Chapter 903 The blue fox Guldsson von Gothenburg, the canonized Earl of Gothenburg
The large-scale landing operation of the Russian army has begun!
As the saying goes, it is impossible to conquer the world immediately, but it is impossible to rule the world immediately. The Russians now use fleet expeditions to send "Ma Run" to land for crusade, and use swords and arrows to solve all kinds of disobedience.
Nowadays, if we want to conquer the Götalanders of Gothenburg on the Göta River by peaceful means and avoid killing as much as possible, we must naturally use more sophisticated methods, especially to avoid scaring people into thinking that they are going to be killed and forcing them to resist to the end.
The Russian troops all landed and stationed themselves on the deserted lakeside. This situation showed the strategic advantage of Rurik's large amount of logistical supplies prepared in advance.
Not only did the army not have to worry about food and drink, the food was also quite generous.
The army set up a huge formation near the mouth of the lake. There were bonfires everywhere and the curious villagers fled back in a hurry. All the nobles and generals were ordered because the local leader had been canonized as Count Wienerstad.
, the army is stationed in this earldom, and any harassment of the residents of the earldom is tantamount to betrayal of the king.
This is a matter of principle. Under the aristocratic system of the Kingdom of Rus, one noble cannot invade another noble, otherwise the king will launch an army to attack. This is the key to maintaining internal peace in the kingdom.
Not to mention the Kingdom's largest army of the Principality of Rus, King Bjorn, the Duke of Malaren's successor, who now has a thousand people, can only order his subordinates to stay by the lake and threaten to behead any illegal robbers who dare to do so.
.
Nobles and generals restrained their subordinates and threatened them with torture for any transgression.
Thanks to sufficient logistical supplies, the Russian army managed to make no mistakes that night.
The huge Lake Vänern is open to everyone. People who have mastered night fishing techniques are ordered to keep their boats anchored on the quiet lake. They light oil lamps on the side of the boat and sink the big net. When the European sea bass gather in the light and gather in groups, they can catch it.
Get it all.
That is, the army is entrenched at the lakeside and estuary. For the villagers, their existence itself is a great threat. There is a sword hanging above their heads. If they do not handle things well, the sword will punish them.
The Ross army moved very quickly. From contacting a local to canonizing a local as an agent of the nobility, to landing and setting up camp in large numbers, it was all done in one day.
The fishermen who initially fled acted just as quickly. The news of the enemy attack followed the boats down the river and reached the mouth of the Göta River that day.
The entire Jotalans on both sides of the river knew about this, especially the residents in the south. They learned that a large northern army had come with bad intentions, and that war might have broken out.
The Göta River is not long, but most of the area is undeveloped. Twenty large and small villages are scattered along the river and in the forest, and they are very separated from each other.
Some villages had no news and were unaware of the arrival of the Russian army. Some villages took it for granted that this was another attacker similar to Danish pirates, and many people believed that it was the "Crazy Bear" Karl from Weisinger Island who came to ask for it again.
Everyone handed over their tribute and took out their beautiful daughter.
Those who really know the truth are limited to the five villages on the shores of Lake Vänern. There are three large villages and two small ones, and there are more than 4,000 people of all kinds gathered together.
The envoys of the newly crowned Earl Gorm ran quickly and entered those villages overnight to put things right.
"You don't have to be afraid. The Russians or the Swedes don't want our lives. Instead, they want to use the road to attack the Danes. The king of the Russians recognizes us as brothers. They all believe in Odin and are exactly the same as us..."
The envoys explained everything in this way, and some people even added drama to themselves, praising the Russians as kind-hearted conquerors. The most obvious evidence is that they only camped by the lake and did not even go to the village to ask for some gifts but instead rewarded them.
The messenger's words calmed people a little, but also disgusted many people. What made the guys from Linhu Village speak for the Russians who came from afar? Is it still a good thing to surrender to them?
However, Ross's warning was terrifying. Those villages that refused to send their leaders to meet the king would be massacred. The situation did not allow anyone to hesitate.
The councils of each village held meetings overnight. They also suddenly selected speakers and appointed them with full powers, and gathered at Linhu Village early tomorrow morning.
Is it just to let the speaker go on his own? Not even bring some tribute? Even if the envoy from Linhu Village quoted the King of Rus as saying that no tribute was required, what if that was a lie?
The village had to pay tribute, so the villagers gathered together to figure it out. In order to avoid military disaster, they had to give out some cattle, sheep, some wheat, and even unmarried women in the village.
The girls were dressed up while crying, and their cries made their parents feel distressed. The parents still worked hard to dress up their daughters and make them please the conqueror.
There are some warriors who are gearing up, claiming that it would be a great shame to do so. The village is not so embarrassed that it needs to bring out women to sue for peace. It is better for the warriors to gather together and fight to the death with them. The Russians come from afar and do not know the terrain, so they use strategies and tactics. , what if the brothers win.
These brave ideas were regarded as reckless by the old guys in the village, but what the warriors said was not nonsense. The village council adjusted their plans one after another. It happened that warriors were needed to escort the gifts. It would be better for the brave people to bring weapons and try their best to gather them, at least let them take a look at the village. Not a coward.
Each village made such a decision unanimously. The cattle, sheep, wheat and Meiji were the tributes, and the armed villagers who escorted them had to adapt accordingly.
Each village made preparations, and when the morning fog was thickening the next morning, villages of all sizes took refuge in the forest with their elders and young ones taking care of themselves. The leader led as many as one hundred and as few as fifty male warriors, driving the cattle. The cart dragged the cart and moved toward Linhu Village on the winding forest road.
The young woman wore a newly made flower crown, and her fair face was ashen. The village soldiers were very nervous. They did not want to fight, but they also did not want to be humiliated. They could not believe what the messenger said unless Linhu Village remained intact.
No! A team started to enter the village, and they were immediately dumbfounded.
Army! Huge army! These troops are definitely not from Linhu Village, they are outsiders!
Rurik has arrived in advance. A squadron is moving down the river. Five large ships are anchored in the river to serve as a sturdy background. A large number of long boats have lowered their jibs. More than a thousand soldiers are guarding Rurik. With most of the nobles, the general arrived at his loyal village of Linhu.
Earl Gorm immediately put on the robes given by the king, tied his old belt around his waist, and hung the sword given by the king specially.
…
Back in the evening yesterday, along with the landing Russian troops, Rurik landed with a new plan he had hatched.
Although everyone who was tired from traveling and traveling had to rest, Rurik still held a "bonfire meeting" non-stop.
The Swedish nobles looked at him, and the generals of the Ross Principality looked at him, especially the Blue Fox who had successfully persuaded him to surrender.
On the boat, the king nervously told himself that there would be a big reward, so as not to lick his face in claiming credit.
What is the reward? The blue fox did not dare to ask, and only hinted to the king with his eyes.
Some people are very happy, and some people are deeply bored.
Rurik took his time and announced that he was the king and Bjorn was the abdicated king.
"Bjorn, what do you think of my performance? I won without relying on force."
"Your Majesty is wise." What else could Bjorn say, he could only compliment him.
"You are perfunctory with me."
"I respect you, but..."
"how."
Bjorn shrugged: "So what is the purpose of our trip? Is it really an expedition? There is no need to fight now. We have agreed that we will go back after solving the Jotalan problem. Now it seems that the problem has been solved, and the local
If everyone surrenders to you, what's the point of me and my people staying here."
Of course Rurik wanted to say, "You have to witness my success," but he held it back and said instead: "You Swedish nobles here want to have a good chat with the Götaland nobles here. A huge kingdom needs
Internal peace, we are all brothers from now on, disputes between brothers should not resort to force, but should be resolved through negotiation."
"I hope so."
Bjorn's tangled attitude represented most of the Swedish nobles, and Rurik simply stopped nagging and announced his great resolution.
"As we conquered the Götaland region and maintained peace with the locals. In front of us is the Göta River, which leads directly to the Denmark Strait. We are all the nobles in the north. We have discovered the calm inland waterway from Lake Mälaren.
We can use the route into the Denmark Strait from now on. The Göta River can be used by us. In the future, we can do business in Denmark. This is a very safe inland water route."
The Swedish nobles know that the king is no longer hostile to the Danes, or that everything is for profit. The conflicts they had with Denmark in the past were mostly over fishing rights and trade security in the sea.
"Now that we can peacefully solve the problem of the locals on the Göta River, we have saved a lot of time, and the next step is to attack Denmark. I advise you not to retreat, because I have contacted some Danish nobles, and a brand new Denmark will be established. New
Denmark is no longer an enemy of Rus and Sweden. After all, we are all Odin's warriors, Thor's craftsmen and Frey's merchants. We have no differences in nature and we should unite. If we have money, we can make money together. If there are enemies, we can join forces to cut down
.”
"Your idea... is great. If it succeeds, you will be... the true son of Odin. You cannot be questioned." Bjorn said it bluntly. He did back down, but Rurik was decisive.
There was an expedition against Denmark, and as the Duke of the Duchy of Mälaren, which had a large population, it would be foolish not to participate in it.
Bjorn has always been a man who understands current affairs and does not dwell on the so-called warrior culture. Pragmatism is king. He was not completely convinced and asked his own heart. He did not want to miss a provincial capital.
"I dare to say that in three or four days, the Götalanders of Gothenburg on the Göta River will be our friends. I will also ennoble a new noble, who will be called the Count of Gothenburg. I will build a palace at the mouth of the Göta River.
The city is firmly controlled by the kingdom."
A new earl?
Bjorn asked hurriedly: "Do you think the new earl should be selected from locals? With all due respect, many people question you about letting Gorm be the earl."
In Arik's view, Bjorn is a guy who is hesitant and wants to gain benefits without much effort. Such a person can also be a noble, but he is not a threat to the kingdom. But let the Jotalanders do the work in the Jota River area.
How can a nobleman rest assured if he doesn't know him well?
Arik immediately agreed: "I think what Bjorn said is reasonable. We are not here for tourism. To conquer them, we must control them. Otherwise, how can we talk about conquering?"
For a time, the nobles and generals had different opinions.
Rurik slapped his thigh: "I know you are questioning this, why don't I think it's inappropriate to do this? So, what do you think of Blue Fox Gouldson?"
Blue Fox?
The blue fox himself is sitting here.
The nobles and generals immediately understood. Does the king want to ennoble Blue Fox as a noble? He is a businessman. He has become a soldier in recent years, but he is still a businessman at heart. When everyone thinks of Blue Fox, no one thinks of Old Gould.
A fat man as fat as a seal, and a bunch of fat men and women from the Gould family.
However, this blue fox became an outlier in the family and he lost weight.
The blue fox was so excited that his whole body trembled. He already understood what the king was going to do, so he hurriedly knelt down and saluted Rurik as a warrior.
The blue fox was like this. Rurik saw all the nobles here again. He simply consecrated the blue fox Gouldson, the son of a businessman, as an earl beside a roaring bonfire and under the starry sky.
There was another ceremony of putting the sword on the shoulder, and finally the sword was placed on the blue fox's heavenly inspiration: "Seal! The Earl of Gothenburg of the Kingdom of Rus, command the lower reaches of Götaland, build the Gothenburg fortress and port, and revive the king's Rus shop.
Reviving trade with Denmark."
Hearing this, Lan Hu, who was half-kneeling, suddenly realized! His family was originally a second-rate businessman, and they risked their lives to hang out with the Russians. They relied on loyalty to achieve their current status, but they are still businessmen after all.
The eldest member of the family, Bai Hu, became the governor of Stockholm. Legally, he was just an assistant to the king on errands. Although he was promised a hereditary inheritance, without a fiefdom, there were risks.
If you become an earl, you don't need to do it at all. If you have a fief, you will become a hereditary noble.
Blue Fox also understood that he was an unusual earl. His greatest real name was never being entrusted by the king to rule the southern tip of Scandinavia on the lower reaches of the Göta River, facing the Denmark Strait.
Revitalize Rus' shops as a distribution center for Rus' goods and dump them into Denmark to make money. At the same time, it serves as a port in and out of the Denmark Strait that is firmly controlled by the Rus' Kingdom. Taking advantage of the tragedy of Hedeby being burned down, Rus's business with Denmark has made a fortune.
, there must be a port that is easy to control, with troops stationed and fleets patrolling.
Thinking of this, Blue Fox was so excited that his whole body trembled.
"From now on, you are the Blue Fox Gouldson von Goldberg."
A brand new and long name. To be honest, Blue Fox quite likes the name of his fiefdom.
"Goethe" and "Goth" are the same word, and its origin means "god". In Nordic culture, it is a general term for Odin and the gods. Vikings of all kinds always give themselves a great name.
, the Götalans call themselves "the beloved of the gods", the Swedes call themselves the "Holy Land", and the Rus, who were born in Sweden, named themselves after the "oar".
Blue Fox lamented that the pronunciation of his fiefdom's name was quite similar to his family's name, Gould. Especially when he was drunk, he could pronounce "Gould" as "Goethe".
This is fate.
At least Blue Fox is not an outsider. His family has been doing business in Sweden for a long time, and the nobles are no strangers to this family. Especially since old Gould died not long ago, his sons have inherited the family. For their own interests, the nobles still have to
Interact with members of the family.
Blue Fox is by no means a free waste. His experience of being trapped in Frank was written into a pamphlet and even compiled into poetry. Although the bard's literary creation is greatly distorted from his personal experience,
On the contrary, the story became legendary and enjoyable to hear.
A businessman fought to the end and miraculously escaped, wandered away from Frank and made friends with nobles, and then robbed the city with information. The nobles who knew old Gould didn't say anything now, but they envied this guy behind his back. I lamented why my son was not like this
The ability to take risks.
The nobles fully agree with the canonization of Blue Fox, but he has not yet taken over the fiefdom, and the local people have not surrendered yet.
Everything is only temporary.
Rurik led his elite army and most of the nobles to arrive at Linhu Village in the early morning.
Since they had surrendered, the Earl of Gorm was the protector of the villagers, and everyone's fear of the Rus' conquerors disappeared.
On the contrary, because of Blue Fox's behavior of "spending money" against bold naughty children, they could not tell the difference between glass beads and natural crystals. They really thought that King Ross was a good man. When they saw Ross's army landing, they subconsciously thought that the rich man was coming again.
, Frey, the God of Wealth, came up and shouted about King Rus.
Since throwing money is effective, let's throw some more. Anyway, they are some worthless copper coins seized from Weisinger.
The act of throwing away money caused chaos and noise, but in the end the people all picked up some money, and their attitude towards the Russian army was full of gratitude.
And those soldiers were all young and tall, their clothes were very neat and uniform, and they had beautiful decorations. Rurik specially brought the remaining young men of the standing army and the Sixth Flag, all of whom were about twenty years old and strong.
The man really attracted the favor of the unmarried village girls in the village.
Favor is favor. The arrogant Ross warriors only like beautiful women. Even if they capture prisoners, they are picky and picky. When faced with some women who greet them spontaneously, they directly drive them away. After all, the king has an order not to have any interaction with the locals.
Therefore, Rurik led the nobles to meet Count Gom who had changed his clothes, as well as a group of village elite elders and young and powerful people behind Gom.
"Very good! Your people have all surrendered, and you, the earl, still have to manage a lot of people. Have you done everything you were told?"
"Yes! The envoys have been dispatched." Gorm said cautiously.
"Will they come?"
"You must come back. Otherwise, Your Majesty, you will punish me. At that time, I will also organize warriors to serve as your Majesty and punish those who disobey me."
"Well said. Now I can wait. My liberated troops will not wander around, and you and the liberated villagers should not interact with us. Listen, don't cause any misunderstanding."
Is Qiu really innocent? Gorm was so excited that he wanted to laugh, and said: "I am willing to serve the king, let us go to the forum first."
"That's fine. Most of the nobles from Sweden and Russia are here. I can wait until those men come to see me. Let's go."
So Rurik and the nobles marched forward, and his army penetrated into the village.
The army was stationed in groups, effectively surrounding the village. The soldiers did not interact with the locals. They remained vigilant, guarding the villagers and outsiders.
As a result, some Russian troops ushered in the first group of foreign village envoys. If these armed envoys had not shouted that they were here to surrender to Russia, and showed the tributes and women they were sending, and the villagers of Linhu Village shouted that they were not enemies,