Rise of Rurik

At first, the people of Jönköping were not nervous about the sight of ships drifting from the island of Vissingse.

It was a ship belonging to the ruler Karl "The Wild Bear". He sent people to the south, probably to ask for tribute.

Lake Wettern is neither too big nor too small. Since Jönköping has always maintained trade interests with Wizinger Island, the two large settlements have always had close personnel exchanges. When news spread of the attack on the pioneer village in the northernmost part of the lake, the people of Jönköping felt danger for the first time.

"It's probably the Swedes who are looking for trouble."

Most of them think this way, and their lives are not affected at all.

However, Karl's envoy brought shocking news. A huge army suspected of being Swedes had landed on Wisingser Island, and Karl was going to fight it.

The envoy arrogantly asked all businessmen, powerful farmers, craftsmen and other local prominent figures in Jönköping to gather in the city's meeting hall.

There were different opinions for a while, as if war was right around the corner.

But who desires war? Except for the warriors who believe in Odin, will businessmen sacrifice their lives for the so-called glory?

Well-dressed businessmen, farmers, and craftsmen who raised slave laborers gathered in the dark Senate House to watch Karl's envoys talk.

The messenger was arrogant, and just looking at his face was disgusting.

"You all hand over your private armies and give them all to me. I will lead you to the island to fight the invading Swedes. This is Karl's order! Your master's order! You execute it immediately."

Such a commanding tone is disgusting.

On weekdays, many businessmen and craftsmen are treated as fat sheep, and their wool has to be cut by Karl two or three times a year before they are willing to give up. It feels uncomfortable to be a fat sheep, and everyone has been enduring it.

It just so happens that most of them are businessmen and wealthy people, and most of them are tactful. They don't dare to lift the table for the time being.

A businessman stood up and asked provocatively: "Could it be that Karl's eight hundred soldiers can't resist the attack of those... Swedes?"

The messenger was speechless for a moment.

The businessman immediately asked: "We pay a large amount of tribute every year, and Karl has our money. Is it true that he wants us to hand over our private soldiers when he is really facing a war, and actually wants to mobilize the entire men of Jönköping to fight for him?"

This statement directly hit the pain point of the problem, and one person spoke and more than ten people responded one after another.

The already tense and depressing meeting room immediately became as lively as a vegetable market. This made the messenger so angry that he pulled out his hand ax and struck hard on the pillars of the building.

"Fools! Stop making noise!" the messenger scolded, and finally silenced everyone with his loud voice.

"Who would have thought that the Swedes had so many soldiers? They burned down three of our villages in the north, and a thousand people were killed! Those Swedes do all kinds of evil. If we can't kill them, you will be the ones who die! It's you!" The envoys said one by one. Pointing and threatening without words: "You! It's you! If you don't resist, you will be killed, and your wife and daughter will be their slaves. And you! Don't look at me with doubts, you If you don’t resist, all your property will be taken away by them, and you yourself will be hanged by them..."

Because Karl's envoy had long given up his illusions like his boss, the people of Jönköping were ignorant of what was happening in the north of the lake. But one thing they knew was that "Crazy Bear" Karl closed the port because of the war, which cut off the Jönköping people's route to transport supplies to the north for business.

Destroying a person's wealth is like killing his parents. The landowners can wait and see for the time being, while the businessmen and craftsmen are already furious. But Karl did have up to 800 armored men. Even if he gathered the private soldiers raised by all the wealthy people in Jönköping, or armed the slaves, he would not be able to piece together a decent army of 800 men.

The messenger seemed to be cursing everyone present one by one, which made many people increasingly feel that everything was a scam.

Suddenly someone burst out: "Bah! It's all lies! Friends, Karl is going to take away our private soldiers, and then take away our slaves. In the end, what ability do you have to protect your property! In my opinion, Sweden The human invasion is all a conspiracy! We cannot trust these messengers easily."

Someone started, and others took over: "It's been ten years! Ever since Karl brought his people here ten years ago, our days of doing business in peace and peace of mind are over! We gave him the best treasures, but what did we get in the end?" ? That’s it, Karl can’t even think of taking another copper coin from me!”

After all, the businessmen who had been grudges for a long time and who were supposed to be dealing with things smoothly went berserk. They did not use force against the outnumbered envoys, but instead rioted and detained all the envoys, disarmed them and threw them into the sheepfold.

As for what else these envoys were shouting about, no one paid any attention to them.

The merchants have already thought of their own escape route. If Karl launches a crusade, at worst they will either row a boat to Lake Vänern next door, or drive an oxcart overland and personally pull a handcart to the Växjö Village Alliance in the south. .

The merchants and craftsmen don't have much to worry about, and there are also a group of fishermen who take advantage of the wind. If everyone leaves, they can row their own boats to evacuate, and they can help them carry their goods and earn some transportation fees.

The most painful thing is the farmers of Jönköping. Their wealth is almost riveted on their farmland. If everyone leaves, how can I leave? If Karl goes on a crusade for detaining the envoy, it is self-evident who will suffer a big loss.

At night, the oil lamps danced wildly in the meeting hall, and people from all walks of life in Jönköping were noisy. Some people said that the messenger was talking nonsense, while others said that maybe the Swedes were really coming. The focus of the quarrel finally fell on the treatment of the envoy. The hot-headed people wanted to make things happen, so-called killing the envoy with an ax and dragging the family and everyone out of this unfortunate place that had always been plundered. Cooler heads advised everyone to remain calm.

However, just as they were having a heated argument, the sunset could no longer cover up the strange things happening on Weisinger Island.

The setting sun covered the fire that burned the harbor like snow. Although there was thick smoke rising, the increasingly dim light in the evening made the smoke blurry.

After all, from the island port where the incident occurred to Jönköping, the straight-line distance between the two places is twenty-five kilometers.

Only the darkness of night could not hide the light of the fire, which made the fire spreading throughout the port extremely eye-catching.

There was no need to argue now. Regardless of the prominent people or the most humble slaves in Jönköping, the more than 2,000 people who settled in this lakeside city all stood outside.

There is no doubt anymore, there are really enemies attacking Weisingser!

Because the residential areas of Jönköping are built on hills, the cliffs surrounding the entire Lake Veitern turn into slopes at the southernmost end of the lake. In order to prevent flooding, a large number of houses were built on the hills. People standing on high places can clearly see the strange sea of ​​​​fire on Weisinger Island.

escape! A lot of people thought about this.

The merchants and handicraftsmen hurried back to their mansions. They had no intention of continuing to argue about what they had and what they didn't have, and they had no intention of giving a big gift to the messenger who was thrown into the sheepfold and tied with ropes.

To hell with this unfortunate lakeside! Brothers are leaving!

At this time, some of the words of the envoy were recalled. The so-called Swedes came by water, so for the Norrköping people who were about to escape, escaping by water to Lake Vänern next door would be suicidal.

Where can everyone go? Everyone unanimously thought of the same goal - to take their families and their families overland to take refuge in Växjö in the south.

At least the Ten Village Alliance in Växjö has been welcoming to merchants and craftsmen.

Intuitively, the businessmen felt that there was not much time left for their families to escape. Their mental stress directly led to the collapse of the will of the entire settlement.

They had never surrendered to "Crazy Bear" Karl, but were forced to pay tribute to that guy. Now that the disaster is approaching, it makes sense for them to fly separately.

The forest is pitch black at night, and people fleeing by land have to climb over the hilly area behind them and continue southward on the road opened in the forest. They took advantage of the night to organize supplies and personnel, check their vehicles and luggage, and count their family members and slaves.

For private soldiers, mercenaries or high-level slaves, if the gold master withdraws, the brothers will naturally follow.

The most painful thing is the local landowners, who can escape at the cost of abandoning their farmland. The wheat has already grown thick sprouts, and there are only three months left before harvest. If you leave now, you may save your life, but I am afraid that you will be so poor that you will become someone else's slave in the future. However... the situation may still be turning around. Maybe the Swedes who attacked the island could accept their surrender...

When the disaster approached, most of them took action to escape, and all of them chose to escape by land after dawn. However, the sudden rain at night brought resistance to everyone's escape plan. Although there were no flash floods or mudslides, the road suddenly became muddy, which undoubtedly cast a shadow on the escape plan.

It has to be said that the people of Norrkoping acted very quickly. It was like standing in the bay and seeing the sea water receding abnormally, and running to higher ground, thus escaping the tsunami early.

But they were still one step late.

Remember the Ross Cavalry? They are always on their way.

Fisk personally led three hundred cavalry all the way south along the east bank of the lake. They marched through the woods on the cliffs beside the lake, relying on the trees to cover their tracks. The cavalry tried their best to maintain speed, but Fisk's men cherished their horse power. They did not dare to force the horses to march too far in one day, and practical factors did not prevent them from being too eager.

The eastern shore of the lake is very straight, and the cavalry walked hard and clear. Along the way, they saw the island Wizinger in the center of the lake, and one night they also saw a bonfire lit at the southernmost end of the lake.

That was Jönköping, the target of the cavalry attack.

But when he saw the southernmost flames, Fisk's worries disappeared.

He summoned the resting warriors in the forest overnight and took them to the lake, making everyone look to the south: "That's Jönköping! We want to conquer there! We can make a fortune and everyone can get a huge fortune." of glory.”

"Can we still capture some slaves? For example, some young women?" A young subordinate asked deliberately rudely.

"Of course! That's of course! The king asked us to attack Jönköping. Let's get on our horses and leave early tomorrow morning. Our army has no time to waste time and try to take the next step to capture Jönköping before the king launches his attack!"

Fisk repeatedly refers to "Jönköping", which is nothing more than a settlement, but is presented as a place of gold and a beautiful wife, and a man can get everything he wants by taking it away.

Early in the morning, the cavalrymen, who did not light a fire but only ate dry food, deliberately opened their linen bags and fed their horses oats.

The cavalry began a period of rapid advancement. They had reached the edge of Jönköping. They were not exposed, and Fisk did not launch a surprise attack.

Because Pecheneg Princess Beyahil put forward her own suggestions.

She is one of Rurik's wives. She wanted to become an excellent female warrior so she consciously cooperated with the great Rus Khan Rurik. Now that she was temporarily incorporated into the Ross Cavalry, she did not feel any strangeness. It was like the army in her hometown. Except for some of the weapons of the personnel, the horses and recurve bows were all Pecheneg's, and even the riding instructors The coaches of martial arts and combat were all Pechenegs.

In this case, the Ross cavalry should launch an attack with smart steppe tactics.

As long as you observe a little, Jönköping, which is surrounded by hills and lakes, has an inherent disadvantage. The cavalry should seize the commanding heights and launch a surprise dawn attack from above.

Now that the horse team has been marching for a whole day, the horses, which have a lot of oats, need to rest, and the sky is getting dark, which is indeed not a good time to attack. "Just follow your method and we will take a detour." Fisk accepted Beyathil's tactics.

The cavalry rushed into the forest area and relied on the puddles in the forest for the horses to replenish their drinking water. Although there were twists and turns along the way, because these slopes were quite gentle, the cavalry forcefully entered the top of the hills and found a narrow road here.

Although the road is narrow, it leads to the south, and the road clearly extends from the direction of Jönköping.

"Haha! Have we found the trade route? As long as we follow this path south, we can rush to Jönköping City. We will win in one fell swoop!"

In the excitement, Fisk was chattering a little. He dismounted quickly, patted his tired mount to comfort him, and ordered his men: "All dismount, go into the forest to rest, and wait until we launch a surprise attack tomorrow morning."

Fisk's plan was well thought out. They stood on a high place and soon saw the flames and dim smoke in the distance. The setting sun blurred the thick smoke, and the flames could not be covered after nightfall.

The horses were fed oats again and gnawed some grass on the spot. The horses, which had most of their loads unloaded, gathered together to sleep. The dismounted cavalrymen marveled at the flames in the distance.

They probably guessed why: the king had launched an attack.

"After all, I'm still a step too late? It's not too late."

Fisk muttered to himself, and with a solemn expression he gathered the cavalrymen in the forest for the final lecture.

When it was still the eve of the decisive battle on Visingse Island, Rurik never imagined that the port fire caused by his raid would cause many things.

The burning port is equivalent to a signal that the entire region has fallen into a state of war. The two major settlements in the Wettern Lake area will eventually face their respective decisive battles on the same day.

Of course, when the Rus army entered the lake, victory already belonged to Rurik.

Until the eve of the decisive battle, Rurik didn't know whether his beloved general Fisk and his new concubine Bejahir had touched Jönköping. In terms of nature, the cavalry team that independently conquered Jönköping was equivalent to the Ross-Pecheneg coalition, and this was the first time that the Ross cavalry separated from the large force to launch an attack since it formed the army.

For the majority of soldiers, whether the cavalry can independently complete military tasks is a question, which requires Pechenegs with sufficient cavalry combat experience to lead actual combat.

The cavalry stood on a high place and watched eagerly. The heavy rain at night poured cold water on people and horses, but it did not dampen the fighting spirit of the cavalry at all.

The "artificial rainfall" caused by the smoke from the burning fire came and went quickly, and the next morning the sun shone and it was another good weather!

There was thick fog at the beginning, but the fog quickly weakened, and the cavalry made final preparations. They fed the horses some more oats, ate some dry food themselves, rested for a while to stretch their muscles and warm up, and then rode on their horses.

The three hundred cavalry were divided into left and right wings, forming two columns heading north on the narrow road, with the goal of Jönköping!

Fisk had already made a plan to rush into the city and indiscriminately kill and stun the local armed forces. He hoped that with one attack, the opponent would lose all resistance and kneel down to surrender. Then he would protect the lives of the surrenderers in accordance with the king's requirements and wait for the king's acceptance. Of course, they have the priority to plunder. In addition to valuable gold and silver coins, brothers can plunder everything. If they encounter a beautiful woman, pull her directly onto the horse and make it her own. As long as they promise to marry her, they can do it. Acquiesced by the king.

Robbery is an important way of life for the Pechenegs, and the same is true for the Rus. The difference is that the former are horse bandits, and the latter are pirates.

No one thinks this is wrong. Northern Europe is such a barbaric ecology. Today, only Rurik is relying on force to shape a large and internally peaceful national system. If you just want to join Ross, you will most likely be defeated by the Ross army first.

The people of Jönköping knew nothing about this. Some of the first people to take action had already dragged their families and drove ox carts, or personally dragged carts full of soft materials, heading towards the southern Weiwei. Keshe is moving in the direction of the "Ten Villages Alliance".

As a result, the Ross cavalry met the fleeing people on a narrow road.

The two sides were shocked when they met. Generally speaking, it was the first time in their lives that the Jönköping people saw cavalry. They instinctively felt that they were monsters coming out of the forest.

But Fisk didn't give them any time to think. He quickly took out his recurve bow and quickly placed the arrow on his right side.

"Shoot them! Attack!"

The well-trained Ross cavalry quickly launched a wave of "three consecutive rapid fires on the grassland". Under the sudden and fierce attack, the Jönköping people's fleeing team, which was already in shock, suddenly fell into chaos.

The bows were put away for the time being, and were replaced by the impact of the cavalry. The cavalry, holding their steel swords high, charged down with an unstoppable force, lifting up a large amount of mud like a mudslide, and quickly rushed into the fleeing team. Ruthless with swords, the Ross cavalry waited for this glorious moment after a long march and launched an early morning attack on Jönköping.

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