Chapter 201 The Danish Offensive

The day of the expedition was set on May 15th in the Julian calendar.

Gotland was attacked at the end of April. It took the Danes just over two weeks to respond violently. The Danish alliance under Hafgen was fairly good at gathering troops. Have the ability.

On this day of expedition, the weather cannot be said to be very good.

In the early morning, the foggy world made young Ragnar feel inexplicably worried about the future battle.

"If today is a sunny day, our war will definitely win." Standing at the door of his tent, he couldn't help but mutter.

"Sir, we will win," echoed one of his close subordinates.

"Of course we will win. Let's wait and see what the leader will do. Now order the brothers to get up and we are ready to go."

What Ragnar knows Raid operations are carried out by long ships. All warriors only carry a small amount of supplies. How to sleep and eat almost all need to be captured from the battlefield.

He did not understand the situation of the Northern Alliance. He learned from his father that the Northern Alliance was not essentially different from the Danish Alliance. It would be foolish to think that the enemy is a group of weaklings.

So this time, Ragnar made some material reserves, which was unprecedented. As for other people, he really couldn't care less.

He put on the highest-grade riveted chain mail over the thick leather armor. The mail can even protect his arms and even form a skirt made of mail. In this way, he only needs to be careful of the enemy's sledgehammer. The combination of mail armor and leather armor can already isolate the damage from the sword.

About fifty of the troops he commanded had ordinary chain mail armor, and the rest had leather armor.

Even so, compared to the armies of other allies, although Ragnar’s commanding force is small, in terms of weapons and equipment, it can be said to be the top of Northern Europe in this time and space.

Even for the powerful Robard tribe with a large population, the leader Hafgen wanted to show off his illustrious martial arts, but he did not have the financial resources to equip all the tribal warriors he gathered with excellent mail armor.

According to the latest order, commercial activities at a traditional commercial market near the beach of the Robard tribe have been suspended, and all merchants have moved to other places to set up stalls.

In an instant, the forecourt turned into a school ground where soldiers gathered.

After having an early morning meal, soldiers from various allied tribes, Oslo mercenaries, and Robard's own tribe poured into this area that had been trampled by thousands of people. Solid gravel ground.

Because, there needs to be a sacrifice before going out for the expedition.

Five pillars were erected on a temporary platform made of stones. Ragnar understood the leader's trick when he saw them.

While more than two thousand people were waiting anxiously, the arrogant alliance leader Hafgen himself, dressed in military uniform, finally arrived.

“This guyIt was a long time coming. He felt that since he was the leader of the alliance, he could do whatever he wanted. If we join forces, the power of the Robards will cease. "

"Shut up, my brother. Ragnar tilted his head and scolded his cronies: "Look what that guy will do." "

Ragnar took off his helmet that could protect his entire face in order to better see what the alliance leader was doing.

The only five people he saw were in ragged clothes. The man with his hands tied was escorted to the altar by a group of warriors. Then, the five people were tied to the pillar with ropes.

At this time, Hafgen stood on the altar with his chin held high. Stretching out his hands.

Beside him, a group of priests in black robes also began to chant incantations that no one could understand.

It was not up to Hafgen to talk nonsense. His tribesmen roared his name one after another.

Even the tribesmen who were watching, all Ragnar heard were warm calls for Hafgen. Pulling out his sword, the roar became even louder.

When he pointed his sword downward, the cheering crowd quickly fell silent.

This situation really shocked Ragnar. Deeply touched. "Ah, I didn't expect that you, a guy, could control the warrior to this extent? ! ”

Indeed, the young people of the Robard tribe strongly admire their leader, the man who killed all the competitors and gained the throne of the leader.

Hafgen Battle The sword entered the five men who were tied with ropes and shivering in the cool morning breeze.

Specifically, the tied people were all Picts, captured by the Norsemen from Scotland. The locals who came here became slaves of the Robard tribe several times.

Today, Hafgen was going to use human sacrifice to make a wish to God for a great victory.

Without any nonsense about status, he raised his sword high and shouted with all his strength: "Brothers, fight! Attack the North! Take everything you plunder! Destroy those evildoers and avenge the shame our alliance has suffered! revenge! revenge! "

With him taking the lead, almost everyone was moved by the violent atmosphere and shouted "revenge" one by one.

In this atmosphere, Hafgen personally The heads of the five slaves were chopped off one by one.

This crazy process was enough to drive the gathered warriors from all tribes into madness.

Including Ragnar’s tribe. They also began to roar spontaneously. In Ragnar's opinion, it seemed that one of his own people had been bewitched by that guy.

"You don't plan to attack Meralenberg in the north, you just want to take some small tribes. Vent anger. For this purpose of fighting, is it necessary to use human sacrifice? Not only did you do it, you also used five people! What, are you showing that your tribe is financially strong? ”

Ragnar felt that the leader of the alliance was already overjoyed with success even before he had won the victory.

In this way, Hafgen held up a bloody head and shouted Blood’s command: “Brothers! Let's go! ”

With an order,The Danish army, already aroused with the desire to fight, surged toward the group of warships moored on the beach.

Hafgen gathered as many as 2,100 troops, and all the ships combined were close to a hundred.

Even some courageous businessmen decided to row their own merchant ships to follow this huge fleet. In this way, when they fail to capture a group of slaves, they can quickly buy them. At the same time, the army needs some supplies such as food, which can be sold to them quickly.

In the end, one hundred and twenty ships lit up their sails, and with the help of the gentle southerly wind and the help of oars, they quickly moved towards the north.

Who is the target of the attack? Ragna still doesn't know.

A small goal? It must not be the Melalen tribe.

Before landing on the selected target, the huge Danish fleet still needs to complete the rendezvous with another of their allies.

As night fell, the fleet floated on the sea, and everyone slept on the boat all night.

On May 16, they successfully encountered Gotland ships on the sea.

After simple negotiations, in the afternoon, as many as thirty warships joined the Danish army.

After all, this is also a battle of revenge for the Gotlanders, with nearly a thousand people joining in.

Since the attack, the connections between the various families in the north of the island have become extremely close.

With the addition of new allies, the leader Hafgen basically understood the attack on the Gotlanders and learned that the attackers were the Russians in the north. He also learned that in the past, he was just a messenger doing business with the Gotlanders. He never imagined that the war between the Gotlanders and the Rus had never stopped.

After learning of these circumstances, Hafgen suddenly realized that he seemed to have been dragged into the water by the Gotlanders.

My campaign slogan is to counter the provocation of the Northern Alliance. Now, who is the provocateur? They Gotlanders are definitely not clean for that matter.

The army has set off, and the rest is war! The war is not over. As the leader of the alliance, you can only try your best to create victory.

On the sea, four boats came together, and the planks of the boats were close to each other.

Seeing that there were three Gotland leaders coming, Hafgen asked bluntly: "Tell me, where is the nearest stronghold of the Northern Alliance?"

A man wearing The white-bearded old man in mail pointed directly to the northwest with his big hand: "That's right there. There is a fjord there. As far as we know, that is their stronghold."

"How many people are there? "

"About...two thousand people. Or less."

"Two thousand people?" Hafgen couldn't help but grab his beard, looking like he was thinking.

"Leader, are you sure? Are you them?" the old man asked tentatively.

"Have you ever fought against them?"

"We only fought with their fishermen. They are not strong. We are just worried that if we launch an attack, whether we will attract all the Malaren people to come out. Because that fjord is a bit close to the core of the Malaren people. ."

"Are you afraid of them?" Hafgen's attitude was quite impatient.

"No! Great leader, we are just worried that things will get complicated. Because of the Russians, we are worried about them... The Russians are very strong. Just ten days ago, we were at sea with their fleet In this encounter, we lost more than a hundred people.”

The Danish tribes living in Jutland and the surrounding waters have actually never had any record of fighting with the Rus. From the current perspective, the Baltic Sea is a huge small world. Due to geographical and geopolitical factors, the Danes will not enter the Gulf of Bothnia, and naturally they cannot encounter the Russians.

Moreover, even the Gotlanders don’t know much about the Rus.

After an attack, the attitude of the Gotlanders towards the Rus suddenly changed, as if the attackers were terrifying beings.

Hafgen did not take it seriously: "The Russians are very strong? That's because they didn't meet us!" As he said, he pointed to his fleet and the tall masts: " Have you ever seen such a huge fleet? I tell you, this is just a small part of my fleet. I can organize a huge army that you can't understand. I can crush the entire Northern Alliance."

Surrounded by them, Hafgen formally determined the spearhead of the attack--to attack the Northern Alliance settlement in the fjord.

In a short period of time, Hafgen sent a messenger to inform the entire fleet of the army's goal.

"A tribe with two thousand people living in it? Conquer them?" After hearing the news, Ragnar's attitude suddenly changed.

In Ragnar's view, a tribe of two thousand people is already very large. It stands to reason that the opponent can pull out a team of eight hundred people, or more! All men are soldiers, and he firmly believes that the other party will organize a decent army and fight a good battle with the Danish army.

The destination of the Danish army is Bullough Bay.

In the depths of this bay, there lives a tribe named Ostara.

This tribe belongs to the Siweiya Tribe Alliance and has a population of nearly 1,500 people.

I have to say that the geographical environment of Buloh Bay is good, and it is suitable for being a harbor.

In the future, a city called Norrkoping will rise in this bay. The so-called "Xueping" originally means "shopping place", which comes from the same Germanic word as shopping in modern English.

Trade will eventually bring prosperity to this fjord, and a city will always rise here.

But now, the Ostara tribe living here is facing an annihilation without warning..

The fishermen of the tribe are still fishing in Buloh Bay. All fishermen know that they must not go south except in the fjord to avoid maritime conflicts with the Gotlanders.

After more tribesmen reclaimed a small amount of land, they drove their cattle and sheep to graze in nearby areas.

There are many tribes in this area doing the same thing as the Ostara tribe, which is to develop animal husbandry. It's just that those tribes live further west, where there are waterways connected to the lakes of Buloh Bay. Their tribes only have a few hundred people, but the number of tribes is larger.

Selling their livestock products to the Melalen tribe in the north is the main way for these people to make money.

But in the Götaland highlands with many lakes, there are not many grasslands suitable for grazing.

The Ostara tribe and nearby tribes must always beware of the harassment of Gotland herdsmen who have landed.

They are always on alert, and every household has its own weapon.

Just as Ragnar estimated, the Ostara people did not know that the danger was coming, but they could indeed pull out a team of at least 500 people.

Of course, the premise is that the Danes issued a letter of war and agreed on the location of the decisive battle, so that Ostara would have time to complete the assembly of the army.

Hafgen did not have time to issue a challenge to the Northern Alliance. Since the Russians adopted a tactic of surprise attack, he should do the same.

There are no scouts, no formation arrangements.

What Hafgen calls tactics is that there are no tactics. First, the thousand Gotlanders who know the route will take the lead, followed closely by the Danish army. Everyone can rush forward in a swarm.

One hundred and fifty boats can be described as huge. Those fishermen who are fishing can see the menacing army in the distance, and still have the leisure to fish? !

All the fishermen began to think about retreating from the depths of the bay. Behind them, there was a fleet in pursuit.

Before the fishermen arrived at the port, people on the shore saw the approaching danger.

A terrifying thought appeared in the mind of the tribal leader. The old man estimated that the arrival was not good, and he was afraid that a fierce battle would be inevitable.

There are still some tribesmen grazing, and some are logging in the nearby woods.

The Ostara tribe has no defense. How easy is it to summon the army at such an emergency?

Even so, the tribe is determined to risk the dignity of men and fight to the death against the enemy.

They will not retreat because they are men who believe in Odin.

Even if you can only organize a small group of people quickly, even if you can't make good preparations.

The threat of war did not allow them to prepare, and the enemy was already approaching the city.

The men skillfully put on leather armor, put on iron helmets, removed bucklers, swords and axes from the wooden walls.

Even, many women are determined to guard their homes together with their husbands. Their attitude is very determined,If they want to die, both husband and wife must also fight to death at the same time!