Vikings: Nordic women

Chapter 56: Driving the People to Attack the City
Margaret was sleeping soundly on the boat. She dreamed that she was wearing Hanfu, visiting brothels in Chang'an, and the execution ground in Caishikou. In order to satisfy her curiosity, she was invited to attend a banquet hosted by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

In the dream, she kept boasting about her achievements, saying that she had an army of one million and had conquered more than one hundred small "countries (settlements)", which frightened the other side so much that they quickly summoned court officials to discuss the matter.

After negotiations, they voluntarily married the princess off to a foreign country, allowing her family to successfully obtain the bloodline of the Chinese Li Tang royal family.

Saliva flowed from the corners of Margaret's mouth as the fleet moved forward on the sea at an average speed of 16 knots.

At dawn the next day, before it was fully light, she was gently awakened by Ralph.

"What happened?" she asked sleepily.

She looked at Ralph somewhat helplessly. After all, she had finally fallen asleep and was ready to face half a month of life at sea.

"Here we are," Ralph replied with a smile, "and our ship is excellent!"

"Oh~" Margaret responded, then pulled the blanket over her head and planned to continue resting.

She thought it was something important. Was he waking her up just for this?

Tsk~
No, wait!
Suddenly, she threw back the blanket and was surprised to find that the fleet had begun to slow down: "Ah? Wardfa!" She couldn't help but swear in a West Coast accent.

How is this possible? Something seems to be wrong.

According to the normal process, shouldn't they have drifted on the sea for half a month, experienced all kinds of hardships and dangers, and finally set foot on land and kissed the long-lost sand before they were about to get scurvy?

Margaret was confused; everything seemed so different from what she had imagined.

So fast? This shouldn't happen? It's impossible? She was full of doubts.

她不知道的是，他们所在的哥得兰岛位于北纬57°、东经18°，而东欧沿海地区则位于北纬55°20'至69°04'、东经11°08'至24°之间。

The straight-line distance between the two locations is only about 577 kilometers, and at an average speed of 16 knots, it takes less than a day to reach the destination.

She had prepared food for half a month, but it arrived in less than a day? Margaret was surprised and a little helpless.

The warriors began to drop anchor and the ships slowly docked at the shore.

Due to the inertia of the ship under the pull of the anchor, Margaret, who was still confused, rushed forward. Fortunately, Ralph, who was holding the side of the ship from behind, pulled her in time and lifted her up steadily like a chicken.

The warriors on the boat jumped off the boat, stepped into the water, and began to carry supplies from the boat to the shore.

Each of them carried one item, and after a while they had finished moving all the supplies.

A large number of bonfires were lit on the coastline, and the warriors began to set up tents on the spot and cook food while chatting and laughing, without concealing their whereabouts at all.

At the same time, the Huscarz Knights were ordered to disperse and act as the eyes and ears of the army to explore and guard the surrounding areas.

All the lords gathered around, waiting for Margaret's strategic deployment.

However, she was now completely in the dark and had no idea what to do. She could only wait for the riders to come back and draw the map before she could take action.

It's the rule to open your vision before the fight.

Not long after, a rider returned quickly and reported that he had found a village not far away.

Margaret immediately marked the coordinates of the village on the parchment and recorded the distance from the landing point.

As other riders returned one after another, the nearby geographical information gradually became clear on the parchment.

Margaret made a quick decision and divided the ten lords into five groups of two people each, and sent them to the village to capture the villagers.

She appointed Huscarz as liaison between the groups and ordered them to rendezvous near the town they were about to capture.

After the deployment was completed, Margaret rode on a donkey and led more than twenty lords and two thousand soldiers straight to the town, leaving only three hundred soldiers to guard the fleet.

She looked back and saw the Viking warriors marching in a long snake formation in an orderly manner.

Margaret chatted and laughed easily with the lords around her, appearing to be quite relaxed.

After marching for about an hour, they tried their best to conserve their energy and arrived at a town four kilometers away from the landing point. The town was huge, with houses lined up one after another, and the walls were already filled with Kuronia soldiers waiting in battle formation.

"Surround it, but only on three sides! Huscarz will be responsible for the ambush on the remaining one, but don't expose yourself and don't let any enemy escape!" Margaret gave the order decisively and the lords quickly executed it.

Instead of rushing to attack, they began to cut wood nearby and made shields and ladders with the help of carpenters.

At the same time, the lords who went to the village to capture slaves also returned one after another, and the captives were detained in an open space.

Margaret had no intention of surrendering the opposing lord, because she knew that if she wanted this territory, she would inevitably come into conflict with the other side.

If we persuade them to surrender, do we have to return the territory intact to them? This is obviously impossible.

However, according to convention, she decided to persuade them to surrender first, and the conditions would naturally be set a little more harsh.

The condition is that the territory and the army are handed over, and the other party becomes her prisoner!
"Impossible! Tell those pirates that I am willing to pay them with treasures and ask them to leave!"

"Tell him to surrender or die!"

The other party began to bargain with her in unfamiliar Norse. Margaret got tired of the discussion and simply overturned the table.

She had no intention of letting the other party live. She had a lot of people under her waiting to become lords, and it would be better to kill the opposing lord than to persuade him to surrender.

"Let's begin! Drive the prisoners forward first! Make a feint attack on the other two sides! The first person to climb the city wall will be awarded the title of Jarl!" Margaret waved her hand and stood with the lords to observe the battle.

At the same time, Margaret began to teach them how to attack the city using the Chinese method, giving these rustic lords a little shock of the Chinese art of war.

The captives, regardless of gender, age or status, were given sharpened wooden sticks, carried ladders and shields, and were driven by the warriors, crying and running towards the town.

Although this strategy can effectively reduce casualties on the attacker side, it also causes great harm to civilians and even leads to the death of a large number of civilians. Therefore, this practice has been controversial in history and is often regarded as a cruel tactic.
"Can the battle be fought this way?" After listening to Margaret's explanation, all the Viking lords looked at each other, their faces gradually becoming excited, and it was obvious that they had learned something.

In Margaret's opinion, there is no such thing as a Purple Star Emperor descending to the world and being followed by many stars. No one is born knowing how to fight. It is those who fight more battles and make fewer mistakes that become famous generals.

The formation of famous generals in ancient times did not rely entirely on talent or mysterious power, but gradually grew through long-term practice, learning and accumulation of experience.

What she had to do was to let the lords take charge as much as possible and train their command experience, rather than just rushing into battle.

The Viking warriors followed behind with their shields raised, mercilessly executing any captives who tried to escape or were unwilling to move forward.

If a slave abandoned a shield or ladder, the warriors would continue to carry the siege engines toward the town.

The slaves who were at the front ran to the town crying and begging the defenders to open the gates to receive them.

Margaret knew that kindness was not the way to command an army. Although her methods seemed cruel, they could protect her warriors from harm to the greatest extent possible.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, the cries of others are always better than the wailing of your own. The families of her soldiers are still waiting for them to return home.

She must be responsible for the lives of the soldiers instead of being bound by humanitarian constraints. A saintly woman would never be suitable to be a general.

People like that are too easy to deal with. All we need to do is capture a group of civilians and execute them one by one in front of the two armies. This will force the generals who love their people like their own children to surrender or even commit suicide.

The hostile lord witnessed the insurmountable scene of the ants attacking the city, and his face was horrified: "What do these despicable pirates want to do? They actually drove my people to attack me?"

"Sir, they want to use prisoners to consume our arrows!" The officer was horrified. He had never seen such a vicious trick.

"Shoot! Shoot quickly! Kill them!" The lord shouted anxiously as he watched the captives getting closer and closer, but the archers did not move.

"Did you hear the leader's order? Shoot arrows quickly! Don't let them in! If we are broken in, we will be dead!" the officers shouted anxiously.

"Sir, please open the city gate quickly. I have seen my family. Sir, I beg you! Save them!" A soldier cried and begged the lord.

The defenders on the city wall were hesitant and looked sad, because these slaves were their compatriots.

"How dare you influence the army?" The lord was furious. He drew his sword and stabbed the soldier to death. "Shoot, shoot quickly! Anyone who doesn't shoot will be killed!"

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　　(End of this chapter)