Tamworth has become the focus of regional strategy. Some local lords in Mercia have learned that the capital is under siege. As for sending troops to serve the king, the king must do it, but the concentration of troops is a big problem.
Where do the enemies come from? Who is the enemy?
Serious problems first troubled the Earl of Leicester, who was closest to Tamworth.
Fifty armored warriors and more than 400 armed farmers were gathered, and this was already the number of troops the count could produce in a short time. In fact, he has done a lot for King Qin. The nearly five hundred soldiers have already consumed a lot of his energy.
Of course, this army did not take two or three days to assemble. When the messenger informed the count with extremely tragic news and led him to complete the preliminary assembly, four days had passed.
Only the earl and a few retinues were riding horses, while the rest of the soldiers were walking on the muddy ground after the rain. They were walking on the dirt road leading to the royal city, which was the only way to the royal city.
Realistic troubles plagued the Earl of Leicester's army recently. Considering his own situation, the Earl planned to go to the Kingdom's standing army camp in Birmingham first.
Looking at the current situation of the count's army, many peasant soldiers are still barefoot, not without boots, but because they are worried that their precious boots will be worn out by marching. The weapons of the warriors were so bad that even the wooden fork used to fork thatched grass to feed the sheep became a weapon.
The morale of these soldiers cannot be said to be high, nor can it be said to be low. The sergeants from top to bottom had no idea what kind of enemy they were facing, and the farmers didn't have much idea whether they would die in this battle.
Because the situation was really critical for Mercia, the messenger could only notify the lords in the southeast. As for the western lords, they were unable to convey it.
Bridges were cut, messengers were unable to carry the bad news westward, and the lords of Cambridge and Oxford knew nothing of the siege of Tamworth.
The continuous heavy rain has made people in most areas of Mercia and even neighboring Wessex too lazy to go out, and they all stay at home and suffer from the humidity.
The lords of various places had no idea that the royal army was defeated at the northern border and that Earl Lindsay was killed.
They did not know that the Earl of Lindsay had changed hands, nor did they know that the Earl of Pexeter had directly pledged allegiance to Northumbria. Even the attitude of the Earl of Chester in the northwest was ambiguous.
Britain's scope of strength is being reshaped in a short period of time!
The difficulties of the march also tormented the Northumbrian army. No wonder Magnute, the Viking King of York, felt that the Northumbrians might rebel, and he was actually being kind to them. If the Vikings' violent waterway was normal, it would seem that the opponent's land march was a snail's crawl.
King Aynred of Northumbria, if there had been no Viking invasion, his 2,000 armored infantry and 500 cavalry banners would have been enough to protect his royal power from being coveted by neighboring countries and the northern Pictish tribes.
His army withered, and now he actually had more troops under his command, but his strength had plummeted.
He successfully incorporated the earldom of Perkset and directly promoted it to the Duke of Northumbria to show his importance.
But such a move made the newly appointed Duke of Peixet have an ambiguous attitude towards the new king. After all, Peixet gave a batch of supplies to the Northumbrian army, and immediately formed a team of more than 300 men to deliver them to Eynred.
The Northumbrian army rested for two days at Pexeter, and Javro and other Viking warriors also got a good meal. Of course, the Pekset people had no idea that there were Vikings in the new king's team. Not only did Jevro disguise himself in orange royal army uniforms on the ship, but he also hid the round shield coated with pine gum and chalk mud. At first glance, they looked like the burly Praetorian Guards beside Eynred, which was indeed very grand.
Aynred really wished he had such a group of brave guards, but he knew that these people were not only guards but also supervisors and intimidators.
Once it develops into fighting alongside the Vikings, the situation is not very scary.
An envoy from Northumbria rode straight to Chester. When the envoy arrived, he saw that the Earl of Chester of Mercia had led an army to confront the Earl of Manchester of Northumbria.
It's just that this confrontation is very subtle.
The two earls are both local lords. Regarding the power struggle between kings, the two countes will only side with their king in a necessary war.
Nowadays, the situation is abnormal. When a large number of northern refugees enter his territory, the Earl of Chester becomes increasingly aware of the danger.
"What terrible thing scares the civilians in the north and flees to my territory?"
A favored minister congratulated the earl. This was God's blessing. It was the earl's kindness that attracted the people of Northumbria to enter and cultivate the land.
It's all beautiful bullshit, but it's pleasant to listen to.
When the Earl of Chester actually led troops to the border to find out the situation, he was immediately trembling with fear. This move also frightened the Earl of Manchester to come to "confront".
There was no major battle between the two sides. The two earls, who were each doing their own thing, simply sat in a camp and exchanged information.
The so-called Viking army almost destroyed Northumbria, and Aynred became a servant. Now the all-out war against Mercia has begun.
The Earl of Chester couldn't believe it. If so, he didn't intend to work for King Wiglaf (his family's territory was in the northwest border, and he was already a marginalized noble force). Since the Vikings were so terrifying, if he surrendered Viking Northumbria might have been able to avoid war.
Because the Earldom of Chester is on the western coast of Britain. The Vikings had appeared on the other side of the coast. Those barbarians had beaten their heads to pieces with the equally barbaric Picts in Ireland, and they should also consider the possibility of being attacked by the Vikings. He judged others by himself, and based on the treaty of the feudal kingdom of Britain, he estimated that if his territory was attacked by Vikings sooner or later, and if he formed an alliance with another powerful Viking group, his territory should be safe.
With the arrival of the Northumbrian messenger, Earl Chester of Mercia was even more shaken.
He claimed: "If your coalition with the Vikings defeats the Royal Army of Tamworth, I will join Northumbria. I will get the title of Duke, and I will ensure that my army will not leave the garrison during this period. , I will give you some wheat to make military rations. You must also promise that no matter what happens, you are not allowed to attack my territory."
It's understandable that the Earl of Chester makes stronghead grass.
But the crisis in the Earl of Manchester was essentially eliminated, all because the alliance between King Aynred and the Vikings was real and effective, and the Earl of Manchester was also expected to lead troops into the war.
Eynred did not have time to wait for news from the northwest. He did not wait for the messenger to bring intelligence, and continued to march south after resting.
However, they still had to walk on the rugged dirt road to Tamworth, even though it was not a very far distance geographically.
Finally, the exhausted Northumbrian army arrived at Tamworth, the capital of Mercia, after two days of walking upstream along the River Tam.
On this sunny autumn day, the dry wind quickly blew away the dampness and coldness of the past rain.
Many soldiers saw the flags flying on the city walls.
Jevro was overjoyed and immediately ordered the grain officer Paul to translate to Eynred: "That is the flag of the Rus. The Viking army has conquered Mercia."
Eynred's eyesight was inferior to that of someone like Jevro. He squinted and looked carefully, somewhat unbelievable.
"The flags of Rus and Mercia are too similar. I want to take a closer look."
Indeed, Rurik’s so-called Ross oar flag style is basically a replica of the Ross Andre naval flag, and he did it intentionally.
The Banner of the King of Mercia has the same cloth strips sewn diagonally. As for the flags, the reason why they are similar is that they are easier to make.
A large army appeared, flying orange and white flags. Both the Rus and the Balmoks recognized their identities.
"Report! My lord, the King of Northumbria and his army have finally arrived."
"I know. Damn it, a bunch of lazy guys..."
Rurik signaled the guards to retreat, and asked Princess Mary to accompany him.
"What happened?" Mary asked as she changed her clothes.
"It's Eynred and his army."
"I know him. He is the King of Northumbria." Mary was a little surprised.
"Yes, you are all nobles, you should know him."
Rurik's words were not taken seriously. In fact, the princess Mary did know Eynred personally, and she was quite afraid of him.
"I do know him," she said. "Not a nice guy."
"It's ridiculous! In your opinion, there are no good men in this world. In my opinion, that man is neither good nor bad, just a loser. Do you think I am a good person?" Rurik stretched his fair back and asked casually .
"I don't know, maybe you are a good person. At least you didn't force me, and..." Princess Mary smiled secretly and said nothing more.
"It doesn't matter. I really didn't expect you to be so obedient, as if it wasn't my army that destroyed your kingdom."
"Is that so? What does it matter to me that the ridiculous country is destroyed? If I fall into your hands, either kill me or take me away. I have no nostalgia for Mercia."
Princess Mary spoke very decisively, and it was precisely such words that made Rurik even more confused. Could it be that her heart was really as cold as a pile of ice.
"Let's go." Rurik changed his clothes and stood up. Looking back with a cold face: "You are really a strange woman. Come with me now, maybe your appearance will scare Eynred. Oh, by the way. If you are willing to follow me, just obey my orders."
"That's fine."
In Rurik's view, this woman's brain had been broken before she was captured, or after experiencing those things, she felt that she had sinned deeply. If she would go to hell after death, then there would be no difference between the world and the real devil. It doesn't matter if you get a contract.
The arrival of the Vikings destroyed the secrets in Tamworth Fortress, and the conqueror was not a devil, but an angel. This was of course only a personal feeling for her.
How could a beautiful and handsome boy be a villain? This boy knew Latin, was a duke from a foreign land, had strange beliefs, and was nothing short of a noble man.
He is not like a pure strong person, except that he angered him at first, and if he didn't mention it or didn't allow it later, he wouldn't take the initiative like a bull in April.
The fact of male and female is secondary, the heart of Queen Mary has been captured by Rurik. She is very willing to maintain an intimate relationship with a handsome man, and this handsome Rurik truly admits that he is a nobleman and a nobleman who deserves to enjoy some power.
Queen Mary does not need any restraint. Her obedience surprised the Ross warriors, while the people of the royal city who were still under control, especially the priests, were cursing Queen Mary as a slut who would go to hell.
Rurik gathered a group of brothers, and saw that Balmok's allies were also gathering troops.
The Viking army gathered a group of people to greet the Northumbrian army arriving at Tamworth.
They didn't wait too long. Eynred, who had lost his arm, finally stood in front of the Viking army with a shocked look on his face. He subconsciously turned his face away and saw the Russian flag flying on the city wall.
Rurik, the young man with a golden ponytail stood in front of the army.
Aynred dismounted, and before him, Jevro and his brothers took off their orange coats, restored their Russian clothes and returned to their own lords.
"Sir, I have completed the task you ordered."
Rurik nodded: "Stay back for now and take your brothers to rest."
Then, he led a group of guards to meet the King of Northumbria, and even a group of tired and nervous so-called warriors of the kingdom.
warrior? Pooh! They are all a group of armed farmers. With poor equipment and haggard energy, they feel a bit like beggars.
Eynred has thousands of words to say, but now he just wants to confirm one fact.
"Rurik of Rus, did you really attack this city? This is the capital of Mercia."
"We did it." Rurik raised his head high and saw Magnute and Biyoni approaching menacingly from the corner of his eyes. "Eynred, you can talk to King York now."
Magnut came. Not only did he come, he also patted his chest and boasted about the bravery of the Balmoq army. That being said, the cruel remnants of the war are on the city walls. Eynred is not a fool. He can see that the two warring parties must have fought a desperate battle to attack the city. I am afraid that the Viking army lost a lot of troops.
Magnute spoke mostly in Norse, and Eynred could barely understand it. The grain officer Paul's translator gave him a rough understanding.
"You actually annihilated the royal family of Mercia?" Eynred cared about this the most and wanted to confirm this the most.
"It was not completely annihilated. For example, we did not find the King of Mercia, the abominable Wiglaf. However, we killed their prince." Rurik said calmly.
He spoke quite calmly, but Eynred was not calm.
"I led the army to pursue the Mercian army. I don't know where their king fled to. If you kill their prince now, I am afraid that the Mercian royal family has become extinct. If... you are willing, as long as you have the patience to find Wiglaf, Once he is killed, Mercia will basically be destroyed.”
"The royal family has not been completely wiped out." Rurik smiled and made a gesture. A girl lifted up her coarse cloth robe, got out from behind the Ross guard, quickly approached Rurik, and then slowly He slowly raised his head.
"Ah! It's you? You're Mary! You..." Eynred was speechless, and he held back another sentence for a long time: "Rurik, you really left a woman's life behind. Did you know? She is Mercia The most beautiful princess?"
"Really? She is indeed beautiful." Rurik casually ordered: "Mary, kneel down next to me."
Let's look at the princess Mary. She not only knelt down on her knees immediately, but also sat sideways on the ground with Rurik's legs in her arms, her cheek still pressed tightly against Rurik's cloth pants.
"Eynred, do you see? Now she is my woman, what you call the most beautiful princess of Mercia, and now obeys my orders completely, just like a hound obeys its master."
Eynred was quite surprised, but this incident was considered an episode.
What concerned him most was that the Viking army actually broke through the fortified city of Tamworth during the days he was marching! Look at this devastating combat power, perhaps only the legendary Roman Legion can match it. However, the deeds of the Romans were legends, and Eynred did not dare to believe it too much. At least he had to be in awe of the strength of the Vikings before his eyes.
He soon saw an astonishing number of captive people, all of whom were Mercians. What continued to surprise him was that the Vikings now behaved less like demons. He saw with his own eyes that the Vikings cooked wheat and gave it to the prisoners of war!
It was noon, and the exhausted Northumbrian army consisted of more than 3,000 people. When they sat on the ground to rest, Rurik could easily see that this so-called army was a seam monster. The so-called army gathered all kinds of men, including some skinny and short boys. It is conceivable that when Eynred went south this time, he must have temporarily recruited strong men to fight for him on the way. But how can such an army talk about combat effectiveness? At best, it can show others that King Eenred is not really down and out.
Rurik generously gave some wheat to this group of "beggars", and the food was only half full for them and only one meal.
Magnut and a group of others thought this was meaningless kindness. In Eynred's view, he already liked Rurik of Rus quite a lot.
That night, the inner castle of Tamworth, the royal palace of the Kingdom of Mercia.
In the stone chamber on the upper floor of the stone tower, there are the Viking King Magnute and Prince Biyonni of the Kingdom of York, King Aynred of Northumbria, Rurik, Duke of Ross, and the newly canonized Pekset. The Duke, made solemn deliberations as to the ownership of Tamworth and the ownership of the captured people of Mercia.
The so-called negotiation basically went too long.
Aynred was given the whole of Tamworth, a sacked city. As for the captured people, all the young women were taken away by the Vikings, and the remaining old and weak were left to Eynred.
Even so, the generosity of the Vikings exceeded his imagination. Even if Tamworth became an empty city and he planted the flag of Northumbria to declare his sovereignty, Mercia would have to admit it. Because this is their punishment.
He actually wanted to move the temporary capital of Northumbria from Roydis to Tamworth, so that the territory he had lost to the Vikings could be gained by nibbling the territory of the Kingdom of Mercia. , and when the nobles of Chester swear allegiance to themselves, the territory of Northumbria controlled by their family has hardly shrunk!
Due to practical reasons, Eynred did not dare to take a political risk. Northumbria's real national power was already in jeopardy, and he had almost no capital to take risks.
Especially since Wiglaf is not dead yet. Even if he is killed, the other nobles of Mercia can still elect a new king. Moreover, Mercia has suffered such a defeat, why doesn't the King of Wessex march north? The last time the Wessex people marched north in a big way to force themselves to surrender was only five years ago.
Northumbria must now surrender to the Vikings, especially the Kingdom of York established by the Vikings on their homeland, and declare to accept its protection, so that they can continue to have a stable kingship.
The humiliation is real humiliation. Eynred has lived a long time, and now he has suffered enough from the consequences of his own ambition. Compared with the King of Mercia who died as the crown prince, he himself has great hope. Ella, the only heir to the throne of Northumbria, may succeed in this generation and the kingdom can be revitalized.
Eynred simply respected Magnute as the "brother king". This title was actually a false title. In fact, he called Magnute his eldest brother according to the Viking custom. There is really no psychological grudge against this title, because Magnute is really older.
He also immediately recognized the Kingdom of York's control of the Lindsay region, and both Magnut and Rurik also recognized Northumbria's control of the Pexeter region.
What kind of concept is this? After the two sides were redrawn, the Viking Kingdom of York occupied the east coast of the central region of the British island, and the Kingdom of Northumbria occupied the west coast of the central region. The two sides basically had a clear boundary line, which was the Ouse River and the Tet River. The River Lunt (including the upper reaches of the River Tam) is demarcated. The west of the river is the Kingdom of Northumbria, and the east of the river is the Viking Kingdom of York.
The current territorial scope of the Viking Kingdom of York is basically close to the early scope of the "Danish Law District" in another dimension. Of course, the reason why the Danfa District is like this is not a random demarcation. It relies on the mouth of the Ouse River. With that excellent bay as the center and spreading out in all directions, this unique harbor was simply a natural harbor for Viking immigrants from all walks of life to land.
By now, Magnute solemnly announced that the territory of his Kingdom of York, established by the Balmoks, had been determined, and what followed was a large-scale immigration wave.
What else can Eynred say, he can only wish "Big Brother King" Magnute a good life.
Of course, this year's war will not end easily. The two sides are discussing the carving up of the Mercian territory. The orthodox King of Mercia has wandered to nowhere, and he is recruiting troops if he can't save everything!
Do the Vikings still want to help Northumbria fight the Mercians?
Magnut really despised the armless king, and Rurik only regarded Eynred as a tool that could be used.
In fact, the two sides did not seem to have a real alliance. It was just the Viking Kingdom of York unilaterally promising not to invade Northumbria based on the "Non-Aggression Treaty". As for the war between Northumbria and Mercia, didn't the two sides fight for hundreds of years? Then continue fighting, what does it have to do with others?
Rurik remained silent, but Magnute said something carelessly: "If you are beaten to the point of subjugation, and crawl in front of me to ask for my help, I would be willing to give you some help."
