Chapter 1551 Ivar and the Danes Who Stayed

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As soon as he faced the source of fire, his numb hands quickly began to feel.

As long as he faced the source of fire, his legs, which were bloodless due to the low temperature, quickly returned to their original state.

The Ross Army marched in the snow on the banks of the Moselle River. Even if they took measures to prevent cold and waterproof, the wet snow still seeped into the seams of the leather boots, making the feet that were already easily tossed by the cold sweat even colder.

The only beauty is that the Roman road under the river valley is surrounded by trees that can be cut down, as well as withered shrubs and reeds covered by snow. After removing the snow from a pile of fluffy things, it is easy to light a life-saving fire. .

Of course, the main force of Ross who retreated along the way was also happy to see a lot of black carbon traces.

Those were the friendly forces who retreated in the early stage. Their large bonfires dried the ground, leaving behind the hard and dry rammed earth of the Roman Avenue. This environment was extremely suitable for camping.

They successfully passed the Sauer River crossing, but under Rurik's order, all the timber that was originally used as a bridge for the convenience of crossing the river was demolished.

In fact, most of the fixed bridges and pontoon bridges built by the coalition forces were demolished one by one in Rurik, leaving only the Trier pontoon bridge.

There was a reason for burning the bridge across the river, which was to create an obstacle for the Burgundian army that might appear in the future.

They successfully returned to the Trier camp and easily entered the city via the pontoon bridge here.

Trier is a much larger city than Metz, and shacks have already been built in the surrounding area. There are also old Ross Army camps in the area across the river, so that after 30,000 soldiers and civilians arrive here, all the housing can support such a huge population. .

As a large amount of seized materials arrived in the city, food piled up, but not much gold and silver was seized.

In the end, there is no rumored "Silver Coin Mountain" in the city of Metz, and the reason has been revealed.

Metz did have a large amount of pure silver in the past, which was the property of the earl family and the church. The old Earl Adalbert has been spending huge sums of money to build his own army over the years, so a lot of money has been consumed, and the human resources in the area near the imperial palace have also been squeezed out.

When the family fortune was depleted, his hand reached out to the church. Even if the slain Archbishop Drogo is not happy, he must hand over sufficient savings to the count.

Adalbert was not overly greedy and still had a rich inventory in the crypt of the cathedral, and now all this money belongs to Rurik.

As for who spent a lot of money and transferred it away, the person who made a fortune was the Burgundians in the south.

Although Metz had a border dispute with Auxerre-Burgundy, when the war came, both sides stood in the same camp, and the past conflicts were put aside for the time being.

The old count spent a lot of money buying salt, and the Burgundians made a fortune from hoarding it.

Metz's pure silver was transferred to Burgundy and Provence in large quantities, and the local counts also needed the money to recruit new troops and strengthen weapons and equipment.

Relying on the convenience of sea transportation, the Burgundians in the south simply bought batches of supplies from the food through shipping trade.

Putting aside the issues of different beliefs, the Burgundian nobles decisively put interests first.

Cheap grain and cheese, dried fish, cloth from Sicily, new ironware and dates from the coast of North Africa, and other useful military supplies were transported to the army. Such strange things are currently stored in their fortress in Dijon. In the camp.

As long as the war is won, more territory and wealth can be obtained. The current large-scale expenditure is an investment with high returns, and the Burgundian nobles contribute generously to this end.

In the end, the most valuable thing in Metz was food. Although a large amount of food had been eaten by the soldiers and civilians trapped in the isolated city, the remaining food was taken away by the Ross coalition forces.

Before the fire broke out in Metz, the entire city's valuables were robbed, and an empty ruined city gradually turned to ashes in the fire, leaving behind blackened stone walls.

Returning to the Trier camp, Rurik quickly learned that just by looking at the somewhat empty Danish camp, he could guess that most of the Danes had run away.

The warriors who had been waiting for a long time immediately reported that the so-called Danish King Ragnar and his army only rested for a while after arriving in Trier.

The escorted prisoners continued to drift north.

What does Ragnar want to do? It is nothing more than showing that the Danish army has left the battle with actual actions, just as he joined the battle uninvited.

What surprised Rurik was that Ivar, who had weak legs, was still sitting on a sedan chair and was carried by his elite soldiers to see him.

At the door of Nicholas, Rurik stood here to meet with the nobles.

An abstract raven flag was floating among the crowd. At first glance, Rurik felt that not all the barley army had left.

Look carefully, there are four people working together to carry a sedan, and the person being carried accidentally is the young Ivar.

"Hey, your father withdrew, but you didn't. It's you who has a conscience." Rurik had some slander against Ragnar, and his current attitude was also a bit harsh.

After all, when the guy came with his troops, he claimed that he would "obey the wisdom of King Rus." It would be unethical to lead his troops and run away privately after the Battle of Metz.

Perhaps, Ivar can find some reasons for his father to run away.

People moved out of the way, and the sedan was placed on the trampled ice road at the door.

Ivar is still the same. Although his upper body is growing faster than his peers, as long as he lifts his robe, he can see his shrunken and curled disabled legs.

Only when he is sitting upright can he perfectly hide his disability.

Such a disabled person should have been abandoned at birth, and the fact is that Ivar was treated this way when he was a baby.

Even here in Ross, he was still looked down upon by the young Ross nobles. Rurik knew something about it. Whether it was Askard or Reglaf, they were friendly and kind on the surface, but deep down they still felt that this brother would be embarrassing and useless in the future.

On the other hand, Ivar's younger brother Bjorn is very normal, and that kid can be a very good warrior in the future.

However, for a Ross who needs to control the Baltic Sea, a weak Danish king is very suitable for his needs. On the one hand, Rurik promoted this young man because of his reputation (although no one in this plane recognized this reputation), and on the other hand, he promoted this young man. On the one hand, Ivar needs to become the new King of Denmark so that he can control it.

"Ivar, you and your people...didn't follow your father to evacuate?" Rurik leaned over and asked again.

The young Ivar could notice the harshness in Rurik's face, but he remained calm: "He left, taking many people with him. However, he entrusted me to stay."

"oh?"

"This is exactly what I want to tell the great King of Rus." Although the young man was disabled, he raised his head proudly: "My father said that he must go to the mouth of the Rhine to deal with the Danes' own affairs. But this war... people Everyone knows you have greater dreams, and the war will continue. However, the vast number of Danish soldiers want to withdraw, and there is nothing my father can do."

"Is there such a thing? In that case, why didn't Ragnar tell me personally?"

Inadvertently, Ivar's eyes trembled. The young man hesitated and explained: "It happened too suddenly. He had to retreat with the loot. I think my father also feels sorry for you. So..."

"how?"

"He sent me to express his apology on his behalf. He gave me another hundred warriors, and now I have two hundred. We will stay and continue to fight alongside you. Just like this raven banner." At this point , Ivar twisted his body and pointed his right arm directly at the flag: "Although my father is not here, the Danes are your allies, and I am also your nephew. As long as you decide to continue fighting, we are willing to be your vanguard." "

"Haha." Rurik slapped his thigh, squatted down, and looked at his unrelated nephew sincerely: "If you are willing to be a pioneer, you will have priority in getting military merit. If you want to win against Burgundy, You got the first prize in the new war, you are quite ambitious. I like it very much."

"Hehe." King Ross' attitude relaxed, and Ivar also felt comfortable.

"You came very well." Rurik stood up straight again: "I'm back. I will hold a banquet immediately. You will attend the banquet on behalf of your father and the Kingdom of Denmark! Wait until I attack Burgundy. , will give you the opportunity to make meritorious deeds."

"As you command." Boy

His eyes lit up, and he immediately suppressed his sudden excitement and nodded in greeting, acting neither humble nor overbearing throughout.

Therefore, Rurik felt a little guilty. If what Ivar said was true, his slander against Ragnar would be a sin. Ragnar's rule over Denmark was inherently unstable, and most of the warriors were essentially a group of tough armed fishermen.

This group of warriors began to be lazy after plundering the loot they thought was sufficient. It was natural for them to go back with the loot, especially the beautiful women. After all, they had killed 300 people on the banks of the Sauer River. Such a huge loss would make the surviving soldiers worried. As the saying goes, you can make money with your life but not spend it.

Treat Denmark as a group of rogues and analyze them completely with rogue thinking. It makes sense that Ragnar was coerced by his brothers and retreated.

Of course, Rurik also believed that that guy was jealous of himself and the Ross Army. Jealousy is at the same time low self-esteem. If he can't guarantee that he will show up uninvited again after reorganizing his troops in the rear, that will be a matter of the future.

He assigned one hundred elites to his son, and eventually two hundred Danish warriors, which were still a powerful force in this era. Maybe some weak counts could eventually organize armored infantry of this magnitude.

He asked his son to send a message. Rurik also felt that Ragnar was a little arrogant. Generally speaking, the Danish army still joined the coalition forces in the form of friendly forces in name.

Now Rurik has clearly informed Ivar of his plan - to station in Trier and wait for the Imperial troops led by Burgundy.

But a new problem has also been brought to light.

Rurik couldn't help but think about one more thing: "Do other troops in the coalition also have the intention to withdraw?"

Speaking of worries, Rurik was worried about the Ghotalans retreating with their spoils and prisoners. If those guys wanted to run away, even the Blue Fox wouldn't be able to suppress them.

By chance, he invited all the nobles to have a feast, and while he was still drunk, he asked them about their attitude, and then ordered them all not to withdraw their troops.

Simple orders are definitely not enough, unless a new enemy is established and a pie is created - defeating the new enemy will result in more loot.

Who is the enemy? "Imperial nobles" sounds very vague. Count Metz is one of them, and there are many other related nobles.

Burgundy will be a new one, but this term is unfamiliar even to the Russian army.

"Then define Burgundy as a strong enemy, and it is a strong enemy that will definitely reach Trier. A spring war is inevitable..." Rurik buried his words in his heart, and waited for the dark banquet to treat his brothers. Give them a scare.

Regarding the Ross army's attack on Burgundy, there have been rumors circulating in the army. If the King of Ross himself explained this matter, it would not be a rumor.

Ivar continued to be carried away in a sedan chair by his men. After returning to the camp left by his father, he immediately gathered his men.

"Brothers! Stop being busy drinking and eating. Everyone gather here!"

The soft afternoon sun shone on his cheeks, Ivar kept shouting, and the soldiers gathered one after another.

As he explained to Rurik, all the warriors who stayed were elites.

Two hundred Danish warriors gained full possession of a set of chain mail through capture. Since the Russian army disdained these things, they further modified it after possessing these armors.

For example, the missing chain armor is riveted to the leather to create a skirt armor with acceptable defense.

Or use this method to make greaves to protect your calves in the event of a melee.

Based on actual combat considerations, Frankish infantry were accustomed to slashing with broad-bladed swords and thrusting with spears. Such chain mail can greatly weaken the enemy's slashing. As for the enemy using spears... it is better not to confront such enemies head-on.

Ivar has been with the real Ross army for too long, and the two hundred elites in his hands have also strengthened their management of bows and arrows.

The Russian army has prepared many spare single bows. Those bows look like wooden sticks at first glance. They can be used immediately by putting on the bowstring.

The King of Rus was paranoid and had to make equipment according to the standard of one bow per man. At this point in the war, their entire army has not turned into archers.

A large number of spare bows seemed a bit redundant, and Ivar's Danish army naturally acquiesced in getting them.

One hundred of the two hundred warriors can hold bows and shoot, so that they can fight better with Finn Kelha and his people.

Just like the sacking of Aachen two years ago.

This is also the reason why many warriors were willing to follow Ivar. They participated in the Battle of Maastricht and killed Aachen along the way.

What Ragnar could not do, his lame son did. In any case, this is a great achievement, and if you continue to follow Ivar, you will continue to have good luck.

The one hundred additional soldiers who joined Ivar also had the same mentality. They only captured a few women and some silver coins and clamored to withdraw. And they really ran away with this little loot. It was really an act of petty thieves.

For Ragnar, if he stays with a small group of brothers who are willing to continue fighting, then the two to three hundred people in the Danish Military District will be too small compared to the huge Ross army.

Ragnar couldn't afford to lose this man.

Since Ivar can call Rurik uncle with peace of mind, letting the warriors who are willing to stay continue to fight will give Rurik an explanation.

The vast majority of current Danish warriors are eager to continue the war and to see whether the legend is true, that is, to see the "new sea of ​​the south."

Many tough warriors surrounded Ivar, and the boy was lifted to a high place so that he could overlook his brothers.

"All eyes are on me!" He continued to open his arms. "Now, King Rurik of Rus has returned. I have asked everything clearly in front of the Black Gate. The new war that all of you are concerned about is true. of.

If you desire war, I will take you to participate in a new war. The Russians will go to war against that Burgundy, and I have won the opportunity for you to take the lead in fighting! We Danes will be the first to take the spoils, and we will go all the way south until we see the southern sea. All the legends are true, as long as we defeat Burgundy!

Defeat Burgundy! "

Ivar was undergoing a dramatic voice change, and his roaring voice seemed a bit strange.

It doesn't matter. The soldiers want clear information, otherwise they would be stupid to stay here.

The Viking war cries of the Danes made a lot of noise, and the southern part of the city of Trier also became lively. Some unknown Götalanders, who were drunk and prone to irritability, followed suit. Those who came closer to the roar also understood the reason for the excitement of this group of Danes.

As a result, the news that was originally circulated among the high-ranking nobles was confirmed, and the news quickly spread among ordinary soldiers. As they talked and laughed around the campfire, the news gradually became distorted, so that some people began to describe it as "the Russian army will take the initiative to attack Burgundy." , we will go south after the snow melts.”

Although most Jotalans don't know what kind of power Burgundy is, they only know that it is south of Metz.

In fact, they forgot, and the Danes also forgot.

Burgundy and Bornholm are the same word, or Burgundy named the island in the sea and it has been passed down to this day.

Whether they are Rus, Götalans or Danes, everyone and the Burgundians are cousins ​​who have been separated for hundreds of years.

The separation has been too long! The Danes who stayed did not care or know this. According to Ivar's description, since defeating Burgundy could make a lot of money, the war might as well be carried out in advance.

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