Rise of Rurik

If the Blue Fox's plundering fleet continues to search for the source of the Moselle River, there is no doubt that it will enter the city of Metz and steal Count Adalbert's hometown.

It was the increasingly cold weather that forced the blue foxes to stop their plundering. They had already caused the ancient city of Trier to appear as if it had suffered a volcanic eruption. The mountains seemed to be torn apart by cracks in the earth, and the billowing black smoke turned into columns of smoke. The shocking scene could be seen by thirty people. Seen by people kilometers away.

The nearest southern riverside town (Saarburg) saw thick smoke that could not be covered by the hills. The news gradually spread by wandering people to the settlements further away, directly to Metz.

Blue Fox and his gang had already carried a large amount of loot down the river. If this section of the Moselle River had not been inconvenient for large ships to navigate, he would have taken the armed cargo ship to empty Trier's granaries as much as possible.

In the old days, the "hunger of the north" lingered in the hearts of the soldiers. No one would complain about having too much food stored in winter. If possible, everyone would be happy to live on the hills piled with food.

Wheat, which was once rare, has become commonplace. The Rus, Swedes, and Götalanders who entered the interior of Western Europe have changed their past dietary pattern of mainly fish, meat, and fish oil, and eating wheat has become everyone's favorite food.

The gold and silver spoils of war would have to wait until the army returned to the village of Nassau before being distributed. At least each man participating in the battle could carry a linen bag filled with dry wheat grains almost equal to his own weight.

Ordinary pirates are busy looting gold and silver. Blue Fox, who has been promoted to a great noble, has a lot to think about. He must think a lot about his brother Black Fox's future control of the entire old land of Nassau, especially the daily expenses of ensuring a strong garrison. Since there will probably be no military operations in the winter, the promise that the villagers will be exempted from the tithe tax cannot be broken.

The fleet formed a long snake formation, with one long ship pulling at least one sampan transporting a small amount of food. The people holding the stretched oars just kept correcting the direction, and the entire fleet moved south calmly.

Blue Fox wasn't in much of a mood, even though the chilling atmosphere that was essential in autumn made him feel a little sad.

He said to his younger brother: "My mission here has basically been completed. I will return after the final settlement."

"Going to Gothenburg? To become a noble in the land of the Jotalans?" Black Fox's eyes were full of reluctance.

"Of course. Moreover, I have to go to New Roseburg to report to the King. Brother, our family has expanded a lot in the south, and there must be a lot of things that the King has never heard of! I really can't believe that we can still defeat Ludwig. The king was doing a lot of secret things, and the Frankish civil war was more complicated than we imagined."

"so what?"

"I estimate that the war situation will expand and become more complicated. Only six hundred brothers cannot ensure the safety of Nassau under your control."

In the past military operations, Black Fox experienced war for the first time. He did not kill anyone, but only participated in the whole process as an observer. The battle greatly touched him. After experiencing these experiences, he grew as a person. He was not afraid, but instead became more ambitious.

"In my opinion, six hundred brothers will be enough. We will be invincible."

"Forget it!" Black Fox rubbed his brother's head hard, until his hair was like a bird's nest: "You still have to live with Sophia, you are a real baron now. Think about it, the Nassau area is very suitable for growing grapes, let's The family will be able to make a fortune by selling wine in the future. It will definitely be more profitable than robbery and is risk-free."

"I understand. I will work hard to develop winemaking, and the wine will be continuously transported to the north." Black Fox looked confident and looked at the river in front of him.

"It's a pity that the land in Nassau is not suitable for growing wheat. Fortunately, we occupy Coblenz and can harvest wheat every year. This winter, we arranged for a group of brothers to spend the winter in the Coblenz Fortress and asked Eric the Big Tooth to garrison. We occupied Coblenz. Transform the Frankish military camp into your indestructible fortress, and repair the docks along the river. We only have an agreement with the villages in the old land of Nassau. You must not collect the tithe from the surrendered knight lords in the Koblenz area. Hanhu.”

Hearing his brother's earnest instruction, Black Fox nodded frequently and couldn't help but sigh: "Obviously there is still a lot of food in Trier. If we can't move it away, we can only burn it. What a pity."

"It doesn't matter. Do you remember the river bend we passed called Dawn Valley? There are still some belongings that we don't have time to move away. Now is the opportunity."

Previously, due to fog and rain, it was impossible to further damage the town of Dawn Valley. When the Ross fleet left, the villagers who had fled to the nearby forest returned to the settlement. They collected the bodies of the dead, inspected the damage, and searched for granaries. After all, life had to go on.

However, the Russians turned back.

The people who cleaned up the mess in the settlement were very clever this time. When they saw the fleet in the distance, they gathered their friends and fled for their lives. When the Russians landed and continued to carry the loot, no prisoners were killed.

The load of the ship has reached its limit, and each ship must be careful. Once the ship rocks from side to side, the wheat piled in the open air will be flooded and suffer disaster.

The fleet's caution allowed them to return to Coblenz safely. The armed cargo ship docked here had been waiting for a long time. If they continued to transport the loot to the village of Nassau, they could make full use of the ship's powerful transport capacity. At the same time, the army ended the expedition just in time. Rest here.

Returning to Koblenz feels like returning home. The military camp on the hillside will soon hoist the Ross flag and the cross flag with black lines on a white background to declare the ownership of this place to the passing ships.

In 841, the Nassau family did not have its own coat of arms, or the concept of "coat of arms" was still very new. The Frankish nobles had always flaunted the image of fleur-de-lis. Only Charlemagne used the image of three lions. The figure declares its power.

The fat black fox naturally wants to fly the Ross flag high, and he will continue to do so until he has the inspiration for a new image.

The village near the Koblenz Fortress is living a peaceful life. Winter is not far away. The villagers have completed the wheat harvest and paid the tithe to the new Baron of Nassau, the Black Fox who has the legal stewardship. A batch of grain has been transported to the village of Nassau deep in the Lan River, and Father Bachbert of Koblenz Abbey personally implemented the matter.

After all, King Ludwig recognized Nassau's annexation of Koblenz, so that Koblenz, which originally belonged to the Diocese of Worms, was legally classified as a northern diocese and was under the influence of Archbishop Eskil of the Cathedral of Hamburg. management.

Such changes did not fundamentally change the daily lives of the people and clergy, and life continued as usual.

The Ross army, which had successfully plundered, landed in Koblenz. They still maintained the traditional dress of the Vikings. It wasn't until they completed the landing that they collectively changed their clothes, wiped off the traces of indigo camouflage on their bodies, and restored their faith in God.

For the time being, the army was carrying loot in the riverside area, and a batch of captured grain was to be carried to the hillside fortress. According to the plan discussed when returning, Eric "Big Tooth" would station here with some brothers, and the grain carried would be their winter rations.

Blue Fox and Black Fox happily took Fred, the excellent guide, to visit the monastery in the riverside village.

However, there was a new lord, and the life of the villagers continued as usual. There were also rumors that the new lord from outside was not a greedy person. The villagers' request is very simple. As long as the noble master does not impose heavy taxes, he is a good person. This year's new nobles' methods of tithe tax are quite satisfactory, so they don't feel terrible.

On the contrary, the priests had a very complicated attitude towards this returning sacrilegious army. Father Bachbert was a man of low words. He knew that the actions of the Norman nobles were authorized by King Ludwig. If it was sacrilege, even the master of the Eastern Kingdom was the chief culprit. The smart Bachbert knew that he should remain silent and must not take the initiative to ask relevant questions.

He had to play it by the occasion and welcome the victorious Norman nobles with open arms.

It was this kind of welcome that made Brother Fox feel uncomfortable.

After all, we went to the magnificent Trier Cathedral. The heavy Roman-era building is hundreds of times stronger than the Koblenz Abbey. It is spacious and majestic, and it would be even better if it was covered with a lot of stained glass on the outside. Blue Fox made a plan in his mind. He planned to tell Rurik what he had seen in Trier, hoping that Ross could improve the great temple in New Roseburg and make it even more majestic than the Trier church.

"Oh! Papa!" Blue Fox also put on a business-like smile, and it didn't matter if he affectionately called Bachbert "Dad". "Is everything going well with you guys? That's great."

"My children, welcome back. You must have achieved a great victory, how wonderful it is."

"Of course. Next, I should go to the monastery to confess. Haha."

Lan Hu's words contained a strong joking element, and he did intend to repent. Just as he said before going on the expedition, "It will be fine if you regret it one day." This is what he came to do.

Bachebert's old face instantly fell down. As a clergyman, he was bound by the commandments not to use vulgar words, so he denounced the hypocrisy of this group of people.

"Haha, are you scared? It doesn't matter, I still want to repent, and tell me about Nassau Village. Excuse me, is there anything big going on there?"

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Bachbert really didn't want to hear the confession of a hypocrite, but he had to listen to this guy's "great achievements" in Trier according to the procedures. He was very worried that this group of Norman pirates would kill the local archbishop. After all, judging from the way the fleet carried the loot, they had gained a lot.

He deliberately played it off: "It's better to repent first, my child. The Lord will forgive you."

Blue Fox looked at his fat little brother Black Fox again: "Then just listen to him, let's go."

What is repentance? The most important thing is to tell the priest about his or her past. The penitent of many things will cover his face and cry bitterly out of guilt for the evil he has done, and then ask for forgiveness and vow not to make the same mistake again.

This is a way to maintain moral order. If the people in the entire village are so pious and know how to repent, they can avoid trouble for a long time.

Listening to Brother Fox's confession, the two of them looked back on the war they had experienced with great joy, and announced their glorious victory in a high-profile manner. What kind of confession is this? ! As a listener, Father Bachbert was sweating all over in the September autumn wind. The sweat was so big that his hat could not hide it. He listened with great pressure, but he still had to say without conscience: "Lord I will forgive you."

So, on the days when Blue Fox and Black Fox left, was there really something big going on in Nassau Village?

A real event cannot be ignored. After all, the man and his entourage have been forced to live temporarily in Nassau Village.

Bachbert, who had finished listening, quickly changed his clothes and wiped his sweat. He was shocked that these Normans had really burned Trier to the ground. The release of Archbishop Hutto was a rare sign that they had not completely lost their heart. Crazy, this shows that they are still worth saving. After all, the Normans were all military nobles, and the Frankish Civil War was a complete tragedy in the eyes of the priests. The nobles killed each other in increasingly bad ways, and the foreign military nobles had less concerns. The civil war in the future would only be more tragic.

All kinds of nobles in the civil war had their own ideas. Even if some nobles had lost power, they still wanted to struggle. Even if they were in decline, they still had to maintain the glory brought by their noble status.

After changing his clothes, Bachbert adjusted his mentality and mentioned the matter to Black Fox and Blue Fox in his office building in the monastery.

"The Count of Ingo went to Nassau. When I escorted this year's tithe, I happened to see him already in the village. Maybe... you know this nobleman."

"He? Robert? Are you serious about this?!" Blue Fox was quite surprised.

"certainly."

"Of course I know this guy. What's weird, is he really coming to count Yingao? I know he was released. Why did this guy run wild in our territory?"

"No, he came on horseback with less than ten followers, as well as the countess and children in the carriage. Their whole family came, and their attitude was obviously very low-key. Father Conrad negotiated with him. In fact, these people had been living in There was indeed no trouble in the village monastery.”

"It's ridiculous." Black Fox didn't know the inside story, but his fiancée, Baroness Sophia, was staying in the village. An old count came on horseback, deliberately bullying a young female noble. This was simply a provocation. "I should evict this guy! That's my territory!"

Blue Fox knew that the inside story must be very complicated. He asked his brother to be calm and continue to hear the news: "Father, I remember that the earl has lost a lot of power. What is he doing here? He chose to come at a time when we are empty inside. I absolutely cannot There is a conspiracy."

"There is no conspiracy." Bachbert sighed slightly.

"What is that? Just going to hunt in the mountains near Nassau? Or are you here to beg for wine?"

"I'm here to beg for food. I talked with Father Conrad, but I didn't dare to hear the earl personally. I learned that Nassau used to be a vassal of Ingau, and the earl just came to ask for some living supplies. Maybe he didn't What malicious intent."

Blue Fox heard this inexplicably, pinching his beard and thinking, and suddenly asked: "Is that guy so depressed that he can't even eat? Last year, he went to war with us in the north to show off his power. He led three thousand cavalry to fight with us, and now he is so depressed that he can't even eat." Find food on my head? Let me believe this. I would rather believe that the sun rises from the west."

Bachbert had no reason to defend the Robert family. He only knew the superficial situation, and there was no need to know much.

Black Fox was even more anxious than his brother, "My woman is still in the village, and I have to protect her. Damn Robert, are you trying to sneak attack on me?"

"Forget it." Blue Fox patted his brother on the shoulder, "We won't stay in Coblenz for a long time. We will just spend one night here and we will leave tomorrow morning."

"But I want to leave now."

"Don't worry too much, that Father Conrad comes in handy now. Just Robert, our men are defeated. If this guy really comes to our territory with his family to beg for food... Boy, you should organize some language to mock him. Fan." Blue Fox joked.

Black Fox's anxious mood was suppressed by Blue Fox, and he could only temporarily believe that the guy was really here to beg for food.