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Anno Domini 829, November-12-December-21
"It is cold as hell" I said while looking at the enormous plains stretching before us.
"Nah… it is not that terrible, put on another bearskin cloak and you will be fine" Sigurd said while exhaling a huge cloud of vapor from his mouth.
"Well then I still need to hunt the bear" I replied while continuing to guide the horse.
"We will find one eventually" Sigurd said with a grin while constantly looking to both sides whenever the wind blew strongly.
Winter had already arrived. Snow fell everywhere, yet we still had to keep advancing to take as much of Hungary as possible.
We continued the march under the constant cold. Many of those riding with me did not seem particularly affected by it. The Varangians were accustomed to the winters of Scandinavia and the Slavs had lived in those lands for generations. For them that climate was normal.
For me it was not.
I had grown used more to the temperatures of the northern provinces of the Empire and those of Crete, not to mention the suffocating heat of the Levant.
Even so we kept advancing.
We were securing the imperial frontier and conquering lands that had not yet even been cultivated. In the short term they would be more of an economic burden than a source of wealth, but it was the best way to integrate all those Slavs and Varangians into the Empire.
When I returned I would send teachers to begin implementing compulsory schools. I wanted everyone to learn Greek, at least as a second language. I also wanted them to learn the history of the Empire, to grow up hearing about the greatness of Rome until they felt part of it.
Though in Rome many would probably still see them simply as useful barbarians.
The days began to grow repetitive.
We continued subjugating Slavic tribes although resistance became rarer. The large tribes had already submitted and the message had spread quickly among the rest.
It was better to bow the head.
Whenever we approached a tribe its leader simply knelt, offered men and supplies, and we continued marching west.
Eventually we encountered Avar tribes. They still practiced their old religion and had not converted to Christianity despite what people claimed.
The Slavs translated their words and the Vlachs translated what the Slavs said to me. The risk of something being lost in so many layers of translation was high, but for now it seemed to work.
The Avars also bowed their heads before our advance.
Our army did not stop.
Soon we were approaching the Danube.
As we rode we noticed constructions on the horizon. That came as a surprise.
When we approached we discovered that building work was underway. Several wooden fortifications were being raised on this side of the river.
We watched as wooden castles were constructed on artificial hills to protect the bridges over the Danube.
Our presence quickly alarmed the workers.
The fortifications were unfinished. Only the earthworks had been completed. They had probably begun building during winter to avoid Slavic attacks during spring or summer.
But when they saw us approaching something unexpected happened.
Most of the workers began fleeing toward the other side of the Danube abandoning the half-built fortifications.
"Well… free fortifications" I said while watching the scene.
Sigurd burst out laughing."Ha ha ha!"
Without wasting time I sent the entire cavalry to survey the Danube and secure the area.
Soon we discovered numerous wooden frontier castles under construction. Workers had been fortifying the northern bank of the river everywhere.
They probably intended to use them as forward and fallback positions before launching a campaign of expansion.
It seemed we had arrived just in time to prevent it.
Most likely they were Carolingian forces trying to take advantage of the fall of the Bulgars to occupy Hungary.
But they had arrived too late.
There were dozens of castles under construction on our side of the Danube but the moment the Slavic cavalry appeared the Franks and their vassals quickly evacuated.
Clearly they did not have enough men to defend all their attempts at expansion.
So we occupied the abandoned fortifications.
Thousands of my men spread out among the incomplete castles using the materials the Franks had left behind to finish some of the defenses.
Other fortifications we dismantled entirely since they had no strategic value.
What truly mattered was securing the bridges over the Danube.
The remaining fortifications seemed designed more for controlling the territory and establishing feudal lords to work the land. So with the limited construction materials available and making use of what the Franks had abandoned we quickly began finishing the castles they had started. Those fortifications guarded the bridges of the Danube.
While patrolling on horseback I noticed the bridges had been built recently. It made sense, without them crossing the river would be extremely difficult. They had probably been constructed to allow rapid troop movement or to launch attacks against the Bulgars when they still controlled the region.
The Frankish lord who had ordered those bridges and castles built must have been grinding his teeth in rage upon realizing he had lost his entire investment.
As the days passed we began noticing that Frankish forces slowly increased on the other side of the river. On several occasions they attempted to send messengers but nobody spoke a common language. At most they sent someone who knew Latin.
I barely understood a few words. What little I knew I had learned from Maria during the short time we had spent together, but it was not enough to hold a conversation about diplomatic matters.
Meanwhile we continued observing the region.
I constantly sent patrols north. One of the main reasons I was so interested in Hungary was because according to many accounts one of the largest gold mines in Europe was located there. I did not know exactly where it was but everything suggested it must lie somewhere in the north.
So I sent scouts to determine how far Frankish influence extended. My intention was to find that mine… while at the same time avoiding the start of a conflict with them.
A war with the Franks would be disastrous at that moment.
Especially while in the East we still did not know what was happening. Who knew what problems might be developing on the other side of the Empire. I could only hope that my investment in Jerusalem remained safe while everything else unfolded.
I continued waiting for the reports from my scouts to determine where the Frankish fortifications ended. That had to be the frontier.
I had no intention of starting a war.
"Basil, there is a Frank who speaks Greek waiting on the bridge to negotiate with you" Sigurd announced as he appeared in the wooden tower from which I watched the Danube.
I turned my head and saw a small group of riders waiting on the bridge.
"Good… let us see what the Franks have to say about our conquests" I replied while rising from the chair and beginning to descend the stairs.
I took my horse and, accompanied by several riders, rode toward the bridge.
I could not help holding back a laugh when I saw the armor of the Franks.
They were wearing little more than a mail shirt over a padded gambeson. Their armor was rubbish. Even the Slavs possessed lamellar equipment far better than that.
"Greetings… Graeci" said the man leading the delegation.
"I am Roman… unlike you, you damned Frank" I replied, returning the insult.
I watched him tighten his lips and stare at me before speaking again."That is not how the Pope sees it" he said with a faint smile.
"Oh… what a single member of the Pentarchy says?" I replied with a smile of my own. "We have three patriarchs who say we are Romans. I do not know if you can count, but three is more than one".
"Ha… very well Greek… I will make it simple for you… you are occupying the lands of the Emperor of the Romans" the diplomat said.
"You mean the king of the Franks. The Emperor of the Romans resides in Constantinople" I said interrupting him.
"Did you come to negotiate or simply to seek a fight?" the diplomat asked, clearly irritated.
"I came to observe whether the king of the Franks, that Germanic who claims to be Roman, intends to apologize for invading Roman territory. Considering it was I who crushed the Bulgars at Pliska, who cut off the head of their khan and all his sons, taking these lands for us" I replied while looking at him directly.
The diplomat clenched his jaw before answering.
"Those lands were free to be taken. We require a diplomat with authority to negotiate and discuss the change of frontiers. We must agree on how the lands of the Bulgars will be divided".
I smiled slightly.
"I will request one. The Emperor of the Romans will be delighted to hear what the king of the Franks has to say. Although I very much doubt he will surrender territories that are already ours".
"We shall see. Unlike you I do not believe your emperor seeks to begin a war" the Frank replied.
"We shall see" I answered with a smile.
I turned my horse and left the bridge without another word.
I quickly sent a messenger south. We would need to obtain a suitable diplomat and I would likely need to use some influence to ensure we did not surrender any territory.
I still did not know exactly where the famous gold mines of Hungary were located but they were very likely somewhere in this region near the Danube.
So I sent the letter to one of the administrative capitals we had established further south with instructions that it be carried by drakkar to the imperial capital. The Varangian ships we had brought to navigate the rivers of the region were extremely useful on the Danube and would allow the message to travel as quickly as possible.
While waiting for the reply we continued fortifying the castles.
More stone finally began arriving once the Slavs I had left in Hjalmar's settlement started working the quarries. Thanks to that we began rebuilding the fortifications in stone instead of wood unlike the castles the Franks had constructed.
I also received reports from the Slavic scouts and the riders I had sent north.
The Franks controlled territories up to the Danube from the north.
That meant they held a considerable portion of the Hungarian plains under their authority.
So in addition to constructing several fortifications north of the river and establishing our control in the region we ended up entering what was essentially a war of raids.
In the north where no river separated our armies skirmishes began. Frankish troops and my Slavs clashed constantly while both sides attempted to push the frontier in their favor.
I frequently sent many of my men to fight in the snow against Frankish forces to try to advance the frontier a few more kilometers north.
Meanwhile along the Danube the two armies simply watched each other from opposite banks. The Franks slowly began gathering troops on their side of the river.
For the moment the numbers were clearly on my side.
However the Franks possessed better armor.
Their mail shirts were simple compared with the brigandines or plate armor my forges could produce but most of my men did not possess that level of equipment. The Slavs carried almost no armor at all and many wore nothing more than thick furs.
That meant a direct engagement could be complicated… unless I sent my Varangians on horseback. In that case it would become a massacre. Frankish armor was inferior even to the Bulgar equipment we had already defeated.
So I limited myself to waiting for the diplomat from the capital while we continued strengthening the frontier.
He finally arrived almost a month later.
We had waited all that time for someone who supposedly was trained to negotiate.
Though to be honest something told me this would not end in negotiation.
There were too many resources in this region.
And I doubted very much that Emperor Theophilos would be willing to leave untouched all the wealth that could be produced by the labor of the people who lived in these lands.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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