Rise of Rurik

There is only one pass in the long and narrow Northern Vosges Mountains, but it is not steep and narrow. The forests on both sides are extremely dense. Although the Roman Avenue sandwiched in the middle has been rained again, it remains as strong as ever.

All the soldiers were out of time. They had been marching during this period. What was very bad was that the weather was quietly getting colder.

The humid environment after the rain made it difficult to light a fire. The soldiers could only eat the dry food they brought with them. Many of the farmers who were forcibly recruited could only chew dried wheat and preserved fruits like horses.

Ludwig has been forcing his army to persevere, but the bodies of the vast number of soldiers will not always remain strong due to the monarch's perseverance.

What you drink is rainwater that is not clean enough, and what you eat is wheat that cannot be cooked.

The epidemic was occurring quietly, and some soldiers began to suffer from diarrhea and even excreted the wheat they had swallowed.

The marching queue, which was originally a very crowded place, was greatly lengthened for one reason or another. People with diarrhea often stopped and squatted on both sides of the queue, and then staggered to catch up with the team after finishing their errands.

Until some of the forcibly recruited armed militiamen were too weak to keep up with the march.

Ludwig had no sympathy for these people, but instead called them cowardly deserters.

The best way to deal with deserters and cowards is to kill them, that is, to hang them!

But he chose a harsher punishment than hanging.

Ten "deserters" who were suffering from severe diarrhea and were unconscious were found. They had haggard faces. They were clearly kneeling down and being tortured with their hands tied behind their backs. They showed no fear or resistance. Instead, they were slaughtered one by one as if they were longing for relief.

The prisoners of war beheaded them all like melons, and Ludwig also used the Danes' very spicy tricks here.

The ferocious heads were stuck on wooden poles, and ten heads stood beside the road.

"You have all seen it! This is the fate of deserters and cowards! Soldiers, we are only one step away from the final victory. Although we have encountered difficulties, everything will be fine in the mountain pass area. If there are any cowards, this will be done. "

Although he was also wet, Ludwig didn't care about it. He rode a tall horse and wore a golden crown. He gave orders to his Bavarian warriors, but was intimidated by the execution of forcibly recruited peasant soldiers from the Brisgau area.

Such a shock would at most ensure that the Bavarian army remained calm. As for the others... Ludwig would be a deterrent.

Someone was killed, and no matter how difficult it was, the forcibly recruited militiamen had no choice but to grit their teeth and move on.

Now, the Saxon Army and the Thuringian Army passed by the execution site on the roadside one after another.

Liudov had heard about the work of Ludwig, who was in the front team, and now finally saw his masterpiece.

"You...really regard the people of Brisgow as your Slavic slave soldiers? They are not Sorbs or Croats. You are worse than the Normans!"

I feel emotional that my army's logistics are in good condition. The ready-to-eat dry food stored in the Ross army is now of great use. Liudov does not have to be responsible for the Bavarian army. If that guy yells at me again, the Saxon army can respond negatively.

The reason why the army suddenly became embarrassed when crossing the Northern Vosges Mountains is that there is extremely abundant water vapor here. The narrow Rhine River Valley is very suitable for farming, and it also feeds millions of people. Occupying it will not only give Ludwig a large piece of wealthy land and a steady flow of tax revenue, but also the most critical recruitment of soldiers.

Besides, Lothair occupied this place illegally. He could do it, so why couldn't he?

In September, the autumn rainy season quietly begins in central Europe.

Farmers throughout the Alsace region had just finished harvesting wheat and were seizing the opportunity to flail large quantities of hulls for storage. They must be quick, otherwise delaying the harvest this year will not only waste the food, but will also inevitably lead to all-around living difficulties and even famine next year.

Moreover, Lothair, who was based in Strasbourg, had to wait for the farmers to finish shelling the wheat, and then send personnel and even soldiers to collect the tithe - new wheat - from each village.

Only this year's new wheat was enough to support his army's expedition to Mainz.

Obviously Ludwig had no such concerns at all. He fished all the areas he passed through, and even if he allowed the army to plunder, he would not suffer any losses. He doesn't even care about his moral reputation, after all, it's already low enough.

Ludwig was such a great nobleman. He had the ambition of Charlemagne. He was granted a title by his father in the eastern border and also took charge of the northern border. He continued to expand the territory for the empire, which in turn spawned more and more people who were eager to kill the enemy and perform meritorious deeds. Lower nobles.

He wants to give a large number of rewards to lower-level nobles, but Bavaria's resources are limited. This civil war turned into an opportunity to solve its own practical difficulties. This is why it took the initiative to invade the Alemany region centered on Mainz and control Saxon Denmark (defeated and made peace). Now, it controls Strasbourg as the center. The center came to England and Alsace became necessary.

As long as there is enough opportunity, the Count of Metz, which has been turned into a noble desert, will also be captured.

Obviously, these war dividends were shared first among the Bavarian nobles, and those other nobles who participated in the war were at best given the right to plunder.

However, if pure killing is not intended to bring serious resistance to one's reconquest.

Ludwig had thought about Saverna, the barony in the westernmost part of Alsace. He only wanted the baron to kneel down and openly oppose Lothair.

But Saverna was not immune to the civil war.

A military camp built at the end of Roman times, it became the foundation of city construction. The baron's palace stood on top of the ruins, and a small, sturdy castle was built using readily available stones.

The locals have a large amount of Celtic ancestry, and are mixed with a large number of Alemannic and Frankish immigrants. The locals have formed their own dialect, which is different from the real Frankish language.

The composition of Ludwig's Bavarian army was equally complex. Most of the soldiers had a certain degree of Slavic ancestry, and the Bavarian dialect they spoke also had its own characteristics.

Not all of the two sides were pure Franks, but the purpose of the war was just the struggle for power among the top nobles, which coerced all kinds of people into fighting.

In the fortress made of thick gray stones, Baron Edmund of Saverna was thinking only about his own army.

"How is the food reserve now? Is the tax collection going smoothly?" He stood in front of the stone bed and asked the steward standing behind him.

"Reporting to your lord, everything should have gone smoothly, but the heavy rain in the final stage caused us a lot of trouble."

"I know it will rain. But the king is in a hurry. Even if there are difficulties, we must overcome them."

"Yes..." The housekeeper raised his head and did not dare to say any more.

"Are all the knights' troops here now?" the baron asked again.

"We're basically here, that's..."

"How?" The Baron turned around, "I arranged for you to do something. What do you know? Is there anything you can't tell me?"

"Yes. On the surface, everyone fully supports your request, but this autumn's offense... everyone is not willing."

"Is there such a thing? Are you against me? Or against the king. Tell the truth."

"Yes..." The housekeeper had to weigh it.

"Say it, you are not guilty."

"It's King Lothair."

"Hey, I thought they were against me. It's actually the king..." The baron stood at the stone window again, looking at the dark green Northern Vosges Mountains, sighing meaningfully. Because the Baron was not central to Lothair.

After all, the Baron family of Saverna was originally a vassal of the Count of Tours-Alsace. Now, as the Alsace fiefdom was directly taken away by Lothair, Saverna was forced to pay direct allegiance to Lothair in an illegal way. .

But in other words, Lothair inherited the title of "Roman Emperor", and any of his opinions can be said to be an imperial edict.

As for the nobles who were unwilling to accept... civil war broke out.

The troubled baron has no right to stay out of the matter, otherwise, everything will be taken away from him, and his whole family may be exiled.

Autumn and winter are not suitable for fighting. After all, if the war doesn't go well, won't I be hit by the cold winter again? Even if you have harvested new wheat and have enough food, you should not start a war without being fully sure of a quick victory.

Of course, the Baron doesn't know the crisis that Lothair is facing now, and the controlled area is being encroached by various forces.

The baron only learned about the movements of the Metz army from the envoys who came over the mountains. He also learned that thieves had sneak attacked Aachen before.

He doesn't care about the authenticity of the incident in Aachen. Aachen is too far away. Although it is the legal capital, Baron Edmund has never been there and does not want to go. Adhering to the principle of not leaving his hometown unless necessary, he at most cares about the mountains. Count Metz, the largest nobleman in the West, has any new ambitions.

The reason for this is precisely because the land in the south of the barony is called Basel, which is still an unclaimed land.

Basel is like a big cake. Lothair used this as a temptation and promised it to many nobles. As for who will finally get it, it depends on the performance of the nobles in the war.

】

Basel is now under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Strasbourg. It is for this reason that this mountain city during the Civil War almost became a paradise.

Knights from all over the country left the small towns where they lived and gathered with their retinues in the city of Saverna. The baron has as many as twenty knights under his command, and each knight controls an opposite village. In such a wealthy place with a large population, each knight can easily support twenty followers.

For Lothair, Baron Saverna not only guarded the Roman Road across the Northern Vosges Mountains, he had enough troops in his hands to muster 800 cavalry!

Of course, there is a difference between cavalry and cavalry. All the knights mobilized by the baron, each knight is accompanied by a mounted retinue.

The army is all cavalry, but the armor is uneven, and the riding skills of the soldiers vary greatly. What's even worse is that the cavalry wears a variety of clothes. Each knight must display a small flag with some strange pictures or simple words on it, and use the flag to maintain a cavalry squad with the knight as the core. Therefore, when a war really breaks out, they can only identify their own knight masters, and individuals have no autonomy in fighting.

The essence of many knight armies is "mounted infantry". Only the baron's troops can use the Frank onion-peeling tactics against the enemy under the leadership of the baron himself, or even mount a wall-mounted attack to the death.

The baron indeed mobilized 800 knights, and each knight brought as many as 2,000 auxiliary personnel (most of whom were not qualified to fight). In addition to managing the logistics of the baggage, they also took care of the daily lives of the nobles and their retainers.

The city of Saverna became extremely lively, but it was also immersed in the tense atmosphere of the impending war.

Blacksmiths in the city were busy all night, and local farmers also came to work as temporary workers to serve the nobles to earn a little money.

The small church in the city was frequently visited. After all, one had to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. It was a sin to kill fellow believers no matter what. People came to the church to confess in an endless stream. After some perfunctory greetings, the priest informed: "God Your sins have been forgiven.”

The Baron was so focused on preparing for battle that his duty to guard the pass had been neglected.

Ludwig's army crossed the mountain pass in mighty force. The army was tortured very painfully, and finally everything suddenly became clear!

They were standing at a relatively high position, and the flat area in front of them was the huge and narrow Rhine River Valley!

Look carefully! The darker scenery in the east is the endless Württemberg Mountains. Through the River Inn and the mountains, you can return to your hometown in Bavaria.

Now is the era when there are no roads across the Württemberg Mountains. When the Bavarian Army thinks that they are actually fighting near their hometown, their homesickness is greatly alleviated, and their mood that has been worn down to the point of depression is revived.

The army raised high the banners of the Cross and the Three Lions of Charlemagne. The wind quickly dried the soldiers' wet clothes, and the flags rustled in the wind.

"Cheer up! Follow me and go straight to Saverna!" Ludwig said arrogantly. He put on his purple robe again, and the majestic Duke of Bavaria dressed up like the emperor of Eastern Rome.

The 30,000 troops behind him gradually entered the flat Alsace region through the mountain pass. The first thing they needed to do was to quickly occupy the barony in front of them.

In essence, Ludwig did not want to fight a war rashly, and his army needed to rest immediately. He could have left and sent an envoy to order the baron to kneel down and surrender, but the pride in his heart did not allow him to do so.

He was not worried that the other party was deaf and blind. The army lined up in columns and continued to advance along the Roman road. The people in the villages along the way could not ignore this presence like the arrival of heavenly soldiers.

Ordinary farmers are still picking up some trivial wheat grains in the fields where the wheat has been harvested, or carrying scythes to hay their livestock.

They just stared blankly, Ludwig ordered to ignore them, and then ordered the cavalry troops to advance quickly.

The earth is trembling, the temperature cannot rise after the rain, and no one can ignore the shining silver light under the sun.

The baron himself saw the silver presence coming from the mountain pass in his castle.

Standing by the window, he clenched his fists: "What's going on? If people from Metz want to go to Kaiserslautern, do they have to go to Strasbourg from me? Didn't they agree not to cross the border through me?"

The Baron didn't think much about it at all. He had no good feelings or ill intentions toward Count Metz. He just heard that the guy was very interested in owning a new fief. For example, Lothair explicitly promised to seal Basel to this man.

Those things have nothing to do with me, but it does matter if the Metz Army passes through my territory.

He first settled down his family and kept them calm, and then hurriedly gathered his own soldiers, including all the priests.

He at least knew that Count Metz had devoted everything he had to this station, so his army was extremely large. Consciousness cannot prevent the army from crossing the border, as long as it ensures that they do not commit any crimes, which requires the baron to "personally send each other".

"Gather together, come with me to see the Metzians!" He rode his horse to the camp from his headquarters and yelled, and then organized the knight army as quickly as possible.

The baron was gathering his team to find out, but Ludwig was already rushing towards him with his cavalry.

Horse hooves trampled the Roman avenue that had been trampled by countless people, and the silhouette of the mighty army became more and more obvious. Under the sun, the cavalry helmets reflected violently, and they rushed to the gate of Saverna as fast as lightning.

The Bavarian cavalry was too fast. They were strong and every soldier was directly loyal to Ludwig. This ensured the efficiency of the army's operations. To maintain this efficiency, it often required the monarch to personally lead his own huge troops to launch surprise attacks. .

At this moment, Ludwig behaved like a general. He really raised his head and charged. All the cavalry followed closely the Three Lions flag at the head of the team. Every pair of eyes must be fixed on the man wearing a purple robe and wearing a helmet. The man with the golden crown.

After all, you can reach the city of Saverna very quickly after leaving the mountain pass. More than a thousand cavalry suddenly appeared below the city.

The baron completely misjudged the arrival. He thought the visitor was from Metz. Not only was he so sure, but he also informed everyone of his judgment. Count Metz's warriors were not enemies. Saverna's nobles, large and small, just hoped that these guys would not get involved in their territory.

The subordinates did not take any hostile measures at all and simply allowed the sudden large group of cavalry to enter their camp outside the city.

It was only then that Ludwig discovered that the city had been transformed into a large military camp. Those places that he initially thought were civilian residences were almost all soldier dormitories. It is true that there are a lot of public activities here, and it seems that they are all auxiliary personnel.

If the other party doesn't make the first move, it's hard for you to make the first move.

Ludwig tightened his grip on the reins. He suddenly felt that the situation was very embarrassing.

"Where is your noble? Tell your master to come to me!"

He shouted harshly at the local armed men on horseback who were watching. Although he did not reveal his exact identity, the purple robe and golden crown were already very eye-catching.

Especially that golden crown!

Only the king has the right to wear the golden crown. The nobles knights and their retinues usually see are the local barons. They have never seen Lothair himself, even though the Roman emperor has been in Strasbourg for a long time. .

Suddenly, the clever knights simply took their attendants and servants and made a collective half-kneeling salute to the one wearing the golden crown. One knight started, and the other knights knelt down one after another.

The development of things completely exceeded Ludwig's imagination. He looked around with an incredible smile.

"It's weird, you surrendered just after seeing my army? Things are actually easier to handle."