Chapter 861 It is important to Stockholm without them
Late at night, some people holding torches were running through the quiet winding streets of Stockholm. They were walking in a hurry but could not hide the sleepiness on their faces.
Nowadays, Bjorn is no longer the king, but the new king Rurik still gave him a lot of face. For example, his family occupied the residence of the earliest rulers, the Olegin family, and Rurik did not pursue this matter.
Not being a king reduces a lot of disputes, and while he loses the right to freely go to war, he does not have to be responsible for the defense and security of the entire Sweden.
He found that he could be a rich man. As long as he quietly went about his business, his descendants would simply enjoy happiness.
He was not a man of great ambitions, let alone weak, and had no intention of raising a large army to attack his enemies. When he was king in the past, even though he knew that the Götalans were encroaching on the north, he had even passed through the traditional excuse and started to gnaw at the Swedish people.
When it comes to living space, his attitude is completely to wait and see.
Duke Bjorn, who had degenerated into an ordinary landed noble, would have become as unknown as before if he had not been promoted by King Rurik.
A messenger from the king arrived at the mansion overnight. He was busy having an intimate relationship with his favored slave, but Shu Shuang was suddenly interrupted.
Since it was an order from the king and the matter was so urgent that it had to be communicated overnight, there was nothing we could do.
"This Rurik...which king would summon the nobles at night?" He murmured and hurriedly changed his clothes, so that the favored slaves who were covering their bodies were waiting with peace of mind and were not allowed to sleep first. After that, he took a few followers and went straight
Ross Shops, which also serves as the Governor's Office.
During the day, King Rurik led his glorious army through the city. Bjorn knew all this. To be fair, he was envious and jealous in his heart, but when he stood by the water and looked at his face, everything was calm. A four-year-old
What qualifications does a ten-year-old guy have to compete for power with an eighteen-year-old promising leader?
He fully accepted Rurik as the new king. As for the big landed nobles in the Mellaren tribe, they easily accepted the reality. Especially when Birka was renamed Stockholm, it was simply a "ten-year tax exemption" decree.
All the big landed nobles in the tribe have huge interests. Which noble would dare to challenge the past that granted them complete tax-free privileges?
The area controlled by the Mellaren tribe is very large and quite trivial. The urban area of Stockholm is adjacent to the Great Lake. In addition to fishing villages and commercial areas, there are vast farmlands. Some of the land nobles live here, so they produce agricultural and animal husbandry products in the agricultural area.
, then transport them to the nearest commercial district and sell them, realizing a one-stop service of low-cost production, supply and marketing.
Including Bjorn, as many as ten land nobles ran wildly on the night road, heading directly to the venue provided by Rurik.
The Ross Shop is an area surrounded by wooden walls. It was the support and recognition of the Principality of Ross that led this group of land nobles to join forces to assassinate the ruler Karl. King Karl was killed and Bjorn became king. After the incident, Ross naturally gained
Due to the tax-free privileges in the market, some local people's houses were demolished, the land was expanded and warehouses were built, and the shopping area was surrounded by thick wooden walls, which was equivalent to forming an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack fortress independent of the market.
Now that Rurik of Rus has become the king, when the land nobles come here again, they will not face a warehouse, but a real military fortress, a fortress of royal power that can shock the entire Sweden.
The independent wooden room was brightly lit, the fireplace heated the house extremely warm, and the matrix of oil lamps hanging from the roof illuminated every face clearly.
Everyone saw King Rurik clearly, his face was serious and not sleepy.
There were wooden benches placed on both sides of the wooden house, and the nobles sat down casually, except for Rurik who was pacing in front of everyone.
The king had no intention of paying any courtesy and did not bother to answer the nobles' greetings.
He paced up and down with his hands behind his back and said bluntly: "Today, I was walking around the city and saw a lot of things. I know that you either watched in person or sent envoys. You must be praising the magnificence of the army. Indeed, my
The army is always like this, not only gorgeous and unstoppable. However, I noticed another group of people, those huge numbers of fishermen. I learned that these fishermen are not local farmers, they simply rely on fishing for health. They live in
Stockholm! After I issued the tax exemption order, some fishermen came over. This was a miscalculation on my part! Stockholm is not big, so is it a good thing that so many people suddenly came?"
Rurik deliberately calmed down when he said this. He squinted his eyes and looked left and right, silently asking everyone what to do.
The king's words directly hit the fishermen, and his attitude was clearly rude.
The nobles looked left and right, and the smart ones among them basically guessed what the king meant.
Probably, the king wanted to expel these fishermen, right?
Bjorn is the most noble among the nobles, and he is also the abdicated king, so he has the most say.
"King, what do you want? Could it be that you want to expel those fishermen from Biel... Stockholm?"
"Expulsion? You got half the answer right." Rurik sighed slightly and looked around deliberately, "Actually, for me, it is very important that there is no such group of fishermen in Stockholm. I think it is also necessary for you. I want to know about you
Attitude! You! How do you view the fishermen who have lived here for a long time? I want you to speak your mind."
Do you speak your mind? If you really speak your mind, will you be hit because you disagree with the king?
The nobles all looked at Bjorn, making it difficult for him to get off the stage.
"Of course I have to say this." Bjorn became fierce and raised his voice: "I personally hate those fishmongers! Their business is just fishing, and there is nothing else. If they are elsewhere,
No matter how many local fishing villages are organized in our trading ports, how many of those thieves and gangsters come from these free fishermen? I dare say nine out of ten. The fishermen in the port area are the source of all evil, like parasites
Growing on the body of cattle, they are not considered Malaren people at all. When Olegin summoned an army to attack Denmark, these fishermen ran away after hearing the news. When I was king, these people never obeyed the arrangements. Liuli
Grams, now you are the king, you can do well."
Since Governor White Fox was also present, Bjorn, who was already quite excited in his words, went one step further: "It is shameless to kill your own people, but those fish traders occupying this port is not a good thing for us merchants. If the king can disperse them all, we people
You don’t have to worry about bandits anymore.”
As soon as Bjorn finished speaking, seeing someone standing up for him, many local nobles who were big landowners and businessmen immediately began to murmur in bitterness.
Is it true that the big businessmen have been working hard for the fishmongers for a long time?
"Shut up!" Rurik spread his arms and shouted, silencing them all.
"I understand what you mean! Since we are all disgusted with those fishmongers, are you all satisfied with letting them all leave?"
"Do you really want to expel them?!" Bjorn asked again, struggling for words.
"That's natural, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to gather so late. I don't really mean to drive them away. I will move them all away from your eyes and demolish all the private buildings! When the time comes,
You can build your own shops and warehouses in the port area, and you can also build larger docks. I want to give Stockholm a peaceful trading environment, and all of you must cooperate in this matter."
"Cooperate? How should we cooperate?" When Bjorn took the lead in asking this question, it represented the full support of all nobles.
Rurik was a little worried that they would not cooperate, but now his worries are gone.
"Of course you must cooperate. I know that you now have twenty to one hundred private soldiers on hand, and many mercenaries who sell their physical strength are also working for you. If there were not always bandits, you wouldn't have the trouble to keep such
More private soldiers. I want you to assemble private soldiers to help me drive away those fishermen. Listen, my methods will be very powerful, and you must cooperate with me to complete the measures."
No one will doubt Rurik's method, and this so-called method is to form a coalition to forcefully control the free fishing village entrenched in the port area, and finally take the captured fishermen to the king, and then the king's fleet
Pull it away directly.
In fact, they know very well that the Russians have been recruiting immigrants in the Lake Mälaren area over the years. This is Rurik, who even spent his own money to help debt-ridden peasant families pay off their debts and help serfs redeem themselves. Rurik would definitely not
He was so kind that he himself became the biggest creditor, and those who were redeemed could only follow him. It is said that they were all shipped east to open up the land for Ross. The nobles did not know how the people who were forced to immigrate were living now.
Too lazy to hear the news.
The fishermen who will be surrounded are destined to be transported away. As for what Rurik will do with this group of people, who cares?
The nobles only care about their own interests!
Late at night, the king made an agreement with the local nobles of Mellaren.
Those fishing villages controlled by fishermen must be wiped off the map, and the free space will be used for city expansion. The expansion of Stockholm is inevitable, and the top priority is that the huge food delivery requires a wide space and a stable environment.
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The nobles were tightly manipulated by Rurik. The so-called large ships ordered by the tribes were anchored and floating on the lake. If you want to get it, you must complete the delivery of grain. The small Gould Island is not suitable for huge amounts of grain trade.
The trading venue is located in the former commercial street, and it seems too cramped to continue trading.
Therefore, those fishermen must leave.
Rurik's plan for the nobles was to organize their manpower throughout the day tomorrow and gather as many people as possible on the third day. He also ordered: "Bring more wooden shields and clubs. I don't want you to really
Kill them all. If you want to drive them away, try to tie them up with ropes if they resist. You just need to drive them overland to the Governor's Office. I will guard here."
It is equivalent to saying that the main task of driving away the fishermen is done by the local nobles. The smart nobles realized that the bad reputation of driving the fishermen was going to fall on themselves. What else can be done? Driving the fishermen away is good for everyone.
Rurik will not be the ultimate good guy. According to his plan, he will start moving the entire fleet tomorrow evening, block the port with the king's order, and prohibit the night fishing operations of Stockholm fishermen. The port area will start from evening
A blockade began and the port would not be reopened until the dust settled.
As for the merchant ships coming from other places during this period, they can only be trapped outside the blockade.
As the king, Rurik will take the lead in taking action, which is a reassurance for the nobles.
The plan was made and its execution began immediately.
This peaceful day seemed to be no different from other days. The majority of farmers in Mälaren were still busy harvesting oats. Some farmers who had finished harvesting first had already gone to battle with their whole families to thresh the wheat ears with their cheeks raised.
Those fishermen were not aware of the misfortune that would befall them. They fished or fished as usual to make up for the king. They did not notice that the Ross fleet had begun to move, and the troops were moving from Gould Island to the land.
The fishermen also didn't know that the big families living in the city were actually spontaneously linking up with some remote families. Even Bjorn transferred some people from his ancestral home.
The local nobles organized their manpower in their mansions, and all men who could take up arms were organized.
In principle, these people are warriors of the Melalen tribe. This time they are no longer holding sharp blades, but sticks and cables. Although many people think that driving away fishermen is meaningless, since the master who hired them is willing to pay with food, why bother?
No. The mobilized people really didn't want to kill those fishermen, but they still took care of each other and lived in Lake Malaren. Since they were just forced to move, they could be driven to the king's camp and the psychological burden would be gone.
Because all this is the arrangement of the king and the nobles.
In the afternoon, an abnormality visible to the naked eye finally occurred.
The Ross fleet lined up in a long snake formation, with the ships connected end to end and tied to each other with ropes. A circle of ships surrounded the port area. There was no exit here, and the ships could not see the gap between them except the oarsmen.
A sampan that can carry one or two people can pass through.
The fishing boat trying to pass through the gap was shot at intimidatingly by the Russian Navy's torque slingshot. Although it was still stubborn, just when it was about to pass through the gap, the ship was punched with holes by cast iron bullets, and the fishermen were fished out and captured.
As long as they were captured, they would be transported directly to Gould Island and imprisoned. The fishermen asked why, but no one told them the reason.
The entire Stockholm port was completely blocked, and the floating ships flew high the Russian flag. The landing Russian troops also set up flags outside the city.
The whole city was blocked, but that was not necessarily the case. The real traders ran away. They did not live in the city, so they took Xinruan and fled in a hurry. The strange thing was that the Russian army did not stop them.
This is actually a loophole, or a small open door that Rurik intentionally or unintentionally placed in the siege.
Those who are to be taken away are pure fishermen in the port area. If they evacuate by land, they will abandon the fishing boats and shacks on which they depend. There may be fishermen who feel the danger and run away with their families, but the vast majority of fishermen will definitely maintain a wait-and-see attitude.
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The merchants outside could not enter, and the small traders who escaped inside spread all kinds of news. No matter how bizarre the news was, the news was undeniable that King Rurik had taken control of the city.
The fishermen still didn't take it seriously, and the commercial street was completely deserted by evening.
The largest tavern in Chengli controlled by Ross used to have a large number of small businessmen come here at night to buy cheap ale and drink it, and then talk happily. Now, the tavern has closed its door because no one is interested.
The city fell into silence, and it was even quieter than before tonight.
As long as the local nobles were mobilized, their private soldiers were making final preparations. The private soldiers of all walks of life tried their best to arm themselves. Those who were capable wore chain armor, and those who were not capable wore a layer of leather as much as possible. No one used it.
Swords and battle axes were used, but sticks of different lengths were used.
Each noble reported their mobilization status to Rurik, and nearly a thousand private armed forces would join in the hunt for fishermen.
When the rooster crows for the first time, the sleeping private soldiers wake up one after another.
At this time, the well-prepared Russian army also stood up. Even the horses that had been transported to the shore, the riders jumped on the horses holding the flagpole high.
Part of Stockholm has woken up, and part of it is still asleep.
The sky turned blue, the sun in the east was still below the horizon, and the sky over there had been illuminated yellow.
The sound of horns and drums suddenly sounded loudly, which not only signaled the soldiers to take action, but also woke up all the fishermen.