Otto really didn’t want to talk about it. He and hundreds of his close comrades gathered around a campfire to discuss establishing a settlement at the mouth of the river. Many people expressed strong doubts. Because of this decision, everyone has no idea whether their ancestors did the same thing, and everyone has a natural fear and rejection of the unknown.
After some explanations, Otto used his personal prestige to win over the support of many people.
In fact, what everyone is most afraid of is the attack by the Baltic people or the Finns. Although these guys are a lot of fools armed with stones, they, like the Ross tribe, will organize themselves when encountering major events. Hundreds of people took action. Even if the Rus warriors are strong men armed with large shields and battle axes, if there are too many people fighting, they will be defeated by hundreds of enemies.
Building a settlement is therefore dangerous, and if the leader insists on doing so, he will have to leave extra men to look after the camp.
Sooner or later the Ross people will have to leave this poor Rossburg and this terrible fjord.
No matter how it develops in the future, the living space this fjord can provide for people has almost reached its bottleneck. When people finally can no longer stand the crowding, it is only a matter of time before residents leave on a large scale and spontaneously.
Rurik was very happy with his father's decision, and taking this opportunity, he also specifically informed his father of his plans.
"Dad, I need some new servants. Next time you go to Novgorod, can you bring some people back for me? I don't want many, at most ten people are enough."
p>"You..." Otto was stunned for a while, "One maid is no longer enough?"
"Yes!" Rurik insisted.
"Okay... tell me your specific requirements."
The son is asking for a servant, and Otto actually welcomes his son's idea. It seems that the son's thoughts have changed a lot since he killed the deer.
Rurik is a kind person. This kind of character is very important to brothers. If he is only kind, he is not worthy of being a leader. He needs to have the ability to lead, and if possible, the more slaves the better.
Otto quickly cheered up and asked: "Do you need servants from Novgorod? Very good! I will catch some for you this time."
"Huh? Arrest people? Wouldn't it be better to buy a few servants with things?"
"Maybe." Otto shrugged, "You need some servants who can do the job, so don't count on them They will hand over their labor force obediently. Although those men are terrible, at least they can farm. The Novgorod people will not obediently contribute strong men to you as servants. We can only use an ax to force them to submit." /p>
"I...I don't want those strong men!"
"Not men? Are they still children?"
"Oh! Just some children. "Rurik patted the fur on the ground hard, "I just want to write about children." "Children? Servants?What can one do? "As he said that, Otto glanced at Rumia who was sitting obediently on the ground, "Just like your maid, she only knows how to herd cattle. It’s just a poor woman who can’t cut down more trees for you in the future. ”
“But she was very loyal to me. "
Rurik waved his hand gently, and Rumia stood up, and then sat down next to Rurik obediently.
"Dad, you see, she always obeys orders. for me. "
Rumia raised her head vigorously. She knew that the leader Otto had been glaring at her. This evil man who killed his parents really didn't want to have more interactions with him.
Rurik has his own theory: "I just want some children, preferably not too different in age from me. Sister Peravina and I have learned a little bit of their language, and I can already communicate with Novgorod people if it's just daily conversation.
Dad, since strong men have to farm, those children can’t also farm, right? There must be some girls in Novgorod, and with some training, girls can make a difference. "
Otto was really puzzled by his son's words. He thought of other things, so he questioned: "Do you really like children of your age that much? Most of the children in the tribe are similar to your age. They are already your friends. What else do you want? Are there more Novgorod children under your control? You even need a bunch of useless little girls? ”
Very different from the Ross tribe, the Slavic tribe in Novgorod does not have the bad habit of not wanting female babies because they do not have the so-called warrior culture of Odin’s faith.
But this does not mean that the locals in Novgorod are just a bunch of fat sheep who are allowed to be slaughtered. They are at least stronger than the Finns, so they can seize Lake Ilmen and build a "new big city", but Varyan The fighting ability of the Ge people is extraordinary.
In fact, they have a special attitude towards all their children. The children are like the property of the banker's family. The children can hardly provide any output before they grow up. There are too many mouths to eat, and even if the children's parents are particularly kind, they will have to abandon some children due to hunger problems. In addition, the Varyags' Ross tribe regularly raids, and other Varyags suddenly attack without warning. The small Slavic settlements outside the city of Novgorod are always facing the situation of their relatives being kidnapped.
The missing people are either attacked and killed by black bears or killed by other Varyag tribes. Take away. If the missing person is a child, how many more are there? In reality, the missing person is usually a farming man, and the loss of one labor force is a huge loss to the family estate.
"Of course. I need boys and girls in Novgorod! "Rurik raised his head, "I just need those children. I would send boys to the blacksmith to learn blacksmithing, and girls to the priests to learn some skills necessary for women. In this way, when they grow up, they can only follow me, and they will work hard for me. ”
Otto really felt thatWhat his son said was strange. In fact, Otto had never thought about this.
All the Vikings had a strange definition of the concept of "slave".
The North Germanic tribes around the Baltic Sea have been fighting with each other for countless years. Also in the last two hundred years, the Norwegians in the western part of the mountains of Scandinavia, the Swedes in the plains to the east of the mountains, and the Danes in Jutland and surrounding islands have formed some tribal alliances. Under this, three large tribal alliances were gradually transforming into feudal kingdoms.
They have not yet become a kingdom. Although they speak the same Norse language, they have never stopped fighting with each other.
It is the so-called Sweia Tribe Alliance of the Ross tribe. When their ancestors lived in the Svealan Plain, there were many fights between them.
In a fighting tribe, the men are more important than the young women. Strong men frequently launched attacks to compete for resources. In order to maximize their victory, they would leave captives alive and use them as slaves to work for them.
Therefore, the concept of "slave" is almost synonymous with concepts such as coward and loser. In the current Norse language, words such as "captive" and "loser" are often used to specifically describe male slaves.
It is almost natural for losers to become slaves.
They will not keep too many slaves, because these people who also speak Norse are not reliable, and keeping them around for a long time may be a disaster.
Male prisoners of war often seek opportunities to escape, and neither side can obtain many prisoners of war during the war.
In some battles, one party captures the enemy's lair, and the victor will seize the other party's wife and daughter. Those captured women will not become slaves, they will become the wives of the victors and become members of the victor's tribe.
In the barbaric era, survival was the first priority of each tribe. The fighting power of the tribe comes from the strong men, and the foundation for the continuation of the tribe is the women of the tribe.
Otto really doesn’t like that his tribe has a very bad tradition. The tribesmen have been selectively cultivating their own offspring. Ordinary families don’t have much wealth. In order to obtain more in the future, Wealth, they are willing to raise sons, but as for the newly born baby girls, they often throw them into the woods and let them die.
The Rus tribe is like this, the allied tribes in the south are like this, and the Danes are also doing this.
Otto knew that the wealthy households in the allied tribes often kept some slaves and even some concubines. God knows where those foreign women came from. There is a high probability that they are the so-called Franks.
In short, the biggest job of those women is to give birth to more sons for the master. The master will not be biased against the sons because of their mother’s identity. The master only hopes that his sons will grow up to be A powerful warrior.
Only in this way can the tribe have more warriors so that it will not disappear in the future.In the ongoing struggle for hegemony, new lands were seized from the Danes.
The Ross tribe did not have this opportunity in the past. Now that the opening has been opened, if it continues to develop, sooner or later the tribe will be filled with warriors who can speak the Novgorod language. Otto didn't care about this at all. After all, the father of the child was a warrior of the tribe.
However, Rurik's determination was completely different from what Otto could have imagined. Do you want to use some slaves and raise them first?
Otto closed his eyes and thought for a moment before asking slowly: "Rurik, if there are just some children, I can bring them back to you in a more peaceful way. I must tell you, those children They are all idiots. Like their father, they will only be a group of farmers who know how to farm in the future. If they want to work well for you, it will take several years to train them. When you grow up, they can really do it. Work for you. Do you...do you have to feed them every day until they are ready to work?" "Isn't it possible?" He also looked strange.
"You...I really can't figure it out."
"Dad, are you against me?"
"No! I am not against you." Oh Tuo shook his head, "I'm glad that you have your own ideas. I just don't think it's worth it for you. My child, I can help you complete this matter, but what about the rest? I won't help you. Since you have plans, Everything after that will be handled by yourself."
"I will take care of it myself, you don't have to worry about it."
"And the food and the place to live for the slaves. It's all your concern. And their clothes are also your business. And..." Otto listed many things in desperation, thinking that he could get his son to give up with such words.
Otto really did not understand the forward-looking plan of his son Rurik.
Rurik, he also couldn’t figure out whether his father had other concerns or was simply short-sighted. No! etc! Is Otto really short-sighted? No, Otto is a visionary leader. Could it be that there are certain limitations only in the use of human resources? Maybe that's it.
Rurik heard a lot, but still said bluntly: "I must at least be a new servant, preferably... preferably a child younger than Rumia. If you are in trouble, dad, all ten I can accept it as a girl. If you can get more for me, I won’t refuse.”
Otto grinned and muttered: “It seems you won’t. Change your decision. Okay... now you give me some silver coins." "Silver coins?" Rurik was startled.
"Don't be stunned, Rurik. I am your father. If you insist on becoming independent now, I will help you. I tell you clearly that I am very doubtful about your decision. As a father , I'm willing to do this for you. Give me some silver coins so that I can give them to the parents. Listen, only silver coins can make those poor guys give away their children."
Otto said these words without any emotion in his heart, while Rurik felt a little guilty throughout his life.
Perhaps this was the normal state of Europe during the Dark Ages in the ninth century AD.
For the clan tribes that are still barely entering the Bronze Age, the concept of human rights does not exist, or the so-called human rights are only enjoyed by the strong men of the tribe. Parents can abandon their children for money before they are old enough to hold a weapon.
Rurik knew that the slave economy had its rationality in an era of low material production efficiency. For those who became slaves, slave owners regarded them as "talking tools." Since they are a tool, of course they should extend their working hours as much as possible.
Even if it is a donkey, the donkey owner also hopes that it can work healthily for ten or twenty years, let alone a living person.
In order to survive, the yeoman farmers who lost their land became serfs of large households. It is acceptable for tribal people who have lost everything to become slaves of another tribe to make a living under extreme conditions. Although it is humiliating, they can at least survive.
But it is still a backward system.
Rurik knew very well that the Kievan Rus, which quickly entered the era of feudal kingdoms in history, did not wither in population under the rule of the Mongols. After getting rid of the rule of the Mongol Empire, they grew stronger, but the nobles were deprived of their wealth. Extremely embarrassing, thousands of ordinary peasants went bankrupt and became serfs of nobles and large estate owners. If the culture of Eastern Rome allowed them to directly bypass the slave society and instantly upgrade to the feudal era, as a result, they made the social system even more backward.
In the end, the most thorough bottom-up counterattack from the serfs destroyed the corruption and achieved the first "victory of the common people."
Why did all the descendants of ordinary Slavic residents gradually become serfs?
Listening to what Otto said, those Novgorod residents would give up raising their children for silver coins and hand them over to the Varyags as servants. Servants of servants are still servants. In this way, there is a reason for the large-scale enslavement of the residents.
This is not possible!
Because what Rurik needs is not a servant, and the relationship between them should not be the so-called master-servant relationship. In his philosophy, the best relationship that can be achieved now is between hiring and being hired. He holds the power, and his so-called servants do things for him. Neither you nor your successors can harm them at will, and you must give them reasonable compensation for their efforts.
Youdao aims to provide benefits to the residents at the bottom and make them rich, so that their enthusiasm for production will be higher, the wealth of the entire society will be abundant, and more taxes will be paid, and the people will become rich. The wealth of the nation.
Rurik believes that this is the most reasonable governance philosophy.
It seems that Europeans who really cannot think highly of this time and space have a problem. Their problem is not a limited vision of geography, but the most critical thing is the limitation of their thinking.
"Dad, tell me, I want some childrenHow many silver coins can I get as a helper? "
"You..." Otto thought for a while, "You give me fifty silver coins, you have this money now. "
Rurik nodded, and then told his actual key, Rumia, "Go and get my money box and count fifty silver coins. "
"Follow your orders. "Rumia nodded respectfully, and after a while, she pulled over the heavy wooden box placed in the leader's longhouse.
Rurik's reassurance and trust in Rumia are reflected in many aspects. Giving her silver jewelry is one thing, and on the other hand, it is giving her the key to his own money box.
Every man has his own money box, and normally the key is kept by his wife. .
Rumia already knows the reason why the little master ordered her to take care of the key, and some rumors have reached her ears, that is, the little master plans to marry her after many years.
Being Rurik's wife? Nonsense! But if that becomes a reality...
Rumia is not complacent at all. Her mood is very complicated, and she is trying her best to hide her emotions.
Since soap began to rip off his own tribe at high prices, Rurik’s so-called money box was originally an empty wooden box, but now it has become heavy. The tribe’s soap market is still quite big, and it has finally become a big problem. It would be saturated, so it didn’t matter, just sell the soap to the visiting allies.
Fifty silver coins were half a Roman pound. Rurik handed the silver coins that Rumia handed over to his father.
Otto saw his son's attitude was so determined, and what was even more surprising was that his son was not that stingy about these coins.
" Rurik. , are you sure? " Otto asked seriously.
"Yes, if fifty silver coins can buy it..." Rurik wanted to say the word "slave" at first, but he still hated the word, so Gao Kou said, “It would be great if I could get ten new friends in exchange. I will give them a better life than in Novgorod, and they will be especially loyal to me for it. "
"You are actually willing to be friends with a servant? How strange. "As he spoke, Otto looked at Rumia from the corner of his eye. He didn't talk nonsense anymore.
Otto continued to explain the serious facts, "Those Novgorod people are happy to sell their children as goods. We are like the right to marry a beautiful Novgorod woman for some amber. Rurik, you are very smart. Those girls will grow up when they are twelve years old. It is impossible to exchange a few silver coins for one. If it's just a kid about your age, it's not a big deal.
I actually know the prices there. A boy your age costs five silver coins, and a girl costs three. ”
Hearing this, Rurik took a breath.
In his philosophy, human life was priceless at that time, but in this barbaric era, everyone was marked A price. After all, humans are higher than animals, but they are not that high. A big reindeer is worth two silver.coins, a rare ferret may be worth as much as six silver coins.
Hearing his father's words, Rurik had to take a look at himself.
My body is just that of a child. According to Otto, it is worth five silver coins. Two deers on top are not as good as a cute ferret. How can this make sense?
However, this is the reality.
In any case, being able to get at least ten servants with a small sum of silver coins is more civilized than his father bringing people to carry battle axes.
"I want ten servants. If they can't bear to part with a boy, at least get me one. I want him to answer only to my blacksmith. At least ten girls, I want to train them to make soap. Women, and masters at making clothes. All of them only serve me. Dad, according to the agreement I signed with the priests and blacksmiths, I have money to support these servants.”
Otto. Nodding: "I have accepted all your money, and I will do this for you. However, you have invested a lot in these days, and you are indeed different from those children."
"Of course ." Rurik put on a smile, "I am a person blessed by Odin."
"It's not just that." Otto shook his head deeply, "I have lived for so many years. You, a child, can earn three hundred silver coins in just a few dozen days, but no child can spend a hundred silver coins quickly. You really have to be careful, if you are always generous, it will not be a good thing for you."
"I will pay attention, thank you for the reminder." Rurik was surprised that Otto mentioned the concept of "frugality".
When it comes to frugality, if Svealan’s Sweiya Tribe Alliance has such thoughts, it can indeed be understood why their descendants more than a thousand years later have gone to an extreme in the concept of environmental protection. It’s so extreme that we wish everyone could achieve almost no carbon emissions.
"I will try my best to be frugal and find ways to earn more money. Dad..." Rurik tilted his head slightly, "Don't think that I know soap and swords. Trust me, I have other inventions, all from Odin's wisdom."
"Okay." Otto put a big hand on Rurik's head, like rubbing a cat. After rubbing it for a few times, he encouraged: "Then just do it. I hope you can come up with some new tricks for me when I come back."