Chapter 290 Rurik's Fleet's First Voyage

The sand and stone ground at the entrance of Gould's mansion was already full of people. The gray squirrel tribesmen who had to relocate again, under the leadership of the leader Mechasta, brought all kinds of soft goods that they had accumulated over the past two months. Bind it with twine and hang it on your shoulders, or place it at your feet.

They, after all, are Kwen people. When Rurik saw them assembled again, he immediately saw the "kwen" they were holding in their hands, which was the origin of their name. A small hooked short spear used as a marching staff. It's just that this short spear has been completely changed, and its spearhead is quenched wrought iron, which has become an exceptionally sharp and sturdy existence.

Mechasta has long since brought his clan, but this guy's eyes have been staring at the big ship of the Rus.

Along the four trestle bridges of the wharf, four large cargo ships are tied by cables. They are the largest ships currently owned by the Rus. Another group of traditional longboats with low sides, because they do not have a bow with a terrifying monster relief, proves that their essence is a large fishing boat.

This time, the people who will go to the north will add up to five hundred people.

Do not! It's not just that. Because of the success of the "North Hunting Operation", the chief leader Otto announced the results of the exploration to all the clansmen. The so-called deep in the bay that has been inaccessible for many years, the hydrological conditions there have been explored, and finally it can be determined that the fishermen can move forward freely. Discover the local fishery resources.

Since the big chief said this, of course the fishermen had to respond. The most critical reason is the lack of development in the northern waters. We believe that the fishing boats that arrive first will be able to catch a lot of fish.

Now here comes Rurik.

Mechasta led the crowd and knelt down on one knee in a humble attitude, and they all revealed their stubbornness that they had fought to the death, and used this courtesy to meet their honorable, benevolent and contract-minded master Rurik.

Rurik brought his young soldiers to the bustling pier, and the Kewen people who were waiting to board the ship glanced here.

Mechasta walked cautiously, covering his heart with his right hand and bowing slightly: "Master, you are finally here."

Rurik took a closer look at the man's expression, and then at the Kovins.

"You guys are all very worried about this voyage?"

"This..." Mechasta hesitated for a moment. "To be honest, we... we have never been on a boat larger than a canoe."

"you……"

Rurik thought it was very absurd, and on second thought, this person's words should not be nonsense.

He continued to ask: "Are your people ready? Have you brought your luggage?"

actually,

If there is more time, Mechasta would like to bring some more things. For example, advance some wooden parts in advance, so that the house can be built quickly after landing.

"We had everything ready, like some food. We also dismantled all the tents, with the supporting wooden frame. When we got to our destination, we were able to set up the shed quickly and no one would catch a cold."

The so-called tent is a closed shed made of leather, linen and wooden strips. It can only be used as a camping device.

"It is still necessary to build the wooden house as soon as possible." Rurik sighed slightly, "Don't worry, I have brought some people this time, and they will help you build the house."

"Oh, that's really nice."

Mechasta doesn't have much enthusiasm for the future, he only hopes that his wandering tribe can really settle down.

Rurik looked again at the assembled crowd and spoke again with Gould's two sons.

Then, he found Rumia, who had finished building the altar, and ordered the sacrifice to begin.

The whirring of the warm south wind could not hide the beating of the skin drum. It is very interesting that the shaman of the gray squirrel tribe always dressed as a bird of prey, that is, an owl, beating the skin drum and doing strange things in front of the small stone altar. dance.

And the priest Rumia took the girl Rumi of the Salmon Lord tribe, and the two were doing the ritual of the sea, the priest of the Rus.

It can be said that this sacrifice is really a kind of hybrid, lacking seriousness, but having some fun.

The Grey Squirrel tribe worships owls. The reason is that owls are good at catching squirrels. The female shaman hopes to bring the power of owls to the tribe again, so that the tribe's life in a new land can quickly return to normal, and it can quickly restore the cost of catching squirrels. Pick it up.

Rumia's job is very simple. She is praying to God to give peace to the sea and to the safety of the fleet heading north.

Because of this mixed ceremony, the Rus people let go of their tension, and all the gray squirrel tribesmen, they are willing to believe that for the first time in their lives, they will not encounter disasters in the big boat.

The Kowen people are in awe of the sea, they marvel at the vastness of the sea, and there are Varyag people who are afraid of crossing the sea.

Now, there is nothing to fear.

The board for boarding was erected, and because it was tied with thick hemp ropes, the sturdy and large cargo ship was only tossing slightly beside the trestle.

Compared to other ships, cargo ships are the most stable, but they do not travel very fast at any time.

The cargo ship has a huge carrying capacity. The maximum load of the Gould family's large cargo ship can reach five tons. It is easy to pack fifty Kewen people of different ages in one boat.

Or anxious, excited, or thinking about nothing, the tribesmen started boarding the boat with their own softness, and then found a corner and sat down quietly.

Since there are many children in the gray squirrel tribe, as well as women who are more delicate, the cargo ship can pack them in three days, and by the way, they can also pile up some soft goods. It is this kind of cargo ship that ends up looking like a "smuggling ship". .

Rurik's mercenaries, minor subordinates, blacksmiths and small blacksmiths, and the hundred Rus warriors, they all boarded the predetermined long ship.

It takes a process to appear on the stage, and Rurik decided to shovel himself on the trestle of the pier before the last person boarded the boat.

More and more tribesmen were gathering on the coast, who had come to see off the new fleet of ships.

After all, his son was going to lead the army on an expedition, and he was about to accomplish this feat when he was only eight years old.

How Niya wished his son would grow up quickly and become a valiant warrior and a wise man.

Her son was about to go on an expedition. Of course, all the necessary instructions had been given. Seeing that her son was still standing on the trestle, she escaped from the cheering people and ran up to the trestle. Touch your son's forehead.

Rurik understood the woman's reluctance.

"Mom, don't worry about us."

"Yes! I'm not worried."

"You're still worried." Rurik felt his hair become wet, which was his mother's tears.

Niya's wrinkled and aged face was soaked with tears. In this scene, Rurik felt that she was worried that she was going to the battlefield and that it was a bad thing. Or was it because Otto was not here, and Otto was not the commander of the operation, that she felt that this trip was full of danger?

"Let's stop here." Rurik said solemnly, pushing his mother lightly with both hands.

Niya clearly noticed the change, she hurriedly let go of her hand, and looked at her son with a determined attitude in surprise.

She sighed lightly: "I've said everything I need to say." Then, she raised her head sharply and roared with a crying voice: "Kawi! Take care of your brother. Carlotta, Ella, take care of it. Your men. All Rus, you must obey your war chiefs. All Kovins, you must obey your masters!"

Niya is the wife of the great leader, and her words at least carry a lot of weight among all the women of the tribe. For this reason, the Rus warriors who obeyed Rurik took Nya's orders as Otto's fate.

Of course they would follow any Rurik's will, not only because Rurik was the commander, but also because of this little commander, who was always generous in his pay! For this reason, Rurik promised everyone that each person would give ten silver coins per month during the action period!

(Due to the inflation caused by the influx of huge amounts of silver coins, the commission price for employment within the tribe is higher than the price of the fishermen's catch, and the commission has also passively increased a lot.)

In the end, Rurik was the last man on the shore.

He pushed Niya away and said with a smile: "Don't worry about anything. The destination is less than two days' flight from our Roseburg. We go there, and we need a steady stream of supplies from the tribe. Mom, when I It's well built, but I invite you to see it. Oh yes, and Dad on the way back, you all have to go and see my masterpiece."

Niya finally smiled with relief: "Okay, I will."

Rurik jumped onto the plank, then grabbed Kawi's strong arm and boarded the boat.

According to tradition, the ship that Rurik was on was the flagship, but this long ship did not have a gorgeous bow wood carving, which seemed too ordinary.

"Damn, this boat is not worthy of my identity!"

Rurik muttered to himself, and the ship, aided by the wind, began to leave the port.

He looked at the clansmen waving on the shore, especially at his mother who was waving her hands in tears, and subconsciously drew out his short sword. The sun shone on the dagger, reflecting a strong flash, and his flagship was at the forefront of the line. All the ships followed the flagship, following Rurik and his sword, leaving the fjord one after another.

"The great expedition has finally begun." Rurik sighed.

Walking not far from him, Kawi asked, "Are you sure? We really don't need oars, we just rely on the wind?"

"Isn't it possible?"

"This... I'm just a little bit wrong."

Rurik shrugged, he stood up, and his little finger pointed to the four sturdy cargo ships with larger sails in the back: "How do you think they are?"

"Cargo ship, what's wrong?"

"They don't have oars," Rurik said excitedly.

Kawei didn't care: "Cargo ships also have oars, otherwise what if there is no wind?"

"It's not about paddling either. In my opinion, we can totally do without paddles, we just rely on the wind."

Suddenly, Kawhi said that Rurik was not a whim. He should be serious.

"You, are you really so determined?"

"Or else?" Rurik sighed, "I think I should have my own ship. He should not be our traditional leading warship, but like those cargo ships, large and sturdy. We can even make the cargo ships become The bigger it is, the more cargo can be transported.”

"You really decided that?" Kawhi asked cautiously.

"Yes. But not now, just wait and see. One day, I will have a bigger ship." After that, Rurik sat down excitedly, his heart was beating, because I decided to start building the ship myself.

To be honest, Rurik didn't have much praise for the tribe's dragon-headed warships.

It had no deck, the keel was a single piece of oak, the mast had only one side, and the main propulsion was crew rowing.

The biggest problem with paddle boats is that its purely human propulsion method limits its development prospects. Because in order to propel larger ships forward, oars boats must have more oarsmen, which was the pinnacle of the ancient Romans. Those large so-called warships require hundreds of slaves to sit neatly on the bottom of the ship, all rowing at the same rhythm.

Its upper layer is a large number of Roman infantry. The combat mode of naval warfare is actually three kinds of routines: various torsion slingshot shooting, bow ramming impact, and soldiers jumping to fight.

What determines the victory of naval battles is often the victory of relying on jumping gangs to fight, and naval battles are more like a continuation of land battles.

Similar tactics can be formed naturally. In addition to the "black technology" of the torsion slingshot, the Rus' warships are common routines. Although there was no torsion slingshot, Rurik felt that his steel-armed crossbow was already helping Arik's fleet heading south to sweep the sea.

Besides, Rurik didn't think the Torsion Slingshot was a very cost-effective weapon.

The era of paddle boats is coming to an end, and the future is the world of large cargo ships!

It is running slowly now, but its belly holds a lot of things! But with the development of the mine, the tribe must need a lot of professional cargo ships.

If the speed is slow, increase the mast, increase the sail area, and improve the structure of the boat and install the bulbous bow. Make it bigger, equip more sails, and worry about running slowly?

As soon as this idea came up, Rurik suddenly realized!

"Wait! If I did, wouldn't it be... Am I going to build a Caravelle? If I make it, that's a good thing."

In fact, the large cargo ships of the Vikings were the source of the major ships of later countries.

Cargo ships with decks and poops are called Cork ships. The Cork ship with the Near Eastern raking sail is the Caravelle ship. The Caravel ship is bigger, and each mast is equipped with multi-faceted sails, which is the Carraque boat. Then came the galleon of the pinnacle of Galen, followed by the Galen with an iron keel.

That all changed when steam boilers and giant paddlewheels were installed on board.

Those large cargo ships carrying a large number of Kowen people, they are the pioneers of the age of sailing!

Compared with other ships of the Rus, the cargo ships are the most stable, but there are still sea waves. The slightly strong south wind pushes the ships forward rapidly, and the ships are up and down with the sea waves.

However, even with this ups and downs, those who sailed the sea for the first time were still very excited about the Kewen people. The excitement and hesitation are all in the past tense. Now, many people simply lie on the side of the boat, because of bad seasickness, they are eating breakfast in the morning. The half-digested things that have passed are spit into the sea to feed the fish.

Rurik saw their dire situation, and although he had adapted himself to sailing, he had now ignored the turbulence. He could no longer feel the pain of seasickness.

But for siblings Telavis and Seporava, sitting on the flagship, the voyage became an ordeal. They seem to think that the Kewen people really made the right choice to avoid the sea, and if they rashly set foot in the sea, they would really encounter the warning of the god of the sea.

Perhaps, the sea only guards the Varyags who can sway.

At least Seporava can still have Sister Carlotta to help take care of it. Telavis can only continue to sit groggy after vomiting, looking forward to landing soon.

This way, the Rus' fleet mainly relied on sails to move forward, and it stands to reason that they could obviously use oars. The large oars were stowed, and the light long ships had to accommodate the cargo ships carrying a large number of people and supplies.