From Germany's eastern frontier to the tundra ice fields inhabited by the Rus', there is no official name for this vast land, and the different regions are called Pomerania, Polonia and Kievan Rus' according to the ethnic groups that live on it.

During the Viking invasion that began 200 years ago, the descendants of Odin, wearing horned helmets and sailing dragon ships, would follow the ocean currents every summer to reach this long snow-capped coast, and then follow countless rushing rivers up the river, raiding the towns and villages along the coast, spreading death and fear to every corner.

Originating in the inland high mountains, the rivers are abundant and wide, irrigating the fertile land flowing on both banks, which has always been a high production area of amber and fur, rich in natural resources, and tall and straight coniferous forests provide timber for the construction of ships, so the Vikings used primitive boating methods to sail from one river to another, and where there was no waterway, they used logs as a shaft to pull forward, and extended the pace of expansion to the Dnieper River, the hinterland of Kievan Rus'.

When another unseen ocean appeared in front of them, the descendants of Odin broke into the land of the Eastern Roman Eagle, and the Vikings continued to invade the territory of Eastern Rome with the Rus, who joined along the way, and finally were defeated by the powerful Eastern Romans, and became the best and most loyal palace guard under the command of the Emperor of Constantinople, also known as the Varangian Guard, enjoying a high salary and noble status different from other national mercenaries, and has been known as the strongest infantry in Europe for decades.

Swordfish Ebrey's men, apparently not the first time they had entered the rivers of Poland, were so skillful that they steered their boats upriver along the deep waters, avoiding the roots of the reefs and trees that were invisible to the naked eye, and ensuring the safety of navigation, and if the pirates had really not been here before, then I could only admire their innate keen vision and mastery of water.

"You've been here before?"

In this slow, human-rowed boat, I did not feel the dizziness of speeding through the sea on the Venetian battleship, but enjoyed the sunlight cast by the shadows of the trees and the chirping of birds and insects in the forests on both sides.

From time to time there were a few simple houses piled up of logs on the shore, and the peasants who were doing laundry saw us, and immediately screamed and abandoned their work and fled into the jungle.

"Have you ever been here?"

The swordfish repeated my question, as if he was dissatisfied with the questioning of his experience of walking the rivers and lakes, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously hooked up.

"Yes, Lord Duke, we've been here more than once, but that was a long time ago, and this land, as you can see, is rich but not much oil and water, and it's just a few things to rob around."

"No wonder your men are so familiar with the river."

I turned my face to the pirate standing at the stern of the ship with a pergola in his hand and observing the channel: "It's a living map!" ”

Hearing someone praise his subordinates, the swordfish had a smug look on his face, and the nervousness and melancholy that had been twisted between his brows seemed to be swept away with this relatively light topic, and he glanced at his subordinates who were busy with their work in the direction I was staring at, and replied: "They are all my old subordinates who have been through a hundred battles, and the baptism of wind and waves at sea for many years has made them all more familiar with water than fish, even if they just glance at the water, they can know everything below, and there will never be an accident." ”

Hearing this, I couldn't help but think about it, and looked at the eyes of the swordfish and his subordinates, and it suddenly became hot, which made the old pirate a little confused, and thought that the scheming Duke had moved something bad again.

"As a pirate, there must be many people who hate you to the core, and even the souls of the dead can't enter heaven because they bear too many curses, poor people......" I deliberately dragged out the last note, pretending to be sad and sighing, and watched the swordfish's reaction out of the corner of my eye.

It is worthy of being an old fritter who has been immersed in the rivers and lakes for many years, and the swordfish immediately sensed the danger signal from between the lines of my words, and immediately prevaricated: "In fact, we are used to living a free and easy life, and we are all born in poor families, as long as we can live happily and eat well, we no longer ask for too much." ”

It seems that he has drawn a line with me, and his nerves are too sensitive, but I can't bear to give up such an excellent navy, so I will continue to follow up in a different way:

"Have you ever thought that once your existence really threatens the interests of the coastal lords, the forces they join forces are not something you can compete with, at least move the border to cut off the coastal supply lines, or send your own fleet to jointly encircle and suppress, what will you do then? The life of a lost dog must not be what you want, right? ”

"You said the moths in the castle?"

The swordfish snorted disdainfully, and immediately realized the disrespect for me in his tone, and changed his words: "The adults don't have time to pay attention to which ship to sail is packed by us, as long as the caravan crossing the border pays enough gold coins to be given, then the next thing can only be decided by God, whether it is dead or alive is not within their consideration." ”

Hehe, I'm waiting for me here, a little sample, I have to give you some color.

I made up my mind in my heart, put on a serious look on my face, and looked into his eyes with a smile: "Ordinary people really don't have this leisure, but there is a person who wants to take care of this idle matter, and he has both time and money, the most important thing is that as long as he wants to do it, there must be a way to do it, what do you say when you encounter a difficult role?" As I spoke, I grinned at him with a smile, like a perverted uncle bullying a little girl in a subway station in the middle of the night.

The swordfish understood my words, fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead, he stared at me intently, his facial expression seemed to be paralyzed, and he maintained a frightened look, and after a while, he replied with a voice like a mosquito, "My lord, what do you ......mean?"

"Take it easy, I'm not a bad person."

I looked at his frightened expression with satisfaction, to be honest, half of his life savings were snatched away as a threat, and he had to work with his head bowed, and in the end, the other party had to swallow himself inch by inch, especially when his strength should not be underestimated, this kind of inner struggle is definitely not something that ordinary people can experience, to put it on me, I want to die.

"You still continue to work as a pirate as a promising profession, eat meat with a lot of money, and be as comfortable as you want, all I need is a pledge of allegiance, you and the pirates under your command must absolutely obey the orders of the Duke of Nijmegen, carry out the tasks sent down anytime and anywhere, and ensure that you complete your own work even if you sacrifice a lot."

"No matter how big the sacrifice?" Hearing that he really wanted to become the eagle dog of Nijmegen, the swordfish immediately cried and mourned, his ghostly little eyes, and his bones turned around twice, as if he was estimating how much his chances of winning would be if he jumped back at this moment, and the family he relied on to dominate the sea was these elites on the ship, and once he lost it, he really couldn't find a tune to cry, thinking of this, the swordfish pursed his lips, waiting for me to finish the following words.

"Your main task is to indiscriminately attack all passing ships at sea, including the merchant ships of Nijmegen, as long as you encounter them, they will be robbed and burned for me, and they will be clean, leaving no traces." I squinted viciously, startling the old pirate.

"Of course, the ships of the Leonardo Chamber of Commerce can be let go if they can turn a blind eye, and you know the temper of that old guy, if you provoke him too hard, you will lose more than just the treasure hidden on the island......"

This time, the swordfish was even more confused, and the sweat on his forehead couldn't stop dripping down, as if he had been stuffed into a sauna with full firepower, and sweat rushed out of his pores.

"I don't understand what you mean, my lord, why are you robbing even the ships of Nijmegen?" Swordfish asked suspiciously.

"Since you are acting, you can simply act realistically, and save yourself from being grabbed by other lords when you are holding on to your pigtails, don't think that all this wealth is given for nothing, one-fifth of your robbery income will be used as a tax contribution to me, and no one will be missing."

I pulled my fingers and counted my future income, and the more I calculated, the happier I became: "Rest assured, you can get free supplies and ship maintenance at the designated docks in Nijmegen, and if someone is tired of the uncertain days at sea, he can still spend money to buy land in Nijmegen, and under my protection, he will be a smooth citizen, and he will no longer have an adventurous career of licking blood from the stormy seas, and have a stable second half of his life." ”

The swordfish finally figured out the situation a little, and nodded thoughtfully: "As long as we are at sea, there is nothing we can't do, Lord Duke." ”

"Let me teach you that this form of cooperation is called agent trading, and as your greatest umbrella, Nijmegen does not show up in public, but gives you the right to act on your own in a convenient way, so that you can reap the benefits and avoid the corresponding risks."

I gently pointed out the old pirate and taught him that hundreds of years later, the Queen Victoria of the British Empire and the famous pirate Sir Drake, known as the Lord of the Seas, were not enough to be outsiders in a dark deal, the latter, with the support of the Queen herself, plundered Spanish ships without limits, bringing jaw-dropping profits to the royal family, and indirectly promoting Great Britain to become an empire that dominates the seven seas.

(End of chapter)