Chapter 14 Return
In late August, the caravan left Constantinople, carrying spices and silk, as well as three embittered officials.
After retracing the route back to the mouth of the Dnieper River, the group sold two additional ships at a low price. The spices and silk took up very little space, so one cargo ship was more than enough.
Two months later, the autumn winds were dull, and Rurik steered the cargo ship into the middle reaches of the Dnieper River. Now that the river was about to freeze, the caravan could only spend the winter with his father-in-law's tribe and wait until the river thawed the following March before setting out again.
Faced with six months of free time, Vig planned to find something to do. In addition to two hours a day of exercise, he planned to spend the rest of the time learning runic writing from a Viking immigrant. Runic
writing has a total of 24 letters. At present it is only suitable for short inscriptions, not for long texts, and has a very narrow range of distribution. Vig thought about it many times during the learning process and decided to spend two years privately perfecting this writing system. If the effect did not meet expectations, he could only calm down and learn Latin.
...
At the same time, Eastern Roman envoys traveled around the area to persuade these Russian tribes to fight the Pechenegs. The reason was nothing more than the growing threat of nomadism. If no way was found to curb it, it would one day lead to a nomadic madness similar to Attila (the leader of the Huns, who caused serious damage to the Roman Empire and was known as the Scourge of God).
In return, the empire sent craftsmen to teach advanced farming techniques and sell weapons and armor.
In this regard, the Russian leaders hesitated, and the nomadic forces on the western bank of the Dnieper River were weak. In contrast, the grasslands on the eastern bank were vast, with nomadic tribes of all sizes. What if they angered the Khan, and the other side raised tens of thousands of cavalry to retaliate in anger? What should they do then?
After some thought, the leaders of each tribe discussed a compromise solution, allowing their tribesmen to go to the Eastern Roman fortress on the northern shore of the Black Sea and serve as mercenaries as individuals, provided the empire paid enough.
"Barbarian mercenaries, a good idea."
The envoy thought deeply and felt that this solution was quite reasonable. Compared with the Greek soldiers, the barbarians in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe were tall and strong, hardworking, and most suitable for service as heavy infantry.
After some discussion with his colleagues, he reached an agreement with these tribes on behalf of the empire, intending to use this agreement to return home. As for the specific effect of the barbarian mercenaries, that was a matter for the generals to consider. In any case, I had fulfilled my duty.
...
In April of the following year, the caravan set out again. Two Viking shield-bearers decided to settle here. Although they did not want to, they had fulfilled the mission of pursuit, and Ivar had no reason to stop them.
At this point, there were only six people left in the pursuit team.
Since the cargo ship had to sail upstream, it took much longer than the previous year. By the time they reached Lake Ladoga again, it was already the end of September.
When they parted, Ivar invited Rurik to Gothenburg, but he refused.
"Farewell, my brothers. It is indeed a pleasure to be with you. However, my future is destined to belong to this black land. I hope that we can meet again many years from now, sit down and drink together."
After this, Rurik hugged and said goodbye to the six strong Vikings one by one, including Vig, Ivar, Bjorn, Nils, Gunnar and Orm, and then watched them as their ships disappeared at the end of the spectacle.
...
From the spring of 841 to the winter of 842, when they returned to Gothenburg, this long journey took almost two years.
When he saw Ragnar again, Vig found himself followed by a woman he had never seen before, holding a newborn child in her arms. Through other acquaintances, he learned that this was Ragnar's new wife, Thora, and also the younger sister of King Eric.
Bjorn complained with a grim face: "We went out for a walk, but we did not even expect that he would have a child."
Unlike his brother, Ivar's attitude was very open. "Many years ago, a prophet foretold that my father would one day wear a crown, have three wives and five children. This is the fate the gods have prepared for him, and it cannot be changed."
After that, Ivar came over and hugged the newborn. "His name is Ubber? Oh, that's a good name. I hope he becomes an outstanding Viking warrior."
Ubber?
Vig thought back to Ragnar's five children in history and thought to himself:
"Boneless" Ivar, "Iron Bones" Bjorn, "White Shirt" Halfdan,
"Brave" Ubber, "Snake Eyes" Sigurd. So in the future, Ragnar will marry another wife and have a fifth child, "Snake Eyes" Sigurd? According to historical records, Ragnar's five sons each have their own strengths, but due to the butterfly effect caused by the time traveler, Vig dare not guarantee that they will all go through the same life trajectory, so he can only take one step at a time.Then he put the idea aside for the time being and bragged about his adventures to the other warriors at a feast. "After the attack of the nomadic horsemen, everyone fled into the forest. I ran alone for a while, and suddenly I heard something strange coming from the bushes on the side of the road..." To be honest, Vig did not like to brag, but he had to do it. Viking society admires brave men, and he had to work hard to increase his reputation until his reputation reached a certain level and he became a legendary figure like Ragnar and Lagertha. At that time, a large number of warriors and shieldmaidens followed him. At that time, his own career was just beginning. "When I arrived at the Roman city on the northern shore of the Black Sea, I accidentally found Lord Borg's trail and set out in pursuit of him. He was racing through the streets on a white horse, and I ran desperately across the roof, eventually knocking him off his horse and breaking his neck..." "Look, this is a Damascus steel sword I won in a duel before the queen. Queen Mother Feodora did not believe that I could kill ten nomads in one fight, so she appointed a master to compete with me. I defeated him in just two moves..." As he drank mead after cup, Vig's words became more and more confused. He found a place at random and fell asleep with the Dragon's Breath Sword in his hands. ... The next morning, Ivar woke him up: "Wake up, split the bill!" After dragging Vig into a relatively secluded room, Ivar and the remaining four members began to divide the goods.First, excluding the expenses of everyone in Constantinople, such as the fine steel sword "Broken Heart" bought by Ivar, a stack of sea charts that were hard to distinguish from the fakes bought by Bjorn, and the expensive jewelry bought by Gunnar for his wife and children... After calculating, Vig spent the least money, so he received the most goods. According to the selling price in the Nordic region, this is worth at least 20 pounds of silver, which is equivalent to two years of taxes in Gothenburg!When he heard this figure, it seemed a little incredible to him for a while. But if you think about it again, including the farmers in the surrounding areas, Gothenburg only has 2,000 subjects, and it is impossible to squeeze out more income. The land is so barren, no wonder the Vikings are full of thoughts about going out to plunder.After the bill was divided, Ivar asked everyone in turn, confirmed that no one had any objections, and declared that this two-year adventure had come to a successful conclusion.
"My brothers, you have worked hard on this path. Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure. If anyone dares to insult you in the future, just come to me, Ivar!"