Rise of Rurik

"The Rise of Rurik ()"

Bjorn, whose clothes were wet and his beard braided, never imagined that the inner wooden castle of Gould Island, which he first entered, was warm and dry.

He once resisted the trembling of his body with willpower. When he thought that he might meet the leader of the Rus people, he should pay more attention to his demeanor, and let these ruthless people in the north value him as a warrior.

There was good news from the guard's servant. Duke Ross was in the wooden castle, and there was the legendary boy Rurik, and the "fat Gould" that everyone was quite familiar with.

Bjorn took off his wet leather coat and handed it over to his entourage, while his few servants were taken away by Ross warriors in white bearskin coats. The air is filled with a faint and alluring aroma of wheat. Presumably the generous Rus people will also pick up the dust for themselves?

Bjorn's servants did reward each of them with a wooden bowl of porridge. The seemingly generous reward was just the usual routine of the Gould family. The so-called let anyone who came to negotiate business know that the Gould family treats them well. is important.

So when Bjorn officially met the Duke of Ross and other elites, he himself also got a breakfast of wheat cakes, jerky, wine and dried raspberries.

The scene of the meeting was really novel. Entering the largest house in the wooden fort, he was enveloped in warmth, and the wet sackcloth clothes steamed out in bursts of mist.

He naturally sat on a wooden chair, and in front of him was a large square table made of wooden boards.

This is completely different from your own situation. The Rus people are not sitting on the ground? They also learned something from the Franks?

Walking on the hard oak floor, sitting on a wooden chair, in front of a wooden table, there are a large number of silver plates and crystal plates (glass) on the table, and the plates are all delicious.

The vessels for the wine are silver cups and walrus ivory cups set on gold bases. What's even more crazy is that the distinguished figures of the Rus people have a precious crystal cup in their hands. There is a dark red wine in the cup, which exudes a charming aroma.

Bjorn's eyes looked left and right, although the light outside was very dim due to the rain, the interior was brightly lit.

The Russ lit a fire in the house and built a stove with stones, but there was no choking smoke in the room at all. He saw a stone fireplace for the first time, and if he was careful, he could find that almost all the houses in the wooden fort had stone chimneys, and the chimneys were all heating fireplaces.

There were as many as twenty white-furred bear heads hanging on the wooden wall, and Bjorn even felt a little terrified when he thought of the bear skins that the Ross warriors wore.

Above the bear's head is a bronze oil lamp base, and the flame burns calmly.

Directly above the wooden table is a huge chandelier that shines like stars.

All of this is actually only a trade post of the Rus people on Lake Mälaren, so what is the home port of the Rus people? Think about your own home, and even Carl, it's a sheepfold and a cowshed.

Björn exerted his courage, and invisibly the aura of the Russ overwhelmed him.

Otto frowned slightly: "You are Bjorn? I am the Duke of Ross. I came to Melalen ten years ago, and now I am here again. I don't know you! Then, Bjorn , what are you coming here in the rain for?"

Otto asked this knowingly. He deliberately left Bjorn at the door for a while, and took this opportunity to order Gould to explain a thing or two to himself and his son. At this moment, Otto already knew that this person indeed represented the interests of a large number of big landlord families, and this person rushed over in a hurry, nothing more than for food.

After all, in September in Melalen, for the sake of food, the lake was boiling.

Bjorn did not have any arrogance, the strength of both sides was here, he respectfully said: "I am Bjorn, I have a group of fertile fields rich in wheat, and a group of farmers who are good at farming. I work with other families. After the discussion, everyone elected me as a representative to discuss the sale of grain with you. I have been watching you, so even if the weather is bad, I am here now.”

Otto remained unchanged,

His tensed face is full of beards, and if he covers his right eye, it is simply the image of the legendary god Odin.

Otto sat upright and pretended to be a wise man. Now that the issue of food trading was really involved, he immediately took a back seat.

"The grain trade? Very well, we Russ are here to trade extensively with you. I like your wheat, your vegetables, and your linen."

Things were going so well, Bjorn's slightly tense face was now relaxed.

"Then, let my Rurik have a good talk with you. Bjorn, you have to remember that anyone who deals with us Russ should also understand that my Rurik is the Duke of Rus."

Is he Rurik? Sure enough, it was exactly the same as the legend, what a beautiful boy.

The child was extremely neatly dressed, he had a unique temperament, and the gemstone decoration on his clothes only further set off his nobility. He is not a son of a rich family, nor is he bound to inherit the power of the old leader of Ross because of blood. There is something very complicated and profound in his blue eyes. Obviously, this Rurik is the big master behind the Ross tribe.

Just when Björn was feeling a lot of surprise from Rurik, Rurik spoke, and when he opened his mouth, it was astonishing.

"Bjorn, who do you represent? Is it the Swedish King Carl? Or the entire Meralen clan? Or some of your big families? Or just your family?"

With four choices in front of Bjorn, he suddenly realized something.

"I...represent my own family, but also twenty large families with large amounts of farmland."

Rurik nodded, this was the answer he hoped to hear, but he was still a little unsure: "So, your relationship with Karl... You are against Karl? Or, you don't like him?"

Bjorn hesitated for a moment and said deliberately: "Karl, after all, is the king and the leader of our tribe. How can we oppose the king."

"No. Your eyes are floating, you are lying." Rurik stretched his small head: "If you really support Karl, why come alone? You landowners, you fully know that we Rus people are coming to Karl, the heir to the throne. The grain trader. If you really admit Carl, you shouldn't be negotiating with us behind his back."

These words directly hit Bjorn's heart, because the fact is that Bjorn is mad and wants to oppose Carl.

Björn sullen and sat up straight: "Karl is the king, of course we have to support the king."

Rurik believed in his own judgment. The attitude of this Bjorn and the guys behind him was already very obvious.

Rurik followed suit and said with a slight smile, "Yes! Karl is the king, how can we oppose the king?"

The atmosphere has become extremely delicate. This is a wonderful diplomatic occasion. There is a very obvious thing in front of both sides, but the reality forces both sides to not openly object, even if everyone is against it.

Otto and Gould were completely aware of this situation. It was supposed to be a happy business negotiation, but they were confused.

Rurik shrugged again, and he had no worries. "Okay, Bjorn, tell me your price. You know, as my father said, we Russ like your produce very much."

At the most critical moment, Bjorn was not nervous, because before departure, the attitude of the big landlords was completely unified and he came up with a set of negotiation plans for food prices.

"We plan to take out 300,000 pounds of wheat, all of which are new this year. We can use our reputation to guarantee that every wheat has been hulled and dried. The porridge is fragrant. So, ten pounds of wheat for a silver coin."

"Really? That's the price?"

"That's the price." Seeing the calm expressions on Rurik and the others, Bjorn subconsciously felt that the Russ completely agreed.

Of course this is not the case, because the left-behind Rus people are fully aware of the many events that have occurred in Lake Mälaren in the past month. A major task of these left-behind people is to monitor the price changes of various bulk goods, and make statistics and finally report to them. Duke Ross reports.

Rurik deliberately paused and said calmly: "This price is insane. It's completely the price of a famine year. I heard that all the farmland around Lake Mälaren is a bumper crop. Are these statements wrong? Or, did you deliberately set this price just to make a lot of our money?"

This was the end of the sloppy way of speaking, and Rurik continued to say calmly without any cover up: "I thought you would risk your illness to come to our island to have a high opinion, but you just came to tell me, what do you think? Do you want to carry food with your own weight?"

"No! We didn't!" Bjorn never imagined that this Rurik already knew some key inside information. His denial was really weak, as if he had admitted it.

Rurik was mentally prepared when he listened to the report of the left-behind yesterday. Unexpectedly, the strange encounter today, the landlords of Melalen really licked their faces and asked for money.

Don't you want money? They know that the Russ are the biggest and craziest buyers, like slaughtering this big fat sheep?

The Rus people are indeed furry, the fur is not wool, but polar bear fur!

Rurik calmly said with ferocity: "We Russ can't accept this price. But we still need your food. I heard that the price of food in the whole Melalen is like this, which is very abnormal. I can only think that It's a dirty betrayal, the Rus are betrayed by the Mellarens. Listen! Bjorn. If I can't get food comfortably, I'll have to organize an army of three thousand to fight. You You know, our army annihilated 10,000 people on Gotland at a very small price, and the consequences of angering us..."

Rurik saw the glass in front of him, and he sipped a glass of low-alcohol wine, then smashed the glass to pieces.

"This is the consequence. War!"

This is really the most serious threat. Bjorn was shocked and at a loss for a while, but fortunately he had come up with a plan.

"Dear Russ, please calm your anger. We didn't mean to offend you, it's just that I was forced to do so."

"who is it?"

"It's King Carl. It's the price that Carl set. If we don't do it, Carl will attack. All the landlord families are very afraid. In order to avoid disaster, we can only do this..."

Such rhetoric is just a kind of dumping, and of course there are some facts in the rhetoric.

"In this case, can we continue to talk?" Rurik deliberately said, "I know what you have done. You have almost drained the rations of ordinary farmers, and you have ordered the surrounding tribes to increase prices, just to let us The Rus people are taking advantage of it. So, is your purpose to sell the grain to earn silver coins? I tell you clearly, I do not accept this price. If you refuse, I can only understand that Melalen is betraying the alliance and provoking a civil war Prime culprit."

"We don't want war, it's all about Karl." Bjorn continued to throw the blame, taking the opportunity to put forward a preset condition: "We are also willing to reduce the price, we only have one condition."

"Tell me, I'll think about it."

"We are really afraid of Karl's retaliation, and if he does, please support us from the Rus."

shit! It's all bullshit! Rurik now understands that these big landlords are simply pretending to be weak. They are not afraid of Karl at all, they just need a scapegoat who takes all risks. Carl is the king, and it is natural for him to take care of everything.

"I can guarantee it. So, we Rus ask for a price reduction of seventeen pounds a silver."

"Ah! This...maybe."

"What? You guys were forced to buy it at a price of twenty pounds of silver coins, and you are selling it at ten pounds. You earn too much, why is it wrong for me to let you earn less?"

"Fourteen pounds, can't go any lower," Bjorn said hastily.

"Then fifteen pounds! It's like the price of a normal harvest. So you sell sixty pounds of wheat for an extra silver coin."

"make a deal."

Fifteen pounds of oats sold for one silver coin, which was the floor price negotiated by the families. They really want the Russ to take advantage of it, and if the other party doesn't want to, they will throw the price. The big family believes that the bottom line of the Russ is probably in this price range.

However, each family also confirmed that once the Rus people decided to buy grain, Bjorn, the representative, immediately stated that the grain sold was as high as 400,000 pounds.

"What? Four hundred thousand pounds?" Rurik was finally taken aback. "You have so much food?"

"some."

"Are you really frantically looting the farmers' food?"

Bjorn didn't care: "Many farmers owe my family a debt, and they have to pay their debts with grain. Each of our families can put out 20,000 pounds of high-quality oats, and we will pay the price we set. When the rain stops, we will The wheat will be shipped to the island. I need to know now if we can get the silver coins the first time."

"High-quality Frankish silver coins? Don't worry about it. We pay with one hand and deliver with the other. For our peaceful trade, we Russ would like to set a banquet to celebrate our happy cooperation."

Rurik, who had just made a threat of war, is now going to have a drink?

From Bjorn's point of view, the child was not contrived at all, and what he said and did was not a show. Rurik, perhaps he has only the appearance of a child, he is very mature inside.

For Rurik, Bjorn already had a high opinion in his heart, and he urgently needed to tell those big families what he had seen and heard, telling them that the Russ would never take advantage of them.

Rurik randomly dispatched a plainly dressed and revealingly gorgeous maid (he returned to the world with ten Slavic maids under his command), put on a new glass, and poured new wine.

There was indeed nothing childish in his free and easy way of raising his glass, and the others also raised their glasses one after another.

Bjorn looked at the crystal cup in his hand thoughtfully, then raised it.

They talked happily and determined a trade contract in this way. As for engraving the contract on the wooden board, forget it.

Through this negotiation, Rurik has completely determined that the grain trade in Lake Mälaren has completely turned to the buyer's market. Only the Rus who controls 10,000 pounds of silver capital have the strength to spoil so much grain.

Bjorn left again in the cold light rain, and he did not leave empty-handed.

He took the wine glass as a token.

Of course Bjorn also knew that the Russ had been selling a lot of glassware in recent years, as well as quite a few odd ones. The glass is certainly expensive, but it has been much lower than the sky-high price in the past. He didn't know how the Rus got so much glassware, but they sold it every summer and made a lot of money for it.

This precious treasure is naturally the more the better. Bjorn knows that his family needs to sell a lot of grain to make money from the Rus. He can spend money to buy rare items from the Rus, but now, he needs to recruit private soldiers Purchase weapons.

Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and each family believes that through the transaction between the Ruth people and Carl, Carl's family will make a lot of money.

Probably so! After Carl's strength rapidly expands, he will organize more troops!

The Rus are going to buy 800,000 pounds of wheat from Carl! This news has long been leaked, and every family knows it. Carl Shao said he had to make more than four hundred pounds of silver coins!

However, until now, each family still does not know a very crazy inside story.

Did Carl really sell 800,000 pounds of wheat to the Rus? On the contrary, these 800,000 pounds of wheat are a debt, or a debt established after political mediation! It was the secret conversation between the two parties on Gotland Island, and the big families of Melalen didn't know about it at all, unless Carl himself revealed it himself.

Carl did sell wheat to the outside world, and he was sure to raise the price so that a silver coin could only buy ten pounds. It is said that the Rus people will take advantage of it, and it may cause the other party to go into a rage.

how can that be possible? Carl's pricing itself is not aimed at the Rus people, but the people in the tribe who need to buy commercial grains. There is no direct interest in how the Rus people get angry?

The windless world is densely covered with haze, and the fine cold autumn rain sprinkles the entire lake area, and the settlements around the big lake are surging undercurrents.

Carl is not a pure coward. He finds that his power is threatened, and he is trying to use the Rus to suppress the rising opposition within the tribe, and he is also actively establishing and restoring his power.

The various families of the Melalen tribe tried their best to get money. The purpose of getting the money was to expand the private army, make the "anti-Karl alliance" stronger, and find a suitable opportunity to kill Karl. Of course, it would have been great if Karl was beheaded for angering the Rus.

But Rurik, he was already planning to flip the table. The instigation work against ordinary farmers and fishermen in Melalen is being carried out in the rain.