Rise of Rurik

In the cracks of the northern forest, a cavalry team moved south quickly.

After confirming that they were at the rear of the Frankish march, the Ross cavalry led by Fisk was in no hurry to pursue.

At least, they think they have touched the enemy's tail, and the enemy knows nothing about it.

But when it comes to the Frankish army, King Ludwig heard the report of the withdrawn light cavalry. He made a judgment based on the existing information, and the entire army entered a state of combat readiness.

A large number of soldiers immediately put on armor, and all the main battle soldiers headed straight to the town of Osnabrück as fast as possible.

The enemy not only burned down the town and killed people everywhere, but also arrogantly used it as a place for decisive battle?

To be fair, there is a large open area in the forest, which can indeed be used as a fighting field.

Ludwig very much hoped to solve the problem in the north through a decisive battle, preferably in a day or two. The supplies he carried were heavy, but he couldn't hold them for a long time. If the war drags on until January next year, which is the coldest period of the year, continuing to waste time in the north is really asking for death.

He even had the thought that his move was simply to vent his anger, to forcefully send troops regardless of the unfavorable season, and that he was facing risks from the moment he sent out troops.

The arrow has been fired, and it cannot look back. The army has no way to retreat, and this war must have a result.

In his heart, he longed for a decisive battle as early as possible, so he thought that Osnabrück was the place for the decisive battle. Although the enemy is likely to be hiding in the woods waiting for work, Ludwig feels that his military advantage is huge, and the soldiers are already very angry. In the decisive battle, the army with high morale will definitely be able to overcome many disadvantages and use powerful troops to crush the arrogance. of the Normans.

The sun shines through the gaps in the trees on this straight Roman road.

Heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, they are the legendary "iron men". The six thousand armored warriors were Ludwig's absolute main force, a force he was proud of, and the basis for him to maintain his political status in the civil war.

Because Ludwig never coveted the title of "People's Emperor of Rome", Lothair, the king of the Middle Kingdom and the eldest brother, could continue to hold this title and continue to control the capital Aachen.

What he and his younger brother Charlie want is for his elder brother to acknowledge his late father's will, so-called implementation of the three-part world.

Ludwig is now gambling with his own power. If this army is defeated, the Eastern Kingdom will have no elite soldiers available, let alone the capital to fight a civil war with his elder brother.

But you must not be timid! If the Saxon rebellion was ignored and the Norman invasion turned a deaf ear, it would not only force the Archbishop of Cologne to support the Middle Kingdom, but also cause the Countess of Flanders, which was already sitting on the fence, to defect. Yes, Ludwig actually knew that Baudouin from Flanders was just like his father, a man with ulterior motives who manipulated both sides.

The soldiers marched quickly with an attitude of decisive battle. The heavily armored legions rushed to the battlefield quickly, and the heavy cavalry took the lead to clear the way.

Following closely behind were the unarmored peasant soldiers who mostly held shields and spears, and their speed was slower than the former.

At the end were the Sorbian slave soldiers who escorted the baggage.

Even on smooth roads, this large army must be disconnected from each other during a long march.

Then, as the heavily armored troops entered the open area one after another, they saw towns that continued to burn and obvious traces of the battlefield, while the baggage troops managed by the Sorbians were still lingering in the rear.

Ludwig himself rode on horseback and boldly led the heavy cavalry straight into the Burning Land.

A horrifying scene soon emerged.

His heart was beating wildly, his brows were clenched tightly and his teeth were about to break.

The head was stuck on the ground on a wooden branch, and an iron sword was stuck beside it. Such a masterpiece must be the work of an enemy, it is both a deterrent and a mockery.

"Who did it? Ahhh!"

The king looked up to the sky and shouted filial piety, and ordered his men to collect the bloody corpses.

Seeing this horrific scene, all the soldiers felt a strong desire for revenge.

As the sunlight grows dimmer, the surrounding forest becomes ghostly.

The infantrymen did not dare to disperse further after entering this open area. Ludwig also ordered them to form a dense formation as a unit of 100 men, keeping alert and observing changes in the surroundings.

They were determined to wait for the enemy's reward until nightfall, when they would temporarily lower their guard.

The Frankish army continued to advance, and the peasant soldiers finally began to enter the open space. However, conditions began to arise in the rear.

How much can a cavalry team of only 200 people accomplish?

Their military strength seems to be small, but under special circumstances, they may be able to achieve quite outrageous results.

At this moment, Fisk led all the cavalry and extremely boldly lined up the column on the Roman road, advancing in an orderly manner in a fast marching pattern.

This was not the first time that he was so bold. The young cavalry warriors, led by Fisk, had their bucklers on their backs for a while, and the quivers on both sides of the saddle were filled with arrows. No one was carrying a spear, only steel swords at their waists and recurve bows in their hands.

Fisk is not yet sure of his current precise situation, but he believes that he is behind the enemy based on the traces left on the ground. Now is a good time for a sneak attack.

The cavalry continued to advance, and soon noticed the vast scene ahead.

The soldiers took a closer look and saw that it was actually a long motorcade? ! Everyone was shocked and didn't know what to do for a while.

At the critical moment, it was Fisk who stabilized everyone's emotions and ordered everyone: "Hold your bows! Draw your swords! Charge over as quickly as possible!"

The brothers had orders, they knew the risks, but no one cared.

The steel swords glowed orange in the setting sun, and the iron helmets they put on also reflected intensely.

The soldiers and horses were already a little tired. Now a huge fighter plane was in front of them. The brothers decided to fight the second battle of the day.

The Ross cavalry began their charge.

At first, it was just a trot of war horses. Fisk expected to wait until a suitable distance before launching a strong attack.

However, they had clearly exposed themselves, but the enemy behaved rather stupidly.

"Strange, can't they see me?" Fisk was confused. As the cavalry was about to engage in battle, those in front actually made extremely outrageous actions.

I saw a large number of people holding short spears or with empty hands, and they hurriedly hid on both sides of the road as if they had received an order. Only the carriage was on the road.

The "Road to Hell" can be traced back to the war road built by Augustus during his conquest of Germania. It was built in strict accordance with the standard width. The so-called five "Roman Steps" were built, and its width has reached the equivalent of seven meters. a bit more.

Such a spacious road is enough for four infantrymen to advance side by side at the same time, or even two baggage carriages to drive side by side.

As time passed and Rome fell, the "Road to Hell" was further extended by Charlemagne's order, and he tried his best to imitate the Romans' road construction methods. Although he did not learn the technology of advanced pavement, he did understand the craft of tamping it again. It became almost the only way for Charlemagne to conquer and rule the north, and now it is the only way for Ludwig to counter the rebellion.

It can still run two carriages side by side, now in single file mode.

Those hurriedly standing on both sides of the road were the Sorbian slave soldiers. They hurriedly gave way to the cavalry under the order of the accompanying Frank captain.

The cavalry, wearing helmets, walked swaggering, and the dim sunset obscured a large number of them. The Franks in the front queue naturally thought that this was friendly cavalry. In other words, they believed that only the Franks had cavalry in Western Europe. As for the Sorbian slave soldiers, they were forced to fight. In their perception, the Frankish cavalry were all masters who could not be messed with. If they did not want to be trampled to death by horses' hooves, they had better give way quickly.

However, what awaits these people is ruthless killing...

Fisker took the lead in shouting slogans.

"Ula!"

This was the signal to kill, and he led the charge with his sword raised above his head.

All cavalry entered attack mode and contact had occurred.

The sharp steel sword slashed the unsuspecting Sorbians, and Captain Frank who was among them was also beheaded.

Fisk slashed left and right, and then ordered the war horse to move forward.

The Russian cavalry was like a ruthless sickle, cutting down two standing wheats one after another.

Many people were hacked to death and injured inexplicably, and the rest heard screams and huge roars from behind. What they did immediately was not to form a formation and prepare for battle, but to run away under the leadership of a leader.

After all, a large number of Sorbian men were recruited. They did not want to fight a civil war with the Franks, let alone fight with the Saxons in the north for Falak's rule. They even envied the Saxons for their brave rebellion.

Unfortunately, the Sorbians have no ability to rebel.

They saw that it was actually a group of cavalry that was killing them wantonly. The leading figures didn't care too much and shouted: "Escape to the forest!"

Even though Frank's captain was roaring with all his strength, asking these slave soldiers to immediately resist this inexplicable attack. But who will listen?

Since the Franks conquered the entire Sorbian tribe with the Iron Horse and Jinge, it is reasonable for the Sorbian people to have a deep fear of cavalry.

So, when the Ross cavalry continued to attack, all they saw was the scene of poorly dressed enemies running around under the setting sun. They ran into the forest on both sides of the road one by one, so it was really impossible to kill them.

Fisk had no time to care about the fugitives. He wanted to follow the order of King Rurik. Whether it was killing the enemy or killing the enemy's livestock, whatever the enemy had could be taken away, and if it could not be taken away, destroy it.

Any verbal orders became useless in the chaotic battle. Both the enemy and his own people were shouting, so Fisk set an example for his brothers with his own actions.

He's killing the enemy's horse!

Give the enemy's horse a sword, even a wound is enough.

The Franks' baggage carriages and horses suffered varying degrees of blows. Some horses immediately knelt down and twitched and neighed after being injured. Some horses were not seriously injured and started running around, such as pulling a cart of goods and diving into the nearby forest.

There were as many as five thousand Sorbian slave soldiers. They seemed to be powerful, but they turned out to be a ragtag group. This is not because they are really inferior, but because everyone does not want to sacrifice their lives for the Franks, they really cannot participate in this battle.

The killings of the Ross cavalry aroused collective fear among the Sorbians. They gave away a large amount of Frankish supplies, especially a large amount of military rations and tent materials.

The Ross cavalry had already killed through the Sorbian queue in front of them without even using a single soldier. Their steel swords were dripping with blood, but the brothers continued to advance.

On the other hand, looking at the entire road, the enemy had already completely escaped, and it was really boring for the brothers to pursue them into the forest.

Fisk urgently ordered: "Continue to attack and continue to expand the results!"

…

The movement behind is lively, but the movement in front is even more lively!

A distinguished man is caught in a strange dilemma.

Archbishop Hadbold heard the noise in the rear, but he did not think it was an enemy attack. Out of his piety for his faith, he also had compassion for the Sorbians in the army.

The entire Sorbian tribe had been converted, and matters such as imposing heavy taxes on them were King Ludwig's business. Hardbold was very concerned about whether these people were pious to God.

He himself, accompanied by many young priests, sat in a creaking carriage to escort the holy relic of the gilded cross.

"What happened next?" he asked casually impatiently. The carriage without a shock-absorbing system made his hips very uncomfortable, and he was now quite mentally exhausted. It was said that there was enemy sentiment, and such a big thing could not make the Archbishop feel better.

No one gave him a specific answer, and even the entire Frankish heavy infantry standard escorting him remained calm.

Until no one could ignore the sudden appearance of the cavalry from behind.

The entire heavy infantry standard force numbered nearly 800 people. This behemoth was only ordered to protect the archbishop himself.

They all wore chain mail and a layer of cowhide and riveted iron armor on their torso. Upon receiving the order from King Ludwig, the soldiers escorting the archbishop immediately marched in heavy armor.

The armor reflects the metallic luster, and their team is also in order.

Fisk, who had already killed the Sorbian queue, saw this and immediately raised his sword, and the Ross cavalry who followed them stopped for a moment.

Now, the situation was very embarrassing.

On one side are the Ross cavalry who are full of evil spirit and whose steel swords are dripping with blood.

On one side were the Frankish heavy infantry who were wearing heavy armor but did not know where they were.

However, the large golden cross standing on the carriage was too conspicuous, and Fisk and his brothers stared straight at it.

Launch a cavalry charge? No! Killing those guys' baggage convoy has already consumed a lot of energy on the war horses.

Fisk immediately ordered: "Change the bow! Bring in some people, dismount and shoot!"

Although the red-eyed Fisk did not dare to continue charging, he still dared to stand here in formation and fight with an enemy many times his own.

Obviously, before the fight, they were determined to give full play to their arrow advantage.

Shooting has begun.

The Frankish heavy infantry who had not yet reacted suddenly encountered some precise attacks. Their unprotected faces were hit by clusters of pointed arrows, which even penetrated their skulls and killed them instantly.

Only then did the Frank army put the tower shield on their faces, and they also began to form a collective formation to form a shield wall.

The arrows hit their shields mercilessly. These wooden shields were penetrated one after another, but they could not go any further.

The grassland recurve bow encountered a real heavily armored enemy, and the Russian army's arrow rain became more and more intensive. In this cramped battlefield, after suffering a lot, the Farak heavy infantry stabilized the line and even began to push back.

Undoubtedly, Fisk was shocked: "Archery is useless?"

Some subordinates questioned: "Boss, it's useless to continue like this! Or should we disperse them?"

"No! The horses are too tired. If we charge forward, we are seeking death!" Although he didn't want to admit that he didn't have the advantage, Fisk had to make a decision in the face of the current situation.

"Forget it! Let's go! The brothers who are dismounted immediately mount their horses and retreat!"

So, with the arrows out of cover, the Ross cavalry retreated hastily. They fired many arrows that missed and quickly withdrew from the battlefield without increasing the results.

This time it had an unexpected effect.

When there was a loss, he flew past Archbishop Hadbold. By chance, one of his subordinate priests was hit in the back by the loss and penetrated the heart.

Seeing that his men were dead, he was so frightened that he didn't care about his dignity, his mind suddenly became refreshed, and his tired body was as flexible as a monkey. Regardless of his age, he jumped out of the carriage in a hurry, rolled and crawled under the shaft of the carriage and hugged him tightly. head.

Even the Bishop of Utrecht dared to carry the black wooden cross and go straight to the Russian army in the posture of a martyr. On the contrary, the noble Archbishop of Cologne did nothing.

It wasn't until the strange cavalry left that the Archbishop escaped from under the hidden wheel, pulled by the heavy infantry soldiers.

He slapped himself hard and kept crossing himself on his chest to calm his wildly beating heart.

However, when I looked up at the holy object, I saw an arrow stuck on the golden cross!

"Ah! Holy object!"

A young priest pulled out the missing arrow with his own hands, and saw an obvious hole in the cross. After all, this is a thin sheet of iron plated with gold and then covered on a wooden stick. The so-called holy object is just the archbishop's wishful thinking. But people talk about it too much, and things that are not sacred objects have become sacred objects.

Seeing that a hole had been drilled into the sacred object by the enemy, the Archbishop suddenly felt huge humiliation mixed with intense fear, and he actually fainted...

On the other hand, the Ross cavalry walked away without any losses. Fisk hadn't figured out what to do next, but since he couldn't run along this straight road, there was still a way to return to the north.

The Ross cavalry once passed through the baggage convoy that had been passed over. This time it was their ruthless attack. Although they saw some people running to the road to see the situation, these people who showed up ran back to the woods in fear. Entering the forest to hunt them down? No! What should I do if I get tricked by these guys?

"This must be a convoy transporting supplies to the enemy! Continue to destroy! Kill their livestock and destroy their wheels!"

It is difficult to destroy the wheel, but it is easy to kill the horse that pulls the cart. There is no need to kill the horses at all. Some warriors do this, taking a few arrows to cut off the shackles of the enemy's horses that have not been killed or injured and seem to be very stupid, then put a rope on them and lead them away directly.

This kind of skillful and courageous warrior is none other than the Pechenegs in the army. They didn't want to kill the precious horses, so it was better to keep the intact horses to transport supplies.

In this way, Fisk no longer questions the killing. Those frightened horses naturally couldn't do anything. They couldn't get the enemy, let alone the enemy, so they just cut a horse's leg and ignored it.

As many as thirty horses that were timid or too docile were pulled away. Except for the groaning enemies who fell to the ground and the neighing injured horses, no one interfered with the Russian army's looting.

They grabbed some oats and intact cloth, led the captured horses and drove away, leaving chicken feathers on the ground.

As for the way forward, Fisker has no new ideas for the time being. What is certain is that if you continue to go north, you have a high probability of encountering a large enemy force. It is no longer effective to deal with those heavy infantry with just your own strength. It is better to...

An evil and terrifying plan was brewing in this young man's heart.

"The king asked me to cause as much massacre as possible in the Frankish territory, and I will kill them to show the king!"

Who knows how far south this avenue can extend? Anyway, there are targets everywhere, just for the brothers to kill and loot.

Who worries about danger? After the brothers are all old Rus, no matter how bad they are, he is also a leader among the Slavs, and he is also a senior Pecheneg rider who is good at running wildly on the prairie.

Now the longships have been replaced by war horses, and the south is not entirely full of unknowns. After all, Fisk participated in the military meeting before departure and knew the important information provided by Ragnar.

Fisker even carried a small folded cardboard map. Even though it was very rudimentary, the main geographical structures of half of Western Europe were clearly marked.

This Roman road is marked on the map. In the south is a large city called Cologne, and there is a long river called the Inn.

According to Ragnar, many villages in the south are rich, and what he calls wealth is gold and silver coins. Ragnar can retreat unscathed, and so can the cavalry.

A fire ignited in the hearts of the brothers. They were willing to make a fortune with their boss, and they didn't see anything wrong with continuing their adventure south.

It’s not the first adventure anyway.