A horse team from the steppe arrived in Kiev smoothly, where they watched the local autumn priests perform at the altar on the bank of the Dnieper River. The leader of the horse team also had a pleasant conversation with the Slavic nobles of Kiev.
The leader of the cavalry is none other than Kagan, the successor of Pecheneg Khan!
The large wooden house was full of men, and it seemed strange to see a young woman sitting among them.
She is Bayasil, one of Kagan's biological sisters, and she is also the youngest and most beautiful among the sisters.
She is by no means a weak woman. Like other Pecheneg female nobles, she was forced to learn horse riding like her brothers at a very young age. Even if she is a woman and will inevitably become a mother in the future, their other identity is
Female warrior.
The vast grasslands gave birth to countless nomadic tribes. It was the Amazon tribe that gave birth to the Sarmatians. Those tough female warriors put the Roman army to shame.
Beyathil is not a weak person. Although she has never participated in a battle, she is very skilled with bows and horses. Now that she is equipped with new weapons, her personal combat effectiveness should be greatly increased.
Of course, her trip with her brother was not an autumn outing. This trip was to implement a major event in life - marriage.
The future husband is not a stranger, but his brother's sworn brother, Rus Khan Rurik.
Yes, in 839, Kagan tried his best to quickly return to the tribal alliance garrison at the mouth of the Volga River, unloading a large amount of supplies imported from Rus, and faced an astonishing number of bear skins and terrifying giant bear tusks.
Head, a kind of fear from deep inside arises spontaneously.
The Pechenegs feared Rus in the far north, and they were also proud, so they equated the Principality of Rus with their own existence.
The people and nobles of the Pecheneg people are willing to call Rus a khanate, and the leader of Rus is the Khan. Bearskin is a thick warm material, mixed with imported linen, which improves the clothing warmth problem of the prairie people.
A large amount of ironware and a large amount of the best white salt (referring to Atlantic sea salt) are the most shocking to the alliance!
That’s a lot of iron spearheads! It can be easily crafted into a large number of riding spears!
A large amount of salt was unloaded, and the Pecheneg tribes had never had so much good salt at once in the past.
As for the price paid by the tribal alliance, it is only 500 good horses! Five hundred horses is certainly a big deal, but the advantage is that everyone can concentrate on raising horses. As long as the horses are successfully transported to Rus, the Pechenegs can survive without risking war.
They can obtain very important salt and iron supplies. What's more, the Rus' people are one of the few forces that have established friendly relations with everyone. The Rus' rulers have become blood brothers with Kagan. How can the Pechenegs live up to such important goodwill?
Ever since, Beyah Sil ushered in her mission.
She took her two maids with her and rode a horse to join the cavalry heading north.
The first stop is here, Kiev on the Dnieper River.
Once upon a time, the Krivi Slavs of Kiev were wary of the Pechenegs, Khazars and Bulgars who were not far away. In recent years, the great Pecheneg noble Kagan always carried a peaceful attitude
In Kiev, which has entered the forest area, the people's alertness has become increasingly weakened.
The Kiev people are also able to export linen fabrics and a small amount of leather to the grasslands. Although the volume is not as large as that provided by the Rus Principality, it is a useful supplement to the grassland people.
The Pecheneg people in the grassland this time are not simply exporting horses to the north. On the horses' backs are piled a batch of hard dry cheese, butter, and even kumiss. Sitting on the grassland along the lower reaches of the Volga River with rich water and grass, Pecheneg people
The Neggs are working hard to make these milk products and are busy raising horses, working peacefully for this autumn's trade with Russia.
The large wooden house was very lively, the Kagan brothers and sisters were distinguished guests from afar, and the most distinguished Kiev nobleman in the wooden house was Markosaky.
People who dare to take risks and bring treasures and wonderful news from far away to their hometown are always respected.
The Krivi Slavs in Kiev can't even be considered a tribal alliance. They are just a group of small Slavic tribes that claim to have the same origin and live by guarding a common altar. We are not monolithic, but we don't want to betray each other. Anyone can do whatever they say.
, as long as the man is young and powerful enough and has extraordinary achievements.
Is Sakhi such a person? At least not entirely.
He has made great achievements and is currently not respected as the top talker in various tribes and villages.
Therefore, he needs more achievements.
The wooden house was filled with the chattering of men, and they were all talking in Slavic. A pair of eyes were staring at the short black-haired Bejahir, but they were too embarrassed to point and speak.
Sakhi coughed hard. Formal talks require a person like him to start talking.
"Kagan Khan! My old friend." He called Kagan Khan directly and tried to get closer. "I know your purpose very well. You want to go to Rus to do business. How can we Kiev people not be involved in this matter."
"Yes! We participate!"
"You must participate! We will make a fortune along the way."
…
Halfway through Sakye's words, his fellow tribesmen started shouting and making noises. This attitude directly amused Kagan.
"Friend, why are you laughing?" Sakhi muttered.
"Did I laugh? Maybe. Seeing that your nobles are so enthusiastic makes me relieved."
Sakye signaled the tribesmen to be quiet, smiled awkwardly, and his beard fluttered: "I heard that you have multiple sisters, and obviously this...is exactly one of your sisters."
"Asking even though you know it."
"I also know what you mean. Marrying her to that Rurik is a smart choice. I also know that Duke Rurik of Rus also agrees. You have decided to marry, which is a closer relationship than a blood alliance.
"
"Oh? Why am I listening? You Kiev people also want to send a noble daughter to marry the Russians?"
"No need. Our status is not as noble as yours." Sakhi depreciated himself and made it clear at the same time: "However, we Kiev people are willing to send some women to Russia."
"Did you bring some female tribesmen to the north?"
"Are you kidding me?" Sakhi winked, then threw his head up to the sky and laughed.
Kagan stopped pretending when he saw this: "I understand, let's attack the Smolensk people together."
"Or you can also have some other options."
"what for?"
"Do you Pechenegs really think that our only competitors are the Smolensks?"
"Who else?" Kagan couldn't help but get excited at the mention of sneak attack and robbery, so he stuck his mustachioed head to ask what happened.
Thackeray was not ambiguous. He simply stood up and pointed to the west in front of everyone: "On the other side of the river are our competitors, the Drevlians." He then pointed to the northeast: "When you come, you can actually go first.
Going around there, the local Lamic people are also our competitors."
The cheerful expression was replaced by seriousness, and Kagan understood the other party's signal: "Let's launch a surprise attack?"
"Actually, you can, we can even join forces."
"Does this...take a long time?"
Upon hearing this, Maksakye breathed a sigh of relief. He was sure that his persuasive actions had successfully aroused the strong interest of the prairie warriors.
This huge forest area is of course vast and sparsely populated. In theory, various tribes and villages can live their lives in peace. But human greed has no limits. In this era, population is the productive force, and plundering the populations of other tribes,
The act of supplying goods is not considered a sin. The huge forest area in Eastern Europe is like a dark forest. What a tribe needs to do if it wants to be strong is not just to hide itself, but to find ways to expand its population resources.
The Krevic people in Kiev also want to expand their strength, but they don't want to take big risks.
Now, as many as two hundred Pecheneg warriors have appeared in Kiev as armed merchants. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to join forces and go threshing grass from neighboring tribes just after the autumn harvest?
Sakhi took the opportunity to shoot a rainbow fart: "With your strength, it is not a problem to eliminate some small villages. After we unite, we can do greater things. When we attack the Derevlians to the west, we have to pass through the swamp area (Puri
Piat), you have to go there by boat, which is very disadvantageous for your cavalry. But attacking the Mickey people in La is not a problem at all."
"Let the horses be placed on your poor canoes. It is true that our soldiers will not be afraid, but our horses will be too frightened. If we attack the Mickey people you mentioned by land, I am willing. But..."
"Are you worried? I know you are worried."
Kagan raised his head: "Then give me some reasons to support you immediately."
"We can launch a surprise attack, which won't waste a lot of time. We all send out cavalry to fight for a quick victory. I know their villages. As a guide, I will ensure that the coalition forces will not get lost."
"Is that so?" A ferocious smile appeared on Kagan's face, like a wolf staring at a helpless lamb. He slapped his thigh: "I thought you were encouraging us to join forces to attack the Smolensk people.
, he actually did it on the Mickey man you said he was pulling."
"At least it's very safe."
"Are the Mickey people you pulled weak?"
"The population is small and the whole body is not strong. In principle, they are related to us, but they are not willing to join us. To deal with such people, our Kiev method will naturally be to beat them. Besides, we also need a group of women. I believe you
It’s also needed.”
"Indeed, we need foreign women to bear our children." Kagan replied.
These words between men were quite barbaric, and they completely ignored the existence of the woman Bejaciel. Bejaciel didn't think anything of it, because she couldn't have any empathy with the so-called Mickey woman.
Sakhi also had other concerns. He confessed to Kagan: "I am still wary of the Smolensk people. Last year we succeeded. This year I am worried that they will be on guard."
"Do you think it will be difficult for us grassland warriors to win?"
"Better be careful! Smolensk has a large population, if..."
"Forget it. You are just a man selling horses, and you still don't understand the fighting style of our prairie people."
Kagan was indeed a noble, but Sakhi was not a generational aristocrat of the Kiev Slavs. He could see that this Sakhi actually wanted to gain more political capital in his community through military exploits so that he could be promoted to their "
Khan" position.
Sakhi's role as the "Khan" of the Kiev people is obviously beneficial and harmless to the Pecheneg tribal alliance. Although he himself looks down on this group of Kiev people, he is also clearly aware that the Pechenegs are facing the current international situation.
If you have the ability to develop some powerful allies, try to build close relationships.
Combining battles with potential allies is a shortcut to establishing good relationships.
No, Kagan made a bold statement: "The Lamic people are going to sneak attack! The Smolensk people are going to attack even more! I will leave a small number of troops to take care of my commercial horses, and I will personally lead two hundred elite cavalry to launch an attack."
Attack. What should you do?"
"One hundred cavalry!" Sakhi said through gritted teeth.
"One hundred cavalry? Do you really have that many?"
"Of course there is."
"Okay, you!" Kagan pointed directly at Sakhi's face, "You are a horse seller, and you won't lie when it comes to horses. Listen, we don't have much time. If we can't solve it quickly,
You and your Kiev nobles are all guilty for delaying my journey to Rus! And! If I don't get satisfactory benefits from this raid, you are all guilty too."
Not to be outdone, Sakhi faced the threat: "We will cooperate very happily. I guarantee with honor that our coalition will be glorious."
Sakye is once again risking everything he has. He wants to be a talkative person recognized by everyone, and showing military exploits is a shortcut.
The Pechenegs' horse team has nearly 250 cavalry and 200 commercial horses. The scale of this armed merchant group is smaller than last year, and the purpose of Kagan's trip is also very clear. After buying the horses
Try their best to buy Russian ironware and salt. In the final analysis, what the grassland people need most is salt and iron.
Horses are commodities. If some women can be kidnapped and sold to the Russians, the total amount of commodities will be greatly increased.
After all, last year, the noble Rurik was beating his chest, demanding that as many people as possible be exported to his Rus. In principle, as long as all kinds of people are exported except the elderly, Rus is not picky. Among them, young women
optimal.
This is where Kagan was tempted. No, he immediately began to prepare his troops for war.
The Pecheneg cavalry began to assemble, and even Kagan's sister Beyasihir put on a leather helmet and put down the silver-plated mask that protected her face, dressing up as a male warrior and joining the cavalry.
"Actually, you don't need to participate in the attack." Kagan advised his sister.
"Why bother? If I were a man, you would not reject me. Even if I were a woman... Besides, as you said, Rurik's wives and concubines are all female warriors. The Russian female warriors are good at using bows and arrows.
I'm exactly the same."
Her words made sense, and Kagan had no choice but to obey.
The Pecheneg cavalry came from a strong tribal alliance. Although they were not strong compared to the Khazars, Magyars (Hungary) and Bulgars, they relied on "non-contact" cheating tactics on the grassland.
It can make the opponent lose his temper.
After all, Kagan had lived in Russia for a long time. While training cavalry for the Russians, he also witnessed the tactics of the Russians. He discovered that his Pechenegs and the Russians had something in common - both armies liked to use bows and arrows.
In this way, this Pecheneg cavalry warrior is equipped with two long-range weapons-the crossbow and the recurve bow.
The arm of the crossbow is just a recurve bow. The collar at the front end can be put on the saddle. The soldier can hold the bowstring with both hands and lean back to complete the winding, even to the extreme long draw distance that is not easy to achieve. This way.
Soldiers can hold crossbows and shoot, or even dismount and lie down to shoot.
The other piece is naturally a traditional recurve bow, with bone clusters and iron cluster arrows.
Paired with short spears, imported Ross steel swords and hand axes.
All cavalry have metal masks and brown spotted feathers on their helmets. The gathering of Pecheneg cavalry is intimidating to the so-called Kiev cavalry.
Without him, in order to cope with Kagan's request, Sakhi was annoyed that he had to bring out a hundred cavalry to show off his talent. He really managed to get these one hundred cavalry, and the quality was a joke.
A leather blanket was covered on the horse's back, and hemp ropes were used as pedals. The farmer armed with a short wooden bow and a short spear sat on it. The horses were not excellent, and most of them did not even have iron horseshoes.
Of course, there are also well-equipped warriors among them, but the unparalleled ones are the brothers who went to Rus with Sakye last year. He could provide fifty cavalry, but this time he had to provide a hundred cavalry, which was given to Pei.
Cheneg's sarcastic joke.
Even so, these guys are all allies after all.
There were only two days between the meeting and the launch of the attack on the Miki village in La.
When the cavalry came out, they immediately showed a mobility far superior to that of the infantry, even if they had already entered the forest area.
The Kiev settlement where they started is completely geographically coincident with Kiev a thousand years later. The target area of their attack is the forest area in the east of Chernigov a thousand years later, where the Ladmic people live.
In terms of the situation, although the population of the Lamic people is much smaller than that of the Krivi people in Kiev, they are directly bordering the areas controlled by the Kiev people. This creates a direct conflict of interest, the so-called conflict over hunting rights.
If he could overlook the earth from a God's perspective, Kagan would decisively choose to lead all the cavalry and rush straight away, and then go straight north after gaining profits.
He believed Sakye's description, and after completing the raid, he would digest a batch of loot in the Kiev area and then lead his army northward for the second time.
This would naturally take some time, but when he thought of the gains from the population plunder of the conquest, he resolutely carried out this military adventure.
Seeing how determined the attitude of the Pechenegs was, Markosaky, the upstart Kiev man who was the actual initiator of the war, did not dare to show any signs of neglect.
Three hundred riders headed towards the target, and the Mickey people were completely unaware of all this.