After Marin's secret letter was delivered, the nine former Frisian nobles strongly agreed with Marin's suggestion to launch an attack during the autumn harvest. Because they really lack money and food.
Moreover, although Europe in this era was backward, the city walls were all made of stone, tall and strong. With the hundreds of people in the hands of these nobles, ordinary cities cannot be defeated. According to the habits of nobles in this era, most of the property, money and food are hidden in the city, which is difficult to obtain.
But the harvest season is different. The crops grow in the fields without walls around them. Even if the army wants to protect, it must know the time and route of the enemy's actions.
If you launch a surprise attack and grab some food, don't be too easy...
Without the obstruction of the city wall, hundreds of troops can grab a lot of food. Therefore, several Frisian nobles were tempted...
After the autumn harvest in Friesland began in October, the 670 soldiers of Friesland exiled in the Principality of Gedes began to gather secretly.
Charles II, Duke of Geddes, was taken aback, but he also appreciated the plan of the nine nobles. Because this is the best chance to hit the Duke of Saxony. Moreover, these 9 idiots have grabbed enough money and food, which can also reduce his financial burden.
As for Marin, he is also waiting, waiting for news from Friesland. As long as there is a launch there, the main force of the Saxon army in Groningen will be encircled and suppressed, then Marin will immediately launch an attack on East Frisia.
When some villages in the southwest of West Frisia began to harvest rye and spread the wheat grains on the threshing floor, the nine Frisian nobles finally couldn't hold back...
Ever since, 670 Frisian veterans, with 120 knights as the vanguard, left the border of the Kingdom of Geddes, passed through the junction of Geddes and the Archbishop of Utrecht, and entered the territory of West Frisia, compared with Groningen. far away...
The rye grains of the local people are still being spread on the ground. As a result, the former Frisian army suddenly broke in. Each of these soldiers carried a pocket. After rushing into the village, first send people to guard the main road, and then go directly to the threshing ground to put rye in your pocket...
Then, the gang rushed into the village again and began looting the property of the residents' homes. When it's over, the farmers' livestock are pulled away and put on the carriages to transport the looted rye and property...
For several days, the Frisian army ransacked more than a dozen villages and took away tens of thousands of bags of rye (one bag of rye weighs about 100 pounds), leaving nothing to the local residents...
When Marin heard the news, he was really worried about the IQ of these bastards—Nimad, these people were your people before. You want to restore the rule of Friesland, don't you want the support of these people? To do such a terrible thing is almost to force the people to die...
Moreover, in this era, few lords have the habit of giving food to refugees. Therefore, those people who were robbed were out of luck. God knows how many people will starve to death...
Thinking of this, Marin suddenly decided—even get some people to come to East Frisia...
Because, he is about to enter East Frisia, and the population of East Frisia is much smaller than that of West Frisia. It just so happened that these idiots artificially created disaster victims, and they could go to East Frisia to help them work and farm.
After receiving the news from the southwest of West Frisia, George, the eldest son of the Duke of Saxony stationed in Groningen, did not dare to neglect, and immediately sent troops to investigate.
At this time, the number of Frisian rebels had reached as many as 2,000. Of course, those recruits were all captured, and none of them were voluntary. Because the actions of a few idiots who didn't give the people a way out made the people very disgusted with them.
Therefore, when several former Frisian nobles began to recruit troops, no one responded. In desperation, they had to forcibly arrest those strong serfs and fill them into the team, bringing the total number of the team to 2,000.
A team of 2,000 people is indeed huge. You must know that in the former Frisian Republic, only Grenningen's 5,000 Saxon main force can compete with it.
Even in Leeuwarden, the second largest city in Friesland, there were only 800 Saxon soldiers stationed there. As for other small towns, they simply don't have the courage and strength to fight against this team.
In fact, this army only has 670 veterans with some combat effectiveness, and the newly recruited more than 1,200 serfs basically have no combat effectiveness. However, with so many people there, it is indeed quite bluffing...
George didn't know that most of the 2,000 rebels were recruits with no combat effectiveness, and he thought they were all elite soldiers. So, he hurriedly took 4,000 soldiers out of the city and went to the west to suppress the rebellion. In Groningen, only 1,000 soldiers and horses were left to protect...
As soon as George's army left Groningen, a reconnaissance team under Sauer immediately sent two cavalry to report in different directions.
One of the roads went straight to Harlingen, then changed boats and went straight to Texel Island, reporting to Marin. The other route was to inform the nobles of the Frisian Rebels. Marin gave them a very clever idea, which was learned from the great men of later generations - "When the enemy advances, we retreat, and when the enemy retreats, I come back and continue to rob..."
In short, try to avoid head-to-head with the main force of the Saxon army. When the Saxon army comes, hide. When they are gone, continue to come out and grab them.
In this way, the Saxon army led by George will be in a dilemma. When their army arrives, the Frisians will run away. If George withdrew with the army, they would reappear in the Frisian area, continue to rob and plunder the population, leaving George in a dilemma...
At the same time, in the East Frisian region, the autumn harvest is halfway through, and it is in full swing. However, the cultivated land in East Frisia is very unevenly distributed.
Because the farmland in East Frisia is mainly distributed in Lyle County in the south. The entire Lyle County is occupied by arable land. Unlike other areas, some are arable land and some are grassland. In addition, there are many swamps.
According to the results of Sauer's reconnaissance report, about one-third of East Frisia is swampy. Moreover, these swamps are mainly distributed in the western and northern coastal areas of East Frisia.
Coincidentally, the confirmed landing site this time - the small fishing village of Crumhorne, is also surrounded by swamps. Then there is only one main road leading to Emden from here.
There are swamps on the sides, and the natural population is sparsely populated. In this way, when Marin's army landed, it would not be easy to be found. At that time, it is enough to send a small number of people to guard the residents of the small fishing village and prevent them from sending people to Emden to report.
After receiving Sauer's reconnaissance report, Marin was overjoyed. The main force of the Saxon army, which he feared most, had left, and nothing stood in the way of his conquest of East Frisia. Therefore, he immediately organized troops, horses and supplies, and officially sent troops to East Frisia...