Rise of Rurik

With his hair loose, Arik turned over and got off the boat and returned to his hometown.

With his swords back in their scabbards, with a weather-beaten smile on his face, he took firm steps and opened his arms to welcome the people of his hometown.

"I'm back! I'm sorry to keep you waiting for a long time."

He said as he walked, and his wife Peravina, with her infant child in her arms, walked over quickly in a strong atmosphere of excitement.

Or seeing the return of his father, Asgard, who was only seven months old, his babbling babble, which stimulated Aric's enthusiasm even more.

He hugged his son as if he was hugging the future of everything. After touching his tearful wife's forehead, he continued to hold the child enthusiastically and approached his little brother.

To be honest, seeing a large number of ships of the tribe rushing to the beach with fearlessness, Rurik saw his blood boil, and he subconsciously felt that his cousin had gone through a long war, or looted, and got a lot of booty.

Regarding the controversy of the looting, Rurik no longer wanted to worry about whether or not they were there. The Gotlanders were enemies after all, and their losses had nothing to do with them.

Seeing a large number of soldiers turn over and disembark, most of them are sloppy images, at least they are still huge in number.

Could it be that after a long period of looting, there was almost no loss of one's own people? !

Rurik couldn't hide his excitement, raised his beautiful little head, and looked up at his brother.

"Arik, welcome back. Well, your beard seems to be getting longer."

"Hehe." Arik stretched out his right hand subconsciously and touched the younger brother's face: "Your face is as delicate as the mink on your body. The messenger told me that you have been developing the north, it seems that you are not there. suffer."

"Of course, how can I treat myself badly?"

Arik shrugged: "My lovely brother, your delicate little face is like a girl. I hope you grow up quickly and grow a beard like me, so that you are a real man."

"Ah! Maybe my chest will grow thick hair too, isn't it more powerful?"

Arik was amused and laughed. In fact, as Rurik joked, Arik's chest is now full of golden hairs, and his arms are also full of fine hairs.

There are no lions in the Nordic world,

However, some nobles in Frank have seen male lions from Africa. Therefore, some Frankish warriors who claim to be very brave, they fight with long golden hair and sometimes claim to have lion-like strength, and then wear leopard skins obtained from the European mountains and forests in battle to show their fullness of martial arts.

As long as Arik continues to grow his hair and beard, and as long as he doesn't feel that the flowing hair gets in the way of fighting, then he too can call himself a lion.

With arrogant self-confidence and the joy of returning home, a large number of soldiers spontaneously gathered to their commander Arik.

There are many tribal warriors, and there are some peculiar smells on their bodies in tattered clothes.

Rurik had long since noticed it, and he reckoned that after these guys triumphed, the first thing was to bring the spoils home, and the second thing was to clean themselves well.

Arik continued to caress Rurik's small face: "I have gained a lot this time, a large number of ships as you can see."

Arik casually pointed to those boats that washed ashore, a large number of ships loaded in the warships, they did not have high bows and no masts (the masts were chopped), and the decks were more simple and simple, at best. It's just some long boats.

"I saw it already!"

"How? Do you like it?"

"Hmm..." Rurik couldn't say anything. Although he didn't go directly to the ship for inspection, during the process of washing the beach, he had realized that the quality of these ordinary ships was definitely inferior. For example, the biggest feature of them compared to warships is that the keel is too slender.

Rurik settled down: "How many are they?"

"There are twenty ships!"

Arik can raise his voice, just to show off his illustrious martial arts.

"how do you feel?"

"The number is amazing! Up to twenty ships!" Rurik's little heart was really stimulated, and he looked up at the ships again, and couldn't help but make up a very wonderful picture.

"How? Like it? Oh, you'll keep your promise."

"Of course." Rurik shrugged. "Twenty ships, as long as you bring them back, I'll pay you. Two hundred silver per ship, I'll pay today!"

Originally, Arik felt that it was a bit embarrassing to expect the younger brother to take out the money immediately, after all, it was a total of forty pounds of silver coins!

Unexpectedly, the younger brother is so refreshing, Arik a little blamed himself for worrying that his younger brother would hesitate.

He was in a very good mood. He turned around here and faced the assembled warriors and shouted: "Brothers! Our Rurik has spoken, and he has bought all the ships. Soon you will have everything in your pockets. Get some money!"

The crowd spontaneously gathered around, eagerly hoping to sell the captured fishing boats that had been dragged all the way. They were even worried that the irreparable damage to the boats caused by the battle would attract buyers to Rurik to haggle.

Rurik really lived up to expectations, and he was "Odin's blessing", and his words were loud and clear.

"Arik! Your expedition seems to have no losses?" Rurik's call made the excited Arik twist his body again.

"Of course! You may not believe it when you say it. My subordinates were only injured, and no one died in battle."

His answer was really surprising, although a well-equipped fighter had a very high chance of surviving a bloodbath. Rurik did not feel that his people were inferior in weapons to those of the Gotlanders.

Do not! Wait a minute!

Rurik patronized and talked to his brother, and he noticed his mercenary captain and all twenty mercenaries carrying crossbows out of the corner of his eyes. Their numbers were discernible to the naked eye, and it was evident that they had nothing to lose.

Is there a generational difference in weapons? There must be.

Rurik immediately asked a very crucial question: "Arik, how many enemies did you annihilate in the long battle?"

"This..." Arik estimated, clutching his chin beard, "We attacked at least 40 fishing boats and killed at least 200 of them!"

"Ah?! So many. Since there are forty ships, why did you bring back twenty."

"Because many ships were directly damaged in the battle." Arik pointed to his flagship: "See that thick keel and the bow of the ship? My brother, it seems that you really don't know. What a warship."

"Um?"

"How do you think I fought?"

Rurik thought thoughtfully: "I sent mercenaries to you. You must have directed them to shoot the enemy with a crossbow."

"You're right, but you still don't understand combat at sea. My brother, I commanded a fleet to fight at sea last year. I have plenty of experience! Your crossbow is indeed an excellent weapon, but a lot of Arrows that fall into the sea will never be retrieved. Your mercenaries have almost run out of arrows, and in the end there are not many left."

"It doesn't matter, the arrows are all consumables. If we lose it, we will make a new one. It's not expensive anyway."

not expensive? Arik knew that his brother was born to know how to do business, and he accumulated a lot of wealth for himself through business alone. There is a new difference between him and his brother. He doesn't waste iron tools, but he does so very rarely!

Arik shrugged: "You will always learn to fight at sea in the future! Compared to those fishing boats that usually have only five or six people, my warboat can paddle thirty people at the same time. The speed of the warship is very fast, and the bow is very wide. Very strong. Rurik, you are me, how do you command the battle?"

"Ah!" Rurik suddenly realized: "You just instruct the brothers to hit them directly?!"

"You guessed it! That's why I didn't take all the boats! Many fishing boats were directly hit and sunk by me."

"What about the fishermen who fell into the water?" Rurik went on to ask.

"Those people? The men are all killed, and the women are picked up and transported to Tombstone Island. You know, the brothers stationed there need women very much."

Arik used arrogant words to describe his cruel past, and Rurik no longer felt that it was cruel.

That's the way war is full of bestiality, those so-called Gotland fishermen, of course they are fishermen, but they can be transformed into warriors. In the Nordic world of this era, there really are no civilians. Every man of a tribe has an obligation to defend his tribe from the moment he is born.

The peaceful fjords are immersed in the lively, and the dull life soon has a pleasant conversation.

The people living in the fjords are forced to be closed, especially the large number of female relatives. Their daily labor of tailoring, fetching water, fetching water, and cooking various jobs has tempered their interest. Such a life is always dull. .

Women happily hand over their young children to Rurik for training. The bottom-level logic is that Rurik manages meals so as to save their own expenses, and the second is to focus on whether their children can become better.

The young warriors returned, telling their sisters, wives, and even mothers of their exploits in the crusade against the Gotlanders. They couldn't help but describe how brave they were, how witty the war chief Aric was, and even touted Rurik's mercenaries and their weapons.

The women listened to these interesting stories from the returning warriors for a very good reason, especially after seeing the trophies they brought back, they suddenly ignored the possibility of death brought by the war. In other words, although they are not very willing in principle, facing the consumption of their own materials, they urgently need their men to go out.

The reality is that Rosberg is overcrowded, the nearby hills that can make big boats have been cut down, the nearby woods are generally full of small trees, and the small beasts in the woods have also been captured by hunters.

The fjords are barren and climatically short of frost-free periods, making it impossible for both men and women to be self-sufficient through efficient planting. Fishing and hunting in the north in winter were the economic base of the tribe, and men had to do these very hard jobs.

It has to be said that people's eyes are sharp. Under the command of the great leader Otto and the leadership of Otto's two children, the tribe quickly became strong.

Some small families enjoyed war dividends, and some small families enjoyed industrial development dividends.

Dividends actually benefit all tribal families, including those families with difficulties in life caused by the death of their men in battle or accidental death, and even aging men and women. Two years have passed, and in the modern age, all the tribal people of the Rus who are registered, whether old or young, have really received development dividends.

The returning soldiers brought home not only a batch of captured booty, such as a large number of fishing gear, but also cut canvas from enemy ships, and even worn clothes.

They brought back a lot. In fact, Arik deliberately delayed his return until the sea freezes.

Of course, there is nothing like organizing thousands of soldiers to land directly on the island, slashing the Gotland army, and then directly looting the wealth stored by the islanders, so that everyone will make a fortune. To this day, Arik still believes that the enemy is inferior. He always feels that his uncle Otto forbids him to mobilize the main force of the Ross tribe to fight the enemy. It is a matter of chance.

Because the local fishermen's sweep is to run from one victory to another victory, he is even more firm about the fact that the enemy is inferior.

However, what was very bad was that their actions went too far, forcing Gotland fishermen to dare not fish in the fertile northern waters (because they are at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, which is rich in nutrients). It seems that the fishing grounds are occupied by fishermen from the north, but in reality, fishermen from the Melalen tribe only focus on catching freshwater fish in the lake. They don’t know the war happening on the sea, and because of their inherent knowledge, they dare not venture south.

For a time, the fishing industry in the vast sea became depressed, and the Rus' warships were like cruising sharks, searching for and biting the enemies they encountered.

As time went by, Arik went on for days with nothing, and the days of fishing and fishing made everyone feel bored. In that case, it is better to go back with the spoils as soon as possible.

The seized tools enriched the families of the soldiers. On the still short night on the first day of their return, Arik took a few people and gathered all the people involved in the battle to gather at his door, and then sold them equally in public. Money for loot ships.

Everyone held high the torches soaked in turpentine, and with their wide eyes, they stared at the open suitcase and the reflective silver coins inside.

Rurik had a long family chat with his cousin in his own house during the long day.

The cousin said a lot about the many details of the incident in the southern sea. Rurik listened to the description of the mercenary captain Yevlo by the way, so he had an intuitive understanding of the naval battle, and divided the tactics into three, six, and nine levels.

The so-called, the best strategy is bow collision, the middle strategy is arrow shooting, and the bottom strategy is jumping gang fight.

The two brothers completed the delivery of the ownership of the ship in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Arik had eaten at the leader's house, and even though it was already evening, he still brought the money box to distribute the money.

"Everyone pays attention! Twenty silver coins for each person! Including me, it is also twenty silver coins!"

"We're all brothers, we've been at sea for two months, and we all have to get paid!"

"Attention! Leave after you take the money. Everyone can only take it once. You are not allowed to take your brother's money privately, and offenders will be punished."

...

In fact, Arik was afraid that someone would pretend to be the leader. Rurik and his family were also watching, and seeing the young warriors of the tribe rushing and looting, they couldn't help but feel very sorry.

"Hey! It's very likely that there are guys who fish in troubled waters like this! Fortunately, my people have been forced to train to understand the truth of queuing."

After all, they were madmen who fought with Arik, and Rurik was just watching. How Arik sent money was his business, and had nothing to do with him.

The only thing that caught Rurik's keen attention was what Arik called generosity.

As a commander, you really want to split the 4,000 silver coins from selling fishing boats? !

Of course, the mercenaries belonged to Rurik, and they could only get the reward from the master. Regarding the reward for Yevluo and others, Rurik has already paid out the bonus. The so-called bonus is actually 20 silver coins. Wages for two months of expatriate combat, plus a food allowance of five silver coins.

Arik really only took twenty silver coins, and within a short time, the heavy box became empty. Rurik actually thought too much. These warriors have been fighting side by side for a long time. Everyone was angry at the villain who covets the spoils of his comrades. Now he is commanding Aric to set an example of seeking fairness, and no one has the idea of ​​greed.

So, is Arik really generous?

Of course he was generous.

Rurik naturally also saw the deeper situation: rather than getting real silver and gold coins, the cousin now lies more in personal prestige.

"You crave glory? Of course, so do I. We're on a different path at the moment, and I'm afraid I'm still the victor forever."