Chapter 139： The Ross people return to White Tree Manor

Thanks to a batch of catches, the Russ regained their strength by sleeping on the beach.

The journey waiting for everyone is still far away, and soon they will enter another river, the Volkhov River.

The long journey upstream will be a strenuous expedition. Otto does not ask for much help from the change of the wind direction. Instead of relying on the wind to propel the boats in the river, it is better to believe in the power of all the oarsmen. .

The south wind is blowing on the shimmering lake, and the sunrise in the east is brilliant!

The Ross people added a few more firewood to the bonfire that was about to burn out, grilled the fish leftover last night, and hurriedly ended the breakfast.

The hard oak keel was scraped by sand and stones, and the boat was pushed into the lake. The mighty army quickly formed and rowed towards the east.

The long experience has made Otto a very good understanding of the hydrological conditions in this area, even saying that he knows better than the residents of Novgorod who live not far away.

Although the Novgorod region has a huge population of as many as 200,000, they have a common ancestor, and they all migrated and settled here.

Of course, things must start with the fall of Western Rome.

When the Huns forced a large number of Germanic tribes to forcibly enter the Roman territory to seek protection, many Slavic peoples moved north and east to escape the war. There were also some desperately rushing to Greece, and these Slavs who went south hoped to be protected by Eastern Rome.

Three hundred years have passed, and many things have changed.

The Slavs who fled to Greece spoke Greek and became the new Greeks under Roman rule.

The Slavs desperately fleeing north, the farthest group settled in Lake Ilmen. Of course they can continue to go north. Due to the colder climate in the north, the land there is no longer a good boundary for growing wheat, so why continue to migrate.

However, the residents of the Novgorod region have no concept of historical records at all.

They remember the faces of their grandparents at most, and what great things some legendary characters did, such as the feat of hunting a bear.

After that, they focus on the present, and they don't have much ambition for the future.

Even if there are tough Ruths who regularly exploit them twice a year, as long as they give them everything they need one by one, peace will be guaranteed.

You can even get a security promise, the so-called "Whoever hits you, the Ross people will help you crusade."

The promise was verbal, and all Novgorod learned that the Rus had never fought for them.

Because Novgorod does have a real enemy, and that is Smolensk in the south.

If you want to gain greater wealth, you must trade with the people of the South. If possible, several big families in Novgorod very much hope to be able to trade with the Romans and Khazarians on their own. However, in this era, there are almost no roads in the vast eastern European land, and the intestinal trails of people's feet are rare.

The people of Novgorod paddled their own canoe, entered the Msta River from Lake Ilmen, and then went upstream to its source. Finally, on foot for more than 50 kilometers, you can find a small river that can enter the upper Dnieper River, and finally successfully reach Smolensk surrounded by pine trees.

In order to go to the south, Novgorod merchants were often exploited by the Smolensk people, and they were robbed and destroyed by ships and people from time to time.

After all, even if they are theoretically Slavs, the Smolensks in the ninth century did not recognize the Novgorods as their compatriots, but regarded them as their competitors.

A trade line that can go straight to the Black Sea has always existed, and many forces on the road have to get a share of this long-lived trade line.

Another powerful force is needed to eliminate all forces that affect the smooth flow of trade.

So far, there is no such force.

The forty boats of the Ross people reached the entrance of the Volkhov River along the shoreline in only half a day.

There is a big similarity between the Volkhov River and the Neva River, which may be purely accidental. The width of the two rivers is very close.

But the water flow of the Volkhov River is only one-eighth of the Neva River.

The Rus have to fight the strong currents in the Neva River. In the Volkhov River, paddling is no longer an overly exhausting thing.

I'm going home!

Peravina's face has always been filled with a happy smile, and the lush pine forests on both sides of the river have moved her even more.

Just six months ago, when I learned that my parents were greedy for some amber, I handed myself over to the Ross man as his wife. She expected to face a terrible fate, but it turned out to be a fantasy journey.

Hearing what the chief leader said, there will be another day, and the next evening, the fleet will be able to reach Novgorod!

Specifically, the first goal of the fleet is not the Sosnovaheka family manor named "pine needles" in the core area.

It is the Bellareka family manor named "White Tree".

Once, Peravina was a member of "White Tree".

It was another evening, and it was also the last evening the fleet spent in the wild.

A smooth road on the river became a camp for the Ross people.

Some pine trees were chopped down, and the Ross people chopped a large number of branches into firewood and burned the bonfire full of the smell of pine resin.

Some people ran to the nearby woods to hunt, and after a while they carried a wild deer and appeared. Some people try to fish and get some gains.

Five hundred people share a wild deer, and each person can share two finger-sized venison.

After all, Otto is the leader, and this time he was fortunate enough to hold a whole deer shank, regardless of the blood of the venison, or the bashful air, he feasted on it.

When he gnawed the meat, he did not forget to face Peravina who was ordered to sit next to him, and said something next: "My child, I have already thought of it. You have basically learned our language. Your hometown, you will be my interpreter."

"Dad... is this all right?"

"Don't you like it?" Otto asked displeasedly.

"No. I just want to... see my biological parents early, they must miss me very much, too. I want to tell them that I'm having a good time."

Otto shrugged, his thoughts could not help returning to half a year ago, and he deliberately said, "Rather than missing you, they missed the amber and silver coins. Listen, Peravina, forget your past, now you are Ross. You are my nephew’s wife, and you have my brother’s grandson in your belly. Do you expect your parents to be your relatives? I am your trusted relative."

Peravina's mood was a bit complicated, she raised her head boldly, and saw Otto staring at her eyes, and could not help but hung down quickly.

"Look into my eyes!" After that, Otto stretched out his hand and pinched Peravina's chin rudely: "Listen to my arrangements and be my interpreter. This year I will do it in White Tree Manor. Some big things, I need your help."

"Yes! Dad, I will."

So, why go to White Tree Manor in the first place?

The reason is not complicated, the biggest reason is that it will be a manor encountered by the Rus people on their way forward.

The "Pine Needle" manor of the Sosnovakhka family in Novgorod, at the entrance of the Volkhov River at the beginning of Lake Ilmen, the manor has a very advantageous geographical location.

The "Pine Needle" Manor is undoubtedly the richest in Novgorod, and the population is also the largest. To exploit wealth, of course, we must target the big fat sheep, but we must appropriately exploit the next-level manor.

White Tree Manor has no more population than Pine Needle Manor, and even so, it is still the second largest manor in the area.

The White Tree Manor is six kilometers northwest of the Pine Needle Manor, and there is a dense pine forest between each other.

The White Tree Manor is adjacent to a river whose width is still more than 30 meters, and the river flows directly into the Volkhov River.

In the era of lack of roads, the people of various estates rely heavily on ships for communication. In this situation, they must live in the lakeside area close to Lake Ilmen. This is also in order to use the fertile lakeside area to reclaim farmland and stabilize water resources for irrigation.

Although they basically only have wooden plows, thanks to the natural land conditions, the seeds they sown still have a good harvest.

They settled down, and their pioneering rush was much weakened. Because the number of people living along the lake is still small, there are still a lot of forest resources beside the lake, making most of the estates actually become islands in the sea of ​​pine forests, and the existing large and small rivers have become roads of practical significance.

However, a new day is not a warm morning.

Otto looked at the dark sky and the wind direction that had been transformed. He always felt that a heavy rain was about to hit.

"Oops, it rained while I was sailing, and things were too bad."

The nervous Otto ordered all the ships to sail after the fleet resumed sailing.

Of course, his own flagship was not allowed to be at the forefront of the line. The sudden large sails printed with huge blue crossed oars were an obvious symbol. All the residents of Novgorod who stayed on the river saw such a thing. With a large group of dragon-headed warships and a large sail with a special pattern, you know that the ruthless army of Russ who seem to have crawled out of the cemetery are again searching for wealth!

The strong north wind changed the warmth of the previous time, and for the paddlers, the coolness can be described as refreshing.

Macroscopically, a stream of cold air is walking on the road to attack Novgorod, and it will blow all the way to the shore of the Black Sea.

Rain? That is inevitable.

Eastern Europe in May of the Julian calendar is prone to rain.

Some local children gathered by the river and used their simple hooks in order to catch some small fish by the river and take them home and stew them.

There are also women in long skirts, hooking their heads wrapped in a piece of linen to protect against the cold, holding very sharp stones in their hands, harvesting reeds that can be taken back to feed the rabbits.

There are also some men, holding a long thin wooden stick in their hands, driving their own little sheep and grazing in the densest areas of the riverside.

A good group of pastoral songs, even if it is clearly about to rain, they still do some necessary work.

Suddenly, a large number of sailboats turned out of the river channel hidden by a forest.

The children fishing, the women mowing the grass, and the men grazing all became alert.

It stands to reason that because of the quite successful marriage half a year ago, the Ross people began to have a not bad new view among the residents of White Tree Manor.

However, the Ruth people rooted in their memory are the image of pirates, which basically turned into the instinct of running away.

"What a bunch of cowards! Young people, have you seen it? This is called a coward."

Otto had already seen the people who had evacuated to the manor in all directions, and couldn't help but want to teach the young people of the tribe a lesson.

When I saw the Novgorod people for the first time, I saw them running away. Kawi had some regrets about this.

"Chief, am I going to choose a woman from a group of cowards to be my wife."

"Maybe!" Otto sighed, "Maybe they are cowardly, but your children will be brave. As long as you are willing to teach well...Oh, I forgot, you are a blacksmith."

After all, Otto laughed silly.

Arik also laughed awkwardly: "Yes, I am a blacksmith. It should be fine for me to marry a cowardly woman and have a group of little blacksmiths. We are not fighters after all."

"But you make the best weapons for the soldiers, work hard, my Kawei, I will find a way to choose the most beautiful woman for you."

"Ah! Great boss, you..." Kawei is sure that he heard it right, and the big boss actually has to worry about his marriage?

In fact, the problem is simple. Before leaving, the blacksmith Clavasson secretly gave Otto a sum of silver, which was regarded as a bribe. Clavasson has only one purpose, which is to help his son Kawei marry the most beautiful woman, and it is better to have some noble status in the local area.

As a leader, you have to do things if you get the money.

And Otto has indeed had a goal for choosing a pro for the young blacksmith Kawei.

"Brothers! Listen to my command and prepare to turn into the river ahead! We are going to camp at White Tree Manor tonight!" Otto, standing at the bow of the ship, gave an order. Forty boats lined up in a column, just like a huge one. The water snake turned neatly into the small waterway.

Those who fled back to the manor one after another, they yelled on the road inside the manor, announcing the terrible fact that the Rus had arrived!

Times have changed!

At first, everyone should be surprised at the disgusting attitude, but now some families have new expectations for the Ross people.

Now is the time to verify whether the Ruths have kept their promises, because for those daughters who have been married in the past, the Russ promised that when they return in spring and summer, the son-in-law will bring the pregnant daughter back to their parents' home.

More people are still nervous, after all, every time the Ross people come, they are an army of more than 400 people.

Most of the terrible Ross people are tall and strong, with bronze or iron weapons in their hands, and some of them are still wearing chain mail.

The total population of Baishu Village members is indeed two thousand people, and if all the combatable forces are organized, they will inevitably be easily defeated by the Rus. Those spears made of stones and hammers made of big stones can hardly break the shield of the Russ The men in the manor are generally shorter than the Russ, and their strength is much worse. .

Maybe a Rose man could lift a white tree dealer man with one hand, and then fell to the ground severely.

A large number of dragon head warships are based on the dock of White Tree Manor. Compared with the canoes of White Tree Manor, the dragon head warship is a real giant.

The big ship pushed the canoe away, and the trestle bridges at the pier were completely occupied by the Russ.

The ship has begun to dock, Otto stepped directly on the wooden planks of the trestle bridge, bowed his back and commanded his subordinates: "Hurry up and push all the ships to the shore. Unload the canvas and cover the entire ship!"

After all, the sky has dimmed, and dark clouds have also obscured the western setting sun.

For the leading warship that does not work overtime, the rain is always very bad.

The rested canvas covers the hull as much as possible. These canvases made of linen are not of high quality and they are not waterproof. So many canvases have a lot of patches in the past. Even so, the canvas can at least drain the rainwater and prevent the vessel from flooding the entire cabin with rainwater.

Five hundred Ross people landed one after another, and ten women who belonged to the White Tree Manor who followed their husbands back to their hometown.

The current situation disappointed the ten women, and the people in their hometown stomped one after another, as if they didn't plan to communicate with the people who landed in Ross.

Of course, this is indeed the case. An ordinary farmer personally went to talk to the Ross people? It's crazy.

To talk, these are all things that the banker has the right to do.

The vast majority of ordinary families hide in their houses, and some even bring the necessary softness and ran to the nearby pine forest to settle down.

Someone planned to stay away until the Russ left with enough tribute.