Only a few bottles at first, then more and more.
The Klavasen family has begun to use unique glassblowing techniques. This is because it requires much less raw materials than pressed glass, and the production of glass bottles completely exceeds Rurik's idea. .
On the night of August 19, Clavarson made eighty small glass bottles. In the days that follow, Klavasen can still find time to make five or six bottles, assuming a steady supply of materials.
He even urged his son Kawei to take his valet Kamne to the mountains to collect quartz, gypsum, and other materials necessary for making glassware.
Clavason stayed in the blacksmith shop. He had to continue the work of blacksmithing, and the work of distilling ale was temporarily taken care of by his daughter-in-law.
The entire family is busy with three businesses. Only at this moment can the importance of manpower be reflected.
After all, hard work can bring huge benefits.
Although my family already has a lot of money, how to spend it has become a problem. Klavasen is a sensible man. He has prospered in the Ross tribe. Isn’t he following the right master?
It was Otto before, now it is Rurik.
Is it possible to make glass bottles and distilled spirits just to make money from sales?
Rurik had his own ideas, which really made the Klavasen family feel very strange.
What is luxury? That is the daily necessities sold by wealthy people. Because the users are wealthy, the products used have a very high premium.
These spirits must be affordable by wealthy households at this stage, and they must be able to pay the money to highlight their nobility.
When the money fell into his hands, what Rurik thought of was definitely not his own glory and wealth. Even the glory and wealth of this time and space concept was just that in his opinion.
Money should be spent on your own people, especially those who are poor.
In a sense, this is to use some high-value consumer goods as a medium to reasonably take a sum of money from wealthy households and subsidize the poor of the tribe.
Rurik feels that such an operation is very beneficial to him.
The strength of the Ross tribe must be based on internal stability. There must be something to unite the rich and the poor.
Rurik felt that to truly unite the Ross tribe, he must become a king that everyone would be happy to praise.
In order for all clan members to receive visible benefits, everyone’s living standards must gradually improve.
To put it bluntly, Rurik never thought that creating a glass container was such a great initiative.
It is a tool, even less significant than mild steel weapons and tools. However, the Russians must also have them. When the technological level is high enough, the power of glassware can explode.
Now, what Rurik needs most is food, clothing and people..
In the final analysis, a huge population is still needed, and food and clothing are the most critical things to maintain a huge population of an ethnic group. The lack of one of them will result in a sudden and large-scale loss of population, which is even thousands of times more horrific than the destruction caused by war.
It’s not just Rurik. An immediate problem is that the construction of New Roseburg requires a lot of materials, the most important of which is winter food. The leader Otto did not doubt the hunting and fishing abilities of his people. The first colonists of New Roseburg should be able to survive the first winter on their own by just fishing and catching seals.
Otto did not dare to be too optimistic. If the mother city of Roseburg did not directly provide assistance, there would still be a lot of population loss in the first winter.
Although Otto Ryurik and his son have different ideas, they are surprisingly consistent in their willingness to obtain food.
They wished that Fort Ross would build a hill made of wheat, so that the tribesmen could have enough food and clothing, and the rich food could also make wine.
Of course, Otto was the most concerned about winemaking.
Ah! It can be said that whatever you want comes to you!
A huge fleet of ships is rushing towards Fort Ross.
Completely different from warships that can ride waves at high speeds, those Viking cargo ships with huge and fat bellies already have a huge cargo carrying capacity in their thin bodies, with the cargo pressing against the hull. It was so noisy that the ships were about to sink into the sea.
Such a predicament made it impossible for Gould to move forward at high speed even though his large fleet was escorted by Ross fishermen.
From the port of Mälaren to the Rossberg Fjord, even a warship has to be maneuvered by oarsmen on the sea for more than three days. When it came to Gould, the situation was even worse.
Five days! Five whole days passed. Gould was still sailing on the route to Fort Ross.
It is already August 25th. The midday sun shines brightly on the Rossberg Fjord, and the world falls into a warm golden light.
At this time, on the sea outside the fjord, a bunch of trawlers formed an array of twos and threes, continuing to fish for herring.
There are also some larger fishing boats, the paddles in the rowing position are folded, and a large number of wooden sticks tied with hemp rope are held by the oarsmen.
This group of people are masters of crowd fishing. They are fishing for cod nesting in deep water areas.
During this period, the life atmosphere in Roseburg became more and more subtle. As usual, southern merchants began to go north on the largest scale of the year. They came with all kinds of goods. Not leaving!
The merchants will not leave until next spring, so in the long winter that follows, Roseburg actually enters its busiest time.
In order to buy more useful daily necessities and to store food for winter, fishermen are particularly enthusiastic about fishing.
Suddenly, some fishing boats rushed towards the fjord without following the routine.
These fishing boats are very big, and the oarsmen row hard, which attracts the admiration of the fishermen who work quietly.
They are a group of messengers, and their mission is to rush into the fjord and announce the good news of the arrival of the huge fleet.
Moreover, Gould also sent his mercenaries and his eldest son to board the fishing boat riding the waves.
For Otto, today seems to be another quiet and normal day.
He knew that even though the businessmen represented by Gould could all come, he would lose something to look forward to.
As a big leader, he has nothing to entertain himself, and it is also because he is too old to be lazy with women. In recent days, he is more willing to sit with his lifelong friends and share the joy of his son hosting Brewed spirits, and cheap ale.
Suddenly, some young children from the tribe broke into Harozosson's house, because the leader Otto stayed here chatting with the guys.
"Chief! They are coming!" The young man shouted loudly. When he entered the longhouse, he approached Otto with a red face in a half-crawling posture.
"What's going on? Is it possible that there are still enemies attacking?"
At this time, Harold Zuosen, who deliberately hugged the two captured women, also said with a red face. : "There are actually enemies? They are so old. I just want to try my steel sword."
"What's going on?" Otto asked the young man with a wooden face.
"Chief, they are businessmen. They are coming."
"Finally here?" Otto was a little surprised, and then calmed down.
Businessmen, it is not surprising that they come every year.
Otto continued to ask: "Is it possible that merchant ships have begun to enter the fjord?"
"No. But a messenger came, the merchant named Gould. The messenger said that he was Gould's eldest son. Hearing this, Otto became excited: "Oh? Where is the messenger?"
" Outside."
"Let him in quickly!"
The young man who was ordered rushed out.
Currently, Gould's eldest son Snoleva, a fat man in his thirties, dressed in expensive furs, has been waiting outside Harold Johnson's obviously relatively simple longhouse for a long time.
Just this longhouse? It’s actually the home of the leader of the Rus people? Father is doing business with them?
It can be said that due to misunderstanding, Snoleva did not feel good about Chief Ross.
He entered the room and saw sitting under the dim oil lamp, a large group of strong men wearing various leathers and burlap, and the sharp looks cast by many strong men, but This surprised the fat man.
It stands to reason that Snoleva has been selling his own goods on Gould Island for many years, and he is already a business veteran in his own right.
Now, he feels that his life is under great threat.
Because Snoleva didThis was actually the first time he came to Roseburg, so Otto had never seen him before.
However, Otto really had too much dealings with Gould.
Otto's face was still the rosy color of alcohol, even close to a cooked lobster. Coupled with his golden-white beard and hair, his image was indeed very novel.
Otto is scrutinized by Snoleva and vice versa.
"Sit down." Otto casually patted the leather cushion under him.
Snoleva bowed lightly first, then twisted his beer belly, lightly lifted his expensive mink coat, and then moved to sit on the leather cushion. He recognized that he was sitting on deerskin and cowhide, and if he could, he would rather sit on bearskin.
It was precisely this action that made Otto completely believe the identity of the visitor without any explanation.
"It looks like! It does look like Gould! Even the way he sits down is the same."
"Are you the great leader of the Russians?" Snoleva He complimented cautiously and put his hands on the ground while speaking, showing his humbleness.
"It's me. I am Otto, the leader of Rus. As for greatness, I'm glad you can say that. Now tell me, who are you?"
Snoreva He continued to bow and reported his identity in detail.
"Are you Gould's eldest son? I believe you. Look at your belly and your clothes. The moment I saw you, I thought of about twenty years ago. The Gould I saw is also what you look like now."
After all, father and son look very similar, not to mention they both have a rare chubby appearance, and their hair styles are also very similar. beard. From Otto's perspective, the guy in front of him was Gould in his youth.
"Young man, I have never known you. I only learned some news about you from your father. You are here, where is your father?"
"The great Chief, my father’s huge fleet is still on its way.”
“When will they arrive?” Otto asked impatiently.
"Yes! Chief! I arrived early just to inform you about this. I have more things to report to you, and even...get some permission from you."< /p>
"Oh? Tell me one by one."
"Yes! First of all, what I want to say is that our fleet has been sailing slowly for five days, and we will arrive in Ross tomorrow. Fort."
"So slow?" Otto was quite surprised. "My fleet will rush to the entrance of your lake. It may take two days."
" We are a merchant ship! My leader! We can only sail during the day and stay ashore at night. Besides, our family is relocating as a whole, and we are carrying an unprecedented amount of cargo. Our speed is very slow. Small caravans seeking safety do not dare to act rashly."
It is easy to understand why he said this to Otto.
After all, merchant ships are different from warships, and their construction models are different., merchants are not warriors, it is crazy to expect merchants to continue sailing at night.
Snoleva emphasized: "I heard that you need a lot of food this year and a group of slaves. My father completed this task."
"Oh , have you completed it? "Although these plans were made by his son Rurik, looking at it now, the above plans are really beneficial to the future of the Russian people.
The situation has indeed changed. The Russians really need food now.
"How much food did your father get?" Otto asked.
"Including all the new wheat harvested this year and last year's old wheat, there are 230,000 pounds."
Shocked! What else is there to say? !
Otto opened his mouth in shock, and his old friends were also doubting their ears. Because this quantity is so huge!
Seeing that they were all surprised, Snoreva hurriedly said: "Chief, I learned from my father that you will spend double the market price to buy our wheat. I think you will Fulfill this promise."
"This..." Otto was in trouble. He calculated the so-called purchase price with his fingers.
Although his son proposed to buy double the grain that Guldela brought back, Otto didn’t take it seriously because his son really had a lot of money at hand.
How much more expensive can food be?
But isn’t the market price always stable at ten pounds of wheat and one silver coin? As a Viking, Otto had pretty good math skills. He calculated with his fingers that he would have to pay 40,000 silver coins to buy this huge amount of grain.
The importance of food is undoubted, as is the money in Rossburg now...
Snoleva saw that Otto was in trouble, and he estimated that the Ross people might also have wealth problems.
Yes! The purchase price was double the market price. Snoleva did not believe that the Russians would fulfill this promise.
Are they a bunch of fools?
Snoreva hurriedly complimented: "Great chief, I heard that the great Russians have been taking good care of our family's business for so many years. Especially Rurik, the heir to the chief, He must be a messenger sent to the mortal world by business people. I tell the truth, because of your favor, my family's income in the summer is equal to the previous three or four years. Since you are in great need of food, a huge amount of food has arrived! , everything is easy for us to talk about.”
Businessmen always pursue a fair transaction, while warriors pursue integrity. Both parties have a common pursuit, which is integrity.
Of course Otto could afford 40,000 silver coins to buy food, but even this operation was too crazy.
In any case, if the tribe bought Gould's grain, the amount would probably be as much as the Novgorod people's autumn tribute. Is it just Gould transporting food? Definitely not.
Thinking about it this way, Otto felt that the tribe was justBy purchasing, three hundred thousand pounds of wheat can be purchased. By now, the wheat would be of great benefit to the New Roseburg colonists during the winter.
Otto was generally very happy. He tried to remain calm, but his drunken red face made him look a little weird.
"Is there food, leather, and a large group of slaves now?"
"Exactly, this is what I want to explain in particular." Snoleva said solemnly Said, "Perhaps I should immediately inform the noble Rurik personally that my father has completed the task of collecting slaves."
"Slaves? Are they all strong men?" Otto thought Didn't even want to ask.
"No! It's a large group of children."
"A group of children? Alas..."
"What? Chief, aren't these what you need?" "
"You and my son Rurik need it. Sigh... I really can't understand him." Otto was really helpless. According to his concept, a good slave must be a strong man. Slaves? Keep them as slaves for work. What a good son, a so-called slave or a servant, he doesn't care whether he is a man or a woman, a rigid standard is that he must be a child of his own age.
Raising loyal servants from an early age? Otto didn't think this was wrong, but he felt that what his son Rurik needed at this stage was a large group of strong people to carry out tedious and tiring work.
Snoreva continued: "There are women, children, and a group of Britons. We completed the task very well, and now there are more than a hundred slaves."
p>"So many?!" Otto was startled.
"Yes..." At this point, Snoleva's eyes started to jump unconsciously, "There is another very important thing, I..."
"Are you hesitating?"
"Yes! The matter is not trivial. Maybe a humble person like me shouldn't explain the situation."
"It doesn't matter if you say so." Otto ordered.
Snoreva knew how to get along with strong men, especially when facing a room full of strong men with sharp eyes. He was really smart, and he could tell from his eyes that these people must have chopped off more than double digits of heads, so he had to remain extremely respectful.
He put his hands on the ground and hunched his back and said: "Great leader, we have very bad news. The camp of our allies, the Ostara people, has been completely destroyed by the Danish army."
"Huh? What did you say?" Otto couldn't react for a moment.
"It's the people of Ostara. Their homeland was destroyed by the Danes."
Suddenly, the strong men in this room who were extremely sensitive to war straightened their backs instantly. . No matter what everyone's attitude towards businessmen is, if they smell the smell of war, they can't help but be alert.
In this regard, Snoleva relayed to Otto what his father had said.
That is what Gould learned about the ins and outs of the attack on the Ostara people., and even more detailed changes in the situation in the South.
Otto was really shocked. To describe it as shocked is no exaggeration.
"Gould's analysis is that our revenge against Gotland indirectly triggered the destruction of the Ostara people?" Otto asked rhetorically.
“Absurd!” Harold Zoussen couldn’t stand hearing it any longer and shouted indignantly: “The Danes and the Gotlanders have committed heinous crimes. Didn’t the Danes launch enough wars? Did we Rus’ become The sinner who caused the war?"
Snorreva suddenly panicked: "Chief, our family definitely doesn't mean this."
"No!" Otto raised his right hand. Stop the discussions among your subordinates. "This matter does have something to do with us. At the moment we set off for the expedition, we thought of the possible revenge of the Danes. But who would have thought that they would not attack us, but attack our weaker allies."
< p> "It was still a surprise attack." Snoleva added."Didn't they attack the Mellaren people?"
"No. The enemy completely destroyed Ostara and killed almost all the locals. Some survivors said , Those Danes said something..."
Seeing that the fat man began to speak vaguely, Otto asked: "What exactly were they saying?"
"Those enemies said, because of Ross. The people destroyed a settlement on Gotland, and the Danes had to retaliate, so only a few people of the Ostara tribe survived."
"Oh! What a tragedy. What did he do again? I don’t know about these things.”
It is indeed difficult for Otto to know about things in the south, and this is also the choice of the Russians. The Rus people expressed their intention to break away from the Siya tribal alliance through actions. In this way, the powerful Melalen people no longer need to consider the Ross people, and the alliance between them will be in name only in a sense.
As Snoleva explained, although Otto found it difficult to believe it, he was still willing to trust the fat man's words.
Finally, Snoleva came to a very crucial point.
"The Ostara tribe was destroyed, and the only refugees fled in all directions. The Melalen people refused to take in these poor refugees, and the Hjalmaren people took in some. As for our family. We heard The Russians needed a large number of slaves, so they took in more than a hundred Ostara refugees, because almost all the men died in the battle with the Danish army, and almost all of the survivors were women and children. My father could not bear the pitiful death of these people. It is said that the Russians are kind, and my father brought them here with him.
I am just a businessman, and I boldly suggest to you that you take these people in. ”
“Sure enough. Is there such a thing? Are there many young women among the refugees?" Otto's words made Snoleva somewhat misunderstood.
"There are indeed many women, even..."
Unable to speak, Otto slapped his thigh and said without thinking: "Take them in! Of course you have to take them in! Those women are good to come. Ah! My people long for it.Wife, everyone has to go to the East to find foreign wives. It's good that they came, and I took them in, along with the children. I want all the refugees in Ostara. ”
“Oh! Russian people are really kind. ”
Otto laughed, and his guys also laughed.
After all, refugees are different from hard work. These refugees are all members of the alliance. Now it seems that Mei The Laren people's refusal to incorporate them is a vicious betrayal. The Russians will definitely become bigger and stronger. Otto is keenly aware that the benefits of incorporating refugees are not only to increase their strength, but also to gain reputation and credibility.
To become the leader of the alliance, you must have both force and credibility.
Snoreva has not yet finished his words: "Chief, not all the leaders of the Ostara people died in the battle. Only two children have escaped so far. "
"Are you a survivor? "
"Yes. Not only the survivors, but now the refugees elected their eldest child as leader of Ostara. "
"A little boy? Otto pinched his beard and couldn't help but think about the future: "Let him come over, and I will take them in." That boy will be my son's friend, and I will reward the Ostara people with new life. In the future, the Ostara people must accept the leadership of us Rus. "
Snoreva didn't care about anything else. He specifically corrected Otto's estimate: "Chief, let me explain. There were two girls, one nine and one seven years old. They were very beautiful. "
"Huh? Beautiful little girl? Did they elect the little girl to be the leader? It's amazing. "Otto's mind couldn't react for a moment. It seems that this is the truth.
"Yes, the refugees have no choice. My father also meant to approve the girl's new identity. After all, Ostara needed a reasonable new leader to negotiate with the Rus. Even in submission, there must be a leader who kneels on behalf of the Ostarans. "
" Kneel down? Otto laughed: "What did you just say?" Two very beautiful girls? Oh, they don't have to kneel down, just lie down for me! My only son Rurik is also eight or nine years old. My son will grow into a real man in a few years. He will always be in need of a wife. Haha, I also long to have more grandchildren in my lifetime. ”
“So? Chief, are you even willing to take in those two girls? "
"Did I say that? Otto denied with a smile, then raised his right index finger and pointed to the sky: "God will bear witness, I will take in the Ostara people." But those two girls are the leaders, I can't decide yet until I meet the girls. If they are beautiful, then I admit that I will take them as wives for my sons, and I will adopt them and allow them to live with my family. I can treat them like my own daughters. The premise is that they are very beautiful as you say. "
Snoreva smiled: "Oh, my dear leader, I dare not lie at all. They are really beautifulBright! ”
“Then let’s wait and see! ”