The Pechenegs are very sincere about trade, and the Rus Principality here should not hide it.
But no matter what Rurik thought, raising goods worth six thousand pounds of silver was still quite troublesome for the country. Of course Ross can raise such a huge amount of goods, but the eastern and northern Baltic Seas are completely frozen. Although land transportation exists, the transportation capacity is poor. It is impossible to rely on shipping to transport high-quality iron from Rossburg and Ellenborg as in the warm period.
The principality must rely entirely on the output of Novorosberg and Novgorod in exchange for up to six hundred good horses from the Pechenegs.
The blacksmith received the order, and the royal blacksmith took over the blacksmithing day and night under the personal leadership of Kamne. Objectively speaking, this continuous project has greatly stimulated the city's economy. Because the raw material for iron smelting is not ore, but pig iron ingots smelted directly from the blast furnace town of Roseburg. These iron ingots with astonishing carbon content were smashed into small pieces in advance and transported to New Roseburg.
The main task of the blacksmiths in the East is essentially to share the production capacity of Fort Ross, where the steel-frying method is practiced on a large scale, and finally large and small carbon steel blocks are forged into a whole.
This work uses a half-person-high furnace and relies on the air supply from the bladder blower to perform normal processing operations. The only thing that needs to be focused on is the stable supply of fuel.
Charcoal made from pine wood is a completely suitable fuel, but after Rurik gave the order, the city's demand for fuel suddenly exploded.
The state-owned blacksmith shop has a large number of people, which is a "gold-swallowing behemoth". In order to achieve greater output, Rurik must invest more costs.
Food is always hard currency! He did not hesitate to take out a large amount of wheat from the warehouse, so that the whole city's charcoal-burning craftsmen were boiling.
The waist-deep snow after the snow disaster was no longer an obstacle, and the pine trees were cut down one after another. The clever charcoal burners deliberately selected small pine trees and chopped them down, so as to produce better charcoal blocks.
Those who are good at cutting wood also participate in the feast. They do not burn charcoal, but are just carriers of materials.
The existing industrial chain of logging-charcoal-frying-steel-forging is obviously extremely prosperous.
The treasury of the Principality of Rus is quite rich in food. Of course, it is not that Rurik has a lot of food on hand, but because the population in the country is too small, it seems that the treasury is full.
The Principality is in a development window period, and the Principality must seize this opportunity for foreign trade.
For this reason, Rurik would rather be quick and quick, and it is necessary to try some risky ideas.
Queen Svetlana can still walk quickly, wearing a thick leather coat as if she had never been pregnant. She is currently in a closed-door state. She is surrounded by a group of women to look after her, and as many as ten experienced midwives recruited from the city are always on standby.
If the child is born either in late January or early February, then the child will be the eldest son and the heir to the throne based on tradition.
But Rurik really didn’t have time to get together with his beloved wife every day. As a monarch, in order to raise money to buy horses,The huge amount of money really makes people worry about their heads.
"Ah! Why can't it be crowdfunded? I don't believe those guys won't invest in their eldest son!"
Perhaps my sudden idea will shock the people and shout, "Young man!" Yelling, he thought that the smart people in the city of New Roseburg would definitely realize that making a major deal with the prince would be a huge benefit to his family.
After all, who doesn’t want to move up the ladder?
Especially the Viking people who are not from the Old Rus tribe, who doesn’t want to obtain the same social status as the Old Rus people? Although their generation is not good enough, their sons and grandsons must get a chance.
Rurik estimated that the people's demands were buried in their hearts, so he sent someone to make a new announcement and post it in Harvest Square.
This was not over yet. He also ordered Grund to lead the guys to beat drums and go around the streets to promote the prince's "recruitment order."
The announcement was very realistic. The so-called prince wanted to make deals with smart people among the Russians.
“Donate your treasure, take out ten pounds of silver coins or the equivalent of leather or other treasures. In this way, you can hand over a son and become a mounted warrior under the prince’s command, becoming the most powerful man in the principality. Land warrior."
The announcement immediately caused an uproar, and Grund's propaganda with gongs and drums also made the people in the city excited. Because the prince's elite mercenaries suffered too many casualties in the decisive battle with the King of Denmark himself, the prince wanted to reshape an elite mercenary force. Now the new members of the janissary were selected from the heirs of the people.
Serve as a soldier for the prince and receive a monthly allowance of ten silver coins, free food and accommodation, and weapons and equipment provided by the prince. After serving for ten years, the prince can also help solve marriage problems, and even if he dies in battle, If you get honor, your family members can also receive pensions. The recruitment quota reaches 100 people, and the age limit is between sixteen and twenty years old.
Rurik’s move seemed to others to be a whim. Responders were everywhere in the city, so that Harvest Square was quickly filled with people, all of whom were parents pulling their children. , bringing the treasure and dedicating it to the prince,
In the eyes of everyone, a majestic man wearing a bearskin stood on the wooden platform of the square, struggled to take off his velvet hat, and showed off his velvet hat that was flowing in the wind. A golden ponytail and a deliberately golden beard.
The cute little boy disappeared and now grew into a Nordic warrior who looked very reliable. He is tall and has the aura of a king, and people believe that he will bring happiness to everyone.
Who doesn’t enjoy the feeling of being supported?
People spontaneously chanted "Princip Rurik". Of course, from Rurik's point of view, he wanted the people to chant "Ula".
He looked down at the crowd until most of the people present were actually immigrants from Melalen, Balmoks and Slavs. New Rossburg is the capital of the Principality of Ross. However, according to the basic principle that the Old Ross people must enjoy the greatest benefits, most of the Old Ross people have received the fertile farmland in the temperate area in the south. The old Ross people who stayed in New Ross Fort are a group of conservative and simple people. Fishermen and hunters.The proportion of old Russians in this city is too small, and the proportion of Malaren immigrants and Slavic immigrants is quite large.
Even though Bjorn, the leader of the Mellaren tribe and the Swedish king who has not abdicated, is in the city, the immigrants from Mellaren do not take this man seriously at all. Are Mälaren people who leave Lake Mälaren still considered Mälaren people? They have been registered as New Rus' people by the Rus' Principality. But they are not true Russians by blood, and their inferiority complex always exists.
And those Slavic immigrants, nominally a large group of people who betrayed Lake Ilmen, immigrated to the banks of the Neva River as near-slaves.
They all need more means to prove their loyalty to the prince in order to gain a higher social status.
Rurik let them chant for a while, and gradually calmed down the excitement of the people with his hands open.
He raised his chin high and shouted at the top of his lungs: "My people! I saw your enthusiasm. Today you made the most correct choice! Although your own life is too ordinary, I can guarantee that your sons will gain glory and wealth. We will expand to the endless lands of the south. Your sons will serve as my cavalry and conquer a large territory for Ross. And those who are bravest will be my relatives. Soldier. Let's start now! Bring your belongings and I'll write down your names..." Rurik had to say it many times, and he kept emphasizing "honor" and "courage" "Big words like "wealth" make all smart families excited.
Obviously it was the coldest gathering, but Harvest Square was bustling with activity.
Some wealthy immigrant families have spent all their financial resources, using their savings, saved leather, and even loans to collect ten pounds worth of goods to donate to their eldest son or second son. A replacement spot for cavalry was obtained.
Rurik, who was eager for money, didn't care too much. It was clear that the child was not yet old enough to look quite thin. He took the money and asked his wife and concubine, who was in charge of the scribe, to give the child's real name, The names of his parents and the family's address in the city were written in detail on the cardboard, and the amount of money the family had owed to donate the quota was noted.
The family that pays the equivalent of twenty pounds of silver coins will have two places, and so on.
Look at what kind of property they brought out! Ferrets and bearskins were the real deal, along with jingling silver coins. The families who are willing to donate a quota are generally not wealthy, and donating a quota means devoting all their efforts.
But once the name is written, everything will be fine.
After their sons were selected, they would arrive in Novgorod by sleigh in February. There, these children's food, clothing, housing and behavior are all provided by the principality. Not only do they have to learn basic cultural knowledge, but they also spend the rest of their time learning to tame and ride horses. When their studies are completed, the children settle down in Novgorod. It is generally known that most of the people of the Old Rus tribe only enjoy the industry in the Novgorod area, and their children joining them are actually being absorbed by the Old Rus.
Although according to tradition, the eldest brother inherits the family business and the second and third brothers are free to roam freely, but the real situation is often that one brother becomes successful and will support the other brothers based on brotherly feelings.
If the prince’s promise is completely true and he donates a quota today, his whole family will be prosperous in the future.
This was originally a risky move to raise funds. Rurik never expected that more than 200 families would come together to collect the equivalent of more than 2,000 pounds of silver.
There are as many as 800 pieces of white bear and brown bear leather provided by the private sector.
The huge size of the bear skin also surprised him. Rurik only paid attention to the number of bears hunted by the royal hunters. Before, he only knew that there were too many bears in the area in this era, and he never thought about the number of bears among the people. Bear hunters kill more bears. Not only bear skins, but also mink and white fox skins, because the market price is always high, it is logical that they can be used as payment for goods.
Originally, after buying a good horse, Rurik needs to use his brain to choose the cavalry. Of course, priority should be given to selecting good family members from the heirs of the old Ross tribe. Not only will this aspect not make money, but it will Funds must always be invested in raising the army.
It’s great now. The people of New Roseburg have theoretically provided one-third of the funds for this horse trade. The alternative is that the people have raised good horses, so in exchange the people of course have to pay for them. After receiving the dividend, he felt that his pressure was suddenly reduced.
There are more than 200 boys aged 12 to 16 counted here. They may be reluctant at first, but it is the task of their parents to make them willing to become cavalry in the future. They will leave Novorosberg in February and start a new life in Novgorod.
A hundred other people are also about to start a new life.
To select a new candidate for the Guards, first of all, he must be strong enough or have the potential to become strong. The child must be over twelve years old, and the family identity must also be Swedish, Russian or Slavic. It is also best for the family to be quite poor and have few brothers and sisters, so that such children can be easily controlled in the future.
Being a personal guard means being able to fight evil wars, it means that you must dare to be bloodthirsty and not afraid of death, it means that you must resolutely carry out the orders of the prince, and it means that you must eventually die without the prince.
Although one hundred people were now selected, Rurik gave Grund an order: "Let the children take off their shirts and run in the snow, let them kill the rabbits with their own hands, let them Drink the deer blood directly. I want you to select the fifty most powerful warriors in ten days. It will be you in the future, and you will train them into elites."
He gave the essence. Grund has a lot of power. As long as the corporal punishment is not beating the cubs to death, then go for it!
Grund complied the next day, and the people saw such a strange scene, a group of barebacked handsome boys running in the snow. Some people voluntarily quit on the same day, or some people who were tired and paralyzed passively quit. These are the losers who must quit. Grund was relentless in his rigorous training. He himself was a madman crawling out of a mountain of corpses and seas of blood., naturally don’t want his future guys to be a bunch of idiots and cowards.
Although the training was harsh and terrifying, Rurik simply turned a blind eye. What he and Grund need are berserkers. The loser can be a fisherman or a lumberjack in the future, and he can become an elite soldier with a monthly salary. If the opportunity is useless, he will have to give up in this life. .
The future cavalry soldiers who donated their quotas waited silently in their homes. Their father took out his axe, sword and shield to encourage his eldest son to become a real man. Continue to encourage that once you become prosperous in the south, you must not forget to support other brothers.
The sled team began to assemble, and this time the scale was astonishing.
Sleigh boards reinforced with iron sheets and rivets can carry greater weight. A sled is designed to be pulled by four reindeer, and its load capacity can be increased to one ton without any problem.
A large number of bear skins are piled one on top of another, and each skin is extremely huge when unfolded. Rurik didn't care too much. He gathered a thousand bear skins. Whether the giant envoys to the south could take away these leathers depended on their ability. He only cared about transporting the bear skins to Novgorod.
A large amount of table salt has a slightly bitter taste due to incomplete removal of magnesium chloride, which is very acceptable. Those Pechenegs had limited access to salt due to the blockade by hostile forces. Some of these slightly bitter salts were better than none. Rurik concluded that his Kagan brothers would not be picky. A large amount of salt can load a carriage, and the appearance of the slightly green salt in sacks will definitely scare the grassland people.
The large amount of ironware shipped to sleds is another spectacle. The state-run blacksmith shops are running day and night to the limit of human power. If they want to continue to expand production capacity, they must either increase manpower or industrialize. It is certainly possible to increase manpower, but it will take a period of training and will not increase by a lot. Industrialization is too outrageous. The Principality of Ross does not yet have such magical capabilities.
Even so, within a month, Kamnier and his men, who were ordered to frantically forge sword embryos, consumed most of their inventory and finished 500 simply forged sword embryos. , they themselves are carbon steel embryos, and the amount of carbon content depends entirely on the craftsman's skills. The sword embryo has gone through basic quality inspection, that is, if it can be bent to a certain arc without breaking, and can rebound instantly with force, it is considered qualified.
This is like the Huanshou Dao issued to soldiers by the Han Empire, which is a very long iron piece with only a ring at the end. The sharpening and polishing work was done by the soldiers themselves, and the handles were often wrapped in long linen cloth that the soldiers found. The Han Empire did this to reduce the working hours of craftsmen so that the army could be armed efficiently.
What Rurik will do is exactly the same. He will not let his craftsmen go to the trouble of sharpening the steel sword. The sword embryo has been forged flat and straight, and the Pechenegs themselves With iron smelting technology, the rest of the hard work is left to them. Whether it is directly cutting the edge to make a double-edged sword, or forging and bending a single-sided edge to make a saber, it is all their own business.
Five hundred sword embryos and one hundred pairs without bow armsCrossbows were neatly placed in wooden boxes one after another.
The trip to Novgorod in February was also a major communication opportunity. Not only did Novorosberg have to transport a large amount of goods, but normal trade between the two cities also had to be carried out.
What's more, the mission of the Swedish nobles who are visiting here also wants to visit the south.
The cargo army, escort soldiers, selected children, Swedish envoys, as well as a large number of small businessmen, hunters, and even the first flag soldiers who came to hunt in the north gathered together. A huge group, looking after each other in the ice and snow, running wildly on the ice road. The number may reach a thousand, and the total number of sleds may reach two hundred.
It can be said that everything is under the control of Rurik. At the beginning of January, Rurik was quite worried that he would not be able to get the huge payment for buying horses. Now it is the end of January. Not only is there no problem, everything is going smoothly. The payment is enough but the amount is over. If he strategically increases prices for materials, the amount of money he raises will far exceed the plan.