Rise of Rurik - Chapter 707

[Chapter 708]

Gray Wolf Karl and his little brothers have been known to plunder merchant ships. They are pure pirates, and their entrenched dens are in Hedeby City.

“Why? The brothers who were dispatched were wiped out. You are the ones who want to attack those people. You must give me an explanation now!”

This bald and bearded old guy was furious, pointing at his subordinates and yelling.

The subordinates could only hold back their temper, it was obvious that Boss Karl decided to launch the action.

Gray Wolf Karl was still scolding his subordinates, his attitude was too hysterical.

Finally, someone couldn’t listen anymore and started to shoot the crime. This move really scared Carl. After a short period of embarrassment, this person showed a fierce look: “We must take revenge.”

“Yes! Of course we need revenge.” Carl immediately gritted his teeth: “Those Ross people are making a fortune, as long as we succeed once, we can live a good life. And those brothers who don’t kill, we must take revenge. Then, you guys Any good suggestions?”

When it came to revenge, everyone raised their hands in support, but when it came to researching a revenge plan, they both fell silent.

How to have a good plan?

Karl circled around the patchwork square table and kept circling behind his subordinates. As a result, he shouted slogans loudly, and no one knew what to do.

“Are you all mediocre? Are you all afraid of the Ross people?! You!” He pointed at the person who took the blame: “You proposed it first, give me a good solution.”

“Ah! Boss! The Ross people…they…” This person wanted to say that the Ross armed merchants were too strong to be dealt with, but on second thought, it would destroy his prestige.

This person can also be quick-witted: “Boss, maybe we should contact some strong external forces.”

“You?” Gray Wolf Karl walked over with his head, his eyes seemed to stare at someone, “Are you instigating me to beg for help?”

“How dare I. But…”

“Okay, you’d better be quiet!” Carl slapped this person’s head vigorously, and quieted the slightly noisy others.

In fact, Gray Wolf Karl was just venting his emotions.

It is true that when he was cruising in the sea looking for targets, he accidentally noticed the armed cargo ships that had been sailing in formation. After close observation, he learned that they were the ships of the Ross people, and the unique triangular sails were a distinctive feature.

The shops of the Ross people appeared in Hedeby, even though they had made some disguises, Gray Wolf Karl had already seen their clear identity.

What gang in Hadeby wouldn’t want to take part in seeing the Russ making a lot of money?

In the huge Hedeby, there is a merchant’s guild, and there is also a fraternity of gangsters.

Although it is a city without an owner, there is at least the most basic division of forces in this city.

Under normal circumstances, gangsters would not really attack big businessmen, but seeing some businessmen making crazy money, how could they not feel itchy?

Other gangsters dare not do anything, but Gray Wolf Carl is!

What’s more, the new businessmen have obvious Ross background, or they are Ross themselves.

They were outsiders who made a fortune in Hadeby.

This is Denmark!

The hostile Russ were actually taking advantage of the Danes, and a large group of Danish businessmen were in cahoots with them.

Ross is a strong man, if he can’t find a clear reason to attack, the brothers will be very afraid.

Of course there are reasons, that is to defend the glory of Denmark.

How dare a gang of gangsters call themselves “Guardians of Danish Glory”?

What a joke in the world.

But the minions, especially the newly developed gangsters, they want to win the war against Sweden and Ross, but they have no chance.

A great opportunity lay ahead to justify the attack on the big businessman.

Coincidentally, when Karl came up with the idea and planned the attack, the Ross really landed with a lot of high-quality goods.

Killing people is not the main purpose. Looting Rose’s wealth makes the gang rich, which is the act of gaining both fame and fortune.

When the attack was launched, Karl watched from a dark corner in a burlap burqa. He saw his horse boys attack and then be neatly killed by the Ross people.

If you keep losing your temper to your subordinates and even shirk responsibility for failure, you will be too cowardly as the boss.

How to deal with Ross merchants?

Karl already had the answer in his heart.

“Yes! We really need to find an outside friend. Brothers should also think about what will happen to Hedeby in the future. If Horik, the army of outsiders, really comes, we also need a new way of life. Simple To become a gangster is to be an enemy of that man.”

Boss Karl has already made his words very clear, the brothers actually need a new backer, and that is Horik Clarsson, who is self-proclaimed king.

The failed attack had passed, and Karl had dared not do anything since then.

The other gang leaders secretly ridiculed this blind arrogance. On the surface, they were naturally calm. In the secret meeting of the gang, the leaders made all kinds of hypocrisy and flattery. They were very self-aware. It seems that the interests themselves cannot move, and it is unwise to mock Karl.

Although Carl is deflated, this gang is still the number one gang in Hadeby.

Hadeby’s gang has no shortage of youngsters. Most of the local poor boys or escaped slaves will be absorbed by the gang first, and even be trained to be brave and ruthless fighters.

Each gang has a variety of famous names, and the names are even quite wild and domineering. Most of the gangs have a lot of people, and most of them can gather fifty brothers.

Inside and outside Hedeby City and in the nearby waters, various gangs negotiated their respective spheres of influence, either collecting tribute from small vendors, craftsmen, and farmers, or directly raiding merchant ships to kill people and steal goods.

They are the purest violent group, but they are completely unable to completely build Hedeby into a free city with prosperous business, and now it is just a sinful city with very prosperous business.

A clandestine gang meeting is held at an unnamed wood house in an untouched woodland just outside the city’s port area, a great place to hide.

There is no clear organization that will sanction the gangsters. In theory, there is no need for them to be secretive at all. Such a lot of trouble is just to avoid the eyes of those big businessmen. After all, Karl’s blatant armed robbery in the port area instantly attracted all the businessmen. They are all strengthening their arms.

Gray Wolf Karl was the focus of many leaders. This arrogant man slapped the square table and opened his mouth to preach: “I only have one thing to say when I called my brothers today. I hope you can see the situation clearly! The Ross people have infiltrated Hedeby, and they They actually blatantly raised the banner, and they are crazily grabbing our wealth. Not to mention those big businessmen, the vast majority of people are being squeezed out of their wealth by the Rus. Ordinary people have become poor, and we have no oil to squeeze. is forcing us all to perish.”

A leader raised his head and asked, “Could it be that you want everyone to kill the Ross people together?”

“I! That’s what I mean.”

“Forget it! You are the strongest recognized by the brothers. You launched an operation and suffered a small failure. Our brothers are too weak. If we take action, the whole army will not be wiped out? I just want to save my family.”

This person’s words were already very euphemistic, but he still touched Karl’s backlash, and what he got in exchange was destined to be Karl’s rebuttal: “Cowards! If we act together, we can certainly succeed. Look at you, you are all afraid of your own losses.”

It’s still the same person just now, being criticized as a “coward” is just as irritating.

He jumped up against the table: “You do it, you go!”

Karl was also furious, he pulled out his dagger and slammed it on the square table ferociously, his eyes wide open.

I saw that person also drew out his dagger, and many leaders thought that this was the “gray wolf” playing arrogance, so they drew their swords one after another.

“Who doesn’t have a dagger yet! You are capable of dealing with your brothers, but you are not capable of dealing with Merchant Ross?”

Realizing that something was wrong, Karl had no choice but to put away his arrogance: “I didn’t come here to quarrel with you. I’ll tell you, hand over your brothers to my command, and I will definitely be able to demolish the house of the Ross people and put the money away. Take all the money. If you are not happy, forget it. However, we can still look for external support.”

Karl found a way out for himself, making the other gang leaders feel like they ate flies.

What is external support?

Naturally it was Horik Clarsson.

“Horik will not let Hedeby be a land of no man. This place is the city built by his grandfather. You don’t have to doubt whether Godfrey is his grandfather. He has a lot of soldiers in his hand, and many tribal leaders respect him as king. , Brothers should also think about their own future, Horik’s messenger has already expressed his attitude, my suggestion is that the brothers join Horik together, and use his power to expel the Ross forces.”

Horik Clarsson?

This man claimed to be Hedeby’s real master, and all the leaders had known about it long ago, but the first one to take it seriously was Gray Wolf Karl.

Then someone ridiculed: “Wolves act in packs, and you call yourself the wolf king. What? Now you have to admit that idiot Horick who jumped out of nowhere as the new wolf king, and you still have to act like a she-wolf.” To serve him? Karl, do you lack a father?”

“Watch your attitude!”

But the man shrugged and said nothing.

Presumably many people say that they “lack a father”, but in fact they are not entirely wrong.

Carl needs to protect his vested interests in Hedeby. He originally wanted to unite with other gangs to form a big force and then negotiate with Horick and surrender. Unexpectedly, all the gang leaders expressed a common attitude in various forms-we There is no shortage of a father.

The meeting of the gang broke up unhappy, and since he couldn’t win over the group of guys, Karl took care of things by himself.

How can the messenger meet Horik Clarson directly?

It seems that as long as you go all the way north, go to the northernmost part of the peninsula, and find the emerging city of Godfreyhagen.

It was already July, and Gray Wolf Karl recruited a group of new horsemen, reorganized the interior, and purchased a batch of new weapons to expand the nominal number of horsemen under him to 200. This strength is no better than many Viscounts of Frank. Worse.

He already knew what the other gangsters thought. It was just that there was no place for him to stay here. If Hedeby couldn’t stay any longer, the brothers rowed a boat to find a small island as a den, and then continued to be pirates.

A group of gangsters also have their own ideas. The news about the Norwegian and some other Danish brothers frequently succeeding in the British Isle is spreading, and everyone is eager to try.

It’s really sending pillows when you are sleepy. In mid-July, the messenger of the self-reliant King Horik of Denmark came to Hedeby again.

A man named Staken Francson arrived in Hadeby overland with a hundred armored warriors.

Although this Staken is Danish, he has actually been in Flanders with Boss Horik for many years, and has a lot of contact with the Franks.

He rode on a tall Frankish horse, brought more than a hundred infantrymen, and more than 20 cavalrymen appeared in the city of Hedeby.

A raven flag was flying, and their appearance was immediately surrounded by strong crowds from the people of Hadeby.

The Stakens immediately proclaimed in public: “Hedeby people! Your city belongs to the Danish King Horik Clarsson! This is his property, and you are all his subjects! The king ordered you to pay Eleven, the tax is the only way to continue your business activities!”

Although there was news earlier, the two months of peace made the public feel that the so-called restoration of Horik’s rule is far away. Could it be that Horik has decided to do something?

For a moment, the people in the city were in a state of panic, and there were already small traders running with carts overnight.

Almost all the escapees were Frank and Saxon businessmen, and they all believed in Christ.

They rushed to the south and quickly crossed the virtually unguarded Great Wall of Schleswig, entered the city of Schleswig, paid a tax to the local baron, returned to the embrace of the Frankish Kingdom, and reported to Horik of Denmark to officially take it back Hedeby this thing.

These merchants originally wanted to pay taxes to the Frankish nobles, and they were afraid that they would be exploited by Horik.

Although the news is that a tenth tax is charged, no one knows what this so-called eleventh tax means.

Out of the merchant’s sensitive sense of smell, they felt that the haughty messenger sent by Horik would never spit out ivory, and that the crazy exploitation of the merchant must be inevitable.

These runaway Frankish businessmen are indeed scheming.

The Franks rode big horses, and the horses were still covered with leather armor covered with iron?

A group of soldiers wearing iron helmets and leather armor appeared, and they were also highly uniformly dressed?

Qiao Zhuang’s well-dressed Rose mercenary mixed into the crowd to watch, and hurriedly reported everything he heard and seen to Lord Blue Fox.

“The man who called himself Staken claimed to be Horik’s war chief, and said the king’s navy would soon enter Hedeby. Godfrey built the city, and Horik was his grandson , has the full right to claim the city. All residents living in the city must pay the 11th tax that Horik has not paid in the past 20 years, especially all businessmen must spend more money. Otherwise, Horik’s army will severely punish those who resist taxes, and those who are serious will be killed and ransacked…”

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This is simply an ultimatum!

After all, it’s the end of July. According to the tradition, in less than a month’s time, Ross’ shop will be ready for seasonal proofing, leaving only a few people behind to watch the place, and the newly purchased goods and large amounts of money will be shipped away. .

Blue fox and old Eric were really uncomfortable hearing the report.

“Maybe we should evacuate early. Since that Horik can quickly make almost all the Danish lords recognize his authority, he is not an easy guy to deal with. I think we should seize this opportunity and retreat quickly.” Old Eric Ke’s suggestion is very valuable.

The blue fox thought for a while, and patted his chubby belly: “I have eaten endless delicious meals here and earned a huge amount of wealth. I am a person who has been ordered by the prince to deeply cultivate this field. You can evacuate with your family, but I… If I run away with my brothers, I will betray the prince’s trust and lose my status in the family. No! Maybe the prince will punish me as a slave to dig ore.”

“You? You mean to stay here?” Old Eric was taken aback, and continued to advise: “We are weak now. Before Horik’s navy came back, our fleet evacuated urgently. We told the news to the prince. Presumably the prince will not blame you. The prince is fair, and he will not really think that you and I can fight against the entire Danish king with just one hundred mercenaries.”

“Your words make sense, but I can’t leave!” Blue Fox sighed, “My father also infiltrated Hedeby secretly back then, and if he was discovered at that time, he would be caught by that dead Godfrey.” Hedeby, who has no owner, can accommodate the forces of Ross. The prince actually intends to make peace with Denmark. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to talk to Horik in person and be a mediator of peace negotiations. ”

“You are betting your life!”

“Yes! I will take the risk here if I seek wealth and wealth. But your suggestion is indeed reasonable, why don’t we prepare with both hands.”

Why prepare with both hands?

Blue Fox intends to stay here with the mercenaries to see how the situation will develop, and a large amount of money and other supplies, and even women and children bought in the slave market are all stuffed into the armed cargo ship and will be sent away quickly.

[End of this Chapter]