The group divided into three boats, connected to each other by cables.
The Elbe River in late autumn is already very cold, and going to Regensburg under such climate conditions is really a challenge.
The Earl of Hamburg was aware of the risks involved. He even made a will for himself, saying that if he died, his eldest son would immediately inherit the title in accordance with the regulations. He also took advantage of the military meeting after the festival to explain the matter to most of his vassals.
The earldom is still the earldom. Although the earl's actions are very crazy, after all, the earl is for the safety of the entire Hamburg area, which is very important to everyone. Lower-level vassals swore allegiance to the Count of Hamburg at all times, even if their allegiance was unstated to a young man as the count.
Even if he is away, the daily work of the earldom can still be carried out in an orderly manner.
The earl and the retinue of knights were deliberately lightly dressed for this trip, and did not bring a set of chainmail for protection. After all, it was a cumbersome thing. As for what to do if they encountered bandits and beasts, they naturally gave priority to evacuating.
Most of the weapons they carry are defensive in nature, and the bows and arrows they hold are not for killing people but only for hunting to satisfy their hunger on the way.
In order to be as low-key as possible, even the earls wore brown hooded robes. At first glance, they looked like ordinary travelers escorting priests, and they were not threatening to other people at all.
Many times, when high-status priests were traveling within the kingdom, they would be accompanied by some simply dressed followers.
Eskil, Blue Fox, and Vardy all wore black robes, and black crosses were deliberately placed on the boat. In this case, too much cover-up will make people suspicious. Revealing the identity of the priests will only gain respect and avoidance from the viewers.
There are some things that can be done along the way, such as the Count of Hamburg passing through the edge of the Count of Flanders in this disguise.
"Horik and his gangsters did all go to Denmark? Was the stolen port of Durist taken back?"
If they left, the people of Bremen would surely be able to provide positive intelligence.
Robert, Count of Hamburg, wants to visit Bremen, and Eskil even more!
Now is the dry season of autumn and winter. If the three ships are not propelled by oars, they will drift at an annoyingly slow speed. The ship finally drifted to the mouth of the Elbe River. At this moment, the furled sails were lowered, and the ship was blown south by the cold north wind, close to the coastline.
After an afternoon of wandering, the group had to approach the coastal shoal before wading ashore in the evening. They would spend the night on this deserted sandy beach.
This is the farthest south the blue fox has reached in its life, and there seems to be endless ocean and land as it continues south.
Further forward there is a waterway deep inland, which the Franks called the Weser River according to Saxony.
Frank's retinue soldiers also used bows to make fire. After the bonfire was lit, the blue fox naturally came closer to keep warm. He was carefully observing the actions of these Franks, and his eyes often fell on those soldiers. When the other party's eyes glanced over, he glanced to the side, and said that such actions really made the Frank soldiers feel threatened.
The blue fox's eyes were not provocative. He was simply observing and remembering it in his mind so that he could return to Ross to report to Prince Rurik and analyze the combat effectiveness of a Frank, especially the Earl of Hamburg's army.
Is it really peaceful trade? That's natural! However, Ross has never promised "not to use force first", and doing business with swords is also a specialty of Ross people.
Hamburg at least has a lot of rye resources to plunder. Prince Rus is really a weirdo when it comes to plundering grain. The Blue Fox followed suit and focused on the farmland surrounding Frankish towns.
The Frankish soldiers gnawed on the black bread and tore into the dried meat, and the same was true for Eskil. He had a noble status, and even when he was forced to eat on a picnic, he was quite elegant. He held a piece of black bread in his hand and broke it open little by little and stuffed it into his mouth.
The blue fox couldn't help but pay attention to this old guy: "You are obviously very hungry, but you are still like a chicken pecking at wheat grains."
"My son, be pious at all times. A true priest must obey the rules."
Eskil spoke with a smile, and the blue fox was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He was really hungry. In the past, when he opened his mouth to tear into the barbecue, he didn't feel like the sour black bread, but now this black stuff is actually delicious. In fact, what he didn't notice was that as a fat "elephant seal", his body was shrinking. The past two months had been a terrible adventure. He couldn't eat or sleep well. A wealthy businessman was in trouble. Displaced.
Blue Fox slapped his chest violently to swallow the choking bread, and then asked: "You seem to be very happy?"
"Soon we will pass through Bremen, which is a city much larger than Hamburg. Ah! I want to go to the monastery to have a look. Joseph... Esquier looked at the blue fox, "When I finish Rose's work in the future, Traveling probably means coming to Bremen to work. The monastery at Hedeby is ruined, and it would cost me too much trouble to rebuild it. I can take up a position in Bremen at any time, that's where I belong. "
"Really? How is the business situation in Bremen?"
"I knew what you would ask." Eskil smiled faintly and finally said: "I am a practitioner and never care about business."
Asking was in vain, so Blue Fox thought about it and took the opportunity to go to the market in Bremen.
The next day, Mifune continued.
The small flotilla of people finally entered the small bay, and now everyone had to start paddling the whole way, even though the Weser in the dry season was slower than the Elbe.
It took another full day of paddling, until the fleet finally arrived in Bremen in the evening.
According to common sense, Earl Robert can meet the local nobles in a swaggering manner, but forget it this time. He really doesn't want to waste too much time.
Tall wooden walls surround this riverside city, and a few boats are parked on the wooden piers along the river. This first impression given to Blue Fox is that the city's commercial atmosphere is not strong. He was puzzled, especially because he believed that Bremen could not be a good commercial city because of its lack of ships.
The ship was parked at the dock, and because their public identities were priests and attendants, the patrolling soldiers charged a small fee for guarding the ships and horses as usual and asked no more questions.
Eskil also kept a low profile and led the team into the city in a grand manner without revealing his noble identity.
They rush into the city before the gates are closed and the curfew is set to begin.
Walking in the winding and narrow dirt streets of Bremen, Blue Fox smelled the stench. The dim sunset illuminated the world in orange, and the whole person became lazy. There were some lumps of soil in front, and upon closer inspection they turned out to be horse manure.
Before he could scold the two armies, the Frank soldiers accompanying him were already scolding them.
Human and animal excrement is dumped into the streets, and no one manages the sanitation of the streets, not even the concept of sanitation management. Everyone's philosophy is quite stubborn and simple. The so-called dung becomes dung soil when it is dried. It is a kind of soil, and there is no essential difference from other soils. Throwing it on the street will eventually turn into a hard road.
Count Robert and his attendants hid their protective swords in their robes. No one dared to check the priest's servants, let alone the three priests in the team who were from Hamburg.
After passing the city square, a magnificent wooden church appeared in front of everyone.
Seeing the majestic appearance of the church, Eskil was so happy that he felt like he had returned home!
"Are we staying here tonight?" Blue Fox asked.
"Exactly! Ah! This is my church!"
Simply speaking of the scale of the building, although St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen is a purely wooden building, it is indeed a giant wooden building. Blue Fox's evaluation in this regard is fair. This church is indeed the largest building I have ever seen in my life. The palaces in the Principality of Ross are not as huge as it.
Blue Fox was filled with emotion, and so was Robert, Count of Hamburg. The Count kept crossing himself, looking at the wooden steeple of the church with his eyes open and sighing.
Eskil said excitedly: "Let's go, my children. After you put your luggage in the compartment, you will stay here tonight."
"Only for one night." The count regained his composure and emphasized.
"No. We can stay for a day and you can have some rest."
"It's better to leave as soon as possible. I'm hiding it from the Count of Bremen this time. If he recognizes me..."
"What will happen?"
"He will definitely take me to drink and go hunting. If I don't appreciate it, he will be angry. You know, my wife's sister is the wife of the Count of Bremen..."
"No." Eskil shook his head, "I am already in Bremen, and I have to manage the church's affairs. You should also understand my identity, and I will work here."
Eskil does have a title of "Santa", which was given by the Pope in recognition of his contribution to spreading faith in the Far North. In addition, this most important missionary also needs a high title. Thereby strengthening the persuasiveness in new letters to the local area.
The first moment he stepped into the church, he explained and confirmed his identity.
Great people come to St. Peter's Basilica! Saint Eskilde is the temporary bishop!
Since the saint insisted on staying, Earl Robert and his companions rested in the church premises.
Early the next morning, the closed city gates were opened, and all kinds of traffickers began to enter the city.
Although the blue fox slept deeply, he was still awakened by the noise outside in the early morning.
Is it a market? An open-air square is indeed suitable for a market.
At this moment, my official status is that of a priest, and according to the regulations, I shouldn't sleep. All the priests, regardless of rank, under the leadership of Saint Eskil, held an early morning collective pre-meal service. There were at least a hundred priests of different ages sitting in the huge restaurant. They were all sitting upright in black robes and chanting the same prayers in unison. Their strong discipline reminded Lan Hu of the army.
At this moment, he couldn't help but admire Eskil. In Denmark and Ross, this old guy is simply a weak old man, but in Frankfurt Bremen, he is a big shot who responds to everything.
In order to get food, Blue Fox had no choice but to do the prayers. Not only him, but even the incognito Count of Hamburg was sitting in the corner with his guys, enduring the embarrassment and praying with a large group of priests.
After dinner, the boring prayers came to an end. Blue Fox, who had a belly full of black bread, went to the square market to take a look.
It happened that the earl also wanted to send his men to purchase some supplies for the journey.
Of course they won't form a visiting team. Blue Fox changed his outfit this time. The black robe was too eye-catching, so he changed into an ascetic outfit according to Eskil's request, as if he was a wandering monk, but his protruding belly made him look weird.
He could enter the market and have a look. Although Eskil gave permission, he also sent two local priests to accompany him. He was just afraid that the patrol officer would arrest such a strange ascetic as a determined person first.
The three priests are both real and fake. They are all dressed as ascetics, especially the brown jumpers with pointed tops, discount leggings on the calves, and a coarse cloth belt to highlight their identities.
It must be unusual for a fat northern priest to travel with Saint-Eskilde, right? The young priest was cautious at first, and mentally despised the fat man.
Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. This person must have become so obese because of his addiction to overeating. Why does the saint still pay attention to him?
Following Blue Fox's fluent Latin inquiry, the two priests were stunned on the spot, and their contemptuous attitude disappeared. Co-author: This fat priest can speak Latin better than the bishop? No wonder the saint would forgive this man's sin of gluttony.
In addition to being unable to leave the city, the blue fox can actually move around the city at will.
His first identity is a priest, secondly an envoy from the Principality of Rus, then a businessman, and finally he is also an agent dispatched by the Principality of Rus. When Blue Fox was in Hedeby, Denmark, one of his jobs was to investigate the political situation. Now he accidentally entered the Frankish hinterland and it was his duty to collect political and economic intelligence.
Before he entered the city of Bremen, he reviewed the pier, carefully observed the surrounding shoals and forests, and made an estimate of the voyage along the way. He was thinking about such a thing: If the prince's fleet suddenly arrives, where should a team of a thousand people use it as a landing site. If the prince decides to attack the city and plunder it, where is the weak point in the wall?
Blue Fox has a fat belly and a big face, but his brain is full of wisdom and courage.
He examined the goods sold by the vendors in the chaotic market. It seemed that they were mainly wheat, vegetables and fish. It’s no surprise that food-related goods are always in bulk.
In addition, wooden tools, pottery, bundles of wool, and woven linen are also bulk commodities.
Similar products are generally common in markets across the Principality of Ross, but they are quite different from each other.
In Bremen's Square Market, wool is a commodity, but it is a rare commodity in Rus' market. However, the largest amount of leather and corresponding leather products in the Principality of Rus can be said to be extremely large, but leather products are quite rare in Bremen.
There must be a hidden story behind this. As a businessman, Lan Hu consciously has to investigate, but unfortunately time is limited!
He stopped in front of a stall selling wool. There were as many as eight vendors selling wool. After looking at it for a while, he could count on his fingers as many as ten women wearing headscarves buying wool. The clumps of wool had not even been degreased, and were mixed with some leaf debris, which was obviously freshly cut from the sheep.
Although the Russians have not been able to raise sheep for a long time, the situation has changed dramatically, and the principality of Rus is gradually able to produce its own wool. But this does not mean that the blue fox, who was born in the Anglas tribe (Dukedom) of the Kingdom of Sweden, has never seen sheep.
The blue fox knows that wool is cut once in spring and once in autumn, so these wool must have been cut in autumn.
Although there are only eight vendors, the wool in their hands seems to be able to break the wheels of the carts in their hands. The wool is piled tightly together and the height is extraordinary. When women buy wool, they pull out a large lump from the pile, tie it up with hemp rope, and then weigh it and pay.
Bremen's population far exceeds that of Hamburg. With a population of 3,000 people, Bremen is already a large city in northern Frankfurt. If the area encounters turmoil, in extreme cases, 30,000 nearby farmers will flock to the city with their families to take refuge. The area enclosed by Hamburg's wall can actually accommodate so many people to survive for a while.
Because Bremen was originally a military stronghold of the Saxon country at that time, the Frank army conquered it very early and seriously operated it. In the future annexation war of the entire Saxon country, Bremen was a military stronghold.
Therefore, St. Peter's Cathedral began to be built as early as 789, and the city of Bremen also began to expand at the same time. The purpose of the expansion was to provide a safe assembly point for the army. The commercial role of this huge city square was secondary, and the primary role was It is a military school ground, so it is one of the few lands that has been leveled and then tamped down on one side.
The Earl of Bremen has many fiefs and a larger population in the territory, which means it is more productive and is adjacent to the Flanders region.
Flemish herdsmen would sell the cut wool to buyers, and merchants would transport it overland to the market in Bremen.
In this era, Flanders (Netherlands) was the main wool-producing area of the Franks. Flanders was mostly red-haired Frisians. They were also conquered by Charlemagne. Nowadays, they generally rely on raising sheep to eliminate breeders. Make extra money off the ground.
There is a wool trade line in Frankland. What Blue Fox sees now is only the first batch of wool dealers. As long as he can stay, he can count more wool merchants. Bremen is the first large city on the trade route. Merchants' ships traveling upstream along the Weser River can reach the ferry city of Minden (meaning the city in the central highlands), continue southward along the tributaries of the Weser River, and then Overland, wool from Flanders could be shipped to Frankfurt in the Duchy of Alemany.
It's just that the legal power of Alemany currently lies with the leader of Prince Lothair. In fact, Prince Ludwig sent people to firmly control it, and he would not hesitate to fight against his brother to defend it.
But Blue Fox's understanding was very limited, and he had a serious lack of concept about the huge Frank. It was just the wool trading volume here that shocked him deeply.
His "inspection" was more than that. He had to take a good look at the entire market. He also had to walk around the city wall, looking for weak points, and memorize the information in his mind.
He also had his own way of persuading the priests who followed him to lead the way: "Maybe there are poor beggars in Bremen, and they will always hide in the alleys. I want to find them and give them blessings..."
These words made Lan Hu feel numb, and he really became a pedantic priest. The words were spoken in Latin, and the two young priests who could barely understand them were moved to tears by the kindness of the priest Joseph Lan Fox...
