Chapter 1,315 Persuasion

In this way, Hagen became a guest of King Rus.

Now the entire Gniezdovo Altar has become a holy place for northerners to worship Odin. The mass killings that took place here were interpreted as "a grand blood sacrifice" and the sacrifices will continue.

What happened to the high altar?

The main men among the Smolenskvarangs who surrendered were ordered to form a small team together with the leader Hagen. They were allowed to keep their own swords and axes, and even carry their own shields.

Not being disarmed means that King Ross is fulfilling his promise. Ross still recognizes that everyone is a warrior and acknowledges that everyone has joined Ross.

It is better to make any promise directly. Hagen and his group of more than ten people have become Rurik's special bodyguards.

Those real guards have uniform uniforms, and even the weapons are exactly the same because of the standard manufacturing. They were wary of these surrenders, and were a little worried whether the king was taking them too lightly.

But Rurik's thick bearskin coat covered the riveted plate armor inside. This kind of armor equipped in batches by the Russian army can withstand most injuries, so he was naturally not worried.

Besides, this group of Varangians had no reason to take action, as their possessions were in their own hands.

The soldiers held torches and walked towards a "pyramid".

Hagen couldn't figure it out for a while, until he stood next to this so-called pyramid and suddenly realized that it was actually a huge tomb piled with countless corpses.

Rurik's face was heavy. He obviously built the Jingguan himself, but he couldn't be happy about it.

He sighed slightly: "All the dead are here. Smolensk launched a strong attack on me, and now you see my revenge. Hagen, what do you think?"

Many of Hagen's friends were so frightened that their legs were shaking, but Hagen was well-informed. On the trade road in the past, he had done a lot of killing, robbing and slave-grabbing, and he could remain calm in the face of many dead bodies.

"King Ross...you are great."

"Is this true?"

"You are great..." Hagen repeated with a sullen face.

Rurik looked sideways into his eyes and looked slightly displeased: "Are you perfunctory with me? Let me tell you, this is called Tsinkuan, and it is my invention. I am offering a blood sacrifice to Odin, and these corpses will prove the strength of our army."

"I don't dare to be perfunctory." Hagen was of course shocked, but he hid it well. This was the first time he had heard the term "Jingguan". If this was the way the Russians sacrificed blood to Odin, it would make sense.

Hagen continued: "We lived in Smolensk for a long time and heard some news about Denmark. Obviously, those mass killings are real."

"That's natural, and the war will always continue." Rurik changed his tone slightly: "My king's goal is better trade. Anyone who destroys my trade should die! Those who join my trade will be rich. .And you, my friend, will you join us?"

"Join! You must join."

Although Hagen looked calm and composed on the outside, he was frightened in his heart. He answered decisively. Seeing his decisiveness, their attitude was clear to Rurik.

"The next step is to show you my king's great sacrifice."

"What is it?" Hagen's eyes trembled involuntarily as he thought of something bad.

It seems that this group of people are still afraid of Beijing. Rurik pointed casually: "That room is closely guarded by my people. You must know Vadim! I'd also like to take you to see it and confirm his identity." identity."

"well……"

Wouldn't it be very embarrassing if Vadim got so mad that he revealed that he was training an army? But Hagen had no choice. At the same time, I also want to see how the once extremely domineering man is now in decline.

There was a simple wooden cage in the dark house. The room was extremely cold, and you could feel the biting cold even standing here.

There seemed to be a little bear in the cage, at least it was wrapped in a bear skin.

"This is a person?" Hagen really couldn't believe it.

Rurik personally raised the torch and kicked the cage to wake up the people inside.

Vadim was tortured so hard that his mouth was tied with a hemp rope and he couldn't

He bit his tongue to commit suicide, his hands and feet were tied so he couldn't escape, and he was deliberately starved to lack strength. He was exhausted from the torture, his hair was fluffy and messy, covering half of his face, and he still looked decadent when someone came.

"Look, this man is Vadim, the leader of Smolensk?"

Hagen took a closer look and said, "It's Vadim. That's him! He's not a human being."

"It would be nice if it was Vadim. He led his army to kill my people. Now he is defeated and his army has been annihilated by me. As a leader, he does not die on the battlefield but chooses to live in peace. This kind of person is not worthy of being a warrior."

Hagen hurriedly agreed. He wished that Vadim died now: "Yes! He must be killed, he must be sacrificed, and his blood must be drained like cattle and sheep."

"He will be made into a blood eagle."

"Huh?" Hagen was surprised again. The so-called Blood Eagle Punishment was extremely rare. He had heard of it but had never seen it before. "If this is true, then I am willing to use the knife for the king and cut off Vadim's ribs with my own hands."

"Very good. Let's go. I will give you some food and wine, and I will also have a chat with you."

It was originally the residence of the priests, but after some cleaning, it became Rurik's palace. He did not want to live here, but it was okay to hold meetings here and serve as the Rus Duma in Smolensk.

Hagen and his friends drank flammable liquor for the first time, and were surprised that King Rus had really received the blessings of the gods. Otherwise, how could the wine like clear water catch fire?

There was bacon, butter, honey, and boiled wheat porridge.

They were clearly launching an expedition with an unheard of army, but the quality of their food was actually better than their daily meals? The reality refreshed Hagen's understanding of power.

A person often becomes talkative after drinking some alcohol, and Rurik wanted exactly this.

Hagen told Rurik everything he knew.

What is the situation with the nobility of Smolensk? Is it true to claim to be descended from the Romans? How many villages and populations there are in the local area, and whether the farmers cultivate the collective land of the village, are self-cultivated farmers, or work for the nobles, all are explained in detail.

Hagen mentioned something in particular that Rurik must pay attention to.

"So, the peasants in the hands of the nobles are actually slaves?"

"They are slaves. Almost all the grain they harvest every year is given to their masters. This makes the nobles powerful. It is obvious that you, the king, will break all this."

Rurik found it interesting: "How do you say this?"

Hagen was so angry that he was not flattering, and what he said seemed to be describing a fact: "In Smolensk, only King Rus is the most precious, and those nobles are all ***. Don't think that the war is Vadim's. In his own opinion, without the support of these nobles, how can an outsider be the leader, how can an outsider organize an army of four thousand? These nobles have organized three thousand people, and they also have their nephews as leaders. Since the king wants to take Vadim Make a blood sacrifice! In my opinion, the heads of those nobles also need to be sacrificed."

The words completely spoke to Rurik’s heart.

He was silent for a while and asked deliberately: "So, what do you think of me? You have lived in Smolensk for a long time, and your opinions are very important."

"Thank you to the great King of Ross for your praise. I..." Hagen raised his head and couldn't help but show a fierce look on his face: "Kill! Must kill. All noble families must be eradicated. They all have some guards and they should be killed."

Rurik nodded: "I also have this intention. When our Rus accidentally caused Vadim to escape, this man should have been eliminated ten years ago. Since he has reached an alliance with the nobles of Smolensk, they Everyone will bear the consequences of defeat. But I have sent an envoy. I hope those nobles can come to the high altar and surrender to me, so that I will consider temporarily keeping their lives. What do you think?"

"This... I don't think it's right! You're stupid to do this!" Hagen's movements became bigger due to the influence of alcohol. He kept tapping his legs when he was sitting cross-legged and continued to support Rurik: "This is It’s a mistake that only women make. According to the rules of the north, people who have committed serious crimes should be killed directly. We don’t need to accept negotiations or anything else.”

"Completely merciless?"

"That's not necessary, Your Majesty." Hagen beat his chest as furiously as a gorilla: "Don't be wishful thinking, they will not surrender."

"I still want them to come and let them watch me kill Vadim's blood sacrifice to Odin, but I will kill them all again. I don't have the kindness of a woman."

Hagen continued to suggest: "In this case, the king cannot believe that they will come on their own initiative. Before they organize their army, I suggest that the king immediately send troops to defeat the nobles who have not yet united. It is important for the king's army to be strong. You have already done so They are so powerful that killing them is as easy as killing a sheep. Why wait in boredom at the high altar? In the end, if they don't come, you will have to organize an army to fight with their army. This is meaningless and makes the king less. Many slaves..."

According to Hagen, after learning that the Smolensk nobles would organize all the serfs after the attack, and coerce them from nearby free farms to join the battle, Ross would have to fight a decisive battle.

Those slaves controlled by the nobles were not considered human beings. They existed like animals, no matter who they worked for. After killing the nobles, Ross can get these slaves, which means he will get a lot of wealth.

As for those free farms, they were forced to accept the rule of the nobles, but they were still quite free and unwilling to fight for the nobles. In addition, their villages were far away from the main riverside settlements, making it easy to conquer them without worrying about them quickly supporting the nobles.

The current King of Ross should attack decisively, and now he is just one step away from the final victory.

But as for Rurik, he never gave up his plan to take the initiative to attack. Now that Hagen was talking about the pros and cons, he got excited and said, "Then let's fight."

As the saying goes, it should be done without further delay. That night, Rurik rushed all the nobles and officers of the army to a surprise meeting in the palace.

Their sound sleep was interrupted, and each of them seemed a little listless. Many people have already guessed that this matter is related to the war, and now the depressed spirit of the crowds has gradually turned into a group excitement.

Rurik was sitting in front of everyone. His attitude was very simple and straightforward: "Brothers, I have changed my mind! Wait until they come to surrender in person, and then kill them afterwards. It is better to set out now, behead them, and use their heads as sacrifices." Gods."

Pairs of eyes were trembling, and everyone looked eager to try.

"Fight!" Rurik raised his right fist high.

Then the deafening Viking war cry came from the palace.

The war came quickly, but everyone had expected it. It would be too humble to expect the nobles to come and surrender in person due to the attack on the high altar.

A force can organize an army of four thousand to launch an expedition, which shows its bloody nature.

On the contrary, everyone got an important and sufficient rest during the so-called waiting time. The loot found by staring at the nobles' tombs and digging up the graves made some people rich, and this incident further stimulated the soldiers' desire to make a fortune.

Digging graves is indecent and unvalorous. Killing enemies and looting property is a truly heroic act. Since the nobles used gems to embellish their dead, there must be a lot of gold and silver in those noble mansions.

The nobles and officers returned to the camp to convey the urgent order from King Rus.

war! All the previous arrangements have been overturned, and the operation will be launched early tomorrow morning. All the elites from all departments will be sent out, leaving one tenth to garrison the camp.

Do you want to continue sleeping? Many people were so excited that they could no longer sleep peacefully.

On the other hand, a large number of veteran soldiers snored calmly and calmly, as if war was as casual as eating and drinking.

Rurik was unable to discern the true attitude of the Smolensk nobles. He believed in Hagen's opinion. After all, it also agreed with his plan B.

[In view of the general environment,

In the early morning, the soldiers who easily assembled on a large scale had finished their hot meals and gathered their strong troops in the empty altar.

Look at this majestic scene, two months ago Vadim gathered here to launch an expedition, and now...

There were Russian warriors wearing white robes with blue stripes everywhere, and Russian flags flying everywhere.

With the main force of the army deployed, Rurik decided to cleanse the Smolensk settlement and solve everything with the simplest and crudest means.

There was no pre-war mobilization and there was no need for it, Rurik dressed up for everyone to notice.

Notice the noble man on horseback.

Suddenly there was a loud sound of horns and drums, and Rurik personally led the cavalry army out of the forest. Behind him were a large number of reindeer sleigh teams, and the lightly-armed soldiers sat on the sleighs full of them.

Torsion slingshots and torsion trebuchets were placed on sleds and marched simultaneously with the army. There are even two sleds working in tandem to jointly escort a large pine log that has been deliberately tied with cables. It is a battering ram.

Rurik has already prepared to "pull out the nails". All villages protected by wooden walls must be eradicated, while villages without wooden walls will not be targeted.

Rurik issued an order to all the ministries. In this battle, the nobles were targeted to be killed. Those free farmers would be obedient people in the future and should not be killed. Besides, the free farms were very poor, and it was difficult to steal goods even if they killed people.

He can restrain his own troops. As for whether the allies of the Pechenegs will fully comply, we can only look forward to the restraint of Beyashir.

The old order must first be smashed to pieces, and then the new order under Ross can rise from the ruins. With the collapse of the old aristocracy, long-standing ills were eliminated.

The Russian army, armed to the teeth, marched on the frozen Dnieper River in mighty force. They braved the rising sun as if they were bathing in holy light, and the cold wind like knives could not extinguish the fire in their hearts.

The soldiers were also wrapped up to cover up. Most of them wore wooden-framed sunglasses and fur coats. However, under the fur coats, they were neatly dressed in chainmail and plate armor.

They tried their best to show the magnificence of the army. Countless flags were blown by the wind, and the huge army could be seen clearly from a distance, but the forest and winding frozen rivers obscured the figure of the army.

And a team of dedicated Smolensk nobles was gliding on the ice in a mighty manner.

Those are the clansmen and slaves of the noble "father", as well as the people who are coerced to avoid war disasters. His actions also attracted the support of a few nobles, and he led his tribe towards the high altar.

They believed the words of those who were freed were true, and that King Rus would really spare everyone's lives for his act of surrender.

but……

The river is almost a 90° bend here, and the forest covers everything.

The two sides walking towards each other bumped into each other at this bend of the river.

Rurik personally led the team. He never expected that a refugee team would actually come. No! They are the surrendered nobles, that must be it.

But I have already made my choice.

The sword was drawn out, and Ryrik pointed the sword pointedly with a decisive attitude: "Russians! Attack! Kill everyone!"