Chapter 1047： Earl of Reed

Ella carrying a heavy bag is a bit funny, but all the bags are stuffed with important things to Ross.

Documents with their contents, even simple paper, are wrapped in impermeable leather and stuffed into oiled backpacks.

Large and small bags were hung on the saddle, and Ella and the ten scribes accompanying her also rode with the cavalry.

For this encounter, the horses of the cavalry were more prepared. Those young foals were even just conceived. Rurik would not give these horses a chance to rest. Mares are the best choice for war horses. The horses must undergo more rigorous training for long-distance travel to prove that they are indeed high-endurance Turks. horse.

Today's Ross simply can't do the real capacity of one person, five horses or even ten horses like the Mongolian Empire. The Mongolian army can advance at an extremely high speed. It is precisely because each cavalry can change horses at any time. They sleep on the horse and drink the jerky that comes with the horse's milk when they are hungry. They don't have a logistics force, or a large number of war horses are the logistics force.

If Ross's cavalry flag team can achieve one man and two horses, the speed of advancement will be faster than that of long ships, and the horse team does not have to use the inherent waterway like a fleet. , it is difficult to become a real obstacle.

Ross's horse administration is still in its infancy. Of course, the kingdom has a promising future. For the sake of national defense and security, all suitable warhorses currently have owners. In theory, Ross can mobilize a thousand cavalry of varying quality to fight.

At least there is no large-scale battle now, giving the kingdom a very important period of development.

Taking the "second waterway" to return to the capital was actually Rurik doing his own exploration as a king. He didn't have to worry about the guide, and the Karlbrand team was the best guide.

The excavation of the canal has been carried out in an orderly manner. In order to excavate as soon as possible, the people from the Slavic flag team have reused the resources at hand to manufacture human and animal-powered cranes. In fact, a concave wooden stake is placed on the ground, and the peeled tree trunk is placed as a boom, and the mud in the trench is brought out by the principle of leverage. The cows at Calf Manor immediately became excellent powerhouses, and the ropes were pulled by the cows, and the mud piled up in the baskets was quickly drained.

All the excavation work has been handed over to Governor Medvedt, and Rurik no longer cares about it.

What he is paying attention to now is the little agreement he made with the businessmen who were watching the fun. These merchants came from Lake Mälaren, so that they could be in the capital and in Sweden to advertise the existence of a waterway to Novgorod. Rurik gave them enough time to ferment public opinion in the capital. It was best to make the city full of discussions. Finally, when the cavalry went overland and appeared on the west coast of the capital, his purpose was achieved.

In any case, he couldn't participate in the summer sacrifice in the capital, which was nothing, after all, the summer sacrifice was not a major festival throughout the year.

Once there is no large-scale war, life in the whole of Russia returns to its former peace and even laziness.

In the age of agriculture, a large number of agricultural workers adhered to the living pattern of sunrise and sunset. They have no clocks, no concept of refining time, and no need for this. Even if they are still doing manual production voluntarily, because they just want to improve their lives, they are not willing to work harder as long as life is better.

If you can, who doesn't want to be laid back?

Considering that he is still in the East, what is the current strategic layout for the Western world, and whether the Blue Fox brothers who have been arranged are really "doing a lot of work" in the territory of Middle Francia, it is unknown until the news comes back.

Out of the heart and out of love for horsepower, the whole team formed a column on the right bank of the river after passing the new wooden bridge over the Reed River.

The three reconnaissance teams sent out all came back, and they brought back extremely unified news that there were birds and beasts in the nearby area and no one was there.

This is exactly the same report as the Carl Brand expedition.

But it is impossible to be truly empty, and the way forward must be to conquer the Finnish-speaking so-called Savok village, followed by its permanent administration.

A very simple reason is that the "second waterway" needs some nodes that act as service areas, that is, the post station is a port, and it is better to build a rest station from scratch than to use an existing settlement to transform it.

Although Rurik thinks that he believes in horses, the horses carry young war without armor and stomachs, and the overall load is not too severe. The horse team can also keep walking for five kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the brisk walking of ordinary people, but right A friendly trot for horses.

It is enough to advance up to 40 kilometers in one day. Compared with the two long boats accompanying them, the speed of the horse team is even a little faster.

It was an ordinary night, and the ship docked and the horse team rested on the spot.

The young warriors cut down some small trees and smashed them into pieces for firewood. They bring their own charcoal, tinder and fire nitrous, and use the bow drill to make fire quickly. After the flames were ignited, the freshly chopped wet wood was gradually lit, and soon the campfire was densely covered.

The iron pan unloaded from the ship is a special cooker, and then the sack filled with oatmeal is unloaded, and the army cooks the wheat on the spot.

Now there is no need to add meals to the war horses. Now is the crazy season of all kinds of pastures, and there is almost an inexhaustible supply of pastures on the narrow river. Medicine can be seen deep in some grasses, and its species is probably some rushes. Although it is far less than alfalfa, it is the most common weed behind it. Raising cattle, sheep and red deer is the best choice.

These war horses have already lived in human society, and they are very young and well-informed. They are not afraid of fire at all, and they also adapt to the noise of people talking loudly.

There were only four women in the entire army, and they were the queen and concubines, and they were all prominent nobles after a closer look at their identities. Lanna hugged Prince Osborn and had dinner, chatting and laughing with her three sisters.

"It's a bit like life in the grasslands. When we were hunting, we also acted together with hundreds of soldiers. There is no grassland here." Bejahir sighed silently.

Her description of the grasslands was refreshing, and Noron cleared her throat: "The hometown of my life faces the sea, and behind it are the high snow-capped mountains. There are only some small coastal flatlands in my hometown for grazing. The grassland is as big as the ocean, and I am very I want to go see it."

"We'll all have a chance." Lanna hugged her son tightly, "Rurik said that as long as we find the Volga River, our ship will be able to reach Sister Bejahir's hometown directly."

"Ah...that would be great." Of course Bejahir couldn't ignore her eldest brother, Kagan, who became a Khan. She didn't want parting to be a goodbye. Rose and Pecheneg could become a country of brothers, as long as Contact should be strengthened whenever there is an opportunity.

"I just don't know what happened to my sister in the south." The quiet Ella was a little timid, and she couldn't help worrying about her sister Carlota.

"Of course she will be safe." Lana cast a confident look in her eyes.

"Okay. I heard that the swamp at the source of the Lovady River is the source of many rivers. It would be nice if there was also the source of the legendary Volga River. At least we are still exploring east. A major discovery is even better. The scribes under my management will participate in it, and my people will try their best to get to know and record what they have seen and heard, and finally I will take it down on the plane. So this time I will take a good record of everything I see... "

Ella said a lot, which made the other three girls speechless for a while.

Ella is responsible for keeping the maps of the areas that Rurik draws and marks the areas she knows as much as possible. This is her own job, and because of this, she surpasses others and is the second person besides Rurik to know the truth of the world.

The world is one big ball on which all people live. Ella still doesn't quite understand how people don't fall into the abyss outside the world since they stand on the "ball"? Rurik had an obscure explanation anyway.

There are large and small lands on the ball, some known and some unknown. Compared with the huge world, northern Europe is only a small section. Ella can feel the hugeness of the world and the insignificance of herself, and she is more aware that those unknown areas are full of infinite possibilities. Ordinary people can't learn this profound knowledge from Rurik at all, and it is said that all this is a gift from Odin. She was plunged into great happiness, driven by a deepening thirst for knowledge, as if she, too, had been blessed by the gods and loved her work.

Lana smiled to ease the embarrassment, and simply chatted about their children.

So, what can men talk about? To put it bluntly, the young cavalry warriors were a large group of half-hearted boys who had received cultural lessons, knew how to read and write, and understood general arithmetic, geometry, and even some physics.

Their essence is still men, they get together to laugh and talk about meat jokes, and then discuss hunting and war. And very simple horse racing, who is the best cavalry.

Rurik, on the other hand, gathered all the five men of Karlbrand's team and brought ten Savak children bought by the expedition to the campfire.

At first, these children were timid, but after eating salted wheat and a lot of fish, they let go of their masters. Due to the need to communicate with other Finns, learning the Suomi dialect of Finnish is a lesson for each old Rus family.

These little girls are ignorant about marriage, but they are very accustomed to doing housework for their masters, just like their life in their home village.

slave? Do not. They will have children in the future, and the children will be the third generation of Rus after entering the kingdom era. It is not a big problem to mix some Finnish blood.

Give these children delicious food and drink, so that after they let down their guards, they are likely to talk about everything they have seen and heard.

No, they heard the news of Rurik's weird accent, and after they were full, they really began to talk about their hometown without a story.

They were babbled, and Rurik still extracted three very crucial pieces of information.

Savok villages are small, weak and poor.

A small community of less than 300 people lived on fishing, hunting and simple planting, and in principle even took the initiative not to communicate with the outside world. If such a village can be hidden for a long time in a deep mountain or on the top of a cliff, it is only a matter of time before outsiders find them in whether it is a flat land or a forested area adjacent to a river.

Rurik gave the leader of the expedition a color: "Hey!"

"Your Majesty?"

"They're really weak. Ah, thanks to us who found them. I'm worried that if someone else finds them first, they'll be attacking the slaves in a big way."

"It's not too late to catch it now. If the king wants to." Carl joked, he was sure that the current king had a heart attack.

Was Rurik really benevolent in this matter? Matters and morals are irrelevant, everything is based on geopolitical considerations.

He reminded Carl: "You and the other brothers are old Rus people, we have a common ancestor. You are the initiator of the expedition, so the expedition has achieved great results, you need to be commended. I want to give you The opportunity to be a boyar."

"Hey?! Thank you for your attention. I just don't know where the king wants to confer me."

"What?" Rurik looked at him and smiled: "You seem absent-minded?"

"No. My family is too ordinary. It's a shame for Ross in the past, so I answered the call early to become the first settlers of Fort New Ross."

"This is clearly an achievement." Rurik shook his head. "My father was still in power at the time, but it was indeed my proposal to immigrate to New Roseburg. You are a loyal person, so continue to show your loyalty! I want Conquer the Savok village, build a new town there, and you! I'll appoint you an earl (war chief) to govern that village."

"Thank you so much." After saying that, Karl hurriedly knelt down and gave a warrior salute.

The count under the Ross system is the war chief. The difference is that in the past, the war chief only had the power to command the tribal warriors to fight, and the title was automatically lifted after the war. In the new era, the person who gets the title of war chief must be responsible for managing the security, taxation, and human resource mobilization of an area and become an earl.

They are all counts, but the difference in strength is extremely disparity.

Noren, who accompanied the cavalry, was the Earl of Narvik. There were still more than 10,000 local residents, and his son was the first heir to the title.

Going to be an earl in a Savok village with only two or three hundred people is a real name.

In any case, at least they were happy with the title of "Count", and the Carl family directly turned around. The family may still remain neither rich nor poor, but the name of the earl is real. Carl's title is "Count of Reed", which is meant to be so boring and even funny. He has no complaints. After all, he feels that he is not a good match for an overly domineering name.

Rurik said: "Since you are already an earl, then take the first step to recover the village. I will arrange for you some soldiers to dismount. You will control the entire village with forty soldiers, and try to persuade them to surrender immediately."

"It's easy to handle. I handed them a Ross flag long ago, and they don't oppose our presence. I'm very confident."

"Very good. Tomorrow you will be one step ahead, remember to be fast."

So the next day, the cavalry of the three squads dismounted, they were temporarily commanded by Carl, took the weapons and rushed to the village collectively in the most traditional Viking way, and the speed was beyond the cavalry.

The flow of the Reed River was slow, and the two boats were paddling at a high speed. The Savok people, who lived an ordinary life, saw the ship flying the Ross flag rushing in, and hurriedly showed the flag in their hands.

The simple villagers thought that the outsiders came to trade again. Based on the experience of the reward, they also wanted to exchange more iron tools from the outsiders. For this reason, they simply made some smoked dried fish, intending to use these foods. In exchange for something useful.

The vigilance of the villagers was better than nothing, and Carl and his party who landed quickly controlled the entire village.

The villagers were amazed at how many people got off the boat. They were uniformly dressed and completely lost their ability to resist in an instant.

The old man held the flag of Ross himself and boldly stepped forward to ask the familiar Karl: "You...are you going to trade with us?"

"Deal? Yes. A deal indeed. You will be safe forever, no one will attack you, and you will have a better life in the future, with more salt and iron."

"This..." The old man heard it like a dream, and realized very pragmatically that there is no free meal, "So, what is the price?"

"Submit to me. Especially you, surrender your power. From now on, I will be the head of this village."

Carl's words immediately caused an uproar, but in the face of a large number of foreign armed men, the villagers did not dare to resist. What's more, these outsiders don't seem to really intend to use force. The little girl who was sold is now wearing new clothes, and her whole person has changed. Only their parents can clearly realize that it is their daughter.

The villagers had no choice. If they had chosen to stand up and fight against the Karelians, they would not have fled. Now they have been unable to fly.

It is said that the supreme ruler of Rus is on his way, and soon ordinary villagers will meet in person with the "master of the northern world".

"Submit immediately. When King Ross arrives, the king will give some gifts to those who submit. I can guarantee that as long as you sincerely surrender, no one will suffer any harm." , completely conquered them: "The Karelians who made you suffer have collapsed! It is the king of Rus who defeated them! The king of Rus helps you to avenge you, and you should be loyal to Rus."

They are the same as seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages Thanks can not be said, they noticed that since Ross can defeat Karelia, is it not easy to solve their own village?

They surrendered completely, and Karl showed enough peace. The Rus army and the Savok people lived together temporarily. It was purely because the army despised the food of the locals, and even the dried fish they provided. On the contrary, the Savoks were shocked by the Rus cooking their wheat in a large iron pot. That black thing is actually iron!

Carl also took the opportunity to point out: "Do you like it? After surrendering, you will soon have an iron pot."

The Savok's vigilance was completely dissipated, and on the afternoon of the next day, a monstrous procession with flags suddenly emerged from the cover of the forest.

The villagers were shocked! They had never seen a horse, and now they saw cavalry for the first time.

Rurik saw the village from a distance, and the Ross longship docked.

"That's the village. Hurry up, brothers! We're camping in the village."

The generals and soldiers were ordered, and the cavalry attacked.