Chapter 1,165: When in Doubt, Shake People Off First

The fortress of Koblenz was burning, and the densely packed residential buildings not far from the fortress were completely engulfed in flames.

For Quentin and his army, the best way to clear out the hiding of the Normans was to set fire.

He didn't know where the locals had fled to, and he didn't bother to care. According to the authorization of King Lothair, he can take a series of decisive measures here. In the final analysis, what the king wants is control of this land and a fortress guarding this important place.

The fire became more and more fierce, and fire tornadoes even appeared along with the south wind.

The powerful heat of the fire forced the Zhongwang ** troops stationed here to retreat. The soldiers knew very well that this move was ordered by the flag captain, although they lit the fire themselves and were not responsible.

But the flames would inevitably turn the monastery in the residential area into scorched earth. Many soldiers were deeply frightened by the fire dragon rising into the sky. They knelt on the ground and crossed their chests repeatedly to pray for God's forgiveness.

The fire tornado was too conspicuous, and the red-hot sky at night couldn't be ignored!

The nearest monastery to Koblenz is a short distance to the northwest. Wallendaal Abbey, which was originally under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Trier, was taken over by the Diocese of Cologne during this civil war.

Ordinary priests continued to live their peaceful lives day after day, and the noble war had nothing to do with them.

Only a small number of people lived around the monastery and paid tithes to support the priests.

This night, their peaceful life was completely broken.

No one can ignore the red-hot sky. When you boldly walk through the forest and stand on the bank of the Rhine River, you can see the city of Koblenz caught in flames not far away.

The people had never seen this scene before. They shouted words such as "Hell Fire" and "Hell Dragon" and held their heads in their hands, falling into madness.

Based on their knowledge, the scene in front of them was clearly a gaping hole in the earth, and a hellfire dragon jumped out.

The riverside was illuminated quite brightly, and people's cheeks were illuminated red.

The people here are basically indifferent to the situation in other places, but the priests of Wallendal Monastery are aware of the changes in Koblenz in recent years. It has been merged into Nassau, and the monastery where it belongs has changed its ownership first.

Whether the cooperation between the Diocese of Cologne and the Normans is unjust will be decided by God. Whether the archbishop is guilty or not, the priests are not qualified to criticize Wallendal, a small monastery.

They knew very well that Nassau had captured Coblenz by war, and the priest could estimate the cause of the fire with just a moment's thought.

The priest worked hard to calm his people and held a small mass overnight so that the flames would not spread to him on the other side of the Inn.

It was like a giant bonfire burning on the ground. Even residents who were farther away knew that something was abnormal when they saw a bright red area in the sky.

Even priests and priests as far away as Bonn noticed strange celestial phenomena. They may not have thought that the visions came from fire, and the priests truthfully recorded what they saw.

Due to terrain problems, the curvature of the earth, and the cover of the forest, it is difficult to see the strange sky in Cologne from too far away, unless you stand on a high place such as a city wall or a church bell tower.

The night watchmen of Cologne took their stipends from the church and wandered around the city walls. Some priests guarded the bell tower and waited for dawn to ring the bell as usual. ….

They stood tall and noticed the scene in the distance. The news was transferred to the archbishop one by one, and Hudbold, who had just fallen asleep, was so shocked that he stood up suddenly.

"Southeast? The sky is red? Like it's burning?!"

His instinct was to question the reports of junior priests.

"Papa, I'm... worried that something happened to Bonn."

"Absurd!" The archbishop subconsciously made the sign of the cross. He was already restless because of his disturbed dream, but after hearing such an outrageous speculation, his heart beat wildly. "God forbid it be Bonn."

He put on his robe in a dignified manner, not bothering to tie up his belt. He stepped on his boots and rushed towards the tallest church bell tower in the city.

The vigilante saluted him, but the archbishop had no time to respond.

Hadbold's eyesight was not very good;

This is related to the fact that he often studied the gospels on parchment at night, and he also often wrote something.

He was already somewhat short-sighted, and now he is suffering from presbyopia as he gets older.

Even so, standing at the highest point of Cologne and looking to the southeast, the sky there is indeed red. His personal perspective is somewhat vague, but based on his rich experience, he can determine that it was definitely not Cologne who had the accident.

Everyone believes that a fire broke out somewhere. If not Cologne, where was it? Maybe the forest is on fire.

That night the Archbishop could no longer sleep. He was anxious but did not try to take the initiative to understand the situation.

Rather than the vision in the sky, he cared more about the Normans who had just left during the day yesterday.

Yes, on the same day that the King's team arrived in Coblenz, the Blue Fox and his special fleet also left Cologne on the same day.

Some priests pessimistically suspected that the Normans were determined to rob a certain place and then set it on fire, which might have caused a forest fire.

The Normans had a long criminal record, even if they were converted to God, but their poor disrespectful display in Cologne Cathedral made everyone sick and spit on them.

Hardbold demanded silence from his own men, noting that he could not completely ignore the possibility.

After all, it was a distant vision. The civilians in the city could not see anything unless they climbed up the city wall. Moreover, once it was daytime, it would be even harder to detect the abnormality, and life in the city would not be affected.

He immediately ordered the night watchman to strictly check the idlers wandering around the city at night. Even though he could turn a blind eye in the past, the curfew must now be strengthened.

But on the Blue Fox side, they bought some supplies in Cologne, all of which were delicious meals that could satisfy their appetites, such as cheese, butter, and honey.

Rowing against the current requires constant paddling, which tests people's physical strength. They deliberately bought these delicious meals that would make them energetic. When they docked at night to rest, they lit bonfires and cooked wheat porridge with fat and honey in earthenware jars.

I saw someone selling freshly picked thyme in the city. The Russians arbitrarily bought all the seller's goods, leaving the locals short of seasonings. However, the Russians paid real money and silver, and the seller got fine Frank silver coins. At first, they were wary. It quickly turned into a flattering smile.

The bundles of thyme purchased were already dry by now. They were rubbed and thrown into an urn, and finally sprinkled with a handful of salt. This was the most ordinary marching meal of the Blue Fox Special Fleet.

It was actually quite delicious, and those who feasted on it couldn't help but chat around the campfire. ….

They praised the area for being warm and therefore rich in products, but lamented the lack of such enjoyment in the north.

There are also some people who arrogantly advocate: "We want to control a larger land and let the Franks do our best. I will make my home here and my descendants will enjoy happiness."

The lit bonfire dissipated the coldness of the early summer night. After all, the dimension of the Inn River was still very high. Although the climate was not very cold, the chilly feeling was still uncomfortable.

All the long boats were stuck to the river bank, with wooden stakes nailed on the soft mud, and cables tied tightly to all the boats.

Blue Fox and everyone else laid out a deerskin mat, wrapped themselves in a wool blanket, and began to fall asleep around the bonfire.

There is a long boat for night fishing parked on the river. The cable is tied to the tree, and the anchor is dropped. It is fixed on the water and lights a torch. It uses the trick of fishing at night to catch a batch of fresh fish so that the brothers can go together tomorrow morning. Enjoy.

It was also when they noticed the red sky in the distance. How can nervous people continue to fish?

The blue fox, who was sleeping soundly, was shaken awake. At first, the old fox was not sure: "What are you doing? I just saw a forest. Where is the fire?"

"But boss, you can tell just by looking at it on the river."

"I wish I could see some abnormalities instead of being dazzled by you fish-eating guys." He jumped onto the long boat with anger. When the boat floated to the center of the river, the southeast direction was indeed obvious.

Suddenly, Blue Fox sat down in shock. He was pulled up by his men and his mouth was trembling: "Ah! Could it be that something happened to our Coblenz?"

How could something happen to Koblenz?

Blue Fox didn't want to believe it, but he had experienced many battles over the years, and the first one

In the Battle of Hedebe, the entire trading city fell into a sea of ​​fire, and the sky was also burned red. Afterwards, we experienced the Battle of Wisingser Island in Lake Vänern and the battle to attack Denmark. The destruction of settlements and arson were all traditional tactics, and red skies appeared in every action.

His intuition told him that something big had happened in the direction of Coblenz.

He was worried that this was a counterattack by the Frank army. The reason for his judgment was that the city was captured by the Russian army through violent means and could encounter enemy revenge at any time.

But he was lucky: "Maybe some forest hunters set a bonfire in the forest and ignited a forest."

This speculation is not surprising for the blue fox, because the Suomi tribe in Finland used this method to deliberately destroy the forest, and then scattered a piece of oat seeds on the scorched map to harvest it in the autumn. Next year, we will use the same tactics and start another round of slash-and-burn farming in another forest. This most primitive agriculture is much better than simple fishing and hunting, which is why the Suomi tribe can support a population of 20,000 to 30,000 people.

Isn’t this the case with Frank?

However, the blue fox went to sleep again with an uneasy heart, and did not tell everyone the news. Those so-called "people who bring fish to eat" continued fishing at night. They ignored the red-hot sky, but suddenly saw a small The fire appeared on the river.

what is that? It's a small boat.

The boat was ordered to move forward at night, and the risk it took was a firm order from the owner.

The boat relied on the only torch for illumination, which emboldened the people on board. The boat turned a river and suddenly saw a bonfire in front of it. What's going on? Although there are still some villages in the riverside area, who will settle down by the river? There was light even on the river. ….

The small boat had never been aware of the danger, and when it was quickly captured by the long boat that had suspended fishing, both sides were shocked.

On one side are genuine Normans, on the other side are a young priest in black robes and a timid fisherman.

Blue Fox had been sleeping for a while, and when he was woken up again, he was so angry that he took out a burning stick from the bonfire and smashed it on the ground.

"Is it over yet?!"

"But boss, we caught a weirdo." As he spoke, his subordinates pushed the nervous priest over.

The man immediately knelt down on the ground, covering his head and looking terrified.

"You? Why are you afraid? We are not Satan's apostles." Blue Fox spoke Latin skillfully, and the effect was immediate.

The priest put down his timidity for a moment: "You? Are you Normans who can speak Latin? Aren't you... the legendary Russians?"

"When did we become legends? Who are you? Are you not from Nassau? I don't know you."

Blue Fox raised the torch to shine on the man's face: "I know the faces of all the priests in Nassau. Are you from Coblenz?"

Mentioning Koblenz, the priest looked even more horrified: "It's not Koblenz. I'm from Wallendaal, but..."

"Valendar? What is that?"

"It's Wallendaal Abbey in Cologne. Not far from... and Nassau. But something really happened in Koblenz."

"What can happen? Isn't it a fire?" Blue Fox's words became urgent.

"Fire! Hellfire! The whole city is burning! A fire dragon came out, maybe everyone was burned to death. The priest sent me to Cologne to tell the Archbishop that a disaster has occurred there." The priest's eyes widened. His eyes seemed to pop out, and he was frightened.

Fire dragon? Satan? Burning city?

Could it be that the estimate has come true? At this moment, Blue Fox was not happy with his intuitive judgment. He wished that he had made a mistake in judgment.

"Is there a war? Can you see the fighting?"

The frightened priest didn't know anything about it. Even if he kept asking, he could only say that although Wallendal Monastery was close to the river, it was just a small monastery hidden in the forest. Everyone lived in poverty. He discovered the disaster in Koblenz. Simply because the sky was burned red, I really don’t know anything else.

The matter could no longer be ignored, and the news quickly reached all

Sleeping warrior place.

At this moment, Lan Hu was extremely worried about his younger brother and sister-in-law, as well as the remaining brothers. The third child, Black Fox, had proven himself on the battlefield last year that he was not a coward. Even though he was fat, he would still become vicious if he lived with a group of ruthless people.

Even if those guys who believe in Odin convert to God, it is a "tactical conversion". Their bravery and fierceness are consistent. If the enemy attacks Coblenz, these guys are not allowed to fight with weapons immediately.

"Boy, I'd rather you give in this time. Don't get hacked to death!"

But sailing at night was too risky, and the brothers were quite exhausted after rowing all day long, even though this area was not far from Koblenz.

Blue Fox insisted on taking action at dawn. He was already sending people to cook the morning meal immediately, hoping that the sky would be dark blue for everyone to eat, and continued to advance before the sun rose. ….

He was quite annoyed that he had brought 150 soldiers with him. Even including himself and his two young men, the number was less than 160. The brothers also escorted a batch of production tools to be transported to Nassau. The most critical thing was to pay the Robert family a huge amount of silver coins that were eager to leave, especially since the latter could not allow any mistakes.

"If I bring enough troops...it's still not too late!"

After waking up, Blue Fox slapped his face vigorously and made a risky decision - shake people.

There were thirty soldiers in a boat. They were temporarily ordered to go down the river. This time they arrived directly at the Ross army stationed in Rotterstad.

This group of brothers got this task: take my password and paper documents with me, and order all members of the First Flag Troop of the Standing Army and the Seventh Infantry Flag Troop to dispatch! Red Fox was ordered to continue to stand still. The Count of the Netherlands and Flanders were not to be informed of this matter.

Blue Fox wrote and drew on the hard paper that was always available, using the most traditional runes to write words that even ordinary priests could not understand. This was so that there would be no misunderstanding or suspicion.

"What if the captive priests are talking nonsense? What if it is true but not serious? What if I misjudged it?" When a long boat rushed down the river and quickly disappeared from sight, even though Blue Fox still had doubts, All I can do is stick to my own judgment.

He gave his subordinates who were ordered to report the news three days to rush to Rotterstad, and asked the army to rush to Nassau with all their strength within a week. The so-called longships took advantage of the rapidly lengthening daylight hours in early summer to use up all the light time. On the road, you always have to arrive quickly even though you are tired.

Ten days at most, eight days if possible, the time cost is not very high.

He made this judgment based on his many years of traveling and fighting experience. After thinking about it again, his old friends, his brother's family, and even Count Robert's family of Ingau, if there is a fire in Coblenz, They will all suffer adverse effects. Another bad thing is that Koblenz has a lot of residents.

The Nassau side will not lose their minds and burn down the houses of the people in the area under their control, and the people will not lose their minds and destroy their own homes.

The only reasonable explanation is that there are powerful external forces causing destruction. This is because the Russian army stationed in Nassau, which has expanded to 600, is difficult to organize.

Apart from the Frankish army in the Middle Kingdom who is capable of doing this, who else? Maybe this year Lothair will have an advantage from Coblenz.

Blue Fox has no insight into the battlefield and does not know the enemy's situation. Today, he can only make strategic adjustments based on his own speculation.

Aachen wanted to make a sneak attack, and because Coblenz was attacked, they even wanted to make a surprise attack on Aachen to vent their anger. What is the current situation in Nassau and Coblenz? Are there any enemies? What is the enemy's strength?

If someone attacked, he would call for reinforcements and fight back directly. Blue Fox couldn't think of a better way, so he decided to respond with the most traditional and brave tactics that soldiers loved most.

Invite another thousand reinforcements, five hundred of which are absolute heavy armored infantry. If there are no obvious losses in the people of the younger brother Black Fox, then there will be no problem in organizing the villagers in Nassau to eventually piece together 2,000 soldiers.

With the existence of two thousand troops, only in this way can Blue Fox really feel at ease. .

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