Chapter 834 When the super order hits Rurik's forehead
Rurik wanted to spend the winter in Novorosberg, but a reindeer sleigh from Novgorod rushed into the city.
The messenger brought a piece of important news, and he made a big noise when he entered the city, forcing the patrol soldiers to capture it directly.
The messenger asked to see Prince Rurik in person immediately and handed him a piece of good news.
"There's good news? Let this person see me quickly!"
After all, he is a messenger from the south. If there is no big event, there will be no sleigh coming in the dust. What else can be big? Could it be that one of our own people accidentally dug up gold while digging a hole?
The hall of the old palace was filled with oil lamps, and the many bear heads under the lamps looked very ferocious.
Receiving an envoy does not require many people to watch. As for Rurik himself, he quickly accompanied his wife after hearing the so-called good news. In fact, because Svetlana's belly was already very heavy, it was already January 839.
Her due date fell into this month, even though she could still give birth to the baby. It was at this time that she needed her husband to be by her side the most.
Rurik sat tall and wrapped himself in a bearskin, crossing his legs casually and yawning inadvertently.
The closed wooden door opened a crack, and when the thickly wrapped messenger entered the room with documents, the guard hurriedly closed the door again.
The messenger hurriedly knelt down in front of the prince, without any politeness or sloppiness, and bluntly stated the major event he wanted to report: "Your Majesty, your old friends the Pechenegs are here again. They want to trade with you, and this is the place.
A letter written by their leader Kagan."
"It's Kagan?!" Rurik stood up with great joy. Without thinking too much, he walked up and grabbed the letter that the envoy was holding in his hands.
The cardboard is rolled into a tube and tied with a twine.
Rurik found an oil lamp nearby, unwrapped the hemp rope and read the text carefully.
The full text of the letter was written in Roman alphabetized Norse. The ghostwriter identified himself, but looking at the rather graceful and elegant handwriting, Rurik also guessed that it was his concubine Ella Hestu.
Written by Leah.
The letter contains greetings from Prince Kagan of Pecheneg as a brother, an explanation of his current situation, and the organization of a Pecheneg-Kiev joint business group with local residents of Kiev.
The rest of the content is extremely pragmatic.
Kagan's description is very realistic: "We can sell six hundred skin horses, as well as a batch of cheese, honey, recurve bows, etc. We need a lot of salt, iron spears, iron axes, iron horseshoes, leather boots, and leather hats from you.
,gem……"
Even after uniting with the Kiev people, Kagan's description of the types of goods he brought was still too narrow, but the Russian goods he hoped to trade were really diverse.
They emphasized the need for a large amount of salt and crossbows, as well as other iron tools, leather products and gems, and were willing to spend a lot of money to buy a lot of them.
The detailed content really required Rurik to sit down and think about it.
No! This matter has become complicated, just because Kagan described that the business group brought a large number of horses, and even though they will be sold, there are still a lot of horses. The remaining horses will simply take on the work of pack mules, relying on the horseback to forcibly
The purchased goods are brought back to their hometown.
Rurik had already seen some of the doorways clearly, and he slapped his thighs happily: "Haha! Kagan is such a good guy! I was worried that no one would buy my goods, but some friendly countries from outside came to buy the goods in person, Kagan, what can you do?
Helped me solve a big problem.”
The prince was so happy that the guards also laughed.
The messenger's frozen face cracked into a smile.
Rurik rolled up the letter again and put the transaction aside for the time being. Since the envoy from the south was in front of him, he could just hear about the situation there.
"You have made a great contribution." Rurik pointed at the envoy's face, his smile still on his face: "A brother from the First Flag Team?"
"Reporting to the prince, I am a replacement soldier of the first flag team."
"May I have your name."
"Fodenmat Skånarsson."
"He is an ice and snow warrior. Now tell me, how is the wind and snow in the south? Is it like the catastrophic snow here in the capital?"
The messenger Fudenmatt reported truthfully: "The situation in the south is just as bad as here. Some people's houses were crushed and some people died. The city of Novgorod did not suffer any disaster, but some Slavs were affected. The governor has sent people to help.
Already."
The envoy's answer was as expected, but Rurik did not believe that Governor Medvet would provide such reliable relief.
It was Medved who led the army into the forest during the warm period, uncovered as many farms as there were hidden in them, and forcibly moved the people to the shores of Lake Ilmen.
Although Lake Ilmen is not as good as the huge Lake Mälaren and Lake Ladoga, it is low enough and has many rivers flowing into it. The area around the lake is generally fertile. However, due to the absolute lack of population,
As a result, development has been extremely limited.
What good intentions can Medvet have? Those who are unwilling to move will go to war directly, and those who are willing to leave must evacuate within a time limit. They are obviously of the Slavine ethnic group, and their ancestors came north from the Smolensk region.
The people here have divided into completely different classes. Medved is a Slav, but he has also been promoted to the top nobleman of the Rus Principality. How can he care about a group of forest savages who are of the same race and different races.
It was precisely this group of people who had recently moved to the area around the lake to start a new life that were hit hard by the snowstorm in the first winter after moving.
Of course, even if this group of people hides in their hometown in the forest, a snowstorm will still kill many people. After moving to the lakeside, a large number of micro villages consisting of only a few dozen people were merged into settlements of hundreds of people, and then given a number
Village chiefs are elected to facilitate administration and tax collection. They have more or less care, and they can help each other when there are more people.
Although the envoy received some information, he also pointed out that Medved's handling method was nothing more than resettling the refugees to ensure that the victims would not freeze to death and starve to death.
Finally, the deceased was taken directly to the public cemetery. According to Slavic etiquette, a big hole was dug, and the body was wrapped in linen and buried directly.
Medved would only take care of the aftermath of the disaster for the people in the area under his control. As for the farms managed by the native nobles, natural disasters were a test for them, and the Principality of Ross had no energy to help them.
Novgorod is safe, Mstisk is safe, Youth City is safe, and Novostar is safe.
The houses built in the four large settlements in the south were very sturdy, and no buildings in the city collapsed. Although the people's lives were severely disrupted by the snowstorm, life continued as usual.
The messenger also solemnly mentioned the Hanukkah ceremony held in Novgorod. A fire tower was lit as a traditional festival item. Although the prince himself did not participate, the old Duke Otto dragged his aging body to personally participate. The people celebrating the festival in the south
The atmosphere seemed to be as lively as in the north, with a group of Pecheneg warriors participating in the festival, singing and dancing.
No, the messenger was particularly deadly. When the Slavs danced collectively around the fire tower, the Pechenegs also actively danced their dance.
Because the winter solstice is a grand festival for everyone throughout the year.
The messenger spoke very truthfully: "I saw that the old Duke praised the prairie man Kagan as a very good dancer and a warrior who dared to fight the ice and snow. Those prairie people were all praised by everyone."
The Russians or other Viking tribes all admire brave people. Looking at the vast grassland like the sea, such a landscape is unimaginable for the Russians. If the Russians are already in the north,
The seal hunting settlement of Murmansk was established at the end, so the Pechenegs may live at the southern end.
Kagan's men also revealed a clear message to all the Vikings in the south - Pecheneg can contact Rome and they are already bordering each other.
Rome? This concept has always existed in the memory of the Ross tribe. It is an illusory concept, seeming to be a great country that has passed away, or a country that exists in another world.
Fantasy things are gradually becoming real.
Rurik was extremely satisfied with the envoy's report. He waved his hand and said, "Go down and have a rest. I'll give you a hot bath and a delicious meal. After a good rest, I will go to Novgorod myself someday."
This matter was very important. When he thought that he could get 500 to 600 good horses at once, Rurik simply found a separate room, where he roared and laughed so wildly that the guards thought that his master had lost his horse.
Crazy.
But when the closed door opened, the nervous guards saw the prince who was in high spirits after venting his anger.
"Hey. What are you looking at me for? I'm not stupid. Oh, by the way." Rurik thought for a while and decided to do nothing else: "You immediately send me an order to invite some important people. Tonight I will
There’s a meeting in the Rus Duma!”
The messenger who delivered the message finally enjoyed peace and comfort. His hair was soaked, and he drank mead, ate grilled fish, and even tasted the tiramisu cake, which was a special gift from the prince.
This envoy named Fodenmatt is quite young, and he is now old enough to join the first flag team later this year. But Rurik attaches more importance to this guy who dared to ignore the snowstorm, control the sled and run wildly for ten days, and then
Being so bold, he did not hesitate to think of that guy Spyut.
Unfortunately, because his age is stuck at an awkward stage, Fodenmatt is not qualified to join the youth unit that Rurik trained many years ago. In other words, people like Fodenmatt are already the last batch of warriors from the old era of the Ross tribe.
After him, the Principality of Ross ushered in a new generation mainly composed of mixed-race people.
Many people received the invitation from the prince to attend the meeting. Even though it was cold, it was very abrupt to convene the Duma meeting. No one dared to refuse after the prince issued an urgent order.
The venue was first crowded with people. After they looked at each other's identities, they all speculated about the prince's intentions.
Look who are the people here? They are all craftsmen doing various handicrafts, as well as a group of merchants. They are even all the Swedish nobles and their envoys who are visiting here.
Bjorn just wanted to sleep, but he was unexpectedly invited by Rurik, who was said to be announcing something important.
What else can that kid announce after he gets the throne of Sweden? Look here again, why are craftsmen worshiping the god Thor everywhere? Shouldn't there be a group of warriors sitting there?
Rurik deliberately arrived a little late, leaving enough time for them to talk.
When he entered Rusdouma in search of the noise, the brightly lit and warm long room instantly became quiet.
He stood on the podium and looked at his current posture as if he was giving a class to a large group of people.
"You all accepted my invitation, very good! I won't waste my words, you just need to listen quietly."
Bjorn saw that Prince Rus had no intention of having any discussion here. Only Rurik was eloquent in the audience, but the content of his explanation was too exciting.
Up to six hundred horses? Can the Principality of Rus get so many horses at once through a trade with the grassland people?
People at the venue who had some knowledge of the principality's strength could make an optimistic estimate and estimate that as long as this transaction is completed, the principality can raise a total of 1,000 rideable horses. Last summer, the army made a temporary expedition to Denmark, but in Denmark
The capital city was severely beaten by Danish cavalry. At the cost of blood, all wise people in Russia realized the necessary value of cavalry.
But each riding horse is expensive. The cheapest one is five pounds of silver coins, and the mare is definitely ten pounds of silver coins.
Based on the previous trade experience, the prairie people would definitely bring in mares in large quantities in order to maximize their profits, so Ross would pay up to six thousand pounds of silver coins to purchase them.
When Rurik calculated the price with his fingers, everyone in the audience held their breath. A huge stone weighed on their hearts. Everyone was shocked by this terrifying figure.
Although there are opportunities for bargaining, the final total price is still a huge number.
"We have to do this deal! Even though the price is outrageous, I can still afford it!" Rurik deliberately raised his voice just to let King Bjorn and other Swedish nobles and envoys present hear it well. He took advantage of this.
The opportunity proves two things to the nobles of the old world: first, the Principality of Rus can afford an absurdly large amount of money. Second, the Principality has a trade ally from the far south.
Rurik took the opportunity to show off his muscles to the Swedish nobles, and at the same time sent an invitation to Bjorn and others - to go to the Rus' Lake Ilmen to see how it is connected to Lake Mälaren.
How many similarities and differences.
To purchase all the horses, Ross must come up with goods of the same price, because what the other party wants is not inedible silver coins, but real supplies.
Salt and iron are Ross' most valuable products.
In addition, processing complex leather products is the most traditional skill of the Russian people. Now, combined with the tailoring skills of the Slavs, the combination of the two has made the tailoring handicraft industry more and more developed.
"Helaphid, I'm glad you brought a huge amount of salt from your hometown. I'll cover all your salt!"
"Kamne, take your people and work hard to forge sword embryos, spearheads and horseshoes for me."
"Aric, how much leather do you have left that you haven't sold? I bought it all."
…
Even for some merchants whom Rurik could not remember clearly, Rurik asked them to sell all their goods at market prices.
To this end, the Principality of Ross will use the power of the national treasury to raise supplies and seize the time to create more flagship products.
This makes it even more obvious that salt has a very high premium. Rurik decided to raise the price of salt. While selling a large amount of salt to the Pecheneg people, the price must rise. At the same time, even in winter, people continued to start digging.
Ice is taken from seawater, even though the salinity of the Gulf of Finland seawater is too low, the principality forcibly produces salt to increase the amount of goods trafficked.
According to the market price set by the emperor, one pound of salt is equal to one hundred pounds of oats. After conversion, we get the official price of one pound of silver coins for ten pounds of salt. In fact, the price of salt has always been very high, but the Nordic people live in cold areas and must eat sea fish.
With some salt intake and lack of opportunities to sweat a lot, the high price of salt has always been affordable for the public.
But for grassland people like the Pechenegs, there are too few opportunities to obtain salt, especially due to the geopolitical pressure they are facing today. The only person who can help them sell salt on a large scale is the distant Rus, a benevolent force.
One hundred pounds of salt can buy a mare, and fifty pounds of salt can buy a stallion. Rurik estimated this price and asked his slaves to go all out.
Kamnier and the more than one hundred official "iron slaves" he manages will provide a large number of key iron products.
The price of a carbon steel sword must increase. There is no time to sharpen it, so it can be shipped directly after being built. A semi-finished steel sword sells for one pound of silver coins. As for installing the wooden hilt and sword tandem, it is not easy to wear it.
The Cheneg people can do whatever they want.
Horseshoes also need to be made in batches, and the price can be lower. After the wrought iron is shaped, it is carburized and quenched at low temperature.
Carpenters all over the city cannot be idle. They make the wooden parts of crossbows. The remaining counters are crossbows made of bronze castings mass-produced by the state-owned blacksmith shop. Rurik actually knew very well that Kagan was purchasing crossbows in large quantities in his letters.
The purpose of the bow.
They simply bought it and dismantled it immediately. Even if the Pechenegs couldn't figure out the fine structures such as the crossbow and the paddle latch, they could quickly disassemble the short wooden bow and install the recurve bow. There was no need for Ross to do it.
Install a short wooden bow, directly make a crossbow body and shoulder stock with a crossbow system, and then pack it up. The Pechenegs can do whatever they want with the rest. But after all, this is a powerful weapon of the Russians, even if it is a monkey version.
If the weapons of the prairie people and demons are modified into "human versions", then the price will also rise sharply!
The prices of goods sold to the Pechenegs and Kievs have all increased, and since they also ask for Rus’ unique glass beads and amber, this is an opportunity to widen the gap and make money!
What's more, the Russians not only have amber, but also lapis lazuli. These gems are difficult for the grassland people to obtain.
Who is Kagan? But he is destined to be the next Khan of Pecheneg. This person will definitely find ways to show his power. He needs a mighty army to control the situation, and he also needs gems and gorgeous clothes to show his extraordinaryness. This requires
Nordic gems, gold, and precious leathers are used to decorate this extraordinary thing, and his guards must be different. Rurik did not hesitate to focus on polar bear skins, brown bear skins, ferret skins, and forest cat skins.
, and even the head of a ferocious bear with its brains removed.
Rurik even wanted to remove all the bear heads used for decoration in his old palace and sell them all to the Pechenegs.
It's still not necessary.
He has already made plans. Throughout January, Fort New Rose will unite with the Finns, Vips, and Rudy people not far away, as well as the stronghold of Xiongji Town far north of the Great Lakes. All the people will use various methods to obtain high-value
goods, and organized a sleigh team in February to transport goods of staggering value to Novgorod to complete national trade with the steppe people.