Rise of Rurik Chapter 895

At first, the ships drifting from the island of Visingosser did not make the people of Jonkoping nervous.

It was a ship belonging to the ruler "Crazy Bear" Karl. He sent people to the south, probably to ask for tribute.

Lake Wettern is not too big or too small. Since Jonkoping has always maintained trade concerns with Visingose ​​Island, the two large settlements have always had relatively close personnel exchanges. The people of Jonkoping felt the danger for the first time when news of the attack on the pioneering village in the northernmost part of the lake came out.

"It's probably the Swedes who came to find fault."

Most of them think like this, their lives are not affected at all.

However, Karl's messenger brought surprising news that a large army suspected of Swedes has landed on the island of Wiesingerser, and Karl will fight against it.

The messenger arrogantly asked all the businessmen, powerful farmers, handicraftsmen and other prominent local figures in Jönköping to gather, and the gathering place was in the city's court.

There were different opinions for a while, as if the war was imminent.

But who wants war? Apart from the warriors who believed in Odin, would the merchants sacrifice their lives for the so-called glory?

Well-dressed merchants, farmers, and craftsmen who kept slave laborers gathered in the dimly-lit longhouse to watch Carl's messengers talk loudly.

The messenger is bossy, and it is disgusting to just stick a face.

"You all hand over your private army and hand them all over to me. I will lead the island to fight the invading Swedes. This is Karl's order! Your master's order! You will execute it immediately."

Such a forceful tone is disgusting.

On weekdays, many businessmen and handicraftsmen are regarded as fat sheep, and Carl cuts wool two or three times every year before giving up. The feeling of being a fat sheep is uncomfortable, and everyone has been patient.

Precisely, most of them are businessmen and rich people, and most of them are slick people, and they don't dare to lift the table for the time being.

A businessman stood up and asked provocatively: "Could it be that Karl's 800 soldiers can't resist the attacks of those... Swedes."

The messenger was speechless for a while.

The businessman immediately asked, "We pay a lot of tribute every year, and Karl got our money. Could it be that in the face of war, we should hand over our private soldiers and mobilize all the men in Jonkoping to fight for him?"

This remark directly hit the pain point of the problem, and one person spoke and more than ten people responded one after another.

The courtroom, which was already tense and depressing, immediately became as lively as a vegetable market. This made the messenger pull out his axe and slammed it against the pillar of the house.

"Fools! Stop arguing!" The messenger scolded him, and finally used his loud voice to silence everyone.

"Who would have thought that the Swedes had so many soldiers? They burned down our three villages in the north, and a thousand people were killed! Those Swedes did everything wrong. If we can't kill them, you will be the one who will die! It is you!" Pointing at him, he threatened inexhaustible words: "You! It's you! If you don't resist, you will be killed, and your wife and daughter will be their slaves. And you! Don't look at me with doubtful eyes, you If you don't resist, all of your property will be taken away by them, and you will be hanged by them..."

Because Karl's messenger had given up his illusions like his boss long ago, but the people of Jonkoping were ignorant of what happened north of the lake. But they knew one thing, that "Crazy Bear" Karl closed the port because of the war, so that the line for the people of Jönköping to transport supplies to the north for business was cut off.

Cutting off people's fortunes is like killing one's parents. Those landowners can wait and see for a while, while businessmen and craftsmen are already furious. It's just that Karl did have up to 800 armored men. Even if he assembled the private soldiers raised by all the wealthy in Jönköping, or armed slaves, he couldn't put together a decent army of 800.

The messenger is like cursing the people present one by one, which makes many people feel more and more that everything is a scam.

Suddenly someone screamed: "Bah! It's all lies! Friends, Carl is going to take our private soldiers and our slaves too. In the end, how can you protect your property! In my opinion, Sweden Human invasion, it's all a conspiracy! We can't trust these messengers."

Some people started, and others continued: "It's been ten years! Since Carl came with people ten years ago, the days when we can do business with peace of mind are over! We gave him the best treasure, and what did we get in the end? ? That's it, Karl Hugh wants to take one more copper coin from me!"

In the end, it was the long-standing resentment, and the businessmen who were supposed to be tactful went berserk. They didn't use force against the envoys who were outnumbered, instead they violently detained all the envoys, disarmed them, and threw them into the sheepfold.

As for what this group of messengers are going to shout about, no one cares.

The merchants have already figured out a way out for themselves. If Carl starts a crusade, the big deal is that everyone can either row a boat to the Lake Venern next door, or drive an ox cart by land, and personally pull a cart to the Växjö Village Alliance in the south. .

Merchants and handicraftsmen do not have much to worry about. There are also a group of fishermen who see the wind and steer the rudder. If everyone leaves, they will evacuate by rowing their own boats, and they can also help them carry the goods to earn some transportation fees.

The most painful thing is the farmers in Jonkoping. Their wealth is almost riveted to their farmland. If everyone leaves, how will they leave? It is self-evident who would suffer a great loss if Karl were to attack him for detaining the messenger.

At night, the oil lamps in the council hall flickered wildly, and all kinds of people in Jonkoping quarreled into a pot of porridge. Some say the messenger is talking nonsense, others say maybe the Swedes are really here. The focus of the quarrel finally fell on the handling of the messenger. Those with hot brains wanted to do everything. The so-called axe slashed the messenger and then dragged the family to evacuate this unfortunate land that has been smashed. Calm-headed people advise everyone to stay calm.

However, just as they were arguing, the sunset could no longer cover up the strangeness that happened on Visingose ​​Island.

The setting sun was like snow covering the fire that burned the port. Although there was thick smoke rising, the increasingly dim light in the evening also made the smoke blurred.

After all, from the island port where it was started to Jonkoping, the straight-line distance between the two places is 25 kilometers.

Only the night could not cover up the fire, which made the fire that spread throughout the port extremely conspicuous.

There is no need to quarrel now. Whether it is the honorable person or the lowest slave in Jönköping, the more than 2,000 people who settled in this lakeside city are all standing outdoors.

There is no longer any doubt, there is really an enemy attacking Wiesingerser!

Because the settlement of Jönköping is built on hills, the cliffs surrounding the entire Lake Wettern have turned into earth slopes at the southernmost end of the lake. In order to prevent flooding, a large number of residential buildings are built on hills, and people standing on a high place can clearly see the strange sea of ​​fire that occurred on the island of Visingo.

Run away! A lot of people thought about this.

The businessmen and craftsmen hurried back to their mansions. They had no intention to continue arguing about what was or was not, and they had no intention to give gifts to the messengers who were thrown into the sheepfold and bound with ropes.

To **** with this unfortunate lakeside! Brothers are leaving!

At this time, some of the messenger's words were recollected. The so-called Swedes came by water, so for the North Koping people who were about to escape, escaping by water to Lake Venern next door would be suicide.

Where can you all go? Everyone invariably thought of the same goal - dragging their family by land to take refuge in Vaxjo in the south.

At least Växjö's "Ten Village Alliance" has always welcomed merchants and craftsmen.

Intuitively, businessmen feel that there is not much time left for their families to escape. They were nervous, which directly led to the collapse of the will of the entire settlement.

They have never surrendered to Karl "Crazy Bear", but they were forced to pay tribute to that guy. Now it is reasonable for them to go their separate ways when disaster strikes.

The forest at night was dark, and the people fleeing by land had to cross the hilly area behind them, and continue southward on the road that had been opened in the forest. They took advantage of the night to organize supplies and personnel, check their vehicles and luggage, and count their families and slaves.

For private soldiers, mercenaries, or high-level slaves, if the gold leader withdrew, the brothers would naturally follow.

The most painful thing is the local landowners, who can escape at the cost of abandoning their farmland. The wheat has grown thick and sprouts, and the harvest is only three months away. If you leave now, you may save your life, or you will be poor and become a slave to others in the future. But...the situation may turn around. Maybe the Swedes who attacked the island could accept their surrender...

When the catastrophe was approaching, most of them made the move to flee, and they all chose to flee by land after dawn. However, the sudden rain at night brought resistance to everyone's escape plan. Although flash floods or mudslides did not occur, the road suddenly became muddy, which undoubtedly cast a shadow on the escape plan.

It has to be said that the people of North Köping acted very fast, like standing in the bay and seeing the abnormal receding of the sea water, they ran to the higher ground and escaped the tsunami early.

But they were still a step too late.

Remember the Ross cavalry? They are always on their way.

Fisk personally led three hundred cavalry to the south along the east bank of the lake. They marched among the forests on the cliffs by the lake, relying on the trees to hide their tracks. The cavalry tried their best to keep their speed, but Fisker's troops cherished horsepower. They did not dare to force the horses to march too far in a day, and practical factors did not make them too eager.

The eastern side of the lake is very straight, and the cavalry walks hard and all the way. Along the way, they saw the island of Visingose ​​in the middle of the lake, and also saw the bonfire lit up at the southernmost end of the lake one night.

That was Jönköping, the target of the cavalry attack.

But when he saw the southernmost flames, the worries in Fisk's heart disappeared.

He summoned the warriors who were resting in the forest overnight, led them to the lake, and made everyone look south: "That's Jönköping! We're going to conquer it! We can make a fortune, everyone can get huge glory."

"Can we still catch some slaves? For example, some young women?" a young subordinate asked deliberately rudely.

"Of course! That's of course! The king asked us to attack Jonkoping. Tomorrow morning, we will mount our horses and leave quickly. Our army has no time to linger any longer. We will try to capture Jonkoping in the next step before the king can attack!"

Fisk repeatedly refers to "Jonköping", which is just a settlement, but it is described as a place of gold and sweet wives. As long as he takes him, a man can get everything he wants.

Early in the morning, the cavalry, who only ate dry food without lighting a fire, deliberately untied sacks of sackcloth to feed the horses oats.

The cavalry began a period of rapid advancement. They had reached the edge of Jönköping without exposing themselves, nor did Fisk launch a surprise attack.

Because Pecheneg Princess Bejahir made her own suggestion.

She is one of Rurik's wives. If she wants to be an excellent female warrior, she consciously cooperates with the great Rus Khan Rurik. Now, she has been temporarily incorporated into this Ross cavalry team. She has no sense of strangeness. It is like the army of her hometown. Except for some of the personnel's weapons, the horses and recurve bows are all Pecheneg's, and she even teaches riding. The coaches of technique and combat are all Pechenegs.

In this case, the Russ cavalry should attack with clever steppe tactics.

With just a little observation, Jonkoping, which is close to the hills and adjacent to the lake, has an inherent disadvantage. The cavalry should seize the commanding heights and launch a surprise attack at dawn.

Now the horse team is marching in a hurry for a day, the horses that have become a lot of oats need to rest, and the sky is getting dark, it is not a good time to attack. "Just follow your method, let's take a detour." Fisk adopted Bejahir's tactics.

The cavalry rushed into the forest area and relied on the puddles in the forest to supplement the water for the horses. Although there were twists and turns along the way, the cavalry entered abruptly to the top of the hill because of the gentle slopes, and found a narrow road here.

Although the road is narrow, it leads to the south, and the road clearly extends from Jönköping.

"Haha! Have we found a trade route? As long as we follow this path south, we can rush to Jönköping, and we will win by ourselves!"

The excited Fisk broke his mouth a little. He quickly dismounted from the horse, patted his tired mount to reassure him, and then ordered his subordinates: "All dismount, go into the woods to rest, and wait until tomorrow morning when we launch a surprise attack."

Fisker's plan was well thought out, and they soon saw the flames and dim smoke in the distance from the heights. The setting sun obscured the smoke, and the flames could not be concealed after dark.

The horses were fed oatmeal again, and nibbled some grass on the spot. The horses who had unloaded most of the load gathered together to sleep, and the dismounted cavalry were amazed at the distant flames.

They probably guessed why: the king had attacked.

"After all, I'm still a step too late? It's not too late."

Fisk muttered to himself, with a solemn expression on his face, he assembled the cavalry in the forest for the final lecture.

When the time was still on the eve of the decisive battle on Visingose ​​Island, Rurik could never have imagined that the port fire caused by his raid would cause many things.

The burning port is equivalent to a signal that the whole region is in a state of war, and the two major settlements in the Lake Wettern region will finally usher in their respective decisive battles on the same day.

Of course, when the Rus army entered the lake, the victory already belonged to Rurik.

Until the eve of the decisive battle, Rurik didn't know whether his beloved general Fisk and the new concubine Bejahir touched Jönköping. In terms of nature, the cavalry that independently conquered Jönköping was equivalent to the Rus-Pecheneg coalition, and this was the first time that the Russ cavalry separated from the main force and launched an attack since it became an army.

For the vast number of soldiers, it is a question whether the cavalry can complete military tasks independently, which requires the Pechenegs with sufficient experience in cavalry combat to bring actual combat.

The cavalry stood at a high place and stared at them. The heavy rain at night poured cold water on people and horses. It could not dampen the fighting spirit of the cavalry at all.

The "artificial rainfall" caused by the thick smoke of the burning port fire came and went quickly, and the next morning was sunny again and it was a good day!

It was thick fog at the beginning, and the fog quickly weakened, and the cavalry was finally prepared by the author. They fed the horses some more oatmeal, ate some dry food themselves, rested for a while, stretched their muscles and warmed up, and rode on the horses.

The three hundred cavalry was divided into left and right wings, showing two columns advancing north on the cramped road, targeting Jonkoping!

Fisk had already made a plan to rush into the city and slaughter the local armed forces. He hoped that the attack would make the opponent lose all resistance and surrender on his knees, and then he would protect the lives of the surrenderers according to the king's request and wait for the king to accept it. Of course, they have the right to loot first. Except for the precious gold and silver coins~www.mtlnovel.com~ brothers can loot it again. If you meet a beautiful woman, you can directly pull it to the horse and own it, as long as you promise to marry her Wife, this matter can be acquiesced by the king.

Plundering is an important way of life for the Pecheneg people, as are the Rus people, the difference is that the former is a horse bandit and the latter is a pirate.

No one thinks this is wrong. Northern Europe is such a savage ecology, and now only Rurik is relying on force to shape a large and internally peaceful state system. If you just want to join Ross, there is a high probability that you will be defeated by the Ross army first.

The people of Jönköping knew nothing about this, and some of the first movers had already dragged their families and their ox carts, or personally dragged carts full of softness, towards the "Ten Village Alliance" leading to Växjö in the south. direction forward.

So, the Russ cavalry met the fleeing people on a narrow road.

The two sides were shocked when they met. In general, the Jonkoping man who saw cavalry for the first time in his life instinctively thought that it was a monster that emerged from the forest.

But Fisk didn't give them any time to think. He quickly took out his recurve bow and put the arrow on the right.

"Shoot them! Attack!"

The well-trained Ross cavalry quickly came with a wave of "Three Rapid Fires from the Prairie", and suffered a sudden and fierce attack. The fleeing team of the Jonkoping people, who were already shocked, suddenly became in chaos.

The bow was temporarily put away, and it was replaced by the impact of the cavalry. The cavalry, holding the steel sword high, charged down in an unstoppable manner. Like a mudslide, a large amount of mud was thrown up and quickly rushed into the fleeing team. Swords are ruthless, and the Russ cavalry, waiting for this glorious moment after a long march, launched an early morning assault on Jonkoping.

Chapter end