Chapter 936 Unplug the Aleb Fortress and capture Ludov, the Count of Westphalia
The dark-haired and short Finnish warriors held longbows close to their height. The bow was stretched to its maximum limit. Following Javlo's order, the entire flag team fired nearly 600 arrows.
The torsion slingshots shipped to the front line were made one hundred larger. They were placed at a very large shooting angle, and javelins were installed on the slides, and they were fired in semi-charged mode.
Twenty bull trebuchets were also on the front line. They were also in a semi-charged state, and all they fired were small stones.
The first round of volleys, dense arrows, javelins and stones, is a hundred times more terrifying than hail!
A strong whooshing sound came from the sky, and Liudov, who was standing on the city wall, immediately ordered: "Raise the shield above your head!"
People knew that the Norman arrows were coming, but the result of the arrows falling was unexpected.
The soldiers on the city wall tried their best to cling to the stone walls, huddled together and protected themselves with round shields.
They were very lucky to stay on the city wall, because in the inner fort, a large number of soldiers and civilians had almost nowhere to escape!
The entire inner fort was covered by the long-range firepower of the Ross Army. Rurik's order was to fire all the planned arrows. The Ross Army had sufficient arrows and javelins to face the exhausted enemies trapped in the isolated city.
A "Vandergrift ammo" attack would be outrageous.
Rurik insisted on this for no other reason than that a great nobleman named Liudov refused to surrender.
Kill this nobleman? It would be best if he could be captured alive.
But this nobleman used arrows to express his belief that he refused to surrender, so it was natural that he begged for mercy and received mercy.
Those javelins and arrows all have sharp and long heads, and they fall with strong force, making the roof made of wooden planks and haystacks in the inner castle meaningless.
The refugees who were still surviving were all hiding in the longhouses inside the fortress. The soldiers who were still able to fight were either holding on to the city wall, or were inside the fort, ready to support their brothers on the wall at any time.
Of the 2,000 men Liu Doufu said he had gathered, only 500 exhausted men were left who could continue to fight.
Two thousand soldiers and civilians tortured by hunger and thirst were living in various longhouses. In fact, if the siege continued, all these refugees would die within three days...
But now, they are under attack.
Can a thatched house withstand a vertical strike from a javelin?
The heavier javelin directly penetrated the straw hut, and some arrows also penetrated by chance. This made the longhouse no longer a safe place, and the refugees who were sitting or lying suddenly suffered a fatal blow. The javelin pierced the human body and hit the vital part, causing
Immediately killing someone, causing the injured to moan and consume after injuring someone.
Those who could still move began to flee from the longhouse, only to encounter more serious attacks outdoors.
When people saw it, the man who had just moved outdoors was immediately hit by several arrows, vomiting blood to the end, and was hit by several more arrows while he was dying.
People were screaming and scurrying toward any hiding place, like rats.
There are even chicken thieves who carry the body of the dead or seriously injured person to cover themselves to ensure that they will not be hit by arrows.
Unfortunately, all their efforts are doomed to be in vain.
The young priests prayed in the rain of arrows. They stood together and chanted scriptures with their eyes closed, hoping that a miracle would happen to them.
Those warriors who believe in Odin fire deadly arrows!
The sharp arrows pierced the body mercilessly and indiscriminately. The young priests' positions were so exposed and so bold, and they were all killed by the arrows under the dense attack.
Outside the city, Jevlo issued an order: "Free fire! Even if your arms are sore, you must shoot all thirty arrows!"
Shooting thirty arrows with a high-pound longbow? It is indeed a challenge for everyone.
Rurik issued such an order precisely because he noticed that the arms of the selected Finnish warriors in Javlo were thicker than their legs. This battle to siege the fortress gave these warriors a chance to undergo a stress test.
In comparison, both the torque slingshot and the trebuchet are powered by a winch, and each position enters a free-firing state, so the operator does not have to be too tired.
The arrows shot seemed to be endless, and Ragna was shocked by a series of dazzling scenes.
The sky was full of arrows from the Russian army. If they were attacking a military formation, it would be obvious that a large army would be directly destroyed by such dense arrows and javelins.
"Fortunately we are allies! I...should also learn from the Russians."
It is normal for Ragnar to want to use his abilities to imitate the Ross army. This is the first time for the other lords of Zealand to see the Ross army fighting. The dense arrow attack dazzled them, and some of them were simply envious.
Liudov and his defenders were struggling to hold on. Through the gaps in their shields, he saw the tragedy in the fortress, as well as even more bizarre scenes.
Arrow feathers are mostly glued together by chicken flight feathers. They are brownish-yellow, and the color is somewhat similar to mature oats or wheat. Especially wheat. In their own Westphalian fiefdom, local farmers grew oats and wheat.
It is mixed with rye. As the first nobleman in the area, Liudov naturally eats more wheat.
He saw an additional wheat field in the fortress. No! Those were arrow feathers. They were denser than the wheat ears in the fertile fields.
His own shield was filled with arrows, and so were his subordinates.
For the time being, the defense line of the city wall was not broken by the Normans, but the people, army, and priests in the fort had collapsed.
Because he saw the men in black standing in a row but unfortunately they had fallen down.
Are you going to rebuke the idiots of the priests in black? Liudov's mood was on the verge of collapse.
Eskil's life or death is now uncertain, and many of the priests who followed him have fallen, their bodies covered with arrows.
The defenders' faith collapsed, and some people huddled under their shields wailed: "God has abandoned us! God's servants are dead! We have been abandoned, and we will undoubtedly die today."
The pessimism reached its peak, and it became extremely boring for Liudov to shout "Hang on!"
The Normans' arrows seemed to be endless, and the defenders were completely suppressed by firepower. Those who looked out to see the situation were directly shot through the head by short and thick arrows and killed on the spot. Now there are no more people trying to investigate.
Because there is a group of soldiers who do not participate in the "fire coverage", they carry the Russian army's fist weapon, the steel-arm crossbow, and mount the charged weapon on a temporary wooden stand. The mechanical sight is pointed at the three points and one line at the battlement, waiting for opportunities.
Snipe the exposed ones.
A fierce battle was going on here, and over there, Eskil, who was pulled to the rear, had his black robe lifted up forcibly.
Poor Eskil thought he would be executed. When he saw Rurik standing in front of him, he immediately shouted: "For the sake of our past friendship, please spare me. I... will be very useful to you."
"Are you very useful to me? Yes. I don't want to kill you either."
Rurik thought that this guy was quite self-aware, but the arrow in his thigh near his knee was not Ross's.
It was clearly a flaky and barbed sword. Trying to pull it out immediately caused Eskil to yell and move around.
Young soldiers in the extremely standing army were ordered to heal the unfortunate "saint". They were all soldiers, so how could their methods be sophisticated?
Realizing that Rurik did not intend to persecute him, and considering that the Russian army was shooting arrows at the fortress wildly, Eskil, who concluded that Liudov could not support him at all, could not care about his own comfort for the time being, and begged: "Rurik, I beg you
I beg you."
"Please? I don't want to kill you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have died a few years ago."
"No. I am interceding for Liudov in the fortress. He is not a Frank, but a Saxon. He is a Saxon noble from ancient times. He cannot withstand your current attack at all."
"For that man? Didn't he refuse to surrender? If he surrendered, I would not kill him. But he is seeking his own death."
"Even so..." Esquier continued to wail: "He is the only descendant of Vidukind. He is not a Frank, he is useful to you!"
But now, Rurik couldn't listen at all and there was no need to listen.
Who is Widukind? Rurik, who knew basically nothing about the history of the Saxons, just wanted to defeat a ruthless man who refused to surrender.
"Come here! Get some strong liquor and make this old man drunk!"
So, three bottles of vodka were brought. The exquisite glass bottles contained a liquid that looked like purified water. Eskil, who never drank alcohol, remembered that this was the "magic wine" of the Russians because it could burn.
Drinking alcohol was a great humiliation for the ascetic. Esquier kept twisting and turning, and the soldier who suppressed him pressed hard on his wound, then opened his mouth, and drank all three bottles of wine.
The strong liquor made the old guy Eskil cough, and most of the three bottles of strong liquor, totaling more than 600 ml, went into his stomach. Gradually, this old priest who had never drank alcohol in his life broke his abstinence.
A strange feeling came to his head. He began to feel in a trance and began to talk nonsense. Finally, when the Russian army finally fired the last javelin, the old guy was cut into pieces. What was waiting for him was to cut open the flesh.
Remove the arrow cluster, debridement and suture the wound.
"Okay, you treat his wounds according to the rules. Everyone else!" Rurik ordered casually.
Standing army soldiers on standby are called.
"Follow me! Come to the front line to assist in the general offensive!"
Rurik led more than 300 people to the front line and joined forces with Ragnar, who had been waiting for a long time, and his "Berserker Suicide Squad" of nearly a thousand people.
Take a good look at these berserker warriors! It’s no wonder that the mushroom soup gave them violent fighting power, but they all drank a little ale before the battle to build up their momentum.
Most of them came from Zealand, and a small number came from the Jutland Peninsula where the fierce fighting was going on. In order to show their prowess, the Danish warriors took off some of their armor and wore only trousers or long skirts to show off their thick chests.
Chest hair, already colorful tattoos on the back.
They generally have beards, which are tied into unique braids. Their hair is fluffy and braided, or they are bald.
Many people don't even bother to use shields. They hold a handy and flexible hand ax in each hand, and they have to climb the long ladder that is about to be built to break through the city and fight.
Looking at the still-towering city wall, Ragnar was no longer as depressed as before.
Seeing Rurik arriving at the front line with a group of ruthless men, he was quite worried that his good brother had suddenly changed his mind and planned to take credit from him.
"You probably fired ten thousand arrows? The enemy has collapsed, right? It's up to us to solve the rest."
"Twenty thousand swords and a thousand javelins." Rurik corrected.
Of course, this description really made Ragnar shudder.
"You?! Actually... you are willing to fire 20,000 arrows for a small fortress?"
Ragnar looked incredulous and heartbroken. Seeing him like this, Rurik couldn't help but clasp his waist with both hands: "How? Our Russian army is dispatched, and the momentum is naturally huge. Just 20,000 arrows are nothing? I still have reserve arrows.
There are many.”
This is a truth. Ross mobilized more than 200,000 people in the territory to prepare for war since last autumn.
While Liudolf was mobilizing his fellow Saxons and the Danes who followed him to build a strong Alep fortress, the Russians were desperately making arrows.
A large number of children who were eating the emperor's salary had nothing to do in winter, so they all started to get up early and make arrows at night. The cost of such an action was naturally very high. Almost all the poultry in Russia were bald, so that the feathers of a large number of arrows were made of various small
The feathers are mixed and stuck together.
Valley Post
The Russian army has a reserve of 100,000 arrows for common use. Even if there are a lot of cheap goods mixed in, they are put into today's actual battle based on the principle of make-do.
Ragna had nothing to say, and it was now Rurik's turn to give him a new mission: "I heard that the enemy's commander is named Liudov, and he is a great nobleman."
"I know? Why? Are you afraid that I will kill him after I board the city and take your credit?"
"No. The rest of the battle is yours. I have only one request."
"What?"
"Try to catch as many as possible alive. You need slaves, and I need that Liudov alive."
"Why bother?" Ragna felt ridiculous and shook his head directly: "You are willing to fire 20,000 arrows, and any enemy will be shot by you, right?!"
"If that person is dead, there is nothing we can do. If he is alive, we must capture him alive so that we can keep him for future use."
"Really? For example, as a sacrifice."
"That would be such a waste. I think it is more useful for this Liudolf to keep his life than to die. I bet you that the king of the Franks will probably give a lot of gold and silver in exchange for this man's life."
Upon hearing this, Ragna's eyes lit up: "Is it possible?"
"If they don't pay the ransom and the prisoner is burned to death, we won't lose much. Remember, the more unusual the clothes, the better to keep them. Bring more ropes and be sure to capture them alive."
"All right."
…
The rest of the battle was completely meaningless to the defenders.
After all, it was twenty thousand arrows and a thousand javelins, accompanied by crossbow sniping and a large number of stones thrown down by bull trebuchets.
The small fortress was covered with corpses, and the entire fortress looked like a tomb. Strangely, at first glance, there was a huge wheat field inside the fortress.
Liudov finally experienced the end of the arrow offensive. He estimated that the enemy was about to launch an attack, and immediately ordered his subordinates: "Men with bows, prepare to counterattack. Brothers, we must repel them."
However, very few people responded to him.
When he saw only a dozen people shouting symbolically, he knew that he had lost the battle, but the besieging army didn't give him any time to think.
Liu Doufu heard the deafening roar, he cautiously revealed half of his face, and suddenly an arrow flew towards him.
His face was already injured, his head was wrapped with a linen cloth, and a helmet was put on his head. The short and thick arrow, weighing half a pound, directly penetrated the leather helmet and easily knocked it out of Liudov's head.
If the arrow had been lowered any lower, Liu Doufu's life would have been over.
He hurriedly hid behind the battlements, his eyes were as wide as copper bells, his face was pale and pale with shock, and his heart was beating wildly as if it was going to explode.
With just a glance, he saw the Normans with various ferocious patterns tattooed on their upper bodies. They were either holding iron swords or grabbing axes. There were even madmen who broke the blades in their mouths and carried a large number of ladders to attack the fortress.
The city wall defenses collapsed instantly because the defenders had no resistance at all.
Liudov had no choice but to retreat. In principle, he could not commit suicide and did not want to die at the hands of the Normans.
He subconsciously led a few of his accompanying soldiers down the city wall, retreated to the inner fort site that was full of arrows, and met up with some soldiers who had successfully withstood the arrows.
After some counting, he was convinced that he had less than fifty soldiers on hand. What was worse was that the noble soldiers he brought from the Westphalian fiefdom were almost all gone.
"Sir, what should we do?!"
"The enemy has climbed over the wall!"
"Are we all going to die here?!"
Liu Doufu could not promise his men safety. He almost broke his teeth, the wound on his head burst open, and the blood soaked the linen cloth that wrapped his head and half of his face.
He did not issue any orders because as many as a hundred berserkers had already entered the inner fort.
Ragnar fulfilled his promise and took the lead and became the first group of men to invade the inner castle. As the king of the new Kingdom of Denmark, this behavior really impressed many lords.
Because the lords deliberately stayed late and saw Ragnar and his brothers aggressively suppressing the small group of armed men in the fortress, they immediately led their men to join them urgently.
Not encountering any resistance, Ragnar felt that his previous battle was a joke. The enemy was very weak?
He raised his steel sword and pointed it at the enemy who was constantly retreating. He roared in Norse-Danish dialect: "Is any of you Liudov? Who is Liudov? Surrender to me!"
Calling his name. As for surrender?! Bah!
At this moment, it would be cowardly to remain silent. Liudov, wearing a blood-stained bandage, raised his sword high and roared in Saxon: "I am Liudov! Norman! Do you want to duel with me?"
The injured Liudov was so conspicuous that Ragnar easily noticed that the speaker was a wounded man. A wounded man still insisting on fighting? The enemy's commander was a ruthless man, and he still planned to fight with only a few soldiers in his hand.
It stands to reason that Ragnar can completely accept this kind of duel. It is a habit in the Danish world to resolve some inter-tribal disputes by sending brave men from both sides to duel.
However, the opponent is a man who has converted to God, and this man is not eligible for the "Danish Dueling Rules".
"Are you Liudov? My enemy?!"
"It's me! Norman, who are you?!"
"I am Ragnar! The real King of Denmark, Ragnar! Ragnar, son of Sigurd the Ring! From now on, the world will know my name, Liudolf, and I will capture you alive."
It was true that he was going to be captured alive. Ragnar had already prepared for it, so he threw a large number of hemp ropes tied with nooses.
The noose immediately wrapped around the soldier's head and he was pulled down immediately.
Since the target has been determined, Ragnar's attitude towards other enemies is naturally to kill them all.
Liu Doufu, who was already exhausted, tried to free himself after being hit in the head, but struggled and became discouraged. He was thirsty and hungry, and had consumed a lot of energy in the previous battles.
Ragnar completely disarmed the man and pressed his knees and legs against his neck, forcing Liudov to almost suffocate. A group of berserker warriors were ordered to hold the rope and tied Liudov tightly like a prey.
For other berserkers, the looting of the inner fort begins!
People are willing to believe Ragnar's picture, that the enemy's tenacious resistance is to protect the mountains of silver coins and gold in the fortress.
However, they searched all the supplies, but not only did they not find gold or silver, they saw corpses lying scattered in the house, as well as a group of dying people. They were women! Many women. Unfortunately, they were already dead. All the living people were.
His mouth was peeling and his face was sluggish, with only half a breath left.
The soldiers were so disillusioned that they no longer even thought about wielding their swords against a group of dying people.
They are still looking for gold and silver everywhere, taking whatever useful things they can find into their arms, which is precisely the amount of gold and silver they find.
At the same time, the stones blocking the gate began to be moved, and Ragnar's cronies were clearing these obstacles.
All the cross flags flying in the fortress were cut down, especially the Frankish Three Lions flag which was folded intact after being captured by Ragnar. After all, this was the battle flag of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne, and capturing this battle flag was a huge honor!
For a moment, Ragnar felt that he was a greater being than Godfrey, the leader of the alliance decades ago. The leader did his best to resist the Frank invasion, and he, leading Denmark and other Viking heroes,
Directly defeated the invading Frank army and captured alive a Frank noble.
The raven flag symbolizing Odin was flying, and the onlookers were trying their best to make loud noises to boost their momentum.
Facing the scene, Ragnar's blood was surging. He stood on a high place with his sword raised high, accepting the support of tens of thousands of warriors.
In this scene, it seemed that the entire Russian army and even the floating ships were cheering for the new Danish king.
"This boy can really show off." Arik glanced disdainfully and said to his younger brother: "Rurik, I would rather you stand there and accept the applause. I would rather have our flag flying."
"Are you aggrieved on my behalf? It's just a small fortress and it's not worth mentioning. The war will burn into the Frankish territory. I want to take a detour to attack Hamburg. How about it?"
"Okay! I know the way!" Arik was overjoyed and asked: "How about the noble Liudov you care about?"
"We'll see. Hopefully he'll be captured alive."
After a while, Ragnar felt that he was comfortable enough, so he lifted Liudov, who was tied up like a caterpillar, from the city wall, and finally dragged him directly to the ground. More than ten people directly dragged the rope to Rurik.
.
"Look. It's this guy, the noble Liudov you want."
Rurik and a group of Russian generals all leaned over to watch this man who was well-dressed and looked extremely embarrassed.
Liu Duofu opened his eyes, he could not move and said plausibly: "Stop humiliating me, kill me, let me die."
"Let you die? Don't even think about it." Rurik squatted down with his feet patiently and patted the man's face: "I heard that you are a Saxon, why did you become a Frankish noble? I would rather die than surrender.
I admire you for being willing to commit suicide."
"You...who are you?"
"I? I am Rurik, the King of Rus. You were defeated in the hands of our Rus-Danish coalition. Now surrender to me. I will not insult you, nor will I let you die."
"You... are a barbarian."
Suddenly, Rurik smiled and spoke a long paragraph in fluent Latin, which directly frightened Liudov.
"You? Actually understand the sacred language? Incredible, you are a barbarian!"
"Do you know what I just said?"
"I don't know."
"Moses was in Egypt and had been thinking about Canaan. He never gave up when he was suffering. Liudov, you are suffering now, you can endure it. I can let you go back, but I want some ransom. Maybe your Frankish king will pay
This money, or if you pay me a large amount of wheat from your territory, I will return your freedom. As long as you declare surrender, I can untie you now. It seems that you are hungry and thirsty, and I can give you food and drink.
.Listen, Horik has been captured by me, and your power is no longer in Jutland. It is meaningless for you to continue to insist, because we are about to retaliate against your king. Surrender!"
After hearing the military threat from the young King of Rus, Liudov no longer dared to think about the future. Because the main force of his master, Prince Ludwig, had been fighting Lothair, this huge Norman army suddenly attacked.
Ludwig was going to suffer a huge defeat.
But the words of this King of Rus are very interesting. As a Saxon, does he really want to work for the top Frank nobles? There is also the story of Moses' exodus from Egypt. This King of Rus actually persuades himself to endure the humiliation and bear the burden?!
In this world, the nobility of status needs to be maintained by a powerful army. Although he is a count, he has lost almost all his elite soldiers. The count has nothing to show for it.
"Okay!" Liudov turned his head to the side and surrendered, and reluctantly said with the few Latin words he knew: "I surrender."