Chapter 276 The North of Finland Returns to Our Land
By now, the Russians' goal has been transformed into complete conquest.
The Rus lived in the homes of the Gray Squirrel tribesmen, while the real tribesmen had to build temporary shacks outdoors. Otto decided to use this move to reward his hard-working warriors and to recruit new surrenders.
What is the relationship between master and servant?
Including the warriors of the Salmon Lord tribe whose servants participated in the war, they also had to build a shack.
The "Gray Squirrels" and the "Salmon Lords", two tribes with economic conflicts in fishing and hunting, now meet in such an embarrassing way.
Mechasta and Kehas, the two tribal leaders no longer have any hatred towards each other.
Because the two tribes, which belong to the same group of Kovin people, have been destined to have completely different fates by the conquerors.
Hatred was meaningless, and the two even sat by the bonfire on a cold night, discussing their respective futures.
The fire was burning brightly under the night, and all the clansmen who had built the shacks had fallen asleep.
Mechasta threw wooden sticks into the fire in boredom: "In the end, you won."
"No. I failed, you failed, we all failed." Kejas sighed secretly.
"We can't defeat them, and we all have to accept their rule. I can't believe that our hunters, who have been hunting squirrels for generations, have to leave our homeland. From now on, this will be your territory."
Kejas forced a forced smile: "Are you trying to flatter me? Where are you going?"
Mechasta pointed first to the west and then to the north. "Everything is fate. If I hadn't sent that damn expedition, how could we have suffered such a misfortune. I was originally complacent about the discovery of iron ore, but I didn't expect it.
We have become the treasure of the Rus people. Good thing now, our gray squirrel tribe will eventually become miners, and the entire tribe will only migrate. From now on, you and I will never be enemies again."
"Perhaps, this is not a bad thing for you." Kejas pointed at the occupied mountain fort, "You dedicated your son and daughter, and you dedicated your child to that Rurik. You are very smart."
"It's stupid. You know, there's nothing I can do about it," Mechasta said regretfully.
"We were all helpless, so I gave away my daughter. Maybe, just because my daughter was not beautiful, she couldn't become that boy's wife and concubine. You are lucky, because that boy will be the leader of the Rus people."
"Who knows?" Mechasta shrugged, "I have been ordered to send out all the messengers. The leaders upstream of the river will definitely come. If they don't come, the Russians will send more people next year.
Crusade. Anyway, after we leave, you will be in charge of the remaining Covin people. You are now the leader of them all."
Kejas did not respond immediately. He stared at the flames with empty eyes, thinking a lot in his mind.
To rule all the Kewen tribes? What virtues and abilities do you have?
Obviously, the Salmon Lord tribe was never powerful enough to annex all the tribes, and Kejas never thought of this possibility in his life. When the Rus came, the tribal politics in the Oulu River Basin was forced to be completely reshuffled.
The future Salmon Lord Tribe will be under the supervision of the Ross people and will control all the Corvin people on behalf of the Ross people.
If the Russians are principled, this future seems pretty good.
In fact, on the first morning after the battle, several messengers controlled the reindeer sleigh and ran towards the other three tribes.
Other surviving tribesmen began to clean up the headless bodies of the war dead that had been frozen into lumps of ice under the supervision of the Russians.
The souls of dead bodies with missing heads will not be able to return to the Sea of Souls, and their miserable souls can only wander in the snow-covered forest.
The Kewen people believed these statements. They spontaneously collected the corpses, and then worked hard to dig a pit under the pine trees and threw the corpses and heads in. The shaman who was good at imitating bird songs would say in front of every mass burial.
Did a strange dance.
Yes, in Rurik's opinion, it was a strange dance, coupled with the unique chirping while dancing, it seemed that in this way he could connect with the sea of souls they believed in.
This is their belief, Rurik is just a bystander.
At least they were working hard to bury the dead and finally have a peaceful ending.
When the belated spring melted away the ice and snow, Rurik knew that the Gray Squirrel Hill Castle would be empty of people, and the traces of the war would be completely washed away by the Oulu River that surged with ice melt floods.
The Ross people have to stay at Gray Squirrel Hill Castle for a while, because the Ross people must conclude a sacred agreement with the leaders of all the Corvin people to determine the rights of the master to the servants and the obligations of the servants to the master.
Otto immediately arranged for the surviving tribesmen to act as messengers, giving the messengers only three days to deliver the message.
It can be said that Otto gave the three tribes that had not yet appeared some time to prepare.
The Russians will wait at most four more days. If it is the fourth day and the three tribal leaders do not come in person, it will be equivalent to declaring war on the Russians, and then the Russian crusade will definitely come next year.
During the three-day waiting period, all the Russian warriors had to do was rest. Some young warriors focused on the women of the gray squirrel tribe whose husbands died. Women who had completely lost their support, in order to survive or passively accepted without any thought,
They had relations with the Russians.
But these survivors have all become Rurik's slaves, and in order to appease the tribal warriors who did not get slaves after the war, Rurik announced that after returning to Fort Ross, all warriors will be given a special reward of ten silver coins.
In fact, it is to buy out one's own ownership of slaves.
As a result, things quickly developed and many tribal warriors and conquered women became romantic couples. They broke the rules, but neither Otto nor Rurik wanted to interfere.
In the past two years, the Rus' people have been absorbing foreign women. This policy has caused a new normal in the development of the Rus tribe's population. There are a large number of women who are actually unmarried. Rurik is now the leader and will find ways to introduce marriages to them.
Moreover, women in this time and space need to rely on a man to survive.
This was the normal life in Northern Europe in this time and space. Women never thought that polygamy was inappropriate in the past.
Otto and Rurik have only two demands: a warrior who has a woman will not receive a bonus. If they have a relationship, they must make the relationship permanent.
Although there was a lack of ceremony, as many as twenty Rus warriors immediately had a Corvin wife recognized by the leader's family.
The young warriors feel that they have made a lot of money, and they clearly have the opportunity to marry more women in the future.
A perfect example is here - Rurik.
Since the future leader is just a child, he is destined to have as many as four wives in his hometown, and now he has conquered the fifth. Naturally, a warrior cannot compare to the leader, so seize the opportunity, how about this life?
They all have to marry two or three.
Without the addition of a large number of foreign women, the situation of more men than women in Rossburg would be quite serious. Somehow, the excessive number of young men forced the Russians to go out collectively to conquer the Russians with their swords.
The new world. The best way to solve the marriage problems of young people is to forcibly marry foreign women.
Rurik was very happy that his tribe had no requirements on the ethnicity of his wife, and they were particularly tolerant on this issue. A national integration was taking place, and the strength of the Russians was expanding.
Finally, within the agreed time, the three defeated leaders drove their sleds to the conquered Gray Squirrel tribe.
Eight hundred men went out to fight. They hoped that this army could completely annihilate the invading Varyags, but in the end very few escaped.
It can be said that after this battle, the three tribes living near Lake Oulu in the upper reaches of the river had their backbones broken by a tragic defeat.
Originally, the population of these tribes was only five to six hundred people. After exhausting their strength in the expedition and failing miserably, they almost lost even their fishermen.
What kind of concept is this?
After a great war, the three tribes now have only 300 women left, and only 50 or 60 men of all ages, among whom there are only a handful of men in their prime. The three tribes are in a similar situation.
After the war, their demographic structure completely changed!
So when the messenger brought the ultimatum from the Russian conquerors, the three tribal leaders discussed and decided to surrender due to the current miserable situation.
Theoretically, they could flee as a family to build new settlements. However, how could a tribe that had lost most of its men have the motivation to build new settlements?
Besides, if we reject the Russians now and are discovered by them in the future, the result will be a dead end.
The three leaders followed the messenger's advice and brought a batch of tributes with them, hoping that the Rus would be merciful to their tribes by accepting the gifts.
The gloomy days finally turned into snow, with fine snowflakes floating in the sky. The new snow covered the blood stains that had been frozen after the war, and the silver-covered earth covered up all traces of the war.
At noon on the third day, some sleds suddenly appeared on the glacier. Their appearance immediately attracted the attention of the Russians who were cutting wood for firewood.
Otto hurriedly led a group of warriors to stand on the bank of the frozen river, watching a team approaching him.
After a while, three men in very furry clothes, accompanied by a small group of followers who looked like children, approached the mighty Russian team.
Those who came were none other than the three opponents who had never met but sent troops to join the war.
The image of Otto wearing chainmail, with a beard and a steel sword in his hand gave the three leaders great fear. Look at these Rus again, they are indeed Varyags, and the legendary image
Exactly the same!
"Kneel down!" Gevro, who was originally acting as an interpreter, ordered on behalf of Otto.
The three people and their entourage knelt down in the room and explained their intentions.
After hearing the translation, Otto looked at the reindeer sleighs pulling some leather, and couldn't help feeling that those three tribes were very smart.
Rurik was watching all this with his eyes, and beside him stood the brothers Tyravis and Saipolava.
"Who are those three people? The three leaders?" Rurik asked.
"Yes master. They are Bakan (Arctic Cold), Terho (Acorn) and Ojedo (Big Bear)."
Some weird names.
Rurik shrugged and asked, "Do you know them all?"
"I just heard my father say it. We are friends with them, so..."
"How is it?" Rurik asked.
"That's why they sent troops to help us fight. Master, I hope you don't resent them."
"Then it depends on what they do. They'd better be loyal servants," Rurik said no more. He shook his neck and turned around and left: "You two, don't linger outside anymore and come into the house with me."
Now, Rurik naturally arranged for the brother and sister to be his followers. Because the two of them cooperated so well, Rurik felt in a trance, as if he had known each other for a long time.
Rurik heard the names of the three leaders for the first time. He didn't think it was meaningful. Rurik knew exactly what would happen next, so he took his followers back to the warm semi-crypt house as soon as possible.
It was the home that once belonged to the Terravis brothers and sisters, and was the shabby mansion of the leader of the Gray Squirrel tribe.
After a while, the three leaders and their servants, "escorted" by the Ross warriors holding swords and shields, entered the preset meeting place.
Otto, who was sitting on the animal skin mat, looked arrogant. There were more than 20 warriors wearing chain mail standing in the room, which further demonstrated the martial virtue of the Russians.
Now, it is extremely rare that all the tribal leaders of the Kovin people gather together. At this moment, even though everyone has many grievances and resentments in daily life, everyone has become a slave of the Rus.
Otto had no intention of talking politely and condescendingly, and had no reason to talk to these failed slaves.
He directly stated his requirements as the leader of Ross, while Yevro tried his best to translate at the same time.
"You Corvins are now slaves of our Rus! Those who surrender will be protected by us. Those who are traitors will be killed."
"You three leaders actually sent troops to attack us. You are guilty. Seeing that you have a good attitude of admitting your guilt, I can grant you leniency."
"We Rus people are the masters of all of you, but I do not intend to control you directly. The gray squirrel tribe will be taken away, and the four tribes below will continue to stay in your existing land."
"I recognize the Salmon Lord Tribe as the leader of all remaining tribes. Kaihas rules you on our behalf."
"Except for the gray squirrel tribe, your remaining four tribes must fulfill their obligations as servants. Each of your tribes must pay tribute to us Rus people two thousand squirrel skins every year. If you fail to do so, you will encounter our crusade. You
You have no right to refuse! You must pay tribute to us, even if you lose a piece of squirrel skin."
"In exchange, if outsiders attack any of your tribes, they will go to war with us Rus. It is said that there are Tavastians. If this group of people attacks you, we Rus will take the initiative to attack them."
When Otto said this, all the leaders felt like they were sitting on pins and needles.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Otto asked deliberately.
The scene was strangely calm for a while, and finally a tribal leader said weakly: "Great... great Rus people. Because of the war, almost all the men in my tribe died. You ordered us to take out two thousand cards every year."
The tribute of squirrel skin is actually a bit difficult."
Otto suddenly pulled out his sword, and the metallic buzzing sound startled Rurik, who was sitting silently watching, and almost made the five leaders urinate.
Otto's sword was pointed directly at the leader who spoke, so frightened that the man almost collapsed on the ground.
"What difficulties are you having? Is it because we killed your men?"
The leader lying on the ground stammered: "The great...Russians. We...lost too many men. My followers are all boys, and my people even lack fishermen. Two thousand squirrel skins a year...
…”
Otto immediately scolded: "Shut up! Is this your reason? Why don't we lead people to kill all of you, so that you don't have to pay tribute in the future, because you are all dead."
The leader got up hard, knowing that bargaining was meaningless.
At this moment, Rurik could feel his father's domineering power. Although his father's request was obviously unreasonable, his father always did things for the benefit of the Russian people.
Rurik felt that his father's decision was too harsh. After all, there was no war, and the combined population of the five Kovin tribes was only 4,000. After a series of wars, Rurik estimated that all the Kovin tribes had died.
, the population has exceeded one thousand people. Among the remaining population, a group of people will leave this place permanently.
According to Otto's request, the remaining Covin people, young and old, must each pay tribute four squirrel skins every year.
Did Rurik even think there were that many squirrels in the area for the Kovins to hunt?
Although he felt a little inappropriate, Rurik didn't say anything. After all, the Russians needed to show their master's authority, and these conquered guys needed unconditional respect. Completing a demanding tribute obligation was a long-term test of their strength.
Bloodletting avoids a theoretical counterattack and forces them to show their loyalty through harsh tasks.
Otto finally reiterated his only reason for worrying all the tribal leaders: "You four tribes must pay tribute to us eight thousand squirrel skins in autumn every year. If you fail to do so, you will be attacked by us."
No one dared to question or refute, any reason with practical significance became meaningless in Otto's case.
But Otto's request was not over yet.
This time, Otto targeted the three tribes that sent reinforcements, but were nearly wiped out by the Ross army.
"I heard that your three tribes have raised some reindeer, is this true?! Ah, you don't have to say it, I know you must have it. Now I order you to pay a tribute of one hundred reindeer, as well as the hay you have stored.
.I also want you to provide twenty reindeer sleighs. If you fail to complete this, you will definitely encounter our attack."
Regarding the deer, it was actually Mechasta who said it. Up to now, Mechasta has no longer cared about the relatively harmonious relationship with the three neighboring tribes. In order to work hard for his tribe in front of the new master,
With the guarantee of following him, he tried his best to reveal everything he knew, and it could be said that he sold his friends thoroughly.
Most of the reindeer of the Kovin people were snatched from deer herders in the north.
Wild reindeer still need methods to tame them. Instead of catching wild reindeer, it is better to rob other people's reindeer. Robbery and conquest, these concepts are clear to the people of Kewen. But they have not thought that one day they will be conquered by the Varyag people in the west of the sea.
After conquering them all, what was even more unexpected was that the deer herders had already defected to the Varyags.
This is what the various scientific and cultural tribes have learned.
In other words, after the Rus declared their conquest of all the Kovin people, the north of Finland, all the way to the Arctic Ocean, became the territory of the Rus.
Otto, as the leader of the Rus, declared himself the master of all deer herders and all Corvin people.
And Rurik will inherit all this.
Rurik couldn't help but think that to the Ross tribe, Otto was clearly a hero and a profound pioneer. On the other hand, perhaps due to his small body, he was still too conservative.
"No. I must be stronger than Otto. I must lead the Russian army and conquer a large territory. The entire Finland, the entire Lapland, and the entire Murmansk are mine! They all must be mine! Oh,
There must be Karelia in the future.”
In fact, after Rurik knew that Otto had made such a claim, the Lapland region, the Murmansk region, and the Oulu River Basin, because the limited residents in these areas were either sparse in number and poor in equipment,
Or they are servants. The claims of the Russians have very practical significance.
The three leaders left dejectedly. They did not have any bargaining power. They could only carry the brutal orders of the Russians, drive the reindeer carriage unloaded with all the gifts, and rush to their tribe. They were forced to collect the tributes that the Russians needed.
And rushed back within three days.
If the deadline is delayed, it will be a betrayal of the Russian people. Otto's threatened punishment will be fulfilled.
The three leaders did not dare to disobey because they had completely lost the capital to resist.