A mighty fleet sailed in the wind and snow. Even though the weather was very cold, the man standing at the bow of the flagship felt very hot in his heart.
Otto was still wearing chain mail. He looked quite old at fifty years old. His gray beard showed his seniority. The way he stood in the wind and snow was even more admired by the younger generations.
But people will eventually grow old one day. He does not expect to live as long as the tribe's priest Vilia, but only hopes that his aging will be slower.
Everyone will grow old. For the continuation of the entire tribe, Otto, as the leader, is very pragmatic. He needs to use some method to get the young people of the tribe to marry as many as possible.
The Ross tribe is no different than other southern ethnic groups.
Although the tribe has been intermarrying with friends in the south, the Ross tribe is more remote and few girls are willing to marry there.
Precisely because of their geographical remoteness, it is impossible for them to win the hearts of women from allied tribes through forceful means, and it is also difficult for them to obtain populations from distant places through robbery to strengthen themselves.
The group of Svegos who looted Novgorod?
If they were just asked to give out part of their wealth, they would support it even if they complained. Besides, a long time ago, the ancestors of the tribe made an agreement with Novgorod. In name, when Novgorod was a huge
When your rural collective encounters threats from other tribes, you can seek help from the powerful Ross Berserkers.
If they plunder their female tribesmen, they are unilaterally breaking the treaty. That is their bottom line, and they will fight to the end with wooden sticks.
However, the attitude of the leaders of the past is that if this is done, Novgorod will turn into a wasteland in an instant, and the Svig people will move to a place where the Rus tribe cannot be found.
A smart leader would not do such a stupid thing. The Rus tribe needs Novgorod, and the twice-yearly tribute voyages will bring a large amount of valuable goods that are difficult to exchange with the southern allies. Losing them will be disastrous.
The tribe needs long-term development. Otto, who has been the leader for many years, clearly believes that developing southward to have allies to compete for pastures that can be grazed or fields that can be cultivated is pure fantasy. If you try to do this, it will not work well.
Will cause violent conflicts.
If you want to develop, you must make use of distant allies.
Otto, strictly speaking, does not have particularly lofty ambitions.
Otto simply hoped that the people of the tribe could live a stable life, ensuring that there would be enough food to survive, enough cold clothing to keep warm, and that every warrior of the tribe would have a wife.
In fact, everyone knows that Roseburg is really a hellish place, and the easiest way to live a happy life is to leave here.
However, family relocation is not allowed at this stage. The rebellion of a single person is difficult to restrain, and the rebels may only gain loneliness. Large-scale rebellion will be severely restrained, as the leader Otto and his cronies
We will not suffer such a disaster that seriously damages the strength of the tribe.
Because those Swegs who paid tribute, they bowed their heads and gave out their wealth, but they were forced by swords and battle axes. Once the strength of the tribe was weakened, they would no longer surrender.
At least now the tribe still retains its strong strength, and there is room for maneuver in conducting larger-scale transactions with them.
The return leg of this year's Sorgon voyage was already in early winter, and the snowfall made everyone in the fleet very nervous. What they were even more nervous about was actually the freezing of the sea water.
The salt content of the Baltic Sea is too low, and the latitude of the area is too high, which makes the sea water here more susceptible to freezing. For example, the sea area facing the Rossberg Fjord is completely frozen for at least one month every year. At that time
Winter fishing was completely terminated. At that time, drilling breathing holes in the ice to ambush Baltic seals became an option.
The Ross tribe loves seals because they are both a delicacy and their fat is excellent for burning lamps.
Therefore, on the way back, the fleet was on guard against possible attackers from Gotland, and was also searching for movement on the sea or shore, and would catch seals whenever there was an opportunity.
They finally caught ten seals, which was an unexpected surprise on their return trip.
The returning fleet left the Gulf of Finland smoothly due to the northeasterly wind. When heading north, they had to paddle the whole way.
The original meaning of Ross is oarsman. The tribe prides itself on being the best at rowing, so it can move very quickly on the sea.
But this time, their journey north was slower, and the reason was very simple - the number of oarsmen per boat was reduced.
Why? Did they lose sailors in the entire operation?
No! Because the returning fleet suddenly increased by thirty people, specifically thirty young women.
This time, Otto was very convinced that he had accomplished a feat and had found another way for the tribe to develop.
He is already fifty years old, and his only living son is too young. It would be best if he died of old age and Rurik had just grown up, so that the people of the tribe would recognize this "man blessed by Odin" more.
Even without going through duels, when Rurik grew up, he used his natural appeal to gain recognition from the tribe.
Of course, Rurik is already recognized as having been given special fighting talents by Valhalla. If he really participates in the competition, Rurik will definitely defeat everyone.
If he dies suddenly, the tribe will select a strong person to lead the entire tribe through a duel competition.
To participate in the competition, one of the hard criteria is that participants must be married.
There is no age distinction in the competition. Married men participate. There is only one rule. They use wooden shields and wooden swords to fight until the other person gives up or is directly beaten to death.
As a result, Otto still has a trump card, and that is Arik.
Under his careful training, Arik, who is close to eighteen years old, is already a master of fighting. As he grows older, he will become stronger. Fighting within the tribe is also an external battle. Arik will eventually be like his father.
Become a strong warrior.
But before that, Arik must resolve his marital issues.
Not only Arik, there have been few new weddings in the tribe in the past few years. Many men who have lost their wives for various reasons have difficulty getting new wives. And those women who have lost their husbands already have new husbands.
As girls in the tribe grow up, they will marry boys within the tribe. Even so, the current situation of more men than women in the tribe cannot be improved through internal adjustment. The only way is to intermarry with foreign tribes.
If you want to intermarry with the allied tribes in the south, ordinary young men in the tribe have to pay a high price, not to mention that most of the unruly "rowers" are not willing to leave their beloved Rossburg and go to the south to do door-to-door work.
son in law.
It is true that some young people will go south to join other tribes. If all the young people in the tribe do this, the Ross tribe's bravery will not last long.
Perhaps, at this stage, only the Sveg people of Novgorod can long-term alleviate this serious internal problem of the Rus tribe through self-sacrifice.
This time, Otto deliberately brought many young people from the tribe into action. In fact, it was very meaningful for them to see the world, and every young man similar to Arik's age was very excited.
As a result, greater happiness awaits them!
In the end, thirty Sweg girls married into Rus. They sat on the boat, wearing thick deerskin coats, sitting next to their new husbands. Although language was a problem, the Rus tribe simply passed through the long-term
When communicating with Novgorod, these girls understand some Norse language. There are also some experts in the tribe who understand the ancient Slavic language of the Sveg people, so there is essentially no communication barrier between the two groups.
Through learning, young girls will soon master the Norse language. They also know very well that whether they are willing or not, for the sake of Novgorod and their natal family, they must identify with their husbands and not give birth to children with their husbands.
heirs.
Otto used some methods to successfully complete a political marriage. This was something that had never happened before between the two ethnic groups!
The marriage between a Sweg girl and a Varangian boy was first approved by the girl's family and the wedding was completed in accordance with local etiquette.
As for the Ross tribe, they have nothing to object to the marriage of young people. After all, the thirty young people from the tribe who participated in the operation got the beautiful woman back this time.
They were happy, but Otto thought about a year later.
During the Sorgon voyage next autumn, it may be time to take a few Sveg girls and the children they gave birth to to report the good news to their relatives back home in Novgorod.
Yes, you must do this! This also proves to them that the Ross tribe can also be very friendly.