Rise of Rurik

The huge sled team was gathering, and on the agreed departure date at the end of February, Rurik had to gather the supplies that were urgently needed to be transported to the capital before the action.

A large amount of new paper is neatly stacked in a wooden box after trimming the raw edges, and the box is sealed and packaged.

This is the most important material that Rurik will deliver to the printing office.

He will not give up any logistics opportunities for this. The old ready-made clothes stockpiled by the state-run garment factory in Novgorod are also packed, plus other local products. Sell ​​the capital and earn money to fill the treasury.

The order not to pay taxes for three years is still being implemented, and the wealth of the people is growing at a visible rate. The speed of their birth is also amazing, which further stimulates people's yearning for wealth.

Unable to get taxes, sometimes Rurik felt that his excessive kindness hurt his financial resources, but fortunately, he could still maintain his finances by selling materials to make money. Even if you want to make a lot of money, you still have to rely on the war to make a lot of money.

The essence of using troops against the Franks is to open up trade lines to make long-term profits in the long run, and in the short term it is to intervene in the Frankish Civil War to plunder and make quick money.

The wooden palace is decorated as thickly and grandly as possible. The walls are deliberately decorated with a large number of ferocious bear heads. Several wooden stakes are erected at the gate, with wooden ferocious animal heads hanging on the top. In ancient Norse, it is called "drike" , the so-called western dragon or big snake is an existence second to Jormungandr.

Outdoors is a large snake that was wiped out, and indoors is a wild bear that was wiped out, showing the master's bravery.

Old Otto's house was deliberately decorated with northern characteristics, which is quite different from the local Slavic houses.

The heavy armor hung on his body, even though it was heavy, Otto's aging body still had to endure it.

Because, real fighters are going to fight!

"Don't think I'm an old bone. Tighten my belt hard!"

"But Your Majesty, I'm afraid of hurting you."

"Bah! Work hard, haven't you eaten yet? Remember, don't help me when this king inspects those **** later."

"Of course." The guard who served the dress had no choice but to answer like this.

The all-powerful ruthless man could hardly accept his aging, but he was unable to overcome the fate of aging. Otto just wanted to continue writing glory at the end of his life.

He was bald on the top of his head, but fortunately, the gray hair on the temples continued to grow very long, so he gathered it up and braided it with Tianling Gai, perfectly covering up his baldness.

The real golden laurel crown is worn on the head of his son. As the overlord, Otto has a gold-plated silver crown inlaid with amber and rubies. The sword really has both the glory and wealth of a lifetime.

At this moment, the selected fighters are already gathering!

The young Seventh Banner soldiers carry huge backpacks on their shoulders. It is essentially a large rough linen bag, the bottom two corners are tied with a very thick cloth strip, and this cloth strip is then wrapped around the mouth of the bag as a girdle. Several small cloth strips are also sewn on both sides of the bag, and the curled woolen blanket is bent and tied at a time.

Shovels, handaxes, knives, and the iconic longsword hung from the armed belt, and the huge buckler was hung from the huge pocket.

They even have long strip pockets straddling their bodies, which are filled with wheat grains, just like most of their marching pockets are also dry food prepared by their parents.

They were completely uniformly dressed. In order to welcome the review of the Supreme King and His Excellency, everyone had to wear chain mail, and the poorer ones wore leather jackets with iron plates.

Such a heavy load at such a young age, if it wasn't for inspection, they wouldn't have to.

In a real battle, the heavy armored stomach is placed on a trolley or a boat, and it is worn near the battle to save energy.

The weight of the boys has reached the limit of their age. If it is not for the fact that everyone has developed a strong enough body during heavy physical labor, it would be difficult to stand like this. Even so, while waiting for the king to show up, many people were already sitting on the snow everywhere.

Until, the horn sounded.

Rurik himself led the cavalry on horseback, wearing a golden crown for his needless cold. Today's rare fine weather, the golden crown is shining in the winter sun, and he is holding his sword high, which is as shiny as a sword.

"Young warriors! Learn from the standing army, you all stand up! Sit no more!"

Seeing this, everyone stood up bravely and quickly arranged in a matrix according to the establishment.

The young man was carrying excessively heavy equipment. To Otto, an old bone, it was like carrying a big rock.

There was no one to help, and even Otto tried without a cane.

He was carrying the well-known patterned steel sword named "The Destroyer" by Ross. This sword was longer than Ross's standard weapon, and it seemed to be a symbol of power rather than killing enemies with it.

There are no peaceful female scrolls here, and even the queen mother and queen do not appear.

The only two women, Carlotta and Bejahir, are not only the king's wives and concubines, they are real female nobles who have killed the enemy and performed meritorious deeds. They participated in this review as "Valkyrie in the world", She even took part in it with her own army, definitely not an ordinary woman.

Rurik, who led a majestic patrol with the cavalry, got off his horse, causing all the cavalry to dismount and take off their hats to insist on the old king.

The kingdom needs honor! The kingdom needs history!

That's why, when Rurik returns to Novgorod, he must give his father enough face.

The white beard is tied into multiple braids, flowing with the north wind, and the golden old man is eye-catching in the sun.

Everyone has seen that the old king used his sword as a weapon, ordered the guards on both sides not to assist, and personally boarded the pine wood platform tailored for him.

Everyone was tense, for fear that the old king would suddenly fall.

Otto would rather move slowly, he would never make a fool of himself in front of the youngest son of his clan.

There were sword marks left on the wooden steps, and the old king stood on the high platform stiffly panting heavily, took a few deep breaths, and then raised the sword high, the whole image was like a golden sculpture.

"Otto! Otto!"

The child who had already prepared called out the name of the old king, which quickly aroused the resonance of all the people present. Even the ordinary people watching from a distance were infected by this warm atmosphere, calling out Otto's real name in a common rhythm.

The Viking battle cry seemed to shake off the snow from nearby branches, startling squirrels into tree holes. It turned into a low roar and spread far away.

What people saw was the glory and vicissitudes of the old soldier. As for what he said, the people nearby listened attentively, while the people far away could only see his body movements.

No one expects a seventy-year-old veteran to shout in full force, he is too old, but he doesn't look very old.

Who would have thought that Otto would live to be seventy years old? He couldn't think of it himself.

Sixty-nine years old, if my memory is correct. This age has already surpassed most people's cognition. For old Otto's exaggerated age, many people estimate that he can live as mythically as the late high priest.

However, isn't this a kind of punishment for Otto?

Most of the childhood playmates passed away due to various reasons, and the surviving peers are all old-fashioned. Even this winter, they can only lie down at home. If there is no family to take care of them, they will undoubtedly die.

There are also a lot of old people, although they are of the same generation and younger brothers, all of them are not in good health. Even though their lives are far better than in the past, they are still dying, and a lot of them have passed away this winter alone.

A man living to sixty years old is the limit for most people. They lived in an era when materials were expensive and scarce, and they tried their best to survive. If they hadn't died in hunting and war, they would have seriously exhausted their bodies in past barbaric actions, and they left early one by one.

Contrast that with the uncanny energy of the younger Ross generation. As long as he looked at their faces and the images of them fighting, Otto could feel that the gods blessed every child. Their strength is extraordinary, and now they are carrying heavy luggage at a young age, and they still stand like straight red pine trees.

Old Otto got some very philosophical words from his son.

Now, he tried his best to use the loudest voice that his aging body could make to promote a famous saying: "Old soldiers don't die! They just fade away!"

He repeated it three times in a row, just to let as many people as possible hear it.

That's all, he said again: "I have never been defeated by a strong enemy, but I have been defeated by the years! Children! I am an old warrior of Ross, the greatest warrior ever! My time is over, and the future lies with you In your hands. This time you expedition to Frank, you will create your own exploits. Remember, do not disgrace the ancestors, do not disgrace the gods. Remember, you are Ross people!"

He still had to repeat the last sentence: "Remember! You are Ross!"

The blade was deeply inserted into the wooden plank. After Otto said this, he clenched his teeth and panted desperately with his leaky teeth to hide his exhaustion.

The young man's blood was boiling with excitement, and now Otto was answered by the roar of swords beating bucklers.

"Otto!" Rurik took the lead in shouting, causing everyone to roar and knock on the shield once.

The absolute rhythm is accompanied by the long and low accompaniment of the horn horn, which is a tribute to the former first warrior of Ross.

The core force that is being assembled is a thousand Ross Jianyong who are eager to go out. They are all young people. This time they have received a strong spiritual focus and their morale has reached its peak.

Through this gathering, Otto can be regarded as handing over the glory of the older generation to the new generation.

Of course he won't be satisfied, this feeling of being admired by everyone is really cool! The specific affairs of the kingdom are the work of his son Rurik, and the expansion and war are all done by that kid with the elites. But the glory of victory, my old bones can be divided into a part, anyway, I haven't enjoyed it for many years.

At the end of February, Novgorod organized a huge team of up to 500 sleds, each of which could seat at least ten people, and it is possible to squeeze twenty people.

For this purpose the sleigh must be pulled by at least four reindeer, as well as the horses.

Reindeer are still the most used livestock in the local area. Only a small number of reindeer have special hooves installed on their hooves. This is a trick of the Lapps, and most of them still have primitive hooves.

It is not a big problem for reindeer to pull a heavy sled along the frozen river. The biggest problem is that it is February after all. Although the waters as far as the eye can see are all ice, the thickness of the ice layer has been decreasing day by day.

Although Rurik learned that the Luga River-Ilmen Lake Canal had been dug in principle, he didn't even think about the plan of using the frozen Luga River to go straight to the capital.

The sled team is huge, with many people and more supplies. The team needs a thicker ice layer and a wide enough ice road so that the sleds can see each other clearly and not fall behind.

There is no room for error in this action, and the old path is the best choice.

On the appointed day, there were crowds of people on both sides of the frozen Volkhov River.

People beat drums and trumpets or simply shouted. Did the family members of the young soldiers hold the baskets and hand over the extra prepared food to the children sitting on the sled waiting to set off.

In this scene, the young soldier couldn't hold back his tears, as if this was a farewell.

Maybe.

In any expedition there are casualties, the difference is only in the number. To die on the battlefield is the best fate for every Nordic warrior who believes in Odin. The children are educated, and the things they hear and see in their daily life are mostly related to war, wealth, and sacrifice. They yearned for war, but seeing their mother's sadness, the softness in their hearts was deeply touched, and it was inevitable that they would not shed tears.

Because their mothers are almost all Slavs.

If it was really old Rose or other Viking tribe women, they would encourage their sons to fight and go out. ·This is the way of life in Northern Europe. When necessary, mothers also carry weapons and fight with the whole family on the battlefield.

The Slavs, who are completely accustomed to farming, are different. Of course, they hope that their eldest son will go west to plunder a lot of wealth, and they also worry that their eldest son will be injured or killed in battle.

What's more, Frank is too far away. I heard that it will take a month to sail continuously from Novgorod to Nassau, which is far beyond a woman's cognition.

But this is the fate of the sons, because they inherit the name of Ross, and the blood of the old Ross tribe flows in their veins.

"Let's go!" Rurik on horseback greeted the crowd, and also his wives, concubines and heirs.

This time Rurik didn't even bring the queen and prince.

What follows is the military action of pure men, which embodies all the wildness of men.

At this moment, the leather-padded board beneath him was shaking, and through the glass window, Otto could see that the outdoor scenery was moving backwards. He could clearly see the movement of the horse's legs, and the brave men of the 1st Cavalry were solidly guarding them.

"Finally we are going to the capital, ah, are those old guys surprised to see how old I am?"

Old Otto muttered to himself.

He didn't want to endure loneliness along the way, no, in the sleigh with a small iron stove with an iron chimney, two brothers, the blue fox and the red fox, accompanied the old king. In the eyes of the two brothers, the old king was never an outsider. From another perspective, Otto can also say that he watched these two boys grow up.

The former guest merchant family is now a pure old Ross. Both of them are the second sons of the family, and they are destined to work hard in their careers. Both of them are heroes, they are businessmen, and they are also the most cunning armed businessmen. They are believers of God Frey, and they are also indispensable generals in the following military operations.

Especially for the blue fox, Otto never thought that the second fat man of the Gould family could become the leader of the party.

Perhaps, God Frey really blessed this kid secretly, and even Odin secretly helped him.

It is precisely such talents who are well-informed, have really participated in large-scale wars, and have intersected with many Frankish nobles are worthy of entrusting important tasks.

"Blue fox, you have to take good care of Rose's piglets."

The blue fox was a little surprised. He didn't expect the old king to say that, so he agreed.

"Of course, fighting is inevitable, and injuries and deaths are also inevitable." Otto began to talk again: "Don't be too risky when launching an attack, don't be too greedy..."

What about Blue Fox? Constantly responding with yes and yes sounds like perfunctory. Otto also knew that this kid was perfunctory, he just talked to relieve the lingering worries in his heart.

The huge team lined up in a long snake formation. Considering the possibility of falling into the ice cave, a certain distance was kept between the sleds, and some thick cables for ship cables were also prepared for rescue when necessary.

Fortunately, when people faced the vast and endless frozen Ladoga Lake, they asked the ice diggers and fishermen in Ladoga Town, and they confirmed that the ice here was still very thick.

The piercing wind blows from the endless ice field~www.readwn.com~ All the soldiers wrapped themselves in leather blankets, at most exposing their blue eyes to observe everything around them, and some simply covered their whole bodies.

They continued to advance along the frozen lakeshore and successfully reached the entrance of the Neva Estuary of Lake Ladoga.

There is a small island here, which is connected to the land by an ice road in winter. It is the "Little Walnut Fortress" that may be built on this island in the future. It is still bare today, but someone has taken advantage of it. These are fishermen from New Roseburg and several fishermen from the Vips tribe. They only come here to catch local pike and perch.

The majestic sled team flew the Ross flag, and they paused their hands to pay attention to the huge team passing by.

Rurik undoubtedly stayed, and the cavalry continued to **** the sledge team into the Neva.

Soon, the mighty team was noticed by the people of the capital.

This time, there were crowds of thousands of people watching again, but everyone didn't know that this time even the real founder of the capital, the Supreme King Old Otto, also came.