Rise of Rurik

It wasn't until we did some actual personnel statistics that the war has continued to this day. At first, there were more than 3,000 people and even nearly 4,000 people, but now only half of them are left. There are still many injured among them, and only a thousand people are still able to fight. The remaining people.

Among all the teams that can fight, only Ross's elite troops still maintain combat effectiveness.

However, the combat effectiveness is there, but not much anymore.

Even the most elite troops were crippled, and the First Banner Corps of the Standing Army, which had almost no military losses, was successful and suffered heavy losses.

The tall and strong soldiers were sore all over, and just one day's rest could not restore their bodies at all.

If the Frankish army still had tactical reserves, and Count Gilbert of Ramengau, whose general was alive but was actually the deputy general, fought resolutely, the Ross coalition led by Blue Fox might have been severely defeated.

It's all over now.

The Blue Fox can say that they have won, but this kind of victory is not a glorious victory no matter how you look at it.

Especially the aristocratic army he brought from his fiefdom in Gothenburg. The local aristocrats were originally forced to join the Kingdom of Rus under military pressure. During this expedition, the heroes joined the battle with the mentality of robbery and making a fortune, and in the end they suffered catastrophic casualties. Their looting spree in Aachen came to nothing in an instant, but the large amount of loot left in the camp was still real.

The elite of the Ross army are not greedy. The supreme commander, Blue Fox, acts as the arbiter and requires that no matter how many soldiers are left in each department, no one can deprive other departments of their spoils.

In this way, for Bjorn, whose entire army was almost wiped out, this move turned out to be a benefit to his family.

A group of local large landowners of the Melalen tribe refused to send troops because they felt that the expedition was unlucky. In the end, the members of the Melalen Army were all a group of debt slaves. Those are the lowest-ranking guys in the tribe, and to put it bluntly, they have only one life left.

As Duke of Mellaren, Bjorn's moral level is not yet high enough to be on the same level as a group of debt slaves.

There are only about thirty warriors left, and a long boat can carry the entire Maylaren army.

However, the fact is that there are twenty long ships belonging to the Mellaren Army, and each ship is now carrying loot.

The gold and silver coins, bottles and cans, and even the extremely rare purple cloth he snatched from the city of Aachen. When he announced to his subordinates that all of them were almost his own, no one among his living subordinates objected. The station slaves who had spent the rest of their lives after the war had regained their freedom and even obtained their own spoils of war. They did not dare to think anything wrong, but they did psychologically despise Bjorn's greed.

These people couldn't help but cast their eyes on the Russians.

Those heavily armored soldiers wearing blue stripes and white robes, because of their noble status, took the most loot. Although they also paid a lot of losses, they did not steal or embezzle the spoils of the dead!

This is the justice of King Rus! Even if he died in battle, his family would inherit his share of the deceased's wealth.

"Perhaps, after regaining my freedom, I should take my family to Tombstone Island and join Ross directly." Many people murmured this.

Bjorn heard it, and he simply ignored these code words.

So next time there is a war, will you still participate? Of course you have to participate! At that time, a group of debt slaves and serfs from the tribe will be organized to join. When the lowly people die, the loot will naturally be legally possessed by the nobles.

Nowadays, the Maas River is crowded with ships.

The fleet carrying a large amount of loot was carrying a large amount of loot. Behind them was the burning city of Maastricht, the remains of a stone pier and wooden bridge that collapsed and was further maliciously damaged, and a battlefield filled with corpses and simple graves. , and even a messy camp on the other side of the river.

Are there no Frankish pursuers to the east of the Ross coalition?

Of course there are pursuers, but the main job of these people is not to chase and kill.

Although the "attack on the back" problem that the Blue Fox was worried about from the beginning existed, it was not a problem at all in a short period of time.

Count Eberhard of Jülichgau mobilized his cavalry troops to launch the operation. Archbishop Hartgar of Liège simply took off his black robe temporarily. The bishop in chain mail looked like a warrior, and he definitely wanted to wear a pair of The cross inlaid with gold and silver shows the noble status and the purity of faith.

The archbishop only had two junior priests as his entourage. They mounted their horses and mixed with the cavalry led by the count himself.

The count used the limited time to make some preparations. The cavalry, which had been prepared for battle, was now in very good condition. The whole army marched in the opposite direction along Cologne Avenue, and as expected, they collided with the refugee army.

In the eyes of these Aachen refugees, the sudden appearance of the army was their savior. They surrounded them eager to get salvation, especially to get some food.

Earl Naihe didn't want to get involved with these people at all. Helping the refugees was a matter for the priests. As a military noble, Eberhard hoped to rush into Aachen as soon as possible to save the city.

The war horses directly knocked away the refugees blocking the road, and some who were unable to dodge were simply trampled to death by the galloping cavalry.

The refugees who had already experienced severe mental shock suddenly remembered the tragedy that had happened before. They screamed and ran to the woodlands on both sides of the road to hide until the cavalry troop left.

What next?

What else?

Perhaps the army that just passed by was Count Jülich's army, but now everyone could only move their leaden bodies to gather in the city of Jülich. After experiencing hardships, everyone always believed that the only place where they could get help was.

The cavalry's collision with the refugees made the Archbishop of Liege very speechless. He held the reins and made the sign of the cross on his chest with his right hand.

Looking at the count and even his army, no one cares about the refugees. They just think that blocking the road is asking for death.

Under the urging of the count, the cavalry normally marched on a two-day path. He led the troops and ran wildly from early in the morning. In the evening, they directly touched the north gate of Aachen, which is also the starting point of Cologne Avenue.

The cavalry reined in their horses. Facing the city with its gates closed and the suspension bridge raised, the count gritted his teeth and did not dare to enter the city for a while.

"Oh my God! How can the city be like this?"

The earl crossed himself on his chest. He couldn't see anyone now. The whole environment was so quiet that it felt abnormal.

At this time, the archbishop drove his horses closer to the count: "Aachen has become strange, and I am afraid of an ambush. How about? Launch an attack today?"

"No need for the moment. Parda, I didn't expect that you know military knowledge?"

This was a very unhelpful question. As an archbishop, Hartgar was also an advisor to the king. If he were not an archbishop, his status would be like that of Count Jülich, who could be a vassal of a certain place.

The archbishop didn't say much. His old head looked at the holy city in the distance.

"How can New Rome be defiled by barbarians. But the fact has happened, and the top priority is to rescue the entire city. We can't have many illusions now, and you...my lord. You can't be impulsive either."

"Can't be impulsive? I was very impulsive today, and even my horse was about to die of exhaustion. Look at this city again!" The count dismissed it, then calmed down, he narrowed his eyes and continued to feel the entire excessively quiet place. Environment: "It's so weird. I even thought the barbarians might have evacuated the city. I should have sent someone to lower the drawbridge and go straight into the city."

"It's better to be cautious. We are already standing under the city. There is nothing wrong with entering the city later. Besides, I think I know the Normans. When those villains finish looting, they will probably set fire to it. But Aachen did not It's burning, which means there's probably an ambush inside, and they're just waiting for us to come in and catch us off guard."

This explanation was really enlightening to the Count. Eberhard had limited knowledge of the Normans. He learned that a group of Normans attacked Cologne a few years ago and forced the Bishop of Cologne to spend money to buy peace, which turned those people into nobles. laughing stock.

The entire diocese of Cologne defected to Ludwig and took a public stand against Lothair. In troubled times, all nobles can have their own choices. The civil war between princes forces the nobles to choose sides. Eberhard does not support Lothair from the bottom of his heart. If for some reason Ludwig or " Charles the Bald became the only Roman emperor, and he recognized the new master very smoothly.

All because of the special geographical location of Jülichgau, Eberhard had to recognize Lothair's power.

He did not think there was any glory in this civil war, but if the targets of the victory were barbarians, that would be another matter.

He felt that he would be honored as the savior of Aachen, so in order to gain glory, he had better be cautious.

The Count paused his plan to force the door open. He heard from the Archbishop: "Parda? What suggestions do you have?"

"Check around the city. If the Normans really have an ambush, they may also reveal flaws. Let's try to break through from other doors. Let's go."

"That's fine."

So the entire Jülichau army turned around and moved around the city along the hard road outside the city.

The soldiers' eyes were always fixed on the city wall, but the more they looked at it, the more frightening the city became.

According to the intelligence received by the archbishop, a huge number of Normans rushed into the city. Their soldiers attacked so fast that the limited city defenders could not stop them. Besides, who is the real defender of the city, isn't it yourself?

One of Jülichgau's responsibilities was to defend Aachen, but his reaction was too slow and Aachen was attacked.

The army cautiously detoured to the south gate of the city, where traces of a large number of personnel activities were clearly visible!

Look! There are obvious ruts on the ground. An experienced warrior can judge by half-kneeling close to the ground and examining these marks with both hands that they were left recently.

More than a dozen soldiers seemed to be able to find a lot of information from the traces like hounds. Although they looked inelegant, they still got some key information.

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"What's the matter?" asked the count.

"Sir." A soldier with an Orion background stood up: "The tracks are very deep, and the eyes are looking outside the city. I can tell that the Normans took a large amount of looted property and fled towards the west."

"They've escaped?!"

"If your Lord Bishop's information is accurate, that should be the case."

At this moment, the south gate of the city was open, and the count, who was still worried about the ambush, did not dare to enter the city rashly. The dirt road at the city gate is not a rammed Roman road, so it can retain a large number of ruts.

The earl didn't think the Norman robbers were very smart. Since the archbishop had always emphasized the need to be highly vigilant against these people, he was so scared that he was now suspicious.

The city gate is open, and the fallen suspension bridge seems to have no trace of damage.

"Aachen was really sacked? Only God knows how the Normans managed to break the city."

He didn't dare to speak nonsense, but all kinds of abnormal scenes worried him.

No, a small group of cavalry bravely rode into the city as pioneers to explore the way.

They were worried that they would be ambushed when they entered the city, but now they actually entered the city without encountering any attack. As they walked on the road that led directly to the city square, they soon smelled an extremely alarming and uncomfortable odor.

"Oops! It's corpse odor!"

Without even looking, they saw miserable corpses on both sides of the road. The stench made the horses extremely irritated. Some soldiers covered their mouths and noses and dismounted to check. They were shocked to notice that the poor dead were all women and children. The blood turned into a black slurry lake, and the bodies were also gray-black. There were flies flying everywhere and they couldn't get rid of them. Go, lying on the body is extremely disgusting and terrifying.

When they entered the city square, they finally saw the worst scene. As soon as the square came out, there were mounds of dead bodies. Looking carefully at the identities of the dead, they were all adult men. Judging from some obvious clothing information, these people were not Are they the city's defenders?

They who once served as the king's ceremonial guards in gorgeous clothes are now dead corpses.

The scout cavalry stood on the stone floor of the city square, in an empty, quiet city full of corpses. Coupled with the sunset, everything looked like a picture of hell.

The sound of the wind seemed to be filled with countless innocent souls pleading.

A feeling of terror flooded into their hearts, and they hurriedly evacuated the city. They could have continued their investigation, but when they saw that even the palaces and cathedrals had their doors open, they didn't dare to think about what might happen inside. Besides, as low-level cavalry, these warriors are not allowed to approach the Aachen Palace and the city's cathedral at any time. Such self-restraint makes them eager to report to their masters.

No enemy ambush! The city is full of dead bodies! The palace and the cathedral probably suffered from the details! Perhaps the Normans had escaped with their belongings!

A series of inferences made by the scout cavalry made the earl and archbishop feel numb. What they were most worried about now was Charlemagne's tomb.

During his lifetime, Charlemagne liked to take baths and recuperate, so he upgraded Aachen, which had superior conditions, to the capital. When he died, this place became his eternal resting place. To humiliate Frank, there is no greater spiritual insult than destroying the emperor's tomb.

The previous worries became completely unnecessary.

Jülich's army rushed directly into the city with great grief and indignation. They saw that it was indeed a city that had been sacked. Although the enemy did not set fire to it, the entire city had fallen into a catastrophic deathly silence.

The Count had no worries. His status allowed him to enter the Aachen Palace directly.

As far as he knew, all members of the royal family had gone to Strasbourg, and only a group of royal waiters were left in the palace to perform daily gifts.

Of course, with his status being such, there was no need for Lothair to tell the count that his fourth princess, Gisla, had always stayed in the city.

The Earl was fortunate that no one in the royal family was killed. As for the scene where the palace was full of murdered waiters, he was mentally prepared. However, he saw that many rooms had turned into toilets for barbarians. The areas that were probably the bedrooms of the royal family were actually full. It is filth, and the mental insult is better than murder.

In the cathedral, the stench and overwhelming flies forced the Archbishop of Liege to faint!

As long as you open the door, you can see dead bodies on the ground, but the Palatine chapel inside this church is Charlemagne's tomb. Looking at the gilded door of the chapel, there are obvious signs of damage.

The archbishop who woke up no longer dared to think about it, nor did he dare to have the courage to inspect the tomb of the Great Emperor. He guessed that the Normans were ignorant and were afraid that they would destroy the sarcophagus just for the sake of looting...

The archbishop did not dare to check, but Count Eberhard bravely covered his mouth and nose and walked among the corpses. He finally walked into the Palatine Chapel. He had already accepted the tragedy that the Emperor's body was scattered all over the place, but he was shocked that the place was extremely intact.

He left the chaotic church with a surprised expression. The setting sun shone on this old face. He told Hatega, who was waiting anxiously but did not dare to ask: "parda! A miracle!"

"Miracle?"

"The Normans did not destroy the Tomb of the Great, and there is not even any trace of tampering in the chapel. This is very abnormal! All the rooms and halls in the church have been damaged, but only the Palatine Chapel is completely normal."

"Are you... suggesting that the Normans may have come prepared?" Hatega couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"I dare not say. You may be wise..."

Now Hartega didn't want to say anything more. He boldly entered the chapel in person and personally confirmed that Charlemagne's sarcophagus was intact. He also confirmed that even the mosaics on the walls and the objects placed in the room had not been moved. trace.

Could it be that the Normans really had a strong purpose in their actions? But they were obviously gangsters who looted Maastricht and Liège. When they arrived in Aachen, they killed and looted everywhere. Only the Palatine Chapel was normal.

There seemed to be only one explanation—God’s will.

"God bless Charlie." Hartega kept crossing himself.

What next? Together, Hattega and Eberhardt decided that the top priority was probably not to aimlessly search for the enemy, but to sort out the mess left by the Normans. The most important thing was to bury all the dead.

The soldiers dug a large pit outside the city and dragged the stinking corpses one after another and buried them. Then in the cathedral, Hartgar found his friend the Archbishop of Aachen. He had anticipated such a tragic result, so as a friend he dug a pit himself and buried it in the priests' cemetery in the city.

He was also thankful that the Priest Cemetery had not been looted.

Until now, Hartgar has not faced any Normans during his escape, and all the enemy's actions have shown strong specificity and purpose. Facts have proven that they were targeting the city of Aachen. The speed of their actions and departure was shocking.

After completing the burial of the corpses that could be found in the city, and forced by heavy rain, Jülich's army gathered in Aachen waited for many days before they thought of chasing along the ruts.

Of course, no one thinks that they can really catch up with the Normans.

The cavalry took a rest and felt it was a miracle that they actually used the food in Aachen to complete important supplies.

The Earl put his doubts behind him, and he led his men retrograde along the Aachen Avenue, and saw the destroyed Bright Lead Village and the destroyed Geul River Bridge.

Apparently the Normans deliberately destroyed the bridge after knowing what was behind them and preparing for it. Fortunately, the problem is not big. For example, by removing the wooden beams and other large timbers from the bright lead village houses, a small wooden bridge can be temporarily built after spending some time.

Two days later, all the war horses and personnel slowly passed the temporary wooden bridge, and the cavalry team, which started running wild again, arrived at the other side of Maastricht that same day.

Although they were mentally prepared, what they saw was a smoldering city, with smoke and dust rising all the time.

They also saw traces of the battlefield, and were shocked to see a large number of human and horse corpses on the other side of the river, and even traces of camping life could be seen everywhere on their side.

There are various signs that the Normans fought a deadly battle with the Franks here, because a large number of corpses came from the cavalry! Stronger horses are more deadly than powerful heavy cavalry...

It's too late!

Everything is unspoken.

Hartega and Eberhard had nothing to say. They looked at each other and then looked towards the downstream direction of the Maas River.

They realize everything they have done is too late! The Normans have left, and Jülichgau's army has no ability to pursue...