The Ross fleet sailed against the wind. Finally, the fleet returned to its home port of Rossburg on November 1st of the Julian calendar.
The honest transport ship collided with the ice floes on the bay. Otto was very scared. His fleet might be delayed for a few days and any ship would be frozen at sea.
The ship froze on the ice. This kind of bad thing happened to the Russians. Their fishing boats naturally try their best to catch the fish, even if a large number of ice floes have appeared on the sea surface, or the warm season has just arrived, they ignore the icebergs several meters high and venture out to fish.
It cannot be said that they are just brave. The most critical motivation for action is their hungry stomach.
Otto's fleet came back, and they took away 50,000 pounds of grain. As a result, they brought back 400,000 pounds of new wheat!
Because of Pine Needle Manor's stupid resistance, Otto punishedly collected more tributes. As for the life and death of those local people, he doesn't have to worry about it.
If there is anyone in Novgorod who needs extra care or even support, it is the loyal White Tree Manor.
Roseburg was covered in snow, and the nearby hills were also shrouded in silver.
There were no fishing boats cruising above the sea. The huge fleet suddenly appeared, as if they suddenly appeared from under the sea. When the people on the shore saw this scene clearly, the whole Roseburg was boiling.
Today, the daylight hours are very short and the temperatures are very cold.
Rurik deliberately placed a pottery urn outdoors to estimate the temperature by observing the thickness of water ice.
In fact, the temperature at Fort Rose was below freezing all day long, so cold that it was no longer appropriate to continue ordering the children to do military training. Rurik didn't think everyone would be afraid of the cold after wearing fur clothes. Due to the shorter and shorter days, he also continued to reduce training time.
The so-called training, as usual, consists of boys and girls lining up in a matrix, carrying weapons made of wood, walking in neat steps and shouting slogans, followed by the much-loved fighting training and archery competition.
After a long period of training, the boys have become an army that moves uniformly.
What about the girls? They received high-intensity queue training, and in order to achieve quick success, Rurik simply selected the girls who performed well and gave them the authority of "captain", and directly kicked those who were neglectful. If anyone is seriously neglectful, he will be served with a hungry meal.
They came at the end of August, and after two full months of training, they were able to follow the rhythm of the slogans and take consistent steps. They also practice archery desperately. Regardless of whether they can shoot rabbits and birds, the children of the "Valkyrie Legion" have great potential.
The steel-arm crossbow was a treasure that was only made in October. After the first ten pairs were made, Klavason immediately started making new ones.
As a result, new items were immediately added to the children's military training, so that many people suddenly realized that they were obviously powerful hunters!
Youdao is that it may take ten years to train an excellent longbowman, but one or two months may be too much to train an elite crossbowman.
Rurik had a new understanding of this concept, because what he saw was that his subordinates, whether boys or girls, clearly understood the full operation of the crossbow in two days at most.
He also had to sigh with emotion at the amazing learning ability of a child.
Now, despite the delay, the Rossogon fleet under the command of my father has finally returned safely.
It was noon, and Rurik was having a meal with his men in what was said to be as many as ten wooden shed canteens made of logs that had not even had their bark removed.
As usual, everyone ate cooked oats, which was said to be called wheat porridge, and Rurik preferred to call it wheat kernel rice.
Although fishing operations are suspended, there is still fish in the children's rice bowls.
It’s this season, and the whole world is like a big refrigerator! The fish that were caught before were thrown directly into the snowdrifts. Now, every Russian household has a large reserve of frozen fish. Frozen fish is not as delicious as fresh fish when cooked, but no one is in a hurry, especially the girls who are eating, as they will be busy soon.
Many girls have to work hard to make soap in the winter, and the raw material required is the large amount of seal oil caught in the winter. As for seal meat, it has naturally become a high-quality fresh meat that children can eat.
These children who enjoyed Rurik's special treatment and ate the best food from the Ross tribe were grateful for Rurik.
Regarding the so-called canteen, Rurik really only needed a sheltered place to accommodate hundreds of children to eat together. Although the house is simply repaired, the interior objects also reveal a strong Nordic minimalist style.
Ten children crowded on a long bench, lying on the long table made of wooden strips in front of them, each holding a wooden spoon to dig into the wheat porridge to eat. At least three of these long tables and benches in every house
There are also people holding chopsticks here, using two wooden sticks to pick up cooked fish, or using them to pick up wheat kernels in a bowl. After Rurik demonstrated the miraculous operation of picking up wheat grains with chopsticks, some children immediately imitated him.
Isn’t it weird for Nordic people to eat with chopsticks?
Rurik didn't think it was strange, he even thought it was necessary.
Because the culture of eating with knives and forks is completely the result of the popularization of French Bourbon culture. In the previous era, there were only two things that could be called tableware in the vast majority of Europe, daggers for cutting meat and self-defense, and spoons.
How can ordinary people have precious daggers? At most it's a wooden spoon.
Of course, a pair of hands is a special piece of tableware in its own right.
It goes without saying that diseases come from the mouth when you eat with dirty hands. Encourage your subordinates to avoid touching food with their hands and use spoons and two wooden sticks as media. This will definitely improve the hygiene situation to a great extent and reduce the disease and death of Ross's children.
The children ate amid chatter. As their leader, Rurik naturally wanted to have lunch with his men.
He set up an independent canteen for himself, with a large rectangular table and a circle of wooden benches. Because it was winter, there were leather cushions on the stools.
Rurik naturally sat in the most honorable position, and according to Dongfeng's custom, the master sat in the north, with all the men on the left and all women on the right.
Every time, confidants like Kanuf and Fisk sat next to Rurik. Now, two coaches, Yevluo and Frazier, also joined the banquet.
On the right side of Rurik are naturally the two sisters Carlotta and Ella, and Rumia, who is free from time to time, will also sit down.
In addition, a group of men and women are allowed into the cafeteria. Those who can have lunch with Rurik are all Rurik's confidants, and everyone can realize that they have a bright future.
The fact that the big leader still hadn't returned made the tribe panic. The old high priest Vilia had no choice but to put the antlered helmet on Rumia's head and ordered her to announce the results of the divination to the tribe on her behalf.
The high priest always said that the leader's fleet would be back soon, but when exactly would it be back?
Rumors began to spread among the tribe that the leader would camp in New Roseburg this year and would not return until the ice and snow melted next year.
There are also people here who are making very vicious remarks, saying that Otto and those tribesmen have perished in the sea.
As for the person who said such words, he was caught and beheaded by Arik afterwards, and the body of the person who deceived the public was displayed in public.
But everyone never expected that the person who was killed was actually a craftsman sent by the Melalen tribe! The penetrating details observed many things, even Rurik's training of children. A few craftsmen who had an overall view realized the ambitions of the Russians and that the legendary Rurik was really capable.
I really wish that the Russians would suddenly sink. Without this competitor, the Malaren people can continue to maintain their power in the alliance.
Perhaps there are people in Russia who want Otto to die so that careerists can stand up and forcibly challenge the successor Rurik. But the careerists know that the people who go to collect tribute have been the elite of the Ross tribe since ancient times and are the key force for the Ross people to maintain their strength. No one wants all those tribesmen to be buried in the sea.
In the end, some of the craftsmen were killed, while the others chose to shut up and continue to observe quietly as traders.
Xizuo, they learned about the magical weapon of the crossbow for the first time, and the idea of taking one away as a gift to the master also occupied Xizuo's mind.
What is very bad is that Rurik has not yet thought that he is actually being targeted by a potential enemy. The enemy is not the Danes, but the leader of the alliance, Mälaren leader Olegin.
The children who were eating were laughing and laughing, and a woman who was cooking in an extremely excited mood broke into the wooden shed like crazy.
"Rurik! Our big leader is back!"
"What? My father is finally back?!" Rurik hurriedly threw the spoon and stood on the stool in a daze.
"It's absolutely true! A huge fleet has appeared! They will enter the port soon."
"Oh, that's great." Rurik jumped to the ground quickly and shouted: "Brothers, organize everyone and line up!"
No one had any objections. They didn't even bother to finish the food in the bowl and hurried out the door following Rurik's footsteps.
Although wasting food is stupid and shameful, Rurik's order is absolute, and everyone eats food provided by Rurik, so there is no shame in wasting food. If Rurik's order cannot be implemented immediately, then It is the greatest shame.
Rurik issued the assembly order, and in an instant, all the children filed out of all ten canteens.
The whole scene was a bit noisy and chaotic. Rurik stood casually on an empty barrel, pulled out his sword and shouted: "Brothers! The leader has returned, everyone lines up, let's go to the beach!"
In an instant, everyone knew what to do next, because everything had been rehearsed.
Carlotta began to gather her girls as usual, while Rurik led Fisk, Kanuf and others to gather all the boys.
It may only take a minute, and the previous chaos is gone.
The cooks couldn't help but whisper: "Rurik, you have trained hundreds of children into an army."
Rurik walked at the front of the team, holding his sword high. Behind him were two square formations arranged in a matrix.
"Left! Right! Left! Right..."
Carlotta shouted the slogan and supervised the girls to keep pace and line up.
The boys' team is led by the very authoritative Fisk.
A large number of people were already gathering towards the coast, but among the chaotic crowds, an army marched in an orderly and orderly manner on the very solid snow.
Many people stopped and looked at all this in surprise.
There are five people in a row, as many as thirty rows deep. This is true for the boys' team, and the same is true for the girls.
Rurik took out the money from the big cash box and customized the same style of thick leather shoes, the same leather jacket, and even the same cowhide hat that could protect the ears for all the children who were being trained.
The customization of all clothes actually began to expand the scope of orders after Rurik ordered clothes for ten maids. There are a large number of women in the tribe who are paid for their labor, and Rurik provides them with sewing materials. Their enthusiasm for work is extremely high.
It can be said that when boys and girls wear the same style of clothes, how can the visual impact be summed up in just one shock? What's more, the rhythm of their steps is really consistent.
Noticing the surprised looks of the onlookers, the children in the team felt even more honored.
Especially the orphan girls of Melalen, they feel that becoming a part of the team is extremely warm physically and mentally.
But that's still not the most shocking thing.
Rurik found the most conspicuous position for himself and his men. The children were still arranged in neat formation, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the approaching fleet.
Otto the Great stands on the prow of his flagship. He held on to the wooden dragon head of the ship and told his men not to be afraid of the ice floes when paddling, while his eyes stared at the tribesmen gathered on the shore.
Suddenly, a crisp roar came from the distance.
"Ularos!" Rurik took the lead and roared, raising his sword.
His men all shouted in childlike shrill tones: "Ularos!"
"Ula Otto!" Rurik continued to roar.
"Ula Otto!"
…
This is the welcome ceremony prepared by Rurik. If there were no restrictions, Rurik would show some flags, get all the leather drums and beat them rhythmically to create the most enthusiastic atmosphere.
For the time being, he could only count on the resonant voices of his men.
"It's really strange. Why do I feel like they are calling my name?" Otto was a little confused and even buttoned his own ears and blew away the earwax.
Harozov, who was traveling with him, joked: "Chief, these are Rurik's children."
"Huh? Those kids?"
"Isn't it?" Harozov said bluntly while rowing: "Who knows what Ula means? Only Rurik knows. Who else can shout Ula as a slogan, except your son."
"That's true. Maybe he trained those girls very well." Otto felt happy. As the fleet continued to pass through the port, he saw more spectacular details.
Could it be that it has become a new repertoire of the Russians for the son and his men to line up neatly at the beach to greet him?
However, this time, Otto couldn't help but rub his eyes vigorously. In a daze, he felt that there were double images in front of him. It wasn't until boats started to wash up on the beach that Otto realized that the children were actually wearing uniform clothes.
An old guy with a rough, braided beard jumped out of the dragon-headed warship. Rurik knew at a glance that it was his father who had not been seen for nearly two months.
"Ula! Otto! Ula! Ross!"
Rurik raised his dagger high, widened his eyes and led his men to shout loud slogans again.
He waved his hands and sword desperately, encouraging his men to continue shouting neat slogans, and then handed over the work of boosting the atmosphere to Fisk.
The children of the Russians must prove that they can inherit the bravery of their fathers, especially children whose fathers died in the war, and they need to prove themselves. Fisk cherished the opportunity to perform in front of the big leader Otto. He led everyone and yelled the loudest slogan at the top of his lungs.
All this was witnessed by the clan members in shock. Even the shock brought by the children's strong momentum is equivalent to the large-scale beaching of the fleet.
Rurik put away his sword and walked straight towards his father Otto.
A weathered old warrior brought his battle-hardened army back in triumph with a huge amount of loot. This old warrior was Otto.
A seemingly naive young warrior, with a young "army" who had been trained to be very impressive, greeted their fathers.
Niya stood in the crowd. At this moment, she was not just Otto's wife, but like all Russian women, she witnessed the confrontation between the old and new leaders.
People saw not only that the old leader had once again proved himself to be strong and reliable, but also the ambitions of the next leader.
Otto picked up his son, then kissed his son's young face with his bearded mouth.
Then he held him in his arms and asked excitedly: "Rurik, is this your army?"
"Yes! Dad!"
"Is this your new trick? Oh, I'm really touched."
"Do you think it's good?" Rurik asked knowingly.
"Yeah, but where are your girls?"
"They are right here." Rurik immediately shouted loudly: "Carlotta, order the girls to take off their hats!"
Rurik's order was absolute, and the one hundred and fifty girls showed no signs of delay. You know, it was unimaginable for Otto to have a large group of people perform the same action at the same time.
They have golden hair, braids that hang down to their chests, and pretty faces. They are all wearing thick, decent and uniform clothes.
"Ah! Your girls are becoming extraordinary too?!"
Rurik immediately gave an order, and Carlotta ran all the way and stood in front of Otto.
"You...are you Carlotta?" Otto asked in surprise.
"Dad, I haven't seen you for more than a month. Have you forgotten me?"
The girl's eyes widened, and Otto was filled with joy when she called him "Daddy."
"You... gained weight."
"No! I have become stronger and can be a female warrior. You see, our girls will definitely impress you. If there is a war in the future, we will also defend our country under the leadership of Rurik. Rose, our Ostara, our everything.”
In fact, these words were taught to Carlotta by Rurik, and there were many similar words prepared.
Otto was pleased with what he heard. He put down his son and put his big hands over the heads of the two children, a boy and a girl.
The two of them, one is the future of the Rus people, and the other is the future of the Ostara people. In other words, the two of them and this group of children with their own origins are the future of the Northern Siiya Alliance.
As for the people in power in Mellaren, they are simply unreliable.
"Let's go, Rurik and Carlotta, take your people home. Next is my time, this place is about to become a site for distributing supplies."
Otto patted his son's little head again, signaling him to stop dawdling.
"Dad, actually I still have some magical things for you to see." Rurik was a little reluctant, he couldn't wait to show off the steel-arm crossbow.
Otto felt that the unbelievably neat formation of a large group of children was Rurik's greatest gift. Seeing this scene, besides being shocked, Otto suddenly felt that his son was already a warrior.
Although his son is young, he already has the appeal of a leader, and he also feels that his son has an indescribable unique temperament that belongs to a warrior.
A thought flashed through Otto's mind. In the past, he thought his son was too young. Maybe now, Rurik had a good opportunity to see the world. Since this child is destined to inherit his power, he must leave the corner of Roseburg as soon as possible to see the vastness of the world.
He finally patted his son's small but strong back: "You and your mother will go home for now and disband your soldiers. When I finish handling my important matters, there are still some things I need to tell you."
"Ah? Are there another group of Novgorod servants?" Rurik said bluntly.
"There's none this year. If you need it, I'll bring you some next year. Go back!"
Rurik was a little disappointed, but on second thought, with today's performance, he gained some popularity again. But the show isn't over yet.
Rurik, who returned to the array, gave orders again. The current situation is that all the Russians who returned clearly saw the neat queue of children, and they also saw them walking in exactly the same steps, in a neat formation. , leaving the noisy and chaotic beach at a steady speed.
Otto's eyes widened and were bloodshot.
His heart was beating wildly and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Are they still children? Pooh! In just ten more years, they will be the strongest warriors!
