When Otto returned to his hometown of Roseburg, just from the surface, his hometown already had a completely new look.
After returning, he summoned many people and went to the longhouse of the priests to see the aging high priest.
As for the ten Balmok travelers who his son claimed were from the other side of the mountains, Otto only accepted their warrior salutes as a king for the time being and promised to have a good chat with them in a few days. chat.
The soothing gravel beach now has a number of wooden trestles.
In the old days of Fort Ross, a large number of ships were pulled directly to the gravel beach, and some were even pulled directly to large wooden sheds, where shipbuilders and carpenters would repair them in the winter. In winter, few boat owners would allow their boats to be frozen on the shore by sea ice and wind.
Times have quietly changed!
Look at those trestles, they are owned by the Gould family and are the real docks of the Ross tribe.
Both sides of the trestle are docked with large and honest cargo ships.
They were so heavy that it seemed impossible and unnecessary to push them to the coast. Their sturdy bodies have been completely submerged in the sea, and they can withstand the pressure of sea ice.
Compared to the past, the total number of ships in Fort Ross was unprecedentedly large, and a gray-white forest seemed to grow on the coast. They were all tall masts and furled sails attached to them.
After all, it is already October, and everyone wants to believe that even though the sun is still shining brightly now, the first snow will come suddenly.
The tribe has migrated to the fjord of Roseburg for more than half a century. The locals know the climate and hydrology here very well.
After the first snow, the whole world will change. Even if the sea does not freeze instantly and the land is likely to be covered in knee-deep snow, the way of life of the Russian people will also undergo a complete change.
A bright and cold beginning, Otto woke up from his comfortable bed. He gently pushed away his aging wife who was sleeping beside him, and undoubtedly disturbed the children sleeping in the other two rooms. The only son Rurik experienced a thrilling and meaningful summer. A child is showing his father what it means to be a born strong man!
He stood in the empty hall, filled a few pieces of charcoal into the fireplace, opened the thick wooden door, and felt a fragrant coldness blowing into his face.
It’s the Britten maids who are already cooking the morning porridge as usual.
After a while, the whole family woke up.
The wooden table set up against the wooden wall was put down, and the tiny family that once had only three members has now become quite large.
Rurik is surrounded by four girls of the same age as Rumia, Carlotta, Ella, and Saipolava. They are destined to be Rurik’s women. Naturally, he is also a part of the chief family.
A large wooden bowl was filled with boiled wheat, which was salted to make it more suitable for Otto.
Soon, a pottery urn was carried to the table by two maids., which contains a simmering mess of things like yellow root carrots, cabbage and onions.
Now that he has returned to his hometown, a bottle of strong wine has become a standard part of the leader's meal.
Is this breakfast? Not just. People in Ross often eat breakfast and lunch together. Otto was delighted to eat this hearty meal full of grains, but he also wanted to formally inspect the current situation in Rossburg.
After drinking half a bottle of wine and eating half a bowl of wheat, Otto was really excited.
"Rurik, you did a good job."
"Huh?" Rurik, who was looking at the wheat grains with chopsticks, raised his head, and the other girls also lowered their hands. chopsticks inside.
As for tableware, Otto never thought that his son or even the men he trained were trying their best to replace the functions of spoons with two wooden sticks. Are children’s little hands very flexible? Looking at his rough hands, he definitely can't do anything delicate, such as manipulating two small wooden sticks. Of course, he is very good at controlling two big wooden sticks, and that is the paddle!
Otto did not hesitate to regard "chopsticks" as a kind of alienated oar. Being able to manipulate it dexterously showed that his son had not forgotten his roots, and those children from various tribes also really I am actively working as a Russian.
Otto was pleased to see it, so he would like to say a few more words here.
“I asked around and found out that the Gould family’s warehouse is indeed full of wheat. There are also several large wooden sheds that have been built on the seaside, as well as slides that have been pieced together from pine wood. I know those The shipbuilders have settled in our homeland. Many talents have joined us. This is all a good thing you have done."
Rurik was a little complacent in his praise. He said modestly: "Dad, you. I haven't gone to the Oulu River in the east to collect taxes from the Covin people. I should also go to the north and collect the tributes from the locals."
"Soon. , I will organize the fleet to complete the final tribute of this year, so you don’t have to worry about it. I was just thinking, are you serious? The word has spread that you will deliberately sell a batch of grain starting from tomorrow?" /p>
"Gould and I have a long-standing agreement." Rurik said with a serious face, "You complained that I spent too much money, which caused our family's silver coins to shrink drastically. I will sell a sum of food, my tribe The batch of silver coins in our hands will come back to us. Dad, you know my attitude. Those silver coins are just silver coins. It is not the silver coins that can warm people's hearts in the cold winter, but the food bought with silver coins. Look, for our tribe, you and I never have to worry about silver coins. In the past, when our tribe was short of silver coins and copper coins, life was still good."
Liuli? Ke talked enthusiastically, how could Otto, who was slightly drunk, understand what he said? Besides, Rurik’s words were really profound.
"In my opinion, silver coins, copper coins and gold coins are not that important. We do need them, but we cannot rely on them. In my opinion, they are the most important materials to maintain the stability of our tribe., there are two types, food and clothing. The most important thing is food! As leaders, we must reserve a large amount of grain and dried meat, just like the immigrants from New Rossburg in the east did..."
What Rurik wants to describe is the Ross tribe under his rule, The core of economic operation is the grain standard.
Grain refers to various kinds of food that are durable and have certain monetary functions.
Now, The warehouse that can store 800,000 pounds of grain is really only owned by the Gould family. Is it risky to store all the grain there?
Gould himself is like a secondary wolf showing his soft belly to the alpha wolf to show his loyalty. This old guy who claims to have less than ten years of life is frantically giving birth to his own heirs in order to survive under the new leader Ross. A noble status, and even a brighter future.
Big businessmen like Gould have the motivation to build larger warehouses in order to hoard such huge amounts of supplies.
The Ross tribe is essentially a prosperous economy. In the final analysis, everyone is fighting for food. Unfortunately, the medium of trade in this world is gold and silver that will not decay. If trade is only within the tribe, gold will be the only one. Is the monetary system composed of silver and copper still so indestructible?
The entire tribe has not discovered that the Ross people’s commercial transactions have relied heavily on silver coins in recent years. Since visiting the Melalen tribe, they have heard about other deficiencies. , Rurik feels that the current situation in Rossburg is extremely abnormal.
The reason for the abnormality is that even now, a large number of Ross families still have a large amount of silver coins. After all, the victory of the robbery a year ago. In daily trade, the amount of silver coins circulating in the Ross tribe is approaching the terrifying 200,000 pieces!
The specific manifestation of this is that the Ross people suddenly become rich! , and labor costs for shipbuilding, charcoal making, pottery making, etc. have increased significantly. Even though they have to pay taxes when doing business in Rossburg, a large number of southern businessmen still come, vowing to make a lot of money from the Ross people.
Businessmen can indeed make a lot of money, but they are also fond of the extremely high-quality iron products that the Russians have begun to manufacture in large quantities, including the steel swords they order.
What are the consequences of this?
A large number of silver coins are still circulating in the small world of Roseburg, but the economy based on silver is extremely fragile, and it is not possible to obtain it. There are almost only two methods, trade and war. Both methods contain great uncertainty. Rurik's understanding of history is that a country that relies heavily on silver capital will encounter an abnormality in the supply of silver or it will be destroyed. If it is replaced by another monetary medium, it will inevitably encounter a serious social crisis.
Although the signs of the crisis do not exist in Rossburg, Rurik has to think carefully about his future. It may be said that it is unfounded. , a plan B must be established.
Since the selling price of wheat is fixed at ten pounds of oats for one silver coin, then oats must have certain monetary attributes.
If there is a silver shortage, the Russians will have to organize a large army to go south to rob the Gotlanders who like to bury silver. How much they can grab depends on luck.
This is not the case with food. It is much easier to obtain than silver coins.
The dining table is no longer quiet, as Rurik expresses the importance of his "food standard" eloquently.
Although he didn’t understand, why didn’t Otto feel his son’s great wisdom?
After the meal was finished, Otto put on his majestic clothes, followed by a group of entourage, and even Rurik himself, to inspect the entire Roseburg as a monarch.
He first came to the dock area. More than twenty cargo ships of very similar styles docked neatly and quietly. The scene was shocking.
Beside some other trestles, there are a large number of long boats arranged horizontally. The bows without any sculptures extend from their keels, and a very thick hemp rope secures them.
How many ships are parked here? Otto didn't need to be told. He personally reached out and counted them, and came to an astonishing conclusion - more than a hundred ships.
"Huh? Do these boats all belong to you?" A shocked Otto hurriedly asked Gould, the dock owner who was eager to say something.
"Not all. The big leader, together with Rurik's twenty ships, are also parked here. You see, those ships have hull numbers. There are also some clansmen's ships, they paid A little money, stop here."
Another surprising news.
Otto stroked his son's little head: "Your ship? You sent people to build twenty ships in one summer?!"
"It was the Gotland that Arik plundered. A human ship." Rurik answered truthfully. "But I recruited the best local shipbuilders in Mälaren. Dad, what do you think those buildings built on the beach are for?"
Quite sensitive Otto stamped his foot: "Shipbuilding?"
"Yes! There is an old man named Hotla. Dad, look at these cargo ships. Almost all of them are made by this old man's family."
The stocky cargo ship does give people a sense of security. The large mast soaring into the sky makes the entire ship completely overwhelm the long ship. Seeing it so close, Otto has to admire its majesty. What Otto saw was the largest cargo ship owned by Gould, and it was also the largest ship in Roseburg.
Gould seized the opportunity to boast about himself, but unexpectedly Rurik's bold words came again: "Dad! What are these ships? I have made an agreement with that Hotla, and his family will use Build us larger cargo ships throughout the winter. This way, when you go to Novgorod to ask for tribute, you won't need too many ships to venture out on the sea, and you won't even need rowers to work. It will rely entirely on wind power. ."
"Pure sail?" Otto didn't think so much about it.Confidence, "If the sail is really easy to use, why shouldn't I use it when I come back? Boy, are you sure you can do it? Who can do it?"
"Of course, because it will be a brand new style of sail, The sailors trained by the Gould family will have the ability to control it."
Rurik deliberately kept it secret. Seeing his son's confident appearance, Otto didn't ask any more questions.
Since everyone is paying close attention to the ship, the next step is to go straight to the shipbuilding platform on the coast that is under construction.
Before entering the place, the sound of ding-ding-dong-dong attracted the intense attention of Otto who was outside.
I saw a group of people approaching menacingly, and the small workers who were carrying wood had already gotten into the wooden shed out of fear.
Soon, the men who lived with sticks and a group of bare-chested shipbuilders walked out of the shipbuilding shed they had built to welcome the arrival of Chief Ross.
Otto had never seen Hotla. He completely instinctively regarded a strong man covered in sinews, arms covered with sweat, and with extremely developed golden chest hair as the so-called Hotla. .
"Are you Hotla? A shipbuilder? I think you are more suitable to be a warrior holding a war hammer to fight for me."
Otto was dressed gorgeously on this trip. Showing nobility and beauty, the amber necklace around his neck is now mixed with some colored glass. Everyone knows Rurik, but this kid calls this man dad, so he must be the leader of Rus.
The real Hotela was on crutches and slightly tilted his head towards Otto.
Rurik was surprised at this situation: "Hotra, are you...sick?"
"Maybe it's because you are not used to it when you first came to Roseburg." Hotla immediately raised his head: "Distinguished leader, I am Hotla. I am building a big ship for Ross. Everything is an agreement between me and your son."
Big ship? There is no sign of the ship now?
Look at this old-looking man. Is this man actually the best shipbuilder? Otto was really unconvinced.
Otto quickly understood the reason. Hortra himself had become the "chief engineer", and the men and women of the family were the craftsmen who truly turned the designs into finished products.
The huge ship, it doesn’t even have a shadow now!
Otto approached the dim wooden shed. Every aspect of the shed betrayed its hasty construction. The smell of pine is very strong in the house, which means that the trunks that make up the shed are only recently felled pine trees.
Compared with other shipbuilding sheds, this shed is the tallest.
When you think about the huge space inside, it is not exactly able to accommodate larger ships. Ultimately, the boat building routine is to build the hull first, then push it outdoors and then install the mast.
"Where's the ship? I see it's empty here. Whose name is Hotla? He's the best shipbuilder in Melalen. Hasn't the big ship you built for us started yet?"
“It’s just the beginning. Everything starts from the dragonBone begins. "As he spoke, Hotela used his crutch to reach the extremely thick wooden pole on the ground. "Sir, this is the keel of the new ship. "
"It? Are you kidding? ! "
"I'm not joking. "Hotra said extremely seriously.
Rurik immediately tugged on his father's clothes: "He did not lie. "
Otto was still surprised. He pointed at the keel: "You call this a keel? Don't you think it's too weird? It's actually two pieces of wood... No! "
Otto suddenly realized that this keel with a mortise and tenon structure was actually made of quite dry wood.
Rurik simply told the truth: "Dad , many people demolished their old houses in the summer, and I bought that beam. You see, two longhouse beams joined together, and since they have proven themselves strong over the decades, the boat built from them must also be strong. "
Otto sighed slightly, "You boy, I really belong to you. It's just..." Otto realized something was wrong here again, and the more he thought about it, the more his heart trembled. "How long is the keel of your ship? ”
“It’s thirty stikas. "Hotra said proudly.
"Ah! So long? ! ”
Although this length was a requirement that Rurik had revealed when he was in Mälaren, now that it has been implemented, it is also a challenge to Hotla’s shipbuilding level. Since the funder thinks it is reliable, as a People who work, what are you talking about?
Ryurik’s presence is just to embolden him! Hotla looked at the cane and said seriously: “It’s just that long! Great leader, the Ross tribe will have a great ship, I dare say, there is no other in the entire alliance more powerful than her. "
Hotra is so confident. Looking at his son Rurik's determined face, what else does Otto have to question? They will build the hull in the wooden shed throughout the winter. . Even the cold, wind and snow will not affect their progress.
Because Rurik has already planned a plan to launch the big ship in the next trade season and put it into use. Tribute voyage and show off the Russian authority to the conquered people.