Chapter 642 Undercurrent is turbulent under the blue waves
Returning to New Roseburg after a winter, the city has become bigger and the population is becoming more and more prosperous.
He finally discovered that maybe there could be a better life here. Novgorod residents came here spontaneously even in canoes.
Otto stayed in Novorosberg for two days, then followed the southerly wind and sailed up the Neva River towards Lake Ladoga.
Although after another setback, Otto's fleet arrived at his loyal White Tree Manor.
The owner of the farm, Rigus, and his tribesmen welcomed him warmly. They also prepared tributes and waited for the Lord's acceptance.
The tributes in spring and summer were only a small amount of wheat, and more leather, rosin, floral cloth and precious honey.
All the tributes are small in number, and the highlight is actually in the autumn.
People were expecting a large number of women visiting relatives to disembark, just like in the past years. But those who disembarked were all old guys. What about the women?
Ligus asked cautiously on behalf of the clan members why the visiting relatives did not come.
Otto was not in a hurry to answer, and first ordered the rewards to be moved down.
There were a large number of iron farm tools. Seeing the arrival of many hoes and shovels, and the unloading of two sets of curved shaft plows, the old guy Ligus jumped excitedly.
Otto spoke straightforwardly: "These are given to you by Rurik. You have paid tribute faithfully over the years, and you have been given generous rewards."
The curved shaft plow is an artifact for plowing the land. Even though it still requires manual labor to plow the land, it has allowed White Tree Manor to open up a lot of new fertile lakeside farmland since acquiring it.
In Baishu Manor, the people welcomed these adults who came from afar.
Rigus's eldest son Medved also personally donated and sold wine for Otto.
"You!" Otto suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Your Majesty the Duke..."
"You are extraordinary! Now I give you an order to assemble the brothers in the flag team immediately! We are going to attack the new enemy!"
Novgorod basically didn't know about the conquest of Karelia. They didn't even know what the enemy was. Although the Russians themselves didn't know either.
Otto drank half a bottle of strong wine, and his words were blurred as he was slightly drunk.
While all the old guys from White Tree Manor were here, he yelled in Norse about the crusade against the Karelians.
These Slavs knew more or less the Norse language due to long-term contact. Everyone heard about it and had to think about it.
It is said to be the enemy in the north? It's called Karelia? It seems to be very strong?
Since the commander is Rurik, victory should be firmly in the hands of the coalition forces.
Ligus suddenly realized that his son-in-law Rurik came in person! When his son-in-law comes, his little daughter should also come back, right?
"My lord, Rurik and Svetlana..."
"The two of them should be coming, and their fleet should be on the way." Otto set out first. He only had an estimate of how many troops Rurik would deploy, and he really didn't know the specifics.
Otto could not come up with an accurate answer, so he ordered Medved to immediately assemble the army and wait for dispatch.
Not only that, Otto took the initiative to ask about another manor: "I entrust you to supervise Pine Needle Manor to pay taxes properly. How are they doing?"
How did it go? To be fair, Ligus had no interest in those farmers, but he hoped that the Borudny family would be destroyed.
Rigus took the initiative to explain one thing: "The eldest son of the Borudne family in Pine Needle Manor is dead. Now there is only a boy named Vadim left. I think this person is a threat. If this person is removed, the remaining
The nobles of the manor have nothing to fear. If Pine Needle Manor collapses, other manors will have no choice but to be completely submissive."
Rigus's words were full of violence, and Otto could feel his murderous intent.
Maybe there is something hidden here?
However, Otto, who eradicated Pine Needle Manor, never thought that he knew the contradiction between white trees and pine needles since ancient times, so now they must fight to the death.
Otto really didn't like the Pine Needle Manor, which was willing to resist. If the upper echelons of the manor were eradicated, the rabble below would not matter. They had the largest population, and even if many offerings were obtained from them over the years, they would have accumulated too much hostility.
They will be angry, and the farmer's anger will either resist or run away. Or use this dissatisfaction to let them go to war!
Otto knew that his thoughts were not on Rurik's plan. He felt that this was for the sake of his son's career, and he made a bold decision: "I plan to recruit some soldiers from Pine Needle Manor, and I will let the Borudny family take them to fight in the north."
!I let them fight a fierce battle, so..."
Otto was happy. He was enjoying himself and didn't care about Rigus's bitter smile.
Ligus was indeed unhappy. He hoped that Pine Needle Manor would decline and be destroyed. Did Otto's idea actually let them and the Karelia people fight to death? He knew that Otto could implement it if he was determined. Fortunately, White Tree Manor
Having boarded Ross's ship a long time ago, like using a loyal hound by the hunter's side, you don't have to worry about tragedy befalling you.
Otto has made up his mind, and Ligus and others have nothing to say.
Spring plowing has been completed in the entire Lake Ilmen area, and the once-tired farmers have been able to settle down a little.
Most of the Slavic people who settled here have forgotten which year the Varyags came. The Varyags are very powerful, and resisting them is simply asking for death.
Maybe so...
The people of Pine Needle Manor have been exploited so much that they have now handed over a batch of property to the ruler Borudne.
The Varangros people are not here, and Borudne is the king here. His eldest son died, but the cowardly child had no ability to inherit his wealth and status.
Because Vadim is already sixteen years old.
Pine Needles Manor is bustling with activity, farmers spend time weeding, carpenters and woodcutter go into the woods to cut trees, there are some canoes cruising on the lake, and fishermen line up to fish.
Their lives are generally very peaceful. Ordinary people just want to live quietly. Their lives are also boring. A wedding in the farm can attract thousands of people to watch or even participate.
That was an ordinary day.
Vadim, who is already married, has married the daughter of the owner of a nearby farm, and he is about to become a father. When he becomes a father, his mentality changes as much as his luxuriant beard. Everyone who sees Vadim can say this.
Young people are very brave.
A heart of revenge is deeply rooted in the heart of this young man. According to his observations of the Varangros people, he is also trying his best to imitate and try to build a powerful army that will obey his orders.
The barefoot man ran to the manor owner's mansion regardless of the mud on the lakeside.
When the man saw Borudne, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said, "Sir, they are coming!"
Borudne had just pushed away his wife and concubines who were serving him. After changing his clothes, he was already angry for interrupting his joy. He became even more angry after hearing the messenger's report.
"Them? Varangians?"
"Yes. They! Here we go again."
"What is supposed to come will come." Borudne's veins burst out, "How many of them are coming?"
"Maybe there are five hundred people, maybe not that many. But they have big ships! Terrible big ships!"
"Big ship?" Borudne thought carefully. He had seen the big ships of the Russians and was afraid of these terrible monsters.
"It's a big ship! And there are many of them. They are gathering in the territory of White Tree Manor."
"The guys in White Tree Manor are all dogs!" he yelled angrily, frightening the messenger into silence.
He regained his composure a little more and sighed: "It doesn't matter, who told us to be weak?"
Borudne dismissed the messenger, and when he looked back at the smiling Mei Ji in the inner room, he lost interest.
He summoned his cronies, especially his relatives.
The top ruler of Pine Needle Manor is a big family, and the current patriarch is Borudne. Perhaps this old man is not a qualified ruler, but at least everyone sees hope in Vadim.
There must be a brave man who stands up for everyone whose wealth is being plundered.
Borudne's relatives gathered at his mansion. His only son, Vadim, was sitting casually holding a broad-bladed dagger in his arms. It was the sharpness between his brows that made his uncles sigh with emotion.
"The Russians are here again. Have all the things you prepared arrived?" Borudny asked casually.
Everyone looked at each other and smiled. There were some words that I had to keep in my heart, and I couldn't accuse Borudne of being too greedy.
Although we were all relatives, even though the Russians demanded much more tribute than before, in the end Borudne personally gave out not much. All the pressure of tribute was decentralized, and eventually it was evenly distributed to each farmer.
"What? No one said anything?"
At this time, someone shook his head and said, "Brother, my family's things are all ready, and the farmers under my charge have everything they need."
"Well done." Borudne nodded.
Someone speaks, and everyone else starts reporting.
These people are all Borudne's cousins and relatives, but they can't even think of seizing the highest power.
Even though Boludne's strength has suffered heavy setbacks over the years, even if the private soldiers under his command cannot defeat the Varangians, they will have no problem dealing with the local tribesmen.
Perhaps the only person who can defeat Borudne is his son Vadim.
Everyone announced that their tributes were ready, but they said nothing about the oppression suffered by Pine Needle Manor.
Some people dare to be angry but dare not speak out, while some people are completely indifferent to farmers who have been plundered of a large amount of wealth.
So what if they speak the same language? Those farmers should be willing to be poor. All this is determined by God.
"Now that everything is ready, I guess the Russians will arrive soon. Give them all these things."
There was a hint of helplessness in Borudne's words. Vadim was keenly aware of his father's eyebrows, and the resentment in his heart had no place to express.
Someone else said: "Let's give them the things quickly and ask these guys who are here to bring disaster away."
"Yes! Also, let the women hide first. Those guys are always looking for women from us. If the men can't find their wives, they will die and they will do anything."
"Yes! Hide all the women and children. We must also be careful of our farmers, especially those who owe rent. They are likely to drag their families and run to the Russians. In my opinion, all those who owe money
Everyone is imprisoned first."
They talked a lot and tried to implement many measures that were beneficial to their own interests. But after all, they had no intention of resisting Varyag's raids. Instead, they wanted to prevent the people under their control from escaping.
Because the Rus are in urgent need of a large number of laborers to build new cities on the banks of the Neva River, so absorbing the population from nearby Novgorod is a simple and effective way. However, this behavior is really a drain on the land of the manor owners in the Novgorod area.
It is indeed very broad, so controlling the population means controlling capital.
The Russians are no longer simply bandits who come to this area regularly to demand tribute. The two sides have developed structural conflicts. The smartest people have begun to realize that the Russians are slowly hanging the native Novgorod nobles with ropes.
.
Vadim may not be a wise man, but he did realize that the situation had become abnormal.
He listened to the conversations of his relatives and watched in his heart, observing his father's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Borudny finally said: "Okay, let's do as you say. You all take care of your own people and don't anger the Varangians. Don't worry, I will also exercise restraint."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as if there was nothing more to say.
Unexpectedly, Vadim stood up angrily and yelled in front of all his relatives: "You are all a bunch of cowards!"
The scene suddenly cooled down, and the quiet atmosphere was suffocating.
Pairs of eyes stared at the young man in astonishment.
"Sit down, you have no place to speak here!" Borudne said angrily.
"Shut up! You cowardly old guy! In your hands, the manor has turned the brave bear into a docile sheep!"
"you……"
Everyone saw the son rebelling against his father.
Borudne was shocked, but felt secretly happy: This child has really grown up.
Vadim's move was really reckless, or rather brave.
"What do you want to do? Resist them now? Do you think you are strong enough?!" Borudne raised his head and asked.
"Why not?" Vadim made up his mind: "Father, how long are we going to tolerate it? The Russians are getting stronger and stronger, and it will be too late if we don't take action! As long as we unite, we alone can gather two thousand men.
.If we unite the entire lakeside people and even go to the forest area to find those remote farms and ask them to send troops. We can gather 5,000 people. How can it be possible for ten people to defeat one Varyag and fail? As long as we win once, everyone else will support us.
, this way we can gather 10,000 people or even more. We have more people, we can do it!"
Everyone was deeply surprised. This was not because Vadim threatened to resist the Russians, but because this guy actually came up with a plan. It was obvious that he was not just talking big words.
Things have become different, but it is not easy to unite the entire farm. There is also the alien of White Tree Manor, this shameful traitor!
Borudne did not let his son speak any more. In any case, this decision to resist was too bold, and the time to resist was not mature at all!
What's more, there are not many guys in White Tree Manor, and many of them are said to have made great achievements fighting alongside the Ross people.
Have the farmers at Pine Needle Manor experienced bloody battles? Not at all! Even going on a bear hunt in a group is scary. Most people just want to be content with being farmers.
The meeting ended quickly, with Vadim indignant at the cowardice of all his relatives.
He returned to his private army and confided his exposure to nearly a hundred young people of similar age to him.
"They are all a bunch of sheep waiting to be slaughtered! If you are afraid of the Russians again and again, they will have their throats slit sooner or later!"
His anger resonated with the guys. With a brave face, the seemingly cowardly people suddenly gained courage.
They, a group of young athletes, howled and cursed in their own territory how abominable the Russians were, and how shameless the defectors and White Tree Manor guys were as thieves.
Each of them had an axe, and many of them had rusty iron swords.
This set of weapons was basically created by Vadim relying on the loyalty of his buddies, and most of his buddies were demolished by the Russians many years ago, or were forced to sacrifice their sisters.
Everyone has a deep hatred for the Russians.
They cursed hard not only to show their dissatisfaction to their peers, but also to cheer themselves up.
Their thoughts became more and more extreme, and finally, someone proposed a crazy resolution!
"That old immortal guy from the Russians is here to collect tribute again! Brother, let's kill him. In my opinion, if the old guy dies, the Varyag people will fall into chaos."
This statement made Vadim tremble all over, but it also aroused everyone's thinking.
The eldest brother is hesitating. Hesitation is because he wants to implement the plan!
Someone encouraged: "If we succeed, no matter how cowardly the people are, they must choose a side. The Russians will retaliate, and our farmers will take up arms. We can't defeat them on the water, and we have more people fighting on land!"
Someone else encouraged: "Our people are not sheep, they just lack a brave leader. Everyone will see that you are a great hero, and there will be 10,000 men following you! Brother, you are the strongest, you can call yourself
Prince."
The title of Prince, or Prince, is equally popular in the Novgorod Ilmen Lake area, but the various manor owners have not yet had the face to claim such a noble title.
Vadim, a young man, couldn't care less when his brothers encouraged him like this.
"Okay! I am the prince! The prince of Novgorod! I will take you to produce the Russians! Later, the Varyag merchants can still come, but they must pay tribute to us under my rule.
"
With such bold words and ambitions, brothers and sisters shout long live.
Vadim's performance seems to be just playing house, but he is also really brave.
A conspiracy is being planned secretly, and a group of young brats are secretly sharpening their knives!
Borudne and his relatives didn't know about this, and neither did Otto or the people of White Tree Manor!