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Anno Domini 830, March-18
Cries of desperation could be heard everywhere, as I focused on chewing dried meat and watching the work.
We had crossed the Drava two days ago and had begun gathering supplies from the locals. There was not much at the end of winter, but there were animals. Cows and sheep were abundant, and that was necessary to continue our march south.
As I moved on horseback, I watched the Varangians dragging the inhabitants out of their homes, pushing them into the mud and pulling them by the hair.
The Slavs showed far more violence, but they at least remained disciplined, since they were the ones looting with greater intensity than the Varangians themselves.
There was a clear difference between them. The Varangians focused on looting valuables, while the Slavs prioritized metals like iron and food, which were the most desired resources for them. They often fought among themselves over the animals they captured.
I allowed them to keep a tenth of what they captured, so numbers mattered to them. When they returned to their tribes, they all wanted to do so with hundreds of animals to add to their family herds, so the Slavs had become an extremely efficient force for gathering supplies, as well as being excellent hunters and trackers.
We had been looting everything, since we were mainly looking for settlers to populate the Carpathians. Those lands had to be inhabited when I returned to Constantinople, so emptying Croatia and moving the local population to the Carpathians would be best, so that later those areas could be repopulated with troops from the themata coming from other parts of the empire. There were supposed to be many available soldiers of Armenian origin now, so it was feasible that if we left this area empty, it would be filled with Armenians and Greeks.
So, since crossing the Drava, we had been looting the plains without restraint, gathering animals for our supplies and sending the entire population north.
''Anything good?'' I said looking at a group of Varangians who had entered the house of the local noble who ruled the village.
''A couple of gold coins, a sword and a coat of mail'' the Varangian said showing me what he had taken.
''Puf, this noble really was poor'' I said as I put more dried meat into my mouth without much interest.
''Basil, look, he has cheese'' Sigurd said coming out of a local storehouse, carrying several cheeses in his arms.
''Good, we have something to put on the bread today'' I said watching as cries and sobbing echoed across the village, while the people were gathered in the middle of the square and prepared to be sent north.
''Alright, we are done here. These areas are not as fortified as one would expect. Pannonia was full of castles, but here we barely find anything to slow us down. I think they trusted too much in the river defenses'' I said watching as the village was left empty once the locals were taken north.
''And where do we ride now?'' Sigurd asked as he began cutting the cheese with a knife and devouring it immediately.
''Let me see. These maps are trash and old, but it seems there is an old Roman colony around here that could be worth controlling. First of all, I want to secure this place before marching east and meeting the Serbs. I assume Sirmium will be under their control or at least under imperial control. We could gather there and see if we have imperial reinforcements, because the terrain in Croatia is not good for cavalry'' I said studying the maps.
''What, many mountains?'' Sigurd asked with his mouth full of cheese.
''Worse. Mountains and forests. South of the Sava river they are no longer plains, but hills and mountains difficult to cross with cavalry, and the Croats should try to make movement difficult for us. Not to mention that the Franks have an army of thirty thousand men in the area, or that is what the messenger said, although he may be wrong, because an army of that size would not be easy to sustain in this rough terrain'' I said thoughtfully.
''Scouts then. We must send many scouts to try to count the number of enemy forces'' Sigurd said nodding.
''Yes, but that is where the terrain becomes a problem. I want to find the Serbs and coordinate with them, and if possible recruit a few thousand to join my army. Let them handle the scouting missions. They should know the terrain better and be used to moving through mountains and forested hills'' I said moving the horse slightly to watch a cart leaving, loaded with food.
''I see. And what is that Roman colony you say we must take?'' Sigurd asked after hitting his chest hard as he swallowed the piece of cheese in his mouth.
''Siscia. It should be along the river to the west, so it is a fortified city we should take to ensure the Franks do not use this route to send supplies to their forces, although they may do so by sea, since if they are fighting for these territories, it is much easier to move supplies by sea than by land'' I said moving the horse and drawing the attention of the others to begin moving.
''Prepare the siege equipment then. If it is a Roman fortress it must be formidable. Unless it is abandoned like those in the Carpathians, it will keep us busy for some time'' Sigurd said mounting his horse.
''Yes, ideally we should take it in a month, but if not, we will have to assault it. All of this war is already tiring me, and I want to return north to supervise construction'' I said spurring the horse.
After finishing the looting of this livestock village, we began moving west along the Sava river, looting the other villages we found along the way and capturing the locals, who were many Slavs who had converted to Christianity and worked for the Carolingians.
Divided into several groups, the looting advanced quickly, leaving the area completely empty and devoid of life, so that our enemies could not find supplies there and would be exposed to possible cavalry strikes.
We marched and continued looting, burning villages while evacuating the population toward Hungary, until we found the place we were looking for.
''What a mess. This place is a disaster'' I said looking at the fortress I had thought would be difficult to take.
''Ha ha ha and now that piece of junk is not going to stop anyone'' Sigurd said laughing and pointing at the fortification that was almost collapsing on its own. The city was not even a shadow of what it once was, and it was obvious from afar.
The fortress was nothing more than walls that barely held themselves up, so it was clear no one had maintained them. Who knows what else it had endured over time, and much of the place looked abandoned.
Without saying more, we moved my army into the area, where a group of defenders tried to hold the walls, but their numbers were so low that they could not even cover them.
They barely managed to grasp the enormous difference in numbers between our forces, so the city surrendered without any real attempt to resist, since they were facing an army that vastly outnumbered the garrison, which barely reached a few hundred.
Most of the city guards were Frankish men-at-arms, and after the surrender, we let them go, forcing them to leave their weapons and armor behind. We also removed the Frankish baron from his position, and he returned to his lands, abandoning the place.
There was not much to do here, except that the plains in the area were ideal for cultivation. There were no major resources worth establishing extraction centers. The only important thing was the position of the city, which watched over the confluence of the Sava river and served as a direct route to the Carpathian territories of my foederati, so I was forced to leave a strong local garrison to prevent any attempt to supply or reinforce the Frankish forces.
So, while I assessed the city, it did not take long to notice that there were large numbers of slaves from various tribes who had been christianized, along with some groups of Romans who spoke vulgar Latin, which I could not understand. The only ones who could handle those languages were the Catholic priests the Franks had brought to evangelize, but that would mean giving them power again, so we were left with placing a Varangian core garrison, leaving three hundred Varangians and three thousand Slavs in the area.
I avoided looting everything around this city, since it would need to be supplied by the local villages, so instead of sending riders to loot the surroundings, I sent them to drive out the Frankish garrisons and remove their officials who controlled the area, killing the Frankish soldiers and taking their equipment. Although we had achieved a great victory against the Franks and captured much of their equipment, I still had the major problem of lack of standardization, since the quality of my troops varied greatly.
I already had a Slavic core that matched Frankish quality by using their weapons and armor, but that only reached ten thousand men, and I also had to leave three thousand of them here.
The Vlachs and Rhomaioi, although they had their own equipment, were very similar to a Bulgar with lamellar armor, although not all of them, only their elite, who were the sons of the richest nobility of the area and their retainers, while their men-at-arms simply wore mail with hardened leather.
Considering my Varangian core of eight thousand five hundred men, I had around twenty thousand of my thirty two thousand seven hundred men who were decently equipped for battle, so I had to be careful in a frontal clash against Frankish troops.
''Good, we will camp here. We have to repair the walls as much as possible, fix the place and build siege machinery to strengthen our defense'' I said as I walked through the streets paved with cobblestones that were still in good condition.
''Understood, do we leave supplies in the inner fortress granaries or do we only rely on what the nearby villages can provide'' Sigurd said scratching his beard while looking at the ruined buildings of the area.
''We fill them with our own supplies. If a Frankish force arrives right after we leave, it would leave the garrison in a very bad situation and that is something we cannot allow'' I said as I walked until I found what looked like the entrance to the Roman cistern.
''Oh shit'' Sigurd said as he caught the smell coming from inside.
''Oh god'' I said as I felt a tear run down my face from the terrible stench. ''They let the water stagnate. This place must not have been maintained for years'' I said covering my nose with my hand.
''Close that'' Sigurd said as he pushed the heavy cistern door shut and blocked the smell.
''Someone has to go in there and clean it. That filth is a danger to everything. It must be a breeding ground for disease and instead of providing water to the city, it will only bring sickness'' I said as I shook my head.
''Yeah, but who do we send in there'' Sigurd said as he waved his hand in front of his face, trying to push the smell away, his armor clanking loudly.
''This is solved with money. Five gold coins a week for anyone who volunteers to clean it, up to one hundred men. The place must be clean before we march to meet the Serbs'' I said as I looked at Sigurd, who nodded at the price.
''Ask the Slavs first, I doubt many will accept'' Sigurd said as he placed his hands on his hips while looking at the group of Slavs inspecting some ruins.
''Yes, I will start with them. They will likely be the most motivated to do the job, since that way they can try to buy cattle and other things for their own tribes. So we will begin there. For now make sure they start demolishing the old buildings of the city in search of usable stone, or we will have to find the quarry that supplied the city and it may be to the south, and I do not want to enter that terrain unless I must'' I replied as I walked toward the fortress.
''Consider it done'' Sigurd replied as he quickly began giving orders to the rest of the men.
As I began climbing up to the fortress, I noticed some buildings starting to collapse under my men, who were trying to recover as much reusable material as possible for the task.
The sound of buildings collapsing filled the city while soldiers and civilians worked together gathering supplies to repair the walls.
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