Rise of Rurik

"Broken Bone" Gorm put on his best clothes and called a few strong men to form a decent surrender delegation in Linhu Village.

He accepted all the gifts and followed the blue fox towards the Ross people's bridgehead on the riverside.

Those soldiers with white robes and blue stripes are still stationed here. The afternoon sunshine is warm and leisurely, making people lazy. It seems that these Russians are also lazy.

They all guarded the longboat and stayed on the grass. Their swords were placed on the grass with a cold light, and they sat or stood with their round shields beside them.

Seeing the return of the blue fox, the centurion, who was bored with waiting, immediately called his brothers up.

The blue fox was a little angry at this situation. It was clearly the country's standing army that suddenly showed laxity. Even if the village's militia was really not that good, it should not be exposed to them.

What was gratifying was that the villagers knew that they were short of oil. Except for the Ross soldiers stationed at the river beach, all the villagers ran away.

Gorm, who was still preparing to go on a mission and formally surrender, attracted the people who were hiding to come out of the woods to see him off.

The four longships returned to their destinations, and Gorm didn't feel anything special while sitting on the ship.

The styles of longships vary greatly among the Viking tribes. The ships of the Rus have special triangular sails, which are completely different from the ships of this village.

The south wind blew, and the soldiers had the wind to help them paddle north quickly.

As the longship returned to the huge fleet that had been on standby for some time, a strange and strange feeling assaulted Gorm's head.

He raised his head and looked up at the tall mast and the towering ship's side deck.

The Russians all stood on high ground, and the boats were as big as huge rocks standing in the lake, but these "stones" could move freely.

There are a large number of such large ships in the huge fleet array, and the pressure of the behemoths frightens Gorm.

"Fortunately, if I surrender to you, this fleet will not attack me."

Gorm was glad that he was on the right side, and that his friends were all smart enough to give in.

Blue Fox returned safely, and the four ships were intact. Rurik stood on the flagship deck and looked from a distance, concluding that the envoy sent out must have succeeded in persuading them to surrender.

"They're back! Signalers! Trumpeters! Tell all ships to wake up."

It was he who led the entire army to stay on the lake and do nothing, including taking the opportunity to throw down the fishing nets to catch fresh fish. They were not allowed to do anything but throw down the hooks and fish on the spot. Bored people often just lie down, cover half of their faces with linen or wool, lie on their backs and take a nap in the sun.

The sound of the horn woke everyone up, just like Arik got up as soon as the carp jumped up. The sound of the horn scared him so much that he thought there was going to be a war.

The tense atmosphere spread throughout the fleet. The vigilant people did not notice the enemy attack after waking up. They only saw a long ship from the south drifting towards the flagship.

The flagship threw down the rope ladder, and "Broken Bones" Gorm had to unload all his weapons and climb the rope ladder onto the ship.

The blue fox climbed up when he met him, turned his head and looked down and gave a kind reminder: "Be respectful when you see my king. Think of your family and your friends."

This was a real threat, Gorm nodded vigorously.

King Rus is said to be a handsome young man? I'm afraid that's not the case. How can a young man dominate the world? Maybe he was actually an old man with scars all over his face.

Gorm finally stood on the current flagship of the Ross fleet, the Gurdot. He and his followers stood here looking curiously at everything. The planks on the big ship are as smooth as the ground. What are the things wrapped in linen on the side of the ship?

They were actually standing on the center deck, which was a recess in the bottom of the ship. After the blue fox finished reporting, he appeared again and roared, and they all raised their heads.

A blond man appeared wearing a white plush blanket!

Rurik showed his true appearance with a golden laurel crown on his head. The polar bear robe he was wearing suddenly took off, revealing his gold-plated armor.

This is a set of ceremonial clothing, which is completely useless in battle, and is extremely suitable for blinding the eyes of new surrenders.

"Gold! His armor is actually made of gold? His beard and hair are all gold?" Gorm muttered to himself, and he and his followers were shocked and motionless.

The blue fox accompanied Rurik, who shouted with a serious face: "Ordinary surrender! To the great conqueror, the King of Rus, the King of Sweden, the saint blessed by Odin and the gods, the great King Rurik kneel!"

A roar startled Gorm to wake up, and he hurriedly half-knelt down to perform a warrior salute.

Rurik lowered his head: "Are you the leader of the village? Your name is Gom? What's another nickname that breaks your bones?"

"yes."

"You can break other people's arms by arm wrestling. It seems that you are a warrior. Stand up and talk. I will give you standing. Now go on the deck and let's have a good chat."

When Gorm was still on the lower center deck, looking up, he was not sure of the specific figure of the young King of Rus. Now, the king stood in front of him. Those previous assumptions were so ridiculous. King Rus was indeed young and extremely tall.

Just as the king's lips were trembling, Gorm, who was already on the stern deck of the ship, quickly knelt down again. This time he simply lay down like a turtle.

"Eh? When will I tell you to get down?"

Gorm firmly remembered the warnings and threats of the blue fox, and quickly complimented: "We are just a poor village. Thanks to King Ross, he is willing to be our master. We are very willing to surrender."

"Ridiculous! Get up! I just praised you as a warrior, but now you are like a slave."

Seeing that this person was unmoved, Rurik turned around and saw the blue fox next to him, and asked: "What did you say to them? Do they plan to be slaves? Is there really someone in this world who wants to take the initiative to be a slave?"

Blue Fox was also confused: "Your Majesty, I just asked them to be respectful, but I didn't expect..."

"Forget it." Rurik simply kicked him a few times, and Gom sat up temporarily because of the pain.

"Idiot! I won't stop you if you want to become my slave as a whole village, but what I want is your surrender. Stand up, I already know your surrender attitude. We must finish talking about serious matters this afternoon."

For Gom, everything was just an act. Faced with the huge military strength of the Russians, and for the lives of the whole village, he felt that it was nothing to suffer some personal insults.

King Rus is extraordinary! He was actually disgusted with this surrendering posture like a slave.

Gom was allowed to stand next to Rurik. Even so, there was a height difference of nearly a head, and Gom still felt a strong aura and pressure.

Rurik went straight to the point: "I am very satisfied with the surrender of Linhu Village. My army is about to land. I can promise you that our army will not enter your village, will not trample on your oat fields, and will not I ask you to pay tribute immediately. You can continue to live, but your village must fly my flag to prove your surrender."

Is this considered surrender? Gorm's lips trembled, and there were thousands of questions in his stomach.

"So, what exactly are we going to do for the king?"

"Do things. Of course you have to do things. You are the first leader who wants to surrender to me. For a smart person like you, I will naturally reward you. I have thought about it and canonized you as an earl (war chief), and your Let’s change the name of the village! Let’s call it Vinarnstardt. From now on, you will be a noble, your descendants will be hereditary, and you will be in charge of the people in this area and be loyal to the king.”

At first, Gorm didn't know what this meant. As Rurik took a little more time to explain, Gorm suddenly understood and quickly knelt down to thank the king for his kindness.

Rurik simply refused to do anything and ordered Gorm to kneel down on one knee and cover his heart with his right hand. On the flagship, a ceremony of canonizing nobles began after Rurik made some preparations.

Rurik held a brand new sword, even the leather scabbard was brand new. He drew his sword in an instant, and the blade buzzed. Although Gorm didn't understand it, he was greatly shocked.

Rurik suddenly put the sword on Gorm's left shoulder: "I will grant you the hereditary title of Earl of Wienerenstad." Then he placed it on his right shoulder: "I will grant you prosperity for your family and loyalty to the Kingdom of Rus from generation to generation."

Finally, the sword was placed on Gorm's head: "Loyalty will prosper, betrayal will be destroyed. Count Wienerstad, this count's sword is given to you. From now on, you are my king's vassal. .”

Another sudden moment, the back of the sword hit Gorm's head with great force, and the man endured the pain without saying anything.

"Be loyal to me! Pay tribute to me! Fight for me! Remember!" Rurik emphasized again. Finally, he put the steel sword into its scabbard and held it in front of Gorm with one hand: "This is your earl's sword. .”

Because all Viking warriors longed for a good sword, capturing a good sword on the battlefield was a great honor, and gifting a sword to others was of great significance.

Gom is at best a strong villager in Linhu Village, who is very popular and good at fighting.

His honors in the past came from his fellow villagers, but now a king with an army of 10,000 and a huge fleet recognizes himself as a nobleman. Gorm is floating, and floating powerfully.

What is a count? Although they are both named after "War Chief", the actual meanings of the village chief and the earl are quite different.

Are there any benefits to being a count? The earl was ordered to manage one side. He was a tax collector and also had the obligation to mobilize soldiers to fight for the king. The count was the local ruler, and his authority came from the reward of the more powerful king of Rus. Although it was necessary to pay tribute, the earl could also demand tribute from the people in his own territory.

The earl had to collect tithes, build noble mansions, maintain a group of retinues and craftsmen, and especially be able to marry multiple women. The earl had to pay some tribute to the king every year. During war, he was ordered to send troops to fight or provide military supplies. In addition to these obligations, the earl is the unequivocal boss in the territory.

Power will alienate a person, even if Gorm is only temporarily elected as the talkative person by the village Nordic Council. Rurik learned about this through Blue Fox's report, and also knew that his foundation was not reliable. Isn't this a good thing?

If a person who originally lacked power was canonized as a noble, his family could only rely on the king.

Things are by no means that simple.

Rurik wanted to rule the Göta River Basin, establish a new ruling order here, establish a system of aristocrats to entrust the rule, and at the same time prevent the aristocrats of the Swedish part of the kingdom from expanding their influence here. The Götalanders in the Göta River Basin live in the general Gothenburg area, where multiple counts need to be established to check and balance each other, but in terms of status, they are nominally inferior to the Duke of Sweden.

A Swedish village with a few hundred people can be a duchy, a Götaland village with a thousand people can be a count country, and there is a Finnish count country with a size of 30,000 people.

For the time being, noble titles only have reference value. The noble rank is mostly to win face for the person involved. What is really useful in Northern Europe is fist strength. Rurik's fist is undoubtedly the biggest and hardest in this regard, because the population under his direct management has reached 200,000, and is still expanding rapidly.

Gorm holds a brand new sword. This sword is incredibly beautiful and sharp, making all his old weapons look like useless garbage.

In fact, what Rurik gave him was nothing more than a mass-produced Russian steel sword, and he was ennobled and given the sword. These ceremonies were "strike while the iron is hot" for the surrender.

Gorm came as a disturbed village talker, but now he returns as an earl. He received a set of Russian cloth robes and a flag, especially since that flag would be hung up quickly. He also decided to imitate some white-on-blue flags in the future to prove his true loyalty.

He doesn't yet know what he can do as he wishes after holding great power, just like a person who has won a lottery and is temporarily confused after winning the prize. At least one thing is certain. With the king's support, the Nordic Council in the village no longer has the power to deprive him of his power. On the contrary, he can declare some decisions of the Nordic Council invalid.

The King of Rus gave a major reward, and Gorm did not simply go back to report the good news.

It is true that the people in the village are waiting for the act of surrender to eliminate the danger. The people are looking forward to the return of Gom

The longboat that escorted him back had just docked, and hundreds of people had already gathered around.

I saw Gom standing up, holding the newly acquired sword high and suddenly drawing it out: "You have all seen it! This is given to me by the King of Rus! He canonized me as Count Wenarnstad, and our village is now Change your name to Wiener Nstad. I have won peace for everyone, cheers!"

Then, surrounded by the people, he returned to the parliamentary court and displayed his newly acquired Russian flag in public. He emphasized his noble status and emphasized that this flag was a certificate of peace.

The leading figures gathered together again, and someone made an inappropriate suggestion regardless of the current joyful atmosphere: "Now that we are at peace, Gorm is not our war chief. Everything is peaceful, and we don't have to worry about anything."

However, some people have realized that many things will change forever and do not take the person's words seriously.

If he has gained the right to rule, a promising man does not want to lose it.

Gorm stomped his feet vigorously to force the council to be quiet: "Listen to me, folks! Just today, you elected me to be the war chief. Now that I have completed my mission and eliminated the war, naturally I can no longer hold this position. But! The King of Ross is Make me a count! Remember, I am Count Wienerstad, not the war chief of our village, and I will not be in the future."

This was said in a confusing way, and as Gorm continued to answer, his explanation was really surprising.

Who said that the Count of Wienernstad was just a village of a thousand people? A large area along the lake belongs to this earldom, and all nearby villages are within the scope of the earldom, which is equivalent to saying that Gorm was canonized as a noble in the area north of the Göta River.

Linhu Village has changed its name. It will be the core of Earl Wienerstad's rule. Together with several nearby villages that have traditional friendly relations with Linhu Village, it will become an integral part of the earldom. So legally, Gom has the right to rule those villages. Of course, in Linhu Village, no one can claim his power.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gorm issued his first order as the canonized count of Rurik: "The Rus have begun to land, and they will not invade our villages. Since we have surrendered, we must do something for them. Organization Men in the village, please immediately notify the nearby villages and ask the prominent figures from those villages to gather in our village. The Russians are going to hold a meeting tomorrow. Their king is going to receive us! Oh, by the way! We specially warn them not to escape. No armed hostility is allowed, and if you want to survive, don’t resist.”

But Gorm emphasized again: "The Russians will be angry if we neglect them. If we don't want to make them angry, let's do it quickly!"

Now no one should worry about what a count is. Since the risk of encountering a military disaster is still there, everyone can only comply with Gorm's order to quote King Rurik and quickly go to nearby villages to inform the news.

In the Gothenburg area where the Göta River is generalized, the traditional clan communes here began to disintegrate with the arrival of the Ross army. Even if the traditional society of the village can continue to operate, there are high-level existences such as earls and nobles above them. Gom is naturally not the only local noble, but he is a useful breakthrough and a public example to the local people.

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