Rise of Rurik

More than two hundred Danish warriors were in a deserted state on the Rhine. The current could not stop them from rowing against the current, and the north wind only enhanced their mobility.

Facing one victory after another, these Danes who have lived in Jutland or the neighboring island of Zealand for generations now feel very good about themselves, and even think that the Franks are just a shabby hut. As long as they call more people It shook violently and collapsed.

Some warriors, either out of flattery or sincere thoughts, made this suggestion to King Ragnar: "When we return with a large amount of gold and silver, the people in our hometown will be shocked by our wealth. The king should summon more Warriors, we will go deep here to continue plundering, and even make all the Franks our slaves."

This word deepened Ragnar's desire.

"Indeed, if we talk about revenge alone, our fight all the way here has greatly destroyed their arrogance. If I can summon 10,000 warriors like the Russians, I can achieve greater achievements than Rurik. "

"Then call them together." Someone else echoed, "Our warriors are no less than the Russians. From now on, the Saxons will serve as a barrier for us. Although our ships are not as advanced as the Russians, they are far better than the Franks. We can come whenever we want. All the wealth of the Franks is simply prepared for us.”

They talked loudly around the campfire, much like pirates planning a new operation.

Ragnar had eaten roasted lamb and cooked oats. He felt full of strength, and then he planned to vent his anger on the captured woman.

A new plan has been set, which is to make another fortune in Cologne.

Behind them, fire was blazing into the sky. Although it was late autumn and early winter, the Danes were all ruthless people who showed their backs. The ferocious green-blue patterns on their bodies looked like demons crawling out of hell. They always ate strange things and had unspeakable bad breath. All in all, they gave the captured women deep fear.

They didn't feel the cold, so they spread out blankets and planned to spend the night in the open air.

Ragnar and the men discussed again, and decided to either take a female prisoner by chance, or use stones to polish battle axes and iron swords.

On a new day, they set off.

The soldiers got on the boat one after another, and operated the big oars, making the long boats like centipedes on the water, continuing to sail upstream.

It is not a long journey. If Ragnar and his party set out early in the morning, they will be able to reach the city of Cologne by noon.

But all the Danes' plans had to be significantly changed because of what they saw next.

Being backward in fishing technology, the Franks living in Cologne and surrounding areas only knew how to fish and cast nets near the shore. The section of the Rhine River here is still extremely wide, and the current in the center of the river is more rapid, which is not suitable for freshwater fish such as sea bass to live in. Only the near shore is the active area.

There are few boats on the river during warm periods, and if there are, they are mostly barges rowing across the river.

The locals had no intention of spending money to build a chain pontoon bridge, and this was the only bridge that people in this generation could build on a large river at a low cost.

Ordinary farmers do not need to cross the river in their daily lives. Only merchants, priests and nobles have such needs, and the limited barge business can meet the needs.

Even the barge business was part of the religious property and was monopolized by the clergy. Except for high-ranking nobles and senior clergy, anyone crossing the river from the Cologne area needed to leave a high river crossing fee.

Obviously, Ludwig's army of more than 20,000 people did not need to cross the Rhine River at all, because his main army had been operating on the north bank. This river was the natural geographical dividing line between the Eastern Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom in most of its reaches. On the contrary, Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom fought a battle with the Middle Kingdom in Lauten (Kaiserslautern), which was actually a fierce battle after crossing the river. The battle took place just a few months ago. One of the main reasons for his defeat was that his transportation capacity was too limited, which prevented him from transporting more troops to the other side, so he was defeated by the more powerful Middle Kingdom army.

Don't look at the fact that Ludwig assembled more than 20,000 troops in a short period of time due to the right location and people, and he almost didn't have a ship on hand.

According to his plan, the army then began to move north along the "Hell Road" after passing Duisburg, and finally extended to the Bremen area. There is a plank bridge with stone piers there. Although there are rumors that the bridge has been damaged, it can theoretically be repaired by taking time to lay more planks. Therefore, he collected a lot of ropes in order to quickly build a bridge when facing the Weser River, so that he could send his army to the Elbe River to face Hamburg, the rebel's nest.

Now, due to the sudden fire in the northwest of Cologne, Ludwig sent a light cavalry along the river bank to find out what was going on there early in the morning.

So the scouts raced along the shore, and Ragnar's marauding troops drifted up the river.

The two groups suddenly met across the water, and the scene was very awkward.

"It's the Frank cavalry!" someone shouted.

Ragna squinted his eyes to take a closer look, and immediately realized that his original plan had to be slightly adjusted.

One of the guys asked again: “What should we do next?”

"Keep paddling! They can't do anything to us. We will definitely get here anyway. If we don't cut off a few heads, we will be sorry for our efforts." With these words, Ragnar already understood that he had lost the suddenness of the attack.

He had a bad premonition that the Franks, who were regarded as deaf and blind, eventually learned of the continuous killings along the river.

Maybe this year I won't be able to make a fortune in wealthy Cologne.

Then carefully observe the situation here. The King of Denmark himself will serve as a scout to explore the geography and hydrology of this place, so that next time he gathers his army, he can reach the target directly.

Ragnar decided to ignore the Frank cavalry, and the horsemen on the shore looked in shock at those weird ships with pointed ends still sailing rapidly upstream in the north wind.

Who has such a ship? !

It's a Norman!

There is no need to go to the village of Dusseldorf to investigate. The criminal has been exposed. Even if these scout cavalry are unwilling to go into details, the fact is here. The Norman pirates have penetrated deeply into the hinterland of Europe. Looking at the direction of their actions, they must be there. Was planning to go to Cologne to rob.

The cavalrymen immediately turned their horses and returned the same way.

The soldiers on the ship began to feel that something was too strange. Some people warned: "Maybe they will ambush a large number of troops in Cologne. If we rush over like this, wouldn't we be committing suicide?"

"Idiot, are you afraid?" Ragna immediately turned his head to refute.

The soldier in question hurriedly denied it.

"Listen! You all don't have to worry. They don't have ships. As long as we stay on the water, there is no danger. It would be a good thing if they really have a large army. That would be in line with King Ross's estimate..."

The rest of Ragnar's words were not fully understood by ordinary warriors.

The cavalry rushed across the road at a speed that Ragnar's troops could not match.

Cologne is a holy place of faith built on the basis of the Roman city. The current Archbishop Hardbolt manages all affairs in the region. His identity is directly a real senior clergyman, but the power he holds is equivalent to that of a marquis. You can do anything independently without having to serve any Frankish nobles. After all, the era of Charlemagne is over.

Archbishop Hardbolt has actually lifted the "principle of neutrality in the civil war". Although he will not attack the Middle Kingdom, he is especially firmly opposed to Ludwig's army crossing the river to attack the capital Aachen on the south bank. The archbishop had no interest in putting down the Saxon rebellion. After all, the Saxons had not betrayed their faith. However, a large number of Normans with erroneous beliefs completely invaded the Saxony region and had a strong tendency to go south to cause rebellion. As expected, the Archbishop of Cologne was the first to suffer.

The Archbishop was afraid of the Norman pirates, but those light cavalry came back with terrible news about me.

The cavalry rushed directly into the city and ran wildly in the cramped alleys. After arriving at the entrance of the cathedral, they dismounted. Due to the emergency situation, the scout cavalry directly competed with the priests and city patrols who blocked their run, and rushed directly and feebly into the church's muezzin hall.

Because King Ludwig was praying for the expedition here.

"Norman! It's Norman!"

The cavalry warriors knew that it was a great sin to do so. It was no longer a matter of personal sin, because the Norman ships were only one step away from Cologne.

Ludwig was furious, but upon hearing the warning of an attack from his men, he was shocked and immediately prepared for war.

"It's unbelievable." He gritted his teeth. "I didn't attack them directly, but they came in front of me. That's fine, I'll kill them when they come!"

The cavalry reported that the Normans only had seven or eight ships, and Ludwig accidentally believed it.

A mere seven or eight ships entered the Rhine River and invaded Cologne. I was afraid that this was the vanguard, and there would be more Norman pirates behind them.

The messengers rushed forward, and all the troops arriving in Cologne, whether infantry or cavalry, had to leave the camp temporarily and arrive at the riverside to form formations.

Ludwig put on his iron helmet with a gold ring, led all the cavalry, and quickly arrived at the riverside on fat and strong Frank horses.

Then the infantry arrived one after another. They received the news that the Norman pirates were about to land. The war came quietly on this ordinary morning. Although everyone couldn't believe it, they had to act nervously.

Almost all the infantry knew nothing about the Normans, and all their knowledge came from hearsay in Cologne these days.

Strange braids, hideous patterns on his body, killing people like hemp...

Information is a powerful weapon, but it is not unacceptable to those elite heavy infantry. These messages all prove that the Normans were a barbarian people who were good at sailing. Many of the messages are somewhat similar to the Poles, Bohemians and Vistula in the East. Even the slave soldiers surrendered by the Sorbians looked similar before they were "civilized". They were all a group of bare-chested barbarians with strange patterns all over their bodies.

The towering Roman stone walls are thick and heavy, carrying a rich history.

A large number of flags were flying on the city wall, and the cross flags with black stripes on a white background fluttered in the wind.

After hearing that the barbaric Normans were arrogantly moving around Cologne, all the wise people in the city decided to take up arms to defend their beliefs. At least the patrol guards hired by the priests gathered on the riverside in large numbers to meet with Luther. Vichy's army mingled.

In fact, after the archbishop himself learned of this situation, he hurriedly walked out of the palace, summoned all the priests in the city, brought holy oil urns, gold-plated large crosses and other sacred objects, and went to the riverside to give faith buffs to all the Christian troops.

After all, it was a huge cross plated with gold. It was made of wrought iron made by a blacksmith, then plated with a layer of gold, and finally fixed on oak. It was very heavy, so it was fixed on an iron base.

The golden cross was placed on a carriage. When it appeared in the military formation, it immediately caused cheers from all the soldiers who saw it.

Perhaps this operation was a big one.

In fact, Ludwig found that he had actually held a grand military parade outside Cologne. His army has not yet arrived, and every day more advanced troops arrive.

The archbishop's personal appearance with a golden cross signifies the support of the Cologne Diocese.

glory! Still glorious!

In this way, the Normans will be frightened, right? !

Ludwig regarded himself very highly. After all, his grandfather was the "Emperor of all Romans." As the grandson of a great man, he also felt that he was very great, and he was arrogant from the bottom of his bones towards any barbarian in the border area.

As a great nobleman of the Holy Kingdom, Ludwig had no need to hide his strength. It was meaningless whether the Norman pirates were afraid of him or not, because they would all be killed.

It was the priests' job to forgive the Normans, and all the nobles had to do was to destroy them physically.

"This time, I will solve the Danish problem forever and make these Normans disappear forever."

In this extremely lively atmosphere, Ragnar's long fleet appeared.

The Franks' loud force made a rumbling noise, and the Danes were already alert to this.

At the last bend around the river, the rustling pine forest lifted the curtain on the world, and a large city suddenly appeared.

Take another good look at this city! Like a dream.

The majestic formation on the shore, the majestic city behind the army. Most of the soldiers were uniformly dressed, including cavalry and infantry. The number was beyond imagination.

The Danish warriors all stopped rowing, and they marveled at the army arrayed on the shore. He also coveted the huge golden cross placed in a prominent position.

"Your Majesty...this? Is this an army of Franks?"

Ragnar was a little timid about this, his lips were trembling. Although he knew everything about his enemy, he couldn't help but be afraid when he saw the majestic formation now.

"Yes! Frank army." He braced himself and said.

"what to do?"

"We'll just watch. Blow the trumpet quickly. Call on the brothers not to act rashly."

Norman pirates have appeared, and there are some obviously captured people on board. They were some women, wearing standard Frankish village women's clothing, so-called wide one-piece skirts, and they were clearly kidnapped by pirates and turned into slaves.

The women suddenly became agitated, struggling with their bodies and screaming something sharply in Frankish to the other side of the river.

"Damn it! Shut up these women." Ragnar was furious, and the anger in his heart deepened when he saw that his subordinates were unable to control these emotional women despite all their efforts.

An evil idea arises.

His own Danish army was extremely outnumbered, so rushing ashore to fight the Frankish army was asking for death.

If you don't attack yourself, obviously the opponent can't run wildly on the river. As long as there is a way to anger them and make them feel uncomfortable.

Ragnar immediately gave a new order. A group of soldiers helped the tied Frank village woman up in public, and killed them one by one and threw them into the river in front of the entire Frank army on the other side of the river.

Forget it, let’s not forget to use simple Frankish vocabulary to curse “Frankish coward”.

These actions undoubtedly stunned the army on the shore. Many soldiers were so angry that they were shaking. The act of killing prisoners was a great insult to themselves. Of course, Ludwig was not angry at the murder of the village woman, but at the fact that this kind of behavior happened. In front of him, coupled with the insults behind him, this is the biggest provocation.

It was worthless to scold the barbarians, so Ludwig immediately sent out some infantry archers to shoot arrows at the ships in the distance.

The arrows from the short wooden bows fell into the water one after another. This move surprised Ragnar. Seeing the opponent's arrows stretching his hips like this made him laugh wildly.

Ludwig shook his head regretfully, and became so angry that he immediately sent out another army.

The new ones are the spear throwers, who rely on spear throwers to throw a thicker arrow. Although spear throwers are beginning to be eliminated in today's Europe, at least against armored enemies, spear throwers firing large arrows have become difficult to use, because Ludwig's fiefdom is mainly on the eastern border, facing various unarmored Slavs. During the tribal period, this backward unit still had its uses, and it did not occupy the establishment at all, and could be controlled by any soldier. (The Frankish regular army also used flag teams, and each flag team had more people than the Ross-style flag team.)

Some large arrows were thrown hard by the bronze spear thrower, which was heavier and more resistant to wind deflection.

Ragnar did not expect that he would encounter such an attack. The suddenly falling arrows indeed penetrated the bodies of some Danish warriors, or penetrated deeply into the wood of the longship.

Although it was inaccurate, the Franks sent many people to continuously launch it.

"Damn it, if I control a big ship of the Russians, how can I accept this kind of helplessness?" Ragnar gritted his teeth and could no longer care too much.

"Brothers, let's retreat! It's time to leave."

Standing on the side of the Franks, they killed some Norman pirates simply by throwing large arrows and successfully drove them away.

Many soldiers cheered and shouted and cursed at the fugitives' backs.

Ludwig really couldn't laugh. He wanted to hang all these pirates, but he didn't have a suitable ship to pursue them, so he just watched them close their sails and go down the river. There are still many villages in the lower reaches of the Rhine. If we don't kill them all, I really don't know how many more villages will be killed.

Only by completely conquering the Danish world, killing the local Normans, and imitating the iron-blooded tactics of his grandfather Charlemagne.

He regarded this as a deliberate provocation by the Normans and believed that his actions were no longer sudden. It doesn't matter, new and old hatreds come together, and those Normans and rebellious Saxons must die to apologize.