Even a rough house is better than talking outdoors. There are rough wooden floors that have not been polished yet, and they are simply covered with deerskin blankets so that those who sit in them do not have their legs hurt.
The house is more like a forest cabin, with a classic Russian Viking buckler hanging on the simple wooden wall, some axes, and a large Russian flag.
It can be seen that the owners of the fortress try their best to make it as refined as possible in a simple environment. They deliberately hang their own flags high and constantly inspire themselves.
It can be said that in this era, Ross first invented the concept of national flag in Europe. It is more convenient than totems and heraldry, so that two groups far apart can judge that they are theirs just by looking at each other's flag from a distance. In addition to this
, it can be endowed with more spiritual meanings, and warriors can be energetically motivated for a long time.
Just because the room where the small meeting was held was Fisk's command post, it was only normal to fly the Ross flag here.
If it were Svalgard's room, the abstract bull-headed horse hanging on the wooden wall would be the flag of the Principality of Ostara.
Fisk's command post is the management center of the Vitebsk Fortress. He sits here and gives orders, and he has the authority to determine whether to launch a war.
"Two good brothers who have come from afar, sit down." Fisk's words sounded familiar.
Wladyslav was a few years younger than him, and Quetzal was about the same age. Rounding off, they were all the same age. It was all because of Fisk's extraordinary military exploits that they were greatly respected by them. The more easy-going Fisk became, the more they
Be more cautious.
The two of them twisted their bodies and got ready. They looked at the furnishings around them and were too cautious to speak first.
The three people come from three very different ethnic groups, and the greatest common denominator among them is Slavic. Even if it is Slavic, there are certain differences between the Ilmen dialect and the Kiev Krivich dialect. At least there is nothing more reliable than it."
"Common denominator", there are many Ilmen Slavs in the First Cavalry. With these brothers, Fisk would learn the language to relieve his boredom when he was bored on weekdays. At the same time, he also talked with the Pechenegs in the army,
I also learned a little bit of the Turkic language of the steppe people.
"Don't be nervous. I don't want to say any more polite words. I just have a big question for you now." Fisk said in Slavic.
"Please speak." Quetzal replied in simple Slavic.
"Have you two ever killed an enemy? Or...have your hands been stained with blood?"
"Haha." Quetzal smiled easily, as if he was being looked down upon, and he banged his chest: "I am first of all a grassland warrior. As a brother of Khan (referring to Kagan), I have fought with Khan
Khan followed the old Khan to participate in the battle against the Khazars. I have shot enemy warriors and raided their camps. If there is still a war, I will fight without hesitation and never retreat."
Fisk was most satisfied with this reply, and then looked at Wladislav, who looked obviously reserved.
"Brother, how are you?"
"Me?" Wadi also smiled, but with a wry smile of shame. He did not want to lie: "I have never killed anyone, and I have not even participated in a battle."
"Is that so? So, have you ever slaughtered cattle or sheep?" A somewhat dissatisfied Fisk asked this quickly.
"I have slaughtered cows and sheep before. Don't worry, brother, I won't be frightened and go crazy just because I see blood."
"Okay, let's wait and see. Now there is a fighting opportunity in front of you. As I revealed when we just met, no matter whether you have participated in the battle in the past, this time, the new fortress I built here is facing a huge challenge.
War crisis!"
Fisk tilted his head with a serious look on his face. He had satisfied the appetites of the other two people. The more Wadi and Quetzal listened to this guy's description, the heavier the pressure became, as if a stone was pressing on their chests and they couldn't breathe.
"It's unbelievable that you were targeted by five thousand soldiers. How many of you are there?!" Quetzal asked with all his strength, covering his chest.
But Fisk held out three fingers: "Three hundred cavalry."
"That's all? It's not enough at all."
"It's completely different now." Fisk finally managed to smile: "Now I have a thousand cavalry."
"If this is the case, one thousand cavalry will fight five thousand infantry. You still have a chance. So if I take my tribe to participate..." Quetzal thought for a while, "My team is selected by the Khan, and every warrior
Can accurately shoot flying geese and eagles."
"Are they all sharpshooters?"
"Yes."
Fisk was overjoyed when he heard this: "You must help me."
"In this case, we Kiev people must also participate. Because, our alliance." Wladyslav took the opportunity to reiterate the alliance treaty. Although participating in the war was not something that the Kiev horsemen wanted to get involved with, he knew very well that participating in the war could
It has brought huge political benefits. It is said that we have helped the Russians today, and if we encounter trouble in the future, they will also be of great help.
"Okay, this way our one thousand cavalry coalition should be able to win."
"A thousand cavalry?" Quetzal realized something was wrong, and his small eyes narrowed into two slits. "Including us, it must be 1,700 cavalry?"
"No!" Vardy hurriedly followed up, "Could it be that Ross's cavalry really only has 300 cavalry? The one thousand you originally called included us?"
Just from this trivial matter, Fiske felt that Wladyslaw was a smart guy, while Quetzal's mathematical ability was inferior.
Fisk shook his head: "Actually, there are only a hundred real Ross cavalry."
Svalgard, who had been working as a "statue" for a while, finally spoke: "And we, the Ostara cavalry, have two hundred soldiers. In this way, if we form a team of one thousand cavalry, we will definitely win."
The more he listened, the more strange he became. Quetzal stood up suddenly and stamped his feet: "We only have a thousand people to deal with five thousand of them? I don't understand those Polotsk people at all, but they have five thousand people after all! What if?
We grassland people are facing this crisis alone, and we will choose not to fight for the time being."
"So, you're not cowardly, are you?" Fisk raised his head as if questioning.
"I'm not a coward." Quetzal sat down hurriedly again, "I just think this is a complete adventure and our coalition is very disadvantageous. Unless..."
"What's your plan?"
"We can adopt prairie tactics, sneak attack them at night, set fire to their houses, and then ride away on horseback. To create a situation where we are active and they are passive, we should not confront them head-on."
To be fair, what this kid said is very true, but Fisk, who has his own opinions, is not willing to use such a strategy.
After subsequent interrogation, Lambart, who was locked up in the barn and under close surveillance, explained some more situations. It was Ross's Ureko team that slaughtered one of the opponent's outlying villages that aroused the rage of the entire Polotsk community. It was really
Devastated, various villages joined forces. The Polotsk people are all farmers, and their settlements cannot be moved quickly, especially since the harvest season is approaching. In order not to starve to death next year, they must guard their farmland and not leave.
.
Their unity also has another meaning. It is said that they do not allow powerful enemies to linger near the settlements, so they gather the power of the entire community alliance to eradicate them in a life-threatening manner.
If the joint cavalry led by Ross further launches brutal destruction of the village, it is naturally possible to cause large-scale killings, but how will it end in the end?
As a result, Fiske completely rejected Quetzal's idea.
"You think I don't understand. This is a very special situation in this battle. Just confront them head-on, and we will stay here, just like two groups of people fighting in groups. I want to fight in an upright manner."
"I understand, you northerners like to fight openly and openly. This is good, but we don't pay so much attention." Quetzal has his own view of war, or the view of war of the entire Pecheneg Khanate. It is still relatively strong.
The weak Pechenegs still exist in the cracks between the Khazar Khanate and the Oghuz Khanate. Their population is much smaller than that of the two powerful ones. As the saying goes, if they are strong, they are dignified, but if they are weak, they are sneak attacks.
"We Russians still like upright battles." Fisk's hand pointed to the ceiling inadvertently, "Our God prefers to see brave warriors facing powerful enemies. A dead man who dies on the battlefield with a weapon in his hand is his best
His soul will ascend to the sky and enter the Hall of Valor..."
Now that Quetzal has said that, he has no intention of taking it back. The cavalry must join the battle. It is not his intention to fight head-on, but he has no intention of refuting anything.
Quetzal spread his hands: "Okay, brother! When the Khan returned to the grassland, he told you about your achievements in the northern war. You led the army to capture a great khan in the Western world (referring to Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom).
, there are brothers from our grasslands in the victorious team. We are all very happy. I am too immature and lack talent, so the Khan ordered me to practice in the north. Now I am willing to hand over the command of the army, and you will lead our cavalry!
"
Even if Quetzal didn't say anything, Fisk still wanted to seize the leadership of the Pecheneg horse team in order to facilitate management when a war broke out. Unexpectedly, Quetzal handed over the power himself, and things immediately became easier to handle.
"Very good. Brother, your people are under my command and everything will be done according to my requirements. You can rest assured that I will not let your people die. Even if it is a head-on battle, I will not let anyone die in vain."
Fisker specifically explained some things that should be said with caution and should not even be said. It can be said that he said it in front of others.
The words "I won't let you die" were just a reassurance to the two people in front of me. The wording was too straightforward.
Even though Wladyslav was hesitant at this moment, the other three people in the room ignored the so-called predicament of the five thousand troops and insisted on fighting. He also said big words. He refused to do anything and resolutely handed over his military power. "We."
The Kiev cavalry is at your disposal. I will convince all my men that they must participate in the war."
After a small meeting, the southern cavalry of more than 700 people, who had just met like magic soldiers descending from the sky, joined the Ross army, making the three forces of Ross, Kiev and Pecheneg essentially form a coalition for the first time. Its positive political significance is indeed
great.
Even though there were only three hundred cavalry, Fisk was not afraid of the so-called five thousand Polotsk armed peasants, let alone now that there were a thousand people. And the cavalry could achieve outrageous results against infantry, Quetzal and Wladyslav
We still need a chance to understand.
Although the coming military power is nominal, it is impossible for Fisk to accurately command the two allied armies in a short period of time, so it is necessary to ensure that Wadi and Quetzal cooperate well.
He was very satisfied with Quetzal's steppe army, but was very worried about Wadi's Kiev horsemen. The former had at least participated in steppe wars, while the latter had almost no combat experience (group fights did not count).
The steppe cavalry can be used as the main force. As for the Kiev horsemen, they can at best serve as a battlefield atmosphere group that fills the head.
Of course, Fiske felt that even if the Polotsk people raised an army of 5,000 people, there would definitely be many atmosphere groups among them.
A large-scale massacre of a large group of armed peasants will not end well. Once a frontal battle breaks out, the cavalry only needs to divide and strangle a part of the enemy to force the other enemies to escape.
"I still have this guy Rabat in my hands. When the time comes, I will send this guy to act as my envoy to negotiate."
Fisk had such a wishful thinking, so the coalition army was uncharacteristically strong. Although it had swelled to a thousand cavalry, it still stood firm in the swamp where the Vitebsk Fortress was located. It was as if both men and horses were wearing heavy armor and could not move.
It was the coalition commander who adopted conservative tactics, completely giving up this huge advantage even though he had super mobility, and forced the battle back to the extremely primitive "super large group fight scene".
What they want is this effect, otherwise how can the Polotsk people accept defeat? They will be defeated by the Russian army in a so-called upright battle, and the rest will be given a dignified retreat and a dignified surrender.
So even though the war hasn't started yet, and he doesn't even know the true strength of the enemy's troops, Fisk is already thinking about how to solve the mess after the war.
Of course, the coalition forces did not just sit in the fort waiting for work, the cavalry still took active measures.
The coalition forces set up camp in the Vitebsk Fortress, and the goods were transferred to the buildings inside the fortress. All the buildings had rough floors, which were perfect for avoiding moisture. Even if it rained, there was no need to worry about the goods being contaminated.
With this opportunity, Fisk learned what they had brought.
This time the joint cavalry is much larger than in previous years, and the goods it transports are still the same.
The flagship product sold by the prairie people is really the recurve bow. According to the craftsmanship of the Pecheneg people, the bow is like a sled when fully stretched. People who don't understand will think that the bow tips bent at both ends can be easily strung.
In fact, the stringing is in the completely opposite direction. The archer presses the bow handle with his thigh to forcefully bend it, and takes the opportunity to put a string made of sheep intestines on the tip of the bow.
The total number of recurve bows trafficked this time reached 500, and the number of bow strings was nearly 1,000. It is obvious that the Pecheneg bow makers must be working hard to make them, and they may not stop throughout the winter.
And new ones are still being made at the moment.
According to past trading experience, every intact recurve bow has a high price. This is by no means a random asking price by prairie people. The performance of the bow is indeed excellent, and the materials used to make it show its complexity. What is its production process?
?It is probably made from a mixture of wood, horn, animal sinew and other materials. Unfortunately, the bow makers in Ross are not yet able to reproduce it.
Of course, the grassland people have their own big problem. They are facing the sea but they don't know how to extract useful salt from bitter brine. Boiling sea water to precipitate salt is also a technology that the grassland people don't understand. So mass-produce low-carbon steel and cast iron weapons
, this is not because Ross has extremely advanced technology. Ross’s biggest advantage is in the northern iron ore area and the more extremely noble chromite producing area in Europe.
The grassland people charge a high price for recurve bows. This problem is directly offset by Ross's high-quality salt and iron, which can be said to be mutually exclusive.
The prairie horse teams are not willing to waste their idle animal power. They gather a large number of horses. The horses themselves are commodities, and the horses' backs must carry as much goods as possible, even if some of the goods are not of high value. Sheep raised by the Pechenegs
Wool cannot be consumed independently. Producing too much wool cannot be sold to the enemy to make money. Since the news brought back by the Khan is that the Rus are in great need of wool, this gives the grassland people an opportunity.
With the demand, Pecheneg herdsmen are more willing to breed sheep. This time there is a lot of wool in the cargo. Due to the lack of sacks, the large balls of wool are simply trampled and compressed by people's feet and tied with ropes, which makes many horses
It was carrying a large ball of yellowish-white stuff. It was not heavy but it was too eye-catching. From a distance, I couldn’t tell what it was. But up close, I knew it was wool.
The Kiev people trafficked a small variety of things. The Krivich people living in the south had a large population and lived relatively scattered. The farthest settlements had expanded eastward to the area from present-day Chernihiv to Sumy.
Forest area. Their production and lifestyle are no different from the Slavs in Russia. They are all agricultural people. What farmers in the north can get is basically the same in the south. Even the land on the banks of the Dnieper River owned by the Kiev people is more fertile, and they sit on
Grain production in black soil areas should be higher, but ridiculously backward agricultural technology has greatly limited the possibility of large-scale production increases.
Completely different from the steppe people, the Kiev community was unable to complement Rus' industrial advantages. This time, Kiev's cavalry team tried its best to transport agricultural and sideline products to the north, notably alcoholic beverages in oak barrels, such as ale and kvass.
There are also spices such as thyme and dill packed in sacks that can be produced in high yields in the south. They grow wildly in the southern fields, and farmers can pick them at will during the warm period and then dry them for sale.
Honey in clay pots is a flagship product of Kiev. Beekeeping in tree holes is a Slavic tradition since ancient times. Rus has been developing it in recent years, but the warmer southern region is more suitable for breeding bees. Local wild flowers
More will greatly benefit the bee colony in producing honey.
In addition, the biggest commodity of the Kiev community is probably human resources. You can get paid by working for the King of Rus, and you can get paid by doing it in the handicraft workshop affiliated to the Rus royal family. You can even get some rewards by helping the Rus people cut down trees. The most extreme
The theory is that farmers bring their own tools to mine in the extremely far north, the so-called northern mines "near the sea at the end of the world", or they directly face the sea at the end of the world (Arctic Ocean) and catch rare birds and animals in the so-called Murmansk stronghold.
Sell for money.
Ross has great demand for human resources, which has a strong appeal to the Kiev community. And because of the alliance, Ross has established a legal order not to harm any allies. In the past years, Ross has indeed fulfilled it.
With these laws and regulations, the safety and security are more attractive to Kiev people to look for opportunities in the north.
It’s just that war is not a very important part of life as people in the steppe know it. Many Kiev people follow the cavalry to go north simply because they want to find a job. From autumn to next spring, they make money and buy local supplies and then return with the returning cavalry. Only
You have to live to make money, and war is too risky.
It's a pity that brothers are riding a tiger now.
Let’s think on the bright side! Maybe we can get some useful trophies from a battle, and we may earn more than working part-time.