Vadim came back, and his embarrassed appearance really surprised Brudny.
"What's going on? You are a brave person, why have you become a coward now? Forget it, you are still a child after all. Tell me, what is going on outside?!"
"It's the Russians!" Vadim, who should have spoken fluently, suddenly became stammering: "They are here! They are all outside, at least three hundred people! No... four hundred people, five hundred people. They are there Burning houses, looting. And that nasty savage, that savage is ready to chop down our wooden walls like a forest."
"This is real?"
"It's absolutely true! They are setting fires." Vadim stared wide-eyed and said with a terrifying face: "Dad, if we don't take some action, they may burn down all the houses in our manor."
"Oh! It's crazy! Crazy." At this point, Brudne could no longer sit still. The situation must be brought under control, otherwise Pine Needle Manor will be really defenseless and will be burned to ashes by the Russians in humiliation. How can that be done?
He urgently ordered his old wife: "Take your daughters and hide in the bedroom. Vadim, you come with me to meet the Russians. And you."
Brudne immediately pointed to the eldest son who was very willing to hide: "Your wife is avoiding it. As for you, you come with me."
"Dad, those Rus are terrible."
"Oops." Brudne stomped her feet angrily, "Follow me, otherwise you, a coward, don't even think about being the new head of the manor. Remember, we don't want the head of the manor to be a fool."
After receiving the strongest threat, the eldest son Boyke had no choice but to get up reluctantly.
The three of them wanted to meet the Russians, but now, even the brave Vadim was drumming in his heart.
So, brave Vadim?
The ten-year-old had short brown hair. His scalp was numb at the moment, and the short hair looked even more fluffy, like a ball of fluffy golden wool growing on his scalp. He didn't have time to change clothes, and there was a piece of mud on the robe tied with a rope, which was still on his back.
Could it be that he fell because he was afraid of something? How could he have such stains on his body?
On the other hand, Brudne soon learned about the mystery of his servant's disappearance.
He gathered more than a dozen servants who had not escaped, and after asking about the situation, he could only stamp his feet and scold a man for raising a bunch of losers.
"Damn, maybe I should recruit a group of more loyal people. Should I hear about those Varangian merchants, can they be my guards? They are all Varangians. Maybe they have the ability to drive away the Rus." "Brudnie buried his thoughts in his heart. First of all, he still had to face the very thorny problem at the moment.
He straightened his leather hat and looked at his two sons from left to right: "Children, follow me."
How to face the leader of the Rus, Brudne consciously had a suitable method.
Just pretend to be respectful. They came here to ask for food and cloth. Although they caused serious damage this time, as long as they were given supplies that could satisfy them, they would leave on their own.
The nervous servants carried their short spears and followed their master.
Then, under the instructions of their master, they lifted down all the crossbars that were used as door bolts.
The thick wooden door was gradually opened, and Brudne cautiously leaned out, only to see Otto, the leader of Rus, holding the hilt of the sword stuck in the soil, looking at him like a torch.
"Brudne, do I have to burn down your manor and kill all your people before you can go out to see me?!"
Now, hundreds of strong men are standing behind Otto! They all used wooden shields to protect most of their bodies, and the helmets that covered half of their faces could not cover the ferocious teeth of the warriors.
If Brudne was frightened by this formation, he would have been beaten down by his tribe long ago and would no longer be able to be the head of the manor.
He was not intimidated by this battle. He also had his father's protection. The young Vadim just leaned a little closer to his father's lapel.
On the other hand, Vadim's eldest brother Boyk, this cowardly man, was so shocked that he backed away and simply hid behind the wooden door without wanting to come out.
Only a few brave servants followed Brudne, and these people supported him a little bit. It was the servant's uncontrollably trembling legs that clearly proved their fear, causing many Russians to snicker secretly.
Brudne tried his best to remain calm, and he walked away with the arrogance of a noble man in his figure.
As a result, he just got close to Otto, and Otto kicked him unceremoniously, knocking him to the ground.
How could Brudne have imagined that such an encounter would happen again? ! Everything happened so suddenly.
His heart suddenly fell into panic, and he staggered to his knees on the ground, covering his head that was covered with mud as he knocked it on the muddy ground.
Vadim had never seen his father humiliated?
In an instant, the boy's blood boiled over and he burst out with extraordinary courage.
Vadim lost his mind and directly attacked Otto, with a ferocious face and recklessly launched a purposeless charge towards a man who was countless times taller and stronger than himself.
Otto said nothing, picked up the shield and pushed it hard. The shield hit Vadim's head, knocking the reckless child to the ground.
There was blood at the corner of Vadim's mouth, and there were obvious injuries on his forehead.
The child got up unyieldingly, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and continued to glare at Otto with sharp eyes.
Vadim still wanted to attack, but this time his father Brudne held down his neck.
After being kicked hard, Brudne realized how weak he was when he woke up.
Look at where Pine Needles is now.
It was originally a bustling farm, but due to the Russian invasion, most of the residents saw the fleet appearing and ran away with their food rations, leaving behind a large area of empty residences.
Pine Needle Manor, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a city. In this era, all the houses in Novgorod area were a family living in a wooden house. There were 1,200 such families in Pine Needle Manor, which meant that there were at least 1,200 wooden houses in this area.
Its architectural scale is comparable to that of Roseburg. What is very different from Roseburg is that all the farmland of the manor is outside the manor.
Together with the farmland, Pine Needles Manor is a huge behemoth.
And it also formed the main body of Novgorod.
A large number of wooden houses were burning, and the smoke even obscured the sun.
Brudne knelt down on the enemy and asked sadly: "Why, Russians! We will give you what you want, why do you still burn our houses and hurt our people?"
"Why? This is your punishment." Otto said viciously.
"But, we have always surrendered to you, is it because we have not served you well?"
"Do you still want to be kicked by me again? Or do you want to force me to give the order and let my people kill you?" Otto calmed down, "Brudne, it seems that you have forgotten who you are for a while. Master. When we left, you actually went to collect tributes. What? Do you think you are the king? Let me tell you, only we Russians have the right to collect tributes, and you! You don’t deserve it!”
"This..." Brudne hurriedly closed his eyes. His eyes quickly circled a few times, and then he immediately denied: "No, there is no such thing at all. How dare I go and collect the tribute?"
"you sure?"
"Yes! It's absolutely true." Brudne continued to press her youngest son's neck and complimented.
Otto naturally didn't believe what Brudne kept saying. After all, compared to White Tree Manor, which had become a loyal dog, this guy and his Pine Needle Manor still had wolfish nature.
Even though this guy denied it, Otto had evidence to prove that after the Ross left, Pine Needle Manor sent a "powerful army" to search other manors to make up for the losses caused by the Russian catastrophe.
"Get up." Otto ordered.
Brudne stood up despite the abdominal pain, first wiped the mud off his head, and then picked up the leather hat. He continued to pull on his youngest son's clothes to prevent the child from seeking death again.
Otto looked arrogant and completely like a king: "I have no intention of destroying your manor, as long as you don't force me. You didn't meet me immediately. Look at these flames and smoke, it is a punishment for your arrogance. Brudne, do you know you are wrong?"
"Yes, yes. I am a stupid person to do such a stupid thing."
Seeing his father's submissive look, Vadim was confused and annoyed. The child only hated himself for being too fragile. If he had been stronger and held an iron dagger, he would have had a chance to assassinate the leader of the Russians in front of him just now. .
Maybe as long as this person is stabbed to death, the Russians will stop causing trouble because of the danger. Even if he would die from this, it would be a good thing for the manor.
Vadim, his nature is so simple.
"Look at me head on. Also, let go of your hand and let your little son look at me!"
At this time, Otto untied the belt on the inside of the shield and took it away from his left arm, and also put away his steel sword.
Now there is no need for force to deter. Brudne and several of his families have already obeyed. As for the sad and angry eyes of a child?
Otto said deliberately: "You are all a group of cowards, but there are also a handful of brave men. I really can't believe that your youngest son dares to resist the authority of our Russians. Is his name Vadim?"
"Yes." Brudne said nervously.
"Let him kneel down and crawl in front of me and kiss my boots!"
Different from White Tree Manor, Pine Needle Manor has had many interactions with many lone ranger Varyag businessmen, so some residents know a little Norse. Brudne knew a lot about this, and there was no language barrier between him and Otto.
Brudne was deeply humiliated, but why not Vadim?
"Kneel down, child, and kiss his feet," said Brudne in Slavonic.
"Dad, why. Even if I die, I won't do this."
"Listen, if you want revenge, you need to be patient."
"No, I don't want to be a coward." Vadim's attitude was still firm.
Seeing this situation, Otto's sheathed sword was pulled out again. He pointed his sword at the child who was unwilling to compromise: "Your name is Vadim, you are a reckless man. Now I order you to crawl over like a dog licking my shoes every day, otherwise, I will destroy your manor." .”
Vadim remained stubbornly unmoved.
Otto shook his head: "Brudne, it seems that your children are planning to force me to destroy you. Listen, this is not what you want. Do you also want us to take action?"
If the Russians really want to go on a killing spree, Brudne will indeed fight them to the end at all costs. But the current situation is obviously very unfavorable to Pine Needle Manor!
To fight the Ross people, it is necessary to gather all the fighting men in the entire estate early. As long as he has enough time, he can organize an "army" of two thousand farmers. In order to protect their homeland, Brudne believed they would fight to the bitter end.
Now, since it was estimated that the Russians were only here to collect tribute, all the tributes were placed in a wooden house in advance. The residents fleeing the disaster have already fled after hearing the news, and it is impossible to organize an army.
While the stubborn younger son was not paying attention, Brudne suddenly kicked the younger son's calf, forcing him to kneel down.
He took advantage of the situation and said: "Great leader, he is really a child. Look at him already kneeling down, can you not let him..."
Otto looked at Vadim's face with a blood-stained forehead. This child was indeed very tough and stubborn. He even glanced at his mouth and refused to look at himself at all.
This move indeed made Otto very angry, but after thinking about it, this move also really impressed Otto.
Almost all people in Novgorod are willing to be a group of sheep and contribute their wool to ensure safety. Are there any brave rebels among them? Otto once thought that such people had been killed by the Rus in the ancestors' battles. Unexpectedly, the youngest son of the president of Pine Needle Manor became a rare stubborn person.
Forget it, force a child to kneel down and surrender?
Five hundred of his subordinates were watching, and it seemed that there was really no point in bullying a child.
Otto nodded: "Okay, Brudne. Your son is really reckless, and I have taught him a lesson. If he doesn't come to kiss my shoes, just let him kneel."
"Oh, thank you so much." Brudne quickly complimented.
"It's you now, come here. I'm going to give you some new requirements, and you must fulfill them completely."
Hearing this, Brudne thought with her toes and knew what the Russians wanted to do. The so-called new requirements are nothing more than two things. First, take away more wheat. Second, women.
Ever since the Russians made the mistake last autumn, Brudny believed that the Russians had been eyeing the girls in his manor. Because of his understanding of the Varyag people, he did not believe that the Russians would really treat Novgorod women as wives. They must be asking for a group of slaves in the name of asking for wives.
The truth is completely as expected.
Otto said bluntly: "I know you have prepared a tribute. Now you have to pay the most realistic price for your arrogance! I want you to double the tribute!"
"Ah! Let's...double it?!" Brudne knew that the Russians wanted more money and food, but he didn't expect it to be doubled.
For many years, every time the Russians came, Pine Needle Manor had to pay a tribute of 80,000 pounds of wheat to the Russians. The tribute paid twice a year was 160,000 pounds. The reason why such a high requirement was set was because the population of Pine Needle Manor was four times that of White Tree Manor, so the tribute would of course be increased four times.
Although Pine Needle Manor has a unique geographical location, they have developed a large amount of farmland near the lake. The soil fertility here is better, and the wheat field's grain-to-grain output has reached a rare one-to-five ratio. Their grain output is still embarrassing.
It's just equivalent to one hundred pounds of oats per acre, which is just a little better than Baishu Manor.
The ordinary tribute share is really a burden for all families.
Now that the leader of the Russian people is behind a large number of houses with fires and smoke billowing into the sky, the Russian people actually demand double the tribute? !
"What, you dare to object?" Otto deliberately showed the sewing blade. It was obvious that he could cut Brudne's neck with just one swing.
Even with such a threat, Brudne was well aware of the excessiveness of the Russians, and he argued with reason: "Great leader. When the sheep are gathered for shearing in the spring, the herdsmen will not cut the sheep until not a hair is left. Because the spring is still It's getting colder, and sheep that have completely lost their wool will freeze to death. You asked us to double the tribute, I'm afraid of my people..."
As he spoke, Brudne raised his head and looked at the reality of the billowing smoke: "You have burned down many of our houses, and your people have also taken away a lot of food. Isn't this punishment enough?"
"Of course it's not enough!" Otto's attitude remained firm. "Even if the ships I bring cannot take away double your tribute, my order will not change this time. As for how your people will live after paying tribute, it is Whether I freeze to death or starve to death, what does it have to do with me?”
"This..." Brudne felt a huge stone weighing on his heart, and he didn't know what to say.
This hesitation made Otto very dissatisfied, so he issued an ultimatum: "Brudne, now you have only two choices. Agree to hand over double tribute, and from now on all tribute will be doubled, and I will guarantee your safety." . If you don’t agree, I will completely burn all your houses. Burn all your food rations and trample your farmland. If we don’t do it, you will all starve to death. You choose.”
Opposition would mean death. Brudne had no choice but to say angrily: "I will. I will raise double the tribute you want as soon as possible."
"Very good." Otto nodded, and his attitude softened slightly. "I will give you one day, and I will take away all your double tribute tomorrow morning. Since your people have fled for refuge, tonight my People will live here with you and supervise you to get things done."
"Yes, I will definitely do it."
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Chapter 147 Reckless Vadim
