Rise of Rurik

The straight-line distance between Emperor Constantine's palace in Trier and the cathedral is four hundred meters. The city is not large, so the distance seems quite far away.

Behind the palace is a mountain with an altitude of 400 meters, and the distance from the foot of the mountain to the nearest city wall is only three kilometers.

Now, all four gates of the city were completely open, and the residents fled in droves. The last defenders were completely confused, and they were swept out of the city by the fleeing crowd.

The battle at the western gate directly destroyed the morale of the city of Trier, and the remaining actions of the Ross army became extremely simple.

Can a lot of wealth be found in ordinary stone and wood houses? The army, which was fully experienced in plundering, rushed towards the two largest buildings in the city.

Eric "Big Teeth" led two hundred brothers to storm the emperor's palace, easily defeated the remaining defenders and rushed straight to his camp, then swarmed into the palace.

The door that was temporarily closed with a bronze lock was smashed cleanly with a long-handled Nordic forest ax. This Frankish-renovated building that still has Roman stone columns and Charlemagne's beloved palace now has a kind of blond savage pouring into it.

People's spirits were ecstatic. The two strong men pushed open the door tremblingly, and the brothers behind were eager to try. It seemed as if they were facing mountains of gold and silver when they opened the door.

The door slowly opened, and the Ross army entered like a mudslide.

"Robbing, brothers! Use your best ability to take away everything valuable! Kill all the guys who are hiding!" Holding the steel sword high, Eric the Big Tooth roared like a wild beast.

For a group of guys who are good at robbing, there is no need to teach them how to rob.

The Rus are indeed different from ordinary Viking pirates. They are more or less familiar characters, and even plundering must be carried out in a targeted manner.

After all, it was originally the palace of Constantine in the land. Although it was reduced to ruins after the Huns' rebellion, Charlemagne's rebuilt palace tried its best to restore its past glory. The Frankish monarchs had many palaces throughout the country, and Trier was a rather beautiful and important one.

Its walls are hung with ceremonial gilded battle axes, and a noble purple curtain hangs high. Bear head specimens are hung on the walls of some houses to show the monarch's power, and there are also small chapels filled with gold and silver furnishings.

All these precious things were looted, and the curtains were snatched in pieces. They are very smart, and the extremely rare purple (magenta) is extraordinary. Even if they grab the fragments, they are used as decorations on sword hilts and as trimmings on clothes, which are all outstanding.

They poured into the palace dining room and took away the gold and silver tableware. Flooding into the clothing room, the clothes once worn by "Louis the Pious" were also snatched away.

But they didn't find any such thing as a money bank. Although they brought axes and smashed the wooden and stone floors, they wanted to find the secret room where the money was hidden. Sure enough, they really found something. However, the hole they dug out was just the remains of a drainage ditch left over from the Roman era. Although it was not large enough, it was enough to attract people to explore. However, there was no sign of the treasure other than a dusty nose. In fact, there is a complex sewer system underground in Trier. In the old days, the Romans had already laid sewer gullies in the city before they built the palace. However, the Frankish nobles knew how to make good use of this. Only the main roads on the surface of the city had gullies on both sides. Water supply and drainage.

After all, this is a palace, and legally it belongs to King Lothair's private property. No one can arrogantly live here. On weekdays, there is a small group of waiters responsible for taking care of the palace's hygiene, and there is also a flag squad of soldiers to protect it. Now that the soldiers were defeated and fled, the waiter had already fled immediately with the fleeing crowd.

The Emperor's Palace is a complex of buildings that is like a small fortress isolated from the entire city, and now the Russians can move freely within it.

A large number of civilians fled, and they did not have time to take away enough food. Many people even fled barefoot and wore rudimentary clothes. Men have no time to wear hoods, and women have no time to wear headscarves. Such behavior is considered disrespectful in the Diocese of Trier. In times of crisis, the priests cannot protect themselves, and the fleeing civilians have no control over the rules and regulations.

Maybe escape into the hills and use the forest to protect everyone.

There are dense forests in the mountains not far from the city. The mountains are large and easy to hide people.

The gate facing the east was built in the Frankish period and is smaller in scale. A considerable number of escapees left the city through the Roman-era "Great Black Gate" of Nicholas in the north, and then rushed towards the hilly forests to the northeast.

The city of Trier is a city that grew up in a small riverside plain carved out by mountains and rivers. The scenery here was beautiful in peacetime, but now it is bathed in blood.

"Brother Fox" assumed that the church had a huge amount of money.

The cathedral is a genuine Roman-era building. The war destroyed it and left only broken walls. Repairing it is not a troublesome task. The Romanesque arched dome did not completely collapse, so new wood and stone were piled on top of the original building to restore the church. Although it has no spire, the superstructure has a series of small arched windows, and the cross on the real roof becomes a prominent feature.

The confused priests didn't know what to do. They surrounded Archbishop Hutto and prayed to this extremely noble monk to make a decision.

But what decision can Hutto make? Is it possible that an elderly hunchback can still convince barbarians who are killing him with just his mouth?

This is indeed the case.

"Don't panic!" The archbishop tightened his grip on his cross-shaped cane and kept tapping the floor, thus containing the confusion of the priests and civilians who had entered the hall to seek refuge.

"Papa! What should we do?"

"Oh! Lord, please save your pious lamb..."

Some people asked the archbishop, some kept crossing themselves and praying for salvation, and all kinds of human emotions were displayed in the preaching hall.

Archbishop Hutto was the only one who tried his best to remain calm. A surge of courage surged into his heart. Hutto himself would not escape. If he must die at the hands of barbarians, he would die with the glory of a martyr.

And, who says miracles can’t happen?

At that time, Pope Leo I personally persuaded the Huns to retreat outside the city of Rome. This incident was regarded as a "miracle of faith." For hundreds of years, the priests did not care about the interest game behind it, and only recognized the "Pope's faith". His power dissuaded the apostles of Satan."

Hutto actually tried it himself, but his prayers did not bring God's thunder of punishment. The only option was to try to reproduce the miracle himself.

As a martyr, he led a group of black-robed priests to open the door of confinement. At this moment, a large number of Russian warriors gathered at the main entrance of the cathedral.

The entire main entrance and side entrances of the cathedral were blocked. This was not the first time that Blue Fox had done this. He had great experience in the general structural layout of the monastery and how to carry out sieges. It is also true that if other Ross generals were present and had ordered a group of brave men to violently break the goal, Blue Fox chose to remain calm for the time being.

What if there is an ambush here? In case there is a group of unimportant civilians who delay the brothers from looting. There is even a question that must be discussed in advance - how to divide the stolen property.

Blue Fox had to take some time to inform the brothers of his ideas outside the church. According to the old rules, the treasury and gold and silver sacred vessels must be confiscated first and then distributed, and other property should be snatched according to one's ability.

Such a distribution is definitely unfair, and there is nothing we can do about it if we think about it carefully. Even if someone grabs a huge amount of silver coins, is he capable of grabbing the Life Flower?

Who is Lan Hu? Not only is he a person highly regarded by the king, but his current identity is the Earl of Gothenburg. Although most of the brothers will follow their younger brother Black Fox in the future, Black Fox is still a person appointed by King Rurik. Ordinary soldiers have ordinary enjoyments. Even one pound of silver coins for everyone after the war is already a huge booty.

Just as Blue Fox was forming his team, the closed door opened on its own initiative.

The unusual move made the Ross warriors who had already built a shield wall be more vigilant. Their swords and axes moved forward in unison. Blue Fox also shouted vigilantly: "Beware of ambush."

No armed men rushed out, just some priests in black robes. Even so, Blue Fox still ordered to be on guard, beware that they were Frank soldiers in disguise.

A hunchbacked old man held a wooden cross in his right hand and opened his robe with his left hand, revealing his severely hairless head, which was protected by a small felt hat.

There was a large cross with a strong metallic color hanging on the chest of this person. His clothes seemed simple. It was no small feat for Blue Fox to recognize this priest at a glance.

"A high priest? Who is he?" Blue Fox hurriedly asked Fred, who was leading the way.

"It's the archbishop, his name is Hutto." As he spoke, Fred made an urgent request: "I beg you, please don't kill him! Don't hurt the priests here! I... don't want to undermine the bottom line."

"You still have a bottom line? What do you want to do if you get on our ship?" Blue Fox smiled, and seeing the other party's expression of embarrassment, he hit his chest again: "Don't be stupid, friend. My godfather is the Archbishop of the North, Eski. Hey, I know the bottom line better than you!"

Although King Ludwig promised "whatever you want in the Norman way," such a generous promise could make a big fuss after some big events really happened. You can really do whatever you want? Like killing these priests and beheading the archbishop and making wine bowls out of their skulls?

Blue Fox does not have such strange hobbies. He believes in Thor and God. He believes in many kinds of gods. Now that he is active in the Frankish world, he has to consider whether he will be punished by "God" for doing too much.

Now he once again felt the beauty of learning Latin. The shield wall opened a crack, and the blue fox put the round shield and steel sword in its sheath. He opened his arms to indicate that he walked out of the military formation without any threat.

"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"

A blond man with a slightly fat face came out. This man clearly showed a peaceful attitude. Hutto was overjoyed to see him. Although he didn't know the identity of the other party, he seemed to want to talk to him. Maybe the turning point of the disaster was at this moment.

Hutto put on a vicissitudes of life and resolute face, knocked the wooden stick again, and said seriously in a hoarse voice: "You! Leave quickly! Don't destroy this holy land!"

The words were spoken in Frankish, and Blue Fox didn't master this language very well. During this period of time, he could only communicate stumblingly with Fred, who had surrendered, and he was not willing to talk to anyone for a long time.

The blue fox still raised his hands slightly, and opened his mouth in Latin: "Pada! We are just a group of lost sheep, and we want to be taught."

Latin? Hutto was shocked and confirmed that he was right. The content of the other party's words was even more strange, making him not sure how to continue.

Blue Fox continued to repeat the words, and made the sign of the cross on his chest with his lowered hands, paralyzing them with his words while walking slowly.

Although it is very miraculous, it seems that a miracle has really happened! Perhaps this group of barbarians entered the holy realm when they stepped into the square outside the church, and their souls had begun to be influenced.

The people of Trier most hope for a miracle, Hutto strengthened this idea in his heart, his vigilance disappeared, and his serious attitude softened.

"In that case, lay down your arms. Repent! Repent of the evil you are doing! Stop all destruction! The Lord will forgive you."

Blue Fox's hypocritical smile remained. He was still moving forward and continued to say deliberately: "So, can people like us really be redeemed?"

"Of course! You are blinded by blood. Stop doing gangsterism and repent! Put down your weapons."

The blue fox continued to make excuses, walking carefully until he stood in front of Archbishop Hutto.

The nervous lower-level priests were all worried about the archbishop. At this point, it seemed that a miracle was happening.

To put on a show, you have to do a complete set. Blue Fox has no idea that these pedantic guys are really stupid. He consciously made a good judgment. After all, the Archbishop of the North, Eskil, and the Archbishop of Cologne, Hadbold, all have similar problems. They believe that they can really rely on Convince the berserker to convert with just one mouthful. I have really stayed in the monastery for so long that I don’t know the dangers of the world. Or maybe it's another form of arrogance.

The blue fox first bowed slightly, and then seemed to kneel down. Just when Hutto completely relaxed his guard, he rushed forward with a strong step, and used his right arm to choke the opponent cleanly, while his left arm was pinned to Hutto's arm. Such an old guy was unable to move while being held in a pair of pliers. The cross and cane fell off, and he was dragged backwards by the blue fox.

Hutto was so frightened that he howled, and the other priests and civilians who were taking refuge were so shocked that they were speechless.

In the final analysis, what Blue Fox wants is to get rich. He is not a warrior in the Viking world. He feels that it is not his duty to kill and sacrifice Odin in blood, and he is not murderous towards the civilians in front of him. Personally, he even felt that these guys would delay his robbery just by standing here.

He suddenly shouted in Frankish: "Idiot! I will give you life, now run away! Otherwise you will die!"

The smart guys seized the opportunity and ran away. Naturally, there were also those who were so frightened that their legs trembled as if they were glued to the ground and remained indifferent. Some priests fled, while others insisted on standing at the door of the church.

Blue Fox shook his head, and said in a tearful voice to Hutto, who was being held tightly: "I gave you a chance, and those who don't run will die."

Forget it, the order to attack was given, and all the people who were stunned for whatever reason were killed, and the Russian soldiers swarmed into the Roman-style cathedral.

Looting took place immediately, and the gold and silver sacred vessels visited in the preaching hall were still robbed by the soldiers.

At the same time, the soldiers began to rummage through the boxes and cabinets, searching everywhere, just to find the location of the bank.

In fact, the bank was easy to find, and there was no need for Blue Fox to personally force Archbishop Hutto to confess.

The church has a large cellar and a high-rise building.

The superstructure of Trier Cathedral is stacked with parchment manuscripts and a collection of daily records. Its cellar is where gold and silver are stored, and a bronze lock is kept locked for a long time.

The lock was violently broken open again, and a leather-clad wooden box containing silver coins, copper coins and a small amount of gold coins was discovered. The boxes were very heavy. As one box was broken open to reveal the coins inside, the soldiers judged that the other boxes were like this.

Blue Fox asked his men not to rob privately, but it turned out that they couldn't be completely organized. The smart man just grabbed a handful of silver coins here for his own sake, so the only wooden box that was smashed open was shared by the brothers present, while the other wooden boxes remained untouched.

The boxes were gradually moved outside the church, and Blue Fox was carrying them outdoors. Hutto, who had suffered the disaster, was already awake. The poor old guy's hands and feet were tied up, and his dropped cross cane was trampled and broken in the chaos.

Hutto cursed in Latin that the barbarians would go to hell. Blue Fox took the trouble to stop his younger brother Black Fox from trying to assassinate this man, and ordered his subordinates to shut their mouths.

As the money box appeared, the overjoyed Blue Fox was very satisfied with his prediction and strode forward. Following the introduction of his subordinates, he ordered people to smash open the box in front of him, and what was immediately displayed in front of everyone was the fine quality of Man Deng Deng. Nice Frankish silver coin.