Rise of Rurik

Some villagers' houses have been turned into tombs, and it's unbelievable that there are corpses lying everywhere inside!

The dead bodies of all kinds of people were piled up in a mess, one after another. This also explained why a large number of villagers disappeared. It turned out that many Polotsk ended up in such a miserable place.

For soldiers who have been fighting for many years, especially pirates who have been cruising the sea for a few years, they finally got rid of their status as "descendants of sinners" after being recruited. They still have a gangster spirit. Even so, they are still disappointed when they see a large number of frozen dead bodies of men and women. Surprised.

It wasn't a shock at all, the pirates under Spuyut were used to life and death.

They were simply surprised because the number of corpses clearly exceeded a thousand, and there were almost no external injuries on the bodies of the deceased, giving the impression that the deceased died of natural causes.

Of course, Spyout didn't believe that all the dead died of natural causes.

Until the prisoners of war who deliberately spared their lives pointed out the reason, the so-called army led by Vadim carried limited food and did not need many villagers alive to compete with them for food. The villagers were deliberately imprisoned and starved to death. The more hungry a person was, the harder it was to resist, so that the villagers died in large numbers.

Only the last survivors who had physical strength were coerced into participating in the fire attack. In the end, almost all the survivors among the villagers died.

Carlotta was furious when she further learned the truth. However, Vadim, the culprit, was placed under closer supervision, making it impossible for anyone to choose an opportunity to avenge themselves.

Kind to Vadim?

No!

Of course, a big fat pig must be well cared for before being sacrificed.

One clear day, only the smoldering remnants of the burning Novopolodsk fortress remained.

The nearby area has been dried by the heat and the snow has disappeared. The ground has been burned dry and cracked. The dark scene is in sharp contrast to the snowy world.

The chief's mansion, which was demolished and rebuilt on the order of Carlotta, is currently the king's palace because of the presence of King Rurik of Rus, even though it is very simple.

Rurik will definitely not stay in Polotsk anymore. He has made plans to leave the day after tomorrow.

Now, all the elites of the entire army are gathered here to hold another military meeting, which is also the last military meeting in Polotsk.

The atmosphere here is serious, everyone knows that a war is about to begin, but they are not emotionally excited or depressed at all. Everyone also knows how the war will proceed in the future, as if everything is just running a set of procedures, and there is no need for the King of Ross to reiterate it in a high-profile manner.

Rurik just wanted to say that.

even……

He was not wearing armor today. The thick bearskin coat was restrained by a cowhide armed belt. While it was enough to keep out the cold, his overall figure appeared slimmer, making him look very capable.

He clapped his hands to attract the attention of the guys who were sitting cross-legged on the ground: "Polotsk... now has only one place name left. I will definitely rebuild it in the future! This place is very important to Ross, and I cannot ignore it.

What I want to say now is that the culprit is Vadim! already dead! "

The words immediately caused an uproar.

"Dead?!" Carlotta put her hands on the ground, completely ignoring her chronic leg problems, and got excited in a twisted posture: "Didn't you agree? At least you made a blood eagle for Vadim. , you didn’t let me kill you, so you killed me casually?!”

She is the king's wife. If she offends the king, she can use her body to make amends.

The other brothers were pleased with the Duchess's outburst and sought an explanation.

"You sit down first." Rurik waved his hands and clothes in a mysterious manner and continued: "Vadim is indeed dead. It's just... maybe our understanding of death is different. Just wait for now."

Rurik was indeed showing off. As he went out in person to find the prepared guards, he personally supervised an unkempt man with his arms tied behind his back being escorted to the house.

The man's shoulders were pressed down and he knelt down in front of everyone. When his messy, curly brown hair was lifted, everyone saw a hateful face.

"Vadim, you weren't killed? This... this man is like a dog in your hands." Carlotta gently covered her chest. She just sat down and looked at Rurik again, with a look of confusion on her face. Taking a closer look at the embarrassed Vadim, there was no anger, only disgust as if seeing feces, and he even muttered: "Why did you touch the head of this dirty dog ​​with your noble hands?"

"He's dead, isn't he." Rurik indeed stroked Vadim's dirty head like a dog.

People first noticed that this man would be furious and struggling due to the strong humiliation, but unexpectedly he was so obedient that he remained motionless.

"You...actually tamed this man? Like taming a fierce horse?" Carlotta was shocked.

"Not really, it's just that this fool has something in my hands."

"what is that?"

"Hehe..." Rurik smiled and said nothing, then changed the subject: "That's why I said Vadim is dead. Look, isn't he already dead?"

Everyone looked at each other and exchanged glances to reach a consensus.

"The souls that once dared to be our enemies have dissipated. What is left here is just a living Airbus, which will be a good sacrifice. For the Smolensk people, their leader Vadim has already After death, the living body is no longer valuable. This means that Smolensk currently does not have a leader who can organize and unite all villages and strongholds, which means that it may be difficult for them to clench all their fingers into fists and beat us. Brothers, we The opportunity has come.

This king is determined! Tomorrow is the last day of rest, and the day after tomorrow we will start in full swing. "

At this point, Rurik lifted his boots again and without much effort lifted Vadim, who was tied up behind his back, and placed his right foot on his back, pretending to raise his arms high, like a boxer in a conqueror's pose. modeling.

The brothers really didn't understand why the king put on this set of performance art. They were really happy to see it and laughed together.

Only Vadim, who was trampled under his feet, endured the humiliation with his eyes closed, but he really did not dare to resist.

What leverage does a high-ranking prisoner of war who has lost all his troops have in Rurik's hands?

It turns out that a simple threat of "I'll castrate you if you don't obey me" turned out to be Vadim's destiny. He wanted to maintain his last masculine dignity, so he gave up his dignity as a great leader and gave up the oath he had made to the gods at the Gniezdovo altar in the Katyn Forest.

Why bother singing praises to the gods anymore? The God of Fire, the God of Thunder, the God of Chaos... the Slavic gods played tricks on the Smolensk Expeditionary Force, and the unprecedentedly organized army was completely annihilated.

And these gods seem to be standing in the position of the Russian army...

Because Vadim learned from the group of people who cursed him that there were already a large number of Slavic warriors in the Russian army, many of whom were descendants of native nobles. These people come from their hometown of Yin'ermen Lake. The sons of the leaders of various small farms who were once suppressed have suddenly become the upstarts of Russia.

Perhaps the Slavic gods had turned to support their more powerful self.

Vadim was disheartened. He once boasted that he would succeed if he failed, but when he really planned to commit suicide, he gave up repeatedly due to fear and survival instinct. The death of the self is inevitable. Since suicide fails, one can only face the endless humiliation of the conquered.

Vadim chose humiliation, but what about the dignity of the thousands of villagers who he deliberately starved to death?

Rurik ordered the corpses of all the dead to be collected. Even if it was difficult to dig a pit in the cold weather, a big pit must be dug to bury them and a giant tomb should be set up.

Passing through an area burned by the burning Novopolotsk Fortress, the soil there was baked relatively soft, and the giant tomb is set here.

One after another, the frozen corpses were carried on sleds in extremely twisted postures, and transported across the frozen Bolota River like cargo.

At this moment, there were already a group of soldiers digging trenches with shovels in the area that was once the battlefield on the other side of the river.

The corpses were put in immediately, and eventually they became layered again.

No one complained, after all, the bodies had to be cleaned, otherwise it would be in extremely bad condition once the weather warmed up.

But there are exceptions, those Smolensk army corpses integrated with the ice of the West Dvina River

Body, let them just leave it on the ice! The destination of these corpses is the sea. The wanderings next spring will tear up all the corpses and push them to the Gulf of Riga in fragments to feed fish.

The dead Polotsk villagers got a decent outcome.

They died on a large scale and even became extinct. Carlotta did not regret this result very much. Of course she had empathy and shed a few tears. Those villagers were their own tax source, and to be killed was a major blow to the southern expansion of the Principality of Ostara and the Kingdom of Rus.

And the future reconstruction work can no longer be led by the Principality of Ostara.

Because Carlotta has a dual identity, she is the king's wife and a great southern noble under Ross's rule. As a great noble, even if she is a woman, her status determines that she must lead her tribe to expand. This is to ensure the stability of her power for the benefit of the people, and also to provide for her son who will become an adult in a few years and can handle government affairs. paving.

She was also somewhat grateful that her son did not see the tragic situation in Polotsk.

Although as the son of Rurik, little Karl will grow up into a real man who is brave and fierce sooner or later. Perhaps, it was too irritating for him to see the scene of corpses scattered all over the place now, and things had to unfold step by step, so that Karl could finally face the war calmly.

War is the main theme of this era.

Even war is considered a shortcut to development.

Carlotta's huge losses in Polotsk had to be compensated. Who pays compensation? Vadim who was trained like a dog by her husband? No! The people of Smolensk want compensation! They wanted to compensate for food, slaves, and especially a group of young women.

Even though Carlotta is a woman herself, she must consider the demands of the male warriors under her command most.

Especially in Vitebsk, the strongest southern stronghold at present, the defenders are almost all young Ostara warriors.

They need to have a wife, even if this wife's role is just a slave in their eyes, it is better than nothing. As long as they have women, they can make these women give birth. When they have women and children, the hearts of the soldiers are completely bound to Vitebsk.

They will be deeply rooted here and defend it forever.

She knew that the Ross army would not wait any longer. When the cavalry army temporarily stationed in Polotsk set off, they would meet up with a large number of infantry stationed in Vitebsk and then go straight to Smolensk. There would be no changes in the process. . Maybe even the blizzard is not a reason to hinder the Ross army's expedition.

Some buried the bodies, others emptied Polotsk's granaries.

The cavalry swept through all ten villages, and everything they saw was desolate and ruined. Where are they villages? With the shrill cold wind blowing from their ears, the cavalrymen were in the empty village. The men and horses were breathing in the thick fog, and they all felt the terror here.

It was not that they were worried about an enemy ambush, but that it was too cold and quiet here, and the soldiers thought of one word - grave.

They did not search in depth and left in a hurry without finding anything useful. They did not feel any shame in returning without success.

A batch of temporary sleds were rushed and made. They were tied with wooden poles and hemp ropes. They didn't look like very strong things.

Why force it on them? As long as the captured grain can be transported to Vitebsk as much as possible.

In Polotsk, the Ross Cavalry and the Gulf of Riga Allied Forces used their brains to transport wheat in a variety of containers, especially coarse cloth and leather, which they used to make bags to hold the wheat for their own use.

Almost every cavalry soldier's empty linen sack, which was used to carry loot, was now filled with wheat.

More wheat needs to be transported by sleds. Finally, when the army is about to set off, a large number of soldiers are destined to sit on the grain and drive the reindeer and pony horses to pull the sled forward.

The day of planning is the time to set off.

"Now, there is nothing left to miss in Polotsk? All the buildings can be torn down and rebuilt. Even, I ordered the construction of... your palace." Carlotta on horseback accompanied Rurik. , feeling a little sad emotionally.

"Don't worry, I will build Polotsk better. Don't worry about this."

"Oh, that's not what I'm worried about." Carlotta shook her head and continued: "There is indeed nothing to miss here. Let's go. You will give the order."

Rurik nodded and signaled the 1st Cavalry to send a clear signal to the entire army.

Suddenly the horn sounded loudly, and the small leather drum made a rapid and crisp sound.

The royal flag of Rus with complex decorations took the lead in waving, and then the 1st Cavalry took the lead, leading the entire army to march towards the upper reaches of the West Dvina River.

There were nearly 3,000 people in a mighty team, which didn't seem to be a large number. Because they were lined up in a straight line, if an eagle had a bird's eye view, they could see "a black snake" moving at a fast speed on the frozen river.

What Carlotta said is true. All the villages in Polotsk have been abandoned. Even those villagers who moved their families to the fortress because of their married daughters and stayed with the defenders until the reinforcements arrived and turned the corner, they had to take their little things with them. Leaving home.

In other words, for these last villagers, their identities changed as they married off their daughters and became Ostara tribesmen. The women followed their young husbands, and the old men followed their young sons-in-law, joining the mighty army heading east. At least they were promised that they would settle in Vitebsk.

Vitebsk is not a foreign country to the last villagers. It is a place that the Polotsk people love and hate. Who would have thought that it would be the home of the last survivor.

But he said that in order to protect his male symbol, Vadim had to humiliate himself and survive for a while even if he was destined to die. Rurik built a dog cage for him.

The wood was tied with ropes into a large wooden box, and some leather was spread on the surface to keep it warm. Vadim's hands and feet were still bound, a ball of cloth was stuffed in his mouth, then tied with a rope, and then tied with a knot on the back of his head. He was plunged into darkness and his mind fell into a trance.

There were also several Smolensk prisoners of war who could have been executed after being severely beaten.

Considering that keeping the prisoners was still useful, Rurik made a promise to them: Be obedient and we will let you go back to report the news when we arrive in Smolensk.

Based on Rurik's new strategy, the huge Russian army in the future will kill them with overwhelming force, but this does not mean that they will really go on a killing spree in the local area. A few prisoners of war must be used as messengers. They are not asked to say a few good words for Ross. It is enough to inform them that the Ross army is approaching the city, and then give them an opportunity to send people to negotiate.

"Of course you can refuse all negotiations, so that I have a reason to eliminate you. At any time, I retain the power and ability to kill." Rurik thought so, but did not publicize it publicly.

Those prisoners of war were really obedient. For this reason, they were given some leather clothes to keep out the cold, and then they were given hot meals, which made them even more obedient.

The cavalry army ran like crazy when they came, but there was no need to speed up when they returned.

They had to adapt to the slow speed of the sleds transporting food, so on the third day after the expedition, when it was almost dark, the dark shadow of artificial buildings appeared in the open land in the distance, and the array of bonfires as bright as stars completely exposed it. The name - Vitebsk.

There is no point in performing the bonfire trick this time. Having a bonfire means that at most ten people can share it.

The bonfires are still densely packed, which truly proves the size of the Ross army stationed here.

Regarding the reinforcements from the Gulf of Riga, especially the Danish community fighters from the Gulf of Riga who arrived in the upper reaches of the West Dvina River on a large scale for the first time, they sat on sleds with their heads held high and commented on the "stars" on the ground.

As for the cavalry, seeing the army camp, each of the soldiers could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But when the army completes its general assembly, there will be no further delay. It is estimated that the entire army will arrive at the camp tonight, and King Rus will at most give the soldiers a gift to make final preparations before the war tomorrow.

Even King Ross was unwilling to wait at all! After all, the army stationed in Vitebsk has been preparing for war in the past few days.

"Sigh, maybe the king will give us cavalry another hard time."

"It doesn't matter, this is the price of being noble. After all, we are cavalry, or the First Cavalry."

The most elite warriors joked with each other and quickly adjusted their mentality.

That's it, end of Poirot

Rurik, who unexpectedly encountered the war and completely annihilated the Smolensk expeditionary force, returned to the camp with his cavalry and Western reinforcements.

Just as the most elite soldiers had estimated, Rurik noticed the hard-to-conceal fighting spirit and eagerness to try among the remaining soldiers, and knew that these people no longer wanted to wait any longer.

Why keep waiting?

As soon as he returned to Vitebsk, Rurik immediately revealed the news: Our army will set off at noon tomorrow!

So that night, the whole camp inevitably became noisy, and the soldiers had already packed their bags overnight, just so that they wouldn't have to be too busy tomorrow morning.