Chapter 614： Wrath of Mercia King Wigraf

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Wigraf actually knew that there was a chaser behind him. The defeat of his Mercia army was not because he was incompetent, but because the enemies in the big ship were too strong!

Is that the Viking? They actually formed an alliance with Northumbria!

A full-scale war seemed imminent. He took the remnants and fled all the way, but lost too many supplies and morale of soldiers was also bad, and the way to escape was slow.

When he was about to arrive at the Birmingham barracks, he sent messengers to rule several key lords and ordered them to organize an army to arrive in Birmingham immediately.

The letter made the king's manuscript quite extreme, that is, the lord who has received the letter must come up with an unlimited number of troops no matter what means he uses.

Why?

Wigraf's original words were straightforward and irritating: "The king of Northumbria betrayed his faith. They cooperated with the barbarians, which is equivalent to making a deal with the devil. They intend to kill all the Mercian."

There are not many horses, and the messenger rushes on horseback.

The Shrewsbury noble was the first to receive the king's request for help. Although the earl thought it was strange, he had never seen the king so anxious before and began to organize his troops.

The messenger continued to deliver the message, rushing to Worcester and Oxford...

The aristocratic army that is too far away can't count on Weigraf for the time being. His exhausted division finally arrived at Birmingham Barracks and finally received a rare supply.

Only by arriving here, Wigraf, who had fled all the way, had time to calm his head.

He asked the remaining soldiers: "What's the direction of Tamworth now? What about Nottingham?"

However, the few defenders who have been tossed by the recent heavy rain have no intention to go out to explore the way.

Wigraf couldn't ask why, thinking that he was already fast enough to escape in the rain, and his enemies would also face the same predicament.

Before falling asleep, he ordered his subordinates to arrest all men over the age of 12 in nearby villages, ordered them to immediately perform military service and bring their own food to Birmingham to report.

However, the next day, when the exhausted defeated army had just stumbled asleep in the king's barracks, their energy had not yet recovered, so an army hurried over in the mist.

The soldiers stayed on alert, and when they discovered that it was the army of the Earl of Leicester, the alert counted as contact.

Hearing that reinforcements have arrived, this is undoubtedly good news after the rain has passed and the weather has cleared!

Wigraf happily received the Earl of Leicester and enthusiastically praised him face to face: "It seems that you have received my manuscript. You are indeed the great loyal minister of the kingdom."

The Earl of Leicester pulled down his face, and even his beard was so sad.

The earl could not conceal his grief and anger, and then wailed loudly: "Your Majesty! Tamworth, already..."

"what did you say?"

"Tamworth has been surrounded by an army! The capital is in jeopardy! Many people are fleeing."

"You... are you kidding?" Wigraf's face turned pale for a moment, and he smirked for a long time.

"It is true, I swear to God. My army is powerless to defeat them, and I am also looking for your army. Your Majesty, it is great that you are not in Tamworth."

"Okay? My prince! My canary!" Wigraf stomped angrily, and he almost fainted.

But reason still prevailed. He didn't believe that the Northumbrians were acting so fast. Wait a minute, what if that is a Viking?

Shouldn't it! The Vikings should not be so fast.

Wigraf believed that an enemy was standing under the wall of the capital. Tamworth should have said that something was in trouble, and that the matter should not be fatal.

He asked casually: "How many soldiers did you bring?"

"Three hundred people."

"Why is it so? Not enough."

"Your Majesty, my strength is very weak."

Wigraf shook his head. He felt that the Earl of Leicester was pretending to be weak.

"It's okay. Three hundred people are not too few. I have to wait two more days until the Earl of Shrewsbury brings the soldiers, and we will go to Tamworth together."

Wigraf is still quite optimistic so far. He trusted his prince Bot Woolf to guard the city, and wished to let Mary, the little slave who played the role of a daughter, kneel beside him in a single dress and sing a little song.

The so-called Queen Mary is indeed not Wigraf's daughter, but the product of the Queen's adultery. Wigraf and the queen are a purely political marriage, and the two conceived Bot Woolf to complete the task. As for his success in claiming the king in the future, in order to avoid the fermentation of the scandal, he forgave the wife of the queen, but the anger was difficult to overcome, and this anger was vented on poor Mary. Not to mention, she has grown into a beautiful handmaid, an interesting canary.

Poor Mary, if Wigraf also died, the true identity secret would disappear forever in history with the death of all the insiders.

Birmingham Barracks is not far from Tamworth. This is the barracks on the left bank of the Tam River, and the capital is on the right bank.

A scout went straight to Tamworth, and they saw the shocking scene from a distance. They rushed all night with terrible intelligence, and they were about to inform the king, as if they were so angry that King Wigraf drew the sword.

"You are lying to me? Damn crow, I want to kill you!"

The scout knelt and cried, clutching his heart and swearing to God that he was not lying.

"Maybe they are true." The Earl of Leicester also said with trembling, "I took in the fleeing people and saw barbarians attacking the city."

"What else did you see?" Wigraf calmed down his anger and asked the scout again.

"I saw many enemies, many big ships."

Another scout said, "I saw the flags on those big ships, which look exactly like our flags. Those enemies clearly attacked us in Dole Village..."

"It's a Viking? Damn it!" Wigraf was full of fear in his rage. He could not even dream that a large number of barbarians' flags could fly on the walls of his capital city. This is a matter of the queen's adultery and face disgrace.

The war with Northumbria is no longer the main contradiction. In the worst case, this is the case. Your own capital has been destroyed, and your wealth and royal power have been shaken?

Do not! Prince! Has he died in battle?

Wigraf was anxious to lead his troops to regain Tamworth, because the humiliation was worse than surrendering to Wessex.

At the lowest point of this life, an army appeared like an angel!

It is the Earl of Shrewsbury and his army of more than six hundred men! It was a veteran who guarded the western part of the kingdom and fought the old British Britons in Wales for many years.

Indeed, the soldiers of the Earl of Shrewsbury are well equipped, and many Merciaians call them well-trained and only inferior to Wiglav's elite soldiers. So naturally there is also a saying that the so-called Earl of Shrewsbury can compete for the throne of Mercia at the right time for reasons.

However, when the earl learned of the disaster in the capital, most of his arrogance had dissipated.

Wigraf could not care too much, he used some tough methods to recruit more than 500 people in several nearby villages.

With all the reinforcements, troops and horses, barracks defenders, and farmers added together, an army with a strength of nearly four thousand people was born!

With so many men gathered together, the spears erected are like dense forests.

Although the spearheads are often rusty, there are some sharpened wooden poles and wooden pitchforks, and even threshing shackles and mowing scythes.

The weapons are varied, and such strength has reshaped Wigraf's self-confidence.

Standing on a high ground in the military camp, he suppressed his anger and gave orders to the assembled crowd.

"The Northumbrians have betrayed their faith! They signed a contract with the devil who crossed the sea!"

"The hateful enemy attacked our army and is now attacking our Tamworth again!"

"Mercyians! I order you to take up arms! This is not to fight for me! The most ordinary farmers, now you are the sergeants of the kingdom. You must fight for your wives and children, for wealth and glory."

"Don't feel that these wars have nothing to do with you! The Northumbrian army that signed a contract with the devil, they are already monsters! They will eat all the moving things, turn the vegetation into yellow, and turn cows and sheep into bones. They will also take your souls, and if we don’t defeat them, we will all fall into hell!"

Wigraf said a lot, and he cursed and threatened.

The assembled army was terribly scared, because of fear, morale increased strangely.

Messia’s territory is naturally larger than that of Northumbria, and its population is larger than the former. If Wigraf is given enough time, he can indeed bring out 10,000 soldiers, which is almost equal to "astronomical" troops in this era. The army fights any attackers.

What he is doing now is almost betting with his kingship.

Yeah, what else can I lose? A king who has lost Tamworth, if he abandons it, is tantamount to abdicating himself. Unless you take the army and fight hard, unless you save Tamworth, the kingship can continue to be strong.

Because Wigraf was a military nobleman before he became king, his early years of being forced to surrender to King Wessex had already discredited him. The successful restoration did not restore his past destiny, and now he knows that he must work hard.

Wigraf's pieced together army began to march towards Tamworth.

At the same time, the Ross, Balmerks, and Northumbrian forces are actively dividing the spoils of Tamworth.

Rurik estimated that he had robbed one million pounds of wheat in Tamworth, and coupled with the oats looted in York, there would be no problem with grain plundering 1.5 million pounds.

Even so, he also threw a batch of crops to the Balmerks who were about to embark on a great immigration.

Grain of this scale is roughly equivalent to 580 tons.

This can be called an extreme number, but Rurik is completely worthwhile.

Aphrora-class sail cruiser, one ship is more than enough to carry 100 tons of cargo!

The Duke of Ostara and the Spellosville, the two ships directly shipped one-third of all seized wheat!

With so much cargo stuffed in their smooth and thick hull, the depth of eating and sleeping in the Tam River has dropped by nearly one meter.

Fortunately, this river is not a stream, its course can easily drown people, and it can actually float a full-loaded ship.

Rurik’s fleet, the largest number of armed cargo ships, is very normal for a transshipment equivalent to 30 tons of wheat. These cargo ships alone are enough to pull the wheat back.

The Balmerks were busy selecting slaves from the captives, and Einred, king of Northumbria, was eager to control the refugees. Rurik's looting of the population did not behave like a Viking, but the Queen Mary and the one hundred and twenty women must all be taken away. This also includes the old priest of Lindsay Abbey who was captured, all of whom were to be escorted to Ross.

In fact, Rurik can already take his own people and run away with the trophies, because it is already September.

However, he can't just go back to his hometown to spend the winter. For practical reasons, he has to wait for the Balmerks and then evacuate together.

Because some materials belonging to Ross are still thrown in the far north of Narvik Fjord, especially a large amount of good salt, which needs to be taken away.

It was September after all, and Rurik knew that there was not much time for himself. Thousands of Balmerks can spend the winter in Britain, but they can't.

In the tent, he discussed with his cousin Arik and decided to split the soldiers when they returned home.

"Let me be the leader of the **** supplies? Isn't this...Sorgon sailing?" Arik was a little surprised.

"I really can't help it. Our army has come to an end during the war in Britain. The people in my hometown need a lot of wheat, and our food fleet has to arrive before the sea freezes."

"That's the truth. But you have to go to the Balmerk's hometown again? You have to sail for at least twenty days before and after!" Arik cried out uncomfortably.

"This is to announce to them that our Ruths are reliable allies. Besides, I must bring back the salt, fortunately to buy more salt. Brother, we must seize the opportunity."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid that the Balmerks who started farming will no longer be keen on making salt. We must store more salt when we seize the opportunity."

Arik kept scratching his head. To tell the truth, he went home eagerly. Since the brother is so determined, he has no complaints.

Arik never worries about any voyages of Rurik. The brave man is not afraid of the sea, and his brother is also blessed by God. The storm on the sea cannot overturn Rurik's ship, but will only help him to go wild.

The agreement was to wait three more days, but on the second day, seeing that the world was safe, the Ross people went all out to load the wheat on the ship, and they were quickly transporting the wheat into sacks on the rope net with leverage.

During this night, the Ross soldiers and their mercenaries gathered by the bonfire again, and slumbered after they had eaten enough wheat and rice to cultivate their bodies for carrying supplies.

As for the captured women who learned of their fate, they could only weep non-stop, and some people cheered up and felt that going to a new place shouldn’t be too bad in the future.

Only the Queen Mary, whose brain was broken, saw her brother's corpse whose head was chopped in half and turned into a winner's bowl. On the contrary, there was a strange joy.

She took the initiative to have a very close relationship with Rurik, trying her best to please this young man, and also to please herself.

She wished that she would conceive and have children soon, so that the descendants could continue to lead the title of Mercia's nobility and open up new territories in the future. Because, although he was down, the Rurik of Rose and his powerful principality continued to support his noble status.

Because this is the revenge of the Queen Mary.

She is avenging her father, using this method to overthrow the rule of King Wiglav and his male heirs, and then let herself and Rurik's son replace them. This is a kind of ultimate revenge.

What a sad prince, she still doesn't know who she is. It is precisely that members of the royal family are silent about the scandal, and the rest of the insiders have been physically wiped out to ashes. Mary didn't know that the humiliation she had suffered was indeed an original sin.

Temporarily living in the moment, she really feels that Rurik is really a holy boy. He is full of the fragrance of flowers (using special soap), without any dirt on his body, and has golden hair and a handsome face, which woman Not tempted?

Compared to bluntly, as a nobleman, he is really unclean. But instead of complaining, Rurik did not complain, and behaved like a bull in April. For the first time she had a relationship with him, the Queen Mary felt like a woman for the first time, not a sinful canary.

She is commendable and self-knowledge, knowing that she can draw Ross's attention to Rurik is definitely not the skin, but the identity of the top nobility of Mercia and the fact that she can speak Latin fluently. The most important thing is the latter. She also basically figured out what happened to her after being "captive" to the Duchy of Ross-becoming a Latin teacher.

But things have changed.

A very small encounter took place in the evening.

It was Balmerk who wanted to fight his teeth. He took his bow to the woodland on the other side of the river and tried to beat some hares, but he met with the scouts of the Messiah army.

Although Scout Mecia tried his best to escape, one person was captured after the arrow fell.

Why do weird soldiers appear here? The Balmerks, who felt that there was a huge weird, took a lot of twists and turns to take the captives back to the camp by the river when it was near dawn the next day.

New prisoners appeared? The sudden situation made the insightful people in the Viking coalition instinctively take precautions. Everyone was a veteran on the battlefield. They felt the murderous aura that was approaching. The so-called captives confessed everything easily—Mesiah’s army is coming in mighty!

At dawn, the world is still immersed in mist, the sun rises lazily, and the golden light illuminates the world like a sanctuary.

The Ross, Balmerks, and mercenaries, and even the Northumbrian army, the mixed forces, now have no time to linger.

The Northumbrians sounded the horn, as did the Ross and Balmerk.

Because the captured scout deliberately exaggerated the strength of the Mercia army, claiming that it had at least 10,000 troops.

Ten thousand soldiers? Rurik couldn't believe it subconsciously, but according to Ernred's description, he believed a little.

"Since the enemy has so many troops, are you afraid?" Lurik deliberately asked Erinred with a disdainful attitude.

It is impossible to say not to be afraid As a king, Ernred still bites the bullet and says that he is not afraid.

This is exactly the answer, Rurik and Magnut will simply count.

"Let your main force cross the river and go to a decisive battle with them!" Liurik declared his position to Ernred on behalf of the Viking coalition forces. "This is after all the war between Northumbria and Messiah. Whether we can help or not lies in Our mood."

"But this is not in conformity with the treaty!" Einred tried to defend.

"No! What we signed is only a non-aggression treaty. Don't worry, I will not sit and watch your army wipe out. Besides, Tamworth is their capital, and it is only natural for the Mercian and you to desperately take it for granted. Unless you renounce it. Central Mercia, including Tamworth, as well as the future rule of Peksite and Chester.” As Rurik said, Erinred could only bite the bullet and order his army to pass through the Vikings. A temporary floating bridge built by the coalition forces.

Just as the diversified sergeants of the Northumbrian Army were half-walking, a flag suddenly fluttered in the low flat mound in the distance.

It's the Mercia army, they are here.