Chapter 355 Not finding them doesn't mean they don't exist
The visit of two children who had watched him grow up was truly the best autumn surprise for Otto.
Three long boats, which had gone through a long voyage, went up the slightly turbulent Neva River and entered the pier adjacent to Rabbit Island in New Rossburg. They were all firmly tied to the trestle with hemp ropes.
Now, what is presented to Rurik?
"Is this New Roseburg?!" he asked his father Otto loudly.
"My child, of course this is the new home we have worked so hard to build. What do you think?"
What could Rurik say? He put on a smile and said something nice: "What a wonderful place. Dad, in my opinion, this place should be called sviottoburge (St. Otto Castle)."
This was so beautifully said. Otto pinched his son's neck affectionately: "You are praising me, I don't need your praise. Boy, it is your task to run Ross well."
Otto pinched hard before letting go, which made Rurik's head a little confused.
Rurik's superficial skills were good, and the hidden disappointment in his heart was suppressed. The entire tribe spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build a new home. Today, when I found out, I didn't expect that everyone actually built a large rural village here.
Isn't it a large rural area? There are of course a large number of traditional longhouses along the river, mixed with a number of Slavic-style woodcarvings, and circular walls are also being built. Just outside the unfinished wooden walls, there are reclaimed farmlands everywhere.
Because the settlers have planned out large blocks of land with stacked ridges, and it has obviously been harvested, making it essentially different from the wilderness.
This is probably what a typical European medieval pastoral scene looks like, right?
The first thing Rurik thought of was the appearance of the host family sitting in the first town in the Japanese RPG game, which is the so-called novice village. She looked very peaceful. The immigrants who gathered around to greet the visitors had rosy and healthy faces, and the men were simply dressed.
They wear leather jackets and hats, and the women generally wear large headscarves. They always have smiles on their faces. It is obvious that they are very satisfied with their current life and are not afraid of the coming winter.
If only life were really so peaceful and peaceful.
She is called Novorossberg. If everything is destiny, this place will naturally become the northern political center of the developed unified Rus' country, and is even destined to surpass Novgorod and Pskov. Now she has no future at all.
It is so elegant and heavy that it cannot be called the pearl of the ice and snow world.
She is really just a large rural village on the Neva River where defensive walls are being built. Perhaps the settlers have learned about the potential hostile forces in the local area and built defensive measures early? In his hometown of Fort Ross, the eldest priest Willy
Yadu determined that in the more than sixty years since Fort Ross was founded, there had never been a wall.
Led by his father, Rurik and the others visited the interior of the settlement as visitors.
"It is indeed a bit messy, but fortunately they are not stupid enough to throw feces into the street."
"Huh? Why are there still chickens running around? These chickens are too thin, there must be no meat. But the eggs..."
"They didn't build roads at all, they just trampled the land in the village hard with their feet? If there was a heavy rain, wouldn't it be muddy everywhere?"
"Alas! Why are there still people grabbing rabbits by their ears? Alas? There are also domestic rabbits in this place (domestic rabbits are burrow rabbits)?"
The residents of New Roseburg love cleanliness more than those in Western Europe. Of course, this is not because they really understand the importance of maintaining hygiene. It comes from the traditional warrior culture. The so-called dirty warriors will be reviled by the gods.
Love of cleanliness is just their personal habit, and the entire settlement is full of chaos and complexity.
"If this place is destined to become the core of the Russian people's future, it must be clean and tidy, and it must show the weight and majesty of history for generations."
Rurik thought so.
He followed his father and got his first understanding of New Roseburg. Maybe in this era, we can't ask too much. The village is moving towards the city, and it has a bright future.
For Otto, the visit of his son and nephew was a miracle. He was in an extremely good mood, and felt very strange about the visit of his son and others.
There is no need to continue to wonder, Otto wanted to reward the tribesmen who came from afar, especially his two young and promising children.
As night gradually fell, New Roseburg gradually fell into silence. It was normal to rest after sunset. Even the chickens raised by the residents without any restraints returned to their shacks to rest and even lay eggs. And the residents also
I'm looking forward to finding the nearest eggs from my chicken coop early in the morning.
Only the longhouse where the leader is located is bustling with activity!
Rurik sat on a soft leather cushion. Now he was not used to the tribe's most traditional Viking longhouse. If he sat cross-legged, it would be more comfortable to sit on the wooden floor.
The advantage of the longhouse is that it is relatively spacious inside. Some hemp ropes fell from the beams of the herringbone roof, and chandeliers made of wooden mortises and tenons were tied to the ropes. There were a large number of small bronze trays with tiny wicks made of linen heads.
Flames, when hundreds of flames gather together, the whole house is brightly lit.
It would be nice to have some light, and Rurik didn't expect much.
Looking at the wooden tray placed on his simple wooden table, with a very ferocious roasted rabbit sizzling oil on it, he even hesitated to take the knife for a moment.
It was the rough bread slices on another plate that made him feel familiar. Looking at the slices that looked like toast, Rurik guessed that they were made by Slavic chefs who settled here.
Perhaps for any ethnic group, chatting while eating, or even noble people talking about government affairs, is a normal thing.
Rurik knew that this dinner was not a simple one. The father and son who had not seen each other all summer suddenly met. He estimated that his father would have a lot of words to say, including but not limited to greetings to his son, greetings to his old family and his mother-in-law.
What happened in the past few months.
Here, Rurik saw a familiar yet unfamiliar person. He knew that this person's name was Konuson, who was the leader of the first group of immigrants and the leader of New Roseburg appointed by his father.
Everything depends on Rurik's estimation.
No, Otto tore a few pieces of rabbit meat at will, opened his mouth wide and swallowed two chicken legs, and then began to greet his son incessantly.
"Dear, how is your mother? How are the people in your hometown? I know you took those Kewen people to the north. What is the situation of the Kewen people..."
"Oh, they're all very nice."
Rurik's words were a bit perfunctory, and Otto narrowed his eyes, "Maybe, you encountered some problems? How did you come here suddenly? Or was it a sudden visit without my permission. It seems that you have experienced a lot along the way."
Rurik was about to say something, but the anxious Arik threw away the half-eaten rabbit leg, raised his chest that had not taken off his leather armor, and said proudly: "Chief, please forgive me, this is all my own doing."
I maintain that my brother is not responsible. Dongfangsuo Gong's fleet has not returned yet, and everyone is worried."
"Is it you? Aric, I know you have been plundering Gotland fishermen. The messenger told me that your battle is going well."
"Yes! Almost all the brothers who came with me were people who settled on Tombstone Island. They grabbed some money from the enemy. I heard that the brothers in New Roseburg had harvested wheat, and they wanted to buy some, but...
"
Otto nodded. He personally liked gold and silver coins because they were once extremely scarce and extremely valuable. But because of wars and plunder, the Russians who took the initiative to leave the fjords had too many gold and silver coins. The copper coins that were once commonly used have become
Instead of auxiliary coins, silver coins became the mainstream currency in transactions.
"What happened again?" Otto asked urgently.
"We met the Baltic people."
"Ah?! You! You..." Otto and Cornuson, who was sitting on the side, were shocked. "Did you come into contact with them? My child, this was not a peaceful contact. Hey, was there a fight?"
"Yes! Those are a group of idiots, leader. Maybe we shouldn't think so highly of them. None of our brothers died, and not even the mercenaries were lost. After they were defeated, they abandoned the village and fled. We grabbed some food and iron tools. I
I hope the iron tools we bring will enrich the lives of the brothers here."
Arik was telling Otto about the war that had just happened. Otto had to admire his nephew and those outstanding warriors who grew up in the sea raiding battles.
Otto not only said: "I have not wanted to dock on that coast for a long time. I just hate the harassment of those villains. Arik, you did a good job. It would be better if... hehe, you can capture some women."
"Woman? Why?"
Otto stroked his beard: "Haven't you ever thought that our New Roseburg is short of young women?"
"If you are short of women, get them from Novgorod." Arik felt that this was the simplest method, and it was a matter of course.
Otto shook his head: "If they are asked to pay tribute to too many women, many manors will be in trouble again. I can't expect all manors to be as docile as White Tree Manor. You need to know that killing and destruction are means of shock. To deal with Brother
Except for the Terans and Danes, our goal is to get women, wheat, and other things..." When he said this, Otto's eyes were also looking at Rurik.
"Then let the White Tree people continue to contribute women. That's where my wife comes from, and the blacksmith's wife, and the wives of many brothers."
Hearing this, Otto simply raised his chest and laughed, and said after a while: "You don't know something. Now the young women in White Tree Manor have become our women. They will not provide younger girls, otherwise your brother
She has been married a long time ago."
Rurik, who felt that he had been unable to speak for a long time, suddenly realized that his father seemed to have hinted at the girl.
Yes, a girl named Svetlana is said to be very beautiful? A typical beautiful hairy girl? One year younger than me?
Arik understood the leader's hint. In short, the young people in Rus had used normal means to obtain a large number of women from Novgorod. It had become saturated and they would continue to ask for more women to trigger a civil uprising. But no one wanted it.
thing.
Otto did not want to listen carefully to the battle process that his son and nephew had just experienced. Since his side had won a great victory without any losses, there must be nothing special to pay attention to in the battle situation.
Indeed, it is really stupid to use your victory against the weak to brag about your martial virtue.
Otto only gave concluding instructions: "Perhaps I have overestimated them in the past years. Arick, you have done a good job. Tombstone Island is very close to those Baltic people. In the future, you should...
"
Suddenly, Rurik stood up: "Dad, brother, you are all wrong!"
"Huh?" Otto turned his head, and so did Arik. "How do you say this?"
"Dad, do you think that those people on the south bank are all Baltic people since before I was born?"
"Why not?" Otto was disgusted with his son's interruption at this moment, thinking that his son would always have something to say, so he patiently listened. "I have fought with them before, and the captives claimed to be Baltic people, oh, it seems that they are still
What Lieta tribe or something."
Otto named a word. Rurik thought for a moment and suddenly realized if his father was talking about Latvians?
At this moment, Rurik stopped talking nonsense and directly mentioned several nouns: "Dad, the people in the south of the huge bay are Estonians. They have common ancestors with the Finns, the Kovins, and even the Tavastians whom they have never met.
."
Otto looked puzzled, as did the others.
Rurik was even more embarrassed when he stood up. He thought about it and suddenly hit his head.
Sometimes the truth is revealed, but others cannot understand it due to lack of knowledge. It is really sad.
Especially when thinking about the future of New Roseburg, it is also very important to let the people who settle here know the conditions of human settlement within a few hundred miles of it.
Since it was a bit inappropriate to directly state the existence of the Estonians, Rurik saw that the appointed "city lord" Konuson was here, so this person should be the first choice for the attack.
"Uncle Cornuson."
The destined leader in the future called himself this, and Cornuson sat upright in a hurry. He originally thought that tonight the leader and his family would mainly discuss matters, and he was just a spectator.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
Rurik sat down slowly and asked: "I took a look at New Roseburg. It's not bad, but I think you are too comfortable. What do you think of the environment around the settlement?"
"Environment? Well... the Ladoga River (referring to the Neva River) is always frozen in winter, but the water flows rapidly in summer. There are many animals in the nearby woods, especially rabbits and wild deer, and we have obtained a lot of leather
, are you about to transport it back to the mother city?"
"I didn't ask you to say this. Don't you think there are other people in this area?"
"Others? Novgorod people? They are far away from us...hey, a little far away."
Rurik's little slap slapped him directly on the face. He looked at his father's indifferent expression and continued to ask, "Why did you build the wooden wall?"
Cornuson immediately replied: "To prevent brown bears from suddenly running in and destroying the granary, and taking away our rabbits, chickens, and the most precious cows. Oh, and to protect ourselves from the north wind."
"Huh? Don't you want to build a wall to protect yourself from enemies?"
"Enemies?" Konuson was very surprised. "If they existed, they would have been discovered by my people long ago. But this area is not only forest, it is still forest."
Is he telling the truth? Rurik thinks it's ridiculous. Even if the population of ancient Finns was very small, those people shouldn't be living in a corner. They were all active hunters.
In fact, a remarkable fact is that the Fen people (Suomi people) only established the southernmost natural village in a bay a hundred kilometers away from Fort New Rose. It is so small and the residents are independent. Canoes are even more powerless against the water of the Baltic Sea. This settlement is Vyborg in later generations, and it is also a war-torn existence. But now, although it has a small number of human settlements, outsiders do not know it. The environment in which Vyborg is located determines that she Any era is destined to be just a tiny settlement.
The Russian immigrants were busy opening up settlements and did not even explore Lake Ladoga. The fishermen only reached Kotlin Island and fished herrings in the natural harbor area formed by the island and the estuary. Konuson's task was infrastructure construction, and he did not The motivation and purpose of sending people for remote expeditions, not to mention that immigrants generally hope to get their own land where oats and rye can be grown, so that they can stop cultivating wasteland and become hunters. Why bother to immigrate for such a purpose?
Rurik directly criticized: "We are stocking up on food now because we know that when winter comes, those who are short of food will die. Don't think that the enemy does not exist unless you find it. I tell you, there are other people in this area. They are not Novgorodians!”
After all, Rurik was not an ordinary person, and his advice was taken seriously by Otto and Cornuson.
"They! Who are they? Besides the Estonians, who else?" Otto asked urgently. He had no doubts about his son's words. After all, "just because it is not discovered does not mean it does not exist" is correct.