A large number of prisoners were escorted to the muddy square in York.
The black mud here was covered with the blood of the war dead, and the horrified people sat trembling on the ground. When they saw the dead bodies piled up in a corner due to cleaning, they instinctively felt that this was their fate.
The child cried, and the woman cried too. The captured men were either sad, angry or frightened.
Standing in front of them was a large group of unkempt savages, many of whom had their upper bodies exposed and displayed horrific tattoos.
Barbarians were Picts?
The captured people had different opinions. In their understanding, only the Picts in the north were scary and tattooed people.
But they are not!
Everyone was surprised to see the queen. The young woman was like a walking corpse, following a man with a bald head and tattoos in a trance.
Although the queen was said to be unclean, she was now clearly reduced to a slave. The people were lamenting and worried about their own fate.
This is not the end yet, a group of barbarians entered the city again.
This group of guys seemed to be respectable warriors. They were uniformly dressed in white robes and blue stripes, but it was actually him they were escorting!
Many captured kingdom soldiers stood up in shock, unable to believe that His Highness the Prince had been captured.
Rurik, who was standing high up and talking to his father-in-law Magnute about how to deal with this large number of prisoners, noticed the strange movements of the prisoners with a sideways glance.
They were originally silent and became noisy, just because Fraser and the others came back?
Rurik turned around and saw the archery master Frazier, who was not only carrying a crossbow, but also had a short boy wrapped around his waist.
"Is that a nobleman?" he said.
Magnute also turned around, pointed and said: "Your men have caught a prey. I saw a small deer."
"Perhaps a noble deer."
Fraser and the others didn't know that they had just waited and caught the first heir to the throne of Northumbria. He was looking for his sponsor, and when they saw the dejected prisoner sitting on the ground, they The man was also greatly shocked and felt that his capture had become meaningless.
He easily found Rurik standing high up.
But that place made him feel uncomfortable.
It was a stone platform, probably used as a place to execute prisoners in public. Unexpectedly, the financial owner and Balmok allies would give orders here.
"Sir, I'm back." After saying that, the short boy whom Jiang tied up was still on the ground. "You see, this is a noble."
Rurik turned his head and took a look, and it was indeed true. Compared with ordinary children, this short-haired boy was too pampered.
"Who is he?" Rurik asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's the prince."
"Wait!" Rurik knelt down, stared at the trembling boy, and then asked in Saxon: "Who are you?"
"E...Ella."
"Ella? Are you Ella?!"
Rurik stood up suddenly, with a smile on his calm face, and said to Magnut, "Okay now, we have captured their prince. Children can't lie."
"Is this the kid?" Magnut glanced with disdain, "You can be my slave."
"Whatever." Rurik shrugged and mentioned the conversation just now, "If you rule here, I will support it. Northumbria is so weak, and I still fantasized about negotiating with them, but it is no longer necessary. .So, I want to take away most of the wheat in the city."
"Of course." Magnute patted his son-in-law on the shoulder. He was really satisfied with this arrangement.
Because according to Magnut's current knowledge, you can survive by eating fish, and there is no need to worry about the gain or loss of a large amount of oats. If the Balmoks had not started the spring plowing next year, there would be no harm in giving all the wheat to Ross.
What he really cares about is the captive population, fields and pastures, cattle and sheep, and the mild climate here. And the most important thing is the softness of gold and silver.
The son-in-law only wants wheat, so he can decide so, but he must also give him something else.
If he behaves too greedily, the Balmok brothers will criticize him.
He then said, "I'd better give you some other property. I'm not a greedy old guy."
"Ah, thank you very much."
In a moment, Biyongni came in a fierce manner, pinched the zombie-like queen's neck again, and said happily to his father, "This is their queen, and now I have it. Haha, what an honor!"
"You!?" The eldest son's move shocked Magnute, "You actually like this? I still want to..."
"A very young woman? Forget it. The woman who conquered the king, I'm proud."
Then Queen Ella suddenly became irritable, and her dazed expression became calm. On this platform, which was originally the platform where prisoners were executed, Anna met Ella and her son.
Anna was not restrained, she cried loudly while holding her son, and Prince Ella also howled.
Biyongni was also surprised. He had no mercy and pulled the queen up again.
Anna was crying, begging the Vikings to save her son's life.
Rurik understood these words, and signaled Biyongni not to be rude, and then stepped forward, "You are the queen, I have seen you. You have served Aenred's subordinates, you are an unclean person. If you were not the queen, you would be beheaded here!”
Of course Rurik knew that this high platform was a place of execution, and said to Biyongni: "It's really pointless for you to keep her."
"It doesn't matter. You should ask her where the king has gone. It would be the greatest honor for me to kill that man on the battlefield with my own hands."
"That's fine."
In order to survive and for mother and son to depend on each other, Queen Anna explained everything Rurik wanted to know. Now she didn't have to worry about the heartless King of Han who abandoned his wife and children. She even thought of revenge when she was demoted to a monastery to atone for her sins.
The so-called general who defended the city was Earl Greywulf, who is now missing. She also said that the main force of the kingdom's army was fighting the Mercian army in the south, leaving the capital empty. Then it was described that the king's army was probably already on its way to rescue York.
Is this what happened?
After hearing this, Rurik hurriedly informed Magnut, "Their main force is not here. We occupy York and will probably face a decisive battle. Their king has an army of 5,000 men and is probably on his way." !”
Magnute didn't take it seriously, "You said this? Are you afraid?"
"How is that possible? I just want to remind our coalition forces to stay vigilant. If the soldiers are obsessed with treasure and are emptied by the women here, they may encounter setbacks. We must be vigilant!"
"It doesn't matter!" Magnute waved his hand and said, "It's time to deal with these prisoners. Yes, I don't want to kill them randomly, but some people must die!"
As soon as Biyongni heard this, he immediately thought of his new slave girl. "This queen is already my slave, at least..."
Magnute rolled his eyes at his son again, "I really didn't expect you to be so good. This woman is not young at all. You can keep it as a toy. However, all the soldiers wearing the clothes of their kingdom's army, they did not fight hard. After all, they are traitors! Traitors must die."
Rurik naturally didn't think what Magnute said was wrong, but he didn't want to witness the killing of prisoners.
Rurik did not stop it at all, just because the nature of this war was quite special. The Russian army did come to plunder. However, the Balmoks planned to emigrate as a whole family, just like the ancestors of the Northumbrians four hundred years ago. Immigrated here from Denmark, killed and expelled the local Picts, and conquered this territory. The most capable men in this area are aware of their simple security measures for new land possession. Rurik is no longer qualified to make any criticism, just because he did the same thing in the East.
Magnut selected twenty women from the captives and threw them to Rurik, saying they would make his brothers happy.
Pooh! Is this good?
Rurik didn't think this was a good thing. He simply called John Invar, who was accompanying him, and asked him to take care of these women.
Although they are all barbarians, they look like Russians wearing white robes with blue stripes, but at least they are not simply evil people. At least these people know what sacred faith is, but how can a young priest mix with a group of barbarians?
Women are hard to understand, but since you can even avoid being humiliated by doing good things, don't resist saving your own life first.
These twenty women directly became cooks, which really solved the problem of efficient eating for the army for Rurik.
All the carts brought by Rurik were put to great use, and a large number of sacks filled with oats were already being moved nervously.
Wheat began to be transported to cargo ships, which was really a huge project.
Under night, the officers and soldiers of the Ross Army camped beside the river guarding the fleet. Everyone ate cooked wheat around the campfire and shared the joy of victory.
Naturally, some people questioned that the Duke was too kind and actually allowed the Balmoks to win the most loot. Some people also called on everyone to be quiet and clamored that so much wheat should be redistributed in Roseburg, so that the whole family could eat for a year or two.
Even the cook was given a large bowl of wheat porridge, sprinkled with a large amount of salt, and stirred in seal oil, which was edible and also lubricated the cable, and ate it.
This was Rurik's reward. He could see how skinny these firewood girls were. It was obvious that the daily life of these farm girls was really shabby.
High carbohydrate, high fat and high salt content will indeed be a fattening monster for people thousands of years from now, but for the poor people of this era, it is really a delicacy that only nobles can enjoy.
They are all Rurik's slaves, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to take them back to their hometown to serve them and provide daily services.
It is really because the ten little maids that the father selected for him from Novgorod are becoming more and more beautiful. In a few years, they will have to perform their own responsibilities, and then they will not be able to do any work related to servants. .
The Ross army's camp was quite stable. On the contrary, York was occupied by the Balmoqs, and the city fell into madness.
After all, York is the capital of a country, even more beautiful than Narvik Fjord. Magnute deliberately allowed his men to plunder and torment all the captives, and it didn't matter to him even if the men shrank after excessive joy.
Does arrogance inevitably lead to failure? At least not now.
Compared with the Viking army coming from afar, Northumbria's army was still too weak.
The next morning, the riverside became lively.
A group of Balmok warriors escorted more than a hundred surrendered soldiers in orange to the banks of the Ouse River. Their eyes were tied with cloth strips, and they knelt down helplessly one after another.
After much uproar, Magnute personally ordered the execution.
These people were the last fighting force among the thousands of captives. They did not die for the kingdom, and the Balmoks helped them die honorably.
The dead bodies that fell into the river slowly drifted toward the ocean. What to do with the remaining captives?
Magnute did not hesitate to open a market in the city, and the captives were sold at auction. This is indeed something that Vikings from all walks of life would do, and it even caused a commotion in the Ross army camp.
Rurik had to arrange another order to prohibit his subordinates from getting involved.
The conquered people were then put in chains, but many of them were actually serfs of the lords and kings. If they simply changed their masters, their lives would not get worse.
Those women held their children, whether they were obedient or not, their fate was connected with the national destiny of Northumbria. A new era began from this year.
In the extremely noisy city square, Magnute couldn't wait to raise his sword and declare himself king.
Although Rurik felt that the situation had changed strangely, he still took part in it with a group of entourage, and then publicly announced that the Principality of Rus supported Magnute's move.
According to the locals, he arranged for himself the title of "Konungr" in the Northumbrian language. According to the Saxon language of the Northumbrian people, it is "Kuning", which is a higher concept than "lead of the alliance". The so-called "Leader of all".
Most of the ordinary Balmok people support Magnut as king, and there is no problem in letting Biyongni succeed him.
At least, no young man dared to question Biyongni's contribution to the entire Balmok. This man was a great hero among the brothers.
Then everyone was happy again.
At this moment, Rurik realized that killing the prisoners of war so early in the morning was actually a sacrificial act by the old guy who couldn't wait to become king. It was a sacrificial act to Odin!
The Kingdom of York, founded by the Vikings, was born in the wasteland of Northumbria? Like history happened?
Rurik's level of concern was limited. He now cared more about filling the cabin with wheat and returning home with a full load.
However, how can the locals support a barbarian becoming king? The real king must be approaching the royal city with a large army. The people who are willing to compromise still have another thought, that is, Eynred will lead the king's army to expel the barbarians and save everyone.
I had to look at the eyes of the locals. Many people's wandering eyes were not purely desperate.
The one they still hold on to is Eenred's army.
At night, the Russians still stayed outside the city, guarding their fleet and trophies.
The city continued to be noisy, making Arik really angry.
He threw away the half-eaten grilled fish and angrily muttered to his brother: "That old immortal guy insists on becoming king? Without our support, the Balmoks cannot break the city."
Rurik's expression was indifferent: "Magnut's life is short."
"Oh? Is he dying? He looks like he has a few more years to live."
"It depends on Biyongni. Brother, that man is very ambitious now. Only when Magnut dies can he become king. Biyongni's current prestige is not enough, so..."
"Patricide?" Arik was shocked.
"Who knows? Brother, let's prepare first. I'm very worried now."
"Are you worried that Biyongni will take action now?"
"No. It's Eynred and his army."
"What's there to worry about?" Aric said unconcerned.
Rurik immediately put his head in: "When they see the capital being occupied, they will attack like crazy. Now, I'm afraid there's no point in negotiating with Eynred. Do you long for a joyful killing?"
"Oh! I already understand..." Aric laughed slowly, and then laughed again.
The situation is as Rurik expected. An army of more than 4,000 men composed of the king's army of Eynred and Lord Garfred of Roydis is approaching York.
They didn't dare to go too fast, entirely because Eynred at least knew how scary the Vikings were, and they were afraid that their rash attack would lead to a big defeat.
His caution made Count Garfred confused. It was strange to say that when he saw the forest of spears as dense as a forest, the fear in Garfred's heart disappeared.
In most cases, wars in this era are about comparing the strength of both sides, at least that's how Britain's noobs compliment each other.
Eynred advised him not to go from worry to extreme psychological expansion.
Gafrid, who was riding a horse, thought that the king was encouraging him to fight, so he threatened: "As long as we launch an attack, a brave assault of four thousand people will annihilate them."
Eynred laughed awkwardly, and tried to persuade him not to, thinking that this earl wanted to make a great contribution.
Yes, when the charge is ordered, does Count Garfred have the courage to charge personally? Pooh! Others die, he gets the honor.
Eynred said deliberately: "Then I will appoint you as the cavalry captain, and you will lead the cavalry to charge. If you defeat the enemy, you will be the prime minister."
"Ah! This..." Garfred suddenly looked embarrassed and stopped talking randomly.
"Well, maybe you want to play it safe. But..."
"No!" Garfred pursed his lips and said, "I do! With this army, our army will definitely win. I will raise my head and charge."
"That's fine. Now obey my orders completely. You can't leave if I tell you to stand by, and you can't run away if I tell you to charge."
Garfred knew that he was taking a huge gamble with his family. When he was caught in the gamble, all he could think about was the glory after victory, and he directly ignored the terror of the Vikings.
After a long and tiring trek, many farmers and warriors wore out their boots and walked completely barefoot. They kept complaining, so if the army arrived near York, would it still have fighting strength?
They gradually discovered the village where people had escaped, and saw a large number of strange ships parked on the river in the distance, and there was York!
"It's my York!" Aynred was so shocked that his hair trembled all over his body, and everyone saw the buildings of the royal city.
Strange huge ships can stay here smoothly, and all the big ships have flags flying, which reminds people of the Kingdom of Mercia, and there is also a lot of smoke and dust floating in York.
But that’s not the flag of King Wiglaf of Mercia!
That's the Russian flag! Flag of Rus in Vikings.
The army is on the right bank of the Meuse River, just across the river from the Ross army's camp outside the city.
"What should we do? Your Majesty." Earl Garfred asked.
"Don't attack yet, we keep approaching, I want to... talk to them. Those are the Rus, the only Vikings who can negotiate."
King Aynred was obviously panicked, and Garfred was quite disdainful, but he couldn't say it openly, so he persuaded him: "Negotiation? Your Majesty, with all due respect, the current situation is that York is clearly occupied by them. There must be people Captured, we must save them on behalf of God.”
"No!" Eynred still asked to remain calm.
But Garfred was still carried away by his meritorious service, and even when he looked at the king again, his eyes became ambiguous. He simply choked, "That unclean queen doesn't matter, but Ella..."
"Ella!" Eynred suddenly woke up and almost broke his teeth. He was so furious that his whole body turned red instantly.
"You!" he commanded, "Johanna Gafrid Roydis. With your cavalry, with your warriors, attack them! Destroy their ships! Cross the river! Save my son. !son!"
Only the safety of his son made Eynred, who was once very cautious and had thoughts of appeasement, lose his mind and suddenly become a militant. Because young Ella is the last of his bloodline.
All this was discovered by Rurik, who had made some preparations, and the sun was in the sky. This morning was really suitable for a battle.
The Rus people immediately made a loud noise, and the Balmoks in the entire York City lazily got up to find out what happened.
Rurik had no fear, and Arik was sharpening his sword.
"Finally we're here." Rurik, who was already on the ship, sighed as he faced the approaching army.
"But they are stupid." Jevro said.
"No. They're smart and seem to want to sabotage our boat and swim across the river."
"But this is even stupider."
"Yes. They are brave, and even more reckless. They are seeking death, and we will help them. I asked the First Flag Team to cross the river and organize a shield wall to engage in battle. We will keep shooting arrows on the boat. You and your brothers are ready Shoot, remember, no mercy."
"As commanded."
