Rise of Rurik

Ragnar's "Stonewall" tribe has never actually fought against the Rus, and they have no rivals in each other's memory. They are only guarding a hostile relationship in principle based on their past positions. Both once belonged to a large community that was hostile to each other, and now they are cut off from the past, so there is no reason to fight each other.

Ragnar successfully completed a peace transaction with the Rus army. He returned to his camp first, and immediately announced that he would merge with the Rus army to conquer Bremen City, and then invited more than 30 people to the Rus camp to get food.

Hunger was relieved immediately, and those who had been skeptical changed their attitudes immediately after eating the hard oatmeal provided by the Rus. It's not that this wheat cake is a delicacy, it's as hard as a stone and requires a little bit of grinding and chewing with your teeth, making it quite laborious to eat. But for so many days, everyone is essentially a bereaved dog, and no one has given any form of help when they are in distress.

It was the Rus who provided a number of key provisions.

The real Vikings always pay attention to the ease of brothers. When a man with great personal charm is present, a large number of people will come to defect. Therefore, a pirate who has made great achievements can quickly pull out a team.

Ragnar was very honest with his followers, and he did not hesitate to point out that the commander of the Rus army was named Arik Ogilsson, the cousin of the prince of Rus, and a slaughtering warrior. Nickname for "Double Swords". Even this life story of Arik is worth learning by the tribal people. The so-called juvenile biological father was killed, after years of secret training, he led a group of brothers to launch revenge to retaliate.

Ragnar is not advertising Arik, but using this deed to inspire the tribe, especially the last group of children in the tribe.

No one is really an idiot. The homeland was destroyed. The King of Denmark chose to backstab. These children can only grow up in humiliation, and their eyes are eager for revenge.

The Russ army came all the way to attack Bremen. The purpose was very clear, and they came prepared for this. Even the proud wooden fence of the city was despised by the Russ army.

Arik just heard a group of people cheering in the distance before falling asleep.

Lying in the shack, he covered half of his face with a leather hat, and muttered casually, "I hope you will eat the bread I give you, Danes, and fight tomorrow like a pack of hungry wolves."

Little did he know, the Danes were cheering for the war and for Arik, the commander of the coalition.

Why not cheer?

The Rus commander has made it clear that Rus is responsible for breaking the city wall, and the brothers of the Stonewall tribe swarmed from the gap,

The right to rob the first time. risk? Risk is shit! The brothers just want to succumb to the grievances they suffered a few months ago, and they want to take revenge on the Frankish nobles by killing with blood-drenched battle axes.

Ragnar even unilaterally discussed with his brothers, so-called after the city was broken, he would lead a hundred ruthless men to attack the residence of the nobles, kill all the living people he encountered, and then plunder the gold and silver.

In the early morning of the next day, the melodious horn sounded when the morning mist filled the river beach.

The Russ army rushed to cook this morning's delicious meal, and Arik even sent a cart that was unloaded from his clothes to the Ragnar camp with a load of food.

Yevlo was in charge of the escort, and when he saw Ragnar, who was smiling and grateful, he unceremoniously punched his chest.

The sudden move really startled Ragnar.

Yevro warned seriously: "Why laugh? Let your people eat quickly, and remember to be full this time. We will make the final voyage, and we will attack the city immediately when we arrive at our destination. You must maintain your physical strength at a critical moment. In the end, we will Will eat the wheat of the Franks in Bremen."

Hearing the words, Ragnar hurriedly accepted the heavy breakfast and repeated these words to the clan.

The coalition army had a good meal before the war, and when the fog gradually dissipated, most of the camping of the Ross army was soft and put back on. Soldiers boarded ships one after another, and the entire fleet was about to pull anchor.

This time, the Ross Army took a smarter approach and sailed against the current.

It was aid from Ragnar's department, and his fleet was supposed to go down the river, and now all the oars received the ropes dropped by the larger ships, to the stern protruding stakes of the oars longboats. Each ship was towed, and the fleet turned into a mixed fleet. The team of more than 900 people ran along the inland channel of the Weser River, zigzagging to the east.

A terrifying army is coming towards Bremen!

For the people in the city, although they are not aware of the looming enemy situation, they are already full of fear for the world beyond the city walls. Because tens of thousands of villagers have always lived their idyllic lives, most of them are actually Saxons, but after being conquered by the Frankish army for more than half a century, too many things have changed.

The villagers knew almost nothing about the past, and no one told them what the "barbarian duchy of Saxony" was. A role similar to that of a teacher is essentially the pastor in the village. The pastor preaches with scrawled manuscripts of the Gospels, so that the people feel that many stories in the Old and New Testaments are their history.

Obviously this is the northern border area of ​​the Frankish prince, and a large number of villagers do not know the existence of Denmark, but there is a vague concept of "Norman". There are almost only two major things in the life of the villagers, paying agricultural taxes to the lord and going to the monastery to worship.

It was not until the Norman fleet burned, killed and looted along the Weser River in 836 that they finally realized that the Satan described in the scriptures was real, and the Normans were Satan!

Therefore, the Count of Bremen rushed to increase the tax during the wheat harvest season. For the safety of their own lives, the villagers paid three more years of food tax, and some farmers who could not pay the arrears were recruited to join the Count. Army, to crusade against the Normans.

The Count led the soldiers from the territory to fight in the north, but the rear was ravaged by the Normans.

Bremen City was a medium-sized city in Western Europe by current standards in peacetime. Today, the city has squeezed in 10,000 people, and it has properly become a big city by the standards of the ninth century! The people of the villages of Shilibaxiang ran clean, they drove horses and carts, ox carts, carrying newly harvested wheat, and took refuge in an emergency.

The count was not in the city, and the lower-level nobles, especially the patrol captain who had arrested the blue fox, became the city defense commander.

The acting bishop of St. Peter's Church in Bremen held a surprise Mass, and actively mobilized the power of the priests to do a collective blessing for the city's guards. The "holy water" mixed with rose essential oil is dipped in a cypress branch, a symbol of nobility, and sprinkled with precision on every warrior, even the peasant warriors who are armed with only sharpened wooden sticks and bare feet are also blessed.

It is because of the huge loss in the first half of the year that now in August, the anger in the hearts of the people who hid in Bremen was finally awakened while they were frightened. As the saying goes, let them die and then live. Some farmers have awakened. After being blessed by holy water, they have something that must be guarded with their lives—faith.

Defending Bremen became a feat, even a feat that could be done at the end of the day.

Realistically speaking, their families and belongings have been evacuated to the city. The brutality of the Normans is too appalling. They must defend the city for their families and wealth.

Bremen is a riverside city, and now the pontoon bridge on the river has been completely demolished, and all the gates of the city are closed. A lot of debris was piled up behind the thick wooden door, and this operation turned the whole of Bremen into a huge turtle shell.

The city is already overcrowded, many refugees live in churches, and the city square has become a huge refugee camp.

Everyone was trapped in the city, and they believed that it was dangerous outside the city and dared not go in and out. Now it is impossible to go out under this situation. The peasants were restrained and they were happy to be safe now, while the stranded merchants just wanted to get out of the bad place early. Because of the endless robbery incidents in the city, the property of the merchants was plundered by the people in the city. Whether it was the Normans looting or the Bremen looting, it was a loss after all.

In a sense, the people of Bremen are keeping their own way, and they did not even wait in ambush outside the city in order to inform the city in case of a situation. There are relatively narrow corridors on the wooden city walls of the city, a group of soldiers are stationed for a long time, and more soldiers are stationed on the circular road under the city walls.

There are always archers on duty in the humble tower, but the entire Bremen garrison is only assembled. There are only more than a thousand defenders in name. Among them, the good warriors are more than a hundred people from the city patrol team. The rest There may be many people who have a passion for blood, but after all, they are still a group of rabble.

Because the Count of Bremen had already pulled all the troops who used to crusade the forest bandits to the north, the city was essentially plunged into a huge emptiness.

If Ragnar's clan warriors fight against the Bremen defenders in the wild, victory must belong to Ragnar.

Ragnar's eyes were opened by the tall wooden wall, and then he fell into a disgusting helplessness. He doesn't understand the technology of siege, and now he forms a coalition with Ross, and imagines that the Ross army can easily conquer the city wall.

So the actions of the Ross Army will be guaranteed?

The fleet sailed at a steady and slow pace, and on the flagship Salmon Chief, the main materials for the construction of the siege ram had been brought to the deck. The two large-scale hand-to-hand vehicles began to assemble the hulls. After the fleet docked, they would log on the spot. After the tree trunks lay on the trolley, the hard bronze punch could be installed.

They have been preparing all morning, not only the parts of the prefabricated punching car, but also the large amount of hemp rope stored in the box has been moved to the deck and unpacked. A batch of long ladders will also be bundled on the shore by surprise. As for the key wooden poles that constitute the long ladders, they have already been prepared, and they are attached to the starboard and starboard sides of the empty armed cargo ship.

The coalition forces set out early in the morning, and by noon, they had already seen the city walls of Bremen.

"That's the target!" Lanhu pointed out with strong excitement.

"Okay! I'll break down according to the landing point you said. I hope your information is very accurate."

"Accuracy is inevitable. It didn't take long for me to leave here." Blue Fox shouted for a while, his eyes like a torch, and he directly found Ragnar who was fortunate enough to stand on the Ross warship and walk with the Ross army.

"It's time for you to perform, Danes. You can kill as much as you want, but don't set fire to it."

"Why?" Ragnar asked in surprise.

"I'm afraid you will burn the wheat too."

"It doesn't matter, I won't destroy it myself until I loot the property. I just hope that what you have investigated for yourself is correct, and I don't want my people to die on the road of attack."

The Ross Army and the Ragnar Army assured each other that the fleet was still sailing, and Ragnar entered the longship along the rope ladder thrown by the big ship.

From the standpoint of the Melalen people, a fleet floating on the river suddenly appeared, and the guards who were so nervous were suddenly awakened. For a time, the city walls were filled with the roars and screams of men, who made noises in various ways. Until the bells of the church tower rang loudly, the whole city realized that the Norman army was coming again, and it was not good!

The patrol captain is now the city defense commander. He hurriedly climbed the wooden wall, leaned on the wooden railing to take a closer look, and immediately stomped his feet and cursed.

Then, he pretended to be calm and ordered his subordinates: "Let all the bow-bearers go upstairs! The people who went up put the earthen pots, wood blocks and stones under the city wall, go!"

After all, this is the ninth century AD, the so-called typical European medieval city defense project does not exist yet. The city defense commander was armed with rudimentary weapons, either shooting attackers with arrows or crushing those trying to climb the city walls with clay pots and rocks.

However, the Ross Army and them are not playing a game of chess.

The combined forces of Ross and Ragnar have landed at about three arrows. Although it is said to be the "land of three arrows", this distance is actually the maximum range of the torsion slingshot cast iron projectiles. In theory, the Ross army's formation at the landing site is enough to bring a burst of iron hail to the defenders. In fact, Arik was going to do just that.

"Quick! Unload all the slingshots on the port side, people under the boat, assemble the trolleys. You all hurry up and cut down the trees! We strive to finish the battle today..."

Arik gave orders with a hoarse voice, and those who landed were nervously prepared.

Ragnar looked curious at the nervous actions of the Rus, didn't he promise not to give the enemy a chance? The Rus actually fiddled with a lot of wood parts on the riverbank grass. But he soon understood and praised the Russ from the bottom of his heart.

The ten ships of the Ross fleet still had to get close to the city, at least to "a stone and a half", that is, the river a hundred paces away from the city wall. Only a handful of armed sailors on the ship were holding on, and they all held torsion slingshots on the starboard side for fire support in the event of an attack.

Looking at the land route, the coalition army took a little more than an hour to complete the formation under the fearful gaze of the Bremen military and civilians. In fact, as Vikings, the coalition forces can quickly put up a shield wall to advance. The reason why it took a lot of time is for the construction of siege weapons.

It has to be said that Blue Fox's adventurous investigation last year made great contributions to the coalition forces this year, such as the structural materials and height of the city walls, especially the structure of the city gates. These key information helped the coalition forces choose the most suitable siege weapons.

Thirty torsion slingshots were mounted on small carts each, along with a basket of cast-iron bullets, which could be pulled forward by a soldier. Auxiliary warriors carry some light javelins and specially made large arrows, which are actually another weapon for slingshots.

Eight long ladders were bundled up, and they were carried by Ragnar's people on their shoulders. At the same time, the construction trucks built with the original materials and the trees were cut down on the spot.

Ragnar's people were at the forefront of the battle, followed by the centurion of the Ross Army's capable first flag team, but they were divided into thirty groups to temporarily control the torsion slingshot. The composition of the remaining 200 or more Rus army soldiers who landed was more complicated, including Finns, Saaremaa, and even a few Slavs. The same is that they are all armed with crossbow or ash tree longbow, as many as 200 shooters are the best cover for the front-line siege troops.

Even relying on long-range weapons to directly destroy the will of the defenders to fight! After all, the Russ have experienced too many similar battles. Standing under the city and relying on the advantage of the weapon's range to shoot arrows, the Russ army has long been good at it.

This time Arik didn't even want to think about it, he was going to repeat the same trick!

As many as twenty Rus flags are flying, the Russ uniforms are uniform, and the Ragnar uniforms are still varied. The women and children of the non-combatants, especially Ragnar's two sons, were all placed at the landing site, saving the soldiers' worries.

On the other hand, the defenders could only watch the Norman army form an orderly formation. Seeing this, the defenders had given up their illusions, and thanks to the city wall supporting their confidence, they wouldn't be frightened by the sudden appearance of the army. But the city was full of grief, and rumors flew all over the sky in an instant. Helpless, the church rushed to hold a mass to pray for victory. This time, the already large St. Peter's Church directly poured into 2,000 people! A large number of people entered, which made the church overcrowded, just because everyone hoped that the power of faith could move the Lord, the so-called seraphs dropped fire and burned the Normans and Satan to ashes.

But it was the swish in the sky that responded to Bremen!

Then, like hail, strange dark shadows fell from the sky.

Those who were on call to help at any time in the city were smashed in the head and pierced through the chest. Many people began to cry, but at this time the arrow slammed down again.

At this moment, the city defense commander realized that the battle had begun. But how is this the Norman style? At the beginning, he was dizzy by being smashed by arrows and iron blocks from a long distance. Even Prince Ludwig's regular army could not do this kind of attack.

The commander had no choice. Facing the Norman army, which was advancing in an orderly manner with the shield wall, and the formation appeared to be extremely orderly, he could only grit his teeth and ordered the soldiers hiding in the east: "Don't run away, keep your posts! Smash them to death in a while!"

However, a cast iron bullet fired from a torsion slingshot smashed over. The city defense commander stood up and raised his sword to lead by example and called on the soldiers to stand firm. His entire head was cut off by this iron bullet!

The battlefield is full of coincidences, and the battlefield with arrows flying all over the place exposes itself to the possibility of quick death.

This is indeed a coincidence, but this once greedy patrol captain and today's city defense commander sacrificed his life for the city and died in battle as a soldier.

It is a pity that his death was seen by everyone, and the morale of the army collapsed! The defenders are destined to be unable to be twisted together, and are destined to fall into the dilemma of fighting each other...