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Spring plowing started quietly amidst the moistening.

Even if the soil is still relatively muddy, the impatient farmers will take out the tuned plow or ordinary iron plow from their homes, and then the whole family will go to battle and start digging the soil.

In the vast majority of farms, the rough sowing method has been eliminated, and all villages have adopted the drill mode, so that the sowing speed is faster, the nutrient competition between the seeds is reduced, and the sowing and turning the soil are carried out almost at the same time. After passing by, there are only slightly raised strip-shaped ridges and a bunch of wheat seeds buried in the middle area.

How to plant the land is discussed by each farm itself. Even if the land in the village has completed the land ownership confirmation, the peasant family can enter the small-scale farmer model in theory. However, it has been a habit since ancient times, and the majority of Slavic farmers still hold their feelings when it comes to farming. Help each other farm.

The men in the entire farm were organized by Boyar, and the large animals raised on the farm were also used intensively.

Farming oxen is an overly advanced service. These farmers at most practice horse farming, but horses are a rarity, so they have no choice but to get the deer that pulls the sled in winter and put on the reins to drag the plow. The men and the deer dig the soil together, and the gathered women and children follow closely behind to sow the seeds.

All the labor force in the whole farm is organized, and the farming time is limited. They know that they must complete the sowing within the time window, otherwise the wheat maturity period will hit the autumn frost, which may lead to a tragedy of harvest failure.

On the other hand, there is another benefit waiting for them to earn quickly.

Can the good farmland that was allocated to the old Ross immigrants really be well cared for in their hands?

The fields are being tended all the time, just the effort

People are a bunch of Macs.

Everyone knows that wheat is good, but it is difficult for the Ross family, who are used to fishing and hunting and have obtained a lot of spoils and wealth in previous wars, to plow the land and grow wheat by themselves.

They suddenly became rent-collecting landlords, recruited a group of Slavic farmers nearby, outsourced all the work from sowing to harvesting, and finally collected half of the land rent.

It would be a good thing to farm Master Ross.

The farmers who can be tenant farmers are mainly from the White Tree Manor, and some tenant farmers are from the new immigrant manor composed of "hidden people". Farming in the well-developed mature fields of Ross immigrants is quite easy for experienced farmers.

These people can work on the rented Ross land while completing their own farm work. After all, for a farmer family, the family situation and status determine that the males in the family are unlikely to plunder wealth by going out to fight, and they are no longer willing to leave their hometowns to go out of their way as they pay more and more attention to land. They can only stare at what they see in front of them to find Rich opportunity.

Farming the Russ is a way of making money, and...

Because Ross immigrants and their descendants lived as "first-class citizens" of the Ross Kingdom. The closer you are to them, the better, and it is best to get closer to your own daughters when their boys are growing up. If the children see each other a lot, if feelings can develop, the tenant farmers who rent the land should start to marry their daughters.

This is all evolving rapidly.

As a result, a large group of professional farmers started spring plowing in the farmland around the Ilmen Lake area, and they took over all the farmland of the Ross people.

The Ross immigrant families who are actively working hard have gradually become outliers.

After all, everyone has the power and ability to send troops to war and explore distant places. Isn't that a job that pays faster? What kind of coward dares to be a farmer?

Although this is not what Rurik wants to see, it has naturally evolved into this way, and it is not good to go against the trend.

One good thing is that under the land rent model, the newborn males in various Ross families become free. They grow up listening to the adventure stories of their parents and grandparents, and they can also witness the grand occasion of the triumphant victory of the Ross army and a large number of spoils pouring into their homes. . Who doesn't want to surpass their parents and become a new hero?

Ross is still actively expanding externally, and the new generation is not yet qualified to be corrupted into playboys. While firmly holding the violent power, even if all the farmland is rented out, Ross has always been the rule maker. The tenant farmers can only do things according to the contract, and Ross also has the right to modify the rules according to the situation.

Because Rurik is the largest landowner, he owns the most spoils of farmland, and all farming operations are outsourced to White Tree Manor. They are the fields of the royal family, and the White Tree Manor is the background of the queen's relatives. The two sides are alliances in various aspects. The output of the royal land is not used for the king's squandering, but is put into the big granarythe grain-based Kingdom of Ross. They are the maintenance of the Ross economy. stable core.

In 843, the spring plowing began one after another. Rurik was not worried about the cultivation of Wangtian at all. He asked Governor Medved to sow seeds. From this year, the field was divided into two, and cold-resistant wheat was planted on the other side. On one side were Dutch peas.

In 844 it was reversed.

This year is still free

Tax year, and for the Lake Ilmen area, also the first year of large-scale planting of peas.

Based on the cold climate in the north, peas will become resistant to storage, and they can be used as the main army food, but the real main force in this Ross expedition is the stored wheat.

The soldiers who had finished their holidays returned to the team one after another. Just outside the city of Novgorod, Rurik personally gave them a training session.

As the soldiers expected, the four newly created Citizens' Banner Corps were all **** veterans in terms of their resumes, even if they were all very young.

It was still due to the inevitable non-combat attrition in winter operations. Although the soldiers have all returned, those who suffered from frostbite or other physical damage, after some physical fitness tests, those who tried to hide their defects were exposed one after another.

Soldiers in poor health had to stay in the barracks regrettably, and they were deprived of the right to expedition to Frank.

If you complain, blame your bad luck!

An infantry standard team is full of 500 people, and each standard team is not full, so veterans are drawn from other citizen army standard teams to fill the gap.

Even some veterans of the Slavic banner team were inserted in, and the elite fighters drawn from the entire Novgorod immediately strengthened the combat effectiveness of the four young banner teams on paper. However, there is a need for integration between soldiers. Soldiers who belong to different units and of different ages need to build mutual trust.

When the spring plowing gradually began, the grass was growing wildly in the open space outside the city, and the army was here for the final training before going out.

There is one biggest difference between this training and the previous ones. Rurik did not ask the soldiers to strengthen formations, charge and fight.

Instead of traditional tactical skills, the configuration of crossbowmen in the flag team has been greatly strengthened.

Originally, there were four centurions in the flag team, and one of them was in charge of bows and crossbows.

In fact, all soldiers have to learn archery and operate the crossbow as early as school, and their being included in the flag team means that all archery subjects are up to standard.

Of course, the traditional "shield wall fighting" skills of the soldiers cannot be neglected. A round shield and a steel sword are standard equipment.

Now the four flag teams will be fully crossbowed on this basis.

Just like the Tang army, every heavy infantry also brought a bow. It is also like the Roman infantry after Mario's reform, with one javelin for each light and one heavy. Infantry has the ability to project damage from a long distance. Compared with full-time crossbowmen, even if they cannot specialize, it will greatly increase the overall combat effectiveness.

Under Rurik's rule, Ross's army expenditure was stronger than that of other tribes to the effect of bows and crossbows.

Every farm in Novgorod is raising poultry, and chickens are the most numerous. The only way to control these poultry is to cut off their flight feathers, and all the flight feathers are sold to the officials and eventually turned into arrow rain. It is fair to say that chicken feathers are just passable. If it is really good, it must be the flight feathers of geese, wild geese and mallards, which depends on the tribute of hunters.

The acquisition cost of arrow clusters and arrow feathers is low, but the production of arrow shafts is quite particular, and the cost is relatively high.

Just because Ross's bows and crossbows have a higher poundage, the arrows they shoot must have a lower deflection. Chinese fir is still a good material for arrow shafts. Wooden shafts are cut into straight and thin shafts by scrapers and planers and dried in the shade. When they are dry enough, arrows can be assembled.

In Novgorod and Novorosburg, a group of personnel did this full-time with their salaries (all previous battles

The disabled soldiers after the war are among them), they are theoretically open all year round, so as to ensure that Ross's arsenal is full of arrows, and there is even enough margin for private sales.

The single wooden bows of the Russian army are almost all made of fir, and spruce is everywhere. Hunters use it to make single-piece hunting bows, and then match them with bowstrings made of sheep intestines and deer tendons. Such hunting bows use mass-produced arrows. It is a sharp hunting weapon, and of course it can also be used in combat.

Every household bought a bow as long as they had the conditions. The father prepared a bow for his son, pooled money to order daggers and battle axes, and if the family was wealthy, he went to the state-run blacksmith shop in the capital to order a good sword. This is the father's love for his son, and it is also an investment for the future-only when the son is fully equipped can he win the battle better and loot more spoils.

Rurik soon saw such a scene.

He found that he didn't need to personally ask about the armed forces of the army. The equipment of the Citizens' Banner Corps was actually equipped by the families of their origin.

What Rurik had to do was to place two crossbow centurions for each banner team.

One team is equipped with the normal wooden arm crossbow, and the other team is equipped with the steel arm crossbow that needs to be winched. However, although the arms are wooden, the arms of those crossbows are real prairie recurve bows. The core material is indeed wood, but the combination of ribs and angles makes it weigh sixty pounds.

It is unrealistic for a group of soldiers who are only about fourteen years old to frequently draw a sixty-pound recurve bow to shoot, and it is another matter if it is transformed into a crossbow. The young fighters use the stepping mode and the strength of the whole body as the top string to shoot mass-produced arrows, and their strength should not be underestimated.

Always pay attention to bow and arrow

Ross is now quickly fully equipped with long-range weapons for the expeditionary force.

More than bows and arrows? Torsion slingshots and torsion trebuchets, these heavy equipment can be mounted on trolleys and quickly deployed on the battlefield, and can quickly maneuver with infantry.

Considering that the soldiers of the expeditionary force are generally young, it is too risky to expect them to head-to-head with the Frankish army. Why fight them? The Ross army should keep a distance from the enemy, wear down their strength by constantly shooting arrows, and eventually wear down the enemy alive.

This is the tactic that Rurik thought of. Considering the armor defense level of the current Frankish army, he believes that this tactic concept is no problem.

The infantry is like this, and the cavalry is also expanding.

The number of horses that can be mobilized in the entire Novgorod region is limited, and it is precisely that April is the traditional breeding season for horses.

"All the mares are under control, and there will be no breeding this year! This day is over!"

Rurik slapped his thigh, making all restless stallions lose their love.

The horses were transported one after another from the city of New Ostara in the south of the Great Lake to Novgorod in the north. Although Carlotta had doubts about Rurik's determination on this issue, she would not oppose her man, and ...Because she gave away a batch of war horses, even if the Australian army does not send troops, she has the right to get a share of the Frankish expedition. This is a military adventure, and all the war horses that may be invested will die in Frank, causing Ostara's horse breeding business to suffer a heavy blow.

Today, like every other day, is a sunny spring plowing day.

The farmland around the lake is full of busy people, and the fishing work on the lake has returned to normal, but compared to last year, there are fewer people boating on the lake this year.

Because a large number of fishermen had already gathered in Novgorod, even Fisherman's Manor and Calf Manor brought their own purchased boats out.

The port on the Volkhov River is bustling, and the conscripts are eagerly awaiting the king's order.

At the same time, a mighty herd of horses was being driven from the east bank of the Great Lake through one village after another, and arrived in Novgorod after passing the pontoon bridge on the Musta River.

It was a qualified horse from the southern horse farm brought by Carlotta's messenger.

For many consecutive days, Rurik mainly spent his time on the dispatch of supplies for the expeditionary army. He sent a group of clerks to work and asked Governor Medved to fully cooperate. All kinds of military supplies and rations have been prepared, especially some of the rations have begun to be shipped, and small-scale grain transport ships have already moved downstream towards the capital.

Now, what Rurik was looking forward to was the herd of horses.

Finally he waited for this group of weapons of war.

Today is a sunny day with mild winds, and the current of the Volkhov River in the wet season is a bit more turbulent, which means that it only takes a week for ships to rush to the capital.

Rurik and Carlotta were waiting at the port, and they received the news that the horse herd was about to arrive.

Finally, in the afternoon of this day, the herd of all mares arrived safely on the right bank of the Volkhov River under the **** of the Ostara cavalry, facing Rurik across the river.

"Huh? We have been raising horses for several years, and we only have... so many horses?" Rurik squinted his eyes to observe the dark horse herd, feeling a little disappointed in his heart.

"That's all the horses we can muster. Don't be too greedy, Rurik. You know, I've sacrificed a lot for your purpose.

cost. "

As she said that, Carlotta **** off her man, squinted her eyes, and muttered softly with a smile: "You have to make it up to me. Immediately! Anyway, I won't participate in the expedition."

"Yes! Tonight. But these horses..."

"What are your concerns? I am worried that they cannot be ridden. Don't worry, the war horses that can be handed over to you have been trained. They can be ridden or used as pack mules. The horses should have been bred! I have sacrificed a lot .Now the whole stud farm is full of suitable mares here. You can take it easy and don't let them die in large numbers. Otherwise, in the next few years..."

"I understand. Don't nag." Rurik shook his head, he was still dissatisfied.

This dissatisfaction is aimed at myself. If I had realized earlier that the Ross Army would rely more and more on horses for expansion in the future, I should have tried to train cavalry ten years ago. There are many ways to get horseback riding, the key lies in the problem of consciousness. Now it is wishful thinking to conjure up a huge cavalry force.

Carlota brought three hundred horses at full capacity, plus the spare horses placed in Novgorod. In addition to the cavalry, Ross could prepare another five hundred spare horses.

Nine hundred war horses, according to Rurik's special plan, they will all float all the way to New Roseburg in a long boat. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

Even after arriving at the capital, the horses will be driven onto larger ships, and they will all disembark after being transported to the port of Riga. Then the Ross army that has completed the rendezvous will start by land and sea and head towards the Principality of Saxony, while the Ross cavalry will take a special path , that is, the "Road to Hell", from Hamburg to Cologne directly on the Roman Avenue, and then in

Nassau and allies complete the Grand Master.

The cavalry will arrive at the destination first with the infantry advancing by sea, and Rurik's plan is so simple and rude.

So in order to quickly transport so many horses, rations, arrows, javelins, heavy weapons, and other supplies.

Qualified fishing boats throughout Novgorod are within the scope of requisition.

Rurik didn't give it for nothing, and the conscripts could immediately get food rewards and some cash. For these ship owners, it is indeed an honor to serve the king's expeditionary force, and it is only natural to get paid. Anyway, this trip must go to the capital, and you can buy some good things in the capital with the silver coins rewarded by the king, and then walk around the Luga River and the canal to go home.