Soon, the three of them got together and explained the matter clearly.
The so-called Britten women around Gould, their obedient appearance made Rurik's imagination go wild.
Are there still such servants brought from other places in the society of the Southern Allies? To be honest, Rurik felt a little pity for their tragic experience, and even felt sympathy.
Now, Rumia, who has lost all her relatives, can easily be trained by him to become an extremely loyal servant. Rurik's success is not so much about treating her sincerely, but mainly comes from the stable supply of material.
If the people who were captured by Ali were strong-willed, they would have committed suicide long ago. Being a slave meant that they were afraid of death. A slave is willing to compromise if he can get food, clothing, and accommodation from his master's family.
By giving a little help to the miserable people, Rurik naturally gained a sense of psychological satisfaction. Of course, what he needs most is the greater benefits brought by more servants. He provides food and housing for many servants. In exchange, the servants must work a lot.
To fully and efficiently exploit the labor value of servants, the servants must consume a lot of physical energy. In order for them to work better, they must be provided with more food. For this reason, each servant must be better than ordinary Ross. The tribesmen need to consume more food.
Rurik could imagine that after his decision was truly implemented, the tribesmen would say, "It's incredible that the master is so kind to his servants." However, the big projects I launched this year require a large amount of cheap labor to work on.
As the saying goes, a crazy capitalist wants to monopolize all the profits of the entire industry chain. For example, would making soap always rely on the work of priests? Pooh! Did the signed document say that future soaps could only be made by priests? Besides, when it comes to some large-scale sacrifices, the priests are busy with related work, and the soap industry will inevitably encounter a catastrophic shutdown.
As long as you have a group of absolutely loyal labor force, then you can build a "soap factory" by yourself, implement a complete industrial process of boiling oil, burning plant ash, and saponification operations, and even train a few servants as professional "salesmen", and you can Serving as the major owner of this soap company also prevents others from restricting the entire industry.
The lucrative soap trade can be done in this way, and similarly, the brewing industry to be established also requires a large number of servants.
When I think about the fact that I still have fifteen deer, my plan last year was to try to multiply this small group of deer into a huge herd!
Expect a Lumia to herd? too crazy.
What's more, Rumia can now do four arithmetic operations within a thousand, and can recite multiplication tables very fluently. It's really unfair for such a "little math genius" to go herding.
To do this it was necessary to make some of the servants professional deer herders.
When there are more servants, there is a huge appetite. If there is a problem with the most fundamental food supply, all industrial plans will be severely damaged.
After figuring out the situation, the big businessman Gould fully understood. He couldn't help but think that once Rurik's plan was successful and he led a group of servants to produce a large number of high value-added goods, he would be able to make more money than being a pirate. .
Gould thought for a while and said: "Rurik, I completely understand your plan. I have a way to get you some slaves who can understand Norse. The southern market sells some slaves from Denmark every year." Most of the poor people taken from the hands of others are Britons from the western islands, and there are even prisoners of tribal wars. How many people do you want me to get? "
"Probably, get me thirty people? Or fifty people."
"so much?!"
"Ah! Too many?" Rurik just said casually. Thinking about it now, maybe there shouldn't be too many people at the beginning. "Then let's have twenty people, preferably all men. I need strong men, I need their strength."
"Man?" Gould curled his lips and shook his head. "You think too much. The most I can do is get you some women."
"Why? Are those Briton men still worth a hundred gold coins?"
"Of course not! Boy, you have no idea that the Danes who attacked that island didn't have the time to capture the men. They robbed the gold and food, as well as the local women. They didn't want the local men, and they couldn't capture them at all."
"Why?"
"Because those Briton men are all warriors! They will all be killed by the Danes on the battlefield. Besides, the Danes all need more women, and our Silian Alliance does the same. My lovely Rurik , you are still too young now, you will know the benefits of women when you grow up. Ah" Gould couldn't help laughing, glanced at Otto, and said deliberately: "Rurik, I hope you can do it when you grow up. Like me, have at least five sons! Do you want a more stable and powerful power? Then have more women and more sons."
Rurik wanted to laugh when he heard this.
He must think carefully about Gould's words. If everything is fate and the process of history, Chief Rurik in another dimension has given birth to a lot of children, and many children are eager to share their father's power. If you want a piece of the pie, you have to accept the fate of being assigned to be the leader of various Slavic tribes in other places.
Rurik's descendants really blossomed all over Eastern Europe, from Karelia to the shores of the Black Sea. Rurik's descendants led the locals and integrated the various Slavic tribes in constant disputes into a large feudal country. One of the descendants became a lord in the small village of Moscow, and eventually the descendants of the lord became the emperor of a huge empire.
But Gould's words reveal a stark reality.
Perhaps the geographical location of the Swedes determined that during the Viking Age, it was impossible for them to go to the wealthy British areas to kill everyone.
Because of geographical reasons, it is easier for Norwegians to reach Ireland by taking the northern sea. The Danes could land in Northumbria by crossing the North Sea to the west. At this stage, the Danes attacked Britain just to rob. Although the British kingdoms in the melee lacked the ability to resist the sudden strongman, they still tried their best to organize troops to resist.
The kingdom of Britain itself was in a state of chaos. The total population of the entire archipelago barely reached two million. Ordinary residents lived scattered in the form of small villages, growing grain, raising livestock, and paying taxes to the lords.
The sudden appearance of the Danes in their long boats, who came and went without a trace, posed a huge threat to the coastal countryside, especially in Northumbria and Kent. After the Danes landed, they immediately started a great victory. They killed the men and abducted the women, ransacked the churches and took away the gold vessels, as well as the nuns.
The Kingdom of Kent organized several battles. The conscripted farmers brought their own wooden spears and forks to face the well-organized Danish army. The result of the melee was that the Kent army was washed to pieces. mercy? impossible. The Kingdom of Kent suffered heavy losses as a result, and the Danes began to act more boldly.
There were also some Danes who attacked the island of Ireland. They even encountered the Norwegian robber army in the North Sea. Of course, a naval battle broke out immediately as they were all traveling together.
Ireland also began to suffer plunder, and local people began to be taken captive to the Vikings' hometown and appeared in natural markets tied with ropes.
According to their culture, many baby girls who could not become warriors were abandoned at birth. This phenomenon led to the low female population of various Viking tribes. Many young warriors longed for marriage, but reality forced them to try to combine with captured foreign women.
However, whether it is the Kingdom of Kent or the Kingdom of Northumbria, the ancestors of the local people rowed boats from the Jutland Peninsula and landed in Britain four hundred years ago. Four hundred years later, the Danes, Norwegians, and the captives had the same ancestors. So much has changed in four hundred years!
The people who immigrated to Britain have become the Lamb of the Lord, and those who have not left firmly believe that they are Odin's warriors.
The Danes called all the people they captured "Britons". In fact, some of the captives were Celts, and some were farmers from the Kingdom of England. A small number of captured men would be transported further away by the Danes to be exchanged for silver, while the women would be quickly digested by them.
Some women were transported to Lake Mälaren through various channels and fell into the hands of the big businessman Gould.
The purpose of needing a large number of Brython servants was to train them into workers who could work. Rurik heard Gould's detailed description and learned the reason for the shortage of male servants in the southern market, and he couldn't help but be shocked.
"Forget it, I can accept it even if it's a woman. Those priests were women, and they made thousands of soaps. I ordered a group of Brythonic women to do the same thing, and they can still do it. If you If you can get me a valet, that would be the best. Listen, money is not an issue, I want people." Rurik said firmly
Gould nodded deeply, then called the two maids, who were already fully dressed, to come over, kneel down beside him, and proudly introduced Rurik: "Each of them has three gold coins, and they are young. It’s worth the price. Too young or too old is very cheap.”
"What? A living person only costs three gold coins. Your glass wine bottle costs twenty gold coins."
"Haha, they are servants, a tool, nothing more. You have to admit that some tools just lack value."
Hearing such words, Rurik cursed secretly in his heart.
But if you think about it carefully, Gould and others all believe in the inherent hierarchy of people. To talk about equality with them, or even to introduce the knowledge of equality to the servants, is all a sudden absurdity.
Rurik stopped talking nonsense and continued to ask: "You have trained your servants to be very obedient? Have they never thought about running away?"
"Is this possible?" After saying that, Gould pulled a woman very roughly, pulled her face to her fat belly, and asked rudely: "Annie, do you dare to run away?"
"I...I don't dare, sir." The woman replied weakly, her eyes full of begging for mercy.
"That's right." Gould let the woman go and said proudly, "Rurik, the question is actually very simple. Why doesn't your servant run away? I think she knows that running away means being eaten by wolves. fate, my servant is equally wise."
Rurik took a breath, it was indeed that simple.
"They are just a group of docile sheep. Perhaps after training, a group of Britten servants are good workers. How many do you want? Twenty? You will pay at least six hundred silver coins for this."
Rurik nodded: "You go and look for twenty for me. When the job is done, I will give you a reward of two hundred silver coins. What do you think?"
"Wow! You are so generous. I will definitely complete this business well."
"Well, I still need some others."
"Huh? More servants? More people? No problem."
"No! I want some warriors who only take orders from me, and I want to build an elite guard. Gould, just like the guard you spent money to form, I want to follow suit."
"You...you think you have reached the point where you need to form a private guard?" Gould asked incredulously.
"Of course, I feel it's necessary now."
After listening to his son's discussion with Gould, Otto felt that his son's plan was becoming more and more audacious!
Until now, Otto has supported his son's decision, even if it was about having a large group of maids. He had never thought of the possibility of having twenty slaves. His son had big goals, and he had nothing to say.
But recruiting a personal guard? is it necessary?
Otto had to interrupt his son and asked in a harsh tone: "Rurik, what do you mean? You want to recruit elite guards, aren't your one hundred subordinates enough? If you need strong warriors , there are at least a thousand in our tribe. I can easily organize a guard for you."
"No, Dad, I know what you mean. But now... I really need a group of warriors who only obey my orders, only serve my interests, and have strong combat power."
"Really? You can definitely recruit from the tribe."
"No." Rurik shook his head deeply, "I'm sorry, Dad, I trust our people, but people's hearts will change. I can guarantee you that when my agreement with Gould is implemented, I will become very Rich. In order to protect this huge wealth, I must have a force of my own. If we recruit people from the tribe, I am worried that they will naturally think of the tribe's distribution system, and then collectively ask me to distribute the wealth to everyone. Dad Aren’t you worried about this future?”
"You...actually think so."
My son's words actually stopped me! Otto calmed down and thought about it carefully. Looking back on the tribe's biannual tax collection operations against Novgorod for decades, the situation has indeed changed a lot.
According to what the old high priest said, the Rus tribe went to the east to collect taxes. This matter has been going on for at least forty years! At the beginning, the tribute collected was distributed equally to all families. Forty years later, it has become whoever participates in the "tribute voyage" to get the most wealth. The participating families can get 80% to 90% of the total tribute. Those who stay behind are considered to be enjoying the benefits. Putting aside the tribute presented to the priests, the families left behind may only get a few pounds of wheat kernels.
Everyone can notice that the current Sorgon voyage is really getting worse every year. It's not that Novgorod has become poor, but that people who go to collect taxes are increasingly unwilling to share tributes with other tribesmen.
Times have changed, and the good days of waiting for dividends in Roseburg will forever become history as the previous generation ages.
What's more, the situation has changed again. Those families who married Novgorod women have the nerve to collect taxes from their parents-in-law.
The Sorgon voyage in the spring of the new year will undoubtedly begin to include family visits. The young warriors who married local women received a fortune from their parents-in-law, which they must not share with other tribesmen.
Otto believed in his brothers, but his life was coming to an end. If the new generation of young people are like Rurik, it seems increasingly impossible to maintain a large tribe through blood relations.
You cannot use blood relations, that is, money relations.
Although Otto could not be persuaded by his son for a moment, he did not express his objections with a sudden outburst of temper, so he adopted a default attitude this time.
Rurik continued to look into Gould's eyes and asked: "You claim to have at least fifty warriors to protect your wealth and family safety. Where did you recruit so many reliable people?"
"It was at the market of the Melalen tribe. Maybe you don't know it well, but some strong people are eager to have a master and earn wealth by selling their own strength."
It sounds like a professional mercenary. Thinking of this, Rurik became more and more interested in the "Mälaren Market" that he had only heard of but never seen, as if that large market could buy all kinds of typical commodities from the Middle Ages.
"So, how much do you pay your samurai?"
"I pay them on a monthly basis. On the first day of each month according to the Julian calendar, I pay them ten silver coins. In addition, their accommodation and food are provided as extra."
"Huh? Is this the price for hiring warriors? For fifty warriors, you have to spend 500 silver coins every month, which is really not a small amount of money."
Gould smiled and said, "Son, you can also give a lower price, so you won't be able to recruit brave people. If my guards participate in a weapon fight, I will pay them an additional bonus after victory. I will also bury those who died in the war. Without these measures, who would sacrifice their lives for you who are strangers to you? Listen, if you want to protect your huge wealth, you can’t be stingy with your money! Five hundred silver coins are nothing to you now What. You want fifty private guard members too? I can try to help you get it done."
"This... I can give it a try. Suddenly there are so many people, and I'm just worried that I won't be able to control them well."
Gould immediately slapped his thigh and said on a whim: "Don't worry! Just like this, I will give you my guard captain and five more people. From now on, you will pay them. There is not much money, and the guards The chief will give you twenty silver coins every month, an ordinary ten."
Otto was even more vigilant about this than Rurik: "Gould, are they reliable?"
"Of course it's reliable. If it wasn't for money, how could they leave their tribe and work for others? You may not know the composition of these people. Some are captured slaves, some are poor people struggling to make ends meet, and some owe money to the leader. They became slaves and were sold by the leader. In short, they are mostly people who can't help themselves, and their common characteristics are strength and loyalty."
Gould looked at Otto with interest again and spoke boldly: "Great leader, maybe you really want to support your son from the bottom of your heart to use money to form a guard. You can doubt the guard bought with money. You cannot really believe that blood relatives maintained by emotions will never betray you. The relationship between relatives will become estranged after several generations, and your guards are not related to their masters. They just work for their family just for money. ! I firmly believe that in this world, except for life and time, which cannot be bought with money, everything else can be bought!"
Money can make the world go round, and Rurik admired that Gould already understood this.
Rurik seized the right to speak and continued to ask: "What about your guard captain? He is very strong and good at fighting? Where is he?"
"My guard captain Jevlo has always been in my hometown. In fact, you wouldn't have thought that he is actually a Savoyard man?"
"Savoy? Who is that?"
"They are some people from the eastern land of our sea." Otto explained.
"Is he Finnish?"
"Not Finnish, but Savoyard. Different from the Finns."
Currently, Finland does not have a clear national concept. In that area, a tribe calling itself "Fin" is active near the sea, and there is also a group of Savo tribes in the inland areas. Numerous tribes spoke very similar ancient Uralic languages, and they continued to develop, and eight hundred years later a unified Finnish nation was formed.
The Saviors may have been more aggressive than the Finns, and the fighting between the two tribal groups was no less intense than the internal fighting among the Vikings. Some tribes from the Sivia Alliance, as well as people from Gotland, also dared to land in Finland and took away the captured locals while looking for wild beasts.
Gould claimed that his guard captain was kidnapped when he was very young.
"About fifteen years ago, when I was relatively young. I disguised myself as a Dane and ran to the south to do business. By the way, I met an unruly boy in their market. I spent a sum of gold to get him. Him. I gave him good care, and after years of training, he served as a loyal guard captain. Ah! What if, that child was not my servant, but my eldest son. Unfortunately, my eldest son is like me Fat, all my sons may be masters of business, but in battle they are definitely idiots who will cry in fear. Without the protection of strong guards, they are all big fat sheep waiting to be cut."
"Ah! I didn't expect you and your guard captain to have such a past?" Otto couldn't help but admired.
"So as long as you are good enough to your servants, they will be loyal. Especially your guards, Rurik." Gould taught, "I trust you, so I will give you my most trusted guard captain. Rurik, you will eventually become the leader, and I think the close alliance I have established with you will definitely give my family unprecedented prosperity."
He actually thought so highly of himself that Rurik felt extremely comfortable being flattered by such a powerful figure.
Gould kept up his efforts: "My mentality has changed, Rurik, I will definitely sign a bigger agreement with you. You will make a lot of money, and I will make a lot of money because of you. And my wealth will be yours." For the protection of the tribe, I think I should consider moving my home from the Onkras tribe to your place.”
Otto's eyes lit up: "Are you planning to move?"
"Great chief, I am not drunk, and my mind is very happy now. I can guarantee that what I tell the truth is true. Think about it, if my wealth becomes more and more, will the chief of Onkras take me away?" As a fat sheep? Even if my fifty guards fight to the end, they are no match for the warriors of the entire tribe. It will be different if I move to you. My interests and Rurik's are tied."
If a powerful businessman wants stability, he must either cultivate his own power and become a commercial organization with an army, or even establish a country for this purpose. Either join a powerful force, help the strong to become stronger, and at the same time gain the protection of the powerful's forces.
The geography of Europe makes it easier for it to form a commercial civilization. Many ancient city-states were actually founded by a large group of merchants. Even the original Rome also had a strong commercial culture. A large vote of those members of the Senate was a big vote in itself. merchant.
The matter about the guard was quickly settled. As soon as Rurik calculated his money, he insisted on forming fifty guard members. Among them, the captain of the guard was only known by his first name "Jevlo", the Savo in Finland. people.
The agreement also added new terms.
Article 3: If the Gould family wants the Ross chief family to transport grain, vegetables and livestock as much as possible, the Ross chief will pay coins slightly higher than the market price and additional transportation fees.
Article 4: The Gould family is obliged to look for all kinds of servants and foreigners who intend to settle in the Ross tribe. The leader of Ross should pay the Gould family for this.
There is still a large blank space on the board, just to add new clauses when you think of them.
There is also a signature at the bottom of the board, that is, "In the name of Otto, the leader of Rus, this agreement is valid."
The agreement has been made!
Rurik is very convinced that in this era human resources represent the strength base of a force. As long as the Ross tribe has a larger population, it can burst out powerful power through reasonable organizational planning. The purpose of selling high value-added goods is to make money and to make the lives of the tribe better. Money is used to buy daily necessities, especially imported food, to ensure the survival of a large population.
Even Rurik can feel that even if the future develops smoothly as he expected, the biggest problem of the Ross tribe will always be food supply.
The stable supply of food is always the foundation for the long-term stability of a power. If the situation changes and the tribe can no longer import food stably, its huge population will become a heavy burden. In order to avoid the worst possibility, building a second base early and a cultivable base is the right way to prepare for a rainy day.
Therefore, Rurik had to lament that his father Otto had a plan.
His father wanted to build the "Second Roseburg" at the mouth of the Neva River. The feng shui of that place was actually pretty good. Rurik had actually heard of another dimension. The location of St. Petersburg was perfect for growing wheat.
No matter how gratifying the wheat yield is, as long as the climate is sufficient to ensure sowing and harvesting, and the production capacity is adequate, then it will be fine!
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Chapter 120 Rurik needs private power
