Chapter 1197 Zinc Ingots and Eric the Whitebeard in Bright Lead Village
The Russian army marched neatly and majesticly, and the soldiers advanced steadily along the Aachen Avenue. It was an amazing feeling to walk on the Roman Avenue of the past with one pair of feet.
"Flat! Such a flat road was actually built by the Romans. It is so comfortable to march on this kind of road. No wonder Rurik wants to build a road in New Roseburg." Blue Fox felt the road personally. He looked left and right, and stared again.
The rammed earth road beneath your feet.
Even if it is just flattened by flat stones, and you use a short spear to poke the ground occasionally, the feedback will be as if you have poked the stone.
The coalition forces set out early in the morning, and the soldiers stuffed their stomachs with boiled wheat to show their energy. They moved forward at a steady speed of about four kilometers per hour, which really took into account both physical exertion and speed.
Why run like a horse? According to the available information, Blue Fox said that if you ride on horseback from Maastricht, you can reach Aachen in one day.
It is midsummer now, and the daylight hours in this high-latitude world are extremely long. There is no need for the coalition forces to advance at full speed, not to mention that considering the possibility of encountering resolute resistance from the Franks, the entire army must ensure their energy and physical strength before the war.
There is a mining village marked on the "Road Map" and it is also said that the village is adjacent to a small river.
The continuous march made a large number of heavily loaded soldiers feel stressed. They continued to rest and needed to drink more water.
Just as everyone was beginning to show signs of fatigue, a village and town surrounded by mountains and rivers suddenly appeared.
The road surface of the Roman Avenue here has already shown abnormalities visible to the naked eye. There are many stones on the ground, and then some obvious ruts have begun to appear.
All this aroused Blue Fox's high vigilance. He found veteran Grund and pointed at the road while walking: "There are a lot of stones. It feels like there is a mine nearby."
"So?" Grund also became alert, "Could it be that the place where the intelligence said that strange bright lead is produced is here?"
"It's very possible to make the soldiers vigilant."
"Isn't it possible that the enemy is arrayed here?" Grund shook his head, "I don't believe it."
"It doesn't hurt to be wary. Besides, once we discover their warehouse, we will plunder some of all the bright lead."
"That's fine." Grund gasped hard, regained his composure, then turned to face the standing army soldiers: "The entire army is wearing armor to prepare for any eventuality!"
No, the current team paused their march and began to unload their armor from the carts, which immediately caused a chain reaction.
All the troops were on alert when they were marching. Everyone thought they were being attacked by the enemy, so no one was nervous and fearful. On the contrary, the soldiers wanted nothing more than what they wanted.
Chainmail is worn loosely on the body, or cloth armor riveted with iron pieces is worn like a coat.
Time is a bit urgent, so armor-piercing warriors generally put on armor for their upper bodies. The "iron skirt" that protects the crotch and thighs is still thrown on the trolley.
However, the Danish soldiers all looked confused. Armor penetration? No need.
The 12-year-old boneless Yin Val saw those Russian warriors wearing white robes taking off their robes to cover their armor and stomachs in large numbers, and then put their robes back on. Why bother?
He prefers what his father Ragnar said, that bravery comes first.
"Everyone is ready to fight! After the war, use your ability to plunder what you like."
The too young Danish military commander was sitting on a cart, with a blanket covering his underdeveloped legs. The more than a hundred personal guards he brought with him were essentially loyal to Ragnar himself, and in this operation they were loyal to Yinvar
.No one thinks there is anything wrong with this disabled man. He is now a symbol, representing the Danish king Ragnar here. This is why a group of Danish fishermen who migrated to the mouth of the River Inn clamored to join this plundering feast.
The mixed army has a different attitude towards war. Compared with plunder, Blue Fox pays more attention to the political significance of combat, followed by plunder. Of course, some strange things were unearthed in the core area of Frank, and then paid tribute to Liuli.
Yeah, he's very motivated.
They changed their armor on the road. In this open forest place, the noise frightened the forest birds and also surprised the slave workers who transported the ore.
So, who are the people mining and smelting in "Bright Lead Town"?
That was a large number of ragged people, who were criminals and debtors. The Frankish serfdom was naturally disintegrating due to the gradual demise of the large estates. Instead, more and more serfs became yeoman farmers and served the church and lords.
.
This was a slow process, and the changes were most dramatic in the core areas of Frankia. But the mines were an accident. Criminals, those who insulted believers, debtors, prisoners of war, and even simple serfs were punished as slaves in the mines.
Dig.
In the Bright Lead Village on the banks of the Geul River, the armed overseers and smelting craftsmen here are free people, while almost everyone else is a slave.
The village and town are next to the road, and next to it is an open-pit mine. It is not a large mine, but the advantage is that there is ready water resources here. The smelted lead ingots are whiter than the lead elsewhere, which is really a rare treasure.
A few slave miners pushing carts noticed the commotion on the road and realized that there were strange people who were unwilling to carry the ore. They hurriedly went to the nearest armed overseer in the village to report what they had seen.
This rude behavior was regarded as laziness, and after being whipped a few more times, the suffering miner had to curse secretly and leave.
Villages and towns are adjacent to the main road. This Roman road has been the only way for the mobilization of armies since ancient times. In recent years, the world has been unstable, and this year a large number of heavy cavalry passed through it.
The general supervisor of the village and town did not care. He was more concerned about producing finished lead ingots that met the quota and handed it over to the king.
However, the Russian army launched an attack.
A thousand Russian troops carrying a large number of crossbows launched an armed assault along the road!
They were uniformly dressed and equipped with fine food, and their sword, shield and crossbowmen advanced in coordination and quickly entered the edge of the village.
The absurd thing is that up to this moment, the smelting workshops in the town were still filled with smoke. The slaves transporting the ore just looked sideways and continued their work. It was as if they were used to seeing the army operating here.
Blue Fox, who personally led the attack, originally wanted to fight, but at this moment he felt that he had been despised by the locals.
"Why don't these people run away when they see us?" Lan Hu shouted in confusion.
Grund gritted his teeth and asked hurriedly: "Should we fight or not?"
"Fight! Kill everyone you see alive! Let's go."
Grund nodded, then pointed his sword straight ahead and shouted in Norse: "Brothers! Kill them all when you see them! Let's go!"
After an awkward brief silence, the coalition forces squeezing on the road resumed their advance.
The whooshing sound of missing arrows broke the tranquility, and the slave workers transporting ores and finished products were treated as prey. The missing arrows accurately hit these calloused people in ragged clothes. They died in pain and slowly died while constantly vomiting blood.
It was not until someone was killed or injured that the confused slaves realized the threat. It was only when he saw the slaves being killed that the general supervisor who came to investigate after hearing the news realized that they were not Frank warriors!
To be fair, the Russian troops fighting head-on were dressed in blue and white, similar to many Frankish soldiers. The high-flying Russian flag looked a bit like a cross at first glance.
The General Superintendent originally thought that this was another army of a noble nobleman that was about to pass through the border, so to speak, using the road to move east to join forces with the king.
"What's going on? We are not your enemies!"
The general overseer and his armed overseers were always wearing armor, so as to guard against slave rebellion. Their clothes were misunderstood as warriors, and the Russian army who was eager to kill the enemy targeted them accurately.
The arrow fired from the crossbow whizzed over, and the weapon, which was modified from the prairie recurve bow, was very powerful. The light arrow penetrated the leather armor of the general overseer, piercing his flesh and causing him to vomit blood.
"Boss! Are you okay?" The armed supervisor hurriedly helped his leader up.
Regardless of the fact that he was vomiting blood, he didn't know what was happening when he was sober, and now he instinctively just wanted to escape.
"Let's go! Get in the carriage and we'll go to Aachen. Take my wife and children and let's go! You guys follow me and run away."
"But where are the other brothers in the mine?"
"Idiot! You are almost dead and you still care about them? God bless them, let's go!"
In this way, there was no resistance in Lianglian Town, and the Ross army who entered it was killing everywhere, just like executing a group of hares.
The injured general supervisor fled with a small group of his subordinates, and the village of Bright Lead quickly fell into the hands of the Russian army.
Lan Hu, who entered the village with a sword, inspected the killed people, and saw that a large number of the dead were in ragged clothes, many of them were barefoot, and there were obvious thick calluses on their dirty feet, and some even wore shackles.
"This is a slave? It must be Frank's slave."
Blue Fox was not touched at all. He was more concerned about whether the soldier got the "bright lead".
Soon, the soldiers rushed into the smelting workshop. They killed the craftsmen indiscriminately and seized some lead ingots that had just been smelted. A small warehouse nearby was discovered, and there were piles of particularly white lead ingots.
There are not many of them, and there are more dull lead ingots piled on the other side of the warehouse.
A darker feeling is normal, so what is too white is really lead? Maybe.
The soldiers of the standing army immediately invited Lan Hu to come, take credit from him and ask him to appraise it.
"Did you really find the legendary bright lead?" Blue Fox looked at Grund's cheerful face, "The legend is actually true."
"Maybe. I may have been too hasty. My people killed the craftsmen conveniently. It was really reckless. People who can smelt bright lead can obviously be used by me. This is our loss."
"It doesn't matter. Only the king knows what the bright lead is for. Come! Move it outdoors and let's see if it lights up."
After all, this is not a large mine. Its unique feature is that it is a lead-zinc mine rich in zinc.
The Franks followed the Romans' terminology, calling zinc bright lead, and achieved separation and smelting by controlling the temperature without melting point.
What is the use of zinc? Adding it to copper water to create a whiter and shinier bronze is the best destination. However, zinc mines are rare, and its uses are too few developed. The traditional tin bronze that mixes tin and lead into bronze looks like
It's no worse than the one mixed with "bright lead".
The daily life of the royal family and the church was more exquisite, and shiny bronze utensils were very popular.
It is now afternoon, and the summer sunshine shines on the lead ingots placed in the open air. It is obvious which one is ordinary lead and which one is bright lead.
The hook-headed blue fox played with the obviously shiny lead ingot for a long time, and then smashed it hard with an axe. After easily making a deep dent, the cross section showed an even weirder bright white color.
"That's weird!" Blue Fox pulled out his sword again. This was a carbon steel sword made by Ross craftsmen. It was almost white steel, but it was not as bright as this bright lead?
Blue Fox, who is sensitive to business, immediately thought of a way to use it. He teased Grund and said, "Give your sword a layer of this stuff. When the blade is inserted into the story, your sword body will be whiter."
"Really?" Grund also thought of something immediately. "The heavy armor made by the king many years ago was plated with a layer of silver on each armor piece. The armor was extremely white, but... if these bright lead were to replace it,
Our armor..." It knocked hard on its heavy breastplate, "it is extremely shiny under the sun and will blind the enemy's eyes."
"Yes! That's what I meant. Alas, the Kingdom of Ross doesn't have such a treasure mine."
Grund shrugged: "Unless the king intends to occupy this place forever."
"I don't think it's possible. It's too radical to rule the Franks. We are here just to make money and destroy. I plan to destroy the mines here."
Grund shook his head: "You are not a frost giant, you can't destroy it."
"At least take away the existing finished products, kill their craftsmen and miners, destroy all equipment, and make it impossible for the Franks to recover in the short term."
"feasible."
Blue Fox and other nobles realized that the miners were probably slaves. In the past, all these slaves would have been taken away, but this time the slaves were a burden.
The soldiers who poured into the mines killed everywhere, and in the end only about 20 people were turned back to the town.
These slaves were living in a miserable state, but now they fell into the hands of a group of vicious soldiers, who were already sitting on the ground and being slaughtered.
The soldiers gathered in a circle, and it was up to the blue fox to decide when to behead him.
Blue Fox is not in a hurry to take action now. He is too lazy to tell these humble slaves his identity.
He asked in Frankish about the local situation and even how far it was from Aachen. "As long as you tell the true situation, you will avoid death."
Of course, he was serious when he said this. In order to make the next operation smoother, it is okay to capture a prisoner to provide information, but keeping only one useful prisoner is enough.
They were obviously frightened, and after Blue Fox pressed them three times, a seemingly old guy with a white beard began to explain.
"We only need to walk to Aachen in the evening. The big city should not be far away, but I can't see it? Old man, you are lying."
The old man said calmly: "The forest covers the city. What are you going to do? Who are you? It seems that you are from the north."
"Haha, you are very bold." Blue Fox shook his head. He had the power of life and death, he could execute these people or release them.
Anyway, the army is going to spend the night here. Since it is very close to Aachen, it is a good time to have a good rest tonight and launch the siege tomorrow.
Do you want to continue killing these captives? They are just a group of slaves, and killing them does not count as a blood sacrifice to Odin.
Lan Hu said bluntly: "It doesn't matter who we are. Our army wants to attack Aachen and plunder the wealth. What about you slaves? Be slaves in the hands of the Franks, or be tortured to death by them, or follow us.
When the war is over you follow us and we will give you your freedom. Old man, do you dare?"
"I dare." The old man said this without even thinking, but the others were already frightened by the sudden killing.
"Very good, you can survive. Where are the others?" Blue Fox asked again.
In the end, only ten people slowly stood up, and they were willing to lead the way for this strange army. Those who were hesitant or frightened had their heads removed.
At night, the Russian army spent the night in the occupied Liangqian Village. When they heard that there would be a siege tomorrow, the entire army was very excited.
A batch of bright lead ingots and more lead ingots were seized, and almost all the mining carts were seized. The number of usable goods found was as many as twenty, and even five carriages and as many as ten horses.
The equipment further eased the marching pressure of the Russian army.
Since a bold white-bearded old slave was so bold and not afraid of the Ross army, Blue Fox and others felt that this guy might be a person. As for the slaves here, they knew what he had gone through.
The old man became a guest and was given a large bowl of wheat porridge. However, when everyone gathered around the campfire and talked in Norse, the old man twitched like a man with a horn.
"This old guy is going to die? Bad luck!" Askard thought it was ridiculous for Uncle Blue Fox to invite a slave as a guest.
The old slave had water poured on his face. After rejoicing, he said astonishingly: "You...are you Danish?"
The words were spoken in Norse, and the old man was stammering.
"You ask me this? Are you from Denmark?" Blue Fox was shocked and eagerly heard about the old man's past.
Now the truth is revealed, because this old slave is essentially a prisoner of war! The old man calls himself Eric, and he lived in the Danish community in Duristport when he was young. It is not a loss for him to be captured by the Frank army, after all, he was during the robbery
He was captured, and that was almost thirty years ago. The brothers who were captured at the same time were all punished as slaves. It is extremely rare for old slaves to live to his age.
"Are you a Dane?" Yin Val is sitting next to the bonfire. He and you sympathize with the old man's plight. Considering his noble status, he understands his compassion: "Then you should be loyal to me immediately!"
"Child, you are..."
"Presumptuous." Yin Val followed the example of an adult and pointed with his immature hands: "I am the first prince of the Kingdom of Denmark! Be loyal to me! Eric the Whitebeard, I can make you a war chief. There are Danish brothers who were humiliated in Frank.
I will help you get revenge."
These words startled the old slave. He did not understand the new situation of the Kingdom of Denmark, but he did know the old leader of the Stonewall tribe, Sigurd, nicknamed the Ring.
Listening to the son's self-report, this seemingly disabled boy is actually the grandson of Sigurd? The old man burst into tears and cried, "When you attacked, I suspected that you were with the Danes." Now he has found the true identity of Sigurd.
For my family, the suffering seems to be over.
Blue Fox was indifferent to this painful drama, and so were most of the others. He even blamed himself, fearing that there was no need to kill many slaves because the Danish slaves inside could quickly become one of his own.
However, Eric "Whitebeard" explained that he was the only Dane in this mining area. He had lost the motivation to resist and did not dare to commit suicide. He just wanted to die in confusion.
Now it's different. In his old age, people finally have a chance to take revenge. It's a special destiny gifted by the gods. Since he had been to Aachen many years ago, this old guy seemed to be an unexpected surprise to the Ross coalition.
As a result, the Russian army, which received important information, began to cut down trees overnight. The two captured carriages were put together into one, and a large amount of wood began to be piled on them, thus creating a simple wheeled siege vehicle.
The old man made it very clear that Aachen's heavy wooden gates would either be knocked open or slowly set on fire. Based on their past experience in sieges, the Russian army obviously found it more practical to build an siege and charge with vehicles.