Rise of Rurik

In any case, he has already arrived in Britain.

Although Rurik was a little surprised, the extremely delicately mounted holy relic in front of him was enough to prove that the old islanders had become the Lamb of the Lord.

The whole bunch of kingdoms built by the Saxons, the Anglo settlers are totally Christian, which is quite normal.

What about the Scottish regions or the various Celtic tribes in Ireland? Are they all Christian too?

Rurik did not dare to be completely sure. After all, the new islanders, this group of immigrants from Bergen, their description of the world in the south of the archipelago to the locals is so-called "a group of people with tattoos". Really? How are these tattooed people the Lamb of the Lord?

Rurik had no illusions about the Holy See, nor did he want to think deeply about theology and philosophy. That was an endless pit of thinking.

I took a group of allies and brothers to distant places just to get the treasures back home. If there are a lot of gold and silver in the discovered monasteries, considering the very real factors, I have to do a ruthless act. people.

However, Rosberg really needs to contain some important sacred artifacts of Christ. When the so-called future contacts with distant Eastern Rome and other Western European forces, these sacred artifacts are used as an introduction, which can probably make the contacts between the two parties more harmonious. The book of Exodus written in parchment counts as one relic, and now the diamond-encrusted cross is another.

Take a closer look at the silver and diamond-encrusted sacristy of the cross, which should be placed in the most conspicuous place in the monastery.

Rurik put it in his arms: "It is indeed a treasure. It is obviously mainly composed of silver, but you have not melted it and turned it into coins."

The priestess hurriedly explained: "This is the sacred object that the priests desperately protect. We don't believe in their gods, but if the sacred object is destroyed, maybe we..."

"Hehe, will they be punished by their gods?"

"Yes. It is. We are afraid of that."

Rurik really didn't want to say anything. "Then give it to me as a tribute to you. Listen, I want to know everything you know. Tell me about the islands to the south, and more!"

"What else?" The priestess let out a sigh of relief when she felt that she had served this dangerous army, but now she is cautious again.

"You... should know that there is another island in the west."

"Ah You……"

"I've heard of it.

Saying that, Rurik kept beating the holy cross in his hand, "I don't quite believe that the old islanders have such a treasure. You must have robbed it from somewhere else. "

From the point of view of the priestess and the other men, the landing army was clearly prepared. The army had revealed that they were going to crusade the south of Britain along the eastern coastline, and to send troops in that direction, but the people of the archipelago had never experienced it.

However, if the expedition was along the western coastline, the islanders had been sent on an expedition with a fierce Danish lord.

The priestess hurriedly said, "Do you know Lord Torgils of Bergen?"

Rurik shook his head, and the rest of the casual family leaders looked at each other in dismay.

Only Biyonion raised his big bald head full of patterns: "I've heard of this man. I went to Bergen many years ago and learned that there was a leader named Torgils or Saugis, who was gathering Troops ready to plunder a faraway place."

"It's him! His fleet passed through our island of gems, asked us for some supplies, and forced some people to help him fight." The priest said.

"And then?" Rurik probed.

"We have a hundred men fighting for Lord Torgis, and about this..." The priestess immediately identified a witness to the incident present.

Rurik knew a lot about the past in this small world as witnesses showed up.

Who is that Lord Torghis? In short certainly not the supreme of the Bergen area.

The person must be a military noble with a lot of power, in order to gather a group of brothers to go out to rob.

From the descriptions of the presenters, Rurik estimated that the so-called "Torgis expedition" took place in about 826. The lord assembled twenty long ships, and together with three long ships made up of a hundred men from the fishing port of the Shetland Islands, a total of twenty-three ships went straight to the western island.

The Norwegians on these expeditions raided the settlements of the westernmost island, especially the monasteries.

But when they were on a river beach, happily enjoying the captured women, eating the looted bread and bacon, and counting all the gold and silver they stole, the local counteroffensive began.

A large group of warriors smeared with isatis juice and painted with black stripes suddenly rushed out and tore with the unsuspecting looting army.

This must be the "Indigo Raider"! Rurik was completely sure of his judgment, and that the Norwegian expedition many years ago had been counterattacked by the Celts in Ireland.

This is indeed the case.

In the end, the Norwegian expedition team paid a terrible price of more than 100 deaths and defeated the sudden attack of the enemy.

With this incident, Torgis gave the Western Island a definite name - (Wild Island).

Irar, the Old Norse word for "wild".

But Torgis himself was not the first person to name the island of Ireland, or any foreigner who conquered the island would be horrified by the wildness of the natives. Even if the local Celts have become the Lamb of the Lord and will face the Holy Cross to pray, Druids have been replaced by robed priests on a large scale. But the "Lambs" still keep in mind the old tradition of their ancestors. The so-called tattoos are painted with blue dye, and they are painted with blue and black colors, so as to hide in the dark forest.

What good things can the island of Ireland have?

Most of what Rurik knows about the island is that, first, the famine caused by the potato disease from 1850 to 1857 caused two million Irish immigrants to immigrate to the New World. Sadly, they became mercenaries on both sides of the Civil War and fought against each other. Second, the Irish fought a series of struggles to get rid of the British Empire.

However, these are stories that happened in another world and another era.

For the present age, the island of Ireland, Rurik prefers to regard it as barren.

The incident mentioned by the islanders of Shetland opened the eyes of everyone in Rurik, and some of the clan leaders who couldn't hold back simply shouted: "Since the Bergen people have done it and grabbed some treasures, we should follow suit.”

As soon as this statement came out, someone immediately objected: "We have to be cautious. Those Bergen people who were fully prepared were also counterattacked by the locals. They killed more than 100 brothers and must have hundreds of others injured. We have no strength. Less, but our equipment is no stronger than the Bergen."

"Is this why we are cowards? How can we be cowards!" The speaker was Ostan's eldest son Geiger, the young man eager for money, standing up and shouting with his right fist raised, as if he was representing Everyone, set the attack on Ireland.

Rurik pouted and gave Biyonni a wink.

Biyonni stretched out his hand suddenly, and shoved the hot-blooded Guyger to the ground: "Shut up, my little brother, Rurik decided that we should attack there."

Pairs of eyes stared randomly at Rurik's handsome face.

At this moment, Rurik deliberately kept quiet, because this strange quietness made people feel more awe-inspiring.

Even the natives of Shetland were looking forward to an acceptable fate from this beautiful boy.

Rurik finally spoke: "I! Not going to attack that wilderness island. I'm just going south along the eastern coast, and I want to go to war with any of the Britons, who are just poor people. I'm going to attack. Northumbria, I will attack their coastal cities."

Northumbria, this term is extremely unfamiliar to most of the people present.

"Rurik, is this a southern country?" asked Biyonyi cautiously.

"That's right! It must be rich there, the temples there (actually the monasteries) are rich in gold and silver, and the warehouses there are full of wheat. If we start soon, when the battle is over, we can seize the new harvest that the locals have just harvested. Mai. Not only did we make a fortune, but we also fed."

Although the brothers do not know the inside story of this Northumbria, it is obvious that the expedition of Lord Rurik has set the most precise goal, and if you want to fight, you will win.

However, this remark made the priestess of Shetland tremble.

"Young warrior, you..."

"I allow you to call me Rurik."

"Yes! Young Lord Rurik, you Narviks know Northumbria?"

Such a question really reminded Rurik, and he suddenly thought that these islanders said that they had explored the southern seas and spied the existence of Northumbria, as well as some local cities.

Rurik has a little guilty conscience about this matter. He has a very general understanding of the era of the Seven Kingdoms, and only knows the names of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as a few place names such as London, Lincoln, Stamford Bridge, York, Edinburgh, Oxford and so on.

and many more! Edinburgh? !

Rurik suddenly remembered that this city was the capital of Scotland, and her geographical location happened to be on the dividing line between Scotland and England.

It is already 832 AD, Edinburgh should exist.

Rurik boldly approached the priestess and asked sharply, "Have your explorers ever discovered a city called Edinburgh, perhaps, it is the city of Northumbria."

The priestess was taken aback and hurriedly affirmed: "Yes! Our men have explored. We tried to exchange fish with the locals, and indeed did a little business. However, those people forced our fishermen to convert to their gods. We haven't had any contact with them since then."

Rurik smiled bitterly: "It seems that it is absolutely impossible to abandon Odin's beliefs."

"Of course," said a local man indignantly. "I have heard about the Danes. Their most honorable leader believed in the gods of the Franks, so all the lords united to drive out Odin's traitors. ."

Rurik stretched out his right hand, signaling that there was no need to mention the Danes.

He asked deliberately, "Since you fishermen have reached Edinburgh, do you still remember the route?"

The man who had just spoken stood up at once, clearly aware of a major opportunity: "I'm Hodder Brodison. I personally went to Edinburgh, Northumbria many years ago, and I was the experience of that event. By."

"Oh?" Rurik raised his eyebrows, "Are you embarrassed by the locals?"

Mentioning this matter, this Huo De was obviously hateful: "I was arrested and imprisoned by them. Two brothers became traitors and believed in their gods."

"And you?"

"Me? Lied, of course. They held me in the water and made me drink a glass of strange fat. I didn't betray Odin, I managed to escape."

What is this? Is this the case that the so-called "pretend to be converted to regret one's past"? Rurik was trying to hold back his laughter, but fortunately he held it back.

Obviously, the expedition guide already has it! It was this man named Howard.

Rurik stood up and gave orders to all the islanders who were sitting cross-legged, especially the priestess.

"Since the lords of Bergen have called you on an expedition, our army of North Harbor (Narvik) will also call you. I! Rurik Ottoson Principoulos (meaning Duke of Ross), order You island of gems, mobilize a hundred men to join my army! You!"

Rurik pointed casually: "Hod Brodisson, you are the commander-in-chief of the Gem Island Army."

Looking at the current situation, the islanders feel a kind of coercion called power, as if they are no longer free people, they have not become vassals of the supreme leader of Bergen's hometown, but become vassals of Beigang people. They didn't care about Rurik's revealing full name, they were just distressed that they had been used as a tool by another group of strong men.

Seeing that they were a little lost, Rurik smiled: "Don't worry about it! Fighting for us, you also have the right to loot. You loot according to your ability, and what you get is yours. I can swear to God! "

They were shocked by Rurik's declaration. After a period of silence, Huo De suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and asked weakly: "Is this true? We also have the right to loot, but not to loot the stolen property. pay?"

"Of course. I need more troops to make sure the fight ends quickly. Listen, we just want to grab the treasure and leave right away, no time to spend with the locals. I'm going to try to loot as much as possible this summer, and you guys Fishermen of the Isle of Jewels, you know the route to the south better than we do."

"Yes! Many brothers know the route. If you have the support of your army, we really dare to explore south again." Huo De continued.

"You know the route, so allowing you to take advantage of the situation is the best commendation for you." Said, Rurik patted his chest: "My army is not free to eat your fish. Let's unite to organize more Big army, we will have more cooperation in the future. Remember, Beigang people, and the distant Rus people are all friends you can trust."

By now, the fears of the islanders have subsided too much.

The men in the discussion shed were eager to try the expedition, and they volunteered without hesitation, vowing to be the pawns of the army.

A short and peaceful night soon passed, and a new day, the bright sun shone the whole harbour.

The islanders who escaped saw that everything was peaceful in the harbor and returned one after another, and they learned of a major event as soon as they returned.

It turned out that the fleet that came from afar was not an enemy, but a friend who could be approached with a "great appetite" in a sense.

More than 1,000 islanders gathered at the call of the priestess, and a group of self-proclaimed strong men, even young boys, stood up. They intentionally formed a "Shetland Army" to join the "Balmerk" ruled by Rurik. Viking Army". The weapons and equipment of the islanders are even worse than those of the Balmers, and the locals cannot be expected to have chain mail. They are all dressed in leather and commoners. Wooden shields, hand axes, and short spears are the most commonly used weapons.

The eyes of the islanders show the desire for wealth, and look at the huge army in front of them. This is everyone's most reliable backer!

Before, the islanders knew that they could not get anything good from the Britons (the Picts) by their own strength, but now they are bold enough to follow the strongmen to attack Northumbria.

Rurik stood on a high place and gave orders to the more than a thousand soldiers who had assembled.

He made a generous statement, identified the clearest sign of the attack, and deliberately described Edinburgh as a place of "gold, silver, wheat, and women", directly poking at the inner desire of every soldier.

People began to boil, and kept beating their wooden shields, and also issued Viking battle cries. In such a warm atmosphere, everyone ignored any risk of the expedition. They felt that the city called Edinburgh was a wild deer that was easily available in front of the army, waiting for hunters to hunt it!

However, Rurik still felt that these Balmerks and Shetlanders were inferior to the real Rus army in terms of momentum.

It doesn't matter, if it were a surprise attack, such an army would be enough to attack and sack Edinburgh.

Rurik ordered the army to rest for two more days, and then set off on the expedition after recuperating.