The Great Temple of Uppsala has welcomed a new priest, and many of the artifacts that originally belonged to the temple have been returned to their places.
The old group of priests who could not figure out the situation until their death actually gained dignity after their death.
The reason for their death is very simple. The Kingdom of Rus does not need this group of old forces that hinder the ruling power. If they were ordinary people, it would be fine to drive them away. However, they have held the power of belief for a long time and have the right to explain "What is Odin?"
”, so Rurik’s job as the monarch is to help them meet Odin in advance.
The corpses were collected and piled together, covered with large amounts of pine wood and burned, and the final ashes were buried in the ground.
King Rurik showed his ruthless side to all the Swedish nobles. In the eyes of the nobles, it was not that the king did not choose human sacrifice when he ascended the throne, but that he did more outrageous things than all previous Swedish kings.
Because of those human sacrifices, a group of priests!
The attitude of the nobles towards the king became quite subtle. Those nobles from small tribes who had unlimited friendly illusions towards Rurik had to carefully consider their future behavior. If they offended the king, they would definitely be killed.
disaster.
The current Uppsala temple does not satisfy Rurik. The temple will be demolished and rebuilt, but not now.
This temple can still be used for a few more years, and it still has the value of reinforcement and improvement.
Local Uppsala people came to work. They carved wood and made precision relief panels to add beauty to the temple building.
The wooden platform in front of the sacred tree has also been preserved. Although the statues in the shrine have been removed, the shrine itself must also be preserved.
The high priest designated by the king brought a new ritual, and a group of lower-level female priests were selected in the village of Uppsala. The high priest of Rus, Rumia, accompanied the Uppsala priest Lumi to do this.
, the recruitment of female priests has achieved unprecedented success. No matter what the purpose is, there are not a few families who are willing to push their daughters to be priests. A team of twenty lower-level priests has been quickly recruited, and it happens that there is now a very abundant supply of priests.
Leave some time to Lumia, who knows the rituals best, to teach them personally.
The core task of so-called instruction is to tell them which god is the greatest and most praiseworthy.
That is Odin, King of the Gods!
In the huge Rus' kingdom, although Slavs have the largest population, North Germanic peoples such as Sweden and Rus also have tens of thousands of people. The Rus have the highest power in the country, so the gods and customary culture that the Rus believe in are also strong.
And all Swedes and Russians are highly consistent in belief and culture. Therefore, both Slavs and Finns must respect the beliefs and culture of Russia.
The multiple ethnic groups in Russia are a national group that was forcibly formed by the strong force of the Russian army. They have different languages and living habits, so they must maintain the unity of the entire group with the same beliefs. Through continuous marriage and mixed blood, they create
A stable existence.
Everyone must believe that the greatest god is Odin! This is unquestionable in the western Swedish world. The problem is that various tribes in the Swedish world have different understandings of sacrificial rituals, and the Kingdom of Rus must determine a unified set of rituals.
"Sacrifice" has not yet been written into an explicit code, but the conditions for establishing a unified sacrificial ceremony have been met and are being implemented.
In fact, only the young John Invar, who was canonized as "Bishop of Rus", and the "Northern Saint" Eskil, who became abusive because of the unfair treatment, were aware of Rurik's move.
Ross is imitating Catholicism.
The high priest of the capital corresponds to the pope, and the local high priest corresponds to the archbishop of the diocese. The subordinate priests next to the high priest correspond to the subordinate priests.
The current Kingdom of Rus de jure controls a huge territory. The population is indeed highly concentrated in a few areas, and the total population is not large. Several large temples with some small temples attached can help Odin's traditional belief spread throughout the country.
and operation.
The mythological stories about Northern Europe are already being sorted and published, but it will take time before they are compiled into a book called "Odin Saga".
Today, the faith of God is still difficult to spread in Denmark. With the spread of this faith in the more northern world, Rurik is convinced that because he viciously humiliated "Saint Esquier" twice, Frank will not send any more priests to the north to ask for trouble in the short term.
Eat. This leaves enough time for the Kingdom of Rus. Within a few years, the kingdom’s temple system based on the belief in Odin in Norse mythology will be completed. Along with the education of children, the kingdom’s beliefs
will be stabilized, and then it will be up to the descendants to defend their rights and qualifications as Odin's warriors.
Before the three statues of gods in the central temple of Uppsala were returned to their places, Rurik ordered a raid to repair them.
The three statues represent Odin, the sun and the earth, but the statue must have a completely new meaning. Among them, the Odin statue was poured with a layer of gold water. For this layer of gold plating, Rurik also used a lot of gold coin inventory. The other two
The bronze statue was poured with silver water, so that it was clearly different from the statue of the main god Odin, and the distinction between high and low was clear at a glance.
The temple was paved with solid wooden boards, and the floor was polished very smooth. A square table was specially erected in the temple. Gold and silver plates, bronze lamps and other utensils were always placed on it, and the sacrifices were always placed.
Other rooms in the temple have also been improved, and dormitories, kitchens and toilets have been opened. The newly recruited priestesses will live here and start a new life.
They are all unmarried girls who will continue to work in the temple until they are at least twenty years old, and then "retire". During this period, they are not allowed to have relationships with men, and the only thing in their lives is to worship the gods.
Originally, priests held this position and remained priests for the rest of their lives.
Rurik established a new system many years ago when he organized a new team of priests of the Principality of Rus. The candidates for the lower-level priests must be pure girls, and they can return to secular life after working for a few years. In this way, the priest team can always maintain
Metabolism can also ensure that the priests will not form a group that is too big to compete with the king for power. In any case, this generation of high priests is a wife of the king, and the next high priest is the king's eldest daughter. The future high priests
, and must have a blood relationship with the king.
Can this system last forever? Of course, if any system is implemented for hundreds of years, big problems will arise. For the current Rus, Rurik needs the high priest to give a mythical explanation of his royal power. As a king, he must also ensure that he is "
The belief in "Odin's spokesman placed in the world" is stable.
Repairing the Great Temple of Uppsala and establishing the local priest system are the first things Rurik must do when he is currently stationed in Sweden.
Another important event was the convening of a general meeting of the Swedish nobility.
The venue of the meeting was not in the temple, nor in the mansion of the Governor of Uppsala, nor in the meeting hall in the village of Uppsala.
The Ross garrison built a castle-like military camp. After becoming king, Rurik moved all the Ross nobles to live here.
The parliamentary chamber made of pine wood, which serves as the local "Russian Duma", is a long and narrow house standing on a large number of wooden piles.
Now all the wooden windows on both sides of the longhouse were opened, and many Swedish nobles entered. They had just seen the assembly of the mighty Russian army, were impressed by its power, and were also worried about the upcoming meeting.
They sat next to each other on the wooden benches placed by the window. There were no hierarchical wooden chair seats, and the nobles could sit on their own.
There are a total of twenty-five Swedish tribes in the Swedish region or the Meilaren region. In addition to the giant Meilaren, there are three tribes of thousands of people: Onkras, Uppsala and Hjälmälren.
, the others are all villages with a population of three to four hundred people, or even micro-villages with a population of more than a hundred people.
At that time, Olegin refused to be the leader of the alliance and insisted on becoming king. In order to show that he was used by a large number of nobles, he made a fuss about it. He was really a cat and a dog. He didn't have many soldiers. This kind of miniature chief could give a duke (Princip)
title.
In fact, according to the custom of the Frankish Kingdom, baron titles are enough for most of the nobles here, and it is even more appropriate to give some people knight titles.
Rurik was too lazy to confer a second title, and kept a large group of dukes with famous names and shabby people who looked like jokes. They were also a check and balance to Bjorn, Duke of Mälaren who abdicated and was demoted.
A tall, strong young man was walking steadily in front of the Swedish nobles. He was none other than King Rurik.
Her golden hair is tied into a golden ponytail, and a golden laurel crown is placed on her head.
He was very high-spirited and ordered all the Dukes to listen attentively to the decree he announced, and they were free to ask any questions after the announcement.
Of course, some propaganda will hurt the interests of some vested interests. Since I am the king, I can't help it.
Rurik knew that the nobles were worried about the issue of tribute to the new king. The tribute was not a big issue, but the ownership of a special area became very delicate.
"Port of Birka! This was originally the market of the Mellaren tribe. The abdicated king Bjorn named it after himself. But now that I am the new king, I have the right to make decisions about this market.
!I want to change his name!”
It seems that Rurik wants to name it after herself, such as "Rurik"? No! There is a more appropriate name for her.
Bjorn was very nervous at this moment. He still felt that he had been humiliated and was waiting uncomfortably for Rurik to announce the new name of the market.
“Let’s call it Stockholm!”
This name? Why is it called this name? If it is this name, doesn’t it have nothing to do with Rurik himself?
The nobles stuck their heads and continued to listen to the king's arrangements.
Birka was renamed Stockholm, which indeed has Rurik's bad taste factor. But the new name is by no means exchanged. It is a mixture of the words stock and holm. Because Birka itself is close to the mouth of Lake Mälaren,
With the development of the city, Stockholm in another dimension has covered a huge area with a radius of thirty kilometers with the Mälaren Estuary as the center. The city of Stockholm has completely covered the old Birka, and to a large extent it is the new city.
to the old town.
The new name is neutral, and its meaning is very simple. It is exactly the "material distribution center in the coastal lowlands", which is very consistent with the fact that it is the largest trading point in the Ring of Malaren region.
Originally, the nobles were dissatisfied with Bjorn's renaming of the market. The new king gave the new name "Stockholm", and now everyone had nothing to say.
Rurik explained the meaning of her name, and then asked about everyone's attitude. Seeing that many nobles were satisfied, they even asked Bjorn's attitude specifically.
"You ask me what I think? Of course I support it."
Bjorn did keep saying his support, and the pain in his words was obvious.
So, Rurik decided to make him even more unhappy.
"I am very happy that you all support changing the name to Stockholm. Although this port has long belonged to Mälaren, but I became the king, she is mine! The port of Stockholm is the city of my king, and I support all of you nobles to do business
.I have unlimited expectations for you to row your boat and arrive safely with your goods. In fact, I know what you are most worried about. Don’t worry about anything. The brand new Stockholm welcomes all Swedish businessmen. I can assure you that this is a
A tax-free city!”
Tax-free? King Rurik’s intention is very clear. If you come to Stockholm to do business, you will be completely tax-free in the future?! You won’t have to pay tribute to the Mellaren people anymore? That’s a great thing.
Losing control of Birka Market or Stockholm means that the people of Malaren have lost an income. Bjorn himself is the Duke of Malaren recognized by Rurik. There is no need to worry about the power he has, which is the loss of it.
After losing control of the largest trading port, the wealth in his pocket was much reduced. If he hesitated to declare Rurik's absolute rule over the port, would it mean that he would have to pay taxes to the king?
Paying tribute, or tax, to the king was something that all nobles were extremely worried about.
Rurik repeatedly emphasized that Stockholm would be a tax-free city, or that it would only be tax-free for all merchants affiliated with the Rus Kingdom.
To develop the economy and trade of a port, the tax-free privileges were conducive to economic development in the early days. The top priority now is to attract businessmen from all over Sweden and encourage them to build shops. As for tax collection, it will take a few years.
Let's do it later. As the saying goes, if you want to cut the sheep, you should at least wait until the lamb grows up before using the shears.
The Port of Birka has been controlled by the Mälarens for a long time, and the only tax-free privileges are Ross Shops. The situation must change, and the renamed Stockholm Port must be a commercial city with firepower.
Then the topic of "tax-free" concept opened up, Rurik no longer waited, and used this as a breakthrough to announce his major decree.
He looked around, then walked in the corridor of the long house in front of all the nobles and preached: "Everyone, you are all Swedish nobles. You are all concerned about whether to pay tribute to me and how much tribute to pay. I am the king of mercy.
I declare that all of you do not have to pay any tribute to me within ten years! Remember! Within ten years, your tribute will be completely tax-free! After ten years, it will all depend on my wishes whether I will collect tribute from you.
I swear to Odin that I will not accept even a copper coin or a grain of oat from you as tribute within ten years."
As soon as these words came out, more than a dozen dukes from extremely shabby small tribes stood up with great joy, then raised their hands high and knelt down excitedly, covering their hearts and shouting: "Your Majesty is so wise! Your rule will last forever.
Save." Similar praises came out one after another, and more nobles also joined in kneeling.
Bjorn, who was confused by the incident, was speechless. Seeing that even Ungreef of Unclas, who had a white beard, knelt down happily, he just knelt down on one knee and saluted.
The whole scene made Rurik want to laugh out loud. As expected, talking about money hurts feelings. As long as money is not talked about, they are good brothers.
In fact, there was one person who was holding back his words, even about to state a very important matter, and even issued a clear warning of crisis to Rurik.
This man was Longstall, the actual ruler of the Yelmalon tribe. He never imagined that King Rurik could beat his chest and swear to Odin that he would not want tribute from the nobles within ten years. Is Rurik
Is he really going to implement his oath like this? He cautiously held a wait-and-see attitude, but after witnessing the huge spectacle caused by the new king's ascension to the throne, he was willing to believe in Rurik's promise.
As a smart man, Longstall felt that Rurik was a good man, but not a purely good man. The past two kings, Olegin and Karl, could be said to have required tribute from the tribes who surrendered because of their aggressive military behavior. Compared with
The abdication of Jon as king was illegal, and the tribes did not dare to object openly, so they stopped paying tribute, and did not even go to Birka to do business, and directly went to the Russian Tombstone Island in the ocean to trade.
He also felt that Rurik did not collect taxes, largely because he felt that Ross could not make much money in Sweden. If he took a step back and declared tax exemption, wouldn't he be able to gain a good reputation.
Other nobles were more simple-minded and were happy to hear that they would be exempt from tax for ten years.
Longstall is indeed a smart man. He guessed part of Rurik's thoughts. What's the essence? There are no trade barriers in Sweden at all. It is one-way and transparent to Russia. The economic entities are in the Eastern Baltic Sea and the kingdoms further east.
The Principality of Ross has extremely strong economic strength. Compared with the benefits of tax collection, Ross can continue to suck blood from the Lake Mälaren region in Sweden with its annual trade surplus. After all, this secret blood sucking has been going on for almost ten years.
Whether to collect taxes or not does not have much economic significance, but has the greatest political significance.
But if a strict tax system is really implemented, it will also mean that Rus directly rules the Swedish region. This governance cost is too high for the current kingdom. The most cost-effective way at present is economic control. As long as the nobles declare their loyalty to
It is enough that the king is willing to do business year after year and allows the king's troops to travel freely in his territory.
Originally, the many big families of the Mellaren tribe wanted to share a share of the tax profits from the Birka Market. The Bjorn family took the largest share before they abdicated. It is also beneficial for the renamed Stockholm Port to be completely tax-free.
, so that Bjorn himself no longer even needs to maintain a security force in the port area, and his family only needs to focus on doing business.
In the past, part of the tax revenue from Birka Market was used to maintain the stability of the port area and hire patrols. Even if the name is changed, Stockholm's patrol system will still be retained, and even the person in charge of the city or the governor must
reserve.
The nobles strongly supported the tax-free policy, and each one of them pointed out with all their heart that they would bring the newly harvested grain to Stockholm for trade this autumn.
In this way, the next appointment will be a matter of course.
Rurik solemnly appointed Snoleva Gouldson, also known as the Russian businessman nicknamed White Fox. This fat man was an old acquaintance of many nobles. This man succeeded his father Gould and inherited the island of Gould.
He was ordered to take root in Lake Malaren to do business. The nobles had long known this.
White Fox is a real person who sticks to his old ways. He cannot dare to rush to the Alps and drift on the Danube River for a while like his younger brother Blue Fox, or even transform into a businessman who is good at fighting.
If it weren't for the fact that his face was slightly different from his father's, he would be the businessman Gould from twenty years ago. Ungreave of Unclas knew this best. For emotional reasons, Angreef wanted the fat man of the white fox to do the job.
Even better, after all, the guy's ancestral home is from Onklas. And Bjorn married his youngest daughter to the white fox and made him a concubine. Although he lost control of Stockholm's financial power, he could still rely on his in-laws to provide him with
Make profit.
Bai Hu was appointed as the governor of Stockholm City, with the authority to train garrison troops to maintain public security and commercial order, and even arbitrate commercial disputes. At the same time, he was still the only designated big businessman placed by the king in Sweden to oversee the royal family's business in Sweden.
As for Ross's Shop, which has been repaired in a very grand manner, it is indeed a large shop. But the fortress on Gould Island has suddenly become the Governor's Palace, and the guards recruited have suddenly become the Stockholm garrison. In a sense, it is the remaining