A special sled team was formed in a surprise attack, and Rurik selected twenty people from the mercenary team under his command and ten people from the local residents of New Roseburg.
Some of them are old Russians from the fjords, and there are also a group of people from Lake Mälaren.
Rurik had a small banquet in his palace for these people who were about to leave, eating roast venison and drinking ale with them.
He held the glass high and walked in the hall and said: "This year we will launch a large-scale immigration. Before that, people in our hometown must know about it. By April, the ice and snow in New Roseburg will melt and the bay will become suitable for navigation. We will
The fleet will return to the Rossberg Fjord as quickly as possible, and I want to ship the wheat seeds as quickly as possible. Brothers, your task is very important. I want you to deliver the letter to Harold Zuosen and the great merchant Gur.
In the hands of Germany. When I arrive at Tombstone Island, I will see that a large number of wheat seeds must have been placed..."
He stated the importance of the mission and described a grand scene of overwhelming golden wheat fields. In particular, he told everyone that this is not a dream. As long as the information is transmitted in time, starting from the golden autumn, everyone in the following years can become transformed from eating too much wheat.
into a fat elephant seal.
The following adjectives made everyone laugh.
A slightly drunk man showed his slightly black teeth and shouted: "Sir, we are fighting with our lives! This is a cold expedition."
"Oh? Does that mean anyone is afraid?"
"Afraid? We have nothing to fear." This same person said, "It's just that there are risks..."
Rurik guessed that someone would hint at something, so he announced in public: "You can rest assured. I promise thirty of you to bring letters and a batch of goods to your hometown as quickly as possible, and each of you will receive 50 silver coins."
Don't worry, I know how difficult it is, so I will give you food for the fifteen-day journey and oats for feeding the reindeer. Don't think that this is just a simple letter delivery task. I need your achievements to prove one thing.
, is to open up a winter ice and snow transportation line so that Rosberg and Novgorod can be connected."
They heard it half-understood, thinking that this would be a great trip.
The prince has always kept his promise. Just for reporting the news, he can earn half a pound of silver coins, and he doesn't have to pay for food. It's a bit bitter, but the sweetness is yet to come. Especially the mercenaries, they know best about the greater benefit.
, I need to repeatedly make new achievements in front of the prince.
Rurik was not chosen randomly, and the best among the mercenaries had the right to participate.
The men selected from the residents of New Roseburg are actually not strong, but they know the routes in the warm period very well. Even if the sea is frozen now, there is no doubt about the control of the route. When they were young, they followed Otto for the first time rowing to Novgo.
Rhodes is so old that he is no longer qualified to join the second flag team. They still have important value, which is the principle of old horses knowing the way.
Rurik personally determined a route for the messenger and wrote some letters in traditional characters on the paper. In particular, a special document was given to the left-behind governor Harold Zosen, allowing him to take it from the "treasury"
Silver coins were given to pay the messenger, and a piece of paper took on the meaning of a silver note.
He even drew maps for the sled team, and the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Åland Islands, the Great Peninsula and the Land of East Finland were all clearly marked.
There are some nouns written on the map, which are the places where the sled team can obtain supplies. For example, the first supply point they will encounter during the journey is Helsinki. As long as they walk along the frozen coast, she will not
Not far away. This journey is not an endless walk along the frozen coast. The team will reach Tombstone Island in the frozen Åland Islands, and everything will be fine. Because by then they will continue to go north, and they will definitely encounter a group of people digging through the ice to fish and catch seals.
master.
This will not be a lonely journey. Being able to meet some people from my hometown along the way will certainly eliminate the fear of ice, snow, and freezing to death.
The climate is still cold, the branches covered with ice and snow are ready to move, and the grass seeds on the ground under the snow are about to germinate.
Southern Europe is already a scene full of spring, and the entire Eastern Roman Empire has even completed their spring plowing.
In the Nordic world, as far as the eye can see there is still vast amounts of snow and the frozen sea.
The sleigh team received the order and prepared to set off. Thirty of them were divided into ten sleighs, and as many as forty reindeer were responsible for pulling them.
Rurik hoped that they could complete the mission as soon as possible, so they spent a lot of money on logistics. Fortunately, the warehouse in New Roseburg had enough supplies to cope with the excessive consumption required by Rurik.
The sled pulled a large quantity of oats, which were the deer's ration.
The people's rations consisted of a lot of oatmeal cakes mixed with wheat and pickled venison and fish jerky.
What awaits them is a thousand-kilometer expedition, which is very dangerous from any angle. Just like this, a large amount of rations, dry charcoal for fire, and materials for quickly building a tent are prepared.
Quite sufficient.
The most critical letters were placed in a suitcase, along with a batch of freeze-dried squirrel skins as special cargo.
The main ships of the huge Ross fleet are still trapped in the ice and snow, and the ice is like shackles. They are firmly anchored in the frozen Neva River.
A small sleigh team is preparing to move forward. Each sleigh has a mast with a Russian flag on it. This makes the team look quite majestic and ensures that everyone can see each other to avoid getting lost. It is also safe
Identify yourself to settlements along the way.
The team set off, heading towards the frozen Gulf of Finland under the watch of thousands of people.
Rurik and his wife stood on the frozen dock, watching them gradually turn into dots on the ice field.
People took off their hats and cheered, speaking only words of blessing.
"I always feel that the ice is about to melt. Will they be able to arrive successfully?" Svetlana asked worriedly.
"They will, they will definitely do it. Lana..." Rurik murmured.
"Well."
"We should also make preparations and do the next thing as soon as possible. We have to return to Novgorod quickly and bring a large number of immigrants there. This matter cannot be delayed."
A larger sled team is being prepared, and the whole of New Roseburg is bustling again.
Some of the early settlers wanted to leave the city and go further east. Everyone knew that Novgorod had more suitable fields for farming, but the land on both sides of the Neva River in Novorosberg was not bad either.
When immigrants have nothing, or they have not settled in a certain area, and then set off to settle in a better area, they don’t have many worries in their hearts. As the saying goes, don’t be afraid to wear shoes when you are barefoot.
However, the early immigrants reclaimed the land and signed a contract with Prince Rurik. Are they still eligible to immigrate now?
Once the Russians became farmers, they, like no other, began to be bound by the land itself. They did not lose their pioneering spirit, but no one would boldly give up the land they had cultivated for many years and were unwilling to risk delays.
The risk of farming is to work in new areas unless the prince provides some kind of guarantee.
Rurik does not provide a guarantee mechanism for old immigrants. Of course, old immigrants can buy and sell land freely, and buyers can pay taxes every year. But if old immigrants go to Novgorod, don’t think about getting developed mature fields.
Naturally, Rurik welcomed the felling of trees and the creation of new fields.
Only all the Ostara people who stayed in New Roseburg, they determined the total number of men, women, old and young (infant children were also included) under the personal count of Duchess Carlotta.
The people of Ostara are indeed not too ordinary. Although there are a group of female tribesmen among them, more of them are men who are married to their wives.
People from various tribes often don't worry about which tribe they belong to. They don't even have surnames. It is a great honor to be able to remember the names of their grandparents.
Ordinary people live a difficult life, so those who have not been destroyed by life are the strong ones who have experienced it, which objectively makes the Varyag people tenacious in overall combat effectiveness. If a more suitable environment for living is found, if there are no shackles around them,
Immigrating with your family is a good choice.
In recent years, life in my hometown in Scandinavia has become increasingly difficult.
Carlotta knows very well that the men under her are a group of Hjärmalen and Gran people. It doesn't matter, everyone has moved to the east even further than the eastern land. They have broken away from Sweden and merged with the powerful Ross.
It also eliminates all passive disputes.
The reason why more than 600 tribesmen are willing to accept Carlotta's leadership is not simply because she is the woman of the Prince of Rus, but also because she solemnly announced something - she will be a mother, and the child in her belly will be a boy.
People naturally welcome a male leader, and it is purely expedient for a woman to be the leader, and Carlotta knows this well.
"We will move to the most difficult part of Lake Ilmen in Novgorod. The environment there is very similar to our hometown. It is warmer, there are abundant water and grass for us to raise cattle, and there are fertile fields for us to grow wheat seeds.
Flax. There are no dangerous enemies there, and the people nearby are our allies. We can all live freely."
Compared to the Rus' people, the Ostara people have the most urgent desire for a stable life.
The first group of Ostara families to immigrate began to publicly sell their cultivated farmland, and the selling price was the expected five-year wheat output of the fields. These people did not cultivate a large area of land, and they were slightly farther from the city.
.Those fields are not fertile, nor do they produce much wheat. Perhaps the only advantage is that they are concentrated and connected as a whole, which makes it easier for early immigrants to cultivate, and it is easy to sell them now.
The estimated output in five years is used as the selling price. The Ostara people plan to leave all and sell all the land they have cultivated. They have cultivated nearly ten hectares of fields in total. Since it is new land, the output per hectare is not even
Reaching 1,500 pounds. They indeed still have great development value, but the price given by the Ostara people is equivalent to nearly 60,000 pounds of oats, or 60 pounds of silver coins.
The ordinary Russian immigrants here now were the weak in Rossburg back then, so they had the courage to make a desperate move to immigrate. They are indeed weak, and they have not even enjoyed the dividends of the war in the Principality of Rus over the years, but only the dividends of survival and security.
Which family can currently afford sixty pounds of silver coins at once? Even if the purchasing power of silver decreases due to the huge influx of hot money into Russian society, sixty pounds of silver coins is still a huge sum of money. This price is basically enough for the shipyard to build a complete ship.
The "Mercury-class Sail Destroyer" in its current state.
Who can afford to buy a field of this size at such a price?
Rurik has already given the departure time for the brothers of the First Banner Corps and the immigrants from Ostara. At that time, more than a thousand people will board a huge sleigh team and go straight to Novgorod with all kinds of belongings.
.
It was a peaceful night, and Rurik, who was full of wine and food, was about to go to bed early, when Carlotta pursed her lips and hurriedly asked to see him.
The guard made the announcement as usual, and when he heard it was Carlotta, an embarrassing thought came to Rurik's mind.
"Lana, look. Your sister is here. It seems that tonight..."
Jealousy suddenly arose in Svetlana's heart, but she still had to smile on her face: "I understand. I will avoid it tonight. It doesn't matter if I sleep alone."
She stood up and ran away in a hurry.
After a moment, Carlotta approached her man.
"Is there something serious?" Rurik raised his head, first moved the table with minced meat, wiped his hands with a cloth, and asked her to sit close to him.
She understood the sentiment and followed the order. Unexpectedly, her man suddenly turned over and pinned her down, and skillfully opened her robe with one hand.
Rurik stared into her eyes with a smile: "One more time before departure? I ate stewed deer blood, and my whole body was full of strength."
"Don't!"
"Oh? What's wrong?"
"Actually..." Carlotta smiled kindly, "I already have it."
"We succeeded?!" Rurik sat up suddenly, "If you didn't tell me earlier, I almost did something stupid." After saying that, he patted his heart again: "It's probably a boy, it must be a boy! That's it.
It's up to you. You...are you here to tell me this specifically?"
"Yes! No." She slowly stood up, patted her cheeks and tried to regain her serious expression: "It's about the farmland."
"Oh, that side of Novgorod? That warm land is yours, and I will do what I say."
"It's New Roseburg. I'm here today...to represent the 600 men, women, and children in Ostara to find a good buyer for our land."
(She described the field on hand, its approximate area and the price offered)
Carlotta originally thought that her man would be happily reunited, but unexpectedly, what she saw was indeed his frown.
"What? The price I gave is too high?" she asked cautiously.
"Not high."
"Why do you hesitate? If...you don't buy it, who can afford it? Do I have to wait until the people from Roseburg come before selling them? Rurik, I beg you to buy it quickly.
Come on! This way our immigrants will have no worries."
Purchasing the newly reclaimed land by the Ostara people was not part of Rurik's plan. In theory, the more land directly under the jurisdiction of the prince, the better. However, the current situation is quite special.
Rurik wants to cultivate farmland in the Novgorod region, and the focus of agriculture will be here.
Based on the current agricultural conditions, New Roseburg is not suitable for vigorously developing agriculture. It is more suitable to develop animal husbandry, fishery, and even other handicrafts, shipbuilding and other industries.
These are the fundamental reasons. Secondly, Rurik is very self-aware. He bought the acres here but has no energy to cultivate them.
But wait! There’s still a big turning point here!
Rurik had an idea and gradually laughed out loud.
Anxious Carlotta asked hurriedly: "Have you thought about it?"
"I've thought about it."
"So, when can I get the silver coins?"
"No." Rurik looked into Carlotta's eyes again: "I won't buy it myself. I can find a buyer for you right now."
"who is it?"
"Of course it's Aslaqi. My dear, you want to revive your tribe, and she wants to revive her family industry. She bought the land, and you all benefited."
"fair enough."
Rurik nodded: "If there is nothing more important, you can go back and tell your tribe now. Carlotta, it seems that Freya has answered your prayer. I will not touch you in the following days."
Body. You will give birth to the child safely in the new world of Novgorod."
"That's fine." Carlotta smiled with tears in her eyes, stood up, then took a few pieces of Rurik's leftover meat and stuffed it into her mouth, and ran away happily.
Rurik breathed a sigh of relief, grinned and shouted: "You can come out now. Lana, I knew you didn't really leave."
Svetlana emerged from the darkness and cuddled up to her husband very skillfully.
"You heard it all, right?"
"Yes." She said, "Sister Carlotta finally fulfilled her dream, I..."
"You better not think about it in a few years, but Regraf can be given to you to raise."
"Me?" Lana was surprised and opened her clear eyes.
"This child lost his biological mother when he was born. You are my queen, and you should learn how to be a mother in advance. When this child is weaned, you will raise him. In the future, he will become the king of Mercia, and he will still be willing to call you
It’s the foster mother.”
Think of poor Mary, poor Reglaf. Svetlana, who has always been well protected by her family, could not imagine that there is such a pitiful noble as Princess Mary. She does not hate Mary at all, and plans to learn from her.
To please men. Unfortunately all men have their own destiny.
She felt compassion and agreed to this royal order.