Ivar put his arm around Vig's shoulders, "It's worth the effort to teach you how to wield a sword. Fight me again when you have the time?"
"Forget it, there's no need." Even after this "insight," Vig didn't think he had reached the highest level of combat power and wasn't fit to brag about it everywhere.
...
After counting the number of people, there were only twelve people left in the caravan. One of Rurik's followers had died from an arrow, and two shield bearers had died in close combat with the nomads.
Due to their extremely poor equipment, the nomads had left a total of 25 corpses in the forest. To vent their anger, they stole the furs and amber on the ship, and then burned the cargo ship, cutting off the caravan's thoughts completely.
"Damn cowards!" Ivar suggested following the retreating nomads and stealing their horses at night.
Rurik countered, "That's not appropriate, we have no chance of winning in the open." After saying that, his eyebrows curled into a ball and he sat on the ground, thinking for a long time, and finally made a decision.
"Seeking foreign aid, there is a tribe called Ross in the southwest that has good relations with me. It's two days' journey from here. Go there first to seek refuge."
Ivar: "You hesitated for so long, do you think this friendship is unreliable?"
"I saved this leader two years ago, and the other side offered to marry me his daughter, but I refused." Rurik sighed: "Now I need help from others, I think I can't escape this marriage."
...
Rurik was not lying. When his figure appeared at the tribe's gate, it immediately caused a small sensation. The leader warmly invited the caravan to enter the longhouse and treated them to wheat bread dipped in honey.
Honey and white bread, which are luxury items in the eyes of the poor, are now supplied to the caravan members without limit, and Vig always feels a little awkward.
He secretly nudged Rurik: "We are just a group of Vikings passing by, is this necessary?"
The last one took the mead and drank it all, burping and answering: "Hurry, you don't need to make that expression, the soil in Eastern Europe is fertile, suitable for growing wheat and keeping bees, and life is much better than in Northern Europe, otherwise why do so many Vikings migrate here every year?"
That's right.
Vig remembered the historical records of later generations. For a long time, the Russian tribes in Eastern Europe were heavily influenced by the Vikings. Exchanges between the two sides deepened, and the first Russian state was formed in the middle of the ninth century.
The first Russian monarch was a Viking, and I think his name was Rurik.
Rurik!
Vig didn't care about food. He kept glancing at the tall, strong, red-haired youth, making the latter feel very uncomfortable. "What do you want to do?"
"No, nothing."
Soon the chieftain of the tribe asked about the reason for Rurik's visit. Upon learning that the other side's cargo ship had been burned, he immediately slapped the table in anger: "Over the past two years, the Pecheneg tribe has become more and more unbridled. Not only have they robbed caravans, but they have also mown down our wheat every year. I have not liked them for a long time!"
After that, the chieftain promised to send someone to help return the goods, on the condition that Rurik would marry his little daughter.
"Okay, I agree."
As if afraid that his son-in-law would break his word, the chieftain decided to hold the wedding that same day.
Under the gaze of a thousand tribesmen, he personally slaughtered cattle and sheep, made sacrifices to the sun god Dazhibog and the thunder god Perun, and then there was an extremely lively wedding ceremony.
Ignoring the expressions on the faces of the newlyweds, Vig took the opportunity to eat and drink to replenish his food supplies after the fatigue of the previous period. After the banquet, he went to the guest room to rest. Due to his long stay in the wild, his body was no longer accustomed to a soft bed with straw, and he fell asleep after more than two hours of insomnia.
Three days later, the chieftain provided 150 young men, as promised: "Rurik, you and your comrades are outstanding warriors, I expect good news from you."
There were too few people, and the chances of victory were low. Before leaving, Vig found Rurik and offered to make more preparations.
"Let the blacksmith cast some thorns, and the carpenter improve the design of the wagon..."
After another two days of delay, the expeditionary group set out.
With twelve Viking warriors in iron armor, the morale of the Russians was quite strong. Armored heavy infantry against unarmored nomads gave an overwhelming advantage, provided that the Pechenegs did not run away.
"Hey, are they telling the truth? You killed ten nomads by yourself?"
Along the way, the young Russians kept finding Vig, repeatedly asking him questions in stuttering Norwegian and using hand signals, which made him dizzy and confused, so he just pushed it all onto Ivar.
"Ask Ivar the Boneless. He taught me martial arts. Pay attention to his movements in battle. Maybe you'll get lucky and learn a few moves."
...
The next morning, several nomad riders appeared in the south. Sensing that this team was going to attack their tribe, the nomads scattered across the meadows began to gather.
Around three o'clock in the afternoon, two hundred horsemen gathered in front, led by a white horse flag with a blue background and gold thread embroidered along the edge of the flag.
The flag shook three times regularly, and the nomads came whistling, with their bows raised high. They were puzzled by the change in the way this group of Russians fought. They surrounded eighteen wagons in a loose circle, and then retreated into the circle and held.
Soon the nomads rushed fifty paces and rained arrows on the wagons. On Rurik's orders, the Russian archers began a counterattack. They stood on the wagons and used the protection of the wooden planks of the wagons to shoot at the enemy.
Because of the bumpy back of the horse and the lighter weight of the horse bow, the range, power and accuracy of horse archers are not as good as those of infantry archers. The two sides exchanged fire for a while, and the nomads lost 20 men, while the defenders lost only 3.
The tactics passed down from generation to generation did not work, and the nomad leader panicked. After repeated observations, he ingeniously discovered that the gap in the northeast corner of the chariot formation was large enough for ten horses to pass side by side, and the archers were green in the face and did not shoot anyone from start to finish.
A weak link?
Realizing this, he personally led the team into the chariot formation with a flag, but the group of Russians did not panic as expected, but formed up with their spears raised, as if they were prepared for this.
"A trap, retreat!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. The chariot archers began throwing thorny snakes to hinder the riders' actions outside the line. At the same time, led by the heavily armed Viking warriors, the Russians used spears to pierce the riders who were trapped in the line and could hardly move.
Seeing his tribesmen being thrown off their horses one by one, the chieftain felt as if he was falling into an icy cave. He had no choice but to order his tribesmen to abandon their horses and run through the gaps in the chariot line. Many people stepped on the thorns in panic and fell to the ground, and were then shot dead by the archers.
In just ten minutes, the battle ended in a tragic defeat for the nomads. They left behind a total of 70 bodies, while the defenders of the chariot line lost only 7!
In addition, there were 25 war horses left in the chariot ranks. With these horses alone, this expedition brought in enormous profits.