Otto had never imagined that there could be another kind of bow that could shoot arrows through wood and that a child could operate alone.
It is true that the cocking method of the steel-arm crossbow is very unique and time-consuming. Since the arrows it fires can penetrate wooden boards, they can also kill bears and wild boars.
This thing is the real "new trick" of my lovely son Rurik.
When Otto was shooting the crossbow himself, he suddenly realized that he didn't need a ratchet winch to wind it up. He put on thick leather gloves, stepped on the bow arms with his feet, and used the power of his hands to string the crossbow with a roar.
A thick hemp rope soaked in oil was used to hang the bowstring on the trigger.
"Hey? Maybe it's best for adults?"
Rurik, who had his hands in his leather jacket, looked at his father's joy with satisfaction: "Dad, this is for adults. It can make our warriors particularly powerful, and it can also give many children the ability to kill enemies.
ability."
Otto's rough cheek was pressed against the wooden support. From Rurik's point of view, his father's slightly forward bow made it clear that he was holding a rifle.
Otto muttered: "The wooden shield has no defensive effect. Isn't it unfair if the enemy's warriors are simply shot and killed like this? Well, maybe real warriors shouldn't hold such weapons, or is it like
Real men fight like that."
The old leader said no more, and he pulled the trigger again. The hemp rope that quickly returned to its place, like a knife, once again shaved off a lot of Otto's beard.
And this hardened steel-tipped arrow that was fired once again penetrated the wooden board and cut hard into the second wooden board behind it.
At this moment, eight arrows were inserted into the second piece of wood.
"I'm tired." Otto put away his weapon and threw it to Harold Zosen, who was eager to try. Then he shook his arm, which was a little sore from stringing it with his bare hands. He approached his son and asked bluntly: "My son, what are you going to do?
Use it? Like to shoot prey?"
"Sure. Like shooting a seal."
"Seal?" Otto shook his head: "It's better to hunt bears, or attack the enemy. Tell me, if you commanded an army, how would you use it...your crossbow?"
Without even thinking about it, Rurik said loudly: "Of course, a lot of equipment, use it for hits. Dad, you know, I have a new agreement with Klavasen."
"That's your arrow array? Well, maybe it will be effective."
Otto could not imagine a scene of thousands of arrows being fired. Perhaps the big reason was that the Russians organized so-called armies to take some actions, and the strength was often only about 500 people. Now, archers release rockets, allowing engineers to start to get Austrian troops.
Tuo's concern is only about arson.
The crossbow gave Otto a strong shock, and he finally patted his son's head wearing a velvet hat: "Son, you may have a chance soon."
Rurik wasn't quite sure what his father meant by what he said, and he didn't want to pay attention to the crossbow for the time being. He only needed to run to Klavassen's blacksmith shop occasionally, get some spirits donated to his father, and watch.
See how many more crossbows are completed.
After Sogon's fleet returned, the tribe immediately began their annual spoils-sharing meeting.
Just like the "rules" that were revised again before, the chief family received half of all tributes! And this was also the result of Otto's great mercy out of joy.
This time, a small group of unmarried young Russian men married their wives in Novgorod. After they returned, they held the wedding ceremony of the Russian tribe as usual.
Young men after marriage not only receive blessings from their tribesmen for giving birth to new warriors, but they also have a large amount of food in their hands, so that they can spend a stable and prosperous winter with their newlywed wives.
More than 500 Russian warriors shared as much as 200,000 pounds of grain, which was their deserved reward.
Each warrior was entitled to about four hundred pounds of oats or rye, among other things.
The Russian people are always very busy in the summer. When it is the cold winter, people hide at home due to the severe cold. If there is nothing profitable, they will not leave home.
Hiding at home, a man can eat a pound of wheat in two days.
Therefore, in the past Sorong voyages, all members of the tribe were eating from a big pot, so that the food shared by everyone could often only last a month.
Things have become different now, not only because the tribe has changed the rules of dividends, but also because the tribe has increased its extortion efforts. Now, the wheat owned by the families participating in the operation can be eaten by the whole family if they save a little and the ice and snow melt, not to mention
We have already prepared food for the winter, and the oats we plundered are the icing on the cake.
They attribute the reason they were able to have enough food for a long time to the wise leadership of their leader.
It can be said that the success of every tribute voyage was accompanied by an increase in Otto's prestige.
But Otto is getting older year by year, and the strength he currently possesses will be quickly lost within a few years, and he will eventually become a senile old man waiting to die.
Every winter, Otto's inner sense of crisis became stronger. Seeing Viglia's rapid deterioration of physical condition over the past year, his worries increased.
"Rurik, you must gain experience quickly. Rumia, you must also grow."
This sense of urgency reached its extreme, and Otto decided to implement a great plan. The plan began to be quietly prepared in the Ross tribe in November.
It has been more than a month since the Sorgon fleet returned, and the time has also entered December in the Julian calendar.
During this period of time, the people of the Ross tribe did not stay peacefully in their own warm houses.
Ice and snow are terrible and harsh for many people, but for some brave people, isn't it an opportunity to make profits?
What's more, this year's situation has seen greater changes, and its emergence has really stimulated the hunters of the tribe.
Nowadays, when people spontaneously go out to set traps to hunt ferrets, its attractiveness of profit seems to have been replaced by another kind of prey.
During the clear but short day, snow covered the entire land as usual, and a terrifying half-meter-thick ice layer appeared in the fjord where Roseburg is located. The solid ice did not stop the fishermen from thinking about fishing, such as digging a hole.
Throw down the twine and hook for cod fishing.
However, after fishermen dig holes, they often accidentally poke the seals that emerge to breathe with their short spears.
In the past, the tribesmen caught seals in winter just for their meat, to skin them and then tan them to sell them for money.
What now? The seal oil, which once had limited value, is being purchased by Rurik at a high price.
Because the explorers were surprised to find that once they left the Rossberg Fjord and entered the vast ice-covered sea, the ice here was thinner and it was easier to dig holes.
There were more than 400 fishermen who blocked the fishing boat and pushed it into the wooden shed. Then they took sleds and tent equipment and ran to the distant sea to become seal hunters.
As for Rurik's maids, they all became soap workers.
Yes, they are actual child laborers.
But Rurik did not feel that he was guilty at all. He told his men that the purpose of boiling oil and making soap was to earn silver coins. Later, merchants would use the silver coins to buy food so that everyone could eat enough.
There were too many things that they couldn't understand, so Rurik simply repeated a truth: We must use today's soap to exchange for next year's food. If we don't make soap, everyone will starve to death.
Those beggars of Mälaren who are now Russians cherish the hard-earned favors when they think of the pain of living on the streets in hunger and cold.
The first ten maids became the best "soap teachers". They were generally responsible for about six subordinates, forming a team.
Rurik divided the work among the girls' teams so that the teams were fully responsible for all steps of soap production.
Because of the current situation, those hunters with amazing mobility can bring back more than a hundred plump seals every day. Rurik not only got a lot of oil that exceeded his estimate, but also a lot of meat.
He really couldn't believe that eating seal meat had become a daily routine.
But what shocked him the most was his own Rumia.
"This girl is truly a Sami. What? Raw seal liver has a unique flavor? Bah! What's so delicious about a fishy smell?"
But Rumia, who has a special liking for seal liver, does have this important job now - serving as a teacher.
Those wooden shed canteens have been reinforced, and the so-called reinforcements are actually snow and ice. The leaky shed has been bent into a closed place, which is perfect for use as a classroom.
It is very strange to say that now Rumia, a Sami who is good at raising deer, has begun to hold the priest's board and tell a large group of children about the history of the Rus.
What is the Ross Tribe?
What is the Siweiya Tribal Alliance?
What is a Dane again?
And there are mysterious Eastern people?
Rumia now plays a supporting role. When it comes to teaching, Rurik must personally take charge.
Here, the most important content Rurik teaches for the time being is history, or "stories of the past." The children listen to it as a story. Under the dim oil lamp, what Rurik sees is a
Zhang Zhang's eyes widened. For a moment, the joy of being a teacher came to his mind.
It makes him a little regretful that, except for his maids, the number of boys who can learn here can only be counted on one hand. The boys sitting here are all his confidants. They are not necessarily really for knowledge, maybe just for knowledge.
Because I want to have a closer relationship with the boss
In this case, Rurik simply told everyone that the so-called "human world" is not the giant disk on the so-called World Tree, but a big ball floating on the water. However, I want children to understand the appearance of the world in an abstract way.
It was so difficult that Rurik had to make up some stories to justify it.
The large number of incredible rhetoric made Rumia highly nervous. She felt that the words of the "Son of God" were the truth.
She felt that Rurik was her male god, and there was admiration in her eyes.
Of course, the attitude of all maids is surprisingly the same. The master is the greatest person.
Rurik felt that such a life was extremely comfortable. He could not teach knowledge to all the children in the tribe for the time being, so it would be a great good thing to be able to teach his girls clearly.
Because the girls here are indeed maids. Rurik does not think that his kidneys are invincible. He can indeed ask for the marriage of some girls. The vast majority of girls here are just maids, nothing more.
They will marry the boys of the tribe in a completely pure attitude. Rurik believes that these girls who have some knowledge will first educate their own children.
Rurik focused more on the next generation. After all, it takes ten years to educate a generation that takes more than a hundred years. For example, it took the old King of Prussia half a century to complete compulsory education nationwide. Education must be done, but it cannot be rushed.
A comfortable life always passes quickly.
The maids spend a lot of time every day busy making soap. After completing the planned work, they then receive Rurik's cultural knowledge education.
As for a group of boys in the tribe, they are currently busy playing in the snow or catching seals with their fisherman father.
The five families of blacksmiths in the tribe continued to work. They wore leather aprons and stood in front of the stove and blacksmith's bench, working under the heat.
The blacksmith's sweat fell into the fire from time to time, causing a strong crackling sound.
This year's situation is very different for the Klavason family.
"Dad, is it really right for us to give up on other people's orders? I still want to continue making steel swords." Kawei, who was bending the iron bars desperately, was emotionally dissatisfied and confused.
Klavasen, who was immersed in rummaging through the smoldering sponge iron, did not face his son directly.
The old blacksmith buried his head and said: "I made an agreement with Rurik. I must complete fifty sets of steel-arm crossbows before the Winter Solstice Festival."
"But the workload is not small. We still have to make a thousand special arrows. Dad, we are blacksmiths who make swords and spears, not bowsmiths."
"We have never been bowsmiths. Listen, Kawei." Only then did Klavasen raise his head. He also controlled the tongs in his hand, took out the red sponge iron, and carried it to the blacksmith's bench: "Stop talking nonsense.
This winter, we will leave the work of making steel swords to those colleagues, and we will focus on completing Rurik's order. You don't have to regret anything. With fifty sets of crossbows and arrows, we can still earn fifty steel swords.
Money. Besides, this time you and I don’t have to worry about the client not being able to get the money. Rurik is the richest!”
"The same goes for this." Kawei frowned and said, "However, I still like to make swords. A man should have his own sword and fight with a sword and shield."
"Forget it! Kawei, you are a blacksmith, don't have any thoughts of a warrior. We are just making weapons. What is a good weapon? A good weapon is one that can kill the enemy. This has nothing to do with honor. What we are doing now
If you give the crossbow to Kamne, this kid can use it to kill a strong man who is two stikas (nearly two meters) tall."
"Okay. I guess this thing can easily penetrate the thick ship plank. If Kamni can kill a strong man, he can be called a hero." Kawei shrugged and shaped one into an arc.
The bow limbs, still in a wrought iron state, were stuffed into a new furnace specially designed for smoldering and carburizing.
Kawei even whistled skillfully: "Kamne, bring the charcoal, the rest is your job."
Kamne, who was only seven years old and thin, hurriedly ran to the furnace holding a small basket of charcoal blocks. While stuffing the charcoal inside, he responded to Kawei's words just now: "The weapons invented by Lord Rurik are the best."
Yes, I will use it to kill all the breasts in sight, and then give... the bearskin to my lord."
"It's just you? Well, maybe you have a chance." Kawei shook his head and looked at the child Kamne who was about to get into the furnace. Then he picked up the hammer and started smelting iron with his father.
of forging.
Forging iron is the first step in making a steel-armed crossbow. Then Kawei also participates in the casting of bronze parts and the processing of the oak stock.
Making a steel sword is a process of constant smoldering and forging. But the process of making a crossbow is really complicated. Kawei, in his heart, would rather beat more steel sheets than the various current ones.
Cumbersome work.
No one in the entire Klavassen family is leisurely, not even the pregnant Lilia.
This Novgorod girl, who is barely sixteen years old, is getting bigger and bigger, and now even a leather jacket cannot hide her obvious pregnancy.
But she still shouldered the important job of making money for her family, which was making glassware and distilled liquor. She even felt that just in terms of making money, why should her husband, father-in-law, and even her future son have to work bare-chested and forge iron?
Isn't it more profitable to make glassware? Using crystal clear pebbles that are easy to collect in mountainous areas and processing them into transparent cups, you can earn an income equivalent to a sword with some not very complicated processing.
She knew that she had no right to dictate a man's work and decisions, so she had no choice but to keep her head down and busy with her own affairs.
And silently waiting for the Russian people's Hanukkah on the winter solstice.
The entire Ross tribe is also eagerly looking forward to Hanukkah, and even the new decision that the big leader will inevitably announce after the festival.