The ground was shaking, and pine trees collapsed.
The Russians' two-man saw cut down trees at an unimaginable speed. Due to the large number of people doing the work, large trees collapsed almost simultaneously in the forest surrounding the stone hill. The tremor caused by it shocked the exhausted islanders on the top of the hill. Cheer up.
What happened?
Those men who could still fight struggled to get up holding their weapons. Their lips were full of folds, and their bodies had become sluggish due to lack of water. What was even worse was the headache caused by the lack of water.
They were pretty good, after all, they had a small amount of supplies along the way.
Thousands of people are hiding in stone hills and supplies are extremely scarce. The food and water stored by the big family have been exhausted. This amount of supplies cannot even satisfy their people, so how can they help other fishermen families.
The poor fishermen begged for some water and food, but the big family itself was also a tired beast in a cage.
If the Russian army continues to besiege and the sky does not rain down, thousands of people will collectively die of thirst.
Many people have died, young children dying in the arms of their mothers, who are in just as bad shape.
Even people who cannot bear the pain choose to hang themselves on a larger scale. Even if it means death, suicide is better than dying of pain and thirst. And no one knows when the Ross invaders will attack. If you are captured by those evil people, you will encounter something more miserable than death. It's fate.
There were many corpses hanging from the trees on the top of the stone hill, and more horrific tragedies also occurred.
The legs of the corpse were chopped off, and the hungry and thirsty people lost their minds due to their strong desire to survive and drank the blood of the deceased. At least, that stuff will replenish your own moisture.
After all, there are only a few people who do this, and more people just lie on the rocks quietly waiting for their unknown fate. It has been four full days since the escape. Those who really did not get a drop of water have died, and those who are still dying have at least received some supplies.
As many as three thousand people stayed on the top of the stone hill, and only five hundred of them could still stand up and raise their weapons.
Five hundred people seemed to be a lot, and these so-called warriors would collapse from exhaustion if they tried to chop a few times.
They stood up one after another, and each big family commanded their own clansmen, private soldiers and even armed slaves. Everyone nervously watched the destruction of the forest, and saw the Russians' nightmarish triangle sail still cruising on the sea under the rising sun.
"Is this island going to sink? We're going to sink into the sea!"
"That's better than being trapped to death like this. Why don't we rush down and fight the Russians? We can't die of thirst."
"Fighting hard? Can we fight it?"
"Then we can only die. Damn it, they are not even eager for our chance to surrender. Do we have a feud with them? That Horik from Denmark drove us here, and the Russians will kill you and us!" The speaker was an exiled Danish nobleman.
The best of the islanders gathered together, from large native families to Danish exiles.
Compared with the leaders of the big families, the exiles lamented that they had gotten together with those cowards and ended up in the current desperate situation.
"Just fight them! Even if I die, I will die by the sword." Another exile said.
The patriarchs of the big families had nothing to say. They didn't want to die, and they didn't dare to go down and surrender. They continued to stand in a dilemma, even though they knew that this kind of stalemate was asking for death.
The Danish exiles denounced this group of big families who used to claim to be all-powerful as idiots. Even if the brothers now go down to fight against the Russians, how many of them have the strength to fight?
As they equivocate, new movements begin to emerge at the logging site.
Flags with white backgrounds and blue stripes began to appear in large numbers, and warriors in white robes trudged through the collapsed ruins of the forest, gradually revealing their ferocious features.
Flags not only show the identity of an army, but a large number of flags can boost morale and scare enemies.
The Rus warriors were ordered to restore the flag, while blowing horns and banging drums as hard as they could to make as much noise as possible.
The scheduled bonfire began to be lit, and the addition of soil saltpeter made making fire with a bow and drill more effective with half the effort. These white powders taken from the dung were mixed with specially prepared hay balls and paper scraps. The sparks from the sawdust caused by the bow drill struck the soil salt, and immediately caused the entire grass ball to turn into a ball of fire.
In the past, the Russians could not make fire so quickly, but now making fire has become a de facto art of deflagration.
Rurik watched the bonfires light up with a calm face. As the saying goes, once soil salt has its practical use, the people will accept its existence and generate significant demand.
"You guys! I'm afraid no one thought that this thing can be turned into a weapon!"
The technology for casting bronze hand cannons and small cannons is fully mature, and key pharmaceuticals can also be prepared. Look at the torsion slingshot attached to the two-wheeled car and pulled to the scene. Compared with the artillery, the existing long-range weapons are fully sufficient for use.
Rurik divided the army into three parts. He personally led the absolute main force to stand at the foot of the hill, and the other two detachments formed a group to control other areas. Some skirmishers holding flags were wandering around, which showed that the Russian army had enough strength to surround the stone hill.
What about reality? The Ross and Swedish fishermen who followed the entire fleet have now come ashore. Although a large number of ships are still floating on the sea, only the sailors are left on them.
Rurik mobilized all the people he could mobilize and pretended that he was holding an army of ten thousand people.
"Must you burn the plump fish to ashes?!" Arik still felt inappropriate about what was about to happen. He confessed to his brother: "Is it too outrageous to lure the enemy to surrender just by the aroma of grilled fish? I don't believe those people would do that. Surrender obediently.”
"What if I succeed? You..." Rurik looked at the many elite talents present. Except for Ragnar and Swinder, everyone else will have their own important political status in Ross in the future. "Speak! If anyone finds it difficult to surrender, just say so. Of course, I don't think this move will be absolutely successful. It may break their will."
At this point, Rurik emphatically informed the two talents who were about to go to persuade them to surrender: "Swinder, Ragnar, you must not remember what I told you. Whether you can persuade them to surrender peacefully is up to you! I don't want to Fighting. But..."
"I understand!" Swinder couldn't wait to say: "There is no point in fighting at all, let everything stop. If those guys are stubborn, I really have no choice. I only hope that once the situation is irreversible, at least my family's lives can be saved. .”
Rurik shrugged: "This matter... depends on God's arrangement."
And Ragnar had nothing to say. At this point, he felt that instead of uniting all the exiles to form an army to oppose the Danish King, it was a waste of emotion. It was better to become brothers with Rurik and rely on the friendship to invite the Russian army to help him. Seized the crown of Denmark. It would be best if there were still exiles on the stone hill, but it wouldn't matter if they all died of thirst and starvation.
The soldiers carrying the newly caught big cod were put on public display, and the people on the stone hill saw it. They watched the soldiers throwing the fat fish into the fire with little saliva.
The Russian army was still making noise, and soon the smell of grilled fish spread to the stone hills along the south wind.
Not only cod, but also large amounts of herring were burned. The burnt aroma of fish oil penetrated the nostrils of the hungry people. It was like sitting up in shock when they were dying of illness. Many people who were dying actually stood up!
There were some swaying figures, including men, women and children. They staggered toward the foot of the hill with weary steps. Most of them were bare-handed. Even if they fell, they crawled towards the scene of burning fresh fish.
Seeing such a scene, Arik was overjoyed: "Hey! Brother, you were right! They really came to surrender."
Swinder and Ragnar were also dumbfounded. They didn't expect that they didn't have to waste words, and all the people who were about to starve to death of thirst came down?
Rurik was triumphant and signaled: "Don't panic, I still have something good to do. Ah! It seems that the torque slingshot was prepared in vain..."
The person holding the barrel sees that the barrel contains fresh water. The Rus' army completely controlled the island's springs, making it easy to obtain water.
Soldiers scooped up water with both hands and sprinkled it into the sky. Some even went shirtless in public, doused their heads with water from the entire barrel, and publicly shook their wet hair.
The Russians deliberately wasted fresh water, which is an even stronger temptation!
More people walked down the stone hill. Ryuri ordered the soldiers on guard to continue to hold the hilts of their swords. The hungry and thirsty people rushing down would be killed if there were attackers among them. If they were just grabbing water, let them grab as much as they could. !
Some barrels were placed openly, and the fishermen who rushed down did not care about the risks. They fought with each other and the land became wet.
"What a mess..." Rurik complained. He couldn't stand it at all. The male fishermen still took advantage of the chaotic scene, while the poor female fishermen lay on the ground, licking the wet land and drinking even the muddy muddy water.
A pair of soldiers rushed over on the prince's orders. They are not here to control the situation and make the so-called water collection orderly, but to directly arrest the women and children.
This move may seem strange, but it is actually because Rurik has different arrangements for the people of the islands. Women and children were brought to the East to continue to alleviate the marital problems of a large group of Slavic men, especially the many brothers of the Slavic Banners under his command. As for the male fishermen, their life safety can of course be guaranteed, but they will give up their fishing life and become slave laborers in mining to start a new life in the north.
A group of women and children were controlled, and those who could not rob the men were specially supplied with fresh water and food.
The Russian army just watched these people eating and drinking. Although the soldiers talked in Norse, they couldn't talk about ridicule and contempt for the women and children.
The ordinary fishermen who could move on the stone hill came down in search of the scent.
There are still a large number of people in Shiqiu, except for the dead, those who are truly dying, and even those big families and exiles who are still undecided.
Swinde checked the people who had come down, and was extremely saddened that he did not see his wife, children or even servants.
The people who came down also recognized Swinder's face, and they urgently needed his support when they were shocked.
Swinde was originally recommended by everyone as the talker. Now that he has returned to his job, Kong Kai announced that eating the Russian people's water and fish means surrender, and everyone's lives will be protected. She didn't talk about other things, but the issue of survival.
Hearing the promise of survival from the Russians, they were even upset when they saw that the so-called "killed water collectors" were clearly still alive. Surrendering was a smart choice. It was all my fault that I foolishly followed the big family to the mountains. If I had taken the title earlier, there would have been no trouble later.
United front work is now!
Rurik was very brightly dressed. He appeared as a handsome warrior and announced to the hundreds of people who fled down the stone hill: "I am the Prince of Rus! It seems that you are just ordinary fishermen. Your foolish escape is seeking your own death." , now that you surrender to me, you will have peace in the future. Now eat fish and river water to your heart’s content, and I will reward you with a good life.”
They all stared at Rurik's tall and majestic figure. The leader of the fierce Russians was actually a young man?
Rurik opened his arms with a smile. This smile represented kindness, and his promise was even more tempting: "You are all my servants, and no one can hurt you now! If you are loyal to me, you will get a lot of rewards." Good life. Right here, if any soldier attacks you, it's a crime! I won't allow that to happen. I learned that you are all free fishermen who rely on the strong to survive. Now, you must rely on me !Only I am your true master!"
This is like reassurance, even if there is commotion in the crowd, it is now quiet.
No, some people began to beg and beg, saying that there were a large number of dying people on the so-called stone hill. Since Prince Rus is a good person, he will kill the big families that caused the war, save the poor fishermen, and get more servants in this way.
Is it still possible to persuade people to surrender? Arik was even more surprised. The people who either tried to resist or tried to escape in the past few days have now changed their minds and are standing on the side of Ross to protect the interests of the prince of Ross?
Arik regards the speaker as a renegade good dog. This person is obviously a man, and his actions are not interesting to Arik. Instead, he turned his face and looked at the stone hill. There were still a group of guys who were stubbornly resisting, right? On the contrary, those people seemed to Arik to be ruthless people who would fight to the death, and they were warriors who could be admired.
What about the facts?
From the perspective of the big family standing on the top of the stone hill, although they took up their weapons and watched a group of dying people rush down the mountain, they were still essentially a group of onlookers. They thought that these people would be mercilessly killed by the Russian army, but they did not expect that they would drink water and eat meat in public. A man in rich clothes was very arrogant, and those who surrendered were very calm sitting on the ground.
The private soldiers and slaves of the big family were shaken, and many of them clamored to go down and surrender.
There was a commotion among the crowd, and the slaves who clamored for surrender were immediately killed. The patriarch used this violent method to forcefully control the precarious situation.
Swinder learned that his wife and children were actually still on the stone hill, and Ragnar also learned that many Danish exiles had not come down.
The exact news reached Rurik's ears. As the commander-in-chief, he felt that he could make the final blow.
In fact, Rurik no longer cares about the life and death of those big families. The key is that there are still a large group of dying people on the mountain. It would be a pity if all these fishermen died. On the contrary, it is not a pity for the big family and their families to fight so stubbornly and die. It is better for these people to surrender quickly and give the Russian army time to rescue them.
Now, Ragnar and Swindle finally take action.
Behind them were more than a hundred capable brothers from the First Flag Team led by Arik. The men all carried crossbows, bucklers on their backs, and swords at their waists. Vigilance is necessary. If those people want to fight to the death, the Ross army will immediately counterattack because they are well prepared. This move also protects Ragnar and Swinder.
The two envoys were very conspicuous. As the distance approached, the people on the stone hill were on high alert.
The heads of the various big families were shocked by that extremely familiar face.
It's Swinder! Is this guy not dead? !
When the family heads were shocked, a woman grabbed the child and rushed over without caring about it.
Swinde, who looked solemn, panicked, and then rushed over happily. The couple hugged each other, and Swinder's children also hugged their father's clothes.
This heartwarming scene moved few people. Alik ordered his men to be on high alert. Everyone could see clearly the faces of the stubborn resisters. If they fired arrows, don't blame the Russian army for harvesting lives with precise shooting...
