Rise of Rurik

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How many men entered the city again? There are a thousand.

With the naked eye, one could see that there were not even a thousand but eight hundred people gathered in the city square, standing densely around the King of Mercia's banner.

They looked around and whispered to each other, constantly trying to inquire about the Earl of New Anjou's decision from the local soldiers stationed in Shannon.

They learned that the recruitment was absolutely true. As for the specific details, the soldiers stationed there were not aware of it for the time being.

However, the soldier revealed some details: Those who are skinny, those with short stature, and those with weak strength are not allowed.

In other words, whoever has a strong body, especially a strong arm, should be chosen as long as he is not too short.

Serving as a soldier in Anjou County seems to mean many benefits. Although doing so will temporarily leave your family and you are likely to die in a battle, becoming a soldier will provide you with more abundant food than usual, which is of great benefit to many people. Appeal.

High remuneration can attract many ordinary people to join the king's army. If it is because of hatred or because there is a chance for revenge after joining the army, the enthusiasm for joining the army will be even greater.

Such people do not join the army for high treatment, they just want to follow a strong man for better revenge.

So Reglaf set two basic principles on the issue of conscription.

First, those who have a deep hatred for the old garrison in Tours can be recruited as long as their health is not too bad.

Secondly, among ordinary farmers who are willing to join the army, the physical fitness requirements of these people are relatively high, and they can be recruited if they meet the quota.

As for how many troops to recruit, the plan is to organize a new spear flag team from Anjou City, with a theoretical capacity of 500 people.

Of course, the specific amount of recruitment must be based on the actual situation. For example, if you have been living in the woods near Anjou for ten years,

Lin's poachers, who are good at using bows and arrows, will be recruited as long as they are willing to join the army.

It is not easy to find these hiders in the forest. It is better to use the temptation of recruiting soldiers to become kings and ask them to come out as soldiers themselves.

Reglaf Monastery quietly observed the changes in the situation. He admired the enthusiasm of a large number of farmers to join the army.

At this moment, Abbot Raymond stood respectfully beside the young brave man. The old man had also been watching for a while. Although the old man was full of praise for the young man's virtues, he had just arrived in Anjou and the situation had just stabilized. If you can’t wait to recruit troops, will you...

Raymond would not say that this was a barbaric act. Besides, the old man had never seen such a scene in his entire life - ordinary farmers actively joining the army.

"It's amazing. Sir, you..."

"Papa, do you have something to say?" Reglaf turned around and asked calmly.

"How many troops do you plan to recruit? Although I already know that you will not attack Tour, but..."

"It seems that you still have a lot of concerns." Reglaf let out a sigh of relief, "There are many weapons and some horses left behind by the old garrison. Well, to be honest, I really plan to expand the army in Anjou by a thousand troops."

"Huh? Such a huge army!"

"What is this?" Reglaf said with the arrogance and bloodiness of a young man: "I will have at least two thousand soldiers by then. I will kill the Burgundians until they howl like ghosts."

"Huh? In this way, you are indeed more powerful than the old nobles of Anjou."

"A compliment?"

"No," the abbot murmured meaningfully, "if he had such a large army, he would not be defeated."

"Maybe. I'm a Norman! To tell you the truth, if

If I cannot recruit enough troops, I will have to go to the mouth of the Rhine to recruit some more Danes. Oh, just more Norman. But...I think recruiting those guys again is asking for trouble. Some armies don't listen to me, and hiring them is just inviting the wolf into the house. Why don't I just recruit troops locally? I also heard that the Gauls were brave and good at fighting. Eight hundred years later, I believe that the descendants of those people are still good at fighting. As for the dull performance, it must be due to the lack of a real leader. Haha, I am their trustworthy leader. "Regraf talked a lot eloquently, but he held his head high and his chest high, and his majestic appearance proved that he was extraordinary.

Reglaf is by no means pretentious. By now, he has indeed become a local figure.

A big force.

The King of Mercia's flag is flying in Anjou and Shannon, and there are densely populated areas along the Loire River and its tributary Avina River. Reglaf is not able to conduct a detailed census, but there are as many as eight men, women, and children under his direct control. Thousands of people.

If we add in the fief villages where Becon and other knights urgently need to restore their rule, the population of Anjou-Shannon County has reached 130,000 to 150,000 people.

With such a population strength, it is close to the population of the traditional territory of the Kingdom of Mercia in the old era.

The large population means that Reglaf can recruit more soldiers. Based on his experience, he does not like the "noble army" at all. He has his own Ross-style combat method, that is, the monarch must have an overwhelming scale against the nobles. of the directly-administered army.

A knight relied on plundering the wealth of the fiefs and villages to purchase high-end weapons and equipment to arm himself, and then armed more than a dozen armed retinues.

. A wealthy and powerful knight may be able to organize fifty cavalry, but a poor knight may only be able to bring one or two retinues into battle.

Becon and other guys had promised Reglaf that they would be able to organize their own armies soon after crossing the Loire River and entering southern Anjou, even if many spear militiamen would join.

They promised that in the first week of April, the coalition of knights in southern Anjou would directly enter the barony of Erotus, and then take the Roman road directly into a military stronghold such as the Bridge Castle to join the main force of Reglaf's army.

When will Beikong and others cross the river? They decided to wait until Reglaf had recruited enough troops in Anjou before crossing the river.

Beikong and others will not wait any longer. Their waiting is not only to help the monarch, but also to take away all the captured horses afterwards.

Military horses are different from farm horses. Of course, the latter can also be ridden, but it is almost impossible to make the farm horses perform half-turn tactics and impact tactics based on map recognition.

Only senior cavalrymen could quickly train more cavalrymen, and Reglaf generously delegated power. Finally, he hoped that when Becon and others came back, at least 200 cavalrymen would join the army.

Because there were many military horses in the captured stables, as well as more plow horses and cattle.

There are still 200 horses that can be used as war horses. This is not a malicious search by the old defenders, or that the territory of Gaul can be used to raise a large number of horses. It is not unusual for a hundred defenders to be equipped with 300 horses, and it is not impossible to have 400 horses. It was precisely because there were so many horses in stock in Anjou that the old defenders had the confidence to carry the so-called people's fat and anointing collected from Anjou to Tours in the form of a large-scale mule and horse transport team.

Now, the old defenders have become great villains,

It is impossible for Reglaf to completely return these people's sacrifices and sacrifices. He needs these materials to be converted into his own combat power.

I am also convinced that the new soldiers will be very happy if the supplies looted by the old army are given to the new soldiers, even if the wealth belongs to the Angevin people.

What Reglaf didn't know was that he had sized up the situation and recruited troops on the spot, rather than recruiting troops from the mouth of the Rhine as he had imagined in the past. This was an extremely wise decision.

Either due to fatigue or extreme inconvenience, King Ragnar of Denmark withdrew his thousand brothers to the large Danish immigrant community at the mouth of the Rhine.

If he must recruit mercenaries, out of emotion, Reglaf would definitely look for the Russians and Swedes living there first, and then the Danes.

However, the King of Denmark is present, and once Ragnar learns that there is such a good thing, the Danish army will definitely cross the Brittany Peninsula and go straight into the Loire River to launch plunder.

Then the Norwegian pirate leader Hastinger, leading his troops to carry out the brutal Loire River robbery, must have happened in advance.

Because Ragnar has never signed any peace treaty with the Frankish southern nobles, and the lack of relevant treaties means that they can plunder freely.

At present, Reglaf does not know that a large number of Danes are gathering at the mouth of the Rhine for repairs. The local Ross garrison and allies are transporting supplies to the hinterland of the Rhine on time.

He didn't even know that the Russian coalition forces commanded by his father were happily spending the winter in Trier, guarding a large amount of food and Trier's unique hot springs.

The nobles of the Frankish south were busy with their own affairs, and the lack of information made them unaware of the great changes taking place in the north and northeast. headed by charlie

, they began to have their own

According to his own opinion, Reglaf is just a contestant in this winter's army expansion competition.

In terms of the speed of military expansion, Reglaf's troops are astonishingly fast, and the quality is also very good.

Regraf deliberately hid in the dark and let time ferment. When the men got impatient with waiting, he would appear with his entourage.

Yesterday, everyone had a clear look at the new Earl's childish yet mature face.

They turned their heads when they heard the low and melodious sound of horns, and saw the earl's shining blond hair kneeling on the ground.

In the past, when these civilians happened to see the old Count of Anjou patrolling, they would kneel down to show respect. In fact, they did not dare not to kneel. The price for disrespect was to be captured by the guards. Their families paid what was called a fine but actually a ransom, and then the guards released them.

Reglaf glanced around and saw perhaps a thousand people kneeling collectively under the banner of the King of Mercia.

"You all stand up! Look at your king head on!" Here Reglaf resolutely calls himself the King of Mercia.

People stood up slowly, and out of subconscious fear, they all raised their heads and did not dare to look directly at it.

Regraf once again made a public inspection. He scanned the basic conditions of these people and made some estimates in his heart.

Some farmers are in better condition, and having a pair of reliable single leather shoes proves a lot.

Because more farmers actually use pieces of leather, rags and hemp ropes to wrap around their feet to make something that looks like shoes.

The vast majority of farmers are not tall and overall are thin. Maybe it was the influence of the man-made famine in the past few months, but Reglaf believed that they were also this unlucky on weekdays.

When it comes to conscription, the vast majority of these people do not

Qualified, unless the peasants eat and drink heavily for three or four months, and then it is most appropriate to recruit the army when the body becomes strong.

"We can't expect them to go into battle to kill the enemy now. We should first give them food to make them strong, and then talk about the rest." Reglaf thought.

Although the physical fitness of the vast majority of people is poor, since the decision to recruit soldiers needs to be specified a lower limit standard.

After a round of inspection, he withdrew to the side. After a while, old Eric stood up on behalf of the monarch.

This old Norman warrior with a braided beard announced the king's new resolution in Frankish with a strange accent. As soon as he finished speaking, the farmers were in an uproar, and then they started chatting lively again.

Soon, one big stone after another was placed in place.

For such a stone, the main thing is that someone can move it to a designated place. All other disadvantages will be ignored. If you pass the physical test alone, you will be qualified to serve as a soldier.

So, a unique stone-moving competition began...

Some people seemed to have no trouble moving and could complete the test by jogging all the way. Such people were invited to the place where the Mercian flag was raised when they reached the finish line. They would be strengthened in training to serve as the backbone of the flag team.

Those who were panting and shaking while holding stones were sent to the far side of the flag when they reached the finish line. They gathered together and sat down. Of course, they would be recruited, but they could only serve as ordinary soldiers in the flag team.

As for those who rolled and crawled, the stones barely reached the finish line. In principle, such people do not need to be recruited. However, if the conscription is less than 500, these people can also join as substitutes.

Those who can't move the stones, and the stones fall after walking for a while, these people are forgotten.

Reglaf thought his measures were very smart, and he also

thought that the physical fitness of the local farmers could cope with it.

Unfortunately, he overestimated. From the morning to the evening, all the people who came to hold the stones were close to a thousand, and including those who barely succeeded in carrying them, Reglaf finally gathered more than 300 people.

He fulfilled his promise, and those who barely passed were considered fully qualified.

At night, all the unqualified guys were dismissed and left the city dejectedly.

Regraf and his men stayed in the old garrison camp. People ate as usual, and the large number of captured horses were fed with oats. The three hundred men who successfully recruited soldiers did not have to go home. They had a big meal in the city now and would go home to report the good news tomorrow.

In Regraf's temporary palace, the brothers faced the flickering oil lamps and struggled to dig the thick boiled oats in the wooden bowl.

Regraf was half full and couldn't help mentioning what happened during the day: "Three hundred qualified people out of a thousand, too few!"

"You think it's too few." Bruno laughed and teased: "Do you really think highly of those ordinary farmers? Otherwise, you can lower the standard and make up 500 people."

"That won't work." Regraf shook his head, "If you recruit some weak people, these people on the battlefield will be a burden."

"In my opinion, the people you recruited during the day are not very good." Bruno's words were impolite.

"They can still be saved. We were very successful in Shannon."

"But Shannon didn't experience brutal looting."

This is where Reggraf was struggling. He sighed: "Anjou is so big, can I only recruit 300 soldiers?"

"Or, should we really go to the mouth of the Rhine and try?"

"No need. I don't trust those people now. They will compete with our old friends for credit." As he spoke, Reggraf glanced at old Eric. "Well, 300 is 300. Next, I hope Becon and others can bring back an army."

Becon and others are not here. Although the knights are loyal to Reggraf, it does not mean that they are really brothers with the blond Normans.

Based on habit, once the army rests, Reggraf will definitely get together with his veterans. Everyone speaks Norse, which is completely different from the Frankish nobles in many habits.

Becon and others live in the city, and the captured grooms will follow the small nobles who go south in the future. The groom himself can ride a horse. With the opportunity to become a cavalryman and possibly a landed knight through military merit, the groom is of course willing to fight.

There are still quite a few technicians in Anjou. After they have tasted the sweetness, they are no longer wary of Reglav. He wants to recruit soldiers, especially blacksmiths and carpenters. They must join.

The fact is that Reglav has already recruited them, but the technicians cannot charge first, especially the blacksmiths. Repairing weapons for the army is the first priority. Unless it is a crisis, blacksmiths cannot enter the front-line battlefield.

The three hundred Anjou peasants who were selected, they ate and drank in the city and rarely had a full meal.

The monarch they were loyal to immediately proved his promise during the day with practical actions.

On the second day, after eating and drinking well and sleeping well, none of them issued a token - a yellow cloth with a hole burned with tongs.

It seems that this is just some kind of performance art of Reglav. In fact, it is not the case. The burned hole is used to string hemp rope in the future, and this cloth strip will also be tied to the spear head in the end. As a tassel, it is one of the proofs of the Mercian king's ***. Of course, the selected people will bring such a token back to report the good news. When they return, they will show the token, and the burned hole can serve as an anti-counterfeiting mark. Regraf's recruitment has not ended. If more people who claim to be brave and physically strong are willing to serve as soldiers, the three gates of Anjou will be opened for them. The fact is that some people have been watching the development of the situation. They will not think that Regraf is a great new lord just because he suddenly showed great benevolence. Conspiracy theory has to be said that the fire may have been set by the new guys. At first, the losers who left the city regretted that they failed to select soldiers. The next day, the winners brought out good news. Failure brings regrets and jealousy. The winners showed off everywhere in their villages, and some vigilant people came over to ask a few questions. Especially the poachers who are good at hiding in the forest. These people who were good at making traps and holding bows were forced by hunger to become forest hunters and outlaws, but no one liked this kind of life away from the village and the monastery, like a wild animal.

If the lord continued to plunder without restraint, it would be natural for the hunters to become bandits who gathered in the mountains.

The village of Fontaine de Sologne gradually broke away from the control of the Count of Orleans, and finally the whole village became a "forest bandit". They did not want to be real bandits, and when they encountered

After arriving at the Ming Dynasty, they all surrendered collectively.

The forests near Anjou hide some men and women. If they were weak, they would not survive now. Now, the harsh living conditions have forced them to become strong and wild.

Whatever survives

Those who come are all elites, and these people are also the soldiers that Reglaf needs.

All figured out! The new Earl of Anjou does have a group of blond Normans under his command. Since even the Norman pirates can sneak around openly, why should the brothers keep away from the new Earl.

They have close contact with the village residents. Especially when the old garrison is frantically searching for people's wealth and wealth, the hunters hiding in the forest do not have the ability and dare not kill the garrison on horseback. They hunt and catch birds, and even catch marmots and mushrooms to collect some Eatable food is delivered to the village, and the reputation of these forest people among the people is getting better and better.

In the past, people hiding in the forest would also steal villagers' property, but now they suddenly have the reputation of being thieves.

They don't want to be real thieves, and they also want to wash away the crimes of theft they have committed against villagers in the past.

All kinds of news were sent into the forest by some brave villagers, and some hunters disguised themselves and sneaked into the city.

In particular, they learned that there were some strange archers in the so-called Saxon army, even though these people were now stationed in Shannon, not far from Anjou.

The situation of those guys is almost exactly the same as mine. Now, the forest hero has been recruited as a soldier by the eldest son of the Duke of Saxony, and maybe he can become a minor nobleman in the future.

So, just as Reglaf was angry about the lack of recruitment, he didn't know that the situation was quietly changing.

A group of people who had been hiding in the forests of eastern Anjou for a long time appeared in the winter sunshine with their families in tow.

They seemed to have appeared out of thin air, staring at these guys covered in animal skins with pairs of eyes, almost thinking that they were standing brown bears.

The people then watched silently as these "bears" walked toward the east gate of Anjou.

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