Rise of Rurik

The voyager of Ross appeared in the port city of Riga, which was by no means a yaw, it was actually the intentional act of Count Speuth of Saaremaa.

The navigator claimed to only be doing trade, and Riga's Danish community talker, Stkander, felt that it was not easy, but the other party claimed that as long as the cooperation was pleasant, he could guarantee that the piracy of the sea would end, and the ships in the port of Riga could fish freely. , you can also go to Saaremaa to do business in person.

In this way, Stokander had to think about whether this delightful statement was true, and whether the Ross nobleman in front of him was credible. At least their clothes are very gorgeous, but they still can't hide their aging.

As for Spuut, who knew nothing about Riga's political situation, he subconsciously felt that the Dane, who called himself Strykander, was the local chief.

After all, Rurik described the scene of Ross making deals with people in the Gulf of Riga many years ago. Others don’t need to care. The old navigator Speuter has a chance now. He is old and wants to make some more achievements. Retreat, now is the first year of the peace era of the Vikings. Isn’t it a glorious achievement to incorporate the people of the Gulf of Riga into the “Northern Alliance System” built by the Kingdom of Rus? ! Others have no chance, he knows that only he has this opportunity and can resort to practical action.

Speuter brought his sons, the eldest son was young and strong and became a capable general under his command, and the younger son could also do odd jobs on the boat. With his subordinates, he deliberately chose the autumn when the supplies were full and ran to the deepest part of the bay.

If it's just trade, there's no reason for Stkander, the leader of the Danish community, to refuse. Because the Rus brought linen, iron, woolen textiles, salt, and some crystal utensils (glass). Iron is the most addicting!

Spuut is also trying to open a trade line with Riga. He is sure that the autumn harvest in Riga Bay will be completed at the moment, and he will trade grain with the locals at a low cost according to the goods, which can perfectly ensure the smooth winter of Saaremaa this year. . After all, Spuut is a vassal of Rus. He has a fief, has the power bestowed by the king, and is the guardian of the safety of navigation in the South Baltic Sea.

The misunderstanding was resolved. Although the Rus people made Riga residents very nervous, as much-needed supplies were unloaded at the wharf one after another, and the grain-for-iron trade began, that vigilance was quickly dissipated by peaceful trade.

Now, Speuter and most of him are in Riga. He brought solid news about the situation in Denmark, and the countless news sent shockwaves in the Danish community!

Originally, many people fled Denmark because some nobles in Jutland and Zealand had converted to the faith of the Franks, and the civil war broke out, and some people who could not bear the civil war fled to Riga. Now that the Frankish forces in Denmark have been expelled, in theory everyone can return to their hometowns. The reason for this happy ending is all because of the large-scale war that started last year. Spuut naturally highly praised Rurik's exploits, the king of Russ. There were countless war stories that the locals couldn't doubt, and even Strykander was deeply moved.

"Ah! I can't wait to join the warrior (referring to Ragnar) of the Stonewall tribe and fight alongside you Russ to restore the faith of holy Odin."

Spuut was keenly aware that this might be an opportunity, so he deliberately said tentatively: "It's not too late. You admit that King Russ is the greatest leader, and the business of the entire North will be open to you, join King Russ. The Northern Alliance is in your favor."

What he said was a fact, but Stekander was not simple. The old guy was keenly aware that if this happened, the trading city of Riga would naturally be controlled by the Rus.

Stkander resisted because of worries about the uncertain future, but he didn't dare to say it outright. He admired the peaceful business visits of the Rus aristocrats, and the Latvian villages consciously made a lot of money by exchanging new wheat for iron, and the knowledge of the Rus people was full of "good businessmen".

So, a very strange realization appeared in Riga at the same time, the so-called friendly merchants of the Rus, and the horse bandits who ravaged the east and destroyed the trade line were another group of people.

More than 200 Rus who came from Saaremaa landed. People looked left and right, recalling the description of the island by their parents.

There are even people who lived near Riga when they were young, and were driven away with their fingers chopped off for crimes like theft, or forced to flee for worse. Now that they are back with new identities, they will no longer pursue their past sins until no one else, but they are restrained by a stronger force.

Speuter knows very well what his subordinates are. They are essentially a group of pirates who have been subdued and incorporated by the Rus army. It is very useful when it comes to crusade against the enemy. Regulations keep them from messing around.

So after negotiating with the Danes leader in Riga port, he issued an order on the ship: "I don't care what happened to you in the past. Now that we are landing, you are not allowed to have any trouble with any local people, you are not allowed to buy goods without permission, and you are not allowed to make peace. Local women are messing around. As long as I get complaints from local people, those who cause trouble will be sent to mines to dig stones.”

In his opinion, even if the severe punishment of beheading is implemented, such a thing cannot be done in front of the Riga people out of the face of the Rus Kingdom. What if the perpetrator is sent to the mine? Ross has two mining sites, one is iron ore mining in Fort Elrond, the other is hard stone mining on the shore of Lake Onega, both of which are bitter cold places, and being assigned there to be slaves is worse than death.

They were even more afraid of the life of slave miners who were worse than death, so they were all very peaceful after landing.

Or to stifle the possibility of accidents from the source, Speuter set up a temporary settlement for Ross merchants, and the landers must leave without incident. They blew the Ross flag in the temporary residence, and set up special shops to continue to sell their own goods. It seems that this group of people are just peaceful businessmen, but the scale is a bit too large.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this group of Russ with swords, merchants and large ships could instantly enter a state of alert and incarnate into 200 soldiers who could fight in formation.

The Danish community is well aware that this group of neighbors who believe in Odin is actually a threat, and everyone is subconsciously vigilant when dealing with them.

However, Riga has never had a full-fledged city lord. There are only big and small local snakes, Latvian village forces are intertwined in the city, and a Danish community that has always maintained a cooperative relationship with it.

It is of course a good thing that foreign merchants bring a lot of materials, and the prominent people in the city are willing to have a good chat with the Ross nobleman Speuter.

The absolute peace that lasted for many days gradually calmed people's vigilance. Those Rus people are just doing business, and if there is any wrongdoing, they should have done it. Obviously, the Rus nobleman was not lying when he claimed that "we just want to do business".

Bullock carts, pony carts, and even human shoulders, sacks of newly harvested oats arrived at the temporary Ross store one after another.

The two sides of the transaction negotiated the price, one side is the iron ware mainly for agricultural use, and the other side is the new wheat. The two sides have negotiated the price and now barter.

The local Latvians smiled and poured the oats into the measuring tool provided by the Rus. This is a special wooden measuring tool for the Rus to collect the grain tax. lb. Russ's own tax collection naturally has to be meticulous, so the tool was "invented" by Rurik and instructed the carpenters in Novgorod to build it, which greatly accelerated the efficiency of tax collection.

People in Riga are not demanding about this. They do not bargain with each other at the transaction site, and they harvest wheat with one hand latte and the other.

Cast iron hoes, plowshares, hot wrought iron shovels, small sickles, spearheads, harpoon heads, they are all farming and fishing gear in essence, and can also be used as weapons. Only the key parts are sold, and the buyer will solve the installation of the wooden handle. In fact, Spuut is sending ships directly to the hometown of Roseburg to import cheap goods, and then selling them to Riga will increase the price.

At night, this group of Rus people laughed from ear to ear, and they all talked about that the food they bought was enough for the whole Saaremaa to eat porridge for a winter.

Obviously the trade can continue, and everyone can continue to make money.

Speuter felt that the trip was worth it now, and the situation had in fact developed into a peaceful business relationship between Ross and Riga. If he wants to strike while the iron is hot, he might as well discuss with the Dane Stkander, and buy a piece of land in the Danish community to set up a pure Ross store.

He didn't dare to make this request rashly, for fear of arousing suspicion from the other party.

He is an ambitious old guy. If he has the opportunity to continue to make contributions, he must try it. Now Speuter's idea has developed into "complete control of Riga". It was located in Riga and became a great noble of the Rus Kingdom with a large territory.

Such ambition is too great, and Speuter has neither the strength nor the courage to order the locals to cede power, so he can only use the strategy of cannibalization.

Everything seems to be going well, and the bad things described by the merchants who have withdrawn from the upper reaches are overwhelmed by the joy of the good goods of the Rus merchants.

Until, the village refugees in the upper reaches went crazy and almost blew their hearts and fled to Riga in a hurry.

After all, the population of the entire Latvian tribe is only about 30,000, and the Danish community is only more than 1,000 people even if it is full of mixed blood. The resident population of Riga is nearly 3,000 people, of which the Danish community accounts for half of the population. Now more people have fled here, and the population has quickly exceeded 6,000, which is overcrowded for a while.

If everyone were not villagers from each village, the entire tribe would be just these people, all the prestigious families who knew each other. The information people got from inquiring about each other was extremely mixed, but most of the reports were directed at the Semigallians on the other side of the river.

A group of prominent people gathered urgently. They were the heads of many villages, the big Latvian businessmen in the city, the head of the Danish community, Stkander, and even the Rus noble Spuut.

In the case of a total war, the heads of the villages would collectively vote for a general, who must be a Latvian, and then invite strong men from the Danish community to join the army as mercenaries.

The situation is extremely urgent, and most of the villagers claim that the people who come here must be the Semigallians and other tribes they hold.

This statement was especially affirmed by the fugitive village chiefs who participated in the meeting.

An old guy was filled with righteous indignation: "Now that we have just harvested the grain, the guys on the other side of the river just took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. They want to take my grain, and they have the ability and the motive."

"Yes!" The other person was firm: "If they don't have a good harvest, they will rob us, just like before."

"It's not that simple, their ultimate goal is our city. They're eyeing Riga, and you can't be alone. Even you!" The village chief who spoke was anxious: "Russians, want to continue doing business with us, We have to help us solve this crisis.”

Spuut was a little confused, who are the Semigallians? Is it worth this bunch of guys going crazy?

It should be true that an army is killing Ben Riga. He does not care about the identity of the enemy at all, but only cares about his own goods. The current problem is actually quite thorny. The purchased food takes some time to be shipped to the big ship. If the Riga people cannot organize effective resistance, the food they bought will not be able to be kept.

"Are you going to hire us? We're just businessmen." Speuter whispered with his head hooked.

"It's true." The speaker was Sterkander, who looked at the village leaders who seemed to have lost their souls: "I can help you fight, what are the benefits?"

There is no good way to do it now. The Latvians present are considered high-ranking nobles. Even if the people did not expire, they still made a very bold decision-to hire Stkander as a general.

The Danish community organized men to guard Riga, and the Latvian nobles paid for real food after the war, ceding the right to dispose of most of the spoils after the war. Latvians, of course, organize militias, but not many. It seems that their economic powerhouse has been destroyed, and the Latvians seem to be reluctant to defend themselves and pin their victory on the Danes who settled in Riga.

Latvian tribes are not cowards, and it is also a reality that their military strength is not strong. For example, they do not even have long-term big leaders.

It is only reasonable for the tribe to feel weak and bullied by the Semigallians, and it is not the first time that the other party has attempted to launch an annexation operation. Because Semigallia has already touched the door of the "feudal state", expansion has become an important means of maintaining internal stability.

Stkander served as a temporary general, theoretically able to command the entire Riga port to assault the assembled army, and power automatically lost after the crisis was over.

So what should the uncle do if he doesn't want to give up power when he fights?

A question made these Latvian nobles think - why can there be only one general?

The Rus people have proved their friendliness with time, but everyone will not be stupid enough to think that these guys are just businessmen and big fat sheep without force.

"Russian! We are also willing to hire you as a general." One person sent an invitation to Speuter.

He was very confused, and Stkander was quite surprised.

"I can't? Two generals?"

Only one old man said: "There is never a rule that there can only be one general. Besides, they are also Varyags, just like you. Unless the situation is urgent, we can't mobilize all of them, or our village will send out the strong and strong, and they can defeat themselves. The assault of the Semigallians."

Stkander, who has lived here for a long time, doesn't want to complain. He didn't intend to really be the Lord of Riga. He just wants to continue to develop the Danish community and have greater privileges among the entire Latvian tribe. That's what he thought, he didn't want to be the king over the Latvians at all.

From Speuter's standpoint, the identity of a general is really rare. With this identity, you can avoid the in-kind rewards provided by the locals. However, looking at the current situation, it is impossible to maintain the status of a general after the war.

He thought silently in his heart: "These guys are not stupid at all. The two generals check and balance each other. I'm just here to do business, and now I'm fighting for them. Latvians are so cunning..."

The Danish community can send 300 people, the Russ businessman can send 200 people, and the port of Riga can urgently gather 1,000 men. There were enough 1,500 people to fight against what is said to be "the Semigallian army of 2,000 warriors". From the perspective of numbers alone, the Riga side was a serious disadvantage.

In fact, there are five hundred Varyag warriors among them, as well as unheard of large ships moored in the port, they must be strong.

Some old local guys don't have any doubts about the Rus, but they are more swearing. "Many of those people are pirates who have changed their identities. They killed our fishermen at sea, and now helping us fight is their atonement. I hope this group of ruthless people will show no mercy to Semigalia."

So, when the situation in Riga was in chaos, the Rus living in makeshift communities instinctively armed themselves to the threat of war.

After the meeting, Speuter was neither excited nor pessimistic. He returned with a calm face and announced to all his subordinates that the Russ had become mercenaries.

He still announced calmly: "Now, an old enemy of the people here is killing us, and they will **** our goods. Now the whole Riga is urgently preparing for the battle, and the battle is likely to break out tomorrow~www.readwn.com~ I order Arm yourselves now and prepare for battle! This is not to defend the natives, but to surround our cargo. Remember, there is no mercy when war begins."

Suddenly, someone raised the hand axe high and looked at their friends and issued a Viking battle cry, followed by the cry of everyone.

At this moment, Speuter's face didn't even tremble at all, it was his eldest son who roared extremely fiercely.

Having experienced so much, Speuter has been able to face all kinds of battles calmly, and he is happy that his son is going mad, just like the younger self.

He was coughing on purpose: "Get your costumes on, get your flags ready, and check your Bucklers for the chalky mud to see if the paint is off. Listen, there's a lot of people fighting with us, and we're fighting those stinky fish. Rotten shrimp is completely different. Let allies and enemies see how good we are!"

Then there was another frantic cry.

This shout was so shocking that the Danish community next door could not ignore it, and Stkander also assembled his own people at the same time, but the assembly of 300 people was already the best of the community.

"Listen to the momentum on the other side! Those Rus people are also Odin's warriors. I heard that Denmark and Rus have formed an alliance, and we are allies with them. We can't lose the momentum in the new battle! You are not helping The next guy is at war, and you are defending your community! Follow my orders."

The internal instructions of the two Varyag generals who were elected were surprisingly consistent. The slogans they put forward by the mercenaries were "self-protection is the first priority". Helping Latvia to end this autumn crisis seems to be just an incidental action.

At least these Latvian people of all kinds heard the rhythmic battle cry of the Varyags, as if they had taken a reassurance.

But, is the enemy that is killing and running really the Semigallian army?