Nowadays, the ocean-going capabilities of the Ross fleet have surpassed this vast sea area, and their large fleet has left the powerful Danish forces in the dust.
The war in Britain is now over. Although this year's operation was initially to help the Balmoks gain territory in Britain, since the locals are so inferior, Rurik has indeed gained huge trophies, and may even gain a lot in the future. for a stable food supply.
The fleets of the Viking coalition have gradually withdrawn from the Tam River and then the Trent River.
After they cleaned up the battlefield and revised the treaty with the King of Northumbria, it was basically time for them to return to their respective homes.
The rivers Ouse and Trent merge into a bay, where a large fleet of ships gathers.
It was a crisp autumn morning. The sun was bright, but the cold and salty sea breeze continued to sweep the land. Even people who claimed to be cold-resistant felt scared.
Rurik was indeed a little worried about his future voyage.
The Balmoks were taking a short but crucial rest at the seaside, while the Rus were hurriedly collecting river water to prepare for the arduous return journey.
Among Magnute's battalion commanders, many elites gathered here.
The unshaven King Magnute of York held high the silver cup he had stolen from the prince of Mercia, and drank with everyone the stolen ale.
"Although this wine is not as good as the vodka my son Rurik brought out, it is still wine. Let's drink to celebrate the victory!"
Taking the lead from him, a group of Balmok family leaders took advantage of this opportunity to drink heavily.
It was true that Rurik was inspired by this atmosphere. To be honest, he was eager to go home, drank a glass of ale, and endured a group of rough men shouting a Northern song.
He shouted: "Brothers! We don't have time to hang around here anymore. Aren't you impatient for large-scale immigration? We don't have much time."
"He's right!" Geiger of Washobi shouted with a smile. Look at this young man, his fair face is already flushed, and the alcohol has already reacted.
"It's time to go back. Today is our last rest." Magnut calmed down a little. As a king, he really knew that his family's power was not reliable. Only by serving these brothers from his hometown well could he gain long-term benefits. their support.
Since Washobi's brothers were the first ones to clamor for "all the villagers to immigrate", I simply sold them a favor.
He was facing Geiger: "Young man, you are now back to your hometown, and you will move here with the people. Expand a new farm in Lindsay. You are the most enthusiastic people about farming, Lindsay's There is enough land for you to have a good harvest.”
"This is natural." Geiger patted his chest: "The British people in Lindsay are not completely controlled by us. I know what you mean. You also asked our brothers from Washobi to help you control the local people. People clean it up again.”
At this moment, Magnute did not mince words, and said casually with a smile: "I am the king now, and according to the custom of the local kingdom, I can set up vassals. Geiger, your father is too old, you kid is too old in the war." All the brave brothers can see it. I have decided that you will be the Earl of Lindsay of our Kingdom of York."
Um? Could it be that canonizing a noble was so casual?
Rurik had no intention of drinking too much, he just thought that his people had collected the fresh water and left quickly. For example, his cousin Arik had no time to intervene in this so-called meeting.
Rurik remained silent for the moment, watching the reform's reaction from the corner of his eyes.
But looking at this reformer, the burn on his arm was due to the strong alcohol applied on it. The injury did not develop further, and the wound had already begun to scab. It's just that other people who suffered burns during the attack on Tamworth have now been "burned and cremated" because they died of illness.
Reform claimed his new identity without hesitation. The new Earl Lindsay? A noble title? If the local farmers can quickly surrender because of this, it will be fine. He was indeed excited, but his head was not numbed by alcohol. He really spent more time in contact with Rurik of Russia, and also gained some governance wisdom from the people of Russia. Or maybe the people of Washobi are aliens in the society of the Balmok people, and their lifestyle itself is quite similar to the farmers in the Lindsay area.
How to talk about stable rule? First build the new farm and survive the first winter, and then wait for the army to order the people of Lindsay to surrender.
Geiger maintained a lot of restraint, and Rurik estimated that he would also be a figure in the future.
As for the other family leaders, when they saw that Geiger had received the title, they all started clamoring for a title.
This is not a problem. There are naturally some cities in the territory of the Viking Kingdom of York that was gnawed out of the old Northumbrian territory.
In this era, the so-called city had only two meanings: regional military administrative center and trade center.
That treaty was just King Eynred's announcement to cede the northern territory to the Vikings. As for whether the Vikings could digest it, the king had no time to care.
This transfer of power cannot be very smooth. The biggest trouble is that there is still a great nobleman named Osbot in the city of Jewelling (Javelin Town) in the north. Unless this person is removed, the Vikings will not be able to rule the so-called northern part of the York Kingdom.
This is no harm to Magnut's enfeoffment.
The Earl of Edinburgh, the Earl of Bamburgh, the Earl of Durham, the Earl of Jewelling, the Earl of Aldborough, etc. were successively enfeoffed.
The man who was given the title cried out loud after being divided up like this, but to Rurik, this was like playing house. It is undeniable that this is considered legal, allowing all Balmoq forces participating in the war to share the fruits of victory.
However, all family leaders who participated in the war were very hasty and received the status of earl. This identity is indeed just a title at the moment. They have no real territory under their control, and the local Northumbrian people have not really surrendered to the new conquerors.
There's obviously a strong enemy that hasn't been eradicated yet, so you're just going to enfeoff it here? You guys really acted too hastily. In the end, you had to stay near York based on reality?
Rurik thought about this, and his name was suddenly called by Magnut.
The old guy was already slightly drunk. He had just reiterated that his eldest son, Bjorn, was the crown prince, and his second son, Floki, claimed the title of Earl of Bamburgh. The so-called York and Bamberg, the two territories that were first controlled by the Viking coalition, were firmly controlled by the family of King Magnute.
"Rurik, my baby, you also deserve a title. Tell me, what do you want?"
"Me? Father, you are already drunk. Besides, I am the Duke of Ross in the Kingdom of Sweden. Oh, that is not necessarily true. I have declared my independence from the Kingdom of Sweden, and I am a free existence."
"No, no." Magnute shook his finger, and the other family leaders also gave him a kind smile. "You have to have a place in our Kingdom of York."
"Oh? Then demarcate a piece of land for me in this bay. From now on, we Russians will come by ship to trade with you every year. We really need an anchorage and a trading market."
"Really? Okay. I still want to give you a title. Since you are free, then as the Duke of Ross of the Kingdom of York, what do you think?"
"No." Rurik shook his finger, "Father, I hope you don't misunderstand. Although I am a duke, there is nothing wrong with changing the title of king all of a sudden. Our alliance is very solid. Reserve a market for me in Britain. Isn't this why I helped you attack Britain? I pay more attention to trade. If you insist on canonizing me..."
Maybe now I can reveal a little bit of my ambition to them, or it is not considered ambition. After all, according to the habits of the Nordic people, I am certainly the king's son-in-law, and essentially has the right to inherit. No one thinks it's inappropriate for a son-in-law to be a chief or leader.
"Please canonize my and Nolen's son as Earl of Narvik, which is your hometown. After all, he is your grandson (grandson) and should enjoy a distinguished status. No!" Rurik suddenly thought of something else. "Why don't you just make Nolen the Duchess of Narvik? Her two brothers can't have titles but she doesn't."
Magnute stroked his beard and thought it was feasible. When he met the other family leaders, no one had any objection to this.
Everyone held their wine glasses high, feeling that the matter had been arranged, and shouted that Magnute was really a kind man.
Rurik was also surprised by how smoothly things developed. How could they be so innocent? Or stupidity?
Rurik smiled, naturally, and then his smile became arrogant, as ecstatic as the other toasters.
One team went north to York, one team headed east after leaving the bay, and the other team headed straight north.
The Viking coalition has now split into three, and the strength of the army currently remaining in Britain has been greatly weakened. This is a fact. Of the three thousand troops when the Balmoks came, only two thousand are left on the island, and they are still distributed in York and Bamburgh.
If King Aynred had initially faced such a Viking invader, even if he had assembled a weak brigade, he would have been able to wear out the enemy with his superior strength.
Unfortunately, in the Kingdom of Northumbria and the Kingdom of Mercia, the total number of soldiers and people who died in the war this autumn has exceeded 10,000.
Such casualties are by no means a small number. The combined population of the two kingdoms is only 500,000 or 600,000, and the living environment is highly dispersed. The death of so many people has essentially resulted in some areas on the island becoming almost no man's land! This essentially gave the Viking immigrants a real living space.
Even Osbot, the great nobleman who was trapped in Jewelling in the north, and his army could only defend the city and nearby areas. This man who is qualified to be king now controls a theoretical population of at least 20,000 people in Northumbria. The dilemma he faced was not only the large group of ferocious Vikings entrenched in Bamburgh and trying their best to establish a settlement on the basis of the old city of Bamburgh, but also the Pictish Kingdom in the north that had penetrated Edinburgh.
To make matters worse, after learning that the Kingdom of Northumbria had encountered a major crisis, the surrendered Strathclyde's attitude became ambiguous. Originally, this small kingdom established by the old Britons was nominally surrendered to Northumbria. Their loyalty was not trustworthy at all, and the sudden betrayal was not surprising.
However, the kingdom was in turmoil, and Osbert, a great nobleman who was trapped in Jewelling, and his family were like turtles trapped in an urn, unable to get out with only the strength to hold on.
The Kingdom of York was born, and Magnute was here waiting for his brothers from his hometown to emigrate. He has decided that when he dies of old age he will not be burned to ashes, nor will he lie on a burning ship drifting into the sea. He wanted to be buried on this York land so that future generations would remember his contribution as an old chief and king.
The two sailing cruisers, the Balmok and the Avlora, have set sail northward.
Rurik is going to Narvik Port to get the supplies he has stranded there from the Balmoks, especially the salt. If the opportunity is available, he will purchase another batch of salt.
Biyongni took the Balmok and returned with a small group of brothers for only one purpose, which was to widely announce that this year's pioneering work had been gifted by Odin, and to call on the people to seize the opportunity and take advantage of the strong wind from the north. Crazy influx into the Kingdom of York.
Arik of Rus was ordered by Rurik to return the main fleet of Rus. It was one armed transport ship after another loaded with supplies mainly wheat, and even a group of captured Mercians and Northumbrians. The shoulder pole weighing on his shoulders was very heavy, and the tedious return journey was probably going to take a month!
Arik was not worried about being intercepted by the Danes on the way. After all, it was already September and the Danes were busy spending the winter. I also heard that during the warm period, the various Danish lords were actively dividing the inheritance of Chief Hafgen after his sudden death. They did not beat each other to a bloody head, which was considered kindness to each other.
Arik has no intention of intervening in the Danes' battle. Even if he had the intention, he does not have any ability this autumn. He has never been a person who is greedy for money. When he was young, his biological father died in a sudden battle while escorting. What he is most passionate about in his life is to get praise from his relatives and friends. Honor is above all else! Today's feat involves escorting no less than 1.5 million pounds of wheat back home. He fully knew what this meant. As long as his escort work was completed and this batch of wheat arrived at home, a miracle that the Russians dreamed of would be achieved - all of them would be able to guarantee one pound of wheat per person per day.
Just like his father Ogier, who died in battle twelve years ago, he returned with a large amount of supplies, but this time he only thought about sailing, and even bad weather would not interfere with his work.
However, Rurik was worried about his rather simple-minded cousin. Fortunately, the main force of the Russian army was on the ship, a group of mercenaries loyal to the Duke himself, that is, his own mercenaries. The order they received was not allowed He took the initiative to start a war with the Danes, and even if there was a battle, it was settled in a hurry and never willing to fight. Perhaps such an arrangement would completely restrain all possible impulses of my cousin.
Putting aside the matter of his cousin, Rurik, with dozens of mercenaries and even the princess Mary, was rushing towards the port of Narvik against the north wind.
That was a full twelve days of sailing! During this period, the huge jibs of the two sailing ships had not been unloaded, and the crew had no chance to dock.
Princess Mary was troubled by severe seasickness, but she was also horrified by the Viking ships. The ships were rising and falling on the waves like hills. Unbelievably, even in the headwind, the ships were still running wildly towards the north. This is the power of Vikings! It is the power of their victory.
She cut off her long hair and put on frugal clothes. Look, this dress really looks like a slave. Mary has never been arrogant as a princess in her heart. She would rather become Rurik's slave, just because she really likes this handsome young man.
It's natural to like handsome boys, not to mention that this boy not only has superb martial arts, but also has profound wisdom. If he were not a Viking, but a devout believer, Rome would probably give such Rurik the title of "Venerable One". There was only one thing that Mary regretted. After all, he was a sage among the Vikings. There were too many women around him, and every woman wanted to get something from him, so as to give birth to heirs to inherit and expand this glory.
The two large ships deliberately sailed close to the coastline. Although they encountered three days of continuous rain, they chose the correct route to avoid the deadly violence in the Atlantic Ocean.
The offshore waves were not fatal and swept the two ships into the Narvik Fjord.
