Even Tamworth, the capital of the Kingdom of Mercia, has a permanent population of only 5,000 in peacetime.
In the eyes of local people, the capital is actually a big city with such a population.
The strange army came along the river. People in more than a dozen villages near the capital saw the fleet going upstream with their own eyes. Out of fear, they poured into the city with limited resources, hoping that the tall stone walls would give them enough protection.
's blessing.
It is for this reason that Tamworth suddenly became crowded. Because of the influx of refugees, the population easily reached the level of 15,000 people.
The wet streets were full of people taking refuge. They endured the mud and the smell of feces and urine all night. When the sky lit up again, the light from the east meant that the rain had finally ended. The sunshine made the refugees feel better, but those inexplicable things happened.
The army is still outside the city.
A group of soldiers stood on the wall of the outer city, and the circular city wall further diluted the already small number of defenders.
It is very expensive to supply a standing army. Even in peacetime, the standing army of the Mercian royal family is only two thousand people. The main force of the army is never stationed in the capital. The military camp is in the village of Birmingham to the west, but the capital always remains
With a garrison of five hundred people.
The weapons in the warehouse were distributed, and "Prince Supervisor" Bothwulf actually pulled out an army of 3,000 people overnight. This army only obeyed the orders of the prince!
If it were not restricted by religious dogma, recruiting women as soldiers would make the army stronger.
Compared to his father, Botwulf was more sober-minded, or more conservative. He did not dare to take the initiative to challenge unknown enemies, so he stayed put for the time being. He mostly set up royal flags on the city walls and allowed armed men to board the walls.
Head, at least to show the people under the city the determination of the city defenders and the bluff of the defenders' strength.
Tamworth, the capital of the Kingdom, is located on the right bank of the Tam River, a tributary of the Trent River. There is a clear road between it and the Birmingham military camp, which is only eight Roman miles (about 23 kilometers). This distance is not short, if Birmingham’s
The army rushed to the rescue urgently, and the crisis in the capital should be alleviated.
If Steiner launched an attack, everything would be fine. But Steiner didn't do it. He had just lost the past battle, and he couldn't launch an attack with a non-existent army.
All these situations are really what King Wiglaf of Mercia and his expeditionary force faced. Wiglaf indeed led his exhausted troops to the Birmingham barracks on foot. He had no idea that the highly mobile Vikings had already arrived at the royal city and
Launch a strong attack.
Botwulf did not know about his father's failure. What he knew particularly well was that the army stationed in Birmingham had long been led to the northern border by his father himself.
Now that the enemy had obviously destroyed the wooden bridge and controlled the crossing of the Tam River, the capital had lost a huge opportunity in sending communications troops.
A group of signal soldiers carrying news of the crisis in the capital slipped out of the city overnight. They were going to report to the eastern territories and ask for reinforcements from the local lords. As for the lords of the western territories of the kingdom, due to the interruption of transportation, do not expect them to know the news.
The King of Diligence.
For a period of time, the capital can only rely on its own strength to defend the city. After this most difficult moment is overcome and the situation escalates, King Qin's troops from various lords will definitely gather in the capital.
Looking at the enemy camp outside the city, the captain of the guard was worried: "They have so many soldiers. Now that the weather is fine, I can't see what they have to do with the Wessex army."
"There are many of them, so maybe they don't have strong combat effectiveness." Botwulf sighed deeply and asked again: "Have the soldiers been assembled?"
"It's basically completed. There are about 3,000 troops. There are many young boys. They are willing to fight to the last breath to defend the city."
The captain of the guard tried his best to speak inspiring words, and Botwulf patted him on the shoulder encouragingly, and said: "This alone is not enough. It seems that the enemy is not in a hurry to attack. I will use this opportunity to execute those who spread failed remarks yesterday. To calm people's hearts. Don't just guard the city walls. Send people to negotiate with them and ask them what they want."
"Your Highness, this... may be necessary."
"Just do it. We are so stupid. The war is about to break out. I don't even know who the enemy is or what his intentions are."
The city wall of Tamworth's outer city is made of rammed stone and earth. Its foundation comes from the city wall of the old Roman era. The city wall as a whole looks incomplete, with grass growing in many places, and there are many earth slopes behind the city wall. It allows people to quickly climb the wall.
Of course, its average height is only equivalent to four meters, which is not really high.
Only the walls of Tamworth Castle in the inner city are taller and the overall structure is more regular. The fortress is made of polished granite, making it thicker.
More than a hundred warriors holding bows stood on the city wall, and a batch of stones and wood were also transported to the city wall.
Relying on the protection of the city wall, Botwulf did not worry about the enemy being able to break the city.
The sun dispersed the early morning mist, the rain stopped, and the Ross and Balmok coalition woke up in the morning light.
Regarding launching an all-out attack this morning, Rurik still refused. Unfortunately, his father-in-law could not persuade him, and his cousin was also eager to try.
"Son of God? Are they really just a reference to my identity?" Rurik laughed at himself for a second, convinced that the stability of the alliance must be based on the consistency of interests and demands.
The Balmoks have their own Kingdom of York, and their morale is so strong that even the old Magnut feels like he has regained a new lease of life!
The Balmok warriors got up with a roar, and the golden light of the morning sun shone on their golden heads, making their whole bodies look like gold-plated. They held their axes and swords high and roared with great momentum, and waited for Balmok than Yongni and Geiger. Hanyong is actively preparing to climb the city wall.
Help them? That's a must.
Because of what happened yesterday, Rurik felt that if he became extremely proactive, it would actually reflect his indecisiveness.
Seeing his cousin Arik sharpening his sword, the men of the First Banner were eager to give it a try. Rurik simply called his cousin and all five centurions to his side, and deliberately made a non-negotiable decision somewhere on the secluded riverside.
"If they want to fight, we will help. The First Flag Team is not allowed to attack the city first. If everything goes well, we will attack. If things go wrong, we will cover their retreat."
Arik fully understood what his brother meant, curled his lips and shook his head: "This is not honorable."
"It's disgraceful. I feel that the situation is very wrong. This should be a revelation from God. Victory must be ours, but this morning's attack was too hasty. We are acting as a reserve team."
"All right."
"I will send out shooters to support them first. Brother, please stay still with your brothers. Remember, you must not launch an attack without authorization."
Arik didn't say much, his eyes indicated to his brother that he would do this.
More and more Balmok warriors were gathering. In order to build momentum, Magnut raised his sword and ax and shouted in front of the crowd.
Seeing that this army was about to launch an attack, the Mercian defenders on the city wall were frightened and frightened. The priests who climbed up the city wall also held up crosses and called on the soldiers to stay calm.
The closed city gate reinforced with iron chains opened, and five envoys walked towards the unknown army tremblingly, holding the banner of the King of Mercia.
Did the Mercians send an envoy?
Biyongni, who had done warm-up exercises before the war, twisted his neck and walked to his father with a sword: "Here comes a fool who wants to die. They want to negotiate with us. In my opinion, kill them."
"Yes. There's nothing to negotiate. Go ahead and make the brothers happy."
Biyongni nodded and immediately walked over with more than a dozen brothers.
The poor messenger died in a flurry of swords before he could react.
This horrifying scene was seen by soldiers from both sides. The Mercian defenders trembled in shock, and then were overwhelmed by anger.
Looking at the Balmoks again, they all let out a Viking war cry in unison, and their majestic momentum caused the Russians to roar too.
Magnut raised his ax and swung it suddenly, shouting in an old male voice: "Warriors, go forward! Go and plunder everything you like!"
The Balmoq Army takes action!
They have blond hair and fair faces. They are dressed in gray-black coarse cloth, or a layer of black leather. Some even temporarily put on the orange clothes of the Northumbrian Army. Their clothing can be described as diverse, and there are at least a hundred of them.
They were shirtless, showing off the horrific tattoos on their chests and backs.
They followed the black raven flag with a white background, carried all the long ladders and battering rams (it was a big tree trunk), and launched a full-scale attack with swords and shields.
Even the Wessex army once attacked Tamworth, and the siege formation was not so crazy.
Behind him is a large group of neatly dressed troops.
That was the first flag team of the Russian army. Arik was forced to stand still. He arranged the team into a matrix. From a distance, it looked like a blue and white square.
Rurik also shouted: "Shooting flag squad, let's go!"
Torque slingshots were installed on each two-wheeled cart, and the number reached thirty. There were also ten bull trebuchets that were carried manually.
Fifty wooden-armed crossbowmen and one hundred Suomi archers were responsible for covering the enemy's arrows.
Because of this kind of armament, Magnute actually felt that his son-in-law was speaking out about his integrity and that he was using it as a cover. Even though he was a Russian, he was planning to give it a go.
Full of confidence, he vowed to seize Mercia's treasury, reward the army, and become a great hero forever praised by the people in his hometown.
The army was getting closer and closer to the city wall. In response to its majestic power, Botwulf in the city immediately suspended the execution of those who spread unfavorable news and urgently took his attendants to supervise the battle.
But when he arrived at the walls of Waiguo City, the battle had already broken out.
The Ross and Balmoq coalition forces are violently attacking Tamworth's west gate facing the Tam River, which is also the main entrance to the entire city.
Stones and javelins fell from the sky, some refugees suffered casualties, and houses were smashed to pieces. People began to flee, and the crowded roads suddenly became empty. In fact, they all fled to the east of the city.
The blows from torsion slingshots and trebuchets, cast iron projectiles, stones and javelins smashed over the city wall into the rear of the defenders. The number of casualties Rurik caused to the Mercian army is incalculable.
The only thing he could be sure of was that these weapons would definitely cause panic and force the enemy's follow-up reinforcements to be unable to continue to support the city wall defenders. As the so-called Balmoks once climbed onto the city wall, more than half of the victory was achieved.
Rurik ordered free fire, and the city wall defenders were fighting to the death, risking deadly projectiles.
"They built a ladder! Stone them to death!"
Then the captain of the guard shouted to the soldiers below the city: "Quickly find a wooden head to hold the door bolt."
He loudly asked the special guard troops how the secret weapons were being prepared.
At least twenty pairs of ladders have been set up, and the Balmok warriors holding wooden shields and holding axes in their mouths are struggling to climb up against the stones and arrows thrown by the enemy.
Biyoni also brought the steel-armed crossbow he borrowed from Rurik, and sniped at the city defenders very obscenely.
People who were hit in the head by stones basically died on the spot, and some people twitched and remained motionless. Some Balmoks were injured by arrows. They screamed and pulled out the arrow clusters with barbs, and let the arrows hit them.
Spouting blood, he still climbed the ladder and tried to fight against the city wall.
Another long piece of wood was thrown down, causing the soldier to fall down the ladder and vomit blood. Even those who used slings used this weapon with limited damage to harass the people below the city.
But the situation here was not good for the Mercian defenders. They braved the arrows, projectiles, stones and javelins of the Russian army to resolutely attack Balmok who climbed the city wall.
The Mercian warrior in chainmail was smashed in the guts by the projectile of the torsion slingshot and fell to the bottom of the city. Someone blocked the gap with a blank mind.
Some soldiers were shot through the head with a crossbow and died on the spot, while others took over their posts.
Because they could see that the enemy was not Wessex. Although they still did not know his identity, they could only be sure of one thing - once this unprecedentedly brutal army broke through the city, tens of thousands of people in the city would die.
Ordinary soldiers of the kingdom no longer only fight for the royal family, but the armed civilians also have a very simple reason to fight. They fight for the survival of everyone. Seeing His Royal Highness the Prince personally coming to the city to supervise the battle, even if they suffer heavy losses, Mai
The West Asian Army will fight to the death and refuse to retreat.
The battle has been going on for a while, and the changes in the situation have made Magnute, who is full of confidence, more and more confused.
He saw Biyongni leading a group of brothers to carry a big tree trunk (acting as a battering ram) to hit the door. They hit it no less than fifty times. How could the enemy's door not move?!
He didn't understand. He heard from his son-in-law Rurik and his son that their attacks on other cities went smoothly. For example, the siege of York, which Magnute personally participated in, went extremely smoothly.
"Why? I kicked down the iron plate here?"
Magnute stood in a relatively safe area, but his people were suffering unprecedented casualties. He helplessly saw soldiers falling from ladders, and he also saw enemies being shot down by arrows.
"These enemies are so tenacious? But I easily killed a thousand of them in that village. How come they have become stronger here?"
Magnute really didn’t know, because the person guarding the city was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Mercia, and Botwulf’s attitude had also changed dramatically due to the changes in the war situation. He no longer expected to gain much from this battle for his family or himself.
This is a life-and-death battle for the city's residents. The Mercians have never been so united as they are today. He will lead the army and the people to fight the enemy to the death.
The anxiety of the battle also surprised Rurik. The facts were exactly as he predicted. This battle was the most serious obstacle the coalition forces encountered after landing in Britain. He was not happy that his prediction was correct, but looked at the friendly forces.
Suffer losses and feel resentful that your siege weapons cannot break the enemy's will.
"Attack! versus attack!"
"No! My attack was just what I wanted, and I was impulsive. No, I should dissuade them from retreating temporarily."
The battle situation was changing rapidly. Both sides were engaged in a fierce battle, but a large amount of boiling water fell from the sky. Jar after jar of boiling water was poured onto the Balmok warriors who rushed to the gate. Even with shields, the boiling water was still so hot that people screamed.
The soldiers retreated subconsciously, and even Biyongni ran away without suffering the immediate consequences.
Steam filled the air under the city gate. Looking at the backs of the escapees after the steam dissipated, the captain of the guard couldn't help but laugh wildly. He stretched out his right hand and pointed at those whose backs were instantly burned red, cursing them for not repairing.
Suddenly, a crossbow arrow shot directly through his palm, and two fingers were also knocked off. The captain of the guard screamed and fell, and was immediately helped up by the soldier. He looked at his incomplete right hand with tears in his eyes and his eyes were dull.
Smirking.
Biyongni temporarily retreated. When he called his men to rush back again, he picked up the big tree trunk and continued to smash the door, he saw his men rolling on the ground and screaming.
Their severely burned skin has blistered, and the tattoos on their upper bodies have become distorted.
"Idiot! What are you doing! Follow me and fight back."
Geiger, whose arm was splashed with boiling water and was not seriously injured, pessimistically shouted: "Biyongni! If you continue to attack, you are courting death! Think about the whale oil and seal oil made in our hometown. If they use the oil next, all the brothers will be scalded to death."
"
"Geiger, are you a coward?"
"No! I don't want to die in vain! I heard that Rurik said that we would be frustrated in this battle, but your father didn't listen! Who is the fool? Look at the current situation!" Washebi, who could no longer care too much, said
Geiger pointed at the corpses of the Balmoks under the city and screamed and cursed: "If your father fails with us, no one will recognize him as the King of York anymore! I am going to retreat!"
After saying that, Geiger really withdrew with the men from his Washobi Farm. Not only this man, but also the armies of other Balmok family leaders withdrew with the wounded with various injuries.
Including taking away the body.
Until now, Rurik's shooting flag team is still providing fire support. He did not hesitate to consume a large number of projectiles and arrows for the friendly forces, but all he got was a defeat.
The Balmoks withdrew one after another, and the Ross Shooting Flag Corps also retreated.
It was such a tragic battle that made Arik and the soldiers of the First Flag Team, who had been watching the battle, clearly realize that even if they participated in the battle, they would still face a tough battle.
Is Britain an island of cowards? No! At least the residents of Tamworth are a force.
Arik's eyes widened and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw the Balmoks of the Alliance evacuating.
Then a centurion asked him: "Are you mocking them for being cowards?"
"No! Brother, we have encountered a strong enemy. This is an opportunity given to us by God. I like to fight against strong enemies the most."