Rise of Rurik

What surprised Robert was that even after revealing his identity, the Norman nobles attending the meeting did not mention the war two years ago at all.

The words of the Norman nobles were very direct. They were all asking about one thing - how about Aachen gold and silver.

"Gold? Of course there is a lot of gold in New Rome, provided you can really break it in. However, if you really do this, those nobles will kill you."

Robert was busy eating. Not to mention, the pea production in the lowlands has never been very good. It is indeed a wonderful feeling to use cooked peas as a staple food. Now it tastes good when paired with some grilled fish.

His flattering description aroused everyone's excitement, and they collectively banged on the table rhythmically, clearly demonstrating their ambition to plunder gold and silver.

"Gold!" Black Fox knocked on the table hard.

"Ho! Roar!"

After a while, everyone knocked on the table collectively.

"silver!"

"Ho! Roar!"

"woman!"

"Ho! Roar!"

"Gods bless you! We will win!"

"Wow!" Duke Bjorn of Mellaren simply stood up violently, baring his teeth and claws and sticking out his tongue, like a wolf that could swallow its prey alive.

The nobles yelled crazily in Norse, and even the too-young Askard, Reglaf, and the sick-legged Yinvar bared their teeth and claws like adults.

Robert even felt deeply afraid, fearing that these ruthless people would go crazy and take him away as a sacrifice to the barbarian god.

The dinner had a violent beginning and a violent end, which made Robert dislike this place very much and wanted to leave by boat.

The returning warriors need a short period of adjustment, and the other warriors, who are a surprising number, may have time to reorganize their internal affairs.

Blue Fox gave the army three days, and these three days were also an opportunity for the Robert family to get to know the King of Mercia, Regraf, and the eldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Bruno, who were about to go south to Tours.

The civil war between the top nobles forced vassals from all over the country to take sides. Robert had no hatred for the Duke of Saxony family and was following orders to fight fiercely with each other.

He kept emphasizing this to reassure Bruno.

According to the new arrangement adjusted by Blue Fox, there will be ten longships heading south to Tours. Here are Reglaf and his guards, Bruno who is on board the boat, sixty Russian soldiers specially arranged to come in, and the others are all members of the Robert family.

Those who don't know how to operate a longship must learn as soon as possible. A total of nearly one hundred and fifty Norman warriors are on board. At best, they are messenger guards, but at worst, they can turn into bandits in an instant. These people all obeyed the orders of King Reglaf of Mercia, and the team also included accompanying priests arranged by the Diocese of Utrecht. Such actions made Robert willing to believe that all behaviors of this group of Normans would be restrained.

Robert now has a total of seventy soldiers in his retinue. He dismissed many of them before, and the fifty prisoners he rescued in Coblenz suddenly had a new identity. What is very magical is that they, who were killed by the Normans and cried for their fathers and mothers, actually imitated the Normans and rowed hard. It’s okay not to learn, after all, this place is full of Normans speaking another language.

Many people couldn't help but secretly worry about the future of the empire.

To hell with the Empire! Lord Lothair may not win the final victory. After all, all the nobles could not imagine that a huge Norman army would be entrenched at the mouth of the Rhine River, and this army would attack Aachen arrogantly.

Faced with such a situation, what should a small soldier do? There are also people who want to escape, even if they swim across the river or run on foot, they must report the matter to the southern nobles as soon as possible.

Soldiers who had such thoughts were slapped hard by their colleagues.

The rational veteran said plausibly: "Go and report the news? Who will believe you, a deserter? We have died in Coblenz, and now we can only have a chance to live in Tours. If one person escapes, others will be implicated. If there are any escapees, I will kill him."

Indeed, it was because of the distrust of the Russians that he had a new identity but was not even worthy of a knife for cutting meat. If he wanted to re-arm himself, he could only do it in Tours.

On the appointed day, the morning tide receded, and ships were parked densely at the mouth of the Inn River.

On the shore, there were even more soldiers carrying weapons and luggage. The weather was not bad today. The sun shone on the soldiers' iron helmets, and a large area was strongly reflective.

An army is very particular about logistics, which is rare in Europe today. The Ross Army is exactly such an army. After the army has enjoyed the benefits of abundant logistics and supplies time and time again, it has been particularly attentive in this regard.

Everyone has a burlap bag, which contains wheat, peas, as well as a large amount of dried fish and baked wheat cakes.

Each soldier was responsible for himself. He ate dry food while marching, and once there was time to rest on land, he would set up cooking utensils and cook wheat on the spot.

Rolled blankets were strapped to the sides of the linen sack, and a buckler was strapped to the knapsack. Swords, axes, and daggers were jingling on the soldiers' bodies, and many of them were carrying their crossbows.

The ones with the best clothes and the most complex equipment are the Ross elite, and Robert already knows how strong their troops are.

There are also a large number of people wearing armor and white robes. This is the so-called Gothenburg Army under Ross, which is actually the army of the Blue Fox fiefdom.

As for the other armies, their situation is extremely strange. These Normans are actually wearing Frankish armor. It is self-evident how they obtained the armor.

Robert himself didn't want to say anything anymore. He wanted to leave quickly and didn't want to have much to do with the north.

His wife Adelaide silently boarded the boat with her child in her arms, sat down safely, and then called her husband to come quickly.

Standing on the shore, Robert no longer wanted to say anything to Blue Fox, especially now that the group of people were obviously doing sacrificial tricks again.

"Ridiculous," he spat, shook his head, and jumped on board.

The proper farewell words have been said. Blue Fox and others are not friends with the Robert family. At best, Robert is just a tool that can be used.

He had said a private farewell to Reglaf and Bruno, and now the two young men are about to leave.

Putting on cloth robes dyed light green, the identities of this Norman army were transformed into the Mercian King's Guards. Dark green is the color of the Kingdom of Mercia. At that time, Mercia could not unify its military uniforms, so it had to play with the color. Regraf was making a fuss about the clothes, but due to the dyeing problem of the fabric, the color of the robe became lighter and lighter after being washed several times.

There is no problem with this. He now has more troops, which have expanded to more than a hundred people to support his noble line. Next, he will go to see the Earl of Tours as the King of Mercia.

It can be said that Reglaf is the commander of the fleet going south. Being young does not mean that he is ignorant. Thinking that his father Rurik is already commanding battles at such an age, it may be too difficult to surpass his father. At least he must behave like a real man.

His eyes were fixed on the people who were slaughtering cattle for sacrifice by the river. In the same old Russian tradition, the blood of livestock flowed into the ocean to sacrifice to the gods.

But……

"Ah, you and I are no longer the same." Reglaf turned his head slightly, and saw the accompanying priest closing his eyes gently, as if seeing the "barbarian sacrifice" out of sight and out of mind, and hugged him tightly The huge wooden cross has now become Reglaf’s spiritual sustenance.

He had found where he belonged, and when he saw Robert had boarded the ship, he imitated an adult and stood up and gave the order: "Fly the cross flag! Fly the king's flag!"

The only mast of the flagship hoisted a special flag, which was dyed bluish blue with woad juice, and diagonally sewn with a bluish yellow cloth dyed with yellow root carrot juice.

If Ross's oar flag could be mistaken for "St. Andrew's Cross", the real Mercian flag raised by Reglaf this time really found inspiration from "St. Andrew's Cross". He was very happy. The flag looked very much like Ross but was not at all, and his army was derived from the Ross army but was not.

Then in Robert's opinion, a young boy was holding the bow of the boat and yelling at the rowers. This boy was either stupid or really ambitious.

"Is Rurik's eldest son? How old was Rurik when he had an affair with a woman? Is he a god? Maybe. Maybe this boy can do some miracles. He will never be in the picture under the banner of Mercia. I'm going to destroy you." Robert kept his words in his heart and comforted his wife with a few words of worry.

The fleet left the port of Ross Shop, and the next step was to head south along the coastline. That would be a completely unfamiliar sea area for all people from the north, but it didn't matter. Based on past experience, as long as the fleet groped along the coastline, everything would be fine.

What makes Reglaf very confident is that he has a map drawn by his father himself. The map is slightly rough, but it actually marks a huge cape, the so-called "Brittany", as long as the fleet crosses the sea. As the Cape continues to advance along the coastline, it is only a matter of time before it enters the mouth of the Loire River. You can even enter the right mouth of the Seine and hit Paris directly.

So this is what makes Robert shudder.

Reglaf is young and ambitious, but unfortunately it is easy for him to act foolish at such an age. He shared the map with Robert, who was immediately shocked.

Paris, Champagne, Brittany, Tours, Nantes, Orleans, Dunkirk...

Robert had to think more about where Rurik and his men got the information from, even though they had never been to the south. Although the spelling of the letters was a bit strange, and even the writing was strange, he could recognize and spell it, and then he suddenly realized . Robert was no longer surprised that the map was set to have a very Russian-like layout with north to south. But such a precious map could easily be held by his young son. Does Rurik really not care?

Or is it that the Russians have already planned to invade the southern region?

You can't just think about it this way. Even the Seine River is marked on the map. Regardless of whether the location is correct, there is an entrance to the sea and the city of Paris. With the navigation advantage of the Normans, they just defeated the Middle Kingdom in Coblenz. The army, that is quite an inland area, if...

Look at the oarsmen wearing light green clothes on the nearby ships. They are the so-called Mercian Kingdom Guards, which are essentially a large group of Normans. If they had more ships and wore white robes sewn with blue stripes, it would not be a problem to attack Paris directly by water.

If the Normans can do it, why can't I? If I borrow their ship and use Tour's army to sneak attack on Paris to get it, won't my strength be restored immediately?

In a desperate situation, Robert had not only hope, but also ambition, and a desire for revenge.

His revenge is not against a certain person, but against this unfair world. It is unreasonable for the dignified Robertini family to be reduced to a bereaved dog in my own generation. Besides, my wife and her family also suffered a lot in this large-scale civil war. He sets his sights on wealthy Paris and fantasizes about getting it. Is this an impossible delusion? uncertain!

As long as King Lothair is defeated and the current Count of Paris is killed in the civil war, there will be a chance. As the saying goes, nobles are related to each other, and his wife Adelaide is a distant relative of the Earl of Paris. The civil war was a bloody fight between relatives, but it left opportunities for relatives to inherit noble titles and fiefdoms in a certain place.

The mother of this generation of Earl of Paris was the cousin of the late Earl of Tours. If the family becomes extinct, in principle, his wife has a certain possibility of inheritance.

Even if there is only a slight possibility, it will be convenient for publicity and mediation with other nobles after the event is completed.

As for making it possible, what quicker means than war?

After all, I didn’t come to Tours to be a wealthy and idle person.

"You left..."

Blue Fox couldn't help but glance at the fleet that was moving away, and then turned his eyes to the sacrifice in front of him.

The water turned red with cow blood, and the beef was chopped again, and finally the beef and bones were thrown into the sea.

The soldiers on standby began to beat the drums, and the horns of the entire army were blown.

"Let's go." After saying that, Blue Fox jumped onto the long boat.

Soldiers on standby were getting on board one after another, and more and more half-stranded longboats were gathering on the river.

The cable thrown from the armed cargo ship was caught by the long ship, and four ships towed one, and they began to line up in an orderly manner.

The main force of the Russian army consists of two elite flag corps with a strength of 1,000. The Count of Gothenburg has 800 troops, the Principality of Mälaren has 500 troops, and the Count of Finland has 500 soldiers. We also need to add navy sailors and engineers for land operations.

Even Prince Yinval of Denmark attracted some Danish fishermen to join him in Rotterstad, and his military strength has expanded.

On the surface, the strength of the army attacking Aachen was close to four thousand, but in fact it had exceeded this number.

Fishermen with different backgrounds often do not take the initiative to join a certain force. They are like a group of hyenas following a group of lions. The lions eat meat, and the hyenas can also eat some leftovers.

The northern fishermen brought their own weapons and took advantage of the power of the crusade to plunder. There are even local fishermen from Utrecht mixed in here.

Robbery was obviously a serious crime, but all the blame could be placed on the Normans. These people dressed up as Norman pirates and rowed their own small fishing boats to join the mighty team.

The Russian army was wearing white robes with blue stripes, and the towed armed cargo ships and sail destroyers, in addition to carrying a large amount of logistical supplies, also had a large number of warriors holding crossbows on standby.

Only the Norman army could launch an attack with the help of ships, and now their weapons and equipment were not what they used to be, and they even had a wonderful weapon - a map.

The mighty Russian army took the lead in advancing, followed closely by friendly forces from all sides.

The Maas River, which is up to 100 meters wide, is full of long boats with both ends tilted up. Bucklers with various patterns are placed on both sides, and huge oars paddle the water rhythmically.

The Maas River has never seen such a scene, and indeed few residents on both sides pay attention to this matter, because the residents seem to have disappeared.

Both sides of the Maas River are low and flat, with clusters of woods and huge shrubs on them.

The army seemed to have entered uninhabited territory, and it was not until the third day of sailing that they saw the first riverside village.

The village was like a gift from the gods to the coalition forces. The top commander, Blue Fox, did not hesitate to send troops to investigate and rob some supplies.

However, this is obviously an empty village. Not only were the buildings deserted, but a large number of interior furnishings were gathering dust. The surrounding farmland is overgrown with weeds, and the small piers along the river are dilapidated and covered with moss. There were no dogs barking or cocks crowing, and the whole village seemed dead.

Where have they all gone?

"Are these villagers afraid of something and moved away early? Isn't it because what we did before went too far?"

Blue Fox estimated that the Russian army launched a sacking of the big cities in Flanders two years ago, which indeed caused regional panic. Could it be that even this remote village moved away after hearing the news? not necessarily.

An abandoned village happened to be the foothold of the army. After they landed, they buried pots to cook. Not many people cared about why the village was empty. The continuous sailing made the soldiers paddling in the opposite direction exhausted. The dry food was just makeshift, and the hard dried fish wore their gums and mouth. If there was a chance, everyone would still I like to eat the new Huhu porridge mixed with oats and peas.

What is certain is that the coalition led by Ross did indeed sail on the Meuse River.

As long as you continue to move forward, once you find a large city, a wooden cross on top of the towering spire of the monastery, and a solid wooden bridge, that is the initial target of the battle, Maastricht.

It is said that the target is not very far from the mouth of the Rhine River, and everyone wants to believe that the war will definitely happen within three days.