Chapter 1,234 Count Adalbert of Metz’s Head Has a Price Tag

Adalbert, Count of Metz, gathered a group of defeated troops and continued his march.

He was in a bad mood, not only because all the defeated soldiers claimed that Kaiserslautern had been lost, but more importantly because his eldest son was in that city.

He learned from the defeated soldiers that his son launched a cavalry charge at the last moment that could have completely turned the tide of the battle, but the cavalry was actually contained.

"Frebach, did you really die in battle? If so, you are a hero. You must not be captured!"

For this war, Count Metz basically dispatched all the nobles in the territory, so that the rear was completely empty.

He is using his current power to bet on the greater power he can obtain in the future. The ultimate goal is to restore the family's ancestral duke title and corresponding strength in his own generation.

He didn't feel there was any danger behind his home at all, especially in his hometown of Metz. There were still some defenders there, which were more than enough to deal with some possible thieves.

Strong men from every village went out to fight. They brought their own ancestral swords and shields, as well as a short spear.

However, the most elite troops of the Metz Army had already been greatly consumed in the early battles. Although the soldiers of the final legion brought by Adalbert this time were strong, their armament level would inevitably decline significantly.

The news of the fall of Kaiserslautern was like a bolt from the blue. If the enemy was really so fierce, wouldn't it be inevitable to lead a bloody battle with them if he led his own troops?

Backing off? No! The battle situation is like this, even if there is hell in front of me, I have to bite the bullet and rush forward to fight the devil.

Most of the elites of the Metz army had suffered heavy losses due to the endless spear thrusts of the Saxon army. The count gathered a group of soldiers who were killed and abandoned their armor. He hoped that these people would learn their shame and become brave again.

However, the peasant soldiers of Metz, who were already dissatisfied with the count's continued recruitment, were more willing to listen to the situation from their retired brothers. Almost all of the defeated troops who gathered together became defeatist strategists. It was a miracle that large-scale flight did not occur.

Therefore, they were not the so-called soldiers as the count imagined. They rushed to the battlefield with a tragic mood, and they could not expect that the sad soldiers would win. The count could vaguely feel the change in the atmosphere. However, the army was about to reach Kaiserslautern, and the arrows fired could not be taken back. The battle must break out no matter what.

The mood of failure spread among ordinary infantrymen, and the closer they got to their destination, the stronger this bad mood became.

As Adalbert rode his horse, his helmet was hot from the sun and he felt very uncomfortable all over. He kept sweating because of his increasing anxiety. He said that if the general's mentality collapsed, there would be no need to fight this battle.

He knew that the more difficult the moment, the Earl himself must set an example himself, even if he was to lead the charge.

Then, the retinue of the cavalry, who was in an equally nervous mood, suddenly saw the count who had been silent for a long time suddenly coughing violently and clearing his throat, and then started talking loudly.

"Fighters! Don't be afraid! There have been many battles in Kaiserslautern, so one defeat is nothing!"

"As long as I lead you personally, everything will be fine! Just look at it! Our army now has ten thousand people, a behemoth. I will lead you to victory quickly!"

"You don't need to be afraid at all. Behind our army is the king's army of one hundred thousand, and soon they will follow us to the battlefield."

"Even if our army encounters some trouble, victory will eventually belong to us. Think of a better future, I will inherit Baron Salgau, and the Palatinate will be mine. I will reward the fertile land to the brave warriors .Use your brains to think! Everything will be fine!"

Hearing these impassioned words from Kang, the cavalrymen who were the retinues became high-spirited.

No matter whether there are loudspeakers in this era, Adalbert's words can inspire people, but the mighty infantry regiments escorting the baggage from the rear can't hear anything, and the pessimistic atmosphere is still spreading.

What he said was also a psychological paralysis of the self.

Does the king really have an army of 100,000? It is simply a kind of bragging. The large number of militiamen were simply here to make up the numbers. In this earl's opinion, the most optimistic estimate was that there were only 20,000 soldiers under his king who dared to fight.

As for the 10,000 troops he just claimed.

Of the 10,000-strong army, there are only about 5,000 soldiers who can actually fight. The remaining defeated soldiers have already been defeated once. They will not fight tooth and nail to defend the city, so how can they talk about taking the city back again?

But what the army needs is courage.

The earl was imagining a situation where he would lead the cavalry charge in person when the actual battle broke out. The infantry would charge forward as soon as the situation opened up, and he would be able to win with sufficient numerical superiority.

As for how his son's cavalry and the king's standing army cavalry were defeated by a large group of spears, the count had never seen such a thing and could not understand it at all. He concluded a little bit that the so-called battlefield was the bloody mountain pass area last year. It was a cursed place!

If there is another battle, the battlefield must be moved to an open area.

He then told his men: "We will no longer attack the city recklessly. We will observe the situation on the outskirts of the mountainous area for the time being. If we want to fight, we will fight them in the flat area south of the mountain."

The "flat area" he refers to is a rare large piece of flat land in a huge hilly area.

There are three villages and a monastery in the area, but due to the continuous war, everything was abandoned.

With a width of four kilometers and a length of nearly seven kilometers, this is the largest plain area in the hilly area south of Kaiserslautern and the most suitable for farming. There are many creeks in the area, and the river water is very suitable for growing wheat.

Now the haystack houses in the village have become dilapidated shacks, and the farmland must have been completely abandoned. As for the whereabouts of the locals, they either fled along the road to the Barony of Briscoe, or they died as soldiers in their hometown. land.

Count Adalbert knew the names of those three villages. As for the ruins of the villages left by the people, he did not dislike them. After a little cleaning, they would be the best military camps for his army.

At least the abandoned village was occupied, and I and my cronies did not have to sleep in the wilderness. Even in the abandoned farmland, there was a small amount of mature wheat, accompanied by wildly growing rushes, all of which were high-quality fodder that the war horses urgently needed.

But the reality was far more than Adalbert imagined.

Because the main force of Ludwig's army has arrived!

The gathering of more than 20,000 troops can be said to cover the sky. They are all fighting soldiers, and more than 10,000 of them are soldiers brought by Ludwig from his hometown in Bavaria. They are loyal to their monarch and have a strong will to fight.

His army just marched through Kaiserslautern, which was occupied by the Saxons. The entire army passed the southern mountain pass of the city. In that fateful open land, he immediately transformed the readily available abandoned villages into the base of his army. Camp.

Katzenbeche Village (Cat Creek Village) and Spethisbeche Village (Stone Creek Village) are now Ludwig's military camp!

However, as the de facto supreme ruler of the Eastern Empire, he was too noble to live in an ordinary village.

There happens to be an abandoned monastery here. Compared to the haystack wooden sheds of private houses, this stone building is the strongest. It is the tallest building in the area. It undoubtedly became Ludwig's temporary residence and residence. Military command post.

The reason why Cat Creek Village is called this is because a long time ago, in Kaiserslautern, which was a luxurious royal palace, the dead royal cats were buried by the river, so the entire stream got its name, and the villages built around it were also named. Give corresponding names.

Stone Creek Village is entirely because the bottom of this stream is made of large and small pebbles, which is distinctive from other streams, and the village built around it is named after it.

After Ludwig ended the farce with the Duke of Saxony in the overgrown and dilapidated palace, he angrily arrived at the military camp he selected with a sense of resentment.

The abandoned monastery was cleaned, and the dusty wooden chairs were thrown away. Some wooden boards were pieced together into a bed, and then covered with thick wool blankets and soft linen sheets. Ludwig's unique and comfortable bed was like this Completed.

The walls of the monastery are made of large and small cobblestones. Even though the place is very dilapidated, when the oil lamp was re-weighed, the first thing Ludwig saw when he arrived here was the huge wooden cross hanging high on the stone wall. ,

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He ignored the group of mighty warriors around him and couldn't help but make the sign of the cross on his chest when facing the cross.

"Even such a sacred place is in ruins! What good things did the people of Metz do! The villagers had not fled when I was here. When I come back more than a year later, why is there only a ruined scene left?"

The soldiers dared not answer.

Ludwig was talking to himself, and he continued to stare at the cross: "Lord! Forgive my sins! Everything is fate, and a fierce battle will definitely break out in this small plain! Please bless me to win, and I can end it Dissension.”

He arranged tasks for each flag captain. Each flag team set up camp and deployed defenses, and soldiers were prohibited from running around.

The same goes for all conscripted militia units.

It is obvious that Ludwig's standing army is camped in a more orderly manner. Although the militiamen are also required to train according to the method of the flag army, their training level is really bad, and now they appear to be in chaos when they gather together.

This is not a problem. The Frankish nobles cannot imagine the night attack.

Ludwig's army buried stoves for cooking. After all, he had more than 20,000 people. Even if they were in a group of ten, the bonfires they created created a "bright star" on the plains, echoing the real stars.

How long can the good weather last? have no idea. Ludwig hoped it wouldn't rain until he reached Strasbourg.

As if God gave him a strong boost, there had been no rain for a long time.

The lack of rainfall does not mean that the small plain in this hilly area is dry. On the contrary, it is soaked by a large number of streams. The hilly area is like a group of water towers, nourishing the small plain and mountain depression like capillaries. All streams eventually converge into the Lauter River. , and finally flows into the Rhine River.

Twenty thousand people stationed here do not have to worry about drinking water. This is a great comfort to the soldiers who continue to march.

The whole army was fast asleep, and Ludwig himself was snoring heavily.

There are only a few people in his army standing guard at night. If a surprise force suddenly emerges and launches a surprise attack under the cover of night, they will definitely be able to defeat this army that is exhausted from the long march.

Nai Ho's large-scale night attack seemed unbelievable to Count Adalbert of Metz. He couldn't understand how he could still fight while sleeping. When Ludwig camped that night, he had no idea that the supreme ruler of the Eastern Kingdom had already marched in front of him. After all, his army was still in the hills and mountains, and the Metz army camped and slept in such an environment.

They didn't notice each other, and they were completely unaware of each other's existence.

Here, only Ludwig learned that a large army was heading towards Kaiserslautern after listening to the description of the Duke of Saxony and the confessions of the prisoners of war.

Is it just the army led by Count Metz himself, or is Lothair's army sent out in full force and the former is just the vanguard.

He made a wish before going to bed in front of the cross of the dilapidated monastery, and he really felt that if a new Battle of Kaiserslautern broke out, it would probably determine the success or failure of a normal civil war.

Glory or destruction? We will find out soon.

As a man who had experienced hundreds of battles, Ludwig was not afraid of large-scale bloody battles, regardless of whether he fought bravely or wisely. He slept very comfortably this night and was enjoying the short period of peace before the war.

And on the second day, everything went smoothly.

When the morning fog dissipates, the sun shines on the only large plain among the hills.

He was riding a horse to inspect the future battlefield, Drinking Horse Cat Creek, and was in a good mood facing the cool autumn wind.

"What a place for a decisive battle! Promise me!" He shouted excitedly to the guards around him: "I give you a special power. If Lothair participates in the future decisive battle, any of you can kill him. Whoever kills Lothair with his own hands, I will grant him the title of earl and a large fief."

Kill the real Roman Emperor Lothair? In any case, Lothair received from the late king the honor that once belonged to Charlemagne - Roman emperor. The Roman Pope recognized this, and even the Eastern Empire, which still existed, recognized it.

This matter is known to everyone!

Although everyone who is Ludwig's personal soldier has the title of knight, is a mere knight qualified to kill Lothair? If someone really completes this matter, he may end up with an unknown death.

At this moment, no one dared to echo Ludwig's bold statement.

"What? Are you scared?" He looked around: "Do you really not know? If Lothair succeeds, all of you will die. If I are caught by him, I will definitely end up hanging. You are afraid that Crucified on the cross. Well, you should be worried about your low status. But don’t panic!"

Ludwig composed himself: "At least Count Metz himself will definitely come. If any of you kill Count Metz, you will be made a baron and rewarded with a hundred pounds of silver coins. How about that?"

At this time, all the close followers finally joined in and cheered.

In this way, during the conversation and laughter, Adalbert, Count of Metz, had a price on his head - one hundred pounds of silver coins.

Only the count himself was unaware of this matter.

Adalbert spent a wet night in the mountain col. He didn't get a good rest. It had obviously not rained for a while, so why was this mountainous area still very humid?

The Roman Avenue plunges into the mountainous area, which is more humid than the plain area, and the morning fog is thicker. A cloud of fog often drifts in, making the visibility plummeting to the point where it is almost impossible to see your fingers.

Of course, Ludwig's military camp in the small plain also faced the same problem at the same time. Under the morning fog, the visibility dropped to less than 400 meters. Even if it gradually dispersed, the visibility for a long time was only about 1,000 meters. Five hundred meters.

what does that mean?

If an army was sent out through the fog, the soldiers would not be able to detect the enemy's situation until the army was approaching the Ludwig Army camp. The two sides are only more than a thousand meters apart. One side is well prepared and continues to advance, while the other side is lack of preparation and is still busy wearing armor. The winner and the loser are determined.

But Adalbert's army finally got out of the col until noon.

It was the clearest time of the day. The midday sun shone brightly on the land of early autumn, and a shimmering silver existence suddenly appeared on the southern border.

Soldiers with good eyesight see clearly! There was no need for anyone to wonder about the iconic metal reflection. The main force of the Ludwig Army stationed in the two villages cheered up. Everyone spread word of mouth that the so-called fateful enemy army had finally appeared!

Such unconfirmed news has just been told to Ludwig himself. Today is his third day in the military camp. He is still a little panicked when he hears the sudden war warning.

"Too fast! Damn it, I wanted to wait a few more days, but you guys are here now."

He had no time to worry anymore, considering that he was used to launching large-scale raids, and he was afraid that the enemies who appeared would do the same to him.

He ordered all the trumpeters and drummers in the army to make as much noise as possible, especially the trumpeters to sound the war siren.

He will not lead the army to attack until the enemy's situation is completely clear. Especially now, the most important thing to do is to defend yourself and beware of the enemy's main attack.

Each flag team took action. They began to hurriedly put on armor and weapons and formed an array.

All the cavalry mounted their horses urgently, whether they were heavily armored cavalry or lightly-armed riders wearing only civilian clothes, all mounted warriors began to gather. Because each of them had already made an agreement with Ludwig himself. As long as the opportunity was suitable, the noble Eastern ruler would charge with all the cavalry.

Ludwig was really looking forward to the appearance of his eldest brother Lothair on this battlefield. He kept talking about it, so that now he became more and more convinced that his eldest brother would definitely take action. Who has the right to kill him? ! "Only me! Duke of Bavaria!"

The news quickly spread to the military camp of the Marquis of Thuringia where the rear guard was encamped, and then to the Saxons who were still digging deep in the city of Kaiserslautern to find the treasure.

"Damn it, could it be that the decisive battle is today?" Thuringian Marquis Thakurf, who was originally reluctant to the expedition, had no choice but to mount his horse and return with the "old, weak, sick and disabled" he had deliberately organized in a deliberately lazy manner. Join the army.

As for the Saxon Army. Although they broke a large number of spears in the frontline battles, fortunately, the imported Ross's spearheads were of good quality, they would not be permanently bent, and not many were broken. New spear shafts are made from local materials, and brand new spears are produced in large quantities, but the spear shafts still feel wet to the touch.

The Saxon army assembled as quickly as possible. Finally, about two hours after Ludwig's army saw those "large metal flashes", the Saxon army, dressed in black but wearing plate armor, helmets and new shoes, Carrying spears on their shoulders, like a moving forest, they lined up and marched out of the southern mountain pass of Kaiserslautern and entered the army that had basically been formed.

At the same time, the Metz Army, which left the mountain area and occupied the abandoned village called Hu (Hat Town) for the first time, and the various defeated soldiers who accompanied them, quickly saw that there was an army not far away. The army is in formation.

"This is the army that defeated my son and the king's personal soldiers? They don't look black either. Oh no! Could it be Ludwig's own army?" The astonished Count Adalbert of Metz didn't even care. We must not continue to be surprised. Even though we may encounter the worst outcome, what else can we do?

"Oh God! I might die here!" The count squinted and looked up at the sun. He still ordered all the troops to walk out of the mountain col and begin to form an array at the center of the occupied village. He would not take the initiative to attack or retreat.

He knew that he should be at a huge military disadvantage. What was worse was that the army was now tired. If he attacked rashly, he might not be able to see the sunset today. There is no doubt that you will die if you attack, but if you maintain a defensive posture, there is a possibility of narrow victory through defensive counterattack.

Besides, now I don’t know the other party’s reality at all.

According to the etiquette of the Frankish nobles, at least an envoy must be sent to negotiate before the war, and it would not be too late to start a fight.

He decided to send someone to talk to him first. At least when sending the envoy, he must seize the time window to form an array.