Rise of Rurik

Now, Riga's Latvian army is in disarray, and a strong force can easily defeat it.

Fisk's cavalry arrived here. He has this ability and may also have this motivation, but he showed a completely peaceful attitude for the sake of the overall situation.

The encounter with the people from Spuyut was purely a beautiful coincidence, and it is this coincidence that can be greatly exploited.

The militiamen were still withdrawing in disorder, and well-dressed local nobles gathered one after another.

Fisk is wary of others, but only trusts the advice of his own race, Spyut. He dismounted and negotiated further with these nobles through a local interpreter.

"I want to talk to your biggest leader." Fisk's request was very direct.

This request put many nobles in a difficult position. They looked at each other, but at the critical moment it was Siput who explained it himself. "Boy, you still know nothing about Riga. There is no big boss in this place!"

"How can it be?"

"That's the fact. However, if you insist on saying it..." Spuyut pinched his waist proudly, "I am the war chief they elected."

"Huh? So you are already the boss of Riga?"

"No, but I have a certain amount of power. I am the chief they temporarily elected to deal with the war."

"Just to fight us?" Fisk heard this, and when he looked at these nobles, his attitude changed a bit, and his eyes became sharp.

"Don't be mean, it's all a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, the cavalry can enter Riga directly."

It seems that this is how it should develop next, but this is not what Fisker wants.

There is no supreme leader in Riga, which is a bizarre situation. So, these guys need a leader, just like a boy needs a father. Fisk has this kind of thinking. He feels that Riga is probably a land without a master. In the future, the benefactor will be the Count of Saaremaa Island, the law enforcer of the South Baltic Sea, the great explorer, and the old Russian Spuyu. Especially.

The other party has even hinted that he has the ability to transform temporary power into permanent one.

Of course the cavalry had to enter Riga. According to the original plan, they were going straight to the beach to make a fortune digging for amber rough stones.

Unexpectedly meeting many local nobles in the current special method, Fisk came up with a plan.

He didn't think about why there was another group of Vikings here for the moment. Obviously these guys were in alliance with Spyut and provided valuable translators.

Behind him, the cavalry were still lined up neatly. The soldiers remained on alert and could quickly launch a brutal pursuit of the evacuees upon receiving orders. On the contrary, the waiting now became more and more boring.

Fisk could understand the mentality of his subordinates, so he pointed behind him deliberately: "Have you all seen it, Riga people? They are the Ross cavalry, an army paid by the king himself and only loyal to the king. They are better than the soldiers you raise. You must also be loyal, well-equipped and fearless, and each warrior has killed at least ten enemies. You'd better not anger them, otherwise the fire will burn your city to ashes."

He didn't know whether the translator explained truthfully. From the shocked faces of these guys, he could conclude that the intimidation effect was achieved.

Fisk mentioned the request again: "My people came from afar and never intended to kill people or steal goods in your territory, but brothers should not be left empty-handed." He deliberately gestured, "Give us enough food supplies, and I won't do anything else. Don’t force it. Otherwise…food! Or war!”

The last request was a Norse vocabulary that the local nobles could fully understand. Obviously, although the other party was another group of Rus, they were probably real Rus in terms of sense.

Some people "suddenly realized" that the businessman Spuyut had been pulling the strings from the beginning. The gang paralyzed the Latvians in Riga with rich goods, defrauded the military command, and then joined forces with another group of accomplices.

and the Danish community of Varyags. The Varangians are the Varangians, and whether they are subdivided into Danes or Rus, they are all one group.

So what if you feel cheated?

The vast majority of Latvian village leaders and rich locals in Riga were surrounded by the Varangians. The reason why these people did not wave the butcher knife was because of their past friendship, right?

A village leader put an end to his panic and hesitation and stepped forward: "Then, we should sit together and talk about our future over good wine and dinner. We... don't want war."

The interpreter explained it well, and Fisk nodded: "I do need a friendly meeting. Now, I need you nobles to make a commitment immediately. I have 700 soldiers under my command, and I want to give no one 200 pounds of food."

Therefore, the Russian cavalry demanded a total of 140,000 Roman pounds of grain, which, converted into a concept easily understood by Riga people, was 1,400 "sacks."

For the convenience of statistics and transportation, Riga, as the trade center of Latvia, also fully used the common weights and measures of the Vikings because of the settled Danes, and most of the dimensions of these calculations came from the definitions of the Roman Empire.

Bulk goods such as grain, a hundred pounds of oats were stuffed into a burlap sack and girded. In this way, the sack also became a unit of measurement.

Here, the Riga nobles were ashamed of the huge appetite of the cavalry. They all complained that this request was too outrageous. Unexpectedly, the two Varyag generals who were personally selected by them were now undoubtedly robbers.

"The request of the people who support us. It's just 1,400 sacks of food. Compared to war and death, are you reluctant to part with this food?" Sipuyut said.

At this moment, the Dane Stekander was very aware of the current situation and fully stood on the side of his allies, the Russians. This old boy thinks with his toes and knows that his community does not have the slightest bargaining power with the Russians. Fortunately, Denmark and Ross are already in an alliance. If the brothers can't defeat them, they will join. Now is the opportunity to act together with the Ross people.

Stekander then warned the nobles in the Latvian dialect of Baltic: "We will not fight them anyway. I think that even if you have the opportunity to organize a large army, you will not have the slightest chance of winning. Just give them food, There is no shame in buying peace. Besides, you have negotiated a price, and if there is trouble in the future, the Russians will help you fight."

What a joke! The battle ax is pressed against the neck. At this time, I am trying to persuade him, "Don't resist and buy peace with food." What kind of persuasion is this? It's clearly a threat.

"Reply quickly." Fisk urged.

Seeing that the nobles were still hesitant, they simply made an indifferent appearance: "In the worst case, we can get it ourselves, but it will cause unnecessary casualties. Listen, you are responsible for the deaths of those people."

Having said this, what should the nobles do? They all expressed their willingness to give food.

"Very good. Within three days, we will see enough food. We have to enter the city of Riga to station ourselves. We will exercise restraint while waiting for the food. If we don't see the food, we will loot."

Seeing that Fisk was a man of five and six, Spyut did not want this junior to share his power, so he added: "Dear people, your villagers had better get out the food quickly. You stay in the city during this time and we will release you after we get the food. Don’t worry, this is not a prison sentence.”

As a result, Ross's cavalry joined forces with Spuyut's pirate army. They had fought side by side in last year's war, and now they were willing to reminisce with each other when they met.

Among the cavalry were flying bull-headed flags. These were the Ostara cavalry, and there were quite a few of them. There are also a large number of prairie people wearing iron masks, which is actually the largest number. In comparison, the real Ross cavalry was only one-sixth.

In any case, after completing the rendezvous, they became a group, and the number of troops on site directly expanded to nearly 1,200 people, and their military quality was extremely high. If we include the non-combatants of the Danish community in Riga, a new force has arrived in Riga, and the population has reached 2,000.

Just two thousand people? Many residents of Riga are deeply connected to the Danish community through business associates, in-laws and friends. It was precisely because of this relationship that Riga could open the door for the later Russian merchants, just because they had a good impression of the Varyag merchants.

This is exactly the case. It can be said that they themselves gave up power, and the entire Riga has completely become the territory of the Varyag people.

The entire Latvian tribe only has 30,000 people. This population is already unable to eliminate the influence of the Varyags, not to mention that he will not do so.

Because the local nobles had no backbone, they all supported appeasement out of self-preservation instincts, that is, handing over food to buy peace.

The cavalry lined up in a neat and orderly queue, with the warriors holding their heads high and the horses taking long strides, marching towards Riga in such a mighty manner. They showed unstoppable force but turned into a guard of honor on the surface. The refugees entrenched in Riga finally saw the existence they feared. Only when they really saw the faces of these cavalry did they feel that they were not evil people.

The cavalry circled the riverside area and deliberately let the locals see the lineup. Firstly, it was to shock them, and secondly, it was to relieve the fear of the unknown.

This move worked very well. The nobles who were under house arrest saw the happy smiles of the people as if they were participating in a memorial ceremony. Their fear of the Russians disappeared, and the Russians did abide by their promises after arriving in their chosen garrison area. Be at ease. They don't even harass local women, or anyone. The people of Riga have not been violated, so how can they resist?

More good news is spreading like wildfire - there is no looting in the villages passed by Ross's cavalry, and all the refugees can go home and live their lives.

This is real? At least they didn't loot in Riga.

The people began to withdraw again, hoping that those tribesmen who had not withdrawn were safe and that such peace could continue. Ordinary people began to comfort themselves. There was already a Danish community in Riga, and it wouldn't hurt to have a Russian community in the future. There was even a wise man who told his friends that the so-called two groups of Varangians were stationed here, and the Semigalians would no longer be able to intrude.

So, what's the cost? ! In the short term, it’s food. In the long run, it is the Latvians who have just entered the village alliance state who want to transfer their power and sovereignty.

Each village chief sent reliable messengers back to the village to collect food, but they themselves were banned. They had enough time to discuss how to make major discussions with the newly arrived Russians, and everyone on the other side had also gathered together.

Late at night, a relaxing drinking party.

"Cheers to our friendship!" Stekander raised the oak cup high to pay tribute to his friends who also believed in Odin.

He organized this Viking-style drinking party on behalf of the Danish community. People drank turbid ale, used knives to freely cut the meat of roasted sheep, and consolidated friendships while changing glasses.

At first, Stekander had some doubts when Spyut claimed a Rus-Danish alliance, but now his doubts were gone.

Among the people sitting there was also a grassland noble from the far south. He had a strange appearance and a short stature. He had a distinctive big face and small eyes. Stekander naturally looked down upon the boy, but after learning that the Ross cavalry were all trained by the grassland tribe, he was instantly impressed.

Stekander did not know the structure of the earth, nor the infinite breadth of the world. He felt that the Danish community he was in was approaching the end of the so-called human world in Midgard. After all, he was still small.

Therefore, some fundamental problems should be solved immediately.

Stekander hosted the reception, and behind him was the Danish community of thousands of people, shouldering the responsibility for the future of the entire community. But there is another very familiar face sitting here!

"Harold, how come you are with the Ross?" he asked.

Old Harold really didn't know what to say, so he had no choice but to lower his head.

Fisk, who was blushing after drinking, was surprised: "Harold? Is there anyone named Harold here?"

"It's the guy next to you."

"Him? He's Olaf, our friend."

"Bah, Olaf, he is Harold. Well, if your boy is willing to change his name to Olaf." Stekander glared hard again and recalled: "You take some young boys with you. Chuang Tianxia, ​​where are they? Are they all dead?"

"They are dead. They all died in the territory of the Polotsk people."

Originally, Fisk was a little nervous when the old guy talked about this. Hearing that this guy whose real name should be handed over to Harold said "they died on the territory of the Polotsk people", I had to admire this old guy's nonsense. , and also lamented that such wise words actually take the overall situation into consideration. (After all, it was the Ross cavalry who hacked those boys to death. This was a misunderstanding.)

"Those Polotsk people are murderers? That's true. They also detained our caravan, took away supplies and drove people away." The slightly drunk Stekander was indignant and his beard was trembling.

Old Harold would not be stupid enough to tell the truth. Anyway, everyone would be happy if the villain was labeled as a Polotsk by him.

"Friend, everything has changed now. Our young war chief Fisk has conquered Polotsk. Those guys will belong to Rus in the future, and if anyone blocks our ship and asks for tolls, or even murders and steals goods, it is over."

"He? Young?!"

Fiske had laughed and said nothing, but now he had to explain. He stroked his sweaty red bald head with one hand: "To be honest, I am twenty-three years old."

"Incredible, you seem to be forty years old."

"Uncle, you are wrong. I cut off my hair on purpose. It is very important to cut my hair cleanly. If I don't take good care of it, I will soon have thick hair, which is not good."

"Your hobby? It's very interesting." Spuyut now fully understood that the kid's "bald" nickname came from this hobby, not the speculation of a skin disease.

Taking this opportunity, he started to talk about business: "I heard that Ross and Denmark have formed an alliance. The descendants of the Stonewall tribe have obtained the highest power. Is this true? I want to confirm one more thing."

"It's absolutely true." Fisk said very simply, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"So, what do we do? I mean, this community is all Danish, and there are a lot of mixed-race kids with at least one Danish parent. Where do we go from here?"

"Perhaps you can return to Zealand. Ragnar, the new Danish king, built a big city called Copenhagen there. This year, the Danes living in our Rus will also return home one after another. Denmark is at a time when it is employing people. Your return Maybe it can be reused by them.”

Listen, a young cavalry general talks about this insight. What Fisk said is good, but it is not in the interest of the Danish community in Riga. A very simple reason is that it is too far away from Denmark and the Rus' power is right in front of them.

Stekander drank a large glass of ale in public, and after a loud belch, he raised his chest in particular: "I am the leader of the community! I don't want to return to Denmark with my whole family! I want to meet King Rus in person , I hope the entire community joins Ross! Hopefully, we will always be brothers from the same race.”

His declaration was something Fisk and Spuyut never expected! But if you think about it carefully, a very powerful force appeared in Riga, and even went crazy and attacked from two directions, which further reflects the strength of this force.

We are all Vikings and share the commonality of worshiping the strong. Bald Fisk and Earl Spuyut of Saaremaa Island are related by blood to King Rus. After all, they are both from the same blood tribe. Also attending the meeting was Svalgard of the Principality of Ostara, whose duchess or female leader was a wife of King Rus. Prairie Gochar is a noble, and his clan sister is the other wife of King Rus.

Stekander is a smart man. When he realizes that his new friends are closely related to the King of Rus far in the north, how can he let go of this golden opportunity?

He asked for surrender, a request that Spyout and Fisk really wanted.

And his thoughts didn't stop there: "What do you think of Riga? What do you think of the Latvians of this generation living in it?"

Siput, who has been living here for a while, finally no longer has to hide his ambitions: "In my opinion, this place needs to be brought under the rule of Ross."

Fisk's original plan was just to establish commercial contacts with Riga, and of course the eventual occupation of Riga was also part of the future plan. He never expected that the local people in Riga were so bad, and the truly capable people were already thinking about joining in. How could he let such an opportunity pass? “I also support your determination,” he said.

Everyone present supported Stekander's proposal. At that time, everyone would continue to pursue traditional Nordic democracy, and Riga would become a free port in the northern world, but the ownership would be in the hands of Ross. This was the result of everyone's final discussion, and the final question came - who will manage Riga on behalf of Ross?

The answer is no need to think about it! As the first Russian nobleman, Spuyut has experienced hundreds of battles and has seen a lot. His first land was Saaremaa Island, which guarded the exit of the Gulf of Riga. It can be said that whether the people here can fish in the ocean depends on this person. Spute's face. His title is still hereditary, and his eldest son with the first right of succession lives in Riga.

Who better to have the management of the city of Riga than Spuyut on behalf of Rus? There is none now.

Everyone chose to support Spuyut, but the old guy was also very particular about his words: "This is the best. We will convince those nobles to give up control of Riga, and even convince them to collectively annex Ross. But, do I really have the right? , and need to report to the king after stabilization. When the king declares that I have this power, my family will be the master of Riga, and I will move here."