A large number of canoes rushed to the north. The Suomi people's minds were full of the huge harvest after victory. Optimism spread throughout the group, completely ignoring the risks involved.
So, three thousand reinforcements are enough?
The Nuori group who fled to the Suomi people lacked understanding of the Ross army that invaded the territory, and they still lacked confidence as to whether these reinforcements, which were invited only after betraying their sovereignty, could win. However, they had no choice.
The lakeside group covering the entire central Finland is like a water tower, full of glacial lakes and moraine lakes, which absorb the winter snowmelt of the entire region, and then pass through dozens of large and small rivers and other oceans.
This very special geographical structure allows the Suomi people to roam freely in the rivers in the inland areas, but they can only paddle canoes in these calm waters.
There is always someone trying to get the upper hand, and there are more than twenty canoes leading the way.
These brave men, or rather foolhardy men, really listened to the descriptions of the fleeing Tavastians, saying that the so-called invaders crossing the sea were unprepared.
In this way, whoever can attack these invaders first will be the first to get rich loot.
The more than 150 people who broke away from the main force rowed as hard as they could, because the trade was mutual and they knew the detailed waterway to Tavastalu, the center of Tavastian sacrifice.
The subsequent large forces have really become bloated. After all, the leader Uko is not an absolute monarch with dictatorial power, but is just a foreign affairs person elected by many villages. He wanted to make the fleet more orderly, but after all, everyone was still in a mess.
Fortunately, the sky was beautiful, the weather was sunny and sunny during this period, and the comfortable weather increased everyone's confidence.
A huge army is approaching Tavastalu under the rule of the Rus.
In the past period of time, all Tavastia villages have sent envoys or successor village leaders to surrender in person.
compassion? Can't do it.
Rurik gave these defeated people some harsh demands. Providing tribute to buy peace was just an uprising. The biggest demand was that they hand over a group of women.
Compared to all Norse-speaking Viking women, Tavastian women were "dwarfs." They mainly have North Asian ancestry. In fact, Rurik's inherent aesthetics is quite acceptable to him. As for whether his burly tribesmen will accept it, there is no problem looking at their anxious looks.
The warriors in the wilderness want to satisfy their desire for conquest. They never complain about their hordes of wives and concubines. When they get an opportunity, it is like possessing a woman.
Rurik simply complied with their practical demands, and then put forward the harshest conditions to the surrendered leaders: "Now, hand over all your women between the ages of 15 and 30. No one is allowed to stay. Every tribe must hand over Fifty people, otherwise it will be a rebellion, and I will lead an army to attack it."
They don't have a population of more than 20,000. It is estimated that their original population structure is roughly an equilateral triangle. Since they can gather 5,000 men who can take up arms, they should also have a similar number of women.
The woman Rurik asked his subjects to hand over was in the best age for childbearing. He really knew that his men would have sex with a new woman immediately once he got it. They are not slaves, but to give birth to a new generation of Ross people, their personal safety must be protected so that the Ross people can quickly expand their population. Therefore, women who are too young cannot be wanted, and women who are too old will not be able to have children due to their lack of beauty.
Having lost almost all their men, the villages that surrendered had no choice.
A large number of young women were personally delivered by their tribesmen to the Rus army camp in Tavastalu.
Many warriors have captured women with their own hands, but there are still a large number of warriors with empty hands.
The soldier who wanted for free was delighted to see that his Lord Duke had set up a marriage market according to the tradition accepted by everyone. This was not a slave market, but a very peculiar "marriage place".
The Russian soldiers who are eager to try, the Russians, the Balmoks, the Melalens, and even the Kovins don't care. They get together in a group and pick women one by one.
I soon came to an understanding of the matter, except that this was the holy land where the Tavastians worshiped their gods, and the moans of women and the gasps of strong men could be heard from everywhere...
The situation was very chaotic for a time. Considering that he would not be able to stay here for much longer, Rurik decided to make a "submission treaty" with all the surrendered village leaders that would definitely be detrimental to the Tavastians, and left. So he indulged his subordinates.
For, the expedition to Britain was a great meditation! The Russians and their allies all felt that this should not continue to be delayed.
At this critical juncture, things changed.
It was a Ross fishing boat that rushed all the way to the lake area further south. Several fishermen controlled a dragon-head warship, which was simply used as a trawler.
Each of these people got their own new wives. Although they looked like girl movies and they didn't understand the language, they were all smart and knew how to accept their new destiny. Their men still tied their feet with ropes that were difficult to untie, and they were forced to work as oarsmen. Just as their legs were sore from the service, these hands also caused soreness.
Everything happened very suddenly, a group of canoes suddenly emerged from the cover of the woods along the coast.
The alert Russians immediately suspended their trawl operations.
A strong man suddenly shouted: "Stop everyone! Close the net immediately! Men, pick up your weapons!"
These Russian men themselves are all young soldiers of the First Flag Team. They are young and energetic, but they have also experienced many bloody battles. During the battle, their minds became extremely sharp. When they saw the canoe that suddenly appeared, they immediately determined that it was a hostile force, but they only had one boat now.
In a hurry, someone slapped the woman on the head who was still rowing, and then pinned all the women in the cabin.
"What are you stupid women still doing looking around? Be careful you get killed!"
The Ross men were also kind-hearted. They watched eagerly as the canoes that suddenly appeared rushed towards them like crazy. It would be possible if there was no malicious intent!
"Karlsson! Lower the sail!" a man shouted.
"OK!"
The sails were furled and the scale sail almost fell down immediately. A short while later, a large hemp rope net was thrown into the water and more than ten bass were dragged up. At the same time, a lot of them were already thrown into the rattan basket in the cabin. It has to be said that the fishing resources in this lake area are really rich. The Russian people's usual trawl fishing method is really a predatory sweep.
A lone ship appears ahead? They are setting sail! They want to escape!
Suomi was so reckless that she was afraid that the fruits of victory would be lost, so they paddled frantically while letting out battle roars.
They were firing arrows at the Russian dragon-headed warships. Although the arrows fell into the water because of insufficient range, this said everything.
The huge scale sail has been lowered, and the gentle southward flight gives the ship great power.
The dragon-headed warship rode the waves, and an obvious track line appeared behind it.
"It seems to be safe now." Someone looked back at the pursuer behind him and let out a sigh of relief.
There was also a soldier who looked unwilling. He raised the wooden arm crossbow in his hand: "I also want to shoot an enemy accurately. So, who is the attacker?"
"Maybe other Tavastians."
"Them? Their women are all in our hands." After that, the strong man kicked the women who were still huddled together: "Girls, get up, we are safe."
The women couldn't throw away the Norse language. They probably understood it from each other's body language, and then they started slowly.
The wind blew the ship all the way south, and people were talking about whether these reckless archers really thought they could challenge the Russian army with such simple weapons? The longship set out early in the morning, not even noon. As long as the longship sailed for a while, there would be friendly forces everywhere.
But how can Suomi's group of de facto vanguard troops care about so many? They are afraid that the cooked duck will fly away!
Sure enough, the Ross boats fishing near Tavastalu discovered this strange fleet of canoes. From a distance, those boats looked very similar to the captured Tavastia canoes.
The situation is still unfolding, and a large number of Rus people feel that one of their brothers is being chased by a group of attackers. Is that the last warrior of Tavastia?
The battle has broken out! The floating ships have suspended their operations, even though there are not many people on the bed at the moment, the brave Rus, Melalen and Balmok people have begun to fight together spontaneously again.
At the same time, Rurik was lying comfortably in the "Chief's Palace" that was supposed to be Chief Watkad's comfortable place. This was just a large thatched shed, and the simplicity inside really reminded Rurik of the past. Therefore, both he and Carlotta in his arms could accept it.
Choose another wife and concubine in this conquered territory? Rurik had no such idea, but he arranged wives and concubines for his young men. As a duke, it was his duty to do so.
Just like Bald Fisk, this bitter boy now has a third wife and concubine. Compared to the rudeness of his other brothers, he is much gentler to his new woman, which naturally attracts her obedience. Of course, because he is already a comrade fighting side by side with the Corvin boy Tyravis, Fisk has learned some Corvin language, so he can naturally communicate with his new Tavastian woman, and things will be easier to talk to. .
What's even more amazing is that Rurik also stuffed a young woman into John Ingvar who was accompanying the army. As the saying goes, "Are you still a clergyman now? You have been destined to be Odin's warrior from the moment you were born." Anyway, you have broken the precept. These two hands are holding a bow and shooting arrows at the enemy. In this way, this Danish man who believed in the Lord, because his faith was not pious, now enjoyed a second wife and concubines.
Jevlo was the most trustworthy and confident, and Rurik asked him to break into the battalion commander to inform him once something big happened outside.
Jevro suddenly burst in, his face extremely serious.
"What's wrong with you? Is this going to be a war?"
"Yes, my lord! May I take the liberty of saying that an enemy is attacking our ship?!"
Upon hearing this, Rurik opened the leather blanket and stood up, then hurriedly put on the linen jacket that had been thrown aside.
"What did you say? Attack? Who is attacking us."
"Probably another Tavastian."
"Bah!" Rurikben was still busy putting on his leather pants and sat down again: "They have surrendered to me. How can they do this if they still have a large number of men? Tavastia has no fighting ability. Yes. Yes, how many attackers are there?”
"Ah... there are more than ten canoes?"
"That's it?" Rurik slapped his hand on his face, and Carlotta, who was wrapped in a fur blanket beside him, also giggled.
Rurik shrugged again: "You see, even the Duchess of Ostara thinks it is a stupid enemy. Just like this, since they are so brave, Jevlo, we should respect them."
"Respect? How's that?"
"You go out on the Mercury and let these canoe warriors take a look at our big ship. Remember, try to catch them alive. I will see if they are brave or reckless."
"Okay, my lord. It's almost noon, and while you're eating your porridge, I'll bring the prisoner to you."
Jevro left in a hurry, and Rurik lay down again. Carlotta also lay down casually, playing with her man's golden ponytail, and said her own opinion: "Maybe it's someone from further south?"
"Who is that?" Rurik asked.
"Finn."
"Finn? Isn't it..." Rurik suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Are you sure?"
"I am not sure."
"You don't make random guesses either."
"I'm not sure." Carlotta chuckled again, and sat directly on Rurik. "Just like I don't know whether the new generation of Duke Ostara is gestating. My bull, are you ready? Yet?"
"Then let's continue..."
On the other hand, Jevro took Rurik's order. He immediately summoned his mercenary brothers and quickly formed five ships headed by the Mercury to rush to the battlefield.
Yes, the battlefield.
Every man in Ross's army has a killing record. Facing an obviously weak enemy, they do not go to fight but to participate in hunting.
So much so that Jevlo didn't go to fight, but just to finish things off for the other brothers.
The battle ended quickly, and the one hundred and fifty Suomi people were like sheep among wolves! Their archery was extremely futile. The arrows either fell into the water because of insufficient range, or were blocked by their opponents' shields.
On the other hand, the Russians' crossbows fired accurately, making the lack of protection canoes a living target.
After a chaotic battle, the 18 longships and wooden shields of the Russians participating in the siege had a large number of arrows stuck on them. Some of them suffered minor injuries. On the other hand, the opponent's Suomi people had 150 people. There was no way to escape, and as many as seventy people were captured directly.
The Suomi people did not fight to the end. When they found that they could not escape, they simply gave up resistance. Originally, the Russians didn't want to kill them all, so it was a good thing to capture a group of male slaves.
The captives were tied with ropes, and then, to their shock, the Mercury, powered by a mixture of sails and human-powered propellers, appeared.
Jevro lay on the bow of the ship and looked down: "Brothers, are they another group of Tavastians? You still have some prisoners!"
Then someone shouted excitedly: "It's Brother Yevlo! Help us tell Lord Rurik that the attackers have been subdued. They don't seem to be Tavastians."
"No? Who is that person?"
Suddenly, Jevro had an idea and shouted to the prisoners in words that both the Kovins and the Tavastians could understand: "You! Who are you?!"
When the prisoners heard the language, they understood it. They raised their heads and saw a man with black hair and a black beard standing on the big boat.
Some prisoners thought this was an opportunity to survive, and hurriedly said tactfully: "We are Suomi people! We come from the south! We are just traders."
merchant? Absolutely ridiculous. But Jevlo was also shocked.
"Are you? Suomi?"
"Yes!" the prisoner said again, "Are you the same?"
"I..." At this moment, Jevro was shaking non-stop. It wasn't until a brother slapped his shoulder hard that he calmed down.
Jevro didn't say much, he was indeed Suomi.
These signs now simply indicated that the Suomi people were involved in the war, so he loudly said to his brothers: "Master Rurik has ordered that all the prisoners be escorted back, and the master will personally interrogate these prisoners."
Since the Duke has given the order, the brothers will no longer dawdle...
