Otto looked at the manor director Rigus with sharp eyes: "How are you preparing the tributes from your manor?" and then motioned to Peravina as an interpreter.
"Yes. Great Chief Ross, the situation this year is the same as last spring."
"Are you completely ready?" Otto continued to ask.
"Yes, we have packed all the tributes together, and you can take them away tomorrow morning."
"It's just that the weather tonight is not good enough." Otto sighed deliberately, "Actually, I know that you are all looking forward to us leaving early."
Hearing this, Ligus quickly objected: "I don't mean this at all. You are our master, and we are willing to have you stay for a long time."
What he said was polite, but Otto himself did not want to think about the possibility of leading the entire tribe to move to Novgorod, and he also knew that many tribesmen already had this idea.
Otto said deliberately: "Stay here? Let's forget it. As long as you provide us with enough tribute, you can live in peace. If those Smolensk people want to attack you, I intend to help you. Compared with other tribes, Your manor is the most cooperative. Tell me, what tributes have you prepared for us?"
"Yes." Ligus nodded, and then motioned for his eldest son to come over.
Immediately afterwards, it was Medved, the successor of the manor head, who personally explained the situation to Otto.
Although the residents of the Novgorod region live together in a natural village in the form of a traditional manor, they are naturally divided into large and small families.
What is a family?
A couple and their remaining minor children form an ordinary family. Those women who get married actually form a new family with newly grown men from other families.
The evolution of this traditional farmer family is natural and reasonable.
It is in a place like Novgorod, where winters are cold and long, that huge families form huge estates, which everyone depends on for their lives.
Their family structure and production capacity prevent them from cultivating too much farmland. In order to obtain more food during the harvest season, they will sow more seeds. In such an environment, a couple will work hard to have a child in order to live a better life. Even a child is an important source of productivity.
Paradoxically, with more children sharing a daily wheat ration of only about three pounds, having more children is more than a family can afford!
Even though he is the head of the manor, Ligus's family structure is still simple.
Ligus had only one eldest son and two other daughters. In addition, he has two brothers, and everyone in his brother's family has no hope.
In order to prosper her family, Ligus's wife has been trying to have more children. Even though she is not young, she still desires more children.
As a result, his wife took the risk of giving birth to her last child at a very old age, and unfortunately, it was a girl.
Ligus regretted that his last efforts in life ended up with a girl. Although she is a girl, she looks more and more cute, but it brings a lot of happiness to the life of Rigus who is getting older.
Li Gusbon had three sons, but both of them died of illness when they were young.
He heard that Otto, the great leader of the Rus, also lost two sons in an accident, and he felt that the two ethnic groups still had many things in common.
Even if they are powerful Russians, the God of Death can still ruthlessly take away their lives!
Otto wanted to plunder the wealth of the Novgorod people, just like he would not cut off all the wool from a sheep. Otto's exploitation was still aimed at the richest people.
The White Tree Manor, which has a population of 2,000 people, actually only has about 400 strong laborers, that is, men who are capable of farming.
There are a large number of children in the manor. When boys and girls grow up to the age of marriage, they have to face various severe challenges for more than ten years. Many children are destined to die growing up due to disease or malnutrition. In order to make up for the pain of losing a child and to make up for the labor force, any family is willing to continue to have children, which leads to a large number of children in the manor!
These dirty and thin children will be the alternative resources that Otto wants to obtain.
Four hundred strong farmers, all of them strong, only went fishing or hunting during their free time. Their wives take care of various household tasks such as giving birth, taking care of children, weaving, chopping firewood, fetching water and so on.
The whole family has no right to leisure. As long as they are lazy, they will starve to death.
Every farmer who was able to cultivate the land paid a tribute of one hundred pounds of wheat throughout the year. Women who could weave had to pay a piece of linen about a quarter of the size of an ordinary longship's sail throughout the year.
In spring, Otto came with the Sorgon army and took away various goods prepared by White Tree Manor.
Among all the tributes, the accumulation of 20,000 Roman pounds of wheat grains without any processing was the most important. After conversion, the total weight was close to eight tons of wheat. Just loading this wheat would require two full-time transport ships!
It has to be said that in order to successfully transport various tributes this time, most of the fleet led by Otto were pure transport ships. It was simply unfit for combat and difficult to row. On weekdays it would be towed by other ships, assisted by the sails of the mast. This is the kind of ship that can carry four tons! Well-deserved core strength in transportation.
The sails of the Russian dragon-headed longships are not small, and the sail area is relatively uniform. They used the area of the sail as the standard. In fact, they required the people of Baishu Manor to provide a single layer of linen cloth close to four square meters. Four hundred families of sackcloth gathered together is a huge number.
Linen was an important source of clothing, and animal skins were another.
Thirty sheep skins, ten cow skins, fifty fox skins, two hundred rabbit skins, and even two bear skins are all on the tribute list of White Tree Manor.
Otto was deeply moved every time he heard the specific number of tributes from White Tree Manor.
After listening to Medvedt's explanation, Otto nodded with satisfaction: "What a wonderful tribute. You have proven your loyalty. This is good."
Medved, who had been half-kneeling to report, raised his head slightly: "Great Russians, are you satisfied with our tribute?"
"Satisfied? I'm quite satisfied, but..." Otto deliberately picked his teeth with chicken bones and looked at the person in front of him with a contemptuous expression: "Your name is Medwite, and you are the next head of the manor. You Kneel before me to show your loyalty, and now I want more tribute from you.”
Upon hearing this request, both Rigus and Medved suddenly sweated on their foreheads.
"Big Chief, you..." Ligus was about to refute something, but was immediately stopped by Otto.
"Now listen to me, people of White Tree Manor. Starting from this year, you must further show your loyalty to us. We need more tributes, and you must bear them without any right to argue. Now listen to me!"
Peravina tried her best to translate it truthfully. When she heard that the big leader wanted to increase the tribute, she was inevitably shocked.
"Pelavina, don't be afraid, just translate it truthfully." Otto nudged her and said.
Otto paused again, softening his tough tone slightly, and then came up with his specific request: "I want fifty chickens, alive, all in cages. I also want ten cows and ten sheep." , I want two males and eight females.”
"You want to take away all the cattle, sheep and chickens?" Ligus asked cautiously, "I heard that your hometown is very cold. It may not be suitable for raising cattle and sheep."
"Oh, Rigus, thank you for your kind reminder. We have made some new decisions. Because of the cold, we built our new Roseburg where the river from Lake Ladoga flows into the sea. It will be a The huge settlement may eventually be larger than the largest Pine Needle Manor here. It is only a four-day flight from you at most."
Peravina translated this tremblingly, and she also said something extra, so-called proof that the Russians arrived in Novgorod from Novorossberg in four days.
Ligus instantly felt like an ax was hanging over his head and could be smashed down at any time.
The Russians have built a new settlement. As long as the White Tree Manor shows disloyalty, the crusade will attack in just four days!
The residents of White Tree Manor know that there is a large lake in the north, and the name Ladoga has been there since ancient times.
However, exploring the shores of the Great Lake is the limit of activities in the north of Novgorod. To the west of the great lake is the sea, which is an absolutely dangerous place, because all the Varyag people live in the sea there, and if you set foot on it rashly, you will surely meet death!
Otto added: "In the autumn, you won't have to provide these animals. Listen, fifty chickens, ten cows and ten sheep are the additional tribute every year."
Ligus calculated that for the entire manor, the increased tribute was still within an acceptable range.
"Ah, great chief, we will give you these."
"I'm not done yet." Otto moved to the table and glared at Ligus, "I want you to provide us with some people, and I want to take these people away."
"Is it more marriages?" Ligus asked warily.
"Exactly, maybe this is something you are willing to accept."
"Ah, if our humble girls marry you, it will be their happiness."
Rigus's humble and beautiful words hit Otto's heart: "Well, how many girls can you provide for marriage? I tell you the truth, among the people I brought this time, at least a hundred people must complete the marriage on this voyage. .”
Rigus fell silent. He had to take a moment to think about the pros and cons.
The Ligus family is hereditary as the head of the manor. This has been regarded by ordinary people as a very natural thing since ancient times. He did not take up this position for the sake of arrogance, but to maintain the operation of the entire manor.
Of course, Ligus would enrich himself while collecting tributes from various people, but what can ordinary people do?
The family of the manor also controls several large kitchens in the manor to bake large lobsters that can be eaten for a long time. In addition, there are important mills and a collection of metal farm tools.
Precisely because they are all relatives with a common ancestor, the head of the manor will rent these means of production for free or at very low prices to make life somewhat warmer.
Living away from the manor is simply asking for death! Ordinary families need the protection of the manor. If they move out and live in the dense forest, they are likely to become food for bears and wolves.
Currently, there are at least forty girls of marriageable age in the manor, and Gus basically knows the specific number.
He thought about it carefully and said: "Thirty people. I can provide thirty girls." As he said that, Ligus glanced at Peravina, who had been working as an interpreter.
"I just can't believe that this girl is marrying your nephew, how come..."
Otto immediately understood what he meant, laughed indulgently in reality, and then asked Peravina to explain in person.
In this situation, Peravina, who will be the mother of the Russian people, has already taken the position of the Russian people and returned to her homeland. She must also consider the feelings of the villagers.
Peravina immediately explained her life in Fort Ross, how she ate fat meat and fish every day and didn't know what a hungry life was, which really surprised Rigus.
"My dear, you were obviously very thin at the wedding, but you have really changed now. Your husband, that young man, he..." Ligus could not have imagined that the Russians would be divided into two groups this year. An army of nearly five hundred people went to attack the enemies of the Russians. Peravina's husband was the commander of the army.
The child in her belly belonged to no one else but that young man.
What really shocked Rigus was that Peravina kept saying that the leader of the Ross people was actually a good person.
These signs do indicate that girls married to Rus were well cared for. If marriage can bring greater benefits, why not do it?
Although there are a large number of people in the White Tree Manor, since they are all relatives, the principle that men and women of the same race are not allowed to intermarry is also implemented.
Even if you don't marry a Rusian, the girls in the manor who are to be married will be married to other manors. Each manor realizes the flow of personnel through marriage and maintains social relations with each other.
Whoever you marry is your daughter. For ordinary families, marrying their own girls to tough Russians may be a greater guarantee of security.
Wife's husband swinging a tomahawk at his parents-in-law? This is something that Rigus thinks is absolutely impossible.
Ligus had already thought about it and said, "Thirty women, what do you think?"
Otto nodded: "Very good. Besides, I still want more people."
"ah?!"
For a moment, Rigus thought of another word - slave.
The reason why the Varyag people who arrived in the Ilmen Lake area from various walks of life left a notorious image on the local people comes from the initial contact. The Varyag people captured people everywhere and used them as slaves.
In fact, Otto's ancestors did this. Even if the Russians do not have the ability and energy to engage in slave activities in the following decades, it does not mean that the evil done by their ancestors has been forgotten by various Novgorod estates.
Otto mentioned this matter again, which immediately aroused Rigus' high vigilance.
The fear of the people in White Tree Manor was written in their eyes. Otto waved his hands slightly and explained in particular: "I want you to provide some children, preferably boys, but girls are also acceptable. I only want ten children, and they will serve as Personal servants of my only son. I can promise you that these children will be well fed and clothed as servants. For this, I will pay a sum of money. Including the young men under me who want to get married, and the women who marry you will also give An amount of money that is absolutely acceptable to a woman’s family.”
If money is involved, the issue needs to be discussed.
Ligus had an idea and immediately said: "Okay, my leader, I can provide you with some children, but they are too young. I hope you don't mind..."
"Of course I don't mind." Otto told the truth. Now, he is doing things for his son Rurik. "My sons are great men, just as your eldest son will inherit the position of head of the manor. When my life comes to an end, my son will inherit the position of chief of Rus. Listen, Rigus! You are an old man , I am also an old man. When we pass away, it will be my son who will deal with you."
"But your son, he is too young..."
Ligus basically knew Rurik's age. Who could not deeply question what a seven or eight-year-old child could do?
Otto didn't bother to publicize what great actions his son had made, because when he calmed down and looked at his son, he realized that a child had reasonably earned five thousand silver coins in half a year, and his actions had truly improved the tribe. residents' lives. He could only explain this as God's favor, which seemed bizarre to him, let alone to the people of White Manor.
Otto deliberately took off the small linen bag around his waist, untied the rope and revealed the treasure inside - a small handful of unprocessed amber stones.
"You gave us tributes, and these are your rewards. Rigus, you can enjoy these alone. Listen, this is a treasure for you, a reward for your loyalty. As for other manors, don't expect to receive my favor. "
"Ah? Is this true? What a great gift!"
Rigus felt that this was a method used by the Ross leader to win people's hearts, and the Ross people also started to implement this method last year. He really didn't understand that the price of this bag of amber after processing might be close to the value of all the tributes. What were the Russians doing? Just the adoring loyalty of another group of people?
Maybe this is another form of trade? Just because of the arrogance of the Russian people, they still call it "collecting tribute" and "special reward".
Otto quickly tied the rope and handed the sack to Medvedt.
Then he said: "Ten children, preferably boys. It is best that they are about the same age as my son. Remember, they are my son's servants. As long as they obey my son's requirements, they can be taken care of properly. No matter what I will give ten silver coins to their parents, boys and girls.”
Rigus immediately responded cheerfully: "Okay! I will provide it immediately, and I can guarantee that many families will support this deal. Let's cheers!"
After saying that, Rigus raised the glass filled with ale, and Otto, who was in a good mood, did the same.
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Chapter 141 Tribute from White Tree Manor
