Rise of Rurik

The cavalry rushed downstream along the West Dvina River, and no one knew what would happen when they met the guys in the Gulf of Riga.

Fighting is not Fisk's first choice, unless the opponent first shows hostility.

In principle, it was possible to launch raids on the villages encountered, but Fisk didn't want to waste time on this matter.

The cavalry lined up in columns and strolled through lush water and grass. The horses had no worries about supplies, and the riders also had no worries about food and clothing. It's just that the brothers hope that they can make a fortune on this trip. Many people have the idea of ​​​​plundering, but they have to suppress it because of the boss's request.

Ordinary soldiers did not know that the pineapple people described by old Harold were ten large tribes. They only knew one thing. There was a group of Danish immigrants living in the city of Riga.

Even if those northerners have immigrated for a long time, perhaps many of them have integrated with the locals. Those people are worthy of being respected. Once a fight breaks out, the Russians may not necessarily have the absolute upper hand.

After marching for two consecutive days, there was no one on both sides of the river.

But careful people accidentally saw a very large beast suddenly scurrying past. It had yellow fur with many black spots on it.

It was a leopard, which the Polotsk people called Lamparta.

It was during the conflict with the Polotsk people that the Rus' and Ostara first encountered the hides of European leopards. It is much more gorgeous than ordinary animal skins, the fur is smoother, and it is expected to be warmer in winter. It must be very cool to wear it on your body, but it is a pity that too few were captured from the Polotsk people.

In today's era, wild animals are still flourishing in the vast forests of Northeast Europe, and large creatures such as European bison and European leopards still maintain high numbers. But expanding humans have been encroaching on the living space of these animals, hunting them for meat and leather, and then cutting down trees to transform into fields and pastures.

Even though the population of the Baltic people has always been small, and their weapons and equipment are worse than those of nearby ethnic groups, it is more than enough to hunt these beasts.

European leopards, brown bears, and wild boars will actively attack people and livestock, and even destroy granaries. Therefore, people build stacked walls and wooden fences to prevent wild beasts from invading settlements. People who work outside must also be vigilant to avoid becoming a meal for wild beasts. This has given rise to hunting teams, in groups of three or five, armed with spears and bows, they actively seek out wild beasts and kill them.

Various Vikings, various Slavs, and all Baltic people, including the Old Rus, had very similar production and lifestyles before entering farming and settlement. The Vikings had the advantage of navigation technology. They could choose to settle and were more able to choose their own settlements in the Baltic Sea, which was geographically trivial.

The Danish immigrant community in the Gulf of Riga was born, but the heroes who came to settle here from all walks of life had a variety of pasts. Some are simple fishermen, some are traveling businessmen, and some are even deported criminals.

However, in the past ten years, Riga has not heard of any new Danish immigrants arriving, but Saaremaa Island outside the harbor has become a big trouble.

Riding horseback all the way to the sea, old Harold found it difficult to relieve his boredom. In the past, he did not dare to ask more questions, but now he boldly asked them.

He tightened his grip on the reins and, having already learned how to ride a horse, looked at Fisk: "Friend, are the people on Saaremaa all your Russians?"

"Exactly. What's so strange about that?"

"It's really strange. Many tribes will expel their criminals, and those criminals will be given a raft to float freely on the sea. This is a kind of punishment. Many criminals drowned directly in the sea, but some people still succeeded in floating to the sea. Island. Later, Saaremaa became a pirate’s nest.”

Fisk shrugged, thinking of many things. Since they were both bored, he also talked about some past events.

"Hahaha." Fisk couldn't help laughing.

"why are you laughing."

"Is Saaremaa a cesspit? To be honest, even we Russians punished criminals with exile, and some people simply drifted to that island."

"Huh?!" Old Harold never knew about this.

"Are you surprised?"

"Why are you not surprised? It is a holy land for the guilty. They thrive on the island. All the exiles and their descendants are pirates. These guys make the Latvians in Riga very helpless. As long as they go further to the sea, they will be attacked by pirates. So many people are reluctant to go to sea.”

"Is there such a thing?" Fisk pinched his beard and thought about it. What the old man said was true. In the past, I heard the "great explorer" Spuyut boast that as a Russian who accidentally drifted to Saaremaa Island, he fought with local pirates. If not for this conflict, the Russians would not have encountered the same people who were exiled in the past. and their descendants.

"Absolutely true."

"But aren't there a lot of Danes in Riga? You know, we can be merchants or pirates on the sea. Why don't you Danes organize yourself to attack Saaremaa? You could have done that tomorrow."

"Why?" Old Harold asked, directly stopping Fisk.

yes. Why?

"Why on earth? Of course you are not cowards. There is a story in this."

Old Harold shrugged like that, and his answer was very counter-intuitive: "Why can we only go through the dangerous ocean? Young Fisk, how are you sure that we came from Denmark by rowing? Can't we go overland? Otherwise, Why do you think I know so many tribes over there?"

"There is actually a land passage?"

"Of course." Old Harold held the reins with his left hand and began to gesture with his right hand. "We just live in Riga, and we don't want to have conflicts with outsiders. It doesn't mean we know nothing. I heard that Denmark has changed its leader, and someone from the Stonewall tribe has become the new leader. Since you said this leader is different from Your king of Rus has made a contract, which is a good thing for everyone."

"Yes."

"Then, we start from Denmark, row eastward along the coastline of the Pomeranian territory, turn into some rivers and reach the depths. We will meet the locals, and we can tow our boat and continue Xiangdong. You know this kind of thing best." As he said that, Old Harold cast a strange look.

Fisk thought about it again, but it was indeed the case. Boating on dry land is not a big deal, especially for Ross's man-made large ships. In the past, the trick was to build the ship on land and then use the combined efforts of everyone to tow it. To the sea.

He had a very limited understanding of the European world south of the sea. He only knew the general geographical structure and coastline direction from the "sacred map" provided by Rurik. As for the various types of people living there, he still needed to see it in person.

Old Harold's experience made him a guide, and the new information revealed by the old guy's chat along the way was also a source of entertainment.

The so-called "some rivers" actually refer to the Vistula and Neman rivers. To take the Vistula River, you must pass through the territory of the ancient Prussians. Going along the Neman River, you have to pass through the territory of the Zemet, Okshtet and Utvin (Lithuanian) people. There is no problem doing business with these people, and their territory also has tributary waterways that feed into the West Dvina River. While these tribes were doing business, they exchanged Nordic iron and salt for local leather, and then took the inland river transport to the Danish community in Riga, and then went upstream along the West Dvina River to reach the upper reaches of the swamps, and then arrived at the Dnieper River. Kherson ran towards the Romans.

The Danes who settled in Riga will definitely not die if they do not do business. Their simple pursuit is to live a prosperous life. Business is a means to achieve their goals. Of course, farming with peace of mind and fishing offshore are also means.

Harold Sr. pointed out two trade routes starting from Denmark and eventually leading to Rome:

First: Jutland Peninsula → Pomeranian Coast → Vistula River Estuary → Prussian Territory → Bug River Territory of Polish Tribes → Drigovic Territory of Pripet River → Kriwicz Kiev territory and Derevlian territory → along the Dnieper River directly to the Roman city of Kherson in Crimea.

Second: Jutland Peninsula → Pomeranian Coast → Prussian Coast → Niemen River Estuary → Okshtet Tribe → Semigalian Tribe → Riga of Latvian Tribe → Source of West Dvina River Land→Smolensk→Follow the Dnieper River directly to Kherson in Rome.

Old Harold spoke so many nouns that Fisk's head was buzzing.

"You'd better stop talking. I know that you know two new lines, which is unheard of by us Russians. So you are very useful. When you have the opportunity, report it to our king yourself! Maybe only the king can understand you easily."

Hearing this, old Harold just laughed and said nothing.

Because the "Road to Khiva" has existed for thousands of years, it is not an inland transportation line. Ancient ancestors have already figured out the route. This is why Baltic Sea amber can be inlaid on the golden mask of the Egyptian Pharaoh.

This is a bygone era, when a Nordic gemstone was gradually transported to Greece and Egypt through relay trade among tribes of different origins living in Europe. Each relay raises the price, but merchants are often very unfamiliar with the origin of the goods at hand, and only Mohudi knows that it comes from the north.

"Road to Khiva" is named after the Varyag people complete one-stop business services of wholesale, transportation and sales directly from the place of origin. Gems and furs are top commodities!

However, it is now AD 841. In previous eras, the direct transportation and sales operations of the Norsemen were very small, unless there was a large power that could control the entire trade line and develop it to make it extremely prosperous. The responsibility of history falls in Ross's hands, and this is a historical necessity.

Therefore, the old Harold described the two western routes of the "Road to Khiva", and now there is also the central road that goes straight south from Novgorod that the Rus have opened up. In the foreseeable future, once Rus successfully finds the legendary Volga River channel and a shortcut to reach it at low cost, the eastern road will also be opened immediately.

At least Harold Sr. described how Danish immigrants arrived in Riga, and Fisk tried to keep it in mind.

He thought of another thing: "I took away many gems from you. Is it true that Riga is rich in amber?"

Mentioning this matter undoubtedly hurt Old Harold, but unfortunately it was irreversible. After some self-comfort, he could only regard the stolen gems as a sign of surrender.

"Yes. The beaches in Riga are sandy and rocky, and you can find amber and beeswax as long as you look carefully. You can even dig up amber from the soil under river beaches and nearby forests."

"Oh! That's great!"

A wonderful idea came to Fisk's mind. He knew very well the psychological feelings of the soldiers. Originally, going south from Novgorod to Lukiholm was considered an expedition, and then building the Vitebsk Fortress was purely a new plan. Going to Riga this autumn is purely for the sake of honor.

If the army robs Riga, it will inevitably cause large-scale resistance among the locals. No! Just the arrival of this cavalry was enough to cause the locals to be on high alert.

The brothers want to get rich, so if they ask for tribute from the locals, they are afraid that they will not give it obediently. Then start everyone to go to the beach to find lakes, collect gems based on their skills, bring them to New Roseburg and sell them, everyone can make a fortune.

Fisk and Old Harold got along very well, so when other people saw that the boss and the guide were actually joking together, God knows what they were happy about.

The vast number of soldiers have been marching, and it seems impossible to gain anything along the way. There is not even a chance to hunt. Boredom breeds complaints.

On a new ordinary night of boredom, Fisk deliberately handed over the captains of the squads, and then handed over Svalgard and Pecheneggertzal.

The two men naturally had some complaints. Fiske could see what they wanted to say, so he took the lead: "Listen to me. I learned that the beaches in Riga have a lot of sand and stones, which contain a lot of amber and beeswax. We are here Riga is free to rummage, brothers find gems based on their abilities, and the final price they sell for depends on your abilities. In this way, we will make a fortune, and the guys in Riga will not embarrass us."

In this way, the two complainers immediately changed their mentality.

"What else do you want to say?"

"No more." Quetzal said with a smile on his face. He was a grassland man and knew the preciousness of amber, but it seemed that it was everywhere on the beaches in the north.

Svalgard also has a new theory: "The Duchess of Ostara has a huge piece of amber polished into a ball. I'm afraid it was dug out from the coast of Riga, right? Maybe we can dig it out too. To a big guy. May Frei bless us and make us rich."

Duchess Carlotta of Ostara and her sister Ella have as many as three large amber orbs, which are the treasures given to the three siblings by the old leader. Unfortunately, his younger brother died in the war, and the title eventually fell to the eldest daughter Carlotta. The amber orb became the treasure of the principality. All the people who later joined the principality of Ostara knew this. Since the treasure of the principality is the big amber, it is natural for every citizen to have their own amber ornaments.

Fisk's statement quickly spread throughout the camp.

Go to Riga! Dig for amber!

A new slogan was born. Early the next morning, Fisk no longer saw the decadent expressions of his brothers. Everyone's eyes were burning with fire. Apparently they all felt that they would make a fortune if they continued.

The cavalry continued to move, and the channel of the West Dvina River widened.

For many tribes who speak Baltic, they call it Daugava River in their own language. Objectively speaking, when the cavalry encountered the first Baltic tribal community, they renamed the river the Daugava River.

A Finnish hillfort that looked exactly like the one in the memory suddenly appeared on Fisk's right hand side. All the cavalrymen looked at the mound in front, where there were large-scale crenellated walls and a large number of thatched houses behind the crenellated walls.

The stacked walls appear to be made of rammed earth, and it’s not surprising that the thatched houses are crude. There are a lot of fields between the thatched houses.

What is visible to the naked eye is that a mound has been heavily transformed, with residential areas and woods melting away. If you look closely, you can also notice a simple fortress with wooden walls.

Fisk felt that the time had come, and he raised his right fist at the front to signal the entire army to stop.

He asked Harold Sr., who was clearly nervous: "Is this a city? Who lives here? It's definitely not Riga."

"Are you... planning to attack like this?"

"Unless they attack me. You didn't answer my question."

"Yes. This is the so-called highland. What you see is the fortress of the Selon people. The locals call it Selonpails, which means high castle."

The name is concise and concise, but they must be defending something when they built the settlement into a fortress.

Fisk narrowed his eyes and looked at it: "Are they defending against attacks from certain forces? For this reason, why don't they transform the entire mound into a mountain fortress?"

"They have multiple villages, and what you see now is the largest settlement. They want to prevent the Latvians and Semigalians from encroaching on the territory. I heard that they fought each other once a long time ago, and this is the result. "

Fisk couldn't help but pursed his lips and thought for a moment: "So the Seron people are the losers?"

"At least I didn't win."

"What a bunch of weaklings. It makes me want to hit them again."

"Ah? These guys are not rich, so why waste time? What if there are more casualties..."

"I'm just talking. Indeed, I don't want to waste time." Fisk shook his head, immediately summoned his subordinates, and then quickly spread the news throughout the column. There is only one order, which is to prohibit taking action against the poor Seron people without authorization.

Are they a group of poor people? There is no right to be robbed by the Ross cavalry! People who all wanted to make a fortune digging amber followed Fisk's orders.

But suddenly a group of cavalry came from upstream. They were very neatly dressed and fluttering flags that were unheard of.

A group of Seron people were fishing in the riverside area as usual and taking care of the fields in the riverside area. The Seron people have also completed their autumn harvest. Although the food production is not enough, their population is not large. Under the situation of high birth rate and high death rate, the population maintains a balance, and the living people can make do with food and clothing.

In line with the principle of running away if they seem untouchable, they took as many soft clothes as possible and ran away. In a short time, they retreated into the walls and fled into the mound. The construction of the wall was originally to block infantry attacks. This move had the same effect as the Finnish mountain forts. Obviously, it also had an effect on potential cavalry sheep attacks.

The Ross cavalry had no intention of attacking the Thron people. They passed through this area quickly like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and were soon obscured by the clusters of woods at the bends of the winding river. The cavalry has also begun to officially enter the territory of the Latvians. They are now on the right bank of the river, while the left bank is the territory of Semigaliyare, with only the last two days remaining from Riga.

(Settlements developed by the Seron people gradually formed the city of Daugavpils, the second largest city in Latvia.)

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :