The fire of Novopolotsk Fortress continued to burn, but the current fortress was built by surprise, and it would be nothing to regret even if it was reduced to ashes.

The calmed fighters faced an extremely difficult problem-the Polotsk people had died on a large scale.

The villagers who were forced to use burning wooden carts to destroy the fortress were killed by the Ross coalition troops stationed here even though they returned to the village.

kindness? No! Some things are one size fits all.

Whether they were coerced or not, they fought directly for the Smolensk, attacking the fortress and setting fire to it, resulting in the death of a large number of armed Danish merchants. All kinds of crimes were superimposed, and Earl Spueut directly sentenced these people to death.

But Spueut was not a cruel man, and when Rigalai's brother suggested brutal executions he refused.

For those villagers who survived by chance, the Smolensk people were thieves, just as the Rus people were.

While shouting and cursing, they were put on a rope around their necks and then hung up...

After all, it was the Earl of Saaremaa, Spuyut, who ordered the executions, a nobleman of old Rose's birth. It was Polotsk that he led troops to save. As for the conditions of the people living in this area, it is another matter.

He didn't need to consider the feelings of the Duchess Carlotta at all, not to mention that he had very good reasons.

After all, he had already moved his seat to the city of Riga. In the battle that just ended, the Danish merchants suffered extremely heavy losses. Does the trade route of the Amber Road still want to continue to operate? certainly!

The Ross power represented by Spueut controls the starting point of the trade line, and he can collect taxes from it, provided that the Danes who do business naturally feel that the ruler has sufficient legitimacy.

The two parties reached a tacit understanding that was almost a contract.

That's why Spuut decided to kill him after the war, and his rough behavior really got the satisfaction of the Danish community fighters.

After all, Polotsk became a place name. The tens of thousands of people who lived here, except for those who successfully fled to the southern Doleb League (Drigovich, Delevlian), belonged to the early family because of marriage. Those who moved into the fort.

There are only a few real Polotsk villagers, and the future is beyond the imagination of those who survived the catastrophe.

But the fate of the kingdom has never been determined by the small group of surviving villagers, even if there is still their farmland here.

No! The property rights of the farmland no longer belong to them.

The Danes, Russians, visitors from Lake Mlaren, Sweden, and Latvian tribes in the city of Riga can all settle here against the West Dvina River. Even the Principality of Ostara can continue to bring in the Yin Ermen Slavs from the north to fill this living space.

The demographic structure has completely changed, the name is still Polotsk, and the flag of Rus is still flying.

The coalition forces from Riga did not pursue anymore, not because they were cowardly, but because the enemy was clearly breaking out, and there was no need for the brothers to go into the forest like hunters to defeat the soldiers.

"The cold in winter will kill them! Even if we don't get the credit for killing Vadim, that guy will probably freeze to death and be eaten by bears and wolves to the bone..."

Spueut made such a publicity, and then ordered the entire army to be stationed here, and specially erected the flag of Ross on the wooden pole, the bull's head flag of Ostara, and his own national flag (a piece of white cloth, the flag of Ross in the upper right corner, other positions The picture draws an abstract long boat), and the three flags are flying at the same time.

The fire in the fort could burn for at least three days, and the soldiers stationed in the village joked with each other: At least for the next few days, we will seem to be living by the fire.

The fire of the fortress is burning all day long. During the day, people from afar can see the thick smoke rising from the skyline, and at night, they can see the red-hot sky again.

There is no road between the Vitebsk fortress and the village of Polotsk, but in winter there is a road - the frozen West Dvina River.

On the occasion of the planned expedition, Rose's combined cavalry was assembled on the ice in the early morning.

As early as when it was still daylight, the Ross military camp was already very lively.

The air is filled with a strong smell of wheat, soldiers and horses are sharing the boiled wheat, only

Sufficient physical strength for future combat cavalry.

Each cavalry prepared some dry food mainly composed of dry noodles and dried salted fish, and other supplementary food was inferior.

Each of them had to prepare a sack filled with oatmeal. It is the concentrated fodder for war horses, so soldiers have to bring more.

All the war horses were brought along, and the few horses that did not participate in the battle were now pack mules, and all the consignments were oats.

Considering the weak strength of the enemy and the tactics that the Ross cavalry will adopt, it is even more important to consider the limits of the horses.

The standing army, which should have been wearing heavy armor, was exempt from chain mail. The armor is just a plate armor for the upper body, and as for the protection of the thighs and calves, it is all given to the round shield on the saddle.

In the case of ensuring basic defense, the whole army should reduce weight as much as possible, so as to ensure that the horses are more relaxed.

There was no pre-battle speech, and Rurik did not put on his military uniform and raise his sword.

King Ross is dressed more simply today, and what can show his majesty in the army is not the crown, but a military flag.

Of all the Rus's flags, the king's side was decorated with the most honor.

At this moment, the flags were flying, and the golden light of the rising sun was extremely dazzling when it found the frozen river. Most of the soldiers put on their wooden-framed sunglasses, and they held the reins tightly.

"let's go!"

Rurik gave a clear signal to the First Cavalry, and the king's flag began to move, and all the troops of the army lined up in columns according to their organization, moving quickly on the frozen river.

The First Cavalry is equivalent to the king's personal guard, and the rest of the standing army cavalry must keep up with the Ministry, and the cavalry of those allies, although there is no system to force them to keep up, no one wants to lose honor, especially those allies who are all self-proclaimed The prairie people who are best at cavalry combat.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! Let's march!" Rurik ignored the oncoming cold wind and the mist of the horse's panting.

The king took the lead, but when Fisk saw this, he could only force his own people to follow closely.

Because even the allies changed the horseshoes with spikes and wide horseshoes on the horses when they went to the countryside in Ross, this new horseshoe made the horses very suitable for galloping in the ice and snow, and no one worried that the horses would fall on the ice.

Wouldn't it be a serious crime if you couldn't keep up with the king's pace?

Rurik forced his mount to move at a speed of about twelve kilometers per hour. It seemed that this speed was not too fast, but he would force the horse to maintain this speed for a long time, and whipped a few more times when necessary, so that The speed is doubled at once.

Marching from morning to noon, due to Rurik's force, the cavalry inevitably appeared out of step.

"Your Majesty!" Suddenly, Fisk came to report: "The messenger from the rear team said that we are running too fast."

"Too fast?!" Rurik turned his head suddenly, and faced his general with a smile: "I still think it's too slow! Who said we are fast?"

"It's Prairie Brothers."

"Ridiculous. No one knows how to fight on horseback better than them. Why do you still dislike our Ross cavalry? No! I still want to speed up!"

After saying that, Rurik whipped his mount again, his legs pinched the horse's belly again, and the horse began to accelerate again.

"Too fast! Your Majesty, wait for us..."

Fisk didn't dare to complain, so he had to order all the first cavalry to speed up and catch up with the king.

From the perspective of the allies of the Pechenegs, the Ross people are a bit too brave and aggressive.

Almost all the horses used in the army are Turkic horses, but there are a few newly promoted horses in the Ross Army with half of the Frankish blood, which has strengthened a little bit of assault while maintaining strong endurance.

But the whole is Turkic horse.

The same horse breed, the Pechenegs and the Russ have different handling methods. The former almost only feeds ordinary pastures, while the Russ mainly feed oats when fighting.

How much energy can grass have? How much energy does oatmeal have? What's more, the Ross people are willing to feed salt to their war horses.

Only by eating more advanced feed can the Russians make the Turkic horses reach their combat limits.

Of course, the feeling of galloping makes you stay

Rick was extremely excited.

He did have a reason to run wildlyto get into the battlefield and strangle the enemy as soon as possible.

Due to his previous combat experience, Rurik learned that normal cavalry marches can be reached from Vitebsk to Polotsk in three days, or a leisurely march of four days.

He didn't want to wait, which pleased Carlotta immensely. She urged her Ostara cavalry to follow up closely with the Ross standing army. She is so, the steppe princess Beya Hill and her folks, everyone had to persevere.

After all, for these steppe warriors from Pecheneg, it was the first time in their lives to ride horses on the glacier, so it is understandable for everyone to be cautious.

And the Russian army, every year, goes to the capital through the frozen Volkhov River and Neva River, and it is never uncommon to run wildly on the ice. Especially for the two newly formed cavalry teams, the young soldiers saw horses and reindeer running on the ice every winter not long after they could remember.

The current Rurik does not have the luxury of a man with five horses, but in terms of the current speed and marching method, it is very similar to the Subotai of the Ryazan Principality and the Mongolian Western Expedition of Batu on the frozen Volga River expedition.

Subjectively, he has no intention of doing any imitation. In other words, the current marching method is an optimal solution.

He was extremely optimistic about his speed, and the cost...was immediately apparent when he camped out in the evening.

Even with the belief that good snow horseshoes are immune to falls, there are horses that slip and break their legs. The horse was stabbed in the vital point and "euthanized", and the cavalry who lost the horse rode on the pack mule and followed the team with horses.

The United Ross cavalry lost some horses, and the impact on the whole was negligible.

They camped on the frozen riverside, backed by a dense virgin pine forest.

The Ross Army, which has high-end living tools and combustion accelerants, used highly distilled alcohol and soil fire nitrate to make the fire-making efficiency of the bow drill extremely high. The bonfires were lit one after another. The soldiers ate dry food around the flames, and then put their small pottery urns Take it out and boil snow to drink on the spot.

As for the horses.

The soldiers thought about the oats without hesitation, and the horses who were tired all day gnawed like crazy. The soldiers simply opened the sack full of oats and let the horses eat them, and kept stroking the mane of the mounts. Mao spoke soothing words.

Now even all the Pecheneg cavalry are extravagantly feeding oats to the horses. After all, the fodder is funded by the king, and no one feels distressed. will be annoyed.

A large amount of oats and salt, and the Turkic horses with thick manes gather together to rest after eating.

Instead of digging snow pits, the soldiers wrapped themselves in leather blankets and slept around campfires.

After bumping in the saddle all day, even if the daylight time is limited, everyone feels great fatigue.

Unlike King Rurik, after all, he is a king who is different from ordinary people in all aspects, and he is in good spirits now.

The captains of the various banners gathered together, and Carlota and Bejaciel, as high-ranking female nobles who commanded a team, also joined the men in the murderous conversation around the bonfire.

No one hides that they are women. Sitting here are Odin's warriors, Valkyrie, and the Sons of the Prairie. They are all ruthless characters, and they are full of discussions about how to use cruel punishments to torture that Vadim. .

Blood Eagle? Fill your mouth with lead? Cannonball? Divided into pieces? Gouging eyes?

Even a wild boar will not be tortured badly by hunters. In their eyes, damned Vadim was less than a prey.

Vadim is not a boar, to the damned remnants of the rebellion of Rus, to the Smolensk, the man is still a usurper.

Rurik still hopes to capture him alive, perhaps like he executed the old Danish King Horik, make a human pig and then sacrifice him alive, burn him alive to ashes...

"Then, whether this person lives or dies, this person's corpse will be the best sacrifice we offer to the gods this Hanukkah?" Fisk asked with great interest.

"Wonderful!" Rurik slapped his thigh, his eyes were full of viciousness: "We also need to add a batch of Smolens

grams of nobles. As for the sacrificial location, perhaps it can be held locally..."

Rurik thought of a possibility. Because of the uncertainty of the war and the inevitable delay, he might not be able to go to the capital this year.

A strong army of Ross is in his own hands, and it is also feasible to take advantage of the trend to make an expedition to Smolensk and celebrate Hanukkah there.

That night, the western sky was still red.

The tired soldiers discussed it for a while, and everyone believed that the fortress was still holding on. Perhaps the expansion of the war caused the Polotsk villages to burn.

The reddened skies in the west are evidence, as if of the enemy's taunt: here we are, and we do as we please.

There is no need to speak harshly anymore. At dawn the next day, the Ross United Raiders set off again.

Rurik believes that his forced march can reach Polotsk in two days. If there is no accident, the battle will break out this afternoon.

He didn't give any lectures when he set off, but now the whole army is assembled, and the two thousand cavalry units are standing together in dense formation.

The warriors saw King Ross holding his steel sword aloft. He was not wearing a helmet, and his blond hair fluttered in the wind like a ponytail. He was tall, but the horse under his crotch seemed a bit small.

In other words, the Ross himself is really stalwart, such a masculine and brave person is really worth following.

"Soldiers! We will complete the assault in two days, and the battle will be this afternoon! I order you to maintain a high level of alert and ensure that you can enter the battle immediately! Be vigilant for all emergencies! Be vigilant for all encounters..."

There is no slogan-like propaganda, what Rurik said is only about the arrangement of the battle, and what is highlighted is a pragmatism.

Originally, many people were adhering to the old experience, and one of them would win the battle tomorrow at the soonest.

They greatly miscalculated the speed and course of yesterday's forced march.

The cavalry used the short daylight to gallop nearly 80 kilometers on the ice! This is a stress test for all Turkic horses, and once again it turns out that these horses have exaggerated stamina.

Why is Rurik so sure that the cavalry is so fast?

Just because the whole army has passed a critical turning point, there are flat areas and ruins of villages and docks at this turning point. This is where the Russian forces first came into contact with the Polotsk people. The contact began with a looting, and now the village has been reduced to ruins and has not been rebuilt. It has become the most prominent landmark, which actually means that the Russian cavalry after passing here will surely be able to reach Polotsk at a normal marching speed, even in the limited daylight of winter.

The whole army is unified in thinking, and the soldiers are eager to try. Heroes from various ethnic groups and forces are all allies and brothers. They all hope to prove their bravery in battle, and hope that this action of fighting side by side will deepen their alliance and friendship.

Even if it is the generation of women!

This time, it was Bejasir's first battle since giving birth. The little princess of Pecheneg is by no means a vase. She is as fierce and brutal as a man in battle on horseback. And because she practiced archery since she was a child, she herself is a very high-quality cavalry archer. Now she has a good bow and arrow in her hand. .

And she also has a formal title - Countess of Demyansk. In the context of Ross, it is "the commander of a region". If such a concept is placed on the grassland, high and low people can call themselves "Khans".

She knew this very well, and in order to repay the king's canonization, she must lead her fifty prairie guards to fight bravely to repay the favor.

and

Opportunities to fight always come unexpectedly.

A group of dark teams moved along the snow-covered river bank. They didn't look like soldiers, but more like a team of refugees.

At first, Rurik thought it might be a fleeing Polotsk peasant. However, when this group of people saw the cavalry army that suddenly appeared, they began to stagger toward the forest.

They must not be fools! The cavalry is flying a large number of Russian flags~www.mtlnovel.com~ There are also blue feathers widely inserted on the helmets. Now that the Polotsk people have surrendered, do you think the Russian cavalry is the enemy?

They have ghosts in their hearts!

No, they are not from Polotsk!

Rurik didn't think much, the other party was obviously running away,

Chase yourself! In this savage world, in order to ensure his own safety, he simply called first.

"They are the enemy!" Rurik decisively took out his recurve bow and raised it high: "Cavalry! Follow me! Catch them!"

Then the trumpet sounded loudly, and this tune represented "charge and fight"! ?

The soldiers in the back team were taken aback. Didn't expect the battle to break out at noon? They quickly adjusted their mentality, saw Wang Qi moving at high speed, and joined the battle decisively, even though they did not see the enemy because they were in the rear.

Now, everyone just needs to follow the Wang Qi and the Banner Flag to charge.