Chapter 995： Oral gymnastics

Rurik could feel the malice of the enemy, just as Ludwig felt the malice of the enemy.

This time, Ludwig simply used double-layer chain mail and leather-inlaid iron armor. The three-layer armor was extremely heavy on the body, and the outside was covered by a cloth robe, which further showed that he was extremely strong.

Rurik strode forward with his "bear head, sunglasses, and heavy armor" Berserker, waving a steel sword with a jeweled hilt.

He shouted in Latin: "I am the Augustus of Rus! I am the Augustus of all the North!"

Ludwig had to be severely suppressed in momentum, and at this time the name of "Augustus" was above everything else.

Some Ludwigs were stunned, not expecting that the enemy chief could speak Latin, but on the other hand, he only knew some phrases. Encountering the stigma of being uneducated aroused even greater anger in Ludwig.

His entourage has an eye problem: "Your Majesty, it looks like the Count of Westphalia is there too."

"It was the traitor, I saw it. Ludov is no longer an earl, but a shameful traitor."

"Your Majesty, those Normans have special weapons that they carry, and they will shoot deadly arrows at us with that thing, please be careful, Your Majesty."

"I understand! You can't help reminding me!"

Ludwig was emotional, and he had never experienced such severe humiliation in his life. A barbarian chief who dared to call himself Augustus, yet his ability to speak Latin was outrageous. What's even more bizarre is that the chief and his soldiers have huge dark eyes, such a bizarre sight is like a demon crawling out of hell.

Ludwig was not afraid, and the idea of ​​a warrior one-on-one once occupied his head.

As a result, a force controlled his head, and the guy dismounted uncontrollably, beckoning his subordinates to stand by, and opened his arms and walked straight towards the crowd with "big dark eyes".

He was still swearing: "You are all lowly filth! I am the grandson of Charlemagne! I am the Duke of Saxony! I am the Duke of Bavaria! I am the ruler of Osteria! I am the king of the East Franks! I am The ruler of all of you! You filthy worms, don't get down on your knees..."

Liudov, who also dismounted from the horse, was helpless to do the translation, and his words were very euphemistic, for fear that Rurik would immediately get angry and start shooting.

Rurik didn't get angry, he stretched out his hand to signal his followers to calm down, and put down the crossbow he was holding up for the time being.

He glanced at Ludov again: "What a coincidence. Originally this was a big battle between you Saxons and Franks, and we Russ were the guest army. Maybe you should have a good chat with your former king."

"You ridicule me." Liudov smiled helplessly, "My Saxony and you are an alliance, you are the leader of the Northern Alliance, and you have the greatest right to speak."

"Too."

After all, Rurik returned his sword to its sheath, and took off his sunglasses to show his true face.

In the sunlight, his golden ponytail seemed to be shining, and the splendid color even covered the golden laurel crown. His beard was naturally curly like his biological father Otto, and now it is very masculine after being taken care of by Haosheng.

Ludwig was taken aback. He didn't think that the black thing was actually a blinding prop. He had already seen the blue eyes of the barbarian chief, like the sky.

To be fair, this chief has none of the sloppy Norman savagery.

The other party put away the sword and looked innocent, and Ludwig also put the sword into the sheath, and opened his arms slightly to be harmless. Just seeing that the noble chief is still with Liudov himself, this traitor is living a good life, and he gets angry when he sees it.

Thus, the kings of the North and the South finally have a historic meeting, and if the two sides decide to fight a duel, the battle can be fought on this ice.

Rurik didn't even reject a duel of kings. First of all, it was a kind of Viking tradition. Second, he felt that if he could win the duel of life and death, he would be blinded by this majestic Nordic body and specially trained martial arts.

Because Rurik was indeed raised a whole head by Ludwig, he was young and vigorous, and his deep eyes were ruthless beyond his age.

"You are the grandson of Charlemagne? Ludwig?"

Ludwig still understood these Latin words, so he asked back in Latin, "Who are you?"

"I am Rurik, King of Ross, to be a man equal to Augustus. The whole North is under my control, to the sea at the end of the world. Remember my name! I am Rurik."

For Ludwig, the tall man standing in front of him had absolutely no savage temperament like a barbarian. He was tall and handsome, with solid blond hair as a distinguishing feature, and a golden laurel wreath of great wonder.

Who is Rurik, the leader of the Rus? Those legends still seem too conservative.

"Sure enough... you're Rurik. I heard your name years ago, and finally, we met this way. More than I imagined."

Ludwig was a little timid, even if he shouted that he could have a duel between kings to vent his unhappiness. Now it seems that this may not be a good idea. If it is a duel, the probability of winning by oneself... is not large.

Now, it was Rurik's turn to ask questions.

"You did not answer me. Tell me. Are you really the grandson of Charlemagne, Ludwig of East Francia?"

"it's me!"

"Oh..." Rurik sighed meaningfully, inadvertently raising his neck to look at the sun.

Although the two sides were separated by a certain distance, their crossbow was faster than seven steps away. Killing this reckless king is easy.

The killing intent in a single thought was suppressed by reason, and Rurik's blue eyes ignited a fire: "So, we will meet on the battlefield after all. Don't worry, my people will not launch a sneak attack, presumably your entourage on horseback will not. There will be a sudden attack."

"You are mocking this king as a despicable person. It is true that you do not believe in God, but I admit that you and your army are worthy of admiration. Unfortunately, you Normans have completely invaded this king's territory, and it is this king's duty to expel you. . I'm in a good mood today, if you lay down your weapons and go by boat and swear not to invade again. We, we can keep the peace."

Rurik did not find it strange to hear these remarks. The Franks did not intend to negotiate well from the beginning. The king deliberately put forward humiliating and harsh conditions. The essence was to intensify the conflict.

Rurik pouted slightly, noticed Ludov who was about to speak, and ordered him to calm down for the time being with his eyes.

He said again: "King Frank! Your words are ridiculous! This is the territory of the Duchy of Saxony. We Rus, Denmark, and all the northerners are allies with the Duchy of Saxony. In order to protect our allies, we form a coalition. This is not your territory, And you! must be responsible for breaking the peace in Denmark and causing war."

"That's refusing my request? I gave you a decent chance to leave, but you don't appreciate it." Ludwig shook his head with a feigned regret.

"Then choose war! Or, you and I, the two kings, fight one-on-one on this ice surface. The soldiers don't have to die on a large scale. You and I take off our armor and fight with our own swords."

"Ridiculous! Rurik of Ross, you are just a northern chief who speaks Latin. How qualified to fight this king? Now I can see your face clearly. Today is the day of the decisive battle."

Rurik was unmoved, staring like a beast with sharp eyes: "You... are actually a coward. Let tens of thousands of people die for your desires, and you are still a noble. What face do you have to command your Eastern Franks?"

"Joke. Your desires are not even weaker than this king."

"Okay." Rurik knew that he no longer needed to do oral gymnastics on the ice. "Tell you a secret."

"What's the matter?"

"Horik Haraldsson is not dead. Unfortunately, I cut off his hands and feet, stabbed his eyes, and pulled out his tongue. This man is in Hamburg, and the king of Denmark you chose is this kind of thing. "

"You!" Ludwig's face changed greatly: "Horrick has converted! You savages, competing to do such cruel things to devout believers."

"Really? But you're also aggressively attacking the Duchy of Saxony, attacking the Saxons here, and you obviously have the same beliefs. You're a hypocrite! But it's pointless. We do need a final battle to solve the problem. Listen. One king will not kill another king. I will capture you on the battlefield! Unless you desert your army as a coward and flee. I have nothing to say to you, and the battle is next."

Feeling that he had lost his tongue in the "negotiation", at the last moment, Ludwig did not forget to speak quickly: "However, you are not a king, but a chief. When I capture you, I will tie you up. Burn at the stake. As my grandfather Charlemagne did, your barbarian soldiers, will be crucified."

"madness."

There was no need for Liudov to translate in detail, Rurik thought that it would not be good to continue to charge the steel-arm crossbow, and immediately ordered.

He pointed at several of Ludov's horse entourage, and ordered his men to shoot immediately. In an instant, the stubby armor-piercing arrows hit the flanks and abdomen of the warhorse with weak defenses, and immediately knocked down the two heavily armored cavalry, which immediately caused chaos among the other cavalry. At the same time, other Russ Berserkers drew their swords one after another, and Rurik himself resolutely drew his own sword.

He yelled: "Stupid provocation! Ludwig! It looks like we'd better have a duel! I'm going to chop your head off and make a wine bowl out of your skull! I'll make a bowstring out of your intestines! I'll use you skin to make a rug!"

That's all, Rurik took the aggressive look of a berserker and made a dash forward.

The two cavalry that had just been attacked at close range had already fallen heavily, and the soldiers had been crushed by the war horses and could not move. This also proves that the ice layer of the Elbe is now extremely thick.

Ludwig's entourage was already in chaos, for fear that he would be shot by the strange and sharp arrows of the Rus, he instantly lost his previous spirit and fled in a hurry. And this stupid escape abruptly slipped on the ice surface three times in a row, and only then did he feel his warhorse swiftly withdraw.

Seeing this, Rurik stopped chasing him.

"Your Majesty, just let them escape like this?" a Berserker asked unwillingly.

"That's right! This man is too bullying to kill him immediately. Brothers are unbearable."

Rurik shook his head, looked at the back of Ludwig who was running away and said with emotion: "You have just seen that the man slipped and fell many times, which shows that they are not interested in advancing on this ice except for the cavalry. I will Afraid that they will realize that the ice battle is not good for them, unless ... we provoke them."

He thought of a savage solution, "Aren't you guys very resentful that you can't kill that Ludwig? Look. There are two unfortunate cavalrymen on the ice. Barbaric. Decapitating the enemy, swinging it with a sword, angering the enemy in front."

All the bear-headed and heavily armored berserkers all took the lead, and immediately began the barbaric "exciting general method".

Rurik also withdrew to the cheers of the soldiers in the rear, telling his generals that the battle was about to break out.

Ludwig fled in embarrassment. He was extremely dissatisfied with who he was today, but unfortunately, this body fled without listening to the wisdom of his head. When he returned to his Frankish array, he had bought some time for his heated greetings with King Ross, and most of the arrays were in place, basically meeting the needs of launching an attack.

Only he soon heard the boos and roars of the soldiers.

Behold!

Those enemies dressed as white bears are swaggering with the limbs of the dead! It was the stump of two cavalry warriors who did not return. What a barbaric move!

The Frankish warriors gritted their teeth and were surprised at the hasty withdrawal of their king.

As soon as Ludwig returned, he comforted the Archbishop of Cologne who had just finished his congratulations: "My king, you are all well."

"Bah! I've never been insulted like this before! Even my grandfather, my father, and my brother have never insulted me like this! I want..." Then there was a lot of trash talk, in surprise The archbishop stepped back again and again.

Cursing is enough, the enemy will stand in a dense crowd. The enemies were all in the open, because of the obvious color tones of their clothes. Obviously, this was the Norman barbarian army dominated by blue and white, and the Saxon peasant soldiers dominated by gray.

Such an enemy has a clear difference in strength and weakness. Those Norman troops with blue and white tones and a large number of unified flags flying are the elites that must be killed. Ludwig gained something this time. He noticed that the traitor Ludov had already taken the lead in Rurik, the chief of Rus. Obviously, if these Norman troops were not defeated, there would be no victory, let alone solve the problem of northern defense.

Having said that, as long as Rurik is killed and this Norman army is annihilated, the entire Norman world will be severely damaged. Presumably, there will be no border trouble in the north for many years, and the Saxons will not dare to move. Rebellious mind. As for the traitor Ludov, this man is useless. Ludwig even complained about his grandfather Charlemagne's appeasement of the family, and Widukind's entire family tree should be punished! Since grandpa can't do it, he is obliged to do it.

"Attack! I'm going to arrange for someone to attack!"

Ludwig muttered for a while, and decisively pushed the "dead man" he had prepared to the front line.

A large group of Sorbian slave soldiers accompanied the army. When they set off, there were 5,000 soldiers. Because of the surprise attack, road damage, and the recent severe damage from the cold current, there were only 1,500 slave soldiers who could last until now. Hundreds of people can still fight.

They turned into "two-legged bulls and horses" after their carriages were maliciously killed by mysterious enemy cavalry, and they were treated as livestock to make them suffer.

Now, they all know that they will usher in a very cruel fate - launch the first round of attacks.

Perhaps an early death in battle will end the pain, and it will not last long in this extremely cold environment. Either defeat the Norman army to create a good opportunity for the large army to advance, or be killed by the enemy...

At least the Sorbian slave soldiers were blessed by the spiritual buff of the Archbishop of Cologne.

"You are crusade against the savages, and your feats will offset your original sin. Your souls will ascend to heaven, and everything will be fine..."

It is no longer scary to die in such a battle.

The 1,500 slave soldiers were assembled, and they distributed a large number of short spears and axes, and most of them used simple wooden boards as shields.

They had no armor at all, and their clothes were grossly slovenly. Most people look bloated, but in fact it is because they are covered with various cloth strips, which can only keep out the cold without paying attention to decency. After all, they were conquered people. In the eyes of the Franks, they were lowly people, who could only be slaves. Today, their shabby dress is in line with their identity.

A large group of people in gray and black tones were gathering, and Rurik was convinced that the enemy's first attack was about to be launched. It's just that they didn't send heavy armored troops to launch a fierce attack The dark enemies in a wide formation like a linear array began to move! They were shooting in a denser formation, walking cautiously on the ice, and because of their fear and the fact that the ice was really slippery, they couldn't run fast. However, seeing the Ross Army, many long-range heavy weapons and shooters are ready to launch.

Rurik felt that just one or two rounds of shooting would be enough to break the enemy's formation and force them to withdraw.

It's just that they don't understand what Ludwig's conspiracy is.

Or was it because of his own overthinking that Ludwig just arranged for a group of militiamen to die and launch a general attack after consuming the strength of the Rus army?

Wait a minute!

I'm afraid that's what they are for!

"No! Let the Saxons be the first to defeat these enemies."

Rurik then sent a messenger with bright feathers on his head to run quickly to the rear of the array, informing Ludov to send a spearman, giving priority to the Saxon army to launch a counter-production war.

So Liudov didn't even think about it, and led his carefully selected thousand of the best, carrying a spear and leaving the rear array.

Rurik saw the resolute face of Liudov who dismounted from his horse to fight, and for a while admired the courage of this man, who dared to fight in person as the Duke of Saxony.

Because this is really important to Liudov.

The Russ and Danish armies will leave after the war, and the main territory will be managed by their own families. To maintain legitimacy, the ducal family must set an example for all local nobles. Most of the small local lords of Saxony have already sent troops to fight in the army. They have to witness Liudov personally participate in the war, just like the great hero Widukind half a century ago, so they will really work hard.

No doubt Liudov was well aware of this, and he wanted nothing more than to fight in person.

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