Chapter 479 Rurik coincidentally confronts the Swedish king Karl
The rainy weather has finally ended, but the temperature has not yet risen.
Rurik was surprised to find that thin ice floes had appeared on the shore of Gould Island, and the fresh fish hanging outdoors had also become hard.
"Is it going to be a cold winter this year? If the lake freezes prematurely, won't I be able to walk?"
The Aurora lacks icebreaking capabilities, and other cargo ships can be even worse.
The sun has come out, and the world has begun to become dry and cold. Ice floes are a very bad omen, and there is not much time left for the Russians.
The elegant phantom of the Aurora appeared at the pier of the Mälaren Market, and her appearance once again attracted crowds of spectators.
Many people in Mellaren knew that the Russians were indeed attacking Gould because the Russians recruited troops under this banner more than two months ago.
The expedition against the Gotlanders had the same purpose of conquering the traitors. Similarly, the second and third sons of various families, who had no right to inherit the family business, took the risk and became mercenaries for the Russians.
After all, they are the children of their parents, so what happened to the people who went to war?
The Russians should have won, otherwise where did those guys get a lot of money and go door to door in the rain to hand it out?
Most of the farmers and fishermen families in Mälaren were complaining about the rain for a few days. The Russians bought a pound of wheat at an exaggerated price for no apparent reason. Many Mälaren people suddenly got ten silver coins, which brought happiness.
It was baffling and they didn't know what to say.
There are also some families whose husbands died, and the weeping women cried even harder in ecstasy. This is because the messenger sent by the Ross people made a clear promise that the Duke of Ross cares for the soldiers of the kingdom who died in the war and will be willing to help the families of the soldiers pay off their debts.
Debt, and the promise of a happy and prosperous life in Liveable Ross.
The latter promise was too vague, but the former promise was that the Russians promised to pay off their debts this month!
There are different opinions among the people. They gather together to gossip when they lack entertainment. Some people say that the Russians are generous and the Duke of Ross is a good man. Some say that the Russians must have some hidden agenda for doing this. There are also a group of people who are itchy in their hearts.
, just waiting around and seeing that the Russians were recruiting mercenaries again, they immediately signed up.
The only thing they can be sure of is that the Russians really won, so those Maylaren mercenaries after the victory may have benefited from it and work for the Russians forever. If this is the case, it is really a good way out.
The people watched in horror as the huge Ross ship arrived at the port. People crowded around to watch. Then they saw the ship lowering its planks and a group of people dressed in very neat and uniform clothes got off the ship.
Just look at them!
The leading warrior has a white bear head on his head, and the bear's upper jaws and fangs shield him from the sun. This man is covered in a white bear skin that is excellent in keeping out the cold. Under the leather is a blue and white gown, a cowhide bag to stabilize his waist, and a sword.
Hang on your body.
This man was holding a gold-trimmed Russian flag, and the ferocious beast on the top of the flag added to the aura.
Some dignified figures were guarded by similarly dressed warriors.
Someone recognized a rumored celebrity, and people started shouting Rurik's name excitedly.
There were also people, especially women in simple clothes, who raised their hands to thank the Duke of Ross for the silver coins he had received a few days ago.
"It seems that our actions have been very effective? They are grateful." Rurik said to Gould casually.
"Yes? Who can refuse money? It's just adults, don't believe too much that they will just follow us for a small favor."
"I know. Haha? It's just that I enjoy this feeling. Are the people gathered here from Mellaren? They are welcoming us Rus. Even the dead Olegin couldn't enjoy this when he was alive."
Otto listened to his son's words throughout the whole process, and he felt extremely comfortable. He liked this feeling of being welcomed along the street very much? He was loved by the people of the Ross tribe, and now he cheered for the more populous Melalen.
The entire Malaren Market was in a state of hilarity. People gathered here. They came to see the Russians with more of a spectator mentality, and they also looked forward to more rewards from the Russians.
Sure enough, Gould, a big businessman, began to use tricks.
Gould's method caught even Rurik by surprise.
The four followers of the big businessman took the cloth bags from their waists and began to throw money liberally at the welcoming people.
This move directly triggered a chaos!
"Gould, what are you doing?" Rurik was shocked. It's because these people are frantically picking up money.
"Haha, look at them! Hahaha..." Gould thought it was really fun to throw money away, and this move really left Rurik speechless.
Money Spreader kept shouting a simple sentence, repeating loudly without listening: "This is a gift from the Duke of Ross!"
Rurik was stunned: "Gould, do you deserve to spend so much money?"
"It's just some copper coins. Copper coins are no longer valuable to us? They are still useful to them."
"Copper coins? Okay then..."
Rurik didn't want to say anything else. After all, Gould did this with good intentions. If he betrayed his tribe and joined others just because of a small favor? That would be pure despicability without a bottom line.
The people of Mälaren who picked up money just needed money.
Who benefits from creating a stampede? The Russians, of course.
No, the actions of the Russians quickly reached Karl's ears.
"Russian!" Karl once vented his anger to a wife and concubine. As a result, the woman couldn't stand up for several days.
Now, Carne has deflated a small golden cup.
"Russians! Do you think your king, Rurik, is so arrogant? You are humiliating me!"
Are the Russians showing their domineering power? Do their overlords have the confidence? After all, the great city of Visby in Gotland was destroyed by the Russian army.
Now back in his hometown, Karl cannot quickly organize a powerful private army to obey his orders, and those big families who are greedy for power are just around the corner. Internal affairs have made him anxious, and now the Russians have come to do big things.
In order to raise food, Karl boasted that he had done necessary evil things. He was not a pure fool, and he knew that this move hurt the feelings of the people. However, in order to avenge his father and maintain the face of the king, he had no choice but to take this step.
What else could Karl do? He could only suppress his anger and jealousy in his heart, seal up his former arrogance, and put on a smile to welcome the extremely arrogant Duke of Ross.
The wooden wall erected is like a fence, and Carl's mansion is here.
Rurik raised his head slightly and signaled his soldiers to ignore the fearful guard at the door and break through the door directly with brute force.
Of course, etiquette is necessary when facing a strong person. Rurik doesn't think that Karl today is still a light person. He doesn't even get the love of the people of Melalen and can only shrink into his shell like a turtle.
The guard guarding the door wanted to say a few words, but he was pushed down by the arrogant Russians wearing bearskin, and the short spear he held fell to the mud.
The wooden door was opened easily, and the open door seemed to be welcoming its real owner.
"Let's go, Dad." Rurik said casually.
Otto was surprised: "Are we being a little too outrageous in doing this?"
"I think my brother did a good job." Arik raised his chin arrogantly, "Karl tried to duel with me, but I easily pushed him to the ground. I don't recognize this kind of person as a king."
"That's it. We still want more benefits, and we will need this person in the future." Rurik said nothing more and urged everyone to enter.
The noise outside really made Karl sit on pins and needles while sitting in the dark inner courtyard.
Exactly a year ago, his father Olegin had his first consultation with Rurik in Rus. A year later, Rurik came again. And he, Karl, needed to repay the huge debt owed by his father!
He borrowed four hundred pounds of silver coins to make excellent weapons for the expeditionary army. The invasion was defeated, and all personnel and weapons were lost.
Even so, the defeat has nothing to do with the fact of borrowing money. He must use food to pay the full principal and 100% interest.
The Russians appeared in the darkness with arrogant steps, but the first thing that caught Karl's eyes was the ferocious bear's head.
"Ah! Bears! Bears!"
Karl, the attendants around him, and the female slaves were all frightened and retreated one after another. Their panicked faces were clearly illuminated by the bonfire.
"What? Are you afraid of bears?"
Rurik walked out of the darkness. He was now short in stature and thin in stature. Under the protection of a group of warriors wearing bearskin, he looked heroic.
"Ah, it turns out it's you, the Russians..." Carl gritted his teeth, hurriedly sat down on the original leather cushion, and finally straightened his golden crown.
Rurik and others immediately sat down. The Duke of Ross and the elite nobles were all here, but poor Karl was alone.
Poor Karl, now he has no staff to support him and make suggestions. All the elite mercenary leaders in the past were killed in the war. He is completely alone and can only face the aggressive Russians alone.
Karl pretended to be tough: "You have made my market really noisy. My people told me that you are throwing money everywhere and causing chaos."
"Indeed." Rurik shrugged nonchalantly: "So what? Does your law here prohibit merchants from spending money for fun?"
"You!" Karl was speechless for a moment. He thought for a while and then muttered: "Since you are very rich, why do you still ask me for food? You clearly know that after doing this, my people will complain."
"Really? You are the leader of the Mellaren people. What does their good life have to do with me, the Rus? I only focus on wheat. Now, have you prepared all the wheat?"
"Maizi? No!" Karl refused in an angry manner. Just from looking at this man's face, Rurik had already guessed that he did not dare to betray.
Aric couldn't see this layer for a moment, so he suddenly drew his sword: "Okay, Karl! I knew you would do this. Then let's fight, I will kill you now."
"Then kill it! If you kill me, you will kill the king. Those big families will be happy for you to do this, so that they can choose a new king. If you kill the king, you will betray the entire Sweden, just like betraying an alliance.
The Gotlanders. All the tribes will unite to conquer you! You will never get food again!"
"You think I don't dare?!" Aric gritted his teeth and his eyes were as big as bells. The hand holding the sword kept trembling, just trembling.
Rurik had a sullen face, cursing in his mind why his cousin was so impulsive. However, he did not expect that Karl would actually act like he was not stingy.
"I...we Russians still recognize your king." Rurik tried his best to remain calm: "As my cousin said, if you don't give us food, the result will naturally be your death. The fact is not only
Therefore, your betrayal will bring destruction to your family. The question now is, whoever provides us with 800,000 pounds of wheat will be recognized as the king. After all, the payment for those weapons was sold to the Malaren people.
, the Mellaren people launched an expedition, and we only do business with those who keep their promises. If those big families are willing, we can ask them to choose someone to recognize him as the king."
"absurd!"
"It's not ridiculous. A man named Bjorn came to me and hoped that we would recognize his power. I refused because what he promised was too little, not as much as your father promised."
Rick said this deliberately, with a calm face as if everything was normal.
But to Karl, it sounded like a thunderbolt from the blue!
How come Karl doesn't know about Bjorn? This man seems to have no ambition, but he is just an inconspicuous existence among the big land families. This man actually has the ambition to become a king?
Carl clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled.
Who is the potential rebel? Who is ready to make a move? In his rage, Karl did not even consider the question, how did the Russians know these things?
Now it is actually the Russians who have pointed out the mastermind among the Melalen people.
Seeing that Karl was as angry as a puffing-up pufferfish, Rurik still had a clean face and continued to provoke: "In Visby, you blamed the defeat on us Russians for not going south to support us. This is very ridiculous! We
Defeating the Gotlanders will prevent you from being attacked from both sides. Your Melalen tribe has a population of more than 20,000! Why are there only 1,500 people on the expedition? Why are all your private soldiers sent out? Why are those big families who own a lot of land?
Are you watching a show? They just want your family to be defeated and replaced. They have no lofty goals at all regarding the interests of the Kingdom of Sweden. All they value is your family’s property and slaves!”
With such a blow, Karl woke up as if from a dream.
In an instant, Karl suddenly no longer felt that the face of Rurik in front of him was hateful. If it hadn't been for this person's decryption, he would still be in the dark, and he might not know when he was killed by the rebellious family.
.
"It is precisely because you are the king that I tell you these things. What does the grudge between you and us mean? If those guys succeed, who will avenge the defeat? You remember, your family was defeated, and you ruled
The legality of it is controversial. Any resistance you have now will only bring death. We Russians do not want to kill you. If you refuse to hand over the food today, I can only be a bad person and support that Bjorn."
"Okay!" Karl stopped evading, and his inner defense completely collapsed.
The most dangerous enemies turned out not to be the Danes, nor the Rus, but the careerists within the tribe.
There was nothing more to say. Karl claimed that he would immediately arrive at his granary with a group of Russians. He would first show off a huge amount of new wheat, and then immediately send people to move it.
But Rurik did not finish his words.
"One more thing. Karl, the Melalen tribe suffered great losses. Hundreds of farmers died. They went out to fight to get the spoils after victory to repay their debts. You did not give them any compensation. According to our custom
According to the law, their wives and children will become your debt slaves."
"That's right. You...can't say this is wrong?"
"It's not a mistake, it's just too cruel to those who died in the battle."
"what do you want?"
"Sell it to me."
When this matter was mentioned, Karl immediately thought about it. He clutched his beard and thought for a while, thinking that there was something profitable in it. "Do you need those women and children? Or do you need the farmland and houses they own?"
"Just women and children, I don't want anything else."
"This is your style. I all know that you Russians have been getting slaves from our tribe and transporting them away, as if the Norwegian slave market was opened just for you. You took away all the dirty beggars, and I
My dead father was supportive. But you have to take away those women and children..."
"Tell me your terms."
"You have to pay more."
In the end, Karl couldn't answer what Rurik expected: "Money is not a problem. I can pay you double the slave price, and I will directly give you the best Frank silver coins."
"You will pay all the debt slaves, including the principal and interest of the debt they owe?" Karl already straightened his head.
"Of course. We came prepared, but we brought a lot of money."
"Then let's make the deal!"
Visby's wealth was wiped out by the Russians, and they became very rich. Karl knew this very well. His attempt to extort a little wealth as king finally gave up. Now selling debt slaves has become a point of making money. In fact,
It caught him by surprise.
The negotiations quickly yielded excellent results.
In the next three days, more than four hundred Rus warriors wearing gorgeous and heroic clothes landed at the Melalen Market and the core area of the Melalen tribe.
Rus warriors showed off their power here, supervising the slaves of the Carl family to transport a large number of sacks full of new oats to the dock.
There is an endless stream of long boats on the lake, they are fighting for food, and a huge amount of wheat is on Gould Island.
More supplies arrived on the island, including a large amount of vegetables, mainly onions, yellow carrots, and a small amount of cabbage. Ships from the big landowning families were also constantly transporting to Gould Island, and they unloaded
After placing grain, I got enough good-quality silver coins as soon as possible and went home happily...
There were more than 500 women and children, who were all the debt slaves of the Carr family. The Russians helped them pay off their debts and arrived at Gould Island alone.
Reminiscent of the promise made by the Russians many days ago, they originally had the idea of immigrating, but they did not expect that the promise of the Russians has been implemented. This is not happiness at all. The child hugged the mother tightly, looking confused about the unknown future.
There are also more than a hundred men from Melalen, most of whom have immature faces. The younger sons of these families are destined to be unable to inherit the family business and find it difficult to marry in the tribe. Their fate seems to be to work as mercenaries for larger families.
Or they could find a way to go out and make a living. Since they were all mercenaries, the Russians promised more commissions, so these people came to Gould Island.
It is already the fourteenth day of October in the Julian calendar, and large areas of floating ice have begun to appear on the lake!
Only when the lake is generally calm can the appearance of a large amount of thin ice be allowed. This is already a signal of extreme danger, indicating that the huge Russian fleet will not be able to escape without evacuating.
The time for return has been determined, it is October 16th, and the plan is to return to Roseburg before October 20th.
The night before departure, the entire Gould Island finally fell into peace.
All the preparations have been completed. The new mercenaries who defected and the debt slaves they bought, like most of the Russian warriors, are recuperating in a warm place.
Rurik was still holding a fish bone under his maid's post and picking a molar of a deciduous tooth that was about to fall out.
The Russians imported another batch of ale packed in oak barrels, all of which were distilled into spirits.
Otto happily drank a few large drinks, and suddenly spoke harshly while being tipsy, accusing his son of something wrong. "Rurik, you... you shouldn't have told Karl about Bjorn."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"I think it's too unwise. Tell me! Why...why."
"Let them fight among themselves! Let Karl and Bjorn or others fight among themselves. Dad, we don't need a king who tells us what to do. The powerful Melalen tribe must perish. Let those families blame each other, and we
Just come here and do business every year. It’s just..."
Otto was slightly drunk and his mind was still clear. He admired his son's ability to provoke conflicts, and then he laughed stupidly: "What else do you have in mind?"
"This year we have imported an unprecedented 1.8 million pounds of wheat in this area. I calculated that it is enough for our tribe to eat for more than half a year without production."
"This is a good thing."
"It's not a good thing. This means that we will be dependent on the food output of the Melalen tribe, and our people will really have no production. Once the Melalen people encounter natural disasters and they suffer famines, we will also suffer from famines. There will be many
People's life is difficult. So I still want to actively develop the East. This year we have gained a large number of people. Next spring, we will transport them all to the East. We will give them farm tools to open up wasteland, and we will collect the taxes they pay. When we
If you cultivate enough land, you can eat wheat every day."
Otto couldn't think that much, or he couldn't think of the wonderful scene that Rurik had sketched. He only knew one word to describe such beauty.
"It's so beautiful, like Asgard?"
"Yes, Asgard in the human world. Just do what I say and it will come true in a few years."
"Then it's up to you." Just say that, a great body lay down, and then there were bursts of snoring.
"Okay! Okay..." Rurik was speechless. He gently pinched the two Slavic maids who continued to be devoted and affectionate: "Anna, Bella, your hometown will be my human Asgard in the future.