Rise of Rurik

Deep in the fjords of Roseburg, the stream has frozen, still a trickle under the ice.

A pine forest has been targeted, and a new town will rise from the ground.

People with big axes and double saws went to work, sweeping the vegetation very violently.

The earth was shaking, and the pine trees covered with snow and ice fell one after another. The collapsed tree trunks were tied with cables and pulled to the ice at the first time, and then the waiting reindeer and ponies took them away.

Although they are small trees, they are suitable for general building materials and ship materials. The wood processed from these logs will first be used for the construction of "Ross Duma", but the most critical beam materials need to be taken from the giant spruce further north.

During the short day, nearly 1,000 strong men were wielding tools. On the first day alone, more than 500 pine trees were cut down. How dazzling is the bare tree stump in the setting sun?

Rurik stayed at the construction site with a group of entourage. He himself did not go into battle in the slightest, or what was the point of doing some physical work for a duke himself besides showing off his emotions?

It was here that he oversaw the labor, not the builders who were logging, but the as many as eighty captured Mercian women.

The old priest of Lindsay Abbey who was also captured, this old guy was wrapped in fur, and he was pestering a big cross tied with hemp rope on the snow, and his mouth was full of words of consolation for these women.

Twelve or ten large pottery pots and ten large iron pots were propped up on the snow. The group of women put their hands up and down, pouring a large amount of wheat oatmeal into the pot and the pot, and a pile of chopped yellow root carrots, onions, seal sensuality and Pure seal oil, they were ordered to cook a delicious meal with this ingredient.

Almost three women are in charge of a weng or pot, whose task is simply to cook, and the reward is the good meal of the day.

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The cold air is gradually filled with a strange fragrance, and the people who are busy cutting trees and pulling wood are drooling.

Words of encouragement are too empty and boring, or the most comforting greasy meal.

Rurik was very willing to use materials, and in exchange, the brothers who worked hard for them were also enthusiastic.

The soft light of the setting sun makes the silver-white world a reddish orange!

Rurik watched helplessly as a forest suddenly disappeared,

Looking at this group of strong men, especially the mercenaries who were ordered to cut wood, many of them simply took off their leather jackets and sweated with their golden-haired arms shining in the snow.

Of course, this is a very dangerous thing, and there must be some people who don't even know that they have lost their body temperature.

Fortunately, the time during the day is limited, and although they can still work at night, they will not be given a lot of working time, and probably not a few people should risk working.

The leather drums from work began to beat, and they returned with their tools and hurriedly dig their own meals with their big wooden bowls.

People sat on the snow, holding a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, and devoured the thick porridge mixed with grains, vegetables, oil and salt.

Their fatigue is actually written on their faces, and their workload is amazing, which is perfect in terms of ferocious meals.

Many people filled their stomachs with food, and they were hooked after eating.

At this moment, Rurik deliberately ordered the drum to be beaten again, and someone shouted: "The duke pays!"

Rurik was furry and sat upright in the setting sun, with a low table in front of him and an open cloth bag on it.

As soon as they heard that they had money, those people hurriedly ate clean wooden bowls, licked the grains of wheat, and ran over excitedly.

As Rurik had promised, laborers were paid on a daily basis. The duke does not give him no remuneration because of his status as a laborer. The money received by mercenaries, Ross natives, and permanent immigrants from Melalen is all a silver coin.

When they took the money, they happily ran away, and many simply ran all the way to their homes in the east.

work overtime? You can't work overtime. Is it not killing you to stay at the construction site so cold at night? If the duke is willing to stay, stay, the brothers should go back to rest.

"You...run so fast..."

Rurik was unable to complain, so he let them go unless he paid for overtime.

It's just that with the current climate conditions, overtime is also full of dangers.

Just as the sun was setting, a group of people pulling sleds like an army of emperor penguins appeared.

It was the so-called female miners of Tavastia who were supervised, and other free miners...

They parted ways soon after walking out of the mountains. The real female miners moved their steps and sniffed the fragrance of the wheat and came to the place where the wheat was still being boiled. They wiped their hands and faces with snow, held their wooden bowls to receive the rewards of the Rus, and then ate them on the spot.

"These lambs...it's so pitiful!" Old Pastor Lindsay watched helplessly. He felt that Duke Ross' move was kind, but he hoped that everyone here, regardless of gender, age, and child, would convert to that sacred faith.

Like Eskil, the regional bishop of the Franks who left, these clergy see it as their mission to spread the faith.

The old pastor wanted to act, hoping to develop all these black-haired women into believers.

Of course, he also spared no effort in trying to influence Rurik, but in the end he was unsuccessful.

Their current status is that of real slave labor.

Rurik and Yevlo, who had been tasked with overseeing the work, ate by the bonfire, naturally speaking of these women.

"Do they work hard?"

"certainly."

"I don't quite believe it." Rurik was indeed somewhat skeptical.

Yevluo patted his chest and said with a smile: "I took some measures. My lord, they are all afraid of death, so I pulled out the lazy ones and peeled off their leather jackets in public..."

"Ah!" Rurik was startled, unable to believe Yevlo would do this. "They're women to be handed over to the Balmers, you can't do that..."

"I was worried that I would humiliate them? I didn't do it. But the cold will freeze people to death, and I just used this to warn them that the price of laziness is freezing to death."

"And then they're completely submissive?"

"Exactly."

Yevro looked proud, and Rurik was not questioning anything.

"Today is the first day of work. The prestige of killing the proud among them is not bad. I am more concerned about their achievements."

Yevluo thought for a while, "You should ask the blacksmiths accompanying you about this. In my opinion, they are women after all. Some time ago, they seemed to be so weak that they almost starved to death. Their achievements are very limited, and they are simply sorry for the only wheat they are now."

Rurik shrugged. "It doesn't matter. They will become strong through labor, so that they can be transported to Balmerk without dying on the way."

Night has fallen, and the well-fed women are still sitting on the ground, and the high-carb, high-fat, and high-salt foods continue to keep them lingering. They were all wrapped in leather jackets, and I didn't know what else to do for the evening.

At this moment, only a group of elite mercenaries from Rurik remained on the construction site. They took tools to chop wood on the spot, or trimmed new wooden stakes and wanted to smash them into the ground tomorrow. There were also guys who were full of food holding pickaxes. Axes and shovels dig holes from earth to build the foundations of walls...

After a while, the armed mercenaries gathered, and the frightened Tavastian women gathered.

Almost instinctively, they felt that even if they were physically tired, they would be released only after they had to please these reckless men.

Of course something tragic cannot happen.

Rurik had just chatted with the blacksmith who was the overseer. Since the mining technique of thermal expansion and cold contraction was adopted, the work of this group of women basically left the large ore into small pieces, and then transported it to the sled with bare hands. , and finally pull the heavy sled out.

For really strong men, these jobs are not very tiring, but they are a kind of torture for these women.

The blacksmith's contempt was written on his face, but he was humble and had no intention of questioning Rurik himself. The blacksmith was very relieved, and Lord Rurik was not dissatisfied with the amount of ore dug.

Seeing the ore Rurik was in a good mood, he approached the group of women and shouted loudly in Old Finnish: "You are doing well, continue tomorrow! Now you have finished your meal and leave immediately, I ordered you to rest in the warehouse."

Is this the release order? They were still terrified, all because Yevlo had really punished a few disobedient people in the mine, causing the entire group to fear that they would be deliberately frozen to death.

Seeing that they would not go back, Rurik had to order the mercenaries to drive them away.

No, they pulled the sleigh to Roseburg not far away.

In the middle of the night, a large number of bonfires were lit on the construction site, and the three-story "palace" in Rurik was clearly visible.

Roseburg at night was very rare and very lively. When the women unloaded a large amount of ore at the mansion of the blacksmiths, another group of free miners also came with the ore.

The female Tavastia miners hurried back to the warm warehouse to sleep after unloading the ore. There was only a group of Russ people who had doubts about the price of the ore and were arguing with the blacksmiths in Rus, which caused some noise.

Rurik was on the third floor, the wooden window opened a crack, and he happened to see the fire in the distance.

Not only the light of the construction site deep in the fjord, but also the fire on the eastern ice surface, that is the senior fisherman who drilled holes for night fishing, relying on the phototaxis of fish to catch them in winter.

There was a soft sound of footsteps, and Rurik pricked up his ears.

"who is it?"

"It's me, Mary..."

"It's time for you to sleep. As a rule, I'll be with Rumia tonight."

"Yes. But there is something..."

Mary approached Rurik directly, and the cold moonlight illuminated half of her eyes. She grabbed Rurik's hand and pressed it to her stomach.

"You? Got it?" Rurik was taken aback.

"Yes, even if I am unclean, the child must be yours."

Rurik suppressed the surprise in his heart and asked, "Does everyone else know?"

"Only Rumia knows. I told her that this child will have the power of Mercia and will not interfere with other people's children. She...she blesses me."

"I bless you too. Are you sure it's a boy?"

"Boy like you, it must be. I asked Lindsay's pastor, and that John Invall, and they said it was my destiny."

a boy? Rurik laughed out loud, he really couldn't ask for it.

"Can you think of the child's name?"

"Yes, it's called Regraf."

this name? It is clearly the benchmark Wigraf. Rurik still didn't know whether the dead Wiggraf was Mary's cheap father, but it was Mercia's failed fool. Mary gave birth to a successor named Regraf. According to the succession system of the British kingdoms, if the prince died out, the heir of the princess had the right of inheritance.

Regraf, the original meaning is "returned great noble", and the name contains the fate of his birth.

"What a good name. You must give me a boy named Regraf!" After that, Rurik patted Marie's cheek again, and her affectionate look was intriguing.

However, as the first sea king of Ross, and even the sea king in various senses, this night Rurik gave all his love to his first woman, Rumia.

The first daughter, Velika, is already eating liquid food. As the destined successor high priest, she has no weak power. Even though it was cruel when weaned, as a mother, Rumia was very worried. The daughter inherited the will of the old priest Willia, and the daughter's perseverance must be cultivated from an early age.

Although it was quite abrupt, after the night, Rumia felt that her second child was not far away.

She enjoyed the process and subconsciously thought that it would be perfect if the new child was a boy. That would be a fine boy who fought for his father.

In this era, the number of people determines the strength of a country. Ordinary people of the Principality of Ross don’t think much about it. They simply believe that as long as they have a large number of children, their cubs will either work or fight in the future, and their wealth will definitely increase, and their lives will become more comfortable.

What's more, the Duke gave everyone the bottom line!

People really don’t think much about it. What men and women see is that as long as the child is six years old, he can send it to the Duke for training and learning. Not only does he have physical training and knowledge, but the most important thing is that the child’s meals are the responsibility of the Duke, and it is rich. To the extent that everyone is envious!

The Duke already has eighteen wives and concubines with names, and he had a child at the age of thirteen. The Duke has guaranteed meals for the children under his command for several years, and the Duke has raised all the orphans of the fallen heroes.

All indications are that the duke encouraged the tribe to seize the opportunity to have children, and now that a lot of wealth is hoarded in Roseburg, people are no longer worried that they will not be able to raise many children because of poverty.

Why worry? When the children grow up to six years old, they are all raised by the Duke. Of course, this kind of national favor must be repaid, and how to repay is naturally to obey the Duke's arrangement.

How will the children grow up? Of course, eating the Duke's meal is for the Duke's pioneering and expedition, and will always be victorious. Ordinary Rus people have no big ambitions, they can just follow the will of their hero king, so what they have to do now is to hurry up and be happy with their wives.

Many young Russ are no longer a wife, and the strategy of polygamy, which Frank regards as barbaric and absurd, has made a great impact in Russ.

Old Pastor Lindsay criticized this as Viking barbarism.

How is that? This is the most correct method for Rus' population explosion to accumulate strength. Because the fathers of the children born are all Rus, after the children are born, they will naturally make their own positioning, and tens of thousands of men and women who love Rus are born.

Rurik estimated that there were more than 3,000 fertile women in Rosberg alone. In addition to young women living in other regions, it was theoretically feasible for women in the Duchy of Rus to conceive a population of 5,000 a year.

Humans are not beasts. He made a conservative estimate that 3,000 babies will erupt every year, and there will only be more in the future. Coupled with much better health conditions and greatly improved living standards than before, the mortality rate of children has also plummeted.

This is such a huge abyss. If the local steel industry in Roseburg cannot make a major improvement, tens of thousands of children in the future will eat the principality poor.

There is no crisis for the time being, so the construction of the huge financial resources is really far-sighted.

Therefore, before Hanukkah, all the work was carried out smoothly, and there were no disasters during the period. If there were, it was that a logger was accidentally injured by a fallen tree trunk.

Hanukkah is not far away, and sunshine every day has become extremely rare.

A forest disappears, and a circle of walls rises! A large number of solid wood-cut corrugated frames have been constructed within the enclosure.

The real slave laborers, free miners, even some guest merchants and other idle craftsmen, they are not picky about the efficiency of obtaining money. These people are mining and transporting them back, and they just created a building in the industrial area of ​​Roseburg. Mountain of Ore!

As for the ignorant guy who dug up a pile of granite, these stones were immediately bought by the Blacksmiths Union.

This group of senior blacksmiths is already building stone buildings.

The environment is bitterly cold, and the 10,000 men, women and children living in Roseburg are extremely hot inside.

The days are very short, but business activities are quite lively. Ross man, who sold his labor to earn money, immediately began to trade in exchange for necessities to improve his life. At night, the couple was busy creating new lives, and life was full of hope.

Therefore, this year's Hanukkah should build a huge wooden tower on the frozen coast.

All the Rus, people of allies, Slavic and Finnish daughters-in-law who live in Roseburg, watch a fire show.

In the "day without the sun", the fire tower is used as the sun, and finally the first ray of sunshine of the new year in the east is seen.

Hanukkah is tomorrow!

The busy people of various colors stopped all work, and even the female miners of Tavastiya were on vacation.

Without him, pure darkness is about to come. When the stars reach the correct position, the wooden tower that has already stood will be ignited with raging fire...

The hour is coming.