The "Northern Hunting" army returned to Rossburg at the end of February. The official status of the hunted Kovin people was Rurik's slaves. This was recognized by all Ross people. It is based on this At this point, no one would dare to disturb the "property" belonging to the chief's family.
Although they are slaves, their lives are not like those bullied and precarious slaves.
The population of the Gray Squirrel tribe shrank to barely two hundred people, and they temporarily lived in Fort Ross as slaves.
After the war and the long journey, all the old and infirm people died, and some women were taken away by the Russians and became women of Russian warriors and accidentally got rid of their slave status. .
Compared to being a woman who is one of those warriors, it seems that life is better as a slave of Rurik.
Yes, life is like this, can it get worse?
Mechasta, the leader of the tribe, is still the leader of the tribe to this day. Since both of his young children have received Rurik's attention, it is obvious that the future of the gray squirrel tribe will not be bad.
Everyone knows their true destiny in the future - to go to the north.
"Woima Kashad, this is really unexpected. The mine you discovered with your brothers has brought disaster to the tribe. Soon, the entire tribe will move there to settle. It seems that it is also a problem for the tribe. Good thing."
When he thought of this, Mechasta always put down the ax given by the Russians. He stood in the woods and looked towards the north.
Yes, after these tribesmen built their own tents, they began to build a number of cold-proof wooden houses covered with soil and withered grass. Rurik lent them a batch of iron axes for cutting wood, scrapers for cutting wood strips, and even drafts and shovels for digging the ground.
These are just wrought iron tools that have been quenched. They are stronger and more durable than pure wrought iron tools in other areas, but they are somewhat out of date compared to the low carbon steel tools that the Russians began to popularize.
In fact, as long as it is heated red and then carburized, a large number of iron tools kept by the Russians can be turned into carbon steel tools.
But judging from the actual use effect, the iron ax is completely sufficient for logging work. Rather than cutting down a tree with an iron ax, it is better to say that the tree was broken by a not-so-sharp axe.
The Gray Squirrel tribe must relocate to the mines in the north and rebuild the tribe there, permanently accepting the control of the Ross tribe, or the Ross chief family.
Legally, the Gray Squirrel Tribe is already Rurik’s private property, as are all the tribesmen. He can do whatever he wants with them, and he will not encounter criticism from others.
Rurik had no intention of mistreating them and even gave them preferential treatment.
He made a verbal promise with Mechasta that he would give the tribesmen food, and the price the tribesmen would pay was to cut wood for the Rus.
The gray squirrel tribe began to cut down pine and oak trees.After removing the bark from the wood with a scraper, Rurik sold it to the tribal shipbuilders who worked all night in exchange for some silver coins. The money was used to buy some dry oats from Gould, and from the tribesmen who insisted on cutting ice for winter fishing. Buy fish in hand. He gave grains and catches to the gray squirrel tribesmen, thus completing a closed loop of trade.
In this circular transaction, all parties have earned a little bit of the labor value of the gray squirrel tribesmen.
As for the tribesmen, they really feel that the Russians are not as bad as they once appeared.
Many people even think that the real leader of the tribe is obviously Rurik from Russia, even if he is a child.
That is a noble boy. Since you can get food and safety as long as you do things for him, why not do it?
The tribesmen are working harder and harder, and some of them have special skills that are beginning to show up.
After all, those men who surrendered on the battlefield were hunters themselves. They were allowed to re-equip their bows and arrows, and swore not to point their arrows at any Russian on pain of death.
They used carefully selected elastic oak branches to re-make their own short wooden bows, and borrowed iron clusters from the Ross people to make the highest quality arrows. They began to make arrows in the mountains near Rossburg. Hunt around.
They set out dragging a small sled, claiming they would not run away.
The hunters really have no intention of fleeing. After all, there are still a large number of tribesmen staying in the territory of the Ross people to serve as hostages!
The hunters of the gray squirrel tribe shoot all the prey they find near the hills. Compared with the Ross hunters who like to set traps such as trip wires, these Covin people prefer to shoot directly with bows.
They hunted some long-legged snowshoe hares, wary ferrets, and even the occasional Arctic fox. The meat of the prey was naturally shared among the hunters, the leg bones of the prey were made into bone clusters, and the leather was given to Rurik.
There are also some tribal people who are craftsmen who know how to make charcoal. The crooked branches of the oak were chopped off, and the relatively straight trunks were "tributed" to Rurik, and those branches were naturally processed into charcoal blocks.
There are only 200 surviving tribesmen. How did they use so many charcoal blocks? They "tribute" the excess burning carbon and pray for more food.
Rurik was a little surprised by these changes, and naturally supported many of their reasonable requests.
Is this flattery? Maybe so.
They are not eager to receive preferential treatment, they just want to live a better life.
The Kovin people and even the deer herders are two groups with the same origin. They joined the Rus' camp for different reasons and are so obedient. They obviously work very hard for themselves. How to explain this? Rurik felt that it could only be explained by the so-called "weird fanaticism" mentality.
Compared to the Russians, they are all others. In order to prove that they are useful to their new masters, they are fightingLive to prove your worth.
If they have this mentality, things will obviously be great!
Rurik admired the skilled craftsmen among this group of people, and centralized management of all the children among them.
In the end, the entire gray squirrel tribe will be completely absorbed by the Rus tribe, and their descendants will eventually think that they are the real Rus people. Even now, Rurik consciously cannot declare that they are the "New Rus people" . They are still a group of slaves, and the duty of a slave is to be obedient. If giving them some necessities of life can be exchanged for their obedience, Rurik would be happy to give them some things and gain greater benefits for himself in the foreseeable future.
The time finally arrived in May, and the Covin people and the deer herders were shocked when they saw a spectacular sight.
More than five hundred ships of various sizes, new and old, cover the sea surface of the fjord, and their huge sails spread out covering the sky!
People whose concept of boats was limited to canoes were completely stunned by the sight before them.
After a short period of time, the Covin gray squirrel tribe, who had made some mental preparations, finally received the official order from their master - our expedition is about to begin!
The great businessman Gould personally led a huge commercial fleet south. He took away all the goods in stock and most of the geographical leaders.
The wharf built by Gould's family temporarily became deserted, but soon it suddenly became lively again.
Two young, chubby boys, who were Gould's other sons, were ordered to manage the mansion after he left. They were also responsible for managing the family's relationship with the leader of Ross, and the family's life. .
The two faced the noble Rurik with extreme humility, and they followed their old father's orders and met all Rurik's requirements without reservation.
It was good weather again, and it was this day that Rurik decided to set out for the expedition.
On May 20th in the Julian calendar, all preparations are in place!
It is almost the summer solstice, and there is no night in Roseburg on that day. The days are now very long and the entire fjord is immersed in the warmest period of the year.
But the sea water is still relatively cold, and only the brave guys dare to throw away their clothes and take a dip in the sea water. This is an act of brilliance, and most fishermen in Ross are unwilling to do it just because they are in awe of the sea.
In the early morning, Rurik woke up, slapped his smiling face with both hands, and got up from his mother's arms.
He felt a little pity for the mother lying on her side, because her only son was about to lead a group of tribesmen to the north for construction as a "war chief".
Although this matter has nothing to do with war, after all, it is a pioneering work in an unknown territory. What mother wouldn’t worry?
Niya has already given the necessary instructions.
After she woke up as usual, she prepared some breakfast for the children who were about to leave, just like todayIt was a perfectly normal day.
Rurik sat cross-legged near the dining table, nibbling wheat cakes and dried meat, all the while glancing at his mother who was not thinking about food or tea.
He could understand the mother's mood.
"Mom, I know you are still worried. There is nothing to worry about. Just stay here and I will come back when I finish the work."
What is "finish the work" "? Niya didn't know. She pushed her wheat pancake to Rurik calmly: "Eat it, eat more."
"Well... okay."
Niya There were actually four children sitting in front of Ya, including Rurik, Carlotta, Ella, and Saipolava. The three girls are destined to be his wives and concubines, but he clearly hopes that his wives and concubines can become female warriors, not weaklings.
They ate in silence, and Niya stopped saying anything.
After a while, the outdoor world has become lively.
Although it was agreed that the departure crowd would gather at the dock of Gould's house, Rurik's buddies such as Fisk and Kanuf gathered all the people including themselves. The fifty young warriors who were selected to participate in the "expedition" gathered at the door of the leader's house with iron weapons issued by Rurik that were only suitable for real adults.
Also came the ten maids, from Anna to Yulia. They stopped making soap and picked up wooden bows and arrows to "Valkyrie Legion Soldiers" He came to meet his commander Carlotta and his master Rurik.
The thirty mercenaries with iron swords and axes hanging on their waists and crossbows in their upper hands are also here. The leader of the mercenaries, due to the temporary departure of Yevro, became Archery coach Fraser. At the same time, this Fraser still has to take on the management of all the children, just like daily training, and accept the supervision of his important task.
This time's "expedition" Rurik is surrounded by a number of capable officers.
As a war chief, he had the power to mobilize hundreds of warriors to attack the enemy. He could only mobilize a hundred pure-blooded Russian warriors excluding mercenaries. Despite the small number of these soldiers, they were veterans who had participated in the "Operation Northern Hunting" and had fought against the Kewen Tribe Alliance.
Originally, Rurik mobilized them simply because they had fought side by side, and because of this comradeship relationship, he could better handle them.
But in most people's eyes, this is just a little trick by Rurik.
Even if Rurik agrees that the Kovin slaves will not rebel, it seems to everyone that those Kovin people who can pick up iron axes and spears after receiving the gift are really full of possibility of rebellion. Therefore, powerful Ross warriors are needed to suppress them with momentum.
After dinner, Rurik felt full of energy. He put on gorgeous clothes and appeared in front of the waiting people with high morale.
"Looks like you're all ready! I won't say anything, let'sLet’s start from. ”
He didn’t make any high-spirited noise, but his little warriors roared “wuraaaaaaah” in response to their war chief.
Rurik’s swaggering leadership A group of people walked to the beach, hoping to meet the Covin people waiting to board the boat.
He did not look back at his mother, but Niya was staring at the back of his son and the one who followed him. Her golden ponytail trembled under the Snow Fox hat, and then she joined the team.
Rurik was going to lead a group of people to the north to open up the legendary iron mine? The ore is better than the ore in the small hill near the Ross Castle? The blacksmiths of the tribe are jealous of this resource, but Rurik specially selected Kawei to participate in the operation.
There is no other reason than that it was Kawei, a young man, who discovered the secret of the iron mine. Also going at the same time were Kamne and ten others who were less than ten years old and came from the Salmon Village of Covin. The blacksmith apprentice of the main tribe. Interestingly, because he learned the art early, Kamne is the senior brother of these Kewen children.
In fact, after two months of round-the-clock study, the new boy became a master. Although they don't have the strength to pick up a hammer and participate in blacksmithing, they all do their best to help. They are generally full of admiration for the blacksmith's work, and they observe the essentials of blacksmithing all day long while doing dexterous and helpful work. p>
It can be said that from the very beginning, these children have been learning the one-stop skills of prospecting, mineral processing, smelting sponge iron, wrought iron, carburizing, quenching and polishing. In the final analysis, the literati's technological output is to cultivate a new group of blacksmiths for the Ross tribe that can be completely controlled.
After all, the reality is a bit funny. The native Ross boys prefer to be brave warriors. What can Rurik do if he doesn't work all day long? He can only arrange for obedient slaves or submissive people to learn how to be a blacksmith.
One day. , the entire Gray Squirrel tribe must rely on iron smelting as their main livelihood. Rurik arranged for his slaves to explore this industry, which was also his primary purpose of developing the mine.
Said that the future of the Russian people will be inseparable from the huge chromite mine in the north.