Rise of Rurik

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Rurik once thought that the white thing in the distance might be the camp of the locals in Cherbourg. As the distance drew in, he saw the Ross flag flying wantonly in the camp area.

"It turned out to be my barracks? Could it be that the navy camped here after they landed? Strange, isn't there a lake next to them but the sea?"

Having tasted the water, it proved that Ross land troops walked along a freshwater lake rather than an ocean. The water in the lagoon has not been eroded by the sea, and it is the same when you think about it carefully. If there is salt in the water, even if the salinity is very low, the dense reeds will still not exist.

The mighty Ross cavalry charged directly at the barracks, and the earth seemed to vibrate for it.

The landing troops who have been waiting for many days are not willing to continue spending time by the empty and boring lagoon. Due to the limited contact with the residents of Cherbourg, the shocking poverty of the local people seems to have poured ice water on the soldiers' heads. The desire to plunder everywhere was abruptly drowned out.

The barracks are built in a regular manner with the flag team as the unit, and the camps of each flag team keep a certain distance, and the centurions within a single flag team make further plans. So when Rurik entered the camp, he could see the plan of the camp at a glance, and he could easily find the center of the entire camp here.

Four infantry flag teams landed, and they set up camp in the southeast, northwest, and southeast with the central tent as the benchmark.

The camp for accompanying support personnel was built next to the western camp, and some coastal tents were also lined up on the sandbar not far away. The flat sandbar itself seemed to be a landing site for the navy to moor small boats.

The central tent is the command center set up by General Godelund, and it is also the place where he boarded.

Lu Hou's residence.

Next to the tent, there is an attached tent, where the accompanying priests live.

Wooden stakes were used instead of stones, and a small boat-shaped altar appeared outside the central tent. A stone brought back from the hometown was originally part of the altar in the capital, and it was endowed with sacredness when it was erected in the small altar.

Four cavalry teams gathered in the south of the camp. Rurik ordered the soldiers to dismount and rest, while he happily rode into the camp with some followers.

At this moment, the soldiers stationed happily walked out of the tents, and those who wanted to sleep in were all sleepy.

After parting for a while, everyone really saw the king appearing from another direction. Didn't all of this apply for one thing? It turns out that the map drawn by the king is true, and the Ross army has really completed the feat of crossing the Courland Peninsula.

Rurik is followed closely by a man who is none other than Olstein himself. Goodbye to the Ross Navy. Unexpectedly, this large army stayed honestly just south of the Cherbourg settlement. They really kept their promises and did not lay hands on the village area.

Olstein heaved a sigh of relief, feeling deeply grateful to King Ross.

"Your Majesty, you are here at last!" The overjoyed Godlund didn't care to straighten his clothes, put his robe on his body without the lining, fastened the belt securely and then hung up his sword, and went with his two hairy arms. see king.

"You?" Rurik glanced at him arrogantly: "It seems that this place is so hot that you don't dress properly?"

"Hey, the king came so suddenly..."

"Dad!" A silver bell-like call came from a tent.

"Verika!"

"Daddy." Lovely Verika

Wearing a wreath on his head and a plain white robe, he suddenly ran towards Rurik's war horse regardless of decency, and then grabbed his father's right leg that was stepping on the saddle, smiling non-stop.

"Pay attention to decency."

"Hey..." The girl continued to laugh without saying a word.

Verika was free to act coquettishly in front of her father, while the priests behind her lined up and walked out of the tent. They walked towards King Ross in two files under the command of the blackbird.

I saw these young and beautiful priestesses, all wearing garlands made of newly picked vines and wild flowers, and Queen Rose slightly bowed her head, curled her legs and bowed slightly.

This move made Rurik feel a little familiar.

"Blackbird...is this your trick?" The words in his heart didn't come out.

After all, Blackbird's original identity was a serious Frankish princess. Although she was cut off from the past, she still brought some Frankish court etiquette to Rose after she was stationed in Rose, such as the etiquette actions of a palace attendant after meeting a nobleman.

As soon as Rurik got off his horse, he was delighted to receive a firm hug from his eldest daughter.

Gently throwing his daughter away, he formally faced his admiral again.

Rurik looked left and right, and his smiling expression showed his affirmation of the camp: "It seems that you have fulfilled your duties perfectly, and Cherbourg is just to the north of you. flag. You did well to bring them to their knees without force."

"It's the majesty of the king that impressed those people. After those guides entered the village of Cherbourg, the locals quickly surrendered." Goldlund complimented wittily.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Anyway, this place is the Earl of Cherbourg." said

Rurik glanced at Ostan who had just dismounted clumsily: "Look, we did what we said, and your relatives and friends are all safe and sound."

"I have seen it all. Thank you for your kindness. The gods are with you." Ostan hurriedly complimented, but he didn't know what the next step would be when Ross's army and navy joined forces.

Taking advantage of the king's high spirits, Goldlund decisively showed what he had gained in Cherbourg. "My lord, I would like to show you a special gift."

"A gift? From Cherbourg?"

"Probably." Godlund immediately arranged for someone to take out a large bag of things from the big tent, and seeing the heavy look, Rurik suddenly thought of something.

"Is it rough amber?"

"It's the original stone."

Goldlund untied the rope himself, put a coarse cloth on the grass, and poured down the whole sack of rough stones.

Surprised by this scene, Rurik's entourage also poked their heads and watched forcefully.

It is not uncommon to find amber in the Rose gem market. Some rough stones can be dug and processed locally in the Rose Fort ancestral land, and there are also certain rough amber stones on the southern coastline deep in the Gulf of Finland where New Rose Fort is located. The distribution is available for mining.

However, the young fighters never expected to see rough stones as big as fists in Cherbourg, and there were a lot of them.

"So much? I can't believe it."

Even if the rough amber and beeswax are rough, Rurik knows that they can only show a crystal clear appearance after grinding, and then turn brownish yellow, golden yellow and even the rare translucent to almost colorless stones. exist.

Looking at them, Rurik suddenly thought of the

The treasure of the Carlotta sisters—the family heirloom in their hands—the huge ball-shaped amber might have come from this way.

In the broad sense of the Courland coast, that is, extending from the Courland Peninsula to the ancient Prussian Sambia Peninsula, such a huge rough stone can be excavated on the narrow and gentle sandy coastline. Even in some inland areas, the locals broke the ground The original stone buried in the mud can also be dug out when the building foundation is excavated during relocation.

A thick layer of minerals must be attached to the surface of a huge rough stone. When it is ground off, the fossilized turpentine can show its characteristics. Therefore, it does not matter whether it is transparent amber or opaque beeswax in the rough stone stage. does not appear. Amber and beeswax often exist at the same time. First, it exists like butter, and then it becomes crystal clear like suet. A stone presents a gradual change in color, and the amber and beeswax separate after cutting it.

"There are too many! I saw that you have arranged a large number of tents on the sandbar to the west. Could it be that you are digging stones by yourself?" Rurik asked excitedly.

"We're doing it. But if the stones can be bought from the people of Cherbourg, it won't take the army to do it themselves."

"Buy?" Rurik slightly narrowed his eyes.

Seeing this, Goldlund knew that the king would ask about this matter, so he actively explained it...

Rurik held his beard and listened attentively, and couldn't help muttering to himself: "It's a very smart choice to exchange a large number of fresh fish caught for their stones. If we sell them some grain and some shovels for digging stones, they will Will sell me more rough stones. I don't need these guys to grind and process them myself, the stones eventually bring back to Rose my men themselves

can be perfect. "

Who doesn't love gemstones? At first, the crystal-clear stained glass was sought after by the public, and ordinary people were complacent about getting these "gems". Colored glass blocks, all of which are excess scraps from pressed and blown glassware.

Glass blocks of various shapes are polished and drilled to become a large number of necklaces. When its price becomes very low, no one thinks it is still expensive. So, after a few years of turmoil in the gem market, there was a revival of love for amber—something that the state-run glass workshops couldn't possibly make.

Both men and women like some beautiful things. Women use amber as jewelry to decorate their beauty, and men will inlay it on their belts, sword handles and scabbards to show their nobility.

The Kingdom of Ross itself has a large domestic demand market. Even the Lapps who graze reindeer in the polar regions are willing to pay a fortune in exchange for some gems to decorate themselves.

A large bag of amber rough stones opened Rurik's eyes, and he also suddenly thought that this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, only God has how many rough amber stones are buried under the vast and narrow Courland Beach.

A larger caravan of reindeer entered the grassland by the lake in an orderly manner.

Hundreds of years ago, the Courland area was also a choice for wild reindeer to migrate freely. However, the large-scale hunting operations of the Baltic ancestors wiped out the Courland reindeer population, which is accustomed to large herds.

Therefore, in the eyes of the residents of Cherbourg, the reindeer is a very novel large livestock.

The Danish immigrants here still retain the memory of the reindeer, but they can't raise them in Cherbourg because they never got the deer species.

Look at the forests and deserted beaches here. Since the Courland Peninsula is still relatively cold as a whole, sheep are very popular among the people. Sheep are not raised for meat, but to cut their wool for clothing against the cold. They don't raise many cattle, so they have to pay special attention to keeping the cowshed warm every winter. However, if they are not careful in the humid and cold environment in winter, the cattle may freeze to death.

For these reasons, it is true that the people of Cherbourg kept horses and cattle, far fewer than sheep, and even so the overall livestock population was pitifully small.

Because the cold current from the North Pole can go straight to the Courland Peninsula every year. There are no mountains here as barriers. People in the settlements can only make a wooden wall for their own homes. Preventing pirate attacks is not the main purpose, but shelter from the cold wind in winter. maximum purpose.

A severe drop in temperature may lead to the loss of personnel, livestock and poultry, and even the severe drop in temperature caused by extremely cold air can cause chickens to freeze quickly into ice lumps while walking.

What the people of Cherbourg can best sell is a large amount of rough amber. In addition, some sea salt and by-product Glauber's salt may be of value to the expeditionary Ross army.

The Ross Expeditionary Army paid special attention to logistics, so they brought a lot of miscellaneous things. Most of them are tools for production and living that the people of Cherbourg urgently need, and Rurik really has a lot of capital for them.

He even did not hesitate to launch a plunder that both parties were satisfied with.

Rurik once sat down to play with these rough stones carefully, he clapped his hands and stood up, and said to Orstein: "Now I want to enter your Cherbourg, go to you

of the chamber. I want you to gather all the leading figures in the entire settlement after you go back, whether it is a Dane like you or a local Courlandian, all gather together, and the king wants to have a chat with them. "

Worried about the fear of the locals, Rurik added another sentence: "I only bring a small number of guards in, all of you can rest assured."

In fact, the residents of Cherbourg did not have the slightest intention of rebelling.

Why do you want to oppose it? What the Ross army promised was only a temporary residence. They camped in the wasteland that was not important to everyone, and tried not to interfere with everyone's life, even though the existence of the Ross people did cause trouble to the people of Cherbourg.

You can't tell if there is trouble, because their army is everywhere, and smart people will never do anything provocative, just in case something happens.

The prudent trade between the two parties has improved the lives of the people of Cherbourg a little, they have bought some new iron, and Rose's ship's blacksmith has also repaired some old metal tools for them.

Since everyone is fluent in Norse, the communication went smoothly for a few days without any problems.

Now, the residents of Cherbourg who are still vigilant finally waited for the legendary King Ross and the returning caravan.

Regarding the death of some relatives and friends in sudden wars, when they chose to take the inland route to transport stones, they had already made up their minds to be killed halfway. Fortunately, a large number of people returned safely. When they returned home, they were immediately surrounded by relatives and friends. The problem It fell down like a cannonball.

If one person speaks, he may tell some lies. If more than a dozen people are describing the same thing, even innocent children say that they have seen the destruction of the Semigallians. The entire population of Cherbourg has to believe this fact.

——In the future, Amber's journey by land will be safe and smooth.

This is really a good thing that King Ross has done for everyone.

Of course, the smart people in the local area also clearly realized that in fact Ross was fighting because of the attitude of King Ross. Biostein's clever submission attitude and leading the way made a contribution. This old guy helped Cherbourg to make a good impression on King Ross. Otherwise, if King Ross planned to attack Cherbourg, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

So on the day when Rurik's navy and army joined forces here, Rurik stood in the courtroom of the only public building in Cherbourg, which was very simple no matter how it looked.

The locals have never elected a real chief themselves, they follow the Nordic democracy, and now Rurik sent them a great chief, a hero who will bring peace and a better future to the whole settlement, the villager O stan. But this guy is now the Earl of Cherbourg.

What Rurik wants is a stable amber supply chain. At this stage, Ross is actually unable to exercise strong control over the coast of Courland. At most, a small number of naval ships are stationed here.

A Earl of Cherbourg can be given the monopoly right to mine local amber. They dig stones and sell them directly to the Ross ships anchored in the port area. The ships then immediately transport the stones to Tombstone Island at the T-junction of the ocean. The locals can use the amber Do rough processing, and then ship to New Roseburg or Stockholm for further processing and sell.

Rurik also does as the Romans do. He is the most honorable person, and out of sincerity, he entered the court of Cherbourg this time. He also brought his daughter Verika with him. However, Verika on this trip is based on the "Kingdom of Ross". Participating in the priesthood as "deputy priest"

Sacrifice.

Women are generally not allowed to participate in the deliberations, unless she is a high priest.

In the eyes of these Danish immigrants and Courlandians, King Ross sat with his daughter. The father and daughter did not have any hostility, but were very friendly.

This is what Rurik wanted. He had already surrounded Cherbourg with an army in his hand. He was young, vigorous and energetic, and he was a standard warrior in the Nordic concept. He doesn't need to wink and wink to show off his might and win the locals to surrender.

What exactly do the inhabitants of Cherbourg want? Their requirements are extremely simple, that is, a better and better life. Although amber is good, it cannot be eaten as food.

Now King Ross has given a kind of locally produced materials such as amber, beeswax, salt, Glauber’s salt, sheepskin, etc., especially amber and beeswax raw stone, in exchange for various daily necessities produced by Ross, especially for the survival of local people. important food.

Could there be a better deal than this?

The so-called meeting has turned into a joke among the men. Austen is very popular in Cherbourg, and now he is the earl (war chief), and the brothers all support him.

So, Rurik publicly announced: "Take out all the rough amber you have, and I will immediately exchange them with grain and high-quality iron tools. The price is all negotiable."

Because Goethelund has no right to take out the general grain and trade it with the locals privately, only King Ross has this power. In fact, everyone knows that the Ross army brought a lot of grain, and they are also praying to the admiral to sell some to the brothers.

Now King Ross personally opened the "grain for stone" deal, excited

people are smiling.

"Give us stones as much as you can, and our transactions will be stable and frequent in the future. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com Just prepare your stones and wait at the lagoon port. My grain ships will come every year."

The people of Cherbourg firmly believe that they believe that the king of Ross will fulfill his promise today, and everyone will be able to eat the wheat of the Ross people that night.

So a brown-haired Courlandian happily introduced this matter: "Since King Ross needs the amber rough so much, and my hometown is also digging stones, why not... just let my hometown go to the king."

"Your hometown? Are you a native of Courland? The king welcomes all Courlandians to join Ross. Where is your hometown?"

"Just south of Cherbourg, our village is called Palanga, and we are willing to serve the King."

The words came from a Viking Kurlander who spoke the Norse language. Rurik couldn't help pinching his beard. According to the person's description, the village of Palanga was on the only way for the Russian army to conquer it. It's a matter of convenience.

Since it is possible to seize another settlement without using weapons and recover a large number of people, thinking that Ross continues to dig stones happily, this kind of good thing is like a pie from heaven.

Rurik nodded: "Very well, you lead the way."

The Rise of Rurik