Rurik didn't want to have a long talk about what the so-called campfire meeting was doing, even if he was reminiscing about the past, it should end here.
He wanted to end it quickly so that he wouldn’t have to spend the night on the shore again, so he simply hugged a deerskin bedding with a layer of linen and ran to the dry and flat long boat to sleep.
Finally at the critical moment, Rurik ordered his own people to shut up. He approached Mechasta, "Let me tell you something now. The expedition you sent was completely wiped out. My tribe No one was lost. Those people were dead. I could leave their corpses alone and let them be eaten by the snow wolves. But I got God's order, so most of them were collected before we left. The corpses were gathered in a depression at the foot of the mountain."
Mechasta trembled all over. He didn't know how to evaluate the child in front of him, and why he suddenly told himself this. They were savage fellows, but they showed mercy. etc! Really kindness? There must be a hint of threat!
Thinking about it, Mechasta asked himself, in those tribal wars in the past, his own people would not care about the corpses of the hostile Salmon Lord tribesmen who died, and simply let them rot. Return to nature.
Mechasta suppressed his emotions, "Where are they... all there?"
"It's at the foot of the mountain. I think it's easy to find them. Tomorrow Most of us are going to the hills to continue to develop the mines that were once developed by your people. As for the dead, I want to build a joint tomb for them. Your cemetery is near the mountain fort. I know your tradition, so build it. A joint burial, and that area will be your tribe’s cemetery from now on. I think you can accept my arrangement." Mechasta felt resentful as he looked at this handsome boy. And the boy's decision, he really couldn't hate it.
Mechasta is a rational person who knows what actions can bring benefits and avoid disadvantages to the tribe.
Based on absolutely rational considerations, if the members of the expedition team are dead, they are dead, and it is useless to say anything. Now, the important thing is to appease the hearts of the tribesmen who are still alive.
At least so far, the Rus people have not interfered with their tribe’s sacrificial activities. Instead, the tribesmen have received good food treatment, and now they have better housing. Even leader Rurik really understands the people of Kovin!
With tears in his eyes, Mechasta fully agreed with Rurik’s determination.
His face was staring at the faint hills under the starlight not far away, and a strange feeling with a hint of familiarity arose spontaneously.
So similar! If you build a walled hillfort, set up a cemetery, an altar, and put some canoes on the river beach, it will all feel so much like your hometown!
His face came back to reality and looked at Rurik: "I have also made the decision that our tribe will no longer call ourselves gray squirrels. We have a brand new name, we are iron squirrels! "
"Really?" Rurik responded with a smile: "Let's call it Stella Orava.Your tribe needs to be named after steel. Because, as long as we Russians get the chance, we will make steel. This is the key to our strength. Mechasta, you should be happy with your decision, your master is destined to become the strongest among the Varyags. ”
It sounds like there is really something to be happy about, but the Russians generally do not understand the “Kovin language” spoken by Rurik, and they start making noises. Only Mechasta is there. While he was crying with excitement, there was a deep fear in his heart.
Because in his opinion, this Varyag child, who was younger than his own son, had huge ambitions. The vision is so big that it completely exceeds his own imagination. Does he want to conquer "all the places where you can set foot and sail"?
After all, they have always been the tribe who changed their name to "Steel Squirrels". What ambitions could they have if they hoped to live a peaceful life by the dense forest and river?
So when the other people of the Iron Squirrel tribe knew that they needed to build their own new mountain forts like they built their old ones. Home, everyone was very happy.
When everyone learned that the corpses of the deceased expedition members had a clear destination, they immediately exploded!
Because many old women who survived the expedition were shocked. The person's son, or husband, was part of the expedition! They gathered around the shaman of their tribe and prayed to her that they would wait until tomorrow when everyone found all the corpses and make a sacrifice for their dead relatives so that they could wander around. Souls in the cold world can return to the sea of souls in the Covin people's dreams to rest in peace.
The expedition team is right there in a snow nest at the foot of the mountain!
< p>This night, the people of the Iron Squirrel Tribe, who had been renamed as the Iron Squirrel Tribe, couldn't let go when they thought about the corpses of their tribe in the wilderness. They didn't fall asleep until they were extremely exhausted.It's time for tomorrow. What to do, Rurik and his guys have already made arrangements.
Night has fallen, and it is best not to think about anything until dawn.
He lies down. In the flagship longship that was towed to the shore, deerskin was spread on the inside of the relatively flat ship, and then wrapped in quilts to rest.
He did not ask the Terravis brothers about the mine and the deceased. Many feelings, just like being on the same boat, he can hear the whispers of the brother and sister, and know their regret for the dead of the tribe.
Besides the river, this place should be absolutely wild, it should be. It is a pure natural place that has not been discovered by humans. Now the Russians have planted deep wooden stakes here. Towns are about to rise from the ground, and the deserted land will be filled with people and the heat of hot steel.
The construction site by the river fell into temporary silence, the bonfire was still crackling, and the faint smell of burning rosin floated in the air. The relatively dry ground baked by the flames was filled with various wooden strips and wooden sticks. Unprocessed logs
There is even a huge pine tree with all its branches cut off, which was dragged out of the woods by more than twenty strong men.Pulled out.
The young people in Ross noticed the unique timber resources here!
Different from the area where Fort Ross is located, the huge pine or oak trees near the hometown have been cut down almost completely. Coupled with the development of the shipbuilding industry in the past year, the tribe's demand for wood is increasing day by day.
We originally came to the north to explore mineral resources. People who are highly sensitive to navigation instantly realized the importance of the timber resources here.
Big tree! Very tall tree! It is a large tree that is almost extinct in my hometown.
Although in the eyes of the Russians, the best ship material is oak, but oak tends to grow a little crooked, so the more common red pine has become an important substitute. Pine trees are a little less hard than oak trees, and the Russians can judge this through experience.
A group of breathtaking giant red pine trees were discovered near the new settlement. After people had to cut them down, they only had to dig into the trunks to make excellent canoes.
However, its greatest value lies in its keel! The red pine is too tall. The hardest part of the core is cut into strips and allowed to dry naturally. It is an excellent keel material. Based on it, the Russians can build larger ships.
A new day arrives in the cool breeze.
The whole world is immersed in a thin sea fog. When the sun rises, the fog quickly dissipates.
A night's sleep did not allow Rurik to get a good rest.
"After all, it's been a long journey, so I have to sleep at least until noon. Alas, let's get up. I have to take them to the mine at noon today." He patted his little face to cheer up, and then sat down Standing up, I saw the crowd of people who had already started working.
Generally speaking, Russians only eat two meals a day, that is, one when they get up and one in the evening. Only those who do heavy physical work will eat a meal at noon, so for everyone, the meal in the evening is the main meal.
Rurik at least provided three meals a day to his young subordinates. Or because of the daily training, the children were forced to eat more because of hunger.
In the early morning, the aroma of cooking wheat porridge wafted over the camp, or looking for this rich and coveted aroma, a group of fishermen, instead of turning around and returning home, sailed their sail fishing boats directly to the beach.
Rurik noticed their arrival and couldn't help but feel touched in his heart.
Some bold young fishermen, how they hope that they can become part of the one hundred selected warriors and follow Rurik, so that they and their descendants can become powerful in the future. Rurik's top confidant.
In fact, only five small fishing boats washed up on the beach, and only 20 fishermen landed. They are all young and promising, and most of them are brothers and close friends with each other on the same boat.
Having just eaten the hot salty wheat porridge, Rurik felt that he was full of energy. It seemed that the five kilometers of inland cross-country that followed would not be difficult.Difficult thing.
The sudden landing of the fishermen made him very happy. After all, the reality was here. He really overestimated the speed of building a new town with the few people on hand. He needed more strong labor force.
Rurik stood up and accepted the warrior-like baggage of his tribe’s fist hammering his heart.
The leader of the fishermen is called Spuyut. He and his companions did not participate in the Northern Hunting, nor did they participate in the crusade against Gotland, perhaps just because they were very young.
These twenty fishermen are generally only twenty years old this year. Compared with other warriors, they have never been on the battlefield. Even though they have hunted land beasts and harpooned beluga whales and Seals, they are still too immature.
"War Chief, we are here to work for you."
"Oh?" Rurik was a little surprised, "I thought you went fishing at night, right? You want to donate your catch."
"Sir, we really want to work for you. We can cut trees, build houses, and repair ships for you."
"I understand." Rurik grabbed his waist and said, "You want some reward, just like everyone else. Even if you are a little tired from work, if you can earn one silver coin in three days, the food will be free. "You don't want to miss this kind of good thing."
Hearing this, the fisherman Si Puyut smiled naively and couldn't help but murmur in his heart: Rurik is smart, much smarter than all the children.
Rurik did not reward him: "Your goal is actually to obtain silver coins. Do you think that if you come to do things for me uninvited, I must give you benefits?"
Si Puyut was a little panicked. He then looked at the expressions of the other tribal brothers around Rurik. For a moment, he was deeply timid and his steps became a little weak.
"If you refuse, I think we should leave." As he said that, some fishermen had already begun to retreat.
“Wait a minute!” Rurik waved.
"Sir, do you have any more instructions?"
For a moment, Rurik glanced at the flowing river from the corner of his eyes. He thought about whether the thoughts he had yesterday could be fulfilled today. Implement these immediately with the help of fishermen.
"You can work for me, but not in construction." As he said this, Rurik pointed his little finger upstream of the river. "You go against the river and explore the fish in the river for me. I don't believe that you can't catch a few fish in this sea area, and you still can't do it in the river."
"Let's go Catching river fish? Is this possible?"
"Who knows?" Rurik shrugged, and suddenly had another idea. He stamped his feet: "Oh! Who knows how many resources there are in this area? We catch a lot of ferrets and snow rabbits in this area in winter. If you go upstream, you might be able to catch some small animals."
This reminder really reminds people of many things.
Spuyut suddenly realized: "Spring is here, those hibernating black bears and wandering white bears,It's time for them to show up. All the bears in my hometown have been hunted to death, maybe here..."
"Good idea! Just do it! "
What Rurik can be sure of is that there must be more polar bears than people living on the land north of the Gulf of Bothnia. How many are there? Thirty thousand, fifty thousand, or more Maybe the ice floes in the Arctic Ocean are full of polar bears.
The purpose of rebuilding a Covin-style mountain fort is to defend against polar bear attacks. The leather is a kind of treasure, and the bear meat is also a good meat. Hunting a strong bear weighing nearly a ton is a difficult task no matter how you think about it. If you don't do it well, the bear will kill you. , the hunter became the prey.
The fisherman was here, and Rurik immediately recruited five mercenaries under his command, and gave the mercenary warrior equipped with a crossbow a special mission - to explore with the fishing boat. , discovering and shooting large prey directly
Finding and hunting bears, wolves, foxes, and reindeer have become what fishermen need to do
Rurik Kai. The condition was that Rurik would buy all the fresh leather at the traditional Russian leather purchase price, including the meat of the prey and the catch.
< p>His only warning is that once he encounters the so-called "summer grazing" deer herders, he must not shoot them proactively, but must use force to capture them and finally bring them all back to the camp.They are a Ross expedition team that went upstream and took orders from Rurik! Five small fishing boats with a total of twenty-five people!
They were lucky enough to get Rurik.
Of course, in addition to the relatively empty honor, Rurik, who has always been known as "especially likes to abide by contracts", promised to use real money to buy the adventure. In order to obtain huge benefits and honors, the fishermen did not stay any longer. As the mercenary warriors carrying steel-armed crossbows boarded the boat, the fishermen felt strong.
Five small boats sailed upstream. The four oars on each boat rowed regularly, and the big sails were blown by the south wind that was no longer as sharp as a knife. They gradually Disappeared from the sight of Rurik and other people watching on the shore.
Kawei always stood beside Rurik, watching the fishing boat go away and gradually be obscured by the dark green forest.
"Rurik, do you really think they can hunt a group of white bears? ”
“Who knows? Rurik shrugged, "Whether they succeed or not, this area will always be our territory." The Oulu River that continues from here to the Kovin people, and the peninsula of Murmansk directly east of us, surrounded on three sides by the sea, the deer herders who live there must all be my servants. "
Rurik said a lot, and Kawei vaguely heard some strange words. "Rurik, what Moore? What sk? A peninsula? ”
“Ah!” Rurik’s small body was startled, and he pointed to the endlessly flowing river: “Everything here belongs to us! That’s what God told me.”
Kawei was greatly surprised: "Ah, it seems you got a revelation last night."
Similar rhetoric has been tried repeatedly by Rurik. He said casually: "Even if we haven't been to some areas, , God gave me a revelation."
"Odin...what other revelations?"
"Yes!" Rurik smiled confidently, "There is a peninsula. It's the territory of the Deerkeeper. The frozen sea at the end of our world has a bay that never freezes. Let's go to the mine. Remember! It's the battle of destiny that Odin has given me. It was Odin who gave us the mine. Next, it is time for you to show your talents."
"Let's go." Kawei turned around and looked at his people, "Everyone. Get ready. Those Kewen people are ready, and your subordinates are also ready."
" Let's go!" After that, Rurik suddenly pulled out. Taking out his sword, he roared with the buzz of the sword: "Except for the brothers who stayed behind to continue the construction, everyone else, go to the mine!"
The tribesmen let out an inspiring roar. , and Kewen people seemed extremely urgent. They gathered together to form a mighty team, numbering as many as four hundred people!