In March, the storm in the North Sea gradually died down, and longships from northern Europe were gathering one after another to take part in this unprecedented plundering raid.
Having collected enough troops, Vig wrote to Ragnar asking for 1,200 men to command.
Having received permission, he selected 1,200 raiders to include in his chain of command, and the force was increased to 2,000 men,
divided into two phalanxes, each consisting of 600 spearmen, 200 axemen with shields, and 200 archers.
With sufficient weapons and provisions, Vig spent time preparing the two phalanxes until the main force, led by Ragnar himself, arrived in Londinium on 10 April.
Looking around, he saw countless tents pitched outside the city, and the flags of various nobles fluttering in the wind. Ragnar asked Vig, who had come to greet him: "How many men in all?"
"Including the troops you brought, 10,000 men in all. If we wait any longer, more marauders will come."
10,000 was a figure far beyond Ragnar's expectations, and he was filled with a confidence he had not felt before.
"It seems West Franconia has received word. The longer the delay, the better prepared they are. Are the supplies and ships ready?"
Vig gestured to the guard behind him to hand over the account book: "We are well prepared and can set out at any time."
Ragnar laughed with satisfaction at this and decided to cross the sea to the south in three days.
Just as he was about to set out, word came from Mercia that the Welsh natives in the west were plundering villages and looting food.
"Did these bandits really attack themselves?"
Ragnar looked around at his vassals, and Ivar, Viga and Gunnar caught his attention the longest. Before he could say anything, Halfdan, who was standing next to him, took the initiative and stood up.
"Father, these are just a bunch of forest bandits. It is better for me to deal with them. West Frankia is strong and more suitable for you adults."
Halfdan knew that his martial skills, strategy, and reputation were not as good as those of Ivar, Vig, and other nobles. If he were to participate in the attack on West Frankia, he would at best be given some minor tasks.
On the other hand, if he led an army to conquer Wales alone, then with this merit he would gain the confidence to ask his father for a fief, and from then on he would be able to leave the dull palace and fully demonstrate his talents.
"Are you going to lead an army into battle?"
Looking at Halfdan's tall and strong body, Ragnar was momentarily taken aback. Subconsciously, his third son had grown up,
but he subconsciously treated him as a child.
Lagertha, the son you care about most, has also grown up.
With a slight sadness in his heart, Ragnar took a deep breath and suddenly spoke the name of Aethelwulf, asking him to take charge of the conquest of Wales and Halfdan to be his second in command.
To ensure that this man did not do anything, Ragnar deliberately recruited his three sons as palace guards to accompany him on his campaign in West Frankia.
"As you command, Your Majesty." Aethelwulf bowed and saluted, his expression blank.
Halfdan could not hide his disappointment when his request was not fully granted, and he reluctantly bowed and saluted.
Given his son's low prestige and insufficient command skills, Ragnar assigned him only a thousand men. Wessex is a strong country, and it would not be difficult to raise more than a thousand militiamen. More than two thousand men are more than enough to deal with the Welsh raiders.
Early morning of April 13.
After the sacrificial ceremony held at the dock, Ragnar boarded the largest longship and led the fleet east.
A total of 530 longships were mobilized for this expedition, 200 of which were used to transport supplies and horses.
Looking back, one could see that the dense row of longships sailing on the water resembled a floating water city.
The weather vane on the top of the towering ridge rustled. Ragnar looked up and saw a north-east wind.
The gods truly cared for him.
Following the wind, the fleet smoothly left the mouth of the River Thames and arrived in the south-eastern part of Britain, Dover, along the coastline.
Dover is about 30 kilometers from Calais across the strait. This is the narrowest part of the English Channel. With a favorable wind, the journey takes 6-8 hours. With a headwind, the journey can take 2-3 days, and sometimes you even have to return to port to wait.
After a night's rest, the fleet crossed the sea early in the morning of April 14.
The morning mist had cleared and the sun was slowly rising above sea level. The golden light spilled over the white cliffs, as if covered with a layer of gold foil.
The White Cliffs of Dover.
From the deck, Vig looked out over the five-kilometre and hundred-metre white cliffs and suddenly felt open to new things.
All his annoyances dissolved in the cries of the seagulls. "I never thought that this was the best scenery in Britain. Ulf was lucky to be transferred to such a beautiful place."
The north-east wind whistled from the sea, driving the fleet to the other side of the channel. At sunset, the Vikings successfully reached Calais Beach.
A wooden castle stood alone on a hillside in the distance, and the alarm bells could barely be heard ringing. Ragnar ignored this small group of enemies and ordered the fleet to move southwest along the coast.
In all honesty, more than 9,000 men were clearly not enough to conquer West Francia. Ragnar's plan was to sack Paris, weaken Charles the Bald as much as possible, and force him to sign a peace treaty guaranteeing no war for five years.
The flotilla stopped and then set off again along the winding coast, and after four days reached the mouth of the Seine.
At this point, some militiamen on the northern bank lit a fire, and thick black smoke rose into the sky. Soon a second column of smoke flared up in the east, and then a third.
11
Wig's worries were justified.
Long before the army set out, a Pangruli nobleman had sent word to West Francia.
After thinking it over, Aethelwulf was the most suspicious. If Ragnar's army was destroyed, he would surely gather troops and quickly occupy the empty lands around, and then march north to drive out the Vikings and become king of all the Pangruli.
"Your Majesty is still too reckless. You should not allow Aethelwulf to remain in Britain. Although you control his three sons, you are still not entirely sure."
The crew rowed against the current with all their might, and thanks to a light north-east wind, they slowly moved up the river.
After sailing for two days along the winding Seine, they saw an iron chain blocking their way. On the northern bank was the city of Rouen with a five-meter wall, and on the southern bank was a small wooden fortification.
"Iron chains to block a river? Is that possible?"
Casting iron chains to block a river was extremely difficult and time-consuming. Vig guessed that "Bald" Charles had received news of the Viking invasion the previous year and had spent more than half a year building this defense.
"This is troublesome." Vig sailed up to Ragnar's flagship in a small boat.
The nobles, after discussing it on the board for a few minutes, decided to attack the southern bank. The wooden fort was small, and the top of the watchtower was not yet finished. The difficulty of attack was much lower than that of the city on the north bank.