Rise of Rurik - Chapter 734

[Chapter 735 Blue Fox in Schleswig]

According to those who escaped Hedeby, those who stayed behind at Ross’s shop ended up dead.

If the blue fox himself really died, it would not be a loss to the majority of Ross people.

But the loss of shops meant that the Ross people lost their market in Denmark, and the Danes’ war behavior was to force the Principality of Ross to launch a commercial war for revenge.

Of course, Ross can use this as an excuse to launch a country-to-country war, and even draw on the Kingdom of Sweden, which had not been cheap in the previous war, and the two countries joined forces to beat Denmark.

Many people think that the blue fox has no bones left, but he is not only still alive, but now he is passively disguised in a brand new and extremely safe image and is running towards the northern border of the East Frankish king.

A group of black-clothed priests walked southward holding their crosses. Esquier was noble and elderly. He sat in the carriage and took care of a bunch of supplies and the most precious sacred objects taken from the monastery.

There is also a fat man in black who works as a pressure warehouse. He is none other than Blue Fox.

He is almost alone, and here he is running towards the unknown south wind, extremely curious and fearful at the same time.

He didn’t know what he would see or hear when he entered the Frankish Kingdom, and he was afraid that he would encounter accidents.

Now, I can only obey the request of the old guy Eskil, first of all, be a believer and a priest.

“Maybe their gods will bless me…”

Everyone was silent along the way. They walked on the rugged forest road. The so-called road was just some yellow lines exposed in the grass. Obviously, there were not many people walking on this road on weekdays.

We have been away for many days, and many young priests feel that this departure is a cut off from Hedeby Abbey. The teacher’s sacred work of spreading the faith to the north has ended in failure with Hedeby’s experience of war.

Maybe there really is a turning point here!

Joseph Blue Fox, a fat Rusian who sat in a carriage, became the teacher’s friend.

After walking through another group of oak forests, a strange open land appeared ahead.

There is a grassland here, but it is very strange that no one grazes cattle and sheep.

If you look carefully, there is a rammed earth dam in front of you. It can even cover up the woods behind and seriously interfere with people’s sight.

Undoubtedly, the blue fox has noticed this geographical phenomenon.

“Eskill, what’s that?” he asked.

“do not you know?”

“How do I know? This is the first time I have come to such a southern place.”

Eskil pointed at the stick with a smile: “That’s the Schleswig Wall! Back then, the Danish leader Godfrey ordered it to be built to prevent the kingdom (special Frank) from invading. Unfortunately, the kingdom is still Possesses the city of Schleswig.”

Blue Fox really didn’t feel anything about the distant past. The main reason for him to come to the South was naturally to take refuge, and the second was to inquire about the business atmosphere here.

He asked casually, very vulgarly: “Are there any merchants in the city? Are there prostitutes?”

Some words are taboo for priests, and Esquier trembled in shock, not knowing what to say for a while.

He held back for a while before staring at the blue fox with a dull face: “Joseph, you have been baptized, don’t say some devil’s words. You must keep your heart pure, and you can’t do dirty things that are not allowed by the scriptures!”

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“I see. But I was just asking if there are prostitutes in the city. If there are prostitutes, there are merchants. I want to talk to them.”

“Forget it! I’m warning you, the identity you can protect yourself is priest Joseph, if you do something out of line, I can’t protect you.”

“Whatever…” Lanhu shrugged, secretly cursing this old guy for having a man’s body, but he believed in the so-called sacred beliefs and never got close to women all his life.

The wooden crosses carried by the priests are very prominent, and the soldiers of Viscount Schleswig who guarded the border easily noticed this situation.

A solid rammed earth wall cuts off the Jutland peninsula, and the two sides of the earth wall are matched with ditches.

It’s just that this so-called “Great Wall” is not an insurmountable line of defense at all. Its biggest role is actually that Chief Godfrey prevented the Frankish cavalry from entering.

In 835, the control of the entire Great Wall was controlled by Ludwig of the Kingdom, which belonged to the territory of East Franks. The specific management of the Great Wall was in the hands of the Earl of Hamburg, and several viscounts under him controlled the military points beside the Great Wall. .

Among them, Su Yicheng is the largest border military town!

Under normal circumstances, the Danes crossed the Great Wall because they believed in Odin and other Norse gods. If they crossed the Great Wall and entered the south, they would be arrested or even executed for their wrong beliefs.

A month ago, a large number of refugees escaped from the Great Wall, and the identity of the believers was confirmed under the personal inspection of the Viscount, and they were given safe asylum.

Now that even the most tenacious priest has withdrawn, what kind of terrible thing happened to Hedeby?

!

Viscount Henry realized the complexity of the situation, and quickly mobilized the followers in the city to enter the border gate.

The thick wooden door was opened, and a group of armored soldiers walked out.

Viscount Henry took off his helmet to greet the priests, and stood there quietly watching them enter.

Soldiers and nobles treated these priests with a high degree of courtesy. They showed discipline and stood on both sides of the gate to show their heads before witnessing them enter the city.

Eskil and the Viscount exchanged glances, and the blue fox was keenly aware of the risk, and very cleverly hung his head down without looking at anyone’s face.

As Lan Hu said, of course there are prostitutes and itinerant businessmen in the city.

The fiefdom of Viscount Henry is here. In today’s era, Schleswig is not only a place of bitter cold in East Franks, but it can also be said that its political and economic forms are intertwined.

With the Kingdom of Denmark to the north, and the Oberlidids and Pomeranians to the east, Viscount Henry’s fief was on a bad salient.

It is impossible for him to collect too much tax from the nearby villages, so he solves the funding problem by collecting tolls from passing merchants.

The village-like city with a small population is now overcrowded. Now that a group of priests have also withdrawn, many war refugees have gathered here, with open arms hoping to receive the priest’s blessing.

Because the cross that was being carried was still hung with a special marker, which meant that a regional bishop was coming.

who is he?

It was “Northern Bishop” Eskill.

People knelt down one after another, opened their arms and called for redemption.

Eskil then got out of the carriage and signaled the little priest to open the bronze urn containing the holy water of fragrant rose essential oil, and sprinkled some withered and yellow pine branches dipped in the holy water as a blessing.

In this way, he obtained divine power?

The blue fox was amazed to see it, and thought that maybe Prince Rurik could also learn from it and ask the high priest to “sprinkle water”.

Blue Fox also got out of the carriage, and after a while, he saw a man in black with a wrinkled face and no beard hurriedly approaching. This must be the pastor of the city.

After many days of walking, the small classrooms with weak legs and feet finally got a chance to rest.

Schleswig was a border post city established by the Danes, but now it is occupied by the Franks, and the role of the city has not changed substantially.

In such a small city and surrounding sparsely populated villages, only a dozen or so priests can be stably supported.

Compared with the national organizational structure of the Frankish Kingdom, the organizational structure of the Holy See invented and established by the Roman Emperor is more complete.

The Holy See is like a tree trunk, and the bishops in the various regions under its jurisdiction are thick branches. There are archbishops, cities under the big regions have bishops (patriarchs), and finally a priest in the village.

This tree-like management model allows the Holy See to manage every village in Western Europe.

In terms of status, Eskil is much higher than the bishop (patriarch) of the city, and he also has the right to act arbitrarily on matters of faith in Schleswig.

He placed many little priests in the city of Schleswig, handed over a bag of silver coins to the bishop of the city, and asked: “This is the funds given to me by His Royal Highness, and it will be placed here with you for the time being. We We all need to live, you continue to teach the young priests, when we pass the faith to the north in the future, one Danish village after another needs many pure priests, they are the children around us.”

The old guy Eskil has been appointed by the Holy See to be the bishop of Bremen in a few years. He has a good relationship with Archbishop Sinkmar of Reims, and also has a good relationship with Prince Ludwig.

Bishop Schleswig respected him, and Viscount Henry not only respected him, but also had many secular questions.

On that day, Henry used confession as an excuse to confess to Eskil himself in the monastery in this city.

He claimed that he did not protect the people with holy beliefs, but sat and watched them flee, and that the only thing he could do was to open the door to let them in, and then took some boiled rye from the warehouse and gave them alms.

Although the Viscount is a nobleman, he behaved like a little saint!

Eskil believed it, and then remembered another character—Rurick, Prince of Ross.

“Henry, my son. You have done a good job. You have practiced your beliefs. You have saved many people. The Lord has forgiven you. As long as you continue to stick to your principles, your soul will be saved… ”

This seemed to be a scene, and Henry was really heart-warming to hear it.

At this point, Henry’s true purpose began to emerge.

“Padra, I have only one question. Why? Why are so many merchants and villagers outside the city walls withdrawing to the city? Could it be that there is really a war in the north? I have learned that the man who came was Horik the Dane, not Harald Clarke Isn’t he the nephew of the prince? Isn’t he the prince’s servant? Doesn’t he call himself the Earl of Flanders? Why should he bring disaster.”

Mentioning this matter, Eskil changed his calm demeanor, and he let out a long sigh to imply the complexity of the matter.

After the procedural work was finished, Eskil invited Viscount Henry to a secret room for a detailed discussion.

There are some things that Eskill would not explain to a lower-ranking nobleman. It can be said that what he said was in vain. He especially explained the war incident that happened in Hedeby Freeport, and even Horick’s true attitude.

He pledged his honor, claiming that Horik had betrayed the kingdom, and everything could go back to thirty years ago.

This description made the Viscount shudder. Although some things have indeed become legends because of the records, some old men who are still alive and living in Schleswig were also members of the expedition to Denmark with Charlemagne when they were young. Not too old to forget.

The viscount’s grandfather made great contributions in the war that year, and was conferred the title of baron to guard the captured city of Schleswig. When his father inherited the title, he was conferred the title of viscount for his meritorious service in defending the border.

“Could it be that the Danes will attack us? No way! They don’t know the consequences of doing so? The kingdom will be furious.” The viscount couldn’t believe it and didn’t want to believe it. After all, if there is a war, the place where he is must be anxious about war.

Originally, as Eskil, he should not pay attention to the world, even if it is a life-and-death war, he should not interfere.

However, Horik, the new king of Denmark, forced himself back by force, and killed the people of Hedeby.

How dare they attack the monastery? This is the most direct act of war!

Horik did not declare war on Frank, and even had a letter to pass to Prince Ludwig himself.

Naturally, Eskil would not tell Viscount Henry about this. He emphasized one point: “You must protect the people at all times, just like Moses spent his entire life protecting his people. This is what you must do as a lord.”

Henry was moved to tears when a bishop who was dressed in plain clothes and had firm beliefs and high prestige personally taught himself.

Regarding the fact that Eskil will continue to go south to Hamburg, Viscount Henry is also willing to send a few knights to be his followers along the way.

Esquier declined kindly, because this is already a safe zone. Although the road to the south is accompanied by barrenness, it is already safe after all.

Dangerous beast?

Bears and wolves have been killed by hunters long ago, otherwise why would the leather of the Ross people be so sought after by traders in Hedeby?

In fact, Eskill also noticed that many soldiers under the viscount’s command had clothes made of squirrel fur, and the place of origin must be Ross.

He didn’t have to worry about bandits, even barbarians didn’t dare to do anything to priests.

Eskil has never heard of a priest being killed by bandits, and based on his personal experience, he has been called a “lone ranger” for many years. Most of the time, he travels the north without a entourage and spreads his faith. , Now it is only when you are getting old that you need the help of your entourage.

They rested three times in Schleswig. Most of the young priests regretted that they could not go south with their teachers, and envied the chosen ones to have the opportunity to witness the Bishop of Hamburg.

During these three days, the priests ate nothing but black bread and clean water, accompanied by some cheese and carrots.

Such meals can be described as light, not to mention that black bread is much inferior to wheat bread in terms of calories.

The current life really makes Lanhu speechless, he can only comfort himself that “my father also survived this extreme state back then”.

Blue Fox not only consumes his physical strength, but also eats light and oil-free food every day. What’s worse is that he learned that whenever he stays in Frank for a day, the food is the same.

Why is that?

That’s the rule!

This is the rule of the Pope of Rome a hundred years ago. It is said that only those who are simple and thrifty will have no miscellaneous desires in their hearts, and their hearts will be pure, so that their souls will enter heaven.

In contrast, these priests can hardly imagine the days that Blue Fox lived before.

Blue fox can squander money recklessly, maintain illicit intimate relationships with many women, and eat meat unscrupulously.

Such a way of life is the exact opposite of the “ascetic mode” of priests.

The blue fox is enduring, and this kind of endurance can be called torture.

What’s worse is that I will continue to endure this kind of torture in the foreseeable future.

A fat bear can be tortured into a skinny fool!

He felt that he had lost a lot of weight, and if he continued to live like this, he was afraid that within two months, he would become as thin as those little priests.

“If I become thin and return to Rose, will my father still know me? Will my brothers and wives and concubines still know me? The prince…can accept me as a thin person?!”

The fat and puffy image like a seal is a family characteristic. The so-called warrior’s beard and muscles are a symbol of combat power. The fat body of a businessman is better than a hundred ambers hanging on his body, which can better demonstrate the financial strength of the businessman and facilitate the negotiation of the transaction. .

The sour black bread can only be barely chewed, and the slightly sweet and bitter yellow root carrot is hard to chew.

Slightly smelly cheese has become the only delicacy that the blue fox can enjoy, but this thing is still lacking.

For the first time in his life, he tasted the taste of poverty, but he didn’t know that Henry, the Viscount of Schleswig, could only provide such food for Eskil and his party who were about to go south.

Subjectively, the Viscount still wanted to prepare more delicacies for the noble Esquier and his followers, but he really couldn’t come up with any treasures.

The viscount, his retinue, and the knights living in the village lived on black bread on weekdays, and wheat bread only on festivals.

The people ate black bread, and a few horses ate oats.

This is already the territory of Frank, and it is indeed different from Denmark or the northern world in terms of food culture.

No matter how poor or poor the local people are, the staple food is rye, and the fields near the city almost only grow rye.

This is an optimal solution. The local area is still cold, and the growth of wheat is sluggish, but the growth rate of rye and oats has been stable, but rye is more suitable for making bread. The sour taste is chewed carefully and has a sweet aftertaste. The dull life needs this kind of adjustment .

But oatmeal, it’s hard to say…

[End of this Chapter]