Chapter 251: On the first day of 830 AD, Rurik’s first far away...
Compared with previous years and months, this year's Hanukkah festival is significantly more grand.
On the 28th of the Julian calendar, there is no sunshine on this day, and Roseburg enters the only day of the year in absolute extreme daylight.
The stone boat altar, illuminated by a large number of bonfires, was crowded for a while. Including those merchants who stayed over the winter, also joined the crowd at the event.
Under the attention of countless people, a young priestess took the antler helmet of the elderly high priest in public and put it on her head.
High priest Velia, she was too old to be able to do the whole ceremony by herself. She stood in the stone ship altar surrounded by candlestick flames, with a hoarse voice, instructing Lumia wearing a antler helmet to perform the most critical tasks.
And Otto and Liurik, quietly half kneeling in the altar, watching everything that happened.
A stag was cut through the throat by Lumia's own hands very reluctantly, and with steaming deer blood, he honored the Valkyrie parading in the sky.
She sprinkled deer blood on the snow, then joined forces with other priests to cut open the deer's stomach and pull out the deer's liver.
"Next is my job. Otto, Liurik, come with me."
Finally, the real high priest Veria, who was in a state of supervision and observation, began the only divination that must be personally involved.
Because deer blood has been shown to the gods, deer blood has also nourished the earth.
No more "jewel tricks" for divination this time, the deer's liver must be cut, and Veria will use the arrangement of blood vessels to judge the good or bad of Beishou's operation.
And this is the key to this sacrifice being different from the past.
A gold-encrusted carbon steel dagger was held in Veria's hand. Because of carbon steel, Rurik has always lied that it was "technology from Valhalla". This recently built dagger naturally has some kind of Divine power, Veria firmly believes in this.
The bright red deer liver was held to a wooden table by Lumia, and under the illumination of the aurora and moonlight, and even the candlelight and bonfire, Veria completed the cut.
With a trembling hand, she brought the oil lamp, and concentrated on observing the cut section of the liver.
"Otto, come to me..."
Otto got the order and approached the high priest with extreme caution. "The great priest...is it a good omen?"
"It's a sign, maybe a good thing, maybe a bad thing."
"High priest..." Otto was confused, and his attitude was more cautious.
As for Veria, she felt that she had received some special revelation from Deer's liver. I am afraid that this was the will of God, and she firmly believed in this.
"Tell the people. If you go east, you will inevitably have a battle with the unknown. The owner of the deer will win his first victory. Rose's territory will extend to the sea at the end of the world and discover new things in the frozen land. Treasure..."
"This...what does this mean?" Otto asked suspiciously.
"This is the omen. Please tell your people."
Otto was very confused about all this. He didn't know what "master of the deer" was, but he was very interested in the so-called expansion of territory. Will there be a fight? It is best to have a fight, so that young people participating in the action will not think that the action is boring to bully the deer breeder.
Therefore, Otto asked again: "Great priest, our enemy...is the deer breeder?"
"No! Your enemy is an unknown person, not a deer breeder."
Unknown enemy? Otto finds it more interesting.
As for the first victory of the deer's owner, by now, Otto felt a little bit that he was talking about his own son.
Otto did not linger any more. He grabbed the **** deer liver and told the people with a roar: "Brothers! The high priest has completed the divination! Are you eager to fight?"
His question immediately aroused the spirits of the young people of the tribe. The people who became very lively and extraordinary began to cry out.
"Then go to fight! All the warriors involved in the hunt, you will fight against unknown enemies, and you will extend the realm of the Rus people to the end of the world. Brothers! We are not going to hunt, but to conquer the north. ."
Speaking of excitement, Otto pulled out his sword, picked up the deer liver with the tip of the sword, raised it high, and let the steel sword drink blood.
The militant people also fell into madness.
Seeing such a spectacular scene, Rurik's mood did not fluctuate sharply. The young people became excited when they mentioned fighting, and they never even considered possible injuries and deaths.
Rurik felt that the high priest's so-called prophecy was not "God's perseverance", but it was an excuse from the old lady. Of course, he himself understands that until now, this old grandmother is still trying her best to promote herself, and even more urges herself by prophecy.
"I am the owner of the deer. Because I am now the owner of all the reindeer in the tribe. When I dominate the group of deer breeders, I will be the owner of all the reindeer..."
Therefore, Rurik did not feel that there was any obscurity in the words of the high priest.
On the winter solstice, the Hanukkah Festival ended victoriously in the excitement of the masses. After that, the people who were determined to participate in the northern hunting returned home to start their final preparations.
On the 29th of the Julian calendar, the sun finally returned, although it still flashed by.
Life is full of hope. People who see the sun again understand that the daylight will only get longer and longer in the future, and spring will return soon.
Unlike the previous group hunting, Otto decided to organize an elite team of 300 people to go straight to the northeast along the frozen coastline to find the so-called "unknown enemy."
What is an elite team? Those young people who had participated in the war against the Gotland at the end of April attracted Otto's intense attention.
As the leader, he naturally chooses the most elite fighters himself.
Otto even forced the blacksmith Kawei to join him. Not only did he trust the young man, but also because of this action, the team needed a blacksmith who knew how to repair tools and weapons. Where's Kawei? To be able to participate in a new adventure, he couldn't ask for it! Compared with hunting, Kawei actually looks for new iron ore, copper ore, and even directly digs for gold. Because the blacksmith in this time and space is basically a "geological expert".
Otto ordered the group of young boys, who are generally only twenty years old, to forget about hunting, and instead seize the time to prepare their weapons and all the supplies for the outdoor camping, especially leather blankets and making a lot of wheat cakes.
Beishou has changed his taste, Otto is going to follow the high priest's prophecy and go to war with the so-called unknown enemy.
Of course there are also a group of brave people who simply go hunting, but the route to the north is completely different from Otto's team.
Those hunters act spontaneously, while Otto has assembled a real army.
In the last three days of preparation, Rurik was not idle either.
Right at his door, Rurik gathered his own guards—the mercenaries who existed mainly to make money.
All the mercenaries began to receive training from Jeflo when they were still on Gould Island. They arrived at Roseburg, and received elaborate queue training.
Even at the last moment, this group of people also received brand-new training in order to make do with new weapons.
Rurik watched the twenty people standing in line in front of him, among which Jeflo was their leader.
A pair of sharp eyes came from a child, but all the mercenaries didn't think the child was naive. The legendary Rurik, many of his behaviors are like adults.
There is also a magical steel-armed crossbow developed by him, which is already in hand. This weapon has the ability to make arrows penetrate wooden boards. It is used to strike enemies or hunt. The power should be considerable.
Today's mercenaries are all cowhide hoods that can protect their ears. They wear similar warm cowhide clothes and are **** with leather belts. They also wore layers of burlap trousers and moccasin boots that kept warm and wear-resistant. A burlap waistcoat almost covered their entire upper body.
They are not only uniform in their clothing, but also highly uniform in terms of weapons.
Fully equip mercenaries with steel swords? The consumption of this property Rurik felt that it was unnecessary for the time being. This group of people doesn't need to have a good weapon for the time being, let alone the steel sword that every warrior wants to get.
The mercenaries all have a short spear, and the spearhead is actually cast bronze in mass production. After all, it was used as a piercing offensive weapon, with the hardness of bronze. Its greatest use as a weapon is the marching rod.
A small hand axe and an iron dagger were hung around the mercenary's waist, and there was also a circular wooden shield on his back.
With these equipment, a standard Viking warrior image is probably like this.
But this group of people is equipped with a new type of weapon across the age-steel arm crossbow.
Compared with children, all of these mercenaries have the strength of a bowstring in their bare hands. Wearing leather gloves, they won't feel that they are stringed and strangled. The crossbow is equipped with a linen **** the wooden support, so that the mercenary can directly carry the crossbow on the body.
They each have a sewn diagonal bag, which is the so-called quiver, but it can only hold ten crossbow arrows.
Rurik actually designed the quiver for them like this. The so-called every crossbow arrow is a heavy commodity. Since his men are destined to march for a long time, they should not be equipped with too heavy equipment.
Rurik reviewed his men, and he felt that these guys had met his expectations.
He gave orders: "Brothers, you trained with the crossbow, and the results of your training are satisfactory to me. We Rus will go to the north to fight against the prophesied enemy. You are my mercenaries in the past. , I reward you with food and accommodation. Each of you earned thirty silver coins. You ask yourself whether you are now stronger than when you first arrived in Roseburg? Now, you must prove to me that I reward Everything for you is worth it."
Jeflo immediately stood out of the team and suddenly fell to his knees: "Master, we will fight for you!"
Is it embarrassing to kneel to a child?
Do not!
The rest of the mercenaries all knelt down, hooked their arrogant heads, and swore: "My master, I will fight for you."
The source of mercenaries is almost all Mellaren, specifically a group of very poor young people with youthful vitality. They want to live a stable life first, then live with dignity, and then pursue their own honor.
Up to now, the mercenaries want to prove their value through battle and get rewards from the gold master.
Rurik yelled calmly: "My mercenaries! You must prove your true loyalty through a battle. Once a battle occurs, I will reward the brave and punish the cowardly. This time. For the action, I will reward you each with ten silver coins in advance. In addition to the food we need for the action, I will also prepare it."
Hearing, the half-kneeling mercenaries had their eyes bright, and they didn't think that Beishou hadn't started yet.
Rurik continued: "Don't think I am a benevolent charity, what I need is your bravery." At this point, he suddenly asked Evlo: "Yevlo, you say! For the cowardly guy, you should How to punish?"
"Kill!" Yevlo's response was brief and concise.
Rurik was stunned. After exchanging glances with Jeflo, he determined his attitude: "Okay! The best way to deal with cowards is to kill! Are there any cowards among you? I don't see any of them. Listen! Let's make an agreement in advance to cut off the enemy's head and reward... a silver coin. Capture a woman or child, bring it back safely, and reward two silver coins. What do you think?"
The mercenaries responded enthusiastically with their shining eyes.
Seeing their tiger-wolf-like faces, Rurik was happy in his heart, but also a little nervous.
Rurik is nervous about his stimulating remarks, but things have reached this point, completely benevolent? That's impossible. The Roths wanted to show their bestiality. He felt that he had to act like a beast in front of the people, otherwise it would be too naive to expect to rule them in the image of a simple "wise man".
"I just want to fight with the troops. This is my first battle. I must get things done."
Different from the preparations made by other elite fighters, Rurik was responsible for the logistics of his "direct army".
If you want to win a battle, proper tactics are of course very important, and well-protected logistics is the key to victory.
Rurik felt that as the master of mercenaries, setting a logistic standard was not only important, but also necessary, and even needed to be popularized, so that future soldiers of the Rus tribe would not have to worry about lack of food, clean water, or even accommodation during combat.
Rurik sent a group of women from the tribe and ordered them to grind wheat grains, then process them into wheat cakes and put them in a linen bag, so that a cloth bag was stuffed with ten pounds of hard and dry wheat cakes. The whole-wheat oatmeal of the Ross tribe is a kind of hard biscuit. It is not an excellent food in Rurik's perception. It is true that in this era, the Ross people can make the most storage-resistant grain food.
In addition, Lulik also bought a batch of cured meat from the tribe, and even fish that had been frozen hard.
Each of the mercenaries will have their own sleigh, on which everyone will get fifty pounds of wheat cakes and thirty pounds of bacon. As for frozen fish, they will be extra food. In fact, the calories provided by these foods are indeed enough for a modern soldier to support him fighting for a month in a state of war!
Rurik prepared food for the mercenaries in accordance with the one-month time limit to support the battle. But he really underestimated the endurance of the Viking warriors in this time and space, and even the fact that they can get food by hunting.
Rurik completed the final reserve.
Each mercenary's sleigh is piled up with a large amount of materials. There are shovel for excavation, hand axe for logging and combat, dagger and spoon for eating, a few pottery urns, some charcoal blocks, a little sea salt, and nearly 100 pounds of high-calorie food that can be eaten directly. The linen cloth of the personal tent and the deerskin blanket that can wrap the whole body.
In addition to the most important thing is the steel arm crossbow. They will carry this weapon with them, and they will also carry ten arrows in their waist. However, their sleds will carry forty arrows.
The above heavy equipment makes the mercenaries of Rurik completely different from other Ross fighters. What's more, they are still wearing uniform clothes. Under the leadership of Jeflo, these twenty people are only responsible to Rurik.
The agreed first day of the Julian New Year in 830 AD has finally arrived!
The warriors on the expedition to the north hunter gathered on the ice, and behind them were thousands of Rus people. The tribe sent the warriors to the unknown territory and wished the old leaders new victories.
Everyone has interpreted that prophecy somewhat, and the so-called trip is exactly the first battle of Rurik.
A child who is favored by God will surely make merits.
"Let's stop there." Otto ordered his old buddy: "I rushed to lead you along. Harrodsson, I think the tribe must be guarded by a respected man."
"Big Chief, please rest assured, everything is just like before."
Otto nodded deeply, but he couldn't completely rest assured of the old guy. Of course Otto has a certain defensive mentality, after all, this guy participated in the leader competition when he was young.
What Otto trusted most was his blood relatives, and his feelings for his brother who died in the battle were completely transferred to his elder nephew.
He slapped Arik on the shoulder: "Harozossen said a lot. Before we return, as in May and June, you two war leaders must manage our Ross tribe. Do you understand?"
There is some regret in Arik's eyes: "Big Chief, how I want to go with you."
"Your words are worthy, call me Dad."
"Yes! Dad. I..."
Otto waved his hand: "Let's stop here! This battle is your brother's first action. Listen, we can't go against the will of God."
"Yes! I fully understand." Arik said no more. He knew that although he had lost this opportunity, the opportunity to fight was in the near future.
The deep warriors didn't have much words. The Ross tribe warriors who dragged their sleds, under the leadership of Otto, formed a considerable team.
Here, only Otto's sleigh was pulled by the young warriors of the tribe.
He was sitting on the sled, sitting next to Rurik and Lumia. The leader's sleigh is defended by the elite fighters. It is a great honor to be able to serve as an envoy to pull the sleigh for the leader, the future leader, and the future high priest.
And because the Ross people face the frozen sea and the snow-covered world every year, they are very skilled in making sleds. People pulling the sled don't feel so laborious. Of course, there are subtle elements in the design of the sled, and it also lies in the fighters selected by Otto. They are young and strong, full of the violence and tenacity of fighters.
Otto was shocked by Rurik's training for mercenaries. It seemed that these guys were well-trained, but because they had not proved themselves in battle, Otto had always been highly vigilant towards them. Until now, he ordered the people led by Jeflo to be at the forefront of the team.
To put it bluntly, in case of contact with the so-called "mysterious enemy" in the priest's prophecy, this group of mercenaries will be the first to enter the battle.
Mercenary! It is the combat power bought with money. If the battle is doomed to death, it is best for the mercenaries to bear all the casualties of the team.
That's what Otto thinks, and UU Reading doesn't object to this.
Rurik has his own ideas. It is better to have a fight so that the mercenaries can line up and shoot one or two heavy crossbow arrows at the enemy to achieve the first kill and achieve the first kill.
The women of the tribe cheered for their husbands and sons.
In their excitement, they cried, and the people watching the expedition drifted away.
"Okay, only our mother and daughter are left..." Niya pulled Carlotta and Ella by the hands.
"Mom, Rurik and Dad, will it be safe?" Carlotta asked naturally.
"Of course! My daughter, let's go back and wait for them to return triumphantly."
The prophecy of the high priest always made Carlotta sorrow. She doesn't like war, but she yearns for violent revenge. This idea is of course very contradictory, just like she hopes Rurik will make great achievements in the war, but she doesn't want him to be injured. Because the future of the Ostala people is blessed by the Rus people under the rule of Rurik.