Chapter 788: The Son of the Prairie Is Eye-Opening
From Kotlin Island to the mouth of the Neva River, a huge area is covered by a solid block of ice.
The ice was more than half a meter thick, and large ships anchored in the port were firmly trapped by the ice, while a large number of rowing boats were pushed directly to the shore and fixed to wooden piles with cables.
The strips are covered with snow, and the tall wooden walls are covered with ice. The entire city looks like an ice sculpture, standing on the bay of the North Country.
The sun was shining brightly on the ice, and the teams running wildly on the ice generally wore sunglasses to shield their eyes.
The team marched forcefully under the sun, and the whole scene was indescribably poetic.
It is no secret that the prince will personally participate in this year's Hanukkah. As the festival approaches, the people of Novorosberg are already ready to welcome visitors from Novgorod.
But before that, a group of guests from the direction of Roseburg's hometown had already arrived at the port with supplies before the sea completely froze. Even after the sea froze, there were still sporadic sleigh teams transporting goods for sale.
In terms of permanent population, Novorosberg is second only to Novgorod. Due to the arrival of a group of merchants and hunters, the city's population exceeded 8,000 on the eve of the festival.
Is it considered a big city if 8,000 people live together?
Indeed, in a residential complex a thousand years later, several rows of "pigeon cages" hundreds of meters high can even swallow tens of thousands of people. Although the Principality of Rus has the ability to build high-rise buildings, at best, only wealthy people like the prince can build three-story buildings.
floor, four-story wooden attic. Some wealthy residents did carry out large-scale construction in New Roseburg, and three-story wooden lofts with herringbone storage rooms began to appear in large numbers.
High-rise buildings are limited to the urban areas within the walls, and outside the walls are large areas of wooden houses.
The expansion of the city is entirely a pie-spreading model, and even so, there are still a number of open spaces remaining in the city.
So the first impression Kagan received from the Kingdom of Princess Rose was her hugeness.
A huge city must have a lot of treasures, and it can house a huge population in the extremely cold north. The Russians must have their cleverness. He desperately hopes to buy some treasures in the city, especially good salt.
The city wall was in sight, and a dense group of wooden carvings appeared on the south bank of the frozen river. A large number of people walked out of their houses and waved to the team.
The whole team slowed down, and Kagan took the opportunity to yank the reins and drive the horse into Rurik's sleigh.
"My lord, are the prices you set absolutely stable?"
"You? What do you want to buy in the city?" Rurik shouted in excitement.
"Salt!"
"Salt? One pound of silver and ten pounds of good salt. Buy as much as you like! Just don't be too showy in the market. You have to remember that you are visitors, and there are also a group of foreign visitors in the market. You are all warriors, Qian
Don't get into any disputes with others, because if something happens, I won't be biased towards you."
Kagan agreed wholeheartedly, but when he thought about it carefully, the prince's words were a bit strange.
There are many foreign visitors in the market. Could it be that the place where we are is still not the northern end of the world.
How big is this world?
The team finally reached the end of the journey. After hearing the news, Governor Conuson and his son gathered the militiamen who patrolled the city, put on their uniforms, and then led a group of people to gather at the frozen dock to welcome the prince's return.
A pregnant woman with a bulging belly is wearing a deerskin robe and a huge antlered helmet on her head.
She was dressed like a wild elf in the forest, with her rugged attire slightly concealing her young face. She was more anxious than the others and gathered at the dock with her team of priests she had trained.
Rumia is still the same Rumia, and she must be the presiding high priest for this year's Hanukkah, even though the impending birth of her second child has made the current activities very inconvenient.
It had been several months since she had seen the prince. As a noble person, she felt extremely lonely. Her daughter and the prince were both in Novgorod. The two cities were not far away, but her responsibilities dictated that she could not leave.
She lives in the former High Priest's staff, inlaid with amber, which is a sacred relic of the principality and a proof of her nobility.
Surrounding the high priest stood more than a dozen lower-level priests wearing plain clothes and white fox fur hats, as well as a distinguished deputy, Lumi, the daughter of Chief Kewen.
She saw a tall and handsome young man stepping off the sled surrounded by many cavalry. To be honest, Rumia was shocked to see a large number of Ross warriors on horseback.
Not just her, the onlookers had never dreamed that the principality actually had a cavalry force. What a dream! The war horses were generally wrapped in white cloth with blue stitching, which seemed to keep the horses warm. The riders wore Ross-style uniforms and held up
They are also all Russian flags.
Hunting with flags on the ice, horses and deer wearing rough clothes, the cavalry in the sun has a sense of pressure like a hill. The fact is that it is the tall and strong Nordic men riding tall Turkic horses that give people absolute strength
feeling.
A man stepped out of the majestic team and became a mighty background, which further highlighted the powerful strength of Prince Rurik.
The governor and his son, who were trembling under the pressure of the powerful aura, walked cautiously and couldn't help but ask about the origin of the cavalry.
"This? This is my achievement in Novgorod in the past few months. I tell you, our cavalry will be more and more. When the boys in Novorosberg grow up, I will recruit a group of people.
Become a cavalryman and enrich our army's land combat strength." Rurik made a grand vision.
Little Cornuson will undoubtedly be the next governor, or mayor, of New Roseburg. At the same time, he also has the obligation to organize a citizen army to respond to the prince's call and fight the war himself.
How could little Conuson not be curious when he saw those handsome boys riding tall horses?
Because there is a horseman who is clearly Arik!
They are all of the same age, and they are all brothers who came out of Roseburg Fjord. Why is this guy so famous? The other brothers must also learn to ride horses, and New Roseburg must also have a standing cavalry team, which will at least be useful for daily patrols.
The brief greeting was broken by the woman who thought she had lost her composure.
Rumia walked over in a hurry, ignoring the men's chatter, her own big belly, and even the words of the onlookers.
"mastra!" she shouted loudly until she rushed in front of her man.
She threw herself into her man's arms amidst the gazes of many eyes, her eyes filled with tears...
The prince, blessed by the gods, held the high priest in his arms. Who dares to say that they did not cherish him.
Only Rumia has the right to call Rurik mastra, which means master. This was appointed by Rurik at that time. It is Rumia's exclusive power and a symbol of friendship.
Such an intimate scene made Svetlana and other concubines jealous. The other concubines were all aware of themselves. But as the queen, Lana saw the prince and the high priest being intimate. Why was she feeling depressed? She slapped her face hard and forced herself.
Try to calm down and put on a smile.
Rurik was a full head taller than Rumia. She was obviously twenty years old, but she cried like a child.
Rurik buried his mouth in his ear: "Obviously I'm going to be a mother again, why don't you take the risk to welcome me if you don't cultivate in the temple."
"I...just miss you. And our daughter."
"I miss you too. I will live in the city for a while, and the other women will go away. We will be together day and night in the next few days." Rurik made a promise, but Rumia cried even more.
She was so excited that she howled.
No, four-year-old Velika walked over, hugged her mother's legs, and called her mother with milky milk. Rumia, who was crying with joy, used amazing strength to lift her daughter up.
He kissed her hard and put it into the arms of his father, Rurik.
A noble prince should pay attention to pomp and circumstance in his work and need to set an example for the people. What's more, Rurik suddenly learned that a group of Swedish allies simply went to New Roseburg with goods to conduct direct trade in the winter, so as to save freight and purchase cheap oriental leather.
In this way, the prince is even more particular about pomp and circumstance!
A small triumphal ceremony becomes extremely important.
Just like the first crusade against the Karelians, the Russian army assembled in New Ross Fort. The army was lined up in a matrix in the Harvest Square outside the palace to be inspected by the prince. Afterwards, they walked around the city twice around the road under the city wall. The army was in a good position.
Rushing to the battlefield of the expedition with extremely high morale.
This is naturally the first show of the Ross Principality Cavalry, and it must leave an extremely positive impression on thousands of people.
Rurik, who was riding a sleigh, transformed into a knight. He personally led the entire cavalry into the city and walked on Nevsky Prospekt.
The tall wooden wall blocked the grand scene in the city, and the Pechenegs on horseback were brought into the city with weapons to enhance the reputation of the king.
Look at this city!
Kagan opened his eyes wide. He saw a group of double-storey wooden houses on both sides of the road, some of which were even built to three floors. Some houses even had stone bases, or were simply made of stones (bricks).
As seen in Novgorod, there are drainage ditches on both sides of the main road in Novorosberg. Obviously this is the key to keeping the city clean, even now the ditches are frozen.
Residents cheered, whistled, and even found various things to beat on both sides of the road to create momentum. For example, a young boy picked up his father's buckler, holding it in his left hand and beating it with a wooden stick in his right hand.
The cavalry was followed by the reindeer sleigh team, and the entire team formed a long snake formation and entered the city one after another.
Finally, people gathered in Harvest Square, which had been transformed into a winter market.
What kind of business are the merchants doing now? A man dressed like a bear cordially watched this majestic cavalry team, and Prince Rurik received endless glory...
In fact, it was this square that shocked Kagan so much. Although there was boundless flat land as far as the eye could see on the southern Russian grasslands, the appearance of a huge and very hard flat land in the city gave him a huge shock.
Because this piece of flat land is really extraordinary!
Governor Cornuson and his son have been implementing the prince's orders. At least until now, the father and son do not dare to commit crazy corruption out of morality and the honor of tribal warriors.
The demand for meals. New Roseburg itself is a huge tax source. Merchants must pay taxes for their economic activities. This tax was set in their hometown of Roseburg and has been implemented for many years now. The amount of tax paid by merchants has also been adjusted every year.
Rurik was deeply engaged in the economic development of the Novgorod agricultural area, and the tax collection work of Novorosberg was fully entrusted to Governor Konuson.
Cornuson actually became a tax collector. He was ordered to build a magnificent city for the prince. He had to spend a lot of money on infrastructure construction, and tried not to rely on treasury allocations, but tried to rely on taxes from the local area to complete the construction. These are the results of Cornuson.
Song needs to report to Rurik himself.
Part of Harvest Square is paved with cement. As long as you pry open the solid snow, you can see the hard gray pavement.
The "Square Cementification Project" can be said to benefit the country and the people. After it is completely cemented, it will become a super-large threshing floor, which can basically meet the work of drying oats in the local area. In the same non-farming period, it will be transformed into a harvest square in the market, so that merchants and customers will not have to
Worry about mud and potholes.
The base of the wooden fence continues to be reinforced with cement, and the cementation project of all roads in the city is slowly underway.
Rurik does not lack the financial resources to hire people to lay cement. This is because the key lime, iron ore slag and sandstone come from different places and need to be transported to New Roseburg by ship. It is not only these three materials that are transported.
, barges are still transporting whole blocks of granite and cobblestones into the city. The transportation of these heavy materials relies entirely on the summer transportation of marked transport ships. The half-year-long severe winter and sea freeze have greatly limited the efficiency of New Roseburg's urban construction.
Is there any good solution? Both sides of the Neva River and even the huge Valdai Highlands including Novgorod are full of too soft mud. The most scarce thing is stone, because there are no mountains in this huge area.
Of course, it is precisely for this reason that Rurik consciously must train a cavalry. In the winter when the convenience of the water network in summer is lost, the cavalry is the key to ensuring the principality's winter operations.
Even with the slow construction, Rurik is very satisfied with the current construction results.
He was very happy that a large amount of scaffolding was laid out in an open space next to the Winter Palace he ordered to build. Although a batch of stones were scattered on the ground, the granite base was indeed being pieced together.
The original Winter Palace was a large longhouse that combined the advantages of wood carvings and Viking longhouses. According to Rurik's new needs, the new Winter Palace should have the style of the old palace in Rossburg's hometown. It is essentially an enlarged version of the Winter Palace.
A four-story castle with a wooden structure with a stone base. Mortise and tenon structures, which are widely used in shipbuilding, are used in palace construction. Rurik's new Winter Palace will be a stable structure similar to a pyramid, and it is also the tallest in the city.
building, even the tallest building in Northern Europe!
Naturally, there was no need to worry about the wood for the construction of the palace. The giant red pine and spruce trees everywhere in the area provided sufficient materials.
They are also good materials for shipbuilding. Except for the keel and ribs, which are made of oak found in the forest area, other parts are made of spruce. So there is a walled area along the river, which is the "Neva Shipbuilding" of the Hotla family.
"Factory" is located, with huge spruce trees standing on the soft riverside to form a frame structure. Two indoor shipbuilding workshops were completed and put into production. The standard cargo ship produced in New Roseburg has been launched and put into the East and North Baltic Sea trade network.
of cargo ships are still under construction.
The New Winter Palace has only built a base and erected a large number of load-bearing spruce columns. The winter construction of the migrant workers is proceeding step by step. Look, wooden beams have been erected between some load-bearing columns, and the frame structure of the second floor is already under construction.
Already.
Kagan could not imagine the grand occasion after the completion of the new palace. He noticed other magnificent buildings!
Just like the largest temple in the Principality of Rus, it is a stone temple inlaid with countless gemstones that reflects violently in the sun.
The first temple of the principality has been completed. The sculptures of gods inside are well-proportioned, and the interior can accommodate hundreds of people kneeling to pray.
People call the First Temple the "Gem House", and some even praise it as the "Valhalla on earth." It is covered with a layer of colored glass and colored glaze. These crystal clear objects with complex shapes are all mass-produced.
It is not valuable in itself, but it is densely packed and neatly inlaid, and quantity becomes quality. The sense of magnificence is exactly in line with people's expectations for the temple.
Harvest Square can be said to be the core area of New Rossburg. Surrounding the square are the old Winter Palace, the new Winter Palace under construction, the huge Ross Duma Parliament Chamber, the magnificent First Temple, and the heavily guarded granary area on artificial highlands.
After the long journey, the people finally settled down. After the day's scenery, the cavalry, including the Pechenegs, all enjoyed a feast of roasted venison.
Military and national affairs, festivals and rituals, these major matters can be formally discussed in the Rus Duma tomorrow.
Tonight, everyone needs a good meal and a comfortable sleep.
After the scenery, Kagan and other Pechenegs handed over their horses, and all horses were managed uniformly. At the same time, he also learned that there were 20,000 reindeer wandering around New Roseburg. They were domesticated creatures, most of which were domesticated.
It is the property of the princely family. There is a group of people called "deerkeepers" who are collectively loyal to the princely family and are ordered to take care of all the deer. Even the high priest of the principality himself is a "deerkeeper".
There were so many wonderful things, and what Kagan saw and heard was indescribably fresh. He was also like a poor boy who had just arrived in the big city. He was novel and at the same time a little inferior, and it really took some time to adapt.
More than just Kagan? Ragnar, who went into exile a few months ago, was not allowed to enter Novorosberg because of his Danish identity. The entire family of women and children were "detained" in Novgorod, along with the thirty brothers who accompanied him.
Only then did we enter the large city of the Russians.
In a daze, Ragnar had an illusion. In a sense, this big city was very similar to the Frankish Bremen that he had participated in burning. It had the same large square, the same structures of noble residences and great temples, and the riverside.
There are docks and a large number of ships. In terms of scale, New Roseburg is the most magnificent city he has ever seen.
In fact, because Rurik built New Roseburg based on the old city structure of St. Petersburg and Moscow in my memory, it was strictly planned from the beginning to have an inner city. It is understandable that the structure of the residential areas in the outer city is a bit chaotic.
Straight, just like its name of "harp city", the straight roads are like harp strings, there are a large number of standard intersections, and even the harvest is square and square.
The prince's palace is called the Winter Palace. Otherwise, the Winter Palace in the two planes is at the same location. The Senate Council in St. Petersburg on the other plane is the Duma Chamber of the Principality of Rus.
Even the small sandbank directly north of the Winter Palace is also called Rabbit Island. There is indeed a small wooden fortress built there. While guarding the mouth of the Neva River, it also collects taxes on merchant ships, except for ships from people from the Rus' region.
(temporary).
Of course, the people wandering here believe in Odin, Thor, Freya and other Nordic gods, and at most there is the Slavic fire god Peron.
This is a famous northern city favored by Odin. At least Odin will not reject the warriors who believe in him.
Ragnar was more self-aware than Kagan and other sons of the grassland. He warned his men not to run around in the city, let alone publicize the fact that he was a Dane.
The people who have returned have had a big meal and taken a steam bath. The floral essential oil soap has washed away the dirt all over their bodies, and even their body odor has turned into the fragrance of flowers. After the work of boating and carriages has been eliminated, the whole person has become limp. How can they stay awake if they don't sleep now?
A large number of people lived in a warm vacant warehouse. Lagla and his brothers collectively made a bed on the floor. The fireplace warmed the air in the house. They fell asleep with a belly full of barbecue and the aroma of essential oil soap. Kagan waited for Pecheneg.
People slept in another vacant warehouse, and naturally their weapons were temporarily stored. Only the money to purchase supplies remained with them.
Those young Ross cavalry are all well treated. They are directly arranged by the Governor to stay in the patrol soldiers' dormitories, which are warmer rooms and are convenient for using the toilet or eating supper. As for the horses and deer, they naturally end up in the deer pen.
, they also enjoy a very abundant supply of hay and oats for their hard work.
That night, the pregnant Rumia hugged her Rurik, while their eldest daughter Velika slept in the middle, twisting her body playfully, enjoying the rare parental love.
Such intimacy is worth a thousand words, as if they are the closest family, and they are really Mushalyulik's other wives and concubines.
Svetlana, Nolen, Carlotta and others, as well as Saiborava, who came specially from Ironburg, the girls gathered together and talked and laughed happily. They set up a dormitory in the palace.