The black foxes that were constantly destroying along the Saar River returned to Koblenz with a lot of spoils.

The operation was very successful and the gains were enormous. The black fox couldn't help feeling ecstatic, as if he could carry out larger-scale destruction as long as he had more troops, and maybe what he could get was not just wealth.

If there is a chance, can more land be obtained? After all, the further south you go, the warmer the climate, which is like honey to the temptation of northerners.

The Frankish ships that Black Fox knew were some small sampans, not because he was ignorant, but all he could see were small boats.

On the other hand, his own longboat could easily transport thirty or more warriors. Although the warriors could only loot along the river, Frank's main cities were built along the river, invisibly providing him with looting opportunities.

"Maybe, if I have more soldiers, I can still loot Metz."

The young black fox was as fat as a fat seal, and he hadn't eaten or slept well during the expedition, and would have been miserable if he hadn't made a fortune.

He had been forced to lose some weight, and his sharp-eyed men noticed it. Especially for himself, the buckle of the wide belt that cinched his waist had to be buckled back by an eyelet.

On their return, they celebrated great victories in the village of Nassau, eating freshly slaughtered sheep and drinking real cider.

A large amount of loot was piled up in Nassau Village, and the local militiamen who followed the army expedition also moved into their homes with practical loot, and counted the money excitedly with their families.

Cleric Conrad was wearing a black robe and stood at the pier where the fleet landed with his junior priests.

He just watched quietly, and whispered frankly: "The most pious people are also bewitched by them. Our countess and her baron husband have become robbers!"

His pessimism was naturally heard by the junior priests: "Then, will God punish them?"

"Punishment? Only God knows."

"But they were going to rob. If Rome knew about it, wouldn't they be excommunicated?"

"Excommunication?" Father Conrad smiled bitterly. "Do they really care? After all, they are Normans. Besides..."

Conrad's words came to an abrupt end. The so-called things can be known but cannot be stated clearly. He knew from the beginning that the black fox, the little fat man in the north, robbed the truth, and it was true to do things for King Ludwig.

It's fair to say the kid was fast, brutal, efficient, and effective.

Besides, the monastery needs the funds from the countess to survive after being paid the church's tithe income, which means that Conrad and other priests have passively enjoyed the looting bonus.

How do you prove that you did destroy the Saar bridge and gained a lot? Some tokens are enough to prove this.

Black Fox has been named the Baron of Wiesbaden. To a large extent, he and Sophia Nassau have already obtained Leingau in a geographical sense. The husband and wife are the de facto Earls of Leingau. , is the Earl of Nassau with a larger territory.

A strong political and military force sprouted from the small Lahn River Valley, which was like getting a bulldog for Ludwig.

This bulldog is also easy to hurt the owner, as long as it is well controlled, there will be no problem. Besides, even if there are some problems, it is not a big problem at present.

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The autumn harvest season is just around the corner, and there is almost a tacit understanding between the two sides in the war that there will be no fighting during the last two weeks of the month during the busy autumn harvest and farming season.

However, in the eyes of his eldest brother, he must be killed, so Ludwig decided not to talk about martial arts. In August of the autumn harvest, he wanted to take the initiative to launch an offensive and hit Kaiserslautern directly along the Roman road.

He didn't know whether the "black hand troops" he sent really destroyed the Saar River Bridge, but this matter was not very important to the overall situation of the battle. It is best for the bridge to collapse, if it does not collapse, it will not delay the offensive of the whole army.

A huge problem is bothering Ludwig. There are too many soldiers. The soldiers have expanded to 30,000 people. Even if there are a large number of armed militias, 30,000 mouths need food every day!

Ludwig originally did not have such a large army. His direct army had more than 20,000 people, and the rest of the army was all allies of the great nobles.

Because, the Duke of Saxony really Liudov came with an army of five thousand!

The Saxon army is all in black, and the armor rate of the army is very low, but the soldiers use spears on a large scale. They formed a neat team as much as possible, walked through Westphalia, the old fief of the duke, walked along the existing Roman road very well-mannered and close to the edge of the territory of the Marquis of Thuringia into Frankfurt, and then arrived in Mainz along the way. Under Liudov's surprised eyes, his 5,000-strong army managed to cross the Inn River smoothly by relying on the Viking longboat that Ludwig had rented out.

The five thousand Saxon troops carried limited supplies, and in the end they had to force Ludwig to spend. The latter was able to ask for a batch of food and money from Cologne to support the army, but he would not last long. Without fighting in winter, the Eastern Kingdom did not have the ability to support 30,000 troops stationed until next summer, and he also pinned his hopes on a big war. If he wins, he directly kills his elder brother.

Thirty thousand troops may be enough! If the Earl of Koblenz-Nassau, the Norman nobleman Paul Black Fox, who was only conferred by himself, would go well with his soldiers.

So is there a possibility?

"If I directly occupy the entire Saarland area, can I directly besiege Strasbourg this year and take the city? If Lothair is in the city, can I force him to sign the alliance under the city?"

In the final analysis, Ludwig did not want to deny the power of his eldest brother, but the power bestowed upon him by his father cannot be lost.

The nobles of the Eastern Kingdom are increasing their troops, and the Kingdom's army in Kaiserslautern is well aware of this.

Part of the army of Count Metz, part of the standing army loyal to Lothair, and even a militia composed of men captured from the local village, they are in Kaiserslautern's col that is protected by two mountains, one large and one small. .

There are a large number of cols in the Palatinate and North Vosges where soldiers can hide. The Lauter River flows through Kaiserslautern. There is a mountain pass with a width of only one kilometer to the north. Perhaps it is only necessary to block all two mountain passes. The army inside is the turtle in the urn.

Ludwig thought of a good strategy. He needed to have a good chat with his nobles. At this time, the black fox and his wife happily arrived in Mainz with the spoils that could prove their achievements.

The ferry area is heavily trafficked, and chartered longships are the main transport force.

"Strange, are you smart? I thought you were bad at rowing. Oh? What is that? Saxons? Are they really here?"

Just floating on the river, he noticed the expansion of Ludwig's army by looking left and right at the black fox.

The flag of Ross is very obvious. At present, the Earl of Nassau has not designed its own flag, and the black fox simply still regards itself as the Ross army.

Of course, he also had his own ideas. He was nicknamed Black Fox, and his nickname became a name. I'm afraid that the nobles of the Eastern Kingdom would use "Fox" as a joking name, right?

When the Earl of Nassau's army in blue-striped white robes landed, the idlers at the pier fled away. After all, they were genuine Normans, and a large number of soldiers from the Eastern Kingdom did not feel that they were friendly troops. If they got too close to them, they might encounter bad luck.

"Absurd? Are you still avoiding us?" Wadi was so angry that Di twisted his neck. He didn't want to delay any longer, so he persuaded the black fox: "This time, let's not stand here stupidly. Just walk through the city with the spoils of war!"

"I think it's okay, no one would dare to stop us."

Flying the Ross flag high-profile, the trolley unloaded from the longship was assembled. The wooden boxes on the cart were filled with a large number of Frankish-style helmets, which should even be able to prove that Baron Saar was killed.

Just a suit of clothes is enough to force the guards at the gate to retreat tremblingly.

These Norsemen were as big as bears, and the nobles they guarded were full of jewels, and the helmets on the carts impressively recorded their killings.

May I ask which soldier dares to stop it?

Entering the city, the city of Mainz is still a messy scene. Although Archbishop Odegar took Mainz Cathedral as the seat of his bishop, none of the priests at that time could have imagined that the city would become a huge military camp.

A large number of wooden sheds have appeared outside the city, and a large number of soldiers lived in the sheds. Every day outdoors is full of people's voices. The huge army stationed here not only has 30,000 mouths to eat, but also causes great harm to the local residents due to poor discipline.

Women in a village near Mainz were raped by soldiers who came from afar, and the soldiers simply turned into robbers to steal.

Not only the army of the Marquis of Thuringia did this, but the army of the Duke of Saxony who had just arrived also protected the indulgence of its own soldiers.

The people could not complain, and even if the news reached the archbishop's ears, Bishop Ortega could only act as if nothing happened against his conscience.

Ortega can still be a bishop, the essence is that he has made a political deal with Ludwig himself, and he wants to endorse all the actions of the Eastern Kingdom Army.

As for those great noble armies, Ludwig's attitude can be described as love-hate.

The palace guard hurriedly approached the door of Ludwig's bedroom, and cautiously called a great nobleman to ask for an audience.

Ludwig's nap was woken up, and he got up angrily. He cursed a few words before asking who came.

The guard was beating his drums, and said again: "It's a fox! It's a fox! They claimed to have really destroyed the Saar River bridge and killed the local nobles."

"What? The bridge over the Saar has collapsed?"

"Yes! That's what the fox said, and brought a lot of...helmets as proof."

Now Ludwig quickly sobered up. He cleared his throat and roared angrily: "Presumptuous, how can the Baron of Wiesbaden, who was appointed by the king, be called a fox by a guard. You! Spread the word to make the fox...ah no. Let Wiesbaden Baron Den came to see me."

Obviously it was Ludwig who first called the fox, and everyone started to call it the fox.

The black fox didn't think it was an insult, and since he had the king's permission, he put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and the two walked directly into Ludwig's palace.

Maybe a woman shouldn't go before the king unless she's a high-ranking noblewoman.

Sophia Nassau is the real Countess, she can be called the daughter of the Lane River, and she is also the link between the settlements in the Lane River Valley and the alien Norman army.

No, the two young men stood in front of Ludwig. According to his age, he was qualified to be the father of both of them.

Ludwig needs an obedient nobleman who can win battles for him, and now the boy Black Fox has proved that he has full use value with practical actions.

So, in the eyes of the black fox, what is the proud Ludwig now? a king? No! Just a big noble with a high status, nothing more.

Compared to Sophia's rigidity, the black fox is very relaxed, he won the battle, and now he is arrogant.

"The guard told me, did you really destroy Sarahbrcken?" Ludwig asked peacefully.

"Of course. After a big battle, I won!"

Looking at the boy's high chin, if there is sunlight now, his chin would be tanned.

Ludwig chuckled: "So, what do you have to prove that you really destroyed it?"

"What, are you questioning me?"

"Why do you ask? Isn't it a normal suspicion? That is the only way for the southern army to go north, and you easily destroyed it?"

"We fought some big battles. That's not a problem." Heihu shook his head, still arrogantly said: "You know, force is very important in this world. Actually, I don't need to justify anything at all, let's talk about that The bridge doesn't matter to me either."

"Oh? So what do you think is important?"

"Wealth! What I want is wealth. This time we looted many monasteries, not only destroyed bridges, but also burned cities and granaries. I took all the food and wine that could be taken away. And you still have to give I get a favor."

The more confident he is, the more he makes it clear. Ludwig is secretly delighted in his heart. "What do you want? Money? Land? This king has already made you the Baron of Wiesbaden, isn't that enough?"

"I want more land."

"You? Greedy!" Ludwig had a smiling face, but his eyelids were trembling with excitement: "Where do you want me to make you a nobleman? Do you know that no one has openly asked me for a fief."

"But I'm not a Frank. I'm a Ross." The black fox thumped his chest. "My allegiance to you is like betraying Ross. You must give me more rewards."

"You boy!" Ludwig not only bared his wolf-like fangs, "Listen, as the lord of the nobles guarding the east of the empire, all I look up to are people who open up territories. You want to entrust land , then fight it yourself, and I can approve the territory you fight."

"This is exactly what I want." The black fox smiled secretly, "I already have a goal."

"where?"

"Sargo."

"Are you serious? It's not my territory."

The black fox shook his head: "If the king wins the civil war, wouldn't your elder brother's large number of fiefdoms belong to you? The nobles loyal to your elder brother were killed anyway, and I am loyal to you. I come to be a nobleman in these blank areas. Not right? Besides, I ransacked the Saar River, and I like it very much!"

"You? Do you still want to be a great nobleman?"

"Am I not qualified?" The black fox said casually: "I don't care, my wife is the real Earl of Nassau, and my son must also be the Earl of Nassau. We have contributed a lot to your civil war and deserve more Many rewards. Give it a good time! Let my wife also serve as Earl of Sargau."

Sophia has been listening in, and when she heard her husband say this, she was so surprised that she kept trembling. She subconsciously felt that something was wrong, and when she thought about it carefully, she felt guilty. After all, the army that ransacked the Saar River was essentially the Nassau Army, and she wanted Du Ze to do the looting.

But Sophia has no interest in killing, and will scream when she sees a dead body.

Look at the surprised face of the little girl, her eyes seem to be resisting. Does resistance work? Ludwig pinched his beard and couldn't help but think about it, the so-called black fox group would not think about it if they failed. Its delusion must be based on the complete destruction of Earl Sargau's family and the tenants will replace them. It is estimated that the black fox has really succeeded.

Besides, if the war ends through peace talks, the territory of the Eastern Kingdom must be expanded southward to the Saar River, and the entire Lai Yinlan region will be used as a strategic buffer. If the big nobles here are the Black Fox and Sophia's Nassau family, what will happen?

Baron Saar was related to many nobles in the south, and the black fox would offend too many people if he killed him. There is a stupid boy who is willing to be a shield, but there is such a good thing?

Ludwig didn't know if this kid was really confident, stupid and cute, or if he had a conspiracy.

It doesn't matter, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com's army is about to go south, and now that there are more black foxes joining, their strength is even stronger.

Even before he had time to appreciate the booty brought back by the black fox, Ludwig had already made a major decision, even if it was only verbal.

"Okay, I will make you Earl Sargau, as long as you like it, and you will naturally bear any risks."

"That's natural. If I didn't have this awareness, I wouldn't make such a request." Black Fox said.

It is said that the black fox's move was not on a whim. He did raise his troops to plunder the Saar River. However, the local climate and scenery were better than those in Nassau. At that time, cider and cherry wine were abundant, and the environment was good enough to produce more. wine.

These wines can be exported to the north on a large scale. The black fox who pursues wealth wants to replace them after thinking about them.

Heihu just wants to prove his abilities to his relatives and friends, and he will never let this opportunity pass.