Chapter 1077： Riga being targeted

The Rus cavalry has set foot on the territory of the Latvians.

As long as you keep going, you will encounter villages by the river, which are like lambs, free to be plundered by the Rus. In theory it did, but Fisker issued a related ban.

Especially when he got here, he had to emphasize the order again: "You must not rob the village, and you must not take action on the villagers you encounter, otherwise you will be punished!"

He even further explained the fundamental reason for such an order: "Ross should not be fighting with the people of Riga Bay for no reason. If he loses this potential friend, whose stupidity caused this result, the king will punish him."

Compared to completely obeying Fisk's orders, everyone was more afraid of the king's anger. For the Pecheneg people of the alliance, the leader Gecha, considering that doing something wrong would cause the wrath of Ross Khan, had to restrain his subordinates, and also gave a warning: "Listen, don't go looting , or hang yourself!"

Most of those prairie cavalry have the status of cavalry slaves, but the daily life of such "combat slaves" is not painful. They are loyal to a certain master, and they are loyal to him. They are called slaves rather than a kind of squire. It is this intimate personal attachment that makes these riders obey the noble Quetzal.

That's all, Quetzal assured Fisk again: "We won't shoot freely unless you have a new order."

"That's fine. We just line up, everybody's chests up, swaggering down the river. If the local fighters confront us, negotiate with them first. Unless...they attack us first, then fight back indiscriminately. ." Fisk added.

Indeed, this time Ross decided to be uncharacteristically and decided to implement the principle of "not shooting the first arrow", so that it would be easy to explain the incident in the future.

The army abides by the principle of no-first-shot, and the smoke of birds and birds is floating not far ahead. It is time to verify whether the army is really restrained.

Old Harold, who was riding a horse, pointed straight ahead, feeling that it was a critical moment, and emphasized: "You must not shoot. It is just an ordinary village, but all Latvians are very united. Once you shoot, the people in this area will be Everyone will know quickly, and all your plans will fall through."

Fisk nodded hurriedly and cautiously: "I understand. I'll pass through the village, and the army won't take anything when it crosses the border."

"I hope so! I hope so..."

"Oh? It seems that you don't believe it? Actually, I don't believe it either. My people are very fierce. If I can't restrain the army well and eventually fight, I will have to retreat this year."

Old Harold was a little puzzled: "Suddenly fighting is of course the worst outcome. But you shouldn't retreat directly because of this."

"What else? Once a conflict arises, at least I can't settle it. I can only settle it later. The only thing I can do at this time is to evacuate as soon as possible, lest the situation get so big that I can't even negotiate in the future."

It sounded reasonable, and Harold felt that the bald boy was quite commanding. Of course, he also admitted that this kid's army was too brutal, fortunately he had self-knowledge.

It's a trial! In order to verify whether the Rus army can suppress the desire to plunder and continue to penetrate the territory of the Latvians.

Horses' hooves trod across the fields where there was only stubble left, and the cavalry marched towards the village. In fact, when they appeared, the villagers who felt threatened had already fled to the downstream area with valuables and soft goods for a limited time. Whether it is on foot, by boat, or even by ox cart and pony cart, the villagers are evacuating in their own way.

At first it was just a few people running away, then panic. Those with poor eyesight just saw a group of moving shadows appearing in the upper reaches of the river and became suspicious. Since the villagers were fleeing, they should also escape.

Quite a lot of materials, especially food, have no time to move. Some elderly people feel that they are getting old and it is better to stay in the village instead of fleeing.

There were also skeptics in the village, who speculated that it was not a group of threats.

The Theron people do not have such strength, and the Semigallians on the other side of the river will not cross the river to the other side for activities, and the parties will not easily break the balance that has been maintained for a long time.

Because the various tribes in this area did not form a tribal alliance at all, they lived their own lives, forming ten large tribes and a group of free villages with a small population. There are indeed more Latvian tribes in the region, but they can only have influence locally.

More than 20 large and small villages, as well as one of the largest settlements, Riga, constitute this tribal group.

In a sense, the peaceful life of Latvian tribes lies in the high degree of cooperation between the local people and the Danish immigrants. Semigallians, the original meaning is "northern" in Baltic, but only the Latvians who live north of the West Dvina River are truly unified, they can't do it with Latvians Integration, first, the river is a natural moat, and second, the local Danish immigrant community has become a climate, and they are not willing to share the wealth of Riga port with outsiders.

Old Harold explained this basic geopolitical situation to Fisk, but the other party's brain was flooded with too many terms, so that most of the content was left ear in right ear out.

Fisk doesn't care how many tribes there are in this place, and he doesn't want to be the governor of the place.

He called on his cavalry and raised his right fist: "Let's go! Pass the village and do nothing!"

So, the cavalry continued to form a careful column and walked slowly towards the village where the thatched huts were arranged in disorder.

In fact, for the cavalry warriors from old Ross, they saw that some of these thatched cottages were almost contemptuous. It is said that my parents also lived in this kind of adobe thatched house in their hometown of Roseburg, and now even the longhouses with mud walls in the old place have been replaced with woodcuts with mezzanine layers.

The villagers seem to be poor, and there are some old men and old ladies with hunched backs standing outside the low wooden door. They are looking up at the face that looks like a cracked earth, and their eyes that have begun to become cloudy, staring at the passing cavalry and horses. Young warrior.

After all, the weather is cold, the cold iron helmets have been removed, and the soldiers have already put on their respective leather caps. Even the Ostara cavalry wore caps sewn with brown bear leather, while the Rus standing cavalry were all in the so-called Cossack style "Caucasian hats" made of white bears. The prairie people's hat is more special, it is a hood made of sheepskin, and it is not allowed to wear an iron mask.

The cavalry all lifted their metal helmets, which could reflect violently in the sun, and the group of people were furry because of the cold, which reduced their martial power and made the spectators less vigilant.

They did not attack the old man, but instead watched each other with the old man in the village, and then the column continued to run downstream directly through this small village, and the old man still watched the cavalry leave calmly.

"Sun and Moon"

The army has all left the village, and Fisk can finally let go of his nervousness.

Svalgard couldn't hold back the words in his heart: "Old man, have you seen those old men and women? They are just looking at us, and there is no fear in their eyes."

"See. No fear, no hostility."

"They look poor, too, I'm... skeptical." Svalgard sighed.

"What do you suspect?"

"Riga. If Latvians are not rich, what can we get in Riga?"

"Who knows?" Fisk shrugged. "Keep walking, we'll see you soon."

The Ross cavalry passed through as many as three villages in the riverside area in a peaceful manner. Of course, they all had their own names. Fisk didn't want to listen to it, just because of the current situation, although the army did not hurt a single person or took any livestock, All three villages were empty, except for a handful of elderly people.

Fisk was completely puzzled, so he just called old Harold in one after another.

But he said that this old guy, who goes by the pseudonym Olaf, had sore legs all the way while riding, and he miraculously learned how to rest with his feet hooked on the saddle and lying flat on the back of the horse.

"Young hero, any new questions?"

"Old Olaf, have you noticed any new problems?" Fisk, who was asking, frowned.

"What could be wrong? You guys did a great job and really didn't break."

"But they still ran away! There are still clear ruts on the ground. I didn't dare to frighten them before I ordered the cavalry to walk slowly, you see." Fisk pointed to the sun in the west: "It's already evening. , it's time for us to set up camp. I really don't know how many villages we will meet in the future, but I'm afraid there will still be empty villages. So why did they run?"

"Maybe it's afraid of you. After all... when you Russ haven't set foot here, the news of the raging bandits in the East has spread, and maybe they feel that disaster is coming."

"Isn't it?!"

"That's how I see it." Old Harold pursed his lips.

"But I didn't destroy, didn't set fire, or even robbed anything. Why do they think we are evil people?"

"Who saw it? An eyewitness noticed that you came calmly and reported it to the locals in Riga? Now that you are, maybe you can retreat immediately."

"No. I'm not withdrawing."

"Then get ready, maybe you'll have to fight them one more time. Hopefully you'll stay sane."

It can be said that the old Harold's statement was inconsistent, not looting villages can get the kind attitude of Latvians, and now it is described as no matter what the Rus do, the presence of cavalry here is enough to detonate the battle.

In line with the principle that he has come, Fisk has promised his subordinates to go to the seaside to dig amber and make a fortune. He has been wrapped in the fiery morale that he fanned up, and no matter what happens, he has to move forward.

But it's time to rest.

At night, they set up an open camp in the wilderness by the river. They lit bonfires wildly, and, considering the possibility of a sneak attack by nervous locals, they pursued a trick Rurik invented ten years ago, which was to light a double bonfire to make potential scouts feel uncomfortable.

Until now, Fisk has not issued new orders to the entire army, and all soldiers will still act according to the original plan tomorrow. Soldiers will be in a relaxed state for their new and final journey, and people will definitely look forward to Riga, which is truly a military adventure.

Fisk only summoned Svalgard and Quetzal, and the three gathered together to have a small meeting in whispers.

"In my past experience, a large number of villagers must have fled to Riga like crazy, all kinds of people will say all kinds of news, they will describe us as indescribable monsters, and finally the local people will armed themselves and try to beat us away." He said. Say.

"We obviously didn't kill or rob. Since that's the case..." Quetzal clenched his fists, "Then we can take the initiative to attack them!"

"Wait." Svalgard gestured, "They didn't attack us."

"That's right." Fisk looked at the two of them, "I know it's a risky thing to do, and the whole army will continue to move forward as planned. Don't tell your own people about this, but tell them that they must wear iron helmets and insert The beautiful feathers on the leather hats are inserted back into the helmets. The bows and arrows are ready, everyone's chests are raised, we will reach Riga tomorrow, and no matter what we encounter, we must show the locals in the most magnificent and brave manner."

The two agreed immediately at first, but then they realized that it was not simple. Of course, the soldiers who accepted this order would not be mentally prepared for war, but fantasized about their gorgeous image to be admired by the local Latvians. In fact, once there is a change, these fighters can enter the fighting state with a change of heart. Although the change of mentality may not be quick, they can at least shoot arrows to counterattack immediately.

So, what is the attitude of Latvians in Riga?

However, it was said that the villages that the Rus cavalry passed through and the villages that needed to pass through had specific names.

Since passing through the mountain fort built by the Therons, they will go through a total of six villages to reach the port city of Riga, which is at the mouth of the sea and the river.

Villagers in canoes were the first to arrive in Riga, explaining to their local compatriots what was going on in the upper reaches of the river. As more and more villagers arrived in Riga, the vast majority of the population of the six villages poured into Riga.

Unfavorable news is spreading wildly for a while! Since the earliest village did not see the cavalry clearly, out of memory of past battles, instinctively felt that it was a threat and began to flee. Latvians all have war memories, so when the news reached the sixth village, the mainstream saying of the fugitives had become "Semigalians crossed the river to make a sneak attack", and there was an even more outrageous saying, the so-called "North A coalition of men and highlanders", they mistook the advancing Rus cavalry as a crusade of Theron and Semigallians.

In fact, before that, some businessmen who had returned from the upper reaches of the river were full of swearing at the Polotsk people. The so-called winning guy actually blocked the river for the first time because of the threat of horse bandits. The river is blocked. Those guys still have to buy goods forcibly, so that most Riga merchants and Danish merchants have lost money Riga port city does not have a real city owner, the total population of Latvian tribes and even tribes With a price of 20,000, Riga is a customary market for trading fish in various villages. Then the Danes moved in one after another to form a community, and a fairly free port city was born. There is no city owner in the city. The city belongs to all Latvians. If there is a crisis in the tribe, each village will elect a hero to lead the people through the crisis. When the crisis is over, the hero's power will be deprived.

If anyone in Riga has a lot of power, it is the leader of the Danish immigrant community, a man named Stkander.

What is very subtle, however, is the recent forced arrival of five longships and one large sailing ship in the port of Riga. The powerful people of Riga's Latvian ethnicity poured into the pier with private soldiers, chanting "the pirates must be driven out."

Stkander naturally took his Danish heroes and mixed-race descendants to organize a fierce Viking militia to fight the pirates together with the locals. However, Stkander has at least learned about the Rus people through news, especially the Rus people will be able to display their coat of arms, standing on the dock, he can clearly see the flags fluttering on the masts of ships that are obviously not eager to dock. , realizing that it was the Rus' ship.

At least the Rus people also speak the Norse language and believe in Odin. Even if they have settled in Riga, the Danes who immigrated here have not given up their gods.

Stekander boldly organizes the brothers to row a boat to negotiate with the Rus who accidentally broke in, confirming that they are from Saaremaa, the island of exiled criminals. From time to time, the island has been firmly controlled by Ross, and an old Ross nobleman has become the island owner.

This nobleman is none other than the great Rus explorer and seaman Speuter, although he is now approaching fifty.