Chapter 992 The plan to release the prisoners of war
The squadron actually returned on foot, their faces full of exhaustion and sadness.
What on earth did they experience?
When they returned to the main camp of the Ross army, the people who gathered around them learned about the deadly storm that had occurred at sea.
The mission was of course accomplished, and some brothers were sacrificed for it, but the power of the ocean continued to destroy the entire fleet. If those large ships were not strong enough, the squadron would have been completely annihilated.
Arik, Yevlo and Grund returned to report their work. After hearing their reports, Rurik was shocked but did not complain too much.
However, he still had to show his anger openly.
He did not call Arik his brother, but his first name.
"Arik, you have committed a serious crime! You are a master of navigation. No matter how bad the sea conditions are, hundreds of brothers will eventually die in the sea. Do you know this crime?"
Arik, who was already feeling guilty, had no intention of defending himself: "Indeed, I am guilty. All the brothers in the camp need an explanation, and I am willing to be punished."
Arik raised his proud head in front of everyone, and his guilty attitude was obvious.
Hit with a stick? Hit with a whip? There is no need or reason.
The squadron did indeed complete its mission, and unexpectedly attacked and killed an astonishing number of Frankish wounded soldiers, and even destroyed its granaries. The storm at sea that killed hundreds of people was an unexpected natural disaster, and Arik did not "force himself into the typhoon"
It is unjustifiable to continue to punish him for his dangerous operation.
"Then kill the enemy bravely in the next battle. The dead brothers and their heroic spirits will also be satisfied with your actions. Therefore, you must make this promise to all the soldiers in the camp that you must fight bravely."
"That's what I must do."
Because the sleds dragged by the more than 800 people who returned did contain a large number of Frankish weapons and helmets, and no one could ignore their achievements.
The Russian army suffered heavy losses due to a storm, something the Russian army had not experienced in the past ten years or so.
The incident shocked the entire army, and everyone had to think again about whether it would always be safe to sail in the vast western ocean. Who caused the ocean storm? It was obviously Jormungandr who did it. People were convinced that the legend changed.
It's extremely real.
But Rurik probably understood the reason. It is understandable that the North Atlantic becomes violent in winter. The Titanic also suddenly hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic in winter.
It is better not to sail in the North Atlantic in the next winter, even if the sailing is close to the Dutch coast.
The squadron achieved astonishing results and obtained important intelligence.
For this reason, Rurik happily took the three returning generals and held urgent discussions with the nobles.
It's still a high tower stone chamber, and the temperature seems to be even colder than a few days ago.
The experience of the returning squadron soldiers has spread throughout the army. It is a fact that the soldiers once again destroyed the bridge between Bremen and the local area, destroying the Frankish army's logistics base and killing many enemies.
Taking away a large amount of food from the enemy's granary will boost the morale of the coalition forces.
Even though a large number of Saxons were drowned in the shipwreck, the surviving people captured a large amount of enemy food. They tried their best to transport part of the hamburgers on sleds, and then immediately reported the good news to Archduke Liudov, and the food they transported was immediately destroyed.
For military ration.
After Liudov learned of this, he arranged for the horses he borrowed from the local lords to arrive at the mouth of the Elbe River as quickly as possible in a sleigh. He wanted to bring back his share of the spoils of food and immediately use them as a sleigh.
Military rations were used to ensure that the army he organized could have enough meals.
The atmosphere in the stone room was very lively, and the optimism was as bright as fire.
Rurik was still the center of attention. He opened his arms to silence everyone, and immediately announced: "Apparently the rear granary of the Frank army has been destroyed. This is really an unexpected surprise. According to the intelligence obtained by my brother, the enemy of our coalition is Lu
Derwig has no doubt that although the Frankish army under his command is large in strength and has plenty of rations, it will not last long."
Rurik began to call Arik his brother again, and the latter was extremely happy.
"That's true." Arik couldn't wait to speak. "The enemy's main force is hiding in the forest. Maybe they will flee or continue to attack. However, I think our army has a chance to take the initiative to attack."
"Of course we can take the initiative to attack, but that is not my intention. We need a decisive battle, and the location is on the glacier outside Hamburg. This is a decisive battle location that is conducive to our army, otherwise we will not put all our efforts into making spikes.
Already."
"I'm afraid that Ludwig will be forced to evacuate due to logistical difficulties. Because the Weser River must also freeze, and the effect of destroying the bridge will be gone." Liudof sighed meaningfully.
"Then we can't let the enemy evacuate! We can't let them think about evacuating." Rurik continued.
"Do you have any new ideas?"
"There is one thing. My brother's suggestion is not impossible to implement. Of course, our army can take the initiative to find enemies and launch challenges. But the purpose of doing so is questionable."
"Are you trying to provoke them and force them to take the initiative to attack?" Liu Dofu poked his head, he had already guessed.
"That's true, and..." Rurik smiled maliciously. "I will use some tricks to make things difficult for Ludwig. It will also force them to take the initiative to attack."
"What is it?"
"I intend to free the Frankish prisoners."
"Prisoners?" Liudov thought for a while and couldn't figure out the logic: "It's incredible, you still plan to release them? Aren't you planning to exchange them for ransom? Or even become slaves."
"They are a group of tools after all! I want to verify one thing now, what do these Frank prisoners mean to Ludwig. Are they his subjects? Or insignificant people? I will release some, such as a family, and I will
The men are released and the women and children are kept. Or the women are released and the men are kept. Our prisoners come from multiple villages and the prisoners know each other. In this way, we forcibly break them up. Some of them will continue to be controlled by our army, and some will be returned intact.
Ludwig, what do you think the result will be?"
"How do I know? Your idea is very strange." Liudov shrugged, still not understanding the logic.
"Men cannot abandon their wives, and women cannot abandon their children and husbands. We release some people, and they will beg their king to save the hostages in Ludwig's camp."
"Is this so?!" Liu Duofu heard some clues and asked again: "What if he doesn't plan to save me?"
"Then, Ludwig's notoriety will spread, and many Franks will suspect that this prince is not a good person. I think that man will not abandon his creed."
What else could Liu Duofu say? He held back a sentence with an evil smile: "You... are really vicious."
"So the problem now is how to find their camp. I will send scouts to investigate as soon as possible. As for splitting up the prisoners, I will leave it to you."
Liu Doufu signaled to handle it immediately.
If, after identifying the Frankish army's winter camp, they would drag some prisoners over and kill them in public to provoke Ludwig into starting a war, this would be a tactic to induce an immediate decisive battle.
However, this kind of trick is considered despicable in Viking society, and should not be used unless it is a confrontational situation.
This meeting actually made fine adjustments to the battle plan, and the revised plan began to be implemented immediately.
Let’s talk about those Frankish captives. Almost all of them were immigrants who moved to the Saxon region. They themselves were indeed robbing the Saxon people’s traditional living space, because they all believed in God. The local Saxon people did not want a large number of captured women and children to be killed.
Its expulsion is enough.
The coalition forces will not subjectively persecute these prisoners. They have great use value. In the past few months, some of the prisoners have inevitably died, but the vast majority are still alive and well.
They were pulled from the warehouse and assembled into families by Saxon soldiers.
Many captives did not know what was happening. They were standing outdoors in the cold in slovenly clothes and wearing simple shoes in the snow. Their families hugged each other to avoid the cold.
More than 1,800 prisoners survived, but if they continued to freeze outdoors, some more would die.
Liu Duofu then personally took care of the next thing. He took nearly a thousand soldiers selected according to the principle of being the best general in his body, dressed up and well-equipped, and tightly surrounded this small open space in the city.
The prisoners in the encirclement thought that they were the doomsday generals, and their fear made the cold feeling even worse.
As a result, a man wearing polar bear skin walked out of the soldiers, and there was also an old man in black robe who personally carried a dark wooden cross.
Liudov borrowed a gorgeous outfit from Rurik. Facing many nervous prisoners, he spoke arrogantly in Frankish.
"You! You are all prisoners! I am the Duke of Saxony and the Count of Westphalia! I am the unquestionable ruler of all Saxons, and you Franks are not welcome! But you did not die in battle, and I have no intention of doing so.
Execute you! Now your King Ludwig leads a large army to attack our Principality of Saxony, and our country has to launch a counterattack. Listen! I am a descendant of Widukind, and you should understand what I mean."
Liudov did not need to explain anymore. After all, when Widukind was defeated and surrendered, a large number of Franks were ordered to move northward and settle in the Saxony area. Some of the captives were elderly women, who were actually fifty years old. When they were young, they were
part of that group of immigrants.
Everything was the revenge of the Saxons, and they did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Normans for revenge. The prisoners basically knew this situation, and Liudov just repeated it again today.
"Some of you will be released. Ludwig's army is in the forest on the other side of the river. They have set up camp and your king is there. Listen carefully! Some of you will be released!"
Now, listen to my command! All the children get together, all the women get together, all the men get together! Quick!"
It's a good thing to be released, but what are the future arrangements?
Seeing that they were indifferent, Liudov immediately sent out soldiers to force the situation, causing the whole scene to howl and cry.
This made the northern saint Esquier extremely embarrassed. He came here carrying the cross today just to calm the hearts of these prisoners of war. Seeing the violent tactics of the Saxon army, he had to remind Liudov to be gentler.
"Actually, all this is the conspiracy of that boy Rurik." Liudov whispered to Eskil, who was approaching.
"I understand. Rurik has been very good at plotting since he was ten years old. But we have no choice now. These Franks are all poor lambs. You must restrain your subordinates no matter what."
Liu Doufu nodded and immediately ordered his men not to be too rough when pulling people.
Finally, under the threat of sharp spearheads and sword blades, all the prisoners were divided into three parts.
First of all, young children cannot be exiled. They are too young and weak, and they can be kept in a warm place to survive in Hamburg. If they are left to Ludwig, they will definitely not take good care of them and lead to meaningless deaths.
Even if he chose war, deep down Liudov didn't want to live up to his reputation as a "child killer".
Secondly, it is men and women who really want to be exiled.
Without further detailed screening, Liudov ordered half of the women to be exiled and half of the men to be exiled.
This arrangement immediately caused an uproar, and the chaos was contained under the spearhead of the Saxon army.
Just seeing the depressed faces of the prisoners, Liudov realized that Rurik had really been right.
Men are unwilling to fight with their wives, and women are unwilling to leave their husbands. Maybe the exiled man and woman happen to be fathers, but their children are still in the city.
Parents will never give up their children, after all, this may be a farewell.
After the atmosphere stabilized, Liudov publicly ordered: "All the exiled people, I will send you back to your King Ludwig. You can tell him that we have set up a battlefield on the banks of the Elbe River and we are eager to
A decisive battle that decides everything! Go tell him! Of course the Frank army can escape! In that case, the remaining prisoners will be executed. You don’t want your family members to be executed, right? I don’t want to do this, but if it comes to that
If you take one step, you will kill your own relatives. Go and tell your king, your Frankish army. We Saxons are waiting in Hamburg on the Elbe."
If they really sent a messenger to declare a challenge, both Rurik and Liudov were worried that the messenger would be killed by the other side.
The messenger was replaced by a Frank who had been released, and both of them were relieved.
Of course, the exiled prisoners are not just messengers, they are a group of lobbyists, numbering as many as 500. Their presence will disrupt the morale of the opponent's military. If the enemy is in a dilemma, once these released prisoners arrive, the enemy will definitely
They will unify their thoughts - we must attack the despicable Saxon-Norman army with a heavy blow, even if there are difficulties, we must overcome the difficulties by force and attack.
Liudov quickly completed the tasks assigned by Rurik, so the selected releaseees, who numbered more than 500 people, were specially rewarded with some tattered linen cloth to further keep out the cold, and they also had special meals before departure.
Cooked high-salt wheat. This is a good meal. After all, in order to prevent the prisoners from escaping during the capture period, both Rurik and Liudov basically gave the prisoners bland food that could only sustain life, which was to avoid
These people have the strength to escape.
They had a hearty meal, which was like the last supper.
On the other hand, the scouts sent out by Rurik also found the enemy's camp along the Roman road.
Because the scouts from both sides fought a mini-scale encounter in the snowy forest. On one side, the Ross scouts sniped with crossbows, and on the other side, the Frankish archers shot.
Both sides are skilled men and were born as hunters. Both sides were lonely for a while, but each understood the other's basic movements.
Ludwig learned that the Elbe River was completely frozen, so that the enemy could run around on the ice, but Hamburg still had a large number of enemies and prepared for a decisive battle.
Scout Ross took advantage of the darkness to explore the Frankish army camp in the forest, and was shocked to notice that they had transformed as many as three abandoned villages into wooden fortresses, and even camped arrogantly on the Roman road.
The Frankish army did not flee far after their defeat. Firstly, they were beaten and suffered a certain loss of logistical supplies and suffered from exhaustion after the defeat. Secondly, their proud souls were extremely unwilling to be defeated.
The fact that they forcibly cut down trees in the forest to build three large walled camps shocked Rurik, and he felt that these people really had the capabilities of the Roman legions of the old days.
But this action also proves one thing - they are not willing to retreat.
However, the intelligence from the scouts cannot prove that the enemy will launch a decisive battle in a short period of time.
It’s already December, and whether it’s Catholic Christmas or Viking Hanukkah, the biggest festival of the year is coming.
Maybe the Franks want to reorganize their troops and launch a fateful decisive battle before the festival?
At least Rurik is willing to win the decisive battle and offer a great gift to Odin.
In the colder month of December, after a period of preparation, those selected captives who had eaten sumptuous meals for many days began to be eaten only by the last meal of rich, fatty and salty boiled wheat.
The Ross-Saxon coalition force, consisting of 200 men, rushed into the glacier.
The prisoners had their hands tied and ropes tied around their necks. They put on thick clothes, and the selected ones also hung wooden boards around their necks.
The wooden boards were marked with a simple word in Frankish: Decisive Battle.
The army escorted such a team to move. They set off from early in the morning until evening when they finally approached the first large camp of the Frank army.
But before that, the escorting troops had hurriedly evacuated, leaving behind a group of released prisoners at a loss.
But the Frank scouts who had been observing secretly had long been paying attention to this strange team, and the existence of the scouts was also discovered by the escorting troops.
After a group of prisoners looked around for a while, they encountered the scouts who appeared. After asking each other, the prisoners burst into tears and told in Frankish the horrific abuse they had suffered.
What else could the scouts say? Someone pulled out a knife and immediately cut the prisoners' ropes, promising: "You are saved. Don't worry, the king will avenge you."