Chapter 641 Old Otto Returns to New Roseburg
A Sorgon team composed of so-called old men has already set off, and their so-called old and weak are only relative to the young people of the principality.
Otto is already an old man, and his gray beard is deliberately fluffy, which perfectly covers the age spots.
He was on the ship Sperosville, and there were also four planetary ships behind him.
This fleet of only five ships rode the wind and waves all the way to the port at the mouth of the Neva River safely and smoothly.
The snow was melting massively, freshwater from the Volkhov and Finnish rivers poured into Lake Ladoga, and the Neva, the only outlet of the great lake, suddenly turned into rapids.
The current is so fast that people are reluctant to row the boat backwards, and the people who live in the area are busy with spring ploughing, so they don't care much about the current.
They sowed oat seeds in old and new farmland at the end of April. Compared with other ethnic groups, because of the extensive use of iron plows, they sowed seeds in the straight grooves after ploughing the soil. Objectively, the effect of rough sowing was better than before. good.
Spring ploughing and autumn harvest are the busiest seasons of the previous year. The settled Rus families and the Slavic New Rus who have joined them are now all farmers.
They take good care of their wheat, further build their new Fortress of New Rose, and will fight to the end to defend their wealth against any pretender.
Because this area is not peaceful.
Are the Karelians a threat? Since Lord Rurik had already released the news, even the fishermen of Suomi, who joined the duchy a year ago, believed that the Karelians were terrible enemies, and everyone had to be wary of the northern part of the Great Lake.
It is said that the Principality will organize a large army to conquer Karelia this year? If it was Lord Rurik who organized a large army expedition, it would definitely be a victory. It just so happened that after the completion of the spring ploughing, everyone was inevitably faced with the so-called spring famine. Taking the opportunity to loot is also a good thing.
Of course, their so-called spring famine is just that they can't eat wheat freely, and everyone can still row boats and fish freely, just like in the past. This fishing ability makes them better than the narrow agricultural nation.
Another option is to engage in traditional business activities, which is to bring found amber and other precious leathers to Novgorod and trade wheat directly with the locals.
This kind of trade activity is completely free, and it is not within the scope of Sorgon at all. Any Novgorodian on the shore of Lake Ilmen is willing to do this business.
Even, some Rus people came into contact with the Smolensk people,
So much so that New Roseburg has some good quality rosin ingots and southern cloth.
If the living materials can be self-sufficient, the Rus people are also willing to settle down and actively produce. Today's dream is not a reality. Going to faraway places to fight and trade are all means of living a better life.
Otto's fleet came, and the towering flagpole of the big ship made the people smile with joy.
The Governor Conuson, who was instructed to be stationed here, has been running the local area for many years. He jokingly led his family to the pier, and instructed the men and women to grab the ropes thrown by the big ships, and the five ships were perfectly fixed.
"Lord Duke, you are finally here." Konuson opened his arms to greet him.
Otto also walked up with his arms outstretched with a smile covered by his beard. "You old guy looks like he can fight," he said.
"I'd be so happy if I could actually fight."
"There's just a chance now. Stop being polite and go to the palace! Gather the famous men from the whole town, and I'll summon them. I hope they can understand the Norse language."
The scale of the new Rose Fort is already larger than that of the old Rose Fort in the West.
This is the new territory of the Rus, and in recent years, through the means of pulling, coercion and temptation, another 3,000 Slavs have settled here.
And all the refugees of the Ostara tribe have all moved to New Roseburg. The situation even changed a bit, that is, the Ostara women who fled after the war were taken in by various allied tribes, such as the Gran tribe and the Yermalen tribe, and the men in the tribe married these women. However, the newly-born Kingdom of Sweden was finally defeated in its foreign expedition, and the strength of the Gran and Yermalen families was severely frustrated. It was during this period that the Rus released a good policy.
During the war, these men who took in and married Ostara refugee women saw the strength of the Rus army and knew better that Ostara was rebuilt in the far east. The women were moved, after all, they all knew that the girl Carlota was indeed noble. The men were also moved, how reasonable it was to follow a hero to secure a life and a future chance of victory in war, not to mention that they had the power to become the new Ostarans after emigration.
Today, Novo Rosberg is a city shared by Rus, Ostarans and Slavs, and a place where narrow Swedish culture, Rus culture and Ilmen Slavic culture converge.
A majestic city on the Neva River has sprung up, and she is still growing in size. For example, with the addition of the Suomi, all Finns theoretically became part of the Rus Principality.
The Finnish Suomis, who had feared the Rus fleet, began to see their canoes at the mouth of the Neva. The Suomis have also built a trading town called Herminki at the mouth of their river, which in Norse is Shedstad, which means the city of gems.
The Suomi people did export some amber and rubies to the New Rose Fort. After the Rus people bought them with daily necessities, they immediately tried to transport them to the east for sale.
Adjacent to the Neva River, on the opposite bank is Rabbit Island, a palace standing on a large number of wooden piles is even more sturdy and majestic.
Otto disembarked with a group of his old buddies, and some of the support was unloaded.
Fortunately, the onlookers saw that those shipped in wooden boxes and sacks were all iron objects!
It's farm implement! There are shovels, picks, hoes and plows. There is also a large double saw and a stack of logging axes.
Otto walked on the rammed and solid land in the city with great interest. Presumably, after a heavy rain, the land would not become too muddy.
He walked into the palace and subconsciously observed this huge building. It has been like this since the palace was built. It has only one floor but it is very stocky. It can be discussed here, and it is also an important place for living. There are also toilets and bathing places. The reason why it was built like this is completely arranged by Rurik.
Before long, nearly 50 prominent people in New Roseburg were invited.
Everyone was nervous when they entered the originally closed palace, and everyone was quite suspicious. If they were discussing serious matters, wouldn't it be better to go to the court?
In fact, Otto didn't want to waste Zhou Zhang, he just wanted to arrange things and rest first, and gave instructions directly here.
A piece of news that everyone already knows has become a fact through Otto's mouth!
war! Attack Tavastia! The army of Ross is about to assemble at Fort New Rose!
Not only that, when there is a Slavic army fighting together.
"..., treat the Karelians as strong enemies like the Gotlanders, and treat them like the Danish army. Even if we have Rurik as a hero, we must not take it lightly. We will Organize a coalition army, I will go to Novgorod to give orders, and you local people should also organize warriors, so that once Rurik orders the conscription, you can immediately go to battle..."
Even if Otto repeated the old tune, but he said a few more words, the brothers not only boosted their morale, but also began to estimate how much loot they could get if they participated in the battle.
Among the meditating people, old Harald had a sullen face, and when Otto mentioned something, he immediately smiled.
Because of her daughter Asraki, she is building a mill in New Roseburg!
mill? Can she build that gigantic workshop? If she bears fruit, the oats grown by the natives can be turned into powder in large quantities.
But he still didn't know that a bigger good thing was about to happen to him.
The inhabitants of Novo Rosberg began to make active preparations. Whether they were Rus or Slavs, these prominent figures hurriedly left the palace with news, and spread the good news to the entire settlement on the same day.
Once there is a war, everyone can make their own contribution to the war, including selling a certain amount of labor force and getting paid. Because this is Otto-sama's promise, and it is a benefit that Rurik-sama has repeatedly implemented.
There are only 1,000 pure Rus in New Roseburg, and there are almost no young men. There are elderly computer men and women and a group of children running around. It was because they were weak in Rosberg society that they took the initiative to request to go to the East to open up new territories.
The number of those new Ostarans is not large, and the total number of men, women and children is no more than 300. If you want to recruit an army composed of pure men, you are afraid to recruit at most 50 people. And going deeper, these fifty people are almost not the real Ostara, but traditional Swedish tribes such as Jermallen, who stand in the position of Ostara because of their marriage.
The additional 3,000 people were Slavic immigrants, and there were too many prime-age men among them.
Cultivate the land, work efficiently with the farm tools issued by Duke Ross, and pay the tax in kind when there is a harvest.
Some of them even came from the Pine Needle Manor, which was once ravaged by Otto's violence, and now they have left the farmstead from their hometown and become outright traitors, but they have found a new life here in the Rus!
After all, in their hometown, farmers also have to pay taxes to landowners. The yield of farmland is low and the tax is not low. These active immigrants are the de facto tenants of their hometown farms. Although the people help each other, the inefficient agriculture coupled with the exploitation of the conqueror Rus and the manor owners has always been tight.
Today, the Rus people work here, and the reclaimed land has been cultivated for several years, and the private ownership of the land is under the protection of the Duke of Rus. In this way, through labor, the surplus grain is exchanged for money to subsidize life, and life is indeed getting better.
This group of people are already staunch supporters of Rus, and they are actively imitating the lifestyle of the Varyags, but they do not know that the Rus are also actively absorbing Slavic culture.
The busiest spring ploughing has just ended, and the farmers have picked up their weapons...
Here, Otto tasted local grilled sea bass, feasted on salty wheat porridge, and had a good night's sleep.
The same is true of his old buddies, who are still talking to each other. It is said that within a few years, a coastal wasteland and a heroic city will rise from the ground.
The first thing they felt was the gigantic size of the New Rose Fort. She first encircled a large land with walls. The original Ross, Ostara immigrants and the first Slavs who joined the group all lived inside the walls.
Because the dwellings are all bungalows, there are flat courtyards in every household, and even chicken coops and rabbit pens, and even small trees that are spontaneously transplanted by the people. There is an idyllic style in the city, which also makes the city crowded.
The established straight road system is not allowed to be illegally built. As a public threshing ground and a gathering place for the army, the "Harvest Square" is prohibited from any buildings.
More Slavic immigrants had no choice but to build houses in the wasteland outside the fence. A large number of wooden houses were erected, and the way of placement was quite chaotic, which also gave the city a more market atmosphere.
People all live in the heating style of newspaper groups, and the vast wheat fields that are constantly being opened are all outside the city. Even though people have to walk a long way to work in the fields, it does have some difficulties in the autumn harvest, which leads them to make a batch of carts.
Sleeping Otto was awakened by the noise outside.
The old fellow hurried to the door in a simple white cloth coat.
He pushed aside the Slavic maid who was about to serve in a coat, and opened the closed door himself.
Seeing the crowd gathered outdoors, Otto couldn't help but open his squinted eyes and let the warm sunlight shine on his face.
The wind blew Konu's fluffy hair, and he walked over with great interest, leaning on a wooden stick.
"What's going on? I saw an army?" Otto was quite surprised.
"They are all peasant warriors!" Konuson said bluntly: "They are Slavs, and now they are all new Rus. Look, there are five hundred soldiers standing in front of you, and they are willing to fight for Rus."
Looking at these people, Otto was surprised that so many soldiers suddenly sprang out, but subconsciously, he didn't think that these people were strong soldiers.
They are generally lower in stature than Ross's strong men, and everyone does not wear a helmet, at most a leather cap, or even a cloth strip to tie their hair to prevent their hair from being scattered.
Their clothes were all coarse cloth, with a lot of colorful patterns.
Armament is also poor, but each person carries a wooden shield of different sizes, and the spears erected are also of different lengths.
Based on their appearance, it is not qualified to organize a spear unit!
Otto subconsciously thought of the battle on Gotland, and wondered if this group of people would be proud of their courage if they appeared on the battlefield?
forget it! The recruited warriors also have to go to the White Tree Manor to recruit all the Slavs who participated in the Gotland War. Especially that Medvedt, this young man belongs to the most Rus-like among the Slavs. Otto noticed the boy's firm fighting will and courage in Gotland's decisive battle, and hoped that he would do more in the future.
The obedience of White Tree Manor is a fact, but Medvedt, the legal successor of the manor, is a warrior. Their obedience may be disguised, and they are only for the benefit of the Varyag forces. According to this line of thinking, Otto had to think again about why Svetlana, a little girl, was the one who boldly moved closer to him. This cannot be explained by the simplicity of a child. Presumably this child has already been used by his parents. Imbued with many things.
"Rigus, you are a cunning fox. If this is what you want (referring to being Rurik's wife), you have succeeded. Medved, my son will make you an earl in the future." Otto momentarily I thought about a lot of things.
It's just that there is still a group of seemingly rabble fellows standing in front of him. He dismisses these people with the arrogance of a warrior, but he still has to work on the surface.
Otto said politely: "It's a group of warriors."
"You're willing to let them fight?" Konusson asked hastily.
"I can't control this matter, let them continue to wait! Rurik will make arrangements for them."
If this group of farmers entered the battlefield without training, should they have been killed by the Karelians? Otto and his son Rurik unified the context, that is, to describe Karelia as a strong enemy, and Otto really believed it.
Since it is a strong enemy, I am afraid that there will still be a lot of casualties in the fight.
At least this play of peasant soldiers rushing up to fight is out of place.
However, if...
A sinister thought suddenly floated in Otto's mind.