Rise of Rurik

There is a swampland with rich water and grass between the two forests. Except for the central area, which is full of water and mud ponds, the closer to the forest area, the harder the ground becomes. The Reedy River is right in front of you, which eventually empties into the Gulf of Finland.

There are a large number of rivers flowing into the Gulf of Finland. They are large and small and it is difficult to distinguish them. In the past, due to the need for convenient navigation, the Russians rarely went deep into the nearby estuaries to investigate.

In the past, even if there was an investigation, it would not go too far, just because it lacked economic significance to explore new routes at that time.

How is Reed River? The two long boats moored on the riverside immediately came into use.

Karl took his crew to board his boat again. When he anchored a few days ago, he was convinced that the river bed in this section of the river was very shallow. How shallow is it? There is a lot of silt in the river bank and the entire area is black, making it impossible to estimate with the naked eye.

The newly cut branches were used as probes. Carl relied on this to confirm that even if the branches were inserted to the bottom, the total depth would be only one and a half meters, which would be roughly the same as a man standing in the water with his head barely exposed.

Ross's horses could barely pass at such a depth, and the river flow was very slow, so there was no need to worry about the horses' unstable footing.

But the current river channel is not a good ferry, and it is easy to solve the problem. Use a lot of hemp rope to arrange the rafts, and a pontoon bridge is completed.

After all, the central river bed is so deep, and the river is only about twenty meters wide. Either a small pontoon bridge is built, or a river bed is filled with stones to create a small embankment that is blocked by the river water.

Rurik chose the latter and planned to transport stones from afar and slowly pile them up here, creating a semi-submersible dam with a water depth of only one meter. It will not only stabilize the passage but also prevent ordinary ships from continuing to explore upstream.

A waterway needs to be dug in the swamp, with a width of at least ten meters, and a water depth of one and a half meters in the center of the waterway to ensure that traditional long boats can navigate smoothly.

A checkpoint should be built at the contact point between the Reed River and the canal, for no other reason than to collect tolls from merchants, so as to recover the financial investment in digging the canal and become a method of future fiscal revenue.

The Balotawo camp should be urbanized. Not only should it continue to be a pasture for the Calf Manor, but it should also build facilities similar to a hotel to provide supplies for merchants. At the same time, the natural peat soil resources here should be used to develop into farmland or the black soil should be dug away. Then ask for living space from the forest, create a larger flat land here, let the grass grow wildly, and expand the scope of the pasture.

Navigation, shoals, tax points, and new towns were recorded by Rurik and became the four tasks of the canal construction project.

Rurik can foresee that when the project is completed, a large number of ships will enter Lake Yinelmen through the "second route", and it will become more prosperous, and the collection of tolls will be a strong supplement to the finances. Likewise, it is the facility that revolutionizes Calf Estate.

The Wallonda River, which is rarely visited by people, will become prosperous, and the Calf Manor can completely engage the entire village in the service industry. At the same time, they transformed into a canal road team, focusing on guarding the canal and receiving a certain share of the toll collection. This is a benefit for die-hard allies!

The items of the plan were listed on paper and handed over to Governor Medved in written form.

The governor did not understand the future economic development of a canal and did not bother to pay much attention. He noticed two important items in the clause: digging a waterway and building a dam on the Reedy River.

So, where did the trench diggers come from?

Rurik wouldn't immediately gather his young cavalry to serve as husbandmen. Aren't the cowherds of the calf manor who watch the fields on the spot the best husbandmen?

The men and women were gathered together, and Rurik stood on the tilted wooden cart and preached to the villagers.

He was emphasizing a principle: "The kingdom is going to dig a canal in the activity area of ​​your Calf Manor! The king wants to make an agreement with you! You must mobilize your village to participate. When the canal is completed, you will have the right to collect from the tolls You will get one-tenth of the reward for winning. From now on, you, the Calf Manor, will focus on guarding the entire canal, catching those who have escaped, and ensuring smooth shipping routes. You will get permanent benefits from your current efforts, which is more than raising cattle. Make money.”

The basic principle of the agreement is equivalent to stock dividends. The property rights of the canal belong to the state and are equivalent to the royal family. It's just that the work of digging the canal should be mainly undertaken by the Calf Estate. In exchange, they will also receive toll dividends for generations.

In the good days of guarding the canal to collect tolls, wouldn't it be like people sitting by the river with silver coins rolling in? And it was authorized by the king.

Since this is closely related to their own interests, those who realize the secret are instantly excited!

Those young men waved flags and shouted, claiming to have brought their own dry food, picked up shovels, and started digging. They even knew that the work of digging water channels was relatively large, and they did not want people from other manors to get involved.

Governor Medved vowed to complete the dredging of the canal by the fall of the following year, and he was already coordinating the young men of the Roaring Calf Manor to take action.

He had already visited the entire swamp with Rurik, and had a deep understanding of this area thanks to a good chat with the cattle herder. He brainstormed with the villagers and came up with the method of digging ditches in a very short time, and decided to implement it immediately.

The Second Cavalry was temporarily stationed in Balotawo. The young cavalry herded their horses and cut down some pine trees to build sheds on the spot.

They were ordered to temporarily station here. After all, this trip is considered a military operation. The cavalry has separated from the main settlement area and is essentially stationed in the wilderness. This is to prepare for independent combat missions in the future.

Pine trees collapsed, and the young cavalryman relied on two two-man saws to cut down the trees efficiently. The straight tree trunk was dragged by many warriors, and then they swarmed up and chopped off the bark with hand axes to form a bare log. One by one, such logs lie directly across the course of the Reed River. A large number of logs directly create a bridge, which is then tied and fixed with vines and hemp ropes. The length of the tree trunk exceeds the width of the river, and a bridge that can only pass one person and one horse quickly takes shape in the hands of the young warrior.

Because according to intelligence, the Finnish-speaking Savok villages in the lower reaches of the Reed River are located entirely on the right bank of the river, that is, the observer faces the lower reaches of the river and his right hand points to the right bank.

Considering that the lower reaches of the Reed River are getting wider and wider, the river channel will probably be deeper. It does not mean that it will be difficult to find a suitable shoal crossing. Since there is a low-cost way to cross the river, you must do it now.

Rurik directed the army to build small bridges this time, and he was definitely not doing anything other than supervising this matter.

Now it is impossible to return to the capital New Roseburg before and after the summer solstice ceremony. He was a little anxious before, but now he simply doesn't want to. Once he had such an idea and realized that he suddenly had a lot more time, Rurik decided to roll up his sleeves and do something big.

What exactly is the "second waterway" like? The Karlbrand expedition team will definitely not lie, but this route is related to future economic interests, and Rurik wants to investigate it personally. Not only did he want to do this, but the original plan of taking a boat and floating on the Volkhov River-Neva River route to the capital was cancelled. The team took a new route and went all the way to the capital on the coast of the Gulf of Finland to personally prove the effectiveness of the new channel. reliable.

Rurik felt that those cunning businessmen were generally unwilling to take risks. Unless the king showed up to prove that the "second waterway" was smooth, the waterway could really be put into use quickly.

He stationed himself in the swamp of Balotawo and immediately sent the veterans drawn from the cavalry to gallop back to the city as messengers.

The messenger has multiple tasks.

Recall the Boyarwski family from Calf Manor and order them to arrive in Balotavo. The first scribe, Ella, was asked to take her entire team and all the manuscripts to Calf Manor quickly, and then assemble in Balotawo.

Secondly, there was the order from Governor Medvet, both of which were conveyed to Novgorod by the king's messengers, that is, the first and second hundred of the Slavic Banner Corps were temporarily recruited from the city and ordered to bring their own troops. Shovel, taking a long boat attached to the Governor's Palace, transported 10,000 pounds of oats from the warehouse, rowed into the Calf Manor, and then headed up the Valonda River to Balotavo.

Medved was the de facto governor and the country's uncle. He proved his diligence with practical actions. Once the plan to dig the canal was set, he must complete it as quickly as possible.

A large number of people will gather in the watery Balotawo with supplies, and it will take some time for their arrival.

This was an evening that could not have been more peaceful.

The bridge over the Reed River has been built, and the cavalry personally passed it to confirm that the bridge can fully satisfy four riders crossing the bridge at the same time. Its width is designed to only accommodate narrow pony carriages, and it is only equivalent to two meters.

A group of cavalry was already active on the other side of the river, and three teams (ten people) were ordered to explore the environment in three directions.

What they could see was a dense forest. They were riding horses and walking in the cold temperate forest. The pine trees were visible to the naked eye, and they could hear the gentle chirping of birds in their ears. They just didn't know where the birds were hiding.

"You try your best to explore. It would be great if you can find a natural flat land in the forest." Rurik ordered, and the three teams were tasked with exploring forest pastures.

However, all they can find is probably an endless forest, or in other words, no matter which direction the expedition explores, they can only foresee the forest.

The entire Reedy River or Luga River Basin has such a geographical structure. The river water eventually flows into the Gulf of Finland. The macroscopically huge arc-shaped river channel forms the natural outer boundary of New Roseburg.

If a large-scale war breaks out in later generations, the entire Reed River will be a place that military strategists must defend. So during World War II in another dimension, the arc-shaped defense line of the Luga River (Reed River) extended all the way to Novgorod. The Soviet army had been desperately holding on to the Luga defense line, paying a huge price and finally the overall situation collapsed. The German troops that broke through the Luga River defense line were able to advance forward and directly attack the city of Leningrad, and Novgorod was also occupied.

Even if the times are different and the historical opportunities we face are completely different, the direction of the river will not change drastically in a thousand years. This river has great economic interests for Ross in this time and space. Governor Medved also mentioned the possible threat from the Pskov people in the west, which makes the entire river area need to be guarded.

The answer is obvious. The entire basin of the Reed River (Luga River) determines the land defense lines of Novorosberg and Novgorod, the only two "super cities" in Russia. In the future, armed ships on the inland rivers can be arranged. Carry out patrols to ensure that no forces will sneak up on you.

Rurik remained vigilant. Before he conquered Pskov, the people there were potential threats and he had to be careful.

The troops rested by the river at dusk, and the horses were released from their reins and allowed to freely graze on grass. The young cavalry soldiers lit bonfires, ate the fish caught nearby, and cooked the wheat they brought with them.

Rurik was able to have a good chat with Medved, and now the other party happily proposed his own canal digging plan.

"I have decided. In the area near your bridge, the soil there is very soft and suitable for digging. I will set it up as the port of the canal and start digging when the people of my flag team arrive. At the same time, I will also go to Uski The old guy took his people and started digging in Balotavo on the banks of the Valonda River. Two groups of us dug separately. If we work hard enough, maybe the river channel will be initially excavated before this winter."

Digging from both ends? The efficiency is naturally faster.

Rurik nodded: "Just do it this way, so I will grant you 10,000 pounds of wheat. I am not here to feed idle people. The standard food for each commoner per day is two pounds of oats, and an additional ten silver coins will be given to each person per month." The salary will be paid in equivalent grain."

"Then, excluding the autumn harvest this year, the laborers in our organization can work for at least three months... in full." Medved estimated this.

"Calculate it as three months. Remember, you have full authority to use the materials allocated to you. Pay attention to those strong men in the Calf Manor, and give them silver coins and food as usual. Remember, you must identify the strong men among them, and the poor and weak. You can help but you don’t get paid.”

Medved nodded: "I will do that. Also, about digging the canal... I have an idea."

"What?"

"Perhaps, we only need to dredge a small water channel first, which is a creek. The water flows to the lower areas. I don't know whether the source of the Reedy River is higher, or whether Wallonda and the terrain are higher."

"At least one is higher."

"So, the stream will continue to wash away the mud, and a small water channel will slowly become wider and deeper. Even if this is not the case, the water channel will be very soft, which is very conducive to our digging. Even our cadres do not need to dig away the mud, we only need to It stirs at the bottom and the current pushes the mud away."

Rurik suddenly stirred. Isn't this the whole principle of the Yellow River carrying away sediment?

"You! You are so smart." He slapped Medved with a smile, which was the highest praise.

"Just follow your decision! Ah, no matter how gentle the water flow is, it still has the power to carry people. Why don't we start digging tomorrow? I'll let the cavalry give you a head start."

"Thank you very much."

"Why should I thank you? This is Ross's national project. You are responsible for the construction and I will supervise it. And..." Rurik couldn't help pinching his beard: "Sure enough, you should dredge the creek connecting the two rivers as soon as possible. There will be accumulation in the local area in winter. A huge amount of melt water will wash out all the rivers during the flood season next spring, and this creek will also be washed away, maybe..."

Suddenly, after thinking of an important point, Ryrik stood up suddenly, trembled suddenly like hysteria, and then sat down hurriedly, slapping his face like a performance art. Such inexplicable behavior left Medved baffled.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Oh! How stupid I am! If I am using the power of the river, why should I wait until the snow melts in spring?!"

While Medved was confused, Rurik pulled out his knife and began to draw on the soft ground.

He made two deep indentations in the soil, which represented the rivers of the Reed River and the Wallonda River. Like a sand table deduction, he described his great enlightenment while making gestures.

"No matter which river is higher, the stream we created will definitely flow. When the time comes, you can build a dam with wood and soil on the higher river and block the original river channel! In this way, the water can only rush into Barlow In the Tawo Swampland, the creek we dug has been taken away and turned into a brand new main river. The continuous scouring by the river water is much more efficient than using civilians to continuously dredge mud. When the river scouring is deep enough, we will remove the dam. .”

"Wonderful!" Now it was Medvedt's turn to jump for joy.

Because it is not a problem to block the water-tight dams on the river surface, after all, the width of the Wallonda River and the Reed River are very limited, and the water depth is even more limited. Of course Medved thought of using the river's carrying power, but he never thought that the king could create conditions for a super double.

Now is the warmest period of the year, and the water temperature of Yin'ermen Lake can also allow urchins to swim. Such strong men are in the window period to carry materials and build water-blocking dams in the water.

Rurik and Medvet played together, and based on the principle that time is life, the young cavalry began their excavation the next day.

Their excavation site was identified as the Reed River (Luga) entrance and exit of the canal.