When things developed to such a point, Ragnar was extremely speechless. He was imprisoned in a small dark room. He kept knocking on the wooden door and asked the guards why, and then accused the Prince of Ross of being rude.
The guards were as solid as a rock, and the wooden door would not open even if Ragnar vented his dissatisfaction. When the trick turned to smashing the door, a guard warned through the wooden board: "The prince gave another order, if you rush out of the wooden house, your people will be killed!"
Rurik did give such an order. Order, but considering the complexity of this group of Danes, he did not choose to kill them rashly.
In the palace, Prince Rurik, Carlotta, and Ella held urgent consultations with several important ministers who had returned.
Rurik didn’t have time to pay attention to the pomp and circumstance, so a few people sat down together. While the details of the victory of the expedition could be discussed later, the problem of a group of Danes must be solved immediately.
Rurik had some resentment on his face, and he asked his cousin: "That person is Ragnar, why did you have to bring these pirates here?"
< p>How could Arik not be curious?"Brother..."
"Call me Prince."
"Okay. Prince...it's a long story. You seem to be interested in La Genna knew something about that man and his people who had been stabbed by the Danish king and attacked by the Franks. They were expelled from Denmark and became pirates without a home."
"So, Do you think I should protect them?"
Aric suddenly sat upright and hurriedly denied: "I didn't mean that. However, the fleet unexpectedly encountered them, and we joined forces to attack Bu Lai. Mei. I think you will be very optimistic about them because of the experience of fighting together? Moreover, this Ragna does have the intention to cooperate with our country."
"Oh? You will fight with him? "Brothers?"
"No, he and I are only temporary allies. It seems that you have no confidence in these people."
Rurik glanced at Carlotta. Attitude, affirmed: "Because Ragnar has enmity with us. But I am not so narrow-minded that I reject the future because of past hatred, otherwise I will not take the initiative to open up the Danish market."
"How can you see the hatred towards us?" Arik's mind was still a little confused.
"Let your sister Carlotta talk about this in person."
Even though it has been seven years since the incident, the painful memories of the past are still with Aosta. The survivors cannot be forgotten. Asking Carlotta to retell the situation back then would certainly rub salt into the wound, but Carlotta is now a duchess, a female warrior who has experienced battles, and has nothing to do with being weak and pitiful.
She still remembers the disaster that year, although the principality crusaded against Gotland to avenge the deaths of the Ostara people.
How do you think that the direct murderers of the leader of Ostara and his family are in Novgorod, in the house under surveillance?.
The more Carlotta spoke, the more excited she became. Tears welled up in her eyes: "That man was originally called Ragnar? I saw with my own eyes that he killed my grandfather, my father, and my brother. My mother, and my brother. I ran away with my sister and escaped by chance... I swore revenge at that time, but now the enemy is in my hands..."
Listen to this In words, Carlotta wanted to slowly cut the enemy's neck with a knife.
This was indeed the case, and Arik's attitude was shaken. He didn't want to defend anything. He had forgotten a lot of things that had happened in the past for too long. The most profound thing he had seen this year was fighting with Ragnar, especially fighting side by side with the Frank Cavalry. He admired Ragnar as a man.
Obviously, Carlotta only has painful memories of Ragnar.
The girl wiped her face and sighed in sobs: "I don't want to kill that man. Everything is over. We... we Ostara people have been reborn. I want that man's Apologize and compensate us for the war. Even if it has been seven years since they killed my people and robbed my cattle and sheep, we cannot say that this matter is over. If...he is not willing to apologize, I will. I will find an opportunity to assassinate him. Even if I can’t do it, my son will do it.”
If it were just an ordinary girl saying this, she would probably think it was just a harsh word from a resentful woman. . Carlotta is different. Her new Ostara essentially guards the southern border of the principality. She has an army under her command and maintains friendly relations with several nearby Slavic farms. Even if she, the so-called female Viking warrior, doesn't take action herself, she can spend a sum of money to buy a group of assassins to take revenge.
What’s more, Ragnar, his family, and relatives have all been captured.
Rurik himself was undecided, not knowing how to deal with Ragnar who fell into his hands.
In this emergency negotiation, as a witness to a series of events, Old Otto’s attitude became extremely important.
According to northern legal principles, Sister Carlotta is an adopted daughter, and her nephew Arik is also an adopted son. What to do if there is a conflict between the brothers and sisters due to a small group of Danish pirates.
Otto cleared his throat and said calmly: "That Ragnar claimed to have killed Olegin? A real warrior dare not lie, let alone the achievement of killing the Swedish leader. He killed Olegin? Legin also killed the leader of Ostara. These were all battles between warriors, and there was nothing despicable about them. However, we should not let down our guard against the Danes just because of this..."
"Yes."
"You are really big-hearted! It is a good thing that you are very loyal, but these Danes are not worthy of complete trust. Now tell us more details, This group of Danes can obviously find their own way out, why do they insist on coming to Rus just to try to form an alliance?"
Otto is Otto, and he knows very well that the Dane Ragnar is not just a single person, but also a person. There is an entire exiled tribe behind it. The Principality of Rus can naturally passTo avenge the various Swedish tribes. However, are those Swedish tribes very clean? They were at odds with each other, and the Russians were also victims back then. Otto didn't like Olegin at all and his unlucky son Karl. His father died at the hands of the Danes and his son was assassinated by a conspiracy from his own clan.
So from Otto's perspective, this Ragnar killed the old leader of Ostara back then. Because they had no interaction with each other, he personally had no feelings about the death of the old leader. Ragnar kills Olegin, which Otto welcomes.
Men always pursue gratification and grudges. Now that Ross has become a big country, he is old and has already delegated power. He has been busy teasing his grandchildren these past years. Otto has no intention of starting another killing. desire.
The decision on how to deal with Ragnar should be decided by Prince Rurik.
The atmosphere of the consultation meeting was very delicate because all parties have completely different memories.
Rurik has made up his mind. The so-called matter is not a hatred between people. If this matter is handled well, it is likely to be a turning point in relations with Denmark. The reason why Rurik quickly corrected his attitude was naturally attributed to Arik's description.
He explained: "I had no intention of killing that man myself. I was very interested in him and his family, especially the child Ivar who could not walk. Since Carlotta decided to give I think we should give them a chance to apologize. If Ragnar is a smart man, he should apologize as long as he admits that he led his troops to kill the old Ostara leader and is willing to pay compensation. If Ta accepts the apology, the matter will be officially understood. This is a major premise. If he does not apologize, there will be no discussion of the alliance."
Arik's tangled face quickly relaxed: "I dare say. That man would even kneel down on one knee. That guy is not a simple fool, he is a smart person who understands current affairs."
"Whether he is smart or not depends on his attitude. If he is a bully, I will. He was sentenced to death and all his tribesmen were distributed as slaves. You know, I need a group of slaves who only need to pay some food costs to build the city."
"So he behaves very well to your satisfaction? "Aric asked hurriedly.
"I will naturally consider listening to his surrender. Horik, the Danish King, is my enemy, and Ragnar is Horik's enemy. The enemy of the enemy is someone who can try to form an alliance. If If I can win over more Danes who oppose Horik, can I plan a civil war among the Danes? This will be beneficial to our country's hegemony. Unable to control his emotions, he hurriedly patted his son on the shoulder and praised the young prince for his wisdom.
This is politics, which is higher than disputes between people.
Carlotta knew she had to control her emotions, so she specially changed her clothes, especially the heavy chain mail, and deliberately dressed up as if she was about to fight on the battlefield, so as to look like a martial artist. Meet Ragnar, the prisoner.
But here in the Stonewall tribe, all the people who are controlled are justDisarmed, they were not harmed, and were all put into a spacious barn and heavily guarded.
Ragnar himself was given special care. He was imprisoned for an entire afternoon. When he got tired of banging on the wooden door and wall, he simply sat on the ground and curled up in a ball, waiting for the situation to change.
The wooden door slowly opened.
"You! Dane! Come out! Our prince has invited you."
"Your prince?" Ragnar suddenly raised his head with a burning gaze, "Has he changed his mind? Don't you want to kill me?"
The soldier who sent the message was too lazy to talk and shouted casually: "If you want to commit suicide, we can give you a rope to help you look good, but the prince invites you to the banquet. Don't worry, your two wives. He and his two sons are already guests."
The last words were the most fatal. Ragna immediately realized that he had been threatened and his family had become hostages and might have been abused.
What about the facts? Completely two different things!
The Principality of Rus currently has a small population, but in terms of the area it controls, it is already a powerful country in Northern and Northeastern Europe. It has become a regional power after eight years of foreign wars.
How can a big country be so petty? What's more, Rurik's oriental soul requires pomp and circumstance in some formal diplomatic situations.
This is not a Hongmen Banquet, the banquet is held in Rurik’s palace. Just for safety reasons, everyone was afraid that a ruthless man like Ragnar would fight with bare hands even if he was unarmed, so they naturally did not dare to neglect security.
In fact, when Rurik sent people to pull Ragnar's family out of the "pen", he distributed a free meal to all the Stonewall tribesmen in public - plus Salted wheat pancakes.
No matter whether the situation worsens to the extreme or not, the value of the labor force of this group of Danes from afar is something Rurik covets.
Ragnar was not trapped. He was escorted to the palace by soldiers, but he saw more guards with halberds standing under the wooden wall here.
He felt more and more dangerous, and after hesitating for a moment, he was pushed by the soldiers: "Hurry up, don't keep our prince waiting."
The main hall of the palace is not big at all. , Rurik can meet important guests here, and then move the wooden table in to become a banquet hall.
The female slaves who had been married to Ragnar’s head wife became guests of honor, including Bjorn in his arms and Ivar, who could only crawl alone.
Rurik finally saw the famous Boneless Man. This man lived up to his name, and his two shrunken legs made people feel distressed. Maybe he has poliomyelitis or some kind of rickets, or maybe his legs are simply underdeveloped. There doesn't seem to be a big problem with his upper body.
Rurik even directly carried Ivar to his side and shared the delicious barbecue with him. Are you having trouble dealing with a little boy? Not to mention dealing with a disabled child.
From a general rational perspective, what disabled children need most is recognition.
Although it is impossible for this person to make any achievements at present.Achievements and even survival require help from others. Because of his reputation as the "Boneless One", Rurik is willing to give Ivar the most care. As for the infant child, he must be Bjorn the Warrior.
The hall was filled with the aroma of barbecue, and Rurik entertained the guests with the traditional Russian dish of roasted reindeer. Barely eating barbecue is very suitable for the Viking-style happy life. However, with the best ancient agricultural area in Northeast Europe, Rurik is now qualified to refine the catering.
Shaobing and sliced bread are both made from wheat and are essential staple foods for banquets. The flour solution after washing the dough to remove gluten is boiled into vegetable soup, then simmered with diced gluten and served with cheese. It is another delicious thick soup and has become a major dish at the principality's state banquet.
Because the cows raised by the Ostara people finally began to produce milk, butter, cheese, and pure yogurt began to be made. Mushrooms fried in butter became a special dish at state banquets. Pure yogurt poured with a lot of honey is a special dessert.
No, Ivar used the glass spoon to scoop out the honey yogurt in the large glass bowl. No six-year-old child of any era could resist this temptation.
The kindness shown by Rurik really surprised Carlotta. She didn’t know how her man could look down on a lame child. Is it really what Rurik said? This kid also received Odin's blessing?
Carlotta was even a little jealous because her son Karl had never slept with his father Rurik in his arms. Looking at this little kid, he seems to be Rurik's eldest son.
On the other hand, Carlotta was very happy when this boy ate the yogurt. This showed that the taste of Ostara's dairy products was really good. It's a pity that the honey yogurt he sent to his tribe was for Rurik to enjoy, but he got the advantage of this guy.
Ragnar finally arrived. Before he entered the hall, the alluring aroma penetrated his nostrils. After all, the aroma of fried butter was too strong.
The aroma caused his stomach to growl. As soon as he entered the brightly lit hall, he met many Russian elites who had fought together, such as Blue Fox Gouldson, Arik Ogiersson, Finn Javlo. Sitting in a prominent position were Prince Rurik of Rus and the Supreme Prince of Rus.
There are also two girls sitting here. During the confinement, Ragnar thought about it and basically figured out the reason why the prince went crazy, it was because of these two girls. He suddenly remembered that although these two women had changed dramatically, they were most likely the ones he let go on purpose.
However, my own Ivar turned out to be the guest of the Prince of Rus, actually sitting next to him holding a ball of milky white stuff and eating it?
As soon as Ragnar arrived, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.
When Ivar saw his father, he cleverly put down the glass bowl. He didn't care about his pale face and called his father happily.
Rurik also raised his chin, without any politeness, and said bluntly: "The Danish Ragnar Sigurdsson Langsbrouck, in your life of less than thirty years, you have made an orderThings we are angry about! Now that I invite you to the banquet, I am giving you a chance to apologize. "
Ragnar looked at the situation. His family was being manipulated by the Russians, and he did not dare to say anything.
He asked in a low voice: "Apologise? I at least need to know where I went wrong. "
Rurik didn't say anything first. Carlotta left the table directly, showed off his shirt to show off his power, and pointed out: "You killed my grandfather, father, mother, and brother. Almost all my people. I am the leader of the new Ostara, and I want you to apologize for the killings in the past! I want you to kneel down and declare that you are wrong! I want you to come up with money to compensate! "
Ragnar was naturally shocked. He did not reply first, but couldn't help but stepped back: "I did shoot two girls, and one of them was you? ! ”
“And me. "Ella, who seemed quite quiet and elegant, also stood up. Compared to her sister, Ella indeed looked more delicate. She followed her sister's words and summoned up the courage to order in a soft voice: "Aosta. They are asking you to apologize for your war actions and to compensate you! ”