Chapter 961： Rurik under the city of Utrecht

Originally, the main population of the Earl of Flanders was concentrated in the south, the so-called Belgian region, and there were not many people living in the Netherlands, especially in the north.

The limited population is also highly concentrated around Utrecht, as the town of Groningen is the only settlement in the far north.

However, the people's life is really hard.

It's all because Durist is nearby, for forty years, it was the residence of the Danish exiles, and then a leader named Horrick came and led all the Danish exiles to get Recruit.

Zhao Ann has to pay a price, and before getting the Announcement, the Earl of Flanders must also pay tribute and use property to buy peace.

Who will pay for this wealth? Naturally, it was the pirates who searched for the wealth nearby and sent it to the pirates after they were recruited in the port of Durist.

With the passage of time, the pirates of the port of Durist have been purged, the port has been destroyed, and the place has returned to the control of the Earl of Flanders.

However, he had previously collected excess taxes to buy peace from pirates. Since this matter has been implemented for at least 20 years, it is natural to collect excess taxes. Baudouin, the half-blood aristocrat who succeeded his father's title, decided on his **** that he still had to collect excess taxes.

Therefore, the Baron family of Utrecht was instructed to collect more taxes, and in the end the money had to be borne by the common people, so according to the rank of nobles, from high to low, the total amount of tax was increased, and finally fell on all farmers and tenant farmers. After decades of tossing, a large number of Frisian peasants became tenant farmers working for Lord Knight, and some even became indentured serfs.

Even nobles, big and small, are Frisian, and they really lack favors for their fellow clansmen. If the former bishop Frederick of the diocese and the current bishop Albery II did not appeal to the nobles not to go too far, the nobles would dare to do so. Further tax hikes.

In fact, nobles also have difficulties, especially Baudouin, Count of Flanders. Once an independent kingdom, Flanders was annexed by Charlemagne militarily. Although Baudouin has Frankish blood, he now defines himself as a Frisian, and although he is not so conscious that he will act for the well-being of the people, he must maintain his position.

Flanders is sandwiched between the Middle Kingdom and the Eastern Kingdom. He can choose a king to submit to. For his own benefit, he chooses to be neutral. He was legally loyal to Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom, but secretly contacted Lothair and paid Lothair a large amount of grain, wool and cloth. These were real military supplies, and they were helping Lothair to win the civil war. Now that the situation is not clear at all, just maintain the status quo and buy a neutral position with money.

The price is that the country under their rule never wants to accumulate wealth. Because they are paying for the kingdom's civil war to a certain extent, exporting living materials has caused the people's living standards to slowly decline.

This situation is worst in the northern counties.

The villages were built along the Amstel River, and Rurik's swaggering march attracted enough attention, and more and more people gathered. Women generally wear coarse cloth headscarves and long robes, and men dress frugally and wear fur hats.

They kept getting closer to the army, and more children couldn't get past the adults. They spoke Frisian and kept shouting some words.

Although Rurik did not understand the local language, the term was common to various Germanic groups. It was pronounced "brat" in Norse and "broot" in Frisian, meaning bread.

Looking at the dirty faces of these children, as well as their thin and short bones, their spirits are indeed much different from those of Ross's children.

I am afraid that the local lord did not treat his people well, or it may just be because the productivity of the local people is too low.

Seeing this, Henry Nassau hurried to the front of the team, and quickly negotiated with Rurik himself: "These villagers will be my subjects, you must not use force against them. Just... drive them away."

"Why drive away?" Rurik smiled, "This is an opportunity, isn't it?"

"Chance? What chance?" Nassau was puzzled.

"You persuaded me to be kind. Obviously, you don't know what real kindness is. These people are here to ask for food alms, and they sacrifice their dignity for the food. The local lords are obviously not good people. How about you? Just be kind to them. , these people will support you. Isn't this an opportunity?"

"I... what should I do?" Nassau understood a little.

"Give you a chance. You gather as many people as you can, tell them you are the Earl of the Netherlands, tell them, follow the army to Utrecht! Tell them that today is a great day, and the Earl of the Netherlands will take over Utrecht. In Trecht, the peasants who follow the earl's army can get some wheat."

"Do I really want to do this?"

"You're really stupid? You don't listen to me if I give you a chance. Just do as I say, and go!" Rurik urged impatiently, and Nassau had to obey.

The army that was advancing by land and water paused, and the Ross Army and the Danish Army collectively watched Nassau Henry, the middle-aged guy, perform.

After all, he is a de facto village chief in his hometown of Nassau, and there is no obstacle to communicating with farmers. He greeted the local Frisians in Frankish, and when the ordinary farmer heard this introduction, he naturally assumed that he was a great Frankish noble from the north.

The farmer heard the term "Count of the Netherlands" for the first time. He is an earl, is he the same level as the earl of Flanders?

In the future, will the northern region be classified as the Earl of the Netherlands?

If Utrecht became the earl's palace, wouldn't everyone have to pay the 11th tax and other taxes directly to the nobleman?

Psychologically, the locals do not want to be ruled by a Frankish nobleman, but if this nobleman is exempted from taxes, he is a good person.

Nassau just spoke according to Rurik's request, and his words were very stumbling. At least he pointed out the saying of "going to Utrecht to get the reward from the granary", which immediately attracted the support of all the gathered people.

So soon a village leader came to hear the news, and this kind of person is the so-called knight master.

The knight really came on horseback, and I heard that a new earl suddenly appeared. I don't care whether the news is true or not. If this is the case, this new earl is a big local noble, and it is necessary to come to see him as soon as possible.

In a short period of time, as many as six knights came. They were originally loyal to the Baron of Utrecht. Now they arrived at the river and saw the mighty army in uniform standing here. They were all in awe.

The Norman army was standing by, facing more and more villagers and the small lords and nobles who came on horseback, Rurik had to whisper a few words to Ragnar.

"Are you doing this right? We are so noble, and you have to act with that little Nassau." Ragnar was very displeased.

"Just cooperate with him in acting. We will show our true identity when we reach Utrecht."

"This is superfluous."

"But it will be very smooth. Let's wait and see."

Nassau's original title of baron was higher than these fief knights. He was very confident in talking to him, which specifically stated that he was the "Count of the Netherlands", and that the army behind him was his mighty army.

As for the baron of Utrecht, that baron's allegiance was Baudouin, the earl of Flanders. What does this have to do with the earl of the Netherlands?

Nassau lied like this: "The king of the East Franks has decided that I, Nassau, will inherit the new country of the Netherlands. This is an order, and you must be loyal to me. As for the Baron of Utrecht, he must leave. If he does not If he is willing to go by himself, my army will drive him away."

Nassau became more and more energetic, as if the Norman army behind him had transformed into his own "Country of the Netherlands".

Many knights believed it to be true, and they had no ability to distinguish the true from the false, but it was obvious to the naked eye that they had seen the largest army they could ever add to their lives.

A thousand people count as an army? This is the truth.

Although they didn't immediately kneel down and pledge their allegiance to Nassau, the six master knights organized the onlookers of their village on the spot and gathered the men among them. Those peasants with scythes and mowing the reserves immediately turned into militiamen, formed a team of more than 200 people under the leadership of the knight, and followed the so-called "Netherland Earl's Army" for the last leg of their journey.

Some women and children also relied on this overly colorful team, and Rurik asked the army to throw some more dry food to stabilize people's hearts and continue to maintain the appearance of a good person in the coalition.

The world is full of absurdities, and the army holding a large number of cross flags struttingly approaches the city of Utrecht. ωωw.Bǐqυgétν.℃ǒM

The residents of this riverside city with only a low wooden wall are not bad, and the limited number of people can't help but feel more and more nervous when they see a large group of people approaching.

Things are getting strange, I saw that it was a group of armed men with a white tone, they were advancing side by side, like the army of a certain great noble.

The size of the army is too large, it seems that it is the army of the Great King of East Frank.

right! It must be so. The same white cloth robes, the soldiers are dotted with blue tones, and they are also holding a cross flag to declare their identity.

From the civilians to the patrolling soldiers in the city, even the Baron of Utrecht who walked out of the palace after hearing the news, and even all the priests of the cathedral, everyone is constantly strengthening their understanding based on the news they have heard - the army of the King of East Frank is here again. .

A few years ago, Ludwig "sold himself" to eradicate the remnants of the Normans in the port of Durist. At that time, the Frankish army was going down the Rhine River, and Ludwig paid homage to the Utrecht church by the way, and had an in-depth conversation with his successor, Bishop Arbery II.

Today, the bishop of Utrecht is still Arber II. He especially remembers the encounter many years ago, when Ludwig came to the confessional alone and redeemed it by himself.

Ludwig repented that he was too indulgent to the Norman pirates, which made them more greedy, and the appeasement finally led to a rebellion.

"Those wicked men who came across the sea occupied Durist, but they converted on the surface, but they said one thing and did another. If the king can punish them, God will not regard punishment as a sin." From Bishop Arbery II What he said in his mouth was his extreme disgust for the Normans, specifically the Danish pirates.

With the bishop's comfort, Ludwig let go of his hands and feet and ordered his elite heavy cavalry to carry out revenge killings.

Four full years have passed since this incident. After the **** storm, Durist's pirate problem was gone, and nearby Utrecht became quiet. The people have returned to peace and life has returned to what it should have been.

But this time, why did Ludwig's army come again?

"Children, let's go see the king. God bless us, I hope he doesn't ask for more."

Bishop Arbery II is also half-hundred. His predecessor was his own brother. He took over the post after his death from illness, and the Archbishop of Reims confirmed the legality of his succession.

The Diocese of Utrecht reaches the northernmost part of the city of Antwerp in the south, including Antwerp, and to the south is the Diocese of Ghent. Therefore, the diocese of Utrecht covers most of the Netherlands in a thousand years, but in today's era, the population covered by the entire diocese is very small.

Or because large-scale land reclamation has not been carried out, the entire lowland area is not suitable for living, and the limited population is also highly concentrated near the mouth of the Rhine River.

Utrecht is the demographic, economic, political, and religious center of the region. As long as it is here, it will be a matter of course to control the entire area.

The bishop immediately talked to Baron Martini of Utrecht. He persuaded the uneasy baron: "Don't worry about anything. The king is actually here. If he asks for rations, you can give it to him."

Regarding this matter, the baron has gathered all his retinues in the city, and ordered them to wear decent clothes and appropriate weapons to serve as his guard of honor. Time is pressing, and the knights who settled in the villages cannot be mobilized for the time being, because this powerful army has already entered the city.

He complained to the bishop: "Four years ago, the king evacuated my warehouse on the grounds of crusade against sea pirates. Could it be that this time he intends to attack King Lothair in a roundabout way from this border? We don't want to join the civil war, after all Want to join? I have to pay tribute to the earl, and this time directly to the king. We are not rich at all. Since then, will I have to live by eating sour brown bread like the commoners? ?"

The bishop didn't want to listen any more, and bluntly retorted: "Why can't you live like an ascetic. We priests can live on bread and never ask for too much. You don't have to eat fat at every meal to live a hard life, Your soul will also be redeemed."

This is indeed the case. Although the Utrecht church collects most of the gold and silver in the region and uses it to make sacred objects for worship, the lives of the priests are still bitter and monotonous. In particular, the priests in the Flanders area spontaneously organized the Benedictine Order. The order is ascetic as it is reflected in the simple meals. It is guaranteed that all the spirits can be used for religious practice at one time.

The priests all advocated peace, and even Arbery II tried his best to persuade Martini to obey the demands of King Ludwig's army.

"It's really strange. Why didn't the king inform his lord first that they had arrived in my baronial territory when he passed through us, and I suddenly found out."

"Don't be confused anymore. You bring the army to meet the Frankish army, and they are also something we can't afford to provoke. Remember your identity, and be humble. I will handle the etiquette."

The bishop's remarks are reasonable. After all, the earldom of Flanders is too large, and it is impossible for the earl Baudouin to properly manage the entire northern part of the territory with a few barons. The counts cooperated actively with the clergy, and the bishop of Utrecht thus enjoyed considerable political power.

When people saw the bishop carrying all the priests carrying crosses, and even carrying some pure gold holy relics, they lined up to the city gate. Seeing this, the nervous hearts of the people were relieved, and they followed their footsteps.

The entire city of Utrecht was completely undefended, and almost all the population left the city.

Baron Martini wished that the Frankish army came and went in a hurry. He made the worst psychological prediction that he would hand over the taxes collected this year, mainly the food tax, to this army in exchange for peace.

It is even very necessary to do so. If the other party asks for money, then give it. Once they've been asking around for bad hospitality, once they've learned that the entire Earl of Flanders is betting on both sides of the kingdom's civil war, that's bad.

Because, in the kingdom under the civil war, the three warring princes have already had red eyes.

As long as this army is not well taken care of, the monarch behind it may unleash the wrath of thunder. What is a baron? The king can easily bypass the Count of Flanders and abolish his own little baroniality, and it is unreasonable. New provides you with the fastest Rise of Rurik update, chapter 961 Rurik under the city of Utrecht to read for free. https://

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