This is actually a big city in the far north!
Eskir, he originally thought that the Birka Market in Mälaren was already the largest city in the north.
Reims, Hamburg and Bremen, these important Frankish cities, are densely populated and have wooden walls.
A city with a population of tens of thousands, or even five thousand, is densely populated in his mind.
Although in Birka of Mälaren, the locals have barbaric beliefs and even kill people as sacrifices. He couldn't deny that in terms of population alone, it was already a big city.
What can you learn by going to the far north home of the Russian people? Can Rurik, who is interested in holy faith, be converted into a saint? Even if that's not realistic, are there potential lambs for the locals?
But Fort Ross stands on the waterfront under the hills.
Tall wooden walls, as well as the duke's palace as high as a hill, and even the altar and granary enclosed by the wall. The densely and compactly arranged piers and piers have an astonishing number of ships arranged in an orderly manner.
Especially the returning large ships loaded with various supplies. He saw the Russians using a combination of levers and net bags to quickly unload the supplies on the ship, either by shoulder resistance or by pushing a two-wheeled cart. , transport materials to the warehouse.
This is Roseburg! The agate of the north!
When he landed, he suddenly saw thick smoke billowing from one side.
What is that? Are you afraid there was a fire? But it doesn’t look like it.
When he first came to Ross, Eskil received courtesy from Rurik, and the old guy was very smart to keep a low profile. The important matter of spreading the sacred faith must be dealt with according to the situation. If the Duke is disgusted, he may be in danger of losing his life.
Here he and his two followers enjoyed a small but warm room, where they could clean themselves with floral-scented soap, and then take a hot bath in a bucket. , and even got into the hell-like sauna.
He resisted at first, thinking it was a devil's lair! However, once you accept the feeling of being surrounded by thousands of steam, it is really refreshing.
He originally wanted to have a good chat with the Duke early and take the opportunity to reveal his intention to stay at Ross Cap Abbey, but the Duke did not summon him and he was allowed to observe the entire Ross on the waiting day.
Maybe this is a good thing too.
One clear morning, a slave girl came to Eskil’s current residence carrying a wooden box.
Compared to the past few days when he didn’t get food until close to noon, today’s situation really surprised him.
What surprised him even more was that it was a woman.
He originally wanted to avoid it, so he ordered the accompanying young priest to get the meal.
After a moment, the little priest hurried back to the dormitory.
"Padar, the woman who delivers the food, she..."
"What's wrong?" Eskil pretended to be angry and put on a serious face, "Hurry up Take it out. You know, I love this now."
"It's...that woman. That's a devout lamb."
"Woohoo?"
At this time, Esquier jumped up, "Quick! Let her in!"
The woman delivering the meal knelt down as soon as she entered the room. Her heart was beating fast and her whole body was shaking. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her trembling hands placed the wooden box filled with wheat rice on the ground.
"Padar, even here, we have not forgotten our faith. You are here, this must be God hearing our prayers."
Eskil saw it at a glance The cross on this woman's chest. The accent sounds like Saxon? It seems not.
No! This woman also has this orange hair.
"Get up! My child, you can understand my language."
The woman stood up in a panic: "Padar, I want to confess to you."< /p>
"Here? This is not appropriate. Confession must be in a monastery."
"Ah! a monastery. Yes! We have a monastery."
A monastery, It is pronounced "Christini" in the entire European context, which originally meant the temple.
This word was like a thunderbolt that struck his head.
"A monastery? There is a monastery in Rus! Quick! Take me there!"
"But Padar, your meal."
"Go to the monastery !” Eskil revealed again with tears streaming down his ravaged face, “I don’t know which friend the leader of Ross has given permission to come here to spread the word of holiness... "
He took his entourage, led by this woman, and went straight to the prayer room of the Britton servant of Rurik.
And all this was Rurik's instruction.
Rurik even arranged for his servants to deliver meals. He himself stood on the third floor of the palace, watching what Eskil did not far away. Everything is under Rurik's control.
Eskil hurriedly arrived at the servants' prayer room, where ten people had already gathered.
They are all women, and their hair color may be golden or red, which shows the ethnic surprise, but they are all lambs.
Eskil came, and the arrival of a black-robed high priest shocked and ecstatic them.
They knelt down one after another, praying to the high priest to say a mass immediately, and then listened to everyone's confession.
"Get up, children, you have not forgotten the sacred faith in this far north, you are all the most pious."
That's all, he asked the little priest to take out his own A must-have copy of the Gospels.
This wooden house is small and simple, but the sacred faith also requires that devout people should not indulge in the glitz of the world, and devout people should live a simple life.
It is good if the monastery is decorated with gold and silver, but even if it is a humble room, there is no problem.
The significance of the existence of this wooden house far exceeds itself! Although it is very small and veryEven the crosses are made of simple pieces of wood. It is a monastery.
Esquier immediately started his work, holding a mass unexpectedly, and then listened attentively to the confessions of the imprisoned believers.
When he finished these tasks, the wheat rice had already turned cold.
The souls seemed to have been purified. These bought slaves began their noon work again...
The wooden house became cool, and Esquier ate the cold food. After a meal, I stood outdoors and looked up to the sky and sighed.
"What else can I ask of Duke Rus? There is clearly a monastery here! Rurik, no wonder you are interested in our sacred faith..."
"Padar, but this is just A simple wooden house," one of the attendants said.
"It's a wooden house, that's enough. The monastery also needs a priest. You, John, you stay here."
"Me?" the young servant was shocked, " This is a wilderness."
"Yes, no. Child..." Esquier touched the back of the boy's neck affectionately, and the boy trembled subconsciously.
"Padar, do we have to be in a place like this..."
"God will not dwell on this kind of thing. This is our secret and it is time to end it. I love you , so you stay here. You will be the future priest of Ross Parish.”
The young John had mixed emotions, because he was originally a lowly slave waiting to be sold in the market of Hedeby, and was sold because of his good looks. Sermon Eskil caught the eye.
Eskil had many servants, and he deliberately trained the slaves he bought to become preachers. These little Saxon or Dane believers should become the most determined ones.
But John, who was given the Christian name, was most moved by the fact that he could eat enough food. As time went on, his inner ambition also sprouted.
He is even willing to be a "rabbit" so that he can become a bishop by being loved by Eskil, the future archbishop of a certain place. A slave becomes a master! He was willing to lift his robe and do whatever Eskil wanted.
But to open up wasteland in this barbaric land?
John didn’t refuse, maybe this was fate.
As a result of the morning's adventure, Eskil strategized his future actions.
“Maybe compared to Birka, Rossburg can become a holy place in the north. The Russians are good at architecture. If I finally influence Rurik, Duke of Ross, will he build a magnificent monastery for me? ”
But the summons from Duke Ross has not come yet, and he does not dare to barge in to ask for an audience. What’s more, the monastery exists in reality, and he has no particularly urgent needs.
Eskil started wandering throughout Roseburg with his wooden staff.
He walked to Ross's altar and saw the golden god standing inside from a distance, subconsciously thinking that it was gold.
In fact, it is indeed gold, and all the statues are plated.A very thin layer of gold.
He saw a large gathering of people in Rus at the open altar. They lined up as much as possible under the management of the warriors, and saw them holding silver and copper coins, stuffing them into a wooden box under the gaze of the girl priest, and hurriedly entered the altar after hearing the jingling sound.
Russian believers kneel down and worship their gods, or they make fists with their hands and pray with their eyes closed, or even raise their hands in the air and make strange movements.
"This is useless witchcraft. What's the point of worshiping false gods..." Eskil muttered secretly and slapped John on the back, "Child, you have to make them give up this barbaric witchcraft." They are all lambs and can be influenced."
John nodded, "I will."
Will it? John didn't have any confidence in his heart, and was even very afraid.
Another day, Esquier and his entourage were awakened by the noise. They went to investigate and were surprised to see the Rus people starting to gather again.
It has been many days since I saw Rurik and his face that was more handsome than a noble lady. Seeing Rurik again, this kid is standing with his father, the real Duke of Ross, and there are large fields of wheat at their feet!
"Are you actually selling wheat?"
I saw the Russians lined up in pairs again with the soldiers maintaining order. Carrying wooden boxes or linen bags, they walked to the big scale with their money and traded wheat from the duke's hand.
Is there this kind of wheat trading? Unheard of!
It seemed that all the men in Roseburg came here, including women.
Of course there were noisy people and queue jumpers, but these people were pulled aside by soldiers maintaining order, and then dragged to the end of the queue.
The noisy work of trading grain lasted the whole day.
It wasn’t until evening that Eskil understood Duke Ross’s intentions - to be as fair as possible.
"Rurik, could it be that you are already using the Bible as a standard to learn what kindness and fairness are? If your principality fully accepts our faith, I am afraid that the Pope will canonize you as a saint in the north. ”
The Rus have a market that is not inferior to Birka. It is located in the easternmost area of the city, near the sea.
A large number of merchants and fishermen sell their own products, mostly fish and seal meat, and even a very small amount of live chickens.
He wandered around the market with great interest, comparing what he saw in Birka.
Food, charcoal blocks, ironware, woodware, pottery, cloth, animal skins, wooden crafts, and even finished clothes are also sold here.
There are also crystal vessels here! There are also strange crystals placed over the eyes!
There are people selling gemstones and colored crystals here.
What shocked him most was that these were extremely expensive things that many Russians seemed to be able to afford.
But the biggest difference here, and what moved him the most, was that there was no for sale in Duke's Marketslave.
The market is lively and bustling, obviously more prosperous than Birka!
It was another new day. Driven by strong curiosity, Eskil decided to go to the "Land of Eternal Smoke".
What he saw at the market yesterday was that the iron ax here was as cheap as only five silver coins.
Of course, this price is in Frankland, such as Reims, where I started. It is difficult for ordinary farmers to spend five silver coins to buy an axe, but the local blacksmith also gets ten silver coins to sell an axe!
An ax costs five silver coins, which is more expensive than the one at Birka Market, but the goods are different.
The Russians’ iron axes are more expensive and use more materials! When it comes to logging, obviously a larger ax blade is better.
Eskil bought one with a lot of money, and he asked his servant John to make a new wooden cross with this attack. Just when it was used, the excellence of this ax was shocking.
Now, Eskil has arrived at the "Smoke Place" in the northeast of the city.
Compared to other areas, it is really warm here.
He saw the strong men with bare backs covered with sweat. They were carrying ore, standing on a high platform, and throwing it into the hot furnace. Someone else carried the framed black charcoal, walked up to the high platform and threw it in.
Esquier is a man of action and an old missionary who has traveled far and wide. If those lords were not easily influenced, he would go deep into the people and preach among farmers, shepherds and blacksmiths.
He knew how the blacksmiths smelted iron, but the strange smelting method among the Russians puzzled him.
"Padar, the heat of purgatory is here. It's really scary. Those who are carrying materials will fall if they accidentally fall..."
"John, stop talking."
"I want to be here..."
"This is your destiny." Because of his nervousness, Eskil strangled John's neck with great force.
Suddenly, several men roared loudly, and then Youbian used an iron rod to open the hole in the giant furnace, and a strange red substance slowly flowed. The strong man who was ready poured water on it, and the red stuff turned black and disintegrated in the steam, and was shoveled away with a shovel.
After a while, the strong man roared again.
At this moment, Eskil was surprised to see that the "water", which was yellow, bright, hot and absolutely deadly like running water, began to be injected accurately into the pottery box.
"What's that?" John asked.
"I don't know, but we will find out soon."
Esquier is a good observer. He only sees and talks, and then understands everything.
Although it is incredible, the blacksmiths in Ross used huge furnaces to turn unburnable iron ore into molten iron.
They are casting axes and shovels this way.
Esquier did not continue to read, even though there were obviously other stoves. He was afraid that he would be expelled, or that he would spy on something he shouldn't.Stuff was arrested.
He left in a hurry and sat in his room, sometimes praising and sometimes sighing.
He said to himself, "I have traveled to many lords' territories, but I didn't know that the Russians were so powerful. I didn't even know that they existed before."
"Padar, can they really be influenced?" John's eyes were full of fear, obviously frightened by the pillar of fire spewed out by Gaul.
"You will succeed. Ah... I just don't know when the Duke of Ross will summon me."
Observe the industrial area of the Ross people's "Carbon and Iron Complex", Ace For the first time, Kiel felt the power of industry.
The next day, he rushed to the largest shipbuilding base in Russia and saw from a distance the hull of a large ship that had been completed in the indoor dock.
Just the matter of building a ship changed his perception that he could build a ship.
The Russians are able to produce iron tools and build giant ships. Their cities are well-ordered and they produce strange things. Their leaders are very rich. They are very orderly, and their leaders treat the people Also kind and fair.
"Ah! If a cross is installed on the top of the Duke's palace, if the diagonal blue pattern of the Russian flag becomes a blue cross, if the Russians tear down the altar and build a cross on the foundation, that is The perfect one is Dar es Salaam in the north..."
Finally, on the tenth day after arriving in Fort Ross, Eskil finally received a summons from Rurik.
The reason why he was left alone for ten days was because of Rurik's arrangement. Eskil has been under surveillance these days. Rurik knows where he went, what he saw, and what he did.
Now, this old missionary who has traveled almost throughout Denmark should be able to understand the strong power and potential of the Rus.
He will definitely spread his knowledge to others in Frank.
With understanding, there will be prospects for trade, Russians can be sent to collect intelligence, and possible future military operations can be planned.
And this is Rurik’s ultimate goal. So much for flexing muscles.