Chapter 1410 This Is the Courland Coast

,!

Soon, a river lay in front of the Russian army.

The Venta River basically runs in a north-south direction. It crosses the entire Courland Peninsula, and its mouth is no stranger to Rus. The Russian army first plundered Gotland more than ten years ago. After the victory, the fleet happened to spend the night at the mouth of the river. The expeditionary force at that time still had fresh memories of the local hare resources.

In the lower reaches of the Venta River, deep in some small tributaries, there are other Semigalian villages, but it is more appropriate to call them a kind of "Courlanders".

Rurik had no time to explore the lower reaches of the Venta River, so he crossed the river. This was at the ford where Ostan pointed out that Varyag merchants had crossed the river since ancient times. The whole army lined up to cross the river quickly when the sun was just right. .

The width of the upper reaches of the Wenta River was only about 40 meters. The cavalry quickly passed through the water and quickly found the so-called "Forest Cat Lake" under Ostein's navigation.

It is a wonderful lake. It is not big but has two exits.

Although the Courland Peninsula is not large, "Forest Cat Lake" is located exactly at the watershed in the western part of the peninsula. In fact, the altitude of this place is only a little higher than the surrounding areas.

However, the army really entered this lake that Rurik was once full of curiosity, and immediately stood on its shore. Rurik couldn't help squinting and shaking his head: "This can be considered a lake? The puddle that can be seen at the end is worthy of being called a lake. ?”

Osten accidentally heard King Rus's complaints. He hurriedly dismounted and trotted all the way to Rurik, pointing to the rippling blue water: "Although this lake is small, it is indeed the only way we must pass."

"Really?" Rurik noticed the southern part of the lake, where there were indeed traces of the river channel. No

! Maybe it was just a creek. "What's next? South?" he asked.

"Yes, just go south. We just need to follow it and eventually we will reach Cherbourg."

Osten tried his best to explain this to Rurik, which really made people wonder what he was hiding.

Looking at this place, it is a dense forest, with clumps of woodland covering the ground. There are pathways in the gaps between these "clumps", but no matter what, they are just wet grassland or even mud puddles.

The entire environment is not friendly to land marches. Since he has a basic understanding of the landforms of the entire Courland region, Rurik is too lazy to complain now.

First, it became inadvisable to continue along the river, because it had to really be a river in the first place!

A creek without even stones would be a disaster for larger ships. Look at the water level which is only knee deep. It is a wishful thinking to sail a long ship. Indeed, only small boats that can be easily carried can still sail.

The meadow area next to the creek is so narrow that it no longer has peer value.

And this creek is the real "Forest Cat River".

Ryuri ordered the army and horses to rest where they were without unsaddled. He personally took some of his followers to the south of the lake to find out what was going on, and made a decisive plan based on the bad situation.

The army soon resumed its advance, and the huge team had to pass through the gaps in the forest.

The mission of a group of scout cavalry is not to gain insight into the enemy's situation. This place is an inaccessible and uninhabited land. The probability of finding a bear is greater than that of forcing a human. If Ostein is right, the number of humans who pass through this place every year is only a handful of people from The Varangian merchants of Cherbourg are still the same old ones coming and going.

he

It was really a chore for them to find a road for the army that was hard enough, away from the damn mud, and as close as possible to the Forest Cat River.

The movement speed of the Ross army had to be delayed by the black mud of Courland. Even if Rurik scolded Ostan now, it seemed that he was just showing his incompetence and rage. Because the path directed by Ostein was not wrong. The south exit of Forest Cat Lake did branch off into a strange stream. After it finally merged into another puddle, the stream finally became wider and its flow direction changed. But it is always heading west.

The current Russian army is advancing entirely along the western border line of today's Latvia and Lithuania. In other words, the two sides used the Lusis River (Forest Cat River) as the natural dividing line to determine the border. Both sides did not feel that they were losing after a game. In fact, this Both sides of the river are deserted enough.

But in today's year 843 AD, a node on the Lusis River is unusual.

It took two days to walk more than 50 kilometers through the gaps in the forest. This was really a shame for the Russian army, which usually pays attention to movement speed. Although there is no tool to measure the "turtle speed" of the Russian army, just based on their own feelings, most soldiers feel that their brothers are busy taking the reins.

They must be careful, and each team must be able to look after each other, because they lost the guidance of the Lusis River in the dense forest, but it will take a lot of time to end the damn forest lost.

Until the Lusis River enters its terminus.

In two days, just as the sun was about to set, the Ross Army finally reached a key node of the trip.

The groping in the forest has come to an end, and a longer path has come to an end.

The wide river turned a light orange color in the sunset. The dark green forest is paired with the glow of the sun, and armies are gathering on the bank of a long river. At this moment, the cool breeze is not stopping. People feel an inexplicable desolation and at the same time, they also start to yawn lazily, and yawning is contagious.

"Tired! I'm tired. Osten!" Rurik asked in a stern voice.

"exist."

"What kind of river is this? Could it be the Balta River you mentioned?"

"Yes. Your Majesty, we are about to arrive at Cherbourg." Oostan said cheerfully. You must know that he has been sullen for two days. He was afraid that King Ross would become more distrustful of him because of the boring dense forest march, so he was smart. Must remain silent.

"Cerbourg..." Looking at the sunset, Rurik couldn't help but gritted his teeth. "It's such a waste of time. If I had known this, I might as well have continued to take the boat around. It was just to toss the horses and deer..."

Suddenly, Rurik thought of something else. He grimaced and asked Ostan again: "I remember the Courland city of Apere that you specifically mentioned. Where is it?"

"It?" Ostan was startled: "It's just upstream of the river. Has the king changed his mind?"

"Just leave them alone. I don't have time to take care of the guys living in Apere, at least not this year."

Osten breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he hid more information. If King Rus suddenly changed his strategy and charged away with his four powerful cavalry teams, he would surely catch the entire Apere settlement by surprise - —even conquer it in one battle.

The Apere settlement is the largest city belonging to the Kurland tribe in the current era, but it is not so much a city as it is still many villages.

A patchwork of giant villages.

Based on the current production and lifestyle of ordinary tribal people in Northeast Europe, if a land area can support 10,000 people, then they must have cultivated a large amount of land, so that they can support so many people with rough agriculture.

The settlement of Apere is located directly east of the city of Skuodas in the north of present-day Lithuania. Several small rivers and streams eventually merge into a small river that flows into the Balta River.

The streams are as dense as combs, and they are distributed quite regularly. These streams are simply natural irrigation ditches. After the villagers of Courland discovered this geomantic treasure, they built their own villages in a large area. The people living there Natural reproduction increased, and more closely related people who migrated from the east joined it. The settlement of Apere succeeded in creating a miracle in the forest.

Ostin had no ill will towards those people, and there would be residents of Aperre who would row directly to Cherbourg. They would sell their own wheat and leather to trade for the important salt, but had no intention of getting a share of the amber trade.

In other words, the residents of Apere have long been involved in the amber trade, but after settling in Cherbourg and mixing with local Danish immigrants, these Apere people are no longer willing to return to their hometown.

That night, the Russian army camped on the flat area at the confluence of the Lusis River and the Balta River. As usual, the Russian army set up a large number of bonfires to meet the army's needs.

"My fire lights up the sky again, Kurlanders of Apere! Take a good look at the sky! That is not the lower world of gods, but I have come with the Rus army. If I don't conquer you, I will just If you don’t have time, just be grateful for your good luck.”

Rurik murmured in his heart for a while

Son, he no longer wants to think about it anymore.

Even though Ostein raised the possibility that some Aperre merchants rowed boats down the current to sell goods in Cherbourg, if such voyagers could be encountered, the Russian army could find a way to intercept them, thus making the Russians concerned The news spread to the Aperei people, so that the local people would be mentally prepared to conquer them in the future.

A new day and the march continues.

The whole army moved downstream along the right bank of the Balta River, and they once again rushed into the forest in a mighty manner.

People are too lazy to speculate whether the bonfire that burned the sky red yesterday will make the residents of Apere in the distance think about it.

It's better to think about your own affairs, the army is marching into the forest again.

At first, people could tolerate it. As they set off early in the morning and continued to work until the afternoon, the dense forest still showed no sign of ending. The Ross army advancing along the river had an obvious white tone as a whole, which was out of place in the dense forest. If there was a hero, With an eagle's eye view, you can see a big white snake zigzagging along the narrow riverside meadow.

Rurik prided himself on his strong determination, and now he began to complain: "How long do we have to go? Do we have to camp by the narrow river tonight?"

Ostein hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, please bear with me a little longer. This is the last forest. Through this long woodland, we will soon see a lake, and the next step is Cherbourg. Your Majesty, you can meet up with your navy." ”

"Ha! It seems you are sure that my navy has arrived."

Osten smiled awkwardly: "After all, we have wasted too much time traveling through Courland."

"Oh? So compared to the traveling speed of your caravan, my

How about the Ross Army? "

"Quick as lightning!"

"Come on." Rurik shook his head and was too lazy to talk nonsense with this fawning old man.

Forced by reality, the Ross army had to camp by the forest river.

It was really a waste of effort for the soldiers to ignite the damp pine trees that were cut down nearby to create a large number of bonfires. They endured the choking smoke and dust. When they saw the open fire, they didn't know that the thick smoke was already rising, and they were undoubtedly illuminated orange in the sunset.

The thick smoke passively raised to light a bonfire can dissipate quickly, but the amount of bonfire required for two thousand people is huge. The Russian army lined up in a long and narrow queue, and the thick smoke caused by making a bonfire quickly turned into a smoke belt. , becoming an existence that is impossible to ignore under the sunset.

Has anyone noticed anything strange in the forest?

have!

Because the ships of the Ross Navy have set up a large net near the Courland Beach, which is a warning line with a width of about 50 kilometers. As long as the Ross Army emerges on the coast, the warning ships will definitely see the blue and white that is incompatible with the dark forest. .

Patrol boats rush into the sandy beach at night. The yellow-white beach here is full of fine gravel. It is the "amber mine" itself. As long as you dig hard on the beach with a shovel, you can always find some ordinary ones with a lot of effort. If you are lucky enough to pick up beeswax and amber in good quality, you can sell them at a good price if you bring them back to New Roseburg.

The people who were ordered to patrol did not feel that they were at a disadvantage. After pushing the boat ashore at night, they lit bonfires to keep warm and grilled fish. While the weather was still coming, there were soldiers who used shovels to dig sand on the spot in the hope that they would be troubled by the sea.

The navy did precede Liuli

Gram arrived at Cherbourg, Admiral Goldlund arrived quite early.

The endless sails and hill-like ships of the huge Ross fleet suddenly appeared in the port area of ​​Cherbourg, a natural lagoon haven.

The lagoon has no name, but the people of Cherbourg simply call it the lake.

But in another dimension, when Cherbourg still had this name, the lagoon was located further inland and its size was larger than it was thousands of years ago.

When the Livonian Knights arrived, Cherbourg was occupied by the Knights, and its name was changed to the German-style Liva, which means "living place". After several twists and turns, the name was finally settled on Liepaja.

The lagoon on which the settlement rested naturally became Lake Liepaja.

Those who had set up shacks on the beach to spend the night couldn't help but look around, admiring the sunset in the west and the deepening night in the east. They couldn't ignore the sudden smoke rising to the east of them. That's definitely not a cloud! These sailors who were ordered to do things were very professional. They knew at a glance that someone must have lit a bonfire, and their number was really quite large!

Then a thought suddenly appeared in my head - the king's army should have arrived!

The next day, these patrol boats gathered in large numbers towards the lagoon in order to respond to their suspicions.

The Balta River almost disappeared after it entered the lagoon. However, in the old Liepaja Lagoon, the distance between the sea and the lake was only a long strip of sandbar as short as about 500 meters. Although the salinity of the Baltic Sea was low, that was There are not many trees that can survive on the narrow sandbank due to sea water, and they all grow on the side near the lagoon.

If it is really the king's army, when everyone sees

The strange smoke and dust should gather together a little, so when the army comes out of the forest, the first thing they can see is the fluttering Ross flag.

As for Rurik, when a new day arrived, he was already confident about the way forward, because Osten rarely patted his chest and promised: "It's the last day. Today we left the forest and went to the lagoon immediately. As long as we go further north It takes about half a day’s walk to reach Cherbourg.”

Rurik thought more. As long as it was true as Ostein said, the moment the Russian army left the forest, the ships that were ordered to be on guard should see it. He firmly believed that General Goldlund would implement the order.

It has become a two-way race.

The scout cavalry exploring the road had just walked out of the forest when they saw a lot of Ross flags flying not far away.

The moment the cavalry appeared, their blue and white uniforms instantly made the yawning navy soldiers feel excited.

Some ships began to head north desperately, just to inform their general, King Ross, that he had arrived.

The remaining people immediately completed the victorious rendezvous with the scout cavalry who arrived first, and the remaining scouts rushed to report the good news to the main force of the Russian army, which was still advancing step by step.

Looking at his ecstatic subordinates, Rurik suppressed his inner joy, waved his hand and said: "I know. You go down and tell the brothers along the way that we have arrived at Cherbourg."

Most of the soldiers were overjoyed. Regardless of whether the march was coming to an end, everyone could get a good supply at Cherbourg.

But everyone was still too happy too early.

The Ross Land Forces completed contact with the naval patrol ship, but all they could see were the large lake and the sea, as well as a narrow sandbank corridor sandwiched between the two waters.

.

The army is still going north, and the decadent mood has been swept away.

"We must spend the night in Cherbourg tonight. The entire army will advance along the east coast of the lagoon and go to Cherbourg to have a good rest! Let's speed up!" Rurik issued a key order, then took the lead and rushed to the destination, leading the entire army to speed up.

Without the restraints of the tight roads in the forest, the Ross army began to rush forward in the meadows east of the lagoon. The horses and reindeer were driven to trot all the way, and the soldiers screamed with joy.

Because the phantom of a city becomes clearer and clearer, and everyone knows what it is.

The legendary Cherbourg is just around the corner.

And this also means that the Ross Army and Rurik completed the feat of crossing the Courland Peninsula for the first time, and the Ross Army finally gathered on the Courland Coast.