The technique of ice-slicing fishing has spread throughout Lake Ilmen. You only need to dig a big hole in the thick lake ice to set up fishing nets to catch fish, which is easier than aimlessly casting nets during the warm season.

Catching fish is now easy, where it used to be nearly impossible. Only the right tools can quickly drill holes in the ice. Now in the Novgorod market, the state-run blacksmith shop has launched crank drills in a timely manner. The steel scraper keeps cutting the ice surface, and large holes can be drilled even in thick ice.

When a large number of holes are gathered together, a piece of ice that is riddled with holes becomes weak, and it is smashed with a long-handled hammer, and then the net can be used to catch fish.

Of course, the residents of Lake Ilmen in this era have not yet upgraded to the high level of winter fishing in Lake Chagan, because they can actually get a lot of fish, and the interests drive people to continuously upgrade their armed forces.

Ice fishers are everywhere in the depths of the Gulf of Finland, Lake Ladoga, Lake Ilmen.

Fisherman's Manor, where people are not good at herding animals or farming, is the only farm in the entire Ilmen Slavic group where fishing is a way of life.

In the past they were quite conservative and only fished in fixed areas. The unknown world is certainly full of opportunities, but the poor fishing gear and weapons of the fishermen at that time prevented them from exploring new rivers.

But now, they bought wooden arm crossbows, mass-produced iron cluster arrows, steel harpoons, and even steel swords.

Such fishermen have been completely Varyagized. On the surface, they are indeed villagers for the purpose of fishing, but they have turned into indistinguishable Russian warriors, but they are indeed native Slavs.

just this time

In modern times, it has become increasingly meaningless to entangle the relationship between Slavs and Varyag in the Novgorod region. Marriage is freedom. The daughters of the Ross family can also marry the local Slavs. Similarly, the locals can spend money to buy Varyag female captives as wives.

The Fisherman's Manor has a batch of spoils from past wars. Apart from ironware, there are also Danish female prisoners. Now these women have given birth to mixed-race children and become peaceful residents.

It has been eleven years since that war, and the leader of the manor, Tori Msjevic, ushered in the good days for the manor because of his correct stance.

There are more and more children being born, and every household has four or five cubs. What is better than the past is that these children have a higher survival rate. This situation happened in the entire area around the lake. Because the living standard is getting better and better, the old people die of illness later and the children die less. Now because there are a large number of young children being taken care of by their parents at home, it seems that the population of Fisherman's Manor is not large, but in fact this manor has great potential for development.

For this reason, the men and women in the village had to bring cutting-edge tools to carry out winter fishing, in order to make a profit by transporting frozen fish to Novgorod, which is not very far away, and then buy all kinds of goods in big cities to complete labor reproduction.

It's a virtuous circle, at the cost of people having to risk fishing in winter.

Rurik's army all arrived at the Shelon River (Shelon), although this was within his expectation, but he and everyone were very happy to lead the army to open up and measure the legendary communication line.

What makes me even happier is meeting fishermen on the frozen river.

As long as you arrive at the Fisherman's Manor, it is equivalent to going home, because

Some of the young warriors in Ross's 2nd Cavalry came from this estate.

The family of the manor owner Tori is hereditary boyar, and his eldest son joined the first cavalry long ago, and he is now stationed in Riga.

The marriage relationship in the entire manor is rooted in illusions. Some young people in the village have passed the cultural and military level tests, and are fortunate to be absorbed into the cavalry, which is called "noble arms" by the people.

This kind of becoming is not a complete verbal praise, the retired cavalry will definitely receive preferential treatment, and can be allocated a piece of hereditary land in the vast world, and it is entirely possible to win the title of boyar.

Although the number of cavalry from Fisherman's Manor is small, there are even a handful of them in the Second Cavalry. They have all experienced a long winter expedition to prove their extraordinary strength.

How many cavalry and winter catchers are more than acquaintances? There is a certain blood relationship between them.

King Ross came out of an unexpected place with a mighty Southern Expeditionary Army, which shocked ordinary fishermen too much. After all, it is a good thing to meet the king. No, the fisherman has no mood to continue working, so he hurriedly packs up the fish, throws the frozen fish he has caught into the net bag, and happily rides on the sled to guide the army to the Xieron River. The fisherman's manor in the north of the lake mouth and the south of the Valoda River lake mouth is temporarily resting.

The captains of all the banners hurriedly gathered around Rurik. He changed his clothes and specially brought the gold laurel wreath with him, looking at these brothers happily.

"I'm going home right away. I know you and the soldiers are very anxious, but don't worry. Our army will be stationed at the Fisherman's Manor. The whole army will take a good rest. Tomorrow we will be in the best condition

Go back to the city! "

Rurik's words immediately aroused everyone's frustration.

Because the target manor is not far from the main city of Novgorod, if you whip a few more whips at the reindeer, the whole army may be able to kill the Novgorod barracks this evening, and only when they get there can they really go home .

Immediately, the captain of the banner boldly said: "My lord, why bother? Let's go back early, so that the brothers can wash away the filth. Also, we can give the elders in our hometown a surprise."

"Surprise? What's a surprise?!" Rurik gave the guy a harsh look, and twiddled his whip with a smile: "I'm afraid... our old king died of too much surprise, it would be a shock. You know that too Well, the great Otto is seventy years old, and he cannot be frightened by anything."

Seeing what the king said, all the flag captains nodded slightly and remained silent.

"Immediately inform the soldiers of my king's decision. The whole army is resting in the Fisherman's Manor, let's go!"

Rurik's decision was indeed quite disappointing to all soldiers, because almost all of the four infantry banners were natives of Novgorod, and as long as the king ordered them to disband, everyone could immediately go back to their homes and find their mothers.

All were promised that the warriors who had completed the Winter Crusade would have a long vacation before the official expedition to Frank.

There is nothing more anticipation these days than the lure of going home, and that anticipation has turned into a kind of mania.

So what should I do? Let's go to the manor where the fishing guys gather first?

Some people were really upset and some were happy. The warriors from the manor suddenly became active, and they were as happy as dancing on horseback.

should follow this

The group of guys were so happy, Rurik immediately gave them the task - report to the Fisherman's Manor first.

A cavalry squad led the way. Five of them were from the Fisherman's Manor, and they were all cousins by blood. Unsurprisingly, these people were pure Slavs.

They carried a fisherman, ten horses galloped across the ice, and disappeared without a trace in a flash.

Their appearance was extremely unexpected to the entire manor. All the people fishing on the ice saw the fast-moving cavalry and the flying Ross flag.

The fishermen stood up one after another, covering their brows with their palms, squinting and listening to the cries of the horsemen.

It was a shout in Slavic, and it seemed to say something like "the army is back".

The cavalry rushed directly into the farm, and the women who were mending fishing nets came out one after another. Some recognized the majestic cavalry soldier as their promising son at a glance, and greeted him with open arms without asking why.

The owner of the manor, Tori, was indeed old, and was helped out of the big wooden house by the villagers for no reason.

The old man lived with a wooden stick himself. He was covered with a bearskin to keep out the cold, and he poked his head with a gray beard and looked up at his young man riding a horse. The latter is still rebellious, controlling the restless war horse overlooking Lord Boyar in the village.

"Boys, how did you come out? Did the king come back with his army?!" the old man asked.

"Exactly. Father, hurry up and bring the villagers out to meet you! Your Majesty's army is about to arrive in our village."

"Is there such a good thing?" Tori didn't have any doubts. These five young cubs were all grown up by themselves.

They would never lie, let alone joke about such a big event.

It's really unbelievable, considering that part of the Southern Expedition returned a month ago with a lot of spoils, the most important of which was the head of the rebel Vadim.

Governor Medved and the Duchess of Ostara returned at the same time. The army carried a batch of spoils in Novgorod and swaggered through the streets, attracting crowds of people, and then began to sell them in public.

The forces of Smolensk were defeated, and Ross was already the new master of the local area. Arik, who was originally the lord of Mstisk, turned into the governor of Smolensk. Together with the first banner team of Ross's oldest citizen soldiers, he once again served as the governor of Smolensk. Pioneers becoming local masters also means that the old Rus families in the tribal era have completed the occupation of the developed space in Smolensk. Even if they cannot be used immediately, the old Rus families took the lead in occupying the seats.

Some time ago, the Fisherman's Manor also went to the big cities to join in the fun, and came back with some very cheap junk. The blacksmith in the manor then smashed these junks into harpoons to enrich his tool arsenal.

Of course, Tori also inquired about the youngsters of the manor.

As one of the earliest manors that belonged to the manor, the soldiers from this manor were not stupid, blind or mentally retarded. In addition to the king's intentional preferential treatment, they are all cavalry now.

The cavalry went to the legendary Riga, and they will go on an expedition to Frank, which is no longer a legend. Whether they can come back alive is uncertain.

Toli had already decided that it would be a pity that the folks could not see these young people again before the king completed his expedition.

Now a miracle happens...

It was only after noon, and the large army led by Rurik had already finished marching in the snow-covered meadow area on the west bank of Lake Ilmen.

At the same time, in the Fisherman's Manor, all the iron pots and large pottery urns were moved out. Toli intends to do his best as a landlord to cook fish soup in a surprise attack to welcome the master.

After all, it is still cold now, and the soldiers must feel happy even if they drink a sip of hot water, not to mention they will taste delicious fish soup.

All kinds of fish caught from lakes and rivers are piled up one wall after another in the outdoor open space. The outdoor world is a natural refrigerator. Since the large wild animals in this area have been hunted, the villagers don't have to worry about bears stealing them. fish.

Today's newly caught fish are immediately scaled and dissected, and fish fillets that are as bone-free as possible are thrown into boiling water and stewed with some pickled sour cabbage.

The manor has no time and no reason to feed the returning army. After all, it is said that it is a huge monster with more than 2,000 people. Tori's standard is to serve a bowl of hot fish soup to all soldiers. The key is not how much fish or sauerkraut. The reason is that it is hot soup.

This pot of sauerkraut fish is mouth-watering. The fresh fragrance and the sour smell of stinging halazi permeate the whole manor. With the north wind, it wafts into the nostrils of the soldiers of the Russian army who are marching.

Rurik was overjoyed when he heard that, everything was in line with what the returning scouts said. He couldn't help but raise his horsewhip: "Great! The manor has heard of our arrival, the whole army hastened to leave, we will drink fish soup."

Soon, a touch of blue appeared on the lakeside.

The Ross army was fluttering with flags, and the army began to beat drums and trumpets as soon as they clearly saw the village, trying to create as much noise as possible to attract the attention of the people in the manor.

"Bring your bowls, line up, and drink fish soup!"

Rurik first ordered the cavalry he personally led, and the order was quickly transmitted to the entire marching column.

Finally, the mighty army arrived at the Fisherman's Manor. Under the watchful eyes of the villagers, the old and the young, the flag teams passed through with the spoils they plundered, and then stopped at a wasteland designated by Rurik. The team set up to receive a warm meal one after another.

Rurik dismounted, followed by his trusted followers, especially Princess and Countess Bejahir.

Olafin and Bom were also fortunate to be the king's attendants. Although they only entered the first manor now, they finally arrived in the Novgorod region through a new path, and it was the first time in their lives that they arrived here.

The majestic king has golden hair, as if the noble golden laurel crown grows on his head.

With joy and restlessness, Tori leaned on a wooden staff and quickly went to the king with the help of his entourage. Looking at his trembling hands, the excitement in his heart was self-evident.

"King, you... are finally back."

"Yes. Back."

"But, you...appeared out of nowhere. Could it be that you used your divine power?"

This is said, as if he can still come up with something like a portal. Rurik knew that the local residents had already begun to explore the Xielong River in the west, so he pointed directly to the west: "We came from the Xielong River, and I did some exploration for you. You...do you know Pskov?"

"I don't know." Tori shook his head vigorously.

"Well, now you know. In the future, your people just need to go all the way west in desperation and pass through a forest to see a

There is a lake as big as Lake Ilmen, and there is a city by the lake, which is Pskov. Now, it is already Ross' territory. "

"So? Is that so?" It was impossible for Tori to understand in an instant, and he didn't appear to be overly surprised. The answer was a bit perfunctory.

"Forget it, the Xielong River will prosper in the future, and this king will start emigrating to the west. But now our army will be stationed in your village, and you are very satisfied with the fish soup you prepared in advance. This king is fair, tell me! How much fish did you use? , how much sauerkraut? I will pay for it."

"Pay?" Tori was lucid on the subject. According to King Ross's preferences, Tori knew that the king would never break his promise if he said he would pay, but he couldn't be bothered to ask for it.

The old guy immediately played tricks, and bowed his head respectfully: "The army is full of travel and dust, this hot soup is a tribute from my village, and the king negotiated to pay for it?"

"That's a good point! But I saw that you must set up all the pots in the village. Only in this way can we feed my army a hot meal. It's not good to let you waste money. Let's do it! Hand over all the villagers, Let's have dinner."

How could a bowl of hot soup satisfy the army? Even though the Fisherman's Manor had a large stockpile of frozen fish that was urgently needed to be transported to the big cities for sale, the soldiers who only ate dry food in order to save trouble for many days would naturally not miss the opportunity to eat fish.

Of course, Rurik, who has a lot of loot, has discretion on the issue of rewards. After all, this is Novgorod. When rewarding, one must also consider the feelings of other loyal servants of the manor. It is not good to favor one another after all. .

If it is an exchange of equal value, it is a fair manifestation.

The Russian Army currently lacks cash

Gold, the most indispensable thing is the wheat obtained by plunder.

What is the market price of a piece of frozen fish, and what is the price of a good government-operated family? After the two parties made some calculations, Rurik reached a barter. In fact, this actually solved the big problem of the Fisherman's Manor. After all, the catches were not durable to storage, and a large amount of frozen fish was shipped to Novgorod. Tori was looking forward to bringing back a batch of grain.

Isn't it the king who bestows benefits now?

The price of government-run grain is fixed, but UU Reading www.uukanshu.com sells a limited amount every month, and has a purchase share for each manor. Manor, it became an insurance measure against food shortage.

For example, if the quota of Fisherman's Manor is used up this month, it will have to wait for the next month. But the manor's main business is fishing, and their desire to grow wheat is not urgent. In a sense, these people are very similar to the living habits of the old Ross tribe twenty years ago.

If there is not enough food, it will be a lot more expensive to buy grain at a nearby manor that is actively growing grain at a high price, because each manor will not consume its own seed grain, and there will still be more grain in half a year before harvest. Planned food (because there are more and more children), there is really no more surplus food to sell privately at the end of winter.

All the soldiers enjoyed a pot of sauerkraut fish, and all the people in the small Danish community of Pskov who came with the army were also able to feast on it.

The fish meat is full, the fish soup is stewed with wheat, and the mixed pickled cabbage and fish rice is very comfortable to eat.

In exchange, the manor immediately got a large amount of oats and rye, and Tori didn't have to organize people to go to the big city to sell the goods.

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