Chapter 1,338 King Rus Marches Into Riga and the Strange Blockers
After a short march, the main force of the Russian army returned to the Vitebsk Fortress where the war started.
The recent snowfall has further covered up the trauma of the war, and there are still thousands of dead bodies under the snow. The dead are as hard as stones, and they are all reduced to slightly raised shapes in the snow.
It is laborious to clean up these corpses immediately. The dead are integrated with the frozen earth. Everything has to be removed during the muddying season in the beginning of spring. All these tasks have become the work of the local garrison in Vitebsk.
The Russian army returned with a large amount of trophies. It must be said that there are a lot of strange treasures in the powerful Rus. The luxuries the army plundered from Smolensk were nothing more than some gems. Among all the trophies, the largest and most pragmatic ones were That's food.
The food in the warehouses of the noble houses was swept away, and the victors divided it, and most of it became the rations of the Russian army.
People ate horse chews all the way back, and the most captured oats were being consumed in large quantities.
A victory would not mean that the 5,000-strong army would be able to obtain enough food to consume for half a year. Rurik had to face the logistical pressure of land operations.
Completely different from the large-scale naval operations that the Ross Army was accustomed to in the past, the soldiers basically appeared in the form of "Marines". Whether it was naval battles or inland river operations, military operations relied heavily on water. This makes the Russian army extremely mobile and also saves a lot of food considerations.
Now, war horses must be fed to maintain sufficient combat effectiveness. The ground is covered with ice and snow. Such an environment is not a problem for the reindeer herds. They are very good at pushing aside the snow and eating dead grass under the snow, but war horses lack this ability.
In Vitebsk, the entire army was camped on a flat area.
Taking the opportunity, Rurik looked at all the sleighs that had unloaded the reindeer and made an assessment of the remaining food.
The sun shines brightly on the world, and people who stay outdoors put on wooden-framed sunglasses to protect their eyes despite the extreme cold in January.
The reconstruction and expansion of Vitebsk has not yet begun, and in the longer term, I am afraid that there will not be a lot of people living here.
It is by no means that the geographical conditions of this place are not good. On the contrary, its location is very important to Ross. The surrounding environment of this fortress at the transportation hub is actually very suitable for grazing and reclamation. Its current disadvantage lies precisely in the primitive nature of the fortress. It was damaged by the war just after it was developed, and is far inferior to the already developed and mature Polota River area located downstream of it.
Nine out of ten locals in Polotsk died due to the destruction of the war, and the remaining survivors were basically moved to Vitebsk - after all, this is the only nearest settlement to ensure the survival of the refugees this winter.
Polotsk became a place name concept, the ruins of the old settlement could be torn down and rebuilt, and its political center gave way to the new Polotsk fortress built by the Rus' Principality of Ostara.
The air was filled with the aroma of cooking wheat, and some people dug holes in the ice and released fishing lines to catch some seabass from the frozen West Dvina River and then grilled them in the camp. Boiled oats are accompanied by fish. Soldiers like this kind of food even without salt. However, the Russian army is not short of salt. Salt or deliberately pickled salted fish are military food reserves with the same status as grains.
The food for the soldiers is still good, and Rurik, who is currently staying temporarily in the Vitebsk inner city fortress, is living in an even better situation.
There are two "Valkyries" by her side, Carlotta and Bejasil, but in front of their men, they no longer have the killing prowess on the battlefield, but all the charm of women.
Childbirth is the greatest obligation of female nobles in this era.
This is the same even for Viking women who also take care of fighting. For these two female nobles, their characteristics as women and their status and titles determine that they cannot borrow seeds from other men.
Of course, the tough Russian women can do this, but the boys they give birth to are "bastards" and will not be executed, but they can only live as common people and slaves, and they are almost not even qualified to become warriors. The wonderful thing is that girls born in this way are different. Girls will be accepted by the original family, but such girls will live as slave girls.
Overall, the Rus and other Viking tribes were socially unhappy.
I welcome this kind of thing, but it's not an extreme rejection.
Considering their lofty status and face, the second daughter wanted more children to consolidate her power, so she had to ask for them from Rurik. For Rurik, he was not only happy to see this kind of joy that came from the depths of his soul, but also understood that keeping the female military nobles under his command busy with pregnancy and childcare was a disguised form of powerful control over his feudal country.
Now that the Smolensk problem has been solved, it is necessary for Rus to standardize rule in the east.
The other nobles and generals were too interested to interfere with the "tough" private life of the king and the two female nobles.
Nobles chatting in private and telling dirty jokes is something that everyone likes to see.
The whole army will have another long rest in Vitebsk, and then the army will be dismantled again.
A strong and warm longhouse in the inner city. It was originally one of the dormitories of the defenders. Since it is spacious enough, since the Datongpu can sleep more than twenty people side by side, it can also meet the needs of a group of nobles for meetings.
The main berth was in double rows, with Rurik sitting alone on one side and the other nobles attending the meeting sitting on the other side.
Everyone has basically learned about the army's next action plan, and now they are here to listen to the king's official arrangements.
Rurik cleared his throat vigorously and sighed deeply.
"This war started in Vitebsk. The war has come to an end. We have returned to the starting point of this war. I think you will feel a sense of sadness now that you are quiet and look back on the past few months, or even the past ten years. Caused by something.
Vadim was finally dead, and hostile Smolensk ceased to exist. This force that has always threatened the Yin Ermen Lake area has disappeared, and our territory of Rus has completely expanded to the Dnieper River.
So, what should we do next? "
Rurik paused deliberately to give everyone a chance to express their opinions.
But do you have any special opinions? Everyone present was praising the greatness of the war going south. What else could they do about the future? Naturally, it’s just life as usual.
"What do you think? Medvet." Rurik mentioned his brother-in-law's name in particular: "You are the representative of the entire Yilmen Slavs. Since ancient times, you have had a hostile relationship with Smolensk in the south. What about now? Is the hatred still there?”
"Hehe. What's the point of hatred?" Medvet said with a cheerful smile: "If we bring the news of victory back, the whole Yin Ermen Lake will be shocked. In my opinion, those ordinary people living in Smolensk It’s nothing, the key lies in those nobles, those are the ones who started all wars. The hostile nobles were eradicated by us, burned to ashes and turned into smoke by us, and the hatred disappeared like these dissipated smoke.”
"That's good." Rurik continued to speak freely: "I hope that in the future you will not discriminate against the survivors in the south. You must understand that if you only rely on the power of Yin Ermen Slav, you will not be able to defeat Smolensk, or even The White Tree Manor where you were born is still suppressed by that guy Vadim. It’s me! It’s us Ross. It was Ross who changed everything. Only Ross can conquer everywhere in this area.”
"I. I understand."
"You must also understand." Rurik emphasized again. Considering that his tone was a little harsh, he softened his attitude slightly: "So, your Slavic flag unit will not participate in the military expedition to Frank."
[In view of the general environment,
Hearing this, Medved felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but after considering his status and situation, he could only nod his head in agreement.
Rurik continued: "Don't even participate in the next action with your army. The Slavic Army and the Ostara Army will return north, and I will continue to march towards the Gulf of Riga with the main force of the Russian Army."
Having said that, Rurik also looked at his Carlotta and said formally: "Duke Ostara."
"Huh?" Carlotta raised her head abruptly, and for a moment she thought it was not her who was calling.
"You can continue to stay in Vitebsk temporarily, or you can take your army back to Velikiy Luki or Novoostara. I'm sorry, but I won't take you on the journey to Riga.
"
"This... I still want to come with you." Carlotta bit her lip because she didn't want to be absent prematurely.
"It's been arranged like this, and I won't allow you to question it. Besides, your Principality of Ostara is very fragile. Now terminate your military operations. Think about Karl, she is still the girl newly made by this king. Maybe..."
Rurik thought for a while, slapped his thigh and said: "The king will return to the capital and Novgorod, and the return journey he chooses will be a little special. You go back before Medvet, and this time you specially bring Va Dim’s head must be dedicated to our old king Otto, and then Vadim’s head should be displayed throughout the entire lake area.”
Medved had no objections. He was very happy to be the escort of the head.
Seeing this, Carlotta rubbed her legs uneasily and unwillingly, biting her lips and had no choice but to agree to Rurik's arrangement.
Another female aristocrat present, Beyashil, the steppe princess who was named Countess Demyansk, continued to enjoy the opportunity to be alone with the king.
Envy is true envy, what can I do? Carlotta only had to suppress the extreme feeling in her heart and silently hope: "My sister, you must give Rurik another boy. This is your chance."
The biggest disadvantage of the prairie princess Bejasil is that she currently has a nominal fiefdom but does not even have tribesmen - in the future, men and women will be taken from the villages of Yin Ermen Lake and moved to the Yavon River Basin to build cities and settle there.
She also has the huge advantage of having fifty experienced steppe cavalry under her command. Khan Kagan gave his little sister a dowry, the most generous part of which was this group of slave-riding warriors.
With this elite army at his side, Rurik had to look up to Beyahil, and of course she herself was worthy of being a hero among women.
The Russian army was divided into large groups in Vitebsk, and its combat strength was suddenly reduced by as many as 1,300 people.
Because the war was won, the shortcut to Novgorod now is to start from this fortress and head all the way north, find the frozen Lovady River and then march along the river. Those Novgorod people who personally brought sleds to help Rurik fight in the war were considered militia during the war. Now that the war is over, they are eager to go home with their loot.
If there had not been this winter war, these people would have taken their goods and driven their own reindeer sleighs to the capital to make a fortune. He gave up going to the capital and took the risk to join the war. Such a life-threatening behavior brought huge benefits. When they think that these money and materials are not placed at home, they are afraid of losing them, or that the tough warriors will suddenly "requisition" their belongings in anger.
As a result, the strength of the Russian army was reduced by one-third!
As a veteran governor and the king's brother-in-law, Medvet's position ensured sufficient actual power when Rurik was away. Medvet already had the ability to lead a large army to fight alone, so it was logical for him to lead the troops to escort a large amount of supplies back to Novgorod.
One sunny day, the main force of the Russian army led by Rurik personally began their first march into the Gulf of Riga.
With four cavalry flag corps and four infantry flag corps, as well as all the reinforcements from the Gulf of Riga that survived until the war, the total strength of the group is still 3,000.
Young people who have experienced the first war in their lives have the most perfect coming-of-age ceremony as descendants of Ross. Everyone also knows that this war actually became a selection of various flag teams. Who has the honor of joining the king in the expedition to Frank? Maybe it's you, maybe it's me. Perhaps, all four flag teams.
At least all the cavalry knew that they would appear in the Frankish world.
This is not something that everyone needs to consider at the moment. The Gulf of Riga and the city of Riga, as well as the large and small Latvian villages, and even some forces that live there but have not affiliated to Russia and have never met each other, are all studied in the textbooks. After a moment or two, now we will actually be involved in it and achieve practice.
This was too novel an action for Rurik. His map of the Gulf of Riga was undoubtedly correct, but he lacked understanding of the specific local political ecology. At least two local powerful men, Spyut and Stekander, were in the military and could spread the word.
Of course Rurik prefers seeing to be believed, and he also knows that he doesn't have to wait long.
The army of three thousand people marched towards Riga in a mighty manner. The whole army was lined up neatly. Under the sun were blue and white hunting flags. The horses and reindeer were breathing heavily in the mist. The cavalry and all the infantry soldiers sitting on the sleds kept a fast pace. The marching speed is about thirty kilometers a day.
It has been some time since the winter solstice. In the lower reaches of the West Dvina River at high latitudes, the lengthening of daylight hours can also be felt by the soldiers.
In just three months, the daylight hours can be restored from just over six hours to twelve hours equinoxed between day and night. Evenly divided into each day, the daylight hours can increase by more than ten minutes every day on a clear day.
On the fifth day after setting off, Rurik's army arrived at Polotsk, which had been reduced to ruins.
As for the Novopolotsk Fortress, because it also suffered war damage and has been strategically evacuated, it has become an empty fortress with no materials stored in it and only some dilapidated residences.
The Polotsk settlement will soon be rebuilt, and people from the north and west will build new communities. For Stekander, who is of Danish descent, he plans to return to Riga to organize immigration.
At least the ruins can withstand the wind and cold, and the main body of the army is camped in the fortress area.
Of course, there were a large number of corpses integrated into the ice lying on the frozen river, and even the shore was full of dead people. People have seen foxes and wolves quietly moving around, and even the phantom of a polar bear. These beasts fled very quickly when they saw an approaching army, even if they were busy eating dead bodies.
Everyone has seen the battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and no one is timid even if there are only corpses near the camp.
All those whose bodies could be recovered have been buried, and some of the war dead have been cremated and reduced to ashes.
Rurik didn't like the chilly feeling here, so the whole army stayed in Novopolotsk for a whole day and then set off again.
This time, the entire army will not take a long rest, but plans to go all the way to the mouth of the West Dvina River.
According to the very few Latvian soldiers in the army, as long as they leave the past territory of the Polotsk people, the name of the river should be based on the name shared by all Baltic tribes, that is, the Daugava River.
However, an unexpected situation occurred.
"Your Majesty, there are enemies ahead!" The returning vanguard scout reported urgently to Rurik on horseback.
Sending a group of cavalry as scouts to explore the road during the march is really an excellent tactic, and now its superiority has been proven once again.
Rurik was surprised, weren't there any enemies here? Where did the enemy come from?
Fisk held the reins and rode his horse closer to Rurik: "Your Majesty, since an enemy has appeared, give me a task. I will lead a strong force to destroy them."
"Don't act rashly. This matter... I feel very strange."
Rurik immediately summoned Stekander, who was wrapped in thick leather and embarrassed by sitting on the sled for so long, to get some insights.
Taking off his thick hat, Stekander was instantly refreshed by the cold.
What else could he say to the king's question?
"I do not know!"
"I don't know? It shouldn't be. Aren't there people in this area who have not yet surrendered? Who dares to block the road?"
Stekander hurriedly looked at the surrounding terrain, saw the snowy mounds here, and thought about it again: "Maybe it was a sneak attack by the Semigalians."
"Them? Not necessarily." At this time, Spyut, who was dressed like a bear, walked clumsily and cautiously across the ice. "The Semigalians are elusive. I have never seen any sneak attacks by these guys in Riga. .”
"What if there is a sneak attack this time? They have done it before." Stekander confirmed.
It seems that the answer has been determined, Rurik nodded: "That is the Semigalian. Anyway, since you dare to challenge me, then don't blame me for being cruel."
"Wait a minute!" Stekander still felt something was wrong. He knew exactly what the king wanted. "Your Majesty. Maybe it's someone else."
"Who else can be so bold? It doesn't matter. If you dare to block the road and form an array, you are asking for death.
. "
"Maybe a Theron."
"What kind of guy is that?"
"Some people who live in the mountains." Stekander also lacks understanding of the close relatives of this Latvian tribe, but he has a clear understanding of its strength - it is very weak, so weak that the alliance between the Latvian and Danish communities is too lazy to take the initiative. The Long tribe was drawn into their own system.
"This is strange." Rurik frowned slightly: "Are they Seron people? If they are, they are either too stupid or really brave. Forget it, no matter who it is, anyone who dares to block my way will Damn it! Let’s move on! Fisk!”
"exist."
"Lead your cavalry and charge over. Remember, make sure our troops don't suffer casualties and try to capture those alive."
"Follow your orders!" Fisk flicked his whip and stretched out his hand to greet his men. Under the guidance of the scout cavalry, three hundred of the most elite cavalry rushed towards the Daugava River in the direction of the mountainous area, and soon disappeared around the bend of the river. pine forest.