登陆注册
5268700000017

第17章 CHAPTER IV: THE INVASION OF WESSEX(3)

The armies met near Wilton, where the Danes in vastly superior numbers were posted on a hill. King Alfred led his forces forward and fell upon the Danes, and so bravely did the Saxons fight that for some time the day went favourably for them. Gradually the Danes were driven from their post of vantage, and after some hours' fighting turned to fly; but, as at Merton and Kesteven, the impetuosity of the Saxons proved their ruin. Breaking their compact ranks they scattered in pursuit of the Danes, and these, seeing how small was the number of their pursuers, rallied and turned upon them, and the Saxons were driven from the field which they had so bravely won.

"Unless my brave Saxons learn order and discipline," the king said to Edmund and some of his nobles who gathered round him on the evening after the defeat, "our cause is assuredly lost. We have proved now in each battle that we are superior man to man to the Danes, but we throw away the fruits of victory by our impetuosity. The great Caesar, who wrote an account of his battles which I have read in Latin, described the order and discipline with which the Roman troops fought. They were always in heavy masses, and even after a battle the heavy-armed soldiers kept their ranks and did not scatter in pursuit of the enemy, leaving this task to the more lightly armed troops, "Would that we had three or four years before us to teach our men discipline and order, but alas! there is no time for this. The Danes have fallen in great numbers in every fight, but they are ever receiving reinforcements and come on in fresh waves of invasion; while the Saxons, finding that all their efforts and valour seem to avail nothing, are beginning fast to lose heart. See how small a number assembled round my standard yesterday, and yet the war is but beginning. Truly the look-out is bad for England."

The king made strenuous efforts again to raise an army, but the people did not respond to his call. In addition to the battles which have been spoken of several others had been fought in different parts of Wessex by the ealdormen and their followers against bodies of invading Danes. In the space of one year the Saxons had engaged in eight pitched battles and in many skirmishes. Great numbers had been slain on both sides, but the Danes ever received fresh accessions of strength, and seemed to grow stronger and more numerous after every battle, while the Saxons were dwindling rapidly.

Wide tracts of country had been devastated, the men slaughtered, and the women and children taken captives, and the people, utterly dispirited and depressed, no longer listened to the voices of their leaders, and refused again to peril their lives in a strife which seemed hopeless. Alfred therefore called his ealdormen together and proposed to them, that since the people would no longer fight, the sole means that remained to escape destruction was to offer to buy off the Danes.

The proposal was agreed to, for although none of them had any hope that the Danes would long keep any treaty they might make, yet even a little respite might give heart and spirit to the Saxons again. Accordingly negotiations were entered into with the Danes, and these, in consideration of a large money payment, agreed to retire from Wessex. The money was paid, the Danes retired from Reading, which they had used as their headquarters, and marched to London.

King Burhred, the feeble King of Mercia, could do nothing to oppose them, and he too agreed to pay them a large annual tribute.

>From the end of 872 till the autumn of 875 the country was comparatively quiet. Alfred ruled it wisely, and tried to repair the terrible damages the war had made. Edmund looked after his earldom, and grew into a powerful young man of nineteen years old.

King Alfred had not deceived himself for a moment as to the future. "The Danes," he said, "are still in England.

East Anglia and Northumbria swarm with them. Had this army, after being bought off by us and my brother of Mercia, sailed across the seas and landed in France there would have been some hope for us, but their restless nature will not allow them to stay long in the parts which they have conquered.

"In Anglia King Guthrum has divided the land among his jarls, and there they seem disposed to settle down; but elsewhere they care not for the land, preferring to leave it in the hands of its former owners to till, and after to wring from the cultivators the fruits of the harvest; then, as the country becomes thoroughly impoverished, they must move elsewhere.

Mercia they can overrun whensoever they choose, and after that there is nothing for them to do but to sweep down again upon Wessex, and with all the rest of England at their feet it is hopeless to think that we alone can withstand their united power."

"Then what, think you, must be the end of this?" Edmund asked.

"'Tis difficult to see the end," Alfred replied. "It would seem that our only hope of release from them is that when they have utterly eaten up and ravaged England they may turn their thoughts elsewhere. Already they are harrying the northern coasts of France, but there are richer prizes on the Mediterranean shores, and it may be that when England is no longer worth plundering they may sail away to Spain and Italy. We have acted foolishly in the way we have fought them. When they first began to arrive upon our coasts we should have laboured hard to build great fleets, so that we could go forth and meet them on the seas.

同类推荐
  • 达摩多罗禅经

    达摩多罗禅经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 诊家正眼

    诊家正眼

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 南斗延寿灯仪

    南斗延寿灯仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera

    Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 吕祖志

    吕祖志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 重生最强逆天女王

    重生最强逆天女王

    【1V1宠文,爽文,架空,热血升级流】婚礼当天,女神医沈轻寒意外遭遇枪击枉死,重生成同名同姓小可怜少女,第一天就斗倒了渣爹继母。岂料母亲留下的玉佩里竟然藏着上古医术传承,从此,沈轻寒凭借一手起死回生医术崛起H国,成为H国最年轻神秘中医圣手,被各大势力争相追逐!同时,她发现自己的枉死并不是意外,而是一场人为的精心策划,幕后指使者,竟然是她那个外表人畜无害深情款款的未婚夫!而被她捡回家的美貌高冷小狼狗,竟然是H国下一任国王继承人!
  • 一本书读懂微表情心理学

    一本书读懂微表情心理学

    本书正是教给你这样一种洞悉人内心的方法。无论是面对同事还是朋友、男人还是女人、上司还是下属、陌生人还是老熟人,你都能具备一双慧眼,衡量话语探索的尺度,从每个人的言谈举止中捕获他们的性格特征、生活习惯,从每个人的生活细节中了解他们的气质秉性、所思所想,达到可以透析他们的目的。
  • 权势转移:近代中国的思想与社会(修订版)

    权势转移:近代中国的思想与社会(修订版)

    本书注重历史当事人的时代关怀,返其旧心,从广义的文化视角考察近代中国思想与社会的权势转移。全书跨越思想史和社会史的学科藩篱,通过探讨近代大变局中传统的中断与传承,中西文化竞争与民族主义的特异,思想衍化与社会变迁的互动等各层面的多元互动,揭示近代中国社会新中有旧、旧中有新的丰富特性。随着四民社会的解体和经典的隐退,出现了民国之中“国进民退”的倾向。这些演变既产生了众多问题,又遮蔽了不少问题,当时就造成读书人的困扰,迄今仍在影响我们。
  • 尧天女帝

    尧天女帝

    她本性不羁,却要佯装成豪门淑女,一场被安排的婚礼中,为了自由,她身投大海——本是诈死脱身,可是,一个意外,却让她的假死变成了真死!再次醒来,她已成了她——一个任性刁蛮,不学无术,又性好渔色,不成大器的小王爷!既然老天让她重生,那么这一世,去他的名门淑女,她定要卸下伪装,做回真正的自己!问她,江山,美人,到底想的是什么?她不羁一笑,她想要的,是自由,天下为我独尊的自由,天高地阔任我遨游!为了她追崇的逍遥自由,她不得不站在权力的颠峰,不得不将那至高的权力握于手中,俯瞰众生!※冥夜,贴身侍卫,深浅难测,身份几重?越银叶,四大名门公子之一,挥剑如流星,十步杀一人。雪奴,青楼妓子,身如浮萍,却有惊世才华。白子露,族人求和送来的礼物,却拥有着最清澈的眸子,最纯净的灵魂!……美男逐步增加中,美男多多不一一列举,看简介不如看文!哈哈!感谢青墨烟水为《尧天女帝》做的封面!-------推荐自己的完结文-----------《傲世风华》:《烈焰战神》:
  • 坐在马桶上仰望星空

    坐在马桶上仰望星空

    我们经常会有这样的错觉:仿佛在不久的将来,我将推出一个改变世界的产品,我将撰写一部鸿篇巨制的小说,或者实际点,我要说一口流利的外语,我要拿到某家知名企业的offer。而这基本上都是坐在马桶上时的胡思乱想。尤其是当手边没有报刊杂志,洗手间没网或手机没电的时候。提上裤子之后,又是一切照旧,懒散如故,也许有人会象征性地坚持片刻,但能坚持到下次脱下裤子的人却是寥若晨星。你以为有个牛逼的想法,不画上几叠错综复杂的结构图,不写上几抽屉密密麻麻的代码,不经历卑躬屈膝的融资和推广,一个改变世界的产品就应运而生了?
  • 鸿蒙道之幻世逍遥

    鸿蒙道之幻世逍遥

    在人间,留下至圣之名,传为万古奇谈!在仙魔妖佛界,成为人人惊叹的奇才,曾一怒,摧毁亿万人的大派!一切,都是为了追寻心中至爱!长剑出,乾坤震动,长剑落,星河破碎!
  • 重生之战神吕布

    重生之战神吕布

    掌中方天戟,身下赤兔马,天下何处去不得!本书读者群:276938907(战神殿)新书《三国之终极商人》已经发布,还望诸位多多支持!
  • 红颜贪欢

    红颜贪欢

    【起点女生网2组A班签约作品】她说:人生在世,不过须臾。她继续说:在世不贪欢,枉自为红颜。可是……*************************新坑《非上花轿》、《鸳鸯相报何时了》正在更新,敬请收藏阅读。
  • 嫡女骗行记

    嫡女骗行记

    本人就是一穿越的咋滴,本人不会做饭,不会什么奇特医术,不会什么盖世武功,既不会跟人玩心机,也不会跟人斗心计,但是我最会的就是骗人了。在现代,跟着师父学道二十余载,一事无成,一朝穿越,身份还行,相府嫡女耶!【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • THE END OF

    THE END OF

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。