Rise of Rurik

Thirty leading warships sail the Gulf of Finland in autumn.

Each warship, with its proud dragon head and its towering sails, was blown by the northeasterly wind in autumn, and sailed westward.

However, the warship is like a dragon that eats up. There are a lot of tributes piled on the deck. The heavy load makes the progress of the warship quite slow. No matter how hard the paddlers rowed, they couldn't keep up with the speed when they came.

But all the paddlers were hopeful for the future, and this time, as in the spring, the eastern slavs once again offered them a great tribute.

The trip this fall was still fruitful. A middle aged man with a beard that was about 7 feet long stood on the platform of the deck and stared into the distance with wide eyes.

There is the direction of home, and with this successful trip to Novgorod, the winter of the whole tribe will surely be spent in abundance.

This man was called Otto, and he was the chief of the Roar tribe.

Not to mention that he has a very long beard, but he is only forty five years old.

A long career in sailing and combat has given him strong muscles and scars.

He was a warrior of the tribe, always leading the tribe in battles with surrounding tribes, and stabilizing the tribe's power in central Scandinavia.

However, the hometown is a barren land, and the cold climate has only a short period of warmth, and people can only grow a small amount of crops.

Fishing and hunting beasts were vital means of sustenance until the tribes began to follow the example of others, rowing warships toward the mysterious south.

Thanks to the valour of their ancestors, the tribes have found their way through the mouth of the Neva and deep into the territory of the eastern slavs.

Otto especially remembers that his grandfather led an expedition of a thousand warriors, quickly defeating the counterattack of the Slav and forcing them to surrender.

Since then, every spring and autumn, Viking fleet has been able to obtain a large amount of valuable cargo from the eastern slavs.

Thinking of this, Otto turned his head contentedly, and saw the treasure that was placed on the deck and wrapped in linen.

There were fine cloth and hides, and some clay pots held honey, dried fish, and very precious salt and flour.

In addition, Otto paid special attention to a wooden box, and the box even had a delicate iron rope.

Including this box, it is not only made by the Slav who are good at building wooden houses, it is made by the Romans, and the box is full of Roman copper coins.

Otto knew very well that in the far south there was a great power called Rome, and the eastern slav maintained a trade route with them. Through the fur trade, the eastern slav hoarded a large amount of copper coins, and these copper coins were in the hands of the Roar tribe now and could also be traded with other tribes.

Today, all copper coins are the property of the tribe, including the furs obtained this time around Neva river.

The actions of autumn can obtain so much wealth, completely relying on the military might of the tribe.

There were as many as seven hundred warriors in metal-headed cabinets, in chain mail, and armed with battle axes and spears, all of great build and in Novgorod, the largest town of the eastern slavs, has a total population of only 5,000 people.

The eastern slavs are not united. Although they have a prince, many families have their own minds. When the northern army was getting closer and closer to the city on the Novgorod in warships, paying tribute obediently was the only way to avoid disaster.

At least for now, they did not dare to take the fiercest resistance.

Or it was because they had resisted, and after losing the battle, they had to bow their heads to the strong.

"Brother, are we going to spend the night on the shore tonight, or are we just floating at sea?"

"Going ashore, we will stay for one night and continue sailing tomorrow morning."

Otto gave orders to his brother Ogier, and with the drums of war, all the ships began to turn.

Like other tribes, the tribesmen are all skilled in rowing,

Even among all the tribes, they are called "the best paddlers". In their language they call themselves "Ross".

They are the Ross tribe.

The soldiers rowed hard, and the boats washed the beach. They jumped off to work overtime, tying up trees or rocks on the shore with twine ropes to hold their boats in place.

Soon the bonfire was lit, and after a while, the aroma of grilled fish came from the bonfire.

Until this time, Otto finally put down his helmet and sat cross-legged in front of the bonfire, nibbling on the herring that his brother brought him.

"Brother, we will pass through the Gothic territory in Gotland tomorrow, and we may meet their fishermen or attack them."

"You don't have to worry about those people. There are so many of us that no one dares to attack us." Otto, who was eating grilled fish, was full of confidence.

"But I always have an inexplicable worry."

"Why?"

"We brought a lot of treasure this time, and it is very likely that their wealth will be topped by some people."

Otto pouted and shook his head: "Just because of this you worry about the Goths?"

"They used to harass us!" Ogier reminded.

"Yes! They did. But you see, we have seven hundred brothers, and they are not our opponents."

"Alas! I'm just afraid of the loss. We're like slow moving turtles."

"It's okay!" Otto patted his brother on the shoulder, "Let them come over, we will fight at sea, and we will defeat them completely."

Ogier was willing to obey his brother's orders, and like most of the clan, everyone obeyed the chief's words.

After all, when it was not enough to elect Otto as the chief of the Ross tribe, the tribe never had a defeat.

Ogier hoped that his estimates were wrong, and after eating the grilled fish, he set up a small tent for himself, and lay on the beach in his armor until dawn.

A new voyage begins!

Tribal Chief Otto is still so confident. The reason for his confidence is that there are 2,000 warriors in the tribe. Such fighting power is not only the foundation of self-protection, but also the trump card of external pressure.

The entire Rurik tribe numbered 8,000 people, which was really a small tribe in the Scandinavian lands.

Otto had confidence in staying in the Goths territory, because the inhabitants of the island went south on a large scale, and there were not many people who stayed on the island.

They were like a group of fishermen, nothing more.

Do you still have to worry about the harassment of that group of armed fishermen?

Otto thanked his younger brother for his kindness, but his heart was still full of arrogance, so today's voyage through Gotland will be very smooth.

However, the younger brother mentioned this after all, and maybe other warriors of his own have concerns in this regard.

A little bit of vigilance is always a good thing.