Except for those who escaped first and survived, the people who subconsciously fled into the city now either became victims of the Viking army, or were continued to be ravaged.
The fleeing farmers and herdsmen headed straight for the surrounding villages with their only belongings.
In this era, the geographical location of Edinburgh was slightly different from a thousand years later, but the area remained unchanged since it was named "Edinburgh".
There are some villages hidden in the large pine and oak forests, and crops are widely planted in the open spaces in the forest.
The wheat harvest has just ended, and the yeoman farmers or tenant farmers have just paid their rent and the kingdom's grain tax. The farmers have not much food left. However, after the wheat harvest, they can finally enjoy the joy of the harvest and enjoy a rare feast.
Various villages are some distance away from the military-dominated stronghold of Edinburgh. When the fleeing people spread the terrible news that the "sea barbarians" had invaded and attacked the city, it completely detonated the tranquility of the peaceful countryside and caused extreme panic. The people who came here were no "barbarians from the sea", they were clearly devils jumping out of the sea! He is an apostle of Satan!
The priests stationed in the countryside gathered the panicked villagers. Some thought they were brave and decided to pick up wooden farm tools to fight the devil, but most people had very simple ideas. It is said that everyone fled and hid in the woods with Xirou, and when the "devil from the sea" left, everything would be peaceful again.
When night began to fall, people in the villages around Edinburgh had already begun their exodus. Some people were a little doubtful until the villagers saw the direction of Edinburgh and the smoke rising on an unprecedented scale in that area. They used their imaginations and imagined the most terrifying hell that the recruiter could think of, and began to speed up their escape.
And Edinburgh is indeed a hell for locals.
Whether the Northumbrian warriors guarding the city resisted resolutely or surrendered to these barbarians, the outcome was death.
The most basic warriors of the Balmok Viking army who were attacking the city were personally selected by their family leaders, and those who were selected must be warriors. They fought under the sun, sacrificed the blood of their enemies to Odin, and gave back to their families with the blood of their enemies.
When most Viking warriors realized that they should leave a few alive either as "tongues" or as future slaves, they suddenly realized that they had gone too far.
Alive? Where are the survivors?
Is it the handful of women who are crying and having a nervous breakdown?
The battle was over, and Rurik felt that he had waited too long.
Jevro, who was holding the sword, felt itchy in his heart. He circled around Rurik again and again, flying around in front of Rurik like a fly.
"That's enough! Yevlo, leave me alone."
"Sir, are we going to spend the night outdoors?" Jevro asked suddenly.
"No."
"It's time for us to go in. Brothers, we all want to..."
Halfway through Yevro's words, Rurik glanced at his men. Even the sailors who disembarked to join the battle had strong expectations in their eyes.
"Then let's go. Go see what good things they have done..."
Rurik pulled himself together and started walking up the drawbridge leading to the city.
Everything was within his expectation. The so-called Edinburgh was clearly composed of a large number of wooden huts wrapped in wooden walls. There were no hardened roads in the city. There were at least a few relatively straight roads, but they were clearly just trampled on. Just hard black dirt road.
Civilians and even soldiers live in thatched huts, and as for the roads, they become muddy when it rains!
Rurik's last illusion about this city was that he didn't even think there would be any treasure here.
Especially Jevro, he opened his mouth and couldn't help but sigh: "Here... shouldn't there be mountains of gold and silver?"
"Hey! What are you thinking?!" Rurik asked casually.
"Sir, this place is in a terrible state. They should be wealthy, but why do I feel that it is even more dilapidated than the Malaren Market?"
"It can only get worse." Rurik pointed at the large number of dead bodies everywhere: "Look at these dead people. Most of them are soldiers, and even more are civilians."
"Sir. Are you... pitying them?"
"Pity?" Rurik shook his head slightly with a dull face: "I seem to hear the wandering ghost lamenting. We have entered the city, do you think staying in the city will be a good thing?"
"This... I don't want to sleep with dead bodies. In my experience, the weather is the hottest now, and within two or three days, these corpses will emit a stench. The stench is a curse from the devil, and anyone who inhales the stench will... Death from illness.”
Rurik raised his hand to stop him: "That's enough, I finally stayed out for the night. Let's see, brothers. If there is treasure here, it has been found by our allies. So, let's continue to find the enemy's granary. We will evacuate immediately after transporting as much food as possible."
This fortress named Edinburgh, which was mainly built of wood, was actually the northern military base of the kingdom, but it could not withstand the onslaught of a truly powerful army. The wooden wall could stop the Picts, but it could not stop this Viking army with experience in sieges. Although it is an important military town, its body is actually a small-scale walled city.
Now the black soil in the walled city is filled with the blood of the dead, making the soil muddy, and the air is filled with the stench of rust.
Rurik and his party were simply walking on the "Blood Road". Their leather boots were stained with a lot of Yin Hong's soil. All the elite mercenaries who were eager to steal some property followed the great Lord Rurik and all changed their clothes. Make a face.
The further he advanced, the more painful he became. Rurik saw those crazy Balmoks running around. They did grab some useful things, but others had already started setting fires.
Rurik glanced at the group of malicious arsonists and couldn't help being shocked: "No! We have to hurry up. Once the fire develops, it will be uncontrollable!"
"Sir, we still don't know about their granary..." Jevro was only halfway through his words when he saw a carriage appearing not far away. "Sir, look! It's a horse!"
"That's it. How can there be horses if it's not a warehouse? Come with me."
Rurik had no time to tangle with the crazy Viking warriors with corpses on the ground. He led his closest men and directly collided with the Shetlanders who were busy carrying food.
"Yes! Lord Rurik of Rus, when you weren't busy searching for gold, you actually..." The speaker was Huo De, the guide of the voyage.
This old boy was frantically carrying sacks filled with shelled wheat grains with his friends on the island.
Rurik just glanced at it and understood how thoughtful the Edinburgh army was in terms of warehousing. They piled heavy sacks into a wall. As for the horses and two-wheeled carriages, they were clearly used to carry food. The local army, which seems to have been completely wiped out, is preparing to transport some food?
Rurik signaled to Yevlo, who immediately grabbed Hod's neck.
This startled all the Shetlanders to stop, and they were surprised to see Rurik draw his dagger.
"What's going on? Lord Rurik?!" Huo De muttered with difficulty.
"Let him go, Jevlo."
After saying that, Rurik approached the carriage where some grain had been piled up with his sword, and put the copper sword into a sack, and some wheat grains immediately flowed out. He borrowed some wheat and sniffed it to judge its good quality.
"Lord Rurik, this is what we have captured." Huo De said cautiously.
"Yes! You Shetland Bergens are indeed a little different from those people. You know better that food is more precious than gold."
Is this a compliment? Huo De smelled something else. Rurik was the commander-in-chief of the army, and there could only be one situation when he led people here.
Huo De assessed the situation and realized that no matter how good his appetite was, a wolf could not swallow a whole sheep.
"Lord Rurik, your warriors are all looking for gold and silver. We can only come here to find some good things. I was lucky enough to find their granary."
"No! You definitely came prepared, not randomly."
"Anyway, it's your rule that the first person to find the property will own it. But this granary is too big. My people have to resist taking away at least one sack of wheat."
"Did I say you can't ask for it?" Rurik said this, but in his heart he admired that Huo De was not greedy for gold and silver. He also noticed that this group of Shetlanders also captured a group of women, all of whom looked young.
After seeing enough corpses in the city, these Shetlanders who were robbing food actually left some alive. These women were disheveled and in a daze. After their hands and feet were tied one by one, they were tied to pillars. There was no light in their eyes and their bodies were shaking constantly.
Rurik didn't want to say more, so he could announce: "Now this granary is all my property. Huo De, take your people and the women you captured and evacuate outside the city with a bag of wheat."
"Ah! This... we plan to..."
"You still want to live in the city? Don't you smell the burning smell! Those guys are already setting fires. Do you want to stay in the city and be cremated? Run away quickly."
Huo De waited for everyone to raise their heads. They finally realized that the situation was becoming increasingly uncontrollable. He bared his teeth and shouted: "Friends, let's withdraw."
The Shetlanders immediately began to evacuate, and Huo De also asked at the last moment: "My lord, won't you evacuate?"
"I'm going to come in and load the wheat before leaving. You don't have to worry about me."
In the granary area, the chaos seemed to disappear, except for the rumbles coming from the surroundings. If you listened carefully, it was clearly the carnival laughter of the looters.
"Let's take action now! Jevro, lead the brothers to carry the wheat. Search for everything that can be used and find horses and carriages."
"Yes." After saying that, Jevro waved his hand, and the fifteen people started to take action.
Rurik indeed only brought this few people into the city, and a few others were still looking at the heavy equipment outside the city.
They took off their chainmail and began to carry the sacks, just like porters.
It was at this busy time that a man who had been hiding was discovered.
Who could not be surprised when a prisoner suddenly appeared in front of Rurik?
At this moment, Rurik was already sitting on the side of the carriage, while the very docile packhorse just stood motionless, as if the killing of humans had nothing to do with it.
This was a middle-aged man with brown hair. He was dressed in gray coarse cloth, but he had a small sterling silver cross hanging around his neck.
This person kept kneeling and begging for mercy, mumbling some words.
"What is he talking about?" Rurik asked.
Jevro suddenly kicked him, and the man muttered louder, and Rurik finally understood some words.
Rurik knew that what this man was mumbling was Old English, and it was this wonderful accent that reminded him of Stein, the Saxon chieftain of Borgholm.
Yes! The composition of the Kingdom of Northumbria is also Saxon in nature! Even if they are three or four hundred years removed from the Great Migration Era, the language drift should not be very drastic. The so-called Old English here is essentially Old Saxon.
Old Norse and Old Saxophone have a high degree of similarity in grammar and vocabulary.
As the man's speech slowed down, Rurik figured out the man's profile through a few key words.
I am afraid that in any era, talents are the most important to a monarch. The man, who called himself Paul, said that he was an old servant of the Earl of Edinburgh and was engaged in the management of granaries.
Is this person actually a rare technocrat in this time and space? !
Rurik put away his sword, flicked his ponytail, and deliberately stood in front of Paul. How should I calm down this man and try to influence him to be of use to me?
A strange operation suddenly brewed in Rurik's mind.
From Paul's perspective, the old servant hid as soon as he discovered that the barbarians were coming in. Several of his young men were killed, and he himself could only pray in a corner of poverty.
A savage boy stood before him. No! Is this boy really one of those savages?
Just because Rurik "expertly" made a cross on his chest with two fingers of his right hand in front of Paul.
This behavior could be called the confusing behavior of barbarians, and Paul suddenly felt that the people in front of him only looked barbaric, but in fact they were also servants of the Lord. Just like those Picts, they are obviously servants of the Lord, but they have repeatedly invaded the frontier for many years. However, the Picts had red hair, but the fair-skinned boy in front of him had hair that was brighter than gold.
Rurik's weapon was majestic, and the soldiers around him were immediately asked to put on blue-striped cloaks and assume a more solemn aura.
Then, Rurik spoke extremely slowly and spoke some key words in Norse: "Paul! You are...Edinburgh...servant! Your master, death. Now! I! I am your master! The new master ! Surrender! Live! Betray, die!"
What else is there to hesitate about? In the eyes of this "grain officer" Paul, the boy in front of him was indeed noble. He should be a servant of the Lord like himself.
What is happening now? Maybe Edinburgh was attacked by another kingdom. The kingdom's continuous civil war and turmoil over the years have attracted other kingdoms to covet and plunder Northumbria's territory. It was a war between princes and nobles, but could it have anything to do with ordinary people? In troubled times, Paul made a choice that could save his life.
Paul knelt upright, then lay down to kiss Rurik's bloody boots. When he felt something strange, there was no turning back.
With his understanding of Christ, Rurik played a guest role as the servant of the Lord, and perfectly became the servant of Paul, the grain official. Regardless of whether this servant is sincere or not, it makes the subsequent work of transferring food smoother.
Because they were simply taxed, the grain warehouses in the Edinburgh Walled City were not piled up like mountains.
However, after the first wave of Shetland raids, there was still a lot of food in several warehouses.
The five carriages were piled with grain. It can be said that the gold and silver were not piled up like a mountain, but the grain was piled up into a hill.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, the ordinary Paul put on the blue-striped white cloth hood of the Russian people. He followed closely beside a carriage, walking the bloody road in fear.
Until he saw the corpses of Kingdom soldiers on the ground near the damaged city gate, he really couldn't move around.
"What happened? Why did you stop?" Liu immediately yelled at Paul who was standing in a daze, and then walked over.
After a while, Rurik followed the direction of Paul's finger and saw a corpse said to be that of a big shot among the corpses.
The deceased was actually the Earl of Edinburgh himself? !
Jevro and other elite mercenaries were ordered to drag out the corpses. The gold and silver utensils carried by some of the corpses were found, which perfectly proved their noble status.
What's more important is the bent iron sword with a silver-plated hilt, which ordinary people can enjoy.
And another elite mercenary simply pulled out a blood-stained flag. Even if it became torn, it was still a flag with clear patterns!
"It's the King of Northumbria's flag!" Paul pointed his finger and exclaimed in surprise.
"Your! Flag?" Rurik raised his head and asked.
"It belongs to a noble! I am just the most ordinary servant."
Rurik nodded and signaled Yevlo to take some measures.
Immediately afterwards, Paul was shocked and forced to reevaluate his judgment. Is this beautiful boy who can make the sign of the cross on his chest really a servant of the Lord?
If the young man is really a servant, he is a fallen servant of the Lord.
Even if the earl is dead, he is a noble after all, how can he be so humiliated? !
It turned out that Jevro and others tied the count's upper feet with ropes and tied them to the wooden planks of the carriage. They took off the count's mail and iron helmet, and confiscated his sword and dagger.
The Earl, who was like a piece of rotten flesh, used his back to wash away the blood-stained dirt road, while the smoke from the burning houses around him became more intense.
Maybe Rurik didn't have to do this. actually not! Because those Balmoks and Shetlanders are essentially Vikings, and they all have infinite admiration for the strong. A commander, in addition to making his brothers rich, also wants everyone to know that he is the most violent warrior.
The corpse of the enemy's commander could be found among the rebels. If this was displayed publicly, it meant that Rurik would definitely win people's cheers. Because the warriors are very eager to see their commander kill the enemy's commander with his own hands, such as using the enemy chief's head to make a bone cup, the Viking warriors will only be happy that they are following a great warrior king.
Dusk, outside the city.
A small forest near the sea was Rurik's chosen campsite. From this location, he could easily see his Aurora.
A hemp rope hung around the Earl of Edinburgh's neck, and the body was hung and displayed, his curved iron sword thrust into the earth at his feet.
Finally arriving here, Paul, the grain officer, finally realized that they were not servants of the Lord at all.
However, they are not simply savages.
After Rurik settled down, Paul climbed deep into Rurik who was warming himself by the fire, humbled himself and asked, "Sir, who are you..."
"Me?" Rurik glanced at him and signaled to his mercenaries that they no longer need to be on guard.
He looked at the dancing flames and said calmly and solemnly in Norse with a serious face: "Vith er er Vikingr."
"Vikingr..." Paul sighed. He knew that he was doomed and was being closely guarded by them. If he escaped, he would be killed immediately.
What will be your fate? Paul boldly asked again.
"Be my grain officer and manage my grain. Do it well and you will get benefits. Otherwise! Death."
Paul completely understood these words. He didn't really surrender, he just knew that he couldn't escape this new fate. This person has been relieved from the dilemma. No matter which master he follows, he will always be a slave. He can only hold on to his faith and survive. Fortunately, these invaders can take away everything in Edinburgh, but they have no intention of taking away his faith...
