Chapter 516 The Viking army is approaching the city
A mixed army begins a new journey.
The fleet set off from the main island of Shetland Islands, followed the direction of the island chain, and successfully arrived at the northernmost tip of Scotland in two days.
The army was repairing on the deserted coast, and the weather suddenly turned bad.
Rainy weather has enveloped the entire world. Compared with the drop in temperature, the feeling of wetness is constantly dampening the spirit of the soldiers.
However, the brothers have truly stood on the big island of Britain. Even if there are a lot of deserted offshore rocky slopes in front of them, as long as they continue south along the coastline, they will surely find the fat sheep-like Edinburgh.
People endured the light rain and continued southward, and the quiet change in the wind direction also allowed all the ships to raise their wet sails.
Everyone huddled together to endure the sudden cold feeling, and the sea became increasingly violent.
The north wind did not stir up any rough waves. Even so, all the ships were already rising and falling among the waves.
"If a ship is overturned by a big wave, wouldn't it mean that there will be heavy losses before the victory is launched?" Rurik was so disturbed that he hid in the cabin of the Avrola alone, so that he did not have to repay the pain of his men.
, but still lost all appetite due to the constant ups and downs of the waves.
Many people simply suffered from seasickness due to the torment. They became sluggish and could only huddle up instinctively.
The fleet deliberately traveled close to the coastline in order to float to the coast if the ship capsized. The expedition once turned into a self-torture in the wind and rain. After being tossed by wind, rain, and waves for five days, the sun finally dispelled the haze, and the sea became
At this moment, everyone gradually woke up from the malaise. They shook their wet bodies and subconsciously looked to the west, seeing the dark green scenery immersed in the mist.
Where exactly is the fleet?
Bathed in the warm south wind, Rurik stood on the bow deck and looked around.
At this moment, the Shetland Islander Huo De, who was a guide, stood cautiously beside him.
"Where are we now? How far are we from Edinburgh?"
"This..." Huo De was suddenly startled. He knew that Rurik would ask this question, but he really didn't know how to answer it accurately. So he said cautiously: "Based on my last experience, from Shetland to Edinburgh, it takes
It took about ten days.”
"Oh?" Rurik glanced at the high sun: "Now, we are already on the seventh day of our voyage. You mean, we have at most three days left to sail?"
"Yes."
"Okay, things are not bad."
"but……"
"What's wrong?"
Huo De said cautiously: "We sailed in the wind and rain, borrowing the northwest wind for many days. We sailed almost day and night, maybe we are now..."
"Huh?" Rurik's head tightened, "Maybe we are about to reach the target?"
"That's probably it. I can't determine the correct location, but if I see the small fjord, I know that there is a large fjord to the south. Edinburgh, Northumbria, is on the south bank of the large fjord.
"
"Then, just keep your eyes open." After saying this, Rurik suddenly became ambitious. He felt that he needed to convey the good news of "coming soon" to all the soldiers, but after thinking about it again, after seeing the scenery of Edinburgh
Before urban construction, any declaration is too hasty.
All the longships were still following the sails of the Aurora. The big ship was sailing against the wind, and the flag on the top of the mast was flapping, which was the beacon that everyone paid attention to.
Rurik still felt that the voyage would take a few more days, but as soon as it was afternoon, Huo De stamped his feet happily because the key "small fjord" appeared!
It is the fjord at the mouth of the Tay River in Scotland. In the language of the Picts, this river is called the Taita River. If the fleet goes upstream along this river, it will eventually reach the core of the Pictish kingdom.
District. It’s just that compared to the centuries-old feudal kingdom established by the Angsans in the south, the Picts in Scotland are too poor. The Picts can be crazy indigo raiders, but unfortunately,
They are really poor, even though they have already known how to discover and process diamonds to make treasures.
But Ansa people are essentially Saxons!
A group of Saxons who defended the Frankish army on the European continent fled north and became the new Danes. Borgholm is the cucumber-like outlying island of Öland in Scandinavia.
A small city-state founded by Saxon refugees!
Based on this understanding, Rurik subconsciously felt that the Saxon descendants in Edinburgh were more likely to build their city into a fortress.
Build a fortress? Can walls withstand a real army?
Just as the fleet passed the "small fjord" smoothly, Rurik summoned all the family leaders and family military representatives at sea to hold a combat meeting on the flagship Avlora.
Rurik needs no further explanation, his right hand goes to the man.
He stood at the height of the forecastle deck and issued an order: "The long voyage will eventually come to an end! Tell your soldiers to endure the last night, and we will arrive in Edinburgh tomorrow! Tell everyone to recharge their batteries and let us
Launch a surprise attack! No mercy!"
Speaking of excitement, what everyone saw were the clenched fists of the beautiful young man. The commander was so decisive, and people were happy for it.
After experiencing so many hardships, a great victory is just around the corner.
A group of northern waves is quietly approaching Edinburgh under the cover of night. Every warrior is actively polishing his ax blades and sword blades, preparing for the most terrifying fight. They only have treasures and beautiful women in their eyes. For those who are in a pool of blood
They were not afraid of fighting, but rather enjoyed it.
Because Odin's eyes are always staring at the earth, the god is choosing the bravest warriors, and only the most barbaric ones will be chosen!
This traditional Nordic belief is as strong as the Balmok people. Of course, their eyes are full of the desire to make a fortune.
So the Northumbrian garrison in Edinburgh never noticed anything was amiss? Their fishing boats didn't even detect the threat from the north?
As far as reality is concerned, this is indeed the case.
It was obviously close to the coast, and the once violent sea had returned to calm. However, except for the sailing Viking fleet, Rurik could not see other people's fishing boats in the sea. He originally thought that once he was exposed, he would let the Aurora
Hang up the full sail, shake off the large force, catch up with the enemy fishing boat and sink it to prevent the secret from being leaked.
Rurik was too worried, and the caution he and others had was actually superfluous.
Because the British Navy, which once dominated the world, now simply does not exist.
In other words, the British sea souls themselves were brought by various Viking conquerors.
Northumbria is the product of the merger of two small kingdoms. Her north and west are under military pressure from kingdoms established by various Celtic tribes, while the situation in the south is even more difficult. Although they are of the same Saxon family, Mercia
The nobles are working hard to establish the hegemony of "Great Mercia".
The Seven Kingdoms era in Britain was still in an era of intense competition among kingdoms, especially in Northumbria, where long-term noble infighting had exhausted the kingdom. Now, the Vikings are coming.
The Vikings had appeared a long time ago! The local nobles of Northumbria were also very aware of a brand new threat coming from the eastern sea!
Those ugly savages do not believe in God. They try to sell their dubious fish catch, but they also secretly commit gangsterism.
The fact is that many years ago, the expedition team of Shetland Islanders such as Hode went to the south and found the existence of Northumbria. It was true that they sold fish, and it was also true that they plundered secretly. They brought the Nordic "sea"
"Contact Principle", the so-called fisherman turned into a pirate, perfectly replicated in civilized Northumbria, which naturally aroused the rage of the local governor.
Unfortunately, the governor of Edinburgh does not have his own fleet at all, and the entire kingdom does not have any form of navy. What is even more strange is that the ships owned by such a huge kingdom are just some small boats such as sampans. It can only travel on rivers
Sailing or even entering offshore waters is courting death.
They were obviously people who set sail from Jutland, Denmark four hundred years ago, and their descendants in Britain have forgotten how to build ships!
They became purely land-based countries, and the so-called coastal defense could be ignored. The governor of Edinburgh was a relative of the king. Most of the troops stationed in the north of the kingdom focused on resisting the invasion of the Pictish kingdom. As for the threat from the sea,
?The army was actually helpless. In other words, the people of Edinburgh never thought that there would be an army of thousands of barbarians taking the sea route to land on their homeland!
Even though it is an important town in the north, the population of Edinburgh is not even as large as that of Rossburg, the hometown of the Ross people!
Not only that, in the current era, the total population of this huge kingdom is only more than 100,000 people. Even the population of England as a whole is only about 800,000 people, and they are mainly concentrated in Mercia and Wessex.
More than 4,000 people live in Edinburgh and the surrounding villages. The army is on guard against the invasion of the Kingdom of Picts and the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The farmers continue to live a quiet country life day after day, and even go to the monastery to attend mass, which is just plain.
The most important entertainment in life.
It was supposed to be a warm morning. When the sea fog dissipated and the sunshine dispersed the laziness of Edinburgh, farmers, shepherds, soldiers, generals, and those priests, this should have been the most ordinary beginning. People should enjoy the short time after the wheat harvest.
In what they understood to be the most prosperous and stable days in the world, the Earl of Edinburgh also prepared a carriage full of hope, planning to send the collected agricultural taxes (wheat) to the royal city of York.
However, some children who looked like the coast saw the most incredible sight in their short lives!
It was some children who first raised the alarm about the danger, but it was too late!
The Avora led all the longships in a beautiful beach landing. The big ship anchored near the shore. At this moment, Rurik could clearly see the basic structure of the city.
"Oops, they do have some wooden walls."
Biyongni, who was eager to try, looked confident. He didn't care: "The wall is nothing. If the brothers step on it for a few hundred feet, the wooden wall will collapse."
"Your tone reminds me of my cousin."
"But I am indeed your brother." Biyongni said proudly.
"No! Be as rash as my cousin." Rurik instructed his Yevro and others, "Unload all the torsion slingshots, bring two boxes of cast iron projectiles, and let's go ashore and destroy the wooden wall!"
At the same time, those longships had washed up on the beach on a large scale.
A large group of people wearing leather clothes, or simply with bare arms full of patterns, holding axes and wooden shields high, howling and rushing towards Edinburgh's wooden wall that was simply better than nothing.
Don't forget that it is an important town in the north of Northumbria. The so-called city is simply a large village surrounded by thin pine walls. There are also stone buildings, but it is a pity that they are very few.
The terrifying army rushed forward, and the Edinburgh civilians wandering outside the city ran away. Unfortunately, their actions were too late.
The furious Viking army showed no mercy. They ran and killed all the way until they reached the wooden wall.
It was also here that the Balmoks and Shetlanders, their furious heads were suddenly awakened by the troubles of reality!
A large number of farmers and herdsmen fled to the countryside, and those who had no time to escape could only huddle in the city.
The Earl of Edinburgh had never seen such a formation, and the local bishop also tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart. Together with the young monks, he walked up to the city wall holding up multiple shining golden "holy crosses" and nervously recited scriptures. The so-called
Let the morale of the defenders explode.
The junior warrior captain waved his iron sword, and the flag bearer tried hard to wave the orange flag of Northumbria.
They used some short wooden bows to shoot arrows in an attempt to stop the sea raiders.
The Viking attack did pause. This was not because they were hindered by the opponent's arrows, but because they noticed the trench under the wooden wall. It had been raining the past few days, and there was deep mud in the trench, and the whole world was still
If it appears wet, falling into a trench means being trapped in mud.
The bravest family leaders, such as Osten's eldest son Geiger, led his brothers to look at the suspended wooden bridge, hit their shields with axes, and cursed at the enemy.
Some of his brothers had already been hit by stray arrows, but the army still had no intention of retreating. Instead, relying on the large number of people, the army began to tactically surround the entire city.
Is this an excellent tactic? On the contrary, precisely because these guys who were impatient for follow-up heavy weapons rushed too fast and were helpless looking at the inferior wooden walls, they had no choice but to surround the city first.
However, as Rurik came ashore with all ten torsion slingshots that had been dismantled from the Avlora, the temporary helplessness was resolved.
People held their axes, swords, and spears high and roared, as if the Viking war cry could knock down the wooden wall with sound waves.
Thanks to this sudden terrifying momentum, more than a thousand men and women in the city were truly in extreme fear.
Even though the five hundred Northumbrian standing troops persisted in resisting, it was a pity that they were still at an absolute disadvantage!
Because the invaders were more than 1,100 Viking warriors. They came here to plunder and make money. They would not have the slightest mercy for killing people. These were kingdom warriors recruited from farmers, shepherds, and even serfs.
Incomparable.
"It's chaos! It's such a chaos!" Rurik shouted angrily, and then yelled at Biyongni's men who were carrying the torsion slingshot: "You move it quickly! We have to end the battle before noon! After destroying their city wall, you
Just go plunder!”
And what about Biyoni? He himself held his beloved Ross crossbow and gathered with all the crossbow-wielding warriors.
Rurik mixed most of the Balmoks with bows with his own mercenaries with crossbows and sailors ashore. Even the casual Modgen, an old traveler, now became a crossbowman.
Biyoni's men represented the power of the Balmok leader on the battlefield. They accepted Rurik's most direct order and fought with the Geiger brothers of Osten who were busy trying to break through the drawbridge.
Geiger was young and energetic. He protected most of his body with a wooden shield in one hand. He held a sword with his right hand and pointed at the opponent who was shooting arrows at the wooden wall. Facing Biyongni, he complained: "They actually have such means, brothers can't beat them!"
"
"I know! Let your brother retreat for now, and now let Rurik come! Rurik of Rus, our commander, he is best at destroying wooden walls."
"Okay! Let's take cover!" Geiger was overjoyed and watched as the heavy equipment started to start up.
However, just before the torque slingshot showed its power, various long-range soldiers holding bows and crossbows, including Biyongni, were already under the control of Rurik. They lined up in a very dense formation to defend the largest jumping bridge.
The enemy, launch fire suppression!
At this point, the balance of victory has undoubtedly fallen to the Vikings and to Rurik's hands.