During the busiest period of surveying and mapping farmland, boyar nobles from various farms around the lake arrived in Novgorod in small boats or carriages.
They all saw what happened in the farmland, and they immediately understood that Prince Rus was actually personally implementing his decision.
The current task of measuring the acres of Baishu Manor will fall on me sooner or later.
They had no choice but to face it with all their might, not knowing that it was good or bad, and that it had already happened and they were powerless to change it.
When all the boyars gathered, Rurik washed off the dust on his body and put on gorgeous clothes to restore the nobility of the Duke.
A wooden house was designed as a venue for the parliament. It is currently quite simple, but as the highest noble, Rurik intends to entertain these local nobles who have delayed their arrival for a long time.
People like Uski and Tori who have participated in the counter-insurgency war have high self-esteem and naturally accept the invitation very happily.
Other manor owners, the boyars, still remain wary and suspicious of the Russian conquerors.
A group of people gathered in this simple wooden house. They all wore fox furs and fox fur hats. Some holes were punched in the hats, and some mottled feathers could be inserted for decoration. .
Many boyars have furs made of bearskin. Obviously wearing it to a party is a way to seek death.
Who can wear bearskin clothing? Rus warriors are entitled and deserve it.
Although the house is simple, there are a number of deerskin cushions placed inside, and square tables are placed in front of the cushions. What does this mean? Could it be that the prince also needs to arrange catering?
When they were bored, they started chatting with each other. The only exception among the boyars was the old man Ligus. They all exchanged the information they had found out, and even some rumors.
"Hey, have you all heard? I heard that the prince brought all his women here this time, but I don't know if the young man's body can bear it. Haha, maybe he can."
"Of course he can. Friends, I heard that Ligus's little daughter is pregnant. After a baby is born, that baby becomes our master."
"So what can I do? Do you want me to complain?" Someone murmured regretfully, "That guy Ligus is a conspirator, and he succeeded. My daughter is obviously more beautiful than his daughter, but it's a pity..."< /p>
“Let’s talk about serious matters!” Uski interrupted the conversation of a group of old guys.
"What is serious business? Land affairs?"
"Exactly. I dare say that the prince summoned us to explain this matter. Have you thought about it? We will do it then. We have to hand over wheat or other things according to this. I don't believe that the Russians are really merciful. Pine Needle Manor is finished. The rest of us are just a group of poor cows. The Russians can squeeze as much milk as they want. ”
People looked at each other, and no one said anything for a long time.
Finally someone was waiting for the desk in front of them and whispered:"In the past, Pine Needle Manor was our master. At that time, we had to pay tribute to them and the Russians. Now we only serve the Russians, so the situation can't be bad. Now that they are here, they have obviously defeated the Great Lakes of the North. Enemies. As you can see, there is no one left alive in the entire Pine Needle Manor! Let’s not worry about the consequences of angering the Ross people.”
This person said at the end. They were trembling, and many people's eyes were inadvertently directed at Ning Wang Uski and Tori, simply because they were also participants in the killing.
Tori was not happy about this. He raised his head and said: "What do you think I am doing? That Vadim is a fool. If you follow him, you will die. I only got where I am today by following the Russians. You should touch yourselves." Conscience, if you lead troops to follow the Russians earlier, you can get land. Are you afraid of the Russian raids? In my opinion, Grand Duke Rurik is a good man."
They were whispering to each other again. One after another.
Finally, there was a commotion outdoors, and the seated boyars stood up one after another.
I saw what I thought was a capable young man with his head held high, wearing a furry white bear fur robe, holding a sword hilt, walking towards him with arrogant steps.
Lord Rurik, the Prince of Rus, has arrived!
Many Russian warriors wearing iron-reinforced chainmail guarded his left and right sides. They no longer covered their armor with robes, clearly proving to the witnesses that they were indeed made of iron and were indescribably powerful.
He was also followed by two people, one of whom was Governor Medved, a tall and strong man. This guy had been close to the Ross people for many years, and his whole person became like Ross.
The other young man is slim and handsome, his clothes are neat and slightly close-fitting, with a sword hanging from his waist and a velvet hat on his head. who is he?
When the prince arrived, the people who had been chatting just now all expressed their greetings with smiles.
"You all sit down." Rurik said casually in Slavic: "I summoned you, and I saw you all coming. Very good! I don't want to hear any polite words, you You have no right to ask, you only have the right to listen to my preaching. Now sit down."
After being warned, the boyars had to sit down obediently.
They all knew that Old Otto had been staying in the city of Novgorod. When they entered the city for a meeting, everyone glanced at the dock and saw those familiar ships docking quietly. The Duke's ship was actually firmly fixed? ! Apparently the Duke planned to spend the winter here.
Rurik sat cross-legged, Medved sat down with a sullen face, but saw the handsome young man beside him sitting sideways, standing up and slowly taking off his hat.
The braided hair fell down and his face became clear, which shocked all the boyars.
There are rumors that Gus’s youngest daughter has become a pregnant woman. Everything is a fallacy. She is sitting here, clearly dressed as a young Rus warrior. If it weren't for this face, no one would dare to say that she is Svetlana.
Seeing the looks in the boyars’ eyes, Rurik felt that they were the only ones who actually had a hard time holding back.Zihua. My time is very tight, and I have to carry out surveying and mapping at the Old Pine Needle Manor, so I don't have time to spend time with this group of boyars.
"My order has been issued long ago, and you all came too late. I know that the roads and waterways are not good, so I don't blame you. You must have seen it when you came to my Novgorod, I have begun a detailed survey of the land here. I will complete the summons to you today, and I will publicize this."
He paused and did not give these boyars a chance to interrupt. , You said: "You'd better prick up your ears like rabbits and listen carefully. This is my order."
(Rurik told the group what he had explained to Ligus before. Boyar repeated it...)
"Do you all understand now? The consequences of not cooperating are very dangerous. You can rest assured that I am a just ruler. Whoever has more farmland will win the war." The more livestock you have, the more tax you have to pay. Whether you live deep in a remote forest or around the city of Novgorod, the tax laws are the same. Those who pay taxes will be protected by Rus, and those who don't pay taxes will be protected. You are punished by Ross. As long as you pay taxes, you are a new Russian recognized by Ross. You can call yourself a Ross as long as you pay taxes? Zhong Boyar doesn't think this so-called honorary title actually has much effect.
Because they have been calling themselves Slavic, which is "glorious" itself, and they have been calling themselves the glorious clan.
The boyars are also smart. They are the best in the competition in their community, so they can control the identity of the manor owners. Land is their lifeblood, and all matters related to land will arouse their extreme vigilance. Prince Rurik of Russia swore an oath this time. He swore to Odin, the main god of Varyag, and to Peron, the great Slavic god, that the agricultural tithe would be implemented and the tax rate would not be increased. The tax base for taxation is the area of farmland. The prince also ensures that only mature fields that have been developed for at least one year will be counted, and wasteland and newly reclaimed land will not be included. The area of farmland will also be recalculated every five years to revise the tax base.
The prince clarified two major principles: fairness and contract.
This is a meeting of fairness and contract, but until they are truly implemented, Zhongboyar cannot really believe it, and now he can only face Rurik with a smile.
Rurik just wouldn’t let them interrupt. As the highest nobleman on this issue, he must act arbitrarily.
After all, these native boyar nobles are a threat to the Principality of Ross itself. They should be purged. The Principality of Ross should directly rule every family around Lake Ilmen. This is not to destroy the inherent farm system, on the contrary, it is to build a farm that can be directly controlled by the principality. For example, one hundred peasant families are organized into a collective farm, and one person is elected as the village chief every few years, and the duke reviews the village leader and gives him administrative power. This kind of village chief is different from the boyar nobles. He has no foundation and no shackles. For the sake of personal prosperity and wealth, he must do things well for the duke. Even if it is possibleIf a few Lin Dengwan can appear, it is just a small fight. Unlike the collective rebellion of tens of thousands of people at Pine Needle Manor that had just occurred, the preparations for the conquest of Karelia ended in an anticlimactic situation after more than half a year. The biggest factor was the delay in financial and material resources in the counter-insurgency war.
Thus Rurik concluded that even if the local boyar nobles were very loyal in their generation, their descendants might still rebel because they had enough resources to rebel.
The establishment of a farm directly controlled by the duke, relying on layer-by-layer bureaucratic descending management, this model is more advanced than entrusting the boyar aristocracy to rule, but it is completely unsuitable for today's era.
Through several days of personal surveying and mapping activities at the grassroots level, Rurik has thoroughly felt the extreme backwardness of rural life in this era. Is this considered a rural area? Living people are like "apes who know how to farm." There is not even paper, and processed wooden boards are used to record information. As for the ink used, the Russians used technology learned from Rome a long time ago. Writing itself is not the problem, the carrier of writing is the big problem.
The carrier for recording information is a heavy wooden board, and there are only a handful of people in the entire Principality of Rus who can write and write. The absolute lack of talents and information carriers makes it impossible for the principality to accurately manage the people under its rule.
It is really impossible to entrust these native boyars to act as agents.
It is even questionable whether Medved, the governor appointed by himself, has always been loyal. After all, this person is a very substantial relative of the principality.
The lecture ends here, and Rurik believes they have all understood it. Due to the bad traffic conditions, it was not easy for the boyars to gather in Novgorod, the northernmost part of the lake, even though they were all residents of the lake. They should be entertained.
The long-prepared feast begins!
The fine wheat flour treasured by Rurik is mixed with butter and honey and baked into an extremely fragrant and soft meal.
Bread is placed in front of the boyars one after another. As long as they smell the fragrant smell, their appetite will flow like a spring.
For a moment, the aroma of wine filled the air again. The exquisite crystal cup had a strange shape. After removing the cork, the perfect aroma of wine overflowed.
These two delicacies make the newly served barbecue no longer a delicacy. In fact, this was not the case. The boyars saw that all the dinner plates provided by Duke Rurik were crystal plates!
The tableware is actually glassware, and the wine bottles are also blow-cast. These utensils have now become mass-produced items.
Rigus came on crutches, and his son-in-law preached without saying a word. Now I saw these boyars studying the glassware for a long time, and looked at them with contemptuous eyes.
Because Rigus already knows the whole truth, although he does not understand the principle, it is certain that most of the glassware on site was actually made by the eldest daughter who married Ross. The eldest daughter Lilia must have mastered magic, or the wisdom given by Odin.
Zhong Boyar did not go back empty-handed, they had all finished drinking.A bottle of vodka and half a pound of hard liquor were consumed, and many people were helped away by the attendants as they swayed. They ate up the sweet, pastry-like bread, and even licked the glass bottles clean with their tongues. The barbecue was also finished. Ryuri ordered his men to add more salt to the meat. He wanted to see how uncomfortable these people were eating salty food. This was just a prank for fun. Unexpectedly, these guys ate them all. Clean.
How sodium-deficient must their bodies be? !
Rurik could understand after a moment's thought that the salt sold to them before was too little. Facing the large market around Lake Ilmen, as well as the unconquered free farms in the surrounding forests, This is a huge market, and salt and iron are hard currencies.
They took away the glassware. It is conceivable that these things will become the exclusive treasures of the boyars.
This is a general meeting of all Novgorod boyar nobles in early winter. It is also the second general meeting of all boyar nobles after the rebellion was put down. From now on, life will be on track and wait until next year. During the autumn harvest season, grain taxes were completely defeated in accordance with the regulations of the principality, and a new peaceful life under Ross's rule had arrived.
The meeting had just ended. Rurik threw away his gorgeous robe and showed off the simple and capable linen clothes underneath which were convenient for working in the fields.
The fur-covered boyars had all left, and he casually called Medved to come close to him.
"Sir, do you have an important order?"
"Yes. My mother and daughter are coming soon. In the past few days, you can organize the flag team and make the soldiers look energetic. The old lady wants to look like a real Varyag warrior."
"Yes." Medved smiled.
"Oh, one more thing. Send me people to cut down five hundred birch trees. Remember, don't cut down small trees. When you are done, I will peel off the bark of the trees."
< p>"Peel the bark off the tree?" Medved heard it too freshly."You must be questioning something. Don't question it, just follow my request. Also, try to find the birch tree as far away as possible. I don't want to destroy the place outside the city in a short time. The birch forest has been cut down completely."
Only Gus had something to say about this matter. The old guy coughed twice and interjected: "Sir, those birch trees have been planted by our generations. There is no need to worry about the disappearance of the birch forest. If a tree is cut down, we will replant it. The birch tree (white tree) is the symbol of our farm. We need these high-quality woods to live, and we are good at carrying these trees. ” p>
Rurik was not clear about these things, and what Ligus said shocked him: "That's great."
"Then, sir, can you tell me why I need those things?" Bark? Five hundred trees, you will get a lot of bark."
Since Ligus asked, Rurik might as well express his decision that he had been holding back for a long time. "I will make a very soft board (referring to paper), which is as thin as cloth, can be folded like cloth, and can be written with inkEternal words. But it's also a special kind of board, and bark is needed to make it. Since you like birch for daily use, birch bark will be the best cork board. "
How can Rigus and Medvet abstractly understand things they have never seen? Svetlana, dressed as a warrior, cheered, and she enthusiastically hugged her husband's neck: "Those Heavy boards are so annoying. If only there was something as thin as cloth...a cork board. Can we just write a lot of things? In this way, your carriage does not need to pull a lot of wooden boards, and a small box can carry these things for writing and recording. "
"Of course. "Rurik laughed out loud, he has decided to make paper!
He believed in Medvet's ability to act, and the most readily available papermaking raw materials, the Novgorod governor was about to provide himself with Done.
Just before that, and before the first snow fell, Rurik also decided to summon all the surveying and mapping teams to concentrate manpower and material resources to win a "tough battle for the surveying and mapping of the old Pine Needle Manor's acres." .
Rurik and his men are already going all out
And Medved, with his men, has also received the order and is carrying the two men. Saws and axes went deep into the forest to cut down the white birch among the red pines, and the bark began to accumulate in a steady stream. As for the peeled trunks, there was no waste at all. The charcoal makers in the city started to make them, and the people of Baishu Farm were already making them. , reserve charcoal for winter heating.
This action also explains why this farm likes birch trees. The obvious reason is that burning pine trees and pine charcoal is accompanied by a very pungent smell. Who would? Like this? Then birch, which is abundant and has low burning smell, has become the most cost-effective material for heating.