Rise of Rurik

The long, hard ships seemed to capsize as soon as a big wave hit, because they were carrying so much cargo.

In 830, the long Sorgon voyage that spanned the entire summer, finally ushered in the end of the harvest.

The huge fleet rushed to the west and gradually disappeared from the sight of people on the shore.

The settlers who continued to operate New Roseburg, who continued to build the soon-to-be-completed wall, waited for winter to come.

Thinking of the past few days, Rurik, who was sitting on the "leader ship" with a carved dragon head, couldn't help but think more.

The weak north wind is not so hurtful at present. He looked at the rowers behind him. He was sitting in the cramped seat. In order to keep the center of gravity of the boat stable, the sacks loaded with grain were placed in the center and parallel to the keel. . Many were already shirtless, and even with the cool breeze, the sun shone on their muscular arms, showing their perspiration visibly.

The New Rose Fort is just behind, and the wooden fence that has been erected has become an obvious landmark.

Everything is just the beginning. Rurik believes that Konusson will act according to his city plan. Maybe ten years later, a fortified city wall built of stone will be able to rise on the Neva River. Those were more distant things, like he saw a fleet pass by a deserted island. It's Kotlin Island, with some rocks on it.

It must be said that Rurik was in great need of solid granite for construction.

Kotlin Island is not excellent granite, but some soft sandstone, which has been weathered and eroded year by year, and has covered the island with a layer of sand.

"Maybe I should name it Kronstadt from now on."

There is no fresh water on the island, and the fleet has no intention of docking here.

Because Arik and his brothers attacked the seaside village of a group of Estonian tribes, the Russ won an absolute victory without any deaths. Because of this, Otto had no idea of ​​stopping at the southern shore of the bay to rest.

If he brought his army to conquer him, he would be fearless, but now the huge fleet is escorting 200,000 pounds of grain and other materials. A large group of non-combatants is a drag, and Otto doesn't want any kind of harassment, he needs to find a safe anchorage.

There are especially some children from Novgorod, and some young local women.

To put it bluntly, these Slavs were all sold to the Rus by their parents,

They already believed that their children being slaves to the Rus looked like slaves, but actually they could lead a better life. In this way, when they betray their children, they can comfort themselves and not feel too distressed.

The fleet carried a large amount of food, which was the spoils of war for every warrior who participated in Sorgon.

A group of children are all servants rewarded to their sons. Both boys and girls, they must devote themselves to future training and labor within their ability. Really expect a myth and legend to win people's hearts, Otto does not think it is a panacea. He would like to see Rurik train his forces so that the family can truly veto the ancient tradition of men dueling for leaders.

Otto is even more responsible for the job of the "moon elder", and one of the means to win over people's hearts is to solve the marriage problem of the young men of the tribe. Although everyone's living standards have improved in the past two years, young couples will no longer take the initiative to deal with their newly born daughters, and the gender ratio of the tribe has begun to stabilize.

The young boys of the previous generation did not all marry, and even many powerful men were capable of marrying a second wife.

Isn't it a matter of course to introduce them to wives and receive some money from them by the way?

For these reasons, in order to avoid any accident, the fleet could not dock on the shores of the mainland.

Is it, then, that the all-important fresh water for the long voyage is obtained entirely from the Neva and stored in pottery urns and individual warriors' stomach sacs?

It doesn't have to be that way.

There are many islands in the east-west narrow Gulf of Finland, some of which are large in size with fresh water.

Among the many islands, Moshine is quite unique.

Otto had long known that the island, with its two coves, was ideal as an anchorage for sailing fleets and as a resting place for those on board. What's even more wonderful is that there is an extremely rare huge freshwater lake on the island, which has really become a supply holy place.

If it was just to hurry, Otto had no intention of stopping here.

It is entirely because the personnel and materials transported this time have reached the most extreme situation in the countless voyages he has led. Of course, for the time being, it is impossible to imagine that his son's first shot is more extreme.

The longship is not a good transport ship, it is only a cameo for that role.

Because of the direction of the wind, Otto found himself unable to use the wind to move the longship fast in the bay where the thing was heading. Only by entering the Gulf of Bothnia, which runs north-south, can it be easy to go against the wind.

However, who said that when the north wind is blowing, the sailboat cannot go due west? Rurik looked at the fleet's single-sided sails, which were not the kind of jibs that could take advantage of the wind in all directions and sail as they wished, so they shouldn't have high expectations. The best sailors can steer the existing sails in unfavorable wind conditions, and the best sailors need long training. Gould has raised a group of people. It wasn't Gould's point of view, it was simply a waste of money to hire a large number of rowers, and that large cargo ships were not suitable for paddling. It can be described as a pure sailboat, which gave birth to professional sailors who make a living by sailing.

The Ruth Warriors' arms, almost as strong as their legs, proved that they were master paddlers, and to juggle raiding, hunting, and fishing, they couldn't learn to steer the sails.

However, the fleet is already overweight like never before. They are full of energy in the morning, and in the afternoon, they endure the boring paddling with stamina. Although some ships sang folk songs to try to relieve boredom, and even the accompanying Novgorod women sang local folk songs, all the songs could not reduce the fatigue of the arms.

Otto saw the fatigue of his subordinates.

He stood on the bow, holding the wooden carving of the terrifying snake head at the bow, his bearded face brightened by the soft light of the setting sun, which was completely different from the tired appearance of others.

After all, no one would complain that the big chief did not act as a rower himself.

"Brothers, work harder! I'm going to stop at Tamsui Island. I know you're all tired. When we get to the shore, we gorge on wheat and drink water! There are still a lot of bass in that lake. We can catch it! Tonight we drink porridge and eat grilled fish, and have a good rest!"

The sailing can be regarded as hopeful. The leader's lead ship made an exciting roar, and the following ships did not know what happened. Adhering to the tacit understanding of the past, and the fact that it was getting late, it seemed that the fleet was about to dock for a rest. .

Dock? Which shore is it?

The fleet had just passed a road with a huge sandy beach. At first, everyone thought it was a docking place, and they never wanted to lead the ship to bypass it and move on.

Otto would not risk docking, especially since the returning fleet consisted of only 700 people. The presence of a large number of women, children and supplies made him have to find a reliable docking and supply point.

A reliable island lies ahead.

The "freshwater island" as the destination is actually Moshine Island. On the east side of the island is a small island shaped like a dagger. The two islands are like twins, they are easy to distinguish.

After a while, led by the lead ship, the fleet followed the rising tide in the evening and deliberately ran aground on the sandy beach in the south of the island, and then a large number of people went ashore.

The people who landed were like wild horses. Those who knew something about the island, um, rushed to the center of the island with their own water bags. A large number of unknown people followed closely. They only walked less than 300 meters in the woods when they saw the dreamy lake.

They paddled almost non-stop throughout the day, nibbling on pre-made oatmeal and jerky, sipping on the water they prepared, but hardly anyone went to the toilet. Not indecent, but really out of stock.

Many people were unbearably thirsty. When they saw the lake, they knelt down by the lake like a deer and drank the water directly, whether it was clean or not. Others have picked up the hemp nets they carry with them and are trying to fish in the lake.

Under the night, young warriors with backaches sat around the bonfire, waiting for the tossing wheat in the pottery urn to cook.

Originally, the wheat under everyone's control was shared proportionally, so it is only natural that everyone's wheat should be eaten.

The 200,000 pounds of Novgorod's hulled oats that Otto looted, so much wealth Otto was also greedy, he asked for half of it as the wealth of the chief family, plus the collection from Novgorod Fort. In the first year of the agricultural tax, although there is only about 10,000 pounds of wheat, it is a solid wealth, and it is a very stable source of wealth with huge development potential.

Absolute power brings about such a result. Although it is an extreme distribution method, Otto feels that he has taken good care of his subordinates.

Each young warrior was given at least one hundred and sixty pounds of wheat, so it seemed that everyone was not getting much.

In fact, what they benefited from Sorgon was not simple wheat. Young people are happy to follow the leader, to gain insight on the voyage, and more importantly to get a woman to be his wife. All this wheat is free, it is their pure gain. To know the time the entire Sorgon team stayed in the East, they mainly relied on the locals to provide supplies. In the days of New Roseburg, everyone estimated that they were related to the same family, and they would go offshore to fish and catch rabbits in the woods. In Novgorod, the army's food and drink expenses are of course completely dependent on the locals, especially the retaliatory request for the pine needle manor to provide most of the provisions.

They gorged on the boiled wheat, and the women accompanying them were asked to grind some of the wheat with a stone-mill rod brought from their homeland, and to make some wheat cakes from semolina.

The aroma of wheat and grilled fish permeated the beach. The belly of the warriors clapped like a stone. They were already tired and fell asleep around the bonfire because of the low blood sugar after overeating carbs.

Together with his father Otto, they were all wrapped up in blankets and quickly fell asleep.

"Damn, I thought you guys wanted to have some kind of bonfire party. I really thought too much."

Rurik didn't want to go to bed so early, he ate only a small bowl of porridge, and sat on the dry gravel by the sea, listening to the waves and watching the moonlight and stars, and the rows of boats.

"What do you think?" Arik came with a wooden bowl and sat next to his brother again.

"It's too lack of vigilance."

"Um?"

"I mean father and the others. If there's an enemy raid, we sleepy guys are in danger."

Arik was speechless for a moment and laughed, "Your idea is too naive, is there any force in this sea that knows how to navigate better than us? Who are you worried about? The Finns? Or those Estonians you said? Look, this is This island is already our territory, I never knew there was a lake here, it seems that we should stop here first for our future voyages.”

"Let's be more vigilant." Rurik shrugged, as if he was unfounded.

Arik swallowed his third bowl of porridge in two bites, and said casually, "Damn it, who would have thought the boat would be so heavy? Look at the brothers, is it normal for them to sleep soundly after eating? "

"How about that?" Rurik turned his head back again. "They don't catch cold when they're wrapped in leather."

"They're too tired, maybe we'll have a good day off on this island."

"Huh?" Rurik was taken aback. "The chief didn't plan to do this."

Arik looked helpless: "Unless there is a south wind tomorrow. In my opinion, everyone should rest their arms."

south wind? easier said than done? It's simply not possible.

Rurik knew too well the basic geography of northern Europe. There was no mountain range in it, so the north wind could blow endlessly in autumn and winter.

Otto didn't tell himself about future sailing plans, maybe he told Arik?

"Brother, you said our next voyage..."

"Of course be prepared, we are going straight to the west, maybe we won't go to the second stop before reaching Tombstone Island."

"Ah?!" For a moment, Rurik felt that this was unreliable.

"Don't be in a daze." Arik pointed to a group of children who were gathered around a huge campfire and curled up to sleep, "You know the Novgorod language well, you can talk to your new servants. Haha, seeing that girl has potential, you can cultivate well. You know the attitude of the leader..."

Rurik gritted his teeth. He didn't feel any shame at all. He also felt that once he was in control of the supreme power, he would have no sense of etiquette. He really wanted to marry as many as he wanted. For the time being, he doesn't care about the matter of men and women. Now, there is nothing more urgent than making the Ross tribe's comprehensive strength take off.

Everything is just as Arik's prophecy, when everyone stops exercising, the overdrawn body begins to send danger signals to the mind.

Early in the morning, a large number of young warriors complained to the chief about their sore arms.

"Ridiculous! You are afraid of paddling?! You never complained when you went to New Roseburg! Could the enemy stop attacking because of your poor health!"

Otto didn't care about the exhaustion of his people, he forced everyone to board the ship, even if he was not physically fit, the voyage had to continue.

Here Otto ignores the voyages on the Volkhov, Ladoga and Neva rivers, which are completely different things from sailing at sea. In the previous voyages, you almost didn’t need to paddle, and the river water alone pushed the fully loaded boats forward, especially in the Neva River, even in the dry season, it can make the boats move forward quickly.

Once in the ocean, driving the overloaded longship forward, the mortal Rus must be exhausted.

Forcing will naturally not have good results. The team was delayed when boarding the ship, and everyone was resentful. When it came time to paddle, everyone's embarrassed faces made Otto realize his mistake.

During the entire day, the fleet had only advanced thirty nautical miles, and before evening, everyone was forced to dock on a larger island.

She is the largest island in the Gulf of Finland, Gogland.