The Ross Army began to head for Visby. For the sake of safety, Harold Johnson led the Warriors' Second Flag Troop to advance lightly. Everything was as the surrendered Harald said, and only a few old and weak people remained in Visby, as well as some roaming sheep, and a pile of dead bodies lying on the ground.
When those women and children saw the intruding troops, they all entered their homes.
"Brothers, capture them all alive. These are the slaves of our Russians. If they don't resist, go and don't do anything." Haro Zuosen has no intention of killing innocent people indiscriminately. After all, the enemy has completely stopped resisting. Hatred, now gone as the enemy combatants turned into dead bodies on the ground.
The hostile forces on Gotland no longer exist, and the remaining population was absorbed by Luo. What finally increased was Ross's strength. Haluo Zuosen was a pragmatic old guy. No, he quickly sent troops to capture two hundred Multiple people.
There were mostly women, old women, and a group of extremely young children crying loudly. The old woman may only be able to do some tailoring work when she is brought back. Of course, the young women will be divided among the brothers and become their wives. No man will think he has too many women. As for a group of children, they will continue to be raised. Haro Zuosen knows Lord Rurik's strategy too well. These wailing cubs will eventually become Russian warriors more than ten years later.
On the final march, Arik had no intention of being rude to his new woman. He was full of nice words, emphasizing to Aslaqi the strength of the Russian people, his own strength, and sketching out a beautiful life.
However, Aslaqi walked the whole way without saying a word, as if she was mute.
Actually? The girl's heart has been shaken. She didn't quite believe some of the past rumors. Maybe some of them were true, and some of them were just men deliberately exaggerating the actions of the Russian army in order to resist the Russians.
What she saw with her own eyes was that the composition of the Ross army was extremely complex. The orderliness of the troops and the uniformity of clothing did not look like man-eating monsters at all. Instead, they looked like the legends told by the priests. The Ross army looked like Aspen. Gard's army is so orderly. Look! Looking around, the Ross army was passing through the gaps in the mounds in an orderly manner, with Visby in front of them.
Now that things have happened, Aslaqi asks herself, it seems that the Russians have not persecuted her family more. What she fears is that "Arik the Butcher" will do violence to her. Maybe this man is not that brutal?
She insisted on keeping her guard up and waiting to see what would happen.
On the other hand, Harold Johnson, who captured as many as four hundred men in Visby, also found the house of the Harald family. The two sides almost got into a fight due to a misunderstanding. After asking for their names, Harold Zuosen chose to take his brother around.
They all took the flag of the flag team and rushed to the coastal pier in Visby.
A group of men dressed in blue and white were beating their shields and shouting?
The fleet led by Gould continued to be on guard, and people saw that the flags waving and shouting were clearly their own troops, especially one flag that kept waving.
In a moment, a captured ship headed straight for the Aurora.
Gould remained vigilant and ordered the soldiers on the Aurora to prepare for battle and beware of possible enemy sneak attacks. As a result, the boat was still some distance away, and Gould and many people on the boat recognized very familiar faces, and they all put down their crossbows and removed their arrows.
The small boat docked next to the Aurora, and Gould on the big boat poked his head: "Isn't this Mr. Harold Zuosen? I was so scared that I thought it was an enemy."
"Haha! My big businessman, do you think that the enemy can defeat our army?"
"How is that possible? Look, we are firmly in control of the bay and have not let any enemies escape. How about it? The army has already entered the city?"
"Yes! The Duke asked me to bring you a message. Now that the fleet is all docked, the entire army will be stationed in Visby tonight. The war is over. We have almost killed all the enemies! We won!"
Hearing the phrase "kill them all", Gould's heart tightened. At least 10,000 people had to settle in Visby. In just three days, they were completely wiped out by 3,000 Russian troops, including himself. Clean? If this is true, then his three views must be recast.
"Okay! Let's set off now! Hey, brothers are feeling uncomfortable floating on the sea, let's go ashore!"
The Ross army has entered the city!
Rurik never imagined that he clearly did not send anyone to attack, and the current scene in Visby clearly looked like it had experienced an urban war.
Bodies lay scattered in the messy alleyways, a large number of thatched and wooden longhouses were destroyed, and there were obvious signs of burning in some places.
This seaport city should have been a prosperous place, but now everything has become depressed.
Soon, Rurik saw the capture of the advance troops.
"A large group of women and children? All the men in Visby were killed by our army?" Rurik imagined that this was probably the case. What Harald said was true. There was no resistance here.
The corpses on the ground were too eye-catching, but the cattle and sheep in the pens were really precious.
Otto, who entered the city, casually gave the order: "Brothers, catch the cattle and sheep according to your ability and slaughter them immediately. We will all eat meat tonight."
Rurikben felt that this was a bit inappropriate. Every cow and sheep was a seed, and they could reproduce many times. Considering that I was also craving for roasted leg of lamb, I simply gave up.
Rurik gave the brothers a key order: "Clean away the corpses! Check all buildings, look for belongings, and beware of ambushed enemies."
The Hrolev family's mansion welcomed a new owner, and Harald respectfully invited the conqueror, Duke of Ross, and his entourage into his home.
His family members were all frightened, and they selectively avoided the Russians when they came in.
"Are your people afraid of me?" Otto asked with a smile.
Harald hurriedly explained, "They are indeed a little scared. They don't know what the Duke will bring."
"Conquer, of course. Oh, your faithful servant, I forgive all the sins of your household. Now go into the house and tell your men to bring out their belongings. And more!"
"yes."
"Tonight my nephew Arik must marry your daughter."
"As ordered. We should hold the wedding in the long room of the big altar, that is... the priests have all run away, maybe Aslaqi returns to your territory and then..."
Otto laughed boldly, "Is it just for this reason? Fortunately, our high priest of Rus is also accompanying this expedition. Our priest has received the favor of Odin. It is your daughter's honor to have her hold the ceremony."
"That's...that's great."
Harald could only agree. Now that the Russians had occupied the entire Visby, he could only hope that the conquerors would treat his family better as promised.
Russians don’t reject wealth, do they?
Harald led the Russians to dig out his own silver cellar, and a large number of coins buried underground were revealed today.
The man carrying the boxes was panting. A large number of wooden boxes were placed in the small courtyard of the mansion. Seeing this scene, Otto was ecstatic, but he couldn't laugh wildly, he had to maintain his dignity.
Rurik also had a sullen expression, and took over the task of restraining his subordinates who were not calm.
"All of them? You only have fourteen boxes?"
Duke Ross seems not satisfied yet? Harald hurriedly explained: "In addition to the meeting gift, there are also 1,400 pounds of silver coins here, and they are almost all of good quality."
"I have to see for myself whether it's in good condition or not."
After saying that, Otto motioned to Rurik, "The money is all yours, come and see how good it is."
Rurik's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. If it was true as Harald said, the army would really make a lot of money from this trip.
The box in the dusty ground was full of soil and slightly damp, but silver was difficult to rust.
The boxes were opened one after another, and the viewers were all shuddering. The huge wealth stimulated the minds of the warriors. If these properties were not marked as belonging to the duke, the brothers would have swarmed and robbed them based on their skills.
Rurik, who handled the silver coins, completely confirmed their quality. A considerable part of them were Frankish silver coins, while the old ones were Roman silver coins that had been used for an unknown period of time. Some silver coins have obvious damage. I am afraid that they are not caused by wear and tear during circulation, but by merchants who deliberately filed down the corners and then recast a silver coin.
Silver is silver. When a smart businessman faces payment for goods, he first looks at the quality and secondly weighs the money. Overall, the quality of this batch of silver coins is very good. They represent the financial strength of the Harald family and also demonstrate their sincerity.
Rurik patted his clothes and stood up, throwing back the silver coins that he had played with until they were warm.
"Harald, is this really fourteen hundred pounds?"
"As you can see."
"More than that." Rurik raised his head and looked at the houses in the mansion: "Your house is very big! It's just that the family members who live in you are obviously too big. There are a lot of people living in the houses, but now they are empty. This Why?"
"Many longhouses are the residences of mercenaries. I..." Harald hesitated, then explained: "I raised nearly two hundred Danish mercenaries, but unfortunately they all died on the battlefield in Bridge Village. And There are some warehouses with a bunch of sheepskins piled up, as well as some strange little things. Those things, I...are willing to offer them."
Something rare? Rurik learned that Visby merchants had close contacts with the Danes in peaceful days. He learned about the Danish market called Hedeby, and another called Sirius Harbor, which is another way of saying Schleswig. This Harald must have some gold and silver utensils imported from the Frankish Kingdom, or even old items from the Western Roman Empire.
It's a pity that his mansion is not small, and the buildings and wooden walls are simple. What's worse is that these buildings have no floors!
"Okay, I don't want those weird things of yours, no matter how precious the glassware is, I don't care about it. Harald!"
"yes."
"I am the military commander of Ross and the owner of the largest wealth in the Principality of Ross. My words are law! I will take away half of your wealth as agreed, and the seven hundred pounds of silver will still be your wealth. When we are finished After all this, your family will leave with our army, and your family must serve me from now on. Listen, serve me seriously, and you will get more wealth."
"Oh! That's great!" It sounded like the Russians promised a great thing. Harald couldn't be sure that this was true. He was still wary, and his eyes were looking at his daughter. " Boudoir", but now the boudoir has a new owner - Arik the Butcher.
Arik and Aslaqi are waiting. The couple will get married tonight. He should be very happy, but Harald couldn't laugh. He didn't know what would happen in the future, and obviously he could only act based on the expression on Duke Ross's face.
Rurik still greatly underestimated the wealth of the Visby merchants.
Visby, which was supposed to be withered and dilapidated, soon became lively again as the conquerors moved in. They were young soldiers from the Second Flag of the Warriors, as well as a large number of sailors, old Russian soldiers, and female soldiers who disembarked from the ship. They were carrying a large number of boxes and lined up in a long queue. The viewers were wondering what they had gotten.
The sun was about to set, and the entire Visby turned into an excavation site.
Harald knew best where his fellow merchants liked to bury their silver. This kind of strange knowledge was not something that bandits or civilians could understand. He led a group of soldiers to almost demolish the old house of his dead friend merchant, and the Russians moved out a large amount of seized leather, linen, and some extremely valuable old wheat. Some people have actually dug into the merchant's bedroom with shovels and axes, and a batch of heavy boxes have been unearthed one after another.
Prior to those digging, Gould happily walked into the "military command post" at the Duke of Ross's house in Harald, and presented him with a gift that was enough to shock Otto into fainting.
There is nothing more to say. Fifty boxes, the initial estimate is five thousand pounds of silver coins.
In addition to what Harald gave and what the soldiers dug up immediately, Otto and Rurik were shocked that they had actually obtained seven thousand pounds of silver coins and even a small amount of gold coins.
A few years ago, a single silver coin was extremely precious in Rossburg. Ever since Arik led his troops to plunder Gotland and brought back nearly a thousand pounds of silver coins at a time, silver coins have become worthless. Fortunately, now, seven thousand pounds of silver has become the treasure of the Russian people.
After spending a huge sum of money, Otto had no idea at all, while many elites imagined that they could buy whatever they wanted after dividing the huge sum of money. Although Rurik was also startled, he turned around and realized that if all the money fell into the hands of the tribe, the Russian economy would be in chaos due to hyperinflation?
Therefore, the seven thousand pounds of silver coins and even the new money and seized goods later discovered must be firmly controlled by yourself!
Fools and mortals have no right to get this huge sum of money. After all, it is the original capital for the rise of the Ross tribe!
At this moment Rurik truly understood why the accumulation of original capital was full of blood and tears. But, who cares?
As night fell, the Ross army and warriors of all ethnic groups became the new residents of Visby.
Everyone lit a bonfire, roasted the newly slaughtered sheep and poultry without restraint, and feasted on the captured ale. From the time of the expedition to now, three long weeks have passed! If there are not enough seizures, the Ross army will be in shortage of rations.
Fortunately, the dust settled and the Gotlanders were completely defeated. All the food they had stored and the cattle and sheep they raised became delicious meals for the Russian army.
People laughed and talked about the unprecedented victory in many languages. Many fledgling young warriors felt that the brothers had killed at least a thousand Danish mercenaries, and the legendary dangerous and powerful Danes were nothing more than that. In other words, the Russian army, led by Lord Rurik and the old leader Otto, Already the most powerful force in the known world. Complacency was spreading, and that was understandable, given that the four years since the Rus' left the fjords and began their expansion had been a journey from one victory to another. fail? nonexistent.
Visby is a sea of bonfires. She was originally a city formed around the "Great Altar of Frey". Now the Temple of Frey has a new owner.
All the priests of Old Visby fled, and the Russian army had no intention of capturing them. Since they have given up on God, God will naturally no longer bless them.
The dead Gotland king Hakon forcibly blasphemed Frey and changed the god served in the temple to Odin.
Now Rumia, the high priest of the Rus, the woman who everyone believed was spared by Odin, is worshiping Odin in the altar. The sacrificial activities are only part of a series of ceremonies. When the sacred ceremony is completed, a wedding takes place immediately.
At the altar in the longhouse, Aric and Aslaqi completed the wedding ceremony according to the customs of Ross. Otto was really happy to see his eldest nephew marry the second woman.
A bottle of strong wine was Otto's special gift to his nephew. In shock, Aslaki held a burning walrus ivory goblet and forcibly drank the burning strong wine. Looking at Arik in front of him, this man seems to have been used to it for a long time.
Could it be that the Russians who went to the north learned some magic in the ice and snow world? Burning wine actually exists!
Since Aslaqi had chosen to agree, there was no resistance. She was hugged by her man, the princess, and returned directly to her own boudoir.
The door was closed, and the female soldiers who were usually responsible for guarding had no right to enter.
After the bonfire carnival, the Ross army, which was full of wine and food, finally fell silent. They occupied the old house of the Visby people and slept soundly.
Otto drank the last bottle of liquor in one gulp, and finally drifted off to sleep.
What about Rurik? They slept together surrounded by maids.
Harald's mansion serves as the command center of the Ross people. Currently, there is only a group of elite soldiers patrolling regularly.
Almost everyone was asleep, but Arik didn't want to go to bed so early, and he didn't "make a move" on his wife immediately. The two just lay calmly on the soft sheepskin blanket and talked.
Aslaqi hopes to get an answer, that is, Arik himself tells what he did on the island. In fact, she never hated Arik. After all, her family's losses in the catastrophe of the war were not serious, and the people in power in Ross were obviously lenient. Aslaqi just listened to those legends and was preconceivedly afraid of Arik.
The gods have witnessed that this young woman is his second wife. Arik had no intention of hiding anything about his woman.
"Some people say that I am a butcher, maybe I am. They turned me into this! I only kill my enemies. For my brothers, I will give them all the money I captured."
Aslaki was horrified when she heard that, because those rumors were all true, and her husband's murder was too much.
She didn't want to and didn't dare to criticize anything, so she asked, "Has your character always been like this?"
"No."
"So……"
"Since my father was killed by the Gotlanders in the autumn of ten years ago, I have decided to take revenge. We Russians just yawed and had no intention of attacking Gotland, but the battle still broke out. Our attack was for Revenge! For the past ten years, I have thought about revenge every day!" Arik became more and more angry as he spoke, but the smart Aslaki heard the sadness and inferiority.
Finally, she noticed that Arik was crying.
"Now, do you still have hatred? There are only a few houses left in Visby, and Gotland has failed." Aslaqi approached Arik and asked weakly.
"The hatred is gone, the old Gotlanders are gone. You... you are my wife, you are the Rus. You know what? I need the company of my family, be my woman, and I will treat you well You. Give me a child, and you will enjoy a high status in the Principality of Rus, and your family will prosper."
At this moment, Aslaqi was also moved by her true feelings. Maybe Arik is a butcher, a man who has lived in intense hatred for ten years. It is reasonable for him to become the most dangerous berserker with a blank mind in battle.
She asked softly: "That Rurik, is your brother? A beautiful boy. I feel that he is the... king of Ross."
"Yes, he is favored by Odin. It is a gift given by Odin to us Rus people. Everyone obeys his orders. Our old priest has also been blessed by Odin. Now she is eighty years old. She will The position was given to the girl, our new high priest, a deer-herding woman. That woman was supposed to die, and Adin gave her a new life to serve us Rus."
The people of Russia are really full of fantasy. Aslaqi asked in surprise: "So you...were you also blessed by Odin?"
"I think so. My arm was seriously injured, but I didn't have any disease. I recovered without pain. Because during the treatment, our priest sang a prayer, and it was God who made me recover. .”
Aslaqi no longer had any doubts. She took a long breath and even couldn't wait: "Then come, my berserker! Our priest told me that my man is a real warrior. Odin is Right, let me..." She composed herself and said decisively: "Let me become a woman."
Under the dim oil lamp, Arik smiled and rushed over without saying anything more...
