Chapter 561 The Tavastia Tribal Alliance ignites the desire to conquer
I don’t know when a group of people living in the Gulf of Finland began to move north.
They settled in the hills and lakes, forming as many as fifty villages, large and small. These villages once attacked each other, and finally the strong ones among them slowly integrated the people in the area and formed a regional power.
They naturally believe that their location is the center of everything. They naturally believe that mountains, rivers and lakes are gifts from God. The territory they recognize is the Holy Land, and they call themselves the ones loved by the gods. In their language,
"tavast".
They are the Tavastians, the most powerful tribal alliance in the East (Finland).
Even in the development of history, they got to know other people and had economic contact with ancient Roman travelers, but on the whole they still lived their own small lives behind closed doors.
Until the general trend of historical development, when the Karelian people in the east began to compete with them for the resources in the forest, the war inevitably broke out.
Perhaps, only when they are passively involved in the war can the Tavastians know how powerful they are.
They began to actively expand, began to trade and fight with the Suomi people in the south, began to attack, drove away the Kovin people, and began to build large and small mountain fortresses to resist the erosion of the Karelia people.
They became stronger and stronger in the battles, and exchanged a large amount of iron tools in trade. It is a pity that the Tavastians control the lake in the central area of modern Finland. This place is indeed rich in water and grass.
They can make a living by fishing, catching squirrels and ferrets, and raising a small number of sheep, but that's basically it.
After all, the climate here is rather cold. With the current level of technology, it is impossible to grow wheat here. Only a small amount of vegetables can be harvested.
The environment is so bad. When we know that there are better areas in the outside world, it is only human nature to seize them and make them our own.
What's even worse is that these mountains, forests and lakes produce no ore. Even if they know how to smelt iron, any iron tools and ore must be purchased from the Suomi people in the south.
There is no currency in the world. When the value of some scarce goods reaches everyone's consensus, it has certain currency attributes. In the small area of the "Eastern Land", it seems quite closed due to the limitations of the times. There are only a few Roman-era
of old silver coins were in circulation, and squirrel skin became currency!
Squirrels are obviously small animals with strong fecundity, but they cannot withstand being captured by humans.
The military threat from the Karelia people forced recent generations of Tavastia chiefs to find ways to improve their armaments, which required a large number of metal weapons.
I know that attacking the Suomi people is a very costly act, but it is necessary to transport batches of squirrel skins to the south in exchange for iron tools. The number of squirrels in my territory has dropped sharply, and the surviving individuals and their descendants seem to have
They all became extremely alert and difficult to catch.
If you can't sell squirrel skins or ferret skins, how can you exchange them for metal?
Then we can only expand our territory and go to the north to find new resources.
Didn’t those Kewen people go to the north to open up? Let’s pursue them and seize resources!
The old chief of Tavastia died, and the elders of as many as fifty villages gathered at their sacrificial center in the mountains and forests for a meeting.
The old chief's son Watkad (with strong arms) was in the prime of life and had the influence of his late father, so he was naturally elected as the new leader by many elders.
But who can guarantee that there will be no doubters or opponents in the alliance?
The new chief is actually not too young. He is almost forty years old. His brown hair is already mixed with white silk, and there are already some deep wrinkles on his face to cover up his beard. This man's figure is outstanding among many towers.
He is considered a tall man among the Vastians, but he is a bit older now. People still know that when he was young, he could break the neck of a reindeer with his bare hands.
Watkard was originally just his nickname, but now it has completely become his name.
How can a new chief convince the public when he takes office? Of course, he must establish his reputation through some external battles instead of performing a "breaking deer's neck" for the people.
He led the warriors of the alliance to actively attack the Karelian hill forts, and creatively used some new methods in the war, such as making wooden ladders to let the warriors climb the stacked stone walls to fight, and even using fire attacks.
Flames can cause fire and kill enemies, and thick smoke can also choke people to death. Thick smoke is the best cover. When the opponent cannot see clearly, the alliance's warriors can continuously rush in.
The Karelia people suffered a loss, but when they retreated to their territory north of Lake Ladoga, their offensive and defensive momentum was different.
The war was accompanied by attrition. Tavastia lost some warriors and consumed a lot of supplies.
Anxious to make up for the losses and worried about the enemy's revenge, Chief Watkard could only step up his plundering of the mountains and forests.
He didn't know what the Suomi people who had obtained the fine furs would do with the leather. He only knew that if they transported the leather, they would be able to exchange it for iron tools.
A great dream is brewing in Watkard's heart - all my warriors must have iron spears and iron arrow clusters.
At least half of this dream has come true.
He counted the men in the entire tribal alliance who could fight (including boys over ten years old), and unexpectedly found that he could organize an army of up to 5,000 men.
In people's mathematical concepts, this is already an extremely astonishing number. With such a powerful force, we are an unbreakable forest alliance. If we combine this into one fist, wouldn't it be invincible?
Not necessarily. In everyone's mind, the Karelia people are strong enemies and the Suomi people are friendly and long-term trading partners. These three forces exist in this "Eastern Land". On the other hand, the Kovin people and even the people further north
Wandering deer herders, like squirrels and ferrets, are prey to be hunted.
But the Corvins escaped. Where exactly they fled to, only a few Tavastia forest explorers know the approximate direction.
Under the orders of the chief, an armed expedition began its journey north.
This group of people followed the stream north and walked the equivalent of 250 kilometers before standing next to a large lake.
They encountered the hunters here, and after a brief battle, something unexpected happened suddenly!
It's the Covins! They're here!
However, these Kewen people were as humble as docile pets. Three tribal leaders showed their kindness to the explorer leader and at the same time emphatically explained their experiences.
The expedition achieved great results, and the leaders of the three Kovin tribes jointly announced that they would take their tribes to join the chief of Tavastia.
The eager explorer hurriedly led the Kovin people back home, and finally the three chiefs knelt in front of Watkad obediently.
In the house made of wood and thatch, the bonfire in the hall kept the whole house quite warm.
Watkard walked on a wooden chair covered with bearskin, and deliberately stepped on the ferocious black bear's head with his feet to show his strength.
The Kovin people and the Tavastian people speak the same language. Meeting the leader of the Kovin people in this way really made him surprised and proud.
Because killing the Kewen people was not his purpose, as many as three Kewen tribes took refuge in him. If he was sincere, it would mean that the strength he lost in the war was greatly replenished in this way.
"You... are all Kewen people! I thought it would take an expedition to completely defeat you, but I didn't expect you to surrender without a fight. You... are you sincerely our servants? What are the names of the three of you?"
The three men then reported their names.
These three people are none other than Bakan (extreme cold), Terho (acorn) and Ojedo (big bear).
Among them, Bukan was very anxious to explain his experience: "We live upstream of the flood river. We fish for salmon and squirrels, and we live a peaceful life. But they control the salmon people who flow from the river into the sea.
Salmon fishing rights…”
"Wait, what does this mean? Are you perfunctory with me?!" Watkard waved his hand, gesturing to the warrior standing on one side to assume a mighty posture.
Bakan looked at the warriors, and said with trembling lips: "Every autumn, there will be a large number of salmon there, and there is an inexhaustible supply of fish there. If you Tavastians occupied it, fishing would ensure everyone's food and clothing.
Worry-free. There was no way to catch all the fish, but the hateful salmon man took control of the river."
Hearing this, Watkard became interested: "So, after you are defeated, you will surrender to us obediently?"
Bukan hurriedly looked at his two assistants and exchanged glances.
Now Terjo began to speak: "It is true, but to the west of the sea is a new enemy. They are coming and attacking us. Those who control the salmon have joined the enemies coming across the sea. They..."
"Wait a minute!" Watkad slapped his thigh: "The enemies coming across the sea? Aren't they Varyags? Varyags who once attacked the Suomi people."
Although he was quite unfamiliar with this term, Terho hurriedly said: "That may be the case, but those guys call themselves Rus. When they come, they will turn us into miserable slaves. We gathered a thousand people, but they were
Defeated. Many men died in the battle, so the three of us went to you and brought many women with us. We believe that you can accept us and no longer require us to hand over ten thousand squirrel skins every year."
Terho's statement was either true or false. This flattery made Watkad think about a lot of things. Indeed, the three Kovin tribes that requested to join the tribal alliance had an astonishing number of women among their tribes.
The situation is incredible. Now the problem is clear. It turns out that it was a war in which men died on a large scale that led to this situation.
Women can be called the most important strategic resource of a tribe. As long as they are still giving birth, even a tribe that has entered a trough and has a declining population has hope of rapid recovery.
Really integrate the three tribes and let the three chief families hold an alliance meeting? Forget it! The women they brought back are what interests Watkard the most.
Watkard did not express his opinion for the time being and asked Ojedo, the last leader, to speak.
"We...we were defeated. We fled because we didn't want to be slaves. The north was too bitter and cold, so we ran to the south. Now we can only get your protection. But you should also be wary, because those Russians who came across the sea , they are hungry wolves who cannot get enough to eat, and are the most dangerous attackers. They have a lot of iron, and they are even protected by iron sheets. Their spears are made of iron, their axes are made of iron, their swords are made of iron, and their arrow clusters are all made of iron. Iron. I even noticed that they had bows made of iron."
"A bow made of iron? Ridiculous! You are frightened." After saying this, Watkard laughed out loud: "But they do have a lot of iron tools, right?"
"That's right." Ojedo said cautiously.
Watkard nodded with satisfaction: "A large number of squirrels and ferrets, an endless supply of fish, and new enemies who came across the sea and were covered in iron. Even the salmon catchers you mentioned have become what are they called? Ross A slave to man. Is that so?"
"That's right." The three of them said in unison.
It seemed that the Tavastian chief suddenly had a strong interest in conquering the north. In fact, they did not know that the chief's attack was originally aimed at the Corvin people.
Bakan took this opportunity to deliberately release a war warning: "Those Russians have a huge demand for squirrel skins. We learned that when they know who is rich or whose territory is rich, they will definitely start a war, sooner or later. the difference."
"What did you say?!" Suddenly, Watkard became alert again.
"As you have noticed. The Rus will attack Tavastia. If you don't take the lead in attacking to show your might, they will think that you are not strong. Now they actually control the squirrel leather in the north, even if you want to get it Leather, you must also fight them. Don't try to negotiate with those people, they see us as a kind of prey, and they will also..."
"Shut up!" Watkard stood up angrily and then sat down with a smile.
"I heard it. You are trying to persuade me to send troops to attack them. You... want to use our strength to take revenge."
This is indeed the case. The three surrendered leaders looked at each other and claimed that they had this intention. Their words were more thorough. As the saying goes, the three tribes have existed in name only, and the people have been displaced and have no stability. As long as everyone can be Stability, the three chiefs did not dare to hope for any power. The only thing they wanted was to be accepted by the Tavastian people. Even as ordinary people, it was excellent. As for the fleeing women, the three of them all hoped Tavastia was able to ignore the past grudges and accept them as members of her tribe.
The only condition for the three of them was to beat up the Russians and make them pay with blood.
Watkard knew that these guys had no choice. Unexpectedly, they were so self-aware that he suddenly softened his heart.
"Okay, I can accept you, and I also want to attack the north. I will accept your tribe now, but the three of you are no longer distinguished leaders. You all obey my arrangements."
Any war will definitely cause losses to one's own side, but if the gains from the war far exceed the losses, it is worth the risk. Adhering to this mentality, Watkard convened a meeting of the elders of the alliance to discuss the "mysterious and seemingly powerful Rus" "Everyone reached a consensus on this matter.
Because after Watkad became chief, the Tavastians never lost again.
The people have unprecedented self-confidence, claiming that they are indeed loved by the gods and are the natural kings of these mountains, forests and lakes. The only way for the enemy's people is to surrender.
Look, the three Kewen tribes surrendered with a large number of women is the best proof!
We need to organize an army to rush to the north, find the lake and go down the "flood river" leading to the sea. We can overturn the fortresses of the Russians and their servants and plunder their iron.
As long as we win, we don't have to fight hard to get furs and go south to exchange for iron. Wouldn't it be easy to solve the problem by seizing them on the battlefield?
It became Tavastia's new strategy to send troops to occupy the Oulu River Basin to continuously seize local resources, and to defeat the local Rus' forces and annex all the Kovin tribes.