The gravel field in front of Gould's mansion was already full of people. Those Gray Squirrel tribesmen who had to immigrate again. Under the leadership of their leader Mechasta, they brought all kinds of soft goods accumulated in more than two months.
Tie it up with hemp rope and hang it on your shoulder, or place it at your feet.
After all, they were Kovin people. When Rurik saw them gathering again, he could see clearly the "kwen" they were holding in their hands at first glance, which is the origin of their name. A wooden spear was installed under the tip of the spear.
A short spear with a small hook that serves as a marching staff. But this short spear has completely changed its appearance. Its spearhead is made of tempered wrought iron, making it extremely sharp and strong.
Mechasta had already arrived with his tribe, but this guy's eyes had been fixed on the Russian ship.
Beside the four trestles at the pier, there are four large cargo ships tied by cables. They are the largest ships currently owned by the Russians. Their stocky size really shocked the Covin people. There are also a group of traditional longships with low sides, because they are not equipped with terrifying monsters.
The embossed bow proves that it is essentially a large fishing boat.
This time, the total number of people who will go to the north is 500.
No! The situation is not just that. Because of the success of the "Northern Hunting Operation", the great leader Otto announced the results of the exploration to all the tribesmen. The so-called hydrological conditions in the depths of the bay that have been inaccessible for many years have been explored and can finally be determined.
Fishermen can move freely to explore local fishery resources.
Since the big leader said this, of course the fishermen had to respond. The most critical reason is that the northern waters lack development. Everyone believes that the fishing boats that arrive first will be able to catch a large amount of fish.
Now, Rurik is here.
Mechasta led the crowd to kneel down on one knee in a humble manner, and all revealed their stubbornness that they had fought to the death, as a courtesy to meet their noble, kind and contractual master Rurik.
Rurik and his young warriors appeared at the bustling dock, and the Covin people waiting to board the ship glanced here.
Mechasta walked over with cautious steps. He covered his heart with his right hand and bowed slightly: "Master, you are finally here."
Rurik looked carefully at the man's expression, and then at the Kovin people.
"Are you all very worried about this voyage?"
"This..." Mechasta hesitated for a moment: "To be honest, we... we have never been in a boat larger than a canoe."
"you……"
Rurik thought it was very ridiculous, and then thought about it again, and realized that what this person said was probably not nonsense.
He continued to ask: "Are your people ready? Have your luggage been packed?"
In fact, if he had more time, Mechasta would like to bring more things. For example, he could advance some wooden parts in advance so that he could quickly build a house after landing.
"We have prepared everything, such as some food. We also dismantled all the tents and the supporting wooden frames. When we arrived at the destination, we were able to quickly set up the tents and no one would catch a cold."
The so-called tent is a closed shed made of leather, linen and wooden strips. It can only be used as a camping equipment.
"We still need to build the wooden house as soon as possible." Rurik sighed slightly, "Don't worry, I brought some people this time, and they will help you build the house."
"Oh, that's great."
Mechasta did not have many enthusiastic expectations for the future. He only hoped that his wandering tribe could truly settle down.
Rurik looked at the crowd again and talked with Gould's two sons.
Then, he found Rumia who had finished building the altar and ordered the sacrifice to begin.
The whistling sound of the warm south wind cannot cover up the beating of the leather drum. What is very interesting is that the shaman of the gray squirrel tribe always dresses up as a raptor, that is, an owl, beats the leather drum and performs strange things in front of the small stone altar.
dance.
But Priest Rumia and the girl Lumi from the Salmon Lord tribe were doing the ritual of the sea, the priest of the Rus.
It can be said that this sacrifice is really a mixture, lacking in seriousness but somewhat interesting.
The gray squirrel tribe worships owls. The simple reason is that owls are good at catching squirrels. The female shaman hopes to bring the power of owls to the tribe again, so that the tribe's life can quickly return to normal when they arrive in a new place, and they can quickly make up for their lost time in catching squirrels.
Pick it up.
Rumia's job is very simple. She is praying to God to calm the sea and allow the fleet going north to be safe.
Because of this mixed ceremony, the Russians let go of their tension, and all the Gray Squirrel tribesmen were willing to believe that they would not encounter disaster when taking a big ship for the first time in their lives.
The Kovin people are in awe of the sea. They are amazed by the vastness of the sea, and some are afraid of the Varyag people who come across the sea.
Now, there is nothing to be afraid of.
The wooden planks for boarding the ship had been erected and tied with thick hemp ropes, so the large and sturdy cargo ship was only rolling slightly beside the pier.
Compared with other ships, cargo ships are the most stable, but their speed is not very fast at any time.
Cargo ships have a huge load capacity. The maximum load capacity of the Gould family's large cargo ship can reach five tons. It is easy to cram fifty people of various ages into one ship.
Either anxious, excited, or not thinking about anything, the tribesmen started boarding the ship with their softness, and then found a corner to sit down quietly.
Since there are many children in the gray squirrel tribe, as well as more delicate women, the cargo ship can accommodate them in three days, and it can also pile up some soft things. In the end, such a cargo ship looked like a "smuggling ship"
.
Rurik's mercenaries, subordinates, blacksmiths and young blacksmiths, as well as the hundred Rus warriors, all boarded the reserved longship.
Appearing on stage requires a process, so Rurik decided to stand on the pier at the pier before the last person got on the boat.
More and more tribal people are gathering on the coast, and they are here to see off the new fleet.
After all, his son will lead an expedition in person, and at the age of only eight, he will complete this feat.
Niya hoped that her son would grow up quickly and become a brave warrior and wise man.
Her son was about to go on an expedition. Although all the necessary instructions had been given, she saw that her son was still standing on the trestle. She left the cheering people and hurried onto the trestle. She held Rurik in her arms and kissed her hard.
Touch my son's forehead.
Rurik understood this woman's reluctance to leave.
"Mom, don't worry about us."
"Yes! I'm not worried."
"You are still worried." Rurik felt that his hair became wet, which was his mother's tears.
Niya's wrinkled and aged face was soaked with tears. At this scene, Rurik felt that she was worried that she was going to the battlefield and that something bad happened. Or was it because Otto was not here, and Otto was not
As the commander of the operation, why did she feel that this trip was full of danger?
"That's it." Rurik said seriously, gently pushing his mother with both hands.
Niya obviously noticed something strange. She quickly let go of her hand and looked at her resolute son in surprise.
She sighed softly: "I have said everything that needs to be said." Then, she raised her head suddenly and shouted solemnly with a tearful tone: "Kawei! Take care of your brother. Carlotta, Ella, take care of him."
You men. All Rus, you must obey your war chiefs. All Corvins, you must obey your masters!”
Niya is the wife of the big leader, and her words are at least very important among all the tribal women. For this reason, the Rus warriors who took orders from Rurik regarded Niya's orders as Otto's fate.
Of course they will obey any decision of Rurik, not only because Rurik is the commander, but also because this little commander is always generous in terms of rewards! For this reason, Rurik promised to
Everyone, during the operation period, each person will be given ten silver coins per month!
(Due to the inflation caused by the influx of huge amounts of silver coins, the commission price of employees within the tribe was higher than the selling price of their fishermen’s catch, and the commissions were also passively increased a lot.)
Finally, Rurik became the last person stranded on the shore.
He pushed Niya aside and said with a smile: "Don't worry about anything. The destination is less than two days' flight from our Roseburg. When we go there, we still need a steady stream of supplies from the tribe. Mom, when I
The construction there is pretty good, but I invite you to take a look. Oh, by the way, and dad on his way back, you all should go and see my masterpiece."
Niya finally smiled happily: "Okay, I will."
Rurik jumped onto the plank, then grabbed Kawi's strong arm and boarded the ship.
According to tradition, the ship Rurik was on was the flagship, but this long ship looked too ordinary without the gorgeous bow wood carving.
"Damn it, this boat is not worthy of my status!"
Rurik muttered secretly, and the ship began to leave the port with the help of the wind.
He looked at the waving tribesmen on the shore, especially his mother who was crying and waving her hands, and subconsciously drew out his dagger. The sun shone on the dagger, reflecting a strong flash, and his flagship was also walking in front of the entire team.
At the forefront. All ships followed the flagship, followed Rurik and his sword, and left the fjord one after another.
"The great expedition has finally begun." Rurik sighed.
Kawei, who was walking not far beside him, asked: "Are you sure? We really don't use paddles, we only rely on wind power?"
"Isn't it possible?"
"This... I just feel a little wrong."
Rurik shrugged, stood up, and pointed with his little finger at the four stocky cargo ships with larger sails behind him: "What do you think of them?"
"Cargo ship, what happened?"
"They don't have oars." Rurik said excitedly.
Kawei didn't take it seriously: "Cargo ships also have oars, otherwise what will they do when there is no wind?"
"That's not mainly about paddling. In my opinion, we don't need oars at all, we just rely on the wind."
Suddenly, Kawei convinced Rurik that this was not just a random statement made on a whim. He should be serious.
"You really decided that way?"
"Otherwise?" Rurik sighed, "I think I should have my own ship. It should not be our traditional leading warship, but should be like those cargo ships, wide and sturdy. We can even turn the cargo ship into a
The bigger it is, the more cargo can be transported."
"Did you really decide like this?" Kawei asked cautiously.
"Yes. But not now, just wait and see. One day, I will own a bigger ship." After saying that, Rurik sat down happily, his heart was beating, just because
I decided to start building ships myself.
To be honest, Rurik didn't have much praise for the dragon-headed warships of the tribe.
It has no deck, the keel is an oak, the mast has only one side, and the main propulsion is the oars of the entire crew.
The biggest problem with the paddle boat is that its purely human propulsion method limits its development prospects. Because in order to propel larger ships forward, the paddle boat must have more rowers. In this regard, it was still the case in ancient Rome.
People can do it to the best of their ability. Those large so-called battleships require hundreds of slaves to sit neatly on the bottom of the ship, and all of them row at the same rhythm.
Its upper level is filled with a large number of Roman infantry. There are actually three types of combat methods in naval battles: various types of torsion slingshot shooting, bow collision and angle attack, and soldiers jumping into gangs to fight.
What determines the victory of naval battles is often relying on gang-hopping fighting. Naval battles are more like a continuation of land battles.
Similar tactics can be formed naturally. In addition to the "black technology" such as the torque slingshot, the Russian warships have common tactics such as collision and gang jumping. Although there is no torque slingshot, Rurik feels that his steel arms
Crossbows are already helping Arik's fleet sweep the sea as they march south.
Besides, Rurik actually doesn’t think the torque slingshot is a very cost-effective weapon.
The era of rowing boats is coming to an end, and the future should be dominated by large cargo ships!
It is running slowly now, but its belly holds a lot of things! However, with the development of mines, the tribe will definitely need a lot of professional cargo ships.
If the speed is slow, then increase the mast and increase the sail area, then improve the ship structure and add a bulbous bow. Make it bigger, equip it with more sails, and still worry about running slowly?
As soon as this idea came up, Rurik suddenly realized it!
"Wait a minute! If I really do this, wouldn't it mean...that I would build a Caravel ship? If I succeed, that would be a really good thing."
In fact, the large cargo ships of the Vikings were the source of the main ships of later countries.
A cargo ship equipped with a deck and poop is called a Cork ship. A Cork ship equipped with a Near Eastern gaff sail is a Caravel ship. A larger Caravel ship is equipped with multiple scale sails on each mast, which is a Caravel ship. Then, it is the ultimate caravel ship.
Galenic galleons, and then Galenic ships with iron keels.
When steam boilers and huge paddle wheels were installed on ships, everything changed.
Those large cargo ships carrying a large number of Corvin people were the pioneers of the age of navigation!
Compared with other Russian ships, the cargo ship is undoubtedly the most stable, but there are still waves. The slightly strong south wind pushes the ship forward quickly, and the ships are rising and falling with the waves.
However, even with this little ups and downs, those who sailed the sea for the first time were very excited. The excitement and hesitation were all in the past tense. Now, many people are simply lying on the side of the boat, eating their morning meals because of the bad seasickness.
The half-digested food was vomited into the sea and fed to the fish.
Rurik saw their dire situation, but he had adapted to sailing, and now he ignored the bumps. He could no longer feel the pain of seasickness.
But for the brother and sister Terravis and Saipolava sitting on the flagship, sailing has become a torment. They seem to think that the Covin people made the right choice to avoid the sea, and if they step into the sea rashly, they will really encounter the warning of the sea god.
.
Perhaps, the sea only protects the Varangians who can resist the waves.
At least Saipolava could still have Sister Carlotta to help take care of her. After vomiting, Taravis could only continue to sit up in a daze, looking forward to landing soon.
Along this way, the Russian fleet mainly relied on sails to move forward. Logically speaking, they could obviously use oars. The wide oars were stowed away, and the light long ships had to accommodate the cargo ships carrying a large number of people and supplies.