Chapter 326 Then go to the south

The whole day was like a dream.

Gould returned to his island in the evening and immediately leaned against his bear-skin-covered chair.

The eldest son Snoreva saw his father frowning in thought and approached cautiously: "Dad, those things during the day..."

"It's really damn! This business Maybe we shouldn't do it, we are just businessmen."

"Dad, we have..."

"Yes! We can't get off the boat!" Gould said suddenly! Standing up, it was obvious that he finally figured it out: "Olegin, you are an idiot! Otto is busy conquering Novgorod and the land in the east. How can you be compared to someone like you who is hiding in the lake and staying safe? You want Otto to come in person, but he can't come!"

"Dad..." Snoleva saw that his father was furious, and he didn't know what to do for a while.

"Snoleva!"

"Here!"

"Prepare the ship, you go back to Rossburg!"

"Ah! This..."

"You have to convey my words to Rurik. Everything we discussed with Olegin today can only be decided by Rurik. I hope he If you can agree with us, I hope you will bring a lot of silver coins and a lot of empty ships when you come back. Oh, it would be best if you could invite Rurik to come to Melalen."

The previous one. Everything is easy to solve, except the latter. Snoleva choked for a moment: "Dad, he is still a child, maybe..."

"But he is the future leader. You! As long as my words are conveyed, will Rurik come?" See what he means."

"Yes." After that, Snoleva turned and left.

"Oh, wait a minute."

"Dad, are there any orders?"

Gould wiped the sweat from his forehead: "You organize a We need to set up a small fleet to bring back some of the goods we purchased. Listen, in the future we must organize a large number of merchant ships to transport food full-time."

The transport ships will be insufficient, so we are working hard to clear the inventory now. Snoreva realized everything and started to do things in a hurry.

On only the third day, a fleet of five transport ships set sail. Its stocky cabin was piled with a large amount of onions and cabbages (which did not grow well due to the cold climate), as well as half of the cargo ship's storage space filled with flax purchased from Yermalen tribe merchants.

A proud fat man, with more than forty followers, controlled the entire fleet, and started a work that must be completed quickly with an important task.

The sea breeze in August is always changeable, the climate has turned colder, and the northerly wind blows far more frequently than the southerly wind.

Can wheat still ear well in such a climate?

The men of the Gould family are not indiscriminate. The fat Snoleva standing on the bow of the boat did not think that Olegin could use normal means to get what his father needed. of half a million pounds of oats.

However, if that guy can really search out thisWith so much food, Rurik must be the happiest person.

"Fifty thousand pounds of wheat. When the harvest season comes, my family will buy some grain in Onkras. Will there be 600,000 pounds shipped back to Rossburg? Otto will Raise grain from Novgorod and collect taxes in Novorosberg. Will Rosberg be able to stockpile a million pounds of wheat this fall? His round head is filled with a calculating mind, just like his father. He estimated that the population actually directly controlled by the Ross tribe should reach 6,000 people.

Rossburg is not an exclusive settlement of the Ross people. Every winter, about 3,000 residents migrate here like migratory birds.

Almost all foreign merchants came with large amounts of food, and the Russians had no need to supply them with food.

As a result, the total population of all kinds of people who really respect the leader of Rus, including the recently surrendered Kewen people, has exceeded 10,000.

There are probably only 4,000 people living in Roseburg now, and the remaining 3,000 are merchant families.

A group of Russians became pioneers and opened up a new living space in other places. They did not need new food supplies at all.

There are four thousand mouths in Roseburg, including children and old people, as well as a large number of young laborers. If there were one million pounds of wheat, each person would receive an average of 250 pounds.

The real situation cannot be calculated like this. Snoleva really understands that even if there is no large amount of food, the Russians can use their own hands to catch fish from the ocean to feed everyone. Rurik will definitely distribute the food without hesitation, so that the Russians can often have enough to eat and most of the young adults can become strong.

The men of the entire tribe are tall and strong, and the women of the tribe are also full of health and vitality. They also have the ability to smelt the best iron tools, have a large population, and have a strong desire for expansion. There is no reason why such tribes should not be strong.

Thinking about it this way, Snoreva felt that the Melalen people were slowly handing over the hegemony of the alliance to the Russians in the north. For my family, that is really the best thing.

There was no food harvest, and a large number of merchant ships that were supposed to go north were unable to buy food for the winter, so they had no great intention to move forward. Their eyes are always fixed on some large business families represented by Gould. If these people don't take action, why should they take the lead?

Now, the time is approaching September in the Julian calendar, and the weather is getting colder day by day.

For the Russians, the great leader's fleet has not returned, nor has a large number of merchants returned. For a time, many people simply went to the longhouse of the priests to try to get information to determine whether the calendar had reached the correct moment.

As our days passed, the end of August, which was supposed to be lively, turned out to be a quiet scene.

Life must go on. What is going on in the south? Fishing boats go to find out.That’s all.

But as winter is slowly approaching, the fishermen cannot care so much. For the fishermen, who account for a large number of the tribal population, they serve as soldiers in wartime and are fishermen in peaceful days. In order to spend the winter smoothly, they The largest fishing season before winter begins.

The women of the tribe will not be idle, so near the beach, a large number of pottery urns are set up and heated over the fire, just to cook the sea salt and marinate the catch. Some simple wooden houses were scorched by smoke and fire all day long. Hundreds of herrings with their internal organs and fish heads removed were hung on the campfire to bake, and finally turned into relatively hard dried fish full of smoky flavor, which was enhanced with a small amount of salt. Keep fresh.

Even the Brython female slaves in Rurik's house were asked by Niya to process fish and store it.

No matter what, life must go on as usual, and residents of every household are stocking up on food based on fish.

Rurik also asked hundreds of children under his command to carry more than a hundred axes into the nearby woods, cut down small trees and then chop them into firewood. There are a large number of orphans who are actually raised by Rurik with money. Of course, this gift is not completely free. They must work to support themselves when they can. For example, they personally chop the firewood they have stored. It is their fuel for heating and cooking in winter.

The entire tribe is actively preparing supplies for the winter. Seeing the busyness of the tribe, Rurik, who was originally worried about outsiders, felt a little relieved.

Always a small fleet, they lit up their wide linen sails, attracting the attention of fishing boats in the entire sea area.

Is he a businessman returning from the south?

They are indeed members of the Gould family. Anyone with good eyesight can easily make such a judgment as long as they see the fat man standing on the bow of the boat.

The fleet headed straight for the dock of Gould's house. Each of the transport ships rushed against the north wind and rode the wind and waves. Finally, they threw cables to the people on the trestle, and all the ships docked smoothly.

"Sir, you are all back? Where is the master?"

"They are all in the south. Quick! Unload all the goods you put on and load them into the warehouse." Si Noreva immediately gave orders as soon as he got ashore.

"Oh, sir, we will do it immediately, and please go home and have a good rest."

"No need! I want to see the leader immediately."

After saying that, Snoleva went straight to Chief Ross's house without looking back, which made the servants of the Gould family look puzzled. Who would have thought that the eldest son of the family would suddenly return and go straight to the leader's house without even visiting the family brothers who stayed behind. Besides, the big leader Otto is not here. Shouldn't he visit Harold Zosen who was ordered to guard Rossburg?

The hurried Snoreva moved forward quickly, making the two followers have to run to keep up.

When he stood at the door of Rurik's house, he was already out of breath.

He took off his beautiful white fox hat and faced the mercenary standing guard at the door; "Quick! Go tell your master! I...Snow of the Gould familyLeva, I want to see Rurik. I have something important to report. "

The heavy door was opened, and Rurik, who was taking a nap without anything to do, learned of the mercenary's report and subconsciously concluded that something big must have happened in the south.

Liuli in the hall Sitting cross-legged, he asked Carlotta to pour him a cup of chrysanthemum tea filtered with petals.

Snoreva drank it in one gulp, but his heart was still pounding.

"Something big happened in the south? What about Gould? Is he back? "

Snoleva wiped his mouth in a hurry and said anxiously: "Sir, my father has negotiated a business deal with the leader of Melalen. There are some very critical matters that must be decided by you. So I came back. "

"Me? "What a breaking news," "I...I didn't ask your father to negotiate with that leader." "

"But sir, business opportunities always come without warning. Only by seizing the opportunity can you make big money. My father asked me to bring you a message. "

"What did he say? ! "

" He quoted the leader of Melalen as saying that the Melalen people would pay a large price to buy Ross's steel swords, spearheads, and even crossbows. "

"What about the price? ! "

The question that Rurik blurted out without thinking about it immediately made Snoleva understand that his little master had a very strong interest in trade.

"A sword and a sword. pound of silver, half a pound of spearhead. Again for the crossbow, the price the man offered was two pounds. "

"It's actually like this..." Rurik pinched his hairless chin. The price proposed by the other party had exceeded his expectations.

Originally, building a blast furnace The mines in the north have been developed in order to better arm themselves and maximize profits by selling products

Lifestyle consumer goods such as soap and luxury goods such as glassware. , Their market space is probably very small.

How can I make a lot of money with iron weapons!

“I have long planned to bring some excellent iron weapons to the country. There is a lot of money to be made from sales in the South, but it was unexpected that the people from Mälaren showed up uninvited. But Gould will never let you come back in a hurry just because of this incident. "After muttering for a while, Rurik suddenly raised his head, and his attitude became very serious: "Tell me, where is the most important task assigned to you? How did it go? Also, what are the businessmen in the south doing, and why haven't they come back yet? ! Could it be that the people from Melalen were causing trouble? ”

“It’s about food. My father successfully negotiated a deal with that Olegin. Chief Melalen will personally sell us half a million pounds of oats..."

"Wait! What did you say? How many pounds of wheat? ! "Rurik's little head suddenly stretched out and Snoleva jumped, and the three girls including Carlotta who were waiting were also shocked.

"It's five hundred thousand pounds. Just the Melalen tribe, their leader would provide half a million pounds. "

"Ah? so much! Is this possible? Can they really come up with so much food? "

Snoreva shrugged: "I was skeptical. I heard this amount proposed by Olegin with my own ears. "

"What about the price? Rurik asked anxiously.

“Fifty thousand silver coins. "

"Ah! so much? ! Five hundred pounds of silver? ! "

"Sir, that Olegin said that one silver coin buys ten pounds of wheat. This is their price, and they will not make any changes. ”

“That’s ridiculous. Rurik shook his head, "I remember the price during last year's harvest season. One silver coin could buy up to seventeen pounds of wheat." Is that Olegin crazy? How can he be so virtuous? Just because he is the leader? ”

“I’m afraid that’s the case. Olegin also asked the big leader Otto to go to Mälaren. That person should hold an alliance as the leader of the alliance. Maybe the date of the alliance will be next year. ”

For a long time, Rurik has regarded the Siya tribe alliance as nothing. The Russians have been living their own lives, and their interaction with the south lies almost in the spontaneous business contacts of merchants. After all, everyone is in the same alliance. Brother, the alliance leader intends to hold an alliance conference. As the northernmost Russian in the alliance, it is indeed our obligation to participate.

"A alliance? Do all tribes need to participate? "Rurik asked knowingly.

"Of course, the leaders of all tribes must participate. ”

“What if you don’t participate? "Rurik asked deliberately with provocative words.

"Who knows? Snoleva shrugged: "But for the sake of our future business, we should participate." Also, Carlotta of Ostara should also participate in the alliance as a leader.

”

Snoleva’s words were in Carlotta’s heart. A year ago, she wandered in the Mälaren Market and almost died there. Because of this After this experience, she only received indifference in Melalen, but what she received in Fort Ross was a new life. The remaining Ostara people settled down and the tribe began to reproduce again.

"Yes! We must take part, Rurik, we Ostarians will always be on the side of the Rus'. "

Rurik glanced at Carlotta's determined eyes and nodded: "You are the leader of Ostara, and I am not the big leader yet. I think my father will participate, but he still needs to decide on this matter. "

Snoreva immediately took over the words after hearing this: "Sir, the big leader is not in Rossburg. Regarding the matter of buying grain, Olegin is waiting for the reply from the Ross leader. The decision must be made by you. "

"Me? I'm not the big leader yet, maybe Harold Johnson should be the one..."

"No! My father said, if the chief is not here, the matter must be decided by you. Because, besides Otto, you are the real leader. ”

Rurik felt happy when he heard that. Let’s talk about buying food.In the end, I organized and took responsibility myself. Regardless of whether or not there was the incident of "Chief Melalen personally going down to sell grain", this year Gould would return with a large amount of grain as usual.

"Alas... the price proposed by Olegin is too high. What did he think?"

"Sir, the food situation in the south is not good. This year it is too high." It’s cold. Grain prices must have really risen during the harvest season. We can’t even guarantee that one silver coin can buy ten pounds.” For a moment, Rurik thought of the fact that the weather this year is very cold. . "By the way, you just said that a lot of wheat doesn't even have heading?"

"Yes, sir, many fertile fields are about to fail. I think we need to seize this opportunity."

Realizing that there was a very serious situation in the calm, Rurik thought for a moment, what exactly does Olegin want to do? You must sell a huge amount of grain in exchange for a huge sum of money during the years when the harvest is actively short, and you must use the huge sum of money to buy excellent quality Russian ironware.

That guy wants to expand his army!

Army expansion? Will it be detrimental to the Russians? No! I'm afraid that guy was deliberately wary of the aggressive Danes and Gotlanders.

Rurik slapped his thigh and stood up: "I'm sure about this deal! We must complete it. By the way, what else did your father say?"

"He... ...He invites you to go directly to Mälaren. Maybe you can negotiate with Olegin personally, which will be very positive for our future trade."

"Okay! ."