Chapter 1,335 The Deer Slayer Blackbird
There is always a lag in the news. When Rurik had organized an army to rush south to counterattack Vadim, the merchants who learned the news had not yet arrived in the capital.
Once upon a time, the people in the Yin Ermen Lake area had to beware of the powerful threat of Smolensk.
As time goes by, Rose's strength expands at an exaggerated rate.
Due to the rapid mobilization of Rurik, he organized thousands of troops almost instantly, up to 5,000 soldiers, and perhaps 10,000 horses and reindeer to participate in the war. This huge number has exceeded the local Slavs' expectations. Perceptions of Army Numbers.
Can the king still be defeated? !
Pooh! What everyone has to consider now is how quickly the king will kill the damned Vadim.
They were originally an army trained for the expedition to Frank. They had been receiving military training. A large number of new recruits originally thought about facing their first battle in the western land. Unexpectedly, a group of Smolensk people stood up as some kind of Sacrifice.
This is an opportunity to solve the southern problem in a package, and it is also the king's personal expedition.
The impact of the incident is extremely huge in the Novgorod area. Obviously, the military resources here will definitely defeat Vadim and his Smolensk army. There is no need to go to the capital and the north to increase troops.
Only when the Volkhov and Luga rivers completely freeze can Novgorod and Novorosberg achieve rapid communication.
Every winter, various merchants stationed in Novgorod would hoard a batch of supplies and go to the capital to sell them.
The situation this winter was different. As a group of merchants took the initiative to lend their sleds and deer to the king, they immediately made a sum of money. At the same time, the size of the caravans arriving in the capital this winter dropped sharply.
These people had full confidence in the king, but the launch of a winter counterattack against Smolensk instantly caused a storm in the capital.
Of course, no one is sure that the king will be defeated, and even the army's heavy casualties are not discussed by everyone.
There is only one thing that people discuss the most: Why don't you bring Jianyong from the capital with you for such a good thing?
The standing army stationed in the capital had already arrived in Novgorod in the autumn on the pretext of training new recruits. At the same time, a group of young people from the capital were selected as recruits for the standing army and also left the capital.
A citizen flag corps is still stationed in the capital, and the navy is also stationed here. A large number of idle young people really want to participate in a war and take the opportunity to make a fortune. They are not afraid of war. They are afraid that the scale of the war is not big enough, so that everyone will not have the opportunity to participate.
The tavern built by the Governor's Palace immediately became a stage for the strongest kings from all walks of life to chat.
The Governor's Palace sells here: ale, mead, kvass, vodka, and the latest arrival of a large number of wines.
After a batch of wine packaged in barrels was sold to the public, another part was sold as bulk wine in this tavern. People would gather here to drink, and gradually the drunken people would complain about not participating in the war. Some boasted, some complained about the arsenal, and finally someone actually fought. The patrol team easily arrested the troublemaker. In order to avoid being punished as a "mining slave" for a year, the family had to pay to redeem the person from the prison in the Governor's Mansion.
This did not exist in the previous Russian society. Nowadays, the capital is getting larger and larger, and many complexities that should be expected in a big city have emerged.
In order to argue about the war, people who became more and more excited when they were drunk could fight each other. This was also a big shock to the two distinguished guests in the independent room on the second floor of the tavern.
"It's true. People go crazy when they are drunk, so drinking is not a good thing?"
"Not necessarily. I personally escorted these wines from Nassau." Facing Jevlo's joking "question", Blue Fox deliberately explained.
The two parties have talked a lot before, and what he most wants to know about Yevlo is what his son went through with Frank.
It turns out that the elite Finnish longbowmen he sent did indeed make meritorious service in the battle. His son experienced a thrilling battle and invaded the Frankish capital in one go. His glory was truly the envy of his father.
Lan Hu blushed. Since he mentioned those soldiers of the expeditionary force,
Everyone, thinking about the things that are going viral now, he couldn't help but say a few more words.
"Your Majesty is really interested, and now he actually sends a large number of troops to expedition to Smolensk. I... am really worried that he will delay next year's Western Expedition."
"But aren't the Smolensk people our formidable enemy? I have already learned the news. When Carlotta sets up a stronghold in the south, he should think of the current war. I think it's a good idea to take advantage of the opportunity to deal with those enemies to avoid unnecessary trouble. During our western expedition, the enemy is holding us back."
"You're right. So." Blue Fox looked at Yevluo's face: "Are you willing to participate in next year's war?"
"Me? I'll forget it. If necessary, I will send troops to help the king."
"That's fine. Next year's battle will be a glorious moment for the navy. Our warships stand in the port. Next year, the Sea Monarch can be anchored at the mouth of the Rhine. Those Frank nobles will be shocked and call her the Ark."
When Frank was mentioned, Jevro couldn't help but ask, "So, where is your woman?"
"Which woman?"
"Don't pretend to be stupid. You..." Yevro said cheerfully: "Some people say that you don't like women, but I didn't expect that you like young ones. That blackbird of yours is staying in the big temple these days. I haven’t seen you since I came here to visit.”
"It doesn't matter." Blue Fox shrugged: "She is just too young. Let's talk about marrying me in a few years. Besides, this important matter needs to be decided by the king."
"Is it really necessary?" Also slightly drunk, Yevluo's words became vulgar: "If you don't do things after you take care of her, even Rurik won't say anything about you. Besides, you take credit for him. Zhiwei, I’m afraid he is very concerned about your marriage.”
"Forget it. I personally sent her to the Great Temple. If she was not pure enough, she would have been kicked out long ago. He said that with my strength, I can have as many women as I want. You know, I can, but It’s not necessary.”
"I really can't tell. Anyway, everyone has his own ambitions." After saying that, Jevlo raised his glass again and boasted about the deliciousness of the Nassau red wine.
However, the war caused an uproar in the Great Temple.
Rumia never dreamed that the king would suddenly launch a southern expedition. She knew the approximate location of Smolensk, and she also knew that a war would not end in a short time. Especially with the war rhythm that the Russians are accustomed to, and the art of war when Rurik was the commander-in-expand the scale of the war whenever there is an opportunity, so as to gain the maximum war dividend as much as possible.
The merchants who arrived in the capital not only delivered a large amount of Novgorod products, but also a large number of finished clothes that were robbed by the people of the capital. They sold as much honey as they arrived, and even sour and sticky rye in large barrels. Kvass is already used to this Slavic alcoholic drink, and the people in the capital come to buy as much as they can.
"Perhaps, Rurik will miss this year's great sacrifice. I...at least do something for him."
In the quiet night, Rumia knelt alone in the chapel and prayed to the gods.
She deliberately knelt in this cold house with thin clothes, hoping that the cold would calm her spirit, and she also showed her sincerity to the gods in such a suffering posture.
She prayed especially to the image of Odin, closing her eyes and praying silently.
Suddenly, it was like receiving a message from an oracle. She stood up and looked resolutely at the statue of the god illuminated by the oil lamp, and silently whispered with satisfaction: "I understand, I understand everything."
The gods need sacrifices, and only by receiving blood and seeing the sincerity of the people can they bestow divine power on the expeditionary army and win victory.
If a person from afar explains the war, this may be understood as a person's lies and can be ignored. However, everyone who arrived in the capital was talking about the king's personal expedition to Smolensk, and that was true.
Not only is it true, but this expedition lacks a necessary process - pre-war sacrifice.
During the expedition against Denmark and the first expedition against the Franks, hundreds of reindeer were sacrificed before the expedition, and the blood of the deer dyed the ocean red. Ross rejects human sacrifice, especially in the current Ross society where there are very few slaves. In order to show sincerity to the gods, Ross has been generous in animal sacrifices for many years, and Ross does have the capital to massacre deer.
The next day, the gate of the great temple was closed.
All the priests gathered in the inner court.
The young priests whispered, and even Verica didn't know what her mother's intentions were.
Soon, Rumia walked out of the curtain wearing an antlered helmet and holding a gemstone scepter, standing in front of everyone in the most solemn attire.
"Quiet!" She struck the stick hard.
Seeing that the noise had subsided, he continued to announce: "Children! We are going to carry out an urgent activity! Our great king is crusade against ferocious enemies in the south. The Smolensk people challenge us, and the king will seize this opportunity to defeat them completely. They. The army in Novgorod is in action, but the king lacks a sacrifice! There is still time, we have to report this action to the gods."
At this point, the words have caused an uproar. Rumia banged the wooden stick again to stop the noise: "Today the temple is closed, all of you start preparing! Without further ado, we will complete this event at the seaside altar tomorrow morning Sacrifice. Everything should be done according to the standards of Hanukkah. You all, please step aside."
[An app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, used by all old bookworms.
Great Charlemagne, are you Charlemagne’s granddaughter? "
"I...I am." Blackbird didn't want to mention these things, so he had to answer in the affirmative when asked.
"Since you are the granddaughter of a great warrior, you should be as brave as your grandfather. You are not asked to kill people, so what are you afraid of?"
"Okay, I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid..."
Blackbird's nervousness and apprehension could not be relieved by a few words, not to mention that Verica took the ceremony to an even more extreme level. The so-called king suddenly gathered a large number of troops to go south, which means that the scale of this winter war is actually very large. For this reason, it is not as simple as sacrificing ten deer. There may be fifty deer sacrificed.
Even, it is the highest standard "Ninety-Nine Deer" ritual.
There is a set of standards for sacrifices in the Great Temple of Rus. The highest standard is to sacrifice one hundred and eleven deer, and the secondary standard is ninety-nine deer.
Rurik slaughtered ninety-nine deer when he ascended the throne in the Great Temple of Uppsala. Now that Rus has been upgraded to a kingdom, he can perform a pre-war sacrifice of the highest standards while waiting for the king to conquer Frank in person.
In the crusade against Smolensk, the enemies there are not as glorious as the Franks, and the standards of sacrifice will be reduced.
Verica's guess was right. Rumia indeed sent people to bring in ninety-nine deer. This caused a sensation in the whole city!
It turns out that the closed door of the large temple is preparing for a sacrificial ceremony? Could it be that the scale of the southern war has forced the priests to come up with such specifications to sacrifice to Odin?
A good thing is that after all the deer are drained of blood at the altar, the deer skins, meat, and bones will soon appear at the winter market. That is fresh red meat, and fresh leather can quickly make leather jackets of good quality.
Of course, the people who still lacked entertainment regarded the sacrificial activities as a major pleasure. As the news spread throughout the city, when the day was still dark, the seaside altar area of New Roseburg was already crowded with people.
Not only that, the priests walked out of the great temple to the altar outside the city. They must be dressed in costumes, surrounded by city guards holding torches, and with the sound of the band, walking through Nevsky Prospekt toward the outside of the city.
For this reason, Harvest Square has already gathered a large number of onlookers. Such a grand event naturally attracted Blue Fox and his subordinates to participate. What's more, as a great nobleman of Rus, he and Jevro met with the governor Konuson the Younger. They could simply follow the priest into the altar area.
A layer of woolen clothing is worn on the inside, and an all-in-one plain white burqa is worn on the outside.
Dressed like this, the blackbirds were reminded of those nuns, but the Rus were more pure.
All the lower priestesses wear tiaras made of fresh pine branches, but otherwise have no other modifications to their burqas.
The young girls stood in two rows, standing behind the high priest who wore a deer-antler helmet and was dressed like a deer.
There are two other women beside the high priest. One is the deputy priest Verika. Because she is often placed at the entrance of the big temple and looks at the money box, the people in the city know her very well.
As for the other one... maybe it's the new deputy named and trained by the high priest.
Of course, Blue Fox already knew who the girl was. After all, Blackbird is a great Frankish nobleman, and his status is still noble even if he is in decline. Being qualified to travel with the high priest shows that Rumia is interested in him, but this also indicates something crazy.
Blue Fox didn't dare to break into the priests' team to hear Rumia's plan in person. It was already dawn and the whole city was bustling with people. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in public, so he could only silently pray that Blackbird could do a "barbaric job" ”.
The blackbird with its head cocked followed the high priest mechanically. She hoped that she was a ruthless and cold-blooded beast, so that she could act decisively and feel at ease by killing the reindeer.
There is indeed a short sword hanging under her plain white robe, which is one of the magical weapons used in the ceremony.
At the same time, ninety-nine deer have been prepared at the seaside altar. All the deer were held by men, and during the ceremony, these men held the deer in the huge stone boat altar, and the priests performed the killing.
Ever since the king personally took Verika to assassinate the deer, Verika has personally performed this task for all subsequent sacrifices.
Under the burqa, Verica clenched the hilt of her sword tightly. The sky was turning blue at this moment. She glanced at the blackbird beside her, and her determined eyes replaced a thousand words. Just because there are a group of deer in front of them, they are about to turn into fresh meat...
All the rituals were carried out step by step. Since it was a supplementary ceremony for Rurik's southern expedition, all the ritual items had to be simple. Only the most critical deer-slaughtering ceremony did not allow for any mistakes. As the saying goes, you can't deceive the gods by deceiving anyone. The greater the number of deer sacrifices, the greater the people's respect for the gods.
Just like all previous pre-war sacrifices, Lumia looked up at the sky and then at the rising sun.
When the sun completely broke through the horizon, she gave an order: "Sword! Let's begin!"
This was a solid signal. The first batch of ten reindeer were all pushed down by strong men in the stone boat altar. For the two sword-wielding priests present, all they had to do was cut the deer's neck and pierce the deer's heart.
Verika executed the first batch of deer neatly. The deer's blood sprayed all over her body red, and she was holding a dagger and dripping blood. It was exactly this little girl bathing in blood that actually looked at her with a smile.
The memory that Blackbird had worked so hard to bury reappeared, and she was frightened out of her mind.
"Are you stupid? It's your turn next." Verica rushed up and kicked her awake.
He fell down in the altar, his plain white clothes stained with deer blood. Blackbird saw the new ten deer and was dragged to the altar reluctantly, and was held down by the shirtless blond men. His sword-holding arm was also held tightly by Verica.
At this moment, the sound of horns and drums was the clearest signal, and thousands of people watching cheered and cheered.
Blackbird, completely coerced by Verica, launched a powerful dagger thrust. This thrust directly pierced the deer's heart, and hot blood suddenly sprayed all over her body, and this seemed to unlock the secret that was suppressed in the depths of her soul. some things.
"It? Is it dead?" The deer struggled and became silent. The blackbird, whose heart was beating so fast that it seemed to be exploding, was panting. The steel sword in his hand also trembled violently with the tremors of his body.
"Basically dead. Let's go, next." Verica looked calm, obviously she was used to all this.
But she didn't notice that Blackbird's once nervous and resisting face was well washed with deer blood. It was the blood stains that slightly covered the corners of her mouth that were slightly raised due to extreme excitement. Blackbird is excited about "I have done a great thing", but she doesn't know it.
With the first successful assassination, the blackbird is growing at an extremely fast rate during this sacrificial activity.
She was truly like a killing machine, and accompanied by Verica, she finally executed all ninety-nine deer.
As for herself, she seemed like a demon crawling out of hell. At least when Blackbird looked at her scarlet body and her hands full of fishy smell, she could only think of demons.
Frank's devil, maybe he is a glorious hero among the Russians, right?
She did hear the people here cheering, as if... they were cheering for herself.
She even saw the round face of Lan Hu. The guy was looking at her, but there was no trace of disgust in his eyes. That look, no matter how you look at it, is a sign of approval.