The Covin man who led the way, Voima Kashad, not only escaped while the guards were not paying attention, but even stole some wheat biscuits and dried meat as food during the escape.
He used the village buildings as cover to escape into a snow nest, and then hid in the snow to observe the battle between the Rus and the powerful Salmon Lord tribe from a distance.
In this guide's view, the Salmon Lord Tribe was warlike and willing to fight because of its large population. As a last resort, the Gray Squirrel Tribe built a low wall on the border and even passively strengthened the wall to protect the village. Without these facilities, the gray squirrel tribe would have disappeared long ago.
Voyma Kashad was happy to see the Russians launching an offensive. Both sides were enemies, and it was best for them to lose both sides!
The development of the situation was as he expected, and the next result was completely beyond his imagination.
Hidden, he deliberately waited for a result. As a result, he saw from a distance a large number of strong men wearing helmets, escorting a large number of short people wearing animal skins, and a large number of people who were obviously women, moving down the hill.
"Damn it! Are the Ross people so strong?! Are your Salmon Lord tribe so invincible?!"
All the surviving tribesmen of the old enemy Salmon Lord must have become captives of the Rus and became slaves.
The old enemy was probably completely destroyed, but Voyma Kashad was not happy at all.
Because the Varangians, to which the Rus belong, are greedy guys. Those friends in the south have long criticized that the Varangians from all walks of life always raid their territory and capture their tribesmen like wild boars, brown bears, and deer.
Taking advantage of the darkness, the solemn-looking Woima Kashad had no intention of lingering anymore, and he fled far away towards his hometown.
He dug a snow pit in the snow in the forest as his shelter. He didn't have the ability to light a bonfire, and even if he had the ability, he wouldn't dare to actually light one.
He broke off a branch and polished a sharp spearhead, which he used as a weapon and his own "Kewen", which was a marching stick. After all, as a Kewen man, it is most appropriate to be on the road with a short spear in hand.
Now, no wild beast could bring him fear. Only Russians! Presumably even the most ferocious beasts would have to run away when faced with the Russians.
Voyma Kashad struggled through the cold night, and the trek afterward became even more difficult. He had to speed up in order to enter the low wall built by his tribe in the shortest time and meet the tribesmen who deliberately stayed at the low wall for a long time.
A lone traveler walked for a full day and a half with limited food. He finally met his tribe, even though the tribe regarded him as a deliberately offensive hostile force, causing him to be hit by an arrow in his arm.
It has to be said that the penetrating power of bone arrow clusters on thick leather is really bad.
Woima Kashad's arrow wound was very shallow, and he didn't bleed much. Naturally, there was no need to worry about fever caused by infection.
Two full days after his escape, the village walls finally came into view. However, it seems that this wall that gives the tribesmen a strong sense of security may not be able to withstand the Russian offensive.
Woimakshad didn't know how the Rus broke through the wall of the Salmon Lord tribe, but they succeeded.
Maybe the defenses of these walls are no longer that effective.
He was full of ideas. After being escorted into the village, he announced to all the watching tribesmen the fact that a powerful Varyag people had invaded.
Originally, the tribesmen were inquiring about the expedition team. As a result, the leader of the expedition team came back alone and in an extremely embarrassed state, and all he said was horrific news.
The happy tribesmen quickly panicked.
Because everyone believes that this guy Woima Kashad will not talk nonsense.
The bad news reached the chief's ears before he himself did.
The leader Mechasta, according to the local language, the leader's name is "Hunter".
The reality is that this Mechasta is an excellent hunter. He is the son of the old leader. As the old leader died of wound infection caused by injuries caused by hunting brown bears, the 30-year-old Mechasta, as the only son of the old leader, killed the violent brown bear with an obsidian short spear. He was elected as the new leader.
Compared with the weak gray squirrel tribe, people need a brave person to lead everyone.
But this Mechasta, besides being brave, always wants to do some new tricks. So he tattooed his face with some black mottled stripes. Through the strange appearance, he felt that he was blessed by some mysterious power.
Of course, by smearing mud on your face or directly tattooing it, you can most likely deceive the prey.
After all, squirrels are smart animals, and wild deer and argali are not stupid either. A hunter needs a little camouflage.
Compared with his dead father, this leader is really aware of the three major reasons for his tribe's disadvantage: small population, lack of iron tools, and lack of domestic livestock.
He felt that it was his lifelong responsibility to try his best to eliminate the disadvantages of the tribe.
As soon as he heard that Woima Kashad was back, the leader in his prime was overjoyed.
However, only one person returns, and one hell of bad news.
"What? The Varangians are attacking?!"
"Head, that's what he said." The messenger, who was kneeling on one knee, reported.
"Where is that guy?"
"He's right outside the cabin."
"Let him in!"
Sitting on a wooden chair made of brown bear skin (the same bear that killed his father), Mechasta tried his best to remain worried, but his heart was beating like a drum.
Feeling that it was a disgrace to his mission, Voyma Kashad knelt down on the ground of the semi-underground wooden house with a bang as soon as he entered, crying hoarsely about his past experiences.
Mechasta couldn't hear clearly at all. He suddenly shouted: "Calm down first! Tell me, where are the others?"
"Them! They are all dead!" Woima Kashad knelt straight, showing his face washed by tears.
To be honest, Mechasta has never seen such a miserable expression among his men.
However, his words were really unconvincing. Not only Mechasta, but also all the tribesmen present felt that the matter must be very complicated.
Voyma Kashad first tried his best to remain calm and described his successful past, and then complained hoarsely about everything the Russians had done.
"Wait? The Rus' people? Who are they? Are they the Varangians? I thought you had successfully connected with those people in the distant mountains to the west and further to the west. How did you encounter the Rus' people?"
Mechasta here just can't distinguish the relationship between the Rus and the Varyags, but he knows that there is a Balmok tribe in the far west (the Norwegians in Narvik Port). The locals own ore and know better. Smelting iron. He hoped that the expedition he sent would either attack the deer herders to plunder their supplies, or find the Balmok tribe and exchange their leather for some iron.
Voyma Kashad said angrily: "The Rus are the Varyags! They are exactly the same. They attacked our old enemy a few days ago, those guys who caught salmon. The salmon guys are already dead. I think Until they capture the remaining women, and then..."
"Then what?" Mechasta stretched his head and asked with wide eyes.
"Those women were humiliated in reality and then all were killed."
From the look in Voyma Kashad's eyes, Mechasta could see no doubt that he was lying. This subordinate of his had obviously encountered too many terrible things, and he was completely frightened.
Mechasta was still a little skeptical: "Okay, I believe you, those Rus are Varyags. But since they are Varyags, why do they kill the prisoners? Don't they want women?"
Although Voyma Kashad felt that his lies were logically untenable, because everyone had learned that the Varyags' attacks on their southern friends had always been to plunder treasures and capture people as slaves.
But the Russians are absolutely greedy, and they will expand their victory.
Woima Kashad's attitude was extremely determined: "Chief! They are a group of crazy enemies! Now that all the Salmon Guys are dead, the next target is us, followed by our friends in the southeast. Maybe we should give up The past disputes, because the target of the Ross people is all of us Kevin people."
"You..." Mechasta trembled all over. Because his men's words were too bizarre, he felt more and more that something was wrong.
At this time, a man standing in the wooden house said: "Chief, what he said is so amazing. Varyag people? At least in my more than 20 years of life, I have never seen a Varyag person."
Someone else echoed: "Yes! Is Voyma Kashad making excuses for the failed expedition? That's fifty brothers! Our tribe lost fifty men!"
When he thought of this, Mechasta suddenly thought that the task he assigned to Voyma Kashad was a complete failure.
Not only did the risky move he approved fail, but the tribe's combat effectiveness was also greatly weakened. Because the entire tribe now has less than 150 men who can be armed to fight. Even if some young women are mobilized, how many will there be in the end?
Putting aside the concerns of the Varyag people in advance, Mechasta thought that his tribe had been severely weakened. In anger, he raised his big foot and knocked down Voyma Kashad who reported the news.
"Damn it, I can't just listen to your words. Varangians? I don't care whether they are real or not, but you came back alone, and the remaining fifty brothers were simply killed by the Varangians?"
Woima Kashad, who staggered up, roared in grief and anger. The roar was like a wolf's howl. Then he stood up, as if he had no intention of estimating his superiority or inferiority, although the entire tribe did not have such a clear concept of superiority and inferiority.
He rushed over, and when Mechasta was defenseless, he grabbed his neck and shouted against the opponent's tattooed head: "We have no time! The Russian army armed with iron is already on the way to attack. . I insist until now just to report the news to the tribe! My expedition team was completely wiped out, I can die! But, our tribe is going to be doomed! But you are still hesitating here?!"
Mechasta was taken aback. He had never been so offended before.
Voyma Kashad was quickly pulled away, kicked hard several times, and then pushed to the ground.
"Chief, this trash must die! Fifty of our brothers have died, and someone must be responsible."
"No!" Mechasta flatly refused, "Now, I am willing to believe that what he said is true. I advise you to believe it too."
The suppressed Woima Kashad was very grateful. Although his face was on the ground, he still shouted: "We must be ready! Send someone to tell our friends! I heard the leader of Ross say with my own ears , we must eliminate all the Covin people. Only if we unite can we defeat the enemy."
"Is this true?!" Mechasta stepped forward and asked.
"It's absolutely true. We must take precautions! Please believe me. If the enemy still doesn't show up after a few days, you can naturally kill me. I will never run away!"
Mechasta nodded and motioned to his men to release the guy.
The sudden vicious situation shocked the entire gray squirrel tribe.
After learning of the death of a family member who participated in the expedition, their relatives cried and cried. The father and brother of the deceased decided to take up arms for revenge.
All the tribal men chose to stand up and defend their homes.
Everyone is never afraid of fighting, because in daily life, the battle with the Salmon Lord tribe never stops. What's more, many times, tribal hunters also conflict with tribes upstream of the river.
The various Kewen tribes are never monolithic. Only when a powerful enemy invades can they possibly unite.
Because of this bad news, the winter life of the gray squirrel tribe was completely disrupted. Originally, everyone could feel a lot more relaxed during winter, because hostile tribes would never be stupid enough to cause trouble in such a season.
The Varyags are the legendary enemies. They came with the purpose of killing all the Kovin people.
Although everyone didn't know why they had provoked the distant Varyag people just by catching squirrels quietly in the forest. After all, the war is coming, and all the members of the Gray Squirrel tribe unite under the iron sword of their young leader.
At this critical moment, the tribesmen can only hope that their heroes will bring victory.
It cannot be denied, because Woima Kashad's crazy escape behavior actually gave the Gray Squirrel tribe a very critical time to prepare for the battle.
The leader Mechasta thought for a moment that since the Rus, that is, the Varyags, their purpose is to destroy their own tribe, for this purpose the enemy will attack at all costs. The enemy will definitely attack the tribe's wall frantically. It is difficult to defeat the enemy with only one's own strength, so the tribe relies heavily on the protection of the wall.
Secondly, the tribe needs reinforcements!
Just to the southeast of the Gray Squirrel tribe, there are five Kovin villages, each with a population of only five to six hundred people.
The reality is this. The total population of local people living in Finland is only 50,000 or 60,000.
The total population of the Kovin people is less than 5,000. That's it. Their population is still highly dispersed. But this is not surprising, because the Covin people are a relatively young ethnic group. They are a group of people who broke away from the Finns in the south. They were heading north in pursuit of furs. Their motivations for migrating were completely consistent with the reasons why the Rus people on the other side of the bay moved north to settle. Moreover, their behavior in migrating north to actively attack the deer herders was also surprisingly consistent.
Mechasta sent some messengers to order them to walk on reindeer sleighs as quickly as possible along the frozen river to the allied tribes.
Yes, the gray squirrel tribe raised more than fifty reindeer, all of which were taken from deer herders in previous years and further bred to cultivate the population.
Mechasta believed that the tribes in the southeast would send reinforcements, but he could not pin his victory entirely on the reinforcements. Moreover, Mechasta could rationally believe that he would be rescued, but the human heart was hard to torture, so maybe When those guys learn that the Varyags are attacking, they will flee with their tribe first. After all, the world is very big, and the fleeing tribesmen are just trying to open up new settlements.
Can't the gray squirrel tribe also escape?
Mechasta chose to refuse, and decided to fight the enemy to the death with his angry tribesmen.
Because what Mechasta advertised was that the expedition team was killed by the Varangians, and almost all the small families in the tribe had members die. This was the hatred of the entire tribe, and no one was willing to flee.
After all, Voyma Kashad was the leader of the expedition, and he must bear some responsibility for the fact that the entire army was annihilated. Instead of killing him, Mechasta imprisoned him in a cellar.
Even so, Woima Kashad was satisfied, the war alarm finally turned into war mobilization, and the gray squirrel tribe took action! Even large numbers of boys were organized.
The gray squirrel tribe began to strengthen the walls of their villages. Due to the special climate, they had their own magical tricks.
Underneath the snow is hard frozen soil, so relying on a stone shovel for digging would be too harmful to the tools. Also because the limited iron tools are precious lumps, it consumes iron power to dig the soil, which is something that no one is willing to do.
They at least dug through the snow and piled it in front of a wall made of tribal stone and wood. There is more and more snow, so if there is a side profile, the tribe's wall has become an outward right triangle.
The snow was accumulated and compacted deliberately. According to Mechasta's requirements, the solid snow must be able to ensure that a man can slide from the top to the bottom of the wall without being pressed into a depression.
With everyone mobilized, the job became easy.
The wall was smoothed. This was Mechasta's idea. In order to make it smoother, he also organized the women of the tribe to boil snow water. The snow water was boiled into warm water and poured directly on the snow pile outside the wall. In just two days, the gray squirrel apparently built himself an ice castle!
The leader sent people to conduct experiments, and the results proved that no one can climb this ice slide by relying on their own abilities, even with a dagger.
The walls were like this, and the two gates of the "Ice Castle" were fortified. If the enemy attacks the gate, the Gray Squirrel tribe has prepared a large number of wooden blocks and stones, and they can block the city gate in a short time. In theory, the city gate is stronger.
With such a defense, it is only a passive defense.
Mechasta sent people with a batch of wolf dung and charcoal blocks to guard the low fence at the border of the territory.
The sentry has only one purpose: to light up the smoke when a man wearing a metal helmet appears. Mechasta also learned this warning trick from his friends in the south. When the Finns saw the Varyag ships docking, the sentries lit up the smoke, and the settlements in the interior hurriedly evacuated to avoid disaster.
Although he had never tried it before, Mechasta decided to try this trick.
It was a certainty that the Varangian army would come.
