Chapter 367： Where does the leather come from

A new voyage is now! To collect the final tribute before the sea is completely frozen, Otto feels a lot of pressure for this.

He has not organized a fleet to the north of Roseburg in his life in late October.

Although it hasn't snowed yet, the bitter cold of early winter has already chilled most of it to the heart. Those who are poorly dressed are the most dangerous. If they can't keep warm on any night, it may be the last night in their life.

Otto couldn't help but recalled the severely delayed Sorgon last year. It was also at the end of October. After all, the returning fleet returned from the southern waters, which was warmer there, so there is no need to consider the dangerous sea ice for now.

"Damn it, maybe I will wait until the sea winds up and organize a reindeer sleigh team to collect the tribute."

With a great victory across the sea of ​​ice, anyone who has experienced it will not find it difficult to reproduce it again.

Otto thought for a while, considering many real problems, he had to take an adventure.

Use cargo ships! The fleet consists of cargo ships.

"If there is a small piece of ice floes in the sea, the cargo ship will be able to crush it!" Otto did a real ideological struggle, and decided that he must act quickly.

After all, I have an appointment with the Balmerks, as if letting the pigeons do not take them away, wouldn't it seriously damage the credibility and honor of the Ross people?

Otto wants to sail forcibly, and those who are willing to follow him to take risks again, how are they not under tremendous pressure?

Everyone knows the dangers involved in sailing in ice-infested waters. People are generally not afraid of ship collisions and shipwrecks, and their fearlessness is actually limited to the warm period.

The season is like this, the sea in October is already very hands-on, even if the brave winter swimmer, soaking in the water will quickly freeze to death.

For the squirrel skin, for the chrome iron axe, and for the greater good, a small Sorgon fleet consisting of five cargo ships and five long ships, led by Otto’s pros, is heading toward the depths of the bay with the momentum of creating history. The coldest and first frozen waters are moving against the north wind.

A long ship with blue oars printed on its sails, she is Otto's flagship.

It's a pity that this ship doesn't have a clear name, she is just a tool to complete Otto's decision.

The core of this fleet is cargo ships, and all long ships act as guards.

Replaced by Otto, who was extremely thick leather, he stood proudly at the bow of the ship as usual, looking far east.

It is a pity that as a large ship with a height imitating the Caravel-type sailing vessel began to be built, Rurik has no longer looked at the long ships of the upper tribe.

Rurik must follow his father to participate in this adventure in the winter voyage, because the tribute paid by Elronburg is his property. Moreover, the local iron squirrel tribe is legally his slave.

A girl naturally took part in it, and she followed Rurik closely, on a cargo ship carrying a batch of grain.

"When you get there, do you want to say something to your father?" Rurik asked casually.

Girl Seporava, she is dressed in a coat stitched with ferret fur. She has been dressed in meditation, and she is a lovely little angel alive and well.

"I... I don't know."

"Are you nervous? Don't be afraid." Rurik looked at the girl's red face, it was not shy and cautious, it must have been blown by the north wind.

"I'm not afraid. Rurik, I don't know how to talk to my father. You are a good person, but..."

"what's happenin?"

"I..." Even in Roseburg, the child Sepolawa was reluctant to speak more.

She didn't know that the more quiet she was, the more interested Rurik was.

She is born with such a temperament, and she has been very conscientious most of the time.

"Do you have what you want to say?"

Sepolawa looked at Rurik nervously, and she felt excited when she thought about ten years from now that she would give birth to the boy in front of her.

However, there are contradictions. Rurik is a good person. She thinks so, but the Ross people are the conquerors. On this trip, the fleet is going to the big river where Corvin's hometown is, but they have to go to Elronburg.

The killing in the last winter has deeply shocked the young heart of Sepolawa.

She is a simple and depressed girl, Rurik stretched out her hand and stroked her clean hair, "Don't worry about it. I want to see how your father has built Elronburg. "

"But!" The girl suddenly raised her head. "The task you gave them is too difficult. I'm worried..."

"That is the task they must complete."

She thought that Rurik could soften her heart and not have to force her people anymore. She did not want to leave Riek with a smile on her face and speak uncompromising words.

Of course, Rurik's heart softened at the first thought, but he was also cruel in an instant. A king must be consistent. Since Mechasta of Elronburg feels that he can complete the smelting and forging of a thousand chrome axes and even spearheads, he must complete it. Because what they produce is essentially a kind of munitions, so this promise is a military order. What's more, Rurik remembers that the deadline for them to complete the task is the end of September, which is the end of October. If they do one more month, they still can't finish it, that is malicious negligence!

Rülik has no intention of continuing to appease Sepolava, he has become essentially the master of the girl.

Sepolawa is the actual kinship girl of the Iron Squirrel Clan, while the boy Telavis is the proton.

Rurik told her to sit down and wrap a layer of wool felt to keep her warm. He himself often grabbed the side of the ship and gradually saw the land of the east.

The fleet spent the night at sea. They sailed through the night. Before noon the next day, the fleet reached the estuary of the Oulu River quite proficiently.

All of this, of course, is also attributed to the unique measurement skills of Rürik, which made the fleet walk in a straight line out of the fjord. Rürik used his mathematical skills to select the appropriate one for the fleet. Route, the fleet has arrived early on the island at the mouth of the Oulu River.

Entering the dry season of the Oulu River, its shallow water level may be able to take cargo ships, and no one wants to take risks.

Revisiting the old place, just to worry about their rebellion, Otto brought a group of armored warriors, even if there were only a hundred men, it was enough to frighten the Catfish tribe and other Kewen tribes.

Of course, Rurik thinks that Dad is too cautious, and it is good to be cautious, but the resident Corvins obviously lost a large number of males in the war, do they have the strength to rebel?

Five long boats entered the Oulu River smoothly, and Lurik followed the boats upstream. In the river, I really don't know that this **** diving, that is, the long boat with a shallow draft can shuttle smoothly.

Is the Oulu River only one meter deep in autumn and winter?

On the long ship, someone was always carrying a long wooden stick to probe the depth of the water to ensure that the ship would not run aground. If there is any benefit in the dry season, it is that the weak current makes the sailing resistance less, and the Ross long boat can still paddle at high speed.

Otto just wanted to get things done early. The fleet moved quickly against the current. They spent the night on the riverside and rested. They moved on the next day and suddenly found themselves in a small lake with an unstoppable force.

There are haystack wooden houses near the lake, and the Catfish Lord tribe is here.

There are some canoes floating on the lake, and the fishermen see the long boat as if they see a monster.

The news of the arrival of the Rus quickly spread in small villages. Even though the tribe had already expressed surrender, many people were pulling the most important thing and fleeing in a panic. Because they didn't know if the Ross people came to collect the tribute or simply plunder.

Is it right to run away?

The leader Kejas remembered that he had sent people to fight alongside the Ruths last year, and that they would not looting wildly after having such a friendship.

But he didn't convince many people.

The old man, leaning on crutches, led a mere twenty members of the tribe, stood in the village that had quickly quieted down to welcome the Rus people's landing.

Soon, five long ships landed.

Nearly a hundred heavily armed soldiers jumped off the ship, and the first to take action was naturally a handful of mercenaries of Commander Jevlo.

This place was once the first battle of the mercenaries loyal to the Rus, and it was also the first place to shed blood.

Evlo, who arrived here again, had to be more vigilant: "Brothers, be careful. We can't expect them to surrender."

Evlo’s worries are necessary, or that all of this is Otto’s instigation. At first, Lurik felt that Dad was overly cautious, but Dad said: We killed a lot of them, so they really surrendered?

For a moment, Rurik was a little confused.

Looking at the canoes randomly placed on the shore, it is obvious that the fishermen fled very suddenly.

Feeling the unusually quiet here again, Rurik, who was tightly protected by the shield of the Ross warrior, had to become nervous.

"Rurik, these catfish catchers...they..." A timid voice came from Rurik.

It's Seporava...

"What's wrong with you? Afraid?"

"I...I ran against those catfish guys. They...are bad guys."

Bad guys! Bad guys? The world is really absurd. At this moment, shouldn't it be the Ross people who are leading the wicked? Although they are all Corvins, the gray squirrel tribe and the catfish lord tribe have always been in a state of hostility, and Sepolawa must have been indoctrinated since childhood that those who catch catfish are bad guys.

But do these have any meaning?

"Jeflo, wind the crossbow! Take your people to explore." Rurik whispered softly.

Jeflo looked back and understood.

Because many mercenaries have been paddling for a long time, it has become untimely to wind it with strong arms. The winch they carry comes in handy at this time. They slowly approached those houses with crossbows, and many old mercenaries directly remembered the scenes of the previous winter.

The haystacks by the lake, and the shadows of the wooden houses, aren't they murderous everywhere?

Thinking of their companions being sealed with a sword by an enemy with excellent archery skills, they were worried about their necks, but the **** of their right hand hadn't left the trigger, and the archer was aiming at any suspicious location.

Suddenly, a small group of figures emerged from the hiding place.

If it weren't for the crutch to show up first, mercenaries would suddenly shoot terrifying arrows.

An old guy on crutches appeared. He was Kaihas, the leader of the tribe. In Otto's eyes, he hadn't seen him for only half a year. This man was getting older. Others are old, so you can't lose any cards you should have.

The spear-wielding warriors followed closely and propped up a small but necessary card for their leader. This is the so-called armed, obviously unable to withstand the two or three rounds of shooting by the Ross Crossbowman.

They appeared upright and had no intention of fighting, and when they saw Otto, they approached the alert.

The vigilant warriors slackened. The swords and axes they were holding in their right hands flamboyantly circled and juggled. It was an unintentional act. In the eyes of the spear-bearing Corvin, many people were on the verge of scaring urine.

Fortunately, Kejas met more scenes, and he tried his best to keep calm.

He approached Otto respectfully: "Great Chief Ross, I know your purpose, and I have all the squirrel skins you asked for."

Evlo immediately made the correct translation. Who was dissatisfied with it?

"You did a good job, but your village has become quiet again. Why? I thought you were armed again and planned to betray me."

Kaihas was so shocked that his whole body trembled, and he had no doubt that if he angered the Ross people, the village would ignite a huge fire. He hurriedly explained: "My people are very humble and very scared. They fled into the woods."

"I was scared?" Otto laughed as he thought about it, but couldn't laugh after thinking about it. "What about leather? I don't care about your people, I want leather. Kaihas, you are responsible for collecting all the tributes of the Corvin people. Are you really ready?"

"Yes!" Kejas insisted that he had completed the task, and pointed to the location of the mountain fort not far away: "The leather is there. It is a tribute from our Kewen people. There are... 10,000 copies."

"What? So much?!"

"Yes." Kaijas was very happy that Otto would be pleasantly surprised, so he continued flattering: "They are all dedicated to you. In all the squirrel skins, my tribe provides more, the three tribes …" At this point, Kaihas was cruel and deliberately slandered: "Great leader, I don't know whether to say it or not."

"speak!"

"They. Bakkan, Terho, and Ojedo. The three leaders did not provide a lot. Maybe it was just because I was the one who collected the tribute. Each tribe should provide two thousand squirrel skins. The three tribes only Give me three thousand copies. Great leader, we are good at fishing and hunting squirrels. In order to realize my loyalty, I have provided seven thousand copies."

Here Kaihas tried his best to portray himself as a loyal eagle dog, and to portray the other three tribes as potential traitors. The old guy said it, but Otto didn't doubt it for a while.

A murderous aura rose in Otto's heart, and Yevlo, who was in charge of the translation, was also willing to believe that the three tribes were suspected of rebellion.

When they communicated, Liu Rick was not directly present, and he did not want to stay in this village for a long time. He accompanied Sepolawa to wander around the boat boringly, waiting for the Ross soldiers to carry the large amount of leather away.

Seeing that the leader of Rose showed signs of anger, Kejas kept doing nothing. "Great leader, I am your loyal servant, but those tribes are questionable. I am even worried that they will go to Tavastia not far away. People, that group of more powerful enemies. In my opinion, we should form a coalition to defeat the three tribes thoroughly, and then attack the Tavastias."

Otto felt something was wrong: "Do you... want war?"

"I don't want war, I just want to continue to be your servants. Let us live better, and you can get more leather."

"Not bad." Otto nodded deeply: "Unfortunately, they didn't really rebel. But don't worry, you continue to collect tributes from them and tell them that if you dare to disobey, I will fight against you! Listen, we are It is true that you are one of my loyal dogs, and any hunter cherishes hounds."

In the Western context, calling others "hounds" or "loyal dogs" is often not only without malice, but rather praises for loyalty.

This is the verbal promise that Kaihas hopes to get, so that he can better fish and flesh those enemies.

The invasion and conquest of the Rus was a simple act of conquest. Otto had no idea about mediating the conflict between the five tribes of the Corvins. The Catfish Lord tribe itself has a certain advantage. Now the Grey Squirrel tribe has been forcibly removed, and the other three tribesmen have suffered extremely serious losses.

Although Kaihas' own tribe has suffered losses, fortunately, the women of the tribe have not been hit by the war. Many men naturally took possession of more women, and the tribe lost its population. The best solution was to accelerate childbirth, so a large number of women actually fled into the woods with their stomachs straight and deliberately avoided the Ross people.

This small group of humans living in the Oulu River Basin can be said to live in a poorer community. UU reading

Kaihas was indeed able to provide as many as 10,000 squirrel skins, of which as many as 9,000 were actually collected from the three tribes as a taxpayer. He himself only provided a mere thousand.

Even if the three tribes migrated farther and tried to hide, they were still found by the people of Kaihas. Relying on the greater number of males, the Salmon Lord tribe did not hesitate to order them to take out tribute by powerful means.

Kejas, when the Ross people are not coming, he is the little overlord of the Oulu Valley. The Ross man came, and he turned into a puppy with a tail wagging.

Otto didn’t know the inside story and didn’t want to know it for the time being. In fact, even if he learned about it, would he go after it? Of course it is negative.

Conquering the Kowenmen was a complete accident, and the Russ' completion of the winter expedition was originally a temporary intention.

Long-term governance here? Otto, he didn't have any plans in this regard, he thought maybe his Rurik wanted to.

It is most practical to collect at least one batch of squirrel skins. As for where the leather comes from, and what do you care about so much?