The morning mist filled the forest, and the sunlight was like a curtain in the morning light. The bonfires at night were sparsely extinguished, leaving only a large number of embers with white smoke.
The Ross army was sleeping in disarray, and they were still surrounding the entire old Gray Squirrel Hill Fort.
Want to attack the city? No. At least not today.
One of the major problems faced by the army when going on an expedition was supplies. Originally, Rurik hoped to use the waterway and let the rowing longboat bring fish, wheat and onions that had been stored all winter to the camp, but the Oulu River is currently too fast.
Yes, you have to wait for a while if you want to sail smoothly.
The Russians do not completely need supplies from the rear. There are too many forest squirrel resources in this area.
Catching two squirrels and roasting them can basically feed a warrior for a day, not to mention fishing in the stream.
The bonfire was lit again, and the smoke filled the circular barrier. There were already Ross warriors wandering around the edge of the forest, deliberately performing for the enemy.
In fact, more Rus and Balmoks have already brought weapons to hunt and fish.
There were more than 50 strong men carrying axes and two-man saws and started cutting down wood to build simple long ladders.
Today's plan is just a feint attack. Rather than killing, humiliating, or intimidating the enemy, it is better to make the enemy tremble after a day of hard work. Their morale will collapse, so that you can win without any losses.
But the enemy must be killed!
After eating a bowl of salted wheat, Rurik raised his sword and screamed.
"Brothers, gather together! It's our turn to work!"
What he gathered this time was basically just the longbowmen in the standard-shooting corps and all the people who operated the trebuchets.
The so-called technological advancement will become a huge advantage on the battlefield. Facts have proved that the Tavastians shooting arrows in the mountain fortress cannot shoot arrows to the Russian forest camp with their inferior short wooden bows.
On the other hand, the Russians can comfortably throw stones at the enemy's hillfort in the safe zone.
Tavastia's arrow throw was only at the limit of 150 meters. Rurik and more than 200 people stood in a safe zone of about 200 meters.
He raised his right thumb and pointed it at the mountain fortress, "Very good, this is the position. Take off the head."
These so-called heads belonged to the deceased. Two hundred gray-white Guizhou heads that began to smell and ooze black blood were piled on the ground.
Indeed, these heads are real Guizhou heads. Almost all Tavastians have dark brown hair, even their beards.
These characteristics prove that they are immigrants from North Asia.
Jevlo and his guys have had enough of these unfortunate things for a long time, and now they are about to launch them, and everyone can't wait.
Mechasta and the Corvin longbowmen were already in formation, with ten arrows stuck in front of them.
The bull trebuchet is accumulating power. In addition to Guizhou pellets, there are also a batch of mostly pebbles picked up on the spot.
There were also a large number of Russian warriors holding shields wandering around the edge of the forest, shouting from time to time.
Look at this formation!
The commander of the Tavastiya Army, Vateala, was sitting on pins and needles. He did not want to sit still and wait for death, but now that he had completely lost the chance to evacuate, the only comfort was that those who were not determined must now fight to the death.
They still didn't know the true intentions of the Russians. Seeing that the enemy was about to attack, Vateyala not only ordered his men to prepare for a counterattack, but also ordered the surrendered Bakan to act as a messenger for negotiation.
This is almost certain death, right?
Looking at Rurik again, he noticed a person in the distance being slowly lowered on a rope.
"Everyone, be careful! Don't attack yet." He paused shooting and ordered everyone to stay calm.
Jevro pointed his sword at the man who was looking around and coming in fear, "Is that the messenger?"
"should be."
Rurik nodded and called Mechasta, who was holding the bow, "You understand their language very well. Come and ask carefully."
"Okay." Mechasta sighed, "Actually, I think this is superfluous. Neither we nor this group of Tavastians can have any illusions in return."
"Indeed, I don't want to be merciful at all."
"Then shoot this man." After saying this, Mechasta raised his bow.
Rurik knew that this man was already good at shooting, but this time he used a long bow made of mulberry wood, and his skills were even better. Then he pulled Mechasta's hand and said, "Listen to what this man said. I don't want to kill a messenger."
messenger."
"All right."
Mechasta was disdainful, but as the man approached, he lowered his bow and raised it again.
"Your Majesty the Duke, this guy is actually..." Mechasta's eyes were blazing.
"Do you know this person?"
"You should also know him. He is Bakan. He was supposed to surrender to you. Unexpectedly, he defected to the enemy?"
As soon as Rurik said this, he suddenly remembered that there were three Kovin leaders who surrendered, but it had been so long that he had forgotten them.
Bakan came cautiously, and his legs trembled nervously when he saw the arrow aimed at him.
Mechasta walked up to him and kicked him down, then spat again.
Bukan begged: "Don't hit me, I have something to say."
"Something happened? You betrayed everyone!" Mechasta said.
Looking at the current situation, Rurik changed his mind: "Press this person down first. Let's get rid of all the projectiles."
"Kill him!" Mechasta continued.
"Shut up!" Rurik shook his head and ordered his men to tie him up with a rope and take him away. He also tied a rope around his mouth.
Forget it, the Russian army's attack is still going on. Rurik will not change his plan just because this traitor has become a messenger.
Because strong countries don't need diplomacy, this is the Nordic way of life.
Rurik drew his dagger and ordered all his men to form a formation.
"Longbowmen! Nocking arrows! Catapults! Prepare!"
"hjutraaah!"
At the command, the ten trebuchets fired rapidly. The head covered with pus and blood was thrown out, and the fully charged lever hit the thick leather pad of the baffle, but the force was too great, and the whole building
The trebuchets all spontaneously bounced back, like a kicking bull.
Accompanying the flying Prime Minister of Guizhou are arrows, which are the wrath of the longbowmen of Kewen.
A large number of strange things flew over, and the Tavastians who had suffered a loss subconsciously squatted down, especially those who stayed on the wall, and picked up wooden boards to protect their heads and torsos.
The defenders who had originally mobilized to face the battle hid in hiding. The longbowmen's attacks did not cause any damage, except for the sound of a few arrows hitting the wooden planks.
More serious impacts followed, and they seemed to be rocks flying over. Although it felt extremely absurd, Vatyala felt that they were rocks.
"It's a stone! Protect your head, don't get smashed to death!"
In the chaos of the raid, someone was suddenly stoned to death. At that time, the battle situation was extremely chaotic, and Vatyala couldn't care too much. Now that he saw the flying things clearly, he was afraid that he would be smashed to pieces, so he curled up into a ball.
, just like a pangolin.
But it was not a stone.
Some "stones" hit the shield and then seemed to be bounced away, and more fell into the open space in the mountain fort.
The "stone" clearly did not cause any damage. This round of the Russian offensive did not cause any injuries to the defenders. As the saying goes, the damage is not high and the insult is huge. The Tavastian warrior who staggered up looked at the black in disbelief.
The "stones" on the ground, how could they be stones? They are clearly human heads!
No! It’s our own head!
Someone unexpectedly discovered that a head belonged to his friend. He dropped his shield, rolled over and crawled towards it, holding the head in his hands and howling loudly.
Seeing this incredible situation, Vatyala's head was buzzing, and then he bared his teeth and became furious.
He stood up in rage, pointed the captured steel sword at the array of Russians and cursed: "You are all bastards born of slaves! You are abandoned babies raised by hungry wolves! How dare you humiliate me like this! I want to
Cut off all your heads and kick them into the cesspit!"
In fact, Vatyala couldn't think of any more vicious words. He cursed here endlessly, and for a moment he squatted down because of fear.
Then he screamed at the people who had gathered in the empty field to pick up the enemy's arrows and collect the heads of the dead: "Hide quickly! The arrows are coming!"
Indeed, the longbowmen started firing again, accompanied by the second round of Guizhou heads.
Fortunately, the Tavastians obeyed their boss's words. They hid and witnessed the falling objects, and were glad that they were not killed by arrows.
New heads smashed in, and some even fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, a sight that made people retching and dizzy.
Rurik stood with his sword in hand. His longbowman's arms had limited strength, and it would not be good to tire his arms out before a real battle was decided.
Ten rounds were fired in a relatively short period of time. Even though the weight of these longbows was still not high, he thought it was better to take it easy. Only the trebuchets, the hemp ropes, sinews and whale baleen that were the source of the torque of these heavy weapons, were soaked in too much.
The greasy seal oil and torque can be squandered. Rurik will not only throw the 200 Guizhou heads he prepared today, but also give the enemy a batch of pebbles.
He was extremely confident in the durability of these weapons, but he didn't know what the limit of damage would be.
It should be no problem for every trebuchet that uses torque to fire continuously for twenty-five rounds.
The Qianshou smashed them round after round, and they landed on the occupied mountain fort quite accurately. Fright and anger filled the entire mountain fort, and the Tavastians were still thinking about waiting for the released Bakan to bring back Ross.
People's news, now it is estimated that Bakan has been chopped down, and the Russians expressed their attitude in this way-kill them all.
Many of the fallen Guizhou heads were shattered to pieces on the ground. The defenders saw it like a day nightmare, with sticky and smelly things scattered everywhere. They were all retching and trying to escape from this place.
There is actually no way for everyone to escape, and with the real stones falling, the shacks where people are hiding are no longer safe.
Finally, a Tavastian warrior was hit by a stone that penetrated the roof of the thatched roof. His head was bruised and his muscles and bones were broken. People held up their wooden shields and prayed that they were lucky.
The offensive lasted for most of the morning, and actual combat proved that all trebuchets continued to fire for twenty-five rounds with excellent performance.
The longbowman completed ten rounds of projectiles and ended his mission. Even so, everyone felt the fatigue on their shoulders.
The Russians cheered for the battle in the morning. No one knew how much the enemy had suffered. Anyway, the insulting capital of Guizhou was thrown over, along with two hundred arrows and fifty pebbles. The nature of this action was intimidation and insult.
The vast number of Russian and Balmok warriors must seize the time to polish their weapons.
When the siege of the old Gray Squirrel Hill Castle actually took place, Rurik actually did not come up with a precise "battle plan."
It could be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Anyway, the Russians will be fully capable of a general offensive starting tomorrow. Rurik suddenly seemed a little conservative. It was entirely because he hoped that his army would be an ally in the final battle. He would not
There are no more casualties. After all, it is another great honor to achieve a complete victory without any injuries to one's own army.
Continue to torment the enemy in the afternoon? Of course.
Torturing the beasts in the cage was something Rurik was very willing to do now. After all, the cruel beast in his heart was forced out by these beasts.
Before that, he was interested in hearing what the detained traitor Bukan wanted to say.
At this moment, Bukan was simply tied to a big tree, and a bored Russian soldier peed on the unfortunate guy, deliberately using vicious words to humiliate him.
When Rurik came back, this guy already had a bad smell.
After several pots of pottery jars of river water were poured on it, the guy's condition improved slightly.
Rurik squatted down, with Mechasta and Kehas standing beside him.
In fact, Bakan was more surprised that Mechasta and Kehas could live in peace than seeing Rurik, a boy who had just begun to look like an adult.
"Tell me, what did they send you to do?"
Bakan was very excited. Seeing the current situation, he could no longer care too much and suddenly announced: "Me! I am helpless. I am still your servant. Now everyone in my tribe has been killed by Tavas."
The Thians kidnapped me, and I lost all my people and everything."
"You lied!" Mechasta saw the fallacy at a glance, and Kejas also agreed with this judgment.
"Sir, you must not listen to his nonsense." Kejas said angrily, "I saw with my own eyes that this guy was guiding those barbaric guys to attack our fortress. Without this person's help, how could the enemy successfully capture my fortress?"
Hill fort?”
After hearing these words, Bukan's attitude suddenly became ambiguous.
Just looking at the man's dazed expression, Rurik judged that what this man said was definitely a lie. Anyway, he didn't need this traitor, or the entire Oulu River Basin had been under construction since the construction of Kovinstad at the mouth of the river.
There will no longer be a need for a Kovan mandate, the Rus will rule and colonize directly.
Rurik signaled the two men to shut up, and then asked Bakan: "The enemies in the mountain fortress want to send me a message. Do they want to surrender?"
"This..." Originally, Bakan wanted to confirm that he was really in the Russian army. He quietly changed his mind and insisted: "The Tavastians regard me as a tool. They said it! They think
You will not capture the mountain fortress under any circumstances, saying that they will hold on to the end."
"Do they really have such confidence?" Rurik smiled wildly.
People who understood the words also burst into laughter.
Seeing this, Bakan continued to argue: "Yes, they are very arrogant. Their leader said that it was just a small defeat before, claiming that if the Russians dare to attack the city, under the wooden wall, they will inevitably..."
"What must it be?"
"They are all Russian corpses."
The joking Rurik immediately stopped laughing and drew his sword and pointed it at Bakan's throat: "You are laughing at me!"
Bakan, whose eyes widened and trembled, hesitated: "Yes...it was the leader who said it."
"Kill this traitor," Mechasta suggested.
"Yes, chop him!" Kejas said the same.
Instead, Rurik's sword relaxed lightly, and then he laughed as if he understood: "Indeed, you are a tool. The Tavastians think you are redundant, and hope I kill you. You... think I
Will I kill you?"
Hearing this, Bukan suddenly started shaking violently, obviously eager to express his position: "Sir, I am still useful. I also know one very important thing."
"What's up?"
"It's their reinforcements! Their leader sent many messengers many days ago and moved all the immigrants from the entire fortress. Their reinforcements are countless, maybe two thousand people. No! Three thousand people! They will definitely come.
Rescue here.”
"Reinforcements of three thousand people?" This matter was completely beyond Rurik's expectation. He could not believe that the Tavastians, who were boasted to be extremely powerful by the Kovins (it turned out to be an exaggeration), would really fight for this area.
Life.
Bakan hurriedly continued to explain: "Because their leader said that the Tavastians will not give up any newly conquered territory, even if they fight the Russians to the end."
"It's ridiculous. I didn't provoke them at all. They came to hurt me. In this case, they sent people to my door to kill them. How could I ignore them?"
I originally thought that by demolishing this mountain fortress and killing all the defenders, the "border trouble problem" in the Oulu River Basin could be solved through "physical destruction". Now it seems that all this is the general trend of the wheel of history rolling forward.
, the fateful battle between the Rus and the Tavastians is inevitable.
Rurik admires this kind of enemy. After all, he is the ancestor of Finland. His courage is worthy of admiration, but it is a pity that the strength of the two sides is seriously unequal.
Rurik continued to inquire and learned more details about the enemy's reinforcements. He even learned that the Tavastian leader's name was Vatkad, who occupied Gray Squirrel Hill Castle and massacred and plundered the local Covins and Ross fishermen.
The leader of the Tavastiya army is named Vatyara, and it can be determined from their names that the two are brothers.
The Russian military division in this crusade was well-known, and its legitimacy was very reasonable. Rurik had already adopted some extreme measures against the enemy. He did not feel any guilt. Instead, these deeds were regarded as heroic actions by the soldiers.
After all, Bakan provided information. Rurik did not directly spare this man's life, but he did not kill him immediately. This man did not want to die. He should have tried his best to reveal all kinds of information in order to survive. Besides, this man claimed that he was completely
If you are familiar with the road to the hinterland of Tavastia, there is at least no harm in leaving a beggar to lead the way.
The situation has changed dramatically. If the enemy really organizes an army of 3,000 people to come to the rescue, will the assault on the mountain fortress be detrimental to future battles?
Rurik believed in the brotherhood of the enemy. His younger brother was besieged. As the eldest brother, how could the leader of the alliance rescue the siege without bringing heavy troops?
Now attacking the mountain fortress has become a secondary purpose. To solve the border troubles, the simplest and crudest way is to kill the enemy's active force as much as possible. It is more meaningful to try to annihilate this enemy's huge force! The mountain fortress was immediately pulled out.
Rurik decided to convene a frontline military meeting in the evening. Before that, it would be a good idea to give some gifts to the trapped beasts in the mountain fortress!
As a result, the trebuchet smashed dozens of pebbles over, which was regarded as a special "extra meal" for the enemy's simple dinner...