Rise of Rurik

Otto naturally regarded hydraulic forging as a manifestation of miracles, so the Iron Squirrel tribe was able to produce a large amount of iron, which must have shown the gods' favor for the Ross people. He became more confident and extremely happy.

Those axes and spearheads were sorted and packed for the second time, and began to be thrown onto the ship one after another.

When he came to this former campsite again, he was eager to go to some "famous scenic spots" to take a good look, such as riding on a two-wheeled cart pulled by reindeer, walking on the dirt road that was cut hard by the tribal people with an axe, Go straight to the mine not far away.

Of course Rurik was also one of the visitors, almost all of them, including the mercenaries under his command, came.

The forest in early winter was extremely quiet. At this time, Yefro was carrying a short wooden bow, with an arrow on the bowstring all the time.

Contrary to Yeflo's nervousness, Otto treated everything that followed with a rather lazy look. He just sat cross-legged on the small car, not caring about the bumps under him.

It is already the third day of arrival, as long as we stand on the top of the mine again, reminisce about the previous battles, and overlook the world that has not been covered by snow, the trip should come to an end.

"You don't need to be too nervous, don't you still worry about bears?" Otto said casually.

He didn't dare to let go of Yevro's arrow, "Boss, there are many bears here, and we may encounter wolves. We'd better be careful."

"Ridiculous, we should run away when the bears see them. Oh, they better show up so I can eat bears tonight."

"Be careful." Yevro's vigilance remained undiminished, "Those brown bears, they will attack any prey in order to hibernate. They are just all animals, and they don't know how powerful we are."

Otto shrugged, not wanting to talk nonsense. But for a mercenary to be so vigilant, it really reassures the master.

The dirt road just cut down the tree and dug up some of the roots. How are they going to clear all the tree stumps from the roads, in the spirit of a small population throughout Allenburg? Even more amazing, some seemingly dead tree stumps have grown new branches.

Otto felt uncomfortable in his ass, and the dangling feeling made him fall asleep.

No, Rurik was already wrapped in a deerskin blanket, snuggled up to Otto's side, and rested on his leg.

Jefro was worried about encountering a bear, so he looked at the short wooden bow in his hand, and with this simple weapon, he just hunted a snow rabbit. The best way to hunt bears is still the spear and crossbow.

It is true that the group of armed people were not afraid of bears, but they encountered strange pedestrians in their dumbfounded.

good,

This road is not exclusive to the Otto team today.

There are two reindeer carts, each pulled by a deer. The imperial steward is not some bad old man, but a child in a thick leather suit. There are a lot of shiny black stones pulled on the cart, which are obviously ore.

When the child saw a group of people with weapons, he stayed where he was, trembling subconsciously.

"Why are children pulling ore?" Otto muttered, ordering his subordinates not to pester them.

As the team grew farther and farther away, Otto's ears were filled with discussions from his subordinates.

Otto turned his head curiously again, and saw the two small cars passing through the rough road quickly, even though the car was pulling heavy mines, this incident fully proved that although they were children, they were also a group of veterans.

The mine is just ahead! All the trees that blocked the view disappeared, and Otto saw the hill, and also saw a small mountain fort suddenly standing under the hill.

Rurik was awakened by his father's shaking: "Don't sleep, we are here."

"Oh, it's their cemetery hill castle." Rurik rubbed his eyes, and the noun he said caught Otto's strong attention.

"Huh? Tomb? Fort?"

"Yes, that's the name of this settlement. They... are the enemies we killed last year. They are members of the gray squirrel tribe. I built a cemetery for them under the hill."

"You...you're really boring." Otto really couldn't say anything, but when he really went to the place and saw the attitude of the local people, Otto realized something.

The woman named Polla, who is good at dressing up as an owl, is the only priestess of the entire tribe.

Otto was a little curious, why just seeing Mechasta kneel down, their priest ran here to preside over the mining of those women and children.

He thought the abilities of the women and children were extremely clumsy, but Otto had to admire this group of people only when he really stood on the hill and saw the excavation marks everywhere.

Those tribal women held hammers or iron axes to hammer and hammer big stones.

A group of children dressed like little bears were lying on the ground one after another. They had thick leather pads sewn on their knees and simple gloves on their hands. They picked up the stones crushed by the women and threw them into the pain basket. In the end, they were basically The child carried the basket down the hill.

Otto didn't think it was admirable, and Rurik didn't think it was wrong now.

The era is such an era. Any tribe or tribe, even if a child is only five years old, must help the family with housework and material production. The pressure of paying tribute is on every ordinary person of the Iron Squirrel Tribe, and everyone, even a child, has to work hard for it.

It must not be ignored that they are also a kind of labor just because they are children.

It is the women and children of the tribe who are responsible for the mining and transportation of ore. This matter naturally made Otto think a lot.

These children walking past him carrying rattan baskets full of ore, in a trance, there is also the shadow of Kawei in his childhood.

That is an excellent young blacksmith, and perhaps the most potential blacksmith of the entire Ross tribe at present and in the future. When he was very young, he was taken by his father into the mountains near Roseburg. The boy started from carrying stones and gradually became a good blacksmith today.

I am afraid that these working boys will become good ironware, and the whole Fort Eron Orava will also become a real blacksmith city.

Otto didn't dare to expect too much about the future. He wanted to live a long life, but he didn't know whether God would give him a chance.

Standing on the only commanding height, Otto overlooks the whole world. He squinted his eyes, and under the only "scorching sun" that brought him a little warmth at noon, he saw a huge bay and the increasingly blurred sea horizon.

To the north of the hills, the river named Arron still flows peacefully. Last time, it was still a glacier where people could walk, so is it starting to freeze? The answer is yes.

Otto didn't want to stay any longer. Standing on the top of the hill, he took off his fur hat, revealing his thinning hair. He caressed his son's shoulder: "Sure enough, we didn't miss it. This mine belongs to us. Is it right to let a group of women and children continue mining?"

Rurik felt a little uncomfortable being pressed by his father, he broke free and helplessly dried his hands: "Then relocate some people."

"Let our people come?"

"They want to come here?"

Otto was amused by Rurik's rhetorical question: "Yes, with the warm New Roseburg here, how could they immigrate to the cold here?"

"We still need to relocate some people. That's right!" Rurik stomped his feet suddenly, "Let those deer breeders! Let that uncle of Rumia bring all the deer breeders."

"They? Are they slaves? What are you going to do? Continue mining? You can really joke, they are forced to mine, you say save them, and now let them mine?"

Rurik froze for a moment. He wanted to talk about this moment and that moment, but in an instant he thought of one thing, something he would definitely do from the standpoint of a deer breeder.

"Our herd."

"The herd?"

"Yes. Soon, it will be the winter grazing time for the deer breeders." Rurik pointed to the land in the north, "Dad, you should understand that the winter pasture over there is very important to the deer breeders."

"Oh, you're breeding those deer? What do you want me to do?"

"Let them drive the deer to move here. I think it is most suitable for Arsaka and his people to settle in Fort Eron. This area is their hometown, and they are very familiar with it."

Otto shook his head and smiled wryly, feeling unreliable: "Aren't you afraid that they will run away?"

"It doesn't matter, we keep their children. Those deermen's children have to be trained by me in Roseburg. I don't believe they will leave their children when they run away."

"You!" Otto froze for a moment. "You kid... you're quite ruthless."

Rurik said with a calm face, "Those children are hostages. I believe they are smart people. If they can pay some tribute, they can live well. They are crazy to escape."

Otto also kept a blank face, he felt that his son had other plans.

Originally, Otto set the departure date for tomorrow, and he was worried about a sudden snowfall attack, or the sudden freezing of the river and the sea. He needs to hold a small meeting, call his cronies to arrange matters, and leave Elronburg along the cold north before noon tomorrow.

When it started to darken, Otto had already returned to his warm abode.

The leader must have a "palace" in any settlement controlled by the tribe. Since the chief mansion in Eronburg and the one in Roseburg were both designed by Rurik himself, there is naturally an astonishing similarity between the two.

Otto sat in the hall, and he felt that the difference from sitting at home was not very big. It was a pile of stuffed bear heads hanging on the wall of the hall, which fully demonstrated the great achievements of the leader's family, and he wished he could display such a display in Roseburg's home.

Maybe, as long as the people here continue to kill a batch of bears.

Now, both Mechasta and Priest Paula were summoned here by Otto. Representatives of a group of Ross fishermen who settled there were also called to attend this small meeting.

What will the meeting discuss?

Otto made an impromptu speech, in addition to praising the loyalty of the Iron Squirrel tribe, he also encouraged the settled Ross people. It is that his words lack the power of "making a big cake" like Rurik, and are basically an exposition of established facts.

What did you say? Rurik was also sitting in the hall, and he felt that Papa's true love for New Roseburg could be described in all the beautiful words he knew. For Allenburg, it seems that it can only be a settlement that produces ironware.

Otto finally said the most important thing, especially to Mechasta. Even if everyone already understood the matter, Otto would like to emphasize it again.

"I saw your warehouses, you have hoarded a lot of fish, I think you can eat them all with your appetite alone? I will keep my promise and reward you with a valuable batch of wheat. But you, Mechasta. Very The winter hunting of our Ross people is about to begin, and hundreds of the strongest warriors of the tribe will be stationed in your mountain castle, and you must take good care of them."

"Yes!" Mechasta gritted his teeth, he really had no choice but to agree.

Only Mechasta knows the people of the Iron Squirrel tribe best. They are essentially afraid of the Ross warriors. Unless these warriors are the subordinates of the boy Rurik, they will feel at ease. Most of the Ross people brought plunder and killing, only Rurik was an outlier among them, and seemed to be the only reasonable and good person.

When Sepporava met her father and clansmen, she did not hesitate to tell everyone what she had seen and heard in Roseburg.

What are the consequences of this?

Rurik himself didn't realize that his reputation in Elronburg was better. Given that he has a marriage contract with Saborava, the tribal people are willing to treat Rurik as one of their own.

Otto continued: "All your goods have been loaded, and we will leave tomorrow. I saw that you are still stockpiling ore. Do you plan to continue smelting in winter?"

"Yes, big boss. According to our contract with Rurik, next year we will provide double the tribute. In order to deliver the tribute earlier, we need to work hard."

"You are very smart, and you will naturally be rewarded for pleasing us. However, you need to prepare now."

"Willing to serve you."

Mechasta was respectful on the surface, but secretly scolded Otto as a bad person in his heart, and was always worried that this person would make some harsh demands.

But what should come is still here.

Otto asked the tribesmen to build more wooden houses, so that they could be handed over to the Ross hunters who were hunting in winter. Fort Allon is certainly the "city of blacksmiths", and in the years to come, Fort Allon will also be a stronghold for hunting by the Ross people.

Otto announced a very definite time: "When our Hanukkah is over, when the day of total darkness has passed, I will return with a large number of people, and with my Rurik. Before I arrive, you The owner, Rurik, said that there will be a group of deer breeders arriving early to drive the deer. They will also use Fort Eyron as a starting point for grazing."

Mechasta does not object to the residence of those deer breeders, and those deer breeders, Mechasta, are not aware of their identities? He had a conversation with the leader of the deer breeders, and everyone became servants of the Ross people, and the two ethnic groups themselves did not have to meet to fight. In this regard, Rurik skillfully mediated, saying "You have a similar language means that you have a common ancestor", which completely narrowed the relationship between the two ethnic groups.

Especially Arsaka, who is very concerned about kinship, has forgotten that he was once enslaved by the Iron Squirrel tribe.

Those deer breeders really like to set up tents and fences in the wilderness. Everything is for the convenience of grazing. There has never been any economic competition between them and the Kewen people. They can even trade in furs.

Ross hunters, where are they hunters, they are clearly a terrifying army.

He only hoped that his mountain castle and his people would not be harassed and violated by Ross warriors.

If you really want to do something, then do it openly and aboveboard. For example, Mechasta wished that the women of her tribe who had lost their husbands would become pregnant again. Those women have their own will, they are rejecting their own people, or they are rejecting inbreeding out of instinct, and they also don't want a man to easily have ten women. They hope for a foreign husband and hope for new births to make up for the severe population loss of the tribe.

They don't even care much about the fidelity of their new husband, as long as he is not hated or feared.

First of all, the Ross warriors who brought misery and ruined all past lives were out of consideration.

Mechasta was a little anxious about this kind of thing, and he didn't dare to tell Otto. He was actually looking forward to those deer breeders. After all, the two parties had already had some affection during the two months they lived in Roseburg.

Otto felt that he had made his words very clear. Unexpectedly, Rurik, who seemed to have no intention of speaking, suddenly spoke at the last moment.

"Father, I have decided that I will not leave until the hunting army led by you arrives."

"Huh?" The sense of absurdity was written all over Otto's old face, "What are you talking about? You want to stay in this cold place?"

"right!"

Rurik's emphasis surprised everyone, and apart from being surprised, Mechasta was a little dark. He knew that this child must have a new plan, which might be beneficial to the tribe.

No, Mechasta hastily stated: "Boss, since the master has such an attitude, I will do my best to entertain my master."

Otto gritted his teeth, he really didn't know what his son's whim was going to do.

The explanation given by Rurik is even more bizarre: "I want to cut wood."

"What are you logging for?"

"Build a big ship."

"Shipbuilding? Will Roseburg's wood not work? Don't you worry about those Mellaren craftsmen." Otto Fei explained.

"But the trees are too small, and the trunks are too slender."

Hearing this, Otto became even more impatient: "Can't the little tree satisfy you?"

"It's really unsatisfactory. What we need is not just a long keel. Dad, this is my resolution. For our big ship, I must do this. Then please take me to say hello to my mother. I want to Here I will personally supervise the felling of the big trees, and all my mercenaries will also stay here."

Otto still couldn't understand it, but if he forcibly took his son away, the kid would definitely be furious. What is the rage of a child worth? It's this kid who is ruthless, and sometimes it's really scary. The more he thought about it, the more Otto thought of how this kid was only seven years old, and dared to challenge his father with a huge sword in order to protect a favored slave.

But that slave is really terrible now. Rumia, the high priest Vilia regarded her as her granddaughter, and used all her experience to train the new high priest of the tribe.

After much deliberation, the son's refusal was still for the benefit of the tribe.

"Okay! Just stay here. If you have any other requirements, just ask, and I will help you."

"You are really an enlightened father." Rurik's sullen smile immediately became amused, and he opened his mouth to make a series of demands.

Now, Otto was a little surprised, because all these requests were to organize a team to set off north when the sea was frozen and the ground was covered with silver, and then they would bring 50,000 pounds of grain and Rurik's troops. All mercenaries, including those recently recruited, must arrive at Roseburg by December Julian. Among them, there must also be deer breeders and herds of deer.

Does it take so much trouble to cut down a big tree?

Otto didn't want to ask too many questions, and his son's decisions were never pure nonsense. Anyway, what he pulled was his food, and what he sent was his subordinates. As the leader, he was just giving orders.