Rise of Rurik

"The Rise of Rurik ()"

The Rus evacuated with the money box, and they quickly returned to the top of the mound.

To the left of the enthusiasm of his own men, Rurik had no joy in getting the "ransom".

"What's wrong? My brother, are you tired from walking and gloomy?" Arik's smile was presumptuous, and he pushed Rurik hard and said: "They are indeed a group of cowards, I am afraid that they will not dare to fight. "

"Then follow your plan. Our army will climb over or bypass the mound and go straight to Visby." Rurik said casually.

"Oh, then I still hope that they will send people. I will destroy them in one go, and let the brothers possess their women."

Rurik didn't care about his cousin's remarks. He knew the tricks of the soldiers, and he also realized the true meaning of the important events of the soldiers' country.

This is a gamble with everything of the Ross tribe. It seems that a huge army has been assembled, but for this army, failure is the end of everything. Better than failing.

Rurik prides himself on being more sober, or more cautious, than Arik.

Mokan has won many early victories. If he becomes arrogant and complacent because of this, will he suffer a big loss in the decisive battle?

"Arik!" Rurik thought of something, and hurriedly stopped his cousin.

"What's wrong? What did you think of?"

"After we go back, don't say anything about money."

"What? Why?! We took such a big advantage, how can we not let the brothers know? Wouldn't it be good for everyone to be happy?!"

"On the contrary." Rurik closed his eyes and calmed down: "I will publicly declare the vileness and shamelessness of the Visby people when we go back and don't show the coins publicly."

"What is this for?"

"Tell the brothers that we were deceived by the enemy! We let the prisoners go, and they threw the boxes and left, but the boxes were full of dirt." Having said this, Rurik thought of another trick: "As soon as we go back, we will The silver coins are taken out, stuffed into the soil on the spot, and then displayed in public.”

Arik acted like a reckless murderer in this war. He couldn't figure out his brother's tricks, so he had no choice but to ask the truth.

"Hey, I just want to make the brothers angry! Arik, anger brings courage. The Rus, the Novgorods, the Kovins, everyone in our team has been deceived by the enemy, so everyone has If you know the reason for killing the enemy, you will have no scruples. Arik, what do you want to do with the person who deceived you?"

Until this time, Arik finally realized that this was my brother's morale-boosting method, and he laughed arrogantly: "Of course it is to cut off the liar's head."

"Then go on. I'm going to leave some people for eyeliner, and pile up some branches. There's some dry cow dung under the mound, collect some and put it on the pyre."

"What are your plans?"

"Because the burning cow dung will produce obvious thick smoke. When our eyes see the enemy making a big move, we will light the pyre, and the brothers will stand up and prepare to fight! It will take some time for the enemy to reach our predetermined battlefield. What they face when they arrive is our army that is well prepared."

Brother does have the "wisdom bestowed by Odin", he obviously has a clear insight into the decisive battle in the future, and can even predict the enemy's attack to make deployment. In addition to admiration, Arik has nothing but unconditional cooperation.

There were ten men left on the mound, all of them with excellent eyesight, good at fighting, and good at hiding themselves in the withered bushes. They began to actively build pyre, carefully guarding the flammable tinder, and stared at Visby in the west.

Rurik and Arik returned to the camp with the victorious team, and it was still the evening of the 17th.

Seeing the brothers returning and busy building the field camp for a day, most of them just watched from a distance and waved their hands.

Some people don't care about their tiredness and welcome the returnees happily, but they are surprised to learn that the returnees have been deceived!

Along the way Rurik colluded with his brothers,

Even the renegade Danish Grund, along with everyone, said everywhere: "We were deceived by King Visby! No coins, only sand."

The news quickly reached Otto's ears. With such an outcome, Otto calmed down his manic heart. Otto felt that since the Gotlanders had betrayed the alliance, it was not uncommon for them to do some deceitful things. This matter still needs to be asked after seeing my son and nephew.

Soon the Rurik brothers returned to the Duke's tent.

To put it bluntly, after a day of digging soil and inserting logs, the Rus people just dug the soil and built a half-human-high annular low wall, which made the camp have a good windproof function. But it's clearly not just windproof! If the brothers continued to dig even to the height of a man, it would mean that the Rus had built a fort.

It is also a good thing to let the enemy troops attack the fortress in a big way. In this way, the Russ army can take advantage of the geographical advantage and continue to fire arrows from high places to cause damage.

Even transforming the camp into a star fort with multiple lobes.

The thought flashed by, and Rurik knew that he could do it, but it was not necessary according to reality.

Which commander would be so foolish as to let the brothers who are in desperate need of a decisive battle become physically and mentally exhausted by insisting on civil engineering the day before the war? Besides, the strength of the Ross Army is by no means a disadvantage, so there is no need to rely on the defensive attributes of the Star Fort to make up for the deficiency.

But the army's camp is still a substantial tactical high ground, and the long-range firepower of the Rus army has reason to take advantage of this.

Rurik and Arik, sitting in the Duke's tent, the captains of the flag teams gathered here.

Looking at the battle, Rurik didn't come to report his duties, but it was clear that the officers of the entire army gathered together to hold a pre-war meeting.

Seeing that his son and nephew were safe and sound, Otto breathed a sigh of relief: "As soon as you came back, there were rumors in the army that you were deceived by the enemy. They didn't give money? Don't put it on appreciation, the Gotlanders are traitors, traitors. Promises are not credible."

Rurik shook his head with a calm face, and then greeted the people who were standing outdoors carrying boxes to enter the tent one after another, and immediately evacuated after unloading the boxes.

Otto squinted and stared at the suitcases: "The suitcases are good, but it's a pity that it's... all sand?"

Rurik didn't speak, he stood up and opened the box at will, and showed everyone the silver coins full of Dengdeng.

All the boxes were opened one after another, and a large amount of silver coins shocked everyone.

Otto stood up suddenly and exclaimed deeply: "They didn't lie to us?! They gave money?!"

"Yes, they gave money, but..." Rurik motioned for the frightened people to be quiet and listened to him explain the whole story, "I'm deliberately creating public opinion, presumably outside this tent, everyone is talking about the Gotlanders. Liar. This is what I need, now I'm going to take out all the silver coins, exchange them for dirt on the spot, and show these boxes full of dirt in public tomorrow."

Otto snapped out his right hand, signaling his son to stop talking, then giggled. Harrodzuson, who is also an old guy, also laughed out loud.

"What a smart boy, so everyone can't hate them!"

"Yes!" Rurik's face was still calm, and he made a special statement: "It happens that all the flag captains are here, and I tell you, I have a positive negotiation with the King of Gotland, the man named Haken. I declare The day of the decisive battle is the nineteenth, we ambushed their men, killed the captured Siegfast, and brought back so many silver coins. I believe that after being so humiliated, they will send troops to the decisive battle..."

Rurik said a lot, and Otto felt more and more complicated. "Rurik, if their army did not appear on the nineteenth, what would our army do?"

"Then on the 20th, our army will take the initiative to attack! I believe this is actually the real choice of the majority of soldiers. After all, we will defeat the Gotlanders of Visby. I hope that the enemy will fight with our army on the battlefield of Bridge Village that we have arranged. A decisive battle, so that the cost of our victory will be minimal. I also believe that the man will carry out his word and send all Gotland warriors to a decisive battle with me on the nineteenth."

Otto looked around happily: "Look, the battle is imminent, we should prepare well. You all remember that there are only friendly troops and enemies on the battlefield, and there is no distinction between old people and children. When you go back, tell your people that there is no difference in the decisive battle. Show no mercy."

Everyone roared in approval.

Rurik's words were not finished. Of course, it was wishful thinking to imagine the decisive battle as the enemy would definitely dig into the preset location. Since this possibility has become very high, the Rus people should use their own advantages to make the decisive battle. The place is well arranged.

As the military commander, he immediately designed the formation for the decisive battle.

The formation that was once rehearsed on Tombstone Island remained unchanged, and the Ross Army still had to finally use pincer tactics to kill the enemy's living force as much as possible. The biggest adjustment made here is that the Rus will have their backs against their camp, and the west-facing side of the windbreak wall will continue to be dug up tomorrow, until it reaches the height of an adult warrior, and The full torsion slingshot will be placed on it. When the war started, all the archers who could not fight head-on withdrew to the earth wall, especially the ten-year-old warriors, who relied on the bow and crossbow to continue the fire output together with the slingshot.

Such a slashing of a strong man in front, and a non-stop arrow shooting in the rear, the war has become an unprecedented three-dimensional battle in the Nordic world.

No one has ever seen such a battle. It is currently based on Rurik's personal dictation, and the listener can only rely on brain supplements to taste the excitement.

All the silver coins in the box were dumped, and a pit was dug out of the duke's tent, all the silver was buried in the pit, and the excess soil was stuffed into the box.

Thanks to the protection of the low earth wall, the nasty northwesterly wind did not cause much trouble for the Rus army in the camp.

Here, the Kewen people are the most active in digging soil. They are good at building mountain forts made of wood and soil, and they have given the most direct technical guidance to the construction of the low walls of the Ross military camp. Of course, they also dug themselves a pile of dirt pits that were mocked as tombs. A large number of branches were placed on them to form sheds, and the interior was unique. This is a semi-crypt house, and the effect of keeping warm and windproof is really lacking.

The time soon came to the eighteenth, the morning of which the Rus' fleet arrived off the coast of Visby and sank the fleeing merchant ships.

In the afternoon, the eyes of the Rus people on the mound saw a large ship on the sea in the distance!

These people must have good eyesight, and the air is very clear, and there are some boats floating abruptly in the vast sea, and they all have unique big triangular sails.

A messenger frantically ran back to the camp where the Ross Army was still arranging, and reported the news of the arrival of the Gould fleet to Rurik and Otto.

In the early morning of this day, when the soldiers had finished eating the jerky and were about to do something, Rurik called his mercenaries to deliberately make a noise in the camp.

Soon more than a thousand people scrambled to gather in front of the duke's camp.

The suitcases were all opened, and the sand inside was in sight. Rurik, Arik, and Otto, the three of them spoke loudly one after another, denouncing the Gotlanders as liars, arousing the excitement of the crowd!

Soon, angry soldiers smashed the boxes, and the chaotic scene almost led to a rubbing accident.

Two sturdy mercenaries used their hands as saddles, Rurik stepped on them, and the whole person was at a high place.

When the spirits of the excited people calmed down a little, he began to announce loudly in a voice everyone knew well: "Brothers! King Gotland is a liar! Final battle! Tomorrow! War! Kill them!"

Thousands of eyes focused on the handsome face of the boy with the blond ponytail, Rurik's blond hair blown by the northwest wind.

Becoming a highly anticipated king, Rurik has been infected by this exciting atmosphere. He raised his right fist high and shouted one after another: "War! War! War!"

He doesn't need a long speech, he can actually publish a "chapter for thieves" but it's not necessary.

He focused on two concepts: everyone was deceived by the enemy, and everyone should take revenge by war.

He used the simplest words to explain his tough attitude, and quickly inspired people's fighting spirit.

People started chanting war, at this moment, who can question the morale of the Rus army?

Some really irrelevant tool people, such as those prisoners of Baisha Harbor who were willing to serve in order to survive, they got part of the shovel to dig the soil, or just relied on a pair of hands, under the supervision of the Rus warriors, the camp's earth wall facing the west was continuously unceasingly. accumulation. If any of them dared to slack off, they would be beaten and kicked by the Rus. Even though their hands were full of blood, they continued to forge ahead.

If left in the past, Rurik would be sympathetic to these tool people.

But now, these guys are destined to become victims of the war, Rurik only spared their lives temporarily, I am afraid that tomorrow these guys will all die.

Gould's fleet arrived at the port of Visby and immediately imposed a military blockade on the port. Although the news was delivered in the afternoon, Rurik estimated that the enemy must have completely cut off the idea of ​​​​fleeing at sea early in the morning.

The enemy is either sitting still, or fighting to the death. With the port being blocked, the enemy no longer has option C.

The day of the final battle is coming!

On the 18th day of August in the Julian calendar, the soldiers of the Rus army were basically recharging their batteries for the whole day.

It can be said that most of them sit and lie idle all day long. All the work of building the earth wall was done by the slaves of Baishagang. The brothers only needed to sit on the grass and use the sandstone in their burlap backpacks to keep sharpening their axe blades and spearheads.

The bowmen counted all their arrows, plus the inferior arrows seized in Baisha Port. The bow arrows and crossbow arrows currently held by the Rus reached an astonishing 30,000 arrows, which is equivalent to all the arrows. The average bow and crossbow are equipped with nearly 90 arrows. This is only for the crossbow. It is installed on the trolley of the torsion slingshot, and at the same time, these tailed javelins and cast iron bullets are also fixed.

Rurik ordered the tribal women to sew the "Russian backpack with straps and girdle since ancient times", basically one soldier per hand. There were some personal belongings of the soldiers in the bag, and they were also asked to insert some arrows to help transport them.

The vast majority of bundles of arrows are still carried in reindeer carts, but the situation has changed dramatically. The captured reindeer were carrying supplies. Even if there were a large number of reindeer, the main force of the Rus army had to take a long march because of the large amount of supplies and equipment, and they had to make a detour when encountering a mound.

Every soldier carries a lot of weight when marching. Fortunately, the men of the Ross tribe have developed strong endurance when they rowed desperately in peacetime.

All the sweat is for this decisive battle, and the decisive battle is imminent, and many people are stunned and only have a short sleep all night. They were unable to fall asleep purely because of excitement, but the little warriors who had been brought to practice by Rurik all slept soundly. They still don't know what the big battle means, but in the usual training, the girls in the team have become resistant to blood. They kept in mind the orders of Lord Rurik, and each knew their own position and role in the decisive battle.

But the agreed decisive day, the 19th day of August in the Julian calendar, maybe today is just a peaceful start?

Early in the morning, Rumia built a decent altar in the camp. With all the sacrifices, they all wore flower crowns woven from wild chrysanthemums picked on the spot to do a pre-war sacrifice for the decisive battle.

A reindeer was sacrificed, and as usual, Rumia held the cut liver of the deer and announced to the assembled people Odin's will--Ross would win.

This is really business as usual, too much good news has come, the Rus army has long believed that Odin has rewarded the army with the blessing of victory, and the action of the high priest is just a strengthening of belief.

It is early in the morning that everyone hopes that the enemy will appear after the thin morning fog disappears, and then the two armies will defeat the Ross army to achieve a complete victory.

However, the enemy did not appear, but the dark clouds completely dissipated and the sun came back!

Although the west wind was still blowing, everyone was illuminated by the warm sunlight, and their bodies were full of strength, and they urgently needed to slash and kill a few enemies to add to the fun.

The earth wall facing west had been repaired, and Aric sat bored on top of the wall, all ten Torsion Slingshots in place beside him.

He was nibbling on dried fish, his eyes facing west.

Rurik sat quietly beside his cousin with a dazed expression, as if he was simply waiting for the arrival of the enemy.

"Looks like we're going to be disappointed. I really look up to that Haken. He's going to be a turtle with a shrunken head, waiting for me to smash the shell with a big axe." Arik sneered viciously.

"Don't worry, maybe they're on their way."

"You're looking down on them too much. I've waited for a long time, and everything is still as usual?" Arik shook his head and threw the dried fish, "I've eaten enough dry food. I have to go and talk to Rumia, That sacrificial stag that's being roasted, I'll have to nibble on a leg."

Arik stood up and had come down the mound, looking for the aroma of barbecue and leaving.

Suddenly Rurik stood up, turned and shouted at his cousin: "Arik! There is smoke on the mound!"

Like an electric shock, Arik, who was leisurely and leisurely, turned around abruptly. He focused his attention on the west, and there was really thick smoke coming out of my mound, and it became more and more dense.

There is nothing to hesitate anymore!

Arik suddenly drew his sword, ran like a cheetah, and kept roaring like a lion: "The Gotlanders are here! Fight!"

The Ross army immediately became nervous. After seeing the "wolf smoke" of the early warning, they began to line up according to their own flag formation, and lined up very quickly to meet the enemy.

Yes! In the early morning of this day, Haken, the king of Gotland, with his army of various people, began to climb over the mounds to the decisive battle in Bridge Village.

Now that this is the case, there is nothing to worry about. The Gotland Army has gathered as many as 6,000 people in this battle! Even with a large number of overly young boys and a large group of female warriors inside, they are still a powerful military force.

Haken saw the smoke suddenly rising from the top of the mound and asserted that this was an early warning from the Rus.

There is nothing to hesitate anymore!

The two armies separated by a hill, the commander-in-chief of both sides and the vast majority of the soldiers had a surprisingly consistent attitude - since the decisive battle has been decided, let the decisive battle come as promised.

The decisive battle over the rise and fall of the Gotlanders and the Rus officially broke out.