In theory, those slaves just changed their families. In their opinion, their new master was a good man. He provided everyone with enough food and water, and also gave them the opportunity to change their destiny.
They realize that they are no longer just cattle and horses that can only work endlessly. Although they are still a tool, they are actually tools that can kill people.
Because Rurik made a promise to them, slaves can also become ordinary people in the Principality of Rus, provided that they serve the prince a lot.
They killed the old master and helped Rurik eradicate the old forces on Bornholm Island. This was a petition but their performance was still insufficient.
There have long been rumors among the crowd that the so-called prince still wants to plan to seize the opportunity to attack the Danes.
The slaves were generally indifferent. They were issued daggers one after another, gathered in the huts to process the large amounts of herring and cod caught by the Ross ships, and were tacitly allowed to eat fish at will. All Viking people had no objection to eating raw fish.
Without the slightest repulsion, they found this to be a huge benefit and ate the herrings without hesitation.
They also noticed that the conquerors seemed to have held a meeting, and soon a group of ships headed east carrying those women and children.
There seem to be fewer ships cruising on the sea, but the amount of fishery processing they undertake is guaranteed.
The long-term enslaved life made them generally very obedient to the strong. When a Russian warrior ordered them to hurry up and process the fish, they naturally followed it, but the new order was strange.
What does it mean to cut off the head, tail, and guts of a herring and then throw it into a bucket? Is this the end of the processing? Shouldn’t it be further made into dried fish?
The women and children had been transported away, and there were not many women left in Bornholm.
These slaves and the captured private soldiers are still on the island, and the conqueror's army is still here.
They murmured to themselves, believing the rumors more and more.
It was a sunny morning, and the sea breeze had already dried up the mud brought by the previous heavy rain. There was a faint salty smell in the air, and the slaves who put down their work were driven to the beach.
They looked left and right and saw a group of Russian conquerors dressed in blue and white striped robes standing in line here. The conquerors just stood with bucklers on their backs and sword hilts in their hands, like statues.
A tall and gorgeous man stood on the platform made of wooden boxes. This man was none other than Prince Rurik of Rus.
The slaves realized that they would get a new destiny, and they raised their heads one after another, expecting the prince to make a great speech.
Then he saw Rurik take off his white velvet hat and show off his golden ponytail. He deliberately grew a beard, but this beard was cut neatly with a sharp steel knife.
He had the appearance of Otto when he was young, and inherited the beauty of Niya when she was young. The faces of his parents came together to form his very masculine face, but his eyes were resolute and fierce.
A handsome and ruthless man is most respected by Viking women, and such a man is also admired by Viking men.
Rurik was polite first: "You are all slaves! But you are not livestock! Will you be slaves forever? No! As long as you make military exploits, you can become free people. I want you to become warriors now, kill
Kill the enemy and chop off the enemy's head. As long as any of you can chop off two heads in the fierce battle in the future and report your merits to me, your identity as a slave will be erased immediately. Even if you don't kill the enemy, don't worry, just participate more.
After several wars, your lowly status will be exempted! At that time, I will reward you with farmland, fishing boats, and even women. Do you yearn for a better life?!"
This soul question hits their hearts directly.
Seeing that the crowd was eager to try, Rurik immediately signaled his men to pull out the carts filled with weapons.
They were iron swords, axes, short spears and a large number of round shields as large as pot lids captured from the islanders' armed forces.
The car stopped in front of the slave, Rurik pointed and shouted: "Those who are willing to be warriors! Come and get weapons!"
As soon as the words fell, this group of eager people rushed forward. They rushed to arm themselves, and now they are willing to do anything to regain freedom and the bright future promised by the Kingdom of Rus!
Two hundred slaves transformed into the most standard image of Viking warriors.
Their clothes are all ragged and they have bad breath, but they are also relatively tall. They have developed good muscles by working as cows and horses all year round. They are all young on the whole, and their physical fitness has been improved by eating a lot over a period of time.
Naturally, this group of people is just a ragtag group compared to the regular Russian infantry standard unit. However, when it comes to the attitude of killing, Rurik believes that this group of people dare to fight against the Danish army. Because they are not really a ragtag group, but have
Belief in freedom. No ruler would promise them to kill the enemy in exchange for freedom. Now Rurik has publicly announced that this armed slave army will be integrated into the Rus army and will have the opportunity to become the first force to attack the Danish army.
Are they going to face a strong enemy all of a sudden? Even if they have some concerns in their hearts, slaves ignore all risks for the sake of a better future, but in fact they have no choice.
Is it appropriate to attack and arm the slaves? Rurik would not have been willing to take this strategy if he had not been short of troops.
He re-armed not only the 200 slaves, but also all the surrendered Danish private soldiers and some islander men.
The Ross and Ragnar coalition forces, which had a combat strength of 1,500 men, were joined by more than 400 men this time.
Rurik pieced together an army of two thousand men, of which there were as many as a thousand absolute elites.
Such a force could be described as a strong force in Northern Europe in 838 AD. If placed in the British Isles, it would be a ruthless character walking sideways. If placed in the heart of the Frankish Kingdom, it would be qualified to force the king to mobilize all the nobles of the kingdom to conquer.
It is reasonable for such a large army to deal with the Danish King Horik in the city of Godfrehagen.
There was a very optimistic mood among the soldiers, and some who claimed to be powerful threatened to break the city easily in this battle, and they would just chop off the head of King Horik of Denmark.
Who is Horik? Just an agent arranged by the Franks in Denmark?
Ragnar made significant intelligence contributions to the entire army.
"That's a fat man with a round face and a rather short body. He has brown hair and knows how to ride a horse. If you find a dwarf in extraordinary clothes during the killing, you can capture him without mercy. If you can't, you can chop off his head."
Following Ragnar's description, Rurik also offered a reward - one hundred pounds of silver coins for those who capture Horik, and fifty pounds of silver coins for those who take his head.
Can such a reward inspire the soldiers' desire to kill? The army is facing the regular army of the Kingdom of Denmark. As long as a war begins, it will definitely face a group of old cannons that have been powerful in the Frankish territory for many years. It is unreasonable not to give oneself a big reward in the face of a strong army.
.
"If you kill an enemy, behead him and you will be rewarded with half a pound of silver coins, and for each prisoner you will be rewarded with one pound of silver coins."
Rurik added: "I don't want the heads of old people, children or women. If you dare to hand over such heads, I will fine you one pound of silver coins! But! If you capture women and children, you will also be rewarded!"
There is a reward for taking the enemy's head, and there is a reward for taking prisoners, and the reward is rich.
Those who are entitled to receive rewards are not only the standard soldiers of the Russian regular army, but also the Finnish Servant Army, the Saaremaa Islander Servant Army, Ragnar's allies, and the newly armed slave troops.
As the saying goes, "I don't care about your origin or identity, if you can help me kill the enemy, I will be rewarded."
Rurik firmly believes in victory, but will he "bleed heavily" due to the reward after victory? After paying a huge amount of silver coins of precious metals, Rurik can't guarantee that he will be able to do it. But he has already made a financial arrangement.
According to the system, an enemy soldier's head is worth a pound of silver coins, which is a thousand pounds of wheat.
The annual grain tax revenue of the Principality of Rus, together with the income from the prince's private land, can exceed five million pounds. If the income from the sale of metal products and other materials is added, the annual tax revenue of the Principality can be equivalent to 10 million pounds of grain, and the tax revenue is only
can continue to grow.
Could it be that with just two thousand men, the treasury of the Principality of Rus was depleted due to rewards? That would be great! With this superhuman army, it would be better to go south and cut down Aachen and then all the way to Rome.
The promise of reward provided the basis for the entire army's expedition. There was no need to worry about looting in order to get the treasure. The enemy's head was filled with pounds after pounds of silver. Capture them, and the victor would gain more.
Rurik did not come up with such a price out of mouth. The price of a young male slave has long been equal to one pound of silver coins, while the price of a female slave is half of that. In the past, this was a very high price.
For the Principality of Rus, which is rich in precious metals, this price is not very high. It is about the net output value of half a hectare of oats. Naturally, Rurik hopes that his men will take out more prisoners of war, and the prisoners of war will be turned into slaves to mine and mine.
They will be able to squeeze out more value by doing various jobs such as clay work and logging. Such a decision is equivalent to the prince buying slaves from the soldiers. In the end, the prisoners of war will only be the private property of the prince's family.
The whole army has unprecedented morale. Rurik even promised that professional sailors who did not participate in the battle will also receive some rewards after victory. Non-combatants can also enjoy the dividends of the war. How is this not a good thing?
Those small traditional longships had already carried prisoners and some of the captured supplies, as well as large quantities of dried fish and sea salt to the east.
What Rurik lost was a large number of non-combatants. The personnel who were dragging down the army were almost non-existent. The troops were able to slim down, and the rest were combat troops!
Rurik controls an army with extremely complex ethnic groups. If you look closely, it can be called a coalition of ethnic groups around the Baltic Sea.
There are Russians, Swedish multi-tribal people, Finns, Danes, Slavs, Estonians from Saaremaa, and even ten Pecheneg Turks from the steppe.
Eight sail cruisers, eight sail destroyers and twenty standard armed cargo and fishing ships formed a diamond-shaped fleet array and left Bornholm after performing sacrifices on the seaside.
The speaker, Swinde, as Count Bornholm of the Principality of Rus, watched the huge fleet conquer Denmark. The fleet gradually became blurred, with only the huge white-based triangular sails still reflecting the dazzling light in the sun.
Light.
There are hundreds of islanders who have become Swinder's followers. For them, everything is like a nightmare. When they wake up from the dream, they are still frightened. Facing a new life, many people ask themselves, maybe there is a bright future.
At least Swind's family was saved, and the surviving islanders all respected Swind as their boss. He didn't dare to think too much. In the past, the islanders succumbed to the strong, but now the Russians are like the sea monster Kraken.
Such a monster is true, and the promise of "War Reward" from Prince Rurik of Rus opened Swinder's eyes. Rurik is a clever and strong man, and if you obey him, your family will continue to reap benefits.
The trace of the fleet was swallowed up by the sea. Swinde sighed secretly: "King Horik of Denmark, the assassin is coming, your head will be stuck on a wooden stick." He came back to his senses and not only looked at the huge charcoal on the seashore.
Hei Weizi lamented again: "You! If you don't take the initiative to attack, you won't be killed. If I am a servant with peace of mind, don't we all have meat to eat together? But you all died and gave me all the benefits."
The sea breeze continued to blow away the black coal and ashes, and the innocent souls of the big family who turned into powder seemed to be lamenting...
But Horik's Danish kingdom knew almost nothing about the imminent danger! Horik humiliated himself and was forgiven by the Frankish prince Ludwig. His act of kneeling led to rebellion and the dissatisfaction of some lords.
leave.
If it weren't for the large amount of farmland, more Danish lords would have to evacuate with their tribesmen.
Horik still maintains his strength because he has a strong army at hand. Most of the army is infantry, and there are also powerful cavalry under his command.
Although the Russian navy is a disgusting threat, the Russians have not launched a large-scale attack at present.
The Frankish Bremen was destroyed? It seemed that it was the exiled Danes who did it? Afterwards, the Franks found out that the initiator of all the disaster was the exiled Ragnar. The Stonewall tribe and Ragnar were not dead? Actually, in the Franks
Burning and killing in the hinterland? In the end, he disappeared mysteriously?
Ludwig was furious. He couldn't catch the murderer and faced the annihilation of one of his cavalry troops. Is it reasonable to really hold Horik accountable to Horik who just knelt down?
As the top Frankish noble, he simply did not believe that the Danes could defeat his cavalry!
Is Ragnar the real murderer? The more this matter is explored, the more bizarre it becomes.
Until the sudden return of the missing saint Esghar, the priest who claimed to have been abused in the far east revealed shocking news.
It was Rus' expeditionary force, it was they who burned Bremen, they were the ones who massacred, it was they who took in Ragnar, etc.
When Ludwig figured out the situation, it was already the summer of 838. The prince was furious. He knew nothing about the Russians, only that Esgar described a powerful force in the Eastern Baltic Sea, and there were a large number of Slavs in his tribe.
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Slavs? Aren't they the people of the East who border the East Frankish territory? When did those ragged guys become powerful?
It is difficult for Eskil to explain clearly with just one mouth. He now only has a deep hatred for Rurik, and the good impression in the past is gone. He longs for the prince to send troops to attack the Russian barbarians, but he dare not because of his own beliefs.
illustrate.
And Ludwig also wants revenge, but now he can only be helpless and furious.
The prince revised a letter and quickly sent it to the Danish territory. Horik opened the letter and learned the secret of the tragedy in Bremen.
"Is this also done by the Russians? I have to be on guard."
What kind of precaution can Horik take? It's nothing more than arranging ships to cruise, and reporting the news when they find the Russian ship. In his plan, if the Russians want to attack, they will come to the shore to fight!
But blindly defending is courting death. The Kingdom of Denmark needs big ships!
Danish craftsmen began to build large cargo ships. This glue Kirk ship, which was completely powered by style, was no different from the traditional cargo ships in the Svealand region.
This type of ship has been eliminated by the Principality of Rus, giving way to a larger and slender standard armed cargo ship.
Horik is not a fool! Although he does not know the heavy weapons of Ross's ships, he also realizes the value of large ships. To hell with the saying that "sailboats are not as good as rowing boats".
Since the Russians fully use sailboats, it means that they are more useful than rowing long boats. They will place archers on the cargo ships, shoot at them with the Russians, and even put down planks to join forces with the enemy to kill them.
His core control area is Godfrehagen at the northern end of the peninsula and the nearby large islands. He set up observation posts here and collected cow dung to build beacons. When he discovered the intrusion of the Ross ship, he lit fires and used the thick smoke to notify the fishing boats operating.
Return to Hong Kong and take refuge.
He also funded the construction of an onshore shipbuilding workshop, located in the walled-protected Godfrehagen. This is a bit like the Russian shipbuilding workshop, but in terms of shipbuilding technology, it is obviously still inferior to the Russian.
Therefore, Horik never chose to sit still and wait for death. He surrendered to Frank as a last resort, and the fire of revenge in his heart was never extinguished. He hung up the cross again, secretly still sacrificing Odin. He hoped that the escaped Danish lord would come back and actively
Contact the nearby Norwegians and be wary of the roving Russians and Swedes.
He was also wary of even the West Slavic people in the border areas, such as Pomeranians and Oberlidits.
The already unstable foundation of rule of this king who had just experienced a civil war was even more shaky. He was forced to free a group of slaves to increase the number of his troops. The reason why he did not collapse was precisely because of the large number of troops on hand.
His original plan was to send an envoy to Bornholm Island after the Danish autumn harvest to persuade the locals to stop fighting and surrender, and the matter of paying tribute and taxes could be discussed slowly.
He was carefully maintaining his rule. Subjectively, he did not want to build more weapons. He wanted to gather strength before bargaining with the Franks.
However, Prince Rurik of Rus, who subjectively did not want to fight, gave him a large amount of information and would not let go of the good opportunity.
The main force of the Principality of Ross is rushing over! This is the regular army of the Principality, and it is marched by the Prince of Ross personally!