Once, the sparsely populated Flanders region was an independent kingdom. The country has moved from the tribal confederation era to the kingdom era until it directly borders the expanding Frankish kingdom.

Once, the territory did not have the huge Franks today, and her north directly faced three so-called "barbarian countries", which were Germanic forces similar in blood.

They are the Kingdom of Flanders, the Grand Duchy of Saxony, and the Grand Duchy of Thuringia.

There is another special existence, the most western descendant of the "Wenderslav ethnic group". The population is very small and the strength is very weak, and it is easily annexed by the Franks.

Whether it is a kingdom or a grand duchy, their ethnic composition is different from that of the Franks, and they believe in the sacred tree, Odin and the world tree. And this is precisely the excuse for Frank to conquer them, thereby covering up the kingdom's desire for expansion.

In other words, the Frankish kingdom entering the imperial age can only maintain the stability of the empire through expansion.

So once the empire stopped expanding, civil war broke out. It is now, since the death of the old King Louis the Pious in 839, that three princes have led the whole of the Franks into civil war.

The kingdom under the common grandfather of the three princes, Charlemagne, was strong at that time, and there was no one who refused to accept the surrounding people. Even the Pope of Rome had to anoint it with holy oil and crowned it as the "Emperor of the Romans".

The Kingdom of Flanders was defeated and thus incorporated into the Franks.

At the beginning, the nobles were not liquidated, and the defeated nobles were awarded the title of Marquis, or "Country of the Frontier".

This was a means of transition, and according to Charlemagne's plan, large numbers of Franks would migrate to these newly conquered lands, thereby changing the composition of the local population. At the same time, a large number of expatriate Franks also eased the overly dense population in the ruling core area.

For, in an age dominated by rough agriculture, the population of Charlemagne's kingdom grew to twelve million. Even if the population is still scattered, each household of self-cultivation farmers who can serve must take care of the huge farmland and adopt the rotation system to ensure that famine will not occur.

Only expansion can alleviate the suffering of the people and satisfy the desire for expansion of the nobles.

Just like Vidukind, the archduke of Saxony who surrendered and was defeated.

Charlemagne ruled for a very long time, and when he got old, he finally had to think about making some decisions about what happened to him.

When he was young, Charlie was accustomed to the cannibalism of the nobles. He worried that after his death, the children would kill each other until the kingdom became extinct. He was worried that the surrenderers in the border areas would rebel. He should take some measures to avoid such an ending.

Therefore, since he started "three-division of the kingdom to avoid civil war among the great nobles" has become a national policy.

Since he started, replaced all the native marquises of the "border counties" and replaced them with Frankish nobles.

The impact of this move on different regions is completely different. The Flanders region smoothly accepted this fate, with the Frisian aristocracy abdicated and replaced by the Count of Flanders installed by Charlemagne. The demotion of titles in the region also means that the kingdom can theoretically control it directly. However, the newly promoted Count immediately chose to cooperate with the native nobles of Flanders, and maintained the stability of the family's rule by means of marriage and moderate politics. It is such a move that it seems that the Count of Flanders is very incompetent militarily.

For the Saxony region, Widukind, who was already a "court official", immediately raised his troops to rebel after hearing that the king was about to cut his vassals. The revival of the Saxons broke out, forcing Charlemagne to lead a personal expedition. The movement failed, and although Widukind was not killed, the family had been reduced to aristocrats living under surveillance and moved to the Frankish hinterland, seemingly free from the chance of rebellion forever. The old town of Saxony was immediately relocated to more Farrakers, and the frontier counties were dismantled into the counties of Bremen and Hamburg.

Just southeast of Saxony, there is the Thuringia region. The Thuringians had been incorporated into the Franks as early as two hundred years ago, and it was not unacceptable for the whole family to accept the rule of a Frankish aristocrat. Because the Thuringians were directly facing other alien races, they were Pomeranians and Polish tribes. Even the migrating Franks must work together with the Thuringians to withstand the expansion of these "Pan-Wenderslavs" one wave at a time. Or because the Franks had better weapons and better military organization, without these foreign aid, the Thuringians did not feel that they could hold their territory.

However, in the thirty years after Charlemagne's death, the post-mortem pattern he designed, the so-called kingdom without civil war and border without rebellion, all came to nothing.

He overestimated the continuity of his family's blood, and only Charlie survived. He also underestimated the bearing of his three grandsons. He never imagined that his grandson Lothair longed for everything. It was Charlemagne himself who set an example and made Lothair feel that he had to bring Frank into a new era on the basis of the great grandfather. One of the most important tasks is to cut down the clan, and then be as great as Augustus.

Of course, Charlemagne has a thousand calculations, and no matter what, it can't be calculated to the north of the Baltic Sea. The so-called unknown world can give birth to a powerful frost force.

Like the cold snap that swept across Europe every winter, the Normans could one day unite and launch a southern invasion with stronger military and greater purpose.

The family descendants of the appeased Widukind regain their ancestral glory, and Saxony is restored.

Even Flanders, which smoothly accepted the abdication and became dominated by the Frankish aristocracy, encountered a purposeful invasion.

All this because of the greatest king of the Normans, the king of Rus, the great man blessed by Odin, the monarch of the Eastern Slavs, the suzerain of the Finns, the leader admired by all the Norse powers, Rurik.

Now, the great Rurik was slightly affected, and with a powerful army of concentrated essence, he rushed to the north of the country of Flanders on a battleship.

A special noble led his meager, but only ten followers, so-called special allies to accompany Rurik's squadron on expedition.

He was none other than Henry Nassau.

For the first time, he was on a boat as tall as a mound, and it felt like a dream. The entire fleet rushed along the coastline in the north wind in autumn. Standing on the deck, the strong wind seemed to blow itself away. The ship did not undulate too violently. Even so, Nassau still had to endure the strange feeling of seasickness.

This is very strange. Nassau's hometown is relying on the Lan River and the Rhine River. Navigating inland is not a problem.

He clawed at the wooden railings of the ship, retching as he watched the undulating waves, and his mental state was lethargic.

After all, his own condition was not good, and he was lucky not to die in the previous defeat. As for the former enemy becoming the current ally, a lot of too fantastical things have happened. Those great nobles have declared their separation from Frank in the civil war. Whether their political adventure is worth it no longer needs to be debated.

Because Nassau has no choice.

Liudov would send a guide to lead the Rus-Danish coalition to Utrecht in the Flanders region, and it would not matter how to loot him afterwards.

Since there is a guide, there is no harm in having one more guide.

Henry Nassau was one of the guides. Just because he knew that the mouth of the Rhine River is in the Earl of Flanders, if there is to be a new earl of land for him in the future, there is currently an unnamed Earl of Nassau, and he is very motivated to see it for himself. Condition.

Naturally, he also has a little Jiujiu in his heart. The so-called appeal to King Rurik of Rus and King Ragnar of Denmark must not kill the local people indiscriminately.

"You shouldn't go here just to kill for robbery. I will be the ruler there in the future, and I will also do trade with you in the future. If the local people are wiped out by your Normans, it is like killing a cow. You can't think about it in the future. Get the cows. Therefore, we should play a banner that the locals are Frisians and not Franks, expel the Franks, and let the locals recognize the Duchy of Saxony as the suzerain, which will facilitate my future rule."

What Henry Nassau said made sense. Ragnar felt that this guy was too greedy. He was still an enemy and a prisoner a few days ago, and his attitude changed faster than a businessman. Is it really for the sake of profit, can the honor of the soldier be completely disregarded? This makes Ragnar very shameless.

What Rurik felt was a deep shock.

A village chief, Henry Nassau, had such a long-term idea? This person has put forward a reason enough to make him kill carefully and stop killing - he still wants to do business in the future.

What Nassau said revealed two pieces of information. One was that the locals just wanted to live, and it didn't matter who was the lord. The second one is even more interesting. There is an estuary of the Rhine River. Going up against the river, ships can not only enter the hinterland of Europe, but also enter the village of Nassau in the Rheingau region.

Henry Nassau was a pragmatic man. He fought against each other before because he had to be loyal to Robert, Count of Rheingau. Now that he has taken refuge with Ludoff, Duke of Saxony, there is no reason to be an enemy of Rusdan.

Because of the change in position, the enemy has become an ally, and the subordinates who died in the battle will die when they die?

Ragnar did not understand this very much. He despised Nassau as a man, but he did not exclude him from occupying Flanders in the future. Because Flanders Durist is located near the mouth of the Rhine River. It is a Danish colonial town. In the past, Horlick occupied this place, and now it is natural for Ragnar to inherit it?

(Durrist in this era is close to Rotterdam)

There is even intelligence that the main target Utrecht this time is relatively close by land to Durist. In theory, it is no problem for Denmark to retake this colonial town.

So during the voyage, the three made a conspiracy.

Gu Fu

Nassau would take most of the Flanders territory, and after the Ross-Danish coalition helped him facilitate this, he naturally wanted to gain a long way to go.

The core point of this interest is the ownership of Durist. Even if he is now occupied by the Franks, the geographical advantage is huge, and the houses, warehouses, and docks can be rebuilt in the future. But it must be a free port for all Normans, as it has always been.

Nassau agreed without thinking about it.

Nassau has only one request: "Don't kill indiscriminately, you first capture people, and then loot the property. Give me a chance, let me persuade the local people to surrender to me, and I will protect their lives. So you get Property, I got the people."

This is a win-win situation. Rurik secretly admires this Nassau but has the ambition to become a hero, but his strength is too weak, and he can only work for the strong. Even if he is an earl, he can't make a splash.

But Ragnar thought it was outrageous.

"You are also outsiders to them, how can you force them to submit to you with one mouth?" he said.

Nassau explained: "But they don't want to be killed by you."

Only a factual example can test whether the win-win plan planned by both parties is reliable.

The fleet theoretically sailed at the fastest two days, and arrived at the coastal city of Utrecht in the bay by the next evening.

Because the geographical structure of this era is very different from a thousand years later, Flanders is a mixture of the Netherlands and Belgium, and the main part is still in the Netherlands. At this time, large-scale land reclamation has not been done, and a large amount of land is still shallow sea at this time. Utrecht, a landlocked city a thousand years later, is now a seaside town.

Likewise, Groningen, a large village in the northernmost part of the region, is now a Frisian seaside town.

Groningen can be said to be a town, and its size is the same as that of a large European village, with a population of only 300 people. Its original meaning is "green field", which is Groenngard in Norse language. Its geographical location is indeed a very flat coastal field facing the ocean. This environment is actually not suitable for growing wheat, but it is very suitable for grazing. The green grass soaked by the salt spray of the sea breeze is slightly salty, which makes the milk produced by the cows have a unique salty and fresh taste, and the cheese produced is also more delicious.

But the productive Holstein cows of this era were not born, and Groningen, like other towns, could not develop dairy products as an industry.

The town has its own characteristic industry - wool.

Groningen stands out because there are only a handful of villages in the vast surrounding area. The town was undoubtedly the base of the Rus-Danish army, mainly due to the small piers and ship berths that were readily available here. They saw the local fishing boats, realized that there was a local village, and immediately locked on Groningen.

Nassau wanted to experiment here. He knew that the Norman army could easily surround the entire village. Whether or not to kill all the people was up to Rurik, King of Ross.

Who can save the lives of these people? "It's only me after all!"

Capture a village and town, loot some supplementary supplies, and attack Utrecht tomorrow after a night of rest.

Coalition forces with clear goals are high in fighting spirit.

They are of course pragmatic and have no illusions about the village they discovered.

What can you grab in a seaside village? At most, there are a small number of slaves and a small number of fish. It is rumored that the Frisian people are good at raising sheep. If you can get a batch of wool from here, it will be a worthwhile trip.

Rurik is looking forward to being able to grab sheep and wool in this area.

As a result, the Norman army appeared in the sea visible to the naked eye of the town of Groningen.

Those fishermen who first spotted the anomaly had no idea what they were seeing. Those floating things are actually ships? There are very obvious signs hanging on the mast. Since the flag is a flag and blue cloth strips are sewn on the diagonal, it looks like a swirling cross flag.

Ordinary fishermen didn't even think about running for their lives for the first time. They knew that their north was also a Frankish territory. Perhaps the earl over there sent a huge messenger to come to the south to do business with the earl.

So the nobles will have the mind to entangle with the fishermen?

The fishing boats circumvented themselves, deliberately keeping their distance from what they believed to be aristocratic ships. They also took the initiative to move to their hometown, until they noticed that this amazing fleet was heading straight for their home village.

Rurik stood on the deck, ignoring the waves in his bearskin suit.

The weather is not good today, maybe it will rain in the next few days.

Although the wind and waves are not turbulent, it still brings some challenges to the process of the Russ soldiers from the big ship to the rowing longboat. The large ships have all dropped anchor near the shore, and the remaining landing operations need to be completed by small ships in order to avoid running aground.

The soldiers acted lightly and boarded the long boat along the rope ladder thrown by the big boat. After the long boat was fully loaded, they immediately pulled out their long oars and went straight to the small pier visible to the naked eye.

Whether it's a small boat unloaded from a large boat that can only paddle ten people, or a traditional paddle boat that can be forced into forty people towed.

There were 800 landing troops in the first wave of the coalition forces. Soldiers stood at the bow with flags, while fellow soldiers rowed hard. Those who landed first waded ashore one after another, and then pushed the half-grounded boat away for the brothers left behind on the boat to quickly go back and pull another boat of brothers.

The landers were lined up on the shore. They had occupied the pier, and all they saw were soldiers in white robes and blue stripes. They were very neatly dressed, and they held a lot of flags, and the patterns were exactly the same.

Apparently only the regular army of the Franks could have such a military appearance. Because Ragnar's subordinates also changed into serious clothes to keep out the cold, and the appearance of the pirate's red back tattoo did not exist at all. The first thing that came to the minds of those who stopped to watch was that this was a noble Frankish warrior.

The villagers had never seen such a spectacle before. A group of well-dressed foreigners suddenly came to the isolated town with no stories. They did not run away, but took the initiative to greet the situation.

Even the lord of the village, a Frisian baron of Groningen, came with his entourage to find out.

The black-robed priest of the monastery also held the cross flag and carried the black wooden cross to direct the somewhat chaotic crowd, intending to meet the so-called temporary stop of the Frankish nobles in the north with enough dignity.

In fact, it is the flag of the Kingdom of Ross that is like a cross flag rotated 45. It really deceives these people who actively choose to live in a closed life.

Also because Groningen is too closed from lord to villager life.

Even if someone thought that these people who suddenly appeared out of the sea were like the Danish pirates who occupied the port of Durist, no one took it seriously.

The fact is that the pirates have been crusaded by King Ludwig himself, and even the civilians know about it. The baron here learned another thing, which was explained by the earl of Flanders himself. The so-called neighbor of Westphalia (Liudov) was relegated to Denmark, which means that Denmark has been controlled and monitored by the Frankish forces. Just optimistically tell everyone that there may be something about the Norman pirates in the future. They are some very few fishermen who will never threaten everyone's life again.

The problem is that the incident of the burning of Bremen was kept secret. The Bishop of Utrecht learned of the incident, and he was so distressed that he ordered the news to be blocked to avoid panic in the diocese he was responsible for.

The high priest kept silent, and the Count of Flanders kept the news of the public as well as he knew about it.

Anyway, the Normans attacked not their own territory, so why worry about it? As for the general public, they can live in peace~www.mtlnovel.com~ and tell them these terrible things, and they have to tell them what the city of Hamburg is and what the city of Bremen is. It's really unnecessary. If we delay farming, wouldn't we not be able to receive enough tax in kind? That is asking for trouble.

The port of Durist is in his own hands. It used to be a colony of Norman pirates. The pirates also presumptuously called themselves the "Count of Flanders".

Now the real title of earl has been smoothly transitioned to the hands of the half-blood nobleman Baudouin, and he has undoubtedly become the ruler that most Frisian people are willing to accept. All because the man is half Frisian and that's it.

Ordinary people do not and dare not think anything wrong. They obey the lord's arrangement and go to the monastery every Sunday to listen to the scriptures. Linen, and then stock up on supplies for the winter.

Now, the peaceful autumn life of the people of Groningen is facing a major crisis.

Dear, click in and give a good review. The higher the score, the faster the update. It is said that those who give full marks to the new ones have finally found a beautiful wife!

The new revision and upgrade address of the mobile station: https://, data and bookmarks are synchronized with the computer station, no ads and fresh reading!