Rise of Rurik

Compared with the Franks' war horses with Roman origin, the horses of the Russian army all came from the grasslands. The former is tall and mighty and is good at rushing into formations, while the latter is small and good at long-distance marches.

The cavalry must take advantage of its high mobility. What the Ross cavalry has to do now is to go south to the ruins of Bremen as soon as possible to seize a tactical advantage.

A large number of cavalry gathered inside the wooden walls of Hamburg. Fisk put on a thick white polar bear velvet hat and a white bearskin coat.

All the warriors were quite thickly dressed, and their mounts had longer manes.

The winter climate of the steppes on the lower reaches of the Volga River is even colder than that of Saxony. Horses can adapt to the cold winter in the steppe, and can naturally endure the cold winter in Saxony.

The Russian army still made some preparations. For example, they carried some horses rented by the Saxons purely for transporting food and spare arrows.

General Fisk temporarily eliminated the riders in poor condition from the team, carefully selected 200 riders, and had 50 spare horses.

They passed the battlefield ruins on the other side smoothly along the pontoon bridge, and then headed straight to the forest area in the south.

Sandwiched between Hamburg and Bremen is a large forest area. Although this woodland is mostly pine trees, the large number of heather trees is another feature.

Because this area is close to the Atlantic Ocean, it will be suitable for pioneering wheat cultivation when the global temperature warms up. As the population increased, vast forests were cleared and replaced by dense farmland and a large number of villages and towns.

Today, the population is not large.

Because of the war, a large number of Franks fled south, and a large number of Saxons fled north of the Elbe River.

The vast forest has become a no-man's land, and the small villages dotted in it are empty. The land that was forced to be abandoned in winter is equipped with empty mansions. Wild beasts have resumed their occupation here, and bears and wolves often appear.

It was a bit strange for the tall and strong Fisk to ride a shorter horse. He did not want to stop and stop on the road, so he ordered his troops to continue to advance southward along the Roman road with hardened pavement.

Not long ago, three thousand Frank cavalry rushed northward on this road in the forest, and the traces of horseshoes are still clearly visible.

There were these villages on both sides of the road. Fisk was always vigilant about the conditions of these villages along the way and sent out scouts to find out.

The answer he got was surprisingly consistent - no one was there.

"Everyone must continue to be vigilant. Even if there are no enemies, we must beware of bears and wolves. We must arrive in Bremen as soon as possible and strive to arrive before tomorrow evening! We must get ahead of the navy."

Why run so fast? Now that there is a chance to run faster than the navy, this becomes the reason for the brothers to continue racing.

There is a suitable road from Hamburg to Bremen, which is equivalent to 70 kilometers.

In essence, the Turkic horse owned by the Russian army is a type of Mongolian horse. If Fiske also had a situation of one person and five horses, he would set off from Hamburg early in the morning and arrive at Hamburg as the sun set.

There were no more horses, so the Ross Cavalry slowed down in order to save horsepower.

The essence of deceleration is only relative! The era is, after all, AD 840.

While Fisker regretted that his speed was still not the fastest, he might still lose in the navy race.

They ignored the fact that the Frank army was five times more timid than them.

Because Ludwig, the King of East Francia, could not transfer all his last main force from the south, he still had to beware of his elder brother's sneak attack.

Although there were two thousand cavalry, only more than a thousand of them were standard Frankish heavy cavalry. The so-called two flag troops were transferred to counter the rebellion in the north.

There are also a thousand cavalry that can be described as a patchwork of goods. These cavalry have no or lack of armor and can only be used for harassment and assistance.

These two thousand cavalry were Ludwig's mobile troops, and the rest of the army were all infantry.

In ancient times, Roman legions were jokingly called "mules and horses," which meant that soldiers had to carry their belongings, bedding, square shields, and other supplies on their backs, and march long distances on their feet. The warriors who can do this are all physically strong. A strong body does have a tactical advantage in fighting.

But the entire Frank family used to be a border guard group recruited by Rome. The Frankish nobles knew the tactics of some Roman legions. Unfortunately, Ludwig lacked that kind of capable army, and even now he was seriously short of capital to imitate his grandfather Charlemagne.

One thousand heavy cavalry and five thousand armored heavy infantry were the core of his legion. The remaining staff are largely used as auxiliary personnel.

The armies were uneven and their marching speeds varied greatly.

It was still because of the huge defeat of the heavy cavalry before that Ludwig now resorted to war. He did not necessarily have to expand his nominally 23,000-strong army after passing through Cologne into a circle and advance toward the north.

The army gathered together as much as possible and marched northward toward the Teutoburg Forest in a long snake formation.

The elite troops were in front, and the rest of the troops were behind. The team was dragged into a monster that stretched for thirty kilometers.

The entire army advanced slowly, and those elite troops could still advance 20 kilometers a day, while some follow-up troops were delayed until they could only advance 15 kilometers a day or even slower. Because the follow-up troops had to transport a large amount of living supplies, the transport horses could not be ridden and it was difficult to speed them up.

The elite infantry and cavalry who are marching will not be crazy about wearing armor, and a large number of armors are thrown onto the accompanying carriages. The elites who were temporarily short of armor did not dare to advance because of the report of Earl Robert, who had returned from the defeat. It was said that once the army approached the Weser River, it might encounter a battle.

The East Frankish army successfully arrived at Münster along the road.

Today's Münster is just a small town, and its current name is still called Monastrium, the so-called "church town".

The political significance here is quite special. Münster is the northern edge of the Archbishopric of Cologne, and beyond here is the Saxony region in a broad sense.

The Archbishop of Cologne accompanied the army in a carriage, and he even wore a gold cross with a gilded mother core.

There has never been such a thing in history. Archbishop Hardbold expressed the church's affirmation of Ludwig's military actions in this way.

It can be said that this operation has been regarded as an act of crusade, and people rushed to the northern battlefield with the piety of saints.

Holy is truly holy.

To be fair, Ludwig didn't even want the Archbishop himself to be involved, especially not with the relics.

Although the morale of the army was very high, and even suppressed the fear of the cold winter to a great extent, the archbishop and the holy relics were in the army. If they had any shortcomings, the whole army would encounter another disaster.

For this reason, Ludwig had to be more cautious and arranged an infantry standard unit to guard the bishop and the holy relics.

Thus, he had two cavalry banners and seven infantry banners. The rest of the army was composed of conscripted militiamen and even soldiers led by lower-level nobles.

The military reflects each other's rank, and those elites who are loyal to Ludwig can be said to be superior to others. The armies of lower-level nobles are second-rate, and the militia recruited are in principle the lowest-level, but there are still five thousand special soldiers here.

Five thousand Sorbian slave soldiers, they are a West Slavic people, and their entire family was enslaved after being conquered by the Franks. They were like a flock of sheep whose wool was regularly cut off by the conquerors. They were heavily taxed. When the war broke out, Ludwig did not hesitate to recruit men from the Sorbian people and put them into the army, making them work as the hardest auxiliary workers. When necessary, they could be used as death soldiers to launch desperate charges against the enemy. wait.

While other soldiers at least had simple boots made of hard leather, the Sorbians were mostly barefoot. They walked on the cold ground in early winter, looking for rags and hemp ropes to tie their feet. Once the so-called shoes were worn out, they immediately looked for some rags to replace them.

Faced with such oppression, they are a group of docile sheep? Don’t know how to resist?

His wife and children were all controlled by the Franks. If they resisted, the family members left in the east would be retaliated against.

They were now promised by Ludwig that after the so-called Saxon rebellion was quelled and the hateful Normans were wiped out, the Sorbian soldiers in the army would be rewarded with tax exemptions. Even though they were very touched by such a promise, they actually had no choice but to bite the bullet and eat the worst food to escort military supplies for the Frank army.

Regarding the overall situation of the Frankish army, the Northern Alliance forces can only rely on guesswork to a large extent.

Rurik's attitude affects the attitudes of all allies. He said that the enemy will now invade the north in a large-scale invasion, and everyone is subjectively willing to believe this to be true, and they are even eager to solve all problems through a decisive battle.

So, when Fisk's cavalry rushed all the way to the ruins of Bremen, the Ross cavalry faced a choice.

"Damn it, I didn't see anything." Fisk tightened his grip on the reins and looked around with his teeth bared.

Then the squad leader came over and said, "There don't seem to be any traces of enemies here. It's too quiet."

Soon, the scout cavalry, who had been arranged to investigate the situation, returned on horseback. He clutched his riding whip and pointed in one direction: "We found a bridge ahead. The bridge deck is wide and suitable for cavalry to pass."

"There is a bridge? Are there any enemies?" Fisk asked alertly.

"No. It's too quiet. There are a lot of horse hoof marks there, and even the grass has been trampled away, but there is no smell."

Fisk pinched his beard and thought that all the traces detected were the work of the huge Frank cavalry before. Obviously, the bridge was also repaired by them before.

"Okay." Fisk sighed, "Arik was ordered to destroy the bridge, but they never arrived. Every time our friendly forces arrived, the enemy did not show up. Are we going to stay here like fools?"

The brothers rushed forward in order to seize the opportunity to sneak up on the enemy and catch them off guard.

Looking at the slightly melancholy faces of his brothers under the setting sun, Fisk thought for a while and finally made a bold decision.

The cavalry gathered around him in an arc, waiting for the general's sermon.

But I saw Fisk pointing south: "Brothers, the king ordered us to discover the Frank army and kill them as much as possible before they are prepared! If they don't show up now, we will go find them personally. I want to go directly through the bridge and along the road Take the initiative to attack them. Tell me! Do you dare to do it!?"

Asking like this is simply asking knowingly.

Someone suddenly raised his riding crop and yelled "Ula" loudly.

Hearing this, everyone responded with hurrah.

"Ula" is a special slang term for the elite of the Russian army. It represents the determination to win and fight immediately.

There is nothing left to say.

Fisk waved his hand: "Let's cross the river and spend the night on the other side of the river tonight."

All the elite Ross cavalry crossed the river. Fisk knew very well that doing so was contrary to King Rurik's arrangements. The army really shouldn't stay here and not actively look for fighters, but everyone should consider the consequences of doing so. A very embarrassing problem is that after Arik's fleet arrives at the ruins of Bremen, they are likely to immediately start demolishing the bridge.

If they finish demolishing the bridge and the cavalry guys are still in the south, what if the cavalry retreats later? Without the bridge, the cavalry would not be able to cross the river quickly unless the Weser River froze.

A relatively wide river is often a natural chasm. It is not that the expeditionary army cannot cross it. Some small boats can carry a small number of soldiers across the river. How can an army of tens of thousands of people be formed? The Weser River in the dry season is still relatively wide. Perhaps there is a shoal in the upper reaches that can be waded directly. Fisk, who does not have a precise understanding of the terrain structure, knows very well that what he is doing now is taking a risk.

But considering the potential benefits, the risk is worth it.

So when the cavalry left early the next morning, some wooden boards found in the ruins were deliberately engraved with text.

The characters are not Roman letters, but actual traditional Nordic rune letters. Fisker ordered his men to scratch a large number of wooden boards with meat-cutting daggers to indicate the movements of the cavalry units. In order to prove that it was indeed the work of friendly forces, some slang that only old Russians understand is engraved on it, so there is no need to worry about Arik not being able to understand it.

A large number of wooden boards with inscriptions on them are scattered on both sides of the bridge head, and are even fixed at a higher position.

Maybe that's not obvious enough? So a round shield painted in a mixture of blue and white was placed in a conspicuous place, and a small Russian flag was firmly hung on a newly cut branch, and then deeply planted on the bridge head.

Now, the Ross cavalry had passed the Weser River and was advancing further south.

One side is dilly-dallying, and the other side is maintaining a momentum of dashing forward.

Ludwig still had to accommodate his slow troops, and was forced to make the leading legion not dare to get too far away from the main force.

After they arrived in Münster, they took a major rest here, so-called waiting until all follow-up troops arrived before continuing to move forward. After all, for a large number of infantrymen who have been marching on foot for many days, they should pause their actions to take a rest, even if it is just for a day.

Ludwig took the opportunity to discuss military countermeasures with his generals and nobles.

Archbishop Hardbold of Cologne hurried to say a mass in Münster.

…

But the Ross cavalry was on its way to the south. Because the "Road to Hell" became smoother and smoother as it went south and penetrated deeper into Frankish territory, all the soldiers were extremely excited.

Brothers can rob homes without restraint, set fires under orders, cause killings under orders, and can even strike at ownerless cattle and sheep. Even if they can't move them away, they can't leave them to the enemy.

Such systematic persecution of the Franks would not have happened if Rurik had not ordered it. The best Fisk and his men could do was to move the piracy to land, and to carry out systematic destruction was unnecessary, but they had to do it when they were ordered to do so.

Their first task is to find the Frank army and at least kill them. For example, a sneak attack on the Frankish villages around the main road was something to do in principle, but it was not the first task.

They continued to advance at a high speed, and did plunder a Frankish village on the roadside along the way.

It was a small village with a population of less than a hundred people.

Just like the Mongolian cavalry passing through the border, Fisk issued an order to kill without mercy, and the soldiers strictly implemented it. Some people who did not need to be killed died under the Russian steel swords, or were shot by arrows. Even the livestock raised by the villagers were killed. The legs of the lamb were deliberately cut off by the Russian warriors and hung on the horses as food that could be roasted later. It was not impossible to eat them raw to satisfy hunger.

Another batch of wheat was seized, and the soldiers each supplemented it with some oats and fed their horses unscrupulously.

They further set fire to the village, and all the wheat that cannot be taken away will be turned into carbon powder, and the dead bodies will also be turned into blackened bones.

The firelight at night made the clouds shine, and this special scene directly attracted the attention of a monastery.

Osnabruck is a small town built around a monastery.

This city despised the first monastery built by Charlemagne in Saxony. It also used this place as the first center of Catholic faith in Saxony, where the so-called bishop's seat was located.

After that, the bishop's seat continued to move north, and St. Peter's Cathedral was built in the emerging city of Bremen, and the bishop's seat moved here.

The Archbishop of the North, where Saxony is located, is the Archbishop of this term, the northern saint Eskil. Due to the current chaos in the northern region, Eskil's value has become extremely important. He still has a lot of things to do, so he can only When his life ends, Rome will choose another person to take over.

Osnabrück has the first monastery in Saxony and is also the starting point for spreading the Catholic faith throughout Saxony. Now, although the entire Saxony region has converted to God, the situation has become complicated this year. Many people cannot escape, and Osnabrück is also panic-stricken.

Local priests called on the people not to listen to rumors and to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their devout faith.

Because it is a holy land, there are no local armed forces, and the nearby nobles will not go crazy and attack the monastery.

She was a completely undefended town, so on an ordinary early winter morning, a group of strange cavalrymen wearing white velvet hats with high tops that protected their entire faces rushed toward them with swords and bows raised.

Towns were destroyed, people were massacred, and the cavalry even launched a pursuit, killing some who fled into the sparse woodland.

All the priests were killed, and all the gold and silver utensils in the monastery were taken away. As for things that cannot be taken away, they must be burned.

Fisk was not mentally touched by this attack, and his brothers became more and more cold-blooded due to the killing, and any psychological concerns they had before disappeared.

The wooden monastery burst into flames, and all the haystack dwellings were deliberately set on fire. The town under the blazing fire was littered with dead bodies, and the whole scene was like a hell on earth...