Rise of Rurik

When Otto led his troops back for only four days, the sunny days came to an end.

Snow began to fall again, this time with strong arctic winds.

The blizzard hit Scandinavia for half a year and hit all of Europe. Those Danes and the inhabitants of the Frankish kingdom really felt the chill this time, and people were forced to hide in their homes.

The houses of the nobles are more protected from the cold, and those who are poor will freeze to death on a large scale.

The lords of the Frankish North lived in their thick houses of stone and wood, and their cronies were well protected. Only a large number of self-cultivation farmers, this cold snap directly froze to death a lot of winter wheat, as well as the livestock and poultry they raised, and even many people died in the wind and snow.

But the nobles couldn't count how much damage the cold snap had caused to themselves, but they could realize that the cold snap had already dealt a heavy blow to the Danes in the north. Predictably, when spring came, the hungry Danes would leap over their own stone walls and head south to plunder.

Maybe this is what humans have in common.

As long as the residents living in the north, they are always brave and good at fighting, because those who survive in bad environments are often the strong.

The sudden extreme cold destroyed many of their wealth, such as freezing cattle and sheep, and killing a handful of crops. In order to survive, these valiant powerhouses go south frantically under the domination of hunger, like beasts.

People who survived extreme cold weather are strong, and animals that survive are of course strong.

The cold snap continued, and the Danes and the Siamese allies, as well as the Norwegians on the west side of the foothills, continued to suffer from it.

The situation of the Ross tribe seems to be better.

Because they moved to the edge of the Arctic Circle for nearly seventy years, the first generation of immigrants was left with only one priest, Vilia, who was about to die, and the immigrant tribe also developed into the fifth generation. Everyone has adapted to the extreme cold weather that occurs every year, and even in the face of a colder climate, they can still bear it.

The wooden houses of many small families are indeed made of tree trunks, and they are often covered with a layer of soil in order to keep out the cold. But this is not very beautiful, as if he is a mouse living in a hole in the ground. For this reason, many wooden houses have to be piled with stones on the outside, or covered with a layer of wood.

The house has become very thick, and the soil that becomes the interlayer is also very good to avoid heat loss, so that the snow outside has gradually submerged the waist, and the interior is still a warm nest.

As long as they are not alone wandering around outdoors, the residents of the Ross tribe will not freeze to death.

But the deer they brought back really suffered disaster.

Many of those who followed Otto's triumphant return brought at least one live deer.

Deer that can travel 200 kilometers in a short period of time are also the strongest among deer. Their new owners are naturally stronger, and they have not been properly taken care of after they are brought back.

Losing too much physical strength, the deer must eat a lot of grass, but few people will take the deer to herd, just feed some hay.

Some hungry deer simply nibble on the sagging grass of the new owner's longhouse. This behavior is naturally curbed, and they become fresh buckskin and fresh meat for a long time for a small family.

Otto's own herd was an exception, with twenty well cared for in just four days.

It's all thanks to the only deer herder girl, Rumia.

In the short four days before the cold snap, Rurik gained a deeper understanding of the girl's identity through the inquiry of Priest Veria.

"I can't believe that this girl is three years older than me, that is, a mere ten-year-old child. Why is she a little taller than me? Is it because I am too short, or is she too short?"

"She's a Sami, maybe life in the Arctic Circle is so hard, she can't eat enough food and she'll have to grow like a dwarf all her life."

"If I give her enough meat now and occasionally bread, and she's only ten years old, will she grow better?"

Rurik had too many questions, and because of these questions, he also had a more favorable impression of this Rumia.

After all, the soul that resides in Rurik's young body is forty years old. He is more rational and more loving, and as a result, he naturally lacks the impulsiveness and presumptuousness that a child should have. He prefers quiet analysis of anything, rather than being swayed by his own emotions.

But he also understood that many people in the tribe are emotional, and this kind of person is the easiest to take advantage of. A smart and rational person can use his knowledge to make full use of other people's impulsive characteristics and tame them into own fans.

Vilia used the power of faith to make the people fear.

Otto's actions can always bring wealth to the clansmen's satisfaction, making the clansmen willing to follow.

So how do I get them to admit me? Just because of the ethereal oracle of the "Blessing of Odin"? Do not! I can bring them a lot.

Rurik believed that as long as he brought a steady stream of wealth to his people, they would always be happy.

The most critical problem now is that the wealth of the tribe is so good that a little meat and some furs can easily make the tribe feel satisfied. Solving the problem of eating and dressing should be the most basic thing, but the tribe has not actually solved it very well.

Growing flax locally is unimaginable, and importing flax from other places also requires high wealth.

The only thing the tribe can produce in large quantities is leather clothing, but the tribesmen who swept across the vast area like locusts are clever hunters, but not excellent herdsmen. They had to go to the fabled end of the world and get a lot of deer by attacking deer breeders.

Ordinary clansmen don't know how to raise deer, and no one teaches them, so I'm afraid they also dismiss it.

Maybe they don't understand the truth of sitting on the mountain. When the nearby resources are exhausted, they can only row a long boat to loot farther.

How much room can a group of bandits have?

If you can't change them in an instant, let yourself be a remarkable demonstration!

Before the cold snap and heavy snow, the sun is still shining outdoors. Although the climate is cold, the world is still a blanket of snow. This kind of environment is the best for reindeer grazing.

The girl Rumia did not have any shackles on her body, and she was personally dragged to the priest's steam bath by the lower priestess, like carrying a kitten.

Even in cold climates, the Ross tribe has taken care of their own personal hygiene, both men and women.

I do not know since when, the Germans who immigrated to the Baltic Sea region invented the steam bath. They don't seem to be inspired by the ancient Romans, but for countless cold winters, they boiled hot water in their indoor charcoal fires, and the hot water was accidentally knocked over. As a result, the whole house was filled with hot steam and the house became special Hot and humid.

For this reason, some people take off their thick leather clothes, the skin is directly moistened by the steam, and the dead skin on it is easily rubbed off by the wood. Scraping off the annoying old skin, the whole person becomes very comfortable, and naturally falls in love with this cleaning method.

They are human and are born with creativity!

Therefore, there is a sauna next to the big wooden house of the priest of the Ross tribe.

The sauna is also quite particular, and Odin is also very disgusted by the filthy stench of mortal priests who ask for help and blessings.

Whenever there is a major sacrifice, bathing and changing clothes are therefore very necessary.

Rumia's rudimentary leather suit was put aside, and she was cleaned of dirt by two powerful lower priestesses.

Although the work ended in Rumia's panic, when she was brought back to the warm priest's log cabin, her whole person shed a layer of skin in a sense.

She changed into a new garment of linen, like the garments of other lower priests. Wear a layer of leather on the outside, and if you go out, you need to wear a hat made of a whole piece of arctic fox fur on your head.

Her original hairstyle was also changed, with the usual braids of Ross girls.

At first glance, Rumia has completely changed, and she has really become a member of the Ross tribe.

However, her identity is still a servant. Even though Rurik intended to treat her well, those priests, including Veria, who was regarded by Rurik as an enlightened one, still believed in their hearts that Rumia was just a humble servant, perhaps only more supportive than some clansmen. The hound is a little advanced.

This servant is unusual. She is a servant of Rurik, a servant of the future chief.

But she is still a servant, even if she puts on very nice clothes, she doesn't have to worry about eating every day, she is still a servant.

After that, Otto publicly announced the gift of five deer to Willia as a sacrifice for some time to come. The other deer in the family are also "stored" with the priest.

Otto showed the peculiarity of a generous man, proclaiming boldly: "All my deer are prepared for sacrifice, and the servants will breed them into a larger herd, so that Odin will be glad to see us more and more The more offerings, the more blessed we will be.”

The leader's words are really pleasing, because no matter what, the alliance between the leader and the priest is more stable, and the priests can eat more meat in the future.

Not a vegetarian, who hates meat?

In addition to the rest of the deer, it was naturally the professional deer breeder Rumia who took care of them.

According to Rurik's request, Rumia was placed in the priest's wooden house. The girl's important work every day was to graze during the day and study at night.

A large corral was quickly built, which was a patchwork of wood, with a roof made of logs. Its exterior was simply piled with some soil, and then piled up with some ice and snow. The entire corral is left with a main door and several ventilation holes in the wooden walls.

Although reindeer are very cold-resistant animals, the deer pens of deer farmers are also simple, and those wild deer are also exposed to the natural environment in winter, relying on thick fur to resist the cold.

Since a corral was to be built, Rurik was really worried that the deer herd would suffer even a little loss.

These deer were like seeds, and Rurik cherished them, and for a short time all the deer wore a necklace.

The hemp rope was strung with some wooden plaques, on which numbers were carved out by the tip of a knife, which is the Arabic numerals of the "Oriental Numerals" called by Rurik, and also marked with Roman numerals and the tribe's own rune numerals.

Unfortunately, those deer breeders only have their own language and no alphabet of their own.

Only a few people can distinguish the numbers that Rurik engraved, but even Rumia, a deer girl, knows that her master has accurately marked all the deer.

Rumia loves deer. She regrets those deer that were eaten because they couldn't take care of them properly. Seeing this little boy's actions, she felt a little warmth in her heart. Seeing that these barbarians also built a special warm enclosure for the deer, the warmth was further increased.

The girl was ordered to go herding, with twenty deer beside her, and two priestesses in leather clothes to help her, in fact, watching.

Rumia was very happy that her hands and feet were free from any restraints, and the clothes she was wearing were warmer than the previous one. The deer are also their own deer, but things are different. All their relatives have died, and the deer and themselves have become barbarians.

She knew that she had a chance to escape, but where was home?

The so-called owner did not give him any restraints. As long as he fed the deer well, he would have enough food to eat and sleep in warm materials.

Does she really have no will to escape?

If the relatives are still alive, if they can escape back to their small tent. No matter how warm and rich this place is, it is not my home.

go home? The reality is really cruel, maybe you can only pray to return to the old home in your sleep.

Over the course of a few days, those hungry deer regained their strength through continuous grazing. Not only that, but Rumia was at ease in a tribe of barbarians whose high priests knew their own language.

Rumia was worried that there would be a terrible snowstorm. She was not worried that the deer would freeze to death, nor was she worried that she would freeze to death, but she was worried that the deer would starve to death.

She told Priest Vilia: "We can't graze on snowy days. If we can't eat hay, the deer will starve to death. We must prepare in advance."

Even if Veria and her priests knew nothing about raising deer, they knew that if they didn't eat, they would starve to death.

The lower priests really prepared a pile of hay, and when the priests tried to cut through the snow to cut more hay buried, the climate changed suddenly.

Thinking of Rumia's words, Veria didn't know if it was a coincidence or if Rumia really expected the cold snap.

Any snowfall will not last long, and the deer will die without food during the critical time. It was snow and snow outside, and the deer still had enough food.

Never thought that this was an opportunity for a change for Rumia.

Four days have passed, and Veria has not just treated the girl for Rurik's sake.

Rumia didn't mean to run away, at least not on the surface. At night, she also stayed in the priest's hut to learn the Norse language of the Ross tribe.

Her request to take precautions has really brought good results. When other people's deer are dying on a large scale, only the deer of the priests are still grazing leisurely in the warm deer pen.

She, Rumia, not only saved the deer used for Hanukkah, but also the deer sacrificed in the spring, but also the future.