From the moment those Uppsala children arrived on Gould Island, a new destiny had already arrived.
The happiness they once could imagine was so cheap that it was just not being hungry all the time.
On Gould's Island, they had the opportunity to eat thick vegetable soup and nibble on fresh grilled fish. They also got an unexpected meal. Rurik asked Gould to slaughter a sheep in order to
Barbecue appeases these poor children.
Does the taste of red meat exist in your memory?
Boys and girls, they didn't care that the meat in their hands was only half-cooked, the aroma of the barbecue made them almost lose their minds.
No, on the first night, their shriveled bellies were filled with food for the first time. The bulging bellies and clearly visible ribs formed a sharp contrast.
The thing that subverts their cognition is yet to come.
Each child was assigned a burlap shirt, trousers, and even underwear that were simply sewn together. Gould actually followed Rurik's special request and gave all the children who were gathered up a brand new outfit. Due to the cold weather,
, each child was also assigned a leather coat.
Before putting on new clothes, each of them had old clothes that were torn off and severely damaged. Several old women who took care of some housework were ordered by Gould to give the new children a bath.
They were herded into the dark wooden house in groups. As cold water was poured on the hot stones, the whole room soon became damp and hot.
The feeling of warmth and comfort combined with the happy feeling of fullness made them feel happy but not sure what would happen next.
The Finnish sauna was just the beginning. The mud on the children's bodies was finally washed away with soap, and their muddy hair was also washed clean.
With the new clothes and new leather shoes, the hair of boys and girls was simply tied into a ponytail. If the hair was too long, part of it was cut off directly with a knife. The sloppy image is a thing of the past. When they are in a warm wooden house
, lying in a warm sleeping nest paved with leather, it was only then that everyone realized that the whole day's adventure was not a dream.
The Uppsala children quickly adapted to their new life. Together with the children who had been taken in before, they did what they could on the small Gould Island.
Uppsala? Say goodbye to this identity forever!
Their new identity is Rurik's servants. It sounds like this identity is also a slave, but it is not. The kind of slaves who are exploited to death are definitely not what Rurik wants. They are human beings first. As long as they are human beings, if they are treated correctly
Their guidance can burst out strong subjective initiative. They can obviously create wealth, so that when they are exploited, they, as the master, can gain greater benefits.
Providing them with food, clothing and housing is just the most basic thing. If you can make them think that being a servant is something they are proud of, then that is what you want.
Rurik is constructing a concept of identity for his servants - servants who submit to the leader's family are also new Rus' people.
Children who have lost their parents, lost their hometown, and lost some things need a new support. At this time, Rurik stood up and claimed, "I am your supporter."
But Rurik had already made a promise to Carlotta.
No, just as he was waiting for the messenger sent by Gould to return a clear order from the alliance leader, Rurik divided all the children stranded on the island into groups.
As the female leader of Ostara, Carlotta accepted the kneeling ceremony of more than fifty children and swore allegiance. In this way, the Ostara tribe had fifty more tribesmen in name. Rurik divided all
Almost all of the Uppsala children saw the scene of violence committed by the alliance leader. For Mellaren, the place of hope they once imagined is now a place of crime.
Who is the good man? He is from Russia!
More than fifty Uppsala boys and girls were transformed into children of the Rus tribe. They had no father or mother, but they had a trustworthy older brother, Rurik.
Life seems to have entered a brief period of tranquility, and tranquility is only the appearance of tiny Gould Island.
The world outside the island is getting increasingly chaotic.
Alliance leader Olegin wanted to exploit all the merchants selling goods in the market again, and he basically succeeded! Considering that the sheep's wool could not be harvested all at once, he did not charge too harsh a tax.
The torment in the market lasted for two full days, and as many as 20,000 pounds of silver coins and some copper coins were collected from merchants who landed from all walks of life and failed to take their goods with them in time to avoid the danger.
It seems that Olegin has made a lot of money, but in reality? The money still does not satisfy him.
For a long time, the wheat harvest season has been the best time for him to make profits.
The climate is getting colder and colder, and the lowest temperature at night around Lake Mälaren is not too bad due to the regulating effect of the large lake.
Wheat production is destined to decrease, and every farmer can evaluate this year's production based on the state of ear heading.
Maybe this year’s wheat production will be reduced by half!
The families of the Melalen tribe who owned large amounts of land, when they sensed a crisis, they also discovered an opportunity.
This year, a group of farmers are destined to go bankrupt due to reduced production. If they want to survive, they must buy survival grain and next year's planting grain from those who have a large amount of grain. For this reason, they will sell part of their fields to tide over the difficulties, or they may actually
I had no choice but to sell myself into slavery.
As the most powerful man, how could Olegin let go of this opportunity to exploit his own people? Exploiting wealth was one of his goals. In addition, by directly controlling a large number of tribesmen, he made them complete serfs, completely relying on
Live off your own rewards, so that your family's power in the entire tribe can remain at its peak for a long time. By controlling the power of the tribe for a long time, your family can also control the entire alliance for a long time.
Although there is no rigorous theory to support his actions, he is indeed using economic means to continuously strengthen his comprehensive strength. Being able to support a fully independent private army of 500 people is an important manifestation of strength.
Rurik has been waiting for four days since he returned to Gould's Island! Rurik wants to see the craftsmen who Gould calls the ship, and he also hopes to meet the man who claims to want to immigrate to Rossburg.
Vodgen, a master of making clothes.
However, none of them came, and there were even fewer boats on the lake these days.
Finally, the messenger sent by Gould every day, after four consecutive days of being rejected, finally met the leader of the alliance, Olegin, and reported to him the visit of the two sons of the leader of Rus, who brought a large amount of silver coins and were eager to buy new ones.
Mai facts.
Olegin did not mean to neglect Gould's messenger, he actually had his own things to do.
What he lacks most now is silver coins. This is definitely not his greed, but entirely a practical reason that forces him to need a large amount of cash.
No, a nobleman came with a real large sum of silver coins. Although Olegin wanted to see Otto, the leader of Rus, in person, the man's two sons came to meet him. Olegin felt that he had gained his dignity.
respect.
Permission for the audience has been issued! Tomorrow!
At night, the meeting hall on Gould Island.
The dim room was filled with the aroma of barbecue as usual, and the sizzling and oily roast lamb exuded a charming aroma. Now Rurik didn't have any particularly strong food to take a bite of.
Gould also maintained great restraint for the first time, completely worrying about tomorrow's big event.
There were only four people sitting in the huge room, namely Gould and his son, and the two brothers Rurik and Arik.
"Although it took a lot of time, that guy Olegin finally didn't let us wait in vain. This is the news. We must go to see him tomorrow. This is a very important matter that you two are facing. Please do your best for the Ross tribe.
Show it." Gould said this from the bottom of his heart.
Rurik was all ears, but Arik still looked contemptuous.
Gould looked at Arik's unruly look, and he couldn't let go of the stone in his heart.
"What happened in the past few days, no matter what, it was actually you who offended the leader of the alliance. I am most afraid that he will care about these things, and it will be detrimental to you two in the end. I think that when we meet tomorrow, you two should... salute
Apologize."
Gould lacked confidence when he said this, and he kept paying attention to Arik's emotional changes from the corner of his eye.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Arik roared: "Apologise?! Why?!"
"Ah! My hero, listen to my advice. Apologizing to that person is the most correct decision."
"But that shames me."
"No." Gould sighed slightly and tried to persuade him in the tone of an experienced person: "You two, when you step into Olegin's mansion, your identity is not yourselves. You are the entire Ross tribe.
The incarnation of!”
"Then there's no need to apologize!" Arick sat straight up and looked at Gould with murderous eyes. "What's the crime of our proud Ross tribe? It's obviously that Olegin.
Provoke me."
"Ah... for the benefit of the Russian people, I just suggest that surrendering at a special moment is not really surrendering. If you can gain a lot of benefits by pretending to surrender, we can do so."
"Is it to be a slave? Why?! And you, why are you ordering me?"
What is this "being a slave" thing here and there? Gould secretly scolded Arik for his recklessness, but he did not dare to say so. He had no choice but to continue to persuade him with all his heart. He looked at Rurik who was silent for the time being.
With his brows furrowed, this child must understand his good intentions.
Gould immediately turned his face and said sincerely: "Rurik, I hope you can understand what I mean."
"Well, if you apologize to that person, you can get a lot of benefits, so that's okay."
Hearing this, Gould was overjoyed, but Arik simply stood up, looked at his stupid brother and asked: "Rurik, are you crazy? Why should we give in to that guy? Weren't you so angry that you wanted to stab that guy with your own hands?
people?"
"Brother! Don't be impulsive!" Rurik raised his head and shouted with firm eyes.
Arik sat down again, clasping his hands together like an angry toad: "I just don't obey him. Olegin, that's a fool. If we are hostile to each other, I will cut off his head on the battlefield."
Is the cousin speaking angry words? Rurik doesn’t think so. As far as his own emotions are concerned, the past exchanges between the Russians and the Melalen people were limited to spontaneous exchanges between some businessmen, and official-level exchanges have long since
cut off.
The Russians have been through many obstacles over the years, and a large number of young warriors have gained good experience in killing enemies. They are unruly and want everyone to really recognize a guy they have never met as the most noble leader. Why?!
I'm afraid, this is because Olegin is the leader of the alliance.
Rurik didn't care about Arik's high-spirited rhetoric. He knew that even if his father Otto was present, he would not dare to rashly destroy the inherent political ecology of the alliance. As long as the Russians are still accumulating strength, they must strategically submit to weakness and even flattery.
.
Arik was a reckless man after all, and Gould could see that Rurik was the wise man. His only hope was that Arik would not cause any unpleasant trouble tomorrow.
Gould continued to suggest: "Based on my understanding of that man, he is a man who loves success. He needs the powerful to recognize his power most in his life. Therefore, I hope you can provide him with some precious gifts."
"A gift? He deserves it too!" Arik interrupted sternly.
Rurik now understood Gould's intention. If that guy was really overjoyed and took out some valuables to please him, in terms of the benefits he might gain, a small gift would be a stepping stone to greater benefits.
.
What is the best interest? Rurik has already thought about it. If the Ross tribe wants to continue to develop, expanding commercial trade with the Melalen people is a top priority. The two sides can sign some trade agreements so that the Ross tribe can rely on the leader himself to have a steady flow of supplies.
In order to obtain material transportation, the most critical thing here is food.
However, Arik kept chattering about idiots and stupid things.
Gould really took the trouble and complained: "Arick, do you know what a fool is? If you can't position yourself correctly and think of yourself as strong, you are a fool."
"Ah!" Arik was overjoyed at first and sneered: "I didn't expect you to treat such an alliance leader as a fool? I thought you were afraid of his so-called power."
Gould put on his old face again and didn't want to say anything else for the time being.
Rurik smiled and said nothing. He looked at Gould and knew that there was something in this guy's words. There was a pun here. In fact, it was mainly criticizing Arik for being a half-hearted and reckless guy.
The person who could listen to his own opinions humbly was Rurik. As for Arik, this young man was good at fighting, and Gould didn't want to offend him.
"Our purpose is to do business. This year's wheat harvest is destined to be a large-scale failure. For the Russians, we must get a lot of wheat. To achieve our goal, we have to coax Olegin and let him get the pleasure of being worshiped on his knees. We get a lot of wheat."
. In the end, his people will be hungry next year, and our people will not worry about food. Maybe one day, he will kneel in front of you and beg for food. So those polar bear skins prepared for sale..." When saying these words, Gur
De also looked at the change in Arik's expression. Perhaps his words were tactful enough, and the young man's tense face relaxed slightly.
Rurik gritted his teeth and said, "I understand. All the bear skins I brought were given to him as gifts."
"No need!" Gould waved his hand, "Giving him two pieces of leather is enough. That guy actually needs our Russian steel swords, steel spears and crossbows. In addition, there is a lot of leather. It is enough to supply him.
Ordnance is exchanged for huge benefits, the decision is yours."
"It's a pity that the time is not ripe. As long as our soldiers are equipped with the best weapons, and then the excess weapons are sold, I think it will work." That being said, Rurik didn't feel that this was necessary. "
It is also possible to use the "human version" weapons for your own use and sell them to Olegin's "monkey version" weapons to make a big profit.
"Then give him a bear skin and a bear head. Don't give him anything like spirits, glass, soap, etc. as gifts. That guy is already a big customer of ours. In my opinion, he would be more willing to use a large number of pictures.
He has a bear head with a big mouth to show his personal bravery." Gould continued.
Rurik patted his forehead, "Ah, if I had known better, I would have brought all the bear heads. Those things themselves would be useless."
"Don't say that." Gould hurriedly explained the role of the bear heads as specimens. "Rurik, if you can hunt a large number of bears, you can make a large number of helmets out of the bear heads and distribute them to you.
Warriors. Think of hundreds of warriors wearing bear heads. Your army will have the spirit of a bear and will scare your enemies out of fear before they engage in battle."
For a moment, Rurik thought of Huben.
Huh? Could it be that the alliance leader Olegin wants to turn his private soldiers into "Xiong Ben"?
Everyone's deliberations have come to fruition, and Rurik is mentally prepared. If necessary tomorrow, he will not hesitate to kneel down on one knee to salute the leader of the alliance as a warrior. Of course, his true identity will be exposed tomorrow. He was previously known as "Norwegian"
The identity of the "traveler" and the unpleasantness that happened to Olegin, if the guy blamed it, he had no choice but to continue to salute.
There is a bottom line for etiquette, and Rurik has already thought about it. If that person is mean and mean, the Russians don't have to be humiliated anymore.
The worst thing is that they break up on bad terms.
At that time, it is not impossible for Arik, who already despises Olegin, to cause a scene. Anyway, Arik despises Olegin. In his heart, Olegin's image as a despicable coward as a "child killer" cannot be changed.
.
Tomorrow's contact is ultimately unknown. Rurik eagerly hopes that as the leader of Rus, he can sign a series of agreements with Olegin. He believes that falling out over a small matter of etiquette is purely a small probability event.
It is more likely that the two sides will sign a relatively equal bilateral trade agreement because they each get what they need. This is Rurik's biggest purpose.