"Hey, young man, cheer up. If those masters find you lazy, you will be whipped. Have you forgotten how badly Kafan was beaten yesterday?"
Late at night, on a small platform on the wooden wall of the siege camp near besieged Minsk, a veteran with a thick beard was calling for a new recruit.
The veteran wore jacket armor and an iron helmet, looking like a typical urban militia.
Seeing that the young man who was napping against the guardrail had not yet responded, he hit the young soldier on the head and then turned his attention back to Minsk, which looked like a giant beast under the night.
It was late at night now, and apart from the trebuchets and ballistae, there were only some soldiers training or standing guard in the camp. They held torches and looked around for warning.
Not far from the siege position, there is a huge coalition camp. It is quite quiet now. After all, it is almost dawn, and people who played late have fallen asleep at this point.
"I know, I know, uncle."
The beaten soldier rubbed his eyes. The freckle-faced young man was wearing a cloth hood and dirty cotton armor. He could tell at a glance that it was passed down from his family. He stood with a spear in his hand.
aside.
"But I'm really sleepy. Yesterday was also our vigil. Those guys bullied us. Isn't it because we didn't bribe? And we didn't have the money to bribe. Really, I should stay in the neighborhood team.
, instead of coming here after hearing about double pay.”
"well."
After hearing the young man's complaint, the veteran just sighed, but it's okay for the young man to suffer a loss, so as not to suffer another loss in the future. This is also part of growing up. Then he comforted,
"Just endure it for a while longer. As long as Minsk is captured or surrendered, the war will end soon. We will still make a fortune in this city, and then we can return home in rich clothes. I think you can do a lot of things by then.
Just bear with it.”
A veteran is a person who has experienced many wars, and he still blurts out these words.
"Hey, I originally thought I could make a lot of money or have a thrilling adventure by joining the army, but instead of doing vigil and standing guard, I just patrolled. If I had known this, I should have thought of a way to escape."
The young militiamen leaned on the guardrail and continued to complain, looking at the moving fire spots on the fortress not far away. These were the torches in the hands of the patrol sentries in Minsk.
He also saw many figures holding torches busy repairing the attacked city walls in the gaps hit by trebuchets during the day.
To be honest, the attack during the day did not cause much damage to Minsk. The people in the city can still repair it, but if the attack continues, it will be difficult to say.
"Speaking of which, those trebuchets are really powerful. They can throw such big stones so far."
"Of course."
Speaking of these trebuchets, the veteran had some pride on his face. After all, he had been assigned to protect them since he was drafted. He was in this army when these equipment was still a bunch of parts on a carriage.
"Those are the masterpieces of Kiev's engineering masters, and there are also scholars who are responsible for calibrating the aim to ensure that every stone thrown will destroy the enemy as much as possible."
"Then the Polotsk people also have these things?"
"Ha, those barbarians in the forest? How could barbarians possess such advanced things? You have seen this scene in the west along the way. And if they still have them, why don't they fight back during the day?"
The veteran's face was full of disdain. How could those Polotsk barbarians have any countermeasures? How could these guys know these high technologies when they were reduced to being with the Polo people?
"Hello? Are you listening to me?"
But he never heard an answer, which made the veteran a little annoyed. He looked at the young man and found that he was staring blankly at the sky.
"Huh? What's in the sky?"
The veteran also raised his head, and what he saw was a head full of fireballs. He, who always boasted that he had seen everything, couldn't help but be stunned.
"Enemy attack!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of fireballs smashed into the siege camp. The flames bloomed in the tall trebuchets, like blossoming flame roses. Some trebuchets were directly hit by the fireballs, instantly turning the trebuchets and ballistae into
The fragments, some burned in multiple instruments, the flames spread like long snakes to nearby war instruments, and some smashed into the flammable ammunition, which were originally intended to be used tomorrow, and now caused more intense flames
.
For a time, the entire siege camp was filled with flames and explosions, and countless precious siege equipment burned in the flames.
There were also many fireballs hitting the wild ground, lighting up the wilderness.
And from time to time, there are always a few unlucky ones caught in the flames, and then they struggle and roll in pain. Their screams add excitement to this grand performance.
As for those who have not been affected by the flames, they are looking at all this in surprise. It is the first time for them to see such a scene. This scene makes them dumbfounded. Even the hell that the Christian pastor said is nothing more than this.
At this time, Minsk was in full swing, and the sound of trumpets and the sound of the trebuchet's swinging arm could be heard throughout the fortress.
Dozens of hidden tractor-type trebuchets were now pushed out from their hiding places. Countless men were operating the trebuchets at top speed under the scoldings and whips of the officers. There were noisy and moving figures everywhere.
.
As they moved, stone bombs flew out one after another and hit the coalition's siege camp. The Polotsk people had actually marked the coordinates long ago. They only needed to adjust the trebuchet according to the records.
Just hit them where they need to be hit.
"We have endured it for so long during the day, and now we must return it all."
A nobleman wearing traditional Norse noble clothing roared in the crowd.
At the gate of the fortress, groups of heavily armed soldiers were passing through the city gate in an orderly manner. This city gate was a key target during the daytime attack, so now it looks tattered, and each one is small or large.
Various ferocious pits are printed on it, which is very eye-catching, but the gatehouse still stands proudly, like an old soldier who has been baptized by the flames of war.
The flag of Polotsk was flying overhead, and they were arrayed neatly outside the city. Vseslav seemed to have taken out all the weapons and equipment in the Minsk arsenal. Every soldier had armor. This was not the case in the Russian army.
Heavy is rare.
Even if some people's armor is nothing more than tattered cotton armor and leather armor that has been stored for God knows how long, it is still very rare in this always poor area. After all, it is normal for those Baltic people not to wear armor.
"This is truly a fight to the death, Stepan."
Prince Polotsk, wearing his gorgeous and sturdy armor, said to Stepan beside him, his words full of emotion, finally this moment has come.
Stepan wore simple but practical equipment. Under his green robe was a sturdy chainmail armor. He wore an old-fashioned iron helmet with a nose guard on his head, and carried a terrifying long ax in his hand.
"Sir, aren't our waiting and patience just for now? We have never planned to settle for safety in the fortress, so why not just fight to the death. If God favors us, we can win. If there is no favor, it doesn't matter, and defeat is nothing.
Once we die, we gain glory in the brave battle, and dying on the battlefield is more glorious than dying at the hands of the enemy's executioners, don't you think?"
Vseslav's smile illustrates his attitude. This is exactly the gift he prepared for the coalition forces. If nothing unexpected happens, this night will become a night of blood and fire for the coalition forces, and the descendants of Yaroslav will be ashamed of what they have done.
Pay the price.
The densely packed strongholds and fortifications outside Minsk were all set up to mobilize the energy of the coalition forces, and the construction of these strongholds was very, very early.
From the very beginning, Minsk was the Polotsk Principality's preset position against the Yaroslavichs. It was a killing mill, waiting for the Yaroslavichs to crash into them foolishly.
When the Yaroslavichs pulled out these strongholds and thought that they could attack the city of Minsk immediately, the army in the city of Minsk would give them a "surprise".
Polotsk has made a lot of preparations for the army he has built for this moment. If he does not perform well on the battlefield, how can he be worthy of their combat effectiveness.
Just as the Polotsk army poured out of their castle to make a last stand, the coalition forces were also taking action.
Just after the Polotsk people fired the flaming stones, Ross's troops reacted. A huge horn sounded throughout the camp, and the warriors galloped around the camp, waking up one battalion of warriors after another.
The princes' personal troops have completed their formation, which is not difficult for these professional warriors, while other troops are still gathering. The coalition camp is like a startled steel giant, stretching its
body of.
Rostislav immediately jumped out of his suit, then with the help of his personal captain Vasily who rushed in, he put on his armor, fastened his weapon and rushed out.
The janissaries have been assembled and are waiting for the prince's orders. As a janissary, they are also the fastest to respond.
But other places were very busy, and there were hurried figures everywhere. Rostislav saw many guys without clothes running around, as if they were going back to the camp to put on armor.
Groups of infantrymen gathered with eager shouts, and the cavalrymen mounted their horses, put on their weapons, and entered combat mode.
Many people had panic expressions on their faces. The Polotsk attack was so sudden that everyone was caught off guard.
Rostislav was very happy to see that his Red City Army had been assembled. As for the citizens, they were also gathering in an awkward but orderly manner.
No one expected that the battle would come so quickly. For many people, it was too sudden.
Rostislav glanced at the sky, and there was already a slight light in the sky. This is basically the time when people are most likely to relax. It seems that the Polotsk people really chose a good time to attack.