Rurik got drunk for a rare occasion, and everyone at the banquet slept for the whole day. What surprised Kagan was that there was a second one the next night.
Compared to the craziness of the first one, the second banquet seemed much more gentle.
According to Rurik, it is natural to have a feast for three days to welcome a brother from afar, not even one day less.
Is this the rule of the Principality of Ross? What a wonderful rule!
Kagan had no reason to resist suspicion. He boasted of his rich life in the prairie, but now he realized that he was short-sighted. My Ross brothers are very good at cooking. They have a variety of dishes and are particularly willing to add salt.
His blood sodium and blood potassium levels, which were supposed to maintain a baseline, soared. Even though he drank every day, he felt full of strength!
Anyway, heavy snow covers the whole world, and people with jobs perform their duties. Rurik is celebrating a holiday since the autumn harvest and tax collection. Excessive contact with his wives and concubines is too harmful to the kidneys. Now he takes advantage of the opportunity. Tune it in and have some fun with your guests.
Barbecue, bread, mead, cheese, stews and desserts, a strong son of the prairie quickly accumulated fat. After three days of eating and drinking, Kagan felt that his face was rounder and his belly was too. The drums rose.
Eating, accommodation, bathing and even going to the toilet were all unprecedented experiences.
Including but not limited to using soft toilet paper to wipe your buttocks after going to the toilet for the first time, sleeping in a "quilt" wrapped in linen and wool, and taking a bath in a wooden bucket every day.
Kagan’s status is such that Maksakye also enjoys the same treatment thanks to Kagan.
All this is Rurik's plan.
Once people who live in the open have experienced a better life, their thoughts will change. Even if they go back to the past life, they will feel sorry for themselves all day long. We must use the sugar-coated bullets of Russian aristocratic life to crit the souls of these Pechenegs, and use gentle means to win over them.
The means are also directed at the accompanying slave warriors.
Those Pecheneg soldiers who live in the barn do not have to worry about their horses at all, Rurik said. The horses will be fed high-quality oat feed and kept in warm hollows that serve as stables. In the warehouse.
They do not need to pay attention to the life of their masters. In the three days since arriving in the Principality of Ross, their work has been no work. The strong cavalry warriors took their time off, drinking ale and mead, and eating well. It's grilled seabass and bread, and the food supply is unlimited.
The cooks who delivered the meals delivered three carts full of baked bread in wheelbarrows, and had to deliver three more carts the next day. The caught seabass is roasted and delivered by the truckload. This even raised the topic, and inevitably led to criticism among the people. It was said that the prince was too kind to this group of horsemen. There are also some self-proclaimed wise men who point out that the prince must have a deep meaning in doing this. As for what the deep meaning is, the speaker is just making fun of it.
This is already the last day of dinner, and Kagan is once again half-drunk.Having completely let go, he was shirtless and casually holding the glass goblet, his dark eyes narrowed and his expression blurry.
"Is it going to end tomorrow? That's fine. This kind of life is so good. I... am just worried that if it goes on for a long time, I will lose my courage."
Rurik had no intention of agreeing. , also casually ordered: "Assemble your team tomorrow and hand over the ten people given to me."
"Okay."
"Okay. Then I will I will issue another order to prepare about eighty people for you soon, and I will ask you to be my coach and help me train the cavalry."
"Only eighty horses? I will sell you a hundred horses! ”
“It’s the Ninety Riders. Ten of your horses are already mine. Oh, I still have to keep some mares to focus on breeding.”
Kagan smiled. He toasted exaggeratedly and pointed at Rurik again. He forgot what he wanted to say for a moment, and after a stalemate for more than ten seconds, he suddenly muttered: "It's a deal. I'm resting now and will assemble tomorrow. You can choose from ten soldiers."
Pecheneg Khan's "Guards" were almost all slaves, and their origins were quite complicated. However, they were all boys selected by slave families. They had gone through more than ten years of training to achieve their current strength.
Every ten-year-old slave boy must receive cavalry skills such as horse riding, riding shooting, and chopping. Kagan himself is not a coach. He once received the same training as these slave boys and became a noble. The strong one has the basic strength to inherit the throne. Although they are slaves, their living conditions will be significantly improved if they can become a guard to protect the Khan.
The Pechenegs are not a wealthy nomadic tribe, and they are still weak when surrounded by powerful enemies.
Although Kagan wanted to treat his subordinates well and provide them with better living supplies, his own life was far from prosperous. How could he satisfy his subordinates? On weekdays, it is normal to drink milk and eat cheese to satisfy your hunger. If you catch a marmot and roast it, you will improve your life.
The last dinner was over, and at noon the next day, the fifty Pecheneg cavalry who had been eating and drinking for three days finally got the assembly order.
The cold outdoors made them feel refreshed. They tied up their braids again, wore new clothes made by Russians, new wool and new boots, stepped on the solid and flat snow, and gathered together. The regiment walked to the prince's palace in the presence of Novgorod people.
After all the people were in place, the wooden door of the palace was closed by a Russian warrior wearing mail.
As soon as the wooden door was closed, the many unarmed Pecheneg soldiers instinctively felt nervous.
Raising his head suddenly, he saw himself standing side by side with Prince Rus on the wooden platform of Dunhou's house.
Kagan took off his hat to let his men see his face clearly.
He had some discussions with Rurik, and then he announced in public: "I have become brothers with the prince of Rus, and Pecheneg has formed an alliance with Rus! You are all my slaves. , there will be ten people leaving my team, the chosen ones, you can serve for my Ross brothers!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone immediately became commotion.
Kagan opened his arms again to control the situation, and announced: "Now listen to the sermon of Prince Rus."
The above words are all in the Turkic dialect of the Pecheneg people, leaving Rick didn't understand it at all, and neither did the Russians or Slavs present. Since the two parties discussed it in advance, Rurik also knew what Kagan preached.
Indeed, if the first exchange between two political entities that are a thousand kilometers apart had not been exchanged with East Slavs, the two sides would not have even had a medium language for dialogue, and the cost of communication would have been extremely high. Outrageous.
It is precisely the language barrier that is a big obstacle that determines that Rurik must select the right people as his subordinates.
Rurik preached in Slavic in front of the public. His words were so simple that he only emphasized some key words: "I! The Khan of the Rus! I will choose ten people! Understand my words People! Stand up!"
He repeated this as many as five times before someone left the team cautiously and looked around slightly.
Exactly ten people walked out, which was enough. The remaining people who wanted to join the queue just held back.
Everyone still doesn’t know what it means to go out. Those who go out are just because they understand the Slavic commands and implement them mechanically.
"Look, ten candidates are in place, and they can definitely understand the Slavic language." Kagan reminded kindly.
Rurik shrugged. He was tall and wore a white bear skin to cover his still thin body. He looked extremely burly. There is also the prince's mercenary force, a group of berserker warriors wearing leather helmets and bear heads, who are even more powerful.
He walked down the wooden steps and personally looked down at the ten leavers, inspecting them one by one.
“What do you think?” Kagan asked Rurik after the review.
"Not bad. The guards you choose must all be outstanding. At least they have all gone through a long march to Ross, so their strength is guaranteed."
Hearing this, Kagan felt a little uncomfortable: "I understand. You still need them to show off their skills."
"That's natural. They are all cavalry, I want your people to give me Perform some cavalry tactics."
"What's the problem? It's all up to you."
Rurik sighed: "Then I'll perform cavalry shooting. I want these ten people to perform in person!"
...
In the afternoon, the people of Novgorod, who were short of entertainment, heard an interesting news, and the whole city dragged their families away. We arrived at the snow-covered desert beach by the river.
This beachland has not yet been reclaimed as farmland. In fact, because this area can be used as a pasture for small-scale grazing, Rurik did not order the land to be reclaimed, and others were too lazy to do it.
Because it is not only a pasture, it can also be used as a gathering place for the army, and even now a military training ground.
Up to 3,000 people gathered to watch a performance, there are rumors that the grassland people in the East will perform horseback riding and archery at the same time. This kind of people is unheard of, so they all watch with curiosity.
Kagan was also surprised by the sudden appearance of so many spectators. He did not expect that Novgorod had such a large population.
But looking at the ten people who were going to perform horseback shooting, they put on their own serious Turkic armor, put on their own animal-skin helmets, mounted their own horses, and held composite sinew horns. Bows and arrows with iron clusters provided by the Rus.
To be honest, the Pechenegs’ bow made Rurik extremely envious.
Ethnic groups from the East are generally good at bows and arrows, and making compound bows is also a traditional skill of all ethnic groups. Take the Pecheneg people for example. Their horns are from self-raised steppe cattle. The horns with exaggerated length and forward pointed horns are enough to make bow blades. The tendon-horn compound bow is the standard equipment for its warriors. Naturally, several nearby nomadic khanates and even the horse archers of Eastern Rome also use the same equipment. Even the Eastern Roman cavalry had the highest bow weight.
The warriors in armor mounted war horses. Their thin bodies formed a wonderful contrast with the tallness of the Turkic horses.
A group of Russian warriors who had fought against the Frank cavalry happened to be staying in Novgorod, especially a group of Danish warriors under Ragnar. They all came to watch the show. Everyone was naturally proud of their great victory because they had defeated the Frankish heavy cavalry, but now that they saw a group of humble light cavalry, they naturally didn't think it was anything special.
Can you also shoot arrows while riding a horse? Is this a joke? How does a cavalryman do that?
Ragnar wore sunglasses and had a sullen face, and his whole person looked very solemn.
It is not just this poor Danish aristocrat who wears sunglasses. All the people in Novgorod also wear sunglasses. They are an excellent tool to protect their eyes when working in the snow. The prince is wearing sunglasses in private. The sales volume of this product is good and the price is reasonable.
There was a large group of people watching with black things in front of their eyes. Although Kagan knew that they were magical sunglasses, he did not expect that the Russians generally embraced them. People wearing these things became funny as a whole, and he also felt uncomfortable in his heart. Have fun secretly.
Old Otto came to watch the show in thick clothes. Many of Rurik's wives and concubines were dressed warmly and gorgeously, and even came to watch the show with their children in their arms.
Especially holding the child Carlotta, she is not just here to watch the show, because she has already had a basic discussion with her man, so naturally the so-called numerous horses cannot be kept in the north of the lake. Novgorod and Novoostara in the south of the lake have natural large-scale lakeside pastures, which are most suitable for raising large livestock. They are naturally excellent horse farms. Besides, there is no one in the entire Rus' Principality better than Ostar. La is better at raising cattle and sheep, and raising horses is no problem.
Carlotta needs to observe carefully. She will be responsible for the later work of raising horses. At the same time, the newly formed cavalry unit will also be stationed in New Ostara to guard the southern gate of the Principality of Ross.
Even his eldest son Carl.
She patted the infant child: "Karl, you will also be a man on horseback in the future. Don't sleep,Take a good look at these warriors. ”
The so-called target is to attack two tall wooden poles standing in the open space and pull up the hemp rope. Under the rope hang ten newly captured big red squirrels.
It stands to reason. These small beasts, which are not too small, should be skinned and sold immediately, and are now bought by Rurik to serve as animal targets. Even if they are just a cover for mounted archery, they must be prepared to look like hunting, so that the mounted archers can fully demonstrate their performance. Strength.
Looking at the ten cavalry archers, they all know their future and are full of fighting spirit.
They must show their strength to Prince Ross, so. Only in order to be recognized can you gain the qualifications to be popular and popular in the future.
"Just follow the way you Pechenegs fight. "Rurik gave Kagan a reminder.
"Then, the shooting distance must be twenty steps, or closer. "
"Huh? ”
“Are you wondering? Kagan asked.
“So close?” ”
“At least the shooting distance is much closer than that of an infantry archer, as is the case with mounted shooting. It seems that you don't understand at all. "
Rurik did not refute. He did not understand riding and shooting, but after Kagan explained, he finally had a basic understanding.
Indeed, people are here It was a luxury to draw the bow and shoot an arrow while standing on a swaying horse.
Kagan gave an order in Turkic language, and Rurik asked his subordinates to beat the leather drum. To the beat of the drum, the first cavalryman galloped away.
I saw this warrior with his feet in stirrups, leaning sideways and fully drawing his bow with both hands, although the arrows given by the Russians were a bit strange. , the cavalry is smart enough to know at a glance that this is a good arrow.
The cavalry in full view of the crowd pulled out the bow in an astonishing way, which immediately caused the onlookers to scream. Men who are good at hunting do not use bows like this. Wow, why can the grassland people draw their bows so ridiculously?
It’s not surprising that people with a discerning eye can see the cavalry’s release technique. Everyone is using the finger-pulling style of release.
The war horse galloped past, and the arrow hit the squirrel with a whoosh. Not to mention the big red squirrel, the entire arrow missed a third. 2.
“A perfect shot, isn’t it? ! "Kagan's words were full of pride.
Rurik marveled, "Wow! If there was an enemy warrior standing over there and an arrow hit him, the opponent wouldn't even have a chance to fight back. The cavalry has escaped! ”
“It seems that you understand that this is what riding and shooting is like. You can conquer the sea, but you don't know anything about cavalry warfare. In my opinion, you must not fight head-on with the enemy's cavalry. The grassland is very wide. You must try to keep a distance from the enemy and shoot the enemy, or shoot the enemy's horse. As long as you really find the enemy's flaw, you can send cavalry to rush forward and break up their array. "
"Is this how you fight? "
"How else can we fight? ” Kagan shrugged.
The ten cavalrymen performed one after another, and to the beat of the drums, they all completed the first round of cavalry shooting, not to mention that all ten arrows hit the target. This was only the first round of riding and shooting. After completing one round, they followed up with the second round.
It would be a shame to end the performance in a short time. They would ride and shoot as many as twenty times in a row. Rurik wanted them to treat the performance as a performance. A real battle.
They did live up to expectations. After one round of shooting, the man and the horse took a break, and then started another round.
Of course there are arrows that miss, but it doesn’t matter, because the row of squirrels that were the targets are now covered in arrows, and the so-called leather has been completely ruined!
As for how to use steppe cavalry, Rurik at least knew some of Genghis Khan’s cavalry tactics, which was to use light cavalry to lure the enemy, and when the enemy was tired, he used the heavy cavalry reserve to crush them. Go up.
Now that this group of people actually gave a demonstration, Rurik was so impressed that he even imagined such a scene in his mind.
The so-called group of hostile Viking warriors in front formed a shield wall. Our cavalry challenged them first. The cavalry archers holding heavy steel-armed crossbows fired with their weapons. They just rode their horses and ran away. The tactics were like Great Qin Crossbow Cavalry. Although the tactical value of such a cavalry unit when it was first established was harassment, in the current Nordic and Western European world where wars are everywhere, the tactic of cavalry and shooting with strong targets must be able to achieve great results.
Rurik's mind fell into fantasy, and he was slapped on the shoulder again.
"Kagan, you..."
"I adopted them after seeing their performance. Brothers, do you know about rapid fire?"
"What? "Watch my performance."
Kagan mounted his hard-working horse, and he transformed into the prince of Pecheneg. The whole person still looks a bit unattractive, but the way he holds the bow looks a bit heroic.
Rurik was looking forward to the nobleman also performing a mounted and archery show. He was really performing a mounted and archery show, but he was definitely not riding a horse at high speed and just firing a single arrow.
Kagan put his legs lightly on the horse's belly, and the horse walked to a distance of about fifteen steps from the target full of arrows. According to the Russian's regular unit of length, it exceeded 23 stikas, which was about 23 steps. rice.
Kagan stood directly in the stirrups. Rurik saw that while holding a bow in his left hand, he also grabbed a large number of arrows with his left hand.
"Ah! Is this your rapid fire?!"
Holding ten arrows in his left hand, Kagan used the right-hand mode to quickly fire the target, but it only pricked his eyes a few times, leaving behind Rick was shocked to see that all ten arrows had been shot.
This was not over yet. Kagan took out three more arrows from the quiver on the horse's back. This time, all three arrows hit the target in the blink of an eye.
Can you still shoot arrows like this? Too fast!
Rurik completely understood that the left bow was used to shoot accurately and the right bow was used to shoot fast. He certainly understood this principle, but the traditional wooden bows of the Russians could notThe draw length is exaggerated, and hunters widely use crossbows that are more efficient at shooting animals. Even wooden bows are not of much use anymore, so there is no need to practice right-hand bowing in the dormitory.
People were too lazy to practice archery, so it was an eye-opener to see Kagan's rapid-fire operation as fierce as a tiger.
He rode back, shook his arm violently, and looked down at Rurik with a proud smile: "Thanks to your hospitality these days, I am full of strength. Shooting arrows twenty times in a row hurts my arm. , that is, I have such ability."
"Let me see your bow." Rurik asked with a dull face.
"Okay."
Rurik pulled the bow suddenly, which shocked Kagan: "You..."
"Nothing If the arrow doesn't draw the bow, I understand."
Kagan was still stunned and hurriedly urged to stop: "Be careful, if the bow is really drawn, my baby will be too. It will be useless."
Ryurik never imagined that he would feel the sinew compound bow in this way. It is small in size and weighs very much, and the draw length can indeed be extreme. If such a compound bow was converted into a crossbow, wouldn't the tactical effect be better? It is difficult to train a good archer, and it is even more difficult to train a better mounted archer. On the contrary, crossbowmen can be trained quickly.
After trying the strong strength, Rurik returned the bow to Kagan, and patted his thigh where he was in the stirrup: "Brother, your bow is so good, I want it next time I come here." Bring me some."
Kagan, who was in high spirits, readily agreed: "Yes, but the price is a bit more expensive."
"It doesn't matter, I'll give you the price."