Chapter 1,343 Who Is the Riga Garrison?
Remember [new] in one second! The ignorant children gathered together. They wore leather jackets made of various materials and sewn with rough techniques, so bloated that they looked like a group of bears. Fortunately, these clothes were warm enough.
They knew nothing about "Ross", but their contact in the past few days gave them some good impressions of Ross, the so-called "foreigner who feeds wheat."
Did King Rus really fulfill his promise? Really take good care of these children? have no idea.
What the Seron people don't know is whether the Rus' people returned to Yirpils after finishing some affairs in Riga.
At least after they left, the fishing camp by the river completely changed. The houses where the Ross people lived immediately became the property of the Theron people.
Now, the army has all left. Their withdrawal was as sudden as their appearance, leaving behind hope and some flags with blue stripes on white backgrounds.
Yin Erbet, who was named an earl, still didn't know the significance of this "title". In accordance with the request of King Rus, he erected a large number of wooden poles in Yin Erpils' camp and hung these flags high - although he didn't know it either. How significant this is.
"It's really nice fabric. Wouldn't it be great to keep it for making clothes?" He thought silently, and then life continued as before...
Even if the Russians gifted some food, it would be unnecessary to expect that this gift would last until the spring famine.
What's more, these grains are both food and growing grain.
Although some villagers claimed: "We can move out the pottery pots and cook, and we can eat well for a while."
Although many people had this idea, Yin Erbet rejected it.
Now that you have the title of earl, you can openly give orders to your own people? It seems so.
He did not hesitate to use the majesty of King Rus to reject these seemingly reasonable demands. And he does have his own reasons. "Are these good grains just for eating? If we really want to eat them, our growing grains will have been eaten up long ago. Like other growing grains, these grains are all seeds! We will By reclaiming wasteland and planting new farmland in this riverside area, we will harvest more in the fall!”
Although Yin Erbet has no education, as a farmer, he knows some basic principles very well. For example, this batch of grain from the sky is the capital of the Seron people's "expanded reproduction"!
Moreover, he was acutely aware of the enormous opportunities.
The Russian army is too powerful. Just look at them. Who dares to say that they can defeat them? Absolutely not the Semigalians across the river.
The King of Ross also made a promise. Anyone who dares to attack Seron is an enemy of the entire Ross, and will suffer a military attack that will annihilate the clan.
Until now, Yin Erbet did not dare to question the strength of the Ross army. He still had some doubts about the King of Ross, but! He had no doubts about what Stekander, the boss of the Danish community in Riga, said - every year those Danes rowed past Seron's territory, and the activities of Danes would only become more frequent in the future.
Now that they suddenly have the military protection of their allies, they can now do things that they did not dare to do in the past, such as reclaiming new land in relatively more fertile riverside areas.
On the other hand, the mighty Russian army has passed through the only mountainous area in Latvia.
Rurik led his glorious cavalry troops on a war horse. The hoofs of the horses kicked up countless ice chips, which were crushed by the sled army behind.
The passage of the army left a trail of gray marks on the supposedly smooth ice.
Rurik looked around, and all he could see was the snow-covered forest. The world was pure white, and some strange smell gradually began to fill the air - the smell of sea salt.
People with keen senses noticed the abnormality. The soldiers were talking and laughing, especially those soldiers who were originally from Riga. They were already cheering "We are about to arrive home" everywhere.
The good news quickly spread throughout the team, and during the final camping trip, many people were so excited that they could not sleep peacefully.
A campfire crackled and Rurik sat around with his closest friends.
The atmosphere in the army is now relaxed and comfortable, and everyone is discussing what kind of rest they will experience in Riga.
After all, for most of the soldiers, Riga, like other foreign towns, is the first time they arrive in their lives, but it is different from others. Riga is a fully developed and large-scale commercial town. The most important thing is that Riga was the city that surrendered to Rus.
Rurik took off his hat, his face was heated by the bonfire, and his blue eyes reflected the blazing fire.
"Everyone seems to be in a good mood. So do I! We will have a good three days of rest when we get to Riga."
"Three days, shouldn't it be longer?" Fisk said with interest.
Rurik glanced at the old man's face and said with a smile: "This is true for you, but not for me."
"Why?" he asked.
"Why else?" Rurik's face gently glanced towards the west: "The cavalry will go all the way along the coast to Saxony. Some people may think this is incredible, but this world is not so far away. I feel, We marched all the way from Novgorod to Smolensk, and then all the way to Riga. We have completed such a long journey. So..."
"Your Majesty, you... really think our cavalry can go all the way to Saxony? All the way to Hamburg?"
"Of course. So take advantage of this opportunity." Rurik looked around: "I should arrange in advance who will be stationed in Riga, and the food and drink expenses after being stationed in Riga..."
Military stationing is a big problem, especially since the Russian army is more institutionalized and formalized than other armed forces in the region. It would be a very aggressive war machine, and the cost of keeping it running would be high.
Rurik consecrated a new Riga nobleman, Stekander, the boss of the local Danish community, and now this dear man is sitting at this bonfire, eye to eye with the King of Rus himself.
Rurik specially gave this man an important order: "Stekander, as the count, you should perform some tasks for me."
It sounds like Stekander has guessed all the king's intentions. To be honest, he was a little worried, but thinking about the huge opportunities before everyone, he was far from implementing any arrangements.
"I will fulfill all the king's requirements." After saying that, he banged his chest and swore that everything would be fine.
"Oh? I haven't said it yet."
"Anything! I will implement it." Stekander said again seriously.
"Really? Okay, I believe you. I don't plan to ask for anything from you, but Ross is about to launch an expedition against Frank. It will be a very special expedition, and it is also an expedition that you can't imagine in this life. .”
"Are you going to send me to continue sending troops? As you can see, we Riga people have proven our courage in this battle. Even the Latvian warriors are fighting hard. The gods can learn from our loyalty."
These beautiful words made Rurik very satisfied, but also made everyone sitting here feel nauseous and uncomfortable.
"I'm not asking you to lead troops into battle. But you must mobilize Riga's resources. Because my army will be stationed in Riga until the bay thaws, and then my fleet will also turn into the bay to do some supplies in Riga. .”
"Providing food and water to the king?"
Rurik nodded: "Exactly. It's not limited to food and drink."
"What else does your Majesty want?"
"There are two kinds, missing horses and missing arrows."
"These two? This is clearly the king's advantage. Do we still need to provide it?" Stekander asked doubtfully.
"What? You can't take it out?" Rurik deliberately asked.
"Not entirely. We have very few horses. If the king insists, I can get some more from the Latvians. As for the missing arrows, if the king needs them, I can mobilize my brothers to make them as soon as possible. It's just that the arrows we made are missing. The quality is nowhere near as good as Rose’s.”
"It doesn't matter. The more arrows are lost, the better! Besides, a large number of arrows were lost and shattered after this battle, and you can reload the remaining arrow clusters."
Stekander nodded: "If that's the case, there is no problem. But... I can't convince everyone to willingly work for the king. So..."
"He is a businessman after all." Stekander's trembling eyes could speak. Rurik glanced at him and knew everything: "Don't worry, I will pay for whatever I arrange for you to do. It's a pity that I don't have silver coins in my hand now." . Don’t worry, I won’t let any loyal subjects suffer. When my fleet arrives in Riga next year, I will pay for the expenses of my garrison and purchase all the military supplies you have prepared.”
With his hanging heart relieved, Stekander let out a sigh of relief: "In this case, I think those Latvian leaders will fully comply with the king's request."
In an instant, the boss of the Danish community in Riga became the protagonist, and it seemed that Spuyut, an old Russian who moved the imperial residence to Riga, was no longer important.
However, Rurik changed the subject and gave Spuyut a task.
Because Spuyut, the Earl of Saaremaa, has a naval force active in the southern Baltic Sea under his command.
However, the Baltic Sea is very large, and many areas are still unknown to the Russians. The Spyut fleet will not explore everywhere. His mission is to maintain the safety of traditional routes, and the most important thing is to escort Russian merchant ships. The fleet mainly patrols the waters near Gotland Island and will not continue southward unless necessary. This is not because they are lazy, but for Spyut, there is no significance in patrolling the south, and the Russians do not actively engage in activities in the southern waters. .
The waters near Gotland Island are already the fishing grounds of the Rus and other Swedish forces. Fishermen can fish freely. The task given to Spuyut by the King of Rus is only to combat piracy. To maintain the life of a count country, he cannot act as a " "One Piece" led the brothers to live a life of pleasure and revenge, but in the end everyone still mainly lived by fishing.
Now, Spuyut has another way to make money by reselling amber, but compared to many Viking "old fritters" in the Gulf of Riga, his power is fierce but he is a complete outsider.
For example, he had some hiding strongholds on the southern coast, which were regarded as the so-called origin of amber collection, but he did not know its specific location.
For him, everything had just begun. When he decided to flex his muscles in Riga, the situation changed dramatically under the control of King Rurik - the County of Saaremaa could not influence the situation in the city of Riga.
Spout is not a person who intentionally wields power. When he was young, he loved exploring and made great achievements, so he was recognized as the "Great Explorer". Now he is old and has restrained his wild heart due to physical problems.
Of course, he could see that his son Eric, who had just turned twelve, had inherited his qualifications.
His troubles were over, and now he did not expect his troops to participate in the Ross expedition, but the glorious opportunity was not missed.
There were some words that Rurik was unwilling to say directly, so giving Spuyut the opportunity to participate in the expedition was also a certain compensation for him. From another perspective, Ross is in great need of some experienced sailing talents, and Siput and his guys are rare sailors!
Rurik solemnly arranged: "The glorious Earl of Saaremaa, you must do your best to recruit sailors from your territory. Your team will be merged into the Ross fleet, and I ask you to follow me all the way into the Frankish world. Especially you My son, he must go through more experience. Your little Eric will be a highly valued naval admiral by the king in the future. He must be experienced in new battles, just like iron armor plated with a layer of gold."
"That's great! Your Majesty is so wise." For a moment, Spuyut didn't know how to thank him.
So, who will be stationed in Riga as a garrison?
Rurik gave General "Bald" Fisk this task, and there were only three standard regiments of cavalry left.
And the final garrison consisted of only these three flag teams.
This arrangement surprised the nobles and officers present, especially the young flag captains who had newly formed the infantry flag corps.
For a while, the discussion at the campfire was unusual. After all, we were going to conquer the legendary and extremely powerful Frank. The participants would receive a lot of wealth and glory. They were all martial people. Who would want to miss out on glory?
"Shut up, everyone." Rurik slapped his thigh hard to silence him: "The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Cavalry will stay, and all the other troops will stay in Riga for three days, and then follow me to Pskov!"
The scene was already quiet, and Brody, a young man who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked: "What about me? Your Majesty, will my second team miss the expedition?" At this moment, Brody was even so anxious that he had to urinate urgently. An explanation from the King.
"How is this possible? All cavalry must participate in the expedition, and I think everyone's horses are not enough! Brody!" Rurik thought this boy's concerns were too funny.
"exist."
Rurik glared at the faces of his men: "Next, I will go to Pskov. I learned that their leader's name is Gore. I don't know what this man's attitude is towards Ross. I just heard from their envoy. I learned that Mrs. Pskov has no ill intentions towards us. I can’t believe everything the messenger said, nor can I believe everything the messenger said about the king’s goodwill to Goul. It’s better to be prepared for the worst! Anyway, the king is leaving. A new road back to the capital, this time must detour through Lake Pskov and Lake Chud, which requires passing through Gal's territory. So..."
According to what Rose has done in the past, everyone present already understood what Rurik deliberately concealed.
Although Fisk was excluded, he still cared about it: "It is naturally a good thing for that Goyle to form an alliance with us. If he doesn't agree, we will use force to make him agree! Or even kill him and make the survivors surrender. "
"You." Rurik glanced at this old brother and shook his head: "Don't be too extreme."
"Is it really extreme? Otherwise? All of you who are doing this are warriors. It's a pity that I can't appear at the scene."
Rurik shrugged: "Actually, this is indeed the case. So in order to avoid the worst situation and avoid an untimely war, I took a large army to visit. I think that Gaoer should meet with me when he sees our army. Even if we form an alliance, he doesn't want to fight a war. After all, I don't expect him to surrender for the time being. He doesn't have to accept it, as long as he keeps quiet during our expedition. In the future, Pskov will definitely be loyal to me. "
Even if three flag regiments are left behind, the Russian army that will return home through the future "expedition" to Pskov will still be a behemoth.
Four infantry standards and one cavalry standard, as well as a group of additional combatants. Even if the army was downsized after the war due to different withdrawal directions (for example, non-combat attrition such as wounded soldiers followed the troops returning north in Vitebsk), there would still be two thousand troops who would march into Pskov.
Two thousand soldiers who survived the war, a scale of this size is unheard of in today's Eastern Europe. What's more, Smolensk, the once biggest enemy in the vast world, has been defeated, and even Rurik felt that the victory was quite a success. easy.
even! He was once worried that the flag team composed of four young boys would not be strong in combat effectiveness. The fact was that he underestimated the will and physical fitness of these mixed-blood New Rusians. Although they are very young, their qualities in all aspects are better than those of the thirty-year-old Smolensk peasant soldiers. They have received militarized training since childhood. They were trained for the expedition to Frank. All their efforts were suddenly used in the crusade. On the people of Smolensk.
Their performance in the war really amazed Rurik: "I'm afraid that this group of brats now have the ability and courage to fight against those Frankish heavy armor warriors."
Who will stay in Riga? What should Riga do in this new era? What is Riga's place in the new expedition?
Rurik has made some arrangements, and everyone can see that the new expedition to Riga is a major logistics base and marching relay station for the Russian army that will advance by sea and land.
It will be like this in the following wars, and will also serve as one of the starting points for continued expansion to the south in the long future - after all, this is the origin of amber and the largest trading center for amber and other gemstones.
Everything has been arranged, and the Ross army marches on a new day.
"Everyone! Get your clothes in order! Wipe your faces clean with snow! Hold all the flags high, line up in the neatest queue, and enter Riga in the most glorious manner!" Rurik ordered, and he decided to act as a master. Enter a Riga that is true to itself.