Chapter 1549 Rurik’s Funeral to Khatega and the Two Archbishops

Latest website:

The Ross Cavalry returned to the Thionville camp in the wind and snow. At this time, Rurik was already facing a huge refugee camp.

All the village buildings here have been requisitioned, and a large number of people have been crammed in, but there is still not enough housing.

As a last resort, the people who came back first immediately began to cut down the surrounding forests frantically, and built shacks out of pine and fir trees to provide rest for the soldiers and civilians.

However, the snow came too suddenly, and a series of local villages in Metz were burned down by the Ross coalition. They withdrew with more prisoners than the army. It was impossible to immediately ensure that the prisoners would not suffer bad conditions in the future.

Some prisoners still died of cold or weakness, so the Allied Forces went to screen them in person. All the weak people were screened by the extreme cold. The more they survived, the more physically fit they were, and the better they could cope with the journey north. Navigating Scandinavia and surviving the Far North.

The current cold is indeed a great screening for the captives' future life in the north.

In Thionville, the Saint-Maximin Church remains Rurik's command center and residence.

He hurried back, got off his horse and handed it over to his companions, then took off his snow-covered coat, shook himself at the door and walked into the warm monastery.

"It's still warm and comfortable here." Breathing in the air warmed by the fire, Rurik took a long breath.

Most of the soldiers stationed in the monastery stepped forward one after another. They cocked their heads and waited for the king's instructions.

"Forget it. Has Archbishop Hatgar been brought back from Trier?" he asked.

"Yes. Just stay quietly in the cellar." A guard replied calmly.

"So, what was his attitude when he saw the dead body we dragged back? Is he going crazy?"

"Your Majesty, how do you know? It's true. When he saw those two corpses, Hatega said they were indeed his friends."

Rurik was very satisfied: "That's good. We didn't kill the wrong enemy. Now go and bring that guy up. I want to ask him personally."

"As ordered." All the guards said in unison.

Keeping an oil lamp in the dark cellar, Hatgar could only find comfort in a set of manuscripts of the Gospels. Only by continuing to read these ancient manuscripts with mottled handwriting could he calm down his heart, which was on the verge of collapse.

Suddenly, the locked wooden door of the cellar was opened, and a tall and thick Ross soldier walked in and dragged him away like a little chicken.

"Let go! You filthy devils, I will leave on my own, noble one." He shouted in Latin, because he also knew that Russian soldiers surprisingly generally knew some Latin.

The soldiers were silent the whole time and just threw it on the stone floor of the church.

Hart quickly got up, shook off the dust from his body, and saw the "big devil" sitting in front of him in the dim light of the fire.

"King Rus, Rurik..." He whispered viciously, but because of his faith, he did not dare to hit anyone himself.

"It's me." Rurik spread his legs and sat very comfortably, which was also a good way to rest his crotch - he was extra careful when riding a horse in the fog and snow, and the tossing made his hips, crotch and waist uncomfortable. "It seems that you are in good condition. I thought you would lose your mind and die after seeing your friends destroyed by me."

"They are martyrs, and their souls have gone to heaven. And you!" Khatga pointed his hand directly at Rurik's nose without mercy: "You will go to hell, and your army from hell. , everyone go back! Go back to your dark underground."

For a moment, Rurik, who was so provoked, was really angry.

He drew his sword suddenly, and stopped when it was halfway drawn. At this moment, the surrounding guards swarmed forward and tightly controlled the agitated Hatha family.

"Wait a minute, let him go."

Rurik adjusted his mood slightly, stared at Hattega's tense old face, and gradually smiled: "You are forcing me to kill you, so that you will be a martyr. Do you want me to be fooled? I don't want to."

"You...you should really kill me so that I won't continue to be humiliated."

"Am I really

A very vicious person? Let me tell you good news. The city of Metz has been burned by me, the surrounding villages have been destroyed by me, and the stone piers of the bridge have been smashed by me. I learned that there may be armies from Auxerre and Burgundy passing through Metz. They will definitely get supplies from the city of Metz through the bridge, and all their plans will come to nothing. And I...will continue to attack next year. "

"You? What do you want to do?"

Because King Rus was explaining extremely realistic matters, Hatgar put his personal emotions aside for the first time. He wanted to know how far King Rus and his army wanted to fight.

"I have thought a lot. Now that I have learned a lot of information, I should think of ways to expand my advantages."

"You want to expand the war? Are you planning to destroy Frank?" Hatega's eyes widened with bloodshot eyes.

"No. I did lead the troops to assist Ludwig in the war in accordance with the past covenant. Do you know how long it took for my army to travel all the way from my hometown in the north? We set off on the summer solstice, look! It's Christmas now It's a festival. If it wasn't to fulfill the promise, why would I come all the way here?"

"You are quite particular about contracts. Prince Ludwig sold his soul to the devil and invited you evil people to kill people wantonly, so his soul will also fall into hell. Since ancient times, the disputes between nobles have nothing to do with the common people, but you have always If you target civilians, one day the archangel will rain down thunder and you will all be struck to death."

"I have no intention of quarreling with you." Rurik waved his hand: "I will keep you captive and will give you food and water. You think I'm a barbarian, but I keep all the sacred vessels and books in Metz Cathedral. I will not destroy these objects. As for you saying that I have done evil to the civilians, now more than 10,000 civilians are in my hands, and they are all subjects of my Ross. If you want to say betrayal, these civilians have already betrayed Mei. Earl of Metz. It doesn’t matter, the Earl of Metz family has been completely eradicated by me.”

"..." Hatjia's mind was confused for a moment. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start.

"Stop talking? I can tell you clearly that our army will start to rest immediately, and I will continue the war after the snow melts in spring. Auxerre, Burgundy, and other nobles loyal to Lothair will all be defeated by me .Do you...do you know the Count of Tours of this generation?"

"You mentioned Tur?" Khatga thought of many things and wondered what Rurik meant.

"I've heard from some sources that there's chaos over there too. Paris, Le Mans, Orleans and Champagne are in danger, with armies attacking them. I'll tell you something you absolutely don't know."

"What is it?"

"My son is fighting there. I know the nobles of Tours. They suddenly became so powerful because I gave them a huge sum of money so that they could recruit a good army. I also sent They formed a small force, making them even stronger. The information I learned is that they are attacking Paris and Orleans. If they win, it will be time to continue attacking Troyes and Auxerre. Then, our army will be able to fight with They meet up."

"What...what's going on?!" Hajia wanted to ask again, but was suddenly speechless.

What surprised him was not only King Rus' knowledge of the city's location, as if he had been to those cities.

The three counts of Champagne, Troyes and Auxerre are arranged in a chain from north to south.

The original meaning of Champagne is "barrier". It was once the northern border of the Frankish tribal era and the traditional northern border of the late Western Roman Empire.

Nowadays, there are only a few imperial nobles who have survived. Hartega knew that the situation was deteriorating, so he became so ruthless that he tried every means to organize more than 10,000 warriors and dragged two Earl Qin from the northwest to try. He tried to turn the tide, but was defeated by the sudden appearance of the Ross coalition...

How many powerful imperial nobles are left now?

Counts of Paris, Counts of Champagne, Counts of Troyes, Counts of Auxerre-Burgundy, petty kings of Provence and kings of northern Italy. The other imperial nobles either rebelled, were killed, or were in a precarious situation.

The priest saw that information was delivered through couriers and letters, so that half a year ago Hatega had learned the full story of the war.

The surface becomes complicated and corrupted.

The so-called Earl of Tours is the son-in-law of the old Earl. The real Earl is just a sick young man who cannot be used for much purpose, and his brother-in-law holds real power.

After the little prince "Bald" Charles went to the south, the whole of Aquitaine turned against him! Even the nobles further south, seeing that something was going wrong, also rebelled. These southern nobles all supported Charles against Lothair.

The key is, what King Ross is saying here...why does he have it? ! Why do you know so much?

Or is it true, as he said, that the participants in southern corruption really have their power?

In fact, Rurik also learned about these exciting situations from the latest prisoners of war.

Among all the prisoners of war, there were indeed militiamen who had laid down their arms. Before the city was breached, Archbishop Drogo sent a messenger to hurry up to ask for reinforcements, and he learned about it. After further interrogation, Rurik learned more detailed information.

But how could a group of militiamen know about the resolution of the Metz nobles and the archbishop?

Because the Auxerre Army, the Troyes Army and the Burgundian Army had long claimed the King of Qin, they had to take the Roman road to pass through Metz, and the recruited militiamen would have to serve these guest armies.

In principle, these noble armies would not plunder, but Metz still had to provide large amounts of food, meat, and cheese supplies to the guest armies, and these supplies had to be extracted legally from nearby villages.

The villagers not only had to organize a militia, but also spent money to support the guest troops. They had always had deep complaints. It was entirely the fear of the Normans that had taken over and they had to provide these supplies and their own service assistance.

It's all over now!

There were two thousand militiamen in the Metz garrison, but less than a hundred were alive today. They all declared their allegiance to the Count of Nassau-Coblenz to save their lives and were happy to reunite with their surviving families. In exchange, they had to tell the truth about what they actually knew and what they had heard.

Rurik didn't know many things until now. He couldn't believe all the prisoners of war's statements, but a series of statements were very beneficial to Ross.

Because of this intelligence, the destruction of the Metz Stone Pier Bridge must be carried out even in the fog, snow, rain and cold - the Burgundian army will really come.

Rurik told Hatega bluntly: "I know the Burgundians will come, and they will be left with an empty city of Metz. They will definitely find a way to cross the bridge, and the next step is to hit this Thionville . Our army will also retreat from Thionville to Trier, which is likely to be the scene of a big battle! All the people of Thionville will be evacuated, and the majority of the people will be evacuated by me to Coblenz, which is far away from the battlefield. "

"Then what?" Hattega asked disdainfully.

"And you will always follow our army. I will let you be a witness to witness my sweep of Frank. Haha."

"But you can't rule it. Frank is too big, the world is too big."

"Who knows?" Rurik shrugged: "Only God knows. Now that the Archbishops of Metz and Trier are dead, Rome will definitely wait until the war is over to appoint a new bishop. Hatgar, you Being in my hands is also a good thing for you. You are unwavering in the enemy's army, and you have always defended your faith. Maybe the Pope will also canonize you."

"I don't care. I just want you to end all this. At least you are someone who understands the sacred language. End it all as soon as possible so that your soul will not continue to be dirty." Hartega said again.

"Whatever you say. Next I will dispose of the bodies of the two dead archbishops. I will see you immediately when I come back. I also need you to preside over a funeral."

The words stopped here and Hajia understood everything. He nodded: "If that's the case, I can do it."

"I have nothing else to say to you. Just get ready and follow your etiquette. Now you can go back to the cellar and think about it."

Forget it, poor Hatega was taken to the empty cellar of the church to sit in silence.

The corpses related to the Metz family were all reduced to ashes together with the city of Metz in the city-wide fire. The coalition forces did not collect the corpses. A large number of corpses exposed before the fire were covered with new snow in the form of ice lumps. After that... dust in the fire Return to dust and return to dust.

In Thionville, in Riuri

On the day of Ke's return, some more prisoners died, and all the dead would be dug and buried on the spot. The only thing that can comfort the captives is that the dead will be buried in the public cemetery next to the church. The priests from Nassau will preside over the funeral and then bury them. The dead will at least get the final dignity.

All the shacks are still overcrowded. In order to prevent people from freezing to death, the reinforcement of the wooden houses continues.

All the trouble was snowfall. The continuous fog and snow made the world dark. It was not until the fifth day after Rurik returned to Thionville that the snowfall completely ended, and the sun, which had disappeared for nearly two weeks, returned.

It is completely different from the northern world. It has been covered with fog and snow for such a long time, and the snow is already up to the knees in many places. The central area of ​​the Moselle River is still not frozen, and the ground under the snow is still easy to dig.

The previous dead were buried. During this period, Conrad, the abbot from Nassau, performed post-mortem prayers for the deceased. Finally, they were covered with earth and buried. The whole process was watched by the captives. At first the prisoners thought this was absurd, but gradually they became accustomed to the fact that there really was a group of priests in this Norman army.

Not only did Archbishop Hatgar know about this situation, he was deeply ashamed of this behavior of accompanying the devil.

There are only small monasteries in Nassau and Koblenz, and the priests belong to the Diocese of Mainz. It is completely legal for them to conduct funerals for the deceased.

What puzzles Hattaga in this regard is what kind of weirdos the Ross Alliance Army is. They are a mixture of Christians and pagans, mixed together but with the same hatred. He really can't imagine that this kind of thing can be true. .

On the appointed funeral day, Hartega changed into a clean black robe and put on the bishop's high hat.

His entourage has all physically disappeared, and the new entourage is simply Conrad, Abbot of Nassau and his people.

It is purely a coincidence that the old priest Conrad and the Count of Auxerre have the same name. After all, this name is relatively common among both nobles and people.

Hatega was full of contempt for this Conrad, but he could not express it clearly, and could only express his dissatisfaction with an indifferent attitude.

The old priest Conrad had rarely seen a noble local archbishop in his life. Even though Archbishop Hatgar of Liège is in decline, he still has a sense of awe.

As for the priests brought back by Conrad, their attitude was even more embarrassing.

In a very delicate situation, two corpses wrapped extremely densely in linen were carried close to the cemetery by soldiers from the Count of Nassau who had long since legally converted to God, and then they were placed steadily on the snow.

At the same time, Rurik brought a group of noble officers, including his daughter Verika, and even Blackbird to attend the funeral of the two archbishops.

The so-called shroud is actually two Russian flags, in which the blue striped cloth has been removed, leaving a plain white linen cloth to wrap the deceased. If you insist on saying so, this move can be interpreted as a final insult from the victor.

But King Rus had given the dead as much dignity as possible.

Because King Rus did not believe in God at all, all his actions could not be considered hypocritical. So far Hatgar is very satisfied with the actions of King Rus, including the fact that he is now wearing the bishop's hat that once belonged to the Archbishop of Metz. This hat is full of precious stones and he will continue to be controlled by the Rus with the hat. With.

The world after the snow is sunny and bright, and the sky is completely blue with no clouds visible. Only the alto cumulus clouds are like faint white lines looming.

In Thionville, people who had been silent for more than ten days started to move. After learning that there was an "archbishop's funeral" going on near the church, it was said that the king was also involved, and a group of bored Russian warriors came over.

The whole scene became more and more noisy. Amidst this noise, Hatega endured the indescribable discomfort and followed the process step by step with the gospel in hand.

Finally, he read: "From dust to dust to dust, may the love of the Lord be with you forever, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

He paused and then looked up at the sky.

"Is this the end?" Rurik, who was watching the whole process, was very surprised for a moment. He didn't know if Hatega's move of looking up at the sky was part of the ceremony.

In fact, it was Hart who silently vented his unwillingness in this way.

Seeing the dead in the tomb, he couldn't help but wonder if he could be buried properly if he died. He also regretted the fate of Drogo and Hutto. In fact, he had never seen the faces of these two people when they were alive, but they exchanged letters on weekdays. He determined the identity of the deceased through a series of tokens, but he never expected to see them in real life. What he saw was the other party's bloodless face.

At this time, Conrad, the abbot of Nassau, reminded Rurik: "My king, the ritual process has been completed, and now you can use the shovel to bury the soil."

"Okay." Rurik signaled the Nassau County soldiers on standby to start the final action.

Finally, the soil buried the dead, and the era of Hutto and Drogo was completely over. At the same time, it also meant that the current existence of the dioceses of Trier and Metz was in name only.

Latest website: