Chapter 1,391 Namesis, the Great Leader of Semigalia

Remember [new] in one second! The refugees, old and young, headed upstream along the Lielupe River. Those who rowed boats were faster, while more people could only resort to a pair of feet.

Their goal is very clear, and everyone is moving towards the city of Pasvalis upstream.

They fled in a hurry, most carrying only a few provisions. Thanks to the current mild climate, people who don’t have to worry about the cold winter can now walk a long way every day with just one pair of feet during the current period of extremely long daylight hours.

It was not unusual for the men to walk thirty kilometers a day, but there were not many middle-aged men in the team.

If these men were really brave, they should have stayed inside Mezot to fight the invading Rus' army, but they were not.

The Varyag army launched an attack and occupied all of Mezotne. This incident was brought back to the fleeing crowd along with the soldiers who had "caught the evening market". These people are considered brave, but when faced with the Varyag-Latvian coalition forces that they could never defeat with their own few hundred people, they had no choice but to take the prisoners who were beaten half to death to join the fleeing army.

Supporting the army was originally carried out by waterway. The rowers were the fastest and the first to realize that the situation was rotten to the core.

All supporting armies chose to retreat, and the efforts of these last Mezotene troops were not entirely without success.

Through the captured Latvian prisoners of war, they learned the details of the enemy-the army of the Kingdom of Rus.

More than that? More explosive information was also confessed by the prisoners, which shocked the refugees to speed up their escape.

King Rus? what is that? But when it comes to the forces that have flourished in the northern Varyag world in recent years, the knowledgeable people in Mezot are

I know a little bit about it from the mouths of Varangian merchants.

"The king of all the Varangians is coming? With the purpose of brutal killing?!"

People had to realize this because some Latvian militiamen who were so angry that their teeth fell out believed that they were destined to die. Before they died, they said cruelly: "The king of all Varyags, the great King Rus will bring unprecedented power to the people." The powerful army will destroy all your Semigalians."

How dare this man? Shouldn't a prisoner of war whose life is in the hands of his brothers beg for mercy? How dare you be so cruel? I'm afraid the truth is just as this man said.

There seems to be no use in defending! Even in the Semigalian understanding, the strong can have dominance over the weak. If two tribes fought, it would be very reasonable for one to wipe out the other.

Now, Semigalia has formed an alliance with its southwestern neighbor Okshtet. Semigalia, which has a larger population, has become the leader of the alliance. A country composed entirely of Baltic people is also slowly being built. .

In this era, the city of Bauska at the intersection of the two rivers did not exist. When the boating refugees traveled here, they had to make a choice.

The river on the left is the key southeastern boundary river between modern Latvia and Lithuania, and the river on the right is the upper reaches of the Lielupe River, which will extend into modern Lithuania.

The river on the left traces its upper reaches into a dense multi-lake forest. Only sporadic hunters will visit there, and an army of nearly ten thousand refugees will not seek shelter there.

The river on the right not only leads to the city of Paswalis, but also to a city named Shangzemi (

The villages and towns of Salociai in present-day Lithuania can provide spiritual comfort to the refugees.

Maybe, it is indeed just spiritual comfort...

The refugees did not think that a settlement with only a few hundred people could provide critical food and fish for a team that was ten times their size. Moreover, during the current summer famine, the locals were also planning carefully for the remaining food.

The boating refugees first arrived in their compatriots' villages and towns. The people who had been living a peaceful life never thought that the Varyag army would launch an attack. It was even more unbelievable that those villains destroyed the powerful Mezotny.

Out of good intentions, they provided some food to their northern compatriots who had arrived first. The refugees who had received supplies had stronger strength, and they continued to paddle towards the core city.

The refugees who arrived first also served as a reminder to their compatriots in villages and towns: "We are very grateful for your kindness, but there are thousands of people behind you. How much food do you have to meet their needs?"

At first, the people of Shangzemi paid no attention to this meaningful warning until a huge army of refugees appeared.

Women are holding children, men are supporting old people, and there are a large number of boats on the river.

They were all very hungry, and they all regarded Shangzemi Village as an important supply station.

Now the people in the village understood the meaning of the previous rowers' advice.

They were only willing to give charity when there was enough food. The number of refugees far exceeded theirs. Even though the village leaders were unprecedented in giving food to their northern compatriots with the overall situation in mind, after rescuing a few people, they found that their food depots were already in danger. .

Do you want to destroy yourself just to save the people of Mezotne?

Once relief is suspended, the

Full of anger began to form, and those who had not received supplies were angry at the injustice, and with their last strength, they decisively sent troops to grab food! Upon seeing this, those who had received some supplies saw that a commotion had occurred and joined in the chaos.

The initial relief was well-intentioned, but now, although the villages and towns of Shangzemi have not been burned to the ground by their northern compatriots, all their food reserves have been wiped out. After all, the refugees had to walk nearly 90 kilometers with only limited supplies. The women had to participate in the robbery even if it was not for themselves, but to prevent their children from starving to death.

The Upper Zemi people were plundered, and they had to join the damn refugee army and move towards the city of Pasvalis.

However, before this group of refugees arrived, the rowers had already surpassed all the refugees with prisoners of war as quickly as possible. They became the first people to arrive in the big city, just to personally report to the big leader the collapse of the north and the Varyags. massive invasion.

…

Today may be a normal summer day.

Today there is no rain and the climate is suitable. Due to the limited food production in farmland, the Semigalians living in Pasvalis have to rely on raising livestock and poultry as well as the key fishing and hunting to continue their lives.

The great leader Nameksis is the leader of this generation. He inherited the power of the family and also inherited the military power. Behind the ruling family stands the entire tribe. The family leader has absolute military power, and then relies on the power of the military to maintain the loyalty of the subordinate tribes, thereby ensuring that Semigalia is a whole.

A huge difference from those Latvians on the other side of the Daugava River is that the people living in Pas

The Semigalians of Wallis, the ruling family, have trained a cavalry.

It is definitely not like the Rus who have only started to train cavalry in the past ten years. They are located in Semigallia in the south. Their territory borders the Utvin people ().

In fact, more than 300 years ago, some Sarmatians who had been servants of the Hunnic Empire decided to move north after the collapse of the empire.

These people who also came from the grasslands brought Turkic horses and riding skills. They took refuge with the Utvin tribe living in the upper reaches of the Neman and West Bug rivers, which made the people here start raising horses and established a Baltic Man's original cavalry force.

Who are the Utvins? Their other name is Lithuania.

There was a dispute between Semigalia and Utvin over the control of the southern land. The two sides fought for peace but no annexation war broke out. The era of the great rise of the Utvin people has not yet come. They are not strong enough to stand in the world with the new name of Lithuania.

The Utvins sold a fleet of horses to the north in exchange for large amounts of grain.

However, the only people who could afford to ride horses were the rich families of Semigalia. The Okshtet people, who were also neighbors, only purchased a small number of horses. Only the Semigalian rulers of Pasvalis Families buy the most.

Even so, the largest cavalry force that the great leader Namsis could assemble was only two hundred cavalry.

The chiefs did not set up a special Bi Ma Wen, or perhaps because the Utvin chiefs were worried that their close relatives in the north would become big because of horses, they deliberately sold stallions and gelded them before selling them, and strictly prohibited the sale of mares.

This clearly shows that Semiga

The Leans are not allowed to breed their own horses, but what the leader Namsis wants is a mobile cavalry unit that can take orders from others so that he can patrol his territory. The big leader had no intention of sending troops to invade his neighbors. This was also to prevent his neighbors from becoming tense due to the expansion of Semigalia's military strength, so he had no plans to continue to expand his cavalry.

With nothing to do today, Namsis mounted his beloved mount and summoned a group of subordinates, who once again patrolled around the huge Pasvalis settlement on horseback.

The nearby forest has been cleared in ancient times, the riverside area has long been transformed into fertile farmland, and a large number of villages have gathered here.

Those dead ancestors were not only buried in the ground, but the people piled stones neatly out of the stone walls of the tombs, and finally the entire tomb was covered with stones. The stones are almost all limestone, making the white tombs stand out.

Because the natural environment has changed dramatically from Latvia north of the Daugava River. There is a lack of stone there, and there are some stone mines under the soil here. Limestone and muscovite are easy to dig, so the city of Pasvalis Not only are there a large number of wooden buildings, the big leader Namsis simply lives in a stone and wood castle.

Although there is no wall surrounding the entire city of Pasvalis, the residence of the chief family is located in the core of the city. It is already a castle protected by stone walls.

The only Semigalian cavalry is bathed in the soft summer breeze under the leadership of the leader. Cavalry parades have become an important way for the leader to show off his power. He will also lead the cavalry to go around the territory of the Okshtet tribe. , drinking and eating meat with the leader over there, thus

It proves that the Okshtet people are dependent on their own tribe.

However, a group of hurried boats appeared on the river today.

Namsis, who was taking a nap on the grass by the river, squinted his eyes and noticed something strange. He stood up nimbly by beating a carp - he was a young and powerful leader after all.

The leaders of the cavalry guarding themselves had already mounted their horses, but a ship suddenly docked, and some armed men with axes and broad-bladed swords in their waists jumped out. These people were coming towards the horses gnawing grass.

"Stop! Who are you? If you don't stop, we will attack!" Some cavalrymen immediately shouted.

Soon, the big leader got on his horse, and more than fifty cavalry lined up on the wall. They all showed their spears, and the spearheads were all pointed at those who came ashore.

Suddenly, the running people knelt down one after another, and with this humble gesture, they completely eliminated the imminent battle.

Namsis slammed the spear on the grass, tilted his head slightly and asked politely: "I almost killed you as gangsters. Tell me! Where did you idiots come from? What are your intentions?"

One of the kneelers before, a man with a gray beard, knelt straight and immediately cried out: "Roklo! Our leader Roklo has been killed by the Varangians!"

The old guy didn't really cry, he just acted extremely sad. This performance combined with what he claimed was enough to surprise Namsis.

"What did you say?!"

"Big leader! Our leader... Luo Luota! He is dead!" the old man continued to cry.

"Dead? Isn't that guy alive and kicking? He even married my daughter. I still remember his glowing face at that time.

new. "

In addition to the deterrence of force, marriage with neighboring tribes is also an important means to maintain the unity of Semigalia. Namsis is very generous in marrying her daughters to other leaders.

The big leader mentioned his daughter, and the howling old guy suddenly knelt down again: "Big leader, your daughter is... also dead."

"Ah?! What did you say?!"

"Dead! Murdered." The old guy knelt down again to emphasize that this was true.

Namsis would not believe the words of an incomprehensible person. He pinched his beard and looked disdainful: "It's ridiculous. My daughter is only twenty years old. She is young and beautiful. In the spring, everything was normal. She was still alive after not seeing her for a few months. Infectious Diseases?"

At this moment, his attendant reminded him slightly: "Chief, this man mentioned the Varyag attack. This... is the key point."

"Varyags? I don't like those guys anyway."

Namsis really only listened to half of it until the old man told half of the details. In this way, his disdainful facial expression slowly turned into shock, slowly turned into grief and anger, and finally turned into rage...

"Varyags?! Varangians in Riga?! When did I provoke them?! No! They must be the hateful Latvians. Are those idiots still brooding about what happened ten years ago? Attack them It’s not me. Besides, what strength do those idiots have to loot Mezotne?”

A series of questions proved Namsis's subconscious denial. He did not believe that any of this was true.

Upon seeing this, the old man immediately gave a signal to the people who were still putting on their clothes, so the three of them had not yet

The killed Latvian prisoners of war were taken to the riverside meadows.

"Big leader, this is the enemy we captured on the battlefield. The prisoners of war confessed that they are the real Varyags. The enemy has many troops and well-equipped equipment, and..."

"What is it?" Namsis asked with narrowed eyes.

"Cavalry." The old man pointed at the cavalry who were still eyeing them: "Just like you, those Varangians can ride horses, and there are more cavalry than you."

"It's ridiculous. The Varyags are obviously good at rowing. How did they become able to ride horses? Besides, that guy Roklo has been exploiting the Varyag merchants who passed through the border over the years. All reports indicate that these people are good at rowing."

"Chief, this is a fact." The leader of the Old Man Sword actually refused to believe it. Adhering to the fact that he was old and his home was destroyed, the old man simply stood up and changed his humble attitude.

The old man suppressed his blush and pointed directly at Namsis's face: "This is my warning to you! Our homeland is facing an unprecedented threat. If you take the cavalry to the north to take a look... No! Soon, a Thousands of Mezotene refugees will flee to you. Big leader, Mezotene is defeated! Your daughter was also killed by the Varangians, and all the warriors died. Only old men like me and A large number of women and children were on the run.

You can choose not to believe it. When the Varyag army brings their Latvian murderers to Pasvalis, they will murder your whole family! Do everyone want to be buried with you for your stupidity? In that case, I will go to the Utvin people with those who are willing to escape with us, maybe only the leader of Utvin

The leader is the real hero.

And you are not worthy to be our leader. "

"You!" He was scolded severely. If he hadn't had enough willpower, he would have drawn his spear and charged forward to kill this old immortal with bad breath.

But then I thought about it, looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com They were so bold, I was afraid that what they said was true.

Instinctively, Namsis still didn't believe that the North had collapsed, that Rocklo and his daughter had been killed, and that there were really tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to Pasvalis.

He decided to take all these people back to his fortress for interrogation, especially the so-called three prisoners of war.

As a result, these first-arriving rowers were escorted like prisoners by the infantry who arrived later in a very undignified manner.

Subsequent interrogations revealed more details of the war, especially the explosive confessions of prisoners of war, which made Namsis even more suspicious.

As the leader, he decided to temporarily hold all the people he caught as prisoners. However, in the afternoon of the next day, an overwhelming army of refugees appeared...

"God! Is this true?"

Standing on the stone wall of the fortress, Namsis looked towards the north. The sparkling river was filled with canoes of all kinds, and the grassland beside the river was full of people moving. Could this be the so-called refugee army?

They were just one step away from entering Pasvalis.