Chapter 1528: The Trier Camp Under Rurik and the Subsequent Impact of the Battle on Metz

【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

"Is your foot feeling better?" Rurik asked Fisk, who was busy warming himself up.

"Much more comfortable. I almost felt like my feet had disappeared." Fisk covered up his timidity with a smile.

"You are like this, the other soldiers..."

Rurik glanced at the camp again. The soldiers were hiding in wooden sheds and roasting themselves around the campfire.

"How could such a thing happen? My soldiers are clearly not afraid of the severe cold, but as a result they suffer a lot of frostbite here." Rurik said to himself. He had already guessed the reason and muttered: "The snow here is different from that in our hometown." It’s different.”

"That's exactly what I want to say." Fisk became interested. "If my leather boots were waterproof enough, I wouldn't be so unlucky. Fortunately, the food has been shipped back."

"Yes." Rurik nodded, "But more warriors need training. Anyway, the medicines are all at the Trier camp. After you have warmed up, we will rest in the rear until this damn snow ends."

The shape of snow is ever-changing, and the temperature, humidity, wind direction, etc. have a huge impact. The Russian army encountered wet snow for the first time, and the excessive means of keeping out the cold were greatly reduced here.

Because even if it snows, the humidity here is still high. After the coalition forces returned, the snowfall lasted for two more days before ending.

According to the common understanding of northerners, after snowfall for many days in a row, the world begins to freeze, and people start their winter life on the ice.

However, what surprised them was that the sun appeared on the first day after the snow stopped. For a time, the sky was clear and the world was extremely dazzling. The soldiers who were fully prepared for this put on their wooden-framed sunglasses from their backpacks.

It was no surprise that the sun appeared, but the snow clearly showed signs of melting, and by the afternoon the wooden shed actually started dripping.

The world has become wet, and the pain of not being able to make a fire due to damp branches on the way back aroused the painful memories of the soldiers. "If I had warmed up to the fire earlier, my hands and feet would not be red or swollen." Many soldiers recovering from injuries thought this way.

The tired warriors had to seize the time to sort out the dry firewood, hoping that the melting snow would not make the ground muddy.

In the north, especially in Northeast Europe, most of the new generation of Ross Army soldiers were born in the area centered on Lake Ilmen. They have no experience of living in the Far North Fjords, but they are very aware of climate changes in Northeast Europe. . A large-scale snowfall brings a severe winter. When spring returns, the ice covering the world quickly melts, and the whole world turns into a huge mud again.

What was the Frankish hinterland like? It seems that the climate changes in my hometown are condensed into just a few days.

The environment in Luxembourg and Trier is exactly like this. The winter here is much warmer than in the north. On snowy days, the lowest temperature can fall below minus 10 degrees. As long as the sunshine returns, the lowest temperature in the coldest month of January can also be above zero.

After a night, early in the morning the soldiers could see the ice skates hanging down from the edge of the wooden shed. As long as the sunlight returned, they would flow like faucets. Although the whole world is white when you look at it, you can feel the excessive moisture when you step on the earth.

A group of soldiers simply took off their thick coats. They found that they could adapt to the winter noon here as long as they wore autumn clothes.

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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

The snow is melting at an unimaginable rate, and the whole world is quickly becoming muddy. There is no point in continuing to stay at the Sauer Estuary Camp.

At the temporary dock, the half-stranded longships were still parked in a row. A large number of soldiers had gathered on the riverside and arrived because the king had ordered the withdrawal. In other words, Rurik decided to temporarily abandon the river mouth camp.

Group after group of warriors began to board the boat, and as long as the people had enough seats, they floated down the river to Trier. After all, no matter how humid the wilderness is, the city of Trier has stone roads and gravel roads. Their water seepage ability is extremely strong, so that when the snow melts on a large scale, there is still a large area of ​​dry land for people to stay and rest.

Rurik stood on a high place to observe the grand gathering of troops withdrawing, with the warm wind blowing on his face. The world was still white at this time, and it felt to him like a peach blossom snow had fallen at the end of February.

"Compared to our hometown, the snowfall here melts faster! It's too fast." He sighed softly to Fisk, who was standing next to him.

"It's really strange. When I came back, I thought of the northern hunting operations when I was a child, the conquest of Finland, and our expedition to Smolensk last year. I thought that a powerful army would suffer a big blow in a harsh environment, but who knew it would actually happen? That's it..." Fisk thought a lot, and the more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.

Rurik noticed the old man's boots from the corner of his eye: "Are your feet healed?"

"Recovered."

"How's the situation with the cavalry?"

"Those soldiers on hand, except for the brothers who are severely frostbitten and need to continue to recover, everyone else is not in the way. As for the horses, they are intact."

Rurik nodded pertinently. Based on the intelligence he learned, Ragnar and his Danish army lost many lives to the cold wave that had just ended during the post-war grain plundering operation. As for how much food the Danes had robbed, most of their longships were full and it looked like they had a good harvest. They also captured many slaves. A group of pirates felt very regretful because they did not find enough gold and silver.

Judging from all the seizures by the coalition forces, Rurik's assessment of the local economic situation was completely confirmed - he was so poor that all he had left was food, and the only surplus property he could get rid of was food.

The hedgerows and parapets that had played such a significant role in the battle were demolished, their role as fortifications ended and replaced by their fuel value. They were burned cleanly. If the army razed the wooden sheds again, the entire camp would be left with the mound foundation of a circular low wall and a series of tombs not far away.

The coalition forces returned to Trier one after another, and the entire army took a longer rest.

Rurik immediately called for a small meeting with all the flag captains present and ordered them to pass on the "indefinite leave" order.

The so-called safe and sound soldiers stay in the barracks in the city. If they are bored, they can collect stones everywhere and pile them into new walls to enhance the cold protection of the barracks. Or simply for leisure, there are no restrictions on playing various games.

Poker, chess, pottery urn fighting, pot throwing, bidding, archery competitions, etc. Men want to engage in some wild and exciting competitive activities, and they have full imagination.

With the advent of paper and printing, playing cards have long been used in the military. Rurik is regarded as the inventor of the game. Soldiers like the gameplay mode he explained, and the soldiers also developed their own gameplay.

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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

Even group fights.

At first, the two flag teams each selected the ten strongest people to participate in the game of grabbing pottery urns. However, the game went too far, and the tempers of the two unruly groups got the better of them. When someone says, "Let's resolve the conflict the way we do in our hometown," things become extreme and subtle.

They are all a new generation of Rus' people, and their mother tribes are almost all Ilmen Slavs. As immigrants, the entire Rus tribe has chosen to intermarry on a large scale with local women, so their descendants will naturally inherit the traditions of the two ethnic groups.

Using large-scale group fighting as a form of competition was something that the Ross tribe and other Swedish tribes in the past could not understand.

The same warriors who participated in the game of grabbing pottery urns went into battle shirtless, tied white or blue cloth bands on their foreheads and arms to distinguish each other, and then rushed together to fight. It is more like a large-scale boxing involving dozens of people. It is considered shameful if someone attacks the opponent's vitals. If you knock someone down and the opponent doesn't get up, you will be judged to be out of the fight and no more punches can be thrown. If you beat the opponent into chaos and leave the other team, you will be judged to have withdrawn from the battle.

Although some people on both sides were beaten with bruises in the end, no one dared to say that they were afraid of pain. This kind of game is much more exciting than fighting for a pottery urn! The former also needs a pottery urn as a medium to force the two groups of people to collide with each other, while the latter is just for punching to vent their infinite energy.

Barbaric games are a way to train soldiers. Rurik admires this kind of spontaneous competition. Since there has never been any big trouble, he acquiesces to these brats to go crazy in the camp during the days without war. Rolled up.

In addition to increasingly violent games, there are also warm and joyful scenes in the military. The little black Kurland cats acquired during the expedition are basically still alive today. They are pets of the army. The soldiers can relax physically and mentally while petting the cats.

And now cats suddenly come in handy, because the Ross Army in Trier has to face a rat problem. With these cats, you won’t be afraid of mice chewing your belongings.

Now the Danes of Ragnar are starting to get into these games as well.

Ragnar himself was bored to death. He noticed that his son Ivar, who had a weak leg, was throwing crossbows at others with his increasingly powerful arms. He himself joined the team in the wrestling match, followed by someone who was obviously much younger than him. The Russian warriors competed.

The key is that the majestic King of Denmark was actually beaten back and forth by the young Ross boy.

For a moment, he forgot that he was a king, as if he was more than ten years younger and returned to the death competition when he was fifteen years old. There is no death in the new "Duel", but a wrestling battle between two men. Ragnar's opponents are a group of fifteen-year-old Ross brats. With his personal bravery, he can knock many people into screaming. As for whether it counts as a big win or not, No one cares about bullying.

Trier, once a seat of solemnity, is now a racecourse for the Normans.

The thick and solid bishop's chapel still only has broken walls. The ransacked royal palace has now been cleaned up, and the interior has been transformed into a Norman barracks.

The top building of the Nicholas Gate in the north, which was devoured by fire many times, was the palace of the supreme ruler of the Normans.

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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

The streets and alleys in the city were cleaned up, and the dilapidated city square was once overgrown with weeds. After horses were allowed to nibble away the dead grass, it returned to its characteristic large-area stone square. The garrisoned troops playing various barbaric games were just a break during the rest period. They spent most of their time strengthening their barracks, and the various building materials they needed were obtained from the ruins. As a result, the whole of Trier was slowly becoming tidy. .

The outline of the old Roman Empire city was restored, and even the ruined royal baths were accidentally dug out of the ruins again as soldiers moved stones to clean up the sand. Soon hot water covered the excavation site, and in an instant the soldiers were cheap Plot problems are solved.

"It must be a blessing from the gods, so that we can enjoy the victory." Some people expressed their heroic words, threw away their tools, took off their sweaty coats and jumped directly into the hot water.

The Russian warriors who first dug out the stones became the first people to jump into the "hot spring pool" to feel comfortable, even though the water was still very turbid at this time.

The news spread that someone had dug up the hot springs, and thousands of warriors flocked to the ruins of the Expert Baths.

Since the Gothic army first sacked Trier four hundred years ago, the baths and other imperial buildings have been destroyed. Many buildings were later restored due to the Franks' efforts. It was too difficult to restore the Romans' complicated water supply project. .

Even Aachen, the "Bath of the Water God", had never damaged its water supply system, so it was selected by Charlemagne as a health resort and the imperial capital in his later years.

Even the captured Archbishop of Liege could not imagine that the Russians could actually dig out the legendary hot springs. Out of his persistence in his faith, he could not accept a group of men rushing into the hot springs like dumplings. He thought it was a large piece of white flowers that was extremely indecent, but in fact all the Ross soldiers were wearing underwear, and in his heart he could not accept the loss of this fig leaf.

Archbishop Hatgar saw with his own eyes the "tragedy" after Trier was occupied by the Normans. In the past, the archbishop only learned a lot about Rus and Denmark from Eskil through letters. Now I can see how the Normans live, because Trier is already a "northern city".

There are blond Normans everywhere, and conversations in Norse are heard everywhere. The amazing thing is that if you listen carefully, you can also hear many obvious Latin words.

The Normans also bizarrely kept a group of black cats. There has always been a saying among Frankish folk: when a black cat runs in front of you, you will have bad luck for the whole day.

Completely different from the extremely disciplined and self-disciplined life of the priests, all the Normans clearly lived a bohemian life and also kept evil things like black cats, which further confirmed that the Normans had some connection with witches and devils. With Hatega's knowledge, he could only think of this.

Of course, he was only taken out for a limited time to see the scene of the once prosperous Trier becoming a Russian city. When he was detained again, the work of building the "Stone Ship Altar" using local stones was also in progress. A group of selected cedar trees in the distance are being cut down one after another. All this comes from Rurik's long-term considerations - the Ross coalition will most likely celebrate Hanukkah here.

When Hartga was governing his own diocese, he ordered priests at all levels to refrain from making noise and to remain solemn during various ceremonies in accordance with the regulations. I think Archbishop Hutto of Trier used the same method when governing the local area.

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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

However, horses could come in and out of the city, and the streets were full of blond Normans running around.

Even Gilbert! The dignified Count Ramongo was in cahoots with the Normans. For the sake of his own wealth, a traitor would rather let the captives be slaves for carrying stones for the Normans. His soul will go to hell.

If Gilbert is willing to repent, Hartega is willing to sit in the hut where he is under house arrest and listen carefully. He is the Archbishop of Liège. As long as he sits wherever he is, it will be regarded as the bishop sitting in the church. He will accept the confession. As for admitting Gilbert's betrayal It is absolutely impossible for the emperor to be legitimate.

Hatega simply cannot give up his identity as a royal advisor. He has lived a long time, and it is impossible for him to deny his life and end up with no guarantee.

He is such a tough person, so Count Eberhard of Jülichgau might as well give in. If it was because of the commandment not to commit suicide, the old count might have drawn his sword and killed himself when it was clear that he was defeated in the Battle of the Sauer Estuary.

He cannot commit suicide, and the Russians clearly do not want to kill him. Eberhard was eating and drinking while under house arrest in Trier, hoping that King Rus would remember him and order his execution. He only feared one thing - being sent to the hands of Duke Ludwig of Bavaria.

Eberhard's attitude was stubborn. If he had to swear allegiance to the great nobleman from the eastern frontier of the empire who rose up against the emperor, he would rather curse and force him to issue a death warrant, so that he could give an account for the nobles who died in the battle. And to express his will to Emperor Lothair by dying.

Some nobles cling to their past glory, while idlers like Gilbert have found their place in the new order.

Some of the captives who were carrying the stone were separated from their families, and this separation was almost a permanent farewell.

Because many of the prisoners were natives of Luxembourg, they were recruited and each brought farm tools to serve as militiamen. They finally learned that the Russians had looted the Luxembourg Valley again, and whether the family members who stayed there were alive or dead, most of them were really dead.

The fact is that a large number of people fled into the mountains and forests for refuge and were soon hit by ice and snow. Many people died due to lack of shelter and food from the cold.

Naturally, some lucky people went all the way south, through the mountains in the snow and into the edges of places such as Thionville and Metz, and found new settlements before being rescued. The villagers who rescued a small number of refugees were confused. The shocking news quickly reached the ears of the local priests. After repeated reports, the shocking news finally reached the ears of the defenders of Metz.

Why say "again"?

As the refugees keenly revealed such a frightening situation - I saw the attackers on horseback and in rowing boats carrying blue flags that looked like the Cross of Saint Andre.

In the summer of this year, the Normans under the same banner attacked the riverside area of ​​Metz. They were photographed on the main wall of the city. They lingered under the city and cursed for a while before evacuating on their own.

Although it is hard to believe, the barbarians are here again! And it’s an extremely weird winter action! What's even more frightening is that the barbarians actually won.

It dealt a powerful blow to the soldiers and civilians who were struggling to hold on to Metz, and they also counted on the city being reinforced by a large number of nobles sent by the Eastern Empire after the spring. Everyone had to consider such a thing. The so-called Normans were trying to solve Luxembourg. Later, whether he planned to besiege Metz for a second time.

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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】

The ripples after the Russian coalition's victory over the Frankish garrison in Luxembourg are developing to an extent that Rurik did not expect.

He thought that the city of Metz was unaware of the sudden changes in the north. In fact, during the large-scale indefinite rest period of the Russian army, the situation in Metz became increasingly tense. Because the Archbishop of Trier was taking refuge in the city of Metz indefinitely, he had to show a tougher attitude than everyone else. However, due to the defeat and killing of the Earl of Metz and his son, and the serious losses of the army, the entire city was seriously weakened.

It is completely impossible to take the initiative. The nobles staying in Metz are all of extremely low level. They are just small lords who have taken refuge one after another. They are short-sighted and conservative in thinking. They must ensure that the youngest son of the old earl is healthy, because this boy is now an earl, but he just did not accept the courtesy from Emperor Lothair.

The real leader of Metz became Archbishop Drogo. His status qualified him to be promoted to the Roman Pontiff. He was a supporter of Louis the Pious, and this loyalty was directly extended to Emperor Lothair. Bishop Drogo is another royal advisor. He is also part of the Imperial nobility and a very key one.

But he was a priest, and he had the ability to manage a country's faith, people's livelihood, and finance. He knew nothing about war, so he was trapped in Metz and was anxious. As a result, the Normans withdrew after a lot of trouble. He ignored the towering stone wall. It worked great as a barrier, and I thought it was really prayer that worked.

Now that sufficient information points to the return of the Normans, will the Archangel continue to protect the city of Metz?

Bishop Drogo guessed the big picture correctly. How many troops the Normans had, where they were stationed now, and when and how they planned to launch an attack were all intriguing. Like an invisible sword high on the cliff head, it is unknown when it will fall.

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