Normally, a border count should not leave his fief.
Earl Robert decided to make an exception because he felt that the stability on the border was more like the calm before the storm. Based on his understanding of the Danes, even if they suddenly launched an attack, they would definitely not find trouble in winter. He felt that he had an extremely critical window of time and used the winter period to go to Regensburg in the south to explain the situation to Prince Ludwig and seek military assistance.
As for the Russian business issues, these are completely dispensable issues.
Blue Fox was not convinced that his words could convince the earl, but offering a steel sword as a gift would attract his absolute attention.
In the city of Hamburg, the count finally made a decision after three days of careful consideration. He took out a quiet Sunday afternoon, and the next day was naturally Sunday. After the morning ceremony, he had a very simple conversation with Eskil and Joseph Blue Fox on business issues at the Hamburg Abbey.
The monastery is a sacred place and it seems that no secular matters should be discussed. The count did this intentionally, hoping that the seriousness of the place would allow Joseph Blue Fox, a converted Russian, to fulfill his agreement.
“Russian merchant ships can enter Hamburg, but after you enter the Elbe River, merchant ships cannot go deeper into Hamburg. You can only provide me with leather, ironware and gems, and I will only provide you with rye. . Your merchants and sailors must all wear crosses, and they must fly flags with crosses and my flag, otherwise your merchants are not allowed to enter the city even if they come, and they are only allowed to camp by the river. I learned that your people attacked my village, and future trade was interrupted."
The Earl of Hamburg is not naive enough to easily believe the so-called Russians who are peaceful merchants.
Vikings, this group of hateful sea wolves, have been attacking Frank for a long time. The entire Frankish Kingdom had a population of up to 10 million, but it was distributed over an extremely wide area. Most of the area has not been developed, and the people basically rely on small lords such as barons and viscounts to form strongholds to protect themselves. They also build settlements along rivers, but the "evil wolves" also make sneak attacks along the waterways.
The Earls of Hamburg, Flanders, and Bremen who stretched out to the northern border already fully understood what Vikings were. These "bad wolves" were almost all bandits from Denmark.
Are there any differences between Russians and Danes? Probably no different.
It’s just that the Russians are located further north. Because the distance is too far, the cost for those guys to rob Frank is higher, so they open up trade as peaceful merchants.
If peaceful trade is possible, it would be better if they all converted.
The Earl of Hamburg mainly considered Saint-Eskilde’s face and also accepted the Blue Fox’s gift.
He placed restrictions on trade with each other, which must remain in place until it was determined that the Rus were truly peaceful traders.cautious.
Two brand-new parchments are filled with text, all written in Latin.
The count could only understand part of it, but fortunately the priests knew it clearly. Strict and important contractual documents should be written and signed in Latin. In this way, the count tried to prove that he was a civilized man and that Frank was indeed the only successor to the great Roman Empire.
Unexpectedly, this fat Russian man actually read the document quite skillfully.
"You? You actually know Latin? You are so proficient in it." Such a phrase could not be translated by Esquier, so Earl Robert opened his mouth.
Blue Fox's performance was amazing, and he replied: "In the Principality of Ross, many people know Latin, especially my prince, who is the most proficient."
The Earl was speechless for a moment. He wanted to show off his skills, but he was embarrassed.
If you think about it again, this is actually a good thing. The Earl was a Frankish nobleman with a well-established background. The northwest and east were once dominated by barbarians, and the land under his feet was once the territory of the Saxon barbarians. As time has passed, many barbarians have become civilized (referring to conversion), but the Danes, the Oberlitids, and the Pomeranians have remained stubborn. The Russians seem to have shown their positive attitude. Perhaps as Saint Eskilde described, they are already one step away from converting the Russians. As long as they win over the princes of the Russians, everything will be easier.
Both parties signed two copies of the contract document. As the most typical feudal country, Frankfurt was very procedural in signing documents. The Earl was a little surprised that the Ross Blue Fox was very easy to sign the contract. He also learned that the so-called Ross Principality, like the Frankish Kingdom, pays attention to correct procedures when signing contracts, pays more attention to proper implementation, and despises unilaterally breaking contracts.
Blue Fox became the de jure unofficial and de facto first diplomat of the Principality of Rus. He agreed to many of the count's seemingly unreasonable demands, especially that the visiting sailors and merchants must dress up as if they were converted, but in terms of faith, the merchants in the north always believed in whatever spirituality they believed. This is the case with Blue Fox. He wants to believe that it was the Lord who protected him and escaped from death. Since it worked once, he can just continue to believe in the future. After all, who knows the twists and turns of sailing from the core of Ross to the cramped Frankfurt Hamburg?
Blue Fox was authorized by the count to move freely in Hamburg. Even so, his activities were firmly controlled by the monastery. He wanted to observe the life of the locals and estimate their purchasing power, so as to report to the prince after returning to Rus.
Any diplomat will routinely report to the head of his or her country about the situation in their country. Collecting intelligence is not only a convenient thing but also a must.
The timing of Blue Fox's arrival in Hamburg was quite delicate. Although he wanted to return to Ross as soon as possible to tell the prince what he had seen and heard, especially to show up in person to prove that he was okay. He also wants to enter the southern part of Frankland and explore this "super-large kingdom" that exceeds his concept, not only to satisfy his desire for exploration, but also to explore business opportunities.
He cannot leave, only when EskilAnd Earl Robert decided to leave, so he could go with him as a follower. As for whether he can meet Prince Ludwig, the highest nobleman in East Frankfurt, it is unknown.
Eskil will not leave until the major holiday rituals are completed.
As the real Archbishop of Hamburg, when people from all over the country learned that such a great saint had returned, they began to inquire about the reliability of the news. As that period gradually approached, the grassland outside Hamburg was More and more people are sleeping in the open and building tents. Even some lower-level viscounts, barons and even the lowest knights, if they have the ability, will participate in the festival with their retinue and family members, and they will even want to see Saint-Eskilde himself, hoping to get his blessing.
On September 8th of the Julian calendar, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated.
Blue Fox wanted to take a good look at the lives of the people here, and at this festival his wish finally came true. He put on the clothes of a priest and appeared in the parade, and was ordered to go with the parade with his head raised.
A team composed entirely of priests will circle the city. The stronger priests are carrying a large black cross, and two others are holding a statue of the Virgin Mary painted on a wooden board. , that is, this portrait is extremely abstract.
There are also priests holding a pure gold shrine, which contains the remains of a noble priest from the past.
If a Buddhist relic is placed in a pagoda in an Eastern Buddhist temple, the entire temple will have divine power, the monks firmly believe.
Similar things are happening in Frankland. The deceased priests who have been canonized also have divine powers, such as a finger bone and a strand of hair, which are placed inside gilded shrines, "golden apples" and golden crosses. , thus bringing the monastery closer to the Lord.
Eskil can be sure that after his death, many parts of his body, most notably his hair, fingers and toes, will be taken away by many monasteries. He didn't feel panic, everything happened after death, he thought very openly, because his soul would reach heaven, and the mortal body no longer mattered.
Eskir put on a gorgeous dress during the festival, which was a pure white cloth robe sewn with gold threads, and he also wore a tall hat on his head. He would only dress up like this during major ceremonies. On weekdays, he would naturally dress up like an ascetic.
The procession of priests gave the gathered civilians a solemn and sacred feeling. The priests holding golden urns followed Esquier, and the saint was seen holding newly picked cypress twigs and dipping them in holy water. Sprinkle it on the people kneeling on both sides.
The priests sang hymns in praise of the Virgin, and their footsteps moved slowly with the singing.
As long as the body is splashed with holy water, the patient will recover, the bad luck will be eliminated, normal people will be blessed with happiness, and if a pregnant woman gets this holy water, her child will be born safely.
Even the earl's family is not immune. His retinue and bodyguards are all waiting for the priests' team to pass by and receive divine blessings.
The parade is an important part of the ceremony. It takes this opportunity for Blue Fox to finally see the ordinary local farmers clearly. In his opinion, the farmers here are different from thoseThere is no significant difference between the Slavic farmers in the far east. They all wear simple coarse linen clothes, and their faces are generally sallow and thin. Do these people really have the ability to buy Ross goods? Wait! Blue Fox suddenly realized that his big customers were basically a group of nobles, and the "currency" they could offer was rye. If the "currency" was insufficient, it wouldn't be a problem, and they would just increase taxes on these farmers.
The life of the farmers is definitely not good, and it seems that the earl does not care about them. The work of caring for the common people is the work of priests. Do priests do a good job? Apparently not.
"It is said that the saints Moses and Jesus from long ago cared very much for their people. This is how it is described in the book. Rurik should be another real saint..." Blue Fox held back his words. In the heart.
The festival continued into the night and ended with the singing of the boys in the choir.
The Frankish festivals are rather boring, there is no night carnival at all, and even the food in the evening is still the same sourdough black bread, and some salty stews of cabbage, carrots and snow peas. Rich soup. Indeed, yellow carrots and snow peas are native products of Flanders and Hamburg.
After completing the holiday celebrations, one of Eskil's wishes came true. This is the first time that he has presided over the Christmas feast of Our Lady in Hamburg since he became the de jure bishop of Hamburg. I am afraid that he will not host such a festival for many times.
According to his previous idea, to go to Regensburg to deliver a message to the prince, he would have to go upstream along the Elbe River, and then take about three weeks to arrive by land.
Regarding this trip, Eskil has lost the right to speak and act. The Earl of Hamburg took advantage of the holiday to summon the lower-level nobles who were present, namely his vassals, and held a military meeting to deal with this. The Danes threatened him, and announced that he would bring a group of guards to personally pay homage to His Royal Highness, together with Saint-Eskilde.
Is there a sudden threat of war? Each vassal had no choice but to secure his own territory, and then hope that the prince's personal soldiers would provide reinforcements.
Meet the prince, don’t have too many guards!
The count decided to move lightly and try to reach Regensburg as quickly as possible, because this journey was slow whether by water or land.
Frank is simply too big, especially after the conquest of Saxony, the territory further expanded. When Charles the Hammer fought against the enemies who crossed the Pyrenees in Bordeaux, it was clear that Frank planned to gather an army of 150,000 people. As a result, it took the armies from all over the country three months of marching to finally complete the gathering of 70,000 people.
The Earl of Hamburg has few soldiers, and his fief is not rich. Most of the soldiers have to stay and garrison. To put it mildly, it is to prevent Denmark from launching a winter offensive, which has changed. To put it poorly, The point is that the expenses prepared this time cannot cover the expenses of too many people.
Only ten of the most capable soldiers were selected, and they were canonized as knights by the Earl's surprise. They suddenly became the lowest nobles from retinue soldiers, and their destiny has changed. The count hopes to get ten of them in this wayAbsolute loyalty to cope with possible mishaps on the journey.
Compared with Eskil's proposal of going against the Elbe River and then taking the overland route, the count directly rejected it.
What else can Eskil do? I can only agree with it.
That day, the earl, who had prepared a batch of rye bread, dried meat and barrels of ale, was ready to set off.
Also taking this opportunity, Blue Fox clearly saw the Frankish river boats.
They are all paddle boats, and their length and width are far inferior to the Viking dragon-headed longships. Frankish ships did not have a structure with raised ends. Although there was a mast in the middle, the height was really worrying.
This kind of boat is not suitable for navigation at all, or it is suitable for drifting on the sea in low sea conditions. However, this kind of small boat is very suitable for sailing on inland rivers, and its maneuverability seems to be very good.
A Frankish rowing boat could seat ten people. If a horse or a small carriage disassembled for parts was installed, it could only seat six people.
The earl took his youngest son to see the world, plus a mere twelve people following the knight. Eskil has long been accustomed to walking alone. He is a man of action who has experienced hundreds of battles. Even if he goes to Regensburg alone, he still has confidence, even though he is old.
He only has two attendant priests, Blue Fox and Wadi. This trip is of great significance, so he does not bring any young priests who can "enjoy" it.
The Earl has his own black material, which is that he illegally maintained a concubine and had an affair, and Eskil also has an ulterior secret and an unclear intimate relationship with a young priest.
There are risks in this journey, because the earl chose a special waterway. If the journey is dangerous, both Vardy and Blue Fox can step forward to participate in the battle, which is something that other priests simply cannot do. !
Both of them have killed people and are essentially vicious Vikings, at least that's what Eskil thinks. Because he had stayed in the Principality of Ross for half a year, he knew that no matter how polite those guys were, they were all ruthless people who killed people like crazy. If this ferocity is used in the right place, they will be the bravest guardians of the faith after completing their conversion.
If the Blue Fox was worried about killing the bandit, the Slavic Vardy was simply vicious.
Although the dagger inlaid with gems is the blue fox's sword, it is a gift to the prince and a secret to meeting each other. Naturally, it must be well wrapped in leather. Both Blue Fox and Vardy had short iron swords hidden under their robes. Under normal circumstances, priests should not do this. However, the journey is risky and as long as you have basic self-defense capabilities, the earl will no longer comment on the priest's unusual behavior. .
The route of the journey is very clear. Leave Hamburg and go down the river into the ocean. Go south along the coastline and enter the mouth of the Weser River. Go upstream to the source of the river and arrive in Frankfurt. After getting some supplies from the local Marquis, Continue south to enter the tributary of the Rhine River, take the overland road and turn to the tributary of the Danube River, and then follow the river directly to Regensburg.
This is the simplest and fastest path. As for Eskil’s path, it must be close to Percy.The territory of the Mias (Czechs) is actually more risky. After all, Saint-Eskilre did not understand military affairs or marching. The count had no intention of criticizing him. This was not the first time he had taken the path he chose, so he knew it well.
Their group has already started taking action...