Rise of Rurik

Any discerning ruler will realize the important strategic value of Gogran Island.

Her geographical location is in the middle of the Gulf of Finland, and historically, she was one of the hot spots in the battle between the Russian tsarist state and the Swedish kingdom.

There used to be Fen ancestors who built small settlements on the islands. With the change of climate, the water in the Gulf of Finland has become more and more, and the islands are too far from the mainland. Those Finns and Estonians who only know how to make canoes at present are unable to do so. Go too far from the coast, and there is no need for adventure.

In history, the Vikings discovered Gogland Island, specifically a Dane who believed in God. His name is the character Gog in the quoted Bible, so a small number of Danish immigrants established on the island. Small fishing village and named Gognd after the first settlers.

Soon after the Rus, who also belonged to the Vikings, established Kievan Rus, under the administration of the "Saint" Grand Duke Yaroslav, the Rus army actively expanded its power and collected taxes in Estonia. From then on, islands with strategic value in the Gulf of Finland, All began to be controlled by Kievan Rus.

If all of this is the inevitability of history, then Otto led a tired fleet to land on Gogran Island in the late autumn of 830, which was a historic conquest.

Maybe at first Otto just wanted to find a place to rest for his distressed subordinates. On the vast sea, she can be used as a landing and resting place, which is remembered by all the Rus.

The Rus people have long known the existence of this island, and even more that it is a barren place.

Only when the Rus really united with the Slavs to build a huge country did they realize how important this barren island was to the control of the Gulf of Finland.

Now, the Rus people are not interested in it, at most as a safe place for temporary docking. In previous years, Otto also brought a fleet of ships to dock here. They only took them on the pebble beach in the south of the island for one night, and they were driven away by the stone.

The Rus did not explore the island at all, in fact, everyone felt that it was unnecessary to explore. There are four hills full of stones on the island, and a small number of pine and birch can hardly survive, so the forest is also sparse.

People who landed were looking for a soft sandy beach, but there were only a lot of pebbles.

Everyone brought a shovel in despair, digging and ramming, and after leveling a place to stand, lay down on leather to rest their tired bodies.

The bonfires were burned one after another, fueled by some felled pine trees rich in grease.

those women and children,

Ordered by Otto to cook wheat for the weary warriors, in return they will receive enough porridge to fill their stomachs.

For the rare meal, they work diligently. Especially these Novgorod women who are to be married, they are very clear that getting on the ship of the Rus is to cut off everything in the past. Even if each manor has an inexhaustible relationship, they are all women who were abandoned by their parents and the manor. What they can hope for now is that the future Rus husband will treat his wife as kindly as the legend.

The skills of these women in cooking wheat are not to be mentioned. If they can have an oven made of clay, they can put some effort into making a large leba that can last for ten days and a half months.

Tired people all hope to find a piece of natural sandy land as their shelter tonight, they have to level some pebbles, eat the wheat cooked by the woman and lie down and sleep.

They felt that the stone was extremely redundant, but in Rurik's eyes, wasn't that what he dreamed of?

"The beach is actually full of pebbles that have been weathered and eroded by the sea? Isn't the hinterland of the island..."

Otto, sitting by the campfire, used resin to shave the shredded fish between his teeth. The warriors under his command looked really exhausted, and he even felt a little sorry for himself.

Otto made a decision and spent the day resting on the rocky island.

Regarding the next voyage, he discussed with his nephew Arik, and the next berth was the one where Arik and his men spent the night, which is the so-called Naisal Island.

Maybe after a day's rest, everyone's energy and physical strength can be recovered well?

Rurik was a little tired. After realizing the huge stone resources of the island, that tiredness was gone.

Holding the wooden bowl in which he had eaten half of the porridge, he approached his father.

"Didn't those women lay a blanket for you? Your brother is asleep, you should rest too." Otto said with a glance.

"It's all sleepy." Rurik sat beside his father, put down the wooden bowl and picked up the pebbles on the ground. The island seems to be full of stones. "

"so what?"

"I have an idea."

"Tell me about it." Otto threw the branch, wanting to hear his son's advice.

Rurik then pointed to the east: "New Roseburg is still building its walls with wood, and a lot of buildings are also made of wood. I think these are all expedients. You know my plan, I will use stone to build the walls of New Roseburg. Conuson said that the stones are hard to find, and I think this island is our quarry."

"Huh? You want to use this island?"

"right."

Otto pinched his beard. For building a wall or something, building a wooden wall should be enough. "Rurik, you should know that building a wall with stones is a tough job, do you think it is necessary?"

"It is very necessary. I just hope that New Roseburg can become a solid city, and I think it is natural to strengthen the defense of our future core by any means. Besides, we still need to pave the road with stones."

Whether it was building stone walls, stone houses, or stone roads, Otto didn't think they were necessary.

"Maybe, we shouldn't be too hasty. Rurik, I think you are too impatient." Otto reminded kindly. "In my opinion, the rammed earth road is enough. You know, there is no road even in our hometown of Roseburg. Why do you have to ask too much?"

"That's because you don't care!" Rurik was a little excited.

"Huh? If it's not necessary, why should I care."

"But for Novo Roseburg, we have to care. Oops, it's just a matter of wrapping it up on me." Rurik didn't want to argue any more: "Dad, what's the name of this island?"

"Name?" Otto shrugged. "A deserted island full of stones with a name?"

"Then call her Stieno."

"Alright."

Rurik picked up his job again: "Tomorrow I'll make up my mind. I'll take my mercenaries to the depths of the island to take a look. The stone island seems to be very large. If we can find gold and silver mines, even iron mines. Excellent too."

Is this what your son thinks? Otto didn't know whether to be happy or puzzled. Is this kid naturally fond of discovering ores, or is he too close to the blacksmiths? Is Rurik going to make a cameo role as a prospector?

It would be great if you found something good.

Otto rubbed his son's smooth little head: "Go ahead, Yevro has experienced many battles, and you let him protect you. It's better to find some good things for me, and remember to come back in the evening."

With his father's approval, Rurik prided himself on being an explorer with confidence.

Those elite veterans from Tombstone Island under Arik's command, the long rowing made them tired. Not to mention the army of Sorgon who had been pampered in Novgorod for two months, and then feasted in Novgorod, the strong and young bellies swelled, and they had unprecedented possessions. A little belly fat.

The privilege of the strong is to open their stomachs to eat wheat! Even if oatmeal is a low-sugar food in future generations, it is more of a gimmick. Many young fighters have accumulated some fat, which makes them more resistant to cold and better able to survive arctic winters, but also reduces their physical strength.

The sun rose, and the sun quickly cleared the sea fog.

The beach was full of languid people, who continued to sleep in blankets. As for the women and children, they continued to obey Otto's orders, taking their time to grind the wheat for the entire fleet, and to bake the loaves of wheat by burning them hot with the stones they could get anywhere. All the pottery urns brought were filled with fresh water brought from the previous island. Since they knew the next stop, not many people really cherish fresh water now. The oatmeal was churning in the pottery urn, and Otto deliberately asked the women to speed up the cooking. When the soldiers could drink the mashed oatmeal at noon, that would be the real delicacy.

The next berth was Naisal Island. Since it only took a short voyage to reach the mouth of a river, it was extremely simple to obtain fresh water. Even if the leader didn't want to be harassed by the Estonians at the wrong time, Arik volunteered, and when he arrived at the next berth, he would row with his brothers to get water, so Otto didn't want to interfere with the current water issue.

Yevlo originally refused the unexpected expedition. He also participated in the long paddling, and he had to obey the master's order because of his great physical exhaustion. Rick explores inland of the island.

Rurik brought all the mercenaries with him on this trip, and he moved as if he was going to fight beasts.

Is there a bird bigger than a turtledove, or a beast bigger than a rat, on a small island?

Ferocious beasts shouldn't and couldn't be here, Rurik himself was in good spirits, and he wanted to shoot a bird or two in the woods to be the game of the night.

They walked on the pebbly shore, and the whole procession proceeded in a counter-clockwise direction, all the way north on the eastern beach of the island.

The north wind was blowing on everyone's faces, and the sound of sea waves echoed in our ears.

"Sir, you want a lot of stones. I think these stones are enough to build New Rose Fort." The bored Yevro said suddenly.

"I know, these stones are very good." Rurik patronized his way forward on the huge rocky terrace of the beach. "Be careful not to slap your feet."

"Then send some people to mine the stones. My lord, as long as you are willing to give some money, the brothers are willing to do it."

"You?" Rurik stopped, he didn't know if Yevlo's words were intentional or just unintentional. "Forget it. I want you to crusade the enemy, not to be masons. Mining stones is a must, maybe we should send a group of Novgorodians over, or relocate some Kovins, and dig stones for me ."

"In my opinion, you can go to Melalen and recruit some people."

Maybe a mercenary captain shouldn't talk so much. Rurik was a little displeased at first. Hearing Yevlo's words, he had to think about it.

What will happen to Melalen next year? Rurik estimated that many people would go hungry, but fortunately they were close to the Great Lake, and they should not starve to death by relying on fishing. Are they willing to be poor? Digging the corners of the Melalen tribe was regarded as a policy by Rurik. After the extremely poor children were collected by themselves, the next step should be to develop those adults and invite them to board the ships of the Rus to explore the East.

The expedition north along the coast seemed aimless, and Rurik kept an eye on the rocks everywhere. Look at this island, it must be a boulder that was forcibly lifted from the earth's crust by a geological event. Unlike the flat island that I experienced before, this island actually has mountains.

They walked for a while, and an incredible thing came into view.

"Huh? How big is this island? How come there are streams?"

Completely different from Rurik's surprise was the excited expressions of the mercenaries.

Yevluo pursed his lips: "I thought I really wanted to go to the southern coast of the mainland to find a river to get water, but I didn't expect that this island actually has a stream."

"Yeah, it looks like the leader's plan needs to be revised." After that, Rurik shook his neck: "Let's follow the stream to the source."

They walked on the land on both sides of the stream and began to really go deep into the hinterland of the island. After walking just over a kilometer, a small lake came into view.

Nordic lakes get cold quickly, so they don't nourish a lot of duckweed. Gogran Island has four larger lakes and a small pool, replenished by seasonal precipitation, the largest of which Rurik is now witnessing.

Amber is flanked by tall mounds, due west on sunny days and white clouds.

"Looks like it's the middle of the island," judged the seasoned Yevro.

Rurik felt a little tired, he twisted his waist hard, and sat casually on the soft pine needle cushion by the river: "I thought the island was very big. Haha, it was a pleasant surprise to find a small lake. Yevro, look at the two sides of the lake. The mountains are actually full of stones."

Yevro let out a long sigh of relief: "In my opinion, the entire island is a boulder. The forest here is not dense, and now I have seen a few birds, and there is no beast." After that, he looked at his bow : "I worry too much."

Rurik shrugged: "If you explore again, maybe you can get some unexpected rewards. Haha, maybe you can dig up some delicious truffles."

People who have nothing to do are of course wandering freely after resting for a while. When Yevlo avoided going to the toilet, after shaking his body, he noticed a tree not far away that was completely different from a pine tree.

It is so tall and fluffy, and its twisted trunk is completely different from the red pine. Take a closer look, and there are many such trees by the lake.

A special feeling drove him forward. He shook a small tree like his forearm, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the trunk was quite elastic. He chopped it down without hesitation, cut off some twigs, and happily carried it towards his master.

Rurik, who was eating some wheat cakes to replenish his strength, saw Yevlo returning with something strange, and asked casually, "Did you find something precious?"

"There's a baby! That's it."

Yevro showed the branches he had obtained, causing Rurik to look puzzled. "What do you want branches for?"

"Make a bow! Haha, do you know what kind of tree this is?"

"What is it?"

"It's an ash tree."

"Gray tree?" Rurik was even more puzzled. He was not a botanist, and the Old Norse description of the tree was even less clear. "What can it do?"

"It's a good material for a short hunting bow, and every hunter wants it, but it's not easy to find. The people of my homeland, and you Ruth people, make bows out of oak. In my opinion, Or ash trees are the most suitable."

Yevlo kept mentioning the word "gray". Rurik took a closer look at the felled tree. Of course, he couldn't judge its true identity. Yevlo tried to bend the branch and it bounced back violently. , Rurik's intuition was buzzing.

"Ah! This stuff is really good stuff for a bow. Where did you get it?"

"It's over there." Yevlo pointed to the lake. "Sir, what are your instructions?"

Rurik slapped his thigh and said excitedly: "I just thought that this exploration would be rewarding! We actually found a good material for making bows. Go, cut down all the ash trees on the left and right and take them away."