Rise of Rurik

The nobles attending the meeting certainly supported King Rurik's decree, and they would receive significant benefits from the tax-free privileges. At the same time, this king with strong military strength is naturally a mediator. After Birka is renamed Stockholm, Ross's army will be stationed in the city. The trading port belongs to the king, and the nobles do business in the port area according to the rules set by the king. When businessmen have disagreements, someone will mediate them immediately, so the conflicts will not escalate between nobles.

There will be mutual peace within Sweden. An absolutely peaceful environment under Ross's rule will be extremely conducive to everyone's common prosperity.

But under the appearance of peace, how can there not be danger?

Rurik got what he hoped for and received praise from many nobles.

He walked around in front of everyone with his arms open, accepting everyone's congratulations.

He stood up slowly, and everything he preached about this meeting was recorded, and would eventually be printed on hard paper to become a legally binding document.

"You have all made smart choices. Now tell me your opinions! I welcome your suggestions. You... come one by one?"

Rurik immediately signaled with his eyes, and looking at the nobles who were targeted, his words were still pure praise.

The king's announcement far exceeded their expectations. The king gave everyone great freedom. In a sense, it was enough to publicly acknowledge that he was the king. What else is there to desire?

Until Rurik's eyes were fixed on Longstall of Hjermalen.

"You? Duke Hjermalen, I have been paying attention to you for a long time. You seem to have a lot to say."

Longstall was waiting for this opportunity. He stood up suddenly and said bluntly: "Exactly! King! I have a warning for you."

"There is a warning? What is that?" Rurik smiled slightly to cover up his embarrassment.

"It is related to the safety of the kingdom."

"Comfort? Do you realize that we are facing the danger of being attacked? Don't worry, the Danes have been weakened by me."

Hearing this, all the nobles burst out with joy. They danced and echoed Rurik's words, saying that the Kingdom of Denmark had nothing to fear.

Rurik raised his hand to signal everyone to shut up. He frowned, thinking that the strong man in front of him did not look like the kind of person who would make a fuss, and what he reported should not be underestimated.

"What's going on? What...are you afraid of?"

"Your enemies, the Jotalans."

"Jotalan? What is that?"

"It's your enemy in the south. Maybe..." Longstall looked at Carlotta, the Duchess of Ostara, who was present. He said bluntly: "Actually, there is no one better than your wife, the Duchess of Ostara. , and understand the Jotalans better."

Götaland, or Rurik, is not a completely unfamiliar word. This area is at the southeastern end of Scandinavia, and it is a macroscopically large area. Now that Longstall called Carlotta's name, Rurik thought for a while and asked Carlotta to come forward and speak out.

A weak woman stood in front of all the Swedish nobles, and the scene seemed somewhat abrupt. Today's Carlotta does not have the heroic appearance of a female warrior at all. She dresses up deliberately and is busy emphasizing the necessary charm as a woman. She also decorates herself with gorgeous jewelry to let the nobles know that the Ostara tribe has gone through many hardships. , everything is fine with them immigrating to the new world.

Carlotta raised her chin high: "Of course I know the Jotalans! They are all people from the south, occupying the lakes and pastures in the south. They are greedy and have been trying to encroach on our land. But, our old Ostara has been destroyed, and all the tribes in the south have either immigrated or moved north. In the past, we Ostara people have been shouldering their invasion of Svealand. As for the current situation, I no longer know. "

She seemed to only emphasize that the Jotalans to the south were greedy, and the details were impossible to describe.

Longstall needed just this description from her and made a big deal out of it.

"King, you heard it all! Gentlemen, you heard it too! The Ostara people pointed out that the Jotalans are greedy and have been trying to encroach on our land. The current situation is that we Hjelmalen people It has essentially become the southern border of Sweden. In recent years, our cattle herders have often been attacked and stolen by the Götalanders. They kill my people and steal my cattle and sheep. I have been trying to fight back against them, but... my population It’s still too little.”

At this point, Rurik had probably guessed what he wanted.

"You...are still being harassed by them?"

"Exactly! I hope to get your help. I hope the king can protect us and defeat those Jotalans once and for all."

"You? Are you asking me to expand my territory?"

Longstall stared at Rurik's sharp eyes and braced himself: "That's right. Let everything stop! As long as you conquer the south, you can eliminate the war. Besides..."

"how?"

"As a king, don't you need a victory to prove your authority?"

Rurik never expected that he would fall into the trap of provoking a general. This man instigated a war and asked the king to prove his majesty, which immediately attracted the support and jeers of the nobles.

In other words, all the nobles, big and small, who lived on the south bank of Lake Mälaren, clapped their thighs and made loud noises, asking the king to summon an army to attack the Jotalans.

How about the Jotalans? In the past, I had only heard of their name, but when Sweden, Rus, and Denmark were fighting on the Baltic Sea, the so-called Götaland people seemed to not exist.

They seem to have been doing sneaky things, attacking Swedish tribes as thieves and robbers on land, without any military annexation such as the "Kingdom of Götaland". Are they just a bunch of people with no ambitions?

A country was born, and defeating an enemy violently and achieving military exploits was conducive to the king's rule.

The founding battle of the Principality of Rus was to sweep across the island of Gotland, and with its horrific and ruthless killings, it made a great name in the Swedish world.

After being upgraded to a kingdom, will Ross take action against Jotalan?

Rurik's plan for himself was to contact Ragnar, the great Danish nobleman, and finally organize a joint army to completely destroy Horik's power as an agent of the Franks in Denmark, and then cooperate with the brand-new After Denmark signed the peace treaty, it started to trade peacefully. Shouldn't the real battle for the founding of the country be to destroy the Kingdom of Denmark and support the pro-Russian New Denmark?

Denmark has a long-standing problem, and it seems that the Götaland problem is a scabies disease.

Although scabies is not fatal, the constant itching is still uncomfortable.

The nobles happily waited for King Rurik to make a major decision. Facing the enthusiastic eyes of everyone, they thought that the Swedish part of the kingdom should not be limited to the Ring of Malaren region. It really needed to expand the border to the south, just like Sweden. When it comes to territorial scope, the southern end of the territory must be demarcated all the way to Jutland, Denmark, across the sea.

What kind of rubbish are the Jotalans? ! Fight them and conquer them!

Rurik made up his mind and clenched his fists: "Then let's fight! Attack the Jotalans and make them surrender. Everyone, my kingdom needs to conquer all the Jotalans and sign a treaty with them. From now on The Jotalan forces live in their territory and cannot invade the Svealan region to our north. Of course they will not listen to my decline, so conquer them and let them know who is the king."

The king's statement was very serious. Thinking of the past wars, Longstall was convinced that Rurik was really determined to take action.

Since we are destined to start a war, it is better to fight early than to fight.

Longstall continued to fire: "It is only July now, and there is still some time before winter. King! Your army and fleet are stationed here. We can take action immediately. We can kill before winter. If I run over and plunder their villages, I can take back the cattle and sheep they plundered, and I can even plunder some slaves.”

He wanted to continue, but Rurik told him to shut up.

People noticed that the atmosphere had become tense, and Rurik made it clear with a sullen face: "The crusade against the Jotalans is inevitable, but not now. Longstall, you want me to send troops to conquer now? I still know very little about the enemy. . I can tell you clearly, not this year! If we want to fight, it will be next year."

"Why not? Your army is here, and..."

"Next year." Rurik shook his head: "Don't think about teaching me how to do things. I am your monarch. You! And you!"

Rurik faced many nobles and emphasized one power that they would lose after surrendering to the king: "In principle, you have no right to start a war and fight against other countries. Whether to start a war depends on my wishes. If you start a war without authorization, then Fight on your own! No matter victory or defeat, it is a crime. If anyone dares to launch an attack without authorization, I will cancel his tax exemption. All you have is the qualification to defend me, such as against the Jotalans, do not listen to me Order, if you take the initiative, you will be punished."

These warnings left Longstall speechless. The king was willing to stand up for himself to prove that he was the real king, but he didn't even have the power to lead his troops to war. Wouldn't it be very aggrieved?

He immediately asked: "King! What if those Jotalan come again before winter? Won't you let us fight back?"

"Protect yourself for the time being, and don't take the initiative to attack against my orders. Listen, there is not enough time to start a war this year. We will form a coalition next year, and Odin will give us a chance! You all listen, against Jotalan, we are not To retaliate against the bandits who stole cattle and sheep, I want to conquer them and solve the Jotaland problem as directly as possible through a war. Longstall, I am not helping you counterattack anymore, I want to expand a new territory."

Rurik showed a great pattern, which amazed the nobles.

Everyone recalled the past when King Olegin summoned the coalition forces to attack Denmark. As far as the result was concerned, the coalition forces won, but the king died.

Because the Ross army was the main force of the coalition at that time, without the assistance of the Ross army's heavy weapons, the coalition would have been unable to capture the Borgholm Fortress on Oland Island, let alone the city of Kalma quickly. As for King Olegin's death in battle, it was precisely because the Russian army was humiliated by his compatriots and withdrew with the army in anger.

If we talk about the past, we can sit here and talk for three days and three nights.

Especially when talking about the death of King Olegin in the war, it is precisely this matter that is regarded as a shame for Sweden. No one wants to talk more about it, and for Rurik, this aspect of the matter should not be talked about.

The reason is quite simple, because the man who cut off King Oleg's head with his own hands is in Sweden.

Ragnar, after he unexpectedly ran to Lake Mälaren and arrived in Uppsala to participate in Rurik's enthronement ceremony, he and his companion Spyut arrived at Gould Island on the lake. When Ragnar returned, he briefly reported to Rurik about his recruitment of soldiers and horses on Bornholm Island, and then bought a batch of cheap weapons (mostly axes cast from pig iron) on Gould Island. And he chose the opportunity to return by boat and return to his Bornholm armed men.

He himself did not reveal his identity and did not leave Sweden. It would be embarrassing if the Swedish nobles learned about Ragnar's deeds and that he became a strategic ally of the king.

The nobles listened attentively to Rurik's exact arrangements and received this order: After you go back, reorganize the army. I will summon a large army next spring. By then, even if you bring ten soldiers, you must lead your troops to fight. I will lead you to victory!

All this is just like when Olegin held a conference to attack Denmark, and actually organized a large army to attack the next year.

In 840 AD, when the goal of the strategy was to conquer the Götaland Highlands in southern Scandinavia, it became one of the national policies of the Kingdom of Rus.

As the saying goes, once a war is decided, a wise monarch will not act on impulse.

In principle, after this meeting, the king's enthronement ceremony has been completely completed. The many summoned nobles can go back to their homes to wait for the wheat harvest, and then take the new wheat to Stockholm Port to do business freely.

It was for this reason that Rurik decisively rejected Longstall's request to start war this year.

There are only about thirty days left before the wheat harvest. Who can guarantee that great results will be achieved within thirty days, and who can guarantee that the wheat harvest will not be delayed. The soldiers of the Russian army in Uppsala are mainly young people, and the strong labor force of Russia is waiting to harvest wheat in the east. The Ross army was gorgeously dressed and equipped with impressive equipment, which concealed the immaturity of the soldiers very well. To be honest, Rurik is convinced that these young warriors have a strong fighting spirit, but their bodies are still too immature. They urgently need to eat more fresh meat and bread and give them another three or four years to grow into peak Nordic men. Then That's a strong and powerful soldier.

All the nobles will be busy harvesting wheat at this time, and they will definitely not take the risk of delaying the farming season and sing along with Duke Hjärmalen. What's more, it is his tribe, Yelmalun, who is really threatened by the invasion of the Yotalans. The brothers in the north have always been indifferent. As for everyone supporting the war, it is naturally because following the invincible Ross army can get a lot of fat and fresh meat to fill their stomachs.

Some of the nobles had rowed away, but Longstall was deliberately left behind.

Life seems to be calming down, and the noisy Uppsala has also quieted down.

The Rus' army was still stationed in the city they built with their own hands, but it was destined to be handed over to Uppsala Governor Swinned.

Many nobles left, and Longstall was authorized to continue to live in the walled city temporarily. He was able to have a good chat with the elderly Otto, and met an astonishing number of Rurik's wives and concubines, as well as princes and princesses. Obviously they have been separated for a long time. Although the Russians are from Swedish society, their customs are significantly different from everyone else, especially in terms of dressing. When the Russians take off the white and blue patterned robes they must wear on formal occasions, , revealing colorful linen clothes with various patterns and colorfully decorated leather clothes.

Weaving patterned cloth has always been a traditional craft of the Slavs. Due to geographical factors, it is easier to obtain dyeing raw materials in the area around Lake Ilmen. Naturally, bright yellows and bright reds that are rare in the Nordic world can be obtained cheaply.

There were an astonishing number of young men among the Ross warriors. Most of them were still childish. They took off their shirts and showed their true colors, which shocked Longstall. He was surprised in many ways. For example, such warriors formed an army and their combat effectiveness was doubtful, but they were too young, which was also a huge advantage. What is horrifying to think about is that King Rurik could bring out hundreds of extremely young male warriors to find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuａ. com They really have great potential.

Longstall was ordered to stay here, which was to accept Rurik's order.

He was asked to think carefully about all the things about the Jotalans, and was given paper and a quill. He dipped ink ink and wrote down what he knew in runic characters on the hard paper to strengthen his memory, and then took it with him. Use this piece of paper to chat secretly with the king.

Secret chatting is a privilege! He was anxious and excited, and he also learned that Duke Carlotta of Ostara and Duke Svalgard of Gran would also participate in the secret chat.

Just because of the identities of these two people, Longstall fully understood the king's purpose.

It can be said that in the past era, they were the ones who knew the most about Jotalan's forces, so conquering the enemy requires detailed information from insiders.

Longstall was shocked that paper replaced wooden boards as writing tools, but he adapted immediately and wrote a long document with very sloppy handwriting. He rolled it up and tied it with a rope, and took it with him. Rushing to the secret meeting place set by the king...

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