Chapter 1,336 The Beginning of Rurik’s Dream of the Western Expedition in 843

Just in New Roseburg, a tall wooden tower stands at the Marina Altar outside the city.

Even if the king is not in the capital, the grand Hanukkah sacrifice is not only indispensable, but its scale is at least as grand as last year. Especially this year with a special background, the high priest Rumia needs a grand sacrificial event to declare to the people in the city that the king will win.

For this reason, she unprecedentedly ordered one hundred and eleven deer to be taken from the royal family's herd, using the highest sacrificial standards to declare the sudden victory of the "War against Smolensk". Even now There was no signal of King Master's triumphant return.

This is not a problem. Is it possible for Master Wang to suffer heavy losses?

Blackbird, who was bathed in blood for the first time, was covered in blood after the sacrifice. Her heart couldn't calm down for a long time, and she stayed awake that night until she saw the sun the next day. She had not slept for thirty hours due to excessive mental stimulation, and then experienced another long sleep due to extreme exhaustion.

When she woke up again, something had quietly changed - her eyes suddenly became sharp, and she seemed to have the quality of a she-wolf.

Verica could feel her bedmate changing, becoming more like a Valkyrie.

When she realized that killing was not terrible, although she did not like it, if she participated in sacrificial activities again and personally executed the sacrifices, Blackbird was no longer afraid.

The high priest of Hanukkah, the burning fire tower is like a lighthouse, and like the sun created by people in the middle of the night. The fire illuminated the whole city, and the heat dried all the snow on the altar. There was no snow left in a large area, and the land was baked dry.

Just under the fire tower, due to its scorching heat, all the priests put on the plain white single clothes of the summer priests.

Verica and Blackbird both became "sword-bearers". They stretched their bare arms and bled one hundred and eleven stags bound by ropes.

"It's simple. If I stick my sword into the heart of the deer, it will be over." Blackbird thought, and she did the same.

No one could have imagined that the girl with a simple twintail who worked with Verica was actually Frank's little princess.

Who knows who she is? Maybe it was Rurik's other daughter.

King Rurik had many wives and concubines, and the heroic king was nicknamed the "April Bull", which shows that the people were impressed by his masculinity. There is a joke among the people that "I'm afraid the king can't even count how many children he has."

People are still concerned about whether the sacrificial activities can be successfully completed, which after all is related to the fortune of all life in the new year.

The temple performed sacrifices of the highest standard, turning the altar into a slaughtering scene filled with a thick smell, which shows the piety of the temple and the piety of the king.

Of course, these slaughtered deer were snapped up by people all over the city.

On the one hand, countless sky lanterns float into the night sky carrying words written by the people. Everyone first believes that this can communicate with the lost ancestors who have been resurrected in Asgard.

On the other hand, surrounding the scorching fire tower, the people gathered immediately started a grand barbecue party. The smell of deer slaughter was gone, replaced by the unique burnt aroma of greasy barbecue. The entire New Roseburg was filled with this alluring aroma, ushering in the new year 843 AD.

In Smolensk in the far south, a special piece of barbecue finally turned into powder and dust.

The straight-line distance between Novorosberg at the mouth of the Neva River and the Gniezdovo Altar in Smolensk in the south is as long as 600 kilometers!

There was no straight road between the two places. The main force of the Russian army set out from Novgorod. After several twists and turns, they fought and advanced in constant battles. They rushed back and forth for as long as 800 kilometers!

[In view of the general environment,

However, the warriors inside did not feel that they had really gone through a long and distant journey.

Running, fighting, and resting, the coalition soldiers kept repeating this process, and finally won a major victory in the southward campaign in Smolensk.

It is also here that the Ross Alliance ushered in a new year 843.

Everything seems to have settled, but the Russians have to digest and absorb the mess they made.

The old Smolensk aristocratic system collapsed, and a large number of local people were lost. The chain reaction affected a huge area. The destruction of the war gave some people the opportunity to become bigger. Vyadzic leader Heda was keenly aware that relying on the powerful Russians, he could take advantage of the opportunity to become bigger.

Some people never want to become the overlord of a party, they hope to maintain their family's dominance in the tribe, and they hope to continue to gain profits and make their lives better.

Heda was such a leader. If he could pay a regular tribute to the Russians to avoid the destruction of the war, it would be okay to pay the money. After all, it will be the ordinary tribesmen who will actually pay. As the leader of the tribe, now that he has the support of King Rus, are he still worried about competitors destroying his family's rule?

The fire in Gniezdovo gradually extinguished, and no one cared about Vadim's remains anymore - only his head was frozen solid.

Vadim's head is placed in a wooden box. It will be escorted by Rurik personally to Novgorod to declare the victory to old Otto.

How to get home? Follow a set route home?

And choosing a fantastic new path?

Rurik chose the latter because he wanted to see the Gulf of Riga, the city of Riga that had been included in the territory, and the local Latvians who had surrendered from a new perspective.

Cousin Arik has taken office as the governor of Smolensk, and the veterans of the First Banner Corps are also happily staying in the new area, taking the opportunity to continue to make profits after the war.

Rurik knows the habits of his people very well, especially the old guys in the First Flag Team, because essentially they are not farmers at all, and they are not willing to be honest farmers. The habits of the tribal era are continued by them, and they travel far and wide. Robbery is the most popular thing for everyone. For this reason, it is not inappropriate to say goodbye to family and children suddenly and organize a "small family" in the far south.

A man could have many wives and many slaves, and how many he could have depended on his ability. If the person is strong enough, he can also imitate King Rurik and create the "Eighteen Wives" situation.

Back then, a group of young people from the tribe followed Arik in launching the first military operation of the Ross tribe. After the great waves, many of the more than 400 warriors from that year are still alive. Most of the young people who grew up later also joined the First Flag Team, and they were Arik's supporters.

However, at that time, there were often boys under ten years old in the tribe. They were the same age as Rurik, so they naturally followed this child king who had the help of God.

The former young men are now approaching forty years old. They are still full of strong enterprising spirit. Now they stay in Smolensk and seize the time to find young women on the spot. They use abundant food as a temptation to seduce their former wives. A small family was organized locally.

Local people have mixed feelings about this pole-mounted marriage.

Some villages are ashamed of this, thinking that this is a further ravage of the conquerors. Who would be willing to hand over his beautiful daughter to those barbaric Varangians?

There are also some villages who are very aware of current affairs. They do not think that the Varyag people named Rus are purely evil people. They have heard that the act of paying tribute to their daughters can win over the tolerance of the Varyag people. And isn’t this an opportunity to overcome strength with softness? Can those men really avoid the constant noise in their ears?

You must know that a man will often betray a lot in order to please his young wife. The daughter who is married for this will not necessarily suffer, and the strong family may be able to continuously obtain iron tools that are extremely critical for production and life.

Arik is the governor, and Haakon, the leader of the local Danish community, serves as an advisor.

A group of Danish immigrants who came all the way from the Gulf of Riga decided to settle in Smolensk, an open space full of opportunities, so as to avoid the commercial competition of the already densely populated Gulf of Riga.

Smolensk then ushered in a new beginning under Rus' rule, and a new city was rebuilt based on the old Danish community. It's just that the city under Ross still has a long way to go to restore its past regional leadership. After all, there are still some distant settlements that are not loyal to Governor Arik.

Rurik decided to let go of all this

Don't care about your hands.

Based on the current situation, Rurik really cannot control the far southern world. He can only entrust his cousin to manage it on his behalf. As for not ennobling his cousin, he actually left a backdoor for his direct rule in the future.

Now, it’s January in the Julian calendar, and the coldest period of the year is now!

The Smolensk area is located in the interior of Eastern Europe. There is currently no wind or snow, and the temperature drops to minus ten degrees at night. The air is like a knife, and a small gust of wind is enough to make anyone staying outdoors uncomfortable. They can only be protected by wrapping themselves in thick leather clothes.

The Russians are not supermen. People who participated in winter hunting at that time would of course go to the even colder Arctic Circle. Because they were all wearing reindeer skins, it felt very subtle.

But it is said that the huge herd of deer pulling sleds, which have come all the way from the Novgorod area, is just a winter migration that cannot grow any further.

Especially for reindeer, winter migration is a normal thing for them in their natural state. On the contrary, this nature has been destroyed by human domestication. What remains unchanged is the thick fur they grow. Even if the outdoor temperature of this fur reaches minus 50 degrees, the reindeer may actually feel hot.

They were lying on their knees in the snow, with each reindeer keeping a certain distance apart. This was not a sense of territoriality, but it was because it was too hot for the deer to sleep next to each other. If they were purely wild deer, they would gather together when sleeping for safety reasons. This group of deer is completely adapted to being domesticated by humans, and they calmly use the huge open space at the altar as a sleeping place.

The main focus of the Ross coalition is to take care of the Turkic horses with thick winter manes. All riders must take good care of their mounts, because they will also experience a fantasy adventure of their own that spans the ages in the future.

The Mongolian cavalry never reached Western Europe. At most, Batu Khan's partial division accidentally entered the edge villages of the Shinra sphere of influence.

But the Mongolian cavalry mounted horses whose ancestral breeds could run further.

The cavalry of the Avars has arrived at the eastern border of Frankia and entered the Thuringia region. At that time, it was still the period of Charlemagne. The Frankish kingdom had strong troops and horses to conquer the east and west. The great king did not allow any enemy to challenge or destroy his hegemony. .

Frankish troops riding Roman horses defeated the Avars riding Turkic horses in Thuringia, forcing the latter to surrender and pay tribute in 805.

That was nearly forty years ago.

So many things have changed in forty years!

The Franks under Charlemagne were glorious for a while, but his death and his rule ceased, especially as the powerful army he created was declining at the speed of a falcon.

The Avars, who were defeated and recognized at that time, have not regained their former strength. Competitors from all walks of life, especially the Hungarians who came from afar, have eroded their power.

In the past twenty years, a trend has been brewing in the far north. People who speak Norse from all walks of life hope that a hero who believes in Odin will emerge. They hope that this man will lead the northerners to get rid of the control of the Franks. If the North achieves a kind of unity, it must at least eliminate disputes.

The Danish leader Hafgen did this. This man was the king elected by the Danish lords large and small after expelling their "Frankish agents", but this era does not belong to Hafgen.

Rus was born, and a new northern kingdom emerged - everything was like the Franks during the Merovingian Dynasty growing from small to huge.

Now, Rurik decided to lead a large army directly to Hamburg in the Principality of Saxony, and then continue to march from here, officially intervening in the Frankish Civil War in the name of King Rus.

Even though the current era has greatly deviated from the past historical process, Rurik still focuses on the time node of 843.

He always felt that this must be the most critical node in the Frankish Civil War.

"If the two princes fight and decide the winner and sign a treaty privately to end the civil war, can I still reap huge benefits? If it is late, won't the expedition plan I have been preparing become a farce and attract the attention of the people across the country? Seize the time to reserve military supplies, wouldn’t the huge investment be in vain?!”

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Thinking of these, a strong sense of urgency made Rurik feel that he must seize the time.

But before the advance, some matters after the Smolensk War still needed to be arranged.

Fortunately, the strategic arrangement has already been implemented, and what is needed now is Rurik's certification.

On January 7, 843 in the Julian calendar, Rurik deliberately selected this day for the expeditionary force to begin its special return journey.

This is Christmas in the Russian calendar, but it is not popular at the moment. It is just an ordinary day in January. Now its special feature is only reflected in the withdrawal of the main force of the army.

The once bustling Gniezdovo quickly became deserted. As the local residents were either killed or taken away as slaves, with the departure of the occupying forces, the entire altar area fell into deathly silence. Only those along the Svinets River were destroyed. In the tomb, countless ghosts whose peace has been broken are wailing miserably.

"Listen, it's a ghost crying."

"I don't think so, it's just the sound of wind."

"What if they are ghosts? We dug up their graves and took away all the gems that were buried with them."

"It doesn't matter, I will kill the enemy. If there is a ghost standing in front of me, I will still kill him again with my sword. In this way, the damn ghost can only wander around the underworld and never want to go to Asgard... …”

The warriors on horseback chatted with each other. Many people did have lingering concerns about the large-scale destruction of tombs. As they left Gniezdovo and headed towards the Orsha camp, this concern dissipated as the space changed. .

A new city is created from scratch!

The people staying in Orsha have quickly assembled a windproof wooden wall for the initial camp. At first glance, it looks like a strong city standing in the snow beside the river.

The city of Orsha did not stand on the ground in early 843. She was actually located on the north-south transportation line of the traditional route of the Amber Road. The existence of this road means that businessmen from Kiev and Pecheneg do not need to make a temporary detour to Smolensk, but the long journey really requires a relay station. The rise of Orsha City will definitely change the traffic situation greatly.

It is obvious that the Pecheneg allies who escorted this large number of prisoners of war admired this city, and Quetzal and Nurg decided to station personnel here.

The prisoners they selected were all young adults, especially young Slavic female prisoners with childbirth experience. These women were properly taken care of and were not mistreated in terms of warmth and food. The attitude of the Pechenegs was very straightforward. , they must safely arrive at the large camp at the far estuary of the Volga River, properly hand it over to Khan Kagan, and then be bought by his tribe at a public auction.

These women are important rewards given to the guests on the grassland. After all, the population of the twelve tribes of the Pecheneg people in the current era is still too small. In order to get women who can safely give birth to children, they dare to do all kinds of ruthless things, just to avoid being Other grassland forces were eliminated.

So Rurik stood at the mouth of the frozen Orshacha River.

To the south is the Dnieper River flowing quietly under the ice, and to the north along the Orshacha River it takes up to three days to return to Vitebsk.

With a large number of reindeer sleds pulling a large amount of loot, the army could no longer maintain the same high speed as it was marching. The soldiers became the escorts of the trophies. In order to ensure the safety of these supplies, everyone had to be more cautious.

It also depends on the mentality of the warrior. No matter whether he is young or middle-aged, a warrior after victory cannot continue to tighten his nerves. Besides, why should we continue to tense up? Didn’t everyone win?

The whole army subconsciously had to delay the pace, so Rurik was actually not in a hurry, because it was useless to be anxious.

His western expedition will inevitably involve the navy, and the navy will be the main force. By then, the Russian army's strongest battleship, the Sea Monarch, will leave the ice-filled Kronstadt anchorage as early as April and lead the fleet away. Gulf of Finland.

It's only January now, and there are still at least a hundred days before the official Western Expedition.

During these hundred days, the army that had won the expedition could take a leisurely stroll. Now that the army has arrived in Orsha, it is necessary to take some rest and eat a few hot meals.

Here, Rurik also had to say a temporary farewell to some friends...