Rise of Rurik

Otto really didn't want to say that he and his hundreds of close comrades were discussing the establishment of a settlement at the mouth of the river around the bonfire, and many people expressed strong doubts. Because of this decision, everyone has no idea whether their ancestors did the same thing, and everyone has a natural fear and rejection of the unknown.

After some explanation, Otto won the support of many people with his personal prestige.

In fact, what everyone is most afraid of is the attack of the Baltic people or the Finns. Although these guys are a lot of idiots armed with stones, they are like the Ross tribe, and they will organize hundreds of people to act when a major event occurs. Even if the Ruth Warrior is a strong man armed with a large shield and a battle axe, if there are too many people fighting, they will be swarmed and defeated by hundreds of enemies.

Building a settlement was therefore dangerous, and if the chief insisted on doing so, he would have to leave more people to look after the camp.

Sooner or later, the people of Rus will have to leave this poor Roseburg, leave this lousy fjord.

No matter how the future develops, the living space that this fjord can give people is almost at a bottleneck. When people finally can't stand the crowding, it's only a matter of time before residents leave on a massive scale.

Rurik was very happy with his father's decision, and he took this opportunity to inform his father of his plans.

"Dad, I need some new servants. Next time you go to Novgorod, can you bring me back some people? I don't want many, a maximum of ten is enough."

"You..." Otto was stunned for a while, "A maid isn't enough anymore?"

"Yes!" Rurik insisted.

"Okay...Tell me about your specific requirements."

The son is asking for servants, and Otto actually welcomes the idea of ​​his son. It seems that since the son killed the deer, his mind has changed a lot.

Rurik was a kind person, and this kind of character was very important to his brother. If he had only kindness, he would not be worthy of being a leader. He needs to have the ability to command, and if he can, of course, the more servants, the better.

Otto cheered up quickly and asked, "Do you need servants from Novgorod? Very good! I'll go and catch a few for you this time."

"Huh? Arrest? Wouldn't it be better to buy a few servants with something?"

"Maybe." Otto shrugged. "You need some servants who can work, then don't expect them to hand over the labor. Those men are terrible, but at least they can farm. Novgorodians If you don't obediently contribute strong men to be your servants, we can only use an axe to force them into submission."

"I...I don't want those strong men!"

"Not a man? Are they still children?"

"Alas! Just some children." Rurik slapped the fur on the ground hard, "I just want to write about children."

"Children? Servants? What can those servants do?" After saying that, Otto glanced at Rumia, who was sitting on the ground obediently, "Just like your maid, she can only herd. It's just a poor woman, and I can't give it to you in the future. Cut down more trees."

"But she was very loyal to me."

Rurik waved his hand gently, only to see Rumia stand up, and then sit obediently beside Rurik.

"Dad, you see, she has always obeyed me."

Rumia hooked her head hard, she knew that the leader Otto had been staring at her. The villain who killed his parents really didn't want to have more interactions with him.

Rurik has his own set of theories: "I just want some kids, preferably not too different my age.

My sister Peravina and I have learned a bit of their language, and if it's just a daily conversation, I can already communicate with the Novgorodians.

Dad, since strong men want to farm, those children can't also farm, right? There must be some girls in Novgorod, and with a little training, girls can make a difference too. "

Otto's words really puzzled Otto, and he thought of other things, so he questioned: "Do you like children your age so much? Most of the tribe's children are your age, they are already yours My friend, what do you want? And more Novgorod children under your control? You even need a bunch of useless little girls?"

Very different from the Rus tribe, the Slav tribe of Novgorod, they do not have any bad habits of not wanting baby girls, because they do not have the warrior culture of the so-called Odin belief.

But this does not mean that the local people in Novgorod are a group of fat sheep to be slaughtered. They are at least stronger than the Finns, so they can grab Lake Ilmen and build a "new big city". It is just the fighting power of the Varangians. Just a blast.

In fact, they have a special attitude towards all their children, and the children are like the property of the villagers' family. Children can barely provide much output until they grow up. If there are too many mouths to eat, even if the children's parents are particularly loving, some children will be abandoned due to hunger problems. Combined with the regular raids of the Varyag Rus tribes, and the unannounced surprise attacks of other Varyags, the small Slavic settlements on the outskirts of the city of Novgorod always faced the abduction of their relatives.

The missing were either attacked by black bears or killed by other Varyag tribes. If it is a child who is missing, it is a big deal to have a few more. Actually? It was usually the man who was farming, and the loss of a labor force was a great loss to the family estate.

"Of course. I need boys and girls from Novgorod!" Rurik raised his head. "I just need those children. I'll send boys to blacksmiths to learn iron and girls to priests to learn Some skills women have to have. So when they grow up, they can just follow me and they'll work for me."

Otto really felt that his son's words were strange, in fact, Otto never thought about this.

All Vikings had an odd definition of "slave".

The North Germanic tribes around the Baltic Sea have been fighting each other for many years. In the last two hundred years, the Norwegians in the western part of the Scandinavian mountains, the Swedes in the eastern plains of the mountains, and the Danes in Jutland and the surrounding islands have formed some tribal alliances. Below, three large tribal alliances are gradually transforming into feudal kingdoms.ァ新ヤ~⑧~1~中文网ωωω.χ~⒏~1zщ.còм

They have not yet become a kingdom, and although they speak the same Norse language, the battle between them has never ceased.

It is the so-called thinking sub-tribe alliance of the Ross tribe. When their ancestors all lived in the Svealan plains, there were many battles with each other.

A fighting tribe in which the men are more important than the young women. Strong men frequently attack for resources. In order to maximize their victory, they will leave their lives as captives and serve as slaves to work for themselves.

Therefore, the concept of "slave" is almost equated with concepts such as cowards and losers. In today's Norse language, words such as "captive" and "loser" are often used to specifically describe male slaves.

It is almost natural for the loser to become a slave.

Nor do they keep too many slaves, as these Norse speakers are unreliable, and keeping them around for long periods of time can be a disaster.

Male prisoners of war often waited for an opportunity to escape, and neither side of the war had many prisoners of war.

In some battles, one side captures the enemy's lair, and the victor will occupy the other's wives and daughters. Those captured women will not become slaves, they will become the wives of the victors and become members of the victor's clan.

In the wild era, survival was the first priority of each tribe. The fighting strength of the tribe comes from strong men, and the foundation of the continuation of the tribe is the women of the tribe.

Otto really doesn't like the existence of a very bad tradition in his tribe. The tribe has been selectively cultivating their offspring. The wealth of ordinary families is not much. In order to obtain more wealth in the future, they are willing to raise sons. As for the newly born baby girl, it is often thrown into the woods and left to fend for itself.

So did the Ruth tribe, so did the allied tribes in the South, and so did the Danes.

Otto knew that the wealthy households in those allied tribes tended to keep some servants and even some concubines. God knows where those foreign women came from, and there is a high probability that they are the so-called Franks.

In short, the biggest job of those women is to give birth to more sons for their masters. The masters do not have much prejudice against them because of their sons' motherhood. The family masters only hope that their sons can grow into powerful warriors.

Only in this way will the tribes have more warriors to seize new lands from the Danes in what appears to be an unending struggle for supremacy in the future.

The Rus tribe had no such opportunity in the past. Now that the opening has been opened and continued development, the tribe will sooner or later be filled with warriors who can speak the Novgorod language. Otto didn't care about that at all. After all, the child's father was a warrior of the tribe.

However, Rurik's decision was completely different from what Otto could think of. Could it be that he used some slaves and raised them first?

Otto closed his eyes and thought for a moment before slowly asking: "Rurik, if it's just some children, I can bring you back in a more peaceful way. I have to tell you that those children are idiots, and they Like his father, the future is just a group of farmers who can farm the land. If they want to work well for you, it will take several years to cultivate them. When you grow up, they can really work for you. You... Do you want to feed them every day like a deer until they can work?"

"Yeah? Can't it?" Rurik also looked strange.

"You...I really can't figure it out."

"Dad, are you against me?"

"No! I'm not against you." Otto shook his head, "I'm glad you have your own ideas, I'm just not worth it for you. Boy, I can help you with this, but what's next? I don't I will help you, since you have a plan, everything after that is up to you."

"I'll handle it myself, don't worry about it."

"And the food and the place where the servants live are all your worries. And their clothes, it's also your business. And..." Otto enumerated a lot in a hurry, he thought it would be like this Words can lead the son to give up.

Otto really did not understand the forward-looking plan of his son Rurik.

Rurik, he also couldn't figure out whether his father had other concerns or was simply shortsighted. Do not! and many more! Is Otto really shortsighted? No, Otto is a discerning leader. Could it be that there are only certain limitations in the use of human resources? Maybe that's it.

Rurik listened to it a lot, but still said bluntly: "I'm at least a new servant, it's better... It's better to be a child younger than Rumia. If it's difficult for you, Dad, I can accept all ten girls. . If you can get more for me, I'll be open."

Otto grinned and muttered, "It seems that you won't change your decision again. Well... now you give me some silver coins."

"Silver coins?" Rurik was startled suddenly.

"Don't be stunned, Rurik. I am your father, and now you are determined to become independent and I will fulfill you. I tell you clearly, I am very skeptical of your decision, and as a father, I am willing to do this for you. Thing. Give me some silver coins so I can give those kids' parents. Listen, only silver coins can get those poor guys to give away their kids."

Otto said these words without any hesitation, while Rurik felt a little guilty all his life.

Perhaps this was the norm in the dark ages of Europe in the ninth century AD.

For clan tribes that are barely entering the Bronze Age, the concept of human rights does not exist, or the so-called human rights are only worthy of the strong men of the tribe. Before the children are old enough to take up arms, their parents can abandon their children for money.

Rurik knew that the slave economy had its justification in an age of inefficient material production. Those who are reduced to slaves, the slave owners regard them as "talking tools." Since it is a tool, of course, it is to prolong the working hours as much as possible.

It is a donkey that pulls a mill, and the owner of the donkey longs for it to work healthily for ten or twenty years, not to mention a living person.

The peasants who lost their land became serfs of big families in order to survive. Tribes who have lost everything and become slaves of another tribe are acceptable under extreme conditions. Although it is humiliation, at least they can survive.

But it is still a backward system.

Rurik knew very well that Kievan Rus, who had rapidly entered the era of feudal kingdoms in history, did not die under the rule of Mongolia, but they grew stronger after they got rid of the rule of the Mongol Empire. It was because the nobles were extremely embarrassed and made ordinary peasants. Thousands went bankrupt and became serfs of nobles and large estate owners. If the culture of Eastern Rome gave them the ability to bypass the slave society and instantly upgrade to the feudal era, they made the social system even more backward.

In the end, a bottom-up most thorough counterattack from the serfs destroyed the corruption and achieved the first "victory of the common people".

The descendants of the ordinary residents of the Slavs gradually became serfs.

Hearing what Otto said, those Novgorod residents would give up their child support for silver coins and hand them over to the Varangians as servants. The servants of the servants are still the servants, so there is a reason for the mass enslavement of the inhabitants.

This is not acceptable!

Because what Rurik needs is not a servant, and there should not be a so-called master-servant relationship between them. In his philosophy, the best relationship that can be achieved right now is to hire and be hired. The so-called servants do things for themselves. Neither themselves nor their successors can hurt them at will, and they should be given reasonable remuneration for their efforts.

There is a way to make profits for the bottom residents and make them rich, so that their enthusiasm for production will be higher, the wealth of the whole society will be abundant, and more taxes can be paid to realize the prosperity of the people and the country.

According to Rurik, this is the most reasonable philosophy of governance.

It seems that the Europeans who really can't think highly of this time and space, their problem is not the limited vision of geography, but the most important thing is the limited thinking.

"Dad, tell me, I want some children to help, how many silver coins can I get?"

"You..." Otto thought for a while, "You gave me fifty silver coins, and you have this money now."

Rurik nodded, and then instructed his actual key, Rumia, "Go and fetch my cash box and count fifty silver coins."

"As ordered." Lumia nodded obediently, and after a while, pulled over the heavy wooden box that was placed in the chief's long house.

Rurik's confidence and trust in Rumia is reflected in many aspects. Giving her silver jewelry is on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is handing over the keys to his money box to her.

Every man has his own money box, and normally the keys are kept by his wife.

Rumia already knew the reason why the little master ordered her to take care of the keys, and some rumors spread to her ears, that is, the little master planned to marry her as his wife many years later.

To be Rurik's wife? Nonsense! But if that becomes a reality...

Rumia is not complacent, her mood is very complicated, and now she is trying her best to hide her emotions.

Rurik's so-called cash box was originally an empty wooden box, but now it has become heavy. The tribal soap market is still pretty big, and it will eventually saturate, so that's okay, just sell the soap to your allies in the guest house.

Fifty silver coins were half a Roman pound, and Rurik gave the silver coins that Rumia handed over to his father.

Otto saw that his son's attitude was so firm, and he was even more surprised that his son was not that kind of coins, not that kind of stingy.

"Rurik, are you sure?" Otto asked seriously.

"Yes, if fifty silver coins can be bought..." Rurik wanted to say the word "slave" at first, but he still hated the word, so he exclaimed, "If it can buy ten new friends, That would be great. I will give them a better life than in Novgorod, and they will be very loyal to me for that."

"You're willing to be friends with the servant? It's strange." After speaking, Otto looked at Rumia out of the corner of his eye, and he stopped talking nonsense.

Otto went on to state the serious facts, "Those Novgorodians are happy to sell us their children as goods, like the marriage rights of a beautiful Novgorod woman for some amber. Rurik , you are very smart, those girls are grown up when they are twelve years old, it is impossible to expect to exchange a few silver coins for one. If it is just a child of your age, it is not a big problem.

I actually know what's going on over there, it's five silver coins for a boy as big as you, and three for a girl. "

Hearing this, Rurik took a deep breath.

In his philosophy, human life was priceless at that time, but in this wild era, everyone was marked with a price. After all, humans are higher than animals, but they are not that high. A large reindeer is worth two silver coins, and a rare ferret may be worth as much as six silver coins.

Hearing his father's words, Rurik had to examine himself.

His body is nothing but a child, and according to Otto's words, it is worth five silver coins. Two deer on top of it are not as good as a cute ferret. How can there be such a reason?

But that's the reality.

In any case, being able to get at least ten servants with a lot of silver coins is more civilized than taking someone with a father to carry a battle axe.

"I want ten servants, and if they don't want a boy, get me at least one, and I'll take him only to my blacksmith. At least ten girls, and I'll train them to be soap-makers, and women who can make The master of clothes. All of them serve me only. Dad, according to the agreement I signed with the priests and blacksmiths, I have money to support these servants."

Otto nodded: "I have all your money, and I will do it for you. However, you have invested a lot in these days, and you are indeed different from those children."

"Of course." Rurik smiled, "I am the one who received Odin's blessing."

"Not only that." Otto shook his head deeply, "I have lived for so many years, and I only know that a child of you can earn three hundred silver coins in just a few dozen days, and there is no child who can quickly spend a hundred dollars. A silver coin. You do have to be careful, it's not good for you if you've been lavish."

"I will pay attention, thank you for your reminder." Rurik was surprised that Otto mentioned the concept of "thrift".

When it comes to thrift, if Svealan's thinking sub-tribal alliance has such an idea, it is indeed understandable why their descendants after more than a thousand years will be extreme in the concept of environmental protection, so extreme that everyone wants to do it. Almost no carbon emissions.

"I will try my best to be frugal, and I will try my best to earn more money. Dad..." Rurik tilted his head slightly, "Don't think I know soap and swords, trust me, I have other inventions, All wisdom from Odin. Next year is a new beginning."

"Okay." Otto put a big hand on top of Rurik's head, rubbed it like a cat, and encouraged: "Then you can do it. I hope you can get me some when I come back. New tricks."