The gravel field in front of Gould's mansion was already crowded with people. Those Gray Squirrel tribesmen who had to immigrate again. Under the leadership of leader Mechasta, they brought all kinds of soft goods accumulated in more than two months. Tie it up with hemp rope and hang it on your shoulders, or put it at your feet.
After all, they were Kovin people. When Rurik saw them gathering again, he could see clearly the "kwen" they were holding in their hands at first glance, which is the origin of their name. A wooden spear was installed under the head of a spear. A short spear with a small hook that served as a marching staff. It's just that this short spear has completely changed its appearance. Its spearhead is made of tempered wrought iron, making it extremely sharp and strong.
Mechasta had already arrived with his tribe, but this guy’s eyes had been fixed on the Russian ship.
Beside the four trestles at the pier, four large cargo ships were tied by cables. They were the largest ships currently owned by the Russian people. Their stocky size really shocked the people of Covin. There are also a group of traditional long boats with low sides. The fact that they do not have a bow with a relief of a scary monster proves that they are essentially large fishing boats.
This time, the total number of people who will go to the north is 500.
No! It's not just that, either. Because of the success of "Operation Northern Hunting", the great leader Otto announced the results of the exploration to all the tribesmen. The so-called hydrological conditions in the depths of the bay that have been inaccessible for many years have been explored, and it was finally confirmed that fishermen can move forward freely. Discover the local fishery resources.
Since the big leader said this, of course the fishermen had to respond. The most critical reason is the lack of development in the northern waters. Everyone believes that the fishing boats that arrive first will be able to catch a large amount of fish.
Now Rurik is here.
Mechasta led the crowd to kneel down on one knee in a humble manner, and all revealed their stubbornness that they had fought to the death, as a courtesy to meet their noble, kind and contractual master Rurik.
Rurik and his young warriors appeared at the bustling dock, and the Covin people waiting to board the ship glanced here.
Mechasta walked over with cautious steps. He covered his heart with his right hand and bowed slightly: "Master, you are finally here."
Rurik looked carefully at the man's expression, and then at the Kovin people.
"Are you all very worried about this voyage?"
"This..." Mechasta hesitated for a moment: "To be honest, we... we have never been in a boat larger than a canoe."
"you……"
Rurik felt it was very ridiculous, and then thought about it again, and realized that what this person said was probably not nonsense.
He continued to ask: "Are your people ready? Have your luggage been packed?"
In fact, if there was more time, Mechasta would like to bring more things. For example, prepay some wood parts in advance so that you can quickly build a house after landing.
"We have prepared everything, such as some food. We also dismantled all the tents, including the supporting wooden frames. When we arrived at the destination, we were able to set up the tent quickly and no one would catch a cold."
The so-called tent is a closed shed made of leather, linen and wooden strips. It can only be used as a camping tool.
"We still need to build the wooden house as soon as possible." Rurik sighed slightly, "Don't worry, I brought some people this time, and they will help you build the house."
"Oh, that's great."
Mechasta did not have many enthusiastic expectations for the future. He only hoped that his wandering tribe could truly settle down.
Rurik looked at the crowd again and talked with Gould's two sons.
Then, he found Rumia who had finished building the altar and ordered the sacrifice to begin.
The whistling sound of the warm south wind cannot cover up the beating of the leather drum. What is very interesting is that the shaman of the gray squirrel tribe is always dressed as a raptor, that is, an owl, beating the leather drum and doing strange things in front of the small stone altar. dance.
Priest Rumia and the girl Lumi from the Salmon Lord tribe were doing the ritual of the Russian Priest Sea.
It can be said that this sacrifice is really a mixture, lacking in seriousness, but somewhat interesting.
The gray squirrel tribe worships owls. The simple reason is that owls are good at catching squirrels. The female shaman hopes to bring the power of owls to the tribe again, so that the tribe's life can quickly return to normal when they arrive in a new place, and they can quickly make up for their lost time in catching squirrels. OK pick it up.
Rumia's job is very simple. She is praying to God to calm the sea so that the fleet heading north can be safe.
Because of this mixed ceremony, the Russians let go of their tension, and all the Gray Squirrel tribesmen were willing to believe that they would not encounter disaster when taking a big ship for the first time in their lives.
The Kovin people are in awe of the sea. They are amazed by the vastness of the sea, and some are afraid of the Varyag people who come across the sea.
Now, there is nothing to be afraid of.
The wooden planks for boarding the ship were erected and tied with thick hemp ropes. The large and sturdy cargo ship was only rolling slightly beside the pier.
Compared with other ships, cargo ships are the most stable, but their speed is not very fast at any time.
Cargo ships have a huge load capacity. The maximum load capacity of the Gould family's large cargo ship can reach five tons. It is easy to cram fifty people of various ages into one ship.
Either anxious, excited, or not thinking about anything, the tribesmen started boarding the ship with their softness, and then found a corner to sit down quietly.
Since there are many children and more delicate women in the gray squirrel tribe, the cargo ship can accommodate them in three days, and it can also pile up some soft things. In the end, such a cargo ship looks like a "smuggler ship" .
Rurik's mercenaries, subordinates, blacksmiths and young blacksmiths, as well as the hundred Rus warriors, all boarded the reserved longship.
Getting on stage requires a process, so Rurik decided to stand on the pier at the pier before the last person got on the boat.
More and more tribal people gathered on the coast, and they came to see off the new fleet.
After all, his son will lead an expedition in person, and at the age of only eight, he will complete this feat.
Niya hoped that her son would grow up quickly and become a brave warrior and wise man.
Her son was about to go on an expedition. Although all the instructions had been given, she saw that her son was still standing on the trestle. She left the cheering people and hurried onto the trestle. She held Rurik in her arms and kissed her hard. Touch my son's forehead.
Rurik understood this woman's reluctance to leave.
"Mom, don't worry about us."
"Yes! I'm not worried."
"You are still worried." Rurik felt that his hair became wet, which was his mother's tears.
Niya's wrinkled and aging face was soaked with tears. At this scene, Rurik felt that she was worried that she was going to the battlefield and that something bad would happen. Or was it because Otto was not here and Otto was not the commander of the operation that she felt that this trip was full of danger?
"That's it." Rurik said seriously, gently pushing his mother with both hands.
Niya obviously noticed something strange. She quickly let go of her hand and looked at her resolute son in surprise.
She sighed softly: "I have said everything that needs to be said." Then, she raised her head suddenly and shouted seriously with a crying tone: "Kawei! Take care of your brother. Carlotta, Ella, take care of Your men. All Rus, you must obey your war chiefs. All Corvans, you must obey your masters!”
Niya is the wife of the big leader, and her words carry a lot of weight at least among all the tribal women. Because of this reason, those Rus warriors who took orders from Rurik regarded Niya's orders as Otto's fate.
Of course they will obey any decision of Rurik, not only because Rurik is the commander, but also because of this little commander, he has always been generous in remuneration! For this reason, Rurik promised everyone that each person would receive ten silver coins per month during the operation!
(Due to the inflation caused by the influx of huge amounts of silver coins, the commission price of employees within the tribe is highly higher than the selling price of their fishermen’s catch, and the commission has also been passively increased a lot.)
Finally, Rurik became the last person stranded on the shore.
He pushed Niya away and said with a smile: "Don't worry about anything. The destination is less than two days' flight from our Roseburg. When we go there, we still need a steady stream of supplies from the tribe. Mom, when I The construction there is pretty good, but I invite you to take a look. Oh, by the way, and dad on his way back, you all should go and see my masterpiece."
Niya finally smiled happily: "Okay, I will."
Rurik jumped onto the plank, then grabbed Kawi's strong arm and boarded the ship.
According to tradition, the ship Rurik was on was the flagship, but this long ship looked too ordinary without the gorgeous bow wood carving.
"Damn it, this boat is not worthy of my status!"
Rurik muttered secretly, and the ship, assisted by the wind, began to leave the port.
He looked at the waving tribesmen on the shore, especially at his mother who was crying and waving her hands, and subconsciously drew out his dagger. The sun shone on the dagger, reflecting a strong flash, and his flagship was also at the forefront of the entire team. All the ships followed the flagship, followed Rurik and his sword, and left the fjord one after another.
"The great expedition finally begins." Rurik sighed.
Kawei, who was walking not far beside him, asked: "Are you sure? We really don't use paddles, we only rely on wind power?"
"Isn't it possible?"
"This... I'm just a little wrong."
Rurik shrugged, stood up, and pointed with his little finger at the four stocky cargo ships with larger sails behind him: "What do you think of them?"
"Cargo ship, what happened?"
"They don't have oars." Rurik said excitedly.
Kawei didn't take it seriously: "Cargo ships also have oars, otherwise what should we do when there is no wind?"
"It's not mainly about paddling. In my opinion, we don't need oars at all. We just rely on the wind."
Suddenly, Kawei was able to convince Rurik that this was not a random statement made on a whim. He should be serious.
"You really decided that?"
"Otherwise?" Rurik sighed, "I think I should have my own ship. It should not be our traditional leading warship, but like those cargo ships, wide and sturdy. We can even make the cargo ship into a The bigger it is, the more cargo can be transported.”
"Did you really decide like this?" Kawei asked cautiously.
"Yes. But not now, just wait and see. One day, I will own a bigger ship." After saying that, Rurik sat down happily, his heart was beating, just because I decided to start building ships.
To be honest, Rurik didn't have much praise for the dragon-headed warships of the tribe.
It had no deck, its keel was an oak, its mast had only one side, and its main propulsion was all-crew oars.
The biggest problem with paddle boats is that its purely human propulsion method limits its development prospects. Because in order to propel larger ships forward, more oarsmen must be placed on the rowing boats. In this regard, the ancient Romans did the best. Those large so-called battleships required hundreds of slaves to sit neatly on the bottom of the ship, and all of them rowed in the same rhythm.
Its upper level is filled with a large number of Roman infantry. There are actually three types of combat methods in naval battles: various types of torsion slingshot shooting, bow collision and angle attack, and soldiers jumping into gangs to fight.
What determines the victory of naval battles is often relying on gang-hopping fighting. Naval battles are more like a continuation of land battles.
Similar tactics can be formed naturally. In addition to the "black technology" such as the torque slingshot, the Russian warships have common routines such as collision and gang jumping. Although there is no torque slingshot, Rurik feels that his steel-armed crossbow is already helping Arik's fleet to sweep the sea on its expedition south.
Besides, Rurik actually doesn't think the torque slingshot is a very cost-effective weapon.
The era of rowing boats is coming to an end, and the future should be dominated by large cargo ships!
It is running slowly now, but its belly holds a lot of things! However, with the development of mines, the tribe will definitely need a lot of professional cargo ships.
If the speed is slow, then increase the mast and increase the sail area, then improve the ship structure and install a bulbous bow. Make it bigger, equip it with more sails, and still worry about running slowly?
As soon as this idea came up, Rurik suddenly realized it!
"Wait a minute! If I really do this, wouldn't it mean... that I would build a Caravel ship? If I succeed, that would be a really good thing."
In fact, the large cargo ships of the Vikings were the source of the main ships of later countries.
When a cargo ship is equipped with a deck and poop, it is called a Cork ship. A Cork ship equipped with a Near Eastern gaff sail is a Caravel ship. The caravel is larger and each mast is equipped with multiple weighing sails, which is the carrack. Then came the pinnacle Galenic galleons, and then the Galenic ships with iron keels.
Everything changed when steam boilers and huge paddle wheels were installed on ships.
Those large cargo ships carrying a large number of Corvin people were the pioneers of the Age of Sail!
Compared with other Russian ships, the cargo ship is undoubtedly the most stable, but there are still waves. The slightly strong south wind pushes the ship forward quickly, and the ships are rising and falling with the waves.
However, even with this little ups and downs, those who sailed the sea for the first time were very excited. The excitement and hesitation were all in the past tense. Now, many people simply lie on the side of the boat, eating their morning meals because of the bad seasickness. The half-digested food was thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
Rurik saw their dire situation, but he had adapted to sailing, and now he ignored the bumps. He could no longer feel the pain of a seasick person.
But for the siblings Tyravis and Saipolava sitting on the flagship, sailing became an ordeal. They seemed to think that the Kewen people made the right choice to avoid the sea. If they set foot on the sea rashly, they would really encounter a warning from the God of the Sea.
Perhaps, the sea only protects the Varangians who can resist the waves.
At least Saipolava could still have Sister Carlotta to help take care of her. After vomiting, Taravis could only continue to sit drowsily, looking forward to landing soon.
Along this way, the Russian fleet mainly relied on sails to move forward. Logically speaking, they could obviously use oars. The wide oars were stowed away, and the light long boats had to accommodate the cargo ships carrying a large number of people and supplies.
