The Rise of Rurik

Chapter 51: Otto's North Hunting

The backward productive forces and production relations make people in the Svealand region need a lot of land resources to sustain their lives.

Almost all of their ancestors came from Jutland. They were the first ancient Germans who landed in Scandinavia. Once they landed, they immediately clashed with the Sami, the masters of the plain.

The campaign to expel the Sami continued, even when the Swiss confederation took over the whole of Svealand.

Europe's ancient indigenous Sami people, their living space is constantly being compressed, and their groups have to be moved to the Arctic Circle.

Gradually, the Sami people seemed to disappear from this world, leaving only many ruins in Svealand to prove to the conquerors that they once lived here.

Svealand's living space is getting narrower and narrower, and a tribe named "Oar" decides to go north.

There is no documentation describing the exact reason for their northward journey, and ultimately they traveled hundreds of kilometers north along the coastline of the Gulf of Bothnia until they settled on the edge of the Arctic Circle.

Perhaps it is because of the great temptation of animal fur that they continue to expand further to the extreme north.

Every summer, there are always a large number of longboats rowing from the north, bringing a large number of northern furs to most of the tribes of the Swiss Federation.

The Ross clan can always have a nice payoff in this summer deal.

So Otto and his men have to go on an expedition after winter, eager to hunt some reindeer.

All those involved are mentally prepared.

They can endure severe cold, know how to survive in snow, and have the means to resist a possible blizzard.

Hunting a reindeer is enough for a family to eat until the spring, so the requirements of hunters are not very high, as long as one is hunted.

They carried axes and daggers, as well as short spears for hunting.

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Hunting has a set of basic principles, that is, do not kill small beasts, only hunt the largest and strongest deer. Who is the strongest? The antlers are the largest.

Once successful, the hunter begins to skin and cut the meat on the spot.

Otto led the group, dragging a large number of sleds, and two hundred people formed a huge hunting group, fully armed and stepping on snowboards, advancing relatively quickly in the vast snow-covered land.

Winter hunting is hard to do without skis wrapped around your feet.

They began their journey along the frozen coast for three days, and the crucial moment finally came when the coastline began to stretch eastward.

In a forest, tents were erected one by one.

Reindeer hides are a wonderful material to keep out the cold. Four skins are stitched together and then built from branches, and a wonderful tent is built.

It was late at night, and more than a hundred tents appeared in the snow, and more than 20 bonfires were also lit.

Otto held the grilled fish in his hands and listened to the outlook of his subordinates.

Harrodsen hugged his son Kanuf and truly explained his excitement: "If we continue to go north, maybe we will go to the end of the world. I really don't know, the deer that used to be easy to find are now all running away. Going further north?"

"Haha, because they are afraid of us."

"Maybe. Look at our tents, and our clothes. They used to belong to running deer. I'm a little worried that if we always operate on a large scale, we'll wipe out all the deer one day."

"You overestimate our strength, my brother." Otto shook his head. "The world is big. Besides, if we go further north, we might meet those people."

"Deer breeder?"

Deer breeders refer to the so-called Sami people. However, the pronunciation of the word in Norse is similar to "Lapp", which means "deer".

"Yes! It's a deer breeder." Speaking of this,

Otto's eyes were full of desire for wealth.

Otto's reminder also made Harrodsen excited, "Ah, those deer keepers. They always keep a lot of reindeer, and if we get them, this trip will really be a huge success."

"Of course! But it's hard for us to meet them. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"My brother, maybe we can..." Otto turned his head nervously and looked at Harrodsen with sincere eyes, "We will start heading northeast tomorrow, and as long as we go far enough, we will meet the deer. People. When the time comes we will attack! Their wealth is ours."

"Like what our ancestors did? If we were fighting those people, I think we'd be victorious."

"Yes, they are still a group of guys who use stones! First of all we have to go northeast, there may be a large herd of deer, and we can also meet deer breeders."

"Maybe there will be bears and wolves."

"That's right! We haven't gone far northeast so far, and it's full of unknowns. How about it? My brother? Maybe I should call everyone together now, I'm confident in future adventures."

More than 500 people participated in this winter hunting trip north.

Is winter a good season for hunting? All hunters have to endure the extreme cold of the Arctic, only those reindeer with thick fur don't care about the cold, still gnawing on the snow-covered grass.

Furs attract hunters and they are worth the risk.

There were actually only 200 people who followed the leader Otto, and the other 300 people were not really part of the Ross tribe.

Today, the population of Rosburg at the "end of the ice and snow" has basically stabilized at 7,000 to 8,000 people, of which less than half of the real Rus.

More than half of the population comes from other tribes belonging to the Swiss tribe alliance, they are guests in Roseburg, and they play a very important role.

For example, some residents from the Melalen tribe lived in Roseburg for a long time to purchase the furs of the Rose tribe, and then rowed longboats to transport the goods to their own tribe's port in the warm summer. These people have long returned to their clan only in the summer and spent the rest of the time in Roseburg, as if they were no different from the Rus.

Not at all.

Because all foreign members do not enjoy the material dividends of the Ross tribe, they do not have any actual power, so they do not undertake various obligations.

But they can be hired, even as mercenaries. Only when they became mercenaries did they have a share in the distribution of the spoils.

The Ross tribe is also willing to intermarry with these outsiders. After all, everyone essentially belongs to the same tribal alliance and speaks the exact same language. It's just that different family bloodlines separate each other.

Married women can enjoy the dividends of the Ross tribe because of their husbands.

The woman who married off the tribe, or the man who decided to leave the tribe, lost all rights and obligations.

The Ross tribe and the outsiders have had a very good relationship for a long time. They seem to be brothers to each other. After all, the leader Otto and other elders of the tribe know that if the tribe encounters a major crisis, the outsiders are unreliable. of.

Since they are all businessmen, the crisis in the clan means their safety can no longer be guaranteed, and they will be evacuated quickly.

This is very realistic, it is human nature, and there is no need to do more sales. The insightful people of the Ross tribe understand this truth.

Including this northbound hunting is evident!

Those outsiders, they are allies and businessmen, they are also brave warriors and good hunters.

Whether it is himself or an outsider, Rosberg can maintain a huge population in the extreme north, the biggest factor is the temptation of fur.

A smart person calculates a little economic account, buying a whole deerskin needs a "good quality" silver coin, and the purchasing power of silver coins is really high in the Baltic market.

Instead of buying it and exchanging it for the price difference, isn't it a good choice to go hunting yourself?

Three hundred foreigners headed north. They were fully prepared, intending to sweep across a large area and swept away all kinds of beasts they encountered.

Because the fur of Norwegian forest cats, ferrets, arctic foxes, gray wolves, and even ice bears is precious compared to the giant deer hides that can be spread.

The most exciting of these are the furs of forest cats and ferrets.

According to the prices of their counterparts in the region, one silver coin can only buy a forest cat pelt, and three silver coins can buy a ferret skin.

In fact, it is precisely because of the large-scale hunting by the settlers of Roseburg for half a century that wild animals within a radius of 50 kilometers have suffered a catastrophic blow!

After all, human beings are the most ferocious predators. They don't need huge strength and fangs. They use their own wisdom to create a lot of traps and make a batch of throwing spears. No matter how big or ferocious the animals are, they will become a bunch of barbecued meat.

The foreigners did not follow the leader of the Ross tribe and went in different directions.

In fact, foreigners are more willing to head northwest, into the central mountains, set traps in the pine forest to catch ferrets, and have a chance to catch deer cruising into the forest.

They also did intend to separate from Otto and his party, otherwise they would be suspected of fighting for the prey of the Ross tribe. If Otto was blamed, they might be expelled.

Otto was very happy that the foreigners did not participate in the actions of his department, and he really did not want to be interfered by the foreigners when he personally led the warriors to encircle and suppress the deer that he discovered. After all, when distributing prey, it is easy to say how to distribute the prey within the tribe, and it will basically not hurt the peace no matter what.