Rise of Rurik

Ragnar returned like lightning, his fleet of dragon-headed longships seeming to fly over the river.

Those fishermen, salt cooks, and fishermen were delighted at first when they saw their allies suddenly returning, and then they were quite envious when they saw a lot of things piled up in their open-air cabins.

Unexpectedly, Ragnarok shouted to everyone he met: "The Franks are coming!"

The wind blew his hair and beard quite messy, and the oarsmen did not care about their fatigue, they all wanted to reach Hamburg and settle down quickly.

One longship after another docked, and of course the news of their return had spread. When they passed along the river and passed the main camp of the Russian army, Rurik himself had noticed them.

The sound of the wind obscured Ragnar's enemy alarm, and everyone focused on the supplies on his cabin.

Rurik immediately led a group of followers straight to the hastily built trestle dock that had not yet been completed, where he welcomed the return of his old friends.

He opened his arms: "It seems that you gained a lot in the Rhine River? You must have robbed a lot of gold."

Ragnar had a sad look on his face and stroked his messy beard: "Don't mention it. We washed away Cologne all the way. Look at my sad face, you can guess what I encountered."

"Ah? Could it be that your army failed to attack and they counterattacked?"

"It's more than just a counterattack. Rurik, you were right. A large army appeared in a place called Cologne. It must be the army of the Frank King. I... was actually counterattacked by them."

Hearing this, Rurik's good mood certainly disappeared.

As if a basin of cold water had been poured on him, he also looked down: "Quick! Tell me everything you have seen and experienced."

Regarding the treaty of the "Northern Alliance", Rurik can certainly conclude that Ragnar will unconditionally sign his name to confirm its legitimacy on behalf of the entire Danish Kingdom.

In fact, Ragnar didn't even think about it. He just glanced at the paper document, declared that this was a treaty that was good for everyone, and then signed it directly.

Although the political significance of the treaty is great, how important it is will reflect its value in the long-term economic and military exchanges in the future.

Obviously, nothing is more important than the Frankish army approaching the border.

Although everyone has predicted that a strategic decisive battle will break out in the future, it is just early winter now, and the first snow will fall at any time. Could it be that the Franks will uncharacteristically insist on launching a war in winter?

Thinking about it from another angle, maybe Ludwig of East Francia felt that his methods were extremely wise and arranged a surprise expedition with his army in the winter when his opponents were absolutely safest.

At least Rurik thought of this possibility, and so did Liudov.

Ragnar returns with news, and all the nobles gather again for this purpose.

No different than the last gathering of all people, this was a purely military combat meeting, with all the military nobles gathered together.

The war has continued to this day, and the Russian army has exhausted all the military rations they brought from their hometown. Now all they eat are seizures and tributes from the Hamburg area, as well as tributes shipped from Britain. The Russian army also actively invested in labor production and supplemented food shortages to a certain extent by plundering herring and cod.

However, Hamburg gathered a large number of war refugees, and a large number of villages on the south bank of the Elbe River were suddenly abandoned. Saxon people crossed the river in small boats with food and gathered in Hamburg. They can still survive with the food they bring, but if the war continues to drag on, they may not be able to continue production next spring.

Liu Doufu is deeply worried about this, but that is all in the future. Currently, as the invasion of the Franks becomes a reality, the Saxon army must further expand to defend itself against powerful enemies.

The meeting has not yet begun, and everyone has an attitude of expanding their military and preparing for war.

A wide piece of yellowed birch paper was spread out, and Rurik had briefly outlined the huge pan-Nordic region on it.

After all, the earth is a sphere. If the surface of the sphere is projected onto a plane, it will appear that the equatorial region is smaller and the northern European region is larger.

Therefore, on this map, Rurik naturally made the map of Northern Europe quite huge, making the Danish world seem not very big, while Liudov's Saxony seemed too small.

Even so, no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

It was even the first time for some nobles to see the overall structure of the small world they knew, and the terrain in some areas was refreshing.

The broken-armed Eynred's eyes stared into the copper bells. He noticed that Rurik had mapped out the terrain of Britain and Ireland and accurately marked some country names in Latin.

The Danish world and some settlements are accurately marked, the Principality of Saxony is also quite accurately marked, and the Flanders region, whose political geography has recently been understood.

What is eye-catching is Rurik's standard for the Kingdom of Rus. Not only is its geographical territory extremely huge, but it is also dotted with settlements, which makes Rus appear to be the superpower in the north.

A map can also be used as a means to intimidate others, and it can also make allies feel that Ross is reliable.

What's even more amazing is that just northwest of the British Isles, a circle is marked and labeled "Iceland."

There is no doubt about the existence of Iceland, because the Viking Kingdom of York has discovered its traces, especially Rurik's good brother Floki has personally landed on the island once. This confirmed the authenticity of Rurik's prediction many years ago, and also made Floki understand that it was a bare and cold island without trees. However, the area near the island is quite suitable for fishing, and you can often catch huge cod.

Now, the coalition forces are equivalent to opening up God's perspective.

Even if Rurik could not determine the precise location of Frankish cities such as Cologne, it was at least in the south and built along the Rhine. In addition, because there are actual battle records, the Russian army is quite familiar with the course of the Elbe and Weser rivers, and the markings are quite accurate.

The map was hung on the stone wall, and the sunlight shone through the stone window. Rurik held a wooden stick and, like a geography teacher, first explained the pan-Nordic topography to the many illiterate nobles.

The geographical structure affects the people who live here to make a series of choices, which is exactly what the so-called geopolitics is.

The map is hung here, and everyone summarizes the information they know, so that Rurik can even think about things from the perspective of a Frank noble.

To the west and north of the Archdiocese of Cologne is the Earldom of Westphalia, which is actually Liudov's old fiefdom. No one knows the local geographical structure better than him. Further west is the county of Flanders, the local structure of which Rurik knows well.

Now, Rurik looked into Liudov's eyes: "The Roman highway called the Road of Death, which runs through the Cologne region of the country and runs through Westphalia, directly connected to Bremen? If I were the enemy, I could only lead The army is going this way.”

"Will they take the water route and then cross the ocean to attack us?" Ragnar suddenly asked this very fantastic question.

"There is no need to discuss this issue. Brother, when you evacuated, did they row after you?"

Ragnar shook his head vigorously, and then mocked: "They only have canoes, and those boring boats are meaningless." Although it is an exaggeration, it is also true.

Liudov added: "Frank only has a large fleet of oars in the southernmost Mediterranean, and they are all in northern Italy... Rurik, you miraculously understand the geography of this world, maybe you understand."

"Of course I understand. The south is Rome, and its former glory is no longer there. So there is no Frankish navy, and our fleet will not encounter any form of ocean attack?"

"That's true."

"So." Rurik's wooden stick pointed to the east of Cologne. "The Weser and Elbe rivers are natural obstacles. How can they cross the rivers since they don't have ships? Maybe, they can go upstream of the rivers and attack our flank from the east. ." That's all. Rurik also pointed to the east of Hamburg and asked: "I know there is Obert Liddit. Are there any other forces in this area?"

"It's Pomerania. Maybe... you also know." Liudov said cautiously.

"Pomerania? Oh, I do know. Is there anything else? Or, if there is an army with ten thousand soldiers, can they attack us in a detour from the east. Are there normal roads there?"

"No." Liu Duofu shook his head decisively.

"Really?"

"This is a war related to my life and death in Saxony. I must win. I dare not lie with my life. There are no roads in the east, but there are Thuringians. The local ruler, the Margrave of Thuringia, is not a Frank, but he is Luther A staunch ally of Vichy. There were no Roman roads there, but it was possible that the Thuringians would be involved in the war."

Things suddenly got tricky again.

Rurik bared his teeth and temporarily marked the approximate location of Thuringia on the map. Although he didn't quite believe that an eastern prince would send out a large number of troops, according to Liudov, the noble had a small population and might not necessarily fight for the Franks. To a large extent, their existence was to guard the border for Frank. Internally, they took advantage of Frank, and externally, they sought new living space from the Polish and Pomeranian tribes in the east.

The situation marked on this map is quite obvious.

Hamburg already belonged to the northern border of Saxony, and the vast area south of the Elbe River originally belonged to Saxony. The Saxons who received warnings of war tried their best to flee north or cross the border to take refuge with the Polish tribes in the east. The area north of the Elbe River until Schleswig was the last time-controlled territory of the Saxons.

Obviously, the Poles and Pomeranians have opposed the expansion of the Franks since ancient times. If the Franks dared to carry out strategic detours through the territory, they would be attacked by the local West Slavic militia. Moreover, there was no way to go, so a huge army assembled in early winter. The forest area in the north is more or less seeking a dead end.

It was even impossible for the Frankish army to try to detour from the territory of the Marquis of Thuringia. After all, there was no road leading to the north.

Only the "road to hell" is the only feasible way.

It is close to the famous Teutonic Forest, where Octavian's Roman legion was defeated and ravaged by the common ancestors of the Franks and Saxons. Nowadays, no one remembers that they are both Germanic peoples, and the Saxons do not think that the Franks are their cousins. They only remember the horrific killings fifty years ago and see the new crisis in front of them.

It was impossible to take the sea route, and it was equally impossible to take a detour through the forest.

The Frank army could only take the existing Roman road, which made the problem simpler.

The nobles secretly admired Rurik's behavior when he first asked questions and then objected. Although there was no sand table, he also did some war deduction on the map that was spread out, which was really refreshing for other nobles. At least Eynred of Northumbria never imagined that the war could be deduced in advance like this.

Rurik's wooden stick drew a straight line on the map: "Then, the Frankish army will definitely reach the ruins of Bremen. A big question! How will their army of ten thousand people cross the river? Just like the previous cavalry."

At this time, Harald Clark, a prisoner of war and former Danish leader who had lost his power, was brought into the military meeting. It was finally his turn to speak as ordered.

Because this man was a loser, everyone despised this loser, and everyone questioned why Rurik brought this prisoner to the military meeting.

Harald Clark is indeed valuable, because he has been working for Ludwig for thirteen years!

"Robert previously rebuilt the bridge that you destroyed on the Weser River. Even though it was very crude, the cavalry still passed smoothly. If Ludwig really led the army personally this time, or sent his son to lead the army for more than a year, With thousands of people, crossing the bridge smoothly is not a problem.”

Harald Clark spoke clearly and kept a low profile, and the information he provided was confirmed by Henry Nassau, another person involved in the bridge construction.

It is such an irony of history that the former leader of the Danish Alliance has now become a prisoner who has lost all power. He was not given shackles out of mercy and his usefulness. Another enemy baron, just because of his special surname, turned into a count under the new system and became a guest of the meeting.

Although Harald Clark separately despised Nassau for speaking loudly here, he who just wanted to live the rest of his life without being mistreated now remained silent.

A large number of stone piers were erected where the channel of the Weser narrowed, and a large number of logs were laid on them to restore the smooth flow of the bridge. Since Robert's three thousand cavalry could repair the bridge in a few days, and the current bridge has not been damaged, destroying it will definitely slow down the Frank army.

Even the opponent can still quickly repair the bridge.

Send a navy into the Weser River to destroy the bridges, especially the stone bridge piers. This plan was proposed by Rurik, and as for the execution, let Arik take care of it. After all, Arik had done it once, and this time it was the second time. However, the new operation required more javelins, and the army was strictly prohibited from camping on the shore overnight.

Naturally, Arik took the order and used the navy to attack the enemy's possible cavalry. With the possibility of history repeating itself, Arik was very happy with the new opportunity to avenge his last embarrassing escape.

Everyone enjoyed this matter, but no one completely pinned the defeat of the Franks' crusade on the Bridge of Destruction.

There is another question, the so-called Frank army will still pass through the Weser River, and what will happen next? Could they rush from the Elbe to Hamburg?

"Are we going to take the initiative to destroy the pontoon bridge on the river?" Liu Doufu suddenly thought of this matter and asked with a sad look on his face.

"If necessary, it will be demolished."

"Is it really necessary? Destroy it and restore it later. With the national strength of Saxony, we cannot complete it within ten years. Rurik, this is the most convenient bridge and the only bridge for us to travel north and south. Really Is it necessary?"

"It depends on the situation." Rurik didn't want to ruin this beautiful bridge, but at this moment, the real Count Robert of Hamburg only said one sentence to directly eliminate everyone's worries and complaints.

"In my opinion, there is no need to demolish the bridge. Because every winter the Elbe River in Hamburg freezes, and the ice is enough for people to walk on foot, and they can also cross the river on horseback. The severe winter is coming, and if the Frankish army really comes, you demolish it The bridge is pointless too.”

Hamburg, which enjoys the warm North Atlantic current, should worry about the freezing of the Elbe River? I'm afraid that is indeed the case.

Today's era is in the cold season, and the climate in Northern Europe is still getting colder on a macro scale.

Of course, the South Baltic Sea will not freeze, because the salt content in this sea area is relatively high, so it is not easy for it to freeze, while the North and East Baltic Seas are full of ice sheets and breed icebergs.

The Elbe is a pure freshwater river with a dimension not much lower than the Gulf of Finland.

Thinking dialectically, Rurik also felt that the Frankish army would not even consider crossing the river. It was absolutely impossible for them to go to the south bank of the Elbe River to demonstrate against the coalition forces on the north bank.

If this is the case, it will be even more arrogant to deploy small troops in the Weser River in the south to attack the enemy first, and also to buy more time for the large coalition forces to prepare for war.

In fact, until now, the coalition forces do not know the true strength of the Frankish army and the exact identity of its commander.

Everyone is convinced that they have strong hostility, as shown by their attack on Ragnar's fleet in Cologne.

Based on the fact that the enemy was throwing ultra-long-distance javelins with manpower, Count Robert of Hamburg, who was very familiar with East Frankish affairs, concluded that this was a special javelin force raised by the East Kingdom, and it was actually managed by Ludwig himself.

Ragnar didn't know Ludwig, and he didn't see any particularly conspicuous male noble targets outside the city of Cologne at that time. He noticed the shining golden cross and felt that it was a huge piece of pure gold, and he was very greedy for it.

It was the Archbishop of Cologne's imitation of the "True Cross" in Rome. Since this object was very famous, Liudov immediately concluded that it was the proof of the Archbishop of Cologne.

With much information unclear, many things can be analyzed and some judgments can be drawn.

Everyone believed that Ludwig himself organized the army and assembled it in Cologne, and everyone had reason to believe that the Archbishop of Cologne supported this winter war against Saxony and the northerners.

The current situation has become treacherous, and upon reflection, it becomes even more confusing.

The Archbishop of Cologne and Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom attack the north.

The North, especially the Principality of Saxony, and the Northern Alliance that joined it are newly established and relatively loose political alliances, but they have the Northern Archbishop "Saint" Eskil's endorsement of their beliefs.

Any organization of this war under the banner of faith becomes suspicious. This is pure aristocratic struggle for hegemony, mixed with the desires of some national groups.

The nobles in the deep war, even though they had an extraordinary understanding of the current situation because of Rurik's map, still felt a little unfamiliar with their enemies.

Even Rurik was a little suspicious that Ludwig was actually gathering his army to attack Aachen and complete the theft of his elder brother's home.

"No. I killed three thousand of his elite cavalry. This was a great shame and humiliation. If I were Ludwig, I would have to take revenge even if I broke my teeth."

There is a 99% probability that Ludwig will ignore the harsh winter and go straight to the north for revenge. Isn't this behavior of "attacking Moscow in December" too contemptuous of General Winter?

Of course, what Ross and the coalition forces have to do is not wait for General Winter to show his power. General Winter is a debuff for everyone. The coalition forces must prepare in advance to reduce the losses caused by the cold, and hope that the enemy will freeze to death due to lack of preparation.

Then, a fleet will leave again, carrying javelins, cast-iron projectiles, and a batch of arrows, and go straight to the Bremen ruins ferry on the Weser River.

Rurik's cavalry troops also re-entered the battle. General Bald Fisk led the cavalry directly through the pontoon this time and fought guerrillas in the south bank area. After all, the cavalry trained by the Pecheneg people in the grassland are naturally good at fighting guerrillas. For this reason, Rurik placed more arrows for them and obtained some spare horses from Liudov.

From this military meeting, the nobles have understood their position in the new war.

Especially the new opportunity to fight side by side, King Biyoni of York and his younger brother Floki were overjoyed. They only hated themselves for bringing their entourage. In fact, this is not the case. They are Balmoks. The fourth banner of the Russian army is composed of Balmoks. The banner captain Hellafed already knows the old leader's eldest son and the current King of York Biyoni.

The troops were lent to Biyongni, and the allies of the Kingdom of York immediately emerged from the coalition forces.

Similarly, although he did not want to fight the Franks, King Aynred of Northumbria, who was already here, had no choice but to make a choice. He felt that he had been deceived by Rurik, and he encountered a battle just after arriving in Hamburg. Since the covenant had been signed, Rurik also announced the abolition of the tribute system. He knew exactly what he should do.

Thus, Northumbria de facto declared war on the Frankish Eastern Kingdom. Reglav Ruriksson, the only legitimate heir to the throne of Mercia, also declared war on the Eastern Kingdom.

All the members of the Northern Alliance were united. Rurik was actually worried about a common vote, but the Franks gave him the opportunity.

The chance to test everyone's sincerity is now!

All members declared war on East Frankia, and further war preparations have begun, especially for the Saxons under Liudov's actual control. The military age limit has been reduced to twelve years old, and all men must bring at least a sharpened wooden pole. Participate in the military as a militia.

Similarly, the Ross cavalry quickly passed through the pontoon bridge, and Bald Fisk was ordered to sneak attack Frank, leaving no prisoners of war and deliberately creating terror.

Arik deliberately set sail with the battleship, and he also wanted revenge.

But Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom and the Archbishop of Cologne knew nothing about all this. Their army was still heading north along the "Road to Hell", an extremely hard and flat Roman road...