If those Ross people stayed in the fortress firmly, they would still not be able to take it if they forcibly attacked the city and lost troops.

Vadim knew that he seemed to have a large army, but the morale of the army was not as brave as before. The number of soldiers is still staggering, but one more setback and it will all be over! As for himself, even if he was alive, he might not have died at the hands of angry subordinates, or he would have been betrayed by all relatives and left in the snow to die.

His army completely occupied all the villages in Polotsk, and the food collected from the local area was indeed eaten by the army until next spring.

He doesn't care about the life and death of the local people. If he can ensure his victory, he will not hesitate to kill all the local people.

Because Polotsk has become a geographical concept.

Who are the people from Polotsk? The local villagers are extinct, but there are still a large number of houses (although the quality is relatively poor), and a large area of mature fields that have been reclaimed and cultivated for many years, which is enough for a group of new immigrants to settle in.

"The migrating Smolensk peasants settled here. They must be grateful for my kindness, right? This will make my position more stable. But... I must win the tough battle and gain a firm foothold here."

Vadim thought well of the future, though he also felt a little daydreaming.

Things seem to be very simple, but in fact they are very difficult.

He learned from the locals that the Rus fortress on the other side of the Polota River was ordered "Novap".

"Novopolotsk Fortress? You even gave it an official name, and you want to stick to it as a settlement. Damn...another reason to pull out your stronghold."

Vadim disdained trying to communicate with the fortress defenders. He also estimated that once he photographed the messenger, no matter what the messenger conveyed, even if it was a constructive language like "we can talk", the messenger would eventually end up dead.

He also learned that there were not only special Rus called "Ostarans" in the fortress, but also a group of genuine Danish Varyags. It doesn't matter what the identity is, they are all hostile Varyags, they should all be damned!

Because, Vadim doesn't really hate the Varyags.

His late father raised a small group of Varyag mercenaries, and even he was able to escape to Smolensk smoothly, thanks to the help of the Dane named Harold.

Let the Danish Varyag attack another Povarang, can the Smolensk side sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight? It turns out that awareness is possible.

The Danish Varyags living in Smolensk seemed to have heard something, and they didn't want to get involved in this matter at all. Vadim had no right to force them to fight, at most he only gave a sum of money to help him train an army. They were not even willing to participate in the war as advisors, so that the Smolensk army that had expedition here was a purely Slavic army.

Just 500 local villagers armed enough?

After the snowfall ended, the soldiers occupying the village began to enter the houses. They pulled out the frozen corpses and piled them together for the time being. Then they shoveled the snow and compacted it to make snowdrifts, as if they were just ordinary snowdrifts...

Vadim is deliberately reducing the rations of the villagers, and the elderly and children are dying in large numbers, even so he does not empathize.

This is what he wants!

If the big leader does this, what can the Smolensk army, who is also a peasant, do? Some people regret what happened to these villagers, but considering their own situation, it is better to carry the corpses honestly.

Vadim himself is calm, with a milky complexion. On this sunny day, he sometimes looks at the fortress on the other side of the frozen Polota River, and sometimes returns to his temporary residence to rest and think about how to fight next.

He didn't have a staff officer, and all the troops pointed at him to come up with clever schemes.

On the other hand, in Novopolotsk Fort, the defenders were unable to hold out under the command of General Vesund. "Anyway, I have plenty of food. Besides, even without this battle, my people will not leave the fort blindly this winter."

Wisund still responds to all changes with the same attitude. At first, some armed Danish merchants called him a coward, but this old boy refused to enter, so everyone just stayed honest for the time being, drinking and dancing as usual, at most the sentry continued. Rotate to observe the movement on the other side.

Because the ice on the river was thick enough for a large number of soldiers to run wildly, the possibility of a general attack by the Smolensk army gradually increased.

This is an ordinary winter day, the sun shines on the earth, and the temperature is very cold due to the constant north wind. The sentry standing on the high place has to squint his eyes to observe because of the dazzling light of the whole world.

The continuous boring calm was finally broken by the tremor of the earth!

The strange vibrations could not be ignored by those who slept late in the warm house.

What does it mean when the sentry at a high place sees a big tree collapse? have no idea.

Visunde, whose sleep was disturbed by the shock, grabbed the fur coat and wrapped it around his body, rushed out of the warm room in a slovenly manner, and shouted to the sentinel on the high place: "What's going on?"

"Boss." A sentry pointed to the northeast direction: "Come here and have a look! The big tree over there is falling down!"

"Is there such a thing?"

As soon as the words fell, my feet felt the vibration again. Visund was familiar with such a shock. After the giant northern spruce was felled, it fell with such force that it sometimes broke itself, causing shocks that knocked down onlookers.

The snow on the houses in the fortress was slowly falling with the vibrations, and some icicles were indeed hitting the snow on the feet like clusters of arrows.

Wisunde brought a group of brothers to the city wall, squinting his eyes to observe the movement.

He is no stranger to the woods where the big commotion occurred. It is a woodland close to the village of Polotsk, where the firewood for cooking for local villagers basically comes from. Polotsk people will deliberately plant some trees so that they can be cut down and used after they are basically mature.

After all, a lot of wood needed for life does not need to be taken from towering trees. Villagers need wood for easy division and processing. Pine wood with a thick bowl is often the most commonly used, and such pine trees are not easy to find in the virgin forest not far away.

Such tree planting behavior is not surprising, especially the white birch forest outside Novgorod, which is deliberately planted by the locals, making a white tree trunk suddenly appear in the sea of pine forests.

"Strange, the enemy is logging. What are they doing?"

"Boss." A sentry asked cautiously, "Could it be that they intended to set the battering ram early?"

"Battering ram? Then you have to cut down big trees. It's absurd to cut down small trees... Really." Wisund shook his head sullenly: "It's so strange. But no matter how strange it is, **** Vadim must be right We have a plan."

Weisunde didn't need to understand the specific purpose of the enemy. Now that the river was completely frozen, any strange movement on the other side would definitely mean that the enemy was preparing to attack the city.

Standing on the wooden city wall, he shouted to the gathered people: "Smolensk is here, and we are going to fight! Brothers, prepare your weapons and prepare to fight!"

So, the brothers who were almost suffocated, they looked up to the sky and roared their filial piety. Under the instigation of a Danish armed businessman, they started a rhythmic Viking battle cry, and even the Polotsk people in the fortress joined in the cry.

Now everyone has no ethnicity, and those who stay in the fort are the fortress defenders.

The women in the fortress are also mobilized, they will not directly participate in the battle, and many logistical tasks will be arranged for them by Visunde. The most important thing is cooking. Under Weisunde's order, all food can be eaten open.

I don't care too much anymore. Since the enemy is going to attack, the defenders must ensure the best physical fitness to fight.

The rhythmic shouting is no longer a catharsis of emotions. It is clearly a warning that can ignore the interference of the howling north wind, making the Smolensk people entrenched in the village realize that the Rus people in the fortress are ready to meet the challenge.

At the same time, Vadim, who ordered the logging, was indeed making final preparations for the Armageddon.

Conscious that he couldn't boss around and yell at his subordinates, he personally carried an ax and led his brothers straight to the woods.

He was already too hot to wear a leather jacket, and his upper body was only in simple and simple clothes. Holding the captured Ross long-handled forest ax in his hand, he vented his anger at the small pine forest.

As long as three or five strokes, a small tree is crumbling.

He didn't seem to be cutting trees, the forest in front of him looked like an array of enemies, and he was cutting down the enemies.

Led by him himself, the woods are dying fast. The branches of the cut pine tree were cut off, and the trunk was dragged to the largest village with a rope on the back.

After searching for wooden carts, tree trunks were piled on them one after another, and the two carts were combined into one. They were deliberately piled thick, so that a four-wheeled cart like carrying timber was born.

They are sharp weapons for siege! During the siege, all the wooden carts were ignited in advance, and the army pushed them directly under the enemy's wooden wall while the flames were strong.

According to Vadim's plan, at least ten of such flame wooden carts should be prepared, and the more of them, the better.

And it's not all about it!

All the cattle, sheep and horses raised by the villagers were killed, and the stripped hides were nailed to the soldiers' wooden shields. The fresh animal hides were quickly frozen hard. This was only to strengthen the soldiers' defense. This move is not the main purpose.

Cattle and sheep are the second property of Polotsk villagers after farmland, especially cattle, and they need to obtain dairy products to survive.

Even calves were killed, and the Smolensk army was able to feast on beef before the war.

And a large amount of butter was deliberately boiled out, and a large amount of solidified butter was accumulated in the large pottery urn, and they were preserved well, so-called special fuel for fire attack warfare.

When it comes to fire fighting, fish oil works better, and the top grade is herring oil. Vadim knew this, but now there was only butter.

Blocks of butter were wrapped in cloth, and they became special throwing objects, only to intensify the fire in the occasion of battle.

The fire attack seems to have become the only magic weapon for the Smolensk army. They are willing to believe that the Slavic Vulcan is on their side.

On this sunny day, the army was fully preparing for the decisive battle. Facing the provocative shouts of the fortress defenders, Vadim's morale, which was not easy to mobilize, was mobilized by the fortress defenders.

"They will be burned to ashes by us."

"What did you say?"

"Boss! I mean." A soldier wiped the sweat from his brow and chopped the ax directly into the tree trunk: "It's time to end this! My fire attack will definitely win."

"Of course! Vulcan will help our army win. And these villagers, they must participate in the battle."

Vadim had a sudden inspiration and thought of a "good plan".

He originally thought that the battle would end smoothly, and that the villagers of Polotsk would pledge their allegiance to him. Now that combat has become the current situation, those people themselves have become a tool.

Vadim himself suspended his work, and although he still heard the shouts of the fortress defenders from time to time, he walked back to the village aggressively with some entourage.

He entered the houses where the villagers were held one after another to see how many people there were still able to fight.

After checking it, he also found it shocking. "Am I being too harsh on them? It doesn't matter, they are all tools."

Vadim made up his mind and said openly: "Men and women who can still move! Come out! Come out by yourself. There will be food when you come out, enough for you to eat."

As soon as they heard that there was food to eat, people who were suffering from cold and hunger, as long as they had the strength, would have to move outside even if they had to crawl.

In this largest village, some villagers were incorporated into the so-called militia. They nearly starved to death, and Vadim did follow through on his promise to keep them fed with food.

Ten Polotsk villages died a long time ago, and a large number of people fled. The largest village has the largest population. Now the village has suffered heavy losses, and the current situation is even worse.

It has been two weeks since Vadim took control of the local area, and the Polotsk community has suffered a devastating blow. The community exists in name only, and Polotsk is simply a geographical concept.

Now, Vadim is determined to use the last villagers as tools for his victory.

All the male and female villagers no longer care about despair. The biological instinct to eat occupies their minds. They lie on the ground like dogs, eating cooked wheat until their stomachs can't eat anymore.

This is the clearing where the Duchess of Ostara gathered the villagers a few months ago, announcing her occupation to the locals and her "benevolent government".

Only four months later, the new Smolensk army, under the guise of "give you back your freedom", actually took the locals

Life.

At that time, the villagers thought that the so-called benevolent government of the noblewoman was a lie, but now that they think about it, she is really benevolent!

Vadim the Outsider is a tyrant! Because there is a price to pay for being full!

The villagers, who had eaten their fill one after another, were driven to the frozen riverside and stood in the position of the fortress defenders. At the moment when the sun was setting, an astonishing number of gray and black people suddenly appeared on the opposite bank.

The bullhorn and the leather drum immediately made a big commotion, and the vigilant soldiers climbed onto the city wall with bows and crossbows.

Visunde was gearing up, and couldn't help muttering: "Vadim, are you planning to raid in the evening? Do you think the night is beneficial to you? Do you think we will not dare to fight because we are sleepy?"

He thought for a while, and ordered the defenders to immediately prepare for battle.

But evening is not the time for battle.

A figure swayed back and forth in the crowd, he was either a big shot or a ghost.

"Boss, look quickly!"

Wisunde looked in the direction of his subordinate's fingers, and after a closer look, he saw a well-dressed person jumping up and down: "Could it be Vadim himself?"

"Maybe. Boss, that's our enemy..."

"Boy...do you have something to say?"

"Yes." The young soldier looked excitedly and looked at Wisunde eagerly, "Maybe our crossbow can kill him?"

"No, it's too far away."

"Not at all. If it is at a very high elevation angle, it should be able to complete a precise projectile."

Wisunde still shook his head: "It's still windy now, and the north wind will blow the arrow away. Besides..."

But his subordinates still gave him great inspiration.

The young warrior went on to suggest, "Gather all the brothers and throw light arrows from the crossbow. Even if we can't kill that Vadim, we can destroy their chance. I don't want to scare them with a battle cry. I think it's better." Shoot back. Boss, we can do it!"

"Is it really possible?" He thought about it again, "Then do it!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Vadim gathered more than 700 local men and women villagers. Their bodies had just recovered, and they stood unarmed by the riverside, staring blankly at the fortress with the Ross flag flying across the river.

Vadim was still filled with righteous indignation, and gave orders to the so-called new army in front of him: "Over there, there are your enemies! They are also our enemies. You must take up arms and fight with us Smolensk people! Remember! All disasters will come It's because of the Rus, they're the ones who broke up your wives and families. We'll help you fight, but you must fight for yourselves.

I will attack with fire, and sacrifice the Rus with fire to the great Vulcan! And you, must bring a great deal of firewood to strengthen the fire I have made. You will attack with us, and you will lead the charge!

You must attack! My warriors will be behind to oversee the battle! If anyone dares to back down, both men and women will die..."

Vadim's order made them shudder, and no one really regarded the Smolensk Army as a savior. They became numb and didn't know what happened after the war. Is it still necessary to think about life after the war? To fight the mighty Rus? That's not suicide.

Possibly, dying in battle across the glacier is already a wonderful relief.

There is no ration or food, the livestock are dead, countless relatives and friends have died this year, and Polotsk has died.

It was at this time that as many as thirty crossbowmen from the fort were assembled.

After all, the main body of the defenders is the Aostara Princess Army of the Kingdom of Ross, and the guest troops are the Danish armed merchants.

Compound bows from the prairie can have extreme draw lengths, but prairie archers tend not to shoot at extreme draw lengths.

The situation of transforming this bow into a crossbow is completely different. Its draw length reaches the limit and can be in a charged state.

The armor-piercing arrows with conical arrow clusters in the arrow slots are light arrows standard in the Kingdom of Ross. They can be used to penetrate the enemy's leather armor and low-quality chain mail at medium and short distances. It is also useful for single-layer plate armor. Certain armor-piercing effect. As for dealing with unarmored or armor-less tribal warriors, it is more practical to use broad-bladed hunting arrow clusters

But when it comes to range, conical armor-piercing arrows can often hit extreme ranges, but the accuracy is basically unsightly.

Thirty soldiers raised their crossbows at a 45 angle, with their cheeks against the wooden support, and the wooden support rested on their shoulders. The apex of the so-called target hole sight lined up with the frontmost front sight, so that the crossbow could hit the maximum range. They stood Fighting in a row on the city wall, the standing posture is extremely stable.

All the light arrows stuck in the arrow slots, the arrow feathers are purposely made to spin, just to offset the wind deflection by the arrows losing their spin in the windy environment, but the distance of the enemy is still too far, the soldiers can only fight against the wind. Set a general direction, and pray that the arrow can hit the enemy after flying at a large angle.

"Prepare!"

"Sjotar!"

Vesund gave the order in Ostara's Norse dialect, and his men pulled the triggers simultaneously.

Accompanied by a slight vibration, thirty light arrows flew towards the right side of the enemy. From the perspective of the defender's archer, considering the influence of wind deflection, the arrows were constantly blown by the north wind during their fall, even though they were spinning.

The sound of the wind covers up the whizzing of the arrow, UU reading www.uukanshu. com even made a major effort.

In the end did not hit?

The long-awaited defenders finally saw that the enemy in the distance was in chaos, and they shouted like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

"Hey, it's really hit!" Wisunde was very happy. It didn't matter whether he shot Vadim or not. Facts have proved that the defender's arrow could hit the village. No one thought of this possibility before.

But in the village, there were actually only five arrows that missed their targets, and none of them caused fatal injuries, and that was enough. The villagers who were still passively listening to the lecture were hit, and another arrow fell not far from Vadim's side.

Those nervous villagers have long known that Ross's arrows are sharp. After all, they suffered a lot last year. Completely out of instinct, the villagers began to flee in all directions, and Vadim, who was a little dazed for a moment, suddenly realized what had happened.

He turned his head and glanced fiercely: "Damn Ross people! How dare you sneak attack?! Wait until tomorrow day! I will cremate you!"

After saying a harsh word, Vadim had to cover his head and hurried to the village, for fear of being hit by the loss...