Chapter 593 When Rurik marched into the mouth of the Uz River, Ernred and Wigraf stared at each other
The coalition forces of Balmok and Ross sacked Bamberg a year ago, and a group of local female prisoners had been taken to the Narvik Fjord.
Bamburgh Castle and the surrounding areas were destroyed, and the people fled for their lives. As a result, Northumbria retook Bamburgh after seeing the Viking army leave. The reconstruction work was like a snail crawling due to lack of manpower.
Most of the people fled to Jewelling, a military fortress named after the javelin, where the kingdom's army was in charge. The people naturally believed that the army here would ensure their safety, and this was indeed the case, but that was all.
Because this military fortress is now resisting the harassment of the Picts from the south. When they learned that the invading Viking army was stronger than last year, they simply launched a comprehensive defense to preserve their strength.
Rurik and others did not know about this, and they did not even know that the military fortress was only about thirty kilometers west of their camp.
At night, most of the Viking warriors built sheds among the ruins of the city to sleep.
The distance of more than two kilometers from the beach to Bamburgh is filled with bonfires.
The soldiers also captured the horses used by the craftsmen to pull materials. However, the horses were full of oil and water, so the Balmok soldiers directly killed the horses and roasted the horse meat.
In the nearby waters, the Russians caught a batch of herring. Although the quantity was not large, everyone was able to fill their stomachs.
The coalition forces were not short of food, and for this battle Rurik's fleet carried a large amount of wheat. He would not provide wheat to the allies. The existing oats could only feed one thousand of his men one pound a day for a month.
Will there be a food crisis? Once the main force of the coalition arrives, the fishery resources in the waters near Bamberg will be plundered immediately.
This is the North Sea, and fishery resources have always been abundant.
But anyone who has eaten wheat will fall in love with the wonderful taste. In this era of barrenness and lack of exploration, who would refuse high-carbohydrate delicacies?
Rurik didn't live in the city, he just couldn't stand the ruins, and he also knew that there was really no money to be made from a huge construction site.
He ordered the Russian army to camp outside the city, built a fire to roast fish and cook wheat porridge.
He stayed in the tent for the night, but early the next morning, a cool breeze came into the tent.
"Damn it, is it raining? Britain is really Britain!"
Rurik put on his clothes and stood outside, sighing at the haze and the suddenly cold weather.
The rain started to fall around noon, and the drizzle made the world muddy, and it also brought a sense of desolation.
The numerous houses and barracks in Baibanbao that had been destroyed by the war were just built by the coalition forces with some wooden slats and piled with rags and grass to provide shelter from the wind and rain.
Especially the Balmoks, they all know that their tribesmen will move here on a large scale. The brothers are a group of explorers and should carefully inspect this area and explore the fields and pastures for grazing.
Everyone must hide and warm themselves by the fire in simple houses, listening to the sound of rain outside and hoping that the rain will end soon.
This rain lasted for three days. It was just a cloudy rain, and the sea was relatively calm.
When the haze ends, the sun lazily breaks out of the clouds.
The soldiers who were almost going crazy left their shacks, left Bamburgh, and went to survey the surrounding area with swords, spears, and arrows.
Because there were Balmok warriors standing at the top of the ruined city. They looked out into the distance and saw the villages in the distance.
"Let's go! Go to the village over there! Grab their cattle, sheep, wheat, and their women!"
Bamburgh City was suddenly bustling with excitement, and the Biyoni brothers followed their brothers' enthusiasm. They first informed Rurik of their ideas, and then took all the Balmok brothers to explore.
"You guys go! Go... I guess you won't get anything." Standing on the muddy grass, Rurik looked at their backs and sighed with regret.
"Why do you see it?" Jevlo asked, "Maybe our army also has to go and search for some loot."
"Forget it. Those villagers have escaped completely, let's go..." Rurik shook his head, "Go and look at the surrounding fields. There may be some edible wheat."
Rurik didn't think much about harvesting wheat, and it turned out to be true.
Among the many weeds, there were many hanging ears of oats, all of which were withered and yellow.
Jevro and his men immediately came up with the idea of harvesting, "Sir, at least we can get some supplies."
"This wheat cannot be eaten."
"How can I see it?"
"They've all sprouted." Rurik shook his head and picked up the ears of wheat and twisted them again. He saw that the wheat did not sprout, but that there were mold spots on the grains.
"Damn it! Some of the wheat grains have gone bad. This is all abandoned farmland. Don't imagine it."
Jevro sighed, "It seems that it's all because we killed too many of them last year."
Biyongni and his men found nothing, and the thatched houses in those villages were unpopular and simply abandoned.
Biyongni came back, and when he saw Rurik he shouted, "This is no longer a prosperous place. It seems we have to build from scratch."
"That's a good thing too. At least those Northumbrian farmers won't compete with you for farmland."
"But brothers are still hungry for gold and silver. It seems we have to go to York early. So, do we really know the way?"
"What's so difficult about this?" Rurik shrugged, "We can reach it along the forest road, but our advantage is the navy. Paul, whom I captured, knows the river where York is located, and our army went upstream to attack the city."
"Then take action now! Leave some people to build the landing site. I don't want to wait for my father anymore."
"No problem. Just wait for them. I want to fight this battle steadily. I must make Northumbria surrender completely in one battle to avoid causing trouble in the future."
Biyongni couldn't defeat his smart brother-in-law. Moreover, his army still needed the Russian warships to transport troops for the time being. He really had to obey Rurik's orders on where to go.
The elite vanguard troops of the coalition were dormant in Bamburgh, waiting for seven whole days!
Finally, the four sail destroyers trawling the sea saw the approaching fleet. They finally arrived after such a long time, but the soldiers on board continued to criticize.
King Magnut of the Balmok people has finally arrived. This leader brought his slow-moving troops of 2,500 people. The road was bumpy with waves and rained. After all, it was
There was no storm, and the exhausted army finally arrived at Bamburgh.
The new arrivals fell asleep soundly when they landed, and when Magnute learned about Bamburgh's current situation, he was really disappointed.
The Earl of Bamburgh's old house had temporary wooden beams installed, but the monastery had collapsed, so everyone had to adapt to this small place to plan for big things.
There is no shortage of food for everyone, and everyone can last a long time even if they chew the dried fish hard.
But the army was hungry for fresh meat and wheat, so it was best for the king of Northumbria to provide a group of women to keep everyone happy.
Barbaric people, even though they are tired, when they look at the bonfire, their eyes are like a ball of fire.
Magnute introduced the experience of his main force and couldn't wait to tell his son and son-in-law, as well as many brave men in the army and all the family leaders of his urgency.
"I plan to set off tomorrow. Brothers, go ashore and rest for the night. Tomorrow we will take the sea route to York. Rurik, you know the waterway into York."
Everyone's eyes were focused on Rurik, and he nodded, "That's true. As long as we find the mouth of the river, we can go upstream. In fact, we can attack York long ago. Father, I'm waiting for you."
Magnut enjoyed the feeling of Rurik calling his father, and was touched that he gave him the honor of attacking York.
He thought for a while and asked, "Since you can, there must be a reason for waiting for me."
"Yes, because it is an attack on the inland river. Our Ross fleet is adapted to naval warfare, and inland navigation is not as good as traditional longships. York is their royal capital, so we must be cautious. We must gather at least three thousand main forces, so that we can win surely
.”
Magnut nodded, and all the village leaders had no objections.
They quickly made a decision, that is, the Balmoq army would divide a thousand people to guard the Bamburgh landing site, and the remaining 3,000 troops would set off to attack York at noon the next day.
That night, the exhausted army slept deeply. When they woke up, many people found that it was almost noon.
The order was absolute and the army boarded the ship again, but the time and delay reached the afternoon.
The size of the coalition army has been reduced, but the three thousand troops are still a powerful and dangerous force in Britain.
How powerful is this? Even the strongest Kingdom of Wessex, although their population is close to 500,000, due to the poor conscription system and military system, they can assemble up to 10,000 troops in a month, mostly farmers.
.
Although the Vikings who landed were not professional soldiers, at least Rurik allowed his Russian men to live a military life for many years. They have become bloody veterans in many years of war...
This battle gave Rurik the feeling of killing a chicken with a knife, and he was afraid that he would use too much force and Northumbria would be destroyed.
But this is not a bad thing. If the country is really destroyed, it will be easy to support a puppet king.
Thinking about it this way, if the coalition forces did not sack York, they would be really sorry for the Balmoks and their brothers from the Ross Expeditionary Force who had been sailing for more than half a month.
The huge coalition army hungry for wealth, power and a better future is moving south along the coastline, trying its best to find the mouth of the Ouse River leading to York.
Magnute thought too much about Rurik's thoughts. Along the way, he felt more and more that his army was invincible. Why should Northumbria cede territory and pay tribute? Why not replace it himself and destroy Northumbria?
The royal family of Bria, be the king yourself.
Rurik also noticed the old guy's sudden burst of ambition. Can his father-in-law succeed?
I'm afraid there is no problem with success. The sudden landing of this army of 4,000 people and the strong military power firmly control a piece of land, thereby establishing a Viking kingdom and making Magnut the king. As long as he is willing, he can
Easily done.
In northern Britain in 833 AD, the meandering River Ouse was not the waterway structure it would be a thousand years later.
The ancient river bed dried up and turned into farmland, and the Ouse River still flows quietly on it. York is not the York of a thousand years later. It is adjacent to the current Ouse River and is located on its left bank.
As the capital of a country, York seems to be a very safe place.
The people lived their days year after year, surrounding the farmers living in this small city. They had just finished this year's oat harvest and had just finished shelling the wheat grains with flails.
They paid the king this year's taxes, as well as next year's taxes and the year after that!
This is true for the people near York, and the same is true for the people living in other noble areas, and they even pay heavier taxes.
All this was due to the defeat near Lindisfarne last year and the disasters in Edinburgh and Bamburgh. The kingdom was facing a huge war crisis, and military expenses suddenly skyrocketed. King Aynred had to step up his efforts to exploit his people.
The kingdom's army suffered a sudden defeat at the cost of blood, and the king also lost an arm.
News that was unfavorable to the kingdom immediately spread throughout the island. Even the kingdoms began to invade various Vikings, large and small, and plundered. It was naturally more troublesome to deal with the Vikings, but in the severely damaged Northumbria region
Some kingdoms have already started to cut their flesh.
Even within the Kingdom of Northumbria, there are undercurrents surging. The young nobleman Osbert is ready to make a move, but he is smart. In this special period, he focuses on the overall situation and uses Javelin Town Jewelling as his stronghold in the north.
, desperately absorbing the fleeing farmers, secretly expanding their own power.
How could the Broken-Arm King Eynred not know all this?
But the situation in the kingdom was so precarious. Not long after the Vikings left, the Picts from Socra began to move south again. Without the resistance of the Osbot family, I was afraid that the north of the country would be lost directly. The so-called Picts who left York were
A special kingdom.
Northumbria was originally the merger of two kingdoms. As a descendant of the royal family of another kingdom, Osbert was also eligible to compete for the throne of the entire Northumbria.
Aynred is the real king, and the legitimacy of his family's rule has been approved by the Pope. Moreover, the real reason why he holds the king's power is the army in his hands.
Now, King Wiglaf of Mercia has restored Mercia to a mere three years, but the kingdom's army is still strong.
In the past few years, the Kingdom of East Anglia, which was annexed by Mercia, rebelled. The old king died in battle, and the new king conquered and died again. Mercia, whose military strength suffered a major blow, was suddenly completely conquered by the Kingdom of Wessex.
attack!
The world in the north is really not peaceful!
In 830 AD, Egbert, the bathing king of Wessex, launched an all-out attack on the north. Wiglaf, the new and weak king of Mercia who had just succeeded to the throne, immediately declared his surrender and became a vassal.
At the same time, King Earnred of Northumbria, whose arm is still intact, supports King Bath of Wessex as the supreme lord, and East Anglia also hopes to gain its protection through surrender. Only Wales
The group of Romanized Britons who were remnants of the Roman era in the area, their determined resistance attracted the King of Baths to personally conquer the area.
The surrenderer Wiglaf, who seized the opportunity, immediately led his old tribe of Mercia to restore, and also used this feat to stabilize his royal power.
The Bath King did not conquer Wales, and upon seeing this, Aynred of Northumbria no longer respected the Bath King as his supreme king.
England's nominal unity lasted only a year! By 831 AD it was almost back to the old ways.
It was in this year that an unprecedented war broke out in the Baltic world. Although the newly born Sweden lost to Denmark, the Rus, who were born out of Sweden, greatly expanded their power as a result of this war, and their rise was already unstoppable.
How does the struggle for power in the Baltic Sea relate to the power play of the great island of Britain?
Eynred never dreamed that his kingdom would soon be conquered by the Viking army, especially the Viking army led by the Rus. But what made him feel uncomfortable now was that the neighboring countries were asking for territory from him.
The land must be returned to Mercia.
Rurik's fleet had already rushed to the large bay at the mouth of the wide Ouse River. It was so wide and easy to distinguish. The fleet set off at noon that day. Although the speed of the entire fleet was a bit slow, it still arrived at the bay on the morning of the third day.
The next step was to rush across the River Ouse to attack York and attack the city.
The horrific news of the invasion of the Viking army, directed at York, has been sent to the country of York with the new Earl of Bamburgh galloping on horseback.
The whole city fell into panic, and the surrounding farmers immediately rushed into the capital with their families and families to seek refuge.
York has turned into a huge refugee camp. The only advantage is that the capital can mobilize a large number of farmers to arm themselves. At least they will fight for the kingdom to protect their wives and children.
If we stick to the country with its tall stone walls, people still have great hope. If the king returns with the army from the south, we should be able to repel the invading Vikings.
So, where is the broken-arm Eynred?
Several messengers rode wildly, with only one destination - Dole Village (Sheffield) in the south.
Because the main force of the royal army, more than 2,000 elite infantrymen who are good at field battles, 200 cavalry, and more than 3,000 armed farmers who were recruited just after harvesting the wheat are stationed there, under the personal command of the king, and with the same imperial commanders.
King Wiglaf of Mercia, who was demanding territory from Northumbria, faced off against him. This army was almost the last elite force in Northumbria, and it was also the biggest trump card of his broken-arm Aenred.
But Mercia was not alone. Since the opponent had deployed an army of 5,000 men, King Wiglaf of Mercia also quickly formed an army of the same size to march on the border.
The war between the two kings seems to be about to break out, but now, both sides have begun to plan that once the decisive battle occurs, they will directly fulfill the bath-loving Ebbert of Wessex.
It's just that everyone is a respectable person, and the two sides have negotiated, but whoever retreats first will admit that he is a coward.
How could Eynred, who had broken his arm, retreat first? He had broken an arm so badly that he had to use strong methods to maintain his power. He was like a nail stuck in the Dole Village military camp, hoping like an eagle to break his arm.
Wiglaf on the opposite side was bored and forced him to retreat.