A huge army is entrenched under the city of Auxerre, and the nearby villages have long become empty.
Many villages in the south of Auxerre were not damaged by the war. A large number of refugees from the north came with horrific news, which frightened the southern villagers into fleeing.
The villages in the south were also the areas hardest hit by the count's previous conscription. A large number of strong laborers were incorporated into the infantry and all went out. Families who had already lost their labor force could only pray for the safety of their husbands and sons who went on the expedition. I pray that the Earl can reduce some taxes in the future to relieve family pressure.
They never expected that troops would suddenly come from the north and the west, as if the city of Auxerre was about to be captured.
The rumors about the excessive killings in the Tour Counties spread like wildfire, and the priests stationed in the villages received the news, and they all denounced Tour's side as being bewitched by the devil and being villains who blasphemed their faith.
People do not use poor language to rebuke. When they feel the danger of death coming, they immediately flee with their belongings.
For irrigation needs and in order to utilize the fertile river mud resources, the villagers are willing to build strongholds on the banks of the Yona River. When a large village becomes overpopulated, villagers will spontaneously open up new settlements. Therefore, there are more than ten villages of different sizes in the upper reaches of the Yona River, with as many as 300 people and as few as less than 100 people. Now thousands of villagers are mixed with the northern refugees, forming a group of people close to each other. A refugee team of ten thousand people.
Because all the able-bodied men have joined the army, the proportion of women, children and the elderly in the team is very high. Under the command of the priest, the refugee group went all out to attack the city of Auxerre. It was precisely because of the priest's command that although the team was very slow, they did have a clear direction of progress.
They headed towards the territory of the Klemxi Yis family.
This family was once a vassal knight of the extinct County of Nevers. When the County of Auxerre expanded to Nevers, in order to avoid war, the knight family betrayed the lord and became the European Empire. Ser's people. Although this act of betrayal preserved the family's power, it did not win the trust of Conrad, Count of Auxerre.
Similarly, Conrad asked Knight Klemsch to hand over a large number of men from the fief villages to join the army. He could only do so, and then intensified his orders to actually hand over some of his retainers as cavalry. To join the army, he still had no choice but to do as he was told.
The armed strength of the knights has been greatly weakened, and only in this way can the small knights' collar be targeted. The knight imagined that maybe through this contribution, the family would gain trust and become stronger again.
However, everything backfired.
Since the Ross cavalry led by Fisk began to ravage the city of Auxerre, a number of villages were deliberately destroyed, triggering a wave of refugees in the area. A large number of refugees poured into the Knights of Clemsey, and the local people's livelihood suddenly changed. It collapsed.
It was impossible for the knight to take in a large number of refugees, so when his fief and village suffered from theft, the knight himself had no choice but to rectify the few cavalry.Bring weapons and drive away the hungry refugees.
As some people were killed, the refugee group continued to flee in panic. The knight did not regret his tough tactics. Even though the accompanying priests denounced this as a crime, the knight still went his own way. He led the cavalry to search for refugees and urged them to continue southward. He also deliberately sent people behind the chaotic team to show their teeth and claws. , intimidating refugees to speed up.
How many people died of exhaustion and starvation along the way was not what the Clemsey knight family had to worry about. When the refugee group finally left, the knights took the time to impose their own defenses. The largest villages quickly built wooden fortresses, even if the walls could only be regarded as thin wooden low walls. The knights and fief villagers thought that this was enough.
The Knights of Clemsey are just a microcosm of the great era. The southern region is the former County of Nevers, and many knights have always been the rulers of their own territories. They would not accept the refugees from Auxerre, and while strictly guarding their family territory, they urged the refugees to flee further south to the city of Nevers, or to flee directly to the southeast of the country of Autumn.
As long as they follow the upper reaches of the Yonne River, they will eventually reach Nevers or Autun.
If we count the time when Louis the Pious was imprisoned, the civil war in the empire has entered its twelfth year intermittently. Now the scale of the war has swept across the entire empire, and countless foreign forces have joined it in various ways. The Normans were the biggest interfering force. Count Autun was worried about this but had no choice. Count Duda did not declare neutrality or reveal which side he would join.
The Count of Autumn did not want to get involved in the war, and its troops have been deployed on the border for defense. The count was not only guarding against the Burgundians, but also against his cousin Conrad of Poitiers, and even in recent years. Turbo Kingdom is too eager to expand.
As for the massive influx of refugees into Autun, the count took them in without even thinking. Because it is not involved in the war, the country still has a lot of resources to feed so many refugees. The Earl also noticed that there were a large number of young women and children among the refugees, and their presence could greatly alleviate his own livelihood conflicts.
He is happy to compete with his neighbors for population, and now he has absorbed thousands of refugees for very reasonable reasons, not only expanding his strength but also gaining a reputation for kindness. As for the inmates who want to go home in the future, it’s better to stop thinking about it.
Otun's border is open to refugees, and even orphans who have lost their families and escape can be rewarded with a piece of bread. The priests of Autun are taking care of the relevant matters, and the earl will just provide a steady stream of money and food from the rear.
The Earl of Autun also realized through the refugee group that there was a major war crisis in the north. Auxerre was being attacked by a superior enemy, and various signs indicated that the attacker was the army of Tours.
The Army of Tours surrounded the city of Orleans last year and pursued it fiercely. The Army of Orleans was seriously injured after the past expedition and has not yet recovered. The counterattack last year was unfavorable. In the end, Auxerre sent troops to suppress it, and The cold weather forced Tours to withdraw his troops.
Today ToursIt makes sense to make a comeback. Those villains may not be able to attack the city and attack the peaceful village. Obviously, a group of villains have no guilt.
Since last year’s withdrawal was largely due to the intervention of Auxerre, Tours must be holding a breath. The Gauls raised their troops against the Burgundians of Auxerre this year. It makes sense to pursue and fight fiercely.
Count Autun has made such a judgment, so should we still abide by the tacit agreement?
In the past, he and Conrad of Auxerre had a fierce battle over the ownership of the city of Nevers. Wouldn't it be an opportunity to regain Nevers now?
His original intention was to continue to stand still, but the nobles under his command, especially
his own son, were all agitating to occupy Nevers.
In other words, it cannot be called an occupation at all, but sending troops to protect the local people from the brutal Tour army.
This reason for sending troops was far-fetched, and the count himself began to waver. Just as he was hesitant, priests from the north began to row boats across the river into Otun.
They were priests from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Nevers. After seeing the count himself, the priests took off their black robes and immediately showed sad faces. The priests came here to ask Autun to send troops for help. It turned out that the defenders of Nevers fled without a fight, and they emptied the granaries when they fled.
The entire city has fallen into an undefended state. The influx of thousands of hungry refugees into the city has caused the local security to collapse, and thefts and murders occur one after another. The chaotic situation is no longer under the control of the priests. At this time, a powerful noble at the right time is urgently needed to turn the tide.
As a result, Count Autun made the most solemn decision since the outbreak of the civil war - to send troops!
The local church endorsed Autan's righteous deed. The count personally led two thousand soldiers and horses to take the lead. The cavalry arrived in the city of Nevers, followed by the infantry escorting a batch of food. With the arrival of sacks of wheat, the disorder in Nevers was quickly brought under control.
Until now Count Duda still claims that he has not snatched the sovereignty of the city of Nevers, but in fact he has completely controlled the city, and the troops arriving here have also begun to set up defenses. This move is no different from occupation. Immediately afterwards, the Otan army began to search everywhere spontaneously. They successfully found the original city defenders who had fled into the northeastern mountains with food.
Even if the Count himself can maintain restraint,
his son does not feel that he should be merciful to the Auxerre Army. Back then, my family suffered a big loss in the battle for the city of Nevers. My father could openly not hold grudges, but I couldn't.
The Otan cavalry attacked and killed the group of deserters and left the mountainous area with a batch of food.
At this point, Earl Duda could only recognize that his son’s actions were reasonable and then take this batch of grain as his own.
Neville is adjacent to the Loire River, and on the other side of the river are the Sologne Forest and the Bourges Plain. Bourges was divided among numerous knights, all of whom were loyal to Tours.
Now I want to capture NavigationIt is also a good thing for you. Although you have offended the Earl of Auxerre, you can monitor the movements of Tours. Duda was very worried that the Tour army would cross the river from the direction of Nevers. Maybe those guys would say, "We are here to attack the city of Auxerre." But only fools would believe such nonsense.
Because an ancient Roman road passes through the river, there is a key village, Seire Village, not far north of the city of Nevers, with the local Saint Basil Monastery as its core. The local stretch of the Loire River is seriously silted up, and the river channel of more than 100 meters is divided by a large number of sandbars, allowing local villagers to row boats between the two banks.
The Otan army also further controlled the village of Seil. As long as occupying this place is equivalent to cutting off a branch line of the ancient Roman road, the Tour army should not try to launch a sneak attack from here.
However, the "Tour" army came in force.
It turns out that "Bald" Charles' army did have a fundamental reason for its delay - Robert, Count of Tours, was unwilling to give way.
In other words, Robert was not determined to block the path of Charles and the more than 20,000 troops composed of noble troops.
This army was headed by Bernard, Count of Poitier, and was supplemented by an army of counts from the Toulouse area. Even the Count of Gascony, whose territory was entirely populated by Basques, also Came from the Pyrenees with a small cavalry force to join the coalition.
Robert was furious. He insisted on attacking Paris directly. However, his de jure monarch, Charles "The Bald", had already met with the southern nobles and decided to give up the plan to attack Paris in favor of attacking Burgundy. No. .
After Charles assembled his army, he marched northward along the Avenue of Aquitaine. They successfully passed through the Shannon area that had been assigned to Regrave and successfully arrived at the city of Tours.
Unexpectedly, Robert ordered the city to close its gates. He led his troops out of the city to greet the king, and directly claimed with arrogance: "All the ships in my hand were taken away by that Reglaf. I only have a few now." With small barges, it may take two months to completely transport your army across the river with just a few boats."
Robert was indeed not perfunctory in this regard, because the absolute lack of barges made Tours also unable to do so. Without the ability to independently attack Paris and without enough barges, the Loire River is a natural chasm.
"Bald" Charles is the de jure commander of the huge army, but it is his uncle Bernard, Count of Poitiers, who truly controls the battle.
A foreign exiled nobleman used marriage to seize the title of Tours. Robert in front of him still looked arrogant and uncooperative. Bernard was so angry that he wanted to draw his sword and stab him to death.
In the end, Bernard did not overreact. The huge army lingered under the city of Tours for many days. After the nobles inspected the situation of the Loire River, they all shook their heads. relatively.
Now is the flood season, and the Tours section of the Loire River is much wider. Even if you seize the time to make a raft, it is too risky to cross the river here. Because the soldiers have a particularly large proportion of landlubbers, they can tolerate small rivers, but they are all afraid of the mighty rivers.
Robert was arrogant, but the troops of Tour also remained stationary in the territory, and the few broken ships parked at the dock seemed to be of no use.
What else can be done? Fortunately, the army still has alternatives.
"Bald" Charlie planned to cross the river to Orleans as soon as possible. Since there was no hope of crossing the river from Tours, he had no choice but to follow another small river and head towards Bourges upstream of the river.
The Aquitaine army turned westward, and such a last resort move was bound to waste more time. During this expedition, Charles's purpose was to gain a foothold in Orleans, then lead his army to defeat the Burgundian nobles, then go north to Paris to control the situation, and then truly stand still.
After the army adjusted its direction, the whole army had to march a longer route. Everyone was also prepared to build a pontoon bridge in the middle and upper reaches of the Loire River. After a 200-kilometer march, when the vanguard arrived here At the end of an ancient Roman road, I was surprised to find an army stationed on the other side of the river.
The Aquitaine cavalry believed that those on the other side of the river were the Auxerre cavalry, and they should have a hostile relationship with each other. The Aquitaine side immediately yelled curses in Old French to the other side of the river. If it was really the Auxerre cavalry, the Burgundians probably didn't understand the Gaulish language very well. As a result, similar curses were immediately heard from the other side of the river.
Europe
The Tambor Kingdom is not only home to a large number of Gauls, there are even some remnants of the Basques. It is for this reason that the Kingdom of Autumn can swing between Aquitaine and Burgundy.
The Loire River has shrunk to a hundred meters, and the horses' hooves scraped against the yellow river sand. Both sides yelled at each other, and they suddenly realized each other's identities.
Tour Army? No! That was the army of Aquitaine.
Auxerre Army? No! That's the Ortan army.
The two sides never had a long-cherished wish, and even the Earls who were loyal to each other had the same grandmother. They stopped scolding each other, and instead began to greet each other, and then each retreated to inform their masters.
Soon, "Bald" Charles learned of Count Autun's dispatch of troops.
Autan's Duda moved faster and realized that his cousin Bernard was actually sending troops in large numbers. He instantly understood what this meant and simply mobilized all the cavalry present from the city of Nevers where he was stationed. , rushed towards the village of Sayre in the north, and also commandeered all the barges in Nevers City to go there.
Bernard and Duda were originally descendants of the same family, but their families split up in their own generation. Charlemagne's sister gave birth to two sons. The eldest son inherited Auvergne and then occupied Poitiers. The second son did not go to the monastery to practice penance in accordance with the rules, but inherited the title of Autun.
The two sides can be said to be cousins of each other. Although in the past, the two brothers each safeguarded their own interests, brotherhood is inevitable.With the fading of blood ties.
Now that a huge army has passed through the Bourges area and is entrenched on the banks of the Loire River, Duda understands that he must stand up and talk to his cousins if he does not want to get into trouble. Brotherhood.
However, what surprised him even more was that he would soon be able to meet King Charles "The Bald" of Aquitaine, as well as other places such as Toulouse, Agen, Angoulême, Gascogne, etc. Meeting with the Count. Among the many arriving nobles, there was no local hegemon, the Count of Tours. Even combined with relevant intelligence, it was revealed that it was not the Army of Tours that made the refugees flee in the direction of Auxerre.
"Who is the attacker? Who am I defending?" Duda couldn't help but wonder.
Thanks to the large number of sandbanks in this section of the river, the 100-meter-wide river channel was divided into three parts. In this way, a narrower pontoon bridge was quickly built using the small barge provided by Count Autun as a pontoon. complete.
The cavalry, infantry and baggage convoys formed a single column, passing over the pontoon bridge like slender snakes.
Including the auxiliary personnel who escorted the grain and grass, Charles's army exceeded 20,000 people. The army that successfully crossed the river took advantage of the situation to build a temporary camp in Seil Village.
Finally we have crossed the river. Standing on the right bank of the Loire (now the east bank), we can directly hit the city of Auxerre as long as we continue north.
As early as the time when he was lingering under the city of Tours, Charlie learned some reports that some time ago, the Mercian army successfully crossed the river with their unique dragon-headed warships. Now that he saw Count Autun, he couldn't help laughing after listening to the count's explanation.
There is indeed a large army besieging Auxerre. They are not the Tour army, but Reglaf!
Who is Reglaf? It was the exiled King of Mercia. The Count of Autun had limited information. After hearing that the gang had taken control of Shannon and Anjou, they had pulled out a team of at least two thousand people, including a group of real Norman pirates, and another With the Nantes nobles and his own cousin's cousin joining in (referring to Herbert), everything made sense.
After all, the real Norman pirates came out. They had always killed people and stolen goods without any scruples, and it was natural for them to scare a large number of refugees into fleeing.
Now the army is crossing the river day and night, just to regain the wasted time.
A densely packed army is entrenched in one place. Such a large army can never be collected by the Kingdom of Autumn, because they almost represent the military power of the entire Aquitaine and Toulouse.
Should we continue to wait and see now? Even if Charles was an exile in the past, the army was indeed legally loyal to him now. In terms of strength alone, Charles is much more reliable than the escaped Pepin II.
Duda himself had no interest in confronting "Bald" Charlie. He made a major decision-to stop waiting and watch and pledge his allegiance immediately.
So, in the Saint Basil Monastery in the village of Seil, not far north of Nevers, "Bald" ChaLi happily performed a knighthood ceremony.
After the ceremony, Duda was no longer the Count of Autun of "Emperor" Lothair, but the Count of Autun who was loyal to King Charles "The Bald" of Aquitaine.
Now that Charles has decided to go to war with the Burgundian nobles, Autan must also take action immediately and declare war on the Burgundian nobles.
Duda has nothing to worry about. He can quickly recruit militiamen and cobble together an army of five thousand people. He can lead two thousand highly mobile soldiers and horses, always accompanying "Bald" Charlie in battle. If Charles' army was to pass through Autun and march straight into Lyon, he would be happy to give way.
Since it was the Mercian army that was besieging the city of Auxerre, there was unreliable intelligence indicating that they numbered three thousand people. Considering that the Earl of Orleans has already pledged allegiance to Charles, some Orleans troops may also participate in the siege.
After all kinds of intelligence were compiled, Duda estimated that after being loyal to Charlie, he personally led the army to join the coalition, and eventually formed a behemoth with a total strength of more than 30,000 people.
With such an army, the nobles of Burgundy will be defeated.
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