Rise of Rurik

,!

Soon, a river lay in front of the Ross army.

The Venta River basically runs north-south. It traverses the entire Courland Peninsula, and its estuary is no stranger to Ross. More than ten years ago, the Ross Army plundered Gotland for the first time, and the victorious fleet happened to spend the night at the mouth of the river. The expeditionary force at that time still remembered the local hare resources.

In the lower reaches of the Venta, in the depths of some small tributaries live other Semigallian villages, but it would be more apt to call them a kind of Courland.

Rurik had no time to explore the lower reaches of the Venta River, and he gave it to cross the river. This is what Ostan pointed out, the so-called Varyag merchants from ancient times crossed the shallows of the river, and the whole army lined up to rush across the river when the sun was right .

The width of the upper reaches of the Venta River was only maintained at about 40 meters. The cavalry quickly passed through the water, and quickly found the so-called "Forest Cat Lake" under the guidance of Ostan.

It is a wonderful lake, the lake is not big but has two exits.

Although the Courland Peninsula is not big, the "Forest Cat Lake" is just at the watershed in the west of the peninsula, but the altitude of this place is only a little higher than the surrounding area.

But the army really entered this lake that Rurik was once full of curiosity, and immediately stood on its shore, Rurik could not help squinting his eyes and shaking his head: "Is this a lake? A puddle that can be seen at the end is also worthy of being called a lake." ?”

Unintentionally, Olstein heard King Ross's complaints. He hurriedly dismounted and trotted all the way to Rurik, pointing to the rippling water surface: "Although this lake is small, it is indeed the only way we must pass."

"Really?" Rurik noticed the southern part of the lake, where there were indeed traces of river channels. No

! Maybe it was just a brook. "What next? Go south?" he asked.

"Yes, it's enough to go south. We only need to follow it and finally reach Cherbourg."

Austen tried his best to explain this to Rurik, which really made people suspect that he was hiding something.

Looking around, this place is a dense forest, and the land is covered by lumps of woodland. There are passages in the gaps of these "clumps", but no matter how you look at it, it is some wet grassland, or even a mud pit.

The whole environment is not friendly to land marches. Given that he has a basic understanding of the landforms of the entire Courland region, Rurik doesn't bother to complain now.

First, it becomes inadvisable to continue along the river, because it really has to be a river in the first place!

A creek without even rocks is a disaster for larger boats, look at the knee-deep water, sailing a long boat is wishful thinking, really only small boats that can be carried easily can still sail.

The meadow area beside the creek is so narrow that it no longer has peer value.

And this creek is the real "Forest Cat River".

Rurik was puzzled by the army and had to rest on the spot. He personally took some entourages to the south of the lake to find out, and made a decisive plan based on the bad situation.

The army quickly resumed its advance, and the huge team had to walk through the gaps in the lumpy forest.

The task of a group of scouting cavalry is not to gain insight into the enemy’s situation. This place is an uninhabited area, and the probability of finding bears is higher than forcing people. If Austen is right, only a handful of humans who pass through this place every year come from The Varyag merchants in Cherbourg are still the old ones back and forth.

he

It was hard work finding a road hard enough for the army, away from the damned mud, and as close as possible to the Forest Cat River.

The movement speed of the Ross army had to be slowed down by the black mud of Courland. Even if Rurik scolded Olstein now, it seemed that he was only showing incompetence and fury. Because the road pointed by Olstein is not wrong. The south exit of Forest Cat Lake does branch out into a strange stream. After it finally merges into another puddle, the stream finally becomes wider and its flow direction is also But it goes all the way west.

The current Russian army is completely advancing along the western border between Latvia and Lithuania. In other words, the two sides use the Lusis River (Forest Cat River) as the natural dividing line to finalize the frontier. The banks of the river are also deserted enough.

But in present-day AD 843, a junction in the Lusis River is anything but ordinary.

It took two days to walk more than 50 kilometers in the gaps in the forest. This is really a shame for the Ross Army, who usually pays attention to the speed of movement. Although there is no tool to measure the "turtle speed" of the Ross army, only based on their own feelings, the majority of soldiers feel that the brothers are busy trusting the horse.

They have to be careful, the teams have to be able to take care of each other, just lost the lusis river guide in the dense forest, but it will take a lot of time to end the **** lost in the forest.

until the Lusis River enters its terminus.

In two days, just as the sun was about to end, the Ross army finally arrived at a key point of the trip.

The groping and advancing in the forest came to an end, a more difficult path

The wide river turned a pale orange in the setting sun. With the dark green forest and the glow of the sun, the army gathered on the bank of a long river one after another. At this moment, the cool wind is not stopping. People feel a kind of inexplicable desolation, and at the same time they are lazily yawning one after another, and yawning is contagious.

"Tired! I'm tired. Olstein!" Rurik asked sharply, crooked.

"exist."

"What kind of river is this? Could it be the Balta River you mentioned?"

"Yes. Your Majesty, we will soon arrive at Cherbourg." Austen was cheerful, knowing that he had been sullen for two days. He was afraid that King Ross would distrust him even more because of the boring march in the dense forest, so he was wise Gotta keep quiet.

"Cherbourg..." Looking at the sunset, Rurik couldn't help baring his teeth, "It's really slow, if I knew this, I might as well have continued to go around by boat. It was just to toss the horses and deer again..."

Suddenly, Rurik thought of something again, and he sullenly asked Ostein again: "I remember the city of Apere of the Courlandians you mentioned in particular, where is it?"

"It?" Ostan was taken aback suddenly: "It's just upstream of the river. Has the king changed his mind?"

"Just leave them alone. I don't have time for the guys in Apere, at least not this year."

Ostan breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he concealed more information. It is said that if King Ross suddenly changed his strategy and led his four powerful cavalry to charge away, he would definitely catch the entire settlement of Apere by surprise— Even conquered it in a war.

The settlement of Apere is the largest city belonging to the Courland tribe in the modern era, but it is still a lot of villages rather than a city

A patchwork of giant villages.

Based on the production and lifestyle of ordinary tribal people in Northeast Europe today, a land area can support 10,000 people, so they must have reclaimed a lot of land, so that they can support so many people with rough agriculture.

The settlement of Apere is just east of the city of Skuodas in the northern part of Lithuania. Several small rivers and streams eventually converge into a small river into the Balta River.

The streams are as dense as a comb, and they are distributed quite regularly. These streams are simply natural irrigation ditches. After discovering this treasured land of geomantic omen, the villagers of Courland built their own villages in a large area. With more and more natural reproduction, more and more close relatives who migrated from the east joined in, and the settlement of Apere successfully created a miracle in the forest.

Austen meant no ill will to those people, and there would be residents of Aperée paddling directly to Cherbourg, selling their own wheat and hides for the important salt, with no intention of taking a share of the amber trade.

In other words, the residents of Apere have been involved in the amber trade for a long time, but after they settled in Cherbourg and mixed with the local Danish immigrants, these Apere residents are no longer willing to return to their hometown.

That night, the Ross Army camped on the flat area at the confluence of the Lusis River and the Balta River. As usual, the Ross Army deployed a large number of bonfires to meet the needs of the army.

"Once again my flames light up the sky, Courlandians of Apere! Look at the sky! It's not the lower world of the gods, but I'm coming with the Ross army. I don't conquer you just No time, just congratulate yourself on your good luck.”

Rurik murmured for a while

Son, he no longer wants to think about it.

Even if Austen raised the possibility that some Aperey merchants sailed to Cherbourg to sell their goods in small boats, if they could meet such travelers, the Ross army could find a way to intercept them, so that the relevant Ross The news reached the Aperey people, so that the local people would be mentally prepared to conquer them in the future.

Another day, the march continues.

The whole army marched downstream along the right bank of the Balta River, and they once again rushed into the forest in a mighty manner.

People don't bother to speculate whether the bonfire burning the sky yesterday will make the residents of Apere in the distance think about it.

It's better to think about your own affairs, the army is bravely entering the forest again.

At the beginning, people could bear it. After starting early in the morning and continuing until the afternoon, the dense forest still showed no sign of ending. The overall color of the Ross army advancing along the river was obviously white, which was out of place in the dense forest. An eagle's bird's-eye view can see a big white snake zigzags forward in the cramped riverside meadow.

Rurik boasted that his concentration was very strong, and now he began to complain: "How long do we have to go? Are we going to camp by the Narrow River tonight?"

Olstein hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, please bear with me. This is the last forest. Through this long woodland, we will soon see a lake, and the next step is Cherbourg. Your Majesty can join your navy." gone."

"Oh! It seems that you are sure that my navy has arrived."

Olstein smiled awkwardly: "After all, we have wasted too much time by crossing Courland."

"Oh? Then compared to the traveling speed of your caravan, my

How about the Ross Army? "

"Fast as lightning!"

"Come on." Rurik shook his head, too lazy to talk nonsense with this flattering old man.

Forced by reality, the Ross army had to camp in the forest and river.

The wet pine trees felled nearby, if ignited to create a large number of bonfires, it would be a waste of effort for the soldiers. They endured in the choking smoke, and when they saw the open flame, they didn't know that the smoke was already rising, and they were undoubtedly illuminated orange in the sunset.

The thick smoke passively raised to light a bonfire can dissipate quickly, but the amount of bonfire required for two thousand people is huge. The Ross army lined up in a long and narrow line, and the thick smoke caused by making a bonfire quickly became a smoke belt. , becomes an existence that cannot be ignored under the setting sun.

Has anyone noticed something strange in the forest?

have!

Because the ships of the Ross Navy have already laid a large net on the coast of Courland Beach, which is a cordon with a width of about 50 kilometers. As long as Ross's army rises on the coast, the guard ships will be able to see the blue and white that is incompatible with the black forest. .

The patrol boats rushed into the nearby sandy beach one after another at night. The yellowish-white beach full of fine gravel is the "amber mine" itself. As long as you dig **** the beach with a shovel, you can always find some ordinary-looking ones. Beeswax and amber, if you are lucky enough to pick up a good one, you can sell it for a good price when you bring it back to New Roseburg.

The people who were ordered to patrol did not feel that they were at a disadvantage. After they pushed the boat ashore at night, they lit bonfires to keep warm and grilled fish.

the navy did precede liuri

K arrived at Cherbourg, Admiral Godlund came quite early.

The endless sails of the huge Ross fleet and the big ships like hills loomed in the port area of ​​Cherbourg-a natural lagoon haven.

The lagoon is nameless, and people in Cherbourg simply call it a lake.

But in another plane, when Cherbourg was still named, the lagoon was located more inland, and its scale was larger than it was a thousand years ago.

When the Livonian Knights moved in, Cherbourg was occupied by the Knights, and the name was changed to the German-style Liva, which means "the place of life".

The lagoon on which the settlement rests also naturally became Lake Liepāja.

Those who set up shacks on the beach to spend the night couldn't help but look around, admiring the sunset in the west and the deepening night in the east, they couldn't ignore the sudden smoke rising to the east of them. That's definitely not a cloud! These sailors who were ordered to work were very professional, and they knew at a glance that someone must have lit the bonfire, and the number of them was really not small!

Then a thought popped into his head—the king's army should have arrived!

The next day, these patrol boats gathered in the direction of the lagoon in order to respond to their speculation.

After the Balta River was injected into the lagoon, it was equivalent to declaring it disappeared, but it is said that in the old Liepaja Lagoon, the distance between the sea and the lake is only a long strip of sandbars as short as about 500 meters. Although the salinity of the Baltic Sea is low, that is Sea water, the number of trees that can survive on the narrow sandbar is not much, and they all grow on the side close to the lagoon.

If it is really the king's army, when everyone sees

If there is strange smoke and dust, it should gather together, so that when the army walks out of the forest, it can see the flying Ross flag at first sight.

As for Rurik, after the arrival of a new day, he is already full of confidence in the way forward, because Olstein seldom patted his chest and assured: "It is the last day. Today we will go out of the forest and go to the lagoon immediately. Just go north It takes about half a day to reach Cherbourg."

Rurik thought more, as long as what Ostein said was true, the moment the Ross army left the forest, they should be seen by the sea ships ordered to be on guard. He firmly believed that General Godelund would carry out the order.

It has evolved into a two-way rush.

The scouting cavalry who were exploring the road had just walked out of the forest, and they saw the Ross flag flying not far away, and there were quite a few of them.

The moment the cavalry appeared, their blue and white attire instantly shocked the yawning navy soldiers.

Some ships began to head north desperately, just to inform their general, King Ross, that he had arrived.

The rest of the people immediately joined forces with the scout cavalry who arrived first, and the rest of the scouts rushed to report the good news to the main force of the Ross army who was still advancing step by step.

Glancing at the ecstatic subordinates, Rurik suppressed the joy in his heart, waved his hand and said: "Understood. Go down and tell the brothers along the way that we have arrived in Cherbourg."

Most of the soldiers were ecstatic, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com No matter what the march was coming to an end, everyone could get a good supply in Cherbourg.

But everyone was too happy.

The Ross land force has completed contact with the naval patrol ship, but as far as the eye can see, there are only the big lake and the sea, and a long and narrow corridor of sandbars sandwiched between the two kinds of water.

.

The army still had to go north, and the decadent mood was swept away.

"We will spend the night in Cherbourg tonight. The whole army will advance along the east bank of the lagoon and go to Cherbourg to take a good rest! Let's speed up!" Rurik issued a key order, and then took the lead to rush to the destination, leading the whole army to speed up.

Without the shackles of the narrow roads in the forest, the Ross army began to rush forward on the meadow in the east of the lagoon. Driven by the horses and reindeer, the soldiers trotted all the way, and the soldiers screamed with joy.

Because the phantom of a city became clearer and clearer, and everyone knew what it was.

The legendary Cherbourg is just around the corner.

And this also means that the Ross army and Rurik completed the feat of crossing the Courland Peninsula for the first time, and the Ross army finally gathered on the coast of Courland.