Blue Fox and his party finally left Bremen, and they continued upstream on the Weser River. The wind from the north penetrated the river, and the three boats with their sails lowered finally no longer had to row against the water.
Their voyage has an end point, which is the ferry town Minden on the upper reaches of the Weser River.
Viscount Minden is a local lord. The tiny city has only three hundred residents, but the surrounding villages have a large population.
This is already an inland area of the Franks. Long before the rise of the kingdom, Minden was a Frankish-controlled area. In an earlier period, it was the northern contact area between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes.
Although Minden is located in a dense forest, close to the three tributaries of the Weser River, farmers have developed agriculture here, making this small town and nearby fiefs and villages considered prosperous.
The ship sailed here, and the Earl of Hamburg, in his noble capacity, asked Viscount Minden to provide a sum of supplies, including horses and carriages.
Although the tributaries that continue along the north-south trend can take advantage of the northern wind to quickly go south to reach Frankfurt, there are only small villages and no larger cities in the upper reaches of the tributaries.
It was in Minden that a bad late autumn rain not only made the world cold and damp, the haze almost pressed down to the earth. Which bard and traveling businessman would be willing to leave the depressing and cold atmosphere.
Viscount Minden is naturally not a vassal of the Earl of Hamburg, so giving him some food and drinks is considered the most benevolent thing. However, Bishop Saint-Eskilre is very famous in the north, especially in Saxony. It is a great honor for the Viscount to meet the bishop in person today.
They took shelter here for five days, and did not restart their journey until the sun returned.
After experiencing what happened in Bremen, Blue Fox had to keep a low profile. He even silently wrote down what he saw and heard, paying attention to the "Frankish Inland Transport Trade Route" he had experienced in the past few days, and estimated that Ross Can merchants trade here, can the Russian army invade along the river, and what kind of property can be plundered if successful.
The blue fox paid special attention to the wooden bridge over the Weser River in Minden.
"It was built very skillfully. The arch is too small. The big ship Ross must not be able to pass through, but the long ship can..."
The three ships were simply put here. They are the Counts of Hamburg. The earl used this as collateral to rent a carriage with the viscount. Together with the accompanying horses and the dismantled carriage parts, he reassembled them. The group of people pieced together the four carriages and sat on them along the road that was forcibly stepped on by the people passing by. The dirt road goes south along the tributaries of the Weser River, and the next stop is Frankfurt.
This is the first on-site inspection of the Frankish Kingdom by the Principality of Ross, and the glory belongs to Blue Fox.
No Swede or Russian has ever penetrated so far south. Countless words have been used to describe Frank's southern warmth, but the blue fox also felt the coldness with his own skin.
It is indeed warmer here than my hometown in the north, but only warmer.
The carriage carried the two flags of the Count of Hamburg and Prince Ludwig. They did not need to conceal their identities, especially when entering AlleAfter becoming the Duchy of Mani, it is even more important to clearly identify yourself.
Because there is only His Royal Highness the Marquis in Frankfurt, the title of Duke of Alemany is still vacant until now. The entire region was under the control of Prince Ludwig, and the Count of Hamburg raised a banner to prove that he was the prince's great loyalist.
Even in the Frankish Kingdom with a population of 10 million, the dense forests in Alemany and Bavaria affect the development of villages and obscure people's vision. Almost all strongholds are built along rivers, and there are essentially large areas of no man's land between cities.
They were finally discovered by the Marquis' patrolling cavalry. After confirming their identities, the initial surprise subsided, and they enthusiastically sent the distinguished guests to Frankfurt.
"This...is Frankfurt?" Lan Huang sighed as he looked at the high stone city gate, and also murmured in his heart that the so-called city was not easy to attack by force.
Charlemagne designated Frankfurt as a kingdom as a religious center. During his reign, its status was second only to the capital Aachen.
Because Frankfurt is the land of Longxing of the Frank tribe and the garrison of Frankus, the legendary greatest chief and mercenary general in the northern border of the Roman Empire.
The city is so grand, and the stone city walls are wide, solid and tall. Blue Fox prides himself on having seen a lot, but he looks as small as an ant in front of this city.
What is even more magnificent is the south, where there is a wall in the sky, and the clear air cannot block the magnificence of the huge mountains.
"What is that? A towering mountain range?" Blue Fox asked Eskil.
"Great mountain! The Alps! Beyond this mountain range is Italy, which is Rome! The Pope is in Rome."
Esquier was really moved, and the blue fox was really He couldn't understand, he just felt that this mountain was an insurmountable chasm.
In this geographical location, the Danube River flows almost to the southeast along the mountains. Even the Frankish nobles do not understand where the river will flow.
Saint Eskil's status is naturally lower than that of the Archbishop of Frankfurt. This northern saint conveniently made a work report, which directly aroused the priest's nervousness regarding matters in Denmark.
Nobles will handle secular matters, and the priests will not be discouraged. If the next designated Eskil is responsible for spreading the faith to the Norman barbarians in the north, the Archbishop of Frankfurt's task is to spread the gospel to Bohemia and Poland.
Such actions will encounter resistance from the locals to some extent, and countless priests continue to fight for their faith and honor. As for using force to force the barbarians to believe, this is not allowed, at least subjectively they are unwilling to use force.
The Blue Fox and the Earl of Hamburg have so far had to accommodate the old man Eskil, and will only resume their march when their holiday celebration mass is completed.
They stayed in the huge and magnificent Frankish city for another ten days.
Blue Fox’s ten days are not about staying in the monastery every day to eat something boring.He could visit the city with local priests, but all actions were low-key. With the previous lessons, he did not dare to set foot in key areas of the city.
There are no friends of Earl Robert here. If something happens and Eskil doesn't help, he will suffer.
He deliberately went to the two markets in the city to have a look, observe the business transactions here, and also observe the expressions of the people.
He saw the beggars and the patrol soldiers driving away the beggars. There are thieves who steal and there are thieves who get caught by mistake.
He even saw a public hanging in the city square, where three thieves were hung like salted fish and made their final struggle in front of thousands of citizens watching and booing.
Frankfurt is not as majestic as its tall stone walls, and the world inside the city is inexplicably chaotic. The nobles here do not love their people, and the priests only appear on festivals.
The commercial atmosphere in the city is stronger, and the materials traded here are obviously more prosperous than Viking trading points such as Rossburg, Birka, and Hedeby.
There is no slave trade here, the trading volume of cloth and pottery is very large, and there are also many expensive wines from the north that are traded at much cheaper prices.
The blue fox is greedy, but unfortunately because he has to pretend to be pious, he will have to live with black bread and water every day for the foreseeable future.
There is no fat or water in his belly, so this fat man who gnawed the whole leg of lamb in one meal is now so thin that his cheekbones are clearly visible!
Blue Fox is passively losing weight, and the dramatic change in his body shape can be seen in the reduction in clothing size.
A first snowfall fell in Frankfurt. Patrol soldiers cleared several frozen corpses early in the morning, and some priests went to mass graves to offer final prayers to the deceased.
At least in the Principality of Rus, this situation must be avoided. The prince is not inferior to his subjects and died suddenly in the snow and ice outdoors because of poverty.
The priests are full of mercy, but those believers are dying in pain. The Cathedral of the Assumption does not give charity, only frozen corpses will appear...
" Their beliefs are hypocritical, and their lords only care about their own interests and watch the people die. Those people can't give the nobles enough life, and Ross has an opportunity to take advantage of it."
The Blue Fox is unparalleled. Keep the horrific things you saw in mind and remain silent on the surface.
The carriage team arrived in Frankfurt, and before leaving, it became a fleet again.
It was actually the commotion among the Normans in Denmark and the war crisis in the northern part of the kingdom that forced the Earl of Hamburg to report the news in person, and even the northern saints were on the team.
The Marquis decided that the matter was very difficult. In order to prevent the team from getting into trouble midway, an army of fifty people was ordered to escort them by boat to guard against the Earl of Hamburg and the Saints from encountering river bandits on the way.
Compared with the new crisis in the north, the legally ownerless Duchy of Alemany has spawned a large number of bandits. The ownership of this place is being fought over by two princes. It seems that Prince Ludwig Seized power, actually King LothairZi is also actively acting secretly.
Some soldiers seem to be soldiers, but when they are in a secluded place, they suddenly become gangsters.
Because their Prince Lothair was not able to compete with his younger brother, he sent people to cause trouble in Alemany to create tension. As the saying goes, what I can't get, my little brother Charlie can't even think of it, and you Ludwig can't even think of it.
The fleet formed a long snake formation and floated quietly on the Danube River. It seemed that it couldn't be more peaceful.
Blue Fox relaxed his vigilance. He had not been eating well in the past two months. Now it was October. When he changed into winter clothes, he realized that he was very thin.
He wanted to nibble on the sizzling meat, but had no choice but to eat black bread.
He pulled on his burqa and hat and took a nap against the ship's mast to resist the growling of his stomach.
Most of the soldiers were drowsy. The afternoon sun made the world a little warmer, and Count Robert of Hamburg was already snoring comfortably.
The team lost almost all their defenses, and suddenly, there was a whooshing sound coming from both sides.
A dozing soldier was shot through the cheek by an arrow and even hit an artery in his neck.
An injured person fell into the cold Danube River. His woolen jacket to keep out the cold suddenly became worth a thousand dollars, and he fell to the bottom of the river.
The count was no longer sleepy. He picked up the wooden mandarin shield to protect his body, pulled out his steel sword and called to his men: "Go quickly! Row quickly!"
They were unable to fight back at all. The Marquis troops who were ordered to defend did not carry bows at all, and the narrow river became a battlefield. No one could be sure of the true identity of the attackers. They used shields to cover up the attackers. Some brave men were desperate and simply broke into the woods and fought with the attackers. In the end, everyone The boats all docked, and although this was ridiculous and crazy, it was what happened.
The so-called Saint Eskil was so scared that he wet his pants. The blue fox had experienced war and was naturally not afraid of this. He picked up a scattered wooden board from the ship to act as a shield. He only heard a sound, and a The barbed arrow clusters had penetrated the board.
"Ah! What a sin! Bandits actually attacked priests, and their souls will go to hell." Esquier was already trembling as he spoke.
"Forget it! Esquier, it's important for you to save your life now."
"Oh! No, Joseph, I want to stand up. I want to hold up the cross and persuade the gangsters Stop attacking."
"Did I hear you wrong? You dare to stand up, Wadi, hold this old guy down, don't let him get hurt."
"What about you?" Wadi asked without fear.
"We have no choice but to defend ourselves! Damn it, these Frankish warriors dared to land instead of running for their lives?!" Blue Fox hurriedly pulled out the "tribute" that was supposed to be a gift from the rolled up leather blanket. The sword given to Prince Ludwig was originally Blue Fox's own sword. Killing the enemy with the sword was like drinking blood. Holding the steel sword in his hand, he suddenly felt confident.
Under normal logic, the drifting fleet should speed up to escape when attacked, but the Frankish soldiers unexpectedlyIsshiki did the opposite, and even the Count of Hamburg himself came ashore screaming.
Arrows are still flying randomly on the river, and the archers are very unreasonable. Even if they see priests in black robes, they still aim and shoot.
Blue Fox hung the sword on his waist and held the board in both hands as a cover. Eskil was still obsessed with the luggage he had put on. Wadi was not used to it and grabbed the old man's clothes and yanked them to the shore.
The forest provided cover for the soldiers who abandoned the ship, but a chaotic battle broke out in the forest again.
A group of green forest heroes dressed in coarse cloth were clearly well prepared. When they rushed out of their hiding place in a fierce manner, the battle-hardened Earl of Hamburg knew that something was wrong.
The Earl is the most noble noble here and the military commander in the north. Naturally, he has some ability in commanding wars.
"You fools who have lost their minds because of the war, the enemy came well prepared, you jumped into the trap on your own. Now listen to my command, gather together and hold on to the sword, no one is allowed to mess up anymore Run."
Most people were willing to listen to the count. Many of the fifty escort soldiers sent by the Marquis of Frankfurt had been killed at the time of the attack, and several more were killed in the melee on the shore.
This time the count organized about fifty soldiers, including his close associates. He was also shocked to find that the Russian Blue Fox, who had become a lot thinner, actually took off his burqa and had something in his hand. Grab a sword.
"It's you! Joseph Blue Fox, you actually become a warrior?" The count was shocked.
"I have no choice."
"Where is the Saint?"
"Eskir is fine, just frightened. Your people have He was surrounded and protected."
A converted priest became a soldier? Perhaps this blue fox was also a Norman warrior before. The earl couldn't think too much. The current situation was special and he needed one more soldier to take care of him.
The Frankish King's Army also pursues the barbarian style of play. They first form a shield wall to attack, and then defeat the enemy by fighting alone. The reason why the Frankish army was strong for a while was because of its cavalry troops. Compared with the cavalry, the role of infantry was becoming like an extra.
Earl Robert formed a circle of people in the woods near the shore, and the sword-wielding men in coarse cloth rushed up screaming. The two sides began to fight. Although there was no grudge against each other and although he did not know the identity of the other party, Earl Robert felt that he had encountered a crisis in his life. A single oversight would mean he died in a foreign country.
However, when the battle started, the earl realized that those guys who looked like armed farmers were actually wearing cowhide armor inlaid with iron plates under their coarse cloth.
Could it be a sneak attack by the Marquis of Frankfurt? It can't be! Most of the guards here are soldiers of the Marquis.
Perhaps the only explanation is that these gangsters are not gangsters. They have an extremely pure purpose-to kill everyone in the fleet.
Maybe they are those people...