Otto's big hand pressed Rurik's shoulder, hinting him to calm down.
Otto said deliberately: "Is Rurik really young? Or do you think that just because you are young, you are not worthy of being a warrior?"
"Yes!" Arik replied decisively, "It will be at least five years before my brother can truly become a warrior."
"Forget it. Arik, you are still too reckless. Those Corvins, those guarding the fortress, include eight-year-old boys and even girls. They participate in the battle, and the arrows they shoot are just as dangerous. "
"But you can't expect eight-year-old Rurik to join the team attacking the Gotlanders. We have to fight against strong enemies, and that's not where Rurik should go."
"Even so, I still want to give him this position." Otto ignored Arik's doubts, and even ignored the doubts of others.
Otto gave a very simple explanation: "Do you think that having a job means you have to go to war? Rurik is the symbolic war chief of our tribe. He has been to the battlefield and participated in the Glacier War of our Rus. Arik , although your brother is only eight years old, his courage is no worse than yours. This time, Rurik will lead a group of people to the north after the ice and snow melt.
We Rus' people are going to build a new settlement in the north, that is Ironburg. There is an unknown world there, there may be dangerous aliens, and there must be a lot of dangerous beasts.
Rurik would be responsible for building that settlement and would also have the authority to lead some warriors to ward off possible dangers.
As for you..."
At this point, Otto paused deliberately.
Realizing that the atmosphere was very delicate, Arik straightened his back instantly: "How am I doing?"
"You! You also want to become a war chief."
"Ah?!" Arik was so surprised that he almost stood up.
Otto remained calm: "I understand. For a month, you have been lobbying me for the benefits of attacking the Gotlanders. I can't convince you, I can only agree. Since young people have a fighting spirit, this Very good. I give you permission to lead people to attack the Gotlanders."
"Dad! You finally agreed?!" Aric excitedly called Otto his father.
Otto still remained calm: "I am your father, and even more so your leader. You can go to war, but you must accept my control. I can only give you 200 soldiers, and you can't even hope to get more troops."
"This..." The fire that suddenly broke out in Arik's heart was extinguished by a bucket of water. "Two hundred people, I...what can I do?!"
Looking at his aggrieved face, Otto's seriousness did not change at all: "What else do you want? If I give you two hundred people, you won't be able to do anything big?"
"But, I want to land on that damn island to destroy those evil people. Big leader, we still have something to do to avenge the Ostara people."
"No! We are not the leader of the alliance yet, and we do not have the authority to do what the Melalen people should do."
Otto's words were a bit subtle, and Arik suddenly realized that the leader's ambition was never a joke.
"Then, what do you want me to do?" Aric asked, "I can't loot the Gotlanders' fishing boats at sea?!"
"Hey! That's what I really mean." At this point, Otto's tense face finally showed joy, and he patted his son Rurik on the shoulder as if he was playing with a toy. "Aric, your ideas coincide with your brother's. I also ask you to listen to Rurik's opinion."
"His opinion? OK."
Arik sat down slowly, folded his hands and waited for his little brother's wise words.
After Rurik had been holding back this for a long time, he finally had the opportunity to explain it to the second person besides his father.
"My brother, war is inevitable, but we must control the intensity of the war. I am also opposed to your opportunity to dispatch a thousand men, but I very much support you taking some actions."
Rurik spoke in a childlike voice, his face as serious as his biological father's, but it sounded like he had said something, but at the same time he said nothing.
"You...really support it." Aric asked.
"Yes, I support your attack on the Gotlander fishing boats, because although these are not in your plan, they are exactly in my plan."
"Huh? It's very interesting. Go on."
"Aric, actually, your main task is to build our Tombstone Island settlement this year as a war chief. You have to take your brothers and slaves to build it there. One day, when we become strong enough , we must launch a full-scale attack and eventually take away the wealth of the entire Gotland Island.
Our huge fleet cannot all set off from Fort Ross and launch an attack after a long voyage, as that would make the soldiers too tired.
We badly need Tombstone Island as a military staging point. I heard it's only a two-day flight from there to Gotland? "
"That's right," Aric asserted.
"Oh, that's great. Tombstone Island is our army gathering point. We are going to build it and turn it into a fortress. So if the Gotlanders launch a counterattack, they will never be able to break through our fortress. In the end, we As a result of gathering the troops in the port of the fortress, in the end only we can choose when to go out, and the enemy can only be passively beaten."
The younger brother's words were very encouraging, and he unfolded a very wonderful picture of the future.
Although he knew that it could not be realized quickly, Arik saw hope, and the war fever that lacked a bottom line in his heart finally restrained.
Arik asked about another important matter: "My brother, you said those ships. Do you think it is necessary to attack the ships? Do you think it is necessary to do the work of pirates? In fact, real warriors are not Don’t like doing this kind of thing.”
pirate? Aren't you, and me, all pirates?
By now, Rurik, who had experienced real battles, no longer felt that the word "pirate" was so bad. In such an environment, any fishermen are equivalent to pirates. The reason why they did not choose to plunder first is simply because they are worried about being counterattacked by the other party. He felt that the fishermen were generally harmonious, just because each fishermen's boats in the huge sea area had reached a crisis balance with each other.
Fishermen are all brave and ruthless people.
Rurik was not in the mood to discuss the topic of "are pirates right?", it was meaningless.
"My purpose is simple. I hope your ship can actively attack the enemy's fishing boat. You can kill all the enemies and take away all the useful things on the ship, but..."
"Only what?" Aric asked.
"You have to bring me the boat."
"Ah?! This..." Arik was very surprised: "According to tradition, those ships are simply destroyed. I will not tow enemy ships without special requirements. What? You actually need those ships?"
"Yes!" Rurik finally stood up to show his determination. He walked straight towards Arik, standing as straight as a red pine: "I'm not interested in how much gold, how much leather, or what good things you grab. I just want those ships. Now, in my eyes, nothing is better than a ship." important."
Arik was suddenly amused by his little brother's words, and the others also snickered.
The serious atmosphere was a little more joyful, and the reason for the joy was very simple.
As a Russian, there is no one who does not love boats.
Rurik looked at the happy people. He moved his delicate little face over and continued to stare at Arik's face that had begun to grow a beard: "I just want those ships. Your people will drag the ships back to me."
"As long as this is the case, are you satisfied?"
Hearing this, Rurik had to think more.
He felt that his brother wanted to ask for some reward. In fact, Arik was willing to do something for his little brother.
Arik really loves his younger brother. Just like when Rurik was weaker, Arik was always willing to hug him when sleeping. Being able to hug his brother made Arik feel a little warm and proud.
After the battle, it took a little effort to pull back the enemy ship that was not very useful. This was done as soon as it was done.
Rurik didn't know what his brother was thinking. He knew that brothers wanted to settle accounts. He had already planned a remuneration standard, so he said: "I can't let you and your people do things in vain. You go to fight and take the captured weapons." If any enemy ship is towed back, I will give you two hundred silver coins for each ship."
"Ah? So many?!" Rurik's words were completely beyond Arik's expectations, and also beyond the expectations of many elders.
"What? A lot? Arik, as long as you can do this, it will be a great contribution to our tribe. Let me say it again, no matter how big or small the enemy ship is, it will be at this price, two hundred silver coins, you and your warriors share it , it’s up to you how to share it!”
To put it bluntly, Arik hopes that the tribe will launch a huge offensive. Deep down in his heart, he mainly wants to make a fortune from the war and avenge all kinds of people. It is mainly an excuse for war.
A large amount of silver coins poured into Fort Ross, causing inflation in the tribe in an instant. Rurik frantically searched for silver coins and hoarded them, or used various means to control the priests' money. In addition to deliberately amassing money to build a "treasury", he was also objectively contributing to stabilizing prices.
Even so, the lives of the Russian people have also undergone tremendous changes. The prices of many things have increased somewhat, especially the shipbuilding market that has become hot. The prices of new ships have been rising steadily. Nowadays, it is not impossible to buy a new and larger fishing boat with two hundred silver coins.
Price levels are changing so fast that both Russians and foreigners have to adapt, and those who are more conservative are becoming a little uncomfortable.
Can you earn two hundred silver coins by towing a fishing boat? etc? Why does it have to be two hundred?
After thinking about it for a moment, Aric felt that he understood his brother's intention. The co-authorship bounty is one silver coin per warrior? If this is the case, Arik believes that everyone will definitely have the motivation to attack fishing boats everywhere, not only to drag the empty boats back.
As long as he can make money, there is no need to fight against the enemy, although he feels that it is not appropriate to make money from his brother.
Arik deliberately tried to show his timidity and said, "I don't need so much money. You are my brother after all."
"That won't work! I'm a stickler for contracts. You and I are brothers, so we have to make a contract even so. This is my attitude, and I won't change it."
"Since you insist, I agree." With these words, Arik was ecstatic in his heart.
Rurik did not finish his words. He added: "I hope that our tribe will not lose a single warrior in future battles."
Arik said in surprise: "This... may be a bit difficult. The enemy is not weak. They will fight to the death to protect their catch. We..."
"Just listen to me. I will provide you with a special batch of weapons."
"What kind of weapon is that?"
"That's my steel-arm crossbow!" Rurik said the phrase "stellakrosebage", but the crossbow was still very unfamiliar to Arik.
"You mean the crossbow? I've seen your test, and it seems pretty good, but..."
"Do you think its performance in actual combat is questionable?" Rurik shook his head. "It is really excellent. The arrows it fires can penetrate the enemy's wooden shields, and it must also be able to penetrate the hull. The arrows hit the enemy. , can cause death. Compared with a bow, my crossbow can be used well without any training. Use the crossbow to kill those people and seize their ships. This is what I designed for Gotland. New tactics for people.”
These words sounded very dreamy, and Arik also believed that seeing is believing, so he remained hesitant for the time being. Otto, who never wanted to shut up, now stood up for Rurik and praised the power of the crossbow.
Rurik expected his brother to question.
"The mercenary captain under me participated in the battle in the East and made great achievements. At least twenty mercenaries are worthy of our trust now. Arik, maybe you don't know that our big leader has appointed these twenty people to be Warriors of our tribe.”
"There is such a thing?!" Arik had never heard of it. "Are they reliable?"
"Three hundred people fought against eight hundred people, and they were never timid! They were trained by me to be masters of using crossbows. They shot many enemies. They can be trusted! So they will join your team as warriors of our tribe. .”
"Big Chief, is that true?" Arik asked Otto suspiciously and got a very positive answer.
Yes, Otto kept his promise. When the army was still on the frozen Oulu River and triumphant, he made a promise to give the mercenaries who had made military exploits the status of "Russian". Back in Roseburg, Otto kept his promise, but the joining ceremony was too low-key.
It was here that Rurik announced his mercenary captain and a group of mercenaries to form a team of twenty people to join Arik's crusade. Rurik also mentioned a new naval battle routine, which is not to prioritize the use of collision and gang-hopping fighting tactics.
The arrows of the Gotlanders are not strong, even worse than those of the Finns and Corvins. The new tactic is for the ship to quickly approach with the tactical advantage of Ross's oar, and suddenly fire a crossbow at the enemy ship to kill the enemy. After all, the enemy ship does not have a deck.
What Rurik wanted was a ship. His bottom line was that the ship would not leak. In this way, the hull would be riddled with holes from crossbow arrows, and even the mast would be broken. Such a terrible ship would still be worth two hundred silver coins.
Rurik is actually also planning another thing, which is to let Arik lead his brothers to fight and use actual combat to test whether the crossbow he developed is really as powerful a weapon in naval warfare as imagined.
Rurik clearly had many plans. In order to use the crossbow tactics, he was determined to spend a lot of money, as many as two thousand arrows!
Of course, some of these arrows participated in the battle against the Kovin people. Among the thousand recovered after the war, their arrow clusters were relatively intact, most of the arrow shafts needed to be redone, and almost all the feathers on the tails fell off. .
On the other hand, these heavier crossbows do not need tail feathers at all when used at short distances. It is even said that a piece of wood was deliberately cut with a knife, and the end was shaved into a slightly tail-like shape, so that the arrow could most likely maintain a stable flight at a longer distance.
In the final analysis, Rurik's concept is that his crossbow is a tactical weapon used within fifty meters. Beyond this distance, the accuracy will decrease somewhat. The worst thing is actually the reduction in power caused by the loss of kinetic energy.
During the "Northern Hunting" period, Klavassen's blacksmith shop was not idle at all. He must continue to fulfill Rurik's production requirements for crossbows, and at the same time, he must also complete the steel sword needs of tribal warriors. Although he had a lot of wealth, Klavason became busier. He had to start squeezing the labor force of the eight-year-old Kamne, forcing such children to forge iron and operate pokers. There is also a pregnant daughter-in-law. She has to produce glassware and make wine even if she wants to rest peacefully.
Clavason produced many new crossbow arrows, and these arrows were full of imagination.
Because their arrow clusters are glass arrow clusters formed by condensation of liquid glass cast in bronze molds.
According to this old blacksmith's understanding, because the crossbow was too strong, the excellent steel arrow clusters were always fine, and the arrow shafts had to be replaced with new ones almost after one use. Youdao is the unchanging arrow cluster and the flowing water of the arrow shaft. Based on this principle, why should we stick to iron arrow clusters?
A large number of crossbow arrows with glass arrow clusters are still mass-produced. Finally, they are cut into slightly straight wooden sticks and tied with pine gum and hemp rope. In this way, a low-quality disposable crossbow arrow that does not even have tail feathers is completed. Not to mention, it is really inferior, but its production capacity is very high.
After all, it was a battle, and all Rurik gave his brother were iron-clustered arrows. The question of battle was vague, and that meant abusing his own warriors. Rurik did not dare to do that kind of thing. Finally, those low-quality crossbow arrows with glass arrow clusters must be useful for hunting, but there is no chance of secondary use.
It doesn't matter! Rurik even thought that he could equip his men with more glass crossbows. After all, if the team only wore leather and charged intensively, glass crossbows could kill the enemy, so there was no need to use expensive iron cluster arrows.
It seems that by now, the arrangements for this year's war have come to an end.
After all, today's meeting is not just about how to fight a war.
Otto saw that the headache that had caused him finally ended with Arik's compromise and happiness.
Otto made two other plans.
First, as the leader, Otto will lead the fleet in the tribe's traditional spring tribute voyage to Novgorod.
Secondly, Rurik needs to lead a group of tribesmen and all the surrendered Kovin people of the Gray Squirrel tribe to the mine in the north to establish a permanent settlement. It is best to quickly utilize the rich local iron ore resources to smelt iron.
The meeting ended. Immediately after the meeting, Arik met the mercenary captain Yevro and saw with his own eyes the so-called crossbow usage routine invented by Rurik.
Rurik organized all his mercenaries, as well as some soldiers who had participated in the decisive battle on the glacier. Rurik was surprised to have organized as many as seventy crossbowmen. Being able to use so many crossbows was a miracle in itself.
Such a battle not only shocked Otto, but also made all the onlookers cheer. I'm afraid, this is the true state of Rurik's so-called "Ross Arrow Array"!
They lined up in two rows, and they pulled the triggers at the same time. The wooden plank erected fifty steps away was instantly riddled with iron cluster arrows, and many arrows penetrated the wooden plank directly. Of course, upon closer inspection, this wooden board is also made of specially selected materials, and it is inherently fragile. It was so smashed that sawdust flew everywhere and was riddled with holes. It was really a good show.
The onlookers were shocked, especially the craftsmen who were professional shipbuilders. When they saw such a scene, they had to think of something very realistic: "We must use thicker, preferably oak boards that have been dried for many years. Use it to build a big ship. Even if the materials are hard to find, it is still better than being hit by a crossbow bolt and leaking."
The craftsmen subconsciously thought of the possibility of technology leakage. In order to ensure the sturdiness of the Ross ship and not ruin their own brand, they decided to improve the manufacturing process.
It cannot be said that their ideas are unfounded, but the fact is that around the Baltic Sea, throughout Europe, and even around the Mediterranean, there is no second European nation that knows how to forge and refine steel, and it lacks the imagination to use its elasticity to make powerful weapons.
With the strongest long-range weapons, Arik was full of hope for future plunder operations. In the hopes of countless people, everyone ushered in the thaw of the ice sea and ushered in the great sacrifice that the Russians were forced to postpone.
