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The defeated soldiers who had fled the barracks outside Lindisfarne Abbey, who had lost their armor and had lost their armor, ran wildly along the dirt road in the woods toward Bamburgh.

The rain during this period poured them out.

When these fifty or sixty of them arrived at the checkpoint in Bamburgh with ragged clothes, wet bodies and black mud on their legs, the soldiers who managed the pass thought they were a group of farmers trying to enter the city.

The soldiers began to question, the fleeing army immediately self-reported their identity, and the tragedy of the monastery being raided.

They were put into the city, and the terrible news spread immediately.

Their appearance was like a plague for Albert, Earl of Bamburgh and the priests.

"Is it a Pict?" The Lord Earl, who was informed of the news, called a meeting in his mansion for the first time.

The garrison chiefs of the entire city gathered together, and the bishop who attended the meeting changed from his usual stability and became angry and eager.

The centurion who fled back, he washed his face and continued to report: "Is it a Pict? I don't know."

"What do you know!" The earl slammed into the table with a meat-cutting dagger, and continued to curse, "You are the scum of the kingdom. You take people to evacuate and sit and watch the monastery be attacked by them."

The centurion hurriedly explained: "My lord, there are at least a thousand of them. They are as crazy as demons from hell. Many people died in battle, and the enemy was almost unscathed."

Everyone tremblingly heard these brief words.

"You..." The earl held his chin, he couldn't believe the man's words, and continued to ask, "Is it a Pict? Or who?"

"It must be a Pict." Bishop Edmund vowed, "Those people rejected our command, so they attacked the monastery. As happened before, we did not control the land in the north well enough. Those barbarians are just Pretend to join our faith."

"You can tell the king about this." The count barked his teeth. "Now, those Picts may have attacked the Holy Land."

Maybe it's really a Pict? The centurion who fled back never thought so.

"My lord, I saw that they were crossing the sea. They have many ships. I doubt it."

"What do you suspect?" the count demanded.

"It's like the monastery was attacked decades ago. It was not the Picts who attacked us, but the barbarians from the sea."

"Are those people? Are they really?" The earl immediately cheered up and then feared.

Bishop Edmund was also trembling, "Just a few years ago, Wessex and Kent were attacked by sea barbarians. They attacked the monastery, killed the priest, destroyed the Holy Sepulchre, insulted the corpse, and took a lot of gold and silver. The group of pirates who occupied Flanders!"

"Master Bishop, do you mean that the legendary pirate is eyeing us?"

"The events decades ago are not legends." Bishop Edmund stomped sternly. "About ten years ago, a group of pirates ransacked Lindis Fine. This time, only the Picts or those Robbers at sea can do it."

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The earl got into his fist, and the big beads of sweat kept falling.

"It's just this time that the king is coming to participate in the festival. Now I want to tell him that the holy grounds of the monastery are occupied or even destroyed by the enemy." He smashed the table in extreme anger, staring sharp eyes at all the officers, "I want to bring You have completely eliminated those villains, and you have confidence."

Without exception, all the centurions beat their feet for the attack on the monastery. In order to prove their bravery, they accused the fleeing officers of being traitor cowards and unworthy of living. They fully support the counterattack and try their best to prove their own strength, such as bragging about their achievements in the civil war more than ten years ago.

But the earl's head has not been coaxed into paste by this group of obviously bragging men. He himself is the cousin of King Ernred and an officer in the Civil War.

He is not a man who is pampered with good fat head and big ears, he is really a strong man on horseback. At least his camp was winning the civil war, and then using military means to suppress domestic aristocrats who tended to be centrifugal, it also ensured that the two small countries continue to exist as a unified Northumbrian kingdom.

But the stability of the kingdom is based on the stability of military power. A thousand barbarian pirates landed and destroyed, and it seemed that the strength was very embarrassing and powerful!

The earl already has a countermeasure. He continued at his desk, "We must organize soldiers and horses to kill them completely, without any room for compromise. I will immediately gather soldiers, organize the men in the city, and organize the farmers in the village. This is to defend justice and light. For the battle, I will wait for the king to arrive and form a strong army to attack."

Earl Albert is also a thick black man, because his cousin King Einred can be described as a "warrior king". If he rushes to send troops, no matter whether he wins or loses, he is robbing his cousin for credit.

The act of trespassing will cause the king to be jealous, and perhaps the kingdom will fall into a civil war because of this.

He suddenly called out loudly: "The glory belongs to the king. Let's prepare for war."

Edmund Pig's Feet whispered tragically, "This will be the **** Dormition and Ascension Day."

"There is no way. Those pirates are like Satan's envoys. If you can't kill them, the whole kingdom will fall into hell. Let the king conquer and let the nations see our strength. War!"

"Aye!" The centurions present yelled sharply, almost confident.

Poorly the centurion who led the escape was imprisoned. This man could not escape the charges of coward and betrayer. As for who can punish him, it is naturally the king.

It seems that in the huge kingdom of Northumbria in Britain, she has just ended a century-long chaos. After King Ud Woolf was expelled by the union of the domestic aristocracy and the church in 806, the aristocracy immediately began a large-scale civil war against the power of the kingdom. However, under the intervention of Frank's Charlemagne, the Erdwulf family in exile was restored in 808.

He received military assistance from the Franks, a cavalry unit trained by the European Franks, helped him suppress those opponents.

But how does this king have Charlemagne's skills?

He vowed with the surrendered nobles to give the priest more power to obtain support. For those resolute opponents, Prince Ainred was ordered to throw an army and conquer.

It was this feat that when Erdwulf died of illness, Ernred was crowned king immediately. At this point, it has been 110 years since the outbreak of civil strife, and the people finally enjoy a rare relative peace, but the world has never been peaceful.

In the north of the kingdom are the Picts, and to the south are the kingdoms of Mercia and Kent. News of the barbarian invasion is also circulating.

King Ainred is very aware of the many threats facing the kingdom, and he has no illusions that he can survive this chaos.

However, he never dreamed that the most important monastery in the kingdom, the place where he was crowned, would be occupied by a group of barbarians!

The king, part of his family, his guards, and a group of more than 500 people arrived from York to Bamburgh. When he arrived, the tragic news had spread throughout the city.

Not only that, but people who fled from Edinburgh to the south from the northern border claimed that Edinburgh was destroyed by seafaring barbarians, and another group of barbarians from the Pict Kingdom randomly began to try to invade.

The king came to Bamburgh, and his cousin, Earl Albert, immediately surrendered his mansion.

However, the two horrible news of the thunderbolt in the blue sky is simply shattering the king's head.

In his rage, he didn't think much, and faced all the officers present, and even the lower-level centurions indignantly.

"Decades ago, barbarians from the sea attacked the monastery. We rebuilt it and we are still attacked! I am afraid that this group of people attacked Edinburgh and our defenders were defeated. Are they the devil? Ours Has the long-victory army been a waste of men because of the long period of peace? You are simply a bunch of waste! Our holy land was occupied by barbarians and the city was destroyed by them! At least a thousand soldiers died, and they are still there. victory!"

All the officers shook their heads, and even those who followed the king all the way did not dare to speak out against it.

Count Albert said sternly: "King, those enemies... are very strong. There are at least a thousand of them, and everyone is very good at fighting. They also have some special weapons. We..."

"Shut up! It's all excuses. It's because the soldiers' beliefs are not pious enough. Do you think I'm a fool? How many men in the barracks are fighting with the raised women? The strong men have become fools. They only know how to enjoy and feel that we are with neighbors. Once the country has signed the covenant, there will be no war. You don't want to make excuses, just cheer me up!"

It is foolish to belittle his subordinates excessively. King Ainred needs these people to realize that he has been humiliated by the enemy and must fight to the death to redeem the honor.

Count Albert continued to say bluntly: "The fighters who escaped, especially a centurion gave some very detailed information."

"What? And the coward who escaped?"

"Exactly."

"Why didn't you hang it?" The king was furious, staring at his earl cousin with eagle-like eyes.

"This... The centurion is being held in a cell by me and needs your verdict."

"Okay! Okay..." The king's heroic posture leaned back a little, almost looking at the people present.

He was quiet for a while, and then asked his cousin, "Apart from the centurion, where are the soldiers who fled back?"

"Now it's all in my army."

"That won't work. Brother, it's not good for us to let these cowards infiltrate the army."

The count was taken aback: "Are the soldiers also hanged? With all due respect, they are just humble people. If the officers do not escape, they will not dare to escape."

"No, no, no, we should follow Frank's method in this matter. You know, I have some knowledge in Frank, and I even met Charlemagne himself. Frank has a strong army, and I think their strength lies in the management of the army. How to be strict? Kill the cowards in the army and frighten others. All soldiers should know that those who run away will be killed and those who fight will be rewarded."

Although this set of rewards and punishments is very simple and straightforward, can it really be done in the face of specific circumstances?

As the king, Ernred thought highly of himself, at least in Northumbria.

He firmly believed that the Frankish army was tough, but Charlemagne's army became more and more decadent in the hands of his heirs who were busy fighting inwardly. He didn't even know that Louis, Frank's "German", had a group of hundreds of "blonde mercenaries" under his command, whose leader was Harald Clark, the former Danish leader who was expelled in 826.

The once domineering Frankish army has decayed, and even Erinred himself is about to enter middle age.

It has been 16 years since he took the throne. Under his rule, the kingdom cannot be said to have been in peace for a long time. At least there will be no military conflicts with Mercia, and friction with the Picts in the north is also very low.

He stayed quiet for a while, and figured out a way: "Then follow Caesar's rules. Brother, gather the army and gather the whole people of Bamburgh. I want everyone to see the fate of those who betrayed their duties."

What is "Caesar's Rules"? It was the eleventh smash.

The next day, on a wet and sunny morning, the dew of the grass had not yet evaporated, and some wooden poles were erected on the rather muddy city square in Bamburgh.

It was a simple gallows, and as many as two thousand people came to watch this terrible criminal law.

The monastery is occupied by an astonishing enemy. If the king does not take measures, the barbarians will attack Bamburgh next. News of the Edinburgh attack has circulated among the people, and now everyone is in danger.

The king wore a gilded silver crown and an orange cloak. He is riding a horse, and the horse's mane is still in delicate braids.

Einred was arrogant, his sword pointed at a total of seven prisoners wearing sacks on their heads and lanyards around their necks.

"My subjects! Take a look! These are the warriors who were ordered to guard Lindisfarne, but they did not resist the barbarians from the sea, abandoned their faith and became cowards. Whether they fall into hell, that is God Thing. My mission is to let these cowards and traitors go to see God."

The people and soldiers held their breaths, but in fact, everyone was holding a breath of bad breath.

At this moment, no one felt that their king looked like a tyrant, and even at this moment they desperately needed a decisive king to lead people to regain their lost treasures.

"Execution!"

The executioner kicked the stool on which the prisoners were stepping, and after some struggle, all the prisoners died.

Ernred did not change his face, but his wife and youngest son Ella had witnessed all this from a distance.

After all, it was the execution ground for murder, and the priests all took a evasive posture. They are still busy with the arrangements for the Assumption Mass, but everyone has the most terrible idea that the Holy Land has been destroyed by the enemy, just like what happened forty years ago.

In any case, mass must be done as soon as the date comes. If Lindisfarne Abbey is not available, it will be done at the monastery in Bamburgh.

After the death of the prisoner, the body has been hanging like a salted fish. The soldiers who saw this scene were thinking that if they were not brave enough in the future battle, the fate might be the same.

Those fighters who escaped but did not win the lottery because of good luck, they are not happy at all, because they know best how powerful the enemy is.

But other people were shrouded in optimism, immersed in the cheering scene, most people forget the terrible war.

Because the men in Bamburgh were mobilized, even some male villagers around were arrested.

The king's order is absolute, and Ernred issued an edict in Bamburgh, calling men from fifteen to fifty years old to gather in Bamburgh.

The local Bishop Edmund and the priests who followed the king also issued a joint announcement that the so-called pious people armed and expelled the barbarians and paid the first payment to the Lindisfarn Holy Land. No matter how the outcome was, those who participated in it would be forgiven for their original sins. .

Even so, the king did not want to conscript a powerful army.

The century of chaos in Northumbria really ended in less than 20 years. The country has a population of only more than 100,000, and it is mainly concentrated in the royal city of York.

Is it necessary to transfer elite troops from the southern border that is the key to control? If you really do this, who can guarantee that Mercia will not seize the opportunity to attack immediately? A few years ago, Mercia forced the King of Kent to be Mercia's courtier.

It took a lot of time to mobilize the guards of the royal city of York to go north. The battle was delayed, and if the enemy ran away, he made a lot of fighting and rushed to the air. The result was naturally a waste of money. What's more, if the seafaring barbarians attack another target by sea, the result can only be worse.

Even though Northumbria trained a cavalry force with a strength of only a few hundred horses, it did not have any sailing troops.

There is no think tank around the king, or there is no such thing as a civil servant.

There is no civil bureaucracy of any kind in Northumbria. The chiefs responsible for the work of various places are all military aristocrats.

It is not appropriate for Ernred to act on his own arrogance. The king does not get any advisers, and he can only do it himself for the oriented military affairs. However, he is now in the realm where his cousin is responsible, and his earl is canonized by his deceased father. The previous king was successfully restored in Northumbria with the support of Frank, so the domestic administrative model also began to try to learn from Frank.

Is this correct?

King Enred, after two days of preparations, he quickly assembled a group of soldiers and civilians almost entirely within the Earl of Bamburgh, forming an "army" with a strength of just over 2,000.

The strength of this army is indeed large, and the composition of the soldiers during the period is really diverse. The young and old have everything they need. A large number of farmers and craftsmen have no intention of fighting. However, they learned that they would be executed if they didn't fight, so they could only bring their own farm tools, and even found a sharpened wooden stick to serve as a soldier. They have to take care of their own food, and the march is almost barefoot.

Among them, only more than 800 people are real soldiers of the kingdom. They are walking on real leather boots. Although the kingdom does not have a uniform style of military uniform, the orange linen dyed by multiple processes constitutes the main color of regular soldiers.

In addition to this "Earl of Bamburgh Army", King Ernred also took out his entourage.

Two hundred swordsmen and shields in chain armor, and one hundred and fifty "heavy cavalry" in armor.

An army with a total strength of two thousand and four hundred men was born. Although the king didn't pay much attention to the peasant soldiers, there were more than one thousand regular kingdom soldiers.

Are the enemies brave? Is there any more bravery than heavy cavalry in this world?

The cavalry is the foundation of the king's confidence~www.mtlnovel.com~ But the horse scouts sent out in the past three days have not followed, it seems that those people have lost their way?

Ernred was immersed in the fantasy of a bloodthirsty battle. Over the past ten years, he suddenly assembled such a large army. He felt that he was only one step away from victory.

All that was left to do was to drive the army across the dirt road leading to the monastery mightily. The enemy had better be stationed there like an idiot, so that his glorious victory can be truly deserved. It is also through victory that will long-term defeat the prestige of the sea barbarians, and let the nations see who is brave.

He has chosen a date for the expedition.

As for the Vikings and Leurik, their actions directly conformed to Einred's fantasy.

Maybe this is just a fight. Considering that he was not a Ros, Rurik tried to make some roundabouts and sneak attacks, fearing that this group of Balmerks, who are prone to infighting, would not be able to do it at all. Since it's a dull battle, carry out the defensive counterattack tactics to the end. Like the decisive battle on Gotland, this Rurik was familiar and extremely confident.