of the North and the Archbishop of Cologne were here.

It was a fact that he prayed, and a good chat with the two regional archbishops seemed all the more urgent.

It started to get hazy outside, and the dense snow seeds made the world gray.

The bad weather was like Ludwig's troubled heart.

The "True Cross" of Cologne Cathedral was temporarily erected in the Hamburg church, making this simple wooden building shine. The sadness in it made the imprisoned Archbishop Hardebold of Cologne speechless and choked.

In complete contrast to these two entangled and uncomfortable attitudes, the Normans and Saxons were immersed in the joy of victory and were already actively preparing for their festivals.

Those devout Saxons also returned to the church to pray, which made Ludwig's appearance extremely embarrassing and had to be avoided.

So, what to pray to God for? Pray for victory? However, God gave the Saxons victory and did not punish the Normans.

In the dead of night, he remained in the church.

One king, two bishops, three noble men sitting next to the True Cross, helplessly discussing things that have nothing to do with faith...

The three of them remained silent for a while until Ludwig spoke first.

"I have lost the battle, and God is not on my side. Now Rurik of Rus has granted me a conditional peace, and I have decided to accept it."

"If peace can be restored in this way, and if the Normans will not continue to attack, conditional peace... I can also accept it." The Archbishop of Cologne sighed helplessly.

The atmosphere was still cold and decadent, and Eskil had nothing to say about it. He comforted silently: "Rurik of Rus will not break his promise. If he leads the peace, the peace will last long."

"It's like I'm praying for peace. You...you really trust him. You are like his lobbyist..." After all, Eskil is a high priest, and Ludwig didn't want to speak too seriously.

"Your Majesty, I told you many years ago to pay attention to the rising Russians, but you turned a deaf ear. Now, no one understands their terror better than you." Eskil simply pointed out seriously: "Your layout in Denmark caused a war, and the entire The Norman world feels that you are the source of all evil. You are responsible for this war."

"Absurd. Then the Normans are not responsible."

"I don't mean that, but the Russians in the war don't reason with us. They believe that all Frankish subjects are enemies, and they plunder and kill without any scruples."

Ludwig had to wonder: "Are they starting to be reasonable now? Are they really credible?"

"Believable. I have lived in the Russian world for some time, and this Rurik has his own set of principles. Now we have to admit that their words are powerful, just like you have to admit that your elder brother Lothair is powerful. In fact, we have to admit that their words are powerful. …”

Eskil composed himself: "Some words may arouse your anger."

"Say it. What qualifications do I have to be angry?"

"We want peace talks, what should we do next? Maybe the king can form an alliance with the Russians."

"I can't believe you can say such a thing!" Ludwig, who had been suppressing his emotions, suddenly burst out, then hurriedly sat down again: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my composure in this sacred place."

"It doesn't matter. Have you seen Liudov?" Eskil quickly changed the subject and continued to ask.

"No, that man has been avoiding me."

"He feels guilty. He was loyal to you, but now he betrayed you and defeated you with an army."

"No! I was defeated by the Normans." Ludwig emphasized.

"But without those 10,000 Saxon warriors, they might not have been able to win."

So, Esquier continued: "Liudov confessed to me. He is still willing to be loyal to you and is willing to ask you to forgive his betrayal. But there are conditions for this matter. Liudov hopes that you will recognize his Principality of Saxony. As for Whether to retain the Westphalian title or not, he can accept it if you take it back.”

"Wait a minute, this is different from the request of King Rurik of Rus!"

"After all, every noble has his or her own demands. By the way, the Baron of Nassau Village, he has no chance to meet you due to his low title. He also has his own demands."

"Nassau? A little traitor." Ludwig said disdainfully.

"Nassau has surrendered to Liudov, and his hometown of Nassau Village also hopes that you will allow it to be kept. Even if he knows that you have controlled his family. The release of his family and villagers is also one of the conditions for peace talks, and it is You have a limited chip."

"Does it make sense? He already ignored his family when he rebelled." Ludwig shook his head slightly, "He is a ruthless person. He is forcing me to be ruthless."

Eskil also shook his head, "I'd better continue talking about Liudov's demands. Liudov revealed the bottom line to me. His Saxony Principality is shrinking. He only wants to be north of the Weser River and south of the Danish Wall. He doesn’t need the Saxony area south of the Weser River.”

It seems that this is a kind of behavior of borrowing money to get off the donkey.

"Nonsense." Ludwig suddenly woke up and understood what was going on: "The villages are all deserted, and almost all the Saxons in the south have immigrated to the north. What use does he have for the place south of the Weser River? He can't even collect taxes. "

"In any case, this proves that he does not have huge ambitions and is sincerely repentant towards you."

"But what can I do?" Ludwig shrugged, "The people in Westphalia have all left. If I take back this place, and then take back Saxony south of the river, what I will get is almost nothing. A forest for hunting. What do I need a forest for."

An area has become a hot potato.

The Archbishop of Cologne, who listened for a while, looked helpless: "Then put it under my diocese of Cologne. Many refugees entered Cologne, and I sheltered them, but I still suffered great humiliation. They Russians extorted our Saint Ku! I can't stay out of it, I want the land you don't want."

Ludwig was also extremely dissatisfied about this matter, and the Diocese of Cologne actually handed over five thousand pounds of silver coins as a joke. He had to think: If I had this money, I could train more elite soldiers.

Archbishop Hardbold of Cologne is sanctimonious, and he never imagined that a servant of God could be so greedy. Ludwig was reluctant to criticize and reprimand the other party because of his face.

On the contrary, Eskil is really poor and a pure ascetic, which Ludwig knows very well.

But although this guy is poor, he is now acting as a lobbyist and has betrayed the king.

You get a land where people's livelihood is in ruins, and it costs money to restore it. After a little calculation, Ludwig was unwilling to spend any more money, and he also had to settle the accounts of the Margrave of Thuringia, who had ignored his order. The remaining army had to completely defend against the attack of his elder brother Lothair. The Frankish army continued to invade.

"Okay! Since they made conditions, I also have conditions. Lord Hardbold, South Saxony and Westphalia are given to you. You go and rule here."

"Ah! Are you really willing?"

"Can I still refuse? I know that you are still loyal to me."

"That's natural." Hudbold couldn't hide his joy.

East Francia is indeed a patchwork of kingdoms. Saxony, Thuringia and Flanders were all annexed by force during Charlemagne's reign. They already have strong centrifugal forces that are difficult to control. There is also the Archdiocese of Cologne, which exists like the Papal State in Italy. It is one of the countries within the Frankish territory.

Ludwig thought about it and realized that his base was in Bavaria. Secondly, because of the civil war in the kingdom, he had strengthened his control over the Count of Rheingau or the Margrave Order of Frankfurt, which directly curbed the expansion of the Bishop of Worms to the entire Allegra. The desire of the rulers of the Mani region.

These servants of God also have worldly desires. They just want to establish the kingdom of heaven that humans can see according to the scriptures. There is no doubt that this kind of behavior is more threatening than the Norman bandits who looted and killed.

Ludwig still wanted to ask a few more questions: "Russian Rurik is really trustworthy? Even if I recognize the Principality of Saxony, if they suddenly deny the agreement, I will be a stupid ass."

"Something will change, and you can trust them," Eskil continued.

"But they are savages and have no faith in our God."

"No. Rurik is very ambiguous about the sacred faith. At least three of his sons were baptized. There is also a legal bishopric in Rus. Archbishop John Ingvar is my most proud student. Maybe Rurik will do it in a few years. Just take the initiative to convert, and the entire Rus or the entire Norman world will convert collectively.”

Saying these words, Eskil was very proud, as if everything was going according to plan. This optimistic attitude was like the sunshine in winter.

Ludwig felt that the old man was daydreaming, and that even if the Normans converted, the war would be eliminated? Pooh! The Saxons still launched a rebellion, which had little to do with faith.

Ludwig didn't want to struggle any longer. He couldn't win on the battlefield and could only make concessions at the negotiation table.

As for an alliance with the Normans...what's the point of an alliance?

An idea that made him feel even more uncomfortable came to him: "It is sacrilegious to form an alliance, but I hope I can withstand Lothair's attack."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was feasible, not to mention that during the meeting on the tower, Rurik himself also said that the Russians intended to form an alliance.

Once the shackles of thought are opened, everything becomes different.

Therefore, Ludwig determined his negotiation plan, and all that was left was to wait for the agreed peace meeting.

Rurik's side was not idle either.

The Alliance Treaty of the Northern Alliance has a written document, which is the basis for subsequent treaty documents.

The decisive battle was over, and the victors did not believe that there would be new Frankish armies going north again to provoke war.

The top priority is to negotiate peace with Ludwig, and this matter should be put aside for later. During this period, some economic and trade treaties are now being finalized in writing.

Therefore, Count Baudoin of Flanders looked like he was not stingy. He admitted defeat and now became an ally to everyone.

The chicken thief Baudouin has already figured out that he has no ability to take back the territory north of the mouth of the Rhine River, and his other territories are still facing crazy attacks from the Normans.

If you can't beat them, join them. These people won't attack their allies, right?

For this reason, Baudoin would rather swear allegiance to Liudov, continue to retain the title of earl as a Saxon subject, and at the same time receive national defense and security guarantees.

Is such a good thing possible? Liu Doufu was not a fool. The two families were originally neighbors, and the essence of Baudouin's surrender was to obtain peace.

After some deliberation, the nobles pinched their noses and accepted Baudouin's request.

This guy has no shame at all. King Ragnar of Denmark thought this was despicable, but Rurik said that this guy was indeed a smart man who had both sides. It's hard to expect this guy to be loyal, but he will never betray his interests, so it's easier to control him.

The southern area of ​​​​the Count of Flanders is mainly populated by descendants of the old Blicica Gauls and Frank immigrants, while the Frisians are mainly in the north. The north had become independent as the Netherlands, which also included a new Norman city, Rotterstad, which replaced Durist.

The shrinking County of Flanders legally joined the Northern Alliance due to its allegiance to the Principality of Saxony. Even if Rurik was dissatisfied, he had to admit it, otherwise the alliance treaty would be meaningless.

On the contrary, Rurik was willing to accept this guy Baudouin.

As a result, Saxony, the entire Netherlands and the entire Belgium in his concept were already within the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of Rus. Especially now, Flanders is almost equal to Belgium. There is no military control over it. It can be said to be a very good producing area of ​​grain and wool in Western Europe. In order to gain profits, economic and trade are sufficient.

Flanders originally made money from the wool industry. They sold wool to Cologne, Aachen, and Paris. They might as well sell it directly to Ross by sea.