Chapter 1513: The War Decision of the Up-and-Coming Royal Advisor Archbishop Hatega of Liège
【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The Alzette River still flowed quietly, and the shocked militiamen led Eberhard's horse and walked towards the Luxembourg Army Camp in the river valley.
The north wind swept across the river valley, and thousands of soldiers were stationed there. Instead of participating in the battle, they were busy thinking about how to survive the winter.
Archbishop Hatgar had a limited time to settle the refugees from the north, and the villagers built wooden sheds here. They were determined to stay with the army, even though the Ross bandits had retreated, and they could theoretically return to the destroyed village to survive the winter.
Some villages were not destroyed, and the surplus grain and property of each family were not plundered. The panicked refugees were determined not to go back because the Ross gangsters dared to launch sneak attacks in late autumn. How to ensure that the enemies would not dare to attack after winter?
Now we can only stay together with the army. Even if winter becomes extremely difficult, any difficulty can be overcome. If we are separated from the collective... no one wants to be a lone prey.
Fear caused people to gather. After receiving the news, villagers in nearby areas had to drive their livestock and drag carts filled with property toward the river valley.
The mountain valleys in the entire Luxembourg Mountains quickly became empty, and the villages in the trivial plains became areas where little beasts could roam freely.
Together with the external Frankish army, up to 20,000 people gradually gathered in the valley area, and the number was still growing.
Panic is spreading, and most refugees from outside do not dare to cross the Ardennes to enter places such as Reims in winter. The valleys of Luxembourg seem to have become the only refuge.
Outsiders have squeezed the living space of local people. At first, villagers would complain, but with the influx of refugees, the complaints of a small number of people were completely drowned out by the influx of refugees.
At first, Archbishop Hatgar thought that as the Archbishop of Liège, it would be morally risky to enter the Luxembourg mountains and exercise complete control over the Archbishopric of Trier.
The Rus gangsters showed up uninvited and committed massacres, and the enemies were as sudden as devils crawling out of the mud. It did have one advantage - recruiting troops became easier.
After all, Hatega is the archbishop and the royal advisor. He is basically the most noble person that tens of thousands of villagers will see in their lives, and he is also a great priest.
Although the cavalry have not yet returned from pursuing the enemy, in just two days Hatega has gathered 500 new militiamen, and this number continues to rise with the increase in arriving refugees. It was not that Charlemagne's conscription system was restored in this small space, but entirely out of fear. Hatgar used this fear to induce resentment and anger, and under the anger, the number of militias would only increase.
He was still preparing for his original plan, considering that all the Normans were dangerous, and if he wanted to defeat them, he could not win without a large army. "Maybe I need to gather 10,000 infantry. Now I can achieve my goal by recruiting all the local villagers."
Hatega was still waiting. He prayed in the small monastery on the hillside, hoping that after the two counts successfully hunted down the bandits, the delay was entirely due to counting the loot and rescuing the people who might have been kidnapped by the bandits.
However, the result of waiting was a bolt from the blue.
The militiamen brought back Eberhard, Count of Jülichgau. The elderly count had been lying on his horse. When he returned to the camp, the archbishop couldn't believe that this sluggish man was the count.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
"You... just came back like this?" Hatega touched Eberhart's body with his trembling right hand.
The old earl managed to cheer up, but turned his head in a depressed manner and muttered painfully: "Papa, I...lost the battle."
"Ah?" Although it could be seen that Eberhard must have encountered a disaster, Hatega suppressed his excitement and continued to hear the news: "Where is Gilbert? Where is Gilbert, Count of Ramengau?"
"He...may have died in the battle."
"ah!"
This was a bolt from the blue, and Hartega's legs went weak. Fortunately, he was supported by the accompanying junior priests. He was so dizzy that he almost lost consciousness due to the shocking news.
He managed to regain his composure: "Tell me...what exactly happened to you."
"Yes...but I'm in great pain now. It's cold, so cold. I want to dismount, I want to rest..." Eberhard's muttering became smaller and smaller, and suddenly he lay on the horse's back without any movement.
"Are you okay?!" Hart ordered the militiamen to help Eberhart down and put him on the grass for the time being. He leaned down and briefly inspected the Earl's body, put his right hand on his face, and suddenly felt unusual heat. Looking carefully, if you wiped away the dirt and dust on Eberhart's face, his face was really red.
"Curse! Curse from the devil!" Hartgar burst out, because the good-natured Eberhard suffered from a fever that narrowly escaped death. In his mind, this was a curse from the devil. The only variable is the Ross gangsters, they are demons, and failure to defeat them results in being cursed by the evil god of the Normans, which makes sense.
If you want to ask them what happened to them, the mental state of the other soldiers who returned by chance is just as bad. At least they are in reasonable spirits. You can send someone to ask them why.
As for himself, the top priority now is to save Eberhart.
That night, Eberhard, who was already in a state of fever, was stripped of his armor, washed by the archbishop himself, and put on a simple robe.
The junior priests carried the makeshift stretcher and carried the count, wrapped in a wool blanket, to the monastery on the hillside.
Oil lamps were lit in the stone building, and a fire was blazing in the stone fireplace, making the entire monastery warmer.
“Put him under the cross.”
After Hartega's instructions, Earl Eberhard, who was already unconscious, saw in front of him the sacred black cross on the wall.
The count's forehead was covered with a soaked cloth to cool the room.
Soon, Archbishop Hatega of the Sun, accompanied by local monks, came here to pray for Eberhard's life alone.
Until that bowl of specially made holy water was carefully delivered by the local abbot.
"Quick, help him up."
Forget it, Hattaga half-knelt under the cross and personally fed the holy water into the patient's mouth with a silver spoon.
Using the local spring as the base, pour the holy oil, then pour the wine symbolizing the holy blood, and then sprinkle with many dried flower petals. After simmering for a while, it becomes a pot of fragrant "flower soup".
Because flowers and wine have sacred meanings, the rose essential oil in the monastery is sacred, and the soup prepared in this way is considered medicine.
As for its medicinal effects... at least dandelion buds, wild chrysanthemum buds, etc. were collected by priests, so the herbal medicine is indeed effective in treating some fevers and colds.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
But Eberhard's fever came from food poisoning. The burnt mutton he ate during his escape was contaminated, and the poison was now taking hold.
Eberhard passed the night safely, but his low fever persisted, and he began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea from the next day.
Eberhard at least received some treatment. After he had vomiting and diarrhea, he was continued to be fed holy water and wheat porridge with salt, so he did not suffer from malignant dehydration or high fever convulsions.
The returning cavalrymen all fell into high fever. They all fell ill from eating the mutton. Without effective treatment, they were dying of malignant high fever and dehydration one by one.
However, before they died of illness, these cavalrymen had already reported many of their horrific experiences. Regarding the bloody battle that took place in the riverside area west of Trier City, Archbishop Hatgar finally learned many shocking facts.
Originally, he had to consider risks when planning an expedition to Hatgar next spring. He knew that the Russians had amazing fighting power, but he never expected that Frank's most proud heavy cavalry would be defeated in one battle.
Hatega is not a general at all, nor a master tactician. His professional advantage as an archbishop is to organize and unite the people. As for serving as a royal advisor, his honor is greater than his actual practice.
His understanding of war is very superficial - organize as many soldiers as possible, crush the enemy head-on with absolute superiority in strength, and win in a chaotic battle.
If the two Earls Gilbert and Eberhardt were in good spirits, the coalition might still be able to implement some complex tactics. Now...the pressure is entirely on the shoulders of the old man Hart and Eberhardt.
He believed that what those cavalrymen said before they died of illness was true. Gilbert had died in battle!
"He died in battle, died for morality, and was a hero."
Just as Hart was facing the harsh reality, the five knights miraculously returned.
These five people experienced a fantasy drift in the Russian army, and now they returned with guilt and anger, and were immediately invited to the monastery by the overjoyed Hatgar.
The five knights saw their lord count. Eberhard was still suffering from a low fever. Facing his vassal, he was helped to sit up, humming incomprehensibly, and waved his right hand a few times as if to make him stand down. .
Hatgar noticed the guilt on the expressions of these five people. Their good health was obviously not cursed by the Rus.
"Now, you five, come with me. If you want to say anything, tell me anything."
The five of them did have something important to report. They especially held their three leather pockets. After being led to a separate room in the monastery by Hatgar, they took out the three letters and bowed their heads in silence.
Hatega, who wanted to hear the news carefully, saw three pieces of yellowed paper. He was well-informed and exclaimed: "Papyrus? Letters?"
"Papa, this is...a letter from King Rus to you." A knight introduced nervously.
"What did you say?" The archbishop walked over: "Did I hear you right? King of the Russians?"
"Exactly, these three letters are actually one letter. He was afraid that we would lose the letter, so he made several more copies. Moreover, King Rus asked us to send the letter to you."
"Absurd. What qualifications does a barbarian leader have to write to me? Tear it up, I don't want to read the devil's nonsense." Hatega cursed in anger, but in fact he was inadvertently hiding his anxiety. He couldn't imagine the legend at all. King Rurik of Russia appears on the banks of the Moselle.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Knights have a thousand words to say. Even if Hartega has a noble status, the five of them still hope that the Archbishop will take a good look at it.
One person remonstrated like a threat: "Papa, if you refuse to read the letter and make some decisions, then the Russians will besiege Metz. The King of Rus threatened to destroy the city of Metz and kill everyone in the city and countryside. Even cattle, sheep and poultry are not spared.”
"Ah? Is this true? No... they have been doing this kind of thing." At this moment, Hattaga couldn't refuse the letter. Although he didn't know whether he could understand the text of the letter, he grabbed the paper and spread it out skillfully. Surprisingly, I saw neatly written Latin.
The way of writing many letters is very different from my own understanding, but fortunately I can understand it completely.
Hartega sat down and read it word for word through the soft afternoon sunlight. His brows gradually furrowed and his feet were sweating under his boots.
Looking at this letter, it is clear that only senior priests could write such beautiful and neat handwriting. Hatgar estimated that there was an expert writing for King Rus. He thought that the priests on the Nassau-Koblenz side had long been controlled by the Normans. Now the Norman chiefs came across the ocean to survive the priests in the north. We can only cooperate.
Hatega wanted to believe that those priests were ghostwriters because their lives were threatened by barbarians.
Papyrus is not uncommon, but the best material for preserving manuscript gospels is parchment. But papyrus is not cheap. Looking at this harder papyrus, King Rus still has the intention to waste it?
The content of the three letters is the same, summarized from top to bottom into one phrase, which is the letter of challenge.
Are the Russians eager for a decisive battle? Just in the open space on the west bank of the Moselle River in Trier?
Hatgar said to himself: "You still defeated our cavalry with arrows? The disaster of Liege Fortress has happened again. But do you really think that two thousand Norman warriors are on land with at least six thousand of my warriors?" Can we win the decisive battle? I still have six thousand militiamen, no! It's more. I can mobilize ten thousand people immediately. Ten thousand against you two thousand, the advantage is mine."
At this moment, all five knights heard the Archbishop's soliloquy.
One person said solemnly: "I saw Lord Ramongo openly declare against the emperor. I saw the captured servants openly declared against the emperor and betrayed their own lords. These things..."
In fact, these things have been written very clearly in the letter. Hartgar straightened his old face and faced the knight who spoke with a sense of oppression from a superior: "No, you didn't see anything. What you saw were illusions given to you by the devil. Lord Ramongao has been martyred. Hundreds of cavalrymen died with honor."
"But."
"Shut up!" Hartega glanced at everyone present: "Listen! Count Ramengao has died in the battle. He was martyred in the battle with the evil devil, and his great soul has gone to heaven. And you! You! Having been taken prisoner and released again, your souls have been polluted by the devil. You have sinned and confess your sins to God before me.”
Hearing what the archbishop said, the five knights knelt down on one knee, arguing that they were indeed guilty.
"You all get up." Hatega looked at them with disdain. "Since you have come back, I order you to personally take care of your sick Lord Jülichgau. You must stay in this monastery and not go out. Otherwise, you will be Excommunicated."
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Gilbert is actually still alive and declares rebellion. If this kind of thing happened to this guy, Hajia wouldn't find it incredible.
The emperor's daughter was kidnapped and imprisoned. When the emperor asked for an explanation, the princess had even given birth to the child. Gilbert is such a nobleman. The essence of this expedition under the banner of King Qin is for practical interests rather than morality. Therefore, cooperating with the enemy when his life is threatened is also in line with his style.
The most disgusting thing happened! Hatgar believed this was true, so he ordered the five knights to shut up, and then threatened them all with statues of excommunication and put them all under house arrest in the monastery.
Because, once Gilbert's rebellion is announced, the morale of the two thousand soldiers of Ramon's high army will be in chaos.
Part of it is a conscripted militia, and part of it is a grudge army with a blood feud with the Ross gangsters. The militiamen learned that the count had rebelled, and they should follow him to rebel, so that Ramon's army would disintegrate!
In addition, it was announced that Count Ramengau was actually still alive. His rebellion meant that the largest nobleman west of Aachen could make peace with the Count of Flanders. Then Count Jürichgaard will also consider his dangerous situation, and might declare neutrality and withdraw from the battle. Then the expedition will end in an anticlimactic manner and the army will disperse.
The Russians threatened to besiege Metz and kill everyone. Their evil deeds were countless. If no one saved Metz, the whole city would be over!
Hatgar did not believe that other imperial nobles still in the west would rush to the aid of Metz in the harsh winter, but the Ross people were monsters who emerged from the ice caves in the far north. They were not afraid of ice and snow and dared to fight in winter.
Secrets must be strictly guarded! The morale of the military must be stable.
Fortunately, only a few people know all the news. The majority of the militiamen probably only know that something happened to the cavalry. If the archbishop himself does not announce what happened, they can only talk about it in private. With the imagination of the militiamen, they cannot think of such things as The cavalry was completely defeated.
So the next day, Hatega held a surprise mass parade in the military camp. Halloween was not far away, so it would be a bit awkward to hold the mass in advance.
The priests walked around the camp, and Archbishop Hatgar especially wore a bishop's hat. The parade attracted tens of thousands of people to watch. Regarding the bad things that had been circulating these days, the soldiers and civilians wanted to know what happened, and they could only learn about the situation from the archbishop.
This is Hatega's purpose. After seeing that he has attracted enough people, he announces some big events in front of thousands of people.
The so-called brave Count Gilbert of Ramengau pursued the fleeing enemies and rushed towards Coblenz like a strong wind, inflicting heavy losses on the Norman bandits entrenched there.
He also claimed that Count Jülichgau accidentally fell ill from the cold, and the cavalry was entrusted to Count Lamongau to help him win a great victory, while he withdrew to recuperate. The Archbishop made a special statement: "The Earl needs to rest, and the command of Jülich's army has been entrusted to me."
The archbishop declared that he had been granted the authority to command all infantry by the nobles, and then announced in the name of Emperor Lothair: "All men over the age of twelve, you need to take up arms and fight for morality! Those who do not want to be militiamen will be Excommunicated."
Hatgar continued to announce: "The Normans suffered a great defeat and some bandits were trapped in Trier. Now it is time to rescue the city. I will lead you to destroy the bandits who control Trier. You are fighting for the right way and destroying those devils." , all people’s original sins will be forgiven.”
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The news spread from one to another, and soon the Archbishop of Liège's message was heard throughout the Luxembourg Valley.
What Khatga said was completely confusing right and wrong, but that was not important. What was important was that the morale of the militiamen was boiling under his control.
The cavalry was defeated? What failed? Who saw it? The archbishop clearly said that the cavalry was victorious. Who dares to question the archbishop who is not afraid of death?
The doubters in the crowd shut up, and the bits of truth that were spread were drowned in the boiling crowd.
Fight for justice! Fight against the Norman gangsters! Save Trier! Revenge for the murdered people!
They gathered in large numbers shouting these chants, because they felt that it was a battle that must be won. The attitude of the previously timid people changed. A large number of boys and teenagers even picked up wooden sticks as weapons, and the entire Luxembourg Valley became a huge military gathering place. .
Hatega was very satisfied with the current situation. He decided to send out troops on Halloween at the end of October in the Julian calendar. He led the priests to conduct a mass parade first, and then led the parade directly to the direction of Trier.
He continued the description in King Rus' letter and even decided on a new march route.
He chose Halloween, but he was actually waiting for someone - Count Jülichgau, who knew how to command operations, should have recovered by then.
"In short, I have an advantage of 10,000 vs. 2,000!"
Hatgar also decided to take a gamble. Since King Rurik of Rus had vowed that he would wait for the decisive battle in Trier, wouldn't all the problems be solved if he killed him in one battle?
In order to have a greater chance of victory, Hattega decided to take a big gamble by killing all the men in Luxembourg, taking his own life as a bet.