With an order, all the boys surrounding Rurik fell to their knees, and even the younger ones accidentally lay down on the snow.
At this moment, Rurik felt that he was not even a chief, but a king!
The light of the bonfire gently shone on all the kneeling bodies. Rurik always held his dagger. He raised it high and shouted loudly: "Brothers, I am your leader! I am the one you can rely on in the future.
I will give you orders, and you must complete them! I will do my best to train you to be the bravest warriors, and I will also help you all become rich. When you grow up, you will have comfortable houses and beautiful wives.
And there are as many silver coins as you can imagine."
"Like a beautiful woman from Novgorod?" Kanuf, who was kneeling, suddenly raised his head and asked abruptly.
"Shut up! Kanuf. You can't speak until I finish my sentence!"
Rurik's harsh words had a strong sense of oppression, which made many children tense up. They believed that their "King of Children" really changed his temperament after killing the deer.
It's like the children's own father's description of Otto - the old leader is a real man on the battlefield, the mad warrior who is always at the forefront. He is fair, serious, and brave.
After the battle, he was very kind to everyone.
Rurik improvised some words of encouragement, but there were also some words that he really needed to say.
"Now you all surrender to me, good! I trust you. After this festival, you will be one year older, and your family will ask you to do more things. I don't care what your family is like, I will continue to take care of you."
When you go to train, I will not only teach you how to fight, but also have other things to learn. You have no choice, you must follow me. Now, are any of you dissatisfied? Those who are dissatisfied can stand up and withdraw now!"
Someone stood up? Who dares! Besides, everyone is willing to follow Rurik, just because following him, the boring life has become interesting. Besides, parents are saying that Otto’s son Rurik made money just through soap
I have acquired a large amount of wealth. If I behave well, won’t I be rewarded by Rurik?
Even the strongest Fisk surrendered obediently, how could anyone dare to object?
Rurik wanted this effect. He put his sword back into its scabbard and ordered in a childish voice that he didn't even like: "All of you, stand up! Arrange like on the hillside in the woods!"
In a very short period of time, these more than a hundred children were arranged in five rows. The children in each row belonged to the "same boat". Now because some people did not come, there were less than thirty people in one row. Those who did not come
It didn't matter if they didn't come because of some trivial matter. Rurik knew that if he had a hundred elite fans who had been trained since childhood, twenty years later, they would be his most powerful cards.
"Very good! I thought we would stop training when it gets cold, and you have forgotten to line up! It seems that our training results are very good." Rurik paused and said, "Listen, you will still maintain this attitude after you grow up.
Team, I promise you that in twenty years, each of you will have a beautiful and strong armor, and a beautiful ste1svard sword that can cut off ordinary swords. Now follow me and roar!"
After saying that, Rurik drew out his sword again and yelled "ypaaaax" in a very abrupt voice. Ah, we are all Russians, and the descendants of Rus are also the Maozi.
Although it is a bit abrupt, Rurik wants to set a rule now, "ypa! It means bravery and victory. From now on, we will shout ypa together when facing the enemy. We can scare the enemy with just our momentum. Now follow my rhythm
, roar!"
Viking war cries are not uncommon, especially when forming a traditional shield wall to approach the enemy. Each individual in the team must roar in rhythm with their footsteps. The first priority in doing this is to ensure that the pace is stable, and the second is to attack the enemy.
psychological shock.
However, they are Russians after all, so shouting "Ula" is a must!
Everyone accepted this interesting roar in an instant, and everyone roared rhythmically at the same time in childish voices, which made them feel so moved.
Women should not participate in a gathering of warriors, even a campfire gathering of a large group of young boys who will become warriors many years in the future.
Rumia is here just because she is a bed servant.
This servant was extraordinary. The silver jewelry she began to wear proved that she was a noble servant. Rumia leaned against a big tree. She wisely avoided it because she was also afraid of those boys who were in large numbers. Until now, Rumia
Mia only believed in her heart that Rurik was the only person in the entire barbarian group who was truly good to her.
She was carrying a small rattan basket, with some hard dried meat and bread cubes in it. It was the dry food she was ordered to carry. It was the first thing Otto could do when he was suddenly hungry at the campfire gathering with Rurik and other children.
Get some snacks for a while.
The humble girl was dumbfounded by all of this. The little master, holding the dagger high, easily ordered an astonishing number of children to kneel on the ground. She was so frightened that she quickly knelt down leaning on the big tree.
Rumia, when she saw Rurik holding up his dagger and sword to accept the worship of hundreds of children who would become powerful barbarian warriors in the future, her heart was no longer as touched as being protected.
Rumia, her heart has been completely conquered!
The children's campfire slowly extinguished, leaving a large number of footprints on the ground and a large trace of charcoal fire.
Rurik was in a great mood, but he still didn't know what kind of mental journey his servant had gone through.
His short sword was hung on his waist, and his stride looked like a miniature samurai.
His servant slightly tilted his head and followed the young master with a basket, looking submissive.
Rurik is still thinking about what happened just now, the feeling of being worshiped by others, how comfortable he feels?!
"Rumia?" he muttered suddenly.
"Masta?"
"Very good, you are calling me masta. You saw it just now, they were kneeling to me."
"I have seen it all. They will definitely be loyal to you, and so will I. My masta."
"Of course you will be loyal to me. Now come back with me. I still have some things to do."
Now Rurik knows that he needs a lot of help, especially the two industrial chains he has developed this winter, which require more labor to expand them.
Will they always abide by the agreement they made with the priests and blacksmiths?
It's unlikely, because people's hearts can change, and people's pursuit of wealth and power will never stop. When they feel that the wealth given to them is too little, they will ask for more wealth.
I think I have a contract with them as business partners, and they are not my confidants.
Want to get a confidant? The best way is to train them from an early age.
It's not like Rurik has never thought about taking some of the brats under his command to learn blacksmithing or making soap, and then he will also distribute wealth to them. Rurik just had some thoughts in this regard,
He quickly denied himself.
Boys' parents will not let their children engage in those jobs. Boys generally grow up to be new sea warriors and are destined to serve Odin. How can they become Thor's servants?
So from the beginning, Rumia was different from those who worshiped her.
Cultivate Rumia into a female warrior? Maybe some tribes do this because there are few men in their tribe, but there is obviously no need to do so in the Ross tribe. Rumia has her own strengths, and overall she is very important to the preservation of the tribe.
Those wooden boards recording knowledge are not inconsistent with her. She is a person who loves learning. If she is deeply cultivated, she will be a trustworthy housekeeper and a person who will be good at internal affairs.
Moreover, she is a woman who needs to rely on a strong male authority, either her husband or her master.
When the two returned to their warm home, they took off their warm furry coats and hung them on raised copper nails on the wooden wall.
Rurik and I were naturally in their soft and comfortable sleeping beds, while Rumia sat in the corner obediently as always and listened to his wishes.
Otto, the leader of the tribe, the tribe's grand festival has passed for a long time. According to the calendar, after enduring the long night before us, the sun will rise above the horizon again, and the new year will come.
Life was compressed in a small wooden house. In this era of extreme lack of entertainment, Otto had no choice but to lie on his side and chew dried meat to pass the time. There were already too many things in his stomach, and the thought of leaving the house made him nervous.
He went to the independent toilet next to the longhouse to relieve himself, and the unpleasant cold feeling finally made him shut up.
His wife Niya, who is quite young, was busy sewing new leather clothes and humming old songs.
Otto had no intention of helping his wife at all. Sewing and repairing clothes were all his wife's work. If there was anything a man had to do, it was cutting wood and repairing ships. This was the foundation of any man's livelihood.
The return of his son made the bored Otto very happy, and he should take the opportunity to tell his son some things he was holding back.
"Rurik, don't lie down, come to me quickly, I want to tell you something."
"Oh? Dad?"
Rurik got up and moved closer, sitting cross-legged and looking up at his father, who had a lion's mane.
Otto composed himself: "I discussed something with other people. As you know, the days will get longer and longer from tomorrow on. Winter will slowly pass. When the sea ice melts, I will take people there."
Novgorod.”
"I know this very well. It is our routine work."
"Yes. I will try to bring some soap this time. Those Novgorod people are generally poor, but there are some rich people among them. Let's not think about how much money can be easily plundered from them with an axe. If I do
Once or twice, those wealthy households ran away. This time I will try to sell some of your soap at a high price and see if I can exchange it for some other good things from them."
"Oh? I thought you would lead everyone to defeat them all and treat all Novgorodians as slaves." Rurik's head tilted slightly, and he deliberately glanced at the corner of his mouth while speaking.
"More slaves? No! We don't have that much food to feed them. Child..." Otto's big hand gently covered his son's head: "You are too young. I will take you when you grow up."
Go to Novgorod and have a long experience. Once you get there, you will know how poor those people are. Although they are poor, their population is larger than ours. I am afraid they can be equivalent to ten of us."
Huh? Could it be that Novgorod has a population of 70,000 or 80,000 in this era?
According to ancient standards, a city with such a population is not considered small.
It was the first time in a few days that Rurik learned about the existence of the cow named Novgorod. A human settlement with a population of 70,000 people provided food to a settlement with a population of 7,000 people twice a year.
, which is quite a burden.
So what can be done? Novgorod, originally means "New Great City", and its residents are all immigrants from other places. Novgorod people are not idiots, they have become servants paying tribute to the Russians.
It's just because the Russians are stronger.
"Dad, the people in Novgorod are even poorer. Why do we want these poor people to pay tribute?" Rurik asked deliberately.
"Well, they're poor, and they're really bad with weapons. They can't even build a boat bigger than a canoe. But their land is more fertile and warmer, and there are plenty of deer and even bears in the woods around them. You don't have to worry,
I will come back with a lot of leather. Since the priests need oil to make soap, I will try to get some from them. Haha, there are also some young people, and I will bring back some Novgorod this time
Women serve as their wives."
The poverty in co-author Otto's words refers more to weakness in military force.
Times have changed! Rurik was particularly aware of Vilya’s warning, that is, no one knew quite what the so-called “how Odin viewed the behavior of the tribe.” Although the first batch of Novgorod women to marry
Overall pregnancy, can the baby be delivered successfully?
Vilia was a little worried that if Odin opposed it, he would make the tribe pay the price. In order to maximize the price, the divine power was used at the last moment, that is, all married women and their unborn children would die at the last moment.
The consequences of difficult childbirth causing one body and two lives are quite common in this time and space.
Otto couldn't control that much. In his opinion, the priests used to do nothing all day long, sitting on the floor, thinking about strange things. Their lives must have been more boring than those of the sea warriors, so now they have
The work of making soap from oil was revived, and everyone worked all night despite the pain in their arms.
The more they do this, the more money their family can make in the soap business.
If it were just to collect offerings and then select some beautiful women from there to choose wives for the young men of the tribe, Otto's spring tribute voyage in 829 was really no more pioneering than what he did last autumn.
But Otto has made a great decision.
"Child, I must tell you that on our way to Novgorod, we will pass through a huge lake. Only through this lake can we find a new waterway to enter Novgorod. It is a very vast lake.
There are many fish and seals in the lake. The environment in that place is actually better than our fjord. It seems that after reclaiming the land, we can grow wheat ourselves. Alas, it is too cold here, so we can only grow wheat.
Order onions. You also know the taste of bread. Once you have eaten it once, you will never forget its taste.
I discussed it with other people. I plan to build a new settlement there. I will lead people to build some houses there, and may even send people to station there for a long time. If some land can be reclaimed and wheat can be harvested, then
Just better.
Many people support me, they think it is good to build a new town, with which in the future we will not go to Novgolov twice a year, but more often. We can go through it more often
Do business with them, so that instead of forcing them with ax and sword, they will provide us with more good things."
When Rurik heard this, his eyes widened instantly.
"Dad, are you planning for us... all of us to immigrate?"
"Immigration? No! We do need a good living environment, but all of us can't leave yet. My son... even if you become a leader, you can't lead the tribe to leave. We can't withdraw from the alliance. We still have thousands of people living in the gorge.
If we leave our allies in the Gulf, we will break the alliance and will not get the support of our allies, and may even lead to war. We still need to expand trade with the Novgorod people and expand our income. We are just establishing an auxiliary settlement.
Children, when those Novgorod women marry, they will definitely have many children left. Maybe when you grow up, our fjords will not be able to carry such a large population, and we must go out!"
"Ah! I already understand... Just do it, Dad, you are looking for a new and better future for our Ross tribe."
Otto was very happy that his son was so good at talking and understood him so well.
He continued: "Novgorod people call that lake Ladoga. There is a river that connects Lake Ladoga and the sea. There are many small islands in that inlet, which is really suitable for building a port, even better than our Rossburg.
It also needs to be safe. Maybe you don’t know yet, but what any fisherman fears the most is a storm. Our Roseburg itself is a haven. I believe that if we build a settlement at the mouth of that river, it will be safer there.
safe haven.”
Otto himself became more and more happy as he talked, and Rurik felt his heart pounding.
Rurik had no idea when Lake Ladoga got its name. Since his father specifically mentioned this term, it was obvious that the people of Novgorod already knew about the existence of this big lake, and the people of Russia also knew about it a long time ago, which is even crazier.
Yes, Lake Ladoga is connected to the mouth of the Neva River in the Baltic Sea, and the Russians have realized that it has strategic value as a port.
In 829, the Russians intended to build the second Russian settlement at the mouth of the Neva River!
Regardless of whether it will be named St. Petersburg in the future, the construction of the city at the mouth of the Neva River must have begun in 829 AD.