The chief's hall of the Hague clan is a large long wooden house supported by six large pillars. The top of the wooden roof is covered with animal skins for waterproofing. There are two sharp wooden stakes on both sides of the door of the wooden house.
One of them has a bear head stuck on it, and one has a sheep head stuck on it. The flesh and blood of the two heads have rotted away, leaving only the bones. Sometimes, when the tribal men who went out to plunder return to the village, they will pile the trophies in a long place.
In front of the wooden house, it is dedicated to the chief to show respect.
But now, there is another man sitting in the hall of this wooden house.
Rhodes sat on the chief's throne with a victor's attitude. Of course he didn't want to be the chief, but before a new chief was born, Rhodes could only sit in this position. The bearskin seat cushion and backrest were very comfortable.
It was a gift from the leader of the tribe. Rhodes did not intend to take it away, but directly spread it on the chair.
"Three thousand gold crowns a year? No, that's impossible. We don't have that much gold!"
The leader of the Hague clan stood below, resisting Rhodes' request with an angry look on his face.
"This is not a discussion with you, but an order." Rhodes said, "You should know that I let you continue to live on this land with conditions. You invaded my territory and tried to massacre my people.
I'm being kind by not killing you all, so what qualifications do you have to negotiate terms with me?"
Tucker stood in the hall without saying a word. Indeed, as Rhodes said, he had no right to object. The Throat of Destiny was held in someone's hand. At this moment, he and the Hague clan were like prey in the hands of a hunter.
You can kill him at any time.
"Three thousand gold crowns a year is not much. Don't think that I know nothing about you. My men come from all over the world, including people from various Norse tribes. They follow me. Do you think I know everything about you?"
Would you know nothing?"
Rhodes continued. Tucker's face was full of helplessness and helplessness. The former robber has now become the prey of others. There is no possibility of argument.
"Your longships can travel across the ocean, and can even reach the Kingdom of Bretonnia in the west. All merchant ships plying the Sea of Claws are the targets of your plunder. Three thousand gold is just the profit from two trading merchant ships. One
How many times do you go to sea during the year? Don't tell me, you only rob once a year? In that case, the Norscans would no longer have the title of plunderers."
Rhodes said with a smile. Tucker remained silent. He just lowered his head and thought about how to live in the future. The Hague clan would never be rich again. They did go to sea several times a year, but they did not
Not every robbery is successful. Many times, they have to brave the threat of enemy artillery fire. You know, merchant ships are not soft persimmons. Some merchant ships are even equipped with heavy artillery and are armed merchant ships. They can join the regular army in wartime.
That kind of thing. So, although they rob a lot of cargo ships every year, they all risk their lives to get it. Now, the Kislev lord wants a tribute of three thousand gold crowns at once, which is equivalent to a year's worth of money.
Turning over half of your income is simply too much. But it’s not impossible, at least it’s better than becoming a slave.
"But we don't have any ships on hand now, and it will take at least a year to build new ships."
"This is easy to handle. I will return your captured longship to you. Is there anything else you want to mention?"
"There will be accidents...such as storms at sea, or encountering the empire's armed fleet, or our people going to sea without harvesting for several months. You know, this kind of situation is very common."
Tucker said angrily.
"This is easy to do. You can use other things to offset it. For example, furs, caught fish, etc. You can collect the same amount of assets to offset the missing gold coins."
Rhodes answered calmly. Tucker looked angry again, but he still had no choice. The winner has 10,000 reasons to talk to you, and you, no matter how reasonable you are, can't do anything. He regrets a little, if
If you didn't come back and continued to lead the remaining people over the mountains and arrived inland, would you have been able to avoid these evil spirits? But it's also possible that you couldn't get over it at all, and the people in the clan couldn't get over it at all. The Hague clan has lived for generations.
At the seaside, it may not be able to withstand the harsh climate of the inland areas. But who knows? They finally chose to come back, and now, since they are back, they can only listen to the various arrogant demands of the victors.
"I have to go back and discuss with the clan people."
Tucker said dullly.
"Well, yes. I'll give you three days to convince the people in the clan. If you can't do it after three days, I will use my own method to solve it."
Rhodes said coldly.
"Who allowed you to go out? The lord has not finished speaking yet."
After hearing this, Tucker was about to go out, but was stopped by the knight next to Rhodes.
He turned around, sighed, and continued to look at Rhodes. This aloof Kislev lord was the most unusual lord he had ever seen. He brought many benefits to the defeated, but at the same time he also wanted to benefit from the defeated.
Get the biggest benefit there. Don't let go of any benefit. Tucker even figured it out. He knew what the white bear lord in front of him was thinking. The massacre was indeed meaningless to him. The Norscans who surrendered could
Provide him with a steady stream of money and intelligence. It can also expand his trade routes. Just for these reasons, why does he need to massacre the tribes? He can completely use them. And he did the same. He did it very cleverly, and even helped the refugees to build buildings.
Houses... I don’t know that these houses are the hard-earned money of the refugees in the future. It is equivalent to giving them in advance, and they must use the next ten years to repay it.
"Also, in the future, if there is another war in Black Hammer Castle, the men of the Hague clan must join the army of Black Hammer Castle and cooperate with my soldiers in fighting."
Sitting on the chief's throne, Rhodes said coldly.
"You are enslaving! The Hague clan does not accept slavery from anyone. If you want to do this, I will take them back north!"
Tucker's inner dissatisfaction and anger finally broke out, and he couldn't bear it anymore. It seemed like nothing to send soldiers to assist the troops of Blackhammer Castle in fighting. However, anyone with a little bit of brains could imagine that Rhodes wanted to control the entire tribe. These things
The people sent to fight in the south are equivalent to the hostages in Rhodes' hands. In the future, if the tribe dares to resist, these brave warriors will die in a foreign land.
If the previous conditions are barely acceptable, then the latter one is really irritating.
But Rhodes seemed unfazed, sitting on a comfortable big chair with a calm look on his face.
"You can give it a try? See if they are willing to go north again with you and cross the mountains, or stay in this new town and live the traditional life in the past."
Rhodes said with a slight smile on his lips. Tucker suddenly became quiet. He understood that the Kislev lord was not an alarmist. He asked his men to build clean and comfortable houses, repair the roads and roads of Dragon Bone Port, and
The dock was not built in vain, but had a purpose. This purpose seems very obvious now. The current living environment is visible, who is willing to risk his life to cross the mountains and go to live in an unknown land? What's more?
, they have indeed lived in this place all their lives.
"Think about it, Tucker Snith. You are a very good young man. The future of the clan is in your hands. You should not think about yourself, but also think about them. I will be leaving in a few days.
Come back to my castle. The chief's throne will be vacant. You should know that there are many people who want to sit in this position."