Chapter 545 The price of becoming the new king of New Sweden
Last year, a black army of 500 people paraded through the city.
This year, a blue and white army of one hundred people will do it again.
However, the people of Mälaren welcomed the Rus more than the dead kings Olegin and Karl.
This is not because the Russian people are kind-hearted, it is entirely because of the Birka Market in Mälaren, where there are all vendors setting up stalls on both sides of the road.
Everyone knows that the Russians are rich. They come to the market and even the entire lake area every year to buy all kinds of things, and sell a lot of rare things in the spring.
A large number of powerful traders have made money from trade.
People welcomed the wealthy adults on the parade, and when they saw this group of well-dressed people, especially the beautiful young man Rurik at the head, they praised Youjia even more.
But they don't know that under this glamorous and benevolent appearance, the Russians hide their fangs and bloody mouths.
Rurik had no intention of interacting with the crowd of traders and left the Birka Monastery under construction. He was already imagining the Frankish missionary Eskil. When he saw the "Lindis" he had snatched from Britain,
"Fan Gospel", as well as a large number of gold and silver vessels, diamond crosses, will that guy still maintain that surprise?
Rurik stood at the door of the market tavern again.
The majestic military power scared the ale drinkers and ran away. Oh, some guys quickly finished their drinks and ran away without paying.
The bartender ran out in a rage, yelling for payment, and collided with Rurik's army.
Is it an attack?
The two mercenaries kicked him so hard that the bartender was kicked until he had mud in his mouth.
After a while, the bartender got up, and the anger he aroused was naturally lost when facing the Russian army.
"Sir, do you want to go in and sit down?" Jevro asked.
"No need." Rurik raised his head and looked at the tavern again and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Are you a little disappointed?" Gould, the big businessman, asked.
"Yes. Disappointed. This pub is too run-down. Do you want me to take it over? I'll knock it down and we'll build a new one."
"That's true." Gould nodded, "Then the soldiers shouldn't be rough with the bartender. They will all be your subordinates from now on."
Rurik pouted with an indifferent attitude.
"Of course I want a tavern, but these people... get rid of them all."
"Is it necessary? They are qualified tools."
"No. They are tools of greed. I need someone I can trust to manage the tavern." As he said this, Rurik turned his head and said, "I can trust you. Prepare some people and you can take over this place. By the way, I want to take it."
In some areas of the Birka market, the houses were demolished and rebuilt to serve as specialty stores for our Russian goods."
"Wonderful." Gould was overjoyed, but he still had some worries, "I'm afraid Bjorn won't give in easily."
"No. He will. That guy is not Karl. He is a man who knows the current affairs. Let's go, that's enough. Let's go straight to Bjorn's mansion. I hope the guy has prepared wine."
The parade in the busy city ended here, and the army also left the market.
Compared to walking to Bjorn's mansion, it's faster to take a boat.
The two sister ships, the Aurora and the Guldot, stood in the port like gods of war. Men, women and children from Melalen came to watch them closely, then whispered about the strength of the Russians, and even discussed such large ships.
How much cargo can be shipped.
Rurik and his men waited for four long ships, and they successfully floated to the small dock owned by Bjorn's mansion.
The army was walking on the edge of the fields where the oats had been cut, and Rurik saw that there were still scattered people bending down to pick up something.
Wheat gleaners? It’s really a cold pastoral.
With complex waterways and lush pine forests, if one lives a prosperous life, this Nordic water town can be a good place for leisure and retirement.
However, the climate here and today's production capacity have made the agriculture here extremely fragile. If they were not too poor, how could everyone be so enthusiastic about going to sea to plunder?
The fields were sparse with wheat roots, and it seemed that they were not good at farming. Rurik had no intention of criticizing, this place was just too cold, and compared with the benefits of intensive farming, it was not as good as immigrating to the warm French plains or the Ukrainian steppes.
At the same time, the private soldiers of the Bjorn family noticed the visiting army, the fluttering Ross flag and the spearheads reflecting in the sun. The first reaction of the private soldiers guarding the home and courtyard was fear.
If the Russians were offended and they rushed over to attack them, wouldn't they die quickly?
Bjorn, with a mixture of joy and fear, went out to greet Rurik and his party. At the same time, the free peasants and serfs who lived with his family's dependents all evacuated.
Rurik came with arrogant steps. He was short and had a childish look on his face. But the soldiers around him all looked ruthless.
Bjorn bowed respectfully, "Welcome! Welcome to the mansion."
"Am I here as an invitation? Bjorn, we meet again. Now that Karl is dead, you are elected as the leader. Do you hope that the dukes of all tribes will support you as the king of Sweden? No one appreciates it."
Rurik told the truth very abruptly. Bjorn was surprised at first, and then smiled awkwardly. "You...all know it."
"Yes. I don't mean to say much. Let's go, my army will stand outside for now, and I will enter your mansion with my trusted followers. Let's talk about your becoming king."
Bjorn woke up suddenly, Rurik's last words clearly pointed out this matter.
That is to say, Gould has settled the matter, and the Russians do support Bjorn's claim to the throne. What price will be paid for this? Rurik is here to negotiate for this matter.
"Then please come in." Bjorn said with a sullen face and said no more.
The two parties in the negotiation maintained a certain tacit understanding. Rurik had expectations in his heart, but he didn't know where Bjorn's bottom line was.
Rurik stepped into the mansion surrounded by wooden walls. As expected, this mansion was not even as good as Karl's old mansion.
The houses are simple without floors. Those buildings are made of rammed earth and piled wood, and a large number of haystacks are laid on the roof. This creates a traditional longhouse.
How can a nobleman show his nobility if he wants to live in such a house?
Rurik and his cronies could no longer adapt to such an existence. He had no choice but to endure the discomfort, entered the largest room, and sat cross-legged on a soft leather cushion, waiting to negotiate with Bjorn.
The so-called negotiation was just a discussion between the two parties involved around a warm campfire. There was no one to record the event, and the witnesses sat separately on one side.
Bjorn did not prepare a meal, and Rurik had no intention of staying here too long.
"Let's get started." Seeing that his old friend had already sat down, Bjorn pointed out his hope with a sullen face, "We killed Karl. Now all the big families support me as the leader and also support me to replace Karl as the leader of Sweden.
King. However, the other leaders do not support me. Me! I want your support."
"I am fully aware of the matter. I! Support you in becoming king! My attitude is very clear, I am worthy of your trust."
It sounded like Rurik was worried about his concerns. Bjorn immediately cheered up, and his sullen face relaxed. He squeezed out a smile, "So, what's the price?"
"Huh?" Rurik was also sitting up, and he couldn't help but mutter in his heart, didn't this guy Thorgold send a message and promised the ownership of a hundred serfs?
Suppressing the plan in his mind for the time being, Rurik asked, "Then, what will you give me?"
"One hundred serfs. I heard that you are opening up fields in the far east, but you lack slaves to cultivate the fields. I will give you a hundred slaves who are good at cultivating the fields. What do you think?"
"That's it?"
"Too little?"
"Not a few. Are they... all men? Are they just serfs?"
Bjorn thought for a while and then simply told the truth: "They are all slaves of the Karl family, not only men, but also women and children."
"How many grown men are there?" Rurik asked forcefully.
"There are thirty."
Thirty small families? After Rurik thought about it, this number was really not too small. By the standards of this era, thirty families could constitute a "large village" by Nordic standards.
However, this is not enough.
"Too little, I want more. You!" Rurik patted his chest, "I destroyed the entire island of Gotland, and now you Mellaren people have begun to colonize that small island. In other words, you are now not only
Is it the leader of Mellaren or the leader of Gotland? You say, give me thirty male slaves and let me support you in becoming king, is that appropriate?"
"This... of course is not appropriate." Bjorn used the words he had prepared, "I will give you one hundred slaves, plus the accompanying women and children, there will be a total of two hundred and thirty people."
This number really made Rurik happy.
However, it is still unreasonable.
Rurik continued to say with a sullen face: "It's still not enough. Give me at least two hundred male slaves, as well as their wives and children. And the women whose husbands died in last year's war. If they don't get married again, they will all be given to me."
I."
"Ah! This...this is not just me paying the price, but also the entire tribe..."
"Exactly!" Rurik continued to say seriously: "You want to be the king of all Sweden, and your Mellaren tribe wants to be the leader of all Sweden. I just want some slaves and poor people from you, but you are actually hesitating.
"
"I..." Bjorn felt that he was despised by this boy.
Indeed, Bjorn himself is not a domineering person. He wanted to seize Karl's power, but now that he has succeeded, he has become conservative.
Rurik had already keenly noticed this situation.
Bjorn thought for a while, then gritted his teeth, "There are many tenant farmers who owe rent, and there are more serfs. I... can give you five hundred people, including at least two hundred adult men. This is our Mei
Lahren’s bottom line cannot be any higher.”
Five hundred people? This number indeed exceeded Rurik's expectations. He organized a group of up to 500 absolutely obedient slaves, ordered them to open up wasteland and farm the land, and pay taxes directly to the Duke of Ross himself. Such serfs are indeed still
They were serfs, but Rurik was determined not to ask excessive demands from such farmers, and in times of disaster, he would provide relief grain to survive.
At least among the Malaren people, the local wealthy landowners lacked the awareness to protect the life and death of serfs.
However, this is not enough.
Bjorn waited for Rurik to give him an attitude, but what he got in return was further demands.
"Give me five hundred slaves, I will be happy. However, I am the Duke of Ross. With my current strength, I can immediately summon an army of five thousand men in chainmail! You have to believe that I am not bragging."
Rurik was bragging, but he was not completely bragging. Bjorn learned from the tribal immigrants who immigrated to Gotland that the bones of the war dead were everywhere east of the hills of Visby Port.
The very few former Gotlanders who were caught hiding in the mountains and surviving told a lot of details about the war.
Now Bjorn and the entire powerful nobles of Mellaren have to admit that the pieces of bones are the masterpieces of the Russian army's war.
Therefore, by winning the support of the Russians, Mälaren was able to maintain power in Sweden despite a series of war defeats and political changes.
Now the question arises, since they are part of Sweden, why don't the Russians become kings?
Bjorn's bottom line was to spend 500 slaves to buy one support, but he didn't expect that the Russians would continue to ask for it.
Do we have to retreat again and again?
Bjorn suppressed the anger in his heart. He knew that he could not get angry or anger the Russians.
He simply asked tentatively: "We all admit that Ross is powerful. Then, Rurik, my friend, maybe you should be the king of Sweden."
"Me? I know you will ask that. But, I don't want to be a king."
"Why? Your power is obviously very powerful. In fact, we Melalen people are already inferior to you now."
In many senses, what Bjorn said is true. In fact, with the allyship of the 20,000 people from the Balmok tribe, and the fact that there are tens of thousands of servants in Novgorod, the Rus are now de facto
The small Nordic overlord second only to Denmark.
Bjorn's words fell on deaf ears to Ryurik.
"Even if my Rus is very powerful, I have no intention of becoming the King of Sweden. Indeed, our Rus once lived by the lake, but you! They expelled us seventy years ago. Now that Rus is strong, you give up your power and you think we appreciate it.
?I! Rurik! disdain to be King of Sweden, I want to be Augustus, Vladimir, Alexander, in short, I want to be the conqueror of the world."
Rurik expected that Bjorn would be shocked by this far-reaching revenge, but the guy's dull expression made him understand that Bjorn couldn't understand it at all.
Rurik shook his head and said in a gentle tone: "My heart is in the north and in the east. I will not ask for the Swedish throne. The Russians are very sad about the land of Lake Mälaren."
However, Bjorn also knows nothing about ancient history. He is not sure whether his ancestors really expelled the ancestors of the Rus. Looking at the grief and anger shown by Rurik, it may be true.
"So, how should I satisfy you? You...what are your conditions?"
Rurik said decisively: "I will not be the king of Sweden, and Ross is not a subordinate of Sweden. Karl is dead! Our Principality of Ross will voluntarily leave Sweden! From now on, you and I are two countries on equal footing."
"Ah! You! You actually want to break away from us! Isn't this just like the Gotlanders, a betrayal..."
Rurik shrugged, "It's nothing. We Russians were expelled by you seventy years ago. If the late king Olegin hadn't decided to attack Gotland and Denmark, how could we be invited to continue to join? In the past, we only belonged to the alliance in name, but now Karl
He is already dead, the legal leader is dead, and the alliance has collapsed with the destruction of the Olegin family, so how can I talk about betrayal? So, what do you think is the real reason why those dukes refused you to become king?"
"Am I illegal?!"
"You are just illegal, but..." Rurik raised his fists, "Using force can make it legal. So as two countries, we, the Principality of Rus, support you as the new king of the Kingdom of New Sweden. In response, we
For military support, you need to transfer some privileges."
"Speaking."
"First, we Russians will not pay any taxes for any activities in Sweden. Secondly, if we Russians commit crimes in Sweden, they should be handed over to Russia and dealt with according to Russian rules. Thirdly, I want to get Birka's tavern
, as well as land with a radius of 50 stikas, as shops specialized by us Russians."
It seems that it is just a prohibition on tax collection. Bjorn's attitude towards the first two demands is completely indifferent.
Bjorn immediately said, "There is no problem with the first and second clauses. You Russian merchants have always been very particular about contracts. Even when old Olegin was alive, he never collected taxes from you. You even invented the tax collection.
"
Rurik nodded, already laughing in his heart. This Bjorn is probably because of the limitations of the times, and does not know about "extraterritoriality", "consular jurisdiction", "free trade rights" and "tariff autonomy".
No more!
On the other hand, Ross has a firm control over these powers.
Bjorn ended up struggling with the issue of the tavern.
Rurik shook his head, "I have to get a tavern, and I want to build a shop exclusively for the Russians. This way you Meralen merchants no longer have to go to the narrow Gould Island to trade. In the future, our transactions will be because we are located in the bustling city of Birka.
The shops will further prosper, and Gould Island will only become our Ross's warehouse. As long as we agree to these, we will sign a written agreement, me!"
Rurik patted his chest again, "I will declare loudly in front of all the leaders that I support you as king. However, the kneeling warrior ceremony is waived. I will support you as king of Sweden. Once you intend to start a foreign war,
, our Ross will also send troops to join the war."
Bjorn's heart was beating wildly, and he said tremblingly, "Okay! I agree, I completely agree. I will convene all the nobles for discussion and give you a reply within two days. Don't worry, our alliance will be permanent.
"
Obviously, Bjorn did not know that he had betrayed a very huge benefit in exchange for the apparent "surrender" of the Russian people.
No! The Russians even gained face and did not lose it.
This was actually the first secret meeting, and Rurik knew that he had won a great victory.
Bjorn and the nobles of the Mellaren people did not dare to ask for any taxes from Ross, nor did they dare to offend such a powerful and wealthy power.
The final defeat of the war has caused the entire Sweden to vomit three liters of blood, coupled with the consumption of civil strife. The landowners and nobles of Mälaren will only hurt their inherent alliance with Ross unless they are all idiots.
Oh, the two large ships anchored in the port are actually the Rus' authority standing there, either for the common people or to intimidate the Malaren nobles.
The so-called selling out some interests won the approval of the coup from the Russians and the continued alliance between Sweden and Russia.
Sadly, however, Bjorn and his friends, after urgent negotiations, felt that what they had paid was only a small benefit.
Especially the old guy Sven, who proposed the alliance with Ross. Seeing that the senior nobles were so determined, no one else had any objections.
It seemed that everyone just took out a few slaves, and then led people to capture the tribe's widows, gathering 500 people and throwing them to the Rus.
As for the ownership of the tavern, that thing was originally given to Bjorn himself after a dispute. It was generous to others, so why did everyone complain? It even weakened Bjorn's strength, and everyone was secretly happy.
Because the landowners and nobles do not want Bjorn to gain personal hegemony by becoming the new "King Olegin". They don't want to be a king and face various pressures. They just want to share the king's power and reap the benefits of the family.
But those small tribes whose combined population and strength cannot compete with Melalen must recognize that Melalen is the eternal hegemony, and that the leader of Melalen is the King of Sweden!
And this is the so-called Swedish version of "the king and the nobles rule the world together."
Rus and Rurik are still on the road to becoming Augustus and the third Rome.