Rise of Rurik

The military flags were flapping in the north wind. People cut down trees on the spot and quickly built supports. Then they piled up random textiles and wide deer skins to create a large conical tent imitating the Finnish tribe. The construction of permanent wooden houses also began. here we go.

The Vitebsk Fortress has received a new lease of life and has been transformed into a large military camp for the Russian Army.

The enemy's stone-frozen corpses were smashed to pieces by long-handled forest axes, and all the genuine ice blocks were piled away from the fortress.

After all, an army of five to six thousand people is stationed here, and there are some twisted dead bodies lying around. It is extremely unlucky and will greatly dampen morale.

Rurik stands here.

It's time to give the fortress defenders some recognition!

Avender was once a young, meritless warrior from the Principality of Ostara. His achievements on the battlefield were recognized by Rurik. This boy was immediately absorbed into the standing army and became a candidate for the captain of the cavalry standard, which meant becoming a close minister beside the king.

As for the old man Jellinger, the city lord who heroically killed the enemy until he died immediately, Rurik simply held a memorial service for this man.

Jellinger's wooden coffin was opened, and the warrior's body was as solid as a rock. The king personally placed some funerary objects inside, praised his hero in front of the entire army, and announced that the hero's body would be buried in the capital cemetery.

The new city lord of the fortress has also been appointed. This person is none other than Carl Eriksson.

Even though the surviving defenders felt that this man was not worthy of his virtue, he was just passing on news to attract reinforcements. This man did not participate in the most difficult and bloody battle, so how could he become the city lord?

Rurik and Carlotta did not need to seek the wishes of ordinary, young warriors for their decisions.

After all, this man has pure golden hair and he has a pure Swedish origin, and this kind of person will be reused as expected. This is the basis of Rurik's rule over the kingdom. Besides, running wildly in the ice and snow at the speed of a dead horse to deliver the war warning is really a marathon hero.

Although ordinary soldiers do not know anything about "marathon".

After a long journey, the entire army had to rest and recuperate in Vitebsk.

The army was very tired. Considering that damn Vadim had a strong force, and judging from the large number of dead bodies they left on the battlefield, Rurik had to make a cautious judgment - their weapons and equipment were not excellent, but they were fearless and attacked rashly. I may cause more casualties.

The inner city is as solid as a rock, while the outer city wall has holes opened up.

The existence of the trench surrounding the city meant that the enemy basically had to hope that the river would freeze before launching an siege. Even if the outer wall was weak, it would be enough to delay the enemy's attack. Even if the enemy rushes to the inner city and faces the stronger city wall, all their ideas will be defeated...

King Rurik highly praised the fighting will of the fortress defenders in the largest building in the inner city, and put forward some opinions on the fortress defense system.

At this moment, there are densely packed tents and shacks outside the city. There are tens of thousands of reindeer and horses. These large animals are grazing around the camp, and the camp is already filled with a strong fragrance of wheat.

In the inner city, Rurik happily convened another military meeting to plan for the next battle.

He first made key guiding opinions on the defense of the fortress: "The east gate of Vitebsk was breached. Even though the enemy paid a huge price, the gate was still broken. However, if the gate is being built, if the gate is built on both sides, From the protruding part, our soldiers can shoot arrows, smash rocks, etc. at the enemy from three directions..."

The bastion lacked the concept of its construction in this era.

Fortunately, Rurik was an expert at drawing, so he took the paper, quills and ink he brought with him and made some graffiti.

He re-outlined the underlying logic of future Vitebsk city construction in public - fortification.

"The inner city can still be square and square, but the outer city must be built like a six-pointed star. In this way, there will no longer be a straight surface for the enemy to attack. Even if the enemy is strong, they can only send a small force to attack the city at a time. Our defensive pressure will drop dramatically."

Because the suture line of the human lens is triangular. When the three edges on the front and back are interlaced, it becomes a six-edge with an even 60°. You can look at any stars.

You can see the six awns.

Rurik simply gave the bastion a popular name: Star Castle.

"Star Castle? Interesting. However, this is obviously a fortress that I built on my own initiative. Is it really worth your attention?" Carlotta couldn't help but wonder.

"This is the moment." Rurik looked at the face of his beloved wife: "The fortress is already the front line against Smolensk, isn't it? It is already our southernmost fortress, and its location is also extraordinary. Normally. It is an intersection on the traffic line."

As he spoke, Rurik looked at everyone and expressed his attitude towards the Smolensk community.

"I have no intention of killing all the people of Smolensk, which means nothing to our country. On the contrary, we want to conquer them, rule them, and eventually make them a part of us.

We must kill Vadim, and then cleanse his remnants in Smolensk. All the disobedient village leaders will be eradicated, and the surrendered ones can be retained.

Say it again. It seems to me that the majority of Smolensk peasants have no independent opinion. Look at the dead bodies everywhere! Their hands and feet were covered with calluses, and their bodies were thin and short. They were obviously ordinary farmers. They must have been instructed by the local leaders to fight, and they were not afraid of death. Such people can obviously fight for us too!

I have already thought about it. We can bypass the old local aristocrats and support the new aristocrats among the common people. In the future, I can move some of my sons to be local rulers and ensure that Smolensk becomes part of us. "

The plan seems grand, but not everyone can understand it.

The king is known as the "April Stallion" because he has so many sons. In the future, the king's son must be enfeoffed everywhere and become small lords. After all, the area around Yin'ermen Lake in the current elite area of ​​the kingdom is shared by the Ross direct line and the White Tree Manor, a relative. The political alliance between the two parties is the foundation of the kingdom.

However, the huge number of little princes is not qualified to take a share of the pie. Fortunately, the Eastern European world is so huge that it exceeds the imagination of people of this era. With a lot of hard work, countless settlements can rise from the ground and become the territories of each little prince. Defend the kingdom's borders.

The area where the Smolensk community is located has been basically developed, local rulers have been removed, and the people of Rus will rule the people. Rurik's Eastern-style strategy is self-consciously brilliant.

"What do you think?" He explained to himself and then asked.

Everyone was quite speechless for a while.

Seeing their silent attitude, Rurik couldn't help but wonder: "What? Do you think my claim is unreliable? You all talk."

It was Arik who stood up first: "You think too highly of them."

"Exactly." Brother-in-law Medvet also spoke: "I don't think the Smolensk people can accept your rule peacefully. King, in the past year, we and our allies have been invading their villages and plundering many people and property. Can they really let go of this kind of hatred?"

"That's right. We did it." Quetzal, the unruly grassland nobleman, raised his head like a fat fish. "Our behavior will definitely attract their hatred. But I... don't think there is anything wrong with it."

[An app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, used by all old bookworms.

? There is nothing wrong with that. But their descendants were born and raised in your territory, and they know you are a noble from birth, and they can only be loyal to you if they want to gain benefits. "Rurik slapped his thigh hard: "It's not the Smolensk farmers you distrust, but the leaders. It seems that we need a big purge. Destroy their local nobles and replace them with our people. Of course, among them There may be people who are willing to surrender, but I can't guarantee whether their descendants will rebel. If they all die, those ordinary farmers will have no choice but to obey our rule. What do you think?"

"Ruthless enough." Arik smiled, unintentionally revealing his ferocious fangs.

"That's okay."

"But is this an indiscriminate killing of innocent people?"

"Bloody mercy. Kill them all to avoid future troubles."

"What about our current enemies? Those who are willing to surrender will be spared their lives?"

"Bah! No matter what their attitude is, since they joined the army to attack us, every one of them deserves to die."

"Not necessarily. Keeping a group of prisoners of war and punishing them as lumberjacks, sending them to dig ores, or selling them as slaves is better than killing them."

…

They were discussing the situation and were already thinking about the fate of the prisoners of war.

Rurik, who was sitting cross-legged, patted his thigh again: "You have said a lot, but we haven't found Vadim yet. Maybe this person is attacking Polotsk, and I..."

Rurik suddenly made an idea that seemed a bit rash, but was actually the most cost-effective idea in his opinion: "I plan to gather all the cavalry, and the elite of our army will arrive at Polotsk as quickly as possible. If the enemy is there, annihilate it." Them! Now our army can assemble two thousand cavalry, and they can quickly attack on the glacier. I have the advantage."

The words immediately aroused a major response.

"Huh? Won't my first flag team lose the opportunity?" Arik exclaimed in confusion, and said: "The reindeer sleigh is fast enough, and my infantry can also rush to the scene quickly."

Arik gave the infantry flag captains a warning and asked them to fight one by one.

"It doesn't have to be like this." Rurik waved his hand to reject them: "Don't the facts prove it? The enemy's strength is not as large as the legend, the situation has changed, Vadim and his army can be destroyed by the cavalry. I will personally lead The cavalry joins the battle! Let’s talk.”

Rurik looked at the four cavalry captains present: "I have actually always had an idea. It may be unrealistic, but it is possible to realize it."

"What's that?" Fisk asked.

"Especially you. Do you want to go to Frank to fight again?" Rurik asked with a smile.

"Of course. Who can refuse wealth? The Frankish world is too rich."

Wealth is a relative term. Compared with the Baltic region, Frankia, which was deeply cultivated by the Roman Empire and Charlemagne, is indeed rich in products and is warmer and more comfortable. Fisk and Brody, who have been to the local battles, have bright eyes!

"Actually, the cavalry can go all the way along the coast from New Roseburg to Hamburg in the Principality of Saxony, and then go backwards along the Hell Road to Cologne. Then from Cologne along the Rhine River, we can reach Nassau, where wine is produced. We can meet our brothers who stayed there, haha.”

Since all the cavalry captains have learned some knowledge from Rurik, they have a clear understanding of the geographical structure, especially the layout of the European coastline. This understanding is deeper than that of all European monarchs and scholars except Russia!

The map described by Rurik does have a coastal route to Western Europe, but it only exists in descriptions so far. Although ships of all sizes have roamed freely in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, the Russian army has not yet measured the European continent by land march, and everyone is unknown in this regard. of.

"Sooner or later we can give it a try. Before that, our cavalry still needs to be trained, especially the two newly formed cavalry teams." Rurik looked at the three young people present, especially those who had already been put on the agenda. Avender, the captain of the 5th Cavalry that is intended to be formed in the near future. "You need the opportunity to practice long-distance marching and fighting, and you don't have the opportunity right now."

For the larger infantry force, Rurik arranged for them to continue resting in Vitebsk.

huge

The infantry is the main force in capturing the main area of ​​​​Smolensk, and they must recharge their batteries. After all, the local environment is heavily forested, and the advantage of the cavalry will be greatly weakened. Maybe the cavalry will have to dedicate manpower to serve as dismounted infantry to participate in the battle!

What everyone is worried about is that Rurik does not believe that the local nobles will be slaughtered and accept the physical cleansing obediently. Maybe Vadim was killed here, and a decisive battle will be fought in Smolensk next. The enemy's homeland operations are waiting for work, and the main infantry of the Russian army should rest and recuperate in Vitebsk.

So, it was on this day that Rurik issued the order for the cavalry to assemble.

Four standing army cavalry units, Ostara Cavalry (Carlotta's unit), Demyansk Cavalry (Steppe Princess Beyasher's unit), Steppe Cavalry (Pecheneg allies) and a small number of Kiev cavalry Guests (Vladyslav's people), he pieced together a cavalry team with a strength of 2,000.

They are widely equipped with bows, crossbows and arrows. They prioritize riding and shooting on the grassland in combat and do not organize wall-mounted attacks unless necessary.

In Rurik's opinion, this is a very rogue tactic. Against unarmored light infantry, even against Frankish heavy cavalry, kite-flying non-contact shooting tactics are effective. Unless the enemy is fully equipped with plate armor, they will be immune to the Russian crossbow fire.

This also lies in Rurik's understanding of cavalry.

At present, the cavalry has not yet been upgraded to the core of King Rus' army, even though the status of this unit is rapidly improving. At present, the main force of the Russian army is still the traditional navy force and "Marine Corps". Operations rely more on the ocean and inland rivers. The infantry is naturally the main force because of its extremely large mobilizable force.

As for cavalry, it is perfect to use it to bully weak troops.

Because now Rurik couldn't believe that Vadim and his army were a strong force based on the inspection of a large number of enemy corpses.

The cavalry was gathering, and the night before they decided to set off, as night fell, a strange celestial phenomenon suddenly appeared in the western sky.

Rurik was invited by his subordinates to watch the play outdoors.

"Your Majesty, the sky is red? I feel like there is a forest fire there?" The guard shivered in shock.

Rurik glanced disdainfully: "Boy, are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid."

"You are just short-sighted. That... seems to be the direction of Polotsk?" Rurik thought for a moment and suddenly stamped his foot: "Ah! Oh no!"

That night, an impromptu military meeting was held again, and now there was no need to discuss the attitude towards Smolensk.

Rurik made a decisive decision in front of everyone: "It seems that we all underestimated Vadim! Learn war in war, that guy is reckless but not a fool. He is attacking Polotsk with fire."

But how can we see it?

"Everything is so similar! Ten years ago our army went on an expedition to Gotland. When our army burned Visby, the sky turned completely red. Whenever we carried out a fire attack on the city, the sky was burned red."

"Ah! So my local garrison has collapsed?!" Carlotta was extremely shocked.

"You... better prepare for the worst!"

"Damn! Damn Vadim!" Carlotta roared filial piety to the West in an even rarer manner. She spent a lot of effort to complete the direct rule of Polotsk, and large-scale marriages ensured that she, a new foreign power, status in the local area.

Could it be that Vadim, that reckless man, ruined everything? !

After all, there are hundreds of Ostara boys garrisoning the fortress. Even if they are Slavs, they are still Ostara people. Carlotta, who lacked tribesmen, cherished every soldier under her command and specially arranged marriages for these boys in Polotsk.

No one questioned Rurik's conjecture. It was impossible for forest fires to ignite in the world of ice and snow. Moreover, forest fires were extremely rare in the north. The only possibilities were man-made arson and the wrath of the God of Thunder (Thunder Pit).

Vadim's fire attack on the Novopolotsk fortress was considered highly likely.

This problem is actually simpler.

Once the cavalry had a clear target, everyone believed that Vadim himself must be supervising the fire attack. The cavalry appears just in time to attack its rear. It may not be possible to directly

To pick up prisoners, you can kill them in a chaotic battle or shoot them. Rurik no longer insisted. If he couldn't catch him alive, he could just find the body and cut it into pieces.

Secondly, the enemy is attacking the stronghold of the Rus Kingdom again, which is a shame. The whole army has more reasons to take revenge. The cavalry team, which is obviously a mixed one, is now more united than ever before.