Rise of Rurik

Chapter 593 When Rurik marched into the mouth of the Uz River, Ernred and Wigraf stared at each other

The combined forces of Balmerk and Ross sacked Bamburgh a year ago, and a group of local female prisoners have been pulled to Narvik Fjord.

Bamburgh Castle and the surrounding area were destroyed, and the people fled, so that Northumbria recaptured Bamburgh after seeing the departure of the Viking army. The reconstruction work was like a snail crawling due to the lack of manpower.

The vast majority of the population fled to Jeverin, a military fort named after the javelin, which was in the hands of the kingdom's army. People naturally believe that the military here will keep them safe, and that's true, but that's about it.

Because, now this military fortress is resisting the harassment of the Picts going south. When it was learned that the Viking army who entered the invaders was stronger than last year, it simply came to a comprehensive defense to preserve its strength.

Rurik and the others didn't know about it, and they didn't even know that the military fort was only about thirty kilometers west of their camp.

At night, most of the soldiers of the Viking coalition army built sheds to sleep in the ruins of the city.

The two-kilometre distance from the beach to Bamburgh is full of bonfires.

The soldiers caught the horses that the craftsmen were pulling the materials, but the belly was full of oil and water, so the Balmerk soldiers directly killed the horses and roasted the horse meat.

The Rus people in the nearby waters actually caught a batch of herring. Although the number was small, everyone could pamper their stomachs.

The coalition was not short of rations, and for this battle Rurik's fleet was carrying a large amount of wheat. He would not provide wheat to his allies, and the existing oatmeal could only feed his thousand men a pound a day for a month.

Will there be a food crisis? Once the main coalition forces arrive, the fishery resources in the waters near Bamburg will be plundered immediately.

This is the North Sea, where fishery resources have always been abundant.

But anyone who has eaten wheat will fall in love with the wonderful taste. In this barren and unexplored era, who would refuse high-carbohydrate food?

Rurik didn't live in the city, he just couldn't stand the rubble, and he knew that a huge construction site couldn't get any oil.

He ordered the Rus army to camp outside the city, cook fish and cook porridge.

He spent the night in the tent, but the next morning, a cool breeze penetrated into the shed.

"Damn, is it raining? Britain is really Britain!"

Rurik put on his clothes and stood outside, sighing at the haze and the suddenly cold weather.

The rain started at about noon, and it was the light rain that made the world muddy and brought a sense of desolation.

In Baibanbao, there are a lot of houses and barracks that have experienced the war. The coalition forces just built some wooden slats, and then piled rags and green grass on top of them. The houses that sheltered from the wind and rain were considered good.

Especially the Balmers, they all know that their clansmen will move here on a large scale. The brothers are a group of explorers, and they should carefully examine the area of ​​this generation, exploring the fields and pastures.

Everyone had to hide, hide in shabby houses and set fire to the fire, and then listen to the sound of the rain outside and hope that the rain would end as soon as possible.

The rain lasted for three days. It was only a cloudy rain, but the sea was relatively calm.

When the haze is over, the sun also lazily burrows out of the clouds.

The warriors who were about to be suffocated left the shack one after another, left Bamburgh Benburg, and went to survey the surrounding area with swords, spears, bows and arrows.

Because, there are Balmerk warriors standing at the head of the ruined city, and they can see the village in the distance under the sun.

"Go! Go to the village over there! Grab the cattle and sheep, the wheat, and their women!"

The city of Bamburg was suddenly lively and lively, and the Biyonni brothers also followed the enthusiasm of the brothers. They first told Rurik what he thought, and then took all the Balmer brothers to explore.

"Go! Go... I guess you won't get anything." Standing on the muddy grass, Rurik looked at their backs and sighed regretfully.

"How do you see it?" Yevro asked, "Maybe our army has to scavenge for some loot.

"

"Forget it. The villagers have already escaped cleanly, let's go..." Rurik shook his head, "Go and see the surrounding fields, there may be some wheat to eat."

Rurik didn't have much thought about harvesting wheat, and it was true.

I saw a lot of hanging oat ears among the many weeds, and they were all withered and yellowed.

Yevro took his people to the idea of ​​harvesting immediately, "My lord, at least we can get some supplies."

"These wheat are not edible."

"How can you see it?"

"It's all germinated." Rurik shook his head, grabbed the ear of wheat and kneaded it, but saw that the wheat was not germinated, but had mildew spots on the grain.

"Damn it! Some of the wheat grains are broken. This is all abandoned farmland. Don't imagine it."

Yevro sighed, "It seems that it's all because we killed too many of them last year."

Biyongni and his men had nothing to gain, and the thatched huts in those villages were also unpopular, and they were simply abandoned.

When Biyonny came back, he saw Rurik and shouted, "This is no longer a place of wealth. It seems that we have to build it from scratch."

"That's a good thing, too. At least those Northumbrian farmers won't be fighting you for farmland."

"But the brothers are still hungry for gold and silver, looks like we'll have to go to York early. So, do we really know the way?"

"What's so difficult about this?" Rurik shrugged. "We can get there along the forest road, but our advantage is the navy. Paul, who I captured, knew where York was in the river, and our army went upstream to the city."

"Then act now! Leave some people to build the landing field, I don't want to wait for my father anymore."

"It doesn't matter. Just wait for them. I want to fight this battle slowly and steadily, and I must completely surrender Northumbria in the first battle, so as to save the troubles in the future."

He couldn't beat his smart brother-in-law more than Jonny, and his army still needed the Ross Army's battleships to transport troops for the time being, so he really had to obey Rurik's orders.

The elite vanguard of the coalition forces is dormant in Bamburgh, and this wait is a full seven days!

Finally, the four sailing destroyers trawling on the sea saw the approaching fleet, and they finally arrived after so long, but the soldiers on the ship continued to criticize.

King Magnut of the Balmers is here. The leader brought his slow-moving army of 2,500 people. The road was bumpy and rainy. After all, it was Without encountering a storm, the army dragged its exhausted body and finally arrived at Bamburgh.

When the new arrivals landed, they fell asleep, and when Magnut learned of the current state of Bamburgh, he was really disappointed.

Temporary wooden beams were installed in the old house of the Earl of Bamburgh, but the monastery has collapsed, and everyone can only accommodate this small place to make a big deal.

Everyone has no shortage of food, and everyone can last a long time by chewing the jerky hard.

But the army longed to know of meat and wheat, and it was best that the king of Northumbria provided a group of women to keep everyone happy.

The savage people, although they are exhausted, look at the bonfire and all eyes are like a fire.

Magnute introduced what happened to his main force, and he couldn't wait to tell his son, son-in-law, and many brave soldiers in the army, all the family leaders' urgency.

"I'm going to set off tomorrow. The brothers go ashore and rest for the night. Tomorrow they will take the sea to York. Rurik, you know entering York's waterways."

Everyone's eyes were focused on Rurik, and he nodded, "Indeed. As long as we find the mouth of the river, we will go upstream. In fact, we can attack York long ago, father, I am waiting for you."

Magnut enjoyed the feeling of Rurik calling his father, and was moved by the fact that he gave himself the honor of attacking York.

He thought about it and asked again, "Since you can, there must be a reason to wait for me."

"Yes, because it was an attack on inland rivers. Our Ross fleet is adapted to naval battles, and inland river navigation is not as good as traditional long ships. York is their capital, and we must be cautious. We must gather at least three thousand main forces, so that we can win the victory. ."

Magnut nodded, and the village chiefs had no objection.

They quickly made a decision, that is, the Balmerk army divided 1,000 people to guard the Bamburgh landing site, and the remaining 3,000 troops set off to attack York at noon the next day.

This night, the exhausted army slept deeply, and when they woke up, many people found that it was almost noon.

The order was for the absolute army to board the ship again, but the time and the delay reached the afternoon.

The size of the coalition was reduced, but the 3,000-strong army remained a formidable and dangerous force in Britain.

How powerful is this? Even the strongest Wessex Kingdom, although their population is close to 500,000 people, due to the sloppy conscription system and military system, they can assemble a maximum of 10,000 troops within a month, mainly farmers.

Although the Vikings who landed were not professional soldiers, at least Rurik had allowed his Rus men to live a military life for many years, and they had become bloody veterans in many years of war...

This battle gave Rurik a sense of slaughtering a chicken with a bull's knife, fearing that if he used too much force, Northumbria would be directly subjugated.

But that's not a bad thing either. If it really destroys the country, it would be enough to support another puppet king.

Thinking about it this way, if the coalition did not sack York, it would be too sorry for the Balmers and their brothers in the Ross Expedition who had been sailing for more than half a month.

Huge coalition forces thirsting for wealth, power and a better future are clinging south along the coast, trying to find the mouth of the Ouse River to York.

Magnut thought too much than Rurik thought. Along the way, he felt more and more that his army was invincible. Why should Northumbria cede territory and pay tribute? It is better to replace it yourself, destroy the royal family of Northumbria, and be the king yourself.

Rurik also noticed the sudden outburst of ambition of this old guy. Can his father-in-law succeed?

I am afraid there is no problem with success. The sudden landing of this army of 4,000 people, the strong military force firmly controls a piece of land, and establishes a kingdom of Vikings and then Magnut is king. As long as he wants, he can. Easy to do.

In northern Britain in AD 833, the meandering River Ouse was not yet the waterway structure of a thousand years later.

The ancient riverbed that dried up and turned into farmland still flows quietly on it. York is not the York of a thousand years from now, it sits next to the current Ouse River on its left bank.

York, the capital of a country, seems to be a very safe place.

The people lived their lives year after year, around the farmers who lived in this small city, who had just finished this year's oat harvest and had just finished husking the grain with flails.

They paid the king's tax for this year, and the tax for the next year and the year after!

This was true of the people near York, and the same was true of the people who lived in other noble lands, and even paid heavier taxes.

All because of the defeat near Lindisfarne last year, and the disasters in Edinburgh and Bamburgh. The kingdom was facing a huge war crisis, and the military expenses suddenly skyrocketed, and King Ernred had to step up to exploit his people.

The army of the kingdom paid blood and ushered in a sudden defeat, and the king also broke an arm.

The news that was not good for the kingdom immediately spread throughout the island. Even if the kingdoms began to invade and loot various Vikings, big and small, it was naturally more troublesome to deal with the Vikings, but in the severely damaged Northumbria region Cut the flesh, and some kingdoms have already begun to act.

Even the interior of Northumbria is undercurrent, and the young great noble Osbot is eager to move, but he is smart. In this special period, he focuses on the overall situation, and uses the Javelin town Yeweiling as a stronghold in the north. , desperately to absorb the fleeing farmers, secretly expanding his power.

All this, how could Ainred, the king of the broken arm, not know it?

But the situation in the kingdom was so precarious that not long after the Vikings left, the Picts of Socra began to head south again. If there is no resistance from the Osbot family, I am afraid that the north of the kingdom will be directly lost. The so-called York is the Picts. Special kingdom.

Northumbria was originally a merger of two kingdoms, and Osbot, as a descendant of the royal family of another kingdom, was also eligible to compete for the throne of Northumbria.

Ernred is the real king, and the legitimacy of the family's rule has been approved by the Pope of Rome, not to mention the real reason why he holds the kingship is the army in his hand.

Now, the King of Mercia, Wigraf, has restored Mercia for three years, but the kingdom's army is still strong.

In the past few years, the East Anglia Kingdom, which was annexed by Mercia, has rebelled. The old king fought and died in battle, and the new king fought again and died. Mercia, whose military strength suffered a major blow, was suddenly attacked by the Kingdom of Wessex!

The world in the north is really not peaceful!

In 830 AD, the bathing king of Wessex, Egbert, attacked the north in an all-round way.

At the same time, the king of Northumbria, Ernred, who still had a healthy arm, and the king of bathing, who supported Wessex, were the supreme venerables, and East Anglia also hoped to be sheltered by the act of surrender. Only the group of Romanized Britons from the Roman era in Wales, their resolute resistance attracted the king of the bath to go to the army.

Wiggraf, the submissive who seized the opportunity, immediately restored his old Mercia clan, and also used this feat to secure his kingship.

The Bath King did not conquer Wales, and Ayn Reid of Northumbria no longer respected the Bath King as the supreme.

The nominal unity of England lasted only one year! By 831 AD it was almost back to the old ways.

It was in this year that an unprecedented war broke out in the Baltic world. Although the new Sweden lost to Denmark, it was born from the Rus in Sweden. This war greatly expanded its power, and its rise was already unstoppable.

How does the power struggle in the Baltic relate to the game of power on the big island of Britain?

Ernred never dreamed that his kingdom would soon be conquered by the Viking army, especially the Viking army led by the Rus. However, what makes him uncomfortable now is that the neighboring country is claiming territory from him, and the so-called land must be returned to Mercia.

Rurik's fleet has rushed to the big bay at the mouth of the wide Ouse River. It is so wide and so easy to distinguish. The fleet set off at noon that day. Although the speed of the entire fleet was a bit slow, it still arrived at the bay on the morning of the third day. The next step is to rush into the Ouse River to force York and attack the city.

The terrifying news of the invasion of the Viking army and the spearhead directed at York has been sent to the country of York with the Earl of New Bamburgh, who was galloping on horseback.

The whole city was in a panic, and the surrounding farmers immediately rushed to the capital with their families and their families to take refuge.

York has become a huge refugee camp, the only benefit is that the country can mobilize a large number of farmers to arm, at least they will fight for the kingdom to protect their wives and children.

There is still great hope for people to hold on to the country with its tall stone walls. If His Excellency the King returns with the army from the south, they should be able to repel the invading Vikings.

So, where is Ernred with the broken arm?

A number of messengers ran wild on horseback, and their destination was only one - the village of Dole (Sheffield) in the south.

Because the main force of the kingdom's army, more than 2,000 elite infantrymen, 200 cavalrymen, and more than 3,000 armed peasants who were recruited just after harvesting the wheat were stationed there. Confrontation with the Mercian king Wigraf, who claims Northumbrian territory. This army is almost the last elite of the entire Northumbria, and it is also the biggest trump card for Ernred, who has broken his arm.

But Mercia is not false. Since the other party has put up an army of 5,000 people, the King of Mercia, Wigraf, has also quickly entangled an army of the same size.

The war between the two kings seems to be on the verge of breaking out, but now, both sides have begun to plan that once the battle is decisive, the bath-loving Eberret of Wessex will be directly fulfilled.

It's just that everyone is a powerful person, and the two sides have negotiated, but whoever retreats first will admit that he is a coward.

How does Ernred with a broken arm have to withdraw first? He broke an arm so badly, he had to use tough means to maintain his power, that is, like a nail in the Dole Village barracks, like an eagle, hoping to make the opposite Wigraf bored and force him to withdraw. .

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