Noren and Svetlana, the two girls have integrated into their new life very naturally. This time they went to Roseburg, they were not cautious or anxious, but they were full of expectations for their future life.
Wearing thick clothes, they stood on the bow of the highly decorated Avlora, standing next to Rurik, letting the increasingly cold north wind blow on their faces.
The two Ross fleets turned around, and nearly a hundred ships returned home escorting an astonishing amount of cargo.
When Rurik set sail, he learned how much grain and leather his father had obtained from the estates in Novgorod during the autumn voyage to Sorgon.
Eight hundred thousand pounds!
Only 800,000 pounds of oats came from Novgorod.
Rurik would have been moved by this number in the past, but now, forget it...
Novgorod is just a mixture of twenty manors. , the target of the Ross people's blackmail was the Pine Needle Manor, which was likely to rebel, while the White Tree Manor was lenient to those who were focused on attracting support.
Novgorod is located on the shores of Lake Ilmen, and the population around the lake is already larger than that of Lake Mälaren. Even if the weather is not good this year, the people of Mellaren have provided as many as one million pounds of wheat.
"It seems that the exploitation of Novgorod is too kind."
Rurik calculated the total amount of food obtained by the Russians this autumn.
800,000 pounds from Novgorod, 1 million pounds from Mälaren, and 500,000 pounds captured from Britain. This total of 2.3 million pounds of wheat is a gratifying and astonishing figure.
The situation is great, but it is still a little short of what I hoped for.
Completely different from the poor climate, an unprecedented baby boom is occurring throughout the Ross-controlled areas, and this situation is most significant in Rossburg's hometown.
"I'm afraid we will have two thousand babies born this year! In the past, they deliberately killed infants because they couldn't raise many children. Now they have enough food to feed them. They also lack entertainment. Of course, men Having sex with women is an important family entertainment."
"If I want to feed 10,000 people and guarantee one pound of wheat per person per day, I will need at least four million pounds to achieve this. It was already difficult, but now my population is really going to exceed 10,000!"
"Even if we fight a war, and I die hundreds of people, the population loss is far less than that. The number of babies born and the number of immigrants."
Rurik thought about it this way. Even if he saves money on eating these 2.3 million pounds of wheat, he is afraid that it will be gone again by next summer. Finished eating.
He hoped that the subjects of the Principality of Rus would be guaranteed one pound of wheat and two pounds of fish for every adult man and woman a day, and at least half a pound of wheat and one pound of fish for children and the elderly. He felt that this should be the bottom line of the ruler's conscience. Little did he know that this seemingly low nutritional standard had already given him great prestige among the people.
Only a few are goodThose who fight bravely don't care about their status, they only listen to Rurik's military exploits.
The broad masses of people simply follow leaders who can make a living for themselves.
In this era, population is productivity, which is equal to comprehensive national strength, especially military strength. Men's duties are naturally to farm and maintain territory, while women's most important duty is to give birth.
If the Danish leader is really dead, Denmark will be busy fighting internal strife to seize power and has no desire to go north for revenge.
The Russians will continue to develop territory in the north and peacefully explode the population.
At least in the Lake Malaren region and the entire northern world, the geopolitical situation has been completely stabilized. The Russians did not ask for the title of King of Sweden, and Rus was already the uncrowned king.
In this area, the overall geographical environment is still bad.
Although he was going home this time, when Rurik saw his Svetlana, he thought of the Eastern European world.
Novgorod is at least much warmer than Mälaren, and the number of local farmers is also huge. They must provide Ross with a steady stream of stamina.
Is the Sorgon voyage still necessary?
Why does it have to be an act of asking for tribute that is no different from an open robbery? Why must the local manor owners cooperate?
Kill these manor owners, split the manor, and split the entire manor population into small family units and become small farmers one by one. The small peasant families were then pieced together into a brand new village community, which was directly ruled by the prince of Rus.
In this way, Novgorod's native aristocratic system collapsed, and the local area lost native leaders who might rebel.
How can the people who have lost their leader dare to say no to the monarch’s tax requirements?
However, in order to do so, the Russians will need to come up with a basic bureaucratic team to allow this more advanced model to operate.
Rurik just thought about it. Considering the current situation, Ross does not even have a clear internal affairs system.
Wait a minute! Maybe one can be set up this winter.
Rurik has a new plan for this.
The fleet drifted on the sea for four days, and it was precisely because it carried too many supplies that it slowly returned to the fjord of Fort Ross.
There is still some time before the sea freezes. In the narrow Gulf of Bothnia, a large number of Ross fishing boats are swaying with the waves. Boats hauled nets and fished for herring by luck. There are also some fishing boats that go straight to the north. They set nets in the river next to Ellenburg and catch local salmon.
As in previous years, when the fjord was covered with white sails, people flocked to the seaside in large numbers to welcome the return of the Sorgon fleet. This time, they saw a fleet of unprecedented scale, with three "giant ships" as the core, leading a large number of cargo ships straight to the trestle dock.
Compared with the large number of longships in the past, these cargo ships are unable to wash the beaches, and the people have long stopped dividing supplies at the suddenly formed beach markets. The men simply bring their wives and children.Watching this grand occasion, some of them tightly grasped the silver coins in their hands, waiting for the Duke to set up shop to sell supplies.
Just as the long-voyaging fleet is rapidly transforming from long ships to heavy cargo ships, Roseburg itself has undergone earth-shaking changes after the development of this warm period!
“Finally home!”
Rurik was inevitably tired after thinking about a lot of things. Standing on the bow of the ship, he saw the completely transformed building built against the gentle slope of the mountain. Roseburg, he kept feeling emotional.
Otto's white beard was blown by the north wind. He put his hands on his son's shoulders and shouted deeply: "I kept your mother waiting for a long time. This time you bring back two women. Take a look at her." What would she say?"
"Of course she is very happy. By the way, I want to take a special look at Rumia! I have to check her belly myself."
"Okay! Go take a closer look. I still can't believe it. That was the first slave I got for you, and it actually gave birth to my first grandson." Otto really felt the fantasy of life, I just don’t know if Rumia will give birth to a boy or a girl.
The whistling wind in his ears forced Rurik to shout loudly: "She is already a high priest, not a slave."
"Have you thought of a name yet?"< /p>
"What name?"
"The child's name."
"Think about it." Rurik shouted again: "Velika! It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, it’s called this!”
“Is it a good name? Get ready, we are about to dock.”
Everything is in order. As the sequence progressed, three large ships docked steadily at the trestle pier, and the rest of the cargo ships also entered the berths.
At the beginning of the year, Rurik had already formulated a plan to expand the terminal. It seems that the plan was not only implemented, but over-implemented.
Take a look!
Including the trestles at the Gould family's private dock, there are as many as twenty trestles stretching out to the sea. It is no problem for a total of ten cargo ships to dock on both sides of each trestle.
No, some merchants’ longships have already parked here. Many of the ships were tied horizontally, the beams of the sails were twisted to be flush with the central axis of the ships, and the bows of the ships were all aligned with the trestle, thus occupying the area. A large number of ships can be parked in a small space.
The air is filled with a faint salty smell, as is the case for a typical northern seaport city built on the mountains.
The Aurora put down the planks, and people on board disembarked one after another.
"The end of the voyage has arrived, hold on to my arm." Rurik said casually to Svetlana, who had her eyes wide open.
The girl walked down the board cautiously, fearing that she would accidentally fall into the water and she would not be able to swim.
She stood steadily on the trestle, and suddenly saw her companion Nolen. This Varyag girl jumped off the boat, as if she was not afraid of any danger.
Nolan ran over happily, eager to be pampered, so he hugged him from behind.Rurik's neck.
"Ah! This is Roseburg? How great! There are actually walls and towers..."
"Not only are there walls, but there are also many interesting places. Tonight , you two sleep in the palace, and this will be your home from now on." Rurik explained this matter in two languages, but in fact he didn't know how well his new home was built. It's already done.
Otto holds the hilt of the sword in his hand and is dressed like an old warrior. He is high-spirited and has the depth of an old man, and his face is full of vicissitudes of life and achievements.
In front of Otto, Rurik held the hands of the two girls. The three of them were dressed in luxurious clothes and jewels. The eyes on their childish faces revealed perseverance and arrogance.
A kind of uniformly dressed warrior followed closely behind. The white cloak was sewn with blue strips of cloth, and occasionally the chest was exposed. The white linen on the chest also had two interlaced blue stripes.
People gathered on the beach and lined the streets to welcome the Duke's triumph. The current people still don't know what kind of great battle Rurik has gone through. Their minds are occupied by excitement simply when they see the huge fleet returning. They not only welcomed Otto and his sons, but also welcomed them for bringing back the materials that allowed the Russians to prosper.
At the critical moment, the girl High Priest Rumia, wearing a deer-antlered helmet and holding a jeweled wooden staff, stood up.
Following them were ten Slavic maids from Rurik. They were led by the Coven girl Lumi, wearing crowns made of pine branches and wearing plain clothes. Beside the priest.
After a while, Niya also appeared with Carlotta, Ella and Saipolava.
Just judging from their clothes, they are obviously far more noble than other people.
Svetlana clearly saw that the people were avoiding spontaneously, and finally they retreated to form a circle.
"There are so many beautiful girls, are they all your...women..." she asked weakly.
"Yes, they are all mine."
Rurik's calm answer shocked Svetlana. Although she was prepared, she did not expect her own How can a man please a woman so much? No! Rurik, he is probably a lecher. Suddenly, Svetlana felt that her rewarded position was not secure, or even precarious.
Niya's eyes were filled with tears. She opened her arms and looked at her son kindly: "Rurik, come here, let me see you..."
Rurik then He walked straight away, and finally let the old mother touch his forehead and kiss his cheek.
She was excited, and from the corner of her eyes she saw two girls standing quietly and smiling silently.
"You..." Niya held her son's shoulder and asked urgently: "Tell me, did you coax a woman from outside again?"
"Of course. Let me introduce you." Rurik turned around generously: "This is Nolen, the daughter of the leader of Balmok, and the biological sister of Biyoni who came here at the beginning of the year.She is already my woman. This is Svetlana, the wife my father chose for me. ”
“Oh, that’s great. Niya waved her hands hurriedly, "Come on, both of you." ”
She touched the cheeks of the two girls again, praising her son as the greatest boy and the greatest man in the future. She also praised the beauty of the two girls.
However, her man actually has an astonishing number of wives and concubines. Which woman would not be jealous?
Jealousy, that is true jealousy, but as a Rurik woman, every woman has it. Their respective fates.
Rumia held the wooden stick in one hand and stroked her belly with the other. She approached Rurik, grabbed his hand, and covered her belly. >Rurik understands this very well.
“Already have it? ”
“Yes. It's been six months now. ”
Rurik nodded. After all, just look at Rumia’s current figure. Even if she is dressed behind, she can’t hide the fact of her big belly.
Her The joy of being a mother was already showing on her cheeks. To be honest, Rurik did not feel that extreme joy.
In the Duke of Ross’s family, every concubine has her own destiny, and her children have their own destiny. They all have their own destiny.
The children born by Rumia will eventually inherit the antlered helmet and gemstone staff that represent the history of Ross, as well as the responsibilities of the high priest.
Yes. After all, she was his first woman, and it was she who made him a real man.
Ryurik now cared more about her than the child in her belly.
< p>Under the gaze of the people, Rurik, who had gained pure power and was the de facto Duke of Rus, kissed the forehead of the holy high priest of Rus in public!The people were cheering, more and more! It was just booing, and it was also accompanied by a lot of crying babies after being frightened.
None of this affected Rurik. He leaned into Rumia's ear and said with a smile: "Tonight, I will accompany you..."
Rumia, she never dared to expect much. Now, she feels that she is the happiest woman.
The two of them are intimate. In the eyes of Rurik's many wives and concubines, this feeling is difficult to describe in words... let's laugh together with the booing Russians.