Chapter 1,341 The New City of Irpils and the County of Thron

,!

This is something Ilbert cannot understand. The conqueror is actually giving food to the conquered!

But it just happened.

The place where the sled stopped was bustling with activity, and Rurik organized some people to unload the linen sacks filled with wheat.

Fisk really saw freshly how much dignity those Seron people had, and they were worthy of King Ross himself sending food to them.

He hurriedly approached Rurik, who was supervising his men to move, and asked with a sad look on his face: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? Should you really give them food?"

"Yes. I have made up my mind, so I will give them some." Rurik, who picked up his waist, spoke very forcefully.

Fisk couldn't help but glance at the ragged locals with disdain on his face: "They...are they worthy?"

"You. Look down on them, right?"

"right."

There was a strange meaning in the king's eyes. Fisk thought about it again and still maintained his idea: "It is already a great mercy that we did not destroy them. They have not done us any merit. The king does not need to give any reward. Even, we We should get some tribute from them. Unless... the king is kind-hearted."

"Just think of it as my kindness." Rurik shook his head and urged his men to unload a whole sled bag.

Even sacks made of burlap were a treasure. The Russian army got them from the old nobles of Smolensk and left with the food.

The warriors hauled as many as twenty sacks of grain, each weighing about half a man.

Maybe a hundred pounds of oats were stuffed into a sack. Giving them two thousand pounds of wheat would indeed be considered a huge gift.

After all, the whole village including young children and babies

The population was less than five hundred, and giving them two thousand pounds of wheat would be enough to sustain this group of people for a long time.

Ilbert and his tribe were dumbfounded as the tall Varyag warriors dragged heavy sacks on the snow and piled the sacks, said to be full of grain, into a mound one after another.

The tall Rurik stood by the mound with great interest. Behind him were the majestic Russian soldiers, and in front of him were a group of hungry Seron villagers.

"Great King Rus, is this... all food?" Ilbert asked weakly with a trembling voice.

"Of course!" As the sword wind buzzed, Rurik, after drawing his sword, stabbed his plump pocket with an arrow. When the sword was drawn out again, a layer of yellow-white oatmeal was already covered on the bleeding trough.

He pointed the sword at Ilbert, deliberately displaying strong arrogance and compassion. "Look, isn't there wheat here?"

"Ah! It's really wheat."

Seeing that King Rus was not joking and seeing the real wheat, the villagers moved forward almost instinctively. They were frightened by the power of the Rus army and did not dare to go any further.

Rurik flicked his sword casually, and the wheat grains from the bleeding trough were scattered on the snow.

Ilbert was stunned by such a wasteful act. You must know that in order to obtain more food, during the harvest season, men cut wheat in front, while women and children hunched behind, searching for any scattered grains with absolutely sharp eyes. Wheat ears. They couldn't see anyone wasting food. Since King Rus was so extravagant, maybe it was true as he said: Rus didn't know what hunger was.

That is indeed Rurik's boastful statement based on the current situation of the kingdom. Twenty years ago, Rus

Tribes also often face winter hunger.

Time has passed, and the young soldiers of the Ross army who came here on the expedition have grown up with the continuous rise of Ross. The young soldiers really do not know what hunger is, and they have no sense of the king's waste of food.

So, Rurik pointed his sword at the food in front of him again: "It's all yours! How you want to divide it is up to you. Because your surrender deserves this reward. Don't you...kneel down to thank me?"

The words were spoken in Norse, and Ilbert, who heard it clearly, hurriedly directed his people. They all knelt down and bowed their heads in unison. To the Russian soldiers who were watching the show, it looked like the king was training a dog.

In fact, this is a matter of everyone getting what they need.

The local villagers are in urgent need of a batch of food to survive the future spring famine, while the Rus warriors like the sense of honor of being a victor and a noble one.

Rurik thought it was a good deal to use twenty bags of plundered food to meet the needs of both parties.

And that’s not how the account was calculated.

He believes that people have similar minds. When people are poor, they have to find ways to survive, which would be extremely self-interested. And when people become rich, they will have more ideas and do some seemingly altruistic behaviors, but in fact they are also for better self-interest in the future.

The Seron tribe can provide some support and become a buffer zone between Riga and Polotsk.

Rurik prides himself on not being able to consider the future that is too far away, but in the fringes of his core area, he supports a group of trivial people who do not threaten the security of the core and must rely on the economic interests of the core to live. vassal strength, in the next half century,

Time is extremely important to Ross.

As for a hundred years from now, who knows?

"Can I still borrow five hundred years of life from the gods?"

The children in this village feasted for the first time until their stomachs were hard, and the other villagers had a full meal after getting the food.

Ilbert has a grandson and a granddaughter. He could have had more grandchildren, but these two survived. The grandson's name is Vitnis and the granddaughter's name is Costis. They are a brother and sister. Their age difference is only two years. Even so, the oldest boy is only eight years old.

An eight-year-old boy with a poor life, he looked too thin, and his sister's condition was even worse.

No, Ilbert quickly convinced his son and daughter-in-law, and approached Rurik, King of Rus, holding a pair of granddaughters in each hand with a slightly solemn face.

"Your Majesty, these are my two grandsons."

Rurik looked down at the two children who were too thin. There was endless innocence on the children's faces. It seemed that the two of them didn't know what was happening.

"Are they indeed your grandchildren?" Rurik asked.

"Yes, I don't dare to lie."

"Can you two speak our Norse language?"

"No, but you can learn."

"Okay." Rurik shrugged: "I will accept the child, but not now. I am merciful. You can spend some more time to comfort your son. Listen, I will ensure the safety of the two children in the future. , and will also give them the opportunity to return to your village to visit relatives. After all, it is very close to Riga, and the king’s largest city is not far from Riga.”

"Oh, thank you so much for your kindness, Your Majesty." After saying that, Ilbert hurriedly pressed the heads of the two children and made them kneel down.

The children were obviously reluctant to come to thank him.

"I'll spare you the big gift. You've already knelt too much today. The king still has requirements for you. Next, it's time for you to send envoys to each village to report the news."

"Yes, I understand!" Ilbert patted his chest and said with a heart: "I am the servant of King Rus, and the other villages. I will tell them that there are benefits to surrender, and they will die if they don't obey."

"Yes, you'd better take action tomorrow. I will stay in your village. I won't go to your meeting hall. I will be in your village. This is the new meeting hall."

Ilbert wasn't quite sure of the profound meaning of King Ross's specific description, so he had no choice but to admit it for the time being.

What if some tribes launch sneak attacks out of nervousness? What if we get deep into the hilly area and suddenly encounter a snowstorm, causing the army to suffer meaningless losses?

Their ordinary villages looked shabby, and their public council houses must have been equally bad.

Why would Ross have to accommodate their poor construction? Why doesn't the noble king build a city himself, build a wooden shed by the river himself, and call it a brand new meeting place?

Rurik thought further. He planned to plan a future new city for the Seron people, which would also be the core of their rule.

His plan to ennoble Ilbert as an earl (described as "war chief" in Norse) is no joke. Other village leaders who are interested in joining will also be ennobled, that is, boyars (equivalent to barons).

The Ross army that entered the village spent a very peaceful night here with the local Theron people.

The next day, the messenger arranged by Ilbert got on the village's reindeer sleigh and headed towards the neighboring village.

body

As the leader, he cannot be idle, because King Rus has a new arrangement, and it is also a wonderful arrangement.

All active farmers were organized, and the Russian army also separated a group of young and strong boys. A joint team built a new city at the riverside fishing camp where they first met each other. In other words, it is to build a large longhouse with a strong traditional Viking style, and then use it as the core to build a fortress protected by walls.

A new riverside settlement was built, and Rurik even thought of a name for it, naming it Irpils after Ilbert.

The name of the new settlement follows the local custom, and the suffix pils is consistent with the nature of the burg used by the Russians.

It is difficult to go from zero to one. This area has never had a formal large settlement with the potential to become a city. Without external intervention, I am afraid that a city will not emerge here for a long time.

As the pine stakes that determined the supports of the longhouse were driven into the soft mud under the snow, the Seron tribe's first city began, and their isolated "pastoral life" also entered history.

Because, the newly born Ilpils is located in a very delicate geographical location.

When the spring wandering ends and the Daugava-Sidvina River resumes navigation, when people in Riga learn that Smolensk has been pacified and Kiev is a commercial ally, then the inland shipping to Rome and the entire Amber Road The security threats on traditional routes have also been greatly alleviated, which will inevitably attract more heroes to decide to try their luck.

At that time, the Seron people of Ilpils can provide some supplies for these merchant ships.

Daily services include but are not limited to providing food, precious wood, and precious animal skins in exchange for some key daily necessities.

It is even a more extreme act of borrowing seeds.

The Seron tribe has similar needs to many people in Eastern and Northeastern Europe. Although I don't know why, if harmless travelers from outside can have a relationship with women of their own tribe, the vitality of the children born in this way seems to be more tenacious.

The villagers of Ilbert set their sights on some young and strong Ross boys. When some women kept making gestures with their hands to explain their intentions, the young warriors often dismissed them.

joke! There are a lot of beautiful girls in Novgorod. How many young people would look up to the short wild women here?

Naturally, there are also bold people who are dragged into the dark "cave" by local women, either out of their own conscience or instigated by their companions.

What are they going to do? Rurik already understood but acquiesced in this behavior.

But... regarding this matter, the Ross Army did not have a high degree of self-control.

Even Ilbert deliberately encouraged his people to do it. He was really worried that if he didn't serve this group of Rus people well, and if he angered the Rus king, everyone would still suffer losses in the end. How to further declare his surrender, he had no choice but to come up with this. This was the only thing he could think of.

Things did not take a bad turn, nor did the relationship between men and women quickly become a melting pot of nations.

On the whole, the Ross army was indifferent to Seron, and the army was happy to camp and rest in the riverside area. After all, for most soldiers, it is the same whether they camp in the Gulf of Riga or in this newly built city.

Most of the soldiers were passers-by. At most, after resting for a few days in Riga and getting a batch of supplies, everyone still had to groping on a sled to the legendary Pskov.

Rurik thought he would have to wait for many days, but he only waited for two full days in the busy new city under construction. Leaders of distant villages arrived one after another.

Those people all learned about the threat conveyed by Ilbert. The leaders had been afraid of Ross until the Russians suddenly took over the hegemony of Riga. Now that King Ross has come and made arrangements, everyone dare not disobey.

The riverside meeting hall has not yet been closed, and here, Rurik meets with as many as twenty village leaders in a high-profile manner.

But when it comes to the Seron tribe, the reason why they have not developed a single village to gain hegemony is because the strength of each village is actually quite average. The largest village has only 700 people at its entrance, so it cannot crush the other villages in terms of strength. Besides, intermarriage is taking place in every village, and each village has a large-scale fraternity relationship, which makes each other even more exclusive and exclusive.

It is precisely for this reason that they who voluntarily avoid contact with the outside world inevitably fall into the cycle of recent marriage, which objectively becomes the reason for the higher infant mortality rate.

At least those who survived had absolutely no genetic defects that would affect their lives. After nature's cruel selection, the Seron people maintained a difficult life with a low population.

How much can we talk to these Theron village chiefs?

Looking at their eyes, it was obvious that they were deeply shocked by the might of the Ross army.

Indeed, the Ross cavalry deliberately formed a formation on the ice, and the infantry soldiers rushed to put on round shields and build a wall with the shields. Many wooden poles were erected along the riverside. They

The Ross flag was temporarily hoisted.

So the soldiers lined up, and there were blue and white hunting flags everywhere. The leader who had never seen the world was so frightened that he took it for granted.

Things become easy.

Rurik faced them like a giant appearing in the world. He was dressed gorgeously but not powerful, and his pure golden hair was crowned with a golden laurel.

He deliberately let the winter sunshine shine on himself, so his chainmail shone brightly in the sunlight, and he completely became a great hero in myths and legends - he was indeed the King of Heroes.

On the other hand, the leaders who were allowed to sit and listen were like savages who wrapped their messy leather coats roughly around their bodies to protect themselves from the cold. They judged who was noble and who was low.

Rurik gave orders in Norse, and beside him stood a Latvian warrior who thought he was submissive. This man temporarily acted as an interpreter.

"From now on, you Seron people will submit to Rus! I am the king of Rus, and I canonize Ilbert as a war chief (count), and the others sitting here are boyars (equivalent to barons). You will because of you I surrendered and gained safety, your village flew my flag, and no one dared to harm you from now on.

From now on, the land under your feet will be called Ilpears, and it will be the first city of your country, Seron. You have never had a leader in the past, but your leader now is Ilbert, and your future leader will be his grandson Vitnis.

All of you, give me at least one of your young sons or grandsons as a hostage. I will treat them well, educate them a lot, give them enough food and comfortable clothes. In the future, this child will inherit your respective positions. "

Nothing else

It was important. Rurik particularly emphasized this point, and the village leaders bowed down and agreed due to the importance of the Ross military.

Simply using the big to bully the small will naturally gain the fear of the conquered. Ilbert has tasted the sweetness of surrender, and his attitude towards Ross has completely changed. This is not the case for other leaders. Currently, they only have awe of Ross.

So Rurik gave each village a batch of grain, which was just one sack per village.

The highlight is later. They are actually inferior hand axes captured from the Smolensk people. A large number of them are made of wrought iron. Unfortunately, ordinary people in Russia are now trying to replace them with carbon steel tools. They are familiar with the past era. Iron products are no longer disdainful.

What the Rus regard as commonplace, the Seron people will regard as an example.

A batch of boring iron tools that were originally captured were to be used as special ores to be remelted directly into the furnace. If they were of good quality, they would have been taken away by friendly forces as trophies. What is left to be remelted now are just rusty and inferior items.

Throw debris to the Seron people, at least it is iron!

This has never happened before. Could a Varangian named Rus give a gift?

The village leader who came to the meeting decisively took it. Although he was not completely willing to follow Rurik's lead, most of the nervousness and fear he felt when they first met has now dissipated.

The village leaders have never resented Ilbert, a fellow villager in his hometown. From now on, this fellow villager who can speak Norse will be the leader, and at least he can speak to the Rus' people.

All the local nobles of the Seron people are here. Their agreement with the Kingdom of Ross means the surrender of the entire Seron tribe.

Everything unfolds in a calm and harmonious atmosphere

During the process of opening and closing, contact and subjugation, there were no casualties on either side.

From the beginning of 843, Rurik easily defeated Seron, and the kingdom of Seron was merged into the territory of the Kingdom of Rus.