Rise of Rurik - Chapter 761

[Chapter 762 When the Ross Royal Pirate Fleet Arrived at the Weser Estuary]

A fleet was gathering on Tombstone Island. When the people and merchants on the island learned about the target that the fleet was going to attack, they all took a breath.

After the initial astonishment gradually dissipated, someone couldn’t help asking a question deep in their souls – how much benefit can they get if they win?

The benefits are absolutely indispensable!

Because the prince had already ordered, the brothers leased the warship belonging to the prince to rob, and the stolen property was shared with the prince fifty-fifty.

As long as we rob enough this time, the brothers can make a fortune in one battle.

A group of wolves, tigers and leopards were ordered to mobilize all subjective initiatives to rob, and even any vicious deeds were supported by the prince.

Let’s talk about a centurion led by Arik, this team is divided into four “fleet” platoon-level combat teams, but the number of people does not strictly meet the 30-member team.

He first recruited a small group of Balmerks in New Roseburg.

Recruiting people is not a random move, because the Fifth Banner Team, which is composed entirely of his own people, belonged to the Balmerk man Hailafeld, and the capable men all became businessmen because they had not received the order of the prince to gather and attack the army for a long time. old line.

They were a group of guys who boarded the merchant ships that traveled between Roseburg’s old homeland and the new homeland in the East. They transported the best salt from the Atlantic coast to New Roseburg to sell, and then replaced it with cloth, ironware and even grain and shipped it back to their hometown.

The flag team of the Balmerks was disintegrated, a group of businessmen liked the news of the battle, and all plans to purchase supplies and return home were pushed aside. They didn’t ask who the hero Arik wanted to kill, and they all joined their ranks.

Such a powerful team, Arik, accepted it so decisively that the number of this centurion instantly swelled to one hundred and fifty.

A group of people took the small fleet led by the Salmon Chief in New Roseburg, brought the purchased food, fresh water and weapons, and arrived at the current economic center of the Finns, that is, Helminki Trading by the sea. It is also the seat of the de facto Earl Gevlo.

In the past, it was just a barren beach by the sea. Suomi tribesmen did not dare to set up an obvious fishing village here because they were afraid of the details of the passing Varyag people.

Now a fishing port has sprung up. It is named after the ancient Finnish word for “jewel”, and it undertakes the task of a transfer station for the material transportation route of the Principality of Ross.

Because Gogran Island in the Gulf of Finland has granite and limestone that are extremely scarce in this area, and the island also has fresh water, which is the only source of stone for nearby settlements.

Not only the Ross people who lived in New Roseburg came to quarry the stone, but even the Finns themselves came to carry the stone.

Ever since Yeflo became a nobleman of the Suomi people and became the count of Finland, building his hometown has become an inescapable responsibility.

He personally led his people to land on Gogran Island, and while looking for suitable stones, he was also actively looking for those “ash trees”.

The ash trees that had been acquired were turned into thirty long bows, which were magical bows that could shoot light arrows about two hundred steps away.

A major expedition yielded a major harvest. He plundered all the ash trees on the island, and finally turned them into sixty hard and resilient wooden poles.

He didn’t really exhaust the water for fishing. A batch of saplings that were obviously ash trees were directly dug up with the “mother soil” of the roots, and shipped directly to Helminki for planting. Since then, the Finns have been constantly grasping that they can get the best material for making bows.

“Are you going to fight the Franks? I thought you were going to fight the Danes. Since all this is the order of the prince, I will naturally join it. It’s just my only request. When we grab the treasure, we must send troops according to the order.” The number of people will be distributed to me in proportion.” Yevro’s attitude of sending troops was very decisive.

His straightforwardness was also very popular with Aric, who had only one warning: “I hope you can send the best fighters.”

Yefro will naturally bring out the best subordinates, but considering his own situation, it is really difficult for him to come up with a strong melee force.

He selected fifty of the tallest men with the strongest arms from among his Suomi tribe, and formed a team of infantry archers.

Just as the fleet was resting at the port, Yevro completed the task of mobilizing troops.

Arik and the explorer Spueut inspected the group of black-haired “dwarves”.

All the top-notch Finnish archers imitated the Russians in their attire, especially the white robes with blue cloth strips, and the waists were also tied with blue cloth belts.

On their waists are iron handaxes for self-defense and weapons that look like short swords but are actually pistols. They also have the characteristic backpacks of the Ross army with sackcloth pockets.

The leather quiver hanging on the waist is a great feature, and it is full of arrows with white feathers.

If there is the most astonishing equipment, it is the main weapon at hand-the longbow.

It is said that after a winter of drying in the shade, the newly made longbow has the ability to shoot light arrows one hundred and ninety cloth away, and the shooting range is indeed twice that of ordinary short wooden bows.

They’re excellent fire support aren’t they?

It is really suitable for assisting in siege.

After this glance, the army strength was close to two hundred and fifty.

They rested for the last time at the assembly point on Tombstone Island. Arik took the army mobilization order written by the prince himself, and obtained all the ships listed on the list from the local governor.

After ten ships of various sizes had assembled at the port, Arik began to recruit capable sailors.

When this matter is implemented, it is as easy as taking off your pants and peeing.

Because, Blue Fox Gouldsson joined the team as a soldier. He was indeed a guide, and he was more obliged to shoot the enemy with a steel-armed crossbow.

Over the past few decades, there has been such a fierce and thin man in an obese family, and considering that the crusade against Frank was firstly to vent his anger and secondly to simply rob, how could the Gould family not get involved in such a chance to make a fortune?

Even if the blue fox is a warrior, he is alone!

No, as the old father, Gould himself took out ten family mercenaries, both as sailors and as the guards of the blue fox. If a battle broke out, these ten people could also take up arms and join the battle.

Gould Sr. did not hesitate to take charge of the supply of most of the sailors, even though doing so might affect the family’s business activities.

He is not a philanthropist. When he realized the benefits, he made this venture capital investment.

Because Arik is really a straightforward man. As the commander of the operation, he boldly made a very simple and straightforward decision on the arrangement of looting and loot distribution.

In principle, the brothers and the princes must divide the accounts 50-50, and the remaining half of the property will be divided strictly according to the proportion of each force and person.

Among them, the identity of sailors is quite special. In principle, they do not participate in any fierce battles, and there is a high probability that they do not have to worry about their lives.

The amount of fortune is proportional to the risk of the adventure, even so the sailors each get a certain percentage of the spoils.

This was a sure-fire deal, and the aging Gould wished he could personally participate in it and witness the army’s looting of Frank.

In his memory, the Ross fleet always returns with full rewards, and he firmly believes in the benefits of this venture capital investment.

The crusade fleet was fully formed, and ten ships left Tombstone Island in a mighty way, heading south against the warmest south wind in July summer.

In the eyes of the people of Saaremaa, the fleet that suddenly appeared near the shore is like a magic soldier from Asgard.

A group of people disembarked from the boat. They wore uniform white coats. Several flag bearers held flagpoles, and the flag of the Principality of Ross fluttered in the south wind.

The Earl of Spyut and the army of the Principality of Ross have come to the loyal Saaremaa Island!

From the perspective of the Ross army, this island, which was once considered a deserted island with few people settled, now flies the Ross flag impressively, and a walled village chief sees its scale for the first time.

“This is the island of pirates you were ordered to manage? Brother, I think this place can develop further. We will go to the west to rob. Your island is the most convenient starting point.” Ute’s heart.

“Brother Arik, I will not let you down. You should also know some things. These islanders are exiles from various tribes. You must not doubt their ability to kill people. One or two are very vicious.”

“Then arm them quickly, let’s act quickly.” Arik urged at last.

When they first heard that the army was going to rob Frank, the islanders had no idea.

Because they don’t know what Frank means, seems like a weak and attached object?

There is no reason not to grab it.

According to the order of the prince, the total strength of the combatants and sailors of the crusade army should not exceed 500.

Then select people according to the upper limit of 500 people, just make up a whole number so that the spoils can be easily calculated in the future.

This was a little trouble for Spueut. He recruited all the strongest men among the islanders. Since he couldn’t make up the number of people, those half-grown boys and old men with gray beards were all pulled onto the boat.

Different from the uniform dress of the Ross army, the soldiers of the Saarema Islanders are still in a messy outfit, which is also in line with their image of pirates.

On the contrary, the Ross army, because they were dressed too formally and uniformly, was obviously on a mission of robbery, making it look like a state-of-the-art battle between countries.

After all, this is an expedition. Arik and others who have mastered the map of the region drawn by Rurik himself have no worries about getting lost, and Blue Fox, a secret worker who has penetrated into the hinterland of Frank, fully affirms the accuracy of the map drawn by the prince with his senior experience. accuracy.

In fact, this map is “Odin’s miracle.” No one knows how the prince got the information to map the land, maybe it was a dream of the gods one night.

In this way, their actions seem to open up the perspective of God, and the brothers really believe that they have received God’s favor, and the map is the conclusive evidence.

They organized a priesthood near the shore of Saaremaa Island. Without a good sacrifice, they simply used a very small minke whale that was recently captured.

Everyone kneels facing the rising sun, praying to the incarnation of Odin for a complete victory in this battle, and also swearing to the sun that the so-called true warrior will fight bravely and reward the enemy with death, and he will not reveal even a trace of it. cowardice.

Prayer is over!

Arik patted the sand on his knees, drew out his two swords and waved them, shouting at the top of his voice, “Brothers! Let’s get on the boat! Grab the money! Grab the food! Grab the women! Let’s go!”

The purpose of the army is so simple, the enlarged Royal Pirates of the Principality of Ross officially launched the most Viking attack.

The fleet headed straight for the waters of Burgundy Island. For this group of fishing boats that had fallen into the “Ross Fear” for a long time, they saw a group of large boats with distinctive triangular sails. .

If they don’t attack Burgundy in a mighty way, don’t they go to attack Denmark?

The news had already spread that the new King of Denmark had looted everything the Ross had in Denmark, so it was reasonable for Ross to retaliate.

But today’s Denmark is also a mess!

A mighty Frankish army is still on the north side of the Great Wall, especially occupying the fjord where Hedeby is located.

They took advantage of the cavalry to make King Horik of Denmark feel uncomfortable.

It is rumored that King Horik, who once hung up the exemption card, has personally pleaded guilty and made peace with the Franks. As for the price paid, it is unknown.

It is said that despite the peace, the cavalry of the East Franks were still stationed in Schleswig, and Hedeby was burned to the ground, and a small group of Frankish infantry remained entrenched on the ruins.

The only pity is that Frank is a strong army on land, and the advantage of cavalry is too obvious, but their sea power is as weak as ants.

Denmark has a large number of noble lords and people who live on many islands. Even if the islands are very close to the Jutland Peninsula, the shallow and short strait is enough to isolate the Frankish army.

The Burgundian islanders were never worried about the invasion of the Franks, but they were worried about the frequent harassment and killing of the Ross people.

Now even the Danish allies are unreliable. Everyone is pitiful and helpless, and can only linger on under the harassment of Ross.

But this terrible fleet skimmed the island and really headed towards Denmark.

In fact, the fleet rushed to the Øresund Strait, passed through this narrow strait under the eyes of the Danes, and continued to sail in the broad Danish Strait with the southerly wind.

The Ross Fleet is too conspicuous. A few months ago, a single Ross ship disturbed the nearby fishermen to flee in panic. Now that a fleet appears, the people in the fishing village are paying attention to the situation. If the other party has the intention of landing, then everyone can only drag their families Take the mouth to evacuate and escape.

Even this fleet passed by the so-called king city of the Danish king, Godfreyhagen by the sea, and the flying Ross flag showed off in front of the Danes.

Let’s talk about Horik, the king of Denmark, who is very solid. He only recently apologized to Prince Ludwig himself, and only bought peace by kneeling down and kissing his leather boots in an extremely humiliating gesture.

He had fought before, and even his subordinates had more fighting spirit than him. As a result, he, the king, had to dress up as a pug in front of the strong.

This is Horick’s excellence. When he should confess, he immediately chooses to admit it, but he is not a real pug.

The war between Denmark and East Francia was extremely violent and came to an anticlimactic end.

The rulers on both sides are rational, and after realizing that neither can completely defeat their opponents, they all use their own methods to get off the slope.

Indeed, Prince Ludwig was busy encroaching on his elder brother Lothair’s territory, and he also had to be wary of whether the old father and younger brother Charlie who had been released made another claim to the territory.

If you fight with the Danes, you will consume the military essence of East Franks. Now that the opponent has subdued, you can naturally stop the attack.

[To tell the truth, I have been using the source-changing app recently to read and update books, switch between sources, and read aloud with many timbres. www.huanyuanapp.com is available for both Android and Apple.

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But Horick must expel the pirates who looted Hamburg and Bremen along the river!

Ever since, a Danish civil war suddenly broke out!

Horik, with Frankish military support, won the battle.

If you win, you win, your own strength is damaged, and the military power of the entire Denmark is also damaged.

What’s worse is that the tribe that crazily slaughtered the Franks fled with their families after some people died. Their escape drove many lords and their families to leave Denmark.

Some went to Norway, and some went to unknown places…

The number of lords who surrendered to Horik in Denmark has decreased, and his behavior of being forced to believe in Christ again to negotiate peace is criticized. A vote of lords knows that they cannot overthrow this man with their own strength, so they can only swallow their anger. Don’t even think about implementing its orders honestly.

The prestige that King Horick finally established was greatly bruised by his humiliating peace talks. As the saying goes, “Why does your majesty surrender first if you want to fight to the death”.

This is good, many lords are swearing behind their backs that Horik is the hound of the Franks from beginning to end.

He was busy coordinating the conflicts between the lords and himself. When he learned that a Ross fleet passed by, the Ross people had already run away.

What are the Ross people up to?

do not know.

The Ross people actually have as many as ten large ships?

Are the Russ going to attack Jutland?

If they choose to retaliate, how should Denmark face it?

At this moment, Horick brought out the general Stad and verbally reprimanded him for the rough things he did in Hedeby last year.

The harshness was limited to words, and he gave another advice: “You are the one who burned their shops and killed them. Once they attack us, you and your people must fight bravely.”

What else can Stud say?

His dream of earning big money as Earl of Hedeby was crushed by the iron cavalry of the Frankish cavalry, and now he has become an ordinary warlord.

He could only verbally agree to the king’s order, but the crack in his heart could no longer be repaired.

To be honest, he didn’t want to work hard for a “king” who knelt down and kissed the toes of the Frankish nobles.

Looking at the Ross Fleet again, many people saw their existence, but just watched numbly.

Even Prince Ludwig, who stayed in Hamburg and commanded the troops remotely to continue the crusade against the exiled Danish pirates who fled to the inland river, didn’t even know that the fleet had reached the offshore estuary of his own territory.

The fleet that has not stopped and landed for a long time has finally arrived at the mouth of this river, which is actually the mouth of the second big river encountered by the brothers on the so-called western coastline of Europe.

The blue fox spoke convincingly, and he pointed with his big hand: “This is the Weser River of the Franks. The river leads directly to the wealthy Bremen. We can still go against the wind and the current. When we really can’t go, let’s stop and drop anchor.” …”

He rushed out a tactical decision to Commander Arik, and the Ross army formally entered the Weser River according to this decision. Borrowed by the southerly wind, it walked a zigzag line in the wide river channel, and drifted inland quite tortuously.

This is destined not to be a troublesome journey, because this section of the Weser River is almost purely north-south, and it is most suitable to take advantage of the south wind to go retrograde.

Let’s talk about the city of Bremen, because the current impact plain is not as vast as it will be a thousand years later, she is almost a coastal city, so the blue fox patted his chest and promised that the army would camp overnight near the shore, and the next day If you continue to move, you will be able to reach the city of Bremen.

[End of this Chapter]