Rise of Rurik

A group of cavalrymen held their flags high and galloped forward on the snow-covered dirt road by the river. Their horses' hooves stirred up ice shards on the road that clearly had sleigh tracks.

As long as you open your eyes and look, you will see a large city with wide walls located in a huge flat area not far away.

Novgorod stands at the mouth of the Volkhov River at the outlet of Lake Ilmen.

In the past ten years, a large area of ​​pine forest has been completely developed. The roots of the trees have been dug out, the acidic humus has been cleaned, and the wheat straw of each year has been burned on the spot. The pH of the soil has gradually been adjusted. Now this newly reclaimed land is growing peas for the first time! The crop rotation of peas and cold-tolerant wheat has begun. It is expected that the crop yield will increase year by year in the future.

A piece of open land was deliberately abandoned and weeds were allowed to grow wildly.

It was a training ground for the Rus' army and the location of the main camp of the garrison, especially the cavalry.

But now all the farmland is deserted in winter, and there is flat land covered with snow everywhere. The returning messengers on horseback can quickly rush into the city.

A team of ten cavalry, each cavalry is dressed up extremely fancy.

Their high-top imitation Cossack leather hats are specially decorated with at least ten wild goose flight feathers, each one close to 50 centimeters, and they are dyed blue. There was another wooden pole stuck in the saddle, and a Russian flag flew from it.

They did this in order to attract attention. They took the king's order and rushed to the city before the sun set, and told the people and King Otto the news.

Even in winter, or even in winter, people who cannot work in the fields spend their main experience in family workshops. Cloth, felt, wool,

It is impossible for state-owned tailoring factories to completely digest the increasing number of textile raw materials of various colors of leather, and their processing will inevitably be undertaken by the vast majority of housewives and children.

Children as young as five or six take over simple tasks, while even pregnant women sit down and engage in needlework. It is best for men to go do some work nearby. If not, they can go home and process various kinds of leather, especially making leather boots and felt boots. Because everyone needs boots, the army has an even more urgent need for them. It has become one of Novgorod's flagship export products and its sales are extremely good.

Every farmhouse is a small family workshop, so the market in Novgorod is no longer limited to the bulk trade of grain, fisheries, and textiles.

Now is the time when all kinds of industries are prosperous and have greater potential for development. Even in the evening, the people setting up stalls on the road are still the same, and interested buyers are still coming and going.

The arrival of the messenger startled the defenders of the city's southern gate, and they were even more surprised to learn that the remaining troops of King Rurik's expeditionary force had arrived at the Fisherman's Manor.

These city patrollers immediately enlightened them. They shouted rudely to order the guys occupying the road to get out of the way, and ordered all the customers to stand on both sides of the road.

Although people were dissatisfied with these evictions, their dissatisfaction quickly turned into happiness when they heard the shouts of the patrollers.

"Get out of the way! Make way for the king's messenger!"

The patrol opened a road ahead, and the following cavalry passed through the main road at lightning speed.

Thousands of people on both sides of the road saw the flash of blue and white phantoms and watched them go straight to the palace.

For Otto, the Rebel

Vadim was executed and his skull was turned into a wine cup.

He only used the special wine glass once, and then displayed it as a trophy and collection. In nature, it was no different from the circle of ferocious bear heads hanging on the wooden wall.

The joy of victory gradually dissipated, and life became calmer.

After all, the old king was old, and Otto's aging body could no longer retain the aggressiveness it had twenty years ago. In other words, in 831, he nominally led troops to quell the rebellion in the Novgorod region, which was the swan song of his life. The veteran warrior's career came to an end after that bloody victory. All that was left was to live in old age, which even made him feel bored.

All of his childhood playmates have passed away. The boys he watched grow up have either been killed in previous wars or are already middle-aged. Now is the era of the tribe’s grandchildren.

"Today is another peaceful day..."

He often closes his eyes to meditate, wears a thick fur coat, and his face is much thinner than it was a few years ago. The palace guards were ordered to serve well, but everyone was actually worried that Otto would suddenly leave his body while taking a nap. In the most euphemistic way, "his heroic spirit has ascended to Valhalla."

The young grandchildren fight each other with sticks as weapons, wear thick clothes and play some exciting games in their studies.

Children are taught not to cry at will, not to be afraid of being hurt, and even to be proud of not crying when they are injured and bleeding.

Because most of them are destined to be assigned to the borders of the kingdom to become princes, guard the borders of the kingdom and actively expand the territory.

They are all the eldest sons of their respective mothers. Based on the primogeniture system that has been established in Northern Europe since ancient times, they

They must face their own destiny, and they must be trained to be warriors from an early age.

In this regard, there were old warriors who taught them how to fight, but Otto felt sorry that he couldn't teach the boys personally.

Otto took a nap while waiting for dinner.

His body can no longer fully digest large fish and meat as it used to, so he eats some boiled wheat porridge mixed with butter, or even braised noodles made from refined noodles, which are his favorite daily meals now.

But there is one thing, you can’t stop drinking!

Although alcoholism caused premature death, Otto's favorite drink in his life was wine. He had lived to be seventy years old, so of course he had to enjoy it in his old age.

If the sudden withdrawal from alcohol was a psychological blow to this old guy, Rurik would not deprive his biological father of his hobby because of this trivial matter in order to live for two more years.

Low-alcohol wine, even distilled dry red, and higher-alcohol vodka, he would only feel happy after drinking a full glass of it and be slightly drunk, and then he would quietly reflect on his life in the intoxication.

The arrival of the messenger suddenly disturbed the Supreme King.

Otto started slowly, put on his robe and walked into the outer hall with a wooden staff. Although he is old, it does not mean that he cannot walk. Because the guard informed him that Rurik was back, the happy old man beamed with joy and walked a little more quickly.

He sat back on his own bench covered with bearskin, looked at the ten young warriors with exaggerated feathers on their heads, half-kneeling on the ground, and asked sonorously: "Where are my son Rurik and the expeditionary force now?! "

"Report to the great king!" The team leader raised his head and said with a straight look: "We are at the Fisherman's Manor. The king ordered us to inform the great king of our army's return. Tomorrow, the army will

We will officially enter Novgorod, and I hope that the great king can personally put on the golden armor and personally review the expeditionary force..."

"Rurik told you this?"

"Exactly. We dare not expire."

Otto was ecstatic in his heart. On the surface, he gradually suppressed his joy. Then he knocked on the wooden stick: "I know, you can go back to the military camp to rest temporarily. Someone is here!"

Immediately, a guard appeared: "We are here."

"Go and inform Governor Medved to come see me!"

"As commanded."

…

Regarding the news of the return of Rurik's army, Governor Medved knew it immediately. As the uncle of the state, he understood the purpose of Rurik's move very well. It is said that the army emerged from a magical place and walked along the Seron River that no one had ever explored before. This move was indeed in line with Rurik's consistent behavior - personally Work as a pathfinder to uncover trade routes for Rus' future.

As for the army staying at the Fisherman's Manor, it was because they needed to rest after a long journey, and it also gave Novgorod time to welcome the king's triumphant return.

The King of Rus needed a triumphal ceremony, and the people of the city had to eat pots of pulp on the main road to welcome the King's troops.

Medved immediately met with the Supreme King after receiving the order, and the two quickly discussed it. Afterwards, he had a deep sigh with the messengers. He basically learned about King Rus's "Pskov Adventure". As for the most important thing, He already knew what to do to welcome the victory - just like the Supreme King parading around the lake, he could just reproduce it according to the same specifications.

The news immediately spread throughout the entire city of Novgorod, and soldiers from all over the country gathered urgently. Don't expect to sleep well this night. In the early hours of the morning,

The horns representing "assembly" were blown all over the city.

The sleepy soldiers got dressed and gathered at the training ground outside the city.

Almost all of them are Slavic flag soldiers. These citizen soldiers rarely have Nordic ancestry, but they are die-hard supporters of the Kingdom of Rus.

In addition to these registered soldiers, Medved also organized the militia. Although the latter did not have the majestic posture of the former with uniform uniforms and a full set of weapons, the militiamen were large in number and they were required to stand together as neatly as possible.

In the early morning, the rising sun illuminated the white world with golden light, and the chill gradually dissipated. Outside the city, there were a forest of spears, and Slavic flag soldiers lined up in two long and narrow columns to create a human wall.

Militiamen gradually gathered behind them.

More and more people gathered outside the city, while more people were waiting eagerly on the main roads in the city.

Today is a good day. Any commercial transactions and any workshop production will be suspended in the morning.

The human wall on the main road stretched all the way to the city square and to the gate of the palace.

Otto didn't stay outside the city early in the morning. He had already put on golden armor. At the same time, all the royal family members gathered in the palace, especially Queen Svetlana, who had become a "big-bellied woman" again. The leather coat concealed her pregnant belly, and she decorated herself with a large number of gems. She pulled Prince Osborne and stood beside Otto demurely.

All the prominent people in Novgorod were roaring in the city square, and businessmen from the capital were also waiting here, including many Danish, Swedish and Finnish businessmen who had traveled thousands of miles to import leather products.

The news that the king intends to conquer Frank in person has long been known to everyone, and the entire capital has

It became a huge arsenal, and since Novgorod mainly provided military rations and clothing for the expedition, there was little tension here.

Everyone wore the clothes they were most proud of, and even commoners rarely wore jewelry, even if they were mostly cheap colored glass beads strung together.

Everyone wanted to admire the glorious image of the triumphant army, and they all talked about how much loot and new news the king had brought back this time.

News about Pskov spread like wildfire. After all, for the local Slavs, they only care about their own one-third of an acre. What they can think of is that the king conquered new areas with thunderous means, but for the merchants, it is really A shock.

Because some Danish businessmen not only know that there has been a community of eastward migrating immigrants in the Gulf of Riga since ancient times, but it is not surprising that it has now become a part of Rus. But how come the northeastern stronghold of Pskov was easily controlled by the king?

The merchants in Novorossberg had long known about the willingness of the Danish community in Pskov to form an alliance with the Rus. However, the merchants now learned that King Rurik had completed the military conquest. Obviously, there must be many hidden secrets in this matter.

But what happened to the locals in Pskov, and what does it have to do with the Danish merchants living in Novgorod? So far, it has at least given these people something to think about. There may be new ways to make money in so-called future business activities.

At the same time, the fisherman's manor was not far away.

Wheat porridge was cooked all night in iron pots and pottery jars, so that the soldiers could have hot meals immediately early in the morning.

"Everyone get up! Arrange the equipment and check the weapons! Hurry up and put the bridle and saddle on the reindeer. Let's go after it's hot food!" Captains of each flag

Shouting everywhere, the sleepy soldiers got up smartly.

They put the house in order and ate a hot meal without any hesitation, and then all the cooking utensils were left in the manor for the time being.

Anyway, I have gone home, and some details that need to be considered during the field battle can be ignored now.

The Russians left behind a messy dining scene and unloaded some debris, such as hay for reindeer that had not yet been consumed.

Rurik mounted his horse and waved his sword in person to call for everyone to get on the sled urgently.

So a marching army marched toward Novgorod in the rising sun. At this moment, the flags were flying, and the faces of the soldiers were filled with the happiness of returning home.

When they saw the city walls of Novgorod, following Rurik's order, the four infantry flag teams jumped off the sleds one after another. The soldiers' armors were still at the Fisherman's Manor for the time being. Wear a thick layer of clothing, and put on a linen robe sewn with blue cloth strips.

The soldiers were well-armed, carrying a buckler and their own backpack behind their backs, a steel sword and a hand ax hung on their waist, and the warrior carrying a crossbow carried it on their shoulders.

The infantry flag teams are arranged in a matrix, and the flags are flying at this moment. All this is simply a replica of the deeds of two years ago!

At that time, the newly formed Seventh Banner Corps went on an armed parade and was soon sent to fight in the Frankish world.

Now four new flag teams have been formed. The brothers have experienced the test of real war. Now they are lining up to triumph. Doesn't it mean that everyone can participate in the new expedition?

Each flag team is no longer full, and each team's more than 400 people can still line up the team in a square shape. This is the first time this was shown to Olafin, Bohm and others.

The so-called if hundreds of them can walk neatly

, it is natural to quickly set up a tight shield wall for combat.

In Pskov, what these people saw was just a storm of arrow strikes from the Russian army, using unheard-of tricks to deny all the "northern glory" of Boss Gore. In other words, they had extremely no martial ethics and violated the conventional warrior culture. .

"Look." Orafin, who was sitting on the sleigh, said to Pom, who had a belly of hot food and was busy taking a nap: "Have you seen them walking like this in their capital?"

"Yes. That's how the Russians are." Bohm had seen the gathering of the Russian army and naturally didn't take it seriously, and continued to tease: "You are so rare! Wait until you go to Fort New Ross and see their ships as tall as trees. fainted?"

"This...I'm looking forward to it. At least I saw their big ship in Riga. Can it be bigger?"

"Of course. It's a giant ship that even the worldly python cannot shake."

Olafine smiled awkwardly and didn't ask any more questions.

Bohm saw the behemoth Sea Monarch, but he was not sure why Ross built such a big thing. Is it used as a transport ship? Maybe……

At this moment, Rurik personally led the cavalry to clear the way, and even the horses of the cavalry team were in order.

More than two thousand people arrived in the shanty towns outside Novgorod. There were already a large number of people lined the streets to welcome and cheer. They saw the victorious young people returning and came forward one after another.

Many people, they are the parents of their children! After all, a considerable number of young people in the four newly formed flag corps are pure Slavs. They were born in this city. The parents of the children are certainly worried that their sons will die fighting south, but now they can see that their sons will die fighting south.

After experiencing the most severe trial and growing into a real man, Zi couldn't help crying with joy.

These people maintained great restraint. They just watched and cheered from one side. When the army passed in front, they focused their attention on the large number of sleds behind.

They saw some unfamiliar faces, even a group of nervous brown-black and brown-haired children.

Are these prisoners from the king's expedition? It doesn't look like it.

At the same time, Olafin and Bohm, and even the entire small community, officially arrived in Novgorod, a large lakeside city, and couldn't help but compare it with their hometown of Pskov - it turned out to be the most prosperous here.

This was Rurik's triumph, and he enjoyed the cheers of the people.

He doesn't need to do anything personally. Now he just needs to ride a horse and hold his chin high to accept the cheers of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

Finally, amid explosive cheers, Rurik led the team to the city square.

The Supreme King Otto was dressed in golden armor, and behind him were two berserker guards wearing bearskin. He knew that his father could not stand firmly while wearing armor, and the two men were actually secretly supporting him.

The royal family members gathered here, and Rurik saw at a glance the face of his wife, as well as the faces of his wives and concubines...

"Svetlana..."

Ryurik got off his horse, holding on to the hilt of his sword and walking step by step towards the long room of the palace, towards his family.

At this point, the people who had surrounded the city square were filled with people. Their cheers and shouts shook the snow, and the whole city was immersed in a roar that could be heard in the city of Mstisk.

Of course, a large number of old Russian immigrants in that city had been killing Bennov on sleighs all night long.

Gorod.

This big city gathered into a "mega city" with a population of 50,000 to 60,000 in a very short period of time, just because the king returned in triumph.