Rise of Rurik

Goodbye to his son, the old Wang couldn't hide the joy in his heart.

When I learned that my son was about to launch a new war, I was both excited and worried.

Rurik was sitting here, and old Otto could look down on his son's handsome face, which resembled his own when he was young.

"You've had great success on previous expeditions. We've fallen so far into inconceivable distances that I sometimes wonder, have we gone too far?"

"Father." Rurik said with a serious face, "This is my decision after careful consideration. It is an extension of the last war."

"However, it's too aggressive. We're even fighting for someone else. Is this... beneficial to us?"

"Certainly full of opportunities. Father, please listen to me slowly tell..."

Now, Rurik had to convince his father, and also himself.

What is the purpose of continuing to use troops in Frank and participating in their civil war intensively? Naturally, it is for profit.

The Ross Army will be entrenched in Nassau, and will nominally form a coalition with the Nassau Baron Army. Still, it makes more sense to call him the Earl of Nassau in 842.

That Henry Nassau was a pragmatic person, and he relied on marriage to strengthen the bond between each other. Modern Rose has more reasons to protect him.

The fat black fox had objectively given up the identity of the Gould family and inherited the name of Nassau. It was unexpected for Rurik to control that area as his son-in-law. Rurik couldn't even think about Earl Ingol's retreat by selling his land and his actual betrayal of the Eastern Kingdom.

Invading without hesitation, Ross has done a lot.

Frank was at least a "civilized world", and it was impossible to accept the invasion without even a high-sounding reason.

The great nobles wanted to evacuate, and even retreated all the way to Tours in the Western Kingdom. For this reason, they even threw an olive branch to the Ross merchants. The big nobles withdrew, what should the small nobles with the remaining land do? Are those people willing to submit to Nassau? If they do not comply, they will need to be forced to comply by force.

At the beginning, Rurik's plan was divided into three parts, one was to establish a Ross store in Nassau, the other was to increase troops and carry out sabotage operations to the Middle Kingdom, and the third was to form a coalition with the Eastern Kingdom to join the civil war.

Naturally, Ross's army would not follow Ludwig of the Eastern Kingdom. It would be better for that guy to keep paying labor fees, so that Ross would fight for him like a Norman mercenary. In fact, everyone can accept this. Ludwig has long been raising Norman mercenaries, but the unit has been disbanded, especially at the moment when his strength has been severely damaged, that man needs new mercenaries.

Rurik explained all this to his father as usual...

Otto's body is old, but his mind is still clear.

The expedition to Frank has exceeded the cognition of the old king. He is old and has a conservative idea, but he also realizes that the tens of thousands of thriving and screaming new generation Ross people have not yet drunk their battle axes and swords. Carrying the glory of their ancestors, they urgently need glory.

"How many troops... do you plan to send? Could it be a national war this time? I am very worried about your adventure, because I am afraid that you will cause disaster if you are too aggressive."

Facing old Otto's heartfelt words, Rurik hesitated meaninglessly on his face, and he knew it in his heart, and replied with a serious face: "The situation we are facing is somewhat responsible, and I really dare not be radical. I plan to dispatch a thousand people Expedition to Frank."

"A thousand men? It's not too much, and it's not too little. Ah, looking back at my life, launching a thousand men to fight is already a big deal! To you, a thousand warriors is no longer an army. Only you can fight this kind of rich battle."

"Especially those young people." Rurik continued: "Askad led my newly established Seventh Banner Team to the expedition. When they reach the age, it is time for them to accept the trial."

"They're very young... especially that kid Askad, like Arik, they should all be brave and ruthless people, so I'm afraid of him..."

"Father, don't worry. Askad may be reckless, and I plan to let the First Banner Team of the Standing Army fight. Grund, ten years have proved his loyalty. I am willing to trust him! The Standing Army and the Seventh Banner Team, together It is enough for a thousand soldiers, and as many as seven hundred of them have the blood of our Ross tribe, even if they are very young. But for a maximum of three years, they will be young and extremely strong fighters. By that time, our losses in the war are not only Completely recovered and stronger."

"Let's do it! Ah... I wish I could be thirty years younger. Unfortunately, I'm old."

"Father…"

Facing his own weakness, Otto would also choke silently in quiet moments. He sometimes fantasizes about dying in battle, but now he is reluctant to part with his densely packed grandchildren and those screaming young clansmen.

Otto collected himself: "What should you do? Stay in the capital? Or here?"

"I... intend to stay in Novgorod."

"Oh?" Otto's slightly gloomy blush reappeared, and he asked deliberately: "Do you want to run this place, or continue to expand the military and prepare for war?"

"Father still understands me. Naturally, it is necessary to expand the army and prepare for war! I want to expand my influence in Frank, from the rich western trade to a large number of useful things to meet our needs. In the east, our biggest threat is still Smolensk, Maybe they won't attack us, but they block our trade lines to the south. That's why they must be eliminated."

"Very well. Alas! I was too kind and spared that Vadim's life. That man is older than you, and rumor has it that he became a chieftain. You must kill him! You will succeed, too."

"Yes. Considering that they are not weak, I intend to step up training in Novgorod and the capital."

"You will win. In the end? What are you going to do with the people of Smolensk?"

"They?" Rurik replied without hesitation: "The old rules, those who disobey will be killed, and those who submit will live and work in peace and contentment. The nobles who resist me must die! Anyone who submits to me, I can canonize them as boyars, and ordinary residents will also become Ross. subjects. I am obliged to protect them, and they are obliged to pay me tribute for their service."

"A smart choice, depending on whether you do it. Maybe..."

"How is father?"

"nothing."

Otto learned the news of Old Gould's death, and his tomb is in the cemetery. It is a tomb with a unique shape. The stele erected is directly a statue, and the abstract bust of a man like a fat seal is carved, which perfectly expresses the The image of that great businessman in the hearts of the world.

He had to think about his fate.

After all, how can I see Ross continue to expand? At least, he must live to see Rurik defeat Smolensk, thus clearing the great obstacle on the road to Rome in one fell swoop.

…

The agreed date has arrived.

Rus Dumane of Novgorod was invited by Rurik to be all the elites of Rus.

Carlotta, Duchess of Ostara, Fisk, Captain of the First Cavalry of the Standing Army, Grund, Captain of the First Banner of the Standing Army and Captain of the Guards, Askad, Captain of the Seventh Banner of the Infantry, and Mstisk Alik the lord of the city, Beyahir the princess of Pecheneg, Medved, the governor of Novgorod, the red fox, the leader of the Rotterstadros shop, and the blue fox, the earl of Gothenburg.

Kiev Mak Vladyslav, Pecheneg nobleman Quetzal, Riga Danish community chief Stekander.

Either Rurik's relatives, relatives, loyal generals, or all-round allies, all gathered in the same spacious council room.

Rurik is undoubtedly the protagonist, and everyone knows what he is going to talk about.

Just when everyone was eagerly waiting for Rurik to speak, he clapped his hands: "Brothers and friends, don't worry. Please see a distinguished guest."

He gave a verbal signal to the waiter outside, and after a while, a human sled pulled a Venerable to the door. After a while, an old man with a white beard leaning on a wooden stick stood in front of everyone.

The old man is none other than the old king Otto.

Seeing this, everyone stood up one after another, took off their hats and smiled to the old king.

"Sit down." Otto waved his hands in a slightly hoarse voice.

What is the old king here for? Also related to the war? But he is too old, can't the new military operation be led by this old man? It's also possible that the real brave man doesn't want to admit his aging, because even if he uses the sedan chair, Otto wants to be brave again.

Many people think so.

In fact, Otto came here firstly to meet the promising young people, secondly, to endorse his son’s determination, and thirdly, to have fun. The so-called son’s transfer of part of the glory was announced by the old king to “start the war.” war".

"Everyone please sit down," Rurik said again.

The Rus Duma in Novgorod was laid out like ordinary student classrooms, as well as the preaching hall of a church. There is a wooden platform base and a podium here, and the rest of the people sit on the spacious wooden benches on both sides, and there is a passageway in the middle of the house, so that the preacher can say that he is excited, and he can go directly to talk with everyone at close distance.

Here, Rurik repeated the conversation with his father yesterday.

The content of his decision is extremely important, because some information has been revealed, especially the arrangement that Askad happily told his father and uncle, so that Arik understands a lot.

Could it be that this year you won't use troops against Smolensk?

Rurik's answer is clear: not to take the initiative to attack.

To put it another way, Ross does not take the lead in attacking. If Smolensk takes the initiative to attack, it will counterattack with all its strength. Based on this strategy, Rurik declared in a high profile that he would stay in Novgorod and personally focus on infrastructure construction, agricultural development, and training of new militias. He restricted the continued expansion of the Principality of Ostara and ordered Carlotta to digest the success of the expansion. It is safest to expand after the so-called internal stability.

Therefore, Lukiholm and Vitebsk must strengthen their defenses because they are too close to Smolensk, especially Vitebsk in the far south.

Carlota didn't object, she knew it well, although the strength of the principality was rapidly expanding, the principality still had the very realistic task of completely ruling the Polotsk community, and it was true that it could not allocate troops to continue eastward expansion.

Arik also clarified that he and his brothers explored in the east and discovered a very safe hunting ground. However, the world is vast beyond people's expectations. During the warm season, people explored the lake area and did not find the real Volga River channel. Still need to continue to explore. It is equivalent to showing his own weakness, implying in this way that he can accept the strategic arrangement of not attacking this year.

Even so, Arik was still a little unwilling.

"The matter of Smolensk is over for the time being." Rurik cleared his throat and simply walked off the podium. He signaled the young Askad and the veteran Grund to stand up. Then he said: "The first infantry unit and the seventh banner team of the standing army will cross the ocean and reach Nassau deep in the Rhine River! One thousand people will go straight into the hinterland of the Franks! There are already five hundred northern brothers in the area, and some of them The existence of our old Ross people, they are under the command of the fat black fox, and the black fox is also your old friend. This king arranges for you to be stationed there and continue to destroy the Middle Kingdom. I authorize you to plunder freely, the looted property One-tenth will be handed over to the national treasury, and the rest will be yours!"

They had to pay a tithe for the looting, but what moved the hearts of the black and red foxes present was that the king only asked for a tithe. You must know that the previous acts of looting paid attention to splitting accounts. I really didn't expect the king to amend the rules so kindly?

"There must be an inside story!" The black fox has figured it out after using his brain. After all, there are a large number of new-generation Ross people in this team, and they need wealth.

Arik also understood this point. The first banner team he was in charge of also had many recruits from the Ross ethnicity. How could his own people let go of such a chance to make a fortune.

"Is the standing army really full to 500 people in one banner team? Not yet. Rurik, I want to arrange some young people from the first banner team to join temporarily. Since they are the young people who train our Ross, we should let them Young people try their best"

"Yes." Rurik nodded: "I have the same intention."

And Nassau's current local army strength of the northerners, the local army strength can reach 1,500.

It sounds like a lot, and I am afraid that it cannot become a force that both sides of the civil war attach great importance to.

Rurik asked the blue and red foxes to stand up again: "I ask the Earl of Gothenburg to send another 1,000 Gotalans to fight, and arrange another 500 Gotalands to immigrate to Rotterstadt at the mouth of the Inn River. Everyone speaks Norse, and they all worship the gods Odin, Thor, and Frey. Their identities are the Gothenburg Army, our allies. In this way, we can gather 2,500 troops in Nassau, and another There are reserves! Even..."

Although Ross and Denmark are in an alliance, when they were still in the capital, the blue fox and the red fox reported to Rurik about Ragnar's good deeds in Britain. The Danes raided Dover Beach and intercepted a lot of money. They got a bargain and wanted to continue to loot in 842. In this way, the Danes are active in the so-called Pas de Calais. They are all snobs. If there is a profit in the Frankish civil war, they may rush over because of the smell of copper.

Denmark is just an ally of Ross, and there is a high probability that they will not obey orders in a war. It doesn't matter! Those people were asking for money, and at critical moments they went to inland areas to sabotage and create even greater chaos.

Then Rurik said that only Ross could mobilize 3,000 combat troops, and there were uncountable Danish allies.

It sounds like the 3,000 Ross Army that gathered Nassau, Ross, and Gothenburg can do whatever they want locally.

So, who is the commander-in-chief, and what is the primary goal of the army in the local area?

What everyone can think of, Rurik has already figured it out for everyone.

"Our army going to the local area still upholds the belief in the gods, and does not have to believe in the gods of the Franks. I appointed the blue fox Gouldsson as the commander of the operation. The first task is to get the entire Earl of Lyingau. The second task is to Take the initiative to attack the Middle Kingdom. Don’t worry about military rations, I will allocate enough wheat for a thousand people to feed for six months. Why is it six months?” He looked at the blue fox in particular: “Of course, this king only gives it to the pure Ross army. Sufficient food, others should raise their own food."

Rurik didn't say much, and he already understood what he meant. The blue fox, the red fox, and even the black fox who had been staying in Nassau, these three parties are already nobles with territories, and they should get food supplies from their own control areas.

In this regard, the blue fox has no objection. He knows the situation in the Göta River Basin where Gothenburg is located~www.readwn.com~Although the local agriculture is underdeveloped, the fishing industry is booming. With technological advantages, it is not difficult to support food supplies for more than a thousand people. There is even another insurance: Cologne, Netherlands, Flanders.

The thinking of a businessman is different from that of a pure martial artist, and Blue Fox thought of borrowing money. Anyway, the wool in Flanders is transported by ship, and the labor cost of transportation can just be used as money to buy grain in Cologne. To change the way of thinking, it is better to borrow food first, so as to deduct the material transportation fee.

Of course, there are simpler and more violent methods - the village of the hostile force is my granary.

The plan has been determined, and the selected fighters must also arrive in the capital to assemble before the spring plowing, especially when the ice has not yet melted, waiting for the ship.

This determined that the army must set out by the end of February at the latest, and for this reason Rurik would personally send them off.

Even the old king Otto will return to the new Rose Fort, the colonial site he ordered to build, which is now the capital.

Because, there is a miraculous big ship that will be launched and complete its first voyage this spring.