Rise of Rurik

Even a rough house is better than talking outdoors. There are rough wooden floors that have not been polished, and they are simply covered with deerskin blankets so that those who sit in them do not have their legs hurt.

The house is more like a forest cabin, with a simple wooden wall hung with Ross's classic Viking buckler, some axes, and a large Ross flag.

It can be seen that the owners of the fortress tried their best to make it as refined as possible in a simple environment. They deliberately raised their own flags and constantly inspired themselves.

It can be said that during this era, Ross first invented the concept of national flags in Europe. It was more convenient than totems and heraldry, so that two groups far apart could identify themselves by simply looking at each other's flags from a distance. In addition, it can be given more spiritual meanings, and the warrior can be sustained by the spirit.

Just because the room where the small meeting was held was Fisk's command post, it was normal for the Ross flag to be hung here.

If it were Svalgard's room, the abstract bull-headed horse hanging on the wooden wall would be the flag of the Principality of Ostara.

Fisk's command post is the management center of the Vitebsk Fortress. He sits here and gives orders, and he has the authority to determine whether to launch a war.

"Two good brothers who have come from afar, take a seat." Fisk's words sounded familiar.

Wladyslav was a few years younger than him, and Quetzal was about the same age. Rounding off, we were all the same age. It's all because Fisk has extraordinary military exploits and is greatly respected by these two people. The more easy-going Fisk is, the more cautious they are.

The two of them twisted their bodies and got ready, looking at the furnishings around them and being too cautious to speak first.

The three come from three very different ethnic groups, the greatest common denominator of which is Slavic. Even though they are Slavic languages, there are certain differences between the Yin Ermen dialect and the Kiev Krivich dialect. At least there is no more reliable "common denominator" than it. There are many Ermen Slavs in the First Cavalry. With this group of brothers, Fisk learns this language to relieve his boredom when he is bored on weekdays. At the same time, he also communicates with the military Talk to the Pechenegs and learn a little bit of the Turkic language of the steppe people.

"Don't be nervous. I don't want to say any more polite words. I just have a big question for you now." Fisk said in Slavic.

"Please speak." Quetzal replied in simple Slavic.

"Have you two ever killed an enemy? Or...have your hands been stained with blood?"

"Haha." Quetzal smiled casually, as if he was being looked down upon, and he banged his chest: "I am first of all a grassland warrior. As a brother of Khan (referring to Kagan), I once fought with Khan Khan followed the old Khan to participate in the battle against the Khazars. I have shot enemy warriors and raided their camps. If there is still a war, I will fight without hesitation and never retreat."

Fisk was most satisfied with this reply, and then looked at Wladislav, who looked obviously reserved.

"Brother. How are you?"

"Me?" Wadi also smiled, but smiled shamefully. He refused to lie: "I have never killed anyone, I have not even participated in a battle."

"Is that so? So, have you ever slaughtered cattle or sheep?" A somewhat dissatisfied Fisk asked this quickly.

"I have slaughtered cows and sheep before. Don't worry, brother, I won't be frightened and go crazy just because I see blood."

"Okay, let's wait and see. Now there is a fighting opportunity in front of you. As I revealed when we just met, no matter whether you have participated in the battle in the past, this time, the new fortress I built here is facing a huge challenge. War crisis!”

Fisk tilted his head with a serious look on his face. He had satisfied the appetite of the other two people. The more Wadi and Quetzal listened to this guy's description, the more they felt the pressure became heavier, like a stone pressing on their chests and unable to breathe.

"It's unbelievable that you were targeted by five thousand soldiers. How many of you are there?!" Quetzal asked desperately, covering his chest.

But Fisk held out three fingers: "Three hundred cavalry."

"That's all? It's not enough at all."

"It's completely different now." Fisk finally managed to smile: "Now I have a thousand cavalry."

"If this is the case, one thousand cavalry will fight five thousand infantry. You still have a chance. So if I take my tribe to participate..." Quetzal thought for a moment, "My team was selected by the Khan, and every warrior Able to accurately shoot flying geese and eagles.”

"Are they all sharpshooters?"

"Yes."

Fisk was overjoyed when he heard this: "You must help me."

"In this case, we Kiev people must also participate. Because of our alliance." Wladyslav took the opportunity to reiterate the alliance treaty. Although participating in the war was not something that Kiev horsemen wanted to get involved with, he knew very well that participating in the war could bring huge political benefits. It is said that we helped the Russians today, and if we encounter trouble in the future, they will also be of great help.

"Okay, this way our one thousand cavalry coalition should be able to win."

"A Thousand Riders?" Quetzal realized something was wrong, and his small eyes narrowed into two slits. "Including us, wouldn't it be 1,700 cavalry?"

"No!" Vardy hurriedly followed up, "Could it be that Ross's cavalry really only has 300 cavalry? The one thousand you originally called included us?"

Just from this trivial matter, Fiske felt that Wladyslaw was a smart guy, while Quetzal's mathematical ability was worse.

Fisk shook his head: "Actually, there are only a hundred real Ross cavalry."

Svalgard, who had been working as a "statue" for a while, finally spoke: "And we, the Ostara cavalry, have two hundred soldiers. In this way, we can form a team of one thousand cavalry and we will definitely win."

The more he listened, the stranger he got. Quetzal suddenly stood up and stamped his feet: "We only have a thousand people to deal with five thousand of them? I don't understand those Polotsk people at all, but they have five thousand people after all! What if? We grassland people are facing this crisis alone, and we will choose not to fight for the time being."

"So, you are not cowardly, are you?" Fisk raised his head as if questioning.

"I'm not a coward." Quetzal sat down hurriedly again, "I just think this is a complete adventure, and our coalition is very disadvantageous. Unless."

"What's your plan?"

"We can use grassland tactics to sneak attack them at night, then set fire to their houses, and then ride away on horseback. To create a situation where we are active and they are passive, we should not confront them head-on."

To be fair, what this kid said was true, but Fisk, who had his own opinions, was not willing to use such a strategy.

After subsequent interrogation, Lambart, who was locked up in the barn and under close surveillance, explained some more situations. It was Ross's Ureko team that slaughtered one of the opponent's outlying villages that aroused the rage of the entire Polotsk community. It was really With lips dying and teeth cold, all villages joined hands. The Polotsk people are all farmers, and their settlements cannot be moved quickly, especially since the harvest season is approaching. In order not to starve to death next year, they have to guard their farmland and cannot leave.

Their unity also has another meaning. They do not allow powerful enemies to linger near the settlements, so they gather the power of the entire community alliance to eradicate them in a life-threatening manner.

If the joint cavalry led by Ross further launches brutal destruction of the village, it is natural to cause large-scale killings, but how will it end?

As a result, Fiske completely rejected Quetzal's idea.

"You think I don't understand. This is a very special situation in this battle. Just confront them head-on, and we will stay here. It's like two groups of people fighting in groups. I want to fight in an upright manner."

"I understand, you northerners like to fight openly and openly. This is good, but we don't pay so much attention to it." Quetzal has his own view of war, or the view of war of the entire Pecheneg Khanate. The Pechenegs, who are still weak in strength, still exist in the cracks of the Khazar Khanate and the Oghuz Khanate. Their population is much smaller than that of the two powerful ones. As the saying goes, if they are strong, they are upright, and if they are weak, they are sneak attacks.

"We Russians still like upright battles." Fisk pointed his hand to the ceiling inadvertently, "Our God prefers to see brave warriors facing powerful enemies. A dead man who dies on the battlefield with a weapon in his hand is his best His destination. His soul will ascend to the sky and enter the Hall of Valor..."

Now that Quetzal has said that, he has no intention of taking it back. The cavalry must participate in the battle. It is not his intention to fight head-on, but he has no intention of refuting anything.

Quetzal spread his hands: "Okay, brother! When the Khan returned to the grassland, he told you about your achievements in the northern war. You led the army to capture a great khan in the Western world (referring to Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom). , there are brothers from our grasslands in the victorious team. We are all very happy. I am too immature and lack talent, and the Khan ordered me to practice in the north. Now I am willing to hand over the command of the army, and you will lead our cavalry! "

Even if Quetzal didn't say anything, Fisk would still seize the leadership of the Pecheneg Horse in order to facilitate management when a war broke out. Unexpectedly, this Quetzal handed over the power himself, and things immediately became easier to handle.

"Very good. Brother, your people are under my command and everything will be done as I ask. You can rest assured that I will not let your people die. Even if it is a head-on battle, I will not let anyone die in vain."

Fisker specifically explained some things that should be said with caution and should not even be said. It can be said that he said it first.

The words "I won't let you die" were meant to reassure the two people in front of them. The wording was too straightforward.

Even though Wladyslav was hesitant at this moment, the other three people in the room ignored the so-called dilemma of the five thousand troops and insisted on fighting. He also said big words, and he resolutely handed over his military power without hesitation. "We, the Kiev Cavalry, are at your disposal. I will convince all my men that they must participate in the war."

After a small meeting, the southern cavalry of more than 700 people, who had just met like magic soldiers descending from the sky, joined the Ross army, making the three forces of Ross, Kiev and Pecheneg essentially form a coalition for the first time. Its positive political significance is indeed great.

Even though there were only three hundred horsemen, Fisk was not afraid of the so-called five thousand Polotsk armed peasants, not to mention there were one thousand people now. As for the outrageous results that cavalry can achieve when fighting infantry, Quetzal and Wladyslaw still need a chance to understand.

Although the coming military power is nominal, it is impossible for Fisk to accurately command the two allied armies in a short period of time. This requires ensuring that Wadi and Quetzal cooperate well.

He was satisfied with Quetzal's steppe army, but was very worried about Wadi's Kiev horsemen. The former have at least participated in grassland wars, while the latter have almost no combat experience (group fights do not count).

The steppe cavalry can be used as the main force. As for the Kiev horsemen, they can at best serve as a battlefield atmosphere group that fills the head.

Of course, Fisk feels that even if the Polotsk people create an army of five thousand people, there will definitely be many atmosphere groups among them.

A large-scale massacre of a large group of armed peasants will not end well. Once a frontal battle breaks out, the cavalry only needs to divide and strangle one part to force other enemies to escape.

"I still have this guy Rabat in my hands. When the time comes, I will send this guy to act as my envoy to negotiate."

Fisk had such a wishful thinking, so the coalition forces were uncharacteristically strong. Although they had swelled to a thousand cavalry, they still stood firm in the swamp where the Vitebsk Fortress was located. It was as if both men and horses were wearing heavy armor and were unable to move.

It was the coalition commander who adopted conservative tactics. He clearly had super mobility but completely gave up this huge advantage and forced the battle back to the extremely primitive "super large group fight scene".

What we want is this kind of effect, otherwise how can the Polotsk people accept defeat? They will be defeated by the Rus' army in what is called an honorable battle, and the rest will be given a dignified retreat, and then a dignified surrender.

So even though the war hasn't started yet, and he doesn't even know the true strength of the enemy's troops, Fisk is already thinking about how to solve the mess after the war.

Of course, the coalition forces are not just sitting in the fort waiting for work, the cavalry still has active measures.

The coalition forces set up camp in the Vitebsk Fortress, and the goods were moved to the buildings inside the fortress. All buildings have rough floors, which are perfect for avoiding moisture. Even if it rains, there is no need to worry about the goods being contaminated.

With this opportunity, Fisk learned what they had brought.

This time the joint cavalry is much larger than in previous years, and the goods it transports are still the same.

The flagship product sold by the steppe people is really the recurve bow. According to the craftsmanship of the Pecheneg people, the bow is like a sled when fully stretched. People who don’t understand will think that the bow tips bent at both ends can be easily strung. In fact, the winding is in the completely opposite direction. The archer pressed the handle of the bow with his thigh to forcefully bend it, and took the opportunity to put a string made of sheep intestines on the tip of the bow.

The total number of recurve bows trafficked this time reached 500, and there were nearly a thousand bow strings. It is obvious that the Pecheneg bow makers must be working hard to make them, and they may not stop throughout the winter. And new ones are still being made at the moment.

According to past trading experience, every intact recurve bow has a high price. This is by no means a random asking price by the prairie people. The performance of the bow is indeed excellent, and its complexity can be seen from the materials it is made of. What is its production process? It was probably made from a mixture of wood, horn, animal sinew and other materials. Unfortunately, the bow makers in Ross were not yet able to reproduce it.

Of course, the grassland people have their own big problem. They are clearly facing the sea but they don't know how to extract useful salt from bittern. Boiling seawater to precipitate salt is also a technique that grassland people don’t understand. So the mass production of low carbon steel and cast iron weapons is not because Ross has extremely advanced technology. Ross's biggest advantage is the northern iron ore area and the more extremely noble chromite production area in Europe.

The grassland people charge a high price for recurve bows. This problem is directly offset by Ross's high-quality salt and iron, which can be said to be mutually exclusive.

The prairie horse teams are not willing to waste their idle animal power. They gather a large number of horses. The horses themselves are commodities, and the horses' backs must carry as much goods as possible, even if some of the goods are not of high value. The sheep raised by the Pechenegs cannot consume the wool independently. It is impossible to produce too much wool and sell it to the enemy to make money. Since the news brought back by the Khan is that the Rus are in great need of wool, this gives the grassland people an opportunity.

With demand in place, Pecheneg herders are more willing to breed sheep. There was a lot of wool in the cargo this time. Due to the lack of sacks, the large ball of wool was simply trampled and compressed by people's feet and tied with ropes, causing many horses to carry a large yellow-white ball. It would be too heavy if it didn't sink. It's so irritating that I don't know what it is when I look at it from a distance, but when I look up close I know it's wool.

The Kiev people trafficked a small variety of things. The Krivich people living in the south had a large population and lived relatively scattered. The farthest settlements had expanded eastward to the area from present-day Chernihiv to Sumy. forest area. Their production and lifestyle are no different from the Slavs in Rus. They are all agricultural people. What farmers in the north can get is basically the same in the south. Even the land along the Dnieper River owned by the Kiev people is more fertile, and the grain production in the black soil area should be higher. However, the playfully backward agricultural technology greatly limits the possibility of large-scale production increases.

Completely different from the steppe people, the Kiev community cannot complement the industrial advantages of Rus. This time the cavalry from Kiev tried its best to transport agricultural and sideline products to the north, notably alcoholic beverages in oak barrels, such as ale and kvass. There are also spices such as thyme and dill packed in sacks that can be produced in high yields in the south. They grow wildly in the fields in the south, and farmers can pick them at will during the warm period and then dry them for sale.

Honey in clay pots is one of Kiev’s top products. Beekeeping in tree holes is a tradition of the Slavs since ancient times. It has been developed in Russia in recent years, but the warmer southern region is more suitable for breeding bees. Local wild flowers More will greatly benefit the bee colony in producing honey.

In addition, the biggest commodity of the Kiev community is probably its human resources. You can get paid by working for King Rus, in the handicraft workshops belonging to the Rus royal family, and you can even get some rewards by helping the Rus people cut down trees. The most extreme version is that farmers bring their own tools to mine in the extremely far north, the so-called northern mines "near the sea at the end of the world", or they directly face the sea at the end of the world (Arctic Ocean) and catch rare birds at the so-called Murmansk stronghold. Aliens are sold for money.

Ross has great demand for human resources, which has a strong appeal to the Kiev community. And because of the alliance, Ross has established a legal order not to harm any allies. In the past years, Ross has indeed fulfilled it. With these laws and regulations, the safety and security are more attractive to Kiev people to look for opportunities in the north.

It’s just that war is not a very important part of life as the people in the steppe know. Many people in Kiev followed the cavalry north just to find a job. From autumn to next spring, they made money and bought local supplies and returned with the returning cavalry. You can only make money by living, and the risk of war is too high.

It's a pity that the brothers are now riding a tiger.

It’s better to think better of it! Maybe you can get some useful trophies from fighting in a battle, and you may earn more than working part-time.