Holding the boats on their heads, everyone took the two boats across the frozen mountains, unloaded them at the mountain lakes, and then drifted along the river.
Mordgen and his companions are heading to the east of the mountains to find people who have large amounts of furs for trade.
He never dreamed that he would enter the territory of the Russians by accident.
Now, he has to do business with a child who claims to be blessed by the gods.
Ridiculous? It's so absurd.
The Russians are here. Since the other party is essentially willing to do business, there is no need to be rigid. As for business, whether the buyer is blind, deaf or a child, if they are willing to pay for the goods, they are the best customers.
.
Modgen tried to calm down and complimented: "Distinguished man, we are lucky enough to step into your territory. This must be my destiny. We have crossed the mountains in the hope of finding buyers for our goods. Perhaps the Russians are our best bets."
Distinguished Buyer”
This compliment made the warriors on both sides very happy, and Rurik felt a little happy in his heart.
"I know you are trying to do business. Tell me! What was your plan before you met us?"
"We are looking for the Covin people. We want to buy their leather, or we can go into the vast deserted land to hunt ourselves. Sir, maybe you don't know, but we need leather very much."
It seemed that this person's words were very sincere. Rurik pinched his chin and carefully considered these words.
Isn't that right? Although the Port of Narvik never freezes, the geographical structure of that area is extremely complex. There are only a few small flatlands that can raise very few livestock and even plant some cold-resistant crops.
It is precisely because of this principle that the locals are forced to try to go out.
Rurik thought for a moment, gestured with his fingers, and a mercenary came over. Soon after he gave some orders, the mercenary ran out quickly.
"Sir..." Modgen was a little confused when he saw this.
A confident smile appeared on Rurik's face: "Aren't you looking for the Kovin people? Very good, you will be able to meet the Kovin people soon."
Modgen, who was already baffled by these remarks, became even more confused.
Rurik just smiled and said nothing. Soon, as Mechasta, the leader of the Iron Squirrel tribe, entered the house, Modgen began to realize the complexity of the situation.
Mechasta was ordered to sit in the ranks of warriors, and Rurik introduced him: "You are looking for the Kovin people? Look, this is the leader of the Kovin people."
"He?" Modgen glanced at Mechasta and subconsciously made a judgment: "Could it be that you and the Covin people have already formed an alliance?"
"It's not an alliance! It's a conquest." As he spoke, Rurik beat his chest proudly with his fist: "Times have changed! We Russians have conquered all the Kovin people, and I am the master of all the Kovin people. Visitors from afar,
You are destined not to meet the Kovin people on this journey, you will only meet us Rus people, because the Kovin people are already part of us."
"They...have all become your slaves?"
Slave? Rurik wanted to retort, but in his heart he was more willing to call the Kovin people his dependents.
However, giving him the status of "slave" will definitely show his military power.
"Yes! They are all our slaves." As he spoke, Rurik's attitude became extremely serious, his beautiful little head tilted forward, his eyes full of determination: "They are all my personal slaves. Do you want to be with me?"
If they do business, then do business with me."
Who would have thought that the Covin people with furs had been conquered by others.
If you think about it carefully, it might not be a bad thing.
Modgen's trip was purely a spontaneous expedition with his brothers. They also followed the legends of past explorers. Legend has it that there is a river in the far east, and there lives by the river a man who calls himself "Kewen" and speaks another language.
People, Kewen people have a lot of leather in their hands. Even though they don't understand the language, the business is still going on.
With just this piece of information, Modgen embarked on an adventurous journey.
After overcoming many difficulties and dangers, in order to achieve a large amount of trade, I did not expect that I would end up in this situation after more than a month of work.
Now that the trading partner has become the Russians who conquered the Kovin people, and both sides speak the same language, Modgen has also given up the idea of "tricking buyers" because he does not think that the Russians can deceive him.
There will be no retaliation.
At present, the information is still very unclear.
The atmosphere in the entire venue was a little awkward. Modgen once again boldly complimented: "Sir, you must be the leader of the Rus people, and this is also your territory? Oh, it is really a great city."
The so-called city is pronounced "Brog" in the Norse context, or "fort".
It is more similar to the concept of a city-state, because apart from its own main city, each tribe basically does not have a second major settlement, not counting the micro-villages composed of several families.
The Russian people present understood the meaning and couldn't help laughing.
Rurik ignored the embarrassment of the visitor and said with a smile: "Is this tiny settlement of yours the core of us Russians? No! You look down on us too much."
"Ah?! Do you still have many settlements?"
"Of course." Rurik cheered up, "This is not even the territory of the Kovin people. This city is called Elon-Olava Castle, which is a colony of our Ross people. And I am not the biggest leader of the Ross people, but I
A leader indeed."
Rurik told the basic truth, but Modgen really needed to use his brain to understand it. Because the current residents of Narvik Port have not yet opened a shipping route across the North Sea, they
The Shetland Islands have not yet been colonized.
There is still only one large settlement in the Port of Narvik. The locals are forced to live in scattered areas due to the constraints of the fjord environment. Due to the rich local fishery resources, their population is also relatively large.
Now that the words have come to this, Rurik feels that he must show off his muscles. This is not to show off, but as a means of self-protection.
The so-called "fighting with force" means that real force must not involve large-scale military operations. Instead, when a warrior shows his sharp sword, he can rely on his strong aura to scare the enemy into surrender. This is the so-called subjugation of the enemy without fighting.
Due to the current situation, Rurik and Otto have the same attitude. The armed actions in the past year have resulted in the loss of one hundred of the most elite soldiers of the Ross people. It seems that this loss is nothing, but the Ross tribe can take it.
There are only 2,000 men with weapons, and only 700 or 800 core warriors. Due to traditional thinking, Otto and Rurik cannot completely believe that mercenaries and conquered servants will completely sacrifice their lives for the Russians.
, so the few hundred most elite tribal warriors are the foundation on which Ross can be strong.
"Our core is in Rossburg in the south. It is a huge settlement with a population of at least..." As he spoke, Rurik stretched out his hands and showed five fingers. "One finger represents a thousand people, just Ross
Fortress, we have ten thousand people."
"Ah?!" Mordgen was shocked.
Looking at the opponent's unpretentious expression of surprise, Rurik boasted that he was acting like a "cat with explosive hair", which indeed made them feel that the Rus tribe was extremely powerful. The matter was not over yet.
Rurik continued: "This is the Iron Olava Fort, our northern settlement. The territory of the Kovin people is also the territory of our Rus people, and their warriors are all our warriors. There are also some islands in the south,
It is also the settlement of our Russians. There is even an even more distant east, called New Roseburg, where there are at least 5,000 Russians living, and even more than 10,000 servants from the East."
The words came from the mouth of a beautiful boy. Modgen felt ridiculous but did not dare to deny it. He did not realize that a child could say such words very logically. I am afraid that the Russians controlled a large area of settlements.
, and their population is far beyond that of their hometown.
In an instant, a large amount of sweat broke out on Modgen's head. He came here for business, but now he couldn't help but feel fear about this transaction.
Because communication is relative! Since the Russians conquered the Kovin people and have the ability to send out armies to build settlements everywhere, they must be very warlike. If they were allowed to fully know their Balmok tribe, would the Russians
Are you thinking of an expeditionary government?
Rurik did not anticipate Modgen's thoughts, "Now that I have mentioned the situation of us Russians, what about you? What is your situation like that of the Balmoks?"
"this……"
"You mean that?!" Rurik urged.
Modgen didn't expect that he was forced to serve as an envoy. He suddenly felt that a heavy burden was placed on his shoulders. This time he needed his good eloquence, not to mention dispelling the Russians' possible desire to conquer, at least to
Let them understand that any attempt to attack the Balmoks, whether successful or not, will result in heavy casualties for the attackers.
"Sir, our tribe also has ten thousand people. Our warriors are all brave, and they are also very eager to go out of the fjord to do business. For example, my brothers and I have been running tirelessly for more than a month. We
The original plan was to spend the whole summer looking for the Kewen people to do business after crossing the mountains. In my tribe, I am just an ordinary person. We have many very brave people who can continue to trek in the snow without eating or drinking for ten days.
.They can fight the monsters in the sea with only short spears."
"Oh, so you Balmoks are very brave beings?"
"certainly."
Rurik nodded. It seemed that the other party didn't want to show weakness, but he also didn't want to show strength.
Then again, if the Balmok tribe really has ten thousand people, the Rus should really be wary of them. Rurik was a little scared. He was not sure whether the other party was bluffing or genuine. Ten thousand people, according to the standards of the far east, is
A relatively small population unit, and in Europe, this small number of people can become a regional power, not to mention they are still standard Vikings.
Things have become a little tricky.
It can be said that the historic contact took place for the first time between the Rus from Svealand and the Balmoks from the Port of Narvik in 830 at the Iron Olava Fort at the mouth of the Kemi River. Both sides
It is actually reasonable for them to be unable to judge each other's background very well, and to brag about each other while remaining cautious.
However, Rurik possesses knowledge from later generations. He knows that more than a thousand years of changes cannot cause the changes in the fjord. Thousands of years later, Narvik Port is still an important harbor and a modern Norwegian military port.
It is also a northern port related to the lifeline of Norway’s economy.
The initial exchange ended here, Rurik couldn't bear these people to continue half-kneeling.
He snapped his fingers and called for the mercenaries in chainmail to come and listen to the order. Soon they entered the house carrying some polar bear skins that were roughly tanned and not yet fully dried. Modgen and his companions looked at him in surprise.
Looking at the laying of bear skins, it seems that these bears skins have become very connected things.
Modgen's eyes couldn't help but stare at the bear's head scratched on the wooden wall, and a chill ran through his body.
"Tell me, what exactly are the commodities you plan to trade?" Rurik asked after he sat down.
"It's salt."
"Salt? Is this a precious commodity?" Rurik asked.
"This... may be precious to the Kewen people. But for you, it is naturally a very common existence."
Is this a form of flattery? Rurik is not sure, because for the residents of the Baltic Sea, everyone boils a pottery jar of seawater to get a little salt. Just to boil the water, a lot of firewood is consumed!
Salt is a must for everyone's life. This does not mean that people will die if they don't eat salt. It is also that using salt to pickle fish, red meat, and even some foods such as yellow root carrots is the key to people's survival in the winter. Of course, it depends on the extreme cold and
Smoking and drying can also ensure that the food will not spoil, but it is better to pickle it with salt to ensure that the food has a better taste.
The salt in the hands of the Russians is boiled with Baltic Sea water with extremely low salt content. The cost of obtaining it is actually not low.
Rurik ordered: "Take out the salt and let me see it."
"As commanded."
Modgen immediately ordered his men to take out two heavy burlap bags. The hemp ropes that tied the bags were untied, and they showed the astonishing amount of white salt in the bags to the public.
Seeing this, Rurik stood up suddenly, walked over with a solemn expression, then half-knelt in front of Modgen in public, stretched out his right hand to touch the salt in the bag, and licked his fingers full of salt grains.
During this process, Modgen didn't say a word. He looked at the golden braids of the boy in front of him and marveled at how shiny and smooth the boy's hair was. To be honest, he had never seen anyone with such beautiful hair.
The entrance of salt grains, a very familiar feeling, directly and strongly stimulated Rurik's little head.
In short, the salt provided by these outsiders is really good salt!
"Ah, the quality of these salts is very good." After saying that, Rurik raised his head and asked directly the core question: "How much salt do you have?!"
"There were at least thirty Roman pounds."
"So much?!" Rurik stared at the two big pockets, and the little motor in his mind began to spin crazily, wanting to buy all the salt to fill up all the construction of Elonora during this time.
A large amount of salt loss is caused by heavy manual workers.
In a practical sense, these outsiders brought in thirty pounds of salt, which was a timely help.