Gould knew Otto's character. Otto was not a shameless bastard who only wanted money. He was quite honest when dealing with people.
He believed that it was precisely because Otto was brave but also honest and fair that he could miraculously command the stability of a large tribe for ten years!
The situation is increasingly different now.
Gould stated that at the end of every winter, he would spend a lot of money to buy furs made by the Russians. This year's situation was extremely special. He had already paid a thousand silver coins for the purchase, which was inevitable. You will make a fortune at the Alliance Fair of the Melalen Tribe.
"I still have four thousand silver coins to buy your goods. I know that you are unable to mass-produce magical steel swords at this stage. For this reason, I paid your blacksmith up to two hundred silver coins, requiring They gave me a priority to build a self-defense dagger with gold patterns. I paid a huge sum of money and still had to wait many days to get it. The sword you made recently is so amazing. I don’t think you will take the initiative to export steel swords. ”
When it comes to the steel sword, the matter is indeed very sensitive.
In any era, exporting weapons is an absolute huge profit, not to mention that there is already a terrible generation gap between block-forged low-carbon steel swords and ordinary wrought iron swords.
With weapons, one's own side is often a little better than the enemy, and the manifestation on the battlefield is often terrifying crushing.
Alto and his guys naturally realized that exporting weapons indiscriminately might be a stupid thing to shoot themselves in the foot, not to mention a strong man holding a steel sword to cut through ordinary iron. The sword is quite easy.
"I...I admire your courage." Otto spoke in a low voice, with a hint of threat in his attitude.
Why couldn't Gould be aware of this threat? He signaled the personal guards around him to stay relaxed. He used his round, greasy face full of fat and a business-style smile to show that he was a smart man.
He bowed slightly and respectfully, indicating his intention to buy a lot of soap.
"I will keep the matter of your steel sword a secret. Everyone present, we must be strict with ourselves. If I reveal the news of the steel sword, great leader, you can confiscate my steel sword in Fort Ross." All property. We are excellent allies in business matters, and I will never betray wealth and your care.
Now, I am willing to spend four thousand silver coins to buy your sopa. p>
You sell two silver coins for ordinary sopa, and I will give you three. You will give three for yellow and white sopa, and I will give you four! When the ice and snow melt, I will organize a fleet to send you. They shipped it off. Now, I just want to know if you can complete it in sixty days?" "Yes!" Otto said without thinking. In fact, if the priests kept working, it would not be impossible to accomplish it. What's more, the priest has already stocked up more than three hundred bars of soap. They are storing them in a relatively warm wooden house where the water cannot freeze. They are receiving the so-calledNatural air drying.
Four thousand silver coins. To get it, you need to dump more than a thousand pieces of soap. If you produce it in sixty days, it is not a big problem, or you have to order people to catch seals in Guangzhou.
Business transactions are very smooth. There is a significant difference between Otto and Rurik in this regard, that is, Otto does not think it is necessary to engrave the transaction on a wooden board and make a written transaction contract. of.
After speaking verbally, since both of them are honest people, does it seem unreasonable to talk about contract documents?
Otto raised his glass and clinked it with Gould, which was also a sign of the friendship between the leader and the big businessman.
Gould, who was already in a slightly drunk state, felt quite comfortable and couldn't help but talk about another matter: "Chief, you want to establish a new stronghold in the east. I already know about this. . I have never been to the legendary Novgorod. I would be very happy if I could do business with those people."
"Oh, right? Those guys are stupid. They can provide a lot of furs. If you want, you can follow us next autumn. Haha, you should understand that the women of Novgorod are beautiful when you see them. A new concubine."
"Maybe!" Gould shrugged, "Great leader, maybe you don't understand the consequences of having too many concubines. , they gave me many children, and I took care of them. But..." Gould complained that his women were jealous, but they were actually trying to get more property from their fathers for their children. .
There is a difference between a businessman and a warrior.
Ordinary families produce warriors who are not afraid of death. Because such families have limited wealth, they can only try their best to pass the wealth on to their eldest son. Businessmen are different. After all, the palms and backs of hands are full of flesh. If you give your eldest son all the wealth, you will definitely encounter resentment from the other sons.
What’s more, business behavior is completely different from warrior behavior.
The boys in the entire family, and even the girls who get married, remain united throughout their lives, so that the family can make greater wealth by taking advantage of the expanding network of relationships. Because for businessmen, the way to obtain wealth is to be a smart second-hand dealer. They must find ways to obtain information, buy low, sell high, and make smart speculations. There is no other way.
"I still don't want to have new concubines. Great leader, I think I am not a loyal person, but you are such a good person."
Otto I understood what Gould meant. Find a way to marry a new concubine by yourself? It was not that he had never thought about this matter, and his wife Bona also did not reject it outright.
The matter fell into disuse as the two sons had accidents one after another. Now, Otto no longer thinks about it like this.
Gould doesn’t want to continue talking about women. Making the family business bigger is his goal.
He bowed his head and suddenly asked another question that would definitely make Otto wary.
"Great leader, I noticed that your young people are clamoring for revenge, clamoring to make those Gotlanders pay with blood. Do you really do this? Are you..." Gould paused for breath, "Are you ready to attack? ”
The once joyful atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
Otto frowned and thought for a while, and noticed the changes in his subordinates’ expressions from the corners of his eyes. He finally revealed Said: “I’m not particularly happy about this. But those young people, they..."
Otto did not give a clear answer at all, but his hesitation seemed to Gould as acquiescence.
Otto had already Now that he is old, many things are no longer completely within his control. He simply cannot suppress the desire of a group of young people for huge wealth with the attitude of an old man and the historical experience he has experienced in hundreds of battles, let alone launch an attack on Gotland. , and there is a "righteousness" called blood revenge.
Gould realized Otto's hesitation, "I know that those hateful islanders attacked your caravan many years ago and killed them. your people. As for hatred, they also attacked your people in more distant times. This revenge must be avenged!
I can understand your anger. If my child was killed by them, I would hire warriors at a high price to avenge a bloated person like me. ”
Gould’s words were very useful, and Otto and his close associates were quite moved.
After all, they are allies of the same alliance, Gotland Those guys can be called common enemies!
Gould actually believes that the Ross tribe will either not mention this matter or bring it up many years later. They will be cowards and hold back their revenge. Their young people must be there. He was busy sharpening his sword. He even boldly hypothesized that the booming business of Clavarson Blacksmith might be related to revenge. He sent his men to inquire and learned that even many families with little wealth were trying to order a steel sword. , without any decoration, as long as it can be used on the battlefield.
The current situation must be very delicate. Look at Otto, the leader of the Russians! Otto himself may be a calm presence, but he is sitting here. Another group of strong men, Gould clearly felt a strong murderous aura and the desire for wealth in the eyes of this group of people.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Gould deliberately got to the point of the topic. .
“Great leader, I do know something about Gotland. ”
“Oh? Then just talk about it. "Otto urged.
"Yes. Regarding those people... Even though they are hostile to our alliance, there are still businessmen doing private deals. He even landed on that island in disguise many years ago and did some business with the islanders. They thought I was actually a Dane and my appearance deceived them and saved my own life. I made a fortune in silver coins, and learned something about the Gotlanders. ”
This guy’s words contain some amazing inside information, OttoHe asked: "Oh? How did you deceive them?"
"Hey, I didn't use any special means at all." Gould boasted of himself: "The small fleet I organized, My boats were nothing special, just ordinary transports. My men rowed at night, and even hired a few Danish farmers who were short of money as oarsmen. You know, many Danes don't care about alliances. , as long as there is money to be made, they will work for you.
We started from Lake Mälaren and continued rowing at night and around the entire island from the east. When we got around to the west of the island. During the day, I marched forward in a big way.
I landed as a Dane and provided the islanders with a lot of sheepskins. When they saw these sheepskins, they no longer had any doubts about my identity. I’m just a businessman. I take my people with me after I make money.”
Gould always had a proud smile on his face as he introduced his so-called thrilling business actions.
This smile made Harold Zuosen a little unhappy. He asked loudly: "Businessman! You are doing business with those enemies. Is this something to be proud of?"
"Huh? Are you? Don’t you understand what I mean?” Soon, Gould glanced at Otto: “Great leader, I think you can understand.”
At this moment, Otto was silent.
In fact, behind Otto's silence, he was already planning a tactic to attack the Gotlanders. It was Gould who provided this tactic that might lead to a complete victory!
Gould took Otto's silence as the other party's incomprehension, so he explained the matter thoroughly: "If you attack, you must not take a shortcut, and you must not take a shortcut from the island." Attacking from the northwest, the Gotlanders are very vigilant in that regard.
They especially like silver and gold. With a lot of wealth, they have the money to recruit a group of mercenaries composed of various people. You must be strong! If you want revenge, don't land if you don't have enough strength. If you insist on landing, you can quickly loot it, but wait until dark to withdraw your army. There must be at least more than 500 people. Otherwise, if the number is too small, the entire army may be annihilated due to failure to withdraw in time. I believe you are very brave, and those Gotlanders are definitely not bad!”
Hear this! , Harold Zuosen was not happy: "We killed more than ten people that year, so we killed 200 of them! We won a great victory! Those Gotlanders are a bunch of fools!"
"Yes. "What?" Gould suddenly became angry and looked at Harold Johnson's face: "That was more than seven years ago. I still vaguely remember what happened. What kind of ordinary fishing boats did you seize?" . And the rusty axes and bent spearheads that were captured were just inferior weapons. Your great achievements were just to eliminate a group of stupid fishermen who were not even equipped with leather armor. Those dead were not Gotlanders at all. Elite! If the Gotlanders are really a bunch of idiots, then our allianceWhy are the Alliance still fighting hard in Jotalan? "
"No! They're just a bunch of idiots. "Hallo Zuosen insisted on his opinion. After all, he chopped down a group of Gotland attackers back then.
There was a quarrel. Otto knew that this matter was of great significance. He raised his hand to signal that everyone should shut up.
After the scene cooled down, Otto deliberately faced Gould with a respectful attitude: "You are a brave and wise businessman, and I really appreciate the important information you provided. As to whether the Gotlanders were powerful enemies, my inclination is that they were. My brother died in their hands, and I longed for the chance to eradicate them completely and take away all their wealth. But I have thought calmly a lot over the years. It is impossible for us Russians to completely defeat them just by relying on our own strength. At most, we can achieve a surprise victory on a certain narrow battlefield.
Businessman, I need more information from you. I really want to know how rich the Gotlanders are and what their elite strength is. "
Being respected by the leader of a large tribe, Gould felt that he was extremely respected. This is one of the few things that money can't buy!
Gould Of course, he must provide more information. If he wants to gain a foothold and develop among the Russians in the future, he must further gain the trust of their leaders. He will brag about the Gotlanders to demonstrate his strategic value to the Russians. < /p>
How are the Gotlanders so rich? For example, they have a lot of maids, endless wine, endless barbecues, and piles of gold that are taller than people. What he said is vivid and fascinating. Others believed it very much. These words were not only meant for Otto, but also to stimulate the desire to conquer among the "generals" around Otto.
Otto is calm, and his subordinates must have it. A large number of radicals. Looking at the eyes of this group of people trembling when they hear the word "gold", Gould feels that his incitement has been successful.
Is this what the Russians will do? .
Now that the problem has become quite clear, Gould believes that since he has even revealed a reasonable offensive route, how can the Ross not do it?