Chapter 1053： Harold the immortal

The Daugava River flows peacefully on the flat Northeastern European plain, it meanders and, together with its many tributaries, nourishes the whole area like the veins of a leaf.

An "Amber Road" that runs through the entire Eastern European plain, connecting the Baltic Sea and Egypt, is ancient, and the Daugava River is an important inland river route for this millennium trade line.

On the beaches of Pomerania, Prussia, Courland, Semigalia and Riga, amber and beeswax can be found among the countless pebbles, which can be sold for a good price when they are transported far away.

There is a need in the far south, and even if the times change, there are always adventurers on this path.

Egypt has long since fallen, replaced by Eastern Rome. The rough amber stones and processed products excavated in this way will be transported to Odessa in the mouth of the Dnieper River and Kherson in the southern tip of Crimea, where businessmen from these two important towns in the northeastern part of Eastern Rome can directly purchase them.

The merchants knew very well that if they continued to row into the regions of Constantinople and Thrace, the amber would be sold for better prices. However, by the order of the Roman emperor, those barbarians who believed in paganism had no right to pass through the northern frontier.

Roman merchants and franchised Bulgarian khanate merchants could bring northern goods into the hinterland of the empire. Despite their aggressiveness, the merchants of the north lacked the strength to make a comeback in Rome. They are not even capable of challenging the Khazars, the regional overlords, probably simply because these northern Varyags are not from Rus.

In ancient times, Phoenician and Greek adventurers struggled to maintain this trade line. The last two hundred, the blond savage, has completed its monopoly.

Even the Khazars, who control the lower Dnieper, are always powerless to target merchants who cross the border.

Highly maneuverable Viking ships ignored the low water levels of most streams, including but not limited to being towed by travelers overland, and being detained and carried by a group of people.

The Khazar cavalry wanted to collect taxes, but most of them could only stand on the river bank and yell at them. The extremely wide lower Dnieper River is like the ocean, especially in the area south of Kyiv, there is a long, narrow, extremely heavy and wide lake. This is where Dnepropetrovsk is located. The existence of the natural lake is also the geographical basis for the construction of the Kremenchug Dam. .

In today's era, both sides of the river are almost no-man's land. There are two important supply stations on the way, one is the Kyiv community of the Krivic people, and the other is the Delevlian community in the west of the Pripet Marsh. (Today Mozili to Turov). The two communities had an ambiguous attitude towards these foreign Varyags, who on the one hand would wait for an opportunity to plunder the population, on the other hand they also brought cheap salt from the north.

The vast Dnieper River is open to everyone, and there are many Varyag people who are boating on the river.

For the people of the Kyiv community, times have changed radically. The Rus are one of the Varangians, and they are also the most valuable Varangians.

The traditional trade line of the "Amber Road" is no longer the only road. The "Salt and Iron Road" connecting the capital of Russia on the Neva River and the mouth of the Volga River is not only born, but it is developing rapidly.

The Kyiv community spontaneously displayed the flag of the Rus, especially in its own small pier, just to attract the attention of the passing ships, hoping that the people who came were also Rus.

The "Salt-Iron Road" is a strong competitor to the "Amber Road", because the former becomes more prosperous, and Smolensk, which is in an important area of ​​the communication line, is more and more hit. This blow is by no means a commercial competition, but simply because the people of Smolensk are treated as wild animals that can be caught.

Looting slaves is the characteristic economy of the "Salt and Iron Road", which emerged in a very barbaric form.

Because all this comes from the arrogance of the giant Rus Kingdom in the north, the majesty of the active empire.

What is arrogance?

A new city has sprung up on the upper reaches of the Lovady River. The huge Valdezze Land is the source of water for many northeastern European rivers. A brand new military town belonging to Rus was established here. Although its essence is a trade node for the Rus people, it is a sword hanging over the head for others. .

But what do I do business with you? The Rus army is here, and the trade line must go to the Rus monopoly.

The Ross standing cavalry and the Ostara cavalry began to explore the huge marshland. They were divided into ten-man combat teams. The first order they received was to explore the surrounding terrain and hydrology, thinking that they would find a suitable pasture and hunt local animals. Fishing resources with rivers.

Of course, if you find someone who appears, rush up to investigate immediately. If the people from Kyiv and Pecheneg are here, they are the guests who should be entertained.

As for other people, they can directly arrest and confiscate all goods. If you dare to resist and kill immediately, it is not a problem.

Lukiholm, a whole new town has sprung up.

As its name suggests, in the area near the source of the Lovati River, there is a huge bend in the river. The land here is relatively hard, at least a large number of wooden houses are built, and there is no problem in building tall wooden walls.

More than a thousand people went south from Novgorod, and most of the young men and young people in the Principality of Ostara participated in the construction of the new city. This matter was greatly supported by Rurik, the king of Rus, and he also dispatched some soldiers of the battle-hardened First Cavalry to participate in the construction and escort.

Axes and double saws are constantly transforming the forest, and the river bend area forms a huge construction site. The people dug a large pit with a shovel, and then dozens of people worked together, pushing and pulling, and erected a huge pine tree in the pit, which became the main column of the wooden fence.

Building walled military fortresses is not a big problem for the Rus today. They have accumulated a lot of experience in the past era, and now it is not only to copy technology, but also to further improve it.

Some people suspect that this is looking to get rid of their own laborers and patrolling cavalry, and they may encounter only an allied caravan from the south. There is no threat here, why are the king and the duke worried about the existence of the enemy? If it's just to keep wild beasts out of the settlement, it's enough to build a low wooden wall, there's no need to build a big wall that requires a long ladder to climb directly.

Ordinary people can just live their own little lives. They finally put their doubts behind them. After every day of intense work, what everyone yearns most is to fill their wooden bowls with cooked wheat.

However, some people began to complain: "The low-salt wheat is not delicious, we have too little salt."

Carlotta, the Duchess of Ostara who personally oversaw the construction of the city wall, has been staying at the construction site and can clearly notice the complaints of her subordinates. Those men and teenagers, who are always working shirtless in this warm summer, felling trees and transporting wooden poles. When building wooden walls, people's bodies were wet with sweat and covered with a lot of dirt and sawdust.

Almost all men here, they jumped directly into the Lovati River to take a bath when they were dirty. Soap is no longer a rarity, even if the soap made of various oils and fats always stinks, there is no more cost-effective washing utensils. They wore figurines or sackcloth underpants, sat around the campfire, ate wheat rice, and dried their washed clothes.

If you eat less salt and do heavy physical labor frequently, a healthy person will suddenly fall into a coma in the long run.

Carlotta has been through hundreds of battles for a long time. She is a qualified tribal leader. Although she is a duke, she still manages her feudal kingdom in the same way as in the past. She tried her best to gain insight into the situation of her subordinates and listen to their complaints.

There are also ships downstream, just to carry salted fish and brand new double saws and axes from the rear.

At least because of the sufficient oatmeal reserves, the meals are at least large and full. Everyone continued to focus on physical labor while enduring. A military town facing the river on three sides was shaped by the outline of the outer wall, and her square appearance was already clear. The obvious next thing to do is to keep stacking timbers on the established frame to create a majestic wooden fortress that Lukiholm will build enough to sustain an army through the winter before winter.

A non-mainstream longboat sailed for a long time on the Daugava River, and twenty men carrying their cargo continued their journey to the source of the river by pure paddle.

They all have blond hair and blue eyes, except for the one guy headed.

The guy's name is Harold, and his blond hair has faded, and his graying hair and beard are evidence of his aging.

Some people insist on their unchanging life even at a young age. Harold is such a person, an adventurous traveler.

But from another point of view, this person is also a money snob and a vicious robber.

There are no arbitrators in the complex trade lines in central Eastern Europe. Of course, there are settlers from multiple communities. Their living areas are extremely scattered. Most of the areas are not seen for hundreds of miles, but various beasts are often seen. Travelers don't mind attacking villages along the way, looting and selling their population.

For example, they raided Polotsk villages in the dark, kidnapped the villagers and transported them to Smolensk to sell.

No, three women were **** on the boat, their eyes were empty, and the quivering body was covered with simple linen.

They have been toyed with Harold's group of Varyag robbers for many days, and now the brothers are tired of it, just hope that the three women haven't gone mad, so they can sell it at their destination.

As the leader, Harold naturally didn't have to row the boat himself.

They came from Riga, and Harold's subordinates included local Latvians in Riga, as well as Danish Varyags who lived a settled life, and the latter were actually mixed races.

This old fellow Harold, who has been to Kherson in Eastern Rome many times in his life, also pinched his nose and paid heavy taxes to do business with the Khazars. The serious local nobles in Riga like to make deals with this guy, but they are unwilling to contribute their daughters to marry him.

But Harold was not an old bachelor. He paid for young women in Smolensk, so he had sons and daughters.

Not all well-informed old Varyag pirates are willing to die on the battlefield, or sacrifice their lives on the voyage. He is old, and he has accumulated some wealth from wandering for most of his life. It is time to find a comfortable place to retire.

Maybe everything is fate, and a perfect comfort zone is Novgorod!

The boats floated quietly, the waters of the upper Daugava River became more and more gentle, and the young travelers were as faithful as their fathers to the mystery of the voyage - uninterrupted paddling.

The young can be the envy of the aging guys, their stamina is amazing and they are fierce. They were so hungry for wealth that they listened to Harold's speech in Riga, thinking that what the old man said was not bragging.

"First Evolution"

Long hours of paddling are always accompanied by boredom, and it is difficult to stop discussing the gain and loss of the attack on the Polotsk village, but the boat is about to reach the source of the Daugava River, and the brothers are listening to the old man Harold. shouted proudly.

"Listen! Those guys from Ross demolished Lake Yinermen to the north. Thousands of people were killed on the leader there. I took the guys and sent the leader's son to Smolensk. I am his saviour"

"That kid really shouldn't die. He actually became the son-in-law of the leader of Smolensk. Now it's even more incredible, that kid is already the big leader of Smolensk."

"You young **** are smart, don't rob the locals when you get there, otherwise... the criminal, I will cut off his head myself."

"Oh, you may ask me why I do this. I am the benefactor of the big chief. If it is not for this relationship, how can we enter Smolensk tax-free? Boys, follow me and make sure you get rich."

Everyone was taken aback by Harold's words. This white-haired old man was well-informed, so he had to continue listening to his bragging.

However, it is said that a person like Harold, if he does business with peace of mind, will naturally be welcomed by the residents of the entire route of the "Amber Road".

The source of this person's purchases is in the Gulf of Riga, where amber and salt are abundant. Amber can be transported directly to Kherson, and the Roman nobles liked the northern gems very much. This is the hard currency of the route. The people of the communities who pass by the route are in inland areas, and it is extremely difficult for them to obtain salt, and they are happy to buy salt at a high price from foreign salt merchants. Even handed over his own daughter in exchange for a precious sum of salt.

Even the Slavs of the Kyiv community have this extreme situation of handing over manor girls to Varyag merchants for salt. The destination of these girls is still Kherson, and eventually, they will appear in Constantinople in the form of geisha dancers, maids, wives and concubines.

The long ship had no mast, the three Polotsk women captured were "extra wealth", and the most important cargo was salt and rough amber.

Finally, the Daugava River in the upper reaches of the river finally came to an end, and the keel of the longboat began to eat the silt at the bottom of the river, and finally reached the point where no matter how much paddling it could do.

"Boss, what should we do?!" a young boy asked loudly.

"Then get off the boat! Didn't I tell you when I set off? Now take the ropes to tie the bow and the gangway of the boat, and we are towed in the swamp."

It is said that doing this is very reliable. When in Riga, the brothers listened to the old guy's eloquent rhetoric, patronized and imagined how much Kherson, who went to Rome this time, could gain from seeing the world, completely ignoring the hardships of the journey.

They took the captives off the boat, happy that the captives hadn't gone mad. Then the young man, under the command of Harold, reasonably towed the boat to the south in the watery Valdai swamp.

This is not dry land. The lighter boat is being towed by twenty people, the keel gnawing on the soft grass, and they are deliberately looking for ready-made puddles and creeks to further reduce the fatigue of towing.

Even so, when they found a flat area to rest at dusk, the group gathered and had to complain about their exhaustion.

"Don't complain! I never complained when I was as young as you. Many of my old brothers had accidents or died of old age, and were even hanged for robbing the Romans. You see? Why did I ever complain? There are difficulties to face. Don’t worry, we towed the boat for three days, and we reached the upper Dnieper River, and there will be no tugboat.”

Three more days to drag? How outrageous is this?

At least young people feel hopeful.

They lit a bonfire on the hard ground in the swamp with few trees, and as night fell, the bonfire became extremely dazzling.

As a result, the Russ cavalry, who also rested at night, noticed this absurd light.

Maybe a team of horses from Kyiv? A patrol saw the light, and the brothers discussed it and felt that they had to rush back to the patrol camp to report the news, so the news reached the ears of the dozing "bald" Fisk.

Maybe that's the guests, who must understand that a brand new supply depot is being built at a rapid pace, tax free for allied merchants.

"One more night's rest! We'll ride over at dawn and lead them north," Fisk ordered.

Coupled with the team led by Fisk himself, he was able to organize a team of twenty people. There was so much discussion that the original estimate was taken as fact, and it was fully believed that it was the caravan from Kyiv.