The Russians grabbed a lot of wheat, but they couldn't resist their greed.
Since all the delivered goods belong to everyone, everyone’s attitude is very clear about whether to eat food on the road or take it home for food that is very precious in daily life, such as wheat and peas. Wheat has only one destination, which is your own belly. For safety reasons, it must be stuffed into it as soon as possible!
The army will rest on the beach all day.
On the way home, if the fleet does not stop at Semeliya and other places, it will still take at least five days to return home all the way north.
All seventy captives had a new destination after this night, and they were divided up by the Russians!
Those young women who have had childbirth experience are very popular among the young warriors.
A group of little girls among the captives were eventually taken away because they could serve as domestic servants and were excellent tool workers who could speak Norse. These young Russians rob houses as a side job to make money, and their main job is still fishermen.
Since you are a fisherman, you know how to take a long shot to catch big fish.
Their father and brother died in previous attacks by their counterparts on Gotland. This revenge was very successful, and Gotland women were captured in large numbers. Possess them, train them, and finally become your own wives and concubines. The Russians are already doing this, not only to meet their own needs, but also to demonstrate the success of revenge.
For the prisoners, things weren't so bad.
Daytime has come again, and their hands and feet are still free, but they are being guarded collectively on the beach, with more than a hundred soldiers closely guarding them.
The Russians were not so much looking after the prisoners as they were looking after their own warships.
According to the plan, when a new night arrives, the tide rises, and the army leaves in the early morning when the tide is about to recede.
The women gathered around the bonfire on the beach and took a large number of pine branches handed over by the Russians to keep the fire going.
A large number of women are still pounding stone mortars to make more flour.
They were ordered to spend a whole day making mature wheat cakes from as much flour as possible. As payment for their work, they were free to stuff their bellies with wheat cakes.
The camp on the beach has more than a hundred people in charge, and Harozov is very relieved about this.
After discussing with Arik, he took two hundred people to take advantage of the warmth of the day to explore the inland areas.
Everyone believes that this area, which is much warmer than Roseburg's hometown, is really strange that no one is taking advantage of it.
As far as Harozov knows, many small settlements have been formed on Semelia Island, not far from here, and on the land on the other side of the island. Although those people did not have much communication with the Russians and the Siya Alliance, their relationship with each other was quite mild.
There are still more than 300 brave warriors in the army. It seems that they can gain a lot of benefits by attacking Semeria Island and looting it.
HaRozov gave up the idea, but he had already reaped the huge benefits! He plundered Gotland with troops, gold, silver, two women, and the joy of venting his hatred. After enjoying this kind of fun once, he longed for more.
The Semerian islanders are potential allies, but this part of Courland is full of unknowns.
He and Arik discussed and reached a consensus. The others followed their "war leader" for a certain reason, went deep into the hinterland to find the stronghold of unknown people, and wielded their battle axes to plunder everything they could, such as furs. and linen.
As a result, after nearly a day of exploration, they did not find anything interesting.
If there is any gain, it is the gain for the archers.
There are large pine forests and oak forests here, as well as some small swamps and small plains in the forest.
This place seems to have never been set foot in, with hares scurrying around and turtle doves flying around. Isn’t it a holy place for hunting?
If it is normal hunting time, hunters will set some traps to improve hunting efficiency. Time was urgent, and among the entire army, only a mere twenty professional hunters with bows and arrows had the ability to capture a large number of hares.
Although time was short, the hunters still caught fifty hares.
The Russians cut down some branches and hung the rabbits one by one on the branches with hemp ropes or temporary vines they found. They lined up in a long line, sang ancient songs in the sunset, and returned to the beach to live a wonderful life of eating wheat cakes with their left hand and eating rabbit meat with their right hand.
“This place is really wonderful.” Harozov, leaning against the bonfire, admired: “Why don’t those Gotlanders build a town here? I want to continue to rob it.”
"Since they don't want it, why don't we build a settlement here?" Arik asked.
“We should talk to the big leader about this matter, but looking at the current situation, the big leader still wants to build a town at the mouth of Lake Ladoga.”
“ Sigh..." Arik sighed slightly, and gnawed off half of the rabbit leg. He chewed it roughly and swallowed it. "There are a lot of rabbits here. We should really build a stronghold here. We should capture all the rabbits here. All men in Ross can get comfortable rabbit skin hats and gloves, and delicious barbecue!”
Harozov is very aware that Courland is a geomantic treasure that continues to develop. Due to practical factors, development? Very unrealistic.
"Forget it. Although this place is good, it is too close to the Gotlanders, too far from our alliance, and even further from our Rossburg."
"So... No development?" Arik asked: "Isn't it true that when we build New Rossburg in Ladoga, it is farther away from our hometown?"
"But it is far away from our servant Novgoro. Germany is closer. Alas... After all, we are not strong enough. If we have more warriors, we should swear power on the beaches where the fleet docks and order the locals as servants.With..." When he arrived here, Harozov's old face looked at Arik again: "Boy! More boys! Arik, you are the hero of the tribe, and the tribe also needs more heroes. It’s not enough for you to have only one wife, you’d better think about it, haha! Just like me..."
Harozov casually handed the half-eaten rabbit to his two newly acquired women.
Arik stared at the woman with his eyes wide open. He gnawed the meat with their women, eager to suck out the rabbit marrow.
“So, what should we call this place? "Arik asked suddenly.
Harozov looked at the sun that was about to sink into the sea and said casually: "Let's call it Rabbit Beach. After all, we caught fifty rabbits here in a short time. ”
“Okay. What if we build a town here in the future? It's called Rebiburg. "
Harozov shrugged: "A strange name, forget it..."
Perhaps from this era, the Russians began to have a strong interest in this beach Now, Arick just thinks that the local rabbit fur is a very good resource. As long as they really take root, they will soon find another wonderful place called "Rebi Castle." "Beach", also known as "Rabbit Castle", is a deserted place.
The long coastline facing Gotland is also uninhabited by locals. Riga is farther away from the beach. , a large number of tribes originating from the Baltic people established large and small settlements, and the mouth of the Daugava River formed a city, which is the core of the Riga people.
Basically, around the Baltic Sea. All river estuaries have the potential to become human settlements.
Not far to the northeast of "Rebiburg Beach", the Russians who were on their way a few days ago discovered a river estuary. The formed bay is densely forested, and there is not a single ship in sight. There are various signs that this bay is deserted.
The Ross people who were busy on their way did not even land to explore. They knew better about the inflow into the small bay. The river in the bay is called the Winda River.
The mouth of the Winda River is not simple, because in that plane, the powerful Kievan Rus knew that the Winda River, which was occupied by the Riga people, entered. The port formed by the sea is a year-round ice-free port! Some of the locals living in the Riga area migrated here and became part of Livonia during the Northern Crusade era. When the declining Kievan Rus regained its hegemony with a new attitude, this was naturally unstoppable. The frozen port was named Windask.
When Latvia was restored, it was renamed Ventspils. No matter how it was renamed, it was named after the Winda River because the bay was not frozen. At the port, German, Viking, and Russian warships and iron hoofs came one after another, just to gain a huge advantage in trade and obtain a natural port that can be docked in all aspects.
Kievan Rus, it is for the south. The battle for the security of the estuary Khazar Khancountry, fighting bloody battles against the Finns and Livonians for the northern entrance to the sea. The war for access to the sea and ice-free harbor even lasted for a thousand years!
The sun went down and the temperature dropped sharply. A large number of people gathered around the bonfire and made random shacks to sleep soundly.
As the bellies of the prisoners were also full of food, the situation of the Russians was even better. It's not that the Russians are benevolent, the most fundamental reason is that they don't want to lose an available resource for no reason. It would be too bad if the captives got sick from cold or died of hunger.
A warm night passed quickly. Harold Johnson, who got up early, banged his wooden shield and shouted: "Brothers, wake up immediately, we are leaving now."
< p>Is anyone snoozing? No.The strength of the Russians and their peers is that they are willing to obey a strong commander and maintain a high level of organization.
Everyone knows that if we wait for a while, the tide will recede and we will have to wait until the next high tide.
No one was paying attention to the bonfire that was still burning. The Russians who got up kicked the lazy prisoners awake one after another, no matter how big or small, and then ordered them to board the ship immediately.
The captives managed to get some wheat cakes they had baked yesterday in their hands, but they had been left out for a long time and the cakes had become hard.
Their hands and feet were still free. Forced by shields and swords, they quickly finished their cakes and climbed onto the boat one after another.
"Everyone, use your strength!" Barefoot Arik was swimming in the shallow water, and he and his brothers pushed the boat into the sea.
"Be careful not to let anything scratch the ribs."
"As soon as the keel leaves the sand, we will climb aboard."
Aric Directing his own actions, the same goes for other ships.
A boat enters the sea and drifts, a large number of oars are stretched out, and another long hemp rope is thrown to another boat that was deliberately stranded. The hemp rope is tied to the leading target on the bow of the ship. The boat was stunned and dragged the rear boat to the sea.
The Russians showed the operational efficiency that a Viking tribe should have. They were very successful in sailing the entire fleet into the vast sea before the tide receded.
Twenty warships lowered their sails, and only the captured ships they towed continued to be tied up.
With the help of the gentle south wind, they can move slowly at a turtle speed of two knots.
If this was the case, they would have to spend four days of non-stop movement to reach the Åland Islands, the throat of the Gulf of Bothnia.
In order to go faster, everyone must paddle to help get to the Åland Islands in just two days.
In addition to the desire to go home early, people currently floating on the sea must face the possibility of an attack from the Gotlanders.
Many young people are full of illusions about the future.
The short life of the young warriors lacked setbacks. This time they participated in the first "major battle" in their lives and achieved a great victory.It's strange that a huge amount of money and a woman don't have a good attitude.
Look at them! In order to relieve fatigue while paddling, they actually kept bragging about themselves, saying that they were invincible strongmen, and slandering the Gotlanders as idiots who were only worthy of being slaves.
Harozov didn’t want to pay attention to their nonsense, so he gave a few reminders: "Brothers! Pay attention to the situation in the sea and be careful if you find any ships."
He has warned many times. , which made Arik a little troubled.
"Uncle, what are you worried about? Are you worried that Gotland's fishermen will attack us and rob us?"
"What do you think it is? Arik, we accidentally deviated and the result was Being targeted by the Gotlanders, your father died in this sea."
"Then let them come!" Aric's eyes were filled with the desire to continue fighting, "I will. The revenge is not over yet. I wish that a group of enemy ships would appear on the sea, so that I can achieve greater success." "Naval battle? Wait," Harozov sighed. Fight as soon as they come! I hope we won't encounter them."
Harozov really doesn't want to encounter the enemy now, but he is not absolutely optimistic.
After all, the army burned down a large settlement of the Gotlanders in the south. At the end of the one-night battle, the corpses left behind by the other party may have exceeded 500.
The actual situation was certainly more tragic than Harozov’s prediction. The surviving residents of Skenberg fled north in a state of poverty. They spent a whole day evacuating to the north of the island, and the terrible news spread. The whole island.
After all, there are 20,000 people living in Gotland, and all Gotlanders firmly believe that this matter is the action of the Sivia Alliance. They believe that because their own people landed in Jotalan to open up the wilderness, small-scale conflicts with the Siyan Alliance, especially the powerful Melalen people, have never stopped over the years. The Mellaren people had every reason to entangle some people in launching a brutal sneak attack!
Don’t look at the young Russians describing the Gotlanders as fools and cowards, using all the despicable words they know. Harozov is now worried about colliding with the ships of the Gotlanders who are filled with revenge. Only when his fleet rushes to the Åland Islands can it be said that the Russians are safe.
However, the Gotlanders are already frantically looking for enemies who will attack and burn Skokenberg. The north of the island is on full alert, and a large number of warships from Gotland have left the port!
To organize troops to fight back against the Siya people, this matter still needs to be considered in the long term.
There are several large and wealthy families in the north of the island. They know that the entire island united cannot resist the all-out attack of the Siaya Alliance. The only way to win is to ask Denmark for help, that is, to ask Brother. The leader of the alliance respected by the Terlan people, the "Lion King" Hafgen of Denmark, asked for help.
Until then, Gotland will be on the defensive.
A large number of warships moved to the south of the island, many from the port of Kalmar in the Götaland region.The Gotlanders also got involved. A group of warships quickly appeared in the strait from Kalmar Port to Gotland Island. Firstly, they were to prevent the northerners from raiding the large fleet. Secondly, they were searching for the suspected "vanguard fleet" and annihilating it at the opportunity to vent their anger.
The news became more and more sinister as it spread, making everyone in the Goths panic, as if the enemy who attacked Skokenburg was just the vanguard of the enemy. Some people even believed that the plan of the Northern Sivia Alliance was to attack the sea ice. After completely thawing, bloodbath the entire Gotland.
Some ships rushed to Denmark in an emergency, and rowers risked vomiting blood just to deliver an information that was passed on many times and became a "battle alert."
Some ships also began to move to the waters east of the island, but most of these ships were responsible for exploration and warning.
What is supposed to come will come, and Harozov is not surprised at all by the white sails appearing on the distant sea.
"The enemy has finally appeared! Pay attention to the sail in the distance, that is the enemy!"
Harozov muttered, and the other oarsmen also paused their work. .
Suddenly, Arik's once relaxed heart returned to tension: "Uncle, what should we do?!"
"What else can we do? We cannot try to avoid the war, the war has already come "After that, Harozov stood up suddenly, hit his wooden shield with his ax, and yelled crazily: "Brothers! The Gotlanders are coming for revenge, let us rush forward and kill them all. !”
Suddenly, the young people in the flagship screamed, their momentum was high!
This momentum immediately infected other ships.
Harozov continued to order: "Arik, you and the others take in the sails."
"Why?!"
"Young man, you Aren’t you afraid that the enemy will burn our sails? Let’s rush over and fight together!”
The one appearing in the distance is Denmark. The human reconnaissance fleet actually has a small number of troops, with only eight ships in total.
The eight white sails are eight ships. Harozov conservatively believes that the enemy's strength is about 240 people.
This old guy has been following Otto for more than 20 years. He has participated in many battles without being seriously injured. He thinks this has something to do with Otto's lessons.
"Don't treat your enemy as a fool." This was Otto's lesson. Harozov knew that his side had an advantage in strength, but the enemy really had 240 people and wanted to win after the battle. An overwhelming advantage is really unrealistic.
This naval battle cannot be avoided. Even if there is a chance to escape, the young soldiers still have to fight. Avoiding is a cowardly act! Who wants to be a coward?
There is no way to avoid war, so let’s fight it.