Chapter 781 This is the stage for Pecheneg's horse archers
Rurik got drunk for a rare occasion, and everyone at the banquet slept the whole day. What surprised Kagan was that there was a second one the next night.
Compared to the craziness of the first event, the banquet in the second event seemed much more gentle.
According to Rurik, it would be natural to have a feast for three days to welcome a brother from afar, not even one day less.
Is this the rule of the Principality of Ross? What a wonderful rule!
Kagan had no reason to resist suspicion. He prided himself on being wealthy in his life on the prairie, but now he realized that he was short-sighted. His Ross brothers were very good at cooking, and they had a variety of dishes and were particularly willing to add salt.
His blood sodium level was maintained at the bottom line, but his blood potassium level soared. Even though he drank every day, he felt full of strength!
Anyway, the whole world is covered with heavy snow, and the working people are performing their duties. Rurik has been harvesting in the autumn and celebrating a holiday after completing the tax collection. Excessive contact with wives and concubines is too harmful to the kidneys. Now we take the opportunity to adjust and drink and have fun with guests.
Ichiban.
Barbecue, bread, mead, cheese, stews and desserts, a strong son of the prairie quickly accumulated fat. It was only three days of eating and drinking. Kagan felt that his face was rounder and his belly was bulging.
Eating, sleeping, bathing and even going to the toilet were all unprecedented experiences.
This includes but is not limited to using soft toilet paper to wipe your buttocks after going to the toilet for the first time, sleeping in a "quilt" wrapped in linen and wool, and taking a bath in a wooden bucket every day.
Kagan's status was such that Maksakye also enjoyed the same treatment thanks to Kagan.
All this is Rurik's plan.
Once people who live in the open air have experienced a better life, their thoughts will change. Even if they go back to the past life, they will feel sorry for themselves all day long. We must use the sugar-coated bullets of the Russian aristocratic life to hit the souls of these Pecheneg people.
, win over them with gentle means.
The means were also directed at the accompanying slave warriors.
Those Pecheneg soldiers who live in the barn don't have to worry about their war horses at all, Rurik said. The war horses will be fed high-quality oat feed and kept in warm empty barns that serve as stables.
They don't need to pay attention to their master's life. In the three days since arriving in the Principality of Ross, their work has been no work. The strong cavalry warriors took their time off, drank ale and mead, and ate grilled seabass and bread.
In terms of supply, it can be said to be unlimited supply.
The cooks who delivered the food delivered three carts full of baked bread in wheelbarrows, and had to deliver three more carts the next day. The caught seabass was roasted in one batch and delivered by the entire cart. This even led to a topic.
, criticism inevitably arose among the people, saying that the prince was too kind to this group of people on horseback. Some self-proclaimed wise men also pointed out that the prince must have a deep meaning in doing this. As for what the deep meaning was, the speaker just laughed.
This was already the last day of dinner, and Kagan, who was half-drunk again, had completely let go. He was shirtless and casually holding a glass goblet, squinting his dark eyes and looking blurry.
"Will it end tomorrow? That's fine. This kind of life is so good, I... I'm just worried that if it goes on for a long time, I will lose my courage."
Rurik had no intention of agreeing, and casually ordered: "Assemble your team tomorrow and hand over the ten men given to me."
"Can."
"Okay. When the time comes, I will issue another order and prepare about eighty people for you soon. I will let you be the coach and help me train the cavalry."
"Only eighty horses? I'll sell you a hundred horses!"
"It's the Ninety Riders. Ten of your horses are already mine. Oh, I still have to keep some mares to focus on breeding."
Kagan smiled, toasted in an exaggerated manner, and pointed at Rurik. He forgot what he wanted to say for a while, and remained in a stalemate for more than ten seconds before suddenly muttering: "It's a deal. I'm resting now." , we will gather tomorrow. You will have ten warriors to choose from."
Pecheneg Khan's "Guards" were almost all slaves, and their origins were quite complicated. However, they were all boys selected from slave families and had to undergo more than ten years of training to achieve their current strength.
Every ten-year-old slave boy has to learn cavalry skills such as horse riding, riding shooting, and chopping. Kagan himself is not a coach. He once received the same training as these slave boys and became a strong man among the nobles. He has an inheritance. The basic strength of the Khan position. If you can become a guard to protect the Khan, even if you are a slave, the living conditions of such people will be significantly improved.
The Pechenegs are not a wealthy nomadic tribe, and they are still weak when surrounded by powerful enemies.
Although Kagan wanted to treat his subordinates well and provide them with better living supplies, his own life was far from rich. How could he satisfy his subordinates? It was normal to drink milk and cheese to satisfy his hunger, so he caught a marmot and roasted it. Even if it improves life.
The last dinner was over, and at noon the next day, the fifty Pecheneg cavalry who had been feasting and drinking for three days finally got the assembly order.
The cold outdoors refreshed them. They tied up their braids again, wore new clothes made by Russians, new wool and new boots. They stepped on the solid and flat snow and gathered in a group in Novgorod. Walking towards the prince's palace with people watching.
After all the people were in place, the wooden door of the palace was closed by a Russian warrior wearing mail.
As soon as the wooden door was closed, the hearts of the many unarmed Pecheneg soldiers instinctively tightened.
Then he raised his head and saw that on the wooden platform of Dunhou's house, he was standing side by side with his master and the Prince of Rus.
Kagan took off his hat and let his men see his face clearly.
After having some discussions with Rurik, he announced in public: "I have become brothers with the prince of Rus, and Pecheneg has formed an alliance with Rus! You are all my slaves, and ten of you will leave me. The team, the chosen ones, you can serve for my Brother Ross!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone immediately became commotion.
Kagan opened his arms again to control the situation and announced: "Now listen to the sermon of Prince Rus."
The above words were all in the Turkic dialect of the Pechenegs, which Rurik could not understand at all. The Russians and Slavs present also knew nothing about it. Since the two parties had discussed it in advance, Rurik did not understand what Kagan preached. Got it.
Indeed, if the first communication between two political entities separated by a thousand kilometers did not involve exchanges with the East Slavs, the two sides would not even have a medium language for dialogue, and the cost of communication would be ridiculously high.
It was precisely because of the language barrier that Rurik had to select the right people as his subordinates.
Rurik preached in Slavic in public, and his words were so simple that he only emphasized some key words: "I! The Khan of the Rus! I will choose ten people! People who understand my words! Stand up!"
He repeated this as many as five times before someone cautiously left the team and looked around a little dullly.
Exactly ten people walked out, which was enough to see that there were enough people. The remaining people who wanted to join the queue just held back.
Everyone still doesn't know what it means to march out. Those who march out just understand the Slavic commands and implement them mechanically.
"Look, ten candidates are in place, and they can definitely understand the Slavic language." Kagan reminded kindly.
Rurik shrugged. He was tall and covered his thin body with a white bear skin. He looked extremely tall. There were also the prince's mercenary troops, a group of berserkers with leather helmets and bear heads, and more.
Show toughness.
He descended the wooden steps and personally looked down at the ten leavers, inspecting them one by one.
"What do you think?" Kagan asked Rurik after the review.
"Not bad. The guards you choose must all be outstanding. At least they have all gone through a long march to Ross, so their strength is guaranteed."
Hearing this, Kagan felt a little uncomfortable: "I understand. You still need them to show off their skills."
"That's natural. They are all cavalry. I want your people to show me some cavalry tactics."
"What's so difficult about it? It's all up to you."
Rurik sighed softly: "Then let's perform riding and shooting. I want these ten people to perform it myself!"
…
In the afternoon, the people of Novgorod, who lacked entertainment, heard an interesting news, and idlers from the entire city dragged their families to the snow-covered desert beach by the river.
This beachland has not yet been reclaimed as farmland. In fact, since this area can be used as pasture for small-scale grazing, Rurik did not order the land to be reclaimed, and others were too lazy to do it.
Because it is not only a pasture, it can also be used as a gathering place for the army, and even now a military training ground.
As many as 3,000 people gathered around to watch a performance. There were rumors that the people from the eastern steppe would perform horseback riding and archery at the same time. This kind of people was unheard of, so they all came to watch with curiosity.
Kagan was also surprised by the sudden appearance of so many spectators. He had never expected that Novgorod had such a large population.
But looking at the ten people who were going to perform riding and archery, they put on their own serious Turkic armor, put on their own helmets wrapped in animal skins, mounted their own horses, and held sinew-horn composite bows and iron provided by the Russians.
Cluster of arrows.
To be honest, the Pecheneg bow made Rurik extremely envious.
Ethnic groups from the East are generally good at bows and arrows, and making compound bows is also a traditional skill of all ethnic groups. For example, the Pechenegs use their own horns from grassland cattle. Horns with exaggerated length and forward pointed horns are enough to make bow blades.
The sinew-horn compound bow is the standard equipment for its warriors. Naturally, several nearby nomadic khanates and even the cavalry archers of the Eastern Roman Empire also use the same equipment. Even the Eastern Roman cavalry's riding bow has the highest poundage.
Warriors in armor mounted war horses. Their thin bodies formed a wonderful contrast with the tallness of the Turkic horses.
A group of Russian warriors who had fought against the Frankish cavalry happened to be staying in Novgorod, especially a group of Danish warriors under Ragnar. They all came to see the big show. They had defeated the Frankish heavy cavalry and had a great victory.
Naturally, he is proud of himself. Now that he sees a group of plain-looking light cavalry, he naturally doesn't think there is anything special.
Can you shoot an arrow while riding a horse? Is this a joke? How can a cavalryman do this?
Ragna wore sunglasses and had a sullen face, and his whole person looked very solemn.
It’s not just this poor Danish aristocrat who wears sunglasses. All the people in Novgorod also wear sunglasses. They are an excellent tool to protect the eyes when working in the snow. The prince privately sells them at a good price.
It's also fair.
There was a large group of people wearing dark things in front of their eyes watching. Although Kagan knew that those were magical sunglasses, he did not expect that the Russians generally loved them. The people wearing these things became funny, and he was secretly happy in his heart.
Old Otto came to watch the show in thick clothes, and many of Rurik's wives and concubines, dressed warmly and luxuriously, even came to watch the show with their children in their arms.
Especially Carlotta, who is holding her child in her arms. She is not just here to watch the show, because she has already had a basic discussion with her man. Naturally, the so-called numerous horses cannot be kept in Novgorod, north of the lake.
New Ostara, south of the lake, has a large natural lakeside pasture, which is most suitable for raising large livestock. It is naturally an excellent horse farm. Besides, no one in the entire Principality of Rus is better at raising cattle and sheep than Ostara.
Raising horses is easy.
Carlotta needs to observe carefully. She will be responsible for the later work of raising horses. At the same time, the newly formed cavalry unit will also be stationed in New Ostara to guard the southern gate of the Principality of Ross.
Even his eldest son Carl.
She patted the swaddled child: "Karl, you will also be a man on horseback in the future. Don't sleep and watch these warriors carefully."
The so-called targets were to attack two tall wooden poles standing in the open space and pull up hemp ropes. Ten newly captured big red squirrels were hung under the ropes.
It stands to reason that these small beasts, which are not too small, should be skinned and sold immediately. Now they are bought by Rurik and used as animal targets. Even if it is just a cover for mounted archery, it must be prepared as if it is hunting, so that the mounted archer can fully
Show strength.
Let's look at the ten cavalry archers. They all know their futures and are full of fighting spirit.
You must show your strength to Prince Rus, so that you can be recognized and gain the qualifications to be popular and popular in the future.
"Just follow the way you Pechenegs fight and cover it up." Rurik reminded Kagan.
"Then the shooting distance must be twenty steps or closer."
"ah?"
"Are you wondering?" Kagan asked.
"So close?"
"At least the shooting distance is much closer than that of an infantry archer. That's how mounted shooting is. It seems that you don't understand it at all."
Rurik did not refute, he did not understand riding and shooting, but after Kagan explained, he finally had a basic understanding.
Indeed, it is a luxury for a person to draw a bow and shoot an arrow while standing on a swaying horseback, and to shoot an arrow as if he were standing still.
After Kagan gave an order in Turkic language, Rurik then asked his subordinates to beat the leather drum, and to the beat of the drum the first cavalryman galloped away.
I saw this warrior with his feet in stirrups, leaning sideways and fully drawing the bow with both hands. Although the arrows given by the Russians were a bit strange, the clever cavalry knew that these were good arrows at a glance.
In full view of the public, the cavalry pulled out their bows in an astonishing way, which immediately aroused the roars of the onlookers. Men who are good at hunting don't use bows like this, so how come the prairie people can pull their bows so outrageously?
On the other hand, people with a discerning eye can spot the cavalry's release technique. This is not surprising. Everyone uses the finger-wrenching style of release, and they even use bone finger-wraps.
The war horse galloped past, and the arrow hit the squirrel with a whoosh. Not to mention the big red squirrel, the entire arrow was almost two-thirds gone.
"A perfect mounted shot, isn't it?!" Kagan's words were filled with pride.
Rurik clicked his tongue in surprise, "Wow! If there were an enemy warrior standing over there, and an arrow hit him, the enemy wouldn't even have a chance to fight back. The cavalry would have already run away!"
"It seems that you understand that cavalry archery is like this. You can conquer the sea, but you don't know anything about cavalry combat. In my opinion, you must not fight head-on with the enemy's cavalry. The grassland is very wide. You must try to draw a line with the enemy.
Shoot the enemy from a distance, or shoot the enemy's horse. As long as you really find the enemy's weakness, send the cavalry to rush forward and break up their array."
"Is this how you fight?"
"How else can we fight?" Kagan shrugged.
The ten cavalry performed one after another, and to the beat of the drums, they all completed the first round of mounted shooting, not to mention all ten arrows hitting the target. This was only the first round of mounted shooting, and they completed the second round immediately after.
wheel.
If the performance ends in a short time, it would be a shame to the people who come to watch the show in the cold weather. They will ride and shoot as many as twenty times in a row. Rurik wants them to treat the performance as an actual battle.
They did live up to their expectations. After one round of shooting, the man and the horse took a break and then started another round.
Of course some arrows missed, but it didn't matter, because the row of squirrels that were the targets were now covered in arrows, and the so-called leather was completely ruined!
Regarding how to use the steppe cavalry, Rurik at least knew some of Genghis Khan's cavalry tactics, which was to use light cavalry to lure the enemy, and when the enemy was exhausted, he would use the heavy cavalry reserve with both men and horses to crush them.
Now that this group of people actually gave a demonstration, Rurik was so impressed that he even imagined such a scene in his mind.
It is said that a group of hostile Viking warriors lined up the shield wall in front, and our cavalry challenged them first. The cavalry archers holding heavy steel-armed crossbows fired with their weapons and then ran away on horseback. The tactics were like those of the Qin crossbow cavalry. Although this
The tactical value of the cavalry unit when it was first established was harassment. In the current Nordic and Western European world where wars are everywhere, the tactic of cavalry and shooting with strong targets must be able to achieve great results.
Rurik's mind fell into fantasy, and he was slapped on the shoulder again.
"Kagan, you..."
"After seeing their performance, I adopted them. Brothers, do you know about Rapid Fire?"
"what for?"
"Watch me perform."
Kagan mounted his hard-working war horse, and he suddenly transformed into the prince of Pecheneg. The whole person still looked a bit unattractive, but the way he held the bow looked a bit heroic.
Rurik was looking forward to the nobleman also performing a mounted and archery show. He was really performing a mounted and archery show, but he was definitely not riding a horse at high speed and just firing a single arrow.
Kagan's legs were lightly placed on the horse's belly, and the horse walked to a distance of about fifteen steps from the target full of arrows. According to the regular length unit of the Russians, it was more than 23 stikas, or about 23 meters.
Kagan stood directly in the stirrups, and Rurik saw that while holding a bow in his left hand, he was also grabbing a large number of arrows with his left hand.
"Ah! Is this your rapid fire?!"
Holding ten arrows in his left hand, Kagan used his right hand to fire the arrows quickly, but only stabbed his eyes a few times. Rurik saw that all ten arrows were fired.
This wasn't the end yet, Kagan took out three more arrows from the quiver on the horse's back, and in the blink of an eye, all three arrows hit the target.
Can you still shoot arrows like this? It’s too fast!
Rurik completely understood that the bow should be placed on the left for accurate shooting and the right for fast shooting. He certainly understood this truth, but the traditional wooden bows of the Russians could not achieve an exaggerated draw length, and hunters widely used bows that were more efficient in shooting animals.
Crossbows and even wooden bows don't have much use anymore, so why bother practicing right-hand bowing in the dormitory.
People were too lazy to practice archery skills, so it was an eye-opener to see Kagan's rapid-fire operation as fierce as a tiger.
He rode back, shook his arm violently, and looked down at Rurik with a proud smile: "Thanks to your hospitality these days, I am full of strength. Shooting arrows twenty times in a row hurts my arm, which is why I have such a
ability."
"Let me see your bow." Rurik asked with a dull face.
"OK."
Rurik drew his bow suddenly, which shocked Kagan: "You..."
"I understand if I don't draw my bow without arrows. I won't draw it empty."
Kagan was still stunned and hurriedly urged to stop: "Be careful, if the bow is really empty, it will overturn, and my treasure will be ruined."
Rurik never dreamed that he would feel the sinew compound bow in this way. It is small in size and weighs a lot, and the draw length can indeed be extreme. If such a compound bow is converted into a crossbow, wouldn't the tactical effect be great?
Better? It's difficult to train a good archer, but it's even harder to train a better mounted archer. On the contrary, crossbowmen can be trained quickly.
After trying his strength, Rurik returned the bow to Kagan and patted his thigh where he was in the stirrup: "Brother, your bow is so good. You should bring some for me next time you come here."
Kagan, who was in high spirits, readily agreed: "Yes, but the price is a bit more expensive."
"It doesn't matter, I'll pay you as much as you want."