Rise of Rurik

With an order, all the boys around Rurik fell to their knees in unison, and even the younger ones accidentally lay directly on the snow.

At this moment, Rurik felt that he was not even a chief, but a king!

The light of the bonfire gently sprinkled on all those who were kneeling, and Rurik always held his short sword. He raised it high and called out loudly: "Brothers, I am your leader! I am the one you can rely on in the future. I will give you orders, and you must do them! I will do everything in my power to train you to be the bravest warriors, and I will help you all become rich, grow up with comfortable houses, beautiful wives, And there's more silver coins than you can think of."

"Like a beautiful woman from Novgorod?" Kneeling Kanuf suddenly raised his head and asked abruptly.

"Shut up! Kanuf. You can't speak until I've finished!"

Rurik's harsh rebuke has a strong sense of oppression, and many children are tense in their hearts. They believe that their "child king" has really changed his temperament after beheading the deer.

It's like the description of the leader Otto by the children's own father - the old leader is a real man on the battlefield, the berserker who always rushes in the front, he is just and solemn, and also brave, when The end of the battle was kind to everyone.

Rurik improvised some words of encouragement, and something he really needed to say.

"Now you all surrender to me, it's good! I trust you. After this holiday, you are one year older, and your family will ask you to do more. I don't care about your family, I will continue to bring You go to training, not only to teach you how to fight, there are other things to learn. You have no choice, you have to follow me. Now, are any of you dissatisfied? Those who disobeyed stand up, and you can quit now!"

Someone stand up? Who dares! What's more, everyone is willing to follow Rurik, just because following him, the boring life has become interesting. Besides, parents were saying that Otto's son Rurik had amassed a fortune just through soap. If he behaved well, wouldn't he be rewarded by Rurik?

The strongest Fisk obeyed obediently, how could anyone dare to oppose it?

That's what Rurik wanted. He put his sword back in its scabbard and commanded in a childish voice that he didn't like: "All of you, stand up! Line up like you were on a wooded hillside!"

In a very short period of time, these more than 100 children were lined up in five rows, and the children in each row belonged to the "same boat". Now, because some people did not come, there were less than 30 people in one row. Those who didn't come are just because of some trivial things. It doesn't matter if they don't come. Rurik knew that if he had a hundred elite fans who had been trained since childhood, after 20 years, they would be his most powerful hand.

"Very good! I thought that the training was terminated after the cold weather, and you forgot to line up! It seems that our training results are very good." Rurick paused: "Listen, you still keep this way when you grow up. Team, I promise you that twenty years from now, each of you will have nice and strong armor, and a nice stelsvard sword that can cut through ordinary swords. Now follow me and roar!"

After saying that, Rurik drew his sword again, and shouted "Ypaaaax" in a snappy tongue. Ah, everyone is from Rus, and the descendants of Rus are also Maozi.

Although it is a bit abrupt, Rurik is now trying to make a rule, "Ypa! It means bravery and victory. We will shout Ypa together in the face of the enemy in the future, and we can scare the enemy with only momentum. Now follow my rhythm. , shout!"

Viking battle cry is not uncommon,

Especially when forming a traditional shield wall to approach the enemy, each individual in the team must roar rhythmically with their footsteps. The first priority in doing this is to ensure that the pace is not chaotic, and the second is the psychological shock to the enemy.

However, they are Russ after all, and shouting "Ulla" is a must!

Everyone accepted this interesting roar in an instant, and everyone roared rhythmically in a childish voice at the same time, and it was so emotional to hear it.

Women shouldn't be part of a warrior's rally, even a bonfire gathering of a large group of little boys who will become warriors many years in the future.

Rumia is here because she is a bed servant.

This servant was not ordinary, and the silver jewelry she began to wear proved that this was a noble servant. Rumia leaned against a big tree, and she avoided it wisely, also because she was afraid of the crowded boys. Until now, Rumia only believed in her heart that Rurik was the only person in the entire barbarian group who was truly kind to herself.

She was carrying a small rattan basket with a bit of hard jerky and croutons in it, the dry food she had been ordered to carry, the first thing Otto would be able to do when he thought about the sudden hunger of Rurik and the other children at the campfire. Grab some snacks for a while.

All kinds of things directly stared at this humble girl. The little master who held the short sword easily ordered a surprising number of children to kneel on the ground, so frightened that she hurriedly leaned on the tree to kneel.

Rumia, she saw Rurik holding his dagger high and his sword accepted by the hundreds of children who would become powerful barbarian warriors in the future, and her heart was no longer moved by the kind of protection she received.

Rumia, her heart has been completely conquered!

The children's bonfire slowly went out, leaving a large number of footprints on the ground, as well as a large charcoal fire trace.

Rurik was in a good mood, but he still didn't know what kind of mental journey his servant had gone through.

With his dagger hanging from his waist, he strode like a miniature samurai.

His servant hooked his head lightly, followed the little master with a basket in his hand, and was submissive.

Rurik is still thinking about what happened just now, how comfortable is the feeling of being worshipped by others? !

"Rumia?" he muttered suddenly.

"masta?"

"Very well, you're calling me masta. You saw it just now, they're kneeling down to me."

"I saw it all. They will be loyal to you, and so will I. My masta."

"Of course you will be loyal to me, go back with me now, I still have something to do."

Now Rurik knows that he needs a lot of helpers, especially the two industrial chains he has developed this winter, which must be expanded by more labor.

Will the agreements with priests and blacksmiths be kept forever?

It is unlikely, because people's hearts can change, and people's pursuit of wealth and power will not stop. When they feel that they are given too little wealth, they will ask for more.

Think of yourself and them as business partners with contracts, they are not their confidants.

Want to gain a henchman? The best way is to nurture it from an early age.

It's not that Rurik didn't think about it, taking some of the stinky boys under his command to learn to strike iron or learn to make soap, and then he would also give them the wealth. Rurik only had some thoughts in this regard, and quickly denied himself. starter

The boy's parents wouldn't let their children do those jobs. Boys generally had to grow up to be new sea warriors. They were destined to serve Odin. How could they be Thor's servants?

So from the beginning, Rumia was different from those who worshipped herself.

Train Rumia into a female warrior? Maybe some clans would do this because of the fact that the males of their own tribes are less likely to do so, but there is obviously no need to do so in the Ross clan. Rumia has her own strengths. Generally speaking, she does not contradict the knowledge-recording boards kept by the tribe. She is a person who loves learning. If such a person is deeply cultivated, she will be a reliable steward, and will be a talent who is good at internal affairs.

And she is a woman who needs to be attached to a strong patriarchal foothold, either her husband or her master.

The two returned to their warm home, where they removed their warm furry coats and hung them on raised copper nails on the wooden wall.

Rurik naturally slept in my soft and comfortable sleeping bed, while Rumia, as always, sat obediently in the corner and listened.

Otto, the leader of the tribe, the great sacrifice of the tribe has passed for a long time. According to the calendar, after the long night before him, the sun will rise again on the horizon, and the new year will come with it.

Life was compressed in a small wooden house. In this era of extreme lack of entertainment, Otto had to lie on his side and chew jerky to pass the time. There was too much stuff in his stomach, and the thought of going out of the house and going to the separate toilet next to the longhouse to use the toilet finally made him shut up due to the unpleasant coldness.

Niya, a young wife, sews new leather clothes by herself, humming old songs.

Otto has no intention of helping his wife at all. Sewing and repairing clothes are his wife's work. If there is anything a man must do, it is logging and repairing boats. This is the foundation of any man's life.

The return of his son made the bored Otto very happy, and he should take the opportunity to tell his son when he had some words in his heart.

"Rurik, don't lie down, come to me, I have something to tell you."

"Oh? Dad?"

Rurik got up and leaned over, sitting cross-legged and looking up at his father, who could be called a lion's mane.

Otto settled down: "I discussed some things with other people, you know, from tomorrow onwards the days will get longer and longer. The winter will slowly pass, and when the sea ice melts, I have to take people to go there. Novgorod."

"I know this very well, it's our routine work."

"Yes. This time I'll try to bring some soap over there. Those Novgorodians are generally poor, but some of them are rich. Let's not think how much money can be easily plundered from them with an axe, if I do Once or twice, the rich run away. This time I'm going to try and sell some of your soap at a high price to see if I can get some other goodies from them."

"Oh? I thought you would take everyone to defeat them all and treat all the Novgorods as slaves." Rurik's head was slightly tilted, and he deliberately glanced at the corner of his mouth when he spoke.

"More slaves? No! We don't have that much food to feed them. Children..." Otto's big hand lightly covered his son's head: "You are still too young, I will take you when you grow up. Go to Novgorod to learn a lot. When you get there, you will know how poor those guys are. Although they are poor, they have more people than us, I am afraid they can be equivalent to ten of us.”

Um? Could it be that Novgorod in this era has a population of 70,000 or 80,000?

By ancient standards, a city with such a population is not a small one.

Rurik learned for the first time how the cow named Novgorod existed in a few days, a human settlement with a population of 70,000 people, twice a year for a settlement with a population of 7,000 people. , which is quite a burden.

Then what can be done? Novgorod, the original meaning of "new big city", their inhabitants are immigrants who migrated from other places. The Novgorods are not stupid, they are reduced to servants who pay tribute to the Rus just because the Rus are stronger.

"Dad, the Novgorods are even poorer, why do we want these poor people to pay tribute?" Rurik asked deliberately.

"Ah, they're poor, their weapons are really bad, and they can't even build a boat bigger than a canoe. But their land is more fertile and warmer, and the woods around them have plenty of deer, and even bears. You don't have to worry, I'll be back with a lot of leather. Since the priests need grease to make soap, I'll see if I can get as much as I can from them. Haha, and some young people, and some Novgorod this time. Women act as their wives."

The poverty in Otto's mouth is more of a weakness in force.

Times have changed! Rurik was particularly aware of Veria's admonition that no one knew exactly what the so-called "Odin thought of the behavior of the tribe". Although the first batch of Novgorod women who were married were all pregnant, could the children be born smoothly?

Villa was a little worried that if Odin was against it, the tribe would pay the price. In order to maximize the price, the divine power was exerted at the last moment, that is, all married women and their unborn children were given death at the last moment. Dystocia results in one corpse and two lives, which is quite common in this time and space.

Otto couldn't manage that much. In his opinion, the priests used to sit on the ground all day, thinking about strange things. Their lives must be more boring than those of sea warriors, so now they have a job of making soap by boiling oil, and they are working all night with sore arms.

The more they do, the more money the chief family can make in the soap business.

If it's just to collect offerings, and then pick some pretty women from there to choose wives for the young men of the tribe, Otto's spring Sorgon voyage of 829 is really no more pioneering than what he did last fall. starter

But Otto has made a decision that can be called a great one.

"My child, I must tell you that on our way to Novgorod, we will pass through a huge lake, and only through this lake can we find a new waterway into Novgorod. It is a very large lake. There are many fish and seals in the lake. The environment in that place is actually better than our fjord. It seems that we can grow wheat by ourselves after reclaiming the land. Alas, it is too cold here, so we can only grow Order onions. You know the taste of bread, once you eat it, you can't forget its taste.

I discussed it with others. I'm going to build a new settlement there, and I'm going to bring people to build some houses there, and maybe send people to stay there for a long time. It would be better if some land could be cleared and wheat could be harvested.

A lot of people support me, they think it would be good to have a new town, and with it we will not go to Novgorov twice a year, but more often in the future. We can do business with them through more frequent trade, and they will provide us with more good things than forcing them with axes and swords. "

When Rurik heard this, his eyes widened instantly.

"Dad, are you planning that we...we all immigrate?"

"Immigration? No! We do need a good living environment, but all of us can't leave yet. Child... You can't lead your clan to leave even if you're a leader, and we can't withdraw from the alliance. We still have thousands of guests living in the gorge. Allies in the Gulf, we will leave the alliance when we leave, we will not get the support of our allies, and even cause war. We still have to expand trade with the Novgorods and expand our income. We are just building an auxiliary settlement, Children, those Novgorod women marry, and they will have many children left. Maybe when you grow up, our fjords will not be able to carry so many people, we must go out!"

"Ah! I already understand...you do it, Dad, you are looking for a new and better future for our Ross tribe."

Otto is very happy that his son is so talkative and understands him so well.

He continued: "The Novgorods call that lake Ladoga, and there is a river with Ladoga and the sea. There are many small islands at the mouth of the sea, and it is really suitable for a port, even more than our Roseburg. Also be safe. Maybe you don't know now, the worst fear of any fisherman is the storm, our Roseburg itself is a safe haven, I believe if we build a settlement at the mouth of that river, it will be safer there safe haven.”

Otto himself became more and more happy, and Rurik felt his heart pounding.

Rurik didn’t even know when Lake Ladoga got its name. Since his father specifically mentioned this term, it is clear that the Novgorods already knew about the existence of this great lake, and the Rus also knew it early, and it was even crazier. Yes, Lake Ladoga is connected to the mouth of the Neva River in the Baltic Sea, and the Russians have realized that there is a strategic value there as a port.

In 829, the Rus intends to build the second settlement of the Rus at the mouth of the Neva River!

Regardless of whether it will be named St. Petersburg in the future, the construction of the city at the mouth of the Neva River must start in 829 AD.

This is called the inevitability of history!