Chapter 1,542 The Battle of Metz (Part 1)
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"Is this the city of Metz? I thought it was a big city, it doesn't look like much." Fisk, standing next to Rurik, shook his head, his eyes full of disdain.
Rurik squinted and looked into the distance, and he noticed some people standing on the wall. "Indeed, it is far from our capital."
"I mean, this city is not even as good as Trier."
"Trier has been unguarded, so we can easily win. Look." Rurik pointed at the shaking shadows on the top of the city: "Look carefully, you can see some priests."
"ah?"
"Look carefully at those figures. There seems to be a guy with a high triangular hat. In my opinion, it was Bishop Metz who came to the city in person." Rurik was very sure that his judgment was correct.
Hearing what the king said, Fisk had a plan in mind: "Why don't we deploy heavy weapons now and use countless stones to smash all those idiots to death. Kill their archbishop, and the city will collapse on its own."
"Don't be too hasty. We first arrived here and our army doesn't know what's going on in Metz. We still need to be cautious."
"Why bother?" Fisk shook his head: "I have many soldiers and superior weapons, suitable for quick attacks."
"That's right. But everyone has come this far in the damn snow. Brother...don't you feel uncomfortable? Don't your feet feel cold?"
"It's okay." Fisk chuckled, acquiescing to this situation.
"The snow here feels very sticky, which is completely different from that in our hometown in the north. Brothers are all tired, and now our army urgently needs to control the area around the city. The city of Metz stands on the riverside, and there are a large number of villages nearby, which is where our army can live. Complete the siege of the city. As for the siege, we will do it tomorrow."
"Okay." Fisk shrugged and said nothing more.
The coalition forces set out early in the morning, and it was already afternoon when they arrived at the city of Metz. Even if the haze was now gone, alert people could notice that the sky was getting darker.
Although Fisk has the principle of quick attack, he is well versed in the art of cavalry, and is accustomed to taking the enemy by surprise in a preemptive strike.
Such a cavalry-style combat concept is very suitable for wilderness combat, but is completely unsuitable for siege warfare.
Mainly considering the army's own problems, Rurik still wants the army to take a critical rest first. After recharging its energy, it will have sufficient physical strength to attack the city tomorrow.
Because the army has an extremely critical thing to do, that is, after a large-scale bonfire is lit, the soldiers and a few accompanying soldiers and civilians will take off their various boots, and then remove the wet foot wraps, and then use the bonfire to dry all the clothes. , warm your cold feet and calves.
There are several villages outside Metz, and there are also some small clusters of woods near the villages.
Rurik ignored the strange defenders on the walls of Metz and first ordered the entire army to disperse and freely occupy the villages that were said to be empty.
The soldiers acted quickly, and Rurik also selected a small village as his command post.
The army began its final action, which was also a literal siege.
Villages near the city were successively occupied by the coalition forces, and for a time the houses and barns in each village were overcrowded. Nowadays, unlike in the past, if you want to set up a tent in a snowy environment, you have to clear the snow first. Why do you have to do this to your already tired body? It's better for the brothers to squeeze in.
They temporarily housed a large number of people in limited houses, and the houses were used as sleeping places. The snow in the open space outside the houses was quickly cleared by the soldiers, and some miscellaneous wooden fences and other wooden debris were demolished on the spot and gathered together. Let's light a bonfire together immediately.
Every time you occupy an empty village, you will soon see fires lighting up there, and thick gray-black smoke rising up that is incompatible with the gray-white environment.
Some red pine and fir trees were also felled, and their branches were cut down to be used directly as fuel. They contain too much tax and produce huge amounts of smoke, which is mixed with water vapor, making the smoke more diverse.
Just as Rurik expected, once they settled down, the tense nerves of the soldiers quickly relaxed, and they continued to rest in a stable shack. As soon as they started to rest, they immediately took off their boots and other clothes soaked with sweat.
The food is roasted on sticks in front of the campfire.
In this situation, no one can tell anyone whose clothes are smelling of pine resin. The most important thing is to be able to bake Kuaimabu's feet back to their snowy color.
Often a small group of ten brothers gathered around a fire. They had used shovels to clear away the nearby snow and drain out the harder soil. They sat around the bonfire that was later lit, each one having to point his or her feet toward the growing fire.
Beside the fire were foot wraps strung up by wooden sticks like white snakes, and trousers and leather boots hung from branches.
The cauldron was set up on the spot, and they melted the snow and cooked the wheat, seasoning it with some salt, a few handfuls of peas, and chopped onions. This way dinner is cooked while the brothers are warm and dry.
After everyone had a hot meal, they all wrapped themselves in deerskin coats and got into the occupied houses and barns, and everyone fell asleep.
This is true for the infantry of the Russian army, and the Russian cavalry must take extra care of their horses. Since the king decided to resume the project tomorrow, Fisk returned to his army and ordered his men to rest.
The barns occupied by the cavalry were all used as stables. The locals were obviously too hasty when they fled. There was still a lot of food in many barns. The cavalry officers at all levels checked and found that there was no problem, so they immediately used these captured horses to order their own horses. Enjoy your meal.
Horses are all constipated, and their tastes tend to eat high-starch foods. On normal days, they like to eat rushes and crabgrass that contain tiny spikes. Now war horses can eat oats and rye without any scruples, and their owners will not impose any restrictions.
The sky gradually darkened, and Fisk, who had already calmed down, felt that his suggestion to attack the city immediately was too abrupt.
He sat on the snow and looked at the gradually dimming walls of Metz with some of his cronies.
"You think, can horse hooves still cross the city wall?" he said casually.
"No matter how strong the horse is, it can't leap over that wall."
"That's right. Unless the snow can be paved into a hard slope, we can charge up on horseback. But what can we do if we charge up? We need to fight the enemy's army in the field."
"That makes sense." Fisk shook his head regretfully: "The king is determined to attack the city tomorrow, and everyone already knows about it. Attacking the city will be a matter for the infantry, and we are required to be prepared in case of emergency."
"Aren't we becoming a tactical reserve team?" Brother Yi asked knowingly.
"That's right. But I guess it won't be our turn to be dispatched in tomorrow's battle." As he spoke, Fisk noticed that the village chosen by the king was already burning with bonfires. Due to the needs of tomorrow's battle, the largest number of soldiers were gathered there, so that some People can only set up tents outdoors.
Fisk composed himself again: "Let the infantry attack, we will decide according to the situation. Well, except for the guards in Metz, we are the only ones nearby. Maybe it is as those guys who surrendered said, the Franks are very I hate fighting in winter, especially in this snowy day. I understand them somewhat now, this damn snow is heavy and sticky, completely different from our hometown."
The wet snow in the Frankish hinterland also continued to cause trouble for the Danish army and the Götaland army. The two armies numbered 4,000 people. Their overall level was far inferior to that of the Russian regular army, but their enthusiastic attitude towards looting was certainly not the same. Just because they were promised freedom to plunder, no matter how uncomfortable the current situation was, everyone couldn't wait to think about making a fortune after breaking the city tomorrow.
On the last night before the war, people were excited, but their bodies finally relaxed. The Danes and Götalanders were sound asleep, but the bonfires they lit did not go out for a long time, making it impossible for the defenders of Metz to ignore the existence of these people.
Rurik issued an order to the entire army: "It is forbidden to take prisoners" and "No indiscriminate killing of those who do not resist after the city is broken." This order can restrain the Russian army and the Jotalan army to a limited extent.
The ban is invalid against the Danish army!
Ragnar was already sharpening his sword at this time. In their eyes, the residents of the city were not human beings, but a kind of "running silver coins." As early as two years ago, he had reached a tacit agreement with the Archbishop of Utrecht that could not be made public, that is, the Danes would capture the prisoners and then Utrecht would pay for their redemption.
Today Utrecht is the territory of the Netherlands, and Count Henry
Sao is in urgent need of population. After all, population is the source of the tithe. He needs a large number of outsiders to cultivate the wasteland that the Frisian and Brabant tribes are unwilling to cultivate. The quality of those wastelands is indeed not good. If the locals are not willing, they can only hand it over to outsiders. In essence, no one is willing to take the initiative to cultivate bad land unless the land reclamators are all serfs.
Those who were sold and redeemed by the Danes became serfs, and they became the private property of the Nassau family who immigrated to the Netherlands. As for what was extracted from these people was not the tithe, but only their lives. rations, and the rest is family property.
This is a secret transaction that cannot be disclosed to the outside world, because it involves the Utrecht Church and the local earl. The local nobles do not keep it secret, and the Danes who specialize in slave raiding do not keep it secret.
So Ragnar lit the largest bonfire and instantly called for hundreds of male and female warriors to gather.
He stood on a high ground made of snow, with a blazing fire behind him.
He raised his arms and shouted: "Danes! The city of Metz is ahead of us. Let the Russians attack first tomorrow. After the city is broken, we will rob the gold, silver and slaves. You all do your job well, and after you capture the prisoners, sell them all to Utrecht. All of you Be careful not to kill indiscriminately, especially tie up the men as much as possible, and take control of the young women you find. We will not fight to the death for the Russians, and we will retreat when we have captured enough prisoners."
After the words were finished, the people who understood the words raised their arms and shouted, and in the distance you could also notice the low roar of the Danes shouting.
Ragnar does have the intention to retreat. This Danish army is still in the habit of rogues, and he himself is the king of rogues.
He suffered a lot of losses in the melee with the Frankish militia at the mouth of the Sauer River. He faced a huge number of militiamen alone. If he really fought against the elite Farak, wouldn't the bad history that happened in the past repeat itself? Ten years ago, Ragnar himself was nearly killed by the Frankish elite.
Ragnar has noticed that the ambition of King Rus is getting bigger and bigger as the victory of the Rus army advances on the front. Only God knows when Rurik will be satisfied. He could feel that he could no longer keep up with the ambitions of the Ross army and continued to move forward. Everything he witnessed refreshed his understanding of "Midgard".
How big is the human world? It's too big. Does Rurik really intend to take full possession of it?
Ragnar did not clearly inform Rurik of his intentions, and it was impossible to tell him before the war.
He felt that the Battle of Metz was the last battle of the Danish operation, and it would probably be spring when the war ended. At that time, everyone will sell the stolen goods in the Netherlands, and the brothers can fish comfortably in the North Sea and their hometown in Denmark.
As for the plan to continue attacking Britain...
Of course the small kingdom of Britain must be attacked, but it would be unwise to launch an attack in the spring. After those guys finish the autumn harvest, you can make a fortune by rushing over with the Danish army.
Now Ragnar still feels that he frequently attacks the Kingdom of Wessex, which is his home ground, rather than serving as a servant to King Rus here. After all, the Danish army has really killed three hundred elite brothers. If such a tragedy happens again, his power as a king will be questioned by various Danish leaders.
"I heard that you reached the sea at the northern end of the world ten years ago. Now if you continue to go south, aren't you going to reach the end of the south? What is this place called the Mediterranean? What the hell is that place! I don't want to go there now." Na thought so.
The Danes hide their thief mentality, and for the time being, Rick will not think about the Danes' attitude in future battles.
Ragnar may or may not come in this battle. In essence, the Danish army came uninvited in this expedition.
Rurik made a lot of noise at his command post, because most of the heavy weapons of the entire army were gathered here, and the soldiers had to make final adjustments to all the heavy weapons for the attack tomorrow day.
Looking at this environment, maybe the effect of attacking the city and rushing the car is not effective, so don't bring it.
Rurik put all his treasure on the five cow trebuchets. As the main offensive force, they were positioned equivalent to the large-caliber howitzers of later generations. Most of the other bull trebuchets and torsion slingshots are gathered here. They are equivalent to small-caliber field guns and mountain cannons, using them to suppress the defenders' fire.
The army gathers here, tomorrow
How to attack a city specifically? There have been quite a few sieges launched by the Ross Army in the past years, and the soldiers can already think of the damn stone wall being smashed down tomorrow. They had, after all, witnessed the victorious experiment at Trier, and given that the Stonewall of Trier was identical to the Stonewall of Metz, there was no reason for the latter to remain untouched.
All the coalition soldiers slept peacefully this night, but for the city defenders, this was a sleepless night for most of them.
Especially at night, the entire city is surrounded by a ring of fire.
The two archbishops went all out to mobilize the city's defenders. After all, this was a matter of life and death. The boys who could only carry sticks were also armed.
The only thing they won't do is ask a large number of women in the city to take up arms. Even at this critical moment, many principled things are still irreversible.
"War makes women go away" must be implemented. Based on their beliefs, as long as any woman kills someone, her soul will fall into hell. For this reason, the defenders lost a lot of combat effectiveness.
The more terrifying the moment, the more the soldiers and civilians in the city need psychological comfort. The two archbishops observed the movements of the Normans at the top of the city and found that they had no intention of attacking the city. Then they postponed the time until night. The two returned to the Cathedral of the Assumption and jointly organized a mass.
For a time, all the churches and monasteries in the city were overcrowded, and people who longed for salvation were crying.
It seemed that only Almighty God could save them.
The archbishop would never say, "We are the only ones who can save us." Drogo and Hutto still emphasized: "Now is the time to prove our piety to God! Only the most pious can be saved."
There was overwhelming fire outside the city. Rurik did not use the bonfire trick that night. There were really too many coalition forces, and everyone was busy keeping warm, so they spontaneously lit more bonfires, passively creating the illusion that the besieging army had more troops.
The defenders on the city wall lit some torches to announce their presence. At the same time, they were also paying attention to the stone walls, for fear that the barbarians would launch a night attack.
The defenders could think of the possibility of a night attack by the enemy, but they could only think of this step. The city of Metz did not have any military generals. Even if the dead old Count Adalbert was resurrected on the spot, he was unable to defend the city.
On the one hand, the defenders prayed to God to save themselves with divine power, and secondly, they placed their faith entirely on the wall.
The two sides did not send envoys to each other, Rurik did not issue a clear statement of war, and the defenders did not send messengers to inform Metz of their attitude.
Rurik simply felt that the war had reached this point, and it was no longer necessary to issue a declaration of war. Now even a fool could see that the Ross coalition was about to start a project.
Metz is now completely controlled by the priests. It is impossible for them to make any negotiations with the pagan Normans. The two archbishops are even mentally prepared for martyrdom and have cut off the possibility of communication with Rurik from top to bottom. sex.
The world was extremely quiet that night, and the last night before the war passed with the defenders restless.
The Ross coalition basically slept soundly that night. The soldiers who had an absolute advantage believed that they would make a fortune in the battle tomorrow. As for the possibility of dying in battle... Bah! Not even the possibility of injury existed.
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