Rise of Rurik

The day of the expedition was set on the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the Julian calendar.

Gotland was attacked at the end of April, and it took the Danes just over two weeks to react violently.

On the day of the expedition, the weather cannot be said to be very good.

In the early morning, the foggy world made young Ragnar feel an inexplicable worry about future operations.

"If today is a sunny day, our war will definitely be won." Standing at the door of his tent, he couldn't help muttering.

"My lord, we will win," echoed one of his close subordinates.

"Of course we will win, and we'll see what that leader will do in a while. Now order the brothers to get up, and we're ready to go."

The raids Ragnar knew were all long ships launching surprise attacks. All the warriors carried only a small amount of provisions. How to sleep and eat, almost all of them needed to be captured from the battlefield.

He didn't know the conditions of the Northern Alliance, and he learned from his father that the Northern Alliance and the Danish Alliance were not fundamentally different. It would be foolish to think that the enemy is a group of weaklings.

So this time, Ragnar made a little stockpile, which was unprecedented. As for the others, he really doesn't care.

In addition to the thick leather armor, he put on the most advanced riveted chain mail. The mail even protected his arms and even formed a skirt made of mail. In this way, he only needs to beware of the enemy's sledgehammer, and the combination of mail and leather armor can already isolate the damage from the sharp sword.

The army he commanded had about fifty people with ordinary chain mail, and the rest were all leather armor.

Even so, compared to the armies of other allies, although Commander Ragnar has a small number of troops, in terms of weapons and equipment, it can be said to be the top Nordic in this time and space.

Even the powerful Robard tribe with a large population, the leader of the alliance, Hafgen, wanted to show his illustrious martial arts, but he did not have the financial resources to equip all the gathered tribe warriors with excellent mail.

According to the latest order, commercial activities in a traditional commercial market near the beach of the Robard tribe have been suspended, and all merchants have moved to other places to set up their stalls.

In an instant, the field turned into a school field where soldiers gathered.

Allied tribes, Oslo mercenaries, and local soldiers from Robard, after an early morning meal, poured into this sturdy sand and gravel field that had been trampled by thousands of people. .

Because, before the expedition, a sacrifice is required.

Five pillars were erected on a temporary plinth made of stones, and Ragnar understood the trick of the leader when he saw them.

While more than 2,000 people were anxiously waiting, the leader of the alliance, Havgen, who was dressed in military uniform and arrogant, finally came.

"This guy is long overdue. He thinks he's the leader and can do whatever he wants. If we unite, the power of the Robards will be gone."

"Shut up, my brother." Ragnar tilted his head and scolded his cronies: "Look what that guy will do."

Ragnar took off his helmet that could cover his entire face, in order to better see what the leader was doing.

The five people I saw with ragged clothes and their hands tied were escorted by a group of samurai to the altar, and then, these five people were tied to the pillar with ropes.

At this time, Hafgen stood on the altar with his chin held high and his hands outstretched.

Beside him, a group of priests in black burqas also began to chant unintelligible incantations.

Without Hafgen talking nonsense, his clansmen shouted his name in anger.

Even with the clansmen who were watching, Ragnar heard all the warm calls.

The roar grew louder as Hafgen drew his sword.

And when his sword was pointed down, the cheering crowd quickly quieted down.

This situation really touched Ragnar deeply. "Ah, I can't believe that you, this guy, has already controlled the warriors to such a degree?!"

Indeed, the young people of the Robard tribe highly admired their leader, the man who killed all his competitors to gain the leader's throne.

Hafgen, with his sword, walked into the five men, bound by ropes, shivering in the cool morning wind.

Specifically, the bound people were all Picts, natives captured by the Norwegians from Scotland, who had been turned into slaves of the Robard tribe several times.

Today, Hafgen is to use human sacrifices to make a wish to God for a great victory.

He had no identity, he held his sword high and shouted with all his might: "Brothers, fight! Attack the North! Take everything you plunder! Destroy those wicked people, for the shame of our alliance, revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"

With him taking the lead, almost everyone was moved by the violent atmosphere and shouted "revenge" one by one.

In this atmosphere, Hafgen personally beheaded the five slaves one by one.

And this crazy process is enough to drive the gathered warriors of all tribes into madness.

Including Ragnar's followers, they also began to roar spontaneously. From Ragnar's point of view, it seems that his own people have been bewitched by that guy.

"You don't plan to attack Meralenburg in the north, you just want to vent your anger on some small clans. For the purpose of this battle, you should use human sacrifices? Not only did you do it, but you also used five people! Why, you are expressing your clan Are you rich?"

Ragnar felt that the leader of the alliance had not yet won the victory, but he was already a very happy guy.

Just like that, Hafgen held a bleeding head and issued a bloodthirsty order: "Brothers! Let's go!"

With an order, the Danish army, which had been aroused by the desire to fight, rushed to the warship they moored on the beach.

Hafgen's force was as high as 2,110, and all the ships together were close to a hundred.

Even some daring businessmen decided to row their merchant ships to follow this huge fleet. In this way, when they fail to catch a batch of slaves, they can quickly buy them. At the same time, the army needs some supplies such as food, and it can also be sold to them quickly.

In the end, the 120 ships lit their sails, and under the warm south wind, and then with the help of paddles, they moved fast towards the north.

Who is the target of the attack? Ragnar didn't know until now.

A small goal? It must not be that Meralen clan.

The huge Danish fleet had to join forces with another of their allies before landing on a target.

When night fell, the fleet floated on the sea, and everyone relied on the boat to sleep all night.

On May 16, they successfully encountered the Gotland ships in the sea.

After a simple negotiation, in the afternoon, as many as thirty warships joined the Danish army.

After all, this is also a battle of revenge for the Gotlanders, and nearly a thousand people have joined it.

Since the attack, the ties of the families in the north of the island have become extremely close.

With the addition of new allies, the leader of the alliance, Hafgen, basically understood the attack on the Gotlanders, and learned that the attackers were the northern Rus. He also learned that in the past, he only sent business with the Gotlanders. He never imagined that the war between Gotland and the Rus had never stopped.

Upon learning of these circumstances, Hafgen suddenly realized that he seemed to be pulled into the water by the Gotlanders.

The slogan of his expedition was to counter the provocation of the Northern Alliance. So far, who is the provocateur? About this, they Gotland are definitely not clean.

The army has left, and the rest is war! The war is not over yet, as the leader of the alliance, you can only try your best to create victory.

Right on the sea, the four boats came together, and the boards were attached to each other.

Seeing that there were three Gotland leaders, Hafgen asked bluntly: "Tell me, where is the nearest stronghold of the Northern Alliance?"

A white-bearded old man in mail, his big hand pointed directly to the northwest: "That's right there. There's a fjord there, and as far as we know, that's their stronghold."

"How many are they?"

"About...two thousand people. Or a little less."

"Two thousand people?" Hafgen couldn't help grabbing his beard, looking like he was thinking.

"Leader, are you sure? Are you them?" the old man asked tentatively.

"Have you ever fought against them?"

"Only their fishermen have fought. They are not strong, we are just worried that if we launch an attack, whether it will attract the Melaren people to send out in full force. Because the fjord is a bit close to the core of the Melaren people. "

"Are you afraid of them?" Hafgen's attitude was rather impatient.

"No! Great allies, we are just worried about complicating things. Because of the Rus, we are worried about them... The Rus are very strong. Just ten days ago, we encountered their fleet at sea and we lost a hundred Many people."

The Danish tribes living in Jutland and the surrounding waters have never actually had a record of fighting against the Rus. From the current point of view, the Baltic Sea is a huge small world. Due to the factors of geography and geopolitical situation, the Danes will not enter the Gulf of Bothnia, and naturally they will not be able to bump into the Rus.

Also, even the Gotlanders don't know much about the Rus.

After an attack, Gotland's attitude toward the Rus suddenly changed, as if the attackers were terrifying.

Hafgen didn't care: "The Russ are very strong? That's why they didn't meet us!" He pointed to his fleet and the towering masts: "Have you ever seen such a huge Fleet? I tell you, this is only a small part of my fleet. I can raise an army that is beyond your comprehension, and I can take down the entire Northern Alliance."

Of course, there is a strong bragging element in it. Several Gotland leaders looked at each other and praised Hafgen's strength one after another.

Surrounded by them, Hafgen formally identified the spearhead of the attack - the Northern Alliance settlement in that fjord.

Within a short time, Hafgen dispatched messengers to inform the entire fleet of the goals of the army.

"A tribe with two thousand people? Conquer them?" Hearing this news, Ragnar's attitude suddenly changed.

From Ragnar's point of view, a tribe of 2,000 people is already very large, and it stands to reason that the other party can pull out a team of 800 people, or more! All men are warriors, and he firmly believes that the other party will organize a decent army and fight the Danish army well.

The destination of the Danish army was Blow Bay.

In the depths of this bay, there lives a tribe called Ostara.

The tribe belongs to the Siya tribe alliance, with a population of nearly 1,500 people.

I have to say that the geographical environment of Blow Bay is good, and it is suitable for being a harbor.

In the future, a city called Norrkoping will arise in this bay. The so-called "Köping" originally means "shopping place", which comes from the same Germanic word as shopping in modern English.

Trade will eventually bring prosperity to this fjord, and there will always be a city.

But now, the Ostara tribe living here is facing a disaster without warning.

The tribal fishermen are still fishing in Blow Bay, and all fishermen know that they must not go south except in the fjords to avoid sea conflict with the Gotlanders.

After more clansmen reclaimed a small amount of land, they drove their cattle and sheep to graze in the nearby area.

There are many tribes in this area doing the same thing as the Ostara tribe, that is, developing animal husbandry. It's just that those tribes live further west, with waterways connecting to the lakes of Buloh Bay. Their tribes are only a few hundred people, but the number of tribes is large.

Selling their livestock products to the Meralen tribes in the north is the main way these people make money.

But in the Gotaland Heights, where there are many lakes, there are not many grasslands suitable for grazing.

The Ostara tribe and the nearby tribes must always be on the lookout for the harassment of the landed Gotland herdsmen.

They are always on guard, and every household, and even every one, has its own weapon.

As Ragnar reckoned, the Ostarans didn't know the danger was coming, but they could indeed pull a team of at least five hundred.

Of course, the premise is that the Danes have issued the gauntlet and agreed on the place of the decisive battle, and Ostara has time to complete the assembly of the army.

Hafgen didn't have time to write a gauntlet to the Northern Alliance. Since the tactic adopted by the Rus was a surprise attack, then he should do the same.

No scouts, no formation.

Hafgen's so-called tactics means no tactics. First, the thousand Gotlanders who know the route will take the lead, followed by the Danish army.

One hundred and fifty boats can be described as mighty. Those fishermen who are fishing can see the menacing army coming from a distance, and are they still fishing? !

All the fishermen began to think about retreating in the depths of the bay, and behind them was the fleet in pursuit.

Before the fishermen reached the port, people on the shore saw the looming danger.

A terrifying thought appeared in the head of the tribe. The old man estimated that the visitor was not good, and he was afraid that a fierce battle would be inevitable.

There are still some tribesmen who are grazing, and some are logging in the nearby woods.

The Ostara tribe had no defenses, how could it be easier to call up an army at such an emergency?

Even so, the tribe is determined to risk the dignity of men and face the enemy in a desperate fight.

They will not retreat because they are men who believe in Odin.

Even if you can only organize a small group of people quickly, even if you can't make good preparations.

The threat of war did not allow them to prepare, and the enemy was already approaching the city.

The men skillfully put on leather armor, put on iron helmets, and removed round shields from wooden walls, as well as swords and axes.

Even many women are determined to guard their homes with their husbands. Their attitude is very firm, if they want to die, the husband and wife must also die in battle at the same time!