The Bernholm people represented by Swinde have not been to the Eastern Baltic Sea, and they only have hearsay knowledge of the geographical overview and hydrological data there.
Although it was Ragnar who persuaded the islanders of Bornholm to ask for an alliance, Spyot still took the main credit for this matter. After all, Ragnar was a Dane, and he brought the islander leader along with him.
The person who came to Novgorod was Spuyot, an old Russian.
Sipuyut even changed his normal behavior and sailed directly past Saaremaa Island with three ships, without even going around to Tombstone Island in the north for supplies.
They raced all the way in the Gulf of Finland, and the spinnaker relied on the south wind to rush northward at an alarming speed, which greatly shocked Swinder.
It is not surprising that sails drive ships, but the ships of the Russians are not only big, but also very fast. Relying on traditional dragon-headed longships to compete with the Russians for speed is to seek death.
Swinde noticed that he was in an eastern bay. After passing a sand island, a huge and continuous wall suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Where is this? Is it the home of you Russians?" Swinde sighed.
Siput, who was blowing the wind on the deck, looked arrogant: "This is our New Roseburg."
"Your leader is here too?"
"He's further afield. Listen, our journey isn't over yet."
Governor Cornuson was very surprised by the sudden return of the pirate gang. Could it be that they had just rushed to the west and grabbed too many things and came back to sell the stolen goods.
When he brought a group of men to the port with the intention of transporting supplies, when he saw the waterline of the ship, he knew that they had nothing to gain.
Old Cornuson raised his head and asked loudly: "Did you forget to bring something? What are you doing back?"
"We want to see the prince! I want to present a gift to the prince!" Sipuyut shouted with a smile while holding on to the railing.
"What gift is it?"
"A guy who wants to join us. We'll rest at the port for the night, and we'll continue our journey tomorrow."
Old Cornuson must know what was going on. When he learned that the entire island of Bernholm wanted to ally with the Principality of Ross, which was a great thing, he hurriedly invited Swinder and his entourage, who were visiting Ross for the first time, to have a meal.
A big meal.
The old governor even let the envoy directly into the city, so Swinde was deeply shocked by the huge Russian city.
Otherwise, this place is too big! The streets and alleys are neatly arranged, and the hardened roads are very clean, and there is no peculiar smell if you smell it. What shocked him most was the huge hardened flat land of Harvest Square, and the tall buildings built around the square.
At this time, the farmland near Fort New Ross has completed spring plowing. As the principality of Ross still has rough agriculture, it is still not taken care of much after planting. The people still have a variety of production work.
What Swind saw in the city changed his outlook on life, and he even yearned for the life here.
Old Cornuson had his own ideas. When outsiders who were willing to seek refuge saw the great prosperity of the city, their determination to seek refuge would surely be strengthened.
After getting some supplies, the ship continued to move up the Neva River. It was a period of melting ice and high water, so they had to rely on rowing boats for towing and combined use of sails to absorb the thrust of the south wind.
The huge Lake Ladoga is nearby. At this time, the lake formed a water transportation line. Those were some traditional paddle boats that transported stones found on the shores of Lake Onega.
The stone was discovered during the freezing period. After the ice thawed, large-scale stone transportation has begun, and a batch of stone has arrived in Novgorod.
The south wind accompanies the northward flowing river, and the current navigable situation of the Volkhov River is a bit awkward. Although it is possible to sail against the wind, the speed is still slower than that of a rowing boat all the way to Lake Ilmen in the south.
The rhyme of "Three Ships" tells Swinde to go deep into the heart of Eastern Europe. The scenery of lakes and mountains here shocked Swinde. He exclaimed that he had discovered a sea without salty taste, and later learned that it was a giant lake.
The city named Novgorod stands on the riverside, and there are large areas of farmland on the riverbank and in the extended area.
He was greedy to see the comfortable pastoral scene, and felt even more bizarre. He never thought that the vicious Russians could produce their own supplies?
The old islander came into contact with too many novel things in a short period of time, and he had to accept the fact that the Russians were far stronger than the Danish tribes.
Svind stood at the port of Novgorod, and he and his entourage just watched cautiously and dullly.
Siput and others came back after a month. Rurik, who was busy with internal construction, heard the report and didn't need to think too much that something big had happened.
A peaceful life will always be broken by some emergencies. Rurik has long been mentally prepared. Even if he learns that the Danes have formed a group to kill again, he will not feel outrageous. Anyway, if someone attacks, just cut them back. He doesn't want to
If the enemy wants to fight this year, start the war early! Even if Russia's military strength can increase by another 50% next year.
He hurriedly walked out of his palace, even dressed in casual clothes, and rushed to the dock with his entourage. He saw a group of royal pirates running back like this. It didn't look like they had made a big profit.
"What's going on? You guys came back too early! Who's going to tell me what's going on?!"
The onlookers heard the prince's loud shouting, especially Si Puyot, who knew that he had to give the prince a clear explanation. How to explain? A thousand words are not as useful as the appearance of a character.
Spuyot pushed Swinde, the islander's speaker who entered the Eastern European plains for the first time, and pushed him in front of Rurik.
"Prince, we are back with a treasure."
"What treasure?! Si Puyute, you'd better tell me that I grabbed a lot of amber."
"It's a treasure. Look, it's this man."
"Huh?!" Rurik was speechless. What Spuyote said was really nonsense. Could it be that the ugly guy he pushed out could still be a treasure?
"Who is this?" Rurik asked patiently, frowning.
Siputu straightened his back and said, "Why don't you come and listen to what he has to say."
So, when Rurik was looking at this man, the man Swinde was also looking at the tall young man in front of him. Look at the scene now, there are probably thousands of people gathered at the pier, the crowds are crowded and the noise is loud. It seems that there are more
People came to watch the fun. Apparently the man with such great appeal was the young man in front of him, who was the supreme leader of the Rus people.
Swinde was trembling with fear, and the trembling in his legs was beyond the control of his head.
"I...I'm from Bornholm Island. I'm a messenger..."
"What? Bornholm?" Rurik's eyes sharpened instantly. The man in front of him was plain and boring. If it had something to do with Bornholm Island, it would be completely different.
After repeated inquiries, Rurik suddenly learned this astonishing fact - the Bornholm islanders had sent an envoy, and the islanders' purpose was very pure, that is, they hoped to make peace with Ross.
"You are a messenger, which is great! But do you keep what you say? I don't trust you very much. You look like a beggar, with ragged clothes. A lowly person is not worthy of talking to me." Rurik deliberately arrogant.
Ang put on the posture of a king. Firstly, he was really arrogant, and secondly, he was trying to scare the messenger.
Swinder was not intimidated. He did not dare to confront others with force, and he would not admit his inferiority to his own honor. He calmly declared: "Our island does not have the biggest leader. Everything is discussed. They
I am elected as the temporary leader, and I come with their prayers for peace. We have only one request, I hope that you Russians... can stop the persecution of our islanders."
"Have I ever persecuted you?" Rurik scratched his head, suddenly thinking that it was indeed the case, or that he was the initiator of the crazy attack on Bornholm Island. "Oh, that's what happened. You are from Denmark.
You should be beaten, lackeys."
"Sir, at least give us a way to survive. We want peace, and we should talk."
"Want to talk? Yes. But..."
"how?"
"You can't see me in such a slovenly state." After saying that, Rurik ordered Spyot and Ragna, "You two, take this guy who came out of the mud away and clean him."
Wash off the mud and wash the dirty hair. Tomorrow I will have a formal conversation with the Bornholm envoy."
Rurik felt that his decision was wise. Although Bornholm Island itself is not big, there must be 5,000 islanders on it, even though it has been attacked frequently over the years.
They sent envoys to ask for peace talks. Of course peace talks are possible. As long as a satisfactory price is paid, a peace treaty can be signed.
Of course, they can only sign an unequal treaty with Ross, and Ross must gain significant advantages.
Now that something has happened, let's take advantage of the situation and seek the benefits. What benefits should we seek? This requires spending some time to study.
Rurik ordered the envoy to bathe and change into clean clothes that fit his status. By the way, he also allowed the envoy to see how the Russians lived.
Because the living conditions in the core area of the Principality of Ross are not only stable and peaceful, but also the substantial improvement in material production efficiency has brought about a "great abundance of materials."
Although it is far from being able to compare with the abundance of materials in the industrial age, Ross has a huge advantage compared to the materials owned by tribes outside the region. This is a sword called "soft power". Rurik also saw that for this
In this era, there was no sense of family and country, and most of them were Viking tribes living together. Whoever could provide a better way of life and more living materials would have a high probability of spontaneous emigration when people outside the region learned the news.
That night, Messenger Swinder and his party ate bread and barbecue. He was puzzled as to why the prince of Russia entertained him with such a sumptuous meal. He could only subjectively think that the Russian people were willing to make peace with each other, and this delicious meal was a signal of peace.
.
Swinder's guess was correct, but not entirely correct.
The times are not in the past. Rurik, who has the spirit of the East, pays attention to entertaining envoys from abroad to show the generosity of the prince of Russia and to satisfy his pursuit of glory as the supreme ruler of a great country.
If a tribal leader came to meet him, a few delicious meals and a warm place to stay would be indispensable.
Rurik held a small meeting with the returning people in the evening, and he found out what Spuyut and his party had experienced.
But he had no idea that Ragnar was the proposer and executor of the entire peace plan, and that Spyut was actually following the trend.
The entire island of Bornholm has essentially separated from Denmark. Do they want to form an alliance with Ross?
Rurik deliberately wanted to listen to Ragnar's opinion, so after being specially heard, Ragnar, who felt that the time was almost right, simply stopped holding back and directly named his purpose: "We all have a common enemy, the hateful Denmark
King Horik. As you said, you intend to support me as the new king of Denmark. If I succeed, my Denmark will also form an alliance with Rus. Rurik, you must be sincere, so I will be active in the Danish world.
Find people who are against the king, organize them and find the opportunity to launch an attack. By then our joint action will be successful. So we need those people on Bornholm Island, they are worth winning over."
Starting a war with Denmark was a big deal, but Rurik actually still had a grudge against it. He believed that Denmark had great strength, and that it would take several years for Russia to have an absolute military advantage.
Ragnar's request is constructive. He will rectify the exiled anti-king people and form a coalition before starting the war. Ragnar himself is basically unable to complete the great cause on his own, and he needs the military support of the Principality of Rus.
The islanders of Bornholm must pay a price for the restoration of peace, and Ragnar must also pay benefits if he wants to become the new king of Denmark with the support of Ross.
Of course he has to ask for a lot of benefits, otherwise why would Rose help him with Ragnar?
It won’t matter what benefits he will ask for in the future, but now Rurik only wants one thing - the surrender of the entire Bornholm Islanders.
Rurik simply made a very encouraging decision.
"Why should I ally with them? I want that island to be under my rule. I can even appoint a governor and move some of the islanders inland. I want their islands to fly my flag and the fishing boats that wander around to fly my flag."
flag. I also want them to organize an army to attack the King of Denmark when necessary."
"Ah! This request..." Ragnar never thought that Prince Rus wanted to devour him.
"What? You think I can't do it?"
"You can definitely do it. But I find it difficult for them to surrender to you just because of a negotiation."
"Generally speaking, this is the case." Rurik shrugged and joked: "Don't they long for peace? I will give them peace. If their envoys do not accept it, then continue fighting."
From Rurik's point of view, Bernholm is very close to Denmark, but still too far from the nearest stronghold of the Rus' Principality.
If the local islanders surrender, it will be difficult for Ross to rule directly because the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Even if he chooses to rule directly, the cost of governance will be too high.
He set a bottom line for himself - the islanders could not work for King Horik of Denmark.
The messenger Swinde, who had rested all night, was looking forward to the meeting with the Prince of Rus. Due to the hospitality he received, he thought that this meeting would be a great success.
After breakfast, he was rushed by the soldiers to the prince's palace, where he was inspected again and met with Rurik in an absolutely defenseless manner.
He cautiously entered the hall and saw a man wearing a white bear skin sitting casually. There was a small table in front of him, with wine and snacks on it. This was nothing, let's look at the hanging on the wooden wall.
A circle of bear heads is really powerful.
Swinder wanted to say something, but Rurik spoke first.
There was no longer any reason for polite words, and Rurik gave the envoy a multiple-choice question in a commanding tone: "You Bernholm people, either become my vassals, pay me tribute every year, and hang our flag, or...
…Still maintaining a state of war!”
Hearing this, Swinder's head suddenly grew bigger. He originally thought that the Kingdom of Ross would have such a request, but they could really make it.
Seeing that there were no other nobles present, there was an armored warrior sitting under the bear's head.
Swinde took a breath, maybe he refused, and it was almost impossible to leave alive.