A new day has arrived!
No deer farmers froze to death this past cold night.
In fact, there are more people in their group. Five men have frozen to death in the middle of the night because they were mining for the Kewen people. The women were "properly protected", but they also paid a price. In extreme circumstances, these deer herders and women had no choice but to live with their lives.
Now, after learning the good news that all the violent Kewen people have been eradicated, the new master looks like a saint. All deer farmers are relieved to hear this news.
When it was early in the morning, each of them got a small piece of wheat cake and a small amount of dried meat. Everyone felt that the Rus boy named Rurik was the shaman they could trust.
Originally, Otto thought it would be difficult for his son to tame a group of deer herders, but as a result, those guys have become a persistent presence! He felt that his son must have performed some kind of miracle to force their submission.
If there is a miracle, there is indeed one.
From the perspective of the deer herder, a blond boy who seemed to emerge from the snow and spoke the language of the deer herder, led a group of strong men, killed all the Kewen people and rescued Everyone, what is this if not a miracle?
Rurik ate some wheat cakes as usual and drank some heated snow water.
He asked his father: "What are we going to do next? Go home?"
"No!" Otto flatly denied it, and then with a wink, Kawei hurried over. .
Kawei said bluntly: "Rurik, the big leader and I have thought about it. This hill is a geomantic treasure, and it is a big mine. I feel that the whole mountain is iron ore. We should Discover its value!"
"Build a stronghold?" Rurik asked.
"Of course. I can tell you for sure that this is the best iron ore I have ever seen. It is not even ordinary iron ore."
"Really "The best ore?"
"It's absolutely true."
Rurik was a little skeptical, but Kawei's words were true. Because the hill occupied by the Russians is unique in Europe.
Because it is an open-pit chromite mine, the only chromite mine in Europe. Don't look at it. It is really a small mountain with a height of less than 100 meters. Its entire body is a chromite vein node that was raised due to the folds of the earth's crust.
Kawei, who is highly sensitive to minerals, discovered this situation.
For the past night, Kawei’s thoughts were all about occupying and developing the entire mine. At dawn, he took the hammer and the captured iron chisel and climbed to the top of the hill to dig out some ore carefully.
Taking advantage of the conversation, he deliberately took out his carefully selected mineral specimens from his linen pocket.
He showed Rurik a densely packed silver-gray rock that reflected light.
"I know, this is a piece of iron ore. It seems very special."
p>"This is the most special." Kawei shrugged, "You know what? It is very hard. The chisels of those Kovin people were badly worn, and it took me a lot of effort to carve out such a piece of rock. According to me Look, after polishing this stone, it can be used as a spearhead, an arrowhead, or even a knife for cutting meat. "Huh? Is that so exaggerated?" Rurik was a little surprised.
"Otherwise? Why do you think those Kewen people came here to mine?"
"Of course it is mining and smelting!"
Luli Ke's taken-for-granted answer aroused Kawei's strong suspicion: "Rurik, you think too highly of them. They did smelt some iron, and the quality is really terrible. In my opinion, they will definitely polish the ore directly into weapons. I believe it. I, these ores can definitely be used to make stone axes.”
Kawei’s words aroused Rurik’s thoughts, and maybe this is the case.
Not to mention this unnamed mine, the iron ore vein in the hills near Roseburg, Rurik believed that its iron content was absolutely high, so much so that he took two pieces of ore and struck it , there is a strong metallic sound. Even when the ore is polished, you can see the metallic luster.
But the Russians have mastered the ability to turn ore into low carbon steel.
Otto allowed the two of them to chat for a while. After they calmed down, he pointed to the top of the mountain with his big finger: "This is an unexpected surprise given to us by God. It is the second discovered by us Russians." A mine. Rurik, I have decided that we must establish a new base here in the future." "Huh? So sudden?" Rurik said subconsciously.
"Isn't it appropriate?"
"No...I...I support it."
Otto saw that his son was a little hesitant; Rurik, who didn't know the actual situation, felt that the Russians suddenly built a stronghold in the north again, and that this expansion step was a bit too big. After all, they are occupying a rare iron mine. Perhaps the Russians will gain huge benefits from this Shangqiu in the future.
To build it, the Russians must first make some investment. After all, building a settlement is by no means as simple as moving a few people.
Besides, the current situation is that tribesmen who are willing to immigrate prefer to go south, such as New Roseburg on the Neva River, where they can completely cultivate wasteland and grow wheat.
Otto put his big hand on his son's head and said loudly: "I have decided that we must control this mine. I want to build a settlement, and then this will be the starting point for us to go north. "
It sounds like his father's intention is not just to plunder the ore. Rurik feels that if this place becomes a more prosperous stronghold, the Russians can control the waves through this place. All northern lands of Neah Bay.
Even Murmansk can be intimidated.
"Give it a name. Although there are only temporary tents we set up here for the time being." Rurik said.
"Haha, let's call it Ironburg. NowNow, we Rus occupy this place. When spring comes, I will send a fleet to land on the river here and start building a settlement. "After telling his son, Otto told Kawei again: "After the settlement is built, I want you to use the ore here to make me a steel sword. Since you said there is the most magical ore here, you must make me the best sword. "
At this moment, Kawei did not have any guilty conscience. He was confident.
Seeing the young man's confident face, Otto sighed with satisfaction: "It's time to carry out greater actions. . "
The so-called "Elenburg" originally meant "Iron City". Knowing the true meaning of the name, Rurik suddenly wanted to laugh.
It is the current Volga River The river basin seems to be the territory of the Khazar Khanate or some other nomadic country. It does not belong to the Slavs or the Vikings.
For a while, Rurik didn’t know what else his father had. With new ideas, he instinctively decided that this winter hunting operation was over.
Shouldn't it be over?
A small-scale war ended with no casualties among the Russians. One person, but plundered a large amount of furs, even a group of slaves, a mine, and the opportunity to rule the north with a tiger in the mine.
The development of the situation has exceeded the predictions, and the Russians won a great victory. .
Rurik thought so, and many tribesmen also felt that everyone could go home.
However, Otto felt that the matter should not end there.
Once he learned about the opportunity to gain greater wealth and honor, Otto was older, and he could say that he no longer had to take risks to pursue these things.
But his son was in the team on this trip. Here, this eight-year-old boy is destined to inherit his position and rule a large tribe.
The child needs to continue to take risks, see the world, and conquer the unknown!
A boy without such spirit cannot become a qualified leader.
Quite a few tribesmen waited in the snow for the order to retreat. Otto sent someone to escort the prisoner who had been tied up with ropes all night. After giving Woima Kashad some wheat cakes, the man's mental condition recovered.
Otto. Looking at the kneeling guy with his sword held high, Rurik also held a dagger in his hand and followed closely beside his father.
Seeing this, Woy almost stayed up all night. Makashad thought that this group of Varangians wanted to kill him.
The captive realized that something was wrong and quickly begged for mercy.
“My master, I didn’t agree to stay. Take my life? I'd do anything for you. "
Anything?
After listening to Jevro's translation, Otto asked with satisfaction: "Since you are willing to do anything, bring us to your tribe. Listen, I'm going to take over your tribe. ”
Before Jevlo completed the translation, the first person to be shocked was Rurik.
p>"Dad? Are you serious?!"
"What's wrong? My son?"
"Dad, this is not in our plan." Stay Rick snapped.
"No longer planned? My child, is the prophecy over? I don't think so. Your battle is not over yet, and we should expand the results."
Expand the results? Rurik felt that this matter was not reliable: "We don't know the enemy's position, distance from us, and we don't know the enemy's strength. If we continue to advance rashly with the so-called Russian military strength, we are likely to face A lot of trouble, even...putting everyone in danger."
Otto ignored his son's concerns, but deliberately provoked: "Don't you have confidence in your crossbow? I didn't even see you. Kill the enemy in large numbers with your own weapons."
"But killing is not the purpose. We should rule them, not kill them."
"Okay!" Otto waited here with words: "We will launch an attack and we will do as you say and rule them."
Rurik felt that his father's attitude was not right. Things will change. It seems that the Russians will take the initiative to attack the real "unknown enemy" with the 300 people at hand.
Soon, Voyma Kashad understood what Gevro relayed in shock.
Rurik could see that the tied guy was shaking all over on the spot, with indescribable horror in his eyes.
Although he couldn't understand what the other party was hesitating about, Otto could also tell that this guy's attitude was uncooperative.
Otto didn’t say much. He picked up the steel sword and put the blade directly against the prisoner’s neck.
"Tell us the location of your hometown, and you will take us there personally, otherwise, we will kill you now."
After Yevluo finished translating, the captives still behaved extremely He didn't cooperate, he hesitated and said some random words.
"What did he say?" Otto asked.
"Big Chief, I...can't understand." Jevro turned around and gave the prisoner a slap in the face, and ordered: "Tell me the location of your hometown, otherwise you will die. If you tell me , you can live."
Woima Kashad, who had a slap mark on his face, slowly twisted his body and sat up again. The prayer also clearly shows that the person does not want to reveal the location of his hometown settlement.
The more he didn't say anything, the more Jevlo started to hit people at Otto's signal.
This sadistic scene made Rurik feel a little worried.
Yes, if the Ross army kills them, it will definitely lead to barbaric looting and many people will die.
Although Rurik had already seen battles and saw the corpses of a large number of war dead, after this shock to his soul, his mental resistance to stress was also greatly improved.
However, he still has some "psychological mysophobia" in his heart, or in other wordsThere is still a bottom line.
That is, the purpose of the Russians' war should not be for war, but for better control and expansion of their own strength. He also doesn't want his men to become complete beasts. His men need to maintain a bottom line. Otherwise, if all the other party’s tribesmen are killed, who will be the new subjects?
Rurik estimated that this guy didn’t want to bring trouble to his own people, so he was right to speak harshly.
"Stop it! Jevlo, ask him if he will cooperate!" Otto ordered.
After hearing the news, Jevro stood up and looked at Otto and shook his head.
"Damn, this person is absolutely useless." Otto gritted his teeth and asked his son: "Give you a chance, how do you think you should deal with this Covin man who refuses to cooperate."
Rurik had a dull face and replied coldly: "Give him a sword and let him die. I believe that we will be able to find this person's hometown in the future, and I will rule all the Kovin people."
So the implication here is that Rurik felt that the sudden in-depth exploration to find enemies to fight was too abrupt and unreliable.
Otto didn't think much about it: "That won't work. There are still opponents so stubborn, I have to use some methods."
What methods does Otto have? He ordered four of his men to restrain the prisoner Woima Kashad, and then pulled off his fur boots, deliberately exposing his two ankles.
Jevlo quoted Otto's words: "It's too late to announce cooperation now. Otherwise, you will regret it after cutting your hamstring. Just become food for the snow wolf here."
For a moment, Woima Kashad hurriedly tried to kick his legs, but his body was firmly held down by the strong Russian.
Otto personally held the steel sword and gently made small wounds on the captive's ankles. He even did not forget to sprinkle some salt to increase the pain.
The pain and intense fear forced Woimakshad's nervous heart to burst.
Jevro put his face on the ground and stared into the captive's eyes: "Say! Do you want to cooperate?! It's still too late."
"..."
< p>"Say it quickly!""Ah!..." Woima Kashad gritted his teeth again.
"Say quickly, otherwise, I will cut off your ears now!" After saying that, Jevro had already taken out the meat-cutting dagger, and his other hand had already grabbed the prisoner's ear.
Rurik was watching from the sidelines. He felt that his father would never let this prisoner have an easy time.
On the other hand, Rumia is also watching all this. As a deer farmer, she felt secretly happy. After all, a group of his distant relatives were humiliated by a group of Kewen people, and the leader was this prisoner. She wished that the Russians would use corporal punishment further.
Finally, the physical pain overwhelmed the prisoner's will.
Woima Kashad cooperated in anguish.
"If I had known this, why would I be so harsh?"
Otto put away his sword, and Voyma Kashad also sat on the snow with tears on his face and began to talk about his hometown.
This person mentioned a place name: Gray Squirrel Hill Fort.
Jevlo transformed this Old Finnish noun phrase into vocabulary that the Russians could understand.
Otto held his chin and continued to listen to Jevro's explanation.
Rurik also pinched his beardless chin and made his own analysis and judgment.
"Okay, let's attack this Gray Squirrel Hill Fort! We want to occupy this place!" After muttering to himself, Otto faced all the onlookers, raised his sword high and shouted : "Brave Rus people! The prophecy is not over yet, we are going to attack the Gray Squirrel Hill Castle of the Corvin people! We will achieve greater victory, and each of you can make another fortune!"
The warriors of Ross roared loudly, this roar could create an avalanche!
Rurik was even frightened by the momentum of the tribesmen roaring and banging on their wooden shields. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the kneeling prisoner Voyma Kashad. This man's face was a little strange, as if Not that scared.
Has this guy already figured it out and decided to betray his own people?
If this is the case, Rurik has no good impression of this guy who betrayed his own people.
The soldiers of Rus are willing to continue fighting.
Now, Otto gave a stern warning to Woima Kashad who was willing to lead the way: "If you cheat us, you will be killed immediately. I will cut your back, Break your ribs and cut out your heart and lungs."
Otto's words were terrifying and his expression was very ferocious. In addition to frightening the captives, Rurik was a little afraid.
Through Otto's words, Rurik suddenly felt that this so-called punishment had the meaning of a blood eagle?
Wait! Does this legendary thing really exist? !
Otto gave Woima Kashad the only chance to survive, which was to lead the Russian army to the so-called "Grey Squirrel Hill Fortress" within ten days. If the Russians still find a quiet mountain within ten days, Voyma Kashad will be punished as a "blood eagle" and become food for the forest wolves.
So, why ten days?
According to Voyma Kashad, the journey required for the Kewen expedition to set off from the mountain fort and reach the mine was definitely less than ten days.
As long as this guy cooperates sincerely, the Russians will definitely find their target.
On the other hand, the Russians must consider their own supply issues. It would be great if they could hunt a large number of small animals to satisfy their hunger along the way, but no one expected to rely solely on hunting to satisfy their hunger.
The sleigh they were pulling was still carrying a large amount of food. Now a group of rescued deer herders had joined the team, and they had more food to eat, but the food could still last more than 20 days.
It can be said that the ten-day period is aRisk, if this time is exceeded, the food of the Russian people will not be enough to support everyone back home.
Within ten days, either the so-called Gray Squirrel Hill Castle is captured and a large amount of supplies and treasures are obtained and a triumphal return is made, or Voyma Kashad is executed and returned home.
The Russians started a new journey, and the morale of the soldiers was high. But the rescued deer herders, knowing that they had no way to go now, had no choice but to follow their new masters and enslave them. Some time ago, the Kovin people declared war.
A huge team suddenly turned south. The army went south along the frozen river, and then continued south along the frozen coastline.
Rurik knows the geography of this area better than anyone else, and the army has officially set foot on the coast of modern Finland.
On the way, Jevro approached his master.
"Is something wrong?" Rurik asked sitting on the sled.
"Master, I am still worried that the prisoner who led the way is cheating."
Rurik had no other ideas. He knew that he must follow the team south to expand the victory.
He told Yevluo: "Whether we are cheating or not, the prisoner knows our methods. Yevluo!"
"Yes."
"We have limited food. It is best to hunt animals along the way. Those deer farmers cannot give them too much food for the time being. Send your brothers to keep an eye on them. If any deer farmers escape, catch them back."
"Master, can't you trust them?"
"At least, I need to be on guard."
The words arrived here, and Yevluo once again asked: " Even the prisoner must be on guard."
Rurik smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, if you can't find the so-called stronghold within ten days, you must be prepared, my father. I will ask you to fight first. Remember, in my philosophy, crossbowmen are always the brave ones who fight first."
Jevro clenched his fist with his right hand and hammered his leather armor; "Master, Please rest assured that my brothers and I will not let you down the opportunity you gave us to take the lead."
Rurik sighed: "But I also hope that you will be able to fight in the future. Capture more people alive. Remember, we need more slaves. I also plan to become the leader of the Covin people. We will also collect taxes from them in the future."
Because Rurik was on the way. He didn't sit in the same sleigh with Otto, but now that Otto had gone through a battle, he felt that the mercenaries raised by his son could be called loyal. There were indeed a large number of enemy corpses on the hillside. The mercenaries completed their pledges and became trustworthy guys.
Otto did not know what his son said to Jevlo. He was in a good mood while sitting on the sled. The soldier pulling the sled in front was even more happy to serve as a "war horse".
Otto's eyes looked at the prisoner leading the way, and a crossbow was kept beside him for a long time.
This powerful crossbow invented by his son, Otto hasHe has expressed a very clear attitude that if the so-called leader intends to escape, he will use this object to shoot him accurately.
In this regard, Woima Kashad is always trembling with fear, but it does not mean that this person has become a complete lackey.
The only survivor of the Kewen expedition still had the idea of escape until this moment.
He has thought of a brilliant countermeasure, a countermeasure that may kill two birds with one stone.