The northern barbarians and pagans mentioned by Count Ansbach were undoubtedly the more active Nordic Vikings during this period.
The Vikings' march south to plunder actually started very early, and the coastal areas of Western Europe were tortured.
However, with the strong rise of the Frankish Kingdom, the good days when the Vikings could easily plunder with their flexibility and personal bravery were gone.
Facing a small number of Viking pirates, well-equipped professional knights with attendants and a small number of standing soldiers can easily destroy them.
Although the Viking pirates are brave and brave, and they seem to be like Odin descending to earth in various heroic epics, in fact, these people are only flesh and blood, and they are not invulnerable. They face knights who have also received military training since childhood and are better equipped than them. When we are young, we often only have the fate of a scurrying mouse.
Failure to penetrate the enemy's armor sounds like a joke, but it is indeed the norm for the Vikings to face knights.
After all, the actual equipment gap cannot be made up by a little bravery.
When the Vikings shine again, they will have to wait until the end of the Carolingian Dynasty. Speaking of which, it is not too far away from now.
It's just that the current Vikings were severely educated by the Frankish knights during the period of Charlemagne. Now they have learned to keep a low profile and will not rob in Frankish territory.
As a result, people in England, Ireland, Iberia and the Baltic coast suffered.
Especially the English. Although England faced the invasion of Viking pirates during this period in history, the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons still ruled England.
But now, in the southeast of England, the Kingdom of East Anglia has been destroyed for more than ten years. In the territory of the Kingdom of East Anglia, several small countries established by the Vikings have appeared, and now they are gradually Encroaching on the territories of the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex.
The two English kingdoms had long since settled their differences and joined forces to jointly invade the Vikings. However, most of the time, they were no match for the Vikings on the battlefield.
They also asked the Kingdom of West Francia for help, but facing the English Channel, in view of the poor naval situation of the Kingdom of West Francia, the Kingdom of West Francia chose to stand aside.
While they continued to fight against the English, the Vikings did not forget to rob everywhere. After the robbery, various things needed a place to sell their stolen goods. The Zeeland area in the lowlands became the window for the Vikings to sell their stolen goods.
Many things cannot be obtained by looting alone, such as weapons and armor, and many of the things obtained need to be exchanged for useful supplies.
But even merchants were unwilling to do business with the Vikings, for fear that these barbarians would rob them if they were not satisfied. At this time, the only one who could deal with the Vikings was the Frankish Kingdom, which they did not dare to provoke.
Due to the previous unhappiness between the two parties, most of the Frankish nobles did not welcome the Vikings. At this time, the Duke of the Netherlands took the lead in offering to act as a middleman, allowing the Vikings to have a channel to sell their stolen goods.
As a result, there was the wealth and prosperity of the lowland areas today.
This prosperity came entirely from the various things the Vikings looted and their various needs for supplies.
Otherwise, the Duke of Holland would not have become the most powerful duke in the Kingdom of Lotharingia.
After seeing the Duke of the Netherlands getting rich, I don't know how many nobles were jealous. Now that the Kingdom of Lotharingia has disappeared, the Duke of the Netherlands has lost the protection of Lothair II, and naturally has to give up a lot of benefits.
Therefore, many nobles want to obtain a territory in the lowlands, not because they value the value of the lowland territory, but because they want to get a share of the stolen goods network.
After hearing this, Otto felt a little regretful that he had rushed to sell two baronies in the lowland areas, otherwise he would have to share some money in this lucrative business.
No wonder Count Ansbach didn't talk about the value of the territory in the lowlands at that time. He said that he was very happy after exchanging territory with him. It turned out that there was still such a relationship.
But thinking about how many people wanted to share this piece of cake, Otto thought that if he lost it, he would just lose it. Anyway, he was not that short of money. Building the Aargau collar and surrounding areas was better than anything else.
By the way, it seems that Neuchâtel, which was originally said to be given to me, was given to the Grodunning family?
This Duke of Swabia is really interesting, so it’s time to go back and make some plans to capture both Bern and Neuchâtel.
Before that, matters in the Nahuel territory must be arranged.
"It's great that the Sighard family is willing to underwrite the products of Algaoling. I am worried that there are too few caravans coming and going in the territory, and I am worried about the sales of the products. With the help of the Sighard family, it is really great It solved a problem for me."
Otto responded to Count Ansbach's previous request with a smile and put forward his own ideas.
"As for the territory of Nahuel, it is quite far away from Argau, which is not conducive to management. It also needs a lot of help from your family. Let's see if there are any nobles who want it. In exchange, land closer to Argau will be fine. If it doesn’t work, the ones from the Principality of Bavaria will do.”
Since Otto was willing to underwrite the Lafite wine for him, Count Ansbach naturally agreed to help Otto find a good buyer for Nahuel.
This matter may seem troublesome, but in fact, not only can you gain Otto's favor, but once the transaction is completed, you can also receive a "thank you fee", which is a guaranteed profit.
Now that he was ready to let go of Nahuel, Otto didn't bother to go to Nahuel. He casually sent a family knight to take care of her, and then led his army to Baden, preparing to pick up his beloved wife. Sophie, after inspecting the family territory in Swabia, we will go to Linz.
After the demise of the Kingdom of Lotharingia, the only major event left was the death of two old Frankish kings. This is unlikely to change. Both of them are so old. With the medical conditions in the Middle Ages, it is difficult to live to the age they are today.
As long as King Louis of East Francia dies, the Kingdom of East Francia will inevitably split. Otto is not sure whether the Duke of Swabia will gain the most benefits from this separation.
But what Otto was sure of was that the Duke of Swabia was the youngest and would most likely live to the end, just like history, and would naturally unify the Carolingian Kingdom again.
Therefore, make preparations around Austria in advance now, and when the time is right in the future, you can take the opportunity to occupy Austria.
Austria, that is a great place!
Before he came to participate in this war, Otto was just a little-known baron, and he was not taken seriously even with five hundred elite cavalry.
In more than half a year, the war was over. Otto became an official count and became well-known in the aristocratic circles of the Frankish Kingdom. His opinions were respected by others, especially in the Principality of Swabia. The young nobles have all noticed Otto, a rising star.
The only pity is that of the 500 soldiers brought from Allgäu this time, only more than 300 can follow Otto back.
Otto glanced at the unmarked tombstones he had erected for the soldiers who died in the battle, sighed, and left Aachen with the soldiers.
His era has officially begun.
