Chapter 1,321 Yartevo and Vyadzic Leader Hedado in the Civil War

The Worli River flows quietly in twists and turns, passing through a mountainous and hilly area and finally empties into the Dnieper River.

Because these hills make the river channel steeper, many cliffs are even formed by the constant erosion of the river water.

For this kind of landform, the Krivi people who immigrated here called it "Aran".

If the suffix description of "riverside village" is added, the way of thinking gradually becomes Yartevo.

This is a branch settlement of the Smolensk Krivi community. It is relatively close to the main city in a straight line, but transportation between the two sides still relies heavily on rivers and riverside roads.

Hills and forests separate the two places. The Smolensk Road that crosses the forest in this era does not exist. Anyone who wants to reach the confluence of the Worli River and the Dnieper River can only walk along the river.

The coldest period of the year has now begun.

The vast team of refugees were dragging sleds, or they were carrying nothing. Men and women gathered together, and the dark team formed a long and narrow queue, moving towards the settlement of Aram with the belief of survival.

There were certain geographical differences between Aram at that time and Yartsevo in later generations.

The Worli River formed the first settlement at its confluence with the Dnieper River, from which more villages spread out in both directions from the nearest river channel.

Just in the delta where the two rivers meet, a thriving agricultural reclamation area has sprung up.

When the Russian army invaded Gniezdovo and marched towards Smolensk, the people living in Aran knew nothing about what was happening ninety kilometers away.

The ninety-kilometer riverside road is neither too far nor too close.

The people in the Aran settlement then "worshiped the dock" to the nobles in Smolensk, and essentially lived a self-sufficient life.

They have a good relationship with their neighbors further east, the Vyadich people, but their own side is the Klivich people, and they do have some differences from them. Because of this difference, the people in the Aran settlement still recognized Smolensk as the suzerain, but this never caused them to have any meaningful dispute with the Vyadich people. At least not now.

After all, the confluence of the Vyazma and Dnieper rivers is further east. Vyadich people riding horse-drawn sleighs often spend five days on the road. Even in the summer, five or six days are indispensable for rafting on quiet rivers in canoes.

The straight-line distance between the two sides is not ridiculously far, because now everyone can only rely on the Dnieper River to communicate. The more curved the river is, the more detours it means pedestrians have to take. However, the terrain in the upper reaches is too flat, and the Dnieper River is so twisted. Just like Mahua, the communication cost between both parties is very high.

The river channel is excessively curved in a flat area with a very small slope, eventually forming a long series of diving wetlands.

Such an environment was extremely friendly to the canoes and rafts of the Vyadich people, and naturally even more friendly to the rowing long boats of the Rus.

But speaking of friendship, the entire Dnieper River and all its tributaries froze, allowing the Russian cavalry to charge forward at extremely high speeds. Just like in another dimension, Batu Khan's Mongolian cavalry raced on the frozen Volga River.

Although the Rus' army easily completed the cleansing of the main settlements in Smolensk, the cavalry began to continue attacking upriver.

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They left too hastily and continued to lose people in the extreme cold, snow and wind.

Sometimes everyone thinks that instead of dying inexplicably like this, it is better to stay in Smolensk. They were able to survive as slaves, but now the whole village is about to perish in the flight.

However, the escapees had no way out. Their only hope of survival was to walk the 90 kilometers in the wind and snow and get help from the locals in the settlement of Aram.

As for Aram, is this the end?

No!

The Russians are fully capable of continuing the pursuit. The people of Aram have lived in peace for too long. The locals have no fighting spirit. The elected leader only supports Vadim's revenge war on a spiritual level.

The Aram settlement has no real leader at all, but is just a union of some free villages.

When the community is facing life and death, it really needs a strong person to turn the tide. The local people in Aram are not trustworthy at all. Who is brave now?

Vyadzic leader Hedoda did not dare to claim to be a hero, nor did he dare to claim that he could guarantee that his tribe would not be harassed by Rus. He understands the truth of losing one's lips and teeth, and believes that once the Russians deal with Smolensk, they will definitely take action against Vyadzic in the future.

He did not understand the true intentions of the Russians, but the actions of those people in the past years were enough to get a glimpse of their barbaric madness.

The Rus are not ordinary Varangians, they are aggressive and murderous.

If war is bound to happen, it is best to prepare now.

If Vyadzic would be defeated, then he would rather die in the battle.

And he was also prepared. If he was defeated, the surviving people could still evacuate to the east. The endless east is full of unknowns, and there are areas where settlements can be rebuilt. For example, no one knows where the river (Moscow River), which everyone calls Sai, leads to, but everyone can set up a raft and go down the river in times of crisis.

Because the river actually drifts to the east, and the east is full of unknowns and dangers. But no matter how dangerous it is, the risk is worth it, because the Russians are even more dangerous.

War is like fate, you must try to increase your strength before the war breaks out.

How? It would be better to appeal to the locals in Aram.

So, along with the refugee teams arriving one after another, Heda and his entourage entered Aram in a horse-drawn sleigh.

At first, people did not understand why a large number of Smolensk people did not go to the Great Altar in advance to participate in the winter priests, but braved the wind and snow to go to the remote area of ​​​​Aran.

As the people began to get the news, the entire settlement began to stir up commotion.

Total panic didn't happen right away, but fear was real.

Even if the leader (talker) elected by everyone came back and claimed that Vadim was defeated and Smolensk was in danger of destruction, the collective consciousness of each village turned a deaf ear to these news.

It wasn't until refugees on the verge of mental collapse arrived for three consecutive days despite the wind and snow that the villages began to fear.

They had never seen the Rus, and there were almost no troops on Vadim's expedition to Ryaland. There was no loss or gain, and the people of Aram were unaware of the war operations, and they did not care about the attacks by the Ross horse bandits in previous years.

But once Smolensk collapses, where will everyone buy key daily necessities?

Especially salt! Those Varangian merchants stayed in Smolensk to sell the salt they had brought from Rome. Although the salt that Aram requested was not much, he could not live without it. There are other supplies that everyone needs a market to trade.

Chaos is brewing. In addition to the terrible news, Aram, which has absorbed thousands of refugees, is suddenly facing huge material pressure.

People are not willing to share food with refugees unless they can get some benefit from the refugees.

Unmarried men took female refugees whose husbands had died into their homes to be wives, and children whose parents had died were taken in as sons. This situation is rare.

On the contrary, the able-bodied people became embarrassed, especially the men with families. They faced an embarrassing fact - after receiving "one meal" relief from the locals, they could not get more food.

So some people started stealing and robbing in order to survive, which made the locals extremely disgusted.

At this moment, a man raised his arms and shouted.

He stands at the confluence of the Dnieper and Worli rivers, standing on the frozen delta plains.

The north wind was howling, and he stood on the sled, facing some people gathered around him.

He was none other than Vyadzic leader Hedado.

"Now, Alan is not a good place for you. The people here do not welcome you! And I! The leader of Vyadzic, my name is Hedado, and I am the only one who is your real supporter.

You follow me to Vyazma, and I will take you in as my tribe. I will take in as many of you as you have! I know all about your suffering. You see, I am walking on the road of ice and snow with you.

All the suffering is caused by the Russians. Don't think that Syria is still peaceful. When the Russians know about it, they will definitely attack, and the fools here will eventually become slaves.

And I will lead all the Vyadzic and Russian people to fight to the end. As long as you follow me, you will be a Vyadich people. If you follow me, you will have food to eat. If you follow me, you can resist the Rus! "

People who were confused and desperate about the future suddenly had a backbone. Many people didn't even know that leader Vyadzic was fleeing with them.

People who are crazy about hunger are no longer human. They dare to do anything just to eat.

Even if it means attacking fellow Aram residents.

Heda went to Smolensk for a meeting in light clothes, and his support for Vadim in sending troops to conquer the Rus was moral support. In fact, he only wanted to get the benefits from the successful crusade, but did not want to actually send troops to work for Vadim. He despised the arrogant son-in-law from the bottom of his heart. However, since he was powerful and had the support of a large number of local nobles, including the Varyags living there, he had no choice but to verbally support him.

Vadim's defeat shocked him, and he suddenly realized that he would die if he didn't run away.

A batch of goods that he had conveniently traded while staying there now retreated with the goods under the protection of armed confidants.

Although there are only fifty confidantes, these people's weapons and equipment are naturally far inferior to those of the Russian soldiers. Facing this group of ignorant people in the Yalan settlement, if they really want to take action, they will still cut melons and vegetables.

With fifty people as the backbone, and hundreds of hungry refugees from Smolensk and Gniezdovo gathered together, an armed force begging for work was born in an instant.

As soon as it was born, it targeted peaceful villages in Aram one after another.

Now, this army is more appropriately called the "Vyadzic Army". The leader Hedoda's goal is very clear. He put forward a simple and straightforward slogan: "Give us food, if we don't give it, we will rob it, if we resist, we will kill it."

As soon as the snowstorm ended, an armed criminal group began to loot Yalan.

In the beginning, they really wanted to get food. The looting was immediately met with resistance. Peaceful villagers, as the saying goes, rabbits will bite when they are anxious. The villagers armed with various farm tools spontaneously formed armed forces. They not only attacked Hedoda's army, but also attacked the refugees who did not participate in the looting. This forces all refugees to struggle and even join in the resistance.

The vicious cycle continues, and a big fight is forming in the Yalan stronghold!

The current situation was not Hedadu's subjective wish. He was just asking for some food. How could it deteriorate into a civil war?

Together with his cronies, there were only fifty Vyadich people, and the tens of thousands of people who were gradually reduced to a pot of porridge were all Klivich people. When the fellow villagers of the same ethnic group saw that they belonged to two settlements, they went crazy and refused to recognize their relatives.

The total number of refugees who made it to Aram alive was still close to 10,000 people. At that time, such a huge influx of people was beyond the capacity of local villages.

Refugees want to survive, and because they flee collectively in villages, they naturally have a certain degree of organization, even if a village has suffered huge losses during the escape. Just as they recognized Vadim as their chief in the past, they now recognize Hedad as their leader.

In the delta area, Heda occupied the settlements here and forced some villages to surrender to him, thus avoiding being looted.

doom.

A large number of Aram residents had to move towards the Worli River, which was protected by hills and forests. It would be difficult for Heda's army to rush in.

At the moment of life and death, the peaceful situation has turned into soldiers. The Russian blood in the residents of Aram is aroused. Men and women guard the area entering the river valley and the frozen Woli River. As long as the people from Heda come quickly, Everyone rushed forward to fight for their lives. Considering practical factors, these civilian armed forces would not take the initiative to attack.

Similarly, Heda's purpose is certainly not to kill like the Russians. Even this situation is not what he wants to see.

The civil war did not expand any further, and Hedado suddenly exercised restraint.

In essence, he was pushed by the situation. Both sides were exhausted from the two consecutive days of mass chaos. When both sides of the civil war calmed down, they finally reflected on their actions.

Heda did not go further because he had already grabbed enough food and accumulated a large number of new tribesmen on hand.

Ten thousand men and women, after a painful march on the ice and several days of fighting, the elderly and the weak children died. Those who survived were either lucky or possessed of good health.

This kind of person is exactly what Heda hopes. He is fully capable of absorbing 10,000 higher-quality Krivic people to join his tribe. In addition, all the suffering must have been caused by the invasion of a Russian army. These ten thousand people must be full of hostility to Rus. Therefore, in the future war that may break out, a large number of people from the Vyadzic tribe must have a resolute fighting attitude. .

Heda was the de facto chief, and his family was the dominant one in Vyadzhi. He had royal power in the main city of Vyazma and the trading town of Kodno in the south.

Heda was fully capable of calling himself a prince, and he married many wives and concubines, and had many children. His sons were arranged to be leaders in many settlements. The reason why he didn't call himself a prince was probably because he didn't know the word "priep", let alone the Varyag people's "kanog", the name of the supreme ruler.

But he became king in the territory he occupied in Syria.

He has appeal, not only because he is a bloody man with charm, but also because he really gives a way to survive to a large number of people begging for work.

The civil war lasted for several days. It broke out suddenly and stopped very suddenly.

Hedoda never intended to capture Syria. He remained here only to continue to search for food, and ordered his subordinates to quickly build sleds and bring all useful supplies.

After all, there may be a seven-day slow march on ice and snow in the future. If we don't collect supplies as properly as possible, a large number of people will definitely die on the road.