Rise of Rurik

,!

Ross has the strongest military in the Nordic world, and what supports it is the strongest economy in the Nordic world.

In addition to large-scale immigration and land development, Ross is also deeply engaged in the production of high value-added materials. Especially leather products and metal products, both of which are Russia's top export products, especially ironware. The value of a large amount of iron in Rus' territory has become increasingly depreciated with the increase in production, but it is hot in other regions.

In other areas, what can often be obtained is food and a small amount of rare furs. The more food, the better. For the Russian army's expedition, the army also hopes to get as much supplies as possible along the way. The fleet is transformed into a moving cabin. Arriving in Frankland like this can be said to have food in hand and not panic.

He thought again about his chance encounter with Swinder. "The people of Bornholm must be arranging their own business in Gdansk in order to make a fortune. I still can't see the ambition of that guy Swinder? Forget it, now that I am here, the business results they have pioneered Now let me accept it! Gdansk, Kashubans. Do you really have tens of thousands of people? Is your territory really extended to Bydgoszcz? If so, you are really not a small force."

The more Rurik thought about it, the more interesting it became. Considering that the other party was also in the tribal era, theoretically they were all soldiers. If a conflict broke out between Ross and them, Kashu's own people might be able to concentrate their efforts to fight Ross.

Is there really any point in fighting them?

This place is the legendary Danzig Corridor. Ross tried his best to destroy Kashuben's vitality and then burned Gdansk. In the end, he was afraid that the Pomeranians and Danes took advantage of it.

In the end, Ross still took advantage of those people.

"I don't do business at a loss. If I hadn't met this old guy Swinder, I wouldn't have known that Gdańsk was actually controlled by a relatively powerful force. If we really wanted to fight, our army would have to fight them to the death. Victory, otherwise it will be difficult to escape calmly. Fortunately, my soldiers will not take the initiative to cause trouble after receiving orders. It should... be like this." Thinking about these things, Rurik still felt a little scared.

Finally Rurik stood in camp on the left bank of the Vistula.

With his leather boots stepping on the solid soil, Rurik, surrounded by his generals, looked towards the west with bright eyes: "There is still one more Oder River to go. After crossing it, we will reach Hamburg. Then we have to go big. Frank with fists and kicks.”

After hearing this, all the soldiers roared happily.

If the Ross camp maintains such harmony and calm, it is planned that the Ross army will continue westward after spending the night here.

Obviously the local forces are neither deaf nor blind. A huge force is entrenched near Gdańsk like a pack of wolves. How can the locals just sit idly by?

The big leader Bogslaw suddenly recruited the leaders of several nearby villages, and the leaders then summoned people from various families.

As the saying goes, the living conditions of the locals are that a big family lives together in a big longhouse, and each family can instantly mobilize a militia of as few as three to five to as many as ten people. The Kashu people usually have to be wary of wild beasts that break into the village, as well as sneak attacks from the Prussian tribes in the east, and even attacks from the Liutich bandits from their western neighbor.

When the big leader issues a mobilization order due to security issues, Gdansk can quickly dispatch at least two thousand militiamen.

More than two thousand people gathered

, the sound of the wind covered up the noise of the large settlement, although it took some time before they gradually gathered into a huge force. The speed of their mobilization was already astonishing, and at the same time Rurik himself completed the landing.

Now, Rurik already knew that the woodland in front of him was just a thin layer, and through it was an open land, which was the city of Gdansk.

"What you just said, you can ask the local leader to come to see me. Swinder, I understand now. Now the king authorizes you to do this task, you go tell their leader to come to the river to meet me immediately! Tell that man , Ross has no intention of being an enemy of Gdansk. As the greatest ruler in the northern world, he must surrender to me. Otherwise it will be killing." Rurik was lucky enough to arrange this task for Count Bornholm as he pleased. .

This put Count Swind in a difficult position. He murmured in his heart: "Let that Bogslaw surrender to Rus immediately and unconditionally? Don't you even have to negotiate? I'm afraid it will be difficult. You two are stubborn. A man who wants a stubborn old guy to surrender to a young hero? It’s really a chore for me now.”

Swinde had no choice but to bite the bullet and do the work. He gathered his followers and walked out into the forest, and was soon submerged in the coastal woods.

However, he had just walked out of the forest when he saw a shocking scene not far away.

I saw wheat fields that were supposed to be actively harvested in peacetime. Now the wheat ears were swaying in the wind under the hazy sky, and one team after another of farmers were advancing on the dirt roads in the fields.

"Sir, is that a farmer harvesting wheat?"

From being deeply surprised, I also noticed a hint of ominousness.

Swinder's body was trembling. As a veteran, he could tell that those guys were not here to harvest wheat.

"Spears, inverted scythes, harpoons. They are not farmers, they are militiamen! It's really baffling, Bogslaw, what are you doing?!" Swinder sighed in surprise, and then decisively decided: "Let's withdraw quickly. Go! This matter must be told to King Rus, the people of Gdansk actually misunderstood us."

Because Swind saw a large-scale gathering of Gdansk militiamen, a scene he had seen half a year ago.

At that time, when several longships of Count Bornholm under the flag of Ross arrived at the port of Gdansk, they immediately aroused the alarm of the locals, as if a Danish army was planning to launch an attack on the local area.

He brought seven long boats with him, and only about 130 people accompanied him. A lot of space on the boats was filled with cargo.

The seven ships alone were enough for the chief to estimate that the "Danish army" that landed had two hundred men. This is no longer an ordinary Viking merchant! It must be an enemy attack, and we must strike hard!

As a result, the locals were so nervous that they organized a large-scale militia that was difficult to count. Even though their armor was poor and the militia weapons were crude, they were superior in number and a jungle of thousands of spears could still shield the organization. The wall of the "Danish Army" forked into the sea.

The current big boss Bogslaw did exactly this.

The Kashu people always have to enter the eastern forests to log wood, hunt, pick mushrooms, dig clay, etc., so they are prone to encounter leopards, bears, wild boars, and wolves in the forest. People always walk together, with distances ranging from two to three meters.

The spear is used as a weapon to kill big beasts. A family often requires the whole family to go out to do something. When entering the forest to work, a team can gather at least ten people. It is not uncommon for multiple families to gather together, and a team of thirty people with spears is not uncommon.

Kashu himself is based on their tradition, and now he is carrying a long-handled weapon and following the big leader to take decisive measures.

Chief Bogslaw has already thought about it. If those guys are tough, the brothers will thrust their spears forward to kill them.

Of course, he could not imagine the power of the Ross army when he led his brothers to march.

On the other hand, Swinde escaped from the forest in disgrace and ran out of breath to Rurik, who was supervising his men to set up a tent.

"What's going on? Didn't you just leave?"

"They! They are coming!" Swinder pointed to the west in horror.

"who are they?"

"People from Gdańsk."

"Them?" Rurik, who had always been in a good mood, suddenly smiled again, "It's good to come. They came to see me in person, and they seem to be a good partner. How many of them came?"

"This is exactly what I want to report. Your Majesty! There are many of them, very many! And..."

Upon hearing this, Rurik's smile disappeared instantly. "Wait! Are you telling me that they organized a militia to beat me?"

"It's hard to say. But I saw the spears they carried on their shoulders. There were spears everywhere! So many spears. Please make a decision, your Majesty."

"This is asking for death! I have no intention of attacking them." Rurik stamped his feet angrily, and then alertly ordered his subordinates to blow the assembly horn.

Originally, the Ross Army's cross-river operation was still in a hurry.

As Zhang was going on, the camp beside the river suddenly started to roar with drums and horns, and the well-trained soldiers stopped all work at hand. Now they help each other to put on the plate armor, tie up the plate skirt, and then put on the white-on-blue-striped Ross war robes. With a fierce tug on the belt, they started to assemble with a round shield in their left hand and a sword in the right. .

As for the warriors carrying wooden-armed crossbows, they usually brought such equipment and gathered with their companions, lining up in the camp under the command of the flag captain.

Each of the four infantry flag corps has experienced attrition so far, and naturally the 10th flag corps has lost the most.

They still have a strong force, and with the soldiers who are slightly injured and can fight, they still have 1,900 combat troops.

"Well done." Rurik glanced at them and sighed to himself: "My infantry is well-trained, and my cavalry is one of the best in a hundred. Gdansk people, I don't want to fight with you. Since there is no other way, then Just do it.”

Based on the experience along the way, the Ross Army will certainly choose to strike first.

However, Rurik also had some doubts about whether he had really harmed their interests. How could he attract the locals to fight against them? Real fools will not survive this era.

Unless there is some misunderstanding here...

Rurik no longer cared whether it was a misunderstanding or not. He immediately called his men to mount their horses. Soon, in the dim and thin forest under the haze, more than 3,000 elite infantry and cavalrymen of the Ross army were found. They had already formed a fighting formation and hid in the tree trunks. Start pushing.

Soon, a group of blue and white beings suddenly broke away from the cover of the dark green woodland. The huge Russian army faced the Gdansk people's wheat fields and the prepared local militia.

.

Because the more Chief Bogslaw advanced, the more he felt something was wrong. When he heard the deafening sound of horns and drums, the roar of the sound was so loud that he had to stop.

The militiamen had left their precious wheat fields and stood one by one on the grassland. The wormwood covered the knees of the militiamen. The men and women hunched over and pointed their spears at the forest. They were so nervous that they watched every move of the windbreak. No one dared to go beyond the leader's orders and enter the forest to explore privately.

They were shocked when a large number of warriors holding bucklers came out of the forest, and there were countless cavalry beside them.

Now Rurik finally understood the armed strength of the Gdansk people, "Hey, it's nothing compared to the Prussians a few days ago. I saw that there are still a group of women who are also going to fight. Are there no soldiers?"

At least the other party is wearing regular cloth robes with many beautiful patterns on them. All of these are indeed the characteristic attire of the Slavs.

Rurik also noticed that the locals' cloth robes did have huge cloth pockets sewn on both sides. Look, the pockets could hold many arrows.

In fact, they did so. Rurik saw obvious arrow feathers in the pockets of some bow-wielding militiamen.

"Listen! I reiterate, no one is allowed to attack without my order!" Rurik tightened his grip on the reins, looked around and shouted.

Each team did not dare to rush without obeying the order. The soldiers lined up in a shield wall according to the regulations. All the soldiers holding crossbows immediately stepped onto the iron ring to string it with both hands, and then installed the short and thick arrows.

Due to the close distance between the two armies, short arrows and heavy arrows are needed to show their power.

There is also no command post of Rurik

There are crossbowmen who are not allowed to shoot, but everyone is ready with their bows.

As long as Rurik gives an order, a round of shooting by the archers and crossbowmen can shoot out nearly two thousand swords, which is enough to deal a major blow to these spear-wielding Gdansk people who seem to have no obvious armor-this This move can be used by the Ross army along the way.

The people of Gdańsk just huddled together to maintain nervous composure. In fact, everyone was panicking. Thanks to everyone knowing each other, they didn't panic.

Bogslaw had never seen this scene before. Under the dark green forest and hazy sky, a neat white team was in front of him. Their shields had the coat of arms of Ross, and the flags of Ross were flying.

"Are these really Russians too? They all have iron helmets. Are they so powerful that everyone wears chainmail? Do I want to fight such a strong man? I am at a huge disadvantage now!"

Bogslaw just came to ask for an explanation. Naturally, he also had the mentality of showing off. Just like half a year ago, he used strong force to scare the people of Bornholm into cooperating honestly, and now he tried to do it again, but the result...

The gloomy sky could rain at any time. Such bad weather should have wiped out the remaining wheat, but the people of Gdansk were more worried about their own comfort than this.

The weather was gloomy and cold. Five or six thousand men from both armies gathered beside the wheat fields under the windbreak forest. The whole scene was downright chilly.

Both sides were strangely restrained, but in reality they were at war with each other.

A mediator is urgently needed to end this pointless armed confrontation.

Rurik tilted his head and waited a little impatiently. At this moment, Swinder was as nervous as a stable boy standing on Rurik's mount.

beside.

"Hey. Swinder, do you dare to go out and talk to their leader?"

"This... Your Majesty, this is really not my fault. I didn't expect them to be so nervous about organizing an army. It makes me seem to have been deceived by them..."

"Shut up." Rurik ordered, "Go now! Maybe this is a misunderstanding. While I'm in a good mood now, it's too late for you to end it."

"Okay! I'll go! I'll go..." Swinder could only bite the bullet. He suddenly took off all his weapons and walked out of the Ross army formation with his subordinates who also had empty hands.

The situation finally turned around, and the big leader Bogslaw saw the man's face at a glance.

"Hey!" He suddenly emerged from the Jungle of Ten Thousand Guns and stood in front of him and shouted: "Swinder! These are your Ross's soldiers? What are you going to do?! I feel like we are being tricked now!"

"No! Chief, it's all a misunderstanding." Swinder could guess what Bogslaw meant. He said that he and his brothers arrived first to trick the people of Gdańsk into letting down their guard in preparation for the invasion of a huge army half a year later. prepare for.

"You said it was a misunderstanding! Is it really not you who brought your army here?"

"It's a misunderstanding. Big boss! A miracle happened. Now the great King Ross is standing in front of you. The greatest ruler in the northern world is here. What you see is King Ross's army." Swinder He talked as he walked, and now he reached Bogslaw.

"Look into my eyes, don't try to lie to me. Tell me what's going on." Bogslaw grabbed the old guy Swinder's neck and asked roughly.

"Let go

My friend, if you strangle me, war will really break out. You can't beat King Ross..."

"Is King Ross here? That's alright." The leader let go of his hand and couldn't help but glance at the powerful warriors across from him. He specifically noticed a blond man who was deliberately playing with the golden crown. That man was probably King Ross. Although it is unbelievable, now that it has happened, it must be faced. "So, what does your king plan to do to us?"

"That's right." Swinde quickly put on a cunning fox look: "King Ross asked me to bring you some words."

"Say it."

"He said that as long as you declare your surrender to Russia, this war will not happen. The goal of the Russian army is not you at all. They want to cross the border to the west. As long as you retreat, they will leave soon. But now you are using your spear to attack If you keep him, things will be difficult."

"You?! Do you think I'm a coward?" Bogslaw was not someone who would give in after just a few words.

"You are a brave man, but your courage cannot penetrate their iron armor. Let me tell you one thing, those Prussians east of the lagoon were all killed by the Russians because they were unwilling to surrender."

"What?! Could it be the Samba people? I didn't conquer them, but they were easily destroyed by your Rus."

"It should be so. I have just learned about my king's actions, and this happened just a few days ago. Now that their morale is high, why don't they invite the big leaders three or four! Your army can't defeat their shield array and iron armor. Look at these cavalrymen, they are actually all archers."

Bogslaw's mind was in a mess, and he asked in a daze: "Surely, what am I doing now?"

You really can't drive them away. What will happen if I declare my surrender? My people will be made slaves and my wealth will be plundered. "

"No. Look at me!" Swinder quickly beat his chest to prove that what he said was true: "I am not from Russia, I just surrendered to him early. I am a vassal of Russia, and I have been popular and popular these years. I don’t even need to pay tribute to King Rus, but if King Rus calls me for war, I will lead his troops to participate. My friend, what do you think of me in the past six months? You can trust me, and you can also trust King Rus. Surrendering is the right choice. "

Now Bogslaw feels more and more that there is a huge conspiracy in this, but this is just because his simple structure is too small.

He saw the eyes of his people swaying from side to side, as well as the trembling legs, which showed that the morale of his side was far inferior to that of his opponents.

"You must make a decision. King Ross will not wait too long." Swinder urged.

"Damn it! What else could I do?!"

Of course, laying down your weapons means making a fool of yourself in front of your tribe, but who can stand up and turn the tide now?

Bogslaw asked again: "So, King Rus actually understands our language?"

"It would be better if you spoke Norse."

"Forget it. I surrender! Surrender..."

So, Bogslaw, accompanied by Swinder, left the military formation with his sword scabbard and walked towards the most noble horseman.

Rurik naturally noticed this unusual man. He saw that the man seemed to be wearing a gold-plated or brass metal headband to hold his messy curly hair. He was also wearing a set of chainmail, holding something like It is a Frankish style broad-bladed sword.

"It's them

The leader? Is this the leader of Gdansk? "Rurik muttered silently.

Finally, the man suddenly raised his sword with both hands and shouted in the Slavic Kashubian dialect: "Are you the greatest leader of Rus? I! The leader of the Kashub clan, the owner of Gdansk! My name is Bogslaw Jaromovich and I surrender to you! End it! Don't let the war break out."

Rurik understood most of it, and then he saw the man still holding his sword high, slowly kneeling on one knee on the grass.

Thousands of people saw this scene clearly, and the entire venue immediately roared.

Shouts, boos, laughter... none of the sounds matter anymore.

Rurik was delighted that the Gdańsk chief had announced his surrender, and in return had the warriors react positively before he even had a conversation with him.

The tense situation suddenly ended, the shield wall was retracted, and the soldiers in the front row put their swords back into their scabbards, each one standing at attention and facing the still nervous militiamen with their chests.

Of course, the soldiers in the back row still remained on alert to guard against sneak attacks by their opponents.