Rise of Rurik

The long ice freeze has finally ended, and there is still broken ice floating on the sea, allowing even the smallest fishing boats to sail calmly.

The trade routes blocked by ice and snow were officially restored, and the dormant power of the entire eastern and northern Baltic Sea began to revive.

The huge Ross fleet is about to return to its Kronstadt anchorage in Neurossburg! A year ago, they gathered from Tombstone Island and set sail for the expedition. Exactly one year later, they returned home with loot and a great victory!

After many days of rest, the army entrenched on the island has almost regained its energy. They have been eating dried fish these days, and this kind of meal is really just make-do.

Or because of the ice blockade, food from outside the territory cannot be transported to the island. The appetite of thousands of people has made Tombstone Island about to run out of food.

Fortunately the difficult times are over!

The fishing operation will be in full swing, and fishing boats from the north will make a mad dash to the southern Baltic Sea.

Fishermen of all kinds on Tombstone Island have perfected their own hemp rope nets, hooks and lines, and even steel harpoons for hunting whales and seals.

The troops who are about to return home complete their final preparations.

The restless new country is beating wildly. The people who survived the war do not have the mentality of lying down and resting and enjoying the victory after the victory. They are the best labor force. Now they have to go home as soon as possible, just to make a strong contribution to their own spring plowing. the power of.

They were energetic and anxious, and the king had already stipulated that the agricultural tax in 841 would be completely exempted. There are even rumors that the so-called King Renshan will be exempted from agricultural taxes next year, 842.

Such good policies are very beneficial to the old and new Russians who own fertile land and have made a lot of money. However, the Slavic people in the Novgorod region with a population of more than 200,000 are really grateful for this good policy.

You can rest with the people for at least one year. If the situation is good, you can take a two-year break.

Rurik knew very well that the Frankish Kingdom officially split in 843. He learned this history from textbooks, but he did not know the specific details.

Now that he has become the promoter of this period of history, the war in 840 has changed a lot. However, even if he did not have a hand in it, the rifts between the princes had long appeared and the civil war had already broken out.

There must be a decisive battle to end everything! Maybe it will happen in 843 after all.

Resting with the people in this way does not really show sympathy for the people's strength, but allows the people across the country to slowly accumulate "fat" to calmly face new and severe challenges.

For the benefit of the kingdom, Rus would not hesitate to intervene in the Frankish civil war. In order to prevent Russia from taking a strategic advantage when the decisive battle comes, and even to defend the fruits of victory gained in Europe in the War of 840, strategic planning must begin non-stop.

The attempt to drive up the price of horse leather was a great success, and the treasury received four hundred pounds of silver coins. Brothers Black Fox and Red Fox handed over their certificates of investment.

The two brothers are about to leave their old father and accept the arrangement of King Rurik. They bring letters of introduction, money, mercenaries, and an armed cargo ship. First, they go straight to the temporary capital of Denmark, Mahobi or Copenhagen, and then to Hamburg. Stay and wait for news. They will undergo a special ceremony in Hamburg - baptism.

Converting to God is the command of King Rus, and Black Fox and Red Fox are even looking forward to it. The two of them are not religious at all, but in a sense they can act very religious. Businessmen who sail will always face many bizarre things. People are very superstitious about this. It is always a good thing to believe in a few gods. Belief in God is just another patron saint for the unknown business road, nothing more. However, with the blessing of God's faith, he can act openly in the Frankish world.

Once the good news comes from the hinterland of the Rhine, the brothers will head to Rotterstad.

They will stay in Rotterstad and immediately start building the Ross Shop there, a comprehensive base including commercial, military, and material distribution centers. Euphemistically called the concession area obtained from the Netherlands, the lease time is unlimited.

The Gould family is very wealthy. On Tombstone Island, the two brothers easily recruited some Viking warriors who were interested in making a fortune. They still recruit soldiers, and the mercenaries come from Lake Mälaren, and they even first recruit fellow villagers from the Angkras tribe of their ancestral home.

"Your second brother will explore the way for you first, and eventually he will control the security of the entire Götaland in Gothenburg. The Ross Shops in Rotterstad and Nassau Castle will eventually be taken charge of by each of you two brothers." This was Rurik's arrangement, and the two of them kept it in mind.

The old Gould will eventually meet his end. The loneliness when he thinks that his last two adult sons will leave him to start a career is enough to make this old man cry.

He sent the blacksmiths on the island to create two pairs of special and precious amulets, which were actually two pairs of silver and gold cross pendants. Wearing this, they look like wild Christians! This is not the case.

The brothers also own a sterling amber Lucky Elf pendant, a sterling silver hammer pendant (representing Thor), a sterling silver bird pendant (representing Odin), and a sterling silver pig pendant (representing Frey).

The two of them brought letters of introduction written by Rurik himself, one of which was in pure Latin. After arriving in Hamburg, they handed it to Archbishop Eskil, who then baptized them. By.

This matter was Rurik's last concern on the island, and then came the final triumph.

According to tradition, Rurik organized people to hold the spring sailing ceremony on Tombstone Island.

Those brave fishermen who took the risk first caught fish, and these became one of the sacrifices. In addition, the other sacrifices are wheat grains, plus the catch, which represents the gifts of the earth and the gifts of the sea.

Any sacrifice has its own details, and its interpretation is firmly controlled by the king himself.

Rurik had his own explanation for this.

A small pine wooden platform was built on the shore of the pier. Fish and wheat were placed on the platform, and then the entire wooden platform was lit with fire to worship the god Frei, who was in charge of the harvest.

Regarding the belief in the Nordic gods, each tribe has different belief emphasis. Rurik regulated it and established seven gods as the main worshippers.

God Frey is a god believed by all tribes, and any work related to wealth is under his protection.

Because the Nordic sea god is always frightening because of the waves he makes, people don't worship this god, they are just simply afraid.

Frey and Odin were the chief priests of this small-scale sacrificial event. When the sacrifices turned into smoke in the fire, the ceremony was completed.

The once bustling Tombstone Island will enter a brief hiatus, but will enjoy prosperity again with the influx of ships from the north and east.

The huge fleet was divided into two groups, with some ships stationed on Tombstone Island and serving as merchant ships communicating with Lake Mälaren.

Most of the ships in the Grand Fleet will go all the way east, and Rurik will no longer be able to stop on the way, and will go straight to New Roseburg.

In this way, the heroic king wears a golden laurel crown and stands at the bow of the flagship ship. The north wind blowing is no longer like a knife, but like Freya's caress. This warm wind can bring the power of immediate recovery to the dormant earth.

Even war horses were transported to armed cargo ships, and warriors carrying their respective trophies filled the cabin.

The king drew his sword, pointing directly at the rich east.

"let's go!"

For a time, the whole army blew the horns collectively, and the melodious sound shocked the dawn.

The sailors sang trumpets to raise the jib, and then quickly retrieved the anchor head with the winch.

The entire fleet temporarily sailed against the south wind until a vast sea appeared in the east, and they rushed towards the Gulf of Finland...

There is no longer any obstruction, no need to stop anymore, ships of all sizes are sprinting at full speed, their keels smashing into all the floating ice in the way. During this period, Javlo and his Finnish army happened to pass through Helminki. They did not go home directly, but continued to follow the army to New Roseburg.

The Finns have their own goals. They also obtained a lot of spoils in the war. Everyone has a lot of silver coins, but there is no place to spend them in their hometown. Or Novorosberg or Novgorod, only the markets of these two big cities allowed them to buy a large amount of daily necessities. It's rare to enter a big city, and it's even rarer to have a huge sum of money. They do not need to sell food on a large scale. Cloth, ready-made clothes, iron farm tools, and iron tableware are what they need most.

"You can buy anything you can think of at the Outer City Market in New Roseburg." They firmly believe this statement and are happy to tell people they know about it.

The Finns also have no fear of the capital city of the kingdom. Some of their fellow countrymen have already settled there, and the royal city has long been a melting pot for all ethnic groups in the kingdom.

New Roseburg has unique water conservancy advantages. Both sides of the Neva River can be transformed into oat fields and are also natural grazing land. The channels leading from the main river provided the city with an easily accessible water source. The water from the channels drove wooden wheel waterwheels, and more and more water-powered mills were built.

The agricultural production base is in the area around Lake Ilmen, including the large city of Novgorod.

New Roseburg is the seat of the royal family and the largest economic and trade center in the East.

Even if the king and the expeditionary army have not returned, the high priest Rumia will still hold the sailing ceremony as usual.

The sacrifice was a reindeer. Since this is the largest city in the kingdom, the opening ceremony of New Roseburg means that all commercial activities here have begun, and no one can tolerate the shabby ceremony.

Due to the principle that cannot be overstepped, the slaughter of a hundred deer for sacrifice will not damage the population size of the royal herd in principle. However, the sacrifice should only be carried out during the coronation ceremony of the new king or when the king declares a war to destroy the country.

Rumia was beaten in half, and fifty deer were moved to the banks of the Neva River by strong men.

Even with the tall antlered helmet on her head, she is still a short woman, which makes her even more mysterious. Holding on to the precious amber staff passed down from the past high priests of Rus, she actually ordered her daughter to hold a short sword inlaid with precious stones and assassinate the deer that were tightly controlled by the strong man one by one.

Velika, who has passed her eighth birthday, is a cross between Ross and Deerherder, with dual genes from Northern Europe and North Asia.

Rurik likes his eldest daughter very much, because she has his own aesthetic point of view, and because she is the eldest daughter, it is easy for her father to love her. Most importantly, she is destined to be the next high priest.

The high priest of the Great Temple of Uppsala is Lumi from Kovin, and the "Gem" Great Temple of Rossburg must be inherited by the descendants of Velika and his bloodline.

Even though she was only eight years old, she had to attend important ceremonies. She fulfills her duties as a vicar, even if the work is bloody.

Killing a deer that was taller than you was really scary at first, but after being forced to do it many times by your mother, you became relieved. Especially when his mother scolded him so harshly: "When your father was your age, he not only dared to kill a deer, but also dared to cut out the deer's liver. You must prove to everyone that you are a qualified high priest."

For a time, both sides of the Neva River were crowded with people, and even the tall city walls were full of onlookers.

The scene of the deer slaughter was huge. They saw a short figure stabbing out a bright white dagger, and then the red slurry flowed into the rapids of the Neva River full of ice floes. Some old guys commented on little Velika, especially her bloodline.

Velika is not a pure-blooded old Russian. Until all the old guys die, the secret discussions about mixed blood will never stop, but no one publicly criticizes the bloodline issue because she is the eldest daughter of the king!

More people were eager to see the little Velika calmly complete the ritual, so every time she assassinated a deer, thousands of onlookers cheered enthusiastically.

The Neva is flowing and navigation is fully restored when the ice is cleared.

High Priest Rumia is also officiating at the sacrifice of Odin and Frey. Due to the habits of the local Slavic people and the Pan-Finnish people, this sacrifice is also regarded as a sacrifice to the God of Lake Ladoga and the God of the Neva River.

People were reassured, and immediately after the ceremony, the sacrificial deer was skinned, cut, and transported to the market for sale.

Now, snapping up "opened" venison is a spring trend again, and fresh deer skins immediately flow into local leather workshops.

Even the deer bones were picked up by the Finnish Suomi people who stayed there, just to make string triggers. Because they were taken from sacrifices, people believed that this kind of triggers had the magic power given by the Russian harvest god Frei, and bow hunters would hit the target with perfect accuracy.

That was a sacrifice of fifty deer! Nowadays, the royal servants of the royal family, the deer herders (Lapps), have bred a huge herd of royal deer, and it has become normal for grand priests to spend huge amounts of sacrifices.

People firmly believe that their life will be better this year if they are more pious to the gods.

After all, the Great Temple is also a tradition of the Ross tribe. The Hotla family, a shipbuilding family from the Melalen tribe, has always had its own sacrificial customs.

The offshore fishing catches were piled up in a big basket. The herrings were dead and the smelly fish were all dumped into the sea. This act, which can be called performance art, is a tribute to the violent sea god. Karl Hollarson, who manages the New Roseburg branch of the family, performed the ceremony and then continued their great project-the ship of the Sea Monarch. Shell construction.

When the ice completely thaws and turns into densely packed ice floes, rituals of setting sail and worshiping the god of agriculture are held in various places.

They were looking forward to fertile years, but they never expected that less than two days after the grand ceremony in New Rossburg, the fishing boats and merchant ships rushing to the Gulf of Finland and sailing west would directly encounter the huge fleet rushing eastward.

Look! The flags flying everywhere and the exaggerated blue lines on the huge triangle sail.

"The king is back!" The family of cod fishermen completely stopped their men. Their boats were bullying the waves, but the couples and children raised their hands and cheered desperately.

Rurik, who was standing high up, noticed this situation, while the sailor riding on the top of the mast had descended quickly to report shocking information: There were small boats everywhere due east!

"They have already held a sailing ceremony, a little earlier than I thought?! That's good, so business will resume early, which will help me dump the spoils."

At least a hundred large and small fishing boats gave up their work and spontaneously moved closer to the large fleet.

The fishermen cheered when they saw the king sitting on the bow of the ship with his flagship, and his golden ponytail flowing in the wind became the most conspicuous feature.

The fleet was still huge, and astute people suddenly noticed the abnormal draft of the main ship.

The most exciting thing is when a big ship on a long voyage arrives at the port! Obviously, the collective draft of the triumphant fleet was very deep, which meant that a huge amount of loot was about to arrive in the royal city.

The king is fulfilling his oath. The war has gained huge benefits for Ross. The wealth is about to arrive in the royal city, and those who are prepared can get a share of the pie.

Do you still want to continue fishing? Pooh! Come back to Hong Kong quickly!

Bring your savings at home to snap up the loot unloaded by the king!

We can't forget the victorious warriors, as a large number of men participated in the war in Fort New Rose. People ignored the sacrifices and the sadness caused by this, and looked forward to the triumphant villagers returning home with a large amount of loot, and then selling it at a low price to quickly realize the cash.

Then Kotlin Island came into view, and the outline of the eastern coastline became clearer.

At this moment, Rurik grasped the railing at the bow of the ship. He was not excited enough to jump. Instead, the soldiers crowded in the cabin stood on the deck, causing the battleships to move up.

The soldiers were cheering, as were the fishermen who were following behind.

Who can ignore this joy! ?

Rurik continued to smile with satisfaction, and he ordered the flag bearer: "Order everyone on each ship to make as much noise as possible."

Thousands of people cheered in response to the order, accompanied by horn horns and war drums. They made a huge noise, which even the strong south wind could not stop.

New Roseburg with its towering walls is already very clear, and a tall attic within the city is the royal palace.

"We're finally home..." Rurik's broad hands clenched the wooden railing tightly.

He still did not fall into ecstasy until his eyes swept across the densely packed shanty town outside the walled main city, and his eyes were fixed on the shipbuilding workshop far away from the main city.

"That! Is it the hull? It's been a year and a half since the dry dock was excavated. The hull of my warship is almost ready?!"

Rurik could no longer suppress the joy in his heart. He knew that he had given the Hotla family a difficult task, promising significant funds and bonuses, as well as hereditary honorable status for family members in the kingdom. Apparently they have really followed through on their orders and are starting to show results.

His heart became more and more excited, thinking that the world's first Galen ship would be born in his own hands.