Because of Rurik's influence, the entire Rus tribe suddenly burst out with great vitality in the cold winter.
This vitality has only one source - the desire for wealth and power.
An ordinary soldier's requirements for life include a good boat, his own steel sword, a beautiful and obedient wife, and a wooden box full of silver coins.
The most important thing is silver coins. As long as you have money, your personal desires can come true!
At the end of March, the seal hunters who had hunted extensively discovered that in many areas of the sea, the ice may break at any time. They all have very good eyesight. On a clear evening, they can already see The sparkling sea.
The good news quickly spread throughout the tribe, and all the tribesmen and the residents were extremely excited.
At the same time as the melting of sea ice, there is also the melting of land ice and snow.
People no longer have to worry about snow damaging their houses. Instead, some people need to consider the waterproofing capabilities of the thatch on their roofs.
During the day, the chaotic roads in Roseburg turn into mud after being trampled on, and at night they are frozen again.
The cold weather has receded, and the snow around Roseburg has also receded a lot. Green has reappeared in some places, and the weeds have officially begun to sprout!
A small amount of land that was cleared was put into use immediately, but instead of wheat, it was sown with onions.
On March 28, the vernal equinox of the Julian calendar, High Priest Vilia led his men, as well as the tribal girls who helped make soap, at the Stone Ship Altar. A small sacrifice.
From this day on, the days get longer and longer, and on that day ninety-two days later, there will be no night in Roseburg.
The small sacrifice is just the beginning. When the ice on the coast disappears and there are only some floating ice in the visible sea, that day will be the "Spring Festival" of the Ross tribe!
The festival is getting closer and closer. Villa found Otto and asked him to go to his residence. In addition to explaining the date of this year's "Spring Festival", he also wanted to ask him clearly about the upcoming events that would shake up the Ross tribe. Details of a quiet event.
Although Vilia is very old, she does not have Alzheimer's disease yet. During these days, she heard her subordinates explain some of the possibilities of war.
War? With whom? !
Ah, it’s actually a Gotlander. The young man finally feels that his ax is sharp enough, and he finally plans to take revenge!
April 6 in the Julian calendar was a calm but undercurrent morning.
The fishermen looked towards the sky, believing that it would be sunny and less windy in the coming period. According to the experience of previous years, the spring festival will take place in the next few days. Fishermen have a superstition that if the sea is calm after the festival, they will not be caught by sea monsters when fishing for fish.
However, everyone knows that when the sea ice melts, the fish that have endured the long winter will gain weight and become stronger. People with good luck can even catch big fish that are more than two stikas long.
Already haveThe brave ones risked being killed by the sea ice or being captured by the legendary sea monster. They pushed the fishing boat into the sea, formed a group to avoid the ice and started catching fish.
All the shipbuilding workshops opened the wooden doors of the docks. Whether they were newly built ships or repaired old ships, they were piled on the beach on a large scale, waiting for them to be pushed in as soon as the sacrifice was over. in the sea.
No fishing policy? No! This does not exist.
The Ross tribe is completely forced by the extreme cold to hibernate for nearly half of the year. As long as the sea ice melts, they must fish.
The spring festival dedicated to them is the Russian people’s fishing festival.
As the climate became quite mild, Otto wore a leather coat and swaggered behind the messenger priest into the priest's longhouse.
Entering this room was like entering a home. He threw his leather coat to the priest and sat cross-legged casually in front of the aging Vilia in a smart linen attire.
"High Priest, you summoned me. What do you want to explain to me? About the sacrifice?"
"Of course! Everything is the same as in previous years."
Villa coughed lightly in his throat, without any delay, and said bluntly: "I watch the sky at night and know the sea ice situation. This year's time has been set, and it will be on April 15th. It will be nine days later."
Otto thought for a moment and said slowly: "It is one day earlier than yesterday."
"The date of the Spring Festival is different every year, which is important. It's because we made the sacrifice." Vilia warned earnestly: "After the big sacrifice, you have to take your tribe to Novgorod. You must start this matter immediately!"
" Yes, I will still not let you down this year."
"Of course you won't let me down, but!" Vilia stretched her neck and held her crutch tightly with her old hands. He asked very seriously: "Chief, I heard something. Are you planning to lead your tribe to start a war?!"
War? ! Whenever he heard this word, Otto remained vigilant based entirely on instinct.
"Look at your nervous look. Those rumors seem to be true. Chief, after so many years, you finally plan to avenge your brother."
At this moment , Otto was speechless.
But regarding the war, the priests have always supported it. Vilia is old. In her long life, she has witnessed the Russians' northward expansion and their conquests with surrounding peoples.
Until now, the Russians have never been defeated! What is failure? No one knows.
Otto thought for a while and explained honestly: "Actually, I haven't made up my mind about this matter yet."
"Oh? In fact, you have objections in your heart. ?" Villa asked deliberately, and the implication was actually to encourage the leader to send troops.
"I will never forget the murder of my brother. I must avenge this revenge on the Gotlanders. However, is it beneficial for us to launch an action soon? OurDo the tribesmen share the same hatred? Now, the young men of the tribe were less eager for revenge than to rob the Gotlanders of their treasure. They are brave, I support them, and I will not inhibit their bold attempts. "
Villa narrowed his eyes and said: "Actually, you are worried that the young man's actions will seriously violate your next plan? "
"Ah! It is you who know me, great priest. "Otto cheered up and let out a long breath.
Villa had already seen through Otto's mind, and said: "Our future needs those young forces, and besides, we are dormant in Roseburg praying for the mountains. With cold shelter, this is simply not a long-term solution. We must fight it out. Young people lack the correct command from their leaders and they will cause trouble. "
"Yes, so I plan to build a new stronghold. It must be a warm area where wheat can be grown, and it must be far enough away from our enemies. I have chosen a rough location and made preparations. I will spend some time building the settlement and try to eat our own wheat before the new winter. "
Villa nodded: "I also know about this, and I fully support your decision. "
"When the sacrifice is over, I will gather the smart people of the tribe together, and I will discuss these matters with them. "
"Together with going south to take revenge on the Gotlanders? You really need to get together and discuss it carefully. Leader, I believe our tribe will be out in force this year. As the leader, you are taking a risk. "
From Viglia's tone, Otto felt a hint of danger. Of course revenge must be avenged, but is the timing reasonable?
He reluctantly replied: "I will definitely do it. Arranged well, all our initiatives will be victorious. ”
“You must win, and I hope we only have very few losses. "After that, Vilia sighed, and suddenly her eyes suddenly opened wide: "One more thing, Rurik hasn't come to my place these days. I heard that he is in the blacksmith shop? Is it still about the steel sword? "
"This... is actually something else. ”
Otto really didn’t want to say more. He said that when his son saw the glass wine bottle of the great businessman Gould, he “heard hallucinations on the spot and heard the oracle of Odin”, so he was very happy. Xing went to the blacksmith shop to discuss the matter of making glass bottles. Otto had never failed in what he wanted to do. Otto believed that his son could succeed and earn more money as a result.
It was Otto. Let the children of the tribe focus on their new voyage during this period, let them run freely in the small world of Roseburg and play wild games. p>
“Maybe Rurik has some strange ideas. "Villa continued to ask, "He just stayed in the blacksmith shop and continued to want to make money? "
"Yes...right. He is now obsessed with making money, and I have to admit that Rurik is really a business genius. ”
“Just to make money? "Villa interrogated and asked:"Chief, what are you hiding? "
Otto gritted his teeth and inadvertently revealed his displeasure: "Rurik...he plans to establish his own power. He will have at least a hundred servants and hire an army. Loyal only to his own guard. He plans to support this group of people at his own expense, and possibly more if he likes. ”
Hearing this, Vilia’s heart seemed to be pinched by an invisible hand.
Her heart was violently excited, and her old hands couldn’t help but hold her heart tightly. He sat quietly in Otto's panic for a while before he regained his composure.
"High Priest, are you...are you okay?" "
"I'm fine, I won't die yet. "Vilia bit her last few teeth, raised her head and closed her eyes, looking thoughtful.
"High Priest, are you really okay? ”
“I’m normal. "Velia looked up to the sky and sighed, looking at the longhouse beams with empty eyes, and sighed: "Rurik is indeed different from you, Otto. You just want to be a chief, and he wants to be Augustus! "
" Augustus? What does this mean. "Otto wondered.
Otto did not know the meaning of the word "Augustus", and even thought that its pronunciation was somewhat similar to his own name.
Continue reading Villa, who was leaning on the beam, laughed happily: "My leader, maybe your son will become the leader of the entire alliance. Even more than that! If he could conquer the entire sea, and if he succeeded, he would be Augustus. ”
Unify the sea area of the main film? Otto himself does not have such ambitions. He even thinks it is unnecessary and does not care about it. When his son inherits the position of Chief Ross, he only needs to manage the tribe well and let everyone If you can get what you want, you are a good chief. Otto feels that the ultimate outcome of his son's struggle is to serve as the leader of the tribal alliance and let the Ross tribe replace the existence of the Melalen tribe.
< p> "High Priest, what do you mean by Augustus? Is it... greater than Fuherra (the largest leader, the leader of the tribe)? ”“Of course. The leader of the Romans was called Augustus, and the king of the Franks also wanted to get this title. Once they knew the greatness of this title, all powerful people wanted to get him. I have taught you the word Rurik a long time ago, and it seems that he really plans to implement it. "
"Huh? Just when he planned to raise a group of servants and guards? "Otto asked puzzledly.
"Maybe. Chief, you can go back. Think carefully about what I said. I will continue to prepare for the sacrifice. "
"But this vocabulary..."
"Don't ask too much. "Villa waved her hands, "Do what you should do and support all your son's initiatives. ”
Otto didn’t think much about it. Since the high priest didn’t want him to stay for a long time, he should leave early. He went out and didn’t keep Vilia too close.Take the words of "Augustus" to heart.
But Vilia was very relieved about this. She really couldn’t figure out why such a word suddenly popped into her mind when she was talking to Otto?
Yes, it must be an oracle!
Yes! Odin must have given another blessing, which will lead Rurik to become the "Augustus" of all northerners, the supreme leader of this cold world full of strife. The original meaning of Augustus is "Supreme". So far, there is still no higher-level word in the European world, not even in the future.
Villa learned this term from the men in black from Rome, and also knew that this is the highest honorary title a person can obtain. Of course, the person who obtains it must also have the knowledge of a vast land. Absolute control of territory. To mortals, Augustus was like a god-like being!
That’s how Vilia understood it, and respected the word.
She still has to be busy with the sacrifices, and she also needs to allocate her hands to continue making soap in order to earn more silver coins.
When the priests started making soap, the once poor priests suddenly became rich.
It is said that Rurik ate meat, and the priests ate the minced meat residue and bone soup on some bones. Even so, they still made a lot of wealth. Over the course of several months, the priests had made a cumulative total of eight hundred silver coins, for the soap was taken away as soon as it was made and the purchase price was paid for it by Rurik as soon as possible. This kind of good life where you can see cash immediately as soon as you give birth is really like a dream.
With money, the sacrifice can be more gorgeous and solemn.
With money, all the priests began to dress themselves up. They used their own soap to wash their bodies and clothes cleanly. They also bought new linen clothing and tailors made a lot of new clothes. Clothes. In order for the sacrifice to go smoothly, they, together with the tribal girls who helped them, also prepared new small-sized linen robes.
Everyone becomes tidy, and people become more beautiful because of wearing gem amber.
Nine days are really short. The day of the big festival is just around the corner. This day has finally arrived!