The cone-shaped cast iron bullet was fired to an altitude of about fifty meters. This half-pound iron block was small and had limited damage ability to equipment. For combat soldiers, those who hit it would basically die.
Thirty torsion slingshots fired freely, and the arrows were combined with iron bullets to further cover the fire.
The main focus of the Ross coalition's attack was the north gate of the city of Bremen. This is the largest city gate. As long as this gate is breached, the battle will almost be over.
The coalition forces continued to advance slowly, all making Viking war cries very rhythmically. Behind them, arrows and projectiles were fired frequently, which was the so-called Xu Jin barrage offensive of the ninth century. This kind of dispatching of the Frank army has indeed never been seen before, not even Ragnar and his people.
The only thing that makes Ragnar happy is that he is participating in the siege as the attacker who takes advantage.
The coalition forces had advanced to within a stone's throw of the Bremen garrison, which was hit by arrows and projectiles. A few brave men among them finally began to lean out and fight back with bows. The defenders shot arrows at the risk of being shot, and even hid behind the wooden battlements. The single wooden bows were pointed at a high angle to the sky. The archers fired blindly into the sky in grief and indignation, praying to hit the enemy.
Sensing the defenders' counterattack, Ragnar, who was attacking, immediately ordered his brothers to use huge bucklers as umbrellas, rendering the defenders' arrows useless.
But the defenders lost their highest-ranking commander and were in chaos internally. A large number of people were afraid and fled in all directions, even towards the south gate of the city, and began to spontaneously carry away the debris that had been piled up at the city gate. Some people even lowered ropes and rappelled from the city wall. There are no soldiers capable of intercepting the fugitives. Everyone has given up their illusions. This city seems to be difficult to hold. Let's escape with our skills before the Normans go crazy and kill!
If the Normans start to divide their forces and surround the city, it will be too late!
The fleeing people were unable to carry valuables with them, so the merchants packed their existing money in sackcloth and took their own armed men with them, completely ignoring their responsibility to defend the city and trying their best to escape from the city.
The spirit of those who persisted in resisting was worthy of the admiration of the Ross coalition, making the coalition's victory a little more respectable and difficult.
As the drifting fleet on the Weser took control of the city's dockside, the few who rappelled were immediately struck.
The distance is already very close, and the torque slingshot can be aimed accurately.
The main body of the city of Bremen is located in the shadow of the south bank of the Weser River, and the dock area is on the east side of the city. People who left near the east gate were shot dead, and those who tried to escape the city were forced to leave due to the situation. city wall.
The fleet began to fire freely, and the "iron hailstones" fell from the sky and mercilessly penetrated the thatched roofs of the houses. Even if the wealthy families installed terracotta and stone tiles, they were still smashed through. Some people were simply beaten to death at home, and injured people who were beaten to the point of death were also found in the winding and dirty alleyways. The fleet brought greater fear than killing.
As many as 5,000 people flocked to the south gate of the city, which was still in a safe area. Due to the high concentration of people, the already troublesome task of moving the debris blocking the door became extremely time-consuming. Everyone wanted to escape quickly, and a terrible stampede occurred. The situation became extremely chaotic, and there was no one at the scene to provide order. Everyone's survival instincts gathered together, and as a result, only a few people were able to successfully find another way to lower the rope from the city wall and lift them out of the city.
Some people even fell off the wooden fence and were injured, making it even harder to escape.
How could the Russian army know about the chaos that broke out in the city out of fear?
Arik just wanted to break through the city gate quickly. He simply rushed to the front line in person and ordered Ragna as a commander: "I've told you the method! You and your brothers push the car as hard as you can! You must be direct Break the door open, and if it doesn't work once, break it a few more times."
"Okay!" the excited Ragnar roared and asked, "What about you?"
"We will ensure that all the turtle doves on the city wall are shot."
Ragnar no longer needed to say anything. He raised his iron sword and ordered the three hundred warriors under his command to attack with all their strength.
The siege vehicle was pushed by as many as thirty people. The most amazing thing was that there were two groups of people at the front pulling two ropes to pull it further. The car was running on a fairly smooth dirt road, and a heavy behemoth actually reached the speed of a man running. This speed is naturally not as fast as a cavalry charge, but its astonishing weight means amazing potential energy!
Blue Fox did a good reconnaissance last year. The largest south door has a winch system that can lower the solid wooden door from the top. For the general army, putting down such a wooden door and sticking it in the Chengmen cave has become an unsolvable existence.
Now the charging car is hitting it unstoppably, and the force will do wonders!
The whole wooden door was not knocked down by the car, but the entire door was knocked down. The door collapsed and even pulled down the winch placed in the city gate pavilion.
The door was knocked open, but not completely.
The debris behind the door became a kind of "stepping stone", forming a slope with the collapsed door, leaving a huge hole in the doorway.
A slope appears. Will that man suppress his hunter's instinct to rush up and jump?
Ragnar and his men raised their shields high and shouted excitedly at the prisoners of war, but he himself continued to shout until his voice became hoarse and led the charge!
There was no need to climb the long ladder on the wall anymore, and even the defenders who were shooting arrows on the city wall had completely escaped.
"In the end, it was an easy victory. I really didn't expect that there were many of them, so they couldn't conquer this city." Arik dismissed the excitement and complained to himself.
"You mean Ragnar and the others?" Jevro asked casually.
"Exactly. We attacked the city easily."
"Is there any special reason? They don't know how to fight at all." Jevro's explanation was concise and unceremonious. In Arik's opinion, this was the truth.
As another elite in the army, Lan Hu saw the door collapse suddenly, and was as stunned as a chicken, stuck in place like a wooden stake.
Blue Fox's shoulder was suddenly patted by a big hand.
"ah?!"
"Don't be stupid!" Arik scolded.
"..."
"We should enter the city. Blue Fox, think carefully about where their granaries are located. All wheat, wool or other goods belong to us."
"Ah! Then the Danes..."
"Robbing gold and silver? Let them grab it first. I don't care now, I only care about how much wheat I can get for the people in my hometown."
If life is filled with crystal clear stones, gems will still become meaningless. The stained glass made by the Russians was comparable to real gems, and the society of the Principality of Rus had accumulated a large amount of hot money that should have been circulating in the European market and snatched a large amount of gold and silver from the Frankish cities. Arik did not have high expectations.
He actually doesn't have much awareness. It is precisely because he loves his younger brother so much that he feels that as a prince, his younger brother is a blessing to everyone, and it is the right way to handle the things assigned by his younger brother safely. He was still unable to realize that the construction of the Principality of Ross required a large amount of labor, especially to pay the labor force enough to cope with the huge amount of physical exertion. In the final analysis, there was only one reasonable reward - food. Food is the capital of the principality's construction. Looting it from the past can immediately increase the speed of the principality's construction.
Except for a small number of people guarding the vehicle-mounted torsion slingshot, other Russian soldiers began to enter the city.
They walked through the slope formed by the collapsed wooden door and entered the winding alleyways of the city. They immediately saw corpses scattered everywhere, as well as Ragnar's Viking warriors who were doing a lot of damage.
The city was filled with blood, and the tragedy made Blue Fox tremble involuntarily. He originally thought he was strong enough, but after all, he saw an indescribable number of corpses and the dark red soil trampled by his boots, which made him afraid.
"Blue Fox!" Arik roared, waking up the trembling man.
"ah?"
"Take us to the granary! Quick!"
"Okay! The granary is in the inner fort area."
Unlike Ragnar who led his men to pick out residential buildings and rob them, the more than 200 people from the Ross army who entered the city went straight to the count's castle. The road leading to the castle has been visited once by Blue Fox, and now it is a very familiar road for revisiting the old place.
Along the way, some city residents were still running away in fear. They collided with the Russian army and were immediately shot and killed mercilessly by men with crossbows. Arik had no desire to fight. As for following the prince's order of "retaliatory killing", he still prioritized looting food.
The warehouse area is almost integrated with the Earl's castle. The wheat in stock is the Earl's wealth. Since the grain tax was collected for three more years to conquer Denmark, the treasury is now really full.
The shallow water-containing ditch in the inner castle blocked the way of the Ross army, but there were more than a dozen defenders on the opposite side shooting arrows desperately.
The arrow hit the wooden shield, and the momentum of the Ross army's mindless charge was forced to calm down.
"Crossbow! Shoot these troublesome birds!"
Arik gave the order, and the crossbows were lined up in an array and busy loading. Unexpectedly, it was the Finnish longbowmen from Gevlo who took the lead. This group of squirrel shooting masters now had better bows and better quality arrows, and they destroyed the opponent's defense with one salvo.
"Well done, Jevlo. Everyone else, wade across and lower the drawbridge!"
Let's talk about the small circle of trenches in the inner fort. It is a simple circular earth pit without any sharp wooden stakes. Now it only brings in a small amount of river water.
Lying in waist-deep water, the Ross warriors walked to the opposite side and cut off the cables with their swords. The heavy suspension bridge suddenly fell, and the fierce warriors filed in.
The Earl of Bremen was not in his territory at all. Regarding the attack on his territory, he had already led his cavalry to intercept the Norman fleet fleeing along the river. Ragnar's so-called pursuer was actually the Count of Bremen himself.
The earl never expected that his hometown would suddenly fall. The proud city wall once blocked the Normans, but the city was destroyed by the Russians, whom he despised.
The count had no idea that if he had reached a trade treaty with the Russian envoys last year that would not harm the dignity of Russia, how could there have been such a fierce war? With Rurik's methods, if he could trade peacefully with people far away and gain wealth, he would definitely not risk war.
But it is reasonable to say that the earl despises the foreign Russians. He is an old nobleman who holds the Three Lions flag under the old Frank. In his concept, only Frank has always crushed and killed foreign countries. What qualifications does a small country have to trade with him on an equal footing?
The city was full of shouts and shouts, and many sounds came together to form a roar that could not distinguish the message.
Arik and his group didn't care about what Ragnar would do. In the end, the Ross army completely occupied the Earl of Bremen's home. With the desire to make a fortune, he ordered the guys who had the same dream: "Go and rob freely! No arson is allowed! Whoever grabs the gold and silver gets it, and you will be punished for fighting with each other! Remember, the enemy will not leave alive! For Revenge for our brothers who died at Haideby!"
A family tragedy belonging to the Count of Bremen occurred!
The crazy warriors rushed towards the inner castle, which was mainly made of stones, and all the soft belongings in the earl's home were taken by the army.
Arik was busy looking for food with Blue Fox, and the granary was successfully discovered. The neatly stacked sacks inside were staggering.
"I smell the aroma of wheat! Ah, how much wheat is there? Can our boat finish pulling it?!"
"You should inspect the goods first." Blue Fox reminded nervously.
"That's right." Arik pulled out his sword and stabbed a sack. The steel sword was pulled out, and a large amount of dark brown particles collected in the bleeding tank. "It's actually rye? I'm really disappointed."
"What's so strange about this? I've already told you that people here like to grow rye. It doesn't matter, you can brew a lot of kvass when you bring it back."
This is also true when Arik thinks about it. Any delicacy made from rye will have a unique sourness. It is the special ale (referring to kvass) brewed from it that is naturally sweet. It is really a wonderful drink.
He arranged for a group of people to firmly control the granary, and soon ransacked other buildings.
After a while, Jevro personally escorted a man and a woman out of the stone castle, and bumped into a group of people led by Arik in the courtyard. As for the horses, they captured five draft horses that were used to pull mills and carts, and they were happily stroking their manes.
"Brother, look here. I seem to have captured two nobles. Oh, no, there is another kid who has been chopped down by me." Jevro called out.
"Noble?" Arik hurriedly pulled the blue fox out: "Come and identify it."
An elderly woman with disheveled clothes and blurred eyes sat on the ground sluggishly. Another boy-like man was beaten until his face was covered in blood, and he was curled up on the ground and shaking.
The blue fox holding the sword walked over and took a closer look at the woman's face, and everything became clear.
"She is the wife of the noble Earl of Bremen. And this child is the next Earl."
"Heir to the earl? If he really becomes an earl," Jevro was shocked and paused, "Wouldn't it be equivalent to my status?"
"You are both counts but completely different. You can recruit five thousand Finnish warriors, but this Count of Bremen can recruit up to five hundred people." After saying that, the blue fox turned back and asked Arik: "How to deal with these two Noble? My suggestion is to stay, and maybe you can ask for a ransom from the earl afterwards."
"Is this necessary? You are such a businessman."
Arik didn't want to delay, so he motioned directly to Yevlo. In this way, the Finnish executioner raised his knife and killed two nobles.
Poor Count Hunt of Bremen, he was worried that he would die in the war against Denmark, so he made a will in advance saying that after his death, his eldest son would immediately inherit the title. However, the earl's two sons became victims of the coalition forces of Ross and Ragnar.
Blue Fox was a little touched. After all, he had had a relationship with these two dead men, and had discussed with the Earl family whether he could trade peacefully with Ross.
Now, Ross responded to the arrogance of the earl family with absolute force and killing, which is very consistent with the happy grudges of Viking society.
But Jevro had no feeling at all about the killing. He climbed to the tower and saw an even more terrifying killing scene in the city square. He even saw Ragnar leading people in and out of the Frankish church, and even looked like a man in black. .
He reported the matter to Arik, and estimated that he would rob the church of all the gold and silver in Ragnar.
Arik himself was unimpressed and only asked Blue Fox to introduce the situation of the church: "That church only has a small amount of gold and silverware. During my stay there, I ate black bread and water every day, and even Even stinky cheese and eggs are luxurious treats. Damn it, those priests have seven deadly sins (commandments), especially not to overeat. They don't allow overeating, so they just stay semi-starved. Otherwise, why do you think I am obese and am now? appearance."
"But I heard that you believed in their gods, but you weren't touched? At least those guys took you in."
Could the words of a savage butcher have another meaning? Blue Fox suddenly felt uncomfortable and asked: "You still expect me to sympathize with them and think that I will explain it to them. Look at these two dead bodies. I sympathize with them. They are all going to die anyway. Being killed by you with a sword is a mercy." .”
"I don't care." Aric shrugged.
"It doesn't matter to me." Blue Fox responded, and added: "Actually, that monastery was supposed to be the future residence of that old guy Eskil. If he learns that we demolished St. Peter's Church in Bremen, it might be a problem. He will be angry to death. I am still a merchant, believing in their gods is only a temporary solution, and I only have Prince Rurik in my heart."
"Then you are quite ruthless. But I like it. You...are Odin's warrior. Let's go over there and have a look."
