Rise of Rurik Chapter 401

A large-scale army landed on Tombstone Island, some were excited, some were cowardly. Especially those guys from Novgorod, they didn't know in their entire life that the world was so vast. Their world was limited to a corner of Lake Ilmen, and the distant world was full of danger.

They found themselves on a large island. It seems that this is the home of the Varangans?

The team was assembled by Arik on the small flatland of the island in the north of Mubao, and together with the rest of the crowd stationed on Tombstone Island, there were as many as 1,200 men who could handle weapons.

People were whispering humbly, and here most of the Rus people were talking about the Novgorod people, denying them as natural slaves. As for the people of Novgorod, they are now only loyal and do not know what to do. Yes, they even thought that this island was the home of the Varangans! Numerous Varangians are all taller than them, and anyone who is waiting for him must be beaten to death.

Standing on a high place, Arik examined his soldiers and issued a brief battle mobilization. He called on the two races to obey his own orders, and he himself would follow all the orders of the Duke of Rose.

Soon after, he began to re-equip the Novgorod army commanded by Medveit with a variety of axes and iron spears. On the second day, Arik couldn't wait to use the traditional Russian fighting skills to train this messy group of guys "Ross team battle skills" to quickly correct their so-called group of "fighting is a sudden wave of pigs regardless of primary or secondary." Fighting tactics.

The only thing that made Arik gratified was that these Novgorod lakeside residents did indeed come, and they also came with some stone farming tools and fishing gear.

The information that Arik learned after landing was that the rear fleet carrying troops, ordnance and a large amount of food had not arrived yet, and he estimated that the fleet had not left the port at all.

Before receiving supplies and food from the duke, the population on the island, which had suddenly expanded twice as much, had to support itself.

The fishing skills of the Novgorod people began to impress some Ross fighters. What was even more shocking was that some guys brought rapeseeds, and they actually cultivated a small piece of land on the island to sow cabbage seeds.

"You are really a group of simple farmers. You are self-reliant, just like those Mälaren farmers. That's good, it can reduce my pressure." Arik just doesn't know a clear theory, that is to be born to be human, born to be born. Possess strong subjective initiative, as long as they don't interfere, they can spontaneously create wealth to support themselves.

As early as the second day after Arik landed on Tombstone Island, a fleet of ships continued north, Kawei and his Lilia, and the fleet escorting some tributes rushed to the mother city of Roseburg.

Another boat rushed to Lake Mälaren to report to Otto and Rürik who were waiting for the news.

Finally, on May 24th, the huge fleet carrying a large amount of supplies finally arrived at Tombstone Island.

A batch of black chrome iron spearheads produced in Ayron Orava Fort, and gray-black quenched wrought iron spearheads were removed. These ordnances are tied to wooden sticks to become powerful weapons, and then put on the axe, that is the long Handle the halberd!

A large number of wooden bows and crossbows covered with linen have attracted Arik's attention, and there are many heads, such as the newly made torsion slingshot, and the matching batch of barbed harpoons.

Among the heavily armed warriors are a group of short men carrying long bows, all of whom are the servants of the gray squirrel tribe. There are actually many children here, especially the two close followers of the younger brother, Bankanuf and Fisk.

The matter was far more complicated than Arik thought. He saw Fisk, who was still bald, and the twelve-year-old kid was carrying the sword of his father who had died in battle. Does a child dare to go into battle and kill the enemy? But seeing that he was still carrying a crossbow that seemed to be made of wood, I wanted to come here and now I only deserve to be an archer.

Harrodsson served as the **** officer of the fleet, and his surprise surprised Arik. Even the old guy Haroldoson was dispatched. Doesn't it mean that Roseburg is already empty in a certain sense? Fortunately, Harrodsson claimed to be the work of **** last night, and the next step is to quickly return to Roseburg.

Kawei also returned with this fleet, only because he had a deeper mission.

But now, he wants to give Arik another gift.

Some special crossbows are placed on the flat ground in front of Arik's feet. The strange thing is that its wooden bow arms are all standard stikas.

"This is a wooden crossbow?" Arik was deeply suspicious.

"Exactly."

"Are they easy to use?"

"At least, it works better than a normal short wooden bow. Accept my gift so that it can shoot normal arrows and at least kill normal enemies."

Arik shrugged: "It's not bad. Brother, you still have you in the edict?"

"No, but the expeditionary force must have someone specializing in repairing weapons. Look." Kawei pointed to the temporarily anchored cargo ships and long ships, "The Chief. It's the Lord Duke! The Duke's decision, especially you. My brother decided that in this battle, all members of our Ross army will use bows and arrows."

"Is that all? I hope the soldiers will fight **** battles with the enemy. You know, swords are bloodthirsty."

"I'm not so particular." Kawei said bluntly and shook his head again.

Both Kawi and Arik moved their families back to the home port of Roseburg, and a small group of frail women and children on Tombstone Island were temporarily moved.

The entire island has become a huge military camp, but it is hidden in thousands of small islands and reefs. The vast area is a substantial no-man's land. Only a few merchants know their location, the vast number of Merlaren people. Did not know that the Ross people had quietly reserved a strategic reserve team.

The Principality of Ross, which was born suddenly in name, showed a stronger mobilization ability than others from the beginning of her birth. In fact, this kind of mobilization is still lacking. Lurik has not had time to establish a complete system. The tribe is not a general mobilization of the people, but even so, if you add the distant Novgorod and Elon Olava Fort, then There are also as many as 4,000 to 5,000 people who have invested in the current stage of combat preparation.

So, what happened to Rurik and Otto who were stranded in Lake Mälaren during this period?

The entire Lake Mälaren became unprecedentedly lively, thousands of porridges passed by on the lake, and the waves became agitated.

In a short period of time, a large number of conscripted fighters were set in the liveliest Mälaren bazaar, where it became unprecedentedly lively, and the so-called crowd was crowded.

Similarly, Gould Island was also surrounded by merchants from all walks of life, and the Ross goods that arrived were completely sold out. Out of business principles, Gould consciously raised some prices, not to mention, the guys who just needed it, they cursed and bought the things.

Even some selected farmers choose to use the immature wheat as collateral to complete the loan transaction with the big family of the tribe. After they took the money, they bought leather, wooden shields, and even the improvised axe peddled by the Granites, and even some storable smoked fish pieces that were hard to dry.

Although Origen's promise was based on the reward of some wheat from everyone, this generous promise was unprecedented, and the peasant soldiers in Mellaren were not too sure.

Until one day, someone saw a group of people pushing and pulling a two-wheeled cart full of sacks, under the **** of the leader Origen, parked at the dock where the Ross man ship was anchored.

Olekin began to fulfill an extremely important clause in the agreement. No, he came personally.

At this moment, Otto and Ruriek were both personally staying on the Aphrora, and they simply slept in the "Captain's Lounge" on the bow of the ship.

The noise attracted Rurik to stand on the high platform of the bow. He supported the wooden side mast, and was careful that his head touched the torsion slingshot covered by the oil-soaked coarse cloth. He immediately saw Olegin's wrinkled old face.

"Hey! It's the honorable king!" Rurik shook his right hand vigorously, his voice was loud, and he showed a very obvious smile.

The Rurik clearly has a kind of joking in it, but what about Origen? He only felt that Rurik, a stinky boy, was very witty and respected himself, which was a sign of smooth cooperation.

After a while, Otto, wearing a woolen cap, appeared, with a snow fox on top of his head, and two wild geese feathers stuck in the sky. Otto is more dressed up as a businessman, but he is also a businessman now.

After laying the boarding planks, Otto and Lurik stood in front of Olegin.

Otto glanced at the two-wheelers: "It seems that the food you want me to carry is here."

"Exactly, enough for my army to eat for ten days."

"Okay." Otto turned his head and said hello to the people on the boat. He turned his head again: "I will remember our agreement, and please remember the agreement."

"Of course. I only have one question now."

"What is it?"

"This ship..." Olikin pursed his lips: "Can she hold all my food? At least one cargo ship won't work. I want to go up and take a look."

"Board and visit? Come now."

Otto didn't mean to conceal it, he had already discussed with Rurik, and characters like Origen were qualified to visit in person. His visit is a kind of bilateral etiquette.

Those private soldiers of Origen with a black tone, they appeared as porters without any weapons on their bodies. This was also Origen's gesture of goodwill.

Carrying heavy sacks, they took firm steps to the middle side of the Aphrora, stood on the deck one after another, and unloaded the sacks here for the time being.

Immediately afterwards, the Ross soldiers accepted the porter work.

Just now, Origen, who had already boarded the ship, followed the wooden ladder into the cabin of the big ship. The huge space gives him a strong sense of oppression under the shining of an oil lamp. No ship has such a structure! It is like a warehouse floating on the sea!

The Aphrora changed all of Origen's understanding of cargo ships. The ship he owns and this big ship must be no less inferior. It should be described as a serious backwardness.

A large amount of food began to arrive in the cabin, seeing her huge volume, Origen no longer worried.

Standing on the bow deck, he stood at a high place, and the **** she saw was even taller. He didn't notice that the bow was wrapped in linen on both sides, but on a whim, he hoped to get this big ship! Just because of a king, you need to have the greatest flagship!

Origen trembled and made no secret of his desire: "Otto, my brother. Your big boat is really great. I hope you give her to me."

"Huh?" Otto backed away for a while, but Rurik became a cat full of exploded fur.

"No!" Rurik stood directly in front of his father, looking up at Origen's blunt denial.

"Isn't it okay to buy with money?"

"What? Need to pay?"

Olekin shrugged: "Is there anything in this world that can't be measured by money? How much is your big ship? I'll give a hundred pounds of silver coins."

"You! Are you humiliating me?"

"Huh? Is it too little money?"

Origen just said it casually, and he felt that a hundred pounds of silver had already said too much. Actually? The simple hull construction of the Aphrora cost more than 100 pounds of silver coins, and the messy follow-up equipment installation, and even the decoration of internal components, the overall cost of this large ship has soared to the level of 200 pounds.

But how can the value of the Aphrodite be measured by money?

Origen did not give up immediately: "So, two hundred pounds? How?"

"No! Just no! Unless you pay 200 pounds of gold!" Rurik gritted his teeth and directly stated a price that the other party could not accept.

Because that is two hundred pounds of gold! Perhaps Origen can come up with the equivalent of wheat, even if he searches the entire Mellaren tribe, he can come up with five pounds of gold is the theoretical limit. After all, gold comes from Roman gold coins, which is not a common currency in trade.

Olekin had no choice but to give up, and sighed helplessly: "Since you Russ can build, build ships for me in the future, right?"

Hearing this, even the shipbuilding cost a lot of national money, and man-made ships for him should get even greater benefits. Otto wanted to take over this guy, but was stopped by Rurik decisively.

Since ancient times, military weapons have been profiteering businesses, but some weapons are determined not to be sold. This is called "retaining one hand." Even if Rurik knew that he could indeed make a fortune from the Merlaren people by selling big ships.

This is not a matter of money at all, but a matter of national defense! If this is really done, Rurik thinks it would be political suicide. There are so many people in Mälaren. If they have mastered a group of big ships, the Ross people should weigh how long their advantages can last.

Origen returned angrily, and a hatred spontaneously emerged. Fortunately, this old guy is a rational person. In order to take pictures of the overall situation, he easily suppressed his hatred to disappear. It was his son Carl. Whenever he saw the big ship anchored in his port, he felt that it was an encroachment and provocation.

Lake Mälaren is not allowed to have such a big boat! If there is, it must be the flagship of the Mellaren people!

Unfortunately, the glory belongs to the Ross people...

Perhaps his father's plan to buy the ship right away, or even the plan to order a new ship, was rejected by the little boy, Rurik, and Carl's clenched fist almost broke apart.

A hatred and even a sigh of yin swelled in Carl's heart. He hoped that his aging father would die soon, so that he could become king in advance. At that time, he can use the king's name to forcibly buy the big ship of the Rus, if the Rus disagree, he will threaten them with military might. Isn't it beautiful?

In fact, until now, Karl's attitude towards the Ross people is still "a group of guys who deserted everyone and went to the north to catch ferrets". He never felt that the Ross people were very strong, even if the big ship dangled under his nose every day.

Time is approaching the expedition day on June 1st.

The battleships of the various tribes have been prepared one after another. In a short period of time, a group of fishing boats have also been quickly transformed to serve as transport ships for forcibly making up the number.

What about the Ross people? In almost a month, all five cargo ships anchored at the Gould Island wharf underwent major renovations.

In terms of structure, the Aphrora is a massively enlarged version of a general cargo ship.

The hulls of all the cargo ships were the same. They all installed pine decks and spliced ​​taller railings. The rear end of the deck was covered with a "timber house", also known as the poop, to protect the rudder and at the same time provide all sailors with a stable shelter from wind and rain.

The sails of the cargo ship were also completely replaced. The original straight beams were removed and replaced by longer, inclined beams.

In other words, the cargo ships at these ports have all been equipped with brand-new deltstyle Latin sails, but none of them have bulbous bows, which makes them inevitably at a loss when sailing. The bows of their boats were also nailed with special wooden strips to piece together numbers spelled in Luen. After all, they also smeared some pine glue and sprinkled them with chalk. This is the so-called temporary hull number to facilitate command.

The first group of veteran soldiers from Tombstone Island landed on Gould Island. These guys attacked and ransacked Gotland villages three years ago, and last year they ransacked Estonian villages. Although there were only 30 people coming, these guys attacked and ransacked Gotland villages. All of them are aggressive bulls, they are elites on the battlefield, and their strength should not be underestimated.

Finally, the large force from the home port that Liurik hoped most, they formed a compact fleet, carrying a batch of key strategic materials to their destination.

One by one, the wooden boxes were taken off the ship, and Rurik carried out inspections as usual, and confirmed that they were the "ammunition" needed.

That is a large number of cone-shaped cast iron projectiles, each of which has inclined grooves deliberately left during casting. The advantage of this design is that it can rotate on its own when flying, and the gyro effect ensures that the trajectory will not tremble. .

There are also a large number of crossbow arrows, their arrow clusters are diverse, but the quality is not very good.

What can we do? Too much time was given to the rear to prepare for war.

Naturally, what comforted Rurik most was the unloaded batch of newly manufactured torsion slingshots. In terms of weight, they were the weapons like Roman scorpion crossbows. As a whole, they only needed three men to lift them to quickly maneuver. With such a weight, naturally its power is not very strong. Rurik can assert that these fast-manufactured products are far less powerful than the carefully processed treasures before.

Some are better than nothing. After they arrive, they will be installed on the cargo ship immediately.

Ross's army was assembled. They assembled in the courtyard of the center of Gould Island's wooden castle on the first day of landing.

Check them out! A group of warriors dressed in chain mail and leather armor, they carried shields and helmets reinforced with metal plates. Many people also had this iron mask to protect their faces. They had steel swords and steel axes hanging from their waists, and all members had to get their bows and crossbows.

The Corvin warriors of the Grey Squirrel tribe holding longbows and the Ross people who settled in Elronburg. Thirty of them were equipped with pewter-made longbows, and the leader of Mechasta personally acted as the commander of this "northern force". The eleven-year-old Talavis, his son, was among them, the precision archer.

Some childish faces are also inside, Kanuf and Fisk, and ten naturally strong boys. Especially Fisk, Rurik and Otto, who stood on a high place inspecting the warriors, saw the kid carrying his father's sword on his back. Obviously, this battle is the best coming-of-age gift for him who has just grown up (12 years old is an adult).

Other children in neat rows are exceptionally peculiar among the many teams. Because they are girls, ten Slavic maids of Rurik, and their commander is Carlota himself.

Could it be said that the Ostras have been so difficult that only their female leader is the only combatable soldier? Now, there are eleven people in the Ostara Army. They are all girls. They use either a winch steel arm crossbow or a pure wooden crossbow. The military training these girls received was desperate archery, but they were the girls who were given accurate names under Rurik, and their existence was like the Valkyries of Odin.

They themselves are producers of commodities, and they must serve as priestesses during important festivals. They are also loyal female warriors of Rurik. This battle is their first battle.

Frequent bow and crossbow practice on weekdays, they have long formed excellent "small animal hunters", but this time, the prey may become an enemy.

Everyone, together with the sailors who participated in the war, a team of more than 300 people, assembled in this small courtyard.

Rurik and Otto spoke one after another. After a war mobilization, a deafening shout came from the closed wooden wall, which surprised the foreign merchants doing business in the dock. It was as if a group of monsters were locked by a wooden wall, frightening them to hurriedly check out, and hurriedly left with some of the latest soaps that they bought and shipped to Gould Island.

The day of the expedition is just around the corner, and the entire Gould Island is like a volcano about to erupt, and everyone is actively preparing for the battle.

No, Rurik, who was under the greatest pressure, repaired another book and sent him to quickly hand it over to Arik and his army, who were already stationed on Tombstone Island.

Regarding these matters, Otto has completely handed over the tactics and strategy to Rurik. The current situation can be said to be a fool to realize that Rurik is the most intelligent person and the most suitable battle commander. By.

Facing the battle, Otto's heart was as calm as a windless lake, but he felt a little regretful. According to the agreement, the Russ should not enter the battle on land. He had to comfort himself, relying on 200 soldiers to "grab food" with the ally of more than 3,000 troops, it would be better to "stand by" as agreed and wait for Origen to separate a large. Pile of trophies.

On the morning of May 31st, the day before the expedition day, Lake Mälaren was already crowded with ships, and many deserted islands became anchorages for armies of various tribes.

There are fishing boats shuttled at various berths everywhere, and fishermen peddled their own catch, and even some weapons such as arrows and wooden sticks made by fishermen.

At this point in time, Arik, who was stationed on Tombstone Island, received an order from Duke Ross.

It is true that Rurik gave such a task to the strategic reserve team in the name of Otto.

The first is to train the army, stay awake every day, and be ready to enter the battlefield.

Second, in particular, train the Novgorod army so that they can imitate the Russian fighting as soon as possible.

Third, strengthen the defense of Tombstone Island so that enemies and potential enemies cannot threaten the safety of Tombstone Island Wooden Fort at any time.

Fourth, dispatch patrols to intercept and kill all Gotland fishing boats in the vast waters as last year. At the same time, as a warning, beware of any kind of sneak attack on the kingdom by the enemy. If a large number of enemies appear, resolutely eliminate them.

"Damn it, this order is really..." Arik put away the plank, and urgently called his people together for a meeting. He read the order of the Duke of Ross, trying to hide his regret.

If we were to intercept and kill the enemy's fishing boats as usual, why bother to assemble so many troops? He felt that he was destined to pass the Great War, and sending five patrol boats in a mere trivial battle would not be able to fight the enemy. He was anxious to attract the enemy to Tombstone Island to complete the annihilation.

"Oh? Yes, if the Gotlanders attack my Tombstone Island, wouldn't an army of a thousand people kill them all? That would also be a big victory!"

Look at your own armaments, because the Novgorod army has increased in strength because of the acceptance of a batch of equipment from Roseburg. He has ten steel-armed crossbows, ten wooden crossbows, more than thirty short wooden bows, and four torsion slingshots used to defend the wooden castle. He also keeps twenty long boats, which are docked in the fjord in the north of the island.

Relying on such an army ~www.mtlnovel.com~ to raid a Gotland village is completely okay. It means that the initiative to attack violates the wishes of the uncle leader. Unless, Tombstone Island becomes a battlefield.

The setting sun shrouded the world, and there were bonfires on the banks of Lake Mälaren. A large number of camps appeared beside the bonfires, as well as people from Lu Su. Under the sunset, there were an unprecedented number of long battleships on the lake. They swayed and collided with the waves.

Under the calm appearance, a soldier is either nervous or daydreaming.

This night is destined for many people to be unable to sleep, because tomorrow is a thousand boats outing!

For example, Origen, when he thinks of the opportunity to command an army of three thousand people at the end of his life, he is so excited that he can't sleep.

Rurik was nervous, he was not afraid of things. The transformed Ross fleet, even cargo ships, became "battlefield giants". Enemies who dared to challenge were not allowed to be shot by bows and crossbows into scarecrows. .

Otto should eat and drink. He has experienced many battles and doesn't think what the future war will be like.

Arik, who is located on Tombstone Island, stood on a wooden wall watching the sunset, and then looking at the south, he couldn't help showing a wicked smile full of ambition...

Chapter end