The chosen men were full of enthusiasm and returned home one after another to seize the time to prepare supplies for the future expedition.
Almost all the able-bodied men in the old Bryn Goethe's small fishing village joined the army, and they received strong support from the women, even if the men leaving one after another will make future fishing operations more difficult. . Everyone firmly believed that such an adventure was worth it, because Hellafed, the younger son of Bryn Goethe the Elder, had proven himself to be a good fighter, and the final commander of the army was the invincible Rurik of Rus.
Not only are they not worried about war, but they regard this as an opportunity to get rich overnight.
In the old Bryn Goethe's house, the family members practiced this for the young man who was highly regarded by Rurik, Duke of Ross.
The slightly dilapidated longhouse was brightly lit, and the old mother looked at her young son with a smile.
Old Bryn Goethe's eyes were solemn. He held his sword and handed it to his son.
“Boy, for the glory of our family, you go and fight. Bjorn is in the west and you are in the east. Both of you can make achievements in different fields. I will give you this sword. ."
"Father..." Hellafed knew the weight of this sword, even if it was just an ordinary-looking iron sword.
"You have made the whole family lose face in front of the Russians. It's just a pity that according to tradition, you have to make achievements in person, but this is also a good thing for you. Take this sword and don't think about it. Nothing else."
Khelafed knew that he actually had no right to inherit the sword. He couldn't help but glance at his elder brother, but found that his elder brother actually raised his head and said nothing. Presumably the eldest brother is also dissatisfied...
He took over the sword with determination. To a large extent, he inherited the glory of the family. Unfortunately, the property inheritance rights still belong to the eldest brother.
This is tradition and this is everyone’s consensus.
According to legend, since the creation of the giants, the human society has been that the eldest son inherits everything, and the rest of the children go out to start their own careers. Therefore, Hellafide was never angry that he was a coward like his elder brother but could take everything. Now that he had obtained the sword, his father had broken the rules, so he should leave forever. In fact, he was benevolent and gained benevolence.
He pulled the sword out of its scabbard for a moment, stared at it and closed it again.
"Father, I will lead my brothers to victory without any casualties." His face was full of determination.
Old Bryn Goethe said nothing more, only saying: "You must prove your strength to the Russians, even if you kill some people in battle. If you can be stronger than the real Russians, you will be ours." Fortunately."
With the help of the Russians, the Balmoks who stay in their hometown can prosper. How to impress the Russians and treat them as one of our own, you must do better than the Russians.
You must try your best to be a convert and gain true acceptance from the other party. Bryn Goethe has already realized this.
Just like Hellafed received a gift from his father, the young men who went on the expedition also picked up their best spears and shields.
They spent the night painting patterns on their shields or simply carving inspiring words in runes.
They actively prepared dry food along the way. Even though they learned that going to Ross would save a lot of energy by sledding all the way, they still tried their best to stock up on the local specialty salted dried herring.
Herring is inherently high in calories. When it is salted and dehydrated, one pound of fish meat has surpassed the same amount of wheat. Unlike wheat, these dried fish meat can be eaten directly. This is the theory, but the human body consumes starch sugars first. Dried fish is a reasonable emergency food, but once people have tasted wheat products such as bread, even the Balmoks will immediately devote themselves to bread. embrace.
No, they have noticed the pancakes carried by the mercenaries of Duke Rurik of Rus, especially the old mercenaries from Balmok. They show off their heroic past to their old families, He also did not hesitate to take out the noodles he carried and share them with his brothers.
After all, these old mercenaries have become "team leaders", and each of them is responsible for the nine people under them. Sharing noodles and sharing delicious food is also a way to build relationships among brothers. As for another effect of noodles, it is to arouse everyone's greed.
The promise of Duke Ross should be fulfilled! You can get free military rations when you fight for the Duke, and you get bread and pancakes for every meal?
This kind of good thing is something that the old leader Magnute will not promise.
On the agreed day, the soldiers who went out for the expedition gathered at Narvik, the core settlement of the harbor.
When the sky had just turned blue, there were soldiers landing with weapons, shields and large sacks on their backs.
Rurik got up early today. When the golden light of the rising sun spread through the snowy hills of the central mountain range and towards the entire fjord, all he saw from a high place were soldiers with reflective metal helmets on their heads. , the spearheads and harpoons that were supposed to be rusty were clearly polished and shiny, and a large army stood in front of him, with a strong morale coming towards him.
A moment later, Hellafed, who had changed his outfit, hurried over and met his master: "Sir, the brothers are all here, we can set off now."
"Well, even though I am not ready yet, you are already ready."
Now that they are ready to go, Rurik has no intention of delaying.
He stood on a snowdrift and looked at everyone. He just stayed here and waited quietly for the noisy sound to subside completely.
People's eyes stared at this hero.
"My brothers." Rurik raised his arms and shouted, "Please forgive my haste, now we must get on the sled and arrive at Roseburg before the ice and snow thaw. What awaits us all will be An expedition to the far east is a great achievement that you can proudly tell your descendants. Let's go now, take your bags and get on the sleigh!"
They shouted and formed. The Viking war cry shook some snow, but it couldn't scare the deer into jumping.
The deer pulling the sled have long been accustomed to human chaos. During these short days, they were driven on the spot by the Lapp charioteers who were responsible for grazing and grazing on the local pastures, which are naturally rich in salt. The dead grass under the snow is also a delicacy for deer. The deer had eaten a full belly of hay, supplemented by some oats, and their physical strength had recovered.
It was the act of feeding oats that shocked the locals. The Balmoks who stayed behind did not understand how rich the Russians were, and they were so rich that they fed wheat to deer.
Thousands of ordinary people gathered at the settlement of Narvik, watching with loud cheers as armed men mounted one sleigh after another. They chanted slogans of blessing and were thinking about the future.
Perhaps the fleet of the old leader Magnute is already taking advantage of the beginning of the warm season to sail back to his hometown?
However, a group of those who stayed behind are destined to leave. Today they are sending away the Russians and their brothers who are going to fight in the east. Soon they will have to paddle long distances with their family and friends, taking all their belongings with them. The ship headed straight for Britain.
The wind was no longer as sharp as a knife. Although it had only been cutting for five days, the sled team once again ran wildly on the ice of the slender Lake Torna at the top of the mountain.
The reindeer kept moving forward, the people on the sled were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was so lively.
But when a snowfall comes, the joyful atmosphere comes to an abrupt end, and people have to huddle up in their fur blankets and pray that the sleigh shelter is strong enough to protect them from the wind.
The snowstorm did not make it difficult to move on the road, and the sudden drop in temperature really reassured Rurik.
What does it mean to suddenly become cold? What would be the worst thing would be if the glacier thawed quickly due to rising temperatures!
This snowstorm is really a gift from God, and a wonderful scene appears on the glacier.
In the fine snow, a reindeer sleigh team lined up in double columns and accelerated on the frozen Torna River.
How long it took when I came here, maybe it will be the same when I go back.
The time has entered May, and even with such a storm, the arrival of the warm season is unstoppable.
Finally, when the snowstorm ended and the sled team entered the lower reaches of the Torna River, everyone noticed something unusual about the ice - it had obviously become thinner.
Continuing to move forward on the ice is full of dangers. Rurik resolutely chose to move forward in the riverside forest that was still full of snow. However, the path he chose to go home soon attracted everyone's attention. of astonishment.
He explained his decision immediately, and then the old mercenary who was appointed as a junior officer gave them the clearest explanation.
Because Rurik and a group of Russians knew the geography of this area, and Modgen, a native of Balmok, probably knew the most about geography and hydrology.
The sled team turned around and headed east. They were advancing in the pine forest. The snow falling from the branches from time to time clearly showed that this area was thawing rapidly.
Rurik is going to Ironburg to obtain key supplies, and then recruit all the local longbowmen. By that time, the frozen Gulf of Bothnia had better be thawed enough for navigation, and then Fort Ross would be able to quickly bring in large ships and easily transport all the fresh troops to Fort Ross to gather the army.
Despite the majesty of the Fourth Flag Team composed of Balmoks, the weapons they brought were nothing to Rurik. This group of people had to completely change their equipment, such as replacing the slender pointed spearhead made of stainless chromium iron on the spot at Ellenburg. They even distributed some bows and arrows to them.
Rurik did not dare to neglect the war at all. He would rather spend a lot of money to arm his own troops. Even though the Russian army was already very strong, he did not dare to rush into battle rashly and conceitedly because of optimism.
For example, this year’s war against the Karelia people in the warm season cannot be completed by sending out all the troops to fight the enemy in a decisive battle and win.
"I'm afraid this war will start after the autumn harvest." Rurik was making calculations in his mind.
The Principality of Rus is now unusual. He estimates that the war against the Karelians will not yield much immediate capture. The positive value of this battle is that it completely wipes out the strategic threat of Novoros Fort on the Neva River. , the huge Ladoga Lake can be used by the Russians to catch fish as much as they want, and even hunt as much as they want in the surrounding areas. The huge economic value will only be revealed in the next few years.
But the strategic results of the conquest of Britain still have to be tasted this year. A small fleet must rush to the Viking Kingdom of York before the autumn harvest season in Britain and seize the weak Kingdom of Northumbria. After paying tribute of wheat, they returned. However, deep down in Rurik's heart, he was not optimistic about traveling all the way to Britain to harvest wheat. After all, Northumbria was very weak after the war, and the amount of tribute offered to them was huge, fearing that the broken-arm Eynred Wang had to sell everything to get it together.
The food self-sufficiency rate in the core control area of the Ross Principality is too low. It must be too wishful thinking to expect wheat from the British Island to fill the vacancies in the principality.
Desperately plundering fish resources in the sea can basically maintain the people's livelihood, just like the way of life of the Russians in the past hundreds of years, but the fundamental reason for the principality to become strong and the people to have enough food lies in Plant wheat.
"When Karelia is conquered, I should also focus on reclamation in the east."
The final journey was uneventful. Rurik took advantage of the opportunity of passive leisure to seize the opportunity. Time deduces a future of abundant harvests in the mind.
The sled team found the Aylon (Kemi) River very smoothly. To everyone's surprise, they heard the sound of water flowing!
The snow on the shore is still thick, but the melting snow has washed away the ice floes, and the currents are not serious. However, sledding cannot be used on the river, and even boats cannot be used for the time being. Look at the blue sky. The sun is so warm and the wind is no longer cold.
A lake lies in front of the sled team. From a distance, it can be seen that the lake is full of large and small ice cubes, and they are even a little bit frozen.Blue.
In the distance, a village suddenly appeared, and now Rurik's old mercenaries knew where it was - Fort Fisk.
The lake fishing season is coming again. People who were waiting for the ice to melt almost before pushing the boats off the lake were surprised by the sudden arrival of Rurik's sled team.
How could Rurik not be surprised?
Because a man and his guys happened to be here.
Having a rare opportunity to stop and rest, the Balmok soldiers got off the ground one after another. Since everyone is a Russian, these guys immediately became brothers with the Russian fishermen who stayed in the local area, exchanging some things and sharing some stories.
At night, in the slightly simple yet warm woodcut room, the explorer Spute, who looked like he was twenty years older with a stubble on his face, was sitting cross-legged casually. Opposite him was Rurik himself.
A piece of leather was placed on the ground, some dried meat on a glass plate, and two glasses of ordinary ale.
"Spuyut, I almost don't recognize you. Let's drink some wine and celebrate our chance encounter." As he said this, Rurik had already raised his glass.
This is a toast from the Duke himself, what an honor it is.
When he thought of his work in Murmansk in the far north, Spuyut felt a sore nose and held back his tears. He raised his glass and drank half of it.
"Sir, I know you want me to talk about what happened in Murmansk. Okay, I'm looking for an opportunity to report to you."
"Let's talk now. "
"Yes..."
Spuyut kept talking, and what he said was within Rurik's expectation. The construction speed of Murmansk is still slow. The current positioning there is based on the existing strength of the Rus Principality. It is extremely difficult to maintain a hunter stronghold at most and maintain the settlement of fifty people.
The warm season means comfort to people in most areas, but for those who go to Murmansk, it is a journey of fighting mud. Summer is not a good opportunity to go to Murmansk. However, summer is also the breeding season for elephant seals and fur seals. The local leather and oil resources have reached their peak. The opportunity for large-scale hunting encounters terrifying mud. Murmansk is only a short distance from Rus. The fort is so far away that the people left behind feel like they are in two different worlds.
His words made Rurik feel itchy in his heart, but the mud that reached his knees after the permafrost melted would kill him. The Iron River and the Murman River both come from the same swamp. In today's warm period, the place will soon turn into deadly mud. I am afraid that the only way to reach Murmansk is by sea.
Wait a minute! Sea route!
Rurik chuckled.
"Sir...have you thought of any decision? Then seals are everywhere, we..."
"Of course we must try to catch them." Rurik said openly: "Have you seen the Balmok warriors I brought back?"
"Yes. They are so much like us. ”
“Of course. There will be no Balmok in the future, or Balmok will be us. The harbor in the west is our territory of Russia, and these brothers are also our Russians. Soon Balmok will be in contact with Murmansk. Instead of walking on muddy ground, we will use the sea as our communication. "
"Huh? "Spuyut was surprised: "Is the sea connected? ”
“Of course. well? Are you actually doubting that you are an excellent explorer but you don’t know this? "
"I'm sorry, but if I had brought a longship, I should have noticed this. The two places are connected by the sea. It is really a gift from Odin to us. ”
“It’s a gift. "Rurik said excitedly: "Soon, I will focus on Narvik, where I will build a new fleet. ”
“New fleet? Could it be that the current fleet cannot satisfy your needs... Oh no! My vision is too small. Our Ross fleet must be huge. "
Rurik nodded, thinking that this guy is quite smart.
"Yes, what we have now is the Baltic Fleet, and she is already invincible. Next, I will definitely build an Atlantic fleet, with its home port in Narvik. In this way, the Atlantic Fleet will go smoothly either to Murmansk to capture seals or to Britain to collect wheat tribute. Oh, and the Western Ocean is full of miracles. Believe me, there are no sea monsters in the West, but a land of miracles. When the time comes, I may send you on an expedition. "
This was the Duke's promotion, and Spuyut did his part. He slapped his chest and shouted loudly: "Even if you let me explore the end of the world, I will go." Then the children of Ross will know that there is a guy named Spyout who has been to the farthest places and is a hero. ”
“I respect you. "Rurik raised the glass.
The two sides bowed to each other and drank the last ale.
Spuyut did not simply report some information, he brought A batch of precious cargo has returned!
It is seal leather, elephant seal tusks, and seal gel that is slightly hard and white due to freezing. There are a thousand pieces of leather alone. When Rurik saw the bundles of seal skins, he touched the smooth texture himself, and the joy on his face was not just the joy of the harvest.
This is the output of Murmansk hunters. , Rurik did not ask them to hand over some leather as a kind of tax, but bought all the leather that was supposed to be delivered to the Roseburg Market at the market price in winter. This was a common decision for everyone. A price they are happy to accept. As for how much the leather will be processed and sold at a higher price in Rurik's hands, that is what Spuyut and his guys don't care about.
The changes in the sled team. Fortunately, Fort Fisk is very close to Fort Iron, and soon, a huge city wall stands in front of everyone.
Many Balmoks who came here for the first time opened their mouths in shock, saying that they had witnessed the majestic appearance of Fort Ross.
But the reality made them even more stunned, because it was the Iron Olawa Fort. No matter how majestic it was, it was just the northern iron smelting center of the Principality of Ross. And as far as iron smelting is concerned, Roseburg's iron smelting industry is clearly even more evil. When they learned that Roseburg was even more shocking, they could only take a good rest for the time being.
The entire Gulf of Bothnia has melted. Although the sea is full of ice floes and there are huge ice masses of staggering size, these obstacles are no longer able to affect the navigation of ships. A group of bold fishermen Offshore boating and fishing operations have begun.
Another ship rushed to Fort Ross to report the news, so before the big ship arrived, all Rurik had to do was wait at Fort Iron. Take this opportunity to give your new subordinates a big change of clothes and become more martial and moral.