The coldest month of January is about to pass, and the daily daylight hours are also increasing significantly.

Grass seeds sprout quietly in the snow-covered soil, and mortals feel that the north wind is no longer so threatening.

All signs indicate the recovery of the earth, and it is finally time for people who have been on the expedition for a year to go home!

The Elbe River will not thaw until at least the end of February, but this is just an estimate by the Russians based on their own experience.

The Great Freeze of the Elbe River in the winter of 840 was very abnormal. Its ice layer was enough to support tens of thousands of people fighting on the ice. Now it is slowly thinning without people noticing.

The Russians have a custom of fishing by digging into the ice. The soldiers carry iron picks and forest axes to continuously smash the ice, cut square holes in the ice and then throw the fishhook down, hoping that the perch will bite the bait. They did catch a lot of hungry fish.

The fish also discovered the secret of the thin edge of the ice.

Even at the extreme of the dry season, the Elbe River in Hamburg is still very wide. Fishermen find that the ice in the center of the river has become less than the width of a hand. Although it can carry people without any problem, it may not last more than a few days.

.

After the long cold spell in January, winter seems to have exerted its last strength, and the days since are full of bright sunshine.

A large number of Russian soldiers wearing sunglasses now have huge black eyes. In the eyes of the local Saxons, these foreign Normans are too weird. They are already preparing to go home, and countless people are hoping that the rivers and seas will thaw immediately.

Just retreat.

Each soldier is counting his own trophies. Most of the metal implements, leather and grain captured in the long war have been consumed or turned into valuable equivalents - coins.

Everyone's pockets were full of jingling copper and silver coins, and everyone also changed their clothes.

The composition of the Russian army is very mixed, and it is filled with a large number of poor people. Because of their poverty, they are very determined to get rich by participating in the war. Now their wishes have basically been satisfied.

A large number of iron rings are strung together to weave chain mail. It is very effective for general swords and axes, and has a defensive effect against general arrow clusters. However, in terms of actual combat effectiveness, when Ross began to produce riveted iron armor more efficiently

, the past process of producing chain mail has been abandoned.

But the vast majority of soldiers did not even have a chance to get a piece of metal armor. For example, the Slavs and Finns were not picky. They searched the corpses of Frank soldiers everywhere on the battlefield and then peeled off the blood-stained chain armor and washed it.

If it is clean, it belongs to you.

The intact chain armor was worn directly, and the damaged one was cut and hung on the iron helmet as face and neck protection.

Before the war began, Rurik was unable to popularize armor for his army, and only his direct troops wore armor. Now the entire army is covered with metal armor, and iron helmets have also become widespread, but this new outfit is too Frankish.

Of the mountains of swords that were collected, most of them were shipped to Rus' ships, except for some that were given to the Saxon allies.

There is still a surplus of military rations, and the cabins are filled with metal utensils and trophies.

However, many Russian soldiers died on the banks of the Elbe River. Their ashes were put into wooden boxes and marked with the names and places of origin of the soldiers. The dead will not be buried here, and Rurik will not give them a water burial. The ashes of the dead will eventually be buried first.

It is handed over to the family members, who will then take the deceased's belongings as funerary objects, bury them in a designated cemetery, and erect a stone tablet.

The vast majority of soldiers temporarily ignore the grief of their comrades who died in battle. They will not be grateful that they survived, nor will they reflect on the destruction caused by this war.

They didn't feel any guilt. Everyone felt that they had created a miracle. Those young people who went to the battlefield for the first time completed their coming-of-age ceremony in such a crazy way. Everyone can show themselves to their hometowns when they return to their hometown.

The huge spoils of war told the story of the war for seven days and seven nights.

They still long for war, but a war that lasts for one year is beyond personal awareness. Many people need to calm down, and after enough rest, they will resolutely respond to the king's call to fight again.

In the concept of all Vikings, war is legal plunder. They live in a world of the weak and the strong, and firmly believe that the law of "If I don't rob you, you will rob me" is true. Unless there is a recognized strong man who formulates a set of rules for everyone

Everyone must acknowledge the rules. In fact, they don't want to live in such a difficult situation. Now that King Rurik is such an arbiter, the era of mutual robbery in the northern world may come to an end.

Since everyone legally no longer robs each other, no one thinks there is a problem with robbery. Just rob others! Robbery is an important way of life for northerners. If you don't rob for a month, you will feel itchy.

No one knows this better than Rurik. To put it bluntly, the rise of Russia is based on ten years of continuous plundering wars to earn enough original capital. Now that Russia is strong, it is still necessary to regard robbery as a national behavior.

Allies cannot be robbed, at least not openly. You can attack your opponents as you please. According to the signed covenant, it is an obligation for Ross to rob the Kingdom of China in the future. In this case, Rurik is determined to perform this obligation in a short time.

Rurik secretly sent a note to Count Blue Fox of Gothenburg in the Ross barracks.

There are only two people in the quiet house.

"Your Majesty, you must have something big to do with me." Blue Fox sat cross-legged, his round face full of uncertain longing for the outside world.

"You've gained weight these days." Rurik pouted.

"That's true. Our entire army is like a hibernating bear. Now that the wind and snow have finally passed, I have the opportunity to come out and stretch my muscles."

"Of course." Rurik laughed at himself and patted his belly, "I have also gained some weight. I am destined to gain weight if I don't move my muscles! I still like your slimming down. You probably already know the news about your arrangements.

"

"I heard the news, Your Majesty, are you serious?"

"Of course you are serious. You..." Rurik composed himself, "There is no surprise on your face. Are you actually very satisfied with my arrangement?"

"That's natural. I am essentially a businessman. I travel to distant places to discover business opportunities. This is the custom of the Gould family."

"Really? Then I'm relieved. I want you to lead your army and escort this guy Ludwig back to his Mainz. I know you actually went to Frankfurt Mainz. Why?

We must raise cross flags along the way and disguise ourselves as Frankish troops. If another general were to handle this matter, there might be great resistance, but I know that only you can handle this matter well."

"Of course." Blue Fox subconsciously showed the sterling silver cross on his chest, "It's because I believe in their gods."

"You?" Rurik couldn't help laughing arrogantly, "Do you believe this? I know your Gould family very well, just like the name of your family refers directly to gold. As for the gold and silver you believe in,

Which god you believe in depends on circumstances."

"Haha, your Majesty has a wise eye."

"You are very smart, and I know you want your family to grow stronger. You also have two brothers, how are they doing?"

"Red fox and black fox? Not only them, but also my sister and her children. By the way, there are also my own children. I hope my family can develop further."

"That is necessary." Rurik knew it well, and now he spoke frankly about the situation: "Henry Nassau is moving his family to the Netherlands, and he has almost a power vacuum in the inland Nassau village.

In principle, it is still the fiefdom of the Nassau family, but there may be other people who actually hold the power. We want to open the family store in Nassau Village, just like you did in Heideby. You are very experienced in this!

"

"Huh? Does your Majesty plan to temporarily place me there for a while?"

"I think you'd like to."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the arrangement." Blue Fox kept slapping his thighs, "I still don't want to just be a noble in Gothenburg, even though the geographical location is very important. I want to explore the inland area for Your Majesty, and that Ludwig

, I still hate him."

"Hate that he neglected you?"

"He made me suffer so much!"

"Times have changed, and he may ask you to do something in the future. I want you to build the shop in Nassau Village first, and remember to build it into a fortress. You have to convince the soldiers you have to go, and you can rob as you like.

If you want to make a fortune by plundering the villages and noble territories of the Kingdom, you must also keep spying on me. We also have a stronghold in Rotterstad at the mouth of the Rhine River. When the news reaches here, it will be sent back to the north. You can rest assured,

Your title of Earl of Gothenburg is permanent and will be inherited by your descendants."

Blue Fox immediately understood Wang's arrangement and hurriedly thanked him.

He added: "Then our shop in Nassau Village will eventually be handed over to someone the king can trust."

"That's natural. Why don't you give someone a choice?"

"My brother, Red Fox or Black Fox, they should also have a chance to develop. Your Majesty has met them, and now they have grown up."

When Blue Fox asked Rurik, he immediately remembered. Of course, it was not that those two men had done any great feats. In fact, the old Gould named all his sons after "fox". The so-called businessmen should have foxes.

He is so cunning, and he has a weird name that is really memorable. What’s more, the Blue Fox in this family is a big weirdo. Only Blue Fox lost weight due to his crazy adventure and suffered a lot. The other guys named Gould are both male and female.

Fat man.

The red fox and the black fox are both little fat guys. Are these people really reliable? Maybe.

Rurik nodded: "There are only four men in your Gould family. I know the business layout of old Gould, and this is also admitted by me. Your eldest brother Bai Hu is responsible for the North Baltic Sea, and you yourself are responsible for Denmark. I am not responsible for the Eastern Baltic Sea.

Your family is open, and it is perfectly fine for your two younger brothers to explore the southern market. You brothers support each other, and I am very satisfied with this matter. Okay, I will meet with Red Fox first when I return, and I hope this boy supports your opinion.

"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

As a result, Blue Fox fully understood his new mission.

The war is over, and for Blue Fox this is the beginning of a new era.

He secretly made up his mind to build an extremely strong stronghold in the village of Nassau, which he had never met before. It must be a fortress to ensure that it could hold on for more than half a year in the face of future wars.

After all, Blue Fox is not a simple person. He believes that the arrogant guy Ludwig is giving in now because he is giving in tactically. Of course, when that guy returns to his hometown, he will endure it for a long time because his strength is seriously weakened.

He felt that he would achieve greater things, and just collecting gold and silver wealth could no longer satisfy his personal ambitions.

To this end, the Blue Fox will command a special squadron, including armed cargo ships and longships. The longships are responsible for rowing and towing the large ships so that they can row upstream on the Rhine, and then set sail once the wind direction is suitable.

He expected that he could assemble a team of 500 people, all of whom were villagers from the Angkras tribe from his ancestral homeland, as well as followers of the Götaland people who had recovered Gothenburg. Most of those who could follow the army until now still wanted to continue to make profits.

As for those who are thoughtful and eager, let them leave. There should be no shortage of manpower, especially those who are eager to get rich.

The Saxons in the Hamburg area were so poor that some of them took advantage of it and only needed 500 people to meet the king's requirements.

So while the Russian army and the Danish army were busy preparing to return home, the news that General Blue Fox led the squadron to station in Nassau Village began to be publicized with great fanfare.

The squadron increased the mission of the cruise ship. Henry Nassau, Ludwig and Hardbold, and even a large number of freed Franks, will all return to their homes on this downwind fleet.

There was no need for the Blue Fox to hide his future arrangements. He was recruiting high-profile recruits in Hamburg.
To be continued...