The cavalry launched a frontal breakthrough, and they charged forward with their swords raised. However, they saw the attackers gathered into a thin human wall, as if to block the breaking cavalry.
Without saying a word to the others, Ureko lined up on the wall and bumped into them.
It was at this critical moment that the people who organized the human wall finally felt fear. Many people could not dodge and were knocked over and trampled. The cavalry easily broke through their lines.
In this way, the cavalry turned back one after another, only to see that the spearmen were actually pursuing them. They were also shooting arrows, and the cavalry could feel the impact of arrows from the round shields on their backs.
"They are provoking! What should I do? I want to kill a few more."
"They are weak, so we turn back and attack."
This was a breakout situation, so the entire cavalry team led by two people immediately turned around.
The cautious Ureko's blood burst out, "Then do it! Avenge your dead brothers! Try to kill them with arrows!"
The horses stood still, and the cavalry fired arrows with recurve bows. When the attackers saw that the cavalry had stopped running, they rushed up with howls and screams, and were immediately caught off guard by the precise arrows.
The cavalry first shot the opponent's bow-wielder, and then shot again when the opponent began to drag away wounded soldiers. They deliberately shot the opponent's legs to create more wounded and weaken their fighting spirit.
"It's time! They are too weak. Let's charge again!" This time it was Ureco who took the lead.
Once they lost the momentum of a sneak attack, this group of larger but weaker people faced indiscriminate killings by cavalry, even though the number of cavalry was small. The armed militia faced professional soldiers, who were launching a one-sided counterattack.
However, the attackers suffered heavy casualties and did not disperse. They shouted "kill them" in Slavic and fled into the forest one after another without escaping.
The chaotic fighting lasted for a while, and the Ross cavalry was in a state of anger and love for fighting. At least Ureko felt that they could wipe out the attackers.
Suddenly, the sound of horns and the roar of leather drums were heard in the distance, and more shaggy-headed savages came out of the forest.
I wanted to complete the annihilation of the Seven Cavalry and was stunned on the spot.
Ureko Hengjian's eyes immediately turned bright, "Brothers, stop rushing! This is a trap!"
"Perhaps if we rush forward, we can kill fifty more." The killer with red eyes could not conceal his bloodlust.
"Stupid! Look how many people they have come out? It's time to withdraw."
The brothers looked at each other, and when they saw those guys attacking all the way, and arrows constantly falling in front of the cavalry, they all agreed with Ureco's proposition.
It's time to make a real breakthrough. If you don't run, you will be surrounded by about 200 people, and you won't be able to escape even if you want to.
The cavalry galloped away, and the seven men and ten horses lost almost all their loot and fled eastward along the flat ground between the gaps in the forest.
They turned around as they retreated. The group of savages in between were chasing after them like crazy wolves. Naturally, human feet could not outrun the horses in a short time.
The war horses were already a little tired after a chaotic battle. The cavalry had to crack their whips constantly, using up their horsepower to escape from the troubled place.
They have probably determined the identity of the attacker and why he is so crazy because of the river. But no one feels guilty. In this wild land, the winner always takes all. The brothers suffered a loss today, but they will have to make up for it in the future.
Seeing the cavalry gradually disappearing into the cover of the forest, the pursuers slowed down their pace, but the pursuit did not really end.
No force has ever carried out comprehensive killing and burning of Polotsk villages. The military arrangement of the big leader seems to be successful. The traces of the horse bandits are completely exposed. Even if the attack will cost a lot of people, they still have to fight hard.
The people of Polotsk actually saw the light of fire at night, and those with keen ears heard the low and neighing sounds of horses and realized that it could only be the enemy.
They immediately laid an ambush and deliberately launched a sneak attack when the morning fog rose. A team of fifty people was the first to discover the traces of the cavalry, and they sent people overnight to notify other teams to gather at the target as soon as possible. In fact, as many as three hundred people launched the attack.
However, they did not act at the same time. Although the team that launched the sneak attack first had the upper hand, it was ultimately defeated due to the unequal strength.
At least, the brothers killed three enemies and rescued four women.
"Are you our people? Polotsk?" Upon hearing the savior's native dialect, the four women burst into tears.
"Is it a woman from Duka Village? You are safe." People untied the women of the same race and tried their best to comfort their broken hearts.
The bodies of the three horse bandits were seized. Faced with the corpses whose bodies were riddled with holes and even their heads missing, the Polotsk people rushed forward like hungry wolves to destroy them. Finally, those who knew the overall situation rushed forward.
, kicked and pulled them to drive them away, and kept shouting: "Stop it! Take the corpse back and parade it through the streets! Show it to the big leader again. Go treat the injured quickly and clean up the battlefield."
The commotion was very loud, and many teams participating in the battle sent messengers back to the village to report the good news. The news gradually became distorted during the transmission, and when it reached the ears of the big leader Proclaw, it became a huge victory.
This middle-aged man was full of energy. He could tell the people gloriously that the revenge operation was successful. When he heard that the attacker's body had been seized, his beard trembled with excitement.
"Quick! Bring back the enemy's corpse and parade it through the streets! Exhibit it publicly!"
He gave this order, completely ignoring that his own losses in this counterattack were not small.
The pony pulled the wooden cart and rushed towards the battlefield not far away. A large group of people followed the horse team happily, hearing that the captured villagers were rescued and the refugees from Duka Village also moved forward.
The big leader must go there in person. He put on his best clothes and hung a Viking broad-bladed sword on his waist that he had obtained a long time ago. There was a chainmail armor hidden under the colorful striped gown, and the Viking style of Riga was imported on the top of his head.
The leather helmet is made of European leopard skin, with two wild goose feathers dyed with cinnabar inserted into the skin. The body is also covered with leopard skin.
Only a few warriors possessed chain mail, such as Proclaw and his bodyguard of less than ten men.
The big leader's gorgeous clothes could not hide the poor clothing of the armed militiamen. What showed their timidity was that many of them were barefoot. Because the soles of their feet had long been covered with thick calluses, they had become passive and accustomed to it.
Finally, after the guards dispersed the excited people, the chief saw the three "rotten bodies" that had just been dragged onto the carriage.
"Is this the horse bandit?" In this situation, he had to be a little suspicious.
Most of the warriors swore that these tall dead men were indeed horse bandits.
"You said these three people were horse bandits, and the horses you captured? That's really strange. Didn't you say there were at least twenty horse bandits, and you just killed three?"
This fact is so hidden that the warriors are embarrassed to say that they have not achieved a complete victory, and the leader has already understood this.
"So how much did we lose?"
Finally, someone cautiously replied: "Twenty people died, and more than ten people were injured. They...were all seriously injured."
Hearing this explanation, he felt as if he had been hit on the head by a stone, and the great leader's joy of victory suddenly disappeared. His face was extremely gloomy, and he did not expect that the battle would become such a rotten situation even though he had already had the opportunity for a sneak attack. The enemy was riding on horseback.
The horses fled, leaving only three corpses behind. The corpses were obviously damaged, and it was simply a cowardly act for his own tribe to vent their anger by destroying the corpses because they were unable to complete the pursuit.
However, what the general public received was the news of a complete victory. As the leader, Proclaw knew well not to damage everyone's morale.
He clapped his hands vigorously and put other matters aside.
"Listen up! Load the enemy's corpses and loot into the car, and follow me to the village for a parade."
Later, the heads of the three warriors of the Rus' cavalry were beheaded. Their bodies had been despised by the Polotsk people during the parade, and now their heads were standing on their altars with wooden sticks stuck in them. The bodies of the dead had become sacrifices.
Sacrifice. Sacrifice, only to sacrifice the innocent people who were killed by horse bandits.
It seems that the disaster has ended here. After all, there are many doubts about this matter. Fear of further horse bandits attacks in the future has frightened all the settlements near the east. The militia armed based on the current situation had to devote a lot of energy to setting up defense lines.
Patrols have been stepped up, and there are various signs that the situation is still brewing quietly.
As the big leader, Proclaw must change this deadlock. The most important thing is to determine the identity of the attacker. It must not be simply summarized by the term "horse bandit".
The four rescued female villagers finally gave a decisive explanation after their spirits stabilized.
The attackers were the Rus' people from the north. The Rus' people are a kind of Varangians! At the same time, the Varangians, the guys from Rus' and the guys from Riga most likely didn't know who was coming.
Are they really not from the same group? Because the enemy corpses have common characteristics, they all have golden and white hair, which is very different from the hair color of the Slavs and the Latvians in Riga. However, the hair color is the same as the Varyag people in Riga.
Even if the elites believe that there is a difference between the Rus and the Varangians of Riga, it is really difficult for ordinary people to distinguish between them.
Some rescued people also said such intriguing words: "Those Russians basically understand our language. The pronunciation is a bit strange but we can understand it. They claim that they want to transport us to the north to be slaves and give them many children."
It's really weird. The Russians only captured slaves to have children. If this was the only purpose, they could have obtained women through normal marriages. Why did they have to resort to violence?
The real elite has a strong enough determination on this issue. The big leader Proclaw feels that the matter is a hundred times more complicated than it appears on the surface.
What is very sad is that no one knows where the Russian horsemen came from. The opponent's stronghold should be in the north, and no one knows how far away it is from Polotsk.
There is one thing that can prove that Polotsk really encountered the same troubles as the Smolensk people in the southeast. There is a high probability that this matter really has nothing to do with those guys in Riga.
Polotsk belongs to the eastern branch of the Polish ethnic group, while Smolensk is a real East Slavic Krivi group, and it is relatively strong. There are differences in language and beliefs between the two sides, but fortunately they speak basically the same language.
Being able to communicate with each other ensures that we can keep in touch, and we have not been hostile to each other for a long time.
"I plan to organize a mission to Smolensk, bringing some leather as a gift, and then discuss with the local leaders about the Rusma bandits. If possible, we will try to unite with them. This will be very good for our future.
important……"
The clear-headed leader Proclaw realized that his tribe was facing a crisis, even though the people were still immersed in the joy of successful revenge.
Really successful revenge?! No. Just a self-paralyzing joy. Polotsk, which is not strong, needs to unite some allies to fight future threats, and it is not only Smolensk that needs to be contacted to promote the alliance.
, and the Drevlians who live on the edge of the huge swamp (Pripet Swamp) due south.
Planning for a new mission began immediately, but it took time. They believed that the time left for the Polotsk people was sufficient.
The entire Polotsk community was on unprecedented armed alert. They also blocked the West Dvina River waterway for the first time in history. Strong cables were stretched out on the relatively wide river surface, and canoes were connected end to end, blocking the river in a chain manner and cutting off traffic.
Sure enough, not long after the horse banditry incident subsided, a brown-haired Latvian came from Riga and passed by. The small flat-bottomed cargo ship was intercepted and the sailors were disarmed.
These Danish mercenaries hired by the Latvians almost started a fight with the interceptors, but finally surrendered under the pressure of their absolute superior strength.
They did not understand that in the past this group of Polotsk people would not have blocked the river to demand tribute.
The big leader Proclaw would not completely plunder the merchants' goods. He was willing to use sheepskins and cowhide to buy the salt trafficked by the merchants, and the price was naturally not high.
Although the Latvian businessman stomped his feet in anger, he heard this statement: "It is very dangerous for you to sell salt in Smolensk. Horse bandits are rampant in the local area, and there are even a large number of horse bandits in the upper reaches of the river. We set up water barriers out of kindness to protect you.
Otherwise you will be intercepted by them if you continue sailing, and everyone will die."
Horse bandits? It’s unbelievable. Although the theory of horse bandits has been spread in Riga, after all, no merchants were intercepted and killed in the past. It was the merchant ships passing through the section of the river controlled by the Polotsk people who would be stopped by the locals and demanded tribute.
Unfortunately, the river was completely blocked by the locals, and all personnel and materials were detained.
The leading businessman could not believe what the chief of Polotsk said, and shouted angrily: "Are you blocking the trade route to create a war? We will make money by selling salt, and we will not be the only ones who will be dissatisfied!"
Indeed, once dissatisfaction is caused, it will attract dissatisfaction from the tribes of Latvia, Semigalia, Courland, and Livonia.
It should be impossible for that group of guys to unite and form a coalition to attack Polotsk unless their financial resources are completely cut off. In the final analysis, if they want to transit their territory, they need to use several small rivers leading to the south in the upper reaches of the West Dvina River, especially
Ural River, a low-cost way to connect with Smolensk.
The road is not completely interrupted, and many merchants in the Riga area can stop in Polotsk and trade with the Drevlians by land.
Is this an insurmountable overland trade route? On the contrary, the road to the south is not far away. Merchants move through the gaps in the forest, and the fleet turns into a commercial horse fleet, directly arriving at the village of Drevlian community. Then from
Local people rent or buy canoes, follow the small river into the big river (referring to the Pripet River), and eventually do business directly with the Kiev community.
"It's all about business anyway, and who isn't? We are willing to buy your salt and support your southward trade, but we cannot continue to enter the upstream."
Even if they cannot have a bird's eye view of the entire Eastern European world, and even if commercial contacts have been very limited over the past hundred years, the Polotsk people have basically figured out the large groups living in all directions, the control areas, and the reasonable routes to get there.
People of various Baltic ethnic groups living near the Gulf of Riga also know about this. For Latvians in Riga, it is not a good idea to go to Drevlian in the south. The locals live in the swamp area.
, there are many mosquitoes in summer, and the people there are relatively poor.
Doing business should be done with rich guys. In the view of Latvian businessmen and Danish-Varyag mercenaries (and businessmen), the journey to do business with Smolensk people is not extreme, and the locals can also give more in kind.
Commodities, especially linen, honey and grain.
The attitude of the big leader Proclaw was extremely resolute, and he saw local men armed on a large scale. The businessmen even noticed that these guys who were good at collecting "tolls" in the past were really setting up defenses in the eastern region, and the rotten hair was on public display.
The skull of the horse bandit was exposed in black, and the situation had to be compromised.
All this was the overreaction after the attack in Polotsk.
The time is getting closer to the autumn harvest, the weather is gradually getting colder, and the rainfall is increasing. After the autumn harvest is the rainy season, and it is still summer. A thunderstorm and heavy rain will suddenly come and stop abruptly.
A large-scale rainfall process is going on in July.
When Polotsk completed the blockade of the river, the evacuated Ureko group of Russian cavalry were heading north with all their strength. They returned north with strong hatred and major exploration discoveries, dreaming of informing the nearest Austrians of the situation first.
Duchess Stara moved in to rescue the troops and launched a cavalry revenge. Then she presented the information to King Rurik, and finally the Russian army sent troops to conquer.
The only thing that made them happy was that their precious horses were not damaged. Seven men and ten horses braved the heavy rain to return, enduring the mud and sudden cold. Although the road was tortuous, at least the cavalry's armed expedition fully understood that the source of the Lovaj River came from two large lakes.
, the lake leads to two small rivers that join together to form the real Lovaj River. They took shelter in the forest, and both the people and the horses were patient. A thunderstorm broke out for a while, and the brothers regarded it as the wrath of the thunder god. Looking back on their situation,
A sense of frustration arose spontaneously, which in turn led to even greater anger. They shivered in the rain and encouraged each other: "We must take revenge."
When the rain subsided, the team continued northward along the river...