A long boat with no special characteristics left Gould Island and headed towards the beach of the Malaren Market.
Behind them are the tall wooden walls of Gould Island, the flat and busy piers on the shore, and a large number of ships passing by.
Gould was indeed sending his ships to the Melalen market in accordance with the agreement with Rurik, and even organized a small fleet to rush directly to the territory of the Hälmalen people in the south of the lake. , buy local agricultural products and bring them all back to Gould Island, where they are piled in warehouses tightly wrapped within the walls.
What Rurik didn’t actually know was that shortly after the boat carrying him to the market left, a small boat carrying a distinguished guest also landed on Gould Island.
This person is none other than Fordgen, a businessman who is good at cutting all kinds of tanned leather into clothes.
For a businessman like Gould, he is essentially a second-rate dealer who is good at speculation. As for Fordegen, he is now an industrial capitalist. He just hires a group of people who know how to tailor. Women made leather jackets in large quantities and sold them for profit.
Because of this, due to the cold weather this year, Vodgen learned about the strong appeal of ordinary people in Mellaren for new clothes. He saw his superiors, but he suffered from the lack of a very stable leather supplier.
A whole year! Fordegen first listened to Gould's invitation and advice, and then lived in Roseburg himself throughout the winter. Now he has completely figured it out - follow Gould and move the entire family business and all the servants to Roseburg. , it should be a good way to make big money stably.
Fordgen came empty-handed, and he just wanted to tell Gould that he had a plan to move.
To his shock, Gould showed several large and majestic polar bear skins, also telling this old friend good news.
"My friend, if you come early in the morning, you can meet Lord Rurik."
"Ah! Rurik, has he come to Mälaren?" Where is he?"
"He went to the market." Gould pointed in the direction of the north and looked into Fu Degen's eyes. "I hope he can buy some good things at the market. "
Rurik and Carlotta, in order to avoid publicity, put on simple linen clothes, and both wore a drab linen burqa. However, what was hidden under the robe was a short sword for self-defense.
Rurik is like his cousin who dresses very low-key.
Although they were of noble status and possessed huge wealth, the important people sitting on the boat followed Gould's advice and all dressed up as ordinary travelers. Only swords and money were hidden under their robes. bag.
Rurik sat near the bow of the ship. He sat sideways and let the cool autumn wind blow on his face.
Behind him were more than a dozen oarsmen, and Arik also acted as an oarsman.
It takes a long voyage to get to the market from Gould Island.There was nothing wrong. Arik looked at his younger brother who was only focusing on the lakes and mountains, and couldn't help asking: "Hey! Rurik, have you thought of buying anything?"
"What?" Rurik asked sideways Face it.
"I'm asking you, what do you want to buy? I'm hanging two pounds of silver coins for you now. Do you plan to spend them all?"
"Maybe." Rurik shrugged helplessly. If he hadn't been strong enough, he would have kept the heavy money all by himself.
“What on earth do you want to buy?!”
“Who knows? Well, go and have a look, I will buy it if I see something I like.”
< p>Arik felt a little embarrassed, so he deliberately teased: "I heard that people in Merlaren drink a lot of wine. That guy Gould told me that there is a place called Colongo in the market, where you can drink Merlar. Wine made by the people of Lun."Cologne? A place name?
Rurik thought for a while, it refers to a tavern.
A tavern? If it does exist, Rurik would not be surprised at all. The so-called supply comes when there is demand, or the two complement each other. Since the Lake Malaren region produces wheat, it is normal for it to be used for making wine. Besides, the ale that merchants from all over the world have shipped to Roseburg over the years is almost always from the Lake Mälaren region.
Seeing that his brother was very interested, Arik simply encouraged him and said: "My dear, if a man can't drink, he is a coward. Gould said that Colongo is a lively place and I want to visit it. , go and taste the wine of the Malaren people. What do you think?"
"This..."
"I have made up my mind? You must go and take a look.”
What else can Rurik do about this? While reluctantly agreeing, he also made an agreement with his cousin.
"You can go to Cologne. You are responsible for drinking, and I will be responsible for watching. I want to see what the people of Mälaren are up to."
What a tavern should be like of? The interior decoration is elegant and dignified, the bartender is neatly dressed and polite, and he is skilled in the bartending business. The drinkers are also elegant people with status, sitting at the bar, sipping cocktails and chatting and laughing?
Forget it.
Rurik can still remember some of the experiences of going to a more elegant tavern, but those are already dreams that exist in another world.
Elegant bars are also aimed at elegant drinkers, or bar owners must decorate their pubs gorgeously to create a high-end feel in order to attract people with high spending power. Gold is like earth.
But a ninth-century bar?
Rurik had another scene in his mind.
There are a number of cracked wooden tables placed in the dark wooden house. The drinkers in the room are all guys in rags, walking unsteadily, and talking extremely vulgarly. They are not here to drink, I am afraid there is more to alcoholism. It was a place full of violence, and the slightly drunk people only looked at each other.Yes, the anger is aroused instantly, because there is no mechanism to stop the fighting, and the tavern is often a den of evil.
Did the Vikings also have taverns? For example, the residents of Roseburg generally drank alcohol, and there were no businessmen who specialized in selling wine for profit. Even Gould, the wealthiest man, had never imagined building a tavern for so many years. The core purpose of Rurik's liquor was to make money. Due to practical reasons, he did not plan to open a tavern under his control to make greater profits, because this matter did not exist in Roseburg.
The ships are getting closer to their destination, and there are more fishing boats. The huge shantytown not far away is undoubtedly the core of the Malaren people, Fort Meralen.
The Melalen tribe did not design a special dock, and the ships that came and went used long boats to directly hit the beach. After all, the boats owned by ordinary boat owners are all light boats. They can easily wash up on the beach and be easily pulled to the shore by the boat owner's reins. Even pushing it back into the lake is effortless.
The Malaren people certainly have the ability to build large cargo ships. Professional craftsmen have never been against building large ships. However, orders for large ships can only come from a few wealthy businessmen, including the richest leader Olegin. . Building big boats makes a lot of money, but the craftsmen's daily job is still to build light and cheap fishing boats, and even do ship repairs.
The gentle lakeshore was just ahead. In order to welcome the destined beaching and to avoid being shaken off the boat by the strong vibration, Rurik simply stood up. Like Carlotta, he grabbed a cable and He watched as the oak keel at the lower end of the bow was cut into the mud on the lakeside.
After a violent vibration, the boat washed up safely on the beach. Rurik breathed a long sigh of relief. He hugged his robe with his left hand and supported the side of the boat with his right hand. He jumped off the camp and jumped off his feet for the first time. Set foot in the territory of the Malaren people.
Ryurik landed at the same time as twelve other strong men carrying elite weapons.
Arik and Yevro naturally dressed in a low-key manner, as did the ten mercenaries behind them. If there is anything funny, it is these mercenaries who landed. When they set foot on the Melalen Market, they are completely returning to their hometown.
Yes, almost all the mercenaries recruited by Gould are natives of Melalen.
To be fair, no one knows Mälaren better than them. For example, when the owner proposed to go to the place in Cologne to find out, someone boldly pointed out: "That place is where the leader sells wine." He is selling some wine himself and making some profits from it to expand his strength.”
Regarding these matters, Rurik, who was still on the ship, listened to the mercenaries’ knowledge and had already learned about it. I know a thing or two about taverns.
"Okay. We have landed, where to go next. Colongo?" Rurik patted himself and asked his cousin.
"Just go to that place. Yevlo!" Arik shouted casually.
"BigMan, what are your orders? ”
“You know the place very well and you serve as a guide. Now take me to that place where I can drink. ”
“Okay. There are only a few things that I hope adults can understand. ”
Aric looked impatient: “What else is there?” Drinking is a problem? We brought money. ”
“Sir, we must keep a low profile. Krongo is a chaotic place, maybe..." Jevlo looked at Rurik and Carlotta, "Maybe children shouldn't go there, not because they can't drink, there are too many rough people in that place. My lord, you are the bravest warrior I have ever seen. I am afraid that if you are angered by some drunk people, you will draw your sword and kill them. That's where the leader of Melalen sells wine, and I'm afraid we'll get into trouble if we go there. ”
Although Jevro is a Finn, after all, he is a comrade who has fought side by side for two months. Arik is very satisfied with the flattering rhetoric of these comrades. However, he obviously does not take the warnings of his comrades in mind.
"What are the people of Malaren?" They dare not attack the Danes and Gotlanders, but we have been winning. ”
“Hey! grown ups! "Jevro growled solemnly, and his eyes immediately glanced at the various outsiders at the landing site.
Arik's eyes quickly noticed some malicious looks. It seemed that those holding long The wooden poles and the people carrying the fishing nets are the locals of Mälaren.
Aric felt that he was a little arrogant. When he closed his mouth, Rurik also breathed a sigh of relief. < /p>
My cousin is like this, because he has made a series of military exploits on the battlefield at a young age, so it is not surprising that his whole mentality is wandering.
Yevluo’s suggestion is to stay. Ke attaches great importance to it. After all, he is not in a world of romantic fantasy stories. He is just a flesh and blood body. He has no magic power in his hands and uses his strange power to confuse the gods. What happened today is that he is an ordinary traveling businessman. To enter the territory of the Melalen people is to pretend to be the "successor of the leader of Ross". No drunk person would believe it!
< p>"Then come with us! adults. We are most familiar with the Malaren Market. I will ensure your safety. I also hope that you will not take the initiative to cause any trouble. ”Rurik felt that Yevro’s advice was so right! He followed closely behind his mercenary captain. At this moment, his cousin Arik was not only unreliable, but he might also It can become a factor of instability.
Take a good look at the Melalen Market. In other words, the place where everyone is now is just the "fishing village area" of the tribe near the lake. It is not a market. The core of the city.
There are a large number of adobe houses, the roofs of which are piled with yellow reeds, and some wooden sheds are also mixed in.
The numerous scenes make Rurik. It creates an illusion of Roseburg in the past. The large number of buildings has a strong sense of déjà vu, but the current Roseburg is due to the large number of Novgorods.The marriage of Rhodes women and the collision and integration of the two cultures are positively reflected in the architectural style. The traditional Viking-style residences in Rosberg began to turn to the more comfortable wooden roofs of Novgorod, and a large number of steam saunas began to be built, which are exactly the style of the residents of the "Eastern Land" such as the Finns and the Kovins. .
Malarenberg is still the same as before, and seeing a large number of passers-by wearing simple clothes, these people are really familiar and strange to Rurik.
Some boys with dirty faces running past in groups laughing and joking made Rurik look sideways. Didn't their innocent looks mean that their lives were actually very rich?
However, there is always some sense of dissonance.
Rurik's eyes couldn't help but glance at Carlotta, who was walking quietly beside him. She slightly tilted her head. Because of the cover of her burqa, no one knew that she was actually a girl.
Rurik looked at the adobe houses on both sides of the winding dirt road and the people coming and going. He weakly asked Yevlo: "I saw many people carrying fish. , and there are people holding lambs. Look, there are children running by. Are the people of Melalen really rich? ”
Jevro didn’t want to answer: “Of course they are rich, I am. I have never heard of anyone from Melalen being hungry. It’s your mercenaries. They simply don’t have the right to inherit the family business and don’t want to be farmers who open up new farmland all their lives, so they have no choice but to be your soldiers.”
The mercenaries all became happy when they heard the ridicule from their comrades, because what Jevro said was the truth.
"They are not hungry? Impossible, right? I heard that Carlotta fled here last year and almost starved to death here."
Rurik didn't realize it at first. He said the wrong thing until Carlotta suddenly grabbed his arm. In this way, the girl vented her inner pain.
Rurik was shocked and stopped talking.
Jevro, who was walking in front, turned his back and shook his head helplessly: "Sir, wealth is only for the Melalen people. Who will help the foreigners who are fleeing? Unless they are given to others. The people of Melalen are slaves.”
“Ah! Isn’t that Olegin… obviously the leader of the alliance?”
"Forget it." Jevro suddenly stopped and turned around: "My dear, no one is more kind than you, but this kindness may not be a good thing for you. Maybe you can only thank God for the favor he has given you, You can earn a lot of silver coins to use your kindness luxuriously, I think you know what I mean."
Rurik was stunned for a moment and nodded silently.
He finally understood what Yevro meant, and couldn't help but admire his mercenary captain. After all, he had been hanging around with Gould for so many years, and even though he was a fool, he should know a lot about business with a shrewd person.
Rurik believed that Olegin was undoubtedly the one who rescued those allies who were in trouble. It would be good if he didn't add insult to injury. There were no welfare institutions in this era. It sounds ancientAccording to De's explanation, Rurik had to face the reality that the so-called Siiya Tribal Alliance was indeed just a tribal alliance. The leaders of each tribe gathered together and elected the strongest as the leader. For ordinary people from allied tribes, the alliance leader probably only needs to restrain the tribesmen in an alliance from attacking each other for their own selfish interests.
For the castaways, they may find a chance to survive by escaping to Mälaren. But for the people of Melalen, these guys are competitors who come to snatch the living space. They never want to cultivate land and grow wheat on the territory of the Malaren people, never want to cut down wood and burn charcoal to sell for money, let alone compete with the Malaren fishermen for the lake's fishing resources.
The best option for these distressed people is to become servants to the Melalen people.