Chapter 1,469 Rurik Returns to Hamburg

When the Elbe War ended completely in 841, the Saxons who had gone through hardships once again returned to a state of peace.

For more than half a century, the people here have been facing war threats of one kind or another. Living in the cracks, they have been losing their living space until... entering this new era.

Those Saxons who crossed the stone wall of Schleswig and entered the Danish world gradually moved back to the south and settled near Hamburg.

Today, the once tiny Hamburg is the largest settlement in the entire Saxony region. Not only does it have the largest and most concentrated population in the region, it has also become the center of faith and trade in the region.

In 798 AD, with the failure of the Saxon War of Independence, the last sacred tree altar was destroyed by the Frankish army, and 4,500 captured soldiers were executed, leading to a bloody feud.

A lot has changed in fifty years. The priests are all dead. Only a few people who believe in the sacred tree have fled to the far north but can no longer make any waves. In order to survive, the people who stayed in their hometown had no choice but to convert to God. In fifty years, three generations have been born. Today, the Saxons are overwhelmingly devout believers.

Even so, the anger hidden in the heart is like a piece of dry firewood, which can be triggered into a raging flame with just a few sparks.

They longed to be freed from the yoke of the Franks and longed for a new great hero to be born.

Now those dreams have all come true. A Saxon principality ruled by pure Saxon aristocrats has returned to the world after disappearing for more than half a century. Even though its size is far different from its heyday, even though it has sacrificed for this independence and freedom. cost a lot.

As long as the restoration of the country is completed, there is hope for continued revival, and the majority of the people also know that this freedom is hard-won. Without the strategic opportunity of the Frankish Civil War, the Saxons would not be able to break free from the shackles imposed on them.

Just like this, the so-called Roman Emperor Lothair could not recognize an independent Saxony Principality that was only nominally surrendered to the Franks. Saxony could only achieve a major victory by supporting Ludwig, the other powerful side in the civil war, and the results of its restoration could become Legal facts.

The two northern heroes, the equally emerging Kingdom of Rus and the Kingdom of Denmark, are also rare allies for the Principality of Saxony.

All three parties are facing the threat of erosion from Frankish forces. At this critical moment, everyone must form an alliance.

Based on the peace treaty of 841, most of Westphalia was placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cologne, so the area south of the Weser River was directly managed by the Archbishop of Cologne.

The area where Hamburg is located is also part of Westphalia in the broad sense. In the past, Count Liudolf did not directly control it. Instead, it was ruled by several Frankish nobles and faced the Danes in the north.

Now that all the Frankish nobles in the Hamburg area have been deposed, Liudolf privately gave up his Westphalian title and transferred most of his fiefdoms to the Diocese of Cologne. On the one hand, this was a protest against the Roman emperor, and on the other hand, it was also a strategic buffer.

The emerging Principality of Saxony did not want to get too close to the power of the Roman Emperor Lothair, and an expanded version of the Cologne Diocese would become an excellent strategic buffer zone.

Even though the environment in the Hamburg area is worse, it is better because of the water conservancy of the Elbe River and the large number of Saxon immigrants.

Nowadays, the Saxons have settled on a large scale along the Elbe River. They live more densely than in the past. Objectively speaking, Liudov can control his nobles more accurately and can mobilize faster if there is a war.

No one can question that Archbishop Hardbold of Cologne was not pious enough, but this archbishop paid great attention to economic interests, so that under his rule Cologne became a production city with increasingly developed handicrafts.

Those devout priests firmly believed that people should practice asceticism and usury must be strictly prohibited in life, so that all business activities that involve trade profits can be defined as sinful usury.

However, many materials cannot be obtained without trade, and it is impossible for merchants to carry out economic activities without profit.

The Archbishop of Cologne will never personally intervene in economic activities. There is a group of people in the city who act as white gloves for the priests, thus ensuring the purity of the priests and making Cologne always rich.

Now, this situation is quietly affecting the north.

Hamburg Cathedral, the residence of the northern saint Eskil. When Duke Liudolf of Saxony led his troops south, he became the de facto ruler of this area.

He was an overly pious man and was canonized while still alive.

He has no children and is unlikely to have any children. He works diligently in the cathedral in Hamburg. He is already old, and the remaining time is used to train young priests to work, educate the people in this area to expand the influence of the Catholic faith, and then pay attention to people's livelihood to raise the necessary tithe tax.

Although Eskil didn't want to, he was now effectively the treasurer of the principality.

When Liudov was still the earl of Westphalia, the taxation work in the territory had been subcontracted to the priests. Now that he has become a duke, the northern saint with a higher status oversees the people's livelihood and taxation in the region.

On the contrary, this gave Eskilde, who was approaching his twilight years in life, a chance to give it a try and continue his dream in this small area.

Because Eskil is an orphan who was adopted after the Saxon War. He is a pure Saxon and was educated at Reims Cathedral. He then spent his career in the northern world. In his view, the "Gospels" provide a way for everyone to live a stable life. As long as everyone converts to God and lives according to the commandments, and people's excessive desires are suppressed, a peaceful life for everyone will come.

This is a career he firmly believes in throughout his life, and even though the entire Frankish world is at war now, he still firmly believes in it.

As for the Frankish Civil War and many other wars, it was those nobles who blasphemed their faith. As long as they return to the right path, peace will still come.

He was convinced, after all, there were cases one after another around him that could support his explanation.

The Port of Hamburg, located deeper in the Elbe River, was opened to the outside world. Those Danes who had converted to God came to Hamburg to settle permanently because there was no place for them in Jutland. After leaving the stone walls of Schleswig, they were no longer Danes, but suddenly became part of the Saxons.

There is also a group of Danes who once maintained their belief in Odin. In order to make their lives more comfortable, they took the initiative to move closer to the Bishop of Hamburg, where their entire family was baptized and converted, and their identities were also changed to Saxons.

All this is completely beyond the control of King Ragnar of Denmark.

In terms of kings, Ragnar is a powerful leader in the general concept of Denmark. He has the ability to lead his brothers to rob a party and make a fortune, but he has no experience in governing the country. He can only rely on continuous external plundering victories to continuously strengthen his position. If he encounters a major setback, the Danish tribes will look for candidates everywhere and elect a new hero to become the king.

In contrast, the Principality of Saxony, which is separated by a wall, has a relatively strict organizational structure. The Duke has a tolerant attitude towards northerners. There is also a large amount of land on both sides of the Elbe River that needs to be reclaimed. The seawater in the Elbe River estuary is saltier and the cost of boiling salt is low. The herring in the nearby sea is Resources are relatively abundant, all of which are very attractive to the Danes.

It was also for these reasons that Liudov was able to quickly recruit five thousand troops in the Hamburg area!

All the soldiers were not only bankrupt Saxon peasants eager to make war fortune, but also a group of Danes who had completed naturalization and converted to God. Although the situation of this Saxon army in terms of weapons and armor was very bad, the soldiers generally had a positive attitude towards the war. Their strong morale made up for the disadvantages of the equipment. There was also a group of brave naturalized Danish soldiers, which allowed Liudov on the expedition to Strengthen your weapons through continuous victory.

However, due to his deliberate actions in the Alsace region to seize food and solve logistical problems, the army inevitably became Viking-like.

Five thousand strong laborers left Hamburg. Although there were many fewer people in the entire region, they were mainly bankrupt Saxon farmers from the south. Their departure greatly alleviated the land conflicts on both sides of the Elbe River, allowing the small Saxon nobility in this area to continue to live a stable life.

It was the end of 843, and people in the Hamburg area were busy spending the winter. Esquier and his priests also completed the collection of tithes. Eskil can only manage the taxation of the areas directly under the jurisdiction of the Liudolf family. Unless the small Saxon nobles in the upper reaches of the Elbe River lack the ability to collect taxes and entrust this power to the Bishop of Hamburg, Eskil will not be able to do so. Can't meddle in their affairs.

Eskil still collected a batch of grain taxes, and a large amount of grain was placed in a warehouse in Hamburg. Part of it was the private property of the Duke, and the expenditure of the other part was entirely determined by Eskil's attitude.

It would be great if he could live peacefully like this, and Eskil had already made plans to spend the whole winter peacefully.

In the increasingly cold weather, he became lazy. He was happy to stay in his office in the church, sorting out documents, and then writing his own works on newly made parchment, recording the 840-year war and battles from his own perspective. Later, he also copied old documents in an attempt to build a small library under his control in the cathedral, and hoped that his successors would preserve these documents for future generations.

But Eskil also knew that the world was not peaceful. King Rus's expeditionary force had been wreaking havoc in Frankia, and even the imperial capital Aachen had been plundered.

Eskil will not comment publicly on this matter. Even his reply to the Archbishop of Reims was vague about the matter, telling Bishop Sinquemar that "I don't know, it may be true." In fact, he knew it very well. This is what King Ross did intentionally.

He also knew that King Rurik of Rus would come to the west again. Frank was like a weak beast bleeding blood, and the Rus and Danes were coming one after another like wolves smelling the smell of blood.

Eskil has always been mentally prepared for Rurik's visit to Hamburg again, but...the Eastern army that arrived in Hamburg this time was huge in size, and the way it arrived was extremely special.

The Ross-Lübeck coalition, mixed with small armies of many barons, and a full cavalry army suddenly appeared southeast of Hamburg.

It was evening, and the coalition forces were camped on the spot in a stretch of wasteland along the river.

Rurik himself organized a group of cronies to ride to Hamburg in the form of a small cavalry group holding the Ross flag high.

At the same time, Mistuy, the ruler of Lübeck, and several of his barons also held cross flags and headed for the completely changed city of Hamburg.

Who is their guide? It was Baron Oudolf of Essen on the Elbe River, who was mostly the brother-in-law of Duke Liudolf. He came to Hamburg to visit relatives, because his sister and the Duchess lived in the stone castle in Hamburg.

The autumn sunset not only gives people a sense of laziness, but the increasingly cold wind brings inexplicable desolation.

People generally start to feel sleepy after sunset, and most people will close the door and go to sleep after dinner. Even Eskil is not exempt from this habit, because there is currently nothing important that requires him to stay at his desk to work.

The tired Esquier was preparing to take communion with all the priests tonight, when suddenly a young priest walked into his office urgently.

"Papa, a huge army has appeared. I definitely saw the St. Andrew's Cross. Maybe... they are Russians."

"Russian? A fateful encounter?!" For a moment, Eskil was completely exhausted. He looked at the little priest's face and lowered his voice before asking, "Are you sure it's Andrei Cross?"

"Absolutely true."

"Then it can only be them. The Russians..." Eskil couldn't help but clenched his fists, and all the good and bad memories came to his mind: "It seems that dinner will have to wait. Now organize everyone to put on the holy robes , take the cross, and let’s go out of the city to meet them.”

Eskil thought that it was just King Rus who really showed up with his troops, and he also took it for granted that they came by boat. He originally thought he would meet Rurik himself at the dock, but he didn't expect that a huge cavalry team had formed a dense military formation in the riverside area in the southeast of the city. More and more fires appeared under the afterglow of the setting sun, and the bonfires were so dense that it was hard to rush. Up to the stars.

In the absence of the Duke himself, the Duchess and Princess Alice can act as the Duke's majesty. Since the visitor must be the King of Ross, the Duchess is more qualified to greet him personally outside the city - after all, Princess Alice is already the King of Ross in name only. daughter-in-law.

The Duchess and Archbishop Esquier all wore sober and heavy burqas. The priests wore black robes and the ladies wore white robes. They were both well-dressed and decent. They then walked out of Hamburg surrounded by armed guards serving as guards of honor, and accompanied by a group of spectators to greet the nobles who came on horseback.

As the king, Rurik wore a golden laurel crown, and Mistui of Lübeck also wore a headband with gold pieces and came to Hamburg as the "little king".

At the same time, Baron Ordolf of Essen, who was accompanying Rurik, noticed his sister and niece from a distance.

"My King!" He had already addressed Rurik as Konig. "Look, there is a little girl who greets us. She is Alice. Your Reglaf's wife Alice."

"Her? Oops, I almost forgot she existed in Hamburg."

Rurik was overjoyed. He knew that it was cruel for him to send his eldest son, the miserable Reglaf, to the Franks. Now that he could no longer give his eldest son fatherly love, he could take the opportunity to give his fiancée Alice some help, such as giving him a Give some jewelry as a gift, and give the Duchess some jewelry as a gift, so as to strengthen the friendship between relatives.

He also noticed the old guy Eskil. After not seeing him for two years, the old guy still habitually wore a burqa. The little priest behind him was still carrying a cross in a high-profile way. His serious status as a saint under the sunset was fully displayed.

For this kind of person, his status is equivalent to the high priest of the Kingdom of Rus. Rurik admires this man who has been traveling in the northern world for more than ten years on a personal level for his bravery in adventure, but he disagrees with the belief he pursues. .

On the whole, Rurik had the most respect for Eskil, so he dismounted and flicked his neck casually, revealing his golden ponytail, just to make his identity clear to him before verbal communication.

Eskil remained calm, his aging and sharp eyes under his burqa were focused on King Ross's face, and he also noticed some other strange nobles from the corners of his eyes.

"Papa, we meet again." The tall Rurik tilted his head slightly and greeted in Latin.

"You...King Rurik of Rus. You are here again as the legend says, and you are welcome to Hamburg as the messenger of peace. You will not break the tranquility here, right?"

"Why do you suddenly ask that?" Rurik concealed his slight embarrassment with a smile and continued: "At least I have an absolutely peaceful attitude towards Hamburg. So, now let me introduce another powerful king. "

Rurik gave praise to Mistuy of Lübeck for his verbal rhetoric, but the latter knew nothing of sacred Latin.

Of course Eskil had met Mistui, and even his father had met him, but it was a pity that it was all in the past. This made him extremely surprised: "Why exactly? Count Aubert Liddit, why did you and your army come to Hamburg? Are you also attracted by the barbaric war in the south? That is an unjust war. You don’t need to participate.”

Eskil was worthy of being well-informed. He saw the Danes speaking Norse and the Oberlitids speaking Slavonic.

"Don't you welcome me? Papa, we have been friends for a long time, and I am also a pious person." As he spoke, Mistuy smiled and crossed himself on his chest. This action seemed a bit hypocritical to Esquier.

"I also brought your true friends." As he spoke, Mistuy pushed Archbishop Adam of Ratzeburg to the front desk.

This priest, who was not good at riding horses and had been tortured, felt bitter when he saw the northern saint, but he maintained the dignity that priests should have in this public occasion. Adam resisted the discomfort in his hips and waist and simply signaled: "I'm here. .”

Esquier was not familiar with Mistuy personally, and he only had limited correspondence with Bishop Ratzeburg. Because he was not under the jurisdiction of his own diocese, he lacked understanding of the entire Oberlidit area, let alone these Slavic nobles who surrendered to the Franks.

Here, his actual understanding of the Kingdom of Rus and even Rurik was limited to many years ago. Considering the development of Rus, they may have become stronger.

Among the many nobles in front of him, the one he knew best was Baron Oudolf of Essen. Even though the real strength of this nobleman was actually very weak, he had to communicate more with him because of the fact that his sister was a duchess. .

"Friends, maybe I should invite you into Hamburg on behalf of the Duke, but I am a priest and there is no need to interfere in secular affairs." The implication of Esquier's words was obvious.

At this moment, the Duchess was so happy that she met her brother Ordolf's eyes. A woman became the owner of the stone castle in her husband's absence. The Duchess, who was almost a generation older than Rurik, was grateful for the help such a northern hero had given Saxony during the war, and was also satisfied that her beloved little daughter could be the price of such a heroic son.

Rurik is not an outsider, even if he has other beliefs, he is still a family.

"Welcome! I welcome you." The Duchess boldly said on behalf of her husband Liudolf: "Welcome to Hamburg again. Great people, please allow me to invite you to the castle on behalf of my husband, if you are willing."

Seeing this scene, Eskil glanced slightly from the corner of his mouth, feeling that he had retreated behind the scenes.