Otto suddenly stood behind Rurik, with his sword in its sheath and his hands on Rurik's shoulders. He said secretly: "Rurik, I give you power, now you come and conquer them. They are all your slaves!"
Afterwards, Otto pushed his son into the presence of Chief Covin.
Rurik was secretly happy. With his father's promise, he no longer had to worry about the fact that after this group of people surrendered, the Russians would continue to kill those who surrendered.
Because, according to the tribe's "rules", slaves who kill fellow tribesmen must pay huge sums of money.
No guy wants to do that.
Jevlo received a new order from Rurik, and then said: "You! Take your people and surrender to this boy! You! Kiss his boots to prove your surrender!"
Rurik shook his head. He simply stated his wishes, which could be regarded as a "carrot behind the big stick" to the enemy.
He had to admit that his ability to speak Old Finnish was far inferior to that of Gavro, but fortunately at least the enemy could understand it.
Things became so absurd that Kejas felt that he had no choice. Since everyone knelt down, there was no need to care about face. As long as everyone could survive, it was okay to declare allegiance to a child.
What's more, this boy is holding an incredibly beautiful sword. Presumably this boy also has a very high status among the enemies. He must be a noble among the Varangians, or even...
Kejas had already guessed that the boy who called himself "Rurik" was the subsequent leader of this group of Varyags.
At least, this noble boy can speak on his own in words that both himself and his tribe can understand.
Kejas looked at Rurik's beautiful blue eyes with strong pleading eyes.
"My lord, can you really spare our lives?"
Rurik felt a little touched in his heart and immediately responded: "Okay. Your name?! Your identity?"
"My...my name is Kaihas, and I am the leader of the Salmon Lord tribe."
Rurik nodded and pointed his dagger at the big wooden house: "What's in there? Kejas, tell me! Is it your treasure?"
"They are... our... our women, our children. Please forgive me and them."
Women and children?
Rurik glanced at the closed wooden door of the big wooden house and thought that Kejas was telling the truth.
Things have always been very strange. When Ross's army entered the empty village and a fierce battle broke out with the enemy, there was no woman anywhere in the process.
Suddenly, Rurik looked at the very solid snow under his feet.
Could it be that there is a cave under the hills?
Rurik stared at the surrendered old guy again, the back of the dagger was placed directly on his head, and Kejas's head was also shaken.
"You can live. All of you can live. All of you, women and children, will be protected by me."
"Oh! Thank you very much." Kejas responded cautiously.
"You stand up, open the wooden door, and let all your women and children come out."
At this moment Kejas could only express cooperation.
The traps and ropes that the tribesmen often set up in the woods always catch lively squirrels. Now, he has become a "squirrel" caught by the Varyag people.
Kejas looked solemn. After asking the tribesmen to move out of the way, he opened the closed wooden door himself.
After some calls, a large number of women with children, either fearful, crying, or frustrated, walked out of the large public cellar where a large amount of the tribe's living supplies were stored, and walked out of this largest refuge.
While they were bathing in the sunshine again, they saw a huge intruder!
Suddenly, everyone's faces were filled with fear, women were screaming, and children were crying.
The women and children of the Kovin people are all stared at by the Rus, just like wolves staring at sheep.
The Ross warriors were all stunned by the sudden appearance of the crowd. Many of them had small calculations in mind, hoping that everyone could catch their own slaves after the big leader announced that the battle was over.
Of course Rurik also knew the thoughts of his tribesmen in this direction.
He held up the dagger with the gem hilt, and under the protection of his father's authority, he faced his people and announced loudly: "Men of Rus! Now I tell you. All the Covins here, men, women and children,
You are all my servants now! Don't try to get a slave, you won't lose much, and each of you will gain some treasure."
Many tribesmen had already guessed that Rurik would announce this, but when everyone actually heard the announcement, they felt a little depressed.
Now, Otto was surprised that his son would announce this in public.
The moment he saw a large group of women and children appearing, the first thing that Otto thought of was to identify the young women among them and reward those of his tribe who worked hard and made great contributions.
Since my son had made the decision in advance, I had no choice but to agree.
Although Kejas could not understand Rurik's words in Norse, looking at the current formation, he felt that this noble boy was restraining all the Varyag warriors.
Rurik turned around, his eyes full of sharpness: "Kehas!"
"Here." Kejas stood in front of the group of women and children, bowing with a humble expression.
"I can assure you that your women and children will be protected, especially your women, they will not be harmed."
Kejas heard that it was a bit incredible. Even if it was a war between tribes, the people of the "Salmon Lord" tribe thought it was natural that the women of the defeated were forced to serve the victors.
"Oh, my lord, thank you for your kindness."
Mercy? True mercy is not to start a war. Rurik does not feel that he is merciful now. The battle is over. He just wants to immediately establish a new order that is beneficial to him.
Rurik sighed and asked directly: "Do you have any other treasures? For example, furs?"
"Yes! There are plenty of squirrel skins."
Hearing this, Rurik's eyes lit up. In the traditional fur trade, squirrel skin was certainly not as valuable as ferret skin, but a piece of tanned squirrel skin could be sold for more than one silver coin. The Russians were pursuing
Better furs were the reason why Rossburg was snatched away from the deer farmers. Today, the mainstay of the Ross people’s economy is the fur trade.
Kejas is willing to believe the words of a beautiful boy, because children are always innocent, honest and reliable. It is the madmen behind this child who worry him.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kejas immediately expressed his sincerity.
"My lord, I will contribute five thousand squirrel skins, five hundred ferret skins, and ten brown bear skins."
Because they were some new terms, Otto could no longer stand after Gevro translated them. As a big leader, he pointed the tip of his sword directly at Kejas and ordered: "How many furs have you hidden? Take them all out!"
You have no choice."
Jevro imitated Otto's expression and translated sternly, while Kejas knelt directly on the ground, praying with a sad face.
"What is he praying for?" Otto asked his son.
"He..." Rurik hesitated a little, but still said: "He begged us to leave them some supplies to live."
"Bah!" Otto placed his left hand on top of Ryrik's head and warned: "You are too naive. You should never bargain with slaves. Giving them life is the greatest kindness, and they have no choice."
Rurik thought for a while, maybe his father's words were right. In this barbaric era, there is no harm in being more barbaric.
So Rurik changed his mind and the condition for sparing all men and women was to hand over all the treasures.
Kejas panicked. He did have reservations. Even if he handed over a large amount of leather tribe, there was still some remaining leather. These leathers would be brought to the south and traded with the Finns after the spring. If all of them were given to the Varyags,
, the future of the tribe is unimaginable.
In desperation, Kejas suddenly got up, ran into the crowd of women and children, and suddenly pulled out a timid little girl.
Then he grabbed the girl's neck and the two of them knelt on the snow together.
"My master, this is my granddaughter. I give her to you to be your wife. All I ask is that you show some kindness and leave us some supplies."
Wife? Ridiculous!
Rurik glanced at the girl, who looked almost the same age as himself, but the child was in an indescribable panic. Looking at her eyes looking at the holes in the snow, she was clearly frightened.
.
In fact, it was okay, Rurik couldn't help but think, if the wall of Russians spread out and let the women and children of the Kovin people see the large number of dead bodies on the snow behind them, wouldn't they faint on the spot?
Otto also found it ridiculous. He motioned to Jevro to convey his wishes, so Kejas immediately grabbed his granddaughter's chin, revealing the little girl's stunned face.
"What's her name?" Otto asked.
"It's called Lumi."
When Kejas said the girl's name, both Otto and Rurik were shocked.
Or Otto was more regal. He pointed his sword and said: "All the women in your tribe are my son's maids. Why do you think your granddaughter is qualified to be your son's wife? She is just a humble maid!"
"
After hearing his father's words, Rurik let out a sigh of relief. After all, there were already too many girls around him.
Lumi? Is this child’s name Lumi?
Rurik completely understood that this name meant "snow", which was exactly the same as his own Rumia's name. He couldn't help but feel good about this frightened girl. He retracted the scabbard of his skillful sword and stood on his knees.
in front of the lying girl.
Kehas said hurriedly: "She is my granddaughter. Let her serve you. All I ask is to leave some property for us."
Rurik had already made up his mind and glared at Kehas: "You must hand over all your property, I will only leave you some food. I will also take your girl away, but she will not be mine.
servant."
This result was like a bolt from the blue. Then I thought about it, at least they would leave some food, and at least the tribesmen would not starve to death.
Kejas asked hurriedly: "What will... happen to my granddaughter?"
Rurik was not in a hurry to respond. He noticed that the girl also had a familiar braid, and the women of the deer herders also had similar hairstyles.
"How old is your granddaughter?"
"Seven years old."
"Is she stupid?" Rurik asked deliberately.
Kejas hurriedly denied: "She is smart. She has never seen such a scene, and her father, my son, has been killed by you. Please..."
"Will I be kind to her? Of course. She will be my sister's servant and I will take her back to my homeland. I will also take some of your boys with me. Kehas, the rest of your people will continue to live here
."
Although he didn't know what other ideas these Russians had, Kejas could only accept it unconditionally.
This time, Rurik decided to become a terrible plunderer.
All the disarmed Kovin people gathered together, and then the young and strong among them were ordered to clean up the battlefield.
When the women of Kewen saw the large number of dead bodies, they fell to their knees on the spot and cried in their arms, or they crawled to the bodies of their fallen relatives and cried until they fainted.
In contrast are the happy smiling faces of the Ross warriors.
Although all the warriors have no right to touch any Covin woman, and will be punished by the leader if discovered, they are not angry at all, because each warrior has been assigned at least thirty squirrel skins!
Rurik led his mercenaries, holding burning sticks, into the cellar disguised as a large wooden house. Just as he had predicted, there was really a cave in the cellar.
The truth is even more shocking.
It turns out that all the houses in the mountain fort were built at the entrance of the cellar. These houses can be lived in first, and after lifting the wooden boards, you can climb into the cellar.
Because the average annual rainfall in the Oulu River Basin in Finland is only 600 millimeters, and because of the cold, digging two meters down at any point is the so-called permafrost.
Even on this small hill with an altitude of 80 meters, the Kewen people actually dug a large number of holes in the frozen soil. They are cold all year round and are a good place to store various materials. The tribesmen do not
There will be some fantastic ideas about living in cellars, most of which they use as a refuge in times of extreme crisis.
Because of the cold and because the leather has been processed, all kinds of leather can be well preserved.
A large number of animal skins were moved out of the cellar, and they were shared by the Russians at the first opportunity. According to tradition, the chief family has the right to share a particularly large amount of loot. This time, Rurik was determined to appease the tribesmen, because
Feeling frustrated at not being served by female prisoners, he persuaded Otto to distribute all the leather to his subordinates.
It's not that Rurik doesn't understand that squirrel skin is a good thing. He feels that what can support the warriors until now is everyone's desire for wealth.
As for the real wealth, Rurik thinks that it is all the residents of the conquered tribe. From now on, they will have to pay a tribute, which is a tax, every year.
Therefore, the battle is over, and the right to life of the remaining tribal people who are willing to surrender must be protected by the conqueror.
This is called domesticating wild sheep and then cutting their wool every year.
In addition, a large amount of smoked fish jerky was also brought out.
Various Kewen tribes would go to the beach to boil seawater in summer to obtain a certain amount of salt, but they would not be so luxurious as to use a large amount of salt to pickle salted fish.
They used the method of smoking and roasting to process a large amount of migrating salmon caught in the autumn into hard dried smoked fish, and used it as food in the winter. Therefore, the mountain fort was not only their defense facility, but also their granary.
.
Nowadays, the emergence of large amounts of dried fish has instantly eliminated the possibility of a food crisis for the Russian people.
With a wave of his hand, Otto deprived Corwin's Salmon Lord tribe of half of its food reserves.
Rurik felt that his father's wishes were too fierce, but thinking that his Ross brothers also had to eat, he simply agreed with this predatory method.
To put it even more cold-bloodedly, many people from the Kewen tribe died, especially the men who consumed the most food. Among the survivors, a group of people will definitely be taken to Roseburg.
In the end, the population of the tribal people who stayed here was greatly reduced, and they could not afford more food.
The battle ended, and Rurik knew it was just the beginning.
Because the warriors of the tribe should not stop fighting before they capture the real gray squirrel tribe.
Gray squirrels, gray squirrels, a Salmon Lord tribe collected more than 6,000 squirrel skins. I guess the tribe named after the squirrel could collect 10,000 pieces?
The short day was coming to an end, and the battle came to an end. More than 150 people from the Kovin tribe were killed in the battle, and 20 people from the Russian army were killed.
Now, the Rus became the masters of the Salmon Lord tribe, and all the warriors lived in the homes of the locals.
The indigenous people were concentrated in some houses, and for the convenience of management and surveillance, men, women and children were forcibly separated. Before the Russians ended their conquest campaign, the life of the tribesmen was bound to be under high pressure.
Facing the powerful Rus tribe among the Varangians, Kaihas could only lead his own tribe to express unconditional recognition.
The tribesmen dug some pits near the mountain fort and buried all the fallen tribal warriors.
Those Russians who died in the battle were also buried on the spot.
The living warriors do not feel at all that their companions died in a foreign land, because the big leader has declared full occupation of the tribe. In the future, the Ross tribe will continue to receive tribute from the Kovin people, just as the Ross people conquered it a long time ago
Same as Novgorod.
In fact, when the Rus came to this Salmon Lord tribe, it was like going home.