The farthest the Ludi people set foot to the west were the Vips who lived at the mouth of the Vukshi River, which was just a corner of the west bank of Lake Ladoga. As for how big the lake was, they had no idea!
The old lady, the female leader, is considered well-informed, and now she is riding a hunter's sleigh, which is actually the first time that the Lüdi people have set foot on the Neva River.
There are many fishermen who cut through the ice to catch pike, bass, and freshwater seals. They set up camps on the ice and light bonfires at night.
They will immediately disembowel the fish they catch, chop off the heads and tails, and even scrape off the scales. Then they will pile the fish strips on the spot like bricks to form a wall. When the pile is almost full, they will move it to the sled.
Go to New Roseburg Market and sell it.
Once upon a time, only the brave dared to do production work in winter. It was not that the people under Ross's rule became brave on a large scale. In fact, everyone was armed with a large number of high-quality leather, linen, and wool that were in sufficient supply and even exceeded demand. The main population of the principality was
At this point, keeping warm in winter has been fully solved, and the risk of freezing to death while working in winter has been so low that it is ignored by the public. In order to obtain more benefits, only fools will give up production gains in winter.
It's not surprising that a sled team was running on the frozen Neva River, but this team was very large.
The fishermen looked sideways and were surprised that the sleds in series were not only holding some bear heads, but also had many women sitting on them.
Did the bear hunting team from the north make any major captures? Did they start fighting with the remnants of Karelia again?
Since Hanukkah, Rurik stayed in his loyal city of New Roseburg and was busy researching the city.
He wanted to know all kinds of information about the city, and he was also inspecting the warehouses placed here, counting the grain in stock, and the "big money bank".
That is the prince's money, and anyone who dares to steal it will be hanged!
No one really cared about the prince's treasury, but there were pickpockets in the market. Governor Cornuson and his son were indeed very rough in their work. For the pickpockets they caught, no matter what their ethnicity, they would chop off the little fingers of the pickpockets they caught for the first time, and
It is a public punishment.
Although there were no violent groups trying to extort money at the market, Rurik was vaccinated against the epidemic in advance. It was said that only princes could collect taxes, and if anyone dared to ask a businessman for extra money, his entire family would be beheaded after being caught.
Only the officials appointed by the princely family and the canonized Great Lakes nobles are truly legal. Anyone who violates the law must be executed. There is no excuse. Although this is a matter of course in Rurik's view, in this regard, Blue Fox's description of the old Hezeby Port
necessary.
Old Haideby is truly a land of no one. On the surface, it is a jungle society, but there is still an underground ruling group inside. A group of thugs just don't call themselves lords. The big businessmen raising private soldiers are naturally not afraid of them, and the small businessmen have no choice but to do so.
Pay what is called a "tax".
This kind of thing should not and cannot happen in the Principality of Rus.
But the principality did reach a new size, and it was time to install officers responsible for criminal law, and to reorganize the patrol officers into true peace officers.
Rurik then held a meeting in New Roseburg after the festival. The most prominent figures in the city, most of the businessmen who could afford ten pounds of silver coins, gathered in the city's parliament court.
In the parliament chamber, Rurik announced that the governor would nominate a peace officer who would focus on patrolling markets and streets, catching thieves and pickpockets, mediating transaction disputes, supervising fair transactions, and supervising taxation.
It is much better to have specialized personnel responsible for supervision than nothing at all, and it is not surprising that this sheriff is from the old Ross tribe.
The Governor is responsible for a lot of things, and the security work cannot be dealt with.
Temporarily, the Sheriff has the power to recruit up to twenty subordinates to carry out rotational patrols. The Sheriff himself has a monthly salary of 30 silver coins, and ordinary security guards 10 silver coins. This salary is deducted from the city tax, in a sense, the merchants
A sum of money was spent to hire people to help everyone maintain trade order.
The public service system, which is very similar to the police, was first born in New Rossburg, the capital of the Ross Principality, where various ethnic groups gather. Since it is an area inhabited by three major clans, it is naturally impossible to expect the people to live their lives according to the old clan era.
Of course, since the birth of this system, the first priority has been to maintain business order, and it has also maintained the interests of businessmen to a large extent.
According to Rurik's plan, Novorossiburg on the Neva River has a unique geographical location. It must become the commercial center of the principality and the commercial center of the Baltic Sea. The number of peace officers is sufficient at present. If it is insufficient, it can be expanded in the future.
The sudden appearance of the bear hunting sled team caused a small sensation.
The merchants stared hard, and they gathered around and immediately asked to buy the bear's head and skin.
The girls from Ludy who got off the sleigh and were deeply shocked by the big city of New Roseburg were also asked about the price by the merchants.
The leader of the bear hunt said bluntly: "These women will be dedicated to the prince, and the bear skins and other goods are commodities."
As a result of causing a small sensation, the newly appointed Sheriff hurried over with his men.
The Sheriff pushed through the gathering crowd, and then saw a group of timid short women and an old woman holding a wooden stick.
"What's going on? Hunters, explain the origin of these people."
The bear hunting captain was looking forward to visiting the Bear Festival Town, but he didn't know that the prince had set up a new official position in the big city.
"You? Who are you?" the bear hunting leader asked cautiously.
"I am a peace officer appointed by the prince. What did you say just now? It seems that these women want to be promoted to the prince?"
"Exactly."
"Who are they? New Karelian prisoners?"
"He's from Ludy."
"People from Ludi? I haven't heard of them many times. I believe the prince would like it if he became a slave." The sheriff felt that this was an opportunity for a major performance, but for the sake of safety, all foreigners who came to see the prince had to be checked.
The Sheriff gave an order, and his men rushed over with ill intentions. The Ludi women were almost pulled out of the fig leaf, and they were trembling in tears. They cried to the female leader, but saw the female leader closing her eyes, but her tears
It still flows out uncontrollably.
It is this bad move that the leader of the bear hunt cannot stand at all. This old guy is not sympathetic to the Ludi people, but because these women are pure. If they are torn by these guys and cause problems, will the prince happily buy them?
?
"That's enough!" the leader shouted loudly: "This is a woman dedicated to the prince. No matter how powerful you are, you are still from the Ross headquarters. We are all relatives. I advise you to restrain your own people and not be too powerful."
Presumptuous. We don’t want the prince to be angry.”
Hearing this, the Sheriff hurriedly tried to smooth things over and told his men to stop.
"Uncle, we are also fulfilling our responsibilities. If these women bring ritual weapons to assassinate..."
"As for that? A group of women are as weak as rabbits. Their necks can be easily broken by you. You are actually afraid that they are assassins. I hope to see the prince soon and take me there."
"That's fine." The Sheriff shrugged, "Come with me."
What is Rurik doing at this moment? He stays in the current palace to rest with his wives and concubines, plays with his eldest daughter and second son, and even keeps close company with the pregnant Rumia.
He had already decided on the name "Oleg" for the child to be born, and he was sure it would be a boy.
For Rumia, the work of major sacrifices has ended, and all she has to do is to rest.
Rurik was busy with his wives and concubines, and the cavalry affairs were temporarily taken care of by Prince Kagan of Pecheneg.
In a snowy field outside the city, the entire cavalry team and the Pechenegs continued to practice mounted archery. The Pechenegs had to quickly master crossbow mounted archery and control ordinary wooden bows. The Russian cavalry were improving on recurve bows.
Mounted shooting requires crazy target practice.
Their training attracted some loggers to watch, and even some children came to join in the fun.
Some hunter brought a treasure as a gift?
The messenger described to Rurik in detail that the so-called gift was a donation from a group of women and a tribe named Ludi.
"Ludi people? The name sounds so familiar. Ah!? Could it be them? Wonderful, you surrendered yourself before I even hit you?" Rurik stroked his golden beard and felt very happy.
Her wives and concubines also came over, especially Noren and Carlotta, who were powerful female aristocrats, and asked one after another who the Ludids were.
"They? It is said that they are also servants of the Karelian people. Karelia has been wiped out by us, and the slaves need new masters, so they are here."
Carlotta nodded and said nothing after hearing the explanation, but Noren acted arrogantly: "It seems that we are indeed very powerful. But is it appropriate for slaves to meet you? They are all despicable things."
"You? You..." Rurik glanced at Noren. This woman, who was as beautiful as Freya in the legend, did not speak in a gentle manner.
Rurik insisted on letting the old lady leader bring all the Ludian women to meet him, and of course the leader of the bear hunters who discovered the Ludian village.
It is said that the Ludi people who entered the city had never thought that there were such bizarre human residences in the world. They saw tall houses and an extremely flat and vast open space.
They saw the huge stone chamber that was crystal clear under the sun. It was definitely not an ice cube, but a shell made of crystal. The female leader was subconsciously convinced that it was the temple of the Rus people, and this "giant village" was also their core.
The female leader who entered the city had completely collapsed. She saw that there were people everywhere. It was a prosperous scene, and this also meant that the Russians had a strong military.
As long as they offend their leader, the Rus' army will kill Rudy as easily as a squirrel.
Standing in front of the prince's palace, a large wooden longhouse was enough to give this group of tribesmen a huge sense of pressure, not to mention an even bigger palace being built next to it.
The guards received the order, and all the Ludi people who were asked to surrender must enter, and the leader of the bear hunt must also follow.
Different from the nervousness of the Ludi people, the bear hunter leader had a cheerful face.
He was younger than Otto, and Rurik should call him his clan uncle according to his seniority. There were only so many old guys in Ross's tribe. Rurik forgot his specific name, but he was quite familiar with him.
The Ludi man was indeed a guy with black hair, and he looked exactly like the Karelian man. The old lady must be the leader, because she sat directly on the wooden floor, and the other women also sat down one after another.
They seemed a little presumptuous, but Rurik didn't take it seriously, and asked his concubine Noren, whose eyes showed dissatisfaction, not to be angry.
After some pleasantries at the beginning, Rurik fully understood what happened to the bear hunting team and felt sorry for the deer farmer who had died.
A mere twenty elderly Russians defeated the attack of 300 Ludi indigenous warriors, and attracted their leader to surrender in person?
Although the matter is very bizarre, considering the experience of conquering the Vips people, Rurik can say that this female leader is very smart.
At that time, the leader of the bear hunters impatiently made his request: "Your Majesty, I ordered them to hand over fifty women and two hundred deer. All the deer were placed in the Bear Festival Town, and they are regarded as the trophies of our brothers.
.As for these women, I hope you can buy them all."
"There are still deer? You took all the deer yourself? Are you going to sell these women?" Rurik poked his head. He originally thought this transaction was okay, but then he thought it was not.
"no!"
"Ah? You don't plan to buy it?"
"No." Rurik cleared his throat. Since there were many precedents, he reiterated: "You have no right to take all the loot. Your behavior is an armed robbery that I support, whether it is at sea or on land.
, you must donate half of your contribution to me for this kind of behavior. This is what Siput and his guys did, and you must do it too. I will not create special cases to break the rules. If I handle it this way, others will have absolutely nothing to say.
Tell me. What do you think? Besides, the Ludi people are planning to surrender, so you shouldn’t take things too far."
The leader of the bear hunters felt as if he had eaten a fly, but he could not say that the prince was mean. He even felt that the prince's behavior was too fair and disciplined.
"So how much can I get if..."
"Take the deer, these women..." Rurik thought for a while, "I saw them, they are all fifty, and half of them are mine. Let's do this, each of them will pay twenty silver coins, and I will have a total of
I’ll give you ten pounds of silver. The deer is all yours, I don’t want it anymore.”
At least there was no loss in the transaction, and the bear hunter leader was reluctant to accept the deal.
They talked to each other in Norse, but the Lydians could not understand a word.
Then, Rurik began to speak in words that the female leader could understand.
"The female leader of the Ludi people! I! am the greatest leader of Rus! Are you planning to take your people to be my servants?"
The female leader was shocked. She couldn't believe her ears. This tall, strong man with blond hair actually said something she could basically understand.
Her mouth trembled and she had nothing to say for a moment.
Rurik asked again, and then he managed to squeeze out some words from her.
"I am the leader... We Ludi people intend to be your servants. We sacrificed deer and women, and we only asked for your mercy. We... do not want to be killed by you."
The words were simple and unembellished. Rurik heard the old lady's cautiousness, as well as her humble and fearful attitude.
"Are you afraid that I will raise my troops and kill you?" Rurik pointed out with a serious face: "The master will not kill loyal slaves. The tribes that serve me have all got a good life. Female leader, you donate your daughter
I highly appreciate your behavior, and I believe your servant is genuine."
Hearing this, the female leader was overjoyed, and her tense nerves were slightly relieved. She continued: "You can speak our language, this must be fate. You are our master, and these women are all given to you for your enjoyment."
"Forget it." Rurik wanted to laugh but couldn't, and asked again: "How many of you are there? With so many women, wouldn't you be greatly damaged?"
Naturally, the female leader did not dare to describe her pain truthfully. This time, she first described how Lüdi originally had more than a thousand people, but a hundred were killed by Ross hunters in one battle. As for taking out the woman, she was really willing to do so.
"Let me tell you. You are by no means willing. You just hope to exchange women for peace, which is like using tribal women to buy the kindness of the Karelia people." Rurik's words were to the point, and the female leader had nothing to say.
"But, I am not a Karelian. Your women are not my slaves." Rurik continued.
There was no need to say any more words to the female leader. Rurik saw all the trembling Ludi girls and announced that they were all going to die: "You! You all need a man! You will go to the south, and each of you will get a husband. From now on.
From now on, you are no longer Ludi people, nor are you slaves, you will become new Russian women!"
The women still didn't know what this meant. They saw the female leader lying on the ground and crying gratefully. The female leader believed in the promise of the Prince of Russia that they could marry the Russians and live a safe life. They were indeed not slaves.
Rurik made a good calculation in his mind. It is said that many Slavic men in the south are not yet married. The current situation forces them not to be picky. It does not matter whether the wife has black hair or yellow hair, it is enough that she is a young woman.
Rurik decided to finally sell them conditionally. Slavic men who came to buy wives must be young and unmarried, must be healthy, must be registered grain tax payers, and must pay one pound of silver coins or one thousand pounds of wheat at one time.
Rurik wants to turn this into a scissor gap. A young, powerful and hard-working Slavic farmer can definitely get a wife with this money. If he can't get it in a short time, relatives and friends can just borrow it from each other. And what Rurik got
However, the accumulated 50,000 pounds of farmers' grain surplus can just alleviate the consumption of supplies.
The Ludi people were too weak, and the female leader's act of dedication was too sincere. As a monarch, Rurik felt relieved, but he did not indulge.
It's like arranging for Terravis, the Corvin man, to be the leader of the Vips tribe and be granted the title of earl. Perhaps a similar drama can be repeated among the Ludi people?
That’s it for now.
Rurik directly assigned: "You! Female leader! I want you to continue to be the leader of Ludi. You are indeed old. You can appoint a new heir before your death. But it must be confirmed by me. At the same time, I will give you the flag. You
The Russian flag must fly in every village. You will donate fifty reindeer to me every year, and that will be enough."
To be honest, the amount of tribute was much lower than that demanded by the Karelia people, not to mention that Rus was obviously extremely powerful.
Rurik also granted Rudy trade rights, but Rus hunters can also enter Rudy's territory.
Those who kill will be killed, those who steal will have their hands chopped off, and those who verbally abuse will be slapped. Rurik has three chapters of the agreement. If the Ludi people are harmed, the leader can come to New Roseburg in the west of the lake to complain to the governor.
Now, Rudy has been legally integrated into Ross and placed under the jurisdiction of the Governorate of New Rossburg.
The female leader Lu Di was grateful. She didn't think Prince Rus was hateful at first, but now she feels more and more comfortable looking at this tall, young man.
Since the Ludi people lived in the east of the lake, Rurik took this opportunity to make a surprise inquiry: "Do you know the situation in the east? Are there any Karelia people there? It seems that you have taken some in, are there more?
?”
"Yes!" The alert female leader immediately discovered that this was another opportunity.
"Where?"
"Further east, there is a large lake. The Karelians and some Perm people are rebuilding their camp."
"How many of them are there?"
"At least...two thousand people." The female leader didn't actually know, so she just said it casually.
Rurik nodded and figured out a plan. He felt uncomfortable thinking about the Karelian forces now, just like it was difficult to remove the diseased athlete's foot, and it was time to cut it again.
Of course, Karelia itself is not guilty. But there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and Russia does not allow trespassers to exist!