Rise of Rurik

The Melalen tribe did not start as a blood-related clan. After the large and small families got together, they simply took the name of the lake goddess "Melaren" as their identity, so that no one would be offended.

Because of this, when Rurik marched into the Malaren parliament court with a magnificent ceremony, he saw a group of nobles wearing furs sitting in a circle and clapping their legs. Everything was just as it was in the past.

They were still sitting on leather cushions, and there were no noble seats in the parliament court. The scene like a round table meeting could not show the nobility of Duke Bjorn at all.

Rurik knew the rules of the north very well. He entered the parliament chamber with his sword as usual, but ordered all the armed attendants to retreat. Only the big white fat man White Fox participated reasonably as the governor.

"The king is here. He is finally here." There was a commotion among the people.

Bjorn seemed to have yellow legs, and stood up abruptly, exchanging pleasantries. The other local nobles also greeted him with smiles, and slowly started to speak polite words.

"Everyone, please take a seat." Rurik extended his hand to signal.

He turned his head slightly and looked around, and the subtle atmosphere of the house was evident. Look! These nobles clearly did not take Bjorn seriously, but were respectful to themselves.

He held a moment of silence for Bjorn who had lost his power. He looked at the ball-like head of the white fox from the corner of his eyes and felt a little relieved.

He spoke softly again: "I thought you would improve the Parliament Court of Mellaren very well, but I didn't expect it to be exactly the same as it was many years ago. Bjorn, it seems that you are very economical in this regard."

"Just following tradition. You know, we're very traditional here."

Bjorn borrowed the donkey from Poxia, so he was too embarrassed to pretend to be fat. The current situation of his family can be called rich, and even the expenses are very high.

Rurik himself brought a deerskin mat and spread it out casually, and the white fox did the same and sat next to the king.

No local noble dared to sit with the king, and the king's dignity was highlighted in such a fair forum.

After the king was done, the nobles smiled at each other and exchanged looks, but no one was willing to start talking first.

The scene was a little awkward for a while.

"Damn it, you were obviously having a lively chat before, but now you're all mute?" The upset Bjorn remained silent, but complained several times in his heart.

The meeting hall was very quiet, so unusually quiet, as if they had held back so much that they didn't know where to start.

"Are you all mute? Distinguished people!" Rurik clapped his hands three times, as if knocking on a gavel to cheer them up. "It's you!" He pointed at Bjorn again, "Honorable Duke, you are the one who sent the messenger to invite me to this meeting. Just say anything and don't hesitate."

"this……"

"What? You actually look embarrassed? Do you have something to hide? You are obviously older than me, why are you not decisive enough?"

After some deliberate harsh criticism, Bjorn still remained hesitant.

Rurik's peaceful face gradually frowned: "What's going on?"

So a local nobleman with his thighs uncovered said: "Rurik, you are the King of Rus. Last year we defeated the Danes, and then we Mellarens withdrew. Why? You are still leading the army south to attack the Franks. Man, why don’t you call us for such a good thing?”

Seeing that the bold guy raised his head, and other nobles saw that Rurik showed no signs of anger, a second noble shouted: "Brothers, it's not that the king is not interesting enough. But brothers missed the opportunity to make a fortune."

"That's right. Some Onkras people continued to go south, but other tribes left one after another. They must have made a fortune, but we missed out on the money and honor."

…

The nobles told all their previous complaints, and their speeches became more and more fierce. No matter how you look at it, they all spoke from the bottom of their hearts.

Rurik was not angry. In fact, he had the idea of ​​​​inspiring these guys to fight again, since these people had grievances in their hearts and had a strong interest in continuing to make a fortune. Isn’t this a pillow for when you’re dozing off? After a little encouragement, wouldn't it be a brand new friendly force that invaded Frank?

After hearing some complaints, Rurik twisted his neck and reached out to pick out his ears: "Are you finished?"

After that, everyone shut up.

"What happened last year, some people complained that their losses were too great, and then Denmark robbed a lot of property and decided to withdraw as soon as they were done. I won't say who it was. The relevant people know who is going to run away. It's them. I gave up my future glory and wealth, and I didn’t stop them.”

Bjorn, who had been holding back for a while, felt that he finally got a chance to speak. He did not complain and said: "If you give me another chance, I will continue to fight."

"I thought you were mute." Rurik rolled his eyes at him and asked again: "All the great nobles of Melalen are here, and you gathered together just to complain to me?"

In fact, they dare not say that because the market price of grain this year is too low, everyone is feeling aggrieved because they are not making much. In principle, they could transport their own cargo to New Roseburg and the North to sell grain, but they were quarreling over how to use the only armed cargo ship. All the families have contributed money. This is a large ship funded by crowdfunding. It has a strong transport capacity, but there is only one chance to transport grain this autumn. If one family has the right to use it, it means that other families cannot use it.

Bjorn could theoretically enjoy it exclusively as a duke, but others opposed him at the first sign of his idea, and no one could use the ship. Then if we organize a team of traditional longships to transport grain to the east and north, the grain transportation capacity is not much, and the total value of the goods is not much. Even if there are no tariffs for the time being, there are ship management fees. Looking back, we will not make much money at once, and it is not enough trouble.

Being good at calculations, they had no choice but to sell the surplus grain to Governor Bai Hu at a low price, which made everyone unhappy.

Bjorn still kept an eye on it, and pointed to the ceiling deliberately: "The weather this year is not bad, and the farmland cannot be said to have a good harvest or a bad harvest. How is the situation in the east?"

"You? Are you asking about the capital? Or the farmland further east?"

"It's Novgorod." Bjorn asked on behalf of everyone.

"Of course it's a great harvest. It's warmer over there than here, and the soil around the lake is fertile. Haha, a lot of new wheat is being transported to the capital continuously, and I have found a new inland waterway this summer. The water flow in the new waterway will always be smooth. There are new transportation options with the capital..."

It is necessary to inform the nobles of Lake Mälaren about some infrastructure construction in the Eastern world. Ross built the first canal to create a new waterway with human power. Of course, this matter must be widely publicized.

Bjorn and other nobles had no choice but to smile awkwardly in response. They did not understand how much the canal and the new inland waterway had to do with themselves in Scandinavia.

The nobles realized that the main grain-producing area of ​​​​Russ had a bumper harvest. Did the grain of Lake Mälaren become no longer important?

"After all, you are just complaining that I did not take you with me in last year's continuation war. No matter what the situation was at that time, it is pointless for us to argue now."

Rurik asked everyone to relax, and everyone could see that their king had something important to say, so they all listened with high chests.

"Now there is an opportunity, or you have noticed all this. The king has signed an agreement with a distinguished Frankish noble. The Frankish area south of the Inn River can be used as our plundering area. You guys Don’t you want to make a fortune? The opportunity is here.”

"I know about this. Our people went away spontaneously. However, they did not come back." Bjorn shook his head regretfully.

Others said: "Who knows whether they are dead or alive? Although the king defeated them once, they are not weak."

"Indeed, who knows?" Rurik shrugged, "This is an opportunity! The Franks are actively engaged in civil war, and the great nobles must be tearing each other apart. We must seize this opportunity. Therefore, I plan to continue to interfere with their During the civil war, I have sent people to build footholds and asked them to loot. As long as nothing happens, my people will come back in late autumn to report on their duties. My high priest did a divination, and those who went on an expedition to Frank are safe and sound. .What choice will you...make?"

They looked at each other, no one dared to say anything.

Rurik clapped his hands loudly to remind everyone: "Listen! The person I sent is Blue Fox Gouldson, Count of Gothenburg. All of you know him. How is he? What about his men? Do you think he will fail? ?I don’t believe it anyway.”

The big fat White Fox was sitting here, and Bjorn hurriedly smiled: "So it's him! Although Blue Fox is a businessman, he is clearly more brave than many warriors. He will achieve great success, so we..."

"Yes. I plan to use troops against Frank, but I need some new manpower. I am worried that as our intervention deepens, when a decisive battle occurs among the top nobles, we must send heavy troops to intervene."

"Large-scale war is a good thing!"

"All we ask for is a big war."

"The young men in my family need victory as a rite of passage."

…

The nobles were all talking again, and they no longer needed to hide their willingness to fight. Bjorn himself is not averse to fighting. As the Duke of Malaren, he has the obligation to lead everyone to form the Malaren Army to fight, and doing so will help increase his prestige.

"Okay, it seems that you are very enthusiastic." Rurik simply took advantage of the victory and said: "This is a purely voluntary matter. You can organize your own people to rob Frank and rob and capture prisoners based on your skills. I will not say anything. You. As long as you pay attention to some basic principles, everyone who comes north of the Inn River is our ally, and you can plunder the area south of the Inn River at will..."

There was no need to hold another meeting to discuss the matter with them, so Rurik took the opportunity to solemnly explain the principles of robbery.

He explained in detail who were allies and who were enemies, which areas could be robbed, which areas must not be touched, and how those who robbed those who shouldn't be robbed would be punished.

In this way, even Rurik didn't take Bjorn seriously. He was instigating the big landowners to use their clan blood relatives and their domestic servants as small-scale pirates to attack the Central Frankish region in the most standard Viking raiding mode.

Rurik had this idea. The so-called Eastern Kingdom had signed an alliance under the city, and King Ludwig was probably too injured to take the initiative to attack again.

In last year's war, the core military strength of the Kingdom of Rus was also severely damaged. Rurik was not sure that the young warriors who had grown up were good at fighting. The veterans he relied on had suffered too much. At this time of lull, Rus should try to intervene in the Frankish Civil War. But it is inappropriate to waste huge amounts of national funds and soldiers' lives on it.

The old Russian people are all noble, and this is the basis of Rus' rule.

To achieve the goal of disrupting the Middle Kingdom, the best way is to find a group of northern nobles who are interested in making a fortune. These nobles are better able to organize ship manpower than ordinary fishermen, their organization is higher, and their fighting will is also good.

A standard Viking raid usually involves two or three ships and hundreds of people launching sneak attacks on innocent villages, looting and killing them, then setting them on fire and driving away.

This most standard action is rarely carried out by Ross, because Rurik's pattern is such that he just likes to carry out large-scale battles. The war scene is large and human resources are mobilized, so the benefits gained from the war are even greater.

The rogue-style Viking raiding method is still useful. Ross will not institutionalize this tactic. The Swedish tribes, especially the Mellaren tribe with superior human resources, can definitely do this.

The nobles, including Bjorn, reached a consensus with Rurik.

As Swedish Vikings, they never felt guilty about raiding and considered it a way of life, just like fishing and hunting.

The enemy's warehouse is my home's warehouse! The key is who the enemy is.

Now that the Baltic Sea has been integrated by Rus, Rurik serves as both King of Rus and King of Sweden, and there is a new Kingdom of Denmark in the south. In the past, sneak attacks and military attacks on each other in the vast sea area became a major crime. Anyone who dared to launch an attack could be punished by everyone. Even the Earl of Saaremaa Island was ordered to patrol and enforce the law in the sea area.

As a pioneer, the fishermen with itchy hands followed Rurik's advice and had already entered the fringe activities of the Frankish world.

Those people are too weak and they can get more fish in the Atlantic waters, so they don't want to risk being killed to plunder.

The nobles had too many things to consider, especially to meet their ever-expanding capital expenditures. They either focused on self-production or robbery. The nobles were still more willing to commit robberies.

The meeting was over, and the nobles who had been complaining were all refreshed and gearing up.

Throughout the meeting, Bjorn, as a duke, existed just like an ordinary noble. He himself said something, and so did other nobles.

"Sure enough, strength is king!"

Bjorn did not complain when he returned home. He was never a domineering figure like Olegin or Karl, but was just a talker elected by the landowners. Because his title was not conferred by Rurik, but the chief's name was changed to a title, which was later recognized by Rurik. What if one day my family is deprived of its title? Damn honor? Are you still worried about damage to your honor?

Bjorn is not a petty person. He knows that his strength is enough to show an advantage in the Melalen tribe, and it is not an absolute advantage.

He has no intention of fighting for power, but is more concerned about developing his huge family and making his life better.

He has never been an honest and friendly person. Soon after returning home, he began to count the teenagers, middle-aged men, and young women who were related to the family. The sharecroppers and serfs were also counted among the able-bodied ones, and none of the existing mercenary servants were left behind. Without him, Bjorn was counting the warriors he could mobilize. He found Rurik's encouragement very interesting, and next year he would take his cronies on an "armed expedition" to the Frankish world as the Duke of Malaren.

As for the other landowners in the tribe, let them have their own fun!

"Anyway, that armed cargo ship is mine! If you try to rob me again, I will let White Fox mediate." Of course, although he was married to Governor White Fox, it really attracted the attention of the other party, or King Rus really paid attention to it. It also needs to be that he really has a relatively large number of soldiers.

How much is too much? For example, let's assemble a force of 500 people who can go into battle at any time.

Bjorn made such a plan for himself. In last year's war, he lost a lot of his direct subordinates. It was indeed difficult to expand the army to 500 men. No, he followed tradition and included the young women in the family. It’s not surprising that the Viking female warriors, especially when the endurance is not enough, the proportion of female warriors becomes higher and higher.

This was true of Bjorn, and other landowners had the same idea.

Rurik returned to the Governor's Palace in a good mood.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to eat, he confidently started talking to the white fox. "I see that they are all inspired by the success. It's great. It saves me having to find time to have a detailed chat with them."

"Hey, actually they are crazy about getting rich!" White Fox laughed.

"Oh? You shut up during the whole meeting. What's going on? Do you feel there is no need to speak, or do you have reservations?"

"I actually know them very well. Your Majesty, they are actually poor. They are fierce because of their poverty. They are not like nobles. I think your Majesty still regards them as mercenaries."

"Of course." Rurik fiddled with the warm lamb ribs and cut them off with one force: "Lotel of the Middle Kingdom, this person is our future enemy. Listen, a divided Frankish world is facing We are in an advantage, and I am trying to create this result. However, King Lothair intends to unify the Franks. If he succeeds, our good days will be gone."

The white fox knew very little about this, so he flattered: "What kind of enemy is worthy of the king's concern? Our army will definitely win!"

"That's true, but we need to change some tactics. Your three brothers are now in the south, and I'm worried that they are in danger. After all, robbery involves the risk of being killed, and I arranged for your three brothers to Help me expand my commercial territory in the south, and looting is just an added bonus. Let some desperadoes do the bloody work to disturb our enemies, and those who died in the conflicts were all members of the Malaren nobles. In the end, our Ross army won Get the most wealth.”

"Wonderful!"

"It's not bad. It's just to satisfy those guys' desire to plunder. We and they each get what we need." Rurik shrugged and raised his wine glass: "I won't stay here for long, I will go to Uppsa soon. After completing this year’s autumn sacrifices at the Temple of Ra, we have to return to the capital. Oh, I also have news about your father here.”

Bai Hu, who had a comfortable face at first, suddenly lost his composure, "I know very well about my father. He..."

"Everything is his own choice. Gould is my old friend. He is too old after all. The will has been completed and he has chosen a destination for himself. Now, you are the new Gould, you are his Eldest son, do a good job as governor here, just like in the past. Your family and my family are in the same boat, so do a good job."

"Okay." Big White Fatty Bai Hu filled himself up with another glass of strong wine and drank it all in one gulp...