Rise of Rurik

A small cavalry escorted a large group of refugees as they trudged along the Loire towards Tours.

There was no one around, so they had to camp at the edge of the forest.

Because food is very limited, the empty-handed refugees have to look for something to eat.

Some soldiers caught some voles and prairie dogs, peeled off the skins of the small animals, and skewered the meat on branches and burned it.

They are the defeated soldiers and their families who escaped from Anjou. In times of crisis, the surviving defeated soldiers are only willing to give limited food to their wives and children. As for the others...

After a night, some children become quietly stiff.

The team reluctantly left the dead behind and continued to move toward Tours in the harsh winter.

People died as the team marched. As they approached Tours, the commander of the fleeing garrison left the others behind, took only his men and their families, and rode on his horse for the last part of the journey.

Even though they knew that such a decisive move would cause hundreds of people to die of hunger and cold.

Many people have died in the battle. If the family members of the deceased can approach Tours alive, it must be the blessing of the Holy Mother. Whether they can survive depends on their fate.

They wasted a lot of time on the journey, and snow had begun to fall at this moment. In the fine snow, there were often three or four people sitting on a horse, and the overwhelmed horses were also moving in the gray and white hazy world.

Until in the cold fog and snow, a large monastery building half-covered by the forest loomed in front of everyone.

"Brothers, if you work harder, we will be safe." The captain of the defeated army said with difficulty, and his encouragement was blown away by the north wind.

That was the first monastery where Vivian, Archbishop of Tours, first served;

Due north of the city, across the river from the big city.

The abbot settled these soldiers with their families with incredible emotion, and was even more surprised to learn that they came from Anjou.

For several days, the defeated soldiers and their families relied on random food to eat. When they had nothing to eat, they relied on perseverance. Each of them was so cold that their faces turned pale and their whole bodies were shivering. All of them suffered from varying degrees of frostbite.

The priest gave these poor people the simplest meal, and they wolfed it down.

After recovering slightly, the captain of the defeated army met with the abbot, and then he stammered and claimed that there were still a large number of refugees struggling to move due west of the monastery.

"Is there such a thing? If they were trekking in the snow, wouldn't they freeze to death?" The abbot must be responsible for the Archbishop of Tours. With compassion, some priests were organized and ordered to brave the snow to go to the west to see look.

So, a "priest expedition team" dressed in black robes, carrying some black bread, collectively got on the carriage and headed west along the river.

The wind and snow were getting heavier, and the visibility in the gray world was very low.

On the first day, they fumbled to no avail, but on the second day, they finally found the refugees.

A group of refugees already covered in snow...

The people who were abandoned by the garrison captain had no supplies at all and no tools to cut trees and grass for fire, so they had no choice but to hide in the woods to stay warm in the wind and snow.

There were no villages in the nearby area, and no one helped them. In the end, they all turned into stiff corpses.

The empty carriage was prepared to pick up the living, but the deceased, who were frozen like lumps of ice, were nervously thrown into the carriage by the lower-level priests. Finally, they were spread with linen and waited for the carriage.

When the pile was full they headed back towards the monastery.

The first batch of deceased were brought back. The corpses looked calm, and the mother and child hugged each other tightly as if they had fallen asleep.

Some lower-level priests who lacked concentration simply fainted, and the old abbot kept crossing himself on his chest.

The first batch of deceased people were transported to the warm admonition hall first. The priests wishfully believed that if some frozen people in this warm room were successfully thawed, they would slowly wake up.

They expected a miracle to happen, but the deceased gradually softened and never woke up.

"Oh God. What a sin." The abbot's trembling right hand kept making the sign of the cross, and all the lower-level priests present were not sleepy at all.

The next day, a new group of priests continued to go to the scene of the incident in the snow to continue carrying the bodies. After learning that there were many dead people, more carriages were organized.

On a new day, the captain of the defeated army, who had regained his energy, was summoned to the huge preaching hall. Facing the dead people lying on the ground, the captain stood blankly, his eyes staring at them, he said nothing and didn't want to say anything.

The abbot hung his head and walked away silently, accompanied by the two priests.

He first made the sign of the cross and said regretfully: "The miracle did not happen. What happened? So many lambs... were lost in the wind and snow."

"It's the Normans." The captain was unwilling and said viciously: "The Normans attacked Anjou and we were defeated."

"Norman?!"

"They're fair-haired savages. The Normans."

"What a bunch of barbarians." From the corner of his eye, he noticed the still dull eyes of the garrison captain. As for the so-called "Normans", the abbot had doubts in his heart, so for the time being, he

Don't show it.

The abbot was calm and said: "Many people have died. I will bury them after this snow is over. And you! You have gone through a lot of hardships."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, my child. What are your plans next?"

The captain didn't think much, and spoke emphatically: "I want to take my people across the river, and I want to tell the count what happened in Anjou."

"Okay. Perhaps the Anjou matter can only be solved by the Count of Tours. This is a matter between nobles. In the end, it is all the lambs who suffer. It is really a sin." After feeling sad, the abbot scratched his chest again. cross.

With the brain of the garrison captain, he could not understand the profound meaning of the obscure words of the abbot.

Where there were any "Normans", certainly Shannon, Baron Regrave, went to Anjou.

The Archbishop of Tours spoke highly of Reglaf, and monasteries in various places also received relevant letters. Before contacting Reglaf himself, they followed the description in the letter and their attitude toward this young noble was consistent with the archbishop's.

Among all the letters that were exchanged, the letter from St. Maximus Abbey in Shannon was the most important. Many letters described Reglaf as a good nobleman, but the content of the letters was too bizarre—the people's love for Reglaf was no less than For love of priests.

The news that there will be a new owner in the Anjou region has spread all over the world. The news about Regrave leading an army composed of Shannon locals to Poitiers to pay homage to King Charles has also spread. Arrived in Tours with the priest who preached the message.

Archbishop Vivian estimated that it was possible for Charles to grant the title of Anjou to this boy. At least, Charlie must

Accept Reglaf's army as part of the royal army loyal to him.

The senior priests of the Benedictine Order of Tours had a unified attitude. With the letter sent by the priest's messenger from Poitiers ten days ago, everything became clear.

In the past, only priests were brave and frequent enough to drive carriages on the Roman streets.

In a sense, the monastery functioned as a post station, and some junior priests served as postmen.

Archbishop Vivian only recently learned that Regrave had legally succeeded the Count of Anjou. Before he had time to send the news to the nearby monastery, an unexpected snowfall broke his plan, but Robert, the newly appointed Count of Tours, had already Learned about this.

Suddenly, Anjou has a new owner.

Fortunately for Robert, his precautionary measures were a great success. He had already ordered the Tour garrison to do all they could to plunder the people's wealth. When he withdrew, he returned to the city of Tours with all his family members and the plundered property.

All Anjou local garrison has more than a hundred cavalry! Robert's plan was good, and he accepted this cavalry team as his direct personal soldiers. Coupled with the army of lower-level knights concentrated in Bourges, his Tour was able to organize a large cavalry.

Along with the "New Count of Anjou" came the surrender of the Count of Orleans.

Robert was very disdainful of buying peace by marrying off his daughter, but Charles had already ordered that the girl from Orleans was the Queen of Aquitaine. The entire Earl of Orleans was loyal to the King of Aquitaine. The nobles who had fought with him before must stop all attacks. Conduct of War in Orleans.