Under the gaze of many suspicious eyes, Theowulf spoke from the start of his experiences in the Wessex camp, claiming that he knew a way to help the Vikings win if Ragnar accepted his allegiance.
"If we win this battle, there will be land enough." Ragnar approached him: "The question is, why should I trust you?"
Feeling the contempt of everyone present, Theowulf ventured: "Because you have no time!"
He held out four fingers: "Four hundred Frankish horsemen, two hundred have died, at least eight hundred of you have been reinforced. Wessex did not attack, but waited for reinforcements of warhorses in the rear.
Moreover, in addition to the Franks, His Majesty has also selected more than a hundred mounted nobles for centralized training. If this drags on, they will hardly be of use. How will you manage then?
The facts were before him, and Ragnar could not refute them. To increase his chances of victory, he promised to return Nottingham to the enemy.
"Compared to your grandiose ambitions, Nottingham is too insignificant. What do you say: after winning the war, can you grant me a fief commensurate with my merits?" As soon as
Theowulf finished speaking, Ragnar suddenly drew his sword and laid its cold blade on his shoulder: "Bend the knee and swear fealty to me."
Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee, swore an oath of fealty, took Ragnar's right hand in both of his and kissed the golden ring hard.
After the ceremony, he walked over to the map table and explained the situation to his new superior:
"Additional warhorses are expected to arrive within four days. Last week, a flood washed away the bridge, and Wessex's supply force was forced to cross the river by boat at this fishing village. Given that the warhorses are unaccustomed to the rickety boats, they may as well decide to cross the shallows thirty miles upstream."
Ragnar: "You mean we need to set up ambushes in both places?"
"Yes, and it must be quick. I ran out of the camp secretly, and Aethelwulf could guess that I had surrendered to the Vikings. I can't delay any longer."
Siowulf's plan was very risky. Ragnar did not make a decision immediately, but turned to other nobles in Norse. In this regard, Vig proposed two plans:
First, to risk capturing the Wessex horses to deprive them of their cavalry advantage.
Second, to retreat to Tamworth or even to the border, let the rear quickly make spears and use the phalanx of spearmen to repel the enemy's shock cavalry.
Making spears and training spearmen - both these processes together take too much time. Ragnar, on the contrary, considered the first option less risky.
Having decided to wage war, he asked Ivar and Wig, two of his most capable warriors, to lead a hundred men each and set out separately for the ambush.
"As you command."
Time was of the essence, and Wig selected 300 men for the night, a third of whom were experienced hunters. Having secured provisions, the group left the camp before dawn.
To cover their tracks, they made a wide circle to the east and chose a dense oak forest for their march. The terrain was rough, and it was impossible to carry baggage in a wagon. They were accompanied by only 30 packhorses.
"We are alone in the interior, and we have little baggage. If Theowulf is a spy, we will lose not only Mercian territory, but Northumbria as well. Phew, how unpleasant to surrender one's life and property to strangers."
After running for most of the day, Wig reached the swamp that Theowulf had mentioned. He sent men to explore the area and found an abandoned farmstead nearby.
Using this as a guide, the party adjusted their direction and went about ten miles south. The hunters found a stream. The next step was to go downstream and reach a shallow beach, where the water was less than knee-deep.
At sunset on the second day, the party arrived at the ambush site. Perhaps because there were few fishermen, there were many trout and bass swimming under the water.
When some enthusiastically pulled out hooks and lines, Wig gave a rather disappointing order: do not fish or make fire, lest the smoke and fire give away their presence.
Being an elite recruited from the army, the commandos were well disciplined and did not shout over such trifles. Listening to the murmur of water, they gnawed on cold and hard dry food, expecting the enemy who could appear at any moment.
On the morning of the fourth day, when everyone was growing bored, a hunter who had gone out to scout finally brought good news.
"My lord, the enemy cavalry has arrived, about three miles from here."
Hearing this, Vig jumped up, shook off the fallen leaves, and donned his armor. He stationed most of his men on the north bank to form the main ambush force. The remaining forty men hid on the south bank, responsible for cutting off the enemy's escape routes once the two sides began fighting.
As time went on, he received more and more detailed information. The enemy had only 200 horses, 100 warriors with shields and axes, and 80 attendants.
Having the advantage in manpower, Vig ordered his men to try to spare the horses.
"It is extremely difficult to smuggle warhorses out of Frankland. If all else fails, we can only rely on captured horses to form a cavalry unit in the future. Before leaving, His Majesty specifically ordered that five pounds of silver be paid as a reward for each Frankish warhorse captured. Whether for the common good or for your own, I hope you will be careful in your actions!"
Finally, he added, "Don't kill the groom!"
"Yes, sir."
Being carefully selected tough guys, the commandos did not take the enemy seriously and were looking forward to their reward after the war.
Five pounds of silver per horse. If 150 horses were captured, that would be 750 pounds of silver. Divided equally, each could get 2.5 pounds, a huge sum enough to buy four handsome young slaves or 20 oxen.
Motivated by desire, everyone went to the predetermined ambush site and waited.
After a long time, the Wessex cavalry arrived on the southern shore. The commander sent a small group of soldiers to reconnoiter and ordered the horses to stop and drink water.
War horses are very delicate. They need to eat a lot of grain and drink 20-30 liters of clean water every day. If you are not careful, they will get sick and lose weight.
On the shore, having fed the horses with great difficulty, the grooms shoved a few pieces of dry food into their mouths. Before they could swallow it all, the rest time was over.
Overcoming fatigue, the groom led the warhorses through the shallows. Along the way, river fish occasionally jumped out of the water. Either the splash of water or the sway of a tail - all this could excite the emotions of the warhorses, and it took more than an hour to completely cross the river.
"At last it is over." When they
crossed the shallows, before everyone had time to catch their breath, piercing screams were heard nearby. A large group of Vikings armed with shields and axes surrounded them on three sides and shot more than 30 warriors in one fell swoop.
Finding themselves at a disadvantage, many of the Angles fled to the southern shore. When they were in the middle of the river, dozens of fierce Vikings jumped out of the bushes on the southern bank and shouted in a stern language: "Those who surrender will be spared!"