Only four days after Otto returned with his troops, the sunny days came to an end again.
Snow begins to fall again in the sky, and this time it is accompanied by strong arctic winds.
The blizzard hit the whole of Scandinavia for half a year and hit the whole of Europe. The Danes and the residents of the Frankish Kingdom really felt the cold this time, and people were forced to hide in their homes.
The houses of the nobles were more insulated from the cold, and the poor people froze to death on a large scale.
The lords of the northern Frankish territory lived in their own thick houses made of stone and wood, and their cronies were relatively well protected. Only a large number of homesteaders were left. This cold wave directly froze to death a lot of winter wheat.
The livestock and poultry raised, and even many people died in the snowstorm.
However, the nobles cannot count the damage caused by this cold wave to themselves, but they can realize that the cold weather has also dealt heavy losses to the Danes in the north. It is foreseeable that when spring comes, the hungry Danes will
Crossing the stone wall they built themselves, they headed south to plunder.
Maybe this is the commonality of human beings.
The residents who live in the north are always brave and good at fighting, because those who survive in bad environments are often the strong ones.
The sudden extreme cold destroyed many of their wealth, freezing their cattle and sheep to death, and killing a handful of crops. In order to survive, these brave and strong men went south crazily, dominated by hunger, like wild beasts.
The people who survive the extremely cold weather are strong, and the animals that survive are also strong.
This cold wave is still continuing, and the Danes, the Siyan Alliance, and even the Norwegians on the west side of the foothills continue to suffer from it.
The situation of the Ross tribe seems to be better.
Because they moved to the edge of the Arctic Circle for nearly seventy years, the first generation of immigrants only had one priest, Vilia, who was about to die. The immigrant tribe has also developed to the fifth generation. Everyone has adapted to the annual
Even in extremely cold weather, they can endure even colder climates.
The wooden houses of many people's small families are indeed made of tree trunks. In order to keep out the cold, they often have to cover the whole body with a layer of soil. However, this is not very beautiful, as if you are a mouse living in a hole in the ground. For this reason, many wooden houses have to be covered with a layer of soil.
Pile stones or lay a layer of wood on the outside.
The house has become very thick, and the interlayered soil has also prevented heat loss very well, so much so that the snow outside has gradually submerged the waist, while the indoors is still a warm nest.
As long as they are not alone wandering around outdoors, the residents of the Ross tribe will not freeze to death.
But the deer they brought back met with disaster.
Many of the people who returned with Otto in victory brought at least one live deer with them.
Deer that can travel 200 kilometers in a short period of time are also strong among deer. Their new owners naturally think that they are more powerful, and they do not take proper care of them after they are brought back.
The deer consume a lot of energy and have to eat a lot of grass, but few people take the deer to graze and just feed them some hay.
Some hungry deer simply gnawed on the drooped thatch from the new owner's longhouse. This behavior was naturally curbed, and they became fresh deer skins and fresh meat that could be eaten by a small family for a long time.
Otto's own herd was an exception, with twenty of them well cared for in just four days.
Everything is the result of Rumia, the only deer herder.
In the short four days before the cold snap, Rurik gained a deeper understanding of the girl's identity through the questioning of priest Vilia.
"I can't believe that this girl is three years older than me, that is, a mere ten-year-old child. How can she be taller than me? Is it because I am too short, or is she too short?"
"She is a Sami. Maybe life in the Arctic Circle is really hard. She doesn't have enough food, so she can only grow like a dwarf her whole life."
"If I give her enough meat now and bread occasionally, she is only ten years old, will she grow better?"
Rurik had too many questions, and because of these questions, he also had a better impression of Rumia.
After all, the soul that resides in Rurik's young body is forty years old. He is more rational and caring. As a result, he naturally lacks the impulsiveness and wantonness that a child should have. He is more willing to analyze everything quietly.
Instead of being swayed by your own emotions.
But he also understood that many people in the tribe are emotional, and this kind of people are the easiest to be exploited. A smart and rational person can use his own knowledge to make full use of the impulsive characteristics of others and tame them into
own fans.
Wei Liya used the power of faith to instill awe in his tribe.
What Otto does always brings satisfying wealth to the tribe, making them happy to follow him.
So, how do I get them to recognize me? Just because of the ethereal oracle of "Odin's blessing"? No! I can bring them so much.
Rurik believes that as long as he brings a steady stream of wealth to his people, they will always feel happy.
The most critical issue now is that the tribe's wealth is so good that a little meat and some leather goods can easily satisfy the tribe. Solving the problem of eating and clothing should be the most basic thing, but the tribe actually does not have very good resources.
solve.
It is unthinkable to grow flax locally, and importing flax from other places requires paying a high fortune.
The only thing the tribe can produce in large quantities is leather clothing, but the tribesmen are like locusts sweeping across the vast area. They are clever hunters, but not excellent herders. They have to go to the legendary end of the world and get a lot of money by attacking deer herders.
deer.
Ordinary tribesmen don't know how to raise deer, and no one teaches them. I'm afraid they also dismiss it.
Maybe they don't understand the principle of sitting back and taking advantage of nothing. When the nearby resources are exhausted, they can only row long boats to plunder farther away.
How much room for development can a group of gangsters have?
If you can't change them instantly, then set a significant example yourself!
Before the cold snap and heavy snowfall, the sun is still shining brightly outside. Although the climate is cold, the world is still a blanket of snow. This kind of environment is the best for reindeer herding.
The girl Rumia did not have any shackles on her body, and she was personally dragged to the priest's steam bath room by the lower-level priestesses like they were carrying a kitten.
Even in the cold climate, the Ross tribe already pays attention to their personal hygiene, both men and women.
I don’t know when the Germans who immigrated to the Baltic region invented the steam bath. They didn’t seem to get inspiration from the ancient Romans. Instead, they boiled hot water on their indoor charcoal fires during countless cold winters.
The water was accidentally spilled, and as a result, the whole house was filled with hot steam, and the house became extremely hot and humid.
For this reason, some people take off their thick leather clothes, and the skin becomes moist directly under the steam, and the dead skin on it is easily scratched off by the wood. The annoying old skin is scraped off, and the whole person becomes particularly comfortable and comfortable.
I naturally fell in love with this way of cleaning.
They are human beings and are naturally creative!
Therefore, there is a sauna next to the large wooden house of the priest of the Ross tribe.
The sauna is also very particular. I think Odin was very disgusted by the foul stench of the mortal priests who prayed for help and blessings.
For major sacrifices, bathing and changing clothes are therefore very necessary.
Rumia's simple leather coat was put aside, and she was cleaned of dirt by two powerful lower-level priestesses.
Although the work ended in Rumia's panic, when she was carried back to the warm priest's wooden house, her whole body had shed a layer of skin in a sense.
She put on a new dress made of linen, just like the clothes of other lower priests. She also wore a layer of leather on the outside. If she went out, she also had to wear a hat made of a whole arctic fox fur.
Her original hairstyle was also changed, and she wore the common braids of Ross tribe girls.
At first glance, Rumia has completely changed and has truly become a member of the Ross tribe.
However, her identity is still that of a servant. Even though Rurik intended to treat her well, the priests, including Vilia, who was regarded as an enlightened one by Rurik, still believed in their hearts that Rumia was just a servant at first.
A humble servant may be only a little more advanced than the hounds raised by some tribesmen.
This servant is extraordinary, she is a servant of Rurik, a servant of the future leader.
But she is still a servant. Even if she puts on nice clothes and doesn't have to worry about eating every day, she is still a servant.
After that, Otto publicly announced that he would give five deer to Viglia as a sacrifice for a period of time in the future. His other deer were also "stored" with the priest.
Otto showed the special gift of a generous person. He announced boldly: "All my deer are prepared for sacrifice. The servant will definitely breed them into a larger herd, so that Odin will be happy to see us grow more and more."
The more offerings you make, the more blessings we will receive.”
The leader's words are really pleasing, because no matter what, the alliance between the leader and the priests is more solid, and the priests can eat more meat in the future.
If you are not a vegetarian, who would hate eating meat?
Plus the rest of the deer, Rumia, a professional deer herder, naturally takes care of them.
According to Rurik's request, Rumia was placed in the priest's wooden house. The girl's important daily work was to herd cattle during the day and study at night.
A large corral was quickly built. It was pieced together with lumber and had a roof made of logs. Its exterior was simply piled with some soil and some ice and snow. Only a main entrance and a roof were left in the entire corral.
Several ventilation holes in the wooden wall.
Although reindeer are very cold-tolerant animals, deer farmers' own deer pens are also simple. Those wild deer are also exposed to the natural environment in winter and rely on their thick fur to resist the cold.
Since a corral was to be built, Rurik was really worried that there would be even a slight loss to the deer herd.
These deer were like seeds, and Rurik cherished them. Within a short time, all the deer wore a pair of necklaces.
There are some wooden plaques strung on the hemp rope, on which numbers are chiseled out with the tip of a knife, which are the Arabic numerals that Rurik calls "Oriental numerals". They are also marked with Roman numerals and the tribe's own rune numerals.
It's a pity that those deer farmers only have their own language and no alphabet.
Only a few people can distinguish the numbers engraved by Rurik, but even Rumia, a deer-raising girl, understands that her master has accurately marked all the deer.
Rumia loved deer. She felt sorry for the deer that were eaten because they were not taken care of properly. Seeing the little boy's actions, she felt a little warm in her heart. She saw that these barbarians had built structures for the deer.
The particularly warm enclosure further increases the warmth.
The girl was ordered to herd, and there were twenty deer beside her, and two priestesses in leather clothes to help, which was actually surveillance.
Rumia was very happy that her hands and feet were not bound in any way, and the clothes she was wearing were warmer than the previous one. The deer was also her own deer, but things had changed, and all her relatives died, and both the deer and herself were affected.
Became a barbarian.
She knew she had a chance to escape, but where was home?
The so-called master does not impose any restrictions on himself. As long as he feeds the deer well, he will have enough food to eat and sleep in warm supplies.
Does she really have no intention of running away?
If there are still relatives alive, if they can escape back to their own small tent. No matter how warm and wealthy this place is, it is not their home.
Go home? The reality is so cruel, maybe I can only pray to return to my old home in my sleep.
In a few days, through continuous grazing, the hungry deer regained their strength. Not only that, Rumia was very pleased that in the barbarian tribe, their high priest understood their own language.
Rumia was worried that there would be a terrible snowstorm. She was not worried that the deer would freeze to death, nor was she worried that she would freeze to death. She was only worried that the deer would starve to death.
She told Priest Vilia: "You cannot graze on snowy days. Deer will starve to death if they cannot eat hay. We must prepare in advance."
Even if Vilia and her priests knew nothing about raising deer, they knew that if they didn't eat, they would starve to death.
The lower-level priests actually prepared a pile of hay. When the priests were about to dig through the snow and cut off more buried hay, the climate suddenly changed.
Thinking of Rumia's words, Veria didn't know whether it was a coincidence or whether Rumia had really anticipated the cold wave.
Any snowfall will not last long, and deer will die without food during the critical period. It is snowing and windy outdoors, but those deer still have enough food.
Unexpectedly, this was an opportunity for Rumia to change.
Four days have passed, and Vilia no longer treats the girl harshly just for Rurik's sake.
Rumia had no intention of running away, at least not on the surface. At night, she stayed in the priest's cabin to learn the Norse language of the Ross tribe.
Her precautionary request really brought about good results. While other people's deer were dying on a large scale, only the priests' deer were still grazing leisurely in the warm deer pen.
She, Rumia, not only saved the deer for Hanukkah, but also the deer for spring sacrifices, and even the future.