The Danes can build a hegemony by virtue of their population advantage, but in Rurik's impression, Denmark is only a small force.
The Russians have a bright future, so it is naturally not easy to provoke them rashly now.
Rurik noticed Karl's frustration, which was mixed with anger and powerlessness.
According to what these noble guys said, the Swedish army's failure was purely due to the crushing strength of the opponent.
This is like the Russian army crushing the Gotland army.
However, Rurik did not sympathize with their failure.
"Karl, our army did not win in the southern expedition. But we did not really lose. You see, our Swedish coalition still occupied the island of Gotland, and we dealt with all the traitors on the island. ”
After Rurik’s arrogance, Karl raised his head, his eyes bright.
"Yes! I just didn't achieve a comprehensive victory. At least on this battlefield, our Swedish army won." When he said this, Karl had already had the idea of occupying Gotland.
Considering the current situation, the island is occupied by the Russians. If I ask for it as the king, they will definitely not give it. If I want to get Gotland, I need to pay the price.
Karl watched the changes quietly, but unexpectedly the Russians handed him a big gift.
Rurik is the person with the most say in the Ross tribe. He followed what he said before: "The Gotlanders were almost completely wiped out, and some of the people who were not killed fled to the south. In the pine forest, they are no longer a threat. We Russians do not like this island, and we will leave soon."
Who is the master of Gotland?" Karl didn't even think about it. Then he patted his chest: "I am the king, and I declare Gotland to be mine."
"Yes! You are the king, but..." After Rurik finished speaking, he noticed the expressions of the dukes. With trembling eyes, "After all, Gotland was conquered by us Russians. This is a treasure. If we Russians don't want it, it will be shared by the allies of the kingdom."
After that, leave Rick raised his head: "Gotland is the wealth of all of us. It is not the private property of a certain tribe. Every tribe has the right to develop it! What do you think?"
Rurik's proposal is really good. Let everyone except Karl shine!
Brothers are the leaders of each tribe, and no one is a big fool. Of course, some people know that there must be something fishy about the Russians announcing their withdrawal, but Gotland is indeed a warm place and everyone likes it.
Every tribe, including the Rus, all hope to obtain stable grazing pastures and farms with fertile land and warm climate.
They have never seen the warm farmland in France, let alone the large granary in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River. In their eyes, Gotland already has great potential.
The dukes of each tribe all clapped their hands and applauded, but Karl grinned slightly and expressed his support reluctantly.
The Melalen tribe still has the largest population.With exclusive rights to Gotland, which has the largest population, they can organize more immigrants to settle and develop.
At this point, the meeting of the Gotland Council should come to an end. After everyone's discussion, Carl was still the king of Sweden, but his power was far less than that of his father. Each tribe still lives its own life, and each tribe has the right to immigrate and develop the empty Gotland.
The dukes left one after another, returning to their teams, each of which only had more than a hundred people left.
The Swedish army did suffer a disastrous defeat. The Mellarens, who sent the largest number of troops, were left with only 500 tired warriors.
After all, the population of the Melalen tribe exceeds 20,000! They live along the lake and are relatively scattered overall. What maintains the existence of such a behemoth is the huge market. As long as the market trade continues, the Malaren people can continue to develop steadily.
More than 1,500 troops were sent out, but only 500 were returned. Eight hundred mercenaries in black were killed in the battle, and a group of brave farmers died in the battle.
The Melalen people can completely accept this kind of loss, but the situation of other tribes is simply hemorrhage.
For example, the larger Uppsala, Hjärmalen, and Onkras lost 300 men.
Their agricultural production was essentially destroyed due to the loss of a large number of laborers. The population, especially the prime-age men, are the main force in hoeing the earth.
The strength of the three larger tribes has been greatly weakened. Except for the remote Rus' people and the Svealand Plain where Lake Mälaren is located, Mälaren's hegemony has become more stable.
That is the hegemony of Mellaren, not the same as the hegemony of the Karl family.
Only Karl is asked by Rurik to stay in the chamber, and Melalen and Ross will discuss the previous contract again.
Rurik made his attitude clear directly and formally: "Now, they have all left. When we signed the contract with your father, you were also present. Now is the wheat harvest period. When we evacuate, I want you to bring out the promised wheat immediately, not even a pound less."
"Ah this..." Karl wanted to show off his strength, but in the end he found that he was without the protection of his old father and private soldiers. I really can't be tough.
"What? Are you hesitating?"
"Russian, maybe this is the case." Karl looked around, and there was indeed no one else. "Maybe we should make a new agreement. "
"You want to revise the contract?" Rurik smiled and ordered bluntly, "I don't think it's necessary. Your tribe will have a good harvest. To pay interest, you have to come up with 800,000 pounds of wheat."
"But that's too much. Maybe..."
"What do you want?"< /p>
"How about I default on the arrears first, and wait until next autumn, I will give you more interest, and then I will give you one million pounds or more. What do you think?"
Otto, who was sitting cross-legged, secretly poked his son on the back. Rurik completely understood what his father meant. The attitude of the father and son was:Exactly the same.
Rurik said with a straight face, "No. I just want wheat, and I want it right away."
"But if I can't get it out..."
Karl’s intention was just to test, but he did have something to hide, except that the brat Rurik actually became furious.
"You want to tear up the contract? Ridiculous! Karl!" Rurik stood up directly and pointed at his nose unceremoniously, "Do you remember our secret agreement? This is a fair deal. !We will lend you money and openly support Olegin's election. In exchange, we will receive 800,000 pounds of wheat. If you don't give us wheat, then forget it."
"Ah, you can't do this." Carl panicked and hurriedly pointed to his golden crown, "I am the owner of this crown, I am the king, you must support me."
Rurik must have: "What everyone supports is a king who can bring victory to everyone, not a loser. Listen, Karl! How many people are left in the black army that maintains your family's power? Do you still want to Think about yourself, you Melalen people are an aggregation of many families and a large number of farmers and fishermen. Those powerful families couldn't fight you before, but now?
You must give enough money according to the contract? Hand over the oats, and you will fulfill the contract. Remember, your power in Melalen can only be stabilized with the support of us Russians."
Karl was confused: "Should I return the money? No? You must want wheat?"
"Of course, this is a contract! We, the Russians, cannot accept the king's betrayal, and neither can other tribes."
Liu Li. Ke still had a sullen face. From the bottom of his heart he despised this self-willed and pretentious person. Now that he had become a down-and-out coward, he despised him even more.
You still have to say it from both sides. Even if this person is lame and blind, he is still a king.
"We just want wheat. Of course you can refuse to give it, or find reasons to delay it. Then our Russian army will go directly to Melalen."
"What? Do you still want to To rob us by force?"
Rurik said without changing his expression: "Is taking our own things considered a robbery? I want to be the king."
"They dare!" Carl yelled angrily.
"I don't know if they dare, but if you lose the support of us Russians, you will definitely lose everything. Don't you...don't you want to revive the family business and support your old father and everyone?" Olegin's revenge?"
What else can Karl, who is baring his teeth, say? He suppressed it until his face turned red.
"Okay! I admit it! I admit it..."
Rurik's tense attitude finally relaxed, "Then have a good rest. Our Russian transport ship The team is about to arrive, and we will leave with a large amount of capture. As for when you leave, I don't care, but we Russians cherish the alliance, I can.I promise that I will provide you with free food during your stay. ”
“Oh, then I really want to thank you. "After that, Karl stood up and walked away quickly.
The noisy forum became quiet again. Rurik breathed a sigh of relief and lay down, closing his eyes and resting his mind.
Otto looked at his son, he naturally had many opinions about Rurik's decision, some of which he could not easily accept.
"Rurik. "
"Dad. ”
“Why should we give up Gotland? We can develop this place, we can graze and farm here, and we will be richer. ”
“Not now. "Rurik opened his eyes and stared idlely at the dim beams of the house. "At most, we will control Slitomo Port in the future as one of the relay stations for our Sorgon voyage. As for occupying the entire island, it is inappropriate. "
"So you generously gave it to them? Your kindness is also out of season. "
Dad's words were obviously sarcastic, Rurik smiled, "This is not mercy, and I will not be merciful here. The Danes would find their allies broken, and they would seek revenge here. Anyone staying here would be an enemy of the Danes. I'm not afraid of Denmark, but I don't want to fight them to the death either. ”
“So that’s it? Otto felt a little relieved and asked again, "Karl is now a polished veteran, and his men are all hungry and cowardly fools. You still want to support this man." You know, if your cousin were here, he might chop off Carl’s head. "
"It doesn't matter. "
"You don't care? Do you still support him becoming king? "
"At least this man promised to bring out the wheat we need. "
"What if he insists on refusing after going back? "
"Then kill him. Rurik suddenly started to act and said coldly, "The Melalen people are nothing more than that. We can defeat them and seize their wealth." "
Otto was taken aback by his son's shocking words, "You want to start a war with them? No, this is a breach of contract. "
"I don't want this either. If they betray their alliance, don't blame me for being a bad person. Rurik turned his head sharply, "Don't you think that we Russians are also facing a huge crisis?" "
"Crisis? What's the crisis? We won a great victory and the brothers were overjoyed. "
"We have captured a total of two thousand people, almost all of them young women and girls. They need to eat, and I need to feed them, at least this winter. "
Otto shook his head: "I will give the women to my brothers, and each of them will have a big belly for me next spring. We need not be too concerned about the brothers supporting their new wives. ”
“No. The brothers need enough food to feed them, and our tribe always needs a lot of wheat. This year the situation is more complicated, and if we cannot get a million pounds of wheat from Mälaren, life will be very difficult for us later in the winter. If those women are hungryIf we suffer a miscarriage due to hunger, our tribe’s strength will suffer. ”
Otto closed his eyes and thought for a while, and finally realized the greatness of his son’s determination. The loss of hundreds of local Russian soldiers must be replenished by the belly of Russian women, and it will take at least fifteen years to make up for it.
The captured Gotland women were Russian women when they were captured. They were not slaves, but the mothers of the future Russian army.
The more wheat, the better, Otto thought. After thinking: "It seems that on this issue, your kindness is correct. ”
“Of course. Therefore, I must use various means to protect our interests. Only in this way will brothers be willing to fight with me. Not just because I am God’s chosen one. ”
Due to the impact of the war, the tribute voyage this autumn should start quickly. The most important tribute the Russians need is food from Novgorod.
How much can Novgorod provide? Under the current situation, 300,000 pounds of wheat is probably the limit. The implementation of this goal is naturally based on desperately squeezing the pine needle estate.
Rick naturally fulfilled his resolution after the victory, which was to exempt the White Tree Manor in Novgorod from paying tribute this year. The manor also sent almost all the men to fight for Rus. These people should share part of the fruits of victory. .
Medvit and his tribe will surrender all their spears and return home with a large number of iron weapons. Each man has at least two axes and a short sword. The once extremely rare iron tools are now available in many hands. Is there any more pragmatic reward than this?
When the transport fleet is about to return, Rurik and Otto no longer have any intention of chatting with Karl and his son. The two even declined invitations from other tribal leaders, as if the Russians did not care about the defeated Swedish army except for providing food subsidies.
But Karl, he has begun to side with the Goths. One hundred Merlaren warriors were forced to stay on the island from the ruins of the Orans. They were exempted from the land debt of their hometown. All the men had to do was to maintain the land after the various armies left. The ruins of Visby are closely guarded.
Obviously, Karl will arrive next spring and start building Visby into an overseas territory of the Melalen tribe.
He feels that it is a good idea. Expanding territory is an action that can save face.
Rurik arranged a retreat plan. Beyond the mound to the east of Visby Port, there was a battlefield littered with corpses. He did not smell it. There was a stench, but the thought of it was inexplicable retching. The current low temperature has greatly slowed down the death of the dead bodies. The first snow will fall in about a month, and the snow will cover the bodies, and the battlefield will seem to disappear, but when the ice disappears. When the snow melts, the east of the hills will be in chaos.
Those things have nothing to do with the Russians.
On September 6th in the Julian calendar, Vis. A group of large ships with tilted triangular sails appeared in the bay of Bei.
The largest ship came towards the rising sun, immersed in dreams.In the light and shadow, the Aurora is like a visitor from another world.
A large number of Russians gathered together, carrying the amazing cargo they seized, and the beach pier in Visby was already crowded.
The remnants of the various tribes of the Swedish army were really envious and jealous when they saw the wealth owned by the Russians, and Karl simply developed hatred.
For a moment, Karl relied on his status as king to ask for some trophies from the Russians. Then he carefully thought about the warning of Rurik's brat. His courage lasted less than a second and became timid.
The long and intense work of moving materials lasted throughout the day. At night, the beach was full of bonfires, and the leather and live sheep that had not yet been loaded onto the ship were also driven towards the cargo ship.
On the seventh day of this month, Otto and Rurik finally returned to their flagship Avora.
At this time, there were masts everywhere in the bay, and staggered blue stripes were sewn on each raised sail.
The Russians dispatched a huge fleet, forty cargo ships (Gould exhausted all the cargo ships to participate in transportation activities when he returned to Rossburg) and 300 long ships. Such a scale is basically impossible. They are just flexing their muscles to the Swedish tribes, especially the Mälaren people!
Although Rurik had no intention of showing off his muscles, his purpose was to organize the fleet as much as possible to transport the captured goods back. As for scaring Karl's little heart, there was nothing he could do.
Now that things have happened, the balance of strength within the Kingdom of Sweden has changed dramatically. The Mälaren people have clearly become the image of being strong on the outside and hard on the inside, while the Rus are like the rising sun. The Russians no longer have to hide from internal personnel. The Russians still need to be forbearing, which is to hide their presence when the kingdom faces the competition of Danish strength.
So the Russians' sailing was only pleasing to Rurik's naming, and it only depended on whether the Avora set off.
The Ross fleet brought the rest of the delivery, and the remaining sheep, which were eaten at the end, were stuffed into the hold of the ship, or tied directly to the mast of the open deck of the longship. superior. The mighty team moved forward in the shape of a water droplet. Just behind the water droplet was a small fleet, which was the "main fleet" of the Swedish coalition.
It is a pity that the Ross fleet has become the real main force, and the once all-powerful coalition fleet has now become a supporting role.
The Russians, the big ship towed the small boat, and the army moved against the wind.
On the second day of return, the Ross fleet was divided into two. A group of large cargo ships headed towards the Eastern Gulf with some long ships.
Karl was puzzled by what he saw. He stood on the bow of the boat and asked the oarsmen behind him: "Can the Russians go to the east? Do they have settlements there? Who can tell me the answer?"
At this moment, a farmer shouted: "I heard that they have established a stronghold in the east, and the strange men in their camp are slaves raised by them."
"Huh? Why didn't I know? East..." Karl glanced at some of the Russian ships going away on the vast Gulf of Finland in the east, then shook his head with a sullen mouth,"What's in the east? A wild world."
Karl continued to order: "Hurry up and row, we will go back to harvest wheat."
This statement hit the farmer's heart and made them panic. Emotions spread, and they began to paddle hard, fearing that if they returned too late, their farmland would be "harvested with help" by others. Farmers never doubted the integrity of those big landowners, who were a group of greedy guys.
They are not sure how much Karl will use from the early seizures to pay the brothers, at least it must be able to forgive the debt. If the old King Olegin was still alive, he might give everyone a lot of money, but now that Karl is the king, will this man really be kind?
Farmers and fishermen didn’t dare to think too much. They just wanted to go back early to finish harvesting the wheat, and then hurry up and stock up on all kinds of food for the winter. It would be great if Carl could give everyone some money, but of course everyone didn't have high hopes.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the status of King Karl, who wears a golden crown, is in jeopardy.
Look at the strength of the Russian fleet. Look how powerful the real army of the Russians is. Those rumors are true. How could Rurik of Rus win a great victory without divine help? So, do the Russians still need new immigrants to join them?
Some farmers began to hatch strange plans in their minds. If they could no longer survive in their hometown, they would leave and become Russians.