Rise of Rurik

The wharf in the town of Forkingas was immediately occupied by Black Fox's army, and the local small barges naturally became spoils of war.

The Russian soldiers with swords were killing people and destroying people everywhere. They broke into houses and rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and naturally they also pulled out the people who were hiding.

There were not many people hiding. When they saw the white-clothed villains coming in row boats and killing people openly, they ran north along the road without thinking too much. Those who were hiding were either pulled out by their hair, or simply fought to the death with the bandits.

The five killed Russian warriors were pulled to the square at the entrance of the monastery by their companions, and more than a dozen other warriors gritted their teeth and tied their injured arms with cloth strips.

At this moment, Black Fox was busy in the square counting the belongings that the soldiers had moved out of the monastery. His good mood was immediately completely reversed by the casualties of his men.

"What's going on?" With a big belly, he subconsciously pulled out his sword and eagerly approached the five brothers who were placed on the ground and had completely lost their vital signs.

He was heartbroken and found that all his men were wearing chainmail, but they all died? Apparently the fatal wound was in the neck.

Suddenly, he became alert: "The killing method is so sharp, you know how to stab the neck? Is there an enemy ambush here?!"

"No." The panting soldier sighed: "The hiding villagers killed them."

"Where's the murderer?"

"Already executed." The soldier replied helplessly.

"Damn it. Damn it! A soldier can also be plotted by a boring farmer? What a shame!"

The pouting Black Fox stamped his feet vigorously. He did not expect that the casualties of his army would appear like this. The previous operations had obviously been smooth sailing, and even the so-called casualties in the capture of Salburg were just a few soldiers who sprained their feet slightly while climbing the wall.

Now, at least twenty prisoners were escorted in the square. They were shivering, and any disturbance could cause them to faint.

The black fox looked at those people again. He originally wanted to take the male and female captives back, but now he was completely murderous.

He gave a simple message to the soldiers present, and a group of brothers from the north understood it, and amidst the terrified screams of the prisoners, they assassinated them all with sharp swords. It’s not even over yet!

Some of the farm work tools seized, such as pitchforks and wooden poles, were cut down and sharpened with an axe, and then hit hard on the square with a hammer.

Black Fox ordered ruthlessly: "Insert more wooden poles, chop off all the heads of the deceased, and stick them all on the wooden poles!"

This crazy move was indeed a conspiracy with King Ludwig when it was implemented in Mainz. Of course, all the blame for such extremely cruel methods was claimed by the barbaric Normans. Ludwig himself would not admit it at any time. Yes, even if he is plotting secretly.

Wadi carried a sword and led a group of soldiers to clean up the entire town. Anyone who resisted was killed. When he returned, he escorted more than thirty prisoners.

All the troops gathered in the central square, facing the huge St. Martin's Monastery. It was a clean and tidy place and everyone was happy to use it as their dormitory tonight.

But in front of the holy monastery, an act of terror is being carried out.

The accompanying militiamen in Nassau and Coblenz really didn't understand why these Norman warriors who were helping everyone in the war did such evil things in front of the holy monastery. No one dared to go forward, and no one even dared to enter the town. They waited at the landing beach, and did not dare to watch the work of "erecting trees and inserting heads".

The hideous face of the deceased spoke of pain and curse silently, the ground was blood red, and the air was filled with a special smell of rust. The other group of captured people all collapsed on the ground after witnessing this unparalleled tragedy, and what awaited them all was death.

Vardy was surprised. He wanted to go to the river to wash the blood on his sword. He approached the black fox first and asked calmly: "I haven't reached Sarabrücken yet, so what?"

"A brother was killed." Black Fox continued to supervise the operation without looking back.

"several?"

"Five."

"So, it's all revenge?"

"It's revenge. And... it's not a good omen. But everyone is very angry about this incident. When we get to Sarabrücken tomorrow, we will definitely kill them to death!"

"Just do this." Patting Black Fox on the shoulder, Wadi had nothing to say. To be fair, he was even a little disappointed with the current Black Fox. Young people wanted to use war to prove that they followed the customs of the northern world, but if things were done too crazy, it would lead to plans, not to mention that it was obviously the farmer taking out his anger.

Perhaps the third child from the Gould family was such a complicated and contradictory person, and the entire robbery was sometimes soft-hearted and sometimes violent.

After all, Wadi didn't care. The death of five brothers was not too much, but the army was aroused with anger, and this anger could be exploited.

Many people dare not criticize this kind of behavior, especially the leader Om Laite.

Wadi cleaned his sword and immediately found the guy sitting by the river with his back to the monastery.

"I was looking for you, and here you are." Wadi sat down casually.

"Sir, what's the matter?"

"It's a big deal. You..." Wadi could see the trembling in this man's eyes. It was obvious that this guy had a lot of words, and he could guess what he wanted to discuss. Wadi didn't talk about anything, but asked directly: "You do know a lot about this place. Tell me, what are the names of Thrall's nobles?"

"I do understand. It's Wolfgang of the Beckrich family."

"Okay. When the brothers came, they saw people on horseback running wildly along the road upstream. We were forced to stay here. Obviously, the news of our attack has been known to that guy. If he is not in Saarburg, he must be there. Sarah Bruecken.”

"What are you asking?"

"Does he have a large army?"

"This...I don't know. But he is a baron. With his financial resources...maybe not much. Maybe he is on par with you."

"Five hundred people? Six hundred people?" Wadi pinched his beard subconsciously. After all, he was now a baron and the real combat commander of this army. He had the obligation to command the army to victory.

If the enemy's forces are evenly matched with our own, and the horsemen have reported the news early, will a decisive battle break out tomorrow?

Wadi intends to prepare for war, and Omlet has already called on Black Fox to prepare for war quickly.

Omlet did not dare to say anything, but Wadi was the first to complain: "I know you are afraid, and the militiamen we brought are also afraid. This is how the northerners vent their anger after the war. It's fine if you don't watch. Tomorrow we will lay down Sarah Bruecken, this has to be done again. I'm going to gather the warriors, and you come with me and tell them about the battle we're going to have tomorrow."

"That's fine." Omlet patted his clothes and stood up.

It can be said that even the locals on the Saar River know nothing about the history of long ago.

Just like the Beckrich family of Baron Saar, this family is not local at all, or the so-called large number of locals, but also Franks who moved here after a brutal war.

The Saar River Basin is the settlement of a number of Alemannic tribes, but they are all outsiders. They occupied the magpie's nest after driving away the local Celtic tribes.

But in 506, when the Frankish army of the Merovingian dynasty declared war on the entire Alemannic tribal alliance, each tribe was uprooted, and anyone who disobeyed was bloody massacred. The army then used the simplest and crudest methods to The old Roman road used the path to rush into the Saar River, and then rushed northward into the entire Palatinate region, and even rushed into the area north of the Rhine River, rushed into Frankfurt, killed the old Thuringian nobles in war and established puppets. This is what The ancestor of Thuringia's Margrave Thakulf.

This is one bad debt after another. The methods of the Black Fox's Ross army today are no more brutal than the Frank cavalry three hundred years ago.

It's just that the Franks are already civilized people, relying on their Catholic faith, and in principle require the people to live in peace and harmony with others. Nobles may breed cruelty because of their privileges. Ordinary soldiers are afraid of the "soul judgment" after death. They can kill their enemies and have strong psychological resistance to the crime of destroying corpses.

These Ross troops, who were not from the old Ross tribe, could not change their outlook instantly.

Even the anger of the accompanying militias in Nassau and Coblenz was mobilized by mobilizing hatred.

Who burned down the residential areas of Koblenz? They are the nobles and generals of the standing army who are loyal to King Lothair. The civilians had no time to figure out the reason. They only knew that Baron Sal was now loyal to Lothair and facilitated his army. Baron Sal is everyone's enemy, and Lothair himself is responsible for burning down everyone's houses. Since he cannot be responsible, the nobles loyal to him must be responsible.

There is a reasonable reason for such a large army to burn, kill and loot along the Saar River. Of course, this reason is far-fetched. The militiamen were not like the group of Nordic ruthless men who crossed the sea and were stationed in Nassau. They did not feel that the monastery priests had anything to do with them, and the ordinary peasants were not their enemies either.

Who is the enemy? It was Baron Saar, a man said to be called Wolfgang Beckrich von Saargau.

These militiamen were worried that they would be punished by God if they committed robbery, but they did not feel guilty if they attacked the nobles who committed evil. In the final analysis, legally speaking, everyone is a militia that stands on the side of the King of the Eastern Kingdom, Duke Ludwig of Bavaria.

The militiamen were enthusiastic about attacking the guilty nobles, and the Rus warriors who had their brothers killed were now even more eager for revenge.

No prisoners captured here were left alive.

The army slept one night in the town of Forkingas, and the five brothers who were killed simply piled wood and burned it on the spot according to Ross's old rules.

If there is a large-scale battle tomorrow, many soldiers will definitely die. The soldiers are never afraid of this. From their perspective, it is clear that a brutal battle just ended more than a month ago, and the current actions are just a continuation of that battle.

The town of Forkingas is right at the crossroads of two Roman roads, but there is no bridge built here because the river is too wide.

Just like in ancient times, barges were used to communicate between the two sides. If a large army crossed the river, taking the bridge upstream would be a better choice.

The water level of the Saar River here is not deep. The river channel upstream must be shallower and the width will shrink quickly. Otherwise, it will be difficult to build a bridge with stone piers.

This is indeed the case. At the destination of Salabrücken, the width of the river here is less than fifty meters, and the depth is no longer enough to submerge an adult man. It is not difficult to lay stones on the river bed and then pile up the stone bridge piers simply by gravity. .

Those on horseback rushed to Sarabrücken as quickly as possible and relied on the Roman road to run for six Roman miles (about ten kilometers) to the baron's current residence.

"What did you say?" Facing the frightened retinue of cavalry after dismounting, Baron Sal repeatedly asked: "You want me to believe that the white army that came from rowing boats landed in the monastery and killed everyone they saw? Are you kidding me? Could it be that he drank too much? nonsense?"

"My lord! It's absolutely true!"

"Nonsense!"

But all the returning soldiers were half-kneeling, and they swore by their honor that they had not lied.

But from the Baron's point of view, he couldn't believe this anyway. Even if there was only a slight possibility that this matter was true, he was not willing to face such a fact.

"You guys should get up first. Go have a drink, eat some bread and have a rest. When you calm down, you can report back to me slowly."

"But sir! Everything is true. If we don't defend ourselves, we will be afraid of tomorrow or the day after tomorrow..."

The retinue's cavalry frowned and even squeezed out tears. Looking at the way they were crying, the baron could feel that something had happened to Fulingas, but how could he take care of the situation there now?

He called some soldiers to take the returnees away. He had no time to manage the affairs of the lower reaches of the river for the time being, just because there was a major event in front of him.

Without him, in a few days the militiamen who have been mobilized from the direction of Metz will cross the bridge and go straight to the north. Those were the soldiers of Count Metz. Baron Sal learned that Metz had received some benefits from the king and contributed a lot to this end.

Since the battlefield of the civil war was due north of his fiefdom, if something went wrong in the war, his fiefdom would definitely be the first to suffer.

A large number of troops have now gathered in Kaiserslautern through the bridge of Saarbrücken. Soon Count Metz himself will bring his cavalry across the border, and during the autumn harvest, King Lothair will lead his troops across the border.

The bridge at Sarabrücken is of course not the only one in the area. There is also a small bridge in the Baron of Brisgow a little further upstream. Its name is simple and crude, and its original meaning is the so-called "second bridge".

But the bridge in his own territory is the largest and longest. Cavalry, infantry, and baggage convoys can quickly cross the bridge without worrying about falling into the water.

The baron's task was to guard the bridge and to look after the granaries and some ordnance temporarily placed here. In order to successfully complete the mission, he mobilized nobles from all over the fiefdom here. All knights from all over the territory served in Sarabrücken. The retinues and militiamen recruited from various agencies became laborers for transporting supplies whether they were willing or not. Their other identity is reserve troops.

The atmosphere of a decisive battle was already clear. The vast area from the Palatinate to the Inland was covered with battle clouds. Ludwig was on the defensive in Mainz, while Lothair was on the offensive. The initiative to attack is in Lothair's hands. The army plans to launch an "Autumn Harvest Offensive". In this way, Mainz can be captured in one fell swoop, and the local golden autumn food is also obtained for the army of the Middle Kingdom. Lothair can solve the army's supply problem in one fell swoop. .

Only a few nobles know about such a decision. Baron Wolfgang Beckrich of Saar has an important and special position now, and he is an insider.

Lothair even made a big offer to him, saying: "If you do a good job, you may be made Count of the Palatinate after the war, and Kaiserslautern will be yours."

He couldn't imagine holding the title of fiefdom for a large area, but he was really excited when he thought about it.

On the surface, his barony has a large territory, but it is actually a chain of settlements consisting of a few tributaries along the Saar River. The rest of the land is uninhabited barren mountains.

The Palatinate was different. The war had destroyed it, the nobles had died, and a large number of unclaimed lands were waiting for new owners. Those are all good places suitable for farming, with open space and fertile land. If you seize them, you can have the strength to become a great noble of the empire.

South of the Rhine River and north of the Saar River, a large area of ​​plains is indeed a fertile land suitable for farming. With the war reaching this point, Ludwig thought that it was already torn apart, so he took the entire area by himself. It's okay to keep the area as your own. In the future, you can work with your eldest brother to determine the boundaries of the new territory along the Saar and Moselle rivers.

Baron Sal instinctively did not believe that there was a fire in the backyard. Of course he couldn't believe something he had never seen or heard of before. What does "a large number of ships jump off a large number of white soldiers and kill everyone on sight"? Could it be that the fantasy stories in the scriptures have become true?

However, his retinue went to Focklingas after receiving a mission. After all, there was a Roman road running north-south there. He was very worried that Count Metz's army had taken the wrong path, so much so that he stood in front of the town of Focklingas. On the other side, facing the situation that there is no bridge, he yells and curses.

The task of the retinue cavalry is to tell the friendly forces that the correct road is still upstream when a misunderstanding occurs, and to act as a guide by the way.

Count Metz's men would not be foolish enough to attack Thrall unless they rebelled. This is absolutely impossible! As for the "White Army", those soldiers who drank water and ate bread were summoned by the baron again. Their attitudes did not change at all, so the baron, who had a lucky mentality, had to make some positive reactions.

However, it is just a general "positive reaction".

The baron issued an order that all knights, retinues, and militiamen were not allowed to drink tonight, and everyone was on alert to prevent possible bandits and robbers.

The order he issued was indeed to "beware of bandits," and this order was not wrong in a strict sense.

However, he was completely unaware of the strength of the gangsters who were about to rush towards him, as well as the brutal mission that those people were carrying.