A light snowfall came unexpectedly, and its power seemed to only make the temperature slightly cooler.
Spring has actually arrived, with flowers blooming in the Mediterranean Sea in the south, while the Gulf of Bothnia and the pure Arctic Circle in the far north are still covered in ice and snow.
The location of Ellenborg is already within the Arctic Circle, and the port of Narvik is simply deeper.
The hazy world keeps raining down dense ice crystals, which adds a little worry to the team about to travel far.
Rurik took a nap and ate the local specialty grilled salmon around noon.
The fish was presented by Mechasta, who himself entered Rurik's palace.
"Sir, did you sleep well yesterday?" he asked flatteringly.
"It's so comfortable. My woman Nolen hasn't gotten up yet."
"Then this meal..."
"It's okay." Rurik waved his hand, "There is almost no chance of sleeping peacefully in the next few days. Mechasta, how did you complete the task you were told?"
"I organized people overnight to move the stored dry grass for you. The bundles of grass have been placed on the new sled, but the grass may not be enough for the deer to eat. What's worse is that it's snowing outside."
"I know it's snowing, it doesn't matter. By the way, my Tavastian women, how are they?"
"They are very good. I have given orders and my people don't dare to provoke them at all. But there is another thing I want to report to you."
"Is it a good thing?" Rurik asked.
"It's a good thing."
"But it doesn't matter."
"It's about the free deer herders. Some of them are temporarily staying in our Ironburg. You may have known about this for a long time. They are here to do business. Since they are all your servants..."
Rurik's mind was originally filled with my trip to Balmok, but he suddenly remembered it: "Then let's go and have a look."
After a while, a small group of ragged-looking dwarfs stood in front of him.
That was Rumia's very distant uncle. When this person gave an order, all the "dwarves" knelt down on the ground.
Are they all so-called free-spirited deer herders? That's true. Listen to the Old Finnish dialect they speak, and it's indeed the same accent as Rumia's.
They kept saying they were going to meet the master.
But, how come they are so submissive? They must be seeking wealth.
"You all get up." Rurik told them to level up with the same words. He stood on a high place and spread his arms to show his broad mind.
"I am indeed your master! Your life is protected by Ross, but when you do business in my territory, you must pay tribute."
They continued to say that they "handed over several reindeer as tribute, and this was the only thing they could get away with."
They are deer herders, also known as Lapps or Sami people.
The "wooden wooden documents" owned by the Rus people clearly remember that Rus has had a deep connection with them since ancient times, and ruling them is actually a destiny.
Perhaps he was a little rough with them at first, but seeing them being so respectful today made Rurik feel extremely happy.
He casually ordered Yevlo: "Bring the money bag."
After a while, Rurik threw some silver coins at them.
There are not many shiny silver coins, but how dazzling they are on the snow?!
Rumia's old uncle had a very active mind and immediately shouted: "Guys, what are you doing standing still? Thank Duke Ross for his kindness!"
They immediately knelt down and picked up the silver coins, happily praising the Duke as a good man.
This may be an insult, but also a way to show power.
"These guys... Canglin knows etiquette. You are really poor, but you are very smart and know how to commit yourself to a strong man." Rurik thought this way.
So far, Ross's policy towards the free-living deer herders from the depths of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Kola Peninsula in the west has been basically restrictive.
As long as they pay physical tribute, they can do transactions in Ironburg and be protected, and can buy useful things safely, which was impossible in the past.
Is there any more high-pressure governance for them? The population of free deer herders is still too small, and the Kra Peninsula alone is an extremely huge place. Although they are unable to resist, if the oppression is too severe, they still have the ability to escape desperately.
Conquering the area where the deer herders are located is considered a success, but the deer herders themselves are dispensable to Ross. It is better to make good use of them! For example, if they come uninvited every year and trade reindeer, they can also let the reindeer be traded.
Ross's own reindeer population will not fall into the abyss of inbreeding.
Even under certain extreme circumstances in the future, free deer herders could provide men to serve as sleigh drivers for the Russian army.
Rurik had no intention of paying attention to them anymore. He inspected the ten new sleds and forty new deer, like giant snails standing on the snow!
The reindeer sleds provided by Mechasta are positioned as heavy-duty trucks for mining! The deer are not randomly selected. They are all stags that have been deliberately castrated. This maintains their health and avoids their physical condition in April and May.
Manic, this aspect is well understood by the Finnish ethnic groups such as the Kovin people. On the contrary, Rurik, his sled team, is almost all pulled by unpregnant and thin female deer. The reason for this choice is that it is easier to manage.
.
The sled team got bigger! Mechasta also sent his men.
Rurik was very familiar with these men, and they all affectionately called Rurik the most noble man. Rurik would also call them simply, "old warrior".
During the war, these men were longbowmen, and now they serve as charioteers. However, they carry the "ash tree longbow" with them, so that if they encounter wild beasts wandering in the snowfield, they can directly shoot them from a distance.
Once they have mastered advanced long-range weapons, no one will refuse to shoot polar bears. They want to obtain the precious bear skins, and even use the bear heads with their brains removed to make terrifying helmets.
It was really the right choice to visit Ironburg. Not only did Rurik get more supplies, he also had a clear mind to inspect the snowy city.
The frozen River Airon has brought down all the hydraulic workshops. They are unable to carry out free forging, and they are unable to pound oats into digestible crumbs.
Nolen took a bath and then a sauna last night. He enjoyed it to the fullest and his body became limp and weak. After a rest, it was already the afternoon of the next day when he woke up.
She ate some cold fish, then took Rurik's arm to visit the giant thing by the river.
For houses adjacent to the aqueduct, huge drains were trapped in the ice.
In the past two years of living in Ross, she has learned a lot about the mechanical knowledge of the Ross people. She was also instilled in her by her husband Rurik some so-called Newtonian mechanics, gears and mathematics knowledge in her daily studies.
Of course she couldn't learn too much, but she still learned a lot. But as a woman, she was very intentional about learning arithmetic and memorizing formulas. She also learned about gears and mechanics. Was this because she wanted to be a craftsman?
She at least understood the connection between the water pipe and the free-forged hammer. After some association, she immediately thought of the golden millstones in Rossburg's house.
She pointed to the huge bearing where the water was introduced into the cold house and said: "Rurik, since it can drive the hammer for forging, if you follow the new gear, it can also drive the millstone to rotate."
"You..." Rurik was stunned on the spot.
"Rurik, what's wrong with you?"
"You actually understand this?"
"Of course I understand, it's not all what you taught me." After saying that, she chuckled again.
Mechasta himself is here. Since even Nolen knows that the huge impeller of the water row can drive the millstone, it is really inappropriate for him not to arrange for his men to do something.
After a while, he ran to the workshop that specialized in pounding oatmeal and ordered Mechasta to immediately carve a cylindrical roller out of stone, or even a flat stone slab. If asked what this thing was used for, Rurik gave a very simple answer: "Just use water."
The power of the stone turned the stone roller and crushed the wheat."
It took some effort. Mechasta had never seen Shi Nianzi before, so he had no choice but to take over the job based on Rurik's description and rough sketch.
The women of the Covin gray squirrel tribe who adopted the Ross breed generally hold their mixed-race children. Not only do they not reject mixed-race, they also hope that their descendants will be as majestic as the Ross people. There are few people in Ironburg, but the number of children they have raised is
The quantity is also staggering. Fortunately, this area has only been developed in recent years, and the extremely sufficient fishery resources can fully cope with the rapid expansion of the local population.
Another example is that Rurik added a batch of salted salmon jerky, and the special muscle texture of salmon is still obvious. After eating high-salt food, people's blood becomes sticky, and people's ability to withstand severe cold is therefore improved.
On the appointed new day, Rurik's supply, inspection, and research in Ironburg ended successfully.
The people warmly welcomed the Duke's departure, and many people were also glad that the annoying Tavastians had finally left.
This is when everyone saw with helpless eyes that the Duke's huge sleigh team was heading west along the coastline. Is that direction correct?
Rurik's move was indeed a detour, and he had good reasons for his detour.
In fact, we first take the frozen Ellon River north to Fisk Castle on the lakeside, and then we find the Torna River to the west in the forest and proceed.
There were already 70 sleds, 700 people in the team, and 300 reindeer in the team. As this large team advanced in the gray world with constant light snow, Rurik chose a conservative route.
No one can criticize this conservative choice.
They set out early in the morning and arrived at the frozen mouth of the Torna River before nightfall.
There was still light snow, and people were camping in the woods by the river.
Compared to many people's worries about the future, Rurik is still as confident as ever in Nolen's view.
Even if it snows, people still light bonfires to make the cold night no longer scary.
People spontaneously hid in their sleighs to sleep, and the reindeer gathered together to keep warm. Only those standing guard carried weapons and kept throwing frozen branches into the bonfire.
"When will the snow stop?" Nolen murmured, nestling next to Rurik.
"how could I know."
"I'm afraid the wind and snow will become bitter."
"It doesn't matter, I'm very familiar with this place."
"Very familiar? Here?"
Rurik sighed lightly: "When I was seven years old, I left Fort Ross for the first time to participate in our winter hunting. I camped by this river. I told you about my past. In the past six years, our Ross has been
Expansion, all this is my effort!”
As incredible as it sounds, Noren knew that what Rurik said was true.
"Then next, we will go against the pace of my people and return to my hometown. I... never thought that I could travel so far."
"What is this?" Rurik laughed boldly: "One day we will go to see the Roman capital and see if the huge mountain wall of Constantinople is real. Nolen
...Stop thinking about it and go to sleep."
Noren twisted his body, like a cat burrowing into Rurik's body, hoping to get more wonderful warmth...
The world at night is pure darkness, and the vigilant sentinels discovered the flickering green fluorescence in the forest on the snowy night.
Those are the eyes of an arctic wolf!
It was a pack of wolves. The wolves, looking for food, took the risk and approached the Russian deer herd. However, the wolves that did not escape in time were shot with crossbows.
It was this bold beast that everyone carried weapons to guard against, and the beast also contributed meat, giving the men the opportunity to beat their teeth as a sacrifice.
For three consecutive days, the sled team's job was to drive endlessly. No one was worried about getting lost. All the Balmok mercenaries had exactly the same caliber. Even though the trip took a long way, the glacier reached the destination directly.
As they advanced on the snow-covered and icy road, the sled team continued to advance at a constant speed, maintaining a speed of about sixty kilometers per day.
It is actually not difficult to calculate how far the journey has taken. Reindeer are very peculiar animals. The time they go to the toilet is almost constant. The deer herders and drivers can use this to estimate how far they have traveled every day.
It was not until three days later that the snowfall process ended and people could move forward in the sunshine again.
Yes, the sun is so bright that it is almost blinding.
The reindeer's huge eyelashes became natural blinds, and all Rurik's men wore wooden-framed sunglasses.
Wearing sunglasses, Rurik looked dashing and dashing, while Nolen also showed a hint of aloofness when wearing her sunglasses.
Everyone's eyes were protected, and their journey entered a high-speed running stage.
Originally, Rurik was worried that when the team reached the majestic central mountains of Scandinavia, there would be a very unpleasant climb up the mountain. At that time, would the team have to get off the glacier and all get off the sled, and slowly climb the mountain?
Woolen cloth?
Facts have proved that Rurik was wrong, very wrong.
As if he didn't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because he was in this mountain, his team had already entered the central mountain range. Only by careful observation could he find out the clues. Because the team had been traveling on a gentle and large uphill these days, it was difficult for everyone to detect it.
Twelve days have passed since they left the mouth of the Torna River. The reindeer sleigh team demonstrated the ability to continuously attack, which is extremely rare in this era. At the cost, Rurik also spent a lot of food and grass stored in it.
There are peaks in front of us, and they don't look very tall. The peaks are not high, and the altitude where the sled team is located has reached 500 meters.
The Torna River has become much narrower, but the glacier is still strong. Rurik actually noticed the presence of pebbles under the ice and knew that this was already a mountainous area, but the smoothness of the ice road and the soothing surrounding environment prevented him from making any mistakes.
Draw conclusions.
Until this night, people lit a lot of bonfires, and all the Balmok mercenaries were laughing and chatting about their upcoming arrival at their hometown.
"It's coming soon?" Rurik heard Jevro's report, and the boredom of these days was gone.
The only way to play boring games seems to be to listen to Nolen sing about the community. She has her own temper and would not be happy playing the flute and singing songs for the rough guys of her own race, but tonight is very special.
Because many men were yelling, and they were yelling about only one thing - they would arrive at the Ice Lake tomorrow.
A frozen hill lake? We are actually on a hill now?
To be honest, Rurik had not carefully inspected his geographical location in recent days. When the morning light illuminated the whole world the next day, he looked to the east, ignoring the dense pine forests on both sides of the river, and vaguely felt the charm of the eastern world.
open.
It is said that they must go to the glacial lake today, and the team that sets off again is in high spirits. Even the reindeer herds are pulling the sleds driven by whips and starting to run wildly in a rare way.
Rurik didn't wait too long. Even before noon, the team had already arrived at the Great Lake.
Seeing this, people were already cheering, and the sound seemed to be able to crack the ice. Even Nolen was screaming, because when you reach the westernmost edge of the lake, you will soon be able to see the vast sea!
The col at the foot of the mountain leads directly to the Narvik Fjord, and in the depths of the fjord is Balmok.
The journey was basically within Rurik's expectation. He spent seventeen days standing on this glacial lake (Lake Torna).
For the whole team, there was only one tiger left.
Rurik gave an order: "Brothers, let's be bloody! Give the Balmoks a surprise!"