Rise of Rurik

Rurik and Carlotta stayed outside the tent the whole time, watching the Melalen army slaughter sheep, cut their skins and roast their meat, watch them burn wooden houses, and even pile the corpses together, and then pile firewood for burning.

And the captives, whose names were left at the moment were all the women of the Gotland, and their screams of grief and indignation could not be heard.

In this situation, Rurik's mind was full of helplessness. He hoped that these guys would calm down a bit, and even sweep the battlefield without causing further damage.

However, the belated friendly forces are all landing on the beach. If they missed the battle, will they set fire more recklessly to vent their dissatisfaction?

From the corner of Rurik's eyes, he noticed Carlotta's numb expression, which was indescribably dazed.

"You... this is war, this is the revenge you wish..."

The girl was indifferent to the inquiry.

"I asked you something!"

"Uh-huh?"

"How? Your revenge? Satisfied?"

"I……"

"You have nothing to say?"

Carlotta still had a blank face, pointing at the women who were being abused, just because she subconsciously realized that this was a repeat of history.

Although Rurik was in a bad mood, his face was even hotter from the flames burning not far away. "That's the spoils of the Melalen Army, do you think they are pitiful?"

"Yes I am."

Carlotta didn't want to hide her emotions anymore. Although the battle was won, she was on the edge of the fire, and she didn't feel the joy of victory at all. Is the victor's carnival delightful? What she felt was clearly fear, fear.

"But they are enemies." Rurik replied calmly: "This is the price the Gotlanders have to pay, you don't care anymore. You meet Origen and ask him for your sheep, which is the most important thing. of."

Carlotta nodded.

She and Rurik have always been closely guarded by the elite mercenaries headed by Yevro. Also subconsciously raise vigilance.

Carlotta did not get the pleasure she imagined in the revenge, but most of the men, they saw the fire soaring into the sky, the whole person's spirit was as excited as a mad bull.

Undoubtedly, the most maddened was the Duke of the Gran, Oak. This guy was a coward and fled with his clan in an emergency, which ensured that the clan was a name, but also betrayed the mutual guarantee agreement between the two of Aosta.

"Haha! My Orc is back!" He held a huge broad-blade forest axe, pointed at the burning house, and roared sharply: "Brothers! The Mellarens have taken advantage, and we can't do nothing. Burn down these maggot houses for me. Revenge!"

The Gran tribe dispatched only fifty warriors, they were just armed herdsmen, and their fighting power naturally had a disadvantage.

If they were to fight with those Danish iron armored warriors, they would all be killed. The most dangerous enemy is dead, and the Gran people are righteous and indignant at the empty enemy house. Is this also called heroism?

The noise outside is getting worse.

It happened that Olegin made a request, Otto opened the curtain, and suddenly let the two children of Rurik and Carlotta enter the account.

At this moment, Rurik and Olekin looked at each other subconsciously, and their eyes even stayed for five seconds!

"This kid doesn't avoid my eyes? He actually has a calm face? Oh, this kid is really beautiful, but unfortunately he's not my descendant."

Origen thought about it for a while and didn't care about it, but he was happy to look at Rurik's face.

After all, Rurik is about to turn ten years old. Any boy in northern Europe with a good quality of life will show a little masculine temperament at such an age. Rurik hasn't grown a beard yet, but the fur on his lips is really thick. His face was still fair and smooth, but it was inevitably rough. His figure was much taller than when he first met, his face was more three-dimensional, and his eyes began to grow deeper like his biological father.

Origen waved his hand and said, "Sit down."

Rurik sat cross-legged in response, and by the way pulled Carlotta, who was a little dumb, to sit down.

Origen still wore his crown, and arrogantly stated his victory: "Rurik, you see, our Melalen army is invincible in the world, and I easily wiped out a mere Gotland."

"Wang, you only called me in to promote your illustrious martial arts? I saw that your army is like a hero fighting fire." Rurik's face remained calm even though he said beautifully flattering words.

These words really appealed to Origen, and he laughed: "Let's talk about business. Your father asked you to decide a matter, and it's like this..."

Origen then handed over the matter of "paying the debt with the prisoners" to Rurik for adjudication. Hearing Origen's intention, Rurik's calm face changed.

"Now it's your decision. Yes, the prisoners are all yours, in exchange for one hundred and fifty pounds of silver. No, they will all be killed."

Rurik knew that Origen's words were no joke, and he was really tangled in his heart. Ask yourself, Rurik's human nature does not want prisoners of war to be executed indiscriminately, but the ultimate goal of the contract signed by the Rus and the Mellarens is to get an astonishing amount of wheat! The purpose of obtaining the wheat was to feed the growing population of the Rus Principality. Now that a group of prisoners of war has been taken in, it means that the money for buying wheat has shrunk seriously.

Wait a minute! It's not that simple!

Rurik didn't agree, nor did he object. He raised his head and asked solemnly: "King! The war you lead will be a great victory, but the eight hundred pounds of silver you owe us will be paid for with more and more prisoners. , this is not what we Russ hoped for."

"You! Good boy!" Origen wanted to angrily scold that his plan had been exposed, but he thought that he had underestimated Rurik's mind, so he smirked again.

After the atmosphere settled down, Origen asked again: "So those prisoners, you really don't want one?"

"Yes. Let them leave your warriors. I think your warriors are very happy now. They are just slaves who have been ruined by your men. I am afraid that they are more willing to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the sea, rather than being the future of our Rus people. Wife and concubine. I don't want this kind of woman."

Origen's teeth are tight, and it's hard to announce the killer for a while.

Rurik certainly requires a lot of labor, especially for the collection of women. In ancient times, the number of women determined the population growth rate of a nation and a country, and a huge population was equal to the strength of an ancient country. Rurik knew this, but he also knew that he couldn't have every woman.

Rurik prefers to use the attitude of a redeemer and a benefactor to subdue people with normal minds. Obviously, those poor people who are still being abused to this day, can they still be normal after the event? I'm afraid everyone is schizophrenic.

Origen dragged his chin lightly and hurriedly asked, "If you are innocent, do you need such a slave?"

"Exactly. I don't want Ross's warriors to marry crazy women, and I don't want the future child to be a little crazy."

Origen's brain is not stupid. He estimated that Rurik knew that he couldn't completely refuse, and this kid's conditions were logical.

From the very beginning, Origen didn't want to take a large number of prisoners to expand the war. Although female prisoners can appease the soldiers, in the long run, it is the root of the army's disillusionment. As for the male prisoners, it is even more impossible to stay, because they may be waiting for an opportunity to rebel and backstab. Either sell the captives immediately, or kill them directly to avoid future troubles.

After thinking about it, Origen immediately sent someone to issue an order, and the messenger hurriedly organized the actions of the soldiers, which ensured that some of the prisoners were not insulted.

The messenger had just left the tent, and Origen sighed with relief: "The order will be implemented, and you can still get a group of innocent prisoners. Are you satisfied now?"

"I only accept such a prisoner, but this is the last time. King! You must have grabbed gold and silver, we Rus people will not openly ask for it, but you need to take out silver coins or food in autumn. I hope you will keep that in mind. ."

"Of course I keep that in mind."

"However, according to the contract." Rurik added: "You need to distribute the spoils to the Aostara army."

"Ostara?" Seeing Carlotta's face, Origen suddenly realized: "This...is it really necessary? Oh, I can give Carlotta some silver coins, after all, this place is her homeland. "

Rurik and Otto suddenly felt a bit of hatred, apparently this guy didn't take the Ostara clan to heart, even though the banner of the battle was revenge for them.

Carlotta has been holding back her emotions, and now she's breaking out!

"Give it back to me! My sheep! Give it back to me!"

"Sheep? Your sheep?" Olegin asked in surprise.

"It's all my Ostara's sheep! The Gotlanders robbed our sheep, and yours stole the sheep. All the sheep are mine! But you are..." Carlotta's mood finally collapsed.

Yes, the burning Linkoping and the burning Ostara, the battlefield is exactly the same no matter how you look at it. The suffering of the past was vivid in his mind. Carlota actually had hallucinations about the burned corpses. He felt that his grandfather, who had already died in the fire, was waving to him.

Depressed, she threw herself on Rurik's lap, tears soaking her clothes.

"As you can see," Rurik said calmly, "you at least give her some sheep, which is an explanation to the Ostarans."

Hearing Rurik's words, Origen visibly resisted.

Rurik quickly followed up: "King! Only by doing this, everyone will praise you for taking back the property for your allies. You are the guardian of the kingdom. Compared with great honor, a group of sheep is nothing."

In fact, Rurik didn't even know that his acting flattery was to stab Origen's itch. At this age, what Origen wants to do is honor, just because the huge honor in the world is equivalent to the absolute qualification to enter Valhalla, he believes in this.

Origen waved his hand: "One hundred, I will provide so much."

As soon as I heard it to the sheep, a dramatic scene happened! Carlotta sat upright like a spring, and hurriedly said thank you with a crying voice.

She didn't do any more kneeling postures, because she knew that she couldn't let Rurik and Otto down again, and she couldn't pay tribute to Olegin without their permission.

Although Origen's promise moved her.

In addition to getting a batch of sheep, Carlotta really has nothing to ask for. The rest of Ostara consisted of only women and children, although some new men were added, all of them Rus. The tribal revival hopes for the favor of the Rus. As the Duchess of Ostara, she really can only ask the Rus.

Night fell on the burning battlefield, and before the sun went down, the Merallon ships chasing Gotland's fugitives returned. Instead of taking prisoners, they killed people, but brought back the empty ships with them.

The fire in Norrkoping did not mean to stop. The whole beach was full of boats and people. Nearly 4,000 people gathered on the beach in the form of giants. They set up their own tents in tribal units, lit their own bonfires, and tasted The winner's dinner - lots of roast meat.

Most of the captured sheep were killed, and Origen kept his promise to "give" Carlota a hundred sheep. He also showed the side of a chicken thief. The so-called "gift" is a mixture of a lot of inferior old sheep and lambs that lack meat and wool. .

The sheep had been delivered, and Carlotta was helpless and suffocated.

What is the use of the old sheep? Lambs are at least a full year before they can be sheared.

In desperation, the Russ got the permission of Carlota, all the old sheep were slaughtered, and the mutton was the best supply for the warriors.

The whole beach has become a dining extravaganza, mixed with discord.

The Russ received those captives, and in the end Rurik was shocked to find that it was said that they had captured more than a hundred captives, and only more than 30 were sent to their hands. Their characteristic is that they are all young, as for other women, they are now...

They were teenage girls who had been terribly frightened by the sudden war, but Rurik reckoned that they should have known the risks from the moment they immigrated. There are no real good men and women in this world. If you grab the living space from other people, you should think that other people will take revenge.

Rurik reckons that what he can do now is to bring these prisoners whose spirits have not been broken back to the ship, let them stay in the cabin, and be appeased by his own vote of Slavic maids. As long as they don't let them see their surviving clansmen continue to be spoiled by the landed Swedish army, and give them some food, Rurik estimates that they will soon accept their fate, or at least they won't resolutely resist or wait for an opportunity to commit suicide.

Just like the current situation, Rurik estimated that the more than 30 slaves he "purchased" were probably the only surviving group of Gotlanders in the entire Norrkoping settlement. He had already planned to send all these girls to New Roseburg. If they were given to the immigrant Novgorod youths, wouldn't it be a good story of ethnic integration? Rurik was very realistic and felt that this move could indeed become a good story - outstanding Slavic men did not need a betrothal gift, but had the opportunity to receive a young woman rewarded by the leader of Rus.

In any case, the Gotland prisoners obtained in the normal war, Rurik made up his mind that no one would take them for his own use.

The beach is still filled with the aroma of food, and by a huge bonfire, all the dukes are gathered together.

Origen can actually say something. The so-called battle was won by the Melalen Army. Others' troops came too late and missed too much.

If Carl is king at this moment, this guy is very likely to make such an announcement, that is, the people of Melalen have the right to eat alone.

But Origen needs to consider the stability of the coalition forces. Everyone here is not maintained by any friendship. The only thing that can connect each other is economic interests! If you eat alone, I don't know how many troops in the coalition have to go home.

If they all run away, it is wishful thinking to simply expect the Melaron Army to expand the war!

No, Olegin pointed to the two chests of silver coins beside him and said loudly, "This is the most important loot: two chests of silver coins, I have decided to distribute them fairly according to the number of our troops, except for the Rus. What do you think?"

Listen, everyone hurriedly whispered and studied.

At this time, there were still people attacking, and the leader of Yermalen, Modsen questioned the fact that Origen had given the Ostara girl 100 sheep: "The sheep are also trophies, and you should also distribute the sheep according to the number of troops. Since many sheep are eaten If it is lost, then distribute the sheepskin! What you gave to the Carlota sheep is very unreasonable, what is your reason?"

In fact, Carlotta is here, but she feels that she has no place to speak, and the trustworthy Rurik is not suitable for participating in the meeting according to the rules, so she can only rely on Otto.

Origen said bluntly: "In fact, all the sheep were originally the property of the Ostara people. So..."

Modson is not the master of greed, he stretches out his right hand and he understands it.

However, Ungriff of Unkrath attacked again: "What about the woman? Those are prisoners! I found that you gave the Rus a group of prisoners. It's not that they agreed not to participate in the battle, but our transport team? Why? Can you still get prisoners?"

Otto explained calmly, and the explanation given by Rurik was strange: "Ungreve, do you know what kind of women I want? It's just some children, they will be maids. , that's all."

"Oh! I hope you don't make a bunch of brothers for your Rurik," said Ungriff maliciously.

This remark made everyone burst into laughter, and some people scoffed that Otto was too old and had long lost his strength in that respect.

"Shut up!" The angry Otto suddenly drew his sword, and the spike almost cut the throat of Orc, the laughing Granny the most, and his eyes widened with anger, causing Ungriff to shut up on the spot.

The sudden change made everyone speechless, but Origen hurried to make peace with the old man: "Everyone, don't be hurt, and don't make too much jokes."

Otto took the sword, and Orc remained sluggish.

But new questions do arise - what about those women.

"My opinion is to kill! You guys have had enough fun, kill them together tomorrow morning. Listen, we want to expand the results without any burden."

Olegin felt that his decision was very favorable, but he understood that he was unanimously opposed by the dukes.

"Then give it to me! I want slaves, women, living, and the rest doesn't matter." Modsen of Yermalen, he really doesn't care about the situation of women. For the future of his tribe, he just needs freshness from outside. Blood supplements, even if it is a woman whose spirit has been played crazy, he really doesn't care if he is hungry or not.

Someone started, and others made similar demands.

Origen let out a long breath: "Okay! As you wish."

He made a compromise and began to formulate the next battle plan: "We just destroyed a small stronghold of the enemy in this battle. I decided to rest for the whole day tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow we will leave here and run south along the coastline. .As long as we encounter any fishing boat or any settlement, we will attack immediately. We Melalonians have suffered a certain loss in this battle, and you will be the vanguard in the next battle. Some of you said that I hid the spoils? It doesn't matter, the next battle You are the main attack, and we will distribute the spoils afterwards, I trust you will not take the treasure privately."

Allied forces? Their one mind is based on the same interests, and they really start to divide the spoils. It is normal for them to fight in the nest.

In fact, everyone appreciates continuing to go south, especially to attack the legendary Karma of Denmark, which seems to have a silver mountain there. A powerful raid will make all the tribes rich overnight, and all eyes are on fire because of it - the corneas actually reflect the flames of the bonfire.

But who would have thought that Otto would "retire".

"No! I have to send a ship back."

"Why?" Olegin asked in surprise.

Otto pretended to smile bitterly: "As you said, the king, the captives are a burden, and I will send a ship to transport the captives and sheep back. We Rus are a convoy, I don't even need to bring many ships, I also I have no intention of fighting with you for the spoils."

No one stood up to oppose it. The Russ did not land in this battle, which proved that the meeting before the war was negotiated. The Rus obeyed the agreement. They don't participate in the war, and as long as they appear in the fleet symbolically, no one complains about the Rus's betraying the alliance. What's more, they did not take the initiative to ask for spoils, although this is incredible, I have to say that because there is no apparent stake, who will hold grudges?

Of course, what the dukes saw was only the surface.