York Bridge is burning. It is the only way from York to the right bank of the River Ouse. If it is lost, pedestrians will either have to take a long detour or take a small boat to cross the river.
York was surrounded, and the city, together with more than 6,000 soldiers and civilians who had fled, had become a fish on the chopping block.
The Viking army was burning the remains of their dead in battle. The death of fifty brothers in one battle really touched Magnut greatly and aroused his anger.
There were bonfires everywhere, as dense as a galaxy.
The land that should have been pitch black was suddenly illuminated by the dense bonfires, and the abnormalities here could be seen even from a long distance.
The armless king of Northumbria just wants to get back to York as soon as possible.
They followed the dirt road north along the Don River and arrived at its confluence with the Ouse River.
They then arrived along the right bank of the River Ouse, but unexpectedly encountered the scouts of Earl Roydis (Leeds) who were loyal to him.
The scouts were surprised and moved by the fact that His Majesty the King personally led the main force.
All the scouts reported what they knew. The so-called Earl was organizing troops to reinforce York, and a big war seemed inevitable.
However, this report only made Eynred continue to be nervous.
Because those Vikings had moved up the river and they had surrounded York, had the siege taken place.
if……
More than half of Eynred's inherent extravagant hopes have disappeared. He is worried that his son will be killed, all ministers will be chopped off, and his family will be extinct.
Then some subordinates asked: "Your Majesty, what will happen to our army? If we use this tired army to come back to support York, it will be unfavorable for our army in a decisive battle..."
"Then go to Roydis! Try to mobilize as many men as possible to join the army and save our York. God will save us!" His right arm jerked the reins and turned the horse's head.
Many people could not tell on the surface that the king had lost his left forearm, and their fighting spirit was not high at all, so they just followed the king blindly.
In fact, the frictions and small-scale conflicts with Mercia on the southern border for several months have continued to weaken the morale of these soldiers, and now they are going to have a decisive battle with the Vikings who besieged York?
It is also beneficial for the army to take a detour and go to Roydis first. The increase in the army's strength will at least strengthen its momentum.
Until now, Eynred knew almost nothing about the situation of the Vikings who invaded the capital. Are they Russians? Or something else? They are all Vikings anyway.
This army of two thousand people did not arrive at Roydis City until night. The frightened defenders thought for a time that the Vikings were coming, and a soldier came up to the battlements with the city gates closed.
It wasn't until the king's cavalry yelled and cursed in Saxon that Lord Garfred of Roydis realized that the situation was abnormal and opened the city gate himself.
A group of Earl's guards holding torches went out first. The Earl himself held the hilt of his sword and approached His Majesty the King's mount under the cover of night.
Aynred had a sullen expression on his face, and immediately yelled loudly, "I learned that something big happened in York! The Vikings are besieging the capital, and I want to recruit an army from you! Organize all the twelve-year-olds as quickly as possible. Fifty-year-old man! Whether he is a servant, a serf, or even a prisoner, hand him over to me immediately."
Earl Garfred was taken aback, and the smile on his face disappeared. Some of it was just panic, "Your Majesty, I have organized five hundred farmers. I can organize seven hundred people. Isn't this... enough?"
"Of course not enough! They are Vikings! Give me two thousand men at any cost and let all your sons join the battle. Listen, if we fail, the whole kingdom will be destroyed, and everything you have will be lost to those who come from the sea. The villain takes it away!”
"Okay... okay. Your Majesty, go to the city first."
"That's fine. Prepare food and water for my army immediately."
The king came with a large army, and the people who fled into the city felt no relief.
The chaotic streets were full of soldiers sitting down to rest. They defecated wantonly, making the already dirty streets even more smelly.
Eynred was not sleepy at all, or he had forgotten what sleeping was because of his extreme nervousness.
At His Majesty's order, all the prisoners in the prison were pulled out.
Those who committed crimes thought they were going to have their hands chopped off or hanged, but unexpectedly they were received by the king.
Thieves, murderers awaiting execution, debt prisoners, and those who had not paid enough taxes, more than fifty men were detained in the muddy square of the city.
There were people holding torches everywhere, and the man wearing an iron helmet with a gold edge was the king himself.
"You are all criminals!" Eynred pointed at the prisoners from a high place. "Many of you should have been executed. However, now there is a chance to be exempted from all culpability. Our country is besieged by barbarians, and now All take up arms and fight the barbarians. When we are victorious, your merits will be worth your sins!"
Is this a good thing? Pooh!
Only the murderer was slightly relieved that he at least had a theoretical chance of survival. But the debtor prisoners realized that the so-called pardon was all a joke! Everyone must fight desperately with the barbarians, fearing that they will be killed in an instant.
Aynred guessed what they were thinking and started shouting again, "I want to recruit an army! All those who are of age must join the army, otherwise they are traitors and will be executed!"
After saying this, he drew his sword, surprising the people who had been watching all night. After that, he waved his hand and the regular army of the Kingdom surrounded the square. All the men in the circle, except for the meaningless boys, must join the army!
That night, many families gathered together and cried.
One family after another, they fled here with their children for refuge! Many of them saw the terrifying large ship and the astonishing number of barbarians on board. Wouldn't it be like seeking death to fight these villains?
But without fighting, the king would really go on a killing spree.
Even the old man Eynred who was wandering around was not spared. He recruited all kinds of people overnight and captured all the effective forces of Earl Roydis at once.
Earl Garfred dared not speak out, not only because he was the king, but also because the king's master was at least stronger than himself.
Overnight, the army swelled to more than 4,000 people. There are ragged farmers everywhere, many of them are barefoot, wearing rags with only a hemp rope as a belt.
Peasant warriors are unarmored and most only have a short spear on hand.
Regular stockpile weapons have been distributed, and those without weapons use sharpened wooden poles to make spears, or even hammer nails into short wooden sticks to make maces.
Is this considered an army? Can morale be so high?
Eynred had no choice but to at least gather such a large number of people. He felt relieved in his heart. He also hoped that he could force the Vikings to evacuate with sheer numbers. Although this was basically an extravagant hope, the opportunity for negotiation was also excellent. of.
On a peaceful day, it would take Eynred some time to recruit an army of thousands of people from the country.
Now that a large number of civilians were pouring into the city of Roydis, he finally pulled out this chaotic army and began to move towards York the next day.
It was also on this day that Rurik was making final preparations for the siege.
York was still besieged and no one within the city could escape.
Should we persuade them to surrender? Even though there was grain officer Paul as a leader in the camp, Rurik still didn't want to take risks.
Until now, Rurik didn't know whether Northumbria was in the city. If he was really there, their fierce resistance yesterday would be meaningless even if they negotiated.
A monarch who is willing to die for the country? It is worthy of admiration.
Then be kind and be kind!
The stone city of York gave Rurik the feeling that it was much taller than Borgholm. There were obviously church buildings in the city, and it also had a tall tower.
If there were artillery, the city's walls would soon be breached. No matter how bad the counterweight trebuchet was, the big rocks kept hitting it and the wall collapsed.
At least the huge weakness in York's walls was perceived by Rurik. They knew nothing about cement when they built the city. They piled stones on the walls. In order to avoid collapse, the natural cross-section was trapezoidal, which provided opportunities for climbing with bare hands.
The wooden walls of the outer city were destroyed, and the supplies that had not been transported away became the possessions of the coalition forces. The agricultural products traded immediately supplied the army.
Those large wooden pillars and long wooden poles immediately became the materials for assembling the long ladder.
The Rus and Balmoks tied them with ropes and built thirty ladders in one day. On average, there was one ladder for a hundred people.
Rurik also unloaded the twenty handcarts that had been prepared from the ship. They were originally used to transport loot, but now they became the perfect vehicle for the torsion slingshots unloaded from the ship.
The fleet anchored in the Ouse River can still launch projectile attacks on York. After all, this is a waste of ammunition. After hearing Jevlo's worries, Rurik thought again, worried that these supports would accidentally damage friendly forces during the melee, and he did not intend to Again.
Twenty torsion slingshots and ten bull trebuchets will provide fire support when the general attack is launched.
Rurik suddenly asked to assemble all the men with bows and arrows in the Balmok army, so that the shooting flag team suddenly expanded to 500 people!
Even though many people are holding short wooden bows that are not high in weight, if they are used intensively, the rain of arrows produced should have a significant effect.
Everything is under Rurik's control. Tomorrow is the day of decisive battle and siege. In the evening, he has to hold the last pre-war meeting.
Including the distinguished leader Magnut, everyone listened attentively to Rurik's final arrangement, even though they were still doubtful about the special request to reduce killings.
A family leader shouted: "Why bother? For your kindness?"
Arik also suggested: "They are warriors. If they dare to resist us, our army will kill them. This is the fate of warriors."
What Arik said is an explanation. Those who believe in Odin support mass killings.
Rurik said hurriedly: "At least you must keep the lives of women! Listen, brothers, if you want to settle here, you must at least have enough women. You must keep the lives of men, and they will be your slaves. You farm.”
These words were mainly meant for Magnute, and Rurik stared at his father-in-law again, "It may be impossible to blackmail the king of Northumbria now. They are too weak, and the king's power will inevitably be controlled by us. This is fate. , Father, you should rule here, and all local farmers are your servants."
These words directly lifted Magnute up. When the other family leaders heard this, they felt really uncomfortable, but they were helpless.
Magnute stroked his beard and laughed loudly, "Okay, Biyongni! My son."
"exist."
"Go and tell our people to bring more ropes. After the city is breached, the resisters will be killed, and those who put down their weapons, men and women, will be tied up. From now on, I will be the king here, and we must keep these people as slaves for farming. Oh, and the brothers’ wives.”
In the Balmok army, Magnut led the most troops and was the strongest, and he also spoke with the most weight.
Rurik also teased his cousin Arik: "Don't be too cruel."
"Of course I do." Arik pouted, feeling uncomfortable thinking about not being able to fight bloody battles.
When setting off for the expedition, Rurik said that he had no intention of asking for too much in Britain, and his biggest hope was to get a lot of wheat to take back home. He concluded that since York was a royal city, there must be a lot of wheat in the city.
Most of the wheat will go to Rus, and most of the other treasures will go to Balmok. This is an agreement between the two groups.
It's a new day and the sky is full of haze.
After waking up, Rurik looked at the gray sky and sighed again: "It won't rain again."
There has been no rainfall for the time being, but the north wind is slightly fierce, and the sudden drop in temperature has further depressed the mood of the defenders. On the contrary, the Viking army outside the city has completed the final preparations after a day of repairs and recharge.
All the Balmoks with horns blew their horns, and there was a commotion outside the city. Soon a large number of warriors gathered with weapons.
The Balmoks raised the multi-sided raven flag with a white background ordered by their leader, while the Russian army carried more paddle flags with a white background and blue stripes.
Rurik also spent a lot of money to attack the city. The "Silver Scale Breastplate" he carried in this battle, this batch of heavy silver-plated iron plate armor, could finally come in handy.
Since ancient times, raids by ladder-climbing warriors have always taken huge risks. Climbing ladders with flesh and blood and fighting bloody battles at the top of the city seems to be courting death. They must be equipped with heavy armor!
Rurik selected fifty brave men from among his mercenaries, and beat the Danish Grund and his more than ten brothers, and said: "Now I give you a chance to make great achievements. Put on the heaviest armor, you Be invulnerable. Climb up the wall and fight for me. Let the enemy's blood wash away the dirt on the armor and break their will. When the deed is accomplished, there will be a reward."
It doesn't matter to people like Grund how much they reward. They are surrendered generals, and their loyalty lasts a lifetime, not to mention that they are treated very well on weekdays.
Seeing their fifty "iron bulls", Arik was actually very envious. He also wanted to put on heavy armor and climb the wall to fight. After all, he was the flag captain of the first flag team, and it was inappropriate to be separated from the command.
The Viking army began to shout, beating their shields with swords and axes, and accompanied by the sound of horns, brought a terrifying momentum.
The soldiers and civilians in the city were trembling with fear. When Graywulf climbed up the stone wall and saw the gathered army, he estimated that today would be the last day of his life.
Unfortunately, it's a cloudy day today.
He bared his teeth and led the soldiers down to the city first. More than a thousand men in different clothes knelt together.
The remaining priests had mixed emotions. They held "golden urns of holy water" filled with rose essential oil and used fresh cypress branches dipped in holy water to bless all the soldiers.
"..., God is with us, A...men."
The priests knew that they could not protect themselves, and even the words of prayer were stumbling. Now they could only rely on these warriors.
There are only a few men in York who can really fight, and most of them are just improvised farmers.
There are still more than four hundred kingdom soldiers who seem to have retained their fighting ability, and look at those Vikings, they are demons.
Although Graywulf is scared, he has no choice now. Thousands of people in the city still rely on the protection of the soldiers, especially the queen and prince.
Kingdom soldiers holding bows stood at the top of the city. All the royal flags in the city were erected. Nearly fifty large and small orange flags fluttered fiercely in the north wind.
"Do they know today is the decisive battle? There are flags everywhere." Arik asked his brother.
"fair enough."
"Okay? But you won't let me take my brothers into the city and kill them."
"Are you resenting me?" Rurik shrugged.
"How is that possible!" Arik patted his brother's iron helmet casually, "I still like to fight."
"But this is a battle for the Balmoks, and we are here to help. Brother, I hope not one of us in Ross will die during this expedition. Our men are all very precious."
"Hey, except for those mercenaries."
"Not so. Except for Grund and his guys. You know, I don't like mercenaries who have betrayed their sponsors."
Arik was surprised at first, then nodded and praised what his brother said was true.
But how did Grund know? These heavily armored warriors were nothing short of iron men, chosen because they were expendable.
The mercenaries who were really favored by Rurik are now working as crossbowmen or even operating heavy weapons.
Who will announce the start of the attack?
Rurik ordered a Russian soldier to walk to the front of the formation carrying the Russian flag with blue stripes on a white background. He waved it in a flashy way to attract everyone's attention, and then suddenly waved it forward again.
Upon seeing this, Magnute ordered his men to launch an offensive, causing the entire army to launch a surprise attack!
