In October 1107, the outgoing Grand Duke of Russia, Rostislav, embarked on the road to the West. He led a sizable Russian exploration fleet to leave Ivangorod, an important external port of Russia, to conduct a mission.
A feat unprecedented in his time.
In the early 12th century, although there were dozens of voyages to Vinland due to the strong assistance of Kievan Rus, and there were even large-scale immigrants, going there was still regarded as a risky and life-threatening matter.
, only the most desperate desperadoes will embark on this road.
Rostislav's decision naturally aroused strong opposition from his children, but these objections were suppressed by the Grand Duke of Russia. In the end, all they could do was prepare everything for their father to go west.
The best ships, the best sailors, sufficient supplies... all of this is to ensure the safety of the voyage as much as possible, so as the worried sons and daughters continue to pile up resources, this is what happened when Columbus discovered America.
The largest previous expedition to the Americas.
The news of the expedition attracted many people. Due to Rostislav's great reputation in Russia and even the entire Eastern Europe, many people who were eager for fame and wealth also joined the expedition. In the end, the Vinland Adventure Fleet
The total number of ships reached thirty-six, and the number of people carried on them reached a scale of one thousand.
Since this is an adventure fleet, the ships have sacrificed carrying capacity while ensuring sturdiness, as well as some summary of the Atlantic sea conditions, so the personnel and materials carried are much smaller than ordinary longships and Kirk ships.
, but it is definitely enough.
In addition, they also carried a lot of weapons to cope with possible conflicts in Vinland.
The reason why Rostislav wanted to go to Vinland was very simple. After experiencing the pain of losing his wife, the Grand Duke wanted to go to the distant country of Vinland to see the sights he had never seen before, so as to relieve himself from the sadness, so
He is going to do this dangerous thing.
When the adventurous fleet was crossing the Baltic Sea, for some reason, rumors spread that the Grand Duke of Rus was heading to the West to seek unprecedented treasures, and it became more and more outrageous as it spread.
The origins of these rumors began to circulate as early as when Rostislav announced that he was going to Vinland, and as the former Grand Prince awaited the formation of his fleet in Ivangorod, the news continued to ferment throughout the northern world, and then almost
Everyone knows the rumor that the Grand Duke of Rus is going to the West to find treasure.
However, he was easily suppressed by Rostislav. The total number of this group was only 700 people, while Rostislav had thousands of people, and Oreborg was still on his side.
Since they were going home, they exerted great force in action. They set up strongholds along the way and quickly returned to the river mouth where they entered. However, here, Rostislav met the envoy sent by Oreborg.
.
The most powerful one was Harald. This middle-aged man directly cut through the invaders' lines, came to the invader leader named John, and cut off his head.
After leaving Norway, the Ross fleet quickly crossed the North Sea and arrived at the first stop on its way to Vinland, Iceland.
Under such circumstances, some people chose to leave and settle in Orreburg or simply venture back to their hometown, while others chose to take risks. In this case, they would go and capture Orreburg, at least they could get an already
Well-constructed towns.
The adventurous fleet soon crossed the Baltic Sea, and they stayed in the Norwegian harbor for a while. Here, Rostislav recruited some new crew members and bought three new ships, because Rostislav looked at what kind of ship was behind them.
There are fleets in the fleet, but out of benevolence, it is better to set up a team to rescue more or less people.
It is also very simple to obtain help from the indigenous people. Iron is always the most effective hard currency, not to mention weapons and armor. Because of these things, Rostislav does not need to spend as much time and effort as Provav does.
As long as the locals build good relations with them, they will spend resources on themselves.
Yes, war, even in a place so far away from the old world, war is still everywhere, and the outbreak of this war has a lot to do with Rostislav's adventure.
This announced the end of the battle. With the death of John, the invaders also laid down their weapons and surrendered to Orreburg. This is how the battle ended.
Rostislav and his team stayed in Newfoundland for a month, making simple repairs to their ships. During this period, the treasure hunting fleet group caused some trouble. Although Vinland is beautiful, they did not go so far just to see the wilderness.
So they started to make a fuss, and even planned to attack the local aborigines and force them to hand over their wealth.
Oriburg was built by Ori who was assisted by Rosti. After nearly twenty years of construction, the development of the North people was quite effective, and Oriburg became a town with a population of thousands.
The number of desperadoes led by John had been reduced to 300 by this time, but they drove the local tribes they conquered to migrate to the island. A total of nearly 4,000 people landed on the island and started a war with Orreburg.
Jarl of Iceland warmly received Rostislav and his party, and requested that their fleet also accompany Rostislav. Iceland had never seen such a large fleet, so they wanted to take a ride as a reward.
They will provide everyone who joins the voyage with enough supplies to get them to Greenland, and supplies will be provided again in Greenland.
Vinland is very close to the mainland, and the adventure fleet soon arrived at the mainland. Here, Rostislav saw sights that were extremely distant and novel to the old world, which gave Rostislav a very refreshing feeling.
, which is even stronger than in Vinland.
The members of the adventure fleet passed through the mountains and forests, and they soon came to the magnificent prairie. Here, they saw the herds of animals that once amazed Povalov. When they saw mountains and plains in the vast wilderness,
When watching the bison, everyone will be so surprised that they forget to breathe.
This rumor led many pirates and merchants to decide to follow the adventurous fleet to Vinland. No matter how Rostislav explained the danger of going to Vinland, people would only think that he wanted to monopolize the treasure, and instead believed more and more in those rumors. Finally,
There was no other way. Rostislav could only allow these people to follow the fleet, but keep a certain distance from them. After all, there were all kinds of people from all walks of life there.
However, it was not Rostislav who launched the attack first, but Harald of Oreborg. He opened the town gate and rushed towards the invader's camp with armed colonists and natives.
The Grand Duke was welcomed in the hall of Orreburg. Now the person in charge of this colony is Orre's son Harald. He generously took out food to welcome these people who came from afar, and Orreburg became a joy.
place.
Looking at the huge mountain range, Rostislav hesitated. He did not dare to challenge the mountain range. Therefore, after arriving in the prairie, their supplies were only enough for the return journey. They did not know what was happening on the mountain range. The difficulty was real.
It's too much.
So he returned, and his decision made everyone in the adventure team cheer. They had been away from their hometown for four years, and now they could finally go home.
These Norse people living in the northwest corner are the group most eager to strengthen their ties with Vinland, and because of Orui's colony in Vinland, they feel that this direction has more and more development significance, so they will not miss this opportunity.
As a team composed mainly of outlaws, there are not many craftsmen among them, and even fewer have truly mastered the technology. Only half of them can blacksmith. Development and construction are extremely difficult. Many of them were accustomed to it in the old world.
Things that are hard to find in the new world.
The journey to Greenland also went smoothly. In Greenland, the fleet received supplies from locals and some Greenland ships, and then continued their journey. By this time, the number of ships had reached 70.
Next came the most difficult section of the entire route, crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Vinland (Newfoundland), but Rostislav became unlucky, and the adventure fleet encountered a storm.
Although this storm was much smaller than those Atlantic storms, the fleet still suffered a lot of losses. A total of eleven ships were sunk, two of which were from the adventure fleet, and eight of them were from the treasure-hunting fleet.
The boat belonged to the Norse. Even though the boat worked for a long time after the storm subsided, only one fifth of the people were rescued.
Rostislav had no choice but to follow them out. Fortunately, although these invaders were numerous in number, their combat power was not very good and they were quickly defeated.
These fleets composed of people from all religions and professions call themselves the treasure-hunting fleet, because they went to Vinland for the legendary treasure. As for their number, even Rostislav could only give a figure of roughly twenty to thirty, because
The fleet was increasing and decreasing every moment, and Rostislav did not know how many there were.
After agreeing on a time to dispatch troops with everyone in Oreborg, Rostislav quietly returned to the island with his fleet in the dark night, landed on the coast, and then lurked into the invader's camp.
Rostislav noticed that there were many yellow-skinned people in Oreborg. Their dressing reminded him of the Indians in his previous life. He thought that these were the local aborigines.
The fleet fulfills the principle summarized by their predecessors, which is to have a good relationship with the indigenous people. Only with the help of the indigenous people can they go further into this continent.
During this period, Rostislav had penetrated deep into the interior of the continent, so they thought that Rostislav was probably trapped there, so they launched a war against Vinland.
The little king of Harald was very poor in the old world. The entire kingdom controlled a population of only 8,000 people, and the conquered population accounted for 4,000. The other 2,000 people in the other 4,000 miles were Vinland natives, who came from the marriage with Harald.
tribe.
And if they don't leave, they will have to face the terrifying cold wave next. It would be too stupid to face the cold wave on the prairie. Previously, even in the east of the mountains, it was very uncomfortable to face the cold wave, let alone face the cold wave directly.
.
The fleet that had experienced the storm was in a very bad state, but fortunately they were approaching Vinland. The fleet dragged the bad ship condition to Orreburg, the North colony on Vinland.
Now that things in Vinland are over, it's time for Rostislav to return home. After saying goodbye to everyone and taking away a lot of gifts, he finally set foot on the fleet returning to Vinland with a fleet that had shrunk by almost half -
Many of the fleet remained in Vinland, fearing the storm when they came.
Naturally, Orreburg's simple port cannot accommodate such a large fleet. They can only dock on the uninhabited coast, while everyone in the fleet goes ashore to rest. For everyone who has experienced the storm, there is nothing better than solid ground.
Makes people feel at ease.
However, although this small kingdom is poor, it can be regarded as controlling the entire Vinland Island. In terms of area, it is still quite large. Even large tracts of land still need to be developed. It will take time for the indigenous people to learn to cultivate, and the lack of manpower is still very obvious.
But no matter what, they will eventually have to start over on this land. Everything must be started from scratch, rebuilt, and redeveloped. Even if the locals can be driven away, construction is still very difficult due to the lack of technology.
In the past four years of adventures, Rostislav's manpower has actually suffered a lot. Various accidental deaths and battles with some tribes who tried to snatch the supplies of the adventure fleet have reduced the number of people in the adventure fleet from the original thousands.
With the current number of 600 people, almost half have been lost. If it weren't for Rostislav's prestige, the following would have rebelled long ago.
If Orreborg hadn't given up on defense construction during these more than ten years of colonial activities, they might have really been doomed, so they persisted until Rostislav's return.
As for the other five hundred people, these guys were a little confused. They elected an Englishman named John as their leader. After repairing their ships, they set sail for the mainland. They had heard about Vinland.
On the continent next to them, these people decided that since they could not gain wealth in Vinland, they would become kings, so they went to conquer the tribes on the continent.
The Icelanders are very welcome to join Rostislav. Among them there are many old seals who have been to Vinland. With the joining of these old seals, Rostislav's confidence will be even stronger.
From Harald's words, Rostislav learned that the two parties were very wary when they first met, but as the contact increased, the two parties began to trade, and then they established a friendly relationship.
Intermarriage occurred in all cases, and Harald's wife was the daughter of a local aboriginal chief.
At present, the relationship between the two parties is quickly getting closer. Due to Harald's marriage, the two parties have gradually regarded each other as a family. Some aborigines have moved to Orreburg and have begun to learn how to farm from the Norse. It can be said that this is a prosperous situation.
scene.
In these rumors, the treasure was so exaggerated that even the Grand Duke of Ross and the leader of the Free Trade Alliance had to go to the land in person. Some people also speculated that the wealth could buy the entire Ross, so some desperadoes began to take action after hearing the news.
Yes, the journey. Rostislav did not intend to go home after arriving in Vinland. He wanted to explore the American land, just like Povalov did back then. After being prepared, the fleet set sail and headed
The mysterious American continent.
Rostislav didn't stop these people. Anyway, they didn't do anything to Orreburg. If they wanted to mess with it, let them do it. Rather than caring about these people, he might as well focus on planning the next journey.
The messenger from Orreburg has been waiting in the river mouth stronghold of the adventurous fleet for a long time, and he brought news of war.
Faced with Oreborg's request for help, Rostislav naturally obliged. He had spent a lot of money on the construction of this colony, so how could he just watch it fall like this.
There was no choice but to return to Rostislav, but for him, this trip was enough. In those days when he rested his head on the ground and looked up at the stars, his soul had been cleansed.
But fortunately, the indigenous people have no intention of resisting Harald's rule. The local indigenous people in Vinland are married to Harald, and they already regard Harald and his descendants as their own. As for those who were liberated
The mainland tribes are very grateful to Harald for saving them, and Vinland Island is large enough for them to survive, not to mention Harald can also use methods such as teaching technology to win them over and strengthen his control over them.
.
However, Rostislav still tried to climb several times, but found that there was no reliable mountain road at all. There were not even many indigenous people on this land, and he could not even get help from the locals.
After the suppression, some members of the treasure-hunting fleet also understood that there were probably no treasures in this place, and then they did not dare to go back. They did not have the courage to go through the storm, so they simply settled down. The number of these people was
Two hundred people.
From the messenger's air, Rostislav learned that those in the treasure-hunting fleet had established a firm foothold on the mainland in the past four years. Then they used the iron tools and a small number of horses in their hands to conquer several tribes, and conquered them in a short period of time.
A large piece of land.
According to the map left by Povarov and those Vinland explorers, the fleet sailed into the river that Povarov entered, and what followed was a legendary journey.
At the celebration banquet at the end of the battle, Orui announced that he was crowned King of Vinland with the remaining power of his victory. The executioner was naturally Rostislav. This was something that his father had never been able to do. After all, he was willing to come
Then people in the Western Land basically want to escape from the royal power, so only by relying on such things, Harald can successfully crown himself.
Those who spread the rumors swore that the information they knew was accurate, and more and more people believed it. After all, the Grand Duke of Russia had gone to the West in person, and he must have great intentions.
The invaders' camp was built in a very dilapidated manner, with various shacks and tents piled up in a disorderly manner like garbage. The sentries were also lack of vigilance and did not even notice that such a large team approached them.
Next, Rostislav led his selected team successfully through the steppes and came to the huge mountains that once troubled Provav.
Rostislav followed Povalov's path, taking advantage of the dense river bends and building strongholds along the way. When encountering a big ship that couldn't pass, he built canoes.
Rostislav was also happy to do this, and just regarded it as an investment in Vinland's colony. He really hoped that this colony would develop, and promised that after returning to Europe, he would find a way to send some more colonists to Vinland.
The return trip was undoubtedly much luckier than before. It was calm and the fleet did not encounter any storms.
In June 1112, Rostislav returned to his long-awaited hometown. Here, he received an unprecedented welcome. The children were extremely grateful for their father's return. After so many years of no contact, they all thought that Rostislav was
died.
Rostislav is much more active now than he was five years ago, and he feels full of energy again. His journey does not end with this.