Up to now, the purpose of the Russians has been transformed into complete conquest.
The Russians moved into the homes of the Gray Squirrel tribesmen, and the real tribesmen had to build temporary shacks outdoors. Otto decided to reward his hard-working warriors through such a move. Secondly, it also wants new surrenders to declare their master-servant relationship.
Including the warriors of the Salmon Lord tribe whose servants participated in the war, they also had to build a shack.
The "Gray Squirrel" and the "Salmon Lord", two tribes with economic conflicts in fishing and hunting, now meet in such an embarrassing way.
Mechasta and Kehas, the two tribal leaders no longer have any hatred for each other.
This is because the two tribes, which belong to the same group of Covin people, have been set by the conquerors with completely different fates.
Hatred was meaningless. The two even sat by the bonfire on a cold night, discussing their futures.
The flames were burning brightly under the night, and all the clansmen who had built the shacks had fallen asleep.
Mechasta threw wooden sticks into the fire boredly: "In the end, you won."
"No. I failed, and so did you. , we all failed." Kaihas sighed secretly.
"We cannot defeat them, and we have to accept their rule. It is really unexpected that our hunters who have been catching squirrels for generations will leave our homeland. From now on, this will be your territory."
Kejas forced a forced smile: "Are you trying to flatter me? Where are you going?"
Mechasta pointed first to the west, then to the north. "Everything is fate. If I hadn't sent that damn expedition, how could we have suffered such a misfortune. I was originally complacent about the discovery of iron ore, but I didn't expect that it would become the treasure of the Russian people. Now, we are gray The squirrel tribe will eventually become a miner, and the entire tribe will be migrating. From now on, you and I will no longer be enemies.”
“Maybe this is not a bad thing for you.” The occupied mountain fortress, "You dedicated your son and daughter, and you dedicated your child to that Rurik. You are very smart."
"You are stupid. You know, there is nothing I can do." Mei Chasta said regretfully.
"We are all helpless, and I also gave away my daughter. Maybe, just because my daughter is not beautiful, she cannot become the boy's concubine. You are lucky at this point, because that boy will be The leader of the Ross people."
"Who knows?" Mechasta shrugged, "I have been ordered to send out the messengers, and the leaders upstream of the river will definitely come. If you don’t come, the Ross people will send more people to attack them next year. Anyway, after we leave, you will be the leader of the remaining people.”
Si didn't respond immediately. He stared at the flames with empty eyes, thinking a lot in his mind.
To rule all the Kewen tribes?How can you be so virtuous and capable?
Obviously, the Salmon Lord tribe was never powerful enough to annex all the tribes, and Kaihas never thought of this possibility in his life. The arrival of the Rus forced a complete reshuffle of tribal politics in the Oulu River Basin.
The future Salmon Lord Tribe will be under the supervision of the Ross people and will control all the Corvin people on behalf of the Ross people.
If the Russians are principled, this future seems not bad.
In fact, on the first morning after the battle, several messengers controlled the reindeer sleigh and ran towards the other three tribes.
Other surviving tribesmen began to clean up the headless corpses of the war dead that had been frozen into lumps of ice under the supervision of the Russians.
The souls of dead bodies with missing heads will not be able to return to the Sea of Souls, and their miserable souls can only wander in the snow-covered forest.
The Kewen people believed these claims. They spontaneously gathered the bodies, and then worked hard to dig a pit under the pine trees and threw the bodies and heads into it. The shaman who was good at imitating bird songs performed a strange dance in front of each mass burial.
Yes, in Rurik's opinion, it is a strange dance, coupled with the unique cry when dancing, it seems that this can connect with the sea of souls they believe in.
This is their belief, Rurik is just a bystander.
At least they are working hard to bury the dead, and finally have a peaceful ending.
Waiting until the belated spring when the ice melted and the snow melted, Rurik knew that the Gray Squirrel Mountain Castle would be empty of people, and the traces of the war would be completely washed away by the Oulu River rushing with melting ice floods. .
The Ross people will still stay in Gray Squirrel Hill Castle for a while, because the Ross people must conclude a sacred agreement with the leaders of all the Covin people to determine the master's power over the servants, and the servants' rights over the servants. Master's obligations.
Otto immediately arranged for the surviving tribesmen to act as messengers, giving the messengers only three days to deliver the message.
It can be said that Otto gave the three tribes that have not yet appeared some time to prepare.
The Russians will wait at most four more days. If it is the fourth day and the three tribal leaders do not come in person, it is equivalent to declaring that they are declaring war on the Russians, and then the Russian crusade will definitely come next year.
During the three-day waiting period, all the Russian warriors had to do was rest. Some young warriors focused on the women of the Gray Squirrel tribe whose husbands died, women who had completely lost their support. In order to survive or passively accept without any thought, they had relations with the Russians.
But these survivors have all become Rurik's slaves, and in order to appease the tribal warriors who did not get slaves after the war, Rurik said that after returning to Fort Ross, all warriors will be given The special reward of ten silver coins is actually to buy out one's own ownership of the slave.
As a result, things developed rapidly, and many tribal warriors and conquered women became romantic couples. heThey broke the rules, but neither Otto nor Rurik wanted to interfere.
In the past two years, the Rus people have been absorbing foreign women. This policy has caused a new normal in the development of the Rus tribe population. There are a large number of women who are actually not married. Rurik is now the leader and will find ways to introduce them to marriage, and women in this time and space need to rely on a man to survive.
This is the normal life in Northern Europe in this time and space. Women have never thought that polygamy was inappropriate in the past.
Otto and Rurik have only two demands: Warriors who have women will not receive bonuses. Once a relationship occurs, the relationship must be established forever.
Although there was a lack of ceremony, as many as twenty Rus warriors immediately had a Corvin wife recognized by the chief family.
The young warriors feel that they have made a lot of money, and they clearly have the opportunity to marry more women in the future.
A perfect example is here - Rurik.
Since the future leader was just a child, he was destined to have as many as four wives in his hometown, and now he has conquered the fifth. A warrior is naturally not as good as a leader, so if you seize the opportunity, you will have to marry two or three in your life.
If there were not a large number of foreign women to join, the situation of more men than women in Roseburg would be quite serious. Somehow, the excessive number of young men forced the Russians to go out collectively to conquer the new world of the Russians with their swords. The best way to solve the marriage problems of the majority of young people is to forcibly marry foreign women.
Rurik was very happy that his tribe had no requirements for his wife’s ethnicity, and they were particularly tolerant on this issue. A national integration is taking place, and the strength of the Russians is expanding.
Finally, within the agreed time, the three defeated leaders drove their sleds to the conquered Gray Squirrel tribe.
Eight hundred men went out to fight. They hoped that this army could completely annihilate the invading Varyags, but in the end very few escaped.
It can be said that after this battle, the three tribes living near Lake Oulu in the upper reaches of the river had their backbones broken by a tragic defeat.
Originally, the population of these tribes was only five to six hundred people. After exhausting their strength in the expedition and failing miserably, they almost lost even their fishermen.
What kind of concept is this?
After a great war, the three tribes now have an average of 300 women left, and only 50 or 60 men of all ages, among whom there are only a handful of men in their prime. The three tribes were in a similar situation. After the war, their demographic structure completely changed!
So when the messenger brought the ultimatum from the Russian conquerors, the three tribal leaders discussed and decided to surrender due to the current miserable situation.
Theoretically, they could flee as a family to build new settlements. However, how can a tribe that has lost most of its men have the motivation to build a new country?Settlement?
Besides, if we reject the Russians now and are discovered by them in the future, the result will be a dead end.
The three leaders followed the messenger's advice and brought a batch of tributes with them, hoping that the Rus would be merciful to their tribes by accepting the gifts.
The gloomy days finally turned into snowfall, with fine snowflakes floating in the sky. The new snow covered the frozen bloodstains after the war, and the silver-covered earth covered up all traces of the war.
At noon on the third day, some sleds suddenly appeared on the glacier. Their appearance immediately attracted the attention of the Russians who were cutting wood for firewood.
Otto hurriedly led a group of warriors to stand on the bank of the frozen river, watching a team approaching him.
In a moment, three men in very furry clothes, accompanied by a small group of entourage who looked like children, approached the mighty team of Russians.
The people who came were none other than the three opponents who had never met but sent troops to join the war.
The image of Otto wearing chain mail, with a beard and a steel sword in his hand gave the three leaders great fear. Look at these Rus people again. They are indeed Varangians, exactly like the legendary figures!
“Kneel down!” Jevlo, who was originally acting as a translator, ordered on behalf of Otto.
The three people and their entourage knelt down and explained their intentions.
After hearing the translation, Otto looked at the reindeer sleighs pulling some leather, and couldn't help feeling that those three tribes were very smart.
Rurik was waiting to watch all this, and beside him stood the brothers Tyravis and Saipolava.
"Who are those three people? The three leaders?" Rurik asked.
"Yes master. They are Bakan (extreme cold), Terho (acorn) and Ojedo (big bear)."
Some strange names.
Rurik shrugged and asked: "Do you know them all?"
"I just heard my father say it. We are friends with them, so..."
"How is it?" Rurik asked.
"That's why they send troops to help us fight. Master, I hope you don't resent them."
"Then it depends on their actions. They'd better be loyal servants ," Rurik said no more. He shook his neck and turned away: "You two, don't stay outside anymore, come into the house with me."
Now, Rurik arranged this naturally. A pair of brothers and sisters acted as his followers. Because the two were so cooperative, Rurik felt in a trance, as if he had known each other for a long time.
Rurik heard the names of the three leaders for the first time, and he didn’t think it made any sense. Rurik knew exactly what was going to happen next, so he immediately took his followers back to the warm semi-crypt house, which was the home that once belonged to the Taravis brothers and sisters, and the shabby mansion of the leader of the Gray Squirrel tribe. .
After a while, the three leaders and their servants were holdingUnder the "escort" of the Ross warriors with swords and shields, they entered the preset meeting venue.
Otto, who was sitting on an animal skin mat, looked arrogant. There were more than 20 warriors in chainmail standing in the room, which further demonstrated the lofty martial virtue of the Russians. .
Now, it is extremely rare for all the tribal leaders of the Kovin people to gather together. At this moment, even though everyone has many grudges and grudges in daily life, everyone has become a slave to the Rus.
Otto has no intention and no reason to talk to these failed slaves in polite and false terms.
He directly stated his requirements as the leader of Ross, while Yevro tried his best to translate at the same time.
"You Corvins are now slaves of our Rus! Those who surrender will be protected by us. Those who are traitors will be killed."
"You The three leaders actually sent troops to attack us. You are guilty, and I can grant you leniency because of your good attitude in pleading guilty."
"We Russians are the masters of all of you, but I am not. We do not plan to control you directly. The Gray Squirrel Tribe will be taken away, and the four tribes below will continue to stay in your current land."
"I identify the Salmon Lord Tribe as the remaining one. Tribe leader. Kaihas, rule you on our behalf."
"Except the Gray Squirrel Tribe, each of your remaining tribes must fulfill their duties as servants and give us Ross every year. If you can't do this, you will be attacked by us. You have no right to refuse! You must pay us a tribute, even if you don't do it with one squirrel skin."
" In exchange, if outsiders attack any of your tribes, they are going to war with us Rus. It is said that there are Tavastians. If this group of people attacks you, we Rus will attack them."
O. When Tuo said this, the leaders were really sitting on pins and needles.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Otto asked deliberately.
The scene was strangely calm for a while, and finally a tribal leader said weakly: "Great... great Rus people. Because of the war, almost all the men in my tribe died, you Ordering us to pay tribute of two thousand squirrel skins every year is actually a bit difficult."
Otto suddenly pulled out his sword, and the metallic buzzing sound startled Rurik who was sitting quietly and watching. Five leaders were frightened to the point of peeing.
Otto's sword was pointed directly at the leader who spoke, so frightened that the man almost collapsed on the ground.
"What difficulties do you have? Is it because we killed your men?"
The leader lying on the ground stammered: "The great...Russians. We... lost too many men. My followers are all boys, and my people even lack fishermen..."
Otto immediately yelled: "Shut up! Is that your reason? Why don't we bring people to kill you all?, so that you don’t have to pay tribute in the future, because you are all dead. ”
The leader got up hard, knowing that bargaining was meaningless.
At this moment, Rurik could feel his father’s domineering power, although his father’s request was obviously It's unreasonable, but my father always does things for the benefit of the Russian people.
Rurik feels that his father's decision is too harsh. After all, there is no war and the combined population of the five Kovin tribes. , only about 4,000 people. After a series of wars, Rurik estimated that among all the dead Kovin people, the population has exceeded 1,000, and a group of people will leave this place permanently. .
According to Otto's request, each of these people, young and old, must pay tribute to four squirrel skins every year.
Rurik even felt that. Are there so many squirrels in this area for the Covins to catch?
Although he felt a little inappropriate, Rurik said nothing. After all, the Rus needed to show their master's authority to these conquered guys. Unconditional obedience is required. Completing a demanding tribute obligation is a long-term bloodletting of their strength, avoiding a theoretical counterattack, and forcing them to show their loyalty through harsh tasks.
O. Tuo finally reiterated his only reason for worrying about all the tribal leaders: "You four tribes must pay tribute to us eight thousand squirrel skins in autumn every year. If you fail to do so, you will be attacked by us. ”
No one dares to question or refute. Any practical reasons are meaningless to Otto.
But Otto’s request is not over yet.
p>This time, Otto was targeting the three tribes that sent reinforcements, but were nearly wiped out by the Ross army.
“I heard that you three tribes raised. Got some reindeer, is that a problem? ! Ah, you don’t have to say it, I know you must have it. Now I command you to pay a tribute of one hundred reindeer, as well as your reserves of hay. I also want you to provide twenty reindeer sleighs. If you fail to complete this, you will definitely encounter our crusade. ”
Mechasta actually said everything about the deer. Now that things have happened, Mechasta no longer cares about the relatively harmonious relationship with the three neighboring tribes. In order to win over the new master In front of him, he worked hard to bring high security to his people. He tried his best to reveal everything he knew, and it can be said that he sold out most of his friends.
Most of the Kewen people's reindeer. They were snatched from deer farmers in the north.
Wild reindeer still need to be tamed. Rather than catching wild reindeer, it is better to plunder and conquer other people's reindeer. These concepts are well understood by Kewen people. . But they have not thought that one day they will be conquered by all the Varyag people in the west of the sea. What is more unexpected is that the deer farmers have already defected to the Varyag people.
The various Kewen tribes understand. This is the situation.
It is equivalent to saying., when the Rus declared their conquest of all the Kovins, the north of Finland, all the way to the Arctic Ocean, became the territory of the Rus.
As the leader of the Rus, Otto declared himself the master of all deer herders and all Corvin people.
And Rurik will inherit all of this.
Rurik couldn't help but think that Otto was clearly a hero and a profound pioneer to the Ross tribe. Looking back on myself, perhaps due to my small body, I am still too conservative.
"No. I must be stronger than Otto. I must lead the Russian army and conquer a large territory. All of Finland, all of Lapland, all of Murmansk, are mine! It must be mine! Oh, there must be Karelia in the future."
In fact, after Rurik knew that Otto made such a claim, the Lapland region, the Murmansk region, and Oulu River Basin, because the limited residents in these areas are either sparse and poorly equipped warriors, or servants, the claims of the Russians have very practical significance.
The three leaders left dejectedly. They did not have any bargaining power. They could only carry the brutal orders of the Russians, drive the reindeer carriage unloading all the gifts, and rush to their tribe. They were forced to Collect the tributes Ross needs and rush back within three days.
If the deadline is delayed, it will be a betrayal of the Russian people. Otto's threatened punishment will be fulfilled.
The three leaders did not dare to disobey because they had completely lost the capital to resist.