Chapter 546 Ross Trading Company rises from the ruins

The speed with which the nobles of Mellaren responded was astonishing, and they seemed to agree to Ross's request without thinking.

“Could their bottom line be any lower?” Rurik regretted not asking for more.

They actually responded the next day, so Rurik immediately took his brothers Rurik to visit Birka Market again.

It was already the third day after the secret meeting, but this time the meeting was public.

Russ and Mälaren, or Sweden, signed a written contract at the mansion of the old king Olegin.

The document was engraved on the wooden board in rune script. The contract was in duplicate, signed by Rurik and Bjorn respectively.

"In this way, our alliance remains stable. With your support, I, the Melalen tribe, can still hold the throne."

Listen to what Bjorn said at the meeting In public remarks, Rurik was vocal in his support, but he still had methods to use.

Rurik suddenly made a public statement, "I only support Bjorn and his descendants or designated heirs as the king of Sweden. If his family is destroyed, the contract will also collapse."

These are very serious words. Whether it was Bjorn or the wealthy nobles present, their rosy faces instantly turned pale.

They guessed that the Russians were trying to provoke others, but no one dared to take a stand.

Bjorn forced a smile out of embarrassment and loudly talked about his alliance with Ross.

From their expressions and attitudes, Rurik knew that his plan was successful.

Bjorn is a complete usurper. How can he not guard against the rebellion of the nobles of his own family who own large amounts of land? If they can be suspicious of each other and engage in internal friction, Sweden as a whole will no longer be an obstacle to Ross's future development, but will become a place for Ross's property assets and dumping ground.

Now that the negotiation oath has ended, Melalen immediately began to implement the treaty.

They are not really particularly active, it is entirely the Russians who are pushing them hard.

Rurik strongly demanded that before the fleet heading home from the north left, Melalen must come up with five hundred slaves, and all the residents of the tavern and ancillary areas of the Birka Market must be expelled.

The nobles of Mellaren acted as villains. They rushed to the market with private soldiers and armed slaves.

Bjorn took away all the people in the tavern, and also took away all the ale in stock, leaving the empty shell of the house and throwing it to the Russians.

As for the nobles, their armed forces wielded wooden sticks and axes, forcing the settled merchants near the tavern to leave immediately, without any room for negotiation.

The merchants left with the money while crying. If they hesitated, they would be beaten. One family who refused to withdraw was directly killed.

The Mellaren nobles saw those houses being cleaned up and then deliberately demolished while their own people were cursing or watching.

A group of homeless people appeared in the market. Businessmen who lost their houses had nowhere to store their goods.of fat.

Melaren's "Vultures" took action immediately, causing another humanitarian crisis.

A group of thieves, even gangs, popped out of the market.

In other words, it is not a gang. The so-called gang is the opponents of the late King Olegin and the opponents of the great nobles. They want to establish their own interests in Mellaren and want to replace it.

In the past, Olegin suppressed these bandits with force, but now in the era of political instability, they are taking advantage of the chaos to expand.

In the Melalen tribe, in addition to the external forces of the Ross people, a third force is also rising.

Rurik didn’t care about this at all, or the bandits didn’t hurt Rose’s head. The bandits do not have the courage, because popular opinion is that the Russians simply do not want to be the king of Sweden. When will they think about it, Malaren will be occupied by 10,000 Russian warriors in one day, so it is better not to deliberately provoke them them.

The displaced businessmen are now truly poor. The weather is about to get cold, and many people are forced to work as slaves for others.

And their former home has been reduced to ruins. Within three days, the Russians came holding the flag with blue stripes on a white background!

When the Russians arrived, their formation was extraordinary.

On Rurik's order, Gould personally stood on a wooden platform built by mercenaries on the ruins. Under the protection of many heroic warriors, he faced Mera who was gathering. The people of Lun shouted loudly.

"Melaren people! From now on, this area will be our Chamber of Commerce in Ross. You no longer need to go to the island to trade, and future trade will be conducted in this market! Now, the Duke of Ross will give you Reward. Thank you Duke Rurik of Ross!"

Gould shouted this many times. He felt that the time was right, so he ordered his men to hold two large sacks and go to the gathered people. More than two thousand people worked hard to scatter copper coins.

Yes, copper coins.

Compared to the Principality of Ross, which is overly rich in silver coins, the people of the entire Lake Malaren region lack transaction currency.

If Rurik had not used his authority to force the prices of certain bulk goods to stabilize basic prices, and his crazy strategy of hoarding money inward, the Russian people would have been overwhelmed by the huge amount of hot money. The people's hearts collapsed.

Rurik and his family are already the richest and most powerful people in this sea area. Of course, he would not throw away silver coins. Why should he create an image of a generous coin thrower for the poor Melalen civilians? It would be enough to throw away too many old Roman copper coins that lacked use and were not of good quality (they had been in circulation for four hundred years). .

The poor people were looting like crazy, and Gould, who was standing high up, couldn't help laughing.

"Haha! It's like a group of sheep competing for fodder. It's so interesting!"

No one thought it was inappropriate. The Russian soldiers who formed a shield wall to maintain order all Smiling at this wonderful scenery.

They competed for copper coins, men and women fought over it, and the scene turned into a mess!

Gould could predict what would happen if he did this. He was afraid that madmen would attack his tower, so he ordered the mercenaries under martial law to kill immediately anyone who tried to grab money excessively and attacked him.

The mercenaries were not afraid when they received the order. What kind of battles have these veterans who have been on the battlefield never seen before? The shield wall and the forced fight are all in vain, so why talk about these rabble?

In order to grab money in the chaos, gang members did not dare to attack the Russian "positions" or the big Russian businessmen who controlled the money. They suddenly pulled out daggers and openly used force during the robbery.

Some people fell directly into a pool of blood. However, once the stampede occurred, even the gang members who drew their swords became victims.

A bloody farce ended. People fled in panic with blood-stained copper coins, and the chicken feathers left behind had to be cleaned up by the Russians.

There were more than fifty corpses lying on the ground. Gould felt distressed for a second, and then cursed: "Don't the nobles of Melalen exist? There are no patrols to clean up the mess? In the end, it depends on us to maintain it. Order."

A mercenary muttered, "Sir, all of Olegin's men are dead, so of course there is no one to maintain order."

"Damn it, we are free. Olegin's men in black, we have to maintain order and ensure our safety. Forget it, Rurik doesn't expect those Melalen nobles at all."

Russian mercenaries began to carry the corpses. The construction of the shop began amidst the ruins and blood.

Gould appointed his second son Stein to serve as the garrison of the shop and island, anchoring this place for the benefit of Ross and his family.

"Father, I will do a good job, just like you once did."

Gould did not encourage much: "Continue to develop and operate here, give yourself a nickname, Let the locals remember you. Let them mention you as your name, not as Gouldson."

Compared to the eldest brother Snoleva, the other brothers seem to be the same. Father Gould lacked attention.

Stein knew that the real name was mostly used within the family, but it was the nickname that really made people remember him.

"The eldest brother is a white fox, and I am a blue fox. In my opinion, the brothers should use fox as their nickname."

"That's fine. I will tell Rurik about this. "Say." Gould thought for a moment, "It's a white background with blue stripes. The flag has a blue fox head on it. You hang up such a flag to symbolize your existence."

Gould prided himself on making good arrangements, and even thought his second son's ideas were very constructive. I was originally an unknown small businessman from Onkras. I spent most of my life working hard to save my family fortune, and then I flew directly into the sky on a Russian ship! Should my family have a clear name to continue, such as the "Guldrevas" Golden Fox Family?

Indeed, the Nordic snow fox is cunning and alert, and businessmen really need this trait.

The situation in Gould's new business of running the Russian people is very good, while Rurik is on Gould Island, facing the big threat.The amount of goods and the slaves being transported were troublesome.

The goods have their own warehouses, but the slaves are human beings!

These guys are all skinny. The so-called "adult men", Rurik thinks they should be enough to pick up weapons, but their condition is such that they can even fall down from fatigue even if they plow the fields.

"Damn it. Are you trying to trick me, Bjorn? Just give me the weakest person? I have to recover some of the bodies they raised before I can use them."

Rurik ordered the immediate distribution of food and set up ten large pottery pots on the island. Oats were cooked over a fire and a large number of chopped onions and yellow-rooted carrots were thrown into them. Seeing that the opportunity was almost there, a lot of salt and even the seal oil that lubricated the cable were thrown into the urn.

The air is filled with strange fragrance, and the slaves holding wooden bowls pray for the master's favor.

Standing on the walls of the tall wooden castle are warriors in extraordinary clothes, and Rurik stands high in gorgeous clothes.

The empty space in the wooden castle was filled with slaves, waiting for their master's instructions, but all their eyes were fixed on the urn.

"Are you hungry? These delicious meals are all given to you. Now, you are all my slaves. If you eat the meals I reward, you must always be loyal to me.

I promise you two things. First, if you obey my orders, your life will be guaranteed. Second, if you disobey my orders, you will be killed!"

What complaints could the slaves have? There were constant whimpering in the crowd. Some people shed tears looking at the delicious meal, some looked blank, and some were quite happy.

They were driven by mercenary warriors to line up. Each of them received a bowl of pulpy salty porridge and drank it in large gulps.

What is a good meal? Rurik feels that for those suffering from chronic hunger, the combination of carbohydrates, salt, and fat is the best solution.

A huge number of slaves poured into the island, and just cooking consumed a lot of energy.

There was also the task of transporting materials, which once made Rurik think that he should recruit a group of temporary workers.

The mental condition of the slaves has improved, and both men and women have changed their clothes. Especially when the weather is cold, they each have a simple cut leather coat and quick stitched leather boots.

After their spirits recovered a little, they all devoted themselves to the intense transportation of materials.

Even if they shout about the greatness of Ross, Rurik will no longer be easily moved by the cheers. From a utilitarian point of view, these people are all tools, and raising them strong and healthy is for better development.

Gould returned to the island, and he no longer had to worry about things on the shore.

The next day is the day of departure. So many great things have happened in just ten days. Gould consciously witnessed a major node in the historical process, and his aging body also cheered up.

It is night, and there is another banquet on the island.

Looking at the feast of roasted sheep, Rurik’s heart has drifted back to his hometown.

"How are things going? Everything should be going well." Rurik casually broke the lamb ribs and asked.

"Everything has been done. Although my second son lacks experience, now that I give him a chance, he will develop the industry well and serve Ross."

" Very good. I heard that there are a lot of troubles in the market these days, there are robbers and thieves, and many people are killed."

"It's nothing. If we are violated, my son will not. If you are soft-hearted, the soldiers stationed there will not be soft-hearted."

Rurik nodded and said seriously: "The people stationed there must spend the whole winter building up the trading company. I want to build a fortress on land. Any possible bandits are deterred. "

"This is natural. I ordered my son to take people to move all the debris and recruit local craftsmen to build a fortress."

"Very good. A large amount of supplies are expected to arrive here next year, and I'm even worried that I won't be able to buy them all."

"This... Sir, are you worried about the people of Mellaren?" Gould asked again.

"Let's talk about your eldest son. There is no news that Snoleva has come back yet?"

"Yes. Sir, are you worried about him or are you worried about us?" Denmark's layout."

"Of course they are all worried, because!" Rurik paused and looked at the closed wooden door, "There is something very important that I have never told you. That's the thing."

"Please tell me."

"Put down your precious wine glass first." After a moment, Rurik said, "I'm afraid I'll kill you on the way back. The king of Denmark."

"Ah!" Just as Rurik was worried, Gould suddenly lay down.

He hurriedly got up again, holding on to the low table: "Is this true? If you didn't lead the Balmoks to attack Britain, why did you attack Denmark?"

Only the last sentence is the most important. Gould slapped his thigh: "I understand, let my eldest son knit. This... is very dangerous."

"Yes, it is indeed dangerous, but Danes are not fools. You have many Son, if your eldest son dies for Ross, your family will still be alive, and I will take revenge in the name of Ross. I think Snoreva has no intention of rejecting my request once I find the opportunity.”

Gould nodded and drank another glass of wine. This wine was no longer sweet, but bitter.

"Okay...everything is ready." Gould said frankly, "Even if we support Bjorn as king, the Mellaren tribe is still in a mess. Bjorn is probably worse thanKarl's level of governance, that guy is completely laissez-faire. ”

“This is the effect I hope for. If Oleg II really appears and the forces in the entire lake area are twisted into a cable, it will be difficult for us in Russia to fish in troubled waters. Don't think about it anymore, I'm going to take a bath after dinner. Tomorrow all personnel and supplies will be on board and we will go home. ”