The men holding the shields were full of anger. They had been harassed endlessly by the Russians over the years. It was obviously their enmity with the Danes. Why should the Bernholm people pay the price?
Just because the whole island surrendered to Denmark?
More than a thousand people swarmed up and could tear the landing Russians into pieces, but they were clearly envoys.
What do the Russians want to do? negotiation?
Negotiation is okay if it allows them to end their endless harassment.
The heads of the big families who have not left the island, as well as several Danish lords who fled last year, have already set up the Nordic Parliament on the island.
No one is the owner of the island. On weekdays, everyone gets together to live together. When something happens, the prominent people will elect a talker to handle the matter.
A man named Swinder was elected, and it was he who called on the men to take up arms and go to the beach to see what was going on.
A small leader shouted angrily: "Are they envoys? They didn't give us a chance to defend themselves before, but now we send some people to chop the envoys."
"No. Their ships are like Kraken, and I don't want to anger them."
"Let them land safely on the island? They are also destroying everywhere in Danish waters." An exiled Danish lord worried.
Swinder stood in front of the formation, worried about the large ships that were eyeing them, so the islanders' longboats did not leave the harbor to intercept them, so he led the men to guard the beach.
Inciting an army to tear the envoy to pieces is nonsense, and it would be a pleasure to do so, which would end the possibility of negotiation.
He then said to those noble people: "Since you have elected me to be the talker, please don't cause trouble, and those who restrain themselves must not attack without authorization. I will go and talk to the Russians who have landed ashore in person."
A small boat floated to the shore, a flag fluttering, and the people on the boat were also wearing Ross's white and blue striped robes.
How can Ragnar not be afraid of the people of Bernholm in his Ross-like outfit? He himself was also quite worried, and this trip was also a brave undertaking with his head in his belt.
The fishermen's boats ran aground directly on the beach. Ragnar held the boat and jumped off, then faced the entire military formation with arrogant steps.
Then, take off your helmet.
Ragnar showed his face, which immediately shocked some people.
"Is it him? No way!" an exiled Danish lord lamented.
Another person was confused: "Ragnar in woolen pants? He looks similar, but there are many people who look alike. This man is a Russian. Clothes can't deceive."
"Maybe he's not dead? Did he surrender to the Russians?"
"Who knows?"
…
Undaunted by the shields stacked like a wall, Ragnar faced the army, clutching his helmet and spreading his arms.
"People of Bernholm, do you recognize me?"
"You?!" Swinder shouted, "Russians! Do you want to negotiate with us?"
"No! I'm not from Russia."
"You are obviously wearing Russian clothes!"
"I am a Dane! Ragnar of the Stonewall tribe! Ragnar in woolen trousers, Ragnar who beheaded King Svealan!"
Because the names of heroic men are always highly respected, the stories always become bizarre through word of mouth, and finally become fantasy stories.
The warriors holding the shield were all surprised. If he was Ragnar the Hairy Pants, who could defeat him? Besides, he is a Dane, not a Russian, and he is not a servant of the new king of Denmark. There is no reason for war between them.
"Someone said you were dead!" Swinder continued to shout.
"I am not dead. I will avenge Horik while I am alive. You! People of Bernholm! If you are the hounds raised by Horik, you can kill me now. If you also oppose that man, now Just stop being guarded and let’s have a nice chat.”
Hearing this, Swinde made a quick decision. No matter who this person is, the Ross forces he represents seem to have no desire to fight. Anyway, the strong men have been mobilized. If the people on Ross's ship want to land on the island to kill, they will be seeking death.
He asked the men to relax their guard, and he moved forward with open arms.
The misunderstanding appears to be over, and Ragnar peacefully lands on the island.
For Ragnar, this is not his first time landing in Bernholm, but he was very young last time he came, and now he is the father of two children.
If he is a fake, it will be revealed quickly if he is asked by the real Danish lord.
In fact, this is not the case. Ragnar has a very important token to prove himself - the ring inherited from his father.
The Ring Sigurd made himself a ring, which was actually a "ouroboros", also referring to the "Jormungandr Serpent".
The ring is not surprising. It would be arrogant to make an Ouroboros ring.
The fleeing lords had fought side by side with Ragnar many times. Even though this was an era without photos, Ragnar had many achievements, and the lords looked at him more often.
Now that they saw Sigurd's ring, the fleeing lords already recognized the fact that Ragnar Danes were. As for why he is wearing Russian clothes, and why there are three large Russian ships in front of the island...
"You? What's the purpose of coming here? Negotiating with us on behalf of Ross?" Swinder asked the core question to the point.
Ragnar did not hide it: "It is indeed a negotiation. This is not a place for conversation. We should find a good place to have a good chat."
…
The three large Ross boats were like swords hanging above their heads. As soon as they arrived, the islanders' fishing plan for the day was ruined again.
The islanders went back to their homes, looking forward to a conclusion in the negotiations.
The sea breeze blows across the entire island. A large wooden house is built on the top of the highest stone hill on the island. Standing here, people can see far away. If the air is clear enough and the weather is clear enough, people with good eyesight can even see the coastline of the distant mainland. Phantom.
Ragnar entered the council chamber with two attendants holding swords. The three of them had already taken off Ross's robe and folded it, revealing his leather casual clothes, which made him look exactly like the islanders.
However, although he is nicknamed "Wool Pants", he is currently wearing real Ross linen trousers. A pair of tightly stitched trousers is a huge difference from the islanders.
Because the islanders also wear skirts on a large scale, or a kind of overall leather robe. They don't even have the concept of underwear, they just wrap their legs in stockings when they're really cold.
Ragnar, who was used to Ross's comfortable clothing, could no longer go back. Of course, there were some minor issues with his clothing.
More than twenty prominent figures gathered in the parliament chamber, and Ragnar was the most important guest.
"I'm sorry, because of the harassment of the Russians, we can only venture fishing in the winter. We recently caught some herrings, and they are a bit smelly. I can only entertain you with these." Swinder's opening remarks seemed to be Complaining, words full of rudeness.
It is true that Ragnar is a Dane, and his current identity as an envoy of Rus is also true.
"Eating smelly fish? Since it is your gift, I'd better accept it. I want to believe that you are not deliberately neglecting it."
In fact, the islanders were deliberately neglecting this matter. Swinder denied it with a smile and Ragnar smiled as if he didn't understand.
Swinde continued on behalf of everyone: "We just want to know, what does it mean for you to come? It can't be..." He paused for breath, "Do you want us to submit a declaration of war?"
"War? As for that?" Ragnar shook his head, "I am indeed here to represent Ross, but I can also represent all the lords who were attacked by Horik."
"You represent us?" An exiled lord happened to be present. "How can you represent us?"
"That seems to be the case. But, are you willing to continue in exile? Or find a way to chop off Horik's head and let us return to Denmark to regain the lost territory."
"Just you? What strength do you have? You don't mean this, but we all heard that almost all of your tribe is dead. Your tribe's cemetery was also destroyed by that villain Horik..."
"That's enough!" Ragnar was furious and slammed the table, which scared everyone and quickly pulled out their daggers. "Every time I think about this, I become more determined to take revenge."
"So how do you want to take revenge?" Another exiled lord asked, "How many men do you have left to fight?"
"At least three hundred people. If necessary, I can recruit some more mercenaries." Ragnar's reply was quite sincere.
"Up to five hundred people, which is indeed a lot, but Horik and his servants are even more. They also have the hateful foreign aid of the Franks. What do you have?"
"So, this is what I want to say." Ragna spread his hands and looked around everyone, "You think the Ross people are hateful and deliberately attack your fishermen. I went into exile in Ross, talked with their young prince, and also I know the attitude of the Russians."
"What do the Russians want to do?!" Swinder also slammed the table and asked.
Ragnar did not talk about the affairs of the Russians, but deliberately talked about things that happened a long time ago. "There is only one great hero in Denmark, that is Godfrey, but his nephew Harald Clark betrayed everyone, and Hafgen is not a wise man. Although Hafgen has an indecent name, it is also because of Defend Denmark’s rights, unlike Horik who sold out a lot to Frank for power. You are surrendering to the heroic king of Denmark, but this Horik is not worthy of your respect.”
"Why are you talking about this? Of course we don't recognize Horik." Swinder urged him to get down to business.
"How about Hafgen? He raised his troops and killed many people. Everyone who was doing this also sent out troops. We killed all the Svealans. As far as I know, the tribe we annihilated in a surprise attack ran away. A girl. That girl has given birth to a child for the Prince of Rus. You sent troops to participate in all the expeditions organized by Hafgen. The Rus people actually took revenge on you just for revenge."
The islanders and exiled lords never knew this inside story, and they were shocked. Naturally, some people say that this is actually an excuse for the Russians to find trouble. No man would start a war over one of his concubines.
However, this is indeed a noble excuse.
Following this theory, Ragnar continued: "Hafgen is dead. How do you think he died?"
"I know. His Red Dragon collided with the Russian lone ship, and he fell into the sea and disappeared. He was swallowed by the sea." Swinde said.
"Do you know who is in command of that Ross ship?"
After following the instructions, Swinde and the others were shocked: "Could he be the leader of the Ross people?"
"That's him! He is a young man who seems to have been blessed by Odin. His luck has always been very good, and his own strength is also very strong. I heard about the attitude of the Prince of Rus towards the entire Denmark. The Rus people did not want to fight, but All their people in Hedeby were killed. They couldn't bear it, so they gathered their strength to take revenge. So attacking you is only part of the revenge..."
"It sounds like you have been defending from their point of view. I admit that they may have a point, but they clearly want to trap us Bernholm people to death." Swinder was indignant.
"The Russians are just seeking revenge, and I want to destroy Horik's power and take revenge on the Franks."
"So you're cooperating with the Russians like this?"
"It's cooperation. I have learned the true attitude of Prince Rus. That man believes that the enemy of his enemy can be a friend. Put aside the past grudges, now we are all facing a big trouble. We can obviously join forces to bring down King Horik of Denmark. Eradicate. I even..."
"What do you want?"
Ragnar raised his head proudly: "I should become the new King of Denmark, and then sign a treaty with the Rus and Svealans, so that piracy in this sea area ends, and we can do business freely and live in peace and contentment. Wouldn't it be great? ?”
Restoring peace is the long-cherished wish of the islanders, but peace is simply a luxury.
Ragnar added: "The Rus wanted me to rob you, but I stopped them. The fight between you is unnecessary. In my opinion, it would be better if you sent an envoy to Rus to form an alliance. According to it I know that the Prince of Rus is very willing to accept new allies. You see, even though I killed the king of Svealan, I still successfully formed an alliance with them. Two of the big ships parked outside your port are mine. This is the solution. The benefits of alliance. As long as you ally with Ross, at least the Ross people will not attack you again."
Many people were moved by it.
"So, what's the price?" Swinder asked cautiously, and at the same time, he was also thinking about how much it would cost to buy the Russians to stop.
"Who knows?" Ragnar shrugged, "Maybe it's enough for you to oppose the attitude of the Danish King."
Ragnar as the lobbyist has done a good job, and his lobbyist is just a guest appearance. It seems that the persuasion work has been completed.
He said that there was no need for the royal pirate to be sealed by Rurik to turn the entire island of Bernholm against him.
Just as he expressed his ambition to become the new king of Denmark, he needs to develop his own strength. He does not need to actually rule the entire island. After all, the island itself is just a team of multiple large families and a large number of free fishermen. He only needs to promise benefits, and the islanders will probably join on their own.
The Stonewall tribe lost many people, but the tribe itself was not composed of a single lineage family. Ragnar can clearly absorb small families from Bernholm into new tribesmen.
The people in the parliamentary court secretly divided into two groups. One group thought that they could try to negotiate peace with the Russians, while the other group planned to continue to wait and see.
As for the staunch opposition, there is no such thing!
Swinde is a supporter, and it is true that when it comes to diplomatic matters, he, the talker, must go to the Ross territory in person to meet with their supreme leader to discuss the possibility of an alliance.
During the day, Ragna landed on the island in a small boat. At night, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on the possibility of forming an alliance. The next morning, it became two ships drifting towards the three Ross ships, which were eyeing them.
Spyot ordered the entire army to be on alert as usual, and after seeing Ragnar's return clearly, he ordered the torque slingshot to unload.
Hearing that the islanders' envoys wanted to board the ship, Siputu lowered the rope ladder from the big ship.
Seeing the demonic Ross ship for the first time, Swinder couldn't help but touch it before boarding the ship like climbing a wall. He was detained as soon as he boarded with his entourage.
It wasn't until Ragnar boarded the ship that he explained that the entire island had plans to form an alliance.
An idea came to Spyot, "Form an alliance with our prince? Yes. But when the brothers come, we can't return empty-handed. You provide us with some food and other treasures."
"Okay, we just have some stinky herrings." Swinder was right. "If you block our sea area, don't expect us to bring out many treasures."
"Forget it. It seems that you are the leader of the islanders. I will take credit for catching you."
In fact, Swinde brought some "meeting gifts", which were to select ten girls from the island. This is what Ragnar said. The so-called Russians need a large number of women. The foreign women are not slaves, but simply wives and children.
In this way, Swinde no longer had any psychological burden, and took two more armed followers with him, and for the first time he took a Russian ship and headed for the eastern sea.
