Rise of Rurik

Latest website:

What will happen over there in Thionville? A bloody battle or an easy victory?

Rurik was convinced that the Blue Fox team would definitely win. As for the price the Jotalans would pay, as long as those guys didn't suffer heavy losses.

The Russian army was still accumulating strength in the rear. Rurik considered Metz, his major strategic target at this stage, and there was a high possibility that heavy Frank troops were stationed in Metz.

It is said that the riverside plain there is quite wide, and although there are many waterways, every small river can be forded.

The plain is large and can gather large armies. It is convenient for the Russian army to attack the city and for the enemy to gather reinforcements.

A large number of arrows and javelins arrived in Trier from the rear, and the two torque trebuchets were also undergoing very critical inspection and maintenance. The Russian army is still preparing for possible severe siege battles and large-scale personnel field battles.

Even the work of transporting supplies inland from the mouth of the Rhine is still going on, including storable vegetables (mainly cabbage and yellow-root carrots), dry peas and oats from the Netherlands, cheese, coarse grains from Flanders, etc. Making table salt, as well as dried fish and meat made by various northerners at the river mouth, all kinds of supplies were once again thrown onto the longboat.

The leader of the Ross community at the mouth of the river is Red Fox, the fourth direct son of the Gould family.

This little fat man and Admiral Gotlund are responsible for transporting special supplies to the Russian army. They must transport them once a month, and each time they transport special necessary supplies.

The Ross coalition has always had no shortage of military rations, mainly wheat. They have always maintained adequate logistics through war plunder. In addition, the basin where Coblenz is located is also a small granary. With the food in hand, the 10,000-person army has no worries.

Then it is logical to pursue eating better.

As peas from the Netherlands began to arrive, this auxiliary ingredient began to be added to the most important wheat porridge in the soldiers' diet. The herring that has been baked extremely dry has also become extremely shelf-stable, and is also added to wheat porridge to make a salty surimi.

The most critical special material is salt.

When the blood sodium and potassium levels in the blood vessels of soldiers are high, and they fight in the harsh winter, they have explosive power and endurance far superior to their enemies. This advantage in cold weapon combat is very crucial.

As for the horses that died after the war, the coalition forces did not waste the fresh meat. They processed the horse meat on a large scale before it rotted. Even though the texture of horse meat was extremely rough, there were not many opportunities to eat red meat in the northern world. Warriors who were good at chewing hard food gave priority to horse meat. .

Naturally, there are fools who even dare to eat horse liver, causing vitamin A poisoning and death, becoming a special non-combat attrition.

Roasted lamb liver is delicious, but eating roasted horse liver is suicide, which forced Rurik to order the entire army not to eat horse offal.

The edible parts of the hundreds of horses that were killed were roasted on a large scale, and the skins were not wasted. After the surface fat was scraped off, they were used as buckler skins, just to strengthen defense in possible future battles.

It's almost December, and the processed horsemeat hasn't been eaten yet. Trier once used horse meat to make bacon on a large scale. Even if it is only roasted, the cooked meat is very durable in cold environments. If it is salted and smoked, it can be stored until the following spring.

Today, the Russian coalition is still consuming this horse meat.

There was good food and drink every day, and the Ross Army focused on resting in late November in Trier. It was in this eating and drinking that they ushered in December, which is also the month of Hanukkah.

"We will conquer Metz, seize its wealth, and celebrate Hanukkah in the city!"

The slogans were shouted loudly, and the soldiers were convinced that the expedition would be successful. Maybe now it was time to think about how to distribute the spoils.

Most of the fighters had gained some weight because they ate too much, and started teasing each other about their belly fat. They did not neglect their training, and everyone felt that their physical condition had reached its peak.

In this state, they welcomed the messenger from the direction of Thionville.

Rurik was shocked. Of course he knew that the Blue Fox would win, but he never expected that the Jotalans would win without a single blow.

There were indeed defenders and a large number of villagers in the area, but because Blackbird was an old friend of the local garrison leader and the abbot, the girl persuaded her to go there.

After that the entire settlement surrendered. In other words, the local people declared their allegiance to the little Frankish princess and then to the County of Gothenburg in order to avoid war.

"Simply the most wonderful outcome, Thionville will be my new base. A perfect base for a garrison."

With the arrival of the latest batch of supplies, the amount of crude sea salt in the hands of the coalition forces has reached an alarming level. The soldiers were all surprised by the astonishing rate of salt production when boiling salt in the Atlantic Ocean. As long as there was food and salt, Rurik finally decided to issue an order to go out.

The Rus' army was well prepared, Ragnar's reinforcements also arrived, and the Danes returned to a thousand men.

The entire Trier camp took action, and the Moselle River was once again covered with long boats.

The action begins!

After a great sacrifice, ten reindeer sacrificed their blood to the gods and the Moselle River.

It seems that every key river has a god, even if this is the hinterland of the Frankish world. The Russian coalition forces, which have gathered various northern forces and Eastern European forces, just offer sacrifices indiscriminately, and the whole army will feel at ease before the war.

Their morale was high, and the entire army advanced by land and water.

Each flag team formed several groups on the river in a mighty manner. The cavalry regiments on the shore also moved forward in an extremely orderly manner according to the formation of their respective flag teams.

The peasants from Coblenz in Nassau and the captured militiamen, a total of more than 2,000 people, also followed the march. They dragged carts and the baggage reindeer brought by the ship (for food if necessary) to walk on foot. The posture followed the cavalry and slowly advanced.

This is really a coalition with extremely complex composition.

Two local knights from Nassau joined the war with their limited mounted retinue.

The down-and-out court earl and his son of Siegburg also brought limited cavalry to join the war. After all, they were not stupid. Even if the down-and-out earl felt that acting with the Norman nobles was detrimental to their honor, interests were interests, and the family hoped to change forever through some opportunities. With the family's fate in ruins, this opportunity cannot be given up.

Gilbert, Count of Ramongo, who was once captured, is now in charge of a thousand captured civilians, which is nominally his army. He regained his freedom and declared war on Emperor Lothair. A coordinated attack with Rurik would be the most complete declaration of declaration, but he did not have to fight Metz's army directly.

The captured Count Eberhard of Jülichgau was treated similarly, but unfortunately he is now almost a polished veteran.

Only the captured Archbishop of Liège, Hatega, remained as hard as a rock. No one thought that this man would betray. Even if he betrayed Rurik, they would not see the use of an archbishop who had no power at present. Taking this man into the army was a last resort, and he was not put in a cage and dragged around. It was his mercy to leave, but Rurik still intended to leave it to Ludwig after all this was over.

So, was this a Norman army or a Crusaders?

Flags were flying in the army, including the Ross flag with blue stripes on a white background, the Danish flag with an abstract raven, and a large number of cross flags with black stripes on a white background.

Following them were girl priests from Rus and priests from Nassau and Coblenz.

Rurik fought under the high-sounding banner of assisting Ludwig, Duke of Bavaria.

A team of 10,000 people was advancing in the valley. They spent the night in the mountains. Widespread bonfires formed shining fire dragons along the river, and the clouds in the sky were burned red again.

They did not need to use the bonfire trick at all, because there were too many troops, and the colder December had to make the bonfires more vigorous. So to the Gautalan garrison in Thionville, it seemed that there was a forest fire due north.

Blue Fox and his people knew very well that it was a good omen for King Rus to move south in a big way, and the local villagers were very frightened.

If it weren't for the reminder of the blue fox, Pepin, the abbot of Saint-Maximin's Monastery, would have thought that the earth opened a crack and all the devils in hell came out.

Of course, since it was the legendary scene of 10,000 Norman soldiers lighting bonfires, it was no different from the appearance of monsters from hell.

Because the Norman army apparently exercised restraint at Thionville, it was only because of the strong purpose of the Norman nobles that they did not go around killing people.

The three ships went to Metz, and when they returned they brought with them a load of plunder, and some weeping or numb village women.

Ingvar returned with the loot, and he happily told everyone about his experience outside Metz.

This guy broke the agreement and took prisoners, which made the Gothenburg soldiers very angry. It is said that the people of Wienerstad can capture prisoners, so why can’t the people of Gothenburg? My own earl is a little unfair in this regard.

For a while, a dispute broke out between Blue Fox and Gorm.

Gorm also had something to say: "Since you have declared that all the villagers in Thionville are from your county of Gothenburg, why shouldn't I go to Metz to capture some prisoners?"

This made Lan Hu choked up and had nothing to say, so he just ignored it and didn't bother to mention it again.

Anyway, Metz will be breached and the city will be occupied. So what will be the fate of the large number of people in the city?

Killed? Deportation? Caught and sold into slavery?

Blue Fox knew that he had no right to decide, and that King Ross had the power of life and death.

He knew that his biggest task now was to sort out the intelligence from Injivar, and the second was to wait for the king's master.

But it was said that Injivar and his one hundred brothers were unable to attack the city, but they still went to the city to show off their power.

Injivar ransacked five small villages and captured some villagers. As for the escapees, he didn't bother to chase them.

They found that a lot of food could not be taken away at all, so they simply burned the houses together with them.

At one time, five large fire spots appeared outside Metz, which quickly aroused the horrific memory of the summer war among the people who fled into the city.

The new situation must be even worse than in the summer. No one believed the new refugees who had fled into the city that there were only a hundred Norman bandits. There must be ten thousand people behind them. What the Luxembourg refugees said before was true.

Drogo, Archbishop of Metz, was completely in fear, and none of his soldiers dared to go out of the city to find the Norman arsonists to fight.

The armed men walked up to the city wall with bows, arrows and large stones to observe the development of the situation. They began to be wary of the enemy's highly likely siege. The archbishop also sent out horse-riding messengers to rush across the stone bridge like wind, just to attack the nearest Burgundian army. Please help.

The entire Metz garrison had no so-called morale. They relied entirely on stone walls and harsh winters to maintain a sense of security.

Winter should be a period of truce, especially from December to January, where there is a high probability of heavy snowfall. After the snow, the weather will quickly warm up. Melting snow will make the world a muddy place. It will be difficult for war horses to move and it will be difficult for infantry to move in such an environment. How to fight?

It is a pity that the Archbishop of Metz and the Archbishop of Trier who took refuge did not know that the Russians liked to do the opposite. Winter was exactly what the northerners thought was the time for a war.

Ingvar decisively went to the city to show off his power. The Norse language they spoke was incomprehensible to the locals, but the threats and intimidation in their words were understood by all the defenders.

No, the defenders standing on multiple arrow towers fired arrows hard at this group of Jotalans. Because they stood at a high place, the arrows shot by their short wooden bows had a longer range, and their lethality was also greater with the help of gravity. bigger.

However, the Jotalans occupied the position loosely and attacked and harassed their companions. Ingivar was still startled. He stumbled and fell to the ground, and he rolled and crawled to avoid it. Unexpectedly, the defenders' bows and arrows were out of range. underestimate.

Seeing the Normans retreating like pigs and dogs, the defenders raised their middle fingers one after another and cursed each other while laughing.

Ingvar could not understand the Frankish language either, but everyone could understand the insulting gestures and the sarcasm in his words.

So after some time, some frightened captured villagers were carried to the city. The innocent villagers were killed in public. Injivar even carried his bloody head in front of the public. At this time, the mockers in the city stopped laughing and turned around. But various emotions such as fear, anger, and surprise.

Only they did not dare to send some soldiers out of the city to fight for revenge, so they watched the Normans vent their anger and walk away.

The defenders waited until he disappeared from sight before lowering the rope and sending the man down the stone wall to collect the body of the murdered victim.

The fact is that the gate has been blocked. After the four-wheeled vehicle took off its wheels, the vehicle sank.

The heavy earthbag stones were integrated with the stone wall, and the people in the city became a huge refugee camp. They boasted that the gate was as indestructible as the stone wall. With such a sense of security, it was impossible to send a team of soldiers to fight immediately.

Ingvar informed Blue Fox about this experience, and that Metz City has taken defensive measures will be submitted to King Ross as important information.

Although, Blue Fox felt that the defenders' measures were purely futile and stubborn resistance.

Ross's fleet arrived before the cavalry, and large armies landed at Thionville.

This place is only ten kilometers away from Metz in a straight line. Although the city cannot be seen due to the forest cover, it is not a problem for the majority of infantry to walk there on foot.

Rurik arrived here, and he could see with the naked eye that the settlements under the mountain had indeed not been damaged.

As for the locals…

He met with the surrendered garrison leader Aroves and Abbot Pepin.

He had nothing to say to such a little person like Rurik. A few gentle words were enough to recognize their surrender at the king's level.

With the arrival of the cavalry and accompanying civilians, the coalition forces were completely assembled in Thionville. Only a few sick and wounded remained in Trier at the rear. In the Coblenz camp further behind, there were not many left in the area. Soldiers and villagers returned to their ordinary lives.

What did ten thousand armored Norman warriors who could fight mean?

In this era when the total population was not large, 10,000 soldiers already accounted for one thousandth of Frank's population at its peak.

When Charlemagne was still alive, he devoted all his efforts to conquer the Avars. In addition to deploying 150,000 troops to guard the northern border with Iberia, he led 50,000 elite troops to the eastern front.

As a European monarch, Charlemagne could only lead so many troops to wage war.

His grandsons went even more extreme in conscription. Little Alsace now has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. As for the combat effectiveness of these armies, a large number of civilian spearmen from peasant backgrounds filled the army, and the ratio of armored warriors suddenly became very low. , and suddenly Frank's military level returned to the tribal era five hundred years ago.

The war has made some countries and tribes poorer and poorer. The conflicts between princes have started ten years ago. Years of uninterrupted wars have made both sides continue to intensify their efforts. The great nobles must choose sides. The intensity of the war has gradually increased, and the great nobles cannot Then sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight.

Count Metz and his army suffered extremely heavy losses. Count Adalbert himself had died in the battle. The once prosperous city of Metz became a huge refugee camp surrounded by stone walls, and outside the city was the overwhelming Norman army.

There are only two worried archbishops in the city, the count's youngest son, a naive boy who has no knowledge of large-scale wars, and the old countess who is so frightened that she can only get a night of peace by kneeling in the monastery and praying.

Rurik attached great importance to the intelligence of the young general Ingivar. As far as the eye could see, there was no enemy army in Metz, only an isolated city standing on the riverside plain.

The city has taken some necessary defensive measures, and there are at least ten simple wooden arrow towers, which will objectively have a negative impact on the Ross army's offensive, but unfortunately the impact is limited.

The land near the city is very flat, and large areas of open land were abandoned after the wheat harvest. If you look carefully, you can find traces of wheat roots.

There are still villagers activities in the surrounding villages, and those villages that have not been plundered still have a lot of surplus food. It can be analyzed that after the summer operation, the Ross-Nassau coalition retreated, and the residents of Metz who had hid in the city returned to their homes. Villagers are rebuilding their damaged houses and the next step is to wait until August to harvest wheat.

The Black Fox Division half a year ago had no ability to destroy farmland and had no plans to waste food.

This decision is extremely correct, and those so-called flat open spaces also have the answer. They are all abandoned wheat fields.

The wheat fields are so vast, where have all the wheat gone? After a little analysis, Rurik concluded that the city of Metz itself was a super granary.

food! It is more valuable than gold and silver to the army.

As the city became a huge refugee camp, Injivar did not continue to plunder because he found that many villages were suddenly empty.

members are missing, I am afraid that the city of Metz is now crowded with 20,000 people.

So many residents will go crazy eating food. If the Russian army chooses to besiege the city, they don't know that it will take until the year of the monkey to wait until they run out of food.

These grains should be used as spoils of war for the coalition forces, and a good day must be chosen for the project in December.

So, Rurik's eyes were fixed on the five cow trebuchets...

Latest website: