The army's journey south is bound to pass through the port of Heideby.
This formerly prosperous port truly reflects the glory of Godfrey, Denmark's great old leader.
Things have really changed. The leader of the alliance has long since passed away. After his death, the port became an absolutely free port. Now, green grass covers the charred ruins, and only some black building remains are left here, telling the horror of many years ago.
Facing the devastated Hedebe, which has traces of being smoothed away by nature, the viewer does not feel sad, but has memories of the past.
As the army marched by sea and land all the way south, a large number of Danish villages and a small number of Saxon villages along the way announced that they would change their ways due to their own safety.
Danish villages have announced that they have given up their faith in God and returned to the embrace of Odin. They respect Ragnar, who holds a large number of soldiers, as their king, just as they previously respected Horik, who holds a large number of soldiers, as their king.
But this time it's really different.
Because Horik was a prisoner of war who had his hand tendons and hamstrings broken, this man was a prisoner of Rurik, and even more so a prisoner of Ragnar. The key was that the existence of this prisoner was very useful.
With a rope around its neck, no fig leaf on its body, and a crawling thing like a hairless wild boar, it turned out to be Horik, who rode a horse to show off his power and force everyone to surrender a few years ago?
Is Horik really a descendant of Lord Godfrey? No one knows this.
But all the village lords knew that Horik was definitely a blood relative of Harald Clark. The latter was voted out of the alliance leader by everyone and expelled by force.
The reason for the expulsion was very simple - Harald Clark was forcing everyone to convert to God.
However, those lords and their tribesmen who were unwilling to convert were either killed or had no choice but to flee, such as to the nearest island of Zealand.
A large number of villages chose to convert and receive baptism collectively in order to save their lives. Now they have rebelled. How can they prove that they have re-believed in Odin? They began to kill young priests in the village, even if these priests are of the same race.
This kind of persecution against priests made Esquier heartbroken. Out of practical considerations, he suppressed the anger and sorrow in his heart, as if he was unaware of it all, only holding on to his cross in the silence and no one.
The wooden staff prays continuously.
The Danish villages were aware of the influence of Christ in their independent territories. They destroyed small monasteries, killed priests, and then dug stone statues representing gods such as Odin and Thor back from the pits.
This scene really made Rurik dumbfounded.
He and Ragnar witnessed the re-erecting of stone statues, the re-construction of the stone ship altar, and even witnessed the ritual in which young priests tied with ropes were sacrificed to their heads for blood sacrifice.
"What do you think?" Rurik deliberately asked Ragnar: "I think they have already made two preparations."
"I think so. What a group of smart people..."
Of course Ragnar despises such talents who adapt to changing beliefs, but now he needs the support of his fellow Danes.
At least they returned Odin with actual actions. All that was left was to force them to contribute a group of strong men to join the army as warriors.
The southern Danish villages on the Jutland peninsula have made such decisions one after another, and the lords also know very well that Ragnar is a real ruthless man. Besides, the arrogant Horik has now degenerated into a pig and dog, so he can be beaten by Ragnar.
Accept the existence of walking dogs on a leash.
But I saw that this man in his thirties was the powerful King Ragnar. He shouted when he met everyone: "Horik is my prisoner, I was chosen by Odin, and I avenged Odin!"
People respect the strong, and Ragnar is the real strong one.
Of course, no one can ignore the more powerful people behind this king - King Rurik of Rus and the Rus army.
No one can ignore the Rus' army. They are neatly dressed and well-equipped, with infantry and cavalry, and a huge fleet floating offshore. The legendary Rus' king Rurik also showed his true identity, and all the legends that have been spread have become true.
, the man who killed King Hafgen was actually him!
Everyone knows that the Russians opened shops in the old Hedeby Port, and they also know that the fire in Hedeby Port was largely related to Horik sending troops to clean up the Ross shops. The result of that battle directly led to the commercial disaster in the Danish world.
, so that many merchants had to go to Schleswig further south to do business.
Schleswig was originally a town shared by the Danes and Saxons. The indigenous people in the town believed in Sirius, or in other words, they believed that Sirius was not a star, but "the shining point of Asgard in the sky."
The ruined Hedebe no longer existed, and Schleswig began to take over its economic status, but it was already firmly controlled by the Franks and became a border city.
Thanks to the conversion of many villages to Christianity and the converted Danes, the Saxons could do business freely. They could finally safely import northern goods into the Frankish hinterland at the cost of heavy taxes.
The Saxons who still stayed north of the Great Wall of Schleswig were always guests to Denmark. With the arrival of Liudolf, a descendant of Widukind, everything changed.
However, they welcomed their leader and learned about the war a year later. Because many Saxons converted to God, they abandoned their villages, took their families, drove cattle and sheep, stuffed the poultry into cages, and entered Schleswig.
They became the common people under Frankish rule, or in other words, they entered the vast and sparsely populated Earldom of Hamburg.
Because they had converted to God, the Count of Hamburg not only had no reason to conquer them, but had to fulfill the obligation of military protection.
It was these people who had escaped the Great Wall who talked about the war in the north, which suddenly caused tension in the north and made the attitude of a large number of lower-level nobles of Saxon origin in the region become hysterical.
As for those Saxon villages that had not had time to leave, the villagers had already thought of countermeasures.
The so-called false conversion will regret it every day.
The northern army really appeared, but they were not demons seeking their lives. Lord Liudov did not die! Even if the fortress fell, Liudov did not die. Not only that, Liudov also raised the flag of the Principality of Saxony. He
He is the Duke of all people! More importantly, the northern saint Eskil is also in the army, and no one forces the Saxons to give up God.
But the Saxons must make a decision - to recognize Liudolf as the Duke of Saxony, and to follow the route of the great hero Widukind, resist the rule of the Frankish Kingdom, and restore the Principality of Saxony.
Did the people have a choice? They did not object at all. This was entirely because the Saxons who escaped the Great Wall used their actions to prove their opposition to the Frankish Kingdom's military conquest. As the saying goes, if you can't defeat it, just run away and continue to oppose it.
Deep in everyone's heart lies an anger that cannot be subsided for fifty years. Everyone can believe in God. Restoring the Principality of Saxony and believing in God are not contradictory. They supported Liudov a year ago because this man played "Widukind".
Now the hero decided to restore the country and formed an alliance with the new king of Denmark and the king of Rus. People fully supported Liudov's rebellion, and a Saxon army was born.
…
In just four days, the army arrived at the ruins of Hedebe from the battlefield of Aleb Fortress.
The coalition forces camped here, and Liudov suddenly had more than a thousand Saxon warriors of widely varying ages, who had become Vikings, under his command. He was no longer an ordinary general. It was his own army that didn't even have any Frankish characteristics.
Ragnar's troops suffered more than 2,000 casualties in previous battles. After many Sealand lords arranged for some people to return to the island, the army he could theoretically control had shrunk a lot. Thanks to the troops he recruited when he went south, New Denmark
The Royal Army still maintains an exaggerated size of five thousand soldiers.
The largest force is naturally Rurik's army of the Kingdom of Rus. To hell with those Swedish troops and the Götalanders! Rurik is too lazy to wait for the guys who are plundering and taking revenge in the northernmost part of Jutland. The pattern of those people
If they are too small, they are destined not to achieve great things.
At night, the bonfires near the ruins are as dense as stars.
The three kings gathered at a campfire. They ate the newly caught oily grilled cod and talked about the upcoming battle.
"The facts are clear. A large number of Danes fled to the south." Ragnar said.
Guji
"My Saxon account is the clearest. A large number of people have been evacuated. Another point is that based on my understanding of the Count of Hamburg, his reinforcements will definitely go north. We will definitely encounter the Count of Hamburg's army, and a battle is almost inevitable."
Liu Doufu's solemn oath actually aroused doubts.
"Is the news reliable? How do you determine that the Count of Hamburg will definitely go north?" Rurik asked.
"No reason. Hahaha!" I saw Liu Duofu laughing up to the sky, and his smile was mixed with helplessness: "When you started to attack my fortress, I sent people out of the city to report south urgently. It was I who asked the Count of Hamburg for help. I
That’s the person involved!”
This explanation was too darkly humorous. Rurik and Ragnar were first silent out of embarrassment, and then the whole room burst into laughter.
Rurik smiled and put down the fish with a rather disdainful attitude: "Count of Hamburg, how many people can that Robert bring? I will defeat him easily. Do you believe it or not? Liudov, I can easily win as long as I send the cavalry."
.”
Rurik's words were too provocative. Liudov tried his best to cover up his embarrassment and fear, and echoed: "I have many more cavalry than Robert. I personally led the cavalry and was defeated. Of course your cavalry can still do it."
Easy victory. Damn it, how can you fight like this? You shoot arrows like crazy, the cavalry shoots arrows like crazy, and you also shoot arrows like crazy when you attack my fortress. I have never seen such tactics. No Frank noble has ever seen such tactics."
"This is my army." Rurik put on an arrogant face and said nothing more.
"I only have one thing to ask for."
"Say it."
"The Counts of Hamburg are not pedantic people, and they have no subjective ill will towards you. Besides, when I restore the Principality of Saxony, Hamburg will be within my territory. Since we have formed an alliance now, we will arrive in Schleswig soon. If
There is fighting, and I beg you to let all the Saxons go. I will not pursue the past, I just hope there will be no needless killings in the future."
Saying these words, Liudov's eyes looked more at Ragnar.
"Why...are you looking at me? Do you suspect that I led troops into your old Saxony area and killed people everywhere?"
Liu Doufu had a sullen face, half-smiling, and his eyes answered in the affirmative.
"Whatever!" Ragnar shrugged, "My original intention was to fight until the Great Wall. I want Schleswig to be used as my Danish border town again. I support your plan to revive the Principality of Saxony. From then on, our two countries will use the Great Wall.
As a boundary, we both agree."
Hearing such a promise, Liudolf was very satisfied. For him, since he had raised the flag of rebellion and decided to risk his life to revive the Principality of Saxony, he was convinced that he would seize the God-given opportunity of the Frankish Civil War and not take advantage of this strategic opportunity to restore the country.
There's really no chance.
Therefore, it is very important for Ragnar's Danish army to continue to move south, but he only borrows troops to help him regain his country and defeat Ludwig's crusade when necessary. He really doesn't want the northern heroes to plunder Saxony and make trouble for himself after his restoration.
It is a country with a declining population.
It was at this campfire that Rus, Denmark and Saxony reached a new verbal agreement.
The so-called no needless killings are targeted at those who resist. The right to life of any noble or civilian who recognizes Liudov as the Duke of Saxony will be protected.
As for property rights? That's a different story.
There is a price to pay for borrowing troops to help restore the country. Liudov has to pay rations for foreign armies such as Russia and Denmark, as well as benefits that can be deferred.
Therefore, the new goal has been determined, and the army must quickly capture the town of Schleswig.
The coalition forces have no time to delay their advance!
The army has been moving south along the eastern coastline of the Jutland Peninsula. In theory, the south path is the shortest. However, the practical factor is that there are a large number of forest areas in the middle of the peninsula. This is really a disaster for tens of thousands of troops marching.
The coalition forces actually made some detours. The ruins of Heideby where they are currently located are at the mouth of Schlei Bay. This bay is deep and long, so it is not like a bay, but the interior is more like a wide river.
The deep Schlei Bay is a bay formed by ice erosion, and there is an ice erosion lake at the deepest part. Due to the intrusion of sea water, the lake is the sea water of the Baltic Sea. It is a natural haven, but the biggest problem is that it leads from the inside to the outside.
The waterway is too long and narrow. When business was booming at Haizebi at the mouth of the sea, the deepest part of the bay had little commercial value. Nowadays, merchants pursue safe trading points, and spare towns have emerged as new commodity distribution centers.
The deepest salt water lake in the bay is the town of Schleswig, which is also where the eastern end of the Great Wall is located. An inappropriate metaphor, the current meaning of Schleswig Town and Shanhaiguan is the same.
Still in Hedebe, after the three kings had a small meeting, Rurik called another meeting with his subordinates.
"Bald" Fisk is called a star. According to the new tasks set by the king, everyone feels that the king attaches great importance to him.
Under the attention of many generals and nobles, the young Fisk simply issued a military order.
"I will lead the cavalry to take Schleswig! I will kill those who resist and spare the lives of those who surrender. I will win! If I fail, I will... commit suicide to apologize!"
"You speak too harshly." Rurik smiled and hit the old man on the shoulder. "You can't die. However, if I really entrust you with the task of capturing Schleswig, you will represent our Russian independence."
Enjoy the glory."
Now Arik does not have any title. On the surface, his true identity is just the captain of the First Banner Corps. Let's use the Frankish Kingdom as a reference. Rurik is the king of Rus, so a person like Arik must be at least a duke-level figure.
.He was assigned special attack missions.
From the ruins of Hezeby to the town of Schleswig, it only takes about thirty kilometers to walk along the coastline of the harbor towards the hinterland in the southwest direction.
It only takes half a day for cavalry troops to advance quickly over such a distance, and it can even be done faster for ships.
The Ross cavalry selected 200 cavalry, and Fisk led his troops to advance rapidly as a land force.
Ragnar led a squadron. Considering the convenience of the landing battle, except for a sail destroyer as necessary support, the other ships were all traditional leading warships.
The leading warship best demonstrates the characteristics of the Vikings. It is the most suitable landing craft in this time and space for beach landing operations.
Without further ado, a special detachment of the rebel army was quickly formed the next morning.
After having breakfast, the cavalry moved forward lightly. They carried a large number of arrows, but only one meal of rations. This was a land force.
The sea route force was led by Arik, who had experienced hundreds of battles. His soldiers were more than 400 veterans of the First Banner Squadron, and were accompanied by the Saxon army with 20 leading warships. The sea route force had a total of 36 oars warships.
, the ships were flying the flag of Russia, and only one ship was flying the flag of the so-called Principality of Saxony.
Liudov couldn't completely believe Rurik and Ragnar's promise not to kill indiscriminately. He couldn't express his distrust in person, so he might as well take a boat and quickly go south in person, with his own people to supervise it, forcing his allies to be thief-minded but not courageous.
Of course, he also had to reach Schleswig as soon as possible. Although he might not be able to meet the Count of Hamburg there, he would definitely be able to meet the local baron.
A man must leave a way out. Although he raised the flag of rebellion, his purpose was actually to restore the Principality of Saxony. As for whether this principality existed independently as a grand duchy, or as a principality as a great vassal of the Frankish Kingdom, as long as things did not
Don't worry, there will be many opportunities for negotiation in the future.
He hoped to directly capture the local baron, who was a Frank, and save his life as a bargaining chip in future negotiations. However, many of the local garrison in Schleswig were Saxons. As a self-reliant duke, Liudov could not really expect to win the war.
Some militiamen recruited from the north incorporated the Schleswig garrison into their own ranks. This was a shortcut to expanding their strength. Not only that? The Count of Hamburg also wanted to hand over the army, especially all the Saxon soldiers among them.
It is said that the Frankish power in the entire Saxony region must recede, and the Saxon soldiers trained by the Frankish nobles who immigrated must join the true king.
For Liudov, he hoped to start with Schleswig as the real starting point for his restoration of the country, or at least the starting point for regaining regular soldiers.
Such a coalition of land and sea forces was dispatched! The only thing missing from this coalition was the Danes. This was a favor for Ragnar to betray his allies. Because the war has reached this point, Ragnar really needs to do some long-term diplomacy for the future Kingdom of Denmark.
Plan. He killed too many people during the siege of Aleb Fortress, and he really needs to consider the feelings of another party involved in the war, his current ally Liudov.
Liu Duofu's words were very clear. As long as he helped him regain his country, the past grudges would be forgotten.
Ragnar deliberately slowed down his advance, and he and Rurik himself advanced slowly as if for amusement. Even at this speed, it would take the next day to reach Schleswig.
By then, the vanguard army would have already captured the town.