Rise of Rurik

Chapter 823 The Burning City of Godfreyhagen

King Horik of Denmark abandoned his city and fled! The cavalry unit he was proud of suffered huge losses, and even greater losses came from the casualties of the infantry. Those injured were destined to be unable to escape and became prey of the Russians. The fugitives fled in all directions, chasing an unknown fate.

All was not lost, for when the terrible collapse occurred, thousands of Danish warriors managed to escape Godfrehagen.

They were deserters, but Horik, who was also running away, had no right to rebuke them.

The fleeing people lost almost all their treasures. Once upon a time, they transferred the wealth they collected in Flanders to Denmark and this new city in an attempt to live a good life.

They couldn't take away a lot of valuables. Most of the fleeing people only had the clothes on their backs, the shields tied to their arms, and the axes they carried in their right hands.

The entire city was occupied by the Ross army, but any participant in the battle could see that the casualties of the Ross army after a bloody battle were staggering.

"Meat grinder" is a perfect way to describe the battlefields inside and outside the city.

There were gradually stiffening corpses of the dead everywhere, and the black and sandy ground became smelly and muddy due to the large amount of blood. The blood and water of the dead men and horses were mixed together to form a horrifying semi-solidified paste, which then converged into a stream of blood and flowed towards the sea under the stone hill.

The blood on Rurik's face has dried, his beard is still red, and the armor on his body is also red.

The Russian army seemed to have won. He saw the Danish king who was supposed to have his head chopped off fled away. In this way, this battle cannot be said to be a great victory.

Look at this terrifying battlefield again! The casualties of Ross's army were right in front of him. Although he was aware of this, he never imagined that the heavy casualties would come from his own negligence.

The last act of bravery by the Danes can be described as a heroic act, which objectively caused heavy losses to the Russian army.

"If I had anticipated this situation earlier and had been alert on the flanks, this situation would not have happened."

The fact is that a group of Slavic and Balmok warriors died in battle, being ferociously pressed down by the dead horses. Even if some people won't die for a while, due to the anxiety of the battle, the wounded soldiers were ignored, and some people who could have survived are now dead.

Looking at his subordinates, they booed, cursed and taunted the fleeing cavalry.

The army outside the city seriously lacked land mobile troops, so it was naturally unable to pursue Horik.

The fleeing King of Denmark and his remaining cavalry have disappeared from everyone's sight, and the fighting in the city is still continuing at this moment.

Facing his subordinates who were happy after their victory, Rurik breathlessly issued an order: "You all go into the city and help the other brothers kill all the enemies."

The Russian army finally deployed all its combat forces and killed the Danish infantry whose morale had collapsed.

The Danish infantry was escaping from the city and running towards the deserted beaches and forests in the west. The Russian army stopped after a brief pursuit.

If the Russians had also brought cavalry, the pursuit would have taken place spontaneously without Lauryurik's personal order.

The exhausted warriors even lacked the strength to search for treasures. For a considerable number of warriors, they had not experienced such a tragic battle for many years. The capable veterans of the First Banner Corps of the Ross Army all thought of the Battle of Gotland six years ago.

As far as the eye can see, there are densely packed dead soldiers lying there, their blood staining the ground red...

When the battle was completely over, Rurik deliberately kept his face covered with dried blood stains. He took a break and entered the city through the breach in the city wall.

Now, the victorious army finally began to clean up the battlefield.

The soldiers didn't care about their ethnicity. They rushed to all the houses and inspected them carefully, putting any valuable treasures that could be taken away into their pockets, and directly smashed anything that couldn't be taken away.

They deliberately caused damage and committed no evil except arson.

Arik's veterans and Ragnar's allies, these two teams participated in the most intense and fierce battle in the city. Thanks to better defenses and better weapons, they did not suffer many casualties.

Because, there was a group of madmen fighting bloody battles for these precious guys. The heavily armored Grund and his gang broke away from the shield wall at the last moment. Each "iron man" was literally invulnerable, waving his belt. The spear and the double-edged battle ax were stabbing and slashing.

Perhaps two hundred people were chopped into minced meat by their axes, and the enemy's heads were turned to pulp. Even if they claimed credit afterward with their heads, it would be in vain.

There were a lot of red and white things on the battlefield, and when some soldiers realized what they were, they felt a strong sense of nausea that even surpassed murderous intent.

Grund and his heavily armored warriors and mercenary team suffered huge losses. This is the price of becoming a berserker.

As for the armed slaves who were promised to fight for freedom, their dreams turned into nothingness as their lives faded. The more than two hundred mutilated corpses lying on the ground were armed slaves. They died without forgetting to caress the enemy's heads hanging on their waists.

Arik's veterans of the First Standard and Ragnar's allies actually enjoyed priority in raiding.

After taking a rest, Arik and his brothers rushed to the largest building in the inner city, which must be the palace of the King of Denmark.

The brothers didn't even have time to care about their injured companions. They just pulled them out of the pile of dead people and went to plunder them with weapons.

What they rushed into was a real palace, a tall building that was different from the traditional longhouse.

"Brothers! Take what is destined to belong to you! Except for the silver coins and gold coins to be handed over to the prince, the rest is yours!"

In this way, the soldiers began to clean up swarmly, and a cellar was successfully discovered. When the cellar entrance is opened, everyone already knows what may be hidden inside.

Ten wooden boxes were brought up, and when someone smashed them hard, the boxes could be opened. The densely packed silver coins inside were dazzling.

The veteran with a beard tied into three pigtails smiled from ear to ear and stretched out his bloody hand to grab the silver coins.

Someone muttered: "This is wrong. We have to give some silver coins to the prince."

"What's wrong? The prince has already said that the spoils of this battle are to be obtained based on strength."

"However, if our brothers embezzled so many silver coins, the prince will definitely know about it afterwards and he will punish us. Didn't Aric also say..."

The old soldier with the special beard thought for a while and called on the brothers: "Then leave five boxes for the prince, and we will divide the rest."

Each of them stuffed a handful of silver coins into the cloth bag, basically taking away a pound at a time.

The number of troops dispatched by the First Flag Team this time barely reached 300. After the bloody battle, there were casualties, and there were still 250 people who poured into the palace.

Even the Danes are accustomed to storing various supplies, including coins, in a decimal system. A box of silver coins weighs almost a hundred pounds, and the box itself is not big. Together with the wooden box, the total weight is just over forty kilograms. People have two hands. One hand can grab it once, and all five boxes can be grabbed cleanly like this. In the end, let no one say it is unfair. How many silver coins you can catch depends on the size of your hand. If you catch less because your hands are small, then you can only say that this is fate.

Arik watched all of this, and he would not stop him at all. He would only serve as a supervisor and arbiter to watch the brothers' plunder.

Some veteran soldiers felt that it was inappropriate for flag captain Arik to be a spectator, so they gave him the captured pure gold cup.

Accept it? Why bother? A pure gold cup is not rare for me, and I think my brother Rurik is not rare either.

"Just keep it. This is not a precious treasure of the prince. You can keep it for yourself to enjoy or sell it to buy food in the future to subsidize your family. If you are really willing to give it away, give it to the family members of your brothers who died in the war."

Arik's words were very pertinent and generous, but the old warrior thought about it and decisively put the small gold coin into his pocket.

Maybe this prince has a lot of treasure? The brothers searched the house from top to bottom, and in addition to grabbing some precious metal tableware and drinking utensils, they also grabbed some Frank silver coins of excellent quality.

They despised the poverty of the Danish king, and even more despised the cowardly behavior of the Danish army who fled.

It was also robbery, and the vengeful army composed of Ragnar and his Danish exiles took a more pragmatic attitude towards robbery.

They entered the residences in the inner city and collected daily necessities that were useful and easy to take away for their own use. Some warriors had as many as ten axes hung on their leather belts and did not feel tired.

They also plundered some property, but in terms of proficiency, they could not compare with Arik's well-trained robbery army.

The two sides each got what they wanted, and they had a tacit understanding to keep the issue of robbery separate.

This was Ragnar's deliberate act. Even if they are victorious now, it does not mean that the Danish exiles have taken back the Denmark that should belong to them. A true leader is rising. Ragnar sees an era that belongs to him in the mountains of corpses and blood, but now, he must maintain the necessary humility to ensure that there is no friction with the powerful Ross allies.

There were three male lions who fought fiercely. One was so tired that he lay down on the battlefield to rest, while the other two ate the fattest meat of their prey.

When the lion is full, a group of jackals and vultures come to eat the remaining meat.

Slavs, Balmoks, Swedish fishermen, Saaremaa Island militia, and Finnish army entered the city one after another.

Godfrey Hagen said it was big when he said it was big, and it was small when he said it was small.

In Rurik's view, this capital city of a country is only about the size of three ordinary residential areas. The original residents who lack the technology to build high-rise buildings can only build two-story buildings. The buildings must be "spread out", except for necessary Squares and main roads, other places are quite cramped.

The army tried to find the prisoners, but found only a handful of wounded Danish soldiers. They were frightened and their injuries looked irreversible.

By order of the prince, such prisoners could be exchanged for one pound of silver.

forget it! Why go to the trouble of bandaging a prisoner's wounds in exchange for more money? It's better to chop off another ax and exchange your head for fifty silver coins.

The "decapitation operation" has been going on among the piles of corpses. It is not difficult to distinguish the heads of the dead brothers and the enemies. To the regret of the soldiers, the corpses of the Danish soldiers left on the battlefield were all destroyed in the war, and it was not easy to find intact heads.

After all, a group of "vultures" brought their severed heads with them. Seeing the powerful prince coming, they hurriedly covered their bulging money bags, and then gave the heads tied together like many flat pumpkins to the prince's warriors. .

"It's all your victory? Okay! Okay... You are worthy of being veterans of the First Flag Team." Rurik's praise came from the bottom of his heart. After all, he wanted to fulfill his promise and distribute the money to the old Ross tribe. The veteran warrior he was happy to do.

The soldier asked carelessly: "When will we get the reward?"

"It's coming soon! A comprehensive cleanup of the battlefield is about to begin, not to mention that we have to write down the names of the brothers who died in the battle and cremate them. When the time comes, I will take credit for each of you!"

The soldiers who gathered around were overjoyed, and at the same time Arik came over in high spirits.

Arik's pockets were empty. He only had two clean steel swords. He pushed through the crowd and snapped his fingers, and a kind of soldier came carrying a wooden box.

"Brother, this is the treasure I found. They are all silver coins, so I give them to you!"

The boxes were opened one after another, and the silver coins looked so dazzling in the sun.

Rurik's heart was in ecstasy. Apparently, he could use this money to reward his subordinates who beheaded them. Or if you have extra money, you can reward it on the spot.

He knew his cousin's old habits. Although everyone loved money, Arik was not greedy. The more he went through wars, the less he liked money. In other words, this guy just wants to be an honest warrior.

Rurik can also boast that he is not greedy. The taxes he collects and the loot he gets are all for the expansion of the Principality of Rus and the construction of prosperity. As an arbiter and ruler, why talk about corruption?

"I have all this money. You..." Rurik asked cautiously: "Brothers, you didn't lose much, did you?"

"Fortunately, more than ten brothers died and more than ten were injured. The injured are not serious."

Arik had just crawled out of the pile of corpses. He was such a ruthless person and his words were completely calm.

Rurik's heart was really tight when he heard this, and he frowned: "So many people died? They are all old soldiers!"

"After all, this is a decisive battle! Have you chopped off the head of the King of Denmark?"

"Damn, I almost succeeded!" Rurik gritted his teeth.

"Maybe this is fate." Arik shrugged: "You can't defeat the Kingdom of Denmark in one battle, but look at this battlefield. A large number of Danish soldiers also died here. Many years ago, I experienced a fierce battle again It feels like this is the best sacrifice to Odin." Speaking of excitement, a steel sword reaches the sun. Arik faces the scorching sun with emotion: "Odin, you will recognize me now! We People who are chasing heroes, we want to have a place in Vallaha!"

"Why be excited?" Rurik simply laughed out loud, and then faced everyone sincerely: "I am a person blessed by Odin. The moment you fight for me, in Valhalla and with you position... No need to wait any longer, go and pull out the sacrificed brothers, I will sacrifice for them, and their souls will go to Valhalla."

After the war, the cleanup began in full swing, and this was also the most elaborate search for loot.

Right in the inner city, the granary of the Kingdom of Denmark was discovered. There are oats and rye in hemp bags, and the overall storage condition is acceptable.

The autumn harvest in Denmark's Jutland peninsula is about to begin. As a result, the most powerful King Horik is now like a lost dog. Rurik could estimate that the Danish area would enter a state of chaos again. Maybe Ragnar's strong intervention at this time would not really convince the crowd. Rurik didn't know whether the fleeing Horik could make a comeback, but the current Ross army had no time to pursue him.

Because time is turning against the Russian army.

The army must evacuate quickly. Since the wheat harvest is about to begin in Denmark, the wheat harvest in the Novgorod region around Lake Ilmen, the large granary of the Rus' Principality, is also about to begin. A large number of strong men standing in the Danish capital and looting went beyond the plan of the operation. The war was ruthlessly expanded. Even though huge results were achieved, it was now gradually disadvantageous for the Principality of Rus.

Maybe after three days of looting according to Eastern customs, now facing this city, Rurik was thinking of withdrawing tomorrow.

It would be too hasty to evacuate tomorrow. He thought about it and simply held a sacrifice tomorrow. When all his dead were turned into ashes, the ashes were collected in wooden boxes and transported to New Roseburg for burial.

The cleaning operation has achieved great results. Although the oats and rye seized are in the aged state, they can easily fill the cabin of a large ship like the Aurora, and the total weight may reach the equivalent of forty tons.

There was also a small but necessary quantity of baled wool.

One of the major seizures was weapons. Axes, bent iron swords, and spearheads from the Danish army were piled together. The useful portable weapons have been taken away by the victors, and all that can be turned over are junk. Rurik is not picky at all. After all, in his opinion, these weapons are all junk. They are at least weapons made of iron and bronze. The efficiency of reprocessing after melting is far better than burning ore from scratch.

Rurik took down these metal objects that looked like tatters but were actually treasures. He immediately took out the captured silver coins and rewarded the soldiers who presented the enemy's heads.

Because he gave real silver coins to the Danish refugees in the alliance, the Saaremaa Island militia, and even the Finnish shooters who picked up and cut off the heads of the enemy's corpses. Five boxes of silver coins were delivered cleanly, thanks to the large number of skulls that were damaged, otherwise there would have been a lot of bleeding.

The casualties have also been counted, and Rurik is really worried about the loss of the elite troops of the Principality of Ross. Nearly twenty veterans of the First Flag Team died, and as many as 60% of the more than a hundred mercenaries were killed. This was an extremely shocking loss.

As for the losses of Ragnar and his Danish exile allies, Rurik was not concerned. After all, they actually surrendered to Ragnar, a legendary figure. Even if the entire army was wiped out, only Ragnar had the right to feel sad. Gurner.

More than thirty Slavic warriors died, and more than twenty Balmok warriors died. There was also the Saaremaa Island militia led by Spuyut. More than ten people died in the fighting outside the side city.

He had gained a group of good mining experts, but Rurik actually relented. He noticed that the slave soldiers were very brave, so he planned to give the slave soldiers the status of "New Rus's" after the war was over and let them work for a year. Distribute farm tools to open up wasteland. They were all killed, their bodies blurred.

Since these people died for the glory of Rus, they should let their souls enjoy eternal glory in Valhalla as Rus warriors.

The corpses of the war dead that could be found were piled together, forming more than a dozen corpse mounds at once, and each corpse mound was covered with a large amount of firewood on the beach.

Rurik personally held the torch and lit it one by one.

When setting out from Fort New Ross, the Ross army mobilized eighteen hundred men. In addition to non-combatants, there are also 1,500 people who can join the fight. After experiencing the storming of Bornholm Island and the storming of Godfrehagen, the Russian army achieved a huge victory, and as many as 5,000 enemies died at the hands of the army due to various factors. The irrecoverable losses of the Russian army also reached 200 people.

"You just destroyed the city and killed thousands of people, but I lost two hundred brothers! Your sin is unforgivable!"

The fallen soldiers are burning, and their souls go to the temple. The soldiers who watch them "leave" all believe that there is a paradise for the soldiers.

Rurik looked at the flames, and the anger in his heart became stronger and stronger.

The Ross army will not pursue the enemy, look for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com, and the army will be divided again after leaving Godfrey Hagen, especially Spyut has to control the Salmon Chief to go to Britain to Reglaf told the nobles of the local kingdom that he had the royal power of Mercia, and then took back the wheat as a tribute.

Rurik himself wanted to leave with the loot. He would not attack any Danish targets again. His plan was to rush back to his hometown to harvest autumn grain.

As for Ragnar and his Danish exile allies, their strength is still weak, and they dare not stay in Denmark because the time is not yet ripe. They will return to Bornholm. It is believed that they will have great popularity in this war. More exiles will drag their families to the island of Bornholm. The island will transform into an anti-Danish pro-Frank Fortress of power.

Therefore, all parties reached a consensus - Godfrey Hagen must be burned!

No one collected the bodies of the fallen soldiers of the Kingdom of Denmark, and even the horses that died in the battle gradually turned to ashes in the fire and thick black smoke of the city.

It was as if a marine volcano suddenly erupted. In the violent and soaring smoke and dust, there was the victorious back view of the fleet of Ross and Ragnar.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :

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