Rise of Rurik

Thanks to a batch of catches, the Rus people have recovered their physical strength by sleeping on the beach.

The journey that awaits all is still a long way off, and soon they will enter another river, the Volkhov.

The long journey upstream will be a laborious expedition. Otto does not ask how much help the change of wind direction can bring them. Instead of relying on the wind to push the boats in the river, it is better to trust the power of all rowers. .

The south wind blows the sparkling lake, and the eastern sunrise is extremely brilliant!

The Russ added some more wood to the bonfire that was about to burn out, grilled the fish left over last night, and hurriedly ended their breakfast.

The hard oak keel was scraped by the sand and gravel, and the boat was pushed into the lake.

Otto's long-term experience has made Otto know the hydrology of this area very well, even saying that he knows better than the inhabitants of Novgorod who live not far away.

Although the Novgorod region has a huge population of up to 200,000 people, they all have a common ancestor, and they all migrated here to settle here.

Of course, things have to start with the fall of Western Rome.

When the Huns forced a large number of Germanic tribes to forcibly enter the Roman territory for protection, many Slavic peoples fled to the north and east in order to avoid the war. There were also some desperately running to Greece, the Slavs who went south hoping to be protected by Eastern Rome.

Three hundred years have passed, and many things have changed.

The Slavs who fled to Greece spoke Greek and became the new Greeks under Roman rule.

The furthest group of the Slavs who fled desperately to the north settled on Lake Ilmen. Of course, they can continue to go north. Because of the colder climate in the north, the land there is no longer a good land for growing wheat, so why continue to migrate.

However, the inhabitants of the Novgorod region have no concept of historical records at all.

At most, they vaguely remember the faces of their grandparents and what some legendary figures did, such as the feat of killing a bear.

After that, they focus on the present, and they have little ambition for the future.

Even with the regular twice-yearly exploits of the tough Rus, peace can be guaranteed as long as they are given what they need.

You can even get a security promise, the so-called "whoever hits you, the Rus will help you crusade".

The promise was lip service, and all Novgorods learned that the Rus never fought for them.

Because Novgorod does have a real enemy, and that is Smolensk in the south.

To gain greater wealth, one must trade with the people of the South. If possible, several big families in Novgorod very much hope to trade with the Romans and Khazars on their own. However, in this era, there are almost no roads in the vast land of Eastern Europe, and it is rare for people to step out of the sheep's intestines.

The Novgorods paddled their canoes from Lake Ilmen into the Msta River, and then went upstream to its source. After walking for more than 50 kilometers, you can find a small river that can enter the upper Dnieper River, and finally reach Smolensk, surrounded by pine trees, which is still alive on the riverbank.

If they want to go to the south, the merchants of Novgorod are often exploited by the Smolensk people, and the incidents of being robbed and wrecked by shipwrecks also occur from time to time.

After all, even though they were both theoretically Slavic peoples, the Smolensk people of the ninth century did not identify with the Novgorods as their own countrymen, but regarded them as their competitors.

A trade line that can go directly to the Black Sea has always existed, and many forces on the road want to take a share of this long-running trade line.

Another powerful force is needed to sweep away the forces that affect the smooth flow of trade.

For now, there is no such force.

Forty boats from the Rus reached the entrance of the Volkhov River along the shoreline of the lake in only half a day.

The Volkhov River has a great similarity with the Neva River,

Perhaps purely by accident, the channel widths of the two are particularly close.

But the water flow of the Volkhov is only one-eighth of the Neva.

The Rus had to contend with strong currents on the Neva, and on the Volkhov, paddling was no longer an overly tiring thing.

have to go home!

Peravina's face was always filled with a happy smile, and the lush pine forests on both sides of the river made her even more moved.

Only half a year ago, I learned that my parents were coveting some amber, so I gave myself to the Rus as his wife. She had expected a terrible fate, but it turned out to be a fantastic journey.

Hearing what the big leader said, there will be another day, and by the next evening, the fleet will be able to reach Novgorod!

Specifically, the first target of the fleet is not the Sosnova Heka family estate named "Pine Needle" in the core area.

It is the Bella Leka family manor named "White Tree".

Once, Peravina was a member of "White Tree".

It was another evening, and the last evening the fleet spent in the wild.

A smooth road by the river became the camp of the Rus.

Some pine trees were cut down, and the Rus chopped large numbers of branches into firewood and burned their rosin-filled bonfires.

Some people went to the nearby woods to hunt, and after a while, a wild deer appeared. Some people also try to fish and get a certain harvest.

Five hundred people eat a wild deer, and it is not bad that each person can get two fingers of venison.

Otto was the leader after all, and this time, he was lucky enough to hold a whole deer calf again, regardless of the blood stasis or shyness of the venison, and he ate happily.

When he was eating meat, he did not forget to face Peravina, who was ordered to sit beside him, and said something next: "My child, I have already thought about it. You have basically learned our language, and when you return to Your hometown, you will be my translator."

"Dad...is this okay?"

"You don't like it?" Otto asked displeased.

"No. I just kind of want to... see my biological parents early, they must miss me a lot too. I want to tell them that I'm doing fine."

Otto shrugged, his mind couldn't help but go back half a year ago, and he deliberately said: "Rather than missing you, they miss taking amber and silver coins. Listen, Peravina, forget your past, now you are Russ. You are my nephew's wife, and you have my own brother's grandson in your womb. Do you expect your parents to be your relatives? I am the relatives you can trust."

Peravina's mood was a bit complicated. She raised her head boldly, and when she saw Otto staring at her eyes, she couldn't help lowering it quickly.

"Look straight into my eyes!" After saying that, Otto stretched out his hand and pinched Peravina's chin rudely: "Listen to my arrangement and be my translator. This year, I will be working at White Tree Manor. I need your help with something big."

"Yes! Dad, I will."

So, why go to White Tree Manor for the first time?

The reason is not complicated, the biggest reason is that it will be a manor encountered by the Rus people on the way forward.

The core of Novgorod is the Sosnovahka family's "Pine Needle" estate, just at the entrance to the Volkhov River where Lake Ilmen begins.

The "Pine Needle" estate is undoubtedly the richest and most populous in the whole of Novgorod. In order to exploit the wealth, of course, the big fat sheep must be exploited vigorously, and the inferior manor must be exploited appropriately.

Whitetree Manor is not as populated as Pineneedle Manor, but it is still the second largest estate in the region.

White Tree Manor is six kilometers northwest of Pine Needle Manor, and there is a dense pine forest between them.

The White Tree Manor is adjacent to a river whose width is still more than thirty meters, and the river flows directly into the Volkhov River.

In the era of lack of roads, the communication of the people of each manor relies heavily on boats, so they must live in the lakeside area near Lake Ilmen, which is also in order to use the fertile lakeside area to reclaim farmland and stable water for irrigation.

Although they basically only have wooden plows, thanks to the natural land conditions, the seeds they sowed still yielded good harvests.

They settled down, and the once pioneering rush was much lessened. Because the number of people living along the lake is still small, and there are still a lot of forest resources by the lake, most of the manors have actually become isolated islands in the ocean of pine forests, and the existing large and small rivers have become roads of practical significance.

However, the new day is not a warm morning.

Otto looked at the sky that was beginning to darken, and the direction of the wind that had changed. He always felt that a heavy rain was about to hit.

"Oops, it was raining while I was sailing and it was so bad."

Nervous Otto ordered all ships to set sail after the fleet resumed sailing.

His own flagship, of course, was not allowed to be at the front of the line, and the sudden big sail with huge blue crossed oars was a clear symbol. Any Novgorod residents who stayed by the river would see such a With a large group of dragon-headed warships and a large sail with a special pattern, you know that the ferocious Rus army that seems to have climbed out of the cemetery is here to search for wealth again!

The strong north wind has changed the warmth of the previous time. For people paddling, the coolness can be described as refreshing.

Macroscopically, a cold air is on its way to attack Novgorod, and it will blow all the way to the shores of the Black Sea.

Rain? That is inevitable.

Eastern Europe in May of the Julian calendar is prone to rain.

Some local children gathered by the river and used their own simple hooks in order to catch some small fish by the river and take them home to stew.

There are also some women in long skirts, hooking their heads, which are wrapped in a whole linen to keep out the cold, holding very sharp stones in their hands, harvesting reeds that can be fed back to the rabbits.

There are also some men, holding a long thin wooden stick in their hands, driving their little sheep to graze in the most lush places on the riverbank.

What a pastoral pastoral, even if it is about to rain, they still have to do some necessary work.

Suddenly, a large number of sailboats turned out of the river covered by a forest.

Children fishing, women mowing, and men grazing, all on alert.

It stands to reason that because of the rather successful marriage half a year ago, the Rus people began to have a not bad new view among the residents of White Tree Manor.

However, the Rus people who were rooted in their memory were the image of pirates, which basically turned into the instinct of running around.

"What a bunch of cowards! Young people, did you see that? That's called cowards."

Otto had seen the people scattered back to the manor, and couldn't help but teach the young men of the tribe a lesson.

When I saw the Novgorods for the first time, I saw their escaped backs, and Kawi had some regrets about this.

"Chief, am I going to choose a woman from a group of cowards to be my wife."

"Maybe!" Otto sighed. "Maybe they are cowards, but your children will be brave. As long as you are willing to teach them well... Oh, I forgot, you are a blacksmith."

After all, Otto laughed stupidly.

Arik also laughed awkwardly: "Yeah, I'm a blacksmith. It should be fine for me to marry a cowardly woman and have a group of small blacksmiths. We are not warriors after all."

"But you make the best weapons for warriors, work hard, my Kawi, and I will find a way to choose the most beautiful woman for you."

"Ah! Great leader, you..." Kawei was sure that he heard it right, that his marriage should be worrying about the big leader?

In fact, the problem is simple. Before setting off, the blacksmith Kravasen secretly gave Otto a sum of money, which was considered a bribe. Clavason's only purpose is to help his son Kawhi marry the most beautiful woman, preferably with some noble status locally.

As a leader, you have to do things when you get money.

And Otto did have a goal in choosing a parent for the young blacksmith Kawi.

"Brothers! Listen to my command and prepare to turn into the river ahead! We are going to camp at White Tree Manor tonight!" Otto, who was standing on the bow, gave an order, and forty ships lined up in a column, like a huge The water snake turned neatly into the small waterway.

Those who escaped fled back to the manor, shouting on the road inside the manor, announcing the terrible truth of the arrival of the Rus!

Times have changed!

Originally, everyone should be surprised by the disgust attitude, but now some families have new expectations for the Rus people.

Now is the time to verify whether the Rus people keep their promises, because those married daughters, the Rus people promise that when they return in the spring and summer, the son-in-law will bring the pregnant daughter back to her parents' home.

More people are still nervous, after all, every time the Rus people come, they are an army of more than 400 people.

Those terrifying Rus, most of them tall and strong, carried weapons of bronze or iron, and some wore chainmail.

The total population of the members of the White Tree Village is indeed two thousand people. If all the fighting forces are organized, they are bound to be easily defeated by the Rus. Those spears made of stone, and hammers made of large stones, were almost impossible to break the shield of the Rus. The men in the manor are generally a head shorter than the Ross people, and their strength is much worse.

Maybe a Ross man can lift a man from the White Tree Village with one hand, and then slam it to the ground.

A large number of leading warships are based on the dock of White Tree Manor. Compared with those canoes in White Tree Manor, the leading warships are real giants.

The large ships pushed the canoes away, and the various trestle bridges of the pier were completely occupied by the Rus.

The ships had already started to dock, and Otto stepped directly on the planks of the trestle, and ordered his subordinates with a hunched back and a voice: "Hurry up and push all the ships to the shore. Unload the canvas and cover the whole ship!"

After all, the sky was getting dark, and the dark clouds also covered the western sunset.

Rain is always very bad for a leading warship that doesn't work overtime.

The rest of the canvas covers the hull as much as possible, these completely linen canvas is not high quality, it is not waterproof. So many canvases have a lot of patches in the past. Even so, the canvas can at least divert the rainwater, preventing the boat from flooding the entire cabin with rainwater.

Five hundred Rus came ashore one after another, and ten women who had once belonged to White Tree Manor returned to their hometown with their husbands.

The current situation made these ten women a little disappointed, and the people in their hometown stomped, as if they did not intend to communicate with the people of the Rus who landed.

Of course, it was the case that an ordinary farmer went to talk to the Rus in person? It's crazy.

Speaking of chatting, these are the things that Zhuang has the right to do.

The vast majority of ordinary families hid in their houses, and some even brought some necessary softness and ran to the nearby pine forest to settle down with their families.

Some people plan to keep hiding until the Russ walk away with enough tribute.