Rise of Rurik

For the Kingdom of Wessex, the Vikings entrenched themselves in the land of Northumbria and established their "barbarian state". This emerging force is something the kingdom must be wary of.

They were neither deaf nor blind. They knew about the turmoil in the Frankish world in 840 AD, and they also learned more detailed news from the ships of the Principality of Flanders.

In the same year, Æthelwulf, who inherited his father's power, was working hard to consolidate his power.

Continental Europe is a world beyond Britain's reach, but little Britain is particularly troubled.

No one can be selectively blind on the issue of the Viking migration. Those Norwegians were rowing longships across the sea into the so-called Viking Kingdom of York.

Since they have never shared a border with each other, what does this have to do with the Wessex people regarding the catastrophe suffered by the Kingdom of Northumbria and the current predicament of a severely reduced territory?

The new king Æthelwulf is very aware of the root cause of the political chaos in neighboring Mercia, which has an old grudge. King Wiglaf was beheaded by the Vikings, the country fell, and the royal family was destroyed.

The nobles of Mercia launched a civil war for the royal power. Of course, Sykes had to intervene in such a good thing. After all, the throne of the killed Wiglaf had been deposed, and the whole of Mercia once became the territory of Wessex.

Aethelwulf could not forget the glory of his father Egbert, and a huge sense of mission came over him, and he had to do it to annex Mercia.

but! It is no longer the old days when the royal family of Wessex negotiated with the local nobles of Mercia, and Aethelwulf could seize the royal power of the neighboring country.

As long as you do this you must be wary of the Vikings.

However, if restoring his father's glory and expanding the territory of Wessex requires direct war with the Vikings, then so be it! There is also a righteous name here. The so-called expulsion of foreign pirates with heretical beliefs is the mission of the pious king.

Charlemagne's great expansion brought Frankish glory, and he was crowned "Emperor of the Roman People" by the Pope. At this point, the Frankish nobles could loudly claim to be "I am a Roman."

This feat aroused the hearts of the ambitious nobles. Although it was impossible to become another Rome, unifying Britain became the long-cherished wish of the Wessex nobles.

Expanding and facing the Vikings all required more taxes and more troops to achieve.

The newly promoted Æthelwulf ordered the princesses across the country to strengthen their troops.

Investigate more farmers and organize more militia. The new recruits must be wary of sneak attacks by pirates, and when the king recruits nobles, each noble must be able to provide more warriors.

In principle, the king's order has been transmitted to various counties, and the various feudal officials have different attitudes towards this order.

Were the Wessexians and Vikings involved in large-scale battles?

On the peninsula at the southwest tip of the British Isles, the Celtic Kingdom of Cornwall invited Viking mercenaries, and their coalition invaded Wessex. The late King Egbert completed the last battle of his life and succeeded. Organized the enemy's destruction. In this battle, Wessex paid a heavy price. They saw the strength of the Vikings and understood that the strength of the Cornish people alone was unable to withstand Wessex.

But Wessex would not destroy Cornwall, because intelligence pointed out that the Vikings had established a large stronghold on the other side of Ireland. They are not the same family as the Vikings who occupied the homeland of Northumbria. The former is a large group of pirates, and the latter seems to be slowly transforming into a normal country. You must not have any illusions about the so-called Viking Kingdom of York, unless all the ferocious pirates convert.

The decision of the Lord of Lydford County was even harsher than the king's order, and the locals also supported the strengthening of military armaments. All men in the village, even boys as young as ten, must be armed. Because this was the main battlefield at that time, the locals talked about the Vikings with fear and anger, and the anger had turned into courage.

For these armed farmers, war is nothing more than organizing people with wooden shields, forming a wide human wall, and roaring against the enemy.

The princess has no military literacy, and her understanding of war is still at the stage of group fighting. In this case, whichever side has more people and strong morale can gain the initiative and win easily. At least last time, I relied on this move to really defeat the Viking army after the king's personal reinforcements arrived. Since it had been proven to be useful, the princess felt no need to make any improvements, and she didn't realize how to improve.

Lydfordshire is adjacent to the Kingdom of Cornwall. This direction has been the focus of Wessex's defense against the Vikings after the war. This county's defense is the most reasonable.

But if we make statistics on defensive attitudes, the farther the kingdom extends eastward, the more negative the attitude of the local princess becomes.

Or is it because Wessex has also continuously annexed small countries to reach the point where it now owns the entire territory south of the Thames River. Sussex, Essex, and Kent were all annexed by her. Afterwards, the royal family was deposed, and the nobles everywhere basically inherited their inherent power. An increasingly mature feudal system has kept the lives of the nobles of the annexed small kingdoms from turning upside down. They have changed their allegiance to the Wessex royal family, and through complex marriages, they have become one among you, one among me, and one among you.

However, these nobles did not originate from the same tribal family as Wessex, especially the Kents, who invaded Britain as early as 450 AD.

The Lord of Kent showed a negative attitude.

"Recruiting troops, increasing taxes, and asking me to send troops north to help him seize the Mercian land. In the end, I spent money and killed people. What can I get? An enclave that is difficult to control?"

Because the deceased Egbert first had the right to inherit the Kingdom of Kent, and secondly the right to inherit Wessex. He inherited the legal system and the two kingdoms merged peacefully. The king's era of Kent was abolished and she became a county. The owner of the county was Egbert's younger brother and the younger brother of Aethelwulf, the current king of Wessex. uncle.

The uncle felt that his nephew was not mature enough and did not think that this person could restore the hegemony of Wessex. What's more important is that he is getting older, and he wants to seek greater power for his sons.

Although there is no need for Kent to be reinstated, there is no need to die for Wessex.

The training of farmers was indeed done, but some new soldiers were added to a limited extent, and major cities such as Rochester, Canterbury and Dover were strengthened. Especially Dover, where there is a higher probability of being attacked by Vikings.

As for other areas, since they are all scattered villages, each village can only be asked to organize its own men to defend their homes.

Kent's able-bodied men attacked the core city of Canterbury, and the county wanted to place the strongest army in front of it. He complained because if his nephew decided to make the Northern Expedition, he would be able to lead the army and move quickly.

That is to say, the defense of scattered villages is objectively better than nothing. This is actually an economic account. If defenses are built everywhere, Kent County's population and tax revenue will not be able to sustain this defense expenditure. The princess could only focus on defense in the core area, praying that the Vikings would not cause trouble.

The new information from the European continent explained by the Flemish people who drifted over indicated a major change. The news was so bizarre that the princess was unwilling to believe it.

The Saxon relatives on the European continent rebelled against the Franks, and the Franks suffered heavy casualties. The Vikings fought with the Franks, and Antwerp in Flanders was burned down by the Vikings...

The English Channel is like a natural chasm. Even if the Vikings can cross freely, for the people of Kent, including the princess, the strait still gives them a lot of confidence. At least, we can guard the strait and wait for work. If there is trouble, Canterbury can send troops to destroy the invading Vikings.

However, Ragnar comes.

A hundred longships mixed with a Ross-style armed cargo ship, this is Ragnar's Danish army!

It is extremely large and sustains Ragnar's prowess.

In fact, this army is a mixed bag. The main members are the ruthless Danish people living in Zealand, but also mixed with the Götalanders, Viking Saxons, and even Obers who have blended into Danish society. Slavic slaves of Tridit.

Such a good thing about making a fortune through robbery is hard to come by! Therefore, some Swedes who went straight to the free fishing grounds of the South Baltic Sea after the beginning of spring did not hesitate to join Ragnar's pirate army after hearing the good news.

It seems that this army lacks organization.

In fact, it is not the case. Its core is the more than 400 loyal warriors organized by Ragnar during the war. There are also as many as ten Danish tribes on Zealandia. Soldiers assist in the battle.

At the end of winter, the North and East Francia signed a peace treaty in Hamburg, but most Danes had gone home as early as the autumn a year ago.

A group of sea wolves have been holding back all winter. After completing the spring sowing in Denmark, it is time for the annual plundering season that they love to see.

The waves looking for food were gathered by a brave man, he was Ragnar!

Just like the great chiefs of Denmark in the past, Ragnar, who was promoted to king, knew that if he wanted to maintain his royal power, it was necessary to get the support of the Russians, and the most important thing was to get the support of his own people.

His past persona was that of a warrior who resisted the Frankish invasion. Now, he wants to establish a new persona - a good man who leads various lords and common people to make money.

One hundred longships and one armed cargo ship, the Danish pirate army has three thousand troops!

They were so hungry that they lowered their sails and sailed against the wind in the North Sea, along the European coastline to the emerging stronghold of Rotterstad.

"Are we going to build a new Durist in the wasteland?"

"I heard that there are other cities nearby. How about that Utrecht? Why don't you brothers grab it?"

"You can also go south and rob, and you can make a fortune immediately."

The lords of Zealandia went into battle in person. Their knowledge of this area called Great Flanders was limited to the past. They only knew that there was the old port of Durist controlled by the Danes, but it was a pity that it had been destroyed.

The three thousand army is indeed a sight to behold, but if it is not operated well, it is like a pack of uncontrolled wolves. He hurriedly warned the lords who smelled the smell of blood to calm down, and specifically pointed out: "Utrecht is an ally of Denmark, and that is the territory of the Netherlands! These are our allies, we can either plunder the Franks , or go to Britain. If you plunder on the spot, you are violating the peace treaty we just signed. Even if I don't punish the guilty, the Russians will make the guilty into a blood eagle."

The lords were still more afraid of the Russians' methods.

The army left only a small number of troops in Rotterstad. They built strongholds to prepare for the future division of the spoils. Who stays? This is easy to do!

There is a saying that although robbery can make you rich, it also risks death. If some thieving Danish businessmen want to make a fortune without risk, why not just build a shop in this wasteland, wait for the life-threatening guys to come back, accept the dirt and redistribute it, wouldn't it be possible to make a stable fortune as a pure second-tier dealer?

Some people were responsible for robbing, and some were responsible for selling. Although Durist died, Deerstad, which was very close to the mouth of the Rhine River, took his place.

Ragnar saw all this and his heart was filled with joy. His army was condensed, maintaining a combat strength of 2,500 men, and continued to drift along the strait.

Now, the Danish fleet has arrived in the narrow Strait of Dover. Ragnar stood on the tall bow of the armed cargo ship and saw the arc-shaped coastline in the distance.

"Great! A good landing spot! Let's go!"

With loud voices shouting at each other and the flagship leading the way, the entire fleet rushed straight to Romney Bay...

Romney Bay, which is not very curved, is simply an excellent landing place. The coast is not steep and the soft yellow sand beach is clearly visible. It is a perfect fit for the Viking longships.

The Danish army completed the landing without incident, and a group of hungry wolves immediately took action.

They rushed inland and killed clearly visible villages in the extremely flat Romney Marsh. Facing the overwhelmingly superior number and pure purpose of the marauding army, these villages fell apart in an instant.

They killed people and plundered goods, but in villages where there were often less than a hundred people settled, even if they plundered the remaining grain and livestock, they could only satisfy the appetite of the army.

After all, even if Ragnar realizes the significance of logistics, most of his men will participate with only a small amount of supplies. If the brothers cannot plunder enough wealth, they can only retreat to the sea to fish for supplies.

There is only one excellent landing site in this area: Romney Wetland. There are too many rocky terraces on the other coastlines, and the ship's keel will break if it hits the beach.

After the landing army left a small number of people to guard the ships, Ragnar gathered an army of more than two thousand people and rushed to the nearest city, Dover, with "intense hunger".

It can be said that the rugged rocks of Dover Beach make it impossible to easily sail here. A small port was opened up and a low wall was built using readily available stones. This port has been a shortcut for people from the Kingdom of Kent to the European continent for hundreds of years. However, their ships were only sampan-level and did not enjoy the dividends of the great changes in the shipbuilding industry in the Viking world that began in 760 AD.

The Danish Vikings came, and as soon as they arrived, they completely changed the old routine of small gang operations in the past.

It seems that an army of two thousand people is not that large, but the population of the entire British Isles is less than 1.5 million, and the population of Kent County is only 50,000.

Two thousand armed men came just for plunder, and it would not be a problem to eat Kent County alive.

Although Dover had a low stone wall as a barrier, it successfully blocked the siege of the Viking army that appeared like a demon. In the end, using felled trees as battering rams, the Danish army with an overwhelming numerical advantage successfully broke through the city. , followed by killing.

The baron of Dover was killed in the battle, all the defenders in the city were killed, and some were taken into slavery.

However, it was precisely because Ragnar moved so quickly that the city's defenses collapsed before a large number of villagers even had time to take refuge in Dover.

After hearing the news, the villagers began to flee towards Canterbury. Dover fell, his second son and his family were killed in the battle, and the Lord of Kent suffered a bolt from the blue. He didn't regret his lack of defense, but he just didn't understand how the Vikings could easily defeat Dover.

The princess did not know the situation of the enemy, and could only believe a small part of the exaggerated description of the refugees.

Based on past experience, he felt that this was a strong group of Viking bandits. In this way, he led the army to charge forward in a large scale, and used the limited cavalry to charge and kill, forcing the enemy back and regaining Dover!

"Dover must be recovered! I want revenge!"

An old father lost his mind. He ordered his eldest son, who wanted to fight, to stay in Canterbury. However, he still couldn't resist the eldest son's request: "My younger brother was killed, and I can't hide in a safe city. I can't be a coward..."

It took some time for the Kent army to assemble. Now, even if the princess had something against the king, the news of the Viking invasion finally became a reality. The messengers who asked for help from the capital rushed straight to the capital, Winchester.

The princess personally led a thousand infantry and fifty cavalry under her command and rushed towards Dover.

The Kent army met the Danish army who were busy transporting the goods in the city. After all, Dover is a major city in Kent and the fiefdom of the second son of the princess. The wealth accumulated here is being moved. Ragnar got the real money he dreamed of, and everyone who followed him also benefited.

Now that the enemy had suddenly appeared, the Danes, eager to make a fortune, gathered together urgently.

Even if the opponent appears suddenly, Ragnar can summon more than a thousand brothers at hand, and many of them even put their chainmail aside for convenience, wearing iron helmets and holding round shields in emergency preparations.

The Lord of Kent discovered this opportunity and saw the smoke all over Dover and the Viking longships floating outside the small port. He suppressed his blush and pulled out his broadsword: "Warriors! Charge!"

Ragnar was no longer a simple man. He ordered his brothers to withdraw to the occupied city of Dover first, and then used the enemy's city wall to block the enemy's counterattack.

The door was blocked with a trolley, and some debris was thrown over to act as a counterweight. When Kent's revenge army arrived, the Vikings threw away some of the loot that needed to be transported away and had already retreated to the city wall to show off their power.

Ragna had already taken out his beloved steel-arm crossbow at this moment, exploring which target should be sniped by this magical weapon.

Therefore, the incompetent and furious equestrian princess under the city wall became the target that must be killed.

The Danes on the city wall threw arrows at the enemy and missed, and Kent subconsciously raised his shield to evade.

The princess is still waving her sword, asking those who are not afraid of death to climb the city wall and take back the city, even if they have to crawl.

Just hearing a whooshing sound, the princess felt a heartbreaking pain. He lowered his head and looked with a pale face at his chest, which was obviously well protected by chainmail, but had a "stick" inserted into it that was bleeding rapidly.

A special arrow, specifically.

The princess didn't speak any more. He quickly lost consciousness and then fell off his horse and fell unconscious.

At this moment, Ragnar used the stone battlements as a platform, and the arrow slot of his Ross crossbow was empty...

The Lord of Kent died just like that, at the foot of Dover in the Romney Land in 841 AD, just like what happened in history, it was like a fate.