Rise of Rurik

A road that passes through trees, lakes and hills, stretching from Jönköping to Växjö in the forest.

Even without convenient waterway transportation, people's desire for transactions still drove businessmen to rely on their feet and forcibly step out of a dirt road in the forest.

As the snow melts, the trail becomes extremely muddy. When winter comes, roads are blocked by knee-deep snow.

There is a frost-free period of about five months between the sowing season and the first snowfall in early winter, of which the soil is hard enough for four months.

The village alliance in Växjö needs this land transportation line to the north. Although this route is not the key to people's survival, it is a way for merchants to make money.

The Växjö Village Alliance is located in the central forest area of ​​the Götaland region. It happens to be at the center of a trade route.

In other words, it was the existing trade routes that gave rise to a group of villages and eventually the city named Växjö.

"Växjö" means "Lakeside Road", which essentially refers to a commercial street in a very abstract way.

The so-called commercial street is not exact. A group of people built houses along the road near the lake and fished near the lake. Because the first man to settle in this lake area was named Helga, his successors named it Lake Helga.

The people who moved to Lake Helga and created Växjö were almost all Gotlanders. Since they had been separated from their home island for too long, and the obstruction of the forest made it inconvenient to communicate with the outside world, they formed their own communities in the forest. own culture and even evolved its own dialect.

The forest gives everyone shelter. Over the years, people have opened up farmland in the forest and traded with the Danes in the south using the only waterway found that leads to the south.

Those Danes lived at the southern tip of Scandinavia, in a commercial harbor called Silvercastle.

However, the war ten years ago dealt a heavy blow to the Danish Silver Castle. Since then, the Danish local regime has changed frequently, and the noble lords, large and small, have their own agendas. In particular, the largest trading port of Heideby was burned to the ground, and the island of Gotland was destroyed due to the war. The ravages of prosperity lead directly to collapse.

The war brought serious decline, and Silver Castle, or Selvosberg, did not recover until 840.

Even though the old Swedish king Olegin, the invader during the war, died here, the bones of thousands of Swedish invaders are also buried here.

There are still merchant activities in Silver Castle, but the business scale is far less than it used to be.

Even a group of Danish refugees felt that Jutland and Zealand were not safe, so they decided to go north along the river.

At least Wenshe in the forest, where business was done frequently in the past, is a closed place. As long as the waterway is blocked, it will almost become an absolutely closed and absolutely safe place.

As the Silver Castle merchants learned that even the island of Bornholm was ravaged by war, Ross, who once only listened to his name, had colluded with Sweden and grown into a powerful force with strong ill will towards Denmark. Why didn't the merchants escape?

In recent years, Växjö in the forest has experienced special prosperity. Danish businessmen and a group of Danish beneficiaries sailed north. They came forcefully and forcibly integrated into the lives of the Götaland people in Växjö.

It was in this isolated place that a battle between two ethnic groups quietly broke out.

On the one hand, the Växjö Village Alliance does not want Danish refugees from outside to seize its survival resources.

On the one hand, Danish refugees need a stable area to continue their lives.

The battle between the two sides ended up with both sides losing, and they did not sit down to negotiate until they were tired. Outsiders made compromises, and Danes who were willing to work in agriculture joined some nearby villages. The addition of a group of Danish craftsmen enriched the production and life of local people.

Those Danish businessmen who moved their families gave up everything they owned in Silver Castle. Since they could not force these former partners to hand over part of the land that had been reclaimed on the battlefield, they had no choice but to take their domestic slaves to reclaim the land themselves, or take out Spend huge sums of money to buy some ready-made land.

The Danes made even greater concessions, and from then on Denmark became a thing of the past and they became the Götalans of the Växjö Village League.

Götaland is Gotland, but decades of separation are enough to separate the two sides. Götaland has the same origin as Denmark, and even has the same origin as the Swedes, Old Rus, various Norwegians, the Saxons in the northern Franks, and even the Angles and Saxons across the sea who established a kingdom in Britain. But after more than three hundred years of separation, neighbors who lived with each other parted ways.

Even the Götalanders themselves have been severely divided. Although everyone immigrated on a large scale due to the lack of sufficient living space on Gotland a hundred years ago, the Götalanders have now split into two separate branches due to geographical reasons: Kalmar amer; The Union of Växjö Villages, the city of Jönköping, the island of Väisinger, Gothenburg on the Göta River.

The city of Kalmar was destroyed in the war. This is what the Växjö people learned from the horrific descriptions of Danish merchants and even refugees from Gotland and the city of Kalmar.

What did their disaster have to do with Växjö?

They can continue to divide indefinitely. Now more than 20 villages have formed an alliance. Among them, ten large villages have the largest population and no village has an overwhelming advantage. It is one village that controls politics. Each village elects a leader, which is the so-called "war". "Chief", these leaders will meet to discuss any major event.

This is the Nordic Parliament belonging to the Växjö people. The ten leaders maintain a simple democracy internally. With the addition of a group of wealthy and privately-armed Danish merchants who were lost in Silver Castle, there are ten more merchant representatives. Join the Council.

Because of the experience of the war, the obviously unnecessary war made both sides adopt compromises, which was reflected in their parliamentary system of government. Twenty parliamentarians maintained the stability of the Växjö Village Alliance.

If there were no more wars, life could continue to be stable.

…

Silver Castle, which suffered the war, is still vital. Facing the sea, it is a good place for fishing and cooking salt.

Baltic Sea herring and cod are the two main catches. They are rich in oil, which is very attractive to the people of this era! People can avoid eating carbohydrates such as wheat, but if they do not eat fats and oils, death will only take a short time. It is difficult for people who feed solely on protein to survive for more than a month. The real key to the survival of Nordic people who are good at fishing is these fish oils.

Once upon a time, the Old Ross tribe lived in the fjords, relying entirely on the oil obtained from fishing to survive.

The Växjö people chose to live inland. They could not catch the extremely oily and often huge herring in Lake Helga and nearby lakes. They could only catch some seabass, whose oil content was very low, not to mention that the fish meat was spiny. .

The people wanted huge cod, with chunks of meat that were boneless and sizzling with oil when grilled.

The merchants and craftsmen of Yinbao had a new livelihood. After catching fish, they lightly processed it, then marinated the fish with roughly processed sea salt, put it in pottery urns, waited for the rivers and lakes to thaw, and rowed long boats to Växjö to sell it.

Växjö also has its own specialty, which is surplus grain. Compared with the number of their own population, their self-produced oats are sufficient to meet their own needs, so they can sell oats and home-brewed ale to others.

The land in the large lakeside swamp area was too wet. This type of area was not suitable for growing wheat but was full of reeds. It was suitable for grazing cattle and sheep, so they made a batch of dairy products and leather products for sale.

In this trade route, Danish merchants who immigrated to Växjö were the key middlemen. As commerce in the forest gradually developed steadily, more remaining wealth needed good buyers. It is possible to sell some agricultural products to the Danish world, but the closest buyers are actually Jönköping and Wisingse in the north.

Växjö also needs to trade key iron tools to the north, even if they don't know that the merchants in Jönköping are actually second-rate dealers, and the iron tools they sell come from Gothenburg on the Göta River in the west.

Commercial demands connect all the Jotalan communities, and each community has its own unique output. If there is no invasion from outside forces, they can still maintain their current way of life for a long time.

However, the Kingdom of Rus is coming!

There is no need for the Kingdom of Rus to launch a war of conquest southward. The Danish King Horik Haraldsson, who is now supported by the Franks, has never lost his ambition to expand his power to the north.

The densely forested Växjö has only one waterway to communicate with the outside world and only one path to the north. The traffic is so congested that the 20,000 local residents really think that they are living in a peaceful nest.

The spiritual life of the people is maintained at the altar by the lake, such as Hanukkah, Sowing Festival, Summer Solstice Festival, and Harvest Festival. People's lives are increasingly strictly bound to agricultural life. The Växjö people who once fished, hunted, and maintained their health have increasingly anchored their lives. They settled permanently on the annual oat harvest.

Only traders maintain contact between Växjö and the outside world of the forest.

The ice and snow melted and the ground became hard. When the reeds by the lakeside became fluffy and grew again, the work of hiking northward for trade could be carried out again.

Sheepskin, cowhide, butter, fish oil, linen products, surplus oats, ale, and other common commodities in the agricultural era were loaded on wooden carts by merchants who wanted to go north.

The most critical sea salt is specially packaged in wooden boxes. Merchants reduce the imported crude sea salt into brine for secondary processing. Although the final product is still large grains of sea salt, its bitter taste can be ignored. The salt is thought to be solidified into a single piece, put into special wooden barrels and sealed with beeswax. Such good salt is sold at a high price to Jönköping and Wiesingse.

Especially the famous warlord tyrant Karl "The Wild Bear" on the island of Växjö. Merchants are sure that this man will buy a lot of Växjö products, especially good salt, fish oil, butter and cheese.

What can the merchant get in exchange? Naturally, it's iron. For ironware, merchants would rather pay a high price.

A team of merchants spontaneously headed north. Due to a small rainfall, the merchants' movement was slightly delayed.

All merchants must travel together. They are not worried about bandits, or bandits do not exist in this sparsely populated area.

The road that has been forcibly stepped on is very narrow. If you don't step on it for a while, the grass will grow wildly. What merchants have to worry about is the sudden appearance of bears and wolves, especially the local brown bears. Those ferocious beasts are always very hungry just after hibernation. The beasts will actively attack traveling merchants and eat them until they are bones. Although it is good to kill some bears and skin them on the way, no businessman wants this extraneous thing.

Five merchant groups formed a large group. They had ten ox-drawn wooden carts. The merchants, private soldiers, and men hired in Växjö formed an armed escort team of nearly a hundred people.

Carrying bows, arrows, short spears and axes, they moved forward on the narrow road, always paying attention to the surroundings.

However, this is not the first trip for the merchants, so there is no need to be too vigilant.

All the merchants were sitting on bullock carts. Some came alone, some brought their sons, or even their wives, concubines, and slave girls.

The businessman was whistling and singing, and chatting with the guys about how he could make a lot of money by transporting the goods to Jönköping this time.

After that, he made fun of the self-proclaimed "Crazy Bear" Karl. He was a fool. He so-called controlled the glory of the past but was hiding on an island in Lake Wettern as the island owner. He didn't even think about attacking the Swedes and giving other Götalanders the opportunity. Loss revenge.

It's a pity that "Crazy Bear" Carl has moved his head and the merchants are still heading north. They know nothing about the situation in the north!

…

What is spring breeze proud horseshoe disease? Three hundred Russian cavalry and one hundred elite Russian infantry, led by Haig, the governor of Jönköping appointed by King Rurik, are rapidly advancing towards Växjö.

Hagrid was not alone in leading the way. He was happy to see that his daughter Astrid was favored by Captain Fisk of the Ross Cavalry. Thanks to his daughter's obedience, he was also treated politely.

There are some people gathered around him. No matter what they have experienced, everyone's life will continue. Since surrendering to Ross is a promise of safety, let's continue to live under the control of the Kingdom of Ross.

Hagrid formed a small caravan with a group of people who also came from Jönköping. The larger task of these people was to assist the Ross army on its way.

He understood that the Russians luxuriously fed the big beasts called horses that were ridden with oats.

I'm afraid it's because the Ross army is very well-supplied, and those horses are carrying extra sacks filled with oats.

It was the first night of encampment, and the army was encamped in the woods. A batch of fallen leaves were cleared away to reveal the blackened hard soil, a batch of pine trees were cut down, and the pine branches were piled together.

The method of lighting fire with saltpeter is not new in the Götaland area. The local Vikings know this method of making fire, but natural soil saltpeter is hard to find. Natural saltpetre made the bow drill more efficient at making fire. What surprised Hagrid was not their method of making fire, but the fact that they could use the saltpeter so luxuriously.

Fisk arranged for the army to rest and gathered together all the Jönköping people, including Hagrid, who led the way and transported supplies.

"I know you all brought food, but I don't think it's enough. Thank the king! The king gave you the food along the way. Now each of you can get some cooked wheat. I give the wheat to you, and you can cook it freely. .”

True to his word, Fisk counted the heads and gave each person a pound of oats.

This surprised Hagrid, not expecting that the handsome blond king's promise was true. People who were quite worried about the Russian army now feel at ease after eating wheat.

In fact, what Hagrid didn't know was that he was the only mixed cavalry and infantry unit he had seen in the Ross army with the best military discipline. These people are either the king's standing army or the descendants of Ross who grew up on free lunches for ten years. Out of their feelings for the king, they did not dare to disobey the orders given by Rurik, but implemented them with great discipline. One thing in particular must be implemented - be friendly to peaceful surrenderers.

But Rurik relied more on suppression for other troops under his command, relying on the threat of "death penalty for making mistakes" to force his subordinates not to lose control too much.

It is true that people cannot be generalized. For example, this "bald" Fisk is tall and tall but has a lot of delicate thoughts. His biological father had long since died in the war. Although he was benevolent from the Rurik family, he still grew up under the supervision of his mother.

Even so, "Bald" Fisk has already impregnated three of his captured wives. He has become a father, and soon his latest captured Astrid will also give birth to a child.

He was heavily influenced by his mother, so his mind lacked the wildness that could easily get out of control. As a general who was specially trained by the king, Fisk received a special education beyond ordinary people!

He is now very polite to Hagrid, the guide, and treats Astrid, who was originally a slave girl, as his wife, because he believes in a truth taught by Rurik: If you want to live, you must also let others live.

In an instant, the grudge disappeared.

After that night, Fisk's mixed force advanced smoothly.

He was also in a good mood. Because of the preciousness of war horses, he ordered all the cavalry to take off their armor, dismount, and walk at the same speed as the infantry.

The Russian soldiers here are all standing troops, and they are completely under the command of Fisk, including Pecheneg Princess Beyashir. Beyathil became the advisor of cavalry tactics. She only gave tactical suggestions. Now that there was no battle, she, who was light and light without her armor, simply sat on the bullock cart.

She was not alone. She was accompanied by two armed maids brought from her hometown, and she was guarded by real Pecheneg warriors. She still enjoys aristocratic treatment, after all, she is one of the concubines of King Rus.

No one thought that such a well-organized army could march to Växjö in a grand manner. The farther south the army became more vigilant.

The cavalry were required to take turns to mount their horses and remain on alert to guard against sudden attacks and to counterattack directly. The soldiers on foot were not marching in a swagger. They were carrying recurve bows and crossbows and were ready to go into battle.

Some cavalry were placed as scouts about five hundred meters in front of the team. It was these scouts who suddenly ran into the merchant team strutting northward on the narrow road.

What a bizarre experience this is? !

Many businessmen have never seen horses, let alone cavalry.

Centaurs were the earliest name given to cavalry by the ancient Greeks. Now these businessmen from Växjö were directly shocked that they had encountered "the unspeakable monster in the forest."

Soon enough, while the merchants were still stunned, the vigilant cavalry saw a large group of armed men escorting some vehicles. What they thought of was not robbery at all but a threatening army. The few scouts were absolutely no match for these people. They didn't even fire arrows and quickly withdrew.

The iron hoofs kicked up a lot of mud, and the scouts retreated from the slowly advancing team in a charging posture.

The scouts all shouted: "There are at least a hundred enemies ahead!"

The atmosphere suddenly changed, and Fisk was not surprised at all. Encountering the enemy can happen at any time. Now that the matter has arrived, let's launch an attack!

"Cavalry! Mount up!" he shouted, "Charge after me!"

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