It was just a messenger, so Rurik had no need to mount his horse to greet him.
The army had been stationed under the city of Auxerre for many days. He was simply bored, so he mounted his horse and went to the south to find out.
I thought the visitor was just a few people, but I didn’t expect that Wu Haohao had brought a bunch of cavalry. I estimated visually that there might be 200 cavalry. Rather than saying they are messengers, it is more appropriate to call them vanguard troops.
"If there were only a small number of troops stationed at the city, the so-called envoy would take the initiative to attack, right? Seeing that I have a large number of people, he lied and claimed to be an envoy." Rurik muttered in his heart, and he quickly attacked on his own side During the confrontation, I saw a big bald head among the soldiers and horses, and took advantage of the situation to meet my favorite general Fisk.
"Your Majesty, you are here."
"How?" Rurik shook his neck: "Someone told me that those who came were all from that Charlie's army."
p>
"It should be true. It's just..."
"What else?"
Fisk pointed specifically: "The opponent's leader has a very low status. He's just a knight. It's unworthy of you to come here to see me. It seems like you're giving an unworthy honor to the idiot opposite."
"Heh." Rurik smiled and said, "When will you learn how to do this? Are you being glib? It doesn't matter, I'm here anyway. Since you negotiated with them, let the knight on the other side dismount and come to see them." "Well..." Fisk looked embarrassed.
"Feeling a little abrupt?" Rurik tilted his head and raised his riding crop and continued to order: "Let the knight on the opposite side come over and kneel half in front of me. Since he is the messenger, hand over the letter as well. Otherwise, Let’s start the war!”
Fisk felt that the king’s order was too hasty, but it was in line with the king’s temperament. Maybe the king has thought a lot, and the Ross army can have a small-scale conflict with Charles' army here to show the other side with practical actions that the Ross army can do whatever they want.
"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to go there right now."
At the same time, the leading knight of Poitier's cavalry, who was afraid of being surrounded, was photographed on the opposite side. The more troops keep retreating, ensuring that they always have a chance to escape smoothly.
Soon, Fisk sent a cavalryman to come quickly with a message from King Rus. The warrior had no ill intentions, and it was only because of the knight's acquiescence that he successfully met the knight himself.
However, since the warrior explained King Ross's order, the knight who felt insulted immediately changed his expression.
Dismount from the horse and then kneel down to perform the courtesy of a king and a minister? Almost everyone in the army entrenched under the city of Auxerre has blond hair, and to match their self-proclaimed title, they are all Normans.
It is unreasonable for the noble knight of Aquitaine to kneel before the chief of the Normans.
The knight immediately refused, but did not take any further drastic action. He raised his right hand, put his fingers into his mouth and whistled hard. After all the soldiers in his retinue heard the sound, they took the time to turn their horses' heads and run away.
Suddenly, only the blurry silhouettes of the more than a hundred riders were left, and they quickly ran away.
"What's going on?" Rurik leaned forward and wondered.
Fisk asked hurriedly: "Your Majesty, they actually... escaped? Should we pursue them?"
"Let them escape. We will guard here, more Be prepared for a defensive war."
The warrior who sent the message withdrew dejectedly, and he blamed himself for his failed work. Rurik was too lazy to get angry over this trivial matter
The order had been delivered, but it was Charlie’s army who did not appreciate it. Based on this matter, Rurik could make a judgment - Charlie and allegiance His aristocratic heart is arrogant.
The great nobles of Frank were all like this. They were arrogant and competed with each other before the war. Only after being beaten and suffered heavy losses did they become willing to cooperate.
The knight who led the retreat did not deliver Charlie's letter. Instead, through personal observation, he realized that the situation was far beyond everyone's expectations. He quickly ran with his followers for about thirty kilometers and successfully returned to the bustling military camp.
The dismounted knight hugged his helmet and ran towards Count Poitier's camp first. After all, he was directly responsible for his lord.
The armies of each count were camped separately. Since they sent the most troops and held the most supplies, the huge Poitiers-Auvergne army was arranged at the head of the camp. Their presence was almost enough to explain the "bald man" "How Charles's army existed.
Even Bernard himself has the blood qualification to fight for the Frankish throne. He has never had this ambition, but he is very happy to help his nephew "Bald" Charles to the throne. So far, although Charles has the ambition to control the king's power, after all, he has no real power worthy of praise, and he looks like a puppet that is easy to control.
Charlie himself was stationed in the monastery of Teranu, which was transformed into the nominal palace of the King of Aquitaine. The small monastery welcomed distinguished guests, especially the court bishop Agius who always accompanied Charles.
Charlie's biggest disadvantage is that he has too few troops.
In legal terms, he is the commander-in-chief of tens of thousands of troops, but he is just a spokesperson jointly elected by them
not their king.
The power of the nobles comes from Charles and Louis, and can even be traced back to Charles Martel. It is the hereditary power given to them by their ancestors, but their power comes from their joint charity.
If you have a large enough and powerful direct army, the situation will be completely different.
Charlie still has experts around him, the most important one being the court bishop Agius. Agius will go to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Orleans to take over the class of his teacher Gene, which also means taking over the Diocese of Orleans. Agius has a very good relationship with Charles. With this relationship, no matter how badly Orleans is destroyed by the war, Charlie will use it to rapidly expand his territory.Direct lineage - after all, he is already the son-in-law of the Count of Orleans.
Orléans is too close to Auxerre. If the Burgundians headed by Auxerre remain loyal to Lothair, they will face a fatal threat. In fact, there is an increasingly powerful alliance of Burgundian nobles, and their existence is a life and death threat to the entire Aquitaine and Toulouse. Precisely because of the common enemy, a patchwork army was able to advance to a place only thirty kilometers away from the city of Auxerre.
Now the army stopped.
Many of the accompanying nobles were very satisfied with this strategic pause. They ordered their subordinates to sharpen their swords. Some rumors quickly spread in the huge camp. The so-called pause of the army was to prepare for a large-scale battle. The coalition forces A victorious campaign against the Count of Auxerre would be launched in May.
But the real situation was much different than the stories circulated among ordinary soldiers. When the knight returned, Bernard, Count of Poitier, realized that the situation was too complicated.
Ntianu Knight, he is the master of Gense Castle. The Knights of Gense are in the southern part of the city of Poitiers, and the Aquitaine Avenue passes through their territory. Such an important transportation line is naturally given to the cronies. The Knight of Guense has no blood relationship with Bernard, because Bernard, who was still Count of Auvergne, annexed the entire county of Poitiers by force. A group of smart lower-level nobles switched to the new master, the Knight of Guense. It's one of them.
Maybe this guy who betrayed the old lord should not be reused. After all, Bernard swallowed up a large earldom and had to retain a group of nobles to help him rule.
The same is true. The retained nobles need to take a series of actions to respond to the new earl's kindness.
It was a huge risk to break away from the large army and act as an envoy. The knight of Gense led the troops with the mentality of going to the grave. The same was true. Once he sensed something was wrong, he ran away decisively.
The Knight of Gense stood in front of Bernard and explained what he had seen. As for the fact that the letter did not arrive smoothly, he did not hide it at all, and he also said a lot of words to defend his failure.
Bernard listened to him patiently and kept talking. Gradually, the initial impatience disappeared, and the already old earl gradually had ridges on his forehead.
Bernard slapped his thigh so hard that he signaled Knight Gense to shut up: "So, you have met King Rus himself?"
"Yes. "The King of Rus was only a stone's throw away from me at that time," the knight answered truthfully.
"You did not come face to face with that man."
"My status
is too low, and I cannot face the King of Ross in a standing position. Fortunately, I have good eyesight." The knight hinted that he could only kneel or lie down if he really wanted to meet.
Bernard was too lazy to worry about it any more: "How? I heard that this man is actually the father of Regraf. What do you think the two of them look like?"
Gen The knight originally only had a relationship with Reglaf.It was a coincidence, because Gense was close to Poitiers. When Charles officially named Reglave the Count of Anjou, the knight of Gense was also invited to serve as a guard of honor.
"The two are almost identical." Knight Gense said in particular: "If Reglaf grows up a little longer, he should be just like his father."
"Humph, say It means you didn't say it. How can a son look like his father?" Bernard pouted his bearded mouth slightly and muttered in disdain.
Knight Guense echoed: "If his mother had an affair with a noble, maybe..."
"Come on!" Bernard snapped: "His mother is Mai The daughter of the King of West Asia. Huh, I quite admire the King of Ross for detaining his princess just after he awakened his power of manhood. It seems that the Normans are like this, and so is Gilbert."
All the Frankish nobles knew about Gilbert's kidnapping of the imperial princess. After all, this son broke the tacit understanding of the nobles. Originally, the nobles were supposed to bring their sons to propose marriage. Before the official marriage, they needed to go through a tedious process. It usually took several years from contact, engagement to marriage, unlike that Gilbert , intercepted the princess's convoy on horseback, settled the matter that day, and then arrogantly asked the emperor to admit the facts.
It’s not like Bernard either
mentioned Gilbert’s matter for no reason.
Information pointed out that during the "Aachen Massacre" in 842, Lord Ramon sat and watched the massacre of the Diocese of Liege and the city of Aachen. As a great nobleman who defended the royal city, Gilbert should have stopped Nobel. The Man people invaded, but it was a pity that he did nothing.
Later, some fleeing priests also conveyed such information. One year after the so-called tragedy, Ramon Gaubert finally sent troops to fight the Norman forces that had penetrated into the Frankish hinterland. The outcome of the war is unknown. That was what happened in the autumn and winter of last year. The news at least proved that Ramon's country finally joined the imperial civil war. Gilbert's own situation was unknown.
In Bernard's estimation, Gilbert kidnapped Lothair's daughter, and because of this incident he should be Lothair's die-hard supporter no matter what. In this case, when he continues to fight north, he might have to fight Gilbert's La Mengau army.
Because the northern areas of Auxerre and Orleans are the territories directly under the royal family, the troops from Aquitaine arrived there to take practical actions against Emperor Lothair.
Bernard was very interested in the town called "Provins", which was the location of a mint of the royal family, and the place must contain huge wealth. He also hoped to capture the area and pocket the money, which would not only quickly make up for military expenditures, but also make a fortune for himself.
To capture Provins and defeat Paris and Saint-Quentin, Aquitaine wanted to make a fortune and then withdraw its troops, leaving the rest of the mess to Charles. In this way, Charles occupied Paris and became the king of the Franks that he longed for. The Aquitaine army returned to its hometown and lived a prosperous life with the plundered wealth.The nobles are content with themselves.
Emperor Lothair himself was simply unimportant.
On the contrary, defeating Auxerre has become imminent.
The situation in Auxerre is extremely complicated now. According to the Knight of Gense, the city outside Auxerre is densely packed with blond-haired warriors. The city is surrounded by wooden houses and tents, resembling the "Saint Andre Cross". "Flags flying wildly.
The Knight of Gense simply made a bold guess: "Maybe the Earl of Auxerre has been defeated and the city has been occupied by the barbaric Normans."
"Come on. If this is true "Aren't we facing a huge threat? Besides, is the messenger we captured a liar?" Bernard subconsciously didn't believe this was true, but the infiltration of the Russians has long been an indisputable fact.
Especially since Reglaf has been mumbling that his father will launch an expedition, and there are indeed a large number of Danes at the mouth of the Rhine, the situation today is even worse than that under the pirate leader Horik. Tricky.
In the past, related matters had nothing to do with Aquitaine. However, the nobles of Aquitaine chose to fully join the imperial civil war, and they were bound to face these troubles head-on.
At present, Bernard is unable to make an accurate judgment. Even if his side captures the envoy sent by the self-proclaimed Earl of Auxerre, he has obtained a lot of information. Considering that our letters were intercepted by the Russians and we were unable to see the situation in Auxerre, how could we make the most correct judgment?
Bernard felt that the situation was very embarrassing. He felt that he must not waste time and appear to sit idly by, nor could he act rashly to appear that he was not noble enough.
Holding his forehead and thinking for a while, he suddenly remembered a special description by Gen.
He mentioned it again.
"Before you withdrew, the Russians sent a messenger asking you to dismount and kneel to their king? Is this true?"
The troubled knight hurriedly replied: "It's absolutely true. . ”
“You are right not to kneel down. I am your lord, and I am the only one worthy of your kneeling down.” After that, Bernard said. He waved his hand.
In the big tent, Bernard held his forehead and thought carefully. As the most powerful nobleman in Aquitaine, although he was only an earl, he obviously had the title of a noble nobleman. of military power.
Although it is unbelievable, there may be thousands of Norman soldiers stationed under the city of Auxerre. Not only that, since Reglaf arrived there successfully, he must have merged with his father.
What makes the situation even more confusing is that Reglaf might suddenly become an enemy of Aquitaine. This was not only because they were a Norman father and son, but also because the Anjou County that Regrave inherited was itself a troublemaker. The county never intended to be annexed to Aquitaine, and they had many battles with each other throughout history.
After much thought, Bernard did not want to rush into troubled waters. Facts have proved that sending nobles with too low a level may be regarded as a challenge by the Russians.Provocation, if the messenger they sent was killed by them, wouldn't the current situation where both parties are not embarrassed be broken instantly? By then no one will be able to contain the war that is bound to break out, and that is not what Aquitaine is happy to see.
As the most ferocious group of the Normans, the Rus must be vigilant. Bernard is afraid that the other party will deceive him, so he should not go there rashly.
Just like the defeat in the past Duke Ludwig of Bavaria was captured. Perhaps the relevant rumors may lack authenticity. It is certain that Robert of Tours was defeated by the Russians at that time. He successfully escaped to Tours because of the charity of the Russians.
After all, in this matter, Bernard himself openly mocked Robert as a fool.
Russians have created many myths in the past few years, but they must not become the clown in the myths.
Bernard thought about it again, since the King of Rus was there, the so-called King of Mercia was also there. There are two king-level nobles in Auxerre, and the only person worthy of them is Charles "The Bald", King of Aquitaine.
"That's it!" Bernard figured it out. He slapped his thigh and became erect. He rushed into the monastery overnight, faced Charles proudly but happily, and reported the incident to the king. Great thing.
Charlie spent a period of life under the shelter of others in Poitier, and he had long been accustomed to his uncle's sudden intrusion.
"It's the distinguished Count Poitier, are you here?" Charlie used honorifics in front of Bernard, which seemed very formal but also contained some sarcasm.
Bernard didn't take it seriously and immediately explained the so-called reality of Auxerre.
"Your Majesty the King of Aquitaine." He said in the same tone: "My envoy has brought great news, and the city of Auxerre has indeed become special."
"What on earth is going on?" Charlie was very concerned about this. "There is no way we are really going to have a large-scale war? The other nobles are already preparing for war."
The implication of Charlie's words is that this is Luo Bo Nader's men took the initiative to fight against the Russians. After all, he had a secret-room meeting with Regraf. The latter boasted about his father to great effect, but in fact, in the Battle of the Elbe that led to the capture of the Duke of Bavaria, Regraf himself was a participant in the war. one. The strength of the Ross army is also what worries Charlie. King Ross can also capture his third brother Ludwig, which also makes Charlie secretly happy.
Charlie had hatred in his heart. When he was still a child, he was jointly imprisoned by his eldest brother and his third brother. He was very happy to see his two half-brothers suffer the consequences.
He is also eager to get rid of the all-round control of his uncle Bernard. If Bernard suffers a loss in the war, Aquitaine's misfortune may be his own good thing.
Bernard didn't think too much and asked casually and offensively: "Maybe a war will break out, but if the war does break out, do you think your loyal minister Reglaf will continue to be loyal to you? ”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible. "Charlie suddenly changed his serious face.
"How is it impossible? The Normans at least had a deep love between father and son, and a son would not oppose his father. "
"Oh, does it mean that I have no relationship with my father? You are still my uncle. "Charlie choked back, unwilling to suffer the consequences.
Bernard noticed that the court bishop Agius had come, so he restrained his emotions and said, "Okay. I don't mean anything more. The Russians have indeed taken control of Auxerre, and the problem of the Count of Auxerre that we have been worried about may not be a problem from now on. King Rus and your loyal Reglaf are both in the city. King Rus has asked you not to send nobles of too low a level to negotiate. ”
“So? I think your distinguished uncle can represent me and you. Oh, you are always used to representing me. "Charlie just noticed the presence of the court earl, and felt that his attitude was not weakening at all because of the support.
"No. My level is still too low. This matter can only be done by the King of Aquitaine himself. People like me can only serve as your foil. "
"Huh, are you afraid that you are worried about your own safety, so you push me forward so rarely? "Charlie buried his dissatisfaction in his heart, pretending to think and also kept complaining.
"How? I recommend you go there for yourself. King Rus will definitely not come to our camp in person unless there is a war. "Bernard asked.
At this point, Charlie took a long breath. He thought about it from another angle. If he was assassinated by the Russians, it would be of no benefit to the nobles of the coalition. I'm afraid that the tens of thousands of troops will disperse quickly.
"Okay, I can go. Uncle, you must come in person too. Since you are willing to be an escort, why don't you bring your most capable soldiers to be my escort? I have long heard that the Normans are cunning. You have to watch me closely and don't let me be captured by the barbarians. ”
“That’s fine. "Bernard had nothing to say and could only agree.
The transcoding has been serious recently, which makes us more motivated and updates faster. Please move your little hand to exit the reading mode. Thank you