The main force of the fleet has completely entered Lake Mälaren, and flags with white background and blue stripes are flying everywhere. The fishermen watching can all see that the Russians are coming!
A large number of fishermen fled spontaneously, and together with the soldiers at the Mälaren post on the island at the entrance to the lake, they nervously watched the Ross fleet enter the great lake.
Their instinctive fear reminded them that this army might come with bad intentions, and the Russian nobles might decide to launch a war.
Under intense observation, things quickly took a very wonderful turn.
The fleeing fishermen saw that the huge fleet actually began to form a long snake formation, and rushed into a relatively wide river that poured water into the lake from north to south. The Ferris River was now in the wet season, but the wide river surface slowed down the flow of the water.
, the almost pure north-south direction allows the Ross fleet to perfectly take advantage of the south wind to move northward.
This is already the last journey. Seven consecutive days of almost non-stop sea sailing has made everyone tired of traveling and traveling. Now people are finally excited.
Because going is the destination - the Uppsala tribe.
The rowing boats passing by the fleet now are not from other tribes. The personnel are from Uppsala. The people are watching the Russian fleet heading north against the current with astonishment. They find it incredible.
Ships docked one after another, with numb faces, simply watching the mountains of ships drifting northward, as if paying attention to each other.
King Bjorn, who had not yet abdicated at this time, did not want to come here with a smile on his face. He knew that the people of Uppsala only expressed their surrender in name, but when asked about one person, their attitude would definitely be: Bjorn.
Not a real king.
Since Karl's assassination, Sweden has only had one formal king, and the so-called Bjorn lives more like the mayor of Birka Market.
However, the attitude of the Uppsala people towards the Russians is equally complicated.
Duke Swined of Uppsala sent an envoy to the eastern part of Rus to find out what was going on. It has been more than half a year since the envoy left, but there is still no news.
People continue to live their own lives, especially in a small lake under their control, and start the traditional work of fishing in the inner lake after spring plowing.
Because of the large temple, the ancient Uppsala people used a large number of giant trees to build this complex of multiple wooden buildings connected together. As a result, the trees in a large area were cut down, and living things were created on the lakeside.
A piece of grassland emerged.
They opened up oat fields along the lakeside area nourished by lake mud, and the inland area was turned into a simple wasteland. A small number of domesticated sheep and cattle roamed the grassland, but most of the area was a simple wasteland without any development.
Because of past wars, the people of Uppsala followed the then Swedish King Olegen on an expedition to the Danish-controlled Silver Castle. The war was really a bloody disaster for eight lifetimes. Their population was not large, and hundreds of young men died in the battle.
, which greatly weakened the vitality of the people of Uppsala!
The remaining people tried their best to have children. Although there were many children running around, the death rate of the children was also very high.
The entire Uppsala has reached a population size of 4,000 people, and the internal population structure is not healthy. The entire tribe of men between the ages of 12 and 40, so-called warriors who can pick up hand axes and shields to fight, can only
Five to six hundred people were gathered. Even if the female soldiers were mobilized, a maximum of one thousand soldiers could be mobilized.
They can no longer endure another defeat. They are by no means cowards, but they do not want to vomit another three liters of blood for the ambition of a fool.
Now here comes the Rus and their huge fleet!
The fleet entered the small inner lake of the Uppsala people. Geographically, this is a component of the huge glacial lake Mälaren, but because it is geographically further north, the small lake is connected to the large lake by the Felice River channel.
Connect to form relatively independent sections.
People's fishing boats suspended their fishing operations and made an emergency landing.
A large number of people did not know the purpose of the huge Russian fleet. They had no idea that several Swedish nobles and envoys from various tribes had signed a new agreement in the capital of Ross. They had no idea that Ross had no ill intentions in coming.
What they saw was a huge fleet forming a large wall in the inner lake, rushing toward the Great Temple with overwhelming force.
A large number of men and women walked out of the densely packed houses on the shore, dragging their families and families towards the forest area in an attempt to escape.
A group of people fled first, and soon more and more people followed.
The residential areas of Uppsala began to be chaotic, and rumors spread everywhere. It is said that when someone thinks that the Russians are coming with bad intentions, they think of war. If they have such an association, they will yell out, and the people who hear it will add fuel to the fire.
It turned out that the Russian army launched a war.
Duke Swined was in the prime of life and was busy training his private soldiers in his own mansion. Of course, the people of Uppsala did not want to go to war with other countries. As a noble, he must maintain a small but strong private army.
Soldiers, in order to encounter the event to suppress the scene.
The noise outside the wall became more and more serious. Just when Svenned thought something was fishy, soldiers broke into the training ground.
"Master! They are coming!" The soldier's panic made him speechless.
"who?"
"Russian...Russian."
"Russians? What's going on outside?"
"People are running away. Because..."
"What's going on?" The Duke approached menacingly, holding an iron sword.
The fear on the soldier's face has not disappeared: "Ross's army is coming. Like a huge tide pouring into our lake, and like a big wall, they..."
Duke Swinned shook his head and felt that the matter was too strange, "It's strange. According to you, do you mean that the Russians are going to attack us?"
The soldier hesitated again.
The Duke twisted his thick neck and signaled to his subordinates: "Brothers, let's go see what the Russians want to do. Then control those who are running around."
He still didn't know what was happening on the lake. When he led more than fifty of his private soldiers out of the training ground, passed through the residential area and tried his best to control a group of people running around, he finally saw a shocking scene near the lake.
One scene.
"Ah! Odin! Could this be an army from Asgard?!"
Swined was dumbfounded, his jaw dropped as he witnessed what else the Ross fleet would do.
The inner lake is not big, and the water depth of this ice-eroded lake is only four or five meters, so the ships dropped their iron spears and quickly hit the bottom. The anchor heads were tilted like mud at the bottom of the lake, and the ships were firmly anchored on the lake.
Neither Rurik nor Otto knew Swined. They only remembered the Duke of Uppsala from before. People in this era did not live long, and only a few people with sufficient material conditions and luck could survive.
to old age. But those brave warriors always ignore the issue of retirement when they grow old. They would rather die on the battlefield. So from the perspective of the Uppsala people, some old warriors will choose to hang themselves under the sacred tree.
After death, the priest performed bloodletting to nourish the tree with the blood, and the remaining body was buried in the cemetery.
The previous Duke had quietly ended his life in this way to pursue the great glory of their faith.
No one thought this was ridiculous. Even though many people were lost in the previous war, everyone regretted the heavy losses of soldiers, but they did not regret the ending. They died on the battlefield, and they died for Odin.
Thanks to the Swedish nobles staying on the flagship, they pointed out to Rurik that a group of armed men were now forming an array on the shore, and the leader was none other than Swined.
Otto's mind was still stuck in the past, so he asked casually: "I remember their leader was an old guy."
The equally aging Duke Angreof of Angcras sighed with a hint of reminiscence of the past: "It's a new one."
"Is that Swinned?" Rurik shrugged, he just thought that man could be a warrior, that's all.
The entire Uppsala tribe is in sight. Although Rurik came here for the first time, he could see the large temple complex at a glance!
It seemed to be a second assembly of several independent longhouses, forming an arc as a whole. Surrounded by this large arc was a giant tree with obvious width.
The thick trunk of the giant tree can be seen very clearly from a distance. If you touch it up close, how thick should the tree be?
What kind of tree is it?
Rurik cared more about the big trees and the big temple than Swined, who stood by the lake and stared with big eyes.
He even fantasized about uprooting the tree and transporting it to New Roseburg to plant it to show the sanctity of the Rose Temple. He was really jealous.
The sailing ship began to release the small boat, and the Russian soldiers in uniform wore glass strings on their bodies. Some of the well-prepared people inserted wild goose feathers on their white bear furs. They carried linen bags, bucklers and
Wearing a leather helmet, he paddled towards the river.
As for those iconic cargo ships, Rurik's order to these ships was to directly beach.
The small lake owned by the Uppsala people is full of silt, or the entire Lake Mälaren area is lacking in stones. It is not a bad thing for ships to wash up recklessly. Besides, the customers who order ships are all here, especially
It was that Swined. Swined had absolutely no idea that the envoy he sent with plenipotentiary power had ordered a large ship for Uppsala.
It’s time to show the real Party A the power of the product!
From Swinned's point of view, he could see large ships with slender hulls, not relying on any oars at all, taking advantage of the southerly wind, rushing fiercely and quickly onto the beach.
The hard oak keel bit deeply into the mud, and the bow of the ship washed into the mud with a small amount of grass, but most of the hull was still soaked in water. The ship was deliberately beached, and many people immediately appeared on the deck.
That was a Russian sailor wearing a linen turban. He belonged to the professional team controlling the ship and was also a non-combatant.
Swined felt that the person who came was not malicious, so he tried his best to control his emotions and tried to stop the trembling of his legs by willpower.
He raised his neck and shouted: "What are you Russians here for?!"
He asked three times in succession why the turbaned sailors were busy with their own business.
Next, something extremely strange happened.
Only strange deer heads were seen protruding from the deck of the ship. At first, Swined thought they were specimens used only as ceremonial guards. As the deer heads kept twisting spontaneously, he realized that they were actually heads.
Live deer.
Some standard cargo ships were used to transport soldiers. They walked out of the cabin and threw the rope ladder from the bow of the ship. Russian soldiers with various equipment and uniform clothes disembarked one after another.
Those who arrived in rowing boats started to land one after another, and finally Swined saw some familiar faces.
He recognized the Swedish King Bjorn who had landed ashore at a glance. When he saw this man, all his worries disappeared, but he also became more angry.
He hurried away and saw that Bjorn was clearly tired from traveling.
"Bjorn, you should know better than to send such a fleet to my territory. This is an unruly move!"
Bjorn himself was wronged, especially when he was criticized by Swined when he first arrived in Uppsala. He pointed at one big ship after another and said very rudely: "Open your arms."
Take a look with your eyes, don’t you recognize these flags?”
"I know. You are the king of Sweden, and the Russians listen to you. You! You are the king supported by the Russians."
This was said very rudely. In fact, Swined had no ill intentions towards the Principality of Rus. He simply disliked Bjorn, who had no military exploits but was very happy with his achievements. A king-killing assassin became the king and named the market after himself.
To name it, he could succeed only with the support of the Russian people, which is already an open secret.
Bjorn was so angry that his beard trembled, and he said with frustration: "Forget it! I am no longer the king. The Russians have decided to be the king themselves. Svenned, are you satisfied now?"
"What? A Russian will be king?"
"Prince Rurik of Rus will be here soon, and old Otto, who you have met a few times, go talk to them! And I am only the Duke of Mälaren, so don't make fun of me anymore."
Swinned rubbed his head and felt confused: "What did you say? So... the Russians sent the fleet to my inner lake just to claim the throne in my temple?"
"Exactly. You are really smart."
"It's really weird. I just sent an envoy to buy their ship. Why..."
"Are you really smart or stupid?!" Bjorn pointed at the large ships washed up on the beach with a mocking and bitter smile: "Look, the ship you want to buy is here. Your messenger has helped you
It’s settled, all you have to do is pay with wheat.”
"Wait a minute, you were the mastermind behind the boat purchase, and I saw you doing it, so I followed suit. How many boats did you buy?"
Bjorn opened his right hand unceremoniously, and his fingers grew extremely large. "Five ships. We Malaren people bought five ships. You may not like me, but we Malaren people are still the strongest in Sweden."
By."
"Maybe." Swined shook his head disdainfully: "The Russians don't want to pretend, they want to be the king themselves. Well, at least that Rurik is a real man. It's a pity that we are in the war against the new king of Denmark.
It is a great loss of honor that the Uppsala army did not join in person."
Soon, Swinned met Rurik himself.
This was actually the first time he saw Rurik in person, and it was the first time he met him, and he felt a deep sense of inferiority that stung his heart.
In fact, he met Rurik and Otto a few years ago. Although Otto looked older at that time, he was still full of energy. At that time, Swined was just a follower beside his father. Although he was not young, he inherited Upp's
Sarah's title still seems to have some shortcomings.
Nowadays, Otto is very old, and his aging appearance is really worrying.
What happened to Rurik? There was a beautiful little boy with a golden ponytail hanging on the back of his head like a little girl, but now he is a strong man with beards?
Swined's inferiority complex lies in the fact that this Rurik is really young, with a tall figure that is almost a head taller than his own. He is young as hell, wearing mail armor and a bearskin coat.
Rurik's guards are more extraordinary than the others. They are well-dressed and have a lot of gems (actually glass beads) hanging on their bodies. They wear huge iron helmets that protect their noses. Each helmet is additionally equipped with a white bear's ferocious fangs.
Maxilla.
The two generations of Princes of Rus were guarded by a group of bear warriors. The guards were all tall and strong and unstoppable.
Looking further, there are actually a large number of women and some children standing next to Duke Ross. These young, beautiful and extremely gorgeously dressed women must be Rurik's women?
Rurik walked straight towards Swinned with a calm face, and after being introduced emphatically by the messenger from Uppsala, he made his first contact with him by the lake.
"You? Rurik of Rus?"
"Exactly. I know you, Swined, the new Duke of Uppsala."
"Ah! I also know you, the hero who killed the old king of Denmark, and you almost killed the new king of Denmark last year. You are our hero in Sweden. I heard that you want... to be king."
"Where did you get the news?" After saying that, Rurik glanced at Bjorn, who deliberately turned his face sideways, and said: "You have seen my large fleet. This fleet attacked Denmark last year. I commanded to kill
At least 3,000 soldiers of the new king of Denmark were killed, and their capital city was burned down. This is my great achievement, and I will use this victory to sacrifice to Odin. You tell me! I have such achievements, am I a king?
?”
"You should be king." Swined said without hesitation.
"I must be the king of Sweden, and I must be enthroned in your great temple in Uppsala, so I am here. I can estimate that you will worry about many things. Before all our nobles negotiate my enthronement ceremony, I am now
I can make a guarantee to you. Our Russian army is in Uppsala and will not let you suffer any losses. We are responsible for all the food and accommodation issues on our own, and we will leave on our own when I finish the ceremony of proclaiming myself king."
Indeed, if this is the case, the actions of the Russian nobles not to disturb the people will indeed not cause trouble to Uppsala, and the people can even get some benefits by helping with labor during the ceremony of Rurik becoming king. Rurik
If this is indeed the case, this is a major difference from the actions of Sweden's supreme rulers in the past. For a king who never makes any mistakes, supporting him will definitely be beneficial to Uppsala.
Even though Rurik was very young, old Otto was here. He immediately recognized Rurik as king, and Swined had no worries in his heart.
Suddenly, Swined solemnly shouted: "Then! Please invite Rurik of Rus, the new king of Sweden, to visit our Great Temple in Uppsala! You will be here! Enthroned under the sacred tree as the new king of Sweden."