Chapter 1043： 2nd Cavalry Departure

The Karlbrand expedition offered entirely new trail possibilities, which Rurik desperately needed.

The project of digging the canal is based on the current human resources, and it may be a severe test, but if you count it, you want to quickly get the road from the second capital city to the agricultural area. The canal is navigable to connect the two water systems. Ross is used to Ship shipping was immediately operational, and the capacity of ships far outstripped land traffic.

Rurik's original plan was indeed to establish a straight line between Novo Rosberg and Nov and Rhodes, and then use an axe saw to develop a land passage abruptly.

Perhaps the plan to build roads should not be abandoned. More roads means more choices.

The most urgent task is to go to the swamp and make a field trip to determine whether the local geographical conditions are conducive to the construction of the canal.

He pondered that even if the swamp terrain is not good, it would be a good thing to build a rammed earth road along the edge of the swamp. So the worst result is actually to set up two settlements on each of the two rivers closest to each other, like a post station, to ensure that the inland waterway can work.

Rurik did not want to wait, and even ordered to leave the next day.

Carl and Brand made the credit, and thanks to the organizers of their expedition, the credit was shared equally between the two.

"You have done a great job! For the time being, I will reward you with a pound of silver, and then give you some barbecue and scones. I will arrange accommodation for all of you tonight, and all the men in the expedition tomorrow will follow me back to see."

Even two pounds of silver was enough for the two of them.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to hold a small meeting at night, they hurriedly took out their adventure income.

Huge feathers and extremely long, straight bird bones were two things that Rurik saw as great treasures. They are here, fully proving that all descriptions are true. Putting feather dyes on hats is a means for the rich to decorate themselves. Now it is a strategic material. Ross, who is very fond of arrow misses, always needs the largest feathers possible.

As for bird leg bones, it is a good material for flutes. In principle, there is no problem in making bone arrow clusters from leg bones, but doing this now is a waste of time. All the bird bones will be handed over to Noren, the rhythm-loving aristocrat who will give Ross's military band better quality flutes.

All the supplies that the expedition wanted to sell were essentially what Rurik needed, and they bought them all on the spot.

The entire expedition, even the ten Savok children, were placed in an empty warehouse by Rurik. The environment is not a good grip, but there is a flat wooden floor, which is convenient for everyone to sleep on the floor.

They feasted on wheat cakes and grilled fish, and even drank some ale. The women of the expedition team were already entangled, and in line with the principle of everyone who came, they quickly bought some necessities at the market while the night market was not over yet. To be fair, Novgorod is cheaper than the capital. Selling large and small wooden utensils is one of the methods for local Slavs to make profits. It was originally transported to the capital by second-order dealers for sale. If someone can go to the place of origin to buy it. , of course pay less.

Although it was a floor plan, the women who returned from the purchase bought some home cloth, and even the latest sale of wool blankets.

The core of the blanket is felt, and its raw material comes from war capture. The processed wool is rolled and ironed into felt, and then covered with a layer of fine linen, which is stitched with hemp thread. This is a wool blanket that can be used as a mattress. . Although its price is a little expensive, it can be fully afforded by the financial resources of the old Rus.

That night Rurik immediately sent his guards to the cavalry battalion outside the city to report.

The messenger dashed forward, not caring about the sound sleep of the cavalry soldiers who had been training for a day's rest. He shouted outside the camp: "The king is coming! Emergency assembly!"

The commotion immediately caused Captain Brody to jump up, put on his coat and stomped on his boots, not even bothering to wrap his foot wraps around.

He hurriedly rushed to the door of the barracks against his leading subordinates.

"Hello! What's going on? Why bother us?"

The messenger was out of breath, and his attitude was still kind: "Your Majesty has a big business, and he's coming soon. You guys... get your clothes on, and raise the torches to face the king."

"Is there such a thing?!" Brody was taken aback, and then looked at what he had. He was really a scruffy guy who slept in the lake.

"Exactly."

"Okay." Brody gritted his teeth, turned around and shouted: "Brothers! Get dressed and line up! Light all the torches in the camp."

An open area outside the city was early designated as a training base for cavalrymen, and it was also a venue for cavalry performances. There are old barracks in the local area. Since the Pecheneg people have returned to their hometowns, Kagan sold his own residence to Rurik, so that the cavalry stationed here has a better living space. The more spacious the field, the better the training, and it is easier to do some harsh and cruel training.

Wearing deerskin gloves and clasping polished bronze fingers on their thumbs, cavalry soldiers frequently dismounted for archery training.

They trained with a short wooden bow, but the short wooden bow in this case also became a compound bow. Just like the peculiar shape of the bow, although it does not use horns, it only uses beef tendons to enhance its toughness and elasticity. It is still a makeshift compound bow, at least much better than a piece of wood. The short wooden bow made of oak material is cut out with wider arms, and the adhesive mixed with isinglass and pine glue makes the deer tendons sticky, and the performance is indeed much improved than that of ordinary short wooden bows.

The best is naturally the recurve bow imported from Pecheneg. It is light, has a large saw, and has a high poundage. It is really the best equipment for riding and shooting. The Frankish heavy cavalry was hit hard. Dealing with light or unarmored units like this is really debilitating.

However, the price of such a good bow is high, and the production speed of the Pecheneg people is not fast.

Only one-fifth of the newly formed Second Banner of Cavalry had steppe recurve bows, and the rest were just short wooden bows.

After they were formed, Captain Brody ordered them to train their demons. The chosen children have long been shown to have a talent for horse riding, and they are. After just four days of training, the children's riding skills were good enough, but the level of riding and shooting fell into disrepair.

You can't always ride a horse for horseback riding training, which is torture for war horses. They were forced by Brody into running archery, with violent shaking to simulate a riding environment.

They were ordered to practice high-intensity archery, and they would switch to another when they burst. Of course, the training bow is the most common short wooden bow made of a wooden stick.

Their arms were always sore, and Brody knew how to train them like this, and even knew what these kids needed most right now.

Being cavalry is of course noble, with a high percentage of red meat in their recipes! Especially now is the time to practice skills, arm soreness comes from constantly shooting bows and arrows, everyone is in urgent need of supplements. They eat venison, deer blood sausage, and a lot of grilled fish. Exercise and a high-protein diet make each child's muscles swell day by day, and although they don't show at first, after a while, everyone finds their arms hard as iron and swell.

Rurik came hurriedly on horseback with a small number of guards.

When he arrived at the barracks, he saw that the young soldiers had already formed two teams, and the torches in the camp were bright, illuminating the faces of the soldiers.

Brody hurried to lead the king's horse, and Rurik got down.

"Your Majesty, what exactly is..."

"A big event." Rurik sighed softly and patted Brody on the shoulder with satisfaction: "You are indeed the material for a war chief, and the title given to you is very correct. In less than five days, I think the second The cavalry is ready to go into battle and kill the enemy."

"Thank you for the compliment. We are not ready yet, and we still need a lot of training."

"It's humility. It's good to be humble, but I don't have more time for you guys. Brody!"

"exist."

"Isn't it boring to stay in this training ground all the time? I decided to go to the west of the lake tomorrow to see in person, your cavalry team will accompany me! This is a special exercise, and in a few days, you all have to go there. New Roseburg follows me around."

"Yes." Brody didn't dare to ask more.

"Just tomorrow, try to get up early for dinner, prepare your war horses and wait here. Put on your shirts and take up arms. Remember, this is an exercise, just treat it as if we were marching against the enemy."

"As ordered."

Brody doesn't know anything about the specifics, he's smart enough not to ask what he shouldn't know. The king came and went in a hurry, causing confusion, and the last sentence of the king was caused by his thoughts. "Wouldn't it really be to crusade the enemy?"

Rurik, who had returned in a hurry, was still in a hurry, which made the queen embarrassed for a while.

The so-called palace is actually a large-scale expansion on the basis of the main residence of White Tree Manor, and Queen Svetlana is actually staying in her own family, which is a good thing. She couldn't sleep. She stayed in the bedroom chatting and laughing with Noren, who had many crane legs. She also invited Bejahir, and wanted to hear stories about the battle.

They have a good relationship with each other, at least for now.

As Rurik returned, the three women immediately gathered around, smiling and chattering. With Yingying Yanyan by her side, Rurik's heart softened instantly.

"Lanna, I thought it was just you who were waiting for me. Why... you called them both together?"

Queen Lanna laughed and said, "It's just to relieve the boredom."

"What about Osborn?"

"The children are all asleep. Don't worry, our jokes won't disturb them," Lanna said.

Seeing this, Noren was very sensible: "Since the king is here, Bejahir and I should avoid it." After that, she wanted to leave.

"Wait. Since the three of you are here, I'm just arranging things for you."

So Rurik ordered the three girls to sit down obediently, and like a whim, ordered the three of them to change into their shirts early tomorrow morning and ride on their horses as female warriors. He explained, especially his great dreams to the women he loved.

"Heh. Is it really feasible to dig a swamp to create a river channel?" Noren's mouth squeaked involuntarily.

"You don't think so?"

"If it's you, you can." Her reply was a little perfunctory.

"I support." Lanna twisted her neck. "Oh, I have to take Osborn with me for such a good thing. I want to go out for a walk. It would be great to go hiking on horseback."

"Actually, you want to ride a horse more!" He said. Rurik glanced at the grinning Bejahir: "I knew..."

Svitalana was never a canary willing to stay in a birdcage, she was lively by nature. Just because he was chosen by old Otto as the wife of Rurik at the age of six, a lively and naughty little girl was forced by her parents to be a lady of the family. Who can really restrain her behavior now? As the daughter of the prairie, Beja Hill took advantage of the chat opportunity to introduce her to the customs of the prairie people. The joy of riding a horse is so free!

None of them were ordinary noble women, and all of them had actually participated in battles and killed enemies.

Lanna just lacks opportunities.

The next day, Rurik put on his shirt again. Since this operation was only for inspection, the load-bearing chain mail and scale armor were not worn. Since it was the heyday of the warm period, he dressed relatively cool and not noble.

He put on a large-brimmed hat made of felt, which could be described as a "Fan Yangli", with dyed feathers on the top of the hat. He put on wooden-framed sunglasses again, hung a sword at his waist, held the reins in both hands, and set off with his entourage with his legs tucked into his horse.

The queen and the two concubines were Lanna, Noren, and Bejahir, who dressed as male warriors as possible. The leather helmets drooped on the saddle, and the three women also wore large-brimmed hats that shaded the sun and carried bows and swords.

The queen is her own sister, and Governor Medved never saw her ride again after she gave birth to the prince. My sister really likes exciting things, and she can't stop smiling while holding the reins, which shows that riding a horse is a real joy.

Medved also had a mission, and he rode his horse to **** the carriage behind him. Carl, Brand, and the other three, all five old Ross people really don't know how to ride horses. It was an eye-opener to see the king, queen and even the prince riding together today.

The squires on horseback held the Rus flag high, and Rurik swaggered towards the cavalry battalion.

At this moment, Brody assembled all the people in line to wait for the king's inspection. They have all left the camp and lined up neatly according to each team.

From time to time there are war horses with their heads hanging down to nibble on the grass roots, and some horses moving their hooves as if impatient.

Rurik saw them from a distance and quickly joined them.

"This is the style of cavalry?! It's really mighty. Ah? Why are all the faces of children?" Carl was surprised.

Brand, who was in the carriage with him, poked at him: "Brother, this is the second flag team that the king has newly trained. Look at that man, Brody. You should recognize him."

"Him? His dad's name is Harald or Harald, oops. I knew his dad broke a front tooth."

"I know too. This kid is from our clan, and he is doing well now."

The five old Ross's old guys commented on each other, sighed that the future generations were terrifying, and lamented that they were old.

Times have indeed changed! Carl can deeply feel that the Ross of today and the Ross of ten years ago are completely two concepts. It seems that the only constant is everyone's respect for Odin, and the still-surviving old leader Otto. Oh no, now the old guys have to affectionately call the eldest brother of the tribe "the king too".

The cavalry team is valiant, and although the riders are young, everyone dresses exactly the same. It was a waistcoat made of white bear skin, with blue strips stitched on it. Everyone has summer big-brimmed hats with blue feathers on each top. They also had helmets hanging from the saddles, and they all carried quivers and bows, as well as swords around their waists.

The cavalry spear differs from the infantry spear in that it is much shorter, with a spike at the top and a counterweight at the end. The spear shaft is made of cork as a whole, and there is no operation of brushing and soaking turpentine to make it hard. The so-called spear head will break if the enemy is too strong. The purpose is to protect the cavalry from being taken off the horse.

The spears stood upright like trees, and each spear was hung with blue and white strips of cloth.

As far as a single guard of honor is concerned, they are extremely arrogant, but they have not been tested in actual combat. In a short period of time, Rurik would not let the Second Cavalry Corps participate in actual combat. Outsiders think that their beauty means they are strong in combat. This is an illusion. They are really a bunch of bells and whistles now. It is absolutely impossible to fight, and it is appropriate to follow them on a parade.

Rurik simply carried Prince Osborn to his saddle, and the child's eyes were completely attracted by the gorgeous cavalry.

It was a blessing for the king and the prince to review the second cavalry together.

"I see a powerful cavalry! I know you will do great things for me and Ross in the future. Prove yourself now! Follow me! I will take you on a cruise!"

"Ula~Ula~Ula~"

They made three special Viking battle roars in a row, UU reading only cronies and elite troops are qualified to shout "Ula", that is, everyone doesn't know its deep meaning, it probably means "glory" or something.

This is just Rurik's bad taste, but once you get used to it, you don't feel embarrassed at all.

After completing the last lecture, Rurik slammed out his sword, the sound of the sword buzzed in the prince's ear, the young Osborn was not afraid, and subconsciously stretched out his right hand, imitating everything. the father.

Rurik nodded slightly when he saw this scene, and couldn't help but smile.

Youdao: "Second Cavalry! Follow me! Go to Balotavo by the western swamp and see our new western territory!"

Balotavo, an unfamiliar term, after all, the King mentioned the "New Territory in the West", and the enthusiasm of the young warriors was even stronger.

A mighty cavalry team, the soldiers' horses are inserted in the saddle, the whole is like a marching forest. The flag of Ross fluttered in the south wind, and the strips of cloth with spears were blown wildly. They rushed to Niu Cao Manor, and immediately attracted the people of the manor to come out to watch the big show, including the ten people who were smeared and drifted back overnight...