Rise of Rurik - Chapter 780

[Chapter 781 This is the stage of Pecheneg riding archers]

It was rare for Rurik to get drunk, and everyone at the banquet slept for a whole day. To Kagan’s surprise, there was a second scene the next night.

Compared to the craziness of the first scene, the banquet in the second scene was much more refined.

According to Rurik, it is natural to have a three-day banquet to welcome the brothers who came from afar, and one day will not be enough.

Is this the rule of the Principality of Ross?

What a neat rule!

Kagan had no reason to resist doubt. He had boasted of a prosperous life on the steppe, and now he realized that he was short-sighted.

My own brother Ross is very good at cooking, and he is especially willing to put salt in the dishes.

His blood sodium and potassium levels, which were kept at the bottom line, soared. Although he drank every day, he felt full of strength!

Anyway, the whole world is covered by heavy snow, and people with jobs perform their duties. Rurik welcomes a holiday after the autumn harvest and taxes are completed. Excessive contact with wives and concubines is too harmful to the kidneys. Now take this opportunity to adjust and have fun with guests some.

Barbecue, bread, mead, cheese, stew and dessert, a strong son of the prairie quickly hoarded fat, but after three days of eating and drinking, Kagan felt that his face was rounder and his stomach was bulging.

This is the case with eating, accommodation, bathing and even going to the toilet, all have an unprecedented experience.

Including but not limited to using soft toilet paper to wipe buttocks after going to the toilet for the first time, sleeping in a “quilt” wrapped in linen and wool, and taking a bath in a wooden barrel every day.

Kagan’s status is so noble, and Mark Sakye also enjoys Kagan’s blessing and gets the same treatment.

All this is Rurik’s scheme.

Once people who live in the wind and sleep in the open have experienced a good life, their thinking will change, and even if they return to the past life, they will always feel sorry for themselves.

The souls of these Pechenegs should be hit with the sugar-coated shells of the Ross-style aristocratic life, and they should be won over with tenderness.

The means are also directed at the accompanying slave soldiers.

Those Pecheneg warriors who live in the barn don’t have to worry about their horses at all, Rurik said, the horses will be fed high-quality oat feed, and they will all be locked in empty barns that serve as stables to keep warm.

They don’t need to pay attention to their master’s life. Since they arrived in the Duchy of Ross for three days, their work has been no work. The strong cavalry soldiers are free, drinking ale and mead, eating grilled sea bass and bread, In terms of food supply, it can be described as unlimited supply.

The cooks who delivered the food delivered three carts full of baked bread on a wheelbarrow, and had to send three more carts the next day.

The caught sea bass is grilled uniformly, and it is also sent by the whole car.

This even led to a topic, and inevitably there was criticism among the people, the so-called prince was too kind to these horse riders.

There are also self-proclaimed wise men who pointed out that the prince must have a deep meaning in doing this. As for the deep meaning, the speaker just laughed.

This was already the last day of the dinner party, and Kagan, who was half drunk again, had completely let go. He was shirtless and casually holding a glass goblet, squinting a pair of dark eyes with a blurred look.

“Is it over tomorrow? That’s fine. This kind of life is so good, I… just worry that if it goes on for a long time, I will lose my courage.”

Rurik had no intention of agreeing, and ordered casually: “Assemble your team tomorrow and hand over the ten people who were given to me.”

“Can.”

“Okay. At that time, I will issue another order to prepare about 80 people for you soon. I will let you be the coach and help me train the cavalry.”

“Only eighty horses? I’m selling you a hundred horses!”

“It’s ninety horses, and ten of yours have already belonged to me. Oh, I have to save some mares to focus on breeding.”

Kagan smiled, toasted exaggeratedly, and pointed at Rurik.

He forgot what he wanted to say for a while, and after a stalemate for more than ten seconds, he suddenly muttered: “It’s a deal. I’ll rest now and gather tomorrow. Ten fighters are up to you to choose.”

Almost all of Pecheneg Khan’s “Guards” were slaves. Their origins are quite complicated, but they are all boys selected by slave families. After more than ten years of training, they have the strength they have today.

Every ten-year-old slave boy has to receive cavalry skills such as horseback riding, riding and archery, and chopping. Kagan himself is not a coach. He used to receive the same training as these slave boys. He became the strongest among the nobles and inherited the Khan position basic strength.

Even if they are slaves who can become the guards of the Khan, the living conditions of such people will be significantly improved.

The Pechenegs are not a wealthy nomadic tribe, and they seem weak when surrounded by powerful enemies.

Kagan certainly wants to treat his subordinates well and provide better living supplies, but his own life is not rich, so how can he satisfy his subordinates?

It is normal to drink milk and eat cheese to satisfy hunger on weekdays. Catching a groundhog and roasting it will improve your life.

The last dinner was over, and at noon the next day, the fifty Pecheneg cavalry who ate and drank for three days finally got an assembly order.

Refreshed by the cold outdoors, they braided their braids again, wore new clothes, wools and boots made of Russian hair, stepped on the compacted snow, and gathered in a group in Novgorod. Under the spectators of the crowd, they walked towards the palace of the prince.

After all the personnel were in place, the wooden door of the palace was closed by Ross warriors in chain armor.

As soon as the wooden door was closed, many unarmed Pecheneg soldiers instinctively tightened their hearts.

Then he raised his head, and on the wooden platform of the honest house, he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Prince Ross.

Kagan took off his hat, allowing his men to see his face.

He had a discussion with Rurik, and he proclaimed in public: “I am brothers with the prince of Rus, and Pecheneg has made an alliance with Rus! You are all my servants, and ten people will leave me The team, the chosen ones, play for my brother Ross!”

As soon as the voice fell, the crowd immediately became agitated.

Kagan opened his arms to control the scene again, and announced: “Now listen to the speech of Prince Ross.”

The above words were all in the Turkic dialect of the Pechenegs, which Rurik could not understand at all, and neither did the Rus and Slavs present.

Due to the discussion between the two parties in advance, Rurik also knew what Kagan preached.

Indeed, if the first communication between two political entities with a distance of 1,000 kilometers did not have communication with the East Slavs, the two sides would not even have a medium for dialogue, and the cost of communication would be prohibitively high.

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It is precisely the language barrier that is a big obstacle, which determines that Rurik must choose suitable personnel as his subordinates.

Rurik spoke in Slavic in public, and his words were so simple that he only emphasized some key words: “I! Khan of the Rus! I will choose ten people! Whoever understands my words! Stand up! ”

He repeated it as many as five times before someone cautiously left the line and looked around dully.

Exactly ten people came out, it was actually enough to see the number of people, and the remaining ones who wanted to come out just held back.

Everyone still doesn’t know what it means to go out. Those who go out are just because they understand the Slavic order and implement it mechanically.

“Look, ten candidates are in place, and they all understand the Slavic language.” Kagan reminded kindly.

Rurik shrugged his shoulders. He was tall and he wore a white bearskin to cover his still thin body. He looked extremely burly.

There is also the mercenary army of the prince, a group of berserkers with leather helmets and bear heads are in charge of the place, which is even more sturdy.

He descended the wooden steps and looked down at the ten leavers himself, inspecting them one by one.

“What do you think?” Kagan asked Rurik after the review.

“It’s not bad. The guards you selected must have their own merits. At least they have all gone through a long march to Ross, and their strength is guaranteed.”

Hearing that, Kagan felt a little uncomfortable: “I understand. You still need them to show their skills.”

“Naturally. They are all cavalry, and I want your men to show me cavalry tactics.”

“Why is it so difficult? Everything is up to you.”

Rurik sighed softly: “Then let’s perform riding and archery. I want these ten people to perform in person!”

…

In the afternoon, the people of Novgorod, who lacked entertainment, heard an interesting news. The idlers in the whole city dragged their families to the snow-covered wasteland by the river.

This beach has not yet been reclaimed as farmland. In fact, because this area can be used as a pasture for small-scale grazing, Rurik does not order reclaiming, and others are too lazy to do it.

Because it is not only a pasture, but also a gathering place for troops, and even a martial arts arena now.

There were as many as 3,000 people watching a performance. There were rumors that the people of the grasslands in the East would perform horseback riding and archery at the same time. This kind of people was unheard of by the people, so they all watched with curiosity.

Kagan was also taken aback by the sudden appearance of so many people in the audience. He didn’t expect that Novgorod had such a large population.

But the ten people who were going to perform riding and archery, they put on their own serious Turkic armor, put on their own helmets wrapped in animal skins, rode their own horses, and held tendon-horn compound bows and iron clusters provided by the Russ. arrow.

To be honest, the Pecheneg’s bow aroused Rurik’s eyes.

People from the East are generally good at bows and arrows, and making compound bows is also a traditional skill of all peoples.

For example, the Pechenegs, their horns are self-raised grassland cattle, and the horns with exaggerated length and pointed horns are enough to make bow pieces.

The tendon-horn compound bow is the standard equipment for its fighters. Naturally, several nomadic khanates nearby, and even the cavalry archers of Eastern Rome also have the same equipment.

Even the Eastern Roman cavalry had the highest bow pounds.

Warriors in iron armor rode on horses. Their thin and small statures formed a wonderful contrast with the tall Turkic horses.

A group of Ross soldiers who had fought against the Frankish cavalry happened to be staying in Novgorod, especially a group of Danish soldiers under Ragnar. They all came to watch the show.

Since everyone defeated the Frankish heavy cavalry, they were naturally proud of their victory, but now seeing a group of unremarkable light cavalry, they naturally don’t think there is anything special about it.

Horseback riding and archery?

Is this a joke?

How does a cavalryman do it?

Ragnar wore sunglasses and had a sullen face, his whole person looked extremely dignified.

It’s not just this down-and-out Danish nobleman who wears sunglasses, but all the miscellaneous people in Novgorod also wear sunglasses. They are an excellent tool for protecting eyes when working in the snow. The princes privately own these glasses, and the supply and sales are good. It is also fair.

There was a large group of people wearing black things in front of them watching. Although Kagan knew that they were magical sunglasses, he did not expect that the people of Ross would wear them. The people wearing them became funny, and he was also secretly happy in his heart.

Old Otto also came to watch the show in thick clothes, and Rurik’s many wives and concubines dressed warmly and gorgeously, and even came to watch the big show with their children in their arms.

Especially with the child Carlotta in her arms, she is not just a spectator, because she has already discussed with her man. Naturally, the so-called large number of horses cannot be kept in Novgorod in the north of the lake. New Ostara in the south of the lake has a natural large-scale lakeside pasture, which is most suitable for raising large livestock. It is naturally an excellent horse farm. Besides, no one in the entire Ross Principality is better at raising cattle and sheep than Aostara. Raising horses is a no-brainer.

Carlota needs to observe carefully, she will undertake the work of raising horses in the later stage, and at the same time the newly formed cavalry unit will also be stationed in New Ostara to guard the south gate of the Principality of Ross.

Even his eldest son Carl.

She patted the infant child: “Karl, you will also be a man riding a horse in the future. Don’t sleep, watch these soldiers carefully.”

The so-called target is to assault two tall wooden poles standing in the open space, and pull the hemp rope, under which hang ten newly captured red squirrels.

It stands to reason that these small beasts, which are not too small, should be skinned and sold immediately, but now they are bought by Rurik as beast targets.

Even if it’s just a cover for riding and shooting, you have to prepare exactly like hunting, so that the riding and shooting can fully demonstrate their strength.

Let’s look at the ten cavalry archers, they all already know their future, and each of them is full of fighting spirit.

Prince Ross must show his own strength, so that he can be recognized, in exchange for the qualification to be popular and hot in the future.

“Just cover it up according to the way you Pechenegs fight.” Rurik reminded Kagan.

“Then, the shooting distance must be twenty paces or less.”

“what?”

“Are you wondering?” Kagan asked.

“So close?”

“At least it’s much closer than infantry shooting. Mounted shooting is like this. It seems that you don’t understand at all.”

Rurik didn’t refute, he really didn’t know how to ride and shoot, but after Kagan explained, he had a basic understanding.

Indeed, it is an extravagant hope for a person to shoot an arrow as if he is standing still while drawing a bow on a swaying horse.

That’s all, Kagan gave an order in Turkic, and Rurik called his subordinates to beat the leather drum, and the first cavalry galloped away with the drumbeat.

I saw the warrior with his feet on the stirrups, his body turned sideways and his hands full with both hands. Although the arrows given by the Ross people were a bit strange, the smart cavalry knew that they were good arrows at a glance.

The cavalry, under the watchful eyes of everyone, pulled out the bow in an astonishing saw-saw, which immediately attracted the whining of the crowd.

Men who are good at hunting don’t use bows like this, so why can the grassland people draw their bows so ridiculously.

It’s not surprising that people with a discerning eye can see the cavalry’s release method. Everyone uses the finger-pull style of release, and even uses bone finger-pull.

The horse galloped past, and the arrow hit the squirrel with a whoosh. Not to mention the big red squirrel pierced through the leather armor of the cone-shaped arrow cluster, almost two-thirds of the arrow did not pass through.

“A perfect riding shot, isn’t it?!” Kagan spoke with pride.

Rurik clicked his tongue in amazement, “Wow! If there is an enemy soldier standing over there, if an arrow is shot, the opponent will not even have a chance to fight back. The cavalry has already run away!”

“It seems that you understand everything. This is how cavalry and archery work. You can conquer the sea, but you don’t understand cavalry combat at all. In my opinion, you must not fight head-on with the enemy’s cavalry. The grassland is very vast, and you should try to distance yourself from the enemy Shoot the enemy from a distance, or shoot the enemy horse. As long as you really find the enemy’s flaws, then send cavalry to rush up to break up their formation.”

“Is this how you fight?”

“How else can we fight?” Kagan shrugged.

The ten cavalry performed one by one, and they all completed the first round of riding and shooting with the beat of drums, not to mention hitting all ten arrows.

This was only the first round of riding and shooting, and after they finished one round, it was followed by the second round.

If the performance ended in a short time, I would be too sorry for the people who came to watch the show in the cold weather. They will ride and shoot as many as twenty times in a row. Rurik wants them to treat the performance as an actual battle.

They did live up to expectations. After a round of shooting, the man and the horse took a break, and then they had another round.

Naturally, some arrows miss, but this is harmless, because the row of squirrels that were the targets are now covered in arrows, and the so-called leather has been completely useless!

Regarding how to use the steppe cavalry, Rurik knew at least some of Genghis Khan’s cavalry tactics, that is, the light cavalry lures the enemy, and when the enemy is exhausted, he reveals the heavy cavalry reserve team equipped with both men and horses to crush them.

Now that the group of them actually made a demonstration, Rurik was so impressed that he even came up with such a picture in his mind.

The so-called group of hostile Viking warriors in front lined up the shield wall, and our cavalry challenged first, and the cavalry archers with heavy steel-armed crossbows shot with their weapons, and then ran away on horseback.

Although the tactical value of such a cavalry unit at the beginning of its establishment was harassment, in the current Nordic and Western European world where wars are everywhere, the tactics of riding and shooting strong arrows will surely achieve great results.

Rurik’s mind fell into fantasy, and he was patted on the shoulder again.

“Kagan, you…”

“Seeing them play, I adopted. Guys, do you know Rapid Fire?”

“what for?”

“Watch me perform.”

Kagan rode on his hard-working war horse, and he transformed into the posture of Prince Pecheneg.

The whole person still looks a little ugly, but the appearance of holding a bow is a bit heroic.

Rurik was looking forward to the nobleman’s riding and shooting performance. He was really performing riding and shooting, but he was definitely not riding a horse at high speed just to shoot a single arrow.

Kagan put his legs lightly on the horse’s belly, and the horse walked about fifteen steps away from the target full of arrows. According to the regular length unit of the Ross people, it exceeded 23 stikas, or about 23 meters.

Kagan stood directly on the stirrup, and Rurik saw that while the man was holding a bow in his left hand, he was also grabbing a large number of arrows horizontally with his left hand.

“Ah! This is your rapid fire?!”

Holding the ten arrows in his left hand, Kagan quickly shot them in the right mode, but after pricking his eyes a few times, Rurik saw that all ten arrows had been shot.

Before it was over, Kagan drew three more arrows from the quiver that was pressed on the horse’s back, and all three arrows hit the target in the blink of an eye.

Can you still shoot arrows like this?

too fast!

Rurik fully understands the truth. Of course, he understands the truth when shooting accurately with the left bow and fast with the right bow. However, the traditional wooden bows of the Ross people cannot achieve exaggerated draw lengths, and hunters widely use the more efficient ones for shooting beasts. Crossbows, even wooden bows are not very useful anymore, how can we talk about practicing right-handed bows in the dormitory.

The people were too lazy to practice archery, and it was an eye-opener to see Kagan’s fierce rapid-fire operation.

He rode back, swung his arm violently, and looked down at Rurik with a haughty smile: “Thanks to your hospitality these days, I am full of strength. Shooting arrows twenty times in a row hurts my arm, which is what I have. ability.”

“Let me see your bow.” Rurik demanded it with a stiff face.

“OK.”

Rurik pulled his bow suddenly, which surprised Kagan: “You…”

“I don’t draw the bow without an arrow, I understand. I won’t let go.”

Kagan was still stunned, and hurriedly urged to stop: “Be careful, the bow will be flipped if it is really empty, and my treasure will also be destroyed.”

Rurik never dreamed that he would feel the tendon-horn compound bow in this way. It is small in size and the weight is definitely not low, and the draw length can indeed be extreme.

If such a compound bow is converted into a crossbow, wouldn’t the tactical effect be better?

It is difficult to train a good archer, and it is even more difficult to train a better horse archer. On the contrary, crossbowmen can be quick.

After trying a strong force, Rurik returned the bow to Kagan, and patted his thigh on the stirrup: “Brother, your bows are so good, you should bring me some when you come next time. ”

Kagan, who was getting excited, readily agreed: “Yes, but the price is more expensive.”

“It’s okay, I’ll give you how much.”

[End of this Chapter]