Chapter 1038： Explorers and the Savoks on the Luga River

In the Gulf of Finland, a large number of Russ and Finnish fishing boats wantonly plunder the abundant fish at the turn of spring and summer. Herring, baltic cod, pike, perch, fishermen with limited capacity wantonly catch.

Generally speaking, a trawler casts a large net in the water and drags it around, and the amount of fish that can be caught depends on luck.

The large nets woven by the fishermen are all mixed with flax and boat cable hemp, which ensures toughness and strength, and is the best netting material currently available. Even such a large net is very worn out. It is a reality to fish for three days and dry the net for two days.

Fishing for herring in the vast sea is a gamble. How much you can catch depends on the gift of God, so the fishermen always kneel before the statue of Frey they bought before going out to sea, and even spend money to worship at the Great Temple of New Rosesburg, just for the sake of The patron saint of wealth bestows the receipt.

No matter how much herring is caught, it will be sold out in an instant when it is transported back to the port. There is no problem with the price being cheaper, and the fishermen generally make a profit.

There are also many fishermen who are impatient with catching fish. They are willing to take a more prudent approach, which is to release the bait to catch cod. As long as they catch a big guy, the whole family will be able to enjoy it for many days. If they catch more, they will sell the same. good price. The most important thing is that the cost of fishing materials is very low, carbon steel hooks and hemp ropes are enough, and the bait is small fish.

In between is going into inland rivers to catch perch. These danshui fish have been used many times, but the Rus people who are proficient in eating fish have already studied fish thoroughly. They cut off the parts with many bones with daggers, and the rest is fish meat.

The coasts around the Gulf of Finland are uninhabited, and a large number of river mouths are visible to the naked eye.

All inland rivers may contain huge resources of danshui fish, tempting fishermen to take risks with weapons.

There were five fishermen's families walking together, armed with harpoons, axes, arrows and wooden crossbows, rowing two long boats consciously thinking of the mouth of an unknown river.

They have large nets and fishing hooks in their homes, and they also bring some bitter and bad salt. These crude salts also need to purify the sodium chloride inside. The fishermen are not picky. After all, this kind of inferior salt is not eaten directly, but the fish or animal meat caught by the team is preservative, and it must be cooked when it is eaten. Boil off excess salt.

This is a fairly wide river, which is different from other small rivers visible to the naked eye, and its flow rate is not high. The riverside is lush and forested, and the riverside is full of lush reeds.

They lived on the shore temporarily, cutting down small trees to build shacks. Then prop up the pottery urn and cook the freshly caught sea bass.

Women and children from five families worked together to cook, and the children were busy scraping the fish scales with a knife before handing the fish to the mother for further processing. The children played in the grass, played in the water by the river, and tried to catch some frogs and shrimps in the grass, even if it was a leg of black mud.

The men ran farther, some were in charge of spreading out large nets to focus on catching fish, while others were carrying wooden crossbows and short wooden bows to hunt further afield.

Because the eagle-eyed spotted the cruising waterfowl!

A hoarse rattling caught the attention of the two fishermen, who were indeed fishermen but now turned into forest hunters.

"Are some big birds over there? Catch one that's long enough for us to eat. Carl keep up," said one.

"It's better to crawl down first, and let's get some reeds to stick around to avoid scaring the birds."

"Alright."

Carl and Brand are longtime friends, New Rus who have immigrated from the Meralen clan together. Immigrants joined Ross a full decade ago, and the two families gained new identities and responded to the call to move to Fort New Ross as the early settlers.

Now, the two take their families on an adventure in partnership with three others. The two longboats are the property of the two of them. They have saved enough money to order their own boats, and they can now do adventures that were unconditional in the past.

The two are no longer young, and their beards and hair are beginning to gray. They withdrew from the second flag team, and their respective eldest sons filled positions. The sons not only survived the War of 840 but also returned with a lot of spoils. The eldest son has already established his own business, and he has no right to ask for more than some gifts from his son as a father. This is not a problem. The two refused to accept their own aging, so they took their youngest son and daughter to start their dream adventure.

A large number of tall green reeds were inserted into the hat, and the reeds were quickly tied into bundles and hung on the body.

Two groups of green grass squirmed among the dense reeds, even an old hunter with a keen eye could not easily detect it.

The south wind made the reeds sway constantly, and the nearby forest rustled. The noise completely concealed the movements of the two hunters, and their wriggling was also integrated with the swaying of the reeds.

In this way, the Nordic grey cranes who are in the mating period know nothing.

Carl continued to crawl, and a light arrow had been installed. He held a crossbow and whispered: "Look at me now, I will definitely kill you with one shot. Alas, I asked you to bring a crossbow, but you don't."

Brand focused: "The wooden bow is light enough. Alas, I was thinking of fishing, who would have thought that I would encounter a flock of big birds in this unknown place. Also, who knew this little river was so long? Only God knows. Where does it lead."

"Stop talking nonsense. Look at me."

Carl was clearly a sniper at the moment. This old guy was constantly moving with a reed on his back. He didn't know what those big birds were, he just coveted the meat, leg bones, and feathers.

The arrow was silent, and with a short whistle, the arrow pierced through the chest of the gray crane. A huge bird suddenly fell!

The flock of birds was instantly startled, and they raised their towering necks to look around. All the birds in this large courtship scene were exploring the situation around them. The big bird hit by the arrow was still kicking its legs and struggling, flapping its wings helplessly, and stopped moving after a while.

Cal originally thought that he could only shoot one, but seeing that the flock of birds started to quack after observing for a while, he couldn't help but cursed secretly, "A group of stupid birds."

"Hey, maybe we can hunt them all down," Brand said.

"Hopefully. Thanks to the crossbow that the king made, this wooden version is not very good at fighting, and hunting is really good."

Indeed, once people realized the tactical advantage of the charged crossbow, it became more and more equipped. Any hunter likes efficient hunting equipment, and smart people can spontaneously modify the short wooden bow in their hands. Although the cost of making a "pro-crossbow" trigger system is too high, it is also possible to replace it with a simpler lever-type system, even if it is awkward to use. The short wooden bow cannot break the hard skin of wild boars and bears, and it is no problem to shoot small beasts and birds, so it can only hunt small beasts when it is transformed into a crossbow.

It is an accident to encounter a large migratory bird like the gray crane. These Nordic birds will spend their summers on both sides of the Gulf of Finland, hiding in unforgettable riverside lakes to court and incubate their eggs, and spend the winter in the south in autumn.

The second arrow is loaded, another precise sniper.

Only this time the whole flock was completely startled, and they began to take off.

"Good job Carl, at least two." Brand laughed.

"No! We still have a chance. Brother, draw your sword and rush with me! Hack the one who is too late to fly!"

"All right."

The two stopped pretending, and suddenly two old men emerged from the reeds, with an axe in their left hand and a sword in the right hand, rushing to the place where the cranes stopped without saying a word.

The mother crane is busy hatching eggs and will not leave unless she has to. Or in the memory of these migratory birds, they have not encountered human attacks. The mother cranes who hatched their eggs stood up one after another, and three were directly hacked to death by violent hunters.

The entire group of cranes escaped, and they abandoned their young birds. The two hunters stood here, smiling and exploring their results.

"It's a big bird, I didn't think there was such a big guy in the world!" Carl held a dying grey crane by the neck, "It's really heavy."

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"The bird meat is enough for us. Let's take a good look at these feathers! You can make an extra profit by selling them to the king." Brand corrected with a smile.

Carl looked at the prey at hand again, put it down and spread his wings. "Wow! The wingspan is so amazing."

"Let me see too."

Now, both of them are amazed at the huge wings of such a big bird. Each piece of flying feathers is extremely huge, and even the smaller feathers are excellent materials for making arrow feathers.

Carl played with his old friend: "You say, how many arrows can we make by plucking the available feathers of this bird?"

"If there are three arrows... maybe there are thirty."

"Maybe more. Let's look at other gains."

Now there is no natural protection, the Rus people think that all the products are the gift of the gods, and the hunters have always hunted freely, unaware that their excessive hunting will cause ecological disasters. As a result, the wild reindeer herd near Roseburg Fjord has been wiped out for a long time, and even the small beasts have disappeared, which led to the tradition of north hunting in the age of the Rose tribe.

Five families are standing in an unknown river area in the southern Gulf of Finland. This generation is not a Slavic settlement. What they see is a whole new world for them.

The five long-necked birds were dragged away, and the two also found a lot of eggs from the nest, and even killed the chicks and took them away.

Such hunting is really rewarding, and the large amount of hunting has attracted great surprises to the people in the camp.

They scald the big birds with boiling water, and all the good feathers are collected to dry.

The bird meat was grilled directly, but the taste was a bit more woody, and the five families were not picky. They kept the eggs as reserves for their continued expeditions. Whether it is a big bird or a chick, the unfinished bird meat is like extra caught perch, smeared with a layer of coarse salt and roasted into jerky as much as possible.

These large birds have amazingly long legs, with long, slender leg bones, which are really good materials for making bone flutes. Everyone knows that Noren, one of the king's wives, is proficient in music. She needs a lot of materials to make musical instruments. In the past, eagle legs were used to make bone flutes because they were long enough. Now, aren't these bird legs longer? They fantasized that Noren would pay big bucks for it.

They chatted and laughed around the bonfire. Today's hunt was a good sign. As long as they continued to explore against the current, they might find more flocks of birds. This was an unexpected wealth, and they straightened up and went on the expedition immediately.

The two longboats continued to drift against the current, all rowing as hard as they could.

The surrounding scenery has not changed much. The lake is surrounded by reeds, and the surrounding is full of forests. If it is not for the existence of this river, people who implement this area are really easy to get lost.

Suddenly, the peaceful paddling was interrupted by a small boat that appeared ahead.

"Attention! There is a situation ahead! Take up arms!" After all, Carl retired from the flag team because he was old, and his soldiers were not alert.

The crossbow is loaded, and the short wooden bow is ready.

The small boat was actually a canoe. Obviously, the rowing surprised the sight of the two large boats. After hesitating for a while, he immediately chose to paddle to evacuate.

"How?" someone asked.

"Strange, that's definitely not ours." Carl hurriedly discussed with Brand and decided to bite the bullet and visit.

The flag of Ross was deliberately raised on the mast, and the longship followed the track of the fleeing canoes. Gradually the channel became wider and the flow rate of the river decreased further.

Do not! Instead of a river, what appeared before us was a lake and a village with many gabled huts.

"An unknown village. Carl, what to do? Go and see?" Brand, who was in control of the rear boat, shouted.

"Then go have a look, I'll go first! You stand by at the back, remember, you don't want to go ashore."

Therefore, the sudden appearance of two large ships is a complete rarity for the locals. This small village hidden in the depths of the forest is indeed the first time it has encountered outsiders.

Carl didn't want to show hostility for the first time, and weighed his own strength. It was impossible for five men and a few half-sized boys to loot this village. Of course, this does not mean that he will not be interested in robbery in the future.

Men, women, and children of the entire village walked out of their residences. They subconsciously maintained a certain degree of vigilance, but they were more watching the fun.

A group of short, dark-haired men with spears and bows gathered, forcing Carl to be more alert.

The longship went boldly, and he made his wife and children stand up in a high profile, after all, women and children never aroused hostility in each other. He is also betting, the number of the other side is not too many, but his own people are too few. If there is a conflict, if he loses the battle, won't he become a slave? This is that he is going to Brand to take other people to stay on the lake. Once there is a change, he will save himself and run away. If he fails, he will run away and report the matter to the Governor of New Roseburg.

Carl discreetly landed, carrying a round shield and deliberately changing into the Rossonet shirt that had been patched a lot. This dress is very imposing, and a villager dressed in coarse cloth animal skin is greatly surprised.

He first went ashore alone, although the steel sword was hanging on his body, he spread his hands intentionally with a smile to indicate that he was not a threat.

So, an old man leaning on a wooden stick walked out of the hundreds of villagers who were watching.

The old man opened his mouth and asked, and his words really shocked Carl. Because he basically understands.

"You are actually Suomi?!" Carl asked back in broken Suomi or Finnish.

The old man was equally astonished: "A huge stranger from afar, you... know our language?"

"Stranger? Aren't we friends?"

"Friends. You, indeed, are our friends. Maybe. You came adrift from far away, and you...for what?"

The old man did speak Suomi, at least Karl could understand it. After all, Carl has lived in New Roseburg for a long time. In recent years, as long as he is fishing, he will definitely deal with the Suomi people who live there. There are also cases of cooperative fishing at sea before. Suomi's language has few inherent vocabulary, and it is not a big problem to learn enough vocabulary to make do with common words.

Carl is keenly aware that these Suomi speakers are by no means from the country of Finland, and they don't even understand the meaning of their clothes and their strange words.

An answer is about to come out - this village is not under the control of the Rus Kingdom, and the locals probably don't know anything about the outside world.

Thinking of this, if many brothers are exploring together, it might not be a problem to rob the village and take everyone into slavery.

Since the other party speaks the Suomi language, think about it, if the brothers really do this, will a large group of Suomi people living in the capital allow such a situation?

Now that the two sides can communicate, maybe...

Carl thought of a plan, maybe he could convince the village in front of him to join the kingdom of Ross. He really knew the preferences of the Great King Rurik, killing those tribes that did not surrender, and rewarding those who voluntarily surrendered. Wouldn't it be a great achievement to persuade the village to submit to the king's favor?

Look at the population of this village, there are about 200 people, although the number is small, it exists in an unknown area, and there are clear waterways for the Rus people to settle in in the future.

Carl made a judgment and said now: "We just drifted here by accident, and we are indeed friends. And, I'd like to exchange something with you."

Hearing the "exchange", the old man immediately moved his mind.

Upon seeing this, Carl immediately said the word "salt" in Suomi, which made the old man even more excited to investigate.

He went on to ask, "So, who are you? And this river, what do you... call it."

The old man lost his mind at the moment, and pointed out in a hoarse voice: "We are from Savokot."

Savok? an unknown noun.

Carl still asked the name of the river, but the answer he got was very absurd. Because the people of this village only call the river "river".

"Since I don't have a name, can I be the first to be named?" Carl thought, already having a result in his heart.

Along the way, he found that the river has some characteristics, such as sandy and rocky bottom, mixed with some pebbles, and dense reeds everywhere along the river. In the Norse dialect of Old Rus, the noun to describe the lush grass by the river is "Reids", so the name of the river is it.

(The savokot people are an important branch of the Ingri Finns. This river is the Luga River in the south of the Gulf of Finland and in the western region of Novgorod.)