Returning to New Roseburg after a winter, the city has become bigger and the population is becoming more and more prosperous.
He finally discovered that maybe there could be better days here. Novgorod residents came here spontaneously even in canoes.
Otto stayed in Novosibirsk for two days, then followed the south wind and sailed against the Neva River towards Lake Ladoga.
Although after another setback, Otto's fleet arrived at his loyal White Tree Manor.
The owner of the farm, Rigus, and his tribesmen welcomed him warmly. They also prepared tributes and waited for the Lord's acceptance.
The tributes in spring and summer were only a small amount of wheat, and more were leather, rosin, floral cloth and precious honey.
All the tributes are small in number, and the highlight is actually in the autumn.
People were expecting large numbers of women visiting relatives to disembark, as they had in years past. However, those who got off the boat were all old guys. Where were the women?
Rigus cautiously asked on behalf of the clan why the visiting relatives had not come.
Otto was not in a hurry to answer, and first ordered the rewards to be moved down.
It was a large number of iron farm tools. Seeing the arrival of many hoes and shovels, and the unloading of two sets of curved shaft plows, the old guy Ligus jumped excitedly.
Otto spoke brightly: "These are given to you by Rurik. You have paid tribute faithfully over the years, and you have been given generous rewards."
The curved shaft plow is an artifact for plowing. Even though it still requires manual labor to plow the land, it has allowed White Tree Manor to open up a lot of new fertile lakeside farmland since acquiring it.
In White Tree Manor, the people welcomed these adults who came from afar.
Rigus's eldest son Medved also personally donated and sold wine for Otto.
"You!" Otto suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Your Majesty the Duke..."
"You are extraordinary! Now I give you an order to assemble the brothers in the flag team immediately! We are going to attack the new enemy!"
Novgorod basically didn't know about the conquest of Karelia. They didn't even know what the enemy was. Although the Russians themselves don’t know it.
Otto drank half a bottle of strong liquor, and his words were blurred as he was slightly drunk.
While all the old guys from White Tree Manor were here, he yelled about the crusade against the Karelian people in Norse.
These Slavs knew more or less the Norse language due to long-term contact. Everyone heard a vague idea and had to think about it.
It is said to be the enemy in the north? Named Karelia? Seems pretty strong?
Since the commander is Rurik, victory should be firmly in the hands of the coalition forces.
Ligus suddenly realized that his son-in-law Rurik came in person! Now that the son-in-law comes, the younger daughter should also come back, right?
"My lord, Rurik and Svetlana..."
"The two of them should be coming, and their fleet should be on the way." Otto set off first. He only had an estimate of how many troops Rurik would deploy, and he really didn't know the specifics.
Otto could not come up with an accurate answer, so he ordered Medved to immediately assemble the army and wait for dispatch.
Not only that, Otto took the initiative to ask about another manor: "I entrust you to supervise Pine Needle Manor to pay taxes properly. How are they doing?"
How's it going? To be fair, Ligus had no sympathy for those farmers, but he hoped that the Borudne family would be destroyed.
Rigus took the initiative to explain one thing: "The eldest son of the Borudny family in Pine Needle Manor is dead. Now there is only a boy named Vadim left. I think this person is a threat. If this person is removed, the remaining The nobles of the manor are not worthy of fear. If Pine Needle Manor collapses, other manors can only be completely submissive."
Ligus' words were full of violence, and Otto could feel his murderous intent.
Maybe there is something hidden in this?
However, Otto, who eradicated the Pine Needle Manor, never thought that he knew the contradiction between the white trees and the pine needles since ancient times, so now they must fight to the death.
Otto really didn't like the rebellious Pine Needles Estate, and by eradicating the upper echelons of the estate, the rabble below wouldn't matter. They have the largest population, and even if many offerings have been obtained from them over the years, they have accumulated too much hostility.
They will be angry, and the farmer's anger will be either resistance or flight. Or take advantage of this dissatisfaction and let them go to war!
Otto knew that his thoughts were not on Rurik's plan. He felt that this was for the sake of his son's career, and he made a bold decision: "I plan to recruit some soldiers from Pine Needle Manor, and I will let the Borudny family take them to fight in the north. ! I let them fight a fierce battle, so..."
Otto was happy. He was enjoying himself and didn't care about Rigus's bitter smile.
Rigus was indeed unhappy. He hoped that Pine Needle Manor would decline and perish. Did Otto actually want them and the Karelians to fight to death? He knew that Otto could implement it if he was determined. Fortunately, White Tree Manor had already boarded Ross's ship. Like a loyal hound beside a hunter, he didn't have to worry about tragedy befalling him.
Otto has made up his mind, and Ligus and others have nothing to say.
Spring plowing has been completed in the entire Lake Ilmen area, and the once-tired farmers have been able to settle down a little.
Most of the Slavic people who settled here have forgotten which year the Varyags came. The Varyags are very powerful, and resisting them is simply asking for death.
Maybe so...
The people of Pine Needle Manor have been exploited so much that they have now handed over a batch of property to the ruler Borudne.
The Varangros are not here, and Borudne is the king here. His eldest son died, but that cowardly child had no ability to inherit his wealth and status.
Because Vadim is already sixteen years old.
Pine Needles Manor is bustling with activity, farmers spend their time weeding, carpenters and woodcutter go into the woods to cut trees, there are some canoes cruising on the lake, and fishermen line up to fish.
Their lives are generally very peaceful, and ordinary people just want to live quietly. Their life is also boring. A wedding on the farm can attract thousands of people to watch or even participate.
It was an ordinary day.
Vadim is already married to the daughter of a neighboring farm owner, and he is even about to become a father. When he was about to be a father, his mentality changed dramatically, just like his luxuriant beard. Everyone who saw Vadim said that this young man was very brave.
A heart of revenge is deeply rooted in the heart of this young man. According to his observations of the Varangros people, he is also trying his best to imitate, trying to build a powerful army that will obey his orders.
The barefooted man ran as fast as he could to the manor owner's mansion, regardless of the mud on the lakeside.
When the man saw Borudne, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee: "Sir, they are coming!"
Borudne had just pushed away his wife and concubines who were serving him. After changing his clothes, he was already angry for interrupting his joy. He became even more angry after hearing the messenger's report.
"Them? Varangians?"
"Yes. They! Here we go again."
"What is supposed to come will come." Borudne's veins popped out. "How many of them are here?"
"Maybe five hundred people, maybe not that many. But they have big ships! Terrible big ships!"
"Big ship?" Borudne thought carefully. He had seen the large ships of the Russians and was afraid of these terrible monsters.
"It's a big ship! And there are many of them. They are gathering in the territory of White Tree Manor."
"The guys in White Tree Manor are all dogs!" he yelled angrily, scaring the messenger into silence.
He regained his composure a little and sighed: "It doesn't matter, who told us to be weak?"
Borudne dismissed the messenger and looked back at the smiling Mei Ji in the inner room, but he lost interest.
He summoned his cronies, especially his relatives.
The top ruler of Pine Needle Manor is a large family, and the current patriarch is Borudne. Maybe this old man is not a qualified ruler, but at least everyone sees hope in Vadim.
There must be a warrior who stands up for everyone whose wealth is being plundered.
Borudne's relatives gathered at his mansion. His only son Vadim was sitting casually holding a broad-bladed dagger in his arms. It was the sharpness between his brows that made his uncles sigh with emotion.
"The Russians are here again. Have all the things you prepared arrived?" Borudne asked casually.
Everyone looked at each other and smiled. There were some words that I had to keep in my heart, and I couldn't accuse Borudne of being too greedy.
Although we were all relatives, even though the Russians demanded much more tribute than before, in the end Borudne personally gave out not much. The pressure of tribute was all decentralized and finally spread evenly to each farmer.
"What? No one said anything?"
At this time, someone shook his head and said, "Brother, my family's things are all ready, and the farmers under my charge should get everything."
"Well done." Borudne nodded.
Someone spoke, and everyone else began to report.
These people are all cousins and relatives of Borudne, but they can't even think of seizing the highest power.
Even though Boludne's strength has suffered heavy setbacks over the years, even if the private soldiers under his command cannot defeat the Varyags, they will have no problem dealing with the local tribesmen.
Perhaps the only person who can defeat Borudne is his son Vadim.
Everyone announced that their tributes were ready, but they said nothing about the oppression suffered by Pine Needle Manor.
Some people dare to be angry but dare not speak out, while some people are completely indifferent to farmers who have been plundered of a large amount of wealth.
So what if they speak the same language? Those farmers should be willing to be poor. All this is determined by God.
"Now that everything is ready, I guess the Russians will arrive soon. Give them all these things."
There was a sense of helplessness in Borudne's words. Vadim was keenly aware of his father's eyebrows, and the resentment in his heart had no place to express.
Someone else said: "Let's give them the things quickly and ask these guys who are here to bring disaster away."
"Yes! Also, let the women hide first. Those guys are always looking for women from us. If the men can't find their wives, they will die. They dare to do anything."
"Yes! Hide all the women and children. We must also be careful of our farmers, especially those who owe rent. They are likely to drag their families and run to the Russians. In my opinion, all those who owe money Everyone is imprisoned first.”
They talk a lot and try to implement many measures that are beneficial to their own interests. But after all, they had no intention of resisting Varyag's raids. Instead, they wanted to prevent the people under their control from escaping.
Because the Russians are in urgent need of a large number of laborers to build new cities on the banks of the Neva River, absorbing the population from nearby Novgorod is a simple and effective method, but this behavior is really a drain on the manor owners of the Novgorod area. The land is indeed very vast, so controlling the population means controlling capital.
The Russians are no longer simply bandits who come to this area on a regular basis to demand tribute. The two sides have developed structural conflicts. The smartest people have begun to realize that the Russians are slowly hanging Novgorod's native nobles with ropes. .
Vadim may not be a wise man, but he did notice that the situation had become abnormal.
He listened to the conversations of his relatives and watched in his heart, observing his father's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Borudny finally said: "Okay, just do as you say. You all take care of your own people and don't anger the Varangians. Don't worry, I will also exercise restraint."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as if there was nothing more to say.
Unexpectedly, Vadim stood up angrily and yelled in front of all his relatives: "You are all a bunch of cowards!"
The scene suddenly cooled down, and the quiet atmosphere was suffocating.
Pairs of eyes stared at the young man in astonishment.
"Sit down, you have no place to speak here!" Borudne said angrily.
"Shut up! You cowardly old guy! In your hands, the manor has turned a brave bear into a docile sheep!"
"you……"
Everyone saw the son rebelling against his father.
Borudne was shocked, but felt secretly happy: This child has really grown up.
Vadim's move was really reckless, or rather brave.
"What do you want to do? Resist them now? Do you think you are strong enough?!" Borudne raised his head and asked.
"Why not?" Vadim made up his mind: "Father, how long should we endure it? The Russians are getting stronger and stronger, and it will be too late if we don't take action! As long as we unite, we alone can gather two thousand men . If we unite the entire lakeside people, and even go to the forest area to find those remote farms and ask them to send troops. We can gather five thousand people, how can ten people fail to fight one Varyag? As long as we win once, others will support us , so that we can gather 10,000 people or even more. We have more people, and we can do it!"
Everyone was deeply surprised. This was not because Vadim threatened to resist the Russians, but because this guy actually came up with a plan, which was obviously not just a big talk.
Things have changed, but uniting the entire farm is not easy. And there is this alien in White Tree Manor, this shameful traitor!
Borudne did not let his son say any more. In any case, this decision to resist was too bold, and the time to resist was not mature at all!
What's more, there are not many guys in White Tree Manor, and there are many people who are said to have made great achievements fighting side by side with the Ross people.
Did the farmers at Pine Needles experience bloody battles? absolutely not! Even going into a group to hunt bears is scary. Most people just want to be content with being farmers.
The meeting ended quickly, with Vadim indignant at the cowardice of all his relatives.
He returned to his private army and confided his exposure to nearly a hundred young men of his own age.
"They are all a bunch of sheep waiting to be slaughtered! If you are afraid of the Russians again and again, they will have their throats slit sooner or later!"
His anger resonated with the guys. With a brave belt, the seemingly cowardly people suddenly gained courage.
They, a group of young athletes, screamed and cursed in their own territory for how abominable the Russians were, and how shameless the defectors and White Tree Manor guys were as thieves.
Each of them had an axe, and many had rusty iron swords.
This set of weapons was basically created by Vadim relying on the loyalty of his buddies, and most of his buddies were demolished by the Russians many years ago, or were forced to sacrifice their sisters.
Everyone has a deep hatred for the Russians.
They go out of their way to curse, not only to show their dissatisfaction to their peers, but also to cheer themselves up.
Their thoughts became more and more extreme, and finally, someone proposed a crazy resolution!
"That old immortal guy from the Rus is here to collect tribute again! Brother, let's kill him. In my opinion, if the old guy dies, the Varyag people will fall into chaos."
This statement made Vadim tremble all over, but it also aroused everyone's thinking.
The eldest brother is hesitating. Hesitation means he wants to implement the plan!
Someone encouraged: "If we succeed, no matter how cowardly the people are, they must choose a side. The Russians will retaliate, and our farmers will take up arms. We cannot defeat them on the water, and we have more people to fight on land!"
Someone else encouraged: "Our people are not sheep, they just lack a brave leader. Everyone will see that you are a great hero, and there will be 10,000 men following you! Brother, you are the strongest, you can call yourself Prince."
The title of Prince, or Prince, is equally popular in the Novgorod Ilmen Lake area, but the various manor owners have not yet had the face to claim such a noble title.
Vadim, a young man, couldn't care less after being instigated by his brothers.
"Okay! I am the prince! The prince of Novgorod! I will take you to produce the Russians! Later, Varyag's merchants can still come, but under my rule they must pay tribute to us. "
With such bold words and ambitions, my brothers shout long live.
Vadim's performance seems to be just playing house, but he is also really brave.
A conspiracy is being planned secretly, and a group of young brats are secretly sharpening their knives!
Borudne and his relatives didn't know about this, and neither did Otto or the people of White Tree Manor!