In the Hamburg area, because the Count of Hamburg did not go to the south of Saxony with his army, and at the same time received information about Otto's advance in advance, the policy of clearing the walls of the whole region was relatively successful.

Large numbers of people and supplies were gathered in large cities or fortified castles before the enemy arrived. A number of small castles and defenses were also fortified to defend against under-equipped enemies.

This made El, who came to Hamburg with soldiers to plunder, not only harvested, but even many small units sent out were killed by the Count of Hamburg with the elite.

Looking at the corpses of several Franconian knights hanging on the gatehouse of Hamburg, El's eyes were about to burst into flames.

At this time, the city of Hamburg was far from being the trade and industrial center of northern Germany in later generations, but only a fortified military castle with a population of less than 2,000, even smaller than the city of Basel that Otto had previously taken.

Even because of the war, there is now a large influx of nearby villagers in Hamburg, and the population is only in the early five or six thousands, which is almost a small town compared to Bremen, which has a permanent population of nearly 10,000 people not far away.

This kind of population size, in the East, may be a large village and town, but in the West in this period, it is definitely not an exaggeration to say that it is a city.

In the whole of Europe, except for Constantinople and Córdoba, the population size can be more than 100,000, and other famous cities such as Rome and Paris are now only 1-20,000 people, which is the level of county towns in the East.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, many of the large cities built by the Roman Empire were now in ruins and rebuilt in the late Middle Ages.

Therefore, in the face of a burger with only more than 5,000 people, El did not dare to be careless.

Even if he was angry again, he knew very well that with the other party's defense, it would be almost impossible to attack the heavily guarded Hamburg with his army.

Judging by the comparison of strength between the two sides, it is already rare that the Count of Hamburg did not come out with an army to beat El.

This time, Elco only brought 500 Franconian cavalry and 2,000 servant troops into the Hamburg area, although it was claimed to be an army of 5,000, but the actual combat effectiveness was not necessarily stronger than the army of the Count of Hamburg.

If it weren't for the Count of Hamburg's fears that Otto's army might appear at any time, El would not have been able to observe outside Hamburg so leisurely, and perhaps a cavalry would have rushed out of Hamburg City long ago.

"Young Master Er, since there is nothing to gain here, the rest of the castles have been prepared, and it is not cost-effective to fight.

Let's go back to Bremen first and join Master Otto. ”

The Knight of Gore was in charge of protecting El this time, and now he was following El to persuade him.

"Not only did I not plunder enough resources, but I lost a lot of soldiers, so I'll go back, how can I explain to my brother!"

El glanced at Knight Gore dissatisfied, and asked indignantly.

"But the Saxons here are clearly prepared, and we must not attack those castles, and the losses will be even greater.

Besides, Young Master El, after all, you are on the battlefield for the first time, and you have not suffered any defeats, and Master Otto will not blame you. ”

Knight Gore continued to persuade.

"No way!" El didn't listen at all. "My brother Otto was able to defeat several times his Bernese army on the first battlefield, and if I went back like this, wouldn't it be a shame for my brother?

No, we can't go back like this! ”

A wry smile appeared on the face of the Knight Gore, and he was also personally present at the "Battle of Oberbip" that clashed with the Bernese Commander, so he didn't know how he won it at that time.

When Otto took out the crossbow, when the opponent miscalculated the power of the crossbow and did not prepare a strong shield, the outcome of the battle was already doomed.

It's just that he also knows that it is difficult to persuade El to give up his career with this idea.

El's age is the age of ignorance and enthusiasm, and he himself has come from this age, so he doesn't know what El is thinking.

But the problem is that he can't watch El's head and take this little army in his hand to attack the city and give away people's heads.

Although it is not the army of the Habsburgs, it will not be too distressed, but the sword on the battlefield is not long-sighted, and if El is allowed to have some strengths and weaknesses, then there is really no way to explain to Young Master Otto when he goes back.

Just as the Knight of Gore was racking his brains to think about how to persuade El to give up the foolish idea of attacking the fortified castle, he heard El's new words.

"Pass the order, assemble the whole army, bypass Hamburg, and continue north!"

Knight Gore was a little dumbfounded, but he was not a military idiot, how could he not understand what El wanted to do, and immediately persuaded.

"Young Master El, the order given to us by Young Master Otto is only to gather with him after looting Hamburg, and only let us loot in the Hamburg area."

But obviously, El had already thought of his words and looked at the other party enthusiastically.

"Knight Gore! Why did my brother let us plunder everywhere, one is to get more soldiers and attack Bremen. The second is to eliminate the ability of the Saxons to resist.

Now that the Hamburg area is on guard, it would be nice to change the area, and there are still quite a few Saxon settlements north of Hamburg.

As long as we destroy these settlements, our brother's purpose will be achieved.

Knight Gore, you don't want us to return in vain. ”

I have to admit that El's thinking was right, and the Knight Gore almost agreed directly at this moment.

However, it is quite dangerous to continue north without taking control of the Hamburg area, and to go deep alone.

The reason why Otto can look "lone in the depth" is because Werner is behind to wipe his ass, and Otto's own military is strong enough and still getting stronger.

But if he and El attack north, who will wipe their butts, they can't count on Otto.

The military strength in Otto's hands must be left to attack Bremen.

Not to mention the strategic significance of a city like Bremen, the wealth that the Church has accumulated over the years alone is enough to make many people tempted.

If, because of him and El, Otto was unable to take Bremen by splitting his forces to cover them, the Knight of Gore felt that his future was over.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Knight Gore shook his head decisively.

"No, Young Master El, Young Master Otto's order is not like this......"

"Now, the commander of this force is me, not my brother Otto!" El was also a little dissatisfied.

"Since my brother has given me the command, then I have the authority to command this army, and don't use my brother's orders as an excuse.

Now, Knight Gore, obey the command and order the whole army to assemble and continue north.

Do you understand? Gore Knights? Do you want to disobey military orders? ”

Knight Gore looked at El and saw that the opponent's hands were pressed on his sword, and he was helpless.

If he doesn't agree, it is estimated that the young master in front of him may really cut him directly.

So what else can I do, I can only agree.

I knew that I wouldn't come, no wonder when I said that I came to protect Young Master Er, those people hid far away one by one, and in the end, when it was their turn, they felt that they had picked up a bargain.

It may not be a wrong choice to have a good relationship with Young Master Er.

Now it seems that I am still too naïve, and this is really not a good errand.

"Yes, Young Master El, obey your orders!" Gore replied with some weakness.

Hearing that Knight Gore agreed, El also followed in a much lighter tone.

"Don't worry, those Saxons would never have imagined that we would dare to go north, and they would definitely be caught off guard, maybe this time you and I can really make a great contribution!"

Meritorious?

The corners of Knight Gore's mouth twitched, I hope so.