The entire city gate collapsed completely under the pressure of its own gravity, and after a violent roar, it turned into a large gap of about twenty meters.
The fire was still burning at the gap in the city wall, and the defenders who fell from above were no longer moving. Even if they are just knocked unconscious, people in the fire will die soon.
The flames and thick smoke isolated the two armies, and both sides could hear the howls and shouts of their opponents.
The twenty-meter gap is neither long nor short.
Behind the west gate is a stone road leading directly to the center of the city. As long as the attacker breaks through this gap, the soldiers can rush to the Saint-Germain Cathedral in one breath. As long as they attack quickly enough, the defenders will not be able to fight in the streets. Chance can seal the victory.
As for the defenders, once they fail, they are destined to suffer the sad fate of all being killed.
To this day, the defenders of Auxerre still believe that the enemy troops wandering outside the city are the notorious Turbe army. The marriages between the great nobles were complicated, and the blood of the Frank family was quite abundant among them. Down to the level of ordinary soldiers, the besieging army was Gauls, and the city defenders were mostly Burgundians. Both sides never recognized the other as their own tribe, and were extremely jealous of a full-scale war.
The defenders made many misjudgments, but one thing they misjudged correctly was that the vast majority of ordinary soldiers in the siege army were indeed Gauls.
The spears were pointed forward, and the spearheads were heated by the fire.
The soldiers of the besieging army ate some dry food casually, and many of them just drank some water, then put on their weapons and rushed into the fight.
Because Reglaf felt that since the city wall collapsed and a war was imminent, the enemy would not give the besieging troops a chance to eat and drink and arrange their troops, and similarly, our own side would not give them a chance to enter the city
The defenders gasped.
He put on his chain mail and helmet and went to the front line in person. More and more soldiers put on their armor and gathered at the west gate.
The other three gates were already neglected in defense, and he was not worried about the enemy taking advantage of the chaos to break out. As expected, the enemy simply abandoned the city's belongings and fled lightly, which would actually be beneficial to his own siege.
Thinking that the city of Auxerre is the core of the enemy's army, the defenders will not give it up casually, and they have to fight today.
There are not many armored spearmen in the Mercian army. About a hundred are concentrated in the front row. The warriors behind are seriously lacking armor. They simply go into battle with light armor. In this way, they hold on to their long spears. It is easier to stab with a spear.
Reglaf was seriously short of archers. After gathering all the archers in the army, he specially called for the group of pole-swingers he had trained under the city of Poitir.
Precisely because of his rich combat experience, Reglaf would not be like other reckless nobles who rush in with their troops when they see the city wall collapse. Usually such a tactic of sudden advance is effective. If faced with an enemy with an extremely strong will to defend, and the army rushes to attack without being able to spread out, it will be resolutely blocked by the defenders and suffer heavy losses.
As long as I think about the pastDuring the night, he and other allied nobles concluded that the defenders would defend the city.
Finally, the smoke and dust finally dissipated, and the open flames could be ignored.
The towering stone walls turned into climbable ruins as tall as a person, allowing warriors to walk up through the stone rubble.
A thousand people have gathered, and pairs of eyes are staring at the huge gap. The militiamen clenched their spears. They didn't know what kind of monsters were hidden behind the ruins. No one dared to take action without receiving the king's order.
But after the ruins, almost all the armed forces of Auxerre City were concentrated here!
It is precisely the ruins that obscure the view, but little does anyone know that the stone road leading to the cathedral is crowded with sword and shield bearers wearing chain mail, as well as a large number of militiamen armed with various farm tools. In the battle of life and death, the blacksmith, carrying his own sledgehammer, blended into the militia.
The defenders gathered all the fighting forces, and the total strength reached nearly 1,500 people. Their energy had been pushed to the limit after not sleeping all night. Now that their spirits were deeply stimulated, everyone was overdrawing their energy. They must also be overdrafted, otherwise nothing in the future will have to be considered.
Swords and shields were mixed with soldiers holding short spears, and some archers also took the opportunity to bend down and climb up the uncollapsed city wall. Several vigilant heads on the city wall showed their eyes, and then retracted in an instant.
The soldiers lying on the wall made several gestures to the soldiers on the stone road, and the soldiers were shocked.
However, everyone’s mental strength has reached its limit. If they continue to be sluggish and sleepy, they will be unable to fight.
The defenders did not have a clear general, and no one among the centurions dared to lead his men onto the ruins immediately to launch a counterattack.
However, these junior officers and leaders also understand that continuing to delay will be fatal to themselves.
Finally someone raised his arms and the middle-aged man with a big beard raised his broad-bladed sword high.
He first called on his men: "Brothers, we must defend this city. Follow me!"
He did what he said, and continued to hold up his iron sword and take the lead. Go up to the ruins.
All the soldiers were infected by this fearless spirit.
Although Archbishop Herribo did not come to the front line in person, when the armored heavy infantry arrived at the collapse one after another, he had already spent a lot of money to take out all the rose essential oil and poured in a large amount of it. Well water for dilution.
During the siege, due to a severe lack of fuel for burning, all the scarce trees in the city were cut down. The cypress branches that could have been broken off were only left with wooden piles. As a last resort, the archbishop found a handkerchief, wetted it himself, and stood at the door of the cathedral to wipe the soldiers' faces.
Holy oil only has a spiritual soothing effect, but the defenders need an erratic and invisible spiritual power now.
Every fighter has been blessed like never before. It would be too vicious if there are still people who shrink from the battle.
Seeing someone taking the lead, a large number of soldiers followed suit..
The defenders did not use large Nordic shields. Their small bucklers tied to their left arms were more flexible and combined with one-handed swords for offense and defense. They were quite useful in chaotic battles, but only in chaotic battles. Useful in combat.
The defenders climbed up the ruins one after another, forming a human wall. Behind them is the rising sun, which also illuminates the stone road leading to the west. There were nearly a thousand soldiers wearing iron helmets, and the sunshine further cheered up the tired warriors.
The soldiers in the front climbed up the ruins and stopped moving. The soldiers in the rear did not know what was going on and were still struggling to squeeze forward.
A pair of eyes clearly saw that there were densely packed soldiers outside the city. Regraf could guess that the enemy would try to challenge the city through the gap. Now that the enemy troops appeared collectively, the dense position was still airtight. iron wall.
"Damn it, everyone of you actually has chain mail." Reglaf muttered unwillingly, and he
knew that he had no money to continue dawdling.
He pulled out his steel sword and pointed the blade directly at the gap: "Spearman! Attack!"
Finally, the battle broke out.
The spearmen of the Mercian army moved step by step, shouting slogans and advancing slowly. From any angle, these people were well-trained.
The defenders of Auxerre on the ruins saw the situation clearly. They did not rush down to fight without thinking at the first time. Unexpectedly, the brothers behind them kept squeezing and they were gradually unable to gain a foothold.
More than thirty sword and shield fighters rushed down in front of each other. They raised their iron swords and launched a strong attack. They intend to create a gap for the brothers behind them. Even if they die, they will die for righteousness, and their glorious souls will go directly to heaven.
They were benevolent, and even though they were wearing chain mail, facing the dense array of spears of the Mercian army, they were simply charging towards hell.
The sight of the spearheads were all swaying. The carefully polished iron spears, even if they could not pierce the chainmail immediately, were so powerful that they could stun the warrior through the armor.
The battle broke out, and soldiers of the Auxerre Army were killed immediately.
The spearhead pierced the chainmail, and when it was pulled out, a hideous black hole was revealed. The first batch of soldiers to rush down often suffered from multiple fatal wounds and died in a very short time.
The soldiers at the rear still don’t know what happened to the brothers at the front. They only know that the battle has broken out. As a soldier, they should rush to the battlefield. Such a normal advance makes the cramped battlefield move quickly. Falling into a terrifying anxiety.
The bodies of the defenders who were riddled with wounds fell on the hot ruins. The flowing blood will be under the stones
The smoldering embers continue to cool down, and a large amount of white mist suddenly evaporates with a strong fishy smell, like red-hot iron bars quenched in water.
The first batch of soldiers who rushed down were all killed, and their bodies were mixed with stones, becoming stepping stones for subsequent soldiers.
The second batch of soldiers were againThe spear array of the Mercian army was riddled with holes. It seemed that the attacking side had gained a huge advantage in fighting like this. Soon Reglaf also suddenly noticed that his own advantage was being lost for some bizarre reason.
Soon, the second batch of warriors were also stabbed down one after another. The attackers could not talk about any losses. The spear with a length of four meters had done a great job, but Regraf was not happy about it.
Because the enemy troops poured out like a tide, what they stepped on was no longer the ashes and stones, but the comrades who died in the previous round.
The Auxerre defenders stood on the corpses of their comrades and continued to charge, even though the soldiers realized that their blind attack was seeking death, and they were pushed by hundreds of comrades behind them. Now even if they turn around, they can only be attacked by friendly forces. Trampled to death.
Many soldiers looked back hurriedly, desperately calling on everyone to stop pushing. No appeal will help.
On the Mercian army's side, the spears were gathered together, and when a spear broke, it was replaced with a new one. One warrior was too tired and temporarily withdrew, letting another man take over and continue to hold the spear and stab wildly.
Countless spears were poking and stabbing. The Mercian army was seriously exhausted of energy. The soldiers' minds were empty and they repeated the poking and stabbing movements endlessly.
The battle almost entirely revolved around the gaps in the city wall. Although there were some defenders archers firing arrows at the uncollapsed city wall at the beginning, these people were quickly suppressed and driven away by the attackers' archers.
The large number of Mercian warriors on standby had no idea that the battle would be like this, and the gap was gradually beginning to disappear as more and more corpses piled up.
Bruno grabbed the hilt of the sword and rushed forward fiercely, patting Reglaf on the shoulder: "Brother, we can't do this anymore."
"What are you doing?!" Spirit The nervous Regraf swung his body and almost scratched Bruno's neck with the steel sword he was holding.
"Calm down." Bruno said.
"Why do you want me to calm down? We are fighting now."
"But they are rebuilding the city wall with their flesh and blood, and we cannot let them continue to charge." Bruno almost said After giving his brother-in-law a hard slap, he composed himself and ordered: "Let the slinger prevent the enemy from increasing their troops."
"Yes...yes!"
Regla The husband was frightened by the terrifying gap attack and defense battle, which caused the soldiers who were supposed to implement it to be shelved.
The slinger on standby has already had itchy hands.
More than two hundred slingers were gathered. They seemed to be holding whistle sticks as high as one person. Everyone was asked to line up in four teams, and then started the "Parthian tactics" according to Reglaf's order. .
As long as you can shoot in turns, put a stone larger than a fist in your leather pocket. The four warriors in the first round will rush to the place where the spearmen are gathered, and they will shoot hard. The whistle stick with a weighted head in the swinger's hand was rounded and swung wildly.
The stones were thrown out violently, and the soldier took the whistle stick and ran back to his team's team to receive new stones.
The first person had just finished launching, and the second person came one after another.Then came the third and fourth people.
Their queues were very long, so that the soldiers could breathe and recharge before starting a new round of ejection.
It doesn’t matter how accurate it is, just hit the rock in the general direction. Regraf doesn’t know the effect of the hit.
Regraf seems to just want to create chaos.
As everyone knows, the defenders are highly concentrated on the stone road leading to the west gate. They throw stones vigorously and heavily with stone-throwing gestures. The lack of accuracy can cause greater casualties.
Stones fell from the sky. Even if they were wearing iron helmets, the soldiers who were hit might suffer from concussion or serious head injuries and lose consciousness on the spot. The person who was hit in the shoulder suffered even more, because the person involved was conscious, but the shoulder blade and clavicle were directly broken. The unprecedented pain not only made people lose their ability to fight, but also immediately infected the brothers around them with fear.
However, this kind of rocks kept being smashed. The soldiers could clearly see black dots falling rapidly in the air, but they were squeezed by countless companions and couldn't escape even if they tried to hide.
Soon it was not just stones. Reglaf gathered his archers and threw them into the air mercilessly.
Of course he couldn't see the enemy's situation. The shocking shouts and painful sounds coming from there could be concluded that the enemy was suffering a serious blow.
Many of the defenders who were hit fell unconscious and fell to the ground. Those who could be pulled to a safe area by their companions were lucky, while those who were unlucky were trampled to death by their companions.
The attacks with countless stones gradually took effect. The defenders' follow-up troops retreated in panic, and the dense formation gradually dispersed. Soldiers hiding everywhere could see the rocks still falling, and some unlucky guys who were already running away were suddenly hit in the head and collapsed to the ground weakly, with blood oozing from their helmets...
The chaotic battle continued for a while, and the attackers and defenders, who already had limited energy, became even more exhausted.
No one among Reglaf's spearmen died in battle,
But some warriors suddenly fell to the ground after exhaustion and were dragged behind by other companions, simply dragging them to death. The dog is usually thrown to the ground and let him sleep directly. At the critical moment, Reglaf could no longer care about his paralyzed subordinates. His own mental condition was also very bad, so he relied on perseverance to resist his sleepiness.
The soldiers who struggled to throw stones gradually began to feel soreness in their arms. If they continued to throw the stones, the landing points of the stones would hit their spearmen.
The initial fighting enthusiasm of the two armies was quickly consumed, and both sides were exhausted and finally could no longer fight.
Regraf still wants to continue fighting, but now he has to face two annoying situations.
Since I haven't slept all night, my subordinates have been highly nervous since they experienced a sneak attack yesterday afternoon. They haven't closed their eyes for a day and a night. Look at the position of the sun again, and it will arrive again after some time. It's noon. Obviously, for the vast number of farmers-born warriors, today is the only time in their lives that they have set a personal record of not sleeping.
Secondly, the collapsed gap has been filled with countlessThe corpses were filled, and the Mercian army's continued fighting was completely a feint.
"Is it really impossible to defeat it?" Regraf suddenly thought that he still had a tactical reserve team.
So, a clear signal was given.
During the most chaotic period, Vibert, the youngest son of the Earl of Nantes, his army took a nap at night and did not participate in the most anxious battle. Now they are in good spirits.
Wilbert personally led his heavy infantry to the front line, and he met with Reglaf, who had obvious dark circles under his eyes. < /p>
: "I dare not take the credit. We brothers all contributed to the attack on Auxerre. Let's go."
The enemy should be severely weakened, even if they piled the wall with corpses, Just climb over.
The basically exhausted spearmen withdrew, and the two hundred heavy infantry confidently went to harvest the heads. They climbed on the enemy's corpse, but unexpectedly they began to encounter the enemy's madness as soon as they reached the top. Counterattack.
The defenders of Auxerre did not deploy a reserve team. Corpses and ruins formed hills. Many exhausted defenders lay down on the reverse slope to rest. When they felt that there were enemies climbing up, they became very angry. He picked up the short spear obscenely and stabbed it hard.
The heavy infantry of the County of Nantes and the heavy infantry of Auxerre are about the same level of equipment. The soldier was stabbed hard and pushed down. If the stab hit a vital part, he would die quickly.
The battle is still going on. It is clear that after the city is broken, the enemy troops will definitely leave no trace of Auxerre chickens and dogs. The soldiers who were hiding in Tibet got up from all the dark corners and swarmed into the gap again, targeting them. The besieging troops who came up fought back resolutely.
Wibert did not expect that the enemy was still capable of counterattack. The first batch of Nantes heavy infantry who rushed forward were either killed or injured. Those who were alive realized that the situation was not good and hurriedly withdrew. return.
Wilbert himself would not rush to the front line rashly. The soldiers withdrew and reported the enemy's situation to their master.
He really didn’t expect that the enemy still had many soldiers. Didn’t the recent battle frighten the enemy?
Wilbert had limited capital, so he was willing to fight with favorable conditions, unlike Reglaf who planned to fight the enemy to the death.
Now that the attack has been frustrated, he wants to retreat. This decision of course depends on Regraf's opinion.
When he withdrew to find Reglaf himself, he saw that the young King of Mercia could no longer hold on and curled up on the grass and fell asleep.
The person who temporarily took over the command was Bruno. The future Duke of Saxony was in a very bad mental state, and his eyelids seemed to be hung with lead weights and could close at any time.
"How did you withdraw?" Bruno asked, enduring embarrassment.
“Damn the enemy, they have a lot of troops, my men rushed in and were ambushed by them.”
“Is there such a thing? They are going to fight back.? "Bruno was thinking of pushing up Regraf who had just fallen asleep. He struggled to get up from the grass. Suddenly he felt dizzy. Thanks to the support of the attendant's shoulders, he cheered up.
"You are injured. Already? "
"I'm too tired. I think so do you. ”
“I think the same goes for the enemy. Wibert shook his head: "Brother, we can still defend now that there are many people. We just need to continue attacking... wait until we regain our energy." "
"Okay...Okay. "No one is really willing, but everyone has worked hard. Even if the enemy leaves countless corpses, they will fight resolutely. We can't be too hasty in dealing with such a powerful enemy. "I asked Old Eric to lead the veterans to defend, and keep an eye on the enemy and don't rush in suddenly. come out. Also, the remaining cavalrymen continue to hold on, while the others...sleep. ”
The besieging army could no longer attack. All offensive operations were suspended. A large number of soldiers gathered in the camp outside the west gate and fell asleep.
The defenders were also unable to attack. They After suffering huge losses, they still gathered at the west gate. As soon as the tension relaxed, the soldiers fell asleep while sitting or lying down.
It was not yet noon, and the battlefield returned to silence, and the west gate collapsed. The ruins were covered with layers of fallen soldiers. They were sleeping on the battlefield, with their armor and swords still in their hands. If there was any noise, they would get up and continue fighting. . Because they know that the battle will continue.
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