The Russians attacked Gotland for revenge. Although everyone thought that the Gotlanders would retaliate, no one thought too much about what kind of revenge it would be.
Even when the Melalen tribe, leader of the Siwea Tribe Alliance, learned of the news, public opinion applauded the actions of the Ross people.
Days went on as usual. The few rational people among the Mellaren tribe had thought that the Gotlanders would launch a retaliatory attack to the north.
Most people, they learned the news in May, but most people are not worried about these things at all.
What everyone is most worried about is still how much money they can make during this year's trade season, what good things they can exchange for, and how much money they can make during the wheat harvest in August.
Olegin, the leader of Mälaren, after learning the news, he did not think about the possibility of enemies attacking his tribe.
However, as far back as he can remember, Malarenborg has never been attacked by an enemy, and the vast Lake Malaren has never been touched by the forces of the Gotlanders or Danes. On the contrary, the tribal alliance under his command has
Some small tribes, consisting of only a few hundred people, are actively expanding to the Götaland Highlands in the south.
It is these people who are actively engaged in ongoing conflicts with the landed Gotland herdsmen. Fightings occur basically every year!
The sun still rises and the days go by as usual.
Olegin was not unprepared. He gave the five hundred guards under his command an order to speed up their training and rewarded them with better food. That was all.
However, the Rus attacked Gotland, killing the big merchant and a "huge" settlement in the south of the island.
According to current standards, a settlement of two thousand people is a large settlement.
Because the Russian army led by Arik and Harozossen did not have a clear attack target. They sailed the fleet close to Gotland, then found a settlement and launched an indiscriminate attack.
Little did they know that the fat man who was beheaded had always had a very close trade relationship with the Danes.
The death of this man, and the destruction of the entire settlement, was like an earthquake to the Danes.
The Robard tribe, the most powerful among the Danes, "Lion" Hafgen, who serves as the chief leader and leader of the alliance, has enjoyed a leisurely life as king, but through this, he has encountered major interference.
A small boat staggered to the port of the Robard tribe, which was a small harbor located in the north of the Jutland Peninsula.
As usual, the harbor guard charged a toll for passing through the strait into the western sea. However, the frustrated people on the boat were clamoring to meet the leader of the alliance.
Hafgen, the leader of the Danish alliance, is thirty-five years old and in the prime of life.
He sat arrogantly in his long meeting room, sitting on his wooden chair decorated with a whole black bear skin. He also wore a crown made of gold that he imitated the Franks, and he was covered with three pieces of gold.
More than a dozen large, carefully sewn robes of ferret fur.
His whole person looked extremely wealthy, with his slightly thin face, sharp eyes, and the strong muscles on his arms that were inadvertently stretched out from his robes, proving that this person was a ruthless character.
Someone from Gotland reports a terrible misfortune?
Hafgen summoned more than a dozen of his capable cronies and ordered them to put on armor and helmets immediately.
He was the only one who dressed elegantly because he heard that the most noble "chief" in Frank was dressed similarly.
The four people in the small boat stumbled over. They knelt on the ground, not hiding their rags and wounds on their bodies.
Hafgento raised his chin and asked impatiently: "I'm very busy. If you don't have anything important to do, just leave."
"Oh! Sir, please allow me to report." The leader, an older man, raised his head with a sad face.
"Say it."
"It is our homeland that has been attacked by the enemy. Our island has been attacked by the Rus."
"What? The Russians?" For a moment, Hafgen's head was a little confused. It must be said that his understanding of the Russians was very limited, and even this term was very unfamiliar.
When the old man saw this, he quickly changed his explanation: "It's the alliance in the north, those evil people in Svealan."
"I know them. Our alliance has always had disputes with them. In the final analysis, it is you who are expanding on land." For the time being, Hafgen does not feel that the matter is particularly serious.
"Yes. However, they attacked our island. The alliance's army looted our entire southern island. The matter is very serious, because Oxen, he is already dead."
"What? Oxen is dead?!" Hearing this, Hafgen stood up immediately. Not only him, but also the eyes of his cronies were trembling.
"It's absolutely true, sir. The entire southern island was in flames, the entire Sikkenborg was looted by them, and all the wealth was plundered by them. This year, our trade with you has been greatly affected. The entire island is in panic! Island
All the families in the north have told us that they hope to receive assistance from the great leader. We are very worried that those northerners will attack frequently, and we cannot defeat them with just our strength. We need your assistance."
Hafgen sat back in his seat.
Hafgen indeed became the leader of the tribe through a duel within the tribe, using sword and shield. He has been the leader of the tribe for many years, and this year, 829 AD, is also his second year as the leader of the alliance.
It is really unexpected that in the second year, the Northern Alliance openly provoked.
Seeing the mood on the leader's face, the four messengers who reported the news immediately added fuel to the fire, as if Gotland was not only in dire straits, but was in danger of being completely occupied by the Northern Alliance.
The four of them became more and more excited as they talked, and their voices were full of grief and anger.
Indeed, the attackers attacked the settlements indiscriminately. They had no intention of leaving anyone alive as slaves, but killed them indiscriminately!
The words of the four people really shocked Hafgen.
He sat on his seat and stared wide-eyed: "Is it all true? Oh, what a bunch of barbarians."
"Yes, sir!" the old man continued, "This year is just the beginning! They will sack the entire island of Gotland, kill all the people, and plunder all the wealth. They will continue to expand in the highlands until..."
"Until? Where?"
The old man paused for breath: "Until we reach the great Robard tribe. I think they will attack your territory in the northern highlands without hesitation."
"How could they!?" Hafgen stood up suddenly, his eyes widened and his mouth wide, as if he wanted to swallow everything.
The old man realized that his painful drama and provocative methods had worked, and now he should continue to add fuel to the fire.
"Sir, the Northern Alliance must doubt your majesty and think that our Danish Alliance is not powerful. They are really stupid."
"Yes! They are very stupid. It seems... I need to let them understand who is the most noble." As he spoke, Hafgen, baring his teeth, pulled out his sword and smashed it against the longhouse.
On the soft sand and gravel.
Then, he let out another terrifying roar.
"Brothers!" he ordered loudly, "call all the tribes and order them to send personnel. I will organize an army to attack the hateful Northern Alliance!"
Hafgen's decision was indeed a bit hasty. His brothers did not dare to disobey the leader's order and select messengers to report to the eleven allied tribes.
When night fell, Hafgen thought about it, although he realized that it was not the right time for him to launch war mobilization and organize the army to retaliate.
It was as if his beard had been caught by those enemies and burned off with fire. With this humiliation, how could he not be angry? Revenge! Revenge must be made!
Besides, after all, it’s our own allies, especially the Gotlanders who broke away from the Northern Alliance and insisted on joining the Danish Alliance. If they don’t support them, what will other allies think?
This is the prelude to a large-scale war initiated by the Northern Alliance, so let’s fight!
It is war that can bring a lot of wealth to one's own alliance.
The order to assemble the army has been issued, but Hafgen feels that those allies will not send a large army at this moment.
The reason is obvious.
The tribes living in the south of Jutland, after sowing wheat in the spring, organized their troops to attack the Franks and Wends.
The fighting in the south continues, and Hafgen estimates that the Northern Alliance may have thought of the situation on its side and felt that it could launch an attack without fear.
"Are you betting that I can't organize a large army at this time? Do you think that the main force of our alliance has gone to attack the Franks? Bah! I can still organize two thousand people."
Hafgen knew the Melalen tribe, the richest tribe in the Northern Alliance, very well and learned that it was a very large ethnic group.
Want to completely conquer them through a war? It is impossible to rely solely on the strength of your own tribe. If you want to fight a war, you will need to organize a huge coalition army, and the war cannot end everything in a decisive battle.
The time is very premature, and it would be unwise to attack the Melalen tribe rashly.
However, there will definitely be no problem for those small tribes attacking the Northern Alliance to lead an army themselves to "conquer personally."
Therefore, in Hafgen's mind, it was enough to organize an army of about 2,000 people and launch a military operation that would not last long. After all, he was not confident in conquering the north in one go, so he found a target and hit it hard.
I am very happy to vent my anger on the Gotlanders and put on a military show for the tribes of the Alliance.
The messenger acted very quickly. In just two days, all the tribes on the Jutland Peninsula were informed of the summons from the leader of the alliance.
The order to gather the army and prepare for battle has come down! In the past, when the leader of the alliance issued such orders, he would go south to attack the Franks.
Everyone deeply remembers that the deceased Grand Alliance Leader Godfried led everyone to organize a huge fleet and looted mountains of gold and silver from the Frankish lands. All the tribes participating in the operation had considerable wealth.
With such a great victory, various tribes in Denmark were spontaneously launching attacks on the Franks. The attacks occurred every year without interruption.
This time, "Lion" Hafgen has only been the leader of the alliance for more than a year, and he is determined to attack the Northern Alliance?!
For a time, quite a few tribes thought this decision was very unwise.
Some tribes do not welcome this decision, while others see it as a huge opportunity.
Especially those young people who are eager to make achievements, eager to prove on the battlefield that they are warriors who can be favored by the gods, and also eager to get a considerable amount of loot from a war. Because young people generally hear about Godfrey.
The story of growing up.
In the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula, that tribe built a stone wall to defend against sneak attacks by the Franks and even neighboring tribes. Its leader, Ragnar, son of Sigurd, was full of a strong desire for a war against the north.
But the old Sigurd was obviously not enthusiastic about this war.
"Father, are you afraid of those people in Svealan?!" Ragnar, who was only nineteen years old, asked his father.
"Oh, my boy. I am not afraid of them, but you must understand, they are some very brave people."
"Father, are you doubting my bravery? I killed that man, doesn't that prove my bravery?"
Sigurd was very satisfied with his son. He had multiple sons, but only this one was the most qualified to inherit his position. That is, this Ragnar, who dared to represent himself and the enemy in battle at the age of only fifteen.
The leaders fought a duel, and in the end they won cleanly, without even a single wound.
After this battle, Ragnar's prestige in the tribe was greatly shaken.
Now, Ragnar is married, his wife is pregnant, and everything is getting better.
It's a good thing that his son likes to fight. Sigurd just doesn't want his son, or even his own tribe, to go north and die in vain just to help those Gotlanders and for Hafgen's so-called prestige.
What's more, many young people from the tribe have already crossed the stone wall and attacked the Franks by land.
Will the tribe allocate remaining troops to respond to the leader's call?
Sigurd thought for a moment and told young Ragnar what he thought: "My child, you can take a group of warriors to the north. As the leader, I will not allow you to take away many people. You can take away at most one person."
Hundreds of people."
"What? Father? We shouldn't be so stingy. I can command an army and fight all the way to Mellaren and get all their gold back."
"You are too young! They can detail Gotland. Why do you think they are as stupid and weak as the Franks? Why do you think you are stronger than them?"
"No! Father, I am indeed powerful." Ragnar retorted. His unruly heart felt that he could do things that ordinary people couldn't do. For example, who would have thought that a fifteen-year-old child could kill
Kill the opponent's strong leader?
Sigurd shook his head: "Now many brothers are launching an offensive in the south. If you take another group of young people to go on an expedition, what about the defense of our tribe? How can you be sure that the neighboring tribes will not take advantage of our emptiness to launch an offensive?"
Sneak attack? Child, don’t forget it! It was you who personally chopped off the leader’s head! Although we are all in the same alliance, who can guarantee that they will not launch a sudden attack.”
Sigurd of the Ring, under the glory of the great leader Godfried, he once was young and had no chance to compete for the great leader of the alliance.
Now, I am older, and the leaders of various tribes are also generally older.
The Robard tribe has been strong since ancient times. In order to avoid internal chaos, each tribe, while occasionally fighting each other, supported Hafgen of Robard as the leader of the alliance.
Sigurd finally covered his son's head with his big hand: "Ragnar, among all my sons, you are the bravest. Sooner or later, Hafgen will throw away his future because of his madness.
And you should become the new leader. Or, like the Franks, be crowned king."
Ragnar was deeply touched by his father's words.
After that, Sigurd thought for a while, if he really only gave his son a hundred men, three warships would be enough for such an army. Sigurd, the great ringer, would send such a few people to be mobilized for war? It would be too shabby!
Finally, one day after the messenger arrived, Ragnar, who was only nineteen years old, led two hundred warriors of his tribe, rowed a total of six dragon-headed warships, and rushed to the port of the Robard tribe.