The Principality of Rus finally ushered in a new winter. A blizzard forced the people to hide in warm houses, and even the livestock and poultry were driven into warmer pens for strict supervision.
In addition to the principality, there are a total of more than 50,000 large and small reindeer wandering around the principality.
Although we are facing the blizzard, no one is afraid of its cold terror anymore.
The principality’s treasury is really full and the animals are prosperous. In winter, the people don’t have to worry about food and drink. Since they are trapped at home by the snow, they naturally want to eat a lot and do active work to bring new children into the family.
Otto's beard was completely gray, and all the white hair on his head had fallen out. His skin is already very loose, and there are some visible brown age spots on his face that is not covered by his beard.
As a soldier, it is difficult for him to accept himself like this.
When he carefully observed his son who had returned from the expedition, his increasingly heroic figure reminded him of the past. I remember that I was so young and powerful back then, but the times did not give me many opportunities. At that time, Rus was still a hunter in the fjords and was ostracized by his Swedish allies. Although Rus was able to go to Novgorod to demand tribute at that time, it was only in the past few years that he ruled here.
Everything has changed, and the old warriors have decayed like dry wood.
According to tradition, after Hanukkah, everyone becomes one year older.
The only son Rurik was born in the autumn. Even so, when the festival is over, he can be said to be one year older. The festive season is approaching and Rurik is about to turn eighteen.
A young prince has achieved unspeakable feats, but the old warriors of Rus are passing away quickly...
Otto is already sixty-five years old. I never thought that I could survive until now. Everything must be a gift from the gods.
However, if a veteran warrior could choose, fighting to the death on the battlefield would be a better destination.
Otto was not afraid of death, and even looked forward to it. He knew that the gods had reserved a place for him in the Hall of Valor, but he must not leave now. He must witness a great moment.
The clever little girl who was personally selected by herself in the past is now pregnant ten years later. Svetlana is not a Viking. In recent years, she has behaved more and more like a female Viking warrior. She joined the crusade against the Kingdom of Denmark as a pregnant woman. As for whether she killed the enemy with a bow and arrow, this is not a matter of further investigation. The crux of the matter is that Queen Svetlana and her unborn child both participated in the battle, which was to take credit for the unborn child in advance.
Svetlana finally settled down and was quietly waiting for the birth of her child at her parents' home in Novgorod...
The winter life in the principality was completely disrupted because the rivers, lakes and seas were completely frozen. Unfolding, the ice forms a path for rapid action.
Reindeer sleighs began to move frequently on the ice. The sleighs from the east of Lake Ladoga were unparalleled in transporting stones and yellow sand. The newly-attached Lüdi people did not hesitate because they were profitable. The whole family made sandThe stoneworkers relied on hammers and chisels obtained from the Russians to pound the stones on the shores of Lake Onega, transported them to their own villages on sleds, and sold them on the spot to the Russian merchants who came to transport the goods. In this way, some Russians were not masons, they were just stone movers.
Compared with transporting stone from Gogland Island in the Gulf of Finland, the time cost and travel risk of transporting stone from Eastern Lake Onega are low.
New Roseburg on the Neva River has a very large demand for stones. After all, when people have the right to choose, including ordinary residents, they all hope to use stones to strengthen their houses and use them as a foundation. To build two-story or even three-story residences.
Not only the needs of the public, but also the cement manufacturing workshops in New Roseburg also need raw materials. Now only the craftsmen trained by Rurik know the principles of cement setting, and the knowledge is monopolized by the "Blacksmiths' Alliance".
A cement workshop is built in an open space outside the capital city, surrounded by wooden walls. There is a fire kiln inside the wall, where the lime transported from his hometown of Roseburg is processed into hydrated lime, and the yellow sand transported from Lake Onega is filtered into fine sand through a wire mesh. The craftsmen here all serve the prince, and they can receive food and salary for their work.
The processed slaked lime and fine sand are always put to use immediately to bind the stones to build solid walls and even lay hardened roads. However, the severe winter forced such construction work to be suspended, and the workers in the workshop completed the production of hydrated lime and fine sand and stored it.
Making slaked lime requires a flame, and the local blacksmith needs a more powerful flame.
The industrial areas of New Roseburg are located together. They are all close to the frozen Neva River. On weekdays, you can take advantage of the convenient transportation of waterways. If there is a fire, you can also get water on the spot to put out the fire.
As a group of trophy longships from Denmark were towed to New Roseburg and Tombstone Island, the ships were immediately sold and the proceeds went into the treasury. The new ships had an impact on shipbuilding throughout Russia, but had little impact on the workshops that built large ships.
Rosberg, Novorosberg and Novgorod, three large shipbuilding workshops still build standard cargo ships on shore. So far, some orders for cargo ships come from princes, but the other half of the orders come from simple merchants.
Businessmen from all walks of life certainly have the right to buy a cargo ship that can hang a triangular sail. Because it is jointly monopolized by the Hortra family and the Prince Rurik family, the price was determined by Rurik with a wave of his hand. That is one hundred pounds of silver coins or one hundred thousand pounds of wheat.
Are traditional cargo ships inferior to it? And indeed it is.
Rurik’s expedition to Bornholm Island consisted of twenty standard cargo ships that were both troop carriers and cargo ships, and also trawlers that crazily exploited the wealth of the ocean.
A great white shark cruises the ocean, always followed by a few seal fish. Ross's ocean expeditionary force was also followed by a group of Swedes, among whom naturally there were fishermen, who were indeed spies serving King Bjorn of Sweden.
When the Ross SeaBefore the army planned to attack the Danish capital, a large number of Swedes evacuated with their catch.
King Bjorn of Sweden knew about the ship. Although this general talker elected by many nobles is the master of Birka Port and the King of Sweden, his real strength is limited to the Mellaren tribe. In the past ten years, he has witnessed the expansion of the strength of the Rus and the decline of the Swedish tribes. This must be fate. Sweden's attempt to defeat Denmark and seize hegemony failed miserably, and the victory over Denmark came from Ross.
Especially the nobles of the Melalen tribe are thinking hard. They don't think that their warriors are inferior to others. I am afraid that the main difference is that the ships are not good enough.
The Rus have a shop in Birka. Due to the alliance treaty, Sweden cannot charge even one copper coin in tax for this huge shop.
The fat Russian White Fox (Snoleva) Gouldson has long been ordered by the Prince of Russia to manage the shops on the shore and the completely fortressed Gould Island on the lake. These areas were lawless areas relative to the Kingdom of Sweden.
General inland lake trade relies on traditional rowing long boats and traditional sailing cargo ships based on the expansion of long boats. However, Bjorn has always felt that the inland lake trade in Lake Malaren The power of Russia is declining, and every year a lot of wealth is taken away by the Russians through peaceful trade methods.
The life is not to be said to be poor. The spies came to report that the so-called Prince of Rus was actually inviting Swedish fishermen from all walks of life to fish in the South Baltic Sea. In addition, the area around Lake Malaren has been a grain-producing area since ancient times, and a group of The Mellaren tribe immigrated to Gotland, and even now the Rus have not claimed complete ownership of the territory of Gotland.
Life can neither be said to be poor nor rich. For the common people in Sweden, life has improved to a certain extent due to the overall peaceful environment, but for the nobles, they find that they do not have the ability to accumulate wealth quickly.
Snowstorm swept across Northern Europe, and the meeting in the council court of the Melalen tribe was in full swing.
The nobles first discussed the matter of purchasing a large Russian ship. After the discussion, they agreed to go to Tombstone Island to invite the big businessman of Ross. For this reason, the White Fox himself also traveled from Tombstone Island in the Åland Islands, where he was stationed in winter, on a sleigh across the ice sea to participate in this Swedish meeting.
After all, this is foreign-related trade. Even if the trade object is a traditional ally, the matter must be taken very seriously.
The obese white fox returned to the principality’s shop in Birka Port first. The people who stayed behind were all disappointed when they saw the boss’ sudden return.
He listened to the chatter of his subordinates and walked into an independent hut. When he opened the door, he saw some boys sitting inside.
“Are they slaves?”
“No. They came to us on their own initiative.” said the person left behind.
"People who were kicked out by their families?"
"Maybe. Each one is a poor boy, each one is very thin. Since the prince wants to collect such boys, we act according to the decree, and you will definitely be rewarded by the prince. "The speaker's words were flattering, and the white fox shrugged and closed the door.
"Let them rest first, I don't have time to care about them for the time being. These brats look pretty young. Give them fish, meat and wheat, and train me to be thugs who don’t have to pay commission. ”
“But, is this kind of investment really suitable? ”
“Just do it. "White Fox emphasized: "This kind of bastard is just for begging. If you give us some food, you will work hard for us. After training the fortress that stays in us, you can dismiss those mercenaries or persuade them to go to the east to become princes. subordinates. I just want some trustworthy people now. ”
The people left behind don’t know why the boss is so entangled with this. It seems that this big white fat man is worried about his own danger? Lake Malaren is peaceful and trade is prosperous. Even though there are bandits, they don’t dare to get involved with any Russians. Industry, the nobles have a good relationship with the Russians, so what should they worry about?
There are some things that the White Fox does not need to discuss with his subordinates, and the central idea must be kept secret.
< p>When his subordinates asked him why he came suddenly on a sleigh in winter, he just stated that he wanted to have business dealings with the nobles and stopped talking about it, and his subordinates were too sensible to ask.Sweden. The king sent an envoy to Tombstone Island to clearly disclose the purchase of the cargo ship to the old Gould who lived on the island. The Gould family were all businessmen, specifically a super second-rate dealer, who was trying to get money for Prince Rurik. Tool family. The Gould family has no right to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with the Swedish nobles, but they have the qualifications and obligations to negotiate with the Swedes in advance for Rurik.
Poor old Gu. Due to his indulgence in his later years, De's decaying body was no longer able to be with the young slave girl he had raised. He felt that he would die if he lived for another year at most. If he died, he had already made up his mind to want his beloved slave. He was buried with high blood sugar and blood fat, and the world froze after a snowstorm, and his head was always troubled by headaches. Of course, this was related to the fact that this guy liked vodka in glass bottles. The strong alcohol has a lot to do with it, and another reason is that the old boy's symptoms of high blood pressure are already obvious.
The people of the old era are leaving. As the eldest son, Bai Hu will inherit the family legacy. For most of the property, his brothers have no right to compete with him. As a son, he hopes that his father will have a good time before his death. It is best to die in the happiness of the female slave. This is also in line with his father.
The white fox himself is getting older. He is over forty years old, and even his two daughters married to the old Danish Eric family have children. , there is no clear distinction between grandchildren and grandsons in the Nordic world, which is equivalent to saying that the Gould family has four generations, but it is very unlucky that he has no living son yet.
White Fox has succeeded him. Father, took over all the family's trading matters in the western region of the principality, and signed a contract with the principality this year.Paid heavy taxes.
It was also after he negotiated with King Bjorn’s messenger that he arrived at the winter port of Birka.
The prosperous ports in the warm period suddenly went into depression, or a large number of Swedes preferred to stay at home and survive until spring. This was completely different from the situation in the Principality of Rus.
The Parliament of the Malaren people welcomed a heavyweight, fat, white man like him, who was really out of place among the lean and bearded Swedish nobles.
Everyone sat on the floor, but the fat white fox had some difficulty sitting on the leather cushion, which reminded the nobles of a seal covered in oil.
The nobles laughed at this naive fat man in their hearts, but they did not dare to show a smile.
The nobles had no intention of being polite, but White Fox spoke first: "No need to say anything more. I came here in winter just to take care of your face. You want to buy a big ship from our Russians, is it okay? It's not up to me to make the decision."
The big white fat man was a bit arrogant when he spoke, and his arrogance was naturally based on Rose's strength.
King Bjorn laughed alone: "We have always been an alliance, and the trade in the past was relatively smooth. I admire your...large cargo ships. It is said that one costs a hundred pounds of silver coins? The price? It's a little more expensive, but I still plan to buy it."
"Sigh. It's not something I can decide on." Blue Fox sighed, feeling as if the price the Swedes were willing to pay was a bit high. People want it.
"Do you think the money is too little? I can pay more for the big ship."
"Oh? Really?" The white fox stared into King Bjorn's eyes, deliberately Speaking of nonsense: "You are indeed eager to get the Ross ship. This matter is of great importance. You must explain this matter to Prince Rurik himself. Without the prince's decision, I have no power to make a decision. Besides, Prince Rurik is very busy every day. , even if you are the King of Sweden, you should understand your true identity. Our prince will not easily take time to meet people, unless..."
Bjorn is not a fool, what is the white fox hinting at? He could guess it, so he asked: "So what do you want? A sum of money? How many women?"
Hearing this, the white fox deliberately looked at all the Melalen nobles present, their faces They were all solemn, and no one spoke a word. King Bjorn was the only one present during the whole process.
The white fox patted his body: "I want money, and I am also very interested in women..." At this point, he raised his head and smiled maliciously: "Just like you long for our Ross." Dachuan, I know what you plan to do. Since I am stupid, I can guess it, and our prince knows better."
"Then...in your opinion, will the prince of Ross agree? ?"
"It depends on your sincerity. Moreover, I will also say a lot of good things for you."
Although the two people who are talking to each other know each other. It is clear that there is a tacit understanding that it will not be brought to the table.
Bjorn suddenly looked serious:"What... do you want personally?"
Now that things have happened, Bai Hu no longer pretends: "I know you have multiple daughters, and now the youngest daughter can also get married. Marry her to me, I will do my best to help you complete the ship purchase."
"Ah!" King Bjorn was really shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect that this fat man wanted to ask for his youngest daughter's marriage. Of course, the daughters themselves are also bargaining chips for the exchange of political rights among nobles, and their marriage is destined to be a political marriage, but they have to marry such a guy.
The white fox simply patted his round belly and muttered meaningfully: "My ancestral home is the Angkras tribe, and now my whole family has become a Rus and has a great status. It's really pitiful. I used to I was very happy to have my eldest son, but I lost my beloved son to an illness. Because of this, my wife almost collapsed, and my father also fell ill. Now that my father is about to die, I will inherit the main family business, so Who will inherit my wealth and status in the future? You know, I am already forty years old, and it is so painful for a man to have no biological son.”
It’s really hard to understand. Looking at Bjorn's head, for a moment, King Bjorn, who was also forty years old, suddenly understood. He couldn't help feeling that this white fox was indeed a cub of the Gould family. For wealth and status, he not only bet with the Russians, but now also bet with himself. The loyalty of businessmen has always been ridiculous, but they are There is no doubt about the pursuit of wealth, and the latter can also be exploited.
In fact, Bjorn was more willing to give his youngest daughter as a gift to Prince Rus. After so many years, that handsome boy must have become a brave and strong man, better than the big white fat man in front of him. It's just that his little daughter's appearance is not outstanding. The saying that the Prince of Rus is like a bull in April and has many wives and concubines has long been spread everywhere. Presumably, the boy does not like his daughter.
There is no record of the family marrying a female member to a merchant, but in order to get the big ship, Bjorn was willing to sacrifice his little daughter.
In a moment, King Bjorn had an idea.
He asked: "The ocean is frozen. Can I go straight to your New Roseburg on a sleigh? I want to see your prince in person, and my old friend Otto. I want to talk to you." Your nobles will negotiate in person."
Bjorn's attitude is quite firm. Although the white fox has no experience of sledding in the harsh winter, the Balmoks who sell salt also have a group of Finns. In recent years, Laike is good at sledding in winter, and trade routes already exist on the ice and snow from the port of Narvik in the far north to New Roseburg in the far east.
"I am not afraid of wind and snow!" Bjorn looked at everyone seriously, appeased everyone's shock, and emphasized again: "I will arrive in New Roseburg this year. I am the king of all Sweden. I I have this power. This is a meeting between two kings. No one can stop me from going to the east!"
He deliberately explained this to knock other nobles. The so-called "I am the legitimate king of Sweden".It is a warning to others not to make any move to seize power thinking about the moment when they leave, even if King Bjorn's power is not stable from the beginning. In fact, it was also the reason for the unstable power, so he needed to buy big ships to support himself, strengthen the support of the Russians, and even buy the support of the largest trader through a marriage.
Bjorn made it clear that he was going to Rus to meet the Prince of Rus in an attitude that was actually similar to paying tribute. Indeed, in the current state of the nominal unification of Sweden, but in fact all tribes have ideas, King Bjorn cannot yell at Prince Rus from the perspective of strength, and the businessmen who see the popularity of the prince's family must also be respectful.
Of course before leaving, Bjorn wanted to hold a wedding for the white fox Gouldson.