Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1010

[Chapter 1010 Blue Fox’s New Mission]

The coldest month of January is coming to a close, and the daily daylight hours are growing noticeably.

Grass seeds sprouted secretly in the snow-covered soil, and mortals also felt that the north wind was no longer so aggressive.

All signs are heralding the recovery of the earth, and it is finally time for the people who have been on an expedition for a year to go home!

The Elbe River will not thaw until at least the end of February, but this is just an estimate made by the Ross people based on their own experience.

The great freezing of the Elbe River in the winter of 840 was very abnormal. Its ice layer was enough to support tens of thousands of people fighting on the ice. Now it is slowly thinning without people noticing.

The Ross people have the custom of ice-chiseling fishing. Soldiers carry iron picks and forest axes to continuously smash the ice layer, cut square holes in the ice and throw the hooks, hoping that the perch will bite the bait.

They did catch a lot of hungry fish, and they also discovered the secret of the thin ice layer along the way.

Even at the extremes of the dry season, the channel of the Elbe in Hamburg is still very wide.

Fishermen found that the ice in the central area of the river has become less than the width of a hand. Although it has no problem carrying people, it may not last for a few days.

After a long cold snap in January, winter seemed to be using its last strength, and the days that followed were bright and sunny.

A large number of Russian soldiers with sunglasses now have huge black eyes. In the eyes of the local Saxons, these foreign Normans are too weird.

They are already preparing to go home, and countless people have grass growing in their hearts, hoping that the rivers and seas will thaw immediately and retreat.

Every soldier is counting his spoils. The metal utensils, leather, and food seized in the long war, most of these private parts have been consumed, or turned into valuable equivalents-coins.

Everyone had tinkling copper and silver coins in their pockets, and everyone changed into a piece of clothing.

The composition of the Ross Army is very mixed, and there are a lot of poor people among them. Because of their poverty, they are very determined to join the war and get rich, and now their wishes are basically satisfied.

A large number of iron rings are strung together to weave the chain mail, which is quite effective for ordinary swords and axes, and it is also effective against ordinary arrow clusters.

However, in terms of actual combat effects alone, when Ross began to produce riveted iron armor more efficiently, the past production process of chain mail has been abandoned.

But the vast majority of soldiers don’t even have a chance to get a piece of metal armor, such as the Slavs and Finns, they are not picky, and after searching the corpses of Frankish soldiers on the battlefield, they strip off the blood-stained chain mail and wash it. Clean is yours.

The intact chain mail was worn directly, and the damaged one was cut and hung on the iron helmet as a face guard and neck guard.

Before the war, Rurik was unable to popularize armor for his army, only his direct troops wore armor.

Now the whole army is wearing metal armor, and iron helmets are also widely used, but this brand-new outfit is too Frankish.

Most of the mountains of swords that were seized were shipped to Ross ships, except for some that were given to the Saxon allies.

There is still a surplus of military rations, and the trophies of metal utensils are piled up in the cabin.

However, many Russian soldiers died on the banks of the Elbe River. Their ashes were put into wooden boxes and marked with the names and hometowns of the soldiers.

The dead will not be buried here, and Rurik will not do water burial for the dead. The ashes of the dead will eventually be handed over to the family members, and then the family members will take the deceased’s belongings as funeral objects and bury them in the designated cemetery. And set up a stone monument.

The vast majority of soldiers temporarily ignore the sorrow of the death of their comrades in battle, they will not be glad that they survived by chance, and they will not reflect on the destruction caused by this war at all.

They didn’t feel any guilt, and everyone felt that they had created a miracle. Those young people who went to the battlefield for the first time completed their coming-of-age ceremony in such a crazy way.

Everyone can show their huge booty to the villagers when they return to their hometown, and tell the story of the war for seven days and seven nights.

They still yearn for war, but a war that lasts for a year is too much beyond personal cognition.

Many people need to calm down their emotions, and after resting enough, they will resolutely respond to the king’s call to fight again.

In all Viking concepts, war is legal plunder. They live in a world where the weak prey on the strong, and they believe that the law of “If I don’t rob you, you will rob me” is true.

Unless there is a well-recognized strong man who formulates a set of rules that everyone must recognize, in fact, they don’t want to live in such a difficult situation. Now that King Rurik is such an arbiter, the era of mutual robbery in the northern world may come to an end. a paragraph.

Since everyone will no longer rob each other legally, no one thinks there is a problem with this kind of behavior.

Just go and rob others!

Robbery is an important way of life and production for the northerners, and if you don’t rob for a month, you will feel itchy.

No one understands this better than Rurik. To put it bluntly, the rise of Ross is based on ten consecutive years of plundering wars to earn enough original capital. Although Ross is now strong, it is still necessary to regard robbery as a national act.

Allies cannot be robbed, at least not openly.

Attacking the opponent is arbitrary. According to the signed covenant, it is an obligation for Ross to rob the Middle Kingdom in the future. Since this is the case, Rurik is determined to perform this obligation in a short time.

Rurik secretly sent a note to Earl Blue Fox of Gothenburg in Ross’s barracks.

There are only two people in the quiet house.

“Your Majesty, you must have something important to do with me.” The blue fox sat cross-legged, with a round face full of uncertain longing for outsiders.

“You’re getting fat again these days.” Rurik pouted.

“That’s right. Our entire army is like a hibernating bear. Now that the snowstorm has finally passed, I have the opportunity to come out and exercise my muscles.”

“Of course.” Rurik patted his belly with self-deprecation, “I’m also a little fatter. I’m destined to be fat if I don’t move my muscles and bones! I still like the way you’ve lost weight. You probably already know the news about your arrangement.”

“I heard the news, Your Majesty, are you serious?”

“Of course it’s serious. You…” Rurik collected himself, “Your face is not surprised. Are you actually satisfied with my arrangement?”

“That’s natural. I’m a businessman at heart. It’s the custom of the Gould family to travel far away to find business opportunities.”

“Really? Then I’m relieved. I want you to lead your army and escort this guy Ludwig back to his Mainz. I know that you have actually been to Frankfurt Mainz. For this reason you all On the road, you have to raise the cross flag to pretend to be the Frankish army. If there is a big conflict with other generals doing this, I know that only you can do it well.”

“Of course.” Blue Fox subconsciously showed the sterling silver cross on his chest, “It’s because I believe in their god.”

“You?” Rurik couldn’t help laughing arrogantly, “Do you believe this yourself? I know your Gould family too well, just as your family’s name refers to gold. The gold and silver you believe in, as for your belief in Every god is adaptable.”

“Haha, King Huiyan.”

“You’re very smart, and I know you want your family to grow. You also have two brothers. How are they doing?”

“Red fox and black fox? Not only them, but also my sister and her children. By the way, there are also my own children. I hope my family can have greater development.”

“That is necessary.” Rurik knew it in his heart, and now he said the situation bluntly: “Henry Nassau will move his family to the Netherlands, and his inland Nassau village is almost a power vacuum. Principle It’s still Nassau’s fief there, but the actual power may be someone else. We’re going to set up shop in Nassau village, just like you did in Hedeby. You’re very experienced in this !”

“Huh? Could it be that the king intends to temporarily place me there for a while?”

“I think you’d love to.”

“Thank you for the arrangement, Your Majesty.” Blue Fox kept patting his thighs, “I still don’t want to be just a nobleman in Gothenburg, even though the geographical location is very important. I want to explore the inland area again for your Majesty, and that Ludwig, I still hate him.”

“Hate him for neglecting you?”

“He tossed me so hard!”

“The times are different, and he may ask you to do something in the future. I want you to build the shop in Nassau Village first, and remember to build it into a fortress. You have to convince your soldiers to go, you can do whatever you want To make a fortune by plundering the villages and noble territories of the Middle Kingdom, you must also keep spying on me. We have a stronghold in Rotterstadt at the mouth of the Rhine River. When the news reaches here, we will send it back to the north. You can Rest assured, your title of Earl of Gothenburg is permanent, and your children and grandchildren will always inherit it.”

Lan Hu immediately understood Wang’s arrangement, and he hurriedly thanked him.

He added: “Then our store in Nassau Village will eventually be handed over to someone your Majesty can trust.”

“That’s natural. How about you give someone a choice?”

“My younger brother, the red fox or the black fox, they should also have a chance to prosper. Your Majesty has seen them, and now the two have grown up.”

When the blue fox asked Rurik, he immediately remembered. Of course, it was definitely not that those two men had done any great feats. It was actually Old Gould who named his sons after “foxes”. A so-called businessman should have a fox. Such a cunning, as a person with a wonderful name is really memorable.

What’s more, the blue fox of this family is a big wonder, only the blue fox has lost weight due to crazy adventures, and the other Gould guys, both male and female, are fat.

Both the red fox and the black fox are fat guys. Is this kind of person really reliable?

Perhaps.

Rurik nodded: “There are only four men in your Gould family. I know the business layout of old Gould, and I admit it. Your elder brother Baihu is in charge of the North Baltic Sea, and you are in charge of Denmark. It’s not open to your family, but your two little brothers can open up the southern market. I’m very satisfied with your brother’s mutual support. Well, I’ll meet Red Fox first when I go back. I hope this kid will support your opinion. .”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness.”

Thus, Blue Fox fully understood his new mission.

The war is over, and this is the beginning of a new era for Blue Fox.

He secretly made up his mind to build an extremely strong stronghold in the village of Nassau, which he had never met. It must be a fortress to ensure that he could hold on to the war for more than half a year in the future.

After all, Blue Fox is not a simple person. He believes that Ludwig’s arrogant guy is only a tactical confession now. Of course, when he returns to his hometown, he will endure it for a long time because his strength is seriously weakened.

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He felt that he would do more, and that just making gold and silver wealth could no longer satisfy his personal ambitions.

For this purpose, the Blue Fox will have a special squadron at his disposal, consisting of armed cargo ships and longships.

The longship is responsible for towing the large ship by oars so that it can sail against the current on the Rhine, and once the wind is suitable, it will sail again.

He estimated that he could gather a team of 500 people, all from the ancestral Onkras tribe folks, as well as followers of the Gothalam people who had recovered Gothenburg.

Most of the people who have been able to fight with the army until now still want to continue to make profits. As for those who are eager to think, let them leave.

There should be no shortage of manpower, especially those who are eager to make a fortune.

The Saxons in the Hamburg area were too poor, and some of them just took advantage of it, and only five hundred people could meet the king’s request.

So when the Russian Army and the Danish Army were busy preparing for their return home, General Blue Fox led the squadron to Nassau Village and began to publicize it with great fanfare.

The squadron has increased the mission of the cruise ship. Henry Nassau, Ludwig and Harderbold, and even a large number of released Franks, will take this downwind fleet to return to their respective homes.

There is no need for Blue Fox to hide his future arrangements, he is recruiting in a high-profile manner in Hamburg.

“A man who thinks he is strong! A man who wants to get rich! Come with me now! I will take you to the south to make a fortune.”

It is really poor that people have nowhere to go. Since this Rus man with a cross on his chest has already converted, following this person should be able to save him from desperation.

Blue Fox easily recruited 50 people. Most of these Saxon villagers also have families, but they are obviously more powerful. They also fought with spears in the war before. The experience of participating in the decisive battle and fighting side by side is the common memory of each other.

Blue Fox has more trust in these people, and maybe these people will be merciful when they rob the villages of the Middle Kingdom in the future.

Those who insisted on going home were eliminated, and the blue fox didn’t stop them, so there were more than three hundred people determined to go to the south to see the world, no matter how well they could make a fortune by robbing, and grab another beautiful girl to solve their marriage problems .

The Saxons who were also recruited into the group during the continuous multi-day recruiting work also had similar simple and extremely barbaric dreams.

Today is not the same as in the past, due to the seizure of a mountain of weapons and armor, the blue fox can better arm its own people.

The leather helmet is matched with chain mail, and a piece of cowhide riveted iron plate can be put on the outer body.

All have cowhide leather boots and fine leather belts.

Swords and axes are essential weapons, and the lightweight wooden-armed crossbow is characteristic.

It’s just that they used the equipment seized from the Frankish heavy infantry on a large scale, and now they are transformed into the resurrection of the dead heavy infantry.

They’re so much like the Frankish army that they don’t clearly identify themselves until they show off their giant bucklers in full Viking style and deftly pile up shield walls.

The Ross flag is exquisite, with blue cloth strips stitched diagonally on the square white cloth, which originally refers to the snow and an abstract pair of oars.

The totem of the Ross tribe has been like this since ancient times, and Rurik just improved its abstraction and simplification.

However, there are multiple explanations for this flag. Even Archbishop Hardebold of Cologne considered that Ross ships would often visit his city of Cologne on the Rhine River in the future, and the war should be over. Some reasonable endorsements.

Harderbold didn’t believe that the Rus would always display the cross flag honestly, but their own flag was so similar to the cross flag that it shouldn’t be just a coincidence, it could obviously make a big fuss.

He personally met Rurik and explained his special understanding of the flag.

“It is said that our Saint Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, just like the flag of your Ross. In the future, I can point out to the people of Cologne that the flags flying by the cruise ships are the cross of Andre, so that the people should not feel intimidated.”

Rurik once tried to hold back his laughter. In the final analysis, this flag was Ross’s naval ensign, and his original design belonged to a historical one. Of course, the naval flag is essentially the “St. Andrew’s Cross”.

Haderbold will also return to Hamburg on the ships of the squadron. This person’s sudden visit is to ask Ross to fulfill his agreement not to rob Cologne in the future, and emphasizes that no matter what Ross does in the future, as long as it does not harm the people of the Cologne Archdiocese interests, Cologne will remain silent.

What else could Rurik say about this.

He was very pleased with the pragmatic spirit of this old thing, and added in passing: “You make a statement, pointing out that our flag is a symbol of Saint Andrew, as if we Rus have all converted to your faith. You are deceiving Your people are giving yourself comfort. But I am very satisfied with this statement.”

Hadbold couldn’t say anything about it, he just smiled wryly.

He came to meet privately, in essence hoping that Rurik would continue to make promises.

The meeting had the added bonus of success, even if it was only a verbal prospect of cooperation.

After all, there will be more than 10,000 people living in Cologne during peacetime. The city is not only where the bishop sits, and its wealth is not obtained simply by collecting farmers’ tithes.

How much can you earn just by relying on agricultural taxes?

Cologne is not a big city, but there are many textile workshops in the city.

A large amount of wool from Flanders and the Middle Kingdom arrived in Cologne, and the people of Cologne devoted themselves to wool processing and flax weaving during their slack.

Textiles were the main source of money and taxation, while nobles and their retainers were the main consumers.

Hardbold was not simply a devout believer. This man was devout, and his interpretation of belief was flexible.

He discovered that the Ross people were not pure butchers. Since the entire northern world had made the monarchs swear not to kill each other due to some treaties, and had signed a very clear commercial treaty, Cologne should not let this opportunity pass.

The Cologne defense has found a new big buyer, and it is a very stable buyer.

The woolen felt, woolen sweaters, and linen cloth made in the future can be sold directly to the Rus people who display the “St. Andrew’s Cross Flag”.

[End of this Chapter]