Rise of Rurik

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Rurik's fleet finally returned to Hamburg, and the large ships rushed directly into the main channel of the Elbe, and quickly reached the city of Hamburg under the tow of a large number of oars.

The discerning person noticed that these large ships had unusual draughts, and it was obvious that the cabins were full of cargo.

The fleet anchored near the shore, and the cables were dropped and pulled by the waiting people on the shore, and finally fixed on the wooden stakes on the shore.

When the ships were fixed, the work of unloading important supplies began to be carried out without a break.

In fact, when Rurik saw two large ships moored at the mouth of the Elbe, one of which had a special flag flying on the mast, he knew that the person he had invited by letter had arrived.

"Biyonny, how are you after all these years?" We asked ourselves, Rurik felt that he was actually very sorry for this brother.

The lightning-fast return of Lord Ross, the deep draught of the ships, and the constant unloading of supplies onto the barges by the nets are a testament to the great success of their operation in Flanders.

However, there is no sign of the Danish king Ragnar here.

The vast number of Rus warriors did not pay much attention to the Danes. They were most concerned about how much material their king had plundered and how much information they had discovered.

A poor middle-aged man was always bound, and no one loosened him even when he went to the toilet.

He is Baudouin, Count of Flanders. I don't know how many days have passed, his mouth is stuffed with cloth, and occasionally he will get some unknown food to satisfy his stomach. After being captured, he has been stuffed into the cabin of the ship, his eyes are tightly bound with cloth strips, and the whole person seems to be blind.

He was carried on deck like cargo, and Rurik himself removed the man's blindfold.

"Baudouin. Look at it all! This is not your Flanders, this is Saxony's hamburger."

Suddenly farewell to the darkness, Baudouin subconsciously narrowed his eyes to resist the dazzling light. It took him some time to get used to it, but he finally saw the situation.

Hamburger? Is this a burger? A Saxon town? Isn't it a Frankish town?

As the ropes that bound his hands and feet were untied, and the ball of cloth gagging his mouth was removed, he could finally stand up like a normal person.

"Is this a hamburger?" he muttered, tremblingly.

Rurik didn't want to pay attention to him, but ordered his subordinates: "Find spare clothes for this man to put on. He is a great nobleman, and he will be of great use in the future."

It is true that the clothes that are full of anger are not good. Baudouin changed his clothes, and finally put the accessories that can prove his identity back on him.

He had just recovered his walking ability and needed a little time to get used to it. No, when he got ashore, he could only follow the skills of the warriors of Gaozhuang Ross, and be set up and run towards the city of Hamburg within the walls.

...

As a result, a large number of high-ranking nobles gathered in the humble palace of the Duchy of Saxony.

They are the nobles of the northern world, and it is up to them to choose whether this area is peaceful or war.

Now, everyone, whether satisfied or not, must obey a new order.

Rurik reunited with the King of York, his old brother Biyonny Magnusson, and his young fellow Floki Magnusson. They had a cordial exchange of memories of the past and were very satisfied with the current situation.

The younger sister of the two, Noren, is now struggling to walk with a huge belly. She must participate in this collective meeting among the nobles of the north, not because she is one of Rurik's wives, but because she, as the earl of Narvik, is qualified and necessary to participate in this meeting.

Now that Noren has joined it, Pecheneg's princess Bejahir, who has a big belly and is completely unable to ride, must of course participate as a senior aristocrat. She has made a statement on behalf of the Pecheneg Khanate and supported Ludov's Saxony Principality.

As for Ludov, although he didn't understand what kind of country the Pecheneg Khanate was, he heard that his people were good at horseback riding, and most of them were small black-haired and yellow-faced men, and he immediately thought of Ahmad who had been defeated by Charlemagne. The Var Khanate is probably a similar existence to the Pecheneg Khanate. The more support from a country in the far east, the better. I am afraid this will not be purely spiritual support. Once the trade network with the Rus people is completed in the future, it is feasible to import horses from the far east, even if they pay more.

Then came King Ernred of Northumbria and Prince Ella, dressed in many orange-yellow hues.

The arrival of these two people is really welcomed by all parties. With this opportunity, Rurik is also proud to take a good look at what Ella, who is said to be the last blood eagle in the legend, looks like.

"A fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth? It doesn't seem like he will do great things."

When Ernred arrives, it is natural that Regraf, the real legitimate heir to the throne of Mercia Kingdom, is also indispensable.

Regraf is the de facto eldest son of Rurik, but at this moment, this son is participating in the meeting of nobles as the king of Mercia. He deliberately hung a sterling silver cross on his chest to prove that he was actually a Christian.

This dream situation really satisfied Ernred, so he also arranged for his prince Ella to have a good chat with Regraf.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't matter, as Regraf learned that he was eager to inherit the throne of Mercia, and became a treasure that was looted by many local nobles, Wessex in the south was ready to move. A plan to solve the problem by military means, he has already begun to plan.

As for the fact that King Ragnar of Denmark happily went along the Laine River to rob the Frankish hinterland, everyone was quite surprised. He would not participate in this important meeting, but his absence today was not a big problem.

Many big nobles gathered here, making the real Robert, the Earl of Hamburg, quite embarrassed.

Henry Nassau was not embarrassed. He had already called himself Count of the Netherlands, a title that must be recognized by the monarch Ludov. He also needs more countries to recognize the legitimacy of the so-called Counties of the Netherlands and lay a diplomatic foundation for future peaceful trade.

The poor Count of Flanders took part in this noble meeting in a very embarrassing capacity.

A large number of Norman nobles, when asked whether the title is an earl or a governor, and two Norman kings.

Some nobles who believe in Christ even come across the sea to recognize the legitimacy of Saxony. How much shame does this give to Ludoff? To make matters worse, standing here are the future kings of the two British kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia, which are geographically separated by a sea from Flanders.

In terms of personal friendship, Baudouin, Count of Flanders, knew Ludoff, now Duke of Saxony.

Being a prisoner now seems to have relieved the persecution, and he is extremely low-key, knowing the interests of the period.

Baudouin was captured alive by King Rurik! Are the two armies still fighting in Antwerp? !

Although this result was unexpected, Liudov was really happy to see it.

The high stone room that was originally used as a banquet hall was removed from all wooden tables and replaced by wooden benches arranged in a circle.

It's like a round table meeting in disguise, highlighting the fairness among the nobles.

In fact, it is not. It is really beneficial for Rurik to stand in the middle and preach to everyone, and the words can accurately reach everyone's ears.

Now, Baudouin has changed his clothes and even put on the scabbard of his iron sword. He was forced to participate in the meeting as the Earl of Flanders, and now he is as well-behaved as a student.

Rurik is the man of all eyes, the head of all the northern nobles!

He was tall, wearing a white cape made of polar bear skin, his blond hair combed into a ponytail, and a Greek-style gold laurel wreath.

There is more than one king and one grand duke sitting here, and only Rurik can have an overwhelming advantage in all aspects.

Perhaps the arrangement of major affairs can be postponed, so as to take some time to organize the language to write documents, and privately understand the demands of the nobles of all parties before negotiating.

Rurik couldn't wait, because the war had grown to the point where it is now. It has finally evolved into a war of "Shaping the New Order of the North", and now it is time to prepare for the end.

Everyone stared at his majestic stature and listened to his eloquent speeches.

"Almost all the nobles of the North are here! If we decide to go to war, we will be bruised and bruised each other badly. If we decide to make peace, all will be enriched by trade and all will be honored. Peace or War?! Peace of course.

So, this year! In 840, Ross mobilized the entire north to wage a huge war.

Ross owns all of Scandinavia and takes all of Denmark. The endless internal strife that has plagued our Vikings for hundreds of years has finally come to an end this year. What awaits us is safe Baltic shipping, and we will make a fortune from trade.

However, all this was not seen by the Franks. When the entire North rises, it is eroding the living space of the Franks.

The Frankish kingdom is the root of all evil! "

Rurik had already talked about his excitement, he suddenly pointed at Baudouin who was pretending to be a salted fish: "You! Baudouin, Count of Flanders. Your country was originally a free country, but it was annexed by the Frankish armed forces. You are willing to To be their vassal? You should get rid of Frank."

So he immediately praised Liudov's brilliance: "The Saxons are not slaves. Liudov, the descendant of the great hero Widukind, has led all Saxons to rebuild their country. I am very happy that everyone here supports Saxony, I The Ross of Saxony is willing to be an ally with Saxony. What is an ally? If someone attacks Saxony, it is equivalent to attacking Rus."

When Rurik explained the meaning of "allied country", Liudov stood up abruptly under the strong mental agitation.

"King Ross, what you solemnly stated... is everything true?"

"Of course it's true."

"Good. We will always be allies of each other."

Rurik then clapped his hands in satisfaction with a smile. What he wanted was not an alliance between Ross and Saxony. The alliance between the two sides had been planned for a long time, but Ludov could not have imagined that at the moment when the vast majority of the northern nobles gathered here, Rurik could make such a promise publicly, which was really touching.

"So, I decided to expand the meaning of alliance. I want to create a safe north, and it is only possible to create a larger alliance when we, the nobles of the north, sit together. This alliance does not involve any belief, only It is to maintain peaceful trade and national security of all allies. All allies must ensure that they do not attack each other. They are all obliged to ensure trade security. If a foreign enemy invades any allied country, it will be regarded as an attack on everyone.

I call on all of you to join the covenant I forged. "

Creating a covenant to prevent it was a matter of course for Rurik. After all, the Rus Kingdom has theoretically expanded its sphere of influence south to the Weser River. It is impossible for Ross to give up the strategic results of this year's expansion and engage in any strategic contraction.

Of course, he hopes that he can directly control the vast area and follow the general trend of history to create a "Northern Rome", an eastern-style country where the king centralizes power and the civilian system manages the country.

Rurik couldn't do that, at least not in the current era.

Then do the next best thing and organize a coalition of nations.

"I decided to call it the Northern Alliance. You all join it so we don't aggress and defend each other. We further develop the same tariffs, we welcome each other's merchants. Business. It's perfect!"

Rurik was immersed in his own self-movement, and he was convinced that he would create a "NATO organization", of course, this organization was indeed under Ross's control to suppress the aggressive Frank.

He ignored for the time being the contradictions that existed among the countries that wanted to join the Covenant.

No, Ernred, who broke the arm of the King of Northumbria, immediately spoke: "You claim that this is a fair covenant, how can I believe you? If, you abolish the 300,000 pounds that our country pays you to Ross every year. Maizi, it shows that you have sufficient sincerity."

Abolish? Rurik felt that he was being commanded by the first army.

He noticed that a pair of eyes were staring at him, which was the questioning of all parties with their eyes.

At one time, 300,000 pounds of wheat were extremely important to Ross. However, times have changed. Russ is developing wasteland every year in the eastern world, and the self-produced wheat has been able to meet the consumption of the current population, and even began to generate a large surplus, so that the women under her rule are all giving birth in large numbers.

Rurik resolutely said: "Okay! If you join the Northern Alliance, this year will be your last tribute. From next year, all your tributes will be abolished, and we will only have normal trade exchanges from now on."

Ernred could not have imagined that Rurik would answer so freely, and he was afraid that it was a sudden whim. He replied in a low voice: "If this is the case, I will join your covenant."

Rurik could see Ernred's suspicions. Indeed, it is indeed quite amazing that a country that believes in Odin and a country that believes in God are allies with each other because of national defense, security, and peaceful trade.

"I don't ask you to agree with me right away," Rurik added. "I'm just presenting this initiative to you today. You can spend some time discussing it, and we'll have a meeting in three days, and you will whether to join our covenant or not."

To create a "Northern Alliance", Rurik is really confident.

Today's Ross has a strong military strength, and the country's stamina is too sufficient.

Rurik had the confidence to create this covenant organization, and even in a sense, consolidate the existing alliance treaties into a larger alliance.

The Rus-Danish League, the Rus-York League, the Rospecheneg League, the Rosnovgorod Alliance, the Rus-Saxon League, and the Ros-Netherlands League. In this way, from the far eastern grasslands to the vast Valdai plains of Northeast Europe, to the entire Scandinavia except Bergen, and even to the central regions of Britain, these regions have ushered in peace with each other. Ross and various forces are allies with each other, which has the basis for continuing to expand the covenant.

Although they are all allied with Ross, they are somewhat contradictory to each other. Once all are allies, these contradictions must be resolved by Ross as the mediator.

Rurik knew that his arrangement would inevitably bring heavy work and affairs to himself, and Ross would be dragged down by paying for the actions of some allies.

Then what can be done? If Russ expanded a little further, it would become northern Rome, which turned the entire Baltic Sea into a lagoon.

Times have not allowed Ross to live his own little life behind closed doors.

Moreover, the establishment of a huge alliance means a huge market, and Rus' metallurgy, handicrafts, and various foods can be widely dumped. High-quality ironware is especially a competitive product, relying on it, you can peacefully grab the primary products of allies, not only earn wealth but also get the smiling faces of allies, why not do it.

Obviously, the top nobles of the Franks would definitely oppose such an alliance.

In this way, Ross can have enough casus belli.

Rurik, after all, did not want to let the dignified teacher carry the name of a pirate on his back.

The nobles had plenty of time to discuss, and even Baudouin, Count of Flanders, was persuaded by these words. He really needed to think carefully about whether the so-called denial of cowardice was a good match between the Middle and East Frankish kingdoms. Another way to flatter the Rus. In short, it can't be beaten, and the northern region of my own has been separated, and there must be no way to take it back. He comforted himself that Friesland and Utrecht in the north were relatively poor, and if they were lost, they would be lost.

It would be a good thing to have close ties with the Rus, to prevent all Normans from invading their southern turf in the future. As for his brother-in-law's blood feud, perhaps he can only bury this matter in his heart. Because this is politics, and politics is compromise. It is not the first time that Flanders has confessed to cowardice, and it is not ashamed to admit it again this year.

The nobles of all parties actively discussed, and Rurik has probably figured out the demands of all parties. So one by one, Rurik had to personally come forward as a mediator and guarantor.

As a result, Rurik learned about the current chaos of Mercia and the impending Wessex, which caused the severely shrunk Northumbria to be full of worries about the future, as well as the neighboring kingdom of Viking York and the northern skin. The Kurt invaded suddenly.

With Rurik's mediation, Ernred completely decided to join the Covenant.

This is good for both parties. "Wessex? If you dare to invade Mercia, I will seek justice for my son." Rurik made up his mind.

Three days after the initial meeting, the outcome of the covenant was to be implemented. Before that, Rurik had already negotiated with the nobles except Baudouin, Count of Flanders.

Baudouin's attitude is ambiguous, and he is simply practicing Tai Chi.

Rurik undoubtedly forced him to agree. Obviously, this guy still has fantasies about the so-called Frankish army destroying such an alliance.

There is nothing wrong with Baudouin's thought that he just wants to gain.

Rurik also hopes to have a decisive battle with Frank, but just looking at the current situation, I am afraid that there will be no new battles this year. He has already begun to plan for the temporary withdrawal of the army. The so-called most of the main forces will be withdrawn to Denmark for rest. In principle, if something happens in the south, they can quickly rush to help.

Three days later, a rough sheet of paper was spread out.

It was the Northern Alliance Treaty.

The terms of alliance are written in sacred Latin, and it is actually two core terms: mutual non-enmity and public humiliation.

The so-called content of this document really made the northern saint Esquil rejoice~www.readwn.com~, so Esquil, the archbishop of the north, witnessed it himself.

All nobles used quills to write their names and titles of nobles.

Even Esquill signed his own name, as he represented the Catholic Church in acknowledging the legitimacy of the alliance treaty.

Blasphemy? Do not! Eskil thinks that if Ross's vast alliance is completely at peace with each other, his own missionary career will be unimpeded. After all, the treaty was clearly written, and he could even send people to the far end of the north to spread the gospel, so he would no longer have to worry about a nobleman taking his own life, and no need to worry about the war coming back to life.

However, as Rurik estimated, Baudouin, the Count of Flanders, did not sign the name after all. I just gave up this meeting on the grounds that my stomach didn't stop.

For this kind of person Rurik has no intention of punishing him, it doesn't matter whether he has diarrhea or not, after all, this guy will have to make some kind of decision in the future.

The Country of Flanders is composed of two sections, Belichka and Friesland. Henry Nassau occupied the northern Friesland and renamed it the Netherlands. In the future, it is a big deal to arrange for Nassau to occupy the land in the south, which will be more beneficial for Ross to import local wool and more beneficial for Ross to sell steel appliances to the local area.