Just for face and glory, the price was actually a pound of silver coins. After leaving the door, Rurik felt physical pain for a second.
The loss of one pound of silver did not feel like a big loss to Rurik now.
What surprised him very much was that as a manufacturer of wine, when he sold it to Gould, the price was already very high. This was entirely because ordinary ale had to be distilled and purified, and then filtered with charcoal into a fine wine.
, just the concentration process makes the cost of wine rise a lot.
As for the glass bottle that carries the wine, it is a consumable that tends to be mass-produced. It is indeed rare and expensive at the beginning. In the long run, its value will definitely not be as high as the wine inside.
The "wholesale price" of a bottle of wine is approaching the price of a bottle of one-pound silver coins. Unexpectedly, after changing hands, the price increase in the Malaren tavern is not serious.
This surprised Rurik because it really did not conform to the rules of a businessman pursuing profit.
"Perhaps, if the price is too high, no one will buy it? The people of Melalen sell spirits with small profits but quick turnover?"
After all, everyone has seen what the people of Mälaren call a tavern. It is really a somewhat chaotic place, but this kind of place is controlled by that guy Olegin.
Arik patted his brother on the back: "Honey, how do you feel about this place?"
"It's not that good! It's dirty and messy. I'm afraid those drunk guys will rush up and be stabbed in the throat by you."
"Hey, that's for sure. My attitude is to kill any attacker."
Rurik shook his head and advised him like an adult: "You are so reckless. This is the territory of the Melalen people. If you kill their people, how can we escape unscathed?"
"It doesn't matter." Arik squeezed his brother's shoulder vigorously. Rurik understood that this was his brother's way of expressing his tough attitude, so he just endured the pain in his shoulder and remained silent.
"No matter where the enemy attacks, only the enemy will die. Brothers have killed so many enemies on the battlefield, how can we be afraid?"
After saying that, Arik laughed wildly, causing others to laugh even more arrogantly.
Rurik looked up at his cousin with disdain.
After all, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. After fighting a few battles, they became more and more cruel and ruthless. Even with this brain, they are still too simple.
"Arik."
"What's wrong?!"
Rurik frowned and shook his head: "That bottle of wine is still too expensive."
"Oh, now that I think about it, I was really extravagant. I apologize."
"It doesn't matter, at least you have earned enough face for the brothers. Haha, the owner of the tavern is the leader of Melalen. At least we know this information. Now we are all Norwegian travelers, at least they think so."
"Okay!" Arik pinched his waist, "Brothers, there is no need to hide anything, we are Norwegians. Let's go and see what other strange things there are in the market."
There were all kinds of people coming and going, almost all of them were simply dressed, there were a few who were gorgeously dressed, and they were walking surrounded by people carrying swords or axes.
Working as a thug for wealthy households is an option acceptable to many powerless young people in Mälaren. After working as a servant for a few years, after saving some money, you can either buy some acres or order a small boat.
, in this way, you can obtain the capital to survive for the rest of your life.
Rurik took aim at the fat man wearing clothes and a velvet hat.
"Arik."
"What's the matter? Say it louder sometimes."
"That man." Rurik still whispered, "That's a rich man. Let's follow him quietly to see what this guy will do."
Following an indifferent person, Arik felt that it was unnecessary. Since his brother had this idea, he and his brothers followed quietly.
There were many people walking around in the market, and the following behavior did not cause any alarm.
After a while, the rich man, who was being defended by mercenary thugs, finally stood up straight in front of a lively crowd.
There were at least dozens of people gathered together, looking at a range of special products.
"What's going on?!" Rurik was shocked. "Arik, look at those pillars. Why are some men tied to them? Are they guilty? Is this an execution site?" Rurik subconsciously thought that a thief had been raped.
Captured by leader Laren's patrolling private soldiers, he estimated that he was at the scene of the execution of prisoners.
Hearing what his brother said, Arik subconsciously believed that this was the execution ground. Look at those tied up people in ragged clothes. All it took to end their lives was a blow from an axe.
Jevro coughed twice and said with a wooden face: "My lords, those are not prisoners, they are slaves."
"Slave?" Rurik immediately turned around.
"What? Master, do you think it's strange?"
"No. I'm just curious. Are these slaves tied here because they ran so hard?"
"Of course not." Jevro knew the slave market of the Melalen tribe very well. He deliberately pointed to a pillar that was erected like a ship mast: "Master, if any escaped slaves are caught, they will be hanged.
On that wooden pole."
Rurik looked at the pillar and was deeply moved in his heart.
He looked again at the slaves who were bound with ropes for sale, and couldn't help but feel sorry for their situation.
This is human nature! For a moment, Rurik had the idea of saving them. However, facing the current situation and seeing that a group of local rich people had already taken the lead, his own reason prevailed, and now he stood aside and watched.
There will be no loss, and rash intervention may cause too much trouble.
Rurik's psychological fluctuations were keenly noticed by Jevro.
"Master, do you plan to buy these slaves?"
"No, I have already arranged the purchase of slaves for Gould. Now we are just spectators."
After saying that, Rurik continued to watch. The more he watched, the stronger his heart was touched.
They do not regard slaves as human beings, or rather the people of Melalen or even the entire alliance. The concept of human beings in the narrow sense is limited to boys and girls of the alliance who are over twelve years old.
The so-called slave trade does not have any laws and regulations that need to be followed, and it all relies on unspoken rules created by everyone. For example, bankrupt farmers will voluntarily become slaves to make ends meet, and young people who have no energy are willing to work as slaves for the rich.
Mercenaries. Even some begging children. Boys may be trained into laborers, and girls may be beautiful and taken away as slaves by wealthy households.
Asking himself, Rurik felt that in the past two years, he had also relied on this set of unspoken rules within the alliance since ancient times to get many typical slaves for Rossburg. Even if Rurik didn't want to admit it, in the hearts of the Ross people,
All the businessmen who had business dealings with Gould knew this - the Ross leader and his family were powerful slave owners.
Rurik heard a few guys with scary eyes speaking some awkward language. They were selling their goods—five Briton men—in public.
"They are actually Britons? Yes, their hair is not golden."
Rurik held his chin, and even his entourage acted as spectators.
The slave traders quoted their prices, which were fifty silver coins for each Briton to be sold.
"Ah! This price is even far less than a bottle of wine! How can a person's value be so low?!"
Arik obviously heard his younger brother's muttering, and pressed his big hands on his shoulders: "What? You actually treat them as human beings? You are so kind."
"Then forgive me for my kindness. Alas, I hope to get some more laborers for us Russians. I can arrange for them to go mining."
"You still want to buy them? Rurik, we only have one pound of silver coins with us now."
"Forget it! You and the others are unlucky, and they are destined not to be servants of the kindhearted One."
Aric smiled as he listened to his brother's flattering words. To be honest, Aric looked down on these Britons at all. He thought of the five elderly Bryton maids raised by Rurik.
Worshiping a strange god, Aric felt that these guys were really not good.
Arik actually liked the people of Novgorod, not only because his wife was from Novgorod, but also because he noticed that the women he married were all kneeling down to worship the goddess Freya believed by the Russians, especially
No Novgorod woman died in childbirth. Everyone said that the goddess blessed these outsiders and became her own, which made Novgorod completely give up their faith in their hometown.
After all, he is a strong and young man, and his wife was just a pretty ordinary village girl in Novgorod. When he saw that his young brother was actually arranged a lot of engagements by his uncle who was the leader,
Arik said it was impossible not to be envious. However, his son was not yet one year old, and his wife still remained young and beautiful. If he could get a few beautiful women from Novgorod to marry him, he would probably make his own chickens miserable.
Flying dog jumps.
Acquiring a group of maids from Novgorod to serve him and his family has been included in Arik's plan. What's more, he also has a "wolfish ambition" deep in his heart. Since he can have a group of maids from the East,
To serve as a concubine, why not hire some oriental male servants to serve as hard labor? If these can be realized, I can definitely go further.
For example, my younger brother Rurik became the master of the Novgorod people. I heard that there is a place called Smolensk in the south, and the people there also speak the same language as Novgorod, but there is no
The north is powerful. He is destined to be less noble than his younger brother, but he is also nobler than other Rus's.
"In the future, I will lead my brothers to conquer Smolensk and make the local people my slaves. From now on, I will collect tribute every year? It's really wonderful to think about it."
The so-called Britons being peddled by the real Norwegians, the locals assumed that the slaves obtained by the Norwegian slave traders were all Britons, and it even became another word to describe slaves.
In fact, these so-called "Britons" are the residents of the Kingdom of Northumbria on the island of Britain. Rurik remembered that most of the real Britons had orange-red hair because their ancestors were all Kaitians.
Ertes. These people have brown hair and are relatively tall. Looking at their sluggish faces, there is a strong sense of familiarity.
Whether it is Northumbria or Mercia, the main groups of people who make up the two kingdoms are from the Saxon tribes and Anglian tribes that landed four hundred years ago. In essence, these people have a strong similarity in blood with the Mellaren people.
Sex. It’s just that immigrants and the survivors of Roman Britain intermarry on a large scale, and there are fewer people with pure blond hair.
Because they knew that the once noble Roman aristocrats were all black-haired, the chiefs who established the kingdom, while accepting extreme Christianity, also tried to make their descendants' hair darker and darker in blood.
But the age of Viking raids had begun.
The fjords of Scandinavia facing the North Sea formed a tribal confederation of Norsemen to raid Britain, and the captive populations were either digested by themselves or sold to the people on the other side of the mountains who lived in the "sacred land" of Svealand.
People can gain great benefits.
The mouths of five slaves were opened by wealthy buyers as if they were inspecting livestock. By observing the teeth, a knowledgeable buyer could know a series of information such as the age and physical condition of the slaves. This inspection routine was originally used to inspect cattle.
It's sheep's, and it's just as useful for checking slaves.
After all, these people bought them back to work as coolies on the farm. Compared with tenant farmers who paid rent, they still used slave labor to farm, and they could earn greater profits.
Many wealthy buyers gathered together. Apparently they had considerable differences over the division of slaves and needed to negotiate among themselves on the right to purchase.
There are many passers-by watching here. The scattered copper coins in their hands can't even hope to buy a strong slave, not even the weakest female slave. They are just watching the fun with greed, after all, their lives are full of things.
boring.
No one paid attention to the dozen or so people wearing burqas, and Rurik and the others seemed not to exist.
"It seems that the animal has an owner. Maybe we should bring more silver coins when we come again, so that we can satisfy your kindness." Arik said politely.
Rurik didn't think his cousin was complimenting him, but more like sarcasm.
"I won't read it." Rurik deliberately showed disdain.
"Then let's go deep into the market and have a look?" Arik asked.
"That's fine. The Mellaren people's market is really big. They sell all kinds of things. I'm very curious about that Olegin."
Jevluo hurriedly bowed down: "Sir, I believe you will see that person soon."
"Is it because Gould sent a messenger? I am already standing here, Yevlo, do you know where Olegin lives?"
"Ah! This..." How could Jevro not know? Everyone in the team knew about it, including all the mercenaries from Maylaren in the team.
"Take me there quickly, I want to find out."
Yevluo's face was very nervous. He continued to bow and persuade: "Sir, that Olegin is so arrogant. I'm afraid if we rashly ask to see him, he will be rejected."
"What? Will he refuse to see me without giving him a little greeting gift? Is it just that he is a so-called leader?"
"I'm afraid that's the case, sir. He is really a proud man. He has powerful private soldiers in his hands. No one dares to challenge the rules he has set."
"Bah! Listen to what you said, why do I think he is a greedy and arrogant man? Anyway, I just want to see that guy's mansion, as long as I can see it from a distance away."
Jevro breathed a sigh of relief. If his master only asked for this, of course he could do it. What he was most afraid of was that the two sons of the leader of Ross would be too unruly and cause trouble in the territory of the Melalen people.
Some incidents.
Although he very much hopes that Rurik, whom he serves, will grow up and have hegemony over the entire alliance.