Chapter 588 This is a mass wedding of a thousand people
Who will get the five hundred Suomi women? Someone who is willing to pay a sum of money?
According to tradition, Rurik could set up a forum for a public auction. However, he was opposed to this kind of behavior in his heart. If he did so, it would also violate the agreement with the Suomi people.
They were all very young, and they had just grown up to the age of being mothers. They were still in their hometown of the lake, and the Russians told them that they would be the wives of Russian men.
They will all be allocated, and the method of allocation is very particular.
When Rurik explained his decision, the elites at the meeting also expressed their approval.
This night, a large number of newly built warehouses became the best place to house these young women. Jevro instructed him to rush to announce Duke Ross's decision before they fell asleep.
The restless girls are still wondering whether the Russians are actually good people? They provided a batch of leather clothes and food, and everyone gathered together and whispered, feeling that this was just a means of pulling.
Jevro's sudden visit with his people shocked a group of girls who had fallen asleep and got up one after another, clinging to each other for a sense of security.
The familiar accent came, and under the light of the torch, it was Javlo's face with a typical Finnish appearance.
"Girls, don't be nervous! The Russians have arranged a safe future for you. All of you are about to get married, and your husbands will be Russians."
"Don't worry, your husbands are all young men, the same age as you or older! In fact, you are older."
These words directly touch the hearts of many girls. They are afraid that their husbands will be like old men. In fact, this kind of thing is not uncommon in their hometown. Because of financial debts, their daughter's marriage is used to pay off the debts. This is completely natural and has the financial resources.
It is also understandable for people to marry multiple wives.
But who wants their husband to be an old man? The Yevluo in front of him married the youngest daughter of the leader Uko. Everyone thought that the sister would suffer. After all, this Yevluo, who is nominally a member of the same race, looks like
It is a strong and energetic stag.
If your husband is only more than ten years old, it would be great if the Russians would really fulfill such a promise.
They experienced their first night in Roseburg. No one felt cold this night. Everyone lived together and could rely on each other for encouragement, and gradually their uneasiness was ignored. If there was any inconvenience here, they were forced to give instructions.
Use the toilet in a good wooden house. The smell there is pungent. You have to wash your hands with prepared clean water afterwards, and then you have to wash your hands with the pungent smell (sulfur soap).
Is this the way of life of the Russian people? Are they even so particular about using the toilet? They must have even weirder customs.
On a new day, five hundred girls were just asked to stay in the current warehouse. They were restricted from moving around, just like a group of deer in a pen. Everyone was guarded, and some girls were whispering, the so-called Russian rhetoric.
It was coaxing, but in the end everyone was still going to be sold as slaves. They were frightened by themselves, and the warehouse became noisy, which made the bearded Rus warrior in charge depressed.
"How come a group of girls who don't care are making such a fuss? Do you still want to be our women?" Some soldiers complained and broke into the warehouse, shouted at the door several times, and yelled something louder that they still couldn't understand.
If so, seize everyone on the spot.
No matter how noisy they were, when several wooden barrels containing cooked wheat for sale were brought, the girls came over chattering again.
After a moment, they saw a young woman with antlers on her head, leaning on a jeweled crutch, standing resolutely under the "protection" of more than 20 strong women wearing coarse cloth headscarves.
They are not stupid. This woman's dress looks too much like the priestesses in her hometown. She must also be a Russian priest, but...
The visitor was none other than Rumia. Although she still had to raise her daughter herself, the work of the high priest could not stop now.
Rurik expected that all Suomi girls would be worried about their future, so he asked Rumia to take advantage of the opportunity of distributing meals to read out Ross's policies to them.
Rumia stabbed the wooden stick into the soft sand and gravel. She slowly took off her antlered helmet, revealing her black hair and complete, slightly gray oval face. This face was familiar to all girls.
"Sisters! I am the high priest of the Principality of Ross! You and I come from the same place, and we have a common ancestor! You will marry the boys of Ross, who are all strong and trustworthy people. And I will be the one who will marry you.
Have a wedding, all of you. Now eat, in Rus you have such wonderful food every day, live in warm houses with your husbands, and wear comfortable clothes. Listen, the wedding is tomorrow! Today
, you must eat!"
Wedding? So sudden?
Rumia's accent was rather strange, but they still understood her completely. After she left, the girls were whispering again, but everyone was focused on the wedding, as it seemed that today was the last day before the wedding.
At the same time, Rurik also issued a decree to the whole of Rossburg in the name of the Duke.
Men began to gather on the beach. Many of them were going to go fishing early in the morning. They were all waiting for Lord Rurik's order.
Rurik stood on a long boat that was deliberately beached, facing the crowd that had gathered, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. Of course, the business could not outweigh everyone's noise.
After all, the order was passed on. It can be said that some people are happy and some are sorry.
The whole Roseburg is still in a state of excitement. Does the Duke want to give wives to all young people of the right age? Those who win this honor only need to pay a symbolic silver coin to pay for the freight and food expenses of transporting the women back from the East.
Today's Russians are in a state of separation, but the majority of blond-haired Russians still live in Roseburg, and a large number of young people still stay here.
All Russian men between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five will enjoy this great gift, regardless of whether they have wives or concubines. Obtaining a Suomi wife is no longer as simple as receiving a gift from a duke. They all shoulder a task.
Just like the general ancient society, the population structure is characterized by more teenagers and fewer elderly people. Today's Ross has undergone considerable changes, that is, the number of infants and young children is extremely amazing, and the number of elderly people is also due to improvements in sanitary conditions and food supply.
has seen an increase.
However, due to continuity issues from the past era, the number of teenagers and middle-aged people in Russian society is still small.
If he wanted to gather 500 pure blond Russian men between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, Rurik simply couldn't do it! The lower limit of this range was simply opened, and it was suddenly as low as the so-called twelve years old that everyone recognized.
The so-called lower age limit for a man to be obliged to fight on the battlefield.
In this way, five hundred Russian men were invited to gather on a flat square paved with cement in the courtyard of Rurik's palace.
He stood on the third floor of the palace, opened the window, and, accompanied by Otto, Harold Johnson, and several other famous old men, formally announced his decision.
There was a lot of excitement in the audience. Everyone knew about the reward from the Duke, and they now hoped to take a woman home immediately.
In this case, does the Duke still need to nag a few more words?
Yes, Rurik must tell them the ugly story.
The scene gradually became quiet, and pairs of eyes were fixed on Rurik's handsome face standing high up.
"Brothers!" he said, "I will reward you with a group of women! Everyone present will get a Finnish wife, and I will hold a collective wedding for you! The day is tomorrow!"
After saying this, the whole audience cheered.
Rurik opened his hands to signal everyone to calm down and said: "I want to make an agreement with you! I want to tell you that the land in the east is Finland. I have conquered the entire Finland, but the people there are not slaves, they are
Our servants! Just like the relationship between the Kovin and the Lapps now! The Kovin and the Lapps are also a branch of the Finns, so I want you to treat your Finnish wives well!"
He paused again: "I know that many of you captured women during the victory in attacking the Tavastians. They will soon arrive in Covinstad and will be sent to you soon."
In front of you. These are not in the way and will not affect my rewards for you at all."
"I! Duke of Rus! Odin gives me and us a request!" Rurik's right hand pointed to the sky again, "Odin asked us Rus to conquer Finland and asked us to marry their women and become our women. When the marriage relationship is concluded
, all Finnish women, whether they are from Tavastia or Suomi, they are all Russian women and will receive my protection. You remember that once the marriage is concluded, they are our people, and the children they give birth to are also Russians.
Any behavior of exclusion, abuse, or insult is against the will of God! Maybe Odin will not punish the offender immediately, then I will punish the offender on behalf of God! Be kind to your Finnish wife, if I hear bad news, the abuser
When he was exiled to Ironburg, he worked as a slave laborer in logging until he died."
Rurik spoke very seriously, and everyone felt nervous when he heard it.
No one would treat his wife badly. After all, in the past, it was extremely difficult for a man to have a wife, let alone a group of wives and concubines. People's simple morals were not to treat their wives badly, and treating their wives indifferently was considered a sign of cowardice.
Rurik prides himself on explaining things clearly to them, and the rest depends on their performance.
The crowd began to disperse, and a pair of big hands clasped Rurik's body.
Otto took a deep breath and asked: "What would you do if a man beat his Suomi...Finnish wife? Is it really what you said?"
"Of course! But let's talk about the matter. Once I get the news, I will personally interrogate him. Whether he will be exiled or punished in some other way will follow our most traditional rules."
Otto let go of his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
Until now, the Principality of Rus still does not have its own written code. In other words, given the current population size, since all kinds of matters can be resolved through negotiation among the people, there is no need to carve out rigid laws now.
However, when the Ross and other Viking tribes judge whether a person is guilty and what punishment to impose, they generally have to invite a group of elite experts to put down the rebellion. This is also one of the jobs of "Thing". It's just Rurik.
Realizing that his current prestige is at its peak, each victory further strengthens his myth of "Son of God". Why doubt? Is it necessary to question? That is a handsome young man, an invincible young leader,
He is a great hero who goes from one victory to another, and everyone is enjoying the huge benefits brought by victory.
Rurik knew that he could be a dictator, an Eastern-style monarch who controlled divine power, military power, financial power, and administrative power.
But he said that an unprecedented mass wedding did not need to be too grand. The fact was that due to many factors, Rurik had to end it early.
It seems that a hero is constantly being pulled forward by the wheel of the times. Rurik feels that he should not stop, but take advantage of his strong energy to expand his power, just like the extremely young Alexander directly attacked Persia and let the empire
The border touched the edge of the Han's sphere of influence.
Besides, he saw Rose and Slavic women on the scattered roads in Roseburg. Every one of them was holding a baby, and many of them even had their bellies clearly bulging.
With such a large population, if we cannot plunder a large amount of wheat from Britain, we will not be able to eat wheat all the time this winter and next year.
How could Rurik not know that taking the initiative to launch a war was accompanied by great risks, but he had no choice. Just like the nomadic army that suffered numerous livestock deaths and starved to death in a heavy snowstorm, it frantically attacked the Central Plains in order to survive.
The next morning, after eating the morning's thick soup of wheat, vegetable and surimi, five hundred Suomi girls lined up with nervousness, surprise or excitement out of the wall of Roseburg and entered the west side.
In a forest, we arrived at the stone ship altar of the Russians.
After a while, the selected young men also arrived one after another.
This was the largest mass wedding in Russia. A total of 1,000 men and women participated in the ceremony, which attracted thousands of people throughout Rossburg to watch the meeting.
People were having fun, the children in women's arms were crying from time to time, and a group of young children were running around in the crowd.
It was a rare event where crowds gathered. Merlaren vendors who decided to stay in Ross for the whole year took the opportunity to set up carpets and sell wood carvings, small pottery and other small commodities. Some even sold baked dried herrings for snacks to make a profit.
A small sum of money.
The highlight of course is the men and women gathered in two groups. In the middle of them is Ross's stone ship altar.
Rumia, who wears an antlered helmet, and Rurik's ten Slavic concubines, now act as priests, and the object of sacrifice in this stone ship altar is indeed Freya.
Freya rules love, fertility and marriage.
She is the legendary example of a perfect woman. For this reason, no blood should be allowed to wet the sand in the altar during this sacrifice.
A large number of flower petals were sprinkled on the altar in advance, an ordinary steel sword was stuck on the ground, and two barrels of ale were placed.
As the prayer hymns were sung, Rumia announced that the wedding ceremony had officially begun.
The so-called ritual must be simple but also have a minimum sense of ritual.
Ross's boys accepted the order and walked through the stone ship altar one by one, walked to the opposite side and grabbed the arm of a charming girl, and then the two of them entered the altar.
Rumia asked the Suomi girl to raise her steel sword with words that she could definitely understand. When she did, Rumia blessed her in Norse: "May your child become a warrior."
Forget it, the man took a small cup of sweet ale, drank it himself, and fed the rest to the woman. At this point, the ceremony ended, and the marriage relationship between the two was established under the attention of almost everyone in Roseburg.
Of course, the ceremony can be more complicated, but today we are going to hold a ceremony for five hundred couples that is meaningful to each couple, so the content of the ceremony must be symbolic.
The ceremony started at noon. When the last couple completed the ceremony and the sun went down, they had to complete the final wedding in the bonfire.
But the fun doesn't end there.
In this era of lack of entertainment, both men and women are very happy to watch other people's weddings. Blessing the newlyweds is secondary, and the lively atmosphere is what everyone likes to see.
There were five hundred couples' weddings at once. All serious young men in Roseburg had new loves. Most of the small families were welcoming new family members. Joy spread throughout the intricate streets of Roseburg.
's small voice.
I saw bonfires burning on the street, and people dancing around the flames...
Rurik was standing on the third floor of the palace, opening the wooden window and looking into the distance to enjoy this happy scene.
Rumia, who had just finished breastfeeding her daughter, endured the pain in her calves from standing all afternoon and walked towards her man.
"In this way, you will be satisfied. Five hundred girls, they will soon be mothers."
"Yes." Rurik took her hand and said casually: "How about we have another one?"
"This... this is inappropriate. Velika is still so young." Rumia was immediately embarrassed, but in fact, she was also looking forward to it.
Rurik glanced back, then turned his head and looked into the distance. Now only the Gurdot has reached Lake Mälaren, the Aurora, the Duke of Ostara, the Sperovilia and the Balmok
, their towering masts and large hulls are still obvious in the dim light.
"Soon, I will go on another expedition," he said.
Rumia was taken aback and subconsciously protected Rurik from behind, "The expedition just ended, didn't it? Are you leaving again?"
"Yes. This time we are attacking Britain. The plan has been made. I have to act quickly."
Of course, a woman does not want her man to take frequent risks, but as a high priest, she cannot afford to take care of her young heroic husband.
Rumia loosened her hands, sighed, and murmured: "Go and fight, don't worry about this."
"Then come with me." Rurik took Rumia's hand and led him back to his room...
After all, she is his first woman and the woman he cherishes the most. Even though Rumia is not stunningly beautiful and her background is not noble, she just likes her. Even if her father decided to appoint Novgo for political reasons.
Svetlana of Rhodes is the head wife, and this Rumia is the most important woman in Rurik's heart.
This night, they again...
The next morning, the sun came up. Rurik didn't have much to say about what happened at night, and seeing that Rumia didn't complain, he didn't ask any more questions.
"It's time for me to take care of Velika." She got dressed and left with a smile.
Rurik noticed her left hand unconsciously covering her stomach, and couldn't help showing a hint of pleasure, but then became a little more serious.
Because the time for the expedition to plunder Britain is somewhat tight.