Chapter 363 In 830, when Sorgon's fleet returned to its hometown
The so-called ash tree is actually an ash tree.
People in Northern Europe saw that its gray-brown trunk was completely different from the pine trees that could be seen everywhere, so they named it after the color of the trunk.
The ash tree has a very elastic trunk. When the European ash tree is young, it twists and turns. When it grows into a big tree, it has an "umbrella cover". Every autumn, it has a golden canopy, becoming the most beautiful tree in the pine forest.
unique existence.
No one is a fool and does not know the elasticity of ash trees. The Finns and Vikings hunted ash trees in a predatory manner, resulting in ash trees becoming rare. Some ash poles can be made into bows with very good elasticity, but their maintenance level is generally not good.
No matter how good the single-body bow is, you will need to replace it within two years.
In the end, hunters had to make do with oak bows, which started to lose weight after shooting five or six hundred arrows. Fortunately, the manufacturing cost of this kind of bow was not high.
On Gogland Island, Rurik's biggest harvest was the large number of white wax poles.
In just one day of exploration, the team cut down all five trees they found. Of course, everyone concluded that there were more ash trees on this desert island where no outsiders settled. After cutting off the branches of the trunk, the mercenaries peeled off the bark of the trees.
He carried the tree trunks on his shoulders and carried them all back to the ship.
When his son returned from his adventure, he brought a speechless treasure. Although Otto was dissatisfied, he was relieved since this item was expected to be a very good bow.
After a whole day of rest, or in other words, everyone stayed on the island for a whole day, the lost energy and spirit were restored.
They left a lot of traces of bonfires on the beach, and left a pile of rice fields and walked away together.
"Stone Island" is full of stones, but there is also a freshwater lake. Its special status has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it has become the preferred anchorage for the Russian people in the future, even if there are a lot of stones.
The fleet docked at Nesar Island again, and Arik introduced the clearly visible traces of bonfires on the beach, proving that this was his masterpiece, and pointed to the southern coast, where there were Estonian villages that were conquered and burned.
Those people are not Baltic people, but Estonians? They have food and can smelt iron, and even own some leather, but their military strength is very poor.
How could Otto not be tempted? It is only natural to bully the weak and plunder wealth.
It's just that the army is on the road right now and there really is no time to linger around.
Arik fulfilled his promise and actually led a group of brothers to row a boat to the southern coast to bring back some fresh water.
The fleet only stayed at Naisal Island for one day and then gradually began to leave the Gulf of Finland.
The sea ahead was extremely open, and those who bravely climbed to the top of the mast could gradually lose sight of the southern coast. At this point, the most arduous paddling was over. The entire fleet followed Otto's flagship, and the bow began to face the
The north wind started to make zigzag movements, and the overall overweight fleet began to sail clumsily against the wind.
One day passed after leaving Nessal Island. The entire fleet spent the night at sea. They were slowly moving forward at night. On the second day, the fleet arrived at Tombstone Island!
"Attention, we have arrived at the island group. Brothers, please follow my orders and paddle carefully." Otto stood at the bow of the ship as always, holding on to the menacing bow relief. All the oarsmen on the ship listened to the orders and
The entire fleet lined up in a single column very smartly, like a small train, cautiously shuttled through the waterways of the Åland Islands full of sandy rocks and reefs.
Even long boats with shallow drafts do not dare to take risks here. They must go straight to Tombstone Island along the determined deep water channel and spend the night on the island as planned.
The Åland Islands is a huge island group that stretches 150 kilometers from east to west. It is large and trivial. Most of the small islands are not worth settling at all, and many of the islands can easily be crossed by running water.
Among thousands of islands, the Russians chose an island with two small bays in the northern part of the archipelago and named it Tombstone Island.
The geographical location of Tombstone Island is still 90 kilometers away from the mouth of Lake Malaren in a straight line. Such a unique geographical location naturally restricts the nearby trade between the Russians and the Malaren people.
The reason why Tombstone Island was chosen is that its small and compact size, winding coastline and deep water level make it an excellent port at this stage.
Rurik, who had landed on Tombstone Island, was actually very suspicious of his father's site selection, because standing on Tombstone Island, there was obviously a larger island to the west as far as he could see. That was the main island of the Åland Islands. Where should it be established?
Wouldn't a settlement be more suitable?
As the fleet returned to Tombstone Island smoothly, Rurik finally understood his father's real considerations in choosing the site. Tombstone Island is located in a natural deep waterway in the archipelago. Doing business with the Malaren people was never the main purpose. To ensure
The most important thing is that the Sorgon fleet sails smoothly.
The returning people were congratulated as heroes by the islanders, and what was even more exciting was that the fleet was not a lonely visitor.
When Otto landed, he was surprised to see Gould, who was as fat as an elephant seal. The appearance of the big businessman first shocked Rurik, but in an instant he understood the whole story.
Ah, look at the cargo ships with obviously deep drafts tied to the pier of the small bay. You can tell that Gould is doing the last transportation operation of the year.
The almost missing big leader and his warriors seemed to have descended from heaven. When Jevro saw an old man with a beard and a beard flying down the trestle, he was so shocked that he subconsciously stepped back.
After a moment, Gould hurriedly stepped forward, covered his heart and carried his luggage to the leader.
"You! You are actually here?! Why?" Otto asked when they saw him.
"Dear leader, I am also surprised to see you here. Ah, Sorgon's fleet is finally back?"
"You didn't answer my question." Otto urged.
"Yes, Chief." Gould immediately raised his hand and pointed to his cargo ship: "Look, the ship is filled with wheat. Please allow me to tell you a beautiful thing..."
It's definitely a matter of food! Otto has already learned a lot from his son, so he doesn't ask any more questions. He urged: "Prepare a comfortable place for me, I want to have a good rest. Hmm? Your wall has been erected.
That's great, so the damn Gotlanders can't threaten our camp."
Returning to Tombstone Island, Otto felt as if he had returned home.
Of course, for those warriors from Tombstone Island, they really brought a batch of precious trophies and reunited with their wives and children.
Tombstone Island is becoming lively again.
Those extremely limited number of merchants from Mälaren who had no intention of heading north to Fort Ross. They thought of doing some business with the Ross people on Tombstone Island, but they unexpectedly met Otto, the mysterious leader of the Ross people.
Otto naturally met with more than a dozen businessmen and decisively accepted some of the gifts provided by the businessmen. He also saw the twitching eyes of some businessmen and felt a sense of disharmony.
Otto's feeling is correct, because those with twinkling eyes are indeed businessmen themselves, and on the other hand, they are under the instructions of the leader of Melalen and the leader of the alliance, Olegin. It is true that they are doing business, and it is even more true that they are spying on intelligence.
An old man who is obviously weather-beaten and physically strong is actually the legendary leader Otto? No matter how you look at this man, he is more powerful than his own leader Olegin. There are also the illustrious people who have returned from Russia.
Momentum. It is said that the Ross people as a whole are far less powerful than the Melalen people. Even Rurik, the son of the Ross leader who met with the leader, also expressed his weakness. I saw a large group of Ross warriors today. Who dares to estimate that they are really weak?
Is it true that a tribe that can organize a large fleet is weak?
The merchants tasked with gathering intelligence sighed to themselves about their good luck. They immediately began to sell their goods at unusually low prices so that they could escape from Tombstone Island early and report the intelligence to their leaders to receive the reward.
Merlaren merchants are all lowering prices, which of course benefits the Russians on the island.
Merchants are mainly selling ceramic pots, pans, and wooden daily necessities. Who cares about the reasons behind their sudden sell-off?
A warm wooden house has now become the bed of Otto and Rurik. Before taking a rest, Otto intended to have a good chat with Gould.
The dim oil lamp was not enough to hide the joyful atmosphere. Gould was in a very good mood tonight. He urgently needed to show off in front of the big leader and brag about the feats of young master Rurik in Mälaren.
Rurik had already told his father about his experience in Mälaren. The words were spoken by the child alone. Otto subconsciously thought that there was an element of exaggeration here, and he did not really believe that his son really had such great achievements.
.
Now it was Gould's turn to describe it vividly, and Otto had to believe it even if he didn't believe it.
Wheat, in particular, is so large that even Gould, who owns a fleet of cargo ships, does not have the ability to transport it all at once.
After drinking "Ross Vodka" from a glass bottle again, Otto's face quickly turned red.
"Hahaha, wheat, a lot of wheat, our tribe really has no shortage of wheat this year. My dream when I was young has actually come true, because we paid too much money for wheat."
Rurik was present, and Gould didn't dare to talk nonsense, so he complimented: "Money is never a problem. Rurik is blessed by the gods, and we Russians have many ways to make money. I am indeed resourceful.
Merchant, please rest assured, chief, I will make your family make a lot of money in the trade season next year."
"I'm very confident about you." Otto, who was drunk, patted Gould's shoulder enthusiastically, which was a kind of affirmation of the businessman, which made Gould feel flattered.
Otto continued to mutter: "I heard that Olegin wants to see me. Well, maybe I should go there now."
"Ah? Chief, are you serious?" Not only Gould was surprised, but Rurik was also shocked.
Just when Rurik wanted to persuade his father not to cause trouble and to return to his hometown before winter, Otto suddenly gave up and said, "Forget it. Next year, that guy will call all the leaders for an alliance. My son said that Olegin wanted to
Is there such a thing as revenge against the Danes?"
"Huh?" Who is Gould? Although he thought it was ridiculous, the words coming out of Otto's mouth were extraordinary. "Maybe that's the case, Chief, what can I do for you?"
"What else can you do? You are a businessman, and I want you to raise some supplies for me. I am very optimistic about your material transportation capabilities. If there is a war in Anang, you will transport a steady stream of food and new supplies to my army.
weapon."
"Ah! That's such an honor."
Hearing this quietly, Rurik was a little surprised that his father really understood the importance of logistics. This was obviously the fact. For example, during the northern hunting trip last winter, the entire team brought enough dry food for a month.
If there was no such food, how could the expedition's hunting army complete the conquest of the Kovin people along the frozen Oulu River?
Speaking of which, the drunken father actually believed that the coalition forces after the alliance would fight back against the Danes and Gotlanders.
Youdao tells the truth after drinking! Rurik guessed that his father had such a plan. What would be the result of such an analysis.
The remnants of the Ostara tribe are now clinging to the arms of the Rus. If Otto proposes war in the alliance, Carlotta, a revengeful girl, will definitely be the first to support it.
As long as the alliance leader Olegin sees Carlotta's determination, he will definitely avenge the Ostara people under the supervision of other tribal leaders.
After some analysis, Rurik came to a surprising conclusion. Regardless of whether the alliance made a decision on war, as long as Otto mentioned the war, the entire alliance would definitely unite to counterattack the Danes.
The choice of war actually fell into the hands of the Russians?
In the past few years, the Russians have not been defeated at all, and their many conquests and victories have made the people full of expectations for the war. Because for those young people, fighting for the great god Odin, their dead souls went to Valhalla to become heroic spirits, and they survived.
It can plunder a large amount of wealth. The warriors who followed Aric in his expedition to Gotland gained hugely. Which young man would not be greedy?
Under the influence of alcohol, Otto tightened his grip on the empty glass bottle: "A true warrior will drink the strongest wine and kill the hardest enemy. It's time to continue our revenge. I want to avenge my brother Ogier, and I want to avenge my brother Ogier.
The warriors on this island take revenge! They died in battle, and ten times as many Gotlanders must be buried with them. The revenge will continue, and it has nothing to do with Olegin."
How could Gould not be afraid when he saw Otto's angry bullfight? He thought that by mentioning Olegin, Otto would respect the leader of the alliance. Obviously the Russians didn't take that guy to heart.
Good thing or bad thing?
Looking at Rurik's solemn little face, Gould could tell that it was a good thing.
Who is the Mellaren tribe? Olegin mistreats his people, and Karl is a boastful guy. Even this kind of person is worthy of being the leader of the alliance? How can they have the talent and strategy of Otto and his son?
Gould actually had a vague feeling that Rurik never wanted to be an alliance leader. He still preferred to be a leader with real power. That is, the people that this leader rules are not a few thousand people, but maybe one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, or even
More. Rurik wants to maintain the relationship between the leader and the people through a system of taxation and contracts, which is completely different from those in the past.
The next day, when Otto sobered up, he talked about whether to break into Lake Mälaren to have a surprise interview with the alliance leader, and gave a negative answer.
In this way, a larger fleet was formed, with a variety of people on board, actually exceeding a thousand people!