Since the announcement was made in advance, when the grand sacrifice arrived, the majority of the Russian people were not surprised at all. On the contrary, they sang, danced and often roared loudly.
Just because everyone is looking forward to a huge war!
Although it is easy to start a war, to end it, perhaps it can only be ended by completely defeating the hostile party.
In the past few decades, every household in Russia has been attacked by Gotlanders while fishing at sea. Although it was just a special form of people coming and going at sea at the beginning, the situation gradually expanded, and fierce battles between the two groups who were good at ocean fishing became increasingly frequent.
At that time, everyone at least belonged to the "Svealan Tribal Alliance" and did not openly break up.
As the big families on Gotland Island finished their meetings, it only took a moment to withdraw from the alliance.
The Gotlanders have withdrawn, will the Russians also withdraw?
A long time ago, the Rus people who were squeezed out by the tribal alliance at the same time moved northward. The connection between the tribe and the alliance almost only existed in mutual folk trade.
It was not until 831 that a formal alliance and a king's war brought the Russians back.
In fact, in the hearts of Rurik and Otto, they never appreciated the title of duke awarded by Olegin who made himself king. They are all businessmen, some want face and some want honor, that’s all. That’s all.
At least the Russians did not withdraw from the alliance, and they were not truly isolated from the southern world.
This time, the people of Russia are excited about conquering Gotland and completely conquering and annexing those guys! Before Rurik announced his mobilization for war at the altar, the men who had returned from fishing were already carefully polishing their harpoons and axes at home, and the women were stepping up their efforts to smoke and dry fish.
Have the Russians ever had a full-scale war with their opponents? It seems that there is something recorded on those wooden boards with ancient stories engraved on them.
The war is in August, and everything must give way to the war.
The old father encouraged the young child to fight for the glory of his ancestors and took out the heirloom weapons.
The old mother kissed the child's face and encouraged him to fight for the Russian people. During the battle, an amber pendant engraved with a villain (lucky elf) was hung around his neck.
Some families have three or four children. The old father does not even think about the possibility of losing all his sons in the war, because this is a total war against the Gotlanders, and the entire family, such as the entire tribe, , all trying their best.
The soldiers Rurik plans to recruit are no less than sixteen years old. In fact, this is very scientific. As an authentic Nordic, sixteen-year-old men generally have thick beards. At first glance, they are already Strong and powerful.
Before the sacrifice, Otto was not at all leisurely. As the Duke of Ross, he easily gathered the elite and secondary combat forces of the Ross tribe with his own appeal.
He took stock of the people living in Rossburg who had pure Ross tribe blood.There were as many as six hundred and fifty men between the ages of sixteen and fifty.
Of course, the Ross tribe still has a large male population, but they are generally too young. How useful are young warriors in a real battle? Otto didn't want the cubs who didn't even have beards to fight the enemy. At least they had to grow beards first.
He took this opportunity to actually complete the statistics of the men of the pure-blood Ross tribe, which added to the 500 people gathered on Tombstone Island and the 30 adults who settled in Ironburg in the north. Fishermen, about two hundred adult men who settled in New Roseburg in the East.
The number of Russian men is as many as 1,400, and this is also the result of losing a number of soldiers in the past few wars.
If the statistics range starts from the age of twelve, including those who are old enough to pick up an ax as warriors, there should be two thousand men in Rus.
However, the number of elite Russian men was only 700.
From the perspective of military strength alone, Otto clearly realized that he did have an extremely obvious disadvantage when facing the Melalen tribe. However, if those servant tribes could be trained to create a tribe that only obeyed orders. For the army commanded by the Duke of Ross, the situation was very different.
Completely trust outsiders? The outsiders Otto trusts most now are the mercenaries like Jevro. They have proved their loyalty with the bloody heads of their enemies on multiple battlefields.
Finally, other people are always suspicious, unless they kill the enemy to get a certificate of surrender.
The son requested to recruit at least a thousand elite Russian troops. OK, the work has been completed. However, the other tribesmen were really eager to fight and could not refuse their hospitality, so Rurik had no choice but to accept their application and simply arrange them all into the team.
Just out of tradition, for any expedition, the expedition should prepare food spontaneously and actively. The Duke would of course also provide food himself, but no soldier could expect charity from the Duke on the march.
When Rurik had no time to think about it, Otto pulled out a team of up to 700 people. There are actually a lot of children here who are only fourteen to fifteen years old. They worship the legendary hero Arik and the sacred Rurik. They regard this war as a major opportunity to prove that they are men. It can be said that I may not get this opportunity for many years next time.
How can the Russians pull out an army of 3,000 men at any time?
Otto never dreamed that his son would plan to organize boys and girls who were only ten years old into the team to fight the enemy.
The build-up of the army is still one of the top priorities in the future, but it is not now.
The grand sacrifice is tonight!
Oh, the sun will not set tonight, but will freeze on the western sea level in a very magical way. The afterglow of the setting sun will last forever, until at a certain moment it lazily rises again. .
Fishing boats operating in the Bay of Bothnia returned to port one after another, evenIn order to catch up with this sacrifice, many people who settled in Ironburg had wandered on the sea and returned.
Originally, the summer solstice sacrifice was not that grand, but the leader wanted to go to war, and the news spread throughout the bay immediately. Everyone is looking forward to the war, and everyone is looking forward to the grand sacrifice to pray to the great god Odin that the Russians will win. Everyone is also looking forward to the leader's inspiring words.
Rosberg is crowded. Compared to the past, there are only a few foreign merchants here (male merchants arrived in large numbers after the autumn harvest), a large number of married Slavic women and their children, and Servants, slaves, a large number of mercenaries.
All kinds of people have increased the population of Roseburg to more than 5,000 people, and these 5,000 people can be dispatched by the chief family. The previous tribal traditions have inadvertently faded to the edge, and the power of the Principality of Rus has been greatly concentrated in the hands of Otto and Rurik.
Some of the first Slavic women to marry had already given birth to a second child, and even more extreme, some not only gave birth to a second child, but also had a new baby in their belly. Nowadays, it is a serious crime for parents who dare to commit infanticide, and people's living standards have been greatly improved, so they can no longer do such a thing.
In the past, Rose's parents did not intentionally kill their daughters. They simply used their extremely limited resources to support one or two boys in the hope that they would do heavy work when they reached a certain age. Nowadays, ordinary families cherish all labor power.
The food shortage problem has been greatly improved as the tribe as a whole has become richer. There are more days to eat, and with more wealth, a large number of Rus-Slav mixed descendants have been born. Their father is a Russian, so they are also "pure Russians." Otto doesn't worry much about this. He just hopes that the descendants of his tribe will prosper. Obviously, this hope is being implemented quickly.
No, the population of married Slavic women has reached four hundred, and now new women are brought here every year. The long-standing marriage problem for Russian men has long been solved by married Novgorod women and women captured from previous battles. A few of them even have multiple wives and more children.
The baby boom has arrived in Roseburg. Although some children died unexpectedly, the miracle is real, and the death rate is incredibly low (soap has contributed to improving sanitary conditions).
Now the entire tribe has more than 200 children who have just turned one year old. Whether the children’s mothers are willing or not, they come from different estates in Novgorod, and now they are all Rus’ women. Smart women know She needs to work hard to have children to prove her worth to the Russians, and having more children will solidify her family status as a mother in the future.
The whole world was bright. When the sun was fixed in the sky, the Russians wore comfortable clothes and walked towards the altar in large numbers. Those Slavic women also followed their husbands closely. They wore their own dowry, so-called exquisite cloth shirts, and covered their heads with colorful headscarves to cover their braids.They hugged their children tightly, many of them holding their bellies.
At this moment, Rurik had already put on a white gown that looked simple but was actually studded with gold and lakes. A cowhide belt wrapped with gold wire hugged his waist.
The priests are all here, and they are also gorgeously dressed, with some blue tones deliberately added to their white plain robes.
They wore flower crowns, but Rumia wore a crown of antlers.
The real high priest Vilia sat on a short dumpling, and she was carried to the sacrifice site by the junior priestess. She has done what she needs to do, and Rumia is solely responsible for the rest of the work.
It’s her again! A little girl appears to have officially taken over the job of high priest.
At this moment, there are still people who doubt that Rumia’s status as a mere deer herder is worthy of being the high priest of Ross, but more people refute this view. She was indeed a deer herder, that was all in the past, and the antlered helmet she wore now was a gift and order from Odin.
People were whispering to each other, and the whole venue was like thousands of buzzing bees flying non-stop.
The sun, which had not risen at all, set slightly until it completely stopped.
A large number of stars appeared in the sky, and their stars were extremely dim.
Look! Some light green streamers flashed in the sky.
The time for sacrifice has come. Rumia stood in the stone boat altar with a circle of oil lamps lit. She held up a calf horn and used the melodious sound of the horn to alert the noisy crowd. Announce the beginning of the sacrifice.
All the priestesses began to sing ancient prayers with their songs. They prayed that the gods who protect the tribe would continue to send favors, that the sea would be calm, and that people would be safe.
Every year during the summer solstice ceremony, they would sing the same prayer to a traditional tune. Only this year, the people who stayed quiet and listened to the ethereal singing heard strange lyrics.
They are using their songs to report a war to the great god Odin and ask for his support.
At this moment, Rurik was half-kneeling, his right fist pressed against his chest and his head lowered. He assumed a pious and somewhat strange posture with a strong sense of ritual.
This war itself is a man-made thing, and the greatest role of sacrifice is to stabilize and unite people's hearts. In this way, Rurik doesn't mind adding a touch of sacredness to it.
Many people joined the chorus, especially a group of girls raised by Rurik. They will definitely participate in the next battle, but now, they are all dressed in plain clothes and wearing wreaths on their heads, standing next to the altar and joining in the chorus.
If you just chant uninspired prayers, apart from making the people who spontaneously kneel down one after another have calluses on their ears, is there any benefit?
They started singing some new catchy songs with strange rhythms. This is the melody Rurik taught them, and the lyrics naturally have to be modified to keep pace with the times.
No matter what the song is, there is only one song that Russians must learn.
"God"Saint's War", this song must always be the Russian war song! Rurik did have a bit of bad taste at first, forcing his men to learn this song quickly, but in the current scene, this song really fits the situation.
So these are the words these priestesses and girls sing:
Arise, glorious Rose. Fight to the death! To destroy the Gotland traitors. All enemies must be defeated.
We are completely different from the enemy. We want to defeat them, we want light and victory, but the enemy only wants to suppress us.
Foolish enemies, watch out for your lives. We will attack you! Get the coffin ready!
Everyone takes up arms and fights the enemy for the glory of our ancestors, for the sake of our wives and children.
We support "War Chief" Rurik and contribute all our strength to defend our Rus. Victory belongs to Rus!
Those girls from the Valkyrie Army, who were guest priests, sang this song publicly for the first time.
The tribesmen listened to their ethereal singing and were soon infected by the very exciting lyrics.
Otto's eyes widened. What he noticed was that the brothers around him were praising the song as a wonderful song. They were eager to sing, as if they were infected by the song.
He had to admit the appeal of this song while being moved. This song clearly meant that the era that belonged to him, Otto, was probably going to end with this war.
"Oh, using songs to establish your power? Maybe that's good. You must grow up early. If you win this war, you will definitely gain the highest power that no one can question."
Otto, who had a son at an old age, gave all his love to Rurik. Fortunately, his son was truly magical and had a promising future.
When the singing quieted down, the catchy rhythm had been "brainwashed" by the girls' repeated repetitions. Even when the girls were singing, some people were already humming along. Sung.
Since as many as 5,000 people gathered in the forest where the altar is located, in the era without loudspeakers, the girl's singing could not be transmitted very far.
The tribesmen can hear the melody, and the exciting lyrics are only heard by a few people for the time being. Even so, the tribesmen have raised their hands in the air and cheered and jumped. A large number of ignorant people are infected by this intense emotion. Fighting for the Viking war cry.
Looking at their enthusiasm, Rurik’s face cracked in an exaggerated way.
"It seems that my efforts were almost in vain. If I had known, I would have taught them a few more songs. It would not be too late to wait until after the war."
With the actions The ten reindeer sacrificed were led into the altar, and Rurik, holding a dagger, stabbed all the deer to death in public. His decisiveness also amazed the nearby onlookers.
Rumia personally took out the heart of the strongest stag, held it up high to show to the tribe, and then used her fingers full of deer blood to write marks on Rurik's face. .
That's not all. Rurik endured the fishy smell and drank a bowl of deer blood from a small bowl made of pure silver in public.
Lumia cut open the deer's liver again, raised the severed liver high, and announced the good omen in public.
“Odin has expressed his support for our war. He supports Rurik as our war chief. He will give us victory. All the Russians who participate in this war will die in battle. , or dies peacefully at home in old age, his soul will be selected by the Valkyrie. Odin is watching his warriors. God will not ignore any brave people, and the brave ones will enter Valhalla!
She is already the high priest, who can not support the high priest?
Rumia can now speak Norse well. She is actually over thirteen years old. In addition to having the beauty that a woman should have, she also has some necessary physical foundations for a mother. .
Of course, any deer farmer must have a good voice to call out deer or cattle or sheep that run away in the open space.
Her high-pitched voice is quite penetrating. This good news of "God's blessing" really stimulates the eardrums of the Russian people, and the sacrifice has reached its boiling peak.
When people's excitement gradually became exhausted due to the constant shouting, Rurik stood on some logs that had been moved into the altar and once again publicized his major commitment to those who supported the war.
He understands very well that spiritual encouragement is very necessary, but it is even more important to give clear material rewards.
He wants to mobilize all the men, women, and children of the tribe, and even everyone who is willing to serve the Ross tribe. All participants will enjoy the "war bonus", and of course this war is famous. The protracted friction and fierce fighting must come to an end, because its existence threatens and affects the development of the Russian people.
This battle is to end the war against the Gotlanders.
As for the way to end it, it is to defeat the enemy and eliminate the effective strength of the Gotlanders.
Rurik no longer cares about human kindness and kindness in this matter. He is all about mobilizing the power of the tribe, making the best weapons and armor, and becoming a madman for his tribe.
The majority of tribesmen are even more fanatical!
They celebrated crazily on a nightless night, ushering in intense and ambitious preparations.