Those horses that were killed on the battlefield had their hide stripped off as much as possible, no matter how outrageous the injuries.
After that, the horse meat is slaughtered, roasted or boiled, and only the horse bones are left for the winner. Of course, the horse bones are not willing to be thrown away. The big bones are smashed with axes, and the bones are roasted on the fire, and the delicious and thick marrow is added.
The stomach of the winner.
The remaining horse bones are finally recycled, and the bone fragments will be processed into arrow clusters or spearheads by Saxon hunters for hunting.
When the army was fighting in Saxony, there was no time for further processing of the skinned horses. The lack of time was on the one hand, tanning leather required a large amount of Glauber's salt, and this mineral could not be obtained quickly in Saxony.
The inner fat of the leather was scraped off as much as possible, and then it was dried as much as possible. Finally, in the extremely cold weather, all the horse leather was frozen hard, and they were shaped into sheets like wide wooden boards.
Now that the horse hides have completely thawed and are stacked in layers in the cabin, they are generally slightly rotten. Therefore, only a few sailors are responsible for operating the cargo ships that simply carry horse hides, and the sailors would rather sleep on the deck and fall into the sea by themselves with their hands and feet tied with ropes.
.
Twenty years ago, due to the overall deflation in the Swedish world, every silver coin, even if it was of average quality, had extremely high purchasing power.
At that time, the generally accepted price for an unprocessed reindeer hide was one silver coin.
Although the Ross tribe was a marginal tribe in the Swedish world, they were hunters throughout the tribe. Winter hunting was a tradition. The animal skins they risked their lives to hunt in the vast ice fields were always processed in their own tribe, and then continuously shipped to them.
Lake Malaren. Large deer skins have many uses, but unfortunately they have never been sold at high prices.
As Ross expands, plundered hot money continues to be transported to the Swedish world.
In the past, people who dared to call themselves rich if they had dozens of silver coins at home, but now it is tantamount to having water in their brains.
The price of deerskin once soared to fifteen silver coins a piece, but as Rus completely expanded its territory to the Arctic Ocean, hunting reindeer was far less promising than raising it. The country's deer-raising industry was booming, especially the reindeer breeders who submitted to the king or
The Lapps (Sami people) are still nominally the king's herdsmen, but in fact they are already living a free and easy life.
Rurik himself is the largest reindeer rancher in the entire kingdom. The reindeer herd belonging to the royal family has swelled to 100,000 and is still growing rapidly every year, so much so that the northern area of New Roseburg and the shores of Lake Ladoga are being developed.
It is a good grazing land.
The price of raw deerskin has been stabilized at about ten silver coins per piece, but now the Nordic world, even including Denmark, has a small population. The entire group consumes leather in a large way, and as the majority of the people have their own thick clothes
, continuing to sell leather on a large scale to the outside world is no longer as profitable as it used to be.
Deerskin became the standard for the entire leather industry, it was neither expensive nor cheap.
Nowadays, white bear skins, brown bear skins, and the most precious mink skins and forest cat skins are more expensive.
Hunters cannot try to raise bears, but ferrets and forest cats can be captured and raised. Today, white fluffy ferret skins are still on sale at the most traditional fur market in Russia, and their prices have increased tenfold compared to twenty years ago.
Some people began to make cages to breed minks, so that some leather was actually artificially bred.
As for the forest cat, a Nordic elf, people used to only need its furry leather. As the food production in the eastern part of Russia has been increasing, the problem of rats that was inconspicuous in the past must be taken seriously. Rather than slaughtering and selling the leather, it is better to Let the forest cat catch mice, and people who immigrate to the east are willing to pay for it.
Reindeer is the most important livestock animal in the Kingdom of Rus. In recent years, the populations of large horses, cattle, goats, and sheep have also been growing rapidly. However, their base is too small. Although the growth rate is high, the net growth value is not enough.
People living in Novorosberg tend to raise rabbits, and people in Novgorod tend to raise poultry.
There are also some hunting families who bought puppy puppies from the market. They are all standard "sled dogs". Hunters do not need them to pull sleds, but these small animals are good helpers for catching snow hares and seals.
It seems that all six animals in the Kingdom of Rus are prospering, but in fact only the reindeer, a traditional Arctic animal, is really prospering.
Deerskin is a standard, and horse leather must have at least the same price as it.
Rurik already knew the price of deerskin very well. After all, as the largest seller, he had the most real pricing power. This was well known to the entire Russian and Swedish fur business businessmen.
"Horse leather cannot be lower than deerskin at least, they must agree with me." Rurik thought this way.
In fact, the various merchants who stayed on Tombstone Island had predicted Rurik's prediction. They were a group of covetous wolves, waiting for the king to convene a meeting, and the brothers would buy all the thousand horse hides. Even if they arrived The goods have not been inspected yet. Considering the king's noble character, no one dares to question the goods.
…
It's a new day, it's afternoon.
Rurik, who had slept extremely well, felt completely revived. He sat on the soft bed to stretch his muscles, and then went straight to the indoor toilet to use the toilet.
Even in daily life, as a king, Rurik had already set an example for his subjects across the country.
A residential house must have an indoor toilet. Since most Northern Europeans cannot squat down well, most household toilets are sit-down toilets. The waste falls into the collection bucket under the floor. After completion, the floor is covered with wooden boards to avoid air raids. The stench and cold air invaded. The wealthy often wiped their buttocks with pieces of cloth. Nowadays, because state-run workshops have been providing soft paper made from reeds, rushes and other grasses, it is actually used for wiping their buttocks. Since this was recommended by the king, the wealthy followed suit. Follow suit.
Go to the toilet, wash up, get dressed, and eat some snacks. For now, he doesn't need any waiters, but then there will be a group of armed guards around him.
In order not to disturb the rest of his two wives and two infant sons, although Rurik did not live with them, the house was only separated by a wall.
Noren and Beyathil have also experienced the torture of a long voyage. Now they have changed their clothes. It is still cold outside, so they put on huge white bearskin hats, which are warm and extremely fluffy, like holding giant dandelions on their heads.
"Did you sleep well last night? How is the child? Oh, my son is still sleeping..."
He glanced at the child being held by his mother and chatted a few words with his two wives.
"Everything is fine. Do we want to stay here a little longer?" Nolen started chatting, "It must be yes. That's fine! There are some useful women here who happen to help me take care of my children."
"Is it the wet nurse?"
"Exactly. It also gives me peace of mind. I just want to rest leisurely now. So..." Nolen looked directly into Rurik's eyes: "You won't let me join tonight's meeting?
I am a noble after all."
"That's not necessary. Tonight is a group of rough men. They are all hairy and smell of ale and processed leather."
"I'm quite curious." Bayahir added casually with a smile.
Unexpectedly, Nolen hurriedly gave her some warning and lightly kicked her feet with his leather boots. In this way, Beyahil lowered her head in loss and said nothing.
Rurik pinched the faces of the two women respectively: "Let's go, hold the child and go out for a walk. I want to inspect my island..."
The king appeared with his attendants, and the delighted people immediately gathered around him. The arrogant guards kept the people from getting closer to the king, and Rurik didn't bother to say hello to these enthusiastic guys.
Tombstone Island has always been inhabited by a variety of people, most of whom settled here for money. They excitedly met the king, and you can understand everything just from the words shouted by some people.
"Your Majesty, look at me! I want to buy your leather!"
"My money can buy a hundred tickets!"
The clamoring has completely proved one thing - the news of "selling horse leather" just after arriving in Hong Kong yesterday has aroused public opinion.
Rurik inspected the work of the fishermen, inspected the farmland opened up by the Slavs, inspected his soldiers who had relaxed, and walked around the commercial streets that had spontaneously formed on the shore.
Nothing has changed from last year's expedition, and it remains as prosperous as ever.
Finally, including the island governor, as well as all the Russian nobles and generals, accompanied the king to the warrior cemetery on the island.
More than sixty soldiers are buried here. If they were still alive now, they would be more than thirty years old.
The dead were all sacrificed in 828. They fought the first battle of expansion for Ross, and this first battle was revenge against the old Gotlanders, their former powerful enemies. That was already thirteen years ago, and everything was
to change.
The existing leather merchants on Tombstone Island are ready to take action, and the largest among them is the Gould family.
Old Gould's black fox and red fox have their own opportunities, but they have a very special relationship with the king himself, so when old Gould learned that the king was walking around outdoors, he roared in the mansion.
"Children! Help me up! I'll take you two to talk to the king first!"
The brothers Red Fox and Black Fox did not dare to neglect him at all. The two brothers supported their father on the left and right like a pair of crutches.
The servants of the family followed closely and did as they pleased.
The Gould family built an independent mansion belonging to their own family in the port town of Tombstone Island. Old Gould wanted to retire here, and he also wanted to be buried directly in the island cemetery after his death.
There are already merchants waiting in the parliament court in the city early, waiting for the high-profile arrival of the king. Before that, many merchants who arrived earlier have already settled here. They are chatting with each other about purchasing leather, because this is a large hall with a thousand horse leathers.
Lists, businessmen are already asking each other about their respective details and calculating how much of the pie they can get.
Because the price of raw horsehide is definitely not very high, it should be measured by deerskin. The problem is that although wild reindeer can be hunted, the number is too small, and most of the domesticated reindeer are owned by the royal family. Even if there are individual households raising them
Deer, deer is a means of transportation in winter. Killing deer for meat and selling skin is not something ordinary farmers can afford. Even if ordinary farmers want to sell deer, the prices of various "parts" are directly based on the king's pricing.
Winter has not passed yet. Based on last year's standards, eight hundred raw deer hides may have been traded this winter. Raw deer hides are often tanned and processed by professional tanners in Ellenburg, Roseburg, and New Roseburg.
Merchants who are willing to trade with distant places can only enjoy the marginal profits of the leather industry if they stay on Tombstone Island.
The king actually took out a thousand horse hides and sold them on Tombstone Island. This was a great thing! You can make a lot of money by buying horse hides and making clothes and selling them to Lake Mälaren.
The scheming old Gould was very aware of this matter. He was different from ordinary businessmen, and he personally took action to directly attack the crux of the problem.
Black Fox supported his old father and not only asked, "Father, is it unusual for us to go like this?"
"No, the king will not refuse me."
"Why? I'm afraid of offending your Majesty."
"Stupid!" Old Gould coughed twice, and then educated his two sons with a smile: "We have been selling bulk materials to Rurik all these years. He made a lot of money, and we also made a fortune. Our family
Always cooperate with the royal family. Remember you two in the future! We need the protection of the king. If we have the opportunity to make a fortune, we must think about letting the king also benefit, so that the king will think of you when he has the opportunity to make profits. This is for my father.
A chance for you four brothers!"
Hearing this, the red fox couldn't help but ask more: "So, are we going this time to help the king get rich?"
"Of course."
"But, shouldn't we directly ask for the cooperation of most of the thousand pieces of leather?"
"Stupid!" Old Gould rolled his eyes at his unlucky son, and the black fox immediately lowered his head in fear.
"Silly boy, the king has three thousand horse hides or even more in his hands. Don't think that I am taking you to fight for the one thousand skins. The one thousand skins were thrown by the king to the vultures (sarcastic
Ordinary merchants), those skins must be of average quality. We will get a batch of good skins from the king, our family will process them ourselves, ship them to your elder brother, and then sell them. We are directly selling supplies for the king.
Stable profits are essential.”
The brothers remained silent. As the team walked out of the mansion, Old Gould glanced left and right, and then whispered: "My purpose is to make the king make a lot of money, so that the benefits we share will be even greater. In this matter, we and
The king himself had a secret conversation, and those vultures must have had no idea."
After an inspection, Rurik will return to his residence. Currently, his temporary residence is still manned by berserkers wearing bear heads and standing guard.
Although the Gould family has a close relationship with the royal family, the guards are still wary of sudden visitors.
Old Gould did not want to follow, so he only went in with his two fat sons and waited. Even though an old fat man and two little fat men were completely unarmed, they were still ruthlessly intercepted by the guards. Even though Old Gould took out some silver coins and tried to
Buying it off will lead to more misunderstandings.
The berserker wanted to take away the bribe money, but they had their own rules. Once they took the money and were seized by the king, they and their families would be punished.
These berserker warriors are even more vigilant. After all, they have just returned from the battlefield. As the elite of the elite, they have experienced the most brutal fighting. Are you trying to see the king through bribery? Is there any danger here?
Even though old Gould kept claiming that he was a good friend of the king.
The noise attracted the attention of Captain Grund. The old guy came over cursing: "Hey! Who is this? Soldier, let them take it down!"
So, the berserkers really started to attack, until Grund saw the three fat men and realized the situation.
"Stop it first!" he added, and then came over with an unscrupulous attitude and said jokingly: "Isn't this Mr. Gould? You should have informed us that you were coming! I'm so sorry, I
His men were rude."
It was hard for Gould to say anything. Anyway, his old man was not a threat, and his two fat sons were pushed aside, causing the Gould family's attendants to almost draw their swords to protect the gold master.
Grund waved his hand and sent his subordinates to continue to stand guard. He pinched his waist and continued to ask: "Old friend, do you have something important to see the king? You should know that the king is in a good mood and is inspecting the territory now."
"Of course I know." Gould could no longer stand up. He still raised his fat head and spoke with threats: "Grund, I want to help the king make a fortune this time, so I have to come in secret.
You must treat me well. Look, our father and son don't even have a dagger for cutting meat. Your soldiers are really nervous. Listen, what I want to tell the king is some business secrets, and I don't want to make too much trouble here.
If other merchants know about the big commotion, it will be detrimental to the king."
After that, he took the bag of failed bribery from his son Black Fox and stuffed it into Grund's hand: "Take it first. I still have some ale in stock at home. I will send a few barrels if I get a chance."
"You old guy." Grund was excited and pointed with a smile, but he didn't ask for money: "Old guy, you know my identity. I won't ask for money. You three... my subordinates
I can escort you into the outer walls of the mansion first, and you can wait inside. Also, ask all your attendants to leave."
"That's fine." Gould then dismissed his men and disappeared under the "protection" of the berserkers.
That's all. Grund stood there, wringing his neck and secretly sighing at his own wit.
Grund's refusal to accept money is definitely not an indication of his integrity. He was born as a prisoner. Although he has been working for Rurik for ten years now, he must know that a captured general has to spend his whole life to prove his loyalty. He understands the principles of the period and dare not cross the line. The so-called king issued
Salaries, rewards, and property seized on the battlefield are legal, and taking bribes openly is courting death. It's not that he doesn't want to take it, but many people just watched.
No, the warrior holding the sword hilt still glanced at himself from time to time.
"What are you looking at? Stand your guard."
After that, he entered the outer part of the mansion and continued to rest.