I don’t know when a group of people living in the Gulf of Finland began to move north.
They settled among the hills and lakes, forming as many as fifty villages, large and small. These villages once attacked each other, and finally the strong ones among them slowly integrated the people in the area and formed a regional power.
They naturally believe that their location is the center of everything. They naturally believe that mountains, rivers and lakes are gifts from God. The territory they recognize is the holy domain, and they call themselves the ones loved by the gods. In their language, that is "tavast".
They are the Tavastians, the most powerful tribal alliance in the East (Finland).
Even in the development of history, they got to know other people and had economic contact with ancient Roman travelers, but on the whole they still lived their own small lives behind closed doors.
Until the general trend of historical development, when the Karelia people in the east began to compete with them for the resources in the forest, the war inevitably broke out.
Perhaps, only when passively involved in the war can the Tavastians know how powerful they are.
They began to actively expand, began to trade and fight with the Suomi people in the south, began to attack and drive away the Kovin people, and began to build large and small mountain fortresses to resist the erosion of the Karelia people.
They became stronger and stronger in the battles, and even obtained a large amount of iron weapons in trade. It is a pity that the Tavastian people control the lake in the central area of modern Finland. This area is indeed rich in water and grass. They can make a living by fishing, catching squirrels and ferrets, and raising a small number of sheep, which is basically all. That’s it.
After all, the climate here is relatively cold. With the current level of technology, it is impossible to grow wheat here. Only a small amount of vegetables can be harvested.
The environment is so bad that when you know that there are better areas in the outside world, it is only human nature to seize them and make them your own.
What's even worse is that these mountains, forests and lakes produce no ore. Even if they know how to smelt iron, any iron tools and ore must be purchased from the Suomi people in the south.
There is no currency in the world. When the value of some scarce goods reaches everyone's consensus, it has certain currency attributes. In this small area of the "Land of the East", it seems quite closed due to the limitations of the times. Only a small amount of old silver coins from the Roman era are in circulation, and squirrel skin has become currency!
The squirrel is obviously a small animal with strong fecundity, but it cannot withstand human capture.
The military threat from the Karelians forced recent generations of Tavastia chiefs to find ways to improve their armaments, which required a large number of metal weapons.
I know that attacking the Suomi people is a very costly act, but it is necessary to transport batches of squirrel skins to the south in exchange for iron tools. The number of squirrels in my territory has dropped sharply, and the surviving individuals and their descendants seem to have They all became extremely alert and difficult to catch.
If you can't sell squirrel or ferret skins, how can you get metals?
Then we can only expand our territory and go to the north to find new resources.
Didn’t those Kewen people go to the north to open up? Just chase them and grab resources!
The old chief of Tavastia died, and the elders of as many as fifty villages gathered at the sacrificial center in their mountains and forests for a meeting.
The old chief's son Watkad (with strong arms) was in the prime of life and had the influence of his late father, so he was naturally elected as the new leader by many elders.
But who can guarantee that there will be no doubters or opponents in the alliance?
The new chief is actually not too young. He is almost forty years old. His brown hair is already mixed with white strands, and there are already some deep wrinkles on his face to hide his beard. This man is considered tall among the Tavastians. He is now a bit older. People still know that when he was young, he could break the neck of a reindeer with his bare hands.
Watkard was originally just his nickname, but now it has completely become his name.
How does a new chief convince the public when he takes office? Of course, we need to build our reputation through some external battles instead of performing "breaking the deer's neck" for the people.
He led the warriors of the alliance to actively attack the Karelian hill forts, and creatively used some new methods in the war, such as making wooden ladders to let the warriors climb the piled stone walls to fight, and even using fire attacks.
Flames can cause fire and kill enemies, and thick smoke can also choke people to death. Thick smoke is the best cover. When the opponent cannot see clearly, the alliance's warriors can continuously rush in.
The Karelia people suffered a loss, but when they retreated to the territory north of Lake Ladoga, their offensive and defensive momentum was different.
War is accompanied by attrition. Tavastia killed some warriors and consumed a lot of supplies.
Anxious to make up for the losses and worried about the enemy's revenge, Chief Watkard could only step up his plundering of the mountains and forests.
He didn't know what the Suomi people who had obtained the fine furs would do with the leather. He only knew that if they transported the leather, they would be able to exchange it for iron tools.
A great dream is brewing in Watkard's heart - all my warriors must have iron spears and iron arrow clusters.
At least half of this dream has come true.
He counted the men in the entire tribal alliance who could fight (including boys over ten years old), and unexpectedly found that he could organize an army of up to 5,000 men.
In people's mathematical concepts, this is already an extremely astonishing number. With such a powerful force, we are an unbreakable forest alliance. If this is combined into one fist, wouldn't it be invincible?
Not necessarily. In everyone's mind, the Karelians are strong enemies, while the Suomi people are friendly and long-term trading partners. These three forces exist in this "land of the east". On the other hand, the Covin people and even the wandering deer herders further north are like squirrels and ferrets who can be hunted.
But the Corvins escaped, and where they fled to, only a few Tavastian forest explorers knew a rough direction.
Ordered by the chief, an armed expedition began its journey north.
This group of people followed the stream north and walked the equivalent of 250 kilometers to stand next to a large lake.
They encountered the hunters here, and after a brief battle, something unexpected happened suddenly!
It’s from Kewen! Here they are!
However, these Kewen people were as humble as docile pets. Three tribal leaders showed their kindness to the explorer leader and at the same time emphatically explained their experiences.
The expedition achieved great results, and the leaders of the three Kovin tribes jointly announced that they would take their tribes to join the chief of Tavastia.
The eager explorer hurriedly led the Covin people back home, and finally the three chiefs knelt in front of Watkad obediently.
In the house made of wood and thatch, the bonfire in the hall kept the whole house quite warm.
Watkard walked on a wooden chair covered with bearskin, and deliberately stepped on the ferocious black bear's head with his feet to show his strength.
The Kovin people and the Tavastian people speak the same language. Seeing the leader of the Kovin people in this way really made him surprised and proud.
Because killing the Kewen people was not his purpose, as many as three Kewen tribes took refuge in him. If he was sincere, it would mean that the strength he lost in the war was greatly replenished in this way.
"You... are all Covins! I thought it would take an expedition to completely defeat you, but I didn't expect you to surrender without a fight. You... are you sincerely our servants? What are the names of the three of you?"
The three men then reported their names.
These three people are none other than Bakan (extreme cold), Terho (acorn) and Ojedo (big bear).
Among them, Bukan was very anxious to explain his experience: "We live in the upper reaches of the flood river. We fish for salmon and catch squirrels. We live a peaceful life. But the salmon people from the river into the sea are under control. Salmon fishing rights…”
"Wait, what does this mean? Are you trying to deal with me?!" Watkard waved his hand, gesturing to the warrior standing on one side to assume a mighty posture.
Bakan looked at the warriors and said with trembling lips: "There will be a large number of salmon there every autumn, and there is an inexhaustible supply of fish there. If you Tavastians occupied it, fishing would ensure everyone's food and clothing. No worries. There was no way to catch all the fish, but the hateful salmon man took control of the river."
Hearing this, Watkard became interested: "So, after you are defeated, you will surrender to us obediently?"
Bukan hurriedly looked at his two guys and exchanged glances.
Now Terjo began to speak: "It is true, but to the west of the sea is the new enemy. They are coming and attacking us. Those who control the salmon have joined the enemies coming across the sea. They..."
"Wait a minute!" Watkad slapped his thigh: "The enemies coming across the sea? Aren't they Varyags? Varyags who once attacked the Suomi people."
Although he was quite unfamiliar with this term, Terho hurriedly said: "That may be the case, but those guys call themselves Rus. When they come, they will turn us into miserable slaves. We gathered a thousand people, but they were Defeated. Many men died in the battle, so the three of us went to you and brought many women with us. We believe that you can accept us and no longer require us to hand over ten thousand squirrel skins every year."
Terho's words were either true or false. This flattery made Watkard think about a lot of things. Indeed, the three Kewen tribes that have requested to join the tribal alliance have an astonishing number of women among their tribes, which is incredible. Now the problem is clear. It turns out that a large-scale death of men in a war led to this situation.
Women can be called the most important strategic resource of a tribe. As long as they are still giving birth, even a tribe that has entered a trough and is declining in population has hope of rapid recovery.
Really integrate their three tribes and let these three chief families hold an alliance meeting? forget it! The women they brought back interested Watkard most.
Watkard did not comment for the time being, but asked Ojedo, the last leader, to speak.
"We... we were defeated. We fled because we didn't want to be slaves. The north was too bitter and cold. We ran to the south. Now we can only get your protection. However, you should also be wary, because those Russians who came across the sea , they are hungry wolves who cannot get enough to eat, and are the most dangerous attackers. They have a lot of iron, and they are even protected by iron sheets. Their spears, axes, swords, and arrow clusters are all made of iron. Iron. I even noticed they had bows made of iron."
"A bow made of iron? Ridiculous! You are frightened." After saying this, Watkard laughed out loud: "But they do have a lot of iron tools, right?"
"That's right." Ojedo said cautiously.
Watkard nodded with satisfaction: "A large number of squirrels and ferrets, endless fish, and new enemies who came across the sea and were covered in iron. Even the people who catch salmon you mentioned have become what are they called? Ross A slave to man. Is that so?”
"That's right." The three of them said in unison.
It seemed that the Tavastia chief suddenly had a strong interest in conquering the north. They did not know that the chief's attack was originally aimed at the Kovin people.
Bakan took this opportunity to deliberately release a war warning: "Those Russians have a huge demand for squirrel skins. We learned that when they know who is rich or whose territory is rich, they will definitely start a war, sooner or later. the difference."
"What did you say?!" Suddenly, Watkard became alert again.
"As you noticed. The Rus will attack Tavastia. If you don't attack first to show your might, they will think that you are not strong. Now they actually control the squirrel leather in the north, even if you want to get it Leather, you must fight them too. Don't try to negotiate with those people, they see us as a kind of prey and will also..."
"Shut up!" Watkard stood up angrily, then sat down with a smile.
"I heard it. You are trying to persuade me to send troops to attack them. You... want to use our strength to take revenge."
This was indeed the case. The three surrendered leaders looked at each other and claimed that they had this intention. What they said was even more thorough. As the saying goes, the three tribes have existed in name only, and the people have been displaced and have no stability. As long as they can bring peace to everyone, the three chiefs do not dare to expect any power. The only thing they hope to do is to be accepted by the Tavastian people, even if they are ordinary people, it is excellent. As for the women who fled, all three of them hoped that Tavastia could ignore their past grudges and accept them as tribesmen.
The only condition for the three of them was to beat up the Russians and make them pay with blood.
Watkard knew that these guys had no choice, but he suddenly softened up unexpectedly that they were so self-aware.
"Okay, I can accept you, and I also want to attack the north. I will accept your tribe now, but the three of you are no longer distinguished leaders. You all obey my arrangements."
Any war will definitely cause losses to one's own side, but if the gains from the war far outweigh the losses, it is worth the risk. Adhering to this mentality, Watkard convened a meeting of the elders of the alliance to discuss matters about the "mysterious and seemingly powerful Rus", and everyone reached a consensus.
For after Watkad became chief, the Tavastians never lost again.
The people have unprecedented self-confidence, claiming that they are indeed loved by the gods and are the natural kings of these mountains, forests and lakes. The only way for the enemy's people is to surrender.
Look, the three Kewen tribes surrendered with a large number of women is the best proof!
We need to organize the army to rush to the north, find the lake and go down the "flood river" leading to the sea. We can overturn the fortresses of the Rus and their servants and plunder their iron.
As long as we win, we don't have to desperately get furs to go south to exchange for iron. Wouldn't it be easy to solve the problem by seizing them on the battlefield?
It became Tavastia's new strategy to send troops to occupy the Oulu River Basin to continuously seize local resources, and to defeat the local Rus' forces and annex all the Kovin tribes.
