Rise of Rurik

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The wooden wheels creaked and twisted, and a team dragged their families and families towards Shannon.

Four days after leaving Tours, Bruno and his people were still groping forward in the transition zone between the forest and the river.

The autumn wind was bleak, and they stepped on the withered yellow grass. On their left was the quietly flowing Evina River, and on their right was the gray-brown forest.

The broad-leaved forest has lost its leaves on a large scale, but only pines and cypresses still retain their dark green color.

The sun is shining brightly today but the temperature is not suitable. They looked forward to meeting Reglaf after arriving at Shannon. The new ruler would give everyone a batch of supplies, and the fatigue of the carriage and horses would be swept away.

Noticing that he was a little tired, Bruno stuck his head and shouted: "Keep on holding on, we will take a rest later."

The daylight hours are shortening rapidly, and people can sense this change by feeling. Bruno learned that to reach Shannon they had to go around a large forest located on low hills.

Crossing the primeval forest was asking for trouble, and entering the forest in winter was almost suicide. They could only proceed cautiously along the edge of the forest. They must be careful, because bears, wolves, and even leopards in the forest, these beasts will regard people as prey.

If the marchers were just Bruno and Warrior Gate, they would naturally have no worries in this regard. But the entire village of Sologne-Fontaine fled with him, and a large group of women, children, and some of the villagers' cattle and sheep had to be protected.

Their march was very protracted, and the day was too short and traveling at night was extremely risky. For safety reasons, Bruno ordered to set up camp just as the sun was about to set.

The bonfire was crackling and people were sitting around several bonfires.

An iron pot given by the Russians was placed in the newly dug earth pit, and they cooked wheat on this stove. An iron pot is not enough, the pottery urn bought from Tours also comes in handy now.

The fragrance of wheat filled the camp. At first, the villagers were surprised by the kindness of the Saxophone master. Now that everyone has eaten wheat for several days, they have gradually become accustomed to the current life.

What about going to Shannon? Will everyone be properly accommodated when we get there? Lord Bruno promised a good future, and everyone wanted to believe it, but they could only believe it.

"I don't know how long we have to go. Boss, maybe we should send some brothers to explore the way. It will be bad if we go the wrong way." A soldier complained, holding a wooden bowl.

"You propose that you become a scout?" Bruno asked.

"This...I'm just suggesting it."

"Forget it." Bruno's attitude did not change: "Our path is absolutely correct. Letting some soldiers explore the path is risky. Besides, we still have a group of women and children to protect here, so we can't lose people for no reason."

Bruno's words are very true, because every night, the night watchman can notice some light spots in the forest and the grassland not far away. It was a rapidly changing emerald green light spot. All light spots must be in groups of two. It was already very clear what it was. It was a forest wolf.

A large virgin forest due east of Shannon, it is in principle part of the Shannon area, and is also called Shannon Forest.

Its size is only one-third of the Sologne Forest. However, it is located on a hill, and the local water resources are abundant. The trees in this large forest grow wildly, and the interior seems airtight.

A virgin forest with a width of 30 kilometers is full of dangers. In addition, the past has proved that local residents have no right to cut down this forest land, and its original ecology has been maintained until now.

Even if Reglaf's surprise attack enlarged the benevolent policy of opening up the mountains and forests, the locals who got the benefits immediately cut down the forests near their residences. Ordinary people would not dare to go to the big forest alone with an axe.

As for Orion…

There used to be no legal hunters in the Shannon area, because the wild beasts and birds in the mountains and forests and the fish in the lakes were the property of the nobles. As for the birds and beasts running around, it was just that the adults were unwilling to catch them.

Even so, freedmen could not be captured, while serfs were basically only allowed to reach the edges of farmland, and were even deprived of the opportunity to poach.

They were prohibited from hunting, and there were no skilled archers in the area.

Whether it is Reglaf or Bruno, their warriors are tall and strong, and each man fights bravely. This is because they generally weigh less than 150 Roman pounds (less than 60

kg) local farmers cannot compare.

Bruno has thirty hunters in his hands. This group of "outlaws" from the village of Fontaine in Sologne rely on crazy poaching to maintain their family's survival. Everyone is also very good at shooting. It's just that hunters used to have inferior wooden bows and inferior bone clusters, which made it difficult for them to use their skills.

He felt that the villagers in his hands were too thin. If they did not act in groups, the vulnerable farmers would be easily killed by wolves.

Presumably, the wolves here are also wild and bold. If many bonfires were not lit at night, these beasts would launch a group attack like the enemies of Orleans County. "Maybe the wild beasts here are actively attacking villagers and treating people as fat sheep." He thought.

That night he still carried out the old order, which said that the bonfire must be always burning, make more fires, and leave some people armed with weapons to keep vigil.

It was another calm night, with green highlights still swimming in the forest, but the entire campground was safe.

Regarding the fact that Bruno's team is heading towards Shannon, Regrave is convinced that the good brothers are on their way, and when they arrive is not what he needs to focus on now.

The large village of Shannon spontaneously launched a nationwide logging operation. The people acted with unprecedented enthusiasm. A group of people gathered at the edge of the forest. Like a river eroding its course, the area of ​​​​the forest finally began to shrink.

However, villagers should not commit excessive logging. After ensuring sufficient firewood reserves for this winter, logging more trees will hardly bring economic benefits. Many people plan to build a wall of firewood at home so that their logging operations can stop.

Because it is dangerous to go deep into the forest, all logging operations must be carried out by a group of men working together in clear daylight. Everyone must also have short spears ready to prevent bears from coming out and fighting with them.

A whole day has passed since Regrave issued the order, and it is a new day. Taking advantage of the good days without wind and snow, further logging work began in Shannon Village.

On the afternoon when the order was issued, the abbots returned to their respective stations. They summoned local villagers to announce the baron's mercy. Because the priests endorsed it, the villagers who received the news happily rushed to the nearest woodland with their axes. .

The freedmen of Awane and Ruwaf began logging work hesitantly. As the situation soon turned into a nationwide participation, the timid ones finally became unscrupulous.

The villagers cut down trees as if to vent their emotions. Compared to the serfs, they were a large group of peasants who were petty bourgeois. Once they had the opportunity to legally obtain assets, their ability to act and execute was far better than that of the serfs.

Before the first snow falls, what he has to do now is not only to chop wood to prepare winter fuel, but also to chop more logs, cut the logs into wooden boards to strengthen his house, and replace the dead grass on the roof with wooden boards.

The best tiles are of course stone tiles or fired clay tiles. As long as they are laid, they often do not need to be repaired for several years.

The next best thing is wooden tiles. They will first select oak and then chip it and arrange it like fish scales, so that the wooden tiles can be used for about two years without any problem.

The worst thing is the haystacks, which can only be piled up to ensure that the roof does not leak. But if too much snow accumulates on the roof, the haystack roof is more likely to collapse.

In the past, Count Tour would not just sit back and watch his serfs die casually. If the roof of a serf's family was collapsed by snow, those who survived would be resettled afterwards. Because the earl needed enough labor to farm for his family in the coming year.

Farmers have to take responsibility for everything. When it comes to preserving their lives in winter, they must think about all kinds of problems. In the past, to lay wooden tiles on the roof, the earl family had to pay a grain tax. Now that the relevant taxes have been exempted, in the two large villages where homesteaders gather, a group of small open-air workshops busy with scrapers and making boards suddenly popped up like dogs peeing on moss.

Regraf and the soldiers are not disgusted with all the changes, and they also hope that all kinds of villagers will be more crazy.

Because the forest is too dense, it is a serious obstacle to the development of the Shannon Barony.

It’s a new day. It’s a tiring but happy day for the logging farmers. It’s another boring day for Bruno’s team rushing along the river.

Bruno's capable soldiers walked in front of the team, and behind him were the five

A baggage carriage and a dragging team of villagers.

All the soldiers initially recruited who have survived to this day are all elite soldiers, and Bruno's fifty subordinates are elite soldiers.

Soldiers have a strong sense of smell on the battlefield, and any slight disturbance in the surrounding environment will alert them.

Suddenly, there was obvious movement in the forest ahead.

The leading warriors immediately stopped moving forward. They took off the bucklers on their backs, tied the belts to their left arms, and subconsciously pulled out their Frankish broadswords with their right hands.

"What's going on? The rumbling in the forest makes you nervous?" Bruno frowned and shouted as he approached the team.

"Sir! There is a situation ahead." A warrior said.

"Why are you so nervous? Are you worried about an ambush?"

"What if it's an ambush with malicious intentions? Or, it's a pack of wolves. You also said that the wolves might be stupid enough to attack."

Bruno frowned even more, and now the entire team came to a halt. He saw that the hunters were also imitating the appearance of regular soldiers and were on military alert, as if everyone was really ambushed.

"Excessive caution! It may be that the villagers of Shannon are doing something in the forest. Now..." Having already been tortured by the boring march, Bruno had an idea and simply said: "Leave some brothers to stay in place. I decided Take some people to see it yourself.”

Bruno is the leader of the team. Although some people claimed that this matter was dangerous, he defied all opinions and led twenty soldiers armed with weapons to rush to the scene that caused a disturbance.

And then...contact finally happened.

The Xiang villagers who were working together were busy cutting down trees, and were startled by the sudden appearance of armed soldiers.

The villagers now only like the blond Norman warriors wearing orange robes. The sudden appearance of a group of armed men reminded them of the count's garrison that was so arrogant a few months ago. The fear from the depths of their souls caused the villagers to put down all the work at hand. They dropped half of the tree trunks they had dragged, and ran away carrying axes and scrapers.

Seeing this scene, Bruno, who stopped at the logging site, was left scratching his head in confusion.

"Sir." A soldier approached and said, "Is this Shannon? A group of lumberjacks ran away after seeing us."

"Maybe they are afraid that we will kill them. Damn it, isn't Reglaf here yet? Where's the welcome he promised?" After muttering, Bruno, who was unwilling to continue to delay, decided to simply take advantage of the victory and pursue it.

But those loggers who ran away quickly ran back to the big village and shouted "mysterious armed men are coming", so that some remaining villagers began to decide to kill a group of forest bandits from the eastern region.

Because gangsters did appear in the past.

Some were runaway serfs who could not bear the oppression, some were prisoners who had committed serious crimes and successfully escaped, or farmers who came from other places to seek a living but were left behind... A small group of people could not live a normal life in the Shannon area, so they started robbing houses in order to survive. activities, and then encountered attacks from the count's garrison. Over time, the exiles' behavior became more and more barbaric, and they were attacked more severely by the garrison.

In recent years, there have been no reports of sneak attacks by bandits, but all the older people in the village remember the terrible legends left by the bandits in the past.

It was nothing more than that they mistook the abnormally armed men they saw as gangsters.

The news quickly reached Reglaf's ears.

Originally, the brothers were going to have a good rest in the military camp for a few days. Regraf planned to share the joy of logging with the villagers, and then when things were fermented enough, he would appear again to recruit soldiers from the villagers.

"Bandits? What kind of gangsters? The forest prowlers who have not been wiped out yet dare to attack my lumberjacks?!" Regraf, who had heard the news, had no time to verify the information.

Because the villagers did not dare to go deep into the forest for fear of being attacked by wild beasts, and all the logging camps were on the edge of the settlements. If they could still be attacked by bandits, wouldn't it be a last resort for those bandits to attack the large village of Shannon?

For a moment, Reglaf completely ignored the possibility that it was friendly forces.

Thinking that the territory he finally owned was threatened by others, the whole military camp exploded. Reglaf and his soldiers quickly changed into armor. one

The orange-colored soldiers walked out of the camp and headed east against the fleeing crowd.

On the other hand, following the footprints of the lumberjacks and the scattered wood on the ground, Bruno and his twenty warriors finally walked out of the cover of the forest, and an astonishing scene emerged in front of them.

"Huh? Is this Shannon?" he said to himself with a big mouth.

"Sir, are you still moving forward?"

"Let's stop and let me take a look first."

Bruno didn't stay long. Under the gray-brown environment, a small patch of orange suddenly appeared in a blink of an eye, and this color was quickly approaching him.

A thought came to his mind, and a smile gradually appeared on Bruno's face, "Brothers, put away your weapons, the Mercian army is coming. My brother-in-law Reglaf is here! Oh, this is what he promised to welcome us."

The soldiers' nervousness completely relaxed, and Bruno led everyone forward in a swagger.

After seeing the so-called bandits clearly, Reglaf, who was leading the team forward, suddenly realized who was coming, and the soldiers also gradually guessed the identities of the guys who were swinging on foot - Bruno's Saxon Army.

Both parties relaxed, and as Reglaf and Bruno could see each other's faces clearly, all misunderstandings were completely ended.

"Brother! You're finally here!" Regraf opened his arms and stepped forward with a smile.

Bruno also stepped forward, and the two brothers hugged each other tightly, then high-fived Mingzhi.

"I have finally met you! It seems that you have completely taken control of the situation." Bruno greeted happily.

"In a few days, the entire Shannon surrendered to me. But you...brother, are you the only one who came with some warriors?"

"Of course not. I never expected your people to be logging here. I was so surprised that I thought I was ambushed."

"Ambush." ​​Reglaf was confused about the situation for a moment and joked: "I thought there was an army preparing to attack me. The army has already reached my village! You see, I brought my brothers to fight."

"It seems we all misunderstood."

"Whatever." Regrave shrugged: "We have already left Tours, let Robert go on his own! I will develop well in Shannon, you come to help me, and we will live a good life together. You have five Ten warriors, next year’s war will inevitably make you and your people rich.”

"That's fine. But..." Bruno's smile obviously had a hidden meaning.

"how?"

"I don't just have fifty warriors. I have more soldiers."

"Huh? Is there such a good thing?"

"Take your brothers and come with me! Reglaf, I want to tell you that I have become stronger now."

Now it was Bruno's turn to lead the way, and Reglaf and the soldiers also entered the eastern part of the territory for the first time. Although it was still far away from the real eastern border of Shannon, because it was further away from the large knight territory in the east and southeast, the group What people walk into is actually a no man's land.

A team stopped at the riverside meadow area where the forest and the river intersected. Seeing the Mercians in orange clothes arriving, the people staying there stood up one after another. Because even the villagers of Fontaine Village in Sologne are highly sensitive to soldiers in orange clothes.

Regraf asked as he walked: "What's going on? You seem to be moving forward with a large group of villagers."

"It's the villagers. To tell you the truth, Sologne Fontaine Village has moved again."

"Huh? I remember these guys are loyal to Robert."

"Not anymore. They are my people, and they are all Saxons." Bruno said with certainty. Seeing his brother-in-law being so arrogant, Reglaf no longer worried about whether this was appropriate or not.

After all, he is Baron Shannon, and he has the final say on all matters in the territory. Because strictly speaking, he was loyal to the former Earl Hugo the Younger, not to the new generation Robert of the Robertia family. If anything happened, Robert would be able to come up with all kinds of excuses when asked to blame him afterwards.

What's more, regarding the ending of little Hugo, Reglaf was dissatisfied with the ruthless performance of the Robert and his wife. Out of a desire for revenge that cannot be expressed openly,

He was happy to see Robert suffer a secret loss, and he was happy to see someone poaching this guy's corner.

Furthermore, Reglaf never considered the villagers of Sologne-Fontaine a burden, but rather considered them friends.

They even sent people to Poitiers to visit Charles "The Bald", the third party in the civil war. Not as Baron Shannon, but as the King of Mercia, talk to Charles. Regraf had already planned this. After all, his territory and "Bald" Charlie's palace were only separated by a forest.

The villagers of Sologne-Fontaine, men, women and children, all entered Shannon. Their allegiance to Bruno was immediately recognized by Reglaf. He also knew what he should do now - take advantage of the good opportunity and immediately tell all the villagers, "You can live in Shannon under my protection."

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