To Ragnar, the kingdoms of Britain were like lumps of fat.
In 842, he set his sights on London. It is said that there were mountains of gold coins there. This must be an exaggeration, and it must be true that such a statement is not groundless.
In the end, a hundred Danish longships rushed to Britain. They successfully rushed to the Thames, but facing the closed gates and solid stone walls of London, Ragnar was helpless.
"Perhaps, if the Russians follow me, the damn stone wall will be broken."
What he faced was actually the inner city of London, the real Londinium, known as "Little London".
There are a large number of black-haired Roman descendants in the inner city. The Saxon chiefs who completed the colonization more than 300 years ago have allied with these noble Romans, and they still maintain their nobility.
Although the capital of Wessex is now in Manchester, London is also the second capital. If it were not for the rejection of the descendants of the old Romans in London, she would already be the first capital.
But Ragnar and his Danish warriors did not know this, nor did they need to know it.
The outer city of London was the residential area of the Saxons. The wealth of the inner city could not be obtained by relying on the manpower of the shield-wielding Viking warriors, so Ragnar led his warriors to vent his anger on the outer city.
They destroyed everywhere, and in an attitude of simplicity and brutality, the warriors killed men, captured women, and looted property in search of coins.
His actions are stuck at a delicate point in time.
After the previous king died, the new king Æthelwulf succeeded to the throne and gave his eldest son Æthelstan the right to rule Kent, Essex and other places.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see the king's love for his eldest son. He is already training his eldest son's ability to govern the country, and he will inherit the throne in the future.
However, there was a new strong enemy in the north, the Norwegian Kingdom of York, and the Mercian nobles fell into civil war. Taking advantage of the chaos in the north, Æthelwulf, who wanted to expand his territory, indeed forced a group of Mercian nobles to support him, and the legal fiefdoms were not
Enter Wessex.
However, Viking activities are becoming more and more frequent. The Norwegian Vikings have already eaten a large area of Northumbrian territory. Will they have a greater appetite in the future?
Æthelwulf had no need to doubt that the Rodney Plain on the southern coast of the kingdom was sacked by Danish Vikings, and only a year later London was in danger.
The de facto prince Æthelstan personally led his troops to rescue him.
It is completely different from the national system of the Frankish army, which trained heavy cavalry for a purpose and organized a large number of light cavalry when necessary. Wessex, which had been fighting for years, was very poor. It is really interesting to know who spread the news that Britain was extremely wealthy.
Wessex can only organize a small number of heavy cavalry, and even this is a deadly sword in the hands of the prince.
Composed of a small number of elite cavalry, infantry, and a large number of farmers armed only with pitchforks, axes, and sickles, an army of up to 3,000 troops headed straight for London.
Most of the soldiers came from Kent, Sussex and Essex. Although they had been gradually annexed by the expanding Wessex in the past two decades, they had personally experienced or witnessed the abominations of the Vikings, and their anger outweighed their fear.
They were willing to follow the prince to eliminate the villains.
The strength of more than 3,000 troops gave the soldiers great confidence, but it was only when they arrived in the outer city of London that they realized something was wrong with the situation.
Almost all the residences in the outer city were looted. In the Danish camp on the Thames River, more than 300 young women and more than 100 men were tied up with ropes.
Just take the captive daughters as wives? No! If you marry these women, the children you have will probably betray Odin.
Both men and women will be sold into slavery, and Ragnar has found buyers for the warriors.
The Count of Flanders, the Count of the Netherlands, and the Duke of Saxony, these three Frankish nobles are not Franks. They have their own opinions, but they cannot do some dirty work themselves.
The nobles had money and food, but they lacked an easy-to-control population, especially a special resource - fertile young women.
Taking the captives to the other side of the ocean would bring in at least half a pound of silver for each captive.
The Danes were completely unable to break into the inner city of London, and several attempts were repulsed by the defenders' stone arrows. They simply captured people on the spot and set fire to the vacant buildings.
Just as Ragnar was evacuating with the loot and prisoners, reinforcements from Prince Æthelstan finally arrived.
A war is inevitable!
On one side was the Danish army, which had finished its rest and was waiting for work, and on the other side was the Wessex army, which was mentally strained by the expedition.
The war was completely one-sided! The shield wall cooperated with the centralized attack of archers. Ragnar did learn some tactics while fighting side by side with the Ross army. This was too over the top in the eyes of the Wessex army.
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On one side is the Wessex army who is roaring and charging with all its strength, and on the other side is the Danish shield wall waiting in full formation.
The Danish army is not as powerful as the main force of Ross, but even if they only learn a little bit, it is enough to defeat the Wessex militia.
When the elite suffered heavy losses, the militiamen immediately began to retreat. Under the continued pressure of the Danish army, the Wessex army collapsed.
Prince Æthelstan was forced to withdraw his troops. As for how to lift the siege of London, he did not know. But he knew very well that if he continued to fight to the death, the suburbs of London would be his burial place.
The Wessex reinforcements, which once gave great hope to the Roman descendants of London's inner city, collapsed after a large-scale melee.
In just one day, first there was despair, then hope, then disappointment and deeper despair.
Maybe things will turn around in London, maybe the Vikings will leave after taking the money.
Once upon a time, the Pope of Rome paid tribute to Attila, the Scourge of God, in exchange for peace in the city of Rome. Maybe...
While the Danes were still cleaning the battlefield and collecting iron weapons, a small crack opened in the originally closed inner city of London.
In just three hundred years, there was not much difference between Saxon and Danish. When he learned that the besieged people were willing to use one thousand pounds of silver coins to buy the Danish army's evacuation, Ragnar, as the king, was heartbroken.
But now the inner city of London is at a serious disadvantage. Perhaps if the siege continues and the city's supplies are exhausted, he can easily lead his troops to break through the city.
However, considering that he got a bargain and the army was tired after the battle, for fear of being beaten again by another Wessex army, Ragnar, who was eager to accept it as soon as possible, added 200 pounds of silver coins to the Roman descendants of the inner city of London.
We Kang's generous donation to rescue people who were in trouble finally bought peace.
Ragnar won! The extorted silver was a surprise. He gave half to his men and the remaining six hundred pounds of silver for himself.
This money is enough for him to train and arm a powerful king's guard. With stronger weapons, he can do greater things.
So has London really bought peace?
Appeasement can only buy temporary peace, but it cannot buy peace for a generation.
The longships are gathering, and the Danish army is about to evacuate with the prisoners.
Standing on the high wall in the inner city of London were a group of Roman descendants and Wessex nobles wearing toga robes. It seemed that the Vikings were really leaving. Some people were happy, and more people were worried about the unknown.
.
Once last year, again this year, and again next year.
I hope you don’t come next year.
The weeping female prisoner took a Danish longboat to the east, which was exactly the direction of the mouth of the River Rhine.
Flying in the huge fleet is a raven flag, which is Ragnar's Danish king's flag.
He was standing on the flagship, behind him was the Thames River and the strong and fragile inner city of London on the riverside, as well as the scorched remains of residential buildings in the outer city.
"You are just a bunch of fat sheep! Next year, I will change my place."
Ragnar, who had gained great prestige, wanted to rest for a while after returning to Rotterstad, so he sent his men to Utrecht.
He knew that even selling prisoners was not easy to put on the market openly in the Frankish world. Utrecht's delegation of power required both population and face, so the transaction could only be carried out secretly. But maybe Utrecht was not willing to pay or take the money.
To provide food, then the Duke of Saxony in the north will definitely provide money, right?
Ragnar feels that there is no need to worry about selling the captives. If they are sold to a widower, they can make a lot of money, right?
When the Danish fleet successfully entered the mouth of the Rhine River, it unexpectedly saw an astonishing sight.
Just like the work of piling firewood and boiling salt, it seems that the Russian army from the expedition to Aachen has returned. There are a large number of long ships on the shore of the main channel, and a large number of Russian flags are flying. Under the flags, there is thick smoke billowing.
"The Russians won, right? Now as for large-scale salt boiling?"
When Ragnar saw the returning Ross army, Blue Fox, who had brought all the training with him, also saw them.
"The Danes are back? They traveled thousands more than me and came back earlier than I expected?" The blue fox was very curious about what Ragnar encountered in Britain, but it was time for Yinvar to return his father and explain
Of course, I also want to give Yin Val a few nice words.
So it wasn't until Ragnar's flagship passed by the burning spots on the shore that he finally realized with wide eyes that the Rus were burning people.
Are they actually doing mass cremations?
Based on the Danish funeral tradition, burial and deliberate burial in large graves are the mainstream, but the Rus people from the north pay more attention to cremation.
It seems that the deceased is a Rus warrior, and it is their tradition to remove their own corpses from the battlefield. In this cremation, the corpse will be burned into gray-white bones, and finally smashed into as much powder as possible with an axe, sealed in a wooden box or pottery urn, and transported
Burial in their capital's cemetery.
It was because of living in New Roseburg that Ragnar learned about these traditions. He admired this kind of behavior, but it was a pity that he could not do it yet.
Did the Russians suffer a big loss in Aachen?
He ordered his men to return to the Danish settlement of Inkoko with the spoils of war, especially all the prisoners of war, who were under the custody of the Yan family.
After he returned to the settlement to arrange some work, he hurriedly arrived at the Ross army camp by boat.
"There is no feeling of defeat here. They should have won. If they attacked the Frankish capital, wouldn't they be able to bring back a mountain of gold?"
Thinking of this, Ragnar was unwilling to show off his success rashly, and he was also a little worried about his son Yinval, who had a bad leg. He was happy that when he saw the blue fox, his son stayed by his side.
"King of Denmark! Ragnar! You must have returned victorious! The gods are with you." After a commercial boast, the blue fox opened his arms. This enthusiasm for praise made Ragnar happy.
The two men hugged each other and patted each other on the back, like long-lost brothers.
"The Russian army is invincible! You... must have captured Aachen! You must have obtained countless golds?"
"That's natural, but the process is very tortuous."
"How to twist?"
"A cruel war, we made a fortune and got the glory of a warrior. And your son Yin Val." As an elder, Lan Hu rubbed Yin Val's head sitting on the sedan chair: "No one is qualified.
Laughing at his weak legs. The innocent Yinval was not afraid in the face of the ferocious Frankish cavalry, and the Danish army worked with us to defeat the most powerful enemy."
After saying this, Ragna used a smile to cover up his disbelief. But the blue fox's words of praise should all be true.
He wanted to ask more, and the cunning blue fox responded with what he wanted to hear.
Ragnar really lacks the cunning of a profiteer. He doesn't understand what it means to report good news and not bad news. Blue Fox's rhetoric is as if the Russian army won the war with only very few losses.
Maastricht, Liège, and Aachen were three cities that were plundered. These three terms were very unfamiliar to Ragnar. Compared to London being robbed by himself, and the Russian army plundering three cities, they would be richer, right?
As for those burned corpses, Blue Fox Solid described it lightly: "The souls of heroes have gone to the Hall of Valor, and the human bodies in the world will turn into ashes."
It seemed like he didn't say anything, so Ragnar simply didn't ask.
The blue fox did not ask, Ragnar had already revealed the benefits of his expedition to Britain. He had not yet gone too far into the city, and told him directly about his slave hunting and successful blackmail.
Talk without intention but listen with intention.
"Damn it, why is London, the famous city Rurik mentioned, as cowardly as Cologne? Can you buy peace with money? I can do it if I go." It was also a compliment, and the Blue Fox kept this in mind. After all, Gothenburg
The fiefdom is located in the entrance and exit area of the Denmark Strait. If a Götaland expedition is organized, Blue Fox realizes that he does not need the King of Rus to accept his fate and can take people to London for blackmail.
Ragnar is here to pay for the wine, and Blue Fox, as the host, wants to give him a banquet.
Want to show off the spoils of the Russian army? No! Ragnar doesn't want to know any valid information, so this banquet is almost a private banquet for men of similar age.
Askard, whose mouth was injured and his whole body was sore, would not come, nor would the five Jotalan nobles, who had suffered heavy losses, come, not to mention Kelhar from the Finnish army.
Even the fourth Frankish princess Gisla, who could be used as a major trophy by the Blue Fox and used to show off, was completely hidden.
Ragna was busy drinking, and after drinking until he was so drunk, he began to talk arrogantly about his achievements until he fell asleep. This was remembered by the blue fox.
He gained a lot of face from Blue Fox, and the next day he brought his son Yinval and the Danish soldiers who had lost some money.
But from his son's mouth, he learned something else.
The Frankish princess? Charlemagne's tomb? The wealth of the Aachen palace? The gold and silver of Maastricht and Liege? The Russian army put it all into their own hands.
Blue Fox didn't tell the truth! He didn't understand why Blue Fox had to hide so much, but he didn't need to ask anymore.
I'm afraid the real fact is as said by his eldest son Yin Val the Boneless who witnessed everything. Although the Ross coalition gained a large amount of loot, as many as half of its troops were killed and a large number of soldiers were injured.
The victory of the Russian army can only be described as a tragic victory. So if he faced a large number of Frank cavalry charges on the battlefield, would he have done well? Ragnar did not want to think about it, because he still had his own things to do.
Gisla was under house arrest, which meant he was actually locked up in an independent wooden house. The wooden house built according to Ross-style woodcuts paid more attention to keeping warm, and its interior was compact and fully equipped.
There is a clear wooden toilet and soft paper for wiping the buttocks. The princess can learn how to use it as soon as she is taught. She was stunned to face all this and quickly adapted to it.
Although she thought the Norman life was extremely barbaric, even though she was under house arrest, it didn't seem unbearable to actually live the Norman lifestyle.
Because on the first night, she slept on a wooden bed with a wool mattress and quilt and even two kinds of pillows, fine linen bags stuffed with wool or buckwheat husks, and the latter was Rurik's own preference, and it was soothing.
Easy to sleep.
She can drink water and eat some sweet snacks at any time.
There is nothing that can threaten my safety for the time being, but I just wonder how Alicia is doing?
I really took the initiative to break up with my personal maid, is it too stupid to think about it now? If there is a chance, can the relationship be repaired?
But, can we go back to the past? Probably not.
The princess guessed correctly. Alicia immediately returned to her job as a maid after arriving in Rotterstad, but the person she served became Asgard.
However, Askard's mouth was injured, and he could not eat solid food for a while. She personally cooked the wheat porridge mixed with peas, boiled it completely into a slurry, sent it to Askard personally, and then used a spoon to
Put the food into his mouth yourself.
She even deliberately let the soldiers of the Seventh Flag see her and made them talk about it.
This is what a wife should do, right? Asgard's eyes were all for Alicia.