Rise of Rurik - Chapter 648

[Chapter 649 Rurik Strategizing]

Rurik wants to deeply cultivate the entire Novgorod region, and he will no longer hunt here like a hunter like in the past half century.

Sorgon voyages will give way to regular taxes, and outsiders who collect a “protection fee” will be the real kings here.

Rigus’s White Tree Manor is relatively strong, while Uski of Calf Manor and Tory of the Fisherman are far less powerful.

All three of them read Rurik’s glorious declaration of great opportunities in the future, and the loyalty they swore came from the bottom of their hearts.

This group of local Slavs has no clear lofty pursuits and beliefs. Worshiping Peron or the invincible Odin is not the whole of their lives.

They are pure farmers. Fishing, hunting and logging are all additions to agriculture. Only by allowing them to obtain vast farmland by various means can they be exchanged for their loyalty.

How to get farmland?

Land reclamation is a means, but it will take some years to bring a steady stream of land wealth.

There are huge risks in launching wars against neighbors and plundering the local people’s farmland to grow their own wheat, while the rewards tempt people to work hard.

Similarly, the owner of the farmland will fight the intruders desperately to defend their farmland. This kind of people will not fight for any “warrior’s belief” at all, they will fight for everything they own.

It was such enemies that Rurik had to face cautiously, even if they looked weak.

This is an era of the jungle. Back then, White Tree Manor was no match for the military force of Pine Needle Manor, so it was forced to choose peace. It almost voluntarily withdrew from the fertile Lake Ilmen, handed over the farmland it used to reclaim, and had to live in Logging in the dense forest and expanding the fields, after a difficult life, new fields were opened up on the banks of the Volkhov River.

The heart of vengeance has been passed down from generation to generation, causing the farmers of White Tree Manor to take up arms and take back their ancestors’ farmland. They have no moral scruples, and even kill their opponents without mercy.

As a true duke, Rurik began to make his campaign decisions.

“We will take the initiative to launch a comprehensive and powerful attack. Even if they have 10,000 people, the current situation of our army should have a lot of troops!” Rurik pointed to Rigus with his eyes.

“Yes, my lord duke. My Medwait is in command of the Banner Corps. The strength is still 800. Just like in the past battles, their spear wall can kill all approaching enemies.”

Rigus replied confidently, and he added: “The population of my farm is not what it used to be. There are still many young and old people who can take up weapons, even with sharpened wooden poles. Male and female warriors Taken together, I… can take out another 2,000 fighters.”

The new two thousand fighters?

Rurik was slightly surprised: “I did see a large farm. Tell me, what is your current population?”

“This… probably exceeds 5,000 people.”

“So many?! How dare you call yourself a small farm?!” How could Rurik not be surprised?

A farm with 5,000 people, placed on the shore of Lake Mälaren in Sweden, is a very powerful force. This Ligus can call himself a prince, and his manor can call himself a city-state.

Obviously, Rigus still doesn’t know how strong he is. Maybe their fear of Pine Needle Manor still can’t be gradually improved because of the increase in size.

Otto took the opportunity to signal: “Rurik, this is the first time you have come to Novgorod, unlike me, I have been coming every year for twenty years. The population surge of White Tree Manor is just a few days ago. Years.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Regus immediately complimented: “This is a gift from the great Ross people. Our life has improved. Many people from other farms have boldly moved to my place, and even your territory.”

“Not only that.” Otto smiled and said, “Those people, use your farm as a springboard to move to New Roseburg.”

If Rurik announced that it was wise to directly notify the ruling Novgorod, Otto’s strategy of pulling one faction against another faction is nothing less than a clever plan.

The Slavs in this lake area are actually divided into three waves, those who support Ross, those who oppose Ross, and those who win and help whoever sits on the fence.

How many people are there on the fence? Neither Rurik nor Otto can have any thoughts about these people.

There is only one thing Rurik wants to know precisely – what is the population of the main enemy’s Pine Needle Manor?

Specifically, are there really 10,000 men and women who can afford weapons?

When it came to the most critical issue, Rigus, Tory and Usky all became ambiguous.

They frowned slightly, and Rurik was very annoyed: “I’m asking you something. They have a total population of 20,000? Give me an exact number.”

“Certainly not twenty thousand,” said Tory.

Usky hastily denied: “Maybe there are only ten thousand people.”

“They persecuted us and forbade the people of White Tree Manor to inquire about their population.” Regus regretted: “At least I am powerless to face them.”

Rurik clenched the weak golden beard on his chin: “Then let’s assume that they do have 10,000 armed men. What is our total strength now? Rigus, the 2,000 you called don’t count, pick out for me Men between the ages of fifteen and fifty. How many can there be?”

“Maybe we can add another four hundred people.”

“Then you have a total of twelve hundred people.” Rurik concluded.

“It’s still only four hundred. Because the Slavic flag team is your fighter.”

“You… are also right.” Rurik turned to Toli and Usky and asked, “You two also handed over an army at this age.”

Tolly blurted out: “Barely two hundred people.”

In order not to lose to him, Uski gritted his teeth: “I am also two hundred people.”

“In this way, you can send up to 800 troops? Not too many, but not too many. Your so-called soldiers are farmers, and they are not real soldiers in my eyes. I am their commander, and I will not let them take the lead You can all rest assured that your men will not suffer battle losses or even be injured if you follow my plan. Unless, you violate my arrangement.”

The three looked at each other and remained silent for the time being.

As for the real strength of the Ross army, it is very clear.

The Warriors’ First Banner Team and Third Banner Team were fully staffed after reorganization, with a total of 1,000 Varyag warriors in classic costumes.

They wore completely uniform military uniforms, and the two interlaced blue stripes stitched on the chest of the long gown was the symbol of Ross.

The warriors all have round wooden shields that can protect the entire torso. The shields are either covered with leather or reinforced with thin bronze skins. The surfaces are also painted. Most of them are coated with pine gum and then sprinkled with chalk powder Then apply woad dye.

Otto brought some old guys from the Second Banner Squad this time. He lost some veterans, and there are still more than a hundred people. They are eager for revenge, and they vowed to have no revenge on the villains who attacked the Pine Needle Manor.

But Konusson brought in more than a hundred additional people, and these people were simply incorporated into the second banner team, making the number of the banner team over 300.

There are eight hundred warriors in the Slavic banner, and their armament is almost a spear.

Fortunately, they have received training, and most of them have experienced the decisive battle of Gotland. They have experienced large-scale war scenes and they are not afraid of new wars.

Moreover, most of them came from White Tree Manor, and quite a few people came from other manors other than Pine Needle Manor.

They are all New Ross people now, and they are directly responsible to the Duke of Ross himself.

So what Rigus said is completely correct, this “Spear Banner Squad” is only loyal to Rurik.

As for the Sagittarius Banner Team, this team can be called a mixed bag.

Young and old, there are elite mercenaries, armed sailors, Finnish Kovins, and surrendered Danes.

There is also the Aostar Allied Army led by Carlota. For the time being, they have also been incorporated into the flag shooting team.

The Sagittarius Banner Team is like a big basket, and all kinds of people are stuffed into it.

But no one can deny that they can show their strong combat effectiveness in a special way.

As a result, the real Ross army has as many as 2,700 troops.

This is indeed the case for Ross’s main force, and it is by no means exhausted.

Even so, such an army in the current corrupt and gloomy Europe would be able to kill all the way from Bremen to Rome on the border of the Frankish Kingdom.

When Rurik finished counting the troops he could accurately control with his fingers, Rigus, an old guy, couldn’t hide his worry.

“My lord, are we going to fight Vadim’s 10,000 people with more than 3,000 people?”

“What? Are you actually scared?” Rurik asked harshly.

“No.” Rigus thumped in his heart, and hurriedly denied: “I didn’t say that Ross’s army was short of soldiers. It’s just…”

“It’s just that you are intimidated by the number of enemies. Regus, you should still be a rich man with peace of mind. You don’t understand war, so don’t meddle in it.”

“yes.”

“However, the three manor owners present here still have to bring their own fighters to participate in the battle. Now is my specific tactical arrangement.”

White tree, calf, fisherman’s manor, they can gather at least 800 so-called farmers’ armed forces.

Rurik didn’t believe in the combat effectiveness of these untrained people at all. They lacked organization and their individual physique was worse than that of Ross soldiers. Completely unable to advance simultaneously with the Ross army.

This is a group of burdens, and it is precisely the burdens that have certain uses.

Rurik believed that if he really assigned tasks to them, these three guys could squeeze out all the combat power of his manor, firstly to vent their hatred, and secondly to flatter the ruler, the Ross people.

What he was most worried about was the meaningless deaths of these farmers, because the large amount of vacant farmland that appeared after the war still needed these people to cultivate it.

Based on these realistic factors, Rurik arranged a tactic for the three of them to march by land.

That is, the peasant army of the three manors brought their own various weapons to form a whole. When the Ross Fleet launched a strong attack on the enemy’s Pine Needle Manor, they went to the Pine Needle Manor by land.

These peasant warriors must tie a strip of cloth or hemp rope on their left and right arms, and wrap a strip of cloth around their foreheads to show their identities and avoid misunderstandings in melee situations.

The “Nine Changes” of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” once described that “generals may be used by the enemy because they are too kind; they may be too caring for the power of the people, which limits their tactical play.”

Rurik did have such a problem. What he cherished was definitely not the people of the hostile forces, but the farms of these three hardcore servants. He didn’t want these guys to join the battle, but they were indispensable in this battle.

The peasant warriors of Rigus and the others will march by the river, and when they arrive at the outskirts of Pine Needle Manor, it depends on the situation whether to march or not. Once the Ross army enters the farm and the battle is at its most chaotic, they will take the opportunity to fight out.

In a sense, this group of them is the tactical reserve team, the kind of reserve team with low combat effectiveness, and the value of their existence is to exacerbate chaos.

They’ve also been tasked with a more brutal task – to kill anyone in sight at Pine Needle Manor.

Rurik, who issued such an order, was like a murderer. He used to resent such a tyrant, but when he took over the power and brought Rose to face many tests of life and death, the brave man also became a dragon.

He has no burden in his heart, and the order given to Ross’s army is exactly the same.

Ross’s army will enter Lake Ilmen by ship by water, and Pine Needle Manor will see the demeanor of the strongest navy in Northern Europe in this era.

There will be no lake battles, and the Slavic canoes are meaningless in front of the huge size of the Aurora-class sailing cruiser.

The Ross army will adopt a landing battle, but the landing battle is not as violent as the beach landing.

Since you have very good long-range weapons, you should try your best to develop their strong combat power.

Now, Aurora, Spellosville, Duke of Ostara, Gray Squirrel and Chief Salmon.

These five sail cruisers alone are equipped with fifty torsion slingshots.

Mercury, Venus, Mona, Mas, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, these seven sail destroyers also have a total of 42 torsion slingshots.

There are as many as 20 torsion slingshots that will be handled on the move. Rurik also prepared a trolley for these weapons, which are originally used as heavy weapons for land warfare.

There are also twenty-five bull catapults, which are not accurate, but they can throw all kinds of stones, and pebbles the size of a fist can be thrown equivalent to 300 meters away.

Basically, the sailors and archers’ flag team are manipulating these heavy weapons. It is reasonable that these terrifying ship-borne and land-based weapons will deal a painful blow to the enemy first.

Rurik has always believed that it is a stupid tactic for soldiers to fight at close range, especially the sword and shield fighters are too dangerous.

Gunpowder weapons can be created according to Ross’s current strength. For the time being, Rurik has no idea of attacking this technology. The biggest reason is that the existing armament situation is already rampant in Northern and Eastern Europe.

The 2,700 Ross warriors will be divided into sail cruisers, sail destroyers, armed cargo ships, and as many as 30 traditional longships.

It is the most traditional longship, the most tactical value of the landing battle on the lake.

Because they themselves are the most suitable landing craft!

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Thirty longships squeezed together a little bit, and the most elite fighters of the first and third banner teams rowed hard. A thousand warriors would serve as the initial landing force, and they were engaged in the work similar to Ma Run.

Arik and Hailafeld will open up the situation on the landing beach, but I am afraid that the first thing they will face is a pile of dead bodies on the beach.

Rurik decided to spread out the fleet on purpose, facing the enemy sideways with each ship, deliberately standing still for some time to allow the enemy to gather their forces, and lure them to form a long-range attack on the lakeside (at least in a group).

What kind of tactic is this?

It is indeed the most classic cooperative tactic of land and sea beach landing since ancient times.

It’s just that the ironclad ship is now a wood-hulled ship, the steel heavy artillery is now a torsion slingshot, and the landing craft are all Viking longships.

“I wish they would really gather ten thousand people by the lake, so that our hundreds of torsion slingshots could kill ten thousand of them at once. I hope they will be as tough as pine trees, so that our people will spend some time, You can kill them all with arrows, javelins, and stone bullets.”

Rurik’s summary drew everyone’s applause.

Because the opponents were not real Vikings, Arik and the others had no intention of performing a warrior duel with such rebellious farmers. The opponents were not worthy at all, so how to kill them had nothing to do with them.

It is inappropriate to formulate complex tactics in the current era, precisely because generals are unable to transmit new orders to grassroots troops in a very short time. Since the delay time is too long, they have to formulate a tactical framework.

Rurik finally concluded: “I don’t bring much military rations. My main enemy this year is the Karelians. The crusade against the rebellion is purely an accident that must be settled. I will give you a day’s rest tomorrow, and we will launch the war in two days. War! Attention, this time we are not punishing the rebellious Vadim of Pine Needle Manor, and Pine Needle Manor will cease to exist after this war. You should know what I mean!”

The people present looked at each other and laughed, but the smiles were ferocious.

But the rebels of Pine Needle Manor, with all kinds of weapons, congratulated Vadim the “Prince of Novgorod” and followed him for his feat against the Ross invaders.

It’s a pity that they have no idea what kind of terrible enemy they have provoked. All the armed farmers see are their companions gathered in amazing numbers, so everyone’s morale is high!

But what they look like now is almost the same as a shrinking turtle. Vadim did not plan to take the initiative to attack, at least not yet.

He consciously prepared a huge army, and decided to hold a grand sacrifice on the summer solstice, summoning the leaders and priests of the farms, and using the beheaded head of the Rus as a sacrifice, he became a well-deserved prince of Novgorod.

Even if they all know that the ships of the Rus are moored in the waters where the lake enters the Volkhov River.

Their optimism caused them to seriously misjudge the situation, and even the defection of a small manor family was ignored.

They naively thought that the failure of the Ross ship to go deep into the lake was a sign of cowardice, and the people of Pine Needle Manor did not take the initiative to attack.

Seems like a delicate standoff?

Pooh!

The stupid Vadim never imagined that in just a few days, the elite main force and the strongest fleet of the Ross people who had killed all over Northern Europe had gathered in the Volkhov River, as if the arrows had already been placed on the bowstring.

[End of this Chapter]