Rise of Rurik - Chapter 725

[Chapter 726 Tonastad, City of Youth]

The people who came out of the forest brought their stone axes to chop down the big trees, and a small amount of iron axes and knives to finish the wood.

Men and women used bow drills to create flames, and burned the reeds and foxtails everywhere at one time, and regularly opened up wastelands on the humid wastelands by the lake.

They work together to carve out a new home, just as they did in the forest.

They dug the soil into the pile foundations and laid the logs directly on top of them.

A frame building wooden shed is built around the pile foundation, and the outer layer is wrapped with moss and lake mud, and a layer of wood is pasted on the outermost layer.

Straight pine trees are used as beams, and a layer of thin branches is laid on the herringbone-shaped roof, and then a large number of fresh reeds are piled up, and finally some soil blocks are thrown to fix it.

Most of the farm buildings in the forest are like this. As long as these people are given enough time, they can also use the simple tools at hand to build the houses neatly enough.

However, compared with the powerful farms living by the lake, their disadvantages are obvious.

Many people are infested with lice and fleas, so the first thing most people do after arriving at the lake is actually to take a bath.

Although they were old cloth and leather clothes, they couldn’t give up these only shelters to keep out the cold. The clothes that can be soaked in water basically washed away the parasites, and the clothes were scorched on the fire to solve the problem.

The women began to weave ropes with the vines they found. In addition to forcibly clearing the wasteland with wooden plows, the men also tied up rafts and fished in the waters floating near the shore.

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Some masters know the art of bare-handed fishing, spreading bait to attract fish. The big bass parade here and try to swallow the bait whole.

The nets used for fishing in the streams also came in handy, and unlike forest stream fishing, they began to catch big fish in Lake Ilmen, and more shockingly, the big headed bass here seemed The fishing is endless.

At the beginning, the Neo-Slavic immigrants who left the forest were very afraid of the Varyag boats cruising on the lake. The most obvious feature was the raised keel of the boat. The thought of these outsiders killing the overlord Pine Needle Manor in this area overnight Exhausted, I am afraid that I will encounter accidents.

They are willing to believe in the safety guarantees offered by the Rus people in Varyag. More importantly, when everyone realizes that life by the lake is much better than before, no one wants to escape back to the dense forest.

When there was peaceful contact, the neo-Slavic settlers abandoned their old ideas almost instantly.

The Rus are tall and blond, and the fishermen look very young and generally speak some Slavic.

On the other hand, no matter men or women are short in stature, even men are thin and weak.

Life in the dense forest is not good, and only about half of the newborns end up surviving to marriageable age.

Even so, the so-called adult men generally can only barely reach about 160cm in stature due to their poor growth and stunted growth.

Their food is almost only oats and a small amount of rye, the overall food reserves are not much, and meat is completely a supplement.

Soldiers from the Old Pine Needle Manor occasionally went into the forest to exploit them, and the villagers did not dare to resist. They could only swallow their teeth silently and hand over the meager food.

Just a few years ago, the exploitation of Pine Needle Manor has suddenly intensified, and the life of the forest people has become even more miserable.

What they didn’t know was that most of the Pine Needle Manor didn’t bother to go into the forest to exploit the poor. It was all because of the exploitation by the Ross conquerors, which forced the Pine Needle Manor to find ways to produce more oats to cope.

The villagers in the forest regard the hegemony of Pine Needle Manor as a natural disaster, but they have to guard against such things as sneak attacks by evil bears.

Those black-skinned ferocious beasts would prey on farmers who were chopping firewood, and bears would even prey on children directly. If a bear rushed into the village, all the men would take up stone spears to drive them away.

Due to the poor forest environment, forest residents are often attacked by bears. On the other hand, in the lakeside area, since the view is wide enough and there are many flat lands, if bears come and go, people can spot them early.

The new homeland by the lake is fertile and has a pleasant climate. It seems that as long as they become obedient citizens to the Ross people, they will only have a stable life in the future.

It is said that the biggest leader of the Ross people will arrive during the autumn harvest season, and all the forced immigrants want to see what the king who conquered them looks like.

Is it really a blond boy, a young hero commanded by the grace of God, as the so-called Novgorod soldiers said?

They didn’t dare to expect too much, because there are two major things that must be done at hand. One is to wait for the right time to organize the village men to return to their hometowns to harvest wheat under the supervision of the Slavic soldiers who stayed in the Principality of Ross, and the other is to continue construction. The village endures the winter that will come in two months.

This kind of forest farm has no class differentiation, and the strong and wise are elected as villages, and all production and life are done by all male and female villagers.

This way of life started out of nowhere, but the villagers feel they can live like this forever.

But the ship of the times has rushed over, these newly emerged Slavic people have no independent choice, they must submit to the Principality of Ross and not serve the Principality.

As many as eleven villages that were forced to emigrate were connected with each other, and the leaders of each village held some small meetings secretly.

No one proposed to oppose the new conquerors, they all just wanted to live a new life of their own, the so-called meeting was to delineate their respective living areas, to ensure that they would not dig up other people’s land when they opened up wasteland.

A raft floating on the lake meets an approaching fleet!

In the eyes of fishing farmers, the Aurora-class sailing cruiser is a behemoth that transcends three views, and it cannot be described in words.

All the working villagers saw the approach of the strange fleet, and the most vivid memory of them was the fluttering flag.

They recognized these flags, and the soldiers who escorted them out of the dense forest were showing blue-striped flags on a white background.

Those who came were all Russian conquerors from afar, and many people were thinking about how to meet the leader of the Ross people who was about to disembark.

No one sensed danger, and curiosity prevailed over all fear.

It’s just that those big ships are only floating near the shore, as if they only intend to show their existence?

The sailors were ordered to maneuver the fleet to appear in front of the new immigrant’s village. The ships anchored in the early afternoon, and then all the sailors looked at the group of people gathered by the lake for a while, and then lay down on the deck to bask in the sun. The sun is asleep.

The sailors had completed their mission, and when the prince’s land army arrived at the first Neo-Slavic village they encountered and received a new order, they lifted anchor and continued to cruise south along the east bank of the Great Lake.

Rurik led his army right in the rear. Even the youngest soldiers had plenty of physical fitness due to their daily training during the long march. What’s more, they were on an armed parade, without heavy weapons and armor at all.

Without heavy equipment but also supported by horse-drawn carts and deer carts, the army marched on the flat lakeshore, and they soon reached their first destination.

“All stop!” Rurik, the leader of the team, ordered the soldiers holding the bullhorn to blow the horn to suspend the whole army.

What the hell happened?

There is a village ruin in the distance?

There are also some scattered thatched houses.

There are large ripe fields here, all of which have been sown with oat seeds, and the wheat seedlings are heading.

Young warriors and warriors whispered to each other, and then the orders of the whole regiment were heard.

Arik led his 200 veterans to stand up quickly. These people watched a large group of boys and girls line up quickly, and discussed with each other while being relieved.

Four hundred children are indeed children, and the height of boys and girls should not be underestimated.

Girls usually carry short wooden bows and quiver bags around their waists.

There is also a long-bladed dagger for self-defense.

The sackcloth shoulder bag is stuffed with dry food, and there is a curled sackcloth blanket on the outside.

The boy’s armament is no longer the same as that of the adults. There are still large wooden round shields hanging from the back of their backpacks, like they are carrying turtle shells.

A long sword, a small hand axe, and a dagger hang from his waist, and a war halberd is held in his hand as a marching weapon.

Rurik gave another command: “Fisk! Get out!”

A young and strong warrior of sixteen hurried up to Rurik, steadying his helmet.

“grown ups……”

“Everyone is due? Is there anyone left behind along the way?”

“Not at all.” After finishing speaking, Fisk smiled honestly.

Everyone stood in a matrix. According to the rules, 30 people organized “a ship”, which was a “platoon-level combat unit” in the Ross army, and it was also the formation that could at least independently perform combat missions in Rurik’s plan.

He used this to make everyone regroup to form a neat “square”, and then checked to confirm that there were not many.

He cleared his throat. The sun was shining, and the iron helmets and spearheads gleamed. This army was formidable.

“Brothers! Do you know where this is?” Rurik shouted deliberately.

Everyone just watched the gorgeously dressed prince walk around in front of everyone with his hands behind his back and give orders, and then continued to listen to his high-spirited talk.

“There used to be a farm here, but they took part in the rebellion! The village was burned and the traitors were executed! The fields are still fertile here, and I have made other Slavs sow wheat. Look! The wheat is about to ripen! I really want Taking you to deter those weak people who leave the forest is also to show our force. But now, I want to announce another thing, I want to build a new settlement here! Mstiysk cannot be a lonely existence, the city There needs to be another successor. So, who will build this new city?”

Rurik glanced at Fisk, and shouted again: “Fisk!”

“grown ups?!”

“I have decided that you will settle here with your young brothers and sisters! Ross’ young people will build a city of youth.”

This decision really surpassed everyone’s imagination. Although it has long been reported that everyone should live independently when they are old enough, could it be that the time is ripe for the prince to let go?

!

The boy’s concept of honor and disgrace determines that they are not willing to live on the support of the prince all the time. They are eager to make military exploits, work for the prince, and pay taxes to repay their debts.

Fisk’s mood was a little confused, and he asked weakly on behalf of everyone: “My lord? Do you mean to give this land full of wheat… us?”

“How? Are you still not satisfied?” Rurik smiled deliberately.

“Satisfied! Very satisfied! This favor is too great!”

“Of course! Not only did I reward you with the right to cultivate the land, but I also gave you a field of wheat for free. Fisk, you are already sixteen years old, and you are already qualified to be included in the first flag team. I saw the man standing in front of me. With a young and strong army, you should organize yourself into a banner team.” At this point, Rurik couldn’t help pinching his fingers and thinking, “Well, you are the sixth banner team. Or call it the youth banner team. .Fisk, no one is more suitable to be the flag captain than you.”

Things moved very quickly, and Fisk realized that he had a great honor and an important and resolute burden on his shoulders.

He simply half-kneeled in front of Rurik in public, and further swore to the prince his loyalty and gratitude for the reward.

“Get up,” said Rurik.

“As ordered.”

Although Rurik is only fourteen years old, this fast-growing body basically has the shape of a strong man.

Rurik’s overall appearance is still guaranteed. With the development, a lot of muscles can be attached to the bones, but the current relatively fluffy clothes already make him look very strong.

He completely looked at Fisk, who was two years older than himself, and continued to order: “When we finish this cruise, you will bring your brothers and sisters to build a settlement here. I will provide you with various building materials and organize A group of master Slavic architects will help you build houses. But when your life settles down, I will cut off the material rewards given to you. Fisk, your childhood is over, and I selected you because you are already adults.”

Fisk hastily answered: “Yes! The real Ross warriors always break new ground on their own. We are very grateful to His Majesty for your kindness, and we can only repay you with endless loyalty in the future.”

“Repay me? That is necessary. You must never forget that most of you have become orphans for various reasons, or you would have died long ago without my support. Now that you are all Ross people, you must not forget the sufferings of the past .So when you see other children who are starving and homeless, try to bring them back and raise them.”

“As ordered.”

“There is another point. In principle, women are not suitable to be soldiers. I will recruit female soldiers only when the situation forces the troops to be insufficient. There are currently more than 100 girls in the Sixth Banner Corps. Let’s unite! They must be The main wives of the boys, as for the remaining unmarried boys, I will find some local girls for you. We can even go to those new villages to look for them through this armed parade…”

Rurik decided to build a new city, and the young children supported it.

Boys and girls who trained together in the military and fought side by side on the battlefield will marry?

That’s a really good thing.

There was a general feeling for each other between them, something Rurik had known for a long time, and a reasonable and mature Rusian would be happy to see this combination.

Many sons and daughters of middle-aged people are actually in this team, just because the children have eaten the food bestowed by the Duke for many years, and the parents of the children feel guilty even if they want to interfere with the children’s marriage.

The children of the newly assigned Sixth Banner Team are all loyal to the prince, and only the prince has the highest right to interfere in their marriage.

Secretly, this group of children has been paired with each other long ago, and some of the oldest group have secretly had sex.

There were de facto marriages here, just not authenticated by a priestly wedding ceremony.

After the harvest, there must be a carnival. The local Slavs will worship their god of agriculture, and the immigrant Russ should naturally follow this tradition and use the Frey god who is in charge of “economic development” in the belief of the priests.

Taking advantage of the harvest festival to hold weddings is also a reserved item for locals, not to mention that this year’s situation is very special.

After the harvest, it will be the first wedding anniversary of Rurik and Svetlana.

The children admired the farmland here and felt the vastness of the field.

What I have to say is that Rurik gave them great favors in the end. The population of the village that originally lived here was as high as 2,000 people, and the land owned by them could support at least 2,000 people.

On the other hand, the young men and women brought by Rurik were no more than 400 people. Even if these people combine and marry foreign women, they will only form about 250 couples in the end. If they do not join new immigrants to fill them up, These children need to wait until the third generation to develop a settlement of 2,000 people.

Naturally, Rurik will not let that day come later, because there is still a group of young cubs thriving, and they will naturally fill here when they reach their age.

Until the settlement is sufficiently populated, then it is time to consider building a new city.

For this reason, Rurik held the ownership of the farmland in his hands. All he rewarded everyone was the right to use it. Each family can only be allocated one hectare of mature land for the time being. If some family commits a crime, the farmland The right to use will be withdrawn.

Another reason why Rurik did not fully reward the right of ownership is that these children lack military exploits.

Only those who have made great contributions to the principality have the right to obtain the private land with complete rights from the prince!

On the contrary, the output of this land this year belongs to this group of children. This can be regarded as the last favor of Rurik, the prince, to them, just like the old father gives the children the start-up capital for their future life.

For the time being, Fisk and his guys are theoretically disqualified from being recruited to fight wars. Their biggest task is to build cities, develop agriculture, and build the City of Youth enough to give back to the Principality’s assets in the form of taxes.

The City of Youth is called Tonorstardt in the Ross dialect of the Norse language, and the place name suffix of “Skoye” will be added to describe it in Slavic language, which means the city of youth by the lake.

[End of this Chapter]