Not long after the fleet arrived in Novgorod, a destined snowfall finally fell.
The snowfall has been brewing for a while, and people who had prepared for it were hiding in their houses, like hibernating bears.
Velica rarely had the opportunity to be close to her father. When she was picked up by Rurik, her young hands would pick up the soft beard on her father's chin, or pick her nose and hair.
Rurik let her play around, and he owed it to her.
The arrival of his granddaughter changed Otto's joyless life, and he and Niya continued to take care of her granddaughter in Novgorod. And when he saw that the kidnapped princess of the British Isles had a huge belly, she was also pregnant with one of his grandchildren. Out of the nature of an old warrior, she hoped to give birth to a boy.
A large number of male grandchildren will be born in the future, and he is destined to witness all this happening.
Otto was happy to see his Rurik hanging out with a group of wives and concubines on a snowy day. He even envied his son for having so many opportunities. Unfortunately, he was already old and had basically lost the strength to fight as a warrior.
The girls gathered in Novgorod. Although some sisters were missing, most of the people were here.
It was windy and snowy outside, and vast hectares of farmland were covered with snowflakes.
This is the first time Nolen has experienced a pure plain area. Indeed, Novgorod is located in the huge Valdai hilly area. There are no mountains all the way from Lake Ilmen to the south. There is even a land called "Central" in the south. The sacred land of "Black Earth District", the end of the journey is the shore of the Black Sea. To the southwest are the Carpathian Mountains, and to the east are the Ural Mountains a thousand kilometers away.
It is a kind of ocean of forests. Human settlements are located along rivers and lakes, just like scattered islands scattered in the vast ocean.
This gave Nolen, who lived in the narrow and sharp Norwegian fjords, a huge spiritual shock.
However, Princess Mary felt exactly the opposite. During the final journey, she had seen large fields by the river, and a city with wooden walls appeared in front of her. All of them were surprisingly similar to her hometown of Tamworth, the royal city. Not only is this Novgorod, it is said to be New Roseburg, the core of the Principality of Rus. It is similar to Tamworth, but also greatly surpasses Tamworth.
Different people have different perceptions of the city of Ross. Now they can only stay in warm houses and wait for the snowfall to end.
Although he was like a hibernating bear, Rurik was not stupid enough to waste time.
My wives and concubines are indeed wives and concubines. They are essentially children, especially in terms of knowledge reserve, which is only equivalent to junior high school students. This is of course far beyond the fact that there are illiterates everywhere in this time and space, but is this something worth boasting about? By ruling the stupid people, the development space of the Principality of Ross will be limited. Since educating 10,000 children is currently impractical, start with a small circle and continue to impart knowledge to a group of wives and concubines.
Now, they want to learn more about the world.
A matrix of oil lamps illuminated the house, and Rurik used charcoal to outline a map of Europe and North Africa on a large wooden board made of multiple birch strips.
Where is Scandinavia, where is the territory of the Frankish Kingdom, where is Queen Mary’s hometown of Britain, where is the Apennine Peninsula of the destroyed Western Rome, and where is the Balkans and Asia Minor still controlled by the Eastern Rome...
There are some hometowns in these places, such as the Lake Mälaren area, the Danish territories, and the British Isles. Everyone knows these geographical knowledge. It's just that the Duke easily outlined the outline of the territory and his explanations were clear and logical, which was too shocking.
Because John Ingvar was among them. This crooked bastard was originally a man, but he was forced to straighten out by Rurik, and now the slave girl has given birth to a child for him.
After all, this man was a rare "knowledgeable man". He saw Hedeby, Schleswig, Hamburg and Bremen marked on the map by Rurik.
However, I am now in the far east!
Rurik inserted a dagger into the location of Novgorod, and further down the map are some purported locations of large settlements.
"You have all remembered it. This place is called Smolensk, this is Bryansk, this is Pskov, this is Moscow, Ryazan, Kaluga, Veliky Luki, Rzhev, Mogilev , Pripet, Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Voronezh, Odessa, Sevastopol..."
This vote is for the current and future Rus cities. It is said that as long as the population continues to expand, small settlements will grow larger, and a number of new settlements will emerge. Some large settlements will stand out and become Rus' new famous cities.
Rurik's words were actually training his wives. He did not require his wives to be very virtuous. On the contrary, if they became unopinionated, his plans would suffer.
No matter what their ethnic origin, their unified identity now is that they are Russians. They are the women of Rurik, the prince of Rus, and their destiny is to give birth to heirs for the prince.
The board was large enough for Rurik to use his knowledge to write the exact name of the city in Roman letters with a charcoal pencil.
Thanks to that global war, he really knew many famous cities in Russia, and even large and small cities in Germany and Poland. Although some cities did not emerge until much later, some famous historical cities were already born in the ninth century AD, or their village prototypes had already appeared.
If a dagger was inserted in the position of Novgorod, it would allow the wives and concubines to realize the precise location of their current location.
Then inserting another dagger in the place of Constantinople would give them a huge ambition.
"This is Constantinople, the capital of Rome, the greatest city in the world you know. There are one million people living here, and they are full of nobles wearing gold and silver. Their army is very powerful, and their The nobility is very noble..." Rurik spared no words of praise and described Constantinople as almost a city built with gold.
They were stunned when they heard it. At first they believed what Rurik said was true, but Lord Rurik would actually praise a city so far away that it even dwarfed the prosperous Principality of Rus. So how prosperous must Rome be?
The words of praise finally ended here. Rurik changed the topic and showed his fangs: "However, the Romans despise us. They regard us as wolves and bears, and we are not human beings anyway. This is the nobility of their civilization. , what about us?”
"Defeat them!" When the girls were stunned by the crazy knowledge, Nolen suddenly raised his fist and shouted.
"Oh? Nolen, you are very brave!" Rurik looked at her with pleasure in his heart.
Nolen still put on a rebellious face: "What I understand is that if the map you drew is true, then our Ross has no opponent in the entire northern world! If we want to defeat Rome, we should let them defeat them for no reason. Arrogance pays the price. We make a fortune by the way.”
What Nolen said fully demonstrated the style of a pure Viking woman. She is just a canary who looks exactly like a virtuous woman now. As long as time goes by, this woman will be a golden lioness.
However, Constantinople is no longer the Constantinople of Justinian and Belisarius. The population of Eastern Rome has been cut in half since the Great Plague in the sixth century. Two hundred years later, the current empire is still wealthy, but its strength Already severely shrunk, Yugoslav immigrants had penetrated the empire's countryside like a sieve, and the Bulgars had expanded into Thrace.
When one of his concubines had the idea of war, Rurik began to further embarrass him: "You have all seen this map. If we can organize a huge army, we just need to go all the way south, starting from Smolensk, and march along the If we go all the way south along the Dnieper River, we can reach their Constantinople, and our army will make a fortune. So for this goal, we must conquer Smolensk. You should all know your mission clearly, Although the time is not ripe in reality, you all have to give birth to sons for me."
Here Rurik particularly emphasizes the word "son", and the geographical terms he just mentioned are not to show off his wisdom.
A geographical noun is bound to a son.
"Your sons will become local dukes, and I will be promoted to the emperor of Rus (Augustus). Your sons will govern these places, rule the local people, and train the army to accept my call. The starting point of our Russian expansion in the east is Novgorod. When you see this map, I want you to remember it forever and tell all your sons that this is an order from their father to conquer the map. Territory, use our Ross swords and ships, provide us Ross with fishing grounds, fertile fields and endless gold and silver.”
Even if they are children, when their status is much higher than others, strong desires will sprout in their hearts. Rurik is inducing them and inducing their desire to explore the world.
Supplementing the knowledge on this map is just an appetizer. Rurik has plenty of time to continue popularizing science with them, and it just so happens that he can do this this winter.
He ordered his wives and concubines to keep this knowledge in mind and directly educate the sons he gave birth to.
And this education really made Rurik's past promise come true, and all the children of his wives and concubines would be enfeoffed. Where is the enfeoffment? Girls cannot guess geographical terms that they have never heard of before, not to mention that their knowledge of geography before was limited to a small area centered on Scandinavia.
The illusory things have a realistic look. There are a large number of black dots marked on the map. There are also phrases on the black dots that can be easily spelled. One of them is the fiefdom of his future son.
John Ingvar had been sitting dumbfounded, he was too scared to speak because he had a certain understanding of Eastern Rome.
Prince Rurik of Rus, didn’t his Rus have very harmonious exchanges with Rome? He was actually sharpening his knife secretly...
Rurik's geography class lasted as long as the snowstorm lasted. He and his wife and concubines stayed in the house all the time, and their children seemed to disappear during meal time.
Otto and Niya were busy taking care of their granddaughter Velica, and they also leisurely let the elderly Rigus and his wife entertain them. The old guy Rigus flattered her a lot, saying that Velika was more beautiful than Svetlana when she was a child.
But this kind of flattery is just flattery slapped on the horse's hooves.
Otto was happy again. The old man always doted on his first grandson. However, Otto was also a hero of the Ross generation, and he knew the difference between right and wrong.
"Svetlana's children are the orthodox ones. Velika's identity is the hereditary high priest, and her parents have been blessed by Odin. I watched your little daughter grow up and asked her to be my son. Your first wife is just because she is beautiful?"
Rigus was so choked that he didn't know what to say, but Otto didn't continue.
While eating, Velika kept burrowing into her father Rurik's arms. She curiously grabbed the bread from her father's plate, and Rurik also thoughtfully fed his daughter with a spoon.
The child's innocent smile is like the sunshine in the cold winter. She looks as cute as a cat with her eyes wide open as she takes a big gulp of wheat porridge.
"When I give birth to a child, he will take care of my child so intimately. Alas, Rumia is his first woman after all..." Svetlana liked the child Velika very much, and she also felt it in her heart. I feel very disappointed. Is it really just because I am too young to be a mother?
Carlotta was even more disappointed. What she was most excited about during this period was the news from New Roseburg. In the end, all the immigrants who were related to the Ostara refugees left Sweden.
In the past years, there was no pure-blooded Ostara tribe, and all Swedish tribes intermarried with each other.
The bull-headed flag with a white background fluttered in New Ross Fort. Legally, the Principality of Ostara formed a blood alliance with the Principality of Ross, and their relationship was reciprocal. Of course this is not the case. The Principality of Ostara only exists in name and does not have its own territory. It is essentially part of the Principality of Rus. Maybe things will change, and some acres of land can be brought from Rurik to cultivate, and then the cattle, sheep, and deer herds can be bred, and Ostara will be completely resurrected in the new world. As long as the people can live a stable life, they can give up everything, although that is impossible.
Carlotta felt uncomfortable when she saw the child Velica. She just wanted to have a child of her own!
The snowfall outside is still continuing. It is not as cold and violent as in my hometown in Northern Europe. Even with the constant snowfall, people do not dare to go outdoors to start winter work.
At the end of every lunch, Rurik was not busy continuing to impart knowledge to his wives and concubines. He is very energetic and does not need to take a lunch break. He is very interested in playing with his daughter.
Education should start from childhood. For the future hereditary high priest, Rurik took care of her when she was two or three years old, and he would personally instill the knowledge of cosmology into his daughter's mind!
The Big Bang? This is of course meant to be described, but based on this era, it falls under "Odin's power."
Then there is the "atom theory" that has been formed and is being used, and even the Milky Way, the solar system, and finally the earth. The following knowledge will be instilled in her when she grows up. Now Rurik wants to imprint it in her mind. A sacred place - Odin.
This Odin is no longer the other Odin. Each Viking tribe has different understandings of gods such as Odin, Thor, and Freya. The Ross tribe has its own set of explanations. Odin was appointed by Rurik as the head of the gods. This god will also be further sanctified. One day, the three gods GOD, ODIN, and PERON will merge into one, that is, The "first motive force" that Newton believed in.
From a long-term perspective, one day Ross will be able to continuously defeat the weak Eastern Rome. However, the other party's culture is too brilliant, and Rome's black travelers can and will further lure the people of Ross to convert to the divine. This is the reality. Before Eastern Rome took action, Frank had already taken action. John Invar and Eskil were a living example!
If you can't beat them culturally, join them first and then transform them. What Rurik knows is that all the great gods of the Indo-Europeans come from the same god of war. He is the main god of all races. His descendants are the fairies of the Slavic faith, the Valkyries of the Russians, and John Invar to this day. Believe in that vote of angels.
Velica must have the right to interpret the faith, and one of the core ideas must be inherited forever by the descendants of Ross - the great gods spread wisdom to the world, and mortals should take the initiative to explore this wisdom and use it.
That is, scientific enlightenment.
Velika is a blank slate child. She is not precocious at the moment, but she is really naughty.
The other wives and concubines are completely different. It is meaningless to talk about the fairy system with them. They are the elites of the principality and should contribute their own strength to the expansion of the principality while they are alive.
When the principality had a seemingly unattainable goal that would be extremely glorious once successful, that is, to attack and plunder Constantinople, just like Prince Igor and Queen Mother Olga did in history. Rurik can't wait for his younger son and his daughter-in-law's generation to accomplish such a feat, just as he has already accomplished this feat for his own son's generation in Karelia, which was hit hard this year. Rurik also wants to see it in his lifetime. See the magnificent Theodosian Walls and the majestic Hagia Sophia.
At present, it is still a luxury, and career must be achieved step by step.
In order to have peaceful trade contact with the King's Castle, a stable trade line must be opened. Although the "Gem and Leather Road" was born in the era of the Roman Republic, it was nothing more than a relay trade of free merchants. Second-line traders of various ethnic groups turned Baltic amber into a high-priced item in the Egyptian market. The same thing happened in the East. The lapis lazuli was also manipulated by various dealers into a sky-high price item in the Viking world.
The Russians want to have a trade line that they operate on their own, firmly controlled by the Russian army, and causing the trade volume to increase steadily.
After all, after the rise of the Novgorod region, there is a need for foreign markets to consume Ross's products. The Swedes and Danes are miserable, their population is small and their economic foundation is poor, and neither are the Franks. Even though Rome, the Thousand Years Empire, has been in its current state, she is still a skinny camel, but her body is still huge. Only by doing business with Eastern Rome can you make a long-term fortune.
Then, it’s time for the inherent economic contradiction between the Ilmenslavs of Novgorod and the Kriviches of Smolensk to come to an end!
The Karelia people will attack at any time, but it turns out that they are so weak and decisive in their escape, and they are not worthy of allowing Ross to mobilize all his troops to attack them.
The rosy city of Smolensk, which stands on the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, will be the focus of Ross's future expansion southwards. In as little as two years and as many as five years, Novgorod and the Nordic hometown should train an army with great martial arts to conquer the city directly. Rurik really had an ominous premonition that Smolensk would not be defeated without a fight. It would take a fierce battle to conquer the city, but as long as he won, the road to the Black Sea along the Dnieper River would no longer be possible. Obstacle.
