The child sleeps most of the time and screams when he is awake.
Nolen and Beyahil were not mentally prepared to give birth to a child on the battlefield. They were very weak now, but they still insisted on holding their precious child in their arms.
Rurik named his two sons immediately after they were born.
The one with golden hair is Warrod, which means "Lord of War." His father is Rurik, and his mother is Norn, and his bloodline is extremely pure North Germanic Viking.
Such a name immediately received unanimous praise from Biyongni and Floki. Their nephew's name is domineering, which is really suitable for the current large-scale war.
The one with brown fetal hair is Hazal, which means "unrestrained" in the Pecheneg dialect of Turkic language. Just like riding a horse on the grassland, Beyashir hopes that his children will be free from worries and unrestrained, and Rurik is also honest.
I like this name. Because it has the same meaning as Cossack.
Outside Hamburg, the battle clouds were thick and the wind and snow obscured the view, causing people to worry that the Frankish army was approaching.
The howling wind was like the wail of evil spirits, coupled with the erosion of the cold, all the soldiers of the coalition army were living in their shacks.
The fortress in Hamburg is still warm, and Nolen and Bejahir are isolated from the war here.
The service of the maids reduces their pressure greatly, especially when the maids change the children's diapers and even bathe them in silver basins.
The dirt and blood stains on the baby's body are washed immediately after birth, and in principle there is no need to take a bath in the next few days.
But if the child is squeaking and screaming, it won't work if he doesn't wash it.
This is an opportunity! Eskil made some mental preparations and decided to go in person.
Noren and Bejasil were walking freely, and their childbirth process was very smooth, so they thought this was a gift from the gods.
But it is too dangerous for a child to be born in the cold winter. If we can get further blessings from the gods, the child will be able to survive the first dangerous winter safely.
They had such inner appeals, and their appeals were heard by the maids who spoke Saxon.
The maids were indeed maids, with sterling silver crosses hanging on their chests. When Esquier asked them something, the maids told the truth without reservation.
"Ah! This is an opportunity. When you bathe the baby again, you must inform me in advance. I...will grant the baby divinity."
So, when the child was wet again and took a bath while changing the diaper, Esquier suddenly appeared with two young priests and several pure gold utensils specially brought.
Eskil is not a stranger to the two girls. He is a foreign monk, essentially the same as the high priest of Rus. Nolen and Bejahir are not disgusted with him. As for this guy suddenly asking to be in the bath when the child is bathing
Although the two girls thought it was a bit strange to give blessings, they all wanted their children to survive the winter safely, so they agreed.
The sterling silver basin was filled with boiled and sterilized warm water. The child had been completely washed, and Eskil personally held up the baby Warrod with his old hands.
A little rose essential oil was poured into the silver basin, and Esquier slowly soaked the energetic Warrod. He kept reciting some Latin scriptures, all of which were blessing words.
The child kept moving around in his hands until the top of his head was directly above his head and then he was taken out in an instant. With such a short movement, the child would not drown, but the ceremony was completed.
The accompanying priest flipped through a page of parchment and handed the name of the first person he saw to Esquier.
"Give me a name, Adam. You will be protected by the Lord, and the Lord will give you health, Amen."
Taking advantage of the opportunity to take a bath, Eskil personally baptized a prince of Rus. He was able to carry out the baptism for the archbishop of the north, but countless Saxon nobles and even some Frankish nobles could only dream of it.
But Nolen, the mother of the child, doesn't think so. In another world here, the local god bless his child, and he will definitely survive the severe winter here.
However, Eskil had already assigned his followers to write down the child's Christian name, which was equivalent to confirming the child's religious status.
Next came Hazal, who had tawny fetal hair. Following the same process, the child was named Isaac, baptized by Eskil, and immediately became a Christian.
"Okay, two queens." Esquier finished his work and spoke politely and respectfully. "Your children have been protected by God. The devil will stay away. They will find peace and health in this sacred place."
For this reason, Nolen and Bejahir were very grateful to Eskil and even accepted two sterling silver crosses from him as "talismans".
The plan has been completed, and the two new princes of Rurik have become Christians after this operation! Eskil knew that his move might make Rurik angry, so he did not care and insisted on doing it. Now it is a done deal, and the two princes have
Special status, even though this baptism ceremony was not done openly.
Snowflakes like broken ice filled the entire world, the sky turned gray-white, and visibility was really low.
There is a possibility that the Elbe River will freeze. At least now, the slow-flow areas on both sides of the river are covered with ice floes, and people can even stand in the area next to it.
If the river is covered by enough ice, the uniqueness of the pontoon bridge will be lost, so the enemy troops arriving in Hamburg can directly cross the river on foot to launch a strong attack. However, this is what Rurik wants to see.
So, will the river freeze?
Count Robert, who has been stationed in the Hamburg area for a long time, gave an ambiguous answer. It is said that when a certain year is cold enough, the Elbe will freeze, and most winter rivers will remain the same.
It has been said but not completely said that only God knows whether the winter at the end of 840 was an extremely severe winter.
At least the main force of the Ross fleet has built a "city wall" on the river to protect the pontoon bridge.
A few months ago, the massive excavation of ditches and construction of a moat around the city of Hamburg was still going on. In order to worry that the enemy might attack from unexpected places, a low wooden wall was placed on both sides of the moat, which was more like a fence than a wall.
, this operation is only to delay the enemy's attack at the necessary moment.
The defense of Hamburg is very strong, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered together to keep out the cold while waiting for work.
Ice-breaking snowfall continued, and there was enough intelligence to indicate that the Frankish army had at least arrived in Bremen. Even if there was snowfall interference, it could march to the Elbe River within a week.
However, this situation that Rurik hoped for did not happen.
As the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, he went to great lengths to build defense projects. As a result, the enemy did not appear for a long time, which was really harmful to morale.
At first, the soldiers were eager for a one-sided killing across the river. To this end, senior engineers such as Kawei led his entire team to repair and maintain long-range weapons. Ordinary soldiers and people were not idle either.
They took the recycled old arrow clusters and remade them into new ones, and received some rewards at a time. Almost all of the people who remade the arrows were local Saxons, and their work would be exchanged for wheat provided by the Russians. It was really a win-win deal.
There was no fighting in the Elbe River, and the morale of the Allied forces declined.
They were like marmots hiding in caves. The cold outdoors forced everyone to be too lazy to go out. If it wasn't for patrolling and sentry duties, they would reluctantly go outside for a walk.
When soldiers lacked entertainment, they came up with some games. Using arrows as small javelins to throw into pots was a new entertainment, and using short arrows from crossbows as darts was used to smash them against wooden boards.
The traditional Viking game of "grabbing the clay pot" has not been abandoned. The clay pot was replaced with a cloth bag stuffed with rags, and each flag team sent people out to compete. This is the most primitive rugby game and a rare pastime for them in winter.
.
Some soldiers were assigned to the other side of the Elbe River. They were ordered to serve as scouts with crossbows. They were not allowed to go too far into the forest. They walked south along the forest road for a while and stopped immediately.
The army was waiting, and the scouts were sent out.
It was best to rest on cold days. Rurik felt that he had settled everything, so he could settle down and take good care of his two wives and concubines.
The wood and stone structure of the fortress becomes warm enough due to the stove, but once the stove stops, the cold will quickly erode in. The fortress cannot be airtight at all and even has air leakage from all directions, so you don't have to worry about gas poisoning by placing some fire pots indoors.
A tall, blond man walked into the warm stone room. His footsteps were light and there were no followers around him.
The two mothers lived together, each holding their own children.
They chatted quietly to each other so as not to wake their sleeping children.
Rurik's visit was rather sudden, and everyone was overjoyed to see their man finally showing up despite their busy schedule.
"Looking at your faces, everything is fine."
"Of course. You are finally back. You made me think you had forgotten me." Nolen held the baby in his arms and chuckled.
Rurik nodded and walked straight away.
"Is everything okay, Warlord?"
"Everything is fine."
"Then." He looked at Beyathil and said, "Hazareth is as healthy as ever."
"Hazareth is very good, and..."
Beyathil still had something to say, but saw Rurik already approaching.
If the sleeping baby was woken up again, it would inevitably cry again. He sat at a wooden window and asked the two girls to sit over with the baby in their arms.
With a happy smile, the woman gently sat next to her man, each holding her child in her arms, and then gently pressed her shoulders with her big hands.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"In this way, I will soon be able to fight on horseback again." Beyathil raised her little face and her eyes trembled.
"Yes." Nolen also raised his noble head, "I can also take up arms. My brother and the army from my hometown are here, and I also want to try to fight."
They are warriors, but now they are weak and they should stay in confinement to cultivate themselves.
Rurik looked left and right to prevaricate: "Now is not the time. The enemy never appears as if giving in. The snow is still falling outdoors. I will not risk taking the initiative to attack, but the enemy will obviously have to wait for a while.
It may happen. You can rest assured and cultivate. After a month, your body has fully recovered and the child is strong enough. I will give you a chance to participate in the war. No! I still have to carry the child to the battlefield to see the world. My son must be a real
Men must be cultivated from an early age."
It is not absurd to bring a handful of children who are just one month old to a winter battlefield. Through this experience, the two children have truly experienced a war, which has become a useful gilded experience in life.
Take a good look at your child again!
On the left is Volod with blond hair, and on the right is Hasal with tawny hair.
The two sons are very cute when they are young. Seeing their little breathing faces, Rurik can estimate what they will look like when they grow up. As a pure-blooded Nordic, Volod is likely to grow into a blond man with a height of two meters.
, the mixed-race Hazare is in a worse situation, but he will definitely become an excellent cavalry general, because this is his destiny.
Rurik wished he could hold the children one by one and lift them up high, watching the children twist their limbs comically in his hands and laugh along with them.
He noticed the small amulet hanging around Volod's neck. It was a small statue of the goddess Freya made of sterling silver. This Balmok-style statue was quite abstract and was believed to protect the health of young children.
He also noticed Khazal's silver pony amulet, which was clearly a Pecheneg style.
The children have a talisman in common, which is the pure gold statue of Odin prepared by Rurik. It is said to protect the children from evil spirits with the spirit of God.
However, during this inspection, he saw a brand new amulet.
No! That's a sterling silver cross.
"Ah? What's going on? Why do they have crosses? Has anyone come here? Are you in contact with some priests, or are you the maids?"
Rurik was beyond shocked. He felt very weird. He felt that someone was making a fuss about his child and was giving him eye drops.
Beyathil just wanted to say something, and now she has the opportunity.
"It's the great saint...the priest named Eskil."
"It's him!? Ah! I... I think I guessed it." Rurik wanted to yell a few times, but he only heard his two little babies groaning, and he swallowed the displeasure that was held in his throat.
go back.
Seeing her man's displeasure, Beyathil didn't want to say anything anymore even if she had something to say, but the outspoken Nolen still explained what happened that day exactly.
Rurik was sitting here. After hearing everything, he was really angry at Eskil, a guy who was unwilling to give up.
"It's really ridiculous. You're obviously changing diapers, why take a bath? Just take a bath, and then baptize my son? That old guy... has really planned it for a long time..."
It is easy to stab Eskil to death with a sword. How about a mere old man? But you must not do this, because Eskil is an important chess piece, and even a bridge figure that maintains the alliance between Rus and Saxony.
Unexpectedly, Nolen was quite surprised by her man's anger. She plausibly said: "Why are you unhappy? I heard that this is no longer the area of Odin and the gods. It is ruled by the gods of the south. We need to fight here.
The local gods protected me, especially my child, Volod, who was born in the winter. The old man said that the child had been blessed by the gods and that he would not be in danger here."
"Ah? Is this what Eskil said?"
"it's him."
"You still think it makes sense?"
Nolen shrugged: "It does make sense."
When she said this, Rurik suddenly didn't know what to say, so he stood up gently, pursed his lips and shook his head: "It seems that I have to have a good chat with him."
At the same time, Esquier is still doing his job as the archbishop of the north. This is for an old man who is willing to live in poverty. He is indifferent to any pleasure and just wants to spread the gospel to the ends of the world. In essence, he is opposed to war and believes in faith.
Strength can eliminate disputes. For example, in this war, he chose to support the Principality of Saxony in the hope that he could act as a mediator during the decisive battle, forcing Ludwig and Liudov to sign a peace treaty, and then eliminate the Franks and Saxons.
of war.
As for Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, and many unnamed northern barbarians, their lives are coming to an end, and it is no longer possible to persuade many lords and nobles to convert to God. Then, they will find ways to persuade some noble children. There will be many in the future.
Things will slowly change.
So while Eskil was doing his daily activities in the simple monastery in Hamburg, Rurik suddenly broke in with a group of guards, which scared the priests and ran away.
A slightly hunchbacked old man stood here all the time. He took off his robe to reveal Rurik's very familiar face.
"Eskir, what you do makes me angry. They! They are not believers in God, let alone lost lambs. They are Odin's warriors!"
Rurik spoke in Latin and his diction was quite precise.
When Eskil did what he did, he had anticipated it for several days and even prepared some words.
"Even if I did something wrong. However, the two Russian princes have been baptized. The blond one is Adam, and the tawny-haired one is Isaac. I! I am the Archbishop of the North appointed by the Holy See. I am Sant. Asgar. Liuli
Gram, even if you have not converted, you must understand our faith better than many priests." As he said this, the old guy kept approaching Rurik with a cane inlaid with a cross and showed no fear. "Actually, you don't care about us in your heart.
Don't be disgusted. When you decided to go to war with the Franks, when you formed an alliance with the Saxons, you must have thought that your kingdom must have more contact with us. You don't hate our beliefs, you are concerned about these beliefs.
Will it subvert your authority?"
"you……"
"Do you think your barbaric faith can be permanent? Our sacred faith is great. In fact, you know this subconsciously. So the sacred object of your Russia is the book of Exodus. You plundered Lindesfa
En Monastery, you burned everything but especially preserved the Gospels. You even converted your eldest son, and I am his godfather. So, what’s the problem with me being the godfather of your other two sons?”
"Absurd. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you if I get angry?"
"No! Young man, you are very wise. You know that if I die suddenly, it will bring you a lot of trouble. Young King! You Vikings have kidnapped many people from the south, and those women will give you
Give birth to children, but they were all converted before being kidnapped, and their children will gradually change their beliefs. Rurik, this is something you cannot change."
Eskil is old, and he tells his secrets without hesitation.
These words sounded extremely arrogant to Rurik, but they made sense.
When strong Viking men robbed a few daughters from the south to become wives, what they robbed was definitely not their bodies, but probably their beliefs. Any child must be longer than a woman's hands, and the mother would pass on her knowledge and beliefs.
Giving it to your own children will subtly change many things.
There was no war in the Elbe, but the secret war was indeed initiated silently by the priests.
A feeling of powerlessness suddenly arises, but...
Rurik suddenly perked up and stared into Eskil's eyes: "You are quietly declaring war on me, but you will not win... I have already thought of a countermeasure."
"Only time will prove that I will succeed, even if I have already died..." Eskil said silently.
"Okay. Things have happened. Even if I deny it, you will not deny it. You are the godfather of two children, so I will admit it. However, you must pay some price."
"What price?" Eskil asked hurriedly, suppressing the secret joy in his heart.
"Where are your manuscripts? I want all the Gospels you have. You know, I know Latin very well. I want to study it myself and I will definitely find a way to change everything. Maybe you won't agree.
.”
"No! I agree!" Eskil didn't want to answer immediately, "Actually, you are still very interested in our beliefs. My child, you will be inspired and become one of us."
Forget it, this old guy opened his arms and straightened his back with difficulty. His whole body was like a living cross.
Rurik shrugged and watched the performance of Eskil's "old friend".
Well, right in the monastery, Rurik immediately obtained a complete set of gospel manuscripts, or rather a copy prepared deliberately by Esquier.
In Western Europe, only Ross has the technology to make paper in Northern Europe, and only Ross can do printing in the whole of Europe.
All the Gospels taken together are called the New Testament.
After today's experience, Rurik was no more aware of the huge shortcomings of Nordic faith than he was today - there were no written and thick scriptures, only various trivial stories and legends passed down by word of mouth.
Odin's faith is too thin, and each tribe has different interpretations of the gods. Unlike Catholicism, which is an extremely strict belief system, it is now also a ruling system that is different from the aristocracy. It is a system established by Rome
The system established by the empire is a system that can provide a superficial explanation of everything in the world, a system of monks with such a strict hierarchy that the people think it is the eternal truth.
Rus has established a belief system of seven gods, among which Odin is the greatest god.
Unfortunately, this set of beliefs lacks a detailed scripture.
Rurik knows very well that his power is primarily based on the people's faith. He is "the one blessed by Odin", and this status has great appeal to ordinary Vikings. If the people's faith quietly changes in quantity and quality, he will
The authority of the family will decline, and this will be a catastrophe.
If you don’t have one, create a solid written scripture!
How to write this book, the Catholic method has certain reference significance, and some paragraphs can be modified for reference.
Even Rurik had already thought of the title of the book and called it "Saga".
In fact, the compilation of "Saga" has been started a long time ago. The person in charge of it is the top scribe Ella. However, compiling the legends and stories from all sides is a troublesome project. She can only compile it slowly after finishing her official duties.
This project can no longer be delayed, it must be faster and more efficient. Rurik will be personally involved in this matter.
Eskil has silently declared war. Ross cannot be careless. This reform must be done after the end of this war.