Rurik's royal fishing boats were busy trawling, and the newly caught herring immediately filled a huge appetite.
The dying people gradually regained their spirits after being replenished with food and fresh water. Then, these captives stared at the strange conquerors tremblingly, waiting for their unknown fate.
To be fair, Rurik intends to treat this group of people well, but whether they appreciate it is another question.
Maybe a warm face and a cold butt? Isn't it just asking for trouble?
Because Ross is a conqueror, the conquest has destroyed the lives of the islanders. I am afraid that they will just run away if they have enough food and drink and don't want to resist. Unless it is shipped to a remote place.
Detailed screening of thousands of captured personnel began.
Regardless of how they clamor, what right does a group of de facto slaves have to decide their own destiny?
Among the captives, there was a husband-wife relationship, as well as a mother-child relationship.
In the former case, couples were forcibly separated, but the relationship between mother and child could still be preserved.
Men and women were guarded separately, and their fates were completely different from this moment on.
Arik was ordered to find strong-bodied men among the men. The chosen ones were put in ropes and led away like animals. The number of men in the crowd gradually decreased, and those left behind became increasingly frightened, as if they were worthless and would be beheaded soon.
Then someone tremblingly proposed himself: "I can do something for you, take me away."
Arik ignored him as if he couldn't hear him. A Russian soldier replied contemptuously: "You are not even qualified to be a slave, so shut up!"
This was like a death sentence, and those left behind were disheartened. They couldn't figure out why the Russians saved them in the end, and they might as well die of thirst and starvation early.
The weak are not even qualified to be slave miners, and those who are chosen are quite sober.
In fact, Arik did not tell these men his true destination, nor even told them that the Russians' disdain was reflected in their unwillingness to chop off their heads.
The large fishing village occupied by the Ross army is now bustling with activity. This is the main camp of the Ross army and a giant prisoner of war camp. The original residents of this place turned into prisoners overnight. They clearly had their own houses there, but now all the wealth no longer belongs to them. The fishermen on Bornholm Island completely lost the fishing boats they relied on for a living. There were only wreckage of boats that were deliberately damaged near the shore, and some of the hulls were smashed into random pieces and used as firewood for bonfires.
Those men, women, and children from the big families who surrendered enjoyed control of the Shiqiu Warehouse. They had only suffered losses in previous battles. When they surrendered, most of them looked good.
They were all prisoners. Although they were all provided with food and water after the surrender, they were all put into a room for the time being and were strictly guarded by Ross soldiers.
Rurik has made his decision and has not told anyone else yet.
He didn't have time to deal with this group of people who were afraid of fighting and unwilling to surrender. It was their dilly-dallying that caused the Ross army to waste a lot of time and turned this supposedly short-term operation into a mess. Dilly-dallying.
Rurik planned to hold the so-called Nordic Conference the next day, and the leaders of the big families received orders to attend the meeting. What will they mutter in the house? Some ears were pressed against the wooden wall. The Rus warriors acted as listeners and hurriedly reported to the prince once they heard any significant whispers.
At night, the big campground is filled with the aroma of grilled fish.
The Danish exiles ate a lot of fish and precious wheat cakes, and these people, who were already strong and had been screened by the war, returned to their former glory. Rurik kept his promise and put Ragnar in charge of this task.
Didn't Ragnar beg to form a resistance army? Aren't the Danish troops coming soon? What's more, these 100 people are all Danes and are managed by a well-known Danish hero, which also saves the Russian army a lot of trouble.
As many as three hundred people knelt on the ground. Their identities in the past were various, but now they only had one identity - prisoners of war.
If any of the islanders of the past were stalwarts, these were them.
They spontaneously knelt down half-kneeling and covered their chests with their right hands. The intentions of those who took such a posture were obvious.
No, Rurik, who is gorgeously dressed and deliberately wearing chain mail, appears kindly under the light of the bonfire array!
The mighty Rus warriors holding torches showed more majesty and further showed their humility while half-kneeling.
Rurik stood on a platform made of wooden boxes, with his hands behind his back and his chin raised almost to the sky. He looked unusually arrogant.
"I know!" he said loudly, "You are not those people, you are just a group of raised slaves and a group of mercenaries who work hard for money! You made wrong choices in the past! Now, I! Prince of Ross Rurik Ottoson! I give you a choice! Serve me and you will receive benefits! Refuse to serve and be beheaded now."
Rurik then declared that this was a non-negotiable choice. Faced with the choice between life and death, they naturally chose life.
Slaves are the least scrupulous, but mercenaries have to think carefully first.
Rurik asked in a high-pitched voice: "Which of you was a slave in the past? Now stand up! I will give you the status of a mercenary. As long as you are loyal, you will get benefits."
Hearing this, all the slaves present stood up instantly as if they had springs on their feet. The speed of their movements shocked the soldiers holding torches.
There were so many slaves that Rurik had never thought of. They didn't seem to be weak, and they should be able to serve as good soldiers after some training.
Naturally, it is impossible for these people to burst out with strong fighting power and loyalty just because they change their families, and they cannot be used by themselves instantly.
them! A certificate of nomination is needed! For example, if you kill someone at the request of the Prince of Rus, you will prove it with the blood of your enemy.
The slaves were counted with the most accurate count, and there were more than 200 of them? ! They are all young men and are not qualified to marry or enjoy private wealth. Many of them are "lions" raised by big families since they were young. In theory, they will be sold to the Danes in the west when they get older. The extended family also often went to the Danish market to "buy goods", thus ensuring that the slave group was always a group of mules that could be used easily.
This group of slaves is a tool, and Rurik wants to restore their value as human beings.
The slaves knelt on the ground, one by one, and pledged their allegiance to Rurik himself individually. The strange ceremony of loyalty was actually Rurik's whim. In his mind, it was towards such a move that the slaves would More loyal. Loyalty largely comes from material provision and more power, and slaves who have nothing have very low requirements in all aspects. They were briefly pulled aside after taking the oath.
There are another hundred people who are purely mercenaries who are paid to do errands. They are also carefree people, but they have weapons on hand (temporarily confiscated). They are like a gang of lions walking together on the grassland. They have the freedom to choose their own money. The power of the Lord is basically that of those who use money to do things. As for what to do when you get old? No one thought about it. Is this person trustworthy? Absolute trust is impossible. As long as they have enough money, they can certainly take advantage of it.
In a sense, the mercenary groups that exist in the Ross army are the product of a recruitment system, which is different from the citizen soldier system that Ross derived from the tribal era. Of course, the recruited mercenaries are a supplement to the current citizen soldiers with limited manpower.
The current captain of the guard, Grund, was a former prisoner of war. After so many years of changing his ways, he gained significant benefits from staying in Rus and staying with the Prince of Rus. As a Dane, he even gained a political status in the Principality of Rus. He can claim to be loyal. This loyalty is not for money or so-called morality, but for the benefits he currently enjoys, and a key issue - the Russians grant him a marriage, and his wife and children are monitored by the Russians.
For his own benefit, Grund claimed to be an authentic Rusian and a warrior serving the "Son of Odin".
He thinks very highly of himself, and his shield is still heavily painted with raven patterns, arrogantly facing his fellow mercenaries.
Ryuri ordered him to collect this group of mercenaries on the spot, break them into pieces, and add them to each team of the mercenary team.
"After you recruit them, explain my policies, tell them the salary situation, and train them how to obey. You are their manager, and those who disobey will be beaten. If there is extreme disobedience, tell me the situation." Rick informed Grund quietly.
Forget it, Rurik made a big deal in front of the mercenaries who changed their families: "You work for me until you are thirty-five years old, and I will give you fields and a sum of retirement money. You can marry women and have children. You can be a farmer or fisherman in my territory until the end of your life. At that time, you will be the real Rus people recognized by me! I swear to Odin, I will never break my promise."
Um? What a good thing! The new mercenaries all think that Prince Ruos is a good man.
The slaves were still slaves, and they continued to work as slaves even after they arrived in Russia. However, the Principality of Ross can provide better food treatment and warm accommodation. Even if it is squeezed like cattle and horses, it is almost impossible to starve to death and freeze to death.
The destiny of most of the male captives is to work as slaves. Over time, they will be given little benefits to induce them to continue to be grateful. When they are too old to work or have made meritorious service in the war, they will declare their freedom from slavery.
In contrast, those female prisoners may have been lucky. Rurik boasted that he did not favor them, because they were just a tool to maintain stability. He kept them in captivity to restore their beauty, and then sold them to the group of Slavic farmers who had surrendered to the farm. With the concerns of their families, necessary treatment would be carried out in the future. In terms of tax strategy, those men will definitely pay extra due to family care Liangchuan.
If Rurik did show favoritism, it was against all the captured children.
Most of the children had died during the siege, and those who survived were all potential hard-core ruthless people.
Will grown-up children hold grudges? Maybe.
After some screening, one of the boys, Rurik, was not wanted, and all the girls were taken away.
Because Ross's original intention of conquering the entire Bornholm Island was not to force all islanders to immigrate. The original plan was to complete peace with the big families and order the powerful faction to pay tribute and declare their allegiance after a certain number of people. Even if the whole island is now reduced to fresh fish on a chopping board, Ross will get the meat, and the miscellaneous things will still have to be left on the island. This ruined island is still the forefront of the offensive policy against the Kingdom of Denmark.
The screening work took some time and was finally completed. The embarrassed Rurik ate some more food and felt sleepy again.
He gnawed off half an onion, relying on the spiciness to refresh himself.
Just because he still has to hold a small meeting for tomorrow. A secret little meeting!
There were only a few people attending the meeting, just Rurik himself, Arik, Jevro, Ragnar, Spyut, Blue Fox, young Fisk, mercenary captain Grund, and the islander's talker Swinder.
Ragnar participated as an ally, and the rest were either Rus' military nobles or vassals. Swinder was a special case, and Rurik glanced at this person a few times, hinting at its significance.
"Everyone is here, there are no outsiders in this house. I also asked the guards to stand farther away." God Rurik said solemnly.
It is true that there were only some oil lamps lit in this house, and the indoor light was extremely dim. The gloomy scene was really suitable for plotting.
"What else is going on?" Arik asked.
"Yes. It's about the big families among the islanders. They..."
Arik guessed: "Leave no one alive?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was startled. The one with the strongest reaction was Swinde: "Ah! They have all surrendered. You actually..."
"Calm down! Are you accusing me of breaking my promise?"
"I..." Swinder didn't dare to say this. His rational mind drove his mouth to close hurriedly, and it was like applying glue to his mouth, and now he could not speak.
"Swinder, just listen carefully. In my opinion, those big families have lost their use value. Their private soldiers and slaves are now mine. They don't even have a few servants left. Their My money has been taken away from me a long time ago. Is it necessary for such people to exist? If I keep them, they might backstab me in the future. Besides, you! Swinder! You don’t need them either."
"They really cannot stay." The speaker was Ragnar, and his agreement really surprised Rurik.
"I thought you would sympathize with those big families."
Ragnar shrugged: "I have never sympathized with them. It is only because we are against the new King of Denmark that we have a reason to communicate. Their lives are at your disposal. Me! I just want to chop off the head of the King of Denmark."
"You will. I support you. As long as we work together to eradicate the source of all evil, everyone can live in peace."
Ragnar took this statement seriously. After staying in Rus for a while, he saw clearly that the smaller the country, the more disputes there were. Although the Rus people used violence to conquer a large territory, there was a rare extreme peace within the principality. When people are no longer busy with armed fighting, they can spend a lot of time in production and life, and wealth is accumulated rapidly.
Rurik now publicly announced: "Swinder, I still want to establish contact with Bornholm. I canonize you as the war chief (count) of Bornholm, and you can continue your business here. Those who I All the unwanted prisoners will be handed over to you, and it is also your business how to deal with them."
"OK."
How dare Swinder have any objections? Rurik didn't leave many people for him, and all he left behind were the old and the weak. The entire island has been ruined. Although he has been canonized as a noble, don't the Rus have the final say on the island and surrounding waters? The situation was even more complicated because the Russian army was also followed by a group of Svealan (Swedish) fishermen.
Since ancient times, Swedes should not have appeared in this area, and now these guys can come and fish openly. Bornholm surrendered to Ross, and Ross and Sweden were allies, which meant that Bornholm had to accept Swedish fishermen plundering the rich sea pastures.
Humiliation, humiliation! Swinder was too lazy to change since he knew he was powerless to change. As a smart man, he knew the current affairs. From then on, he existed as a vassal of the Principality of Rus, so that his family could enjoy prosperity.
Swinder has no ambition, but Ragnar's ambition is almost etched on his face.
At this secret meeting, Rurik and Ragnar formally made a deal, with the top military nobles of Rus as witnesses.
Ragnar could use Bornholm as a base to oppose the Danish king and recruit troops to form an army.
But this is not the end, because Ross needs a window for trade with Denmark. Even if Denmark is now occupied by the new king Horik, the various lords of Denmark will not think that doing business is a shabby thing, right?
The large fishing village now used as a military camp will return to its former purpose of existence, but the residents will be joined by Russian merchant fishermen, Danish exiles, Swedish fishermen, and even Finns, who can also row their boats to trade and fish for herrings in the southern Baltic Sea if they like.
Bornholm will become a free island, legally under the jurisdiction of Rus, and the governance rights will also belong to Rus in principle. The Swinder family has been granted power and is also a tax collector, and should pay a small tribute to Rus every year.
Such a determination also requires Ragnar's approval, even though this man is still an exile.
Ragnar completely agreed, his attitude was straightforward and sincere. He is a man who wants to become the King of Denmark, and he needs the help of the Russians. In his opinion, the guys on Bornholm Island have always been strongheads, and this island will cause no loss to Denmark.
A secret agreement was signed, and the paper Rurik brought came in handy.
The secret contract is established in the form of a written document, and a verbal oath must be made. The written document makes the secret contract irrefutable.
At the same time as the secret meeting ended, the fate of those big families was also finalized.
The principles are simple and they are important to everyone.
But Rurik decided to make things a little more complicated. Will raising the butcher knife in public be detrimental to himself in public opinion? After all, when they surrendered, Prince Rus publicly announced that he had granted the right to life.
It would be nice if those guys could create their own reason to kill them.
At noon the next day, Rurik held an indoor banquet in public. Six large families surrendered, and he ordered the family patriarchs and male members to join the banquet.
There are grilled fish, wheat cakes, and even honey water and ale.
The men who had been nervously staying in the house all night saw these delicious meals and subconsciously felt that they would have a bright future because they had received the hospitality of Prince Rus, so the venue was also happy.
Arik, Jevro, Ragnar and other people were all involved. They pretended to be kind, but Swinder still managed to smile with a frown on his face.
The patriarchs of the big family were too lazy to pay attention to Swinder. They just stared at Rurik's handsome face. The more they looked at it, the more comfortable they became.
"Everyone enjoy a good meal, and we will talk." Rurik deliberately said this and went straight to the topic: "I very much welcome your surrender. I have put forward several conditions for you to think about overnight. Have you figured it out now?"
Sure enough, a clan leader signaled: "We talked all night, and we are willing to become your vassals. But, we..."
"Do you still want to put forward conditions?" Rurik squinted his eyes, picked up the glass inadvertently, and drank all the wine while still holding the glass. It was a signal that Aric had been watching out of the corner of his eye.
Just as the patriarch who was speaking wanted to continue describing, Arik signaled to leave the table and go to the toilet.
The patriarch continued his words: "We can vassal, but you must ensure our previous power. You took our slaves, please return them. We can resume our daily life before we can pay tribute to you in the future. We are willing to pay tribute, Please also promise to provide us with military protection."
At this moment, Rurik's eyes became even sharper. He couldn't even imagine that the big family at the end of their rope would dare to negotiate conditions with him now.
He was furious: "You! You don't have the strength to bargain with me now!"
The patriarch was suddenly startled and said hurriedly: "You are a hero, and we are willing to marry our little daughters to you."
"Oh? Is this your last concession?"
The clan leader was speechless for a moment and could only continue to emphasize: "We are willing to surrender."
"Ridiculous! Your daughter is only worthy of being a slave who rubs the feet of my warriors! You are the defeated, and you actually dare to ask for benefits!" The glass in Rurik's hand suddenly hit the wooden wall and broke into multiple pieces. The sound was loud. Not small.
Soon, a group of ragged men with swords and axes broke in under the leadership of Arik.
These people were Rurik's axemen, and they entered the house to kill people under the pretense of throwing cups. Their other identities are also slaves, and now they are paid with the blood of their former masters!
The heads of the six big families were reduced to minced meat under the knife and axe, and the mosaic of the scene caused Rurik to avoid them with a stupefied expression.
He left the banquet hall and continued to instruct his men: "Go and deal with the remnants of these families. Remember! No men or women will be left alive! If you dare to leave anyone alive, I will chop off your heads afterwards!"
Another group of slaves took action immediately upon being ordered to attack their former masters with butcher knives, thus physically destroying the old forces of Bornholm Island.
