Rise of Rurik

There are some ice-cutting fishermen scattered on the frozen river, and some people are also swimming on the slopes on both sides of the river.

A large number of small boats were pushed ashore and tied up with ropes. The boats were also covered with thick snow. At first glance, they looked like solid ice blending into the pale earth.

Only the city wall is still the gray-brown color of the wood, which looks unique and eye-catching in the pure white world of the dazzling sunlight.

The sled team turned around and whipped the deer hard, causing the deer to rush up the snow slope with all their strength.

Until now, Ella finally saw clearly the majesty of New Roseburg, the capital of the country. The team looked so small under the city wall mixed with tall stone and wood.

The city is built along the Neva River. The riverside Nevsky Prospekt is the largest road in the city. The two ends of this almost standard east-west road are the east gate and west gate of the city.

Before the sleigh team arrived, the Russian flags flying on each sleigh were seen by the soldiers patrolling the city wall.

The king had already ordered that a large sleigh team from Novgorod would arrive during this period.

On the one hand, the patrolling soldiers went out to greet him, and on the other hand, they urgently notified His Majesty the King.

When Rurik learned of this, he himself was staying at the shipyard in the capital, talking with the old guy Hotla about building large ships.

Regarding the building of a brand new ship, isn’t what Hotla has been pursuing in this life just to build a super ship?

Having built eight Aurora-class sailing battleships, the old guy felt that this feat had been completed in his twilight years, but he foolishly underestimated the king's dream.

ark? What is an ark? Is this giant ship a legendary thing, or does it exist in reality?

"The Ark exists, but we may not be able to build it with our current strength. But as long as we continue to improve our technology, it will not be difficult to realize it." Rurik's words were like nonsense, but he made his attitude clear. It is necessary to build a big ship. of. The so-called Hotla family has the ability to continue to improve the Avora-class ships, but now it is indeed fully committed to building new cargo ships with higher cost performance. This is inappropriate.

The men of the Hotla family still lacked a Stein. The project to build the big ship had been approved. Finally, all the skilled craftsmen came together to discuss the details of the construction. Stein Hotlason was indispensable.

The messenger hurried to the independent shipyard adjacent to the capital. It is located in the southwest of the capital, facing directly the brackish water of the Gulf of Finland.

The soldier got off the sled and rushed towards him. He was stopped by the guards. After asking what was going on, everyone rushed directly into the large and warm indoor dock.

"What's going on? Is something serious happening?" Rurik frowned and looked displeased.

They all knelt down and saluted, and the messenger said bluntly: "The king's atonement is really a serious matter. The brothers have completed the task you assigned, and the sled team from Novgorod has arrived."

An old guy heard this and walked over quickly: "Oh! My son Stein is back? That's great!"

"Exactly." The messenger spoke firmly: "Master Stein is indeed here. And..."

"My first clerk is here too, right?"

"The scribe arrived safely. She...she still has something important to present."

"Really? I don't know what tricks Ella is playing. Let's go back to the capital!"

Building a brand new ship cannot be built just by giving an order. Rurik felt that he had plenty of time to study slowly with them, but now, it was extremely important to welcome his woman back. Because Ella is younger among the wives and concubines, her original identity is a princess in the kingdom's aristocratic system, but her current position is extremely important.

Just like in previous years, if he was not in Novgorod, Ella would be solely responsible for the statistics after taxation.

His excited heart was not hindered by the ice and snow. Rurik's thoughts were very simple. He welcomed her to his room, listened to her report carefully, and then...

The sleigh was running wildly, and when Rurik arrived at his old palace, the beautiful Ella was already chatting with her relatives and friends.

Only when she entered the city did she understand what magnificence was. The broad Harvest Square is a large flat area surrounded by tall buildings. It is said that the largest building is the attic of the king's new palace. It is taller than the tall red pine. It is obviously the highest place in this vast area, right? It must be a good feeling to stand up and enjoy the scenery.

Not only the palace, but also the residential buildings in the city are completely different from the low single-story houses in Novgorod.

She was traveling on a sleigh on the Nevsky Prospekt, the widest and most important street. The buildings on both sides of the road were the symbols of the country, and the residential buildings were also very impressive.

The first floors of the houses along Nevsky Prospekt are all made of large wooden columns and cement-bonded stone buildings, while the second floors are made of pure wood. This is a medieval residential style that highly imitates the Franks, and the construction is very cost-effective. Because the base is strong enough, the first floor of the residence is relatively low. Some buildings are built to three floors, and even a so-called fourth-floor micro storage room is opened at the bottom of the gabled roof.

In winter at high latitudes, the sun slants sharply, and it is obviously sunny. The shadows of the tall houses on the south side of the road completely cover Nevsky Prospekt. This situation has never occurred to Ella.

The old palace is far inferior to the new palace. It is just a giant long house with wooden floors. There are many rooms inside, and multiple stone fireplaces keep the entire palace very warm.

Ella is not Rurik's ordinary wife and concubine. One of her identities is that of old Otto's adopted daughter.

The Supreme King Otto never felt that this false reputation was so noble. His current thinking was that it would be wonderful to live one day at a time and enjoy the family relationship with more and more grandchildren.

The adopted daughter Ella is gentle and gentle. She is definitely not a female warrior. Instead, she manages money and food arrangements for the country. Her level and ability are worthy of recognition.

But Otto never paid much attention to war logistics, and he always had only a vague idea of ​​the size of the country's grain warehouses. He is a remnant of the old era, but he knows that the special work of his adopted daughter Ella is good for the current Rose.

The returned Ella relied on her adoptive father Otto like a kitten.

Otto caressed his adopted daughter's long golden hair and praised: "Very good, just like Niya back then."

She can act coquettishly to her heart's content and ignore the looks in her eyes from other women.

Stroking his adopted daughter's soft hair, Otto's memory returned to more than forty years ago. At that time, Niya was also so young and beautiful. Only the bravest warriors in the tribe could win the favor of the most beautiful Niya. Otto was the victor and so he embraced the beauty. Now, everything is in the past.

Niya's face was no longer beautiful, and she was already an old lady with wrinkled face and gray hair. Her beautiful appearance seemed to be left only in her memory.

Otto's sigh was like a needle tip that frustrated Niya's heart. She knew that her old man meant no harm, but unfortunately she was too old. Recalling her past beauty, Niya could only cover up her sigh with a smile.

Both Niya and Otto knew what Rurik meant by recruiting Ella. It was very simple. Until now, Ella was the only one who had not had a close relationship with King Rurik. At this time, the king could not stop saying "she is too young". Firstly, other women were already mothers at Ella's age. Secondly, if there was no more movement in her belly, the people of the country would be in despair. The little girl of the Ostara tribe is said to be a "sheep that cannot lay a lamb".

Niya called the lovely Ella over and taught her the knowledge of women as a mother-in-law and adoptive mother.

Rurik arrived late. He didn't have time to talk to the returning Stein, so he just met and went straight to the palace.

The majestic king wears a golden laurel crown, and his well-groomed beard is full of masculine charm. He is just right strong, and his tall figure gives a weak woman a strong sense of security. The strength in every sense exuded from his body can easily attract the attention of many women.

Ella was strongly attracted by his spirit, especially the special verbal education he received from his adoptive mother Niya. Now she looks at Rurik with more than reverence, and more with affection.

Although some wives and concubines gathered in the palace, things were easier to handle.

He has to take care of the feelings of Queen Svetlana and his concubine and countess Noren, and other women don't matter.

He sat on the leather cushion, hugged his Ella deliberately, and tactfully told everyone: "I asked her to report the tax collection to me, and she will accompany me during this period..."

When Rurik clicked it, many wives and concubines understood the meaning.

I saw Nolen covering his half-open mouth and muttering with a smile: "Isn't it so simple to report?"

"Hang bang..."

"It doesn't matter. In fact, everyone knows it." As he said that, Nolen's eyes glanced at the queen. She is trying to make a fool of herself, so what can the queen do?

As the queen, Svetlana is still holding her son. She straightened up slightly and spoke very generously: "Rurik, you have to treat her well. It is difficult to come all the way to the capital."

"That's natural." Hearing this, Rurik let out a sigh of relief.

The monarch has a lot of wives and concubines. What he fears most is the jealousy of the wives and concubines. A few years ago, he made them swear an oath with each other's blood. Can the oath be eternal?

Rurik knew very well that some of his wives and concubines were not ordinary people. Even Queen Svetlana seemed weak in the past, but it was terrifying that this was not the case at all. In the final analysis, her weakness is the result of forced cultivation by her family. This is not her true intention. As a queen in this position, she will definitely defend her identity as a queen by all means.

This is indeed the case. Even though Lana is still very young, the alienation of people by power has already begun. Her husband had many wives and concubines, and she felt relieved about those who were destined to leave the center of power.

Especially for this Ella, that would be the most reassuring!

Because Ella has lost the title of Ostara noble, the title "Hesturia" is a position. She is only responsible for the compilation of historical documents and the statistical calculation of many logistical matters. Her descendants They are also engaged in this kind of work. Descendants will not be able to enfeoff land, let alone establish a private army. She and her descendants are equivalent to senior servants of the royal family, nothing more.

Svetlana thinks so, and her relationship with Ella has always been good.

Rurik gave the king an order and he kept it.

After eating a full meal and taking a long hot bath, Ella felt so comfortable that she fell asleep. The exhaustion from the long sleigh ride only worsened, but the special pain made her energetic.

On the first night after arriving at New Roseburg, Ella finally became a woman. She shouted that she wanted to explain the tax report to the king, but Rurik threw aside the paper bag full of documents.

"We should have done this a long time ago. You can report it tomorrow. There is no need for tonight."

"Yes! Brother..."

"Call me king! Ella, you are not my adopted sister, you are my wife! My most valued scribe! From now on, there will be successors to the scribes, and the son you give birth to will be my scribe and historian. Any troubles have nothing to do with you, do your job well, and all you will get in the future will be happiness."

"Yes! King..."

She doesn't know what "happiness in the future" means, but she feels happy now.

Only here, Ella fully knew the truth. She came with the documents, and she should have a full belly by the time of next spring plowing. There is a high probability that her child will be born next year during the autumn harvest.

She was tortured a lot and rested the whole next day. For her sake, Rurik even postponed discussions with the people of the Hotla family about building a large ship.

Finally, after completing her identity change, Ella took out the thick stack of documents from the paper bag and presented this year's tax data to her husband, the king.

It must be said that as she has been busy working as a scribe for a long time, her handwriting has become more beautiful and neat during the long period of quill writing. She is of such a status that, in principle, she can use paper unscrupulously.

The tax data is one list after another, each of which is tax data for a settlement, along with the settlement's population.

The managers of each settlement compile their own data every year, such as how many people died, how many people were born, how many men and how many women there are, especially the population of men without disabilities between the ages of twelve and fifty, which is the country’s source of soldiers. potential.

For the specific work of sending people to collect taxes, the Novgorod garrison escorted the young scribes and arrived in various settlements in batches to start work. Except for Mstisk and Youth City, direct descendant settlements dominated by old Russian immigrants, they paid their own taxes. It was up to the king to charge more or less or whether to pay taxes. Otherwise, the people in these two settlements are blood relatives, so the preferential treatment policy at this stage is natural.

As for the Ostara people and the Gran people who have moved in, they are now completely tax-free at their joint settlement of the New Ostara people at the mouth of the Lovaj River at the southernmost end of Lake Ilmen. Because they are vassals, they are subject to the kingdom's "ten-year tax exemption strategy." The situation here reassures Rurik, because the main force of the kingdom's cavalry troops is stationed in New Ostara.

Ella's completion of the report does not mean that she can quietly wait for the gratifying changes in her body.

She prayed in her heart that she would not have menstruation on that day. As long as this did not happen, everything would be fine.

But as the first scribe of the kingdom, how could she remain leisurely as a pure aristocratic woman until the end of December, Hanukkah?

There are many places where she will be used next, especially this discussion about building a new large ship.

There were two large wooden tables put together in the large and warm indoor dock, and some yellowed papers were spread out on the table.

The charcoal blocks cut into pen-like shapes were arranged on the table. Rurik personally sketched the big ship he desired in front of the shipbuilder. He was drawing a three-dimensional view, and also deliberately drew a cross-section. Although the brushwork was very rough, the elder Hotla and his three sons, who were good at shipbuilding, all started "3D modeling" in their minds based on this somewhat abstract drawing. Thereby completing the understanding.

At the same time, Ella sat at the corner of the desk with a pen and paper, and the quill dipped in ink started to record formally at any time. Although she knew nothing about shipbuilding, she never imagined that her husband, the king, was actually very knowledgeable about the shipbuilding industry. She had no time to think about other things and focused on her own work.

The formal discussion soon took shape. In fact, many craftsmen all understood that the king was not overturning past experience to build a new ship. The king's request was indeed to build a big ship, and it was just a big ship.

What is a big ship? Its keel should be long, the ship should have more ribs and masts, and the ship's side should be higher, so that the deck can be built with multiple layers.

Rurik issued several technical specifications for the new ship:

The keel must be no less than 50 stikas (about 49 meters).

The standard draft of a ship should not exceed 4 stikas, and the fully loaded draft should not exceed 6 stikas.

The water side height ensures 4 to 5 stikas. There must be a forecastle and a stern building, of which the stern building should be taller.

There should be three main masts and a large elevation bow mast. Two mainmasts use jibs, and the other mainmast uses double-sided sails. The bow mast uses a single level sail.

With this technical indicator, Lao Huotra was impressed by the king's courage. He said bluntly: "The keel alone has 50 stikas? When she is completed, she will be a giant ship, and it looks like it will be the Avora." Three or even four times the size.”

Rurik sat down at his desk with a sullen face: "I don't want you to sigh. I want your answer. Can it be built?"

"It seems that materials are added to the Aurora, just like a calf growing into a strong cow. The overall structure of the ship has not changed, but it is too big. To build it, the traditional method may be... ..." Hotla was worried. He especially pointed at the ceiling of this indoor dock: "This place is already too small."

"I know." Rurik shrugged: "It's not even suitable to build on hard ground. We can dig a big pit and build a dam. This is called a dry dock. Once the ship is built, just open the lock and release the water. I trust you, I will give you a lot of rewards, and I will send people to investigate and obtain the missing wood."

The dry dock shipbuilding method was unfamiliar to the Hotla family, but it was easy to understand. The four shipbuilders marveled at the king's good idea and understood the king's attitude. This job is full of challenges, and it must be full of hardships. The ship materials alone are troublesome, but the king's attitude is very firm. It would be a big mistake for anyone to shirk this matter.

"We need oak, red pine, oak and other wood, especially the keel. It is difficult to obtain oak at any time." Hotla was extremely worried about this matter.

"It doesn't matter. High-quality oak is in the south. I will send people to Novgorod this winter to look for it. I am not eager for quick success, especially when building my new flagship, I must first ensure quality. You can start the preparation work first, such as First dig a big hole to make a dry dock and prepare the wood by yourself except oak. We will start when I have all the oak."

Hotla had a clue: "However, the preparations will take a lot of time, maybe a year."

"It doesn't matter."

"I'm afraid I won't survive until the new ship is launched."

Hotra is indeed too old. Rurik sighed softly: "No one will forget your family's contribution to the country. The new ship will replace the Avora class as the new battleship, and the second ship will be called Hotra." Call it! Just use your name!"

"That's great. May I ask the name of the flagship?"

Rurik shrugged and said righteously: "It's called the Monarch."

"A very simple name."

"It's enough to scare the enemy." Rurik smiled, and the others also laughed...

As for the so-called new big ship, Ross's previous Avora-class ship was modeled after the Caravel ship. As for the technical indicators of the new big ship, it was the larger Galen ship.

The Spanish galleon is a super-large galenic ship. This type of ship also has a development process from small to large. Find Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan． com In the final analysis it is the result of continuous improvements to the Caravel-type ships. A super-large Galen ship can be built into a monster with a displacement of 2,000 tons, but the universal type only has a displacement of 1,000 tons at full load.

What Rurik hopes is the so-called universal type. She is huge enough and can be used as a giant troop carrier, a super transport ship, and a majestic "mountain on the sea." The construction of the navy has been very financially demanding since ancient times, but several super capital ships are displayed at the pier, which will greatly enhance the national pride, and is evidence of military strength, as well as super force to deter potential enemies and ensure the peace of Russia. From a purely economic perspective, this kind of large ship has the strength to cross the North Atlantic, and the efficiency of transporting materials will be unprecedented, so rushing to the new world in the west is no longer a luxury.

So she had to be a Monarch, and even if it took two to three years, she had to be built. If you have the first ship, you must have the second, third or even eighth ship!

Rurik ambitiously formulated a shipbuilding plan. When all the data was sorted out, Ella wrote the written document of the shipbuilding plan herself.

The Hotla family responded to the king's order with practical actions. They really began to dig dry dock pits and sea channels on the seaside regardless of the ice and snow, even if it was a slow work...

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