All farms had a chance, even those who had been forcibly immigrated from the forest, and their nephews were allowed to join Ross's citizen army for the first time.

Who can be a warrior? Everything speaks of strength.

However, some farms have more people and better living standards, and the Slavic boys living in these farms are often the best in physical fitness.

The number of farms built by forced immigrants has expanded to more than 30. The names of the farms are numbered, and the population of each farm is not large. Among them, the children lived in the harsh environment in the forest in their early years, and they are relatively short and weak. Even if they enter the lakeside area and live better, the disadvantages in all aspects will not be eliminated in a few years.

Rurik could predict that if he recruited another 2,000 people in the Novgorod area, almost all the Slavic boys who could join them would come from the original twelve farms, especially the White Tree Manor.

The selection of soldiers by means of competitive competition can be done fairly, but it is really unfair to the weak farms.

However, the army is different from ordinary organizations. It gives certain indicators to all farms. If they really take out the strong young people in their own villages, they can still show the difference in strength after summarizing. This is a fatal injury to the army organization and may cause The combat effectiveness of the army is accommodated to the weak in the army.

In this era, even if a certain army has high-tech weapons, there is no significant gap with other forces' armies.

So what if he wears a whole-forged breastplate? The enemy holding a stone ax can ram the armored warrior to pieces.

What determines the combat effectiveness of an army? Weapons and equipment, personnel quality, soldiers

temperament, officer intelligence, and so on. The quality of soldiers can basically ensure that the entire army has a considerable upper limit.

However, Rurik decided to immediately increase his troops, not to conduct auditions for the entire Novgorod region. Once the severe winter approached, he had no time to dawdle at the first snow. Secondly, all the young men of all kinds who have received two years of school education but have not yet been incorporated into the army, who else has an advantage in recruiting troops than these people?

The emissary on horseback was rushing into various farms, and the people stared at the flag on the saddle and listened to the king's orders spread by the emissary.

"Young people who have finished their studies! Join the flag team, you have priority, hurry to the city to take the test!"

Messengers kept delivering these orders, as if joining the army was voluntary.

However, Rurik planned this way. Those boyars who returned after the meeting must repeat the meeting content to the people in the village.

The king actually specified the plan of the Frankish expedition. Presumably, the entire country has started a large-scale mobilization as it did three years ago. The current expansion of the four banners is probably only the expansion of such troops in the Novgorod area.

Only a few people know how much the whole kingdom will increase its troops.

The people who got the news did learn the embellished news from the local nobles. In fact, there was no causal relationship between the increase in troops and the Frankish expedition. The spread of the kingdom is very large, the population is increasing, and economic activities are becoming more prosperous, and more troops are needed to defend it.

Joining the new flag team is equivalent to participating in the expedition to Frankland next year. This is how the boyars understand it and promote it in this way.

Who would resist war? Each farm will have its own defeatist statement

The guy who discusses it is defined as a coward and a coward, and the so-called "you are not worthy of being a member of my village" is poked in the back.

The young people were gearing up, and they looked helplessly at the son of Lord Boyar. Since he became a cavalryman, he had made huge sums of money in the war, and he had captured a Varyag woman as his wife. Can have this achievement, just because he is the son of the master?

No! It is clear that the king gave the master a chance prematurely.

The villagers will not forget that when the king first organized the cavalry, he gave the villages instructions, and the leader of each farm must surrender one of his sons to join the army.

Back then those boys were crying and crying, and the master was also frowning.

What about now? The boy who cried once became a young man who had done meritorious deeds, and he was eager for a new war immediately. As an elite soldier who directly obeyed the king's orders, his future was immeasurable.

Boyar's father was even more arrogant.

They can, why can't I? The king gave everyone a chance this year, and everyone went to the king's school for two years. Are they really weaker than the master's son?

The boys couldn't help but think a lot.

"Maybe I can't be a standing army. It's good to be a soldier of the Citizen's Banner. In this way, I can participate in the war. Since it is an expedition to Frank, I will have the opportunity to get huge booty, rob silver coins and daily necessities, and immediately improve my family's livelihood. If I have made great achievements on the battlefield, so I should be able to be absorbed into the standing army, so that I can have a generous salary to support the whole family, and even if unfortunately die in battle, my younger brother will have the priority to take over my position in the army.

Ordinary small Slavic families are not stupid. They do have a wealth of experience in planing food in the soil. It does not mean that this is the case,

It is precisely because poverty forces people to calculate gains and losses, and there are many people with long-term vision and people who gamble.

A man of insight tried to find a way to send his son to a school that mainly educates the descendants of Ross blood. For this reason, he had to pay a tuition fee and pay for food at his own expense, in order to change his destiny.

This kind of family lacks understanding of "knowledge can change destiny", but they are very clear that the king of Ross, Rurik, selects talents and appoints talents. No matter how talented and capable their own cubs are, they may be buried if they are not discovered. If you can show your face early by the king's side, the possibility of being valued by him is higher.

One small family after another regards recruitment as a once-in-lifetime opportunity to change the fate of the whole family.

A few days after the meeting, the aspiring youth literally started gearing up.

It is often the eldest son and the eldest son in the family who are expected by the whole family to join the army. Even half-children are rare and strong laborers. If it is because the sons joined the citizen army and participated in the expedition, wouldn't it mean that next year's spring plowing will be more difficult?

Maybe this is the only chance for the whole family to stand up!

Families held "family conferences" one after another, and the head of the family with the highest voice, the father of the children, very boldly demanded that the children must join the army. The words are aimed at all his sons, even the boys who are still babbling. Losing a boy can give birth again, and the boy who became a citizen soldier has the opportunity to be promoted to the standing army, eat the salary and weapons bestowed by the king, lay a large territory for the king, and get blood rewards in exchange for soldiers.

As long as one boy gets the blood reward, the whole family will turn over immediately. It's not a pity even if the boy died in battle, there are more children in the family

Being born means that there are more opportunities.

It seems that the eldest son in the family has become a tool? Yes and no.

The eldest son can inherit most of the family business, and in exchange, he is also obliged to help his younger siblings, and even has reasons to help his brother-in-law.

A traditional farm is by no means a village of the same surname. The complex marriages have led to the formation of large settlements one after another of the Slavs with mixed blood. Now these farms have begun to join the blood of the Varyags. It seems that this makes each village better. war.

Those who are interested are already actively preparing, and now even the king's messenger personally conveys the news, making everything extremely real and wonderful.

"Son. Take our family axe. Take it! Let it drink the blood of your enemies. Your grandpa, grandpa, and all your ancestors will give you courage."

This is how the father encouraged his eldest son, and the boy's mother sewed the amulet and token with colored cloth and stuffed it into the son's hand.

They worshiped the **** of fire, worshiped the sun with endless heat, and even worshiped their ancestors.

Goslav Farm believes that the spirits of the ancestors will give strength to the young children, especially when the children want to challenge strong enemies, they will have stronger strength due to the blessing of the ancestors.

As a result, the boys from each village brought utensils and money from their parents, carried their bags, and arrived in Novgorod one after another by boat, on foot, or even in squeaky ox carts. Boyar of the farm almost always went to Novgorod himself, escorted the boys in the village all the way, and arranged for the children to stay at the destination.

After all, the more children in the village who are selected as citizen soldiers, the better for themselves.

The boys from the same village walked together, discussing who could be chosen and who would be chosen.

will be brushed down.

In fact, Ross has already done multiple rounds of screening and arrangements for these children!

Some boys, because they are too good, have been selected into the standing army and become cavalrymen loyal to Rurik himself. After all, such people are rare.

Some boys were determined to be good at writing and arithmetic in the school final exam. Even if such children were weak, they were absorbed into the ranks of scribes and trained as salary earners. This matter subverted the cognition of ordinary Slavs, and these The boys did serve the kingdom, they were the beginning of the civil service.

There are also boys who were forcibly moved to the Principality of Aostara. Although they are still subjects of the Kingdom of Ross, first of all their status has become the subjects of the Principality of Aostara. Lucky or unlucky for these boys?

The Duchess Carlota has a dream of revival and is actively implementing it. The young man who falls into her hands has no second choice. Any man is a soldier even if he is weak. These forced immigrant boys became cavalry on a large scale, learned to row like Varyags, and were forced to participate in combat operations early, even if they were immature. As for the truly weak, they have been ruthlessly eliminated by nature and cease to exist.

There is no shortage of children around Lake Ilmen. On the contrary, the behavior of forced immigration relieved the pressure on the land to a certain extent, but in a short period of time, men and women gave birth to a group of children to fill the vacancies.

Every year, boys reach the traditional age of twelve. Marriage may not be immediate, but fulfillment of adult obligations is certain.

The youngest is only fifteen years old, and the oldest is twenty years old. In the original design, Rurik set the age very firmly, but more

Children don't want to give up the opportunity. There is a boy who has just turned twelve and thinks he is taller than his peers, so he wants to join the army through competition.

Of course Rurik wanted men around the age of eighteen to join the new army, but the facts did not allow him to have such an extravagant wish.

All because of the frequent and increasing scale of Ross's war activities.

The core population of the Ross Kingdom has just passed through a dangerous period of shortage of personnel, but the new generation of Ross fighters has just begun to grow up.

"The minimum age limit is fifteen. I hope I can recruit all the soldiers. If not, then lower the minimum limit. The four banner teams will have two thousand soldiers. No matter what, we must recruit enough."

Rurik thought so, and arranged for the Governor of Novgorod to quickly build the "Arena".

Soon, more and more young people gathered in Novgorod. They set up temporary tents in the wasteland outside the city and asked when the competitive selection would start.

Boys from each village gather together and surround themselves with educated brothers from their own village. They were fellow villagers who grew up together. Because their parents had their own ambitions, in the end only a few wealthy civilian families in each village could send their sons to Novgorod schools.

"I must be selected, otherwise it will be a blasphemy for two years of study. Don't worry, if I am selected, I will find a way to draw you in. As for how to do competitive selection, I will teach you..."

Such a boastful boy has turned into a big brother in the eyes of his fellow villagers. This kind of boy does have reasons for self-confidence.

How to do competitive selection, just reenact the school's final physical fitness exam.

Kicking, queuing up, and walking in order... all these are not only disciplines for training recruits

Law, for it is the lesson learned in war at the cost of blood throughout the ages.

It is now only the ninth century, and almost all the elements of the phalanx warfare in the Roman era were lost in the early Middle Ages. The rising barbarian countries had to explore from scratch. Certain elements of the Roman legions.

Rurik did not directly emulate Rome, or it is a matter of course to train students to play goose.

Why not? If you can't do these, you are worthy of being a student?

Even if they only received two years of education, the boys who were subjected to compulsory physical training lined up on the grass and marched neatly amidst the shouts of the instructors left and right, which seemed to others to be an army.

It usually only takes three days of high-intensity training to let a boy who can't even tell the left and right learn to walk neatly in a matrix.

They are by no means mentally weaker than people hundreds of years later, what they lack is some knowledge and plans, and a commander who understands everything.

"Competitive selection" seems to be a kind of physical examination, but it is more rigorous.

If there are four thousand boys of all kinds, do we have to choose two thousand?

No! If only 1,000 people can pass the running test, choose 1,000 people.

Today, the weather is sunny and sunny, and the air is refreshing. Rurik, dressed in military uniform, and the queen and prince, make a high-profile appearance among the cavalry guards!

Rurik has indeed completed the formation of the third and fourth cavalry with extremely high efficiency. After the team framework is designed, do these two troops really have qualified combat effectiveness? Rurik was in denial about it. They are too immature, but they are qualified to show off the glory for the royal family.

Let's talk about the two new horses

For the army, Rurik wanted a horse from the Principality of Ostara, and also brought in the Pecheneg bodyguard who was given to the concubine nurse Bejahir as the captain of the cavalry.

The residents of the whole city saw the appearance of three cavalry teams gathered. The horses were basically prairie horses (mares were the main horses, followed by stallions, and geldings began to appear). goose feathers. The cavalry carried a more ceremonial spear, a bow or crossbow hung on the saddle, the arrow feathers in the quiver were fuzzy, and the sword around the waist was clearly visible.

The people talked a lot, wouldn't it be more powerful if the most valiant First Cavalry was here?

The well-dressed and tidy cavalrymen are here, and the young people from all over the country who come to accept the competitive selection are really impressed. Because many members of the Second Cavalry have participated in wars and killings, the aura exuded by them is a bit frightening.

Suddenly, the sound of drums and trumpets was loud, and a group of soldiers dressed in bear skins and decorated with bear heads appeared on the stage. Take a good look at them. These people actually have breastplates made of a whole piece of iron. They are the first infantry flag team of the standing army Undoubtedly, these people are acting as guards of honor.

The scene of the competitive selection seems to be an opportunity for Rurik to show off his might. After all, if he plans to go on an expedition to a big country, there will definitely be doubts among the people about the risk of war. Showing off some military power to boost morale should convince doubters.

Because for the Slavs with a large population, the army assembled outside the city of Novgorod is the only army they can see. they do not know

Little is known about Frank's ability to easily defeat his enemies in a world far away. But they knew that Pineneedle Manor and its servants, which had risen in rebellion eleven years ago, had been utterly destroyed, and that the Mound might have buried ten thousand people. This was done by the Ross-Allied Farm Coalition Army at that time, and most of the boys who came to participate in the competition were descendants of those who had vested interests in the Allied Farm.

The boys believed in the strength of the Ross Army, and they longed to be part of this powerful team.

It was here that Rurik made a brief speech in public.

Even though the north wind was blowing across the open space, the preaching that made him strain his throat lacked penetration.

He didn't announce some new ideas. The various Slavic boyars and old Rus nobles who came to join in the fun just wanted to start the "competition" earlier, adding an exciting enjoyment to the life that lacked fun.

The so-called competition does not require the young people who are running for the election to fight in groups with wooden weapons, it is the team training after the selection is completed.

Athletics first choose physical fitness standards, and the biggest event is nothing but long-distance running.

The run is a thousand stikas in length, a little less than a thousand meters. For boys in this era, no matter what ethnicity they are, they have to do a lot of exercise in their daily lives. Running is a norm, but it is really difficult to run the specified distance within the standard time.

Rurik did it on purpose, a pair of glass-blown sand timepieces were placed at the finish line, and the semaphore soldiers communicated with each other between the finish line and the finish line.

People who can complete the long-distance running have good endurance and explosive power, and then it is possible to carry out pull training close to 5,000 meters after improving food.

he believes

, Just this kind of competition can attract a large number of people who are willing to join the army.

Ross is fair to everyone in this regard, the descendants of the old Ross, the descendants of Viking tribe immigrants from all over the place, the descendants of the Slavs, and even the descendants of the Finnish Suomi who rowed all the way to Novgorod to live as a guest. The boys are age-qualified (it looks like they are qualified), and they don't even have to pay the registration fee. They are all qualified to participate in this middle-distance running competition~www.mtlnovel.com~ and must participate in it first.

One hundred people are divided into groups and stand outside the starting line made of chalky mud.

Who will issue the start order?

It was none other than Rurik himself.

It is a great honor for the king to be the one who ordered it himself. If he behaved poorly today, wouldn't he be despised by the king? The boys of all ethnic groups worked hard and took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the king's face. After all, many people rarely have the opportunity to face the king. Looking at the king seems to be a "big brother" who is a few years older than themselves. The feeling of intimacy arises spontaneously, as if the initial competition is the elder brother testing the younger brother.

"Odin only admires the strong! You are playing fair, looking at my flag, and obeying my orders! Get ready!"

Rurik said it deliberately, watching the first hundred boys slowly squat down.

"run!"

After the words were finished, the flag fell, and the boys galloped across the grass like wild horses. They were unstoppable with all their efforts...

reborn carambola