Thirty leading warships sail in the Gulf of Finland in autumn.
Each warship has a proud dragon head, and its towering giant sail is being blown by the autumn northeast wind, sailing towards the west.
However, the warship was like an overstretched dragon. There were a large number of tributes piled on the deck, and the heavy burden made the warship move very slowly. No matter how hard the oarsmen rowed, they could not keep up with the speed at which they came.
But all the oarsmen were full of hope for the future, and this time, as in the spring, the Swegs again provided them with large tributes.
This autumn’s trip was still very fruitful. A middle-aged man with a beard a foot long stood on the platform of the deck, looking into the distance with his eyes wide open.
That is the direction of home. With this successful tribute trip, the entire tribe will surely spend the winter in abundance.
This man is called Otto, and he is the chief of the Rowing Hand tribe.
Notwithstanding his extremely long beard, he is only forty-five years old.
His long career of sailing and fighting has allowed him to develop strong muscles and acquire scars.
He is a warrior in the tribe. He always leads his tribe to gain advantages in battles with surrounding tribes, and also consolidates the tribe's power in central Scandinavia.
However, my hometown is a barren land. The cold climate only has short-term warmth, and people can only grow a small number of crops.
Fishing and hunting animals were very important ways to satisfy hunger, until tribes began to imitate other tribes and rowed warships towards the mysterious south.
Thanks to the bravery of their ancestors, the tribe has found a route through the mouth of the Neva River and deep into the Sweg territory.
Otto particularly remembered that his grandfather led an expedition of a thousand warriors, quickly defeated the Sweig counterattack and forced them to surrender.
Since then, every spring and autumn, Sorgon's fleet has been able to obtain a large amount of valuable goods from the Sweg people.
Thinking of this, Otto turned his head with satisfaction and saw the treasure placed on the deck and wrapped in linen.
There are fine cloths and animal skins, and some clay pots contain honey, dried fish, as well as very precious salt and flour.
In addition, Otto paid special attention to a wooden box, which was even attached with a delicate iron rope.
Wrapped in this box, it must not have been made only by the Swegs who were good at building wooden houses. It was made by the Romans, and the box contained a lot of Roman copper coins.
Otto knew very well that there was a large country named Rome in the far south, and the Sweg people maintained a trade route with them. Through the fur trade, the Sweg people accumulated a large amount of copper coins, and these copper coins could be traded with other tribes when they were in the hands of the Rodgers tribe.
Today, all copper coins are the property of the tribe, including the furs obtained from the tribute this time, and are also the property of all tribe members.
Autumn actions can gainObtaining so much wealth is entirely dependent on the military power of the tribe.
There are as many as 700 warriors wearing metal turbans, chain armor, and holding battle axes and spears. Each of them is strong. Novgorod, the largest town of the Svig people, has a total population of only 5,000 people.
The Sweg people are not united. Although they have one prince, many families have their own thoughts. As the northern army approaches the city in warships on the Neva River, paying tribute obediently is the only way to avoid disaster.
At least now, they do not dare to take the most violent resistance.
Perhaps it is because they once resisted and after losing the battle, they had to bow their heads to the strong.
"Brother, shall we spend the night on the shore tonight, or shall we float on the sea?"
"Ashore, we will stay one night and continue sailing tomorrow morning."
Otto gave instructions to his brother Ogier, and as the war drums beat, all the ships began to turn.
Like other tribes, the tribesmen are all experts in rowing. Among all tribes, they are even called "the best rowers".
As they call themselves in their language, "Rose" is "Russ".
They are the Ross tribe.
The soldiers rowed hard, and the boats washed up on the beach one after another. They jumped off and worked overtime, holding hemp ropes and tying them to trees or rocks on the shore to secure the boats.
The bonfire was quickly lit, and after a while, the aroma of grilled fish came from the bonfire.
Until this time, Otto finally put on his helmet, sat cross-legged in front of the campfire, and ate the grilled herring that his brother brought him.
"Brother, tomorrow we will pass through the territory of the Goths. We are likely to meet their fishermen and may also be attacked by them."
"You don't have to worry about those people. . We are outnumbered and no one dares to attack us." Otto was full of confidence while eating grilled fish.
"But I always have an inexplicable worry."
"Why?"
"We brought a lot of treasures with us this time. They and our wealth , it is very likely that someone will stand up for you."
Otto shook his head and said, "Just because of this, you are worried about those Goths?"
"They were once. Attacked us!" Ogier reminded.
"Yes! They did do that. But look, we have seven hundred brothers, they are no match for us."
"Oh! I'm just afraid of losses. , we are like slow-moving turtles."
"It doesn't matter!" Otto patted his brother on the shoulder, "Let them come over, we will fight on the sea, and we will defeat them completely. ”
Ogier is very willing to obey his brother’s orders, just like most people in the clan, everyone obeys the chief’s words.
After all, it was not enough to elect Otto as the chief of the Ross tribe.The clan has never been defeated.
Ogier hoped that his estimate was wrong. After eating the grilled fish, he built a small tent for himself and lay on the beach wearing armor until dawn.
A new voyage has begun!
Otto, the chief of the tribe, is still so confident. The reason for his confidence is that there are two thousand warriors in the tribe. Such fighting power is not only the basis for self-protection, but also a trump card for external pressure.
The entire Rurik tribe has eight thousand people. In Scandinavia, this is really a small tribe.
Otto has confidence in the Goths, because the residents living on the island have gone south on a large scale, and there are not many people who stay on the island.
They are just a group of fishermen, nothing more.
Do we still have to worry about the harassment by that group of armed fishermen?
Otto thanked his brother for his kindness, but he was still full of pride in his heart, so today's voyage through Gotland will be very smooth.
But my younger brother mentioned this after all. Maybe his other warriors also have this concern.
A little caution is always a good thing.