The huge wooden house was the mansion where Rurik set up shop for himself. It was a high imitation of the house in Rossburg, which made Otto feel very familiar.
The flames of coals in the stone fireplace were very pleasant, and the smoke sprayed into the sky through the chimney, which warmed the whole house and gave it a little light.
As for lighting, we have to rely on a matrix of oil lamps hanging from the beams and chrome iron lamp holders protruding from the wooden walls.
The fleet, which struggled to arrive against the sea wind from the Arctic, docked on the river that was about to freeze. It was already getting late when people landed.
Now, night has fallen. A large number of residents have returned to the wooden walls, and Elon Olawa Fort is protecting all residents and guests from afar with thick walls.
Outside the wall, the cold wind of early winter was even more severe. Inside the wall, the peaceful days suddenly became lively due to the arrival of a fleet of hundreds of people.
Otto sat casually on the leather cushion, holding a glass filled with spirits high, and he was paying tribute to the "Lord of the City" Mechasta.
"You did a good job. Those wooden houses are neatly arranged, and each house can accommodate at least ten people. You deliberately left them vacant. You are very clever."
Mechasta was a little flattered: "Big Chief, this is Rurik's arrangement, I just follow his decision."
As usual, Jevro served as an interpreter, but here he added the additional sentence "I am your slave", which made this explanation even more slavish on the part of the speaker.
Otto laughed happily and drank half a glass of strong wine: "You are very good at talking and you know your identity very well. You claim that you have prepared all the tributes you need to pay? Are you sure?"
"Yes! I dare not lie."
Otto slowly put down his wine glass and showed a fierce look without any comment. "You know what I do to traitors and those who break their promises."
"I dare not violate it."
Mechasta was on pins and needles. It could be said that he had received some benefits from the Russians, which was also given by Rurik.
Rurik is a beautiful boy full of wisdom. At least he likes to talk about contracts. His character is also kind. Yes, not killing is kind.
He hopes that his daughter can give full play to her abilities and work hard to be favored so that the tribe can get greater benefits. Rurik and his daughter Saipolava are here, just spectators? They should be looking forward to it more
A big meal.
Otto had no intention of continuing to threaten, "You said before that you had a magical experience and had something wonderful to tell me. What was it?"
"Yes!" Mechasta's hanging heart relaxed slightly: "It is a gift, which is the feast I am about to serve."
"Big dinner? I'm really hungry." Otto thought for a while, "I learned that you hunted some bears, and I saw the bear skins. They are displayed on the wall of this house." Otto clicked his tongue.
, especially in dim light, the bear's head with its bloody mouth open is extremely scary.
"You...wouldn't serve me bear meat? You roasted a bear?"
"Actually, it's a fish." Mechasta's words were very calm, but it made Otto almost spit out the wine he drank.
"A fish is nothing. Did you catch a monster in the sea?"
"It's not enough to call it a monster. It's really huge. It was just a gift to the great leader."
This matter aroused Otto's interest, and the adventures of the Iron Squirrel Tribe in September became clear.
Mechasta bluntly described that they had already encountered a reward from the gods, and then encountered a salmon tide.
However, the size of "Salmon Tide" sounds quite absurd to Otto.
"Fish? Lots of fish? I heard the waters here are poor."
"That's true, but a salmon tide happened," Mechasta said truthfully. "In September, some Ross fishermen were fishing in the river and accidentally discovered a school of fish swimming upstream. After hearing the news, we cast a net and a canoe on the river bank.
We cast nets in the river and even went upstream to catch fish in shallow water. We even saw bears catching fish, so we hunted some more bears.”
The more he talked, the more excited he became: "Big Chief, the fish we caught in September alone will be enough for us to survive the entire winter. Compared to our hometown on the Oulu River, no one here can compete with us."
"Huh? Is this true?" Otto asked in surprise.
"Yes. We made a lot of smoked fish, dug cold cellars, and we even stocked up on some big fish. Big boss, I have never seen such a huge salmon, it..."
"How old is he?" Otto asked, stretching his head. At this time, Rurik also became very interested.
Mechasta opened his arms and said, "It's just that long."
"Ah! Where is the fish?"
"The fish is almost ready. I hope this salmon master will satisfy the big boss's appetite."
This was a double entendre. Otto didn't notice anything, but Rurik felt a little uncomfortable. If it was a huge salmon, it would be okay to call it "Lord of Salmon". This name is another
The name of the tribe, Rurik sensed the hatred in this person's heart.
Mechasta wouldn't lie about eating. Look at his happy face. Only people who don't have to worry about starvation can show this joy.
Soon a scent of fragrance first entered the wooden house, the wooden door was pushed open, and the air-conditioning from the outdoors rushed in, making Rurik shiver.
Four tribal women carried a huge wooden tray, on which was placed a large, slightly blackened fish that had been grilled.
The low table that usually stood up was knocked down, the wooden tray was put down, and the wooden stick used to impale the big fish was suddenly pulled out.
"Wow! What a big fish." Otto stood up in shock. He had never seen such a huge salmon in his life.
Pre-dinner etiquette? That’s superfluous.
He stabbed the grilled fish with the dagger in his hand, and immediately cut off a huge, sizzling, oily piece of fish. He opened his mouth to eat the fish without caring about anything, and then he realized that the fish meat had been pickled.
Rurik and Saipolava had already approached the wooden table and were eating a huge salmon, which of course caught Rurik's eyeballs.
And the color of the fish meat is really beautiful, even if it is already sizzling with oil.
The dark orange flesh has a lot of white stripes. It is an extremely huge salmon.
Salmon is the most common species of salmon in the Nordic region. In Rurik's mind, Baltic Sea salmon should be treasured, but now that I think about it, it's all because of people's big mouths who eat fish so preciously that they have to be raised artificially.
Rurik speculated that the Airon River (that is, the Kemi River) has only now been touched by humans. For thousands of years, a huge salmon group has set its spawning ground in Lake Rovaniemi upstream of the river. They are absolutely
Unexpectedly, the Rus and Covins, who are good at fishing, established settlements!
He knows that salmon are all cold-water fish, and they have an extremely long life span and continue to grow throughout their lives. He also knows that this kind of fish has a low fishy smell and is delicious no matter how you cook it. But based on the current situation, the European native dill, thyme, and leftover
Rick has the ability to get a batch, but it takes a lot of manpower and material resources, and the gain is really not worth the loss. Not having the ingredients is not a big problem, high-quality salt is the most important.
This fish must have been pickled with salt provided by Balmok travelers. Rurik remembered that he left some of the good salt, so Mechasta must have processed this big fish.
Looking at this fish, Rurik felt that it was about one and a half stikas long from head to tail. It must be longer than him. It was impossible for several people to share such a big fish.
Regarding this fish, Mechasta explained, "For a big fish of this length, catching it is like a battle. We worked together with the Ross fishermen to catch five, and the biggest fish had long been eaten.
There is this piece, I pickled it with the most precious good salt and put it in the cold cellar just to present it to the leader."
"You did a good job." Otto twisted his neck, indicating that his son was also stunned.
A piece of fish fillet was placed in front of Rurik. It was very huge, and he couldn't finish it by himself. He skillfully picked up two wooden sticks, used them to pull the fish meat, sandwiched the small pieces of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. Saipolava
Likewise, her dexterity in using a wooden stick to eat meat instead of a knife or her hands really shocked Mechasta.
They were not used to talking endlessly while eating. When Otto first arrived here, he was very meticulous about the construction of Fort Ellen. He had a very high evaluation of this place in his heart. In some places, it was even better than New Roseburg.
Be good.
The architect of the settlement was actually Rurik, so Otto could ask his son directly. Mechasta was the city lord after all, and he had a lot of questions that he needed to answer.
The huge fish fillet went into Otto's stomach three times. He drank again, and it was a little awkward to speak under the drunkenness. "Now, let's talk about those iron tools. Mechasta, you have recently learned how to blacksmith."
, I want to see your mines, your shops, and your blacksmiths, and I also want to ask for a thousand axes and five hundred spearheads. Have you...really finished making them?"
Mechasta felt that he still didn't have enough trust, so he got angry and said, "Big boss, they are all in the warehouse. They are very hard axes, as good as those made by the Roseburg blacksmith, even... even steel
Swords can destroy it. You can see it now if you want."
Otto was getting more and more excited. He originally doubted the production efficiency of Mechasta, but now he laughed like crazy. In fact, it was a kind of alienated drunken madness.
At this moment, Rurik should be the most concerned. Although "seeing is believing" is important, he has no doubts.
The reason for Otto's laughter was soon exposed by him. He smiled and muttered, "A thousand magical axes? It's a good equipment for my tribe. The axes are very brilliant, so I have to buy them one by one. Haha, sell them again."
To the people of Mälaren...aha, wealth! Endless wealth..."
As he was talking, Otto actually lay down and smiled stupidly a few more times, followed by heavy snoring.
Jevro stopped doing any translation, and Rurik didn't want to say anything. Even an ordinary chromium-iron ax can cause great damage to ordinary wrought iron tools, and it is extremely difficult to corrode.
If sold under the banner of "Unembroidered Divine Axes", the price of one pound of silver coins is still less. This is a matter of no capital and profit. The total selling price of a thousand axes must be close to 100,000 silver coins. That is to consider the purchasing power of the buyer.
.
Rurik believed that the Melalen people would not be able to digest them instantly. In the end, these instruments would have to be armed by the Rus' people themselves. This benefit would naturally be a significant increase in the fighting power of the Rus' tribe.
A thousand axes must be real. This is only four months of production capacity. The warm weather in Northern Europe only lasts five months at most. The time for efficient iron smelting and forging production can be carried out. Rurik optimistically estimates that it is eight months.
He sat at the dinner table and made some calculations in his little head. I am afraid that the annual production capacity of this group of Kewen people can exceed 2,333 chrome axes.
"Is he... okay? Lord Rurik." Mechasta stretched his head and asked.
"Of course he's fine. It's just that we are all tired from the long journey and he drank again..." Rurik asked suddenly and seriously, "Now tell me what you went through in blacksmithing."
Rurik soon understood how the defeated Kovins of Elon-Olava Castle were able to complete powerful iron smelting with only more than 300 people.
Of course, there are excellent furnaces here, the amazing efficiency of hydraulic free forging and the enthusiasm of the new blacksmiths. It also depends on Mechasta's management of the tribe. For example, there are a group of women in the mine, and they are actually handling sledgehammers made of chrome iron.
, pickaxes and axes were used to excavate ore. Those reindeer carts were simply driven by children to transport the ore on the roads cut out forcibly. Even the people who operated the water wheel forging were helped by the tribal children.
Rurik, who knows a lot about the production of industrial products, is very aware of the efficiency of hundreds of people, both men and women, participating in blacksmithing as an almost "industrial population". They spontaneously form a division of labor. Rurik believes that
This is the wisdom forced out by the pressure of tribute.
In fact, they began to show strong development potential as early as July. If they were lazy, a city standing in a bitter cold land would not rise from the ground.
Even so, it was a miracle that three hundred men, women, and children processed the ore into nearly two thousand iron tools of various types in four months. Rurik did know something about the inside story, that is, almost all the axes and spearheads they made were for
War service, so the ax head is small, which is extremely convenient for combat. The spear head is slender, and the wooden pole can be installed as an excellent javelin. Therefore, the use of iron materials is very economical.
The space within the wooden walls of Ironburg is very large. Even if a large number of wooden houses are built, Rurik deliberately built five hundred of them compactly. If you don't care about the quality of life, this settlement can accommodate 3,000 people.
Totally feasible.
The core factor that limits the population size of a settlement is food supply. Cities can be very cold, but as long as there is an adequate supply of food and water, creatures like humans can take root.
Rurik is very confident about this settlement in the far north. It is reasonable that its population currently remains at more than a thousand people.
There are actually a large number of salmon that regard the Iron River (Kemi River) as the only waterway for reproduction. Not only did he think about it, he also understood why there were a large number of polar bears and brown bears wandering here. They just took a fancy to the salmon resources here.
.
Mechasta was still drunk, so he was able to report many things to Rurik and let his daughter act like a spoiled child in his arms.
"Master, is it appropriate to let the big leader sleep here? He...should go to the wooden bed." Mechasta pointed to the wooden house with a glance.
Rurik glanced at the old man snoring and shook his head regretfully, "Let him lie here and sleep, the fireplace will keep him warm."
"But...he is the big leader."
"But I am your master." Rurik gritted his teeth and emphasized.
"Okay... okay." Mechasta composed himself. He felt like he understood something, but also seemed like he didn't understand anything.
For example, Jevlo, of course he felt that Rurik's decision was inappropriate, so he suggested: "Sir, I can take a few brothers and place the leader on the wooden bed."
"No need, I've made up my mind."
Rurik's decisive look made Yevluo feel strange as never before. In an instant, he realized an obvious thing: the son was actively replacing his father. Everyone has a dark side in their heart, such as Yevluo's dark side
He just wants to seek revenge on the person who captured him as a slave. However, after so many years, who is the enemy?
He estimated that Rurik wished that Otto would die in peace so that he could take over power earlier. If this was the case, Jevlo was willing to be a pawn.
In fact, the problem is not that complicated. Rurik simply can't stand Otto's hangover. Of course, the Russians should be associated with spirits to rise to the occasion. Of course, spirits are already an important medicine in the tribe. Otto is really
I picked up a treasure. Since the technology of distilling low-alcohol ale into spirits was realized, who has been the biggest beneficiary? Of course, good things must be given to the big boss to enjoy first. No, as long as he gets the spirits, this guy wants to drink them to his heart's content.
.
Soon, Elon Orava Castle fell into real silence. Mechasta accumulated a lot of mature experience during his long-term fight against the Salmon Lord tribe in the former mountain fort. For example, how to quickly build wooden walls and how to arrange them.
Night watchman.
The cold wind of the Arctic blew away all the clouds, and the bright moonlight illuminated the entire earth. The flames inside the city wall were fierce, and crackling sounds came one after another. Those who were rubbing their hands by the bonfire were night watchmen who took turns. Those who were wrapped like bears stood
The night watchmen on the tower could hear the penetrating clanging of the waterwheel, and the faint waves lapping on the marshy shore. Not far away from the pier, those who docked
The boats were also swaying weakly along with the slowly freezing river.
The guests from Fort Ross were already lying in the wooden huts reserved by the unknown. They had eaten and drank enough and were sleeping soundly. Their shouts could not be covered up by the north wind.
The night watchmen are worried that the days ahead will get colder and colder. They all have a premonition that the first snow is approaching. So, will Leader Ross's fleet leave first? Or will the wind and snow come first?