Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1388

[Chapter 1,487: Standing on Niutou Mountain and having a bird’s eye view of Rurik and his big goal in Koblenz]

“It’s such a nice weather! It’s nice that it’s not raining.” Rurik stretched hard while looking at the sun.

What appeared before his eyes was a bustling scene under the rising sun.

“It seems that the brothers all slept well last night. It was a peaceful night.” Rurik sighed silently and walked towards the camp by the river with his hands behind his back.

He had noticed that some classic long boats had appeared on the calm Rhine River. Apparently Black Fox had made some preparations in advance, and the entire army’s river-crossing operation was about to begin.

The waves gently lap on the muddy ground by the river, a cool breeze sweeps across the world, and the forest rustles with the north wind, all reminding people that late autumn has arrived.

It’s not cold enough to be frosty, but the humidity in this area is relatively high. The temperature is not the attitude. The cold moisture accumulated by the river exacerbates the bad feeling in the body.

Rurik was a little giant. He stood by the river and was surrounded by some guards. His majestic image quickly attracted the attention of the early black fox.

“Your Majesty! You finally woke up.”

“You?” Rurik turned around sharply and saw the fat man trotting over, muttering as he covered his big belly.

“King, look.” Just standing in front of Rurik, Black Fox immediately pointed to the longships that were gathering: “The operation to cross the river can begin. As long as you give the order, my people will start taking action now.”

“Very good. I thought you were going to linger a little longer, so let’s start now without further ado. First, let your people rush to the beach! My soldiers should also tidy up all the tents…”

The vast Russian cavalry faced the Rhine River for the first time, and then the entire army crossed the river, including men and horses. In the past, they only learned about the existence of this long European river from the textbooks provided by the king. Now everyone can put themselves in its shoes and understand it, and even Own it.

One after another, the long boats finished washing the beach, and the soldiers who had eaten gathered on the riverside one after another under the command of the officers, bringing all kinds of baggage with them.

The pier in the village of Llandstein is too small, but fortunately there are many berths in the area where long boats can be beached and semi-grounded.

Crossing the river has never been difficult for warriors from the north. This is precisely a reflection of their military superiority, so that all the Ross cavalry could complete the crossing before noon.

A long ship often accommodates twenty people and two horses. Another long ship is completely towed and serves as a horse transport ship. It only needs to be watched by individual warriors. The docile but brave horses kneel in the cabin to lower the center of gravity. The two ships are connected in series. You can quickly cross the Rhine River.

The width of the Rhine River in the dry season is already lower than the most feared projectile range of the Russian army’s torsion slingshot. In the Koblenz section, its width is less than 250 meters.

Along the way, when the Russian army encountered narrow waterways, they built pontoon bridges, and when they encountered wide waterways, they used long boats to transport personnel and supplies in an assembly line.

The Rhine is not very wide at all.

In terms of width, which one of the Daugava, Vistula, and Oder rivers is not wider than the Koblenz Cutoff of the Rhine?

The Ross soldiers knew how to cooperate, and they themselves had to act as oarsmen when they boarded the ship. The soldiers’ superb river crossing skills allowed them to in turn command the Nassau Army soldiers. Originally, Black Fox was very worried about the situation in the river crossing operation. Any concerns he had All seem redundant.

In the morning, the Ross army, including men and horses, arrived in Koblenz. A large open field appeared in front of the army, and a stone fortress was clearly visible on the hillside not far away.

Rurik’s leather boots stepped on the mud, and he had landed at the legendary German Corner.

The concept of Germany existed in this era. The Teutonic tribe once defeated the arrogant Roman legions, and many Germanic tribes remembered those heroes deeply.

Although this is not obvious, in the huge Alemannic region, many nobles are willing to worship the Teutons as the ancestors of heroes, and are also willing to claim that they are descendants of the Teutons.

Due to the change in pronunciation, Teutonic was pronounced German.

The transportation position of the Koblenz Delta is extremely critical. Rurik had already learned through letters that the Blue Fox and Black Fox brothers had severely defeated the Frank army loyal to Lothair here.

He also believed that the other party would not give up after suffering a loss, because this delta area has changed hands several times and is now under the control of Ross’s forces. Whether Ross can hold it is really a big test.

Behind him were the soldiers who were landing one after another. Rurik asked to look back. For a moment, his eyes looked at the hills not far away, as well as the castle and military camp that were said to have belonged to the Frankish army.

“Then the castle you gave me?” Rurik pointed to a stone building on the hillside with great interest.

The black fox was extremely happy and complimented: “I have known for a long time that you were going to launch a full-scale attack. I have been renovating the castle since last year. I dare say that it can fully meet the king’s needs.”

“Thank you so much for your hard work.”

“Why do you need to say thank you, Your Majesty? Besides…” Black Fox wanted to take the opportunity to state his adventurous idea, but after thinking about it, he might as well wait until everything is stable.

“And what? Could it be that you were smart enough to build the soldiers’ barracks?”

“Yes. I renovated and rebuilt some of the old houses left by the enemy. Considering that the army you brought is absolutely massive, I built some more wooden houses. I’m sorry… I still underestimated the size of your army.” Black Fox pretended to be regretful and shook his head: “If everyone is willing to sleep together this winter, the existing houses can accommodate two thousand people. I think the soldiers do not want the dormitories to be cramped.”

“Of course.”

“Then I can convince the villagers to give up some houses as campsites for your army. There’s no problem with that.”

“Are you disturbing the villagers?” Rurik looked at the rows of wooden houses in the delta area, and then at the sun: “Those are the people you control, that is, my people. I don’t want to disturb their peaceful life, but My army does need a lot of houses to garrison it. Listen!”

“Your Majesty, please speak.”

“Originally, I stationed at least a thousand warriors at the mouth of the Rhine River, plus some Danish pirates with their own weapons, there may be two thousand. My huge fleet may have arrived now, and there may be another three thousand Until four thousand soldiers arrive. There is a high probability that six thousand soldiers will gather in your Coblenz! I didn’t count the Nassau army in your hands at all! This Coblenz you have can really Can it accommodate six thousand troops?”

“So many?” The little fat man was startled. He gritted his teeth and said, “It can be done! Six thousand soldiers can be stationed.”

“In this case, my army is usually organized into teams of ten. Ten people can live in one room. I need at least 600 houses that can survive the winter. In my opinion… you can’t meet my requirements now. You are right.” Rurik sighed: “Asking the locals of Koblenz to give up their houses to me will naturally solve the housing problem in a short time, but in that case I will be called a tyrant again. My When my enemies call me a tyrant, that’s a compliment, but when your people call me a tyrant behind my back, I don’t like it.”

“Your Majesty, you are merciful. So what should I do?”

Rurik had already thought of a solution, and he was not in a hurry to say anything. He continued to point to the stone castle on the hillside: “Let’s go see the castle first, and then I’ll go all the way to the top of the mountain to see the whole of Koblenz. After that… … We can plan to build a new batch of homes that can survive the winter.”

The hill has no name, and the hill adjacent to the settlement of Koblenz was named Kiupkopf, the so-called “Nuo’s Head Mountain” by the locals.

This is not because it looks like a bull’s head, but based on the geographical location of the Koblenz Delta, the first mountain in the delta was named “Bull Head”. When Black Fox led his troops to take control of this place, Bull Head Mountain The name was also adopted by these new Norman conquerors.

This cow actually refers to a cow. After all, Koblenz, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers, has a delta flat area with a maximum depth of nearly four kilometers. It is extremely suitable for farming. The area soaked by the river always has high food yields (in the opinion of the locals). (Knowledge), just like a cow that continuously produces milk.

In such an environment, pasture grows vigorously, and the Koblenz Delta is indeed a good place to raise cattle and sheep.

The bad thing is that the local horse breeding industry could have been developed. Since 838, it has been frequently damaged by wars. The animal husbandry industry once withered, and even the people’s survival suffered a major blow.

The cattle and sheep industry is only now beginning to recover, while the horse breeding industry has long since collapsed and disappeared.

Rurik gave Fisk, Brody and others work arrangements, and the two generals were responsible for commanding the temporary camp of the landing force.

He decided to personally inspect the hillside military camp before giving top instructions on the current issue of the Ross Army’s camp.

Accompanied by Black Fox and Sophia, Rurik took Beyathil’s hand and happily walked towards the hillside.

From the black fox’s perspective, the black-haired woman’s status is now like that of a queen!

She actually knows who she is – one of the rare female generals in Russia and the famous little princess of Pecheneg.

The Black Fox does not want his Sophia to grow up to be such a female general, because Sophia is the legal authority of the County of Nassau-Coblenz. If she makes any mistakes before giving birth to a male heir in the future, it will be a disaster for all vested interests. The huge blow was enough to shake the legitimacy of the hundreds of brothers staying in Nassau.

Four hundred warriors from the north will desperately protect Sophia. The best way to protect her is to ensure that she does not run around. A group of warriors must accompany her when she goes to a farther place.

Sophia is a female aristocrat with certain ambitions, but what she doesn’t know is that her fiancé and the majority of warriors are very wildly ambitious.

“That woman, isn’t she Rose’s queen?” To avoid embarrassment, Sophia curiously whispered to the black fox.

“She is Beyathil, the princess of another powerful kingdom in the far eastern world. King Rus does not believe in God, so he can marry many women. There is only one queen in Rus, but he can have many concubines. Just like… Like Charlemagne.”

With this explanation, Sophia nodded deeply. She estimated that Rurik and Beyasier had a correct relationship and stopped hearing about it.

Because Charlemagne had five wives and five concubines throughout his life, by divorcing and remarrying, Charlemagne was able to legally maintain intimate relationships with multiple women, and the church could only tolerate it even if it complained.

Naturally, Charlemagne also had many sons and daughters. Among them, his third wife gave birth to Louis the Pious. The great nobles who are now developing the civil war all come from this lineage.

“The legendary Charlemagne had many women, but you will only love me, one woman, forever, right?” Sophia asked abruptly.

Hei was startled, and he did not hesitate again: “Of course, you are the only wife I have.”

“Okay, our official wedding will be in a few years. By then, I don’t know how powerful my uncle will become.”

“Why do you ask that?” Black Fox asked in surprise: “I thought you should ignore the things that these men should pay most attention to.”

“How can you be indifferent? This is my uncle, and you… are all my vassals. I know that King Ross has his own plans when he brings troops this time, and I believe he will not infringe on my interests. King Ross is powerful He does not harass my people in Koblenz, and he is definitely a kind man. If… I were a man, would I follow him like you, right?”

“That’s true. He has a strong charisma. Anyone who works with him will receive huge benefits. We need to rely on him. In a few years, we will become very powerful.”

Black Fox had a vague feeling that his fiancée had a strong desire for expansion, or that it was difficult for her to speak out directly because she was a woman.

She didn’t say anything, but she had to face Rurik to explain her plans last night.

The top priority is that the group has begun to climb the stone stairs to enter the stone castle. Black Fox has the obligation to introduce the Ross Palace to King Ross.

As a result, Koblenz Castle became the Rus Palace.

Wherever the King of Rus lives, there is the palace. A towering wooden pillar was immediately erected on the hillside, and the flag of Rus was hung on it. Koblenz Castle is not only Rurik’s palace, but more importantly, he is also the future Rus. The command center of the army.

The layout over the past few years has finally come to fruition. Although the furnishings of this stone castle are far less familiar than those in my hometown, it has hard stone walls and wooden floors. Through the stone windows, you can have a bird’s eye view of the Koblenz Delta!

The stone fort is built against the mountain. There are many newly dug dirt roads leading to the stone fort, and a road strewn with stones leads directly to the warrior camp at the foot of the mountain.

Standing behind the stone wall, Rurik’s hair was blowing violently in the wind.

He walked for a while and felt hot all over. Faced with the wind from the north, he felt cool at first, and then started to feel cold.

“You can see far because you stand high. The weather is not bad today. I can see the mountains in the north. If my eyesight is better, I might be able to see Cologne in the distance.” Rurik sighed as he looked into the distance.

At this moment, the black fox was blown by the north wind and subconsciously narrowed his eyes: “Your Majesty, this is not the highest point of Niutou Mountain. If you are willing…”

“Continue climbing? Yes. I am very satisfied with the castle you have prepared, but I really want to live here in the winter. I am afraid that the cold wind will easily penetrate into every room. It is absolutely pleasant to live here in the summer. I have changed my mind. Now! I’ll stay at the foot of the mountain after I finish admiring the scenery at the top of the mountain.”

“All right.”

“You seem a little depressed?” Rurik noticed the black fox’s inadvertently pouting mouth.

“I can not.”

“It doesn’t matter. High places are suitable for building observation posts. I also want to build sentries on the top of the mountain. This way, if the enemy wants to attack Coblenz, we will know early and respond.”

With this said, it seems that there are powerful enemies who dare to do evil things to Coblenz.

The black fox curled his lips slightly, which caught Rurik’s attention again: “Boy, why are you laughing? Do you think what I said is wrong?”

“I really don’t dare. But… based on my understanding of this area, I am afraid that no strong enemy dares to harass us. Only our army has always taken the initiative to launch wars. If any idiot dares to join the invaders, they will be seeking death. Just give it back. We are sending food, weapons, and prisoners of war.” Black Fox said this deliberately, waiting for Rurik’s answer before he officially brought the topic to the initiative to attack Caogu.

“Indeed, I have thousands of troops here. Every soldier is wearing iron armor. Our troops are well-armed. If you dare to invade, you are seeking death.”

The black fox was overjoyed: “Then, such a large army as the king must need a lot of food.”

“I have taught you a long time ago about the principle of going ahead with food and fodder before troops and horses are used, so that our army can ensure proper logistics at any time. If soldiers have food at all times, there will be no Pythagorean. Brothers with sufficient physical strength will always be able to We waved the prisoners of war and saw how many enemies came and their skulls were chopped into wine bowls by us, haha!”

Rurik looked up to the sky and laughed in the face of the increasingly howling north wind. When he felt comfortable, the black fox happily continued to ask: “So, how much food is appropriate?”

“You don’t have to worry about this. I have prepared food for half a year for this expedition. I am also searching for food and buying food along the way. After our army gathers in Coblenz, we will have enough food to last until next summer. If the war cannot be carried out next year, Solved, our army can continue to wait until the Franks’ autumn harvest. Those villagers have harvested food, and I just led the troops to grab it. ”

Hearing these words, Black Fox almost slapped his thigh.

He was overjoyed: “Your Majesty is wise! Now that the Franks have completed their wheat harvest, there is a lot of grain in my warehouse in Coblenz, but… I think your Majesty is more interested in looting the enemy’s granaries. I think you will never Complaining about having too much grain in hand, more grain is just used for making wine, haha.”

“Oh? You kid…” Rurik narrowed his eyes: “Seeing my powerful cavalry coming, UU Kanshu www.SonicMTL.net are you going to make a fortune by borrowing my soldiers? You are a cunning little fox, but You can’t fool me.”

“That’s true.” The black fox’s eyes narrowed like a fox, and he laughed evilly before saying: “Now there is an opportunity in front of us. Last time, our army was too weak to attack the city of Metz. It would be impossible to rob real wealth. At that time, the locals had not harvested wheat, and now… Haha, as long as the king orders it, I will take the order now! We are willing to go to Metz to help the king rob a large amount of grain.”

“You?!” The desire for plunder in Rurik’s heart has been awakened. He slapped the black fox on the shoulders and shook his head desperately: “I learned that Count Metz is dead! If he doesn’t die, you can’t go there in the summer. Make a fortune. How can such a good deed of robbing food be omitted from me? Besides, if you can’t defeat the city of Metz, it’s because you are not strong enough. This time… I am very interested in your boy’s idea. My army has six thousand brave warriors. , they can only rest for a short time, and as time goes by, they will come to me every now and then to ask for battle. Our army has come all the way to fight and make money! So…”

The black fox’s narrowed eyes suddenly opened: “Ah?! Your Majesty, do you want to attack Metz City directly?”

“How? Is this a problem?”

“No problem.” Black Fox was already so excited that his fat body was shaking.

“I think this matter is very promising. As long as my army floats over from the mouth of the Rhine River, we can launch a full-scale attack! By then, the entire Moselle River will be full of our army’s long boats, and then your second brother Blue Fox’s The army joined together, and we worked together to completely sack Metz. Food, money, and local horses, we all moved here to welcome the cold winter that started at the end of November.”

[End of This Chapter.]