Chapter 287 New tactics against Gotland’s enemies

Otto's big hand pressed Rurik's shoulder, hinting him to calm down.

Otto said deliberately: "Is Rurik really young? Or do you think he is just young and not worthy of being a warrior?"

"Yes!" Ali Ke replied decisively, "It will be at least five years before my brother can truly act like a warrior."

"Forget it. Arik, you are still too reckless. Those Covin people, those who guard the fortress, Among them are eight-year-old boys and even girls. They participate in the battle, and the arrows they shoot are just as dangerous."

"But you can't expect eight-year-old Rurik to participate. To attack the Gotlanders. We have to fight a strong enemy, and that is not where Rurik should go."

"Even so, I still want to give him this position." Otto. Ignoring Arik's doubts, and even more so the doubts of others.

Otto gave a very simple explanation: "Do you think that if you have a job, you have to go to war? Rurik is the symbolic war chief of our tribe. He has been to the battlefield and participated in our Ross. Human Ice War. Arik, although your brother is only eight years old, his courage is no less than yours. This time, Rurik will lead a group of people to the north after the ice melts.

Liuli. Ke will be responsible for building that settlement, and also has the authority to lead some warriors to resist possible dangers.

As for you..."

At this point, Otto paused deliberately.

Realizing that the atmosphere was very delicate, Arik straightened his back instantly: "What about me?"

"You! You also want to become a war chief."

"Huh?!" Arik was so surprised that he almost stood up.

Otto remained calm: "I understand. For a month, you have been lobbying me for the benefits of attacking the Gotlanders. I can't convince you, I can only agree. Since It's good that young people have a fighting spirit. I give you permission to lead people to attack the Gotlanders." "Dad! You finally agreed!" Arik simply called Otto his father.

Otto still remained calm: "I am your father, and even more so your leader. You can go to war, but you must accept my control. I can only give you two hundred soldiers, you Don't expect to get more troops."

"This..." The fire that suddenly broke out in Arik's heart was just like being doused by a bucket of water. "Two hundred people, I...what can I do?!"

Looking at his aggrieved face, Otto's seriousness did not change at all: "What else do you want? I'll give you two hundred people, You can't do anything big?"

"But I want to land on that damn island and destroy those evil people. We still have something to do to avenge the Ostara people."

“No!We are not the leader of the alliance yet, and we do not have the authority to do what the Melalen people should do. "

What Otto said was a bit subtle, and Arik suddenly realized that the leader's ambition was never a joke.

"So, what do you want me to do? "Aric asked, "I can't loot the Gotlanders' fishing boats at sea? ! "

"Hey! That's really what I meant. "At this point, Otto's tense face finally showed joy. He patted his son Rurik on the shoulder as if he were playing with a toy. "Arik, your idea coincides with your brother's. I also ask you to listen to Rurik's opinion. "

"His opinion? OK. ”

Arik sat down slowly, folded his hands and waited for his little brother’s wise words.

After Rurik had been holding back for a long time, he finally had the opportunity to tell his old brother The second person outside my father explained it well.

“My brother, war is inevitable, but we must control the intensity of war. I am also opposed to your opportunity to send out a thousand men, but I am very supportive of you taking some action. "

Rurik spoke in a childish voice, with a face as serious as his biological father's, but it sounded like he had said something, but at the same time he said nothing.

" You... are really supportive. "Arik asked.

"Yes, I support your attack on the Gotlander fishing boats, because although these are not in your plan, they are exactly in my plan. ”

“Huh? Very interesting, keep going. "

"Aric, actually, your main task is to build our Tombstone Island settlement this year as a war chief. You have to take your brothers and slaves to build it there. One day, when our strength becomes strong enough, we must launch a full-scale attack and eventually take away the wealth of the entire island of Gotland.

Our huge fleet cannot all set off from Fort Ross and launch an attack after a long voyage, as that would make the soldiers too tired.

We really need Tombstone Island as a military gathering point. I heard that it is only a two-day flight from there to Gotland? ”

“Exactly. "Aric asserted.

"Oh, that's great. Tombstone Island is our military assembly point. We want to build it and turn it into a fortress. So if the Gotlanders launch a counterattack, they will never be able to break through our fortress. In the end, we assemble the army in the port of the fortress. In the end, only we choose when to go out, and the enemy can only be passively beaten. "

My brother's words were very uplifting, and he unfolded a very wonderful picture of the future.

Although he knew that it would not be realized quickly, Arik saw hope in his heart. The war enthusiasm that lacked a bottom line has finally been restrained.

Aric asked about another important matter: "My brother, you said those ships. Do you think it's necessary to attack the ships? Do you think it is necessary to do the work of a pirate? In fact, real warriors don’t like to do this kind of thing. "

Pirates? Aren't you and I all pirates?

Up to now, Rurik, who has experienced real battles, no longer thinks that the word "pirate" is How bad. In such an environment, any fishermen are equivalent to pirates. The reason why they did not choose to plunder first is simply because they are worried about being counterattacked by the other party. This is just because the fishermen in the huge sea area are all in harmony. They have reached a crisis balance.

The fishermen are all brave and fierce people.

Rurik is not in the mood to discuss the topic of "are pirates right?" It’s meaningless.

“My purpose is simple, I hope your ships can actively attack enemy fishing boats. You can kill all the enemies and take away all the useful things on the ship, but..."

"Only what? "Aric asked.

"You have to bring the boat back to me. "

"Huh? ! This..." Arik was very surprised: "According to tradition, those ships are simply destroyed. I will not tow enemy ships without special requirements. how? Do you actually need those ships? ”

“Yes! "Rurik finally stood up to show his determination. He walked straight towards Arik, standing as straight as a red pine: "I'm not interested in how much gold, how much leather, or what good things you grabbed. I just want those boats, and right now, nothing is more important to me than boats. ”

Arik was suddenly amused by his little brother’s words, and the others also started laughing.

The serious atmosphere was filled with joy, and the reason for the joy was very simple.< /p>

As a Russian, there is no one who doesn’t love boats.

Rurik looked at the happy people. He turned his delicate little face over and continued to stare at Arik who had already started to grow his beard. His face: "I just want those ships, and your people will drag them back to me. "

"As long as this is the case, are you satisfied? ”

Hearing this, Rurik had to think more.

He felt that his brother wanted to ask for some reward. In fact, Arik was He is willing to do things for his little brother.

Arik really likes his brother. Just like when Rurik was weaker, Arik was always willing to hug him when he slept. His younger brother will make Arik feel a little warm and proud.

After the battle, he just took a little effort to pull back the enemy ship that was not very useful.

Rurik didn’t know what his brother was thinking. Youdao was a brother who wanted to settle accounts. He had already planned a reward standard, so he said: “I can’t let you and your people do things in vain. You go to war and bring back the captured ships. Regardless of any enemy ship, as long as it is towed back, I will give you two hundred silver coins for each ship. "

"Huh? so much? ! "Rurik's words were completely beyond Arik's expectations, and also beyond the expectations of many elders.

"What? a lot of? Arik, as long as you can do this, you will have made great contributions to our tribe. Let me say it again, regardless of the size of the enemy ship, the price is the same, two hundred silver coins, you and your warriors share it, you have the final say how to share it! ”

To put it bluntly, Arik hopes that the tribe will launch a huge offensive. Deep down in his heart, he mainly wants to make a fortune from the war and avenge all kinds of people. It is mainly an excuse for war. .

A large amount of silver coins poured into Roseburg, causing inflation in the tribe in an instant. Rurik frantically searched for silver coins to hoard them, or used various means to control the priests' money. In addition to deliberately amassing money to build a "treasury", it is also objectively contributing to stabilizing prices.

Even so, the lives of Russian people have also undergone tremendous changes, and the prices of many things have increased, especially. The shipbuilding market has become hot, and the price of new ships has been rising steadily. Nowadays, it is not impossible to buy a new and larger fishing boat with two hundred silver coins.

The price level is changing rapidly. , both the Russians and the residents had to adapt, and those who were more conservative became a little uncomfortable.

Why can you earn two hundred silver coins by towing a fishing boat? Does it have to be two hundred coins?

After thinking about it for a moment, Arick felt that he understood his brother’s intention. If the reward is one silver coin for each warrior, Arick believes that everyone will definitely do it. He had the motivation to attack fishing boats everywhere, and just drag the empty boats back.

As long as he can make money, there is no need to fight against the enemy, although he feels that it is not appropriate to make money from his brother.

Arik deliberately tried to show his timidity and said: "I don't need so much money, you are my brother after all. ”

“That won’t work! I am a contract person. You and I are brothers, so we must make a contract even so. This is my attitude and I won't change it. "

"Since you insist, I agree. " Such words made Arik feel ecstatic in his heart.

Rurik did not finish his words. He added: "I hope that in the future battles, our tribe will not lose a single warrior. "

Arik said in surprise: "This... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. The enemy is not weak, they will fight to the death to protect their catch, we..."

"Just listen to me. I will provide you with a special batch of weapons. "

"What kind of weapon is that? ”

“That’s my steel-armed crossbow! "Rurik mentioned the phrase "stelkrosebage", but the crossbow was still very unfamiliar to Arik.

"You mean crossbow? I have seen your test, and it seems to be very good, but..."

"Do you think its performance in actual combat is questionable? Rurik shook his head, "It is really excellent. The arrows it fires can penetrate the enemy's wooden shield, and it must also be able to penetrate the hull of the ship." If the arrow hits an enemy, it will cause death. CompareTo raise the bow, my crossbow doesn't even need any training to be used well. Shoot those people with a crossbow and seize their ship. This is my new tactic against the Gotlanders. "

These words were very dreamy. Arik also believed that seeing is believing, so he hesitated for the time being. Otto, who never wanted to shut up, now stood up for Rurik and praised the power of the crossbow.

Rurik expected his brother to question

“My mercenary captain participated in the battle in the east and made great achievements. At least twenty mercenaries are worthy of us now. Trusted. Arik, maybe you don't know that our chief has appointed these twenty people to be warriors of our tribe. "

"Is there such a thing? ! Arik was unheard of, "Are they reliable?" "

"Three hundred people fought against eight hundred people, and they were not timid! They were trained by me to be masters of using crossbows. They killed many enemies. They can be trusted! So they will join your team as our tribal warriors. ”

“Big leader, is that so? "Aric asked Otto suspiciously and got a very positive answer.

Yes, Otto kept his promise. He made the promise when the army was still on the frozen Oulu River in triumph. , giving the mercenaries who have made great achievements in battle the status of "Russian". Returning to Fort Ross, Otto kept his promise, but the joining ceremony was too low-key.

Here it is, Rurik. Announced his mercenary captain and a group of mercenaries to form a team of twenty to join Arik's crusade. Rurik also mentioned a new naval battle routine, which is not to give priority to collision and gang-hopping tactics. < /p>

The arrows of the Gotlanders are not strong, and are even worse than those of the Finns and Covens. The new tactic is that the ships use the tactical advantage of Ross's oars to quickly approach and suddenly fire at the enemy ships. The crossbow arrows killed the enemy. After all, the enemy ships had no decks.

What Rurik wanted was the ship. His bottom line was that the ship was not leaking, so the hull was riddled with holes by the crossbow arrows. The masts were all broken, but such a terrible ship was still worth two hundred silver coins.

Rurik was also planning on another thing, which was to let Arik lead his brothers to fight. Let's go to actual combat to test whether the crossbow he developed is really as powerful as he imagined.

Rurik clearly had many plans. In order to use the crossbow's tactics, he was determined to make a big move. As many as two thousand arrows!

Of course, some of these arrows participated in the battle against the Kovin people. Among the one thousand recovered after the war, their arrow clusters were relatively intact. Most of the shaft needs to be redone, and almost all of the tail feathers have fallen off.

However, these heavier crossbows do not need the tail feathers at all when used at short distances. It is even said that a piece of it was deliberately cut with a knife. Cut the end of the wood into a slightly tailed shape, so that the arrow can most likely maintain a stable flight at a longer distance..

In the final analysis, Rurik's concept is that his crossbow is a tactical weapon used within fifty meters. Beyond this distance, the accuracy will decrease somewhat. The worst thing is actually the reduction in power caused by the loss of kinetic energy.

During the "Northern Hunting" period, Clavarson's blacksmith shop was not idle at all. He must continue to fulfill Rurik's production requirements for crossbows, and at the same time, he must also complete the steel sword needs of tribal warriors. Although he had a lot of wealth, Klavason became busier. He had to start squeezing the labor force of the eight-year-old Kamne, forcing such children to forge iron and operate pokers. There is also a pregnant daughter-in-law. She has to produce glassware and make wine even if she wants to rest peacefully.

Clavathon has produced many new crossbow arrows, and these arrows are full of imagination.

Because their arrow clusters are glass arrow clusters formed by the condensation of liquid glass cast in bronze molds.

According to this old blacksmith’s understanding, because the crossbow is too powerful, the excellent steel arrow clusters are always fine, and the arrow shafts need to be replaced with new ones almost after one use. The Tao is the unchanging arrow cluster and the flowing water of the arrow shaft. Based on this principle, why should we stick to iron arrow clusters?

A large number of crossbow arrows with glass arrow clusters are still mass-produced. Finally, they are cut into wooden sticks that are not very straight, and tied with pine gum and hemp rope. This is a low-quality disposable that does not even have tail feathers. The crossbow arrows are completed. Not to mention, it is really inferior, but its production capacity is very high.

After all, it was a battle. What Rurik gave his brother were iron-clustered arrows. The question of battle was ambiguous, that is, abusing his own soldiers. Rurik did not dare to do that kind of thing. Finally, those low-quality crossbow arrows with glass arrow clusters must be useful for hunting, but there is no chance of secondary use.

It doesn’t matter! Rurik even thought that he could equip his people with more glass crossbows. After all, if the enemy whose team only wore leather and charged intensively could be killed with glass crossbows, there was no need to use expensive iron cluster arrows.

It seems that here, the arrangements for this year’s war have come to an end.

After all, today’s meeting is not just about studying how to fight a war.

Otto saw that the headache that had caused him finally ended with Arik's compromise and happiness.

Otto made two other plans.

First, as the leader, Otto will lead the fleet in the tribal tradition of paying tribute to Novgorod in the spring.

Secondly, Rurik needs to lead a group of tribesmen and all the surrendered Kovin people of the Gray Squirrel tribe to the mine in the north to establish a permanent settlement, preferably to quickly utilize the rich local iron ore. Resources to smelt iron.

The meeting ended. Immediately after the meeting, Arik met the mercenary captain Yevlo and saw with his own eyes the so-called crossbow usage routine invented by Rurik.

Rurik organized all his mercenaries, as well as some soldiers who had participated in the decisive battle on the glacier. Rurik was surprised to have organized as many as seventy crossbowmen. Being able to use so many crossbows was a miracle in itself.

Such a battle not only shocked Otto, but also made all the onlookers excited. I'm afraid, this is the true state of Rurik's so-called "Ross Arrow Array"!

They lined up in two rows, and they pulled the triggers at the same time. The wooden plank erected fifty steps away was instantly riddled with holes from iron cluster arrows, and many arrows penetrated the wooden plank directly. . Of course, upon closer inspection, this wooden board is also made of specially selected materials, and it is inherently fragile. It was so smashed that sawdust flew everywhere and was riddled with holes. It was really a good show.

The onlookers were shocked, especially the craftsmen who were professional shipbuilders. When they saw such a scene, they had to think of very practical things: "We must use thicker ones, preferably thick ones." It’s still oak boards that have been drying for many years. Even if the materials are difficult to find, it is still better than being damaged by crossbow arrows.”

The craftsmen subconsciously thought of the possibility of technology leakage. , in order to ensure the sturdiness of Ross's ships and not damage their own brand, they decided to improve the manufacturing process.

It cannot be said that their ideas are unfounded, but the fact is that around the Baltic Sea, throughout Europe, and even around the Mediterranean, there is no second European nation that knows how to forge and make steel, and it lacks the imagination to use it. The elasticity makes a powerful weapon.

With the most powerful long-range weapon, Arik is full of hope for future plunder operations. In the hope of countless people, everyone ushered in the thaw of the ice sea and ushered in the Russian people who were forced to The postponed high sacrifice.