Rise of Rurik - Chapter 1075

[Chapter 1075 Ten Great Parts of the Baltic People]

The Polotsk people had to accept the reality of defeat, at least it seemed that the conqueror was reasonable.

They have to pay more for the defeat, and a batch of food is the price.

The cavalry was always stationed outside the city, and Fisk tried his best to restrain his subordinates. At least the Ross Army did a good job.

At least the Pechenegs in Quetzal did not rush into the village to plunder, but these grassland people drove their horses directly to eat the wheat that was urgently needed to be harvested, and the peasants could only stare with grief and indignation.

The war compensation that Fisk asked for was half of Polotsk’s harvest this year, and the pressure was distributed to every village. After threshing and husking, the army received food as a tribute.

After that meeting, Proclaw, who lost all face, could no longer be the leader, and the new leader Lambat was only supported by his tribe on the surface, and he was full of curses in secret.

After all, Lambart’s inconsistent scumbags, surrenderers, are now taking everyone’s food.

There are risks in collecting tribute from the defeated, and Fisk is very worried that he will encounter strong resistance from irrational people.

It’s time for Lambat to prove his loyalty!

For this man who finally got the position of leader, he must of course do things for the conqueror of Rus for this power.

At the beginning, he thought simply, thinking that this group of people would not be careful about the amount of food they asked for.

Unexpectedly, the bald general did some calculations and gave a specific number.

“Assuming you have 10,000 people, there are 2,000 small families, and each family owns one Rose hectare of land, and the oat harvest is calculated as one thousand pounds. In the end, you will attack Rose with one million pounds of oats.”

Even the inhabitants of Polotsk used units of measurement left over from Roman times, for whom the “Roman pound” was the only standardized unit of weight.

I don’t know when this set of standards started. At least the Latvian merchants and Varyag merchants in Riga who transited through the border are using it. Several tribes in the distance are also using it. Polotsk must also use it to do business with people from afar.

Lambart could understand Fisk’s request, at least the amount requested was too large, and he kept a mind to operate carefully and give less.

Such a trick was seen through by Fisk, but after thinking about it, it was like cutting sheep. If you cut the sheep bare in one go, you would definitely freeze to death. If you search too hard for these defeated guys, you may break the jar.

Other things can be a horse bandit, but he is a general under the king’s command anyway, so he has to consider the face of the Ross people in everything he does.

He knew Lambat’s inner desire, so he made a compromise: “You can pay the tribute in batches. I will give you five years, and you can transport 200,000 pounds a year. The oats will be sent to Vitebsk on the upper reaches of the river. Even if the task is completed.”

The population of Polotsk, which has experienced the war, still exceeds 10,000, but the loss of a lot of high-quality farm tools has caused a lot of blows to agricultural production.

It is impossible to try to get back the iron farm tools, but the remaining farm tools can continue to be produced.

Fisk first estimated the area and yield of a local farmland. Out of his own contempt, he didn’t think that the farmland of this group of guys could be highly productive, so he tacitly assumed that the yield per hectare was only a thousand pounds. field”.

Indeed, although the situation is not as bad as Fisk predicted, the agricultural situation is far from the fertile land of the Ross people in Inlmen Lake.

Give out 200,000 pounds as a tribute for five consecutive years. Handing over this batch of food will not make the people hungry, but the agricultural surplus will become better than nothing, so don’t think about getting more supplies to fill yourself in five years .

At least the people will not suffer from famine.

Convinced that the conquerors would not slowly torture the Polotsk people to death, Lambart ventured to ask, “Are we… sheep to you?”

“You are indeed sheep, but we cut your wool regularly. But it’s not necessarily true. Our king is a benevolent ruler. If you are obedient enough, King Ross may exempt you from all offerings.”

Fisk cleverly described a bright future for them, and regarding the tribute issue, first hand over one million pounds this year, and adjust the mortgage payment to be paid in five years.

Fisk showed Roth’s benevolence, and to the Polotsk nobles, they felt that the conquerors were compromising.

A lot of old guys have just rightly suffered from the Stockholm Syndrome, and began to feel that it was too late to meet the Ross people. If they knew this, it would be better to send envoys to the north to ask for their surrender.

The autumn harvest in the T-junction area of the Polota River and the West Dvina River, where Polotsk is located, is in full swing, and a group of cavalry just stay and rest lazily.

Normally, the dried straw of oats and rye is used as raw material for roof bales and fodder for livestock.

Wheat straw is not effective in feeding livestock, but it is perfect for a roof, especially when the autumn rain is coming soon.

The Polotsk people did not raise many cattle and sheep, and each of the ten villages handed over five cattle, a total of fifty cattle for the conquerors to enjoy.

They took out a group of old cows in a very rogue manner, which was clearly seen by the grassland people, as well as by the Ross-Ostara coalition forces.

Fisk couldn’t say anything, and blamed himself for not explaining clearly when he asked for this special tribute.

It’s not that the old beef is of poor quality, but it’s not bad to eat barbecue. Besides, the army really has to prepare for the next stage of operations.

In the riverside area, the open-air camp of the Ross army was always lively, even at night.

The wheat harvesting work is going on intensely. In the past few days, no one from the army has set foot in the settlements of local villagers.

At the beginning, the villagers still called the people by the river “terrible horse bandits”. Later, they continued to observe the unmolested appearance of these guys, and became less and less vigilant about them.

Even the cattle slaughterers by the riverside looked too scary, and what was even more terrifying was that these guys didn’t even spare the blood of cattle.

At least the Polotsk people are no longer a blood-drinking nation. In essence, they think that cow blood is too stinky. Secondly, it is a thing for priests and gods. Various explanations are combined to say that the nation does not eat cow blood as a last resort.

Ross also has a similar explanation, but the real Ostara people indulge in animal husbandry and cooking cattle blood. Unfortunately, the current Ostara and the old one are already two concepts.

The Pechenegs are not the same. They are the “blood eaters” who were shot and saw.

After all, living in the vast grassland, any food is precious. They will drink the blood of the cow, and eat the marrow in the bone of the cow, and they can eat the smelly cow intestines after washing and roasting.

The whole army is roasting beef on a large scale, and each soldier intends to roast his allotted meat to be completely dehydrated.

They will also receive a new supply, the newly harvested oats provided by the people of Polotsk.

Every cavalryman will hang a large bag on his saddle, which must be fresh wheat.

Old Harold, who led the way, still kept his alias Olaf. He had already learned about the next plan of the Ross people, and he was inevitably a little worried about it.

The campfire was crackling, and the smell of wheat and barbecue permeated the camp.

Old Harold was full, and he knew that Ross’s bald general asked him to sit by this campfire and he must have something important to say.

“Soon we’ll be moving downstream. You’re coming from the Gulf of Riga, and you’ll have to be the guide. How? I think you’ve figured it out.”

Although he had made some estimates, old Harold was still very worried when he was asked bluntly.

He looked into Fisk’s eyes: “You guys… don’t you want to loot Riga?”

“Racking? No. It’s not in my plan. But…it’s not impossible.”

Old Harold was startled suddenly, with obvious panic on his face.

“You are scared. Olaf, remember your current identity. You are a servant of the Principality of Austala, that is, a servant of Ross. You should make a cut with the Gulf of Riga.”

“Cut? How is it possible to cut?” He hooked his head and smiled helplessly.

“That’s right.” Fisk looked up at the brilliant starry sky, then turned his head to look at his eyes: “That’s why I need your guidance. I don’t want any misunderstandings.”

“So you want me to mediate and ask the locals to surrender to Ross?”

“It would be best if this is the case.” Fisk patted his thigh happily, not hiding his desire for honor: “The king gave me the right to act independently, and I will expand the territory for Ross. In fact, even if the locals in Riga express If there is a strong resistance, when the Ross army is assembled, it is not a problem to level the local area. It is best if friendly relations can be established from the beginning through negotiations. I want to meet with the local leaders of Riga before winter Chat, I am also very interested in your Danish settler community, hope we can chat.”

Hearing these words from the heart, old Harold’s mind was spinning wildly.

He is a Danish immigrant, and he has only ordinary trade relations with the local Latvians and several surrounding tribes.

This is the main reason why he, as the leader of the team, was not sad when more than a dozen fledgling Latvian boys who followed him into the world were hacked to death by the Ross people.

I want to come to this group of Russians and the guys from the grasslands who don’t understand the language of the Latvians at all, and the only ones who can communicate with them perfectly are the descendants of Denmark living in Riga.

Old Harold thought for a while, and said meaningfully: “Actually, there are not only Latvians over there, but also some other tribes. They speak a similar language, and they sometimes fight each other when they see each other.”

Fisk was clever: “Oh? Aren’t they the same kind of people?”

“They’ve made it very clear.”

“Now that you have nothing to do, you… might as well talk about those guys.”

When Fisk asked, Harold more or less realized that this was not a simple idle question.

The bald Ross general wanted to know the names of the tribes that were likely to be conquered, so that he could actually launch a war of conquest and choose the right target.

After all, old Harold lacks empathy with the group of Latvians who don’t believe in Odin. It is said that a new king has emerged in Denmark, who is a noble from the Stonewall tribe, and Denmark is in an alliance with Ross. Now live in Denmark in Riga As long as the community has a relationship with Ross, can’t they gain huge power overnight?

“There are Latgola, Selon, Liv, Zemigola, Kuron, Samogitia, Zhemaigola, Oak Aukshtait, Zhemait, Pruss, Yatvingola.” Old Harold counted exactly ten tribal names with his fingers up, and there were actually a few smaller ones. The tribe, unfortunately, is extremely weak and even unworthy of a name.

Fisk knew almost nothing about these names, and only heard about Latgola. After all, it is a Latvian tribe that now controls the city of Riga, or the name Riga is a variant of the tribe’s name.

“Are there actually ten tribes?”

“This is what I have learned all my life. I have done business with many tribes and know them all.” Old Harold continued.

“So, which tribe do you think is the most powerful?”

“It’s Prussia and Juventus.” Old Harold asked cautiously again: “Are you going to attack them? To crush the strongest?”

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“The battle is no longer in my plan!” Fisk repeated: “However, if a conflict does break out in the future, we need to know about potential enemies in advance.”

Old Harold had been telling the truth that the Prussian savages used to fight the Polish Slavs, and so did the Utwins (the direct ancestors of the Lithuanians).

The reason for their strength is that they have occupied a good land suitable for growing food, and the clansmen have many times more fighting power.

It is also true that the nearby Slavs wanted to occupy the local area, and the conflict broke out.

The old guy talked a lot, but unfortunately, Fisk is also very fond of the concept of “Poland”. It is because I heard that those people also speak Slavic, and I have a little more good impression. Maybe it can be conquered by Ross in the future. .

A large number of names hit his head, and Fisk at least understood that his understanding of the Gulf of Riga was too one-sided. It was a brand new world, and it was also a world that Ross people had never set foot in in the past.

There are ten factions that speak the same language locally, which are actually the ten largest tribes of the Baltic people.

Now, the gate to the Bay of Riga is open, and the Ross cavalry only needs to continue down the river to finally reach the Danish settlement in Riga.

All kinds of tribes cannot be contacted in a short period of time, and Fisk only intends to have a good chat with the Latvians and the local Danes in the next operation.

He explained this idea to old Harold without reservation, and immediately got a new explanation from the old fellow.

“If the cavalry continues, you won’t immediately encounter a Latvian village.”

“Who will meet then?”

“The Selonians. Those who live in the hills, according to their language.”

“Will those guys block the river?” Fisk couldn’t help asking.

“That’s not true, they don’t have the ability.”

“I suppose so. My cavalry will attack them if they try to block them. That’s right. Are they strong?”

“Not strong. The population is small, but they all live on the mounds, and even built forts. As you said, you must fight. Those guys are not rich, and the forts are only built for self-protection. Attacking them costs money.” You won’t get any benefit if you work hard, so there’s no need for you to waste your time here.”

“Okay.” Fisk shrugged, and turned his face to look at the old guy again: “You are not speaking for this Selong tribe, are you? Are there any friends of yours there?”

“Neither friend nor foe. If you’re in a hurry, you don’t waste time with Therons. At least this year.”

“Alright. Then move quickly along the river!”

As a result, the cavalry quickly completed the supply.

The prairie cavalry did not realize their dream of making a fortune, but their thirst for knowledge to explore the new world dominated their bodies, and this regret was quickly dispelled.

After all, as long as you continue to walk along the river, you will eventually reach the sea in the north. The Pecheneg fighters have seen the sea in the south (referring to the Caspian Sea), but they don’t know what the sea in the north looks like.

Each trooper carried a sack of freshly shucked oats, and a hard-baked beef jerky.

The cavalry rushed to the settlement of Polotsk like wind, and now they are also leaving quickly.

For the people of Polotsk, it was a mixed autumn and they all realized that times had completely changed.

A group of plague gods headed towards the mouth of the river, and people breathed a sigh of relief, as if everything had returned to normal.

But how can the large number of horseshoe marks left by the river disappear so easily?

They will be back soon…

(I found an anthropological paper, a linguistics paper, and an ancient map of Northeast Europe drawn in the 16th century for reference)

[End of this Chapter]