Rise of Rurik

The south wind blows on the grassland, and a horse team is gathering.

The old Khan told his son: "You will be away for nearly a year. Tengri will wish you good luck. This time you must sell all the goods and bring back as much white salt and iron as possible." .”

"Father, you can rest assured. This time we will try our best to unite with the people in Kiev. We will not encounter danger along the way." Riding the horse to Kagan, he was high-spirited and full of confidence in the future.

"No one is worried that you will encounter strong enemies. You must be careful only about wind and snow. Blizzards will kill cattle and sheep, and your life will be in danger if you encounter them."

"Why worry? I know the path and I will walk through the forest without worrying about any risks."

Kagan tightened the reins and shook continuously in front of the leaders of the tribal alliance.

A girl with a bun full of beads nimbly got out of the crowd and ran to her eldest brother's horse. She held the reins of the horse and held her head high with a smile.

"Beyahir, I will never forget your request. You are still too young. Since you insist on doing this, I think Brother Rurik will accept you, but not now! I will convey your love."

"Great. Brother, then bring me some more Russian gems." The girl actually felt something was wrong, so she covered it up with a smile.

"Don't be too greedy. You already have too many gems. Well, if Brother Rurik is willing to give it to you, I will bring the treasure back."

She is Kagan's youngest sister. She is indeed the daughter of the old Khan. She also dotes on this little girl and is willing to decorate her beauty with more crystal clear things. In a sense, this child is the old Khan's. Canary.

That's right, a beautiful girl should marry a noble man. But she is indeed the daughter of the top noble of the Pecheneg people. She has no right to choose her own marriage, and the Khan and her brother will not make decisions for her.

Still last year, Kagan mentioned several of his sisters in Ross and also mentioned the possibility of marriage. Although they were not married, he and Prince Ruos became brothers according to the rules of the grassland.

This political disunion brought great opportunities to the Pecheneg Alliance, which survived in the cracks. Official trade must continue to expand. In order to maintain the smoothness and stability of the Far North trade route, the Pechenegs must also break up their alliance with the Krivich people in Kiev.

The old Khan heard Kagan's description that the Russians were good at fighting. Although the Khan of Rus was only seventeen years old, he was indeed a strong man with blond hair. Although he had a large number of wives and concubines, he treated his women very well.

The supplies brought back from Rus were an eye-opener for the tribal chiefs of the Pecheneg Alliance. Kagan disassembled the crossbow and replaced all the arms with a recurve bow, so that the first arrow shot by the horse became extremely accurate.

It would be outrageous to use a crossbow for horseback shooting. It cannot achieve the rapid fire flow that the prairie people are accustomed to. But the unskilled infantry archer suddenly became a marksman.

A large amount of good white salt, rare leather and cloth, and cheap ironware are extremely scarce in the entire alliance.

It stands to reason that the prices of these materials by the Russians are not cheap. This is because the Pechenegs have long lacked methods to obtain salt and iron. Roman profiteers are trying to trick everyone, and neighboring hostile tribes are unwilling to join the enemy. It is important to buy supplies from the Kiev people, but the Kiev people themselves are not rich either.

Since the Russian people in the far north are quite wealthy, why not organize a large cavalry team to sweep the goods!

The Pechenegs are really poor when they say they are poor, but in some aspects they can also be called wealthy. When they migrated and occupied the mouth of the Volga River, the grasslands on both sides of the river became good horse farms. These river tidal flats are also good places to grow wheat. If they don't know how to farm, they can't open up wasteland. Fortunately, rushes are growing wildly on the tidal flats, and fodder for raising horses and cattle is easily available everywhere.

They can make a large number of tendon recurve bows, and horses are not rare. The alliance's cattle and horses are far more than their population.

Kagan rectified his team in front of the nobles. This horse team carrying the hope of the entire alliance was the national mission of the Pecheneg Khanate.

The Russians are far in the far north. In winter, some areas do not see the sun all day long, and green silk still floats in the sky. The Pechenegs simply felt that it was another world.

The Russians are too far away, and no one is worried about them being a potential threat. So selling horses on a large scale is just to make a fortune.

The Russians were willing to spend huge sums of money to buy horses, and they also regarded the recurve bow as a standard.

Both parties have a great need for each other. The transaction does not even require silver coins and copper coins as a medium. The biggest cost of the transaction is obviously the long journey.

Although the Pechenegs are poor, they still need the respect of the Russians. Kagan brought as many as 200 warriors with him this time. Each warrior not only wore mail armor, but also wore a characteristic iron mask. The peaks of their helmets are still decorated with wild goose feathers, and sabers and bows are placed on the saddles of their horses.

These prairie people brought out their own elite cavalry, making the mission no different from an expeditionary force.

Naturally, such a move is not only to show the Ross allies the style of the prairie cavalry, but because the journey is far away, if they encounter trouble, they must have a strong army to protect their most important goods.

There are three horses for one cavalryman, and another five hundred horses will be directly used as commodities.

Large wild animals in the grassland are rare, and once the hunters on horseback find them, they will attack and kill them. In a sense, the Russians are also a kind of "prey". The Pechenegs are eager to "turn bicycles into motorcycles" through a national trade.

The Khan and the leaders of the tribes could not help but have sweet dreams. By selling 500 horses and 200 recurve bows in exchange for salt, iron, and leather, Pecheneg could train a strong army and continue to fight with the Khazars. People are robbing the living space of the Don River Basin.

Many tribes simply sent their noble sons to participate in this journey.

Young Kagan leads many young nobles. Kagan will gain new merits for this act, and he will be able to convince the public if he becomes the Khan. The sons of nobles will also make meritorious deeds, and they will naturally inherit the status of their fathers.

The bridle reins of the horses pulled each other, and the cavalry packed the mail and put it on the horse's back. They evenly distributed the burden to each horse, and they also held whips and lasso poles to keep the horses in order when traveling long distances.

In fact, for Kagan, he received this national mission shortly after returning to his hometown. The tribal leaders wasted a lot of time discussing important matters and raising supplies to be shipped to Rus. He returned to the journey without much rest.

When this huge cavalry set off, it was already early August. Sensitive people feel that the autumn wind is eroding the grassland, and some grass begins to turn yellow.

Since the Rus are not afraid of the cold, the Pechenegs should not show weakness either.

The cavalrymen brought fur coats to keep out the cold, as well as large amounts of dried beef, mutton and horse meat, as well as light salty cheese with a strong aftertaste.

More than 200 men and more than 1,000 horses, carrying a batch of special goods, began the expedition to Ross in the early days of the bleak autumn wind.

They quickly passed through the cracks in the Khazar-controlled areas and crashed into the forests of Eastern Europe.

They moved forward along the river in the forest, and only in this way could the horses move forward while gnawing on the grass.

This was the traditional trade route to Kiev, but such a large team suddenly emerged from the forest and entered the forest-side agricultural area in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, scaring the local Krivi Slavs into thinking that the steppe people were invading.

The Krivich men and women of Kiev armed themselves and defended themselves against the forest with shields and spears.

The Kiev militia intercepted the cavalry, and no fighting took place until Kagan revealed his identity.

The people of Kiev were willing to trade with the peaceful steppe people, and their horses were thus obtained. However, a large number of cavalry have never entered the Kiev Altar and its surrounding areas, and it is normal for the locals to be nervous.

Kagan was recognized as the next khan of the Pechenegs, and the Krivich chief of Kiev and other native nobles knew this.

After all, this dark-haired guy just left Kiev a few months ago. Everyone has seen what the steppe people have harvested from Rus. Unfortunately, during last year’s trip, it was Sakhi, a Kiev man, who went to the north with a group of brothers. There were not many goods and not many goods. Although the goods of the Russians were good, the people of Kiev did not get much benefit.

The Kiev people are self-aware. If they cannot follow the Pecheneg armed caravans and rely on their own people to trade in the north, it will be over once they are intercepted by the Smolensk people. The people of Kiev must form an alliance with the merchant groups of the steppe people, so that trade can be guaranteed to be safe.

When the misunderstanding was resolved, all the nobles in the Pecheneg business group became guests. Kagan stayed in a village in Kiev for three days, and after eating and drinking, he immediately agreed to the request of the local leaders.

No, although Maksakye Yin has made a lot of money, he wants to have a happy winter in his hometown this year. Elders from his hometown flocked to his wooden house, begging the explorer to make another trip to the north.

"If so, what benefits can I get?" His ambiguous question put Kiev leaders in a difficult position.

Someone simply gritted his teeth and stomped his feet and suggested: "If you make everyone rich, I will elect you to be the leader of the alliance next time."

When someone said this, more and more people agreed, and some even clamored that they planned to marry their daughter.

The Krivich people in Kiev were a large alliance of village communities. Most of them lived near the present-day city of Kiev. They cultivated land and built houses around the "Altar of Blood" on the riverside.

No one is the chosen king, and each village community always selects talented men as leaders on a regular basis.

If you obtain meritorious service, it is entirely possible to become a leader.

Can a horse dealer also become a leader? You shouldn't be a horse dealer all your life.

Just as the team led by Kagan was the hope of the Pecheneg Khanate, the Kiev people also organized horse teams. All the village communities selected fifty capable men to piece together as many as 200 horses, as well as items such as patterned cloth. Local specialties such as honey, chaga mushrooms and barreled birch sap formed a Kiev business group to go to Rus.

This is what the people of Kiev plan to do. Selling a hundred horses, since our own horses are obviously inferior to the Turkic horses of the Pechenegs, half the price is acceptable. Other goods can be sold at normal prices, or even 20% lower.

Because compared to the steppe people, the Kiev people are more scarce in iron tools. The huge disadvantage in this aspect has made the Kiev people never gain any advantage in the competition with their unlucky relatives the Smolensk people in the north, the Drevlians in the east, and the Radmich people in the southeast.

There are nearly 100,000 people living in the village near the Kiev Altar on the riverside, and the total number of people living in the villages further away is 300,000!

The Krivic people in Kiev are actually a community with a huge population, but they are actually divided into large and small villages by the sea of ​​forests. The people near the Kiev Altar naturally have leadership rights, but they are not united.

Sakhi never wanted to become a leader, nor did he want to gain arbitrary power. He had no idea of ​​the population and wealth of the Kiev community.

The two hundred horses came from various sources, and this was the most valuable asset they could produce. It's just that these Kiev people still don't understand that their most valuable thing is actually the women of their own clan. They can obviously use marriage alliances to export young women to the north, and their colleagues in exchange for a lot of supplies can also gain a good reputation.

The size of the joint cavalry increased, but the Pecheneg cavalry looked down upon this group of mounted Kievians. The brown-haired guys in Kiev barely know how to ride a horse, so calling them cavalry is an insult to the cavalry!

They just used the power of the prairie cavalry to do business in the north. If the prairie cavalry left, they would definitely follow.

To be fair, Kagan just wanted to take Sakhi and a bunch of his old friends with him, and forget about the others.

However, Kagan's friendship with the people of Kiev has not deteriorated. After all, every business in the future will have to pass through Kiev.

The larger cavalry team went north along the left bank of the Dnieper River, and then followed the Pripet Swamp and reached the location of today's Gomel city. Although this place is covered with swamps, there are plenty of pastures for horses to eat.

Take a good look at this place. Kagan Yijie grassland people also think that this place can be used as a pasture for cattle grazing. Of course, they had no idea about the super treasures contained in this swamp. They just instinctively felt that the reeds and rushes growing wildly here were different from other places.

Could it be that such a cavalry army moving along the river would be turned a blind eye by the Smolensk people?

As long as they continue to move along the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, they are destined to encounter Smolensk villages.

If you can grab a handful of grain and grass along the way, why not do it?

In this way, when dense sheep dung eggs were found on the river bank ahead, all the prairie cavalry dared to judge that there must be a village nearby.

"This is no longer your territory, it must be Smolensk?" Kagan asked Sakhi.

"That's probably true, but I don't recommend that you provoke them. I... don't want to start a war."

Kagan mistook Thackeray's prudence as cowardice, and instead ordered his subordinates who were good at fighting to serve as scouts.

A village is hidden in the forest, and even the villagers are shocked by the appearance of the cavalry.

After learning this information, Kagan decided not to stop doing anything. He took a hundred brothers and rode into the forest, facing people and looting the empty villages. The villagers ran fast enough and the looting operation yielded only limited food.

Kagan, who returned to the riverside camp, was unhappy and complained to Sakhi that he had encountered cowards and paupers.

Sakye did not dare to speak loudly, and only said: "We have to be careful next, maybe the Smolensk people will take action. Although your cavalry is strong, you may be able to escape when encountering a large number of farmers. The treasure may be I can’t take it away.”

The arrogant Kagan is as arrogant as ever: "Dare you rob my treasure? If they do, I will lead troops into their village. If I don't rob, it will be to kill people to vent my anger."

In this way, it would be even more inconvenient for Sakye to talk too much, and he just hoped that this long trip would not cause any unnecessary complications.

However... is it possible?

The Pechenegs will not take action against allies and trading partners. Other than neutral parties and enemies, they can plunder at will. The cavalry warriors do not feel the slightest sense of guilt.

But this time, Kagan and his gang, who had tasted the benefits of looting, decided not to listen seriously to Sakye's warning. They deliberately went eastward for a while when they should have gone north, and thus robbed three Smolensk people in a row. Village community.

We can’t just watch the Pechenegs get rich! Sakye finally got his idea and led others to join in the robbery.

The Pecheneg warriors put on chainmail and iron masks, and attacked with fast horses, scimitars and recurved bows. They killed the men and grabbed women everywhere, and deliberately left the young women tied up and thrown on the back of the horse. As for those who escaped into the forest, they did not bother to chase them. They put on prisoners of war, took away some cattle, sheep, poultry raised by local people, and a large amount of oats and withdrew.

The warriors ate mutton and roasted chicken, and fed their horses luxuriously with oats.

At this time, it snowed heavily again, and they happened to stay in the plundered village until the snow stopped. It was also thanks to these successful plunders that the horses ate oats and gained strong energy to withstand the severe cold.

Some horses would die along the way, and Kagan was mentally prepared for a 20% loss. As a result, only a dozen horses died near the end of the journey.

They avoided great natural losses by relying on the proceeds of plunder, and none of them died in battle. When the cavalry left, they left behind ruined villages and dead bodies covered in snow, as well as the remaining bones of sheep and poultry...

Finally, the fleeing villagers fled to the city of Smolensk and reported that the attackers were the same group of people on horseback!

As for who the attackers were, although the Smolensk people did not know, they believed that all this had a lot to do with the Russians in the north and the Ilmenslavs who surrendered to them.

No, Vadim, who has been in exile here, has married the daughter of the great leader of Smolensk and promised to help him return to seize power. The people of Smolensk can gain huge benefits.

Smolensk is still afraid of an all-out war with the settled Varyag bandits of the Russians. Find Shuyuan www.zhaｏshuyuan.com But now, the people are facing losses, and the bandits on horseback are clearly more vicious than the Varyags! If those horse-riding bandits come to kill and sell goods and massacre villages every year, who can withstand this?

They knew they had to take some precautions along the river, if not to defeat the mysterious cavalry, at least to provide early warning. At the same time, the fearful people in Smolensk have come up with the idea of ​​living together in groups. A large number of village communities have already planned to open up the forest land near Smolensk. In the future, everyone can gather together to take care of each other. .

These situations are a thing of the past.

Because Kagan and his huge cavalry had already arrived at the mouth of the lake along the largely frozen Lovati River, a fortress lay in front of them, with a white flag and blue stripes flying.

Upon seeing this, Kagan hurriedly sent someone to raise the prepared flag. It was also a white flag with blue stripes. It was a gift from Rurik last year, and now it was the secret code for peace.

In this way, the New Ostara Fortress, located on the southern border of the Principality of Rus, opened its closed door...

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :