For the majority of the Danish lords of Zealand and the larger number of warriors, this was the first time they saw the main force of the Rus army, and they were shocked by their neat ranks and gorgeous clothes.
With their lack of rhetoric, they all praised "this is the heavenly army from Asgard".
The Heavenly Army is really commendable. The soldiers of the New Kingdom of Denmark Army, facing the Rus' army and the Rus' King himself, are certainly praised, but also have strong vigilance.
After all, Denmark and Rus have already formed an informal alliance. Once the Frankish forces in Jutland are expelled and Denmark retakes it, the two countries can formally form an alliance.
If Rus is the enemy, Denmark will definitely lose.
Thank you, Ross's ally.
The main force of the Russian army met and garrisoned with the partial divisions that had arrived long in advance. Ross flags were flying everywhere in the camp, and the nearby waters were filled with Russian fishing boats.
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Flags, Slavic Flags, Finnish Flags, Växjö-Jönköping Servants, as well as the Standing Army and non-combat auxiliary personnel.
The Ross army, which was gathered under Lindholm and camped under the mound of the Aleb fortress, still has 6,000 combatable troops after suffering certain casualties in a series of previous battles.
Such a large army is uniformly dressed, standing together and showing off their mainly white robes, just like a large snowfield under the scorching sun, but by relying on each soldier to stand at attention, it can already create a visual magical miracle.
A huge army needs to eat, and fortunately, Rurik's military rations have always been very sufficient.
However, any opportunity to resupply on the spot must not be missed, so a large number of standard armed cargo ships released spare trawl nets made of intact hemp ropes. In this era when radar and sonar did not exist, relying on the advantage of the number of ships, the row was
Forming a linear array, each ship tows a large net, sweeping the sea like a comb.
This fishing tactic immediately showed good results. It was at the end of summer that the herring swarms entered the surface waters to greedily replenish nutrients in preparation for the winter, and were caught by Ross fishing boats.
If fresh fish cannot be eaten quickly, it will smell bad tomorrow.
If it weren't for food shortage, no one would want to eat smelly fish.
The newly caught fish was too large to be digested by the Ross army itself, so Rurik simply gave an order to distribute the fish caught in many places to the allies, especially Ragnar, for disposal.
Suddenly gaining the right to dispose of a large number of catches, Ragnar knew that he owed a favor to the Ross army, but relying on this batch of catches, he could immediately stabilize the mood of the lords.
On the day Rurik arrived, the siege of Aleb Fortress continued. Faced with the current anxious situation, he learned that the coalition forces that stormed the city paid a heavy price. Facing the city built on the top of the hill, he also felt that
The tactics reported by Ute should continue to be implemented. The so-called continuing to delay time will drag them to death for a few more days.
So the next day, the fishing boats that caught at night brought back a huge amount of catch. The catch was landed, and the boats returned to the sea one after another to start searching during the day.
Where is King Rurik?
The young king was lying comfortably in a tent outside the city. His left arm was around Noren, and his right arm was around Beyathil. Both his wives and concubines were slapping their bellies, and he was talking happily about the birth of his children.
The bright future and the name to give the child.
Rurik’s son Reglaf, who was accompanying the army, the real king of the Kingdom of Mercia, and his eldest nephew Kuzneslav, as well as Kelha, the eldest son of the great craftsman Kawe.
These three boys of about the same age were playing around in the military camp casually. They were wearing the uniforms of the Russian army, with steel swords hanging on their waists and shields on their backs. They were born with no worries about food and drink, and they were already tall enough at a young age.
After the rendezvous, the Ross army organized their camps according to their respective flag formations. The soldiers all expected to make the final blow to the enemy's fortress. The Frankish flag was hung on the fortress. It was heard that the friendly forces suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, so in the end
A blow must take some time to prepare.
Kawei led a group of royal craftsmen to renovate as many as fifty trolleys in the camp to carry the torsion slingshot.
There are also twenty bull trebuchets. They are designed to throw a fist-sized stone to a distance of up to three hundred meters. Now they have been modified to throw small stones as small as half a fist. The pocket at the end of the launching arm can
Place eight pieces. This trebuchet has been modified to fire shotguns, but the range is greatly reduced, making it a special weapon used in siege warfare.
It was Rurik who ordered Kawei to spend a whole day debugging the heavy equipment, and all the soldiers in the army also spent this whole day recharging their energy.
The Russian army attached great importance to the final battle, but Spyut, who had a good understanding of the battlefield situation, really felt that the king was too cautious.
Forget it, let the enemy wait for another day. By then, the new Danish-Russian coalition forces will be full of energy. I am afraid that the enemy will only have half a breath left, and victory will be certain.
However, the Danish allies, especially Ragnar, really don't want to wait any longer.
In the evening, Ragnar and his entourage came out of the occupied outer city and hurriedly arrived at the Ross army camp. They were immediately bathed in the aroma of grilled fish and cooking wheat porridge.
When he saw Rurik himself, he saw that the eldest brother was busy eating noodles with his two pregnant wives and concubines.
Looking at it this way, he was also hungry.
"You're here, Brother Ragnar... let me think about it. Are you urging me to fight?!"
"Exactly. Thank you for the catch. Now that everyone's energy has been restored, I am waiting for your support."
Rurik shrugged and raised his chopsticks to signal: "You can sit down too. Let's have a meal first."
"This...I'm very anxious."
"What's the rush? Or...you want to see what Horik looks like now."
"That evil man? Of course I want to see him. I want to skin him."
"But you can't do that." Rurik shook his head, "I allow you to use your stomach to wash that guy's face, but now let's have a meal first. You...don't mind having a drink with me?
?”
A bowl of hot lo mein was placed in front of Ragnar. This kind of delicacy was poured with a thick layer of salty and oily venison meat sauce. Ragnar still couldn't learn how to use chopsticks, but there were wood-cut ones here.
Use a fork to eat noodles without any trouble.
Once he was immersed in eating and drinking, Ragna put aside the matter of storming the fortress for the time being.
He slowly ate a large bowl of braised noodles, and drank a glass of strong wine with Rurik.
It was unimaginable for Ragnar to be able to enjoy delicious food on the battlefield. He was now in the camp of the Ross army, and he saw soldiers eating and drinking everywhere. The Ross army had no logistical worries at all, which was in line with his own
The new Danish army is in sharp contrast.
He mentioned the plan to attack tomorrow, "Tomorrow is the last battle! The enemy can hardly hold out under our joint siege. With the last blow tomorrow, the entire Falak power in Jutland will inevitably collapse. Therefore, we should
Have a meeting."
"Meeting? Of course there must be a pre-battle meeting. I heard that in previous battles, your subordinates always fought on their own, and many people died in vain. This is not good. We need to hold a meeting to organize tactics.
Lest the final battle be another mess."
The Rurik brothers' words were very hurtful, and Ragnar was on the verge of tears. Fortunately, the other party was willing to come to the meeting.
…
That night, a pre-war meeting was held.
Rurik rode across the drawbridge into the inner city.
It is said that this fortress with two walls was built by the Franks and local people in nearly a year. This is really eye-opening. It takes less than a year to complete such a large-scale civil engineering project. Rurik's attitude towards his enemies
There was more awe and vigilance.
But there is an alarming smell in the air here.
It’s corpse odor!
The smell comes from the fort on the mound.
When the meeting was held, everything became clear.
Rurik was originally highly vigilant towards the enemy. Even though they were besieged, he persisted until now without any intention of surrender. He even repelled Ragnar's five powerful attacks. As a result, the enemy was surrounded by corpses, and the stench of corpses was getting worse.
self-destruction?
The venue was filled with optimism. The lords of Zealand were respectful and wary of King Rurik. Even though Rurik's body was only twenty years old, even though he had grown a beard, his face was still young and without wrinkles.
.
Here, Rurik completely calmed the place, and there was no quarrel in the meeting. Even Ragnar stood up on his own initiative and announced that he would completely hand over the command of the storming of Aleb Fortress to Rurik.
Therefore, King Rurik of Rus, in theory, the army he directly commands now has reached a scale of 15,000 people!
This is really a challenge for him, and it is also a major and beneficial experience.
But the scale of that fortress is already very small. If more than 10,000 people are really dispatched to launch a siege, it will inevitably evolve into a strange situation where 2,000 people are fighting desperately and 8,000 people are cheerleaders. In the final analysis, the battlefield is too narrow, and this is what Ragna did five times before.
One of the main reasons why all the strong attacks ended in failure.
The tactic is to dispatch elite troops to attack mainly.
The other armies cannot be idle either. This battle has a strong political meaning. They captured the fortress and destroyed the Frankish Three Lions flag. No one wants to miss this battle, even if they are waving flags and shouting on the periphery of the battlefield.
Ragnar and his cronies are the absolute main force, and each Eldar clan can bring dozens of elites to join the battle.
"Think about it. The real King of Denmark led the nobles to conquer the city first. All your tribes will receive honors fairly. Our Russian army will provide you with sufficient support."
This statement satisfied everyone. Firstly, it was fair to the various lords. Secondly, Ragnar took the lead and proved that he was a real man. Thirdly, the Russians provided fire support from the rear and would not take credit from everyone.
At this point in the meeting, all parties began to prepare.
Rurik, who returned to the camp, immediately called Kawi and Jevlo and entrusted them with pure support work.
As for the Russian army not participating in the storm, but also handing over the glory of victory to its allies, this made the generals generally unhappy.
Rurik reassured everyone with just one word: "What's a small Alep Fortress? If we solve the problem here, there will be no war in Jutland. Next, we will attack the Frankish mainland!"
…
It's a new day, it's already July 21st.
Ten complete days have passed since the main force of the Russian army, partial divisions, and various allies launched a two-pronged attack on the 10th of this month.
On the eleventh day, the battle around the Aleb Fortress will surely become the last battle in Jutland.
Although there are still a large number of Danish villages, or so-called Saxon villages, in the south, the locals can no longer muster military strength. Even the local tribal leaders will change their stance and recognize Ragnar as the king of Denmark. Their surrender will be much faster.
In military expedition.
For the final battle, all armies besieging the Aleb Fortress gathered together!
More than 10,000 soldiers gathered densely in the outer city and surrounded the inner fortress of Aleb Fortress.
As an atmosphere group, the elite Russian troops also lined up neatly outside the fortress according to the flag formation.
From one to six, each of the six flag teams has its own losses. They stand like squares.
Gu Zang
The Slavic flags also formed a square, and their spliced spears created a living forest.
There were a large number of allies of the New Danish Royal Army. They stood in a disorderly manner, beating their shields with swords and axes, and making violent noises in conjunction with their roars.
Of course, the Russian army was not to be outdone. All the war drums were brought out and they were beating wildly, and the horns were blown without restraint.
The besieging army used various means to make noise, not only to inform the defenders that the day of decisive battle was today, but also to intimidate them.
So, what is the scene like for the defenders?
Liu Doufu stood at the top of the city, with more than 200 elite soldiers beside him.
Although they are elites, most of them are qualified men selected from the refugees, and they are given bloody horse meat to barely maintain their energy.
As for the others, their bodies were either stiff and limp, or they were so weak that they had only half a breath left.
Eskil still stood at the top of the city wearing a black robe and holding a cross, facing the scene in front of him in despair.
"Sir, we are surrounded. This day is our end. Now kneel down, kneel down in front of this cross, and repent to the Lord..."
Liudov did not comply, "pada! When did this happen?! We can still fight."
"Alas..." Eskil shook his head, "The Russians have come with more troops, and their leader Rurik is among them. Maybe I can make peace with them."
"But this is a betrayal of faith!"
"But you don't want everyone in the fortress to die..." Eskil asked back.
"No! I would rather die than surrender. I am a noble! My ancestor Widukind surrendered to the Franks and was later humiliated. I am not fighting for the Franks now, but for my Saxons. If I will die! Then I will.
Died in battle."
Liudov had his reasons for such an attitude, but Eskil, who had dealt with too many Russians, did not want to end his life hastily, even though he was already a little old man.
"Since you are so determined, you shouldn't organize me to try to negotiate a peace."
"Peace? I won't surrender."
"Yes! I understand your attitude. However, maybe I can convince Rurik to let his army give you a way out. Besides, when Pope Leo I persuaded the demon Attila to leave Rome, those Normans were
It can be traded. I am a northern saint canonized by the current pope. I am qualified to try to persuade the Normans to withdraw their troops. You have no power to stop me. Besides, in the current situation, why should I worry about my own life? "
When Eskil mentioned "the Pope", Liudov's heart softened.
So, just as the besieging army was preparing to launch a strong attack, especially when the Russian army was preparing to launch a large-scale heavy weapons and arrow fire cover, a narrow hemp rope was released.
Esquier was still dressed as a priest. He embraced his cane inlaid with a silver cross and slid down the rope. He covered his nose and felt a heavy heart among the corpses at the bottom of the city. He broke away from the corpses and walked alone to the army not far away.
.
What's going on? All of a sudden, the army, which is watching eagerly and preparing to attack, can't stop it.
Eskil kept shouting in a broken Rus dialect of Norse: "I am Eskil! Rurik! I want to talk to you!"
A priest who calls himself "Eskil"?
People were watching the man in black who suddenly climbed out of the wall. They stopped shouting and continued to watch the man with only a cane walking toward the military formation.
After hearing the news, Rurik rushed to the front of the battle and immediately recognized the pedantic old priest who had been imprisoned by him twice.
He then took off his leather helmet, revealing his flowing golden ponytail.
Rurik had revealed his true identity, and Eskil could not help but smile with joy at the sight.
"Go and capture this priest!" Rurik ordered to his men.
A moment later, Eskil, who was roughly escorted, was kicked in the legs and forced to kneel in front of Rurik.
"Don't be powerless."
Well, Rurik actually helped the man up himself. He happily asked: "What a miracle, my old friend, why are you here?"
Such a question couldn't help but be too hypocritical. Eskil's heart was full of contempt, but now that he was in a desperate situation, he did not dare to let go of a glimmer of hope.
"What makes you mobilize an army? I don't want to participate in the war. I just want to serve God with my whole life. But your army is killing us. Rurik, I beg you, please let us go! We don't want to die."
"Are you here to seek peace?"
Eskil, who was already in a desperate situation, knew that Aleb Fortress could not stop the attack of the besieging army in any case. He explained to Rurik the tragedy in the city in detail. Rurik couldn't help but feel worried after hearing his description.
What shocked him was that the person who resisted desperately was indeed a Frankish nobleman, but his identity was indeed Saxon.
Most of the people in the fortress were also Saxons. The reason why they resisted desperately was because they had no retreat and the reputation of the noble Liudov.
"Count of Westphalia? A Saxon noble since ancient times? During the Frankish civil war, his king sent him to Denmark?" Rurik felt more and more strange. The nobleman named Liudov must have great potential.
Secretly, if he died, would it be a great loss to him?
But the term "Westphalia" was too famous, and for a moment he actually felt that his strong attack could be slowed down first.
By chance, Ragnar heard that a man in black descended from the fortress, most likely a peace seeker. After hearing the news, Ragnar came and stood in front of Rurik.
As for the peace seeker, Eskil, he was very familiar with this man.
"Is it you?! Esquier? The one who built the monastery in Hedeby. You have also been to Rus. You have been to many places." Ragnar pointed at the man's head and asked.
"you……"
"My father is Sigurd, and I am Ragnar of the Stonewall tribe. But now." Ragnar slapped his chest arrogantly: "I am the new King of Denmark. I have seen you before, and you tried to ask me
Father, surrender to your God.”
However, upon hearing this name, Eskil, who had remained calm, suddenly went crazy, and threw himself at Ragnar with his old body, trying to crush him to death with a wooden staff.
Of course his rage was easily controlled by Ragnar.
Eskil was easily controlled by the soldiers, and he heard that the old priest no longer cared about the rules and regulations, and directly cursed: "Ragnar! It was you who burned St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen! You still have to make me miserable! Yes
You are murderous! You are the incarnation of Satan on earth! Your soul will be tortured in hell forever!"
Ragnar was puzzled by these curses, and his face immediately changed: "Can your gods control us warriors blessed by Odin? Stupid guys, you are standing on Danish soil, and now it is Odin who asks us to organize the entire north.
Heroes attack you! The Frankish forces must get out of Denmark."
Ragnar immediately heard the news and Rurik beside him asked: "Is he really here for peace talks?"
"It's a peace talk. But I think it's meaningless."
"Have you... made any promises to the enemies in the fortress?"
"I heard there's a big Frank noble there."
"Great. Chop off his head and sacrifice it to my dead tribesmen."
Rurik shook his head: "You are too arbitrary. At this time, the living are better than the dead."
"What do you think? Is it possible to capture him alive? Break his hamstring like Horik did? It would be very interesting."
"Try to capture them alive, and we'll talk about it later. Also, there are many women in the fortress who are about to die of thirst and starvation. You don't want to end up with corpses after the war. These women can be used as trophies to satisfy your group of disobedient lords.
You can also choose some people to take with you."
"I don't think it's possible. I admire their perseverance. I fought five times on this small inner fort without success. I'm very angry."
"Then try again. Just grab this Eskil. Do you have the courage? Let's stand under the city and shout to them?"
"Let's go together." Ragnar straightened his back.
Under the protection of more than a hundred sword and shield men, Rurik, Ragnar, and more than a dozen lords and generals escorted Eskil straight to the city wall.
They soon saw the densely packed corpses under the wall, and the stench almost made them collapse.
At the same time, Liudov and the defenders, who had been living in peace for a long time, faced a group of people who seemed to have no intention of fighting and approached with Eskil in black. Liudov ordered the soldiers with bows to put away their arrows for the time being.
Because Eskil has obtained a promise from the two kings Rurik and Ragnar, they will spare the lives of everyone after surrender, although they will definitely be slaves. The nobles will receive preferential treatment, and the priests will lose their lives.
After receiving protection, these people will be deported back to Frank in the future. As for the outcome of the others, Eskil is not qualified to make irresponsible remarks.
People in this era have strict hierarchies. Counts like Liudov and the barons under his command do not have to die. The priests have noble status. Rurik considers that things cannot be done too badly and does not want to do anything to him.
The kind of ascetic uses the knife.
Eskil shouted in public and told Liudov on the city wall that the lives of the nobles and priests would be protected. For the refugees who were about to die of thirst and starvation, as long as the city surrendered, the Russian army and the New Denmark army would
Provide food and fresh water immediately.
Surrender?! No! Liudov has never been defeated in his life. He is determined to continue to resist. As for the consequences of defeat... this is not yet a defeat.
Through this persuasion to surrender, Liudov had another understanding - it was possible that the enemy's nobles were right in front of him.
He immediately asked his subordinates who had withdrawn their arrows to nock their bows again: "Shoot at those people holding shields. Have you seen those people in special clothes? Aim and shoot immediately!"
More than 30 bow-wielders suddenly leaned half of their bodies from the hidden battlements, and the Russian swords and shields under the city had quick hands, eyes and hands, and reflexively formed a shield wall.
The arrows crackled on the shield, Rurik's expression remained unchanged, while Ragnar beside him yelled angrily: "You still expect them to surrender!? I have said before that they are as hard as a hammer. In my opinion, a strong attack
Bar!"
A man fell to the ground holding his legs and wailing. He was none other than the unlucky Eskil.
The defenders did not intend to shoot Eskil, but the old boy's position was not good, and he was unlucky enough to be hit in the calf by a stray arrow.
He was also lucky. Rurik knew that this man had a noble status. When they faced off against the Franks later, the Russian army would have an extra bargaining chip by having the "Saint of the North" in their hands.
The soldiers kept retreating with their shields raised. At the same time, Rurik did not answer any of Ragnar's questions, but proved his attitude with practical actions.
He gave a signal to the prepared long-range attack soldiers. Upon seeing the signal, Jevro and Kawe immediately took action and fired thousands of arrows.
The final battle has begun! The Russian army begged for mercy, and Liu Dofu himself chose to die rather than surrender. However, the intensity of the war far exceeded his knowledge...