The Princess of Kent suddenly fell from her horse. His followers braved the Danes' arrows to investigate, and were surprised to find that the Princess of Kent had lost consciousness.
Ragnar completed a beautiful sniper. He did not give the surprised enemy enough time to react. Knowing that the perfect fighter opportunity was at the moment, he issued the order.
He shook his fist at the enemies outside the city and shouted: "Brothers! Kill them!"
As a result, all the blocked doors were opened, which wasted a lot of time.
The unconscious princess was dragged to the Kentish formation, and the infantry and cavalry were forced to retreat within a stone's throw. The soldiers all saw the princess fall from her horse, and were worried about her fate and the outcome of the battle.
However, Unterberg, the eldest son of the princess who was in a nervous mood, put his fingers on his father's neck, and then retracted his fingers tremblingly.
"he died."
"Dead?! Sir, what should we do?" The princess's servants were completely at a loss.
Death came so suddenly. Unterberg looked at the Vikings who were about to leave the city to counterattack, and his confidence shrank back.
Fight? Or retreat? It's a choice.
"No retreat!" After some ideological struggle, Unterberg resolutely took over his father's sword and called to the soldiers around him: "Kentians! Prepare to fight!"
The sudden death of his father in battle was a very sad thing for his son. However, the Princess of Kent was also old. Unless he died, his eldest son could successfully inherit the title.
Unterberg understood that he would automatically inherit the title now, and he would be the new Lord of Kent! Although, this way of inheritance was not what he expected at all.
Ordinary soldiers still don't know what happened, but they at least saw Unterberg's high-profile meeting with the sword.
It seems that the adult was only slightly injured.
Kent is a county in Wessex, and the ruler holds the title of earl. Sooner or later, this noble status will fall on Unterberg, and the warriors are also happy to see that this younger man can lead the people to defeat the invading Vikings.
.
After all, this is not the first time that Kent has been attacked by Vikings. They have suffered many losses and have indeed been defeated many times. The soldiers will not be so frightened by the Vikings that they can't walk, but this time the situation is obviously different from the Vikings.
Different.
The Kent army formed its troops according to the old tradition, with all shield-bearers in front. Most of them were strong men from each village, and mixed with the most elite noble guards. The soldiers also basically wore chainmail armor.
Their square shields were stacked on top of each other to form a shield wall. This trick was learned from the Vikings who raided the coast in the past, but they did not have the huge round shields of the Vikings. They were more flexible and the shields they held were much smaller.
Behind them were a huge number of peasant soldiers wearing only civilian clothes. Many of them didn't even have shoes. Fortunately, this huge Romney swamp land didn't sting their feet, so fighting barefoot was not a problem.
As for Ragnar, he hopes that the enemy will arrange their array in order, because this will take a lot of time.
What the Danish army lacks is time!
Now, while their opponents are reorganizing their armies, many Danish soldiers have put on chainmail and iron helmets with huge nose guards, and some even put on chainmail face guards.
The debris blocking the door was cleared away, and people holding large bucklers began to leave the city. At the same time, brothers floating on the sea also landed one after another, and more and more Danish troops gathered.
What does it mean to learn war during war?!
After experiencing the war in 840, Ragnar is no longer the reckless man he used to be.
Although the first two rows still formed a shield wall of armor-clad warriors, he placed all the archers behind the formation. He tried his best to imitate the tactics of the Russians, and thanks to the cooperation of the Danish lords from Zealand, he was able to
Such an array begins to advance.
Swords and axes struck against shields, and the Danes advanced step by step.
The Kentish people tried their best to remain calm under Unterberg's command, but the poet trembled involuntarily due to the increasingly strong sense of oppression.
Under the helmet, Unterberg's face was trembling. He felt that even if he let his limited cavalry charge, it would not be able to shake the Vikings' tight shield wall.
Reason told him that this group of enemies was different from the Vikings of the past.
"Ah! Are they those guys from the north?!"
He thought of the so-called Viking Kingdom of York, but judging from the round shields of the enemies in front of him with various patterns and colors, they were completely different from those in the north.
Look carefully! They also fly a special flag, a white cloth with abstract bird patterns painted on it.
This is Ragnar's royal banner, the Raven Banner.
The presence of this flag means that King Ragnar is present. The flag advances, and the entire array follows.
Now the Kent army is still waiting for work, and only the Danish army continues to advance with uniform chants. In terms of strength alone, the Danish army at this moment has comrades in arms, but the Kent army can only see the enemy in front of them, not the enemy in depth.
Is there something else hidden?
"It's time to release the arrow! Shoot!"
Ragnar gave a verbal signal to the lord behind him, and the bow wielder who had already prepared began to launch into the air recklessly.
There was no rain of arrows, and the Danes simply could not achieve the density of firepower of the Russian army.
Even so, Ragnar gathered more than 300 warriors with their own bows and arrows for the expedition. They fired many bone cluster arrows, which was enough to open the eyes of the Kentish people.
In the past, no Western European force had ever used bows and arrows on a large scale in warfare. Even if they threw javelins, throwing knives and axes, they were not as versatile as bows and arrows.
The unarmored peasant soldiers were caught off guard. Many of them didn't even have shields. They only had hunting spears and long-handled scythes at hand. Unarmored, they could only instinctively raise their hands to resist, facing the enemy with their flesh and blood.
Arrow.
The throwing of inferior arrows will not kill people immediately. The injured person immediately feels the heartbreaking pain, and instantly loses the ability to fight and can only cover the wound and fall to the ground wailing. The Kent army, which has never experienced anything like this, quickly becomes confused. Even Antbo
The Gexiang organization collapsed, and those peasant soldiers, with the idea of running away if they could not be stopped, had abandoned their formation and fled to the rear.
"You all come back! Don't run away." Unterberg's shout had already been drowned in the screams of the people.
At the same time, the Danish army continued to advance with barrages accompanied by arrows.
Until, there is a close fight.
"Odin!" Ragnar opened his bloody mouth and shouted from the depths of his soul. The whole army seemed to have divine help. The Danish lords with their own thoughts led their own people to launch the final battle.
The fighting has begun!
Next, the battle turned into a contest of brute force.
Tactics means there is no tactics. Shields and shields are stuck together like glue. Whichever side is stronger and can break down the enemy's line will win.
The Kent army fought hard for a while, but eventually the front line collapsed due to the inferior strength and poor quality of the soldiers.
Fortunately, Unterberg had realized that his side could no longer hold out. He did not order the entire army to retreat, but only wanted to escape.
"Let's go..." He looked dazed and his lips trembled, warning the cavalry: "Take my father and go! Let's go quickly!"
Then some cavalry guards asked: "Sir, where are we going?"
"Go to Canterbury! Go to the defense!"
That's all, he really got on his horse and started to flee, abandoning his subordinates who were in the fierce battle.
Then when the Kent army, which was gradually falling into desperation, found that their commander had run away with the cavalry, their persistence became a joke. Their morale suddenly collapsed completely, and they were gradually wiped out by the surrounding Danes. Then the Danes tried their best to defeat them.
Able to chase and kill.
As many as eight hundred Kentish warriors were killed and a small number were captured.
The Kentish army suffered heavy losses in the Romney Marshes. They lost all their elite men. What was worse was that the nobles were killed in the battle, and the morale of the army also collapsed.
Unterburg, who was on horseback, fled all the way, not caring about the defeated troops who fled in advance along the way. Escape from Dover to Canterbury, running wildly on the flat Romney Marshland was only the equivalent of fifteen miles, and he led
He escaped with his father's body, and the whole city was shocked for a moment.
A group of ferocious devils emerged from the cracks of hell in the sea, and they appeared to kill people!
The Bishop of Canterbury felt that the end of the world was just like this, and the next target of those Satan's apostles must be Canterbury City! This is because the most wealth in Kent is gathered here.
Unterberg, who had escaped, didn't even bother to put his father's body to rest. The people in the city immediately learned that the princess who led the troops on the expedition had died in battle. The people were in pain and fear, and they needed someone to turn the tide.
Who is this hero?! It can only be the eldest son of the princess, Antberg, who returned from defeat.
No one scolded this man for abandoning the army and fleeing on his own. He was a great noble, the king's cousin, and a local lord! His orders were everything and everyone must obey them.
He ordered the city gates to be sealed, called on the men in the city to take up arms, and even asked the archbishop to say an urgent mass and pray to the Lord for protection.
At such a critical moment, perhaps only the Almighty Lord can save the innocent lamb.
The disastrous defeat of the Battle of Romney has spread at a faster speed with the fleeing defeated troops. Those villages that have only heard the relevant news, out of fear of the Viking killings, hastily rectified the entire village.
Moving towards Canterbury.
The day after Unterberg escaped, he suddenly noticed that many refugees had gathered outside the city.
A large number of refugees arrived at night, and the soldiers guarding the city gate were ordered to die. They did not dare to open the door at the risk of being hanged. The guards, who were also frightened, could not judge whether the manpower outside the city had the skills of the Vikings. They did not
Shooting arrows to drive them away did not open the door.
As a result, more and more refugees gathered, and it wasn't until the morning fog of the new day cleared that the guards could really see their faces clearly.
After receiving urgent orders from the new Lord Unterberg, Canterbury opened its gates.
Now only the stone city walls that have existed since the Roman era can give the people a sense of security. Therefore, this city, which was built on the military camp of the old Roman era, became a "mega city" with a population of over 10,000 in a short period of time.
The narrow streets and alleys are full of people, and the places where excrement and urine are thrown are also crowded with refugees. No one pays attention to cleanliness. Everyone just wants to survive.
It was the lord's unshakable responsibility to defend the people against the Viking invasion with a fortified city.
Unterberg did not relax at all. He noticed that compared to the continued attack of the Vikings, the bloated city in front of him was enough to collapse itself. There were people everywhere, and there were mouths eating everywhere. Do you want to use the lord's warehouse?
Feed them?
He urgently counted his garrison, and was surprised to find that he only had 500 soldiers on hand who could fight.
With this small force, not to mention attacking, even defense is quite difficult.
It is very outrageous to encourage women to go to war. Women must wear good clothes and cover the leader with a white headscarf. Only their faces are exposed. In addition to raising children, they can only do auxiliary farm work and are not even allowed to go to the farmland.
Weeding, just because it is very unseemly to show up.
Kentish people are now extremely conservative, and the church requires them to abide by strict rules and regulations in life. Unlike the Vikings, women can even fight.
For example, in this battle, there were a small number of female warriors in the Danish army. Almost all of them came from Zealand. They fought with their tribes and enjoyed exactly the same battlefield rights as male warriors.
Some of the broken troops managed to escape, and they provided support to Unterberg's stretched army? In fact, this was a group of fools who were frightened crazy! They escaped only to make defeatist remarks, and then huddled in the corner and shivered.
, as if waiting for death.
The only thing that made Unterberg happy was that the attentive call for help had been sent directly to the capital city of Winchester on a fast horse. The messengers for help went more than one way, and some went to the nearest city of Rochester, asking the locals to be on high alert. Some went straight to
He rushed to London, hoping to get support from the local nobles, and even hoped that the real dark-haired Roman nobles in "Little London" could provide some funds to organize a mercenary team to help in the battle.
At least Unterberg believed that he was not alone. The people defending Canterbury hoped that reinforcements would arrive before the Vikings.
However, if the Kingdom of Denmark was a very formal feudal country, King Ragnar of Denmark would naturally be able to quickly assemble his troops to expand the results after completing a battle.
However, he is not.
Just like Godfrey, Harald Clark, Hafgen, and Horik in the past, these Danish chiefs are just leaders of the alliance. Even if Ragnar's throne is recognized by Ross, he is still the de facto leader of Denmark.
The world leader.
The army he has at hand is more like pirates than an army.
The ten lords of Zealandia came here to make a fortune. Ironically, the wealth of the city of Dover alone satisfied these lords. They then went to plunder nearby villages, and then went to Romney.
A chase was completed on the Zedi battlefield, and many farm tools were seized.
What is very shameful is that even the seizure of some axes and sickles has already made many ordinary Danish warriors information. They also cleared out all the villages, and everyone obtained very useful daily necessities.
Gold and silver belong to the nobles, and ordinary soldiers are not qualified to share them. However, some prisoners captured belong to whoever captures them.
The city of Dover suddenly became a military camp for the Danish army, who were actively digesting the spoils of war.
On the night after the war, an oil lamp was brightly lit in a solid stone room in the city.
"Praise to Odin! Cheers!"
Ragnar was very interested and decided to get drunk today.
The lords were present to share the captured ale with their king.
The horn cups were held high, and everyone drank happily, even though the ale was a bit sour. Only Ragnar held up his glass mug given by King Rus.
Roasted black sheep meat was the main course. The lords tore and ate it wantonly, and from time to time they toasted to celebrate.
The victorious Ragnar loudly shouted: "Gods bless us! It seems that we can continue to make money in Britain! I want to continue attacking their cities, brothers, come together!"
Then a lord who was blushing from drinking slapped the table and shouted: "Okay! I will participate."
However, amid the laughter and laughter, more lords raised their objections very bluntly.
"That's enough, I've already made a fortune."
"I think it's enough. If we continue to attack them and break away from the ship, the risk is a bit high! Moreover, some of my people died in the day's battle."
"That's right. Brothers are here to make a fortune, not to settle here. Could it be that you want to rule here?"
They talked a lot, but the core argument was only one - there is no need to expand the results of the victory.
The drunken Ragnar looked at their attitudes, and his confidence quickly wilted. Yes, he came here just to make a fortune. How could these ruthless people follow him here if they didn't have this purpose?
He simply stopped mentioning it and made a plan in his mind. He would try to count and empty the loot in this city, and then the fleet would sail away. In the end, getting rich was more important! Next year, he would go to another British coastal city to rob.
"Come on!" Ragna swayed and raised his cup: "Let's keep drinking!"