Chapter 1091 It finally starts to look like Rotterdam
Poor people are all emaciated, and even the most ordinary farmers seem to lack strength.
The overall condition of lower-level nobles, traveling merchants and priests is much better.
The high-ranking nobles and the followers they support are really strong and strong.
Although a person's wealth cannot be completely linked to his body shape, a fat man is definitely rich.
After Henry Nassau met the two brothers Black Fox and Red Fox, he admired them very much because they were rare fat men. Of course he loved his daughter. As long as conditions allowed, Henry would choose his son-in-law himself. If there was a chance, he could choose
A son-in-law with his own background is a perfect solution.
He didn't know if there would be a better man. Obviously, the one in front of him who could speak Latin, was fat, had the status of a Russian noble, had no fiefdom and no military exploits, and the black fox who had just grown up, was the perfect candidate.
"This boy is willing to call me father? What a wise boy." Henry pinched his beard, and the more he looked at Black Fox, the more comfortable he became.
This kid can make himself so fat, and his daughter will definitely live a good life with him. I just don’t know if this kid wants his descendants to have the suffix "Nassau".
After a short interview, there was a long conversation. Henry intended to talk to Black Fox in person. The content of the conversation should not be known to outsiders, not even Red Fox, at least not for the first time.
It is understandable that the old Earl of Utrecht plundered people's fat and anointed people to build his own mansion. Part of the money he raised was also transferred to the expenses of the parish, so the local church was built quite well.
A considerable amount of wealth has been used to build the city of Utrecht. Its urban infrastructure is naturally not very high-end, but there are many high-rise buildings. There are also a group of handicrafts and craftsmen gathered in the city, which has spawned a group of non-agricultural workers.
The citizen class can then provide high value-added handicraft output and generate more commercial profits.
If there is a peaceful environment, a larger local population, and the ability to develop trade with the Viking world, the rise of commerce in the Netherlands can be expected in the future.
It's just that the person in charge was a small nobleman who came from a small inland village! Henry Nassau had a nouveau riche mentality, and he was satisfied with just a light raid in the new territory.
He felt that he was already very wealthy, and he could just collect taxes step by step and live his life. As for what the future would bring, he didn't bother to think about it.
What Henry is thinking about now is his daughter's future and the belonging of his hometown.
At night, the secret room of the mansion.
The flame of the oil lamp on the roof trembled, and the mood of the two people inside was soothing.
Henry was in a good mood: "I talked a lot with your brother and learned a lot about you."
"Oh? How much do you know?" Black Fox, with his legs crossed, asked casually and thoughtfully.
"Not much. I know that you are a noble of Rus, but you have no merit. I learned that you Rus people are eager to obtain military exploits so that you can be recognized by others. This is understandable! If you are a Frankish lower-level noble, at a critical moment
If you make meritorious deeds in battle, you may get titles and territories."
"So? What are you going to say."
"Being my son-in-law, you will not only get my daughter. But also! I will officially authorize you to manage my hometown Barony of Nassau for me. I can give you relevant powers, and you can do whatever you want!"
Henry's attitude was determined, and Black Fox could tell that this middle-aged man must have been thinking about it for a long time.
"Do whatever you want?" Black Fox, who felt that this person was not simple, thought for a while and deliberately tested: "If I can really do whatever I want, I can marry many women according to the rules of the north."
"This...this is impossible."
Seeing Henry's expression change, Black Fox smiled naively and touched the cross on his chest: "After accepting your faith, I have to give up a lot. I understand! I was just talking casually. But...it seems that I will not do whatever I want in the future.
.”
"Maybe so, but there are some things you must know. I appreciate you so much that I won't lie to you. In fact, your future is in danger."
"Crisis? It's just that when we build our Ross shop in your Nassau village, we will directly face the military threat from the Franks. The King of Ross gave me an order to take the initiative to cause trouble after I settled in. Is it possible..." Black Fox
Deliberately stroking and laughing, "You think I'm afraid of them?"
What is going on in Henry's mind now? Although he admires this little fat man very much, as an older person, he despises the arrogance of young people. Unless the young people have the capital to be arrogant like King Rurik of Rus. This little fat man
What kind of capital do you have? Are you all fat?
"Young man, don't be too crazy! I know you have never fought in a war. Have you...killed anyone?" Henry asked with eyes wide open.
"That's not true. But it's nothing. We'll have it soon."
"Your words are frivolous, boy. At least you are too young in this regard."
"But the people I brought are all ruthless people. They can help me kill, and I only need to strategize. I am a businessman, and I also admire my brother Lan Hu. I think I will also become a good warrior.
Bar."
Henry didn't want to force the war. Realistically speaking, if this boy really died in the battle due to recklessness, his family would suffer a big loss. Henry said: "It would be great if you can really pull the strings, because the other side of Nassau Village is Lothair."
territory. Do you know Lothair?"
"I heard a little bit. King Rus ordered me to attack and plunder the target."
"Then follow the ruthless methods of you northerners. The key to the problem now is what your identity is."
"I? The third son of Rose's Gould family. And...your son-in-law." When he said the last word, Black Fox's attitude was already very easy-going, and he really regarded Henry as his father-in-law.
"I'm very happy that you called me father, but you really don't have a suitable title. Blue Fox told me that because you are Ross nobles, no one else can give you a title except the King of Ross who gives you a title. I wanted to canonize you as a knight. I want to come.
This is inappropriate. So, if you are willing to accept my arrangement..."
Black Fox became interested: "But it doesn't matter."
"I am still the Baron of Nassau. I hire you as the baron steward, with the right to manage all affairs of the Baron of Nassau. This job does not have any title! However, the son you give birth to with my daughter must inherit my title.
.Only in this way can the entire Barony of Nassau and the local priests obey your orders. I know! This may not be comfortable for a man, but for the sake of your Ross Kingdom and you personally, this is an arrangement that everyone can accept.
"
The black fox really listened. His tense spirit was completely relieved, and he even wanted to laugh. "Is that just that? I thought you wanted to say something. Okay, I completely accept it."
"Just accept it?"
"Otherwise? Isn't this a result that everyone accepts?"
The nobles of the Frankish world were so coy about their etiquette that Black Fox could not have imagined. He felt that even if he accepted the canonization of the local nobles, his ultimate goal was for Ross, and the King of Ross must also acquiesce, right?
Thinking about it more carefully, Henry Nassau's move indeed protected the face of King Ross.
Face is of course very important, but unfortunately I am a businessman, and businessmen are cunning foxes, otherwise I wouldn't be called this name.
He held back what was in his heart and happily accepted the identity of "Baron Nassau's exclusive butler".
For Henry Nassau, it was a foolish dream to expect his ignorant and greedy little daughter to have an overview of the baronial affairs. She needed a husband with status, a wise housekeeper, and an army at her disposal. It seemed that she needed
You get a lot, and in fact, as long as you take down the little fat black fox, the problem will be solved in one package.
Of course, he also prepared for the worst, and said to the black fox: "If you take the initiative to provoke Lothair's people, and you are unable to defeat them for a while, you must take my daughter and other Nassau villagers with you."
Evacuate.”
Heihuxu and Weishe agreed with their mouths, but they were quite impatient in their hearts. When had the Ross army been defeated? He could see that this man did love his daughter very much, but this kind of love was too deep and obscure.
The third brother likes to mention that the beauty has obtained the status of "Butler of the Barony of Nassau". He is really the fourth red fox in admiration.
The red fox was really upset. Why did he lose the coin guessing game during the voyage? He thought he might have been tricked by Loki.
But he also felt that since the secret conversation between Black Fox and that Henry, Black Fox had become much deeper, and it seemed that he was worried. After some questioning, Black Fox did reveal some of his inner worries - going to Nassau Village
, only God knows what kind of mess we will encounter.
Merchants are not risk takers. Only by having a stable source of supply and sales, as well as a safe and stable trade line, can a merchant make a profit without losing money.
Businessmen are risk-averse, but he, Black Fox, had to become an adventurer. Although this was his own choice, he realized for the first time how complicated things were.
It is a blessing to have a beautiful woman in his arms, and the black fox is also slightly envious of his brother for enjoying the stability of the Rotterstad trading point.
"How about we switch?" The red fox couldn't stand the so-called complaints of the black fox. It was simply showing off in disguise.
"No. I won't change. I'll still be responsible for the dangerous things."
It is impossible for these two foxes to stay in Utrecht for a long time. The black fox and Henry Nassau's family seem to be as close as one family, while the red fox is busy exploring the local business situation.
There are various ways of commerce. In today's era, whether in the Mediterranean or the Baltic Sea, the form of commerce is nothing more than cross-regional trafficking of specialty products.
The prototypes of high-end finance such as lending and exchange do not exist. In other words, they actually exist, but they only exist in the Eastern Roman world, while other areas are either barbaric, gathering strength, or the aristocracy is in chaos on the ruins of Rome.
fight.
Bartering is still popular in most areas, and merchants must also traffic according to the situation of buyers and sellers. The materials they traffic are almost all bulk daily necessities, the most common of which are agricultural products and cotton and linen. For example, the business of trafficking in gems is a high-end business.
Commerce cannot support the prosperity of a small feudal country.
With the city of Utrecht as the center, farmland has been opened up near the rivers passing through it.
The locals obviously widely cultivate spring wheat and spring oats, as well as some rye and buckwheat. Obviously these are the most basic food crops for the locals. In addition, the red fox discovered a wonderful scene!
He saw large areas of onion fields, cabbage fields and pea fields. These crops are also grown in the area around Lake Mälaren in Sweden, but the scale is far smaller than here, and the growth of the crops is also much worse.
"If you can plant them in large quantities, I will transport the storable onions to the north. The ships I own are very large and can transport huge quantities at one time. Even if the price is cheap, the final profit will be huge!"
Just like the old Gould did, even if low value-added materials are trafficked, they must be involved in the scheme of small profits but quick turnover. The tradition of the Gould family is not to dislike the low value of goods. If it is not the king of Ross,
The order means that the Gould family has no right to penetrate into the eastern market of the kingdom. The so-called avoidance of monopoly, in fact, several brothers of the Gould family believe that this is the selfish intention of the king. The reality is that the branch of King Rurik's cousin is busy developing
Trade in the East.
If he penetrated into the world of the Franks, King Rus would certainly have nothing to say.
And compared to the northern world, just from Utrecht you can see that the warm southern world has more products, and even trading in agricultural products is very profitable.
“It’s certainly not just where peas are grown!”
Red Fox has a lot of money in his hands. He wants to build Ross's Shop in Rotterstad, which is very close to the south of Utrecht. This matter naturally gets the support of Henry Nassau and the local church. They still don't believe in Danish immigrants. After all,
In the past, Durist was a Danish pirate den, and the Rotterstad that replaced it was probably just as dirty. Perhaps the Ross nobles moved in and could suppress the Danish pirates with their reputation as the Northern Overlords.
The Ross Shop at the mouth of the Inn River had to be built. In order to quickly complete the project, Red Fox hired a group of idle laborers on the spot.
At least the Russians have been very nice this year, but is it really a good thing to hire and pay construction workers? What if it is actually a conspiracy? What if the villagers went to work for them and were resold as slaves?
good.
However, some people are faced with huge debt pressure. If they cannot pay back the money on time, they can only become debt slaves (serfs) of the knights. The situation is not much better than being the slaves of the Normans.
Red Fox then recruited more than fifty people in the local area, promising to take care of food and lodging, not to use whips, and to give him five silver coins every month. After finally completing his conversion, he deliberately found the local bishop Arbery as a certifier, and vowed that he would
fulfil your promise.
Is there such a good thing? Originally, these farmers who were in debt said that the total debt was less than ten silver coins. The root of the problem was that local prices were very low, and monasteries and aristocratic mansions were dens for storing silver coins.
It is artificial deflation. So when the average monthly price for hiring strong laborers in the north soared to ten silver coins due to the influx of large amounts of silver coins, Red Fox did not conduct a thorough inspection of Utrecht prices. After working for a month
Giving five silver coins is a good deed that is both enviable and suspicious.
The contract was completed, and the fifty or so people hoped that the Russians could keep their promises. He expected to repay the debt smoothly after completing the work, and even fantasized about taking the opportunity to make a fortune. Others were forced to wait and see, and many people even said secretly
He made a sarcastic remark: "A bunch of idiots, you will be captured and made into slaves."
Red Fox and Black Fox have no intention of arguing with a group of farmers. They have been destined to be businessmen since birth, and their lives have been full of business thinking. During their most critical growth period, they saw Ross's various aspects.
Regarding expansion, especially commercial expansion, King Rurik of Rus repeatedly emphasized the importance of contracts, and even publicly signed written contracts. After hearing this, the two brothers felt that this was the truth and needed to be abided by.
They are cunning and will not go back on the terms they have set unless the other party goes back on them first, then they have a reason to retaliate.
Now Red Fox is obviously the stronger one. Subjectively, he will pay these laborers their food, accommodation and remuneration, provided that they will not slack off in their work.
So in his preliminary plan, Ross's shop in Rotterstad was essentially a small castle integrating commerce and military. The most critical thing was large-scale construction. So the people he brought were all strong people.
You can go into battle to kill enemies or chop down a big tree in a short time, but the rewards for these ruthless people are too high.
Both Red Fox and Black Fox received development funds from King Ross, and they themselves were quite wealthy, so Red Fox was very willing to spend money. Of course, this boy was too young, and it would be easy to spend a large amount of money at a young age.
If you go too far, at least now you will still be in the dilemma of budgeting.
As a result, the two foxes arrived at the entire Rotter River Basin, which was being built by the Danes.
On both sides of the small Rotter River, the lords from the Danish island of Zealand had demarcated territory. It was really difficult for them to give up a large piece of land to Ross.
"All the good places have been taken up by these guys who came first! If we had known this, we might as well have spent some time before going to Utrecht." Red Fox couldn't help complaining.
Black Fox was too lazy to complain: "Then choose another piece of land nearby."
"What should we do?"
"Just to the west of the territory controlled by the Danes! We opened up wasteland to build a port so that we can go to sea more easily."
The Ross Shop laid its foundation on the north bank of the Laike River, a tributary that splits off at the mouth of the Rhine River. In view of the soft soil here, they began to cut down trees aggressively, and then smashed the pine trees deeply into the soil. The so-called wetness lasts for thousands of years, and dryness lasts for thousands of years.
, Red Fox is going to lay a dense foundation of pine wood piles in this swamp, and then build a small fortress on it. This does not reflect that Red Fox is very smart at a young age, because the two brothers are aware of the geographical conditions and ancestors here.
The Lake Malaren area is very similar. It also has many islands and the land is torn apart by the lake. Several tribes on the shores of Lake Malaren have figured out tricks for building houses on the soft swampy land.
Out of brotherly love, Black Fox wanted to wait until his brother stabilized a bit before leaving. He supervised the construction of Ross' shop and also supervised that the purchased food could go into the workers' stomachs smoothly.
Those hired farmers are indeed working hard, and they have the right to eat enough food. Fish and boiled peas are easily available foods. Thanks to the trawling technology of the Russians, the herring harvest offshore has greatly improved the quality of the construction site.
The food situation, and the extensive use of salt made them happy for the heavy physical labor.
There are currently nearly 200 people involved in the construction. Red Fox feels that at the current progress, it is far-fetched to build a wooden fortress that can survive the winter unless he recruits more labor. He has already planned a new recruitment plan and deliberately lowers the number of new recruits.
The salary of the labor force was destined to be Utrecht. He was convinced that local farmers would enthusiastically sign up when they saw the profits and would not complain about the reduction in wages.
It was under this situation that Ragnar's loot fleet that plundered Britain drifted into the River Rhine.
Another great steward from the Count of Flanders, Pepin III, also took his entourage on a small boat. As the special envoy of Count Baudouin, he wanted to directly discuss business possibilities with the great merchants of Russia. To this end, he took out the
A bargaining chip that ensures the other party will never turn a blind eye - a large amount of ready-made wool.
Various forces gathered in Rotterstad, and in an instant, the commercial atmosphere in this wasteland of salt marshes at the mouth of the Rhine River, which is easily eroded by the tide, became lively.