The cavalry teams that were released came back one after another, but one team still didn't return.
It's Ureko's team. I'm afraid they went to a very far place to investigate. Don't worry about their safety. These ruthless people have experienced many bloody battles and have rich experience in wild survival. They are sitting on Turkic horses with extremely strong endurance.
You can take advantage of the warm season to explore more distant places.
It doesn't matter that a ten-man team has not returned. Captain Fisk believes that they have their own destiny.
For Fisk, in the name of King Rurik, it is indeed a major task to assist the Principality of Ostara in establishing a new stronghold with the south during this non-war period. He still has huge management rights over the First Cavalry. After all,
The king has gone to the capital and has no ability to remotely command the cavalry. Fisk, who has great power, can fully exercise his power. What he wants to do is to further explore the distant intelligence and pave the way for Ross's future expansion.
A military stronghold called Vitebsk is about to be established, and after a few days of rest, Fisk has already set off to gather his men.
Currently, there are only ten squads of regular troops belonging to the First Cavalry Corps gathered in Luckiholm (Big Lucki). Since one squadron has not returned, only nine squads of ninety people are actually controlled by Fisk.
These ninety people were expanded after the end of the war last year and were full. There are some new recruits among them, and the overall combat effectiveness has been weakened.
Even so, they are still the strongest land force in the kingdom.
Fortunately, the Principality of Ostara has transformed from a navigator into an equestrian force. They have contracted a considerable part of the horse-raising work. While providing excellent riding horses to the regular army, they also keep the inferior horses for their own use. Although they are inferior horses,
After being recuperated and trained, they still have good strength. The cavalry warriors of the Principality of Ostara are semi-off-the-job citizen soldiers, so there is a visible gap between the horses and riders and the regular cavalry.
Considering that the Polotsk tribe I heard recently doesn't even have cavalry, even inferior cavalry still has a strong tactical advantage.
Since the name of the new settlement was thought up by Duchess Carlotta, it makes sense for her to send her own people to build the stronghold. It just so happens that Ostara's cavalry is not strong, so it must be appropriate for the soldiers to serve as the labor force to build houses and build wooden walls.
King Rurik wants to do his own thing in the north, and even sail to Lake Mälaren to inspect the Swedish world and go to the Uppsala Great Temple to make sacrifices.
A huge kingdom, the various Viking forces living in the northern ocean finally ushered in peace. However, based on the current limited communication technology, Rurik was unable to personally manage this huge area.
The basic structure of the kingdom is still part of the Principality of Ross. The area managed by the governors is the core of the principality and the real strength of the Kingdom of Ross. The governors are either blood relatives of the country or relatives by marriage. There are also some
Counts in remote areas are equivalent to "counts on the border". Their bloodline is either from the blood of old Rus's or new Rus's who joined later. Since they are far away from the core area, giving them independent power by enfeoffment is actually a low-cost way to maintain the kingdom.
Stable means.
The Ross version of the "parallel system of counties and states" already exists. The closer each region is to the core area, the greater the king's management authority.
Just like the Principality of Ostara, it exists between an allied kingdom like Denmark and a vassal state of Rus. Just like the relationship between Carlotta and Rurik, they are husband and wife and brother and sister.
In this way, Ostara's expansion has really strong legal autonomy, and there is no need to ask Rurik for instructions. Moreover, if you really send someone to ask him for instructions, the time cost is too high.
As the saying goes, there will be consequences for the foreign monarch's orders, and Carlotta herself is a duchess. She was authorized by Rurik to mobilize the kingdom's first cavalry for her own use, and she really began to exercise her power.
After all, the 1st Cavalry was an elite unit, and most of its personnel had to stay in the rear to continue training and maintain communication with the new town of Lukiholm in the south through the passage along the Lovati River.
Fisk decided to act conservatively. The more troops he had, the more he would consume. The three hundred cavalrymen of the cavalry were dispatched collectively just for fighting. There was obviously no war now, so dispatching one-third of the troops was enough.
But one hundred riders seemed too few to Carlotta!
In this way, Lukiholm's total number of cavalry was still forcibly expanded to 300. Carlotta took the risk and mobilized her own people, as well as the fused Gran people, to piece together 200 cavalry for Fisk to dispatch.
Unable to refuse the hospitality, Fisk had no choice but to claim these weak cavalry. "At least you will be good builders."
In 841, the Kingdom of Rus and the entire Viking world faced a completely new situation.
The Danes deliberately wreaked havoc in the western seas, some plundered Britain, and some entered the Rhine River and entered the hinterland of Western Europe to further intervene in the Frankish Civil War.
In the Rus' Principality part of Rus, Rurik wanted to lick his wounds after the war and become strong enough to expand again. As for the Swedish part, the Götaland part, and the Finnish part, since Rurik announced that there would be no large-scale war, the nobles from all over the country
The lords were happy to produce and trade peacefully.
Only the Principality of Ostara was once a victim of the invasion war, but now they have turned their offensive and become the vanguard of Eastern European expansion.
Carlotta has strategic initiative and huge strategic and tactical advantages.
Because she knows the macro map of the Eastern European world.
The paper outlines the map, the black lines describe the land and ocean, the black lines inside the land describe rivers and their basic directions, and the circles are proven lakes. The picture is a painting by Rurik. He did not know the precise direction of the river, but
By understanding the territory of later Eastern European countries, especially the basic understanding of the Soviet-German war in World War II, the direction of the key rivers can be described quite accurately.
No one expects Rurik's painting to be accurate. As long as the explorers know that such a river exists, the latter will then personally search for it and describe it through some surveying and mapping methods.
Nowadays, anyone who has received a Ross-style cultural education has no doubt that Misrad (the human world) is a huge sphere.
In Russia, "Flat Earth Theory" has completely lost its market among young people and aristocrats. "Flat Earth Theory" is truth and can be practiced.
Set up a stika-high wooden pillar on the summer solstice, measure the length of the sun's shadow at noon, and use some mathematical calculations to deduce the dimensions.
The dimensions of Lukiholm have been measured, and a surprising conclusion has been drawn - it is 10° lower than the dimension of Fort Ross, and 4° lower than the capital city of New Rossburg.
What's the use of measuring like this? Very useful.
Since Stika is the usual unit of length used by the Nordic people, Rurik felt that it looked close to meter. In this case, let’s estimate the two to be equal.
Rurik can be regarded as the founder of "Russian Geography and Mapping". He roughly interpreted stika with meter. Since the circumference of the earth is considered to be a circle of 40,000 kilometers, it is simply regarded as 40,000 kilostika, the so-called forty thousand rosli.
Such a dimensional difference of 1° can be estimated to be 110 kilostika (rosli) differences on the earth.
This is of great strategic significance to the military. People who built a stronghold as far away as Lukiholm were able to estimate the straight-line distance between themselves and Novgorod and Novorossberg. Then by understanding the speed of the horses in a day, they could
Boldly guessing the speed of personnel exchanges, another way to understand it is that once Lukiholm is attacked by foreign enemies, the defenders can estimate the fastest theoretical reinforcement time, and even estimate how long it will take even if they abandon the city and escape.
Withdraw to the north.
This is Carlotta's choice, the choice of the Principality of Ostara, and her active expansion on behalf of Ross. She knows very well that she must be responsible for the decision to expand, and if the expansion is frustrated, she will bear full responsibility.
However, once the expansion is successful, the Principality of Ostara will achieve a miracle, and Rus will also achieve strategic suppression of Smolensk.
"As long as I build Vitebsk, I will block the river traffic. From now on, the guys from Riga will never want to contact Smolensk. Smolensk will never get sea salt, nor can they sell grain and leather.
Change the iron."
This is her strategy, an extremely insidious and cruel conspiracy. She is convinced that if she acts like this, she will definitely encounter a counterattack from the opponent.
There was no turning back for her, and almost all of Ostara's cavalry was handed over to Fisk, enough for the general to carry out military adventures.
She was indeed very sincere. If her son Karl was ten years old, he would naturally take part in the operation. She felt that she was giving birth to a second child with Rurik, and she was not suitable to participate in military operations. She pulled Ge from behind.
The leader of the Lan people, now the general of the Principality of Ostara, Svalgard, went to command the cavalry and accepted Fisk's command.
This is a good thing. The weak Ostara cavalry happens to be training together with the regular cavalry. High-intensity training during this critical period just enhances their own strength.
As a result, the grassland near Lukiholm became a large-scale training ground.
The infantry trains here, and the cavalry also gallops on horseback. The latter practice riding and shooting, shooting on horseback, dismounting and shooting, and then learn how to thrust with spear-carrying cavalry, push flat on the wall, and even charge with swords and battle axes staggered. When three hundred cavalry launch an assault,
The entire building in Lukiholm shook.
According to the plan, the plan to go south to build Vitebsk will be postponed until August.
This is also a vicious conspiracy!
Why is this? The whole of August is the wheat harvest season in the Yin Ermen Lake area, and also the wheat harvest season for the settled tribes in the entire West Dvina River Basin. The economy of the people of the Principality of Ostara is highly dependent on animal husbandry, and the livestock it produces
The products perfectly complement Russia's other industries, so the labor force does not have to focus on growing wheat.
The people of Ostara and the Pechenegs have been in close communication for many years. In terms of belief, they still believe in Odin and the gods, and their living habits will inevitably begin to undergo a certain degree of Turkic change.
In mid-August, the wheat harvest in the Polotsk community was almost done, right? The cavalry just happened to rush over to "thresh the wheat grass". This is a typical Turkic raiding pattern.
The cavalry will definitely not get lost. Firstly, since the Polotsk community lives along the river, the cavalry will inevitably encounter them when they run downstream along the West Dvina River. Secondly, there is Olaf (Old Harold). If older mercenaries serve as guides, the success rate will definitely be higher.
Since it is a conspiracy, there is no need to hide it.
Old Harold wanted to serve as a guide in subsequent missions to prove his worth as a guest. He had to take the lead. Because he fully knew that this was Ross's strategy, it was really chilling on the spine and praised.
Although there was no sword fighting, the war had already broken out! They just wanted to cut off the lines of communication, which meant cutting the necks of the Polotsk people, cutting off the financial resources of the Riga settlers, and also cutting off the Smolensk people. The salt and iron of Ross. Ross's move was to make the three parties enemies, and he heard the words of Duchess Carlotta of Ostara imitating King Ross: "Conquering you, what does it have to do with you?"
Wouldn't it be a great honor if he actively promoted the conquest? To be fair, Old Harold despised Vadim's usurpation of power in Smolensk from the bottom of his heart because he was not upright enough.
It is completely inferior to Ross's move. Since he decided to conquer, he suppressed the army in an upright manner. Ross just wanted to cut off the communication lines and fight those who refused. This is the glory of the Vikings.
The Principality of Ostara has an abstract bull-head flag with black stripes on a white background, paired with the flag of Rus with blue stripes on a white background. The mixed cavalry flies both flags at the same time, and there are differences in military uniforms. They are sewn with strips of black cloth. The abstract cow head pattern is not a problem on the robe. The costume of the Ross Cavalry is simply staggered and stitched with blue cloth strips.
The sewing methods of the two white robes are exactly the same, the only difference lies in the coat of arms they sew.
Now, the fleet floating on the Lovati River began to transport military supplies, including chainmail, a large number of lost arrows, and spare short wooden bows and wooden crossbows. Fisk is actively preparing for military operations and leaving himself time. Not much.
…
Just when the plan was completed and the soldiers were sharpening their sharp claws, the long-missing Ureko team finally returned!
Even if they found the source of the Lovati River and walked along the riverside area of the ever-widening river, they suffered heavy material losses due to being caught in the rain along the way. When they arrived at Lukiholm, they were almost paralyzed from exhaustion.
There are seven men and ten horses. The condition of the horses is a little better, but the cavalry is exhausted after racing one by one.
Their staggering appearance made the responder who spotted them almost unrecognizable as one of their own and thought they were a small cavalry team from Kiev.
"What happened to you? The boss came back before he could wait for you. It seems that you were fighting with someone?" The person who responded to them was also a comrade from the First Cavalry.
The haggard Ureko could only nod in acquiescence.
"Eh? No! Why are there only seven of you? Where are Eric and the others?"
"Dead in battle!" Ureko replied in a hoarse voice, which instantly aroused the consternation of the responder. He said: "Take us back quickly, I want to report our experience to Boss Fisk and the Duchess. It is very important! It must be fast!"
Something big must have happened, so the responders hurriedly took the reins of the returning horses and brought them all back to the wooden wall of Lukiholm.
The team from the beginning is back?! Sure enough, they didn't wander around in a fugue, but encountered a war!
Realizing that the situation was serious, Carlotta, Fisk and Svalgard jointly held a debriefing meeting with the seven returning people.
"You fought a battle with the enemy? Who is the enemy?!" As the cavalry captain, Fisk asked very directly.
Ureko quickly recovered his strength after drinking some honey water and oatmeal. He mentioned that he was ashamed of his escape and did not add any self-beautification, describing it as a failed military adventure.
"We discovered a village community called Polotsk. We wanted to rob the locals but encountered their counterattack. Although they were weak, they attacked and killed three of us..."
Ureko actually said a lot, and told the whole story about the massacre of the village by the ten cavalry, and also explained the specific circumstances of the subsequent sneak attack.
Carlotta's forehead had wrinkles like ravines, and her mood was extremely complicated.
Her description of the massacre of the village is pdst. After all, the old Ostara also suffered the same fate. But it is fair to say that the people who were attacked were the Polotsk people. Due to their geographical proximity, they were also close to Rus's archenemy Smo.
Lensk has close contacts, and the team's adventure is not worthy of promotion, but it also does not deserve any criticism.
"You destroyed their village and naturally made all the villagers furious." Karlota controlled his emotions and asked: "What do you think of their soldiers?"
Ureko was stunned at first, thinking that he would be scolded severely and then punished, but it seemed that this would not be the case.
Fisk then urged: "Tell me. How do you think of Polotsk's soldiers?"
"The soldiers were weak and unarmored. They used spears, axes and inferior bows. We encountered a sneak attack, but the ten brothers fought back and killed us. Three brothers died, and the rest should kill fifty of them."
"It seems that they are really weak." Fisk nodded. Although "killing fifty people" is not credible, at least the description is the same as Olaf's. After all, the latter also recently attacked the Polotsk village.
Three prisoners were taken.
"The troops are indeed weak."
"Then attack them! Three of our brothers died, which is enough reason to attack." Fisk gritted his teeth at first, while Ureko was stunned and quickly realized what the captain really meant.
At this time, Carlotta simply opened the skylight and said clearly: "We must conquer Polotsk. I have no intention of wiping them all out. What we want is their surrender. So I unite the Kingdom of Rus in the name of the Principality of Ostara."
In the name of our country, we must use troops against Polotsk. Revenge for our dead brothers is only a small purpose, our biggest purpose is to conquer. You have had real battles with them, and your experience must be promoted."
Fisk continued: "You came back in time. I will take you south soon. In fact, whether you come or not, the conquest of Polotsk is also in our plan. Ureko, you provided a first-hand battle
Information, brothers really want it!"
Ureko fully understood that no one blamed him for his reckless actions, but instead received awards. Obviously, it was not that he was reckless, but that the big shots had ambitions to swallow the sky.
"I am the captain, and I still want to avenge my dead brother." He tilted his head slightly and said these words deliberately, like a whispering evil wolf.
"You will take revenge. Return to the team now! Tell the other brothers what you saw in Polotsk and arouse the brothers' emotions. We will defeat the Polotsk army on the battlefield and conquer them with our killings.
They." Fisk said excitedly. The big bald head he had deliberately shaved off his hair frequently was now shiny, which further highlighted his imposing manner.
"As you command!"
Without any modifiers, Ureko simply responded with his full approval.