Rise of Rurik

,!

"A path appears in the sea? Is it a bridge? Our army is going to advance on it?" Although Beyathil had entered the sandbank, she looked to the southwest, and what appeared in front of her was an extremely strange sight.

"Yes." Rurik stroked her back gently and patted her again. "It was like a long bridge, and when we left the sandbank we reached Prussian territory."

"Them? Another group of weirdos. It seems that you are more concerned about those people you have never met than Memel."

"Really? Who knows? Only the gods know what we can encounter there." Rurik shrugged and looked at the sandbar extending to the southwest with unfulfilled interest.

Because the entire Memel has surrendered, and the Ross army has also received the required tribute and given some iron tools, the local Bulgren business group is naturally grateful for the canonization of the Kingdom of Ross. As for the local village leaders, are they really satisfied? This is what Rurik doesn't need to worry about.

The population of the Memel region is too small. Apart from the Danish descendants of the most powerful Burgren merchant group, the remaining Courlanders are just some law-abiding farmers, as docile as a group of people. sheep.

Maybe this is just because they have to remain docile in the face of absolute power, but Rose is not afraid that this group of people may rebel in the future.

Why rebel? ! Ross was not a group of peasants like Peter who sold their sons and daughters. After searching for some amber jewelry, they did not ask them to "come and pay tribute year after year." Therefore, when Cherbourg in the north evolved into the Ross Navy, it first moved to the Courland coast. After the military base, Memeldown

Local people can go to the north to sell their goods in exchange for necessary living supplies.

In the foreseeable future, Cherbourg's strategic position will be transferred to Memel.

The local Kurlanders are deeply bound to Ross's interests. Once the interests become more and more entangled, the locals will personally guard the Memel port under Ross's rule without Ross's coercion.

What farmers fear most is the army trampling on farmland and soldiers breaking into villages to loot.

Ross didn't do any of these things. It was the local farmers who saw the profits and squeezed out their agricultural products through their teeth and tried every means to break into Ross's military camp in order to trade some iron tools that were beneficial to production and life. Even some iron cluster arrows are good. In fact, arrow clusters mass-produced by Ross can be disassembled and transformed into small harpoons, which has extremely practical benefits for local people's lives.

There are even women who come to do special business...

As long as peace was maintained between them, Rurik acquiesced in all transactions taking place on the fringes of the military camp.

His army had to rest at the sandbar due to practical factors, because it would take at least a whole day to transport a large number of reindeer through the waterway.

Fortunately, the weather was kind. Although the weather turned a bit bad on the tense day of transporting deer, and the wind became stronger and stronger, at least there was no heavy rain.

However, the unexpected rain happened as expected...

The Russian army was forced to rest, but on the day it was decided to leave Memel, a strong wind gradually subsided, dark clouds covered the entire area, and a heavy summer rain came quietly.

War horses and reindeer were all driven into the narrow woods next to the ridge of the sandbank.

The top priority now is no longer for the soldiers to care about

Regarding your own rain shelter, everyone must ensure that the boats, horses, reindeer, and baggage are all protected from the damn rain.

All large ships continued to remain at anchor. The deck exits were sealed with wooden boards, and the gaps were blocked with cloth strips. The sailors supervising the ships were always watching. They sat on the deck and watched the rainwater pouring down, and then flowed into the preset drainage channels. ocean. This deck layout was originally designed for riding through waves in extreme sea conditions, but now it really demonstrates its strong drainage capabilities.

But such heavy summer rains are a disaster for the most common paddle-headed longboats in the Baltic Sea.

A large number of unoccupied longboats untied their moorings, and the soldiers took off their coats, many simply wearing shorts. They rowed hard in the cooling water, just to wash all the longboats onto the beach.

The cabins of the longboat were filled with rainwater. After they were exposed and washed up on the beach, the soldiers dug deep wooden piles on the beach, tied them with cables to secure the longboat that was deliberately beached, and removed the only sail, spreading it out to cover the hull. , although doing so will make the sail absorb water and become a very dirty thing, it is better than everyone desperately scooping water into the cabin after the rain stops, and the sail can be dried quickly by drying.

The soldiers protected the reindeer and war horses, and they all hid in the woods on the middle spine and built temporary shacks.

For a while, no one could light a fire to keep warm, and it was even less possible to cook hot food.

The rain continued for a while and then continued to pour for two days.

It was a typical summer heavy rain that disappeared without a trace after only three days, and this really delayed the Ross army's precious time for three days.

Want to complain?

This is the helpless situation that long-distance marches will face sooner or later. The only way Rurik can

Fortunately, the sun shines brightly after the heavy rain, and the suddenly plummeting temperature is quickly rising again.

People were tortured by the rain. They had eaten dry food for three days and drank dirty water. Even though some soldiers had iron stomachs that could easily digest raw fish, they could only squat on the beach and run away.

The amber-containing beach returned to its white color, and the sea breeze dried everything, as if the heavy rain had never happened.

The soldiers needed time to recover, and the war horses had to feed some oats to ensure sufficient strength. Finally, the reindeer, the largest number, withstood the heavy rain with the most tenacity. Perhaps in the eyes of these animals, a heavy rain of crickets is far less than a blizzard. Comes fiercely.

A major tactical advantage of the Ross Cavalry essentially comes from horses. Although they are also riding prairie horses, they are often fed high-energy oats and salt. The war horses have a strong "endurance ability" and can withstand Starting from Rurik's toss.

Reindeer generally do not enjoy such good treatment. Even now, Rurik would rather the deer graze on the grass on the side of the narrow sandbank facing the lagoon than feed them more wheat.

The sandbanks of the Great Curonian Lagoon present a special vegetation structure.

The side facing the sea is a white beach, the side facing the lagoon is a lush meadow, and the middle ridge is a forest dominated by pine trees.

The Russian army had to delay another day. This day was just for everyone to dry their clothes, and those who had stomach problems had a whole day to rest.

Finally, we could light a fire and have a hot meal. After eating the thick stewed wheat porridge, those haggard people quickly regained their energy.

You will always encounter this when marching outdoors

It rained heavily, but this was the first time they encountered heavy rain in a cramped environment. They seemed to have taken a shower, and finally recovered from the experience and could continue their brave journey.

Rurik himself was lightly armored, as were the rest of the cavalry.

As usual, he held a small meeting with the officers and reiterated the next step before continuing the operation.

He rode calmly, with a huge cavalry team and an even larger herd of deer behind him. The local buildings in Memel gradually disappeared into the horizon, blending into the background of the forest.

What remains unchanged is the increasingly huge light green lagoon on the left, as well as the roaring Baltic Sea on the right and the naval fleet trying to stay in line with the cavalry.

"It's a really bad rain, but fortunately only a few of us got sick." Fisk said sadly.

The "big bald man" was really bored while riding a horse looking at the same scenery, so he approached the king specially and tried to start a conversation.

Of course he knew what his intention was to stay with Rick, after all, he was bored too.

"Those brothers got sick because they drank dirty rainwater. This shows how important it is for me to educate all of you to drink boiled and cooled water. Listen! Look over there." Rurik pointed to the large light green lagoon: " Do you think it’s clean?”

"It's okay. It's still warm enough for us to swim in it."

"Come on! That's dirty water! There are little invisible things everywhere. Those things are harmful to your health and can only be killed by boiling them."

"Huh? How come the horse and reindeer are fine after drinking dirty water?"

"Hey, they want to drink clean water." Rurik shrugged: "So we feed the war horses oats and white water.

They run freely on the grassland but never eat these good things. Only by eating it can our cavalry attack long distances easily. Therefore, in order for our army to maintain the best combat effectiveness, I moved a granary for expedition. Our army can eat the best and safest food. This is the root of our army's strong combat effectiveness. "

Fisk was so impressed that he couldn't help but clapped his hands.

There was a hint of flattery in the rally, and Fisk added: "So how long do we have to go? I never thought it could be like this! I really don't know why the gods created such an environment."

"There's a bridge between two bodies of water. It's really shocking to you and me. Haven't we experienced more wonderful things along the way? We have wasted a lot of time on this. Damn it! It's August now! I I didn't expect that our army's western expedition would be so slow." Rurik's self-blame was really dissatisfied with his pre-war negligence.

Theoretically, if the Ross army did not rest midway, it would take a month to fight from Fort New Ross to Hamburg.

However, he encountered many tribal forces and passed through some areas with wonderful geographical structures along the way. Rurik only knew the basic geographical structure of this sea area and the direction of the coastline, but was completely unaware of all the details. His knowledge along the way was greatly expanded. After understanding Ross's knowledge, the accompanying priests transformed into scribes. These educated young girls picked up their quills and honestly recorded their experiences so that they could be compiled into documents in the future.

"Fisk!" Rurik said casually.

"ah?"

"Do you know what I'm most worried about right now?"

"What are you worried about? Could it be that you are worried about encountering

Weirdos blocking our way, forcing our army to eliminate them? In this case, wouldn't it be another waste of our time? "

Rurik smiled and raised his chin: "You are partly right. I am just worried that when our army completely reaches Frank and Nassau, where I have been deployed for a long time, the civil war between the Frankish nobles will be over. In that case, we will Missed the show."

"Indeed! It has been a month since we set out, and we are actually continuing to march in this magical place."

"Oh, I don't know the situation of Asgard and Grund in the south. We still have a strong garrison in Rotterstad! And my son Reglaf, I don't know that boy is there either. What has Tour experienced..."

When the words came to this, Rurik couldn't help but miss his eldest nephew and his de facto eldest son Reglaf.

Especially Reglaf, that boy was in a delicate situation now, and Rurik always felt that he had exiled him cruelly. Reglaf's destiny is to use his father's extremely limited funding to build his own business in the vast world.

In more than a year, Reglaf and Bruno, the eldest son of the Duke of Saxony, went to Tours in South Frankland to meet Robert's family, who immigrated to the south.

Tours, Nantes, and Le Mans are the core areas of rule of the Count of Tours family. Rurik firmly believed that the power of the direct line of the extinct Earl of Tours must be transferred to his son-in-law Robert as history would inevitably happen. Then Robert, unwilling to be left alone, decisively attacked Paris. In the new historical dimension, the forces of Robert and Earl of Tours have actually received the support of the Principality of Saxony.

Even with the support of the Kingdom of Rus, he could quickly recruit a militia with a huge sum of money. With these resources, Robert would be even more enterprising.

Now the news is completely interrupted. Perhaps in the past year and a half, the line from Tours to Paris, in the northern part of the Aquitaine region, has been another battlefield in the Frankish Civil War.

Rurik can only pray that his Reglaf can really conquer the sky, and while holding the throne of Mercia, he can also win a piece of land on the Western European continent.

I noticed that the king was a little dazed, obviously thinking about a lot of things.

Fisk reminded: "Your Majesty, are you wondering how Frank will fight?"

Rurik came back to his senses: "I don't want Ludwig and Lothair to end the civil war hastily with a decisive battle. It's better for them to fight so that both sides will be injured and the peasants will not be able to survive. The purpose of this war is The bigger the better! Only in this way can we reap greater benefits.”

"But we only have this few troops, and Frank is still a giant."

"No. It was a behemoth that fell into pieces. Lothair was not as great as his grandfather Charlemagne. You and I have also met Ludwig. That guy was more willing to be content with being the Duke of Bavaria. That guy's rise was only because of his The elder brother has taken away all his power. As for that bald Charlie, God only knows where that man is. Maybe in Tours, in Paris, who knows?"

Fisk seemed to understand. It sounded like the king had a very clear understanding of Frank's situation, so the army would not be afraid of being "late to the meeting".

Fisk still wanted to ask one question: "What if they really ended the civil war?"

what to do? "

"End? I won't allow it! How can they end the war without my permission?"

Rurik's words made Fisk wonder.

"Why did your Majesty say this?"

"Whatever! I just don't attack the Eastern Kingdom according to the treaty. We will not attack the so-called Ludwig's territory. We will also not attack Tours and other territories of Robert and his wife's family. Anyone who has not made a treaty with us will The Frankish forces are all within the scope that we can attack."

Fisk's eyes suddenly lit up, and he probably guessed the king's intention: "Yes! Lothair's territory is a place we must attack. We will sign some treaties with that guy after we have looted enough."

"It's best this way. I must take this opportunity to let Lothair pay for the military and material losses along our journey! Don't look at the fact that we have consumed a lot along the way, and even brothers will be killed in future battles. All losses must be paid by Lothair. "

Having said that, Fisk was too talkative to mention: "What if Ludwig suddenly reconciles with his elder brother and starts to join forces to fight us?"

"He dares!" Rurik roared, spitting on Fisk's face. However, this speculation was not unreasonable. Rurik sighed meaningfully: "If Ludwig does this, I will encourage some people to attack him. Anyway, only we can easily enter the Rhine River that goes deep inland, and we can freely plunder everything." Don’t worry. If the situation becomes like that, I think the Duke of Saxony will at least remain neutral on this issue. Ludwig is a smart man, I hope the situation will not become like that.”

The Russian army advances by sea and land

It is heading towards the Sambia Peninsula in the Prussian region, but now the entire army is wasting time on the narrow lagoon sandbar.

The speed of the Russian army was fast enough, but Rurik really underestimated the length of this sandbar.

Starting from the army's camp at the end of the sandbar at the exit of the lagoon, the cavalry had to walk more than a hundred kilometers before passing the sandbar.

Although the Great Curonian Lagoon has only existed for four to five thousand years, the coastal sandbank has become a fairly stable existence amid dynamic changes. It is coherent, and its width does not change much in the middle, until it encounters the real The cramped place.

Along the way, the soldiers were spontaneously discussing the expedition to Frank. With the sword in hand, they didn't have to worry about fighting. They also began to think about what they would encounter after entering the so-called Prussian chassis. The locals were also like the Kurlanders they met before. Are they equally kind and suitable for communication?

This time no one from the Memel locals was willing to be a guide, and no one from the Bulgren business group who had some exchanges with the Prussians volunteered to be a guide.

Although the king was indifferent to this, the warriors had an ominous premonition.

The Kurlanders themselves are clearly separated from the Prussians, and there is no clear intersection with each other. Perhaps that is why no one wants to be a guide? But if a conflict breaks out between them, the soldiers will not hesitate to go to war immediately and eliminate everyone who blocks the path of the Russian army.

They experienced two peaceful nights on the sandbar. Early in the morning on the third day after the rain, the army faced a bump in the road.

"Damn it, there really isn't a single tree in this place." Rurik was surprised when he saw the current situation.

"you

look. Fisk pointed with his big finger: "At least the waves have not washed away the beach. The lagoon and the sea are still clear here." "

"What a blessing! Let's go. Hurry through here! Look to the south. There is a vaguely connected land there. We should be almost at the Prussian territory."

What appeared in front of Rurik was the weakest part of the sandbank. Because the sandbank was still developing, the weakest part did not naturally expand to a width of more than 400 meters after a thousand years.

This is a young lagoon and a young narrow sandbar. The Ross Cavalry now has to line up and pass through the beach with a width of only more than 200 meters. Only the middle 100 meters is really dry. This is less than an arrow. The breadth of the land serves as a pathway!

As long as there is some squeeze and congestion in the team, horses' hooves will get wet in the sea water, and the reindeer army needs to be more careful when passing through here.

Different from the caution of the land forces, the navy fleet can easily rush towards the dark coastline of the south.

Rurik simply ordered the semaphores to convey his instructions. He once again authorized the navy to go ahead and establish camps on suitable coasts.

So, the navy and the four infantry flag teams that had already been mobilized took the first step!

It’s just that General Goethelund, who was acting under the order, didn’t know that the landing force would conveniently attack a key Prussian stronghold! Even if this is not a malicious act by the Russian army, friction and conflict are about to break out like fate.