As for Rurik, he planned that today he must promote the fact that Olegin recognized the identity of the leader of Carlotta.
He had an idea and decided to take out the polar bear skin that he had used to apologize. Since the other party is no longer too lazy to pursue the misunderstanding a few days ago, the gift still has to be given, and the bearskin has taken on a new role.
Rurik deliberately said: "Carlotta of Ostara has specially prepared a gift for you in order to wait for the approval of the alliance leader."
"A gift? I know. You brought a gift. What is it?" Olegin asked eagerly.
"It's a bear skin, a white bear skin, and a bear head that can be made into a helmet."
"White bear skin? Such a precious gift?" Olegin was frightened. After all, in the Lake Malaren area, this is no longer the living area of polar bears, and it has become difficult to obtain white bear leather.
Seeing that the other party was very interested in bearskin, Rurik's mind was spinning quickly. He thought about his words and said: "As long as you can admit her identity, then the people of Ostara will I am very grateful for what you have done, and they will give you more gifts, although they are very weak now."
"It doesn't matter." Olegin waved his hand to signal Rurik to be quiet, and he stared. Carlotta lowered her head and ordered: "Girl of Ostara, raise your head."
Carlotta raised her head weakly.
"Take off your hat."
The girl hesitated and did so.
After all, she received excellent treatment in Roseburg. Her diet was always very good, and she spent time doing physical fitness and archery training on sunny days. Her clean and plump face showed her health. . Carlotta is not the kind of girl with character beauty, but the noble temperament brought by this health is another kind of charm.
Olegin pinched his beard and praised him. He turned his head slightly and said to his son: "Karl, my eldest grandson is already twelve years old. His coming-of-age ceremony is over. Now, it's just a matter of time." Choose a wife for him. What do you think of this girl?"
Ryurik, Arik, and especially the person involved were shocked when he said this.
Just before Rurik was about to explain another fact, Karl spoke first.
Karl slapped Carlotta hard, grinning and shaking his head.
"What? You don't like her?"
"Why should I like her?" Karl retorted, "No matter how beautiful she is, I can't let my eldest son marry someone with an identity An unknown woman."
"But she is clearly a noble from Ostara, Amber has proved it."
"Forget it." Karl held his head in his hands. , looking absent-minded.
Olegin gritted his teeth and immediately turned his head to look at Carlotta, simply ignoring his son's opinion. He said in a tough tone: "Listen! Girl! I can admit the fact that you are the leader of Ostara, but you must agree to me on one condition."
"What conditions? "
"You must marry my eldest grandson. In this way, your tribe will never be in danger again under the protection of us Melalen people. "
It was still this damn condition. Carlotta panicked in the atmosphere. She was trembling all over and simply forgot to decisively refuse such an order. Just because she already had her heart.< /p>
She turned to look at Rurik next to her while trembling, hoping to get help from her real fiancé.
As expected, when faced with such a principled issue, Rurik ignored him. What kind of alliance leader is not the leader? Even the most rational person has to give up the fight with the guy who offends him, right?
Ryurik stood up suddenly and said solemnly: "Dear leader? , this is the only condition we refuse to agree to. "
"You? Are you rejecting me on her behalf? "Olegin was surprised and angry. For a moment, he almost forgot that he was offended many days ago, but now he remembered it again.
Rurik said without changing his expression: "Yes! I can represent her on this matter. "
"Child, you'd better sit down. This is my order! If she can't accept it, why should I admit that the Ostarans still exist? Or do you think my eldest grandson is not worthy of this girl? Rurik, don’t take you Russians too seriously. ”
Encountering his ridicule and threats, Rurik saw from the corner of his eyes that his cousin was about to explode again. Fortunately, after he experienced some growth, his naive thoughts faded a lot, and now he also He is considered a rational old man.
Rurik is so angry that he wants to reject the leader directly.
He is not simply brave, but what supports his bravery. The strong hard power of the Ross tribe represented.
“I just want to refuse! If this is the cost of acknowledging her identity, then we no longer need your acknowledgment. "
"You...you have no right to represent her. "
Rurik choked back: "Then, you have no right to ask for her marriage. If you don't take back the so-called conditions, our discussion today will end here! You can ban us Russians from doing business with you if you think it's worth it. ”
For a moment, Olegin’s mind fell into deep confusion. He was obviously talking about the issue of recognition of the Ostara tribe, so why did the Russians, who were supposed to be the third party, turn out to be the main guests?< /p>
Olegin calmed down and asked: "Tell me, what is the relationship between you and her? ! "
Rurik simply took a step forward: "Because she is my fiancée. "
"Huh? Just you? ! "Olegin burst into laughter, and he waved his hand: "You'd better sit down, you are only a nine-year-old child, and adult matters are still far away from you. "
"No. I will be twelve years old in three years, and I will be an adult then. I also want to tell you that whether I object to it or not, Carlotta is going to object to it. Because at the altar of our Russians, she and I have already confirmed our engagement. "
"It doesn't matter. Then break off the engagement. My authority can do this."
Olegin's somewhat perfunctory attitude could not help but make Rurik suspect that this guy was. To entertain myself, in short, the next leader of the Ross tribe was deeply ignored by the alliance leader. This kind of neglect, which is almost contemptuous, is really uncomfortable!
Rurik simply made his final statement: "I have a marriage contract with her, which is approved by my father, and now Carlotta is my father's adopted daughter, all Ostara people They are all supported and protected by us Ross people. In three years, I will be her husband. If you forcefully deny this engagement, then we really don’t want to talk about it anymore. There will be no more Ross merchants in Lake Malaren. . All Melalen people who enter Rossburg for business will also be expelled. I am afraid that my father cannot tolerate your humiliation of his adopted daughter and only son... As for whether we will recognize you as the leader in the future, who knows?" >
"Then get out! If you want to fight, let's fight! Do you really think you Russians are strong men?" Olegin couldn't help but speak first, and his eldest son Karl took the lead in speaking.
These words, which were almost a declaration of war, directly angered Arik. He pulled out his meat-cutting knife, pointed the tip of the knife directly at Karl and threatened: "Stupid guy, you are playing with fire! I'll chop it up." The heads of six hundred Gotlanders are as good as yours!"
As long as a warrior kills an enemy, his attitude towards others will be completely different. What's more, Arik really led the Ross army, and together they killed more than 600 armed opponents.
Karl, he was shamefully shocked by Arik, who was twelve years younger than him.
Finally Olegin couldn't bear it anymore. He shouted loudly, raised his foot suddenly, kicked the sitting Karl over, and continued to roar: "Shut up! The Melalen and the Ross people are Brother! It’s an alliance! How do you get the support of others who destroy the alliance?”
After venting, Olekin realized that the eldest son The crow's mouth really caused a huge disaster. He even wanted to find a place where no one was around, and slap himself hard with his calloused hands. If he had known that his wishful thinking had led to such a situation that the alliance was almost broken, he would have been so full that he asked his eldest grandson for Carlotta. marriage.
It seems that only Rurik is a rational person, and his anger will only explode when he is forced to do something. As for his brother Arik, he is probably a hot-tempered guy just like his Karl.
Olegin put on a soothing expression in desperation, "Rurik, please don't be angry. Okay, I take back my decision. I really didn't know you still had such a relationship, I Now I ask you, has your father... officially recognized her identity as the leader of Ostara?"
Realizing the other party's compromise, Rurik breathed a sigh of relief and his attitude changed. Relented: "Exactly. At least we Russians recognize her identity."
"Okay then! Give me the gift and I will accept it., just admit her identity. ”
After a moment, the people who were waiting for the good news outside handed over the gifts under their control. Two of Olegin’s private soldiers walked into the meeting hall holding heavy wooden boxes. Then he hurriedly left.
The wooden box was opened, and Arik suddenly picked up one of the bear heads and threw it directly to the leader with anger that could not be dissipated. The moment Olegin pressed the bear's head, he was not only startled, but also couldn't help but think about how the Russians killed such a terrifying beast.
The other bear head, Arik, was Mao. With enough force, he threw it at Karl. As a result, the bear's upper fangs accidentally scratched a bloody mark on Karl's arm.
Karl instantly looked at himself with a murderous look. The bruised right arm was finally attracted to the bear's head.
Anyone who is good at fighting hopes to become more powerful.
Karl's consciousness is not taught by anyone. At this point, the bear's head has been processed, for example, the bear's skull has completely turned into a helmet! Carl put the bear's head on his head and looked at his father with a solid look.
"Yes, a bear warrior. ”
Olegin praised, then turned his head, and saw the tall Arik holding up a whole heavy bear skin with both hands, and the leather was reflecting the light yellow light under the flames. Polar bear skin is like this. Its fur itself is colorless, and the color of the leather is the same regardless of the light source.
The huge and neat bear skin attracted Olegin. He stood up and approached Arik. Subconsciously stroking the soft and thick leather, I couldn't help but laugh.
The leather was folded again and the bear's head was put down.
I received an extremely precious gift. Legin's mood improved a lot.
He looked at Carlotta whose tears had not been wiped away and said solemnly: "Carlotta of Ostara! As the leader of the alliance, on behalf of the entire Melalen tribe, I recognize that your Ostara tribe still recognizes you as the leader of the tribe, even if you are a woman. "
This is the outcome Carlotta hopes for the most. Although she was once humiliated, she now kneels on one knee and repeats the words taught by Gould: "Dear leader, I thank you. admit. In the future, we Mellaren people will always recognize your status as the leader of the alliance. You must accept my call to attend next year's Alliance-wide Chiefs' Council. "
"Follow your orders! "
"Haha! Sit down. Originally, the important thing today was never to admit that you were the leader of the alliance. ”
Olegin has long wanted to end this episode, and he is too lazy to stick to the matter of “recognizing women as leaders.” Face, dignity, or tradition, Olegin just wants to be pragmatic now .
Due to his unwise move just now, he intends to get down to business immediately and formally implement the trade agreement between Melalen and the Russians. Because he has really offended the Russians, Olegin. You have to make a plan. The so-called progress in tradeMake some compromises in exchange for further support from the Russians.
He really worried about maintaining the stability of a huge tribe and maintaining the rule of his family.
Especially during this critical period, the Melalen people cannot afford the horrific losses caused by losing their allies in Ross.
The topic returned to bear skins, and based on this, Olegin officially discussed trade matters with the Russians.
In order to get closer and to know more about the Russians, Olegin deliberately said: "I know very little about you Russians. I only know that you have been trying to travel far away for a long time. To the east, to find furs in a new world, and to do business with the locals and collect some tributes. Rurik, is there anything like this?”
Liuli’s voyage to Sorgon? Because he understood the counts engraved on the wooden boards, he learned that his tribe had been searching for Novgorod people continuously for forty years. The allied tribes probably don't know the details of the tribute, but they definitely know the facts about the tribute.
Rurik is not worried at all that they will try to get a share of the pie now. After all, times have changed. Any fleets from other tribes that intend to participate in the search operation must first enter the Neva River. Finally arrived in Novgorod. The mouth of the Neva River is New Roseburg! She is a river mouth fortress in a realistic sense, a geographical pass. If they want a piece of the pie, the Russians will not agree.
Of course, if they explore another waterway, the last people they search will be the Baltic tribes along the coast, such as the Lietas (Latvians), the ancient Prussians, and even the Estonians, a branch of the Finns. If they had explored deeper, they might have plundered the Slavs in Pskov.
After thinking for a moment, Rurik gave a clear answer: "Yes, we have been asking for tribute from those people."
"Oh? Could it be these bear skins? Yes..."
Rurik directly denied it. In order to highlight the difficulty and risk of bear hunting, he deliberately said: "Our ancestors of the Rus migrated to the north just to get better furs. Better leather, we are almost looking for the end of the human world. Finally, in the extreme north, we hunted the bear in the cold. Great leader, the bear skin you are holding is behind it. Human blood and tears! Some warriors died in battle, and some were frozen into ice. "Ah! How could such a thing happen?" , looking at the soft and thick leather in his hand, Olegin felt uneasy.