A large number of prisoners were escorted to the muddy square in York.
The black mud here was covered with the blood of the war dead, and the horrified people sat trembling on the ground. When they saw the dead bodies piled up in a corner due to cleaning, they instinctively felt that this was their fate.
The children cried loudly, and the women cried loudly. The captured men were either sad, angry or frightened.
Standing in front of them was a large group of unkempt savages, many of whom had their upper bodies exposed and displayed horrifying tattoos.
Barbarians were Picts?
The captured people had different opinions. In their understanding, only the Picts in the north were scary and tattooed people.
But they are not!
Everyone was surprised to see the queen. The young woman was like a walking corpse, following a man with a bald head and tattoos in a trance.
Although the queen was said to be unclean, she was now clearly reduced to a slave. The people were lamenting and worried about their own fate.
This is not the end yet, a group of barbarians entered the city again.
This group of guys seemed to be decent warriors. They were uniformly dressed in white robes and blue stripes, but it was actually him they were escorting!
Many captured soldiers of the kingdom stood up in shock, unable to believe that His Highness the Prince had been captured.
Rurik, who was standing high up and discussing with his father-in-law Magnute how to deal with this large number of prisoners, noticed the strange movements of the prisoners with a sideways glance.
They were originally silent and became noisy, just because Fraser and the others came back?
Rurik turned around and saw the archery master Frazier, who was not only carrying a crossbow, but also had a short boy wrapped around his waist.
"Is that a nobleman?" he said.
Magnut also turned around, pointed and said: "Your men have caught a prey. I saw a small deer."
"Perhaps a noble deer."
Fraser and the others didn't know that they had just waited and caught the first heir to the throne of Northumbria. He was looking for his sponsor, and when they saw the dejected prisoner sitting on the ground, they
The man was also greatly shocked and felt that his capture had become meaningless.
He easily found Rurik standing high up.
But that place made him feel uncomfortable.
It was a stone platform, probably used as a place to execute prisoners in public. Unexpectedly, the financial owner and Balmok allies would give orders here.
"Sir, I'm back." After saying that, the short boy whom Jiang tied up was still on the ground, "Look, this is a nobleman."
Rurik raised his head and took a look, and it was indeed true. Compared with ordinary children, this short-haired boy was too pampered.
"Who is he?" Rurik asked.
"I don't know. Maybe he is the prince."
"Wait a minute!" Rurik knelt down, stared at the trembling boy, and then asked in Saxon: "Who are you?"
"E...Ella."
"Ella? Are you Ella?!"
Rurik stood up suddenly, with a smile on his calm face, and said to Magnut, "Okay now, we have captured their prince. Children can't lie, right?"
"Is this the kid?" Magnute looked at him with disdain, "You can be my slave."
"Whatever." Rurik shrugged and mentioned the conversation just now, "If you rule here, I will support it. Northumbria is so weak, I still fantasize about negotiating with them, but it is no longer necessary.
.So, I want to take away most of the wheat in the city."
"Of course." Magnute patted his son-in-law on the shoulder. He was really satisfied with this arrangement.
Because according to Magnut's current understanding, you can survive by eating fish, and there is no need to worry about the gain or loss of a large amount of oats. If the Balmoks don't start spring plowing next year, it would be okay to give all the wheat to Ross.
What he really cares about is taking away the population, the fields and pastures, the cattle and sheep, the mild climate here, and the most important thing, the gold and silver.
The son-in-law only wants wheat, so he can decide so, but he must also give him something else.
If you act too greedy, the Balmok brothers will criticize you.
He then said, "I'd better give you some other property. I'm not a greedy old guy."
"Ah, thank you very much."
In a moment, Biyongni came in a fierce manner, pinched the zombie-like queen's neck again, and said happily to his father, "This is their queen, and now I have it. Haha, what an honor!"
"You!?" The eldest son's move shocked Magnute, "You are so good at this? I still want to..."
"A very young woman? Forget it. The woman who conquered the king, I am proud."
Then Queen Ella suddenly became irritable, and her dazed expression became calm. On this platform, which was originally the platform where prisoners on death row were executed, Anna, Ella and her son met.
Anna was not restrained, she cried loudly while holding her son, and Prince Ella also howled.
Biyongni was also surprised. He had no mercy and pulled the queen up again.
Anna was crying, begging the Vikings to save her son's life.
Rurik understood what he said, and signaled Biyongni not to be rude, and then stepped forward, "You are the queen, I have seen you. You have served Aenred's subordinates, you are an unclean person.
If you were not the queen, you would be beheaded here!"
Of course Rurik knew that this high platform was a place of execution, and he said to Biyoni: "It's really pointless for you to keep her."
"It doesn't matter. You should ask her where the king has gone. It would be the greatest honor for me to kill that man on the battlefield with my own hands."
"That's fine."
In order to survive and for mother and son to depend on each other, Queen Anna explained everything Rurik wanted to know. Now she no longer had to worry about the heartless King of Han who abandoned his wife and son. She even remembered that she was demoted to a monastery to atone for her sins.
revenge.
The so-called defender general is Earl Greywulf, who is now missing. She also said that the main force of the kingdom's army was fighting the Mercian army in the south, leaving the capital empty. Then she described that the king's army was probably already rescuing York.
On the road.
Is this what happened?
After hearing this, Rurik hurriedly informed Magnut, "Their main force is not here. We occupy York and will probably face a decisive battle. Their king has an army of 5,000 men, which is probably on the way."
!”
Magnute didn't take it seriously, "You said this? Are you afraid?"
"How is that possible? I just want to remind our coalition forces to stay vigilant. If the soldiers are obsessed with treasure and are emptied by the women here, they may encounter setbacks. We must be vigilant!"
"It doesn't matter!" Magnute waved his hand and said, "It's time to deal with these prisoners. Yes, I don't want to kill them randomly, but some people must die!"
When Biyongni heard this, he immediately thought of his new slave girl. "This queen is already my slave, at least..."
Magnute rolled his eyes at his son again, "I really didn't expect you to be so good. This woman is not young at all. You can keep it as a toy. But all the soldiers wearing the clothes of their kingdom's army, they did not fight hard.
After all, they are traitors! Traitors must die."
Rurik naturally didn't think what Magnute said was wrong, but he didn't want to witness the killing of prisoners.
Rurik did not stop it at all, just because the nature of this war was quite special. The Russian army did come to plunder, but the Balmoks planned to emigrate as a whole, just like the ancestors of the Northumbrians four hundred years ago.
Immigrated here from Denmark, killed and expelled the local Picts, and conquered this territory. The most capable men in this area were aware of their simple security measures for occupying the new land. Rurik is no longer qualified to do so.
No criticism, just because what he did in the East was exactly the same.
Magnut selected twenty women from the captives and threw them to Rurik, saying they would make his brothers happy.
Bah! Is this good?
Rurik didn't think this was a good thing, so he simply called John Invar, who was accompanying him, and asked him to take care of these women.
Although they are all barbarians, the Russians who look like they are wearing white robes with blue stripes are at least not simple evil people. At least these people know what sacred faith is, but what kind of behavior would it be for a young priest to mix with a group of barbarians?
Women are hard to understand, but since you can even avoid being humiliated by doing good things, then don't resist to save your own life first.
These twenty women directly became cooks, which really solved the problem of efficient eating for the army for Rurik.
All the carts brought by Rurik were put to great use, and a large number of sacks filled with oats were already being moved nervously.
Wheat began to be transported to cargo ships, which was really a huge project.
At night, the Russian officers and soldiers camped on the river bank guarding the fleet. Everyone ate cooked wheat around the bonfire and shared the joy of victory.
Naturally, some people questioned that the Duke was too kind and actually allowed the Balmoks to win the most spoils. Some people called on everyone to be quiet and clamored that so many wheat games would be redistributed in Rossburg. The whole family could
Eat it for a year or two.
Even the cook was given a large bowl of wheat porridge, sprinkled with a large amount of salt, and stirred in seal oil, which was edible and also lubricated the cable, and ate it.
This was Rurik's reward. He could see how skinny these firewood girls were, and it was obvious that their daily lives as peasant girls were really shabby.
High carbohydrate, high fat and high salt content will indeed be a fattening monster for people thousands of years from now, but for the poor people of this era, it is really a delicacy that only nobles can enjoy.
They are all Rurik's slaves. It would be good to take them back to their hometown to serve and provide daily services.
It is really because the ten little maids that the father selected for him from Novgorod are becoming more and more beautiful. In a few years, they will have to perform their own responsibilities, and then they will not be able to do any work related to servants.
.
The Ross army's camp was quite stable. On the contrary, York was occupied by the Balmoqs, and the city fell into madness.
After all, York is the capital of a country, more beautiful than the Narvik Fjord. Magnute deliberately allowed his men to plunder and torment all the captives, and it didn't matter to him even if the men shrank after excessive joy.
Does arrogance inevitably lead to failure? At least not now.
Compared with the Viking army that came from afar, Northumbria's army was still too weak.
Early the next morning, the riverside became lively.
A group of Balmok warriors escorted more than a hundred surrendered soldiers dressed in orange to the banks of the Ouse River. Their eyes were tied with cloth strips, and they knelt down helplessly one after another.
After a fuss, Magnute personally ordered the execution.
These people were the last fighting force among thousands of captives. They did not die for the kingdom, and the Balmoks helped them die honorably.
The dead bodies that fell into the river slowly drifted toward the ocean. What to do with the remaining captives?
Magnut did not hesitate to open a market in the city, and the captives were sold by bidding. This was indeed something that all Vikings would do, and it even caused a commotion in the Ross army camp.
Rurik had to arrange another order to prohibit his subordinates from getting involved.
The conquered people were put in chains again, but many of them were actually lords and serfs of the king. If they just changed their masters, their lives would not get worse.
Those women held their children, whether they were obedient or not, their fate was connected with the fate of the entire country of Northumbria. A new era began from this year.
In the extremely noisy city square, Magnute couldn't wait to raise his sword and declare himself king.
Although Rurik felt that the situation had changed strangely, he still took part in it with a group of followers, and then publicly announced that the Rus' Principality supported Magnute's move.
According to the locals, he arranged for himself the title of "Konungr" in Northumbrian. According to the Saxon language of the Northumbrian people, it is "Kuning", which is a higher concept than "leader of the alliance". The so-called
"Leader of all".
Most of the ordinary Balmok people support Magnut as king, and there is no problem in letting Biyongni succeed him.
At least, no young man dares to question Biyoni's contribution to the entire Balmok. This man is a great hero among the brothers.
Then everyone was happy again.
At this moment, Rurik realized that by beheading the prisoners of war so early in the morning, the old guy was actually sacrificing Odin by eagerly proclaiming himself king!
The Kingdom of York, founded by the Vikings, was born on the wasteland of Northumbria? Just as history happened?
Rurik's level of concern is limited. He is more concerned about filling the cabin with wheat and returning home with a full load.
However, how can the locals support a barbarian becoming the king? The real king must lead an army to approach the royal city. The people who are willing to compromise still have another thought, that is, Eynred will lead the king's army to drive out the barbarians and save everyone.
I had to look at the eyes of the locals. Many people's uncertain eyes were not purely despairing.
They still hold out hope that it is Eenred's army.
At night, the Russians still stayed outside the city, guarding their fleet and trophies.
The city continued to be noisy, causing Arik to be really crowded.
He threw away the half-eaten grilled fish and angrily muttered to his brother: "That old immortal guy insists on becoming king? Without our support, the Balmoks cannot break the city."
Rurik's expression was indifferent: "Magnut's life is short."
"Oh? Is he dying? He looks like he has a few more years to live."
"It depends on Biyongni. Brother, that man is very ambitious now. Only when Magnut dies can he become king. Biyongni's current prestige is not enough, so..."
"Patricide?" Arik was shocked.
"Who knows? Brother, let's prepare first. I'm very worried now."
"Are you worried that Biyongni will take action now?"
"No. It's Eynred and his army."
"There's nothing to worry about." Arik didn't care.
Rurik immediately put his head in: "When they see the capital being occupied, they will attack like crazy. Now, I'm afraid it's meaningless to negotiate with Eynred. Do you long for a joyful killing?"
"Oh! I already understand..." Arik laughed slowly, and then laughed again.
The situation turned out as Rurik expected. An army of more than 4,000 men composed of Eynred's royal army and Count Garfred of Roydis was approaching York.
They didn't dare to go too fast simply because Eynred at least knew how terrifying the Vikings were, and they were afraid that their rash attack would lead to a huge defeat.
His caution made Count Garfred confused. It was strange to say that when he saw the forest of spears as dense as a forest, the fear in Garfred's heart disappeared.
In most cases, wars in this era were about comparing the strength of both sides, at least that's how the British noobs praised each other.
Eynred advised him not to go from worry to extreme psychological expansion.
Gafrid, who was riding a horse, thought that the king was encouraging him to fight, so he threatened: "As long as we launch an attack, the brave assault of four thousand people will annihilate them."
Aynred laughed awkwardly, trying not to persuade him, thinking that this earl wanted to make a great contribution.
Yes, when the charge is ordered, does Count Garfred have the courage to charge personally? Bah! Others will die, he will get the honor.
Eynred said deliberately: "Then I will appoint you as the cavalry captain, and you will lead the cavalry charge. If you defeat the enemy, you will be the prime minister."
"Ah! This..." Garfred suddenly looked embarrassed and stopped talking.
"Well, maybe you want to get the honor safely. But..."
"No!" Garfred pursed his lips and said, "I do! With this army, our army will definitely win. I will raise my head and charge."
"That's fine. Now obey my orders completely. You can't leave if I ask you to stand by, and you can't slip away if I ask you to charge."
Garfred knew that he was taking a huge gamble with his family. When he was caught in the gamble, all he could think about was the glory after victory, and he directly ignored the terror of the Vikings.
After a long and tiring trek, many farmers and soldiers had worn out boots and marched completely barefoot. They kept complaining, so how could the army still have fighting strength when it arrived near York?
They gradually discovered the village where people had fled, and saw a large number of strange ships parked on the river in the distance, and York!
"It's my York!" Eynred was so shocked that his hair trembled all over his body, and everyone saw the buildings of the royal city.
Strange huge ships can stay here smoothly, and all the big ships have flags flying, which reminds people of the Kingdom of Mercia, and York also has a lot of smoke and dust.
But that’s not the flag of King Wiglaf of Mercia!
That's the flag of the Rus! The flag of Rus in Vikings.
The army is on the right bank of the Maas River, just across the river from the Ross army's camp outside the city.
"What should we do? Your Majesty," Earl Garfred asked.
"Let's not attack yet. We are getting closer. I want to... talk to them. Those are the Russians, the only Vikings who can negotiate."
King Aynred was obviously in panic, and Garfred was quite disdainful in his heart, but he couldn't say it openly, so he persuaded him: "Negotiation? Your Majesty, with all due respect, the current situation is that York is clearly occupied by them. There must be people.
If they are captured, we must save them on behalf of God.”
"No!" Eynred still asked to remain calm.
But Garfred was still overwhelmed by his meritorious service, and even when he looked at the king, his eyes became ambiguous. He simply choked, "That unclean queen doesn't matter, but Ella..."
"Ella!" Eynred suddenly woke up, almost breaking his teeth, and his whole body turned red with rage.
"You!" he ordered, "Johanna Gafrid Roydis. With your cavalry, with your warriors, attack them! Destroy their ships! Cross the river! Save my son.
!son!"
Only the safety of his son made Eynred, who was once very cautious and had thoughts of appeasement, lose his mind and suddenly become a militant. Because the young Ella was already his last bloodline.
All this was discovered by Rurik, who had made some preparations, and the sun was in the sky. This morning was really suitable for a battle.
The Russians immediately made a loud noise, and the entire Balmok people in York City lazily got up to explore what happened.
Rurik showed no fear, and Arik was sharpening his sword.
"Finally we are here." Rurik, who was already on the ship, sighed as he faced the approaching army.
"But they are stupid." Jevro said.
"No. They are very smart. They seem to want to sabotage our boat and swim across the river."
"But this is even more stupid."
"Yes. They are very brave, and even more reckless. They are willing to die, and we will help them. I asked the first flag team to cross the river and organize a shield wall to engage in battle. We will keep shooting arrows on the boat. You and your brothers are ready