Ailon Olava Castle, a Russian settlement, was built in the area of the later city of Kemi, Finland, or closer to the village of Kantola near Kemi.
The site itself is not of particular significance; what is really important is the continent's only chrome mining area, just five kilometers east of the settlement.
It must be said that the Russians did not build towns at the mouth of the river, but settled deep into the river. The reason for this choice is that they who are good at navigation must take into account the factors of the tide. Building a dock on the coastline may not be suitable for the current ship conditions. If the dock is built in the river, there will be no problem.
They have to take into account the serious erosion of piers and embankments caused by rising and falling tides. It's also the tide. Even if the entire Bay of Bothnia is frozen, tidal action is still pushing the seawater up. What results did it bring? Sea ice will break slightly due to tidal forces, and the broken gaps will quickly freeze again. Also because the ice itself expands, the tides intensify this expansion. Over time, the sea ice in some areas became thicker and thicker, eventually forming ice lumps several meters high and extending for long distances.
The heavy snowstorm lasted for more than ten days, and even in the next few days, the snowstorm basically stopped. The howling north wind was like the whisper of the devil, warning people living in thick wooden houses that going out would risk their lives.
No brave hunter dares to boast that he is fearless in heavy snowstorms. Of course there are people like this, who end up getting lost in the wind and snow, and when the snow melts, they become food for hungry brown bears who have ended their hibernation.
Gradually, it seems that the strong wind is no longer strong?
Rurik, who had nothing to do, had to stay in the chief's mansion these days and had no choice but to give to Mechasta, Saipolava, and even Yevlo. It didn't matter their age or interests, Rurik asked They instill knowledge that seems inscrutable and difficult to understand.
He was just telling stories to kill boredom, but it really refreshed the three of them's understanding of the world.
It’s enough to say that the world is a big ball, but also to say that there is no sea at the end of the world. A strong ship is put into the sea of the far north. It only needs to drift westward to discover a new world. What's there? There are huge golden grains, huge plant roots, small red fruits that are more exciting than onions, strong bison, and...
So, what is that new world called? Couldn't it be called Asgard?
"That is a place of miracles. Only if we really set foot there, miracles will become reality."
Rurik explained this, and Mechasta, who had only a minimal understanding of the scope of the world, couldn't help but ask: "Can the Russian ship really pass through the endless sea?"
"Of course not."
"So, how do we get there?"
"I am sending people to build a large ship. Only it has the ability to go to the land of miracles. And you, Mechasta, you will make an important contribution to the great ideals of us Russians."
Mechasta was a little confused, but he soon came to his senses. Rurik did give himself a task, which was to cut down trees.
Logging is not random. You need to select red pine or spruce with extremely straight trunks and the right thickness. The tool for cutting wood is not just an axe. A new tool will be made as soon as the wind and snow are over.
Heading to America? The original meaning of America is "a miracle". This word is pronounced "att mirakker" in the current Rus dialect of Norse.
The Norwegians and Danes, their longships had the ability to follow the currents of the North Atlantic, first drifting to Iceland and then to Green Island. Starting from Green Island, you can easily drift to Hudson Bay. It is very likely that you will come into contact with the indigenous people who speak Algonquian language. In fact, they did come into contact.
If these things come true, it would be too dreamy.
Rurik wanted to be more pragmatic. If the tribe continued to develop northward, they would not only come to the Arctic Ocean, the so-called "sea at the end of the world", but they should also be able to discover Murmansk, which will never freeze. It would be best if the Russians could form an alliance with the Norwegian residents of Narvik Port. Even if they could not form an alliance, the northernmost port of the Russians should be established in Murmansk.
This port is so nice.
As long as this port is developed, the Russians will have the ability to kill Britain, and it will almost be a theoretically feasible starting point for heading to the New World in the West.
The wind and snow finally stopped.
The world outside was silent, as if the whole of Elon Orava was frozen.
The thick wooden door was gently opened, and the cold air came down. Yevluo hurriedly closed the door again.
"Master, please change your clothes."
"Are you worried that I'm afraid of the cold? That's ridiculous." Rurik put the ferret hat on his head as he spoke.
His whole body is covered with white fur, coupled with his already fair face. As long as he doesn't deliberately expose his blond hair and hides in the snow, he will blend in with the silver world.
The wooden door was completely opened, and the heat accumulated in the room dissipated instantly. The outdoor sunshine gave great visual stimulation to the cave-dwelling people of the century. Rurik boldly walked out and squinted his eyes under the "scorching sun" in winter.
The sunlight was not soft at all, but the light was too dazzling. He wished he could put on sunglasses. Of course, the Russians already had the ability to make sunglasses by adding some ore to the molten glass.
No one can really happily complete pure hibernation at home. When the wind and snow stopped, people began to let go of their pent-up hearts outdoors.
Of course, they also have very practical needs. The chicken carries an ax to cut down wood and chop it into firewood to cope with the coldest days.
In fact, a heavy snowstorm caused the lowest nighttime temperature in Ellenborough to approach minus 20 degrees.
This was really an unexpected situation, and no one thought that a heavy snowstorm could last for half a month. If someone hadn't been carving wood to record the time, people would have forgotten the date of the Julian calendar.
As soon as the snowstorm passed, the temperature began to slowly warm up, but it was impossible to return to the days before the snowstorm.
Winter arrives in this way, and winter life begins immediately.
Those Kovin and Rus settlers had to obey the command of Rurik, who was essentially the most noble man. They obeyed his orders and accepted their respective jobs.
Some people are responsible for cleaning up the debris inside the fence, some are responsible for climbing on the roof and pushing the snow down, some are responsible for crushing the snow on the ground and leveling it, and some are responsible for cooking for the workers.
They spent a short day and more than 300 people clearing the most threatening snow on the roof. The children of the tribe also held hands, and were asked by Rurik to tread as neatly as possible to smooth the snow on the ground, and he was the leader.
Rurik was just putting on a show. His figure was not outstanding among the children of the Iron Squirrel tribe. When he warmed up, he took off his hat and revealed two beautiful golden ponytails. He walked around the wall, and all the laborers came to him.
At night, people who had worked all day desperately gnawed on the fish reserves. In order to obtain more energy, they had to gnaw on fish crazily. After all, fish is fish, and its caloric value is only one-third of that of oats of the same weight. Expecting that eating fish will enable you to perform high-intensity work is a mentally retarded behavior.
Rurik estimated that the most tired guys, who were working hard to prevent their houses from collapsing, might have consumed 4,000 calories today. To make up for this loss, four kilograms of pure salmon meat would have to be eaten.
"It seems that I am going to bring 70,000 pounds of wheat, but maybe I will bring too little."
They spent a day sorting out the housekeeping, and the next day, the door with thick wooden walls was pulled open by strong Ross fishermen and mercenaries, pulling on hemp ropes as thick as forearms.
Due to design factors, all wooden doors in Ellenburg open inward. It was a last resort in design, but it plays a key advantage at the moment.
Why?
A huge wooden door was opened, and Rurik and the others saw a snow wall as high as one person!
"Ah?! What's going on? Is there really a snowstorm?"
"Master, it seems that it is difficult for us to go out. We can't even walk in the snow." Jevro said worriedly.
Rurik gritted his teeth and said, "I don't care. Bring me my brothers, a shovel or something else, and help me open a path in the snow."
"this……"
"Go quickly."
Originally, Jevro was reluctant. Considering his status as a mercenary, he had to work hard even for the sake of professionalism.
They were trying to dig a passage through the snow wall. Yevlo thought it would be a difficult job, but he didn't expect the road to be dug out quickly.
Because they were too tired, he and his men were already sweating. They took off their warm leather jackets, held long-handled shovels in their hands, and walked through the snowy road. All they saw was snow up to their knees. The wall behind him became a bit alarming. The large amount of snowflakes carried by the north wind had created a circle of snow-covered slopes on the wooden wall.
"Not bad, we can still leave."
Jevlo was panting heavily and was called by his companion: "Look at the south! The sea! There are rivers! It's all ice!"
After he lifted it up, he followed the direction of the guy's finger and said, "Ah! There should be... the sea."
"The sea is completely frozen and we need to tell the owner."
"Let's go back first." Jevro shook his neck and walked back to the wooden wall.
Soon, everything became clear, and Rurik completely understood his situation.
There is a saying that three feet of ice does not freeze in one day. What if it is extremely cold for two consecutive weeks? It is not unusual for the sea, which is already showing signs of freezing, to freeze into a meter-thick layer of ice.
If he hadn't kept records, Rurik wouldn't have known that today was November 15th in the Julian calendar.
The fact that the sea is freezing is still new to the residents of the Iron Squirrel tribe. They were forced to cross the ice sea only last year, and now they have completely become coastal residents. They are actually more accustomed to living in the woods, and the men are also good at winter hunting.
As long as they don't venture too far, men are not afraid of snow. They would cut trees and hunt in the snow, but it would be better for the women and children to stay in their warm homes.
But Rurik had to implement his plan.
It’s a new day again, it’s short and very important.
Rurik, a short man, stood on a small reindeer sleigh facing all the adult men who had been summoned.
There are the Iron Squirrel tribesmen, Ross's settled fishermen, and his own mercenaries.
All the men in Ironburg are here, waiting for the leader's order.
Humans are not truly social animals, but they can develop the habit of obeying orders and demonstrate strong organizational skills. In essence, this is a mutually beneficial measure. Especially in extremely harsh situations, everyone should follow a smart person to stay together for warmth.
After previously rectifying the internal affairs of Ironburg, everyone believed that the Rurik children would not mess around.
Rurik spoke. He did not want to stand here like a sculpture in the cold weather, and his words were concise and concise: "Blacksmiths, clean the furnace, raise the fire, and continue smelting. Charcoal burners, continue to burn charcoal. To meet the needs of smelting. Carpenters, I need a large number of large sleds that can seat twenty men. Build them for me immediately and I will pay you. Woodmen of Ross, carry your axes and show your skills. I We need the big tree to fall down and then pull it to the coast."
Everyone was a little surprised, and Rurik didn't want to explain more: "You do it now. Soon, a large number of people will rush to Ironburg. They will drive the deer and carry a large amount of oats. Don't have any doubts. , complete my request, and I will reward you with the oats you have won.”
Anyone who has tasted oatmeal with salt will understand that it can bring wonderful warmth to people in the extreme cold.
They fought for the oats, and today, the ground began to shake, and there was a loud rumble in the woods.
Rurik originally planned to wait for the saw blade to be built before organizing manpower to cut down the wood efficiently.
Who would have thought that a ruthless snowstorm actually consumed half a month? Rurik felt that his precious time had been wasted shamefully.
Fortunately, the Ross fishermen all know a little bit about carpentry. They lack the ability to finish wood, but logging requires almost only brute force. Those small pine trees that are only thigh thick are only suitable for firewood and charcoal making raw materials. They can also be chopped down by a strong man wielding a Nordic forest ax in two or three blows.
There are also many extremely large trees here, with a diameter of one meter or more. It is a towering spruce that has grown for more than a hundred years. It is a terrifying existence that can smash people into pulp when it collapses.
No, Mechasta was leading his tribe to cut down trees with a small chrome hand ax, in order to collect charcoal-making materials. They wanted to cut down some big trees. They could move them using existing materials, but it would take too much time.
The so-called big tree he understood was an existence equivalent to about 30cm in diameter. In the eyes of the Russian lumberjacks, this was also a small tree.
For the first time in their lives, they were lucky enough to see Ross Carpenter performing a magical wood-cutting technique.
I saw a big spruce tree that could not be hugged with both hands. The Russians could see the huge dent in its bottom trunk. The Russian loggers were already laughing and talking and chopping down the other side?
Is this how they plan to cut down the tree? There seems to be nothing wrong with it, except that the tree will fall down and whoever it hits will definitely die.
As a result, a lumberjack inserted a piece of wood into the small gap that was deliberately cut. He beat the piece of wood crazily, and finally the giant tree collapsed in a direction without injuring anyone.
This was the first time Mechasta saw Viking-style lumberjacking. The settled fishermen were actually a group of excellent lumberjacks! Not only are they tall and strong, they are also smart.
When the tree fell, the ground shook violently, causing Mechasta to sit directly in the snow. In a large area, the snow stored on the branches of pine trees fell instantly, falling all over Mechasta. But looking at the collapsed body of the giant tree, he was too lazy to shake off the snow on his body, and just sat there. The ground was watching and giggling.
Mechasta had seen giant fallen trees in his life. They were all dead trees. After they fell in the forest, they were found after the autumn rains. There were a bunch of mushrooms growing on the trees. Collecting edible mushrooms is also a job for tribal women. But what makes him regretful is that although there is an astonishing salmon tide here in Ellenburg, there are too few mushrooms, which is a pity.
In fact, with the advanced technology, Rurik could quickly cultivate mushrooms. He did not expect this, just because it was completely unnecessary. Mushrooms are grown in order to obtain valuable protein. However, the Russians, who essentially control most of the fishing resources in the Gulf of Bothnia, are most lacking in carbohydrates, not protein.
