Rise of Rurik

In late summer and early autumn, the Weser River is still in the wet season, the width of the waterway is maintained at about 300 meters, and the water flow is relatively gentle.

Only near the ruins of the city of Bremen, the waterway suddenly narrowed to only a hundred meters. A long time ago, people buried a large number of stones in the river here, and finally forcibly created a large number of conical stone piers exposed above the water.

It completely relies on sufficient gravity to ensure that the stones will not be washed away by the river during high water periods.

Each stone pier has a large distance, which requires pine trees long enough to be cut and laid on top.

Previously, the messenger sent by Liudov was only a small force. Their number was not large. Although they were ordered to repair the damaged bridge, with their little strength, they could only cut down a small number of big trees and push it to the bridge. On the stone pier.

The so-called bridge is only better than a single-plank bridge. The refugee team can pass in single file, but vehicles carrying large amounts of supplies cannot travel together. All luggage must be unloaded.

There is a narrow bridge here, so the refugees naturally choose to escape by boat.

Or because the bridge was too crude, it was reasonable for the Russian army to pull the pine trees on the bridge into the river when they retreated.

A series of bridge piers are still stuck on the river, and some of the pine trees have not been removed. For the Franks, it would not take them much time to simply repair the bridge for a small number of troops to travel with. But Count Robert had three thousand cavalry. How could a single-plank bridge suffice for passage?

The assault launched by the cavalry regiment was fierce, the performance of the soldiers was average, and the troops swept through the Norman camp.

However, they encountered a very ungrateful counterattack by the Normans, which caused his army to suffer unexpected heavy losses. Robert, who was hit by an arrow in his arm, was heartbroken!

The Norman camp was captured and those who had no time to escape were killed.

However, when the soldiers began to check the condition of the dead bodies, they discovered that most of the corpses were wearing crosses, more of them were women than men, and there were no dark blue tattoos unique to the Normans at all.

The deceased was not a Norman! But...an escaped Saxon? !

Suddenly, the decisive cavalry warrior became depressed.

The enemy who was killed was not an enemy at all. There is no Norman corpse here. The fact is that the dead can only be Saxons who fled to the north from the Westphalian region.

Now Count Robert had no time to worry that his men had killed the wrong person. He took off his armor and urgently dealt with the "blood hole" on his arm.

The arrow cluster, as slender as a steel cone, was pierced into the entire bicep. The arrow cluster had been pulled out long ago because the cloth strips were tied in time and the blood was no longer flowing. However, his entire left arm was temporarily disabled.

He had to endure the pain in his arms, which were tied up with a rope and hung around his neck. Robert's current condition is no longer suitable for riding a horse to fight.

His current situation is pretty good.

Take a good look at the current cavalry regiment!

Across the Weser River, the cavalry could not gallop across the river to cut down those ships, but could only be passively beaten and suffered fatal javelin blows.

The soldiers saw a shocking scene. Some brothers were impaled by barbed javelins, including men and horses. However, the number of casualties counted was 200 horses, and the bodies of soldiers found were also nearly 150.

The reason why there are so few dead soldiers is because some of them fell into the river, and the armor dragged the soldiers into the mud at the bottom of the river.

The conditions of the injured were even more diverse. They were all accidentally penetrated by Liu Ya's chainmail rings. The condition of most of the injured was similar to Robert himself, except that the wounds were of different depths. Fortunately, these arrows were easy to pull out.

The total number of soldiers who were killed, seriously injured, and missing was as many as 400. After all, injured arms would prevent them from wielding swords and axes. As a result, the cavalry team of 3,000 people suddenly lost 400 people.

Just four hundred?

The cavalry lost were all Frankish regular cavalry, and they were actually Prince Ludwig's family. It's really unreasonable that such an absolutely elite force should lose four hundred pieces in a haphazard manner.

But Robert was not without gains.

In order to move quickly, his cavalry only carried a small amount of dry food per ride. His plan was to arrive in the Saxon region and take advantage of the time when the autumn harvest was completed to collect tribute from the local Saxon nobles to satisfy the military requirements. After all, which Saxon noble would dare resist the food requirements of three thousand Frankish cavalry?

Aren’t the supplies that the army lacks the most right in front of us?

Robert saw many carts in the Norman camp, and even oxcarts and pony carts. Those bad horses that cannot be ridden can be slaughtered, and the cattle pulling carts can be slaughtered, and there are even many silly sheep. They must be skinned carefully before slaughtering. The Normans, or Saxon refugees, left a lot of food behind, which could immediately supplement the army's needs.

What's even more amazing is that he saw a very special black cooking utensil.

The injured Robert was in a bad mood. When he saw the black "pottery urn" cooking hot wheat porridge, the soldiers had already taken their own wooden bowls and pottery bowls and directly reached into the pot to dig out a bowl and were busy eating.

It didn't look like a pottery urn. When the sword hilt was tapped lightly, Robiel heard the unique sound of metal.

"Could it be that these urns are made of iron? It's unbelievable. They're Norman... no. They're Rus' treasures! They're mine now."

When Robert saw a cast iron pot for the first time, he sent the soldiers away and bowed their backs to watch for a long time.

Since the fall of Rome, the craftsmen who made iron pots have disappeared. The world only knows how to use bronze to cast some small pots, such as the technology of casting large iron pots with pig iron. Rome itself did not know it when Rome was there, and the Eastern Rome does not know it now. Casting iron pots requires blast furnaces to smelt raw iron. Such advanced technology was only mastered by the Eastern World and Northern Europe in 840.

Although it was his first time seeing it, Robert immediately noticed the tactical advantages of the giant black metal pot.

Here are all ten cauldrons, and he declared them all to belong to the Earl of Rheingau, that is, to Robert himself. He planned to keep at least two of them and give the remaining eight as gifts to his monarch, Ludwig.

Things have become very subtle and sinister.

At night, the Frankish army set up an open camp on the Weser River. There are bright bonfires here, and across the river is the ruined city of Bremen.

The pain of Robert's wound seemed to intensify. He relied on his willpower to endure it and summoned the accompanying Harald Clark.

The latter question was when the count summoned him. He didn't think that Robert would naturally overwhelm him, but he felt guilty for his deliberate cowardice during the day's battle, and was inevitably nervous about meeting the count.

He cautiously approached the bonfire and asked after greetings: "Robert, is your injury feeling better?"

Ben asked politely, but Robert became furious and pointed at Harald Clark's nose with his free right hand: "Look at the good way you led! Why didn't you tell me earlier that the Russians' arrows were fierce and the ships could not escape?" What about soon? The troops sent to me by the prince have suffered heavy casualties. If they were not the glorious elite of the kingdom, their morale would have collapsed."

"This...how could I have expected this."

"Are you defending?! Sure enough, you, a Danish nobleman, cannot be trusted at all. I just believed your words and attacked rashly. You must be responsible for the losses."

"..." Harald Clark's mind was in a mess. He lowered his head and said nothing. As an old man, being pointed in the face and scolded by a guy who was nearly twenty years younger than him, he could bear such a shame and humiliation.

But Robert was just venting his emotions. He subconsciously covered his left shoulder and reluctantly said, "At least four hundred soldiers were lost. Although many of them were only injured, he must retreat in the next action. I still have to separate." Some troops will assist in the evacuation of the wounded, and some trophies will be escorted to the prince. Including your men, we originally had three thousand troops. After this battle, our strength has been reduced to 2,500 cavalry. As long as two more Three fights like this and we’re done.”

"So, you still need me."

"What else can I do?" Robert smiled bitterly, "You have to provide me with detailed information. Ah! Now I know how Hunter was defeated. The Rus among the Normans are so vicious! Such! The enemy is not something I can defeat quickly."

"So, what's next? Continue to Hamburg?" Harald asked cautiously.

"It must be so. Even if it is full of risks, I must go to Hamburg. Next we must be cautious and never attack rashly. The top priority now is to repair the bridge. I give you a task, and you must do it."

Gu Kao

"What?!"

"You didn't rush during the war, and now you are punished to cut trees. Don't say that cutting trees is tiring, aren't you Danes very good at cutting trees? Go cut down the pine trees immediately, and build the bridge quickly. My cavalry must pass through the Weser River."

"Alright alright……"

The Frankish army had to clean up the mess on the banks of the Weser River. The soldiers who died in the battle were buried on the spot, and the soldiers who were injured and unable to continue fighting were asked to retreat.

Robert's army lingered on the river bank for two days before the bridge for the cavalry team to pass smoothly was laid.

A cavalry team turned back and retreated, dragging vehicles loaded with supplies, wounded, and even ten large iron pots of Saxon refugees.

The Frankish army still had 2,500 cavalry. Due to the incredible casualties they suffered previously, the soldiers were still frightened by the deadly arrows of the Russians. Especially when they stood in the ruins of Bremen in person, looking at the charred black ruins and overgrown grass. Those with sharp eyes could even see the skeletons, and were immediately saddened.

I have long heard that the Norman pirates killed people and looted goods in Bremen. They even burned the city incredibly and even the great St. Peter's Church was destroyed. That was once just a legend. For these Ludwig's elite cavalry who had lived in Bavaria for a long time, they knew very little about pirates.

All legends are now conservative, and the tragedy of the ruins of Bremen is beyond imagination.

The soldiers aroused hatred and intense fear towards the Normans, especially the Russians among them. Because they saw with their own eyes that their companions had no ability to resist those deadly javelins and died suddenly and cowardly. "This kind of thing must never happen to me." Soldiers generally thought this.

To avenge the Normans, everyone now fully believes that many Saxons are indeed colluding with the Normans. I'm afraid that Hamburg has become a pirate den, but the great Charlemagne has passed away. If the scornful team is resurrected, can the Normans still be rampant?

The army passed through the Weser River one after another. Every horseman took off his armor as he crossed the river, and most of them wore only single clothes. Most of them can swim. They looked at the river under their iron hooves and were afraid that they would fall and drown.

It took a whole morning to cross the river. On the afternoon of the fourth day after they arrived at the Weser River, the entire army passed the river. They spent the whole afternoon in the ruins. By the time they continued on their way, Arik's Ross Squadron was already Been on the run for five days.

…

Arik's squadron fled all the way to the mouth of the Weser River, where they rested for the night in a deserted place and took stock of their time. Fortunately, apart from the loss of some small items that were not painful or itchy, the only regret was that the iron pot for cooking wheat was lost.

Early this morning, the fleet set off.

In just one day, the rapidly evacuating Ross Squadron rushed to the Elbe River. In the afternoon, they met their companions who were fishing for herring and cod on a large scale at the mouth of the river. They were notified of the appearance of the Frankish crusade at the first opportunity.

Because everyone has already reached a consensus, the so-called Liudov and the Ross-Danish coalition are making great noise in the north. How could Prince Ludwig just sit back and watch himself being stabbed in the back?

What is very darkly humorous is that it was Liudov who sent the letter for help at that time, and it is Liudov who is now guarding against "Frankish reinforcements".

As the sun was about to set, the fleet staggered to the dock in Hamburg. On the way, Arik also met the team he sent to transport people before. Now the guys don't have to go to Bremen anymore, everything is over.

Arik didn't seem to feel that he had severely damaged the Frank cavalry before. It was the first time for him to see the scene of thousands of cavalry groups attacking. Such a shock was indescribable.

He had just stepped off the boat and explained his experience to anyone he met. In fact, he didn't say much, and kept shouting: "Get ready! The Frankish army has arrived in Bremen."

To be fair, Arik simply issued an enemy attack warning, and he did not want to mess up the Hamburg area.

The fact is that the entire region quickly fell into tension, and the Saxon people suddenly thought of the horror that could not be erased from their souls-Charlemagne's massacre.

In order to avenge Vidukind's restoration of the country, Charlemagne imitated Caesar's method of dealing with the defeated Spartacus and massacred 4,500 Saxon prisoners of war, and also raised a butcher knife against a large number of ordinary Saxon people. Everything was revenge.

History is about to repeat itself! ?

The Russian army, which has experienced hundreds of battles, has fought many wars at the national destiny level. In principle, everyone now is not afraid of the main force of the Frankish army under the leadership of King Rurik himself. In terms of preparing for war, what should be done, and how to do it, the Ross army does not need the king's micro-management guidance, and each flag team can handle their own affairs.

The Russian army was very confident. They never knew what a defeat was, and they achieved many major victories with fewer enemies and more enemies. What's more, the situation this time is even more special. The Ross fleet is crossing the Elbe River. The fleet's total of more than 300 torsion slingshots in good condition gave everyone super confidence. If we take ten thousand steps back, we can say that the enemy is really strong, and the worst possible outcome for the Russian army is to escape by boat.

Frank's fleet didn't exist at all. They didn't even know how to build big ships. At most, they produced a bunch of small boats, which were directly crushed by the hard keel of Ross's big ship. No one can defeat the Russian army on sea, river or lake.

The Russians were like this, and Ragnar and his thousand Danish troops could retreat quickly.

Huge pressure was thrown on Liudov, and news was flying all over the city and outside the city. Because Arik's initial intelligence was vague and mistransmitted, it was added to Liudov's ears by the panicked Saxon people, and the situation suddenly changed.

When Rurik knew about this, he immediately found his elder brother Arik and Konuson Jr., the captain of the Second Flag Team who also went with him, to ask about the situation.

Rurik couldn't figure out the specific situation. What does "Frankish cavalry everywhere" mean? Could it be that their main cavalry came to attack? Really want to fight with hordes of cavalry...

For a moment, Rurik thought of Agincourt. What he thought of was not that Henry VIII relied on longbowmen and dismounted cavalry to defeat the mired French army, but that the French army at that time actually mobilized 12,000 cavalry to launch an attack. Group charge.

Can the current Frankish army also provide 10,000 cavalry? If this is the case, the Ross Army still needs to prepare a retreat plan in advance. As for the retreat, he was sorry for the newly formed alliance and even settled the in-laws of his children, Duke Liudolf of Saxony. The situation is really critical and the Russian army must run away! Rurik is not a benevolent person now. His kindness is based on his absolute advantage. Any so-called goodwill performance is completely a kind of gift.

Rurik knew his situation, and the main force of the Russian army simply could not afford to lose here.

Similarly, Liudov, who had already staked his entire fortune, life and even the glory of his ancestors, and tied the entire Saxon nation to his chariot, could not afford to lose.

The Russian army and the Danish army could run away in critical moments, but Liudov could only fight to the death.

After hearing the rumors, Liu Dou had a strong misjudgment. This misjudgment made him tremble all over, while his wife was already crying in her arms.

The young prince Bruno only found the situation inexplicable, and the younger Alice did not understand it even more.

On the other hand, Regraf, this kid has a strong sense of arrogance. He didn't understand what the main Frank army meant, and he patted his chest and assured his fiancée Alice: "It's just a Frank army, one of them will die. Our Russian arrows can easily kill them."

In fact, Reglaf had no idea about the Kingdom of Mercia. He only knew that his biological mother was the Princess of Mercia. In his heart, he has always positioned himself as a Russian, and what he admires most is his father and grandfather.

Alice doesn't understand war at all, she is just a well-behaved aristocratic girl. The so-called noble is just because of his status, but he is an illiterate. Reglaf was not picky. After all, this was the woman who belonged to him. According to the precepts of God's faith, she was also his only wife in this life. To be fair, the girl looked pretty good. Because she suddenly saw the world, she admired him quite a bit, which greatly satisfied Reglaf's psychological needs.

Indeed, Reglaf's biological mother is dead, and his father Rurik is busy with many important things. His grandparents are old and clearly prefer his eldest sister Velika. In recent years, they have also favored his eldest grandson Osborne Slav.

Although he considers himself a Russian, he is still the King of Mercia. He didn't say anything, but in his heart he longed to be loved.

He was willing to help his fiancée defend the restored Principality of Saxony, but this was not something he could say as a child.

That night, the Hamburg area entered a state of military martial law. The Russian army and the Danish army proved their determination to stick to it with practical actions, and at least put on a alert posture. For example, all Russian ships, including armed cargo ships, stopped all fishing operations, anchored and lined up in double columns on the Elbe River like a wall.

After all, Hamburg is on the north bank of the river, and the Ross battleships form a great wall, with all the torsion slingshots concentrated on one side.

The bridge across the river still exists, and it was heavily guarded. A bridgehead was built at the head of the bridge and bonfires were lit to indicate the direction for the villages on the south bank of the river to retreat overnight.

The Frankish army could of course reach Hamburg without taking this bridge, but otherwise they would have to take a long detour.

These positive measures made Liudov feel relieved. He needed a military meeting, a good talk with Rurik and Ragnar, and begged the two heroes to help him defend Hamburg.

Even if it's a big risk.

Just because of misunderstanding and wrong information, Liudov's constant self-suggestion finally felt that his estimate came true. It was Prince Ludwig who came with the East Frankish Army this time. How many people might they come? At least 20,000 troops! At least five thousand cavalry!

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