Rise of Rurik - Chapter 803

[Chapter 804 The Bornholms Are in Ross]

The Bernholm people represented by Swind have never been to the East Baltic Sea, and they only have hearsay knowledge of the geographical overview and hydrological data there.

Although it was Ragnar who spoke out of the mouth of the Bornholm islanders asking for an alliance, Spueut took the matter mainly to his own credit.

After all, Ragnar is a Dane, and the person who brought the leader of the islanders all the way to Novgorod was Spyut, an old Rus.

Spyot even changed his normal routine, and the three ships sailed directly past Saaremaa Island, and did not even go around to Tombstone Island to the north to replenish.

They rushed all the way in the Gulf of Finland, and the spinnaker was rushing northward with the south wind at an astonishing speed, which shocked Swind greatly.

It is not surprising that sails drive ships, but the Rus’ ships are not only big, but also fast.

Relying on the traditional dragon-headed longship to compete with the Ross people for speed is to seek a dead end.

Swind realized that he was in an eastern bay. After passing a sand island, a huge and continuous wall appeared in front of him.

“Where is this? Is it the home of your Ross people?” Swind sighed.

Spueut, who was blowing the wind on the deck, looked arrogant: “This is our New Roseburg.”

“Your leader is here too?”

“He’s farther away. Look, our journey isn’t over yet.”

Old Governor Conuson was very strange about the pirate gang who came back suddenly. Could it be that they just rushed to the west and grabbed too many things and returned to sell the stolen goods.

When he brought a group of men to the port to transport supplies, he saw the waterline of the ship and knew that they hadn’t gained anything.

Old Cornusson raised his head and asked loudly: “Did you forget to bring something? What are you doing back here?”

“We want to see the prince! I want to present a gift to the prince!” Spurut shouted with a smile while leaning on the railing.

“What gift?”

“A guy who intends to seek refuge. We will rest overnight at the port, and we will continue on our way tomorrow.”

Old Konusson must know what is going on. When he learned that the entire island of Bernholm intends to form an alliance with the Principality of Ross, which is a great thing, he hurriedly invited Swind and his entourage, who were visiting Ross for the first time, to eat. A great meal.

The old governor even sent emissaries directly into the city, so Swind was also deeply shocked by the huge city of the Ross people.

Without him, this place is too big!

The streets and alleys are patchwork, the hardened roads are very clean, and there is no peculiar smell when you smell it.

What shocked him the most was the huge hardened flat land of the Harvest Plaza, and the tall buildings built around the square.

At this time, the farmland near New Rose Fort had completed spring plowing, and the Duke of Ross’s still rough agriculture still didn’t take much care of it after planting.

The people also have a variety of productive jobs.

What Swind saw in the city refreshed his three views, and he even yearned for life here very much.

Old Konusson had his own ideas. The so-called outsiders who were willing to seek refuge saw the great prosperity of the city, which would surely deepen their determination to seek refuge.

The ship got some supplies and continued to move up the Neva River. It was the season of ice melting and high water. They had to rely on oar boats to pull, and combined use sails to absorb the thrust of the south wind.

The huge Ladoga Lake is nearby, and the lake at this time forms a water transportation line.

These are traditional paddle boats transporting stones found on the shores of Lake Onega.

The stones were discovered during the freezing period. After the ice layer thawed, large-scale transportation of stones had already begun, and a batch of stones had already arrived in Novgorod.

With the southerly wind and the river flowing northward, the current navigation situation of the Volkhov River is a bit embarrassing. Although it can sail against the wind, the speed is still slower than rowing all the way to Lake Ilmen in the south.

The three boats rhyme with Swinder going deep into the hinterland of Eastern Europe. The lakes and mountains here are more than shocking to Swinder. He exclaimed that he found the sea without saltiness, and only later learned that it was a huge lake.

The city named Novgorod stands on the banks of the river, and there are large tracts of farmland on the river beach and the extended area.

He was envious of the comfortable idyllic scene, and found it even more bizarre. He didn’t expect that the vicious Ross people could produce their own supplies?

In a short period of time, this old islander has been exposed to too many novel things, and he has to accept the fact that the Ross people are far stronger than the Danish tribes.

Swind stood at the port of Novgorod, and he and his entourage just watched cautiously and dullly.

Spouter and others came back after a month. Rurik, who was busy with internal construction, heard the report and thought it was a big incident.

The peaceful life will always be broken by some unexpected incidents. Rurik has long been mentally prepared. Even if he learns that the Danes have organized a group to kill him again, he will not think it is outrageous. Anyway, if someone attacks, he will cut it back.

He doesn’t want to fight this year, if the enemy wants to fight, then start the war in advance!

Even next year, Ross’s military strength can be increased by another 50%.

He hurried out of his palace, even dressed in civilian clothes, and hurried to the pier with his entourage.

I saw a group of royal pirates running back like this, no matter how they looked at it, they didn’t seem to have reaped great benefits.

“What’s going on? You came back too early! Who will tell me what’s going on?!”

All the onlookers heard the prince’s loud yelling, especially Spout, who knew that he had to give the prince a clear explanation.

How to explain?

Thousands of words are not as useful as the appearance of a character.

Spueut pushed and pushed Swind, the speaker of the islanders who entered the Eastern European plains for the first time, and pushed him in front of Rurik.

“My lord, we have returned with a treasure.”

“What baby?! Spout, you’d better tell me you got a lot of amber.”

“It’s a baby. Look, it’s the man.”

“Huh?!” Rurik was speechless.

Spouter’s words are really nonsensical. Could it be that the ugly guy pushed out by him can still be a baby?

“Who is this?” Rurik asked patiently, frowning.

Spout straightened his back: “Why don’t you come and listen to what he said.”

Therefore, when Rurik looked at this man, the man Swind was also looking at the tall young man in front of him.

Looking at the current scene, there are about a thousand people gathered at the pier, the crowds are full of people, and it seems that there are more people coming to watch the excitement.

Obviously, the man who can have such a great appeal is the young man in front of him, who is the supreme leader of the Ross people.

Swind was trembling, the trembling of his legs could not be controlled by his head at all.

“I… I’m from Bornholm. I’m an emissary…”

“What? Bornholm?” Rurik’s eyes sharpened instantly. The man in front of him was so unattractive that he felt bored. If he had something to do with Bornholm Island, it would be completely different.

Rurik asked again and again, and was surprised to learn of this amazing fact—the islanders of Bornholm sent envoys, and the islanders’ purpose was very pure, that is, to make peace with Ross.

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“You are a messenger, very good! But, do you mean what you say? I don’t trust you very much. You look like a beggar with ragged clothes. A lowly person is not worthy to talk to me.” Rurik purposely cocked his head Ang put on the posture of a king. First, he was really arrogant, and second, he was trying to scare the messenger.

Swinder was not intimidated, he dared not fight hard, and he would not admit his lowliness to his own honor.

He calmly stated: “Our island does not have the greatest leader, everything is discussed. They elected me as the temporary leader, and I came with their peace prayers. We only have one request, I hope you Ross people… can Stop the persecution of our islanders.”

“Have I persecuted you?” Rurik scratched his head, suddenly thinking that it was true, or that he was the instigator of the first attack on Bornholm Island.

“Oh, there is such a thing. You are the lackeys of Denmark, and you should be beaten.”

“My lord, at least give us a way to survive. We want peace, and we should have a good talk.”

“Want to talk? Yes. But…”

“how?”

“You can’t see me with such a dirty image.” After that, Rurik directed Spyot and Ragnar, “You two, take this guy who got out of the mud away, and go to him Wash off the mud and wash off the dirty hair. Tomorrow I will have a formal conversation with the Bornholm envoy.”

Rurik felt that his decision was smart. Although Bornholm Island itself is not big, there must be 5,000 islanders on it, even though it has been attacked frequently over the years.

They sent envoys to ask for peace talks.

Peace talks are of course possible, as long as a satisfactory price is paid, a peace treaty can be signed.

Of course, they can only sign an unequal treaty with Ross, and Ross must have a huge advantage.

Now that things have happened, let’s take advantage of the trend to seek benefits.

Should we ask for those benefits?

This takes some time to research.

Rurik ordered the envoy to take a bath and change into clean clothes that fit his status. By the way, he also let the envoy see how the Rus people live.

Because the living conditions in the core area of the Principality of Ross are not only stable and peaceful, but the substantial increase in material production efficiency has brought about a “great abundance of materials”.

Although the abundance of materials in the industrial age is far from comparable, Ross has a huge advantage compared to the materials owned by tribes outside the domain.

This is a sword called “soft power”, and Rurik has also seen it. In this era, the Viking tribes who have no sense of family and country and mostly live together, who can provide a better way of life and more people? For living supplies, people outside the region will have a high probability of emigrating spontaneously when they hear the news.

That night, the envoy Swind and his group had bread and barbecue.

He wondered why the Prince of Ross entertained him with such a sumptuous meal.

He can only subjectively think that the Ross people are willing to make peace with each other, and this delicious meal is a signal of peace.

Swind guessed right, but not quite right.

The era is not the past, and Rurik, who is based on the soul of the East, pays attention to entertaining foreign envoys to show the generosity of the Ross prince and satisfy the pursuit of glory as the supreme ruler of a great country.

If a tribal leader came to see him, several delicious meals and warm accommodation were indispensable.

And Rurik held a small meeting with the returning people at night, and he figured out what happened to Spyut and his party.

But he never expected that Ragnar was the proposer and executor of the entire peace negotiation plan, and what Spueut did was to push the boat along the way.

The entire island of Bornholm has essentially separated from Denmark, and they want to form an alliance with Ross?

Rurik deliberately wanted to listen to Ragnar’s opinion, so after hearing the news in particular, Ragnar, who felt that the timing was about the same, stopped holding his breath and directly named his goal: “We all have a common enemy, the hateful King Huo of Denmark. Rick, as you said, you intend to support me as the new king of Denmark. If I succeed, my Denmark will also form an alliance with Ross. Rurik, you must be sincere, so I will actively seek countermeasures in the Danish world. The king’s people, organize and find the time to launch an attack. When we jointly operate, we will succeed. So we need those people on Bornholm Island, they are worth being drawn.”

Going to war against Denmark is a big deal, and Rurik actually still has a grudge.

He believes that Denmark has a strong strength, and Ross still needs a few years of power accumulation to have an absolute military advantage.

Ragnar’s request is constructive, and he will rectify the exiled anti-kings, and form a coalition before going to war.

Ragnar is basically unable to complete the great cause alone, he needs the military support of the Principality of Ross.

The islanders of Bornholm must pay the price for the restoration of peace, and Ragnar must pay the benefit to become the new king of Denmark with Rose’s support.

Of course, he must ask for a lot of benefits, otherwise why would Rose help Ragnar?

What kind of benefits do you ask for in the future? Let’s talk about it in the future, and now Rurik only wants one-the surrender of the entire Bornholm islanders.

Rurik simply made a determined decision.

“Why should I ally with them? I want that island to be my dominion, and I can even appoint a governor and move some of the islanders inland. I want their islands to fly my flag, and the wandering fishing boats to fly my flag .I want them to organize an army to attack the King of Denmark when necessary.”

“Ah! This request…” Ragnar never expected that Prince Ross would want to swallow it.

“What? You think I can’t do it?”

“You can definitely do it. It’s just that they can surrender to you just because of a negotiation. I think it’s very difficult.”

“Generally speaking, this is the case.” Rurik shrugged and jokingly said, “Don’t they yearn for peace? I will give them peace. If their envoys don’t accept it, then continue to fight.”

From the standpoint of Rurik, Bernholm is very close to Denmark, but still too far from the closest stronghold of the Principality of Ross.

If the local islanders surrender, it will be difficult for Ross to rule directly because of the high sky and the emperor’s distance.

Even if direct rule is chosen, the cost of governance is too high.

He set a bottom line for himself-the islanders cannot give their lives to King Horik of Denmark.

The envoy Swind, who had a rest overnight, was very much looking forward to the meeting with the Prince of Ross. Because of the hospitality he received, this meeting must have a very successful outcome.

After breakfast, he was urged by soldiers to the prince’s palace, where he was inspected again and met Rurik absolutely unarmed.

He entered the hall cautiously, and saw a big man in a white bear skin sitting casually. There was a small table in front of him, with wine and snacks on the table.

This is nothing, but the circle of bear heads hanging on the wooden wall is extremely mighty.

Swind wanted to say something, but Rurik spoke first.

There was no longer any reason for the polite words, Rurik gave the envoy a multiple-choice question in an orderly tone: “You Bernholm people, either as my vassals, pay tribute to me every year, hang our flag, and Well… still maintain a state of war!”

Hearing this, Swind’s head instantly grew bigger.

He had thought that the Kingdom of Ross would have such a request, but they really managed to make it.

Seeing that there were no other nobles present, an armored warrior sat under the bear’s head.

Swind gasped, maybe he refused, and it was almost impossible to leave alive.

[End of this Chapter]