Chapter 1552: At the Barbarian Banquet (Part 1)

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Rurik needs to make a necessary inspection of the Trier camp. The army can rest immediately after returning. As a king, he still needs to circle the city non-stop.

He needed to see with his own eyes to make sure that the Yotalans had no intention of retreating privately, and to make sure that the more than 10,000 captives who had been transferred were properly accommodated.

"It's not bad. It doesn't look like there was any private evacuation." Looking only with the naked eye, Rurik boasted that he got a general answer.

It happened that a pair of eyes had already been staring at Ross's army advancing by water.

The fleet transporting supplies and the villagers of Thionville, as well as Rurik's cavalry operating on the shore, kept pace with each other and arrived at their destination at the same time.

The river water is freezing cold, and it is not suitable to temporarily dismantle the pontoon on the river now. The last returning ship washed up on the beach. The soldiers at the bow and stern of the ship adjusted the direction of the ship, and used the gentle current to ride the bow of the ship on the cold mud on the shore, and then He called on the friendly troops watching the excitement on the shore to pick up the thrown cables. With the combined efforts of the people on the shore, one long boat after another ran aground on the shore, so that there was already ice and snow on the shore under the waterline.

After experiencing a wonderful scene, the villagers of Thionville got off the boat one after another. It was the first time for most of them to take a boat in their lives, and it was also the first time to come to Trier.

They don't know how glorious Trier was in the past, and now they don't think it's great when they see the legendary city.

The city wall has many pits and defects, and the stone gate is strangely black.

There are a large number of blue striped flags flying on the city walls. Just saying "flying flags" makes the people very strange - if you don't keep a piece of cloth to make clothes, what are you doing with flags?

They were not surprised yet. After all, even the former Earl of Metz's army only had a few flags in the army, which only indicated that the Earl and important nobles were in a certain place, and the flags were still cross flags.

The villagers were at a loss on the ice and snow shore with their belongings, and witnessed the Russians unloading the strange weapons one after another, and even shouting slogans to pull down some huge wooden frames.

All heavy weapons were restored to parts, and key parts of some torsion slingshots were also removed. The craftsmen planned to carry out key maintenance after returning to the Trier camp. One of them was to put the important parts in the darkness where the temperature was above freezing all day long. In the room, after the inspection is normal, apply new grease and seal it.

After the fleet arrived, a large amount of loot began to be transported on a large scale. The soldiers of the Russian regular army simply lined up in an assembly line under the command of their respective flag captains and placed all kinds of things on various handcarts and makeshift sleds. Once the car was full, they immediately Transported into the city, and finally assembled at the cathedral and the emperor's palace in the city.

The Trier Cathedral, which was once a sanctuary, and the royal palace that was so majestic that it was once repaired by Louis the Pious, now immediately became a large warehouse for the Russian army to store their spoils. The most abundant material among the spoils of war was food. The amount of plunder made the soldiers believe that there was no need to transport food from the rear, and that it was enough to capture it closely.

This result was even more praised by everyone.

The army fighting in the summer did not damage the farmland of Metz. When the army came back half a year later, what was removed was the wheat that had been harvested, threshed, shelled, and dried in the shade by the locals. Rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, and to a minimum wheat, all grains can be used immediately with little concern for annoying seed pods.

The buildings in the city of Trier are mainly used as campsites for the Ross army's standard troops. Most of the Yotalans and other friendly forces can only camp outside the city.

Rurik completed his inspection near evening, and just as he was about to enter the city, two cheerful old friends were waiting in front of Nicholas' door.

"Blue fox? Black fox? You are not staying in your own camp. Do you intend to wait for me here? Or did you get the news that the king has decided to hold a banquet and come here in advance to wait for the meal?" Rurik came on horseback in a happy mood.

He looked down at the two men and quickly dismounted, twisted his body and handed the reins to the guard.

Then he turned and walked towards the door, motioning for the two people who obviously had something to say to follow.

"Anything, let's talk about it now. I still want to go to the city and have a look."

"Yes." Lan Hu said with a smile: "We just heard about the banquet you want. It was also just

Just now, a brother also told me that you told the Danes something about attacking the Burgundians..."

"Oh? Ivar told you?"

"It's not him. That's right." Blue Fox thought for a while and replied.

Rurik put his hands behind his back and explained casually: "Don't you know this a long time ago? I have changed my mind a long time ago. Instead of going to Alsace, it is better to go west and continue to attack the imperial nobles. We are not really here for Ludwig fights."

"So, have you decided to take the initiative? Or... I want to know."

"I will tell you when we get to the banquet. But I also have something important to ask you." At this point, Rurik stopped.

"Please tell me."

"Where are the prisoners? Are they all properly settled? Are there any accidental deaths along the way? How many do you have on hand now?"

"Yes." Blue Fox immediately began to report incessantly, including how they set up a riverside camp along the way, how they resettled and comforted the people after returning, and how they buried those who died unexpectedly on the spot, etc. The details seemed very lengthy.

"That's it." Rurik waved his hand: "Now answer my other question."

"Huh?" Blue Fox was a little surprised.

At this moment, Rurik stopped completely and stared directly into the blue fox's eyes: "Ragnar led his troops to withdraw. How are you?"

"Me?" Blue Fox's mind was spinning rapidly until the king was asking about the status of his soldiers. He immediately stood up straight and held his head high: "You don't have to worry, the Gothenburg Army will never withdraw. The war is not over yet, we can withdraw only if you give the order, and we... will withdraw again."

"Is this all true?"

"It's absolutely true." After saying that, the blue fox stepped on his younger brother's foot again.

Black Fox also immediately stood up and made it clear: "Without your order, my Nassau Army will not withdraw."

"I hope so. I don't want any friendly forces to leave the war on their own, but there are some cowards or narrow-minded idiots who insist on running away with their stolen dates. I can't stop such people. Only you two Sir, the Gothenburg Army and the Nassau Army are my most trusted allies. In order to fight those imperial elites, I must rely on your assistance."

"I obey." Blue Fox pounded his chest fiercely to express his loyalty: "All my glory is given by the king. You asked me to charge forward, and I will never be cowardly."

"Me too." The little fat Black Fox followed suit, but he said more: "Even if I believe in the Frankish God, I still recognize you as my king. Nassau-Koblenzbo The country will always welcome you."

"You two..." Rurik said nothing more, putting his arms on their shoulders, saying nothing.

For Rurik, the army's continued march south was challenging the limits of Viking exploration in this era.

No longship has ever crossed the Strait of Gibraltar.

It's not because the narrow waterway is controlled by the Emirate of Cordoba, it's entirely because the Danes don't know the geographical structure there. Just as the expedition initiated by Prince Enrique insisted on heading south, only then did the Portuguese realize that the southern seas were not the end of the world and the endless abyss, but the Ivory Coast, the Pepper Coast, the Gold Coast, and so on.

If the army crosses Metz and continues south without enemy obstruction, there will be no problem in fighting all the way to the Mediterranean.

However, the information learned from the prisoners of war made the situation clear and difficult. It was equivalent to the imperial nobles already understanding it. But did those guys understand the existence of the Ross Army and the strength of the Ross Army?

In line with the principle of "don't strategically despise your enemy", Rurik deliberately imagined the worst.

That is, after the Burgundians successfully received the envoy from Metz, they learned the general situation of the Ross coalition as if they had the eyes of God, and decided to raise their troops to attack.

The area where Trier is located looks like a large basin on a macro scale, although it is not an actual basin. There are a lot of open areas here and there are many rivers. The Saar and Sauer rivers begin to overflow after the snow melts in spring, causing the Mosel River to also enter the flood season, so that the river beaches are now filled with countless semi-stranded long boats. At that time all

It will be shallow water.

This is not a problem for the Russian army, which is good at navigation, but it may be a nuisance for the Burgundians.

Because many combat experiences show that all the armies of the Frankish forces did a terrible job in navigation, so their understanding of water warfare is extremely superficial.

The Russian army has a main force of 3,000 infantry and 1,300 elite cavalry. The rest of the troops are either patchwork or second-rate.

As long as the Gothenburg Army and the Nassau Army join, there will be another 3,000 new troops. Their original weapons and equipment may be poor, and the Ross Army can quickly strengthen their arms, making them a second-rate army compared to the Ross elite.

Coupled with one hundred elite Finnish shooters and Ivar's two hundred elite Danish infantry, these 7,500 people are the core soldiers of the coalition.

Rurik also learned from Blue Fox that neither Gorm "Broken Bone" nor his "Children of the Lakeside" had withdrawn. Even if a thousand male and female Vinerenstad warriors controlled a large group of prisoners, they could still continue to participate. war.

But how can the army start the next phase of the war while guarding tens of thousands of prisoners of war? Regarding the final arrangements for the prisoners of war, Rurik also thought of some plans, which needed to be discussed with everyone at the banquet.

…

Compared with the rules of the banquets of the Frankish nobles, the male and female nobles in the banquet halls of the northerners are very equal.

Because in some small tribes, after the male leader dies, his head wife suddenly becomes the new leader. When there is a meeting between tribes, such headwomen are fully qualified and obligated to go to the council meeting.

This is why the young Carlotta not only participated in the founding meeting of the Kingdom of Sweden, but also obtained the status of hereditary Duke of Ostara.

So at the banquet hosted by Rurik, both his daughter Verika and Countess Blackbird of Gothenburg happily participated in the meeting that seemed to belong only to men.

This really bothered Blackbird. She didn't like drinking with a large group of tough, hairy northern blond nobles, and listening to them laugh wantonly while holding barbecues. Considering that she had multiple identities, this time Still holding the blue fox's arm to participate.

The banquet was held in the already empty Trier Royal Palace.

This large building was looted by the Blue Fox and Black Fox partners more than two years ago. The palace hall has completely become a banquet hall for the coalition forces.

But the black fox brought his brothers here to tear down the purple curtains. Now that he thinks about the past, he can't look back. Since the king doesn't ask, he is too embarrassed to mention such things.

It was in such a place that they leaned on the countless seized supplies and feasted and laughed wildly, just like a rich man who was counting money and was satisfied with his wealth.

They slaughtered a reindeer, cut a large number of cuts into the deer meat, and roasted it half-cooked on the fire. The roasted whole deer sprinkled with a lot of salt was served, and then dozens of nobles of all sizes from the north lined up. , according to the northern rules, the most noble Rurik made the first cut, cutting off the piece of meat that he claimed to be the most delicious, and returned to his seat with a smile. The other nobles took one cut each of them regardless of priority, and finally the roasted deer After being divided, only some meat residue attached to the bones was left.

Even Verica and Blackbird had to line up in line with daggers in hand according to traditional rules. The two girls did their job skillfully. They returned to their seats and sat cross-legged on the floor. Unlike those tough guys, the two girls took out two wooden sticks. , you can eat the pieces of meat more skillfully without having to worry about getting your hands greasy.

Of course, the two counts, Gilbert and Eberhard, who had already formed an alliance with Ross, joined this unique "Barbarian Banquet" as allies.

Tasting venison is not a big deal in their lives. During peacetime, Count Eberhard of Jülichgau was also willing to lead his men to hunt in the forest, leading the cavalry to chase and intercept agile wild deer, that is, trained The cavalry team finally completed the hunt, and everyone roasted the venison in the wild.

The so-called tableware is the dagger at the waist. Both Eberhard and Gilbert are very traditional, or it can be called "eating meat like the Frank ancestors" with high emotional intelligence. The two of them just munched on the salty venison, and then ate the salty wheat porridge filled with cheese cubes. The rough way they ate was similar to Novo's.

Man people are no different.

In the past, the two earls were all-powerful nobles, but now they are in decline and have no choice but to keep a low profile due to reality.

While the two were eating, their eyes couldn't help but pay attention to Princess Gisla, who was holding two wooden sticks. Even though the princess had a new identity in the Kingdom of Ross, her elegance and nobility remained unchanged.

It would be better if the runes tattooed on Princess Gisla's hands could be ignored.

Taking a closer look at Gisla, her face looked more and more like her sister.

Gilbert couldn't help but think of his wife in Namur City. He also learned that Blackbird was now fourteen years old and had begun to take on the appearance of a woman. Unlike her sister, this fourteen-year-old girl is incredibly tall.

If the wife sees her sister, she should sigh for a miracle.

It was undeniable that Gilbert did feel that his wife was petite, and he just liked women like this. Controlling her is like holding a smart and docile deer in your arms.

Gilbert didn't understand the mystery of Gisla's height.

A teenage girl who has entered puberty needs calcium supplements and more meat. It just so happens that the food and treatment in the Great Temple of Ross are extremely good and the nutritional fluids are balanced. Her height is only 170 centimeters. If there is any shortcoming, it is that she has already arrived in Ross. A little late.

Gilbert, a young nobleman, was about the same age as Rurik, but he was a head shorter in stature.

Now even Verica is as tall as this man.

Putting aside all military prowess, Gilbert faced Rurik in casual clothes. The huge height difference would also make him feel inferior, especially if he saw Rurik's naturally stretched muscles under his clothes. .

Suppression of height due to long-term malnutrition or imbalance basically does not exist among the new generation of Ross. Now, what can suppress the height of the new generation of Ross aristocrats is the so-called "gene lock".

Fighting the weak against the weak on a large scale is also an advantage of the Ross army, and it is also a very obvious advantage.

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