The rapidly thinning ice makes ice fishing professionals tremble, and it is just a good thing for the general public.

The wind is no longer harsh, and although the earth is now covered with snow, its full melting is also a recent event.

All it takes is for the sun to heat up, and as the ice crumbles into countless pieces, Ross's traditional sailing festival can begin.

However, before the actual sailing festival, the Neva River will give the world a dangerous and joyful gift.

Nevsky Prospekt, which runs through the entire Novosibirsk, inevitably becomes wet. It is dripping water from high-rise buildings. The snow that melts at noon soaks the concrete pavement of the street, and the accumulated water flows into the drains that are still covered by ice on both sides. ditch.

Perhaps, this is an ordinary night.

The incident happened suddenly.

The sleeping people woke up one after another. They could feel the slight tremor of the earth. It was supposed to be a quiet night, but they could all hear a low rumble.

What's this?

Even the elderly Otto opened his eyes, and after a little thought he understood everything.

The flow of the Neva has begun!

Melting Lake Ladoga pours too much fresh water into the Great Lakes, and the bottoms of thousands of streams, large and small, continue to pour in.

Only a thin layer of ice remains in the central part of the Great Lakes, and some areas are cracking. It is like an ulcer, and the damaged gap is re-frozen at night, and the gap expands rapidly at noon. The ice covering the lake was no longer able to hold down the expanding living water until a critical point was reached and massive fragmentation began.

The Ling of the Great River has become a new tradition. Although its date is not fixed, it must happen in late March, which is close to the spring equinox as a whole.

Ross naturally celebrates the Spring Festival. According to Ross's definition, this festival means that ships that have been closed for a winter will be pushed back to the sea, and there is no more sailing festival than this.

At that time, Ross was in the northern fjords, and the climate and hydrology were very different from those of the Neva River.

The people who settled in New Roseburg regard the Neva River Ling as the most prominent symbol. Some even claim that Liu Ling is worshiped as early as the spring equinox, which means that this year is warm, which means a bumper harvest of grain, fat cattle, sheep and reindeer, and vice versa. A bad year requires vigilance, especially the need to do a good job in grain reserves for the second half of the year.

What about 842? The spring equinox sacrifice is about to begin, and the torrents actually started at night with the roar.

The swelling lake water pushed the huge ice down the river, and the huge ice continued to disintegrate and erode the land on both sides.

Early in the morning, the people of the whole city rushed to the riverside with various emotions.

Some people enjoy the rush of ice in a strong spirit, and some people pull the intentionally stranded ship to the shore.

Old Governor Knuzon covered his head with his hands. He was in a state of confusion and cursed viciously at the people around him: "Damn the ice! Every year it erodes our dock facilities. After the disaster, our trestle has to be rebuilt."

His son Konusson Jr. also said: "So I told you a long time ago, you think it's unnecessary. We should dig out a channel to separate from the main channel, and the pier will be set there in the future. No matter how severe the flow is, it won't hurt to our dock."

"To put it bluntly, how much work is that? You pay for it?"...

"It's me who pays. When I take over as governor, I will definitely do it."

"You boy!" Old Konusong rolled his eyes at his son, "I still have a few more years to live."

"Is that so? Your Majesty is preparing for the war now. If we can't guarantee the future, we father and son will have a chance to exert their strength. Father is always strong, you should go to the battlefield with your sword."

For a moment, old Knuzon didn't know whether his son was praising him or being sarcastic, and he kept his beard fluttering and said nothing. It is true that dying on the battlefield is the glory of a soldier, and now the old Conuson only thinks that the new wine from Nassau will continue to arrive this year, and he should drink as good as that old Gould until he dies.

The son is already middle-aged, and he is in the prime of life, but this kid is so aggressive that the father himself is worried.

Part of the trestle bridge was washed away by the torrent, but fortunately only part of the trestle bridge suffered.

Smart people have already figured out the temper of this river, each family

The boats of each family were towed to the absolutely safe shore early, the mast was unloaded with sailcloth, and the spread canvas covered the whole boat, and then fixed it with ropes.

The spectacular scene is only seen once a year, and Rurik and his family happily stood on the top floor of the palace, the highest place in the city overlooking Liu Ling's big river.

The eldest daughter, Velika, rides on her shoulders, holding her father's head with both hands.

"Have you seen it all?"

"I see! It's so spectacular, is this the power of God?"

"It's the power of God." Rurik was in a good mood, and said casually: "There will be a large-scale priest activity in the future. Verika."

"Um?"

"Do you know what to do?"

"I know." Having grown into a young girl, she has already reached the height of her mother, even if only half of the Nordic blood is enough to make her grow taller in the years to come.

Rurik favors his eldest daughter, not only because she is the eldest daughter, but also because of her irreplaceable noble status in the entire kingdom.

The high priest Rumia, the mother of Vilia, stood beside Rurik, watching her husband, who was as tall and strong as a giant bear, put his daughter on her shoulders. This preference is a bit too much, and it is the "things you should do" hinted by her husband, which still makes her feel a little embarrassed to say.

The High Priest was in charge of handling the sacrificial offering, which was bound to be a blood sacrifice in the custom of Rus.

She had noticed long ago that the daughter of the deputy priest held a sharp knife in her hand and dared to pierce the heart of a deer at a young age, not only one, but even ten or a hundred. She realized that her daughter was not afraid of the blood of the sacrifice. On one side was the raging fire tower, on the other side was a **** deer, and on the other side was Verika holding a blood-dripping knife and a ferocious smiling face baked by the flames.

Valkyrie? Some people say that her daughter is like a Valkyrie in the world. She has done a good job in the sacrificial activities, and now no one doubts this girl who inherited the name of the former glorious high priest Vilia.

King Rurik came to the capital from Novgorod, and he did not bring any wives and concubines, which meant that Rurik either slept with the high priest Velia, or had frequent night meetings with the highest scribe Ai. Erla.

Lumia spends a lot of time with her man, not only about men and women, but also about the large-scale sacrificial activities of the country's major events, and the two of them can talk about it in the couch. ....

Ninety-nine male reindeer were sacrificed, no more and no less.

For this year's vernal equinox sacrifice and sailing sacrifice, what is the purpose of paying such a huge amount of sacrifices? Although the ownership of the largest herd of deer in the kingdom belongs to the royal family, Rumia can't help feeling sorry for her husband's excessive consumption of her property.

Of course, there is the meaning of the king showing off his wealth here, but the king has his own reasons after all.

The highlight of this year's sailing ceremony is the launching ceremony of the Kingdom's largest ship, the Sovereign, or the location of the sacrifice has also been moved from the traditional Harvest Square to the dry dock where the ship was built.

Rumia has her own major task, which is to send her subordinates to build a temporary "Stone Ship Altar" next to the dry dock, and dig a special drainage ditch leading directly to the ocean.

A majestic blizzard lasted for three full days. The continuous good weather made the upstream ice block continue to be removed. The water ice with huge force broke the ice layer of the Kronstadt anchorage on a large scale, so that all the people in the port The ship regained its freedom.

There is no complete ice layer in the berth, and any attempt to dig ice for fishing after drifting becomes impossible.

People saw the swaying waves again, and the densely packed large ice floes swayed violently.

However, such a sea environment also dispelled the fishermen's idea of fishing immediately. The broken large pieces of sea ice kept hitting the small boats, which was enough to knock them apart. Only the big boats ignored all this.

The severe drift has ended, although there are still a lot of ice floes flowing down, they are too small to pose a threat.

Right in the dry dock of the Hotra family, a brand new stone boat altar is being built in full swing. The sleds slid on the melting snow, and people's leather boots became wet. They unloaded stones, dug muddy pits with shovels, and with great care twenty-four pieces of granite

The rock slabs were inserted into the pit and buried.

At first, Stein Hotrasson didn't know what was going on, but when the lower priest in charge gave some advice, he simply ordered some idle shipbuilding apprentices to help out.

How about a temporary altar? It is really built, and it will not be demolished without accidents. Because what Ross needs is not just a big ship. If the ship of the same class as the Sea Sovereign is not built for the time being, and the dry dock after the water is drained is rebuilt into a much smaller model of the Aurorclass ship, this place is still a good shipbuilding platform. If there is a shipbuilding, the sacrificial ceremony of launching into the water is required. An official altar is next to the dry dock, and the shipbuilders can't wait for it.

On the other hand, taking advantage of the good weather and high-intensity work, the sailing work of all the masts of the Monarch has been completed.

For this reason, Stein made a special drill. The main keel, bottom plate, and bilge keel of the big ship are all supported by solid sleepers. These three most important operations, although the drills exposed problems, are all minor problems that can be adjusted later.

There was no fatal incident, and Stein's hanging heart was half relieved.

The news that Ross's first gigantic ship was about to be launched had spread all over the sky, and some people even rushed to the capital on sleds before the ice melted, just to enjoy the spectacle of the launching of the giant ship.

The Vipus and Ludi tribes in the north wanted to go to the capital to sell their own leather, so they stayed in the capital and waited to watch the grand launch of the giant ship. ....

Now the huge ship is moored in the dry dock without water, and the deep earth pit covers most of her figure, only two huge masts go straight to the sky.

Suddenly, someone noticed that a huge scale sail had been installed on the mast.

Suddenly, someone noticed that the Ross flag was flying from the top of the mast.

Doesn't all of this indicate that the Sail Sacrifice is about to begin?

The ice floes of the Tonghai Canal were artificially destroyed, and the large ice layers were deliberately dug holes by craftsmen, and iron picks were placed to tie the ropes, and they were finally dragged to the sea covered by broken ice floes.

When all the large ice blocks are removed, the channel will no longer freeze.

Now as long as a gap is artificially cut in the key part of the wooden gate, the force of sea water can squeeze the entire gate, and the dry dock will be quickly filled with sea water. It will be a wonderful sight.

Before that, no one was completely sure that the big ship could be launched safely. What if it rolls, what if it leaks? The king has announced the time of this year's great sacrifice to the public, and deliberately displayed the herd of deer in Harvest Square that are in urgent need of sacrifice.

Rurik chose only old stags, which was intentional.

The most important thing in domesticating a huge herd of reindeer is the female deer, and the most important meaning of the rebellious buck is as "seeds". The Bucks don't need a lot, but they must be young overall.

As senior servants, the Lapps have rich experience in domesticating deer herds.

Old stags end up being sacrificed as sacrificial offerings, and according to traditional customs, deer blood will be deliberately introduced into the sea to sacrifice to the **** of the sea, and then to Odin.

Deer blood or the blood of other sacrificial animals is a kind of tribute to the gods, and the sea **** is not a good god, especially the legendary Jormungandr who is entrenched. If Yemengarde drank enough blood, he would stop making waves and the cruising ships would be safe. This is what the priests of all ages said. Whether it is Ross or the Swedish tribes around Lake Mlaren, they all have similar sacrificial traditions.

But the most grand and heavy sacrifice is the human sacrifice.

The core part of the huge Rus Kingdom lacks the soil for the existence of human sacrifice customs, because there is a serious shortage of slaves here, and even with the economic development to the present, Rus does not need the existence of the slave class.

A large number of Slavic farmers and Finnish fishermen and hunters came uninvited during the slack season and received a salary as laborers. These people supported the ever-expanding handicraft industry in Ross. What Ross needs to consider now is precisely the labor disputes between employers and workers that will inevitably arise.

Whether for the Slavs or various Finnish tribes, the spring equinox sacrifice is an important festival of the year.

In 842, Ross's sailing ceremony must have been very grand, and the general public had their own ways to celebrate it.

After the sacrificial activities, until the snow on your own farmland has melted, according to the tradition, let it stand for another week before starting to dig the soil and sow. The farming population in the capital is not large, but the large number are actually fishermen.

The farming conditions in Novorosburg are much inferior to those in Novgorod, but because they face the good-quality fishing grounds in the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, the Vikings who settled here are fond of traditional fishing life.

The strong demand supports fishing gear manufacturers and professional shipbuilders, especially the shipbuilding industry. Traditional longboats with bows carved with exotic animals have a huge market demand. ....

Because the traditional longship is a kind of shallow-draft paddle sailing boat, even the ocean and creeks dare to break through it. Although it is far inferior to the large cargo ship with sails, its seaworthiness in the vast sea is inferior, and its advantages are extremely obvious.

Another rumor spread like wildfire. The so-called small-scale army expedition prepared by the king required large-scale sailing warships, and the most traditional leading warships also needed to be used on a large scale.

"Hehe, the king redefines the small army."

The people often sigh with emotion. The expedition of four or five hundred people used to be a large-scale adventure that gambled on the future of the tribe. Now such an army is only prepared for one banner team. Gathering two thousand soldiers was unthinkable in the past, but now this is a "small army".

Of course, the population of the capital city and the surrounding small settlements can reach up to 30,000. This was also a fantasy in the past, but now the world is proud of it.

The huge population creates all kinds of needs, especially for the grand sailing sacrifice. Every family on the boat is preparing their own sacrifices.

Some families domesticate some cattle, sheep and reindeer by themselves as part-time small herders, providing the capital with fresh red meat, dairy products, leather goods, and even selling bones to hunters because they can be used as bone arrow clusters.

Families became sweetspots, and boat runners in desperate need of sacrifices bought their fawns and lambs with resounding silver coins.

This is a special need, and a small herding family is selling lambs~www.mtlnovel.com~ Rurik has a huge herd of deer, and he wants to take the opportunity to sell some of the lambs to make a fortune.

Reindeer, cattle, sheep, even lambs are more expensive. Livestock were sacrificed with blood, and they had to sacrifice blood to the **** of the sea to feed Jormungandr, to Odin, to Frey, and to Thor. The blood of the livestock was also smeared on their own boats, and some ruthless people even pricked their fingers. Sacrifice your ship with your own blood.

The king has long officially declared that warships are "female". All warships are like Valkyries fighting side by side with soldiers. Only the soul of the ship must be respected.

Such ideas spread rapidly, and people who own boats always worship their boats in various ways.

Rich people sacrificed cattle, sheep and reindeer, while those who were short of money had to use more than a dozen cheap rabbits or poultry instead.

Therefore, before the great sacrifice, before the ice and snow had completely melted, Ross's economic activities had started ahead of schedule due to the sacrifice. .

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