Chapter 1003： 1 battle is over

An unexpected encounter had an unexpected result. The Ross cavalry won too easily, and everyone felt that the victory was inexplicable.

The brothers had, after all, fought another encounter with the Frankish regulars at the beginning of the operation. The enemy was as hard as stone, this time as soft as mud.

Is the man with the golden crown really the Frankish King Ludwig?

Fisk and the brothers had not met Ludwig himself, and now at least it was certain that the captives were either rich or expensive.

As long as you uncover the clothes that the person is wrapping around in the cold, you can find that the person is dressed very well. The waist belt is inlaid with rubies, and the clothes are mostly soft fabrics, and there are elegant plush sheepskin to keep out the cold. The man's boots are neat and his breeches are neat, though of course he has no panties.

What surprised Fisk most was that the man had a Ross steel sword.

This is not an ordinary Ross steel sword. First of all, it is indeed from the hands of the great blacksmith Clavathon. The material for making the steel sword is quite elegant. Its bright white body is deliberately plated with gold patterns, and the hilt has rubies and gold. and silver trim. It's a short sword, and it's far less combative than it's decorative.

"Could it be that the swords we sell to the Franks can still be exported to the Franks? Cravatson and the Kawhi family really sold this gorgeous sword to the outside world? How could it be obtained by a Frankish noble?"

Fisk pinched his beard, puzzled, and could only wait for the captured man to recover.

The corpses of the man and the war horse were on the Roman Avenue. The weather was fine today, but the cold temperature quickly took away the residual warmth of the corpse, and they were quickly frozen like a stone.

Therefore, Fisk ordered his subordinates to meet the rear baggage units during the cleaning of the battlefield. After reporting the situation to each other, they hurriedly left this unfortunate place with the captured spoils such as weapons.

After a short while, a small cavalry turned back, their Turkic horses with extremely strong manes were tied not far away.

They smashed the legs of the dead horses with axes, tied them with ropes, and dragged a large number of legs back.

There are not many opportunities to eat meat in the ice and snow, although the horse legs with a lot of blood stasis are far less flavorful than carefully slaughtered meat, some of them are good now, and the brothers are not picky. Just do this to avoid being seen by your own war horses. Of course, the breeds of horses are quite different. If the war horses have empathy and cause fear, future battles will be troublesome.

All this is said by the Pechenegs in the ranks, and the Rus and Slavs fully believe it.

At night, a large number of bonfires are lit in the snow camps by the roadside.

People unloaded the seized pottery urns, shoveled snow and boiled water, just to cook the wheat.

There are also brothers who put the horse meat in after boiling hot water, boil the blood of the horse meat out on a small fire, and then put it on their swords and put them on the flames of the bonfire to smoke...

The woodland is full of cavalry horses, all of which have been unloaded to save energy, and fed a lot of oats to restore their energy.

Bonfires were also lit around the horses, giving the hardworking horses a life-saving warmth.

The snow in this area is melting rapidly because of the bonfire, and Fisk and his brothers are also eating boiled wheat and grilled meat here.

Even the five captured Franks were recovering rapidly.

The guy with the golden crown had his arms tied behind his back, and he was taken to the bonfire. Fisk immediately sent a wooden bowl and stuffed boiled wheat into his mouth.

He chewed instinctively, but the soldier stuffed horse meat into his mouth.

After a while, the sluggish spirit of this man, who was captured by hunger and cold, had a huge change.

He finally regained his sanity, witnessing the current situation unexpectedly without surprise and fear, some just let out a long sigh.

"You? Awake?" Fisk kicked the man with his broken Frankish vocabulary and asked in Latin, "Can you speak Latin?"

"A little bit."

"Your identity? King of Franks? Ludwig?"

"it's me."

Ludwig's answer was quite flat, he admitted it himself, and the soldiers who were very concerned about the situation came together to celebrate.

The laughter of the Rus cavalry was the biggest mockery of Ludwig, but the man had no shame at all, instead he suddenly said shockingly: "I know you are from Rus. I really know the detailed identities of you people. Kill them. Me, let this end."

"What did you say? Take it slow."

"Kill me." Ludwig looked at the flames with his eyes. Although his face was hot, his heart was already disheartened.

"Why did you kill you?" Fisk laughed hard. "You are a piece of gold, and I will give you to our king. So, what about your army?"

It seemed that this guy didn't understand, and Fisk had to ask "Where is your army" three times in a row.

Ludwig actually understood, and he kept his mouth shut and really didn't want to mention his bad luck.

"Since you don't say it, it means defeat? Maybe you have lost all your troops, and I have no need to communicate with you."

…

The next day, the Ross cavalry continued north.

Of course Ludwig knew about the cavalry. A Russ cavalry unit once attacked the rear flank of the Frankish army and deliberately killed all the packhorses of the carriage, which led to a sharp increase in the logistics cost of the Frankish army.

Facing the initiator Ludwig really hated it, or it was because he couldn't bear the pain of defeat and was disheartened.

An arrogant nobleman is now reduced to a prisoner. If not for Catholicism to prohibit suicide, Ludwig would have drawn his sword and killed himself.

He begged Fisk to kill him not because he was angry, but because he really hoped so.

Fisk is just a general. He has no idea about politics. He always applauds and compliments King Rurik’s decision-making and then does it according to his orders. So after confirming Ludwig’s identity, he doesn’t bother to ask anything else, he just wants to lead the way. The army completes the crossover.

The cavalry finally reached the Weser River, across from the ruins of Bremen.

What is shocking is that there are large-scale ablation traces here, and there are all broken walls and ruins. Brothers know this is a glimpse of the war, but the traces of overheating are too new.

Only stone piers remained of the bridge, and the Weser River was completely frozen.

This year is a rare cold year. For the old Rus people who have to face the frozen sea every year, the brothers don't think the sight in front of them is new. They even hope that there will be a glacial river leading directly to the north, just like the brothers in the hinterland of the Rus Kingdom, they can use the frozen Volkhov River, Ladoga Lake and Neva River as a thoroughfare, because the frozen waters are extremely flat, travelers can Unbridled fast forward.

"Be careful, this is the south, be careful that the ice layer is not strong enough! Take care to protect our silver coins!"

Fisk commanded the horse team to cross the river, and everything went smoothly.

But when they crossed the river and passed through the fire of Bremen, they saw that there were a lot of strange dead branches here.

Do not! That's not dead branches. But the skeletons of charred people. Fisk thought that when they passed through Bremen, the wooden bridge had not been destroyed, but now the wooden bridge is gone, and Bremen has added a huge number of dead bodies.

It can be seen that there was also a war here, which must be what Arik's squadron did.

The cavalry and navy who were ordered to go south had significant victories. Thinking about it, Fisk still felt that his victories were the most legendary and glorious.

He asked again: "Take care of King Frank, and don't let him freeze to death!"

He especially charged young Brody Haraldsson, who had done great things. "Brodie! It's you! Take good care of your captives and dedicate them to the king. You will also be a war chief in the future."

"That's natural." Brody replied arrogantly with his chin almost facing the blazing sun.

The war gave countless people opportunities, and Brody's father Harald was the first old Russ to migrate to New Roseburg that year. The Harald family is only the most common member of the old Ross tribe. Harald himself is a fisherman and a warfighter. He is seriously lacking in fighting valour and has poor physical fitness. Order immigration to New Roseburg to open up wasteland.

Twelve years have passed! The young son had grown up, and his son Brody was put into the newly formed cavalry simply because he did not want to shame the old Rus people group, the highest-ranking popular group in the Rus kingdom.

In the end, Brody did not bring shame to the tribe, but achieved great glory.

Through the ruins of Bremen, the follow-up road has been very smooth.

To their astonishment, the smooth Roman avenues began to become more and more crooked, and a large number of frozen corpses began to appear on the road.

The soldiers saw white fluffy snow foxes eating the corpses, and the foxes fled when they saw someone coming.

As more and more frozen corpses were found, Fisk was absolutely sure that the Franks had been completely defeated.

Finally, they passed a wooded fort with a Rus flag flying over the fort.

The soldiers' hearts floated, and Fisk urgently ordered: "Everyone, show our flags to ensure that there is no misunderstanding."

They found some wooden sticks, or just captured short spears, and hung a small area of ​​the Ross flag.

In this way, the cavalry team that had been in a constant state of expedition suddenly appeared, and what Fisk received was not the welcome of the friendly army, but an inexplicable mockery.

"Where did you go? You totally missed the Armageddon."

"The brothers have already killed mad, but you are wandering. You just wait for the king to get angry!"

…

The words made Fisk seem to have done something wrong, and he immediately retorted: "Is this the enemy's fortress? You already live here. Now you take a good look at my team, and I tell you, all the sacks that the horses carry, It's full of shiny silver coins. The king doesn't scold me, only praises me. And..."

He wanted to talk about Ludwig, who he had captured, but now he thinks about it.

The cavalry chose to speed up, because they were very close to the frozen Elbe.

But they said that after the war, the coalition forces swept the battlefield on the ice, all the Vikings who died in the war were cremated, and the ashes of the war dead were recovered as far as possible, only for the future burial in the "Hermon Valhalla" cemetery in New Roseburg. .

Vikings from multiple ethnic groups formed a coalition. Under the command of Rurik, they had the best equipment, combat literacy, and the best cooperation of various arms. They came prepared, and Rurik successfully predicted the tactics of the enemy commander Ludwig. The Viking army suffered very few losses, but the coalition as a whole still lost 3,500 people.

Some were killed directly in battle, and some died of serious injuries afterwards. Most of the dead were untrained Saxon peasant soldiers. It is undeniable that the battle was largely a battle of revenge for the Saxon ethnic group. The Saxon army composed of refugees from various villages fought like a mad dog and was poorly equipped. But not afraid of sacrifice.

They did pay a very staggering loss, but surprisingly no one paid attention to this on the battlefield. Because Ludov, Duke of Saxony, a descendant of the great hero Widukind's bloodline, continued to fight even if he was wounded, the heroic deeds of the soldiers were endorsed by the saint of the Northern Church, Eskil, and the battle was of unparalleled sacred significance.

National hatred and family hatred, religious blessings, and even a very simple logic of "Once we are defeated, the Franks will retaliate and exterminate the family". The Saxons won the victory together with the Viking allies with a mortality rate of 30%.

It was not until after they won that they finally realized the terrible loss they had suffered, and it was terrifying to think about it.

On the side of the vanquished, the stripped Frank army armor and ordnance piled up like a mountain, and all their logistical materials were also seized.

The French army was so utterly defeated that they didn't even have a chance to survive as a prisoner.

The ice and the woodlands are littered with the corpses of the Frankish army, and the corpses must be dealt with after all.

What to do with the dead body of the enemy is a problem, but the dead of your own must be handled properly.

As the victor, Duke Ludoff of Saxony will never bother his allies to deal with follow-up matters for himself. He has nearly a thousand Frankish people who were captured before, and now these people just bring tools to dig holes in the snow.

Liudorf chose to design a cemetery for the war dead in a place with relatively soft soil in the headquarters of Hamburg.

The Saxons who died in battle should have followed tradition and combined Catholic rituals. The bodies were washed and put on decent clothes. Then they were wrapped in sackcloth and placed in wooden coffins made of planks. They were buried in the excavated earth pits. This process is witnessed by priests throughout the city, and a passage of scriptures is recited in Latin.

In special cases, things must be done simply. The prisoners were forced to dig some straight trenches, and the dead were laid flat in them and then buried together. After that, a large number of wooden crosses were placed on the ground.

Esquil has been witnessing the burial process. He is in a very bad mood. In addition to the cold weather, he has become seriously ill, and now he has to stay in Hamburg to recuperate.

He even felt that he had been punished by God because of his illness, just because this battle could have been avoided. As a saint, instead of preventing the war, he induced the decisive battle to break out.

Liudov didn't feel that he was guilty at all. The Franks would rather go on a winter expedition for the sake of war.

All of them who were benevolent and benevolent died. As the victor, Liudov was determined to give the dead enemy the last respect.

If the Rus were cleaning the battlefield, the corpses would be thrown on the ice and ignored. When the ice melts and the snow melts, the dead corpses sink into the river and are naturally washed into the ocean to feed the fish. It is not necessary to collect corpses for the enemy.

If you are really full of hatred for the enemy, you will chop off the head of the dead body and make the skull into a drinking bowl.

Whether it is water burial or cremation, it is against the Catholic faith. Even if they are enemies, they have the same faith after all. Liudov did not dare to be reckless, so he had to dig a giant tomb to bury the dead.

This is a huge project. Every day after the war, people throw the corpses from the ice that will be integrated with the ice, and then consign the corpses like ice to the prepared pit...

So when Fisk's cavalry arrived at the frozen Elbe River, they saw such a scene.

There are an astonishing number of corpses on the bright side. Some people are pulling the corpses away. The battlefield still maintains the appearance of the fierce battle. This cold relic silently tells the fierceness of the battle.

Fisk couldn't help but think of the taunting of his allies.

"Ah! I really missed the Armageddon."

His face was shaking, and then he ordered: "Brothers, let's cross the river quickly! Go to our camp outside the city, let's go!"

They began marching across the ice, even deliberately following the ruins of the battlefield. Ludwig was still bound with his arms, and even his feet on the saddle were tied with hemp ropes to ensure that there was no way for him to escape. This was the place that broke his heart. He closed his eyes and didn't want to look at it. He simply put his whole body on the horse's neck and buried his whole face in the thick mane.

The figure of the cavalry is too conspicuous, it is a behemoth whose horses swell to four white horses! This is a horse team that mixes multiple horse breeds, but it seems that it is a large caravan carrying a large amount of materials.

Since Hanukkah is not far away, and it is also the Christmas of Christ in Saxony, people from all walks of life around Hamburg are busy celebrating the festival.

Rurik had fantasized about the triumph of Novi Rosberg a few months earlier, celebrating the year 841 in the capital.

Now, he can only spend the holidays in the Duchy of Saxony.

Based on the Ross tradition, a wooden tower, mainly made of straight pine wood, has begun to be built, and it must become a burning torch to burn off the past year and usher in the new year in burning. And the Danish pseudo-king Horrick, who was captured and turned into an adult, must be turned into ashes in this ceremony.

There was no objection to the Northern Saint Eskil and Duke Ludov of Saxony, or no objection to all of them. Even though Horrick had converted, Esquil was extremely disgusted by the fact that his people repeatedly jumped in the faith.

If King Rurik was asked to be lenient on the fact that Horrick was a Christian, even if he beheaded, he would not be burned to death. Eskil had no face to intercede, and it was really unnecessary.

On the contrary, Eskil, together with Ludov and the captured Baudouin, jointly sentenced Horlick to death.

Even Baudouin, the Count of Flanders, wished that Horrick would hurry to go, UU reading www. uukanshu. com is this guy who once wanted to smash the title of Earl of Flanders, and he really took down a large piece of land. Baudouin's family is indeed ruthless about the invasion of the Ross army's own territory, as well as his defeat and capture. Baudouin also hated Horrick, so he took the opportunity to call for the death penalty against him. Wang Rurik flattered.

Baudouin is such a person who has both sides. In the face of the defeated East Frankish army, he had to reconsider his position. He even considered that he could be a vassal of Ludoff, Duke of Saxony. Objectively, he could indirectly obtain various Norman Military protection of people. As for those hatreds, his standards of conduct are the same as those of his fathers and grandparents, very flexible.

So the northern sage Eskil made a simple northern church inquisition and sentenced Horrick to be a heretic. So this person is a heretic and a traitor to Odin, and burning to death is no different in every way.

Everything settled down, and Rurik was busy preparing for the festival, educating his eldest son Regraf, and pampering his two newborn sons.

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The coalition was busy resting and counting the spoils.

Rurik still has a concern in his heart. The cavalry he sent out has not been heard from until now. Where have they gone?

Until this day, the appearance of the cavalry team attracted thousands of people's attention, and they were too conspicuous on the ice.

Rurik also listened to the report of his subordinates, and when he stood on the Hamburg city wall, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"This is my cavalry? Where did they get so many horses? Ah! It's them!"

Rurik hurriedly got off the city wall, walked to the frozen riverside surrounded by many soldiers, and personally greeted those cavalry subordinates who had been missing for a long time, who were wearing sunglasses and looked very conspicuous...