Chapter 1107： Count of Metz, King Lothair and Strasbourg

The long route of the Rhine River is tortuous, and her central river suddenly shows a north-south trend. Until it reaches Mainz, the river extends all the way west until it enters the Atlantic Ocean.

The central river channel infiltrates a large area of ​​mountain land, forming a large-scale valley plain.

To the west of the narrow valley are the Vosges Mountains and to the east are the Württemberg Mountains. Legally, Württemberg now belongs to Greater Bavaria. It is the fief of Ludwig, but the endless virgin forest makes it impossible to provide any effective resources, and it is also a place where wild animals are inaccessible.

The western part of the river is the real valley plain, where the terrain is extremely flat and has always been available for people to settle in. The valley plain extends south to Basel at the foot of the Alps. This plain area with a north-south span of 150 kilometers and a width of up to 50 kilometers is really a wonderful place to develop agriculture. The local core city is Strasbourg, with more than one million Frankish people living in this narrow area.

The priests ruled the area, and the Archbishop of Strasbourg ruled the land with his teachings. So overall it is a demilitarized area, with only the militias in the settlements defending themselves. Also because during the same period of the Frankish Kingdom, there was no possibility of being invaded by foreign enemies as the central area.

But the civil war has made the river valley plain where Strasbourg is located a place of right and wrong, and it has become an important source of troops for King Lothair.

After his father's new death, Lothair, who legally inherited the Frankish throne, began his active actions.

The three-thirds of the world's treaty is to avoid the royal civil war, but if the treaty is implemented according to the father's will, then the Frank that he owns will be seriously shrunk. In his opinion, the land allocated by his two younger brothers did not provide very strong military strength. It was Lotaire's idea to cut off the titles of his younger brothers by force.

At first, he did not intend to keep the truth. The third Ludwig was only the Duke of Bavaria, and the fourth Charles was only the Duke of Aquitaine, and he handed over all the standing army at hand, so it would be good to be a wealthy duke with peace of mind. ?

His idea is to break the arms of any enterprising noble, and even "giving up the standing army" is mainly aimed at Ludwig.

The eastern and northern princes of the kingdom have been pioneering the kingdom for hundreds of years, and the Frankish armies of the barbaric land often have to exchange opinions fiercely with the Danes and various Slavic tribes. They are completely bound to the interests of the Ludwig family who have been granted this place. The nobles have to think, if Ludwig loses power, Lothair will really treat us nobles kindly.

The situation in the Western Kingdom is more complicated. The large and small nobles in the plains of Aquitaine and the Pyrenees, they are more or less of Gallic blood, and their language is a mixture of Romanized Gallic and Frankish. A lost prince is eager to recover Honor, many southern nobles are willing to pull a hand, as long as this brand-new Western king will think of them.

But on the geographic map, the Middle Kingdom owned by Lothair does have an overwhelming advantage.

He wanted to make full use of the human resources of the Strasbourg region to force peasants to join the army by means of recruitment and coercion.

What if I owe the rent? Join the army, get paid, pay off debts.

The reason why Lothair has been asking Count Metz to take the lead at this stage is because he is busy training new recruits in Strasbourg. After all, he knew very well that his younger brother Ludwig had an iron army that had fought in Bavaria for hundreds of years. This army used to be the Avar savage who attacked the invaders with his grandfather the Great. Later, he was stationed in the east. Now it is Ludwig. Hi's trump card.

The younger brother is clearly unwilling to compromise, so he can only fight!

Although there was news that Ludwig's backyard was on fire, the counterinsurgency army suffered heavy losses. Is this believable? This should be a fact, I am afraid that the real situation is definitely not as outrageous as rumored.

Lotaire knows his current situation best. His actual control area is huge and powerful, but all three directions are against his own forces. Lotaire does not have the strength to win quickly with one enemy and one group.

He also looked forward to the harvest of 841, which would bring him enormous wealth to fill his army supplies and pay his recruits.

How many recruits are there? That was a mighty 20,000 people!

"Me! Be as powerful as my grandfather! I am the real Frankish king."

He has no financial resources to support 20,000 new recruits who are completely out of production, whether they are free farmers or debt tenants, even if they are prisoners judged by the church as guilty, all kinds of people gather together. During the slack season, they train and go back to harvest wheat during the busy season.

The 20,000 people were divided into two parts, of which 8,000 were farmers of fairly clean Frankish ethnic background, and were organized into ten infantry flag teams. Lotaire personally paid for weapons for these people, but the armor was exempted due to limited financial resources.

The remaining 12,000 people were organized into 15 flag teams, and their personnel were more responsible. According to the plan, they first existed as a baggage logistics force, and they had to be negligent in training. Under normal circumstances, these people will not be lined up on the battlefield. They will only fully participate in the war when the frontline battle is tight, or when Mainz and Frankfurt really open up the situation and pursue the victory.

Lotaire's wishful thinking was good, and he felt that he had enough time to spend it. As long as time continues to delay, his strength will become stronger and stronger. When his muscles are strong enough, it is not a dream to completely unify Frank in one year.

But Adalbert, Count of Metz, came in person.

Walking through the fields slowly, the Earl could see a lot of wheat stubble, as well as many women and children picking up missing ears of wheat in the fields. He rode his horse through some villages with his guards, and saw peasants collectively threshing grain with flails.

The entire Frankish world is busy with this year's autumn harvest. If a military operation is launched at this time, both sides must be in conflict.

Although Count Metz suffered heavy losses and the defenses of Lauten and Sara Perugia were strengthened, he was very confident in his defense, but he had to inform his king of important information.

Lothair was greatly surprised by the sudden return of the earl, so he urgently summoned the great nobleman who had worked hard and worked hard in the palace.

"Now, how is the situation in the north? I hope you will tell me that Mainz has been captured by you." King Lothair, sitting in a gold-encrusted seat, his golden crown shone brightly, his right hand was slightly off his hands, and he looked casual. .

Count Metz had no joy at all, his stern face as ugly as he had lost several bags of gold.

"No. I didn't take Mainz, but..."

"Did something big happen? Could it be that you wanted to tell me that you lost?!"

"I didn't lose, I didn't win. It was the Duke of Bavaria, who personally led the main force south!"

"what!?"

Lotaire, who was once idle, stood up, his hair trembled, and his big hand pointed at the count's neck: "You! You mean, my brother's iron army has gone south?! It's incredible that he actually started a war during the harvest season. Really. Crazy! Crazy!"

Earl Metz deliberately didn't finish his words, and he was slightly delighted when he saw this not-so-young king roaring around like a lion.

"Speak! What's going on?" Lothair, who calmed down, continued to question.

"But!" The Count raised his chest. "At the cost of countless blood, I blocked the attack of the Duke of Bavaria for His Majesty. I am your loyal servant. I killed at least 4,000 people, and finally repulsed their offensive. "

"They didn't come?! Oh, thank God. No! Thank you. It's not right..." Lothair thought about it and felt even more terrifying: "So, you died four thousand people? I handed it to you. Two thousand regular troops, shouldn’t it be…”

"How dare I damage the elite of the army? Although some died in battle, the damage was not serious. It's just that the peasants and soldiers I brought in suffered great losses. Of course, when I cleaned the battlefield, I found 5,000 dead bodies of the enemy. "

"Five thousand corpses?!" Reason told Lotaire that there must be moisture in it, but it was extremely encouraging news.

"Yes. Although also a large number of peasant soldiers. They were all buried... It was a brutal battle."

Speech is an art, and the war statistics given by Count Metz's special report are a bit weird. It seems that he did not give himself money or exaggerate his losses. The listing of such data just shows that he Adalbert is a great hero.

He was immediately greeted with verbal praise from Lothair, followed, of course, by some actual promises.

"You ensured the tranquility of Strasbourg! I made you Baron Bassard, and the land at the foot of the Alps belongs to you. And the previous promise remains."

In fact, what Count Metz wants most is the whole of Strasbourg, the land on which Lothair is stepping. Because the early frontier of the Merovingian Dynasty was the north-south Rhine River under the Vosges Mountains, which was the territory of the old Duke of Metz. If you get this area, you will get a huge amount of human resources. Even though the Earl of Metz is the name of the Earl, the actual level is already equal to or even stronger than the dagger of the Duke of Burgundy.

This idea is obviously unrealistic, but Adalbert is delighted to get Basal, because it also belongs to the fief of his ancestors.

"I am the Count of Metz, and I will also be the Count of Saar-Mainz, and even the Baron of Basel. If I add some more fiefs, I will be the same as the ancestors." The civil war has given many nobles opportunities. Count Metz is looking forward to good In the future, he did suffer heavy losses, but he was full of confidence when he saw King Lothair's recruits in Strasbourg and the bumper harvest on the valley plains.

Now Lothair can be sure that his younger brother, the strongest and most belligerent enemy, is in Mainz. The Eastern Iron Army lived up to its reputation, and they fought in the same room by attacking the Avar savages. Lothair admired this army, but it was a pity that they were not loyal to him. Such a statement that his younger brother suffered a defeat in the north, now Lothair really can't believe it. In the Battle of Lauten, both sides suffered great losses. Almost all the dead were poor peasant soldiers. The elites of the Eastern Kingdom did not die, proving that Ludwig still had great strength.

Soon it will be autumn, and the rain will increase, and when the land becomes muddy, the heavy cavalry, which the Franks are proud of, will not be easy to attack. After the autumn rainy season is winter, it is even less suitable for war.

In Lothair's view, there will be no more wars in 841, and the end of the civil war is no longer a distant prospect. He felt that a decisive battle would break out in the Saar-Leinland region where Mainz was located. At present, he had an advantage, and if he continued to consume this advantage, it would become an overwhelming advantage.

Lotaire did not send a secret talk, nor did Ludwig. This kind of thing that should be done at the first time, the two sides did not do it because they did not have this awareness.

The information received by the two supreme commanders in the war is still very limited. The way to solve the war is to send an official messenger to agree on a time and place.

Just as the original meaning of Assassin was "despicable and filthy inferior", it can be extended to the meaning of assassin spy, precisely because the nobles think this kind of behavior is very bad. Assassin has existed since the eleventh century, and now in Europe in 841, the noble Lothair does not want to be a mean person. So even if his younger brother attacked the camp of Earl Metz, where he was staying, it was very disrespectful, and he planned to retaliate.

However, the situation was fermenting in an unexpected direction that King Lothair did not expect.

The real Frankish king and the heir to the title of Roman emperor, Lothair, who has two heavyweight titles in one, is bound by it, and he cannot do despicable things.

However, Ludwig can't care too much. Since he has allied with the Normans with strange beliefs, why not continue to break the precepts? If despicableness can guarantee your power, then do evil! "Let me be judged by God after I die! It's not you who judge me! Lothair!"

The wheat harvest in Nassau is also in progress, and now with the support of new wheat from Koblenz, the "Fox Brothers" who actually control Nassau's power are now greatly increased in strength.

The blue fox was a distant earl, and the black fox exercised the real power of a baron in Nassau. The two nobles were nibbling on the bread made by the new wheat in one hand, and drinking wine with a wine glass in the other.

Because he made a secret contract with Ludwig in Mainz, Trier was the next powerful target of the Ross Army under the name of Nassau.

That Fred was forced to pretend that he was reluctant at the beginning, but immediately after arriving in Nassau Village, he was rewarded with real money from Blue Fox, and his attitude changed quickly.

"You care about them, they care about you? Arranging you to Koblenz is the fate of being attacked. Take the money and help us finish this vote. In the future, Ludwig will definitely be rewarded for your credit. At least our brothers will definitely need you after they become rich. Or you can do it with me! I am the earl of Gothenburg in the north, and I can give you a piece of land to make you a baron, but you have to change your faith and become a warrior of Odin."

Fred received the money and really intended to do things, but he was still very contradictory and didn't know the tricks of this Norman nobleman who made great promises.

But soon, he understood what blasphemy was.

The blue fox gathered all the existing troops in Nassau Village. They set up wooden stakes in the open space in the village and brought a sheep on purpose.

The brothers were almost all warriors of Odin before their conversion. Refuge? Does that mean you have to let go of the past? Pooh! Everything is just a conspiracy.

Ludwig said after all: "You act in the Norman way, and I have nothing against it."

The smart blue fox understood that the guy was implying that when the army really demolished the city of Trier, it must have nothing to do with Ludwig. The attack must have been an accident. That's it. But as a result, it was indeed a stab in the back of King Lothair.

The sheep were sacrificed in blood, and the Ruth warriors with indigo fuel on their faces shouted the name of Odin again.

Father Conrad and Bahbert were shocked and angry, and even partnered to argue with the blue fox.

However, the Norman nobleman named Joseph directly took out a series of pendants that he had concealed. "Religious! Of course I'm religious! I'm religious to a lot of gods. You two call me blasphemous, that's a fallacy. Listen, Odin is God, and I know Latin."

Such a statement can only add fuel to the fire He said again: "After the war, we collectively regret it." But such a statement is extremely arrogant.

The blue fox has its own set of sophistry logic. Because they know Latin, the two priests weighed it for themselves. The priest who pays attention to civilization and profoundness must not quarrel in Latin. In addition, the other party really has a large army, so he has to silently curse this heresy to be a big one. The falling thunder that descended by the angel choked to death.

Is there really a thunderstorm? Thunderbolt did not appear. Even if it does appear, the blue fox can immediately interpret it as "Look, it's Thor who blesses us".

As long as he regains his identity as a warrior of Odin, any plunder can be regarded as a great achievement. The brothers have been holding back for half a year, and the attack on Koblenz did not cause substantial damage due to the need for future notice. How can this opportunity to make a fortune escape under the constraints of regulations?

They collectively changed into the costumes of the Ross Army, held the flag of Ross, and the ships they used were all traditional longboats. They will start operations on the first day of September. All the supplies needed when the Moselle River marches against the current are completed. After the soldiers reorganize their weapons and adjust their mentality, they will attack in the best state.

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