Chapter 1408 Courland Forest Cat
【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The sheepherder Youjia didn't feel scared when he first met the cavalry. It wasn't until the huge Russian army entered the village that he finally felt a little scared.
The child returned home. Since he was the person with the closest relationship among the people to the leader of all the Varangians, even though the so-called relationship was just riding together, many people who were eager to inquire about the news flooded into the boy's home, which actually made things worse. The boy was scared.
There has never been a situation like today! There had never been so many people in the house that it became impossible to stay in the simple thatched house.
The people who received the news were willing to believe those reports about the killing of the leader of Namisis, because the Ross army that entered the village was strong and their soldiers were everywhere, more than the entire Azerei people.
The people asked themselves, if the young men and women of the entire lakeside settlement were organized, would it be possible to expel these Rus' Varangians in battle?
The people are very self-aware, because this question has already been answered since the time it was asked. All the elite families in Azerei and the free peasant hunters have never been able to unite to organize a unified army. Finally encountered a large-scale violation, it is better to just walk away.
No one is willing to leave their home unless their lives are in danger, especially at this time when the wheat harvest is not far away.
The boy was troubled by countless questions, and those familiar uncles and elder brothers became strangers.
The boy's parents were powerless to stop the intrusion of the villagers. How the couple wished that today's farce had never happened and that the Varyag army had never arrived. They didn't know that something major about their son was quietly happening...
At night, the boy's house was still lively, and people were still gathering outside the thatched house.
A lot of people.
In fact, due to the stationing of the Ross army, the grazing grassland outside the settlement became full of bonfires, and the sky was lit red by the flames. This brought the first major event recognized by the people to Azerei, who had no story. They became extremely excited, and people who couldn't sleep wandered around the villages and towns, discussing things about the Rus with open mouths.
The heads of each family brought tributes to see King Rus, which would bring peace to everyone, even if these tributes made the lives of the people at the end of the summer wilderness more difficult.
Those good guys did not dare to trespass into the Ross camp. They wandered on the edge of the villages and towns, and they were also waiting for the leaders to return happily.
An old man walked in a hurry, even walking at night with a brisk pace.
The leader Domantas, who realized the urgency of the situation, had no time to rejoice that he had become the so-called Earl of Azerei created by the King of Ross, and he had no time to be happy that the King of Ross actually rewarded him with some property. He knew that even if he was happy, he had to be happy for his grandnephew.
Everything is accidental, everything is that kid's luck!
The only thing Domantas knew was that while King Ross was happy, he had to be ordered to bring the boy Yujia there overnight.
People in a hurry rushed into the crowded boy's home. The old man showed no signs of weakness, rushed into the thatched house and opened the crowd, grabbing the frightened and somewhat embarrassed boy in the light of the flickering torches.
"Uncle, what are you doing?! Yogaila is still young." The boy's father no longer wanted to ask his uncle about his experiences with the Russians.
The boy's arm was painfully pulled: "Grandpa! Oh, grandpa..."
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
"Don't make trouble. Youjia, our safety depends entirely on you, follow me!"
After that, Domantas, who didn't want to explain, dragged his grandnephew to leave. However, everyone knows that this is the old talker, and he was also the one who was renewed after the meeting in the afternoon.
People who were eager to find out the situation surrounded Domantas, and the scene became extremely noisy and chaotic. This scene actually scared the boy who was pinching his arm to cry. Domantas gritted his teeth and didn't know how to escape quickly.
"Shut up, everyone!" The old man roared with all his strength, and the roar seemed to be able to break an old bone.
The shouts really frightened the crowd, and Domantas' fluffy gray-white curly hair and beard looked like a lion's mane. "Get out of the way! The leader of the Varangians, King Rus, has named our Jogaila to serve. Whether we are safe or not depends on this kid!"
Is there such a thing? The people didn't ask any more questions. After receiving the order, they subconsciously made way for Domantas to pull the boy and leave quickly. After the grandfather and grandson disappeared into the night with the waiting entourage, they began their endless discussion again.
On the other hand, as a cooking tool that replaced the pottery urn, the iron pot only had one mouthful. It would not be rewarded to the Azerai until daybreak, as were most of the rewards.
On the contrary, a batch of Ross shirts were given as rewards and the family leaders were asked to wear them as a statement and show them to their families immediately after returning home.
The group of people held torches and headed straight for the Ross camp, and naturally they were immediately intercepted by the sentries.
These sentry soldiers had already received orders. Since the sheepherder named by the king was sent to the camp, these soldiers personally acted as escorts and led the group into Rurik's palace, a tent.
The boy stood blankly. Although there was no hustle and bustle at home, looking around
Looking at the incredible sights everywhere under the night. The boy once jokingly called Varyag "the guy who sells stones", but now he knows better than to talk nonsense again.
After a moment, a tall warrior walked out of the tent.
Rurik is in a good mood today. He has completely accepted the livestock tribute from the Azerai people, and has already ordered the soldiers to slaughter them all. Now the barbecue is in full swing...
"You?! Boy, you are finally here."
The soldiers lined up holding torches, and a large bonfire was piled at the entrance of the palace just for lighting. Rurik saw the boy's face at a glance and remembered that this was the kid he met by chance during the day.
The boy Yogela could understand some simple Norse words. He stood blankly, looking for the sound and staring at the blond King Rus. He had been told by his uncle that the man who invited him to ride a horse was the king of Varyag, who was more powerful than the leader Namsis. The boy didn't know what this meant yet, but he just felt that the king was a good man.
"Yogela. Your name is Yujia, right? Come, come to me." Rurik waved his hand with a smile.
The boy didn't hesitate and walked over obediently.
Due to Yin-Yang deficiency, Jogaira is still short even though he is ten years old. When he stands, he is only half a head taller than Rurik's belt.
"You... still understand what we are saying. Very good." Rurik stroked the boy's head, then raised his chin and tapped: "You are not afraid of me, your face is clean, your eyes are innocent. I will let you do it in the future Count Ezere, you will be loyal to me."
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Rurik muttered to himself, and then asked Domantas to enter the tent together and continue to talk about important things.
"
bring it on. He waved his hand specifically: "Your grandparents don't have to go back tonight." Tomorrow, I will knight this boy in front of the people. "
Inside the tent, a group of soldiers guarded the central tent.
Rurik and Bejahir lived there, and this time they especially invited little Jogaila, who had changed his clothes, into the big tent, so much so that Domantas also sat in as a "house guest".
Now, to Domantas, the King of the Varangians became as familiar as the other Varangian merchants.
The old guy didn't dare to ask how long this army would stay in Azerei. Fortunately, Rurik spoke first and relieved the old man's biggest worry.
Rurik pulled Yogaila to his side, and he sat cross-legged. The boy sat sideways like a cat in his hand: "We will soon go to the Western World, and we will just pass by your territory. All of you There is no need to worry. Since you have surrendered to me, Ross will protect your safety from now on. My army has traveled for a long time and will stay at your place for another full day at most. In two days, we will continue our journey westward."
Domantas's hanging heart relaxed, and he dared to be so polite and pretended to stay that the Russians really refused to leave. He had to listen attentively, and finally asked in a complimentary way: "So, what can we do for the king?"
"Give me more tribute." Rurik said easily.
"Ah? More tributes. This..." Sure enough, the Varangians have a huge appetite. Domantas gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give it. Whatever the king wants, we will do our best to give it."
"Oh? Looking at your nervousness, are you worried that I will take advantage of you?"
"I can not."
"I can understand your worries. If you were my enemy, you would naturally be conquered by my army, and I would take everything away. Now that you are my servant, it is completely different. I heard that you will Feed all the wonderful little beasts.”
"Little beast?"
"lusis." Rurik mentioned this term directly, and Domantas suddenly became alert.
"The king is talking about forest cats? Is he asking us to pay more tribute to them?"
"Exactly. How many do you have?"
"It depends on how much the king wants."
"It seems that you really have some. It's great." Rurik slapped his thigh, which shocked Jogaila beside him and said, "I want... fifty of them. I can't carry more. I want Kittens that have been weaned should be weaned as much as possible, and no kittens are older than two months old.”
Domantas couldn't believe that the King of Rus was so eloquent about cats, as if the people of Rus were also very good at raising cats.
Kittens can be completely weaned in one month, and by two months they are already masters at catching mice.
The residents of Azerei are prone to rats because of their difficult living environment. Cats are tools for catching rats, and cats themselves are also small animals with economic value. In the eyes of local people, kittens are as clever and cute as ferrets, and natural fur is also one of the important economic materials.
Compared with the tiny Azerei, the most prosperous place in Russia needs cats and dogs to control rats. The people of Russia do not raise many cats on their own, and the breed is also a very single Nordic forest cat.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Domantas introduced the local cat-raising industry, which is not well-known, in this way: "Our people raise some cats and peel off their fur after the kittens reach a certain age. Their quality is inferior to that of minks.
But it's better than leopard skin. We only keep a few cats as mouse-catching tools, and very few as pets. "
The people here simply don't have enough resources to support a large group of pets. This situation also happened in Ross in the past tribal era.
True to his own nature, Rurik still likes some pet cats, and he is indeed a hardy mouse hunter.
To be fair, cats are really cute. It would be best if the army had some toys during the boring march, and kittens are such toys. The army has always carried enough food, and they can also hunt some small animals and fish along the way. It is not surprising that they feed the cats fresh meat.
Fifty newly weaned kittens were the only additional tribute Rurik requested.
"Since the king likes cats, and we still have some cat skins here that need to be sold to other Varangians, why not...give them to the king." Domantas asked tentatively.
"No need." Rurik flatly refused: "You might as well raise more kittens and continue to pay tribute to me in the future."
Now, King Rus gave Domantas a very strange feeling. King Rus is very young, which seems to mean that he still has a childlike innocence? They only regard kittens as pets, or as mouse-catching tools at most, and no longer ask for anything else. This seems a bit strange to the pragmatic Azerai people.
The domestic cats of the residents of Azerei were originally derived from the small wild cats that roamed the nearby forests.
Those wild cats are also from an older era. Inland trade merchants brought cats bought from distant Egypt and the Levant. Due to natural escape or intentional exile, they quickly became wild cats in the forests of Eastern Europe, so that this kind of wild cats traveled all the way. Brought to the far north by merchants, and then
They became feral and albino, becoming the wild species of Scandinavia.
The same thing happened in Courland, except that the wild cats here had corresponding epigenetic mutations to adapt to the local environment.
The general environment of the Courland region is gray and black, which comes from the slightly acidic humus layer. The endless black mud swamps echo the black forest, and the cats also have corresponding camouflage.
The Courland Forest Cat has mostly black fur with few patterns, and its black color is closer to a dark blue. The hair is long in winter and short in summer. The temperature in Kurland changes greatly between winter and summer, and cats must adapt to it.
Getting new breeds of kittens will definitely improve Ross' own cat breeds, and it wouldn't be surprising to see more new breeds bred in the future.
It is really a by-product of this expedition. As for whether the fifty kittens requested can survive until the Ross army completes the expedition, this is not a problem. In the future, the Azerai people can pay more tribute to the bush, and a group of "black elves" will gradually appear in the homes of the Rus people.
Asking for the cat is one thing, but negotiating to give the boy Jogaila a formal knighthood tomorrow is another.
The knighthood should be held in a grand ceremony, but what Rurik wanted to be canonized was actually two earls: the first generation Azereb and the second generation Azereb.
Domantas' direct descendants did not enjoy the title of earldom, but did enjoy the title of boyar.
The real title was inherited by Jogela and his direct descendants.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Those family heads who had attended the meeting would not suffer any loss. Since they took Rose's clothes home and were ordered to show them off, they would be gathered together tomorrow to officially give them the title of Boyar in front of the people.
"Go back tomorrow morning and gather your priests together. According to your
Let us perform rituals to worship your gods, organize your people as much as possible, and I will grant you a title in front of everyone. Especially the boy next to me, Youjia..."
This night, the ten-year-old Yogela was ordered to eat and drink in King Rus's tent.
Seeing this boy, Rurik couldn't help but think of his eldest son Reglaf, who was far away in South Frankland. That boy was also of this age. I really didn't know what happened to Reglaf.
But a very pragmatic point is that Rurik hopes that he will leave an excellent impression on this Jogaila. When he thinks of King Rus, he thinks of today's feast and tomorrow's glorious ceremony.
Before the ceremony, Jogaira's coarse linen garment with seams and seams was replaced in its entirety.
For the first time in his life, the little boy wore linen boxer briefs and the fine linen rope belt was tied tightly. His whole body looked extremely well-proportioned.
He changed his clothes from top to bottom. Since they were all spare clothes of Ross warriors, they looked much bigger on the boy. It doesn't matter. The real Ross children develop very early because they have no worries about food and drink when they are born. For example, as a Polo person, Jogaira may have just reached puberty. He still has huge room for growth in the future. Now It looks like the baggy clothes will become more proportional in the future.
Eat well, drink well, and put on neat clothes. even! The boy also got a short sword. Even if it was just a steel sword that was very common in Rus, it was still a treasure in Azeroth.
Putting on a white robe with a huge X-shaped blue stripe on the chest, and a helmet, Jogaila looked like a young Rus warrior, and this was what Rurik wanted.
So, the next day, he disappeared
The grandfather and grandson who spent the night presented themselves with a brand new image. Those family heads who came back early fully informed the clansmen of what they had seen at the Ross Army Camp. Because they were full of complimentary words, everyone's fear dissipated like the rising sun dispersing the morning fog.
Simple and simple people believe that this unprecedented Varyag army is a good person under the terrifying appearance. As long as they surrender to them, it will be a good thing for them, as if it is a gift from the gods in the legend.
The people were asked to flock to the Ross camp to participate in a grand ceremony. All the priests put on ritual clothes and completed a confession ceremony in front of the Ross camp, which was equivalent to announcing to the great gods they believed in that the people of these gods surrendered to Va. The king of the good people. This is actually quite confusing, but the priests claim that the great god Daivas has approved this matter-the Azerei people can surrender to Ross.
Soon, the Ross army gathered in full attire, and the people saw the mighty cavalry clearly and couldn't help but worry about their fate.
The heads of each family were dressed like Rus warriors today, and the supreme speaker happily appeared dragging a boy with him.
Suddenly, everyone noticed a "giant" wearing a golden crown - he was none other than King Rus!
The tense sword-giving ceremony was heart-stopping, as if King Rus was not careful, the little boy's neck was bleeding profusely.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Rurik followed what he considered to be the necessary knighting ceremony and bestowed the title of "Second Earl of Ezerai" on the ten-year-old Jogaira, who was kneeling on one knee, and then gave the prepared dagger to him. . So in terms of status, Jogaila has surpassed his uncle Domantas and became the most noble person in Ezerei.
!
Also because of this former shepherd boy, his existence itself represents the safety of the entire Azeroth.
Even at this time, the boy still didn't know what being knighted meant, but he was very happy with the lively scene of everyone cheering for him. This was not at all as scary as he felt at home yesterday.
The power structure of Aizere was shaped, and Rurik re-established the power system of counts and boyars according to the Ross model. The person with the highest legal authority is Jogela, who will take over all power when he grows up.
Aizere's nearest neighbors are the County of Cherbourg to the west, and the greatly expanded County of Latvia to the east. Aizere's status is legally equal to theirs. No matter how high the flag of Rus is hoisted here, it will not be allowed to be close to the count. Invade the land of Azerei, and do not plunder the people. On the contrary, the Azerai people have the power to expand externally under the banner of Ross!
Everything was happy, and Rurik got the fifty kittens.
I can’t tell you the little kittens, they are all cute little black-haired cats. They were put together in a rattan basket and meowed, which was really refreshing.
Looking at these little animals, Rurik couldn't help but feel happy...