Rise of Rurik - Chapter 812

[Chapter 813]

Rurik’s royal fishing boats were busy trawling, and the newly caught herring immediately filled a huge appetite.

The dying people gradually regained their spirits after being supplemented with food and fresh water. Then, these captives stared at the strange conqueror tremblingly, waiting for their unknown fate.

In all fairness, Rurik intends to treat this group of people well, but whether they appreciate it is another matter.

Maybe a hot face and a cold ass?

Isn’t it just asking for trouble.

Because Ross is the conqueror, and the power of conquest has ruined the life of the islanders, if they are full of food and drink and don’t want to resist, they will just run away.

Unless it will be shipped to a remote place.

Detailed screening of thousands of captured persons began.

Regardless of how they yell, what right does a group of de facto slaves have to decide their own destiny?

Among the captives, there are husband and wife relationships, and there are also people who have a relationship between mother and child.

The former husband and wife were forcibly separated, and the mother-child relationship can still be retained.

Men and women are taken care of separately, and their fate is completely different from this moment.

Arik was ordered to find a man with a strong body from among the men, and the selected man was put on a rope and led away like an animal.

The number of men in the group gradually decreased, and those left behind became more and more frightened, as if they were worthless and would be beheaded soon.

Then someone recommended himself tremblingly: “I can do things for you, take me away.”

Arik ignored it as if he couldn’t hear it, and a Ross soldier replied contemptuously: “You don’t even have the qualifications to be slaves, shut up!”

This seemed to be a death sentence. Those who were left behind were disheartened. They couldn’t figure out why the Ross people saved themselves in the end, and they might as well die of thirst and starvation earlier.

The weak are not even qualified to be slave miners, and those who are chosen are quite sober.

In fact, Arik didn’t tell these men his true destination, and he didn’t even tell them that the disdain of the Ross people was reflected in their laziness to chop off their heads.

The big fishing village occupied by the Ross army is now very lively. This is the Ross army camp and a huge prisoner-of-war camp.

The original residents of this place were turned into captives overnight. They obviously had their own houses there, but now all the wealth no longer belonged to them.

The fishermen on Bornholm Island completely lost the fishing boats they depended on for their livelihood. There are only wrecks of the boats that have been vandalized near the shore, and there are also smashed hulls that are used as firewood for bonfires.

Those men, women and children of the big families who surrendered enjoyed the control of the Shiqiu warehouse. They only lost in the previous battles. When they surrendered, most of them looked good.

They were all captives. Although they all received food and water supplies after surrendering, they were all locked in a house for the time being and were strictly guarded by Ross soldiers.

Rurik has already made a decision and has not told others yet.

For the time being, he has no time to take care of this group of people who were once afraid of fighting and unwilling to surrender. It was their delay that caused Ross’s army to waste a lot of time and turned this short-lived operation into a mess. have to dawdle.

Rurik plans to hold the so-called Nordic meeting the next day, and the leaders of the big families have all received orders to attend the meeting.

What would they mutter in the house?

Some ears were pressed against the wooden wall, and Ross warriors acted as listeners, and once they heard any significant whispers, they hurriedly reported to the prince.

The big camp at night is filled with the burnt aroma of grilled fish.

Those Danish exiles ate a lot of fish and precious wheat cakes, and these strong people who had been screened by the war restored their former style.

Rurik kept his promise and made Ragnar responsible for this kind of task.

Didn’t he, Ragnar, beg to form a resistance army?

Isn’t the Danish army here?

What’s more, these one hundred people are all Danes, and they are managed by a well-known Danish hero, which also saves the Ross army a lot of trouble.

As many as three hundred people knelt on the ground. They had various identities in the past, but now they only have one identity—prisoners of war.

If there were any islanders of the past who were the backbone of the battle, these were them.

They spontaneously half-kneeled, with their right hands clutching their chests again. The intentions of the people in such poses were obvious.

No, Rurik, dressed gorgeously and deliberately wearing chain mail, made a kind appearance under the illumination of the bonfire array!

The mighty Ross warrior holds a torch to show his majesty even more, and further shows his half-kneeling humility.

Rurik stood on the platform made of wooden boxes, with his hands behind his back and his chin almost raised to the sky, he looked unusually proud.

“I know!” he said loudly, “you are not those people, but a group of raised slaves, and a group of mercenaries who have sacrificed their lives for money! You have made wrong choices in the past! Now, I! Prince Ross Rurik Ottosson! I give you a choice! Serve me and you will be rewarded! Refuse to serve and be beheaded now.”

Rurik then declared that this was a non-negotiable choice. Faced with the choice between life and death, they naturally chose to live.

The slaves are the most unscrupulous, but the mercenaries have to weigh it first.

Rurik asked again in a high-pitched voice: “Which of you were slaves in the past? Stand up now! I have given you the status of a mercenary. As long as you are loyal, you can get benefits.”

Hearing that, all the slaves present stood up like springs on their feet, and the speed of their actions shocked the soldiers holding the torches.

There were so many slaves that Rurik had never thought of. They didn’t look weak, and after some training, they should be good soldiers.

Naturally, it is impossible for these people to burst out with strong fighting power and loyalty just because they changed families, and it is impossible for them to use them for themselves in an instant.

them!

Need a nomination certificate!

For example, killing someone at the request of Prince Ross, and proving himself with the blood of the enemy.

The slaves were counted most accurately, and there were more than 200 of them?

!

They are all young men who are not qualified to marry or enjoy private property. Many of them are “lions” raised by big families since they were young. In theory, they will be sold to the Danes in the west when they grow old. The big families also went to the Danish market from time to time to “buy goods”, thus ensuring that the slave group was always a group of mules handy for errands.

This group of slaves is a tool, and Rurik wants to restore their value as human beings.

The slaves knelt on the ground, one by one, to pay homage to Rurik alone. It was Rurik’s whim to come up with a set of strange loyalty ceremonies. In his mind, the slaves would more loyal.

Loyalty comes largely from material grants and more power, and slaves who have nothing can ask for extremely low limits.

They were briefly pulled aside after taking the oath.

There are another hundred mercenaries who simply use money to run errands. They are also people with nothing to worry about, but they have weapons (temporarily confiscated), just like a group of lions walking together on the grassland. The power of the Lord is basically the generation that takes money to do things.

As for getting old, what should I do?

No one thought about it.

Is this person trustworthy?

Absolute trust is impossible, as long as there is enough money, they can certainly use it.

In a sense, the mercenary groups existing in the Ross army are a product of the recruitment system, which is different from the citizen soldier system derived from Ross since the tribal era.

Of course, the recruited mercenaries are a supplement to the current citizen soldiers with limited manpower.

The current head of guards, Grund, was a prisoner of war in the past. After so many years of changing his course, he gained great benefits from staying in Ross and the prince of Ross. As a Dane, he even gained political status in the Principality of Ross.

He can claim to be loyal. This loyalty is not for money or so-called morality, but for the interests he enjoys now, and a key issue-the Ross people gave him a marriage, and his wife and children are monitored by the Ross people.

For his own benefit, Grund claimed to be an out-and-out Ross, a warrior who served for the “son of Odin”.

He thinks highly of himself, and his shield is still heavily painted with raven patterns, facing the people who are also mercenaries with arrogance.

Rurik ordered him to recruit this group of mercenaries on the spot, break them up into pieces, and add them to the various squads of the mercenary team.

“After you recruit them, explain my policy, tell them about the salary, and train them how to obey. You are their manager, and if you disobey, you will beat them, and if you disobey extremely, please tell me the situation.” Stay Rick quietly informs Grund.

Forget it, Rurik made a big cake in front of the mercenaries who changed families: “You work for me. When you work until you are thirty-five years old, I will give you fields and a sum of retirement money. You can marry women and have children. You will be a farmer or fisherman in peace until the end of your life. At that time, you will be the real Rus people recognized by me! I swear to Odin that I will never break my promise.”

Ok?

That’s a good thing!

The new mercenaries are all Huros princes who are great benevolent people.

Slaves are still slaves, and will continue to do slave labor even after they arrive in Ross.

However, the Principality of Ross can provide better food and warm accommodation, even if it is squeezed like cattle and horses, it is almost impossible to starve to death and freeze to death.

The fate of most of the male captives is to do slave labor. Give them a little bit of benefits over time to induce them to continue to be grateful.

In contrast, those female captives may be lucky.

Rurik claimed that he did not favor them, because they were just a tool to maintain stability. They restored their beauty in captivity and resold them to the group of Slavic farmers who surrendered to the farm. With the concerns of their families, they will implement necessary tax increases in the future According to the strategy, those men will definitely obediently pay the extra due to the family Gu Liangchuan.

If Rurik really did favoritism, it was against all the captured children.

Most of the children have died during the siege, and the only ones who survive are potential hardcore people.

Do grown children hold grudges?

Perhaps.

After screening, one of the boys, Rurik, was rejected, and all the girls were taken away.

Because Ross’s original intention of conquering the entire Bornholm Island was not to force all the islanders to immigrate. The original plan was to conclude peace with the big families of Ben Dao, and order the real power to pay tribute and declare allegiance after a certain population.

Even if the whole island is now reduced to a piece of fresh fish on a cutting board, Ross should take the lean meat, and the miscellaneous things have to stay on the island.

This broken island is still the forefront of the offensive policy against the Kingdom of Denmark.

The screening work took some time and was finally completed, and Rurik, who was embarrassed, ate some food and was not sleepy again.

He gnawed off half an onion, relying on the spiciness to refresh himself.

Just because he still has a small meeting for tomorrow.

A secret little meeting!

There were not many people present at the meeting, only Rurik himself, Arik, Yevro, Ragnar, Spueut, Blue Fox, young Fisk, mercenary captain Grund, and the islanders’ talker Swind .

Ragnar participated as an ally, and the rest were either Rose’s military nobles or vassals.

Swind was a special case, and Rurik glanced at this person a few times, implying its great significance.

“Everyone is here, there are no outsiders in this house. I also asked the guards to stand a little farther away.” Rurik said in a spirited manner.

It is true that some oil lamps are lit in this house, and the indoor light is extremely dim.

“Anything else?” Arik asked.

“Yes. It’s about the big families among the islanders. They…”

Arik guessed one or two: “Not one?”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone present was stunned, and the one who reacted most strongly was Swind: “Ah! They have already surrendered. You actually…”

“Calm down! Are you accusing me of breaking my promise?”

“I…” Swinder didn’t dare to say this, and his rational head drove his mouth to close quickly, as if his mouth was glued, and he would not speak now.

“Swind, just listen carefully. In my opinion, those big families have lost their use value. Their private soldiers and slaves are now mine. They don’t even have a few servants left. Their The money has been taken away by me long ago. Is there any need for such people to exist? If you keep them, they might backstab me in the future. Besides, you! Swind! You don’t need them either.”

“They really can’t stay.” The speaker was Ragnar, and his approval really surprised Rurik.

“I thought you would sympathize with those big families.”

Ragnar shrugged: “I have never sympathized with them. It is only because we are against the new Danish king that we have a reason to communicate. Their lives are at your disposal. I! I just want to chop off the Danish king’s head.”

“You will. I support you. As long as we work together to eradicate the root of all evil, everyone can live in peace.”

Ragnar took this very seriously. After staying in Ross for a period of time, he understood that the smaller the country was, the more disputes there would be. Although the Ross people used violence to conquer a large territory, the principality was extremely peaceful.

When people are no longer busy with armed combat, they can spend a lot of time in production and life, and wealth accumulates rapidly.

Rurik now publicly declares: “Swind, I still want to establish a relationship with Bornholm. I canonize you as the War Chief (Count) of Bornholm, and you can continue your business here. Those who I All the unwanted prisoners will be handed over to you, and how to deal with them is also your business.”

“OK.”

How dare Swind have any objections, Rurik didn’t leave many people for himself, and the ones left were all old and weak.

The entire island has been abandoned. Although I have been canonized as a nobleman, the island and the surrounding waters are not in the hands of the Ross people?

The situation was even more complicated because Ross’ army was accompanied by a group of Svealand (Swedish) fishermen.

Since ancient times, there should be no Swedes in this area, and now this group of guys can come to catch fish majesticly.

Bornholm surrendered to Ross, and Ross and Sweden were allies, which means that Bornholm must also accept the plundering of the rich sea pastures by Swedish fishermen.

Humiliation, humiliation!

Swind knew that he was powerless to change, so he was too lazy to change. As a smart man, he knew the current affairs. Afterwards, he existed as a vassal of the Principality of Ross, and his family could enjoy prosperity.

Swinder has no ambitions, and Ragnar’s ambition is almost etched on his face.

In this secret meeting, Rurik and Ragnar formally made a deal, with the top military nobles of Ross as witnesses.

Ragnar could use Bornholm as a base against the Danish king, and he could recruit troops to form an army.

But this is not the end, because Ross needs a window for trade with Denmark. Even if Denmark is now occupied by the new king Horik, the various lords of Denmark will not feel that doing business is shabby, right?

The large fishing village now used as a military camp will resume its former purpose of existence, but the residents have joined Ross merchant fishermen, Danish exiles and Swedish fishermen, and even Finns, as long as they are willing, they can also row boats to the South Baltic Sea to trade herring.

Bornholm will become a free island, legally ruled by Ross, and governed by Ross in principle. Swind’s family is also a taxpayer, and should pay a small tribute to Ross every year.

Such a determination also requires Ragnar’s approval, even if he is still an exile.

Ragnar fully agrees, with a straightforward and sincere attitude.

He is a man who wants to become the king of Denmark, and he needs the help of the Ross people. In his opinion, the guys on Bornholm Island have always been strong, and the island will not cause any loss to Denmark.

A secret agreement was signed, and the paper Rurik brought came in handy.

The secret agreement is established in the form of a written document, and an oral oath must be required. The written document makes the secret agreement absolutely undeniable.

At the same time as the small meeting of the secret agreement ended, the ending of those big families was also finalized.

The principles are simple, and none of them matter to everyone.

But Rurik still decided to make things a little more complicated. Would it be against him in public opinion to raise the butcher knife openly?

After all, when they surrendered, Prince Ross publicly announced the right to life.

It would be nice if those guys could create their own reason to kill them.

At noon the next day, Rurik publicly hosted an indoor banquet.

Six great families surrendered, and he invited the patriarchs and male members of the families to join the banquet.

There is grilled fish, barley cakes, and even honey water and ale.

The men who stayed nervously in the house all night witnessed these delicious meals, and subconsciously felt that they would have a bright future because they received the hospitality of Prince Ross, so the venue was also very happy.

Arik, Yevro, Ragnar and other personnel all participated in it. They pretended to be kind, and Swind smiled a bit sadly.

The patriarchs of the big family didn’t bother to pay attention to Swind, they just stared at Rurik’s handsome face, the more they looked at it, the more comfortable they became.

“Let’s have a good meal, everyone, and we’ll talk.” Rurik deliberately said this, and went straight to the point: “I welcome your surrender very much. The conditions I put forward are for you to think about overnight. Have you figured it out now?”

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Sure enough, the patriarch signaled: “We talked all night, and we are willing to become your vassal. But, we…”

“Do you still want to make a condition?” Rurik narrowed his eyes, picked up the glass inadvertently, and drank the wine while still holding the glass.

This is a signal, and Arik has been paying attention out of the corner of his eye.

Just as the talking patriarch intended to continue his description, Arik signaled to leave the table to go to the bathroom.

The patriarch continued his words: “We can be vassals, but you must guarantee our previous power. You took our slaves, please return them. We resume our daily life, and we can pay you tribute in the future. We are willing to pay tribute, Please also promise that you can give us military protection.”

At this moment, Rurik’s eyes became sharper. He didn’t even think that the big family at the end of the road dared to negotiate terms with him now.

He was furious: “You! You don’t have the strength to bargain with me now!”

The patriarch was startled, and hurriedly said: “You are a hero, we are willing to marry our youngest daughters to you.”

“Oh? Could this be your last concession?”

The patriarch was speechless for a while, so he could only continue to emphasize: “We are willing to surrender.”

“Ridiculous! Your daughters are only worthy of being slaves who rub my soldiers’ feet! You are defeated, yet you dare to ask for benefits!” The glass in Rurik’s hand slammed into the wooden wall and shattered into many pieces. Not small.

Soon, a group of ragged sword and axemen broke in led by Arik.

These people are Rurik’s axemen. They enter the house and kill them in the name of throwing cups.

Another identity of them is also a slave, and now the blood of the former master is used to vote for the certificate!

The patriarchs of the six big families were all turned into minced meat under the knife and axe. The mosaic of the scene caused Rurik to avoid it with a stiff face.

He left the banquet hall and continued to instruct his subordinates: “Go and deal with the remnants of these families. Remember! Men and women will not be left behind! If you dare to keep alive, I will behead you afterwards!”

Another group of slaves were ordered to attack their former masters with butcher knives, and the old forces on Bornholm Island were physically destroyed.

[End of this Chapter]