Chapter 460： The General Mobilization of Gotland and the Strategic Blockade of the Ross Fleet

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Some sneaky people are always observing in secret, they are the spies sent by the merchants, and Harken noticed their existence when he went to redeem them. He didn't have the mind to control these guys, and the spies were also taboo to be exposed.

The spies were always hiding, and in shock and fear, they saw from a distance the king's failure, as well as the ferocity and cunning of the Ross people.

The Rus evacuated, leaving behind the corpses of a group of Gotland warriors, as well as a large number of arrows on the corpses and shields.

The eldest son is dead. Even though the eldest son is still alive, he is now a dead man with his hands broken. Such a person has no right to inherit power. Harken put the corpse of the eldest son aside, endured the grief and anger in his heart, and knelt down to examine the arrows of the confiscated Rose.

"Ross, do you always use iron arrow clusters? This arrow cluster..."

These are undoubtedly clusters of iron arrows, but why is their color different from half of the iron?

The confiscated arrow clusters are very long, they can easily penetrate the iron ring of the chain mail like a chisel, and will persecute the ring very simply. Under such impact, the arrow cluster is still sharp and straight, showing no sign of bending.

The stubby crossbow arrow is meaningless to the Gotlanders. Only its arrow cluster can be removed to make a long arrow.

As for those light long arrows, they can be used immediately after being captured.

The Gotlanders failed again, and the prospects for a decisive battle in the future were even more bleak.

Harken commanded his mercenaries to dig pits to bury the corpses on the spot. The mercenaries were frightened. When they thought of the future decisive battle, they would probably die in battle with such a barbaric opponent. They began to complain and finally forced Harken took out more rewards and barely started digging.

Only the corpse of the eldest son, Siegfast, will be taken back, and he will be buried in the family cemetery of Harken. Of course this burial was secret, and Harken didn't want others to see his embarrassment.

At least for Siegfast, his tragic experience came to an abrupt end, and there was no need to worry about the horrors of the future.

It takes time to bury a large number of corpses, and Harken has been alerting under the hill while dealing with the mess.

The spies fled back to Visby with terrible news, and they claimed that they had seen terrible things, spread through them, as if King Harken had been killed.

Is the news reliable?

The merchants believed very much what they saw and heard of the spies they sent out, because they were worthy of trust.

In addition to Quhe and Ken's family, the heads of eleven large merchant families gathered in the chamber, and all the village leaders came in for the latest news.

"Haken, who has established himself as a king, is dead! Now there is no king, we should be free to consider our own affairs! I want to leave with my family, and I advise you to leave as soon as possible."

"Go? It's okay, but I still have a lot of money and a lot of backlog of goods, which can't be pulled away by a few boats."

"Are you stupid?! Those Ross people are about to be killed, no one can resist them. This is a life-and-death moment, we are about to die at one step at night. Is it possible to throw away some belongings in exchange for life?"

"That's not okay. Without money and goods, what are we? What's the difference between those pirates who run away? I would rather stay and fight the Ross people."

"But, do we really have the courage to fight a decisive battle now? The Ross people have not yet come over, we are already fighting. Friends, maybe we should elect a new king." It is the Horrev family who said this. Harald.

As soon as this statement came out, businessmen ridiculed on the spot: "Forget it! You, a tailor who knits woolen clothes, you clearly want your brothers to recommend you as the king. What then? Do you a fortune?"

Some people even opened their mouths and mocked: "You are the king? It's okay. We don't have to fight with them. You give your daughter Aslaqi to the leader of Rose. Maybe they have your fairy and just take a sum of money. I can leave. In this way, we will praise you for being a great person who brings peace."

Harald of Hrolev, he drew his self-defense dagger in rage.

The other merchants were unmoved, and when the atmosphere was anxious, a peacekeeper stood up: "Brothers, have you forgotten our vow in the altar? We have an alliance of merchants, and brothers should not fight each other."

In this case, when Harken said that the queen had broken the rules, it was tantamount to saying that the alliance of the merchants had broken.

The spies came back to report the news, and the most distinguished men on Gotland began to quarrel. As night fell, they were still discussing what to do in the future.

As the day was thinning, Visby was immersed in lively cheers.

That was the cry of the people, because it is said that the dead King Haken returned with a group of warriors! At least the king is not dead, maybe the situation is not too bad.

Harken heard the news of his death, which is really ridiculous!

His big feet kicked directly down the wooden door of the chamber, and then he yelled: "Which villain cursed me for death?! We were caught in the despicable trap of the Ross people. Our army fought hard and finally beat them away. Now, The villain among you actually said that I was killed in battle!"

"The Ross people were beaten by you?!" Harald of Hrolev was overjoyed. "This is really the best news in a while."

Many businessmen cast contemptuous glances. They hoped that Harken would die in battle, and they also despised Harald's remarks. Isn't it Harald who wants Harken to die the most?

In any case, the Ross people did leave on their own. Although very guilty, Harken openly declared his victory over this result.

He knew too well that his old friends, the leaders of the village who had fled, and the people in the port of Klintheim in the south, everyone needed news of victory too much.

"Look, the Ross people are not invulnerable. I killed... many enemies, and they were buried. And!" Harken wanted to continue the trick, so he invited a few mercenaries, holding bundles of arrows. Ya entered the chamber. "Look, these are the arrows of the captured Roths. They are indeed powerful enemies, and the arrows they use are all excellent iron. Their weapons are better and they take advantage, but we warriors of Gotland There are a lot of them. As long as we gather all the fighters, we can defeat them smoothly."

The businessmen saw something different from the eyes of the past.

The king is indeed making optimistic remarks, but his eyes are written with grief, anger, grievance, and of course the desire for revenge.

A businessman asked directly: "You redeem your son, what about the Siegfast people?"

It was as if a sharp knife pierced Harken's heart. He glanced at the speaker for nothing and said angrily: "Killed in battle! He died like a soldier."

"But he is obviously a big businessman you carefully cultivated. What does it have to do with the fighters?"

"Shut up!" Harken's fury came so suddenly, he suddenly drew his sword and threw it madly, almost hitting the talking businessman.

Harken gasped, his eyes bloodshot.

The businessman was trembling in shock, and after he recovered, he yelled: "Are you going to kill me?" The businessman drew out his dagger, and continued to yell: "You want to be a tyrant? Look, who's really here? Are you afraid of you? Everyone is a businessman, not a docile sheep. We can immediately become soldiers and kill you."

Harken was obviously insane, and the businessmen present drew their swords in self-defense.

Harald of Hrolev bluntly said with a sword: "Haken, do you want to do it against us? Then there is no need to attack by the Rus or the Mellaren. If we kill each other, they will not die alone and occupy Visby. Everyone’s wealth was easily taken away by them."

"He's right!" A businessman made a resolute statement on the spot: "Haken, brothers support you because you want you to defeat the enemy. Unexpectedly, your sword is aimed at your brother. I will not accompany you! I will take mine. People evacuated."

"Dare you!" Harken scolded, never expecting that more businessmen would oppose it.

"Why don't we dare? You want to kill me and rob my family's wealth? Then go to war! My warrior fights your warrior, or you and I fight here? Have you fought so many people?"

Harken's eyes swayed left and right, knowing his absolute disadvantage. "Damn, I don't want things to be like this, but we have to fight." He took the sword and admitted his gaffe, but some businessmen had lost all hope for the future.

Three merchants insisted on withdrawing!

Harken painstakingly authoritative: "I learned their request from the Ross people. They are indeed choosing war. This is part of the huge war of the villains in the north! Don’t think you three will be safe by fleeing now. Mellaren in the north is still There are other tribes’ fleets that are already returning. You will inevitably evacuate south and meet them! You will all die!"

"That's better than just sitting here and waiting to die. Listen, no one wants to die in vain."

Seeing the determination of these three families, Harken could do nothing. Fortunately, there are still many merchant families who are willing to stay, especially those village leaders who have fled. They do not have the capital to raise the village and flee in an instant, so they can only continue to support the "victorious" Harken and continue to be king.

The three families decided to leave the chamber, and all the people who stayed changed their faces. They shouted Harken's name and vowed to fight the Ross people, as if they had never questioned Harken.

Surrounded by this enthusiasm, it was as if a powerful inexplicable force poured into Harken's decayed body, he seemed to be twenty years younger, as if he had been blessed by Odin.

He drew out the sword again, tore off the amber necklace that he carved into a human shape, and cut it off.

"You...what are you doing? This is the guardian spirit of your luck!" Harald of Hrolev asked.

"Enough! I don't need the guardian spirit of this merchant anymore. It is meaningless! Remember, I am a warrior now. Believing in Frey is a past tense, and now I am a warrior of Odin!"

What is this? A businessman suddenly claimed to be a soldier.

Then people realized that Harken was not lying, but really taking crazy actions! 186 Chinese Network

When burying the body, it seemed that Harken’s business soul was also buried, and it was meaningless to continue to worship Frey. In order to win, Haken decided to gamble everything, for the victory of the decisive battle, he has no choice but to do anything.

That night, at Visby's high altar, a **** incident suddenly unfolded.

Harken’s elite mercenaries poured into the altar in the huge long house, and they openly restored the bronze statue representing Frey with a large axe with both hands. The priest came to stop it, and they immediately became the target of death. The altar no longer needs to enshrine Frey, it will become the place of the priest Odin, and Odin needs the blood of the sacrifice in order to promise victory to the priest.

At the time of the decisive battle, people must sacrifice!

Harken's second son learned of the "bad news" about the death of his eldest brother, and his pain was just acting. He felt that his opportunity had come, but was shocked to find that his father wanted him as a sacrifice to Odin!

Although the blood sacrifice to Odin in the posture of a soldier, the soul after death is "holding a letter of introduction" to visit the Hall of Valor.

Harken's second son cried and yelled, but finally he was **** with a rope, his hands and feet were tied up, and he was finally killed in the altar.

The surviving priests witnessed this illegal sacrifice, they all chose to shut up, and finally smeared their white chalky faces with the blood of the sacrifice. The priests did not say that their faces were numb all the time, but they secretly cursed that Haken had gone mad. Even if this is a human sacrifice to Odin, the sacrifice must be voluntary. It's better now...

Besides, this altar was never a place to worship Odin! It is also okay to worship Odin. People should go to the top of the mound to the south. There is a small temple dedicated to Odin in the pine forest.

King Harken has turned Frey’s altar into the altar of Odin. Finally, he personally made a knife on his left hand without changing the color. The blood dripped on the altar. He looked up to the sky and sighed: "Odin! Please accept me. Sacrifice! Give us the power of the Gotland people to defeat the invading Ruths! Give us safety!"

The matter is not over yet, or that Harken is indeed crazy!

He personally announced in public that being a soldier and no longer a businessman can be interpreted as a kind of catharsis. But when he openly smashed the statue of God Frey, it was tantamount to being cut off from his past identity, and he had no turning back.

He was crying bitterly in his wife and concubine, but Haken ran away his wealth overnight and rewarded a lot of silver coins to the soldiers who were willing to fight. Especially those Danish mercenaries, this group of money-giving masters came in droves. They tore up the agreement with the former gold master and gathered in front of Harken's mansion to collect the money.

There are more than one thousand mercenaries from Denmark in Visby! Most of the mercenaries declared their loyalty to Harken.

Many mercenaries believe that Harken used his heirs as a sacrifice, and he also sacrificed with his own blood, which of course would be appreciated by Odin. Harken must have been blessed by Odin, not to mention that this generous and good man is desperately distributing his wealth? In this way, the brothers got the money first, and there is nothing to be afraid of in the future decisive battle. Odin will watch this decisive battle. Whether he is killed or not, everyone will end up the same-they will meet again in the Hall of Valor after death.

For those three merchants who decided to withdraw, the merchant was surprised to find that more than half of his mercenaries had run away!

They moved their belongings to the dock overnight, and transferred items of silver coins, copper coins, and jewellery to cargo ships. A batch of long ships also became temporary cargo ships.

But it is very ridiculous that a large number of fishermen believe that Harken who spared no effort was indeed blessed by Odin, the grand and crazy sacrifice was approved by the gods, and the victory must belong to the Gotland people.

The vast numbers of fishermen who have been tossed by the Ross "sea wolves" for several years have to fight the Ross people to the death with all kinds of weapons. Because merchants can escape, what about them? At least when this autumn came, the fishermen's escape resulted in only one-frozen to death in the field.

The fishermen, farmers, and shepherds who could not escape, their wives, young sons and daughters, all responded to Harken's call to become fighters, even if many of them did not even have decent weapons or even shields.

Their confidence lies in the multitude of people and the support of the illusory so-called gods.

The merchants who decided to evacuate were dissatisfied with their oarsmen and guards, and a large amount of goods had to be abandoned on the spot if they were not protected. The merchants decided to withdraw to Jutland, Denmark, and then all the way south to settle in the Hazeby Bazaar in Schlei Bay, relying on ready-made gold and silver jewelry as starting capital to make a comeback.

In the early morning of the next day, three merchants pieced together a fleet of four cargo ships and fifteen long ships, and began to slowly leave Visby Harbor carrying the cargo.

No one pays attention to the departure of these cowards and traitors, and no one goes to sea today! The entire Visby is actively preparing for the battle, because everyone knows that the Rus’s war book will be tomorrow, the 19th day of August in the Julian calendar. Today is the last day before the decisive battle, and no one else has the right to escape except for the escaped businessman. All those who can go on the battlefield are sharpening their swords and axes. Many people optimistically estimate that Visby's assembly of an army of five to six thousand people will not be a problem.

However, the fleet that had left had just entered the sea off Visby Harbor and met another huge fleet!

Look at those ships from the north!

At least they have the huge figure of a cargo ship, and the huge blue X-shaped stripes on the strange jibs that are raised prove the identity of the Ross ship.

A fat man stood on the bow of the ship, he was dressed gorgeously without the appearance of any warrior.

This is Gould, the great Russian businessman, who took his many sons to participate in this battle. His fleet, with Aphrola as the flagship, led as many as twenty empty armed cargo ships, carrying a small number of elderly soldiers and female soldiers, and began to perform the task of blocking the port assigned by the Duke of Ross. .

"Boss, there must be an enemy in front. Look at their sluggish appearance, they are a group of merchants." The sailor on the deck roared.

Gould knew he had taken a big advantage in tactics and strength, he couldn't laugh, because he was also the first time he led a war.

"Brothers, you all know how to fight, charge me now!"

Sailors who have experienced naval battles certainly know how to manipulate the unique ships of the Rus to fight unique battles.

The Ross fleet was also killed by the northwest wind. Compared with the fugitive's ships, the Ross army's very wide spinnaker brought the ships extremely powerful.

A total of twenty-one large ships were simply placed into a wall and rushed towards the slow enemy.

This is a very classical collision tactic, and it was originally a customary tactic for the Greek and Roman rowing boats in the classical era. Because their bows are all equipped with bulbous bows and a wave treading bow design. The bulbous bow is a piece of hardwood and is also covered with copper. Collision tactics are classic naval warfare weapons. In the early days of the ironclad warship, any naval gun against the ironclad ship was just launching iron bombs to drill trivial holes, so the navies of various countries resumed the ancient collision tactics.

It was Rurik who taught the sailors this kind of maritime tactics. In fact, he can't be said to be too smart. It can only be said that because Rurik knew some history in this area, he thought of collision tactics when building and transforming ships.

Twenty-one ships form a wall, and the bottom of the Gotland can never escape!

The bulbous bow of the Ross ship is extremely hard, and the Aphrodite is crazily installed with iron reinforcement (which objectively stabilizes the overall center of gravity).

The Ross ship is getting closer and the enemy has nowhere to escape!

The first issue was the torsion slingshot on the bow deck. The cast iron projectile first gave the enemy a stunning blow, and then the collision happened!

The transformed cargo ship has become extremely ferocious, and their stringing is high enough that the passengers of the long ship cannot climb with bare hands at all, thus avoiding the possibility of the enemy jumping.

The bulbous bow broke the ribs of the long ship, and the ship immediately sank in two quarters.

The Aphrodite is the most ferocious. She is the **** of war on the sea. The iron bulbous bow directly drilled a big hole for the enemy cargo ship. The ship immediately began to flood in crazily and sank at a speed visible to the naked eye. This is a pity! A large number of gold and silver jewels, with the ship sinking into the sea!

If Gould knew that his enemy was like this, he would certainly not make such a brave impact. It would be a lot of money.

Only one collision tactic achieved a decisive success, the fleeing Gotland merchants were wiped out, and only the ships of the Ross people floated on the sea!

The Ross fleet was unscathed. Warriors of all ages and genders were wearing wooden crossbows and short wooden bows, firing inferior arrows, and ruthlessly attacking those who fell into the water.

This is the order of the Duke! The Ross fleet does not want to be captured, it is to sink all the enemies trying to escape, kill all those who fall into the water, and bring terror to Visby's opponents.

The Ross people won a big victory, and the escaped merchants no longer need to quarrel with Harken. They realized that Harken's warning was so gentle when they encountered a terrorist attack, and it was a pity that it was too late to regret.

No one survived, there was a pile of sawdust floating on the sea, and soon the sea returned to calm...

In the afternoon, a huge fleet of ships suddenly appeared off the coast of Visby, and the residents of Visby saw those terrifying flags in shock!

That is the flag of the Russ. There are blue streaks in the white. Aren't the Russ in the east of the hill? Why are they going to land from the port?

Harken led his troops into the port bay in shock, he saw that the huge ships of the Rus were helpless. He didn't dare to attack rashly, but gradually realized that the Ross people didn't want to land on the beach.

He suddenly knew the dirty intentions of the Ross people: "Damn Rlick, you are really vicious! You are going to block my port, are you still afraid that I will refuse to fight! The arrogant boy, I will be on the battlefield tomorrow? The admiral chops off your head."

Of course, the problem is now complicated. Harken must arrange a small team to garrison, beware of the Ross people taking advantage of the emptiness of Visby to land. This has led to a reduction in his strength in the decisive battle. He has no better way to force everyone who can afford weapons, including boys and girls who are only ten years old, to join the battlefield. At least this group of children, who are definitely not capable of fighting, must carry food and water for the soldiers and serve as logistics.

Except for the babies and the elderly who have lost their teeth, everyone else must contribute to the decisive battle. Look! Harken even armed his concubine and slave girl.

As for the Harald of the Hrolev family, he had no choice but to hand over a shield and a sword to his beautiful daughter Asraki, who was only sixteen years old: "At least, rely on these to protect yourself. . Don’t fight as a last resort."

But Asraki had her own thoughts: "Maybe I can conquer the leader of the Rus with beauty and finally assassinate him. I will definitely die and end this disaster."

Harald was not moved at all: "No! Your man must be a hero, you must live in peace."

"Then give me as a gift to the heroes of Denmark. If we fail, only an army of Danes can save us."

"What? You mean that stupid tyrant Hafgen? He deserves it too! Compared to this Danish brat, Harken is gentler."

"If only his army can completely defeat the Ruths and the enemies of the North, I am willing to..." Asraki was very tough.

Harald did not want to discuss with her daughter anymore, but admired her courage under her weak appearance. He ordered the female guards who guarded his daughter to be loyal to Asraki no matter what happened to them. If the Gotland army was defeated, they would **** her to flee the battlefield and escape into the forests of the island to wait for a chance to revenge.

In order to facilitate the next reading, you can click on the "Favorites" below to record this time (Chapter 459 The General Mobilization of Gotland and the Strategic Blockade of the Ross Fleet).

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