Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1177

[Chapter 1177 Sal Conspiracy]

Although Sophia is young and doesn’t have a long-term vision, she still has the most basic understanding of the surrounding areas where her family is located.

Facing the black fox’s question, she tried her best to calm down and said, “The Robert family, their family cemetery is in Wiesbaden. That’s a good place to come to Ingol.”

“She’s right.” Ludwig spread his hands with a calm expression: “How? This king can give you this place. Pledge your allegiance to me and be the Baron of Wiesbaden. This king was right Ingo has no greed, since Robert’s family has defected, the entire region should be given to a new owner. This new lord is here!”

“This… how to do this.”

“Are you hesitant? You are contradictory.” Ludwig poked his bearded head like a lion, his eyes staring like brass bells: “Is he loyal to your Rurik, or is he loyal to me? Maybe, this It’s never been a problem.”

“Ok?”

“This king does not ask you to choose a side. This king and Rurik are not rivals now, and I don’t want to start a frontal quarrel, unless Rurik is the first to tear up the peace treaty. Listen! Being a vassal of this king means Many problems can be easily solved.”

“What does it mean?”

“Are you the real Hutu? Or are you just pretending to be stupid here?”

In fact, the black fox could see that the king’s heart had been relaxed under the cover of his angry eyes, but this man had to pretend to be extremely strong.

Speaking of ourselves, we asked ourselves that there is indeed no clear status now. King Ross arranged for himself to build a Ross store in Nassau, and allocated some manpower.

All converted to God, have been separated from Ross in faith.

Is there a possibility?

In a sense, this is also the deliberate alienation of King Ross?

After all, only the eldest son of the Gould family has the right to inherit the name, and the other brothers have to seek their own future according to the old rules.

So the other three brothers have effectively left Rose’s inner circle.

My father has passed away, and my old mother is also in a state of depression and is living in Lake Mälaren for the elderly.

Those brothers and sisters who were concubine were all given the status of civilians, and those people had to prove themselves through military exploits, unless they could just be mortals with peace of mind.

Therefore, with a group of de facto marginalized brothers, I have a very strong right to choose freely, and my relationship with the Kingdom of Ross has become a de facto ally.

The black fox hooked its head and engaged in a fierce ideological struggle, but Ludwig didn’t want to dawdle.

“Quick! Tell this king your choice. Be loyal to me and give it to the baron. Similarly, this king also recognizes your wife’s existing title and new claim.”

“…”

“Just say something!” The anxious Ludwig simply slapped the table, and then slammed the meat-cutting knife into the table.

Seeing her husband with his head hooked in silence, and the king as irritable as a lion, Sophia frowned and gritted her teeth in a dilemma.

Because this little girl also secretly resented her father’s “abandonment”, she might as well seize the opportunity to create her own business with her husband.

She grabbed her husband’s arm subconsciously, poked her delicate little head, and stared at the hesitant face of the black fox with trembling eyes.

She murmured: “For me, promise him.”

“you……”

“King Ross didn’t blame you last year, but this year he will.”

“maybe I……”

After all, the black fox was still defeated by his wife’s eyes. He raised his head and let out a sigh of relief: “Well, I can pledge my allegiance to you. I hope that King Ross will forgive me.”

“Very good. It’s really hard work. No nobleman has ever hesitated in the face of my reward. You!” Ludwig pointed his big hand directly at the nose of the black fox: “You are young and bold, just as arrogant as all the Normans .But you look like a fat sheep, maybe you should prove to me that you are indeed a proud man.”

For the time being, the black fox didn’t care about hearing the truth behind this statement. He had his own opinion: “I am conditionally loyal to you. My army can fight for you, but you must pay us food and money. We must benefit Ketu, especially if you can come up with a sum of money to pay tribute to King Ross. Otherwise, I worry that my behavior will be regarded as a betrayal.”

“Ridiculous. You still want to pay him tribute? Are you a defeated man?”

“This is the rule in the north.”

There is indeed a huge cultural difference here. Based on the system stipulated by Charlemagne, nobles at all levels can only perform military service. It is said that if there is a war, the lower-level nobles should call their own troops to assist the king in fighting. Proportional distribution of loot.

As for the lower nobles paying tribute to the vassals, it was the same for Frank a long time ago, and now it is completely abolished.

Because the actors of paying tribute or taxation have been assigned to each peasant household, and they are used to support the lords and priests by paying two levels of tithes and other miscellaneous taxes.

However, the rapidly expanding Ross Kingdom was still divided into several large sections, and the vassals in various places were actually free nobles, and they paid tribute to the tribal chief according to the old rules of the alliance period to declare their allegiance.

It’s just that Rurik ordered that the big and small nobles on the list have ten years of tax exemption.

The nobles who are not on the list need to prove that they are still loyal through paying tribute in principle.

The black fox had to explain, and then heard Ludwig’s hysterical complaints.

“Among all the vassals, I don’t even know the true attitude of the Marquis of Thuringia. He is loyal to me, but he has been slow to send troops in combat operations. He is not weak. He only took out an army of 1,000 people this time. It is really unreasonable for the king to allocate military rations.”

The black fox didn’t understand the Marquis of Thuringia at all, and he didn’t want to understand it even after thinking about it, but Ludwig made a little more, obviously he had to understand it even if he didn’t understand it.

“Dalai Ingol borders Thuringia. You are different from him. I really hope that you vassals can also pay some tribute to the king, instead of just sending troops. It is good to be able to actually send troops. If you can Bringing food is even better! I have noticed some advantages of Ross, good weapons and superior ships, my army can find a way to learn from this aspect. Another crucial point is that King Ross seems to have inexhaustible food. You guys … how did you do it?”

“I do not know.”

“I don’t know? Maybe I really don’t know.” Ludwig laughed silly for a while: “Forget it. The king has to raise a lot of food to deal with the war. If the nobles can bring enough military food, the pressure on the king will be greatly reduced. Therefore, Paul Black Fox, Do you think this king can give you more money as a tribute to Rurik?”

Is this guy crying poor?

The black fox didn’t intend to ask for a sum of money from Ludwig at first, but since Frank had rules in this regard, if he didn’t take the opportunity to ask for money, he would be sorry for the system established by Charlemagne back then. It can be said that he did as the Romans did.

[To tell the truth, I have been using the source-changing app recently to read and update books, switch between sources, and read aloud with many timbres. www.huanyuanapp.com is available for both Android and Apple.

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The black fox has already figured out what he should do, and finally he candidly announced his proposition, spreading his fat hands: “Recognize my wife’s title, give me the title of Wiesbaden, and give us one hundred thousand pounds of grain. In this way , our Nassau Army will help you do the dirty work.”

“The lion opened his mouth? Kid! You threatened me. One hundred thousand pounds of food is unbelievable.”

The black fox narrowed his eyes: “Don’t you want us to do some dirty things for you? We are Normans. Even if we kill innocent farmers, we don’t care. Even…”

“Oh? If you kill the noble, you don’t care?”

“Exactly. According to the treaty, we have the right to get rid of all the nobles who are loyal to your elder brother and plunder their money. I heard that Harald Clark is doing the dirty work for you, but we are different and can do it with great fanfare Action. Anyway, the army that has raised the flag of Ross has already attacked Aachen, and it is not impossible for our Nassau army to repeat a looting against Trier under the banner of Ross.”

“Okay! Anything is fine. This king just needs you to help me with another conspiracy.”

Everything is the same as last year, both sides have what they need but they are pretending to be on this high platform, making both parties uncomfortable.

It is no wonder that Ludwig suddenly and cautiously suppressed his inner desires. It is really the sudden appearance of the black fox that publicly displayed the hundreds of severed heads. It has never done such a literal “killing head to roll” move.

Instead, Nassau’s actions gave him a lot of inspiration, and maybe he should follow suit.

Just like in the legend, Caesar suppressed the rebellious Spartacus and crucified those rebels with countless crosses.

But this barbaric practice is at odds with the belief in God, even if the war dead were enemies, they still believed in God.

If the enemy is beheaded and the head is stuck on a stake, this kind of thing has been vividly performed by the Rus on the banks of the Elbe.

Looking back at that time, Ludwig still had a lot of time in his heart. He could still recall the rage two years ago. Presumably his elder brother was also raged and frightened when he saw his army suffer such post-war destruction.

There is no need to hide it anymore. When Ludwig thought that the “Koblenz Killing” had killed his elder brother’s army, he must be credited to the nobles of Nassau. In fact, the little girl Sophia in front of him wanted to claim this The result of the first battle, since she is not afraid, she can’t be the listener of the next conspiracy.

It can be said that in principle, the following conspiracy was a bloody conspiracy between the Lord of the East, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Count of Nassau-Koblenz-Leingau.

“Saar!” Ludwig pointed out the name, “This time it’s not Trier, but Thrall.”

“Sal?”

“It’s Saar. Follow the road you plundered last year, entering the Saar River at a key river fork. Eventually, a bridge will block your way.”

“Bridge?” The black fox’s eyes lit up: “This time, do you want us to help you dismantle the bridge?”

“Yes! But not all. Salabrugia, that town. According to information, it is where the granary of my elder brother’s army is located. It is the most important bridge over the Saar River, and the food and fodder supplied to the army must pass through the local area Now that the army of the Middle Kingdom is gathered in Kaiserslautern, the next step is to attack the king’s Mainz. I am afraid that tens of thousands of troops have already assembled, and they may launch an attack at any time! That’s why the king wants to requisition you immediately longboat to transport my soldiers across the river.”

“But our ship…”

“I will return it to you after transporting the troops. Even, I am willing to pay for it. I have to say that your ships are really easy to use, which greatly increases our speed of crossing the river.”

He was not moved by such praise for Black Fox. He said bluntly: “If you want me to help you fight, you must return the boat to me.”

“That’s natural, but you don’t need to be in a hurry. Because the king will complete the canonization of your couple in the cathedral. This time is enough for the king’s Bavarian army to cross the river. Especially the cavalry!”

Indeed, the appearance of more than ten long boats directly changed the situation of crossing the river. Ludwig relied on his own cavalry troops, and a large number of cavalry wandered back and forth across the river, but the small boats could only transport one horse at a time. A frightened horse can easily capsize a boat.

The movement of horses across the river was threatening, but as soon as Ross’s longships arrived, the cavalry crossed the river efficiently.

His disadvantage lies here. Lothair’s cavalry can swagger across the stone bridge of Sarabrücken to cross the river, while he himself has to be cautious and use barges to cross the wide Rhine River.

The disadvantages have been greatly alleviated, and even the new recruits may give Lothar a taste of the pain of crossing the river.

Ludwig’s request was simple and complicated. He asked the black fox to lead the army to continue under the banner of the Normans, and they could burn, kill, loot and do all kinds of evil, as long as these guys had a clear conscience.

He never felt that the black fox and his army really converted to God, and everything was done by these Normans.

Or they believe in all kinds of gods, or they don’t believe in anything, as long as they live a comfortable life in this life, they don’t even consider whether the soul will be judged after death.

Without worries, he would be ruthless. Such a robber pays more attention to the glory and wealth of this life, and does not need to consider whether his actions betray his faith. Ludwig knows that his own is not possessed by the army.

Although it was a stone bridge, as long as the piers were smashed down with a Norman sledgehammer and the timber on the bridge was destroyed, a bridge would be useless.

He wanted to do this a long time ago, but he didn’t have the ability to do it.

There is, of course, a fort in the locality, which is the residence of Baron Saar, and there must be a granary building nearby.

He also wished he could rob his brother’s army of food, and even if he couldn’t get it, no one would eat it if he set it on fire.

“Destroy the bridge, destroy or capture the ships you see. Kill Baron Saar’s family, you can kill everyone you see. Take away the gold, silver and food found this year, and burn what you can’t take away as much as possible. You cut off the heads of your enemies and put them on stakes, and you’d better do it densely for my brother’s army to see. You must also leave the Norman markers and tell them that everything was done by the Normans. And all the property you looted belongs to you!”

“Looting Saar.” The black fox was excited when he heard it, but then he thought about it, even if Ludwig didn’t say anything, his army would still plunder there and make a fortune, so why should it be controlled by others.

He deliberately yelled: “Sarr, you are already in our attack target. Do you still have to listen to your command when looting there?”

The publicity really frightened Ludwig. Indeed, the Normans did not need anyone to teach them to sack a certain place.

But Ludwig still has a bargaining chip: “Attacking Sarah Brücken is a task entrusted to you by the king. Didn’t you say that you want money and food? Just 100,000 pounds of food is enough?”

“how?”

Ludwig gritted his teeth: “Frankfurt. I will give you all the local tax for a year.”

“Where?” The black fox is not stupid, and he smiled calmly: “I heard that Frankfurt is under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Mainz, and you firmly control it. Robert has said that you took away a large number of Ingol knights.” Fighting wars for you, and raising taxes on the people. We are a weak Lyingau bought with huge sums of money, and I still want to recover these investments. And Frankfurt is afraid that after ten years of tax receipts, we will forget it How much is the annual tax?”

No, Ludwig stretched out his right palm and spread five fingers: “500,000 pounds. 500,000 pounds of grain! What do you think?”

The eyes of the black fox were trembling. He was really moved. You must know that your elder brother transports one million pounds of grain to King Ross every year in Lake Mälaren, and the grain trading volume in the commodity grain market in Sweden is no more than that. scale.

It seems that Frank is really rich, and he can supply half of the food in Lake Mälaren with just one piece of land.

Food is wealth. Nassau has absorbed Koblenz refugees, and the total number is less than 10,000. Even if Wiesbaden is absorbed, how many people will there be?

If there is such a sudden influx of surplus food, Nassau will be able to further expand its strength.

But now Ludwig can’t afford so much money at all, this is a promise, and it is a blank check in front of him.

When will the half a million pounds of grain be given?

Naturally, we had to wait until the end of the civil war, otherwise the poor people would not be able to take out so much surplus food in a surprise attack. It was the critical moment of the civil war, and Ludwig did not dare to search for the people’s fat and anointment to cut their own way.

The black fox was convinced that he couldn’t fulfill his promise immediately, and everything was fine, and he didn’t sacrifice his life for half a million pounds of wheat.

In other words, his goal has been achieved, the so-called letting the king recognize his wife’s power, not to mention the contradictory surprise.

In fact, the contradiction can also be easily resolved. The so-called looting of Sarabrücken, some of the looted property and the end of the year were shipped to Rurik as a tribute to declare that he is still loyal.

“You have to write a document! You have to write documents in Latin! You have to swear.” The black fox finally emphasized this point.

“Yes. This king can promise to deliver you fifty pounds of wheat in the first harvest season after the end of the civil war. And this king will complete the canonization of you in the cathedral tomorrow, and you have to prepare tonight. ”

[End of this Chapter]