Chapter 908： General "Bald" Fisk raids Växjö village alliance

A road through woods, lakes and hills stretches from Jönköping to Vaxjo in the forest.

Even if there is no convenient waterway transportation, people's demands for trading still drive the merchants to step on a dirt road in the forest with a pair of feet.

As the snow melted, the road became extremely muddy. When winter came, the snow that covered the knees also blocked the road.

There is a frost-free period of about five months from the planting season to the first snow in early winter, four of which are hard enough.

Växjö's village alliance needed this land route to the north. Although this route was not the key to the people's survival, it was a way for merchants to make money.

The Växjö village alliance, in the central forest area of ​​the Götaland region, happens to be in the middle of a trade route.

In other words, it was the pre-existing trade route that gave birth to a group of villages, and finally gave birth to the existence of a city called Vaxjo.

"Växjö" means "the road by the lake", which essentially refers to a commercial street in a very abstract manner.

The so-called commercial street is not exact. A group of people built houses by the road by the lake, and then fished by the lake. Because the man who first settled in this lake area was named Helga, his successors named it Lake Helga.

The people who moved to Lake Helga and created Vaxjo were almost all Gotlanders. Because they had been separated from their homeland for too long, and the forest blocked it, it was not convenient to communicate with the outside world. They formed their own communities and formed their own communities in the forests. their own culture, and even their own dialects.

The forests are sheltered, and over the years people have cultivated farmland in the forests and traded with the Danes in the south, using the only waterway to the south ever found.

Those Danes lived in the southern tip of Scandinavia, a commercial harbor called Silver Castle.

However, the war ten years ago dealt a heavy blow to the Danes' Silver Castle. After that, the local regime in Denmark changed frequently, and the noble lords, large and small, had their own plans. In particular, the largest trading port, Hazelby, was torched, and Gotland Island was destroyed by the war. The ravaged prosperity collapses directly.

The war brought severe devastation, and the Silver Fort, or Sylworth Fort, did not recover until 840.

Even if the old king Olegin of the Swedes, the invaders in the war, died here, there are also thousands of Swedish invaders buried here.

There are still merchants in Silver Fort, and the scale of business is far from what it used to be.

Even a group of Danish refugees felt unsafe in Jutland and Zealand, and decided to go north along the river.

At least Waynsor in the forest where business was frequently used in the past was a closed place. As long as the waterway was blocked, it would almost become an absolutely closed and absolutely safe place.

As the Silver Castle merchants learned that even Bornholm Island was ravaged by war, Ross, who used to only listen to its name, has become one with Sweden, and has grown into a powerful force with strong malice towards Denmark. Why didn't the merchants escape?

In recent years, Vaxjo in the forest has ushered in special prosperity. Danish businessmen and a group of Danish beneficiaries sailed north. They came strong and forcibly integrated into the life of the Götaland people in Vaxjo.

It was in this isolated place that a battle between the two ethnic groups occurred quietly.

On the one hand, the Växjö Villages Alliance does not want foreign Danish refugees to seize their own survival resources.

On the one hand, Danish refugees need a stable area to continue living.

After all, the battle between the two sides ended in a lose-lose situation, and it was not until they were tired that they sat down and negotiated. The outsiders made a compromise. The Danes who were willing to work in agriculture joined some villages nearby. The addition of a group of Danish craftsmen enriched the production and life of the local people.

Those Danish businessmen who relocated with their families gave up everything they owned in Silver Castle. Since they could not force these former partners to hand over part of the land that had been reclaimed on the battlefield, they had to take their slaves to reclaim the land by themselves, or take out the land. Money spent huge sums of money on some ready-made properties.

These Danes made even greater concessions, and Denmark became a thing of the past.

Gottaland is Gotland, but decades of separation are enough to divide the two sides. Gotaland is of the same origin with Denmark, and even the Swedes, the old Rus and the Norse, the Saxons in northern Frank, and even the Angles and the Saxons who established a kingdom in Britain. But it was more than 300 years of separation, and the neighbors who lived with each other went their separate ways.

Even the Gotharans themselves have been severely divided. Although everyone immigrated on a large scale because of the lack of sufficient living space on Gotland a hundred years ago, the Gothalans have split due to geographical reasons: Kalmar by the sea, Union of Växjö villages, Jönköping city, Visingösser Island, Gothenburg on the Göta river.

The destruction of the city of Kalmar by war is what the Vaxjos learned from the horrific accounts of Danish merchants and even refugees from Gotland and Kalmar.

What does their calamity have to do with Vaxjo?

They can split indefinitely. Now more than 20 villages have formed an alliance. Among them, ten large villages have the largest population and no one village has an overwhelming advantage. It is one village that controls politics, and each village elects a leader. Chief", these leaders will meet to discuss any major event.

This is the Nordic Council of the Växjö people. Ten leaders maintain a simple democracy within. With the addition of a group of rich and private soldiers, the Danish merchants who have lost their silver castles, there are ten merchant representatives. Join Parliament.

Because of the war, which was clearly unnecessary, both sides made a compromise, which was reflected in their parliamentary government. Twenty parliamentarians maintained the stability of the Växjö village alliance.

If there is no more war, life can be maintained in this way.

…

The Silver Fort, which suffered from war, still has vitality, and the sea is really a good place for fishing and boiling salt.

Baltic herring and cod are two key catches, and they are rich in oil, which is very attractive to the people of this era! People can stop eating carbohydrates such as wheat. If they don't eat fat, death will be a short-term thing. It is difficult for people who only eat protein to survive for a month. The key to the survival of the Nordic people who are good at fishing is these fish oils.

Once, the old Ross tribe lived in the fjords, relying entirely on the oil obtained from fishing to survive tenaciously.

The Vaxjo people have chosen to live inland. Lake Helga and the nearby lakes cannot catch the extremely greasy and often huge herring. They can only fish for some European perch, whose fish oil content is very high, not to mention the fish is spiny. .

The people wanted huge cod, big chunks without thorns, grilled and sizzling with oil.

The merchants and craftsmen of Silver Castle have a new way of making a living. After fishing, they lightly process the fish, and then pickle the fish with rough processed sea salt, put it in a pottery urn to wait for the river and lake to thaw, and then row a long boat to Vaxjo for sale.

Vaxjo also has its own specialty, which is surplus food. Compared with the number of their own population, their self-produced oats can satisfy their own needs and at the same time they are rich, so they can sell oats and self-brewed ale to the outside world.

The land in the large lakeside swamp area is too wet. These areas are not suitable for growing wheat but are overgrown with reeds. They are used for grazing cattle and sheep. They make a batch of dairy products and leather products for sale.

Danish traders who immigrated to Vaxjo were key middlemen in this trade route, and as commerce in the forest gradually stabilized, more surplus wealth needed good buyers. It is OK to sell some agricultural products to the Danish world, but the nearest buyers are actually Jönköping and Wiesingösser in the north.

Vaxjo also needs to trade key iron items to the north, even if they don't know that the merchants in Jönköping are actually second-tier dealers, and the iron items they sell come from Gothenburg on the Göta River to the west.

Commercial demands connect all the Jotalan communities, and each community has its own unique output. If there is no invasion from foreign forces, they can still maintain their current way of life for a long time.

However, the Kingdom of Ross is here!

It is not even necessary for the Kingdom of Rus to launch a war of conquest in the south. Now the Danish king Horrick Haraldsson, who is now supported by the Franks, has never lost his ambition to expand his power to the north.

The densely forested Vaxjo has only one waterway to communicate with the outside world and only one small road connecting the north. The traffic is so congested that the local 20,000 residents really think they live in a peaceful and comfortable place.

The spiritual life of the people is maintained at the altar by the lake, Hanukkah, Sowing Festival, Summer Solstice Festival and Harvest Festival. People's life is more and more strictly bound to agricultural life. The Vaxjo people who used to fish and hunt healthily anchor their life more and more. On the annual oat harvest, they settled down permanently.

Only the merchants kept Vaxjo in contact with the outside of the forest.

The ice and snow melted and the earth hardened, and when the reeds by the lake grew fluffy again, the work of going north on foot for trade could be carried out again.

Sheepskins, cow hides, butter, fish oil, linen, surplus oats, ale, and other common commodities of the agricultural age were loaded on wooden carts by merchants who wished to go north.

The most critical sea salt is specially packaged in a wooden box. The merchants revert the imported crude sea salt into brine for second processing. Although the final result is still large grains of sea salt, its bitter taste can be ignored. The salt is believed to be condensed into one piece, sealed in special wooden barrels and sealed with beeswax, and such good salt is sold at a high price in Jonkoping and Wiesingösser.

In particular, Karl "Mad Bear", the famous warlord tyrant on the Isle of Visingo, the merchants were sure that the man would buy a lot of Växjö goods, especially good salt, fish oil, butter and cheese.

What can the merchant get in return? Nature is iron. For ironware, merchants would rather pay high prices.

A team of merchants spontaneously headed north. Due to a small rainfall, the merchants' actions were slightly delayed.

All merchants had to go together, they were not worried about bandits, or bandits didn't exist in this sparsely populated area.

The road that was forcibly stepped on is very narrow, and the grass will grow wild if you don't step on it for a while. What merchants have to worry about is the sudden emergence of bears and wolves, especially the local brown bears. Those ferocious beasts are always hungry after hibernating. The beasts will take the initiative to attack the traveling merchants and eat the merchants to the bone. While it's nice to kill some bears and skin them along the way, no businessman desires such extravagance.

Five merchant groups formed a large group. They had ten ox-pulled wooden carts, merchants accompanied by private soldiers, and men hired in Vaxjo to form an armed **** team of nearly 100 people.

With bows and arrows, short spears and axes, they moved forward in the narrow road, their eyes always paying attention to the wind and grass around them.

However, this is not the first trip for businessmen, so don't be too wary.

All the merchants were sitting on ox carts, some came alone, some brought their sons, even their wives, concubines and slaves.

The merchants whistled and sang songs and chatted with the guys about how much money they could make by getting their merchandise to Jonkoping this time.

Forget it, that pretentious "Crazy Bear" Carl is an idiot, so-called holding the glory of the past but hiding on the island of Lake Wettern as the island owner, and he doesn't want to attack the Swedes to other Gotharans. Loss revenge.

It's a pity that Karl "Crazy Bear" has moved his head, and the businessmen are still heading north. They don't know anything about the situation in the north!

…

What is Spring Breeze Horseshoe Disease? Three hundred Rus cavalry and one hundred elite Rus infantry, led by Hagrid, the governor of Jonkoping appointed by King Rurik, were rapidly advancing towards Växjö.

Hagrid was not alone in leading the way. He was happy to see his daughter Astrid being favored by Fisk, captain of the Ross cavalry, and thanks to her daughter's obedience, he was also treated politely.

There are some people gathered around him. No matter what he has experienced, everyone's life will continue. Since he has surrendered to Ross and obtained the promise of safety, then he will continue to live under the control of the Kingdom of Ross.

Hagrid formed a small caravan with a group of people also from Jönköping, whose larger task was to assist the Rus army in their journey.

He understood, those big beasts called steeds were ridden, and the Russ even fed them with oatmeal extravagantly.

I am afraid it is because the Russ army is very rich, and those horses are carrying some extra sacks, which are full of oats.

It was the night of the first camp, and the army camped in the woods. A batch of fallen leaves was cleared to reveal the blackened hard soil, and a batch of pine trees was felled and the pine branches were piled together.

The fire burning method is not new in the Gotaland area. The local Vikings know this kind of fire burning method, but the natural soil nitrate is not easy to find. Natural earth salt can make bow drill fire more efficiently with half the effort. Hagrid was surprised not by their method of making fire, but by the extravagant use of earth salt.

Fisk arranged for the army to rest, and gathered all the Jonkoping people who led the way and transported supplies, including Hagrid.

"I know you all brought food, and I don't think it's enough. Thank the king! The king gave you food along the way, and now each of you can get some cooked wheat. I'll give you the wheat, and you can cook it freely. ."

Fisk did what he said, and after he counted the heads, he gave each one a pound of oats.

This surprised Hagrid, not realizing that the promise of the handsome blond king was true. People who were originally apprehensive about the Rus army, now feel at ease after eating the wheat.

In fact, what Hagrid didn't know was that the only mixed cavalry and infantry unit he had ever seen in the Ross army had the best military discipline. These people are either the king's standing army, or Ross's offspring who grew up on free lunches for ten years. Out of their feelings for the king, they did not dare to disobey the orders given by Rurik, but implemented them with great self-discipline. In particular, one must be implemented - be friendly to peaceful surrenderers.

But Rurik relied even more on repression for the other armies under his command, relying on the threat of "criminal punishment for mistakes" to force his subordinates not to get too out of control.

It is true that people cannot be generalized. For example, this "bald" Fisk, he is tall and big, but he is very delicate. His biological father had already died in battle, and he grew up under the supervision of his own mother, although he had been blessed by the Rurik family.

Even so, "Bald" Fisk has conceived his three captured wives, and he has become a father, and soon his latest captured Astrid will give birth to a child.

He was heavily influenced by his mother, so he lost the wildness that could easily get out of control. As a general trained by the king, Fisk received a special education beyond ordinary people!

He is now very polite to Hagrid, the leader, and treats Astrid, who was a slave girl, as his wife, because he believes in a principle taught by Rurik: if you want to live, let others live.

In an instant, the mustache disappeared.

After this night, Fisk's mixed forces advanced extremely smoothly.

He was also in a good mood. Because of the preciousness of the warhorse, he ordered all the cavalry to dismount and walk on foot, keeping the same speed as the infantry.

The Rus soldiers here are all standing troops, and they are completely under the command of Fisk, including Pecheneg Princess Bejahir. Bejahir became a cavalry tactician. She only gave tactical suggestions. Now that there is no battle, she simply sits on the ox cart after taking off her armor and being light in weight.

She is not alone. She is accompanied by two armed maids brought from her hometown and guarded by real Pecheneg soldiers. She still enjoys aristocratic treatment, after all, she is one of the concubines of King Ross.

No one thought that such a well-organized army could walk to Vaxjo with dignity, and the more southward the army was, the more vigilant it became.

The cavalry were required to take turns mounting their horses to maintain vigilance, beware of a sudden attack and to counterattack directly. The fighters on foot were not marching swaggeringly, they were either carrying recurve bows and crossbows, ready to go into battle.

Some cavalrymen were placed as scouts at a distance of about 500 meters in front of the team, and it was these scouts who collided with the merchants swaying northward on the narrow road.

What a bizarre encounter is this? !

Many businessmen have never seen a horse, let alone a cavalry.

Centaur is the earliest name for cavalry by the ancient Greeks, and now these merchants from Vaxjo are directly shocked that they have encountered "the unspeakable monster in the forest".

It was too late to say that, when the merchants were still dumbfounded, the vigilant cavalry saw a large group of armed men escorting some vehicles, and they did not think of looting at all but that this was a threatening army. There were only a few scouts who were categorically no match for these people. They didn't even shoot arrows, they evacuated in a flash.

The iron hoofs kicked up a lot of mud, and the scouts retreated from the slowly advancing team in a charging posture.

The scouts all shouted: "There are at least a hundred enemies ahead!"

The atmosphere suddenly changed, and Fisk was not surprised at all. Encountering an enemy can happen at any time. Since things have arrived, then launch an attack!

"Cavalry! Mount!" he yelled, "Follow me!"