Chapter 935 The Final Battle of Aleb Fortress

For the majority of the Danish lords of Zealand and the larger number of warriors, this was the first time they saw the main force of the Rus army, and they were immediately shocked by their neat ranks and gorgeous clothes.

With their lack of rhetoric, they all praised "this is the heavenly army from Asgard".

The Heavenly Army is indeed commendable. The soldiers of the New Kingdom of Denmark Army face the Ross army and King Ross himself. Although they have praise, they also have strong vigilance.

After all, Denmark and Rus have already formed an informal alliance. When the Frankish forces in Jutland are expelled and Denmark retakes it, the two countries can formally form an alliance.

If Rus is the enemy, Denmark will definitely lose.

Thanks, Ross's ally.

The main force of the Ross army met and garrisoned with the partial division that had arrived long in advance. Ross flags were flying everywhere in the camp, and Ross fishing boats were floating in the nearby sea.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Flags, Slavic Flags, Finnish Flags, Växjö-Jönköping Servants, as well as the Standing Army, non-combat auxiliary personnel.

The Ross army, which was assembled under Lindholm and camped under the mound of Aleb Fortress, still has 6,000 combat troops after suffering certain casualties in a series of previous battles.

Such a large army is uniformly dressed, standing together and showing off their mainly white robes, just like a large snowfield under the scorching sun, but just by each soldier standing at attention, it can already create a visual magical miracle.

The huge army needs to eat, but fortunately Rurik's military rations have always been very sufficient.

However, any opportunity to resupply on the spot must not be missed, so a large number of standard armed cargo ships released spare trawl nets made of intact hemp ropes. In this era when radar and sonar did not exist, relying on the number of ships, they platooned Forming a linear array, each ship tows a large net, sweeping the sea like a comb.

This fishing tactic immediately showed good results. It was at the end of summer that the herring swarms entered the surface waters to greedily replenish nutrients in preparation for the winter, and were caught by Ross fishing boats.

If the fresh fish cannot be eaten quickly, it will smell bad tomorrow.

If it weren't for food shortage, no one would want to eat smelly fish.

The newly caught fish was too large to be digested by the Ross army itself, so Rurik simply gave an order to distribute the many fish catches to allies, especially Ragnar, for disposal.

Suddenly gaining the right to dispose of a large number of catches, Ragnar knew that he owed a favor to the Ross army, but relying on this batch of catches, he could immediately stabilize the mood of the lords.

On the day of Rurik's arrival, the siege of the Aleb fortress continued. Facing the current anxious situation, he learned that the coalition forces who stormed the city paid a heavy price. Facing the built city on the top of the hill, he also felt that the tactics reported by Spuyut should continue to be implemented. The so-called delaying time will drag them to death for a few more days.

So the next day, the fishing boats that caught at night brought back a huge amount of catch. When the catch was landed, the boats returned to the sea one after another and started searching during the day.

Where is King Rurik?

The young king lay comfortably in a tent outside the city. His left arm was around Noren, and his right arm was around Beyathil. With his two wives and concubines slapping their bellies, he talked freely about the bright prospects after the birth of the children and the names he wanted to give them.

Rurik's son Reglaf, who was accompanying the army, and the real king of the Kingdom of Mercia, as well as his eldest nephew Kuzneslav, and Kelha, the eldest son of the great craftsman Kawe.

These three boys of about the same age were playing casually in the military camp. They were wearing the uniforms of the Russian army, with steel swords hanging on their waists and shields on their backs. They are born with no worries about food and drink, and their bodies are already tall enough at a young age.

After joining forces, the Russian troops organized their respective camps into separate flag formations, and the soldiers all expected to make the final blow to the enemy's fortress. The flag of the Franks was hung on the fortress. It was heard that the friendly forces suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, so it was necessary to spend some time preparing for the final attack.

Kawei led a group of royal craftsmen to renovate as many as fifty trolleys in the camp to carry the torsion slingshot.

There are also twenty bull trebuchets. They are designed to throw a fist-sized stone to a distance of up to three hundred meters. Now they have been modified to throw small stones as small as half a fist. The pocket at the end of the launching arm can be Place eight blocks. This trebuchet was modified to fire shotgun shells, but its range was greatly reduced, making it a special weapon used in siege warfare.

It was Rurik who ordered Kawei to spend a whole day debugging the heavy equipment, and all the soldiers in the army also used this whole day to recharge their batteries.

The Russian army attached great importance to the final battle, but Spyut, who knew the battlefield situation quite well, really felt that the king was too cautious.

Forget it, let the enemy wait for another day. By then, the new Danish-Russian coalition forces will be full of energy. I am afraid that the enemy will only have half a breath left, and victory will be certain.

However, the Danish allies, especially Ragnar, really didn't want to wait any longer.

In the evening, Ragnar and his entourage came out of the occupied outer city and hurriedly arrived at the Ross army camp. They were immediately bathed in the aroma of grilled fish and cooking wheat porridge.

When he saw Rurik himself, he saw that the eldest brother was busy eating noodles with his two pregnant wives and concubines.

Looking at it this way, he was also hungry.

"You're here, Brother Ragnar... let me think about it. Are you urging me to fight?!"

"Exactly. Thank you for the catch. Now that everyone's energy has been restored, I'm waiting for your support."

Rurik shrugged and raised his chopsticks to signal: "You can sit down too. Let's have a meal first."

"This...I'm very anxious."

"What's the rush? Or...you want to see what Horik looks like now."

"That evil guy? Of course I want to see him. I can't wait to skin him."

"But you can't do that." Rurik shook his head, "I allow you to use your stomach to wash that guy's face, but now let's have a meal first. You... don't mind having a drink with me." ?”

A bowl of hot lo mein was placed in front of Ragnar. This delicacy was covered with a thick layer of salty and oily venison meat sauce. Ragnar still can't learn how to use chopsticks, but there is a wooden fork here, so that eating noodles will not be in the way.

Once he was immersed in eating and drinking, Ragnar put aside the storming of the fortress for the time being.

He slowly ate a large bowl of braised noodles, and drank a glass of strong wine with Rurik.

Being able to enjoy delicious food on the battlefield was something Ragnar could never imagine. He was now in the camp of the Ross Army, and everywhere he saw soldiers were eating and drinking. The Ross Army had no logistical worries at all, which was in sharp contrast to his own New Danish Army.

He mentioned the plan to attack tomorrow, "Tomorrow is the last battle! The enemy can hardly hold out under our joint siege. With the last blow tomorrow, the entire Falak power in Jutland will inevitably collapse. Therefore, we should Have a meeting.”

"Meeting? Of course there must be a pre-war meeting. I heard that in previous battles, your subordinates always fought on their own, and many people died in vain. This is not good. We need to hold a meeting to organize tactics. Lest the final battle be another mess.”

The words of the Rurik brothers were very hurtful, and Ragnar was about to cry. Fortunately, the other party was willing to come to the meeting.

…

That night, a pre-war meeting was held.

Rurik rode across the drawbridge into the inner city.

It is said that this fortress with two walls was built by the Franks and local people in nearly a year. This was really eye-opening. It took less than a year to complete such a large-scale civil project, and Rurik became more awe and vigilant towards his enemies.

But there's an alarming smell hanging in the air here.

It's corpse odor!

The smell comes from the fort on the mound.

When the meeting was held, everything became clear.

Rurik was originally highly vigilant against the enemy. Even though they were besieged, he was able to persist until now without any intention of surrender, and even repelled Ragnar's five strong attacks. As a result, the enemy is surrounded by corpses and is self-destructing in the increasingly strong corpse stench?

The venue was filled with optimism, and the lords of Zealandia were respectful and wary of King Rurik. Even though Rurik's body was only twenty years old, even though he had grown a beard, his face was still young, without any wrinkles. .

Here, Rurik completely calmed the place, and there was no quarrel in the meeting. Even Ragnar stood up on his own initiative and announced that the command of the storming of Aleb Fortress would be completely handed over to Rurik.

Therefore, King Rurik of Rus, in theory, the army he directly commands now has reached a scale of 15,000 people!

This is really a challenge for him, and it is also a major and beneficial experience.

But the scale of that fortress is already very small. If more than 10,000 people are actually mobilized to launch a siege, it will inevitably evolve into a strange situation where 2,000 people are desperately trying to make 8,000 cheerleaders. In the final analysis, the battlefield is too narrow, and this is also a major reason why Ragnar's five previous strong attacks ended in failure.

The tactic is to dispatch elite troops to attack.

The other armies could not be idle either. This battle had a strong political meaning. They captured the fortress and destroyed the Frankish Three Lions flag. No one wanted to miss this battle, even if they were waving flags on the periphery of the battlefield.

Ragnar and his cronies are the absolute main force, and each Eldar clan can bring dozens of elites to join the battle.

"Think about it. The real King of Denmark led the nobles to conquer the city first. All your tribes will get the honor fairly. Our Russian army will provide you with sufficient support."

This statement satisfied everyone. Firstly, it was fair to the various lords. Secondly, Ragnar took the lead and proved that he was a real man. Thirdly, the Russians provided fire support from the rear and would not take credit from everyone.

At this point in the meeting, all parties began to prepare.

Rurik, who returned to the camp, immediately called Kawi and Jevlo and entrusted them with pure support work.

As for the Russian army not participating in the strong attack, but also giving up the glory of victory to its allies, this made the generals generally unhappy.

Rurik reassured everyone with just one word: "What's a small Alep Fortress? If we solve the problem here, there will be no war in Jutland. Next, we will attack the Frankish mainland!"

…

It’s a new day, it’s already July 21st.

Ten complete days have passed since the main force of the Russian army, partial divisions, and various allies launched a two-pronged attack on the 10th of this month.

On the eleventh day, the battle around the Aleb fortress was sure to be the last battle for all of Jutland.

Although there are still a large number of Danish villages, or so-called Saxon villages, in the south, the locals can no longer muster military strength, and even the local tribal leaders will change their stance and recognize Ragnar as the king of Denmark. They would surrender far faster than a military crusade.

For the final battle, all armies besieging the Aleb Fortress assemble!

More than 10,000 soldiers gathered densely in the outer city and surrounded the inner fortress of Aleb Fortress.

Even as the atmosphere team, the elite Ross army also lined up neatly outside the fortress according to the flag formation.

From one to six, each of the six flag teams has its own losses, and they stand like squares.

The Slavic flag troops also formed a square, and their spliced ​​spears created a forest alive.

There were a large number of allies of the New Denmark Kingdom Army. They stood in a disorderly manner, beating their shields with swords and axes, and making violent noises in conjunction with their roars.

Of course, the Russian army was not to be outdone. All the war drums were brought out and they were beating wildly and the horns were blown unscrupulously.

The besieging army used various means to make noise, not only to inform the defenders that the day of decisive battle was today, but also to intimidate them.

So, what is the scene like for the defenders?

Liu Doufu stood at the top of the city, with more than 200 elite soldiers beside him.

Although they are elites, most of them are qualified men selected from the refugees, and they are given bloody horse meat to barely maintain their energy.

As for the others, their bodies were either stiff and limp, or they were so weak that they only had half a breath left.

Eskil still stood at the top of the city wearing a black robe and holding a cross, facing the scene in front of him in despair.

"Sir, we are surrounded. This day is our end. Now kneel down, kneel before this cross, and repent to the Lord..."

Liudov did not comply, "Pada! When did this happen?! We can still fight."

"Alas..." Eskil shook his head, "The Russians have come with more troops, and their leader Rurik is among them. Maybe I can make peace with them."

"But this is a betrayal of faith!"

"But you don't want everyone in the fortress to die..." Eskil asked.

"No! I would rather die than surrender. I am a noble! My ancestor Widukind surrendered to the Franks and was later humiliated. I am not fighting for the Franks now, but for my Saxons. If I will die! Then I will. Die in battle.”

Liudov had his reasons for such an attitude, but Eskil, who had dealt with too many Russians, did not want to end his life hastily, even though he was already a little old man.

"Since we are so determined, we should not organize me to try to negotiate peace."

"Peace? I won't surrender."

"Yes! I understand your attitude. However, maybe I can convince Rurik to let his army give you a way out. Besides, when Pope Leo I persuaded the demon Attila to leave Rome, those Normans were It can be traded. I am a northern saint canonized by the current Pope. I am qualified to try to persuade the Normans to withdraw their troops. You have no power to stop me. Besides, in the current situation, why should I worry about my own life? "

When Eskil mentioned "the Pope," Liudov's heart softened.

So, just as the besieging army was preparing to launch a strong attack, especially when the Russian army was preparing to start a large-scale heavy weapons and arrow fire coverage, a narrow hemp rope was released.

Esquier was still dressed as a priest. He embraced his cane inlaid with a silver cross, slid down the rope, and walked through the pile of corpses under the city with his nose in his hands and a heavy heart. He broke away from the pile of corpses and walked alone to the army not far away. .

How is this going? All of a sudden, the army that was watching eagerly and preparing to attack could not stand up.

Eskil kept shouting in a broken Rus dialect of Norse: "I am Eskil! Rurik! I want to talk to you!"

A priest who calls himself "Eskir"?

People were watching the man in black who suddenly climbed out of the wall. They stopped shouting and continued to watch the man with only a cane walking toward the military formation.

After hearing the news, Rurik rushed to the front of the battle and recognized the pedantic old priest who had been imprisoned twice by him at a glance.

He then took off his leather helmet, revealing his flowing golden ponytail.

Rurik had revealed his true identity, and Eskil could not help but smile with joy at the sight.

"Go and capture this priest!" Rurik ordered his men.

A moment later, Eskil, who was roughly escorted, was kicked in the legs and forced to kneel in front of Rurik.

"Don't be powerless."

Forget it, Rurik actually helped the man up himself. Lehehe asked: "What a miracle, my old friend, why are you here?"

Such a question couldn't help but be too hypocritical. Eskil's heart was full of contempt, but now that he was in a desperate situation, he did not dare to let go of a glimmer of hope.

"What makes you mobilize an army? I don't want to participate in the war. I just want to serve God with my whole life. But your army is letting us die. Rurik, I beg you, let us go! We don't want to die."

"You? Are you here to seek peace?"

Eskil, who was already in a desperate situation, knew that the Aleb Fortress could not stop the attack of the besieging army in any case. He explained the tragedy in the city to Rurik in detail. Rurik couldn't help but feel worried after hearing his description.

What shocked him was that the person who resisted desperately was indeed a Frankish noble, but his identity was indeed Saxon.

Most of the people in the fortress were also Saxons. The reason why they resisted desperately was because they had no retreat and the reputation of the noble Liudov.

"Count of Westphalia? A Saxon noble since ancient times? During the Frankish Civil War, his king sent him to Denmark?" Rurik felt more and more strange. The nobleman named Liudov must have great potential. Secret, if he died, would it be a big loss to himself?

But the term "Westphalia" was too famous, and for a moment he actually felt that his strong attack could be slowed down first.

By chance, Ragnar heard that a man in black descended from the fortress, most likely a peace seeker. He heard the news and came to stand in front of Rurik.

As for the peace seeker, Eskil, he was really familiar with this man.

"Is it you?! Esquier? The person who built the monastery in Hedeby. You have also been to Ross. You have been to many places." Ragnar pointed at the man's head and asked.

"you……"

"My father is Sigurd, and I am Ragnar of the Stonewall tribe. But now." Ragnar slapped his chest proudly: "I am the new King of Denmark. I have seen you before, and you tried to claim me Father, surrender to your God.”

However, upon hearing this name, Eskil, who had remained calm, suddenly went crazy, and threw himself at Ragnar with his old body, trying to crush him to death with a wooden staff.

Of course his rage was easily controlled by Ragnar.

Eskil was easily controlled by the soldiers, and he heard that the old priest no longer cared about the rules and regulations, and directly cursed: "Ragnar! It was you who burned down St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen! You made me miserable! Yes!" You are murderous! You are the incarnation of Satan on earth! Your soul will be tortured in hell forever!"

Ragna was puzzled by these curses, and his expression immediately changed: "Can your gods still control us warriors blessed by Odin? Stupid guys, you are standing on the land of Denmark, and now it is Odin who asks us to organize the entire north. Heroes attack you! The Frankish forces must get out of Denmark."

Ragnar immediately heard the news and asked Rurik beside him: "Is he really here for peace talks?"

"It's a peace talk. However, I think it's meaningless."

"Have you... made any promises to the enemies in the fortress?"

"I heard there is a great Frank nobleman inside."

"Great. Cut off his head and sacrifice it to my dead clansmen."

Rurik shook his head: "You are too arbitrary. At this time, the living are better than the dead."

"What do you think? Is it possible to capture him alive? Break his hamstring like Horik did? It would be very interesting."

"Try to capture them alive, and we'll talk about it later. Also, there are many women in the fortress who are dying of thirst and starvation. You don't want to end up with corpses after the war. These women can be used as trophies to satisfy your group of disobedient lords. You can also choose some people to take with you.”

"In my opinion, it doesn't work. I admire their perseverance. I fought five times on this small inner fort without success. I'm very angry."

"Then try again. Just grab this Eskil. Do you have the courage? Let's stand under the city and shout to them?"

"Come with us." Ragna straightened his back.

Under the protection of more than a hundred sword and shield men, Rurik, Ragnar, and more than a dozen lords and generals led Eskil straight to the city wall.

They soon saw the densely packed corpses under the wall, and the stench almost made them collapse.

At the same time, Liudov and the defenders, who had been living in peace for a long time, faced a group of people who seemed to have no intention of fighting and approached with Eskil in black. Liudov ordered the soldiers with bows to put away their arrows for the time being.

Because Eskil had already received promises from the two kings Rurik and Ragnar, that they would spare everyone's lives after surrender, although they would definitely be slaves. The nobles will receive preferential treatment, the lives of the priests will be protected, and these people will be expelled back to Frank in the future. As for the outcome of others, Eskil is not qualified to make irresponsible remarks.

People in this era had a strict hierarchy. Counts like Liudov and the barons under his command did not have to die. The priests were of noble status, and Rurik considered that things could not be done too seriously, and did not want to use a knife on such ascetic monks.

Eskil shouted in public and told Liudov on the city wall that the lives of the nobles and priests would be protected. For the refugees who are about to die of thirst and starvation, as long as Kaicheng surrenders, the Russian Army and the New Danish Army will immediately provide food and fresh water.

surrender? ! No! Liu Doufu had never been defeated in his life, and he was determined to continue to resist. As for the consequences of defeat... this was not yet a defeat.

Through this persuasion to surrender, Liudov had another understanding - it was possible that the enemy's nobles were right in front of him.

He immediately asked his subordinates who had withdrawn their arrows to nock their bows again: "Shoot at those people holding shields. Have you seen those people in special clothes? Aim and shoot immediately!"

More than 30 bow-wielders suddenly leaned half of their bodies out of the hidden battlements, while the Ross Army swords and shields under the city had quick hands, eyes and hands, and reflexively formed a shield wall.

The arrows crackled on the shield, looking for the book www.zhaoshuyuan.com Rurik's expression remained unchanged, while Ragna beside him yelled angrily: "You still expect them to surrender!? I said before that they are as tough as A piece of hammer. In my opinion, let’s attack by force!”

A man fell to the ground holding his legs and wailing. He was none other than the unlucky Eskil.

The defenders did not intend to shoot Eskil, but the old boy's position was not good, and he was unlucky to be hit in the calf.

He was also lucky. Rurik knew that this man had a noble status. When they faced off against the Franks later, the Ross army would have an extra bargaining chip by having the "Saint of the North" in their hands.

The soldiers kept retreating with their shields raised. At the same time, Rurik did not answer any of Ragnar's questions, but proved his attitude with practical actions.

He signaled to the prepared long-range attack soldiers. Upon seeing the signal, Jevro and Kawe immediately took action, and thousands of arrows were fired.

The final battle begins! The Russian army was benevolent, and Liu Dofu himself chose to die rather than surrender. However, the intensity of the war far exceeded his understanding...

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