The latest website: The snow finally stopped, but the sun did not hang high. The army marched on the snow under the gray sky. They had to form a long and narrow line spontaneously. go ahead.

Most fighters still don't know how difficult the road ahead will be. They used spears as their battles, made temporary sleds to drag their supplies, and moved mightily in the snow by the river.

No one has ever been to the village of the Polotsk people. They only know that if they walk downstream along the river, they will definitely reach their destination.

If you don't follow the leader, you will be betrayed! Traitors will be executed. More people didn't think about fleeing. They attacked the damned fortress and lost many brothers but returned without success. Compared with continuing to fight, everyone's survival is already facing severe challenges.

Since the chief Vadim says that the Polotsk people have plenty of food, take it for granted. Otherwise what is there to believe?

The people in the snow march held a belief that our army could survive the winter in the village of Polotsk.

However, it was not until the end of the march and camp on the first day that the soldiers realized what an embarrassing predicament they had encountered.

Small pine trees were cut down one by one, and they relied on specially prepared dry firewood to drill wood for fire. It took a lot of effort to light the first bonfire, and then in the forest by the river, the Smolensk army finally got the fire. Baked to enjoy the warmth of the night.

They had to take their boots off and bake their feet. After melting the snow water, boil some wheat in earthenware urns, sprinkle with a little salt, and serve as your own comfort supper.

Many people have suffered from frostbite, the worst of which is the feet. The crude pontoon bridge on the West Dvina River did not work well. The cold water invaded the boots, so that everyone acted as if their feet were on ice in the initial stage, and the situation improved only after the follow-up operations warmed up.

They continued to pamper their frostbitten feet and dry their boots. So, in the vast uninhabited forest, a bonfire area appeared in a corner of the river.

It was the first day of marching that was so difficult, how long will it take in the future? Vadim endured the hardships with his warriors.

"Perhaps this war was a mistake from the very beginning. I should really launch an action next year. But I have no way of turning back, and now I am not even qualified to return without success..." Vadim did not dare to show his worries To others, while his elite fighters in leather armor were silent, either they cast eyes or silent doubts.

Finally, the brother couldn't bear the pressure and came over cautiously, straightened his leather robe and sat beside Vadim, spreading his hands as if warming up.

"Is there something wrong? Let me guess, how long will it take me to march?" The visitor froze for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Since the leader knows it all, I won't ask any more questions."

"Let's ask! Brothers must want to know."

"So, how long is it? Many brothers are frostbitten, and their feet are hard to use. One ear after another is starting to swell. The worst thing is that we really don't have much food." Vadim dared not sigh, he raised his chest: " Let the brothers bear it! As soon as we get to Polotsk, everything will be fine."

"So, how long will the march be? At least, you have to give everyone a thought, otherwise I'm worried that morale will collapse."

"Three days!" Vadim decisively stretched out three fingers to face the brother: "We should be there in three days."

"Ah? Three more days? This! This..."

"How? Why should you be surprised?"

"The time is too long, I'm afraid that the brothers will be discouraged now."

"Then let them muster their courage." Vadim said harshly: "Look at reality. Evacuation will only mean freezing to death in the snow, and even me, fate is tied to you. Only going to Poirot Only Tsk can survive, and we can't wait while there is still food. I hope everyone can act quickly, and I believe we will arrive within three days. In other words, Vadim is not sure that the entire army will be able to arrive within three days. can reach the destination.

The brother who came to talk about the situation withdrew in desperation. He did not inform others of the real situation, but claimed on behalf of the leader: We will arrive within three days.

This is a time that is enough to break down. Fortunately, the Smolensk army can endure it. Among them, the soldiers who have a great hatred for the Rus have turned their hatred into strength. Since the leader has given a clear time, there is no need for more think.

The morale of the whole army has improved, because they finally have a clear idea of the marching time, and it is also because they can recover from exhaustion after a night of roasting.

The most critical thing is the feet. Because of the fire, the feet were pulled back from the edge of frostbite and necrosis.

Optimism was on the rise as they trudged through the snow at an average speed of three kilometers an hour, hardly fast.

As everyone knows, the riverside path waiting for the army is 130 kilometers long! Although the straight-line distance from Vitebsk Fortress to Polotsk village is only 80 kilometers, if you know the clear path, the army can go straight and sprint for two days.

However, Vadim and his army did not know any shortcuts, as long as they advanced along the tortuous West Dvina River in the most stupid way, the journey was forced to be greatly lengthened.

Marching like this during the warm period will cause sore legs and feet due to the exhaustion of strength. Now marching on snow in winter, the whole army is in danger of dying on the way.

The daylight hours were already very short, and they spent almost the entire day marching, so they could barely reach the limit of thirty kilometers a day.

"high speed". However, it is not enough. The only good news is that the long-lost sun has finally appeared! Even if it is the winter sun, it feels extremely warm when it shines on the numb faces.

In the vast white world, a dark team in leather clothes marched on the right bank of the frozen river.

The biggest bad news is that the three-day period is approaching, and the once optimistic mood is rapidly turning into pessimism.

No trace of the settlement has been found until now. Could it be that the leader lied to everyone? But the ruins of a village passed by during the march, which once caused concern.

Considering that it was a small village, it was nothing compared to the huge Polotsk community. After all, it is a ruin in the snow, and its existence is considered unlucky.

Finally, the appointed day has arrived, the sun is setting, the bright starry sky is accompanied by the bright moon, and the strong reflection of the white earth will not make you lose sight of your fingers.

The bonfire was lit as usual, and the tired soldiers stopped. The leader made a slip of the tongue. There was no mutiny, no loud complaints, nothing was said.

Because the vast majority of fighters are very clear, even if they find the leader to complain now, it will not help. Many brothers have run out of food, and those who still have food have to distribute food to those who are short of food.

This can be regarded as a life-saving act in a crisis, but for those who even have food, what is the point of eating the food one day later?

No one knows what the road ahead is. On the other hand, the leader Vadim still has a sullen face as if he is indifferent to everyone's situation.

"Keep marching" rhetoric. So, the hungry warriors killed the last horse in the team, cut up the horse meat, pulled out the horse's internal organs and roasted them, even if the smell was too strong, they pinched their noses and ate them.

Those who are good at making claims are the nephews of the local nobles in Smolensk, and they are the only ones who dare to do this without the consent of the leader.

They thought that Vadim would be furious when he heard about it, so they happened to take this opportunity to ask him why.

Never thought that Vadim clearly acquiesced in this matter. I saw this noble leader approaching a horse killing scene under the watchful eyes of a pair of eyes, and the people who were still cutting up the horse meat and handing it to the hungry companions who watched did not pay any attention to the leader's arrival.

"What are you doing here? Do you want to reprimand me for killing your horse?" The knife-wielding man turned his head sharply, his tone a bit vulgar.

"It's nothing, share it with me. The cavalry is meaningless, and if the last horse is gone, it will be gone." After saying this, the horse killer suddenly didn't know how to answer.

The man put down his knife and stood up slowly, and asked the leader in front of a crowd of onlookers: "Vadim! Brothers have walked with you all the way, and the three-day period has come. What about your promise? You didn't Keep your promise." But Vadim didn't want to admit his mistake, and didn't use loud shouts to deter him.

He knew that the brothers were holding their breath, and he was afraid that if he did not operate properly, he would be cut off for seventy-eight yuan.

He thought of some rhetoric: "Actually, we moved really fast, and three days is enough. However, we marched slowly in the snow, and everyone didn't have much food. We walked even slower if we didn't have enough energy. I didn't Wrong words, but our army moved too slowly."

"Huh? It turned out to be our fault?"

"No one is at fault, the enemy is at fault. Listen!" Vadim looked around at the growing crowd, opened his hands to try to calm the noise, and then announced publicly: "It's already a close call! Brothers, you Hold on. Don't worry about what you don't eat. Now, you kill all the horses and pick all the parts that can be eaten. Hold on, and you will get to Polotsk, where you will have everything you want." Even if Vadim Maybe I have to break my promise again, what else can I do?

Retreating is tantamount to suicide. It is better to eat up the last horses now and bet on reaching the destination before the food is completely exhausted.

Indeed, the Smolensk army is not far from the Polotsk villages on the Polota River.

Meanwhile, another small world. After the thick wooden door was closed, the Ostara defenders huddled in the Novopolotsk fortress lived a boring life that could not hold on.

The snow finally stopped, and the people on the other side of the river did not seem to resume production and life. There was clearly a war alarm, but the whole world was very quiet for many days, making one feel that the so-called alarm was a farce.

"It's not like a farce. If it's not a war, then it's the Duchess' exercise. No matter what the situation is, I'm still invulnerable." Guard Wisund estimated.

Many people are lax. Thanks to the fortress standing in the snow-capped land, even if the enemy launches a sneak attack, the army hiding in the fortress can still hold the advantage.

Even if the ice of the Polota River, a tributary of the big river, covered the entire river after the snow stopped, it was still not suitable for people to walk on foot, and it was still possible to forcefully break the ice and row a boat. The river was empty, and those Polotsk people no longer came.

The defenders of the fortress on the other side of the river did not know that the people in those villages had made their own claims. They wished to think that the Smolensk people were the saviors. However, considering the long distance, there had been no movement for several days. Probably not going to come at all.

Whether they like to come or not, life must go on. Villagers in Polotsk are only active within the village, and the most work they do is to take out the dry firewood they have stored in advance from their woodsheds for heating and cooking.

Gradually they no longer had any thoughts about the so-called Smolensk army. Think about it carefully, even if those people stormed the stronghold of the Rus, how bold would they be to force a long march in the snow to Polotsk after they succeeded?

Gradually, many people no longer care about this matter. Just at this time, a huge hungry army, in a state of extreme ecstasy, found that what they were stepping on was a genuine wheat field abandoned in winter, and what loomed due to the west was not a village?

Vadim couldn't hide his joy. He was as hungry as the other brothers, and he was starving as the leader. Now is the time to fulfill his promise, and he must eat something himself.

People gathered around Vadim, while the man took off his hat and pointed his sword at the distant village.

"Brothers, there is Polotsk. Take everything you want! Take away the wealth that belongs to you!" Apart from this, there is no need to emphasize anything, especially the requirement of maintaining military discipline.

How can military discipline be maintained? The current situation is precisely to condone the looting of his subordinates. Only in this way can the army on the verge of collapse be restored to its state.

As for the fact that this move will hurt the people of Polotsk... what does that have to do with Smolensk? Not an ally anyway.

Suddenly, there was a low roar outside the village. People who didn't know what had happened left the village one after another, and at the entrance of the village, they saw a black crowd rushing towards them shouting.

"It doesn't look like a Smolensk. Is it an enemy attack?"

"No...could it be those guys from the East? They are not friends!"...All delusions eventually turned into delusions.

Three thousand hungry wolves charged forward with weapons. They did not come here to kill people, but to plunder food.

Of course, if a villager interfered with his looting, he would kill them mercilessly. The killings took place immediately after the army rushed into the village.

The Smolensk army rushed into the houses and immediately began to collect food. Those who protected the food, both men and women, encountered violence.

Villagers often use the large clay oven common in the village to bake some huge breads in batches, cut them up and let them air-dry into food that is as hard as wooden boards and extremely durable.

When eating, smash it into bread crumbs and chew slowly in your mouth, or mix it with reserved dried mushrooms and some edible dried vegetables to make thick porridge.

When these are all eaten, it's time to cook the oatmeal. It is not easy to eat dry and hard bread. The hungry soldiers don't care too much, their teeth tear and refuse, and it doesn't matter if the mouth is cut and bleeding.

It happened that some villagers' families were cooking wheat, and the delicious meal immediately entered the mouth of the people who rushed into the house, and the body of the owner of the house was lying beside the stove... There were shouts and cries everywhere.

The largest village at the junction of the tributary and the main river naturally became the target of the Smolensk army's attack. It has the largest population and wealth.

At the critical moment, the villagers fled one after another. UUReading Bookwww.uukanshu.comSome fled to neighboring villages in the north, and some simply gathered at the pier by the river and began to forcibly cross the river.

Fleeing is instinctive, and whether you can get help from the defenders of the fort on the other side of the river is not something everyone has to consider for the time being.

However, the current ice layer is not thick or thin, and there are too many people who are forced to walk on the ice.

Not to mention, a light woman staggered to the other side with her child. There are also many unlucky people who fell into the ice cave and died quickly under the double blow of extreme cold stimulation and drowning... There are more and more ice caves, and the attempt to cross the river on foot has to be suspended.

The people trapped by the river were at a loss, but they were completely forgotten. After all, the Smolensk army is mustering its last strength. If they can't get food, the final assault will become the swan song of the army.

The army composed of Slavic peasants knew the other Boslavic peasants best, so some villager families hugged each other and watched the strangers eating bread and dried meat when they heard the news. He pointed, and when he found the food, he had no choice but to continue to watch him eat in fear.