The long and narrow Lake Wittern has a special geographical structure. It is a typical glacier lake, and it is formed on the same principle as the lakes in the Finnish marshes.
The entire Götaland region is a highland, and the melting snow every winter forms streams such as this large lake, but the lakes rarely have openings to the ocean.
It has only one meandering waterway leading eastward to the Eastern Baltic Sea, which passes through a number of lakes, including Lake Grande. Finally, the waterway empties into the sea at the fjord of the old Ostara territory.
The main force of Rurik's Ross fleet took this waterway. They went upstream and continued to approach their destination, Lake Vettern, in the destined tortuous waterway.
Speaking of this large lake, it cannot enter the Denmark Strait from the west of Scandinavia.
To enter the Denmark Strait, you must take a detour, which is to pass through a broken small lake, and then follow the vein-like river in it to enter the larger lake adjacent to it, Vänernsee.
Lake Vänern in the west leads to a wide waterway, from which the lake water quietly flows into the Denmark Strait.
It is said that Gothenburg, a large settlement of the Götalans, is located along this waterway.
The news Rurik has learned so far is very trivial, and he is mentally prepared. Although the army is always drifting in the waters, it has to be subject to the twists and turns of the waterways, and the march will be delayed a lot of time. He is very glad that he has done enough.
He made preparations and launched an attack when spring plowing was in progress, buying himself a lot of time.
"Aric, I'm afraid you can move faster than me. I hope you can win..."
He prayed silently in his heart, but his fleet had just entered the fjord of the old Ostarans.
The army wants to stay here for a while. This is not just a rest, but the biggest purpose is to make a sacrifice.
Small-scale sacrificial activities are held to comfort the spirits of the dead here.
Exactly eleven years ago, the Ostara people living in this fjord area (now Norrkoping) suffered a disaster. Under the overwhelming force of the overwhelming military force, their resistance collapsed.
They are a branch of the Swedes, the daughters of their nobles are now nobles of the Kingdom of Rus, and their refugees are reviving in the East.
Now Rurik is here again.
In fact, as long as you search carefully, you can still find a large number of village ruins in the bay. Although the power of nature is using grass, vines and small trees to cover up the traces of human activities, as long as you go into the forest and frequently push aside the fallen leaves, you can even find many broken skeletons.
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Those bones must have been eaten by wolves, as broken bones were scattered everywhere.
Rurik ordered the landing troops to spend a day collecting bones everywhere, and finally dug a large pit and put them all into a mound, covering them with some found stones.
Everything has passed, and the enemies who killed the Ostara people have died one after another in the past ten years. The residents of Gotland have collapsed, the Danes have fallen into internal strife, and the control of the era has finally fallen into the hands of the Rus, and Rus brought
It is the desire to conquer and kill, and the peace that follows.
Just like a tsunami, after the big wave the past disputes are settled. A new beginning is born on the land after the tsunami.
Only smart people can detect the strangeness before the tsunami hits, but the Yotalan people, who live in a relatively isolated environment, are completely unaware of the threats from the north and the east.
It was rare for the soldiers who landed to rest on land. After all, this fjord was once operated by a tribe of more than 2,000 people. The large flat land left behind was covered with traces of building ruins. It was now suitable for the army to station and rest.
The army's stay was destined to be short. Late at night, accompanied by the crackling of the bonfire, the Russian and Swedish nobles gathered around the fire to chat.
Bjorn's face looked bad. Even though his face was illuminated by the flames, he still looked worried.
"We have completed the ceremony, buried the bones and found the bones, which can be regarded as comforting the souls of the people of Ostara. Next, we will head west. Bjorn, it seems that you are not in good spirits."
"It's not good. I'm worried about the future," he said.
"What's there to worry about? Or do you think the Jotalans are actually very powerful?"
Bjorn shook his head, then pointed to a few people with his thumb, and said: "These little-known little dukes once lived at the destination of our march. Their hometown is on the north shore of Lake Wettern. Now they are with me, the Malaren people."
Be neighbors. No one knows the westward passage better than them, and you can ask them about its complicated twists and turns."
"I asked." Rurik looked a little unhappy.
"how?"
"It's not that difficult."
"Forget it! This will be a long journey, just like a rope that looks small but turns out to be an extremely long rope after stretching. You still underestimate the twists and turns of the river."
Rurik frowned: "You seem to understand very well?"
"I don't understand, but my businessman does. That's fine. I believe that the armies of Arik and the Yelmalen people can arrive at Lake Wettern first, but their strength may be smaller. If a conflict breaks out with the enemy, they will
But they can’t get our support. In my opinion, we still need to make a sacrifice to pray for their safe movement.”
It sounded as if Bjorn was sarcastically placing too much emphasis on sacrificial activities. Rurik didn't want to say anything, and he didn't even want to talk to Bjorn.
In the end, the night talk around the fire broke up unhappily, and everyone went to the camp to have a sleep. After eating tomorrow morning, the whole army set off.
However, on the next day, when the army began to rush towards the first inner lake, Lake Gran, Rurik finally understood the many implications of what Bjorn said.
Ask yourself, I did underestimate the twists and turns of the waterway.
Although the large sailing warship was pulled by the oars of a traditional longship, just like two horses pulling a carriage. The water channel became narrower, and the large ship also drafted deeper. The person standing at the bow of the ship and holding the probe measured the water depth to confirm that the river bed in the center of the river would not be harmed.
Keel. Even so, dozens of large ships can only form a long snake formation at this stage. The depth of the army is stretched extremely long, and the overall marching speed is completely limited by the soldiers of the rowing boats paddling against the current.
Speed, the overall speed has slowed down.
Now, Rurik really began to worry that Bjorn would really be possessed by the crow's mouth, and Arik, who had taken the so-called land shortcut from north to south, would suffer.
Will Arik's troops really encounter difficulties?
Rurik would never have imagined that in order to win the first victory, his eldest brother Arik would abandon the logistics troops and a large number of infantry and advance rapidly through the forest with only three hundred horsemen.
The refreshing spring sunshine illuminates the Arik cavalry troops marching through the gaps in the forest.
Each cavalry member of this cavalry team has an extraordinary status. They have at least a lot of wealth to be qualified to be selected as cavalry. Among them are the sons of Slavic boyar nobles. They have made great achievements as cavalrymen and will be able to serve in the cavalry in the future.
Return to the village and inherit the noble title.
Their first allegiance was to King Rurik, and now the king's cousin Arik suddenly took over as commander. Even though this thirty-year-old guy in his prime had experienced hundreds of battles, the cavalry warriors were somewhat resistant.
The cavalry have commanders they trust, firstly, their own Pecheneg instructors, and secondly, "Bald" Fisk. Among them, Fisk is the most prestigious.
Of course Arik is aware of this. He is not a arrogant person just because he holds on to his glorious achievements in the past.
He held the reins in his hand and pretended to be arrogant. He shouted: "You guys can disobey me! Those rumors are true. I have actually chopped off the heads of at least 300 enemies in my life. I can hold my hands without a shield."
I am the number one berserker in Russia. If I were not so brave, how could my brother, the king, trust me?"
He made such a threat that ordinary cavalry could not refute it. Arik's madness was well known to everyone in Old Russia. At this moment, it was Fisk who spoke for the brothers.
"Brother Arik, you are not good at riding a horse and fighting."
"You? You kid?!"
"What? I'm not right? You haven't joined our training since you learned how to ride a horse without falling off. Brother, you are an expert in infantry combat, but I have to be the one to command the cavalry in combat." Fisk said this,
Because the other young kids kept cheering and cheering.
For a moment, Arik was speechless and smiled bitterly for a moment.
Arik had no intention of refuting, he was not a braggart.
Since Fisk's father and his biological father died in the same battle, he kept calling him "brother". They were both from Russia, so Arik did not give in or show off.
He encouraged: "When the target is discovered, I will announce the attack, and you will direct the specific battle."
"Okay. I just hope you won't rush too fast after the battle. Now that the snow has melted, you will really hurt yourself if you fall off the horse."
"You!" Arik immediately became furious when he heard this, but he immediately calmed down and said harshly: "Young people dare to educate me? Are they worried that I will get hurt? I want to show you my hand."
Fisk indeed felt that Arik was too reckless, including this time abandoning the infantry and some heavy equipment on vehicles and relying only on the rapid advance of the cavalry, which was a huge reckless act.
As a result, the Pecheneg instructors smoothed things over, which is also a type of Pecheneg tactic.
What is the land dividing line between Götland and Svealand?
The land in front seemed to be slightly raised, and the cavalry felt that it was just right. Because Götaland is a highland, with an average altitude of 130 meters, while the Svealand plain guards the huge and trivial Lake Mälaren, with an average altitude of only two meters.
Just three meters.
After they passed through the narrow forest area in the south of Lake Hjärmalen, the terrain began to gradually rise. Only when the cavalry were in it and looked north through the gaps in the forest could they realize that they were on high ground.
The cavalry has entered the northern area of the Götaland Highlands first. The horses' hooves stepped on the soft grass, and then frequently passed through streams and swamps.
Some seemingly larger lakes were right next to us, and our intuition told everyone that this was not the target.
After closer inspection, people can still find that there is no one here, it is like a simple no man's land.
However, in the evening of the second day after leaving Lake Hjermalen, the peculiar smoke from the forest attracted the attention of all the cavalry.
"It looks like there are forest hunters or loggers. What do you think? Send someone to take a look?" Aric shouted to Fisk.
"Just in time, we need the prisoner to ask questions."
Not many people were needed, so two cavalry squads with twenty cavalry rushed over. The rest of the cavalry followed closely and approached the smoke.
Just as Arik guessed, this was a family living in the woods. There were more than ten members of the family, the male and female owners, some children, and slaves living together.
The sudden appearance of cavalry and monsters was unexpected. They had never seen cavalry before, and they randomly launched an instinctive resistance.
This move undoubtedly angered the cavalry warriors. They remembered the king's order clearly, so they faced these Jotalans and they acted ruthlessly.
They slaughtered wantonly, leaving two slaves alive in the end.
After a while, Arik and the cavalry troop came over at random, and saw the body lying in a mess without any feeling. Although Fisk felt a little uncomfortable at this scene, his energy immediately recovered.
The hands of the two slaves were tied and they were led under the iron hooves of the war horses.
Arik then jumped off his horse and kicked the slave over with two feet to show his power.
"Speak! Jotalans! Where is your village?"
Look at these two people huddled in the mud and shouting out of fear: "We are not Götalanders! We are from Denmark. We are Danes and are slaves for them."
"Isn't it even more deserving that he is a Dane?" After saying that, a cavalryman with a lance rode forward, looking like he was about to stab him.
Then one person sensed the meaning of the words and hurriedly screamed: "We are useful! Great warriors! We will be your slaves and will tell you anything you want to know."
"Stop! Leave them alive."
Aric stepped forward and kicked the man who was shouting loudly: "We just want to know where the Jotalan village is."
The slave turned his head and said, "Yes! I know the location of the village. I will be your slave, as long as you spare my life."
"Really? Very good. How about we make another deal."
"Okay! I'll do any deal."
"Idiot, I haven't spoken yet. Let's make a deal. You will take us to the nearest Jotalan village and I will give you your freedom. Any?"
"I promise. I promise everything!"
Arik nodded, pulled the man's hair to one side, and then pulled his head to watch another slave being stabbed to death by the spear of the Ross cavalry.
"Slave, do you understand? You must cooperate well, otherwise this is what will happen."
There are many similar forest huts, but this place is very close to the village chief. It is so close that the cavalry can attack the village before noon if they attack in the early morning. This is still based on the premise that travelers are on foot. If the cavalry attacks, it can only be faster.
.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the cavalry did not burn the forest hut. The food stored by the deceased was cleared by the cavalry, and the metal parts of the body were pulled aside and discarded casually in the bushes.
It must be said that some cavalry soldiers who were new to the battlefield were surprised by the nature of war, but for the Pecheneg instructors present, this behavior was too common on the grasslands.
Herders always have to live together and even go together when grazing, just to be wary of sudden attacks by Khazars or Magyar horse bandits.
Those who separated from the village and lived in independent huts in the forest paid the price of death for their boldness, and the Ross cavalry was also resting in this area.
Arik ordered the entire army to live without food, immediately removed the sacks from the saddles, and fed the horses a large amount of high-quality oats.
The cavalrymen ate hard wheat cakes brought from their hometown, dried fish and a small amount of dry cheese.
After the men and horses had eaten the food, they lay dormant in the forest and waited until dawn to begin the attack.
…
It’s another new day, and for the Jotalan people who entered the northern part of the lake to develop villages, today is just an ordinary day.
In fact, they didn’t know how the Swedes who originally lived here escaped completely. Later, it was rumored that the Danes actually launched a large-scale attack, which scared many Swedes to move north and even completely evacuated Vetern.
lake.
The fishermen of Götaland occupied the vacant houses, and the three villages that were originally Swedish were transformed into Götaland. They used this as a starting point, grazing cattle and sheep north, and naturally invaded the Hjärmalen people of Sweden.
traditional territory.
After all, the shortest straight-line distance from Lake Wettern to Lake Hjärmalen is not even fifty kilometers.
The sky becomes blue and the morning fog rises.
The mist made the lake blurry, and the fishermen woke up lazily. The women continued to repair the fishing nets, and the men ate some food and fiddled with the fishing boats. Some people pulled the goats, sheep and cows out of the sheds to graze nearby.
More than three hundred Jotalan villagers live an ordinary life. They are also Vikings, but they live in a very isolated place. It is obvious that other tribesmen have been wary of the Danes, and sneak attacks on each other occur from time to time, but that is Gothenburg.
The affairs of the local people have little to do with the people living on the shores of the Lake Nederland Lake Veitern.
Suddenly, something strange happened.
A pottery urn used to protect the city from clear water, and a blog post appeared on the water surface.
The dried fish on the outdoor rack is shaking gently.
The ground seemed to be shaking, and something seemed to be pouring out from the forest.
Some cautious men left their homes, picked up their tools naturally, and looked around warily.
Those who were about to paddle into the lake to start a new day of fishing now also floated on the water and stopped to watch.
Suddenly, a large number of black shadows emerged quickly, and the Ross cavalry raid suddenly began.
The recurve bow fired deadly arrows at close range, and the spears began to stab the bewildered villagers wantonly.
The cavalry spear is only used once. After hitting the enemy, the cavalryman immediately switches to his sword and rides on his horse to kill him wantonly.
War is bound to be ruthless. Princess Pecheneg now joins the battle as an ordinary soldier. She is even ignored by everyone. She simply sits on the battlefield, rides on horseback, holds a bow and shoots arrows, stands and shoots "moving targets", and trains on weekdays.
The technology is demonstrated vividly.
If prepared properly, this Jotalan village could organize more than a hundred people to pick up shields and swords to form a shield wall. However, they were suddenly attacked by cavalry they had never seen before, and there was no time to organize their troops. They were thrown into chaos.
Any resistance would be futile. Not only were they unprepared, there were even more cavalry than their old, weak, women and children combined.
Faced with the sudden killing, the fishermen who were still floating on the lake were completely numb. When they saw someone swimming and trying to get their help, the fishermen naturally threw the cable and rescued their own people first, regardless of the current situation.
.
"They are going to escape! Fisk! Take your men and shoot them! Damn it, or take their ship and intercept them!" Arik shouted, but it was completely diluted by the noisy roar.
Fisk was not a fool either. He allowed his other brothers to kill indiscriminately, and he called some people to shoot arrows at the many fishing boats that were drifting away by the lake.
This is another good show of "shooting at a moving target".
Some fishermen were shot and fell into the lake, and even those with arrows stuck in their backs were pulled back to the boat from the water by their companions. Many more people bent their backs and continued paddling to escape.
They gradually escaped from the range of the recurve bow, and now Fisk could only spit and curse a group of cowards and run away.