Rise of Rurik

When the Russian army established a camp here, the city of Orsha was born.

Starting from the river confluence where Orsha is located, it is still nearly 100 kilometers to the main settlement cluster of Smolensk further upstream of the Dnieper River. The hunter walked these 100 kilometers in this ice and snow, so this hunter can be described as a Ice warrior.

The vast majority of the people in the Ross army can be said to be "ice warriors", not because they all have special skills and excellent qualities, but because Rurik made as much preparation as possible for the winter march.

The Orshacha River is only one of the thousands of tributaries that feed into the Dnieper River, and it is not wide among all tributaries.

The beauty of this tributary lies in its location and the main course of the river, with its source in the watershed due north.

A joke was circulated among the resting warriors.

Those northerners who saw the Dnieper River for the first time did not know anything about this river. Their previous knowledge came from the merchants' statements and the longer-term meetings they received from their grandfathers.

Looking back on the two or three days after leaving the Vitebsk Fortress, they all felt that they had been in a huge ice rink.

The move south did not consume much physical energy. We all sat leisurely on the sled wrapped in fur coats. If we had not been able to chat during the march, everyone would have been drowsy.

"Sidwina Skating Rink," they jokingly described the journey they had just taken, and even jokingly said that "Operation Skating" would continue at high speed.

Cast iron cauldrons are convenient and durable. They are hundreds of times better than clay pots. When the northern craftsmen of the kingdom made pig iron castings according to the method of casting copperware, the iron cauldron that was said to be "at least good enough to be used as a container" was cast. Its casting technology craftsmen We are upgrading voluntarily.

Ross's iron pots were made larger and deeper, and cast thinner overall, so that they became lighter, conserved iron, and became easier to heat.

Ross's flag force was not equipped with a professional cooking class. The soldiers took care of the cooking work themselves. Naturally, the most important big iron pot was also well protected by them.

A ship, that is, a platoon-level combat unit has an iron pot, and thirty people point at it to cook everyone's hot meals. Since only one soldier is needed to guard it, there is no need for a flag team to set up a cooking class for the time being.

Frankly speaking, this military operation in Rurik was too hasty.

If there is more time, we can really organize a group of non-combatants to participate in the war.

There are clergymen performing battlefield sacrifices, medical staff performing emergency dressings, surgeries and even burying corpses, cooks preparing meals, and even organizing song and dance troupes to sing some hometown songs to liven up the atmosphere...

These things can be implemented during next year's expedition to Frank, and are no longer necessary now.

Right at the Orsha camp, Rurik could comfortably eat a hot meal.

Even Vadim, a senior prisoner of war, was taken out of the cage to eat the hot meal he was given.

"That man is at least a king. Now he looks like a king. Why, did the Smolensk people elect such a coward?"

"This shows that those guys are too naive. And this Vadim, his soul is dead, and now he is a walking corpse."

Arik had met the reckless Vadim back then. At that time, the young man usurped the throne in a foreign land and organized an army for revenge. Regardless of his status as an old Russian nobleman, Aric really admired this kind of avenger.

But……

Vadim's current cowardice made him despise him.

Arik chatted with Fisk, and Gil, who was only six or seven years old, ran over happily.

Facing Vadim, who was lying on the snow like a sled dog eating the cold wheat mixed with a lot of snow, the little boy subconsciously raised his feet and actually put on a pose like his uncle Rurik. Domineering conqueror style.

Even when he was humiliated by a little brat, the frustrated Vadim's last self-esteem collapsed. He froze on the spot, like a piece of wood.

"I heard that you are that evil person?" Gil pretended to be an adult in a childish tone and said contemptuously: "You really look like a dog! I heard that my uncle will personally skin you and then burn you to ashes. .Are you really that hateful? Maybe I can kill you

, so that uncle can spare your life. Haha, I heard that people who are neither male nor female cannot be leaders. How about this, I put a leash on you and you become my dog? "

Vadim never thought that he could be humiliated like a dog by a yellow-headed boy. This boy spoke his native dialect fluently, which was even more insulting.

But for a noble boy like Gil, he can first speak the Russian dialect version of Norse, and secondly, he can speak the Ermen Slavonic dialect with his mother. Living in a bilingual environment, the little boy can switch languages ​​at will.

This kind of people can be found everywhere in the Russian army, especially the four expanded citizen flag corps. Almost all young people in the army are such mixed-race warriors.

Gil is Arik's youngest son. Thanks to his father's stronger Nordic genes, he is still a "little golden retriever" with blue eyes.

Vadim exploded. Even though his hands were still tied behind his back, he still had the strength to fight back against the boy who had just humiliated him.

Vadim, who struggled to get up, tripped Gil and then pounced on him like a hungry tiger. Jill was shocked by being pinned down, and screamed as she tried to break free to escape the imminent bite.

"Gil!" Arik rushed up with quick eyes and quick feet. He kicked the frantic Vadim aside with a sliding shovel, then picked up the frightened Gil and slapped the snow all over his little son.

At this moment, there were quite a few soldiers who were bored and had a meal with the noble prisoners of war who looked half like dogs. They were one step behind Arik, and now they surrounded Vadim. It seemed that the next step was to beat the rabid dog to death with sticks. .

He won't be beaten to death, but he will definitely be kicked more than ten times.

Vadim, who was kicked, made up his mind to be kicked to death by the Russians just like this, so as not to be blamed in the future.

Fisk hurriedly walked into the crowd and pushed the brothers who were in a mess to vent their anger: "Stop it! If you kill this man, the king will punish you soon. Who can laugh if he really punishes you with a pound of silver coins?"

For the sake of money, everyone reluctantly dispersed.

The farce ended suddenly, and Vadim closed his eyes again.

Soon, after receiving the soldier's report, Rurik suspended his small talk with his old friend, visited his frightened nephew to confirm that everything was okay, and then hurriedly approached his noble prisoner of war.

At this moment, Vadim had sat down with his back against a pine tree. His hands and feet were now tied, and his mouth was stuffed with cloth and tied with ropes. He held his neck high, as if he was being killed, and closed his eyes, hoping that someone would give him a knife to end his absurdity.

A group of warriors stared at the crazed male dog with swords in hand, but no one stabbed him mercifully. On the contrary, everyone was talking about how the prisoner would be tortured on their high altar when he was transported to Smolensk.

There was another commotion among the crowd, and Rurik appeared holding the hilt of his sword.

"Your Majesty." Fisk reported hurriedly: "Fortunately, my people did not kill this person."

"Nonsense, I asked you to take care of the prisoners of war, and Vadim almost took the opportunity. Do you understand? This guy failed to commit suicide because he was thinking of ways to get you to do it."

Fisk suddenly understood and had no choice but to take a step back and lower his shiny head.

"That's all."

Rurik motioned for everyone to step aside for the time being, and he squatted on the snow on tiptoes, staring at Vadim's face, which seemed very calm. "Come here," he signaled, "take off the linen and let him talk."

As the cloth from the gag was taken out, Vadim spat at Rurik without hesitation.

After wiping his face, Rurik's murderous intention was quickly blown away by a gust of cold wind.

"I understand. The moonlight shines brightly on the frozen Dnieper River, which is very close to your Smolensk. You have no face to face those people, and you don't want to be executed as a sacrifice by me. Maybe, my nephew's treatment of you The humiliation makes you furious. Do you want to die? You can do it now."

"Kill me...kill me quickly!" Vadim growled like a wolf.

"How about you commit suicide." Rurik still looked calm, and this calmness was even more terrifying: "Bite off your tongue, the hot blood will block your throat, and you will suffocate to death. But you don't dare to fight to death. battlefield,

Even if defeated, he is unwilling to kill himself. There is absolutely no way you can bite your tongue and commit suicide now. Of course, it doesn't matter whether you die or not, just use your body as a sacrifice. "

Vadim fell into silence again, and the eyes staring at Rurik lost their anger and returned to a strange calmness.

Rurik gently stretched out his hand and patted the man's face: "In a few days, everything will be over. Don't act rashly. In the last few days of your life, I will give you dignity."

Listen, Vadim said nothing and didn’t want to say anything.

There are some things that you really can't say too much, even if you get killed early it would be a good thing. Firstly, it would ensure that he would be protected from continued humiliation, and secondly, he would be able to protect his wife and children who remained in Smolensk.

Vadim indeed usurped the throne and suppressed all contenders by dishonorable means.

Vadim is more warlike than any previous Smolensk local leader, and he must rely on revanchism to organize supporters to maintain his power.

But in Smolensk, the down-and-out nobleman gained a family. He has a wife and children. Fighting for power is one thing, but family life is another.

If he were killed earlier, when the Ross army entered Smolensk, his wife and children might be able to disguise themselves and escape because of the lack of intelligence. It would be better to escape to our allies, the Vyadich people!

Because he knew that the army he organized was completely defeated, and it would be difficult for the Smolensk people to organize another army. Maybe they simply knelt down at the feet of King Rus and kissed his boots, flattering and not being inferior to themselves, in exchange for survival.

But the Vyadzic tribe is another matter. They are not a branch of the Krivic lineage. Their close relatives are the Mich tribe of La.

Compared with the leaderless Smolensk, the Vyadich people have a great leader who is in their prime of life, and they also have many tribes. It is absolutely impossible to expect them to surrender to the Kingdom of Rus, so they will never surrender their fugitive wives and children to gain temporary peace.

even……

Vadim had a beautiful fantasy.

It is possible that the orphaned and widowed mother was taken as the wife of the Vyadzic leader Hedodana, and her son became his adopted son. I'm afraid this is the best place for my family to end up after my death.

In just over ten years, an astonishing number of mixed-blood Russians have stood on the earth, and even a mixed-race yellow-headed child dared to threaten castration. Vadim completely misjudged the situation and thought that the four thousand army he organized was the second strongest army in the known world. After all, he learned from the local nobles of Smolensk (with a small amount of Roman blood) that the Roman army was the best in the world. First.

He mistakenly believed that he would defeat the Rus forces and establish his own hegemony in the huge world. The Varyag people of all walks of life would be defeated, and in the end they would become his own mercenaries.

Vadim does not reject the Varyag people. What he needs is a group of Varyag thugs who are loyal to him.

However, the real situation is that Russian talents are blessed by the gods.

The Russians were building strongholds everywhere, and Vadim's ears were still sharp. He learned from the chattering guys that the camp he was in would develop into a fortress and stronghold in the future. It even had a name, called Orsha.

"Let everything be destroyed..."

Vadim suddenly became extremely honest, and Rurik guessed that this guy was really frustrated.

However, the next action itself had nothing to do with this senior prisoner of war. Regardless of whether there was such a fugitive avenger, the attack on Smolensk was an inevitable historical event. The swollen Ross must conquer the four barbarians, but Vadim's revenge forced Ross to greatly accelerate the process.

The army rested for a whole day in Orsha, and then began the final sprint.

Only a small number of soldiers guarded the simple Orsha camp, guarding a batch of unloaded grain. The residents have cut down pine trees on the spot and are already building a group of permanent wooden houses to store food. Surrounding the camp granary, the current city of Orsha is rising from the ground at a slow speed, and its large-scale urban construction work has not yet come.

Ross's army continued to advance, and they moved faster after unloading a batch of supplies.

What's ahead? The huge forest area has its name - Katyn.

Katyn

, it has been called this name since ancient times, even in today's severe winter of 842.

It was the name given to the nearby forest area by the earlier Klivich settlers who founded the riverside Rosin city of Smolensk.

Its original meaning is a verb - to kill.

How to kill? Kill with a bronze axe.

What to kill? Sacrifice. Especially cattle, a large animal that is very important in Krivi culture. Even the sacrifices may be living people. Those criminals in the tribe who have done heinous things may be pulled to the altar and chopped down and executed.

The Katyn Forest only refers to a large forest area centered on the Great Altar Gniezdovo. The Pecheneg caravans that once plundered on horseback attacked the villages in the Katyn Forest area.

Now Rurik's army was racing on the frozen river, and he saw for himself the work of his allies on horseback.

They were the ruins of a group of villages along the river. The scout cavalry separated from the large army to investigate, and quickly informed the king of the information.

It turns out that those ruins are really just ruins. The snow-covered and dilapidated village houses have no trace of turning over at all, and even the deep marks left by the horses' hooves break the harmony.

At this moment, Quetzal, a steppe nobleman, was riding a horse with his head tilted. He was wearing a huge furry fox fur hat as if he were holding a huge bird's nest. He was holding the reins and accompanying King Rus with great interest.

While Quetzal was staying in Rus, he worked hard to learn Norse and Slavonic, and even learned some Latin vocabulary. Many languages ​​have a small vocabulary, so it is not difficult to learn them carefully. It's not that Quetzal is extremely intelligent, it's actually because of the massive Latin vocabulary with a lot of new concepts that have just begun to spread into the folk life of the Kingdom of Rus.

A brand new Russian language is really taking shape, and the key is Latin vocabulary. No matter how you pronounce it, a Latin word is a Latin word. Since it is considered noble by the king, the young people in the kingdom are willing to learn one, no matter what ethnic group they are from. , in order to be noble, they would also replace their own old words with Latin words in daily life. As for all the new concepts brought by Latin, they can only be expressed in it.

Therefore, the current language within the Kingdom of Rus is becoming nondescript. When the people's language stabilizes, Rus language was born.

Quetzal could already communicate in Norse with Rurik himself, and occasionally he could show off a Latin word he had learned.

"Khan!" He still uses this word as an honorific: "We did all this."

"Raid villages, looted slaves, and killed civilians. You have pissed off the Smolensk people."

"Thank you Khan for the compliment." Quetzal smiled and asked again: "When we defeat them, the trade line will be completely safe. In this way, we prairie people can continuously obtain Ross's refined iron and salt. You He is our best friend."

"That's natural. I hope the people of Smolensk will surrender obediently."

"However, the Khan will launch a purge in the future. The methods are ruthless, but absolutely effective. You are the real Khan, and I admire you very much."

Rurik rolled his eyes at the boy and nodded with a smile: "There is no need to praise him so highly. Quetzal, you and your people can get the spoils of war, even a group of prisoner-of-war women, and you can send them back to the grassland to work for you. Pechenegs give birth to children. I am very generous, so don’t worry.”

There must be a reason for the flattery, and Quetzal was indeed hinting that he needed to work for the welfare of his steppe relatives.

However, Quetzal's words also illustrate the fact that he uses his own living conditions on the grassland to judge others by himself. On the grasslands, the war between tribes usually involves wiping out the opposing ruler's family, while keeping the ordinary tribes as their own.

No, Quetzal also suggested: "Those chief families, big and small, should be eradicated and all brought to the altar in what they call the Katyn Forest to be killed. However, all men below the wheel can be spared."

"Huh? Kill all the men who are taller than the wheel?" Rurik suddenly got excited, these words were too familiar.

"Exactly. This is what we prairie people do. I heard that Khan intends to kill them all."

"You? How did you hear about it?"

"That's what the princess said."

"Beya Sil..." Rurik couldn't say anything. After all, she was his own woman. He thought it would be okay to reveal a little conspiracy to her, but the girl's mouth was too loose.

"Don't be alarmed, Khan. If the Khan suddenly feels that it may not be appropriate to execute those cubs, why not give them to me as well. These people can be used as slaves after being brought to the grassland. The Khan knows that. We Pechenegs are very Servants of all kinds are needed, and this is the loot we crave.”

"It's really yours." Rurik nodded: "That's right."