The south wind is blowing on the grassland, and a horse team is gathering.

The old Khan asked his son: "You will be close to a year later, and Tengri will wish you good luck. This time you must sell all the goods, and you must try to bring back the white salt and iron. ."

"Father, you can rest assured. This time we will try our best to unite with the people of Kiev, so that we will not encounter danger along the way." Riding on the horse to Kagan vigorously, full of confidence in the future.

"No one is worried that you will encounter a strong enemy, but you must be vigilant with the wind and snow. The snowstorm will kill cattle and sheep, and if you encounter it, your life will be in danger."

"Why worry? I know the path, and I will move forward in the forest without worrying about any risks."

Kagan tightened the reins and swayed continuously in front of the leaders of the tribal alliance.

A young girl with a hair bun full of beads swiftly got out of the crowd and swiftly ran to the eldest brother's mount. She held the horse's rein and raised her head and smiled.

"Bejasher, I will not forget your request. You are still too young. Since you insist on doing this, I think Brother Rurik will accept you, but not now! I will convey your love."

"That's great. Brother, then bring me some Rose gems." The girl actually felt that something was wrong, so she concealed it with a smile.

"Don't be too greedy, you have too many gems. Well, if Brother Rurik is willing to send you, I will bring the baby back."

She is Kagan's youngest sister. She is really old Khan's daughter. She also loves this little girl. She is willing to decorate her beauty with more crystal clear things. In a sense, this child is old Khan's. Canary.

is exactly that, a beautiful girl should marry a noble man. But she is indeed the daughter of the top nobility of the Pecheneg people. She has no right to choose marriage on her own, and Khan and her brother will not make arbitrary decisions for her.

Also last year, Kagan mentioned several of his sisters in Rose, and also mentioned the possibility of marriage. Although not married, he and Prince Ross became brothers in accordance with the rules of the grassland.

This political confederation brings great opportunities to the Pechenegg alliance that survives in the cracks. The official trade must continue to expand. In order to maintain the smoothness and stability of the business roads in the North, the Pecheneg must also ally with the group of Krivic in Kiev.

The old Khan heard Kagan's description that the Ross people are good at fighting. Although the Khan of Ross is only seventeen years old, he is indeed a strong blond man. Although he has a large number of wives and concubines, he treats his women very well.

The supplies brought back from Ross have opened eyes to the tribal chiefs of the All Pechenegg Alliance. Kagan dismantled the crossbow and changed all the bow arms to recurve bows, so that the first arrow shot became extremely accurate.

The crossbow used for riding and shooting is outrageous, and it can't achieve the rapid jet flow that the prairie people are used to. But the unskilled step archer suddenly became a sharpshooter.

A large amount of white good salt, precious leather and cloth, and cheap ironware are indeed extremely rare items in the entire league.

It stands to reason that the price of these materials by the Ross people is not cheap, it is because the Pecheneg people have long lacked the method of obtaining salt and iron. The profiteers in Rome entrap everyone, and the neighboring hostile tribes are unwilling to invest in enemies. It is important to buy supplies from the Kievans, but the Kievans themselves are not wealthy.

Since the Ross people in the far north are quite wealthy, it is better to organize a huge horse team to sweep the goods!

Pecheneg people say that poverty is really poor, but in some respects it can also be called surplus. When they migrated and occupied the Volga River estuary, the grassland on both sides of the river was a good horse farm. These river beaches are also good places to grow wheat. They can't open up wasteland if they don't know how to grow land. Fortunately, the rushes on the tidal flats are growing wildly, and there are readily available fodder for raising horses and cattle.

They can make a large number of sinew recurve bows. Horses are not rare. The Alliance has more cows and horses than their population.

Kagan reorganized his team in front of the nobles. The horse team that supports the hope of the entire league is the national mission of the Pecheneg Khanate.

The Ross people are far in the north. In winter, the sun is not seen in some areas all day long, and green silks and satin are still floating in the sky. The Pecheneg people simply felt that it was another world.

The Ross people are too far away. Everyone is not worried that they are a potential threat. So selling horses is simply making a fortune.

The Ross people are willing to spend a lot of money on the purchase of Mahao, and they are quite good at the recurve bow.

Both parties have a great demand for each other. The transaction does not even require silver coins and copper coins as a medium. The biggest cost of the transaction is obviously just a long journey.

Although the Pecheneg people are poor, they must be respected by the Ross people. Kagan brought as many as two hundred warriors this time, and each warrior not only wore a mail armor, but also a characteristic iron mask. The spires of their helmets also have wild goose feathers, and their saddles are equipped with sabers and bows.

These prairie people took out their elite cavalry, making the mission no different from the expeditionary army.

Such a move is of course not only to show the allies of Rose the style of the prairie cavalry, but because the journey is far away, if you encounter trouble, you must have a strong army to protect their most important goods.

One cavalry is equipped with three horses, and another 500 horses will be directly used as merchandise.

The large wild animals in the grassland are rare. Once hunters on horseback find them, they will attack and kill them in pain. In a sense, the Ross people are also a kind of "prey", and the Pecheneg people are eager to complete a "bicycle into a motorcycle" through a national trade.

Khan and the leaders of the tribes couldn't help but dream. They sold 500 horses and 200 recurve bows in exchange for salt, iron, and leather. People robbed of the living space in the Don River Basin.

Many tribes simply sent their noble sons to participate in this expedition.

The young Kagan led many young nobles. Kagan would gain new merits because of this, and he would be able to conquer the crowd by integrating his ranks. The sons of nobles would do the same and naturally inherit the status of their fathers.

The bridle reins of the horses drew each other, and the cavalry put the mail on the horseback. They shared the burden evenly with each horse, and held whips and rods to keep the horses intact when they were traveling.

In fact, for Kagan, he received this national mission soon after returning to his hometown. The leaders of the tribes discussed important matters and collected supplies to Rose, all of which wasted a lot of time. He didn't rest much and went on the journey.

When this huge horse team set off, it was already early August. Sensitive people feel that the autumn wind is eroding the grassland, and some grasses are turning yellow.

Since the Ross people are not afraid of the cold, the Pecheneg people should not show weakness.

The cavalry brought warm leather jackets, and carried a large amount of dried beef, lamb and horse meat, as well as a rich salty cheese aftertaste.

More than 200 people and more than 1,000 horses, with a batch of special goods, began the expedition to Ross in the early days of the bleak autumn wind.

They quickly traversed the cracks in the Khazarian-controlled area and slammed into the forested area of Eastern Europe.

They are advancing along the river in the forest, and only in this way, the horse can move forward while gnawing on the grass.

This is a traditional trade route to Kiev, but such a large team suddenly drilled out of the forest and entered the forest-side agricultural area in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, frightening the local Krivic Slavs into thinking that the steppemen were invading.

The men and women of Krivic in Kiev were armed and defended against the forest with their shields and spears.

Kiev's militia stopped the cavalry team, until Kagan revealed his identity, a battle did not happen.

The people of Kiev are willing to trade with the peaceful steppe people, and that's how they get their horses. However, there has never been a large number of cavalry entering the Kiev altar and its surrounding area, and it is normal for the locals to be nervous.

Kagan is the next khan of the recognized Pecheneg, which is well known by the leader of Klivic in Kiev and other native nobles.

After all, this black-haired guy just left from Kiev a few months ago. Everyone has seen what the steppe people have gained from Rus. It's a pity that Sakyi, a Kievan, took a group of brothers to the north during the journey last year. There are not many goods and little goods. Although the goods of the Russians are good, the Kyivians have not received much benefit.

The people of Kiev know that if they can't follow the Pecheneg armed caravans and rely on their own hands to go to the north to trade, once they are intercepted by the Smolensks, it will be over. The Kievans must form a coalition with the merchant groups of the steppes, so that trade can be guaranteed.

When the misunderstanding was resolved, all the nobles in the Pechenegg merchant group became the guests. Kagan lived in a village in Kiev for three days. After eating and drinking, he immediately agreed to the request of the local leaders.

No, although Marksakyi has made a lot of money, he wants to spend a winter in his hometown this year. Hometown fathers and elders poured into his woodcuts, begging the explorer to go to the north again.

"If so, what benefit can I get?" His ambiguous question made the leaders of Kiev difficult.

Someone gritted their teeth and stomped their feet and suggested: "If you lead everyone to make a fortune, I will choose you to be the leader of the alliance next time."

When someone said that, more people agreed, and some even clamored about planning to marry a daughter.

The Krivic people of Kiev are a big league of villages and communities. Most of them live near the present-day Kiev city. They built houses around the "Altar of Blood" on the riverside.

No one is the king of heaven, each village always elects a talented man as the leader on a regular basis.

If you have won merits, it is entirely possible to become a leader.

A horse seller can also become a leader? I shouldn't have been a horse dealer all my life.

Just like the team led by Kagan is the hope of the Pecheneg Khanate, the Kievans also organized a horse team. All the villages selected fifty men who were savvy and capable, and put together as many as two hundred horses, as well as patterns such as cloth. , Honey, birch velvet, barreled birch sap and other local products, form the Kiev business group to go to Ross.

The people of Kiev planned this way. Selling a hundred horses, because their own horses are obviously inferior to the Pecheneg Turkic horses, half the price is acceptable. Other goods can be sold at normal prices, or even a 20% price reduction.

Because, compared with the steppe people, the Kiev people lack ironware. The huge disadvantage in this regard has made the competition between the hapless relatives of the Smolensk people in the north, the Dlevrian people in the east and the Radmic people in the southeast, have never taken advantage of the competition.

Nearly 100,000 people live in the villages near the Kiev altar on the river, and there are 300,000 people in the villages farther away!

The Krivic in Kiev is a substantial community with a huge population, but it is essentially divided into small and large villages by the forest like the sea. The people near the altar in Kiev naturally have leadership, but they are not united.

Sakyi never wanted to become a leader, nor did he want to gain arbitrary power. He didn't know how many people and wealth the Kiev community had.

The sources of 200 horses are varied, and this is also the most valuable asset they can produce. It's just that these Kievans still don't understand that their most valuable women are actually their own people. They clearly can use the way of marriage to export young women to the north, in exchange for a large amount of supplies of colleagues, can also achieve a good reputation.

The size of the joint horse team has grown, but the Pecheneg cavalry can't look down on the group of Kievans on horseback. The brown-haired guys in Kiev just barely know how to ride horses, so being a cavalry is an insult to the cavalry!

They are just rubbing against the Wuwei of the steppe cavalry to do business in the north. If the steppe cavalry wants to leave, they must follow.

In all fairness, Kagan just wanted to take Sakyi and a bunch of old friends with him, and the others would forget it.

But Kagan's affection with the people of Kiev is not good or bad. After all, doing business every year in the future will have to pass through the boundaries of Kiev.

A larger horse-riding team went north along the left bank of the Dnieper River, so that it adhered to the Pripet Marsh and reached where it is today in Gomel. Although the place is full of mud and swamp, edible pasture for horses is everywhere.

Take a good look at this place. Kagan and other people on the prairie also think that this place can be used as a pasture for herding cattle. Of course, they didn't know the super treasure contained in this swamp underground, but instinctively felt that the reeds and rushes growing wildly here were different from other places.

Could it be that such a cavalry army operating along the river would turn a blind eye to the Smolensk people?

As long as they continue to advance along the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, they are destined to encounter the Smolensk village.

If you can thresh the grass halfway, why not?

So, dense sheep dung eggs were found on the bank of the river, and all the prairie cavalry dared to judge that there must be a village nearby.

"This is not your place anymore, it must be Smolensk?" Kagan asked Sakoy.

"Probably so, but I don't recommend that you provoke them. I...do not want to start a war."

Kagan regarded Sakyi's prudence as cowardice, and instead ordered his fighters to be scouts.

A village was hidden in the forest, and even the villagers were shocked by the appearance of cavalry.

Upon learning of this information, Kagan decided to do nothing, and he took a hundred brothers and rode his horse into the woodland, looting people in the empty village. The villagers ran fast enough that the looting operations only got a limited amount of food.

Kagan, who returned to the riverside camp, was unhappy and complained to Sakyi that he had encountered cowards and poor ghosts.

Sakyi didn't dare to speak loudly, and only said: Next, we have to be more careful, maybe the Smolensk people will take action. Although your cavalry is strong, you may be able to get out of a large number of peasants besieged. I can't take it away."

The arrogant Kagan is as arrogant as ever: "Dare to **** my treasure? If they do, I will bring soldiers into their village. I will not looting by then, just to kill people to vent my anger."

So it is even more inconvenient for Sakyi to talk too much.

But... is it possible?

The Pecheneg people will not do anything to their allies and trading partners, except for other neutral parties and enemies, they can looting at will, and the cavalry fighters do not have the slightest sense of guilt.

But this time, the Kagan and the gang who had tasted the sweetness of the looting decided not to listen carefully to Sakyi's warning, and they deliberately went east for a while on the position that should have gone north, so they robbed three Smolensk people in a row. Village club.

can't just watch the Pecheneg people get rich! After all, Sakyi moved his mind and brought people into the plunder.

Pechenegg warriors put on chain mail and iron masks, and attacked with fast-horse machete recurve bows. They killed men and grabbed women everywhere, and deliberately left young women **** and thrown on horseback. As for those who fled to the forest, they were too lazy to chase them, put on prisoners of war, took some cattle, sheep and poultry raised by the locals, as well as a large amount of oats, and withdrew.

The fighters eat mutton and roast chicken, and lavishly feed their warhorses with oatmeal.

It was snowing again at this time, and they happened to be in the looted village until the snow stopped. Thanks to these successful plunders, the horses ate oats, and the powerful energy they survived the severe cold.

Some horses will die along the way, Kagan was mentally prepared to lose 20%, and as a result, more than a dozen horses died at the end of the journey.

They avoided a lot of natural losses by relying on the proceeds of looting, and none of them died in battle. When the cavalry left, they left the ruined village and the dead bodies covered by snow, as well as the remaining bones of sheep and poultry...

The villagers who fled eventually fled to the city of Smolensk~www.mtlnovel.com~ Report that the attacker was the group of people on horseback!

As for who the attackers were, although the Smolensk people didn't know, they believed that all of this had a lot to do with the Ross people in the north and the Irmenslavs who surrendered them.

No, Vadim, who has been in exile so far, has married the daughter of the chief of Smolensk and promised to help him go back to seize power. The Smolensk people can get huge benefits.

The Smolensk side is still afraid of a full-scale war with the group of settled Varyag bandits of the Rus. But now, the people are facing losses, and the robbers riding horses are clearly more fierce than the Varanges! If the robbers on horseback evolve to kill people and slaughter the village year after year, who can stand it?

They knew that they had to take some precautions along the river. Even if they could not defeat the mysterious cavalry, they had to take precautions at least. At the same time, the fearful Smolensk people all have the idea of living together in groups. There are already a large number of villages planning to go to the woodland near Smolensk to clear up the land. In the future, everyone will get together to have a care for each other. .

These situations are already something to follow.

Because of Kagan and his huge cavalry team, they have reached its entrance along the large-area frozen Lovati River. A fortress lies in front of them, and the fortress is flying with a white background and blue flags.

Seeing this, Kagan hurriedly sent someone to raise the prepared banner. It was also a blue flag with a white background. This was a gift given by Rurik last year, and now it is the symbol of peace.

The fortress of New Ostara, located on the southern border of the Duchy of Ross, opened its closed doors...