In the siege camp outside the town of Dusseldorf, the soldiers no longer had the unstoppable vigor and murderous spirit they had some time ago.
In this camp where there was shit and urine everywhere and the food was getting worse day by day, they began to get tired of the war and all this.
At the beginning of the siege of the town of Dusseldorf, the soldiers were fed fresh roast meat, belly-filling black bread, a smorgasbord of onions and beans, and all kinds of alcohol every day.
Now, even a full meal of dry black bread has become a luxury.
Since the supplies were robbed on the way some time ago, the food and grass in the siege camp suddenly became scarce. The soldiers first complained about the singleness of the food, and then began to complain that the food could not fill their stomachs.
As for the tax collector who lost the entire Earl of Loon's war tax, a large amount of supplies, and more than a hundred elite soldiers, the Earl of Loon was so angry that he originally wanted to kill him in front of all the nobles in the camp. of.
But he suppressed himself.
He can't do this.
He recalled the way this guy knelt on the ground with his head lowered and hands clasped to pledge allegiance to him fifteen years ago, the intricate family blood relationship behind him, and everything he had done for himself conscientiously over the years... …
If a monarch ends the precious life given to him by God simply because his vassals make some major mistakes, correspondingly, his monarchy will be weakened, and each vassal will produce more or less Strange thoughts.
Therefore, after regaining his sanity, Count Loon demanded that most of the losses caused by the destruction of the baggage train be borne by the family behind the unlucky tax collector. He then deprived him of his official power and asked him to get out and return to his family's territory. Go and no longer be loyal to him from now on.
But this is not the end.
Count Loon felt that ever since Baron Quenir was defeated like a waste by a young knight named Simon, bad news had been coming one after another.
After losing Baron Quenir and the baggage train, Count Loyon placed most of his hopes on Baron Abate.
If Baron Abbate succeeds in breaking through Baron Wolfe, Earl Loon and his soldiers will be able to obtain a batch of urgent new supplies in a short period of time.
But the news brought back by the courier a few days ago was that both Baron Abbate and his son died in battle.
Despite being furious again, Earl Lowen actually sympathized with their family.
He knew Baron Abbate's family. One of the Baron's other two second sons died early, and the other was sent to a monastery. He also heard that Baron Abbate had an illegitimate son.
It's good now. Are we going to pull Baron Abbett's son, who has become a monk, out of the monastery? Or should I inherit the title to that illegitimate son with a mixed bloodline?
No matter which choice it is, it is a complete joke in aristocratic circles.
When Count Loon thought of this, he couldn't help but make a calculation in his mind - instead of letting this spare territory fall into the hands of Baron Abbate's wife's family from Liege and become an "enclave", he might as well take action first. Qiang took back the territory first before the news spread far.
"We don't have much supplies of food and grass left, and the nearby villages have been plundered over and over again by our people. Even the rats are too lazy to visit there," Count Loon said to the quartermaster at the table, "I think it's time. Let’s launch a decisive battle, otherwise it’s hard to say who will be able to hold on first.”
"My lord, I'll make arrangements right away." The quartermaster nodded, and just as he was about to turn around and exit the camp, Count Luo Weng stopped him again.
"Let the catapults concentrate their firepower and smash their gates!" Count Luo Weng said while lowering his head and playing with the exquisitely crafted dagger in his hand.
"Okay, sir." After the quartermaster replied, he hurriedly opened the door curtain and left quickly.
…………………………
The next day was a good day with bright sunshine, and it was also a good day for Count Loon to choose a decisive battle.
The breeze blowing from the direction of the Wadden Sea gently caressed the brightly colored flags of the warring parties with family crests painted on them. Soldiers in equipment, led by their respective lords, gathered around the flags and let out a high-pitched war cry.
Earl Berg was wearing a heraldic robe and mail, with an expensive face-covered helmet under his arm. Accompanied by two inner knights, he came to the town wall and looked worriedly at the crowd of enemies outside the town. .
"Don't be afraid, everyone. Our reinforcements are ambushing behind them. When these damn invaders fall into the battlefield, the reinforcements will smash their butts and send them to hell to meet Satan! In addition, the Earl said, In this battle, for every person you kill, you will be rewarded with two copper coins!"
Next to Earl Berg, a loud-voiced inner knight cheered on the surrounding soldiers and archers. Encouraged by money, the soldiers' morale began to rise and their expressions became much more relaxed.
"I promise that when this war is over, I will select a group of the bravest warriors among all of you, give them extra rewards, and divide them into fiefs to be included in my personal guard!"
If the words of the inner knight are just an appetizer, then Earl Berg's promise is definitely a bombshell.
The soldiers' expressions of shock quickly turned into gearing up and eager to try.
Many soldiers shouted long live, squeezed out the most passionate war roars from their throats, and cursed the enemy in the most vicious words.
Everyone wanted to show their best and bravest side in front of the count. You know, this is an opportunity for a class jump, a ticket to obtain aristocratic status.
For these humble soldiers, such an opportunity is really rare, and only idiots would not try their best to fight for it.
This period was different from the late High Middle Ages in that the channel for class advancement had not yet been blocked.
In this turbulent period, as long as you stand out on the battlefield, you will have the opportunity to be appreciated by the lord, included in the private guard, and given a fief.
Although fiefs cannot be hereditary, as long as these soldiers who become noble private soldiers follow their lords and fight bravely and survive for many years in battles, the lords who obtain more land will usually not hesitate to entrust them with a piece of land that can truly be hereditary, allowing them to become Knight, become a member of the nobility and change your destiny.
Seeing the reaction of these soldiers, Earl Berg was very satisfied.
Anyway, in so many days of siege battles, his private soldiers suffered heavy losses, and many fiefs were now ownerless. He could just use this opportunity to replenish his private soldiers, and also gather a wave of people and boost morale. It was really a move. So much.
At this time, Earl Luowen frowned in confusion in front of the siege camp outside the town.
He couldn't understand why the defenders, who had been without food and grass for so many days and were obviously at a numerical disadvantage, suddenly had a surge in morale.
But this is no longer important. Count Loon understood that in the face of his superior strength, no matter how high the morale of Count Berg's soldiers was, it would be useless, and they would eventually be defeated.
"Put away your kindness, kill them all, and then go home with the loot!"
"Ahhhhh!"
Accompanied by the long sound of the horn, Count Lowen's soldiers broke out with a fierce war cry and rushed towards the town gate of Dusseldorf, which was now broken into several pieces.
The town gate had long been destroyed by catapults, and there was nothing Earl Berg could do about it.
He originally planned to send people to pile up all available debris at the entrance of the town to hinder the enemy's attack, but time was too tight and it was impossible to achieve it.
The soldiers on the gate of the town kept throwing stones at the heads of the enemies who were swarming under the town gate. However, the enemy soldiers, who had already become familiar with the methods of the city defenders in these days, skillfully raised their shields, except for a crack. There was a snapping sound of a wooden shield, but rarely the crisp sound of a steel helmet.
Now, the defender's weapon that the siege soldiers feared most was nothing more than the Roman ballistae on the four-corner towers of the town wall.
The fierce barbarian storm that came centuries ago did not destroy everything in the Western Empire.
At least, compared with the ancient books that were obscure and "useless" in the eyes of the Gothic and Germanic barbarians at that time, these simple and practical killing weapons were indeed passed down from generation to generation.
Even if the person who was hit by the crossbow did not die on the spot, the outcome would not be much different - he would gasp in pain for a while and then die.
In the open space outside the moat in Dusseldorf, there are many unlucky people who were "nailed" to the grass by ballistae.
Some of the corpses nailed to the ground had been rotting for a long time, and had been chewed beyond recognition by carrion birds. They exuded a disgusting putrid smell all the time - that was the first attack launched by Count Loon a few weeks ago. A pitiful remnant of the attack.
The archers on both sides fired arrows at each other, but Count Loon's archers had a numerical advantage and tended to suppress the archers behind the wall stacks so that they could not lift their heads.
The battle has just begun and has entered a fierce stage.
Earl Berg placed most of his troops at the gate of the town. Under this narrow gatehouse, people were crowded, and weapons were pressed against weapons. If one person fell, another would immediately take his place.
The soldiers had no way to retreat and were basically pushed forward by their teammates behind them.
There were only about seventy soldiers stationed by Earl Berg at the gate of the town. Some of them were merchants who came to take risks with swords, and some brave townspeople who held pitchforks to guard their homes.
As for Count Luo Weng, the first batch of soldiers who rushed to the gatehouse alone was twice the number of soldiers stationed at the gate. There were more soldiers behind him, dodging arrows and coming towards this side.
Facing so many enemy troops, the weak defenders no longer thought about making meritorious deeds and gaining titles. Whether they could survive in such a desperate situation was a question.
"Damn it, where are the agreed-upon sneak attack reinforcements from behind? We can't hold on any longer!" Earl Berg, who was fighting on the front line, thought anxiously as he pulled out his two-handed sword from the chest of a soldier whose eyes were blank.
Friendly troops continued to fall around him.
Familiar faces that were either slightly childish or weathered, were filled with excitement a moment ago, but now are forever fixed on expressions of pain, smeared with mud and blood, and trampled on the ground by the enemy.
The war situation was getting worse and worse, and Count Berg thought that if reinforcements did not come, even if Alfred the Great was reborn to take command, there would be nothing he could do to save the situation.
