Just as spring plowing was approaching, Rurik completed a deal with Kiev Horse.
According to Maksakye, the total price of the horses, two males and eight females, is equivalent to ninety pounds of silver coins, which is equivalent to nine thousand silver coins!
How can ten horses be worth this money?
In private, Sakye confided that the total price of these horses was at most forty pounds.
"You mean you feel guilty for deceiving me? You actually suspect that I am a stingy noble? The deal has been set, and I will not take back the price. You will get the money immediately, and I will too I encourage you to purchase supplies from our country locally, so that you can make money on both sides." Rurik's generous statement once again shocked Sakye to tears.
The focus of this transaction is not at all the price of the ten horses. Rurik feels that he has made a huge profit.
Because intelligence information is also a huge wealth that is difficult to measure in terms of money. For the first time, the Rus' Principality received intelligence about the geopolitical relations in the southern region, which helped to formulate appropriate roadmap plans for future conquests.
In this way, Sakye and his gang are still fed and fed, but now they have to spend their own money to buy delicious meals and even go to the market to trade.
It is already April, and most of the ice in the sea near New Roseburg has melted at the end of March. Everyone is looking forward to the ice breaking up enough to sail.
As the high priest, Rumia worshiped the gods on the Spring Equinox in the Julian calendar according to the rules. She wanted to preside over the ceremony to worship the seven gods. Now that it involved the melting of ice and snow and the resumption of navigation, for the so-called safety of navigation, the sea gods and sea monsters also had to be sacrificed.
Ten years ago, the people of Russia were still very picky when it came to offering sacrifices to their gods, because they really didn’t have many large animals to raise, so taking out five deer was an extreme luxury.
Times have changed, and now the sacrifices all start with ten deer.
The Principality of Rus inherited the traditional Viking customs and holds two grand sacrifices throughout the year. Worshiping Odin during the Winter Solstice is equivalent to celebrating the New Year. The Spring Festival honors the gods and the ocean, which is actually a celebration of the beginning of productive life.
New Roseburg is fully revived, and fishermen, farmers and merchants are fully prepared!
However, because Ross lost the Danish market, the average price of all kinds of fur goods in the New Rossburg fur market plummeted.
The truth has really become "help us if the leather is unsaleable."
This is the time to buy at the bottom. Ryuri ordered Governor Konuson and his son to take action immediately and buy as much of the hunters' goods as possible with the money from the treasury.
Princes and businessmen worked hard to complete the acquisition, and as many as 100,000 squirrel skins, 5,000 ferret skins, 2,000 fox skins and 200 polar bear skins were acquired.
Businessmen will transport their leather to Lake Mälaren as usual, at least Ross has not lost the Swedish market!
Rurik had at least 50,000 squirrel skins on hand, as well as a thousand mink skins and all 200 polar bear skins. What he actually paid to the hunter was part of the silver coins and copper coins, and the proportion needed to be changed.High wheat in kind.
Lake Ladoga has dissolved, and thousands of streams, together with Lake Onega water, are pouring water here, directly causing the Neva River's water volume to surge!
This situation directly caused the waterway traffic between Novorosberg and Novgorod to become more responsible. Going down the river would be extremely fast, while going backwards would be an arduous battle with the river water.
But the prince ordered that a large amount of leather must be shipped to Novgorod.
What does Rurik mean? Nothing else, just because tens of thousands of Slavic women will suddenly be free after the busy farming season. In fact, they also do auxiliary life work such as cutting grass, weaving baskets, making woodware, etc. However, the value of the labor produced is difficult to measure in terms of money. In other words, this kind of labor cannot be exchanged for real food rewards.
A leather fleet was moving up the Neva River. A distinguished "great tailor" was ordered by the prince to move with his full set of handicraft workshop personnel.
Times have changed, and Fo Degen is no longer the owner of a small tailor shop in Lake Ladoga. He had as many as fifty slave workers under his command, and he also figured out a strategy in production, which was to group workers into groups, thus improving the efficiency of making leather clothes.
Since the principality can produce carbon steel, it is also possible to make steel needles. It's just that the principality does not yet have the fine processing technology of the East and can only produce some quenched steel needles that are overall thicker.
Although this needle cannot reach the level of embroidery, it is very suitable for sewing leather and linen.
Making clothes does not require high technology. Even if you don’t have a sewing machine, you can still ensure good efficiency by relying solely on handwork.
The entire handicraft workshop staff set off with the fleet, and ten rowing long boats worked together to pull three standard armed cargo ships towards Novgorod.
Leather and finished ironware are two key products. Slavic women will earn real money by participating in leather processing, and finished ironware directly enhances the work efficiency of Slavic men.
More importantly, the Novgorod Shipyard needs a large number of iron tools, such as steel axes, scrapers, and planes, and steel consumables such as nails are also in urgent need of a batch.
Soap, glassware, and pottery are also on the transportation list. At this stage, they are all commodities that Russian immigrants can afford. They can be small in variety but must be there because the people need to consume them.
A small domestic demand market is expanding, such as leather made into clothes, which first of all meets the needs of the people of the Principality of Ross themselves. This market is temporarily small, but as the population grows rapidly, it will expand rapidly!
After all, the Swedish Lake Mälaren market only has a population of 50,000 people, and the Principality of Ross can theoretically surpass it soon.
After losing the Danish market, he cannot take it by force for the time being, and Rurik can only console himself that tomorrow will be better. At least for the foreseeable future, leather mixed with linen will make a batch of Novgorod new clothes. Changing into new clothes was a good thing to show off everywhere in ancient society. With the help of this generated domestic demand market, I can earn some scissor-difference profits.
For Vodgen, Novgorod is a novel place. Due to inner considerations, he is not willing to move to a new area after just settling in Novorosberg. He can obviously stay in Novorosberg. If you run a good workshop, why leave?
Since the prince made the request in winter, he did not dare to disobey, and now the fleet has also entered the Volkhov River, which runs north to south.
The small fleet from afar is really a distinguished guest. The arrival of Vodgen and the entire professional team did not cause much trouble. Only Rurik was very happy. What makes him happy is not even Fordgen himself, but the group of skilled workers under his command.
There is such a small group, they are all female slaves, and their own value is very pure. They are professional tailors, a group of tailors who are completely separated from land production. They make a living by making clothes for their masters. Therefore, even though they have excellent skills, they are still exploited crazily by their masters. As the master, Fo Degen feels that he is a good person. Without his leader, all the women would have met a tragic end.
Rurik received the anxious Vodgen with a smile. After some pleasantries at the dock, he invited him into the palace and had a secret conversation in a separate room.
Such a move made Fo Degen even more uneasy.
The room is almost airtight. It is Indian summer outside, but the interior is quite dark and still needs oil lamps for lighting.
"Sir, what do you mean, you have secret matters to discuss with me?"
"Exactly. I...ask you to make a concession." Rurik After hesitating for a moment, he still described firmly. < /p>
"Oh? Do you look down upon this place?"
"No." Fo Degen hurriedly denied and agreed: "I can only have the wealth I have today with your help. , under your protection, my wealth is safe."
"But you are also aging."
"I am older, at least. The old guy Gould is much younger."
"You are still old, you should make use of the incident."
Rurik is obviously hiding something, and Fodgen is a little impatient. , but did not dare to ask more, so he had to test: "What do you mean?"
"Then I will make it clear. I have taken a fancy to you as a female slave."
"Ah ? They? You..." Ford simply wanted to say something very ridiculous, as if the prince was attracted by the beauty of those slaves. Wait a minute, those are just a bunch of old ladies, how can they be pretty? Just because he realized the absurdity, Fo Degen quickly shut up for fear that he would make mistakes if he spoke too much.
"It's those female slaves. Me!" Rurik patted his chest hard, "I decided to buy them."
"Ah! You!?" Fordegen was all in one moment. Understanding, he suddenly stood up and his expression became ferocious and frightened, "You want to take away my wealth? That is my lifeblood, IBut a garment merchant. "
"Sit down first! "Rurik scolded, causing the other party to collapse in a hurry. "Do you think I'm killing you? absurd. I was just afraid that you would be too nervous, so I met you in a secret room. If you think my request is outrageous, then talk slowly. I tell you clearly that you will still build a permanent clothing workshop in Novgorod, but it will become very different from what you understand. ”
In this way, Rurik expressed his attitude. Because the core of the garment workshop is the female slaves, they are a group of skilled workers, and whoever controls them can build the factory immediately. No one can challenge them in terms of financial resources. Prince, what Rurik is doing is to directly nationalize the workshops that are purely private and self-financing.
Rurik gestured with his hands to describe the grand occasion: "You don't have to pay for the construction of the factory yourself, you don't have to pay. A series of payments including accommodation and food for slave workers. I will not charge you even one copper coin in taxes for your existing wealth. On the contrary, I will pay you a sum of money to buy these slave laborers. You are still engaged in this business. I hire you as a lifelong manager and will pay you generously and will not collect taxes. Wouldn't it be great? Your purpose of setting up a workshop is to make money. If you follow my method, you don't have to take all the risks. You will only get paid continuously and become a respected master tailor. "
"Huh? So our previous contract..."
"Is the previous contract more favorable than my current proposal? You're the smart guy, it's time for us to revise a better contract. ”
People like Vodgen were early industrial capitalists, and they were also the cornerstone of the Hanseatic League. As a businessman, he made a sudden calculation. Although he thought it was strange, after all, it must be A sure-win deal.
I thought that I had already fallen into the hands of the prince. If I tried to refuse, this kid would find a way to do it.
Ruri. Prince Ke is not just a handsome man on the surface, but a murderous madman. You must not be deceived by the kindness he shows now, and you must not disobey the prince's orders.
A long sigh. , Fo Degen felt that a great period of his life had come to an end, and the next step was to be forced to work for the prince.
Just after landing, a secret contract was signed and directly replaced the old contract. /p>
In a sense, the clothing workshop that Vodgen has been running for 20 years no longer exists. All the factories in the former Roseburg area or the Birka Market have been sold, and the clothing workshop no longer exists. As long as there are any heavy assets, only a group of soft goods that can be transported quickly and a group of slave workers are left. These are light assets.
For a long time, all Slavs in the Novgorod area made clothes. It is a family workshop where women sit at home and operate primitive looms to make linen and make clothes. In principle, they all hope to make better clothes. Although they have mastered very advanced weaving technology, Due to the lack of materials and tools, they are unable to sew high-end goods, especially leather clothing and woolen textiles.Clothing skills.
In fact, apart from Vordegen himself, Rurik was still able to appoint Bloma, the mother of his close comrade-in-arms Fisk, as the master tailor and quickly build a professional textile team.
Now that Fordegen agrees with the new policy, it is necessary to create a state-owned textile workshop and hire one of them as a manager (factory director) and one as a technical director.
The biggest reason why Rurik was so quick to pay was that his treasury had always been full due to past wars and plunder. He bought the ownership of all the female slaves in Fordegen at a price 10% higher than the market price. The next step was a fantasy.
For those slave workers, they were happy to be the dependents of the prince himself. Everyone praised that working for the prince was always very profitable, and I thought everyone's treatment would be better.
On the second day after Fo Degen arrived, all fifty slave workers were led to the entrance of the palace, a small open area.
Rurik announced directly in public: "You! All textile slave workers! You will get the opportunity to be completely free! Work for me for five years, and you will be free. One of the five years When the time comes, you can still continue to work as tailors, and I will give you extra rewards at that time..."
The prince never breaks his promise. He promises food, accommodation and one day off a week, especially for five years. The absolute freedom gained upon arrival included the possibility of marriage. Therefore, some young slave workers can still get married and have children. At that time, according to the prince's promise, they will become "Russ natives" and belong to the first echelon of subjects in the hierarchical society of the principality.
They were so moved that they burst into tears and put aside the matter of freedom for the time being. The king would provide everyone with more daily necessities and promise a rest day every six days. Fordegen would not give all this. After all, in the eyes of that man, the sisters were destined to be cows and horses throughout their lives.
But they still can't rely on Fordgen's management. Although everyone doesn't understand, they still have to meet each other day and night.
New factories were to be built in the city, but fortunately Novgorod enclosed a lot of open space when it was enclosing the wall. The city is not the city of White Tree Manor. The population of other ethnic groups is almost all technical people, and they are destined to fill the space of the city.
A plaque covered with chalk mud and painted with carbon black was prepared in advance. It was marked with three words, and together they were "Principal Tailor Factory".
This is the first state-owned textile factory in the Principality of Rus. All assets belong to Rurik personally. Of course, based on the principle of "I am the country", it is also state-owned.
The final form of leather is to become a variety of clothing. There are processing profits and logistics profits in each link. Rurik directly connected the upstream and downstream of the industry, from catching small animals to making leather. The coat completes the closed loop of the industrial ecology and wipes out all the profits an industry can make.
The workplace is a number of large longhouses in the woodcarving style, which combines two Viking and Slavic styles of architecture.Construction is most suitable for intensive workshop-style manual tailoring work. The same dormitory area has the same construction principles. Workers will sleep in Datongpu, but the buildings are built to accommodate 200 people at once.
How can a state-owned factory be just a small workshop with 50 people? The factory dormitory can only accommodate 200 people, which is just the manpower needed at this stage.
The plaque is currently hanging on the newly installed pile foundation column. The load-bearing wooden piles of the first batch of houses were constructed quickly due to the generous reward.
There are now two large construction sites within the city: a school and a garment factory.
More than a thousand male and female villagers were hired. The men received one pound of wheat per day, and the food for the labor was provided by Rurik.
The booming urban construction has also led to the rapid destruction of forests outside the city. In the end, people even threw out the tree roots and leveled the land. This is the so-called "asking for farmland from the forest." The construction of the city and the pioneering movement were carried out at the same time. Everyone involved gained profits, and Rurik himself also gained more reputation. It was really a plan to kill four birds with one stone.
The Kiev horse riders were amazed by this scene. They also saw that the horses they had sold were already involved in pulling the carts, and they looked closely and saw that they were all mares.
Where are the two stallions? Ma Ke realized that the people of the Rus Principality were waiting for the farmland to become harder, and they had prepared a variety of farm tools. Horses are allowed to visit farming routes and are promised free meals in exchange for their labor.
While waiting, they accidentally found two stallions. The speculation came true, the Russians were indeed using Pecheneg horses to breed local ponies!
Finally, the spring plowing in 836 began!
The Russians, who have made adequate preparations, are sowing this spring’s wheat seeds in various places. Compared with last year, more wheat seeds have been sown this year, and in the Lake Ilmen area due to the large number of people hiding in the area, more wheat seeds have been sown. Going out of the woods to open up wasteland, more people invested in agricultural production. Counting the acres of various grades of land in the area around the lake, as many as 30,000 hectares of land have been sown with a variety of crops, among which oats, wheat and rye are naturally the absolute mainstream. Onions, yellow root carrots and cabbage are the third vegetables that need to be sown.
Of course there is also flax, which is widely cultivated in the southern part of the lake.
Rurik set an example with his noble status as a prince. He was cultivating the land himself, and for this purpose he also wrote self-proclaimed articles on paper to publicize it to the people. The image of him personally manipulating the plow was painted by himself. Not to mention, compared to a group of "handicapped" people, a person like Rurik who knew a certain amount of sketching knowledge could draw a "picture of spring plowing" properly.
This show is to build a relationship with the Slavs, the most populous people. It is also to experience with your own hands the effects of the curved shaft plow that integrates plowing, sowing and burying of seeds.
He even used a trick, which was to get ten Kiev horsemen to try the curved shaft plow and the bound seeder.wonderful.
Almost instantly, his goal was achieved.
Maksaky directly asked Rurik, who had a pair of dusty legs, in the field: "Sir, this kind of plow is very wonderful. How much does it cost? Let's buy it!"
" You want to buy it? Why bother? I'll give you one! Wait, this is for you, the leader of Kiev!" Rurik patted Sakhi on the shoulder, "You will return soon. Tell your chief what you have seen in Rus and tell him of our support for peaceful trade. We look forward to more merchants coming to Rus with their goods."