Chapter 960: Disguise Scheme
Amsterdam did not exist in this era, not even the large bay to the east of the city.
The Rhine flows quietly into the sea and reaches the coastal lowlands, where its flow slows down further. In the lowland area, a dense network of water is formed, and a small runoff splits off from the larger channel. This is the Amstel River.
According to the local Frisians, the original meaning of the river is called "Big Water River".
In a sense, the Amstel is not a simple river. The closer it gets to the sea, the more its channels become divided. Eventually, this area formed a saltwater lake called "Vlavo" with dense water networks and dense islands.
Everything changed dramatically in the 13th century, when a sudden flood occurred in the upper reaches of the Rhine, sweeping huge amounts of water across the lowlands. The Thousand Islands of Lake Volavo were washed away, and a large bay was created, the so-called Zuider Bay. Eventually, land was reclaimed from the sea, and the empty bay was transformed into two artificial lakes.
This disaster caused serious losses to the local people. The city of Utrecht was once submerged in water. For this reason, the people living here began to build a dam to regulate the river to avoid recurrence of the disaster.
The name of the dam is very simple, it is called "Big Water River Dam". In the local language, it is Amsterdam.
How did the local people who lived in the ninth century estimate the hellish flood disaster that their descendants would face four hundred years later?
The geographical structure of this place is very different from that of a thousand years later. Although Zuider Bay does not exist, there are enough waterways for ships to enter Utrecht.
However, the simplest route is to rush directly from the coastline into the mouth of the Amstel River, just a little further from the west, and the fleet will reach the destination in the same way.
Rurik undoubtedly chose the latter, simply because taking the main river route would completely prevent strandings.
Thousands of years later, the large landmass in the north of the city of Amsterdam was purely created by reclamation to connect countless small islands into a flat land. In today's era, the small islands are still connected intermittently.
Because I saw the sunset yesterday, it is obvious that there will be relatively good weather in the coming period.
The small boats of the Groningen villagers could be used for offshore fishing. The Baron of Groningen, who was forced to join the army, dreamily boarded the huge Norman ship. He wanted to call it the Ark, and then vomited in the bumpy sea. . ъìＱυＧΕtＶ.℃ǒΜ
The ups and downs of the waves have no effect on the Russians and Danes who are accustomed to sailing. Rurik even hopes that the wind will be stronger so that he can reach his target sooner.
First, the guide sent by the Duke of Saxony pointed out the direction, and Henry Nassau also pointed out the direction himself.
The two guides pointed in the same direction, and the fleet was traveling on the correct course.
Of course, Rurik knew very well that he had been heading south along the Dutch coastline. If he continued southward, he was sure that the fleet could float all the way to the mouth of the Seine River, and it was theoretically possible to suddenly rob Paris.
It was not that he had not thought about attacking and plundering Paris, and because of the available intelligence, Rurik could not imagine that the Paris area that was supposed to belong to the West Frankish fiefdom was actually controlled by King Lothair of the Central Franks. Is it true that in a civil war, who has the bigger fists and who has more territory? Lothair was really cruel to his two brothers.
However, Ross is in a de facto state of war with all Frankish countries, and there is no psychological burden in attacking the territories of their nobles.
For example, in the attack on Utrecht this time, the coalition forces were not mentally burdened, and they were even more famous.
Simply because, when Henry of Nassau became a landed earl, the core of his domain was located in Utrecht.
Standing on the deck, Rurik was inspired by this. He pointed to the eastern coast and suggested: "What is this place called? The traditional living area of the Frisians? Nassau, what are you going to name it?"
Poor Henry Nassau was so depleted by severe seasickness that he longed to get to Utrecht and rest.
He leaned on the railing haggardly and turned his face: "Let's call it Flanders. Otherwise, what else would it be called? Is it really called the Netherlands?"
"Just call it Netherlands. In my opinion, your territory needs this name."
"Then let's call it Netherland. I... am the Earl of Netherland. We seem to be arriving soon."
"We are almost there. When we find the mouth of the river, we will dive straight in." Rurik suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "The fleet should not rush directly into the river. The river water is not good for our fleet. We will land at the mouth of the river tonight. Rest ashore and attack Utrecht tomorrow morning."
"That's fine! That's fine...you must control your army well and never...don't kill indiscriminately."
"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Rurik suddenly became displeased and glared at him sharply.
Nassau didn't reply, and gave a haggard smile, that's all.
The fleet can rush directly into the Thousand Lakes. Of course, it can also rush into Utrecht. If this is the case, the entire army should rush in with long oars. This is possible but not necessary.
Since in Groningen, the coalition forces used deception to easily complete the conquest, they should repeat their old tricks now.
Based on previous experience, although the local people knew the existence of the Normans and how terrifying they were, they were seriously lacking in awareness of the troops holding cross flags.
Therefore, when the fleet moved southward in mighty force, the soldiers sitting in the cabin and deck were not simply idle.
Because the flag of the Russian army is a piece of white cloth with two blue cloth strips sewn diagonally. The white cloth is sewn on the front and back, and when removed, there are four strips of blue cloth.
Iron needles are used to sew cloth strips. This sewing technique is actually very rough. The cloth strips were removed, and the flag returned to white cloth. Then the soldiers held charcoal blocks and scratched the cloth with black carbon, and it suddenly turned into a cross flag.
This is not disrespectful to the Kingdom of Rus, this is His Majesty the King's plan.
It is not necessary to remove the blue strips on the soldiers' white robes; it is enough to change all the flags into cross flags.
The "Crusader" does not yet exist, but the Frankish nobles will definitely hold up some cross flags when fighting to prove their faith and identity.
As a result, the mouth of the Amstel River that the coalition forces were looking forward to has appeared. It is not a wide water but has a gentle flow.
Someone hung a wooden bucket with a hemp rope, filled a bucket of water and drank a little, and found that it was already fresh water.
The trumpeter was ordered to blow the horn, and a man holding two small flags stood on the stern deck of the flagship and gave orders to all the accompanying ships.
The Normans were quickly changing their naval formations again to prepare for landing.
This was the second time he had seen them change formations. Henry Nassau was mesmerized by the sight and silently remembered it in his heart. He could understand using flags to make some movements to give orders, but he never imagined that the Normans could associate each letter with an action, and finally use the combination of movements to spell words or even complete sentences, thereby communicating over long distances.
He rashly asked Rurik about this situation, and was even more surprised to learn that the ships were actually communicating with each other using Latin words.
All the large ships anchored near the estuary. According to the original plan, after the combat troops landed in small boats, all the armed cargo ships instantly turned into fishing boats. They immediately lit torches and used large nets for night fishing.
Logistics must be well prepared for expeditionary operations, and supplies must be provided as close as possible when arriving at the battlefield. Looting is risky, and catching fish on the spot is a specialty of the Russians.
Taking advantage of the phototaxis of the fish, the net is sunk around the ship. When the herring enter the trap, people just raise the net. This method of catching fish is much more efficient than trawling in broad daylight.
Soon, they gained something.
At the same time, the large-scale landing of the coalition forces was basically coming to an end.
The coalition camped at the mouth of the Amstel River, about eight kilometers away from the city of Utrecht. The distance seemed a bit far, and it didn't take long for the entire army to walk along the Amstel River in light clothing.
All the long ships and landing boats carried by the coalition forces can transport a combat army of at least 600 people to Utrecht quickly by water.
The fact is that Rurik decided on a combat plan at the military meeting held that night.
"We don't care about the surrounding villages. Our army rushes directly to Utrecht. Just capture the city and control the local barons and bishops. They must meet all the property demands of our army, especially the local barons. He must surrender, otherwise he will be killed. The local bishop must also obey, otherwise he will be kidnapped. Then Henry of Nassau announced the establishment of the County of the Netherlands, and the lords of the surrounding villages must surrender, otherwise there will be a military strike."
The Normans were not prepared to use force first, something Henry of Nassau greatly welcomed. He fully agreed with the military determination of King Rurik of Rus, simply because this decision was very beneficial to him.
As for whether it was a mistake to cooperate with the Normans and how much of a mistake it was. Go to hell!
Because these Normans would hold high the cross flag and march into Utrecht with great swagger.
The whole army slept well on the shore for a night, and had a meal of cooked wheat and herring caught overnight in the early morning.
To be honest, his men caught an astonishing amount of herring from this place. The fish were not only large in size but also numerous in number, which was beyond Rurik's expectation.
"It seems that we really need to build a Ross store here and fish in this area ourselves."
The Netherlands is a wonderful area. The Rhine River flows into the sea here, and a large amount of organic nutrients from the interior of Europe also flow into the sea, supporting a large number of herring and cod. The Russians, who have better fishing skills, have tasted the benefits, and there is really no human habitation in this area. It is really a geomantic treasure that no one is grabbing. If others don't grab it, the Russians will take the lead.
After the army had eaten and drank enough, they lined up in the riverside area.
A small number of troops stayed at the camp at the mouth of the sea and continued to be responsible for fishing operations.
The coalition forces gathered 1,200 men, marched side by side by water, and began to move up the river towards Utrecht.
"Let's go! Raise all the flags! Pretend to be our Frank army!" Rurik shouted with his right hand, and this statement made everyone laugh instantly.
Cross flags were displayed one after another, and the Russian army marched in order. Although the Danish army seemed to be loose, it was at least in a group.
During this march, the coalition forces only carried a small amount of armor, and the heavy armor was placed on carts.
The soldiers were indeed marching lightly, carrying their own swords, hand axes, and bucklers behind them, marching in formation with their chests held high.
The waterway troops could advance faster, and this time they accommodated the speed of the land troops. The two troops maintained a constant speed and continued to advance at a pace faster than a walk.
This walk takes two hours.
The whole scene really made Henry Nassau and Baron Groningen feel strange. To be fair, the two nobles wished that these Normans would fake it and arrive in Utrecht to perform a mass baptism on the spot for collective conversion.
Especially Henry Nassau, who had a close contact with King Rus this time, aside from his faith, he was very principled and kind to obedient people. The only flaw was that he was not a Christian.
If the Kingdom of Rus chooses to convert to God, wouldn’t it mean that a “Holy Kingdom of the North” would rise from the ground? This may be a wonderful thing.
It's a pity that if people had planned to do this, they would have done it long ago. After all, what King Rurik said was very true. His Latin was taught by the students of the northern saint Eskil. If he was willing to convert, he would have converted long ago.
Maybe Rurik actually has thoughts about converting to God? Maybe the cross flag he held high today was not entirely a blackmail tactic?
Henry Nassau did not dare to say anything. With his own identity and strength, he could only continue to be obedient and cooperative.
Only pirates appear suddenly and attack suddenly without any reason.
The Norman army, now disguised as the Christian army, deliberately put on a grand display, which naturally attracted the attention of the people in the villages around Utrecht. The shepherds and cattle herders stopped to watch. People who were hurrying to cut more grass in autumn put down their scythes and bit their lips to watch.
Even some naughty children happily came over and swayed in front of the team very boldly.
This move was unexpected by Rurik. Fortunately, these Russian soldiers were all elites drawn from the entire army. Their military discipline was very good. The soldiers did not dare to leave the team, and it would be detrimental to their honor to attack boring urchins.
Why was the naughty boy kicked away?
Rurik ordered some soldiers to throw the small amount of dry food they carried. They were small pieces of dry, hard bread mixed with oat flour, or even pieces of cheese snatched from Groningen. Even though the food was stained with mud, the naughty boy didn't mind it. He came over to pick it up and stuffed it into his mouth happily.
This scene was seen by the villagers watching from a distance. As their children ran back happily and held up the pieces of bread they saw to show to their families, it immediately caused a sensation!
Do you want to continue doing farm work? More powerful nobles from far away came, and the great lord was actually giving away food. This was much more merciful than the knight lord in his own village.
Because it was an army holding a cross flag. Their clothes are too gorgeous and they travel by land and water. It seems that they are a great northern Frank noble who came to Utrecht on a pilgrimage? Utrecht Cathedral is the largest wooden building in the local area. It is indeed somewhat famous and has reason to attract some big nobles to come for pilgrimage.
As for why there were obviously Norman-style ships in the team, the Frisians living here did not find it strange. After all, the Port of Durist, just south of Utrecht and connected by a river, was the Norman den a few years ago. Just because all the Normans converted, it did no harm to the local Frisians. The locals were accustomed to it, so it was normal not to doubt it today.
The nobles from the north were actually throwing away food, and their children couldn't pick up much. For such a good thing, the adults had to go begging in person.
Men and women began to flock to the gorgeously dressed troops as if they were attending a wedding. The nobles they met before were stingy and greedy. They would only drive away beggars and would not reward them with any food at all.
They should have been intimidated by the sudden appearance of a large army with gorgeous clothes and powerful troops. However, the behavior of spreading food changed the people's perception.
People still hope to get more food because their daily lives are really poor. Newly provides you with the fastest update of The Rise of Rurik, Chapter 960: The Plot in Disguise is free to read.
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