On October 25, to the relief of the locals, the Viking army marched south.
With the king's banner at their head, 5,300 warriors left the camp one by one, followed by thousands of unrelated people.
In the wars of this period, plunder was the norm. Soldiers took gold, silver, fabric, weapons, and other spoils of war. The merchants accompanying the army bought these items on the spot and exchanged them for money, food, and fine wine, creating a warped and thriving battlefield economy.
In Ragnar's view, the disadvantages of merchants accompanying the army are the slow pace of march and the risk of intelligence leaks, but they are crucial to maintaining morale. These men provide a variety of services, indirectly helping to manage the soldiers' emotions and preventing them from taking their grievances out on the commander.
So he rejected Wyg's proposal to ban the merchants from accompanying the army, preferring that the army slow down and arrive in Nottingham in two days.
Just before the Viking army surrounded the town, a militia of 500 men surged towards the wall through the southern gate, cutting off Ragnar's chance to take advantage of the situation.
Hundreds of Vikings, trudging through the thin snow, began a probing attack. Behind them, thousands of archers hurled feather arrows into the town, and a steady rain of arrows rained down on the wall, frightening many of the militiamen who trembled behind the battlements.
Like most settlements, Nottingham is surrounded by a wooden wall about four metres high, with a ditch two metres deep dug outside, for a total drop of almost six metres.
In their haste, the Vikings had no time to build a long ladder, so they could only throw a rope hook under the wall and pull it up, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of their actions. Even if someone managed to climb the wall, he was soon besieged by the nearest militia and tragically died under the swords.
"Let them retreat,"
Ragnar said grimly, giving the trumpeter the signal to blow his horn, and the first round of the attack was declared over.
That night, the Viking army set up camp around the village on the northern outskirts, and the command post was set up in the mayor's house.
After dinner, Ragnar wiped the oil stains from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. "According to the information provided by the villagers, Nottingham has a population of 1,500, which is roughly equivalent to 400 adult males. Add to that a militia of 500 men, and the city's defenders number closer to 1,000. What do you think?"
The next moment, all eyes were on Wygh. After two sieges of York and Dufelin, his siege exploits had spread across northern Europe. In addition to the Chosen One and the Serpent of the North, he was also known as the Hammerbreaker.
Wygh offered three options:
First, build siege towers and catapults, which would take at least a month and a half.
Second, build a small catapult to hurl burning oil cans, which would take two weeks. The price would be the complete destruction of the city, and it would be unable to be used as a supply base.
The third option is to simply bypass it, leave a thousand warriors here to camp, and the rest of the army will go straight to Tamworth, the capital of Mercia, so as not to waste time here.
Ragnar was slow to express his opinion, trying to get more information: "How long does it take to get to Tamworth from here?"
Wig: "Two days' journey to the southwest. On the way there is a town called Repton. The town contains a royal mausoleum. If nothing happens, we may have to bypass it."
"Bypass Nottingham and Repton in turn?"
Not only Ragnar, but also other nobles considered this plan too risky. The army is outside, and food and weapons need to be brought from the rear. If the defenders of Nottingham and Repton attacked the supply route, it would seriously hamper the war at the front.
Ragnar looked at the map and continued to bypass Repton, which meant that he would need to allocate another thousand men to guard outside the town. That left him with just over 3,000 men to besiege Tamworth. "It's a real headache."
But the most important thing in a winter war is time. Once the Mercian royal family has had enough time to gather their forces, further advances will become more troublesome.
"We will set out tomorrow morning. Whether or not to bypass Repton depends on the situation."
Following the principle of a quick victory, Ragnar left 1,000 of the weakest warriors and ordered the commander not to remain idle in the camp, but to use the time to build siege equipment or comb the surrounding villages to bring as many supplies as possible to the front.
"Yes, your majesty"
...
The next morning, from the defenders' point of view, more than 5,000 Vikings (4,000 warriors and 1,000 civilians) left the village one by one, like a long, winding snake crawling through the snow.
One clever businessman responded: "Not good, the enemy's main force is about to attack Tamworth!"
This remark caused a heated debate among the townspeople. Few suggested leaving the town and fighting, but most thought it better to stay on the wall.
Feeling the almost pleading looks of the townspeople, Lord Theowulf accepted their advice - to defend the town and watch the Vikings enter the south-west.
"Glory to Lord Theowulf!"
"Thank you for your kindness and wisdom!"
"To hell with Tamworth!"
There was no need to leave the town to die, and the rejoicing on the town wall did not stop. After all, defending the town and fighting in the field were two completely different things. To protect their families and property, the inhabitants are ready to fight to the death on the city walls, but this does not mean that they have the courage to actively attack the Vikings in the field.
…
After bypassing Nottingham, the Viking army, overcoming fatigue and cold, set off on a journey through the wilderness. The villages along the way immediately fled, hearing a gust of wind, leaving only empty houses and scattered grain.
A heavy iron plough?
Unexpectedly, Vig found several Saxon wheeled ploughs with iron shares in the village - at that time and in this area they were called Tynburg wheeled ploughs.
"It seems that this plough is more popular than I expected."
His sigh elicited Pascal's agreement: "Indeed, the heavy iron plough you invented is far more efficient than the light wooden one. It only needs to be ploughed once, and the ploughed land will be deep and level. As far as I know, the priests of Mercia claim that the farming tools of the heathen barbarians are full of evil, but the villagers do not care. The peasants who farm themselves often chip in and prefer to borrow money than to ask the blacksmiths to make new heavy ploughs."
Pascal's territory, the Tees, is located south of Tyneburg. He knew much more about the new heavy plough and the three-field system than the other lords.
He asked the local nobles that after the introduction of the heavy plow and the three-field system, the annual harvest was converted into silver coins, which was 1.4 times the yield of the original two-field system, an unprecedented breakthrough.
Pascal smiled sincerely as he watched his income skyrocket. "Thanks to you, Tis is also gradually promoting the three-field system. In two years, when the economy is healthy, I may have enough money to build a stone castle." "
The increase in yield will benefit the entire kingdom and even the whole of Europe. We are all one family, no need to thank me." Vig had no intention of hindering the development of agricultural technology. It was impossible. It was better to let nature take its course and strive for a good reputation.