The Rise of Rurik

A mighty fleet sailed in the wind and snow, even though the weather was very cold, the person standing on the bow of the flagship felt hot in his heart.

Otto was still wearing chainmail. At fifty years old, he looked rather old fashioned. His grey beard showed his qualifications. The way he stood in the wind and snow was even more admired by the younger generation.

But people will grow old one day. He doesn't expect to live as long as the priest of the tribe, Veria, but only wants his aging to be slower.

Everyone will grow old. For the continuation of the entire tribe, Otto, as the leader, is very pragmatic. He needs to use some method to make the young people of the tribe marry as many as possible.

The Ross tribe is no different than other southern groups.

Although the tribe has been intermarrying with friends in the south, the Ross tribe's location is more remote, and few girls are willing to marry.

It is precisely because of their remoteness that they cannot gain the hearts and minds of women of allied tribes through powerful means, and it is also difficult for them to gain population from distant places through looting to enhance themselves.

Those Swiggs who looted Novgorod?

If they were only asked to give up part of their wealth, they would support it even if they complained. Besides, a long, long time ago, the ancestors of the tribe had an agreement with Novgorod. In name, when Novgorod, a huge rural aggregate, was threatened by other tribes, it could find a powerful Russmaniac. Soldier's help.

If it is to plunder their female clansmen, it is to unilaterally tear up the treaty. That is their bottom line, and they will fight to the end with sticks.

However, the attitude of the leaders of the past generations was that if they did this, Novgorod would turn into a wasteland in an instant, and those Swigs would migrate to a place where the Rus clan could not find it.

A wise leader would not do such a stupid thing, the Rus tribe needs Novgorod, and the twice-yearly Sorgon voyage brings a lot of valuable goods that are difficult to exchange with southern allies, and losing them would be disastrous.

The tribe needs long-term development. Otto, who has been the leader for many years, clearly believes that it is pure nonsense to try to do this. Violent conflict will arise.

To develop, you must use distant allies.

Otto, strictly speaking, did not have particularly lofty ambitions.

Otto's simple hope is that the people of the tribe can live in peace, that they can ensure that they have enough food to survive, enough clothing to keep warm, and that every warrior of the tribe has a wife.

In fact, everyone knows that Roseburg is really a ghost place, and the easiest way to live a happy life is to leave here.

However, family relocation is not permitted at this stage. The betrayal of a single person is difficult to restrain, and the betrayal may only gain loneliness. Large-scale betrayal will be strictly restrained. As the leader, Otto and his cronies will not have such a disaster that seriously dampens the strength of the tribe.

Because of the Swigs who paid tribute, they bowed their heads to give out their wealth, and were compelled by the sword and the battle-axe. Once the strength of the tribe is weakened, they will no longer submit.

At least now the tribe still retains its strong strength, and there is room for operations to conduct larger-scale transactions with them.

The return trip from this year's Sorgon voyage is already early winter, and the snowfall has made the fleet's public very nervous. What they are even more nervous about is the freezing of the sea.

The salt content of the Baltic Sea is too low, and the latitude of the region is too high, which makes the water here more prone to freezing. For example, the sea area facing Roseburg Fjord is completely frozen for at least about a month every year, and winter fishing is completely stopped at that time. At that time, the ice cutting breathing holes to ambush the Baltic seals became an operational option.

The Ross tribe loves seals because they are both delicious and their fat is an excellent oil for burning lamps.

So on the way back

The fleet is on the lookout for possible Gotland attackers, and is also searching the sea or shore for movement, catching seals whenever possible. They finally caught ten seals, which was a pleasant surprise for the return flight.

The returning convoy left the Gulf of Finland with a northeasterly wind and had to paddle the entire way as they headed north.

Ross, which means rower, is a tribe that prides itself on being the best at paddling and is very fast at sea.

But this time, they were slower northbound for a very simple reason - fewer paddlers per boat.

How so? Did they lose sailors throughout the operation?

Do not! Because the returning fleet has increased by 30 people, specifically 30 young women.

This time, Otto was very sure that he had accomplished a feat and found another way for the tribe to develop.

He was fifty years old, and his only living son was too young. It would be great if he died of old age and Rurik had just grown up, so that the people of the tribe would recognize this "one blessed by Odin" more. Even without a duel competition, the grown-up Rurik used his natural appeal to make the tribe identify.

Of course, Rurik was already recognized as a special fighting talent bestowed by Valhalla. If you really participate in the game, Rurik will be able to beat everyone.

If you die suddenly, the tribe will choose a strong person to lead the entire tribe through a duel competition.

To participate in the competition, one of the hard criteria is that the participant must be married.

There is no age distinction in the game. Married men participate. There is only one rule. Use a wooden shield and a wooden sword to fight until the other person gives up or is directly killed.

As a result, Otto still has a hole card, and that is Arik.

Under his own careful training, Arik, who is nearly eighteen years old, is already a master of fighting. As he grows older, he will become stronger. Fighting within the tribe is also fighting externally. Arik will eventually be like his father. Be a strong warrior.

But before that, Arik must settle his marital affairs.

Not only Arik, there have been few new weddings in the tribe for several years, and many men who have lost their wives for various reasons have difficulty getting new wives. And those women who have lost their husbands have already had new husbands.

The girls in the clan grow up and they will marry the boys in the clan. Even so, the fact that there are more males than females in the tribe can no longer be improved through internal adjustment, and the only way is to intermarry with foreigners.

If they want to intermarry with their allies in the south, the ordinary young men in the tribe have to pay a high price, not to mention that most of the rebellious "paddlers" are unwilling to leave their beloved Rosberg and go to the south to make door-to-door visits. son in law.

It is true that some young people will go to the south to join other tribes. If the young people of the tribe do this, the bravery of the Ross tribe will not last long.

Perhaps, at this stage, only the Swigs of Novgorod, through self-sacrifice, can alleviate this serious internal problem of the Rus tribe for a long time.

This time, Otto deliberately brought many young people from the tribe to act. In fact, they have a great meaning to see the world. Every young man of Arik's age is very interested.

As a result, greater happiness awaits them!

In the end, there were thirty Swig girls who were married to Ross, and they sat in boats, dressed in thick buckskin leather, beside their new husbands. Although language is a problem, the girls of the Sokros tribe know some Norse language through their long-term communication with Novgorod. The tribe is also some masters who understand the ancient Slavic language of the Swig people, so there is no communication barrier between the two ethnic groups.

Young girls will learn the Norse language very quickly, and they know very well that, whether they are willing or not, for Novgorod, for the sake of their parents' family, they must identify with their husbands and not give birth to their husbands. offspring.

Through some methods, Otto successfully completed a feat of political marriage, which was something that had never happened since the two groups communicated!

The marriage between the Swig girl and the Varyag boy was first approved by the girl's family, and the wedding was completed according to the local etiquette.

As for the Ross tribe, there is nothing to object to about the marriage of young people. After all, the 30 tribal young people who participated in the operation have returned with beauty this time.

They were happy, but Otto thought about a year later.

When the Sorgon voyage comes next autumn, it may be time to bring some of the Swig girls, and their children, to announce the good news to their relatives in their Novgorod home.

Yes, it must be done! This also proves to them that the Ross tribe can also be very friendly.