Rise of Rurik

The fleet that Rurik and others negotiated had to go to Tombstone Island. While giving the brothers who settled down a cruise to comfort and invigorate their spirits, they were also trying to play the role of "attracting investment".

Historically, the ancient Swedes colonized the Åland Islands since 1000 AD, even though the islands were not far from the mouth of Lake Mälaren. It is entirely because by 1000 AD, if the Rus did not make any articles on population development, the ancient Swedes in the entire Svealan Plain must only maintain their population at the level of 100,000 people, and they were highly concentrated in Svealand. the Lake Mälaren area. For them, according to eastern standards, this is the population of several large clan communities. They are a large part of the world in the world view. Open up settlements.

But Rurik intends to use the Tombstone Island where Arik, who triumphed two years ago, buries his brothers who died in battle. There are only tombstones there, but Rurik wants to turn it into a monument.

monument? That's the "Glorious Stone", and the Cyrillic spelling is Stanislava.

Stanislava, a nasty name. If Rurik was given the choice, and he was happy to call Tombstone Island "Stanislava", could the settlers use "Stanislav" as their surname?

In short, let the Melarens, as well as other tribes in the alliance, know that there is a Tombstone Island in the northeastern archipelago, and there is a Russ garrison in that area. If you plan to do business with the Rus, you can ship to the island with supplies, so that Tombstone Island may gradually become a prosperous market?

That's right, at the mouth of Melalen, there are now some sporadic fishermen living there, as well as hundreds of Melalen warriors who obey the leader's orders to be stationed on guard. The people of Melalen began to realize the strategic value of the location of the estuary. Does it mean the formation of a new trade stronghold?

Rurik believed that if the formation of Stockholm was a historical inevitability, then the Åland Islands must also have a share in this commercial boom. Since history has chosen the Rus people, in terms of trade, the Rus people have the upper hand, so they should seize the leading role.

In order to achieve this goal, a large fleet was organized to cruise on the old Tombstone Island, bringing a large number of unknown merchants from Melalen, Uppsala, Ankras, and even Yermalen to arrive there, which is equivalent to giving A commercial for Tombstone Island.

This ad is very important!

The promised date is tomorrow, and this time Gould doesn't care what priest to invite, and he will be a priest for this year's return flight, because he really doesn't need it.

The most honored Rurik is here. Since he has received Odin's love, he will serve as a priest tomorrow, kill a sheep on the dock himself, and sacrifice the goddess of Lake Meralen and Odin with the blood of the sheep.

The most important sacrifice is the priest Odin. Everyone believes that the great god is the absolute master of the sun and the ocean. With Rurik, who was "instructed by the gods", come to pray in person, and those who have learned this news will carry out a new route. The worries are gone.

Tomorrow was the day of departure, and an excitement called coming home filled Rurik's mind. He hardly slept all night, so in the early morning of the next day, only the cold wind in the morning could wake up his little head.

Gould Island was crowded, and outside the dock, a huge fleet had been assembled.

A large number of cargo ships that ventured overweight to load grain, dropped their anchors with heavy hemp ropes, and anchored the ships in the lake, they were the core of the entire fleet. There are actually more than a hundred ships, and long ships carrying supplies are guarding them.

If it were a naval fleet, its combat effectiveness would be staggering.

However, in today's era, there are not many brilliant people who can realize that those stocky and slow cargo ships have great potential to be transformed into warships. Rurik saw that those shipbuilders who were about to immigrate to Rosburg, their future was not only to manufacture transport ships, but also unprecedented large-scale warships with pure sails. combat properties.

There is an altar made of stone and wooden boards by the lake, with some bronze utensils on it, and some small stone statues, which are the so-called gods representing Odin. Rurik really can't compliment them on the carving skills of their sculptures.

"When my power really expands to the Greek region one day, I'll have to get some sculpture experts."

Rurik thought so, logically speaking, his hope could theoretically be realized. As the "Destruction of Gods Movement" swept the entire Eastern Rome, a large number of sculpture experts were forced not to carve human figures, and could only carve the pillars of the houses for wealthy people to eat, or even switch to carpenters.

An innocent sheep stood blankly by the sea, and Rurik, holding his dagger, stared at the sacrifice.

Priest to pray? It's really a superfluous thing.

The documents that Rurik saw in the high priest's house were carved on wooden boards, except for the records of Rus' history, which were a large number of prayers.

Facing the eastern sun, in pursuit of a sense of history, he ordered all onlookers to get down on one knee.

At this moment, the thin morning mist covers the whole or, the sun is like a golden curtain, its gentleness dissolves the cold of autumn, and the whole world becomes sacred.

Rurik got down on one knee and recited a prayer aloud, asking Odin to bless the fleet.

At the end, he looked at the sharp blade in his hand and stroked the lamb's head again. In an instant, the blade of the sword pierced the sheep's throat, and Rurik held the sheep down, killing it by himself, and letting the sheep's blood flow into Lake Mälaren. Like a real priest, he endured the stench and broke the goat belly, holding the bloody goat liver in his hands, announcing good luck to all the half-kneeling people.

Would anyone question this as a performance?

No! Absolutely none. It’s not just that everyone is superstitious, but that everyone has already preset a “smooth journey” conclusion in their hearts, and what they are waiting for is Rurik’s auspicious declaration.

Rurik, the child blessed by Odin, performed a brief but crucial navigational sacrifice.

What happened next was not urged by anyone.

People on the shore boarded their ships one after another, and in a short period of time, the assembled fleet was overcrowded!

Rurik chose a sturdy grain cargo ship as his flagship, and pulled a blue cloth on top of its only mast (blue fuel is the easiest to get), and temporarily used it as the flagship Peugeot. Follow the flagship.

"Let's get started!" Rurik swallowed and ordered Gould who was accompanying him.

Immediately afterwards, the dull sound of the horn horn came from the flagship, which was a positive signal, and all the ships put down their sails one after another, and began to recover together with the anchors that had fallen into the water.

The north wind was blowing the entire Lake Mälaren, and they were good at using the wind and started to move.

The Rus people's fleet loaded with a huge amount of supplies began to move, and the merchants from all walks of life were ready, and their ships moved.

The fleet is still running slowly towards the lake's estuary, and the sails are all tilted, so that the north wind will bring a positive "lift", so the entire fleet is slowly accelerating.

The Ross fleet set off. Olekin, the leader of Melalen, took a long ship and looked at this extremely large fleet with a solemn expression. At this moment, he was not only shocked, but also jealous. , and anger.

And this is just the first fleet of the Rus.

Rurik and his entourage started with Tombstone Island as the initial destination. After the first material transportation was completed, a large number of ships had to return to Gould Island. Finally, before November, before the seawater was frozen, the last materials were transported to Ross. Fort.

The stocky flagship rides the waves, it's big and solid.

Rurik was standing at the bow of the boat wearing a thick coat. He didn't feel any seasickness. His eyes sometimes stared at the complimenting boats, large and small, and occasionally looked at the various merchant ships that followed behind. He paid special attention to the scenery of the lakes and mountains in this area, to the small islands with many star-like entrances to the sea, and the scattered thatched huts. When I think that this area is actually the Stockholm of later generations, a sense of vicissitudes arises spontaneously.

Where is Tombstone Island? In short, the archipelago not far away.

The Åland Islands have not yet had a definite name, and Rurik did not want to give it an exact name. He felt that the Melaron people had always lacked interest in the archipelago. As a result, the fleet left the mouth of the sea, and a large number of merchant ships were attached to the coastline and went all the way north. They were separated from the Ross fleet. Obviously, these foreign merchants are used to safe old routes. .

Rurik did not force them all to take a trip to Tombstone Island, at least some of the boats followed him. So, are they willing to make a long-term deal with the Rus settlers stationed on the islands?

On this trip, Arik was an indispensable navigator of the fleet. There is no second person here who understands this route better than him. For others, this route is unfamiliar and dangerous. For Arik, the two-month continuous looting of the Gotlanders made him have a very deep understanding of the Tombstone Island as the rear base, and even most of the hydrological data of the Åland Islands. For example, where are the deep water channels and where are the shallows, he is very clear.

Rurik spent the night on the boat. Throughout the night, the fleet closed its sails, and all the ships floated on the sea. When the faint sea fog dissipated, Arik continued to control the flagship to the destination, guided by the direction of the sun, so that the other ships also had the backbone.

"Too bad, I still don't like spending the night on a boat. Damn, I should have a cabin on a boat, a bedroom."

Rurik's complaints were heard by Gould, who was not very energetic. Even though everyone was very rich, he still had to resist the fatigue of the boat while staying on the boat.

Gould sneered: "You're going to build a house on a boat? Oh, I really hope you make it if you can."

Sounds like this guy just doesn't believe it.

Rurik didn't refute anything. He shrugged and asked, "Why do you think I value those excellent shipbuilders?"

Gould was taken aback: "Huh? Are you serious?"

"Why not, I don't think it's impossible to modify the ship. Oh, at least have a shed at the stern for protection from the wind and rain."

In fact, these cargo ships are all made of wooden slats and a small amount of boards, and a wooden deck that can be separated from the cargo is temporarily installed, which is already a technical upgrade.

Arik leaned against the mast, he stood on a wooden barrel, grabbed the pole with his left hand, and looked away with his right hand close to his eyes.

He thought the position was still too low, so he simply started climbing up like a monkey holding the mast. He grabbed the rope for the furling and continued to look into the distance. Finally, he saw what he hoped for.

"Attention!" he yelled.

The people on the boat raised their heads.

"Brother! Did you see land?" Rurik asked loudly.

"It's there! The island!" Arik stretched out a finger and clicked, and then slid down instantly while holding the mast. He ordered the sailors; "Turn the sails quickly, and we are heading for the island."

As a result, a huge fleet of up to 200 ships of various types began to fine-tune the course with the flagship as the center.

Before long, the lush Åland Islands were in sight.

At the same time, the Rus people who settled on Tombstone Island, who were working on fishing boats, saw the huge fleet coming, and people shouted excitedly: "The leader is finally back." This stopped all fishing and fishing operations. , they put down their oars and approached the fleet with confidence and boldness.

However, the arrival of the Sorgon fleet is not the leader.

The fishermen were not disappointed, and even had a different kind of excitement. Who would have thought that this huge fleet also belonged to Ross, and even the heroic "Double Knife Arik" served as the navigator. The fishermen were the first to cheer. The son of the leader, Rurik, is here. The fleet transporting a huge amount of supplies will stop at Tombstone Island. This is not just as simple as the heroes of the tribe coming to condolences, but a large amount of supplies will be on the island. Unloading, this is a complete help for them who are nervously collecting winter supplies.

Ross fishermen started as new navigators, and the entire fleet searched, the teardrop-shaped procession turned into a bar.

Eventually, off Tombstone Island, all the ships dropped anchor.

The stone spearheads tied with hemp ropes fell one after another in the inter-island waters that were only 10 meters and 20 meters deep. This was the case in the Åland Islands. In some areas, the water depth was less than two meters. Ordinary long ships ignore such shallow waters, but transport ships with deep drafts begin to face the terrifying risk of running aground.

To Rurik's great relief, the sight of Tombstone Island was completely unexpected. Here, a new seaside community has risen from the ground! The Rus settlers are actively developing the island, they are far from leveling some land and setting up wooden racks to dry the fish. They built a large number of wooden houses, and even built wooden piers in the two natural harbors owned by the island.

It was these piers that made Rurik the most happy. He had to admire his father's wisdom. Tombstone Island, which he chose as a settlement, actually had a deep-water port!

Two natural piers, both of which have gravel beaches are not fake, that is, the slope of this beach is very large.

At Rurik's request, the two cargo ships were pulled by several longboats and entered the port full of security.

"Rurik, what do you think of the island?" Arik said flamboyantly.

"It's really good, they actually built a wharf."

"I supervised their expansion of the dock. You know what? This is an important stronghold for my attack on the Gotlanders. When you land, you can see that we have also set up a wooden fence on the island. If the enemy expands Get revenge, and our people can rely on the wall to fight back."

fence? Rurik could not see it for a while, fearing that the walls were hidden in the woods.

Although the Åland Islands are in the sea, their history of formation is short. The vegetation on the islands is extremely dense, and the tree species are mostly straight red pine and cedar. They are certainly not the best boat building materials, but they are also very cost-effective woods.

The settlers, who had just received the good news, dragged their families to the greatest safe haven. In fact, just now, everyone has clearly witnessed the fleet that surrounds the entire island. This fleet full of oppression made everyone feel intimidated at first. When they learned that these were actually the fleet of the leader's son, Rurik, the pride was changed. everyone's heart.

Rurik saw a large number of people gathered, and to his surprise, there were actually a large number of women here.

"Huh? Arik, are there many women in our tribe who didn't go to New Roseburg? Are these women the wives of the brothers?"

Arik explained without any hesitation: "Oh, you mean them? They're almost all Gotland women?"

"Ah! They...why are they here? I thought you wiped out those women by the way."

"How is this possible?!" Arik squeezed his brother's neck and joked: "Boy, don't you have a lot of women in your hands? Oh, although they are children now. They are all your captives and your future. Your wife and concubine, you are not very good to them."

The truth was this, Rurik knew right away, but he still felt a little strange. "I thought the women of Gotland would fight to the death, too. I didn't think so."

"What else? They just want to live. The brothers can't expect the big boss to give them a wife. Of course, capable men will snatch a wife back by themselves. The Gotland women they grab will take good care of them. The children born are also Russ. A lot of women should be pregnant, and when they do have children, they are no longer Gotland at all, but ours.”

The reason is simple and crude, Rurik shrugged and said nothing. Perhaps the bravery of the Vikings was only among men. As for women, most of them just want to live as peacefully as possible.

Rurik set foot on Gould Island in full costume. Facing the curious and excited eyes of his own people, he immediately took off his hat while standing on the trestle, and shook his head deliberately, causing his golden ponytail to sway from side to side. .

The beautiful golden ponytail is already the beauty of Rurik.

"Brothers, I am Rurik, here I am."

In an instant, a large number of Rus people with a fishy smell surrounded Rurik and the crowd. Everyone was chatting and laughing, talking about their excitement.

At the critical moment, Arik shouted: "Be quiet, let our people bring things to the island!"

Soon, the trestle was cleared, and some of the accompanying Ross warriors happily carried sacks weighing a hundred pounds, and some even carried two bags, and they easily approached their tribesmen stationed on the island.

Packs of sacks were unloaded one after another, and there were five hundred of them!

All these actions were calculated by Rurik. On behalf of his younger brother, Arik shouted in a loud voice: "Brothers, you have worked hard! The leader is grateful to you for guarding the tribe. You see, these five hundred bales are all this year. Melalen has fifty thousand pounds of wheat! Now Rurik plans to sell you the wheat at the old price of ten pounds a silver coin. I know you have enough money, but it is hard to spend. Come. Come on, buy these grains, and the whole winter will be worry-free!"

The crowd boiled, and everyone was in a state of excitement.

There is no free bread in the world. People who settle down know that even if the returning leader fleet leaves the wheat, everyone has to pay a sum of money to buy it. At most, there will be a discount when buying it. The settlers here are mainly warriors who once landed on the island to attack the Gotlanders. They voluntarily stayed to guard the graves of the dead, and also expanded the living space for the tribe. As a reward for their exploits, they also got a big share of the huge amount of Gotland silver plundered. Don't see that they are generally dressed a little bit condescendingly, but in fact every man has a lot of wealth.

Stationed on the isolated island, they basically have no chance to spend, and silver coins are just some precious metals to everyone. Everyone cheered that the silver coins in their hands had a place to spend, and for the settled people, 50,000 pounds of grain was evenly distributed to assist the fish that had been caught, and everyone could spend the winter without worries. .

It is undeniable that Rurik's throwing down a lot of grain is giving charcoal in the snow. At the same time, of course, he also has the purpose of reducing the weight of the ship, and it also attracts a strong reputation for himself. This is really a win-win move.

But that's the end of it?

Soon, the accompanying foreign businessmen learned that the Rus people stationed on the island were rich but had nowhere to spend. The businessmen slapped their heads and blamed themselves for not knowing that there were actually a group of rich people in this barren archipelago? !

Foreign merchants landed, and as soon as they landed, they began to sell their own pots and pans for daily necessities, as well as vegetables such as onions, yellow root carrots and so on. Merchants thoughtfully thought about the demand for flax in their fishing operations, so there were a lot of flax and even finished fishing nets in the commodity.

This guy, Fodgen, is not idle either. He has a large number of finished leather jackets on hand, and he planned to pull them to Rosburg for dumping. Since Tombstone Island is also the territory of the Rus, the pace of dumping actually started from here.

Rurik intends to stay here for a day, and he needs to pay a visit to the graves of the Ruth warriors. He was also happy to see the sudden formation of a small market, and that the lives of the settled tribesmen improved.

Now, he and a group of clansmen and friends have rushed to the large number of tombstones that are arranged in a matrix, carved into human figures, engraved with patterns and rune characters.