Vadim gathered a large army in just five days. Teams were sent from every estate, with a total strength of seven to eight thousand people!
After all, Pine Needle Manor has the largest population, and the troops Vadim pulled from his own manor accounted for half of the total force. With such hard power, each manor had to recognize the tyrant's rule.
Vadim calls himself the prince, and is surrounded by a group of loyal guards and a group of allied Varyag warriors.
Novgorod had never seen such a grand occasion. They were shocked by their strength and full of confidence.
It is not enough to just rely on the army to press the border and force the manors to send troops. Vadim promised the manor owners that after defeating and expelling the Russian forces, the manors would not have to pay taxes to him, the prince of Novgorod.
Some are tempted, some are suspicious. At least on the surface their attitude is unanimously supportive.
Vadim is still too young to grasp the power of the prince...
Pine Needle Manor is recruiting troops to expand its armaments, and the arrogant Vadim cannot avoid hiding his actions.
Vadim even deliberately kept a high profile, just to scare the Russian ships that were unwilling to leave.
He had no intention of negotiating with the Russians, and he did not even send out scouts to find out the details of the Russians when the war was about to begin.
Vadim knew nothing about the strength of the Russian army, and was too arrogant to understand it.
He is busy gathering his own troops, but is it really monolithic to attack the unbreakable anti-Russian alliance built on military power?
Some manors were supportive on the surface, but secretly, after Vadim left with his troops, the manors gathered all the men in the farm for a secret meeting.
Fighting Ross? This is asking for death! Besides, Vadim, who killed his father and seized power, chose the war. Pine Needle Manor is seeking death by dragging other manors along!
This farm called "Niu Calf" is weak. With men over twelve years old gathered together, they can barely make up 200 warriors. Everyone is either a cattle herder or a farmer. Although they pay tribute to the Rus every year, the amount of tribute has always been within a tolerable range.
Moreover, the people were "rewarded" by the Russians.
Axes for logging, sickles for cutting grass, and spearheads for hunting. Although these excellent iron tools were bought at a high price, if the Russians did not sell these, the people would still have to cherish the few iron tools they had.
The Novgorod region lacks ore due to geographical reasons. Even if the Rus began to sell iron tools, the huge metal demand in the entire region would be a drop in the bucket. While collecting tributes, giving the locals some iron tools could effectively soothe their emotions. Otto had already noticed this.
The men gathered together to discuss whether they were partly noble or inferior, or rather there was no clear distinction between noble and inferior.
This is the Rada session of the Slavs, which is slightly different from the Duma.
Someone suggested taking Xinrou to escape from the war, and the crowd burst into roars.
When someone suggested that they not only want to escape with their valuables, but also simply escape to the White Tree Manor controlled by the Ross people, this suggestion received the loudest shout from the entire manor.
This is the case in the Rada meeting. Everyone can propose a proposal. The loudest roar of the people on a proposal is equal to the passage of the proposal.
The men of Calf Manor made their choice, that is, since the war is inevitable, they firmly believe that the powerful Russians will win, and after victory, the Russians will inevitably take terrible revenge. At this critical moment of life and death, they quickly join the Russians. What the manor gets may be like a good life like White Tree Manor.
People seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and they are also full of doubts about the unknown.
Calf Manor made a difficult choice, risking the lives of the entire estate. They temporarily gave up the farmland and the sprouting wheat seedlings. The men took the women and children to drive the thousands of cattle and a small group of sheep and reindeer. Each household put all the more than 3,000 free-range chickens into cages, and then Pushing and pulling the trolley, we secretly moved towards the White Tree Manor at the northernmost point of the lake.
The Calf Manor left behind a large number of wood carvings and a large area of land in their village.
The owner of the manor was elected by everyone as a man who could speak well and steer the ship. His name was Uski Salinovich.
This Uski was very confident and felt that handing over the information he had to the Ross people would immediately bring security to the entire estate and even a better future.
He believed that the Russians must not know about the great actions of the patricide Vadim.
They deliberately fled for their lives in the village one evening, driving their cattle, sheep and cattle silently north through the woods.
However, the men at the outpost soon noticed another group of guys who were also running for their lives with their clothes on.
Uski was in a mixed mood. He speculated that the escapees in front might be the group of fishing men from the "Fisherman" Manor.
The contact between the two parties in the dark night was extremely awkward, and they were wary of each other and almost caused a misunderstanding.
"Is this Tori Msievich? Where are you? I am the cattle herder to your south." Uski called, and he revealed his identity in exchange for the other party's trust.
The dense pine forest covered the campsites of the two small farm refugees. Even if they lit bonfires, they could not be seen in the distance.
"I didn't expect you to want to work for that Vadim. Eat, grilled fish."
Tori from the Fisherman's Farm threw in grilled bass, but Uski had no intention of feasting on it.
"Vadim the Patricide is a tyrant. Do you believe his lies?" he asked.
"Trust?" Tori laughed loudly, "If I trust him, I won't evacuate with my people. The Rus are very powerful, and more than a hundred of my men will be easily killed by them if they rush up. Vadim is a madman, If there is a war, he will definitely force me to fight against the Russians, and in the end my manor will fall apart!"
"He is indeed a madman, and I guess even if he wins, he will still have to order other estates to pay him taxes in the future."
"But he will never win." Tori was determined, and then said something shocking: "That parricide dared to call himself a prince. Brothers support him on the surface, but secretly they are not running away like you and me. We can join The Russian army, I heard that the new leader of the Russian people is the son-in-law of Gus in White Tree Manor. In my opinion, we can also get benefits by dedicating my daughter."
Uski suddenly understood, but he lowered his head with regret: "Unfortunately, I don't have a daughter."
"You have no brains! Get a girl from among your friends and tell the Russians that this is your daughter, dedicated to their new leader."
"Oh! That's true. Then I must choose a pretty girl."
Offering daughters, treasures and swearing allegiance, the two farms believed that their actions could obtain the gift of peace from the Russians.
It took them a day and a half to finally reach the outskirts of the White Tree Manor, but their sneaky whereabouts had been noticed by the scouts placed by Otto.
The wrong news reached Baishu Manor, and the already nervous farmer armed force exploded.
Men and women took up their spears, and Medvedt was already in formation with three hundred of his men.
Otto determined from the scout's description that it was not an army at all. A group of people were driving cattle and sheep, and there were obviously children crying among them. No matter how you thought about it, they were a group of refugees.
what on earth is it? Otto made a good guess.
First, the mature old leader aggressively stopped the peasant soldiers from being agitated and ordered them not to be nervous.
He hurriedly summoned Medved at the critical moment and ordered: "There is a group of refugees moving towards your manor. You organize two hundred people to greet them. Remember, stay vigilant and beware of traps, but you cannot make a sudden attack. What should you do? Know."
"yes."
Medved immediately organized a small army, and his warriors fought hard to protect their farmland and even prove to the Russians.
However, this interception was not allowed to take the initiative to fight, so they deliberately showed their teeth and claws, suddenly sprang out of the forest, and appeared in front of the refugee group with weapons.
Tori and Uski had expected this situation. They raised their hands and kept writing, shouting: "We are not enemies! We support Ross!"
"Do you support Ross?" Medved took off the unique iron helmet unique to Ross people and stepped forward aggressively, while his soldiers were still on guard with spears and crossbows.
Medved must be the owner of White Tree Manor, and both Uski and Tory know him. Likewise, Medved knew the two chiefs.
"You are cowherds and fishermen! What are you doing here!? You seem to be fleeing as a family." Medved, who squinted his eyes to see clearly, warned.
"We want to see the leader of the Rus people. We have something important to report." Uski said eagerly.
Medved hesitated: "Meet Chief Ross? No, the Chief will not see you."
He had to be cautious. After all, Otto had just escaped from a despicable assassination a few days ago and was wary of anyone outside the White Tree Manor.
Uski also saw clearly that this was perfunctory, and he was so anxious that he sweated: "Medved! Do you know what else Pine Needle Manor wants to do? They have gathered everyone to attack you White Tree, and they want to kill all of you. They want war. We just want to tell the Russians that Vadim, who killed his father, is coming with an army of 10,000 people!"
The amount of information is very huge. After carefully studying some important information, Medved extracted the most shocking news-war.
He is not afraid of war and is even willing to conquer Pine Needle Manor. Besides, this year the Rus' people are going to go on an expedition to Karelia, and the Rus' Principality has assembled a huge combat force. Unexpectedly, at this juncture, Pine Needle Manor actually carried out an assassination.
Medved was still worried and immediately ordered: "Let me believe you can. Unload your weapons and follow me."
Uski and Tori looked at each other and both agreed.
The two also said that in order to show their sincerity, they would offer their daughters to be the maids of the new leader of Ross.
Maid? Aren't maids the same as wives and concubines?
The two of them didn't know that they could say this to anyone, but they couldn't say it to Medved.
But Medved suddenly had a blue vein popping up on his forehead. His biological sister is the wife of Rurik, Duke of Ross. The existence of his biological sister has enabled White Tree Manor to enjoy huge benefits. Could it be that the fisherman and the cowherd also want a share of the pie? He doesn't care about other women. The daughter of a local noble in Novgorod has no right to compete with his sister for favor.
Wait a minute, maybe like this...
Medved had an idea: "Then dedicate your daughter to me! I am the flag captain of the Duke of Ross, and I am a person respected by the Duke of Ross. If you meet my request, I can give you a few good words."
The two looked at each other again. It was obvious that Medved must be satisfied before the refugee team could really get asylum from the Russians.
Because the Russians are the masters of this lake area, and Vadim is just a violent parricide and a young villain.
The two men immediately presented the women they had prepared. In fact, the two girls were not their daughters.
Medved had no intention of screening. What he actually wanted was the sincerity of the other party, so he accepted the women and immediately announced that they would be members of White Tree Manor from now on.
The refugee team, which totaled only 900 people, all disarmed and arrived at White Tree Manor under the surveillance of Medved's subordinates.
The real people of White Tree Manor are very repulsive to these outsiders. There is no clear hatred between the two parties. This is because the locals subconsciously worry that outsiders will come to encroach on their own interests.
Otto was still surprised by this group of refugees. Taking into account the concerns of the locals, he ordered the refugees to camp in an unowned forest farther away.
However, all their children have not been "arrested" for the time being, and are placed in a barn controlled by the Rus, with a steady supply of food and drinking water.
Usky and Tori knew that the children were hostages, and that their strange experiences were obviously the result of Vadim's stupid assassination.
The two were searched closely and were able to enter the meeting room of the White Tree Manor under the surveillance of many Ross warriors. They met with the owner of the manor, Rigus, and the real owner, the old Duke of Ross, Otto.
Uski and Tori have met Otto many times, but Otto has never bothered to remember the names of some minor characters, even though he went to the two farms to collect physical tribute.
The two noticed that the aging nobleman was wearing iron armor, and the armor shone brightly under the light of the oil lamp.
With such armor, it's amazing that Vadim could successfully assassinate him.
Otto put on the shirt on purpose, it was his habit, and now it was very necessary.
The Russians were too lazy to be polite. The warriors on both sides of the row bared their teeth and ordered the visitors to get out as soon as they said their purpose.
In great panic, Tori and Uski began to stutter about what they knew.
Vadim of Pine Needles Manor was not only the mastermind of the assassination, but also killed his father Borudny afterwards.
Vadim chose to declare war on Rus, killed all opponents and their families, and led his army to force other estates to send troops.
Calf Manor and Fisherman Manor knew that they were weak and were afraid of war. They did not want to work for Pine Needle Manor, let alone be enemies with Ross.
This kind of important information does not shock Otto. As a battle-hardened old guy, he has already guessed such a result.
"Vadim? I remember this kid. He threatened to kill me, and he really did it. Unfortunately, he was reckless and a complete bastard. He actually dared to kill his father and killed his people indiscriminately. Tell me , how many armies he gathered.”
Uski felt secretly happy and said hurriedly: "Vadim claims to have ten thousand people."
"So many?" Otto was slightly surprised.
On the other hand, Rigus and Medved both had their eyes wide open in astonishment.
In the Slavic concept, the army is equivalent to all those who take up arms, but in the current concept of the Russians, the army is an armored team with a standard-style formation.
Of course Otto knew the situation of the Slavs. Their army was essentially a group of armed peasants, a rabble! I don't think his son Rurik would even look at them.
But they actually organized ten thousand people!
The pragmatic Otto felt that this troop value was true, because the Novgorod region had a huge population, and they could unite to form 10,000 armed farmers, but he didn't know that there was a lot of water in it.
"There are so many of them, and it is not my intention to kill them. I still have to keep these people to pay my taxes!"
Otto said this deliberately, and Xuligus responded hurriedly: "My lord, they dare to resist you but they don't want to pay tribute. Kill them! If we don't do this, the war will not end."
To put it bluntly, Ligus coveted those fields. Enemies died in battle and a large number of acres were left vacant. Now that White Tree Manor has absorbed a lot of people from other manors, the total population is already quite large. Is it as fast as grabbing ready-made farmland to open up wasteland? The developed mature fields are a hot asset in this area. Every farmer hopes to expand his acres, and the men in the entire White Tree Manor are eyeing it.
The important intelligence from Calf Manor and Fisherman Manor forced Otto, who was temporarily stretched thin, to be more cautious. Since they hoped to get Ross's protection and the promise of future peace, they could not just wait for victory and enjoy the fruits of victory.
Otto finally gave the order: "Your men are armed again and now accept my command. I will not let you take the initiative to attack them, but if they take the initiative to challenge, we must fight together."
Both men immediately supported Otto's wise governance.
Tori asked tremblingly: "Sir, it seems that your army does not have many troops. If you want to defeat them, do you rely on this small number of troops?"
Otto laughed, Rigus and Medved laughed, and the other warriors present laughed wildly.
Otto slowly explained, and Medved made an accurate translation into Slavic: "When we were gathering an army to attack the Karelia people in the north, this fool Vadim actually chose rebellion and war. Rurik's army Coming soon, Pine Needles Estate will cease to exist.”
Finally, Otto added: "If those manors who are being held hostage can abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, they will be forgiven. If they follow Vadim to cause rebellion, all men and women will be executed!"
Otto believed that his messenger had already contacted Rurik, and the main army in New Roseburg would move south first.
But the reinforcements from Konuf and his son will arrive tomorrow. As long as the reinforcements from New Roseburg arrive first, the defense strength of White Tree Manor will make Otto completely feel at ease.
