People came out of the forest with their stone axes to chop down big trees, and a small number of iron axes and knives to finish the wood.
Men and women use bows and drills to create flames, burn the reeds and foxtail grass everywhere at once, and regularly open up wasteland on the moist wasteland beside the lake.
They work together to create new homes, just like their way of life in the forest.
They dug soil into the pile foundations and laid logs directly on top of them. A frame building wooden shed is built around the pile foundation, and the outer layer is wrapped with moss and lake mud, and then a layer of wood is affixed to the outermost layer. Straight pine trees were used as beams, and the herringbone roof was first laid with a layer of thin branches, and then a large number of fresh reeds were piled up. Finally, some earth blocks were thrown in to fix it. A rough and warm wood-carved roof was finally built.
Most of the farm buildings in the forest are like this. As long as these people are given enough time, they can use the simple tools at hand to build the houses neatly.
However, compared with the powerful farms living on the lakeside, their disadvantages are obvious.
Many people have lice and fleas on their bodies, so the first thing most people do after arriving at the lake is actually take a bath.
Although they were old commoners and leather coats, they could not part with these as their only means of covering up the cold. Clothes that could be soaked in water almost washed away the parasites, and roasting the clothes on a fire solved the problem.
The women began to weave ropes from the vines they found, and the men not only used wooden plows to clear the land, but also tied up rafts and fished in the waters near the shore.
Some masters know how to fish with their bare hands and spread bait to attract fish. A large bass cruises here and tries to swallow the bait whole, but the fisherman who has been waiting for a long time quickly grabs the fish's mouth and pulls it out of the water to catch it.
The fishing nets used for fishing in streams also came in handy. Unlike fishing in forest streams, they began to catch big fish in Lake Ilmen. What was even more shocking was that it seemed that the big bass here could not be caught. Absolutely.
At first, the New Slav immigrants who left the forest were very afraid of the Varangian ships cruising on the lake. The cocked keels at the bow and stern of the ships were the most obvious feature. The thought of these outsiders killing the overlord of the area, Pine Needle Manor, overnight I am exhausted, for fear that I will also encounter something unexpected.
They were willing to believe in the safety guarantees offered by the Russians in Varyag. More importantly, when everyone realized that life on the lakeside was much better than in the past, no one was willing to escape back to the jungle.
With peaceful contact, neo-Slavic immigrants abandoned their past ideas almost instantly.
The Russians are tall and blond, and the fishermen all look very young, and they generally speak some Slavic.
Looking back on myself, both men and women are short, even men are on the thin side.
Life in the jungle is not easy, and only about half of newborns survive to get married. Even so, so-called adult men generally can only barely reach about 160cm in stature due to poor nutrition during their growth stage. Their food almost only consists of oats and a small amount of rye. Their overall food reserves are not large, and meat is a complete supplement.
Soldiers from the old Pine Needle Manor occasionally entered the forest to exploit the enemy, but the villagers did not dare to resist. Even with their teeth broken, they could only swallow silently and hand over the small amount of food.
Just a few years ago, the exploitation of Pine Needle Manor suddenly intensified, and the lives of the forest people became even more miserable.
What they actually don't know is that most of the Pine Needles Manor doesn't even bother to go into the forest to exploit the poor. It's all because of the exploitation of the Ross Conquerors, forcing the Pine Needle Manor to find ways to produce more oats to cope with it.
The villagers in the forest regard Pine Needle Manor's hegemonic behavior as a natural disaster, but they have to guard against evil bear attacks. Those black-skinned ferocious beasts will regard farmers who chop wood as prey. Bears will even directly prey on children. If a bear rushes into the village, all the men will pick up stone spears to drive it away.
The poor environment of the forest means that people in the forest are often attacked by bears. On the other hand, in the lakeside area, because the field of vision is wide enough and there are many flat areas, if a bear appears, people can detect it early.
The new home by the lake has fertile land and a pleasant climate. It seems that as long as the Russians become obedient citizens, they will only have a stable life in the future.
It is said that the largest leader of the Rus people will arrive during the autumn harvest season, and the people who have been forced to immigrate want to see what the conqueror looks like.
Is it really like what those so-called soldiers in Novgorod said, that he was a blond boy, a young hero who received God's grace and instructions?
They did not dare to expect too much, because there were two major things at hand that had to be done. One was to wait for the right time to organize the village men to return to their hometowns to harvest wheat under the supervision of the Slavic warriors stationed in the Principality of Rus. The other was to continue construction. The village endures the winter that will arrive in two months.
This kind of forest farm has no class differentiation. Those who are strong and wise are elected to the village. All production and life are done collaboratively by all male and female villagers. It's unclear where this way of life began, but the villagers feel they can live like this forever.
But the ship of the times has rushed over, and these newly emerged Slavic people have no independent choice. They must submit to the Rus Principality and serve the Principality.
As many as eleven villages that had been forced to immigrate connected with each other, and the leaders of each village secretly held some small meetings. No one proposed to oppose the new conquerors. They all just wanted to live their new lives. The so-called meeting was to demarcate the scope of their respective lives and ensure that they would not dig up soil on other people's territory when they opened up wasteland.
A raft drifting on the lake encountered an approaching fleet!
In the eyes of fish farmers, the Avora-class sailing cruiser is simply a behemoth that transcends three perspectives and cannot be described in words.
All the working villagers saw the approach of the strange fleet, and what they remembered most was the fluttering flags.
They recognized these flags, and the soldiers who escorted them out of the dense forest showed the flags with blue stripes on a white background.
The visitors were all conquerors of the Russians from afar, and many of them were planning how to meet the leader of the Russians who was about to disembark. No one felt any danger; curiosity overcame all fear.
It's just that those big ships are just floating near the shore, as if they just want to show their existence?
The sailors were ordered to maneuver the fleet to appear in front of the new immigrants' village. Each ship anchored in the early afternoon. Then all the sailors looked at the group of people gathered by the lake for a while, then they lay on the deck to bask in the sun and sleep. Sleep.
The sailors had completed their tasks. When the prince's land army arrived at the first New Slavic village they encountered and received new orders, everyone weighed anchor and continued to cruise south along the east coast of the great lake.
Rurik led his army right behind. After a long march, even the youngest warriors had sufficient physical fitness due to daily training. What's more, they were on an armed parade this time and did not bring heavy weapons or armor at all.
Without heavy equipment but with the assistance of horse-drawn carriages and deer carts, the army marched on the flat lake shore, and they soon reached their first destination.
"Everyone stop!" Rurik, the leader of the group, ordered the soldiers holding horns to blow the horns to halt the entire army.
What happened? Are there ruins of a village in the distance? There are also some scattered thatched houses. There are large mature fields here, and oat seeds have been sown on them, and the wheat seedlings are heading.
The young male and female warriors whispered, and then heard the orders of the entire team.
Arik and his two hundred veterans stood up quickly. These people looked at a large group of boys and girls who were also lining up quickly. They were relieved and discussing with each other.
Four hundred children are indeed children, and the height of boys and girls should not be underestimated. Girls mostly carry short wooden bows on their backs and hang quivers on their waists. There is also a long-edged dagger for self-defense. The linen backpack was stuffed with dry food, and there was a curled linen blanket on the outside. The boys were no longer armed as adults, and their backpacks still had large wooden bucklers hanging on their backs, as if they were carrying turtle shells. A long sword, a small hand axe, and a dagger hung from his waist, and a halberd was held in his hand as a marching weapon.
Rurik gave another command: "Fisk! Get out of the queue!"
A young and strong soldier of sixteen years old held his helmet steady and hurried to Rurik.
"grown ups……"
"Everyone has expired? Is there anyone left behind along the way?"
"Not at all." After saying that, Fisk smiled honestly.
Everyone stands in a matrix. According to the rules, a thirty-man organization is called a "ship". In the Russian army, it is a "platoon-level combat unit". It is also the organization that can at least independently perform combat tasks in Rurik's plan.
He used this to reorganize everyone into neat "squares", and then inspected them to confirm that there were not many of them.
He cleared his throat. The sun was shining now, and the iron helmets and towering spearheads shone brightly. This army was unspeakably powerful.
"Brothers! Do you know where this is?" Rurik shouted deliberately.
Everyone just watched the richly dressed prince walking around in front of everyone giving orders with his hands behind his back, and continued to listen to his spiel.
"There was a farm here, but they participated in the rebellion! The village was burned and the traitors were executed! The farmland here is still fertile, and I have asked other Slavs to sow wheat seeds. Look! The wheat is about to mature! I do want to Taking you to scare the weak who left the forest is also a demonstration of our strength. But now, I want to announce another thing, I want to build a new settlement here! Mstisk cannot exist alone, the city There needs to be another city to take care of it. So, who will build this new city?”
Rurik's eyes had already glanced at Fisk, and he shouted again: "Fisk!"
"grown ups?!"
"I have decided that you and your young brothers and sisters will settle here! The young people of Ross will build a city of youth."
This decision is really beyond everyone's imagination. Although there has been news that everyone should survive independently when they are old enough, could it be that the time has come and the prince is determined to let go? !
Boys' concept of honor and disgrace determines that they are not willing to live on the prince's support. They are eager to repay their debts by making military exploits, working for the prince, and paying taxes.
Fisk's mood was a little chaotic. He asked weakly on behalf of everyone: "Sir? Do you mean to give this land full of wheat to...us?"
"How's it going? Aren't you satisfied yet?" Rurik smiled deliberately.
"Satisfied! Very satisfied! This favor is really great!"
"Of course! Not only will I give you the right to cultivate the land, but I will also give you a field of wheat for free. Fisk, you are already sixteen years old and are already qualified to be included in the first flag team. I saw in front of me There is a young and strong army standing, and you should form a flag team yourself." At this point, Rurik couldn't help but pinch his fingers and think about it, "Well, you will be the sixth flag team. Or call it youth. Flag Captain. Fisk, there is no one more qualified to be Flag Captain than you."
Things moved very quickly, and Fisker realized that he had a great honor and an important and decisive burden on his shoulders.
He simply half-knelt in front of Rurik in public and further swore his loyalty to the prince and his gratitude for the reward.
"Get up," Rurik said.
"As commanded."
Although Rurik is only fourteen years old, his rapidly growing body has basically taken on the form of a strong man. Rurik still looks strong overall. As he grows, a lot of muscles can be attached to his bones, but his current puffy clothes already make him look very strong.
He looked straight at Fisk, who was two years older than him, and continued to order: "When we complete this tour, you will take your brothers and sisters to build a settlement here. I will provide you with various building materials, and also Organize a group of Slavic construction masters to help you build houses. But when your life settles down, I will cut off the material rewards I will give you. Fisk, your childhood is over, I singled you out because you are already adults."
Fisk hurriedly caught the words: "Yes! The real Ross warriors always open up new horizons on their own. We are very grateful to His Majesty the Prince for his kindness. In the future, we can only repay him with endless loyalty."
"Repay me? That is necessary. You must never forget that most of you have become orphans for various reasons, or you would have died long ago without my help. Now you are all Russians, but you cannot forget the past. Suffering. So when you see other children who are hungry and homeless, try to bring them back and raise them."
"As commanded."
"One more thing. In principle, women are not suitable to be soldiers. Unless the current situation forces a shortage of troops, I will recruit female soldiers. There are currently more than a hundred girls in the Sixth Flag Team. You can combine them! They must be The boys’ first wives. As for the remaining unmarried boys, I will find some local girls for you. We can even go to those new villages through this armed patrol to look for them..."
Rurik decided to build a new city, and the young children supported it.
Will a boy and a girl who received military training together and fought side by side on the battlefield get married? That's a really good thing.
They had a general affection for each other, which Rurik had known for a long time, and all the sane Rusians in their prime were happy to see this union. Many sons and daughters of middle-aged men are actually in this team. Just because the children have eaten the food gifted by the duke for many years, the parents of the children feel that they are wrong even if they want to interfere in their children's marriage.
The children of the newly awarded Sixth Flag Team are all loyal to the prince, and only the prince has the highest authority to interfere in their marriages.
Secretly, these children have been matched with each other for a long time, and some of the oldest ones have secretly had sex. There is a de facto marriage here, but it is just not certified through a wedding ceremony with the participation of a priest.
There will be a carnival after the harvest. The local Slavs will priest their god of agriculture. Naturally, the Russians who immigrated should follow this tradition and priest the god Frey who is in charge of "economic development" in the Russian faith.
Taking advantage of harvest festivals to hold weddings is also a reserved item for locals, not to mention that this year's situation is very special.
After the harvest, it will be Rurik and Svetlana’s first wedding anniversary.
The children admired the farmland here and marveled at its vastness.
What I have to say is that Rurik finally gave them a great favor. The population of the village that originally lived here was as high as 2,000 people, and the acres of land it owned could support at least 2,000 people. On the other hand, there are only 400 young men and women brought by Rurik. Even if these people combine to marry foreign women, they will only form about 250 couples in the end. If new immigrants are not added to fill them in the future, These children need to wait until the third generation to develop a settlement of 2,000 people.
Rurik naturally will not let that day come later, because there are still a group of young cubs growing vigorously, and they will naturally fill this place when they reach age.
Until the settlement was sufficiently populated, it was time to consider building a new city.
For this reason, the ownership rights of farmland are held by Rurik. All he rewards everyone is the right to use it. Each family can only get one hectare of mature land for the time being. If some families commit crimes, the farmland will be lost. The right to use will be revoked. Another reason why Rurik did not fully reward the ownership rights was that these children lacked military merit. Only those who have made great contributions to the principality have the right to obtain private land with full rights and interests from the prince!
On the contrary, all the output of this land this year belongs to these children. This can be regarded as the last favor from Rurik, the prince, to them, just like an old father giving his children the starting capital for their future life.
For the time being, Fisk and his men are theoretically disqualified from being recruited to fight. Their biggest task is to build cities, develop agriculture, and build the City of Youth enough to return the assets to the principality in the form of taxes.
The City of Youth is called Tonorstardt according to the North Russian dialect. When described in Slavic, the place name suffix "Skoye" will be added, which means the City of Youth by the lake.
