Rise of Rurik

Blue Fox guessed that he was going to Nassau by boat at this time, and Earl Ingol's family must have been tired of waiting.

"Come here! Put up the cross flag! Our faith is pure!"

The blue fox who returned to the Ross shop pretended to be domineering. Of course, he almost laughed when he said these words, which made everyone laugh.

For this guy, there is no need to talk about betraying the gods, the blue fox has always been a free fox, the fat on his body has shrunk greatly, and his ambition has expanded greatly.

Going to Nassau this time, Blue Fox only took five boats with one hundred and fifty soldiers to guard such a noble person as him, and as many as five boats were vacant, connected to the former with cables.

He deliberately brought some treasures, especially high-end farm tools, just to support his younger brother to continue to open up wasteland in the settlement. He deliberately brought the promised huge amount of cash, after all, the Robert family would not leave without the money.

The voyage was supposed to be calm, but it encountered precipitation halfway, and we had to find woods on the shore to rest.

The rain in early summer was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Some people said that this was the wrath of the **** of thunder, because the banners that everyone hung were flattering the **** of the Franks.

The blue fox felt that it was meaningless, and it turned out that on the other side of the river, with a loud noise, everyone saw a tree cracked in the rain.

It terrified him.

"Not at all! Could it be that your power has extended to this place? Isn't this a place managed by God?"

Blue Fox hastily turned out the multiple pendants on his chest, found the small sterling silver hammer and kissed them together, trying to appease God's wrath with a temporary attitude.

It was just a summer thunderstorm, and the northerners were extremely awed by thunderstorms. Most of the soldiers present still maintained their old beliefs. At least for now, they would not convert to other gods for wealth.

The rain made everyone wet, and it rained heavily for a day, and the weather was not good for the rest of the day.

The voyage continued despite the continuous light rain, and a total of ten long boats bravely moved forward on the turbulent river. They went retrograde until they reached Cologne, and finally found a suitable foothold.

Hearing that Ross's fleet was coming, Archbishop Hadbold seemed to have been stabbed in the chest. He kept crossing his chest, hoping that these guys would still come in a peaceful manner.

In the drizzling rain, the fleet of the Ross people docked directly, and no one was willing to hang out at the pier outside the city in such bad weather.

After stepping on the muddy land and enduring the chilly rain, everyone hoped to have hot meals and dry their clothes over a bonfire.

There was no need to wait for a long time, and the Archbishop, who did not dare to neglect, led a group of young priests out of the closed gate in the drizzle.

Even if the weather is bad, Blue Fox still sees the guys in black.

He gave an order to the brothers behind him: "Put away your weapons and don't make any misunderstandings. Line up and let a group of guys who have never seen the world see the most powerful warrior in the north."

Then he specifically told Reggraf and Bruno who followed: "When you see the senior priest, be sure to state your own names. This is related to whether we can have a good rest tonight."

Regraf didn't know very well, but Bruno nodded.

Especially Bruno: "I hope to see the archbishop, because he is my baptist."

"What? Your baptist? Hudbold?" Blue Fox frowned suddenly, then laughed again slowly, and cursed to himself: "Liudov, you are not a good person! Why didn't you tell me earlier? My baptizer of your son is that guy."

Thinking about it again, even if his son's baptizer was the archbishop, Liudov was not merciless on the battlefield two years ago.

Now that there is such a relationship, Blue Fox is looking forward to tonight.

He hoped that the archbishop would come in person instead of sending a cardinal to make do, and sure enough, a fat old guy in a yarmulke appeared surrounded by many black-robed priests, and he gently lifted his huge black cloak trimmed with gold , showing off his huge sterling silver cross.

"Is this Hudbold, really your baptist?" Blue Fox asked Bruno.

"Yes."

"How? To say hello? Maybe, we will go together."

The blue fox resolutely put on a business-like smile unique to a businessman, and gently opened his arms to make the sword at his waist swing back and forth with his walking legs.

The two teenagers were dressed as warriors, and the jewels, gold and silver ornaments on their bodies declared their nobility. The two of them were indeed very honorable. It was no accident that one was a king and the other was a duke. Both were top-notch nobles with extraordinary names.

But now he can only be Blue Fox's follower.

Even if she lost weight, that slightly fat face was still a bit chubby, and the intentionally added beard added to the visual senses.

Everything is fine, if Blue Fox wears a robe, no matter how you look at it, he is a rich and powerful family.

He deliberately took out the cross on his chest, and the moment he officially saw the archbishop, he hurriedly made a cross with his right hand on his chest.

The tension and embarrassment were swept away by this move.

"Ah! Welcome, Joseph! Welcome to our Cologne. God bless you, peace...peaceful people."

"Oh? It seems that you are still afraid of us? Why bother? Come on, honorable bishop." Before the words fell, Lan Hu pushed two special followers to him: "These two are young and noble, even , you know some of them.”

Almost all those who were baptized by Archbishop Hardbold himself were nobles. The lowest rank was knights, and the highest rank was probably Bruno in front of him.

The young man in front of him looked invincible, but the Archbishop suddenly realized that he was trembling with excitement after listening to his narration.

Looking at the younger Regalaf, since he was baptized by the Archbishop of the North and was also the King of Mercia in Rome, Hadbold naturally gave him courtesy.

Did the presence of two noble Christian noblemen among a group of barbarians indicate that those barbarians would also be quick to convert? Perhaps, they are planning to convert collectively here.

The archbishop who had suffered a lot could only think about it. Looking at the cloudy sky, he felt that this group of people also needed shelter from the rain.

After some pleasantries, the door was finally opened for the Ross people. The "army" armed with weapons directly entered the city of Cologne, lying down like a fat sheep, facing the fangs of hungry wolves with its soft belly.

If it is still the same as before, the blue fox is afraid that he will directly send troops to plunder.

He did it very low-key this time. After covering all the cargo on the ship with canvas, the accompanying soldiers put their swords in sheaths and carried round shields on their backs. They all wore the cloth robes of the Russian army, so that those Cologne people who quietly opened the wooden windows could recognize them at a glance. The identity of the author.

No, the few citizens who took a sneak peek watched the Ross soldiers entering the city and went directly to the Cathedral of Cologne under the leadership of the archbishop.

The archbishop will not spread the gospel publicly, but it does not mean that he cannot make some subtle moves.

In the stone cathedral sat a large number of wet Ross warriors, all of whom were temporarily selected from the standing army, and of course there were several members of Reglaf's guards.

Elite fighters all have their own solid beliefs. While they believe in Odin, they are not ignorant of Catholicism. Most of them spoke some Latin, especially the phrases used in everyday life, and some purely religious terms, so as to show themselves to the Frankish priests.

The most important thing is psychological construction. It is precisely because they have a certain understanding of Catholicism that they don't feel that this huge preaching hall is sacred at all.

The role of Bishop Harderbold is wishful thinking, this is just a place for Vikings to wring out wet clothes, and even clean the mud from their boots on the spot, despite the fact that this will dirty the lobby.

But in another small room, Blue Fox made it easy for the archbishop to talk secretly.

The room was not simple at all, and it was deliberately decorated with gold and silver, especially the many gold-plated crosses hanging on the wall, and even the base of the oil lamp was plated with gold. This is the office of the archbishop himself, and he also does a review of the Gospels here, and it is also a very private place for private meetings with distinguished guests.

After another short greeting, the archbishop shut up.

"Talk about the business carefully! I am here on the order of King Ross, and brought King Regraf of Mercia with me. The Duke of Saxony brought Bruno. These measures are all because I want to fulfill the promise I made last year."

"I understand." The archbishop slapped his forehead: "Is it going to Nassau to bring Earl Ingol's family?"

"Exactly."

"Ah! Even after a winter of thinking, your thoughts remain the same."

"I am so." Blue Fox shrugged: "I hope Robert is the same. I brought a lot of cash, and my deal with him must be implemented."

"Tur. I understand. But..."

"how?"

"Ah! Until now, I can be sure that Lord Ludwig is still in the dark."

"It doesn't matter whether he knows it or not." Blue Fox smiled indifferently.

"However, I'm afraid he won't admit that the Robert family sold the fief of Laingo. You paid a lot of money to buy it, but in the end you may only get empty promises."

"So? Worried that I lost a lot of money? You! You are actually a businessman." Blue Fox couldn't help raising his head: "Maybe, you should repent to the Lord."

"I will. Maybe I shouldn't be obsessed with acquiring wealth, but the people of Cologne have to live, the priests can live a little less, and the annual mass costs money. I..."

The archbishop meant something, because now is an excellent opportunity.

Even if Cologne gets the whole of Westphalia, facing the situation where people leave the village, what Cologne gets is simply a vast forest. Most of the nobles in the fief dragged their families and went to the north to join their old master Liudov. After all, Liudov was promoted to duke, why should the old subordinates of those fiefdoms be knights anymore, most of them have already lived a new life as barons in the north of the Elbe River.

The acquisition of a vacant field yielded little more than the ability to place some tenant farmers to cultivate the deserted fields of Westphalia.

As Bruno's godfather, right here, he reaffirms this friendship especially for the purpose of closer economic ties between Cologne and Hamburg in the future.

Facing the real King of Mercia, the archbishop pressed his chest and emphasized that the Diocese of Cologne fully recognized Reglaf's throne.

This is actually very important to Reglaf. The current Cologne Diocese is a large diocese, a political entity with a loose military but a relatively developed economy. With its support, the international situation that Reggraf faces is more beneficial to him.

The old-fashioned issue is still about trade. In Flanders and the Netherlands, and even the Viking settlements at the mouth of the Rhine River, local materials must pass through Cologne to be transported inland, and Cologne, Bonn and a large number of nearby villages are all It is a huge consumer market. In the same way, once Nassau completes complete control of the Lyingau region, Cologne will have a very large neighbor in the eastern region. For this reason, the archbishop must establish a very good relationship with the Baron of Nassau, who is still growing up. .

They talked about their intentions here, and they talked about God in every sentence.

Some things were deliberately hidden by the Archbishop, and some things were explained by the opportunity. The most important thing was safety considerations.

"I actually know that you will succeed because you have an army in your hands. In my opinion, Ludwig will not send someone to compete with you for Lyingau. He is not willing to lose any more troops, and I will not help him anymore. ..."

Cologne has such an attitude that the diocese can lend Ludwig money and food as military expenses, and it is impossible to organize mercenaries to help fight the war. The diocese maintains friendly business relations with the northern nobles. If Ludwig intends to attack the north, Cologne will cut off all economic support.

Having said that, Cologne does not want to see the people of Ross being arrogant towards Ludwig, what they want is to maintain the status quo.

The archbishop gave advice: "I'm sure Ludwig must be furious! But...if your brother takes Ingol, declares his allegiance to Ludwig, and publicly declares to fight for him, that man will calm down. Remember, it must be the real Baron of Nassau."

"Thank you for your kindness. It is to suggest my younger brother and sister Sophia. I hope Ludwig can accept the existence of a new countess."

What about the Countess? The reason why the so-called countess retains this title must be because her son has complete inheritance rights, and the mother has the title of countess because of her son's dignity.

This was the case for Sophia Nassau, and as the ruling black fox, strictly speaking, he was not a baron, and his allegiance was also the King of Ross, Rurik.

This time, the Franks' emphasis on red tape once again forced Blue Fox to use his brain.

He reached many agreements with Archbishop Hardebold, one of which was that the ship carrying Robert's family should rest in Cologne, get some supplies here, and continue drifting.

He reminded the archbishop: "Robert is willing to leave only when he sees the money as soon as possible. This time I brought a huge sum of money, and the suitcase I moved was even temporarily placed in this cathedral. Robert will get it This is a huge sum of money, and he will immediately buy new clothes, new military weapons, and even some food and delicacies from you. You will make a lot of money for it!"

When Archbishop Qian is mentioned, his heart is moved.

It was the Ross people who stole a huge sum of five thousand pounds of silver from Cologne two years ago. Thanks to the old silver coins at the bottom of the box, they are not usually circulated in the market. The Diocese of Cologne has accumulated wealth for 500 years, how can it be possible to become poor with a single extortion. Clergymen of all ages paid more attention to accumulating wealth, and so did Harderbold in this generation.

Whatever the blue fox said, he listened attentively, without any objection at the moment.

The Archbishop dared not object, for he had also received a letter from the Archbishop of Trier. The Vikings attacked Trier, and the perpetrators are right in front of them!

Hadbold knew the situation better than Eskill, so he naturally regretted the suffering of his congregation, and after thinking hard about it, he pretended nothing happened. He also refused to talk about it, and he didn't even want to know about Blue Fox's military intentions.

What's the point of asking more, the nobles in the civil war tore their faces, and the Viking army intervened to make the situation even more chaotic. In this era of great turmoil, it is enough for the Diocese of Cologne to maintain the stability of its own territory.

He was really looking forward to the arrival of Robert's family, and it happened that Cologne had a good chat with the second lady of Tour's family, Al. Cologne is not really far from Tours. After all, the deceased old earl was Lothair's father-in-law, and his successor was also a cousin of Lothair himself. This doesn't explain anything, it's just the inherent vulgarity of the Carolingian royal family to kill each other, and now it's normal for the three princes to fight each other.

The new generation of earls still opposed Lothair, and Cologne no longer had the qualifications to be neutral if it wanted to be neutral. Cologne needs to win more allies for itself, even if they are not allies, they should not be enemies.

In this room, Bishop Harderbold has made clear to all parties his attitude: neutrality.

What is neutrality? Although it has gone through the military era, the city of Cologne has expanded its armed forces by as many as 1,000 people, including 800 militiamen, who continue their daily lives and organize them when there is a war. Another 200 are paid mercenaries. They are out of production for safety. Their daily work is to maintain the law and order of Cologne City. If there is a war, they are standing soldiers.

An armed force of 1,000 people is already a force. Cologne has no intention of striving for hegemony. It is quite strange that there are no military nobles in the huge diocese. This army is really self-protecting. Of course, they have the conditions to expand their military, because the nature of their existence determines that they should be demilitarized, and their security must rely on the security commitment of external military powers, and they must maintain limited neutrality in this regard.

Neutrality means not taking the initiative to send troops to fight, nor helping allies fight.

As for the delivery of food, the sale of weapons to make armor, and the sale of ready-made clothes, these are all commercial activities.

"It is people who kill, not weapons. If a villain wants to kill, he doesn't use an iron sword. A stone is the same, and he will go to hell."

The Diocese of Cologne has its own explanation, even if it is transporting war supplies, it is not participating in the war, it is just a business!

Even in business, the diocese sends envoys to carry out the transaction, with a layer in between, the priests can say: "We are just servants of God, not in business."

No, the people of Ross slept in a mess in the cathedral. They ate hot bread and drank vegetable soup with condensed milk. The smell of food in the cathedral lasted for a long time.

Ironically, the fake "True Cross" still stands in a conspicuous place, and the arrow hole once shot by the Ross cavalry is now inlaid with a larger ruby.

If there is no basic discipline, all the gold and silverware in this church will be taken away.

Don't they dare? !

Hadbold himself was betting~www.readwn.com~He fantasized that this group of people was summoned by an angel in their sleep, and when they woke up, they all knelt on the ground and begged for conversion and baptism.

His fantasies were fantasies after all, and the Ross Army, who had rested all night, would eat here again.

He was very happy that the gold and silverware that were not put away on purpose seemed to be intact. Does this mean that the Ross people have changed and are no longer greedy robbers?

When they walked away, the priests who cleaned up the mess complained that the cleaned site was full of mud, and said that the benches for listening to lectures were also damaged a lot.

Worst of all was the loss of small gold and silver objects, which seemed to be intact but whose parts were torn off.

What else could the archbishop do? It is true that he is not a robber, he is still a thief at the moment, as for really becoming a kind person, he may still need some sweetness.

He could only turn a blind eye to appease them: "Let them go! We won't send them off. It's our luck that there is no chaos in the city. We still have to make some preparations, and soon Earl Ingol almost there."