Rise of Rurik

The returning Ureko team brought great news. The death of three brothers aroused excitement among the people.

The warriors had no sympathy for the Polotsk people unless the locals declared their allegiance to the Rus. The current situation is that someone died on Ross's side, and the deceased's old comrades are holding back revenge.

In this way, everyone originally had resistance to the idea of ​​going south to establish new settlements, but after this incident, the negative emotions were swept away.

There are one hundred standing cavalry and two hundred cavalry in Ostara.

An army of three hundred cavalry is already a strong military force. In theory, the team can directly attack the settlement of Polotsk. As a commander, Fisk would not do this, even if he had the authority to start a war.

Sitting in his current position, Fisk has many things to consider. He cannot start a war without authorization because of the excitement of the crowd. After all, he has all the Ostara cavalry in his hands, and he has elite standing cavalry on hand. Once the army is damaged, the loss will be too great.

He wanted to do things steadily, and the first point was to build the Vitebsk stronghold at the predetermined location.

An old man dressed up as tough as possible. The old Harold put on Russian clothes and joined the cavalry as a guide. Unfortunately, he did not know how to ride a horse independently, so he had to sit on the horse and hug the horse's neck to ensure that he did not fall off, while his mount was held by the cavalry in front.

The construction of the Vitebsk stronghold is an unplanned move. How about a new stronghold? In Carlotta's concept, it is currently a riverside fortress.

This fortress must be built before the autumn rains gather, and it must be enough for some soldiers to survive the winter. She would send a small number of her men to complete permanent garrisons, even if it was a military adventure.

It was a sunny morning with a pleasant breeze. The cavalry assembled in the open space outside the city. They tried their best to prepare supplies in a short time. Now was the time to set off.

As a duchess, she deliberately stood on a high platform made of wooden carts and boxes before setting off.

When the soldiers saw the female noble wearing iron armor and wearing an iron helmet and standing on a high place, they couldn't help but comment on her. There was a roaring sound in the cavalry ranks, and everyone was whispering to each other until Carlotta's shrill voice cut through the noise of the wind.

In full view of everyone, she drew her sword and pointed the blade straight to the south.

"Now, our king is in the north! I am his woman, so let me continue to expand on his behalf! People of Ostara! Gods bless you! Odin gives you power!"

Perhaps this is a normal scene, and it is also a necessary part of the departure ceremony.

The real ritual lies in the sacrifice.

Even if the move south to establish a new stronghold is not considered a war, everyone has unified their mentality. If a new gathering point rises from the ground, it will be lost to everyone. There is a high possibility that a battle will suddenly break out around it. Even if there is no immediate battle, it is the garrison base of the army and the starting point for the cavalry to deliberately seek trouble. As the saying goes, if there is no immediate fight, after stabilization, Ross's army, especially the subordinate Ostara army, will deliberately look for trouble.

After a brief speech, a cow was pulled to the Lovaj River. Carlotta continued to hold the sword and pulled her son Karl over, letting his little hand touch the hilt. The mother and son worked together to pierce the cow's throat. Due to the cow's violent struggle, the cow's blood spurted out and instantly splashed all over the mother and son.

Blood stains are not scary, but they are not very auspicious.

The cavalry on standby saw this scene and found that the duchess had become a "bloody person", and they immediately started making noise again.

Fisk tightened his grip on the reins and rode his horse back and forth in front of the military formation. He noticed that the army was in a bad mood, and he looked left and right with a frown on his face.

"It seems! This is Odin's revelation! Everyone adjust their mentality, we are likely to fight as soon as we go to the south. Check your weapons again, and then adjust your mentality! I warn you! Once the war starts, you must fight with all your strength, Anyone who escapes will be hanged afterwards!"

Fisk's lecture was mainly directed at the Ostara cavalry. Most of these people had no Viking ancestry, and most of them were ordinary Slavic farmers in the past. A short period of military training is not enough to improve their military literacy. The most important thing is that the army's discipline is not enough.

Discipline, even the Russian standing army was not strict enough to be dogmatic. The standing cavalry was divided into well-organized teams, of which a ten-man squad was the smallest combat unit. Since the soldiers in the army have similar origins and have participated in large-scale wars, the squads cooperate quite skillfully. Since the organizational structure is hierarchical, Fisk can accurately command the entire team according to regulations.

Looting and destruction were a form of warfare, and cavalry were encouraged to engage in crazy plunder. The only principle in this regard is that once the other party declares surrender, any robbery will be terminated immediately, and the parties involved will be punished if there is any further damage.

The discipline of the cavalry comes from this hierarchical structure, and the morale of the army comes from the soldiers' beliefs and experience of fighting side by side.

The Ostara cavalry is weak in this aspect!

Even though in the past few years, a part of the Ostara cavalry teamed up with the personal guards of Pecheneg Prince Kagan to rob, they all fought with the wind. Since he has been hanging out with the Pechenegs for too long, he has learned a lot of rogue tactics. As for whether he can fight a tough battle, Fisk, who now has command authority, is a little worried. It's not that the "rogue tactics" in the grassland are bad. One of the key points is "if you can't beat them, run away and then attack quietly." This tactic is very smart, but in many cases the cavalry must face challenges head-on, especially when the cavalry becomes the main force in the battle.

The fact that the Duchess was covered in cow's blood was interpreted as Odin's revelation that there was a battle trial ahead.

The veterans of the standing army were fearless and even suppressed their revenge, and the Ostara cavalry had to be fully vigilant.

Three hundred horses have four hundred horses, and one hundred horses are used as pack mules. They are not riding horses, and each of them transports a large amount of supplies.

All standing cavalry are equipped with armor to reduce the load of the mount. All the armor is packed and transported on pack horses. They marched lightly, with the swords hanging at their waists never leaving their bodies.

The extravagant Mongolian marching technique of one man and five horses traveling two hundred miles a day was simply not possible. Fisk and the 300 cavalry led by him could only do their best. After a period of rest, everyone was in good spirits. The war horses also ate grass every day and were fed cooked oats with salt before leaving. Each horse's shoes are removed, the shoes are repaired or replaced, and the hoofs are rested.

A blacksmith arrived from the rear with new shoes specially brought to Lukiholm. A blacksmith shop was immediately opened in this emerging town. Its responsibility was first to repair various old construction tools and now to reshoe all the horses.

There is a prairie proverb: A bad horseshoe breaks a horse's leg. If a horse's leg is broken, the battle will be defeated. If the battle is defeated, the tribe will be destroyed.

The horses were shod with new shoes, the soldiers put on clean clothes, swords were hung on their belts, and bows and quivers were hung on the saddles. The dense rain of arrows in the bags was like the reeds and bulrushes on the riverside.

The packhorses carried chain mail, large quantities of cables, provisions and cooking utensils.

In principle, this cavalry team can quickly enter the battle, and it is also a good construction team.

The straight-line distance from the starting point to the destination is 120 kilometers long. The cavalry did not have precise navigation equipment. The only high technology they mastered was to determine the direction by rubbing iron needles against magnetite to float on water, but it was useless.

They headed south along the banks of the Lovati River, navigating by the sun, and finally reached the end of the river - a lake.

The lake was simply called "Lovadi Source Lake". The army did not stay here because Fisk himself came up with a very straightforward answer during the previous reconnaissance. As long as he drove hard and headed south, he could reach the West Dvina River in the same day. 's riverside.

The whole army did exactly this. They arrived at the lake at the source of the river near noon, and finally entered the watery swamp in the evening. In front of them was the quietly flowing West Dvina River.

"Are we really here?" General Svalgard of Ostara asked, tightening his grip on the reins and looking at the river.

"Here we are, this is the West Dvina River." Fisk was in a cheerful mood, with a faint smile on his face.

Svalgard couldn't laugh it off, riding made him feel uncomfortable all over, and his mount was also tired. "Now that we've arrived, it's time to set up camp. We'll build a stronghold here."

"No, this is not the destination."

"Not here yet?" Svalgard was a little frustrated. He raised his head and looked at the ground, "Okay. There is a lot of water here, and water will seep out when the horses' hooves step on it. We should find a good place."

"No. We still haven't arrived." As he said that, Fisk pointed his big hand towards the lower reaches of the river: "The next step is for our guide to do the work." That's all, he shouted: "Come here, bring that Olaf over here .”

When the horse came carrying old Harold (Olav), he still hugged the horse's neck, lying on the horse's back and passively sticking his buttocks out, which was very indecent.

Looking at this man, Fisk and Svalgard both suppressed their laughter, but luckily they could.

"What? It's been many days and you still haven't learned to ride a horse?" Fisk's words were slightly joking.

Old Harold grinned in embarrassment: "I'm still better at rowing."

"It's better to look in front of you. This is the West Dvina River, the name given by our king. The Riga people call it the Daugava River, but it's the same anyway. What do you think? You can lead the way."

"You can lead the way. Where are we going?"

Such a question actually stopped Fisk. Yes, it's baffling for a guide not to know how to navigate.

Fisk thought about it again: "Aren't you towing the longship south? Now take us to that location. We will build a fortress where the trade route must pass."

"okay."

Old Harold actually felt that his guiding behavior was unnecessary even if it was precise navigation. Ross's cavalry army has arrived at the Daugava River. Isn't it up to them to do whatever they want with the rest? Are you really looking for the so-called destination? They killed people and left the longships alone. There were obvious markers on the swamp. Why rely on human navigation anymore?

Since you have received the errand, just do it to the end. But it was too late today and the cavalry did not have time to reach their destination.

So the army camped by the river, and the soldiers were finally able to get off their horses and have a good rest. They led their horses to eat grass, filled the unloaded cooking utensils with river water and cooked wheat on the spot...

The whole army rested for a night and continued their operations after the fog dissipated the next morning. They then reached their destination in the afternoon while farming.

The river channel has a huge S shape. This structure makes the water flow very gentle, and some tributaries flow into the West Dvina River, creating a large shallow wetland here.

The cavalry completely crossed the river and successfully found the exposed damaged longship and the place where they had buried the dead. The traces on the ground are still there, but unfortunately things have changed.

When he arrived here again, Old Harold didn't want to make any statement, but the frustration in his heart was written on his face.

The entire army had dismounted, and everyone was told that this open space was a good place to build a fort.

Fisk could see the embarrassment of the old guy. Old Harold, who was piled with bodies, sighed: "We just buried the people who killed you here before. Are you feeling uncomfortable, or do you dig up the bodies and rebury them?"

"No need. I have fulfilled my duties. Besides, they are already dead, so there is no need to destroy the bodies."

"That's fine. It's just that the presence of Otsuka may delay our construction."

Old Harold didn't want to talk more about this matter. He pointed his swollen hand at the small river in front of him: "This is the correct passage. The small river is called Lucasa (Lucasa River), which means the winding road leading to Smolensk." ’s creek.”

After hearing the detailed description, Fisk and Svalgard, who were slightly tired, instantly became energetic.

"Haha? Can our cavalry just go south along this river?" It seemed that the bald general was about to suddenly change his mind and directly attack the city of Smolensk.

Anyway, the matter has come to this, and Harold Sr. realizes that he has no reason to hide anymore.

"Not bad! It's just that this section of the river is too shallow, and people can swim through it at will. We can only drag the boat through this place before continuing to row. When we arrive at the lake where the water source is, we drag the boat along a section of the road and find another river. water source, and finally reach the big river in the south. If you really plan to attack the main city of Smolensk, this is the shortcut."

"Very good." Fisk nodded.

He was convinced that some of the cavalrymen at hand had been wreaking havoc in this area in the past few years. They were by no means ignorant of the situation in this area, but they had no intention of settling down and controlling them. They were all just passers-by. I'm too lazy to investigate the hydrology and geography of this place.

Even the merchant cavalry from Kiev and Pecheneg didn't bother to stop on their way as they headed north. In the past, the cavalry went directly north along the left bank of the Dnieper River and crossed the river at the ford in its upper reaches. Geographically, it was actually east of the main city of Smolensk. The area was also home to many communities and villages, making it easier for the cavalry to plunder. .

That path was actually a detour, but the river was a natural chasm. The team had to consider crossing the river. Since the horse team wanted to cross the water, they had to find a suitable ford.

Or, simply waste some time, take a boat in the Kiev area to reach the other side, and take the right bank of the Dnieper River from the beginning, heading north without looking back. The cavalry team has tried both paths, and each has its own merits.

The Kiev people only had small boats, but the boats were more organized, and it didn't take long to transport the cavalry across the wide Dnieper River. As long as you cross the river, the river you encounter later will have many fords that can be waded. If you are simply rushing, take the right bank road. If you want to take the opportunity to plunder, take the left bank road.

There are a large number of villages centered on the main city of Smolensk, especially along the river. Due to the raging cavalry in recent years, the villages in the western area of ​​the main city have shrunk significantly, and people have evacuated eastward with supplies, leaving many abandoned farms.

Old Harold actually didn't know this, and neither did the residents of the entire Gulf of Riga. It was the joint plundering of Rus, Kiev, and Pecheneg over the past few years that created a no-man's land (today's Orsha region).

People have moved cleanly, and the inherent traffic lines have not disappeared. When the cavalry is not wreaking havoc, merchants from far away can still take the opportunity to travel with them.

There were actually cavalry raids in the southeast and northwest directions of the main city of Smolensk, and the worst was in the west direction, so it was a shortcut for caravans to travel together.

Fisk can conclude that this year's southern caravan will most likely go north from his own area, and they will also have to pass through this shallow swamp.

In the past, the marsh had no name, and a large area was generally called "Valde marsh". Now it has a very specific name - Vitebsk.

Where will the building be built?

Since it's somewhat unlucky to have a corpse buried right in front of you, you might as well go upstream and have a look.

About two kilometers northeast of the tomb, Fisk solemnly announced: "Here it is! Let's build a fortress!"

At the lower end of the S-shaped bend in the river, the first pine stake was driven down, and the construction of the fort began.

The first wooden stakes of the Vitebsk Fortress were laid here. The suitable geographical location determined that a city was necessary to be built here. It just guarded a throat leading to the Smolensk waterway, and even guarded more roads. . There are many paths leading to Smolensk, and the existence of the city of Vitebsk can guard all the paths. Even now, Fisk only feels that he is only guarding one path.

Those Ostara people began to roll up their sleeves and pick up various tools to build wooden fortresses. Some of Ross's standing cavalry assisted in the construction, and some became scouts on the spot to begin further area reconnaissance.

The kingdom's tentacles will permanently extend here. From now on, people will no longer rush past here. The kingdom must understand the geography here and rule permanently.

However, only two scout teams were arranged, with a total of twenty people, one traveling in the south and one traveling in the east. Obviously knowing that the Polotsk people were in the west, in order to avoid unnecessary complications, Fisk did not arrange any Western reconnaissance teams.

He had to adjust his plan when faced with the new situation. He said that he should not take the initiative to cause trouble unless necessary, even if he knew that the enemy was in the west. So the task he gave to the scouts was to only conduct reconnaissance. Even if they saw the Smolensk village, they were not allowed to rob houses as in the past, but only to conduct reconnaissance of its location.

Such a task would be very boring, but the scouts were given the only key task - to find the cavalry of Kiev or Pecheneg.

To this end, the two scout teams prepared flags and horns to avoid causing an inconvenience in the event of an encounter.