Rise of Rurik

The siege soldiers were exhausted and completely discouraged when faced with the thicker wooden walls of the inner city. Do we still have to continue attacking despite the enemy's arrows?

Even if they rushed to the city gate, who would still have the strength to knock it open with a tree trunk? How many people were killed or injured?

have no idea. They could clearly see the collapsed outer walls of the city where many corpses of their companions lay dead. There were a large number of arrows and javelins embedded in the corpses. Until now, the Smolensk army had learned some new tactics at the cost of blood.

The price they paid was too high. In addition, the sky was getting dark and the fog and snow never stopped. Vadim had to issue a retreat order before making other plans.

In fact, he knew that it would be difficult to achieve any results in this winter's battle unless new troops were recruited from elsewhere.

The snow-covered ground made arson tactics impossible. To make matters worse, even if the Smolensk troops retreated to the lumber camp, it would be difficult for them to light bonfires in the cold and snowy environment.

Thanks to Vadim's remaining hand, some of the wounded and wounded from the previous battle guarded the camp, constantly adding oily pine branches to several campfires, because for their weak bodies, they could only survive by warming themselves up by the fire.

The war horses died one after another, and were soon frozen solid in the cold state. Vadim had to evacuate on foot. All he saw along the way were staggering evacuating soldiers, each of them a defeated rooster, and their morale had obviously collapsed.

Is this the end of the battle? Vadim knew that he couldn't afford to lose, so while he still had an army on hand, they were the capital for him to continue gambling.

I just don’t know if those who were once loyal to me are still loyal. In the lumber camp, there are dejected soldiers everywhere around the campfire, and often more than ten people gather together to discuss defeatist remarks.

Under the current situation, Vadim is powerless to prevent the spread of this negative sentiment, especially by killing people to establish power.

Because he himself was experiencing an unprecedented crisis of confidence, the officers appointed by him who survived the battle, although they did not mutiny, deeply questioned Vadim's war ideas.

"Perhaps this battle was ridiculous from the beginning. God's thunder did not tell you that you will win, but warned you not to do it now." Some people didn't even bother to call Vadim the leader, and now they are questioning whether he has received the fire. God's help.

"You!" Vadim was about to retort when he saw a pair of sharp eyes cast at him, full of doubts in his words.

"You didn't think so at the time. Besides, the high priest said that our battle was blessed by God. You...can't deny our high altar and high priest." He retorted with wide eyes.

Everyone looked at each other. They really didn't dare to deny the altar and the priests. This was how everyone viewed the world.

The situation tended to fall into a quarrel, so someone had to help Vadim smooth things over due to reality: "Brothers, instead of fighting, our problem now is how to survive."

"Indeed, hundreds of brothers were killed and injured after the chaos. What should we do? There are less than three thousand brothers left to fight. When we run out of food in three days, everything will be over." The speaker calmed down. , boldly asked: "How about we withdraw? While we still have the strength." After saying this, no one dared to publicly support it, even if everyone felt itchy in their hearts.

They continued to look at Vadim, demanding that he announce the evacuation in the name of their leader.

"What are you looking at me for? I understand, you are forcing me to withdraw my troops."

"But leader!" Someone said bravely: "Brothers, we really can't hold on anymore. We are not defeated, but we have to avoid the edge for the time being. It won't be too late for us to organize more troops to participate in the war during the warm period next year. Why... risk all our lives? Will the danger of annihilation continue to linger here?"

"Wasting it here? Do you really think I will order you to continue the attack?" Vadim's response was extremely tangled.

"Chief? What are we doing?" Looking at the hazy fortress in the snow, Vadim looked toward the West Dvina River and said frankly: "We boast to our fellow villagers that we still have three thousand to fight. Soldiers, if we just withdraw like this, wouldn't everyone become cowards? Are you... willing to accept the name of shame? Are you willing to admit that you are inferior to those Ross gangsters?" Who would admit that he is extremely inferior?

Noting their mood swings, Vadim continued to put on a fearless posture: "I would rather die fighting than return without success. I will not compromise with those gangsters. I think... you won't either." With a few words, he blocked the army's retreat.

Simply retreating would be tantamount to compromising with the Russians, and the hot-blooded young people of Smolensk participated in this expedition precisely because they could not accept it.

"Could it be that...you plan to continue the attack?" Someone covered his mouth lightly to hide his surprise.

"Of course we have to attack, but not now. I plan to go to Polotsk and leave now! We'll get there while we still have enough strength." Everyone looked at each other. They had already decided on this matter. Since before the war, it was estimated that we could get it in one go. The enemy's fortress was abandoned. There was a plan for this matter but no one thought about it.

"Have we reached a desperate situation? Are we really going to take the Polotsk village?"

"Otherwise? Brother, fortunately we have an alternative."

"Even if we attack Polotsk, can we really successfully capture it and get sufficient supplies?"

"Then are you willing to freeze to death in the ice and snow? Or retreat in despair?"... The young Smolensk people had a heated discussion among themselves. After weighing the pros and cons, they had to compromise with reality - accepting Vadim's decision.

Compared with the large altar in the Katyn Forest that was retreated to the starting point, supplies could not be obtained immediately, and the Polotsk people's village was not far away, and could be reached by walking along the West Dvina River.

The large number of fire warriors were waiting for the decision-makers to discuss whether to advance or retreat. Most people felt that they had to retreat. Now they finally received clear instructions from Vadim.

The army was newly defeated, and the soldiers were dejected and worried about their future. When they learned that the big leader Vadim was going to go to the Polotsk territory to collect supplies without stopping, the morale that had fallen to the bottom rebounded sharply.

Who are the Polotsk people? Just a bunch of farmers. The Smolensk community has always looked down upon those people.

Sooner or later, Polotsk, Derigovich, and Derevlian will be integrated into one body by the Krevich community in Smolensk. Perhaps these great achievements are only related to the nobles. After all, all those participating in the battle are ordinary people. People, the most ordinary farmers can get some spoils from the war to improve their lives.

I don’t have much property, so I might as well give it a try. Nowadays, ordinary soldiers have to consider staying alive.

There is no contract between Smolensk and Polotsk, and they often rely on the Varangians from the Gulf of Riga as a medium of communication.

The Smolensk nobles have a plan to control the area so that they can defend it

The "Amber Road" makes money from the Varyags by collecting tolls. However, the crazy expansion of the northern Rus' completely disrupted the plans of the Smolensk community.

And the destitute prince Vadim's behavior of taking his son-in-law and biting his master adds new variables. Ordinary soldiers looked at the limited food in their bags and had no choice but to continue following Vadim on a military adventure in the snow.

After not seeing the sun for a week, people seem to have forgotten the warmth of the sun. Yesterday they were still fighting against the city. It was a brand new day. After a good night's rest, the Smolensk soldiers began to line up again in the continuous fog and snow.

The outer city of the Russian fortress has been destroyed, but the inner city is as solid as a rock and the siege is weak. Perhaps another strong attack can finally break the city, but how many soldiers will be lost?

Vadim was not sure of fighting to seize the city again. He felt that the chance of victory was not as good as that of a city, especially when the lower-level officers appointed by him who forced the soldiers to continue to attack the city had a high chance of mutiny.

The Smolensk army has become an army just praying for survival.

"Army of Refugees". They began to line up and move towards the West Dvina River due north. The fog and snow somewhat obscured their figures. For a while, the defenders of the Vitebsk Fortress stood in the watchtower and could not detect any strange phenomena on the battlefield.

In front of us is the soothing area of ​​the river. After the river water flows into the open area, it forms a large swampy shoal that can be waded through on foot.

The thin ice is thickening, and it's still too early to be ice that can be hiked across the river. But Smolenskians are not stupid enough to jump into waist-deep icy water.

Vadim looked left and right, then calmly ordered: "Start building a pontoon bridge." What is a pontoon bridge? The felled pine tree poles were directly thrown into the ice water, and the arrow-proof shields woven from the branches were still filled with water.

Various miscellaneous materials taken from the local area quickly built a passage in the icy water shallows. If it hadn't been for nearly three thousand soldiers, Vadim wouldn't have been able to cross the river in one day.

They spent a lot of energy on this, and had to abandon all the wounded soldiers to fend for themselves. The simple leather shoes of the soldiers were all wet. The cold and biting river water made the feet of the soldiers after crossing the river so hard that they were as hard as stones, and their limbs were almost non-existent.

They complained endlessly, but fortunately the whole army had crossed the river. Having lost all his horses, Vadim also had to suffer the pain of freezing his hands and feet.

Regardless of his physical pain, he just wanted to reach Polotsk as soon as possible. The soldiers crossing the river had no time to breathe. They jumped and jumped spontaneously on the snow, just to warm their bodies and ward off the cold.

Vadim had no intention of wasting any time and ran around shouting among the crowd himself. The soldiers gathered together with a variety of weapons. They were all wearing furs and the shoulders of their hats were covered with snowflakes. In the dim light, they looked like a herd of reindeer moving.

In fact, the fortress defenders standing guard on high ground really made a misjudgment. Descending instantly along the rope, the sentry hurriedly broke into the soldiers' dormitory.

The Ostara warriors who defended the city were still wearing their armor, holding their swords in both hands and sleeping soundly in the warm dormitories.

Everyone believed that the enemy would attack again, so everyone had to be on high alert. Avender is awakened by the Sentinels.

"What?! Are they coming?!" He jumped up like a carp and couldn't help but draw his sword. The buzzing sound of the sword wind instantly stimulated everyone in the dormitory to stand up reflexively.

"Boss, go and take a look at the city wall."

"There are already enemies outside the city? Damn it, you reported the news too late."

"Oh, that's not the case." The sentry didn't bother to explain too much, and simply pulled Aiwen, who was basically the same age, into the cold outdoors.

The small inner city is a castle with thick wooden walls. When there is any movement in the dormitory where Avender is located, the entire inner city takes action in a short time.

With the sound of drums and horns, the soldiers were on alert. They climbed up the city wall with crossbows and recurve bows, and stared at the incomprehensible torsion slingshot operator.

Because the enemy did not attack the city, there were no footprints in the intersection of the inner and outer city. The corpses of the enemies killed yesterday were now lumps of ice covered in snow.

Avender followed the direction pointed by the sentry and squinted his eyes towards the main channel of the West Dvina River. Although the north gate of the city has been blocked, the north gate is next to the river pier.

The wharf pier was intact. The remaining ships had been towed into the inner city, and the wharf was now useless.

The Ostara warriors who were determined to defend had blocked their retreat. They were currently waiting quietly for assistance, and at the same time, they basically cut off the possibility of taking the initiative to attack.

"What are you asking me to see? Brother, my eyesight is not as good as yours." Avender looked at it carefully and became more and more impatient.

"Don't worry. Brother, pay attention to the black shadow to the northeast of you."

"Dark Shadow?"

"There's something like a herd of deer moving around. Do you think that's a herd of deer?"

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. There are wild deer that have been hunted by us for a long time." Vadim thought for a moment and patted his head: "Could it be the enemy?!"

"I'm afraid it's them."

"Are the Smolensk people crazy? The river is not frozen at all. Could it be that they want to wade across the river from the north gate and attack? The ice water can kill them." Someone laughed at Avender's words: "That Vadim is a fool. I hope he really leads the Smolensk people to do this. Then we won't have to shoot arrows, the ice water will kill them." Because the brothers have full Nordic ancestry, they are not really He was born in the Old Rus tribe, and now stands proudly under the flag of Rus. Since his ancestors and the Old Rus people are all close blood relatives, their living conditions are very similar, and their understanding of severe winter is the same and extremely profound.

Winter hunting can often take risks to catch some big animals, especially wild reindeer that migrate in winter. Killing one is enough for a family to solve their meat problem throughout the winter.

There are many lakes in northern Sweden, with Lake Mälaren as a typical example. Hunters often have to take risks to pass through trivial glacial lakes. Once they unfortunately fall into an ice cave, they often die in a very short time. This is why they regard winter swimming as a Real manly behavior.

The black shadow became more and more obvious, and gradually even Avender, whose eyesight was not particularly good, could clearly see the creeping black shadow on the other side.

At the same time, Vadim, who was leading the movement, saw the Russian fortress from a new angle across the entire West Dvina River.

Annoyance and unwillingness came to their hearts, and the soldiers' mood became more complicated. For a moment there was a buzz among the tangled ranks, as everyone commented on the enemy's fortress.

"What a pity." A close confidant couldn't hide his pain: "Why doesn't the continuous snowfall freeze the river? We still have enough troops to attack the city... but we can't use our troops at all." Vadim has always been heartbroken. His face was ashen, and he did not want to look at the Russian fortress with the flag fluttering anymore. He responded to his cronies one after another: "When we get to Polotsk, we will force the recruitment of troops! We still have three thousand people, and we captured all their villages in one go. Our army If we can't defeat the Rus, can we still defeat the Polotsk people? Then all their men and women will be integrated into the army, and when the river freezes, we will coerce the villagers and attack with all our strength."

"Isn't this... so crazy? Do you really want to do this?" The confidant had never thought of such a tactic.

"Don't talk about crazy. Let those villagers charge by then, and the people who will be shot and killed will be the Polotsk people. After they consume the arrows of the Russians for us, our army can fight calmly. You! And you!" Vadim looked at his few cronies again: "We don't have to consider the feelings of the Polotsk people. It doesn't matter how many of them die! Remember, this is our only way to turn defeat into victory." The young man The Smolensk warriors shuddered at the strategy of the great leader Vadim, and they were indeed shivering involuntarily because it was too cold.

They rushed the fortress in vain, abandoned the wounded soldiers and allowed them to freeze to death, and forced themselves to cross the river in the snow at the risk of freezing to death. The next step was to use the Polotsk people as human shield sacrifices.

Since the war, the soldiers have increasingly felt that their leader is a reckless man, treating their own soldiers and others as nothing.

To be fair, Vadim is not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. This person has very extreme demands on himself for revenge, and now he is really forcing everyone to follow him and do extreme things.

What else can be done? The food supply of many soldiers has reached the bottom. They have no way out but to march forward to seize food from the Polotsk people's warehouses.

So from the perspective of the Vitebsk defenders, Avender and his brothers watched helplessly as the enemy chief Vadim and his army moved along the snow-covered right bank of the West Dvina River like a herd of migrating reindeer. Head downstream.

"They are going to Polotsk. Oops! Aren't our brothers there facing a powerful enemy?!" Vadim suddenly felt a chill.

A fellow comforted him: "The evacuated Danish businessmen and Polotsk citizens have gone back, and Polotsk will remain on alert. Besides, our brothers stationed there are spending the winter in the Novi Polotsk Fortress."

"Novopolotsk? Probably not as strong as our fortress."

"It's not much different." The man continued to console him.

"Alas...we can't do anything to help the brothers over there." Avender stamped his feet vigorously, and then had an idea: "Does this...does it mean that the crisis we are facing is temporarily lifted?" People standing on the city wall were talking about it. , since the besieging army obviously went to attack Polotsk, this echoed what the previous prisoners of war said - the attackers ran out of food and had to find ways to seize food.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Vitebsk. Avender and his friends made a plan and decided to remain vigilant and watch the enemy go downstream. When they were far away, they would use ropes to temporarily lower the wall from the inner city. The so-called seize the time to clean the battlefield, move the dead bodies, and collect them. Arrows, the most important thing is to block the huge gap in the east gate with all kinds of things including dead bodies.

Conveniently, use an ax to chop off the legs of the enemy's horses that were shot to obtain the red meat that is important to everyone, even though this fishy and rough-tasting horse meat is not very tasty.