Rise of Rurik

Vadim came back, and Brudenie was surprised by his embarrassed appearance.

"What's the matter? You are a brave person, and now you are a coward? Forget it, you are still a child after all. Tell me, what's going on outside?!"

"It's the Rus!" Vadim, who should have been flexible, suddenly stammered: "They are here! They are all outside, at least three hundred people! No... Four hundred people, five hundred people. They are in Burning houses, looting. And that nasty savage, that savage ready to cut down our wooden walls like a forest."

"This is real?"

"It's true! They're setting fires." Vadim said with wide eyes and a terrifying face: "Dad, if we don't take some action. Maybe they will burn down all the houses in our manor."

"Oh! It's crazy! Crazy." At this point, Brudeni couldn't sit still any longer. The situation must be brought under control, otherwise the Pine Needle Manor can be said to be without resistance, and the humiliation will be burned to ashes by the Rus, so how can it be done?

He hurriedly ordered his old wife: "You hide in the bedroom with your daughters. Vadim, you and I will meet the Rus again. And you."

Brudenie immediately pointed to the eldest son, who was very willing to hide: "Your wife avoids. As for you, you come with me."

"Dad, those Ross people are horrible."

"Oops." Brudenie stomped his feet angrily. "Come with me, or you coward don't think about being the new head of the manor. Remember, you don't want the head of the manor to be a fool."

Under the strongest threat, the eldest son, Boyk, had to get up reluctantly.

The three of them wanted to meet the Rus, but now, even the brave Vadim is beating drums in his heart.

So, brave Vadim?

Do not!

At the age of ten, he has short brown-yellow hair, and his scalp is numb at the moment. This short hair is more fluffy, like a fluffy golden fleece growing on his scalp. He didn't have time to change his clothes, and there was a piece of mud on the robe tied with the rope, which was still behind him.

Could it be that you fall down because of fear of something, how can you have such a stain on your body?

Brudene, on the other hand, soon learns the mystery of the disappearance of his lingering servant.

He gathered more than a dozen family members who did not escape, and after asking about the situation, he could only stomp and scold one of them for raising a group of rice buckets.

"Damn, maybe I should recruit a group of more loyal people. Should I hear about those Varyag merchants, can they be my guards? They are all Varyags, maybe they have the ability to drive the Rus away. "Brudne buried the idea in his heart, first of all he still has to face the very difficult problems of the moment.

He straightened his leather hat and looked at his two sons left and right: "Children, follow me."

How to face the leader of the Rus, Brudeni consciously had another set of suitable methods.

Just pretend to be respectful. They came to ask for food and distribution, and although they have done serious damage this time, as long as they are given enough supplies, they will go away.

The nervous housekeepers followed their masters with their short spears.

Immediately afterwards, at the master's instruction, they lifted down all the crossbars that served as the bolts of the door.

The thick wooden door was gradually pulled open, and Brudenie leaned out cautiously, only to see Otto, the great leader of Ross, this time holding on to the hilt of the sword stuck in the soil, staring at him like a torch.

"Brudene, do I have to burn down your manor and kill all your people before you can go out and meet me?!"

Now, there are hundreds of strong men standing behind Otto! They protected most of their bodies with wooden shields, and the helmets that covered half of their faces still couldn't cover the warriors' hideous teeth.

If Brudenie was frightened by this battle, he would have been bombarded by the clansman long ago and could no longer be the head of the manor.

He was not intimidated by this battle, and he also had the protection of his father. The young Vadim just leaned slightly against his father's shirt.

It was Vadim's eldest brother, Poyik, who was a cowardly man and stepped back in shock. He simply hid behind the wooden door and didn't want to come out.

Only a few brave servants followed behind Brudenie, who supported him a little. It was Jiading's involuntary trembling legs, which clearly proved their fear, which made many Russ secretly snicker.

Brudenie tried his best to remain calm, and he stepped forward, with the arrogance of being an honorable person in his figure.

As a result, he just got close to Otto, and Otto stepped on it unceremoniously and kicked it directly to the ground.

Where did Brudeni think that such an encounter would happen? ! Everything came too suddenly.

His heart suddenly fell into panic, and he staggered to his knees on the ground, covering his head, which was full of mud, which was slammed into the mud.

How has Vadim ever seen his father humiliated?

In an instant, the young man burst out with extraordinary courage.

Vadim's irrational straight to Otto, with a ferocious face and a reckless face, launched a purposeless charge at a man who was many times taller than himself.

Otto didn't talk nonsense. He picked up his shield and pushed it hard. The shield hit Vadim's head, knocking the reckless child to the ground.

Vadim had blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, and there were obvious scars on his forehead.

The child stood up unyieldingly, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and continued to stare at Otto with sharp eyes.

Vadim was still about to attack, only this time his father Brudenie held his neck down.

After being kicked hard, Brudenie woke up and realized his weakness.

Look at the current situation of Pine Needle Manor.

It was originally a lively farmhouse. Due to the invasion of the Russians, most of the residents saw the appearance of the fleet, and hurriedly ran away with their rations, leaving a large area of ​​empty dwellings.

Pine Needle Manor, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a city. In this era, all the dwellings in the Novgorod area were a family living in a wooden house. There were 1,200 pine needle manor in such a family, which means that there were at least 1,200 wooden houses here.

Its building scale is comparable to that of Roseburg, and the difference from Roseburg is that the farmland of the manor is all outside the manor.

Together with the farmland, Pine Needle Manor is completely a behemoth.

And it also formed the main body of Novgorod.

Plenty of wooden houses were burning, and the smoke even blocked the sun.

Brudenie knelt down on the enemy and asked sadly: "Why, Russ! We will give you what you want, why are you still burning down our houses and hurting our people."

"Why? This is your punishment." Otto said fiercely.

"However, we have always surrendered to you, is it because we have not served well?"

"Do you still want to be kicked by me again? Or do you force me to order and have my men behead you?" Otto calmed down, "Brudenier, it seems that you forgot who was you for a while. Master. When we left, you actually went to collect the tribute. What? Do you think you are the king? I tell you, only we Rus have the right to receive the tribute, and you! You are not worthy!"

"This..." Brudenie hurriedly closed his eyes, his eyes quickly made a few laps, and then immediately denied: "No, there is no such thing at all. How dare I go to collect tribute?

"you sure?"

"Yes! It's absolutely true." Brudeni continued to press his younger son's neck and complimented him.

Otto naturally didn't believe what Brudenie kept saying. After all, compared to the White Tree Manor, which had become a loyal dog, this guy and his Pine Needle Manor were still wolfish.

Even though this guy flatly denied it, Otto had evidence to prove that after the Rus left the Pine Needle Manor, he sent a "tough army" to search for other manors to make up for the losses caused by the Rus' catastrophe.

"Get up," Otto ordered.

Brudeni stood up with abdominal pain, first wiped the mud off his head, and then picked up the leather hat. He continued to pull on his younger son's clothes, beware of the child's pursuit of death.

Otto is arrogant and full of a king's attitude: "I have no intention of destroying your manor, as long as you don't force me. You didn't meet me the first time, and you look at these flames and smoke, which is a punishment for your arrogance. Brudeni, do you know what's wrong?"

"Yes, yes. I'm a stupid person to do such a stupid thing."

Seeing his father's submissive appearance, Vadim was puzzled and annoyed. This child only hated himself for being too weak. If he was stronger and had an iron dagger, he would have had the opportunity to assassinate the Rus leader in front of him just now. .

Perhaps as long as this man is stabbed to death, the Russ will not come to trouble again because of the danger. Even if he died because of this, it was a good thing for the manor.

Vadim, his heart is so pure.

"Look straight at me. Also, let go of your hand and let your little son look straight at me!"

At this time, Otto undid the belt on the inside of the shield, freeing it from his left arm, and his steel sword was also retracted.

Now there is no need for force to deter, Brudenie and his several families have already agreed, as for the sad and angry eyes of a child?

Otto said deliberately: "You are a bunch of cowards, but there are also a few brave ones. I can't imagine that your youngest son would dare to resist the authority of our Rus. Is he called Vadim?"

"Yes." Brudenie said nervously.

"Let him kneel down for me, climb up in front of me and kiss my boots!"

Different from White Tree Manor, Pine Needle Manor has had many exchanges with many lone ranger-like Varyag merchants, so some residents can understand a little Norse. Brudeni knows a lot about this, and he and Otto have no language barrier.

Brudeni is deeply ashamed, and Vadim is not?

"Kneel down, child, and kiss his feet," Brudnie said in Slavic.

"Dad, why. I wouldn't do it even if I died."

"Listen, if you want revenge, you need to be patient."

"No, I don't want to be a coward." Vadim's attitude was still firm.

Looking at this situation, Otto Ben drew his sheathed sword again. He pointed his sword at the unwilling child: "Your name is Vadim, you are a reckless person. Now I order you to crawl over like a dog licking my shoes all day, otherwise, I will destroy your manor. ."

Vadim remained stubborn and unmoved.

Otto shook his head. "Brudne, it looks like your children are going to force me to destroy you. Listen, that's not what you want. Do you want us to take action too?"

If the Rus people really want to kill, Brudeni will indeed fight them to the end at all costs. But the current situation is obviously very unfavorable for Pine Needle Manor!

To fight against the Rus, it is necessary to gather men who can fight in the entire manor as early as possible. With enough time, he can organize an "army" of 2,000 farmers. In order to protect their homeland, Brudeni believes they will fight to the end.

Now, because it is estimated that the Rus people are only here to collect tribute, all the tributes have also been placed in a wooden house in advance. The residents who avoided the disaster have already fled, and it is impossible to organize an army.

When the stubborn young son was not paying attention, Brudenier suddenly kicked the young son's calf, forcing him to kneel.

He took advantage of the situation and said: "The great leader, he is really a child. You see that he has already knelt down, can you not let him..."

Otto looked at Vadim's blood-stained forehead. The child's heart was indeed very tough and stubborn, and he even glanced at his mouth, not wanting to look directly at him.

This move really made Otto very angry, but on second thought, this move really made Otto admire.

Almost all people in Novgorod are willing to be a flock of sheep and keep safe by donating their wool. Are there any brave rebels among them? Otto once felt that this kind of person had long been beheaded by the Rus people in the battle of the ancestors. Unexpectedly, the youngest son of the head of Pine Needle Manor became a rare stubborn person.

Why not, forcing a child to kneel down and surrender?

Five hundred subordinates are watching, and bullying a child seems really meaningless.

Otto nodded: "Okay, Brudeni. Your son is reckless, and I have taught him a lesson. He doesn't come to kiss my shoes, you make him kneel."

"Oh, thank you so much." Brudenie quickly complimented.

"It's you now, come here. I'm going to give you some new demands that you have to fulfill completely."

Hearing this, Brudeni used his toes to think about what the Russ wanted to do. The so-called new requirements are nothing more than two things. First, take away more wheat. Second, women.

Since the Russ made a fool of themselves last fall, Brudne believed that the Russ had been eyeing the girls in their manor. Because of his understanding of the Varyags, he did not believe that the Russ would really take the women of Novgorod as wives, and they must be asking for a group of slaves in the name of asking for wives.

The facts are completely unexpected.

Otto said bluntly: "I know you have prepared the tribute. Now you have to pay the most realistic price for your arrogance! I want you to double the tribute!"

"Ah! We... double?!" Brudenie knew that the Russ wanted more money, but he didn't expect it to be doubled.

For many years, every time the Rus came, Pine Needle Manor would pay 80,000 pounds of wheat to the Rus at one time, and 160,000 pounds of sorghum twice a year. The reason why such high requirements are set is because the population of Pine Needle Manor is four times that of White Tree Manor, and the tribute of course has to increase four times.

Although the location of Pine Needle Manor is unique, they have developed a large amount of farmland near the lake. The soil fertility here is better, and the yield of wheat fields has reached a rare one to five, and their grain output is still embarrassing.

The mere equivalent of one acre of 100 catties of oats is a little better than the White Tree Manor.

The usual share of tribute is really a burden for all families.

Now behind the leader of the Rus people is a large number of houses with fire and smoke billowing into the sky. The Rus people actually ask for double the tribute? !

"Why, how dare you object?" Otto deliberately showed the sewing blade, obviously with a single swing, he could cut Brudene's neck.

Even with such a threat, Brudenie was well aware of the excesses of the Rus, and he argued with reason: "Great leader. When the shearing of the spring gathers, the herdsmen will not cut the sheep without a hair. Because spring is still It’s getting colder, and sheep that have lost their wool will freeze to death. You asked us to double the tribute, I’m afraid of my people…”

With that said, Brudenie raised his head and looked at the reality of billowing smoke: "You have burned down many of our houses, and your people have robbed a lot of food. Isn't this punishment enough?"

"Of course it's not enough!" Otto's attitude was still firm, "Even if the ships I brought can't take away your double tribute at all, my order will not change this time. As for how your people will live after paying the tribute, it is Freeze to death or starve to death, what does it have to do with me?"

"This..." Brudenie felt that a huge rock was pressed against his heart, and he didn't know what to say.

This hesitation made Otto very dissatisfied, so he issued an ultimatum: "Brudene, now you have only two choices. Agree to hand over double the tribute, and from now on, the tribute will be doubled, and I will guarantee your safety. If you don't agree, I will completely burn all your houses. Burn all your rations and trample your farmland. If we don't let us do it, you will all starve to death. You choose."

Opposition is death. Brudenie has no choice but to say angrily: "I will. I will raise the double tribute you want as soon as possible."

"Very good." Otto nodded, his attitude softened slightly, "I will give you one day, and tomorrow morning I will take all your double tribute away. Since your people are all fleeing, mine tonight. People live with you and supervise you to get things done."

"Yes, I will definitely do it."