Rise of Rurik

Back home, the Avrora was carrying the most cargo she had ever launched.

The cabin was filled with provisions, which Rurik estimated at two hundred thousand pounds.

She actually carried nearly 300,000 pounds of wheat, plus some of the grains scattered by other long ships, the Jing fleet simply moved the inventory of the Bamburg granary.

Hundreds of captured women were forced to huddle in the cabin, and at night they had to share a cabin with the sailors who had come down to rest.

Rurik, who lived in the bow lounge, had no intention of taking care of what would happen in the cabin at night. He only hoped to bring the team back to Narvik Port as soon as possible, before the sea became violent, and finally return to Roseburg.

This is a ninth century ocean voyage! Voyage itself is a hymn to human courage, but for the individuals involved in the voyage, the voyage itself is a suffering.

No, when the fleet arrived in the eastern seas of Scotland following the south wind, the sea suddenly became violent!

The fleet encountered a sea storm at the end of August. Its size and power were nothing by the standards of a thousand years later, but now it is quite dangerous.

The Avrora, which was full of cargo and looked extremely sturdy, hurriedly closed the mainsail, leaving a small spinnaker at the stern to advance in the dark clouds against the incoming cold north wind. She went up and down in the big waves, but there was no tendency to overturn.

This caravel-like sailboat showed great stability in this storm.

However, the other longships really suffered from this grievance.

As many as 200 soldiers were lost in the war, and more than 400 captive women were added to the ship. The number of people has increased, and the efficiency of navigation has declined.

A total of twenty-three longboats were stunned, and five of them capsized in the waves! Nearly 200 people fell into the sea again. It is very sad that people in the waves can't take care of themselves, they can only watch their tribal brothers feed the fish, and secondly, they silently pray to the gods to calm their anger.

The entire storm has gone through two days, and when the world has returned to calm again, in the vast North Sea, various half-dead longships have gathered here on the Avrolla.

Looking up at this already very familiar ship again, Biyongni felt helpless in addition to sighing.

He climbed down the lowered rope ladder to the wet deck, where soon all the tribes that had survived had gathered.

such a big thing happened,

The entire fleet was terrified. Rurik tried his best to remain calm, but the ferocity of the North Sea was not comparable to the still waters of the Baltic Sea.

Biyonni sat down casually and sighed: "Odin is furious! Maybe we should kill that king in Bamburg and sacrifice."

As soon as this statement came out, a group of people supported it.

"Kill those Britons!"

"We should have set up an altar, at least one hundred slaves must be killed to sacrifice to Odin!"

...

Rurik clucked his ears, pouted and scolded, "Don't complain! This is the sea, and the ocean can be violent at any time. You think you are not worthy of the gods and get shipwrecked, but my ship has no loss."

Rurik's remarks had no other meaning, and Biyonni immediately made a wise interpretation. He slapped his thigh, "So, we must buy a large ship from the Rus! Not just one, but many. With a large ship, we will It's really safe to visit that Northumbria."

"You're right." Gashoby's Geiger said bluntly with a heavy heart, "our three ships suddenly lost one, some brothers and women fell into the water, and they were all finished. If there is a big ship, we will be safe. "

Big ship! There must be a big boat!

Balmerk people know the fury of the Atlantic Ocean best. People have always expected the storm. It really caused shipwrecks and people died. People are helpless and better than sad.

At Rurik's request, the heads of the families reported their losses to each other. The result is astonishingly terrifying!

In addition, the whole ship capsized and was thrown out of the water as many as 300 people! Half of the dead were expedition fighters.

Another example is the Bergen immigrants in Shetland, they are really unlucky. Hundreds of Shetlanders kidnapped nearly a hundred women. These guys were almost doing archery support in the rear during the war. Even if they were attacked by cavalry, they lost only ten troops.

Perhaps their European spirit and battle was exhausted. Two hundred men were crowded into three long ships. One ship sank after a storm, and seventy people died on the spot.

Today's Viking fleet is not as poor and ambitious as it was when it went out. They were greatly satisfied, and the full load of goods made them suffer from gain and loss.

Today, there is a strong consensus on giving the tribe one or more large ships.

Biyonni, as the brother of Rurik of Rus, must comply with the demands of the nobles of the tribe and make the purchase of the ship a reality.

Biyonny was impatient. "Rurik, we looted a lot of money. There is a two hundred pounds of silver in the big ship. I will give you the money, and I will ask for it as soon as possible."

Looking at the expectant gazes cast by the crowd, Rurik had no intention of hesitating.

"That's exactly what I'm going to advise you. My shipyard is still building new ships this winter, and I'll keep that promise and bring the big ships to your port in person as early as next year."

"Only one?" asked Biyonni again.

"What? Your appetite has grown?"

"No! Next year I'm going to get the big ships and attack Northumbria again."

"Ah? Are you in such a hurry? The sheep has just been shaved, do you think it will grow another layer of fur in an instant?"

Biyonni shook his head, "Are you kind to them?"

"No!" Rurik sat up straight and mentioned something that the Balmers didn't have to care about but was very important to the Rus. "The purpose of my ship is to defend against the Danes."

"The Danes? Still a problem in your opinion?"

"Of course. I'm going back to Roseburg this year with your sister. I'm going through Danish territory, and I'm not afraid of war, I'm afraid of never ending it. I must build a navy of big ships that don't fear the storm. So, I only I can give you a boat."

"This... okay." Although Biyongni regretted, he couldn't force it.

Although the fleet was shipwrecked, the people who survived still carried a lot of supplies!

Rurik of Ross is such a nice guy. The coins seized were all on the stable Avrora. He did not intend to ask for a single copper coin. All the money belonged to the Balmerk tribe!

Brothers can go to the market in Bergen with the money to purchase, and then wait until the Balmerk's own big ship arrives, and the strength of the tribe will be greatly enhanced!

People are spontaneously optimistic that the frozen seas in winter and the Danes' control of the strait cannot interfere with the land communication between Balmerk and Ross. On the contrary, the frozen winter made the two clans flow faster.

There are more trade plans than Jonny, he said bluntly, "We will still organize people in winter, take the glacial trade route to reach your Fort Elrond, and also reach Fort Rosberg by the way. Maybe I can personally see what belongs to us. The whole process of the ship being built."

Rurik was naturally very welcome: "Very good, take the frozen river, if you take a reindeer sleigh, it may only take ten days from your port to my camp at Fort Fisk, which is faster than sailing by sea. Lun doesn't feel too far from his hometown."

Biyongni laughed, and everyone laughed even more. The east of the mountain no longer means adventure, and there is a very clear destination for climbing the mountain. The Russ are allies fighting together, and the brothers can boldly go to the east to make money, and the days of cramming in the port of Narvik and enduring the cramps are gone.

When the fleet arrived in the Shetland Islands, the islanders who participated in the expedition completed their voyage.

Rurik had no intention of staying here, and the fleet went all the way east!

The voyage across the North Sea is full of crises. The Viking fleets that have attacked Britain in history have suffered huge losses once they encountered a storm. The king of Denmark wanted to defeat Wessex and recapture the Danfa region's expedition plan, which was once postponed due to the overthrow of the fleet.

In the end, the fleet led by Rurik successfully crossed the North Sea. With his knowledge of the geography of this area, Rurik took the shortest route directly to the coast of Scandinavia.

People move along the coastline, even if such a voyage will inevitably encounter Bergen people, even if it is bound to shuttle between the twisting island waterways and make more detours, in order not to be hit hard by possible storms, such an adventure is worth it. of.

Encounters with Bergen fishing boats and merchant ships are inevitable.

Pay attention to the official account: Book Friends Base Camp, pay attention to get cash and coins!

Rurik refused any form of "rules of the sea", as if the ships they encountered were air, and the fleet drove on its own, even if they passed an outlying island at the mouth of the fjord where Bergen is located, they did not go further. .

A large number of fishing boats from the Bergen area saw a strange fleet. They were like a fleet of merchant ships, perhaps from Denmark or Flanders, and the big ship at the head didn't fly any flags, but considering the whereabouts of such a large fleet, it was clear that they were heading to North Harbor.

and many more! A big ship with a jib?

More than two months ago, a news spread in the fjord society, and later some Danish businessmen brought more strange claims.

A great ship from the East passed through the Dane's checkpoint, but the fleet of the great Danish chief could not intercept it.

But the fleet of ships that suddenly appeared hurried past, it became the new talk of the people of Bergen, and there seemed to be nothing else.

For the final return, the Balmerk Viking fleet moved rapidly northeastward along the coastline against what might be the last warm southerly wind of the summer.

It was just September, and the fleet entered the fjord after another light rain near the end.

Even if the sea became a little violent again, it was no longer a threat.

The expedition army is back!

The fishing boats followed this triumphant division, and the approaching fishermen couldn't help cheering excitedly when they saw a large number of women sitting on the open-top long boat.

The fully loaded Avrora, the anchor she released scraped on the seabed for a distance before forcing the large ship with strong inertia to stop.

As for those long ships carrying prisoners and supplies, they simply rushed to their respective territories to wash the beach.

For example, Geiger of Gashebi, even if he lost a lot of people, this expedition brought back a group of women and a group of very important means of production, the most important thing is that "the climate of Northumbria is good and the land is fertile." good news. His only two longboats returned to his manor and were welcomed by the people of his hometown.

Avrora finally docked at the largest natural berth in the port area, and the surrounding boats quickly began to help unload the cargo after it settled.

Strong men saw a large number of women climbing down the rope ladder. They were haggard and lethargic.

Are they all Britons over the sea? It looked very different from the slaves peddled in the Bergen fair. Looking at the slave's face and hair color, it is very similar to the women of this tribe.

The great leader of the Balmerc tribe, Magnut brought his cronies, especially his little daughter, to meet the heroes' triumph in person.

A large number of prisoners were unloaded, a large number of iron weapons were moved off the ship, and even a large number of suitcases loaded with coins, personnel and materials were displayed on the land of the harbor, Magnut almost fainted in ecstasy.

Biyonni stepped towards his father like a king, but Rurik, the commander of the fleet, seemed to be taking a back seat.

But Rurik didn’t have much to lose. Noren was wearing a white tunic with a beautiful pendant made of a huge variety of gemstones hanging around her neck. She wore a crown woven with Erika flowers and hurriedly threw it at Rurik. . Because she knew that this young man was her own hero.

The heather named Erica began to bloom, and the women of Balmerk began to decorate their beauty with this flower. It is also based on the tradition of scrubbing the body and bathing long hair with water soaked in flowers.

The pink and white flowers and Noren's blond hair make this girl even more attractive. She threw herself in her arms, and Rurik leaned over his nose and sniffed her long hair, even more relaxed.

She asked bluntly in joy: "You must have achieved a great victory."

"Of course! I have defeated many powerful enemies with my army. You see, these prisoners and these materials are all the wealth of your family."

"That's great."

Noren let go of her hand gently, and accompanied Rurik to the room of the captive female slaves of her age. Does she look at these teenage girls proudly and sympathize with their plight? That is completely absent.

She raised her delicate chin proudly, and said casually, "Women! You are all our servants, and this is your destiny. Serve us well, and you will be able to escape the destiny of slaves."

The words came out of her mouth, and the image of an innocent, romantic and kind girl in Rurik's heart was gone.

But wait, she is the daughter of the top nobles in the Balmer clan, and in Europe, she is equivalent to the princess of a country. She is a pampered and noble person, and it is strange not to say such words.

Rurik stepped forward, grabbed the back of her neck easily, pulled her to his side, and said casually, "It doesn't matter if they are slaves or warriors' wives. Noren, you should Make some preparations, I'll be back before the autumn seas get wild, I'll be leaving in a few days, and I'll take you with me."

Although this is her own destiny, she suddenly left her hometown, and a sense of desolation suddenly appeared in the girl's heart.

She sighed softly and turned to look up at Rurik's eyes: "I want to go back with you alone?"

"This... Of course, I don't want you to bring any maids. You should know that I am a noble man and a saint blessed by Odin. There are already some wives and concubines living in my family, I will not allow you to do the most special the one."

This is indeed the case, and Noren sighed again: "Can't I really be your favorite woman?"

"At least, you can give birth to many children for me." Rurik didn't answer, and he didn't intend to make any promises.

Of course, as an emperor, he must face the reality of many wives and concubines, and Rurik knew that he was unable to take care of the mood of each of them, but so what? In this era, a woman who is an emperor must have this kind of consciousness.

Rurik asked himself that all the marriages he faced had a strong political purpose, and the women who married him all represented a party of power behind them. Maintaining a power can continue to swell.

Which woman is true love? There is none other than Rumia, a deer farmer girl. But now, Rumia has essentially become the spokesperson for the interests of all the deer breeders who serve Ross.

She is her first servant, her first woman, and she will give birth to her first child.

Rurik still put his arms around Noren's neck and made intimate gestures for the Magnuts, who were the leaders, to see. As for his heart, he had already drifted back to Roseburg.

"Rumia, you should already have it... The high priest has a successor. If it is a boy, he will become a general, and if a girl is a girl, he will inherit the high priest!" Rurik currently expects Rumia to give birth to a girl, so he is righteous. Take over the role of worship in the future. What's a name for her?

Rurik looked at Noren's flower crown again, and instantly had an idea.

"Just call Virika."

He admired his idea quite a bit. The name has three meanings, one is "Rite of Flowers", and the other is "Wise Daughter" in Slavic language. The third most important point is that this name is exactly for the deceased old Ross. The inheritance of the name of Priest Veria.