Count Adalbert of Metz, who gathered a group of defeated soldiers, continued his march.

He was in a bad mood, not only because all the defeated soldiers claimed that Kaiserslautern had fallen, but more importantly, his eldest son was in that city.

He learned from the defeated soldiers that his son launched a cavalry charge at the last moment that could have completely reversed the situation of the battle, but the cavalry was actually contained.

"Frebach, did you really die in battle? If so, you are a hero. You must not be captured!"

For this war, Count Metz basically dispatched the nobles of the whole territory, so that the rear was completely empty.

He is using his current power to gamble on a greater power that he can obtain in the future. The ultimate goal is to let the family restore the title of Duke and the corresponding strength of the ancestors in his own generation.

He didn't think there would be any danger behind his home at all, especially in his hometown of Metz, where there were still some defenders, more than enough to deal with some possible thieves.

Every village sent out strong and strong men to fight. They brought their ancestral swords and shields, and brought a short spear.

However, the most elite troops of the Metz Army had been exhausted in the early battles. Although the last legion brought by Adalbert this time, although the soldiers were strong and strong, their armed level would inevitably decline sharply.

The news of Kaiserslautern's fall is like a bolt from the blue. If the enemy is really so fierce, wouldn't it be inevitable to lead the troops to a **** battle with them?

flinch? No! The battle situation is like this, even if there is **** in front of him, he has to bite the bullet and rush forward to a decisive battle with the devil.

Most of the elite of the Metz Army have actually suffered heavy losses from the endless spears of the Saxon Army. The count gathered a group of warriors who had been killed to the point of abandoning their helmets and armor. He hoped that this group of people would realize their shame and be brave.

However, the Metz peasant soldiers who were already dissatisfied with the earl's continuous conscription were more willing to listen to the situation of the retired brothers. Almost all the rout soldiers gathered became defeatist strategists. It is already a miracle that no large-scale escape occurred.

Therefore, they were not the so-called soldiers who rushed to the battlefield with a tragic mood as the count imagined, and they could not expect the mourners to win at all. The earl could faintly feel the change in the atmosphere, but the army was about to touch Kaiserslautern, and the arrows they shot could not be retracted. No matter what, the battle must break out.

The emotion of failure spread among the ordinary infantry, and the closer they got to the destination, the stronger this bad emotion became.

Adalbert was riding a horse, his helmet was hot from the sun, and he felt very uncomfortable all over. He was sweating constantly because of his growing anxiety. It is said that if the general's mentality collapsed, there would be no need to fight this battle.

He knew that the more difficult the time was, the earl himself had to set an example, even if it was to take the lead in the charge.

Then, a kind of retinue cavalry who was equally nervous suddenly saw the earl who had been silent for a long time suddenly coughed and cleared his throat violently, and then talked loudly.

"Soldiers! Don't be afraid! Little Kaiserslautern has broken out many times, and a defeat is nothing!"

"As long as I lead you to act, everything will be fine! Take a look! Our army now has 10,000 people, a giant. I will lead you to victory quickly!"

"You don't have to be afraid at all. Behind our army is the king's 100,000 troops, and soon they will follow our footsteps to the battlefield."

"Even if our army encounters some troubles, the victory will be ours. Think of a bright future. I will inherit Baron Sargau and the Palatinate will be mine. I will reward the brave warriors with fertile land . Use your brains! Everything will be fine!"

Hearing Kang's impassioned words, the cavalry who were the retinues were full of fighting spirit.

However, there are no loudspeakers in this era. No matter how inspiring Adalbert's words are, the mighty infantry regiment escorting the baggage in the rear can't hear anything, and the pessimistic atmosphere is still spreading.

What he said was also a psychological paralysis of himself.

Does the king really have a hundred thousand troops? It's just bragging. A large number of militiamen are simply here to make up the numbers. In the earl's view, the most optimistic estimate of his king's men is that only 20,000 soldiers dare to fight.

As for the 10,000 troops he just claimed.

What is an army of 10,000 people, there are only more than 5,000 soldiers who can actually fight, and the remaining defeated soldiers have already failed once, and they will not fight to defend the city. How can we talk about taking the city back?

But what the army needs is courage.

The earl was imagining a situation where he would personally lead the cavalry to charge when the real battle came, and as soon as the situation opened up the infantry would rush up, relying on enough numbers to win.

As for how the son's cavalry and the king's standing army cavalry were defeated by a large group of spears, such a thing the count had never seen and could not understand at all. He concluded a little bit that the so-called battlefield was in the most **** mountain pass area last year, it was a cursed place!

If there is another battle, the battlefield must find a way to move to an open area.

He then told his subordinates: "We will no longer attack the city recklessly, we will temporarily observe the situation on the outskirts of the mountains. If there is a big battle, we will fight them decisively in the flat area in the south of the mountain."

The "flat area" he mentioned is a rare large flat land in the huge hilly area.

There are three villages and a monastery in the local area, but because of the continuous war, everything is deserted.

With a width of four kilometers and a length of nearly seven kilometers, this is the largest and most suitable plain area in the southern hilly area of Kaiserslautern. There are many small streams in the area, and the infiltration of the river water is very suitable for growing wheat.

Now the haystack houses in the village have become dilapidated shacks, and the farmland must have been completely abandoned. As for the whereabouts of the locals, they either fled along the road to the Barony of Bristol, or died as soldiers in their hometown. land.

Earl Adalbert knew the names of the three villages. As for the ruins of the villages left by the people, he didn't dislike them. He cleaned them up a little and made them the best barracks for his army.

At least the abandoned villages have been occupied, so I and my cronies don't have to sleep in the wilderness, and even the abandoned farmland has a small amount of mature wheat, accompanied by wildly growing rushes, all of which are high-quality forages that war horses urgently need.

But the real situation is far beyond Adalbert's imagination.

Because, the main force of Ludwig's army has arrived!

The gathering of more than 20,000 troops can be said to be overwhelming. They are all combat soldiers, and more than 10,000 of them are soldiers brought by Ludwig from his hometown in Bavaria. They are loyal to their monarch and have a tenacious will to fight.

His army marched through Kaiserslautern, which was occupied by the Saxons, and the whole army passed through the southern mountain pass of the city. In that fateful open land, he immediately transformed the ready-made abandoned village into a base for his army. camp.

Katzenbeche Village (Cat Brook Village) and Spethisbeche Village (Stone Brook Village) are now Ludwig's barracks!

However, as the de facto supreme ruler of the eastern part of the empire, the noble man cannot live in an ordinary village.

There happened to be an abandoned monastery here. Compared with the haystacks and wooden sheds of the folk houses, this stone building is the strongest. This is the tallest building in this area. It has undoubtedly become Ludwig's temporary palace and military command post.

The reason why Maoxi Village is called this is because a long time ago, in Kaiserslautern, which was a luxurious royal residence, the dead royal cat was buried by the river, so the whole stream got its name, and the village built next to it was also named Give the corresponding name.

Shixi Village is named entirely because the bottom of this stream is made of large and small pebbles, which form a distinctive feature with other streams, and the village built next to it gets its name.

After Ludwig finished his farce with the Duke of Saxony in the dilapidated palace, he arrived at the army camp he had chosen with a sense of resentment.

The abandoned monastery was cleaned, the dusty wooden chairs should be thrown away, and some wooden boards were put together to make a bed, and then covered with thick woolen blankets and soft linen sheets, Ludwig's exclusive comfortable bed. completed.

The walls of the monastery are made of large and small cobblestones. Even though the place is very dilapidated, when the oil lamp was weighed again, Ludwig who arrived here saw the huge wooden cross hanging high on the stone wall at first sight. ,

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Facing the cross, he couldn't help but draw the cross on his chest, regardless of the mighty warriors around him.

"Even such a sacred place is deserted! What good deeds did the Metz people do! When I was here, the villagers hadn't escaped yet. I came back after more than a year. Why is there a dilapidated scene left?"

The soldiers dare not answer.

Ludwig was talking to himself, and he continued to stare at the cross: "Lord, forgive my sins! Everything is fate, and a fierce battle must break out on this little plain! Please give me victory, I can end strife."

He arranged tasks for the captains of each banner, and each banner team set up their own camps and deployed defenses, and soldiers were prohibited from running around.

The same goes for all conscripted militia units.

It is obvious that Ludwig's standing army camps are more organized. Although the militiamen are also required to organize and train according to the standard team, their training is really bad, and now they gather together and look chaotic.

This is not a problem, the Frankish nobles cannot imagine the night attack.

Ludwig's army buried stoves for cooking. After all, he had more than 20,000 people. Even if there were ten people in a group, the bonfire he made would create a "bright starry sky" on the plain, echoing the real stars.

How long can the good weather last? have no idea. Ludwig hoped that it would not rain until he reached Strasbourg.

As if God gave him a strong boost, it has been a long time without rain.

The lack of rainfall does not mean that the small plain in this hill is dry. On the contrary, it is infiltrated by a large number of streams. The hilly area is like a group of water towers, which nourish the small plain and the depression area like capillaries. All the streams finally converge to the Lauter River. , eventually into the Rhine River.

The 20,000 people stationed here do not have to worry about drinking water at all, which is a great comfort to the soldiers who continue to march.

The whole army was asleep, and Ludwig himself was snoring heavily.

There are only a few people in his army who are sentry at night. If a surprise soldier is suddenly killed and launches a surprise attack in the dark, it will surely smash this exhausted and exhausted army.

Naihe launched a large-scale night attack, in the eyes of Adalbert, Earl of Metz, it was unimaginable. He couldn't understand that he could still fight while sleeping? When Ludwig camped that night, he was very unaware that the supreme ruler of the Eastern Kingdom had personally marched before him. After all, his army was still in the hills and cols, and the Metz army camped and slept in such an environment.

They didn't find each other, and they were completely unaware of each other's existence.

Only Ludwig heard the description of the Duke of Saxony and the confession of the prisoners of war, and learned that a large army was rushing to Kaiserslautern.

Is it only the army led by Count Metz himself, or Lothair's army is dispatched and the former is just a pioneer.

Before going to bed, he made a wish on the cross of the dilapidated monastery, and he really felt in his heart that if a new Kaiserslautern war broke out, it might determine the success or failure of a normal civil war.

Glory or doom? See you soon.

As a person who has experienced many battles, Ludwig is not afraid of large-scale **** battles, regardless of whether he is brave or full of wisdom. He slept comfortably that night, enjoying the brief peace before the war.

And on the second day, everything went well.

When the early morning fog dissipated, the sun shone on the only great plain among the hills.

He rode a horse to inspect the future battlefield and drank the horse Maoxi. He was in a good mood facing the cool autumn wind.

"It's really a decisive battle place! Promise me!" He shouted excitedly to the guards around him: "I give you a special power. If Lothar participates in the future decisive battle, any of you can kill him. Whoever kills Lothair with his own hands, this king will grant him the title of earl and own a large fief."

To kill the real Roman Emperor Lothair? In any case, Lothar received from the previous king the honor that once belonged to Charlemagne-the Roman emperor. The Pope agreed with this matter, and even the surviving Eastern Empire also agreed.

This matter is well known!

Although everyone who is Ludwig's personal soldier is a knight, is a mere knight qualified to kill Lothar? If someone really completes this task, I'm afraid they will end up dying for no apparent reason.

At this moment, no one dared to echo Ludwig's rhetoric.

"What? Are you scared?" He looked around: "You really don't know? If Lothar succeeds, all of you will die. If I am caught by him, I will surely end up being hanged. You are afraid that I will Crucified. Well, you should be concerned about your low status. But don't panic!"

Ludwig made up his mind: "At least the Earl of Metz himself will definitely come. Anyone of you who kills the Earl of Metz, becomes a baron, and rewards you with a hundred pounds of silver coins. How about it?"

Now, all the cronies finally echoed and cheered.

In this way, while talking and laughing, Adalbert, Earl of Metz, had a price for his headone hundred pounds of silver coins.

Only the earl himself was completely unaware of this.

Adalbert spent a wet night in the col. He didn't rest well. Obviously, it hasn't rained for a while, so why is this mountainous area still very humid?

The Roman Avenue plunges into the depression area, which is more humid than the plain area, and the morning fog is thicker. Often the fog drifts and the visibility plummets to the point where you can hardly see your fingers.

Of course, Ludwig's barracks in the small plain also faced the same problem at the same time. Under the morning fog, the visibility dropped to less than 400 meters. Even if it gradually dissipated, the visibility for a long time was only about 1,000 meters. Five hundred meters.

what does that mean?

If an army is dispatched through the fog, the soldiers will not be able to discover the enemy until the army has approached the Ludwig barracks. The two sides are only more than a thousand meters away. One side is well prepared and continues to march, and the other side is unprepared and busy piercing armor. The winner and loser are a foregone conclusion.

But Adalbert's army finally got out of the col until noon.

It was the clearest time of the day, the noon sun shone on the earth in early autumn, and a silvery existence suddenly appeared on the southern boundary.

Soldiers with good eyesight can see clearly! The iconic metal reflection does not need everyone to be confused at all. The main force of the Ludwig army stationed in the two villages cheered up. Everyone spread word of mouth that the so-called fateful enemy army finally appeared!

Such unconfirmed news had just been told to Ludwig himself. Today was his third day in the barracks, and he was somewhat flustered when he suddenly heard the war alarm.

"Too fast! Damn it, I want to wait a few more days, but you are here now."

He didn't have time to worry anymore, considering that he was used to launching large-scale raids, he was afraid that the enemies that appeared would do the same to him.

He ordered the trumpeters and drummers of the whole army to make as much noise as possible, and especially the trumpeters to sound the war siren.

Before the enemy's situation is completely clear, he will not lead the army to launch an attack. Especially at present, the most important thing to do is to do a good job of defense and beware of the enemy's main attack.

The flag teams moved into action, and they began to put on armor and weapons in a hurry and then lined up.

All the cavalry got on their horses urgently, whether they were armored heavy cavalry or light horsemen wearing only civilian clothes, all cavalry warriors began to gather. Because each of them has already made an agreement with Ludwig himself that as long as the opportunity is suitable, the noble ruler of the east will charge with all his cavalry.

Ludwig was really looking forward to his elder brother Lothar appearing on this battlefield. He kept talking about it, so that now he believed more and more that his elder brother would be dispatched. Who is qualified to kill him? ! "Only me! Duke of Bavaria!"

The news quickly spread to the barracks of the Marquis of Thuringia where the guards camped, and then to the Saxons who were still digging three feet in the city of Kaiserslautern to find the treasure.

"Damn it, could it be that today is the decisive battle?" Thuringian Houthakulf, who was originally reluctant to go on the expedition, had no choice but to get on his horse, bringing the "old, weak, sick and disabled" he deliberately organized to return home in a deliberately lazy attitude. into the army.

As for the Saxon Army. Although they lost a lot of spears in the battle at the front line, the good quality of imported Ross's military stab spearheads, it will not be permanently bent, and there are not many broken ones. The new spear shafts are made from local materials, and a large number of brand-new spears are produced, but the spear shafts still feel wet.

The Saxon army assembled as quickly as possible, and finally about two hours after Ludwig's army saw those "big metal flashes", the Saxon army dressed in black but fully covered with plate armor, helmets, and new shoes, they Carrying spears on their shoulders is like a moving forest, marching out of the southern mountain pass of Kaiserslautern in a row, and entering the army that has basically been lined up.

At the same time, the Metz army who left the col area and occupied the abandoned village named hu (Hat Town) for the first time, and the soldiers who accompanied them and were defeated once, they also quickly saw that there was a group of soldiers not far away. The army is in formation~www.mtlnovel.com~ This is the army that defeated my son and the king's soldiers? They don't look black either. Oops! Could it be Ludwig's own army? "The astonished Earl of Metz, Adalbert, didn't care to continue to be surprised. Although he might encounter the worst result, what else could he do?

"God! I might die here!" The count squinted his eyes and looked up at the sun. He still ordered all the troops to walk out of the valley, and began to line up at the center of the occupied village. He would not take the initiative to attack or retreat.

He knew that he should be at a huge disadvantage in terms of strength, what was worse was that the army was exhausted now, and if he attacked the whole army rashly, he might not see the sunset today. There is no doubt that you will die if you attack, but it is possible to maintain a defensive posture and win by defending and counterattacking.

Besides, now I don't know the reality of the other party at all.

According to the etiquette of the Frankish nobles, at least an envoy must be sent to negotiate before the war, and it would not be too late to start a big fight.

He decided to send someone to talk about the tone first, at least when sending an envoy, he must grasp the time window to line up.