Rise of Rurik - Chapter 744

[Chapter 745 Welcome to Year 836]

Winter reached its coldest extreme, and the territory of the Principality of Ross was immersed in thick snow.

The fleet moored at the mouth of the Neva River looks like an ice sculpture, and the towering masts are also covered with a lot of frost.

The wooden hulled boat is resistant to frost, but all the sails are unloaded and placed in a warm and dry house for storage.

The weapons of each ship, especially the torsion slingshots, were removed, and they were replaced with new hemp ropes, whalebone and deer tendons, and oiled and maintained to maintain combat effectiveness.

The whole world is quiet, only the Ross hunters are still cruising in the forest and snow field.

They continued to hunt with unprecedented efficiency with their crossbows in hand, in order to catch a large number of squirrels and minks to obtain leather and make a fortune in the market. As for whether they will face the embarrassment of extremely low leather prices, no one has the foresight.

At least, if you obtain a large amount of leather and entrust professional craftsmen to process it, you and your family can get warm leather clothes.

After immigrating, the people of Rosetown plundered squirrel skins in the woodlands on the west bank of frozen Lake Daga and around Lake Ilmen.

A large group of immigrants from Mellaren who settled in Roseburg, their hometown, headed north to Fort Eron, and then went further north to hunt polar bears, and even rushed to the settlement of Murmansk to hunt elephant seals with big tusks.

People in Narvik Port continued to work as salt cooks, and then formed a sled team to sell salt along the frozen river to Roseburg, and traded iron with the local blacksmith guild on the spot.

Another leather trade route is just starting to heat up this winter. The trade route runs through the entire Eastern Land (Finland), from Roseburg, to the city of Kowenstad in the Principality of Ross (the mouth of the Oulu River), and then to the southern part of Finland. The territory of the Suomi people (County of Finland), arrived at the coastal city of Helminki on the Gulf of Finland, and finally reached Novorosberg on the Neva River.

Ice and snow provide a panacea path, and reindeer sleighs become the best means of transportation in winter.

If the journey is simply over, a sled driver from Narvik Port can rush to New Roseburg in at least a month, which is already a miracle of mobility at present.

It is still too high compared to the cost of ocean transportation.

No sled team would travel long distances in the snow world if it wasn’t necessary.

As a result, New Roseburg has almost lost contact with the group of hunters in Bear Festival Town, even though they are separated by a frozen Ladoga Lake.

In the autumn of 834, the army of the Principality of Ross was personally conquered by Prince Rurik, who severely damaged the Karelian forces in the north of the lake, and disabled the northern bully in one fell swoop through crazy killings.

If you have a large number of people, you can dominate. In the past, the Karelians could indeed step on the Suomi and Tavastians. However, the Principality of Rus has a larger population, better weapons, and a single soldier’s combat effectiveness is also better. .

Maybe the Principality really broke their backs?

Originally, Rurik and many elites did not believe that a single battle could destroy a faction, and no one recognized that it was a successful crusade.

The Karelians fled away like cowards, and the Russ naturally came to the conclusion that the enemy’s confession was only temporary, and they would make a comeback.

Xiongji Town had to strengthen the defense of the settlement, and when the warm season arrived in 835, the construction of the fortification of the settlement entered the fast lane.

The wooden wall should be thickened, and the wall should be double-layered, and the soil should be piled up and rammed at the base.

To dig a circular trench, a system of winch suspension bridges was built.

Two city gates should be built, and the lowering of the wooden gates should be controlled by winches.

One door faces the forest plain in the north, and the other faces the pier and Lake Ladoga in the south.

There are only more than sixty old guys and a dozen old women who are really willing to settle here for a long time.

They were fishermen in summer and hunters in winter. As for their sons and grandsons, they were all thrown to Roseburg.

During the warm period, the number of settlers here is the least, and it is during this period that Bear Festival Town is the weakest, and it is easy to be attacked by the Karelians.

The fortification construction of the settlements has been completed. Although there are not many people left behind, everyone is not afraid. Besides, the hunters who entered the forest have explored a large area. In the past half a year, except for wandering small herds of deer, bears, and wolves, there is no one at all. No other humans.

Sometimes there will be a black bear that stands up and rubs against the tree to relieve the itching, and puts on a human appearance, only to be shot by the hunter’s crossbow.

The Karelians seemed to have evaporated. Rurik was worried that this group of people would take advantage of the warm period to launch a massive counterattack, so he specially ordered Jianyong of the First Banner Team to prepare for the battle, but nothing came of it.

The enemy has given up their living space, and the Ross people can freely plunder the resources around Lake Ladoga!

It is now the autumn of 835, and Rurik is so busy with other affairs that he has forgotten the existence of that settlement.

He is so noble and forgets things…

The ruling core of the Principality of Ross has been relocated, and the people will fully accept farming life. Even in winter, the development of various settlements must continue.

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The Ilmen Lake area is indeed warmer than my hometown. The time is December in the Julian calendar, and the lowest nighttime temperature occasionally reaches -10°C. The weather has been pretty good in recent days. In the afternoon, people can obviously feel that the air is not too cold. , the water placed outdoors will not freeze in the afternoon, which is a proof of the warmth.

The winter solstice is approaching, and a grand ceremony is being prepared in the eager anticipation of people.

The prince ordered that two wooden towers be built in Novorosberg and Novgorod, and the wooden towers will be lit on the winter solstice.

The largest wooden tower will stand on the sandbar at the mouth of the Neva River, that is, Vasilievsky Island, which is affectionately called “sandbar” in the current era.

The sandbar is the place closest to the frozen sea. Since the Principality has made erecting fire towers a traditional winter project over the years, it should be built at the place closest to the sea.

The real great temple is built inside the city, and an empty area has been reserved in the northeast of Harvest Square, which is perfect for building a temple.

The principality has an ambitious plan to build a temple, and the general public also needs a clear psychological destination. More importantly, no matter men or women, as long as they are qualified laborers, they will be hired. Anyone can share in the construction of this national wonder. Get a piece of the pie.

The snow in a large area has been cleared, a group of laborers dug a neat and orderly pit, and the work of inserting the thick fir is slowly proceeding. This is the key pillar of the temple, which has the responsibility of bearing weight, and it is also the next step. The base point for stacking stones.

Another group of people is manipulating the stone pier rationally, pulling it up to the sky with ropes, causing it to hit the ground hard, and persistently tamping the relatively soft soil on the banks of the Neva River.

Even if the entire Gulf of Finland is frozen, there is still a long distance between the mouth of the Neva River and the granite-producing Gogran Island.

The stone materials that have been put into use in New Roseburg all come from there. Of course, organizing a sled team can transport the stone materials, but the transportation cost is so nonsense that Rurik directly gave up.

In fact, the general public has a high degree of acceptance of the building materials of the temple. No one thinks that a house cannot be built without stone materials.

Rurik was different. He boasted that he would build a temple made of pure stone in Haikou, and even more so, he would paste a layer of glaze on the shell of the building.

Of course, this will consume a lot of money and food, and it will indeed greatly help the prince’s rule and authority, and even enhance the sense of honor of the people of the entire Ross Principality. It is also based on this temple to integrate Viking beliefs and Slavic beliefs .

The building of the fire towers was a purely Slavic ritual, now practiced by the Rus.

Some people say that the higher the tower is built, the closer it is to Asgard, and the brighter the flame burns, the more it can be seen by the gods.

Last year, Novgorod’s fire tower lit up the small world of the Ilmen Slavs, and now a larger tower stands on the banks of the Neva.

Otto has a beard and his body is decaying. Even if he is as old as he is, he must go to the newest altar of the Ross people to participate in the winter priest because of the New Year in his heart.

As many as 3,000 Russians, men, women and children rode a large number of reindeer sleds, forming a mighty procession, and left their homes in Novgorod and Mstisk in early December. Advance along the Fu River and successfully reach the capital of the principality before the festival.

They arrived in Rurik without any surprise, and he teased his daughter and son as the wives embraced each other.

As the festival approached, a meeting to prepare for the ceremony was held in the “Winter Palace”.

There were no twists and turns, everything was done as in my hometown.

Then it came to December 28th of the Julian calendar, and the date of the winter solstice was absolutely correct. The majority of people who experienced the first Hanukkah in the New World for the first time noticed that there was no “one day of complete darkness” here.

The sun will hang in the sky, and none of it will set. Many people don’t understand the reason, just like they don’t understand why the winter solstice and summer solstice in their hometown have a whole day of complete light or darkness.

At least Rurik’s wives and concubines, as well as the children who were supported by the prince, knew the truth.

Some of the parents of the children also accepted the reason for the prince’s name-calling, but they were even more puzzled when they lamented that the prince was full of wisdom.

Could it be that our Misgard (human world) is indeed a big ball?

Why do ordinary people know too much, everyone just needs to support the prince.

At last, even the winter hunters of the town of Bearfest, far from Roseburg, had withdrawn across the frozen lake to join the High Priest.

The number of people gathered in the city of New Rose Fort has actually exceeded 10,000, purely because some Suomi hunters also ran to New Rose Fort to take advantage of the opportunity of the memorial ceremony to sell the leather they had recently caught. There were a large number of them. , so that a large number of temporary wooden sheds appeared in the open space outside the city, and even a bonfire array densely packed with stars at ordinary nights.

Standing on a high place, Rurik would look at his city. He was full of emotions, and he would pull Rumia to let her take a good look at this ever-greater royal city, and then enthusiastically asked: “Such prosperity is to witness the greatness. ritual. Only you can preside over this ritual.”

The wooden tower made of pine and fir is gradually outrageous. It seems that it has been piled up to a height of 20 meters?

Obviously this is a fact. The center of the so-called wooden tower is a cedar tree that has been felled by the root. It was carried by more than fifty strong men. The shipbuilder used the technique of erecting the mast of a ship to make the wooden pole stick in the pit. .

A large amount of firewood was piled up around this column, and almost every spectator also cut some branches and threw them towards the tower.

Before the sacrifice began, the fair in New Roseburg was bustling with trade from an unprecedented population.

So some bad things are also discovered.

There will always be people who want to steal profits, and as many as ten people have been arrested, eight of whom are Suomi.

Even if Gevro took his beloved wife and infant son to the prince during the sacrificial ceremony, Rurik would not forgive the thief because of his face.

Many people clamored to chop off the hands of the thieves, and finally ten thieves became logging slaves according to the “law”.

They can’t enjoy the grandeur of the fire tower, and they can’t be free until they cut down a hundred pines.

finally!

Festival!

The winter solstice is today, and Rurik can determine from the “immediate results” operation that today is the day with the shortest shadow, which is exactly in line with the time counted by Rumia.

The whole of New Roseburg was in joy, and according to the Viking tradition, people from the Ross tribe and other Viking tribes were drinking ale and kvass to their heart’s content.

The sun is still hanging in the sky, a large number of bonfire stalls have been set up, and there are barbecue stalls everywhere in the city, and the air is filled with the thick and craving smell of barbecued meat.

Rabbit, squirrel, chicken, mink, deer, fish, fox, domestic game animals are all on the grill menu.

Meat is skewered on wooden strips, and then served with onions and sliced carrots and skewered with meat, it has become a new barbecue experience.

The traditional Hanukkah of the Vikings is all about indulgence. Although the Slavs are more conservative, they also join the carnival team.

It can be said that the Slavs and Suomi people who settled here will avoid some crazy actions of the Rus people on their own.

Pure Rose men and women will embrace each other in public because of excitement, and a human connection will occur amidst the booing of everyone.

This is the ancient birth worship, and there is a special point, the so-called gods bless Hanukkah, so the children born due to the joy of this day should not die in a daze.

The joy reaches its peak in the evening, and the sacrificial ceremony is now!

A stone boat altar is temporarily built on the sandbar, which is on the right side of the wooden tower.

Still in the traditional drama, Rumia and her sisters endured the cold, and they sang carols in plain clothes.

To enhance the atmosphere, Noren and the band she cultivated also joined in. The bone flute and leather drum ensemble played melodious and ethereal music, further enhancing the sanctity of the sacrifice.

God must be watching from on high.

watch carefully!

That is a faint green streamer!

It’s Spellosvillea, it’s the Parade of the Valkyries!

Ten thousand people participated in the provincial capital, and dense crowds gathered on the sandbar.

The seven statues of gods stood in the altar, and there were as many as ten strong stags as sacrifices. Rurik beheaded him with a sword in front of the statues, and let the blood of the deer soak the entire altar.

The deer livers were sliced out one by one, and the sound of the drums became extremely dense at this moment.

Rumia checked all the livers, and put them one by one on the bronze plate.

Wearing an antler helmet, she held up the ancestral scepter of the priest of Ross and looked up at the sky. She convulsed deliberately, and suddenly faced the people with a straight face: “Let us light the fire tower! Let the gods see our glory!”

People like to see the complexity of the ceremony, no, Rurik even has to come up with some tricks for the fire tower ignition ceremony.

Otto was no longer a spectator. He held a burning torch tightly in his hand. At least he could hold it without any problem.

The same is true for Rurik. The two generations of Dukes of Ross will work together to light the wooden tower.

In the eyes of everyone, the wooden tower first billowed with thick smoke.

Although the smoke is choking, no one wants to leave.

People rushed to pay attention to the handsome man with flowing ponytail under the dim starlight and moonlight, watching the branches at his feet first start to burn.

The fire is burning, and there are beating flames in people’s eyes.

Everyone just stood upright and watched quietly, even the children didn’t cry mischievously.

It is because of mastering the power of flames that apes have become humans. People worship fire deep in their souls. Even people who see flames have an instinctive sense of security in their hearts, as well as a desire to add more firewood to make it burn more vigorously. .

The flames of the fire tower became more and more outrageous, and finally became a small winter sun.

Even the altar is no longer a place for people to stay, and even the standing god statues have been baked into frying pans.

People’s faces were scorching hot, but even so, everyone just stepped back, and stayed around the fire tower, unwilling to leave.

The Ross people and other Vikings from all walks of life just watched, thanking the gods for their warmth, and silently praying for prosperity and peace in the coming year.

I don’t know who screamed, that person must be a Slav.

“What are you still doing in a daze? Dance!”

Originally, in the sacrificial activities of the Slavs, there were no local priests who sang a lot of hymns praising the Slavic fire god Peron, not to mention that the Slavic priests had been dismissed by Rurik, and then turned into servants serving Odin.

Vulcan Peron was absorbed into the mythological system by Rurik. He was already a part of the Norse gods and was described as one of the gods of Asgard. For the same reason, some gods believed by Finnish tribes were also absorbed.

Anyway, the legendary Asgard is inhabited by gods and men, and a thousand gods can be justified there.

The Slavs couldn’t restrain their desire to dance around the fire tower, and the enthusiasm infected everyone. Around the flame tower, everyone joined hands in five concentric circles.

Rurik joined in the joy, and the wives and concubines acting as priests were all dancing, while Noren stepped up to play cheerful tunes to further enhance the atmosphere.

Perhaps only John Ingvar and the Catholics of New Roseburg were not part of the carnival.

They didn’t even leave the city, and they celebrated Christmas Mass in a detached wooden house.

Everyone is celebrating the great festival of the Winter Solstice, which is Hanukkah and Christmas, in their own way.

The happy days are over, the fire tower is still burning, the happy people forget their tiredness, they see the sun of a new day!

Welcome to 836!

[End of this Chapter]