Chapter 985： war begins

Ludwig's East Frankish army rebuilt a city abruptly from the ruins of Bremen, even if there were only a huge number of rudimentary wooden shacks.

More than 20,000 people are temporarily stationed here. They are logging wood and making fire, and they all gather together to keep warm.

The cold weather is fair, and those who are thinly clad are bound to pay some price. From frostbite to hands, to cracked toes, to death.

Those Sorbian slave soldiers were always used by Ludwig as tools. After all, they were not Franks, Alemanni, or Thuringians, and they had nothing to do with the rebellious Saxons.

This is just a group of conquered Slavic tribes. Some priests scorn this group of lambs. As a king, Ludwig only thinks that the greatest significance of these people is to treat his army as cattle and horses.

Even when the world is grayed by slush-like snow, the Sorbs carry their tools and go to the nearby woods to cut wood. Their clothes were generally sparse, and everyone tried every means to wrap their bodies in a variety of things to keep warm. All kinds of rags became a rarity, so that many people were wrapped like a bear. Their naive and clumsy appearance also attracted the mockery of the Frankish warriors.

They work very hard, and they have no food just because they are neglected in their work.

Ludwig would not be stingy enough to give these people only a little food to satisfy their stomachs. They are a group of pack horses, and they will be of great use in the future, so naturally they need to give more food now.

The horses pulling the carts that were killed by the Ross cavalry before have been disposed of by the Franks, and a large amount of horse meat was used as military rations, all of which went into the stomachs of the elite soldiers. But there are a lot of heavy armored warriors, and thousands of big mouths have already eaten the horse meat.

They still carried a lot of wheat, so the Franks could eat a lot, the peasants and soldiers ate less, and the Sorbians, who contributed the most, ate the least.

The colder it gets, the more food they have to eat, and the poor Sorbs have to brave the wind and snow to do high-strength work.

Some people have a strange feeling that they gradually take off their clothes for logging, just to dissipate heat as soon as possible.

This is precisely a fatal illusion. When such people drag some logs back to the city, they gradually die of exhaustion. Or while resting and eating, some people's body temperature is always cold, and even Duanmu Wan's hands are shaking and suddenly die.

To rebuild Bremen in the snow, the Sorbians paid as many as five hundred non-combat deaths.

In fact, they all died of cold and overwork in the cold, but in the mouth of Archbishop Hadbold, it was explained as "they died because their faith was not piety".

Is it really?

The Frankish warriors were not fools. They tentatively believed that the Sorbians were the cause of death, but the wounded soldiers on their side, who were clearly out of danger, still died on a large scale after the snow began to fall.

The Russ among the Normans are by no means weak, and brothers must be vigilant enough to fight against such enemies. But thinking about how easy it is to die once injured, the soldiers were worried about their safety for the first time when they forced an expedition when it snowed in winter.

No one dared to question whether the king's decision was reckless, but in fact, many people had the answer in their hearts, and their dissatisfaction was firmly in their hearts, so they had to continue to obey.

Because they are the standing army of Shijunzhilu, if they disobey Ludwig, it is a betrayal of the soul.

If Rurik had the special status of being "loved by Odin", it attracted a large number of Vikings to think that this strong man was naturally worth following.

Ludwig has a similar identity. The so-called Archbishop of Cologne and the Archbishop of Mainz jointly endorsed him, pointing out that Charlemagne's grandson is a "defender of the faith" and is equally worthy of following.

However, the army crossed the Weser River and could not find any Frankish village to the north.

The scout cavalry went to the vicinity of Bremen to search. They were happy to see the village. When they got close, they found that it was just deserted.

There is no human voice around and no sense of popularity, and a large area has become a no-man’s land.

A huge army stayed here. Ludwig didn't want to do this. He felt that he would need some trouble if he continued to march. It would be a great shame for him to withdraw.

At least there is still a chance for change to continue to march. He decided to start preparations now, and the whole army will go north after the snow stops.

It is a bit far-fetched to expect those Sorbians who have been injured by ice and snow to continue their careers, and the vast number of conscripted peasant soldiers also suffer from frostbite to varying degrees.

After some inventory, as many as 2,000 people in the entire army suffered frostbite injuries. If the hands are frozen and cracked, the spear and sword cannot be held, the ears are frostbitten, and the hearing cannot be heard. The worst thing is that the feet are injured.

However, it was the first snow of the winter, and its snowfall took a little longer. As a result, more than 2,000 people in the entire army lost their ability to fight.

In addition to the battle with the Ross fleet before the snowfall, the total casualties of the expeditionary force have reached 3,500.

An army was abruptly reduced to only 20,000 people.

Of course, the total strength of 20,000 people can still support Ludwig's strong belief, after all, the elites of his standing army have not lost much.

He asked each warrior to make a small sleigh out of wooden sticks, tying ropes and dragging them by himself. It can place personal armor, personal items, and even critical wheat.

"Don't count on our slaves, you are the strongest. Warriors, this is a test for you, you will overcome the ice and snow to crusade rebels and barbarians, you will get endless glory, and I will give you no one in battle. bounty."

Before setting off, Ludwig was mobilizing his army before the war. The soldiers were forced to squint their eyes in the first clear sunlight, watching their king, the shining crown in the sun, and listening to his eloquent speeches.

What "endless glory", or a real bounty is exciting.

The warriors beat their shields or roared, and they made various noises in response to the king's call. In fact, they were more excited that they could get more military pay.

All of them were granted free plunder after victory, even if they grabbed fist-sized gold, it was theirs.

In a very troublesome environment, only the promise of making a fortune can arouse the fighting spirit of these people, so Ludwig made a big deal. For this reason, the Archbishop of Cologne really felt that it was too vulgar and inferior, but he could not say that Ludwig had a bad character. When it came to making money, his Archbishop of Cologne, Hardbold, was more wise and explained the reasons more grandly.

The sun came back, and as a result the pale earth became extremely dazzling.

There were only a few tulle-like high-level clouds in the blue sky, and the ground was white and shining. The soldiers had to step on the snow that touched half their calf and drag their sleds forward. It's really thanks to the level of the Roman avenue that their progress has a direction.

Such a snowy march would be a disaster for the vanguard infantry. Ludwig was not stupid enough to let the infantry go in front, but to open the way for all the cavalry. Frank's tall horses have less stamina, but they have longer legs and less resistance to walking in the snow.

Two thousand horses opened the way ahead, and all that was left for the infantry was a road that was trodden in one place. The infantry walked on the road of ice and snow that was stepped on relatively solidly, and the resistance was not very serious.

They are passing through the so-called "Lüneburg heath forest", which is full of heather trees and is now covered with snow.

They encountered many villages along the way, but it was empty and there were some traces of the flat snow, which were carefully identified and known to come from birds and foxes.

The army was camping in an empty village. Ludwig originally hoped that the Rus would open the army with a sense of taste. As long as the two sides had a decisive battle that the nobles liked, he would not care about the privacy of his actions. During the arduous march, the soldiers needed a lot of hot boiled wheat, so he didn't care that everyone buried the urn to cook the wheat, and let a lot of blue-gray smoke rise into the air.

Cow dung is also a good fuel, but these villages have cow dung but cannot find cattle.

The burning cow dung attracts some too thick smoke and dust, yes, the curling smoke is more obvious.

Therefore, the Ross scouts, who were reluctant to go further south, saw this situation from a distance.

They hurried back to the Elbe bridgehead, but the defenders of Hamburg had seen the smoke farther.

When the smoke rose, many nobles gathered at the heights of the Hamburg Fortress to watch.

Liudov's spirit is highly sensitive. "They've come! A big battle."

Rurik listened carefully and said, "I thought they weren't coming, but they finally showed up. How long do you think it will be before they show up?"

"At least one day," Ludov estimated. "There are too many daylight hours. Maybe they will arrive in two days."

"No, it's a clear sky now, and the moon and stars at night can illuminate the snow-covered world very brightly. They may continue to march for a while at night. But... I don't plan to take the initiative to fight against it."

"Use your stratagem now?" asked Ludov.

"Yes. Now we can arrange for the ambush at the estuary to start a sneak attack."

Quite a number of Ross and Danish warriors wanted to go through the pontoon to fight against the Frankish army who appeared. They were in a wooden house and felt very uncomfortable. Their swords and battle axes wanted to drink blood, and they wanted to sacrifice Odin with blood!

After all, it's almost December, and Hanukkah isn't that far off.

The Saxons are desperate for a big victory before Christmas, and the Rusdanes are going to **** Odin before Hanukkah.

Such as the king and prince of Northumbria as observers, they also want to see what is called "the great melee of more than 10,000 people".

The captured Baudouin and Harald Clark, although still as prisoners, can now serve as observers to watch the defeat of the army of the monarch Ludwig, whom they had been loyal to before.

The smoke was too thick, as if the heather forest had been burning in the ice and snow.

The coalition forces stationed in Hamburg were assembled, and the war was about to break out.

Now, Rurik firmly holds the strategic advantage, and he can say that he can see the entire battlefield from "God's perspective" compared to the enemy.

If the ice layer of the Elbe River is thick enough, the enemy's main force can collapse and attack when the main force appears. At that time, the coalition forces can recklessly use the advantages of long-range weapons to come to the "Battle of Agincourt" in 840. However, the Elbe River is only covered with thick ice on both sides. The width of the river is only the longbow of Tuomu can shoot light arrows to the opposite bank. It is really wide, and the river in the middle still flows.

The two longboats with oars were ordered, the ships were furled, the broad Rus flag was hoisted on the dhows, and the soldiers rowed hard to get to the camp of the ambush as soon as possible.

Rurik commanded the coalition army to wait for work in Hamburg. As the scouts sent out reported more detailed information, the phantom of the enemy army finally appeared from the cover of the forest.

Because, the scout with the white hood saw the Frankish camp with his own eyes, even if he only noticed it from a distance.

A large area south of the Elbe is a no-man's-land of war, and now this place has an unusual life orientation. Scouts spotted large numbers of armed men, mostly clad in taupe fur and cloth, with plenty of striking blue accents.

The most important thing is that the scouts saw a large number of cross flags, and the flags were not simple white cloth pictures with black stone stripes.

The flags are mostly blue crosses on a white background, and a blue coat of arms resembling a three-pointed harpoon has become a very convincing evidence.

Iris, one of the symbols of Frank, this type of coat of arms is only authorized to be used by high-ranking nobles of Frankish origin, as well as the personal soldiers of the nobles, and it is a sin for others to use them.

More information confirms the arrival of a great Frankish nobleman for the expedition. Although Rurik still cannot decide whether the East Frank king Ludwig himself has arrived, from the analysis of the scale of the army, everyone can only agree that it may be the king himself. pro-sign.

The monarchs of the whole north fight against the monarchs of the south, and a good show is about to be staged.

First of all, the Rus army must be the first to attack.

Boating in the glacier is nothing, but Arik was forced to row in the half-frozen Gulf of Finland. He has a strong physique and proves to the old guys that he is a real man by winter swimming.

The two long-boats carrying the news went down the current and accelerated their oars, and the short daylight hours did not stop at all, and the oarsmen had to hold back their urine.

They did not act lightly, but brought some equipment and materials. The so-called sixty soldiers were immediately assigned to Arik's command after reporting the news.

Just a short day is coming to an end, when the orange sunset illuminates the entire vast world in orange, and two Ross flags flutter in the orange world.

Instead of docking, the longboat rides directly on the ice with its hard oak keel. The soldiers jumped off the boat one after another, and the leader quickly found the general Aric wearing sunglasses.

Needless to say, when Arik saw a group of young warriors suddenly coming, he knew that his boring wait had finally come to an end.

That night, the bonfire of the salt-boiling field and the Ross Barracks at the mouth of the Elbe was bright.

Arik stood on the high ground where the logs were temporarily piled up, and gave orders to the as many as 1,100 soldiers who had gathered around him.

A powerful voice was heard roaring: "The war has begun! We will launch a surprise attack! This is the third time we have attacked Bremen, only this time we will not leave! Listen! Kill anyone you come across. The enemy, show no mercy, chop the enemy into meat sauce!"

So, he pulled out his double swords and pointed at the stars: "The gods are watching us! Blood sacrifice to Odin!"

Emotions were aroused, followed by a rhythmic and deafening Viking battle cry.

They roared and banged on the wooden shield, and the rhythm was very deterrent.

Arik waited for a long time at the camp, where the army ate wheat and grilled fish. Eating more salt is good for fighting the cold, but this is an Atlantic salt cooking base opened by the Rus. A group of Saxon servants work here in exchange for compensation, which is equivalent to a thousand soldiers on standby eating high-salt, high-carbohydrate water every day. High-protein meals, this one eats for half a month.

A lot of people have already suffocated their fair belly, and Alic's angular face is now rounder.

If it continues like this, the brothers will become fat seals sooner or later, and they urgently need to execute the combat orders to consume some excessive physical strength.

On a new day, when the eastern sky was bright, all the ships on standby pulled anchor and set sail.

As long as they sailed forcibly, even if the day was short, they would be able to kill Bremen in three days, and then Arik would like to see the indiscriminate killing to vent his anger.

In this regard, Ludwig and his Frankish army, who continued on the ice and snow march, did not know, and the army just wanted to get to the other side of the Elbe as soon as possible.

The ground began to tremble, and more than a thousand cavalrymen shook the treetops and snow fell.

The Frankish cavalry had deliberately changed into iron armor, they held high spears, and some knights also held cross flags. Such a large army marched on the snow on the Roman Avenue, and their majesty forced the last lingering Ross scouts to run away.

The scouts don't have to hide anymore, they blow the horns as they run.

The low sound of the horn was extremely penetrating, and the army advancing in the forest heard the sound that seemed to come from another distant world.

"Okay, you already know me! It's time for a decisive battle!" Ludwig was not nervous but complacent. He imagined that he would face the frozen Elbe River. The snowfall that lasted for many days made him believe that the river was frozen, so the army immediately launched a strong attack. After all, the righteous army has no need to negotiate with traitors and barbarians. Those despicable people The enemy is not worthy.

On the other side of the Elbe River, the coalition forces who were waiting for work were in high spirits.

They first saw some white shadows running like crazy, running and blowing trumpets.

This is the Roth scout, are they avoiding any monsters by running so wildly?

After a while, when these people stepped on the dissatisfied snow-covered pontoon bridge, hundreds of iron objects suddenly rushed out of the forest.

The cavalry's armor shone extremely dazzlingly in the hot winter sun, but these heavy cavalry were obviously shocked by the sight in front of them, and the pursuit stopped abruptly. They wandered in place and did not want to venture into the floating bridge.

Rurik took off his sunglasses, and narrowed his eyes, trying to see some details of the enemy.

Liudov was a little nervous: "This is the elite heavy cavalry, their main force has arrived. What are you... going to do?"

"I see that it is necessary for our army to give them some gifts."

"Gift?" Ludov suddenly felt that Rurik was very humorous. "What gift? Wouldn't it be sending someone to row over to fight them?"

"It's a javelin."

That's all, Rurik immediately gave the order, and the semaphore soldiers stood on the extra high platform erected on the wooden city wall, facing the big boat floating on the river and giving the order.

There is only one order - to throw a round of javelins at the cavalry that appears.

All Rurik wanted was to give the aggressive enemy a disarm, so that his own morale would be boosted, and it could also anger the belligerent enemy commander.

Now, the soldiers stationed on the ship are pulling the latch of the torsion slingshot, and the javelins are vacated...