Vitebsk has a historical necessity in its current geographical location. The West Dvina River flows here and becomes very gentle. Many tributaries come from here. The river forms a huge S, allowing the river water to infiltrate a larger area of land, regardless of development.
Planting and animal husbandry are both good places.
The most critical thing is its geographical strategic value.
There was a direct dirt road between Vitebsk and Smolensk during the Russian era. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Army Marshal Barclay Tory's troops were stationed in Vitebsk and participated in the Smolensk Battle via a direct dry road.
Roads did not appear out of thin air. Tsarist Russia also widened and strengthened roads that had been trodden by countless feet before them.
Who established this road can be said to be the travelers of the Viking Age.
In this time and space, the Danish explorers who immigrated to Riga determined the road from the West Dvina River to the Luchasa River to the Dry Road to the Dnieper River to Smolensk, which is part of the Khiva Road.
The era is still 841. At this time, the "Road to Shiva" still exists intermittently, and a strong force is needed to integrate it.
The historical responsibility lies with Russia. At present, the real purpose of Russia's expansion in Eastern Europe is to develop and stabilize trade routes. Any non-alliance forces that block the trade routes will be hit.
It's just that people in the deep era don't know that they are the trendsetters of history. They are using ships and iron hooves to truly create the road to Khiva.
The Riga people want to go to Smolensk, and the trade line runs east-west. The Russians want to trade with Kiev and the steppes, and the trade line runs north-south.
At first, Rurik intended to use Lukiholm (Veliki Luki) as a crossroads of transportation lines, but history gave the crossroads position to Vitebsk.
Of course, Fisk, who was directing the cavalry to cut wood and build houses on the river beach, didn't quite understand how critical the geographical location where he was standing was.
The soldiers cut down pine trees wantonly. They first selected some big trees and built some special scaffolding. After digging some large pits, they tied the big tree trunks with cables, and with the help of everyone on the scaffolding, they lifted the tree trunks in a manner equivalent to installing masts on a large ship.
Insert into a seeping pit.
As the saying goes, a big tree trunk buried in a wet pit can be preserved for a long time. This is how the core pillars of the fortress wall were built.
After the fortress frame was completed, a large number of small tree trunks were filled in.
They first built the outer wall to enclose a large circle and then built the inner buildings.
All the work was quite complicated, but fortunately the people of Ostara who participated in it had almost all participated in the construction of the new city of Ostara before, and even built a stable pass building at the entrance of the Lovaj River to the lake. They
I have improved my skills in practice. Although it is very tiring, the construction is proceeding in an orderly manner.
Big trees fell one after another, and the forest continued to make loud noises. Ross's Viking logging skills were frequently used. A strong man could cut down a red pine tree that was over fifty years old with an axe, and more small trees could be chopped down by two people.
The saw can be cut in a short time.
There was no fighting, and the war horses transformed into draft horses. The horses dragged the big tree through the ford, followed by many warriors holding axes and scrapers to serve the big tree.
There is always a strong smell of rosin in the air, which is really refreshing.
However, the cavalry inevitably entered a state of slackness, and the laborers were exhausted. Everyone had been alert, but found that no one had been around for many days, and the sent scouts found no trace of anyone alive. Slackness was inevitable.
Even so, a minimum sentry was still set up, and the bow-wielding warriors standing on the wooden wall scaffolding that had just been built were looking at the downstream area with vigilant eyes. It is said that if there is an enemy attack, the attack can only come from the Polotsk people in that direction.
What on earth are the people of Polotsk doing?
It would be absurd to say that the community of Polotsk knew nothing about a large group of equestrians who had been carrying out construction work on the upper reaches of the river for many days.
What they are currently showing cannot be said to be a high degree of concern, it can only be said to be that they haven't even farted at all.
Because they have always been worried that the horse bandits will make a sneak attack, there is even a rumor among the people that when the wheat matures, the horse bandits will appear again and take the opportunity to steal the wheat and arrest people. At first, it was just speculation, but they, who were already frightened, had to believe in the probability of this happening.
Very big.
In order to avoid disasters, or to enable the militia to quickly go into battle when disasters occur, it is necessary to send more scouts to conduct distant reconnaissance.
From the standpoint of the Polotsk people, it wasn't long before they were attacked by horse bandits. After discussions between the big leader and all the village leaders, they decided to send the reconnaissance team established by the surprise attack to a larger task.
The hunters of the entire community were entrusted with important tasks. After they arrived at the ruins of Duka Village, they used this as a starting point to continue their reconnaissance upstream.
The scouts' faces were smeared with black river mud, their bodies were deliberately dressed in brown burlap, and their hats were hung with twigs from the bushes. They wandered in the forest and tried their best to hide their whereabouts. This set of tricks was used by hunters to hunt large prey.
, especially for leopards, wild boars and bears.
The scouts actually hoped that the horse bandits would disappear without a trace. Even if Polotsk suffered a loss, it would be terrible if the horse bandits really come to cause trouble during the autumn harvest. It is not that everyone has lost their courage. In fact, the autumn harvest is by no means a period of fierce fighting. Once
Delaying the most critical work of harvesting, threshing, drying, and storage means hunger or even famine next year.
The Polotsk community still adheres to rugged agriculture. Their grain yield per acre is too low, and their agricultural foundation is very fragile. They really cannot withstand the hardships.
However, whatever you fear most will come, and the disaster will clearly come in a more terrifying form!
The scouts hiding in the dark had good eyesight, and they watched helplessly as the horseman turned into a builder.
A fortress suddenly appeared in the swamp ahead. It was stronger than the big leader's stronghold. There were a large number of people working near the fortress, and the number of horses was even more astonishing.
It's like an ax hanging over your head, it could fall down at any time and open your head.
The scouts gathered together, and some continued to use the cover of the forest to observe from a distance but did not dare to come close to explore, while others retreated.
"Horse bandits! They appear!"
The scouts returned to the village community one after another. They announced their findings to the various manors arranged in a chain along the Polota River, a tributary of the big river. They thought they were sounding the alarm of danger, but in fact they were doing a great thing, but the result was naturally
The whole community was in panic. In a daze, people thought that the horse bandits had arrived at the city. They gathered with various weapons including short spears, bows and arrows, grass cutting sickles, pitchforks, threshing flails, and even just wooden hammers.
Even a woman can see clearly that it would be a better outcome for her to fall into the hands of horse bandits and die.
People cursed the horse bandits to death with the most vicious words. They gathered together and marched towards the big leader's village. The young men and women of the entire community took action to defend their homeland. This was the first time in the history of the entire community that all people were mobilized.
The call from the big leader and the leaders of each village was actually a spontaneous action by the villagers.
Their numbers are overwhelming, and individuals caught in the vast crowd realize how small they are. In other words, how powerful is the entire group? They are no longer afraid of horse bandits, and the people are so powerful that no matter how cowardly they are, they will be overwhelmed by this scene.
stand up.
The people's shouts shocked the great leader Proclaw and did not know what was happening.
Finally, the returning scouts squeezed out of the crowd and stood in front of the leader to report their horrific findings.
Proclaw had sweat on his face and was totally baffled by the large gathering of people.
"Tell me? What did you see? It seems that you are the ones who incited the people's emotions."
The leader was not afraid of the harsh criticism from the big leader. His face was extremely solemn, and he was slightly gritting his teeth. "It's a horse bandit," he said.
"Horse bandit? Sure enough, he showed up again?!" The big leader trembled instantly.
"It's more than just showing up." Another scout said in a loud voice, "Sir! We are in danger! They suddenly built a fortress upstream of the ruins of Duka Village. It is even...even stronger than your fortress."
"Yes. They also have a lot of horses. I estimate there may be 500. So there may be 500 horse bandits. Yes! There must be 500 people. They have so many troops and everyone is very cruel."
"Yes. I noticed that the forest was shaking, and many giant trees suddenly collapsed. When I wanted to take the risk and go over to see what was going on, I saw the horse bandits dragging the giant trees out of the forest. They... were a group of
monster."
The scouts were all talking, and what they said was outrageous.
The big leader frowned and listened for a long time, then suddenly cleared his throat: "That's enough. Are they gods? What you said is too bizarre."
The scouts looked at each other again, and each solemnly stated that they had not made a mistake.
Someone patted their chest: "Everything is absolutely true. There is no point in lying to you. Our homeland is now a matter of life and death. Sir, we must be ready for battle!"
"Ready for battle?!"
Looking at the speaker's pleading eyes, the big leader Proclaw hesitated to speak. He calmed down, thought about it and gave a serious order: "It is not your turn to help me make a decision on whether to start a war. This matter must be discussed at a meeting of the leaders.
, you all go down."
It was obvious that the scouts were a little disappointed with the big leader's reply, and there was a strong public voice outside the village asking for a fight. Could it be that the big leader wanted to pour cold water on everyone?
However, the chaos would not last long. At night, people from various farms had to go home to sleep. Proclaw did not show up, because he was afraid that when he faced the people, he would be filled with calls for war, and in the end he was really overwhelmed by public opinion.
Attack hastily.
If he were a reckless man, he would not have thought of becoming a big leader. His power was recognized by the leaders of each village. Becoming a big leader meant greater responsibility. The more critical he was, the more he had to be calm.
He had to consider very realistic things. If the odds of a war were set, and if he won, what would be the upper limit of the losses his side could bear? What was different from the boiling public opinion was that he knew very well that in the last sneak attack, his side killed three people.
A horse bandit, the price was indeed killed on the spot, and as many as forty people were seriously injured. Such an outrageous exchange ratio made the elites of Polotsk must calm down.
It was impossible for the indignant people to spend the night in the largest settlement. The chiefs of each village received the news from the big chief. They advised their people to go home, and finally they participated in the military meeting that decided whether to go to war.
Because the big leader Proclaw is not a dictator, and the Polotsk community is in the transition period from a village alliance to a city-state, he is somewhat like the elected "Dictado", who does have great power but also has a lot of power.
Restrictions. The big leader is first of all the leader of the largest settlement. Although the ruling family is hereditary, if the family wants to ensure the support of the allied villages, it must ensure that everyone’s interests are not damaged. The reality is that Duka Village, an allied village, has been destroyed.
Due to the sexual attack, each village was worried that disaster would befall them, so naturally they paid close attention to the attitude of the big leader.
"If I appear cowardly, they will question me. I may be removed from my position."
Proclaw was under great pressure and held a military meeting overnight, attended by village chiefs and some powerful and ruthless men known to the community.
The participants completely inherited the public's anger during the day. Everyone supported the war, at least on the surface, no one was timid.
The big leader saw clearly. He was stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes, and the flames of the oil lamp matrix on the ceiling were dancing, adding to the tension in the atmosphere.
"The scouts have found out a lot of things! A fort appeared upriver, with a large number of horses and some flags flying openly. The pattern of the flags was exactly the same as the one on the horse bandits we killed. According to the information we received,
That is the unique heraldry of the Russians, and we can basically confirm that the horse bandits are the Russians from the north, a very dangerous Varangian people. They built the fortress, obviously targeting us..." He recounted some facts.
"There's nothing to say. Organize an army and fight there! Let's gather all our strength and destroy that fortress in one fell swoop." One person was so passionate that everyone immediately cheered.
The speaker was an elderly village leader, and the leader was somewhat surprised when the words came out of his mouth.
"My old uncle, it seems that your spirit is at least thirty years younger than your body." The implication is that the old man does not care about his body and his own strength.
"It doesn't matter." The old guy had already blushed with anger: "Let my son take Jianyong from my village to fight. I also advise the leaders not to hide it. This is a major matter related to our survival. We must take it.
Use all your strength."
The old guy said it very honestly, and everyone cheered again.
But at this juncture, the big leader Proclaw mercilessly poured cold water on everyone.
"But... have you ever thought about what will happen if our attack fails? The horse bandits probably have 500 riders! The last time we attacked them, we obviously killed three of them preemptively, and we ourselves died forty
Brother, now the enemy has 500 cavalry, what should we do? We first have a force of 1,000 people. If we gather all our strength, can we assemble a team of 2,000 people?"
This is a question that goes deep into the bones. The ordinary people do not know much about the specific casualties, but the elites are very clear about it.
Someone counted on their fingers: "Including women, we can gather four thousand people."
Others shouted: "Count the young boys, and me! Even if the old man has a handful of old bones, his life will not be in vain if he dies on the battlefield."
Is it necessary for both of them to be so reckless? The big leader patted his face hard and said: "I'm afraid we can't avoid the battle, but... we still lack understanding of their situation. Even if we gather everyone
Get up and organize 4,000 people. Based on last experience, do we have to fight all the soldiers to win? Even if we win, what will we have left? Even if our homeland does not die from the horse bandits, it will be easily defeated by the people from Riga.
Remember, we plunder the money of Riga merchants who pass through the border every year, and they are very disgusted with us."
"You? What do you mean?" Another old man said indignantly: "Don't fight if you are afraid of heavy losses? Proclaw, at this time of life and death, we need a brave commander. Are you... brave?
Are you still qualified to be our leader?"
"At least he's not a reckless commander." The big leader retorted righteously.
Suddenly, like thunder on the ground, a young man came out of the room and shouted: "Uncle! Maybe you are really not suitable!"
"You?" Proclaw turned around sharply: "Boy, are you crazy?"
The young man took a step forward: "I'm not crazy. You are already old, have your brain become stiff? You'd better go for a walk in the village! Now every household is polishing axes, spearheads and scythes, and everyone is holding back a sigh of relief.
We are so angry that we want to fight, but you advise us to calm down?"
The speaker's name is Lambart, who is the nephew of the great leader Proclaw. His biological father led his men to shoot a European leopard in the forest, and carried the leopard carcass back to the village to hear about his pregnant wife.
A successful birth was a boy, so the boy was named after a leopard, named lampat (leopard).
Maybe it's because of the name. To control this name, he must live like a beast.
Rambat is indeed a young brave man in the chief's family. The chief liked this nephew so he brought him to this military meeting. He never expected that his nephew would actually challenge his uncle who was the chief, especially in this situation.
In a delicate situation.
"You are too reckless!" Proclaw shook his cold old face, shut up his nephew, and continued his assertion.
Because Proclaw was extremely ferocious when he was young and never lost a fight. Lambart had seen the tragedy of his uncle beating someone until his face was covered in blood and all his teeth were lost, and he was in awe of him from the bottom of his heart. But in the face of the entire society
Faced with the life and death crisis of the group, Lambart felt that he must make a major meritorious performance to be worthy of his status.