Rise of Rurik

The gray sea was like a mountain of waves, and Avrolla filled all the sails with the cold wind from the North Pole, and dashed between the waves.

Although he already had a psychological expectation, Rurik could not have imagined that just three days after he left the Narvik Fjord area, the weather changed drastically and the wind increased sharply!

An arctic cold snap is heading south, bringing the autumn rainy season to Europe.

Gradually, the sky began to rain. Although there is absolutely no need to worry about ice, snow or freezing rain, the Avrora is enduring the wind and cold on the gray sea, and the people on board are also enduring the cold when they are tossed by the waves.

There were only a few sailors on duty on deck, monitoring the sails to prevent the wind from blowing the mainsail off, and they also had cables tied around their waists to prevent them from falling into the sea.

Rurik and Noren were wrapped in a leather blanket to soothe their woman's broken heart.

"Rurik...will our ship..."

"Capsize? How is that possible. The ship is indestructible."

"Is this true?" Noren hoped that it would be impossible to overturn, but she couldn't imagine the monstrous waves and bad sea conditions.

"Of course it's true. What's that, we've come across crazier ones."

Rurik is lying, this is the most dangerous situation the Avlora has encountered since it was launched.

Thanks to the strong wind and waves, she risked the sails blowing off and the mast breaking, and she hurried on the sea at a speed of up to twenty-five knots for almost a whole day.

For general long ships, such sea conditions must capsize and sink quickly.

Facts have proved that the imitation Caravel-type sailboat, her storm resistance has reached a very high level, and it will be upgraded to a Galen ship with a full-load displacement of 2,000 tons. As long as it is not a typhoon, other winds and waves are almost helpless. Not her.

In just one day, the Avrora ran the usual three-day voyage.

The waves finally calmed down a little, and the rain outside stopped.

Rurik finally stood on the deck again, looking at the still gray sea all around, a sense of confusion arises spontaneously.

There is a kind of fear called looking out into the vast, the ship is still heaving up and down,

He looked up subconsciously, and was so shocked that he almost went into cardiac arrest.

He screamed, "What's the matter? Our mainsail is broken? Captain!"

After a while, the sailors boarded Class A one after another. Based on the current dangerous situation, Rurik was really anxious.

"Hurry up and fix the sails."

The sailor frowned: "Sir, the sail was partially damaged by the strong wind. The situation is not too bad, we will wait for the wind and waves to subside before repairing it."

Indeed, with the current state of the sails, it is still no problem to sail by the wind.

But wait a minute, if the Avlora uses this attitude to forcefully break into the Oresund strait controlled by the Danes, it is courting death.

"Fix it asap! Come on as soon as the storm calms down. Give me another check on the mainmast."

The boatswain said again: "My lord, the materials we repaired..."

"Using the sackcloth to cover the cargo in the cabin is really not enough, just use a leather blanket to make up the number."

The cold front of the cold snap rushed into the interior of Europe, and the cold high pressure brought a burst of rain.

The whole Baltic world, including the Rus-controlled Elronborg, is raining, and then to the Eastern European world, the continuous rain has caused quagmire everywhere, and the Alps and Carpathians are directly snowing.

Rurik didn't know that although he could see the eastern coastline in the gray world, he had difficulty determining his position. The Avlora quickly passed Beer with its damaged mainsail and basically intact jibsail. The outlying islands off the coast of Genfjord are like a city wall. He didn't encounter any fighting at sea, and he didn't even see other ships.

After seven full days of solitary voyages, the sun finally appeared and the world changed.

People rushed to the long-lost sunshine to bask in the sun, wet clothes were dried, and sailors began to climb the mast with tools and materials. When one climbed to the top of the mast, he looked around, and the horrified sight had to force him to descend quickly.

The sailor hurried to the captain's lounge to report to Rurik, who was resting.

"What? Could it be that there is also a problem with the mast?" Rurik woke up casually, his heart beating wildly.

"No! My lord." The sailor also widened his eyes, and then said with a trembling face, "I think we have rushed in by the strong wind these days, and we have entered the strait."

"The strait? What strait?"

"It's the strait! Oslo is ahead, I think."

"Ah! So fast?" Rurik stood up abruptly and ran to the deck.

I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything for a while. I waited for him for a while. The sun dissipated the mist on the sea a little. Everyone on the deck saw the Avrora, which was already sailing against the eastern sun. Her north is Long coastline, so is the South!

Rurik hurriedly restrained his excitement. He clapped his hands to signal everyone's attention. It was also a coincidence that almost all the people on the ship were working overtime to breathe.

"Now watch out! Sailors repair the ship now! Soldiers pack up and check their weapons! We're about to pass the huge strait, we're about to pass Oslo! We may be intercepted by the Danes, ready to fight!"

"Hoohoo!" People roared.

Now there is no difference between the Rus and the Balmers, everyone is the brother of the same ship, and the Avlora will brave a new battlefield.

As for the name of Oslo, which Rurik chanted, the Balmerks knew better than the Rus. Those people are very closely connected with Bergen, and in principle they all belong to the Norwegian concept, not Denmark. But there was almost no contact between the two sides. As the new Balmerk mercenaries of Rurik, they naturally did not want to have any unpleasantness with any Oslo people. Coincidentally, Rurik meant it too.

The current population of Oslo is only 3,000 people, and the core of Norway is still Bergen.

Rurik knew that going forward, he would not encounter any risks for a while, and even the probability of encountering a Danish fishing boat was low.

The storm has just ended, and the boats in the haven haven't come out yet. The width of this strait is very amazing. Even if an enemy ship is found, in order to avoid extravagance, unless it is impossible to escape, the big ship will fight against it again.

But through the narrow Oresund, that is, the brave who meets the narrow road wins.

Rurik expected a naval battle, and as a force, the Danish leader Hafgen was no fool!

More than ten days ago, the Danish merchant ships that returned from Bergen were explaining the news of a large jib. The ship went straight to the north with a large fleet, or to Narvik.

Hafgen had heard of the Balmers of Narvik. He had no interest in the fierce people of the extreme north, but he had an idea about invading the Frankish kingdom to make money, especially in the current situation. The ousted former leader Harald Clark, whose nephew became a titular earl in Flanders, set up a trading stronghold and successfully lured some Danish brothers.

The Svearans in the north are a big threat, but the guys in the south are also growing.

The jib's demonic ship suddenly became a new problem. After learning the information, Hafgen gathered the lords who could quickly reach the core of his rule and shared the teeth-piercing story.

Of course, the various lords were denounced for the viciousness of the Nasvealan ships, and the lords were all evasive on the issue of sending troops to intercept them.

"Are you cowards? Feared? We joined forces to let the ship run away? They must pass through our strait. Now prepare for our victory."

Hafgen is full of self-confidence, but the tragic loss of the Burgundy Island fisherman proves one thing, just fighting against that big ship is a death sentence!

The lord of the south, Sigurd, knew that it was impossible to openly oppose it, and his son Ragnar, who hacked to death the old leader of the Svearans, became a great hero in Denmark.

If he was cowardly, he would be disgracing the honor of the family, and his son Ragnar was too belligerent.

A young man belligerent is a hero, but Sigurd is an old man. He needs to think about many things. It can be said that he is stubborn or wise.

Sigurd made a clear statement, "There are large and small straits in our region, and all straits lead to Hezeby Market. Do we have to send troops to the straits of your Robards? Hafgen, that's yours. Territory, it is really inappropriate for us to go."

Hafgen thought about it and thought that was the case. He owns the largest and safest channel in the strait and makes a fortune from tolls. If the military forces of other lords are allowed to intervene, there will be endless troubles. Once this is done, the opponents of the Robard tribe will stand up and attack themselves.

Sigurd took advantage of the situation and pointed to a proposal that everyone accepted, that is, to divide the troops.

"Brothers guard their straits to prevent the big ship from escaping secretly."

People support this, and Hafgen can only support it. He is the leader of the alliance, not the king. If the lords objected on a large scale, Hafgen would not be able to force them to submit.

In fact, Hafgen is just talking nonsense, and many lords just don't want to get involved in this unfortunate thing. It was the ships of Bornholm and the Robards that were destroyed by the enemy, and the other lords suffered no losses.

What idiot is going to block Hafgen's gun? This guy won't be compensated.

In fact, the lords were happy to see Hafgen and his men suffer losses so that other lords could gain more. It is best that the Robards lose a lot, so that the brothers can negotiate with Hafgen in the future to cancel all the tolls in the Oresund.

Lords like Sigurd wished that the northern ships would beat Hafgen's fleet again.

The brothers also tacitly understood that if the big ship passes through their own waters, then let it pass, and they cannot suffer losses for this god of plague.

"If I were the enemy, which waterway would I take? Do I really want to find the unknown waterway instead of the smoothest one?" Hafgen thought about it and finally realized the true intentions of the lords. People were annoyed, but on the bright side, Hafgen knew that he could not take any drastic actions, not even insulting and refuting.

[Collect free good books] Follow v.x [Book Friends Base Camp] Recommend your favorite novels and receive cash red envelopes!

Hafgen had a hunch that as time passed, he felt that a battle of fate was about to break out.

The Robard tribe lived in the northernmost part of the Jutland peninsula, and the free passage of that large ship brought shame to the warriors of all tribes.

His brother-in-law died in a failed interception, and nearly 200 brothers died in the sea.

Three days before news of the ship's reappearance reached Denmark, a storm came. The strong wind and rain could not hinder Hafgen's interception plan. This time, he decided to use the proud thing representing his power - the giant longship Red Dragon!

The storm had just ended, and Hafgen's most trusted confidant generals gathered in his "palace".

He surprised everyone by issuing a special blockade order.

No objection was raised, but there were plenty of very real concerns.

For their concerns, or the concerns of everyone, Hafgen thought he had thought of an excellent tactic.

"I want you to gather all your archers and gather all your bows and arrows. I want you to send your best rowers and your best longboats into the Channel for battle.

I will dispatch the Red Dragon and find that the big ship is taking the initiative. I will prepare a batch of ropes with claws, and when the Red Dragon forces the ship to stop, the warrior throws the claws, and after climbing, kills the people of the enemy ship.

In order to be successful in action, we must send a large number of ships to stop the large ships. Even if the enemy can hit and sink a little, just like an arrow can penetrate a layer of leather, it is unable to penetrate three layers and four layers. We lost some ships and could definitely stop. Then we surrounded it with a large number of ships, and the victory was ours.

We capture it, study how to build it, and we Robards will be able to build these powerful ships in large numbers. "

It has to be said that Hafgen is a person with IQ online. Capturing, researching, and imitating a dragon is a dream.

Essentially, his plan was the same as that of his brother-in-law, who was seriously injured.

My brother-in-law's defeat must be due to the fact that there were too few troops. If the big ship was attacked by a "swarm of insects", would he still be able to escape?

The leader of the alliance is full of confidence, and this blockade intercepts the rare initiative of the Red Dragon. Even if the brothers still have a chance of being lonely in the blockade, it is to let the merchant ships passing by to see the charm of the Red Dragon.

The common battle-type longboats in this sea area have fifteen people on each port side and starboard side. Because the keel of a ship is generally a whole oak, the length of a single oak directly determines the length of the ship. If possible, the longboat is of course made larger, but its length is always limited to less than 20 meters.

The Red Dragon was an accident.

People in Denmark will of course use spliced ​​keel technology, but due to technical reasons, such ships are considered to be relatively fragile, and in severe sea conditions, the keel joints are very likely to break.

The Red Dragon has always faced this problem, and the crazy thing is that it is a keel made of three oaks. It's not that a ship with a spliced ​​keel is fragile, but the open-top ship Red Dragon uses too primitive technology.

The bow of the Avlora is also spliced ​​on the keel, but the huge ribs, the staggered plates, and even the deck made of tenon-and-mortise structure, the mathematics and mechanics given by the shipbuilding family Hotra family in Rurik Under the guidance, Avrora's good mechanical structure is already very stable. Those large ships that have recently been launched and are being built still adhere to this robust mechanical structure, which makes them capable of surviving the storm.

Longboats are never as long as possible!

The name of the Red Dragon is not only derived from its hideous snake head painted red with cinnabar on its bow, but also because of its slim body proportions as a whole, like a sea snake, and is even described by good people as imitating the giant python in the world. big ship.

This boat is enough for seventy-five people on the left and right sides to paddle, and the space in the center of the boat is enough to allow fifty people to stand on the bow and shoot arrows.

The Red Dragon, like a sea demon king hiding in Jutland, slowly left its home port amid the cheers of the Robards.

A sword is unsheathed! It must see blood when it is unsheathed.

Hafgen stood on the bow of his Red Dragon, holding on to the ferocious dragon's head, and hurried towards the Oresund.

His arrogant and heroic appearance appeared in the strait, especially the narrowest part that converged to a mere four kilometers.

He saw a large number of sails sewed and dyed with the totem emblems of this tribe floating on the sea, and at least twenty long ships were wandering here as far as he could see.

Are there only twenty? Do not! There is also a group of longboats intentionally in the wider area, and a group of boats are moored at random on the shore.

Eyeliners were also placed on the two sandbar islands in the strait, keeping an eye on the sea surface at all times.

Hafgen undertook the "Tian Luo Di Net". In order to intercept and capture the Avlora, he mobilized as many as 2,000 athletes from his tribe to directly face it. All the lords of the Danish Alliance were also nominally helping.

The fear the Avlora brought to the Danes prompted them to get rid of it.

Rurik has clear psychological expectations for all of this. The big ship has repaired its sails and has passed the northernmost part of Jutland smoothly. She is traveling in the geographical Kattegat Strait, close to Scandinavia. peninsula waters. She has essentially sailed in the waters controlled by the Robard tribe in Denmark.

The front is more and more dangerous. It is extremely easy to hit the rocks when sailing at night, and when sailing during the day, it must face combat.

With a trade-off, Rurik decided to drop the anchor before crossing the Oresund.

Although theoretically he can't go straight to the Oresund Strait, he can enter the Baltic Sea through the Belt Strait, the size of which is equivalent to "theoretical existence".

But what about the Viking hero who escaped his fateful battle?

Rurik is quite clear that even if he cannot bring a prosperous life to his people, as long as he can show his illustrious martial arts and win battle honors, his brothers will still support the warrior king, because everyone needs their own heroes.

Even if Rurik knew there was a safe waterway to navigate, he would still choose a waterway that was full of danger, and would be the equivalent of excreting a malicious insult on the head of the Danish confederate. It is very realistic that Rurik doesn’t know the exact location of the Belt Strait. Rather than risk finding a way, it is better to approach the Oresund Strait in front of him.

All the soldiers on the ship fully understood the risks ahead, and Rurik no longer needed to make any generous statements. The brothers must face a big battle. Before the battle, everyone had a full meal of wheat cakes, and each of them drank some ale to strengthen their courage.

At dawn tomorrow, the fully armed brothers rushed over, fighting for the north wind to pass the entire strait in one breath, towards the wide and relatively calm Baltic Sea.