Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 273 Trade Route
Five years ago, a mutiny occurred in Novgorod. Rurik was unharmed, but his brother Signus was unlucky and died in a hail of swords.

After the rebellion was quelled, Rurik learned from his previous experience and lowered the agricultural tax rate to reduce the burden on the lower classes and alleviate their resentment.

With agricultural taxes reduced, he turned his attention to his old trade, sending more caravans to Constantinople to trade goods, earning two thousand pounds a year.

Everything comes at a price. He was thus drawn into the conflicts in the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper River. His caravan was frequently harassed by nomadic tribes, and they had to fight every now and then, never finding peace.

This spring, a young chieftain named Horus rose to power among the nomadic tribes in the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper River. He led his people to plunder and greatly disrupted the order of the surrounding areas.

Initially, Rurik sent an envoy to negotiate, intending to buy peace and have the nomads spare his caravan. After waiting for many days, the envoy, whose ear had been cut off, returned to Novgorod, relaying the chieftain's reply:

Each year, Rurik was required to pay two hundred slaves, fifty ships of grain, a quantity of gold and silver utensils, and luxury goods such as amber and honey. In total, this protection fee accounted for more than 70% of his trade revenue. Assuming an agreement was reached, Rurik was essentially working for someone else.

After much deliberation, he took out his savings and went to Vig to purchase equipment, vowing to kill these greedy bastards.

Since Niels defected to Novgorod, he has been training the army for the new boss. This time, a total of 3,000 men were mobilized. Thanks to the purchase of 600 sets of armor, the total number of heavy infantry is close to 800, which is enough for a battle.

"Your Majesty, the weather is getting colder and colder. Are you sure you want to launch an expedition at this time?"

Rurik responded without hesitation, “Of course, I’ve dealt with nomads many times and understand their habits. In winter, nomadic tribes abandon their migrations and huddle in carefully chosen winter camps to prevent mass livestock deaths.”

According to the confessions of the captured nomads, the primary requirement for a winter camp is shelter from the wind. It is usually located on the south side of a mountain or hill (a leeward, sunny slope) or at the edge of a woodland, and there must be a reliable water source nearby.

Moreover, the wintering camp area is deliberately protected during the summer and autumn seasons, prohibiting grazing and allowing grass to grow naturally as a reserve of food for livestock during the winter.

Rurik estimated the time; at this moment, the nomads were preparing their winter camp, building thick, warm felt huts, and harvesting hay from the surrounding area. Once the winter camp was nearly complete, the Viking army would suddenly arrive, leaving the nomads with no choice but to stay and fight, losing their most relied-upon advantage of mobility.

(Note: Historically, some powerful nomadic regimes would build defensive facilities in their winter camps, which were called royal courts, such as the Longcheng of the Xiongnu.)
“Cutting off my source of income is tantamount to cutting off the lives of my entire family. Since that’s the case, I might as well take out all my savings and gamble it out. Either I or this chief is going to die.”

After making his harsh remarks, Rurik reassured his newly recruited top henchman, "Don't worry, I've reached an agreement with the local Rus tribes. Their chiefs are willing to provide food and housing. Once we eliminate these nomads, some of them might even elect me as king."

Two days later, Rurik led over a hundred oared longboats in a grand procession to the southern shore of Lake Ilmen. The fleet then turned into a waterway and continued sailing south.

Upon reaching a shallow beach, the crew members jumped off the riverbank. Gazing at the somewhat familiar scenery, Nils was lost in memories.

Twenty-one years ago, the hunting team also landed here, felled trees to build a slide, and struggled to cross this route.

Thanks to Rurik's construction, roads are now paved with logs, and people only need to drag ropes, eliminating the need to cut down and transport timber, making the journey much faster.

Several days passed, and the fleet reached the upper reaches of the Dnieper River. The autumn wind was bleak, the wild grasses were withered and yellow, and a flat, wide river flowed quietly. Occasionally, a flock of migratory birds flew overhead, resting and foraging briefly before flapping their wings and flying south. With the combined efforts of the crew, the longboat glided into the river. Nils lay on the gunwale, watching his reflection in the water, trying to recall memories of his youth.

Back then, I was young, and my only wish was to marry my sweetheart Eve. Ivar and Bjorn's goal was revenge, Gunnar and Om's wish was to accumulate fame, and Rurik's goal was to make money.

As for Viggo, he was taciturn at the time, rarely taking the initiative to participate in the conversation, and occasionally saying some incomprehensible nonsense, which made everyone laugh.

Looking back now, everything seems like a long dream. Niels stroked the scars on his face, feeling an indescribable sense of regret.

"Twenty-one years have passed, what was the purpose of everything I've done?"

He seems to have gained nothing—his beloved Eve, power—and now all that accompanies him are his archery skills and the experience accumulated over the years.

If we hadn't attacked Denmark, but instead helped Hafdan pacify Sweden, would things have been different?
In October, the fleet arrived at the middle reaches of the Dnieper River, and coincidentally, they happened to witness a battle between the Rus' and the nomads.

Niels climbed the mast and looked out over the grasslands not far to the west bank. The nomads were still using their usual tactics, using horse archers to flank the enemy, hurling arrows while letting out strange cries.

"Shooting arrows from the swaying back of a horse is far too inaccurate. The Rus' shield wall is full of holes, and the nomads still lack the courage to charge into hand-to-hand combat. More than twenty years have passed, and they have hardly made any progress."

Similarly, the Rus' were no better. Their leaders and warriors were impulsive and easily angered, and their tactical skills were extremely poor. If they were lured by the enemy, some warriors would break formation, causing the formation to fall apart.

"They're evenly matched, truly rare opponents," Niels remarked.

Rurik quickly dispatched troops to rescue more than two hundred Rus' people who were in dire straits. At the invitation of the rescued, Rurik had his troops camp on the riverbank, and he, along with his guards and Nils, went to visit the Rus' tribe.

In the following days, Rurik sent men to inquire about the whereabouts of the young chieftain, who had five thousand followers and, together with his vassal tribes, could muster at least three thousand cavalrymen.

"No matter how many men he has, this battle must be fought!"

Rurik's resolute stance moved the leader of the Rus' tribe, who sent men to gather the remaining tribes and vowed to settle things with these nomads.

Late at night, Rurik met with Nils to discuss tactics and decided to stick to the previous plan: "Mix spearmen and archers, with the spearmen defending against cavalry charges and the archers driving away harassing horse archers."

Clearly, this idea was inspired by Viggo's bayonet phalanx. Since this formation was sufficient to withstand the knights' lance-bent charges, dealing with these poorly equipped nomads would be no problem.

(End of this chapter)