A light snow came unexpectedly, and its power seemed to only make the temperature slightly cooler.
Spring has essentially arrived, and flowers are blooming in the Mediterranean in the south, while the Gulf of Bothnia and the pure Arctic Circle in the far north are still covered in ice and snow.
The location of Ellenborg is already within the Arctic Circle, and the port of Narvik is simply deeper.
The hazy world keeps raining down dense ice crystals, which adds a bit of worry to the team about to travel far.
Rurik took a nap and ate local grilled salmon around noon.
The fish was presented by Mechasta, who himself entered Rurik's palace.
"Sir, did you sleep well yesterday?" he asked flatteringly.
"It's so comfortable. My woman Nolen isn't up yet."
"Then this meal..."
"It's okay." Rurik waved his hand and said, "There is almost no chance of sleeping peacefully in the next few days. Mechasta, how did you complete the task assigned to you?"
"I organized people overnight to move the stored dry grass for you. The bundles of grass have been placed on the new sled, but the grass may not be enough for the deer to eat. What's worse is that it's snowing outside."
"I know it's snowing, and that doesn't matter. By the way, my Tavastian women, how are they?"
"They are very good. I have given orders and my people don't dare to provoke them at all. But there is another thing I want to report to you."
"Is it a good thing?" Rurik asked.
"It's a good thing."
"But it doesn't matter."
"It's about the free deer herders. Some of them are temporarily staying in our Ironburg. You may have known about this for a long time. They are here to do business. Since they are all your servants..."
Rurik’s mind was originally filled with my trip to Balmok, but he suddenly remembered it: “Then let’s go and have a look.”
After a while, a small group of ragged-looking dwarfs stood in front of him.
That was Rumia's very distant uncle. When this person gave an order, all the "dwarves" knelt down on the ground.
Are they all so-called free rein deer farmers? indeed so. Listening to the ancient Finnish dialect they speak, it is indeed the same accent as Rumia.
They kept saying they were going to meet the master.
But, how come they are so submissive? He must be seeking wealth.
"You all get up." Rurik used the same language to level him up. He stood on a high place and spread his arms to show his broad mind.
"I am indeed your master! Your life is protected by Ross, but when doing business in my territory, you must pay tribute."
They continued to say that they "handed over several reindeer as tribute, and this was the only thing they could get away with."
They were deer herders, also known as Lapps or Sami people.
The "wooden wooden documents" owned by the Rus people clearly remember that Rus has had a deep connection with them since ancient times, and ruling them is actually a destiny.
Perhaps he was a little rough with them at first, but seeing them being so respectful today made Rurik extremely happy.
He casually ordered Yevlo: "Bring the money bag."
After a moment, Rurik threw some silver coins at them.
There are not many shiny silver coins. How dazzling are they on the snow? !
Rumia's old uncle had a very active mind and immediately shouted: "Guys, what are you doing standing still? Thank Duke Ross for his kindness!"
They immediately knelt down and picked up the silver coins, happily praising the Duke as a good man.
This may be an insult, but also a way to demonstrate power.
"These guys... Canglin knows etiquette. You are really poor, but you are very smart and know how to commit yourself to a strong person." Rurik thought this way.
So far, Ross's policy towards the free-living deer herders from the depths of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Kola Peninsula in the west is basically restrictive.
As long as they pay physical tribute, they can do transactions in Ironburg and be protected, and can buy useful things safely, which was impossible in the past.
Is there any more high-pressure governance for them? The population of free deer farmers is still too small, and the Kra Peninsula alone is an extremely huge place. Although they were unable to resist, they still had the ability to run away if the pressure was too severe.
Conquering the area where the deer farmers are located is considered a success, but the deer farmers themselves are dispensable to Ross. Better make good use of them! For example, they come uninvited every year and trade reindeer, which can prevent Ross's own reindeer population from falling into the abyss of inbreeding.
Even under certain extreme circumstances in the future, free deer herders could provide men to serve as sleigh drivers for the Russian army.
Rurik had no intention of paying attention to them anymore. He inspected the ten new sleds and forty new deer, like giant snails standing on the snow!
These reindeer sleds provided by Mechasta are positioned as heavy-duty trucks for mining! The deer are not randomly selected. They are all stags that have been deliberately castrated. In this way, they can maintain their physical fitness and avoid their mania in April and May. This aspect is well understood by the Finnish people such as the Kewen people. On the contrary, it was Rurik. His sled team was almost always pulled by unpregnant and thin female deer. The reason for this choice was that it was easier to manage.
The sled team just got bigger! Mechasta also sent his men.
Rurik is very familiar with these men, and they all affectionately call Rurik the most noble man. Rurik would call them simply, "old warriors."
During the war, these men served as longbowmen and now served as charioteers. However, they carry the "Grey Tree Longbow" with them, so that if they encounter wild beasts wandering in the snowfield, they can directly shoot them from a distance.
Once advanced long-range weapons are available, no one will refuse to shoot a polar bear. They want to obtain precious bear skins, and even use bear heads with their brains dug out to make terrifying helmets.
It was really the right choice to visit Ironburg. Not only did Rurik get more supplies, but he also took advantage of his clear mind to inspect the city of snow.
The frozen River Airon shut down all the hydraulic workshops. They were unable to carry out free forging, and they were unable to pound oats into digestible crumbs.
Nolen took a bath and then a sauna last night. He enjoyed it to the fullest and his body became soft and weak. After a rest, it was already the afternoon of the next day when he woke up.
She ate some cold fish, then took Rurik's arm to visit the giant thing by the river.
Houses adjacent to the aqueduct had huge drains trapped in the ice.
In the past two years of living in Ross, she has learned a lot about the mechanical knowledge of the Ross people. She was also instilled in her by her husband Rurik some so-called Newtonian mechanics, gears and mathematics knowledge in her daily studies.
Of course she couldn't learn too much, but she still learned a lot. But I am a woman, so I am very interested in learning arithmetic and reciting formulas. I am also learning gears and mechanics. Do I want to be a craftsman?
She at least understood the connection between the water row and the free-forging hammer. After some association, she immediately thought of the golden millstones in Roseburg's house.
She pointed to the huge bearing that was introduced into the cold house by the water drain, and said: "Rurik, since it can drive the hammer for forging, if you follow the new gear, it can also drive the millstone to rotate."
"You..." Rurik was stunned on the spot.
"Rurik, what's wrong with you?"
"You actually understand this?"
"Of course I understand, it's not all what you taught me." After saying that, she chuckled again.
Mechasta himself is here. Since even Nolen knows that the huge impeller of the water row can drive the millstone, it is really inappropriate for him not to arrange for his men to do something.
After a while, he ran to the workshop that specialized in pounding oats and ordered Mechasta to immediately carve a cylindrical roller from stone, or even a flat stone slab. If asked what the purpose of this thing is, Rurik's answer is very simple: "Just use the power of water to turn the stone roller upside down, and then crush the wheat."
It took some effort. Mechasta had never seen Shi Nianzi before, so he had no choice but to take over the job based on Rurik's description and rough sketch.
The women of the Covin gray squirrel tribe who inherited the Ross breed generally hold their mixed-race children. Not only do they not reject mixed-race, they also hope that their descendants will be as majestic as the Ross people. Ironburg has a small population, but the number of children it supports is staggering. Fortunately, this area has only been developed in recent years, and the extremely abundant fishery resources can fully cope with the rapid expansion of the local population.
Another example is that Rurik added a batch of salted salmon jerky, and the special muscle texture of the salmon is still obvious. After eating high-salt food, people's blood becomes thicker, and people's ability to withstand severe cold is therefore improved.
On the appointed new day, Rurik's supply, inspection, and research in Ironburg ended successfully.
The people warmly bid farewell to the Duke's journey, and many people were glad that the annoying Tavastians had finally left.
This is when everyone saw with helpless eyes that the Duke's huge sleigh team actually headed west along the coastline. Is that the right direction?
Rurik's move was indeed a detour, and he had good reasons for his detour.
In fact, we should first take the frozen Ellon River north to Fisk Castle on the lakeside, and then go west to find the Torna River in the forest.
There were already 70 sleds, 700 people in the team, and 300 reindeer. This large force was advancing in the gray world with constant light snow. Rurik chose a conservative route.
No one can fault this conservative choice.
They set out early in the morning and reached the frozen mouth of the Torna River before nightfall.
There was still light snow, and people were camping in the woods by the river.
Compared to many people's worries about the future, Rurik is still as confident as ever in Nolen's view.
Even though it's snowing, people still light bonfires to make the cold night no longer scary.
People spontaneously hid in their sleighs to sleep, and the reindeer gathered together to keep warm. Only those standing guard carried weapons and kept throwing frozen branches into the bonfire.
"When will the snow stop?" Nolen murmured, nestling next to Rurik.
"how could I know."
"I'm afraid the wind and snow will become bitter."
"It doesn't matter, I'm very familiar with this place."
"Very familiar? Here?"
Rurik sighed lightly: "When I was seven years old, I left Fort Ross for the first time to participate in our winter hunting, and I camped by this river. I told you about my past. In the past six years, our Ross has been communicating with the outside world. Expansion, all this is my effort!”
As incredible as it sounds, Noren knew that what Rurik said was true.
"Then we will go against the footsteps of my people and return to my hometown. I... never thought that I could travel so far."
"What is this?" Rurik laughed boldly: "One day we will go to see the Roman capital and see if the huge mountain wall of Constantinople is real. Nolen ...Stop thinking about it and go to sleep.”
Noren twisted his body, like a cat burrowing into Rurik's body, hoping to get more wonderful warmth...
The world at night is a darkness of pure meaning, and the vigilant sentinels discovered the flickering green fluorescence in the forest on the snowy night.
Those are the eyes of an arctic wolf!
It was a pack of wolves. The wolves, looking for food, took the risk and approached the Russian deer herd. However, the wolves that did not escape in time were shot with crossbows.
It was this bold beast that everyone carried weapons to guard against, and the beast also contributed meat, giving the men the opportunity to beat their teeth as a sacrifice.
For three consecutive days, the sled team's job was to drive endlessly. No one was worried about getting lost. All the Balmok mercenaries had exactly the same caliber. Even though the trip took a long way, the glacier reached the destination directly.
As they advanced on the snow-covered and icy road, the sled team continued to advance at a constant speed, maintaining a speed of about 60 kilometers per day.
It is actually not difficult to calculate how far we have traveled on our journey. Reindeer are very peculiar animals. The time they go to the toilet is almost constant, and the reindeer driver uses this to estimate how far he has progressed every day.
It was not until three days later that the snowfall ended and people could move forward in the sunshine again.
Yes, the sun is so bright that it is almost blinding.
The giant eyelashes of the reindeer became natural blinds, and Rurik’s men all wore wooden-framed sunglasses.
Wearing sunglasses, Rurik looked dashing, and Nolen also showed a hint of aloofness when wearing her sunglasses.
Everyone's eyes were protected, and their journey entered a high-speed running stage.
Originally, Rurik was worried that when the team reached the majestic central mountains of Scandinavia, they would have a very unpleasant climb up the mountain. At that time, will the team have to leave the glacier, get off the sleds, and climb the mountain slowly?
Rurik was proven wrong, terribly wrong.
As if he didn't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because he was in this mountain, his team had entered the central mountain range, and only by careful observation could he find the clues. Because the team has been traveling on a gentle uphill these days, it is difficult for everyone to notice.
Twelve days have passed since they left the mouth of the Torna River. The reindeer sleigh team demonstrated the ability to continuously attack, which is extremely rare in this era. As a price, Rurik's reserves of grain and grass also consumed a lot.
There are mountains in front of us, and they don't look very tall. The mountain peak is not high, and the altitude where the sled team is located has reached 500 meters.
The Torna River has become much narrower, but the glacier remains strong. Rurik actually noticed the presence of pebbles under the ice and knew that this was already a mountainous area, but the smoothness of the ice road and the soothing surrounding environment prevented him from jumping to conclusions.
Until this night, people lit a lot of bonfires, and all the Balmok mercenaries were laughing and talking about their upcoming arrival at their hometown.
"Coming soon?" Rurik heard Jevro's report, and the boredom of these days was gone.
The only boring way to fight seemed to be to listen to Nolen sing about the community. She had her own temper and would not be happy playing the flute and singing songs for the rough guys of her own race, but tonight was very special.
Because many men were yelling, and they were yelling about only one thing - they would arrive at the Ice Lake tomorrow.
A frozen hill lake? Are we actually on top of a hill now?
To be honest, Rurik had not carefully examined his geographical location in recent days. When the morning light illuminated the whole world the next day, he looked to the east, ignoring the dense pine forests on both sides of the river, and vaguely felt the charm of the eastern world. open.
It was said that they must go to the Ice Lake today, and the team that set out again was in high spirits. Even the reindeer herds started to run wildly in a rare way, dragging the sleds driven by whips.
Rurik didn't wait long, and even before noon, the team had already arrived at the Great Lake.
Seeing this, people were already cheering, and the sound seemed to be able to crack the ice. Even Nolen was screaming, because when you reach the westernmost edge of the lake, you will soon be able to see the vast sea!
The col below the mountain leads directly to the Narvik Fjord, and deep in the fjord is Balmok.
The journey was basically within Rurik's expectation. He spent seventeen days standing on this glacial lake (Lake Torna).
For the entire team, there was only one remaining tiger down the mountain.
Rurik gave an order: "Brothers, let's be bloody! Give the Balmoks a surprise!"
