Chapter 1010: Festival Battle of Dharma

It was not surprising that the king personally rewarded the meritorious soldiers with property. What shocked Ludwig was that Rurik, the king of Rus, actually spent a day and night rewarding all the barbarian soldiers with property.

"Are they all your cronies? Do those who accompany the army deserve to receive property? Do you really need to reward everyone?"

Ludwig didn't understand that if he was the person involved, he would naturally only give property to the elite troops who had worked hard and made great contributions. Finally, for the civilians who had contributed, a few more mouthfuls of food would be a great reward.

Even if he can realize that this kind of indiscriminate reward will attract some low-blooded peasant soldiers to fight for the monarch.

But the humble are born humble, and this humble bloodline will never be changed. If a monarch gives wealth to the humble, it will also appear that the monarch is not wise enough.

Because the scriptures have classified everything in the world, there is an insurmountable bloodline gap between Charlemagne's grandson and the farmer's grandson.

But those people's loud shouts were not a joke, they were indeed supporting their barbarian king.

"Bah. I admit that you are the winner, and our cooperation is just a temporary measure..." Ludwig hid his inner resentment. He was putting on a good show, as if he had fully admitted the defeat and had a total of 30,000 people. The casualties of the Frankish soldiers and many more fleeing Frankish civilians were forgotten.

And Archbishop Hadbold of Cologne, this fat old guy with a purple face that had been constipated for ten days, faced the "spending money" behavior of King Rurik of Rus.

"It's all my money! You use my money as a reward! My Cologne actually spent such a huge sum of money to buy peace!"

After all, the peace treaty has been signed, and Ludwig and Hardbold, who are of noble blood and status, actually have two contradictory choices.

The alliance with the Normans led by Ross was an expedient measure, but it ultimately violated the Catholic faith, and the alliance should be broken and apologized in the future.

An alliance with the other party was a pragmatic choice, it brought peace, and the Normans were also available mercenaries. Breaking the alliance would do more harm than good.

Whether the alliance is implemented or suddenly torn apart, the Frankish side can have extremely flexible principles.

The two of them did not get together to discuss anything in secret. They stood high in the Hamburg Castle, always watching the Russian money-distribution drama outside the city, and both chose to tolerate the current situation.

"They will burn Horik to death. You...are you serious about believing that this person is a heretic?" Ludwig asked calmly.

Hudbold still had a tolerant face: "But he is indeed a heretic. Your Majesty, you also wanted to execute this traitor many years ago."

"He can be executed, but it is not the Russians' turn to execute him."

"Ah... they will light fires outside the city. This is a barbarian ritual, and we will hold mass in the church." Sadly, Hardbold shook his head helplessly: "This year I will do the same in Cologne as in previous years. A ceremony was held in the cathedral. Now I'm afraid my congregants think I'm dead."

"Are you blaming me?"

"I don't dare." Hardbold answered confidently, and Ludwig couldn't ask any more questions.

The Archbishop of Cologne was complaining. Ludwig shrugged: "Let this end quickly. I want to return to Mainz and rebuild the army while there is still time. And you..."

"how?"

"Your Cologne joke failed. You should have organized an army to at least protect yourself."

"We are God's servants. In principle, we are not allowed to recruit soldiers." Hardbold looked confused, and he also felt that there was something in the king's question.

Sure enough, Ludwig said this: "In this case, the military defense of Cologne is entirely my responsibility. I will appoint generals to protect your bishop's church from being invaded by barbarians at any time."

"This...this is inappropriate."

"There is nothing inappropriate. You have to remember that they can ask for five thousand pounds of silver coins from your Cologne, and they will definitely try to ask for more in the future. Will you give it to me? Do you have the strength to refuse? Unless, my army Stationed in Cologne. They will restrain themselves because of this, otherwise the sin of breaking the covenant will be theirs. Parda, you actually can't refuse."

Indeed, Hardbold could not refuse, and he responded with silence, which was actually acquiescence.

Especially the priests. Today they have not yet emancipated their minds and are entangled in whether it is a blasphemy against God for priests to take the lead in organizing an army. This was not the age of the Crusaders after all, and all priests adhered to the same new creed - converting barbarians through the mouth of lobbying. Physical means are the worst of last resorts.

So, just as Rurik was making money, Ludwig quietly took over the military power of the Cologne Archdiocese. In the future, East Frankish troops could be stationed at will in this archdiocese. In the past, this would have encountered opposition from Cologne, but now everything has changed.

Moreover, according to the alliance treaty, Ludwig noticed a minor loophole in the treaty.

The County of Westphalia was abolished, and all its territory was included in the Archbishopric of Cologne, whose northern edge reached directly to the south bank of the Weser River.

Therefore, the Eastern Kingdom's construction of a military base on the Weser River does not constitute a betrayal of the covenant. If Rurik really values ​​the contract as much as he claims to do, this situation must be acknowledged.

Ludwig would be wary of the Duchy of Saxony and the Norman world further north, and on the surface both sides still had to show alliance.

…

Now, for all the Christian people in Hamburg, tonight is Christmas Eve.

The winter solstice is regarded as Christmas by default, but I don’t know when it became customary and recognized as legal by the church.

At the last revision of the Julian calendar, the Roman Empire still existed. After five hundred years, the inaccurate calendar has made the date inconsistent with the astronomical winter solstice.

In this way, some parish priests are obsessed with dogma and hold Christmas Mass on an incorrect day in strict accordance with the old calendar.

Archbishop Eskil of the North once believed in dogma, but now he prefers to follow astronomy.

Because the daylight hours on the winter solstice in Denmark are better than nothing, he was detained in Rus and saw the full meaning of "day without daylight." Such an incredible astronomical phenomenon carries a strong sense of holiness. Since the birth of Jesus, who suffered for all generations, is like bringing light, and the saint was born after the winter solstice, the days are getting longer and longer. This matter is most appropriate in the north.

The Norman Hanukkah completely coincides with the Catholic Christmas. From now on, the Principality of Saxony will celebrate the festival on this day. The northern diocese holds the right to interpret it. Saxony, the Netherlands and Flanders are all areas under the jurisdiction of the northern church in principle. , it is not necessary to pay attention to the attitude of other dioceses, especially the recent Archdiocese of Cologne.

When everything settled down, Eskil ignored his old body and took the time to select some potential boys from the Saxon children in Hamburg. He continued his old profession, selecting and training young priests on the spot, and reshaping his lifelong career that had almost collapsed.

In the past ten years, the northern world has been filled with wars and turmoil. The cause of spreading the gospel has suffered a devastating blow. Of course, there are unexpected results in desperate situations. God's nail has been pierced in distant Rus. Eskil knew that in his twilight years he would not be able to see the entire north immersed in the gospel, so in the last stage of his life, the northern church, which had been reduced to a mere theoretical existence, now had a good opportunity to survive a desperate situation.

He ordered the remaining ten or so young priests to train the newly recruited boys and teach them how to sing hymns in order to perform outstandingly at the Christmas High Mass ceremony.

Boys are considered "masculine and holy" by the Vatican, and their voices are always graceful and penetrating. What they were learning was Gregorian chant, a new Frankish religious chant ordered by Charlemagne that combined Gallic chant and Roman chant. With strong promotion, all Frankish dioceses adopted this chant mode. .

But the children's chorus rehearsal attracted some Saxon people to stop and watch.

Almost all of these children were war orphans, and there were even freed Frankish children among them. Esquier takes in these poor children. In the future, they will lose the power of marriage but will have food and clothing. When they grow up, all the children will be sent to at least one village to become the resident priest, and the most outstanding ones can even succeed in the north. archbishop.

So compared to Ludwig's skillful means of seizing the garrison power of the Cologne diocese, Saxony has gone a step further. The Duke Liudov family has been completely bound to the northern diocese, and both parties use each other to ensure each other's safety.

Liudov regarded this in-depth cooperation as a major insurance for his principality's faith. He was wary of East Francia tearing up the treaty and launching an attack again. If this was really the case, then the other side's military actions would lack morality. Unless the great nobles of the Eastern Kingdom have no shame and deliberately attack the Northern Church.

So he took his only son Bruno out and asked Eskil to become Bruno's godfather.

Now and in the future, Liudov confirmed that he could not add any new male members to the family, and Bruno was the only heir to his title. Bruno is almost a young man and can legally get married. He did not participate in the war, but only wanted to preserve the aristocratic fire for Saxony.

Today's Christmas Mass, Bruno puts on a black burqa to play the role of a junior priest, and will participate in the ceremony holding a small gilded cross from Cologne Cathedral.

Because Rurik made a decision, most of the confiscated sacred vessels of the Cologne Church were taken out, and they were simply handed over to the impoverished Northern Church.

The mute Hadbold did not dare to voice any objection. His only request was to take away Cologne's "True Cross" after everything was settled.

As a result, the huge mass in the Hamburg church was no longer shabby. Many believers heard the solemn chants, saw the huge golden true cross, and also saw the dazzling array of sacred vessels held by the priests.

But believers are almost all Saxons.

People soaked strips of cloth and hemp rope with flammable turpentine and fish oil, wrapped them around wooden sticks and ignited them. They held a large number of torches and gathered outside the church. After all, the current Hamburg church is too small. It cannot accommodate too many people, so the mass needs to add a parade project so that everyone can join the mass.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Halloween, Easter, these festivals all have parade activities arranged, and now there is nothing wrong with holding a Christmas night parade.

Eskil and Hadbold, the two archbishops, historically came together to celebrate the giant mass. After completing the work inside, they moved the sacred True Cross outside the church, amidst the astonishment of thousands of people. Placed on a sled.

The young singer continued the chant, and the young priest continued to carry the magical weapon.

Today, Hamburg is a large city. The walls built during the war have redefined the scope of the inner city, and there are dense buildings outside the trenches of the city walls, which define the outer city.

The procession takes place within the walls, with torch-bearing processions surrounding the True Cross, and the procession eventually circles the road beneath Hamburg's wooden walls three times.

And this is just the first part of the Christmas Mass.

The Frankish forces were unable to defeat the Normans militarily. Today's Christmas or Norman Hanukkah, the peaceful two sides are fighting in holiday ceremonies.

The most grand Christmas masses are held three times on the same day, the so-called "three masses". Even the wealthy Archdiocese of Cologne will not hold "Three Masses" unless necessary, but this time is extraordinary.

What they are doing now is the "night mass", and they will wait until dawn on Christmas Day to do the "dawn mass", and wait until noon to do the "day mass" to complete all the rituals.

The priests would be very tired from this, and just to fight for their faith, Eskil simply fought.

…

The priests made the ceremony very grand, and the chants and the shouts of the people were heard outside the city walls.

There seemed to be a fire in the city. The scouts told Rurik that the Saxons all had their torches raised and they were parading around in a lively manner.

"Are they showing their strength to me?" He subconsciously looked at the tower and said seriously: "It seems that we have to repay them with a more enthusiastic ceremony."

Regarding the Christmas Mass, Blue Fox and Reglaf also attended.

There was also King Aynred of Northumbria and his crown prince Ella. Two noble fathers and sons from Britain were dressed in orange. The guards carried the flag of Northumbria and participated as Liudolf's guests.

Ludwig was able to have a few words with the broken-arm Eynred, and suddenly realized that this man's broken arm was actually caused by Rurik himself.

"Do you hate him?" Ludwig asked.

"What's the use of talking about it now."

"That means not hating."

"Times have changed, and there is no point in hating him. At least his eldest son has been converted, and I can gain benefits and safety by cooperating with Ross."

Ludwig was able to take advantage of the mass to take a good look at Rurik's actual eldest son Reglaf. To be honest, he didn't like this boy because his features looked too much like the ruthless Nordic man who had given him such shame.

Similarly, Regraf didn't think Ludwig was that great, he was just a defeated enemy of his father. As for the Christmas Mass in front of him, he also found it boring.

"It's boring. I want to see the river of blood."

Killing a large number of reindeer and performing blood sacrifices is what Reglaf wants to see. He wished that this boring Christmas parade was over, and he immediately felt like going out of town to watch his father's human sacrifice ceremony.

Because the person who will be burned to death is Horik Haraldsson, who is known as the "source of all evil."

Just outside the city, when the stars reach their correct positions, the Norman Hanukkah sacrifice will begin.

The high priest is not in the military, but in the past few years of priestly activities, Countess Noren of Narvik has always participated in grand ceremonies as a priestess.

She has finished giving birth and is recovering well. Now she wears a polar bear skin coat, especially an antlered helmet modified from an iron helmet.

As the high priest of light this year, Nolen was recognized by Rus, Denmark and Viking York.

She is also a singer, so she and the musicians she trained sang hymns in praise of Odin and the gods, singing in their unique long Viking style, accompanied by the distant horn horns and bone flutes. Not inferior to the chants in the city at all.

All the Viking warriors gathered near the wooden platform, and the Finns and Slavs also gathered here.

When the singing came to an end, Rurik stood on the assembled wooden platform and faced the silent onlookers, trying his best to deliver an inspiring speech at the top of his voice.

The king acknowledged that this was a great victory and that the soldiers had performed miracles.

The king thanked the soldiers for their sacrifice and remembered the fallen warriors.

Finally, the conversation fell on Horik Haraldsson, the source of all evil.

He pointed to a ball of meat on the wooden stretcher where he was lying: "Look, you all, this is the evil man Horik Haraldson who brought chaos to the northern world. He will be burned to death! Our deeds will be judged by everyone. God sees it! By executing traitors, we are paying tribute to the gods! Come on! Warriors, bring the sacrifices to the tower!"

Again, four red-backed warriors, ignoring the severe cold, put the stretcher on their shoulders and began to climb the tower. Finally, poor Horik was placed at the top, with a deep patio and a chimney underneath.

Everyone was waiting for the stars. They raised their torches one after another and looked at Rurik with their eyes.

"The time is right! Warriors! Light the fire!"

So, first Rurik himself threw his own torch, and the subsequent warriors took action. Hundreds of torches were thrown under the wooden tower, the dry wood gradually began to smolder, and the entire scene began to fill with choking smoke.

Rurik stood there with squinted eyes, watching the flames gradually light up.

When the flame reaches a temperature critical point, the large amount of solidified fish oil poured before finally begins to burn.

The flames grew stronger and stronger, and the sacrifice placed on the top of the tower began to twitch violently.

People can see the struggle of the sacrifice, but cannot hear the cry of the sacrifice.

Horik was being burned by the smoke and fire, and his throat was damaged. He couldn't make a sound even if he cursed a few times before he died. His ears were still functioning and he was aware that he was being burned alive, but now he was feeling the increasingly lethal heat.

But his pain would not last long.

At the center of this fire tower is a chimney! The core temperature can reach 700°C or even higher!

As the flames grew stronger and stronger, finally, in front of everyone's attention, terrifying tongues of fire spewed out from the center of the tower!

At this moment, people on the Christmas parade in Hamburg were completely embarrassed, because the flames were so long that even the clouds in the sky were burned red.

"Look! It's a fire dragon! The fire dragon is born!" Someone yelled, and soon the whole city was in commotion.

The Saxons actually began to run around, fearing that the fire dragon from hell would lead to fatal killings.

Ludwig was also shocked for a time, feeling that he had finally incurred God's punishment for cooperating with the Normans. But wait! That's not the case at all!

He hurriedly climbed up the city wall. At this moment, he saw the flames coming from the wooden tower and the tongues of fire at an absurd height, as well as the roaring sound in the distance. It was the battle cry of the Normans, accompanied by drums, trumpets, and just plain banging of shields.

Rurik, like his men, raised his sword high and shouted ventively. People kept chanting the names of Odin, Frey, Thor and other gods.

At this moment, Horik Haraldsson, who was used as a sacrifice, had been burnt. His pain finally ended, and he was cremated in the flames, and the temperature of the flames was still rising. In a sense, the wooden tower becomes a blast furnace. The strong chimney effect causes violent combustion, but due to the limitations of the burning materials, its heat is not enough to melt the bronze water. It is enough to burn the sacrifice into ashes in a short period of time and then take it to the sky and fall back to the earth in the form of powder...

The Viking army sang and danced around the fire tower, enjoying the warmth of the harsh winter. Their carnival continued until the dawn of the new day.

Finally the sun rose, and the fire tower was still burning rapidly, but the Vikings were lying on the dry earth.

They gradually woke up, and under the leadership of Rurik, they began to engage in performance art - kneeling on one knee with the face of the sun and spreading their arms to praise the incarnation of Odin.

The nobles are like this, and ordinary soldiers follow the same example.

If there is no folk custom, then folk custom will be invented. Biyongni vaguely remembers that he and Rurik explored the end of the northern world, spent the endless dark polar night in the sea at the end of the world, and finally knelt down to the sun and became brothers through blood. That was what excited Biyongni, and now he is even more excited.

The response to the Vikings was the Dawn Mass of Christmas Mass in Hamburg.

The "festival battle" between the two sides is still continuing.

Thus, the year 841 AD was ushered in.