Chapter 1546 Conrad, Count of Auxerre and the Burgundians in Action

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A stone wall stands over the Moselle River. A large number of stone piers carry the wooden beams above, and finally a layer of stone slabs is laid. This is called a stone bridge.

If you look carefully, you can also feel the precipitation of history from those stone piers, as well as the love of arches from the Roman Empire.

More than four hundred years ago, the Ostrogoths fled to Metz to avoid the attack of the Huns. While looting the city, they also managed to destroy the stone bridge blocking the road.

The Ostrogoths used big hammers to demolish all the stone arch structures, and also smashed individual stone piers to facilitate navigation. They continued to use ships to transport people and seized materials, and continued their escape southward by waterway.

When the Frankish Kingdom rose, Adalbert's family settled in Metz and became count, and the restoration of the city began in an all-round way.

Not only were the stone walls covered with moss and shrubs restored, but so were the bridges.

The technology of volcanic rock cement relies heavily on natural materials from the Italian region. Even though the Franks had already been a vassal town for Western Rome for a hundred years, they had only learned a little bit about the technology in the Roman era. Without the persuasion of a series of archbishops at that time, the Franks would have People are still very angry.

They couldn't use cement and didn't know how to make arches, so they repaired the bridge using the simplest means and based on the principle of what could be used.

Even now, the Franks have learned how to make arches, but the stone arch bridge in Metz has still not been restored.

The rise of the city of Metz comes from the road construction project 800 years ago. It is the crossroads of the region. Go west to Reims, south to Lyon, north to Trier, east to reach the Saarbrücken Bridge, and then run to Kaiserslautern and Mainz.

For the Roman avenues, predecessors built an extremely hard rammed earth foundation, then covered it with sand and gravel to facilitate water seepage and diversion, and finally laid stone slabs. If the Romans could obtain a large amount of asphalt, they would have to mix it with gravel to make asphalt roads.

Time has passed, and since the collapse of Rome, no one has maintained the road. The stone slabs have weathered into gravel, and then become soil after being washed away by rain.

Only the rammed earth foundation remained barren, and it became a highway for the later expansion of the Frankish army.

For example, the Metz-Trier Avenue and the Metz-Mainz Avenue, where the Frank cavalry could rush in a straight line.

Similarly, the Ostrogoths who immigrated in that year also rushed towards Lyon from north to south along this road. After the Ostrogoths swept away the city, the Burgundians followed one after another, and Lyon became the home of the Burgundians from the west bank of the Oder River. Five hundred years have passed! The Burgundians have long forgotten their past and consider Lyon, Dijon, Provence and other places their home.

The Burgundians were outsiders, and there were a large number of Gallo-Romans in the area under their control. Only 50,000 Burgundian tribal warriors immigrated to the north with their families, expelled the Ostrogoths and occupied these places, and then inevitably intermarried with the locals.

The Burgundians have already started the Romanization of Gaul, and now they own the small kingdom of Burgundy.

Today's Burgundy is positioned as a "sub-kingdom", and the so-called king is the vassal king under the Frankish system.

But the king of the kingdom, his first identity is the Count of Auxerre.

The old Count Conrad Hermenold came from Burgundy, he was Conrad I. His first wife was Ada, the daughter of Hugo III, the old count of Tours. Today, Conrad is an old man in his sixties. When he married Ada, the woman was young and beautiful, and he was already nearly fifty years old at that time.

The old man loved his youngest son, who would inherit the name Conrad, so he gave the youngest son the rather domineering and energetic nickname of "Little Wolf (Welfen)".

But Ada and Conrad chose to divorce, and the matter was approved by the church and was legal. Ada went to the north to marry Robert, the then Earl of Rheingau, and gave birth to a son.

Now Robert has been funded by Rurik, and a huge sum of money was escorted by Blue Fox. Even the ship that arrived in Tours by sea was provided by Ross. Robert established a foothold in Tours, his father-in-law's family, and was accompanied by Bruno, the eldest son of the Principality of Saxony, Rurik's actual eldest son, Reglaf, the legal king of Mercia, and a small but powerful army. The well-equipped Russian army (clad in Maisi

The identity of the Ya Kingdom Guards).

The Count of Auxerre controls the small kingdom of Burgundy. He entrusted his power in Burgundy to his beloved youngest son Wilfin Conrad II. It is obvious that once the old man dies, the young wolf will He will soon inherit all the power of Auxerre and Burgundy and become a super powerful local noble.

Then, it is still unknown that the small kingdom of Burgundy under the Frankish rule suddenly became an independent feudal kingdom, and then expanded its territory to continue the glory of its ancestors. A young man has an unexplainable brilliant future. but now! The boy must also lead the army to participate in this imperial civil war.

Because the power of Conrad and his son comes from the direct lineage of the Carolingian royal family, as long as Lothair is still the Roman emperor, both father and son must be loyal to him.

Even if the war has developed into a free-for-all between relatives.

Putting all the family ties aside, they are all fighting for the interests of themselves and their own small group.

The attitude of Conrad and his son toward the civil war was very complex. Auxerre and Burgundy were also connected. The south of this area was the small kingdom of Provence, the west was the small kingdom of Aquitaine, and the east was Northern Italy and the Alps. . The complex geographical environment forced Conrad to be as diplomatic as possible. When the civil war broke out, the situation was turbulent. Conrad, who had always remained calm, finally became manic in his aging heart.

Charlemagne's second grandson Pepin died unexpectedly, and his son Pepin II should inherit everything from his father. But the local nobles of Aquitaine expelled him, and Lothair had no choice but to place him in Provence in order to arrange a good land for his nephew.

For Pepin II, only the emperor's uncle would stand up for himself. Now, although the situation has become increasingly corrupt, the opportunity to retake Aquitaine has appeared - those nobles put the exiled "Bald" Charles on the throne and openly waged war on the emperor. After defeating him, they can regain what they lost. everything.

Now Emperor Lothair has been stuck in Strasbourg for more than a year. An unprecedented variable has appeared, causing everything to change.

The Normans are coming. The scale of their arrival was unprecedented. They were no longer just rowing pirates, but... just like the legendary Huns army. The Huns came on horseback and swept everything, the Normans came in rows, especially the Rus, the craziest of all the Normans.

In ten years, the little-known northern world was unified. After that, the Ross forces began to move south with all kinds of northerners, replacing the so-called "Nassau-Coblenz County" of the Rheingau County. Its essence was the Ross among the Normans.

Nassau and the Netherlands at the mouth of the Rhine are also of the same family. The county of Flanders is not Frank to begin with. This group of mixed races of Gauls and Brabant surrendered to the iron heel of the Franks, and now they follow the Normans. call each other brothers……

The situation of corruption has been informed by the Count of Auxerre, and the Archbishop of Reims, Sinquemar, was gnashing his teeth in anger at the current situation. Because, if Eskil, who was assigned to work in the north, could find an opportunity to assassinate Rurik, the big leader of the Russians, the biggest crisis currently pressing on Frank would be gone.

The distance between Metz and Dijon is two hundred kilometers! The seemingly far distance was due to the almost straight and flat Roman roads. The messengers on horseback took advantage of the limited daylight to rush forward and reach their destination in three days at the fastest.

The army organized by the Count of Auxerre and his youngest son is in Dijon. It has always been a military stronghold. This is also the northern border agreed between the Burgundians and the Franks. Dijon is a fortress, so beware of it. One enemy is actually the Frankish Count Adalbert family of Metz.

There are as many as 5,000 cavalry mixed with infantry. Almost all of them are wearing chainmail. Their weapons and equipment are at the top level in the Frankish world. They are on par with the emperor's regular army in the past. The disadvantage seems to be just the small number of people.

It is no longer the era when all the Burgundians were in arms, and it is impossible to reproduce the astonishing scene of 50,000 Burgundians fighting against the Ostrogoths and expelling them from the European continent to North Africa.

A group of knights were mobilized from Auxerre and Burgundy, and the knights took their own retinue, and finally pieced together this seemingly chaotic cavalry of more than 2,000 cavalry.

The infantry mobilized by the father and son numbered three thousand. Each of them had a spear and a spear.

They wear a small shield and usually hang a broad-bladed sword at their waist. Ordinary infantrymen wear ordinary linen shirts and sheepskin jackets to keep out the cold during this winter. Soldiers who have the conditions will wear thicker leather jackets. Just such a leather jacket can provide a lot of protection to the warriors in melee, and they then put on chain armor.

The chain mail can resist slashes and weaker thrusts, and the leather jacket under the armor also acts as a cushion, further weakening the attack of enemy weapons.

The main weapon of this infantry, which is mainly composed of Burgundians, is still spears. On the other hand, the number of their archers is very worrying.

Their cavalry was also built in accordance with Charlemagne's order. The men had chainmail armor, the horses had riding clothes, and the horses' chests and necks also had cowhide armor to strengthen their defense during impact operations. However, their tactics were still the same as the Franks, using longer spears and half-turn tactics to attack the enemy's formation.

At one time, such a Burgundian army was not comparable to Charlemagne's regular army.

Nowadays, the inheritance left by the Great Emperor to his descendants is being consumed crazily, and tens of thousands of elite veterans have been worn out in these years of constant fighting. The living veterans were aging one after another, and the new elites did not continue to train. The top nobles in the civil war became poorer and poorer as they fought. In contrast, the Burgundians suddenly became elites.

Because there are not only more than 5,000 Auxerre-Burgundian troops stationed in Dijon, but also at least 3,000 Provence troops from the self-proclaimed organization of Pepin II in the south.

As Auxerre's northern neighbor and a member of the Imperial nobility, the Count of Troyes claimed that he would send an army to reinforce the emperor. But Orleans and Paris near Troyes are already under attack by the Count of Tours' army loyal to Charles "The Bald". Those guys who are clearly Normans but flying cross flags have been looting outside the city of Orleans. It makes people panic.

Auxerre had no time to take care of the County of Troyes, and Conrad and his son were very concerned about their own power.

However... based on the current terrifying intelligence, a huge Norman army has arrived at Metz.

If all this information is true... the messenger would not risk being beheaded for spreading the news. The words on the parchment must have been written by the Archbishop, and there was no room for Earl Conrad to question this matter.

Today's Dijon City is a huge military camp, with 5,000 soldiers and a corresponding 5,000 civilians. The number of personnel can also be increased according to actual needs. The civilians are just escorting supplies. Once they encounter the enemy, they will definitely run away. Unless the civilians are in desperate situations, they will take up arms and fight back spontaneously. Under normal circumstances, it is not believed that civilian husbands can also serve as militiamen, Conrad thought.

Because according to the original plan, it would be an expedition!

Conrad and his son planned to wait for friendly forces from Troyes and Provence in the spring, and then form a combat force of at least 10,000 people, with 10,000 support civilians, a mighty 20,000 people and a large number of horses and baggage, along the A ready-made Roman road rushed to the rescue of Emperor Lothair who was trapped in Strasbourg.

Although he had heard that the city of Metz had been attacked by the Normans as early as the summer, Conrad knew better that Count Metz had taken the lead with his amazing army, and later learned that the old count had died in the battle, and Metz no longer had enough troops to defend it. .

Everything is the Earl of Metz's own business. They are not Burgundians. It is Metz who built the Dijon Fortress to guard against.

As the ruler of all the Burgundians, it depends on his own wishes to help him solve the Norman problems. Metz has never given Burgundy any benefits, and his family does not owe them anything.

Besides, the summer incident was like a farce. The Normans just strolled around outside the city, killed some boring farmers, took away some chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, and then left.

The nobles of Metz can still solve the problem on their own, and Auxerre and Burgundy can stay on guard against the brutal surprise attack of the Normans and immediately send troops to help him... If he really helps Metz, he will have organized his elite cavalry in the summer and attack immediately. .

Conrad I took no action in the summer. According to the old plan, he stationed himself in Dijon and continued to increase his troops. Until the snow melted in the spring and the ground was hardened by the spring breeze, he led the revised army expedition throughout the winter.

The plan seemed to have finally changed due to the sudden bad news.

The messenger will come from Archbishop Drogo's book

The letter was given to Conrad I's steward, who then presented it to his master.

Parchment is so precious that only high priests can use it as they wish.

The content of Conrad's reading letter is full of pessimistic descriptions of the current situation.

"Coblenz has been lost, Trier has been lost, and Metz is about to be lost? Next, when the Normans move south along the road, aren't they going to attack me?!"

Suddenly, Conrad was so angry that he slammed the table. The guards in the tent were not worried about the Earl's anger.

His younger son Wilfin has just reached puberty. Since his sisters either married or went to a monastery, and his brother died young due to various reasons, Wilfin is the only successor to his father's power. My father is already too old, and I am afraid that he will inherit Auxerre and Burgundy in a few years.

In the excitement of youth, the young man learned of the barbaric behavior of the Normans in recent years and completely dismissed it. He approached his father: "I have also heard of the Normans, but they are just some bandits who live on the coast. Some Normans will enter the interior from the river to do damage. All they can do is sneak around. As we can find, Kill as many as you can.”

Conrad raised his head suddenly, stood up and rubbed his son's head vigorously, making the straight brown-black hair a mess.

"You brat, you don't know the situation. Do you think you can easily defeat an enemy that scares Archbishop Metz?"

The boy covered his head and tried to smooth his hair: "Is there anyone stronger than us? Father, you have five thousand warriors, each of them wearing heavy armor."

"But these Normans must be Rus. They conquered many cities in succession, and now they are in Metz."

The boy still didn't think this was a difficult task: "They are idiots who are here to die. We can go north immediately and wipe out all the enemies before Christmas. Besides, we heard that Count Adalbert of Metz is dead, so we went to support him. ,So……"

The boy made some noise and approached his father with a sinister smile like a conspirator.

Seeing this, Conrad dismissed all the guards and whispered: "You kid, what conspiracy ideas do you have?"

The boy continued to smile and put his mouth to his father's ear: "Father, there should be no one in the Adalbert family, and they were attacked by the Normans again. Let's just let the Normans kill that family and we will replace it. If that family If the family does not want to be killed by the Normans, we will help them die. Anyway, we can take this opportunity to annex Metz."

"You?! Arrogant." Conrad was not so frightened that he trembled all over, but this boy's opinions had his own style, and his words were harsh but also had a certain appreciation. .

"I think this is a good decision."

"No! No, no, no..." Conrad stood up and paced around the desk, muttering incessantly: "Although I really want to annex Metz, it is too despicable to annex Metz in this way. Besides, I care more about Provence than Metz."

"But..." The boy still wanted to fight for it.

"That's enough. My son." Two old hands were placed on the boy's shoulders. Conrad looked at his only heir eagerly: "You can try anything for you to inherit my position. Burgundy First, we need a young and enterprising king, and you will satisfy everyone. But on this issue, my father is determined to act calmly."

If Burgundy wants to become bigger and stronger, it must get back the lost Provence.

When Conrad was still a boy, he served in the Frankish army. As a traditional Burgundian nobleman, he still had a fair face, so he was able to get close to Charlemagne.

For a Roman emperor of a large empire, Charlemagne had already conquered too many women, and conquering men made him even happier, allowing the aging emperor to regain his sense of conquest.

The young Conrad was willing to kiss Charlemagne's toes and perform some more intimate actions. In this way, he gradually climbed up to become Charlemagne's "companion", and was then rewarded with the title of Auxerre.

Burgundy was divided into four parts under Charlemagne, the two largest parts. Conrad's family only owned Upper Burgundy (Little Burgundy), and the southern region was classified as Provence.

At that time, Conrad's surrender to Charlemagne was extremely close, and he also contributed a lot in the war. The Burgundian army has always been the iron-clad servant of the Frank army. After completing the crusade against Avars, Conrad happily obtained Auxerre.

Now that he is aging, he looks back on his life. The purpose of everything is to restore the former territory of Burgundy and hope to establish a real kingdom of Burgundy. Conrad has no love for Charlemagne, he wants power.

The collapse of the Frankish empire was entirely an opportunity for the rise of Burgundy. In order to reunify the divided Burgundy, it was necessary to use appropriate means to return the Dragon King Pepin II in Provence to his throne - go back to Aki. The small kingdom of Tan succeeded his deceased father to the throne.

To accomplish this, he must help Lothair win the civil war, in other words, defeat Ludwig, and all problems seem to be solved. Conrad also knew that Emperor Lothair was now facing the most severe time. When a powerful new Western force rushed into Alsace, the powerful Auxerre-Burgundian army united with other friendly forces (the Provence Army also consisted of a large number of Burgundians). Burgundy (made up of the Burgundians) won a great victory. When power is distributed after the war, Burgundy will get more. That is the biggest inheritance left by the old father to his son.

Conrad did not have a macro perspective, and stubbornly believed that the Normans were strong and strong, and they would definitely lose when they encountered a real powerful force. But there was no reason for the Burgundian army to fight the barbarians for Metz. It is estimated that during this winter attack, the Normans will leave after being busy for a while, and Metz's problem will be solved.

Conrad decided to remain unchanged in response to all changes. As long as the Normans did not approach Dijon, the army would never leave! Besides, it is winter now, and the Roman roads are covered with snow, so the weather forces should rest and hibernate. It will be February next year when the ground dries again, and the army must pass through Metz by then. If there are any local problems by then, I will solve them myself.

So, he put away the archbishop's letter for help, pretending that the matter did not exist, and told his son that the matter must not be publicized to the soldiers.

The boy Wilfen pouted and reluctantly agreed.

However, Conrad did not completely ignore the situation in the north, otherwise he would not be shaking the table in shock.

He planned to send a small group of cavalry to the north to conduct reconnaissance, and then consider countermeasures based on the actual situation.

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