The Ross fleet sailed against the wind, and finally returned to its home port of Rossburg on November 1 of the Julian calendar.
The honest transport ship collided with the ice floes on the bay. Otto was very scared. His fleet might be delayed for a few days and any ship would be frozen at sea.
It’s not like the Russians have never encountered such a bad incident when their boats freeze on the ice. Naturally, their fishing boats try their best to catch fish, even if there are a lot of ice floes on the sea surface, or the warm season has just arrived.
Ignore the icebergs that are several meters high and venture out to sea for fishing.
It cannot be said that they are just brave. The most critical motivation for action is their hungry stomachs.
Otto's fleet came back, and they took away 50,000 pounds of grain. As a result, they brought back 400,000 pounds of new wheat!
Because of Pine Needle Manor's stupid resistance, Otto punishedly collected more tributes. As for the life and death of the locals, he didn't care.
If there is anyone in Novgorod who needs extra care or even support, it is none other than the loyal White Tree Manor.
Fort Ross was covered in snow, and the nearby hills were also shrouded in silver.
There were no fishing boats cruising above the sea. The huge fleet suddenly appeared, as if they suddenly appeared from under the sea. When the people on the shore saw this scene clearly, the whole Roseburg was boiling.
Today, the daylight hours are very short and the temperatures are very cold.
Rurik deliberately placed a pottery urn outdoors to estimate the temperature by observing the thickness of water ice.
In fact, the temperature in Fort Ross was below freezing all day long. It was so cold that it was no longer appropriate to continue to order the children to do military training. Rurik did not think that everyone would be afraid of the cold after wearing fur clothes, because the increasingly short-term
During the day, he also kept cutting back on training time.
The so-called training, as usual, consists of boys and girls lining up in a matrix, carrying weapons made of wood, walking in neat steps and shouting slogans, followed by the much-loved fighting training and archery competition.
After a long period of training, the boys have become an army that moves in unison.
What about the girls? They received high-intensity queue training, and in order to achieve quick success, Rurik simply selected the best-performing girls and gave them the authority of "captain", and directly kicked those who were neglectful. If there were serious cases,
Those who are negligent will be served without food.
They came at the end of August, and after two full months of training, they could already follow the rhythm of the slogans and take uniform steps. They also practiced archery desperately, not to mention whether they could kill rabbits and birds, "Varkey"
The children of the "Li Legion" have great potential.
The steel-armed crossbow was a treasure that was only made in October. After the first ten pairs were made, Klavasen immediately started making new ones.
As a result, new items were immediately added to the children's military training, so that many people suddenly realized that they were obviously powerful hunters!
You say that it may take ten years to train an excellent longbowman, but a month or two may be too much to train an elite crossbowman.
Rurik had a new understanding of this concept, because what he saw was that his subordinates, whether boys or girls, clearly understood the complete operation of the crossbow in two days at most.
He also had to sigh with emotion at the amazing learning ability of a child.
Now, despite the delay, the Ross Sogon fleet commanded by my father has finally returned safely.
It was noon, and Rurik was having a meal with his men in what was said to be as many as ten wooden shed canteens made of logs that had not even had their bark removed.
As usual, everyone ate cooked oats, which was said to be called wheat porridge, and Rurik preferred to call it wheat kernel rice.
Although fishing operations are suspended, there is still fish in the children's rice bowls.
At this season, the whole world is like a big refrigerator! The fish caught before were thrown directly into the snowdrifts. Now, every household in Russia has a large reserve of frozen fish. Even if the frozen fish is cooked, there is no fresh fish.
It's delicious, but no one is in a hurry, especially the girls eating, who will be busy soon.
Many girls have to work hard to make soap in winter, and the raw material required is a large amount of seal fat caught in winter. As for seal meat, it has naturally become a high-quality fresh meat that children can eat.
These children who enjoyed Rurik's special treatment and ate the best food from the Ross tribe felt grateful for Rurik.
Regarding the so-called canteen, Rurik really only needed a place that could be sheltered from wind and rain to accommodate hundreds of children to eat together. Although the house was simple and simple, the objects inside also revealed a strong Nordic minimalist style.
Ten children crowded on a long bench, lying on a long table made of wooden strips in front of them, each holding a wooden spoon to dig into the wheat porridge to eat. There were at least three such long tables and benches in each house.
There are also people holding chopsticks here, that is, using two wooden sticks to pick up cooked fish, or using them to pick up wheat kernels in a bowl. Since Rurik demonstrated the magical operation of using chopsticks to pick up wheat kernels, some children
Immediately he started to learn from others.
Isn’t it weird for Nordic people to eat with chopsticks?
Rurik didn't think it was strange, he even thought it was necessary.
Because the culture of eating with knives and forks is completely the result of the popularization of the culture of the French Bourbon Dynasty. In the previous era, there were only two things that could be called tableware in the vast majority of Europe, daggers for cutting meat and self-defense, and spoons.
How can ordinary people have precious daggers? At most, they are wooden spoons.
Of course, a pair of hands is a special piece of tableware in its own right.
It goes without saying that eating food with dirty hands is a disease that comes from the mouth. Encourage your subordinates to try their best to avoid touching food with their hands and use spoons and two wooden sticks as media. This will definitely improve the hygiene situation to a great extent.
, reduce disease deaths among Ross children.
The children ate amid chattering. As their leader, Rurik naturally wanted to have lunch with his men.
He set up an independent canteen for himself, with a large rectangular table and a circle of wooden stools. Because it was winter, the stools had leather cushions.
Rurik naturally sat in the most honorable position, and according to Dongfeng's custom, the master sat in the north, with all the men on the left and all women on the right.
Every time, confidants like Kanuf and Fisk sat next to Rurik. Now, two coaches, Jevlo and Frazier, also joined the banquet.
On the right side of Rurik are naturally the two sisters Carlotta and Ella, and Rumia, who has time to spare, will also sit down.
In addition, a group of men and women are allowed to enter this cafeteria. Those who can have lunch with Rurik are all Rurik's confidants, and everyone can realize that they have a bright future.
The fact that the big leader still had not returned made the tribe panic. The old high priest Vilia had no choice but to put the antlered helmet on Rumia's head and ordered her to announce the results of the divination to the tribe on his behalf.
The high priest always said that the leader's fleet would be back soon, but when exactly would it be back?
Rumors began to spread among the tribe that the leader would camp in New Roseburg this year and would not return until the ice and snow melted next year.
There are also people here who are making very vicious and bad remarks, saying that Otto and those tribesmen have perished in the sea.
As for the person who said such words, he was caught and beheaded by Arik afterwards, and the corpse of the person who deceived the public was displayed in public.
But everyone never expected that the person who was killed was actually a spy sent by the Melalen tribe! The infiltrated spy observed many things, even Rurik's training of children. A few of the spies who had an overall view of the situation realized that Ross
Human ambition, and the legendary Rurik is really capable.
I really wish that the Russians would suddenly fall. Without this competitor, the Malaren people can continue to maintain their power in the alliance.
Perhaps some Rus people hope that Otto will die so that the careerists can stand up and challenge the successor Rurik. But the careerists know that the people who go to collect tributes have been the elite of the Rus tribe since ancient times, and it is the Rus people who maintain their strength.
The key force is that no one wants all those tribesmen to be buried in the sea.
In the end, some of the craftsmen were killed, while the others chose to shut up and continue to observe quietly as traders.
Xizuo, they learned about the magical weapon of the crossbow for the first time, and the idea of taking one away as a gift to the master also occupied Xizuo's mind.
What was very bad was that Rurik had not yet thought that he was being targeted by a potential enemy. The enemy was not the Danes, but the leader of the alliance, Olegin, the leader of Mälaren.
The children who were eating were laughing and laughing, and a woman who was cooking in an extremely excited mood broke into the wooden shed like crazy.
"Rurik! Our big leader is back!"
"What? My father is finally back?!" Rurik hurriedly threw the spoon and stood on the stool in a daze.
"It's absolutely true! A huge fleet has appeared! They will enter the port soon."
"Oh, that's great." Rurik jumped to the ground quickly and shouted: "Brothers, organize everyone and line up!"
No one had any objections. They didn't even bother to finish the food in the bowl and hurried out the door following Rurik's footsteps.
Although wasting food is stupid and shameful, Rurik's order is absolute, and everyone eats food provided by Rurik, so there is no shame in wasting food. If Rurik's order cannot be implemented immediately, then
It is the greatest shame.
Rurik issued the assembly order, and in an instant, all the children filed out of all ten canteens.
The whole scene was a bit noisy and chaotic. Rurik stood casually on an empty barrel, pulled out his sword and shouted: "Brothers! The leader has returned, everyone lines up, let's go to the beach!"
In an instant, everyone knew what to do next, because everything had been rehearsed.
Carlotta began to gather her girls as usual, while Rurik led Fisk, Kanuf and others to gather all the boys.
It may only take a minute, and the previous chaos is gone.
The cooks who were cooking couldn't help but whisper: "Rurik, you have trained hundreds of children into an army."
Rurik walked at the front of the team, holding his sword high. Behind him were two square formations arranged in a matrix.
"Left! Right! Left! Right..."
Carlotta shouted the slogan and supervised the girls to keep pace and line up neatly.
The boys' team is led by the very authoritative Fisk.
A large number of people were already gathering towards the coast, but among the chaotic crowds, an army marched in an orderly and orderly manner on the very solid snow.
Many people stopped and looked at all this in surprise.
There are five people in a row, as many as thirty rows deep. This is true for the boys' team, and the same is true for the girls.
Rurik took out the money from the big cash box and customized the same style of thick leather shoes, the same leather coat, and even the same cowhide hat that could protect the ears for all the children who were being trained.
The customization of all clothes actually began after Rurik ordered clothes for ten maids, and then began to expand the scope of orders. The huge number of women in the tribe were paid for their labor, and Rurik provided sewing materials. Their work
Enthusiasm is extremely high.
It can be said that boys and girls wear the same style of clothes. How can the visual impact be summed up in just one shock? What's more, the rhythm of their steps is really highly consistent.
Noticing the surprised looks of the onlookers, the children in the team also felt proud.
Especially the orphan girls of Melalen, they feel that becoming a part of the team is extremely warm physically and mentally.
But that's still not the most shocking thing.
Rurik found the most conspicuous position for himself and his men. The children were still arranged in a neat formation, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the approaching fleet.
The great Otto stood on the bow of his flagship. He held on to the wooden dragon head of the ship and told his men not to be afraid of the ice floes when paddling, while his eyes stared at the tribesmen gathered on the shore.
Suddenly, a clear roar came from the distance.
"Ularos!" Rurik took the lead and roared, raising his sword.
His men all shouted in childish, sharp voices: "Ularos!"
"Ura Otto!" Rurik continued to roar.
"Ula Otto!"
…
This is the welcome ceremony prepared by Rurik. If there were no restrictions, Rurik would show some flags, get all the leather drums and beat them rhythmically to create the most enthusiastic atmosphere.
For the time being, he could only count on the resonant voices of his men.
"It's really strange. Why do I feel like they are calling my name?" Otto was a little puzzled and even pressed his own ears to blow away the earwax.
Harozov, who was traveling with him, joked: "Chief, these are Rurik's children."
"Huh? Those kids?"
"Isn't it?" Harozov said bluntly while paddling: "Who knows what "Ula" means? Only Rurik knows. Who else can shout "Ula" as a slogan except your son?
"That's true. Maybe he trained those girls very well." Otto felt happy. As the fleet continued to pass through the port, he saw more spectacular details.
Could it be that it has become a new type of Russian repertoire for the Russians to welcome their son and his men in a neat queue at the beach?
However, this time, Otto couldn't help but rub his eyes hard. In a daze, he felt that his eyes were full of double images. It wasn't until boats started to wash up on the beach that Otto realized that the children were actually wearing uniform clothes.
An old guy with a rough, braided beard jumped out of the dragon-headed warship, and Rurik knew at a glance that it was his father whom he had not seen for nearly two months.
"Ula! Otto! Ula! Ross!"
Rurik raised his dagger high, widened his eyes and led his men to shout loud slogans again.
He waved his hands and sword desperately, encouraging his men to continue shouting neat slogans, and then handed over the work of boosting the atmosphere to Fisk.
The children of the Russians must prove that they can inherit the bravery of their fathers, especially children whose fathers died in the war, and they need to prove themselves. Fisk cherishes the opportunity to show himself in front of the big leader Otto. He leads everyone and also tears apart.
With the momentum of his voice, he yelled the loudest slogan.
All this was witnessed by the tribesmen in shock. Even the shock brought by the children's strong momentum was equivalent to the large-scale beaching of the fleet.
Rurik put away his sword and walked straight towards his father Otto.
A weathered old warrior brought his battle-hardened army back in triumph with a huge amount of loot. This old warrior was Otto.
A seemingly naive young warrior, with a young "army" who had been trained to be very impressive, greeted their fathers.
Niya stood in the crowd. At this moment, she was not just Otto's wife, but like all Russian women, she witnessed the confrontation between the old and new leaders.
People saw not only that the old leader had once again proved himself to be strong and reliable, but also the ambitions of the next leader.
Otto picked up his son, then kissed his son's young face with his bearded mouth.
Then he held him in his arms and asked excitedly: "Rurik, is this your army?"
"Yes! Dad!"
"Is this your new trick? Oh, I'm really touched."
"Do you think it's good?" Rurik asked knowingly.
"Yeah, but where are your girls?"
"They are right here." Rurik immediately shouted loudly: "Carlotta, order the girls to take off their hats!"
Rurik's order was absolute, and one hundred and fifty girls did it without any delay. You know, it was unimaginable for Otto to have a large group of people make the same move at the same time.
They have golden hair, braids that hang down to their chests, and pretty faces. They all wear thick, decent and uniform clothes.
"Ah! Your girls are becoming extraordinary too?!"
Rurik immediately gave an order, and Carlotta ran all the way and stood in front of Otto.
"You...are you Carlotta?" Otto asked in surprise.
"Dad, I haven't seen you for more than a month. Have you forgotten me?"
The girl's eyes widened, and Otto was filled with joy when she called her daddy.
"You... gained weight."
"No! I have become stronger and can be a female warrior. You see, our girls will definitely impress you. If there is a war in the future, we will also defend our country under the leadership of Rurik.
Ross, our Ostara, our everything.”
In fact, these words were taught to Carlotta by Rurik, and there were many similar words prepared.
Otto was pleased with what he heard. He put down his son and put his big hands over the heads of the two children, a boy and a girl.
The two of them, one is the future of the Rus people, and the other is the future of the Ostara people. In other words, the two of them, and this group of children with their own origins, they are the future of the Northern Siiya Alliance.
As for the people in power in Mellaren, they are simply unreliable.
"Let's go, Rurik, Carlotta, take your people home. Next is my time, this place will soon become a site for distributing supplies."
Otto patted his son's little head again, signaling him to stop dawdling.
"Dad, actually I still have some magical things for you to see." Rurik was a little reluctant, and he couldn't wait to show off the steel-armed crossbow.
Otto felt that the unbelievably neat formation of a large group of children was Rurik's greatest gift. Seeing this scene, besides being shocked, Otto suddenly felt that his son was already a warrior.
Although his son is young, he already has the appeal of a leader, and he also feels that his son has an indescribable unique temperament that belongs to a warrior.
An idea flashed through Otto's mind. In the past, he thought that his son was too young. Maybe now, Rurik had a good opportunity to see the world. Since this child is destined to inherit his power, he must leave Rossburg as soon as possible.
A corner of the world to see the vastness of the world.
He finally patted his son's small but strong back: "You and your mother will go home for now and disband your soldiers. When I finish handling my important matters, there are still some things I need to tell you."
"Ah? Are there another group of Novgorod servants?" Rurik said bluntly.
"There is none this year. If you need it, I will bring you some next year. Go back quickly!"
Rurik was a little disappointed, but on second thought, he gained a lot of popularity with today's performance. But the performance is not over yet.
Rurik, who returned to the array, gave orders again. The current situation is that all the returning Russians saw clearly the neat queue of children, and they also saw them walking in exactly the same steps, in a neat formation.
, leaving the noisy and chaotic beach at a steady speed.
Otto's eyes widened and were bloodshot.
His heart was beating wildly and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Are they still children? Bah! In just ten more years, they will be the strongest warriors!