Bjorn, who was covered in wet clothes and had a braided beard, could not have imagined that the inner wooden castle on Gould Island, which he entered for the first time, was actually warm and dry.
He once relied on his willpower to resist the trembling of his body. When he thought that he might meet with the leader of the Rus, he had to pay more attention to his demeanor and make these ruthless people from the north take him seriously. A warrior.
The escort boy brought good news that the Duke of Ross was in the wooden castle, along with the legendary boy Rurik and the well-known "Fat Gould".
Bjorn took off his wet leather coat and handed it to his followers for safekeeping. His few servants were all taken away by Rus warriors wearing white bear skin coats. The air is filled with a faint alluring fragrance of wheat. I wonder if the generous Russian people will give me a chance to cleanse themselves from the dust?
Bjorn’s servants did reward each of them with a wooden bowl of porridge. It seemed like a generous reward, but it was just the usual routine of the Gould family. They said that anyone who came to discuss business would be rewarded. Know that the Gould family values them.
When Bjorn officially met the Duke of Ross and other elites, he himself also received a breakfast of wheat cakes, dried meat, wine and dried raspberries.
The scene of the meeting was really novel. Entering the largest room in the wooden castle, he was enveloped in warmth, and mist evaporated from the wet linen clothes.
He sat naturally on a wooden chair, with a large square table made of wooden boards in front of him.
This is completely different from the situation at home. The Russians are not sitting on the ground anymore? Did they also learn something from the Franks?
The floor is made of hard oak, and the person sitting is on a wooden chair. There is a wooden table in front of him. There are a large number of silver plates and crystal plates (glass) on the table, and the plates are full of delicious food.
The vessels for serving wine include silver cups and walrus ivory cups set on gold bases. What's even crazier is that each of the noble Russians has a precious crystal cup in his hand. There is dark red wine in the cup, exuding a charming aroma.
Bjorn looked left and right. Although the light outside was very dim due to the rain, the indoors was brightly lit.
The Russians lit a fire in the house and built a stove with stones, but there was no choking smoke at all. He saw a stone fireplace for the first time. If you look carefully, you can find that almost all the houses in the wooden castle have stone chimneys, and underneath the chimneys are heating fireplaces.
There were as many as twenty white-haired bear heads hanging on the wooden wall. Bjorn even felt a little scared when he thought of the bear skins worn by those Rus warriors.
Above the bear's head is a bronze oil lamp holder, the flame burning calmly.
Directly above the wooden table is a huge chandelier, the lights on it are as bright as stars.
All of this is actually only a trading stronghold for the Russians on Lake Mälaren. So what is the home port of the Russians? Thinking about his own home again, even Carl, it is simply a sheepfold and a cowshed.
Bjorn mustered up his courage, but the momentum of the Russians was overwhelming him.
Otto had a slightly sullen face: "Are you Bjorn? I am the Duke of Ross. I came to Mälaren ten years ago, and now I am here again. I don't know him You! So, Bjorn, why did you come here in the rain?"
Otto asked knowingly, he deliberately left Bjorn at the door for a while, and took this opportunity to order. Gould explained something to himself and his son. At this moment, Otto already knew that this man did represent the interests of a large number of big landowner families. This man rushed over in a hurry, just for food.
After all, in September in Melalen, the lakes are boiling due to food issues.
Bjorn did not have any arrogance. The strength of both sides was here. He said respectfully: "I am Bjorn. I own a group of fertile fields rich in wheat and a group of farmers who are good at farming. . I have discussed with other families, and they have elected me as their representative to discuss the sale of grains with you, so even if the weather is bad, I am still here."
Otto. His face remained expressionless, and his sullen face was covered with beard. If he covered his right eye, he would look like the legendary god Odin.
Otto was sitting upright and pretending to be a wise man, but now that the issue of grain trading was involved, he immediately stepped aside.
"Is it a grain trade? Very good. We Russians are here to conduct extensive trade with you. I like your wheat, your vegetables, and your linen."
Things were going so well that Bjorn's slightly tense face was now relaxing.
"Next, let my Rurik have a good talk with you. Bjorn, you have to remember that anyone who deals with us Rus people should also understand that my Rurik "K is the Duke of Rus"
Is he Rurik? Sure enough, he was exactly as the legend said, he was really a beautiful boy.
This child is extremely neatly dressed. He has a unique temperament, and the gem decoration on his clothes only further highlights his nobility. He is not a son of a rich family, and he is not bound to inherit the power of the old leader of Ross because of his blood. There is something extremely complex and profound in his blue eyes. It is obvious that this Rurik is the master behind the scenes of the Ross tribe.
Just when Bjorn was surprised by the large number of Rurik, Rurik spoke, and his words were shocking.
"Bjorn, who do you represent? Do you represent King Karl of Sweden? Or the entire Mellaren tribe? Or some of your big families? Or just your family?"
Four choices were placed in front of Bjorn, and he suddenly realized something.
"I... represent my own family, and also represent the twenty big families who own a lot of farmland."
Rurik nodded, this is what he wanted to hear. The answer is just a little bit uncertain: "So, you and Karlrelationship... Are you against Karl? In other words, you don't like him? "
Bjorn hesitated and said deliberately: "Karl, after all, is the king and the leader of our tribe. How can we oppose the king. "
"No. Your eyes are wandering, you are lying. Rurik stretched his little head: "If you really support Karl, why come alone?" You landowners know full well that we Russians are here to trade grain with Karl, the heir to the throne. If you really recognize Karl, you shouldn't negotiate with us behind his back. ”
These words hit Bjorn’s heart, because it is indeed true, that is, Bjorn is going crazy and wants to oppose Karl.
Bjorn’s face became grim. Come and sit upright: "Karl is the king, of course we must support the king. ”
Rurik believed in his own judgment. The attitude of Bjorn and the guys behind him was very obvious.
Rurik also followed suit. Xu and Wei Snake smiled slightly and said: "Yes! Karl is the king, how can we oppose the king? ”
The atmosphere has become extremely delicate. This is a wonderful diplomatic situation. There is a very obvious thing before both sides, but reality forces both sides to not openly oppose it, even if everyone is opposed to it in their hearts.
Otto and Gould were completely aware of this situation. What should have been a happy business negotiation was confused.
Rurik shrugged again. There is no need to worry anymore: “Okay, Bjorn, tell me your price. You know, as my father said, we Russians are very fond of your agricultural products. ”
At the most critical moment, Bjorn was not nervous because before setting off, the big landowner had a completely unified attitude and came up with a set of negotiation plans for food prices.
< p> "We plan to take out 300,000 pounds of wheat, all of which are new this year. We can guarantee with our reputation that every wheat has been shelled and dried. They have a good quality guarantee, and the cooked wheat porridge is fragrant. So, ten pounds of wheat for one silver coin. ""Really? Is this the price? ”
“Exactly the price. "Seeing the calm expressions on the faces of Rurik and others, Bjorn subconsciously felt that the Ross people fully agreed.
Of course this is not the case, because the people left behind by the Ross people fully knew what happened to Mela in the past month. Among the many events that happened in Lake Lun, one of the tasks of those who stayed behind was to monitor the price changes of various bulk goods, make statistics and finally report to the Duke of Ross.
Rurik paused deliberately and calmed down. Said: "This price is too crazy, it is completely the price for the famine years. I heard that all the farmland around Lake Mälaren has a great harvest, are these claims wrong? Or did you deliberately set this price just to make a lot of money from us? "
The convoluted way of speaking ended here. Rurik no longer concealed himself and continued to speak calmly: "I thought you would risk getting sick to come to our island.You have a high opinion, but you just came to tell me, do you want to carry food to yourself? "
"No! We don't! "Bjorn never thought that this Rurik already knew some key inside information. His denial was really weak, as if he had admitted it.
After hearing the report from the people left behind yesterday, Rurik I was mentally prepared for this, but I didn't expect the wonderful encounter today. The landowners of Melalen really came to ask for money.
Don't they know that the Russians are the biggest? The craziest buyer, like slaughtering this big fat sheep?
The Russians are indeed furry, and the hair is not wool, but the hair of polar bears!
Luli! Ke was calm and fierce: "We in Russia cannot accept this price. But we still need your food. I heard that food prices are like this throughout Mälaren, which is very abnormal. I can only think of it as a dirty betrayal, the Rus' being betrayed by the Mellarens. Listen! Bjorn. If I can't get food comfortably, I can only organize an army of three thousand people to attack. You know, our army annihilated 10,000 people in Gotland at a very small cost, and the consequences of angering us..."
Rurik saw the wine glass in front of him, and he took a swig first. A glass of low-alcohol wine, followed by a smashed glass
"That's the consequence. war! "
This is really the most serious threat. Bjorn was so shocked that he was at a loss for a while. Fortunately, he came up with a plan.
"Dear Russians, please calm down. I don't mean to offend you maliciously, I'm just being forced to do this. "
"Who is it? ”
“It’s King Karl. It was Karl who set the price. If we didn't comply, Karl would attack with his troops. All the landlord families are very afraid. In order to avoid disaster, we can only do this..."
Such words are just a way of passing the blame. Of course, there are some facts in the words.
" In this case, can we continue talking? " Rurik said deliberately, "I know what you have done. You have almost squeezed out the rations of ordinary farmers, and have ordered surrounding tribes to follow suit to raise prices, just to make us Russians take advantage of you. So, is your purpose to sell grain to earn silver coins? I tell you clearly that I do not accept this price. If you refuse, I can only understand that Melalen betrayed the alliance and was the culprit in provoking a civil war. ”
“We don’t want war, it’s all about that Karl. Bjorn continued to pass the blame and took the opportunity to put forward the preset conditions: "We are also willing to lower the price. We only have one condition." ”
“Say it, I will consider it. "
"We are really afraid of Karl's revenge. If he takes revenge, please support us, the Russians. "
Bullshit! It's all bullshit! Now Rurik has understood that these big landowners are just pretending to be weak. They are not afraid of Karl at all, they just need a scapegoat who will bear all the risks. Karl is the king, so naturallyPeople bear everything.
"I can guarantee that. Therefore, we Russians demand that the price be lowered to seventeen pounds per silver coin."
"Ah! This...maybe."
"What? You are obviously forcing me to buy for twenty pounds a silver coin, and you are selling for ten pounds. You make too much, what's wrong with me asking you to make less?"
"Fourteen pounds, no less," Bjorn said hastily.
"That's fifteen pounds! Just like the price in a normal harvest year. In this way, you can earn an extra silver coin by selling sixty pounds of wheat."
"Deal ."
Fifteen pounds of oats sell for one silver coin, which is the bottom line price negotiated by each family. They really hope that the Russians will be taken advantage of, and if the other party is unwilling, they will offer this price. The big family believes that the bottom line of the Ross people is probably within this price range.
However, each family also confirmed that once the Russians decided to buy grain, Bjorn, as the representative, immediately stated that the grain sold would be as high as 400,000 pounds.
"What? Four hundred thousand pounds?" Rurik was finally surprised. "You have so much food?"
"Yes."
"Are you really going crazy to plunder farmers' food?"
Bio En didn't take it seriously: "Many farmers owe debts to my family, and they must pay off their debts with grain. Each of our families can provide 20,000 pounds of high-quality oats at the price we have set. When the rain stops, we will Transport the wheat to the island. I need to know now whether we can get the high-quality Frank silver coins as soon as possible. Our peaceful trade, we Russians are willing to hold a banquet to celebrate our happy cooperation."
Rurik, who just threatened war, is now going to have a drink?
In Bjorn's opinion, this child is not artificial at all, and what he says and does is not a performance. Rurik, maybe he only has the appearance of a child, but he is already very mature on the inside.
Bjorn already had a high opinion of Rurik in his heart. He urgently needed to tell the big families what he had seen and told them that the Russians would never be taken advantage of.
Rurik randomly dispatched a maid who was dressed in simple yet gorgeous clothes (he came to see the world again with ten Slavic maids under his command), put on a new glass, and poured a new glass. wine.
The way he raised his glass was indeed childlike, and the others also raised their glasses.
Bjorn looked at the crystal cup in his hand for a moment, then raised it.
They drank and chatted happily, and in this way confirmed a trade contract. As for carving the contract on the wooden board, forget it.
Through this negotiation, Rurik has completely determined the grain trade in Lake Malaren and has completely shifted to the buyer's market, controlling 10,000 pounds of silver resources.The Russians in this country have little ability to destroy so much food.
Bjorn left again in the cold drizzle, and he did not leave empty-handed.
He took away the glass containing the wine as a token.
Of course Bjorn also knows that the Russians have been selling a large amount of glassware and many strange utensils in recent years. Glass cups are certainly expensive, but they have dropped significantly compared to the sky-high prices in the past. He didn't know how the Russians obtained glassware in large quantities, but they sold it every summer and made a lot of money.
The more of this precious treasure, the better. Bjorn knew that his family needed to sell a large amount of grain to make money from the Russians. He could spend money to buy rare items from the Russians, but Now, he needs to recruit private soldiers and purchase weapons.
Now is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Every family believes that through the transaction between the Ross people and Karl, Karl's family will make a lot of money.
That’s probably true! After Karl's strength expands rapidly, he will organize more armies!
The Russians want to buy 800,000 pounds of wheat from Karl! This news has been leaked for a long time, and every family knows it. Karl would have made more than four hundred pounds of silver coins at least!
However, until now, each family still does not know a very crazy inside story.
Karl really sold 800,000 pounds of wheat to the Russians? On the contrary, these 800,000 pounds of wheat are a debt, or a debt established after political mediation! As for the secret talks between the two parties on Gotland, the big families in Mellaren would not know about it at all, unless Karl himself revealed it himself.
Karl was indeed selling wheat to the outside world, and it was he who determined to raise the price to the point where one silver coin could only buy ten pounds. It is said that Russians will take advantage of others, which may cause the other party to become furious.
How is that possible? Karl's pricing itself is not aimed at the Russians, but at those people in his tribe who need to buy commercial grain. How can the Russians be angry if they have no direct stake?
The windless world is covered with dense haze, and the fine cold autumn rain sprinkles on the entire lake area. Around the big lake, there are undercurrents surging in each settlement.
Karl is not a pure fool. He realizes that his power is threatened, and is trying to use the Russians to suppress the rising opposition forces within the tribe. He is also actively establishing and restoring his own power.
The families of the Melalen tribe tried their best to get money. The purpose of getting money was to expand the private army, make the "Anti-Karl Alliance" stronger, and find the right opportunity to kill Karl. Of course, it would be great if Karl pissed off the Rus and was killed.
But Rurik, he was already planning to overturn the table. The work of instigating rebellion against ordinary farmers and fishermen in Mälaren is being carried out in the rain.