Chapter 966 The Plunder of Antwerp and the Wrath of Baudouin
It was like a horde of wild beasts rushing into the city, which seemed to them to be filled with wealth everywhere.
The city is quite cramped, the roads are narrow and winding, the ground is black, and there is a faint stench in the air.
Of course, some residents of this city will throw their feces and urine directly onto the road. If this is the case, the whole city will soon stink.
Because it is adjacent to a river, more people still throw all kinds of filth into the river.
The odor comes from many large urns, which are not only visible to the naked eye, but also have pieces of wood underneath them.
Obviously, the sudden attack interrupted the work of the locals. The Russian army that invaded the city saw that there was a large amount of wool cooked in Wengli?
Newly cut wool has a smell, and the annoying smell will dissipate after it is boiled and degreased.
The soldiers had no time to take care of the wool. They thought that since the locals were doing such work, there must be more wool in the local warehouses.
All the rumors are becoming true, and every soldier can't wait to take away a bale of wool processed by the locals. He will roll it into wool at home and have the women at home knit it into decent sweaters.
Grund's sword was dripping with blood. He had no intention of checking the dead body, but ordered his men to act as quickly as possible.
"Don't miss any house, search for gold and silver first, and finish it as soon as possible before the Danes."
The Russian army completed the perfect hunt, so naturally they wanted to eat the fattest meat. The remaining minced meat was shared by the Danes who followed.
The large forces of the Russian army have completed their landing, and the looting in the city has also reached its peak at this moment.
The fleeing people still had their backs clearly visible, and Grund was unable and unwilling to pursue them. He occupied the highest building, which was obviously the residence of the great nobles in the city.
In this wooden double-story house, he plundered a large number of metal utensils. Unfortunately, except for a few gold and silver tableware, there were no better utensils.
But he still found a special treasure - the wardrobe.
In the wardrobe in the noble's living room, there are rows of woolen fabrics. There are men's robes and women's gowns.
The wardrobe was swept away by the Russian soldiers and immediately became the soldiers' spare clothing.
Since it is a noble residence, there should be something like a secret room to hide gold and silver.
One of the maids just hid, and when she finally tried to escape, she found that the Normans were everywhere. The maid was immediately insulted after being discovered by the soldiers, and finally she was dragged to Grunde like a dead pig as if she had lost her soul.
before.
"This woman was killed by you? A bunch of young brats, they didn't do anything serious." Of course, Grund didn't mind what his brothers did at all.
The standing army was full of strong men close to twenty years old. Someone claimed: "Boss, maybe this woman can tell us the secret she knows."
"Secret? It's enough to tell me where the nobles hide their money."
Grund had spent the first half of his life wandering around the world, and he already knew a bit of Frankish vocabulary, which came in handy now.
He half-knelt down, patted the half-conscious woman's face vigorously, and when he saw her regaining consciousness, he asked sharply: "Gold! Silver! Tell me where it is?"
However, the woman's deep voice begged, "Kill me quickly."
"We won't kill you. Tell me where the gold is hidden and you can live."
The woman responded immediately and slowly stretched out her right hand to point at a line of defense, which immediately made Grund happy.
"Very good! Brothers, take this woman with you. Oh, by the way, give her some dignity."
Seeing his subordinates lifting the girl up, Grund suddenly remembered something and asked: "Which of you tortured this girl the most just now?"
But I saw a group of young people laughing and laughing and pointing angrily at a brother.
"Alal, is that you? Okay. This woman will be your wife and concubine, take her away."
"Huh? Didn't the king say that he would be killed without mercy?" the soldier asked doubtfully.
"Keep it for now. Your Majesty will probably acquiesce to the fact."
The maid was led into the cellar, and on the underground floor of the residence, Grund discovered a treasure trove. He was eager to discover a large amount of gold and silver, even though he knew that King Rurik actually preferred wheat.
It really comes to mind, there are indeed some wooden boxes placed in the cellar.
After the box was pried open, the shiny coins inside also showed their graceful brilliance.
"Everyone settle down." Grund waved his hand, "Follow the rules, this is dedicated to the king. You light all the oil lamps, and we will take a good look at what these are."
The light outside was already very dim, and the flames burning in the cellar revealed the true identity of the coins.
Grund grabbed a handful with his own hands and took a closer look. All he saw were copper coins. He suddenly stamped his feet in anger and cursed: "Damn it! Are the nobles here poor? The so-called treasures are actually copper coins? It has
What’s the use?”
The number of copper coins was extraordinary. After counting, there were twenty boxes, each of which seemed to weigh a hundred pounds.
But the situation is not really shabby. There are still three boxes that have been pried open. They are all genuine silver coins with the same image of Charlemagne on them. They are all in good quality.
So, Antwerp, a land of wealth, is really so poor?
This is not the case.
Although the sudden death of the baron caused a collapse of the city's defenses, the nobles did not forget to carry away all the boxes of silver coins from the cellar when they fled. The copper coins were indeed worthless, and the soldiers were pressed for time and simply ignored them. They only took more than ten boxes of silver coins.
After grabbing the carriage, he joined the escape team and took the opportunity to make a fortune.
Only the three boxes of silver coins found by the Russian army were picked up by the conquerors because the fleeing nobles failed to pack them.
The clouds that were illuminated by the sun were only dark red, and the Russian army had entered the city in large numbers.
However, Antwerp is a small city. Before Rurik's attack, the city had barely 800 permanent residents.
Not many residents were killed in the city, so it was quite unlucky to see the bodies lying on the ground. After the soldiers went into the city to search, they left the city carrying some of the captured goods and set up camp near the pier guarding the ships and lighting a bonfire.
However, the only two warehouses in the city have been firmly controlled, and the work of transporting grain and wool has already begun.
The soldiers either pushed their own handcarts and began to carry them after they were assembled on the shore. The wheelbarrows that the locals did not have time to take away were put into work as well as the two-wheeled carts.
Grund presented his gift, and all the money boxes were placed in front of Rurik. The armor he slapped on his chest jingled: "All the boxes are coins, and the brothers present them to the king."
Rurik nodded: "Loyalty! There are silver coins inside."
"There are only three boxes, and the rest are copper coins."
"There are only three boxes? They say Antwerp is very rich. I did see a lot of wool and grain. Silver coins can't be just that?"
"We dare not be greedy." Grund beat his chest again.
"Forget it!" Rurik shrugged and immediately ordered an inspection. Seeing that there were three boxes full of silver coins, he immediately made an exciting decision - to divide the money.
The purchasing power of a silver coin in the Ross tribal era twenty years ago was extremely amazing. Of course, it was only because the Swedish tribes at that time were strongly hostile to the Danish forces and were simply amusing themselves economically. Silver coins are such precious metals.
As a natural hard currency, the amount in circulation is too small.
As things changed, Rus conquered large tracts of land, and the currency that once circulated throughout the Baltic trade circle was being enriched in the core settlements of the Rus Kingdom.
These young soldiers of Russia's standing army grew up with the rise of Russia, and also with the increasing accumulation of silver coins.
Even if Rurik ordered the money to be divided, more than a thousand brothers divided it completely, and each person's share was quite limited.
But this is indeed the king's reward.
Ragnar's Danish army almost touched the night, aiming at the dense array of bonfires that shone like stars in the distance. The Danish army finally arrived in Antwerp. They missed everything.
The belated arrival made all the Danish warriors very upset. They wanted Ragnar to praise the strength of their Rurik brothers, but there was no way they could do that tonight.
Especially when he saw the Russians distributing trophies on the shore, he became even more jealous.
Ragnar angrily found Rurik who was sitting by the campfire and was busy eating grilled fish, and complained: "Congratulations on your victory. You were too fast and didn't wait for me."
"What? Are you unhappy?"
"You should wait for me." After saying that, Ragna sat down, took the other grilled fish handed over by Rurik, and calmed down a little.
Rurik betrayed his personal favor and publicly blamed himself: "We were eager for quick success. So originally our plan was to attack the city tomorrow. I grabbed the time. Now Antwerp has been defeated and the looting has begun. I grabbed some good things.
I can give you a lot."
"No need." Ragnar waved his hand and shook his head, "That's not my trophy. I can't bear to accept your gift. Anyway, this battle is over, and we should have no new battles in the south.
End this quickly, I will march along the Rhine, that is my battle."
"Okay. But... there are many villages nearby. You can go there and plunder and take a look, and maybe you can take away a lot of cattle and sheep. I won't rob you from these actions. Whatever you rob is yours.
trophies. If you encounter resistance from local farmers, you will be responsible for killing them."
"You have a conscience." Ragnar laughed out loud and took a big bite of the grilled cod, even though it was not even salted.
The joy of victory was written on everyone's face, and the soldiers of Ross could not sleep. They still held torches and searched for treasures in the city.
They still kidnapped a small number of women. The reason why they were not killed immediately was simply because they were women.
The soldiers did not fully implement the king's order to kill without mercy. Seeing this situation, it stands to reason that Rurik could turn a blind eye and acquiesce that he is a slave to his subordinates.
But this time, there is no room for mercy.
Being played by multiple warriors together, the maid with devout faith has no choice but to live or die. It is precisely because of her faith that she cannot commit suicide, even if she begs the conqueror to grant her death.
Until Rurik puts an end to this farce.
The soldiers reluctantly let go of their "toys", and these women, who had been tortured until their clothes were ragged and their spirits were broken, were given a clean death.
That's all. Rurik summoned all the centurions again, grasped the hilt of his sword and ordered rudely: "I told you that the enemy in this battle will not leave any men or women. We don't have time to capture them. What we want is revenge killing. Tomorrow
Just carry various trophies and supplies, no prisoners of war!"
All the centurions said so. Some people lamented that it was unbelievable that the king issued such a cruel order. Obviously, this battle is really of special significance?
On a new day, it started to rain lightly.
Could it be that the autumn rain season has already begun? Rurik had predicted the rain a long time ago, and he had taken the risk of rain and made a surprise attack.
The rain hindered the army's siege. Fortunately, Antwerp had been defeated the day before the rain.
The Russian army wasted no time in the rain to transport the loot. The tarpaulins that were originally used to cover the ship's torsion slingshot were now used to cover the carts carrying wheat and wool.
The supplies were loaded onto small boats at the pier, and then transferred to the anchored large ships. The decks of large ships were designed with drainage holes. Although the entire cabin did not have a high-tech design of watertight compartments, it was as a whole like a closed oak barrel. The captured
Stuffing supplies into the cabin completely blocks out rainwater.
The cold autumn rain undoubtedly greatly interfered with the transportation of the spoils, but there were so many spoils. At this point, Antwerp truly proved its wealth.
Although it was cold, Rurik deliberately stopped to bring good luck.
He has been psychologically prepared. The so-called war has started so far, and the army is likely to be unable to reach the capital city of Fort Neuros before the Gulf of Finland freezes. He has designed plan B, so-called army can be directly stationed in warm places for the winter. Temporary guest accommodation
Denmark, as well as the islands of Bornholm, Saaremaa, and Tombstone Island in the Åland Islands, are priority options. A small force was sent to spend the winter in Utrecht, and part of the army was stationed near Hamburg to continue to support the Duke of Saxony.
, are all optional.
Thinking about it from this, the army would not have to go all the way back to its hometown.
For Vikings from all walks of life who are good at sailing, it is considered normal to live abroad or even settle down. This is really a test of life for the Slavic Army soldiers who are old farmers. Of course, the strength of the Slavic Army accounts for 10% of the total.
A few, the flag captain was still his brother-in-law, Rurik was sure that he could suppress their dissatisfaction with his majesty. He just promised each of them a large sum of wheat and wool as compensation.
Thinking of all this, Rurik felt that he had a little more time.
Ragnar led his troops to a nearby village. Even though they braved the cold rain, the brothers ignored the cold rain when they thought that everything they grabbed was theirs. They simply ignored the risk of getting sick and only thought about
Rush into the village to find gold.
However, all they found were empty villages. Except for some poultry in cages, they found nothing good. And those poultry were obviously taken away by fugitives in a hurry.
But it is said that in the village where the Norman fleet was first discovered, the feudal knight, in line with his obligation to be loyal to the baron, took his army that was almost a joke, and resolutely joined the defense of Antwerp.
But when they saw the city from a distance, they realized that the Normans had already taken action, the shouts of killing turned into rumblings, and the knights immediately gave up all support plans.
All the villages were fleeing, and their escape was so well-trained that the only casualties in the villages were some unlucky ones who ran too fast and sprained their legs.
Ragnar did not find many high-value treasures, but he did collect a large number of usable daily necessities. His subordinates were not picky either. They made temporary bags out of the linen they found, and threw all the pots and pans-level loot into them and carried them on their backs.
"Welcome a good harvest" on our shoulders.
However, the sack of Antwerp was like a stab in the heart to the Count of Flanders.
A city was robbed, which essentially meant the economic collapse of a large area. A large number of people gathered with their families in the city of Ghent, and the sudden appearance of tens of thousands of refugees caused the more densely populated Ghent area to also fall into panic.
Refugees spontaneously told the people they met about their horrific experiences, and many of them added fuel to the fire out of subjective assumptions, describing the Normans as demons that ate people without spitting out their bones, and were flaming monsters.
When asked if they really saw it, they said it was absolutely true.
Even though this description may sound outrageous at first, refugees coming directly from the city of Antwerp bring first-hand information, and all doubts can be put to an end.
Because the count's relative, the Baron of Antwerp, had been killed in the defensive battle.
The baron's wife and son, that is, the count's sister and nephew, successfully escaped from the trap. They fled in the cold drizzle. Faced with their sister's frantic crying, they were like Count Baudoin who was struck by lightning and was completely unable to make up his mind.
All the count could think of was to strengthen the defense of Ghent and gather the men, because Ghent was just upstream of the Scheldt River. The Normans, who were good at sailing, came from the cold north. They could ignore the cold rain and bring death to them.
When the killings are brought to Ghent, it is necessary to take precautions immediately.
However, his sister had this plea: "Avenge my husband! You must avenge my husband! Everyone is our father and a coward, but you are definitely not! Now you are the count and the protector of everyone. Hurry up.
Organize an army to avenge my husband."
It was his sister's tears that moved the count, and it was her words "You are not a coward" that made Baudoin feel that he had to stand up and prove that he was a real man.
He was furious: "You are right! This is the second attack on Antwerp! The Normans' greed will never end. We must launch a counterattack and let them see how powerful we are!"