Rise of Rurik

The Russian soldiers remained vigilant, and it was precisely because of the majesty generated by this vigilance that the villagers and soldiers who contributed tributes were also frightened so that they did not dare to speak nonsense and had to follow.

Living in villages in the forest next to streams, they can barely live a self-sufficient life and are not very active in contact with the outside world.

They had never seen such warriors. Their uniforms were neat and uniform, the soldiers were young and tall, and their weapons were unique and uniform.

"These are the troops of the leader of the Rus. Be careful not to offend these strong men." The leader whispered and ordered the people in his village not to cause trouble.

The team of a hundred people was definitely not small, and they were all armed, which inevitably made the Russian soldiers suspicious. According to the leader, the gifts and women were dedicated to the Russian conquerors. As for the armed soldiers, it was because they might be attacked by bears or wolves along the way.

Are they allowed to enter the village? In this village occupied by the Russians, they did not see the people ravaged by the iron hoofs of the conquerors. The villagers here were basically doing ordinary things. Bored children were still running around. Those who raised Not only were the cattle and sheep not plundered, but the women in headscarves were busy milking the cows with buckets, even though there were Russian soldiers stationed not far away.

It's as if this is no longer the familiar village of Linhu, but a village of Rus' conquerors.

Rurik is in the village at this moment, and he is really sorry for the poor sanitary conditions in Linhu Village.

It stands to reason that this village is not dirty, and there is no feces or debris on the ground. In fact, compared to the towns built by Ross, this village is really in a state of decline.

The meeting house is a large traditional longhouse, and the wooden relief decoration at the door cannot hide the shabby thatch roof.

Rurik would receive other surrendered villages in the council chamber, and one happened to come.

More soldiers intercepted the team, and the centurion arbitrarily ordered the villagers to withdraw their weapons.

Thanks to "Broken Bone" Gorm's mediation, the situation was suppressed.

However, Gorm's exotic clothes were exactly the same as those of the conqueror, and it was obvious that this man had surrendered. Looking at the new flags hung in the Linhu Village Council, they have really become part of the conquerors.

As long as surrender means peace, a huge army and huge ships are here. Seeing is believing, the Russians have not destroyed the peaceful life of the neighboring lake village.

The leader of the visiting village team, nicknamed "Stuttering" Gesunde, is from Linxi Village. He was a tall man, and he got the nickname because he would stutter after drinking too much ale.

When Gosunde "Stutter", the leader of this village, is clear-headed, he can also speak fluently.

He ordered his villagers to put away their shields, throw their short spears onto the carts, and put their hand axes in their waists.

The cattle and sheep as gifts were untied, and the dull women got out of the car one after another.

He walked into Gom, whom he knew quite well, and had a thousand words to say to this guy.

However, Gorm was no longer an approachable person. He raised his chin and showed off his rich beard: "I am now a hereditary nobleman conferred by King Rus. From now on, I will rule this area. You and your people will respect me in the future." .”

This statement made Gesunde baffled.

"We have lived here for generations, why did you suddenly become great? It's just that those powerful Ross people came, why do you still want to be the master of another village? Do you want to learn from that crazy bear Karl?"

"Karl?" Gorm shook his head: "He was beheaded by the Rus, and thousands of his people were beheaded. Listen!"

Taking the opportunity, facing the surprised Gosund, Gom walked over and whispered a warning: "We are all fellow villagers living in this area. The Russians made me a noble, and I will be responsible for any problems that arise. The Russians won’t stay here for a long time. After they leave, we will still live with us. All your villages will listen to me from now on. We will deal with everything together. With the protection of the Russians, no one will bully us. Waiting for the arrival of King Rus. , you all kneel down on one knee, this will bring absolute peace."

Gosunde was doubtful, and the muttering between the two stopped abruptly with the appearance of King Ross himself.

Rurik appears! He was gorgeous and handsome, with a golden laurel crown on his head. His golden hair and beard looked quite holy in the morning sun.

A tall, golden man stood here, like a god in mythology.

The leader of Linxi Village, "Stuttering" Gesunde, was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.

Rurik squinted his eyes at the large number of new arrivals: "You? The leader of another village?"

It's familiar Norse, although the pronunciation is a bit strange.

Gesunde immediately performed a warrior salute, and his brothers, who were so deft and dumbfounded, hurriedly knelt down on one knee.

In an instant, a hundred villagers and soldiers were half-kneeling and bowing their heads. Rurik was also surprised by such a scene, and naturally felt very good after witnessing this.

"You all get up! I see your surrender attitude, that's good. Chief, you get up first..."

After a short negotiation, Gesunde was happy that he had indeed received a safety promise, and immediately took out the tribute he had prepared.

"Please accept our cattle, sheep, our wheat, and these young women. This is our tribute and we acknowledge the king's rule."

Gesunde had no choice but to be submissive. He ordered the villagers and soldiers to bring the cattle and sheep, and then pushed the crying woman over.

Rurik wrote a lot about supplies and population, the cattle and sheep were a little thinner, and the woman they handed over was indeed pretty, but her eyes were full of fear and reluctance.

Logically speaking, he should accept these tributes, but this year is not appropriate.

In other words, he needs a special tribute.

"Is this your tribute?"

"yes."

Rurik shook his head and pretended to be disgusted: "Your cattle and sheep cannot satisfy the appetite of my 10,000-strong army, so I simply don't want them. And the women you brought out, are they old enough?"

Thinking that he could not satisfy the conqueror king, Gosunde hurriedly defended: "If the cattle and sheep are not enough, I can... provide some more. And these women, they are old enough to serve... the king."

"Forget it. Take all these tributes and send your village girls back."

"But it's a tribute." After saying that, Gesunde was secretly happy.

"Yes. Tributes..." Rurik took three steps forward and looked down at the burly man: "Of course you have to bring out some tributes." Then he glanced at the village soldiers and said: "Your man is not bad, he can fight for me. .”

"War? Huh?"

"Of course it's a war. If you want to prove that you really surrender, the best way to prove it is to fight for me. This is exactly what I want to have a good talk with you village leaders."

The joy in his heart disappeared in an instant. Gesunde was not afraid of war, but simply felt that he did not need to lead the villagers into a long war. He asked timidly: "So, who is the enemy of the king?"

"It's okay to tell you in advance. I will conquer Götaland, but the army will not travel to Spring. I will attack Denmark directly through the Göta River. You surrenderers must come up with men to fight for me. This is better than any other Physical tribute is more important.”

It turned out to be an attack on Denmark, and Gosund didn't dare to refuse. Even though he had a lot of objections in his heart, he could only put on a smile and claim that he would send troops to serve.

As a result, the leaders of all five villages in the north of the river, including Linhu Village, arrived. The same thing as each other was that they brought some tributes and women, as well as a greatly different number of people, but together they were not enough to defeat the Russian army. sewing villagers armed.

The leaders gathered in the council chamber and listened attentively to King Rurik's decision.

They didn't have any rebuttals, and even if they did, they didn't dare to say them. Because Rurik ordered them to form a servant army, under the leadership of the newly canonized Earl of Wienerenstad "Broken Bone" Gorm, they rowed their longships and merged into the Ross fleet to join the attack on Denmark.

Death is unavoidable in war, and the villagers are most afraid that they will be among the first to join the war, and end up with the tragedy of being hastily killed and having all their benefits taken away by King Rus.

Rurik guessed that they would have this idea. In order to dispel their fears, unless they felt that a large amount of loot could be plundered in a war, the benefits of the war exceeded the loss of population.

Therefore, Naton's strategy against the Swedish nobles was repeated for the second time in the Götaland region.

The leader of the town of Jönköping on Lake Vättern was invited to the forum. This person appeared and gave his own explanation. It was no wonder that the locals did not believe that Lake Vättern was brutally conquered by the Ross army. It was this leader who showed his personal experience and pointed out that thanks to the great love of the king, Yanxue Pingcheng, who surrendered to the Rus Kingdom, had been granted tax exemption for ten years because of his assistance to the king.

"Yes! It's tax-free for ten years." Rurik said frankly: "Do you think I will collect tributes? Of course I will collect tributes, that will happen ten years later. Now we make an agreement, you send troops, and each of the five villages If you send out fifty men, in addition to bringing your own weapons, I will be responsible for the food. You fight for me and have the right to plunder the spoils of war. In exchange, you will receive ten years of tax exemption for sending troops."

The noble king actually made such a promise and even swore to Odin that he would implement his decision.

Smart people must find ways to maximize the interests of themselves and their villages. Although "not paying tribute for ten years" is very magical, they choose to fully agree with the king's wise decision.

But Rurik is not at a loss either. Ten years of tax exemption does not mean giving up benefits. They are a group of skinny sheep, and the first priority is to fatten them up in preparation for future shearing. Moreover, their door will inevitably open, and supplies from Russia will be transported in. The locals can only exchange food for goods, including the villagers considering immigrating with their families. Ten years are enough time for them to develop, and then tax collection will not cause them pain.

The political ecology of the northern part of the Göta River near Lake Wienern has been reshaped. The essence of the so-called Earl Country of Wienernstad is a loose alliance of five villages with a total population of about 4,000. During the slack period, they spend 250 Ten warriors is no problem. Here, "Broken Bone" Gorm is the only local earl and the highest-ranking noble to be canonized. His official title is "War Chief". Therefore, according to the Russian tradition, the elected leaders of the other four villages that maintained the stability of the count country were canonized as barons by Rurik during the meeting. The official title was "Boyar", or "Bjorn". "Well," it means exactly the assistant of the war chief.

In this way, the more than ten boyars that Rurik ennobled in Novgorod are barons. They are the owners of the village's manor, and the governor of Novgorod manages them. Rurik and the royal family will not compromise unless necessary. Fuck some village. This system has been operating normally in Novgorod for many years, and there is no problem in replicating it in the newly conquered Gyota River Basin.

This is based on the canonization principle of the Kingdom of Rus during the transition period from a tribal alliance to a feudal state. Rurik learned the Eastern system and the Frankish system to a certain extent, mainly from the Frankish Kingdom. Based on the Viking tradition, there are currently only dukes, counts, and barons. Three kinds of titles.

The canonized nobles are hereditary, which means that with the support of the King of Rus, those speakers who are suddenly selected by the village council will firmly control power when they return. In this Nordic world where the strong is king, the Nordic Council has established the bottom line for survival by "working together to stay warm", but if given the opportunity, the strong among them will still have to make a positive move and become kings on their own, and no matter what, they will have to create a pirate leader.

In one day, the area north of the Göta River had been pacified, and the number of villagers armed by the newly canonized viscounts actually exceeded Rurik's needs.

After some screening, those who were obviously recruited were repatriated first, and the remaining two hundred and fifty best ones, together with the canonized viscounts, were directly managed by Earl Gorm.

In this way, Linhu Village and the surrounding areas were completely open to the Ross army, and the army stranded by the lake could enter the inland area openly.

Things went smoothly beyond Rurik's imagination, and what was expected to take three to four days was completed in two days.

The new Earl's army needs to feel the generosity of the King! What's more, the physical fitness of these people did not satisfy Rurik.

It stands to reason that the Jotalans are all Vikings. The men and women who can survive to adulthood in the harsh environment of Northern Europe have good physical fitness, at least better than the group of serf villagers in Frank who were exploited by the lords.

But compared with the Russian army, it is clear which one is stronger and which one is inferior.

Why is the Russian army, especially the army of the Principality of Rus, so powerful?

When the oats are boiled in a huge iron pot and then served with a wooden spoon into the wooden bowl of the newly promoted Earl's soldier, the piles of salted oats arouse people's strong appetite.

Rurik fulfilled his promise. The food treatment of these servant warriors was inferior to that of the Russian army, but it was really dreamy to be able to eat the rewarded oats unscrupulously during this spring famine period.

Earl Gorm and the four barons had even more wonderful meals, such as honey water, grilled fish, and wheat porridge, as well as miraculous flammable spirits.

Indeed, they regarded the flammable liquor they had never seen before as proof of King Rurik's divine power. Drinking the burning liquor made their stomachs warm, and they felt that they had been blessed by the gods.

The real strength of the Russian army was six thousand. When large and small ships blocked the rivers tightly, and when the non-farmland deserted beaches were crowded with people camping by campfires, the villagers could not tolerate disbelief that there were ten thousand of them.

This is the largest army the locals have ever seen. The abundance of personnel, weapons and equipment, and logistics completely refreshed their understanding of the army.

The banks of the Göta River seemed to be lit with blazing fire, and the huge number of bonfire stalls were as dense as stars. The air is filled with the aroma of boiled wheat and grilled fish. The army is taking a crucial rest here.

Arik was full of doubts about the fact that his younger brother was too friendly to the villagers in the past. His younger brother was too kind, and many things were clearly unnecessary!

He knew many things. If he were the decision-maker, he would have collected the tributes and women handed over by the villagers and rewarded them to the brothers, and then simply used force to force them to hand over their servants and bring their own dry food.

My younger brother has his own choice. He is almost twenty years old now. Any decision he makes must be full of wisdom.

Arik didn't bother to think, because there were still a lot of challenges ahead.

However, this invasion of Denmark is very likely to encounter resistance, and a bloody battle is probably inevitable. Even if the fleet drifts downstream, will the local people take the initiative to surrender?

"If it were me, I would rather die fighting than surrender."

Based on this idea of ​​​​comparison, he ordered his people to be busy preparing to prevent unexpected events.

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