Chapter 349： Ahead is the land of the Estonians

The sun shines through the cracks in the woods and shines on the rocks under the trees. Sixty-five roughly carved statues represent a Ruth who died in battle.

"Look, Rurik. They died for our great cause of revenge. I think God should have acknowledged their bravery, and their souls must go to Valhalla." Arik’s words are full of pride, and he has nothing. Sorry for the dead.

Yes, the world view of the soldiers is different. As a whole, they swear to death. For death, people will not always be immersed in the weeping of the soldier's death.

Rurik said lightly: "Perhaps, we should carefully craft their tombstones."

Arik sighed: "Ah, then you need to get some superb stonemason. In my opinion, Mellaren doesn't have such a person."

Rurik didn't say more, he drew his dagger and knelt on one knee under the eyes of everyone. This is what he is doing for a show, and this kind of show has made many soldiers who stay behind to tears of joy.

Maybe now let's make an impassioned speech again to boost morale, Leuric thinks about it and forgets it.

You need to have a speech, and wait until you have a beard and a thick and tall body.

He looked sideways at the side of the cemetery, and a small stone boat altar was built under the woods. If there is a wooden house next to the altar, it must stay in the priest's residence.

Tombstone Island, it seems to be very small, you can feel its big even if you go deep into it.

The settlers cut down all the trees in the distance, and built wooden walls for wind protection and defensive use outside the large pile of wooden houses in the settlement. The big tree covered almost all of the wooden wall, making the settlements look like an elven sanctuary in the dense forest, a paradise.

In it, the real sense of security Rurik feels very real, that is, this place is much wetter than the northernmost Fort Elon.

"I gave them 50,000 pounds of wheat. Can they do a good job of warehousing?" Rurik lacked full confidence. According to him, the Novgorod people in the far east are purely agrarian people (although Still very primitive and backward), they are real warehousing masters, and the Ross people have a reason to learn from them.

The fleet anchored on Tombstone Island is essentially a show of strength and condolences to those who stay behind.

Lurik had no intention of staying here for too long, even if he only wanted to spend one night and then left.

But on the beach of the island, Rurik, who was on fire, had a new idea.

"What's the matter?" Isn't the grilled fish fragrant anymore?" Arik looked at the old brother holding a few bites of grilled herring skewers, the child thoughtful.

"I'm thinking about one thing."

"What's the matter?" Arik became excited immediately, "During the day, you took a good look at the wooden wall I supervised to build. Our Tombstone Island is already very strong. These attacks on our enemies have long since stopped me from worrying about it."

"It's not this." Rurik turned his face, "The big boss hasn't come back. Don't you think this is abnormal?"

"Abnormal? Are you very worried about him?"

"Why am I not worried?" Rurik asked rhetorically.

Arik pouted and shook his head, "You look down on our leader too much, even if he is your father, he is also my uncle. He is a natural conqueror, and you have a lot of worries."

"Take it seriously. Now I have an idea?"

Arik suddenly raised his head: "Huh? You are not planning to go to Novgorod?"

"That's what I really think!" Rurik slapped his thigh, and his eyebrows really surprised Arik.

"Oh, my stupid brother, don't think that you can ignore all the severe cold after a trek in the snow. You will arrive in Novgorod sooner or later. I think there is a girl waiting for you there, but not now ."

Rurik shrugged, he realized that the topic was too far off. "The leader has not returned, or the fleet is already on the way back. Should we return to Roseburg first and wait for them to return? That's not a man. In my opinion, we organize a fleet to New Roseburg. , I really want to see how the new settlements we’ve worked so hard on."

When Rurik said so, Arik was also moved.

A true sea warrior, facing the vast sea, his attitude is similar to facing a lake.

"Ah, I haven't sailed the route to the east. I am busy fighting south, but I don't know our new home."

"Then go check it out?" Rurik deliberately instigated, "I remember our brothers were actively pioneering there, and a large number of Novgorod people were arrested and settled by us. The folks in Novgorod are all To surrender us, the strength of our Ross is rapidly rising. In my opinion, within a few years, our Shilla Fort will be more prosperous than the town of Mälaren.

"Also." Arik made up his mind. "There are old guys in the team who have participated in the Sorgon sailing many times. We can't get lost. But we said in advance that we only organize a small team and the goal is only Shilla Fort. It’s better to be busy handling the physical objects there, and if they haven’t come back, we will wait."

"Then do it."

Rurik continued to eat the fish, and suddenly felt that his decision was too impulsive.

Forget it, real men have one thing to say, and the decisions made will not go back in an instant.

This night, Tombstone Island enjoyed a rare pleasure. Happy days are always fleeting. On this night, Rurik and others made a division of powers and responsibilities for the next part of the fleet.

Gould was very surprised at Rurik's whim, and the boy actually deliberately took a boat to Shilla Fort in the east to take a look. What is going on there? Gould knew nothing. What he particularly hopes is that if the Ross people can become prosperous in the new settlements they have built with all their strength, their family will also reap huge benefits.

The fleet is divided into two.

Those cargo ships are still the core of the fleet. They lead a large number of small boats, led by Gould to the port of Roseburg, just like this old guy will do every fall. The only special thing is this year. The voyage took a turn.

The other fleet, whose size was reduced to only three long ships, had as many as one hundred armed men. Arik became the core of the leadership of the fleet, while Rurik became a noble guest.

But in Rurik's view, all the warriors were defending himself, the most noble one, although he did not feel that there was even the slightest danger in running to the east. The road to the future is basically an armed parade in autumn. It is such a force, as if to go to war.

Let's see! How are Arik and his guys dressed up!

Let's talk about Arik himself. He is tall and strong, wearing a thick leather jacket, and a helmet inlaid with iron pieces on his head. He has always carried his own chain mail and a shield. Excellent fighters always have these equipment in order to meet emergency needs. The warriors are all similarly dressed, it is just a matter of wealth, so that only a few people have their own chain mail. Of course, for ordinary enemies, especially naval battles, the overall effect of the chain mail is limited, and it is still not as useful as a round wooden shield reinforced with iron and copper skin.

I have to say that Arik has played his prestige in iron and blood. He has the highest prestige on Tombstone Island, and the settled soldiers are willing to obey his orders.

Originally, Arik was unable to gather a large number of fighters. However, after the plunder of the enemy was ended, the fighters on the island fell into stability, and this stability did not bring them much happiness. They are fighters, and they have tasted great sweetness in a series of battles against the Gotland. Compared to fishing, it is better to rob the enemy to obtain huge wealth.

A few people who have been to Shilla Fort began to brag to their brothers that the lives of the people who moved there were getting better. The fighters on the island are not envious. In fact, they intend to immigrate, and now they can drag their families away. Armed with them, they did not think of robbing their relatives when they went to Fort Shilla. Instead, they brought money that the locals could not spend to buy useful things from their tribesmen.

Half of the soldiers settled on Tombstone Island responded to Arik's call, and there were another twenty veteran soldiers who would serve as navigators of the eastern voyage.

Where's Rurik? His loyal mercenary captain Jeflo, as well as the other ten mercenaries, may only serve as personal guards.

At a new dawn, after dragging for a while, the fleet set foot on their own routes.

With the oars laid down by the three long boats, the sails are also erected. This small fleet lined up in columns, sailing fast in the Gulf of Finland.

The old guys on the ship are saying that the fleet can reach Shilla Fort in just four days at the current speed. Just four days of sailing is enough? The warriors on the ship were in high spirits, because many people entered this sea for the first time, and the freshness that gave everyone was full of excitement.

In the beginning, the fleet complied with inertia and started sailing along the southern coast of present-day Finland.

Traveling on this route, the Rus people were full of enthusiasm, and only Jeflo mentioned his anxiety.

Even though he has lived in Varanga's society for more than ten years, he has always had an obsession with his hometown. Do the tribes in the hometown still exist? Can the vast world find him?

Jevlo has long given no hope. He knows the strength of the Rus, and he does not want these madmen to have the idea of ​​attacking the Finns (that is, the Suomi) tribe. If the Rus are destined to have hegemony, then Yevlo I hope that all the Finnish tribes can know the current affairs and swear to surrender, so that by paying a tribute, everyone will be in peace. Moreover, on the long boat of the Ross people, the Finns also have a backing. Maybe the two sides can unite to resist the aggressive Tavastians and Karelians.

If the Finnish fishing boats want to enter the sea to fish, the sightings of them and the Ross fleet are almost inevitable.

Whether to launch an attack or not is left to the Ruths. Whether to land and plunder, Jevlo is convinced that if the Ruths find it profitable, they will definitely do it.

At this moment, Jeflo was somewhat thankful that his master was Rurik.

He never expects his master to be truly benevolent. In fact, the opposite is true. Although the master is young, he is not at all ambiguous when he should be ruthless.

He is fortunate that because of his own relationship, he gave some suggestions to the owner, which will surely make this fleet adjust its direction.

Jevlo’s words are very clever: “We don’t have to walk along the coastline here. If the sea leads directly to the east, we can just use the wind to face the sails to the north, and the ship can continue. Go forward. Let the brothers save some energy, after all, it is not wise to row a boat when the north wind is strong."

The Gulf of Finland is going from east to west. Watching his cousins ​​also rowing hard, watching them sweating in the cold wind, Rurik is actually not worried that they will be exhausted by their strength, but just worried that they will catch a cold and catch a cold.

In this era, diarrhea and other minor problems that later generations will see are also fatal diseases. It is not uncommon to have diarrhea due to wind-cold, diarrhea to death.

Maybe it was respecting my brother's opinion, or simply because everyone was tired of rowing. After a whole day of sailing, under Arik's order, the fleet completely retracted its oars and let the north wind blow its sails. Because the angle of the sail is subtle enough, the fleet is indeed advancing at a fast speed.

The fleet docked overnight on a lush small island (island near the north shore), and the soldiers who landed took instinctive vigilance to guard against enemies that might launch attacks, or beasts. Although none of these attackers seem to exist, it is always right to remain vigilant in unknown areas.

As everyone knows, the northern land is the so-called "land of the east", where there are at least the Finns, Corvins, and Tavastias. Although they are weak as a whole, but the current Ross soldiers are also very weak. Arik didn't want to take the initiative to attack those guys in the north, at least when the forces were stretched, even if he had the idea of ​​attacking, in the face of the form, he just wanted to respond conservatively.

On a new day, the soldiers of the fleet were fed up with cooked new oats, they ate high-quality food, and sang old ballads and went back on the road.

Because of the wind, they themselves are heading straight to the east against the east sun, but the fleet is constantly skewing to the south.

Few people know the structure of this water area, and Rurik is the most clear.

Everyone spent almost the entire day at sea, boring people or chattering about things, such as bragging about their property, whether the kidnapped wife is pregnant with a boy or a girl, and even holding silver coins to imagine the brothers of Shilla Fort What good things did we buy.

There are even more boring people who put their hands through the gaps in the shields of the boat, and stretched into the sea to feel its coolness.

Routine vigilance work needs someone to do even more. Some people stand up straight in the evening. They are observers and they have extremely sharp eyesight. Now the biggest task is to find a desert island for the brothers to spend the night on.

Unless forced to do so, everyone is unwilling to spend the night on a cramped boat.

"Aric! Look over there! Island!"

Arik stood up abruptly, struggling with the mast and looking into the distance.

I saw in the distance, in the dim setting sun, a shadow that resembled an island appeared.

Is that an island? Oh, of course it is. It's just that the look of this island is a bit strange.

Arik stomped his feet: "Hey, brothers, don't doze off! Rewind the sail! Stretch out the oars!"

At this moment, he had been tossed with boredom and troubles. He had already used Jeflo's thigh as a pillow, and Lurik, who was sleeping on his side, was awakened.

"What's the matter? It will never be an enemy."

Yevlo immediately calmed down: "There are no enemies, but the island has been discovered. Hey, we have discovered a new island to the south."

"New island?" Rurik rubbed his head vigorously and watched Jeflo quickly enter the paddling position. He felt that he had become an obstacle that interfered with everyone's paddling, so he stood up and moved to the bow of the boat. .

The three long boats have adjusted their directions. Everyone needs an island to dock, and put down their respective pottery urns, so that they can cook the wheat they carry, and even light a bonfire to process the smoked fish.

But the scenery over there became a bit strange.

The outline of the island became clear, and the sea level disappeared. Even if the soft light of the evening made the world feel like a departure, the hundreds of soldiers on board knew that it must be land. In an instant, some people who remembered the ancient teachings realized what the distant land meant.

Suddenly, someone yelled at Arik: "Boss! Are we really going? We may be attacked by the Baltic people."

The term Arik is very strange.

"What are the Baltic people? Are they strong?"

The speaker was silent The performance of this person made Arik even more disdainful. He simply drew out his sword and pointed the sword straight at the dim land over there: "Brothers, we have discovered a new land! I heard that there are a group of unknown idiots living there? Are we afraid of them? We just want to live on that island. One night, if the idiots deliberately attack, let them die. My sword is eager for new blood!"

This impromptu speech by Arik can't help Rurik admire it.

Look at these wild warriors, they have changed from wilting, one by one with high morale, and they are already screaming in the struggling oars.

In fact, Rurik knew very well that the land over there was definitely not a "land of the Baltic people". The tribal alliance generally knows the legends about the Baltic people. They are still very strange to the Rus people, so Arik knows nothing about them.

It's just those people who may exist on land, and they are definitely not Baltic people.

Rurik can conclude that the land of the ancient Estonians is ahead.

The Estonians and the Baltic are not the same people at all.