Chapter 1,327 The Princess’s Voyage

A small fleet successfully arrived in Gothenburg with a large amount of treasure plundered from Frankia.

Gisla, the princess of Theresia who had changed her name to "Blackbird", finally arrived at this Norman port after a long and painful voyage.

She knew nothing about the northern world, except that the people north of the Great Wall of Schleswig were Danish, and nothing else.

It is said that there is a vast sea and a vast land there, a place blessed by the gods of the north, and the home of all barbarians.

"Barbaric? I am also a barbaric woman, right?"

She quite likes her pseudonym. The blackbird is a nimble bird in the north. Although the bird is small, it is not afraid of severe cold. When the world is covered with ice and snow, it can still move tenaciously.

The Gisla who once was is dead!

Now there is only "Blackbird" Trasia.

It was really difficult for herself to accept all this, and looking at the not-young Earl of Gothenburg, Blue Fox, her mood became even more complicated.

Since she cut off her long curly hair, she has now replaced her Frank-style robes with more sophisticated and even slim-fitting robes of the style of a Russian female noble. At first glance, she looks like a delicate male warrior.

As the weather became colder, she put on a fox fur hat and a bearskin coat, dressing up like a Russian noble.

Although the fleet was small, it was also led by a sail cruiser. The large ship led two armed cargo ships and entered the Denmark Strait in a arrogant manner, before turning into Gothenburg deep in the strait.

The ship skillfully avoided the reef area and rushed into the mouth of the Göta River against the north wind.

"Anchor! It's now." Standing at the bow of the ship, Blue Fox yelled, holding on to the ship's railing.

The anchor was smashed into the sea, and soon the ship was firmly fixed on the surface. This happened to all three ships, and then came the move to release the boats in preparation for landing.

Of course, the ships cruising in this area to catch fish came closer one after another. They saw the big ship and the flying Ross flag, and they did not hesitate to believe that this must be the army expedition to Frank.

As for why we only came back with three boats? It must be because these three ships are transporting loot! They are earl blue foxes.

Although Blue Fox is an earl, he currently manages his Gothenburg County in a completely laissez-faire manner. The locals are still living their daily lives, because the expansion of the Kingdom of Rus has given everyone a huge opportunity to venture out to sea. A group of people have left their hometowns, rowing boats and simply spending the winter in the estuary area of ​​​​the Inn River. They are too lazy to do so unless necessary. Go back to your hometown again.

The population of the country has decreased, but Gothenburg still has strong vitality.

Blackbird stood quietly on the deck. She was still wearing a thick leather coat, but her breath was already thick with mist - it was already very cold here.

In front of us is the city called Gothenburg. Looking at it, it is a large settlement built on the river. There are boats cruising everywhere, and there are also many boats placed on the shore. The houses are almost all made of wood. They are extremely simple no matter how you look at them. They look like a giant rural area and have nothing to do with cleanliness.

This is different from what Blue Fox said. Doesn't it mean that Rose's city is a neat place?

"Gisla. It's time to disembark." Blue Fox shouted casually in Latin.

"Call me Blackbird." The girl suddenly turned around and responded with sharp eyes.

"Okay. Blackbird, at least you shouldn't glare at me like a hawk. As you can see, this is my city, and we have to live here for a few days."

"Live the Norman way?" she asked.

"Of course. You...are already a Norman."

"Okay." After saying that, Blackbird threw down his coat and faced the cold of the north. With her mouth tightened, she climbed up the rope ladder herself under the guidance of the Norman warriors, and gradually entered the long ship rippling in the sea.

Compared to her clumsiness, Blue Fox's disembarkation was really light. He has successfully lost weight, and now his body shape has basically remained stable, except for the chubby round face that is really difficult to lose. On the contrary, such a round face is less sharp and more rounded, which is really different from the legendary brutal Norman pirates.

This round face that is difficult to lose weight has simply become the blue fox's signature. The fishermen who came to watch all knew him. After learning that the adult had brought back a batch of trophies, they rushed to help him.

Help with unloading, and you can also get some benefits.

How to win people's hearts? The best way is to give a large part of these trophies to the people, even if this part of the trophies is already the private property of Blue Fox.

Compared to getting gold and silver, of course the more the better. For ordinary farmers, especially now that they are facing winter problems, they need to get a lot of food.

Blue Fox's approach was quite pragmatic. He exchanged the plundered property for a batch of grain in Utrecht. The lower-level nobles who came to the estuary of the Inn River, the Nassau family from the Netherlands who immigrated with their families, and the local church received gold and silver in hard currency (no matter whether the gold and silver were stolen money) and learned to hand over food.

The two armed cargo ships were largely converted into grain transport ships, and a large number of daily necessities were looted from the Frankish people, even old clothes that were stained with blood in the past and could still be used after cleaning.

They are all trophies given to the subjects by Blue Fox, and the most precious trophies, which have been dedicated to King Ross, are all on the sail cruiser that he serves as his flagship.

One fishing boat after another carried countless sacks of linen back to the pier. When the bags were opened at the pier, it immediately caused a sensation in the whole city!

Oats and rye, even this relatively poor grain, are precious in Gothenburg, but the quantity they arrived in was so large that it instantly overwhelmed the cognition of these unsophisticated fishermen.

Blue Fox was standing on a long boat, and Blackbird instantly remembered the pain of being thrown up and down on the sea. The stitches on her left hand had not yet been removed, and it was now tied with white cloth. Only her right hand was tightly grasping Blue Fox's sleeve.

She estimated that she would be a countess in the future, but it was really painful to live in such a sloppy port city.

But even if he changes his name, he still has the blood of Charlemagne. This is a fact that he cannot erase.

He must remain noble, so he stood firmly by the blue fox's side and maintained balance on the fluctuating ship.

The ship docked, and Blue Fox, who had been on an expedition for more than half a year, finally returned to his hometown in the north and his fiefdom.

The general public wanted to know what was happening in the Frankish world, and were also anxiously concerned about the mountains of food piling up on the docks.

The canonized barons are all leading troops to fight. They still stay at the mouth of the Rhine River and have decided to spend the winter with the local Ross Kingdom garrison.

Blue Fox was originally the plenipotentiary general of the expeditionary force, but now his duties have been temporarily assigned to the veteran Grund of the First Infantry Standard Corps of the Standing Army. With this old guy in charge, and the nearby Counties of the Netherlands and Flanders allied, Blue Fox was not worried about anything going wrong.

He could have sailed all the way to New Roseburg.

This stay in Gothenburg not only rewards the subjects in his hometown, but also provides them with a huge spiritual temptation.

"Don't you want to go to Frank yourself to steal money and food?"

In the beginning, organizing an expedition to the Franks was a huge adventure. At that time, all those who joined the army were voluntary. These men were brave, ruthless, and poor. They had almost nothing except this life, and their hopes of marrying a wife were completely unrealistic. If they go on an expedition to Frank, they are likely to be crushed by the powerful local army. Even so, they have to fight for their lives for wealth, because they find that they only have this chance to stand up.

The fact is that they did make a fortune, and some even snatched women to be their wives.

Especially those who traveled all the way up the Inn River to reach Nassau. Among them were the Götalanders of Gothenburg who had completely cut themselves off from their hometown. Such people suddenly became nobles, and even the women they kidnapped were expected to give birth next year. .

Talkers from various villages gathered in Gothenburg after hearing the news, and everyone sat in the newly built longhouse. Thick leather blankets were laid out here, people could sit down directly, and now the blackbirds finally felt tidy.

She was sitting next to Blue Fox. Because she was dressed in men's clothing, she looked like the young guard beside Blue Fox.

Faced with these villages, Lan Hu, the talker, did not give any explanation.

The wine I brought back from Nassau was shared with everyone. It is a low-alcohol sweet wine, which means that its total sugar content is extremely high.

Without distillation technology, the wine produced in Nassau, Coblenz, Mainz, and even the entire Baden region would be concentrated mountain wine.

Grape juice fermentation.

The sweet taste made everyone shiver after tasting it. These villagers could only get some sweet taste from honey and raspberries on weekdays, and there were almost no opportunities to drink honey water freely. What's more, this sweet wine combines sweetness and wine aroma.

Everyone quickly became tipsy and then excited.

Someone then asked in a high-profile manner: "Boss, it seems that you really won the battle, but why did you only come back with three ships? Could it be that others have already conquered a large territory in Frank?"

"Of course. For you! This is a huge opportunity..."

The chatter began, and the blue fox began to talk without hesitation.

Land, wealth, food, women, warm environment... Scandinavian residents need these.

Living on the banks of the Göta River is a last resort. After all, the residents of this river area have had a revolving door of history over the past hundreds of years. It was once the home of the Burgundians, who moved south and Jutlanders acquired it from the north. Later, the Goths from the north entered the peninsula and immigrated to the Göta River.

Now, the Svealan (Swedish) people from the north are beginning to enter.

Blue Fox is of Swedish origin. Since Rurik himself is also the King of Sweden, it means that the County of Gothenburg is also included in the territory of Sweden.

He described Frank beautifully, even describing him as "Asgard on earth".

People can't imagine things they haven't seen before. Is it really so beautiful there? At least the grain piled in the port won't deceive anyone.

In the past two months, various villages have been desperately fishing and catching seals. They do not have the ability to hunt whales. They regard the minke whales they see straying into the Baltic Sea as "Jörmungandr's tail" and spread rumors to scare people.

They made a large amount of herring and cod jerky, and prepared a batch of fatty seal meat. Relying on the extremely limited food produced by the limited farmland, they should have been able to survive the winter as before.

They carelessly started asking for food.

Blue Fox was very happy about this.

Blue Fox raised his head, raised his hand to show everyone's excitement, and said loudly with a smile: "The food can be distributed to you! But you must pay some price."

"Price? Is there still a price?" Everyone whispered to each other again.

Blue Fox coughed twice more: "The war is still going on. Next year we will continue to steal money and grain in Frank to make a fortune! Now that we have looted the Frankish capital, we can loot more cities. Don't be timid. I call on you to return. After arriving in the village, I told all the young men and women to prepare for war. I don’t care what new arrangements King Rus has, but I want to continue the war. I am short of troops, what about you?"

The meaning couldn't be more clear.

The men slapped their thighs wildly and shouted and cheered.

So, on a brand new day, after the village talker returned home from the meeting, he called all the men in the village to come by boat or push carts. The dock was crowded with people waiting to receive food.

The food distribution operation was chaotic, and Blue Fox certainly didn't have time to be absolutely fair. There was no direct conflict between the villagers who led the majority and the minority. Firstly, the villagers were from a large hometown, and secondly, all this was just the beginning.

Food can greatly improve the people's winter conditions. It is also like a huge honey pill. Once you eat it, you will never go back to the past. The Franks are rich but weak, so they seize the opportunity to rob them and make a fortune. .

It’s all in 843!

The measure of distributing food is not the count's benevolent policy. It is clearly a conscription order.

Blackbird noticed all this, but she had been protected and lived in a deep palace, completely unaware of all the sufferings of the people. She had to learn from scratch like a baby, she had to learn to think from a Norman's point of view.

Because these people may be her future subjects.

Since he was dressed like a man, he pretended to be an earl's guard. It is not surprising that a count keeps a servant, as such a servant may often become a general next to the leader in the future. At present, no one thinks there is anything special about that "handsome boy".

It's a calm night, the north wind is blowing outside, it's breathtaking no matter how you look at it

climate change trends.

Sailing in wind and snow is not surprising for a sail cruiser. Blue Fox does not want to wait any longer. He is afraid that the unexpected snow and wind will cause the Gulf of Finland to freeze for several days. If he continues to move, he will have to anchor at Tombstone Island first, and then It would be too expensive to travel east on a reindeer sleigh and return to the capital on your own.

The relationship between the two has not yet been recognized by King Ross. Blue Fox slept alone on the floor, and the girl Blackbird also slept on her stomach on the other side of the room.

The two of them were alone in such a weird way.

The girl curled up into a ball, her mind filled with associations from the past years. In the past four months, she has experienced her own fantasy drifting, witnessed the destruction of the capital, witnessed the betrayal of friends, and witnessed the murderous intention of relatives...

The Normans are really cruel, but...

"Theresa, are you asleep?" Blue Fox asked casually when he heard the little sobbing.

"No."

"Are you crying?"

"No."

"Are you thinking about the past? Thinking about the war? Thinking about your family? It doesn't matter, you can cry if you want. Don't worry, I will always protect you after I boast in front of your uncle."

This was the problem. It was clear that this round-faced man was a Norman general, and it was he who commanded the army to attack the capital.

But he suddenly became his supporter, and even...maybe his husband.

This is fate, and maybe it's not bad. Unlike several of my aunts who have never married, it's not that they don't want to get married. In fact, my grandfather forbids the princess from getting married, so she can only live in a monastery for the rest of her life. It is so sad for a woman.

She had no choice but to comfort herself now.

Blue Fox continued: "We will set off tomorrow! There is no time to waste any more time, maybe we will have to sail in the wind and snow. Sorry, you have to keep vomiting again."

"I...I can bear it." She spoke with a trembling voice.

"Go to sleep quickly. My Gothenburg is indeed a bit shabby. Everything will be fine when we get to the capital of Rus, and you will meet King Rus. You...maybe given a new identity."

"Countess?" Blackbird asked.

"Maybe. Maybe the king won't agree. If so, I can't force it. And you will at least start a new life."

"That won't work." Blackbird opened his mouth again: "I don't know about other people, but you... you are a good person."

"A good person?" Blue Fox smiled bitterly: "You don't understand my past. I am not a good person. I commanded the army and killed many people. Am I not a vicious Norman?"

"But I am already a Norman, and you are no longer vicious."

"Very good logic, you are right. Let's go to bed quickly. Let's go tomorrow." Lan Hu stopped talking. He didn't expect this little girl to have such a mental journey.

However, Blue Fox has never forced this matter. Compared with things like marriage, Blue Fox is now more willing to be a warrior. This is not because he suddenly has great respect for Odin. Blue Fox is completely profit-oriented. Currently, there is a large army still entrenched in the Frankish world. The top priority is to return to the capital to report the situation to King Rurik, and then immediately propose to send more troops. Reinforcement to expand the results.

The next day, the fleet, which had been staying in Gothenburg for a week, decided to set off.

In order to move forward lightly, the two armed cargo ships were already vacant and simply anchored at the mouth of the Göta River for use next year.

The only sailing cruiser, she is the Sperosvilia, and on her bow is a sacred relic of the previous high priest - a lock of gray hair.

This ship is believed to have divine power, and because of the old lady's hair, the ship will be blessed by Odin and can sail in any harsh sea conditions.

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It was placed at an angle, so the boat sailed in the southern Baltic Sea with strong north winds, and the waves continued to rise and fall.

Trasia was vomiting like a blackbird and felt like she was going to be tortured to death on the sea. She was surprised to see the other Normans seem to be fine when they met again.

Blue Fox's plan was very simple and straightforward. He would not make any stops on the final voyage, even though he could indeed rest at Saaremaa Island and Tombstone Island.

Because after three days of sailing, the ship had to brave the snowflakes and move forward in the dark sponge.

The worst-case scenario still happens, but Blue Fox has no choice.

"Charge! Rush to New Luxburg with all your strength, and arrive before the sea freezes! Gods bless us!" He encouraged the brothers on the ship with a slogan, and everyone's lives were on this ship. Rather than praying to the gods, it is better to pray to the Valkyrie, the mistress of the lock of hair placed in the wooden box at the bow of the ship.

"Valkyrievilia. This is your ship, this is you. She is unsinkable..."