Those land aristocrats do not feel that the free trade zone created by the Russians has any negative impact on their business and life. Trade with the Russians continues as usual, and the trade volume this year is larger than usual.
The business transaction between Rurik and this group of nobles was very smooth, because the two sides completed the negotiations more than half a year ago, and now is a good time for one party to deliver the ship and the other to deliver food.
Especially the nobles of the Melalen tribe, they envied the large ships of the Russians, but they suffered from the lack of shipbuilders in their tribe who had the strength to build large ships. In other words, the tribe originally had them, and talented people with skills immigrated to Rus one after another in pursuit of profit and stability. Talents
The loss of the Melalen tribe has left them incapacitated.
Eight standard armed cargo ships were anchored near the Stockholm port area. These ships drifted from the far east, and they all participated in Rurik's enthronement ceremony in Uppsala.
These experiences are the best sea trials, and each ship proves its seaworthiness.
The armaments of the eight ships, including the only torsion slingshot installed on the bow, were removed. Each ship became a pure cargo ship. As for continuing to transport cargo, fishing, or even going into war, these are all the buyers' wishes.
As the king, Rurik was fully aware of the wishes of the nobles. After buying the big ship at a high price, they would not hesitate to weaponize it. Although they did not have the ability to possess the heavy weapons of the Russian ships, there was still no problem in placing a group of archers on the ship.
When it comes to weapons, these armed cargo ships are a supplement to the Ross fleet, and selling eight ships will have no impact on the king's strength.
Their excitement can be seen from the smiling faces of those who bought the house. Holding this kind of ship will not pose any threat to the Russians. It is enough to deal with other forces. This is exactly what the great nobles in Sweden need.
They used newly harvested oats as currency, and the delivery of the eight ships was quickly completed. The total price of the ships was equivalent to 1,600 pounds of silver coins. After the buyer bought it, he placed his sailors, and after using the winch to anchor, it was like
The sails of traditional longships are usually controlled by those who control the big ship, drifting slowly towards their own tribe with the force of the wind.
Naturally, they took out 1,600 pounds of cash in one breath and completed the transaction with 160,000 pounds of oats. The price of the oats was much higher than the current market price. Since the negotiation was done more than half a year ago, it seems that
It was the Russians who suffered a big loss.
Four large tribes in Sweden purchased a total of eight ships. The nobles all knew that the current market price of oats was one silver coin to fifteen pounds of wheat. The price of the currency wheat for buying the ships had increased by more than 30%, and the nobles felt that they had made a profit.
.
Rose suffered a loss? Not really.
The comprehensive selling price of the armed cargo ship was also deliberately raised a lot by Rurik, which offset the high price of this food.
The oats and the huge sack containing them were thrown into a huge balance. A "grain spy" made by curling an iron sheet directly poked into the sack to spot-check the color and quality of the wheat.
Rurik could tolerate some moisture in the oats, and even tolerate the weight of the sack itself, but could not tolerate soil, sand, or even a pile of wet things inside.
As the king, he particularly emphasized this point and used false military threats to force the nobles not to dare to deceive the king.
It took three days to transport all 1.6 million pounds of wheat from the sale of ships to the warehouse at the Gould Island Fortress.
The warehouses have been piled up like mountains, and the existing warehouses are completely exhausted. The extra oats have to be transferred to the cabins of the ships that are still parked as soon as possible.
People's faces showed the joy of a good harvest. Although Rus did not produce food in the Lake Mälaren region, everyone was indeed happy to welcome a good harvest.
"To a good harvest! Cheers!"
The huge mansion was brightly lit, and the top nobles of the Ross Kingdom gathered at the Gould Island Fortress.
Rurik smiled broadly, and his many wives and concubines were looking forward to tonight's feast.
A group of children were openly playing in the banquet. They were all children of top nobles, and they were chasing each other and screaming.
They are their own flesh and blood, their nephews by blood, and their nephews by blood.
Some children are already very aware of their noble bloodline, especially Velika. At the age of six, she knows her identity best - the successor to the kingdom's high priest.
Velica now behaves like an ordinary lively girl, being chased by a group of younger brothers, and she is also chasing her own cousin.
Arik's eldest son Asgard is nine years old. He is a very big boy. He is less than three years away from reaching adulthood at the age of twelve according to tradition. This boy has grown into a fierce and ruthless man like his father in all aspects.
, mixing in the blood of the Slavs did not make him lose any of the momentum of the Nordic berserker, or in other words, he also possessed the "power of the Slavic war bear" on the basis of inheriting the former.
Asgard Ariksson was trained as a warrior by his father Arik. He could show a fierce look in his face. Although he had never killed anyone, he had already practiced with reindeer.
However, the six-year-old Gustav, as his half-brother, looked much calmer because he was raised as a businessman by his mother, Asraqi.
Gustav did have a very good assistant, Kuzneslav, the eldest son of the royal blacksmith Kavi. The two parties had no direct common blood, but were distant relatives through marriage.
The smart Aslaki built her family's business territory in the Kingdom of Rus. One day Kuzneslav will become an extremely successful blacksmith, or the leader of the Kingdom's iron smelting industry, and his son will become a close friend with him. If there is a
It would be a wonderful thing for the two families to get married in the future.
Reglaf is only five years old this year. He already knows very well that he is the designated heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Mercia. Unfortunately, his biological mother is dead and he is in Rus. Although the King of Rus is his father, after all, this is not home. He
Although he is young, his eyes always show caution and fear.
Osborne Slav, the de jure first heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Rus, is the real eldest son. He is just an infant. Although Oleg, the son of High Priest Rumia, is three years old and can run around,
He is too weak.
The son of Carlota, Duchess of Ostara, is about to turn three years old. He has learned to walk and his blond hair is exactly like his parents, especially his father Rurik.
The children are growing up, and soon more will be born.
It is obvious that when the time entered the autumn of 840, a large number of top Russian nobles were born.
Not only the top aristocratic group, but also the entire Rus Principality part of the kingdom, the baby boom has not stopped in recent years. The infant mortality rate has dropped significantly. Due to more food output and storage, it has become possible to raise more children.
What is the grain harvest in the East this year? This can be seen from the wheat harvest in Lake Mälaren in the West!
The children continued to play until the soldier entered the warm house carrying a large urn full of boiled oats on his shoulders.
All the children then obediently returned to their seats, clasping their little hands and waiting for their portion of the delicious meal to be served.
The aroma of wheat filled the entire large room, making people salivate when they smelled the aroma.
The men who had drank some ale talked freely. Otto, who was blushing after drinking, raised his glass high again: "Okay! This is this year's new wheat! If we eat it, we will be happy."
"Then don't waste time? Let your subordinates deliver the goods to everyone." Rurik glanced at the white fox and urged.
At this moment, the white fox had a lot to report to the king. Everything was a good thing. What he needed most was to tell King Rurik about the great harvest in Sweden this year while he was feasting.
Sprinkle some salt on the cooked oatmeal, stir it and eat it.
This kind of food is called "wheat porridge", and it is the second most traditional meal in Sweden besides eating herring raw.
The Russians are from Sweden, so it is not surprising that they eat wheat like this, but as nobles, even eating this simple traditional delicacy must include some luxury.
Honey was poured on the wheat, and everyone chewed it with relish while waiting for the grilled vegetables.
Mothers feed their children after giving birth, like Reglaf who lost his biological mother, or Queen Svetlana who takes care of Osborne while taking care of her own.
The men here were eating wheat and drinking wine, as if they were having sex with women and children.
Rurik started eating and drinking more and more. Fortunately, the room was a little hot, so he only wore a white soft linen shirt and rolled up his sleeves to reveal the golden hairs on his arms.
For example, Arik was even more rough. He took off his shirt and the soldier's exaggerated "golden chest hair" was evident, as well as the proud achievement on his arm - a terrifying scar. This was the glorious medal after the battle on Gotland.
What about the white fox? He didn't care too much and also showed off his chest hair and even his round belly.
"You! You are just a fat white seal." The slightly drunk Aric spoke rudely, and his words were even more exciting: "I don't know how much oil you have in your belly."
"You? I'm afraid it's not oil, it's just a baby! It's a pity that I'm a man and can't have children."
The white fox's self-deprecation caused the whole audience to burst into laughter. Even old Otto was as excited as a monkey. He waved his wine glass vigorously while laughing wildly, splashing the unfinished ale everywhere.
The white fox thus livened up the atmosphere and saw that King Rurik was in a happy mood, so it was time for him to make the necessary report.
After laughing enough, before the barbecue dish was served, he pulled out the folded paper from his waist and displayed it publicly.
"Friends, come and see me. Look at what I have in my hands."
"What is that?" Rurik, who was slightly drunk, raised his head and asked.
"King! This is... our harvest statistics in Sweden this year. I tried my best to count them. Is this a surprise for you?"
"Is it a wonderful list?" Rurik understood what he meant and ordered: "Share the surprise with everyone."
"As you command!"
Bai Hu showed a long statistical report. He was slightly drunk himself, so he sat cross-legged and spread out the paper to read out the data.
Ross's glassware, soap, leather products, and ironware products are selling very well, and the profits earned by these products for Ross have increased compared with previous years.
In particular, he pointed out that there has been a sharp increase in the sales of ironware this year, and all the mass-produced iron axes that might have been unsalable were actually sold.
The statistical report pointed out a very clear reason. Most of the so-called ironware transactions took place in the free trade market, and it was farmers who had surplus food at home who purchased these ironware.
Rurik nodded, his joy was beyond words.
"It seems that the local people, no matter which tribe they are from, have a huge demand for our iron tools."
The king seemed to be repeating a nonsense, but in fact it was not the case. Rurik immediately added: "The free trade zone we established in a surprise attack has more room for development, White Fox!"
"exist."
"Starting next year, you will expand the free trade zone and plan carefully to make the trading venue even better."
"Ah? This... follows your orders! That is, how should I expand? Some areas are already occupied by big businessmen."
"It doesn't matter. You can open a new trade site and fill the existing trade site with lake land. You also need to plan the dock carefully. There are still many things to do. Do you need me to teach you these?"
Bai Hu was deeply satisfied: "I promise to do good things. Then..."
The white fox laughed for a while, then deliberately scanned the room full of people, then grabbed the paper with both hands and raised it high to reveal the text on it: "Except for the 1.6 million pounds of oats we obtained from the deal with the nobles, we and
Ordinary farmers also traded as much as half a million pounds of wheat."
"Five million pounds?" Rurik was overjoyed.
"Exactly! It's absolutely true."
"Isn't this...impossible?!" Rurik slapped his forehead hard, "Don't make a mistake in your statistics."
The white fox straightened his back and winked, which made his round belly look even more comical. "I have honorably guaranteed that this is true. How dare I deceive the king? King! Don't you appreciate the warehouse on the island for yourself?"
?The warehouse is completely full! We have to transport the food that cannot be loaded in advance. Where has this happened in the past? "
"That's true. But, five hundred thousand pounds..."
Rurik was drunk but not stupid. He had no idea about the transactions in the free trade market. Therefore, if Bai Fox manipulated the transaction data, he would not be able to know it for the time being. But the explosion of the granary on the island was a fact, which gave
This year's transportation of personnel and materials has brought trouble.
Rurik took a sip and asked a very pointed question: "I learned that those farmers had difficulty in trading with us directly in the past. Now that I have given them an opportunity, have those farmers really given up their five hundred thousand pounds of surplus grain?"
"That's right. All the materials in our inventory have been sold. For this, I also paid a batch of silver coins in cash." White Fox corrected.
"That's not what I mean. What I mean is, do they really dare to use their surplus grain? Don't they live in order to buy our goods? What will they do if they don't have enough grain?"
"You can only fish?" the white fox shrugged. Since the king asked this, he said: "The other identity of those farmers is fishermen. They can survive by catching fish in advance and making dried meat. As long as they are available first.
The food has successfully survived until next year’s planting season, and everything is fine.”
"Aren't they afraid of spring famine?" Rurik asked urgently.
"Then after they sow the seeds, they row a boat and the whole family fishes or even goes hunting. According to my investigation, those farmers are in urgent need of our iron tools, and they are willing to put their current lives at great risk in order to obtain iron tools."
"It's so crazy." Rurik hit his forehead again, but he could understand.
Iron tools are not consumer goods, but means of production that far exceed stone tools. In particular, axes are a model of multi-functional tools and are being robbed like crazy.
"It seems that next time we will have to bring more iron axes for them to buy." Rurik's words were meaningful.
The harvest season in the Lake Malaren area has ended, and the Ross fleet anchored in the lake is about to leave.
It is already September, and the autumn harvest has been completed in the eastern part of the kingdom. This time is also the time when the kingdom collects agricultural taxes in the east, so the fleet's triumphant return is just in time.
More than two million pounds of oats were traded at once. To be fair, Rurik underestimated the grain output in the Lake Mälaren region and admired the local people's choice.
As long as this batch of oats is properly preserved, it can ensure that ten thousand people can eat for two hundred days without starving to death. Of course, it is not a problem for men who are engaged in heavy manual labor to eat three pounds of oats a day, so ten thousand strong men can maintain the heavy labor.
It can also last for a month.
What is hard work? War is one.
Considering that the conquest of the Götaland region will begin next year, the Rus Kingdom army is bound to organize a large army. The number of troops is not 10,000, but 3,000 is still possible. Based on past war experience, Rurik cannot trust his allies.
Provide sufficient logistics, and in the end it will be the Russian army that will support the Allied forces. Besides, there is the issue of logistical material supply. After the war starts, no one will dislike having too much food on hand.
However, the quality of this batch of imported grain from Sweden is not good. They did not have enough time to dry, and the moist wheat kernels put great pressure on storage. The wheat will be put into normal daily consumption immediately and sold to New Roseburg at a slightly reduced price.
The people, and even high-quality feed for horses. As for the reserves of war rations, they were allocated from the output of the East.
Each of the Ross ships moored in Lake Mälaren was stuffed with supplies, mainly food, into the cabins, and the second largest quantity was flax stalks. A large number of onions, carrots and cabbages were also thrown into the cabins.
The fleet has become a complete food and vegetable transport fleet, and most of the cabins are full, forcing people to stay on the deck continuously.
Thanks to the reinforcements from ships from Fort Ross's homeland, the transfer of personnel and materials can be carried out in an orderly manner.
The huge Ross fleet pulled anchors one after another amidst the sound of the magnificent trumpet, tilted the jibs one after another, and caught the north wind and drifted eastward.
The huge fleet was followed by a small fleet, no more than twenty traditional rowing long boats, trying to keep up with the Russians.
They are the Gran people who sold off all their assets and formally implemented the immigration plan under the leadership of Duke Svalgard. They will eventually return to their old way of life and settle together with the Ostara people who immigrated long ago. They become the fleet's