Rise of Rurik

The fishermen's matter was completely resolved at noon. By evening, 1,600 fishermen of various ages, with bare hands and ragged clothes, had been collectively transferred to the central open space of the Gould Island Fortress. A large refugee camp was born.

At this point, although the methods have become extremely crude, there are still hundreds of corpses existing along with the ruins of the fishing village.

From the perspective of other tribal people and even ordinary farmers in Mälaren, this is a terrible civil war between the great nobles of Mälaren against free fishermen! The resulting mess was dealt with personally by the king.

After this glimpse, business activity in Stockholm has in principle resumed.

The mess in the ruins of the fishing village looked quite horrifying. Since the land nobles would occupy this place, they each completed the control area and deliberately left a large so-called king's land, and then began to spontaneously send their men to clean up the garbage.

Their cleaning method was extremely simple and straightforward, which was to push useful things and an astonishing amount of wood blocks and strips directly into the lake.

There were also farmers and small traders from nearby, trying to find some useful items in the ruins. Facing the ruins that had been swept away, the private soldiers had no time to pay attention to them. The private soldiers even hope that these "vultures" will also clean up the wood waste. These people started some special collection, and a batch of wood was pulled away on a loading cart. The wood will be further chopped and used as firewood for the winter.

The follow-up work is all done by Duke Bjorn and his noble friends.

As the mastermind behind the scenes, Rurik was very happy that the title of villain was passed on to those nobles.

Immediately afterwards, I appeared as a benevolent savior and put the fishermen under control to my use.

A long ship carried King Rurik to the fortress of Gould Island.

This small island was crammed with 1,600 fishermen in an instant. To control so many people without causing chaos, hundreds of soldiers with good weapons and good guarding were needed. The islands became very crowded, but this crowding was temporary as all the fishermen were about to be shipped to the New World to replenish the population of the eastern settlements.

Rurik's wives and concubines on Gould Island had no idea about the violent scene in Stockholm. The women were busy with their own leisure and entertaining their children. Old Otto had no worries or desires. Today he was drinking hard liquor and living a day-to-day life.

The quiet life was destined to be interrupted by violent commercial activities. What everyone never expected was that first there was a large-scale mobilization of the army, and then a large number of people were driven off the ship like prisoners and packed into the empty space of the island fortress. inside.

Otto, who was standing at a high place, didn't know what was going on. Many of Rurik's wives and concubines looked around. They saw the fear and sadness of the "prisoners" and noticed that there were a large number of children inside shouting in confusion.

"What's going on? Can anyone tell me what's going on? What did my Rurik do behind my back?" Otto looked left and right, and asked the attendants in a hoarse voice.

Soon, someone told him everything.

Otto was not shocked, just simply confused. Are the methods used to capture slaves so extreme now? The people sitting around in the fortress are all immigrants from the Melalen people. When his son becomes the king, can he really kill and kill ordinary people openly and casually?

He felt a little uneasy again, recalling this dreamy six months, his Rurik was not only a heroic warrior, but also like a god descending into the world and able to do whatever he wanted.

Otto neither praised nor belittled, thinking that his Rurik would not arrest people randomly. This time, no matter the old or weak, were packed into the fortress. He used his toes to think about what his son wanted.

As the former supreme ruler, Otto still speaks well even though he is old. He ordered the chief of the island, or the trusted deputy appointed by the Japanese Governor Bai Hu, to come to see him.

Facing the man who knelt on one knee and saluted, Otto ordered decisively: "I know that this fortress has a large amount of wheat in stock. You are now cooking wheat on a large scale and appeasing the fishermen with food."

"As ordered." The deputy answered simply.

Because even without Otto's order, the deputy received a direct order from the king's messenger, which said that every fisherman who landed on the island must be ensured to be alive.

Some black iron pots were moved to the lakeside of the island, and a few huge granite stones were stuffed underneath to build a temporary stove. Firewood and charcoal were piled inside, and the flames were baking the iron pots. Ladle water from the nearby lake into the pot and start cooking a large amount of oats.

The helpless fishermen began to smell the aroma of cooking wheat. It was evening and the aroma of wheat became stronger and stronger.

It was at this time that Rurik quietly landed on the island.

As soon as he landed on the island, he saw an iron pot placed in a conspicuous position near the pier. The flames were so high that the flames were extremely obvious under the soft light of the dim sunset. All this is reported to him. In fact, just smelling it hard will tell that the wheat has been cooked thoroughly.

Oats are no different than wheat. To cook them well, they need to be simmered for a very long time. This batch of oats is provided as dinner for all the fishermen who land on the island. Preparing meals for more than a thousand people at once is a test of the chef's physical strength, not to mention that the chefs are still employed sailors and loaders.

The oats are mostly cooked and then taken out and stuffed into a wooden barrel. They are then sprinkled with a large amount of salt and pounded vigorously with a wooden stick. It's like preparing fine feed for horses, except that the people eating the wheat are those unlucky fishermen.

The empty space in the center of the fort is surrounded by wooden walls. Soldiers holding torches on the platform on the wall were always monitoring the people below. They did not dare to relax. If the group of fishermen showed signs of disturbance, they would immediately beat drums and blow horns, and soldiers would rush in to maintain law and order.

How could the frightened fishermen still have the strength to make a fuss? It is said that as long as you stay calm, you can survive. Many men have been killed. The remaining people can only choose to cooperate and keep whispering to each other to curse the betrayal and sin of the Melalen nobles.

Finally, as the king himself stood on a high place, overlooking all the suffering fishermen who were released under the light of many torches, the highlight came!

The sound of the trumpet, symbolizing majesty, interrupted the whispers of the fishermen. Faces with different javelins raised their faces, most of them looking at their king with expectant eyes. A free fisherman can ignore the new King Rurik of Sweden, but his family is firmly controlled by the king and he has no choice.

A solemn atmosphere enveloped the entire Gould Island, and the wooden fence was covered with Ross troops holding torches. The several gates were all sealed, and hundreds of soldiers, led by King Rurik, stood high, like hunters staring at the prey that had fallen into a trap.

The fishermen all had a premonition that the young king would pronounce everyone's fate.

No, when Rurik felt that the atmosphere had completely settled down, he started his performance.

"Fishermen! You are so pitiful! Those big families of Melalen never regard you as tribesmen. They drive you to kill you. Even I, the king, can't stop you! I know that many of you have been killed! I am more I know that your village has also been destroyed! You have no means of living. If I hadn’t taken action at the critical moment, those nobles and their troops would have killed you all! This is what I don’t want to see! So! , it’s your king! It’s me, Rurik! I saved your lives.”

Rurik shouted his throat out during a lengthy speech. He also deliberately slowed down his tone to emphasize who the villain was and how he was a great savior.

The words aroused strong emotional resonance among the people, and the peaceful scene became noisy again.

Rurik heard the sound of a large number of women wailing, men spitting, and children screaming after being frightened again.

The horns and drums were blaring again. After a while, after they had finished venting their emotions, they were forced to be quiet again.

Behind Rurik was a bright flame, and he was as majestic as a statue of a god.

He stretched his arms forward as if to bestow a gift.

"So!" He raised his voice again, "The nobles of Mellaren are persecuting you, and they have long wanted to take action! Now you should think about your future. Even if you end up in this situation, you must think about how to survive. .”

In fact, some people feel that this matter is too strange. It is true that the nobles of Mellaren are evil people, but does the past really have nothing to do with them? However, the collective anger was directed at the Malaren noble group. They were just a group of fishermen. After hundreds of men died, a large number of women held their children without the ability or willingness to fight back.

The simplest thought in many people's minds is to leave this cursed lake. Maybe the king will give them a chance?

"Now, I give you two choices! I know you are a fishing family! Men! You will leave Sweden with your wives and children, and I will be responsible for your livelihood. You can choose to go to the north and dig ore for me. Earn stable wheat and fish. Or go to the east, and I will give you farm tools, so you can be farmers with peace of mind!"

Fearing that they might not listen carefully, Rurik said this many times.

The preaching obviously achieved good results. The fishermen who were looked down on did not argue or howl. They were discussing the possibilities of the future with each other.

When this group of fishermen were hit by a nightmare disaster, lost all their means of production, and were worried about their future survival, they got the king's help in times of need. Is there any reason to refuse?

Rurik gave them a very narrow choice, either to become miners or farmers.

It was also in Rurik's opinion that in the past, these guys were all from Melalen on the surface, but they seemed to be inseparable from the Melalen tribe. Although the Melalen tribe is a hodgepodge, it has formed a relatively stable political system like a large city-state over a long period of time. However, this village composed of free fishermen occupies a precious land and is clearly separate from the Melalen tribe.

It is understandable that the nobles of Melalen wanted to drive them away, but during the day the nobles broke the agreement and actually launched a killing. This surprised Rurik and at the same time became an excuse to make a big fuss now.

However, he couldn't trust this group of fishermen. They were originally from Melalen, and they all avoided them during the war. They only wanted to make profits in the fish and meat business.

This group of fishermen has a large population. In principle, it is possible to select men who can fight among them, but I am just afraid that such men will run away from the battle.

Rurik couldn't believe that they wanted to use their labor force again. Since this group of people were timid about public warfare and only wanted to gain benefits for themselves, then they could just pull them to the rear and simply engage in logistics production! Their generation is really unbearable, and their descendants will surely bid farewell to selfishness.

Whether you are a miner or a farmer, you will naturally get a stable life, but the price is of course constant monitoring of your life.

The king's kindness was not free, and Ryuri ordered them to think about it. As the confinement door was opened, the hungry fishermen began to walk out of the fortress as small families. They were taken to the river to eat the boiled oats sprinkled with salt that they had been rewarded with.

As long as you eat the food rewarded by the king, you must obey the king's arrangements in the future. Although it is not really a slave, it is probably not much different from being a slave.

Do you still have the qualifications to choose? They ate the wheat and were thinking about whether to be miners or farmers in the future. After eating the wheat, the fishermen had to weigh it all night, because early tomorrow morning, all the fishermen would be separated, put on the boat, and rush to the distance.

In fact, that night, the kingdom's upper-level rulers, under Rurik's arrangement, had already made arrangements for the fate of this group of fishermen.

Are some fishermen families going to be miners? You can now pull up to Ironburg in the north and start the physical work of digging iron ore and granite right away. For newcomers, the treatment is naturally the same as before. They will not and cannot be treated maliciously just because they are newcomers and they will be engaged in heavy physical labor. In this regard, my concubine Saipolava is the person in charge. Because the son born by Saipolava will fully and legally inherit the position of governor of Ailon Orava Fort, the fishermen who immigrated to work as miners are already de jure subjects of Saipolava.

Saipolava originally responded to King Rurik's call to participate in the coronation ceremony. She believed that there was a high probability that she was pregnant with the king's seed in her belly. A year later, there was a high probability that a boy would be born and become Elon. The de jure young master of the castle. For the sake of ruling power, she was unwilling to treat her own people badly, but she didn't know how many fishermen would be willing to work as miners.

There must be many people willing to be farmers. According to the information provided by the servants, some of these so-called free fishermen are bankrupt local farmers. After selling the land they developed to pay off their debts, they were left with only a broken boat. The family made a living by fishing on the vast Lake Mälaren. This way of life was a luxury, and it was enough to survive every winter. Great luck.

"Many of them were farmers, and they were forced to become pure fishermen. I asked them to resume their occupation as farmers. Now you tell me, where is the best place to place the farmers?" Rurik actually already had the answer in his mind when he asked. .

His eyes looked at his wife Svetlana, then at Duchess Carlotta of Ostara, and finally at his cousin Arik, and even his young confidant Fisk.

The king's attitude couldn't be more obvious. Each of the four can choose a group of people from the farmers and settle them in their own cities.

Only Svetlana made a "concession": "Let them divide these people! Novgorod City is already a bit crowded."

"Is it just crowded?"

"Is there any other reason?" Svetlana's eyes were a little wandering, and she revealed her thoughts.

Rurick could guess what his wife was thinking, and this phenomenon was also very clear. In Novgorod, the largest population is the Slavs and mixed-race children of White Tree Manor. The main immigrants of Rus's headquarters are not in Novgorod, but in the very close new cities of Mstisk and Youth City.

The manager of Mstisk and Youth City is Fisk of Aric.

Svetlana still hopes that there will be fewer strange Varangians staying in Novgorod. The only ones she can accept are the Rus among the Varangians. For other Varangians, because of her past I really don’t like the education I received.

She did not specify the real reason for her objection, and for reasons of trust, Rurik did not send the fishermen to Novgorod. In any case, Novgorod is completely the backup capital of the kingdom. Even if it is not the capital, it is also the location of the largest granary in Rus.

The fishermen who were willing to become farmers, with the withdrawal of Novgorod represented by Svetlana, the three forces divided them equally.

Rurik was taking care of his Carlotta, thus settling some fishermen from Mälaren, and the population of Ostara increased. In the past, these fishermen were unwilling to work for the rulers of Mellaren because of lack of care. In the future, they will all have farmland to make a living. Even if it becomes their own field harvest, they will have to work for the king or local nobles, right?

Early the next morning, when the temperature was quite cool, the fishermen's diversion had already begun.

As everyone expected, less than one in ten people are willing to become miners. The vast majority of fishermen families, especially the female fishermen whose men have died, have the strongest attitude towards becoming farmers in the future.

The diversion was going on quickly, and the families who had made the choice immediately boarded the ship with their only supplies. Each family was shocked that the king also distributed a reward, namely ten silver coins and a large sack of oats.

Even if her man was killed yesterday, the orphans and widows still enjoy this reward.

Is this really going to be a serf for the king? Pooh! Which master would give such a reward to a slave?

With a few silver coins and a large bag of oats in hand, these supplies are enough for a family to survive for a while. They really have money and food in their hands. Yesterday they had almost lost hope for the future, but now they are quietly full of hope.

Transporting people from Lake Mälaren to fill the eastern part of Russia has always been a strategy pursued by Rus. Now that Rurik has become the king, this kind of transportation of people can be done even more openly.

Even now, we need to step up our efforts to do this. As long as we continue to transport the people of the Melalen tribe, we will continue to weaken this behemoth tribe.

Although the plan could not keep up with the change, as many as 1,600 fishermen had to be suddenly transported, as well as more than 50 orphans of various ages that had been recently taken in. Rurik was not expecting the huge amount of people to be transported. Fortunately, the Ross fleet is all in Lake Malaren, and there are still a number of traditional longships that can be requisitioned immediately. The surrendered fishermen with nothing could just unload their boats at Tombstone Island in the ocean and float to the east on other boats.

Rurik made a plan for himself to move people, and the Ross army moved as fast as ever.

Even the nobles of Mälaren have not finished cleaning up the ruins of the village. The wheat harvest in the entire region is still in progress, and large ships transporting a large number of people have officially floated out of Lake Mälaren and reached the sea. Taking this opportunity, a group of Rus warriors evacuated with the ship in advance. Soon when the remaining ships were filled with food, even Rurik himself would leave.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :