For the Selons, there is a large lake in the northeast of their settlement called Lubans, also known as Lubanna.

The Selons knew that the area had been separated from the hilly area, and it might be easier to settle in a land by the lake, but the Selons did not relocate on a large scale, and they seemed to be dismissive of it as a whole.

The actual reason is very simple. The so-called spring snowmelt starts, and the water level of the lake will skyrocket. In summer, once there is frequent rainfall, the expanding water will destroy the hard-working farmland. So much so that there is no one living in the Lubans Lake area now, and even the three villages that fled with their entire villages cannot build new homes on the shores of Lubans Lake.

Rurik had to explain these things to Ilbert himself, so that Rurik knew the secrets, but in this way, Olafin built a settlement by the lake and built his own country, isn't it just asking for trouble?

What Rurik didn't expect was that Olafin knew all these things clearly!

"So, we have to take advantage of the coming dry season to reach Lake Lubans, and then take the river into the big river to reach Riga. Originally, we also planned to row back to Pskov during the snowmelt season starting in spring, but now we have to change our mind." Olafin said so, and then explained it again.

Only those who have been trading for a long time are fully aware of the risks of the journey, and will use the changes in nature to reduce the cost of transportation as much as possible.

The flooding of the lake does not mean that it is just a bad thing. After all, the Danish immigrants in Pskov have not forgotten the navigation skills of their ancestors, and even dared to dive into the canoe.

The rapidly expanding lake will pour water into a large number of low-lying lands, so large swamps are born. The water depth of that kind of swamp is often only touching the waist, which is enough

Enough for a canoe to break through.

The flooded Lubans Lake will only be manifested in the rapid expansion of the lake area, and its name comes from the description of "shallow water". The flow rate of the river increases, so that it can smoothly enter Lake Lubans from the large waterway through the small waterway.

As long as you enter the lake, everything will be fine, and then just go in the direction of the sunrise, through the swamps and forests, the first river the traveler sees, it is the perfect way.

It seems that the road to Pskov is already very clear. Riga has no direct access to it. Travelers have to take a winding path to get there. For a trip like Olafin, go again in the snow and ice to find out the road. There is still no small risk.

Rurik was willing to listen to this man, and also believed that the Ross army could reach their destination safely on the way of the Selons who knew the geography of the area better.

Rurik calculated himself again, and he did have the capital to gamble.

Even when it comes to gambling, I can try some crazy things, a new adventure that may change the perception of the army.

Now Olafin was Rurik's guest, and he was allowed to live in King Roth's shed-like sleigh, and to guide him in this magical sleigh with a built-in pipe stove.

These days he has seen too many novelty gadgets, from initial shock to acceptance, and now he has gradually become accustomed to the way of life of the Ross people, for example, he also wears a pair of wooden framed sunglasses.

The glare of the snow-white world under the sun no longer hurts the eyes, the world has become much darker, and the snow is moving forward

People no longer have to squint their eyes.

But now the horses and reindeer sleighs lined up in narrow squadrons are operating in the gray weather with light snow, and the temperature has dropped a lot. And because of the fear of further deterioration of the weather, those brave people can't help worrying about the risks.

Let's talk about the Ross Army in action. When the army marched into Riga a few days ago, it discovered that a tributary estuary area suddenly appeared on the right bank of the Daugava River.

The extreme cold froze the tributary to a very solid state. The river channel was covered by a layer of black ice at first glance, and there were endless patterns on it. It seemed that the ice layer was cracked, but in fact the thickness of the ice layer was amazing. A thin layer of running water on the bottom.

The whole of the Russian army is now turning into the river one after another.

"What's the name of the river?!" Standing on the outdoor platform of the sled, Kirurik faced the cold wind directly. In order to offset the noise of the whistling wind in his ears, he raised his voice and asked Olafin who was also blowing the cold wind.

"It's the East River." Olafin said.

"Donghe? Named after the direction? So casual." Rurik didn't want to complain, but it was obviously too casual.

The rest of the march must be full of boredom. Even though the cold wind was blowing, Olafin wanted to have a little fun, so he teased lightly: "The river has no name, anyway, the travelers on this river, except us, Mrs. There is also the great army of the king. Perhaps the king can give it a name."

"Giving a name?" Rurik glanced at the man next to him who was covering his hands tightly: "Just, let's name it after you. Let's call it the Olafin River."

"Is that so? That's fine..."

"It's settled like this." Rurik thought for a while: "My king will give you peace."

The territory of the platoon is the lake at the source of the river. Since the Great Lake has a clear name, this river must also have one. By the way, the settlement you build should also have a name. "

"Still named after me?"

"That's right. Just call it Orafenstadt, as we northerners are used to."

Anyway, it was chatting, and Olafin came in full spirit: "Ovonsitadt by the Lubans Lake? It seems that it has been a settlement for a long time, even though we haven't even laid a pile of foundations now."

"It doesn't matter, we will choose a campsite, and you will use our army's campsite as the starting point to build your city in the future."

"Of order. Now... I have to choose a good camping place for the king's army." After saying that, Olafin's eyes continued to stare ahead.

But it is said that the river facing the northeast direction should have been called Aiviekste (Aiviekste River), only because a missionary named Aiviek established a small monastery in the estuary area, and an unnamed river became With a name.

In this time and space, the name of the Pskov merchant became the name of the river, but the essence of the river and lake remained unchanged.

No one can prevent Lake Lubans from exaggerating the expansion and contraction of the river during the dry season and the wet season. After all, it is the extreme of the dry season in the cold winter, and the lake area covered by ice is only less than 20% of the peak of the wet season.

Even in the wet season, the river has a gentle flow, and the side also shows that its channel is very shallow and the river surface is wide.

In a mere tributary, the Ross army can still march forward in two columns in a grand manner, and the flag teams don't have to worry about the collision of their sledges.

Steel horseshoes and iron-covered sleigh tracks, they rubbed against the ice and made a lot of noise. Accompanied by the copper bells hanging on the reindeer's neck, the panting of the reindeer, and the chatter of the sledgers, the army kept making great noises. There was a big commotion, big and small animals fled wherever the army came, and birds that did not hibernate also flew away to avoid disaster.

In such a situation, the Ross warriors didn't even have the chance to hunt for tooth offerings on the spot.

However, they accidentally discovered that the river was under the ice, and it seemed that it was easy to catch fish.

As it happened, when the whole army started to set up temporary camps in the flat riverside area as usual, the people with all their strength and nowhere to vent, took axes, iron picks, hammers and "human drills" to dig holes in the ice.

Catch seals and catch cod after digging holes in the frozen sea ice. This is a good game of the Ross tribe since ancient times. As a large number of mixed-race warriors who are descendants of Ross, they also inherited this set of survival skills from the father of the old Ross. .

Three blades are "glued" to an iron rod in the form of heat welding. They are arranged in a uniform spiral. The end of the iron rod has a crank. The fisherman manipulates it with both hands. The three blades can continuously scratch the ice surface and finally drill directly through the ice. Then release some rotten meat and dried fish to make a nest, and then release real bait and hemp rope fishing line to wait for the good news.

The soldiers who were holding the mentality of giving it a try saw the perch go crazy and drilled into the newly dug hole.

In the evening, the camp was filled with the aroma of grilled fish, and Rurik also enjoyed some local products on the spot.

Despite the erosion of dense snow, the soldiers hid in the comfort of the tent one by one and waited for a new day. they even assault piles

Build snow walls, make a windbreak for all the war horses in the forest, make sure no horses winter after this one night.

As for the reindeer, they were the only ones that had absolutely nothing to worry about.

After entering the tributary, the Ross army forced to walk on the ice road for three days, and what finally appeared in front of everyone was an extremely huge ice sheet.

The sky was still gray, and the cold wind mixed with Xuezi hit people's faces. Everyone looked around, and the forest disappeared in a huge space! Instead, there is a snow-covered flat land, which seems to have a lot of snow piles on the flat land, and you can see a lot of reeds when you push it aside.

Rurik got off the sleigh and looked around with his proud head raised.

Orafin and several other Theron guides were by his side.

"Could this be Lake Lubans?" Rurik asked.

"Exactly. It's the place we go through every year." Olafing gasped: "And, the place where the king is standing now is part of the river during the wet season."

"Oh?" Rurik couldn't help shrinking his feet, for fear that the ice layer in this place was not solid enough so that his boots would sink in and be covered with a layer of mud.

Olaf panted and pointed everywhere: "There! And there! I dare say that in another three months, it will all be water. The lakebed here is extremely muddy, and most places are not suitable for building settlements at all."

"Oh? Then what shall we do?"

"Crossing the lake, our army continues eastward until we reach the place I confirmed. Well, at least there must be woods nearby."

Rurik stroked his beard thoughtfully, and suddenly realized: "That's right. Forests exist only where the lake cannot be submerged. And you really need a lot of wood to build you.

city. "

"Exactly."

"Tch." Rurik shook his head in frustration, "I thought we could set up a permanent camp as soon as we reached the Great Lake, but it seems that we can only stay in this unlucky place temporarily. There is no large area of flat land in this wretched place, alas ..." Rurik had already imagined the scene of this place during the flood seasona swampy country.

At this moment, Rurik deeply realized that even if he knew the basic structure of the earth, he still knew nothing about the details.

He knew Latvia and the forests everywhere, but he didn't know that there was a "monster" named Lake Lubans.

The next day, after an uncomfortable night's rest, Ross's corps, tired and annoyed, began a rapid advance on the main part of Lake Lubans.

They have been advancing to a seemingly smooth place, but the guide Olafin said that they must not stop, so everyone just has to keep advancing.

In fact, they walked the entire day on the lake bed that was completely covered by ice during the dry season. Everyone felt that everyone was just traveling bored, and the so-called lake area seemed to be endless.

They crossed the great lake abruptly, and the journey has indeed reached an astonishing forty kilometers.

"That's it!" Finally, Olafin let go of his tight mouth.

The army arrived at the edge of a forest identified by Olafin before the sun set. The people who had been bumping all day were sore and depressed, and they didn't even think about setting up tents.

Rurik got off the sled with the tossed Bejahir in his arms, and everyone stood on the flat ground, stomping and jumping vigorously.

Really calmed down Rurik also noticed that here compared to other places

It is true that the terrain is relatively high, and there is a huge lumpy forest behind it. Such an environment is indeed suitable for building a fort surrounded by wooden walls.

Therefore, the planned city of Olafenstad by Lake Lubans started from the camp of the Ross Army tonight.

However, the army will only stay here for one night, and the benefits given to the soldiers are at most to set off later tomorrow.

They will leave a lot of fire and cooking traces, and then cut down some pine trees, sharpen one end and smash it into the cold soil to serve as a pile foundation. In form, this is regarded as the foundation stone of the new town and the new earl's palace by King Rurik of Ross.

The bonfire was crackling, and Rurik was clasping the delicious meat of grilled perch while listening to Olafin, who was in good spirits, continue to describe the wonderful future.

"What should I do next? Head straight to the east and forcefully cross the forest?" Rurik asked.

"Yes. Your Majesty, don't worry, even if it's snowy, don't ignore my nickname. I'm a night walker, and I won't get lost when I walk at night. It's just covered in snow. I know how to walk through the forest correctly even with my eyes closed. Please Believe me." As he spoke, Orafin kept beating his chest.

"I trust you, so, how much time will we consume? You know, I don't want to dawdle any longer."

"Yes. With the speed of the Ross army, I think it only takes one day."

"So fast?"

"It's just that after crossing the forest and arriving at the nameless river..."

"Is there a secret?"

Olafin shook his head: "There is indeed a secret. It is a small river, and then the king's sled team can only form a single file. We travelers will take seven days at the fastest to travel from Pskov

Paddle down to the small river, then overland through the forest to Lake Lubans. The king's sled team has great speed, maybe it won't last seven days. "

"Is that so. Then five days?" Rurik thought while pinching his beard.

"I hope so. Maybe we got through the bad creek the first two days and after we get into the big river...we can go racing like we're on the Daugava, the Orafin, which is named after me."

"Oh! It's good news, so what you call the future river, it will lead directly to Pskov?"

"Exactly."

"Let's wait and see. You are indeed an excellent guide." Rurik had to praise.

Because most of the border between the Russian Federation and the Latvian country is determined by a small river, which is exactly what Olafin calls the correct path. The creek has no name, and in Olafin's opinion it doesn't matter whether it has a name or not, the brothers call it roughly "the creek leading to Riga".

After all, for Mrs. Pskov, few people know the significance of this river. Even if they are local Danish immigrants and Krivich Slav immigrants, they have become aboriginals in no-man's land, so Pskov Born, the descendants of the early immigrants have quietly forgotten the way of their ancestors' immigration.

Only a few people know it, and because of this or that relationship, Pskov has never established a long-term trade relationship with Riga. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com Only a few factions operate this hidden trade line.

Eventually, the meandering creek would feed into the Velikaya River, which bears that name today.

After all, the essence of this word comes from the "sacrifice" in the Nordic context. Puth of the land of two rivers

Corb, which became a quarter for all walks of life because of an altar.

"What? The name of the great river that leads to Pskov is the Velikaya?"

Olafin didn't expect to explain a fact by himself, and King Ross seemed inexplicably excited?

"Your Majesty likes this name?"

"It's not just because I like it." Rurik held back a smile, "My eldest daughter is called Verika, and it must have the same name as your so-called Great River."

"Is this... all because of the sacrifice? Sure enough, everything was arranged by God." Olafin covered his mouth in surprise, and when he saw Rurik laughing, he let go of his hand and gave a barbell-like smile .