At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

As if waiting, but also as if just staring.

Chapter 253 Three Benefits and Three Disasters

Unlike sending troops to Lübeck for several years, this time the pre-military deliberations do not need to be held in a dark castle.

The torrential rain was crackling on the tiles, making people upset, so the maid stretched out her hand to close the wooden window. In the corridor outside the meeting hall, every ten steps there was a guard of the Eight Banners holding an oxtail knife. The rain splashed onto the On their uppers, but still as if not moving.

After several months of distributing the dust and new woody smell in the meeting hall, it has improved a lot, but under the dark sky, two rows of yellow-white candles had to be lit, so the hall was filled with orange-red light, and the smell of burning beeswax also spread.

Sitting in front of the screen, Feng Sen sat on the chair backwards, propping his cheek with his left hand, and tapping the back of the chair with his right hand regularly. He was facing the map on the screen and his back was facing the group of generals and generals behind him.

And Wang Sima told the officials about the current situation with a serious face.

The Oupolite Kingdom is called a kingdom, but it is actually an alliance. The Oupolite tribe started out in the North Sea trade. It is considered the strongest tribe, but it is just a tribal co-lord.

Following the last Veleti War, a large number of Veleti and Sorbs who fished in troubled waters rushed into the core area of ​​Oupolite: Schwerin-Wismar Bay.

A large number of Eupolites died in battle, their wealth was plundered, their population was plundered, and the blood of the royal family was almost cut off, leaving this area barren.

Originally, with Charlemagne's designation, the Lyudmila siblings could barely secure the current throne, but the problem is that the power of the Oupolite tribe has been greatly weakened. Who doesn't want to bully the orphans and widows?

Coincidentally, Lyudmila's younger brother Desirko cut his finger with a meat knife during the Christmas dinner. It was fine, but unfortunately, he was infected with tetanus ).

Then the doctor was called in and came up with bloodletting and enema, successfully sending the little king to the hospital bed.

So, under the impetus of someone with a heart, an outrageous rumor spread that Lyudmila wanted to poison Desirko to death. They said that Lyudmila was a witch, and she wanted to borrow the blood of her own brother to curse Oppo Children of Ritter.

In order to protect the king, all the tribes sent troops angrily and came to Mecklenburg, the capital of Eupolit, demanding that Lyudmila hand over the king.

And Lyudmila reacted extremely quickly, and found out that something was wrong before the tribes gathered, immediately fortified the wall and cleared the field, recruited a large number of former veterans, and took out all the chain mail and all the gold and silver in the warehouse as rewards, and successfully defended Mecklenburg.

Just how long you can keep it is a huge question.

"At present, according to the person who sent the letter, there are almost 900 troops besieging Mecklenburg, while the defenders of Mecklenburg number [-], and there are nearly [-] ordinary people in the castle.

And before they ran out, Mecklen had been surrounded for five full days, and it is really unknown how long they can last. With his back turned to school officials at all levels, Feng Sen said in a steady voice, "Neighboring countries are in trouble, so let's discuss it together." "

Feng Sen asked everyone to discuss it, but neither the Han school officials nor the thousands of households present said anything, because this matter was a bit sensitive.

In fact, according to the customs here in Europa, if you want to fight, you can fight. As long as it does not affect the monarch, Charlie just turns a blind eye and closes his eyes.

However, Feng Sen is the leader of the "Tang Wu Movement". What he wants to put an end to is this ethos of private fighting among nobles, and then he wants to implement this ethos. This is a bit like carrying the banner against the banner.

Emperor's heart, sea needle, who dares to say that Charlie won't have a heartache?

Moreover, although Eupolit is a small country, it is an ally of Frank and has a serious alliance. If Feng Sen sends troops, it will be the same as the Frankish cooperative company holding a shareholders meeting to change management, and then the Saxony branch of Frankish will intervene.

Can it be saved?Those people have to please Feng Sen if they change the royal family. After all, there are Villetti people to the south of them, and no one wants to be like the Eupolite royal family.

Although this choice is good, it also has problems. Everyone knows the relationship between Feng Sen and Lyudmila, and everyone knows that Feng Sen once promised to rescue Oupolite but failed to do so, which made his royal family almost dead.

If there is nothing to rescue this time again, although it is very correct rationally, from the heart, no one is willing to make this choice.

"Jie Shuai, I have the courage to say something." In the silence, a young voice sounded, and everyone looked, but it was a scribe. Seeing that he was holding a pen and a book in his hand, he should be just a clerk.

At this time, Feng Sen had turned around and faced the crowd: "Speak."

"My minister thinks that sending troops to Austria (Oupolite) will bring three benefits and three disasters." Under the gaze of the crowd, Wei Xunzhi said without any stage fright, "If you want to fight, you will have three benefits.

First of all, the Eupolite royal family believes in the Father, but there are few believers in its tribes. Our rescue is to respect the king and fight against the barbarians. It seems to be interfering, but it is really helping the Austrian country.

The second benefit is that the North Sea is like the Mediterranean in the north, like the rivers in the Central Plains. The royal family of Eupolite has good relations with Jieshuai, but the royal family has bad relations with these courtiers. If they can all be good with Jieshuai, I don’t believe it. After entering the North Sea, how can it be used to attack the enemy with a sharp sword?

The third benefit is that we have enmity with the Veleti and the Sorbs, and we should take revenge, but the terrain north of the Elbe River is unpredictable, and this dispatch of troops is just a rehearsal, so that when the troops are raised, we will not be in a hurry.

And if you don't fight, there will be three disasters.

One of the three disasters is that if the tribes are allowed to seize power, they will be barbarians and pagans on all sides. If the world changes one day, they will form an alliance, and Saxony will be in danger.

The second disaster is that Jie Shuai once made an appointment with the lord of the Austrian country and promised rescue, but he has already missed his promise. If he fails again, not to mention the people of Europa, but the soldiers under his command, I am afraid that he will be slandered.

The third disaster is the covenant between the royal family of Eupolite and the king of France, and the generals are the courtiers of the king of France. If these nobles of Eupolite become the new king, then the master will not be loyal, and can he abide by the alliance of the king of France?Sending troops is the duty of Jieshuai, as a courtier of the king of France, to be loyal! "

After Wei Xunzhi finished his speech, there was a silence in the meeting room, and then Feng Sen stood up, clapped his hands and said, "Okay! The theory of three benefits and three disasters is refreshing. May I ask what your name is?"

"I don't dare to call you sir. My servant's surname is Wei and his name is Pu. I follow the characters. He is from Chang'an."

"Not bad." Feng Sen walked in front of him from behind the table, looked him up and down, and then said, "As expected of Jingzhao Wei's son, our shogunate needs a talent like you!"

Turning around, facing the officials again, Feng Sen asked lightly: "What do you guys say?"

"I invite you to fight." Han Shizhong cupped his hands and said.

Zhang Shicheng leaned closer and asked, "What does Jieshuai mean?"

"If I don't want to send troops, will there be a pre-military meeting today? I asked you to think of a name to send troops, and everyone is speechless." Feng Sen said angrily, "The map is here, let's talk about it later How to march, don't be speechless anymore."

Chapter 254

If the husband has not fought and the temple is considered victorious, it must be counted as more;

A war is not just a battle or a small confrontation, but the fundamental answer to three questions, whether to fight, how to fight, and when to fight.

This is the strategic plan before the war. The question of whether to fight has been solved, and now it is the question of how to fight.

"First of all, it's about the number of troops. How many troops does the enemy have? What is their composition? How many troops should we dispatch?" Feng Sen asked Wang Sima.

"Hey, those scumbags." Zhang Shicheng said disdainfully, "When I went to suppress the bandits before, there were those Borabians with silver-like pewter heads. They looked fierce, but they were chaotic. The rogue children who fight are better than them.

If you want me to say, the North Saxony guard sent out 500 people, and I took my fifty barbarian cavalry to defeat 4000 of them. "

"I only need 300 people!"

Feng Sen knew that this group of big bastards talked nonsense and fought hard every day, and he was used to it. If they really wanted to bring three or five hundred to the field, he would wish that everyone would wear infantry armor.

The strategy of this era is basically based on a large number of civilian conscripts, accompanied by elite soldiers for assault. However, the strength of these civilian conscripts is also different. Among them, the combat effectiveness of the stronger conscripts is even equal to that of sergeants. .

Feng Sen specially inspected it.

The weakest of the conscripts are the serf soldiers. They are basically tribesmen or even slaves under the aristocrats. Before the battle, they have a wooden stick and no armor. They are as brittle as paper. The will to fight is extremely weak, and sometimes they win battles Also run away.

The second is the hunters. These hunters are granted the right to hunt in the forest by the lord, but the price is not only to offer furs to the lord, but also to serve as the lord's archers, but their hunting bows are not far away, and their morale is at least better than the farm The soldiers are strong, and they can fight a smooth battle.

Then there is the free militia. The reason why the Franks can fight is because of their Mark village system, which provides them with a large number of free militias.

The Franks consciously summoned these free militias to fight. Their weapons, equipment and origins were all uniform, and they could understand orders.

Among the levies, the most effective fighters are the lumberjacks. These lumberjacks will act as longaxemen, put on the armor granted by the lord, and after intensive training, they will serve as infantry assault forces. However, such longaxemen are hard to come by. There is also a huge gap between the upper and lower limits.

Like Feng Sen who defeated the group of Saxons at the beginning, the conscripts were mostly free militias and peasant soldiers, with a small number of noble soldiers.

As for the group of Vikings who fought by the Weser River, most of the conscripts were free militiamen and longaxemen, and there were also many berserker-level warriors. After all, tall Nordics are very easy to produce longaxes. Soldiers, and Nordic culture is easy to produce good soldiers.

To be honest, Feng Sen had been coveting this high-quality source of soldiers for a long time, but unfortunately, before the North Sea trade restarted, he really couldn't find recruits.

According to the person who reported from Mecklenburg, the other party basically had no peasants and soldiers except those in charge of logistics, and there were even many mercenaries from Pomerania.

"Soldiers are expensive and fast. Conquer 1000 North Saxon Guards, 100 Yi Cong Yi Ding Cavalry, and 200 Xuan Jia Cavalry. They will assemble within three days, and the remaining soldiers will guard Hamburg."

Turning around, I came to the screen with the map drawn on it. At this time, Mecklenburg was further north of the modern state of Mecklen, located in today's Dorf Mecklenburg, just south of the Wismar Bay, an important node of the North Sea trade, that is, northeast of Hamburg.

If you take the Ratzeburg route, the marching distance will be about 90 kilometers, but this will pass through a lot of forests and swamps, and the transportation of food will be inconvenient. Feng Sen's fingers flicked back and forth on the map, and finally made a point in Lübeck.

Facing the many courtiers below, Feng Sen pointed to the map and said: "This time, each soldier carries three days' food and grass, and first gathers in Hamburg. As far as Lübeck, set up camp and cut off the road.

After resting in Lübeck for a day, use Lübeck as the base of the camp and the Eight Banners as the vanguard, advance due east to the vicinity of Wismar Bay, set up camp first, and wait for the main force to arrive before a decisive battle. "

Although the total distance of this marching route is about 120 kilometers, it will take 8-10 days if you march regularly, but the advantage is that it is not easy to be cut off by the enemy. Even if the land route is cut off, you can still transport food by sea from Lübeck .

Secondly, if you take the Ratzeburg route, there are tribes of Eupolites along the way, and if you take the route from Lübeck to Mecklenburg, there are tribes of Porabians along the way. Regardless of whether there is a shortage of food, Feng Sen will It is to feed on the enemy.

If the Borabiya people are in a hurry and want to come back for help, they have to attack the camp they have set up first. Even if the Eight Banners can't fight in the field, they should guard the headquarters of the camp, right?Then Feng Sen took the cavalry directly to the Wild Hunt.

If they don't come back for help, Feng Sen will follow the original route and attack together after the whole army arrives.

"Here."

The attendants rushed in and out, reporting the plan to the North Saxony Guard, so that those people could prepare as soon as possible.

"But, can Princess Lyudmila last so long?" Griffith asked in a low voice.

"I don't know." Feng Sen shook his head, "We can only hope that she can last a few more days."

Under Feng Sen's order, the entire Hamburg started mobilization again.

The daily horn sounds became more and more frequent. For three full days, messengers came out to announce the news in this land of North Saxony. They wore hats with feathers and held scrolls in their hands.

At this time, most of the Banners were still in winter training, and they basically gathered in the Qianhu Office. They had to practice and learn literacy every day. When the news of the enlistment came, the Eight Banners this time did not panic like last time.

The flagmen put on chain mail or leather armor purchased by the Eight Banners themselves, and spears were also sent to them.

As the low-end version of the Fubing and the high-end version of the Guards, the Banners also have standard equipment configurations, namely a short axe, a dagger, a spear or long ax handle, and a one-handed short sword. A picking pick, as well as the felt hat, flint, and leather case issued above.

In addition to a spear, the accompanying packers should carry felt cloth, shovel, chisel, basket, salt bag and water bag. If the banner master is kind, he will also put on an armed suit or rattan armor.

Cars rattle and horses rustle, pedestrians have bows and arrows at their waists.Banners in such attire quickly poured into the city of Hamburg, and the city was full of noisy sounds of weapons clashing and shouting.

And the long ships transporting food kept coming in and out of the port, and the archers tried their best to maintain order until the day when the troops were dispatched.

Chapter 255 Arrival, the highest commercial center in the Jutland peninsula, Lübeck!

More than 1000 horses formed a long queue on the road, stepping on the wet dirt road and struggling in the muddy water.

On both sides of the dirt road, Yi Ding, who are light cavalry, are running back and forth, patrolling the advancing team to prevent anyone from falling behind, the sound of mules and horses kicking and the sound of people pulling their feet out of the mud pit The sound almost became a piece of music.

"Stand back! Deaf?"

"Don't squeeze, hold on to the basket, and take whatever you sprinkle from your dinner."

"Go faster, snails are faster than you!"

Although they left the winter training camp of Qianhusuo, their Han instructors did not stay in Hamburg, but followed them together. Under the double blow of spirit and physics, many bannermen wanted to rush to the battlefield. This stick is better than a sword All terrible.

Put it elsewhere, these soldiers have already run away for a long time, but if you ask these bannermen why they don't run away, they answer: Are you crazy?The family members still let them go, and the deserters have to sit together, people can die, and the iron rice bowl can't be lost.

On both sides of the road are rye swaying in the sea breeze. On the rye stalks, tillers can already be seen clearly. Jackdaws and sparrows fly up and down in the fields, and a few seagulls fly here from time to time, looking for their French fries.

The sun was overcast, and in front of many soldiers, the sun was even gray.

Not long ago, they were still in the winter training camp of the Qianhu Institute, crying and howling with their respective hundred household leaders under the sticks, but now, the forced march of at least forty miles a day has caused many people to wear out several pairs of shoes.

Fortunately, Feng Sen still had a conscience, and distributed a pair of hard woolen socks nearly one centimeter thick to almost every bannerman, and put straw sandals on them, so it would not be too cold.

As for the coating, ask for blessings.

As the purple sun gradually burned into the most common white, the long queue finally arrived at the destination of this line, Lübeck.

The sky gradually turned blue, and a corner of Lübeck's newly built stone city wall gradually appeared, while the clearer smell of fish in the air and the singing of seagulls lifted the soldiers' spirits.

Lübeck, finally here.

Lübeck is a transit point for the march, and the end of the march, Mecklenburg, is just to the east of Lübeck. The advance troops sent by Feng Sen, the garrison of Ahrensburg, have arrived in Lübeck, and they have communicated with Berv beforehand. Shika communicated and arranged the camp.

Like flowing water, the long dragon automatically walked towards the camp with Feng Sen's long sword. They were tortured numbly.

Like a flock of sheep, they were driven towards the camp by the instructors.

In front of the solid wooden gate covered with moss and old traces, Fenner waited. She was wearing a garnet-colored linen fringed dress and a heavy woolen burqa, waiting for Arvo and Von with a smile on her face. Sen's arrival.

"Sister!" Arvo waved his arms and hugged his sister into his arms like a big bear. Behind Arvo, Belvshka was holding Feng Sen's flying mane and following quietly, Witnessing the scene where the sisters posted.

After getting off the horse, Feng Sen walked forward naturally, first put his arms around Fenner's waist, and then let go after a deep kiss for two seconds, then raised his lips on this side, and Alvo hugged him on the other side Feng Sen had no choice but to kiss her on the mouth too.

Belvshka smiled and made a gesture of invitation: "Your Excellency, please come in."

Lübeck is an old city. There have been traces of activities at least 200 years ago, but the scale is not large. There are only one or two thousand settled population at most, but if you include fishermen and farmers living outside the city, there are almost 8000 people.

Towns of this size are the norm in sparsely populated northwestern Europe.

Old wooden houses, stone paved roads, cows and horses walking on the side of the road, warriors in wolf skin waistcoats wandering in the tavern, several Gaelic bards from Ireland played the lute and sang epic poems loudly, three fishermen quietly He tidily packed his clothes and walked out of a dark alley.

"Since the southern peninsula returned to our hands, the original lords and priests have offered their loyalty to our Arvo. After all, she was the heir to the kingdom." Belvshka led Feng Sen to walk slowly in the town.

"Before the Kingdom of Opalite was plundered, the North Sea trade route was still there, and it was very lively here. Ships left and entered the port every day, bringing furs, amber, honey, and gold coins from the Eastern Empire.

Now it is much more desolate, and the tax we can collect is less than half of what Widukind manages here, but the population has increased a lot. Siegfried has increased taxes several times in order to collect compensation, and many lords and commoners have escaped to our side.

Siegfried is getting more and more difficult to do. I heard that some priests and lords even proposed to let Siegfried abdicate and let our Arvo take over, so that there is no need to pay compensation and buy hostages. "

Speaking of this, Belvshka laughed gloatingly.

"Are these lords not prejudiced against Arvo?"