The Great Temple of Uppsala was never the property of the Duke of Uppsala, nor even the property of all the Uppsala people.

In a sense, Duke Swinned was generous and "sold" the temple to Rurik. It is precisely because this temple does not belong to him, and the selling price is quite cheap.

To be fair, the entire building complex was built by the Uppsala people on the property they gave. The building itself is not valuable, and the original monks' life is not luxurious.

The local residents do not have much wealth, and it is impossible for them to support a magnificent temple.

The temple is indeed huge, but anyone who sees it at first sight is amazed by its scale, but if it really enters the interior, they will know the emptiness inside.

What is the pride of building a large number of large wooden sheds with a lot of wood?

In the night, the Rus completely took possession of the temple.

The cavalry who came with the army turned into messengers. They rode horses to the main camp of the Rus army, implemented the king's dictum, and shook more than three hundred people at once.

The most elite fighters were personally led by General Arik and were ordered to rush to the Great Temple. They pulled a cart, carried a large amount of living supplies and a batch of construction tools, and arrived at the temple in the evening.

A considerable part of the fence has been demolished, and useless waste wood is directly turned into fuelwood for life.

So the people of Uppsala not far away saw such a scene.

The western sky is shining deep blue, the sky is shining with stars, and there is only the last afterglow of the setting sun on the western horizon.

A large number of bonfires appeared at the temple where they believed in, and a large number of people were stationed here.

The Ross army camped around the sacred tree. Most of them were laying on the ground and preparing to build a group of shacks tomorrow.

The big urn was boiled by a bonfire, and the whole urn was carried into the empty central temple.

The hungry people came over, each holding tableware and preparing to share a piece of the pie.

Some small bonfires were lit indoors, and the specially brought oil lamps were also lit.

Look around, here is full of relatives, family members and close comrades-in-arms.

Rurik cleared his throat: "Although this temple is very crude, it belongs to us after all. Let's stay here for the night. From tomorrow, I will start to make some renovations to this temple. I must sleep in today. Here, show my authority. You all stay here too..."

No one wants to walk around after nightfall, especially the female relatives who are pulling the child even more reluctant to leave.

Occasionally such a big family lives together, and a different feeling floats in Otto's heart. There are a huge number of women here, and most of them are the wives of their sons. He didn't get the slightest excitement, just because most of the women in it were appointed by him for his son. In the twilight years of life, old couples and wives who have suffered many hardships now have a huge family.

The women were chatting about all kinds of things, but the oldest high priest Lumia cleared her throat and motioned to the sisters to be quiet for the time being.

As the high priest, she was the host of the king's proclaiming ceremony. She didn't want to talk about some emotional words for the time being. Since Rurik mentioned some key issues, she talked about them.

"Liurik, this temple is very big, it is too crude. What do you want? The so-called transformation, can it be overturned and rebuilt?"

"It's not impossible."

"But this place is not directly ruled by you."

Rurik shrugged because she was right: "Yes. I will be the king, and I will be crowned here. Uppsala will be my blessed land, so even if I don't directly rule Sweden, I will at least control a piece of it. Small areas. Like here. Here is the largest temple in Sweden, and there is also a holy tree."

"You want to directly rule here?" Otto asked suddenly in a rough voice.

"Exactly, father... In my opinion, the cost of directly ruling the whole of Sweden is very high. I don't believe that the Mlaren, the most populous, will completely surrender to me. But the Uppsala has a limited population, and that Swinner De has dozens of private soldiers on hand."

"You look down on him?" Otto asked again, squinting.

"Father, would you look down upon him? We now fully understand that the priesthood of the Uppsala is separate from the ordinary people, and those people may not really support their leader. I will at least directly rule Uppsa. Ra, I'm going to the title of Duke of Swinned, and I want him to be governor. I will control the faith of the whole of Sweden, and when we have enough wealth, we will build a better temple here."

Lurik's answer was very satisfactory to Otto, and Lumia sounded very comfortable. Because the sacred place here is not this complex, but the giant yew tree at the door.

Lurik also made a plan in his heart. The so-called construction of a new temple, then try to use a solid masonry structure, and paste a layer of glass shards on the outer layer.

A piece of crystal clear building is violently reflecting in the sun, and coupled with a huge sacred tree, it is really double sacred.

In fact, these thoughts of Rurik are not taken for granted. Of course, in another time and space, the giant yew was destroyed by fire in the 14th century because the cathedral was on fire. The place where it was located became a holy place, and it has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Swedes. The newly built masonry cathedral was built near the old site, and the adjacent piece of land was assigned to the cemetery of Sweden's senior officials.

To be the king of Sweden, you must control Uppsala, the center of faith.

Lurik made a historical choice. The next step, before the arrival of the nobles from all walks of life, he still has one big thing to do.

The huge family slept in the temple all night, and when the new sun rose, a new chapter began.

In the three days after , the repair work for the Great Temple was fully carried out.

A piece of news went viral in the Uppsala village. The so-called old priests betrayed everyone with their sacred tools, and the Great Temple ushered in the real master. The temple area in the former semi-forbidden area was completely open to ordinary people, and curiosity drove a large number of Uppsala people to find out. They wanted to obtain some sacred power through prayer. This long-cherished wish was very realistic, so on the third day, Rurik ordered the gilded statue of Odin that was transported from the ship to be solemnly erected in the temple hall.

It was a statue that no one could refuse. The Uppsala people who entered the temple knelt down and worshiped spontaneously.

It is very big and gilded all over. Due to its angled arrangement, the people whispered. The so-called Ross people brought a giant pure gold statue.

There are leather cushions in front of the statue of , and a large wooden box stands beside it.

Lumia still wears pure white bear skin, a huge antler helmet on top of her head, and she holds a jewel-inlaid wooden staff that has been passed down from generation to generation. She was standing next to the idol.

The young junior priests she personally trained, and the ten Slavic concubines of Rurik, all dressed up as priests. They collected wild flowers from the grass, weaved them into huge corollas, matched them with grayish-white plain clothes, and hung a lot of glass beads and amber on their clothes. They stood on both sides of the temple, watching the Uppsala people who entered the temple one after another to worship.

Why is it so tossing? In fact, Rurik directly transplanted Rose's precise obedience model here. The Ross people accepted this special self-service sacrifice on a large scale, and the model should of course be promoted in new areas.

Whether it is a silver coin or a copper coin, you must first throw it into the wooden box, and then pay homage to the huge gilded bust of Odin.

The Uppsalas have never seen such a situation in the past. In the past, the priests asked for the people's physical offerings during the festival, and a few people were able to watch the barbaric human sacrifice ceremony. Sacrificial activities are mostly closed to ordinary Uppsala people. Today, the great temple of the mysterious Great Temple is no longer mysterious.

Listen to what those beautiful priestesses have to say!

"The coins go into the wooden box, Asgard, the soul of the family."

Regardless of whether the input was silver or copper coins, as long as the people put in coins, the priests said in unison.

Many people find it very strange, as if what they worship is not Odin, but the **** of wealth Frey. How about it? In the past, everyone didn't even have the opportunity to get close to the gods, not to mention that Odin was the lord of the gods. Any offerings would ultimately be dedicated to this great god.

When the wall was demolished, a large number of Uppsala dragged their homes and ran for pilgrimage. The so-called people have brought copper coins to bow down to the statue of Odin, so why can't our family remain indifferent?

What do you pray for? If you throw coins to worship the gods and pray for your long-cherished wishes, maybe Odin will be able to reward you.

The Uppsala people are so busy with "Pray for God and worship Buddha" that Rurik is really moved and speechless. He was moved because these people are really innocent. What is speechless is that these people live next to the temple, so their spiritual life is still empty?

Even the private soldiers of Swinned were ready to move.

To put it bluntly, these private soldiers are hired armed men. They live a happy life of licking blood while they are young, but as they grow older, they have to think about their future. They flirted with their own benefactors and collectively asked to bow down and worship the golden statue of Odin.

Originally, Swinned thought this was Rurik's deceptive trick. Almost all the people in the village went, and there was a lot of noise in the temple. He was also a duke anyway, and suddenly became a polished veteran.

Things are still developing in a worse direction.

More than thirty private soldiers swarmed into Swinned's mansion, and he was shocked.

"What are you...what are you doing?"

The guard headed by is quite respectful: "Master, my brothers care about the statues of the Rus people. We want to worship." Gu

"Do you all know the news?"

"Already known."

"Damn it, just that?" Swinned's head was hot, and all the servant girls who served him walked away.

After a while, he never thought that his wife was also standing in the position of a group of mercenaries.

"You? What's the matter with you."

"Swinned, I think it over." She said without changing her face, "I want to take my son to the temple. Maybe the gods can send blessings to our son."

"Do you...really believe?"

"Why don't you believe it? At least there is no harm in believing this. It is said that Rurik of Ross has been blessed by Odin. Look at the Ross, who rose up because of that Rurik. I think if our son is also blessed, too Can grow into a great hero. At least...ten times stronger than you."

I can hear it, it sounds reasonable at first, but it's too wrong to savor it carefully.

Swinned was furious: "You mean I can't?!"

His wife still doesn't change her face: "At least you have to be a son and become great."

"Go! Go all! I will follow." He stood upright, and a calloused old hand hit his old face suddenly. It is unreasonable to be said "no" by my own woman, but my own son must become strong.

Swinned prepared specially, so on the fifth day when the Russ took root in the temple, private soldiers escorted all his family members and went straight to the temple.

Until now, there are still people who bring money into the temple to worship, and more people stand under the huge yew tree to pay their respects, comment on the blood sacrifice under the tree, and recall the self-sacrificing people in the past.

Lurik and Otto learned that it turned out that Uppsala was an old duke, not because he died of natural illness, but because he feared that he would become old and withered and chose to sacrifice himself.

This kind of action left Otto, who is also an old man, speechless and shocked.

Swinned's arrival was suddenly inevitable, and Rurik thought that this guy would have to come again sooner or later, never expected this guy to bring the whole family here.

His son Hergon Swinnedsson was almost the same age as Rurik, but this young man did not show a brave face. Helgon's expression was rather dull, and when he saw a group of young Russian soldiers dressed in gorgeous uniforms, a sense of inferiority occupied his head.

Hergon was timidly approached by his father Swinnedra.

His son's cowardice always worries Swinned, and when he had the opportunity to talk with Rurik and Otto and his sons alone, he did not hide it: "My son must become a real man, but he is a real man. Mortals, if I can come to Odin with even a little blessing, I will be very happy."

"You will bring him to worship the icon?" Rurik was smirking in surprise.

"I brought him here. He must come." Swinned's wife said without hesitation.

"Oh! Honorable woman, you hope that your son will become a real man after being blessed."

"That's it. Master Rurik..." The woman maintained great caution, "You said, is this really okay?"

"Maybe." Rurik shrugged, "Did you bring money?"

"Some silver coins."

"This...maybe not enough."

"Huh? How much is that? One pound? Two pounds? Or more?"

"Who knows? Because you are not mortals, you are all nobles! As nobles, if you want to get Odin's blessing, these money may be of some use. But..."

An opportunity was presented in front of him, and Lurik did not continue to answer for the time being, instead he invited the soldier to cover his mouth and whisper a few words.

The maharaja's verbal message was quickly conveyed to Arik, and a group of Ross fighters suspended their work of cutting wood. They brought their weapons and fought with the maharajah.

Leurik said some nonsense to delay time. After all, Swinned's family and private soldiers were surrounded by the Ross army. The Russ army was not authorized to use force. They lined up in a circular shield wall, which doubled the pressure on Swinned, as if his head would be gone in the next second.

"Ah?! What does this mean?!" Swinned yelled, but his son Hergon hurriedly hid.

Liurik waved his hand and motioned to the soldiers to keep the shield wall, but put away the steel swords and halberds. Some soldiers were also ordered to drive away the onlookers of Uppsala.

He himself walked into the shield wall and confronted Swinned with his hands behind his back.

"Standing in front of you is the king of Sweden who will be enthroned. Even if I do not claim the king now, I am no different from the king. I am different from the king of Sweden in the past. I am in power! My army is enough to support me to do whatever I want. I really just want to be a good king."

"You...what do you want?" Swinned was extremely cautious because his family was also trapped.

"Relax, I have no intentions. I just do this for fear that you will resist. You should know that you have not rejected the capital."

"You? What do you want? You know, I support you as a king, and as your servant, I am willing."

"Being a servant? Very good! In fact, you have seen the situation now." Rurik opened his hand, tilted his neck with an arrogant smile, "I set up the Odinkin statue of my Rose, Uppsa It's all that pull people worship! Look at the soldiers around you. Some of them are the Uppsala orphans taken in by me. They even found their parents who abandoned them many years ago. Do you understand? I like your people. , The Uppsalas who took refuge in me in the early years, I regard them as tribes. I will get all the Uppsalas, I am their monarch, and I will give them benefits, and you!"

"Me? What will happen."

"I will remove your title as Duke now. You are no longer Duke of Uppsala."

"Huh? As a nobleman, do I have to become a common man?"

Rurik shook his head: "Look at your astonishment, would you be willing? No! We can deal with this peacefully. You give up the title of duke, and I will make you governor of Uppsala. Your son is cowardly. It doesn't matter whether you are brave or not. The family can inherit the duties of the governor and manage Uppsala for me. In the future, I will build a better and greater temple here. Your Uppsala people will have a major responsibility in the future to defend. Temple..."

The so-called governor, the vocabulary used by Rurik is the term "manager". After some explanation, Swinned fully understood the meaning.

Uppsala will no longer be a freely developed miniature city state. She has a master, the family of Rurik. Uppsala will be used as the future Russ-Swedish Kingdom's direct jurisdiction. Specifically, it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Great Temple. At the same time, the built city has a brand new meaning. A small-scale Russ The army is stationed here, demonstrating the king's authority.

Facing the status quo, where does Swinned have a choice.

He felt helplessly: "It seems that you are completely different from the old monarch. I will give up the title of Duke, and I will be your governor. But you must also promise that you must protect my family. At any time, my family will do it. To be a nobleman, even if it is my cowardly son, he must take over as the governor to serve you in the future."

"Can."

Swinned's rapid transformation, Ruriek was extremely satisfied, and he was even more satisfied with the cowardly boy Hergon. Heergon grows up a bit and can be promoted directly to the new governor to take over as his still-living father. After all, a cowardly person often represents conservative and obedient. It just so happens that the brand-new Uppsala under Rose's rule should be kept conservative. The people here don't need to have any independent opinions, as long as they listen to the king's arrangements at ease.

The rapid development of the matter surprised the nobles of the Rose, and Leu Li Keben was also surprised, but considering that he relied on the power of faith to win over most of the people of Uppsala~www.mtlnovel.com~ and also caught one. With a small amount of money and a lot of money, I control the people's hearts to a considerable extent, and the rest will come naturally.

Then under the sacred tree of the Great Temple, the whole Uppsala people gathered for the first time, men, women, and children.

Swinned announced in public that he had removed the title of duke, and in principle was no longer the leader of the Uppsala.

This announcement caused an uproar. Everyone whispered and talked about it. Swinned was not a villain. He was a leader and everyone was satisfied. Why didn't he do it suddenly?

Then people saw it again, and Rurik, who was about to become king, announced three major events:

First, Uppsala will become a territory directly under the jurisdiction of the king. The people of Uppsala will be directly subject to the king. People's lives will be focused on by the king. In short, the standard of living will improve day by day.

Second, the Great Temple of Uppsala will be rebuilt in the future. The major task of the people of Uppsala is to guard this temple and the sacred tree.

Third, the Swinned family became the governor of Uppsala, the governor was Swinned, and his son Hergon was the governor's replacement.

People worship heroes, and Rurik is the hero who defeated the Danes. Rurik also promised that after becoming king, the lives of ordinary people in Uppsala will be better. So now the act of washing clothes and fishing supplies for the Russian army to earn rewards can be sustained, and Rurik is really a good man.

The so-called three big things, the people only pay attention to the first thing. In fact, it doesn't matter who is the ruler, as long as he can make everyone's life better, he is the best ruler.