Rise of Rurik

From Rurik's perspective, he saw the small city, the only spire of the wooden church, and a large number of people walking out of the city.

The coalition team was also followed by at least two thousand people, almost all of whom were villagers who came after hearing the news, as well as a small number of fief knights and their retinues.

Until now, Rurik has not revealed his true identity, but when the army arrives in the city, it is time to take action!

Thinking of this, Rurik called Henry Nassau to his side again.

"King Ross, you have arrived at your destination. Are you planning to take action?" he asked first.

"Yes. My army will besiege the city immediately, but I will not reveal my identity as a Norman."

"You... still want to continue the drama?"

"We're just worried that when we reveal our identities, those ordinary peasant women will be shocked. Listen, we only need the local nobles to know our identities. For those civilians, we will still play the role of the Christian Army."

"fair enough."

After a moment, the increasingly nervous Baron Groningen was also pushed over.

"Do you want to be absolutely safe?" Rurik asked immediately.

The frowning Baron Victor nodded hurriedly like Parkinson's disease.

"Very good. If you identify the nobles and priests in this city, your mission will be completed. I will have no reason to hurt you."

It is nothing new for a lower-level noble to suddenly change his family. Baron Victor no longer cares about his family's past vows. His whole family is controlled by the Normans. If he wants to continue to be prosperous and wealthy, he can only be a good leader.

So the army went straight to the city. After a large number of rowing boats arrived at the inland pier, the soldiers quickly disembarked.

Rurik and Ragnar gathered together. Their golden beards were too eye-catching, and the rest of the soldiers also had golden beards. Of course, the Frankish army also wore beards per person, but they rarely had pure golden beards.

The aristocratic priests in Utrecht immediately had doubts, but the opponent's troops were neat and strong, and dozens of cross flags could not lie.

And, Baron Martini saw his neighbor.

No, the neighbor has already arrived accompanied by three richly dressed senior military nobles.

Martini walked over in a hurry and subconsciously exchanged abrupt greetings with his neighbor whom he had not seen for a long time: "Ah! This is not my friend from the north, Victor van Groningen."

In response, Victor hurriedly whispered to the tall Rurik: "The speaker is the local baron, Martini van Utrecht."

The local nobles showed up? Rurik asked the black-robed priest with a gray beard: "Who is that noble priest?"

"It's the local bishop. Arbery."

"Oh? How about this person compared to the Northern Saint Eskilde?"

"Saint Eskilde?" Victor was still surprised: "Eskilde is even greater."

Rurik nodded and immediately ordered the army to stop. Then, in full view of everyone, the troops began to disperse. Except for the more than 200 elite members of the Chinese army's standing army, the remaining 100-man troops surrounded the large crowd that appeared in front of them.

Finally, Ragnar's Danish military allies stared at the people following the team.

The army's rapid change of formation immediately alerted the people following them, and they retreated voluntarily. Even though the newly arrived "Earl of the Netherlands" promised everyone rewards, ordinary farmers still did not dare to get too close to the army.

The people on the periphery stared and watched, and the sudden change also made the six fief knights suddenly confused as to what to do.

The knight and his followers maintained a wait-and-see attitude, watching the huge army complete the siege of small Utrecht.

They were murmuring in their hearts, wondering why the outside earl was so interested in this city. Apart from a cathedral, was there anything else important about this city?

As the saying goes, they are local small aristocrats, so they can easily understand what Utrecht has to offer. Grain and wool are of course very important. They are the essentials of life and nothing more.

They did not feel that the wealth collected from the peasants, tenant farmers and even serfs was of extremely high value, and it was far inferior to acquiring more gold, silver and gorgeous cloth.

It was the wheat and wool that they held so often, which were Rurik's most important treasures. He ordered the army to besiege the city, which was equivalent to declaring occupation of the city's granary.

The local barons and bishops are here. Two senior officers appeared together. Wouldn't it be easy to capture them now?

Look at the situation now, everything is under control.

Rurik gave a warning to his captain of the bodyguard, Grund, and asked him to come over quickly.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Take this brother with you and follow me up there. Detain the old man in the black robe and the man in the chainmail. Remember to move quickly!"

"Follow your orders. That is... there are several guards around the man in mail."

"Oh." Rurik paused, "Remember, be quick when you draw your sword."

"I understand."

At this moment, from the perspective of Utrecht locals, they were surprised to find that they were surrounded by warriors in gorgeous costumes.

Baron Martini exclaimed that he was puzzled. Since the visitor was the familiar Baron Victor of Groningen, he hurried over to ask what happened.

Martini walked quickly with his two followers. Rurik spread his right hand and asked Henry Nassau and Baron Victor to make room for themselves.

A tall, muscular man with a golden beard walked over. He was also wearing a leather helmet with a huge nose guard, and the helmet was decorated with fur. To be fair this helmet is very nice.

Only an extraordinary noble could be dressed like this. Martini had never seen such a noble before and thought he might be a northern baron. After all, for example, several earls would confer some Saxon leaders as barons and fief knights. There are quite a few Saxons with pure golden hair and beards.

At this moment, Martini was not on guard. He intended to salute the tall distinguished guests, and then ask about their identity and purpose of coming.

Unexpectedly, ten warriors who were stationary suddenly drew their swords. They launched the attack without any hesitation. Martini was unprepared, and his two bodyguards were knocked down with several sword blows.

"Ah! An enemy?!" Martini wanted to say something, but someone kicked him hard in the knee. He knelt on the ground in pain. The hand that was trying to draw the sword was also held down, and even his head. He was also trampled to the ground.

Everything happened so suddenly. The people in the encirclement saw the horrific killings and saw their baron grandfather being easily subdued. The woman held her head wrapped in a scarf and screamed, while the man wearing a felt hat had his eyes as wide as bells and was dumbfounded.

No one dared to escape, because the white-robed and blue-striped soldiers standing outside all drew their swords, and the swords were pressed against the wide round shields.

Until this moment, someone finally shouted out that terrible name.

"A Norman?!"

The Normans also carried cross flags? This is not surprising. The Norman Danes who once occupied the port of Durist converted to Christianity collectively, but in the end their piracy habits remained unchanged.

Martini's face was covered in mud after being stepped on. He wanted to say something, but his neck was almost broken by someone.

Rurik strode up and called to Grund: "It would be terrible if we killed this man. Tie him up."

That's all, he walked straight towards all the black-robed priests who were at a loss, especially towards the bishop who was said to be named Arbery.

Now there was no entourage around Rurik, and he was marching forward alone, holding the hilt of his sword in his hand.

He is a "Nordic giant", and his height is almost two stikas, which can be said to be equivalent to 195cm.

Rurik inherited the tall and strong genes of his biological father Otto, and his biological mother Niya was not short either. In addition, the living standard was really high when he was growing up, and he grew up like a giant. He was directly more than a head taller than many Frisian farmers in front of him, and many of the warriors under his command were also so tall and strong.

The giant brings a strong sense of coercion, and friendly forces believe that such a man is a real king and brings absolute reliability. To the enemy, it is pure terror.

Having just witnessed the killing, many of the little priests who were indifferent to worldly affairs were wet in their pants. They were so frightened that their legs trembled and they did not dare to run away.

Could it be said that Bishop Albert II was not afraid?

It is fair to say that he was very frightened. He could only feel at ease by holding the cross tightly and constantly reciting scriptures silently in his mind.

The bishop raised his head and looked at the giant's face, and Rurik admired his unchanging expression. "Is this man ready to be a martyr? Idiot, there's no point in killing you."

Because the Ross-Danish coalition came here mainly to rob, and there was no money to be gained from robbing farmers, so this time they targeted nobles and priests for precise robberies. If the opponent does not resist, they will not be killed, and the priests, considering that the coalition does not want to destroy the local order, it is necessary to retain the priests.

Rurik suddenly asked in Latin: "Which of you is the bishop? Is it you? Are you Arbery?"

It was actually a question in Latin. The words struck the depths of his soul. The bishop was shocked. He continued to hold the huge wooden cross and replied with a voice full of vicissitudes of life: "I! It is the Bishop of Utrecht, Arbery."

So, Rurik looked down at the little old man: "In that case, let's talk."

Valley farmer

"Talk about it? Are you going to the confessional to repent? Are you begging the Lord for forgiveness for the killing just now? No. If you are a Christian, your soul is already black and you will be damned. If you are not, it is not too late to convert now."

Is this guy brave or pedantic?

Rurik wanted to laugh when he heard this. He shook his head and deliberately provoked: "Pada, do you think I am still qualified to convert?"

"Yes! Of course there is!" Bishop Arbery put on an old face and put on a majestic look like a sculpture. "It's not too late to convert. I don't know who you are. Let your troops disperse now. I... can anoint you and baptize you."

"That is not necessary. You seem to be more pedantic than your northern saint Eskil. We are all Normans and have no interest in your gods."

"Norman...Norman? But you...are so gorgeously dressed, how is that possible? You! You are not the man Horik." The bishop was shocked and even more confused.

"Horik? Oh, I chopped off the hands and feet of that man, just like a wild boar was locked in a wooden cage by me. I don't have time to chat with you anymore. I know that you have great power as the local bishop. I will give you two A choice.”

"What? What choice?" The bishop narrowed his eyes.

"If you choose to cooperate, take your priests and the people of the city to sit down and rest at the place I designate, and show me the location of the granary in the city. If you refuse to cooperate, my army will kill you all immediately. After all! We You are Normans, and it is not a sin to kill you, but to sacrifice your blood to our great Odin.”

All utterances are described in standard Latin. He seemed to be a domineering Norman chief, but this man was tall, richly dressed, and full of sacred language. The intertwining of all the elements was really absurd.

Whenever he thought of the Normans, the bishop thought of robbery. There must be more pirates in the northern world, and Horik is the only leader who has been recruited.

Obviously, this group of pirates is new, even if they hold high the cross flag, as for their beliefs...

"You! Are you Christians? Why are you holding the cross flag?" the bishop asked seriously again.

"Everything is just a disguise. You see, we have deceived you all, saving us from attacking the city and killing you. Surrender now! We are just here to rob. If we can avoid killing, there is no need for us to take the initiative. Listen! You should Fortunately, we are the ones we met. No other Norman army is as easy to talk to as us. Take your people and leave to protect you from death."

The bishop felt as if he had eaten a mouthful of horse manure. He was really disgusted. He wanted to curse, but considering the safety of the people in the city, he had to accept the robber's arrangement.

So from the perspective of the Ross-Danish coalition, King Rurik seemed to use his mouth to drive the people of Utrecht into the designated "sheepfold" like a shepherd.

Now the city's gates are completely open, and all the property inside can be freely plundered.

The looting has begun!

The whole city is like a fresh leg of lamb on the chopping board. How it is cut depends on the chef's wishes.

After the small city of Utrecht was occupied by the coalition forces, everything from the cathedral to the baron's mansion and even the most ordinary residences were targeted for looting.

The usable wooden utensils and pottery in the houses were taken away, the chickens in the cages were snatched, and the cows and goats that were tied up at the first sight were taken away. This kind of tasteless looting was all done by the Danish army. They could only provide food and clothing in their hometown, and what was even worse was that they were very short of daily necessities.

Ragnar himself was naturally not so eager to wait. He led a group of cronies to the cathedral, looking for gold and silver utensils everywhere, and indeed found some. Bronze lamp holders, bronze plates, and holy vessels made of gold and silver were taken away. The church's refectory, including the lower clergy's living room, was also ransacked.

Among them were the pure silver spoons and bowls found. As the king of Denmark, Ragnar naturally took them as his own.

Ragnar is very satisfied with the current harvest. He has gained a lot from the looting of the church. What the Danish army needs is precious metals, and the wishes of the brothers are more or less satisfied. There was no Ross army fighting with him, and as the Ross people were busy detailing the local warehouses, Ragnar didn't care much about it.

In other words, although Ragnar is not a king, he is still a pirate leader and tribal leader.

With a status like his, it is understandable to plunder precious metals to a limited extent. In the end, his family will be enriched with jewels and their life will be improved.

Otherwise, Rurik, as the king of Rus, needs to plunder foreign wealth to satisfy the lives of his own people. The warehouses in Utrecht must be emptied, and looting should not be limited to them.

The granary was right next to the baron's mansion. The swarming Russian troops pried open the door of the warehouse and carried away the large amounts of grain sacks. The soldier checked and found that it was full of oats and rye. The wheat that everyone loves to see is not available here, which is a bit disappointing.

There is also a warehouse where sacks are filled with raw wool. The piles of wool were mixed with leaves and dead grass, and the overall yellowing proved that they had not yet been degreased.

The grain and wool have been packed, and the baron's residence still has ready-made carriages and horses.

Does the Baron have plans to transport some supplies overland? Where is he going to ship it to?

Based on Blue Fox’s investigation information many years ago and subsequent reports from Hamburg. Every year, caravans from the Count of Flanders transport wool to the Saxony region. Their travel times are not fixed, and they do transport goods to the Saxony region.

It is not surprising that there are no sheep in the city. Raising sheep in large quantities was an industry in nearby villages and was controlled by the village's fief knights.

At least six manorial knights were now in the hands of the coalition, and they had wisely declared their allegiance to Henry Nassau, Count of the Netherlands. They also suddenly learned that the so-called mighty Frank army was Norman. It was too late, they were unable and did not dare to escape, so they could only stay loyal to Henry Nassau to save their lives.

Many villagers fled out of instinctive fear. Rurik knew that Henry Nassau was maintaining order outside the city. How many people he could appeal to not flee depended on his ability. After all, this area will be classified as the so-called Netherlands. Considering that he will do business in the future, especially developing this area as a wool production area, Rurik does not intend to kill people wantonly, at least in the Utrecht area, he will exercise restraint. Against other areas, mass killings really don't count.

The best way to appease the villagers is to give them food. After all, what attracted them to follow them before was the promise of "free food when entering Utrecht." Now is the time to follow through on that promise.

Rurik commanded in the city: "Find all the carts and move the grain outside the city."

"We don't plan to stay in Utrecht for long. Take all the grain and wool you find! If you find gold and silver utensils, it's yours."

"If you find the box containing the money, don't keep it for yourself, just hand it over."

Rurik shouted a lot in public, watching soldiers coming in and out of the baron's mansion and granary.

After a while, Grund and his men led out some prisoners with their hands tied. Specifically, there were multiple sobbing female prisoners wearing robes and scarves.

"Sir, these should be the cooks who cook." He said excitedly.

"Really? Just catch them and cook for us. Take them all outside the city."

"As commanded."

"Also, have you found anyone hiding?"

"Not yet."

Rurik nodded and continued to instruct: "Go and search too. Remember, if you find them, capture them, and if they resist, kill them."

"As commanded."

It's like a group of piranhas eating an injured fat duck. After a while, the duck becomes a skeleton.

Rurik sent out many "porters", and the granary in Utrecht was moved before the sun went down. Piles of sacks were already being transported to the longships, and the operation to transport them down the river to the large ships of the Ross fleet at the mouth of the Amstel began quietly.

A huge "refugee camp" was built outside the city, and a place for food distribution was actually designated.

Twenty sacks were lying on the ground, filled with rye plundered from the city.

Rurik didn't like rye unless necessary. The only use seems to be for brewing kvass. For ordinary farmers, it is still a cherished food.

The Ross warriors held the hilts of their swords to maintain order, and someone else brought a makeshift wooden stick to beat the chaotic crowd and force them to form a team.

Henry Nassau, Earl of the Netherlands, stood at the site of distributing grain. The people waiting to receive the grain were the farmers who were following them, including men, women and children.

They reluctantly lined up, found pieces of cloth themselves as cloth pockets, and even used their own cloth robes to catch the wheat.

It was unheard of for nobles to distribute wheat.

A small wooden bowl served as a container, and wheat was poured into people's cloth pockets. When the people received the wheat, they were ordered to say loudly: "Danka; Graf"

What they said loudly was "Thank you, Count of the Netherlands". Everyone was asked to shout at the top of their lungs. In this way, the hundreds of brave villagers who stayed were rewarded with a bowl of rye for the first time, and the words of thanks were shouted several times. Hundreds of times, they left a strong impression on each other.

Henry Nassau was standing here, and those who had obtained the food could see clearly the face of their new earl.

They were further promised that as subjects of the Earl of the Netherlands, because of the Earl's cooperation with the Normans, the subjects would not be harmed by the Normans.

After receiving the wheat, they quickly ran home and explained their adventures to those who had escaped first.

Six feudal knights are still outside the city of Utrecht. They are in a situation where they have boarded the pirate ship and cannot get off, because Baron Martini is a thing of the past. From now on, Utrecht will be the residence of the Earl of the Netherlands, and the old baron will Cease to exist. For the survival of their family, for the safety of their fief and village, and for the future, they paid allegiance to Henry Nassau. This also meant that they continued to cooperate with the powerful Norman army and would inevitably encounter revenge from Count Baudouin of Flanders.

The fief knights were worried about the future when they thought that their real betrayal would be retaliated against by the Count of Flanders. Because the Norman army came and went in a hurry, could Henry Nassau control this place after the Normans left? Also, is the restoration of the Duchy of Saxony really a thing? The Netherlands is actually a vassal state of the Duchy of Saxony?

Of course, on this night, the Norman leader talked a lot in Latin around the campfire with the Bishop of Utrecht, and even with the captured Baron Martini.

A shocking piece of news spread like wildfire.

The Norman army evacuated Utrecht with little bloodshed and set their sights on the city of Antwerp. How could this be piracy? The Normans were looking for a decisive battle with the main force of the Count of Flanders.

Because you can directly reach the ruins of Durist Harbor along the southern waterway of Utrecht, and continue south to the main channel of the Rhine. Continue south along the waterway to reach Antwerp.

If the Norman army began to attack Antwerp, the Count of Flanders would definitely lead his troops from Ghent, where the mansion is located. Count Baudouin would not allow his wealthy Antwerp to be invaded by pirates again.

The fief knights heard the news and made some calculations to confirm that this was a new conspiracy of the Normans. However, what does this have to do with a small fief knight like myself? At most, he would send some troops to prove that he was indeed loyal to the new Earl of the Netherlands. As for a real fight, just run away.