Rise of Rurik

The Smolensk soldiers who fled into the forest were in shock. Thanks to the cover of the dense forest, everyone gradually felt at ease after settling down here.

Some soldiers had arrows stuck in their bodies, and they completed their temporary escape in this awkward and terrifying image.

The wounded soldiers were almost all injured by arrows. They endured the pain and arrived at a place they thought was safe, and then treated the wounds with the help of their companions.

There was no disinfectant, not even means of suturing the wound. The arrows of the Ross gangsters could be pulled out relatively easily, but the wounds left behind were dark bloody holes. After barely stopping the bleeding, an accidental squeeze caused the blood to flow out.

For wounded soldiers, stopping the bleeding is the start. They prayed to God not to catch fever and to escape disaster.

But the situation was so rotten that it was terrible for all the soldiers. Some people have to wonder: Is there any point in continuing to fight?

In the occupied logging camp, bonfires were rekindled. The frightened Vadim did not feel relieved until his body was warmed by the flames.

He drank kvass with many young talents and promoted them to fight bravely in battle.

They were still officers, each leading a group of brothers of varying numbers to fight, but their performances varied in the chaos of the day.

Some officers fought bravely and died heroically, while some officers were blocked in the front line and retreated, watching the battle reach a stalemate and had no choice but to retreat.

Faces were illuminated by the flames, and no one laughed or cried. it is more than words.

Vadim drank half the bottle of water and took a long breath: "Let's talk." Everyone looked at each other and cautiously did not respond to the leader.

"I have to admit that we have encountered difficulties. Our army is far from the point of failure! You all tell us, what should we do next?" What should we do?

What else can be done? You are the leader and everything is decided by you. Everyone had this attitude, and it was actually because of Vadim's urging that some people had to say something.

"Chief. In my opinion...we still need to attack fiercely."

"Ah, yes, yes." Someone else immediately followed up: "Many brothers have died, but our army is still strong."

"The Ross gangsters are really brave. So many people died but they couldn't break through their shield wall."

"There is no need to speak for them." Someone corrected: "Our army has to brave the sharp arrows to fight them across the bridge. If the battlefield is wider, we will spend the night in their fortress tonight."... Everyone Even young people have to find reasons to restore their dignity for their actual failures.

Vadim was very happy that the discussion had entered the rhythm he needed. After listening to

After giving a "reasonable explanation", he coughed twice and paused the discussion.

"You are right. Our army has lost the best of its men. After all, I do not expect to defeat the Ross bandits with four thousand men in early winter. As long as we can burn this fortress, it is victory. Go tell your brothers, hurry up It’s time to rest, and don’t discuss defeat and escape. Anyone who dares to claim that our army will lose will twist that person in front of me, and I will kill him with my own hands!”

"Yes!" Everyone said yes.

"The key is how to get through the damn trench and how to get through the damn wooden wall. The bandits are very tenacious in defense. They can obviously escape but fight desperately with us. That fortress may have a treasure that they must hold on to. What is a treasure after all?! There must be some gold, silver and gems stored there, and if they can hold on, they must have a lot of food. You tell the brothers that after the city is broken, they can loot freely, and everyone can find the loot based on their ability. Gold coins, silver coins and gems, if you find them, they will be yours." Vadim's order really surprised everyone.

Someone asked in surprise: "According to the rules, leader... shouldn't you be the one with the big boss?"

"That's it! I'm taking you to get revenge, not to get rich. Gold and silver are meaningless to me. If it can help you fight the enemy bravely, it doesn't matter if I give it all to you." The brothers were moved, and some felt that the leader was trying to gain fame and reputation. Is it possible for a leader not to want loot?

In extraordinary times, let’s just take his word for it. Vadim knew that his army would continue to use some means to boost morale.

Selecting a few people who make false statements and executing them is to rely on fear to suppress them. It can keep the army from disbanding, but it cannot really stimulate fighting spirit.

It would be great if he could capture a few prisoners of war and execute them in public, but he estimated pessimistically that if he led his troops to fight for a whole day without explicitly killing an enemy, his own side would suffer heavy losses... Now the only option is to

"Drawing a pie" made them believe that there was really money and food in the fortress, and made them believe that everyone would have a chance to make a fortune after rushing in. A sum of money was enough for the debt slave to instantly clear his debts and turn himself into a small fortune.

Through the officers he appointed, his words were basically conveyed to the entire army. It also lies in the fact that his army is neither too many nor too few in terms of strength.

The 4,000-strong army suffered more than 300 casualties. Injuries basically meant the loss of combat effectiveness, which meant that his strength had been reduced by 10%.

Also, a large number of soldiers abandoned their helmets and armor when fleeing, which further reduced their combat effectiveness. For the time being, the soldiers who lost their spears had no choice but to cut down trees and use them as soldiers.

Vadim didn't know about the emergency situation in the Vitebsk Fortress. He didn't even know the specific name of the fortress, let alone the defenders who had summoned reinforcements from two directions as quickly as possible.

And the latter's method of summoning reinforcements has reached the limit of what the Ross Kingdom can do in this era. The old man Jellinger Eriksson died in the last battle of his life. The war is still going on. He led the too young soldiers to win a difficult battle. Although the man died, the young people got enough experience.

The body was placed in a wooden box in an awkward position for the time being. Since the temperature was already cold enough, no one was worried about the putrefaction of the body. As the temperature irreversibly fell below the freezing point, Yellinger would be as frozen as a stone.

Everyone thought that with this old man's achievements, his soul would definitely go to Valhalla, and would eventually be transported thousands of miles away and buried in a cemetery outside the capital.

Young Eyvind was elected as the new fortress defender by his brothers, and continued to defend the fortress relying on trenches and wooden walls.

The sky begins to change dramatically! As early as the bloody battle, the sky gradually turned gray. On the third day after the war, the north wind howled, and the cold wind like a knife swept through the huge forest. The wooden walls of the Vitebsk Fortress became an excellent wind barrier. Young The soldiers were able to hide in the thick wooden ridges to avoid the extreme cold, and even chatted together.

They all put on thick fur winter coats and cloth-covered woolen coats stuffed with wool. In the warm interior, with a roaring fire in the fireplace, the atmosphere was warm and optimism had spread throughout the fortress.

It's all because of the sudden northern wind, and everyone believes that a snowfall is quietly approaching... It's already the end of October, and if there hasn't been a snowstorm until now, it means that the probability of a large-scale snowfall is increasing day by day.

"The wind is howling, and the cold wind can freeze those Smolensk people to death. Haha, on the other hand, we are hiding in the fortress, just like marmots burrowing in."

"Bah, we are not groundhogs. Look at the bear skin you are wearing, we are just bears who temporarily hide in a hole to keep out the cold." That's all, there was a burst of joy in the room.

Avender interrupted everyone's conversation and couldn't help but ask: "Tell me, once it snows, will it take a few days for the West Dvina River to freeze enough for people to walk on?"

"No way." Everyone subconsciously denied it. After all, Vitebsk is further south, and according to the knowledge they learned, the winter here is warmer.

"What if? We have to think of countermeasures." Avender looked at everyone and added.

"Uncle Yelinger is dead now. You are the commander, and the brothers all listen to you." Someone seemed to have said nonsense, but the implication was that Aiwende was responsible for everything in the future, even the possible retreat.

If Vitebsk falls, Avender will be stigmatized whether he lives or lives, even if it is unfair.

"What else can I do? I believe in rushing out to fight them. Once the world freezes, they will attack from all directions. Remember uncle's last words, we are just a few warriors who can withstand one or two attacks and continue to fight. Zhongneng will die from exhaustion. Let’s continue to implement uncle’s plan. I am willing to believe him.”

"Are you really willing? Brother. You are a brave person." Someone asked doubtfully, with a hint of encouragement in his attitude.

Avender saw something fishy in it. He was not angry or upset. He just shook his head and tried to stretch his body that was still about to break: "My bones are about to break! I no longer have the energy to continue fighting, but I still have the energy to use the crossbow." Wind it up. I advise you not to show off, I don't have enough physical strength, and neither do you. I would rather pray that Odin freezes those guys to death with wind and snow..." A strong-blooded soldier must have the experience of being on the verge of death in battle to grow.

At this moment, the young Avender was already a full-fledged veteran, and his speech and attitude were incredibly close to the dead Yellinger.

At the beginning, there was a biting cold wind, and the dense pine forest was used as a barrier by the Smolensk army. The big trees swayed violently in the strong wind, and the branches kept falling.

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Most of the fighting spirit rekindled by the "Promise of Free Looting" was wiped away by the cold wind and falling branches.

Even Vadim found pessimistically that the most important disaster he faced now was how to deal with the next snowfall reasonably.

After a night of hard work in the cold wind, many wounded soldiers died quietly in the sudden drop in temperature because their bodies were too weak. Although they did not suffer from terrible fever, they died quietly.

It was not surprising that the wounded died later, but some seemingly strong soldiers also froze to death. Vadim wanted to curb his pessimism, but the current situation is that everyone is freezing, morale has plummeted to the bottom in the cold wind, and the whole army is highly likely to mutiny.

However, the unexpected weather did not give Vadim time to prepare. Standing in a relatively open space in the lumberyard, he saw that a large number of people were already seizing the opportunity to cut down trees, gather large and small branches, and even dig pits on the spot to accompany the branches to create a semi-underground shelter.

Vadim has ordered the soldiers to cut down trees. The original intention is to peel off the tough bark and tear it into strips, and bundle it with the felled trunks to form wooden bridges for soldiers to pass through trenches, and even make some large wooden shields to avoid arrows.

The strong wind directly broke some trees, and Vadim could not be happy because his bearded face could already feel the beating of snow - the snowfall process had begun.

At the beginning, there was endless snow, and the north wind was like an endless ice knife, hitting the face painfully. At least the Smolensk troops on the expedition were prepared for the snowfall. They put on the thick clothes they had prepared, but is this enough?

Living in cold areas, they are all farmers and have adhered to the principle of reducing activities in winter since ancient times.

Their attire did not have the down jacket blessings of a thousand years later. They were just clothes made of fur and linen. Everyone looked quite bloated now.

Winter clothing does not insulate you from the cold. Even if you wear thick clothes and stay outdoors for a night, you can freeze to death. As long as the wind keeps blowing, a small amount of heat will continue to be lost, and the extremities of the limbs and face are most susceptible to frostbite. Eventually, even if you wear thick clothes, you will be frozen into an ice sculpture.

The snow turned into light snow, and edelweiss flew all over the sky! The dark green land turned into grayish white, the visibility was extremely low, and the temperature also dropped significantly.

The light snow began to develop into moderate snow and heavy snow again. Fortunately, an extreme snowstorm did not occur. In a short period of time, the world was covered in silver light. No one was happy, but regarded it as a silver-white hell.

In the extreme cold, people had to eat more food. The Smolensk soldiers huddled in the pits they dug themselves, covered with sheds made of a large number of pine branches.

The "roofs" gradually piled up with snow, and the occupied logging camp became the core. This was the camp of the Smolensk army, and the soldiers lived like marmots.

The good news is that the strong winds have ended, but the bad news is that the snowfall will end. The worse news is that the war-weariness of ordinary soldiers cannot be ignored because they are afraid of running out of food and finding it difficult to break into the city to obtain supplies.

They may be afraid of and tired of war, but they understand the horrors of winter very well. It is also dangerous for a small number of people to travel together in the winter forest. There is no need to consider attacks by bears and other wild beasts. The most important thing to consider is sleeping in a daze on a snowy night.

It was precisely because of the fear of freezing to death that the soldiers did not dare to escape. What next? Continue to waste time in the snow?

The terrifying blizzard did not happen, and the amount of snowfall seemed to have reduced. The world was gray under the snowflakes, and the snow gradually covered people's ankles.

The headless corpses that had fallen on the battlefield were only covered with a thin layer of snow. The open land near the Vitebsk Fortress has always been blown by the wind. Snow cannot be stored here, and the snowflakes have been blown into the woodland south of the fortress, forming a snow wall in the woods.

Everyone is waiting for Vadim to issue a new order. The young officers have been fighting in the snow for four days. Vadim has not made a statement yet, and soldiers freeze to death every day.

Finally, some people couldn't sit still anymore and gathered a group of brothers to rush into Vadim's shack and face the big leader who was also resisting with difficulty.

"You? What are you doing? Are you going to rebel?!" Vadim subconsciously drew his sword and pointed it at these young people.

No one was moved at all. The person who raised his head asked bluntly: "It's been four days, what else are we going to do? Continue to freeze to death in the snow? What are we still doing?"

"So, this is what happened?"

"That's it."

"How presumptuous! You all stand down first! I will take the time to have a chat with you." Finally, his most loyal subordinates couldn't sit still anymore?

In the continuous snowfall, the heat of the bonfire evaporated the snow in a space in a short time, and Vadim informed his confidants about his attitude.

He will indeed continue to hold on until the river freezes enough for people to stand, so that the entire army can launch attacks from all sides, using absolute strength superiority to force the defenders' defense lines to leak everywhere, thus completing the victory.

Putting aside the reliability of this persistent tactic, the fact that everyone gathered together clearly meant that the soldiers were signaling that they could no longer hold on.

They all explained one thing in unison: food is being consumed in large quantities, and soldiers can only rely on eating a lot to avoid freezing to death. The army may be able to hold on for another five to eight days. If food is not available after the time is up, it must be done within three days. The queen went home.

Indeed, Vadim has been struggling for two days since the expedition. Even the Frankish army did not do a good job in logistical support. Asking locals to provide supplies at the garrison was actually a relatively mild approach.

"Looting on the spot". It was rare for the Smolensk people to organize such a large force to launch an expedition. The soldiers almost brought their own food. The limit was to bring enough food for three weeks.

This is also the result of their unprecedented emphasis on logistics. It is a military miracle for the Smolensk people to persist until now.

Isn't enough food for three weeks? Vadim could not have imagined that he had spent two weeks and still could not capture the fortress of the Ross gangsters, and now it was being eroded by wind and snow.

In other words, he claims that the reason he still can't do it is because of the damn wind and snow, but he can't use this as a reason to delay. If he really can't say it, wouldn't it be shirking responsibility to everyone, which is equivalent to making a public claim?

"I'm incompetent." what to do? What else can be done? retreat? ! Vadim stood at the altar, pointed his sword at the sky in front of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and swore to Peron, the god of fire they believed in, that if he didn't succeed, he would kill himself.

He offered his own blood as a sacrifice, and the wound on the palm of his left hand had not yet healed. His subordinates wanted to retreat, but he couldn't retreat.

What to do? !

"Fight! I won't wait any longer. Even if we fall into the icy water, we will still fight. As long as we capture the fortress, all problems will be solved."