Rise of Rurik

Once upon a time, the settlements of Münster and Osbrunak belonged to the Saxon region.

It also includes the entire Westphalian region, which is part of traditional Saxony.

After the war, these areas were devastated, and those Saxon people who were able to flee had already crossed the Weser River and even the Elbe River. Liudolf gave up fully half of traditional Saxony, but gained the vast majority of the Saxon population.

Now that his strength had been greatly reduced, he had to cooperate with the Russians to obtain military protection.

The large-scale reduction in territory was only temporary. He kept comforting himself: "Everyone is in my hands and it is easy for me to manage them. When my strength recovers, I will gain more territory."

True to his blood, Liudov's family was not content with being hounds with collars around their necks. The lost Westphalia will eventually be recovered, and then the Archdiocese of Cologne will be forced to cooperate with it.

"Perhaps my Saxony Principality can expand as much as possible. As long as I do not harm the interests of the Normans, and as long as I continue to cooperate with them, my expansion will also be supported by them. Maybe, my family can replace Ludwig family."

Such unreasonable ambitions should not be told to others, and Liudov kept a tight-lipped tone.

What is revenge? Simply killing an enemy is not revenge. The so-called murder and heart-breaking, if you can also seize all the political power of the enemy, this is the most complete revenge.

Continuing to declare that legal surrender to Ludwig is a conspiracy and that no one can be blamed. The Principality of Saxony is still a political block within the huge East Frankish territory, and Liudov has become one of the few powerful nobles!

How many de jure nobles are there in East Frankia today?

Duke of Bavaria (who also controls generalized Austria), this is Ludwig's basic position as king, and his original identity was the Duke of Bavaria.

The following are: Duke of Saxony, Count of Rheingau (Marquis of Frankfurt), Archbishop of Worms, Archbishop of Cologne, Margrave of Thuringia, and Count of Flanders.

If it is inevitable that the decline of German royal power will lead to the historical process of electors competing for the title of emperor, then the roots of all this already existed when she was still the Eastern Kingdom.

In the large-scale northern war of 840 that finally ended recently, among the "prince entities" in the Eastern Kingdom, only the Margrave of Thuringia suffered no losses.

Taschuf, the Count of Thuringia, certainly received Ludwig's order to send troops, and he made it clear to the messenger that he would indeed send troops.

However, until Ludwig's entire army was wiped out, half of the Thuringian reinforcements were not seen. Even though Thuringia is bordering Saxony.

This war can be said to be an unprecedented large-scale invasion by the Eastern Kingdom against the Normans. It can also be said to be a war of restoration for the traditional Saxon nobility.

The war finally came to an end, and Ludwig's hope of ending the war before Christmas was fully realized in this darkly humorous way.

The Eastern Kingdom is the loser!

The victor gave the vanquished a very honorable end.

Therefore, when the peace treaty written on hard paper was signed, it meant that the "Northern Alliance" and the Eastern Kingdom became a de facto military and commercial alliance.

Most of the contents of the treaty are supported by everyone, including the Eastern Kingdom's cancellation of all tax collection rights for the "Northern Alliance" member states.

There was only one thing. After some mediation, the two sides finally reached a compromise.

With the Great Wall of Schleswig as the boundary, northerners will not spread the Odin faith to the south, and southerners will not spread the Catholic faith to the north.

Ludwig, who was forced to dress simply, put on his gorgeous clothes again and got back his sword.

So it wasn't until he was defeated that he realized that the sword he had treasured for many years was actually the sword tailor-made for him by King Rurik of Rus. Then in the Ross army, Ludwig even met Kawei, the son of the sword maker and the great blacksmith of Ross.

It's all about fate, and when I look at the sword in my hand, I have mixed feelings. "Perhaps if I had been less arrogant back then and had a good talk with your envoy, the situation would still be like this?"

Since they were allies, all the Frankish civilians detained in Hamburg were once free. These civilians have almost lost the courage to curse and curse. Now, all the men among them who can hold short spears and axes have become Ludwig's guards to support the king's face.

In principle, Ludwig and Hardbold could leave after the meeting, but they did not do so.

They will spend Christmas in Hamburg, and they will also spend some time observing the living conditions of the Normans and their barbaric holiday etiquette.

A wooden tower has been piled up. It is solid at the bottom. The higher the tower is stacked, the more it shrinks. Finally, it converges into a patio that is equivalent to one meter square. This patio is intentional. It uses the so-called chimney effect. After a fire is ignited, the wooden tower will think of violent tongues of fire spewing out into the sky. The scene is extremely spectacular.

The wooden towers are stacked on top of each other in a slight mortise and tenon structure as much as possible, making it very strong. A large number of pine branches were accumulated on the outside of the wooden tower, and boiled fish oil could be poured on it. The oil had frozen in the extreme cold and was mixed with the pine branches.

Only one part of the wooden tower was bare, and the piles of wood formed a staircase that led directly to the top of the tower.

What's the point of building a tower like this? What looks like a ladder is really a ladder?

An interesting and crazy news is circulating among the Ross army. Legend has it that during the Hanukkah fire tower ceremony, the sacrifices will be tied up and transported to the top of the tower by soldiers, where they will be completely burned to ashes.

The sacrifice was none other than Horik, the deposed king of Denmark, careerist, and war instigator who was transformed into a human pig.

To this day, this man is still lingering on. Having lost his tongue, he has now lost the ability to bite his tongue and commit suicide to end the humiliation of the wooden cage. His whole person is simply fish on the chopping board in a real sense.

Burning Horik to death was the wish of all the Normans, and of course, it was also the great pleasure of Baudouin, Count of Flanders.

In addition to burning a prisoner, residents in Hamburg regardless of ethnicity are welcoming the grand festival according to their own living habits.

Eskil and Hadbold joined forces in a historic church in Hamburg and decided to celebrate a reasonable Christmas Mass. To this end, all Christians, including the Saxons and the freed Franks, must participate.

Even Blue Fox, Earl of Gothenburg, who belongs to the Ross camp, and Reglaf, the actual eldest son of Rurik, who holds the legal kingship of Mercia. Even though the two would prefer to participate in traditional activities in Ross, attending Catholic Mass is necessary for political purposes.

But before the festival, one important thing must be implemented.

The snow had stopped on a cold day, and horns were blowing loudly at Ross Barracks and Denmark Barracks.

Ludwig woke up from his sleep and subconsciously thought about the terrible war and his humiliating defeat. He was so frightened that he sweated. When he woke up, he realized that he was sleeping in Hamburg and the war was over.

The low and melodious Norman horn horn seemed to come from another world. It was an exciting signal. The soldiers who had received the news had woken up one after another, put on warm clothes, put on their weapons, and gathered outdoors urgently.

The formations of various banners now also include the soldiers of Blue Fox's Gothenburg Götaland-Unkras Army and the soldiers of Ragnar's Danish Army.

Thousands of people gathered together and whispered, joined by armed sailors, about the special benefits King Rurik was about to bestow.

No! The much-anticipated King Rurik of Rus, wearing extremely gorgeous attire, made a shining appearance surrounded by bear-headed berserkers who were equally dressed luxuriously but yet brave.

Rurik tried his best to suppress the roar of thousands of people with his loud voice.

"Stop making noise! ​​Half a pound of silver for everyone! Regardless of race, everyone who has fought in the war has a share!"

He kept shouting until his voice became hoarse.

Then it was the turn of the bear-headed berserkers to roll up cardboard and make a simple trumpet, repeating the king's words to the swarming brothers.

With the captains and nobles of each banner in place, Rurik ordered them to form the team immediately, and he also hurriedly prepared the platform for distributing money.

The berserkers were pulling some sledges themselves, and they were piled with heavy sacks, all of which were, as expected, filled with silver coins.

A simple wooden table was quickly assembled, and a wooden chair was also assembled.

Rurik sat alone on the wooden chair, and the guards around him prepared the money bag. He deliberately took out some silver coins and spread them on the wooden table. The silver-white treasure was right here, and the eyes of the viewers were straightened. This also proved that the king really had a lot of money and was willing to reward the army.

He deliberately staged it, and it happened that the musicians trained by his beloved wife Nolen were always doing handymen in the army. They served as cooks, doctors, and washers, and their job was to be musicians. They used bone flutes and wooden flutes to play melodious tunes, and combined them with horn horns, leather drums and gongs to create a special symphony.

This music officially started the money distribution drama that the king personally implemented.

To distribute money to thousands of people, Rurik naturally made some preparations in advance.

There are a bunch of pockets inside those huge linen pockets. Fifty silver coins are packed in the simply sewn pockets, and they are finally tied with a thin hemp rope.

In a sense, this became Rurik's New Year's red envelope for the soldiers.

After the music ended, facing a very quiet scene where thousands of people gathered, Rurik's shout finally became fully penetrating.

"First Flag Team! Brothers, come and receive your reward!"

"In the order of each centurion! Receive the reward!"

As a result, a small team walked out in front of the crowd and lined up in a single column in front of Rurik's desk.

Rurik was sitting here. The first warrior couldn't hide his smile despite his caution. He was shaking with excitement. After taking the simple small bag given by the king himself with trembling hands, he subconsciously jumped halfway. .

However, this reckless warrior was immediately blocked by the bear-headed berserker holding a sword.

"Wait a minute! Brother! Why don't you thank the king? And why don't you show the rewards you received to other brothers?" the soldier accused.

Hearing this, the warrior couldn't hide his smile. He immediately stood up in front of the king and beat his chest with his right fist in warrior salute. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Thank you, king."

Just pull off the rope at the top, and there are neatly stacked silver coins inside. He was also embarrassed to see if the list really weighed fifty half-pound coins, so he immediately shouted to his waiting colleagues: "It's really a silver coin!"

In this way, Rurik handed the prepared bags to his subordinates who received the reward one by one, and the soldiers immediately shouted "Thank you, King", and then they opened the rope to inspect the goods and left in ecstasy.

This is a performance art of unprecedented scale, and Rurik will personally deliver the rewards to all his subordinates, even if it makes him very tired.

He now behaves extremely equally, and to many warriors, the noble King Rus is as mysterious as a god.

A mortal rarely has the opportunity to speak to the King in this life, and even to see the King is extremely rare. Especially the Finnish flag team and the Slavic flag team. They are not and cannot be the king's trusted warriors. If they want to see the king's face up close and receive rewards from the king with their own hands, I am afraid this is the only chance in their lives.

The short Finnish Suomi people tried to challenge the Russian army many years ago, but surrendered immediately after realizing that they could not defeat them. The Suomi became the most prosperous of all Finnish tribes. This was not due to their smooth surrender, but mainly because the king's confidant Jevlo was a Suomi.

Among the Finnish flag troops who were ordered to fight, there were also playful micro-tribes such as the Vips and Rudy people. Before being conquered, their living conditions were almost like wild animals. They were drawn into a northern civilization system created by Ross. They were extremely poor and had already enjoyed the dividends of the war. This time, they were unprecedentedly personally rewarded by the King of Ross.

After receiving the silver coins, there was a short warrior who was so excited that his legs could not stand and he collapsed on the ground. He then stammered "Thank you, King" in Enochian.

Rurik subconsciously leaned out half of his body and looked down at the man sitting on the ground. With the tenderness of a king, he asked in Suomi dialect: "Are you okay? Take the money and make way for the brothers behind you."

This is actually a hometown dialect! The king can actually speak his hometown dialect!

The paralyzed Suomi warrior was finally dragged aside by the bear-headed berserker. Such an overly excited person became a joke among the onlookers. The warrior was even more happy that the king valued the ordinary Suomi longbowman.

Rurik really showed strong regard for all the soldiers who had gone through the war.

For the Rus Kingdom, which has already been flooded with a lot of hot money, giving fifty silver coins to the Kingdom's Viking soldiers cannot change a family, but it is definitely a huge sum of money.

But for Finnish soldiers and Slavic soldiers, it would bring about a qualitative change.

After capturing female prisoners, they gave them to Viking warriors as wives. This was a benefit that Rurik had thought of very early on, and he relied on this trick to win over a large number of fans.

This benefit was soon extended to the Slavic villages in the Novgorod region that had surrendered to the Rus. However, the act of abducting women through war and giving them to subordinates as wives was only a temporary measure in a special historical stage.

They are men, and capable men should pursue their own wives and cannot expect the king to give them money.

It is a luxury to expect pure love. If a talented man can provide a betrothal gift, the marriage problem will probably be solved.

Especially the Slavs of Novgorod who live a purely agricultural life around Lake Ilmen. According to their culture, women are just subordinates of the family, and parents have full authority over their daughter's marriage arrangements. Although there is no clear clan culture, through continuous marriages, small Slavic families have allowed farms to rise one after another. There are intricate blood relationships in the farms. As this marriage pattern continues, multiple small farms can be merged into large farms. , its final derivative is the city-state.

A Slavic man rarely sees silver coins in traditional life, and even iron tools are rare. Nowadays, silver coins are widely used in the trade system of Lake Ilmen, but fifty silver coins are enough to be used as a bride price to obtain a marriage.

Many soldiers in the Slavic Flag Army are young and unmarried. They are the second and third sons of their families, and most of them are not the main labor force. In this way, if they died in battle, the loss to their own families would not be fatal.

The banner team suffered minimal battle losses. After a whole year of war, the young warriors not only realized how big the world is, they had already plundered some loot, their dry pockets were bulging, and now they wanted to add the fifty silver coins given by the king himself. .

This meant that when they returned to their hometown after the war, the young Slavic warriors could marry wives immediately, buy some tools to clear the wasteland, and hire laborers to help them build new wood carvings.

Because the king has ordered that this year's taxes be canceled due to the victory in the war. Since the taxes have been collected, next year's agricultural taxes will be completely exempted.

There is also a one-year tax holiday for land reclamation. Even if tax collection begins, the newly reclaimed fields will be regarded as "poor land" by default, and the agricultural tax collection will be extremely low. As for whether it can be defined as "fertile land" and the tax rate increases, it depends on the future land identification.

Young Slavic soldiers enjoyed the dividends of the war. They could work as yeoman farmers, and then gathered together to form a farm, such as the already built cities of Mstisk and Youth City near Novgorod, so that the army and the people were loyal to the Russian royal family.

Now, they see with their own eyes that their king is a young man like themselves. This is no longer a distant view. Everyone can clearly see the king's beard and sharp eyes, and can even touch the king's hand when taking the money bag. .

Even though Rurik wanted to do the entire money distribution activity quickly, it still continued into the night. After all, the daylight hours were too short now.

The soldiers' enthusiasm did not diminish. They lit bonfires and held torches. Rurik also suppressed his yawn and continued to make money with the money he had prepared.

By the way, he also took this opportunity to determine how many troops there were that could directly obey his command.

The fact is, including the sailors, there are only over 4,000 fighting men left.

No longer the horsemen reviewing the army flashed past, Rurik saw the face of each soldier, and had the most realistic understanding of their height, shortness, fatness and thinness. Obviously, there are not many faces among the old soldiers of Ross. After all, no matter how powerful the veterans are, they will naturally have to fight the toughest battle. They have suffered a lot of losses, and the core army of Ross Army will undergo a major change for this purpose. The shackles of the old Ross tribe due to the large number of veterans will be worn away by the sacrifices of the veterans.

A large number of howling recruits were added, and during their childhood before they became warriors, the recruits ate the king's food, wore the king's clothes, and were sent by the king to educate them in cultural knowledge and combat skills. It was self-evident to whom their loyalties would be.

This war reshuffled the political landscape of Northern and Northwest Europe, and it also reshuffled the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Rus. The younger generation is emerging and will quickly replace the older generation. This is exactly what Rurik wants to see, and everything is under his control.