If there were no threat of war, the people living here in Borgholm, the only settlement on Öland, would surely enjoy peace for a long time.
However, on calm days, some fishing boats suddenly arrived and reported something incredible to the people working offshore.
No one really believed that the so-called "army from the north" of these frightened Port Huascars people was real.
But they were indeed frightened, so they were pushed by fishermen into the wooden castle of Borgholm until they were given to their leader.
In a huge herringbone wooden house, a man wearing a black bear skin was sitting.
He is young and powerful, holding a sword hilt in his hand, and his loose blond hair is covered by a beautifully carved bronze headband. He sat on a finely carved wooden chair and looked at a group of kneeling refugees.
This person is none other than Stein Saxon, the leader of Borgholm.
"You are all Gotlanders, how could you come to my territory? Who in the northern army would believe such a strange thing?"
The panicked Voskas refugees basically rowed all night long. The distance from their home to Borgholm was at least 60 kilometers, and the distance between the two places was not that far.
The Voskas fishermen, who were in relatively good mental condition, put on a horrified face: "It's absolutely true! They are not us Gotlanders, nor are they brothers from Götaland. Everyone believes that those people come from the north , it was those villains from Svealan, they destroyed our home! Everyone died, only we escaped."
Stein narrowed his eyes, and his brothers felt even more that these people were a bunch of liars.
"The situation you mentioned is incredible. Didn't Hafgen of Denmark defeat the Svealans?"
"Chief..." The fisherman suddenly had a thought and said immediately, "We are not madmen, so why did we flee to you in such a mess to deceive you? Has the leader forgotten the dangerous Franks? Do you really think that Bo Is Ryholm your safe place forever?”
"You! Shut up!" Stein's brother took a step forward and almost stabbed the fishermen with the iron sword he drew. This move shocked the fishermen and subconsciously backed away.
The tough-talking fisherman was in shock. He noticed a strange change in the leader's mood and deliberately shouted: "Chief, seeing that we also have trading members on weekdays, we ask you to take them in. Voskas is finished, the enemy in the north. We will definitely continue to attack, and the next step is you! If you prepare early, you will definitely be able to defeat the enemy. If you still think that I am a liar, please give us some dried fish, and we will take refuge in Kalmar."
Hearing these words, Stein and his brothers had to talk about it. Looking at their embarrassed appearance, it seems that they have indeed suffered a disaster, but what they said is too bizarre, and it is not easy to trust them completely.
The brothers need the leader's decision, and now, Stein Saxon needs to make an important decision.
He quickly made his decision, which was to take precautions!
Maybe it's just a one-sided statement from a group of refugees, and as a tribal leader, you shouldn't trust it easily. However, this tribe had been massacred and had horrific memories that could not be erased for generations. It was reasonable for them to take precautions when they heard of the danger.
Just like the name of this leader, he has a surname, which is really an anomaly in the Nordic world.
Because half of the three thousand people who settled in Borgholm were not Gotlanders, Götalans, or Danes. They also spoke Norse, indeed a slightly strange Norse language.
They come from continental Europe, from the Saxony region south of Jutland. They actually have the most direct common ancestors with the kingdoms on the British Isles, but the tribesmen who developed westward occupied the vacuum of living space after the Russians receded and established one kingdom after another.
The Saxons who remained at home in Europe soon began to suffer attacks from Christian Frankish armies.
A large number of Saxons fled into Jutland, and many of them became Danes, but they were indeed different from the real Danes.
A group of fleeing Saxons migrated all the way, and finally settled on the remote island of Oland, living a life without any competition from the world.
They could not forget the pain of being expelled by the Franks more than a hundred years ago, so they built their wooden walls in their new home. I'm afraid only the ring-shaped wall can make them feel safe.
"Saxon" originally means "descendant of the Saxon tribe", and the elected leader will always inherit the title of "Saxon".
After decades of operation, the population of Borgholm, originally meant as a "lowland fortress", expanded to 3,000, with a large number of Gotlanders, Götalanders, and even a small number of Danes settling here. There are also a group of Finns captured from the Suomi region of the "Land of the East" who are working as slaves.
It was a thriving community that ran for over fifty years, as the locals swore allegiance to their Danish overlords and their peace was ensured (after all, there are many Sakassen descendants in Jutland).
The fleeing Wauskas fishermen did not see their homes being breached, but they saw the fires in the harbor lighting up the sky at night. They reported the fall of Fort Voska with added embarrassment. The enemy had breached the fortress. The enemy had such capabilities, which greatly increased the pressure on Stein.
The news of war spreads throughout the settlement!
The Danes who were doing business hurriedly fled with their goods and money, and many Gotlanders and Götalanders also retreated with them. Naturally, the Danes wanted to flee all the way back to their hometown in Jutland, and the evacuation target of the rest was almost towards Kalmar in the south.
At least more than 500 Gotlandic men decided to stay, not because they were loyal, but because the local leader Stein paid for them to fight!
In this way, in almost only two days, a team of 1,200 troops was assembled. They vowed to protect Borgholm, where they depended on for survival, because they, the Saxons, had no power left. There is a way back.
Stein opened the tribe's arsenal and distributed a large number of iron and bronze short spears. Together with the axes and harpoons widely used by fishermen in their lives, a well-armed infantry appeared.
They don't have much protective armor. Most of the warriors still wear cloth or leather clothes, and use round shields or special square shields to protect most of their bodies.
Their bows and arrows are still short wooden bows used for hunting, and their overall performance is poor. But they have some bright spots in terms of armament.
They were Saxons whose ancestors had fought against the Roman legions. They have throwing spears and square shields, and they also have some skills in battle formation. For example, after forming a dense formation, they will put square shields on their heads to prevent the enemy from throwing random objects. Although the efficiency of bows and arrows is extremely poor, and throwing spears makes up for some of the disadvantages, they widely use slings, which can be described as a strange flower in the Viking world.
Of course, Stein did not sit still. He sent a group of messengers to row wildly to report the news to Kalma, and ordered the messengers to go directly to the leader's longhouse to report this information to Hafgen himself, even if the other party was suspicious.
The so-called three men become tigers, at least the entire Borgholm believed that a huge army was coming in a boat to kill...
So, Olegin’s Swedish army is really on the way? ! Of course it's impossible. The Swedish coalition has been overdrawing its combat effectiveness, and they need an extremely critical rest period.
After a day's voyage and a night battle, the Swedish coalition occupied Voskas. The energy of the warriors of each tribe was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye at the moment after the victory.
Everyone was really exhausted. Even though many women were captured, many soldiers were so tired that they had no interest.
After they received their own portions of wheat and dried meat, they hurriedly cooked the wheat in pottery pots. Even if it was only half-cooked, they ate it wholeheartedly, and then fell asleep around the lit bonfire.
The coalition forces do not want their residence to turn into a sea of flames. The destruction of the local area will come to an abrupt end, and no new residences will be deliberately set alight.
The entire Voskas turned into a huge military camp, and the soldiers who had stuffed their stomachs with wheat and fish fell asleep soundly. It was not until almost noon the next day that they gradually got up drowsily.
Warm eyes shine on the earth, and the gentle south wind blows over the ruins of the war.
Those women whose husbands were spared were forced to cook for the coalition soldiers, and they suffered a lot of physical pain.
Only those Voskas women whose husbands are still alive, as Olegin promised, and the men who fought for Sweden, will have their families safe.
There are wooden houses and broken wooden houses everywhere, as small as the smoked fish of the Voskas people, and the agate amber of the Danish merchants on the big island, all became the trophies of the coalition forces. But the Rus did not receive their spoils, simply because of that contract.
In fact, let Rurik be the judge. He really looked down on these worthless trophies, which meant that poor allies flocked to these guys. Yes, if the Russians who hide their strength really need it, they might as well organize their own coalition forces to attack Gotland. The "rich" people on the island must have buried a lot of silver coins everywhere, and they just want this.
The flames of the burning house were mostly extinguished, and the aroma of burnt food and barbecue permeated the entire settlement.
The Rus are not like other tribes who camp in some inland locations in Voskas. They stay offshore, as if they have no interest in the entire Voskas.
I am afraid that only the children of Voskas who were kicked by Olegin to the Rus were treated with kindness in the true sense. Rurik also knew that what he said to these children now, "Don't be afraid, I will treat you well" was all hypocrisy.
His so-called kindness is to give them food, nothing more.
Almost all the Russian soldiers landed. They ate wheat and meat and subconsciously discussed the future battle.
The king wanted to conquer Kalmar, and before accomplishing this goal, it became necessary to capture Boriholm, which he had heard of for the first time.
No, the king is calling all the dukes for a pre-war meeting again.
In the warm afternoon, the warm breeze made people who had eaten well feel drowsy. There were indeed a large number of Rus warriors, covering their faces with wooden shields, taking a nap on the beach.
In the tent set up, Otto deliberately asked his son about his views on the future war.
In the battle between father and son, Otto showed no distance, and his question was very straightforward: "Boy, do you think we can win the battle in the future quickly?"
"I have no idea."
"Huh? You don't know?" Otto looked surprised, "Didn't God give you some revelation?"
Rurik hesitated for a while, "No. Maybe because from the beginning, this battle did not belong to us Russians."
"It sounds like you're being very negative."
"Isn't it like this?" Rurik shook his head regretfully, "I've thought about it a lot. Just by attacking this fortress, we lost a lot of people. It is said that we will have to conquer two more fortresses in the future war. Dad , we are just cooperating with the Malaren Army in the war, and now the food belonging to them has been handed over to them, and the cabin of the Avora will soon be empty. I am actually a little confused. "
"What are you wondering about?"
"Do we still need to continue participating? We broke through the wooden wall, but we didn't get any benefits. Even if Olegin promised to compensate us in the future, we still need to add a batch of food now, but that guy doesn't want to give..."
"You..." Otto really felt that there was something in his son's words.
"Dad, I don't think Olegin wants us to continue to participate. We have completed the task of transporting food. How much does the attack on Kalmar or other enemies have to do with us?"
"Hey, even so, we can't retreat." Otto shook his head: "Listen to me and fight for honor! Rurik, I bet that we must participate in future battles. All tribes will participate. If we If we don't follow the fight, they will insult us as cowards and traitors, which is not acceptable. We still need to prepare well and stop thinking about going home."
"But continuing south is not our battle." Rurik raised his head, looked at his father with cold eyes, and said slowly: "Dad, Arik still has a thousand soldiers on Tombstone Island. The wheat we provided is not Those who feed the fat pigs of Novgorod in vain are indeed defensive troops, and they can take the initiative to attack when necessary."
"You?" For a moment, Otto noticed another possibility, and hurriedly approached his son's little face and asked quietly: "You kid, don't you want to imitate your cousin and go to Gotland for surgery?"
"It's not a bad idea. Without the restraints of Origen, we Russians can fight the war we need. Besides, who dares to say anything bad about us when we fight against the traitors of the Great Alliance."
"Then you want to evacuate immediately? My son, I am very happy to expedition to Gotland and avenge your uncle. But we must first see the coalition take Kalmar."
"Okay. Seize the opportunity and we will also organize an army of 1,500 people to attack the Gotlanders like the Malaren Army."
In the tent, the two father-son leaders of Ross plotted a new offensive, and this round of offensive had nothing to do with Sweden.
At nightfall, Otto was still thinking about the afternoon's events. In fact, Olegin accepted the surrender of the Voskas people, which greatly touched Otto. Because the Russians have had military hegemony over Novgorod for decades, if a group of local young people are selected and trained, they should be able to serve as combatable soldiers.
It can be said that Otto saw that when he attacked Fort Voska, those children with wooden crossbows were also able to fight very well. This incident had loosened his inherent prejudice.
A child can string a crossbow just as well, and the arrows they fire are just as deadly! Children are like this, is it possible that Novgorod's prime warriors can't compare to Rus' children?
King Olegin planned to let the rebels take the lead in the new battle. Why couldn't the Russians let the well-trained Novgorodians charge into the battle?
Otto kept silent about the many thoughts in his mind. He participated in the so-called pre-war meeting and watched King Olegin singing a one-man show.
After all, Olegin was the king, and he made the battle plan in one day.
"Brothers, I learned from my newest mercenary that Boriholm is really rich, but unfortunately they have better wooden walls. We need to be prepared to break through there.
I have made certain preparations! In future battles, we will use big trees to knock down their wooden doors, and then Voskas will charge into battle. We Melalenites and you all just need to wait at the rear. When the Voskas and Boriholm are exhausted from fighting and everyone swarms forward, we will win at no cost..."
Olegin alone did all the talking. It sounds like this tactic of making the traitors and enemies work hard and picking peaches in the rear of the coalition will be a great success.
The alliance's tribal losses were uneven. It is undeniable that all parties lost double-digit warriors, especially the Yelmalen who fought the hardest and lost nearly fifty brothers. Of course, many people hope that the fighting will continue, because the living people have already made a lot of wealth, and they are eager for more. They just hope that they can safely bring the wealth back to their hometowns and lift their families out of poverty.
They used to be barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, but now they have some doubts, which is reflected on the faces of many leaders, that is, their attitude towards future battles has become ambiguous.
No one stood up to question the wishful thinking of Olegin's tactics, and no one showed any intention to "just give up", but the Allies did show a trace of negative signs.
Olegin didn't know that many poor soldiers with a small structure were satisfied with the little wealth they got. He felt that the momentum of the soldiers was still strong. What was the difficulty in following this momentum to win Boriholm? What's more, the Danish Francis who surrendered in this battle, he and his men swore to charge forward to prove themselves. For the sake of victory and future honor, they will never cheat.
No, the King of Sweden officially set the date for the expedition, that is, after the meeting, each unit went through a day of very critical repairs, especially the production of a batch of battering rams specifically for "breaking down walls." The fleet will start a new expedition to Boriholm on the morning of the third day after the meeting.
However, just the night before the expedition, something bad happened...
