Rise of Rurik

In 841, Rurik made no plans for large-scale war. He did not refuse war, but authorized his subordinate nobles to take the initiative. If he did well, he would be recognized for his merits, and if he did not, he would bear the losses.

So when in Eastern Europe, the Principality of Ostara began to move south according to the order, it had just arrived at Lukiholm. As for the Latvian tribes who built the Vitebsk Fortress, actively attacked the Polotsk people, and entered and conquered the Gulf of Riga with high profile, these are all things that have not yet happened.

At the same time, the canal project led by Rurik himself had just been planned, and the start of the project was about to begin.

As far away as Western Europe and Britain, Ragnar led his Danish heroes to plunder the Kent County of Wessex. The red fox and black fox brothers of the Gould family also just arrived in Utrecht to meet the immigrant Nassau family. meeting.

In the interior of Western Europe, Blue Fox, who has actually become the head of the village of Nassau, is busy with infrastructure construction. As for the implementation of King Rurik's stipulations of actively causing trouble, he has not yet implemented it.

A war in northwest Europe has just ended, only half a year after the peace talks. The situation in Western Europe, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Britain has become more complicated.

The Kingdom of Rus led the entire northern world and continued to make breakthroughs in many aspects. Blue Fox, who was far away in the middle reaches of the Inn River, had no time to take into account what others were doing. He focused on the things in front of him and went through a lot of hard work. Compared with what he faced when he first arrived in Nassau Village, situation, everything is becoming familiar now.

A newly built wooden fortress stands in the riverside area. It is appropriately called "Nassau Castle", but it will be inhabited by Ross garrison.

The entire village of Nassau is undefended, and the villagers' buildings are only mud walls and haystacks. The villagers' living environment is not good, and they are not very particular about hygiene and tidiness. The Nassau family never cared about this aspect in the past, but now that Blue Fox is in power, in the name of his sister-in-law Sophia Nassau, he forces the villagers to improve everything.

The mud walls and haystacks were pushed down, and the stones embedded in them also collapsed.

Because the settlement of Baden-Ems is a quarry, the locals do not really live in mud shacks.

However, there is a layer of mud on the outside of the stone wall, so the house cannot be kept warm in winter, and the indoor environment is also very poor. Blue Fox simply couldn't imagine how this group of people could survive the winter. Maybe it was just that the local winter wind and snow were not too harsh.

He is not a good person, but he intends to improve everything out of his own business rationality.

Nassau Village has a unique small culture since ancient times, so-called wine-making and dairy-making. Other than that, the culture has been completely transformed by Catholicism. After this small tribe was annexed by the Franks, the era of chiefdom was gone forever, and it has existed in the form of a barony for more than a hundred years. However, the population has not increased substantially.

The cramped living space in the mountain col, poor sanitary conditions, lack of safety awareness, and even the militarism of the big nobles and harsh criticism of this small barony have resulted in the current situation.

Now that Henry has left with half of the population, there is not much left in Nassau for Blue Fox and Sophia.

With such a small number of people, we can't expect a group of villagers to do anything. If they continue to be in trouble, Ross Shop will lack development prospects here!

For people like this, wouldn't it be nice to just use the traditional management methods of the Gould family? !

In the past, no nobles could directly manage every villager in the territory. The normal situation was that the local church managed the daily life of the people. The lord was busy with hunting and fighting. He just patrolled the territory to collect taxes every year.

This is not the case with Blue Fox. He already regards every male and female villager who has the ability to work as an employee, just like the professional sailors and servants raised by families in the northern world.

The time is approaching the summer solstice, the local priest Conrad is busy preparing for the holiday mass, and the large-scale construction projects for the villagers in Nassau Village have begun.

The villagers who have already received a lot of benefits are willing to work for the Rus. Although they are illiterate and have extremely limited knowledge, they also realize that their future lives should be better after building new houses. Because they really participated in the construction of the large and small wooden houses in the fortress, they were amazed by the unique design and couldn't help but wonder if they could imitate it in their own homes.

At first, some villagers just chatted about it. Unexpectedly, at the end of June, a new construction operation really started.

There are only one hundred and fifty small families left to manage by Blue Fox. Excluding the families living in the settlements of Landstein and Baden-Ems, there are only a little over a hundred families settled in Nassau Village. The heads of each family are all middle-aged men, and these men are the absolute main force in large-scale construction projects. Of course, if there is a war, these people will also be the first militia to be recruited.

He gathered these grown men together and told them his new opinions. The limited dissent was drowned out by the shouts of approval. After all, they all wanted to improve their lives quickly.

At the beginning, a small number of old houses were demolished, and the whole village's strong labor force was organized, just like they did when they built the Russian "Nassau Castle", logging, sawing, laying foundations, and laying floors. Compared with the former, because of this They are building their own new homes. They have a high degree of enthusiasm for construction and their construction efficiency is also extremely fast.

Because the soil in the river valley area is soft, the newly cut pine trees were bought into the newly dug large seepage pits. These are load-bearing pillars, and then the small wooden piles that were measured were hammered into the ground. The wooden walls of the house are built with a mortise and tenon structure stacked on top of each other, and the wooden floors are directly laid of stripped bark pine. The floors and walls are very thick, and a large number of reeds are stuffed into the gaps in the outer walls. The gabled roof rests on a single piece of pine wood as a beam, and then there is a gabled roof made of piled timber.

Different from the old houses where a bonfire was lit directly in the house for warmth in winter and stone fireplaces were installed, the new houses all have chimneys higher than the roof.

This is a Russian-style woodcut building that combines Nordic longhouses and Slavic wooden houses, plus a stone fireplace. Such a building is the absolute mainstay in the main settlements of the Rus, and it has withstood the double test of the extreme cold in the north and the muddy snow melting in spring. Blue Fox had no idea. He didn't know if there was a more suitable construction model. Obviously, there would be no problem in transplanting Ross's one.

The native pine trees are simply endless, including some stunningly tall trees. For safety reasons, locals generally do not dare to cut down huge trees at the risk of being crushed to death. However, Blue Fox's guys rely on "Viking logging techniques" to cut down trees in a directed manner, combined with a two-man saw and a sharper steel axe. , it’s easy to handle these giant pieces of wood, not to mention the smaller ones.

They built their houses in a rough way, but endured the smell of pine wood to live in the new house. The smell of pine resin could not suppress the joy of owning a new house at all.

The villagers are helping each other. In order to make the construction progress faster, Lan Hu arranges for his own people to participate as much as possible so that no one owes anyone.

They have indeed reached a happy state, but the premise is still that Blue Fox has enough food in hand to support this high-intensity infrastructure.

If you don’t have enough food, go buy it! Anyway, the funds are relatively abundant.

"Or, go grab Coblenz."

So from the perspective of the people left behind in Nassau Village, a highly armed outsider is exporting benefits on a large scale. As long as you continue to work for these Russians, you will continue to get benefits, and it seems that you will not be exploited by the lord.

Lord? Who is the lord now? That Sophia Nassau? Just a little girl movie.

Who is the real lord? It was clearly the Russian Joseph Blue Fox. This nobleman is said to be an earl in the north, just like the angel described in the scriptures. He is busy distributing money and food in Nassau, and now he is also investing to improve everyone's living conditions.

Because these people who have always lived in poverty have always maintained such a living condition, they do not know what wealth is, and they even feel that they are not qualified to covet the life of a lord.

They are always willing to be poor and humble, and adults will teach their children to be farmers with peace of mind. When they see the lord and his retinue of cavalry, they will kneel on the roadside.

Now, they have tasted the sweetness of the Russians, and according to their knowledge, their current life is like being in heaven.

They don't want to lose the happy life of having enough to eat every day, money to earn, and not even having to consume their own surplus food.

If this fat blue fox invites everyone to go to war, will he go? Must go!

Indeed, Blue Fox is not a good person, he is just using the Gould family's usual tricks to treat these ordinary people who are doing things for themselves. Businessmen who can make their business big must be honest, otherwise "they will be killed by Frey's wild boar."

In fact, he maintains a cooperative relationship with all the people of Nassau Village. The so-called I give you money and you contribute, this is a fair transaction. He actually regards the villagers as living people, unlike some lords who regard the people in their territories as "fat sheep waiting to be cut" and then wantonly extract profits.

The chimneys of newly built houses are emitting thick smoke, so villagers can cook some wheat porridge at home without worrying about making the whole house smoky. More houses are under construction. Nassau Village is still a large construction site, and its appearance has undergone dramatic changes that are visible to the naked eye.

It was in this joyful atmosphere that the Nassau Village Monastery completed its local summer solstice mass. This mass is not an important festival throughout the year, but it is precisely at this unique time point that the villagers and the converted people are enjoying themselves. The boys in the village sang hymns and praised Hallelujah in unison. As for who is the saint? There is a group in front of you. Of course, there is nothing wrong with singing Hallelujah. The people must have believed that these foreign Russians must be angels sent by the Lord.

The Baron of Nassau has actually formed a community of interests with Ross Shop as the core, and Father Conrad has actually become a marginal figure. The latter didn't want to say anything. After all, living with a thousand pounds of wheat given by others, a mere ten priests could live a good life like never before.

It looks like a pastoral and happy place.

Now that the grapes are ripe, young girls in the village are trampling the grapes to pieces in large oak barrels with their bare feet, singing folk songs while trampling. Blue Fox and his men were also happy to see this scenery. After all, wine was extremely expensive in the north in the past. As for how to make blood-like wine, everyone now really understands it and finds it more delicious.

The Barony of Nassau is located in the northwest of the huge Black Forest mountainous area. The large and small valleys in this mountainous area are settlements, and the slopes are very suitable for growing grapes. There are no large-scale vineyards near the village of Nassau. The village women carrying rattan baskets on their backs gather crops that are roughly grown. It is not an exaggeration to call them wild grapes. These small-grained grapes are sweet and sour, but they don't have enough juice. It's more efficient to pound them with a wooden hammer than to step on them with your feet. If it were an old woman who stepped on it, the buyer would be jealous of the glass of wine if the news reached them. But if it were a young girl who stepped on it, the situation would be completely different.

When wine is made in various parts of the Black Forest, some village girls are first organized to trample the grapes into a lake of pulp, and then put the lees used in the previous winemaking into wooden barrels and wait for the magic of time. This was done in every settlement, even in the main wine-producing areas of Provence, southern Italy, and eastern Roman Greece.

Drinking wine requires time and waiting. The wine he bought while buying food last time has been finished. Blue Fox couldn't forget this delicious taste, so he took his brothers to drink the grape juice directly. The brothers are also extremely comfortable. When they think that wine that is as precious as gold and silver in the northern world can now be drunk every day, they love Nassau so much.

There is not only wine here, but also hot spring resources in the Baden-Ems quarry downstream of the river in Nassau Village. Natural hot water is extremely rare in the northern world. We don't know why hot water can gush out of the ground and lead it to a pond to weaken its warmth. Then the brothers jump in and take a bath, which is a great enjoyment. So they simply used local materials, piled stones from the quarry into the mud pond, and created a hot spring swimming pool in a short time.

Some of the newly built wooden houses in the quarry have also been transformed into complete saunas.

Soak in the hot springs, use the sauna, and drink grilled fish with wheat porridge and wine. Baden-Ems has become a sanatorium.

Life has gotten better, and it is extremely stable, even though not far away, across the Inn River is the stronghold of Koblenz in the Middle Kingdom.

Of course, the blue fox did not forget the king's order to cause trouble, which was that this great construction project was coming to an end. If there was no new situation, it was better to take a good rest first, just like a fat seal lying on the shore with its belly open and basking in the sun, doing nothing.

Of course he had good reasons to be a seal, and the biggest reason was that his brother and the troops he sent did not return. "Even if I bring the villagers up, I can organize up to 300 people. What can this army do?"

But Black Fox could not stay in the lowlands for a long time. He could not take a group of people to Nassau Village empty-handed, so he took his own funds to purchase a batch of agricultural products in wealthy Utrecht, and then brought the Danes from Kent County grabbed some pots and pans to buy some. He must be fully prepared. After all, he may have to stay in Nassau for a long time in his life. The so-called Baron of Nassau in the name of butler.

It was not until late June that the fleet carrying a large amount of daily necessities set off.

It is true that some people leave the village of Nassau where they have lived for generations to go to Utrecht, and some Utrecht villagers want to follow the Black Fox fleet to Nassau.

Including the people who previously performed transportation tasks, the Black Fox now has nearly 500 people, including some lowland villagers whose families immigrated.

A typical Viking longship flew three flags: the flag of Ross, the flag of black cross on a white background, and the flag of Charlemagne's Three Lions. Only the Ross flag, which was deliberately interpreted as "Saint Andre's Cross", proved the true identity of the fleet, and the other flags were all deception.

It was also thanks to the latter two flags that the settlements along the fleet's route did not cause panic.

Some nobles in the Middle Kingdom learned about the fleet's transit and judged based on the flags that these were Prince Ludwig's people - those Danish mercenaries.

Now, the main battlefields of the Middle Kingdom and the Eastern Kingdom are still in the area centered on Strasbourg. The Middle Kingdom army stationed in Aachen remains vigilant on the other side of the Rhine River, but will not take the initiative to attack. Who are the people on the other side? Mainly the Diocese of Cologne, they will not directly intervene in the civil war in the kingdom.

In fact, this is not the case. If it is a high-intensity economic blood transfusion, it is enough to change the situation of one side's war. The Diocese of Cologne lost a sum of money, but gained the entire earldom of Westphalia. It was difficult to make money again after the money was gone, but the area under direct control was not easy to get! Archbishop Hardbold felt that this was the brand new "Pepin's Sacrifice" and that he might be able to be promoted to the Pope in the future, or to recommend his students to Rome. Because they were fed up with the disputes among the nobles, they were eager to use some peaceful means to claim the noble territories as their own and establish a peaceful heaven on earth. The capture of all of Westphalia was indeed a great victory.

The problem is that this matter is recognized by the Eastern Kingdom. If King Lothair of the Middle Kingdom finally wins the civil war, the expansion of the Cologne Diocese will definitely not be recognized.

The priests in Cologne were interested in doing business deals with the Russians, who were good at sailing. Finally, they were extremely excited when they saw the Russian fleet passing through, and then watched them with ecstasy before leaving quietly.

It seems that the Ross fleet has no idea about Cologne.

"Sofia! How beautiful are you? Is your village rich?"

Black Fox looked at the city of Cologne on the boat. The city was indeed larger. However, this young man was young and restless. He wanted to make great achievements and was eager to welcome his woman. Even if he trades with Cologne in the future, it will be his brother Red Fox's business. It is better for him to rush to Nassau Village as soon as possible.

So, the Ross fleet passed under the nose of the Coblenz garrison again. Charlemagne's three lion flag was flying on the mast. The garrison was neither deaf nor blind. When they saw the flag, they knew it must be Ludwig's. trick.

Only the true Frankish king has the right to inherit Charlemagne's Three Lions banner. At the height of the civil war, Lothair had unilaterally announced the withdrawal of Ludwig's title as Duke of Bavaria. Ludwig displayed the Three Lions flag in a high-profile manner to compete with his eldest brother, claiming that he was the orthodox one. A group of nobles chose sides. All the nobles and even the parishes on the north bank of the River Inn supported Ludwig, and the nobles on the south bank of the River Inn unanimously supported Lothair.

The garrison of Koblenz was actually only 200 people, and at most some militiamen were recruited.

This place also changed hands. According to the old treaty, it was the fiefdom of Charles the Bald of the West Kingdom. It was Lothair who forcibly occupied the West Kingdom enclave. The local villagers don't care. The civil war among the high-ranking nobles has nothing to do with them. As long as they pay taxes on time, what else can they do with their lives?

Only the defenders were worried that the Eastern Kingdom's army might cross the river and capture the city, and Ludwig was motivated by this.

The defenders had no idea that a fat young man of only sixteen years old was standing in the transit fleet. The little fat man stood on the stern deck of the ship, watching the long boat towing the big ship rowing vigorously, while looking sideways at the city standing on the mound.

"Is this Coblenz? The nail that Henry Nassau suggested I pull out?"

Then a "consultant" from Nassau Village replied: "Yes. If you are willing."

"Yes! Of course I do. It seems that I have to discuss it with my brother. Now I have someone with a sword and a boat. Isn't it easy to seize it?!"

As a result, the fishermen in the village of Landstein were the first to encounter the brand new Ross fleet, and it was they who led the team into the Land River and then successfully reached the end of the journey.

Black Fox couldn't forget his fiancée whom he had never met. When he finally saw the true face of Nassau Village, he was dumbfounded again.

"Incredible! Why do I feel like this village looks familiar?!"

"No! Brother, are you building this village according to what we did on Gould Island and Tombstone Island?"

Indeed, except for a three-story stone building, the rest of the buildings are full of the style of the Kingdom of Russia. What comes into view is either the Ross-style wooden wall or the wood carvings. Coupled with the two long boats with pointed ends moored at the pier, it is inevitable that the black fox will have an illusion.

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Chapter 1094 The Barony of Nassau has changed. Read it for free.