Rise of Rurik

Chapter 592 Rurik in Bamburgh

The goods brought by the Ross fleet were all in short supply for the Balmers.

The open-air market was crowded with people. Those big-headed people bought the best batch at the first time, and a considerable number of ordinary people also got it.

However, Rurik still underestimated their desire to buy. The sellout was imminent, and they were still holding their salt-filled pockets high.

In a small warehouse, a large number of oak barrels are full of white salt.

Rurik was invited in, and he dug the fluffy salt with his own hands and tasted it in his mouth.

"Look, it's really good salt." Magnut was quite proud, but he subconsciously stroked Rurik's golden ponytail from behind.

"Good salt indeed."

"Good hair too. Nice, feels like my daughter..."

"Let's talk about business." Rurik turned his head and demanded, "The army must be assembled as soon as possible, this time we must..."

Magnute then laughed: "I'll rush it now. This batch of 2,000 pounds of salt is yours. When are you going to ship it?"

"Then wait until the battle is over. We shall triumph."

"Alright."

Magnut didn't say much, and the two started their own work after leaving the warehouse.

The Ross army was making final preparations at the port, and the Balmers were also dispatching troops.

Rurik made up a very legitimate reason for this expedition, that is, the kingdom of Northumbria not only did not cede territory and paid tribute, but also dared to recruit troops to fight.

If those people are really like this, Rurik respects them as a group of men, but their failure is simply fate, even if the Ross Balmerk coalition does not come, the Danes from all walks of life have to be killed, and they can survive by ceding land and paying tribute. Perish quickly.

What day do you go out?

Rurik fixed the date on the twentieth of July. According to the experience of last year, the army can reach the eastern coast of Northumbria in ten days.

But wait, only large sailing warships can do this, traditional leading warships are not so fast.

Dividing the coalition forces into two parts may be the best choice. After some negotiation, the two sides will decide on the issue of the primary and secondary attack of the coalition forces in the early stage of the expedition.

The appointment date is today!

Glory belongs to the warriors of the expedition, and they are not stingy in advocating the spoils of this expedition and a new warm living space.

The youngest and strongest young man of the entire Balmerk tribe, armed with the best weapons, accepted the leadership of the leaders of various families and communities, and constituted this behemoth with a force of 3,000 people.

Balmerk is a huge Viking force of 25,000 people! It was the first time that they had assembled a force of this size, and they even had greater potential for war. There was no problem in recruiting 6,000 men to fight.

An altar of wood and stone was built in a rush, and hundreds of ships drifted in the bay.

The beach near the altar is full of battered Balmerk warriors.

They are the most traditional Viking warriors. Many wear iron helmets, and many have loose blond hair and braided beards. A group of young people even deliberately took off their leather jackets, revealing their hideous tattoos, thick chest hair, and strong muscles.

The majestic army was as high as 4,000 people, and there was a huge fleet on the sea. There were also a large number of fishermen watching and seeing off.

With such a grand occasion, Rurik felt that he could sweep the whole of Britain.

Nine reindeer, nine calves, nine sheep, and nine ponies were sacrifices, and the scale of the sacrifice was a first for Balmers.

Magnut rarely put on the battle robe, the chainmail, and the gold-trimmed leather helmet, and the whole person seemed to have regained his youth.

The blood of the sacrifice was immersed in the sea water, and the grand sacrifice ended in the shouts of tens of thousands of soldiers and people. Magnut raised his arms and started boarding!

The sun was rising, and the long ships were gradually filled with warriors carrying a large number of weapons. Each longship pulls another boat by rope,

It is also commonly equipped with tools for setting up tents, tools for logging and digging, and even a large net of hemp rope for fishing.

This is not just an expedition of the Balmers, but there are many people who do not plan to withdraw when they land.

They were determined to colonize, although York was the main direction of attack, but a large area centered on Bamburgh had to be the "new Balmerk".

On the mast of the great ship, the Balmerk, a white raven flag was flying.

Why does it represent the glory of Balmerk? Everyone called himself a warrior of Odin, and the soul should arrive in Valhalla after death. Magnut easily made a decision that everyone accepted, that is, mobilizing women to sew many raven flags.

The Balmerk will arrive at the east coast of Northumbria at a relatively slow speed with two hundred longships, and Magnut himself will be the commander of this fleet.

This is the main force of Balmerk but not the vanguard of the coalition. Rurik's fleet is rushing out of Narvik Harbor as the vanguard.

One thousand Russ troops and five hundred Balmerk elites led by Biyonni, their tactical goal was to rush to Bamburgh in Northumbria as soon as possible, and then immediately declare their permanent rule here, and wait until later. The main force from the rear arrived, and the main force of the army attacked York again.

They are Vikings, and as long as they have a successful sailing experience, they basically remember the route.

Magnut has no regrets about his slow troops, and he has been indulging in inextricable self-indulgence as he stands aboard the enormous Balmer, witnessing the multitude of longships guarding him.

The huge coalition army set off, and they saw off the elders of their hometown. They gradually left the harbor and entered the vast Atlantic Ocean with weapons, construction materials and a large amount of dried meat from their hometown.

As a pioneer, Rurik set the goal of establishing a stable landing ground first.

However, the strength of this team has already surpassed the last time. If Northumbria really suddenly killed three or four thousand people, it would be true.

The distance between the fleet and the subsequent main fleet of Balmerk became wider and wider. Biyonni stood at the stern of the Avlora and looked at his people from a distance, and couldn't help but feel regret.

It happened that Rurik was also standing there. He took off his helmet and complained: "We are too fast and they are too slow. If we can maintain a constant speed..."

"Want us to accommodate them?" Rurik muttered casually.

"No need. The best warriors in Balmerk are in my hands. Our brothers will control the landing ground first, and then we will start the big things."

Rurik didn't want to look at the boats behind him, so he went down the stern deck and wanted to go straight to the lounge, and said: "We should rest, the rest of the voyage will be very boring. Wait, even if we get the help of Fengshen, we will do our best. On the way, it will take ten days to arrive at the earliest.”

Rurik's words were true, and they were almost drifting across the western coast of Scandinavia, not continuing along the offshore waters for safety's sake.

Heading against the southwesterly wind, the Ross fleet moved against the wind, its huge jibs constantly adjusting.

But in the vast Atlantic, thunderstorms always come suddenly, even in warm seasons.

As the fleet approached Bergen, the sky began to rain, and a sudden northerly wind sent the temperature plummeting.

People hid in the cabins and let the boats sway in the big waves.

It seems that the sea area in this area will suddenly become violent? Or is this actually Odin's special love?

A large number of soldiers hid in the cabin to pray, and Rurik himself did not care. He believed that his large ship could quickly pass through the cloud and rain area.

After all, this is not the Atlantic waters of the Americas, and the most violent Atlantic hurricanes cannot reach such high latitudes as Britain, not to mention that the fleet is located off the coast of Norway.

This air flow from the North Pole brings rain to the entire Baltic Sea from Bergen to the east, including Novgorod. The first class, who had washed the ship clean with the rain, did a good job with the extra airtight measures, and the soldiers in the cabin still enjoyed drying.

Facing the North Wind Fleet rushing, everyone has no ability to consider the situation of the follow-up fleet, because the front is the so-called Gem Islands.

It was the second time that Rurik and Biyonny passed through the archipelago.

The Shetland Islands are here, and behold, there is a fishing boat floating in the distance.

The seven-day voyage finally saw land! People from various ships were clinging to the railings of the ships, discussing the archipelago, and the rhetoric of landing and looting also spread to Biyonni's ears.

"How's it going? The brothers have been suffocating these days, it's time for the sword to see blood." He encouraged Rurik.

Rurik just squinted a few times and waved his hand, "Forget it. A waste of our time."

"Since we don't attack, we will recruit soldiers from the island. They are no longer Bergen."

Rurik shook his head again and asked back, "Will you give those people the spoils of war?"

"This...I don't want to."

"Then leave them alone." Rurik pointed to the south, facing the blowing south wind, "We move on, with Scotland ahead, England ahead, Northumbria."

These terms are more familiar than Jonny. He is not interested in Scotland for the time being, mainly because he can't think of how much benefit he can get there.

The brothers long for gold and silver and women, and it is better to get a batch of wheat, because the Balmers are going to plant the fields themselves.

The fleet quickly entered the east coast of Scotland, and in just two and a half days passed the mouth of the River Teye.

The fleet did not enter this coast at all, and Rurik had no plans to go to Edinburgh, where the war was going quietly.

He even lost his thoughts about Lindisfarne Island, where the old monastery, where the monks and priests were all killed, and the beach was still an old battlefield.

Has the monastery been destroyed?

On the tenth day of the voyage, the Ross fleet quickly rushed to the ruined Lindisfarne Abbey.

It was abandoned, at least according to Rurik.

The white stone really blinked in the sun, and when I looked closely, there was still a touch of green on the broken wall.

Looking at the ruins of this strange building, the soldiers of the First Flag Team of the Ross Army who had killed here for the first time were amazed.

On the contrary, a group of Balmerk warriors got the opportunity and began to explain to the surrounding brothers that they were involved in the battle last year, and everyone destroyed this place.

In fact, Northumbria has not given up here. Lindisfarne Abbey is a holy place after all. Ernred, the king of the broken arm, is busy blocking the territorial claims of Mercia and Wessex. How can he have enough financial resources to recover? Build a monastery?

One point Rurik really guessed right. After Ernred was defeated last year, he first sent the unclean queen to the monastery in York City, and then he showed the iron bowl in front of the people.

Northumbria was indeed recruiting, and all farmers had to report to the local lord at critical moments.

He retrained the cavalry with a large amount of financial resources, and learned some experience from the battle against the Viking army. For example, he ordered the infantry to build a wall with a mandarin shield, and a centenary should advance and retreat together.

God knows if these reforms will stand up to the new Viking offensive, at least in the recent border conflict with Mercia.

Maybe the Vikings won't come this year?

The seaside has been calm for more than half a year. Although the restoration of the Edinburgh and Bamburgh strongholds has been extremely slow, there has been no more trouble.

Ernred felt lucky. He felt that coastal defense was not the most important thing. In fact, Southern Mercia still wanted to annex Northumbria, as it had happened in history.

But here comes the Vikings.

Why did Rurik and Magnut want to learn about the "Seven Kingdoms" in Britain? What does conquering them have to do with them?

Originally, the fleet had maintained a stable formation, but suddenly Rurik ordered the flagship Avrora to take the lead.

The sudden change in the flagship forced the other ships to follow suit, and the formation of the fleet turned into an arrow.

Everything changed for one reason, the Ross fleet arrived at the first battle of their expedition.

Rurik recognized this tiny bay, and behold, there were fishing boats running for their lives in the bay.

"It's so strange, I remember that Bamburgh has been destroyed by us." Rurik of the bow class was a little strange.

Biyonni patted his brother on the shoulder: "Brother Rurik, it seems that they are repairing this fortress. I guess this is a fierce battle that Odin gave us. This time our swords and spears should see blood."

"Okay, we're going to land." After that, Rurik said casually, "Prepare to dock! Prepare to release the boat! Um... Maybe I should prepare more boats."

This small bay has a relatively deep water level. Rurik already knew about the water level, so he dared to lead the fleet directly to the coast.

Near shore, the Avrora put down four small boats placed on the broadside and began to carry troops ashore. Due to the capacity of this small boat, transporting five or six people at a time is probably the limit.

However, the four sailing destroyers in the rear are more daring.

There was no high tide yet, and the destroyers hit the beach directly, and finally all of them deliberately ran aground near the shore. They are not afraid of running aground. When the tide is high, all the stranded ships have to float again, and anchoring is also necessary.

On the sail destroyer, one soldier after another jumped directly into the water, dripping with water close to his chest, and gradually walked ashore.

The whole process of landing was tedious due to the small number of boats he was carrying, and Rurik blamed himself for his negligence.

But these are not big problems.

It was almost evening, and Rurik had stood here for the second time.

Most of the soldiers of the first flag team were on the shore, and then they demanded that Bamburg be taken immediately, not caring about making a fire to dry them.

From the current landing site to the Bamburgh gate, the period is only equivalent to a maximum of three kilometers. Since this area has been developed by the locals, the original dense forest has been turned into a large number of farmland (almost all the farmland has been abandoned), and only a few clusters of woods exist. The soldiers who landed can clearly see the stone city not far away, which is the so-called Bamburgh Benburg.

Behold, Arik has held up his swords to the warriors with majesty.

Even though it was evening, there were at least 800 people who had landed. Without Arik's urging, Rurik had already launched an attack on Bamburgh with these brave warriors on hand.

Is Bamburgh now defended? Shouldn't it be! When Rurik landed, he felt very surprised. He couldn't feel the atmosphere of other people's activities here. Except for the sound of wind and waves and the noise of the army, the world was extremely quiet.

Bamburgh is just ahead, is it really a ruin under the sunset?

Do not! Someone is ahead!

Originally, Arik had assembled most of the soldiers of the first flag team, and Biyongni also brought more than 200 wet men.

They were on alert, lined up in a shield wall to attack the city.

Seeing that the brothers are in full swing, it will hurt morale if they are not decisive at this moment. Rurik suddenly drew his sword and pointed at Bamburgh, "Brothers! They must have abandoned this fortress! C'mon, we will occupy this place."

Under the watchful eyes of the public, Rurik was already leading the charge and walking alone with a sword. For fear that the gold master would have an accident, Yevluo hurriedly led fifty or sixty people to follow him.

Seeing this, Arik and the others had no intention of dawdling further.

The Viking army is here and they have launched a raid on Bamburgh!

The battle ends when the sun goes down, and it counts as a battle if it's a mini-conflict. As a result, a small group of craftsmen who had restored the fort was captured, and a Northumbrian centurion dressed in orange warrior suits who wanted to resist was frightened and began to flee after a little resistance. After the group was killed by a group of fighters, ten others were captured.

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Rurik stood here again, and the dilapidated scene made him extremely puzzled. Is Bamburgh really being rebuilt, with a collection of tools and lumber and stone to be worked on, and tents that are clearly craftsmen's dwellings. There is only a lack of life in the residential area, as if the flight of civilians since last year's attack was gone forever.

As the trembling grain officer Paul approached Rurik, he began to represent the Vikings, interrogating the captives who feared their imminent execution.

It's true that Arik and Biyonni, and even most of the warriors, didn't intend to stay alive, unless the captive was a woman.

They did capture two women. Just by looking at their clothes, they knew that they were only cooks. The wrinkles on their heads made the strong and young warriors really uninterested, but theoretically the cooks could cook fish for the brothers. .

Paul had completed the interrogation, and although the truth was revealed, it really made the Viking army eager to fight jump with anger.

Occupying Bamburgh for the second time with no casualties, the army encountered almost no resistance, so such a victory was nothing to be honored.

Arik sharpened his knife and said to his brother who was organizing mercenaries to set up tonight's camp: "Rurik, we can't be merciful this time, we must sacrifice Odin with blood. You know? Cowards don't deserve to live. A few were captured. Northumbrian warriors, they shall be put to death."

"No! It's still useful for us to keep the prisoners." For fear that his cousin would be rough, Rurik was also anxious.

"Be a slave? Maybe."

"Since they are building a fort, we should use it. After all, this is our territory in the future."

"Balmerk's here! I don't care. I just want to kill enemies and cowards." Arik chased after him.

"Just can't kill. Go! Look at the situation of the prisoners now."

Rurik was also worried that those Balmerks would do something, but what he feared still happened.

Because the cook did not understand the Norse language and screamed in panic, and refused to cooperate with the fish-cooking work, Balmerk soldiers killed him in a fit of rage.

The captured craftsmen then cursed the Vikings to hell in Saxon, which the Balmers did not understand but knew it was a curse.

Many craftsmen were killed, and more Balmers began to search for loot at the huge construction site, fantasizing about being able to dig out gold and silver from the cracks in the stone walls and broken wood.

In fact, many craftsmen and farmers who were recruited to work slipped away when they first saw a large number of ships. Even the newly promoted Earl of Bamburg and the distant nephew of Ernred also fled to York in a donkey cart. The captured craftsmen were caught not because of their integrity, but because of their slow runners.

Rurik stopped the angry Biyonni at the last minute, knowing he couldn't complain, and ordered the rest to be released.

"Why?" asked Biyonni. "Mercy?"

"No! To spread fear. Let them flee back to York and tell them we're coming."

"Is it necessary? I found that some people have already fled to the woods, and they will pass the message to that what? Oh, York." Biyonny's expression was telling Rurik that he didn't care.

"However, the newly released prisoner will tell the broken-arm king that our swords are going to pierce York. It is also a way of telling him to prepare gold, silver and women, and kneel at the gate of York to meet us."

Having said that, Biyongni thought about it too.

Rurik then found Paul and told the pardoned captives that the so-called Vikings not only came, but the next step was to attack York.

The freed captives fled overnight, and Bamburgh rejoined the Vikings.

However, Rurik soon discovered that what he got was a large construction site and a large number of abandoned fields. right! Just abandonment. The farmers nearby were either killed or fled in the war last year, and there will be ghosts here if there is still a good harvest!

On the other hand, there is an advantage that the people of Balmerk can immediately control the fields and plunder the fishery resources in the local sea area to prepare for the spring ploughing next year. The Bamburgh, which is being rebuilt, can quickly be turned into a new castle for the Vikings, and it is also everyone's first permanent stronghold in Britain.

Even Rurik thought of a very clear name for this future stronghold, but it has no special meaning. In short, it is the so-called "New Fortress", or "Newcastle" in other words.

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