Forest, endless forest.

Standing on the cairns south of Demyansk, Rurik was amazed that there was only one small area that didn't fit in with the surrounding environment. He could feel that he was standing on a high point, but the sea of forest smoothed everything out.

The river flows through the crevices of the low hills, and it washes away the surface covering soil to expose the local superficial stones.

If time is long enough, a small mountain range will rise from the ground, and the area where Demyansk is located will become a mountain peak.

The entire Valdai Heights was a large shallow sea in ancient times, and it is gradually becoming mountains. Human life is only a short moment in the long geological history. All this will not happen in the foreseeable future, and it is not for Rurik to consider.

He personally beat the rocks under his feet with a hand axe, smashing the sandy stones to pieces, and got solid granite with many quartz.

A rest camp was erected on the right bank of the river (the current north bank), which has a more soothing environment. After cavalry exploration, they walked upstream along the nearby creek and found a small lake easily.

Completely different from the rage of the Haven River flowing on countless boulders, the lake surrounded by forests is as quiet as a mirror.

Rurik laid the foundation stone for a new town in the rest camp, centering on the wooden pile he personally smashed, from which the town of Demyansk will surely expand.

The shipwreck victims were buried in situ, and the graves where they were buried were also designated as cemeteries for future settlements.

The Rurik expedition team had enough personnel, so the purpose of the trip was extremely strong. When they arrived at the targeted Damen area, they not only began to investigate and mine the local quarry resources, but also started the logging operations of the Ross people since ancient times.

Armed with a wide pair of saws and traditional forest axes, they are "destroying" the native pine forests with great efficiency.

There are a lot of people working in the forest.

Those century-old trees with a height of 50 meters gradually lost their center of gravity under the continuous damage of the double saw.

"Get out of the way! The tree fell!"

As someone screamed and roared, the tall red pine slowly bent, then gradually tilted under the pressure of its own weight with a serious creaking sound, and finally collapsed.

The ground trembled violently, and the pine cones that had just been connected to nearby trees were shaken down. The birds flew around in shock, the pine trees fled to the distance, and the groundhogs and foxes hurriedly burrowed into the ground to hide.

A small troop of cavalry was walking leisurely along the meadow beside the brook to the small lake at its source.

Rurik was in a good mood, but Bejahir, who was following him, was startled by the continuous roaring noises behind him.

She gripped the reins tightly, visibly nervous.

"What? Are you still afraid of those collapsed trees?" the calm Rurik asked casually.

"As if giants were destroying those trees, as if the ground would be cracked. I never knew such a thing, you..."

"Very good praise. Ross is a giant, we are not ordinary people. Those big trees prevent us from building towns, of course they must be cleaned up quickly. Besides...that will be the main city of your fief, why are you nervous?"

Rurik, who was riding a horse, still didn't take it seriously, but the fact that he was so commonplace was indeed strange to Bejahir, who was a few years younger than him.

Directional felling is achieved by hacking at a specific location, and then repeatedly hitting the wooden wedge with a hammer to destroy the center of the giant tree. Although the number of old guys in the Rurik expedition is small, a large number of young people are willing to cooperate with the old guys in logging.

The young man raised his head and felt that he couldn't see the end of the big tree, and he couldn't embrace the entire trunk with his arms open. The big tree still collapsed and broke after being chased, and even broke some small trees.

They are obviously just an expedition team. Why do they immediately log on a large scale when they arrive at their destination?

Rurik would definitely not stay here for many days. During the limited stationing time, everyone had to live in wooden sheds that could shelter from the wind and rain, and they had to use big trees to quickly build a pontoon bridge on the Haven River.

Dozens of young people who rolled up their sleeves or went into battle with a full meal worked together. They floated to the opposite bank in a small boat first, and dragged the slender pine log to the river with a cable. The straight pine trunk is longer than the width of the river here, and this dragging operation is repeated continuously. A simple and rough wooden bridge was completed in only three days.

It has no piers, and if there is anything to serve as piers, it is the stones at the bottom of the river.

The overall wooden bridge is bent due to its huge weight, and a small amount of river water in the middle can directly wash over the bridge deck. Even though it is very simple, it already has basic practicality. The stone man has managed to transport stones from the opposite bank to the city on the other bank that is in urgent need of construction.

It seems that as long as there is no serious flood, the improvised bridge is not at risk of being washed away.

Rurik finally stood by the calm lake, and the roar of logging not far away had turned into a deep vibration.

He got off the horse, and Beya Hill came over consciously, gently pulled his arm and hugged him quietly, and slowly pressed his cheek.

"What do you think of this lake?"

"Hmm...quiet. It would be nice if there wasn't the roar of logging."

"It's really quiet here, and maybe we can find even more wonderful existences." Rurik pointed to the obvious raised hills in the north: "Let's get on the horse and go over there to have a look."

"Also."

The lake where they are located is the current Lake Moslino. The name of the lake comes from the name of the missionaries of later generations. From the perspective of Rurik, this lake needs to be given a name.

As he personally led his brothers to investigate, he soon discovered a wonderful place by the hills in the north direction-a mountain spring.

The clean stream is gurgling, and the north bank of the river still lacks stones, but the entire low mountainous area forms a huge water tower. The filtered spring water has no fishy smell, and even has a hint of sweetness. It was a great comfort for the cavalry team to explore all the way. Rurik squatted beside the stream with his subordinates, drinking the stream water with his hands as scoops.

He drank enough water to wash his face well, stood up and looked down at Beja Hill who was still in the still water of the river: "It's time to give the lake a name."

"What is it?" She turned her head and asked softly.

"Clear Spring Lake. Clear Spring Lake in Demyansk. In my opinion, in the future, your city will expand towards the lake, and the creek connecting the Haven River will be dug into a waterway that can be directly navigated. You can build the palace here , you can look at the beautiful lake and taste the slightly sweet spring water.

Hearing this, and seeing the smile on Rurik's face, Bejahir felt more and more uncomfortable. It sounds like my own man is going to have to still be here, how painful it is to be a woman.

However, this is also the fate that must be accepted as a noblewoman.

In the final analysis, her existence itself is the bargaining chip of the Pecheneg Khanate. Married princesses exist as a means of attracting new allies. It is best to maintain an unbreakable alliance, at least through marriage to ensure that allies will not be backstabbed. This behavior is "" The essence of Pecheneg, the tribes rely on marriage and childbirth to ensure that the nobles have me among you and you among them.

Beya Hill is the most noble princess, even if her elder brother Kagan doesn't value her life in Ross more, but her mixed-race son and nephew Hasal, that little boy is more important than the princess. Importantly, the existence of children is like a chain, binding the two rising powers together by blood.

Rurik discovered the secret of Demyansk spring water, and the lakeside area is also the only place where mountain spring water flows in the region. People who drink here no longer have to endure the muddy smell of the river water. They unload their leather sleeping bags one after another, pour out the "dirty water" inside to fill the clear spring, and feel happy.

Demyansk is a key node of the expedition, and now is not the time to mobilize manpower to build it.

Rurik left behind a small number of Australas to maintain the basic framework of a settlement.

They welcomed the king's decision very much. After all, the so-called Ostara people here are just in name, and they are essentially Slavs. These people are less interested in large-scale logging and more interested in mining stone.

Hard granite is not only used as a building material, stone mills make semolina, stone slabs squeeze excess water from yogurt cubes, and so on.

Rurik and his group stayed in Demyansk for nearly two weeks. When they came here, there was still a ridiculous torrent of shipwreck. When they decided to leave, the basic prototype of the city had been born.

Even some of the large stones in the river that can be transported quickly and rounded by the river are dragged to the shore. Dredging the river is a passive behavior. The Australians who were ordered to station here are already using ready-made stones and processing them with axes and hammers. The stone is for his own use.

On the shore, the young warriors chanted, and they cameo as a tracker to tow all the boats through the dangerous rocky waterway one after another. Manpower and horsepower act together, and Rurik was worried that there would be a scene of pain and fatigue presented by the "Volga River Tracker", and the result was far better than its negative predictions.

The current section of the Haven River is indeed a bit turbulent. Since most of the necessary supplies have been converted to shore transportation, a large number of war horses have temporarily come to pull the load horses, so that the long boats pulled by everyone are close to empty.

But even so, they still spent almost a day before standing at a big bend in a gentle river.

At this moment, a small mountain suddenly appeared in front of him.

"What is that? It looks like a fortress." The setting sun blurred the impact of the abrupt hills, and out of a warrior's instinct, Rurik subconsciously felt that it was a well-defended castle.

Everyone was supposed to set up camp and have a good rest. For the sake of absolute safety, Rurik still called Brody, who was drenched in sweat.

He pointed to the mountain bag under the sunset: "Take a few brothers to investigate. Remember to bring weapons, and retreat immediately if you are attacked."

"My lord, could it be that you predicted that there would be enemies there? But...Halfen said that there is a wasteland."

"Of course I know. It never hurts to be cautious. Go!"

"As ordered."

So, the twenty riders wobbled and headed straight for the hill. As the distance got closer, Brody became more and more aware of the reason why the king was nervous.

so similar! Surrounded by forests, there is quite a large area of watery meadows in the riverside area. The war horses are simply advancing through the reeds that are enough to cover the horse's legs. I saw the mountain bag standing alone by the riverside. Its existence does not seem to be natural. Some settlers intentionally built with earth.

Because it is summer now, the aquatic plants here are too lush. The wildly growing reeds and rushes gave the war horses a huge temptation. Once the riders stopped urging them, these horses immediately lowered their heads gently and gnawed grass.

"Boss, what should we do? Shall we go and have a look?" a subordinate asked cautiously.

"Go and see! I don't see any danger, now let's rush up and see what's special about this mound."

Indeed, the sudden appearance of a fortress-like mound on the banks of the restored Haven River could easily make the experienced warriors nervous. In the posture of a cavalry charge, Brody led his brothers directly to the designated mound.

They stood in a high position in the area, and to everyone's surprise, the mound was covered with grass, and there was not even a small tree here.

Looking around, removing the winding river not far away and the forest in the distance, there are natural meadows in a large area.

"This place is too much like a fortress. In fact, it can really be the foundation of a fortress."

A soldier's casual remarks immediately attracted Brody's attention: "Very good! The king is building a new town, and a large area is the fiefdom of the grassland princess. She likes a good place where she can graze. It seems that the gods have rewarded her .

The setting sun shone on the faces of the man and the horse, and Brody also noticed the large army that was slowly advancing towards the mound. At this moment, some brothers had resumed sailing.

"Let's retreat for now. Follow me."

As a result, the cavalry rushed down the mound like the wind, and then galloped freely in the meadow by the river.

This scene was seen by Beya Hill, although the surrounding environment was a boundless sea of forests, those galloping scout cavalry gave her a long-lost dream of her hometown.

The cavalry reined in before Rurik.

"Brody, did you notice any activity?"

"No! Your Majesty, it's empty there. It's amazing that there are no trees on the mound. I stood on a high place and looked into the distance. There is a meadow that can be grazed, and there is a forest in the distance. It's a rare flat area, maybe We can camp there tonight."

"Very well, the king needs a flat campsite." After that, Rurik noticed Beyahir's excited little eyes and said with a casual smile: "Honey, this is also your fief. It seems that The northern gods still love you very much. Don't you need a pasture where you can graze? Now the gods have given it to you.

"Yes. I'm glad."

Rurik nodded: "That's it. We'll camp near the mound. My king... also climb up to have a look."

A blaze appeared near the mound, where a large number of expeditions buried stoves to cook wheat, and everyone overwhelmed the wildly growing reeds into sleeping nests one after another, but everyone soon discovered that this environment also has special discomfort -insect.

The setting sun sinks into the horizon, except for the fireflies flying in the grass near the camp fire, no one thinks this is very romantic. Everyone should beware of bugs getting into their clothes and making it itchy all over.

It had to be that the campfire cleared a small area, and the mosquitoes were driven away by the heat I felt.

Taking advantage of the afterglow of the setting sun, Rurik and Bejasir rode their horses and finally climbed to the top of the crazily overgrown rush grass mound.

Rurik got off his horse and inspected for a while. Compared with the soft soil elsewhere, the soil here is harder. There are signs that this mound is indeed not a natural product.

who is it? Look at the nearby flat meadow, which is as out of place as the forest.

A simple idea arises - this was a settlement at some point in time.

Beyahir, who was a little cold at night, hugged Rurik's arm subconsciously. They stood on a mound about 30 meters high and watched the sunset completely sink into the earth. The cool wind blew, and the inexplicable sense of desolation forced her Hold your man tighter.

"What do you think of this mound?" Rurik asked softly.

"Very good, but a little...I'm cold."

"Then hold me tight."

The Rurik snuggled up for a while before slowly opening her mouth: "I can be sure that there was an existence here a long time ago. And this mound was built by people at that time."

"Ah?" She was taken aback: "How do you think we are the first to arrive here?"

"No. My dear, the history is longer than you think. Maybe we dig in the grass with a shovel, and we can dig up pot fragments from long ago. Who knows? They left anyway, and this place is occupied by us. Specifically This place is still your fief."

"Yes." Beya Hill made no secret of his joy in this environment: "I still like the life of grazing cattle and sheep. Compared with the Demyansk you requested to build, the environment here is more superior."

"Of course, you could actually even build a fort on a mound."

"It can be. I... still like to build houses on flat ground. I'm cold in high places."

"You will be an earl, and the imperial palace is on a high place, and you can look down on your subjects every day. Besides, this place is sacred, it must have been an altar for people in ancient times, it was blessed by some gods, and now it belongs to you. I have decided, I will name the mound Princess Mountain." As he spoke, Rurik gazed at Bejahir's face affectionately: "It got its name because of you."

"Alright alright"

Therefore, it is permanently named Princess Mountain, and history is on the right track here.

Princess Mountain is Princess Mountain.

Its name no longer comes from a princess of the Principality of Tver in the eleventh century, but from the Pecheneg princess Beyahir who married Rus in the ninth century.

But this mound stood on the banks of the Haven (Yarvin) a long time ago. It was actually built for an ancient immigrant Finnish tribe who settled here for a period of time and then migrated far away.

In fact, the Kingdom of Ross continued to expand eastward, and it was inevitable that they would encounter the new Finnish-Ugr tribe.

Especially the Permites who merged with the Karelian Tribal Union many years ago. The Perm people are not a tribe, but a mixture of grazing clans scattered all over the country. They are in the process of forming a unified tribal alliance, and the battle with the Rus and their defeat are already a huge blow to this mixture~www.mtlnovel. com~ No one knows who established a settlement very close to Lake Villiers long ago and abandoned it. The Perms, Karelians, and even other tribes have no idea about this, or They have forgotten too much.

As an outsider, Rurik does not need to have a deep understanding of this. Since this place has already been developed, the cost of taking over the development of the Ross Kingdom is lower, so why not do it? What's more, the Hafen River here is not an excellent waterway for shipping because of the turbulent and dangerous river. At least some long boats can still pass through without hindrance. The Hafen River has become an optional shortcut to enter the eastern lakes, and The location of Princess Hill is very delicate.

As a settlement, Princess Mountain can give people who go retrograde through the torrent waterway a good rest, and it can also allow people who are about to face the test of the torrent waterway to rest and recharge their batteries to meet the challenge.

It could exist as a future shipping pier, but it's still a blip in the middle of an expedition.

According to the so-called old man Hafen's information, he saw this strange mound shortly after entering the river, so he deduced in reverse, Rurik believed that he was not far from Lake Villiers.