Chapter 1,154 The Ambitious Duke of Saxony

The Jutland Peninsula, which had been devastated by the war, was once again restored to life. As the fleet continued southward along the western coast of the peninsula, it inevitably encountered local fishing boats.

The fishing boats were extremely bold because they recognized the Russian ships and even their flags.

The fishermen who approached claimed that they were just nearby fishermen, and they were more interested in selling the freshly caught cod on hand.

The fleet will never let one or two fishing boats disrupt its sailing plan. As long as it continues southward, the largest trumpet-shaped fjord it will encounter must be the mouth of the Elbe River. Soon after entering it, it will reach an important supply station during the voyage. Hamburger.

Before that happened, a coastal town attracted the attention of the entire fleet.

Standing at the bow of the flagship ship, Lan Hu squinted his eyes, and through the thin sea mist, he could clearly see the scenery ahead. "Inform all ships that we have arrived at the Salt Formation."

The colored signal flags were hoisted on the mast, and combined with the regular movements of the flag messenger standing at the stern of the ship, most of Ross's ships recognized him and immediately conveyed the order that they were about to dock.

The ships of the alliance saw that the small flag on the big ship was like a priest dancing, and when they saw the Russians taking the lead in taking action, they had no choice but to follow suit.

"Continue to comrade brothers." Blue Fox continued to order: "Let them settle in Salt Town. They cannot enter the inland river without my permission."

With updated orders, the landing of the huge fleet began.

Salt Town was once the ship anchorage area selected by the Northern Allied Forces during the two-year war. A cluster of shacks was built on its shore to garrison the troops.

The remaining Northern troops could not lie idle. They had to use the saltier Atlantic waters to boil salt and raid the offshore herring and cod.

When they left, the allied Saxons immediately took possession of the place.

A middle-aged man with brown curly hair and a slightly fat head, wearing leather, hurried out of Salt Town with his own armed entourage.

One of the attendants specially held a flag, black at the top and yellow at the bottom, with an abstract lion sewn in the middle.

The flag was so conspicuous that Blue Fox, who had just landed in a small boat, recognized it immediately.

"That guy Liudov has a large-scale garrison here? As for the flag flying here?"

Blue Fox has some doubts, because Salt Town is not exclusive to the Principality of Saxony. It is a place of complete freedom, and a fishing village with a majority of Danish people has quietly emerged. Of course, Saxony has no right to charge a copper coin tax on this group of visiting Danes. It is they who make sea salt and, together with other Saxon salt-making workshops, sell the sea salt nearby to Hamburg on the inland river.

The sale of salt to the outside interior, especially to Cologne, is now an extremely important source of income for the Principality of Saxony.

But can some Danes who have left Denmark still be considered Danes?

Blue Fox knew that guy with a big head. He was just a petty official promoted by Liu Doufu to help him manage the salt production industry on the seaside.

"It's the distinguished Lord Blue Fox." With a flattering smile, the man bowed and nodded.

"Presumptuous! I am the noble Count of Gothenburg! You, Adam. It seems that you are not smart enough. Why did Liudov choose you..."

"Oh! I'm sorry, sir, I was stupid. I saw you brought a huge army, this time..."

"Still stupid! Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Blue Fox was in a good mood. He could smell the lingering sea smell of crude sea salt with his nose and was too lazy to scold a small official.

Is this a bad smell? of course not. If a large amount of salt is transported to the inland areas of the far east, the cheap salt will be sold at a high price, or even used as a special bargaining chip, making the conquered new tribes willing to be ruled.

"My army is stationed here. Don't worry, I won't ruin your work. Adam! You lead the way, I want to meet your master. Oh... there are many nobles from the north who want to meet with your master."

The fat-headed Adam couldn't help but be startled and responded hurriedly: "Okay, I will lead the way. I will first send a fast horse to report to my master that you, the distinguished master, have arrived."

In an instant, longships gathered at the mouth of the Elbe River, and large sailing ships anchored on the spot.

It is currently the spring flood season, and even paddling a long boat deep into the inland river is a bit difficult. Blue Fox will definitely not lead the army deep into the sea. He does not want to cause any misunderstandings, because just placing the army at the mouth of the sea is a terrifying force deterrent.

Blue Fox wants to see Liudov. He wants to provide certain trade benefits to the people of his Gothenburg fiefdom, and he also wants to complete the liaison mission set by Rurik.

Many nobles followed him in, including Yin Val, a young man with a weak leg.

The soft spring sunshine illuminates the lush pine forests on both sides of the river. On the south bank of the river is a huge heather forest, mixed with the strange smell of the trees in bloom. The special smell gives people who first come here a different olfactory memory.

This is not the first time for Askard and Kelha to come to Hamburg, but it is the first time for Yinval.

After not seeing Hamburg for more than a year, it has obviously changed a lot. The memories of the past are no longer counted. Centered on the city of Hamburg with protected waterways, a large number of Saxon villages have sprung up.

The reclamation operation continues. Along the original Roman roads, villages destroyed by the war are re-owned and abandoned fields are restored to planting.

The sailors could hear the rumbling sounds coming from the forest, and even saw other long boats drifting in the wide river.

Is this considered prosperity? Maybe. The squinting blue fox was sure that some Danes must have lived deep in the interior. So, were they still Danes?

There are some long boats at Hamburg's pier, and it can be seen with the naked eye that some shipbuilding workshops have sprouted on the shore here.

The more fertile riverside land was exploited as much as possible, and the Saxons were working hard to restore their lives.

Seeing this, Blue Fox felt that their recovery speed was much faster than he expected.

There were not many longships deep into the river, and every one of them flew the flag of Ross.

On the shore, some buildings also have brand-new Saxon flags flying for a long time.

The red lion in the center represents the nobles' loyalty to Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom. The reason why it is red means that it is stained with blood. As for the black color used as the base, this is the color commonly used by the Saxons. Even the newly trained troops use this as the base color for their clothing. Yellow means gold, or wealth, and the rule of the Liudov family.

The Kingdom of Denmark has the Raven Flag, the Kingdom of Rus has the Oar Flag, and the Saxons have their own flag. On the contrary, Bjorn, the Duke of Malaren, found that he did not have a clear flag.

But Blue Fox's Gothenburg also doesn't have the earl flag, and he doesn't care now.

The fast-moving courier encountered a small fleet of visiting ships and carried the news to the Duke's residence in Hamburg.

No, when the fleet arrived, Liudov himself brought his son Bruno and son-in-law Reglaf to meet him in person.

They were dressed in fine attire, adorning themselves with the most splendid clothes, and the entourage they brought with them was as garish as possible without losing power.

The guards were uniformly dressed, with black Saxon halberd bearers on one side and dark green Mercian sword and shield bearers on the other.

After all, Reglaf's identity is the legal king of Mercia. Although Rurik is legally the father, he is clearly different from Ross. He needed a root and a meaning of existence. Although he was in Saxony, from all the news he learned, he first revived the orthodox Mercian army here, even if the army was full of Saxons and Danes.

"Haha, I saw that guy." The young man stared at the old man with keen eyes and felt so happy that his body trembled involuntarily.

"Blue fox?" Liu Doufu, who had a neatly trimmed mustache, asked softly.

"My cousin. The son of Aric who burned Bremen, my Asgardian cousin."

"Him? Okay."

Liudof didn't want to ask any more questions. Bremen was not his control area at one time. That place was attacked three times, and even the local earl was killed by his whole family. The initiator of such a disaster is of course the Ross army. In the final analysis, it is the murderous demon "Two Swords" Arik. Liudov admired Rurik very much and was quite enthusiastic about Paul Blue Fox. As for the others, forget it.

He indeed attaches great importance to Blue Fox. There is only one most important reason: this person converted to God.

The nobles landed at the pier, and after a short chat and reminiscing, everyone entered the Duke's impregnable fortress residence.

They met in the stone room high up, and even had dinner together at night.

A matrix of oil lamps hanging on the roof matched the bronze lamp holders surrounding the stone room. The dancing flames illuminated the entire room, and the aroma of barbecue overflowed from the open stone window, making the guards salivate.

"Papa, is it really appropriate for Paul (referring to Blue Fox) to be with those who believe in heretics?" The young priest was uneasy and had to ask Esquier, the archbishop of the north.

"My child, what are you doubting? The question of whether it is appropriate or not depends on whether Paul has fallen away from the faith."

"Will he? I saw that even the Duke was gathering with those heretics. They were even... on top of the tower..." The young priest was uneasy and had to calm down: "They were drinking holy wine together. The blood we shared was a wild boar."

"You?" Eskil rolled his eyes at him: "Presumptuous. Are you questioning the Duke? Maybe, I should punish you by cleaning the ground for a month."

"I...I don't dare."

"Just let them be. These are not your worries. My child, you are still young, and you have to be flexible in many things. You see, those Danes who believe in heresy are slowly converting to the right path. You can't expect them to change in an instant. They volunteered to be baptized, but I believe that one day they will take the right path."

Forget it, the experienced northern archbishop did not want to discuss the matter anymore. His ambitions have been wiped out by the impact of reality, and the work of peacefully spreading the gospel to the north seems impossible, at least he will never be able to do it again for the rest of his life.

The fifty-year-old old guy has already become more aged due to overwork. He actually knows which northern nobles came to Hamburg, and even some of his old friends in Sweden.

For example, that Bjorn.

Eskil has long known about the current Duke of Mälaren, Bjorn. He knew that this man had a liking for the Catholic faith, but he still did not convert after all. There are many northern chiefs with similar ideas. However, extreme things have happened in Denmark, so that the nobles who now believe in God are either dead or expelled, or they have returned to their past beliefs on a large scale, as if their life's work has come to nothing. .

Anyway, the northern world finally settled down. The most troublesome problem lies in the south. Because the northern diocese and the Cologne diocese he leads fully support Ludwig, Lothair has confiscated several monasteries that should be under his management, and the Archbishop of Reims can do nothing about it.

What does the civil war among the nobles of the kingdom have to do with the suburbs everywhere? Could it be that in order to cater to their war, the clergy also have to oppose them?

The clergy did not want this, but the nobles had their say.

Eskil has learned about the Viking raids on Trier Cathedral last year, and the fleeing Archbishop Hutto wrote a letter to all the faithful afterwards. The letter was conveyed all the way to Hamburg, and Hutto wrote clearly in his letter to Eskil: "It is all because of your failure that the Vikings are now deeply hostile to us. You should have persuaded them to convert to the right path... "With another lot of complaints without profanity, this made the old guy uneasy.

Who attacked Trier Cathedral? First they were Vikings.

Who are the Vikings? What kind of strength of Vikings can do this? Which force has the chance to take action?

With just a moment's thought, Eskil identified the culprit. He did not dare to tell any victim the inside story he had deduced, because at least one of the instigators was eating barbecue, drinking holy blood, talking and laughing sanctimoniously on the high tower. Even, I once naively thought that guy was different from other Vikings.

In other words, the guys in that room were all conspirators.

The Saxons, Danes, Rus, Swedes, Götalanders, and even the Mercians, each noble represented their own power. They gathered together to drink wine and sing songs, and no one took their faith seriously.

Such a group of people once formed a coalition that withstood two large-scale offensives from the Eastern Kingdom. Liudov would like to thank this group of northern friends for helping him gain the power he dreamed of.

Now, the Principality of Saxony must also take the initiative to compete for the living space under the sun!

After drinking, Liu Duofu felt refreshed, his tongue became stiff and his accent became somewhat honest.

He shouted carelessly: "My Saxony is recovering quickly! I have trained five thousand spearmen! Now many Danes are following me. They build my ships and help me fight during the war. I have trained five hundred more Warrior on horseback! Now, I can directly intervene in the war in the south. Blue Fox, what are you going to do this year? Continue to fight? Just like you did a sneak attack on Trier last year, haha! You will definitely make a fortune!"

Hearing this, the slightly drunk Blue Fox was also shocked and tensed up: "You? What did you say? Who attacked Trier? What is Trier?"

"I was pretended to be stupid!" The naive Liu Doufu pointed his thick right arm directly at the blue fox's face with a wonderful smile, and continued to call him by his name: "It's okay, I won't blame you. You must make a fortune. ”

"This...how did you know?"

"If it's not you, who is it? Everything is what Eskil said. In my opinion, you did a good job. Now I need a lot of money. It's a pity. I only rely on selling surplus grain and salt. When can I quickly To get rich? So...I continue to be loyal to Ludwig. I am his loyal supporter, why do you think it is?"

"Why?"

"Aren't you?" As he said that, Liudolf laughed naively again: "Your brother was in Nassau, and you teamed up to capture Coblenz. You were helping Ludwig fight and made a lot of money. You can do it, and so can I..."

Why tell the truth after drinking? Nothing more than that.

"If Ludwig invites me to send troops south, I will leave immediately. Haha, I heard that your army is in Salt Town. Do you want to help him continue to fight?! This time, maybe we can fight side by side and launch an attack together. Big fortune."

Liudov in front of him was even dancing. Seeing his father's crazy look, young Bruno moved his stool for him.

In the eyes of Blue Fox, this guy made the most authentic move. This man wanted to become powerful in a short time. The northerners provided a special example to all the Saxons. From the nobles to the common people, they took advantage of the war to launch plunder. As long as they won, the benefits would be better than years of farming. . Besides, participating in the war also comes with Ludwig’s legal endorsement!

The agreement in early 841 was more than Ludwig's permission for various Viking raids. The agreement never stipulated that the Principality of Saxony and the Netherlands could not participate in the raids.

Little Nassau, under the rule of the Russians, flourished last year, but what will happen now?

Liudov had to personally ask Blue Fox, the highest military commander specially authorized by King Rurik of Rus, about his new plan for Nassau.

"Fortunately, this guy didn't ask me where I planned to attack? Should he know that I was going to lead troops to attack Aachen without being frightened and faint on the spot?" Lan Hu held back what he was saying.

He thought for a moment: "Robert, you know, right?"

"Him? How could I not know?"

"He is going to Tours, not to the Ingau fiefdom!"

"Huh? Unbelievable." Even though he was drunk, Liu Dou still opened his jaw.

"I will never come to Ingau again. That area belongs to Nassau. Oh, it is our Nassau, and it is managed by my brother. As you said, we will further intervene in their civil war, and I will help Ludwig If you want to go to war, you should plan accordingly, and then we will make a fortune together."

"You!" The excited Liudof stretched out his arms again, tsk-tuted to calm himself, and then tremblingly picked up the wine glass: "The Lord will not blame us! Because Ludwig is justice! For wealth and glory, cheers!"

After that, he took the lead and drank it all in one gulp.

"What kind of talk is this? Pious? Not pious. Are you the same as me?" Lan Hu looked at this guy and wanted to laugh out loud, but held back what was in his heart. He found that at least the guys present had the same attitude: everyone wanted to get rich.

No, the blue fox nudged his little brother red fox, and also looked at the extremely young Askard, Kelha, and Yinvar. Everyone raised their wine glasses, even if there was nothing in them, they were still heroic and even arrogant. Liu Duofu cheered and drank it all in one gulp.