Rise of Rurik

Horses killed on the battlefield had their hide stripped off as much as possible, no matter how outrageous the injuries.

Afterwards, the horse meat is slaughtered, roasted or boiled, and only the bones are left for the winner to eat. Of course, the horse bones were not willing to be thrown away. The big bones were smashed with an axe, the bones were roasted on the fire, and the delicious and thick marrow was eaten into the stomach of the winner.

The remaining horse bones will also be recycled, and the bone fragments will be processed into arrow clusters or spearheads by Saxon hunters for hunting.

While the army was campaigning in Saxony, there was no time for further processing of the stripped horses. Lack of time was one factor. Tanning leather required large quantities of Glauber's salt, a mineral that was not readily available in Saxony.

The leather is scraped to remove as much of the inner fat as possible, and then dried as much as possible. Later, in the extremely cold weather, all the horse leather was frozen hard, and they became flakes like wide wooden boards.

Now that the horse hides have completely thawed and are stacked in layers in the cabin, they are generally slightly rotten. Therefore, only a few sailors are responsible for operating the cargo ships that simply carry horse hides, and the sailors would rather sleep on the deck and fall into the sea by themselves with ropes tied to their hands and feet. .

Twenty years ago, due to the overall deflation in the Swedish world, every silver coin, even if it was of average quality, had extremely high purchasing power.

At that time, the generally accepted price for an unprocessed reindeer hide was one silver coin.

Although the Ross tribe was a marginalized tribe in the Swedish world, they were hunters throughout the tribe. Winter hunting was a tradition. The animal skins they risked their lives to hunt in the vast ice fields were always processed in their own tribe, and then continuously shipped to them. Lake Malaren. Large deerskin has many uses, but unfortunately it has never been sold at a high price.

As Rus expands, plundered hot money continues to be transported to the Swedish world.

In the past, people who dared to call themselves rich if they had dozens of silver coins at home, but now it is tantamount to having water in their brains to call themselves rich.

The price of deerskin once soared to fifteen silver coins a piece, but as Rus completely expanded its territory to the Arctic Ocean, hunting reindeer was far less promising than raising it. The country's deer farming industry is booming, especially the deer farmers or the Lapps (Sami people) who submit to the king. In name, they are still the king's herd slaves, but in fact they are already living a free and easy life.

Rurik himself is the largest reindeer rancher in the entire kingdom. The reindeer herd belonging to the royal family has swelled to 100,000 and is still growing rapidly every year, so much so that the northern area of ​​New Roseburg and the shores of Lake Ladoga have been developed. For good grazing land.

The price of raw deerskin has been stabilized at around ten silver coins per piece, but now the Nordic world, even including Denmark, has a small overall population. Although the entire group consumes a lot of leather, as the majority of the people have their own thick clothes, the continued large-scale sales of leather to the outside world are no longer as profitable as before.

Deerskin became the standard by which the entire leather industry was measured, it was neither expensive nor cheap.

Nowadays, white bear skins, brown bear skins, and the most precious mink skins and forest cat skins are more expensive.

Hunters cannot attempt to raise bears, but ferrets and forest cats can be captured and raised. Today, in the most traditional fur market in Russia, white furry ferret skins are still on sale, and their prices have increased tenfold compared to 20 years ago. Some people have begun to make cages to breed and raise ferrets, so that some leathers are actually artificially farmed.

As for the forest cat, a Nordic elf, people used to only need its furry leather. As food production in the eastern part of Russia has been increasing, the problem of rats that used to be inconspicuous must be taken seriously. Rather than slaughtering and selling the leather, it is better to let the forest cats catch mice, for which people who immigrated to the East were more than willing to pay for this.

Reindeer is the most important livestock animal in the Kingdom of Rus. In recent years, the populations of large horses, cattle, goats, and sheep have also been growing rapidly. However, their base is too small. Although the growth rate is high, the net growth value is not enough.

People living in Novorosberg tend to raise rabbits, and people in Novgorod tend to raise poultry.

There are also some hunting families who bought puppy puppies from the market. They are all standard "sled dogs". Hunters don't need them to pull sleds, but these small animals are good helpers for catching snowshoe hares and seals.

It seems that all six animals in the Kingdom of Rus are prospering. In fact, only reindeer, the traditional Arctic animal, are really prospering.

Deerskin was a measure, and horse leather had to be at least the same price.

Rurik already knew the price of deerskin well. After all, as the largest seller, he had the most real pricing power. This was well known to all the fur businessmen in Russia and Sweden.

"Horse leather cannot be lower than deerskin at least, they must agree with me." Rurik thought this way.

In fact, the various merchants stationed on Tombstone Island had predicted Rurik's prediction. They were a group of covetous wolves, waiting for the brothers to buy all the one thousand horse hides after the king convened a meeting. Even if they haven't inspected the goods yet, considering the king's noble character, no one dares to question the goods.

…

It’s a new day, it’s afternoon.

Rurik, who had slept extremely well, felt completely revived. He sat on the soft bed to stretch his muscles, and then went straight to the indoor toilet to relieve himself.

Even in daily life, as a king, Rurik has long set an example for his subjects across the country.

A residential house must have an indoor toilet. Since most Northern Europeans cannot squat down well, most household toilets are sit-down toilets. The waste falls into the collection bucket under the floor. After the collection is completed, the floor is covered with wooden boards to prevent odor and cold air from entering. Wealthy people often use pieces of cloth to wipe their buttocks. Nowadays, because state-run workshops have been providing soft paper made from reeds, rushes and other grasses, it is actually used for wiping their buttocks. Since this was recommended by the king, the wealthy people followed suit.

Use the toilet, wash up, get dressed, and have some snacks. For the time being, he didn't need any waiters, and then there were a group of armed guards around him.

In order not to disturb the rest of his two wives and two infant sons, although Rurik did not live with them, the house was only separated by a wall.

Noren and Beyathil have also experienced the torture of a long voyage. Now they have changed their clothes. It is still cold outside, so they put on huge white bearskin hats, which are warm and extremely fluffy, like holding a giant dandelion.

"Did you sleep well last night? How is the child? Oh, my son is still sleeping..."

He glanced at the child being held by his mother, and then chatted with his two wives.

"Everything is fine. Are we going to stay here a little longer?" Nolen started chatting, "It must be. That's fine! There are some useful women here who happen to help me take care of my children."

"Is it the wet nurse?"

"Exactly. It also gives me peace of mind. I just want to rest leisurely now. So..." Nolen looked directly into Rurik's eyes: "You won't let me join tonight's meeting? I am a noble after all.”

"That's not necessary. Tonight is a group of rough men. They are all hairy and smell of ale and processed leather."

"I'm quite curious." Beyathil added casually with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Nolen hurriedly gave her some relief and lightly kicked her feet with his leather boots. In this way, Beyahil lowered his head in despair and said nothing.

Rurik pinched the faces of the two women respectively: "Let's go, hold the child and go out for a walk. I want to inspect my island..."

The king appeared with his attendants, and the delighted people immediately gathered around him. The arrogant guards kept preventing the people from getting closer to the king, and Rurik didn't bother to say hello to this group of excited guys.

Tombstone Island has always been inhabited by a variety of people, most of whom settled here for money. They met the king excitedly, and they could understand everything just from the words shouted by some people.

"King, look at me! I want to buy your leather!"

"My money can buy a hundred tickets!"

The clamor has completely proved one thing - the news of "selling horse leather" just after arriving in Hong Kong yesterday has aroused public opinion.

Rurik inspected the work of the fishermen, inspected the farmland of the Slavs, inspected his soldiers who had relaxed, and walked around the commercial street that had spontaneously formed on the shore.

Nothing has changed from last year's expedition, it is still prosperous.

Finally, including the island governor, as well as all the Russian nobles and generals, accompanied the king to the warrior cemetery on the island.

More than sixty soldiers are buried here. If they were still alive now, they would be more than thirty years old.

The dead were all sacrificed in 828. They fought the first battle of expansion for Rus, and this first battle was revenge against the old Gotlanders, their former powerful enemies. That was already thirteen years ago, and everything has changed.

The existing leather merchants on Tombstone Island are ready to take action, and the largest merchant among them is the Gould family.

Old Gould's black fox and red fox ushered in their own opportunities, but they had a very special relationship with the king himself, so when old Gould learned that the king was patrolling outdoors, he roared in the mansion.

"Children! Help me up! I'll take you two to talk to the king first!"

The brothers Red Fox and Black Fox did not dare to neglect him at all. The two brothers supported their father on the left and right like a pair of crutches.

The servants of the family followed closely and did as they pleased.

The Gould family built an independent mansion belonging to their own family in the port town of Tombstone Island. Old Gould wanted to retire here, and he also wanted to be buried directly in the island cemetery after his death.

There are already merchants waiting in the parliament court in the city early, waiting for the high-profile arrival of the king. Before that, many merchants who arrived earlier have already settled here. They are chatting with each other about purchasing leather, because this is a large hall with a thousand horse leathers. Lists, businessmen are already asking each other about their respective details and calculating how much of the pie they can get.

Because the price of raw horsehide is definitely not very high, it should be measured in terms of deerskin. The problem is that although wild reindeer can be hunted, the number is too small, and most of the domesticated reindeer are owned by the royal family. Even if there are individual households raising deer, deer are a means of transportation in winter, and killing deer for their meat and selling their skins is not something that ordinary farmers can afford. Even if ordinary farmers want to sell deer, the prices of various "parts" are directly based on the king's pricing.

Winter has not passed yet. Based on last year's standards, it is estimated that 800 raw deer skins may have been traded this winter. Raw deerskin is often tanned and processed by professional tanners in Ellenburg, Roseburg, and New Roseburg. Businessmen who are unwilling to trade far away can only enjoy the marginal profits of the leather industry if they stay on Tombstone Island.

The king actually took out a thousand horse hides at one go and sold them on Tombstone Island. This was a great thing! You can make a lot of money by purchasing horse leather and making it into clothes and selling it to Lake Mälaren.

The scheming old Gould was all too aware of this matter. He was different from ordinary businessmen, but personally took action to get to the heart of the problem.

Black Fox supported his old father and not only asked, "Father, is it unexpected for us to go like this?"

"No, the king will not refuse me."

"Why do you see it? I'm afraid of offending the king."

"Stupid!" Old Gould coughed twice, and then educated his two sons with a smile: "We have been selling bulk materials to Rurik all these years. He made a lot of money, and we also made a fortune. Our family Always cooperate with the royal family. Remember you two in the future! We need the protection of the king. If there is an opportunity to make a fortune, we must think about letting the king also benefit, so that the king will think of you when he has the opportunity to grab benefits. This is for my father A chance for you four brothers!"

Hearing this, the red fox couldn't help but ask more: "So, are we going this time to help the king get rich?"

"Of course."

"But, shouldn't we directly ask for the cooperation of most of the one thousand pieces of leather?"

"Stupid!" Old Gould rolled his eyes at his unlucky son, and the black fox immediately lowered his head in fear.

"Silly boy, the king has three thousand horse hides or even more in his hands. Don't think that I am taking you to fight for the one thousand skins. The one thousand skins were thrown by the king to the vultures (sarcastic Ordinary merchants), those skins must be of average quality. We will get a batch of good skins from the king, our family will process them ourselves, ship them to your elder brother, and then sell them. We are directly selling supplies for the king, Stable profits are essential.”

The brothers remained silent. As the team walked out of the mansion, Old Gould glanced left and right, and then whispered softly: "My purpose is to make the king make a lot of money, so that we can share more benefits. In this matter, we and The king himself had a secret conversation, and those vultures must have no idea."

After an inspection, Rurik will return to his residence. Currently, his temporary residence is still controlled by berserkers wearing bear heads and standing guard.

Although the Gould family has a close relationship with the royal family, the guards are still wary of sudden visitors.

Old Gould did not want to follow, so he only entered the room with his two fat sons and waited. Even though the old fat man and the two little fat men were completely unarmed, they were still ruthlessly intercepted by the guards. Even though Old Gould took out some silver coins to try to buy things off, this led to even more misunderstandings.

The berserker wanted to take away the bribe money, but they had their own rules. Once they took the money and were seized by the king, they and their families would be punished.

These berserker warriors are even more vigilant. After all, they have just returned from the battlefield. As the elite among the elite, they have experienced the most brutal fighting. Bribing to try to see the king? Is there any danger here?

Even though old Gould kept shouting that he was a good friend of the king.

The noise attracted the attention of Captain Grund. The old guy came over cursing: "Hey! Who's causing this? Soldier, let them take it down!"

So, the berserker really started to attack until Grund saw the three fat men and realized the situation.

"Stop it first!" he added, and then came over with an unscrupulous attitude and said jokingly: "Isn't this Mr. Gould? You should have informed us that you were coming! I'm so sorry, I His men were rude."

It was hard for Gould to say anything. Anyway, his old man was not a threat, and his two fat sons were pushed aside, causing the Gould family's attendants to almost draw their swords to protect the gold master.

Grund waved his hand and sent his subordinates to continue to stand guard. He pinched his waist and continued to ask: "Old friend, do you have something important to see the king? You should know that the king is in a good mood and is inspecting the territory now."

"Of course I know." Gould couldn't stand up now. He still raised his fat head and spoke with threats: "Grund, I want to help the king make a fortune this time, so I have to come in secret. You have to treat me well. Look, our father and son don't even have a meat-cutting dagger. Your soldiers are so nervous. Listen, what I want to tell the king is some business secrets, and I don't want to make too much trouble here. If other merchants know about the big commotion, it will be detrimental to the king."

After that, he snatched the bag of failed bribery from his son Black Fox and stuffed it into Grund's hand: "Take it first. I still have some ale in stock at home. I will send a few barrels if I get a chance."

"You old guy." Grund stood up and pointed with a smile, but did not ask for money: "Old guy, you know my identity. I won't ask for money. You three... my subordinates I can escort you into the outer walls of the mansion first, and you will wait inside. Also, ask all your attendants to leave."

"That's fine." Gould immediately dismissed his men and disappeared under the "protection" of the berserkers.

Forget it, Grund stood there and kept wringing his neck and secretly sighing at his own wit.

Grund's refusal to accept money is definitely not an indication of his integrity. He was born as a prisoner. Although he has worked for Rurik for ten years now, he must know that a captured general has to spend his whole life to prove his loyalty. He understands the principles and dare not cross the line. It is said that the salary paid by the king, the property rewarded, and the seizure on the battlefield are legal, but taking bribes openly is courting death. It's not that he didn't want to take it, it was just that a lot of people were watching.

No, the warrior holding the sword hilt still glanced at himself from time to time.

"What are you looking at? Stand your guard."

After that, he entered the outer part of the mansion and continued to rest.