Chapter 1,194 News of the Disaster Spreads From Liège to La Monga

The cavalry raid was contained until it was destroyed, and the Frankish army subsequently lost all its cards.

The heavily armored Ross army transformed into berserkers and immediately launched a fight against all the dismounted enemy troops. Now that there was no clear battle line, they quickly won, and their armor was stained with the blood of Sticky Lake.

In this way, the decline of the Jotalan army was resolved, their morale was revived, and the counterattack was now.

Soon, many of the Russian heavy infantrymen, dressed in blood red, simply abandoned their bucklers and joined the siege of the Frankish infantry with a sword and an ax in one hand.

At this moment, the defenders of the Liege Fortress were leaderless. They relied on instinct to resist, and gradually collapsed as they retreated.

A group of blood-red berserkers rushed into the formation from the flanks, and the veteran Grund, who had been holding back for a long time, charged. Behind these standing armies, the young people of the Seventh Flag Team also joined in the chaos.

Finally, the total collapse of the Frankish infantry occurred.

People roared and screamed in pain and despair. They were stabbed from behind, pushed down with bucklers, and had their heads smashed. They died needlessly before they could escape. Very few of them could actually escape from the battlefield.

The war-loving Grund was busy sacrificing blood in the killing, while the Jotalan army began to stare at the open gate and rush towards the fortress in the continuous pursuit.

The overjoyed Gorm didn't care about his injuries at all. He led a group of brothers into the fortress and was delighted to find that there were food and weapons stored here, and he even found some money.

"Hurry up and get it!" He urged loudly: "If you get it, it's yours. If you are slow, someone behind you will snatch it away."

He shouted and did the same. Gorm found the box where the original garrison kept money, grabbed a large handful and stuffed it into his pocket.

The fighting had just ended, and there were still some enemies fleeing towards the city of Liege. Desheng's soldiers were exhausted, especially the blood-red standing army wearing heavy armor. They sat down one after another, not caring that they were surrounded by dead soldiers.

The blood of the dead men and horses formed a stream and flowed towards the Maas River, and the river quickly turned red.

The blue fox held a sword and walked among the dead bodies, giving orders as he walked.

"If you find anyone alive, stab them with a sword to end their suffering. Find our wounded and treat them as much as possible. If the injury is serious, help him die."

The young people of the Seventh Flag Team, who had tasted their first great victory, were deeply shocked by the dead bodies on the ground. However, for these real Russians of old Russian blood, they know that they have an obligation to participate in this kind of chaos, and they must not show fear in the face of dead bodies and blood.

But everyone was still deeply shocked. The grass was dyed red and dead bodies were everywhere. How many people were killed, maybe 5,000 or 10,000...

The Ross Alliance Army would never collect the corpses of these people, intentionally causing the corpses to stink quickly in the summer. If the stench that permeates a large area can create a so-called "hell curse", Blue Fox is happy to create it.

Of course, a large number of dead bodies were not something the tired soldiers were willing to carry after the war.

Grund swayed towards the Meuse River holding his helmet. Many soldiers wanted to follow the chasing army into the fortress and into the town, but their bodies did not allow it.

He tied his helmet with a rope, rinsed it vigorously in the water, then lay down and washed away the blood on his face, as well as the dirt and sweat. ….

The soldiers were all wet, and their linings and clothes were soaked with sweat. More and more soldiers were sitting on the ground, and now it seemed that only the Jotalan army was still attacking.

Grund, who returned, rectified his soldiers and saw them sitting together on the ground, and a group of people were lying on the ground with their stomachs full. He couldn't help being frightened, and grabbed someone at random: "What happened to those brothers lying down?"

"We're all exhausted."

"Damn it, I thought I died in the battle." He let go of his hand and ordered: "Continue to rest, there is no point in chasing now. Just let the Jotalans grab it this time as agreed, and I will go talk to Blue Fox. .”

Grund quickly found Blue Fox. At this moment, this guy was sitting on the grass talking to a group of young people. They had talked a lot, and when they saw the veteran Grund came back, they invited him to sit down together.

"I thought you led people to pursue you. Haha, the robbery is over?" Blue Fox's words were a little bit

Banter.

"I'm almost exhausted." Grund hit the breastplate hard with the hilt of his sword: "It's very heavy, heavier than our previous scale armor."

He sat down and saw a few young people sitting here and immediately showed off, especially asking Askard: "Boy, how many enemies have you killed this time? How are your troop losses?"

"Old man, how are you? None of my men were killed, but more than ten brothers were injured."

"Old guy? Haha. It doesn't matter, I am indeed old." Grund said angrily, and sighed to himself: "It's good to have armor on me. None of my people will be injured. Thank you for the plate armor, Your Majesty!"

Everyone was very pleased with the result. The ground was full of dead bodies. Could it be that the Russian army really won with very little loss? The scene was unfamiliar.

However, the Ross army still suffered a lot of losses, and the losses were mainly at the Yotalan army.

More than a hundred people died directly in the chaos, and more than 200 people were injured to varying degrees. In the actual confrontation between the two armies, not many soldiers from both sides were killed until one side's morale collapsed and the army's formation collapsed and they were killed indiscriminately.

Even if they were defeated, they dragged their exhausted bodies and instinctively fled towards the town of Liege. Those who fled into the town first entered the city with great hope, but what they saw was an empty city. What kept these people fleeing was the hope that they would get more reasons by escaping into Liege, but there was nothing here.

They vomited blood and fell down, or walked to the side of the house and sat down.

Desperate for God, these people have given up resistance.

Just behind them were the same panting Yotalan warriors who were chasing after them. Many of them were in pain from running, and their eyes were blood red from holding back. The situation was no better than that of the fleeing enemies. The motivation to maintain their pursuit was also hope. Gold, silver, delicious food, new clothes and even captured local women. The expeditionary army composed of these poor fishermen from Götaland was also very enthusiastic about taking away the daily necessities of the Franks.

The Gautalans swarmed and looted the fortress. They did not know that this military camp fortress was the birthplace of Charlemagne a hundred years ago, and they had no idea of ​​the significance of this place, but even if they knew it, they would not feel bad.

They had no hatred against the Franks and the expedition was to make a fortune. After looting the military camp and fortress, they began to rush into the towns one after another. ….

The defeated soldiers sitting everywhere had given up all resistance, and many simply opened their chests as if they wanted to die.

All the defeated soldiers who wanted to die were killed, and then all the civilian houses were targeted by the Jotalan army.

The stone church in the city is so honest. There must be a lot of gold and silver in it? The warriors who flocked to the church were eager to find endless gold and silver, but the results were surprising.

"Gold? Where's the gold?"

"This church is full of poor people? Where is the gold and silver?"

The bloody soldiers were shouting in the honest stone chamber. Because they did not grab enough gold and silver, the soldiers vented their anger on the wooden tables and chairs, and even the wooden cross hanging on the wall was directly smashed.

The soldier smashed the bronze pedestal on the wall, thinking it was gold but found out it was only bronze.

Someone said that there was a mezzanine in the wall and gold was hidden in it, so some brave people simply started smashing the wall.

Gorm and other Jotalan nobles can judge that the locals have fled. If they fail to make a fortune, it can only mean that the other party has escaped with the money.

Undoubtedly, the wooden bridge leading to the Maas River next to the fortress was an important escape route for the locals.

The Bishop of Liège completed the packing of almost all the holy vessels, books, gold and silver in the boxes during the rain period. The priests in black robes were afraid that if they ran too slowly, they would be intercepted and killed by the sudden attack of the Normans. The rain drove the carriages to escape. They passed the Liège Wooden Bridge, stepped onto the other side and fled towards Aachen without even thinking about it.

The people were fleeing in all directions, and the city was already evacuating spontaneously while the local defenders were gathering.

It might be a very wise choice to follow the Bishop's footsteps and evacuate, but due to the fact that the bridge in Liege was once held by soldiers, a large number of people who were eager to escape simply couldn't get past the bridge, and they moved upstream along the Meuse River.

In the upper reaches, there is a river bend called Xiu Yin about three days' walk from the town of Liege.

of towns.

Copper and tin deposits were discovered in the mounds near this site, and the town grew from these deposits, transporting bronze consumer goods to the surrounding area.

The town does not belong to any nobles. In principle, the town of Xiuyin is also demilitarized. The daily life of the town is managed by priests appointed by the Diocese of Liege. The residents of the city pay tithes and several other commercial items to the priests. taxes. The city was an important tax source for the Diocese of Liège, but the bishop himself abandoned it in the face of the catastrophe.

A large number of people began to pour into Xiuyin Town, causing panic in this peaceful metallurgical town.

If the Normans came along the Meuse River, they would easily destroy all the smelting workshops!

Pure copper can be used as currency in itself. The copper materials stored in the town are in the hands of various craftsman families. Everyone is worried that they will be targeted and die tragically in a bloody storm.

Do you still have the intention to continue digging for ores and smelting copper safely? People who fled to the towns claimed that Maastricht was attacked and countless people were killed. They also claimed that the town of Liege also suffered the same fate and that the local defenders had been wiped out.

Town residents did not dare to have any doubts. They saw the frightened faces of the people who fled and were convinced that everything was true.

People hoped to get protection from the priest, but they learned that the bishop had fled.

The bishop did not defend Liège Cathedral, and the Holy Land was humiliated by the Normans. This also meant that the priests were unable to turn the tide in this battlefield disaster. ….

Since even the priesthood can't do something, what can a commoner do?

Everyone had one thing in mind, which was to escape.

Where to escape? There must be food and troops stationed at the destination. Priests are great. It's a pity that priests don't know how to fight. Now only some noble military lords can turn the tide.

The local residents and refugees in Xiuyin all thought of a place to go. They wanted to continue along the Meuse River to the Earl of Ramengau further upstream.

Unlike those nobles with strong strength, Gilbert, Earl of Ramengau, did not have strong military strength. His fiefdom is close to the powerful and independent County of Flanders. Although both sides are counts, their strength and the area of ​​​​the control area are two different concepts.

Count Ramongo is loyal to King Lothair. A "big noble" like him with noble status but average strength has no choice. Lothair, the only Roman emperor on the side, is indeed the only choice.

The high-intensity military confrontation in the Brussels Fortress seemed like a war was about to break out. As a local nobleman, Gilbert had to carry out military mobilization.

Although his territory was small, he mobilized all the knights in the territory, plus his own retinue, and recruited 400 armored elites, among which 200 mounted infantry were organized. The amount of money required to maintain an army of four hundred people has already made the earl panting. He is still insisting, but he is not willing to have a war break out.

After all, no matter how arrogant the Flemish people are, they will never attack the two holy places of faith, Maastricht and Liège, due east, but it is more than enough for the army to attack their own territory. The diplomatic relations between the two sides have been very harmonious for a long time, but this harmony has not yet evolved into the relationship between children and their in-laws.

Ramengau is on high military alert. The count lives in the town of Namur along the river. The count has already issued orders to villages in various places. He called for summoning the strong men in the village. He gave all the villagers a threat: "If war breaks out, Fran will The Des people will attack us. You must arm yourself and fight, if not for me, then for your fields, your wives, your wealth."

The villagers believed it. After all, they really had land and relatives. These Frankish yeoman farmers were indeed ethnically different from the Flemish people. They did not think that those mixed-blood guys (Walloons) and Flemish people were different from themselves. What a family.

The Count estimated that if the situation was in crisis, he would be able to assemble an additional 1,000 militiamen, and finally managed to assemble a team of 1,500 people. This was La Mongo's most optimistic estimate.

However, as refugees continued to appear in the border villages of their fiefdoms, the peaceful residents of Liege Parish were dragging their families into the country. The terrible news they brought spread quickly to Namur. People in the city were suddenly panicked.

This is supposed to be an era of limited information.

The terrible news spread faster, and the news became extremely distorted when it reached the ears of the earl.

The earl's butler told his master all the information he had learned, and explained with trembling bows.

The earl became more and more anxious as he listened, and even stamped his feet anxiously: "Is this true? I have never provoked them! Are the Normans devils? They actually want to attack me along the small Meuse River? They really think highly of me, as if I have endless gold in my hands.”….

"They are indeed devils. And they are...short-sighted devils." The butler's words were very rude, and his angry aura undoubtedly revealed his fear. "Even if there was a half-eaten piece of black bread covered in dirt, the Normans would bend down to pick it up and eat it."

"Absurd. How can people be like this? Have they never seen bread?"

"Only the poorest beggars would do this, and the Normans are a group of murderous beggars. Once they come to us, they will kill all living creatures and eat them."

There was something in these words. The earl suddenly widened his eyes. He kept approaching his butler and asked tremblingly: "You are well-informed. Could it be that the Normans are man-eating demons?"

"What if? They have turned Maastricht into a living hell."

"impossible?"

"All the escapees say so. Sir, we must be prepared."

"Yes! Be on guard. Mobilize! All must be mobilized." The count nervously tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. He fell into deep fear, and then turned his fear into strength.

As the saying goes, priests can flee. The Gilbert family had been the rulers of Ramengau during the Merovingian era. There was no way he could leave this ancestral land, and he would risk his life to defend it with his whole family.

He was devastated by what happened to Liège and Maastricht. If the local Maasgao nobles still existed, they would not be easily attacked by Norman pirates.

But what is horrifying to think about is that after the priests replaced the local noble lords, the defense was outsourced to the king's regular army. Those royal soldiers should have more combat effectiveness, but they were easily defeated by the Norman attack?

The count began to mobilize his troops. He did not dare to take the initiative to attack, so he could only assemble the army to protect himself. At the same time, he sent an envoy to Brussels on horseback, hoping to get military help from the local kingdom's general Tristan.

However, when the refugees brought the horrific news to the Count of Ramongao in person, the Ross coalition had already completed the plunder of Liege.

The people fled in a hurry. They took away as much valuables as possible but still left behind a large amount of property. All these properties were pocketed by the Jotalan noble army who looted after the war.

Every surviving soldier got some money, but not much.

The ordinary soldiers were relatively satisfied, but the five nobles were not satisfied after facing the unexpected loss of troops.

The elite of the Russian army did not enter the city of Liège. Long boats were dispatched. The fortress bridge was tied up with ropes and towed by ships, and was directly hit. The wooden bridge had collapsed. According to the battle plan, the final destructive action of the Blue Fox on the Meuse River had been completed. Finish.

More than a hundred people were killed and 200 casualties. In the end, there would be 300 casualties, which reduced the strength of the expeditionary force.

Unlike the Rus' and Swedes' customs of cremation, the Götalans are more accustomed to burial. The soldiers who died in battle and were seriously injured were buried in the mud along the Maas River along with their own weapons. The lightly wounded soldiers were briefly bandaged and then continued to participate in the following military operations.

The Ross coalition returned, leaving behind empty towns, empty military fortresses, and patches of dead corpses in the open space just north of the fortress. The corpses quickly rotted and stinked under the scorching sun.

The Viking longships sailed away, and behind the army was a fire that was gradually burning.

The towns and fortresses of Liège were maliciously set on fire, and the flames grew stronger and stronger as if they were paying homage to the fallen soldiers.

They are heading towards Maastricht, and the next step is to take action against Aachen. .

The reborn star fruit