Those wooden houses made of pure Novgorod style mortise and tenon structure are low and solid. The owners of the houses used wooden strips to piece together a fence around their houses to delineate a small area for casual farming.
There are chicken pens or rabbit nests inside the fence. These two kinds of livestock and poultry reproduce quickly and have become a major source of meat for the immigrants. The captured and domesticated rabbits were kept in large wooden cages for a long time. Residents often fed large amounts of green grass. In order to cope with the cold winter, they harvested large amounts of dead grass reserves. As for domesticated chickens, they are domestic birds. Free-range chickens often run around and naturally stay in chicken coops in winter.
When the grain is harvested, all the chickens are driven into the chicken coop. The grain owners not only have to use wooden flails to pound the bundles of wheat ears in the threshing floor to complete the process of peeling oats. Shelling also means that the whole family goes into battle to drive away any sparrows that come to steal food.
The first harvest season was completed smoothly, and those once busy threshing floors have now become empty places again.
Rurik and his entourage followed Konuson and stood casually on a piece of hard land. It had been rammed flat and hard. Perhaps it would only become muddy after being soaked by heavy rain for many days. ?
Construction means desperately compressing the volume of soil. When it becomes a dense material, it is a flat and hardened land that humans can initially create that should not appear in nature.
"Is this your threshing floor?"
"Yes, sir. Look carefully, there are still some wheat left that have not been collected."
"Really?" Rurik watched helplessly as Konuson, the old guy, bent down and used his thick hands to dig out a grain of wheat embedded in the earth, and then rubbed it with both hands and blew it.
"Is this a big deal? It's just a grain of wheat."
Knusson smiled bitterly: "It is very precious to us, maybe... let's not talk about it."< /p>
For a moment Rurik felt a little uncomfortable. He asked himself how many times he had been hungry during these years. In his concept, easy access to food is a matter of course, and he also understands that ensuring the food supply of residents is the basic task of a political power.
Wasting a certain amount of food is not a big deal to Rurik.
For them, do they really have to fight for every grain of food?
Rurik thought for a while, would it look stupid to say some of the things he wanted to say now?
For example, if you question whether they are producing large grains on the rammed land, won’t they worry about too much dust and dregs? They definitely don't care, and they don't even have the right to care about what is available or not, as long as the food is edible.
Seeing Rurik's solemn face, Konuson asked weakly: "Sir, all threshing floors are like this. You see, this field is shared by several families. "
"Huh?" Rurik raised his head sharply, "I think every household has it, as long as they are willing, I won't make any comments.I have some suggestions for your earthen threshing floor. "
"Oh, what is that? ”
“You should lay stone slabs and piece them together to form a flat ground. In this way, no matter what kind of rainfall, your threshing floor will not be damaged. If you can easily pull out wheat grains from the soil, it means that you are not pounding them firmly enough. If the rain continues, the threshing floor will become a mud pond. "
Speaking of this, Rurik naturally extended more words.
"Conuson! ”
“My lord. "
Rurik coughed twice: "Novorovsburg is a city. According to Novgorod, it is called Nievarussigorod. She must have a value that far exceeds that of Novgorod, not a city. Village, you have to take full responsibility for building it. Now I have a request for you. "
Knusson immediately bowed, although he was confused as to why Rurik wanted to compare this place with Novgorod: "It's your order, and I will do my best to complete it. ”
“Very good. Rurik pointed to the ground casually: "Pave the threshing floor with stones for me." Not only all threshing floors, but all roads in the city must be paved with stones. Look, any time I come to New Roseburg, I can't have mud on my boots. "
"Huh? ! This request..." Konuson's face instantly became embarrassed.
"What? Don’t immigrants even know how to cut stones? Or do you not have a mason in your hands? "
Conuson still pursed his lips.
"What's going on? Rurik asked.
“Sir, we have no stones here. "
"Huh? How is that possible? Wait..." Rurik suddenly felt ridiculous and felt something was wrong, "Huh? Is it possible that there are really no rocks in this place? "
"I promise with my honor that there are really no stones. My lord, if we could get stones easily, we would carve them to build houses. You see, we can only build houses with large and small wood. ”
“Oops! "Rurik slapped his little hand directly on his face.
He fantasized about building New Roseburg into a classic medieval-style city in his mind. Then the main landscape of the city should be a large number of granite stones. Castles, walls, roads and houses were all covered with gray stones.
He looked around and saw that the wooden walls not far away were still slowly lengthening, and the wooden walls surrounding the city were clearly visible. It was a stopgap measure. As long as there was enough material, Rurik just wanted to use stones to build the wall.
Wood is the easiest building material for everyone. There are red pine trees everywhere here, and they are often mixed in the woods. There are oak trees, oak trees and beech trees here.
The terrain here is flat, and there is a large island divided by the river at the mouth of the Neva River. Its environment is clearly a northern wetland, and the fertile land is suitable for farming. I am afraid it is really nearby. No stone was found.
The truth was as Cornusson said, even worse than he thought.Peter the Great worked hard to build a city at the mouth of the Neva River and make it the capital of a country. They cut down all the forests at the mouth of the sea. After that, all the stone used for construction came from Vyborg in the north.
The Vyborg Quarry is 100 kilometers away from the Neva River estuary. It is a tortuous road to transport stone by sea.
If you pick up the manuscript and dig downward, you may not be able to dig out hard granite even if you reach the permafrost.
But no matter what the city is built with wood, the first one is the terrifying fire hazard. Furthermore, the defensive walls built with wood can only block some low-level enemies.
Since granite is not so easy to obtain, wouldn’t it be beautiful to use clay to bake bricks. The thought flashed through his mind, and Rurik rejected it instantly.
They obtained high-quality clay, first fired pottery, and then used it to make bricks, which was a waste.
Rurik looked at the land under his feet again. Even if there were all kinds of difficulties, the residents of New Roseburg must find granite mines and dig out the stones for use.
"That's it." Rurik sighed.
Conuson, who was still waiting to hear the new order, immediately asked: "Sir, we are really in trouble with this stone."
"I know. I have made up my mind. , you will not ask you to pave the road with stones now, but in the future, our New Roseburg must build stone walls and stone pavements. You have to send people to explore to the north to find stones and beware of possible Karelia. Ah man."
"Yes."
"Don't worry too much, our Ailon Orava Fort is in the far north, there are a lot of rocks there. I can send people to dig it out there and transport it here and put it into use." "Oh, that's great," Konuson complimented.
"That's it, let's go to the pier and have a look."
The pier itself is nothing special. Rurik's main purpose this time is to inspect the river beach and build a city. The plan for the main road had already emerged in his mind. While he was still in New Roseburg and the entire city was still under intense construction, with this opportunity, Rurik felt that he had to bear the greatest responsibility for the future history of Rose and for the future history of Rose. The birth of a city lays a good foundation.
Rurik is going to temporarily serve as an urban planning expert.
He led a group of followers to walk on the riverbank covered with withered grass. There were many residents here grazing their few sheep casually. He saw a group of people wearing leather armor approaching aggressively. They all chose to avoid it.
Rurik saw that a path had been trodden on the river beach, and there were even ruts left by the two-wheeled trolley.
Suddenly, he stopped.
"My lord, what do you think of the dock?" Konuson asked immediately.
"Very good. I just care about this road."
"Road?" Konuson scratched his head, "I understand that stone roads will be laid in the future."
“That being the case. Rurik immediately pointed to the big river on his left: "From today on, it is not called the Ladoga River, it is called the Neva River." And this road, I'm going to name it Nevagata. From now on, it will be the core road of our city. ”
Connusson only cared about agreeing with this, which made no sense.
Rurik knew how to build the city, and his plan was actually to deliberately conform to history. Since history Peter the Great built the city here and planned the city himself, so he must have followed the advice of some experts and did not build random houses and make plans.
The most famous street in St. Petersburg is Neva. The street has even become a symbol of the city. In New Roseburg, which is located in the same location in different time and space, Rurik deliberately followed suit.
Throughout the day, Rurik was grateful that his physical fitness was very good. Yes, when night fell, he felt a little sore in his legs when he returned to the longhouse where the leader was.
The soft light in the evening was a signal, and most residents followed the habit of sleeping at sunset, even if they were building. They did not work overtime on the wall.
Otto took a good steam in the Finnish-style sauna in the settlement, wiped his body with hot river water, and changed into linen. Wearing new clothes, he faced his son who had been traveling all day in a very comfortable manner.
He was interested in asking about Rurik's journey, but unexpectedly, Rurik insisted on asking as a master. Meeting on city building
“Are you kidding me? Do you have any new suggestions for building fences? "Otto's original intention was that he did not want his son to interfere with his own ideas. After all, the construction of New Roseburg was his greatest feat in his later years, and even his son should not make irresponsible remarks.
Luri Ke couldn't understand his father's selfishness, he looked firmly: "I'm serious, dad, please agree with my idea. "
Otto's inner displeasure is reflected on his face, which Rurik can feel.
Is this old guy afraid that I will question the election of New Roseburg? Really? Ridiculous!
Rurik was already prepared for this. He even ordered Jevro to get a dry wooden board, scratched the lines with a knife, and blackened the lines with small charcoal blocks to form a rough outline. He discussed it with Konuson, but without Rurik's detailed explanation, who knew what the drawing was?
Indeed, Rurik only sketched it out.
Now, he mainly faced his father Otto and Konuson, showing the board and gesticulating with a small stick. .
“The island full of rabbits is directly north of our dock. I would like a fort to be built here as a first line of defense against northern raiders in every sense of the word. "
"The wooden wall we are building now wraps our New Roseburg. I have seen it. One side of it is adjacent to the river, and the curved wall forms a semicircle.. I announced that the name of the river is the Neva River, and the small road along the river must be expanded into a large road and named Nevsky Prospekt. This street is the main traffic artery of our city. "
"There must be a road under the wall that connects to Nevsky Prospekt. "
"There are four roads extending vertically from Nevsky Prospekt, and they must be straight. In principle, all roads need to be paved with stones or pebbles. Since there is a temporary lack of historical data, Konuson, you should pound the road to make it as hard as possible. "
"The wall is made of wood. I don't think it is a long-term solution. We heard that when we attacked Gotland, our people suffered a disadvantage when facing the enemy's stone wall. . Facing the wall made of wood and earth by the Kewen people, we basically encountered no obstacles. Obviously Stonewall is more important to us. Wood decays, but stone walls endure. Wooden walls are a temporary solution until stone mines are found, and we immediately fortify our cities with stone. "
"So, Conuson, you are going to build something special. A longhouse was used for residents to gather to discuss business. It should be very spacious and the architectural style should be based on Novgorod. You should also build a more comfortable house for the chief to live in. We also need to build a group of vacant wooden houses that can be used as warehouses on weekdays. When our Sorgon army stops at New Roseburg for supplies, there will be enough accommodation rooms without disturbing other residents. Also, I hope you will knock down all the floorless houses in the settlement and rebuild them again by next Spring Festival. ”
“Our current location is the chief’s residence. What will be built at this location in the future will be my family’s mansion. Sooner or later, I will repair it to be gorgeous, and you, build it for me first.” I am no longer used to sleeping on the ground in the wooden carvings of Vgorod. ”
“You also need to open an empty space with at least a hundred sitikas at the entrance of the leader’s residence. I give you a deadline to complete the empty field before next autumn harvest. It will serve as the largest threshing floor in the city and also the square where we will gather in the future. I will give you one year to move the houses in the area, and then you will pound the land. When the conditions are ripe, I will pave it with hard stones. "
Planning roads and building a square are a hundred times more important than building a chief's residence, Rurik thinks so.
Especially a square, Rurik actually thinks it is called "Senate Square" or "Hermitage Square" is more interesting, because the place opposite Rabbit Island is where the Winter Palace, the Tsarist Russian Parliament and the huge Senate Square sit. It is where the Decembrists revolted in 1825.
Building a square paved with stones must be shocking to people of this era. All Russians should be proud of it. p>The practical significance of building the square is that New Ross Fort needs a large space that can handle various affairs in the open air. When the farming is busy, it is a threshing floor, and when a large amount of supplies arrive, it is a distribution center for supplies. If there is an invasion by foreign enemies, the Ross people can take it. Weapons gathered in the square and were ordered by the leader to defend their homeland.
Here is the south side of the square.The city's granary is located there, which is also the central area of the city.
Rurik pointed at the wooden board and kept explaining. Now Otto knew that he had completely stupidly misunderstood his son. My son had no objections or questions. He was very supportive of his choice of city location and even preferred it significantly more than himself.
Any father is happy when his children actively inherit and carry forward their father's legacy.
Otto was pleased to see that his son had extraordinary insights into urban construction. After listening to the explanation, he finally understood the pictures on the wooden board, but he thought why was it so funny?
Seeing that his son had finished speaking, Otto smiled happily and said: "Rurik, you have done a good job. The city will be built according to your plan. It is your picture..."
Rurik breathed a long sigh of relief: "Dad, do you still have any questions?"
"Hey, doesn't your city planning map look like a harp?"
The words just came out After falling, everyone in the room burst into laughter (life lacks entertainment and everyone has a low point of laughter).
Rurik took a quick look and couldn't help but laugh.
Not counting the fortress plan of Rabbit Island, the city-themed outline is exactly like the letter D, with four paths in it. What does it look like if it doesn’t look like a harp?
It is true that the Russians do not have an instrument like the harp. Many Russians have seen it. It is an instrument that only some Malaren people play in their spare time. The spiritual life of Russians has always seemed boring, and every little thing can turn into a topic of conversation that lasts for months. They compiled songs but did not have suitable musical instruments. Even bone flutes and leather drums were rare, let alone treasures such as harps that required precision processing.
There are no professional musicians here. Those who control the instruments are mainly priests of various tribes. They sometimes use them in sacrificial places to enhance the solemn atmosphere.
The priests of Melalen have harps, and a few merchants also own them. The occasions for its use have always been rare.
Otto was in high spirits, and he said with a smile: "In my opinion, I need to give the city a nickname."
"What is it?" Konuson asked eagerly.
"According to Rurik's decision, our New Rossburg is like a harp, so it is called Harpabroge."
If "New Rossburg" is Give the city a name, then "Harp Castle" is an elegant nickname. Everyone was also happy when they laughed, and the nickname of Harp Castle spread quickly, which fully demonstrated that Rurik's city construction plan will definitely be implemented.
The era chose Lake Ilmen at the mouth of the Neva River as the place where the Russians first prospered. However, in any time and space, this geographical location must be a core area of the "Russian unified country". It needs elegance and history, and it also needs scientific urban planning from the beginning.
Rurik boasted that he had accomplished this, and his men would build the city according to the plan. Then, future generations will also be grateful to their ancestors for establishing this country in the current time and space context.The real "Mother City of Ross".
Ryurik actually doesn’t like Kiev for personal reasons, even though it is a veritable big granary. The title of "Mother City of Rus" should not be thrown to Kiev if it is thrown to Novgorod. The battle between the two cities will not exist at all. New Rossburg at the mouth of the Neva River, or "Harp Castle", is regarded as the "Mother of Ross Cities"