Rise of Rurik

For the first time, the residents of Cretinga felt doomed! \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

As for how many "pirates" occupied Palanga, Chief Jomonus could not get an appropriate answer only by relying on the description of the influx of refugees. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

"The Palanga people have always been weak, and they are too close to the Varangians. They have some property but are unable to protect themselves. They are just a group of sheep growing under the supervision of hungry wolves. When the Varangians feel the opportunity When I am mature, I will come to cut the wool myself..."\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The more Jomonus thought about it, the more he felt that the reason for his speculation was sufficient and even reached a logical closed loop. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

As for the fact that the Russians have countless cavalry and ships, it is obvious that the refugees must have seen something and exaggerated it based on endless fear. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The chief himself and some people in Kretinga had heard of the legend about the Rus' people crossing the sea to kill and destroy everywhere. The news has long been passed down by word of mouth. The savage Russians are a group of evil people who like to wear white clothes. They raise a group of war bears and fire-breathing monsters, and even "the ships are taller than the tallest pine trees." Everything Bizarre claims make the truth confusing. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Jomonus had never seen the things described in these legends with his own eyes. He believed in the existence of gods, but he did not want to believe that Rus among the Varangians had gods to help him. Could it be that the Russians had tamed the forest bear, a ferocious beast that eats people without spitting out bones and requires twenty men with spears to take risks to kill them? How could the Russians just summon them and spring out to attack only the enemy? \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

He was uneasy and unwilling to believe all the bizarre legends about Ross, but the fact of Ross's expansion seemed not to be ignored\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Oddly. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

There is a good thing about the current situation. The few words spread by the refugees have caused panic throughout the city. People gathered at the Egliskiai mound. Before the chief gave a reasonable explanation, the people hoped that the priests would give everyone an answer to reassure them. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

But how can a priest be so virtuous? \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

That night, a large number of people still gathered at the large mound in the city, lingering around the bonfire lit in the mound, whispering and continuing to discuss the bizarre theories, and the city was immersed in a low hum. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Until the neighing of a war horse broke all this. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The horsemen, led by the chief Jomonus, rushed directly into the mound. Each horseman held a torch, and it looked like a flaming snake wriggling under the night. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

People have always been proud of the cavalry owned by the chief, even if it is just a group of "slaves who know how to ride horses", these people maintain the authority of the chief and are also a symbol of the armed strength of the entire city. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

To a large extent, the mounted private soldiers owned by Jomonus were the standing army of the entire city-state. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

This was the first time that people saw horseback riders gathering at night, with pairs of eyes paying attention to their chief. The huge bonfire in the mound illuminated the chief's body. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Watch carefully! Because the chieftain rarely wore his glorious chainmail, even the helmet reflected the dazzling metallic luster. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

What is this for? Are you going to fight? \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

People gradually became quiet under a series of fast-paced beatings of small leather drums. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The chief tightened his grip on the reins, and the horse rolled around beside the campfire. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

People began to hear the preaching: "My friends! Brothers! The Varyag pirates have captured Palanga, and those who only\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The fools digging for amber surrendered easily without any resistance, but the pirates sold them into slavery. ! \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Pirates broke up families, kidnapped the men as slaves, and humiliated the women before transporting them to other lands. The pirates were not kind to children either, and many babies were killed! \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Look at yourselves, my friends. I have been informed that pirates are about to launch an attack on our Kretinga, should we fail. you! All men will be killed, and women and children will be made slaves. All your wealth will be taken away, and even our altar will be destroyed by them..."\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Regardless of whether what he said was true or false, what Chief Jomonus needed was to use the opportunity to mobilize the fear and anger of the people. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Now, people's fear has been aroused, but their anger... still needs further words to stimulate. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The local residents of Palanga are dead. What does the life and death of those guys have to do with me? Most people don't understand the meaning of death, but Jomonus cares about this very much. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Unless their relatives and friends are killed by pirates, they will burst into unprecedented anger and take up arms to join the war without hesitation. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

If anger is difficult to arouse, using greed for wealth may also motivate them to go to war. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Jomonus has already mobilized his family in this regard. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

In addition to the nephews and female relatives of the whole clan who can afford weapons, they must form a militia to participate in the war. All serfs must also join the militia. The serfs were promised that they could freely plunder the spoils of war, and whatever they could get depended on their ability. If the amount of money they robbed was sufficient, they could redeem their whole family and become ordinary residents of Cretinga. If they robbed\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Not only did the family regain their freedom, but they were also able to buy a piece of land in the city to grow wheat. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The mere possibility of regaining their freedom prompted many serfs to clamor to join the militia. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

As for the vast majority of civilians...\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

"Now follow me and attack the Varangians! All the claims about the Rus are untrue. It was clearly a group of pirates who attacked Palanga under the guise of the barbaric Rus. While the enemy was arrogant after plundering a large number of slaves, we killed They were caught off guard!\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Friends, those stupid Palangas were defeated and they all became slaves. We took the opportunity to defeat the Varangians and turn these slaves into our slaves. Look at yourselves, as long as you follow me, you will have a working slave in your family. A man without a marriage! You can take this opportunity to grab a woman and soon have many children. ”\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Gradually, the greed for wealth overshadowed their fear, and their anger did not explode. Now they see that the chief's entire family is actively participating in the war, and even the most elite cavalry are dispatched. The chief is so willing to gamble with the fate of the whole family, and now the chief chief How could you do this if you didn't have the will to win? Since the chief is determined to win, I am afraid only fools and cowards will refuse to join the militia to fight! At the thought of capturing slaves and wealth, the hesitant people created a situation and an army of militia was born that night. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Despite some setbacks, Jomonus assembled a militia composed of people from his hometown early the next morning. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

They have cavalry, archers (orions), and the largest number of spearmen. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

They can chop wood into soldiers without using harpoons, sickles, and grass\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The forks have been transformed into spears of different lengths. It is unrealistic to expect farmers to have armor. They all wear ordinary gray-brown burlap and leather coats, which are relatively warm and very wear-resistant. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Their shoes are of various kinds, many of which are just a piece of leather for the feet, tied to the calf with strips of cloth and hemp rope. Some people also wear sandals made of vine pepper, and it is not uncommon for people to go barefoot. The locals are used to this kind of life, and their feet with thick calluses walk quickly in the soft and muddy Courland area. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

But the size of Kretinga is here, with Egliskiai as the center and a settlement of only more than 3,000 people. In earlier times, it was still a small power, but in the face of the integration of northern forces and the march of the Western Expedition The regular army of the Kingdom of Rus on the Frankish Road was trying to kill an egg with a stone. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

If the chief knew that the opponent he was facing was so powerful, he would not dare to send out troops to seek death even if he had lent him ten thousand courages. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

However, for Chief Jomonus himself, it was the first time in his life that he had gathered the entire city's troops. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

How many soldiers are there? There were actually six hundred participants in the battle, and this was already the strongest army he knew. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Spears formed a grove, and people gathered on the mound to wait for the priests to complete the key sacrificial expedition. They slaughtered a cow and waited for the priests to announce "good luck." \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Jomonus didn't know what the strength of the Varangians was. He immediately fell into strong self-confidence when he saw a large army composed of his own people. This confidence and optimism spread throughout the army, but little did they know that it was precisely because their cavalry was deployed in full force that everyone in the militiamen looked confident and smiling. This group\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The sexual smile turned into strength, making the chief feel that as long as he launches a charge today, after a half-day journey to reach Palanga, the Varangians will be driven into the sea, and the entire army will have a celebration banquet there! \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

"It's great! The Supreme God has said that the great Jomonus will bring peace to Cretinga and a better future."\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Everyone was waiting for the priests' announcement. Now the auspicious time had come and the time to go to war had arrived. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Jomonus stood up with his sword drawn, posing as a hero in public, his Frankish broad-bladed sword pointing directly to the west: "Brothers, let's go!"\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

With cavalry in front and infantry behind, a team of more than 600 people crossed the river and rushed towards Palanga in the west. This operation in Cretinga City was an all-out effort. Because the people had sufficient self-confidence, they deliberately traveled lightly and even carried very little drinking water and dry food. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Just because everyone believed the chief's description - spend the night in Palanga tonight. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

……\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

However, the real situation is completely contrary to the imagination of the Cretinga people. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

Palanga was indeed occupied by the Rus, but it stands in a completely new image. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The first earl of the Palanga County was born to the leader Dapkus, and his son was the second earl, and his descendants could be hereditary. The Kingdom of Rus established this small county composed of the Kurland people, and decided to implement a restraint system to make the locals autonomous. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;

The small Palanga has no ability to survive independently. At that time, no strong people paid attention to this group of people and was not invaded. Now that Ross comes, the locals can call themselves Ross people. \u0026lt;/p\u0026gt;