Rise of Rurik

In the past, the only things that could float on the Lan River were canoes and small sampans, but now everything has changed.

The pointed Viking longships at both ends slid their large oars neatly, and multiple longships towed a larger ship.

At first, people fishing by the river and people herding and cutting grass stopped what they were doing, holding on to their straw hats and squinting to admire the unheard of wonders.

They actually didn't know what Vikings or Normans meant. The simple villagers only knew that last year, the Baron brought most of his horse-riding retinue, recruited some farmers, and was ordered to go to the north to fight against the rebellion.

The war is too far away for ordinary people, and the farmers don't know what the "Northern Rebellion" has to do with them. Their families only know that the war will bring death, and they hold their conscripted husbands in pain for a while.

Then what? There was no news for a whole winter. Now, even this year's spring plowing has been completed, the Baron's life and death are uncertain, and the people who went on the expedition have disappeared.

Obviously, Nassau Village is not far from the Frankfurt am Main Palace in the East Kingdom. These mortals are not worthy of going to the palace to inquire about information.

They could only go to the village convent to pray, and even the baroness was not exempt from secularity.

The long period of no news first brought uneasiness, then fear, and now, it has gradually been relieved.

If Henry of Nassau died or died explicitly, his eldest son automatically inherited the baronetcy.

As long as the Barony of Nassau continues to have heirs, there will be no changes in the lives of ordinary people.

The villagers continue to work hard every day. They cannot read a word. In addition to agricultural production, they go to the monastery to participate in activities. Weddings and funerals in the village have become rare and extremely important entertainment.

The Lan River is not wide and flows slowly, with long boats with shallow drafts majestically going upstream.

People who saw this spectacle for the first time had no fear at all. They stood blankly like scarecrows in the fields, quietly watching the people on the boat.

There are a lot of people with blond hair there, and many of them look taller.

Wait! Why is the face of the man standing on the deck of that huge ark-like ship so familiar?

It's the Baron!

People who realized that this was great news began to approach the river spontaneously. They waved to the baron and followed the fleet. Although they didn't know the situation clearly, the Baron clearly left on horseback and took very few people with him. What is the situation now? Could it be that these people are all the Baron's new followers?

Some people boldly speculate that the baron may have made great contributions in the war against rebellion.

Of course, those who work in the fields cannot keep up with the fleet of blue foxes rowing bravely.

"We'll be there soon. Get your men ready to dock." Henry Nassau demanded nervously.

Blue Fox was in a good mood: "The long voyage is finally over. Let me land...Does your village have a suitable dock?"

"No. However, your boats are very suitable for beach surfing. There is a lot of mud in the riverside area of ​​my village, which is very suitable for you to move around."

"Really? It's okay to go to the beach, but it won't work in the long run. I want to build a real pier."

Henry shrugged: "Whatever you want."

"You...seem to be a little absent-minded?" Blue Fox was keenly aware of the change in this man's attitude.

"After all, my family is leaving here. I'm afraid many people will borrow your boat to leave."

"In that case, I will help you manage this place well. Of course, I will stay temporarily. I hope my people can get along well with your people."

The appearance of the fleet is like the appearance of the Ark. The villagers' understanding of the big ship is limited to the "Ark" described by the priest in the village, so they call Ross's armed cargo ship this name.

If it weren't for the eye-catching cross flags hanging on the masts, the villagers would subconsciously avoid it. A piece of rough white cloth, with a huge black cross painted on it with a blackened wooden stick, transformed the Norman ship into a peaceful disguise. This disguise even overshadowed the Ross flag, which was also flying.

The priest of the monastery in the village can be said to be the most knowledgeable man in the entire Nassau village. He recognized the meaning of those flags at a glance. Although one of them looked like the St. Andre flag, at least these markings could prove that the visitor was friendly.

With the priest's affirmation, all the priests came out in force, carrying large wooden crosses and wearing black robes, and led the villagers to the riverside.

At this time, Blue Fox's fleet has washed up on the beach, and some warriors carrying bucklers have landed.

If it were normal, this group of ruthless people who got off the boat would rush towards the village with weapons and roaring to plunder. They maintained absolute restraint because they all knew that they had to be baptized here to complete their conversion. No one forced them to do this. The so-called following the Blue Fox deep into the Frankish hinterland was entirely voluntary, and conversion was a condition for joining the team. In fact, everyone is very clever. They convert to God just to paralyze others so that they can openly make a fortune in Frank.

The village in front of us is quite simple. Although there are many stone buildings as far as the eye can see, there is only a two-story building visible to the naked eye. There are solid dirt roads everywhere, and muddy ponds are clearly visible in many places. Smell carefully, the air is filled with the smell of cow dung, the unique aroma of grass and silt. If you look closely at your feet, you can see some black particles, which are undoubtedly sheep excrement eggs.

The experienced Russians and Swedes in the team were full of regrets about this village. It was far inferior to the old Roseburg and the old Birka in Mälaren. Comparing it to the emerging New Roseburg and Stockholm was simply a joke.

As soon as they thought about building a stronghold here in the future, new conflicts began, so everyone had to whisper among themselves - the riverside village fortress they passed by during the journey was good, and they took it as the brothers' castle.

What they were thinking about was taking the settlement of Coblenz as their own, and such a spontaneous idea coincided with the Blue Fox.

Even if this place is terrible, it is Henry's hometown of Nassau after all. His ancestors are buried here, and he is somewhat reluctant to think of leaving.

Henry has also landed ashore with his old retinue who are still alive. They have lost all their horses and are now returning empty-handed.

He saw the crowds emerging, the priests in burqas, and tried to check whether his wife and children were there. Sure enough, the approaching crowd had familiar faces. The old man opened his arms, shouted the names of his wife and son at the top of his voice, and then walked forward...

The Baron is back! Although the way of coming back is very magical, the adult who has been away for a full year is back!

The baroness threw herself at Henry, and the old couple embraced each other and cried. Henry's son and daughter seemed very calm. They had no idea what a thrilling and fantastic "trip" their father had experienced.

So, the sudden appearance of the fleet and the surprising number of blond men carrying bucklers, who are they?

Blue Fox is first and foremost a businessman, and he is also a businessman who understands Latin, even though he is now dressed like a warrior. He approached the solemn priest as if he were a stranger, deliberately showed off his sterling silver cross, and communicated with him in Latin.

"You? A person from afar, you... actually understand the sacred language? Could it be that you are... a priest from afar?"

Blue Fox will never forget the priest's misunderstanding. Just because he knew Latin, he was considered to be another priest. warrior? Priest?

"You misunderstood. I am a distant earl, and I am friends with your earl. I will also become friends with you. We should make an appointment to talk about anything."

"Earl? Are you an earl? Our earl?" The priest looked at Henry Nassau, and he suddenly understood: "It seems that the Duke has given you a new canonization."

The matter was so difficult to explain in words that Henry could only shrug his shoulders, which was about the same.

Of course, people will die in war. Fortunately, the losses in Nassau Village mainly come from the baron's retinue and have little to do with ordinary farmers.

The Ross fleet docked at a muddy place with a large bend in the Lan River. Only the big ship docked sideways in the shore waters, and the cables were thrown down to fix the many wooden piles dug deep on the shore to ensure that the big ship would not float away.

The soldiers were ordered to guard the ships and build open-air camps. Since this landing site was to be used as a longer-term residence, everyone had no choice but to build their own wooden shacks. They also set up large pots to boil wheat and make the food float to the river.

At first, the people naturally thought that these foreign troops were bound to get some more food taxes from the village. They naturally thought that this army was just listening to the adults. Unexpectedly, this group of people seemed to have no demands. They used axes and an unnamed tool to cut down trees on the hills, surrounded a large area of ​​land by the river, and then began to build fences, with a strong tendency to transform into wooden fences. There are a large number of wooden houses within the walls. At first, they just dug deep wooden piles in the soft soil. Then they laid floors on the wooden piles and set up large columns. After the frame was built, logs without peeling the bark were piled up to make wooden walls and roofs. The rough construction method is like building a cabin in the forest. Everyone's initial requirements are not high, but a few requirements must be met: no sleeping on the ground, a wooden house that is not leaky, and that is not damp.

The Rus-style wooden house is a mixture of East Slavic wooden house architecture and Viking longhouse architectural patterns. King Rurik called it the word "muklen", which is called woodcut. The simplified version is to build quickly like this. As for the need to keep out the cold in winter, when the actual winter comes and the brothers have not secured a better stronghold, they will build the stronghold building by themselves and pile up mud mixed with reeds on the outer wall. .

The foreign army was carrying out construction projects, and even Henry Nassau could not imagine that Blue Fox would do such a thing. He was very pleased, after all, he did not pay a copper coin or a pound of grain for these militarized operations on his own territory.

It is obvious that the Rus people deliberately kept a distance from the village of Nassau, which was in compliance with the promise of Rurik, the king of Rus.

The gratified Henry Nassau was not in a hurry to announce major events to the villagers. He met and talked with his family first, and informed his wife and children of the important decision first.

The fact that a baron became an earl did not mean that the title of Baron of Nassau would be lost. The lady is naturally happy to have a new status with her husband, but is worried about the future.

An ordinary woman can't control anything, and Henry's eldest son, eldest daughter, and younger son who just learned to walk are even more ignorant.

Henry made decisions about his three children: Paul, the eldest, was the first heir to the Earl of the Netherlands, and Bowman, the second, was the second heir.

The County of the Netherlands is much larger than the Barony of Nassau, and can be subdivided into two large plates: Utrecht (in the south) and Friesland (in the north). The eldest son will inherit the earl and rule over Utrecht, the richest city, while the second son will inherit the rule of Friesland in the north and receive a baron title.

Henry didn't think there was any problem with enfeoffment. It was precisely the optimal solution to the distribution of family property.

Women have been unable to be knighted for a long time, so what about the title of Baron of Nassau? He thought of the immense value of his daughter.

Henry felt that the area in his hometown would be plagued by war in the future, so giving up his hometown would be the first option.

The lady just didn’t understand this: “The tombs of your ancestors are all here, do they have to move the tombs?”

"Why not? Now the Duke of Saxony has changed. The Count of Westphalia gave up his inherent title and became the new Duke of Saxony. This is the result of the war. Our family is now a vassal of the Duke of Saxony, and we rely on Ludwig Beware of being destroyed by him. The Duke of Saxony moved the coffins of his ancestor Widukind to Hamburg, and we can do the same."

"Are you giving up here entirely? What will happen to your barony?"

"Leave it to our daughter."

This decision confused the woman: "She is a woman. So, marriage?"

"Yes, it's a marriage. Did you see those warriors I brought? The leader among them is a northern earl..."

"Ah? So noble. But... a little too old." The lady was surprised and regretful.

"He also has a young brother who has just grown up and is not married. His brother will come here soon. What do you think? Our daughter is married to the brother of the Earl of Gothenburg in the north. Our daughter's son will naturally inherit the inheritance. The title of Baron Sao. With the protection of a northern noble, our daughter will be safe in these troubled times."

Henry's wife still didn't understand, she could tell that all this was her husband's love for his daughter.

After all, the Nassau clan has been powerless since ancient times and has always been a minor vassal. Henry's wife is just the daughter of an unknown knight who came to the Earl of Ingau. After marrying into Nassau Village, she has not had good clothing and food, and her life has been mediocre. It can be called boring. When her husband was ordered to go to war, she cried fiercely. She had thought that her husband had died in the battle and had given up hope, but she didn't expect a miracle to happen.

One thing is that she is definitely not a fool. The so-called King Ludwig was active in Mainz and in Frankfurt. Baron Nassau had betrayed him. Once Ludwig settled the score after the civil war, the barony might not be able to keep it.

Ludwig was defeated miserably. The troops who landed in the village belonged to the victorious side. The man named Joseph Blue Fox was the count of the victorious side.

By marrying off the daughter, the peace treaty can be used to ensure that Nassau Village will not be settled in the future. The daughter has actually become a bargaining chip for power and insurance.

However, this does not seem to be at the expense of her daughter.

So, Henry took his ignorant daughter, dressed her up beautifully, and went to see the blue fox who was temporarily staying at the "construction site".

No one remembers that Blue Fox used to be a fat man. Over the years, whether actively or passively, his warrior-like life forced him to lose weight and become the strongest man in the family. His old face is still a little chubby. This time he is only wearing pants and leather boots, and is shirtless, showing off his thick chest hair. Not only is a sterling silver cross hung on his chest, but there is also a sterling silver Thor's hammer, a gold-plated Frey's Boar, and even an amber polished one. Lucky elf.

This was a guy with a lot of diversity of beliefs. Henry knew that this guy wasn't pious to God, and that wasn't a problem. Because this kid is very religious about money and interests, this makes it especially easy to handle.

Henry Nassau's daughter was still young. He carried the girl, who was plainly dressed and wore a black and white turban, and walked into the Russian riverside camp accompanied by his retinue.

Soon, Blue Fox threw away the tools at hand and led a group of strong men out aggressively.

This scene was so frightening that the girl trembled and cried. Henry let go of his hand. The child was so numb that he hid behind his father and silently poked his eyes out to observe those dirty people who looked like catfish emerging from the mud.

"My daughter is very afraid of strangers." Henry smiled awkwardly.

"I remembered." Blue Fox pinched his beard: "So, you and your family have already discussed it?"

"Think about it. My daughter Sophia will marry your brother. I only have three conditions."

"You tell me."

"Your brother must be young, must not have contact with other women, and must convert to God."

"These are all fine." Blue Fox was a little surprised. Should such a big deal be settled in this informal setting? "Perhaps we should discuss the details of this matter in a dignified setting."

"I also have this intention. How about I hold a family dinner tonight and we can talk in detail?"

"I accept the invitation."