Rise of Rurik

Perhaps parchment is more suitable as a carrier for preserving documents, but the amount of Ross's birch bark paper that Blue Fox brought was enough.

He could quite luxuriously pull out a piece of stiff paper, dip his quill in ink and write on it.

Now, at the official pre-war military meeting, he spread out the rough map of the area he drew himself, making it clear to the participating nobles.

The arrangement of up, north, down, south, left, west, right and east made Robert's eyes light up. Because the upper left corner of the map marked the direction shoulder, he was surprised that he could clearly determine his current position.

It was already daybreak, and the military meeting continued in the fishing village of Llandstein at the mouth of the Lanhe River. At Koblenz, the Russian army continued to send fleets across the river, flying flags, trumpets, drums, and even actual abuse. Continue to annoy the enemy. The brothers must display rows of bucklers and must fully prove that they are truly Norman. In this way, they took advantage of the enemy's anger and arrogance, and even used their "fundamental reason to continue fighting", as if throwing a chain, locking them firmly in the increasingly narrow triangular area of ​​​​Koblenz.

In the fishing village, a wooden table used for carving up fish was moved to the public place, and a map of Blue Fox was spread out on it. The sun shone on it, and now the map has simply been transformed into a sand table.

The blue fox held a small stick and pointed directly at the mound on the map: "You have all seen it, this is the Koblenz Mountains. All those Frank troops entered the plain area below the mountain. They faced the west, with the Moselle River on their left. The Rhine River on the right..."

He introduced it in detail, kneading clay into blocks to represent the mountains, thus showing the structure of the Koblenz Triangle, and also the structure of the plains of the Land River Valley not far away.

This description is very detailed. He asked Father Conrad and Father Bachbert, who have lived in the local area for a long time, to have two oral accounts, which makes the map more familiar.

The direction of the river does not need to be described by the two priests. As long as a boat is lined up to explore everything, all the turns in the nearby area can be clearly described.

Starting from the fishing village of Landstein, there is a large river bend not far upstream of the Inn River. There used to be a village at this bend, but due to the constant change of ownership of Coblenz, the residents have moved to the north. They have not disappeared. The residents now stay in Llandstein as refugees from Koblenz.

This big bend is called spia by the locals to describe the state of rapid water flow. Its rapidity comes from the large number of boulders in the river. Due to the direction of the river, the right bank is full of boulders, while the left bank becomes a shoal with more silt.

The poor hydrological conditions here have little impact on the Nordic longships. The shallow-draft longships, with the brave oars of all the brothers, can rush through with the force of a fish against the current, but it would be too unpleasant for a large transport ship to force its way through. .

In the past, Blue Fox's knowledge of this place was that there were many rocks under the waterway, but now it has become an extremely critical strategic point.

Shi Pai is in the upstream position, which seems to have nothing to do with this, but in fact it is the key to the roundabout tactics.

The blue fox also stared at the Wallendaal Monastery hidden in the riverside forest downstream of the river. The monastery itself is not important, it can be cited only as a name for the landing site.

According to the plan he made, future reinforcements should not directly enter the Koblenz Triangle or arrive directly in Nassau. The fleet transporting thousands of people landed in Wallendal, passed through the monastery and entered the mountain area, until Emsbad emerged from the quarry and hot spring. Next to Emsbad is the village of Nassau itself, where you can take a boat ride along the Lahn River to Llandstein, then enter the Rhine River and go upstream, and land at Spei on the other bank.

Three knights from the Koblenz area who are loyal to Nassau need to contribute in this war! Their military power is limited, but they are perfect as guides.

The Rus' army that landed at Spey sneaked into the Koblenz hills and advanced through the fiefdoms of these knights until they reached the Moselle River.

If it were in the past, whether it was the Vikings or the Franks, head-on fighting was a method of warfare accepted by both sides. If one side's morale collapsed, it would fully escape, and the other side would easily pursue and kill them.

After all, many soldiers with good legs and feet could escape with this kind of tactics, but Ross became an outlier in this regard.

The army under the command of Blue Fox is to implement Ross's old tactics-a war of annihilation.

Frontal combat is a matter of course, but the enemy's retreat must also be tightly sealed. In his opinion, the enemy entrenched in Koblenz must be destroyed.

No, the terrain, the names of key strategic points, and the march route were clearly marked by Blue Fox.

Robert saw it clearly and praised the tactics. He also lamented the cruelty of a Ross noble.

The two boys, Bruno of Saxony and Reglaf, were busy studying with their eyes wide open.

Black Fox, Vardy, and Old Eric folded their arms and watched with gusto.

There are five knights in total, they are watching and listening, and they are also waiting for their own mission orders.

Blue Fox continued to point out: "According to the confession of the captured prisoner of war, he pointed out that his leader was named Quentin, and he had 700 to 800 soldiers, an infantry flag team plus a cavalry centurion, and 200 armed civilians escorting grain. . They are Lothair's standing army. The purpose of this battle is to kill all the lords who surrendered to us, and then kill all the Normans. They also have to pass through the Lying River, enter Nassau, and enter Lyingau to burn, kill and loot... …”

He seemed to be deliberately getting more and more excited as he spoke, and his beard was trembling as he spoke.

Everyone present heard it clearly, and no one thought it was an exaggeration, or that it was a fact.

Who kills people in the Knights? It's Quentin's Frankish Flag Troop!

Two knight leaders have been swept away, and the knights' family and servants were killed. The three knights of Coblenz who escaped were present. They were scared when they thought about the tragedy they heard, and they were happy to realize that they were very safe. Of course, they were eager for revenge, and all evidence, especially the thick smoke rising in the mountains, proved that their home was burned down out of anger.

I'm afraid it's not just my own home, but the entire village that depends on it.

The larger settlement of Koblenz still has open fires to this day, and the thick smoke still bears witness to the sins of the enemy.

The war has become like this, and Robert is angry and has some doubts: "Who gave Quentin the courage? Burn the village, kill the nobles, destroy the monastery? Is it Lothair? I'm afraid it's not Lothair, but Quentin himself. proposition.”

That's right. Why does Blue Fox feel like he's secretly mocking himself?

He deliberately muttered: "They... are not us Normans."

Realizing the embarrassment, Robert, who had just taken a huge amount of money, quickly changed the subject: "They are all Franks, Quentin has no right to kill indiscriminately. His heart has been corrupted by the devil! Besides, he doesn't even have a boat, how can Moses give it to him?" Part the sea and let his army march across the bed of the Inn?"

"Haha. Will Frank's god give him a miracle?" Blue Fox's laughter broke the embarrassment and made everyone laugh.

The residents of Koblenz escaped completely, and even a small boat drifted to the other side. There is not a single boat in the occupied lands, unless Quentin's army improvises rafts.

A temporary raft was not enough. The long boats of the Russian army were floating on the river, constantly harassing and intimidating them and also watching their movements.

According to what the prisoners of war said, Quentin's banner was ordered to restore King Lothair's rule over the local area.

According to Lothair's plan, when all is said and done, the fortress of Coblenz will still be stationed with its own standing army. The key lies in garrisoning troops. As for the nearby civilians, they are really dispensable.

Since they have this attitude, the coalition forces in Nassau do not have to worry about their escape. It would be best for them to stay put so that Blue Fox would have enough time to make strategic arrangements.

The battle plan has been fully discussed, and the key here lies in the 1,000 reinforcements that have not yet arrived.

What kind of reinforcements are they? Hearing their names, Robert thought of countless bad and terrifying memories.

In other words, one of the generals was named Grund, and his soldiers wore heavy armor with bear head decorations on their helmets. Their special attires were extremely powerful in combat, and Robert, who had suffered a lot, was glad that these people were allies. In other words, with the existence of these guys, wouldn't it be a sure win?

Robert himself made a contribution that cannot be ignored in his noble capacity during the refugee evacuation operation.

In the past years, he also wanted to personally obtain Coblenz as his new fief, but the deceased old king Louis the Pious never rewarded him. As time passed, Koblenz merged with Leingau, but unfortunately he was no longer the local count.

But... you can enjoy it.

If the nobles do not publicly announce and convey the news thoroughly, the general public will not know that Robert himself has been temporarily reduced to a landless nobleman with no fiefdom, only invisible influence, and a huge sum of money.

The Blue Fox and the Black Fox just need to use the influence of this nobleman for the next battle. For Robert himself, that is really the best thing.

The able-bodied men among the refugees formed the Coblenz Peasant Soldiers, the two knights from Ingau and their limited retinue formed the Ingau Army, and the local farmers in Nassau formed the Nassau Army. When the three parties were put together, they amounted to 1,500 people. In the following battle, Robert would serve as the commander of this army. Externally, he would also participate in the battle under the name of Count Ingol for the last time, as the representative of his family. A dignified and honorable end to the North.

But their combat effectiveness is too poor, and if they are sent to participate in the fighting, the death of a large number of farmers will have a serious negative impact on the future rule of Nassau.

It is the Russian army that can really take the lead.

According to the tactics, the Ross Army garrison in Nassau was mixed with the Seventh Flag, accompanied by Robert's "Grand Laingau Army", to piece together a huge army of nearly 2,550 men. The Ross army here is led by Black Fox, who advances and retreats with Robert.

The Ross army, which was conducting a major tactical roundabout, was personally commanded by Blue Fox, and together with the three knights who served as guides, there were 600 people. Not wanting to let the enemy escape, he wanted to build a pass at the Koblenz Pass on the Moselle River to block the enemy's retreat.

Therefore, the key to victory relies heavily on the army of a thousand men that has not yet arrived.

A key question is about to emerge: Can reinforcements indeed arrive in as soon as a week?

Definitely! It must be possible. Blue Fox was convinced.

After all, if the reinforcements fail to implement the order and complete the attack on Aachen after the Koblenz crisis, it will also look ridiculous.

The army followed this set of tactics to implement it. Now, as the supreme commander, Blue Fox simply went to Wallendaal Monastery, a strategic point downstream.

He can float away by boat, which is quick and easy.

He decided not to, but to set out from Emsbad on one pair of legs, and even to take Father Conrad with him.

The troops in Nassau and Landstein are undergoing training, and there is plenty of time left for them. The newly recruited peasant soldiers were extremely angry. The civil war among the nobles was originally none of their business, but now it was really going to take their lives. These farmers were determined to fight Quentin's Frankish bannermen. They cut down trees and improved their weapons, especially removing the sickle blades and fixing them vertically to form short spears.

Peasant soldiers were equipped with all kinds of spears as much as possible, and their training was to form a formation and advance and retreat together in a hedgehog formation.

In Blue Fox's opinion, this is a clever way to quickly train farmers to be more effective in fighting.

A huge army will land in the Koblenz Triangle frontally, and a large number of longships will be used. He didn't have to worry about this. There were many longships stationed in Nassau. The arrival of reinforcements meant more longships would join the battle.

Blue Fox changed into light clothes and wore linen leggings. He wore a sword around his waist and found a wooden stick to use as a marching stick. He personally carried a linen bag with dry food in it and tied it with a blanket.

He brought more than a dozen followers, all dressed in this way, and he had to go straight to Wallendaal Abbey via the inland mountain route. He didn't have to worry about getting lost, and Father Conrad himself had to be the guide.

The priest was dressed in black robes, and he was holding a wooden staff with a stick tied horizontally, as if he was holding a huge cross, as if he were on a pilgrimage.

Two young priests were his attendants, carrying the priest's luggage.

I saw the blue fox who had changed his clothes. This guy is not fat and looks smart in his clothes, but his face is round and big, which proves that this guy used to be fat.

The sun-shielding fur covers the slightly curly blond hair, and the beard is tied into strange braids.

His followers were all dressed similarly, less like warriors and more like travelers.

The sun was shining brightly in Emsbad today. Due to preparations for the war, the few miners in the quarry were all recruited into the army. The place was suddenly deserted, except for the hot springs in the hot springs that kept bubbling hot water.

"Papa, what do you think of me?" Blue Fox deliberately twisted and jumped around to look funny.

Father Conrad couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't been to a nearby monastery for a long time, especially since Wallendaal was a poor little monastery, worse than his own Nassau monastery, and there was no point in going there. He would be very interested in going to Worms Cathedral.

This journey is an element of war, which is tragic in nature, because because of his faith, he does not want any clergy to participate in the war, including himself.

The priest looked solemn: "You look like a traveler. I would be very happy if you were not a soldier, but a missionary."

"Really? I do believe in your gods, and my followers. Don't worry, my reinforcements will never do anything to you even though they don't believe in God. My army is just passing through Wallendaal, and is just worried about the locals. Misunderstanding!"

"I understand. I am here to be your lobbyist. I hope you will abide by your oath at all times. Remember! Abide by your oath!" Father Conrad's eyes showed not suspicion but harshness, because this blue fox is full of misdeeds, and only God can Know if his confession is true.

"Of course. That's why I specially brought a gift. I hope the priest over there will feel at ease after accepting the gift." Lan Hu said casually.

Many monasteries have a scornful attitude towards money, but as a result, they cast gold and silver into sacred vessels for worship, creating a rather contradictory situation.

The condition of Wallendaal Monastery is probably very bad. The reason why there is a monastery in the woods is because some priests want to be clean. They have no desires and only want to worship God. Because of the existence of the monastery, some people are attracted to settle next to each other, forming settlements in the forest.

Their poverty can be clearly seen from the many days of money and the small boat "captured" on the Rhine River.

Completely different from Cologne's affluence, Cologne's priests wear gold and silver, and their black robes are all cut from fine linen.

The priests on the boat also wore black robes, but there were a lot of patches on the robes, and even some small holes visible to the naked eye.

This reminded Blue Fox of the Northern Archbishop Eskil, but the guy who claimed to be the most pious and ascetic was not in such a miserable state.

Blue Fox then prepared three gifts: a pound of silver coins, fifty pieces of cardboard, and a drinking glass.

Money is used to live, paper is a cheap daily record carrier, and the glass can be used as a sacred vessel to match the holy oil.

There are not many rituals, but they are all conducive to the operation of the monastery. Wallendaal has no choice anyway. No matter what the attitude of the locals is, the army will definitely pass through. These gifts are just to reassure them not to be frightened, and have nothing to do with whether Blue Fox is pious or not. Of course, in order to make the military operation smoother, it is okay to kneel down and pray in the monastery over there.

The expedition team started taking action, leading to the depths of the mountain along the naturally formed gravel fields in the mountain col...