Chapter 882： We want to conquer Gotaland within a month

Chapter 882 We will conquer Jotaland within a month

The ocean is thawing rapidly, and the straits from the Åland Islands to Scandinavia have recovered. Although there is a huge amount of floating ice floating on the sea and the ice continues to drift south, such bad sea conditions can already make some long ships. Forcibly accompany.

Days of fine weather are accelerating the collapse of the ice, while the snow that blankets the world is melting at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The world is thawing at a rate visible to the naked eye, the wooden roofs flow with streams, the muddy and life-like places are everywhere.

The people of Meralen knew very well that the king was about to launch a war against the south. Most of the farmers and fishermen did not want to take part in this risky expedition. In their hearts, they hoped that the king of Rurik would win. The most important thing before them now was Prepare for the upcoming spring ploughing.

Let those who are not afraid of death go to hell! People who were farmers and fishermen would rather farm with peace of mind than pay for the failure of the nobles' military adventures.

Some people are cowards, and Rurik will never force such people into battle.

The surface of Lake Mälaren was filled with shattered ice, and the once blocked ships all regained their former strength.

This is the case here, the warmer Gulf of Finland, and even the inland lake Ilmen, farther south, must be doing well.

Rurik could predict the moves of the capital. The main force of the Ross fleet was anchored at the Kronstadt anchorage next to the capital. The main ships had been trapped by the ice, and now the ships should all be dispatched all the way west.

Excitingly, a squadron rushed into the mouth of Lake Mälaren.

It was the Ross Squadron moored at Tombstone Island in the Åland Islands. The flagship Gourdot led a group of standard armed cargo ships and honest cargo ships into the ice-filled Lake Mälaren.

The solid oak keel and the rib of the ship smashed through the ice blocks, and the ships flying the Ross flag dropped anchor next to the city of Stockholm.

The sudden appearance of the squadron shocked the nobles and gave a strong boost to the stationed Rus army.

Because the fleet brought a critical batch of supplies, and the first net of herring this year.

The Ross army set up large and small bonfires to roast fish stalls in the camp, and sipped the ale that was unloaded. They feasted and enjoyed their last meal before the expedition.

The warriors are optimistic, but the road to the south is actually going into uncharted territory. This is a challenge, and people inevitably have concerns. Why worry? Nothing is better than drinking mellow ale.

With the melting of ice and snow, the world became more and more muddy, and Huze's restoration of walking together made it easier for the army to gather.

Originally the open space of the old fishing village for free trade, now it happens to be the gathering place for the army of the various tribes of Sweden.

Regardless of how many people they have, the dukes, big and small, went into battle in person or appointed their eldest son to be the commander-in-chief, and brought their tribe's troops to this open space in Stockholm to assemble.

A large number of longboats washed directly onto the muddy tidal flat, and the soldiers waded ashore, then removed their shields and held short spears, and gathered together on the shore.

Such an army may seem very unorganized, but it is not the case. They are from the same tribe and get along with each other day and night on weekdays. The friendships cultivated by the soldiers in production and labor can burst out powerful combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

But it's fair to say that their clothes are too sloppy, the clothes are not uniform, and there are even guys wearing shabby figurines, which seems to be deliberately showing off the exaggerated blue tattoos on the backs of their arms.

In comparison, Rurik's entourage is more than simply dressed in gorgeous and regular clothes?

Compared with other Swedish tribes, the Mellarens try their best to make their clothes uniform. They can't really achieve complete unity, but it is quite easy to make the cloth black. The main color of this army of thousands of people mainly composed of professional mercenaries, unemployed vagabonds, pure serfs and debt tenants is black, and even the original color is black. The brown-toned Buckler is also painted with black toner.

This is a tradition. Thinking of the Melalen tribe in its heyday, Olekin, its leader and the first king of Sweden, relied on a "black army" of 800 people to maintain its notice.

If the Russ army does not come, the "new black army" of the Melalen people can naturally crush the other tribes' armies in the aura.

Now King Russ is on his military horse.

Under the **** of cavalry, Rurik, who was dressed in full costume, rode a military horse in the same costume.

Rurik deliberately put on a suit of chainmail that had been polished to a glossy finish, which shone in the sunlight.

Instead of wearing a helmet, he can show off his flowing golden ponytail and the golden laurel he wears on his head.

The cavalry present were also dressed in full costumes, each holding a spear with a flag hanging under the spear.

There were a hundred cavalrymen who participated in this parade. For ordinary Swedes, the appearance of cavalry was as novel as the Asgardian gods descended to earth. They opened their mouths in amazement, their eyes drawn to the king and his cavalry guards.

So poor Bjorn, Duke of Mélaren had to squint at his past. He was proud that he had assembled the agreed thousand warriors and wanted to show the king a hand, but now it seemed that his display was too clumsy.

The Rus cavalry is here, and there is a squadron behind the cavalry.

Just the squadron, with a Gurdot sitting in the seat, suppressed the five Ross armed cargo ships ordered by the Mellarens.

Bjorn imitated the appearance of Ross's army, and tried his best to rule the army into a phalanx. Some in the procession carried blacked-out flags with chalky mud repainted to resemble ravens. This is the flag of Odin. It is quite amazing that other tribes have also played their own flags. Although the colors of the cloth are all kinds of strange, what they have in common is that they are all painting an abstract raven.

"How? King, I assembled the army according to your request. I have a thousand men, can you... be satisfied?"

"Well done." Rurik looked at the army, pretending to compliment: "I saw a very combat-effective army. How do you plan to transport them to the battlefield?"

"It's best to follow the traditional method! Everyone takes the longboat to the fjord of Old Ostara."

"You don't plan to use the five cargo ships sold to you?"

"Of course, they'll be stuffed with food. And..." Bjorn paused, "I'm also going to leave an empty boat for the spoils."

Looking at Bjorn's face again, Rurik smiled: "Your ambition is not small, let's wait and see."

With that, Rurik grabbed the reins abruptly and urged the horses forward.

It is not a problem to place 5,000 soldiers in an open space for free trade at the same time.

Now it seems that there are about 2,000 people assembled, and there are also many curious people in the distance watching with their heads sticking out.

No one wants to stand with the "black army", the black army of Melalen is to the east, and the armies of the other tribes are to the west. Just because the visual forces on the east and west sides were comparable, Rurik concluded that the Swedes really only sent two thousand troops in this battle.

Accustomed to the neat appearance of his own Ross army, Rurik suddenly felt that the army in front of him was quite unfamiliar. He suddenly realized that he had forgotten the appearance of the most traditional Viking warrior.

They dress casually. Although soldiers worship heroes and regard sacrifice on the battlefield as a noble sacrifice, they pragmatically use various objects to strengthen the defense of their vital parts. They will try their best to get a solid oak shield, a Iron sword and a sharp spear.

The soldier's weapon was his own, and Rurik even saw the silhouette of the farm implement flail.

Soldiers are also looking at the honor of the king.

King Rurik, now he has sharp edges and corners, and his golden beard is attached to his face and has been trimmed into a charming neat beard. His ponytail hairstyle has never changed and has become a very recognizable existence.

He was tall and mighty, and his image fulfilled all imaginations of a young heroic warrior, and this feeling was strengthened by riding a horse.

The soldiers also felt an indescribable comfort invisibly. This king was not a man of the highest order. Of course, he is the supreme king, and his aura attracts people who want to get close, and it seems that he will win glory and victory by working hard for him.

In this regard, the Yilmalun army showed the strongest performance!

Regardless of the king's great dreams, for the Yermalen tribe, the king sent a large army this year to help him drive away the invading Jotaland people.

Rurik's review of the Swedish army made a great deal of momentum, and the greater momentum lay in the next grand sacrifice.

The city of Stockholm was built on the basis of the old Birka market. The city is surrounded by large and small islands. The terrain is extremely trivial, and all kinds of waterways can eventually lead to the sea.

This area is the general gathering place for the army of the kingdom, and the warriors of all tribes can bring their own large and small ships to station and stand by.

Rurik concluded that the main fleet was heading to Lake Mälaren with supplies, but now he had to take the nobles straight to the great temple of Uppsala, north of the lake.

A small mixed fleet went against the swollen river and arrived at the inner lake where the Uppsala tribe was backed. The huge yew tree was visible to the naked eye. The existence of this tree even made the temple buildings next to it seem insignificant. exist.

The Governor of Uppsala, Swinende, would personally lead his troops into battle, but Rurik assigned him the task of supporting logistics, and the task of an armed cargo ship owned by him was to transport food. The army will not directly participate in the war, but it can also win the glory of victory. Swined is very happy. He still has some things to report, especially a happy event-the Uppsala priest arranged by the king is indeed pregnant with a child. .

The king went straight to Uppsala with the nobles of Rus, Sweden, and Finland. According to the agreement last year, he made the oath sacrifice here before the expedition, and ten reindeer were also prepared for this sacrifice.

It is true that there are only ten deer sacrificed this time. There is no other reason. There is no reason for the specifications of the sacrifice in Uppsala to be the same as the sacrifice in the kingdom of New Roseburg. The so-called honor and order are ordered. Since the Rus Principality of the kingdom is the absolute leading force, Only the sacrifice of the first temple in the capital is qualified to define what is the highest standard.

It stands to reason that the priestly ritual of ten reindeer sacrifices is already a high standard. Could the gods still think that Rurik is stingy?

This time, Rurik was desperate to get to Uppsala as soon as possible.

Sacrifice is one aspect, and seeing your own priest Rumi again is another.

The girl approached Rurik, surrounded by the priestess of Uppsala, a Kovin and a Finn, with black hair and a slightly flat face, indeed with the Viking people everywhere. out of place.

She was ordered to stay here to preside over priestly activities, and now she has finally waited for her man and her clan.

After half a year, Lumi's stomach has been puffed up. Even though she is wearing thick clothes, Rurik can still see her pregnant belly clearly.

"Come on, my priest!" Rurik opened his arms and let her plunge into his arms.

The meeting was destined to be short-lived. Rumi followed the example of Rumia, the high priest of Ross, and supported the last sacrifice before the expedition under the sacred tree of Uppsala.

According to the plan, after the spring of 840, the temple will be renovated, especially the altar under the tree will be more luxurious.

Now this shrine has been poured into a large amount of deer blood.

Rurik, the king, slaughtered all the reindeer, and a large amount of deer blood could be spilled on the huge tree trunk.

He faced the nobles, large and small, and said, "Odin's warriors! Legend has it that this tree is connected to the World Tree through the leylines, until it is connected to Asgard, where the gods are. You know why the Uppsala people are Is there such a peculiar tradition of blood sacrifices?!"

After all, Rurik pulled out his meat-cutting dagger, and stabbed his left hand with a single finger, showing his **** hand in public.

"Because our will can inform the gods in this most direct way."

Rurik smeared the blood on the trunk with his **** fingers.

The rituals of the Uppsala people have long been known, and the nobles of Sweden have not been involved since ancient times. The so-called Uppsala people sacrificed blood to Odin since ancient times. Did Odin give them power? For so many years, the Uppsala people have been encircling themselves, and if they were not forced before, they would not have planned to lead their troops to participate in the war against Denmark ten years ago. It's good now, these guys are so cowardly that they don't even want the form of a clan, and they have in fact defected to the Ross Principality part of the kingdom and become the legal direct jurisdiction of the king.

But the king himself gave a demonstration. If the brothers did not follow the cutting hands and gesture to the tree trunk, wouldn't they betray the king.

And they are really afraid, if others do what they do and don't do it themselves, will the gods think that this man is a thorn, and then bring disaster?

The bloodstains of every nobleman are left on the huge yew tree trunk, which is really a form of unity.

Their stay in Uppsala was very short, and within two days of the nobles returning to the rendezvous in Stockholm, the main force of the mighty Ross fleet arrived at Lake Mälaren.

Behold! It looks like a large forest has grown out of the lake, and the masts of large and small ships are flying straight into the blue sky. Now the jibs are all closed. When the expedition order is issued, how spectacular is the thousands of boats going?

Rurik knew very well that the time he had been waiting for was fully ripe, and that the army could set sail with just one word of his own.

Now, he has one more thing to fix.

All the nobles and generals gathered in the parliamentary hall in Stockholm.

There are more than 400 ships of various sizes on the lake outside the city. Among them, the large ships of the Ross Fleet are very eye-catching, but the huge number of traditional dragon-headed longboats is a spectacular scenery line.

Several islands near the city have become military camps, and the number of various types of personnel stationed in urgent need of expedition has exceeded 7,000.

In the council hall, people's eyes were full of killing intent and a strong desire to plunder.

Even the Götalans were a Vikings, apparently neither the Swedes nor the Rus present saw them as the same kind at present.

They all hope to make a fortune through war, and Rurik, as the king, hopes to solve the conquest war as soon as possible. If the Jotalan people resolutely counseled and swore allegiance in the face of the huge army, they would not have to face each other on a large scale. . After all, the conquest of Gotaland is irrelevant to the people of Gotaland, and now their "little transparency" hinders the grand strategy of the Kingdom of Rus against the Kingdom of Denmark.

Rurik spoke loudly in public, and in particular pointed out a phased plan for the advance, which was deafening to hear.

"This king has decided to divide his troops into two routes! The army is divided into land routes and sea routes!"

According to his plan, the land troops were commanded by his cousin Arik, and the First Banner, Sixth Banner and Cavalry were commanded by him. At the same time, Longstall, commander of the army of Yilmalun, followed Aric's command. This army of nearly 2,000 troops first arrived at Lake Yermalen by boat. After replenishing supplies, it immediately headed south, traversing the forest area and rushing to the northern shore of Lake Witten, a phased destination in the south. Gotaland Village.

The sea troops were the main force of the army. King Rurik led the rest of the army first into the Baltic Sea, down the coastline and then suddenly rushed into the fjord of the old Ostara, then along the river into the Gran Lake, and finally rushed Entering the huge inland Lake Witten and joining forces with the land troops This method of warfare has really created a history. In the past era, the tribes of Sweden have never practiced the method of warfare that goes hand in hand by water.

For this arrangement, Arik laughed heartily. He has a high degree of discretion, and the lovely king's younger brother makes it very clear that although the troops do not go by water, they must try to maintain high speed. When attacking the Gotaland people, they must attack with thunder, and they must show their ability to destroy. They came with a strong dismount. Such an arrangement was made for the famous reckless man Aric, and he was recognized as the most elite first flag team and rookie cavalry in his own hands, and even the king's younger brother also made his newlywed desire to be a female warrior Pecheneg. The princess is also incorporated into the cavalry, which really highlights the importance.

The land troops are indeed strong, and the sea troops are definitely not false. The sea route is not only a huge force, it is the Ross fleet itself, and the huge number of "Ma Run" that accompanies it. It is precisely the sea route that can quickly mobilize 5,000 people for an expedition.

The plan of attack by sea and land has been set, and Rurik even released a rhetoric: "One month! It is the end of April, and I will level the entire Lake Witten before June, conquer the local Gotaland, and then take them Proud Gothenburg Occupation! We will complete the conquest in a month."

Complete the conquest in a month! What a bold claim.

It sounds outrageous, but the Great King Rurik is right. If he hadn't studied it, he would definitely not have made such a rhetoric. The nobles have been mobilized with strong self-confidence, and they can't wait to start.

Coincidentally, the army has been fully prepared by now, and the soldiers usually feel very uncomfortable when they are forced to wander freely.

Everyone is eager for war, everything is ready, and Rurik officially issued the order to go!

The war of conquest against the Gotaland region begins.