It was precisely because of the amputation of his left forearm that the humiliated Eynred hoped to consolidate his power through his own force.
He led the kingdom's most elite troops to stationed in Dole Village (Sheffield) on the border. He naturally categorically rejected the territorial request of King Wiglaf of Mercia.
But now that both sides have armies on the border, a full-scale war has really broken out, which is definitely not a good thing for Northumbria.
It was the end of the wheat harvest, and Eynred, who had enough food and grass, actually had enough time to continue the stalemate with the Mercian army here.
But unlike Northumbria, the capital of Mercia is Oxford. The journey from Oxford to the village of Dole, a land of anxiety, is equivalent to 200 kilometers on traditional dirt roads.
There is only a 70-kilometer road from York to here. In terms of logistics alone, Northumbria has an advantage.
Several messengers on horseback rushed towards Dole Village like crazy and towards the king's tent.
"What's going on with you? Something big happened in York?" The soldier responsible for leading the horse stopped them and asked casually.
The messengers all looked frightened. They fell off their horses, and when they got up, they stretched out their hands and shouted to report important events to the king.
Is there anything more important than resisting the invasion of Mercia?
In the king's tent, Eynred, who was dressed in chainmail and had a wooden prosthesis with a leather glove hanging on his left arm, summoned the messenger of the report.
Then he saw several people kneeling on the grass. The leader saw the monarch, opened his arms and shouted: "It's the Vikings! They are here again! They have a huge force, and their ships are everywhere on the sea. It is like a mountain. A huge ship with thousands of fierce warriors.”
Just hearing this, a wave of hot blood almost broke through Eynred's head, and his blood pressure suddenly jumped to 180. His whole person was in a trance for an instant. He just stood up and fell suddenly.
This move shocked the Bishop of York standing next to him.
The bishop hurriedly shook the king's body, barely waking up the frightened man.
"What...what are you talking about? Vikings? Their ships are all over the sea?!" Eynred started slowly.
The messenger continued to panic: "They are coming! The target is York."
"York!? No! Wait!" Eynred, who forced his head to calm down, responded angrily: "Who asked you to report the news? If the news is wrong, I will hang you!"
The messengers were all surprised and said, "It's the Duke of Bamburgh. He said it. People in the north are fleeing, and now Bamburgh...is occupied by the Vikings again."
"Him? Greywulf, I made him earl and asked him to rebuild Bamburgh, but..."
The messengers all listened to the king's curses with their heads raised, and just lay there doing nothing.
Things got very tricky, and the Viking invasion suddenly disrupted his plans.
However, Eynred cannot be said to be unprepared for what happened, because last year he did have an account with the blond boy from the Vikings. He made an agreement with these northern bandits that was humiliating and humiliating the country. Land was ceded to them for habitation.
This was a shameful pact. When the situation stabilized, nobles across the country were opposed to it. Radical young nobles clamored to gather an army for revenge. The so-called Vikings landed when they were destroyed. Outraged, Eynred had no choice but to agree to their demands. As a result, both Mercia and the Picts in the north began to revolt.
After all, as fate would have it, did the Vikings really come?
The soldiers on the front line are still facing off. Both sides have huge military camps, and neither side has any intention of retreating.
Northumbria's white-on-orange-checkered flag was flying, and across the river, Mercia's blue-on-yellow flag was also flying.
The two sides faced each other across the Shiv River, and there was not a single boat on the river.
On that day, the king summoned the generals of the Northumbrian army to hold an emergency military meeting.
Although Eynred was not sure how critical the situation was based on the difficulty in transmitting information, he had already concluded that this group of Vikings brought a large number of ships to force him to fulfill his promise.
As night fell, the king's tent was ablaze with lights.
Flag captains, cavalry captains, and even leaders of village militia groups were all invited to the meeting.
People's faces were full of fear. They were afraid of an all-out war with the Vikings, but the Vikings really came.
Eynred had wishful thinking about the Vikings based on limited information.
"You are all afraid! You all think that we must go to war with the Vikings to ensure that we will not lose any territory. Now they are here, and you are afraid!"
The flag captain was stimulated. He stood up and beat his chest to express his loyalty to the king: "I am not afraid! If it is to protect everything we believe in and our homeland, I am willing to lead the soldiers and fight these barbarians to the end. One person will never surrender until his death!"
"Okay!" This was really encouraging, but Eynred was not pleased at all.
He pointed at the man simply: "Whitley, I believe you are a brave man. Therefore, I should arrange an important errand for you."
"I'm serving His Majesty." The man slapped his chest again, feeling secretly happy.
Eynred faces the generals again. He has no reliable staff around him. He can be called a dictator to the army. In other words, his family relies on its existing military strength to maintain this power. This power is not stable. .
If you don't control yourself well, you may be eaten alive by the Vikings, or overthrown by the nobles in the country, especially the young man in the north, a descendant of the Penician royal family.
He made what he thought was the right decision, which was to divide his troops at this special moment.
The best troops are to return to York at once, and the army of peasants is to remain here.
The flag captain named Vitelli, to be honest, Eynred felt that this viscount was not a strong man at all. This person forced his way forward just to get his new canonization. No matter how beautiful his words are, what's the use?
Maybe Vitelli would really lead his brothers and fight the Vikings to the last man. Such a result would be equivalent to weakening the king's military strength.
Since Aynred's defeat last year, he did not want to fight another decisive battle with the Vikings even if they were killed. Therefore, this time he returned to York urgently, not with the attitude of "the monarch dies for the country", but to find the Vikings in person. The young commander-in-chief made peace with him.
It's okay to cede some land. Even paying a batch of tributes is fine as long as it can buy peace.
When he made this decision, he already believed that the commander of the Viking army was the young man named Rurik. At least, that boy was very beautiful, and beautiful children would never be bloodthirsty beasts.
Eynred had seen the terrifying fighting power of the Vikings and knew their strong speed of action.
After this night, Eynred also decided to act quickly.
Many farmers in ragged clothes suddenly changed their outfits. Soldiers from two infantry flag corps were ordered to take off their orange-colored robes and hand them over to a thousand farmers.
That Whateley wants to fight the Vikings to make a mark? Pooh! Eynred did not want to go to war with the Vikings at all this time.
Vitelli was left alone, only himself.
The man was immediately faced with a strange sight, as his soldiers transformed into a swarm of as many as a thousand peasants disguised as regular troops. His mission was to lead this group of people to sway the flag by the river every day, creating the illusion that the main force in Northumbria was still actively moving, in order to deceive Mercia on the other side and deter it from acting rashly.
What about reality? At noon on this day, Eynred had already led a thousand elite infantry, more than 800 armed farmers, and a hundred cavalry, and tried his best to advance quickly and lightly along the road leading to York.
At the same time, Rurik and Magnut's 3,000-man crusade had just arrived at the mouth of the Ouse River.
The action against the current begins! It happened that the Ouse River was a relatively standard northwest direction in this era. With the still soothing south, the fleet could raise its sails and move forward smoothly.
There are a group of villages living on the riverside, and the Rus and Balmoks on the boat are all suppressing their thoughts of plundering and getting rich.
The leaders of each ship are calling on the brothers to exercise restraint.
"You all row well and wait quietly. We will capture York, and all the wealth will be yours." Similar remarks were spread, and the army had a clear hope.
But in the eyes of the residents of the villages along the river, a large number of strange boats suddenly broke into the peaceful Ouse River!
What flag is that? ah! Could it be that the Mercians attacked by water?
This is a pure coincidence. The flag designed by Rurik for the Rus is very similar in pattern and structure to the flag of the Kingdom of Mercia.
Large ships like the Aurora sailed smoothly on the River Ouse. The white flags flying on the masts were sewn diagonally with strips of blue cloth. The flag of Mercia has a sky blue background dyed with woad, and the diagonal lines are stitched with yellow strips of cloth.
Ordinary farmers couldn't care less and started to run away when they saw the flag with a similar structure. They were unaware of the Viking invasion or that residents of nearby villages had fled into the city.
The peaceful life of the residents of the lower reaches of the Ouse River was broken by a fleet suspected of being Mercian that suddenly invaded the river. They began to flee, and they flocked to Roydis (Leeds), a city that had existed in Roman times, for refuge.
Rurik didn't know that Roydis was also a place that could be plundered, and his target was directed at York.
At night, the fleet camped by the river.
The Viking army who disembarked tried to get some useful things nearby. Everyone thought that the hinterland of the British Isles was full of treasures. Now that they entered the hinterland, they did not expect that the surrounding areas around the river were either reed bushes or woods. It was also deserted and undeveloped, but everyone You can all feel that the climate here is much more comfortable than back home in Northern Europe.
The village discovered during the day has long passed, and the brothers cannot suddenly leave the camp to smear the people and rob their homes.
They lit a large number of bonfires by the river, ate the dry food they carried, and even grilled some fish they caught during the voyage.
As for when they will arrive in York, the soldiers all received exciting news - the army will surely arrive at the city of York tomorrow.
The genius was bright, and the impatient troops boarded the ship one after another to begin the final journey.
At this moment, the wind was slightly weaker, so Rurik's big ship was pulled forward by the long oar boat. The entire fleet was squeezed into the river with a width of only fifty meters, and was forced to be compressed into a long snake formation. They were still moving forward, much slower than yesterday.
The navigation was at its last minute. From the mouth of the Ouse River to York, the waterway route was only 40 kilometers.
York, when the midday sun shines on the earth, the city is not only crowded with a large number of civilians taking refuge, but also sergeants ready for battle.
Prince Ella is in the city, staying in the well-protected palace.
Although the Prime Minister felt that Greywulf, the Earl of Bamburgh, who had escaped from the enemy's army, had taken over the role of "commander of the city defense" in the capital, which was a serious act of arrogance. However, the king was away with his troops, and the people of York could only rely on him as a great nobleman. .
It's not that Greywulf doesn't covet the throne. If his cousin Aynred dies, he kicks the young crown prince and becomes the king himself, and then chooses an opportunity to go to Rome and pay money to buy a coronation and canonization and become the legal king. Why not? ? At least he needed a feat to make other nobles recognize him as a hero for resisting the Viking attack on the capital.
Greywulf, who only had dozens of personal retainers under his command, was now in charge of the defense of York. Counting the peasants recruited as a surprise attack, there were only more than a thousand people capable of fighting. On the other hand, there are many nominal armed men. These people can barely protect themselves, so don't expect them to fight against possible enemies.
Just fighting the Vikings in the wild, what's the point of seeking death?
If everyone relies on the York Stone Wall for defense, they can at least hold on for a long time. When the king's army comes back for reinforcements and other earls lead troops to reinforce, these invading Vikings will be driven away.
But the archers at the top of the city saw a tall tree moving on the river in the distance.
what is that? Oh no! It's them!
It's a Viking!
The soldiers at the top of the city immediately shouted at the people in the city: "The devil is coming! Men, take up arms and fight!"
The priests called the Vikings demons. When the warriors at the top of the city sounded the alarm, people began to flock to York Church in the city.
On the contrary, a nun left quietly under the escort of several other people. She was none other than the queen who was forced to atone for her sins in the monastery.
The Viking army came anyway, and the queen just wanted to return to her son Ella. She didn't think Graywulf could really withstand the Viking attack, and she even felt that the man who suddenly returned was more threatening.
If mother and son are both going to die, let's die together! Let York be buried with him for his absurd life.
"Look! That's York." Paul, the grain officer who is already a senior leader, pointed with his hand.
Rurik stood at the bow of the ship and followed Paul's fingers to clearly see the pier outside York and even the city surrounded by a double-layer defense system of stone walls and wooden walls.
"Hehe, that Eynred is quite smart. He has strengthened his defense." Rurik was really surprised.
Jevro realized that he had got a fighter opportunity, so he asked: "Shall we get off the boat and start attacking the city immediately?"
"No need." Rurik sighed slightly: "This city is difficult to attack."
"Sir, in my humble opinion, our army will conquer this city using traditional methods."
"That's true, but I want to talk to that king. If they are willing to provide what our army needs, our army will not have to shed blood and sweat to storm this city."
Hearing this, Jevro said no more.
Rurik quickly saw the flat area between York's small wharf and the city wall. After all, this was a city built adjacent to the river, giving the army an excellent landing site.
He began to ask the soldiers in the leading ship to shout at nearby ships, asking the army not to rush to attack the city after disembarking, but to set up a formation to scare the enemy and force the enemy king to negotiate.
Rurik had already thought about it. If the negotiations broke down, it would not be too late to attack the city, and by then his siege weapons would be ready. He was not unprepared when it came to a strong attack.
But Rurik overlooked one thing, that is, this is a coalition force. Due to the current narrowing of the Ouse River, the fleet formation has been stretched too long.
Magnute did not hear his son-in-law's request at all, and this man saw the great city of York, and his whole mind was already imagining mountains of gold and silver, and a land of captives tied with ropes.
Magnut roared angrily, his beard trembling, and then drew his sword and ordered: "Warriors of Balmok! For this wealth! Attack the city!"
Those long ships couldn't manage so many ships and forced them to dock. The warriors held shields against most of their torsos and held swords, spears, and axes in their right hands. They roared and attacked York's city wall. Regarding how to attack a city, Biyongni at least had a little experience, but the majority of Balmok soldiers really lacked understanding. They were charging with enthusiasm, and their minds were already blank.
In an instant, there were shouts of killing, and those who disembarked early from the ships that were clearly in the rear would rather run a little longer than forcefully attack.
"Damn it! Damn it! You guys are too hasty!" Rurik stamped his feet angrily at the sudden situation.
Completely infected by the impulse of the Balmoks, Arik, who was staying on the Sperosvilia, also began to order the soldiers of the nearby First Standard Corps to start wading into the water to land to reinforce the allies.
Among the chaotic Balmok assault army were a group of soldiers wearing white robes and blue stripes.
"Damn it, Arik, you are reckless!" Rurik cursed secretly.
Is this how the battle begins?
Yevluo asked hurriedly: "Sir, they all started to attack spontaneously, we..."
"No! Keep sailing, I want to get close enough to York." Rurik growled.
Then he gave Yevlo an order: "Let the brothers shout as much as possible and tell the ships of the Ross fleet that they must follow the flagship and cannot land without authorization again!"
"As you command!"
