Rurik wanted to spend the winter in Novorosberg, but a reindeer sleigh from Novgorod rushed into the city.
The messenger brought a piece of important news, and he made a big noise when he entered the city, forcing the patrol soldiers to capture it directly.
The messenger asked to see Prince Rurik in person immediately and delivered a piece of good news with both hands.
"There is good news? Let this person see me quickly!"
After all, it is a messenger from the south. If there is no big event, there will be no sleigh coming with dust. What else could happen? Could it be that one of our own accidentally dug up gold while digging a hole?
The hall of the old palace is filled with oil lamps, and the many bear heads under the lamps look very ferocious.
Receiving an envoy does not require many people to watch. As for Rurik himself, he thought about it and quickly accompanied his wife after hearing the so-called good news. In fact, because Svetlana's belly was already very heavy, it was already January of 839, and her due date fell into this month, even though she could still give birth to the baby. It is at this time that you need your husband by your side the most.
Rurik sat tall and draped in a bearskin, crossing his legs casually and yawning inadvertently.
The closed wooden door opened a crack. When the thickly wrapped messenger entered the room with documents, the guard hurriedly closed the door again.
The messenger hurriedly knelt down in front of the prince, without any politeness or sloppiness, and bluntly stated the major event he wanted to report: "Your Majesty, your old friends the Pechenegs are here again. They want to Dealing with you, here is the letter written by their leader Kagan!" "Is it Kagan?" Rurik stood up with great joy, and he didn't care too much and walked away. Go up and grab the letter that the messenger is holding in his hands.
The hard paper is curled into a paper tube and tied with a hemp rope.
Rurik found an oil lamp nearby, unwrapped the hemp rope and read the text carefully.
The full text of the letter was written in Roman-alphabetized Norse. The ghostwriter identified himself, but looking at the rather graceful and elegant handwriting, Rurik also guessed that it was his concubine. Written by Ella Hesturia.
The letter contains greetings from Pecheneg Prince Kagan as a brother, an explanation of his current situation, and the organization of a Pecheneg-Kiev joint business group with local residents of Kiev.
The rest of the content is extremely pragmatic.
Kagan’s description is very realistic: “We can sell six hundred skin horses, as well as a batch of cheese, honey, recurve bows, etc. We need a lot of salt, iron spears, iron axes, and iron horses from you. Palms, leather boots, leather hats, gems..."
Even after uniting with the Kiev people, Kagan's description of the types of goods he brought was still too narrow, but the Russian goods he hoped to trade were really diverse.
They emphasized the need for a large amount of salt and crossbows, as well as other iron tools, leather products and gems, and were willing to spend a lot of money to buy a lot of them.
Detailed contentIt is necessary for Rurik to sit down and think about it.
No! The matter was complicated by the fact that Kagan described the trade group as bringing a large number of horses, but even though they were about to be sold, there were still a lot of horses. The remaining horses will simply take on the work of pack mules, carrying the purchased goods back to their hometown on horseback.
Rurik had already seen some of the doorways clearly, and he slapped his thighs happily: "Haha! Kagan is such a good guy! I am worried that no one will buy my goods, but there are friends from outside personally. Come and restock, Kagan, you have helped me solve a big problem."
The prince was so happy that the guards also laughed.
The messenger's frozen face also cracked into a smile.
Rurik rolled up the letter again and put the transaction aside for the time being. Since the envoy from the south was in front of him, he could just hear about the situation there.
"You have made a great contribution." Rurik pointed at the envoy's face, his smile still on his face: "A brother from the First Flag Team?"
" Report back to the prince, I am a rear guard of the first flag."
"What is your name?"
>"He is an ice and snow warrior. Now tell me, how is the wind and snow in the south? Is it also like the catastrophic snow here in the capital."
The messenger Fuldenmatt reported truthfully: "The snow in the south is like that." The situation is as bad as here. Some people's houses were crushed and some people died. There was no disaster in Novgorod. Some Slavs were affected, and the governor has sent people to help."
The envoy's answer was as expected, but Rurik did not believe that Governor Medvet would provide such reliable relief.
It was Medved who led the army into the forest during the warm period, uncovered as many farms as there were hidden in them, and forcibly moved the people to the shores of Lake Ilmen.
Although Lake Ilmen is not as good as the huge Lake Mälaren and Lake Ladoga, it is low enough and has many rivers flowing into it. The area around the lake is generally fertile. However, due to the absolute shortage of population, the development has been extremely limited.
How can Medved have any good intentions? Those who are unwilling to move will start a war directly, and those who are willing to leave must evacuate within a time limit. They are obviously of the Slavine ethnic group, and their ancestors are people who came north from the Smolensk region, but they have divided into completely different classes. Medved is a Slav, but he has also been promoted to the top noble of the Principality of Rus. How can he care about a group of forest savages who are of the same race and different races.
It was precisely this group of people who had recently moved to the area around the lake to start a new life that they were hit hard by the snowstorm in the first winter after moving.
Of course, even if this group of people hides in their hometown in the forest, a snowstorm will still kill many people. After moving to the lakeside, a large number of micro-villages consisting of only a few dozen people were merged into settlements of hundreds of people, and then a number was given to select the village chief to facilitate administrative management and tax collection. They have some photosYes, more people can help each other.
Although the envoy received some information, he also pointed out that Medved's handling method was nothing more than resettling the refugees to ensure that the victims would not freeze to death and starve to death.
Finally, the deceased was taken directly to the public cemetery. According to Slavic etiquette, a big hole was dug, and the body was wrapped in linen and buried directly.
Medeved will only take care of the aftermath of the disaster for the people in the area under his control. As for the farms managed by the native nobles, natural disasters are a test for them, and the Principality of Ross has no energy to help them.
Novgorod security, Mstisk security, Youth City security, Novostar security.
The houses built in the four large settlements in the south are very solid, and no buildings have collapsed in the city. Although the people's lives have been severely disrupted by the snowstorm, life continues as usual.
The envoy also solemnly mentioned the Hanukkah ceremony held in Novgorod. A fire tower was lit as a traditional project of the festival. Although the prince himself did not participate, the old Duke Otto was dragging his age. The body is personally involved. The atmosphere of the festival in the south seems to be as lively as in the north. A group of Pecheneg warriors participated in the festival and sang and danced.
No, the messenger was particularly deadly. When the Slavs danced collectively around the fire tower, the Pechenegs also actively danced their dance.
Because the Winter Solstice is a very grand festival for everyone throughout the year.
The messenger spoke very honestly: "I saw that the old Duke praised the prairie man Kagan as a very good dancer and a warrior who dared to fight the ice and snow. Those prairie people were all praised by everyone."
Russians or other Viking tribes all admire brave people. Looking at the grassland as vast as the sea, such a landscape is unimaginable to the Rusians. If the Rus had established the seal-hunting settlement of Murmansk at the northern end, then the Pechenegs probably lived at the southern end.
Kagan's men also revealed a clear message to all the Vikings in the south - Pecheneg can contact Rome, and they are already bordering each other.
Rome? This concept has always existed in the memory of the Ross tribe. It is an illusory concept, seeming to be a great country that has passed away, or a country that exists in another world.
Fantasy things are becoming real.
Rurik was extremely satisfied with the envoy's report. He waved his hand: "You go down and have a rest. I will give you a hot bath and a delicious meal. Have a good rest. I will go to Novgoro in person someday." Germany."
This matter was very important. Thinking that he could get 500 to 600 good horses at once, Rurik simply found a separate room, where he roared wildly and laughed heartily. , the guard was so frightened that he thought his master was crazy.
But when the closed door opened, the nervous guards saw the prince who was in high spirits after venting his anger.
“Hey. What are you looking at me for? I’m notThere is stupidity. Oh right. Rurik thought for a while and decided not to stop: "Immediately send me an order to invite some important personnel." I have a meeting in the Ross Duma tonight! ”
The messenger who delivered the message finally enjoyed peace and comfort. He soaked his hair until he was wet, drank mead, ate grilled fish, and even tasted the tiramisu cake specially gifted by the prince.
This messenger named Fodenmatt is quite young, and he is now old enough to join the first flag team later this year, but Rurik pays more attention to this guy's courage to ignore the snowstorm and control the sled to run for ten years. God, he was so brave, he didn't hesitate to think of that guy Spuiut.
It's a pity that Fodenmatt was stuck at an awkward stage due to his age, and he was not qualified to join Rurik's training many years ago. Youth troops. In other words, people like Fodenmat are already the last batch of warriors from the old era of the Ross tribe.
After him, the new generation of the Ross Principality will be dominated by mixed-race people. .
Many people received the invitation from the prince to attend the meeting. Although it was very abrupt to hold the Duma meeting in the cold, no one dared to refuse after the prince issued an urgent order.
The venue was empty. It was crowded with people. After looking at each other's identities, they all speculated about the prince's intentions.
Look, who are they? They are all craftsmen doing various handicrafts. A group of merchants, and even all the Swedish nobles and envoys from the nobility.
Bjorn just wanted to sleep, but he was unexpectedly invited by Rurik, who was said to be announcing something important.
What else can that kid announce after he gets the throne of Sweden? Look here, why are craftsmen worshiping the god Thor everywhere? Shouldn’t there be a group of warriors sitting there?
Rurik deliberately arrived a little late, leaving enough time for them to talk.
When he entered the noisy Rusduma, the brightly lit and warm long room suddenly became quiet. < /p>
He stood on the podium, looking like he was giving a class to a large group of people.
“You all accepted my invitation, that’s great! I won't waste my time, just listen quietly. ”
Bjorn saw that Prince Rus had no intention of having any discussion here. Only Rurik was eloquent in the audience, but the content of his explanation was too exciting.
A maximum of six hundred horses? Can the Principality of Ross obtain so many horses at once through a transaction with the prairie people?
Those at the venue who have some knowledge of the principality’s strength can be optimistic. It is estimated that as long as this transaction is completed, the principality can raise a total of 1,000 rideable horses. Last summer, the army made a temporary expedition to Denmark, but was severely beaten by the Danish cavalry in the Danish capital. At the cost of blood, all Russia's wisdom was lost. Shidu realizes the necessary value of cavalry.
But each riding horse is expensive, the cheapest is five pounds of silver coins, and the female horse must be ten pounds of silver coins. p> Based on the last trading experience, the prairie people for profitMaximizing the mare will bring a lot of money, and Ross will pay up to 6,000 pounds of silver coins to buy it.
When Rurik calculated the price with his fingers, everyone in the audience held their breath. A huge stone weighed on their hearts. Everyone was shocked by this terrifying figure.
Although there are opportunities for bargaining, the final total price is still a huge number.
"We must do this deal! Even though the price is outrageous, I can still afford it!" Rurik deliberately raised his voice just to make King Bjorn and other Swedish nobles and envoys present take good care of themselves. heard. He took this opportunity to prove two things to the aristocrats of the old world: first, the Principality of Ross could afford ridiculously huge sums of money. Second, the duchy has an extremely southern trading ally.
Rurik took the opportunity to show off his muscles to the Swedish nobles, and at the same time sent an invitation to Bjorn and others - to go to the Rus' Lake Ilmen and have a look. There are many similarities and differences between this place and Lake Malaren.
In order to purchase all the horses, Ross must come up with goods of the same price, because what the other party wants is not inedible silver coins, but real supplies.
Salt and iron are Ross’ most valuable products.
In addition, processing complex leather products is the most traditional skill of the Russians. Now combined with the tailoring skills of the Slavs, the combination of the two has made the tailoring handicraft industry more and more developed.
“Helafeld, I’m glad you brought a huge amount of salt from your hometown. I’ll cover all your salt!”
“Kamne, take your people with you. Work hard to forge sword embryos, spearheads and horseshoes."
"Aric, how much leather do you have that you haven't sold yet?"
...< /p>
Even some merchants whom Rurik could not remember clearly, Rurik asked them to sell all their goods at market prices.
To this end, the Principality of Ross will use the power of the national treasury to raise supplies and seize the time to create more flagship products.
This makes it even more obvious that salt has a very high premium. Rurik decided to raise the price of salt. While selling a large amount of salt to the Pecheneg people, the price must rise. At the same time, even in winter, people continued to cut ice to obtain seawater. Even though the salinity of the seawater in the Gulf of Finland was too low, the principality forcibly produced salt to increase the amount of trafficked goods.
According to the market price set by the emperor, one pound of salt is equal to one hundred pounds of oats. After conversion, we get the official price of one pound of silver coins for ten pounds of salt. In fact, the price of salt has always been very high, but the Nordic people live in cold areas, so they must consume some salt when eating sea fish, and they lack the opportunity to sweat a lot. The high salt price has always been affordable for the people.
But for grassland people like Pecheneg, there are too few opportunities to obtain salt, especially due to the geopolitical pressure they are facing today. The only one that can sell salt to them is the distant Rus. The forces of kindness are gone.
One hundred pounds of salt can buy a mare, and fifty pounds of salt can buy a stallion. Rurik estimated this price and asked for his slave.The workers went all out.
And Kamnier and the more than one hundred official "iron slaves" he manages will provide a large number of key iron products.
The price of a carbon steel sword must increase. There is no time to sharpen it, so it can be shipped directly after being built. A semi-finished steel sword sells for one pound of silver coins. As for installing the wooden hilt and sword The Pechenegs can do whatever they want with things like tan.
Horseshoes also need to be made in batches, and the price can be lower. After the wrought iron is shaped, it is carburized and quenched at low temperature.
Carpenters all over the city can't be idle. They make the wooden parts of the crossbow. The remaining counters are all bronze castings mass-produced by the state-owned blacksmith shop. Rurik actually knew very well Kagan’s intention in purchasing crossbows in large quantities in the letter.
They simply bought it and dismantled it immediately. Even if the Pechenegs couldn't figure out the fine structures such as the crossbow and the pick and tenon, they could quickly disassemble the short wooden bow and install the recurve bow. . There is no need for Ross to install a short wooden bow. He can directly make a crossbow body and shoulder rest containing a crossbow system and pack it up. The Pechenegs can do whatever they want with the rest. But after all, this is a powerful weapon of the Russians. Even if it is a monkey version of the weapon, if the prairie people can modify it to become a "human version", then the price will also skyrocket!
The prices of goods sold to the Pechenegs and Kievs will increase. Since they also ask for Rus’ unique glass beads and amber, this is an opportunity to make money!
What’s more, the Russians not only have amber, but also lapis lazuli. These gems are difficult for the grassland people to obtain.
Who is Kagan, but he is destined to be the next Khan of Pecheneg. This person will definitely find ways to show his power. He needs a mighty army to control the situation, and he also needs gems and gorgeous clothes to show it. own extraordinary. This requires Nordic gems, gold, and rare leather to decorate this extraordinary, and his guards must be unique. Rurik did not hesitate to focus on polar bear skins, brown bear skins, ferret skins, forest cat skins, and even ferocious bear heads with their brains removed.
Rurik even wanted to remove all the bear heads used for decoration in his old palace and sell them all to the Pechenegs.
No need to stop.
He has already planned that throughout January, New Roseburg will unite with the Finns, Vips, and Rudy people not far away, as well as the stronghold of Bear Festival Town far north of the Great Lakes. The whole people obtained high-value goods through various methods, and organized a sled team in February to transport the astonishingly valuable goods to Novgorod to complete national-level trade with the steppe people.