Chapter 516： Viking troops approach the city

A mixed army embarks on a new journey.

Starting from the main island of the Shetland Islands, the fleet took two days to reach the northernmost point of Scotland along the extension of the island chain.

The army was repairing on the deserted coast, and the weather suddenly became bad.

The rainy weather enveloped the whole world. Compared with the drop in temperature, the feeling of dampness really dampened the soldier's spirit.

But the brothers have truly stood on the big island of Britain, even if there are a lot of barren offshore rock slopes in front of them, as long as you continue south along the coastline, you will find the fat sheep-like Edinburgh.

People endured the light rain and continued to go south, and the quiet change of wind direction also enabled all the ships to raise their wet sails.

Everyone shrank into a ball bearing the sudden cold feeling, and the sea became more and more violent.

The north wind did not cause any turbulent waves, and even so, all the ships were already rolling up and down among the waves.

"If a ship is overturned by a big wave, wouldn't it be a major loss before the departure?" Rurik was disturbed by the toss, he personally hid in the cabin of the Aphrora, without repaying the suffering of his men. , But the same was tossed with no appetite in the constant waves.

Many people were simply tossed into seasickness. They became malaise and could only shrink into a ball instinctively.

The fleet deliberately moved closer to the shoreline in order to float to the shore once the ship capsized. The expedition became a self-abuse in the wind and rain. After being tossed by wind, rain and waves for five days, the sun finally dissipated the haze and the sea became calm. At this moment, everyone gradually awakened from malaise, and they were shaking and wet. His body, subconsciously looking towards the west, saw the dark green scenery immersed in the mist.

Where is the fleet in the end?

Bathed in the warm south wind, Rurik, standing on the bow deck of the ship, looked around.

At this moment, the Shetland Islander Huo De, who was a guide, stood cautiously beside him.

"Where are we now? How far are we from Edinburgh?"

"This..." Huo De was taken aback. He knew that Rurik would ask, but he really didn't know how to answer accurately. This is a cautious statement: "In my last experience, it took about ten days from Shetland to Edinburgh."

"Oh?" Rurik glanced at the high sun: "By now, we are on the seventh day of sailing. You mean, we have at most three days of sailing?"

"Yes it is."

"Well, things are pretty good."

"but…"

"what's happenin?"

Huo De cautiously said: "We sailed in the wind and rain and borrowed the northwest wind for many days. We sailed almost day and night, maybe we are now..."

"Huh?" Rurik's head clenched. "Maybe we are about to reach the goal?"

"Probably so. I can't judge the correct location, but if I see the small fjord, I know that there is a big fjord to the south. Edinburgh in Northumbria is on the south bank of the big fjord. "

"Then, keep your eyes open." After saying this, Rurik was suddenly ambitious. He felt that he needed to convey the good news of "coming soon" to all the soldiers, but after thinking about it, he saw Edinburgh’s Before the construction of the city, any declaration is too haste.

All the long ships still follow the sails of the Aphrodite. The big ship is sailing against the wind, and the flag at the top of the mast is hunting and hunting. It is a beacon that everyone pays attention to.

Rurik still felt that it would take a few days to sail, but as soon as the afternoon arrived, Huo De stomped his feet happily, because the crucial "little fjord" appeared!

That is the fjord at the mouth of the River Tay in Scotland. In the language of the Picts, this river is called the River Taita. If the fleet travels upstream along the river, it will eventually reach the core area of ​​the Pict Kingdom’s rule. It’s just that the Picts in Scotland are too poor compared to the centuries-old feudal kingdom formed by the Anglo-Americans in the south. Picts can be crazy indigo raiders, but unfortunately, they are really poor, even if they already know how to discover and process diamonds into treasures.

But the Ansa are essentially Saxons!

A group of Saxons who had kept the Frankish troops on the European continent fled north and became the new Danes. The cucumber-like outlying island of Öland in Scandinavia, on which Borgholm is a small city-state established by Saxon refugees!

Based on this recognition, Rurik subconsciously felt that the Saxon descendants of Edinburgh are more likely to build their city into a fortress.

Build a fort? Can the wall resist the attack of the real army?

As the fleet passed the "Little Fjord" smoothly, Rurik summoned all family leaders and family army representatives at sea to the flagship Aphrola for a combat meeting.

There is no need for Rurik, his right hand reaches to the man.

Standing high on the bow deck, he gave orders: "The long voyage will have results! Tell your soldiers, and bear with the last night, tomorrow we will arrive in Edinburgh! Tell everyone to recharge, let us Launch a raid! No mercy!"

Speaking of excitement, everyone saw the clenched fist of the beautiful young man. The commander was so decisive, and people were happy for it.

After so many hardships, a great victory is imminent.

A group of northern waves are quietly approaching Edinburgh under the cover of night. Every warrior is actively polishing his axe and sword blades, preparing for the most terrible fight. They only have treasures and beautiful women in their eyes. They are not afraid of fighting in a pool of blood, but rather enjoy it.

Because Odin's eyes are always gazing at the earth, God is choosing the bravest warrior, and only the most savage will be chosen!

This traditional Nordic belief is as strong here as the Balmerks, of course, their eyes are full of the desire to make a fortune.

So, the defenders of Northumbria in Edinburgh never noticed that something was wrong? Their fishing boats didn't even snoop on threats from the north?

In reality, it is true.

Obviously it was close to the coast, and the once violent sea was calm again. However, except for the sailing Viking fleet in the sea, Lurik could not see other people's fishing boats. He had thought that once he was exposed, he would let the Aphrodite hang its full sails, throw off the large forces and catch up with the enemy fishing boat to sink it, beware of the secrets being leaked.

Rurik was really worried, and the caution of him and others was really superfluous.

Because the British Navy, which once dominated the world, does not exist at all.

In other words, the sea souls of the Britons were brought by the conquerors of the Viking family from all walks of life.

Northumbria is the product of the merger of two small kingdoms. Her north and west are under military pressure from kingdoms established by various Celtic tribes. The situation in the south is even more difficult. Although it is a Saxon family, Mesiah The aristocracy of China is struggling to establish the hegemony of "Great Mecsia".

Britain’s Seven Kingdoms era is still in a fierce era of competition among various kingdoms, especially Northumbria. The long-term aristocratic internal fighting tossed the kingdom to be exhausted. Now, the Vikings are here.

Vikings have appeared long ago! The local nobles in Northumbria are also very aware of a new threat from the eastern sea!

Those ugly barbarians did not believe in God. They tried to sell their suspicious catch, but they were also secretly committing gangsters.

The fact is that many years ago, Horde and other Shetland islanders' exploratory team went to the south to find the existence of Northumbria. It is true that they sell fish, and it is true that they secretly plunder. They turned the Nordic "principle of contact at sea", the so-called fisherman into a pirate, perfectly reproduced in the civilized Northumbria, which naturally aroused the anger of the local chief.

It is a pity that the governor of Edinburgh does not have his own fleet at all, and there is no navy of any kind in the entire kingdom. What is even more strange is that the ships owned by the huge kingdom are nothing but sampans and other small boats. It can only sail on rivers, and even enter the offshore waters to find death.

They are obviously the people who set sail from Jutland, Denmark 400 years ago. Their descendants in Britain have forgotten how to build ships!

They have become a pure land power country, and the so-called coastal defense can be ignored. The governors of Edinburgh are the relatives of the king, and the troops stationed in the northern borders of these kingdoms have most of their energy to resist the invasion of the Pict kingdom. As for the threat from the sea? The army is really helpless. In other words, the people of Edinburgh have never thought that there will be an army of barbarians with thousands of troops who will take the sea route and land on their homeland!

Even if it is a major town in the north, the population of Edinburgh is not even as large as the hometown of the Ross people in Roseburg!

Not only that, in the current era, the total population of the huge kingdom is only more than 100,000 people. Even the entire population of England is only about 800,000, mainly concentrated in Mercia and Wessex.

More than 4,000 people live in Edinburgh and surrounding villages. The army is guarding against the invasion of the Kingdom of Pickett and Strathclyde. The peasants are wrapped in the quiet country life day after day, and even go to the monastery for masses. The most important entertainment in life.

It was a warm morning, when the sea fog cleared and the sun dispelled the laziness in Edinburgh, the farmers, shepherds, soldiers, generals, and the priests, this should have been the most common beginning. People should enjoy the most prosperous and stable days they understand in the short time after the wheat harvest. The Earl of Edinburgh also hopefully prepares the carriage and plans to send the collected agricultural tax (wheat) to the king's city of York.

However, some children who look like the coast have seen the most incredible sights in their short lives!

It was some children who sounded the first danger alert, but it was a pity that it was too late!

Aphrora led all the long ships to embark on a beautiful beach landing, and the big ship anchored near the shore. At this moment, Rurik had already seen the basic structure of the city.

"Oops, they do have some wooden walls."

Biyuni, who was eager to try, looked confident. He didn't care: "What is the fence? Brothers stepped on a few hundred feet and the wooden wall collapsed."

"Listening to your tone reminds me of my cousin."

"But I am indeed your brother." Biyuni said proudly.

"No! Like my cousin." As he said, Rurik instructed his Evlo and others, "Unload all the torsion slingshots, bring two boxes of cast iron projectiles, and we will go ashore and destroy the wooden wall!"

At the same time, those long boats have washed up on a large scale.

A large group of people dressed in leather clothes, or simply naked with patterned arms, raised hand axes and wooden shields, and rushed towards Edinburgh's wooden wall, which is simply better than nothing.

Don't think she is a major town in the north of Northumbria. The so-called city is simply a big village surrounded by thin pine wood walls. There are also stone buildings, but unfortunately they are so few.

The terrifying army rushed up, and the Edinburgh civilians wandering outside the city ran away, but it was a pity that their actions were too late.

The furious Viking army showed no mercy. They ran all the way and slashed until they attacked under the wooden wall.

It is also here, the Balmerks and Shetlanders, their violent heads were instantly awakened by the troubles of reality!

A large number of farmers and herders fled to the countryside, and those who had no time to escape had to huddle in the city.

The Earl of Edinburgh has never seen such a battle before, and the local bishop also tried to suppress the fear in his heart. Together with the little monks, he walked up the city wall with a number of glittering "Holy Crosses", reciting the scriptures nervously, the so-called Let the morale of the defending soldiers burst.

The junior warrior wielded an iron sword, and the standard bearer tried his best to wave the orange flag of Northumbria.

They used some short wooden bows to shoot arrows in an attempt to stop the attackers from the sea.

The Vikings' attacks did pause. This was not because they were hindering the arrows of their opponents, but because they noticed the trenches under the wooden wall. It had been raining a few days ago, there was deep silt in the trenches, and the whole world was still wet. Falling into the trenches meant you were in silt.

The bravest family chiefs, like Ostan's eldest son Geiger, led his brothers to look at the suspended wooden bridge, swinging their axes and knocking on their shields, and swearing at the enemy.

His brothers have already begun to have some people hit the target, but the army still has no intention to retreat. Instead, relying on the large number of people, the army began to tactically encircle the entire city.

Is this an excellent tactic? On the contrary, it is precisely because they are the guys who can't wait to follow the heavy weapons rushing too fast, looking at the inferior wooden wall, they are helpless, they can only encircle the city first.

However, as Rurik took the ten torsion slingshots that had been dismantled on the Aphrodite ashore, the short-term helplessness would be solved.

People held up their axes, swords, and spears and yelled, as if the Viking War Cry could roar down the wooden wall with sound waves.

Thanks to this sudden horror, the more than 1,000 men and women in the city are really in extreme fear.

Even if the five hundred Northumbria standing troops persist in resisting, it is a pity that they are still at an absolute disadvantage!

Because the invaders are more than 1,100 Viking warriors. They come to rob and make a fortune. They will not have the slightest pity for murder. This is incomparable to the soldiers of the kingdom recruited from farmers, shepherds, and even serfs.

"Chaos! What a mess!" Rurik yelled at Biyuni who was carrying the torsion slingshot: "You move quickly! We will end the battle before noon! After destroying their walls, you guys Just go looting!"

And what about Bijuni? He himself held his beloved Ross crossbow and gathered with all the warriors who held the crossbow.

Rurik mixed most of the Balmerks who held bows with his own mercenaries and sailors who held crossbows. UU reading and even the casual Modgen, the old traveler, has also become at this moment. Crossbowmen.

Bijuni's men are on the battlefield, which represents the power of the leader of Balmerk. They accepted Rurik's most direct order and played with the Geiger brothers of Ostan who were busy trying to break through the drawbridge.

Geiger was young and vigorous. He was shielding most of his body with a wooden shield. He held his sword and pointed his right hand at the opponent who was shooting arrows on the wooden wall. He complained to Biyuni, "They still have this method. Brothers can't beat it! "

"I know! Let your brother retreat for the time being, let Rurik come now! Rurik of Ross, our commander, he is the best at destroying wooden walls."

"Okay! Let's cover it!" Geiger was overjoyed and watched the heavy equipment start to start.

But just before the torsion slingshot took off, all kinds of long-range soldiers with bows and crossbows, including Bijuni, were already under the dispatch of Rurik. They lined up in a very dense formation, facing the place that defended the largest jump bridge. Enemies, launch fire suppression!

So far, the scale of victory has fallen into the hands of the Vikings and Rurik without any suspense.