Rise of Rurik

Although Sophia is young and does not have a far-sighted vision, she has the most basic understanding of the area near her family.

Facing Black Fox's question, she tried her best to calmly say: "The Robert family, their family cemetery is in Wiesbaden. That's a good place to come to Ingau."

"She's right." Ludwig spread his hands and looked calm: "How? I can give this place to you. Be loyal to me and become Baron Wiesbaden. I am originally interested in coming to Inn." Don't be greedy. Since Robert's family has defected, the entire area should be given to a new master. This new lord is right here!"

"This...what should I do?"

"Are you hesitant? You are conflicted." Ludwig raised his bearded head like a lion, and his eyes stared like bells: "Are you loyal to your Rurik, or are you loyal to me? Maybe, this It's never been a problem."

"Um?"

"The king does not ask you to choose sides. The king and Rurik are not rivals now, and I do not want to start a fight unless Rurik breaks the peace treaty first. Listen! Being a vassal of my king means that Many problems can be solved easily.”

"What does it mean?"

"Are you the real Hu Tu? Or are you just pretending to be stupid here?"

In fact, the black fox could see that the king was already relaxed under the cover of his angry eyes. On the contrary, this man wanted to pretend to be extremely strong. When it comes to themselves, they ask themselves that they really don’t have a clear identity even now. King Ross arranged for himself to build a Ross store in Nassau and allocated some manpower. All have converted to God and have severed their ties with Rus in their faith.

Is there a possibility? In a sense, is this also the deliberate alienation of King Ross?

After all, only the eldest son of the Gould family has the right to inherit the name, and the other brothers have to make their own futures according to the old rules.

So the other three brothers effectively left Ross' inner circle.

My father has passed away, and my old mother is still in high spirits and is retiring in Lake Mälaren. Those brothers and sisters who were born as concubines were all given civilian status, and those people had to prove themselves through military exploits, unless they could just settle down and be mere mortals.

Therefore, with a group of de facto marginalized brothers, I have a strong right to choose, and my relationship with the Kingdom of Ross has become a de facto alliance.

The black fox cocked his head and was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle, but Ludwig did not want to waste time.

"Quick! Tell me your decision. Be loyal to me and give me a baron. Likewise, I also recognize your wife's existing title and new ideas."

"..."

"I want to say something!" Anxious Ludwig simply slapped the table and then slammed the meat-cutting knife into the table.

Seeing her husband with his head raised and saying nothing, and seeing the king as irritable as a lion, Sophia frowned and gritted her teeth in a dilemma.

Because this little girl is also secretly resentful of her father's "abandonment", she might as well seize the opportunity to create her own career with her husband.

She subconsciously grabbed her husband's arm, leaned her delicate little head, and looked straight at the hesitant face of the black fox with her trembling eyes.

She murmured: "Promise him for me."

"you……"

"King Ross didn't blame you last year, and he will definitely do so this year."

"maybe I……"….

In the end, the black fox was defeated by his wife's eyes. He raised his head and took a deep breath: "Okay, I can be loyal to you. I hope King Ross will forgive me."

"Very good. It's really hard work. No noble has ever hesitated before my reward. You!" Ludwig pointed his big hand directly at the black fox's nose: "You are young and bold, just as arrogant as all the Normans. . But you look like a fat sheep, maybe you should prove to me that you are indeed an arrogant person."

For the time being, Black Fox ignored the news behind these words and had his own opinion: "I am loyal to you conditionally. My army can fight for you, but you must pay us food and money. We must be profitable, especially I need to be able to come up with a sum of money to pay tribute to King Rus. Otherwise, I’m worried that my behavior will be regarded as betrayal.”

"Absurd. You still want to pay tribute to him? Are you a loser?"

"This is the rule of the north.

"

There is indeed a huge cultural difference here. Based on the system stipulated by Charlemagne, nobles at all levels can only perform military service. The so-called if there is a war, the lower-level nobles should summon their own troops to assist the prince in fighting. After the war, according to certain Proportional distribution of loot. As for the lower nobles paying tribute to the lord, this was also the case in Frank a long time ago, but now it has been completely abolished.

Because the perpetrators of paying tribute or taxation have been assigned to each farmer, they support the lords and priests by paying two levels of tithes and other miscellaneous taxes.

However, the rapidly expanding Kingdom of Rus was still divided into multiple large regions. The vassals in each region were actually free nobles. They paid tribute to the tribal chiefs in accordance with the old rules of the alliance period to declare their allegiance. It’s just that Rurik ordered that the nobles and nobles on the list have tax exemption rights for ten years.

Nobles outside the list, in principle, need to prove that they are still loyal by paying tribute.

Black Fox had to explain, and then heard Ludwig's hysterical rants.

"Among all the vassals, I don't even know the true attitude of the Marquis of Thuringia. He is loyal to me, but has been slow to send troops for combat operations. He is not weak in strength, and he only sent out an army of a thousand men this time. , it is really unreasonable for me to allocate military rations to you.”

The Black Fox didn't understand the Marquis of Thuringia at all, and didn't want to understand it even if he wanted to, but Ludwig pressed him a little bit more, and it was obvious that he had to understand even if he didn't understand.

"Lai Ingau borders Thuringia, and you are different from him. I really hope that you vassals can also pay some tribute to the king instead of just sending troops. It would be good to actually send troops. If you can do it yourself It would be better to bring food! I noticed some advantages of Rus, such as good weapons and superior ships. My army can find ways to learn from this. There is also a crucial point. King Rus seems to be unable to finish his food. You guys ...How was it done?”

"I do not know."

"I don't know? Maybe I really don't know." Ludwig said with a silly smile, "That's okay. I have to raise a large amount of food to deal with the war. If the nobles can bring enough military rations, it will greatly reduce the pressure on me. So, Paul Black Fox, Do you think I can give you more money as a tribute to Rurik?"

Is this guy crying about poverty? The Black Fox originally had no intention of asking for a sum of money from Ludwig, but since Frank had rules in this regard, he would be sorry if he didn't take the opportunity to ask for money, and he would be sorry for the system established by Charlemagne. It can be said that he followed the Romans. ….

[A book-chasing book recommended to me by an old book friend I have known for ten years, @

Dax, crucify those rebels with countless crosses.

But this kind of barbaric behavior is contrary to the belief in God. Even if the war dead are enemies, they still believe in God.

If the enemy was beheaded and his head was stuck on a stake, the Russians vividly performed this on the banks of the Elbe River. Looking back at that time, Ludwig was still worried. He could still recall the rage two years ago. He must have been equally furious and frightened when his elder brother saw that his army suffered such post-war destruction.

There was no need to hide it anymore. When Ludwig thought that the "Coblenz Massacre" that killed so many people in his brother's army must be attributed to the Nassau nobles, in fact it was the little girl Sofia in front of him who wanted to claim this. Since she was not afraid of the outcome of the battle, she could not be a listener of the subsequent conspiracy.

It can be said that in principle, the next conspiracy is the bloody conspiracy between the Lord of the East, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Count of Nassau, Koblenz and Leiingau.

"Thall!" Ludwig pointed out the name, "This time it's not Trier, it's Thrall."

"Sal?"

"That's Sal. Follow the road you looted last year and enter the Sal River at a key river fork. Eventually, a bridge will block your way."

"Bridge?" Black Fox's eyes lit up: "You want us to help you tear down the bridge this time?"

"Yes! But not entirely. Sarabruggia, that town. According to the intelligence, that is where the granary of my eldest brother's army is. It is the most important bridge on the Saar River, and the food and fodder for the army must pass through there. .Now that the armies of the Middle Kingdom are gathering in Kaiserslautern, the next step is to attack my king’s Mainz. I am afraid that tens of thousands of troops have already been assembled, and they may launch an attack at any time! This is why I want to recruit you immediately The longships transport my troops across the river.”….

"But our ship..."

"I'll return it to you after transporting the troops. I'm even willing to pay for it. I have to say that your ships are really useful and allow us to greatly increase the speed of crossing the river."

Black Fox was not moved by such praise. He said bluntly: "If you want me to help you fight the war, you must return the ship to me."

"That's natural, but you won't be in a hurry. Because, I have to complete the canonization of you and your wife in the cathedral. This time is enough for my Bavarian army to cross the river. Especially the cavalry!"

Indeed, the appearance of more than ten long boats directly changed the situation of crossing the river. Ludwig relied heavily on his cavalry troops. A large number of cavalry were wandering on the other side of the river. However, the small boats could only transport one horse at a time. What was extremely bad was that A frightened horse can easily cause a boat to capsize. The movement of transporting horses across the river was fraught with danger, but as soon as Ross's longships arrived, the cavalry quickly crossed the river efficiently.

His disadvantage lies here. Lothair's cavalry can cross the river on the stone bridge of Sarabrücken with great swagger, but he has to be cautious and use barges to cross the wide Rhine River.

The disadvantage has been greatly alleviated, and the new force may even give Lothair a taste of what it means to cross the river.

Ludwig's request was simple yet complex. He asked Black Fox to continue to lead his army under the banner of the Normans. They could burn, kill, loot and commit all kinds of evil, as long as these guys had a clear conscience.

He never felt that Black Fox and his army really converted to God. Everything was done by these Normans. In other words, they believe in all kinds of gods, or they believe in nothing. As long as they live a comfortable life, they don't even consider whether the soul will be judged after death.

Without any worries, he can be ruthless. In this way, the robber pays more attention to the glory and wealth in this life, and does not need to consider whether his actions betray his faith. Ludwig knows that his army does not possess this.

Although it is a stone bridge, as long as the piers are smashed off with a Norman sledgehammer and the timber on the bridge is destroyed, the bridge will be useless. He had wanted to do this for a long time, but he didn't have the ability.

Of course there is a fortress there, which is the residence of Baron Sal, and there must be a granary building nearby. He also wished he could rob his eldest brother's army of food. Even if he couldn't get it, he would burn it and no one would eat it.

"Destroy the bridges, destroy or capture the ships you see. Kill Baron Thrall's family, you can kill everyone in sight. Remove the gold and silver found this year

, food, and anything that cannot be taken away should be burned as much as possible. You behead the enemy's heads and stick them on wooden stakes. It's best to make them densely packed for my brother's army to see. You must also leave a mark of the Normans to tell them that everything was done by the Normans. And all the property you robbed belongs to you! "

"Loot Saar." The black fox was excited when he heard it, but then he thought, even if Ludwig didn't say anything, his army would still take over the place and plunder and make a fortune, so why should he be controlled by others. He deliberately yelled: "It's just Sal, he was already among our attack targets. Do we still need to listen to your command when we loot the place?"

The publicity really frightened Ludwig. Indeed, the Normans didn't need anyone else to plunder a place.

But Ludwig still had a bargaining chip: "The attack on Sarabrücken is a task assigned to you by the king. Didn't you say you want money and food? Just one hundred thousand pounds of food will satisfy you?"….

"how?"

Ludwig gritted his teeth and said, "Frankfurt. I'll give you the local tithe for the year."

"Where?" Black Fox is not stupid. He smiled calmly: "I heard that Frankfurt is under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Mainz, and that place is firmly under your control. Robert has already said that you took away a large number of knights from Ingau. Fighting for you, and raising taxes on the people. We spent a huge sum of money to buy a weak Leingau, and I still want to recoup these investments. And Frankfurt is afraid that after ten years of collecting all the 10 taxes, we will forget it. How much is the tax for a year?"

No, Ludwig stretched out the palm of his right hand and spread out his five fingers: "Fifty thousand pounds. Half a million pounds of grain! What do you think?"

The black fox's eyes were trembling. He was really moved. He had to know that his eldest brother had to transport one million pounds of grain to King Ross every year in Lake Mälaren. The grain trading volume in the commercial grain market in Sweden was only like this. scale.

It seems that Frank is really rich. One land can supply half of the food of Lake Malaren.

Food is wealth. Nassau has absorbed the refugees from Coblenz, and the total number is less than 10,000. Even if it absorbs Wiesbaden, how big will the population be?

If there is a sudden influx of so much surplus food, Nassau will be able to further expand its strength.

But Ludwig simply couldn't afford so much money at the moment. This was a promise, but it was just a blank check in front of him.

When will the five hundred thousand pounds of grain be given? Naturally, we have to wait until the end of the civil war, otherwise the poor people will not be able to suddenly spend so much surplus food. It is the critical moment of the civil war, and Ludwig does not dare to plunder the people's wealth and cut off his retreat.

Black Fox was convinced that he couldn't fulfill his promise immediately, so it didn't matter. He wasn't willing to sacrifice his life for half a million pounds of wheat. In other words, his goal has been achieved, which is to let the king recognize his wife's power, not to mention the paradoxical surprise.

In fact, the contradiction can be easily solved. The so-called sacking of Sarabrücken was carried out and some of the looted property was shipped to the ship at the end of the year as tribute to Rurik to declare that he was still loyal.

"You have to establish a written document! You have to write the document in Latin! You have to swear." Black Fox finally emphasized this point.

"Yes. I can promise to deliver you fifty pounds of wheat during the first harvest season after the civil war. And I will complete your canonization in the cathedral tomorrow, so you have to prepare tonight." .

The reborn star fruit