The Russian cavalry has already set foot in the Latvian territory.
As long as you continue to move forward, you will encounter villages along the river, which are like lambs and can be freely plundered by the Russians. In theory, this is true, but Fisk issued a relevant ban.
Especially when he got here, he had to emphasize the order again: "You are not allowed to rob the village, and you are not allowed to attack the villagers you encounter, otherwise you will be punished!"
He even explained the fundamental reason for such an order: "Russ should not fight with the people in the Gulf of Riga for no reason. If this potential friend is lost, whose stupidity led to this result, the king will punish him."
Rather than fully obeying Fisk's orders, everyone was more afraid of the king's anger. For the Pechenegs in the alliance, the leader Gecha considered that doing something wrong would arouse the anger of Ross Khan, so he had to restrain his subordinates.
He also gave a warning: "Listen carefully, don't go robbing, otherwise you will be hanged!"
Most of the prairie cavalry have the status of riding slaves, but the daily life of such "combat slaves" is not painful. They are loyal to a certain master and follow them. Calling them slaves is worse than a kind of retinue. It is this kind of intimacy The relationship of personal dependence made these slaves obedient to the noble quetzal.
Forget it, Quetzal assured Fisk again: "We will not take action freely unless you have new orders."
"That's good. Let's line up, hold our chests high, and walk swaggering down the river. If the local fighters confront us, negotiate with them first. Unless... they attack us first, then fight back indiscriminately.
." Fisk added.
Indeed, this time Ross decided to go against the norm and decided to implement the "never shoot the first arrow" principle, so that even if there was an incident, it would be easier to explain later.
The army adheres to the principle of not attacking first, but smoke is rising not far ahead. It is time to verify whether the army is really restrained.
The old Harold on horseback pointed straight ahead, realizing that this was a critical moment, and emphasized: "You must not take action. It is just an ordinary village, but all the Latvians are very united. Once you take action, everything in this area will be destroyed."
Everyone will know quickly and all your plans will be in vain."
Fisk nodded hurriedly and cautiously: "I understand. I will pass through the village, and the troops will not take anything when they pass through."
"I hope so! I hope so..."
"Oh? It seems you don't believe it? Actually, I don't believe it either. My people are very ferocious. If I can't control the army well and eventually fight, I will have to retreat this year."
Old Harold was a little confused when he heard this: "A sudden fight is of course the worst result. But you shouldn't retreat directly because of this."
"What else can I do? Once a conflict arises, at least I can't settle it. I can only let the king settle it himself later. What I can do at this time is to evacuate as soon as possible to prevent the situation from getting too big and making future negotiations impossible."
It did sound reasonable, and Harold felt that this bald boy was quite commanding. Of course, he also admitted that this boy's army was too brutal, but fortunately he was self-aware.
This is a trial! To verify whether the Russian army can restrain its desire to plunder and continue deep into Latvian territory.
Horse hooves trampled across the fields with only wheat stubble, and the cavalry marched towards the village majestically. In fact, when they appeared, the villagers who felt threatened had already fled downstream with their valuables and their families in a limited time. Whether on foot,
Villagers were evacuating in their own way, by boat, or even by bullock carts and pony carts.
At first, only a few people ran away, but then panic arose. Those with poor eyesight only saw a group of moving shadows appearing in the upper reaches of the river and became suspicious. Since their fellow villagers were fleeing, they fled as well.
There was no time to move quite a lot of supplies, especially food, and some elderly people felt that given their age, it was better to stay in the village than to flee.
There were also skeptics in the village, speculating that it was not a group of threats.
The Seron people do not have this kind of strength, and the Semigalians on the other side of the river will not cross the river to move to the other side if they have nothing to do. All parties will not casually break the balance that has been maintained for a long time.
Because the various tribes in this area did not form a tribal alliance at all, they lived their own lives, forming ten large tribes and a group of free villages with a small population. There are indeed many Latvian tribes in this area, but they can only exist locally.
Influence.
More than twenty villages, large and small, and the largest settlement in Riga constitute this tribal group.
In a sense, the peaceful life of the Latvian tribes lies in the high degree of cooperation between the locals and Danish immigrants. The Semigalians, originally meaning "Northerners" in Baltic, have only truly unified and lived in
The Latvians north of the West Dvina River have truly been unified. They cannot integrate with the Latvians. Firstly, the river is a natural chasm. Secondly, the local Danish immigrant community has become a climate and is not willing to share the port of Riga with outsiders.
of wealth.
Old Harold explained some of this local geopolitical situation to Fisk, but so many terms were poured into Fisk's mind that most of the content went in one ear and out the other.
Fisk didn't care how many tribes there were in this place, and he didn't want to be the governor of the place.
He called on his cavalry and raised his right fist: "Let's go! Pass through the village and don't do anything!"
So, the cavalry continued to line up in a careful column and walked slowly toward the village of disorderly thatched houses.
In fact, for the cavalry soldiers who were born in Old Ross, they almost looked down upon these thatched houses when they saw them. It is said that their fathers also lived in such adobe thatched houses in their hometown of Rossburg, and now even the long houses with mud walls in their old places have been replaced.
Made into interlayered woodcut corrugations.
The villagers looked poor. There were some stooped old men and women standing outside the low wooden door. They were looking up at their faces that looked like cracks in the earth. They opened their eyes that were starting to become cloudy and stared at the passing cavalry and the young people on horseback.
warrior.
After all, the weather has turned cold, the cold iron helmets have been removed, and the soldiers have put on their own leather hats. Even the Ostara cavalry wears brown bear leather hats, while the Russian standing cavalry are all in the so-called Cossack style.
The "Caucasian hat" is made of white bear. The hat of the prairie people is even more special. It is a hood sewn from sheepskin. When wearing it, you cannot wear an iron mask.
The cavalrymen all removed their metal helmets, which were highly reflective in the sun. They were all dressed up in fur to keep out the cold, which made them less powerful and made the viewers less alert.
They did not take action against the old man, but instead looked at each other with the old men in the village. Then the column passed directly through this small village and continued downstream, while the old men still watched the cavalry leave calmly.
All the troops have left the village, and Fisk can finally let go of his nervousness.
Svalgard could not suppress his thoughts: "Old man, have you seen those old men and old women? They just looked at us, with no fear in their eyes."
"See it. No fear, no hostility."
"They also look very poor, I... have some doubts." After saying that, Svalgard sighed.
"What do you suspect?"
"Riga. If Latvians are not rich, what will we get in Riga?"
"Who knows?" Fisk shrugged, "Keep walking, we'll find out soon."
The Ross cavalry passed as many as three villages in the riverside area in a peaceful manner. Of course, they all had their own names. Fisk had no intention of listening, just because of the current situation. Although the army did not hurt anyone or take away any livestock,
The three villages were all deserted, except for a handful of elderly people.
Fisk was completely puzzled and decided to recruit old Harold.
But it was said that this old guy whose pseudonym was Olaf, his legs and buttocks ached while riding, and he miraculously learned how to rest by hooking his feet on the saddle and lying flat on the horse's back.
"Young hero, do you have any new questions?"
"Old Olaf, have you noticed the new problem?" Fisk frowned as he asked.
"What could be the problem? You did a great job, there really was no damage."
"But they still ran away! There are still clear ruts on the ground. I didn't dare to scare them anymore, so I ordered the cavalry to walk slowly. Look." Fisk then pointed to the sun in the west: "It's already evening.
, it’s time for us to set up camp. I really don’t know how many villages we will encounter later, but I’m afraid we will still leave empty villages. So why did they run away?”
"Perhaps they are afraid of you. After all... before you Russians set foot here, news about the raging bandits on horseback in the East has spread. Maybe they feel that disaster is coming."
"Isn't that right?!"
"That's what I think." Old Harold pursed his lips.
"But I didn't destroy or set fire, or even robbed anything. Why do they think we are evil people?"
"Who saw it? Did any witnesses notice you coming peacefully and reported it to the locals in Riga? Now that things have happened, maybe you can retreat immediately."
"No. I won't withdraw."
"Then be prepared, maybe you will have to fight them once. I hope you can still stay sane."
It can be said that Old Harold's statement is inconsistent. You can get the friendly attitude of the Latvians without looting the village. Now he describes it as no matter what the Russians do, the presence of the cavalry here is enough to trigger a battle.
In line with the principle of come what comes, Fisk has promised his subordinates to go to the beach to dig for amber and make a fortune. He has been swayed by the fiery morale he has fanned and must move forward no matter what happens.
But now it's time to rest.
At night, they set up an open-air camp in the wilderness by the river. They lit bonfires lavishly, and considering the possibility of being attacked by nervous locals, they followed the clever trick Rurik had invented ten years ago, which was to light double the bonfires.
Make potential wary scouts think that the intruder is not easy to deal with.
Until now, Fisk has not issued new orders to the entire army. All soldiers will still act according to the original plan tomorrow. The soldiers will remain in a relaxed state to welcome the new and final journey. Everyone will definitely be full of expectations for Riga, and this
A military adventure indeed.
Fisk only summoned Svalgard and Quetzal, and the three of them gathered together for a small meeting in whispers.
"Based on my past experience, a large number of villagers must have fled to Riga like crazy. Various people will tell all kinds of news and describe us as indescribable monsters. Finally, the locals will get armed and try to drive us away." He said.
explain.
"We clearly didn't kill or rob. In that case..." Quetzal clenched his fists, "Then let's take a preemptive strike. We can attack them proactively!"
"Wait a minute." Svalgard signaled: "They are not actively attacking us."
"That's right." Fisk looked at the two of them, "I know this is very risky. The whole army will continue to move forward according to the original plan. Don't tell your own people about this situation, but tell them that they must wear iron helmets and plug in
The beautiful feathers on the leather hats are inserted back into the helmets. Bows and arrows are ready, and everyone holds their chests high. We will arrive in Riga tomorrow. No matter what we encounter, we must show the most gorgeous and brave attitude to the locals."
The two agreed immediately at first, but then they realized that it was not simple. The soldiers who accepted this order were not mentally prepared for war, but imagined that their gorgeous image would be envied by the local Latvians. In fact, once it changed,
These warriors can enter combat status by changing their body. Although the change of mentality may not be fast, they can at least shoot arrows to counterattack immediately.
So, what is the attitude of the Latvians in Riga?
But the villages that the Ross Cavalry passed through and the villages that needed to be passed all had specific names.
After passing the mountain fortress built by the Seron people, they passed through a total of six villages to reach the port city of Riga at the mouth of the sea and the river.
Villagers in canoes were the first to arrive in Riga and explain the situation upstream to the local tribesmen. As more and more villagers arrived in Riga, most of the population of the six villages poured into Riga.
The unfavorable news spread like wildfire for a while! Because the first village did not see the appearance of the cavalry clearly, out of recalling the memories of past battles, they instinctively felt that it was a threat and began to flee. Latvians all have war memories, so when the news spread
By the sixth village, the mainstream theory of the escapees had become "the Semigalians crossed the river and carried out a large-scale sneak attack". There was also an even more outrageous theory, the so-called "Northlanders and Highlanders formed an alliance", which they mistakenly believed
The advancing Rus' cavalry were the Crusade of Thelons and Semigalians.
In fact, before this, some businessmen who came back from the upper reaches were full of curses on the Polotsk people. The so-called capture guys actually blocked the river for the first time because of the threat of horse bandits. The river blockade was enough, and those guys still wanted to
Goods were purchased by force, so that most Riga merchants and Danish merchants lost money.
The port city of Riga does not have a real city owner. The total population of the Latvian tribes is even 20,000. Riga is a market where villages have agreed to trade catches. In addition, Danes gradually moved in to form communities, and a rather free port city was born.
.The city has no city owner. The city belongs to all Latvians. If there is a crisis in the tribe, each village will elect a hero to lead the people through the crisis. When the crisis is over, the hero's power will be deprived of him.
If anyone in Riga has great influence, it is the boss of this generation that has emerged from the Danish immigrant community, a man named Stekander.
However, what is very subtle is that five longships and a large sailing ship recently arrived at the port of Riga by force. The powerful Latvian people in Riga rushed into the dock with their private soldiers, shouting that "the pirates must be driven out."
Stekander naturally brought his Danish heroes and mixed descendants to organize a fierce Viking militia to fight the pirates together with the locals. But Stekander at least learned about the Rus' people through the news, especially the Rus'
People must be able to show off their own coat of arms. Standing at the dock, he saw clearly the flag flying on the mast of the ship that was obviously not in a hurry to dock, and realized that it was the Russian ship.
At least the Russians also spoke Norse and believed in Odin. Even though they had settled in Riga, the Danes who immigrated here did not give up their god.
Stekander boldly organized his brothers to row a boat to negotiate with the Russians who accidentally broke in, and determined that they were from Saaremaa, a broken island where criminals were exiled. At this moment, the island was firmly controlled by Ross, and a
The old Russian noble became the owner of the island.
This nobleman is none other than the great Russian explorer and navigation expert Spyut, although he is now close to fifty years old.