The group of people had finally finished wandering around the market, but they had to walk along the same old road again on their way back.
Now that word of the "strange Norwegian businessman" has spread, the drama must continue.
Mercenaries will carry some tools with them, such as knives, axes, and thin hemp ropes for binding things. Rurik doesn't know what happened to tribes like Uppsala, which are clearly far away from war. Anyway, a group of children escaped
Looking for a way to survive at the Mälaren Market.
The children's hands were tied one after another, and Rurik and his party also acted as slave traders. Their swagger in the market attracted many people to comment, not on the slaves they controlled, but on their costumes.
The news had spread, and the Norwegians wearing burqas almost started a fight with the leader. Are there only some bold Norwegians left who dare to challenge the leader of Mellaren?
The market merchants said that they were brave people, but unexpectedly, not long after Rurik and his party left, the whole market was in a state of uproar.
Without him, Chief Olegin brought his private soldiers to collect the so-called tax. The news had already spread, and anyone who refused to pay would be severely beaten.
At the dock, Gould had sent a long ship. Thinking that Rurik might purchase a lot of things, this ship was larger in size.
The sailors who were ordered to pick up the people were shocked when they saw Rurik returning. They landed with only a dozen people, but now they have become a giant of more than forty people.
A large number of ragged children with their hands tied got on the boat. There was no fear in their eyes, only a strong sense of anticipation for the legendary Gould Island and Fort Ross.
The sailors are all self-aware. They don't ask anything and just control the sail. Rurik's mercenaries and even Arik are all working as oarsmen, just to return the ship to Gould Island as soon as possible. The brothers
You can eat barbecue.
"Now, let's untie them!"
Rurik's order was immediately implemented. The mercenary gently pulled the rope a few times, and the rope on the children's wrists was loosened.
Yes, the mercenaries tied them with live buckles, which also proved that the swagger was just an act.
The children were freed from all restraints, and they all held some dried fish in their hands and ate by themselves, even sucking the fish bones.
The sky was dark, and the cool lake breeze swept across the main water area. The wheat fields that were doing their best to ear were rustling in the wind.
Some vague fishing boats on the lake lit torches to lure fish, and large fishing nets have been sunk in the water, waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch bass.
The huge Lake Malaren has huge freshwater fish resources, among which the intentional bass is the largest. And every autumn, salmon that inhabit a wide range of sea areas begin to return to their original spawning grounds, and a considerable number of bass must enter first.
Lake Mälaren, then into small rivers and deep into cradle-like swamps.
The vast lake area is almost all the fishing grounds of Mälaren fishermen. There is also a group of bold fishermen who have entered the sea. Facing the Northern Rus people who have begun to compete with them for the ocean fishing grounds in the past two years, they dare to be angry but dare not speak out.
As usual, the Gould family is not involved in lake fishing. They and many business families who occupy the islands in the lake have very professional ethics, that is, they only do business and will never compete with the Malaren people for basic survival resources.
At least the merchants will not threaten the roots of the tribe. The traditional leaders of Melalen only require them to pay tribute when they go ashore to do business. Other than that, everything is free. Even if the merchants want to support a group of servants, they need to spend money to buy food.
Their consumption also makes life easier for the fishermen of Mälaren.
Generally speaking, the Melalen tribe has more abundant materials and is more capable of resisting natural disasters and material shortages.
However, for those tribes living in the inland areas, the geographical location of the Uppsala people determines that they can hardly grab some resources from the rich Lake Mälaren, and their farmland is naturally poorer. Even the food they can grow is
There are really not many warm years. They are also actively raising livestock in order to obtain wool and milk so that they can raise more people.
However, the autumn of 831 came too early.
A large rowing longboat full of people docked at the dock on Gould Island.
Rurik and his mercenaries were the first to step off the landing board and stand on the trestle.
"You all come down, children of Uppsala, this is your home for the time being."
The gentle call slightly dispelled the children's worries. They were still very vigilant in general. When the first boy tentatively walked out of the board, the subsequent children followed cautiously, and finally they all stepped onto the trestle.
"Very good. Now go away and I'll give you something to eat."
It was in the evening, the setting sun was spreading its last glow on the lake, and the world in the east was already bright with stars.
The whole island was filled with the aroma of food. As usual, the people on the island ate thick vegetable soup and a lot of grilled fish. Before the oats were harvested, Gould sent people to purchase food, and all they brought back were
Fresh fish and vegetables.
Almost everyone was eating, but there was no canteen here, and Gould had no plans to do so.
The core area of the island is wrapped by a wooden wall, which not only plays a defensive role, but also serves as a key leveling against the cold.
A large number of people were holding wooden bowls in one hand and several grilled fish skewers in the other, and sat on the wood deliberately placed horizontally at the base of the wall to eat.
The most ordinary people can only eat the most ordinary food, including the beggars from many tribes who were gathered by Gould early on. They have been eating surimi vegetable soup for a long time. Although the food is bland, everyone is not interested in it.
As for being hungry.
As for the mercenaries, they were naturally provided with beef, mutton and fish.
As for Gould himself, his greedy habit became more and more serious in his later years.
He deliberately kept some strong liquor and mixed it with ale or wine to drink every meal. When it came to meals, of course there was barbecue every meal. If the food was satisfying, the beauty would also be satisfied.
Although Gould wanted to enjoy life in time and enjoy the rest of his life in his old age, he was not confused.
As usual, he and his eldest son Snoreva gathered for dinner, accompanied by his newest maid. Perhaps the only drawback was the lack of actors playing the flute and sheng.
Under the dim chandelier with dancing flames, the way the two of them cut the barbecue with knives was really ferocious. The old guy Gould even deliberately stuck a dagger into the meat and put it into the mouth of the maid next to him. He also said something.
The words of promise made the servant who was eating meat moved to tears, and he smiled like a 300-pound fat man in the literal sense, and his round blue eyes narrowed into slits.
The two men of the Gould family were enjoying the dinner, and they seemed to have forgotten about Master Rurik's landing at the Malaren Market.
Finally, a mercenary hurriedly broke into the dining scene.
"Sir, Chief Rurik is back."
"He's finally back?! Oops!" Gould slapped his forehead hard and pushed the two beauties around him away. He glanced at his eldest son and said, "Let's go and welcome him in. It seems like there will be more people at the dinner party."
."
Gould almost stood up with the help of the slave girl. He drank some strong wine and was swaying.
At this moment, Rurik and the newly subdued children had just walked under the wooden wall.
The wooden door creaked open, and everyone entered the wooden castle in the core area of Gould Island.
For those children, they were surprised to see a large number of people carrying rice bowls. Soon as the wooden door was closed, they subconsciously gathered together because of fear, and because they smelled the aroma of food, they couldn't help but salivate.
After a while, Rurik finally saw Gould, who smelled of alcohol.
"you've been drinking?"
"Oh, my little master, I can only say that Ross Vodka is really delicious."
"But it's not as profitable as I thought." Rurik didn't want to talk about the wine anymore, so he turned around and pointed at the children who had gathered in a dark shadow, "I went ashore. You see, this is me
The children found in the Mälaren Market. Gould, you are guilty!"
Gould was shocked: "Ah? I'm guilty?" He couldn't see that Rurik was really unhappy, and he didn't know what the child meant.
He squinted his eyes and saw a group of trembling and pitiful children in the dim light, and he couldn't help but feel strange.
"You are guilty. Have you seen these children?"
"I saw it, they..."
"I thought you gathered all the beggars from the Mälaren Market, but I met so many people today. Why? Please explain to me."
"This... is unjust!" Gould shouted confidently, but a new group of children appeared in front of him, and he couldn't say anything. "Perhaps there is another group of foreign children who have fled here recently?"
"Huh?" Rurik narrowed his eyes suddenly, and inadvertently he felt that Gould had told a big secret. He didn't want to wait any longer: "I asked, these children are all from Uppsala, maybe you know
What happened to Uppsala?”
Gould clenched his chin: "Are they all from Uppsala? There were also Uppsalas among the children gathered before. They claimed that they didn't have enough food to eat and were driven out by their parents to fend for themselves. Could it be that these people
…”
"Maybe that's true?"
Rurik originally planned to let these children have a full meal, put on new clothes, preferably wash themselves, and even have a good sleep, and then ask them about their experiences tomorrow. Since everyone has arrived
It's Gould's Island, so I'd better ask now.
Food, clothing, shelter, and a stable future life, Rurik made these four promises, and in exchange for these Uppsala children's immediate surrender, they were all simple, and hunger and cold inspired them
Survival instinct means they are willing to do anything as long as they can survive.
The children talked about their past. After all, they were real children. Their pure hearts made them have no reservations. One or two of them wanted to tell their new master everything they encountered on the way to escape.
The problem soon became clear, but the scene described by the children was simply described as "nothing to eat."
It turns out that the Uppsala tribe is experiencing a serious agricultural crisis!
The Uppsala tribe, located northeast of the Melalen tribe, also experienced a long winter this year. The sowing season was forced to lag behind, but local farmers still sow seeds and prayed to Frey, the god of harvest, and Odin, the incarnation of the sun, for
Give everyone a hot summer so that the autumn food harvest will not be too bad.
However, their food harvest was destined to be completely exhausted.
Yes! Complete harvest!
They sowed seeds close to May. The low temperature caused many seeds to be buried in the soil and failed to germinate. When the seedlings finally grew up, their growth was not satisfactory.
The temperature throughout the summer was not as warm as the people of Uppsala had hoped, and the seedlings did not grow rapidly. Of course, there was no fertilizer at all, and watering relied entirely on rainfall.
Autumn has arrived after many days of rain, but there are no signs of heading in all the farmland.
The autumnal equinox is coming soon, and in the hearts of local people, the first snow will fall soon after the day and night equalize in autumn.
During the short frost-free period, they had no harvest. To make matters worse, most Uppsala people could not catch enough fish in the rivers. They carried boats to the beach for offshore fishing, and the profits were not high. They made annual reserves for winter.
The "battle" for supplies began, and a very serious question faced the entire tribe - famine is destined to come, what should we do in the future?
Youdao is a person who flies away when disaster strikes. The wealthy members of the Uppsala tribe generally own a large amount of farmland, and a group of tenant farmers are taking care of the land for them.
There is no harvest from the farmland, but the tenant farmers still have to pay their rent.
The wealthy knew full well that their tenant farmers could not produce a large amount of oats and rye, and they did not even have the ability to catch fish to pay for rent. The so-called tenant farmers were farmers who had cultivated the land. Previous natural disasters had made them
They gradually lost their land and became "workers" for the wealthy tribesmen.
Now, the most tragic agricultural harvest has come, and the tenant farmers who have harvested nothing have been completely impoverished, that is, all their properties cannot offset the debts they owe.
In fact, they do have one last asset, and that is themselves.
It can be said that the Ross tribe’s class differentiation is relatively late compared to the entire tribal alliance. The various tribes living near Lake Mälaren have almost completed the evolution from tribes to states. To a certain extent, the Uppsala tribe
It has become a slave city-state.
Those who could only sell themselves to repay the agricultural debts of the wealthy, in order to survive, they really could only serve as slaves, also known as serfs.
In this way, the wealthy people who own land have suffered certain losses in their lives due to this disaster, but because they have obtained a group of slaves, they may start the most thorough exploitation next year. After all, serfs must farm the land all year round.
, the reward they were given was just some food so that they would not starve to death.
In such a state, the wealthy people in Uppsala no longer care that the slaves under them are actually their own race.
Mercy? Why? The leader's Melalen tribe has been doing this for a long time. The leader himself doesn't care that many ordinary tribesmen have become serfs of powerful people, and the leader has even become very powerful because of this.
A family is reduced to serfdom, and men and women are forced to face a sad fate. However, deep in their hearts, they still have one last hope.
If the children are controlled by the leader, they will also be regarded as debts to be paid, and the children will be slaves for life.
The farmers in Uppsala, who were completely bankrupt, drove away their children in extreme grief and anger, ordered them to "run away from home" and fled to the Mälaren Market to work as beggars. Theoretically, the parents of the children could drag their entire family to become refugees.
.This is just a theory, because the powerful families of the Melalen people will also select or even capture refugees as slaves.
They would rather let their children try their luck in Mälaren, while they would rather stay in their hometown.
Because some rumors are spreading among various tribes, that is, there are some businessmen with unknown motives in Melalen, who are recruiting children. It is rumored that boys may be trained to be private soldiers, and girls may be trained to be servants, or even trained.
After becoming the master's concubine, the child's situation will never be worse than it is now.
Almost overnight, hundreds of children, carrying little food, ventured toward the core territory of the Malaren people in the southwest.
Along the way, some of them were either weak and died, or were killed by wolves. The remaining more than 60 people fled to the Malaren Market.
The children all complained that they were cruelly driven away by their parents, but they did not know that their parents would face an even more tragic fate of lifelong slavery.
In fact, they were controlled by Rurik and faced a similar fate.
Hearing about "parents maliciously abandoning" children, Rurik is now used to it. He is not surprised at all. It is like a grove near Roseburg called "Baby Cemetery", where babies cannot be fed.
They will abandon it here. As long as there is food to eat, who would abandon a newborn child?
In just two years for the Russians, Rurik was convinced that the entire tribe had basically solved the problem of food and clothing for the whole year, and the incident of abandoning babies had stopped. Of course, this was also due to the death order issued by the leader Otto.
Some children who spoke clearly explained their tragic experiences, and Rurik felt a chill all over his body.
He sighed deeply: "Well, I really can't expect most parents to be kind."
"Mercy? The Uppsala people have no food. When there is no food, the men will take up arms and plunder. I don't think Uppsala can rob anyone. They dare not attack the Melalen people, let alone
Ability to organize a fleet to attack the Gotlanders. Are you going to attack the Rus in the north? Attack us? If they dare to come and plunder, I think you will easily kill them as you are strong." Gould said coldly.
"Of course!" Rurik said without changing his expression: "If the Mellaren army comes to attack me, what awaits them is my ruthless killing. You know, our crossbows are invincible."
Hearing this, Gould suddenly heard the murderous intention hidden in these words. War? The Melalen people attacked the Russians after they were full? Rurik said this.
Gould asked in a low voice: "Rurik, did you encounter anything on the shore?"
"Yes. I met Olegin. He is such a hateful guy. He actually killed someone in front of me. How can he still be considered the leader of the alliance? He is simply a child killer. Hateful!"
Gould had no idea that Rurik's angry look could make such an overly kind child angry. That would be...
Out of surprise, Gould, who was slightly drunk, woke up and said, "Ah? You mean, Alliance Leader Olegin, he... he provoked you? Ah! Did you go to find him in person?!"
"It was just an accidental encounter." Rurik stretched out his little head, "He actually dared to kill my servant. Sooner or later, he will lose his status as leader of the alliance."
Rurik had long had the ambition to become the new leader of the alliance, and his ambition was even greater, like being as great as the legendary emperor of Rome.
Ambition is ambition, and Gould knew that his little master was actually a very pragmatic person by nature.
"Alas! I don't know what happened between you and him, but we still have to do business with him."
"Only now." Rurik gritted his teeth.
"Okay." Gould shrugged, "I sent a messenger, but the messenger hasn't come back yet. Just come back and rest on the island. As for these children..."
"Follow the old rules." Rurik said in a commanding tone: "When we go back, I want all the children in Uppsala to be alive. You arrange their lives as usual. Treat the sick and healthy children.
Tell them to do their work."
"I understand." Gould nodded deeply: "They are already the new Russians."
"Of course! I want all the beggars that the leader expelled, especially that Olegin!" Rurik continued baring his teeth, "Sooner or later, the children who survived his persecution will become my warriors. Mela
The people of London will pay the price for their prejudice and arrogance!"